The Entrepreneur's Battle Of Malaysia's Second Lockdown

Malaysia is heading for the second full lockdown. As I was looking at the news, I was wondering... how can business owners pivot in this crisis?

The inconvenient truth is... Those who can pivot have already pivoted. This time around, the rules of the game are not the same.

- Vaccine is available (although it’s not fully proven to work and many are still resisting it).

- There are no signs of loan moratorium and the consumer market is extremely sensitive with their spending.

- It’s close to impossible to do B2B sales when everyone is working from home. When sending an email, you’ll probably get your mail lost somewhere. Not forgetting, corporates are cutting budgets. Some corporates are now willing to go for a vendor who is totally unknown but they can do the same job for 3 times cheaper than you.

- As this is not the first time we are doing a lockdown, the market is not only fearful. Most people are having different kind of stress and anxiety.

So, please don’t be thinking that the knowledge from FMCO 1.0 can work in FMCO 2.0. The rules have changed!

So you’re now probably thinking... if that can’t work, then how???

You’ll probably be thinking about how to tell your staff that you need to cut salaries on Monday. Or even which shop to close or which staffs to let go in order to survive?

Before you do that... I highly encourage business owners to think about it...

Throughout the past 1 year, we can’t deny the fact that consumers' behaviors have changed drastically.

- We have now more data than before to guide us. Numbers never lie. Develop skills to analyze these data. And most importantly, get hold of these data.

- People are desperate for solutions from entrepreneurs. Knowing the fact that they can’t rely on the Government.

- The acceleration of technology in the past 1 year is far greater than the past 10 years combined.

- Your workforce is used to working remotely. But that doesn’t mean that they are working remotely effectively.

I personally believe that Covid-19 is causing a seismic shift in the market. Many big boys will die and many new kids in town will emerge. If you’re a small business, you might have few resources. But that also means that you’ve lower expenses, lower manpower, and lower assets. All this makes it easier for you to change.

During this crisis...

- New sales channel will be established.

- New product offering that offers a higher level of value at a much lower cost will be created.

- New workforce that combines human consciousness and digital automation will be formed.

You can’t win the new normal with the old mindset. To win in this new normal, it’s not enough to have a new mindset. You need to think of how to leverage on the shift that’s being created in the past 1 year.

Throughout the past 1 year, many people have probably told you that in every crisis, there’s always an opportunity. Today, I’m gonna be rational and realistic with you. You’ve no choice but to spot opportunities!

As entrepreneurs, we have no choice but to be resilient. And being resilient alone is not enough, you’ve gotta adapt!

Looking back... if you know history... Dinosaurs ruled the Earth for 175 million years.

Due to the seismic shift, dinosaurs couldn’t adapt and the entire species was wiped out.

The good news is... You are an entrepreneur. You’re a leader. And most importantly, you’re a human.

Change or you’ll be changed. Don’t be a dinosaur!

To all business owners: Stay strong. Stay innovative. Stay sane!