We are still inside it.
No clear timeline.
We are witnessing how businesses change,
sometimes quietly,
sometimes painfully.
Derma clinics are closed.
Salons are shut.
Spas are dark.
Computer shops have their lights off.
Meanwhile, other businesses are everywhere.
Food delivery apps keep multiplying.
Riders fill the streets.
Phones replace counters.
Notifications replace queues.
Resellers of “essentials” are thriving.
Alcohol. Masks. Vitamins. Groceries.
E-commerce, which used to feel optional,
is now necessary.
Buy through an app.
Pay digitally.
Wait for delivery.
While some prefer brick and mortar,
right now,
preference does not matter.
What works, matters.
And the pandemic is making that very clear.
Some businesses are struggling
because they cannot move.
Some are surviving
because they learned quickly.
Some are growing
because they were already flexible.
Others are changing
because they have no choice.
It is uncomfortable to watch.
Friends are losing income.
SMSEs are closing shops they built for years.
Staff are waiting without answers.
At the same time,
new sellers are appearing online every week.
Not because they are perfect.
Not because they are big.
Because they are willing.
Willing to try.
Willing to learn.
Willing to adjust.
The pandemic is teaching.
Not gently.
Not slowly.
It is teaching through pressure.
It is teaching that stability is temporary.
That “normal” is fragile.
That comfort can disappear overnight.
It is teaching that adaptability is not optional.
If you cannot change,
you break.
If you can adjust,
you survive.
Sometimes, you even grow.
Growth is not just about expanding.
It is about responding.
Responding to what people need now.
Responding to new limits.
Responding to reality.
Not yesterday’s reality.
Today’s.
The pandemic is not rewarding size.
It is rewarding speed.
It is rewarding humility.
It is rewarding courage.
Courage to admit,
“This way no longer works.”
Courage to say,
“I need to learn again.”
Courage to rebuild
while everything feels unstable.
It is teaching us that survival is not stubbornness.
It is movement.
And growth is not about holding on to the past.
It is about becoming useful in the present.
That is the lesson, so far.