If you are a business owner, do you accept “hibernation” or find every way to survive during the pandemic?

We all know that, according to Directive 16 on social distancing, apart from some sectors like healthcare, manufacturing, banking, and essential goods and services, most businesses in other fields had to either suspend operations or transition to a remote work model. So, at this time, leaders faced an existential question – WHAT MORE CAN WE DO TO SURVIVE? 

Faced with this question, 1Office would like to present a typical example: Mr. Vu Trung Anh, the CEO and Founder of BEYOURS (a home furniture brand). In a situation where he couldn’t sell furniture, he still had to support hundreds of employees in his company, with operating costs alone amounting to 1.5 billion VND per month. This meant he faced two choices: either let his employees take a few months off and return to work after the lockdown, or find something else to sell to generate cash flow and maintain operations. And Mr. Vu Trung Anh decided to switch to selling essential foods.

As a result, the company sold about 5 tons of food per day. Sales nearly reached the break-even point, allowing the company to support its staff as it did before the pandemic, and amounted to 50% of its usual furniture sales revenue. Additionally, 30% of the company’s staff continued to work, taking on furniture production for other factories. 

Beyours company switched from selling furniture to essential foods during the pandemic. 

This is an example that shows both risk, boldness, and success. If you are stuck struggling with losses, suspended operations, and unemployed staff, this is an example worth learning from to find a way out for your business. Do you decide to quietly shut down or pivot to doing business in a permitted sector? This forces managers to confront decisions that cannot be avoided. 

However, if you choose the second option, you will also face many challenges regarding opportunities and risks, personnel deployment, rapid marketing strategies, and especially, how to operate.

The Challenge of Opportunity and Risk 

In business, just hitting the right “timing” – “the right moment,” “the right time” – can create a huge opportunity for success. But remember, there are two sides to every coin. If you succeed, you can secure jobs for your employees as well as revenue and profit for the business to survive in the market. But if you fail, a business that is struggling will die completely. 

During the prolonged pandemic outbreak that lasted for many weeks, people had to stay home for social distancing. They began to worry about when the pandemic would end, and their main concern was whether there would be enough food supplies during the lockdown. Was it safe to go out and buy food at this time? If a business could seize this need and opportunity to pivot, the chances of success would be quite high. 

However, great opportunities come with great risks. The challenges presented during the pandemic were completely unprecedented: various levels of social distancing, rapid changes in government policies, the worsening situation of the pandemic day by day, etc. Pivoting a business is not a simple task even under normal conditions, so it becomes even more difficult during a pandemic when everything changes so quickly and there are so many variables. Business is a practical challenge, not a “chicken soup for the soul” story. Therefore, not everyone can easily overcome it and achieve success like the inspiring story of BEYOURS.

What to Prepare for the New Battle

When starting a new race, you need to pay special attention to at least one of the following three factors: First, personal experience and understanding of the industry or field; if not, you must have a strong mentor, and it’s best to leverage your existing strengths. Second, you must have a reputable network of connections and suppliers ready for you to join. Third, the company’s existing systems must be compatible with this new industry. 

Even for a short-term strategy, it is crucial to carefully analyze the SWOT factors (Strengths – Weaknesses – Opportunities, and Threats) because every penny spent now will have a significant impact. When doing business with a different product, you will also face a series of challenges related to transportation, supply sources, storage methods, etc. In the market, there are many businesses fiercely competing in the field you intend to pursue. Are you sure they are thriving, or are they also facing many difficulties? Can this industry be expected to yield outstanding profits if you enter it? Next are the risks that arise when delving into business operations, such as system overload, operational breakdowns, etc.

Build a gradual, step-by-step approach and supplement human resources once you start seeing results. In particular, you need to have a contingency plan and always maintain a spirit of rapid flexibility in the face of any problem. And to do this, you need a strong team. This is called the strategy team and the execution team, which are part of the human resources challenge. 

The Human Resources Challenge

You know that the new field is not a strength of your company’s employees. However, with a specific, clear, and realistic strategy, you can completely turn things around. Utilize all available human resources within the company, assigning tasks based on individual strengths to distribute the workload evenly for this exciting new venture.

Assemble a core team to map out a step-by-step strategy for the new venture.

For the strategy team, you need to mobilize the company’s core marketing and communications staff to focus on building effective steps across all communication channels. These steps need to clearly meet customer reach metrics: sales channels, managing media image, handling crises during overload, etc.

For the execution team, you need teammates who are ready and able to take charge of the goods system: Who will find shipping suppliers, who will manage the warehouse and control data, who will be in charge of and audit cash flow… Each position comes with its own set of challenges. Therefore, as a leader, you need to give clear and decisive instructions.

After solving the above problems, you and your team have entered the market, and it seems everything is ready and running smoothly for the company’s turnaround effort. However, you must remember the main field in which the business operates. You definitely cannot forget it. Thus, dedicate 30% of your personnel to maintain core business operations, ensuring its survival until the pandemic passes.

Although this is only a temporary solution to adapt during the pandemic, carefully consider your own capabilities and your purpose as a leader. This is not a personal experiment or a matter of individual success or failure, but about the benefits for all employees. Therefore, make a decision: Will you close your business, or will you apply your next business strategies to help the company and hundreds of employees “survive” the pandemic and continue to thrive afterward?