Possibly A Normal Monday

source Still can't believe I have an appointment and leaving the house on a Monday. I was even asked if I was going on a date by the maid this morning which shows how abnormal this is.

Today is the first Monday I have been looking forward to for some time as I have a rare appointment. This year has been a strange one business wise as nothing has been normal since March. Many of my existing clients have been retrenching and unfortunately many of my contacts have been let go.

This is good and bad as now I need to make sure I keep what I have and also keep contact with whoever has gone. It takes time building up a close relationship as you have to earn their trust. If you are not careful you could end up with nothing as nothing should be taken for granted.

The appointment I have today is with one of my contacts landing himself a role with a new company so this is almost guaranteed business. He needs to look good by showing he is making savings which to be honest won't be that difficult. He has already given me the details of their current suppliers and they are wholesalers and not directly manufacturing the item. I see this as a plum account as it will be more profitable than the wholesalers I supply already.

This time of year everyone should be so busy worrying about ordering enough stock so they don't run out. That is not going to happen this year as everyone I know is way down on turnover from last year and last year was not exactly party time either.

Looking back over the last 5 years on my largest clients figures they have grown their client base, but are down 30 percent overall. That was up until January this year so their figures will be far worse and expect them to halve yet again.

Business has been in decline for a few years now and this is now hitting home with the lock down effect. The country was on a border line recession before the pandemic and are well and truly in one now. The Government will try and spin it blaming the lock downs, but in all honesty we were there already.

Over the last month I have spoken to people who are now looking at leaving the country. These individuals 5 years ago would argue with you if you spoke like that. They have lost all confidence in the government believing they cannot stop the rampant corruption. The crazy thing is many officials who are put in positions of power believe it is their turn to take what they believe is rightfully theirs and why it will never end. When one goes another just replaces the exact same mindset.

The way I am looking at my business here these days is I have a time limit to nail the top accounts and tie them down permanently somehow. I cannot think long term as personally I don't think I will be here and will be working out of Europe somewhere in the not too distant future. The beauty is I can control what I am doing from afar and still have the business. The lock down has proved that as the only contact with my customers has all been over the phone. Who knows where things will end up as no one can tell where we will be in 5 years time as the world has changed beyond recognition.