Right now, the entire world is in turmoil. The Covid-19 outbreak has hit humanity hard, forcing us to change our lifestyle as we face the greatest existential crisis of our time.
The governments all over the world are adopting ‘wartime’ measures to combat the epidemic. Economists are predicting tough times for economies, businesses and individuals generally.
With Kenya technically in a state of indefinite lockdown small enterprises and individuals who eke a living from daily toiling in informal workplaces are likely to be hardest hit if the epidemic is not controlled in the short term.
This brings us to the big question: What can you do to minimise the adversity of this monster as an individual or a business owner?
The situation may seem beyond our control but still that does not give us a reason to give up the fight even if the worst happens.
There is a lot that we can do to mitigate the problem as we wait for the storm to clear and give way to better days after the epidemic.
The first thing is to be calm and follow the health guidelines to protect ourselves and people around us. Appreciate we are in a war-like environment where safety comes first.
It is not time to think about money and saving our business. It is time to think of the best way we can save our employees and ourselves so that we can live to fight on after coronavirus. Travel or business closure advisory need to be followed to the letter for the common good.
Dale Canergie in his timeless classic, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living expounds on the futility of worrying when faced with insurmountable challenges in life.
His advice is to be as calm as humanly possible as you tackle the problem using three time-tested steps.
First, analyse the situation fearless and honestly and note down the worst that can happen. Look at your business position and ask what is the worst that could happen if the epidemic last long and all your savings and revenue streams dry up.
For sure no one is going to kill you unless you succumb to coronavirus. There is a chance that your business will crash; you will not be able to pay your bills and meet most of your person needs. But that does not mean the end of life and cannot be solved by worrying.
Second, acknowledge that the worst can possibly happen and reconcile yourself into accepting it should it happen. This will help you calm down and think soberly for the next very important step.
Third, calmly devout your time and energy to trying to improve upon the worst which you have already accepted mentally.
Think of ways you can save the resources you already have sparingly so that you can easily rebound back once normalcy returns. Keep thinking of ways of mitigating your situation and holding on until salvation comes.
Remember tough times don’t last but tough people do.
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