Corona Crisis: How to Make Lemonade from Lemons

Crisis is an opportunity for innovation. How can your business make the best of this situation and come out stronger than ever?

As the economy rapidly slows down, countless businesses around the world are on the verge of collapse. With the fear of failure overruling the necessity of change, many businesses are choosing to do nothing rather than take risks on new opportunities. But in a crisis, the environment is dynamic. With shifts occurring quickly and dramatically, the real risk is doing nothing.

A crisis opens doorways to both new and old products that might not have been good fits in their market sectors before. Consider what’s happening in online learning and entertainment, grocery delivery, and on-demand services. The world is changing, and this means tremendous opportunities will arise.

Here are some good reasons for entrepreneurs to take more risks these days and embrace the opportunity to innovate.

Limitations imposed by quarantine are changing consumer behavior and introducing opportunities for new startups

Many successful companies were born in times of change and disruption. When nothing happens and life is calm, “everything has been done before” is the motto. Disruption from the coronavirus brought rapid changes in consumer buying behaviors, introducing new opportunities for entrepreneurs. As a CEO and founder of a technology company, I already see increased demand from startups looking for new ways to embrace the change and adapt their products to a new normal.

Governments providing emergency financial support for small businesses

The governments of several countries have already announced multiple financial measures to help businesses navigate the coronavirus crisis. The assistance aims to support both established and emerging businesses, including financial support for new research and development (R&D) activities. These measures are constantly being updated, so businesses should monitor the situation in their countries and states.

A crisis shifts the attention to one problem that really matters

Many offline businesses have been undergoing digital transformations over the past few years. However, the desire to avoid rapid internal changes and ensure stable delivery of their existing products was shifting organizations’ priorities away from accelerated transformation.

The only way to stay afloat now is to prioritize full-scale transformation initiatives, which must become clearer with the crisis, and focus on the one thing that really matters.