HOW PAST CRISIS CAN PREPARE BUSINESSES TO FACE NEW ONES
The impact that a crisis whether it is a pandemic, market downturn or unexpected catastrophic event like earthquakes or hurricanes , has on individuals psychologically, socially, and financially can be devastating. Understanding past crisis and their adverse effects on people’s lives, as well as the economy, can help us learn from these past events.
You can survive the crisis by avoiding making the same mistakes made in the past. You can also come out sane by adopting some of the preventative measures taken in the past and adopting the right attitudes and reflexes.
One example of a global crisis that had devastating impacts on the economy and people’s lives, in general, is the 1918 Spanish flu. Many lessons can be drawn from the global crisis that had severe economic and psychological consequences on businesses and individuals.
SOME OF THE LESSONS YOU CAN LEARN FROM PAST CRISIS
The importance of containment
During a crisis, the number one priority for yourself, your family and your business is to listen to government experts whether it is a pandemic, earthquake or other unexpected events because they have Emergency measure in effect that you need to follow for you and your family safety.
Rules or instructions given should be obeyed to prevent panicking as well as further complications. Staying at home, refraining from certain activities, using certain products, and self-isolating are some of the most important instructions that must be observed.
The main reason why most people died from the 1918 Spanish flu is the same reason that is likely to cause more deaths in any other global crisis. Many deaths were caused by the people ignoring the advice of health experts.
The need for businesses to prepare for the impact of the crisis
The consequences that the Spanish flu had included labor shortages and increased rates of physical disability, among other things. Most effects rose from the panic surrounding the crisis. The panicking also worsened as businesses were temporarily closed, public gatherings banned, and sporting events canceled. Luckily, we can avoid going down the same route and facing similar consequences. Knowing and preparing for the economic consequences of a crisis can help minimize the impact that the crisis has. It can also aid in helping you remain sane during the crisis.
Closing businesses during the period of self-isolation of a pandemic, which normally lasts for 14 days or more, will doubtlessly have a toll on the economy. Nonetheless, preparing in advance for the negative economic and psychological impact will help in recovering more rapidly.
TAKING AND IMPLEMENTING BUSINESS ADVICE FROM EXPERTS HELPS KEEP YOUR BUSINESS AFLOAT
One major concern that most businesses and freelancers have during a crisis is how to keep business processes flowing. Fortunately, there are steps that you can take to continue operating your business or even venture into new business ideas. Expert advice can help you retain your sanity and keep your business going in a crisis. Expert billionaire entrepreneurs are offering their expert advice on social media.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban for example has given valuable business advice on LinkedIn. Mark Cuban provides some of the tips for keeping your professional life going. These include:
• Reaching out to potential clients as well as trying new business ideas.
• If you cannot carry out some of the work you do at the office while at home you can always try getting a new job or diversifying your market by finding potential clients or opportunities.
• You can also start perfecting work or working on neglected work as well as unfinished work.
The billionaire entrepreneur also advises that you try out new ideas, for example, begin offering other services apart from the leading service you provide if you can. In our engineering company we survived the 2008 economic downturn by working in diverse markets so that when one market dried up we still had work in other markets. Never be dependent on one client or one market for your business
PREPARE FOR A BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN
It is of utmost importance that a business puts in place a risk management committee consisting of experts in various fields (IT, security, Human resource, Finance etc..) which will identify key personnel and allocate specific tasks during a crisis. A crisis planning and coordination must be thoroughly prepared. It must identify the various risk elements which the crisis will pose against the business. This could include human resource risks, supply chain risks, IT risks, process risks, economic risks etc.
Once a plan is set up, it must be tested and rehearsed regularly. Staff training and educational workshop must be conducted to ensure that everyone in the business knows his duty and responsibility when such event happens. The heart of the business in such instance would be the IT infrastructure which should be robust enough to allow for staff to work from home, while maintaining a secure environment to prevent data breaches or communication down time.
As well there should be plans in place if power grid or water systems will be down for several days such as making sure you have a few battery run landline phones and radio for communication and a stock of water supply filled bottles. Some of the standard Earthquake or Hurricane Kits should be kept in the office at all times in case of a catastrophic event.
In a business you should always have backups, backups of your data and an Operating Procedures Binder which details all the systems in the business. You can check out my Systems Saturday series on Solopreneur Success Strategies which details some of the Systems you can have in your business to make your life easier and give you more time in your business getting clients instead of filing papers at http://jgtips.com/SSat