The HP Asia SMB Report 2020

I am a little obsessed with innovation and future of work trends. Not just now, during a global pandemic, but ongoingly. And so I was thrilled to recently be a guest speaker for HP’s From Survival to Revival – How Asian SMB’s can find their way back to growth. HP is always a market leader and strong voice for SMB’s in the region. They undertook a comprehensive study surveying 1600 SMB’s across eight countries in Asia. One of the findings that made me happiest was that for the most part, people were optimistic – perhaps a trait inherent to entrepreneurs and start ups who are adept at morphing and pivoting continuously.

A few of the biggest barriers to bouncing back (or bouncing forward as I like to call it) included:

• the need for innovation whilst facing cash flow issues
• flexible work options whilst remaining productive and 
• customisation of existing products and services or building out a robust future proofed ecosystem.

These are some great problems to have identified and they seem prevalent no matter your industry or geographic location. So I thought I’d have a stab at providing a few potential top level solutions:-

One: Innovation vs cash flow

Having had businesses for over 19 years, I understand these two competing priorities quite well. We need to innovate to get ahead. But whilst we are working “in the business” and scrambling for cash flow, it's often almost impossible to look ahead. It's imperative we move our mindset from one of panic to one of calm and being methodical.

• Cut costs wherever possible – ask yourself what is a must have right now and what can I do without (it's surprising how many unneeded subscriptions and little luxuries you’ll find)
• Get better at chasing receivables, incentivise and reward customers who pay early or on time
• Re-evaluate your pricing and revenue models and look at where you can add value 
• Accelerate near ready innovations – done is better than perfect

Two: Flexible Work options whilst Remaining Productive

Whilst many of us have been unexpectedly turbo charged into this new way of flexible working, I have been doing it for the last two and a half years after decentralising my entire work force and closing my bricks and mortar office. One of the biggest fears and concerns I had was “if I can’t see my team” how can they possibly be being productive? Here’s what I did:-

• Shifted my mindset from one of time in office and bums on seats equal productivity. To an outcome driven mindset – rather than measuring hours worked, I moved to measuring KPI’s and specific deliverables. It has become a much more data driven business but with my team having much more flexibility and lifestyle satisfaction
• Up-skilling my team and using tools such as Asana, Monday, Dropbox, Google Docs, Evernote, Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack. We feel connected all the time and I run everything from my HP Dragonfly wherever I am. I literally Work from Wherever (title of my latest book)
• We have Digital Daily Pulse Checks set up for all team members so my management team and I can track how everyone is doing

Three: Customisation of existing products and services or building out a robust future proofed ecosystem.

I talk and write a lot about the importance of having a singular focus and purpose. For me it is “To Ignite Human Potential”. And from there, three core pillars – Print, Digital and Events. Anything is possible and we’re able to move with the economic and societal requirements. COVID has demonstrated that we can no longer rely on a pure bricks and mortar play. We need to be adept at digitisation. The industries that hit hardest include but certainly not limited to hairdressing, events, weddings, hospitality and physical retail stores. It's imperative to:-

• Diversify your product and service offerings so that you create multiple stand alone revenue streams to future proof your business
• Think laterally about how you can digitise parts of your business for longevity and scale
• Start with purpose in mind and build a passionate community of evangelists so that whatever comes at you, you have an inbuilt cheer squad with a cult like status

For more information on some of the findings from HP’s report go here https://press.hp.com/content/dam/sites/garage-press/press/press-kits/2020/asia-smb-launch/SMB%20Report_FINAL_HR.pdf

Shortly I will be presenting a webinar series called Business Not As Usual with HP. I interview a number of thought leaders from a variety of industries giving real life actionable examples of how they have diversified and pivoted during this time. Stay tuned.