Start2Finish: Fueling Discipline, Focus and the right mindset

Are You Prepared to weather life's Storms? Practical steps to cost management

• Episode 25

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Have you ever felt like you were caught in a storm? Life can bring unexpected challenges, and the latest episode dives into how we can navigate those tumultuous times with resilience and strategy. We reflect on what it means to face life's storms, exploring both the practical and metaphorical aspects of surviving through adversity. 

In this engaging discussion, we emphasize the need for a strong mindset when confronting unexpected obstacles. Just like in severe weather, making sound decisions is vital! We offer actionable insights into cost management, helping you understand the costs associated with both personal and professional aspects of life. Our guests share compelling real-life stories, illustrating the importance of preparation and adaptation during crises. 

You will learn about categorizing costs—identifying what’s essential versus what can be trimmed to survive the storm. Creativity and resourcefulness are encouraged, especially during economic downturns, as we advocate for a proactive approach to both personal finances and business operations. We explore technological solutions that can help your business cut costs and improve efficiency, ensuring a robust survival strategy. 

Join us as we navigate through practical steps to strengthen our defenses against the inevitable storms of life, inspiring a sense of control and resilience. By making thoughtful adjustments and embracing change, we'll not only weather the storms but also come out stronger on the other side. Are you ready to take charge of your journey? Tune in and let's embark on this transformative dialogue together!

Fueling Discipline , focus and the right mindset!

Speaker 1:

So you're caught in a storm and it's pouncing on you. What do you do in a storm? Obviously, let's say, you're in a boat you try to slow down the boat, you put on the life jacket and you hope that the storm will pass, but whilst at the same time, or hoping, you are trying to find the nearest harbour where you can park your boat. So just last week, we were caught in a storm. I was in a vehicle traveling from Bulawayo to Harare and I think just before we got to Harare Before we got to Harare, you know, it started pouncing. You know, heavy rains, windy, you can't even it's in the evening, it's pitch black, you can't even see where you're going. I even veered off the road for a bit and at some point, you know, I stepped on a pool of water in the road and the car swerved, which was quite scary. Eventually, we had to slow down. We had two options Either we slow down or we stop. But at the same time, you still want to get to your destination. So we just decided, you know what, let's just slow down until we get to our destination. It took us almost an hour just to get out of that heavy rains and windy storm that we're experiencing. It's crazy, you know. All you can do is hope that you know you survive the storm. So welcome to another episode of Start to Finish, fueling discipline, focus and the right mindset.

Speaker 1:

I'm KD and yeah, so today we you know I'm talking about a storm because I'm sure we all experience the storms of life and sometimes we lose hope in that storm. But when all is said and done, we have to wither the storm with the storm and, like I said, if you're in a boat, you put on the life jacket, you look on your compass, you put out a mayday, look for the nearest harbour where you can park the boat, and such is the situation that we're experiencing in our country. It has never been easy since last year. We are in a storm and if you're in business, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. Even life itself is not as easy as we would expect it to be, and this is relevant for anyone who's going through any storm of life. When all is said and done, we have to find ways to get out of that storm and the cost of doing business. In life and in business there's a cost. You know the food you eat, it's a cost. The car you drive. It requires fuel, it's a cost. So when you're in a downtime just like COVID when it came, you know it was some of the toughest situations experienced Most business shut down and a lot of them set down strategic meetings and they were cost-cutting and they were looking at how they can run the business effectively.

Speaker 1:

Some even went as far as terminating some employments. But you realize, for those people who become knowledgeable of the times and the change of seasons, you can wither the storm. But if we don't prepare ourselves by doing what's necessary to survive in a storm, then it means the storm will catch us and will swallow us. So this is one aspect of cost cutting. In a situation our country is experiencing, I'm sure from this past year, we have seen foreclosures of businesses, big businesses shutting down, cuts, employment cuts happening and, just starting off this year, more business continue to shut down because the environment is not conducive to operate. There are so many dynamics that are affecting smooth flow of business, as usual. So what it basically means you are you're talking of profitability going down and you're talking of the spending income of a family, of a household, also dwindling because of these scenarios. Already we are talking of unemployment. We are talking of a lot of things that are being disrupted because of the situation that we're experiencing. So I was just looking at the aspect of cost Cost applied to cost, cost applied to business, applied to, to to family and as a small business owner, I think most small businesses tend to get affected because we we take a long time to have that strategic meeting and begin to look at the critical aspects of the business, trying to see how best we can make the adjustments. So by the time we realize it, you know most probably we are already swallowed in debt or we don't have any windfall for a saving, because any business has to make profit, just like in a home.

Speaker 1:

You know you want to make sure as you go through that storm, as you go through the challenges where you know most probably the income is not going to increase or we've lost income totally. There's a lot of cost cutting, there's a lot of decision making that must happen in that space in order to transition and be able to wither the storm, because you need to put on the life jacket, you need to call out a may day, you know, and look at around you and see which areas you need to make adjustments. Because if big companies, big corporates, are shutting the doors and moving out, that's their life jacket, because they are looking for markets where it's profitable for them to continue operating and for the local businesses, obviously you downsize, you leave some shops open, but you're operating with a lean team. Why? Because you want to make sure you survive in that storm. So cost cutting and cost management becomes very important and very critical. So, of course, cutting and cost management becomes very important and very critical, something that everyone must look at at a personal level and at a business level, because you want to see your business continue making some form of profitability and providing you a win.

Speaker 1:

For I remember during COVID, you know, a lot of companies were looking at downsizing. As a small company with a team of 10 people, you're thinking, okay, we've had opportunities, we've got clients calling in work from home solutions, we're putting them out there. Things were showing up, so we never really thought about cutting costs until it was too late. So, as we are experiencing other challenges, which are political, which are economical and we literally saw the past year, which is 2024, that there is a credit crunch in the market and things are not happening the way we want it to be. We are not experiencing the amount of businesses, jobs or projects you would expect, and right now there is international news that is literally affected the economy as well, over and above what is happening at our local platform.

Speaker 1:

So it calls for desperate measures. It calls for measures where you have to adjust certain areas of your life if you want to survive. The business has to see where things are going and make adjustments. If it means there are other opportunities somewhere else, then you have to look for those opportunities and start moving towards places where you can continue growing as a company or you can continue earning as a family or as an individual. So one of the critical areas is cost cutting. Can you look at your cost and manage them? And this is one critical area in every aspect of the operations of a business, in our survival, in our lives to constantly look at areas where you can make adjustments to ensure you survive the storm, To ensure you continue in the process of building and growing. And, as I've said, small business and families that have lost work. They suffer. So whilst you're looking for other, greener pastures, other opportunities, the first port of call is making those adjustments.

Speaker 1:

Obviously, when you talk of cost cutting. You need to look and categorize your costs. When you talk of cost cutting, you need to look and categorize your costs. Obviously, there are best costs, there are good costs and there are bad costs. So you need to make sure you clearly understand the cost that you're facing.

Speaker 1:

If it's recreational activity that we're doing as a business, you know in a crisis time, you cut all those areas which are which need to be cut. If it's in a home, your kids are going to an expensive school and you know you can't afford it. Now that a lot of dynamics have changed, then what you need to do is to move the kids to a school which you can afford. There's a lot of areas which we have to sit down with ourselves and really come up with a structure that allows us to serve whilst we continue to earn, because sometimes you don't know when things are going to improve. Obviously, the shift that is happening could be good for the future, but what you want to do is at this point is you are figuring things out Make the necessary adjustment that allows the business to survive.

Speaker 1:

Otherwise, soon enough you know you find yourself in a far worse place For us as a business. We realize we could not afford an office. So you make an adjustment in that space. When things equalize at some point, you then restore that office. So you work remotely. You continue to service your clients. So you work remotely. You continue to service your clients and as far as employment is concerned, you also adjust, Remain with a core team and the rest you hire as and when projects are available. So the game has already changed in how we have to operate.

Speaker 1:

And right now, in the era of AI, now you can look for AI technology that can help you cut down or even further on the manpower that you need in your business. There are programs that can audit your financials. There are programs that can build efficiency in your operations, in your systems. So it's looking at all these things and trying to figure out how best you can utilize them. There are platforms for advertising, for generating videos, for generating advertising flyers, which you can apply without having a designer or an agent doing that for you. So technology itself can help you to cut costs, can help you to cut costs. So it's all these things that you can infuse to make sure you achieve your goal as a business. So cost-cutting areas you can look at include offices.

Speaker 1:

There comes a time when it's not necessary to have an office because of the situation that we're experiencing Labor costs, adjusting the manpower. You would rather get into new arrangements and have part-time employees than to have full-time employees because you want to cut the cost. Advertising and marketing we've already spoken about it. Then you've got would energy cost. You need to cut down as much as you can inventory management. Instead of ordering a lot of diverse units for resale, you'd rather focus on what moves, focus on the core. Then if anything else client wants, then you you supply as per order. Allowances and benefits are cut as well. And on a personal note, if you are someone who likes eating out, like me, you have to cut down on your eating out. If you are someone who doesn't own their own home, it means you need to cut down on the accommodation expense. If you are renting a house that was quite expensive, then cut it by half or whatever that you're comfortable with to make sure you're able to you don't get pressure Adjust expensive school fees. It's not a good headache to be looking for loans to pay school fees or to look for loans to pay accommodation.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes it's not about giving yourself pressure when things are like this, it's good to sit down with your family, look at all areas that are important to make changes, make the necessary changes and you start from there. The situation will never remain like this forever. Eventually, changes will happen, but for this moment, this is your life jacket. You have to put it on, otherwise you find yourself in debt. You find yourself distressed. You find yourself frustrated when you can do some simple things. Yet you find yourself distressed. You find yourself frustrated when you can do some simple things that will help you to wither the storm.

Speaker 1:

Cancel subscriptions. Maybe you enjoy soccer or movies. You've got platforms when you watch these things. Movies you have. You've got platforms when you watch these things.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes it's not necessary To continue paying, releasing a bad cost. Focus on the things that matter New clothing and food. You have to focus on the basics. You have to focus on the basics. You have to focus on things, necessities, things that are needed, and for go the rest. So it's necessary to have, in a storm, to look at areas that will help you sustain inner storm. What storm are you facing in your life? And this is the storm that we're experiencing.

Speaker 1:

So when you cut your cost, it's less pressure for you, you know when you make the adjustment, when it calls for it, you don't delay doing that process. There's zero pressure. You know, you, you, you know you don't go through these palpitations whenever you hear a phone ring, because you have mastered the art of cutting the cost, increased profit or savings. So for a small business, you have a little bit more for a win. For Because every business, every individual, has to have some savings in place and the only way to achieve it is when we focus on cost cutting, cost management and when you reduce overspending. It encourages planning, because this is one key area that can affect and disrupt a family no money.

Speaker 1:

So in a situation and scenario like this, where you begin to see things are changing or things have changed, a rug has been pulled from underneath, what do you do? A lot may be depressed, but you still have to withstand the times that you are going through Better resource allocation. So when you go through the cost management process, then you are looking at critical areas and non-criticals. You're looking at good cost, bad cost and the best cost. Then you focus, you put your resources towards where they are needed and save something for a rainy season. It increases your flexibility If other opportunities come in certain areas.

Speaker 1:

You can easily move towards those areas, be it in business or personally. You decide oh, I want to move out of the country. You are not borrowing to go there. You already know we saved up something that we can utilize. So I think in situations like these, we should consider cost cutting, making adjustments where necessary to ensure we wither the storm. I hope you enjoyed this episode and this tip. And, yeah, let's make 2025 a year where we are going to be frugal, where we are going to control everything that happens around us. It starts by being intentional. It starts by being intentional. It starts by looking inward and being honest with yourself and take account to make sure you change the game.