My Business, Coronavirus & Me

I was caught in a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts. Later, I had the feeling that we were all facing the same reality. Yes, many large and small businesses suffer from the devastating effects of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19); my small company does not choose.

I still remember when the news about the virus began to spread and spread. I sat at the back of the home office desk, doing my daily chores, translating for others, following my team, and chasing pending invoices. Back then, I could hear the sad sound of the morning news, which my visiting father liked to start his day with. (Fortunately, he was able to leave Dubai and return home before the travel ban was banned.)

"What about all the exaggeration? They don't have any other bad news to report?" I caught myself thinking when I listened to the latest statistics about the number of cases and deaths caused by a flu-like virus called the novel coronavirus, which is somehow related to bat soup, as previously reported. Apparently, the virus is rapidly spreading to the animal market in an area called "woo-han" or "wa-han" in China. And now the area is completely closed to prevent the virus from spreading, and locals are showing unity by singing in their balloons overnight.

In the churches I would have lived the same truth, had empty streets and supermarkets in Dubai and beat up neighbors thanking the top staff (or maybe entertaining their bored kids) at 8 p.m. every night. I never thought my balcony would be my new gym. Most importantly, I never thought that this virus would have a significant impact on my editing and translation business, which I grew up with four years ago. But it has, as it has in many other new and established companies.

You see, most of my clients are in PR, events, guests, and e-commerce sectors; we provide them with creative content solutions and translation services. However, when they don't have a job, I don't have a job, which is as simple as that.

I became angry, I cried, I thought, I even thought about being a yogi. I Viewed 10 Ways of Information on LinkedIn on YouTube. I'm looking for "strategies for selling your services on social media." I chased unpaid invoices with unprecedented courage. I read carefully the plans to promote the UAE government and could not figure out how to benefit from them.

One minute I was hopeful and ready to take on all the free masterclasss, which are suddenly available online all of a sudden. I was ready to explode my contact list for our offer in emails that start with "I hope you're safe" and end with "#stayhome." I was determined to look for new opportunities and to learn new skills. And in a year’s time, I will be on the TED talk stage giving the audience an inspiring talk on how to rebuild my business from scratch after the negative effects of the COVID-19 crisis.

The next minute I was in a scene from a sad game with my bad thoughts, an empty bank account, a melted company, a new oil ring around my stomach caused by "pizza, Netflix and crying," and my anxiety, causing a hula that didn't stop hooping inside my mind.

Beach closed in Dubai

The only thing that makes me feel better about this situation is that I am not the only one going through it. My business does not suffer because I have mistreated it or because I am a failure, but because of a much smaller business than the rest of us. There is a sense of reassurance and stability in knowing that we are all facing the same reality.

Great Establishments with massive budgets, oil companies, prestigious fashion brands, famous celebrities bored at home, SMEs, freelancers, independent creatives... and I.

This virus has made us equal in our struggle to stay active, no matter how big our business. We are all looking for ways to adapt and rearrange our thoughts, costs, and priorities so that we can assess our strengths and weaknesses and look for new opportunities. Because of these changes, one cannot help but wonder, is this virus a hidden blessing or perhaps a reset button that we have always loved from the boundaries of our comfort zone but have never been pressured? Is it a wake-up call that we always snooze? Or is it a difficult and mandatory invitation to abandon our old ways and embrace new habits, even if that means downloading TikTok?

We have all heard the phrase "adapt or die"; the dinosaurs understand it well. If there is one thing you can learn from extinct creatures and this global problem, it would be to "adapt and minimize your losses."

To achieve that, as business owners, we need to rethink our remote operating policy and invest in its tools (if the nature of our business allows it); rethink the way we conduct meetings (we've all seen that "this meeting might be an email" meme); see all the expensive business flights that can be replaced by Zoom calls (your budget and environment will thank you); reconsider our services and products and, if possible, make them downloadable, distributed, and distributed. We need to re-examine the behavior of our customers by 2020 and ask ourselves:

Are they old and need help shopping in the store or online, or do Gen Z VSCO girls face the challenge of TikTok dancing?

Should we advertise our products or services through online apps and subscriptions?

Is there a need to invest in today's website with new content?

Will my customers return to my store after closing or will they end up shopping at my store? Is my e-store ready for that?

Is my productivity higher now that they are working from home?

Has working from home reduced my work expenses?

Can I convert my services into an e-book or online course to reach a larger number of customers?

It is naïve to think that the problem of COVID-19 will not come back under a different name or * ahem * mask. It is not mature to believe that the pre-coronavirus of the world will be the same post-coronavirus.

We must be prepared for this "new standard" and prepare ourselves in advance by gathering or building the right tools and skills to face the uncertain future and prosper in it.

All of this unit has placed us at the highest level of our intellectual, intellectual, physical and economic capabilities. At the same time, it has motivated us, it has taken away our intelligence, it has forced us to think ahead, and to plan our future for our businesses. As we struggle today, this struggle can be a painful price we must pay to write the next glorious chapter of our success story. And of course, we will all have an inspiring talk that we will share on the TED talks.