Published by Programme B
Are you struggling with keeping your small business afloat during COVID-19? This is the best survival guide to financial success after the pandemic.
The life of an entrepreneur is always a bumpy road, sometimes your finances will skyrocket, and other times it may flatten. Then add in a global pandemic that shuts down the entire world, it could be the death of many small businesses.
COVID-19 is hitting small businesses the hardest, and causing nation-wide extinctions and bankruptcy on some industries altogether. Even large corporations like Nordstroms have lost their credit ratings.
To succeed as a small business during this time, you need to have the best survival guide that is geared towards being an entrepreneur.
Knowing what to do ahead of time will help you to prevent failure and know the steps you need to take to survive.
The problem is, with so many businesses shutting down, how can you ensure you are following the right steps and moving forward?
Thankfully, we’ve created the best survival guide for entrepreneurs during COVID-19, keep on reading to learn how to move from surviving to thriving!
Take Care of Yourself
If you are focusing too much on your business that you are neglecting on your self-care, you will eventually burn out and lose the drive to support your entrepreneurial endeavors.
Just like the saying goes “you cannot pour from an empty cup”, you need to take care of your mental, emotional, and spiritual well being before you take care of your business.
This gives you more energy to think creatively and create new business challenges that will push your business forwards.
Look at all aspects of your life and see where you need to fill up the cup first, and once you are feeling satiated in your well-being. Then with this healthy mindset, you can take on new business ventures.
Do Not Fire Employees
Employees are the lifeline of any successful business, and without a good team, your business will crumble. Instead of financially panicking and firing your staff, have a meeting, and discuss potential outcomes.
You may be surprised to hear that your staff is willing to take a major pay cut just to stay on the team. This way, when the world picks up again, you are not scrambling to hire and train new employees.
Check For Government Subsidies
Many governments are offering bail-outs and subsidies for all types of businesses during this difficult time. Businesses are the heart of any country and the means of boosting the economy, so many governments are doing what they can to help.
There are even crowdfunding campaigns creating relief funds for many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) during this time.
Have a Growth Mindset
You can look at this time as an inconvenience and feel hopeless, or you can look at the opportunities within this situation and feel hopeful for new changes!
Times like this cause the entrepreneurs with a growth mindset to expand while other entrepreneurs with a fixed mindset to collapse.
Look for ways your business can change its course of action and offer services to the local community and possibly change your demographic for the time being. You could manifest a new service that helps people so much, it could promote your business for years to come
Do a Digital Transformation
If you own a brick and mortar type of business, you are probably experiencing the worst of the current shutdowns. This could be a great opportunity for you to invest in the skillsets of moving part of your business online.
Not only will this help you adjust to the current flow of online business, but it will also open your brand up to millions of new potential customers!
Shopping may be shut down in physical form, but online shopping has skyrocketed during the pandemic. Either you move with the flow, or you will be left behind in the dust of others who made the online switch.
Make a Financial Plan
Many entrepreneurs are feeling over their heads in multiple debts during this time. From overheads like rent, insurance, payroll, marketing, utilities, and more, it can feel like you are nearly drowning in financial troubles.
The best thing you can do right now is to figure out which payments are mandatory and which payments can give you a bit of leeway.
Speak to your office landlords and see what deals you can make with them about paying rent. Many states have issued a moratorium which states that landlords are legally unable to evict any residential or commercial tenants during this time. This has also prevented the need for tenants to create a fake pay stub template to avoid rent.
If you can pay less rent and utilities, you can put that money into somewhere that can help your business to grow. You may have to make some difficult decisions such as laying off employees and cutting some freelancers, but if you have a great relationship, they will come back when the time is right.
Challenge Your Staff
If you are one of the few businesses that have been able to successfully move remotely during this time, look for ways to expand with that.
Challenge your staff to take some online courses (at your cost) which will improve their skillsets and better prepare them for upcoming digital changes. Many businesses will be moving remote and online after the pandemic, so the quicker you can get ahead, the better off your business will be.
Learn More About the Best Survival Guide For Entrepreneurs During COVID-19
There you have it! The best survival guide for entrepreneurs during this time is going to be a guide that you can follow and apply to your business.
The more you can look at this time as an opportunity, the more you will stay ahead and move from surviving to thriving.
If you found this article helpful, check out more like this under the business and finance sections of our blog!