INNOVATORS VS COVID 19

Akin Chaktty Speaks on the Impacts of Pandemic on Business Survival

Published

3 years ago

02/06/2021

Kossi Adzo

We talked to Akin Chaktty of Chaktty Media about sports and fitness, and he had the following to say:-

First of all, how are you and your family doing in these COVID-19 times?

Akin Chaktty: I’m doing really well, and the family is good. Like every other problem, you get used to it when it’s not over yet. We’re adapting to the situation now, and very positive about getting over COVID-19 very soon.

Tell us about you, your career, how you founded Chaktty Media.

Akin Chaktty: Whuu! Life was a bit challenging while I was growing, but I was able to acquire a bachelor’s degree in Sports and Fitness. Today, I’m a fitness trainer, a public speaker, investor, and marketer.

After leaving college in 2015, I got employed as a teacher but later resigned in 2017 to focus on my dream. My dream is to turn as much of my business ideas to real businesses. I’m still on the journey and not yet done, so I established Chaktty Media, and formed the Pally social network where I founded a couple of online businesses.

How does Chaktty Media innovate?

Akin Chaktty: We’re into SEO, and this industry is very versatile. We’ve chosen to focus on results more than anything else. We asked about our clients’ marketing campaigns’ objectives and goals and advised them on how to achieve them. We don’t tell them what they need to hear but rather what they need to do.

How the coronavirus pandemic affects your business, and how are you coping?

Akin Chaktty: Eh eh! Like most other businesses, the coronavirus pandemic has really affected us. Sales have fallen marginally for many physical products. Even for people who think online products would have more patronage, I can boldly tell you that both physical and digital products have been impacted.

After the first quarter of the year 2020, marketing campaigns dried off till the last quarter when we started getting a few orders again. To cope with the challenging period, we stopped our periodic investment in the business and tried to minimize operating costs so we can fulfill our most important obligations.

Did you have to make difficult choices, and what are the lessons learned?

Akin Chaktty: Yeah, we had to make some difficult choices. As a business owner, when the pandemic went into full force, I told my family, we all need to sit up, brace up and stand firm. I told my wife, life is not going to be as it used to be for now as we’ll be spending from our reserves since profit is not coming.

The only lesson I’ve learned from the pandemic is to diversify your investment as much as possible. A situation like this can occur in another decade as I believe this pandemic has a political undertone. I actually had in mind before now to divest in agriculture, and I really need to plan for that now. I used to believe in the stock market in the past, but in times like this, the stock market will take a serious bite and value will be eroded easily.

Who are your competitors? And how do you plan to stay in the game?

Akin Chaktty: Gosh! my competitors are unlimited; however, I assume I don’t have competitors.

I don’t strive more because my competitors have an edge over me, but try to maintain professionalism in my dealings with clients. I’m result-oriented because I know my clients want a result, so I give them just that. That’s how we keep the ball rolling ad stay in the game.

Your final thoughts?

Akin Chaktty: I’m privileged to be here talking about how we survived this trying time and keeping the game tight in the SEO industry.

As a business owner out there, you need to focus more on your customers’ satisfaction this year. Save for the difficult years to come, don’t expect the bad time to come but always plan for the bad time. It’s also important to diversify your business, especially into other industry that’s different from the one you’re now, irrespective of the size of your company.