Re-invent Your Business for Growth in COVID —Odunaiya

Mrs. Folasade Odunaiya, a renowned Business Coach has challenged business owners to consider the Coronavirus pandemic as a gift to re-invent their businesses for growth.

Mrs. Odunaiya, who is also the Chief Responsibility Officer of Inventivo Professional Services, made the challenge during a lunch hour business virtual meeting, which was the first meeting this Rotary year for Rotary Club of Ikeja and presided by the club’s President, Rotarian Dotun Lampejo.

Odunaiya advised business owners to set aside fear and trepidation while engaging in their businesses post COVID-19, urging them to invest their time on critical areas in their businesses to enable it not only to survive but also to thrive.

Inventivo Professional Services, represented by Odunaiya has been certified to represent ActionCOACH Business Coach in Nigeria.

ActionCOACH is the No. 1 Business Coaching in the world operating out of over 75 countries with over a thousand coaches globally.

Sharing some 8 to do’s, namely, Your Vision, Your Business Model, Re-run your numbers, Re-think your Marketing and Sales, Re-build your team, Re-new with deals, Re-thank everybody and Re-write your plans, the guest speaker noted that business owners need to remember there is a lot of fear and worry out there.

“Your marketing and sales medium must move to be more virtual as part of providing assurances to your customers. Your marketing messages must be to help and educate more than anything else. You must realize the need to be more customer-centric, patient and build relationships as you would require more steps to make a sale now,” she stated.

The Coach added that every decision right now would either make or cost, as every decision must be critically reviewed from this perspective. 

She advised members to review their numbers more often now until things stabilize as these numbers were not just financials but also operational and marketing numbers too.

Odunaiya also advised members to re-calculate their break even points and remember to hold more liquidity now.

She said: “Appreciate everyone in this season of fear and apprehension to build loyalty. Thank your customers who in spite of the fear are buying from you, your team for sure for being there – ready to serve the customers, suppliers, bankers, accountants, etc.”

Odunaiya recommended that members develop a 90-Day Game plan to survive and possibly another 90-Day Plan to thrive as re-opening was harder than closing.

She advised that everything must be properly thought through as members cannot afford simple mistakes.

The guest speaker who is also the Founding President of the CFA Society Nigeria also advised members to think negatively as well as positively to cover likely eventualities.

A past President of Rotary Club of Ikeja and Past Assistant Governor, Tunji Ola thanked the guest speaker for the presentation and urged the speaker as well as some of the club’s guests who joined the virtual meeting to fellowship with the club regularly and ultimately join the club.