Dear Entrepreneur,
Every time a government changes, small businesses must deal with challenging economic conditions, but with adequate planning, your company can weather the storms and even thrive during an election year.
Today, we’ll look at some suggestions for keeping your company operating efficiently during and after an election year.
Typically election periods come with a lot of turbulence and sometimes political unrest either before, during or after the election. As politics continues to gain momentum toward the election date, businesses in different sectors will start slowing activities. With this economic limbo, SMEs are usually the first to feel the pinch compared to their corporate counterparts, who always cushion for uncertain times. The majority of SMEs in the country cannot weather politically storms and this means that there will always be many business casualties at the end of every election.
To survive this political storm and counter the ripple effect after that, businesses need to come up with strategies that will assist in cushioning the unforeseen election outcome. Some examples of strategies you can implement to keep your business alive during a period of political uncertainty include:
Don’t Use Your Business Platform For Political Purposes
Sometimes it’s tempting for entrepreneurs to use their platforms to advance their support for politcians. Whilst it is important for every citizen to be politically conscious and exercise civic duties, its however not encouraged to mix business and politics because it has the potential to bring down your business. The best advice is that you separate your political activities from your business.
Save Money
In the months leading up to the election, it’s a common practice for Nigerian consumers to hoard their money during the turbulent election period. This is because customers are excercising caution just in case the election turns violent. It is also harder for small businesses to secure bank financing or investor funding in the face of political uncertainty. It’s therefore vital to put some money away and adjust your business model to the current situation in order to be ready for political uncertainty.
Automate Your Processes.
Its important to automate as much as possible because you don’t know if you will be forced to close shop during the election period or immediately after. Make sure to automate the majority of your tasks, such as customer management, payroll and invoicing administration, so that you can continue operating regardless of the political situation.
Keep Your Employees Happy
The possibility of increased levels of staff turnover is one drawback of an election year. Employee morale could be affected, which would impact work and production. Now is not the time to rule with a heavy hand. Instead, make sure there is clear communication about how the election will affect your company. You may boost morale by recognising top performers and encouraging teamwork.
Time Your Product Release
It’s not really a good idea to launch new products in an election year unless yours is directly related to the elections. This is because consumer spending declines during election season, and it is always advisable to debut your product before that time.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Businesses need to develop plans that will help weather any political storm and some of the strategies highlighted above will cushion the business through politically turbulent times. It’s also critical to recognise the connection between business and governance, and this is why its crucial for business owners to exercise their civic duty to support a candidate who will foster an environment that is conducive to doing business.
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