3 Tips on Building a Business During a Pandemic

Building a business is tough work. Now try doing that in the middle of the world’s worst global pandemic, with the very real possibility of economic recession and you’ve got yourself a real tough cookie. However, as the Chinese adage goes, there is opportunity in crisis. Here are three tips to help you build a business in these trying times.

• Make sure you can afford it.

While this sounds simple and straightforward, it is absolutely critical to keep in mind when starting a new business nowadays. In a pre-covid world, it was possible to live out the life of the garage techpreneur, bootstrapping your way through monthly bills, rent, and instant noodles. Now, however, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is painfully apparent, and should be your top priority. Given global uncertainty, making sure you have enough money for the essentials (shelter, food, utilities, etc) for at least the next 6 to 8 months should take precedence over everything else. Your great startup idea can wait; your next meal? Not so much.

• Can you go remote?

Alright, so you’ve got the essentials locked up tight. What’s next? Being able to work on your business in the “new normal” or whatever the future normal will look like. For now, this means being able to do most things remotely. Are you developing a product? Can your design, engineering, and production be managed or handled remotely? How does your supply-chain look like? Logistics? What about your operations? Being able to get a handle on all these moving parts remotely will be the do-or-die moment for most businesses. We don’t know how long this will last, or if a second wave will hit, so it’s best to prepare to be fully operational even if everyone is locked down again.

Try using: Slack, Discord, or Trello to get a handle on everything.

• Communication is key.

Communication was always key, but now it’s… key. If you’re a great talker, now you need to be able to port that into writing, or into graphics. This doesn’t just go with communicating internally with your team, but with your partners, investors, and ultimately your market as well. Be prepared to juggle ongoing Zoom calls, while texting your team, and sending out various emails.

Try using: Zoom, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, Telegram

And there you have it! There is undeniably a whole lot more to keep in mind when building a new business, but these three key tips will help you navigate these turbulent waters.