Building a stable business is the dream of every entrepreneur. However, this may not be achieved due to the dynamic business environment. Businesses face challenges during tough economic times like stalled growth or closure. This article is a combination of adaptability and resilience ideas shared during the SNDBX annual conference to help entrepreneurs navigate through a crisis.

Resilience

To remain resilient a business must have;

Leadership and governance. This is the first step towards surviving a crisis. Strong leadership and governance can come up with strategies that align the business to its mission and vision even during a crisis. Agility in decision making is key in withstanding storms that are associated with a crisis.

An understanding of the economic engine. This refers to what is bringing revenue at a particular point. Focusing more on what is generating revenue during a crisis can save the situation. Besides how well company expenses can be explained to realise profits is an aspect of the economic engine. Company expenses should be picture perfect as this can facilitate cutting of unnecessary expenditure. Clear record keeping is key in explaining expenses and ease tracking.

Embrace technology. Technology is the driver of success in this century. Leveraging technology can help a business remain operational even during a crisis. Technology supports growth for SMEs by creating new streams of revenue and facilitating innovation.

People

To remain resilient a business must consider;

Right skill set. Getting the right skill set for the right job is important. Employees who are motivated and happy to serve is an asset to a company. Getting the right skill set starts from the recruitment process. Know the goals and objectives of an interviewee to see if they are the right fit for your business. Besides, a unique skill set is an asset to a business because it can result to innovation. This removing stumbling blocks to accelerate business growth.

Family and friends. Business owners tend to employing everybody. You may feel obliged to employ all family members in your businesses. You cannot have all the experts working for you unless you want to run broke. Besides, the component of your team is a critical factor just like your source of funds. Their skilling and alignment to your vision are key considerations for investors.

Funding

Ideas on sources of funding;

Identify the right source of funding. Entrepreneurs were advised to understand the right sources of funds playing in the field when seeking for alternative funding. Find the right shoe, because if you wear the wrong shoe, it will pinch you. Businesses can get funding from Investors locally or from internationally. Most businesses in Kenya are however funded by external investors and there was a call to have more local funding.

Credit guarantee scheme. Credit guarantee schemes is an initiative by the government of Kenya that makes it possible for MSMEs to access credit from formal lending institutions. This initiative has made it easy for MSEMs to access affordable credit for growth and development.

Sacco. Sacco are becoming popular and are now giving affordable loans to MSMEs as well. They offer the services similar to banks however the difference between Sacco and banks is affordability. The fact that it is possible to join a Sacco as a corporate member is a motivating. To access any of these funds, an SME must have a clear business plan.

Indeed there is opportunity in adversity. These ideas are useful in building sustainable businesses. Always remember that implementation is the beginning of the success journey.

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Lucy Moragwa is a Business Process Analyst with dynamic experience spanning several industries including construction, technology, retail, media, advertising, and branding. She is specialised in helping organisations develop operational efficiency and increase revenue, business process improvement and using root cause analysis to identify issues and develop process improvements. The heart of her work is to help organisations achieve cost savings through exceptional planning and implementation of business processes.