A Plan for Restarting Your Small Business
With Corona Virus infection rates just slowing now, and business shutdowns and cancelled events well into summer, is it too early to begin a recovery plan for your small business?
Actually, this is the time to plan your business route out of the shutdown recession. Being ahead of curve is vital. We’ve got some tips for any small business to use to get out and ahead for a better second half of 2020.
Bailout Money Won’t be Enough
Photo courtesy of robins.af.mil.
Will the Fed’s bailout payments be sufficient to keep people and businesses afloat till we see a clear end to the Virus outbreak? Perhaps not, funds ran out, and a sizable number of business people and workers are asking for an end to the business shutdown and are pushing for a restart now.
While we might be critical of an early restart, those businesses that prepare will have an advantage, if they’re strategic.
The post Corona Virus business landscape will be different. Wild free spending consumers will diminish as everyone knows the virus hasn’t been defeated yet. They’re aware it may return in the fall with no vaccine available.
Companies need to plan now to get ahead of the market. Your company needs to be first out of this awful period.
Business and the Economy has Changed
Each country and region has its own Corona Virus timeline. Some cities are still reeling from the infections and hospitalizations. They’re not out of the woods yet, however, those businesses in cities including hard hit ones, New York, Newark, Denver, Boston, Miami, Los Angeles, Chicago etc. need to begin preparing for the summer season.
Very few businesses can go beyond 3 months with no revenue and bills mounting, including rent payment due. A reopening of business has to occur. Although CARES small business loans are helpful, they can hardly makeup for a total loss of revenue and cash flow.
Plan Now to Restart Successfully
Independent real estate investors such as landlords are extremely vulnerable. Some may have no financial protection and thus may face bankruptcy if they can’t draw in rental payments. This is why landlords need a smart plan to encourage rent payments from tenants who may not be required to pay rent for up to 12 months.
It’s a serious situation, and reopening all businesses so renters can pay may be the only viable solution to keep from going from one disaster to the next.
The big picture perspective about a post Corona Virus recession plan and strategy is that your competitors will be doing this. Everyone will lose customers so marketing is a necessity.
Smart Re-Positioning to Maintain Connections to Customers
This is a period where some small businesses will take market share and customers from the competition. Competitors response might include incentives and discounts to attract new customers. This is a turbulent period where renters, consumers and small businesses are weighing their options going forward. How will you respond to their new situation?
Those businesses with some cash reserves for marketing could get a big advantage. Advertising is cheap right now. Some big companies have shutdown and have reduced their online promotion. There’s an opportunity. Marketing is your future, and the future arises quickly. With traditional media shutdown, all funds are being pushed into online media.
This is just one example of companies jumping on a strategic opportunity to build awareness and grow market share. The results may not show quickly, but as months go by, that persistent awareness will pay off in new business.
Why Begin a Post Covid 19 Recovery Plan?
- recognize and utilize government resources to kick start your business
- visualize the new marketplace and where your company fits in
- gauge who you’ll manage your business against reduced cash flow and mounting accounts receivable
- hang onto your best employees so they don’t jump to competitors
- make your market and promotion more effective ahead of competitors
I’m not a big advocate of being overly competitive. Competition is exhausting and might take you away from your core business strengths, and from your brand power. However, if you’re sure of your new value proposition and new customer profile, you can focus your efforts more carefully to reach those exact customers/prospects that need your service or product.
10 Point Plan to Make This a Competitive Advantage for Your Company
Smart companies lead by smart managers will come out of this crisis fine. Each one of them will have a plan to grow business and appeal to consumers looking for a new kind of value. A new, revised value proposition is needed.
And to work out that new business positioning, you need to cover some basic points of a Post Corona Virus business plan.
Here’s 10 Business Startup Tips:
- continue advertising via (Facebook/Google) with the new keywords prospects are searchgin for, using appropriate tools
- continue publishing content — from emails and newsletters to blogs, make sure they are relevant to the customers new perspective and needs
- restore your brand relevance — they’ve had time to think about other options, and you must restore confidence in your brand
- show compassion and offer help – show you empathasize with them and that you’re on the same page by doing things that are actually relevant (publish a Covid cleaning video or blog – show that you really do understand the current dangers and business killing issues)
- emphasize your accounts receivable — you need cash flow, make deals, give some discounts and make it easy for them to get their payment problems off of their mind
- communicate compassionately — and firmly that you deserve to be paid — they might put other bills as priorities (entertainment, extra food, utilities bills)
- explain how your product is relevant — to your customers/prospects right now — sharpen that unique value proposition
- reorganize and align your staff — it’s a new business world so give your staff new roles, motivation, objectives, such as focusing on accounts receivable tactics and new customer acquisition
- for landlords, write professional vacancy ads — and start filling new vacancies, and preparing for evictions — sadly renters will leave their units as some won’t be able to pay, and will want out of their long term high priced leases. Wouldn’t you get out of a lease, if you could?
- access all funding available — from the CARES small business loan program to any local sources that might be ready to help. Your bank manager is likely inundated and may know of all the best resources.
If you’re a landlord or a property manager, utilizing a new, modern property management platform is one way to show you’re on the ball and ready for the post Corona Virus period. Many tenants are online more than they’ve ever been. They understand the relevance online software and how it makes things easier for them.
The new tenant pool will be more receptive to smart easy to use solutions. And the tenant communications power of solutions, particularly ManageCasa property management software is a value add. You need cash from tenants and using ManageCasa, you build tenant relations and show how making even partial payments can help the situation.
In the end, especially now, it’s all about good communications. We’ll get through this tough period. Invite your tenants to read the ManageCasa blog, such as this post on paying rent. It helps them get focused on you — the landlord. There’s nothing more important right now for most people than keeping the roof over their head.
ManageCasa Property Management Software? The perfect system for managing all aspects of your rental property business. Take a demo of ManageCasa.
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