Restrictions serve as catalyst for innovation
The current economy speaks of challenging times, but every challenge also serves as an opportunity to succeed
During the Covid-19 lockdown period, many business owners have come to realise the true meaning of “adapt or die”. While large companies may have the resources and scale to steer through these challenging times, it appears to be the inventors, small business and entrepreneurs who are setting the trends. They are taking the lead in identifying opportunities and bringing their products to market.
Now, more than ever, small businesses and entrepreneurs should use the oppor- tunities presented during these turbulent times. They should establish relationships and partnerships with stakeholders, suppliers, customers, and distribution partners. They should also pay special attention to having new designs, concepts and intellectual property patented.
Entrepreneurs, therefore, should look towards the future when designing new products. Finding something simple to help supplement their income and help them get through a difficult time could very well become the foundation of the next big business. One such example is a product called “Shoops”, a social distance learning aid designed and developed by Madelein Fourie and Shael Koekemoer, right here in Parys. With the current regulations and restrictions in place, we are seeing an increase in physical services and activities moving into the virtual world. Madelein and Shael took the very familiar virtual product called “personal space”, combined it with the recommended guidelines of social distancing and turned it into a physical product. With the patent pending, these two entrepreneurs now offer a learning aid, not designed to enforce social distance, but as a learning and conditioning aid that is very effective in teaching toddlers and pre-school children to be more aware of social distancing. Their product (photo) has proved to be very popular with kindergartens and daycare centres.
Their message – stay positive, be creative and inspire innovation. “Entrepreneurs are constantly looking out for problems that must be solved to develop new products and services. The current economy speaks of challenging times, but every challenge also serves as an opportunity to succeed
