Smart ways for women to boost their businesses

Social media and other online platforms are a great way to reach out to customers.

The presence of Covid-19 in countries subjected economies to stringent measures put in place to minimise its spread. This affected a number of businesses and many are still struggling to get back on their feet. To ensure business continuity, Julie Musoke Nakyeyune, the proprietor of Mkazipreneur, shares a few opportunities that women can tap into to resurrect their businesses.

Online sales
Musoke says businesswomen should adapt to online sales strategy by making use of social media and other platforms. “We ought to embrace new ways of doing business. Let your clients make payments online. Make a list of all the products or services that you offer, add price tags and contacts to ease the way you do business,” she says.

Convenience
She also says delivering goods to customers using available logistics services for instance Uber or Safe boda are a great way to do business, noting that not all customers have the time and transport to look out for products on the market.

Innovation
Musoke says every businesswoman ought to find new ways of doing business in order to stay competitive. “Find better ways of doing what you have been doing. Ask yourself what your customers need. Find out how you can offer a new experience to people who are buying your product or service,” she advises. She also challenges businesswomen to diversify their businesses in order to stay afloat. “If your customer cannot buy shoes and bags now, they can buy masks or they may need a constant supply of food, groceries, which you can venture into to make money.”

Collaboration
Tough business times call for concerted efforts in order to realise business goals. Nakyeyune urges people to consider collaborating or partnering with other business proprietors in the same field to deliver a quality product or service. They say two heads are better than one and more than ever before, this calls for joining forces to do business better. For example, UNDP and Safe boda entered into a partnership to deliver groceries from markets. Innovation Village and Mkazipreneur also joined forces to make reusable masks.

Share knowledge
Share your expertise, share your views, write, host a webinar or do online engagements. According to Nakyeyune, this could be a window for more opportunities in ones’ networks or other audiences. She gives an example, Margaret Nakanwagi, one of the Mkazipreneur members, who focused on opening Facebook and Instagram accounts for churches, in addition to facilitating online church services every Sunday.
Reduce costs
Business proprietors must reduce costs as much as they can to avoid unnecessary expenditure. “Many of us in the Mkazipreneur community realised that we had run out of our savings by the third week of the lockdown. Others did not have any savings at all. We started Mkazinvest to explore ways in which we can collectively save and invest going forward,” she says.

Communicate
Communicate with your customers and keep a positive customer relationship. In case you have a stockout, communicate. Do not deliver poor quality goods or services, Nakyeyune says.
It is important to note that although many people’s incomes have been impacted by Covid-19, there are people who have taken advantage of the situation to make more money. A pandemic should not be the end of a business. It is now time to identify available opportunities for growth.

Try this
Businesswomen should adapt to online sales strategy by making use of social media and other platforms. “We ought to embrace new ways of doing business. Let your clients make payments online. Make a list of all the products or services that you offer, add price tags and contacts to ease the way you do business,” she says.