REMODELLINGYOUR BUSINESS

FOR TOUGH TIMES

A guide on how small businessowners and entrepreneurs canbuild a ‘crisis proof’ business

REMODELINGYOUR BUSINESSFOR TOUGH TIMES

A guide on how small businessowners and entrepreneurs canbuild a ‘crisis proof’ business

TEBOGO SELEBI

- Introduction

- New Normal Dynamics

- Sales Strategy (Digital Marketing & E-commerce)

- Remodeling your Business

- Financial Projections & Budgeti Budgeting

- Employees (Who to hire)

- Conclusion

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Contents

Now is also the time to press ‘reset’ and holistically look at your business to see how you can improve it and make it more sustainable and stronger than ever before.

Most of us are anxious during this time because of a lot of uncertainty that we’re faced with but I have seen that we’re all to a certain extent worried and thinking of the same things which I want to address in this eBook.

I will be I will be touching on the 5 strategies which I believe we must all work on for our businesses to not only survive this crisis but to also come out stronger on the other end, and they are:

• Understanding the new normal • Sales strategies to implement • Remodeling your business• Financial forecasting and budgeting •• Which people to employ

Life as we know it will no longer be the same; we will have to adapt to the ‘new normal’. Our businesses and how we run them will also effectively change, forever. Welcome, to my eBook which will seek to speak to all Entrepreneurs, SME’s Owners and Small Business Owners which will highlight how to survive this global crisis and hopefully any other one that may arise in the future.

““it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”

-Charles R. Darwin

Due Due to the coronavirus, people will be forced to respond and embrace digital transformation, e-commerce and artificial intelligence. I’m sure by now, most businesses are beginning to understand that the bullet is already headed their way, and unless they innovate and adapt fast enough, it could hit them.

This pandemic might just prove to be the push we all needed to embrace and respond to the fourth industrial revolution; this is going to be the beginning of man and robot working together, hand in hand.

What does the “New Normal” Look Like?Covid-19 has caused global chaos and we are now witnessing an uncharted series of events that none of us has ever experienced before. From the way we socialise, the way we work, the way we learn and the way we live our lives is changing – leaving many to wonder when things might revert to normal.

While While everyone is very anxious to go back to their normal life, there is one thing that most people may have already figured out – many things will never be the same again. Covid-19 could transform the world at work, the businesses we use and the way we live.

AAs we are all aware, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has cancelled all social and religious gatherings and have encouraged we practice social distancing meaning we are more drawn into virtual alternatives using platforms such as television, video conference and social media to substitute the old traditional methods and activities.

NNow, ultimately it goes without saying that more businesses must now find new ways to reach and service their clients, sell to their potential customers and communicate effectively and timely to their staff; meaning if you are a product business you need to focus on establishing a stronger e-commerce site; more businesses must now consider going online (getting a website and social media accounts) to reach more potential customers, more business will have to take up subscriptions of cloud and video conferencing softwares that will allow remote wowork and easy team communication.

Yes, the National Lockdown has had a very negative impact on the sales of your business. But now is not the time you stop selling but in fact, now is the time you start to implement newer and more innovate ways to get business. Now is the time to implement new sales strategies, I have mentioned below 5 strategies that I believe will definitely have a noticeable effect on your sales during this time and in the future:

1. If you are not selling online, now is the time to start. Product businesses must use the time to establish a strong e-commerce store and service businesses must now use this time to ensure that their websites have the functionality that allows online client sign ups.

2. Seek newer opportunities for your business; solve clients’ current problems by creating new products and work on creating relevant services which you can provide during this time.

3.3. Product businesses must offer free delivery and service businesses must offer free consultations. You would rather lose delivery and consultation costs than lose a valuable client.

4. All businesses must offer discounts to attract more clients, product businesses must sell in bulk.

5.5. Capitalise on underpriced and easily accessible advertising campaigns by advertising on social media. Almost everybody has one or more social media account and because of Lockdown most people are frequently on their phones going through either YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter and/ or LinkedIn, meaning now your clients are more accessible than ever.

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How to sell during a crisis

‘Crisis proof’ your business model BusiBusiness has changed, perhaps forever, due to the coronavirus. Once we emerge from this crisis, business owners must reinvent their product offerings and how they run their businesses to survive in the post-coronavirus economy in three steps: collaboration, diversification and building multiple revenue streams. There’ll be a major shift in market needs and many businesses must shape and change their service offering and businesses completely.

A big A big part of being an entrepreneur is being able to take financial risks (calculated ones, though) in hope of making a profit, and now is no different. You must be willing to take a risk in order to get a reward, it is indeed much challenging to hear this when you have already established a successful and sustainable business but as this global pandemic has proven to you that it might have not been wise for you to put all your eggs in one basket.

If If your business survives the crisis, which I hope it does, then the first thing to do is to see how to create a business model which will have as little risk to succumbing to a crisis going forward. The most important thing to remember right now is that almost everyone is going through the same thing as you which is more reason why business owners need to establish a culture of collaborating amongst themselves more in the future. Collaboration is truly the new innovation.

DiDiversify your business as much as possible. If you were a business-to-business (B2B) before the pandemic, then start finding ways to be a business-to-consumer (B2C) business as well so you can able to sell to as much people you can as possible. Because remember the more times you purchase a raffle ticket, the higher your chances of winning the prize.

BuildiBuilding multiple streams of income isn’t as easy as it sounds, it sometimes can make you lose focus on your main business because it looks like you a ‘jack of all trades and a master of none’ which sometimes works against you as a business owner and an entrepreneur. A typical example however of adding a revenue stream to your business is if you are a manufacturer of a certain product or item then you might also extend your services by manufacturing for other businesses that need a similar prproduct/item to what you manufacture or if you are a service provider then you might also consider being a commissioned reseller of products that your clients might need but your business doesn’t or cannot offer.

This is business unusual; we are in a new environment and we need to prepare accordingly for it. After all, you can’t use an old map to go through a newly established destination.

Financial budgeting & planning for tough times

WWe have unfortunately seen many big businesses openly come out and say that they won’t be reopening at all after the national lockdown, some have applied for voluntary business rescue and/or voluntary liquidation. This shows the importance of having a forecast/budget and why you need to stick to it. This also shows the importance of having a contingent liability fund put in place in your business, ultimately ’saving for rainy days.’

MaMany businesses will incur catastrophic losses in this financial year after reopening due to the fact that many businesses will be recovering from the losses experienced during lockdown and because of having to repay creditors and lending institutions after the ‘payment holidays’ have elapsed.

UnUnfortunately, many businesses will shut down due the fact that they were not able to receive Relief funds from the Government due to non-compliance. This also highlights the importance of having an accountant or tax specialist cost in your forecast/budget so that you are able to be assisted with compliance and other business-related services.

FFinancial projections must be re-looked at, budgets must be adjusted according to the reality of the slow economic activity that is anticipated due to the fact that many people will be out of jobs and/ or priorities will be shifting because of the fact that Moody’s and other ratings agency have downgraded South Africa’s credit rate to ‘junk status’, meaning most consumers are expected to spend less money on leisure, social activities and more of their income going totowards taxes. Business owners must make the tough decision of cutting costs and reprioritising funds to go to other business functions that will possibly contribute positively to their top and eventually bottom line.

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Which people to hire, and why This This topic is often the most sensitive to speak about because every business owner values and needs their staff. Times like these however have shown most of us that we could make use of less employees in our companies not because they're entirely obsolete but because there’s some functions of theirs that softwares, apps and systems can easily take care of. The skill set that was relevant in the past is not relevant in the present and is unlikely to be relevant in ththe future.

It is no secret that many entrepreneurs themselves have gone to the internet to look for solutions and answers during this time and have stumbled upon many apps, softwares and even sometimes an opportunity to up-skill themselves. And because of this many employees and suppliers will have to be laid off.

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has redefined the world of work, how we do business and it makes sense that we need to do things differently by abandoning the old, tried-and-tested, traditional methods. This pandemic was the push we all needed to adapt and take up digital transformation at a faster pace than what we might have expected.

Due Due to our country’s high unemployment figures and a tough economic climate, todays employees can’t just be focused on finding and retaining their jobs. Because of that, job descriptions are going to be far more comprehensive than just the title that employees hold as they won’t only be performing roles related to their fields of study. Employees are going to have to perform collaboratively within teams and work on various projects, wearing different hats.

It It would be an hyperbole to say that robots will replace human beings in the workplace but we’ve also seen McDonalds implement self-service system kiosks in most of their stores across the country, this has resulted in an obvious loss of jobs but it also raises the question of which people need to be hired to survive the current workplace environment and below are the top ten skills that employees today must possess according to skillsportal:

• Complex problem solving• Critical thinking • Creativity • People management • Emotional intelligence • Coordinating well with others and systems •• Good judgment and decision making • Service orientation • Cognitive flexibility• Negotiation

I think I think we can all agree now that a qualification is no longer enough to survive the current economic climate as the world is changing and very rapidly so, you need people in your team that will be able to create and add value to your organisation. The question is no longer ‘what paper do you have?’ but rather ‘what problems can you solve?’, ‘what value can you add?’ And ‘what skills do you possess?’. It's imperative to remember that you're as ststrong as your weakest team member.

In conclusion, the ideas in this eBook have been derived from the conversations that I have had with my various clients, watched on webinars, read in articles and discussions held amongst industry peers. These are well thought ideas and opinions. You may agree or disagree and maybe add your own. This is not a blanket approach as every entrepreneur’s journey is different form the next.

I I hope that these ideas, thoughts and opinions will be well received and will help you and your business now and in the future.

Always remember that we will overcome this, but we must act accordingly to do so.

“There are two options; Adapt or Die”- Andy Grove

tebogoselebi Tebogo Selebi TebogoSelebi Tebogo Selebi

I am an Entrepreneur, Business Consultant and registered Business Accountant (SA).

I’m tI’m the group MD of TMMBS Conglomerate and the Senior Associate Partner of TMMBS Inc. Having gone from building what was once a small accounting practice from the township of Kagiso to have it being a 7 figure revenue- generating, verified World Class African Owned Consulting Firm based in the RiRichest Square Mile of Africa, Sandton in a little under 3 years.

A lot of the success of the firm can be hugely attributed to the very same things that people are finding as “adjustments” today.

I have included just 5 business lessons that I have learned from my journey in building a professional services firm in our very difficult economic climate which I suggest you also implement in your business:

1. Two brains are always better than one; The success of TMMBS is equally owed to my Business Partner and Co-founder, Mr Tshepo Moses Mosiedi. It's very important to have a business partner or at least someone you can always bounce your ideas off, someone to help you carry the load of the business. Partnerships increase your lease of knowledge, expertise and mostly resources. I highly recommend.

22. Embrace technology as it will save you time and money on labour costs; Technology is made available to create efficient solutions to your complex issues not ‘to replace humans’ so you must always learn, adapt so that you can grow. Technology is a tool that can greatly help with the growth of your business, use it.

3.3. Prioritise productivity and efficiency over attendance; Many businesses are finding remote work to be an inconvenience and that’s mostly because they don’t value productivity and efficiency but rather value attendance but this time has shown that most employees can deliver whilst working from home, so if some members of your team can work from home from time to time then let them. But put set strict measures on deadlines.

44. Work on your business instead of working in your business; This is mostly for those with a team. If you have a team then learn to trust the training you have put your employees through and don’t always micromanage them. This will allow you to have more time to meet with clients and deeper understand them and their problems so you can always offer much needed solutions, meet with relevant stakeholders and help you to focus on growing your business. You can’t grow your business whilst also busy doing the work.

5.5. Focus on building something that will last; Businesses that are built with a legacy in mind tend to outgrow and last longer than businesses that are started off fads and trends. Understand that your business is what you make it and build to be, set targets and milestones for your business that stretch over years instead of unrealistic short term ‘get rich quick’ approaches. The more you prepare your business for the future, the likely it is to exist in the coming years. Great things really do take time. Be patient with your business in the long term but work profusely on it in the short term.

TEBOGO SELEBI BA(SA) SENIOR ASSOCIATE PARTNER

OF TMMBS INC.