Written by Ruchir Punjabi, the co-founder and chief digital officer of Distributed Energy, a company that matches investors with renewable energy projects across Africa, Middle East and India, and the founder of Langoor, which was sold to Havas Group in 2019. He is also a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) UAE chapter. A version of the following article originally appeared on Entrepreneur Middle East. There is a popular meme circulating these days that asks, “Who is responsible for your company’s digital transformation?”
As this joke shows, most businesses are struggling to evolve in the current environment. But as every entrepreneur knows, every crisis offers opportunities, and this one is no different. Before I go into considerations for surviving the current situation, I want to talk about self-care. We all know what the issues are. To analyze, plan and get on top of this, we need to ensure that we are healthy, safe, and in a good mind space. Establish routines, talk to as many people as possible, and make the most of the current situation. Most importantly, focus on things you can control. Empathy and decisiveness are the two key qualities that a crisis like the COVID-19 outbreak needs. Your ability to empathize with people in your business and your key relationships will ensure support and loyalty. Decisiveness towards survival, and later investing, will move the needle forward. Cash Is EverythingFor entrepreneurs, cash is everything right now. There are seven places where you can look for cash in your business:
It is crucial that you work out—given your current revenue and funding (equity + debt) availability—your scenarios, and establish a path forward to optimizing cash. Without knowing your runway, the rest of what I am about to say falls flat. I’m involved with a few boards where we have taken a position of revenue-centric spending. Once we have optimized the expenses and on top of our cash position, we have decided to limit our spending to what will generate revenue—now or in the future. In the now, revenue is about generating leads and retaining clients. To do both, a company needs a customer relationship management (CRM) platform. If you don’t have one, spend the time to set one up inexpensively, and load it with all your customer information. If you don’t have visibility of your pipeline of clients, you are operating blindly. Pipeline, ultimately, makes every business thrive. Once a CRM is set up, first think about how your customers are doing. Empathy for your customers right now will go a long way. Help them with a service or product that they need, regardless of whether you will make money or not. Your support in these difficult times will go a long way in retaining them for life. Engaging clients through knowledge sharing, thoughtful ideas, and proactive support will build a strong, long-lasting relationship. Focus on Growth and InnovationThe other aspect of the pipeline is growth. Can you increase customer lifetime value (LTV)—meaning, can you increase how much they spend with you over time, and can you create new leads for your business? There are a range of marketing channels that cost money, and there are many that do not. You can use the time to optimize your owned media, such as social media, newsletter, blogs, or to even start new content channels like webinars and podcasts. You can pay for ads through Google and social media, but focus your spend on customer acquisition as much as possible. For the future, focus on business model innovation. If your business has taken a beating given the sector that you are in, is it possible to innovate out of this crisis? Primarily, there are three levels of innovation: incremental, sustaining and disruptive. Before elaborating on the innovation, are you clear about your business’ purpose? If you don’t know why you do what you do, the rest of this article may not make sense. If you are clear about the why, the what and how can adapt rapidly. Incremental innovation can be something as small as using what you currently have as products and services, and focusing on sectors that are doing well during this time. A range of essential services like healthcare, e-commerce, gaming, telecom networks, and so on, are thriving right now. Do you sell something already that these sectors need from you? A good example is how hotels are currently offering “quarantine zones” to a range of governments around the world. My former digital agency is focusing on leveraging their B2B clients’ events budgets and helping them reach their customers digitally. Sustaining innovation means adding a product or a service that complements what you do, but is not part of your offering right now. This is where you pivot your business towards serving a market need that you see, that you know how to deliver, and that will need to make business changes. For example, my energy business matches investors with renewable projects. We are now going to launch a fund for renewable energy, so people who are out of the stock market can invest in a different, long-term annuity style product that offers a stable and high return. We will launch this as soon as people have a bit more faith back in the economy. Disruptive innovation is what most people mean when they say innovation. Such innovation usually turns your business upside down. Disintermediation has hit most industries hard in the last decade. What can you do today that will kill your own business model? This is a much more bitter economic pill, but there has never been a better time to do it. The opportunities for disruption often don’t just hurt your business but disrupt the market on the whole with a completely new product service. We have many examples of existing businesses that have achieved this such as with Apple iPhone and Netflix amongst others. Lastly, not all innovation is technological—often, it is business model innovation. Fundamentally, the change is about delivering value. The transformation can also be in the order I outlined where once you embark on the journey, through a range of experiments, you reach the outcome you’re after. A considerable part of this will feel like hell until you try a range of experiments and discover some working. Eventually, they become habits that work and adapt your business to sustain through the crisis. There are many resources available online that help dive deeper in what I have shared. Getting a grip on your business first is the top priority. If you don’t have cash, how can you get to a place of stability first? If you already have stability, then this is an amazing opportunity to transform what you do, and thrive for what is certainly going to be a changed world after this crisis. Ruchir Punjabi has been an EO member since 2014. For more tips on surviving the global crisis, visit the #EOTogether platform. The post Innovation Through Crisis appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2Sf7BN6
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Written by Abdul Wahab Al-Halabi, partner, Decker & Halabi, and member, Entrepreneurs’ Organization UAE. A version of the following article originally appeared on Entrepreneur Middle East. As an entrepreneur in the UAE, I have been in consumer-facing industries, such as leisure, food and beverage and fitness. As everyone knows, ever since the coronavirus pandemic hit us, most of these businesses have gone from making money to generating almost zero revenue, across the board, in a matter of weeks. It is one thing to deal with challenging business environments, but it’s a totally different discussion when you are no longer able to operate your enterprise at all. These are some of the key thoughts and decisions that have been on my mind as I looked at my entrepreneurial ventures: 1. CASHAs soon as you see yourself heading to a zero-revenue situation, it is time to assess how much cash you have in the bank, and calculate how long you can last with it. If you take the decision not to fold your business, then you have to develop several scenarios of how long the shut-down will be for, and what the ramp up will look like afterwards. In our case, we did just that. We also had a very brutal look at our costs. We stopped all payments while we did this, and then had very hard conversations with all of our landlords, suppliers and creditors. It’s good to see that the government has been extremely supportive, and that has been shown in the attitudes of lenders. However, in our industry, leverage isn’t common, and we do have debt. At the end of the day, the primary objective of this exercise was to figure out how we could be still standing on our feet when the fog lifts. 2. PEOPLEConsumer-facing businesses like ours employ a lot of people, mostly lower paid, and with slim management overheads. Retaining talent is important; however, when you are in as hard a situation as we are now, that has to be ranked alongside the overall business’ survival. The key elements we took into account here were in the following order of priority:
3. BUSINESS MODELSIt is sometimes hard to look at an industry and think how you can do it differently when you are not even allowed to operate. Even so, we looked harder. We have found that much creativity comes out of need. We have been able to keep one business alive in the fitness industry by completely changing what it does and how it does it, to actually generate income to keep the business alive. 4. MOTIVATIONIt is easy to roll over, and simply wait for the storm to pass. By nature, though, entrepreneurs like us just don’t know how to do that. There are many dark moments, and it is important to keep focused, no matter what the other side looks like. After all, we exist not just for ourselves, but a whole array of stakeholders, including partners, team members, investors and others, and we need to keep up the good fight. All of us have read many books written on grit and resilience, and now is the time to put all of that learning into practice. So, what’s the future going to look like?I predict that many business models will change, and entire sectors in some industries will not exist when this is all over. Further, the ramp up following the end of this crisis, and people’s behavior after this period, will be very different. This will create numerous opportunities for investors, and I’m spending most of my time now thinking about what the world will look like after this is over, and what role I would like to play in it. Abdul Wahab Al-Halabi is a partner at Decker & Halabi, a global advisory firm. He joined EO UAE in 2019. Members of EO: Visit the #EOTogether platform often for the latest resources and insights. The post A Survival Kit for Entrepreneurs, From the Consumer-Facing Sector appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/3cPFeNl As the US stretches to nearly a full month of a pandemic-related economic shutdown, the number of people who filed for unemployment benefits has reached more than 26 million. Lines at food banks recall images captured during the Great Depression. Today’s pictures are in color and depict expanses of cars or casually dressed people donning masks. Among these grim images and disheartening statistics, however, optimism shines through. Stories of organizations and innovators choosing to do the right thing in the hardest time provide hope. In early April 2020, larger financial institutions including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup, vowed to hold off on making layoffs. Even smaller organizations are committing to keep staff on. Not surprisingly if you’re familiar with the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), plenty of these organizations are led by EO members. The Launch of a Global InitiativeIn April 2020, Alex Yastrebenetsky and fellow leaders at his organization, InfoTrust, decided to launch a No Layoff Pledge which will last through 1 July 2020. A member of the EO Cincinnati chapter, Alex explains, “We stick by our employees, their families and the communities in which they live and work—in the good times and the tough times.” No furloughs and no layoffs, through one of the greatest economic downturn in US history? Stop for a moment and consider the impact, starting with one employee. One employee who can afford rent, who can assume the financial burden and allow another parent to stay home with kids, who continues shopping at the local grocery store or even buying a daily coffee—from a safe distance—at the locally owned café. The effects amplify. But Alex decided to take his idea even further, encouraging other business owners to make the same pledge. “We, as entrepreneurs, are hearing about layoffs from everywhere. It’s up to us to set an example of a different way. We need to create a peer group of people committing to not laying off employees and support each other through these crazy times.” The No Layoff Pledge has gone viral, spreading from tech companies in the US Midwest to businesses in Canada, Pakistan and Nigeria. At last count, there are 50 CEOs who have committed to the pledge and Alex is aiming for 100 by 1 May 2020. Many of these CEOs are part of the EO community of entrepreneurs—including Tim Rettig, CEO of Intrust IT, Erin Arnold, CEO of NextStep Networking, Kristin McLane, president of CIMx.
Kristin Mclane says the decision may have been easier for her than other CEOs. “We’ve been in business 24 years. You can imagine that we have survived a number of downturns. Our employees have stood by us the whole way, so I felt compelled to assure them that it would be okay, that we would have their back,” explains the EO member. She goes on to share, “After we made the announcement, our newest employee posted his gratitude to LinkedIn, saying ‘I couldn’t be more proud to work for someone who works so hard for their employees. They took a chance on a recently separated veteran and I’m honestly blessed to work for them.’ That’s all I needed to know that I had made the right decision.” Hussain Ahmad Fazal, an EO Lahore member and director at the Hussain Group, explains his choice to join the pledge, saying “We’re trying hard to keep people. Money can come and go, but humanity is a bigger thing.” The Opportunity to Do the Right ThingDuring these unprecedented times, entrepreneurs are taking extraordinary opportunities to practice caring capitalism. Whether it’s a commitment to keep staff, an offer of free services, or the launch of a program to deliver PPEs, the very best of today’s founders and innovators make choices to show up with solutions and support, and not simply sit on the sidelines. How can you make an impact today? Will you join the No Layoff Pledge? The post Entrepreneurs Around the World Make the No Layoff Pledge appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/3bCrIMY EO members are helping to drive the MillionLives.org project, which aims to deliver Personal Protective Equipment to front-line health workers. Written for EO by Molly Nur. Our body’s natural response to danger is always the same: fight, flight or freeze. Several EO members have banded together and are responding to the COVID-19 crisis with a fight of epic proportions. Their goal is to mitigate the risk to millions of lives around the world. Here’s how. In early March, when the COVID crisis hit the US, Andy Steggles of EO DC was completing the final part of Harvard Business School’s Owner/President Management (OPM) programme. Harvard shut down the campus, sent students home, and postponed classes and graduation. Before leaving campus, Andy and his fellow students discussed a variety of ways they might help with the many challenges the pandemic brought. They realized their collective global network was their biggest strength and decided to start from there. After returning home, Andy was in constant contact with several classmates who had similar ideas, some of which had direct connections with factories manufacturing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and others had connections or experience related to various logistical barriers. The lack of sufficient PPE supplies for front-line health workers emerged as the problem the group was best positioned to address. Together, they created a campaign, named their project MillionLives.org, reached out to their network, started a Go Fund Me campaign and within a week raised over US$100,000. EO members: Visit the #EOTogether platform often for the latest webinars and resources. Andy’s company, Higher Logic, provides organizations with customer and member engagement software, to allow members or customers to engage and collaborate with each other. While that’s a far cry from manufacturing masks, gloves and goggles, he didn’t need manufacturing capability. Instead, he brought his expertise around large group collaboration as well as his contacts to the MillionLives.org initiative—and other team members brought theirs. The group moved quickly to respond to medical personnel’s immediate needs starting in six countries—Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay and the United States. These were locations where the MillionLives.org initiative had team members in place, connections, and from where a significant portion of the donations originated. Currently, the MillionLives.org leadership team includes about 120 people from 33 countries. Although it began with a cohort of HBS students, it quickly expanded. The effort involves several EO members, including Jose Alberto Berrondo, EO Queretaro and Alex Mehedff, EO Rio de Janeiro, in addition to members of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), and representatives from other leading institutions. Everyone involved is a business owner, many are entrepreneurs, and all are committed MillionLives.org volunteers. Focused on the vision of helping to prevent millions of people from becoming infected with the coronavirus, the team developed a clear mission: To source certified PPE materials from major suppliers and deliver them to medical facilities, virus epicentres and strategic distribution centres, with little to no overhead costs. Operating from the ethos, “#MillionsThatMatter” the MillionLives.org leaders are overcoming numerous logistical, financial and regulatory challenges to move supplies to where they are needed most. Some medical facilities had money, but suppliers were unable to reach them through traditional channels. Some were overwhelmed with offers of masks, gowns, and protective gear, but the offers were either not genuine or the quality of the materials was substandard. Sometimes the supplies simply were not reaching their destinations fast enough to keep up with exponential demand. In other cases, the taxes incurred on importing PPE-related equipment were overwhelming for facilities that urgently needed more supplies than they ever had before. In other situations, the cost rose dramatically from the original negotiated price, or the supplies had been snatched up by another facility. One by one, the MillionLives.org team has addressed the problems and found solutions guided by strong ethics, transparency, collaboration and optimizing resource allocation to the best of their ability. They are learning as they go, and each delivery is both a celebration and an opportunity to reflect on and refine the process for the next time. MillionLives.org is trying many different approaches. Some of their supplies are purchased, and some are donated. They try to verify standards or certification of materials themselves to ease the burden on hospitals. Sometimes the team moves forward with verbal pricing agreements instead of waiting on written contracts to expedite the process and get the supplies to medical personnel faster. They are trying to deliver supplies directly, reduce risks for the medical facilities, and use donations and donated gear to expedite delivery by accepting payment after the fact and use the funds to buy gear for the next site. The fact that many on the leadership team are entrepreneurs is no surprise. “Most entrepreneurs are by their very nature, creative, innovative thinkers,” explains Andy. Everyone involved, he elaborates, is doing what they can locally with their own skillset and resources, collaborating with new players, and responding quickly to changing conditions and requirements, all while keeping their focus on the MillionLives.org goal: Expanding the ability to address urgent PPE needs in a variety of settings. MillionLives.org has accomplished something unbelievable―an international network providing both exceptional service and delivery of large quantities of life-saving supplies, using an all-volunteer model. While much of the world is isolating at home, they are facing and resolving continuous, monumental logistical challenges to deliver life-saving materials during a worldwide pandemic. Their first shipments arrived at approximately 30 locations in Ecuador, Mexico, Boston, Washington, DC and New York. Since launching the Million Lives initiative on 26 March, they have donated and delivered about 8,000 N95-quality level masks and other PPE items and have about 30,000 more currently en route to hospitals, clinics, first responder organizations, and government agencies around the world. So, what exactly is the leadership team of MillionLives.org doing to achieve such success?
What’s next? Andy says, “We’ve broadened our initial goal and are now working toward raising US$5 million by focusing on donations from global businesses and business leaders. We’re also looking at other areas where we might be able to mitigate the COVID-19 related impact, such as senior living communities or other areas that cater for the most at-risk groups.” So we ask: What is your expertise? And who could you work with to creatively address some aspect of this crisis? We all matter, and we all can help. You can reach the MillionLives.org project at [email protected] The post Handfuls Helping Millions During COVID-19 appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2xQNNsk As uncertainty swirls around how long the COVID-19 crisis is going to last, many businesses are temporarily shuttered. The definition of “temporarily” is yet another unknown. Without knowing how long the crisis will continue, it’s critical to get a handle on your company’s funding needs. We spoke with Greg Crabtree, chair of EO@Wharton Executive Education program, to gain insights on how to plan during these uncertain times. Greg Crabtree is a speaker, author, entrepreneur and financial expert. Greg founded his own firm, Crabtree, Rowe and Berger, to focus on helping entrepreneurs build their economic engine. After being named to the Inc. 5000 list for 2019, Greg’s firm merged with Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors, a top 25 U.S. accounting firm, ranked by Accounting Today. Greg is currently the organization’s partner-in-charge of their Huntsville, Alabama office. In 2011, Greg’s first book, Simple Numbers, Straight Talk, Big Profits shares his core principles of how to turn your business into a wealth-building engine. In 2014, Greg contributed a chapter to Verne Harnish’s book, Scaling Up on how to improve profits though labor efficiency. In 2020, Greg will release his newest book, Simple Numbers 2.0: Rules for Smart Scaling. What can entrepreneurs expect to learn from your presentation, “Simple Numbers Crisis Cash Flow Process”?This presentation teaches business owners how to turn their projected profit and loss (P&L) into a cash flow forecast to project cash impact from the COVID-19 virus. The presentation is divided into two videos: Video 1 covers the basic planning concepts. Video 2 goes through case studies and instructions on how to use the templates to benefit your business. My goal in making these videos is for entrepreneurs to be able to own your own data, own your own existence, roll up your sleeves and make a 90-day plan and/or a 180-day plan for your business so you can evaluate the cash required to move forward. In your experience, what’s the top misunderstood financial-related function around running a business?Entrepreneurs struggle to understand how their balance sheet connects to their P&L. By taking the traditional balance sheet and turning it into the Simple Numbers Capital format, you will better understand what parts of your balance sheet impact your cash flow. Once you understand the impact, you will be better prepared to influence key items to improve cash flow. It’s important that entrepreneurs understand that profit is very different from cash flow: Why is it so crucial for entrepreneurs to understand their cash flow and balance sheet now more than ever?During economic disruption, customers will take longer to pay and vendors will need to be paid faster. You must factor these key changes in normal business terms to accurately predict cash flow, which is the lifeblood of a business. Profitability and cash flow are two wildly different things. This is a time when you need to be in touch with how things move in your specific company. Entrepreneurs need to understand their Balance Sheet—not just the P&L. We’ve come up with a way to show you how to do that, which we detail in the videos. We don’t know how long this crisis is going to last. With the current stay-at-home orders in many areas, most businesses need to prepare for a hard 90-day plan. Some companies will need to make a 180-day plan. If the spring and summer months represent their selling season, they may be at a loss through January of next year. Hopefully most businesses will be through this in 90 days. Once you create your 90-day plan, you can evaluate the cash required. How will you find it? Is it readily borrowed? Is it worth it to keep the doors open? Unfortunately, some businesses may be better off to “go dark” until this crisis passes—though hopefully more will choose to press through. How can understanding these concepts help leaders better prepare for the impact of COVID-19?Going through a formal cash flow analysis will give you a quantification of impact. Some business owners will over-estimate and others will under-estimate, but rarely will your gut estimate match the actual quantification. We share more in the second video, but a preview of the exercise entails the following steps: • Plan out monthly gross margin. Notice that we don’t say plan out revenue. For example: the restaurant industry. If your business is based on liquor sales as well as food sales, you’re not going to have the same margin if you’re only doing carry-out food. Gross margin equals your revenue minus the cost to get your product sold, not including labor. I advise entrepreneurs to go through this formal exercise to let the data tell the story, rather than trying to manipulate the data into the story you want it to tell. What action steps can entrepreneurs take to prepare their financials for scaling back up after the crisis?Once you understand how profit percentage compares to trade capital percentage, you will be better prepared to make funding decisions, if needed, once the marketplace begins to recover. Having a healthy understanding of how cash and product move within your business is a benefit to every business owner, both now in times of crisis and in the everyday management of your company. Greg is currently partner-in-charge of the Huntsville, Alabama office at Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors. As an EO member, Greg has chaired the EO@Wharton Executive Education program for the last five years and plans to launch a new Executive Education program for EO in 2020 called Functional Finance for Entrepreneurs that will teach any entrepreneur the basics to understand their financials and use the data to drive exceptional business performance and value. The post How to Project Cash Flow to Forecast the Impact of COVID-19 appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2Vly6lS As businesses around the world face extreme crisis, we are also seeing the best of the entrepreneurial spirit come through in the form of generous and innovative assistance. We are proud to highlight just a few of the ways that Entrepreneurs’ Organization members are helping their communities—and we’re certain there are many more examples happening every day, around the world! Thank you to all of the entrepreneurs who are making a positive impact during these extraordinary times.
The post The Good News You Need Today appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2xt59vt Parenting has never been considered easy, but lately it’s become exponentially harder. Combine a pandemic, childcare disruptions, anxious kids home from school and your job—or stress about that job going away—and parenting becomes a case study in stress management, patience, organization and crisis communications. That’s why Dr. Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi (pictured at left) hosted a webinar, “Parenting in the Times of Coronavirus”. Dr. Chaturvedi is a member of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) Bhopal chapter and a director at AISECT. In her presentation to EO members, she shared actionable tips entrepreneurial parents can take to reduce anxiety in their home, help their kids thrive in a crisis and still get their work accomplished. 5 Steps to Managing Kids and Work1. Reduce Anxiety Children often mirror your mood, so reducing anxiety starts with you. Parents should “model the calmness” they want in their home, according to Dr. Chaturvedi, and filter age-appropriate information to their children. That means significantly limiting media exposure. Talk about what your family is doing to stay healthy and safe. Actively listen to their fears, questions and curiosities. Answer honestly, but simply. While it’s important for children to feel safe, be careful not to make false promises or over-assure your children. Promising that everything will return to normal quickly or that your family is completely safe will only create potentially false expectations. 2. Don’t Solve Boredom for Your Kids After you’ve heard the phrase “I’m bored” for the fifteenth time in a single morning, you might be tempted to play problem solver and help your kids find entertainment. However, Dr. Chaturvedi cautions against this. This is the perfect opportunity for your kids to figure out what to do, use their imagination and let curiosity lead to an activity. By jumping in to entertain children, it removes an opportunity for them to learn, play and grow—and keeps you from getting tasks accomplished.
3. Create Structure and Routines Of course, kids will need some help planning and spending their time. Children thrive in a routine and, during tense times, schedules become even more important. Dr. Chaturvedi recommends children have a say in their activities and the timing of each activity. This gives children a sense of control and allows them to buy in to each day’s plans. To keep things interesting, implement a “blended approach” to your days, mixing physical activity, academics, social time and play. Make sure to keep bedtime consistent and allow for plenty of rest. Parents may be tempted to replace a full eight hour school day with eight hours of studying at home. Remember, though, that much of a traditional school day is spent on breaks, lunch, changing classes and playtime. In reality, parents should plan for only up to three hours of academic work, depending on your child’s age and specific needs. 4. Set Negotiable and Non-Negotiable Activities As we work and study from home, it’s easy to have Monday melt into Friday. To help each day have a purpose, decide with your children which activities must be done every day and which can be considered optional. Non-negotiable activities might include 20 minutes of household chores, one hour of reading or other activities that have to be done. Negotiable activities may be teaching a sibling a new skill or practicing their instrument. One non-negotiable activity you may not think of? Social time. Your children are used to being around kids their own age, so set aside time for your kids to video chat with friends and feed their social needs. Look for socially responsible ways that your children can interact with other kids. Online classes or family friendly virtual games may be an option to look into. At the end of each day, check in with your kids to see how they’re doing. Allow them space to share feedback, concerns and wishes. 5. Get Your To-Do List Done Going from full-time entrepreneur to a hybrid role of parent, teacher and entrepreneur isn’t easy on anyone, but the right plan can make it manageable. If your kids are late risers, use the quiet early morning hours to be productive, tackling the hardest tasks of the day first. Sync similar activities with your children, like working out or reading together. For those times you need complete focus or you have an important call, schedule online classes or other all-consuming activities for your kids. Importantly, this is the time to coordinate with other in-house family members for help, whether it’s your partner or older children. While coronavirus may be outside any parent’s control, families can do a great deal in planning and helping their kids make the best of this unprecendented time. Your family may even look back on this time fondly, considering all the extra time together. Together, families can work through this time, coming out the other side closer and more connected.
The post Parenting During the COVID-19 Crisis appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2V7B11s Contributed by Michael Neidert. Ryota Saito is an entrepreneur and member of Entrepreneurs’ Organization in Japan. He shared his experiences persisting despite disaster in a recent EO webinar about rebuilding through business. When Ryota Saito left his home in Tokyo on 11 March 2011, he expected a typical day as a Microsoft employee. Instead, he found himself at the epicenter of an earthquake and tsunami. The disaster left nearly 16,000 people dead and 2,500 missing. While Saito avoided danger that day, he saw the devastating impact firsthand and recognized the experience as his call to service. From 2011 to 2013, he worked with Microsoft to distribute PCs to hard-hit areas. He also trained community members to utilize technology as the area rebuilt. A Direct Avenue for Making a DifferenceEventually, his contributions felt empty. His eagerness subsided as he wondered what more he could do to make a difference. This time of reflection revealed entrepreneurship to be the most direct avenue for making a difference.
In 2016, Saito and his family moved to the still-recovering region of Tohoku. Taking a chance on an agricultural area with few visitors, Saito planned to attract foreign tourists (and their funds), creating tours, collaborating with agricultural partners and eventually joining EO North Japan to expand his skills and network. Building his legacy as a socially-minded entrepreneur proved a winning combination and his company, VISIT Tohoku, expanded with a new office and satellite business in rural Taiwan. However, disaster struck again in 2019. A typhoon pummeled the company’s new office, leaving one meter of water in its wake. What might have spelled the end of a business for others barely fazed Saito, who drew strength from a community rebuilding once again. “All we knew to do was to stand up once again,” Saito reflects. Quickly, EO members from Osaka and Tokyo rushed to help. Meanwhile, Saito continued serving people. He organized free massages for senior community members. He helped with cleanup efforts. He established a childcare center to help families, an initiative that continues to operate, though unrelated to Saito’s core business.
From Crisis, OpportunityOut of this crisis came a new business opportunity. Reflecting on the difficulty of cooking after the typhoon, Saito and his team created a Disaster Prevention Rice Ball, a product that created more demand for local agriculture and served as an emergency ration for future crises. Five months after the typhoon and rebuilding of his business, COVID-19 is impacting people around the globe, including Saito. However, he draws confidence from his past experiences. “I’m not really fazed by this. It gives us a chance to think about new things, give help to others or be helped by others.” Rebuilding After DisasterHere are six takeaways from Saito’s experience rebuilding after crises: 1. Serve communities and people. A crisis will pass but how a business behaves during that time will be ingrained in the memories of employees, consumers and community members—for better or worse. It’s an opportunity to do the right thing, but it’s also a crucial moment to consider public perception. The willingness of community members to help Saito and his business get back on track is a testament to how he behaves in a crisis. “With passion, care and connection with others,” Saito says, “business will pick up and people will follow.” 2. Don’t ignore emotions during a crisis. A crisis has financial impact, but there’s a human impact, too. In the midst of COVID-19, savvy brands are thinking about the emotions of their community and responding proactively with kindness and generosity, offering flexibility for employees or perks for customers. After the typhoon, Saito’s recovery efforts addressed the emotions of his community. They played traditional Japanese drums to boost morale and provided childcare for community members, efforts that rebuilt a sense of normalcy and optimism. 3. Seek and accept help. Entrepreneurs may prefer to help instead of being helped, however, a crisis is an ideal (and likely necessary) moment to ask for and accept help; sometimes accepting help is the only way to help others. As a bonus, it’s a chance to forge lifelong bonds and relationships. Saito was only able to continue helping others after he accepted help from his community and EO members. “I cannot accomplish everything myself,” Saito notes. “When we are faced with difficulties, we should work with everyone.” 4. Think about your legacy, even in the face of adversity. A crisis is never too turbulent to consider what it means for you and your long-term legacy. This is the time when mission statements and brand values are lived or ignored. After the typhoon, Saito could have looked inward and worried only about his business, but this would have been counter to his values. He knew his legacy and success depended upon the success of his community. 5. Identify what will make you stronger after this crisis—and take action. Whether there’s a marketing plan you’ve been putting off or a tough call that needs to be made, this is the time to estimate what business will look like when life returns to normal and take proactive steps to come out stronger. As Saito’s business slows due to COVID-19, he’s using this time to find new partners and expand his network. “It may be a long dark period,” he concedes, “but dawn will come.” 6. Anticipate the next crisis. Expecting the next crisis isn’t fatalistic or pessimistic, it’s realistic. Whether it’s an economic recession, industry shift, natural disaster or pandemic, every business will face future crises. It’s never too soon to prepare or reflect on today’s lessons. Look at your blind spots, vulnerabilities and ask those “what-if” questions so you can thrive in a crisis—just like Saito. EO members: Access the complete recording of Saito’s presentation. And visit the #EOTogether platform often for the latest webinars and resources. The post How Business Can Revitalize a Community After Crisis appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2V1xhi6 Written by Larry Prince, CEO of PrinceLeadershipTM. A version of this article originally appeared in New Jersey Business magazine. The current health crisis has thrown our world into disorder. No longer can teams stroll into work ready to interact, exchange ideas and take care of business. We’re leading our businesses through uncharted territory. By now, most of you have set your employees to work remotely. Let’s explore best practices to make remote work function as seamlessly as possible. Knowing that companies already do this successfully should make you confident that your company and your employees will adapt to these changes. The key is to prepare your people for a smooth transition, by adhering to four leadership practices. 4 Tips for Leading a Remote Workforce
1. Be present: Keep in mind that your people are socially removed from their peers. So, check in frequently. The idea is to be a source of comfort and business focus—and not to micromanage. Set up a consistent phone or video chat schedule with each person and as a team. Learn how they are doing. Ask—what they need to be successful, while not in the office. Ask—their input, to develop new ideas and solutions enabling business to move forward. Think through how best to coach each person individually. Here is what the CEO of a home health company did to facilitate the process. “I set up morning huddles with my management team. Connecting each day at the same time will keep us focused, allow me to know what is going on with my people and provide them an opportunity to share with each other.” 2. Reinforce the organization’s purpose: Companies with a strong sense of purpose are sustainable companies and tend to weather uncertain times. Reinforce your organization’s values, goals and core mission and how this purpose supports your people, your community, your customers and your business. This will ground your people and team in what is most important—a common cause aligned to achieve specific and measurable goals. Doing so helps to set priorities and make better business decisions—and to keep your culture in motion. A director of retail store sales addressed the issue with his staff by reviewing their mission and values. The exercise reinforced for them that the community needs them and the products they provide. He added, “We bring value. Rather than taking a passive position, we are now actively engaging our customers online.”
3. Clarify roles and expectations: Your people are now working under unfamiliar conditions—and removed from their colleagues. Ensure that they’re absolutely clear about their role, responsibilities and expectations, since you are not with them each day in person. Standardize expectations by developing and communicating guidelines for working remotely. Also, review and update workflow processes. A director of operations for a charitable organization offered this analysis: “I recognized that working remotely is throwing off my people’s focus. We regrouped and spent extra time ensuring each person is absolutely clear of what to do, why it’s important and how to do it from home. The details matter—and process matters.” 4. Support employee connectivity and communications: Create ways for employees to connect with each other. For example, set up commitment partners—teams of at least two people who are responsible for specific actions and problems to solve. Each team reports back to their peer teams with practices they have learned along the way. This will elevate teamwork and lessen the sense of isolation. In addition, set up clear communications channels between employees and with management—create the why, what, how and when to keep each other informed. This is another way of maintaining your culture and maximizing employee productivity and satisfaction. The COO of a health care company devised this solution with the help of his consultant. Since they are categorized as an essential business, they created three teams: Team A and B rotate days in the office and team C, about half their workforce, will work exclusively from home. This provides a blend of what is right for the community, their employees and for the business. Along the transition path, learn what is working and what needs adjustment. This will strengthen your chance of making it through to the other side. By following these four proven practices, you are helping your people, your community and your business achieve transitional success. Don’t be surprised at some future point to find yourself a stronger organization. Larry Prince is the CEO of PrinceLeadership, a New Jersey-based business consultancy that works with middle market companies to create growth and sustainability. You can reach him by emailing: [email protected]. The post Four Ways to Successfully Lead a Remote Workforce appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/34r753q Contributed by Tabatha Baca, program coordinator for Entrepreneurs’ Organization EO Accelerator program. The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has affected poeple around the world. It’s closed borders, shut down schools and probably ended some marriages. Small business have been particularly vulnerable to the chaos. Thankfully, governments around the world are working on programs to provide relief. Businesses of all sizes that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can now apply for financial aid. From wage subsidies, repayment holidays to tax relief and cash influx entrepreneurs can use this shoulder to lean on during these trying times. The team at EO Accelerator compiled a list of resources organized by country to help you find the right aid. We’ll be periodically updating this resource as new government relief programs become available around the world. Disclaimer: EO in no way guarantees you or your business will qualify for these programs. For additional information and guidance please connect with your local governance and legal teams. Middle EastNorth AmericaLatin AmericaAsiaEuropeAfricaOceaniaEO members, visit the #EOTogether site for the latest webinars and resources from the EO community. We’re in this together. The post Financial Assistance for Businesses Around the World appeared first on Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization. via Octane Blog – The official blog of the Entrepreneurs' Organization https://ift.tt/2yKnVP8 |
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November 2020
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