7 Tips For Entrepreneurs to Hit the Ground Running Post-Pandemic

8 Tips for Entrepreneurs to Survive Post-Pandemic

1. Digitization Is the New Normal

One of the greatest or I should say the hardest, lessons businesses have learned from this pandemic is how critical it is to Go Digital and stay ahead of the curve.

For businesses that have made investments in digitization, embracing remote operations has been less of a disruption. While for those who were running their businesses only offline before pandemic – things are not that easy. Here is why now is the right time to give digitization a quick head-start:

While experts believe that digitization is one of the best tips for entrepreneurs to succeed going ahead, adopting digitization needs a well-planned strategy based on the selection of robust, scalable, and smart technologies. So, over the coming weeks and months, you will have to examine these transformation roadmaps much more carefully than ever before if you want to thrive or survive post-pandemic.

2. Personalization Is the Key For Survival

Growing economic uncertainty paired with a noteworthy change in consumer behavior – present real challenges for brands looking for sustaining in the coming time.

In this situation, brands that are able to personalize their approach of how they engage customers and invest in providing customers a personalized experience can win a fair share of the market as compared to those who don’t.

Before COVID-19, customers used to engage with brands using physical channels only – post-pandemic they would prefer engaging through digital channels more (like websites, mobile apps, or delivery options) because of the fear of catching the virus. 

But, it is your responsibility to provide them with the same personalized experience on your digital channels as well. Here is how you can do that:

3. Fundraising Would Be a Bit Tricky to Nail

Due to these ever-evolving conditions, a lot of business models that were a hit earlier may not appear attractive to investors and they may just focus on finding new ventures that promise fast returns.

Just businesses that align well with the post-pandemic normal, particularly tech-based firms and solutions and those that support adaptability, will get the love and money of the VCs. So, raising funds in such a situation would be a bit difficult.

However, the good news is that the money will flow again; not immediately but definitely. In fact, it is still falling for lucrative startups (Check out our blog on How Byju’s valuation increased to more than $10B amid pandemic). Now the point is, you will have to understand the strategy of investors to get the much-required amount of funds you need.

Here are four stages of how VCs are likely to respond post-pandemic to help entrepreneurs raise funds:

Stage 1: Going with the Flow

This is the stage where there will be no funding for your idea or business if it is not addressing any problem faced by people due to the lockdown. Right now, we are at this stage only. In this stage, investors will only focus on their survival by supporting companies they are already a part of. There will be no funding for any travel kinda businesses during this stage.

Stage 2: Market Trends Analysis

We’ll move to this stage in a month or two. VCs will start taking meetings again with entrepreneurs, however, their true objective won’t be to recognize potential investment. Rather, they’ll be collecting insight about what’s going on in the market. 

Stage 3: Investing Carefully

This is the stage where VCs will start investing again, but they’ll do so very carefully, and they’ll be looking for various reasons to say no. The pace of investments will be a bit slow in this stage as well and they’ll again be more interested in:

• Ideas that promise fast returns
• Ideas that will be in-demand post-pandemic (e.g. video chat apps or e-learning solutions)

Stage 4: Looking For Opportunities

Once the economy recovers, VCs will start following up on opportunities. Their mentality will change from searching for reasons to say no to searching for reasons to say yes. It will be a sudden shift but we are yet to see what kinda ideas will get the green lights at this stage.

Remember, the stages described above are very generic and not industry-specific. It may be possible that you can get funding in the first stage depending on how strong your idea is or you might not get the funding even in the last stage if your idea lacks practicality.

Also, VCs have different strategies, and their decisions will change depending upon how long ago they received profits. One that closed a new fund not long before the pandemic will have various expectations from their partners than those managing finances that are five or six years old. So, along with your idea, how soon you might get the funds will also depend on the VCs you approach.

Also Read: How to Pitch Your App to Investors in 3 Simple Steps and Get Funded

4. Focus on Building a Productive Timeline

This is one of the best tips for entrepreneurs – doesn’t matter you belong to which industry.

As a budding entrepreneur, you may have a few things you need or want to do after COVID-19, however, doing everything simultaneously may not be realistic. What can help is having a timeline to follow that organizes your most important activities first. 

For instance, your quick objective might be securing funding for your business. When you’ve done that, you can set up a program for re-hiring employees, then comes restocking inventory and, at last, reopening your doors if your venture closed because of the pandemic. 

As you step toward recovery mode, make sure to keep a track of your progress. This is especially important if you’ve recently secured funding for your business as you don’t want to waste time on operations that don’t deliver a solid return on investment. 

In the underlying phases of COVID-19 recovery, you might need to check weekly to see what’s working and what’s not. Later, you can move to explore your business financials monthly as things balance out. 

5. There is a Fine-Line Between In-Demand and On-Demand

And you can be the winner in whatever you are! If you are one of the lucky ones and you happen to be in a business delivering in-demand products amid crisis, you have hit the jackpot. 

However, be sure to use the jackpot wisely as too much of something can kill you. So be all set to look for new partnerships or make modifications in your production line to fulfill the surging demand. Confronting the COVID-19 situation and the difficulties it presents, we just have two choices: to innovate and survive or shut down.

On the other hand, if your business is not in-demand – you can opt for On-Demand (This is the best way to survive in this weak economy). For example, if you own a grocery store and you are selling less because of foot traffic dwindling to stop the spread of CoronaVirus – you can opt for the delivery model. All you need is an all-in-one Grocery Delivery Solution with robust features that can help you deliver your products at the doorsteps of your customers. 

If you are willing to opt the on-demand model for your business – doesn’t matter you belong to which industry vertical – Apptunix can help you shift to it in less than three days with its feature-rich on-demand products.

To know more about our tech-solutions, contact us!

6. Don’t Let the Pandemic Shake Your Focus On Customers

If you are in B2C vertical, keep in mind that your most important stakeholder as of now is your customers who are craving a new and personalized customer experience in these tough times. 

Therefore, the questions you need to answer in the first place now are not the following:

• How can I grab market share?
• How can I grab funding?
• How do I boost my revenue?

The first question you should ask yourself is, “How should I support my customers right now in a human, meaningful, and smart way?” Even before the pandemic, the stats by PWC research revealed why human touch is crucial for businesses to sustain in the coming years:

And presently, people are struggling to navigate the “New Normal” and they need a human touch even more than before. For example, making decisions while buying essential items online without having the option to try or see them in person could be hard for a few. 

The same is true for getting advice, studying, or solving problems online. No matter in which industry you are – if you are a brand with the coolest products or most expensive marketing campaigns you might not have an advantage compared with those that exhibit emotional intelligence and speak with honesty, care, and love with their customers to win their trust.

7. Be Prepared For the Next Crisis | One of the Best Tips for Entrepreneurs

Remember that the effect of the actions you make today will most likely outlast the pandemic and faith you build will stay with your business forever.

While the coronavirus pandemic may appear to be a once in a blue moon event, actually a crisis can come anytime to disrupt your business. Utilizing the lessons you’ve learned during the COVID 19 pandemic to get ready for the next crisis can assist you with protecting your business from future stuns. 

For example, developing funds might be a priority for your business now if you had pretty much nothing or little put aside before the COVID-19 outbreak started. In addition to it, you may consider the following points:

• Think about lowering your spending and keep a check on your budget 
• Keep a track of your debts and don’t go beyond what you can’t afford
• Help your employees work more productively to cut operating costs
• Incorporate process like working from home in your business model
• Be prepared for the worst and then readjust if situations improve

The more out-of-the-box you think to prepare and predict for what may come next for your business – the better it will be to keep it running smoothly. Always have many, not just one plan to improve the chances of survival for your business during the tough times.

It’s a Wrap

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to reexamine the manner in which we address business-related challenges and get ready for what’s next.

It is really encouraging to know that even in the midst of this pandemic, a number of innovative startups like Byju’s, Zoom, Houseparty, Udemy, and many others are leading the way and are setting the examples for others to thrive. So, if they can, you too can. Just stand tall and let’s hit the ground running post-pandemic.