ALL CONTENT AND PHOTOS WRITTEN AND SUBMITTED BY NIALA RAMKALLAWAN
With the exponential spread of the COVID-19 Virus globally, our Twin Island Republic continues to engage in preventative action and exercise much vigilance. For the entire Caribbean Region, this health situation is undeniably very serious and must be treated with extreme care, if we are to survive this devastating ordeal.
In safeguarding our population of 1.4 million persons in Trinidad and Tobago at this time, our Governing Body has taken a firm stance to allow only the operation of Essential Services. Though this decision seems biased to the business community at large, it is a tough step to take when considering the issue of priority and necessity, and one taken after much deliberation in light of expert opinions, weighing the consequences, by attentively monitoring the trends, and keeping abreast of breaking news on a regional and global scale.
As our entrepreneurs in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises continue to feel the direct effects of this pandemic, it is indeed a very worrisome time full of stress, anxiety, depression and panic but we need to act as responsible individuals and try our best to make conscious decisions and well-informed choices.
Personally, I know it’s challenging to remain positive when the livelihood of your family, employees, customers, business and yourself, depend on the daily income generated from your particular businesses. It is not surprising that Entrepreneurs hardest hit from the onset of this pandemic are those Personal Service providers who handle events, decor, floral, hair dressing, body sugaring, baking, tuition, travel, transportation and also catering to name a few.
At this moment, I wish to remind you that you are not the average person, but you are an Entrepreneur with experience, and commensurate instincts and talents that come with the territory. By our very nature, YOU ARE someone seasoned:
- To survive amidst challenges. It is within your psyche that survival is priority.
- To be resilient against economic and financial changes. You are sturdy and will come out fighting.
- To battle negativity. We all know it’s no easy task to push yourself when you are affected by ‘doom and gloom’. DO NOT let this dictate what your life should be and what you want it to be, but instead keep busy enough to focus your mind on positive, encouraging, enriching and uplifting things.
- To push yourself while propelling yourself forward. Honestly speaking, no one person I’ve ever met throughout my life has wanted to be in the same place or situation that they have been in yesterday or even an hour ago. It’s purely by instinct and ambition that we strive to push on and progress.
- Plan B or Plan C is necessary and will come in very handy. Yes, Contingency Planning is always extremely useful. By being proactive, you have a better command and reallocation of your resources when it comes to making financial, emotional, social, business, personal and even those professional choices.
With this pandemic, it is empirical that you make a conscious choice to have COURAGE, FAITH and also be RESILIENT. Though the current situation may appear bleak, disheartening and even downright disappointing to see the business that you’ve nurtured and grow with your own hands and numerous sacrifices suffer or spiral downward, times will get better because it is not your final destination and you are more than a Conqueror.
Consider the impact of COVID-19 on you and your business as A PERSONAL TEST and RIGHT NOW is the time to think about things, evaluate your situation, broaden your scope, make smart choices, and revise or completely remodel your strategy. So I’d like to propose the following:
- Vital Tips to aid your decision making:
- Reflect on past plans, the current and future ones even.
- Engage in critical thinking, brainstorm, and take notes.
- Strategise new plans and set up contingencies.
- Right this moment, it is important to grow your Faith. You must conceive and believe in order to ACHIEVE.
- Research and get your hands on factual data and information from credible sources. Don’t believe everything you hear, as statistics prove the more persons that carry a message with the identical details, the more that information becomes skewed and erroneous for the next recipient. So just imagine if 10 persons retold the same message what the result could be?
- Make informed and the right choices. Listen, observe, learn then LEAD.
- Last but in no way the least. Stay positive. I get that it’s hard and even harder to put on a brave face, but I just know you have it within you. The good times will return. Your mindset and attitude will be the most important things to pull you out of this situation.
Whatever happens, God is in control, but do not test him. I remind each of you to continue engaging in proper sanitation, personal hygiene and adhering to other precautionary measures inclusive of social distancing and the limit of persons allowed in public gatherings meted out by the Authorities.
It is of utmost importance that you take care of yourself and those around you at all times, and more so when no one’s looking to fight the spread of this deadly virus. Please remember to protect yourselves as the old adage says, “Prevention Is Better than Cure”.
Sources:
http://www.picturequotes.com/good-choices-quote-1-picture-quote-609835
https://quotefancy.com/choices-quotes
https://www.reddit.com/r/GetMotivated/comments/864u3b/image_you_either_get_bitter_or_you_get_better/
About Niala
I am a Freelance MSE & Social Media Advisor, the Owner/Founder of Gia’s Creative Studio and YBTT Mentor/Advisor providing ‘Insights from a Creative Entrepreneur’ on transformational leadership, strategy, forging a legacy, motivation and success.
Niala Ramkallawan, MBA, BSc.
You can find me on:
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/niala-r-71b12742/
YBTT - https://ybcaribbean.skysthelimit.org/volunteer-profile/15317
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/giascreativestudio/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/giascreativestudio.868/
