Revisit your strategies
BE FLEXIBLE: REPOSITION YOUR BUSINESS
Entrepreneurs may have to cut ties with aspects of their business that are no longer viable.
Bulelani Balabala is a young entrepreneur and business speaker. When you speak of the township economy and youth entrepreneur development his name often comes up because he has won numerous awards for his work.
But with how the year 2020 has turned out thus far and the uncertainty for many sectors, people and organisations it has brought, even this resilient entrepreneur is left with little hope of survival.
He is the chief executive of Intercessor Army Franchising, a township-based branding and print manufacturing company.
He has served local and international brands and created employment for a number of young people.
He is also the founder of Township Entrepreneurs Alliance, a non-profit organisation aimed at developing entrepreneurs in informal and rural areas.
However, the global pandemic accelerated the existing challenges he faced, after thieves broke into his business premises in Tembisa, assaulted his staff and stole the businesses equipment. This was just 15 days before the national lockdown.
“We have ceased all operations due to the lockdown...
“The biggest challenge is that even though we are looking at Level 3 that allows us to open, some of our clients are not open because most of our activities are stimulated by activity.
“Now, because there is no social and physical activity taking place, there is no reason to commercially advertise anything,” Balabala said.
But that has not put him down – after all he is known for his slogan “get things done”.
“Considering everything that has happened this year, we have really been using this time [lockdown] to look into taking the digital route, because we … may no longer be able to go back into print and manufacturing,” Balabala said.
He only paid his eight staff members’ salaries until March, and has been waiting for the Unemployment Insurance Fund-Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme benefit from April onwards.
To mitigate the risk to his business he has tried to push out some business solutions in the consulting side of his business.
“The really important thing that any entrepreneur can do right now is to revisit their business model and take things one step at a time,” Balabala said.
The knock has been hard felt because even existing clients, with whom he has retainers, are just not paying at this point.
“So, this whole thing came at a time [when] we were busy restructuring.
“So ... should we go ahead with shutting the branding and manufacturing side, that will really impact on a few employees,” Balabala said.
Author and business leadership coach Musa Nxumalo advises business owners to work towards preserving their finances.
Money coming in must always be bigger than that going out.
“Very few of them know what’s going on with their businesses and are unable to fix things because they do not really know where the [financial] leakages are coming from, “Nxumalo says.
Entrepreneurs should also reignite their passion for business.
“Find alternative ways of how else you can rise above the current circumstances by repositioning yourself in a way that reintroduces the business as an evolved entity that understands the pressing issues right now,” he says.