Learning’s of an entrepreneur- take away from 2020 and growing from that

2020 set everyone back, when it came to work. With the start of the pandemic, it had everyone in a tizzy, confused, thinking will I make it, will I survive? It took a toll on businesses, work, personal affairs at home and made everyone question and rethink and then put them into survival mode.

My first take away would be- invest in your mental health. That is and should be priority. If you have peace of mind, in spite of everything else falling, crumbling around you, half the battle is won! It’s important to be calm, think rationally and make decisions that effect your health and your work environment in a positive way.

The health sector was over whelmed when the pandemic hit, doctors were over worked, hospital staff was over worked and people were in a state of panic. Being CEO, I saw this and realised, there is no overcoming something if you are in a constant state of flux. You realise the pandemic is here to stay and the only way to work and move forward it be transparent with your employees, hear them out and look after their needs. One of the biggest key trends was work from home, it was then that I decided, staff that is not needed on the hospital premise, should work from home. Hospitals were already over flowing, doctors were in constant contact with people, other than patients. It was important to cut down on admin staff and allow them to work from home. This gave doctors more free movement, quick decisions and quicker turn outs.

Its all about listening to your employees and valuing their inputs. It was amazing to see people do the job of 2 roles, more efficiently and quickly. So yes, my biggest learning from this pandemic has been WORK FROM HOME. It changed the way we function as human beings and value time and effort that someone else puts in, it also increased efficiency by two folds, if not more! And yes, safety of employees is always priority. If you take such decisions when you are the head of an organisation, people value you more, respect you and put in that extra bit to make sure the company they are employed with, succeeds. Cutting down on man power, cost cutting on expenses is never the solution. Our employees mental health is very important instead of just providing good salaries as I firmly believe that employees run my company based on my vision.

Women have always been some what of more stabilising and calming factors. And this pandemic too, women have risen to the occasion and stepped in, be it as Covid warriors, home makers, govt employees and more. I think people have also come to realise that gender equality is the need of the hour. As a woman entrepreneur, my top priority has been safety of all my employees.

Lastly, there has been a rise in technology. Things have changed in the way we work, handle documents, process information. technology is the company’s best asset, especially in the corporate world. I think we can all agree, with WFH we have turned to online meetings, reduced carbon foot print by stepping out and managing everything we can within the 4 walls of our homes.

One also has to realise that even though we are in this, it will change and things will go back to normal. But for now, we need to adapt, learn, and adapt to this so called new normal. So yes, as an entrepreneur, we have had to deal with a lot, learn and grow from this.

Pritika Singh

Guest Author CEO, Prayag hospital & Research Center Pvt. Ltd.