Mid-March 2020 the ground shook, in Kenya. There was a new
bug in town. You had an abrupt welcome to the new normal. Work from home and
social distancing hit you, the SME founder, between the eyes. We all retreated
to the drawing board.
Firstly, you had to accept that you had lost some measure
of control. You took a step back and reflected on your new reality. You had a
meeting with yourself and rehearsed what you would tell your significant other
and the children. After getting that done, you went to your staff and suppliers
and told them what this would mean to them. So far, so good.
Deal with your
internal customers and then deal with the external ones who pay your company. Talk
to your bank, insurance company, landlord and every creditor. While you are at
it talk to your debtors if only to keep communication lines open. In a crisis
like this pandemic, you must keep your wits about you.
In your quiet time reflect on the status quo, reassure
yourself that this too, will pass. Then get into a routine. You must become a
leader of your team or teams. Do what every leader does in a crisis - lead by
example. Lead yourself first. Develop a communication strategy. What will you
tell yourself before you encourage others on a daily basis?
You are going to have to deal with people, like it or not.
Keeping them productive and getting them to perform will require you to dress
up every morning. Have remote meetings with them. Make sure they are up to
speed with communications and technology. You are going to have to make some
hard decisions. You will have to lose some people on your team simply because
you can’t afford them. Those you retain will have to redefine their job
descriptions and deliverables. You are all going to have to acquire new skill
sets. Do a couple of courses online. Many are free.
Let us examine the case of a Kenyan Accountant. Pre
COVID-19, CPA Njambi was looking to increase her production and grow her
practice. She chose to break her normal routine, to seek help, so she
could share her expertise and authority with more people in her community.
Njambi loved the idea of having more clients in
her life, but as a trained Accountant, she didn’t know how to market herself as
an expert and authority.
Like many successful Accountants, she understood
how to create a consistent schedule and make decisions in favour of her clients
— but she never had to wear the “marketing” or “sales” hat.
Like it or not, marketing and sales are pillars
of a strong and healthy practice — for an Accountant providing Auditing and
Accountancy services, they are even more vital. Marketing is an important part
of any business. It is not the only piece in the puzzle
Njambi wanted to broaden her understanding of practice growth
so that she would never have to jump from client to client again. She wanted to
step into the authority space on the right foot, filling her portfolio with her
ideal client.
Then came the pandemic. She had to shut down the office for a while but bills
had to be paid. She developed her own surface dis-infection and distancing
protocols and opened shop. It was time to revise her entire business model and
service delivery channels.
Njambi has joined a program that we run at Passion Profit
designed to create her Best Year Yet in 4 key areas of her life namely Talent,
Profit literacy, Family and Legacy building. We are excited to be working with
Njambi and she is already making great strides in her action plan in these
areas. We hope to ensure that Njambi has an impact on all the people that she
serves at work and at home.
