• Adapt, Pivot, Transition, Evolve - How Do We Proceed?

    Adapt.

    Pivot.

    Transition.

    Evolve.

    All these and more not-so-new words have been added to our business dictionary. Every business now, no doubt, has had to take some unplanned action/s to ensure survival in the next coming months. Businesses that fail to take any action will indeed struggle to get ahead and will die eventually.

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  • How Can My Business Survive 2021

    2021 just hit like 2020 and micro and small businesses are no doubt still having some problems either pivoting or adapting.

    However, there is still reason to be somewhat optimistic about the future of some micro and small businesses. But this grandeur future won’t come without the work. For the businesses sitting around and waiting for the “normalcy” to return, you may have quite a long wait and your business may suffer while you wait.

    In the grand scheme of things, businesses have to literally now “mind their own business!” Your survival depends on what you do now AND what you don’t do.

    Here are some key things that can contribute to your survival and success:

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  • Is It Time To Close My Business?

    This one is going to hurt your pride most, we know.

    Though some MSMEs may be seeing the end of their venture, we must send some comfort their way – some doors close so that others may open. For some, this usually means the start of something new.

    When the time comes to move on, Entrepreneurs ought to have an exit strategy, as properly...and gracefully closing things off legally and financially will improve your chances of transitioning smoothly into another venture. So how do Entrepreneurs know when it is time to shut the door and move on? It is indeed a difficult realization that most must come to. The end may also be inevitable, and it is just a matter of when. Here then, we find Entrepreneurs holding on with every last bit of hope, cash, and pride, as they slowly come to terms with what has to be done. We do not always have the ability to foresee the end or detect the time at which we need to move on.

    Even successful Entrepreneurs can be faced with the decision to fold for one reason or the other. It must be noted that a failed business does not define an Entrepreneur. In this fast-paced, ever-changing, global digital era, adapting, pivoting, transitioning, and even evolving, can mean shutting a present business down to start a new project, perhaps using a different model, different tools, different principles, and different objectives so as to now cater to the changing shift in buyer decisions and consumer demands. Consequently, it is imperative that businesses are able to monitor and identify the signs that will indicate when the time has finally come, to shut the doors on a teetering venture.

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  • The Case for Brick - and - Mortar Survival Post-Pandemic

    Contrary to popular beliefs, the Covid-19 global pandemic did not bring an end to the era of the physical retail space. Admittedly though, and evident enough, the online space has further opened up several exciting and advantageous opportunities for the business world. This could very well mean a continuous decline over the coming months of 2021 as the world struggles to return to pre-pandemic mode.  

    2020 is almost behind us with just a few days to go again, and we can choose to see the future in 2021 as ripe with exciting and interesting possibilities or daunting with business failures ahead.

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  • Why Local Banks Had to Reduce Card USD Limits - A Simple Outlook

    In 2017, market challenges affected Foreign Exchange (FX) availability and caused our banks to set limits on foreign exchange transactions. Now once again, those same market conditions have deteriorated and we are back at it.

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