We say, take it one day at a time! This is a phrase that has got most of us through many difficult situations with the hope that tomorrow will take care of itself. Then came one of the toughest periods this century has seen worldwide, the Covid-19 period. Who imagined what life would look like after Covid-19? Well, here we are, in the post-pandemic recovery period, and as expected things have been changing all around, especially the cost of living. Struggling to keep up with our lifestyles comes with so much pressure that can be really draining both physically and mentally, especially for young people trying to find a balance in life. In some unfortunate instances, youths have succumbed to the pressures of life.

Have you been to the shopping mall recently, and noted the shift in the cost of living? I go to the supermarket, I have my shopping list ready, with an estimated budget of what I think it should cost as per a life experience of shopping rounds. No one likes it when you’re in the mall and you are packing in stuff and you know 1 liter of cooking oil goes for two hundred Kenyan shillings, then you check the price tag and boom, it’s three hundred and forty shillings. Now you have one hundred and forty shillings extra to pay, which tends to disorient your budgeting. This is just a minute exemplar of the things we deal with every waking day. Things keep changing during this post-pandemic era and the only way forward is to be accepting of the change.

Let me give you a story of one of the world’s oldest airlines in operations. The company was founded in 1925 as a major airline and a legacy carrier in the United States. Like most airlines in that era, they had their fair share of challenges and they were able to grow significantly. Come 2001, after the September 11 terror attacks, the company went into a deep dive of the financial crisis, with decreased consumer demand, rising fuel costs and growth of budget competitors which led to bankruptcy come 2005. What matters is not that they went under the waters but that they did emerge from the storm, eventually.

You have to be adaptable, you have to be strategic! The company came back in 2007 with verve, better strategies and an approach to the ever-changing market. Their marketing and advertising strategy are focused on the 7P’s: Product, Price, Place, Promotion, People, Physical Evidence, and Process. With these strategies, they present a strong brand image that understands the quality of service. Today, Delta Airlines is one of the four carriers that control the United States aviation industry with a net worth of $27.35B as of 4th May 2022.

They say once bitten twice shy, the upside of it, is you gain experience of the bite and every time you are bitten by a different snake you learn and adapt and such is life! You wake up to a high cost of living and the only option is survival. As an individual, I have the choice to hustle harder and make more money to match my lifestyle and if that’s not in the cards at the moment, I resort to improvisation and proper budgeting. As a business, you have to study the new market and find more appropriate strategies to make it in the market. One lesson I have learned in these uncertain times is, that you do not get to quit on your dreams just because you gave it your best and failed, you fail the moment you stop giving it your best with every try.