A peek in to the Future of Entrepreneurship and Way of Life. – Dr. Ashok Chandran

The true nature of man and the human potential is revealed only in times of crisis. Enterprises Prosper or Doom based on their relevance to the masses at the opportune time. Staying relevant by constantly reinventing yourself is the key to success.

The markets tanked and we lost valuations, but more valuable is the need to understand the plight of people, the risks they carry and the future for all of us. Markets will definitely correct, normalize and grow, but the impact of the virus and the worldwide lock-down will leave a permanent mark in the lives of people and on businesses.

Amidst all this mayhem the people really suffering are the ones who earn their living based on their daily earning. The term ‘hand to mouth existence’ was once used only for the very poor strata of the society, but is a stark reality today for entrepreneurs and businesses too who need to earn income every day for their existence and meeting their expenses. 

Many small scale manufacturing units are completely shut down. Consultants, trainers, coaches and professionals have stopped practicing.

EMI’s and monthly fixed expenses will never stop for the household, Entrepreneur or Business, while the incomes have dried up for many.

Many businesses were already going through a challenging phase. To top up, in an already tough market the Corona Virus injected a fresh crisis and confusion almost choking or killing the Entrepreneur and Businesses.

So what is really happening? And what can we expect in the future?

Corporate India is not only fulfilling its mandatory CSR responsibilities, but a good investment is also happening from the governments to fight the Corona Crisis.

Citizens also contribute to the Prime Ministers fund specifically for the Corona Crisis.

Philanthropists, Cooperative societies, religious trusts, NGO’s are all contributing in their own ways to fight the pandemic.

While the health workers, police and other officials are on the field and doing their best even at the cost of their lives, many have chosen to just take it easy and chill with a break. There are also leaders in companies and organizations who refused to idle away precious time and have gone all out to collaborate digitally to perform or even out perform in their businesses remotely. There are also leaders who chose to support their teams for skilling or reskilling themselves. Many businesses also modified their business processes to adapt to remote working and business generation.

There is no doubt that the medicine and vaccination for Corona Virus will be found, but are we ready for battling such new viruses and crisis in the future? How vulnerable are we to such unknown attacks. Will everything be the same after this health crisis? Almost every five years we have seen some or the other kind of financial crisis in the markets and we also overcome it, but when the combination of health crisis and financial crisis has hit us this time that too very badly, its high time for some forced learnings, thinking and decisions . Also this time the impact is likely to transform many things around us.

Startups have identified generic needs in the markets and are trying to launch products and services that will cater to the needs of people. Now that in many verticals the priorities and needs of the consumers have changed and it may no more be viable to create and run a startup with the same model that was originally planned. Moreover many Investors have lost money in the market and will want to play safe and may want to curtail further investments in startups whose products may not fit the new scheme of things in the market. Many startups will have to be flexible to provide value in newer ways than what was envisaged by them originally. One good thing for new entrepreneurs is that they will go frugal from the beginning and they will get advantage of doing many things digitally, cost-effectively and appropriately right from the beginning.

Managing the working capital is the key to existence. Enterprises are making sure that the most important needs are met on priority, and the good to have and luxury purchases are completely stalled. There will be layoffs and salary cuts in most organizations.

Businesses will definitely stand back on its feet and reclaim its true valuations in the market. Products that have value will continue to be consumed by the people. The traditional, stable, must-have product making companies will definitely grow and prosper.

Entrepreneurship will be the way of life for the future as enterprises will not be able to afford full time employment for many, and many professionals will be forced into consulting and contract work when the job markets are not in their favor.

The markets were not great even before the lock-down, and enterprises had already geared up with Plan A, Plan B and even Plan C. So now they will move directly in to the most aggressive survival plan instead of a quarter wise wait and watch model of financial planning and investments.

Companies who needed an excuse for downsizing has now got a strong reason and they will use the axe at the earliest possible moment.

Employees in their comfort zones will have to perform or perish, as the companies themselves have to be competitive to be able to survive.

Not only entrepreneurs but you will see an intrapreneurial mindset within organizations too, as people will be forced to stretch and perform like an entrepreneur within limited resources within their departments or functions with clear goals.

The post pandemic years will unleash an era of a new breed of entrepreneurs who are educated professionals, experienced, well grounded, matured, talented, ambitious, young and vibrant. They will be genuine and attractive to the investors, and will generate employment that is much needed. The governments will also support entrepreneurs as that will be the only way for taking the economy forward, after a terrible crisis and downfall.

Social Entrepreneurship will hold higher demand and respect in the new scheme of things where there is a general focus on all citizens and not on selective few. There will be more of innovative products and offerings that will emerge for mass must-have needs and less of niche glamour products for select audience. The government will encourage and guide entrepreneurs to execute socially relevant projects and products, which satisfies the needs of the masses and also creates employment.

Professional employees are not having the upper hand anymore and salaries will be cut down to more reasonable levels; in many cases it will be a kind of correction to make salaries more realistic.

The biggest of organizations and the most qualified professionals also resist change. Change management is tough, I have personally seen companies and employees reluctant to adapt computers, digitization, ERP, Internet, Etc. in business for a long time. However when you are forced to adapt change or perish, willingly or unwillingly things change and sometimes transform for the better.

Reskilling will be needed for almost all industries as many organizations have used this opportunity to invent new processes that are more efficient, digital, less expensive and automatic. Thus the digital transformation that the CIO’s and CEO’s were trying and talking for decades have either forcibly or by design happened through a Virus.

The technology push will unleash innovative and efficient digital processes in almost every field like health, shopping, Insurance, Investment Brokers & Distributors, Banks, Food Delivery, Consulting, real estate, Automobile, Music, entertainment and almost everything that you can imagine. Technology will regain its importance and innovative work will happen to enhance customer experience, automate and to go digital as a strategy.

Sales function will be in demand as the cash flow inwards is the key to keep the business alive.

Finance function will also be very important to control and monitor the working capital needs for survival.

Travel will reduce significantly as corporates have adopted remote working and Web Meetings as a new Normal.

Telemedicine will be available to all as it was used extensively for doctor consultations during lockdown. Mental health will also gain importance as the need for the same will be higher.

Virtual meetings, Virtual Teams, Virtual Collaboration and even Virtual companies will emerge in different verticals. Also expect innovative business models and products both digital and otherwise that will transform the way we live our lives. Tools like Slack, flock, Microsoft Teams and WebEx Teams will emerge powerfully to collaborate, meet and manage projects and teams more effectively in a virtual environment.

Online Trainings and Education will emerge and e-Learning will flourish as everyone has experienced online learning and Webinars, and a good part of it will be the new Normal due to its effectiveness and scale of reach. Teachers and Coaches have realized that the reach they can have online is unmatched compared to the traditional classroom mode of teaching/coaching.

Healthcare systems will improve significantly and so will their costs.

Based on past experience of the industry business will increase significantly for Health Insurance and Life Insurance, as people are now aware of the thin line between normal life and a crisis. Savings and Investments will also be more systematic and higher as people will want to be ready with an exigency corpus for all kinds of crisis situations in the future.

Focus on Natural resources, increasing Immunity, Health & fitness, Yoga, Spirituality, Ayurveda and research will increase. Doctors, Nurses, Health workers and Police will have more respect and dignity as they were the real saviors on the field for the citizens in times of crisis.

People and Enterprises will have more gratitude towards God and each other for what they have, and will crib less for more or for what they don’t have.

Irrespective of any class distinctions, we all know that we are equally vulnerable in the area of health and this will probably alter the way we treat other people. Dignity of Labor will emerge in a new light as people realize the importance of cleanliness, domestic labor, drivers, plumbers, electricians, house-keeping staff, blue collared workers and others who were earlier treated as insignificant.

Just like the differences between the upper and lower class of the society will come down the differences between Advanced, emerging and not so rich economies will reduce. New equations of power, politics, business and Money will emerge between nations.

Since the equation between countries will be different and the markets will behave as per their culture and impact of the lock-down, buying patterns will change, Supply chain models will be reconfigured, Production centers will be relocated, new markets will emerge

Advertising world will see a huge downfall as enterprises realize that any amount of money will be insufficient to lure the grounded consumer. Enterprises will focus on selling what is genuinely needed by consumers’ at the most competitive rates. Unwanted glamorous advertising will be replaced with innovative digital marketing to keep the costs to the minimum.

Media will lose its power on people and true journalism will emerge. Social media and people’s voice will emerge stronger than the political and advertising driven media that has misrepresented the facts of the world for vested interests for long.

The world will not end, we will come out victorious over this pandemic, we will continue to live happily; what really matters is whether we used this period to sharpen our skills, transform our mindsets, dream and define new possibilities that is inspiring and is our true calling and purpose of life. Our positive attitude and actions at all times is what define our future.

Nothing much will be lost if the learnings from the crisis is leveraged for the betterment of mankind. Let’s dream of a new world of opportunities, Entrepreneurship and optimism that is truly democratic, tolerant, spiritually mature, financially stable, Performance driven, fair to all, healthy, culturally rich, innovative, advanced yet grounded, educated, animal and nature friendly. Cheers to a New way of Life, cheers to a New Normal.

Dr. Ashok Chandran, is a Business Consultant, Wealth Advisor, Executive Coach, Author of the upcoming book “The Magic of Entrepreneurship” and a believer in the endless possibilities of human potential. You can reach him on [email protected]

#Covid-19, #Corona, #FutureOfEntrepreneurship, #FurureAfterCovid-19, #NewNormal, #FutureWayOfLife, #Entrepreneurship, #TheMagicOfEntrepreneurship, #Insurance #Investments