You Need To Read This...

By John Paul,  a weekly Email sender and CEO for Smallstarter business Africa 

Every crisis creates two things -- problems and opportunities.

I don't need to tell you about the problems this Coronavirus pandemic has caused to people's personal lives and businesses.

The problems are everywhere in the news and on social media.

There's fear, anxiety, and panic everywhere.

Yes, the fear and panic is necessary. COVID-19 is actually a serious and deadly disease.

But what most people haven't noticed is the opportunities this crisis has created.

In fact, nobody is talking about it. It's not even in the news or on social media.

Right now, almost everybody is so blinded by fear that they can't see any bright side to this crisis.

But in the last few weeks, I've been busy.

And what I’ve found is really going to interest you.

Pay attention to this:

3 interesting things I found

I've been working with clients whose businesses have been hit by the crisis, and we've been trying to convert their problems into opportunity.

In fact, there's something interesting I've found after looking under several businesses in the last few weeks.

I've noticed that this Coronavirus crisis has created 3 kinds of businesses:

The first are businesses that have lost ALL sales. The business is not making any money and there's no cash coming into the business at all.

The second are businesses that have lost SOME sales. There's still some money coming in, but it's not like before the crisis.

The third are businesses whose sales are either untouched by the crisis, or whose sales are actually GROWING in the middle of this crisis.

How come?

How could a business be unaffected and thriving in a crisis where most people are losing their businesses and losing their jobs?

What is the third group doing differently?

There are 2 interesting things I noticed in the third group.

The first is the industry they play in.

In most countries, businesses in the healthcare, grocery, and utilities industries were spared by the economic shutdown.

They're the so-called 'essential' businesses.

Still, I found situations where two identical businesses in the same industry were affected differently by the crisis.

For example, one of my clients in the financial services industry was badly hit by the crisis while another client in the same business has seen a 60% increase in sales since the lockdown began.

How come?

Clearly, the industry you play in is not the only advantage. There has to be something else.

And here’s what I found:

Their business model is the secret.

A business model is the design of a business. It’s how a business creates value, delivers that value, and makes money from it.

Two businesses may be in the same industry and sell the same products or services. But their business models can be totally different.

Most entrepreneurs don’t appreciate the value of a business model until a crisis hits.

For me, it took a recession in my country in 2014/15 to change my business model.

And in the middle of this COVID-19 crisis, I can tell you it’s the best business decision I ever made in my career.

I can also tell you it feels really good to be in the third group.

And that’s why you need to start thinking seriously about your business model.

Here’s what you need to do.

There are two ways people can change.

They can change by choice. Or they can change by force.

This Coronavirus crisis has been a wake-up call to many businesses. It is a change by force.

This crisis is a big opportunity that is designed to force you to rethink and change how you do business.

As long as the world remains as globalised as it is, there will surely be another crisis after this one. There’s nothing we can do about it.

However, while we cannot predict change, we have the power to change how change affects us.