It remains unclear when this storm may pass. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t set a timeline for your business to return to normal. Right now, you will want to explore your timeline for a number of business priorities.
These may include securing business funding or getting invoices paid, rehiring your employees, purchasing supplies and materials, and – of course – flipping that switch from Closed to Open.
Now is the time to set three scenarios: A best-case, a baseline, and a worst-case scenario. Having this plan in place will show creditors, investors, lenders, customers, and suppliers that you are serious about starting to rebuild your business.
While you are focusing on this reboot – consider two other critical sections to your plans. First, have a plan in place in the event that we face another wave of COVID across the country that fuels another round of shutdowns. Preparation is critical, even if we all agree that such a thought is very far from what we hope in the future.
Second – lenders, investors, and suppliers – would find great comfort in knowing that you have contingency plans in the event of another future crisis. Over the last three decades, we have experienced terrorism, a housing crash, and now a pandemic.
Three events – considered statistically improbable – have occurred in our lifetimes, and each has had a dramatic economic impact on small businesses and the world around us.
Build a plan for emergency funds in the future; set plans for employees to work remotely, and continually reassess the intersections between your business and technology and consumer trends for the years ahead. But always be prepared for both opportunities and threats.