COVID-19 Survival Tips for Female Entrepreneurs: How to Make 2020 Your Year of Opportunity?

Undoubtedly the pandemic has been tough for many, a time that blew away our plan for a successful year. However, for others it has presented a new opportunity. But do not panic if you fall into the former category, with still over a quarter of the year to go, there is still time to reflect, review, and reform your game plan.

In this article I share some useful tips for female entrepreneurs who want to end this year on a high note. It revolves around adapting situations, adjusting goals, and keeping an open mind.

Here are a few ways to welcome new opportunities in 2020:

1.     Go Back to the Basics me

Compared to their male counterparts, female entrepreneurs can sotimes face more challenges than breakthroughs. These experiences set you at an advantage because owning a business already shows how tough, tenacious, and resourceful you already are.

It is time to use those strengths and look at COVID-19 as another curveball you need to dodge. Things may appear unmanageable at first but running a classic SWOT analysis could give you a clearer perspective. Understand where your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats lie, gives you the ability to formulate a plan, to emerge successfully from this period of uncertainty.

Use the SWOT Analysis to:

·      Deter potential threat by pre-planning recovery strategies

·  Analyse your financial status to cut back on any non-essential expenses (this may sound obvious but its surprising how many things are on auto-resubscribe).

·      Identify your strengths and weaknesses in the light of the pandemic

·      Address critical areas of concerns before you take any risk

·      Leverage your strengths and current clientele to make it through the rest of this year and into 2021

·      Research niche industry trends and marketing tactics to create new opportunities (12 months ago how many of us had even hear of Zoom, or the word pivot….).

In short, navigate through this crisis with a straightforward and clear-sighted approach. Do not underestimate or overestimate the situation. More importantly, fight to the finish.

You might be surprised at how well you do.

2.     Reform Your Money Mindset

Perhaps, the most vital COVID-19 survival tip for female entrepreneurs is for them to acknowledge their money blocks. We all have ingrained fears and doubts that hold us back from fully embracing a flexible money mindset.

Even if you were on a path towards recovery, the pandemic crisis could cause a relapse. Take a few minutes to connect with your money mindset to see where your priorities lie.

For example:

·      Have you made emotionally charged financial decisions lately?

·      Are you beating yourself up for not creating a contingency fund?

·      Are you afraid of diversifying your revenue stream because of a self-assumed setback?

The key here is to push money blockers aside to endure the current changes in the economy. Whether it is investing in a volatile stock marketing or spending more on online advertisements, make rational decisions without remorse.

Also, where possible, create a budget plan that covers contingency provisions. Also, add short-term and long-term needs to ensure that you have sufficient funds for X months.

3.     Create and Collaborate

Think of your SWOT analysis and renewed money mindset as the foundation of everything you can do despite the pandemic. The two 2 Cs can be a useful approach in helping to show you how to execute and rebuild your business based on those strategies. 

Here is what you need to do:

Create

Tap into key consumer insights and behavioural patterns to generate new ideas. Find out ways to add value to their new lifestyle. Ask yourself how your business could make things easier for them by shifting your business online (e.g. virtual yoga sessions, online cookery courses, virtual coaching support, online business training, etc) and providing consultations via Zoom. You could also create digital resources to expand your services (like e-books, long tutorials, or self-help posts) for this period and you may even find, going forward this is a preferred delivery method for both yourself and your clients.

Collaborate

Owning your value is important during testing times. If the going gets tough, you should have the confidence to back your business by hustling and collaborating. It is not the time to sit still.

Go out there and ask for referrals or negotiate with investors.  Never has it been easier to network than it is right now, as everybody is online! International barriers are completely removed in the Virtual World, so this adds the opportunity to move into a new marketplace. The wider your audience, the larger the opportunity it will afford you.  You should also experiment with digital marketing to maintain and boost your brand awareness.

 Final Words

In the end, you must remember that despite the circumstances, you have the power to respond to it positively. Using these initiatives can retain your visibility and finances to reclaim your position in the market. Also, adopting a new money mindset and working on consumer-centric projects could make way for bigger things. 

So, shrug off those fears and go out there to make 2020 your year – there IS still time.