Every disaster comes with a bag full of opportunities, therefor it’s upon the individual to grab those opportunities with both the hands.

As the Unlock 1.0 is underway, more and more businesses are now being open to people. After close to 2 + months of lockdown, life is slowly getting back to normal. On the contrary the number of covid positive cases is increasing day by day and in the last 24 hours the number has touched to 9304.

This clearly states that the responsibility is on each and every citizen of our country to protect ourselves by following the minutest covid precautions which in turn helps other people as well.

Being an entrepreneur myself, I was a bit unclear on what will the way forward for me and for my fellow entrepreneurs. I had so many questions in my mind-

• How will my employees react?
• How will the customers react?
• How will our suppliers and vendors react?

The receivables are held up, stocks are piling up and so many things are happening at a rather quick pace than usual.

Therefore I decided to first get my thoughts right, focus on what is right at the moment and get my priorities right. Here are some of the points which I thought are very much important for an entrepreneur to focus on-

• Self-Motivation:

The person who is running the show should be clear on what he wants to do next. He simply can’t sit and worry about what has happened and keep worrying about the road ahead. As there is a saying, every disaster comes with a bag full of opportunities, therefor it’s upon the individual to grab those opportunities with both the hands.

An entrepreneur has a very strong mental strength and he should make use of that to get him out of the hole he is in. Covid has created a huge economic and health catastrophe like never before. But anything is smaller in front of the determination of an entrepreneur. I truly believe that entrepreneurs can bounce back but it takes huge amount of work and determination for that. 

Think as every day is a learning experience and work on new possibilities. This will surely boost your confidence and make you work in a newer way.

• Customer Trust:

When compared with a normal food delivery company or an e-commerce company the logistics of a Laundry business is quite different. In this sector the delivery executive should visit the customer’s place twice for the same order. 

He has to visit the customer’s place for pickup, take the garments back to the processing center. The garments should again be delivered back to the customers place. Effectively for one single order the delivery executive should visit the customer’s place twice. 

In case the customer wants to rewash the clothes then again the logistics doubles.

Therefore it is the responsibility of the Laundry business to build trust in their customers. Delivery Executives should be wearing all the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), use hand sanitizers, diligently follow social distancing at the time of pickup and delivery of the garments. 

Factory staff should also follow the necessary precautions while processing the garments. So, if the businesses show the customer that their backend processing is safe and secure then they will not hesitate to place the orders.

The processing of clothes will also change as there might be some 2-3 new additional new steps. This will definitely increase the price as the new steps like sanitization of clothes and others will come with a cost. Therefore an entrepreneur should be able to convey his customer, why the prices have be increased and how it benefits everyone involved.

Hence, the top most priority is building trust in the customer

• Employees Trust:

Employees are like the back bone of any company. The priority of the employer is to educate the employees on how to keep themselves at bay from the Covid. Employer should design a set of rules and regulations in line with Covid precautions and make sure that his/her people will follow them diligently without any goofing up.

An ENTREPRENEUR is just like a FATHER who heads his family. A father should take proper care of his wife, children and safeguard them from all the negative circumstances. In a similar way an entrepreneurs should also take proper care of his employees, customers, suppliers, vendors and all the other stake holders and see to it that everyone is in good shape with all the decisions he makes.

The decisions he makes will instill confidence in all the stake holders and in turn brings trust in all of them.

• Business:

As these are still the early days of unlocking the businesses, it takes time for everyone to get back on their feet. Entrepreneurs should have hope and keep looking for newer opportunities and possibilities on how to get their businesses up and running.

It is a bitter as well as a sweet experience. Some of us who can afford it are not really unhappy to be at home. But when we see what is happening around us with both businesses and the masses, it is certainly more bitter than sweet. 

Every day brings a new learning on how to cope with the challenges that are thrown at us, whether in terms of business, in terms of one’s own mental strength and also in medical terms.

If an entrepreneur diligently follows and invests his time and money in the first 3 points then there is no need for him to invest in marketing his product or service. Word of Mouth (WoM) will spread like wild fire and business will automatically increase and will surpass his expectations!

Therefore I would like to end by saying that-

‘Bacteria, Viruses, Disasters will come go or stay with us, but it is the trait of an entrepreneur to adapt to the situations and see light at the end of the tunnel’

For more information,

People can get in touch with me in LinkedIN, Facebook, Instagram

PK,

PK Enterprises.