It’s a tough time for businesses all over the globe. Especially if you’re in the leisure, travel, or tourism industries. Since covid, everything has been up and down. From business closures, right the way through to acquisition issues. Business goals have shifted in some cases from growth to survival. So how are businesses coping? What are they doing to get themselves through these tough times? Of course, what works for one business may not for the other, but some can certainly be worth trying. The south has always been associated more with the tourism side of business, as well of course for their industry. With Covid not yet giving up, and with some experts predicting severe economic fallout, here are some of the ways businesses have tried to cope.
Businesses have looked to protect their cash flow. For many, this means being completely aware of what help is available to them. Are their grants available for business owners to take advantage of? Some businesses have taken even further risks by putting their liquidity into gold, and some are even learning how to trade bitcoin after its recent gain in value. Some are having to look at their total debt servicing ratio, especially when it comes to big expenditures like a mortgage or rental costs. Cash flow is vital and a lot of businesses have had to limit customers buying items on credit. Waiting for customer cash means businesses might have to wait to pay suppliers, loans, and general fees meaning they’ll be charged interest. It’s a vicious circle because it means they lose custom too, but by protecting cash flow businesses can ensure they don’t get bogged down and can continue trading.
Other businesses have been looking to expand overseas. Certain markets are thriving amidst the Covid pandemic, with very many places operating as usual. Some have leveraged good business connections in Japan or South Korea. For the main, these are distribution opportunities whereby businesses are looking to sell tech and items made abroad back home. However, there are other overseas ventures too. Certain businesses have begun offering their products and expertise to overseas markets while they wait for issues at home to settle down. Before, the cost might have been prohibitive as the cost of shipping would squeeze the bottom line, but now, for many, a small bit of profit is better than none at all.
Many businesses in the south are longstanding and steeped in tradition. It means that a lot of them had not had an online presence. The current state of affairs has certainly changed things. Many businesses are now setting up online to ensure they can offer their products to people further afield. Whereas the local populations may have been enough, with lockdown or curfew in effect this may no longer be the case. It’s led to a surge in demand for search engine optimization services while businesses compete for online space. For some, the move may turn out a resounding success while others might still find they struggle. It all depends how they’ve approached their website and integration with social media and other platforms. Having an online presence is like having another shop window and is certainly helping some cope.
It’s important to focus on growth areas but sometimes, a business owner can’t have too many plates spinning. It can be tough to admit you’re out of your depth but when the survival of the business is in question it can be necessary. Freelancers can help you. It may be that you want to start selling items on Amazon, but you aren’t sure if the brand you want to sell needs to be ungated. It could be that you want to put more effort into your website to attract more customers that way so pay for content writers to pad out your blog. Or you might want help applying for a new local grant which can help your business survive. The key point is that people know more than you regarding certain areas and you should leverage this knowledge to get the best out of them. The issue being that you must put some time into researching who the best freelancer is to suit your needs and budget. You can start at sites like Fiverr or Upwork and go from there. Another plus is that they aren’t employees, you pay for what you need on an ongoing basis and can stop whenever you feel you need to.
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