Recession and depression are a term being constantly talked about throughout the recent coronavirus pandemic. So are you ready for life to get back to ‘normal’, whatever normal is? Perhaps it will make you more apprehensive than previously or encourage you to take more risks in life.
Thinking about how the World and life as we know it might change forever. But could it be a catalyst for positive changes in life and business? Embracing this different reality and new direction.
None of us knows what to expect but our recent experiences can offer new business ideas and opportunities going into a recession.
Not a Normal Recession
We are potentially heading towards unknown recession territory. Even economists are finding it difficult to predict the future economic situation when it comes to the pandemic and what shaped recovery we may follow. There are three routes we may take and economists are deliberating whether it is likely we follow a V, U or L shape.
The global financial crisis of 2008 followed an L-shape where it did not recover for a significantly slow period.
Reuters polls of more than 500 economists predicted to be U-shaped.
Governments everywhere are throwing huge sums of money at the problem to try and slow down the economic damage and potential recovery time.
Everyone is concerned about the recession and how we will recover, but why don’t we think about how we can turn the situation into a positive one?
Turn It Into A Positive
We are in new territory but let us hope it is the catalyst for positive changes.
Will we see it encouraging more people to work from home and recruiting more remote workers from all over the World? Some industries will be consigned to the history books and will become irrelevant in the new business World after Covid – 19.
The focus must be on the emerging new opportunities that have been exposed by the lockdown as our behaviour and priorities change.
Entrepreneurs are a critical part of building a new economy, thinking of new ideas and identifying new business opportunities in such a crisis.
For example, the need for face masks has grown, along with other safety PPE. But so has demand for entertainment through the internet like Netflix, Amazon, and the new Disney channel along with online gaming to keep people busy.
The increased signups to fruit and veg box deliveries, meal delivery services like hellofresh, and all home delivery services have grown hugely.
But could we ever think the supplies of toilet rolls, flour, and vegetable seeds could be in such high demand as people went into preppers mode and bought everything to survive an apocalypse?
Could it be positive for smaller local suppliers? People seem to be returning to the smaller local providers who have been there in times of need. Stepped into where the supermarkets have been failing. Local farm shops keep supplies going and local pubs turn themselves into vegetable shops. Could our buying ways be changed forever in a positive way? Back to buying local and more in-season foods.
Workplace Software in Huge Demand
Companies are being motivated to move toward automation faster than expected. While looking to make their business more immune to disruption like currently being experienced in current events.
Workplace software is being put to the test at an accelerated speed to try and maintain some resemblance to business as usual. Digital workplace software companies like Zoom, Microsoft, and Google have been offering their software for free and strived to accommodate the huge demand from users.
These tools that businesses haven’t ordinarily paid for or seen how useful they can be to their business could see the new norm at the end of this experience.
Many businesses feel less susceptible and affected by the current situation because they’re already significantly automated and have policies and procedures, and workplace software to accommodate remote working.
Automation Tools help Remote Workers Productivity
The need for automation tools has accelerated during the lockdown offering many different cloud services or SaaS products. Allowing a traceable and trackable way to communicate with your remote team whether using project management, task management, or process management to make sure everyone is following standard operating procedures while employees are working from home.
Enabling office meetings to continue via zoom, communication channels with the help of slack, workflow management, all helping to make working remotely possible, and highly productive, to keep business running and the key to continuity planning.
These all offer the potential for the future offering options for more permanent changes to working habits and greater acceptability in general.
The bigger picture offers so much more of a work-life balance by removing commuting times which also offers a reduced environmental impact while offering more family time. The increase in happiness boosts productivity.