Small businesses and corona: Online, paperless and other hints

Friday | 05 June | 2020

By Nico Strydom

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on especially small, micro and medium-sized undertakings, with thousands of these undertakings that perforce ground to a standstill.

Numerous undertakings began to do business online due to the isolation regulations in an effort to  still to business. Many undertakings will be able to open their doors again under phase 3 of the isolation regulations but undertakings are still going to experience many problems and it is now the time to work creatively and smart.

Jacqueline Raw, owner of the marketing consultation group Ycagel, is of the opinion that undertakings can open up new potential to generate revenue by going online. She adds that undertakings have nothing to lose by going online.

According to Raw the first step is to find your online product. “You have something that you can sell online, you just have to find out what it is. Take time to do a SWOT analysis to find out what your reality is, where the opportunities are and where you can fit in.”

The next step is to select the right platform for your clients. “Is your online product or service ideal for a social-media platform? Must it be possible to buy and pay for it online? The biggest mistake is to try and get on all platforms simultaneously. Then take a chance and take your business online.”

Millions of South Africans have been working from home lately and this enabled undertakings to see what limitations the dependence on hard-copy documentation placed on their businesses.

“It is essential to switch to a paperless system and let your undertaking move into the digital era,” is the opinion of Mark Elliot, co-owner of BSI Integrated Applications. “The good news is that it is quite simple for most undertakings to become paperless and that now is the ideal time to do it.”

According to Elliot the transition to digital technology means that documents are immediately available to everybody irrespective of the time of day. “This will also improve client service and in this time of Covid-19 it also means that social distancing is not a problem.”

Another advantage of digital technology is the protection of information. According to Elliot online data can be encrypted easily, which will enhance cyber security.

“By taking small steps to introduce digital transformation, it is possible for undertakings that had to work fully remote due to the corona virus, to focus their efforts on growth and not only recovery.”

 

Sources

Ycagel: http://ycagel.com/

BSI Integrated Apllications: http://www.bsi-auto.com/

 

* All information was correct at the time of publication.