Three ways to impact your business during crisis

by Leon Lategan. We are living in catastrophic times with lots of businesses having to let staff go, close down, run out of stock and basically go into survival mode. So, what do we do? Who really knows – this is unprecedented and unchartered waters and who can say they have lived through a pandemic?

There are however things that businesses can look at with varying degrees of impact depending on your situation, your product or your service. See some ideas below; and please feel free to share your own ideas and this post with others.

1. Change your mindset

If your mindset is fixed you are already lost, because if you believe you can’t do something, then I am afraid you can’t. If you believe I am talking bullshit then I am, if you believe I am typing in Japanese then I am, it’s all about perception and it’s that simple. Whatever you believe is your reality.

Choose a benefit mindset, in other words, how can you help and serve others while still making an income? How can you benefit them while benefitting you – with adversity comes opportunity. Just make sure these are ethical opportunities. What can you do to solve people’s problems in different ways in your business?

2. Move your business online

• Event companies go online: There is a massive opportunity waiting to explode with online conferences.
• Consulting, law, retailing, medical, life, fitness, etc, can all go online and create win-win scenarios for clients and business.
• Estate agents can do show houses and viewings online via mobile phones.

I can carry on and on with other industries, so please explore this area and keep your mind open.

3. Cut costs

Live more frugally, economically, and this downtime is the perfect time to check your expenses because most businesses do not think about cutting costs when times are good. Be ruthless – you will be surprised how resilient the human race is.

And remember, we will survive this, even if hard times are here, we always do; and you will come out the other side, battered and bruised perhaps; and possibly in better shape to handle the upswing and it will come – we just don’t know when.

Leon Lategan is a the founder and CEO of The Lions Den; a coach and creator of entrepreneurs: Our purpose is to enable 100 000 entrepreneurs in the next five years to have a professional online presence; access to basic and advanced business coaching and training; exposure to the marketplace; and the ability to compete on an equal and affordable footing. Our goal is to help build sustainable businesses, both profitable and remarkable, so as to help alleviate the unemployment epidemic that South Africa currently faces.

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