Given the Corona restrictions, travel bans, curfew, and the partial lockdown, it was only expected for the economy to fall short, threatening most sectors, with both major corporations and small businesses. Co-Founder of the in-chat service Elves, which helps people order and book different sorts of services online, Abeer El Sisi shared her tips on how small businesses can survive this pandemic.
“The situation we’re in now is making every business much more efficient by cutting unnecessary costs, realizing you can actually survive without them,” Abeer said.
- Constant communication between all parties. We are all afraid and have no clarity.
- Be a bit easy with certain deadlines. Everyone assumes being at home means you’re free, but that’s not the case, regardless of your status.
- Have out-of-work topics such as having a workout class together, to bridge the interaction gap.
- Care for the well-being of your employees, through holding needed sessions such as group therapy.
- Understand that people might not have the mindset to work, employers need to be supportive to pass this phase.
- Evolve and update your services according to the situation to fit your clients.
- Employees and employers need to step back and wait to see what happens. Don’t expect for your managers to know what’s next under these unusual circumstances.
- Be empathetic.
- Adapt to new challenges. We hired more couriers to avoid the delays because of the safety regulations and curfew.
- Do not jeopardize the safety of your employees. We allow our couriers to leave if a store is overcrowded to avoid risking their lives.
