Planning for bumps ahead

In 2020 we all learned that business income can dry up almost overnight, and that another major crisis may be just around the corner. “The biggest mistake is not planning for bumps in the road,” says Dan Crompton, a small-business coach with ActionCoach UK in London. “There will be a big event every five to 10 years,” he says — an economic downturn, a pandemic, political upheaval such as Brexit. Prioritise cash in the bank — when whole industries ground to a halt last year, survival depended on how long companies could continue on the money they had stashed away. He recommends having enough money to survive at least three months with no income, but six to 12 months would be better. Get out of fixed contracts — “companies should be looking to maximise flexibility so they can more quickly respond to changing conditions,” says Jason Cherubini, founder of Seraphim Associates International, a financial consulting firm for startups in Washington, DC. Although the flexibility might increase costs, the protection it provides is worth the extra expense.

(Adapted from “How Small Business Owners Can Prepare For The Next Pandemic,” by Arianne Cohen, published on September 17, 2021, by the Bloomberg Businessweek)

Networking for awkward people

Just because you should be networking doesn’t mean you want to or will. If you are someone who self-identifies as a bit awkward in interpersonal situations, welcome! There is an entire club of us overthinkers, reticent schmoozers, and people who are told they can be a bit “too much.” Here are some tips to help: 1) Rewrite your networking narrative. Pause and reflect on the stories you tell yourself: do you tell yourself that networking is something you will do later or that it is inauthentic? Identify and acknowledge these (often unconscious) stories to rewrite your narrative in a way that feels authentic. 2) Explore what you have to give. Understand that you are not just a “taker” in the interaction, instead, consider your role as a ‘giver’ and what you have to offer. 3) Find your curiosity. Before entering networking situations, take some time to ask yourself what you really like to learn about the person and their experience. 4) Embrace your awkwardness — treat wins and failures as valuable information and use them to tailor your approach.

(Adapted from “The Awkward Person’s Guide to Networking,” by Alyssa F Westring, published by Harvard Business Review Ascend in October 2021)

The dominance of kiryana stores

Measuring barely 200 square feet, Nagaraju Bhoganatham’s tiny store in Bengaluru is packed to the rafters. The grocery in the heart of the city’s dense Chunchugatta Gate neighborhood is one of India’s 20m mom and pop stores, called kiryanas, which have been fixtures in the country’s retail landscape for decades. In much of the world, small merchants have been driven out of business by huge retailers such as Walmart Inc and Amazon.com Inc. But kiryanas remain an integral part of retailing in India — accounting for 90pc of the country’s consumer purchases, they helped the nation’s 1.3bn people stock up on essentials during a devastating coronavirus wave in April and May. And the tiny stores are emerging as key partners for Amazon, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries, and Walmart’s Flipkart online unit as they seek to dominate the lucrative $1 trillion Indian retail market.

(Adapted from “Amazon, Walmart Learn To Live With Indian Stores, Not Kill Them,” by Saritha Rai, published on June 23, 2021, by the Bloomberg Businessweek)

The debate around EVMs

In the wake of the recent hue and cry regarding the adoption of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the coming general elections, the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, held a webinar on this subject. One point of view was that the vote transmission system will also be improved as there will be less physical involvement and electoral staff will have to scan and input a QR code into the system. However, internet connectivity issues may make the system vulnerable to technical faults. It concluded with the thoughts that the system is going on blindly. We as a nation start following every new trend without analysing or doing any research. EVM are welcomed as an initiative; nobody should be against the adoption of technology. But there are always alternatives — the need is to research the costs and benefits of alternatives and decisions should be taken accordingly. Sadly, our policy process is whimsical and devoid of research. The debates here start after the decisions are made.

(Adapted from a webinar brief by Aqsa Gul, published by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics in 2021)

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, October 11th, 2021