You didn’t plan for COVID-19, but now it is here, you must fight to survive it, writes Thomas Koulopoulos for Inc.
You had just started a business. Things were going well. Then… coronavirus hit. You are not alone.
“COVID-19 is a stress test for many of our social institutions. However, it is also a personal stress test for you at an incredibly personal level,” writes Thomas Koulopoulos, founder of Delphi Group.
Koulopoulos, an entrepreneur with 30 years’ experience who has started two companies in the midst of recessions, has four tips for surviving the COVID-19 crisis.
1) Keep moving. Pause. Take a breath. Regain your composure. Now, this is happening, you can’t hide from it. You must act.
“The illusion we succumb to is that by not moving we are avoiding risk. You’re not, because you are still allowing the current to carry you, and the current does not have your best interests in mind,” writes Koulopoulos.
What could happen? Develop multiple future scenarios and plan for them.
Can’t boost profits? Cut costs.
2) Keep investing in the long term. Don’t look back, dreaming of what could have been, or dwell on your present struggles. Now is the time to invest in the future – of your business, of your staff and of yourself.
3) You’re not the average. Be confident. You have started a business. You have proved yourself. You have the DNA of an entrepreneur. Ignore the doomsayers and focus on what you are capable of.
“You have the guts and the courage to walk this tightrope without a safety net,” writes Koulopoulos.
4) Reach out. Focus on building a formidable network. In business, as in life, it is often who you know that leads to the most beneficial opportunities.
THIS IS NORMAL
COVID-19 is a once-in-a-lifetime event (hopefully), but for entrepreneurs, uncertainty is permanent. Learn to embrace it, and you will thrive.
“You’ve decided to be an entrepreneur at a time when most people would run for their lives in the opposite direction. Like it or not, that is the world that you will have to succeed in,” writes Koulopoulos.