Entrepreneurial reflections on the ‘new normal’
As a consumer of all things necessary, particularly in a world taken hostage by a microbial covid-19 pandemic, have you ever stopped and wondered what really matters in the end and what are you doing about that bottom line? If you are like most, circumstances probably forced you to ponder on how the new normal plays for you. Covid-19 could be seen as both a curse and a blessing in the 21st century as such a microbe holds us hostage yet presents many opportunities for transformation. Entrepreneurship is taking center stage in every part of life, as we know it more so now than ever before. However, as economics presses forward to shape societies, fiscal policies continue to advocate for sustainable development. If you like most, scramble to find ways for survival in a world crying out for innovation.
GEN-NAMIBIA is proud to be a change agent through its collaborative networks aimed at supporting With SME development efforts in Namibia. The recent Entrepreneurship World cup Championship is one such collaboration where young Namibians pitched their ideas and projects for the whole world to see and support. The occasion presents successful entrepreneurs to secure essential financing and business development opportunities, at a time when resourceful support is everything to any business during this tough time. The competition offered a great learning platform to see the approaches taken by the entrepreneurs to pitching. We congratulate the three local winners for the great potential they show through their projects.
A lesson is certain, creativity that meets the needs of the target market and is packaged innovatively is sure to be a cut above the rest. That being said, it is in the new normal landscape that each one of us has an opportunity to truly reflect on our greatest strengths and passions to make them come to light in a bold way that clearly speaks to oneself and the world out there. It takes a moment of pausing, observing, reflecting, and preparing for transformational change from the inside out!
At face value, any aspirant woman entrepreneur would perhaps be forgiven for thinking that a period of global economic crisis would not be the best time to launch a new business. But is that really the case? On a cold and rainy afternoon, I found myself curled up on the couch re-reading the book ‘Obsessed: Building a Brand People Love from Day One by the fabulous entrepreneur Emily Heyward.
You may know her as the co-founder and chief brand officer at Red Antler, the uber-successful, full-service brand company based in Brooklyn, USA. She shares a philosophy that times of crisis and huge change can actually be great times to start a new business. Together with her co-founders, she started Red Antler only moments before the global financial crisis in 2008. You may think that such a decision was to be regretted in hindsight, but in fact, the company rode an unprecedented wave of innovation that was stimulated out of necessity by those adverse circumstances.
We can all learn from such examples. As the world is currently in such an uncertain state, and consumers are looking to have very different, more life-affirming buying experiences, this creates new business opportunities for those who are innovative. So perhaps the perfect time to start a new business is now!
“We are all in this together!”
