Unless you are living under a rock you already know the world is currently under siege from Covid-19 – that causes respiratory issues and has killed quite a few people (over 100,000 actually as we write this). This is by far the biggest health challenge and scare the world has seen in centuries. What are some of the Covid-19 changes that will happen with businesses and individuals. More things will change even after the pandemic ends.

As countries battle to contain the virus, certain strong measures are being taken. Governments all over the world have announced lock-downs forcing people to stay at home and many companies to basically shut down physical operations and move remote.

With drastic changes like this come a lot of pain. People have lost and are still losing jobs. For businesses – some are dead already, more are dying (travel, tourism sectors, lounges, clubs etc are hit badly), while a lot more have had to take drastic actions in the face of increasing cashflow challenges.

Some of the things we always thought didn’t matter no suddenly matter and some stuff we took too seriously no longer matters. We are now like ‘ How the hell did I think we couldn’t do without this or that?’

So basically people now see business trips (flying all over the place in the name of meetings) weren’t that much important after all!

So some of the things we observe (Covid-19 changes) won’t remain the same for both individuals and businesses;

1. Businesses are realising they spend way too much money on offices/rent: So remote work works? Damn! Bet top management of companies and business owners alike are now realising remote work isn’t actually that bad and can actually save them a shit ton of money. 2 weeks into quarantine and work from home (WFH) I and my business partner decided we weren’t going to spend shit on renting space for office anymore. Everyone is gonna work from home probably forever! The introverts will love this.
2. Businesses are taking social media more seriously: With the pandemic we notice businesses that had invested in building strong online presence and brand equity are reaping the benefits while some others are now beginning to labour to build theirs. Businesses that hitherto basically depended on huge offline distribution are now realising social media is very important. Well this throws up opportunities for anyone who has or can quickly learn social media skills to make a decent living helping many of these businesses build up their presence online quickly.
3. One source of Income is Dangerous; the pandemic now makes it very Obvious: If before people ignored this very important advice – to have more than one source or stream of income, now it has hit home. For a lot of people who had just one, job that is gone. They are back to square zero. Now is the time to become strategic about building resilient and different sources of income. Even if you are among those lucky to still have a job, you should start thinking seriously about getting an additional stream of income.
4. Some people will be forced to make the leap to self employment or starting their own business: Lots of people dream of starting their own thing but then keep shifting the goal post. As Covid-19 hits and some lose their job or start to get owed they realise, ‘maybe I should really become serious about starting my own business’. Starting your own business is hard, yes. So of course it is not for everyone. First you have to have a good idea. Then test/validate it to be sure there is a sustainable market before going all in.
5. Travel is Affected and May Never be the Same For Years: This pandemic showed us how unnecessary most business travel was. Business meetings, conferences etc were they all important? With the tools available today board meetings can easily be done remotely for instance. Interviews too. So maybe post Covid-19 most people will realise – oh we can do this without getting on the plane. Less flights. Well, don’t know if that is a good or a bad thing. Travel (especially for business) will be one of the areas with Covid-19 induced changes.