“You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.” — Maya Angelou
Successful entrepreneurs get to where they are now because of their determination to reach their goals, which includes braving the odds and overcoming hurdles. The recent global scenarios in the past two to three years have been very challenging. Many business leaders have looked into finding opportunities under tough situations. But how do you do it?
Look at the present needs where you can provide a solution
Entrepreneurs have shared how their businesses fill a gap. Dion Castle, CEO of Struber, said, “With the fast-changing environment in society and the world, in general, it is easy to see that the culture, technology and customer experience in our industry were due for an upgrade.”
But when the conditions of a society change, the needs of society also change. If there are difficult circumstances, how can your business help in this time of need? Are your products and services relevant in such circumstances? It is good to look into new problems that arise and find the areas where your business can offer a solution.
Be open to new creative ideas, innovate and pivot
Unexpected things happen, so when a crisis arises and you hit a wall, take advantage of this hiccup to go back to the drawing board and revisit your plans and current offerings. This is where innovation comes in. Brainstorm for new ideas that can help boost your enterprise and make it thrive when the going gets tough.
Nitasha Badhwar, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Sunpower Renewables, shared that “Innovation for us is more than just implementing new technology, solution, or process. It is our culture and one of our cornerstones – something that we come back to in good and bad times.”
Also, opportunities open up when you pivot. Arosh Fernando, Creative Director of WooHah Productions, once shared the changes they had to do within their business to keep them going during the lockdowns. “All these changes helped us, as we would have no income if it wasn’t for these pivot ideas. We have managed to claw up to 20-30% of our monthly revenue,” Arosh said.
Keep an eye on new markets
It is often said that “when one door closes, a window opens.” A crisis or a setback can be a turning point where new opportunities are formed. Look where the resources go. Observe the trends and be ready for new markets that will emerge.
According to Clayton Cross, Head of Strategy at Expia, “The pandemic has opened hundreds of opportunities. Most golden. Essentially new markets have been created, especially in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) space, which we are targetting.”
Offer help and strengthen relationships
When problems and adversities arise, that is the best time for everyone to help each other and work together to overcome the challenges ahead. The pandemic has shown how important relationships are – within the family, among friends and even with people you meet through your business.
Ben Beattie, Managing Director of True Blue Plumbing Australia, talked about his experience. “When they shut down construction in Victoria, we had 10 plumbers a day off work with only enough emergency work for 12 guys. This was the week the earthquake hit and thousands of insurance claims were lodged. We contacted our major clients and offered to assist them with virtually assessing all the damage from the site back to their head offices as they were swamped with work. We were able to keep 3 additional guys busy for the final week of lockdown reducing to major financial losses we were incurring.”
We never run out of opportunities. The important thing is to look out for it at all times or even create those opportunities when you can.