Business Survival In A COVID-19 Era: This Restaurant Owner Changed Her Business Model To Remain Relevant

We first interacted with Maria Assumpta in April 2020. She was inquiring about interior décor products for her restaurant that she hoped to open in May. The excitement in her voice was infectious.

Maria Assumpta

We took her through a series of options and after a long chat, it was clear that she was smitten with the baskets. She informed us that she would get back to us in a week’s time to deposit the order.

A week later, there were no signs that the lockdown would be lifted. It was also clear that even after the lockdown, it would take a while before things got back to normal.

This was a big blow to Assumpta who had “already identified and paid for premises for her restaurant, bought equipment and even assembled a team of employees to support her.”

She explained, “We had to deal with a lot of spoilage which resulted into losses. We were practically making losses before we even started. It was a crushing time, not just for me but for the other people that were involved in the project.”

Assumpta was aware that she needed to come up with a solution and fast. A week into the thinking, an idea occurred to her. She realized that she could do the cooking out of her home, advertise using social media networks, and deliver to customers wherever they were in the city.

“I started advertising in my WhatsApp group and to my contacts and before I knew it, orders started trickling in,” Assumpta noted.

Re-imagining Businesses

Assumpta is one of many entrepreneurs who have had to rethink their business models to match the changing times. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of uncertainties. This is compounded by the fact that there is no near end to its spread, at least not until both a cure and a vaccine are discovered. This, therefore, means that entrepreneurs are going to have to innovate around the harsh realities that are coming if not already here.

Entrepreneurs may need to reimagine the kind of services and products that they offer. With limited incomes, families and individuals may have to cut back expenses, especially the non-essentials. It is therefore important that whatever you are offering contributes some kind of value.

In Assumpta’s case, she makes it possible for her customers to get great meals within the comfort of their homes.

How are you innovating during COVID-19? Share with us your hustle and we will spotlight it on our social media pages.