How has your business responded to the Coronavirus? Have you felt helpless? Are you watching your company going through the five stages of death?
If you are an opportunist, you know that two things are true when economies come out of a recession: 1) some people will lose a lot of money; and 2) some people will make a lot of money. If the preference is to make money and revitalize the business, here are 5 things you can do now strengthen your business during the fight for its life and prepare for rebuilding.
- Demonstrate a commitment to a healthy work environment upon reopening. If you are a “non-essential business” that has been sidelined during the outbreak – you should immediately prepare COVID 19 protocols. That is important to your employees and regulators who decide if and what businesses will be allowed to operate going forward. If you need assistance drafting a re-opening plan, an AcuMax consultant can help.
- Stay in contact with laid off employees. Give them updates of what is happening and your intention to bring them back as soon as circumstances allow. This will lessen the likelihood that they will job jump in the interim or you will know if they cannot be counted on to return when you are ready to resume operations.
- Consider what the market will look like when this settles out. Many companies will go out of business. 20% of restaurants are predicted to permanently close. 15,000 retail shops and 25 to 50% of small businesses are expected to fail depending on how long the closures last. What will that mean to you? Will you be positioned to fill those orders? Will they go to competitors? Can you pick up additional business? Could those laid off employees improve your organization? Should you start an entirely new business?
- Use the downtime to stay productive. Do employees need training that you never seem to have time to schedule? Is now the time to do a web site overhaul? Is there a special project you or the team has been previously unable to complete?
- Consider current trends. We have heard of breweries making hand sanitizer and pillow companies making personal protection equipment. Are there ways your company can take advantage of new Coronavirus market opportunities? We also seem to be trending to national self-sufficiency so as not to be reliant on products made abroad. Can you position our company to take advantage of “Made in America”?
Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Is this an obstacle or an opportunity? Good luck (and get going)! Contact AcuMax for more advice on how to rebuild your business.
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* “On Death and Dying”, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, 1969.
