As the global pandemic took hold, the world’s top strategists and policymakers put forward drastic measures to look after citizens’ health, preventing as many people as possible from being struck by the deadly virus Covid-19.
But, with instructions like “Work from home if you can” many businesses, and a number of industries to be truthful, came crashing to their knees. And now we must turn our attention to our respective countries’ economic health.
There are a whole host of industries who were affected almost immediately by nationwide lockdowns. The travel and tourism industries were hit first and hit the hardest. But soon afterward they were closely followed by the hospitality industry, as restaurants, cafes and bars were forced to close their doors.
Schemes to keep employees with an income and, in all hope, a job to come back to, were put in place by governments. Furlough.
But of course, no measure put in place could possibly enable us to maintain the utopia many of us were previously living. And of course many people fell through the cracks. Jobs were lost. Businesses were shut down.
Even more wealthy UK retailers reported losses going into the millions. While many owners of many small businesses were forced to adapt if they could, or shut up shop if not. For many businesses, the measures taken to defeat coronavirus were a death sentence.
Now a coronavirus recession looms ahead. To quote the New York Times, “Fears are growing that the worldwide economic downturn could be especially deep and lengthy”. And to quote The Economist, “Covid-19 causes Britain’s fastest economic contraction on record.
Government borrowing is rocketing, undoing a decade’s work to shrink the deficit.”
So, it sounds quite bleak doesn’t it? Especially with a second wave now upon many areas in the West.
But, you know, what? Here’s another quote for you: ““When you can’t change the direction of the wind – adjust your sails”. That’s a quote by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
And it’s true, businesses can sometimes find a way to adapt and keep going, even in the most strenuous circumstances. Sure, you may have to do a lot of things differently, and maybe even think outside the box. But it can be done.
Some businesses, limited companies in particular, decided that the most appropriate action to take is to reduce the workforce and lay people off. And some businesses bought up other, smaller companies, and sold their assets. Because, as they say “Cash is king”.
But, that’s not the socially responsible way to deal with the situation.
In order to form a resilience to recession companies and venture capitalists need to focus on the long term, rather than coming up with quick fire solutions that only help in a more immediate time frame. It’s about continuity and saving jobs, not about going into business with an exit strategy in mind.
Businesses need investment now more than it has done for many decades previous. Perhaps more so now than any time within living memory. But even banks are more reluctant to loan money to businesses, so how is an entrepreneur going to gain the investment they need?
If you’ve ever seen an episode of Shark Tank in the USA, or Dragon’s Den in the UK, or a similar variation in another country, (if you haven’t heard of them click here), then you will have seen first hand how much goes into pitching for investment and how investors can really put the entrepreneurs in their places.
And, to be frank, many investors are looking for the full package.
Javad Marandi, the investor behind Soho Farmhouse, Anya Hindmarch, Emilia Wickstead, The Conran Shop, is the kind of investor that you might want to attract, offering the kind of patient capital that understands that return on investments may take time in times such as these.
But, going back to Dragon’s Den and the like, investors are generally looking for businesses that are scalable. That with the right kind of strategy behind them can take their product offering to the next level, really expand their reach, and see their turnover soar.
But very often to attract investment, venture capitalists usually like to see a company who can do very well anyway without their input. Investors are there to make money, not to take unnecessary risks or give handouts.
In terms of attracting investors, entrepreneurs need to prove many things about their business besides scalability: a gap in the market, something that can’t easily be copied, decent profit margins, and actual sales.
The trouble often lies in getting these actual sales. A person who might have a great idea for a product or service, is not necessarily going to have a great background in branding and marketing.
And sometimes you get the opposite problem, people with great salesmanship, who would make fantastic entrepreneurs can be hindered by being paired up with a product or service that’s not going to sell.
That’s why it’s all about partnering up and getting the right people behind you, so you have something to showcase for your business pitch. If becoming the full package means taking extra people on board then so be it.
Getting people behind you has never been easier. There are all manner of resources you can use to find talent, with LinkedIn and Upwork to name just two sources.
But there is one quality that stands out above all others in an entrepreneur looking for investment. And that’s passion and enthusiasm.
And with a gloomy recession lording over us, the key to displaying such passion and enthusiasm is to genuinely feel it.
And what that means is that you cannot let the fear of an economic downturn to dampen your spark of hope. It is this spark of hope that will guide you to the light at the end of the tunnel.
Sometimes the main key is to find unrivaled uncompromising self belief. When that shines, all shines.
