If someone told me that the past week, I had spent at home was in fact a whole year, I wouldn't argue! Writing last month's column seems light years away. Time travel almost feels real.
As a child I used to wish time away, watching the clock at school or whilst doing homework, now how I wish I could turn back time. Time is the most precious commodity, and should be cherished, valued and respected. It is the one thing we will never get back.
What we do now with our time in the current pandemic is even more important than ever, individually and collectively. It is heart-warming to hear so many stories of our communities coming together and supporting one another. Why can’t we be like this in all time?
From a business support point of view, I have been working with a vast number of colleagues and partners connected with the SME Centre of Excellence. Trade bodies, collectives, enterprise agencies and regional governmental bodies, including the Institute of Directors, Food and Drink North East, North East Local Enterprise Partnership, Federation of Small Business, Asian Business Connexions and many more, all of whom are trying their utmost to do all they can to help. Individuals working selflessly and tirelessly to help already challenged SMEs overcome the most significant barriers ever experienced in a generation, if not century.
The biggest challenge is, we have never experienced anything like this ever before. ‘Unprecedented’ seems to be the new norm. Of course, we can look back in history to see plagues, depressions and so on, but that was a different time and distinctly different society. Government has unleashed a financial support package that has never been done before! The problem is, as it has never been done before, no one knows how to do it and thousands of people and organisations are suffering. I know of over 700 SMEs in the North East that have closed just in the last 48 hours, so many more are on the verge of doing so, desperate for a lifeline.
So, what can we do as business owners, whilst we wait for the world to come back online? My advice is plan for the future, produce a cashflow forecast and personal budget too, then identify which of the following categories you fit in:
Innovate – do you have enough money to keep the lights on and could you use existing capacity to work on digital transformation. Or could you pivot your business and look at changing your business model – as we have seen restaurants becoming takeaways.
Hibernate – can you temporary shut down operations, use the governments support and then re-open in 3-6 months, certain there will be demand in the future.
Liquidate – the most difficult, yet the most important decision. If you don’t have any business now and as a consequence will not survive in the future you should close down your business and mitigate any additional liabilities. Taking on further debt will simply delay the inevitable and create a further bubble.
To help SMEs properly understand their position and see if they can innovate, hibernate or liquidate we have launched the #SaveourSMEs campaign. Already 50+ SMEs that were closing have changed their business model and are looking to the future through Digital Transformation.
I am delighted to say that 100’s of professional service providers volunteers have come together to support our North East community. If you are struggling and need help or you can offer help please reach out. One thing for certain business will never be usual again for a long time.
Please take care of yourself and those around you. Love and peace.
Ammar Mirza CBE is Chair & Founder of Asian Business Connexions, Chair of the NELEP Business Growth Board, Chair of the IoD North East (North) and holds various positions across the public and private sectors.
