Just two weeks ago I wrote about the importance of being continually prepared for ongoing disruptions to our lives. Loadshedding has certainly been one of these… and I know from feedback that many small businesses are being impacted, especially in manufacturing where production is dependent on electricity to drive equipment.

Some of the loadshedding work-arounds people are already using include:

• flexitime for staff
• rescheduling tasks to accommodate the electricity outages
• buying generators / solar panels and UPS systems

In addition to these short-term measures, it’s important to keep building the core of the business. Solutions here include:

1. Strengthen your team. Tough times can help to unite a team, so talking to your people and keeping them in the loop will help build a sense of ‘being in this together’.
2. Increase your focus on customer care. Keep your clients in a close communication loop and introduce extra efforts to make them feel special including a heartfelt thank you when they make purchases.
3. Watch your price points. Recent reports indicate that all consumers are price-watching – so consider adding value to your clients with extra service, personalisation and loyalty cards.
4. Manage profitability.  Cut unnecessary overhead costs so that you can retain price points at a higher margin.

It’s also really important to remember that in all adversity is a business opportunity – so keep a look-out for new ways to serve new clients – the obvious ones include renting out charging stations if you have generators/ solar, renting out workspace and becoming a reseller of loadshed-busting equipment yourself, but I am sure there are other opportunities if you observe closely.

That’s it for this week. Disruption is the birthplace of business… so let’s stick together with a positive mindset that is open to spotting these ‘silver linings’ of opportunity!