Can We Continue?

by Manini Mbongwa

I find myself surprised that we are almost ending the first quarter of the year 2022 so suddenly.  For many entrepreneurs there has been a confusion of whether they should try to revive their businesses or just give up.  After going through the tough period of closing their doors due to the pandemic, and furthermore being affected by looting, it has not been an easy ride.  According to Stats SA almost 1000 businesses were liquidated in 2021. It is unfortunate that the current financial situation, not only in our country but globally, is giving us no options. We have to hustle on as employment opportunities are almost non existent. We are in a swim or sink situation. 

We’ve seen big companies shut their doors and leaving families desperate for survival after losing their only source of income. This has forced a lot of people to start hustling, be it baking bread from home and selling it, or using their private cars and offering school transport just to make sure that they have some sort of income to sustain themselves. For those businesses that were affected by looting, the majority of them can no longer open their doors which means more people losing their jobs.

The challenge though with most entrepreneurs is reviewing whether their current business ventures are worth continuing with or whether it is time to innovate and review other opportunities that will best serve our society’s current needs. Personally, I am researching the courier business venture.  We are living in an era where everything is couriered to your door, from groceries to medication and more.  I’ve been in the event space for years but we’ve seen the shift of the event industry moving to an online platform, and even though the pandemic is no longer preventing us from doing business as usual, I believe that the concept of business as usual has changed completely.

My advice would be that we need to detach our feelings from our businesses and use our logic to soldier on as entrepreneurs and make decisions that will best serve the current situation. Maybe a few questions that we need to ask ourselves are:

• Is my business and business idea still viable from now going forward?

• Is my business generating an income or can it do so in the near future?

• Does my business have the potential to be sustainable? Will it grow and create jobs?

• Is there an option to diversify?

If most of the above questions are giving you a ‘yes’ answer, it will then be worth it to revive the current business. But should most of the answers be a ‘no’ then I believe it’s time to look at other opportunities.  

Entrepreneurship is a journey that has many obstacles along the way and therefore it requires us to empower ourselves all the time. Do that research, join the programme, do that course, find that mentor, but in all that you do never risk trying to figure everything on your own, share your experiences, your challenges, and your successes. I believe that together we can encourage, strengthen, and build each other. We should remember that currently entrepreneurs are sustaining our economy. In one of the articles of IFC World Bank Group, it said that South African SMMEs employ between 50 to 60% of the South African work force. We are contributing around 34% of the GDP. This simply means that we are doing something right and that our country needs us. Let us continue trying.

Manini Mbongwa is the founder of Innovative Concept Events based in Ballito, South Africa. She has a vision to be the company of choice for her clients in the event management, brand activation, and public relations industry. The company has made its mark as one of the recommended and renowned brand activation and event management specialists in the region. Manini is on a mission to deliver the highest professional standards and offer clients the best quality and innovation in all service offerings, exceeding expectations.

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