Strategies to help your small business not only survive, but thrive in 2021
Lockdown 2020 cut a deadly swathe through small businesses of all types.
How can those that managed to survive ensure that they will thrive going forward in the Covid economy?
RELATED: Lockdown destroyed 42.7% of small business in South Africa – study
Entrepreneur Pavlo Phitidis (founder of Aurik Business Accelerator) discusses the importance of action plans on The Money Show.
For a true entrepreneur, problems are simply puzzles to be solved declares Phitidis.
RELATED: 'The businesses growing fastest during the pandemic are those that simplified'
He recaps the five biggest challenges faced by business owners during the varying stages of lockdown in 2020:
- access to funding
- finding new clients
- managing costs
- motivating staff
- uncertainty in the market
Many business owners are look for a plan of action/strategy to tackle widespread uncertainty.
Keep in mind that this general anxiety is universal at the moment, he says.
If you can get into a path of action there are some big benefits you can enjoy.
Pavlo Phitidis, Founder - Aurik Business Accelerator
What lies ahead is an extended period of uncertainty and bumpiness around Covid.
Pavlo Phitidis, Founder - Aurik Business Accelerator
Listen to the interview at the end to get Phitidis' detailed advice on the strategies to follow.
Here are the main points:
- manage your time (Now's the time to understand the difference between spending time and investing time.)
- lead from the front (If you don't lead, who will your team look to?)
- when you act it empowers you (Over time, it's similar to compound interest.)
- understand the principle of energy agility (Orientate your team around a mindset.)
Hope is not a strategy, but a good business owner will prepare for the worst and expect the best.
Pavlo Phitidis, Founder - Aurik Business Accelerator
If you don't care about your business, nobody else will cautions Phitidis.
Listen to the discussion in detail:
More from Small Business Focus

No such thing as 'no time' for a side hustle! 5 tips from a serial entrepreneur
'It's a priority problem!' Nic Haralambous shares his tried-and-tested time-organising tips to increase your income in 2021.
Read More
Lockdown destroyed 42.7% of small business in South Africa – study
It’s heart-breaking; the results of a study by Finfind and the Department of Small Business Development.
Read More
South Africans preferred buying from small businesses this Black Friday - data
The Money Show’s Bruce Whitfield interviews Katlego Maphai, CEO at Yoco, SA’s largest independent mobile point-of-sale provider.
Read More
Not ready to become an entrepreneur but you have a brilliant business idea?
'Ideas are currency, but execution is wealth.' Pavlo Phitidis has advice on how to monetize and also protect your idea.
Read More
'The businesses growing fastest during the pandemic are those that simplified'
Time is the most precious commodity in the world. Business owners must learn to 'manufacture' time to thrive says Pavlo Phitidis.
Read More
How to optimise cash flow and reduce interest charges
Absa’s working capital management solutions help businesses successfully manage their cashflows and working capital.
Read More
Nando’s ad agency M&C Saatchi Abel built a behemoth while the economy declined
Mike Abel (author of "Willing & Abel: Lessons from a decade in crisis") on how to build a business when the economy is shot.
Read More
Small Business Focus: Onion peeler lessons for SMEs
Pavlo Phitidis tells more about a strategy that he has been using for years and how to apply this in a business.
Read More
Wealth strategies for small businesses - income or equity?
Income or equity – what is the difference?
Read More
Positioning your business for success
Positioning your business for success - what does this phrase even mean?
Read More