What Keeps me up at Night: Coronavirus & The Difficult Road Ahead

Times without parallel require a response without parallel. We may have seen nationalisation, bailouts and state aid in previous times, but never before has the state stepped in to help pay people’s wages. It’s worth noting this isn’t a small contribution either. The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been a lifeline for millions of workers across the UK.

Furlough Scheme

To be frank, this level of intervention serves as a reminder of just how concerned the government is about the impact Coronavirus has had and will have on the economy. The preliminary figures for the UK economy in May were more disappointing than expected, with GDP growing a mere 1.8% after a record 20% contraction caused by April’s lockdown. The UK economy is effectively 25% smaller than it was in March, and it’s hard to see everyone returning from furlough as a result. 

Will Everyone Return?

All over the world our way of life has been changed beyond recognition, and livelihoods have been impacted as a result. It would be foolish to assume output is heading back to the levels of the start of the year anytime soon. Ultimately, we won’t know the true picture until government protection is removed in October.

What’s clear is that if even one-fifth of the 9.4 million on furlough don’t go back to work, unemployment will be propelled to levels not seen since the 1980s. The Chancellor’s recent announcement of a £1,000 grant for every employee companies bring back from furlough truly baffled me. The vast majority of businesses will need to bring back at least 60% of their staff to function, regardless of their costs. The real challenge lies in the remaining 40%. This is where the government should have focused their attention, with more than £1,000 per employee to maximise the incentive. Instead, I fear that taxpayers money is being used inefficiently at a time where spending has gone through the roof. 

Billions could have been spent elsewhere, particularly to help people retrain. Regardless of where money is allocated, the challenges ahead are going to require a level of adaptation from all of us. 

How we Respond

We’ve responded to challenges surrounding unemployment before and I advise you to spend the next few months preparing for the new economic reality. Don’t wait until the inevitable happens. In the absence of jobs I predict there will be a huge surge in people looking to start their own venture, and you can become a part of this new reality. 

Start thinking about the skills you have at your disposal and how you can use these to help start your own business. Sell your services in order to gain experience. Companies are going to be weary about hiring, but that doesn’t mean they won’t have projects that you can’t contribute to. Approach them with confidence and you may have something they are looking for. Turn your consultancy into something robust- something that supports your living. This, along with contracting is the way of the future for many.

The Dawn of the Entrepreneur

The storm we are heading into could also be the dawn of the entrepreneur. I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen people assume that businesses are always about capital. They’re not. What is crucial is your expertise.

I work alongside a young entrepreneur called Joe Binder. Joe has told me first hand that he started his business with only £1,000, but he was able to build his company through his and his team’s expertise. WOAW now provides personal branding and social media services for numerous founders and CEOs in the UK and beyond, including myself.

For the dawn to come to fruition, we need to end the negativity in the term ‘lifestyle business’, because that’s what a business is fundamentally there to do - fund your lifestyle. Not everyone is going to be the next Bill Gates, but time after time people have managed to support themselves with entrepreneurial ingenuity and creativity. Lifestyle businesses could go on to form the backbone of the economy. They could be our ticket out of the impending crisis.

No better time than 2020

We are better equipped now than at any time in human history to respond to the challenge of creating a business. We have technology at our fingertips, and an abundance of resources to compliment our ideas. The new normal has unlocked the idea of efficient working from home, reducing our costs and increasing our flexibility. Digital platforms are going from strength to strength, illustrated vividly by the growth of social media’s monetisation.

Lockdown has accelerated various online platform’s influence on our lives. Just look at the cultural influence of fitness coach Joe Wicks’ high intensity workout on the UK. The closure of schools created the need for a remote tutoring service, which Facebook’s ‘marketplace’ among others has facilitated. That’s before you factor in huge players like eBay and Etsy. For years these companies have created a platform for home enterprise- generating income without the need for employment.

We are still in the embryonic stage of this process, but there is no doubt that this crisis has accelerated growth, and created opportunity. Chris Locke, CEO of Rainmaking has seen the potential. His company dedicates itself to corporate transformation and plans to help create 1 million start-up businesses. Support is there from Chris’ organisation and others. I have lost count of the amount of times I have seen someone offer to support anyone in their network who has been made redundant on LinkedIn. It is time to think about what skills you have and how you can use them to provide value to others. Crucially, do not be afraid to ask for help. If you do not ask, you will not get.

Conclusion

Jobs may be hard to come by for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean that standing still is acceptable. Assess your skills and play to your strengths. Monetise your skillset. Take stock and look for a way that you can contribute to your community and wider society. Use your time wisely in order to prepare for the challenges to come. Your skills will still be at heart of your livelihood and our collective economic recovery.