Faith in Odds
Mankind has survived the greatest of depressing events in the entire history and yet proved that they are far stronger and more resilient. Be it Spanish flu, the great depression, the great recession or COVID-19 pandemic, we as a human has proved that even innovations and opportunities lie beneath these earth-shaking events. We just need to have a certain eye to look at every adversity as an opportunity to grow, stand out and serve uniquely. The ongoing Pandemic COVID-19 has posed some serious threats to the world economic indicators. It has compelled the largest of largest corporate sectors for downsizing, and layoffs. The number of industries at each scale faced a global threat. The greatest of economies were crunched. Let alone Boeing laid off 6770 workers amid pandemic and there are a lot of other sectors including Finance, education, hospitality, etc. who lost billions and shut down their operations to avoid bankruptcy. According to a report shared in Forbes, almost 50% of companies in the overall US had a massive downsizing or laid off the majority of their employees.
Nevertheless, this pandemic brought gaps to be filled. People diverted their businesses to e-commerce, invested in hygienic products, sold tons of masks and sanitizers but some unique mindsets sensed the dynamic change in the local markets, which took a huge dive to start something of their own and got widely successful.
Diversity & Inclusion
“I decided that if I wanted make change, I needed to start my own business” said Nirupa who is an attorney and executive for 22 years in corporate and government sector. She started Lotus Solutions to help companies understand why it is important to recruit, hire, develop, train and support people who are diverse. Her company helps businesses create diversity and inclusion to ensure a fair workplace through customized consulting, training, and keynote speeches.
On asking about the pandemic hit, she responded that it has overall benefitted her organization. Since her clients were adaptable to technology, she has been fortunate enough to shift to online and not experience an impact on the success of her business.
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Remote Coaching
“It’s a little cost-saving because, traditionally, you would have to put up a lot if miles-travel a lot, set up a lot of displays for expose and spend a lot of money on materials. So actually, this particular opportunity has provided me a better way and a faster way to reach out to a customer” said Natoshia who has 12 years of experience in HR and Management started her venture Task Manager LLC quiet before the lockdown started. Her company provides consulting and skills coaching to businesses to help them grow. The pandemic has allowed her to save a lot of time where she can explore things on a different dimension and has myriads of practices and expertise to offer through the online model. She has agreed to convert to a hybrid business model due to an increase in operational efficiency and cost-saving.
The Board Game
COVID-19 hit hardly on several industries and one of the highly affected industries was advertising. Since the marketing budgets were cut, the majority of small and medium agencies were shut down. Irshad Ahmed Soomro-Creative Director in The BlueDot advertising agency was highly determinant about his new concept of Pakistan’s first cricket board game. He identified the need for people sitting at home and finding ways to end their lockdown boredom. He came up with the concept of designing the first cricket board game in Pakistan named “Crickster”. He and his company were able to put out all the production, logistics, and alliances during the lockdown, and sales were skyrocketed during the first quarter. The game not only brought thousands of customers in the first quarter but also able to sustain his company cash flows which were bleeding during the lockdown.
Fitness Equipment
With various fitness centers in the USA, Americans have switched to home sports facilities to help keep them fit during the coronavirus epidemic. Though purchasing a yoga mat is the number one thing many people buy at home, other fitness items are a hit. Small yet growing technology firms, like Ergatta, FightCamp, Miror and Tonal, are booming and deliver internet-connected workout devices. These platforms allow users to receive guidance live or recorded from experts who are then paired with their equipment built to fit in with their gym or room. There are multiple other success stories where people had the skill, faith, and mindset to deploy resources even in the hard times of pandemic and they turned out to be successful than ever before. There is always a gap, we just need to have a right eye. The common thread behind these success stories? It’s going against all odds and identifying gaps and create value proposition. They have too much fear yet sheer confidence in what they do.
