One has the ability to not only survive, but also thrive, during the pandemic.
This is according to Daniel Lim, Chief Executive Officer of United Neon Advertising Inc. Lim was the guest speaker in an online event titled, ‘Survive and Thrive: Building a Legacy in Times of Uncertainty,’ organized by The New Millennium Evangelical Church BizPro Ministry.
Lim offered valuable insights on how businesses may thrive amid the pandemic:
1. Build a legacy.
“I have a question for each one of us,” Lim told the event participants. “If your company or the company you worked for went out of business today, would anybody cry?”
“If the answer is yes, ‘Yes, my clients would really, really cry out for me. Our employees, our staff, would really say, ‘Wow, that was a good company. We were really blessed by that company,'” then we would be in a good situation because we are building a legacy. But, if our staff would just say, ‘Okay, I’ll just find another job,’ or if our customers will say, ‘Okay, we’ll just find another supplier …’ If they don’t feel anything, then we have to think again. We have to think again because it’s very, very important that we build a legacy, and a godly legacy, so that we could survive and we could thrive in our business.”
2. Go digital.
“There’s a saying that ‘The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.’ So, the first strategy for us is to go digital,” Lim said.
According to Lim, going digital at this time is something “unavoidable” if a business were to not just survive but thrive as well. He further stated he had a business friend whose grocery’s online sale before the pandemic stood at 3%. Now, it has increased to a whopping 30%, ten times higher than before the pandemic.
“So, I am not a digital person but I had to learn to go digital. And, an example is [the] bank. So, the first few days we were lining up in the banks, but then my brother told me to go and do online banking. Buti na lang he forced me to go online banking because now I will not go to a regular bank na. I will just do online banking — it’s so much more efficient in online banking.”
Because of customers’ changing habits and their prioritizing well-being, the current situation necessitates harnessing the potentials of the digital world.
3. “1+1=5” Harness the power of online AND offline.
Lim, however, was also quick to suggest that not everything should go digital. A hybrid of both online and offline (or onsite) seems necessary, according to him.
After speaking with a consultant on one occasion, Lim shared, “They were saying [that] ‘It’s very important not to do one or the other (either online or onsite only).’ She was sharing about a food chain …” Though this food chain’s online sales grew by 300%, the online sales themselves only consisted of 9% of the total sales all-in-all. Hence, in many cases, an onsite presence is still crucial.”
4. Don’t let your main focus be business profit.
Having been organized by the New Millennium Evangelical Church, the event also centered on an evangelical Christian perspective of doing business. Profiting, according to Lim, should not be the main focus of businesses.
“Use your business relationships to win people to Christ, to plant seeds, to mentor or disciple others or be mentored by others … The Church cannot reach many in the business community but you can … And thirdly, be an ambassador for Christ in the marketplace. Be a positive influence for Christ in the marketplace,” Lim said.
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The author of this article:
An accomplished young Chinese Filipino writer and media personality, Aaron S. Medina is associated with the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Ateneo de Manila University Chinese Studies Program, the Philippine Association for Chinese Studies, and CHiNOY TV. He has a passion for truth, justice, and Pokémon, too! Follow him on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aaron.joseph.s.medina/
