The coronavirus has affected just about every aspect of life, globally. Now, it’s time to dwell on returning to the workplace. Women entrepreneurs are concerned about this – how to strategize and return to your place of business, successfully. The answer can be to build your entrepreneurial circle and network in a planned manner.
How can women rely on networks to forge ahead? Two types of networks help women succeed, according to a recent study; they have been specifies as – a tight-knit inner circle of women and a network of their outside contacts. But unfortunately, women have grown to wield more power and influence today, but female-centric groups at the highest level hardly exist, that can actually accelerate that power and influence.
So, women entrepreneurs can build a network of to succeed in their business, especially after COVID-19 – by trying to cultivate a power circle of female entrepreneurs.
Here are some tips:
• Stay focused on the result of business: Women should test and expand ideas, find new leads and partners, and secure funding sources too. The focus should be simple and clear: what do we need to do, to get our businesses off the ground? This may include – introductions, advice, money to fund your ideas, and smart women or people who can help you get things done!
• Position yourself clearly as the expert: Even though the pandemic has brought many businesses to a standstill, you should now decide to step forward with confidence. If you haven’t received more funding that does not mean you are not competent or undeserving. Stay firm and lean into your expertise and experience.
• Be ready to strike deals: Whenever you hear about a networking circle or an online event, or an opportunity popping up, make sure you’re actually ready to make a deal. You should be ready to pay for help or ask for funding; it’s important to step forward.
• Use efficient time management strategies: What is going to be crucial in business life after COVID is – efficient time management. Time-sharing strategies could help reduce the number of staff at one spot, especially in these times of social distancing. The good news is that – many businesses found out that having a wholly remote workforce did work out and brilliantly! In fact, in many cases, increased engagement and productivity were reported.
.• Having an interactive office plan reaps benefits: Employees who feel empowered work harder and are more committed. As part of your business’s safe return-to-work plan, you look at how things were before COVID and how you want them to be post-COVID. Having an interactive office plan benefits a business head in many ways, especially by increasing their employees’ ‘happiness’ factor. An interactive office plan will allow employers to comply with state and central social distancing guidelines. There are many software options designed to create interactive office plans that can be updated too; plus allowing your staff to be a part of the decision making, will give them a sense of purpose and satisfaction too.
• Leverage technology to organize the workplace: Today, there are a number of great new technologies that can enhance your workplace and boost business too. There are things like cloud storage and collaboration tools like Zoom, Microsoft Teams that help teams stay connected, even when they are spread across the country or even the globe. Then there are apps for secure messaging, virtual assistants, and shared interactive calendars that can help the team stay on the same page; and using project management software can really make an impact on goal-oriented projects for teams. Therefore, it is critical that especially during this time of a dispersed workforce, these programs keep a tab on the workflow, for it can lead to guaranteed success.
Avtar Madan
Himanshu
Shree Lahiri
