How to Manage Your Business During the Coronavirus Outbreak
Businesses all across the world are being affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Some are being forced to shut down temporarily, others are seeing significant profit losses and payroll cuts, and some are seeing permanent damage done to what they’ve worked so hard to build.
Not only are we left with an enormous amount of uncertainty right now, but your company can’t just sit around and wait for it to be over. It’s critical that you take a proactive approach to ensuring your business makes it out of this temporary shut down and returns to normal soon.
When managing income and expenses during this difficult time, I have several pieces of advice that can help you protect your business until the effects of the coronavirus lessen. Let’s get started!
Have a Solid Plan of Attack
First and foremost, you should already be planning how to deal with this situation — if you haven’t already. We are more than six weeks into this confusing time and we have no idea how much longer this could last. Your business shouldn’t be waiting one minute longer before taking action.
You should start making forecasts for what your expected income and expenses will be for the remainder of the stay at home orders. Your plan will essentially be centered around your budget, which will affect your marketing, payroll, and much more.
Are Your Employees Working From Home?
If you want your business to continue running, you’ll need employees — this hasn’t changed. While your employees might be sent home for the time being, you can find ways to keep them busy by working at home. You might not be able to offer them the same hours as before, but it’s a temporary win-win situation until more information is gathered in regards to the stay at home orders in place.
With the various technologies we have today, it can be extremely easy to integrate their work station into their home.
Communication Is Key
One of the biggest mistakes I see companies making during the coronavirus outbreak is a lack of communication — whether it be between owner and manager, manager and employee, or even owner and employee.
You can’t expect to shut everyone out until the outbreak clears and then reboot everything as though nothing happened. Your management and staff have a right to know what’s happening with their livelihoods. The longer you keep them in the dark, the harder it will be to win them back when you need them most.
Find Federal and State Relief
As the stay at home orders continue, legislation at the federal and state levels are taking center stage as they aim to send relief to small businesses and corporations being affected by the coronavirus. If you’ve been struggling to get through this difficult time, you shouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of what’s being offered.
Assistance includes the Paycheck Protection Program, various loans and grants, extended tax filing and payments, and many more programs available.
If you’re looking for further assistance when managing your financials during the coronavirus outbreak and gearing your company for a brighter future, contact me today!
References
Kappel, Mike. “6 Ways To Protect Your Business During The Coronavirus Outbreak.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 20 Mar. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/mikekappel/2020/03/19/6-ways-protect-business-during-coronavirus/#14e9915253a2.
McGurran, Brianna. “List Of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Small Business Loan And Grant Programs.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Apr. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/advisor/2020/04/10/list-of-coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-loan-and-grant-programs/#7d96d250cc4b.