Hi, I am Stella, a small business owner with pivot whiplash.
The past few months have been a mad scramble figuring out what’s next for this little company, all while coping with the constant firehose of bad news and stress brought on by COVID19.
I’ve been told by some well-meaning fellow business owners that “We’re all in the same boat.” As a young business, it feels more like we’re in the same rough seas. In these crazy waters, some are in navy aircraft carriers or those massive cruise ships that carry thousands of people. While it feels a little rocky, you know you’re safe and the ship will bring you to shore safely.
As a small business owner, it feels like we are riding these crazy waters in a small canoe, and all we can do is to hang on and paddle towards the shore. The next lap looks uncertain as all of us deal with a new world of social distancing and weak consumer demand.
That said, our team has seen this crisis as an opportunity for us to dive deeper into our business, and build a stronger foundation for tomorrow. We have been excited and inspired, exploring what brands are doing to reach out during these tough times and trying out different channels.
This female-led business is often inspired by stories of other women leaders, and we have been looking out for inspiration among female entrepreneurs and their stories. The stories from some of these founders resonated, and here’s us sharing our little survival tale.
How we’re surviv(ing) this crisis
Business has been growing at a steady pace since we started last year through word of mouth, and this crisis has given us some space to figure out where to go and what we want to do as a business. It has been a good time for us to work on our fundamentals and I’m proud to say we launched our website during the depths of this crisis!
We’ve also taken this time to listen to our community and anticipate the needs of businesses ahead. We’ve launched the Post COVID-19 Recovery package earlier this month, and we are looking to launch a few other products to help SMEs through this period.
Our advice to other businesses
Don’t be afraid to reach out to your community. At Plenty, we have been busy listening and reaching out to our friends and network both within and beyond the industry.
We have been inspired by the stories and perspectives from those closest to us, and here we are in the midst of a crisis, still fighting and feeling inspired about what we can do together. There is plenty more planned in the pipeline, so watch this space. We are happy to connect, to brainstorm or just as someone to bounce off ideas. Let’s go further, together.
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
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