Pandemic – The Big Words Blog Site

Three focuses of my blog are Current Events, Money/Financial Literacy and Business/Entrepreneurship. The pandemic was life changing for everyone, and not everyone survived in the business arena. Whether or not you fared well or did not, there were lessons for everyone. The following contributed post is entitled, What Business Lessons Can You Learn From The Pandemic?

* * *

Image from Pexels – CC0 License

It has been a tough 18 months or so for businesses everywhere, and the people who keep them running. Many people in business have struggled to keep their livelihoods alive, which in turn has affected their employees. Nobody wants to have to deal with such a difficult set of circumstances, but we’ve learned that sometimes you need to be prepared for something unexpected to come your way. Many businesses haven’t survived the pandemic, but those that have took steps to adapt and try to survive. Whether you have an established business or you’re setting up a business right now, there are some great lessons you can take from the pandemic.

Here are some of the things you can keep in mind, not just for the current situation but also for the future.

Be Prepared for Anything

While it’s not entirely true that we couldn’t have predicted a pandemic (they have occurred before), most people weren’t expecting to have to deal with one anytime soon. If there’s one lesson that every business owner has taken from the pandemic, it’s that you need to be prepared for anything. It’s not exactly an easy feat to achieve, especially for a small business, but there are multiple things that any business can do to help them prepare for anything that might come their way. Having good savings and good insurance, as well as being ready to adapt your business to new circumstances when necessary can help to prepare your business for the future.

It’s Important to Support Other Businesses

Something that many businesses have learned recently is that you can’t necessarily rely on the government or anyone else for help when you’re in trouble. For many people, the help that was given came too late or wasn’t enough. With this in mind, a lot of business people have realized how important it is to support other businesses and to stick together as a community. The #OpenForBusiness Campaign aims to recognize the resilience of American entrepreneurship and how important it is for small businesses to support each other. The campaign’s helicopter tour of each of the lower-48 states will involve visiting small businesses and speaking to owners about adapting to the post-pandemic economy.

Work-Life Balance Is Important

Working from home has become the norm for many during the pandemic. Business owners have continued to run their companies from home where possible or have found alternative ways to use their business premises if they can. Something that this has highlighted is the need for work-life balance, both for business owners and their employees. Working from home has made it even more important to maintain a line between work and home, ensuring there’s a separation between the two. People who have been working long hours know that it’s crucial to have the time to rest and dedicate to your family and other parts of your personal life.

Image from Pexels – CC0 License

Treat Your Employees Well

One of the effects of the pandemic that we’re seeing is an unwillingness from employees to work for poor pay and in poor conditions. Previously, many people might have felt like they had to take what they could get. But after more than a year has shown why some of these employees are so essential, people are changing their mindsets. They want to be appreciated and adequately compensated for their work. For businesses that are struggling to find employees, offering something more for anyone who works for them could be the key to turning things around.

Keep Your Customers Loyal

As well as treating your employees well, it’s also important to keep your customers loyal. In times of trouble, knowing that you have customers who are likely to stick with you through thick and thin is reassuring. So be sure to treat your customers well, both when things are going well and when circumstances aren’t so rosy.

Know How to Adapt But Stay True

Adapting your business during tough times is often an essential way to survive. Many businesses took this step during the pandemic, especially those that were unable to operate as normal, such as restaurants. Knowing how to adapt is important, but it’s also necessary to know how to stay true to your business and its values. Whether you’re making a temporary change or pivoting on a more permanent basis, you should think about how to maintain your values and what your business stands for, especially if you want to keep some existing customers around.

If there are some positives to take away from the pandemic, some valuable business lessons can definitely be useful.

Three of the focuses of my blog are Current Events, Business/Entrepreneurship and Organizational and Management Discussions. Many businesses were levelled by the Coronavirus/Covid-19 Crisis/Pandemic while others were able to hang on, albeit by a thread. For this who have survived and in position to rebound, it’s important to have a plan of attack. The following contributed post is entitled, Resurrect Your Business Post-Pandemic Using These 4 Ways.

* * *

Nobody knows when the COVID-19 pandemic will end. As a result, researchers and medical experts have suggested that we exist together with the virus for the time being since it could take several months or possibly years to develop an effective vaccine. This means adherence to social distancing protocol is expected to remain a part of the new normal. But what does this mean for businesses?

A recent report has proposed that close to 7.5 million small enterprises in the United States risk closing down in the next few months as COVID-19 continues to impose enormous business challenges. However, this could be considered as one of the many setbacks faced by businesses, and you may need to gear up for a comeback. Are you wondering how? These four tips should help your business to work its way back from the crisis.

1. Create a plan for the comeback

Image Credit

Lack of proper planning can only compound your challenges further, therefore, you must develop a clear strategy that will guide you towards your targeted business goals. The list must be explicit on what must be done today to achieve the results you want tomorrow. Per the current situation, businesses are more focused on survival than growth. To develop a good plan, find answers to questions such as the following; what parts of the business are collapsing rapidly due to the crisis? What part of the company can I change to adapt to the times? In answering them, think deeply and broadly, and into the future.

2. Understand the impact of Covid-19 on business culture and identity

Just as the pandemic has affected different aspects of our lifestyle, it is very likely to impact business cultures and identity. Challenges can bring people together or likewise set them apart depending on their level of trust. This moment presents an excellent opportunity to view your business perspective and how it might evolve. How prepared is your business to handle this crisis? Will the pandemic unite people or set them apart? How different will they see your business post-pandemic? Your answers to these questions will inform what you can achieve after the pandemic.

3. Do you need to launch new products?

Like “Black Swan” events, the current pandemic has increased innovation and more resilient start-up businesses than before. What opportunities does the COVID-19 pandemic present? Growing challenges present businesses with ideas worth exploring, but in doing so, you need to set priorities to avoid starting multiple projects which will depend on the same limited resources. For example, COVID-19 has led to the increasing demand for protective equipment like face masks, hand sanitizers, and HDPE gloves. Several manufacturers have therefore shifted to PPE production for health workers and the general population, to combat the virus and keep their company afloat.

4. Are you ready to execute your plans and projects?

Image Credit

Finally, it would be best if you considered the readiness of your business to start projects. Is your business prepared to take on and finish up new projects? You would have to consider the significant contrasts in preparedness at the individual, group, company, and public levels. Current available resources, coupled with the speed and dynamic processes required differ significantly, and these variations play a considerable role in determining whether or not you will succeed. Training is one thing that would prove helpful as a way of upgrading your business’ human resources.