No matter how successful your business was before the COVID-19 crisis, many business owners are struggling to adapt to this new world and the realities of the current marketplace. If this sounds familiar, you shouldn’t beat yourself up about it. The COVID pandemic was an unprecedented global event that took the nation by surprise, and there was little you could have done before the virus struck to prepare your small business for this disaster.
Instead, what you should focus on is how your team can best deal with these new circumstances moving forward and ease your transition into the post-COVID business world. Ignoring the realities of the marketplace makes your small business more vulnerable to closures than your competitors and ensures that you will be unprepared for whatever developments occur in the near future.
Unfortunately, too many business owners don’t have the information they need to successfully navigate these treacherous economical waters and are unaware of the resources that are available to them. With that in mind, this blog will provide you with some information about to help you find those resources and tips for how you can set yourself up for success during the COVID closures.
5 TIPS FOR NAVIGATING YOUR BUSINESS THROUGH THE COVID CLOSURES
1. Keep Open Lines of Communication with Your Customers
Though the details of our experiences with the coronavirus might differ, everyone across the nation has been impacted by the pandemic in some way. This means that many of your customers will understand the various issues that you’ve faced during this time; all they need is clear and direct communication from you to explain any hiccups or mistakes.
Whether you’ve had to limit your business hours, lay off employees, or rethink your supply chain, all these developments can cause your business to deliver less than stellar customer service. But again, the key here isn’t to try to sweep all of this under the rug but to address these issues and commit to doing better in the future. These are extraordinary times. Your customers understand this and will appreciate your straightforwardness.
2. Understand the Financial Resources Available to You
Now more than ever, you need to pay special attention to how the federal government as well as your local government is reacting to the COVID crisis. There have been several regulations put forth at both the federal and state level, and the CARES Act passed a few months ago offered temporary relief to many small business owners across the country.
More than likely, the federal government will have to pass another relief bill sometime soon, and your local government might impose or lift more restrictions and offer various incentive programs for local businesses on their own, so this situation is far from over. Maybe you’re not a news junkie, but now is the time to stay on top of these developments to see how your business can best take advantage of these financial resources in the future.
3. Seek Alternative Funding Partners
Whether you’re looking to purchase more inventory, hire new staff, renovate your property, or simply make up for lost business, alternative funding partners like FundKite can provide you with fast, transparent, and flexible funding with very little bureaucratic hassles.
FundKite’s boutique financing allows its in-house underwrites to develop offers that speak to each client’s unique needs and growth goals. Their experienced staff will walk you through every detail of your funding agreement and will answer any questions that you have. Plus, you may receive the funding within the week that your application is approved. So if time is a factor, you should consider FundKite as a working capital provider.
4. Renegotiate Your Lease
Property costs are one of the biggest expenses in any business’s bottom line. That’s why trying to renegotiate your lease with your landlord or realty company is a great way to reduce some of your expenses. Landlords and realtors are taking big economic hits across the country with many tenants defaulting on their leases and homeowners unable to come up with enough money to cover their mortgages.
This means that they might be open to renegotiating your lease agreement if they’re able to keep you as a tenant and avoid further stress and headaches. The bottom line is that it probably won’t hurt you to reach out, so why not give it a shot, and see how much money you can save today.
5. Stay Optimistic Moving Forward
As we said before, nearly everyone in the country has been affected by this virus in some way and many people are over hearing about how difficult things might still be as we move forward into a post-COVID world. To stay ahead of any issues, make sure that you’re monitoring emails, web copy, blogs, or customer correspondences to ensure that negativity isn’t slipping into your company’s rhetoric. You can also gain additional insight into the needs of your customers.
As a rule of thumb, don’t ignore the current medical and economic situation, but also don’t remind your customers of it regularly unless it’s important for your current marketing strategy. You and your clients have enough on their minds during these trying times.
