I will not live my life in fear. I decided this in defiance, many years ago, and it’s evolved into the ethos by which I have pursued my dreams and built my practice. All I see at the moment are overwhelming predictions on impending doom and gloom and the worst kind of scenarios imaginable for 2023; as if the previous two years weren’t bad enough!
In a mesmerizing Nobel Laureate discussion in 2017, Kazuo Ishiguro (Literature) said that the media and journalism business model is currently broken, and that rewards based on accuracy is no longer the case. Media networks and newspapers, like all other social media channels, are now forced to fight for the attention of eyeballs, to put it bluntly. This makes it difficult to discern fact from fiction as everyone grapples and claws their way to be first instead of right. It’s not about reporting the truth anymore, it’s about topics that create fear and sensation –two of the most basic drivers of our attention.
A review of some of the mainstream opinions, seem to predict that the global economy will be caught up in a recession, either in part or in full for 2023, depending on which camp your find yourself in. While there is no shortage of panicked analysts confirming the data, I am more concerned about what all of this means for the business owners who, in spite of all the tax burdens on their revenue, continues to pay their staff, pay their taxes, and wake up each morning to face another gut wrenching (powerless) day.
How can we survive this predicted recession? Let me first say if I read one more article where the list of suggestions includes tips such as “create an emergency fund”, or “reduce monthly spend”, or my personal favourite, “settle credit card debt”, I think my head might just explode. Where have the writers of these articles been for the past 24 months? People are struggling to pay for basic monthly necessities and their spending is already cut to the bone; savings have long gone been depleted and many retrenched people remain to be unemployed. Does anyone recall the Covid pandemic? I mean really.
So, in support of the many South Africans who are barely making ends meet I decided that in this month’s blog, I will propose a number of real suggestions to help business owners and ordinary people to try and buffer the implications and challenges of the year ahead. Feel free to share this article and to add any suggestions of your own. Let’s do everything in our power to support one another, as we may in fact really need it.
In a mesmerizing Nobel Laureate discussion in 2017, Kazuo Ishiguro (Literature) said that the media and journalism business model is currently broken, and that rewards based on accuracy is no longer the case. Media networks and newspapers, like all other social media channels, are now forced to fight for the attention of eyeballs, to put it bluntly. This makes it difficult to discern fact from fiction as everyone grapples and claws their way to be first instead of right. It’s not about reporting the truth anymore, it’s about topics that create fear and sensation –two of the most basic drivers of our attention.
A review of some of the mainstream opinions, seem to predict that the global economy will be caught up in a recession, either in part or in full for 2023, depending on which camp your find yourself in. While there is no shortage of panicked analysts confirming the data, I am more concerned about what all of this means for the business owners who, in spite of all the tax burdens on their revenue, continues to pay their staff, pay their taxes, and wake up each morning to face another gut wrenching (powerless) day.
How can we survive this predicted recession? Let me first say if I read one more article where the list of suggestions includes tips such as “create an emergency fund”, or “reduce monthly spend”, or my personal favourite, “settle credit card debt”, I think my head might just explode. Where have the writers of these articles been for the past 24 months? People are struggling to pay for basic monthly necessities and their spending is already cut to the bone; savings have long gone been depleted and many retrenched people remain to be unemployed. Does anyone recall the Covid pandemic? I mean really.
So, in support of the many South Africans who are barely making ends meet I decided that in this month’s blog, I will propose a number of real suggestions to help business owners and ordinary people to try and buffer the implications and challenges of the year ahead. Feel free to share this article and to add any suggestions of your own. Let’s do everything in our power to support one another, as we may in fact really need it.
Stay Competitively Priced
Every year businesses increase their fees and pricing on goods and services. Think carefully about any increases in this coming year. Only increase your fees and prices if and when it is absolutely necessary. The margins, in a desperate economy, between being in or outpriced becomes really thin, especially in highly competitive verticals. Instead of just hiking your prices, see where you can add value instead (see below).
Hustle Like Your Life Depends on It
2023 will no doubt be the year where the side hustle is not going to be negotiable. It’s not a case of do you have the time, it’s a case of if you don’t have one, or ideally two side hustles, you can potentially run out of money. Spend the next few weeks to get going and remember no amount of extra income is too small or insignificant. Every item you can purchase without having to dig into your monthly income or salary is money you didn’t have before. Think practical and think creative. For businesses that have the capacity, consider increasing your existing sources of revenue by adding products or offering new services.
Add Value
In tough economic times, customers are looking for value, even if this is only a perceived value. What are some of the things you can do to make sure your customers get that little bit extra? Can you give a discount for orders over a certain amount or quantity; can you do a free delivery within a certain distance or area; can you combine forces with another business and a package deal for your customer. Again, be creative and go the extra mile. Make sure you publish and promote any of these success stories so that you get the message out there.
Get Digital
If you are not visible in the digital playing field, you simply cannot compete, it’s that simple. Having a great looking logo, a user-friendly website, creating quality content blogs, and running a well thought out social media marketing presence, is simply not a nice to have anymore, it is what you need, at the very least to make your presence known and to be competitive. This includes efforts to improve your search engine optimisation (SEO), paid and social advertising campaigns and technical analysis on your website to improve user experience (UX). These have become the key elements in your marketing efforts. If your phone is not ringing, your customers aren’t gone, I am afraid they might be supporting your competition.
Budget, Budget, Budget
If it’s not in your budget (business or personal), then don’t buy it. This doesn’t only apply to monthly purchases; it also applies to financing new equipment, vehicles, buildings etc. This year alone saw 4 interest rate increases. For an average household with at least one financed vehicle and a bond repayment, this can easily come to an additional R 7 000 to 10 000 needed per month. Don’t think about the price you will pay today or this month, but think in terms of another 3 to 5 interest hikes; could you still afford it then? If you can go without it, hold on to your cash!
CLOSING REMARKS
You must think of me as the official party pooper for 2023, but I assure you, I come from a deep and honest concern about the volatility of our current economic and financial landscape. It’s not the difficult circumstances that worry people, it’s the absence of having some kind of plan or strategy.
I would rather take a very cynical view and be prepared, than to relax thinking we are all just being negative as I saw a prominent sport personality post this week on his LinkedIn profile. But times are tough, and they are going to get tougher. Let’s be prepared and face the challenges our country and our businesses will face in this coming year.