Earlier this year, we were faced with a tremendous setback from our businesses when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down all transactions worldwide. All businesses including micro-businesses were forced to follow government protocols to limit the spread of the virus which leads some startup businesses to shut down and lose their entire profit and assets. Many workers were also affected due to retrenchment from some companies which created more panic in this situation.
According to the US Chamber of Commerce survey, 70% of small businesses are still concerned about financial status due to prolonged closures and 58% are still worrying about their permanent closure.
All of these uncertainties happening forced small enterprises to close their doors due to financial challenges or lack of client demand or other aspects. As one of the startup companies, iBlockCube manages to stand despite the significant challenges this year.
iBlockCube’s challenges during this pandemic
iBlockCube started as a company in the year 2017, offering electronic accessories like travel adapters, extension cords, and many more. It all started with frustration from not being able to charge gadgets during travel abroad because some countries have different wall sockets, this sparked an idea to craft a product to address this situation. As they began to strategize their workflow, they were immediately challenged this year which forced them to reorganize their system to adapt to this situation.
One of the main strategies they implemented is to identify the challenges and how to overcome each challenge.
- New Adjustment for employees
The first thing to worry about is the welfare of your workers, they are the best asset you can have especially in this time of crisis. Since everything and everyone has gone digital these days, the adjustment from work from home has created a challenge to balance the office home environment from work pressure. Staying connected through various applications somehow eases this burden and the company makes sure to stay connected with its employees to keep the team organized and maintain communication with one another.
- Decreasing number of customers
The sudden decrease of customers is a big impact on new small businesses that are trying to reach a broader audience. Keeping the customers’ attention regardless of the pool of information about the Covid-19 is a challenging task. In order to stand out from the crowd of new information, the business has to support these procedures while maintaining a good customer relationship.
- Cash Flow
The decreased number of customers has a domino effect on money management. Many small businesses are struggling on assessing their capital to stay afloat, keeping their supplies in line, making sure their employees can work from home, and the increasing demand from our situation. There are still institutions or government programs helping startups and small businesses to alleviate this financial stress.
- Abiding with government protocols
New government regulations focusing on eradicating the spread of coronavirus remain a challenge to business owners and employees alike. It is essential as a business to abide by these protocols in order to help flatten the curve and align the company with the government’s goals and objectives. As we slowly open our doors once again, it is a bigger challenge to follow protocols with the uncertainties and seemingly conflicting regulations.
- Digital Challenges
One of the biggest trends this year is going digital. The influx of big or small businesses optimizing their websites and social media platforms served as a lifeline to keep every business to stay afloat amidst the restrictions of government to open stores. Regardless of what type of business, the internet is a great tool to reach a broader audience hence diverting your strategies to going digital requires another funding.
- Facing Uncertain Future
Among the reasons why some startup businesses caused to close is because of an uncertain future. But there’s still a ray of hope as some companies are resilient and innovative in providing their customers the right products or services in this time of crisis. Even startup businesses stay open, they still face significant challenges.
It is essential to identify the challenges that we currently face and work out some strategies to overcome this. Take time to reevaluate your situation and assess some ways before jumping into drastic decisions.
As startup companies are still thriving to build awareness to their customers, the corona crisis introduced a greater challenge that will test the ability of each business to rise. These may be the challenges that startup businesses are facing but we are uncertain about what is yet to come. We just have to be prepared for the coming challenges.