Post Covid-19 Normal for Entrepreneurs/Small Business Owners
Updated: Dec 14, 2021
We are now emerging from the phase of rapidly adopting new technologies, and growing accustomed to the new normal of life, and work, home lifestyle. While the battle against COVID-19 is not over, even with the promise of the vaccine. The next “new” normal is going to be extremely different. Here are a few trends entrepreneurs should be on the look out.
Digitization
Companies like Zoom are not going anywhere anytime soon. Microsoft is also an example of a corporation that benefited for this stay-at-home normal. Businesses that thrived during the pandemic are also the businesses that became more digitized, and that’s a shift that is going to become foundation in the next normal.
The shift of digitization has made it imperative for your business to have a functional website. This means that you should your clients should be able to create appointments, send invoices, receive payments, create email automations, schedule staff members, create coupons, and gather customer data. While Facebook and Instagram offer business owners benefits for the use of their business pages, it is not a substitute for the power of a functional website.
In other words, websites are no longer optional.
Different Area Codes
(please read this in your Nate Dogg voice)
During the crisis, everything from online services to remote working to the supply-chain has been disrupted. For this reason, it is unlikely that business operations will return entirely to pre-COVID standards. Many businesses will opt keep a physical office or purchase physical office. On the contrary, many will find it unnecessary to require employees return to the work place. This provides an added amount of flexibility in terms of hiring practices, with businesses no longer constrained by geographic proximity.
While this new practice may seem like an answered prayer, it will require extensive data security, modification of HR practices, and the extensive use of advance technology.
Here’s the question: what will happen to work/life balance?
How will our idea of privacy shift if we bring the workplace into your home in a more permanent way?
The Age of the Department Store Is Dying and E-Commerce is Living
I walked in JCPenney the other day, and it was a ghost town. Even with the Sephora inside, there was more lint in the store than customers. This is an example of how the demand for online shopping has changed everything. In the United States, e-commerce penetration was expected to reach 24 percent by 2024. By July 2020, it had hit 33 percent of total sales. This is a trend that has played out in Europe as well where penetration is 28 percent in Germany and 25 percent in Romania.
E-commerce doesn’t seem like a trend that’s going anywhere. Be prepared to shop online for seemingly everything your business will need, this includes office furniture, supplies, certificates, etc.
Is Organizational Culture Turning Into Blackboard?
With the transition to work from home being so successful, many businesses are now facing a new dilemma: solving the role of the office itself. Offices have served as a symbol of the business and an expression of company culture creating a shared environment and a sense of belonging.
Now, employees and entrepreneurs are forced to re-think their homes to fulfill that need for belonging in the workplace. Extra bedrooms may be transformed into office space. IKEA may see a surge in the demand for office materials. Did Pier 1 Imports leave us too soon?
If businesses and entrepreneurs decide to move toward a more permanent remote working approach, they will still remain tasked with adapting to digitization and new forms of communication technologies, but will also need to strive to create that community and sense of belonging that represents their company culture.
Will employees feel like they belong to an organizational culture through the comfort of their home?
If businesses keep the physical space, how will they be forced to redesign it? How much space should between desks?
Conclusion
We probably won’t understand the full impact of Covid-19 until about five years from now. Entrepreneurs, I suggest that you begin building your remote team, and here’s why:
•Remote working lets you hire the best resources across the globe
•Remote work saves operational costs required for rentals, office maintenance, etc.
•Remote work is proven to be productive
During the global recession of 2008, several businesses that were not prepared for a crisis shuttered. At the same time, several startups also came to the surface that rewrote business processes that have become mainstream today (Netflix and Airbnb to mention two popular names).
In sum, make sure the world knows your name because of how you survived and thrived, not because of your failure. Ensure that your business is post-covid 19 proof. Booking a consultant is one of the best things you can do for your business in this climate.
Schedule a clarity consultation with Koinonia Training and Consulting by clicking here. We would love to develop a plan for you to digitize your services to better service your clients.
Dr. Dee Evans
CEO, Koinonia Training and Consulting
info@koinoniatrainingandconsulting
Dr. Dee Evans is an internationally recognized consultant and celebrity life coach. She has been awarded several leadership awards and she is a respected educator and Christian leader. She is the author of several books, which include: "God, I'm Disappointed, Procrastination: A Kingdom Perspective on the Theology of Work". Connect with Dr. Dee Evans by visiting the links below.
Koinonia Training and Consulting