SMEs News South Africa

What the Covid-19 pandemic has taught small businesses

While 75% of small businesses wait for back-to-business at Level 1 of the Covid19 pandemic, at this time we need to bank the learnings and continue with the rebuilding process.
Photo by August de Richelieu© from
Photo by August de Richelieu© from Pexels

The pandemic may seem like a once-in-a-lifetime event, the reality is that an emergency can come along to disrupt any small businesses at any time. Using what’s been learned during the pandemic to prepare for the next crisis can help business owners insulate their businesses from future shocks.

The findings of the National Small Business Survey released by the National Small Business Chamber (NSBC) highlights two key learnings i.e. 93% of small businesses say the most important stand-out learnings are building up liquid cash savings, reducing debt and trimming non-essential spending.

“The short-term outlook for small businesses varies greatly by industry, it’s important to consider what recovery mode will look like once the economy begins to return to a state of normalcy or established a new normal. Having an exit strategy in place for after Covid-19 can help small businesses prepare well to hit the ground running and begin with the rebuild process” Mike Anderson, founder and CEO of NSBC.

Anderson continues, “The pandemic has also taught us how important it is to be able to adapt and keep businesses fluid to weather storms in the future. The more outside-the-box thinking to prepare for a worst-case scenario, the better. Having a Plan B can help improve every business’s odds of surviving and eventually thriving again during tough financial times”.

“Small businesses are vital economic engines. It is imperative that we bridge businesses through these tough times so small businesses stay in business and that we keep workers employed” says Anderson.

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