As Manitoba begins the initial phase of it’s economic re-opening, it is clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has left significant impacts on most businesses. For business owners, now is the time to be thinking about what they will do and how best to position their businesses after the economy has returned to something near normal. In a new piece from Inc.com, David Finkel, author and prominent business coach, outlines 10 key steps that business owners should take to manage the impacts that the last few months have had on their businesses:
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1. Safeguard your facility to minimize your location(s) as a transmission vector – protecting your staff and customers from getting sick is the most important thing you can do.
2. Educate your customers on the steps you’re taking to keep them safe – reassuring them will help make sure they stay your customers.
3. Educate your staff on the best practices that you can collectively take to stay safe and healthy, both at home and at work – they may not be receiving accurate information from other sources.
4. Scenario planning for how market changes could impact your business – think about all of the “what if’s”.
5. Consider this as a time to enlist your vendors and suppliers for help – it never hurts to see what changes you can negotiate.
6. Plan out your cash flow – inquire about increasing the credit limit on your line of credit or credit card now, just in case.
7. Involve your leadership team and management in this planning conversation – by involving them, it will help alleviate their uncertainty.
8. Look for the opportunities – there will be many out there.
9. Brainstorm the opportunities for your company to seize with your team members – now is an excellent time to work on those internal projects that have been waiting for the right time.
10. Communicate in a united way with your staff – if you set the tone, they will follow.
David’s list of actions makes clear that there are a few important things business owners should be doing: communicating, educating, and planning. These actions will help your business survive the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and begin to prosper once again.