Like any other entrepreneurs in the region, regardless of industries, all our businesses were badly affected by the invasion of COVID-19. Be it whether you are in the B-to-B or the B-to-C industries, we’re all victims tearing amid the Coronavirus disruption, not knowing where should we proceed with our businesses.
Dead Town – CBD
Since 16th May, we once again geared back to Phase 2 curbs, in view of the spike of the infected numbers in the community cases in the recent weeks. To address that, tighter measures were implemented here in Singapore. With no dining-in at F&B establishments and working from home by default, it literally is a throat-cutting impact to the retailers located in our Central Business District (CBD), as there will no longer be much walk-in traffic and footfall in that area.
Though it was only less than 2 weeks, we can see that many entrepreneurs had started to surrender as the fear was too unpredictable. After months of slow recovery, another sudden drop once again shattered their dreams. Thus, older folks who are not in favour of leveraging on technologies eventually are the majority group of business owners that raised their white flags. However, some seasoned ones who’d been struggling hard were also forced to either downsize, restructure or even end their journey as well. Imagine a restaurant without any walk-in crowd – the owner can’t simply stop the operation as their rental and staffs’ salary will still be mandatory and perishable ingredients will too expire.
Picture courtesy of mothership.sg
Over the past year, many Singapore businesses have been bleeding due to the pandemic. Even retail legends like Robinsons and reputable brands such as our local pride, Naiise, had suffered big losses, resulting in their business closure…
I drove by Raffles Place earlier this week, the entire scene was far from the usual business district that we were familiar with. No jam, no crowd, hence no business transaction ultimately. Will this be the end for the shopfront industry?
An Economy Challenge
On top of that, COVID-19 doesn’t only overturn the majority of the retail businesses, other trades and corporate business services are also facing challenges. Though, unlike the brick and mortar businesses, offices could still proceed with their business collaboration online, without a need for physical presence. Nonetheless, business opportunities are shrinking, as demand was reduced partly in consideration of cash flow and/or cost-saving factors.
As a tiny little red dot on the world map, Singapore corporations need to source opportunities out of the country. But now the contagious outbreak truly forbade business trips, unless you wanted it to be at your own risk. I really hope that’s not going to thin down the relationship between the companies overseas. Will recession crash down on our economy with the unemployment rates shooting up?
What Can We Do
True enough that there’re too many unforeseen situations floating in front of us but COVID-19 isn’t doomsday. Let’s get back on our feet together!
To transform is the only survival possibility and technologies could be one of the possible solutions to further your dreams. Digitalization gives you the capability to reach out and do business very differently. Leverage it and adapt your brick-and-mortar business to have its online presence today.
Having said that, getting your business online, doesn’t make wonders without the support offline. For example; if you are starting to promote your Kueh online, without anyone ever tasting your product, how would the consumers justify the taste of the delicacy? Probably you may wanna try engaging influencers to help you boost your awareness? Or maybe to share your product with a social touch to the community? Which may happen to earn you some PR pieces if your effort triggered their attention. Integrate your marketing strategy well and somehow that will bring some light to your businesses.
Ever since Coronavirus happened a year ago, the Singapore government had been very supportive of being resilient over the situation. They had pushed out numerous kinds of grants in order to help our local SMEs get over this tide. Ask for assistance and I believe that leg-lifters could help you overcome this hurdle.
Never Buy Another White Elephant
Nevertheless, the grant support from the authority is not something new. The scheme started in 2017, where the government saw the need for the nation to be digitized. In spite of that, many local SMEs were spending on solutions that were either redundant to their business performance or not knowing what to do with the white elephant that they had acquired.
“I’d tried digitizing my business but the solution I bought did not actually help us to grow”.
This is a common voice from our fellow entrepreneurs over the years and it was certainly caused by not knowing the right solution for the right pain. Probably, the expectation of the outcomes was not properly being managed. It may be oversold solutions where the SMEs do not know how to move further with, or simply there is no after-sales support or advice after the deal was closed. Thereafter such expenses turned out to be of no value to the owners and discarded aside somewhere within companies.
Right People For Your Problem
To resolve the uncertainty of getting the right solution, together with the support from the government, the best possible way is to seek advice from a relevant certified consultant.
Consultants are certified based on different classifications relevant to their respective industry specialization and experience. Pertaining to business directions, transformations, market positioning, etc, you can approach consultants who are in these field expertise, such as Business Strategy, as well as Branding & Marketing. They will be able to evaluate your situation and propose the right fit to evolve and reposition your businesses.
Situational research and possible venture directions will be shared within the consultation so that you can have a better grasp of what you’ll be expecting, before proceeding any further. Upon grant approval, the respective consultant will also have to be the key person in managing your project progress. Besides, with that, you can easily turn to him/her for any uncertainty regarding your business growth.
To seek advice, BOOK A 1-ON-1 CONSULTATION appointment with our ESG-recognized (Enterprise Singapore) certified consultant and receive Free Digital Ad Credits worth SGD180 today!