Corona. Entrepreneurship? Just now!

It may sound like malice to talk about chances and possibilities now. Many people are currently losing their jobs, don't know how to pay their rent or are trying to do justice to their small children in the home office. Bare nerves, existential fears and social loneliness, these are issues that concern us - sometimes worldwide. We are in an unprecedented stress test, both small and large: couples are getting on each other's nerves in home quarantine, while the economy threatens to collapse. And thousands of people die. Daily. An end is not in sight for the time being.

While we worry about the well-being of our parents and grandparents, we also accept ever-increasing restrictions on our personal lives. In other times we would demonstrate loudly, but we live in a democracy where the state cannot simply decide what the citizen has to do and what not to do. But: We don't live in other times, we live in the present. Now it is our job to protect the old, the weak and the pre-ill. Indeed, we are facing challenges.

But what will the world look like after Corona? There can be no complete return. Maybe it shouldn't. If only because many people notice that it is not necessary to fly halfway around the world for every meeting, and because perhaps one or the other will notice that creative inspiration at work does not always come “from nine to five”, but rather the personal biorhythm a midday nap is preferred in order to really get going again in the evening. Oh yes! And isn't it nice to have video conferences with your boss in your pajamas?

So can we talk about chances and possibilities? We mean yes. Insofar as we can all listen to ourselves and our society again: What do we want? What do we need? How do we imagine life? How much family and how much work do I need and endure? And what makes me happy about it? How much social life do I need and where do I feel pressure? In this context, an article by the futurologist Matthias Horx should be referred to.

People want to find solutions 

But there are also opportunities for entrepreneurs. Not only because a flood of virtual offers with tutorials, online coaching and advice are currently being provided. But also because we see how inventive and solidarity people deal with the crisis. The federal government's hackathon WirVsVirus  encouraged thousands of citizens to develop solutions for society, mind you, in just 48 hours.

People support each other more than ever; our neighborhoods are growing together digitally. The neighborhood network nebenan.de has had thousands of new registrations since Corona. Many people want to be social. But since Corona, it has also been possible to give your favorite Italian a helping hand: Berliners can now buy vouchers for restaurants, bars and cafés on the websites https://helfen-shop.berlin/home/ or https://www.paynoweatlater.de/ etc. to help them through the crisis. Thousands join.

And for all micro-entrepreneurs who didn't actually have an online shop before, the platform EINZELHELD offers  the infrastructure. For example, flowers can also be purchased online.

Suddenly it's about maintaining and reinventing businesses. But it is also about taking a look at systemically important professions. Those that have so far received little attention in our everyday lives: a few years ago, during the 2008 crisis, the banks were still so systemically important. Today it's sellers, garbage workers, delivery services. Rightly so.

This crisis shows that although people are encouraged to keep their distance from each other, it is precisely these who create the structures to build up a certain closeness with their immediate environment. With restaurants that you don't want to miss, with off-theatres in backyards that should please be preserved. Bizarrely, the internet makes this move possible.

Last but not least, it is about questioning the status quo. Where do we need change? Who should be supported? What does a healthy society need? And why do I consider it important to keep the little café around the corner alive? Because we are society. Everyone is part of it. And we have the opportunity to shape exactly this society. It seems that the crisis directs our attention to the essentials.

Instead of complaining (which is undoubtedly often justified!), people suddenly start working on solutions and developing completely new business ideas that are not only economically viable, but also offer added value for society. Entrepreneurship as a tool for dealing with the crisis, and maybe also for a way out of it.

We hope that we can continue to encourage, support and accompany many people to deal with innovative business models and create something new.

We will definitely continue. Also in the home office.