Crisis Management Tips for Small Businesses During COVID-19

This pandemic has created a global economic tsunami, that initially hit China and is now slamming the US economy as more parts of the country require nonessential businesses to shut down. That is, as the COVID-19 pandemic increases across the nation, numerous spots of business – small or big – such as schools, offices, the New York stock exchange, theaters, wellness studios, document scanning companies, clothing and beauty stores have all been requested to temporarily shut down. This sudden halt in the economy and the accompanying economic crisis is bound to have a devastating financial effect in the United States which is unprecedented. The current situation has had a reverberating result on small businesses. According to America’s SBDC, a national study found that 69% of the U.S. small businesses have already experienced a large drop in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic and 60% believe demand will continue to decline.

The COVID-19 virus that originated in Wuhan City of China, causes severe respiratory disease that can spread from person to person. It was declared as a global emergency on January 31, 2020 and announced as a pandemic on March 11,2020 by the World Health Organization (WHO) because of its high mortality rate. This crisis is causing turmoil in the U.S., where confirmed cases exceed over hundred thousand more than any other country. Since no immunizations are available as of now to prevent this sickness, the ideal approach to prevent this ailment is to abstain from being exposed to the virus. As a step towards this and with confirmed cases of the coronavirus escalating rapidly, government officials have also switched off activity in large sectors of the US. They want as few people as possible in close contact with one another in order to slow the pandemic, which may be even more widespread than official statistics suggest.

The study of small businesses by SBDC and Thryv Incorporated, found that 82% of small businesses are “extremely concerned” about the current business environment in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. Briefly, the COVID-19 be a shock to many businesses and could place their immediate future in serious trouble, and it is difficult to estimate the duration of this terrible crisis. As part of a comprehensive crisis management strategy there are a range of actions you should consider taking now to prepare your business for COVID-19. To place it in the best possible position to not only navigate through the crisis but to also be better prepared to take advantage of the recovery.

Here are some tips and resources that could be immediately actionable and not time sensitive. I will quite handlist a few of these and then I will direct you to our website at www.managedoutsource.com

Some of the tips is to make sure you update your financial statements, also obtain a line of credit to helps for your cash flow, have all necessary information with you. So make sure that there isn’t one single employee with you has all the key information. Because then it would be difficult for you to access information from him or her if the employee goes on sick leave or quarantine. Make sure in collect passwords and also have a supply chain, give reassurance to everybody and several ’s life is being disrupted right now. Spread a message of optimism in your online and social media presence. Also always required is try to remain calm, as with any other business decision or set of circumstances, it is important to make a conscious effort to remain calm and collected to better evaluate the situation. So, people need some normalcy to return, level up your customer service game by having a remote / off-premise service game plan. Reach out to your lenders, be empathetic in reducing employee hours, discounts benefits and listen. Communicate with your customers honestly, because maintaining a strong and positive communication channel with your customers is very vital. Let them know what steps you and your employees are taking within your business to keep everyone safe and let them know you value their business, appreciate their needs, and will do everything in your power to meet their needs as soon as it is safe and practicable to do so.

According to the latest news from New York times, the chief economist at Upwork and John Lettieri the president of the Economic Innovation Group in Washington, want the government to guarantee loans with little or no interest that small businesses would pay back over a long period, regardless of whether they lay off workers. Mr. Ozimek said it would be wrong not to help companies that have already been forced into layoffs by government decisions and delays in a federal response.

For small businesses, they can proactively invest in technologies like an e-commerce platform, mobile applications, social collaboration documents, and community and social platforms to better position themselves for growth and new business models. All businesses – be it small or huge – must stay compliant with the ADA and applicable state and local laws.

COVID-19 is another strain of virus, and it is exceptionally transmissible. Individuals need to settle on educated choices and keep on living their lives with due vigilance.

So to learn more go to our website that I said earlier with at www.managedoutsource.com.