Covid 19, as we call it now, emerged from the city of Wuhan in China. It emerged in December 2019 and came to prominence around the time of Chinese New Year. It has spread globally and impacted on all developed and developing economies.
We need deal with it and its business impacts in a clinical manner and without entering the blame game.
In this article we focus on how business can deal with the fallout of the disease.
New reality, new perspective. Now.
For the first time my life I am working from home and dealing with a new reality. I am working long hours but I am not sure about my efficiency. We need all focus on getting ready for the post Covid-19 world and pit time aside to do this now.
The team at Projects RH works with a strong and enthusiastic group of strategic partners. The amazing quality we can see amongst them is that they realize the opportunity the post Covid-19 world is offering their businesses and that of their clients. We are fortunate to have strategic partners not only in Australia but across the world. Projects RH and its associated entity Tabatinga, based in Singapore, have teams working in Australia, Colombia, Singapore, India, Sri Lanka Hong Kong and the USA.
Projects RH, in common with its strategic partners, find the need to be proactive with many of our clients as they are unsure what to do in the current environment. Whether they are new to the country, industry or to business, many of them have not experienced an economic situation like we have today. For some, they are now marking their 3-6 week at home.
“Our view is, there is light at the end of the tunnel and
that tunnel could be as little as four weeks away.
Now is the time for action.”
Working with the ecosystem
We have been talking with our active clients at least twice a week and sometimes more. What we have been saying to them is that there is light at the end of the tunnel but when they come out the world will have changed. Despite all the announcements from government the criteria of bankers and investors have become more stringent and the times they take to make assessment longer. Having so many people working from home has reduced the productivity.
At Projects RH we have wondered how we can assist the clients of our strategic partners. Clearly, we are not in this journey alone and need to work with you and call upon your strengths.
What we see for our clients is that they need to have up-to-date financials, they need to revise the business plan and financial models what is happening in the real world. Having revised their financial plans, they need to update their information memorandum, their pitch deck’s and the teasers. The action points for clients is:
- Update their accounts including tax returns if applicable – many are likely to qualify for some government business assistance – but this will only be granted if their files with government are up-to-date.
- Revise their business plans and models. This includes rental agreements, staffing, supply contracts. There is a huge opportunity to negotiate discounts based on the fact you can show you plan to be in business.
- Look at their profile and that of their business in the light of what’s happening.
- Review their financial model specifically how quickly they will be able to implement change and to demonstrate they have sufficient funds to continue business. It does not mean simply cost-cutting but may mean spending even more money on market profile and raising cash.
- Updating their information memorandum and other communications with the market including their websites.
- Preparing an updated webpage and importantly teaser documents for potential investors.
“Now is the time to build your profile and show you plan to be in business after Covid 19.
It is the time to raise money, as in the next two years is not going to be easier.
We need be proud, bold and ready for knock backs.”
The ecosystem
Our team includes communicators and digital marketers based in Colombia who can provide updates to websites and presentations including video clips relatively cheaply.
We also work with York Studios in Melbourne who can provide video footage shot locally in Australia.
Our ecosystem includes:
- accountants
- lawyers
- tax advisers
- engineers
- migration specialists
- a financial planner
- a wholesale advisor
- a credited adviser
- a specialist business planner
- digital marketers
- a media adviser
- film / video producer
- mentors and business advisers.
- PLUS CLIENTS, investors and lenders
The Journey we need to take
At Projects RH we have had to accept that many of our clients will not be able to pay all their customary fees upfront so we need work with them to ensure they are able to raise the money they need to continue. We have also pared back our upfront rates in line with making sure our clients survive and they are with us for the next stage of the journey.
What is important is our core values have not changed. That means we are relationship-based and not transaction-focused. It is interesting to reflect that by way of culture only 1/7 of the world is transaction-focused and the rest relies on relationships in good faith. I think that’s why it’s been easy for us to understand dealing in Asia and in Latin America than for many other organisations with an Australian culture.
Projects RH continues to work with his clients like is a member of the team. We do not hold ourselves out to provide legal, tax, migration or accounting advice on one side nor do we hold a credit licence or an AFSL which would allow us to give credit or investment advice. What we have, however, is a network or ecosystem where we can provide introductions and assist clients to overcome current adversity and move forward.
The current market is harder and deals are taking longer as people are not available or they are working from home. I think they are being cautious as well. If our clients wish to be successful in raising debt or equity and/or gaining other financial accommodation they need to show that they have a high profile and current information about their business. Our role of Projects RH is to assist them by providing them with tools they need to have those successful meetings and prepare applications.
We would like to work with you now to have your business ready for the opportunities that undoubtedly lie ahead. Now is the time to be brave, bold and engage. As they say in the classics “no man is an island” so now we need to reach out and form teams to deal with the business conditions as they are.
I am being told money after 30th June will be harder than before that date so we need to get as many clients into the market as we can now. The reason for this is many investor organisations allocate funds to be invested on a quarterly basis. The terms for new investments and loans were clearly all be revised so they are operational from one July.
If you, your organisation or friends believe we can be of assistance please reach out to us and we will listen to what you have to say. If we don’t believe we can help you we will quickly tell you, hopefully that won’t be the answer.
We can be contacted on email, phone (WeChat, WhatsApp, Facetime…) Skype, Zoom et cetera. We too are flexible and we deal with the Americas late in their afternoon or early evening which is our early morning until lunch, Asia during most of our day, India, Sri Lanka and the Middle East from mid-afternoon and Europe in our evening. If you reach out to us, we will respond.
Moving forward, together
- working with Projects RH / Tabatinga introduces you to an ecosystem. This ecosystem has access to the skills that most business people need.
- Covid-19 is an event and we must prepare for its finish. That finish will happen sooner than we think and now is the time to be ready.
- As we leave Covid 19 behind the world will have changed and we need to show that we are ready for it by having revised our business plans and working documents.
- Investors will be ready, the terms will be harder and the processes longer, but we to need to be prepared for that.
- We need to work on our relationships and remember that transactions are just part of the formula. People deal with people and repeating a deal is much easier than doing it again from scratch.
- We need remain positive, proactive and prepared.
