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How Entrepreneurs Can Tackle The 2020 Crisis

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Entrepreneurs today are focusing on the financial challenges posed by COVID-19. Companies, no matter how digitalized, need to look beyond the immediate liquidity issues. What lessons has this pandemic given to prepare for the “new normal”? How can we enable businesses to thrive in a post-crisis world? These are some essential things to tackle the 2020 crises in entrepreneurship for the future.

The First Phase of Planning

Adaptability will be critical to a business’s survival. Be prepared for the worst. Readjust if the situation improves faster. Startups should assume that all these three things will happen. Receivables will get delayed. Consumers may want discounts on services they’ve availed of. Contracts will not close at the last moment. The experts say communication with the team is vital in aligning goals. Startups should hold weekly meetings with the core team to discuss runway and cash burn. For most startups, the priorities should be liquidity, business continuity, and employee safety.

Be Patient, Funds Will Be Hard to Come By

Right now, any startup’s aim should be to have 12-18 months of cash in the business. It will be tough to raise funds. But still, numerous investors are searching for opportunities to give funding and earn a return. In order to triumph over fundings, startups have to understand the process of pitching business ideas to investors. With the increase in macroeconomic risk, valuations will reset. Many investors may not think regarding growth at any cost. They will focus on consistent growth with an aim towards profitability. So, adjust your business plan and messaging.

How to Delight Customers in the Pandemic?

2020 is not an ordinary year, due to social distancing or quarantine lifestyles, people’s habits and priorities have been altered. To acknowledge the change in lifestyle, businesses can offer at home necessity products or services temporarily. The temporarily offered products/services could be a trial version of your main product. This will bring in some revenue at present and also will boost up the brand awareness for the long term. 

Assess Risks and Work Around Them

The business environment of 2020 has been hit hard by the Pandemic so founders must have some specialized members of the team. They should focus only on risk management. The primary aim of risk management is to create a framework. It allows the company to be proactive rather than reactive. It assesses the macroeconomics trends in the market. While assessing impact, go one layer deeper. See if it has affected your consumers and their operational sectors.

“In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

Embrace the New-Normal

COVID-19 has given reason for more and more businesses to pivot their strategy and find ways to make remote work applicable. Employees are connecting with colleagues via collaboration tools and video-conferencing platforms for business

Practically not every business can easily function with their employees working from home, but they need to adapt it gradually. Looking at the positive side of working from home is that there is a healthier balance between work and personal life. Also as an entrepreneur, you can hire a highly skilled or hard-working employee from any corner of the country or world as they will be working remotely. 

An additional way of embracing the new-normal is through being online like never before. 3.81 billion people are using social media in 2020. It’s needless to state the importance of social media in business. Superior entrepreneurs know that the social media presence of the brand leads to a more trustworthy relationship between the business and its potential customers.    

Take a Good Care of Your Piggy Bank

Cash is the king in any crisis. The opposite can also be true. A business left without money can turn into a failure. Look and analyze the cash flowing now. Based on low revenue scenarios, calculate the runway. You don’t have to do everything yourself, your business must have a financial advisor, and if not it’s time to hire one.

 Entrepreneurship is not easy, you don’t have to just take care of the business asset but also care about personal finance. Well, expenses are never under control but a sensible option could be opening a recurring bank account. In a recurring bank account, a specific amount of money gets deposited automatically every month. Set a time to check the deposit each month.

Right now many aspects may look bleak. In the crisis, work isn’t regarding finding out the optimal choice now. The work is to find the choice that is the least wrong. And this choice may still hurt you. But it will be less than the other choices you have with you.  

We may conclude that with proper initial planning, exploring funding options, satisfying customers, assessing risk, and coping up with the latest business trends will help entrepreneurs to tackle the crisis. The lockdown and pandemic will fade away gradually, but until that day, entrepreneurs surely have an opportunity to influence the outcome and come out even stronger. 

Mark Burke is a blogger and a business consultant in Alcor, a global investment bank. Mark is passionate about researching on the latest small business and marketing trends. He loves writing informative blog posts to help small business owners and startup founders in their entrepreneurial journey. Connect with me on LinkedIn

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Business

The Entrepreneur’s Reading List That Transforms Ideas Into Empires

These must-read titles and writing insights reveal how entrepreneurs turn bold ideas into empire-level success.

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top entrepreneurship books for business growth
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Entrepreneurship is powered by stories—of accomplishment, failure, and decision moments that define businesses. Books are maps, providing insight from individuals who’ve traversed the road ahead. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
Image Credit: Midjourney

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
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When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

Building a Business Empire: Lessons from the World’s Boldest Entrepreneurs

Learn essential lessons, success strategies, and mindset shifts every aspiring entrepreneur needs to overcome challenges and build a thriving business.

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how to build a business empire
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Back in July 2017, I attended a business seminar on entrepreneurship in India. With my appetite for learning and meeting new people, I wanted to explore the latest developments in the entrepreneurial world. (more…)

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