“You need three things to create a successful start-up: to start with good people, to make something customers want, and to spend as little money as possible.”

― Paul Graham

Entrepreneurship is not a theory; it is an experiment. It is a sum up of a business idea, a great business plan, manpower, finance plus consumers.

Everything was going up so smoothly. I could see everyone growing and flourishing their businesses. There was a tremendous boom in all the business industries. So many start-ups with innovative ideas were surfacing all over the world.

I could see so many products and services coming into the market that were aimed at making our life convenient and interesting as well.

Seriously, this Covid is a big shock. Apart from the existing business giants, the start-ups have also been deeply affected. The entrepreneurs have so much unpredictable loss. Industries are facing serious recession and the stress associated with it.

But here, I just want to say to you it is not the time where you can dream of growth and development. Rather, your efforts must be directed to achieve stability and continuity. Your focus ought to be directed towards maintaining stability while maintaining the safety of employees and self as well.

However, this is a very crucial time for start-ups. These fresh investors had just recently formulated and executed their business ideas. The start-ups are already at a struggling stage especially concerning financing aspect and customer base. After so much effort and collaborations, the business had just picked up its pace until the pandemic hit and destroyed everything.

But nothing to worry about. This problem is not as big as it is appearing. With efforts and intelligence, everything can be put back to normal. 

Your job isn’t about finding the best option anymore — it’s about finding the least bad option. Through this post, I have tried to enumerate some points that will considerably help start-ups.

Tips for Start-ups in the time of crisis:

Dump all your plans for 2021 and start with a new draft:

New realities call for alternative plans. No one ever imagined this global pandemic. Thus all the plans were made keeping in view the normal situation that existed then. As the business plans do not include any such contingency, one will have to discard all its plans for 2021. 

A whole new plan has to be drafted in the response to this emergency. As there is no clarity about the upcoming situation the plans have to be flexible and the forecast has to be adjusted as paper the changing situation. The planning has to be done on a daily basis regarding liquidity and continuity and stability. Steering your ship in times of crisis will require a lot of course corrections and smaller manoeuvres. No single robust plan can be made, but many small achievable goals have to be made and implemented from time to time.

Don’t feel alone:

At this time of crisis and sudden setback, the entrepreneurs have got shattered and have been affected majorly but we should not take this as the end. Get up and start from scratch with full enthusiasm. Instead of fighting alone communicate with the associated investors, friends, board members, Co-founders, and mentors.

Taking advice from everyone helps in better decision making and implementation. Also, staying with positive people keeps you motivated and energized all the time.

Don’t ignore:

Sometimes we don’t realize the reality and keep on moving just blindly. Instead, be practical and take the right decision at the right time. After examining the condition of the business and how much the crisis affects it, the entrepreneur ought to change his action plan. Ignorance can prove destructive especially to the start-ups.

Manage your expectations:

The entrepreneurs are deeply affected and disappointed when a start-up cannot do well. The large expectations and the dreams lead them towards disappointment, they start valuing themselves low and the self-confidence and self-image decline considerably.

However, this should not be the case. The present condition is beyond our control, and we have to fight against it and survive with full confidence and zeal.

Don’t let the stress rule over you. Accept the situation and work aptly so that not only you but others associated with you can also trust you.

Explore other options:

It depends upon the  product or service you are dealing with. If your business is ruined totally and there is no scope shortly,  diversify. Try and think about other new ideas and experiments that can be done with the resources. The diversification should be such that it is safe for human resources. Also, it must be workable and promising as per the changing needs and circumstances. I can relate this to the famous saying “try and try until you succeed”.

Learn how to manage stress:

This is very stressful, especially for start-ups. IT is always a “fight and fight” situation for them and a sudden impact on the economy turns against it, the survival seems to be very difficult. The procurement of additional finances and revenue generation through the consumers has considerably reduced because of this pandemic. But the most important thing to be done  is stress management and maintaining the balance of mind. Losing self-control and overstress can cause wrong decisions and inappropriate planning. Thus, you must learn to manage stress before going into any business. Panic and acting in hassle actually can increase the adverse effects of the crisis.

Create a safe working environment by working from home:

Everyone has already switched over to work from home. This is necessary and optimal currently. It is very important to keep yourself and the workforce safe. Only if you are physically fit, you can prosper and manage your business. Being an adaptive entrepreneur is very necessary for the growth and stability of the start-up.

You must be able to test the economies of working from home and plans that will aid in more smooth functioning and increase the productivity of employees working from home.

Create a cost conservation plan through cost-cutting:

Analyse the different aspects of profit-and-loss statements. The start-ups have to struggle for finance and revenue generation at the start. So, the best idea to survive is to cut expenses. Unnecessary expenses should be recognized and reduced as much as possible. This will help you survive and run the operations more smoothly.

Pull in cash from all sources:

Finance is a major area of concern for start-ups. They have to struggle for liquidity in the early years of operation. Particularly because of this crisis the start-ups are in a serious deteriorating condition. The only way to come out of this and survive is to collect money as much as possible. This cash can be realized by taking loans from banks, tracking the various schemes laid by the government, receiving all the credit receivables, and decreasing excess inventory.

Conclusion

There is nothing to fear if you have confidence in your skill and mind. With proper planning and management of resources, one can pass over this turbulence successfully. Don’t panic and maintain your peace of mind. Take advice and communicate as much as possible with their peers.

This too shall pass.

We’re all hoping the current situation will not be as harmful as it could be to people’s health and nations’ economies, but we also know that as entrepreneurs, we are a bit overly optimistic. Be optimistic always and be ready to face reality as well. You have the dual responsibility of growing the business in this crisis and taking care of yourself and your colleagues. Thus, be cautious and move ahead steadily. Better safe than sorry. Because “it’s better to be late, then never.”