Are you a waiter, an insurer or a transformer? Read this post to find out how each category of people live through a recession, which you are and how it affects your outcome during and after this crisis.
As economies around the world continue to head downwards due to the lockdown as a result of the pandemic, your attitude during this period will make or break your future after this has ended.
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At the time of writing this piece, over 22 million Americans have applied for unemployment since the Covid-19 pandemic. To put it in perspective, about 6 percent of the US population has lost their jobs over the last four weeks. Extrapolate this to other nations around the world, then you have a picture of what’s going on. No one knows how long this is going to last. We just know that we are now living through an economic recession.
This is our present reality and there is no point living in denial. After staying save, alive and healthy through this time, the next most important thing will be how prepared you are to face life after this crisis. When it comes to dealing with an economic recession such as this, there are 3 types of people. I’ll be telling you about each of these people. It’s up to you to decide where you fit so you can see how you stand a chance of coming out tops at the end of this proverbial tunnel.
So what would you do at a time like this? Here are three different types of people during a recession.
- The waiters
The first group of people are those that hold everyone responsible for their survival but themselves. Governments around the world are crediting their residents with relief fund and materials for survival, which is a good thing. Most people need this support to pull through this period and there is nothing wrong with that. However, this group of people simply place their life on hold, relying on government stimulus, aids, and give away because they believe they are just spectators in the game. These people also believe that when this is done, the government and the privileged people will have to create jobs and opportunities for the people. They believe that somehow, someone will to come to their rescue. So it’s ok to just stay home, catch up on movies, post savage replies on social media and do all this other stuff.
These set of people often end up victims of the economic recession. They come of the crisis with negative laid-back habits that will be unproductive to their career.
- The Insurers
The second group are the ones that don’t need government’s or anyone’s help so to speak. They have insured their financial future well ahead of time. They have saved money during the time of plenty and are financially OK. These people are confident that at worst, they can live through a recession for the next 6 months, one, two or even three years. At best, they will find a lot of opportunities to grow their investment during this period. They understand that good times don’t last and have prepared for the time of famine. These people are often in the minority.
- The transformers
These are the group of people that are being forced to change and recreate themselves. These are people saying, “I can’t stand it anymore. I don’t like where I am at right now. I’m going to use this period to reinvent myself” The reality is that we change in two different ways; One is by choice, one is by force. The current situation today is forcing these set of people to change for the better. These are usually the people who make the most of the opportunities that show up in a time like this.
People in the second category are in the minority. Most people either fall into the first or third category.
If you are in this third group of people; you are saying I want to make sure I never find myself is such a mess ever again and wondering, “What do I do?” “How do I protect myself from a great loss during this period”.
Here are a few things to start thinking about and working on.
- Pivot and adjust with the times
A pivot usually occurs when business make a fundamental change to their business after determining that their product isn’t meeting the needs of their intended market. In this context, to pivot is to change direction.
Let me tell you two interesting stories about pivoting. Burbn was a check-in iPhone app that includes gaming elements and a photo element. Seeing that the app had too much clutter, the team took the risk and stripped all the features but one; photos. They rebuild a simple app that focused solely on photography called Instagram. You’ve probably heard about it.
The second is about Odeo, a network where people could find and subscribe to the podcast. With iTunes taking over the podcast niche, the team decided to come up with a new idea for a micro-blogging platform they named Twitter. I bet you’ve also heard about it.
With the outbreak of the coronavirus sales of the vehicle went down drastically. Instead of waiting until business returns to normal, many auto manufacturers tilted towards making ventilators.
The people who will thrive through these times are people who are ready to pivot and adjust with the time. They have an edge over everybody else. Most people are going to watch what everybody else is gonna be doing. A few people are going to be pivoting and adjusting with current the times because again, we’ve never been through this before. To pivot and adjust that’s one skill set. It’s a mindset. You’ve got to learn what to do.
- Figure out what skills pay today and tomorrow
The most important thing today for a time like this is income protection. And income protection is based on a few things that you need to do. It’s about knowing what kind of skills pay today and the ensuing times.
For instance, if you don’t know how to use video conferencing tools like Zoom, you have to learn how to Zoom. If you don’t know how to do webinars, you need to learn how to do webinars. If you’re not somebody that is comfortable to go live on Facebook or Instagram, you need to learn how to do it. You need to learn how to use the available technology tools to put yourself or business out there.
If you’re not a social media person, you need to learn how to use social media. If you don’t create content, you may need to learn how to do that. If you don’t have a service to sell. Maybe you need to learn how to sell a service today. If you’re not a good salesperson, maybe you need to learn how to sell today because these skill sets are required today. This is how you can maintain and increase your capacity to earn and protect your income.
You’ve got to have the confidence that you know how to make money when everything is fine and when things go downward.
Again, if you are in the first group, this article can’t help you. Watch all the movies you can, argue and antagonize with everyone on social media. It’s your life. The second group, this article is not for you either. You are already doing fine and have got things figured out. Enjoy your well thought out life. Third group pivot and adjust. Learn a skill set. Find a service, a product that you can sell today. And if you’re not getting sales, go learn how to sell. Reinvent yourself. Transform your life.
