Coronavirus: Paytm Founder Shares Business Advice to Manage the Crisis Vijay Shekhar Sharma, founder and CEO of Paytm talks about three things business leaders should do to weather the coronavirus chaos and come back on a solid footing.
By Shipra Singh
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Coronavirus has crippled businesses. Most industries have been hit hard as the pandemic spreads, with some industries such as aviation, hospitality and travel coming to a standstill.
As each day throws up new challenges, the likes of which have never been seen before, companies should chart out a crisis management plan. "The challenges posed by coronavirus are beyond anyone's planning grade," says Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of Paytm.
In a conversation with Entrepreneur India, Sharma talks about three things business leaders should do to weather the coronavirus chaos and come back on a solid footing.
Preserve Capital
Sharma says this is a bad time to take risk with the capital available in your bank account. "Businesses should preserve the capital they have."
It is important businesses keep a close eye on spending and invest wisely. "Refrain from spending on anything that may not be directly rewarding to your business," says Sharma.
Assess Budgeting Line Items
"Take a call on the business line items," says Sharma. This consists of revenue, admin expenses, workforce, investments, sales and operational and other expenses. The idea is to be budget conscious and set up a cash flow planner for the next two three months when your business's revenue will be greatly impacted.
"In India, coronavirus scare will continue for the next one month at least," says Sharma. "This is the time to reconcile with yourself, sit with your senior team mates to discuss financials."
Develop Business Continuity Plan
Even if offices have been shut down or partial workforce asked to work from home, the business should still remain operational. All enterprises should adopt remote collaboration tools to ensure business continuity and efficient management.
Majority new age businesses, especially tech businesses, are used to connecting virtually from different locations. So, replicate that across employees to ensure work is not disrupted. "We already have multi-city business model wherein meetings happen over calls or video conference," says Sharma.
In fact, he says instead of seeing this phase as a dip, it should be taken as an opportunity to learn something new for your business that becomes a learning that can be used hereafter. "We have learned about incredible conferencing options like Zoom," says Sharma.
