It’s been a few weeks since I’ve really done anything for my business. I count myself as incredibly lucky in that I have that option. But I also know there are a lot of small businesses in crisis right now, so I want to write a quick blog post to share some advice on how to make it through this. I have always believed that the continued success of your business is the key to my own success, so I want to be honest with you.
Prepare for the worst.
We’re all optimistic that this will only be our reality for another month or so, but the reality is that there are some models predicting we could be dealing with the ramifications of this for up to two years. The best chance of surviving is to accept that and make plans accordingly. Your sales will be down, if they aren’t already. Your staff will be less productive. It will be harder for you to get loans. Many of your outstanding balances will probably default, and you may never see that money. Your job as a business owner is to accept all that now, and prepare your business to survive despite that. If you’re wrong, you’ll end up with a little more money than you expected, which is never a bad thing.
Cut unnecessary spending.
I honestly can’t believe I’m about to write this but if you’re not Amazon, Zoom, or a business very much like them, if you are spending money on marketing right now, you’re essentially setting it on fire. A lot of unscrupulous marketing companies are arguing that all the extra eyes on social media right now make it a prime opportunity. Unfortunately, this is a lie.
Many consumers are on extremely limited funds, and will be for months. As a country our buying power has diminished exponentially. There just isn’t as much room in the market anymore, and we will have to work hard to rebuild the market to where it was. There’s also a huge chance for marketing blowback at the moment. If you don’t fully understand what I mean, take a look at these stories about Gamestop and Hobby Lobby. In a normal market missteps like this would be quickly put out of consumer minds, but this isn’t a normal market, and with all the extra social media time every mistake has a chance to ferment in the minds of your customers.
If you do plan on continuing to do social media marketing, be smart. Focus on uplifting or amusing content. Everyone needs a light at the end of the tunnel right now, and will likely fondly remember who and what helped them. That may not work for you, but it is honestly one of your best bets as a strategy in this moment.
Focus on your infrastructure
Build your audience, work on your SEO strategies, figure out remote work, make sure your file server works and is getting backed up. While sales are going to be down, you can use this time to focus your work on making sure your business is ready to hit the ground running as soon as it can. Not only that, but this kind of work is going to be exceedingly cheap to accomplish right now. You’ll have extra time to do it yourself, or you’ll be able to get good deals from freelancers who desperately need work. If you are working at all, you should be strengthening the foundations of your business to weather this storm.
Be kind.
This has hit everyone. This is a global issue. There are going to be many people who can’t pay their bills. Kindness is your best bet to ensure that you will be paid, eventually. But more than that, be understanding that there are some people who just can’t pay you ever anymore. It’s not a great place to be, but here we are. You’ll burn more bridges harassing these people, and potentially have social media blowback like I mentioned above.
Remember, there is no great achievement in history that was accomplished by one individual on their own. There is always a group working towards a goal. But with kindness and understanding we will all weather this storm.
Wash your hands.
This is a serious issue. Most models predict that everyone on the planet will likely get this at some point. Everything, every action we are being advised to take, is about slowing that rate down so that our medical infrastructure can manage without collapsing. If that happens, there may not be an economy to help recover.
It doesn’t matter if you are young, old, symptom free, or coughing up a storm. You must do your part to manage this illness. Wash your hands. Wear a mask if you are coughing. Keep at least 6 feet away from people. Let your employees work from home if at all possible. Do not encourage consumers or employees to gather in your business. Local governments are pulling business licenses for violating stay at home and essential business orders, so always remember that a dollar today is never worth losing the ability to make dollars tomorrow.
