How thinking like our nomadic ancestors can help start ups survive the pandemic

There’s no doubt that the business world is becoming a challenging place for start-up entrepreneurs. As the Covid-19 pandemic shows no sign of slowing and many countries experiencing a second-wave of rising infections, start-up entrepreneurs are looking for ways to survive the crisis by cutting costs while continuing to win new customers.

I spoke to an entrepreneur recently after I noticed how he slowed down his operations two years into his business. He laughed and said that he had to think like his Bedouin ancestors, who strategically navigated through harsh conditions with minimum resources.

Our conversation got me thinking more about the current situation and how Bedouins survive challenges in the desert.

My elderly Bedouin friend told me that surviving a harsh environment involved three strategies: allocating resources wisely; being resilient; and thinking long-term.

Here’s how start-up entrepreneurs could apply the same strategies from my Bedouin friend’s survival handbook to power through the pandemic.

Allocate resources wisely

One of the mistakes an entrepreneur friend of mine made was that he spent most of his budget in January ahead of the launch of a chic restaurant in March, with no crisis plan in place. He went ahead with the launch even though he had heard that business could be negatively impacted by the Covid-19 virus that was already travelling through the world, and he didn’t have any emergency cash to fall back on.

This is where we could learn from Bedouins. Even when a situation seems to be fine, my elderly Bedouin friend learned to allocate her resources wisely at a young age. “We always saved food, and water, even if an oasis was nearby,” she said.

With the crisis expected to exist for a while, start-up entrepreneurs should try to have an emergency budget on hand and a crisis plan in place.

Resilience and resourcefulness are key

“A sandstorm could destroy your home, livestock and your belongings in minutes, but if you want to live, you have to get up and never give up,” my Bedouin friend said. The main challenge all of us are facing is surviving the pandemic. We also know that the Covid-19 crisis is not the last crisis the world will witness. In business, internal and external factors could negatively impact your business, and it’s your attitude that will determine whether to let the situation bring you down, or to perceive the challenges as opportunities to learn or pivot. This is where resourcefulness comes in handy.

How can you make the most of the resources in hand? When my entrepreneur friend couldn’t open his restaurant in March, and was low on cash, he had to pivot and thinks of ways to be resourceful and not lose his restaurant or staff. What he did was that he decided to bring the chic experience to his customers’ homes so that they could enjoy a fancy, and safe meal. He hadn’t planned to have home delivery service in the beginning, but the pandemic forced him to be resourceful. Today, he’s re-thinking his entire business model, and wondering if he should only offer a home-delivery option for his clients to save costs in the long-run.

Think long-term

“Every decision we make, we think of it for the long-term. We don’t know when it will rain, or when will we have access to more food,” said my Bedouin friend. In business, just like life in the desert, you shouldn’t live your life day-by-day. Though we can’t predict what will happen in the future, it’s advisable to have a plan in place for how you manage your operations in crisis situations. Having a long-term plan in place could not only save your finances, but also help you to remain focused, be mentally prepared and look out for opportunities.

By focusing on being resourceful, resilient, balancing our budgets and thinking long-term, we will not only be better equipped to survive unexpected crisis, but we could also learn to thrive and turn adversity into opportunity.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati journalist and entrepreneur, who manages her marketing and communications company in Abu Dhabi

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Dubai Creek Open in numbers

The Dubai Creek Open is the 10th tournament on this year's Mena Tour
It is the first of five events before the season-concluding Mena Tour Championship
This week's field comprises 120 players, 21 of which are amateurs
15 previous Mena Tour winners are competing at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club

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Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance

Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.

Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.

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Scores

Oman 109-3 in 18.4 overs (Aqib Ilyas 45 not out, Aamir Kaleem 27) beat UAE 108-9 in 20 overs (Usman 27, Mustafa 24, Fayyaz 3-16, Bilal 3-23)

The Lowdown

Kesari

Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
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