As a creative and entrepreneur, I have felt the harshness of the pandemic from both the creative and business side. I also witnessed many companies being forced to close down due to lack of income. Many had to re-strategise their business models to survive. I had to re-strategise my business operations as our income was mostly dependent on corporate events, but due to the social restrictions, we now have to rely on our secondary income streams (brand development, film production and training) to stay afloat.
As most activities are on hold, I believe this is a perfect chance for SMEs to develop their business branding and have it on track before we get back to ‘business as usual’ and branding is usually neglected in the rush of ‘business as usual’. Some clients were wise enough to take their businesses digital during the first stage of the lockdown and now have a better idea on how to market their products and services to their clients. We spend time assisting these clients to refine their business model and creating digital content for their platforms as we can do it remotely.
If there is one thing that the lockdown has taught us, it is this: “there is always a client who is looking for a creative to create some content for them. You just need to find them”. That is what I would like to encourage other creatives struggling to sustain themselves, as I understand the fears which come with these uncertain times. Now more than ever, it is imperative to analyse your skillsets and assess how you can provide value to organisations and market yourself on platforms like LinkedIn.
The world is increasingly becoming digitalised, so it is wise to spend some time to learn about IoT (internet of things), augmented reality, artificial intelligence and computer science or anything digital like filming or digital design and imagine how much of your creativity you can incorporate there. To get you started, we have a workshop video on our YouTube channel (Jumper Namibia) that teaches you how to get yourself started with filming. For me, it took a year to transition from being creative to having an entrepreneurial mindset. Numerous people and organisations aided my journey like the African Pathfinder Leaders Initiative (APLI) and DOLOLO, who helped me develop an entrepreneurial mindset, refine my value proposition and market my services aptly.
* Andreas Elifas is a 2019 APLI Fellow, a creative entrepreneur and CEO of Jumper Namibia. He has a demonstrated history of working in the marketing, advertising, filming and the events industry. He practices skills such as critical thinking, data analysis and creative problem-solving for both corporate and non-corporate organisations. He can be reached on +264816980693 or andreaselifas@gmail.com.