Many business analysts and entrepreneurs believe that there are positive aspects to the sudden COVID-19 pandemic, at least in the long run. Businessmen and startup owners will surely get favorable opportunities when the danger of the novel coronavirus begins to fade. And here’s why.
Humanity has never united against a common enemy before
And we will kick the enemy’s ass for sure! We estimate that approximately 150 million doctors, scientists, nurses, technologists, and engineers are fighting the pandemic. They conduct tens of thousands of experiments at the same time and share information with us openly and in a timely manner. For now, it may seem that there are very few achievements in this field and that everything is in the early stage of development. However, thousands of additional experiments and therapeutic practices are already considered innovative in many research laboratories and hospitals around the world. We covered the works and achievements of Dr. Vladimir Zelenko here.
We are pretty sure that very soon, we will get under a real tsunami of solutions that will stop the spread of coronavirus whatsoever. And a fragment of a recent article by The New York Times supports our optimism:
While political leaders have locked their borders, scientists have been shattering theirs, creating a global collaboration unlike any in history. Never before, researchers say, have so many experts in so many countries focused simultaneously on a single topic and with such urgency. Nearly all other research has ground to a halt. Normal imperatives like academic credit have been set aside. Online repositories make studies available months ahead of journals. Researchers have identified and shared hundreds of viral genome sequences. More than 200 clinical trials have been launched, bringing together hospitals and laboratories around the globe.
It could have been much worse
Imagine if COVID-19 had the same fatality rates as Ebola (25-90%) or even SARS (11%), given that its spread is much higher than the spread of the other two viruses. Many perceive coronavirus as a death sentence, but a significant number of people infected with COVID-19 are experiencing mild cold-like symptoms.
When Bill Gates and a huge number of scientists, including Larry Brilliant, have been warning us about a possible pandemic, the society ignored them. We weren’t ready. We haven’t prepared at all. COVID-10 pandemic is a striking marker of our weaknesses in economics, medicine, and communications. Next time, we will surely be ready. AI-driven technologies, networks and sensors, CRISPR, and gene therapy – all these will reveal the threat instantly, developing solutions with brilliant speed around the world.
A lot of opportunities lie ahead
Right now, we are caught up in a whirl of fear and the economic crisis caused by the virus. But when we get to the other side, unprecedented opportunities will open up for entrepreneurs. These opportunities can be roughly divided into three groups:
- Many valuable employees are now losing their jobs, and the quicker we switch to the digital format of work, the sooner these personnel will be able to show their talents.
- Many assets are now becoming available, and the price of some of them will soon go up. You need to seize the moment.
- Before you know it, the stock market will be filled with the best offers that you have ever seen over the past 10 years.
After the 2008 financial crisis, a period of economic growth began. Such revolutionary business models and projects as Airbnb, Uber, Groupon, WhatsApp, Venmo, Slack, and Square were born. A similar economic growth that will affect the whole society likely awaits for us as well.
What do entrepreneurs need to do right now?
1. Analyze your business performance
If you still haven’t gone digital, there's no better time than now. Identify the processes, assets, products, and services that your company is currently providing remotely and think about how to digitize them. As soon as you digitize them, you can dematerialize, demonetize, and democratize your products and services. What does it mean?
- Digital camera digitizes movies
- Netflix digitizes cinemas
- Google digitizes archives and libraries
- Zoom digitizes personal meetings
If your business isn’t doing very well, it’s time to put an end to it. And when you end it, you will be able to collect all your resources – intellectual, financial, and human – and focus them on a digital version of the product or service that you provide.
2. Build new habits and traditions
A few months of self-isolation is enough to form a new habit for life. Think about what can be good for your health and what can strengthen your immune system:
- Healthy sleep from 7 to 9 hours a day
- Daily exercise
- Meditation
- Balanced diet
- Giving up smoking
3. Acquire new skills
Most of us spend years not discovering or developing the knowledge or hobbies that we have a natural talent for. It can be astrophysics or directing, the main thing is that it’s not temporary. Constant development keeps the mind in shape and turns us into perpetual students. Therefore, grab some books from the top shelves and dive deep into online courses and watch documentaries. We wrote about how to spend time productively in quarantine in the article below.
The Internet Protocol
4.Set the right mood – everything depends on it
Negative thoughts will never lead you to a good and beautiful life. Our brain always seeks out danger, and when it finds it, it immediately turns on the red light that clouds our consciousness. Take a break from the news or at least filter it. Focus on the positive stuff. You have the opportunity to restart your business and gain new experience. We live in a time when nothing is impossible, when every problem is solvable, and our joint effort in the fight against the pandemic will ultimately make us extremely resilient.
