How to keep your business afloat and overcome your business challenges

​Challenges and Solutions for startups in ongoing corona plus global recession

This article has two very absolute and immutable purposes – for SMBs, SMEs, CEOs and other Business-Owners

The FIRST – I am proposing – couple of focused and intense sessions to identify your unique sets of business-challenges AND exploring solutions, possibilities and alternatives - through silly, ridiculous free-thinking exercise.

Which could be - at times be silly, ridiculous and far-fetched – but the intent is to create such stimulation that You on your own OR with our help create simple, practical, disrupting, implementable and within your area of influence actions-steps.

The Second – you will learn the following – to make you self-start on reclaiming your business and prevent it from going down under.

-42 challenges faced by SMBs, SMEs and single-person operated businesses – also true for the large global enterprises.

-33 Ideas not only to apply but also to stimulate other solution – on How to survive and remain profitable during this economic slowdown due to corona covid19

This quantum of massive disruption [which was never even been imagined before corona covid19 changed our world] - has thrown such complex challenges at us – for which very few of us could have planned for or were prepared.

If your revenue streams suddenly dry-up, your customers vanish overnight, demand for products and services comes down drastically, usual channels and ways of doing business does not work anymore – what can you do in this situation?

Startup founders are facing a massive challenge right now – because the impacts, risks and challenges to SMEs and SMBs are greater.

For some - the question is - whether to pour money from your personal savings into business OR use it to manage your family's current and future needs at the cost of the business.

Although big corporations too have been impacted and effected badly – few of them have cash-reserves to survive – low-revenue, low-demand and low-sales phase longer.

Could this crisis provide a springboard for innovation – for a large number of businesses this pandemic induced catastrophe of this magnitude will unfortunately have drastically detrimental effects.

But we have to accept that – this process – has changed not only our life but in the long run it seems to be creating a platform for big transformation.

Entrepreneurship is all about solving problems for customers – how many of us can actually turn this gigantic-crisis - into huge and massive opportunity.

There are already stories of people who have seized the opportunity and making big-time business growth and success.

Few businesses like Byju's and similar online learning apps, e-commerce platforms like Big Basket, social development initiative like "Naari" – in India are doing better now than before pandemic.

42 challenges faced by SMBs, SMEs and single-person operated businesses – also true for the large global enterprises.

• 1.Some of the SMBs are unable to open and start their operations
• 2.Consumer behaviors have changed drastically – in such a manner that earlier ways of selling, delivering and servicing the products have changed.
• 3.Many consumers have postponed or canceled their purchases and others are only focusing on buying just the most essential and the necessary ones
• 4.Because many of the large organizations have put their expansion plans and capital expenditure on hold – all those SMB's and SME's- who were dependent on them find their market have shrunk or disappeared
• 5.Then totally ad-hoc rules followed by different states and governments – have also created the dilemma
• 6.There is a zillion dollar challenge – if you manufacture and produce – will there be a buyer OR in case there is buyer -can you make the delivery due to logistic issues.
• 7.How to pay the wages
• 8.Should you ask the employees to go – and which employees to keep
• 9.How to manage the expenses – those which are there – irrespective of whether your business is running or not - Like rental, utilities, taxes
• 10.Because the money in the pipeline have dried up because of such a harsh and long lockdowns – how to gain access to the capital needed at minimum to keep your business running
• 11.How to pay the debts, loans and borrowings
• 12.How to create the demand
• I.When the consumer-psych has changed
• II.AND when they can't afford to buy
• III.OR when they don't perceive what you sell as must have
• IV.OR when their your consumers who are large-corporate and industry businesses - themselves don' have demand for their product from their client-base
• 13.How to get infusion of capital – for making the traction and to upscale the operations to the level to make it revenue generating and profit-making
• 14.Remaining inspired and motivated enough to lead your teams by instilling confidence in them to make them perform at their highest potential
• 15.How to operate in low-touch, no-touch, virtual-meeting [instead of face-to-face]
• 16.How identify and use it for optimum advantage – the most suitable technology and channels
• 17.How to redesign – your business-model and revenue models – to suit the new normal
• 18.How to create an irresistible value-proposition for your customers
• 19.How to identify, know and use your existing strengths –to pivoting in an entirely different business-field – in case your current business is no more feasible
• 20.How to know – if your business needs to shut down OR you should continue to put efforts, invest more and fight the battle
• 21.How to keep yourself and your family members sane and productive and less stressed – in those situation where all of us working from home [living under same roof]
• 22.How to retain focus – and – not get distracted by other stressors
• 23.How to retain your best talents – even if you are unable to pay them fully, partially or not at all
• 24.How to retain your existing customers – who have had opportunity to get exposed to better values
• 25.How to manage the expenses of additional safety measures and legal requirements YET remaining profitable
• 26.How to find job or earning opportunities – if you happen to be in situation where you have to close down your business
• 27.How to find resources for updating the skills and competencies of yours as well as your employees
• 28.How to renegotiate loans, mortgages and other borrowings – so that it does not become a liability creating situation of bankruptcy later
• 29.How not to default on government taxes and other mandatory filings
• 30.How to pay the bills and outstanding – especially when your creditors are defaulting in their payment to you
• 31.How to find better suppliers
• 32.How to get customers who have the liquidity to pay you back
• 33.In case you manage to get the funds – how to ensure that you are able to pay it back AND how to manage the fear of your not able to payback this loan
• 34.How to ensure that you don't end up blowing your own security nest and savings for future - by investing in your business - and your business fails to become profitable
• 35.How to know – if you should shut the door on your business
• 36.Creating and serving new unthought-of markets and customer-segments
• 37.How to handle employees who are scared to come to work – if your business requires physical presence and travel etc.
• 38.Challenges of adapting with doing business in low-touch, remote and digital environment
• 39.Unavailability of raw material in time and at right quality plus quantity AND most important at right cost
• 40.Most people are avoiding travel for pleasure and are concerned to travel by airplane, railways and any other public transport AND to attend large event and gathering – these people are your prospects, customers and employees
• 41. How to find consumers and prospects online
  
• 42.How to attract, engage and build relationships your prospects