There may not be a lot that can be done right now, especially with lockdowns and other safety measures being put in place to limit the spread of the virus. Nevertheless, knowing how to keep the business running well in a time like this makes all the difference.
Safety First
Before getting to other details like maintaining OPEX and making sure that business finances are in order, safety needs to come first. The safety of your team members is a priority, followed by the safety of your customers.
Some businesses start to allow Work from Home or remote working as a solution. Employees who are given enough trust and room to grow can be very effective in remote working situations. There are tools like Zoom and Google Meet for this purpose too.
Taking extra measures to protect your office or retail space is also necessary. Spray-on sanitizers, gel-based hand sanitizers, and other protective measures can be placed around the commercial space and within access of everyone.
Smooth Operations
The next part of the process is ensuring the smooth and stable operations of the business. This is a lot more complicated than you think. Demand for products and services is dropping, walk-in customers are on a steep decline, and people are prioritizing certain things.
Insurance coverage, like business insurance, will protect the business against financial risks. If you take a look at the business insurance offer from The Hartford, you will see that a fantastic business insurance coverage protects your physical location, equipment, inventory, and even employees.
The last piece of the puzzle is cash flow. While this is not an ideal time to regain control over your finances, there are actually a lot of things you can do to improve your business cash flow and return to a healthy level.
Making Changes
That actually brings us to our third step: making some changes. This is the time to boost your cash flow, and there are several things you can do to get started. For example, you can offer discounts to clients or customers who pay their invoices early; this is handy for bringing your AR down.
You also want to review your expenses. Unnecessary expenses need to go immediately. Overhead costs that are okay during normal times need to be evaluated; this is the right time to make adjustments to business expenses.
What you want to avoid is letting go of employees, at least this early in the process. Employees are your most significant assets, and they are irreplaceable. Even if the business survives this crisis, it will not be able to fill strategic positions quickly enough if key employees are let go, or if they leave.
Combined, these steps will help prepare your business for lockdowns and curfews better. Things will get more difficult before they get better, but your business – and you as the business owner – has what it takes to survive this crisis.
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