So, we are all allegedly getting a check in the mail at some point soon. It will help with monthly bills such as rent, utilities, and maybe food. OK. Then what? How are small business owners supposed to keep their staff when they have not been able to bring in revenue due to the national emergency on March 13th? How can we avoid a potential tantamount wage of layoffs in April as this global pandemic has brought so many American industries to their knees?
Welcome back to the JMS blog, Dear Readers and Small Business Owners (SBOs)! Thanks for all your emails voicing concerns and asking for our advice. As a crisis management firm in Philadelphia, the JMS team is all too familiar with the panic you all feel. Thankfully, as seen on the home page, JMS is in the business of designing a robust recovery plan to avoid and address organizational paralysis as effectively as possible. Consequently, the JMS team will continue its special edition Facing The Coronavirus series to discuss concrete actions to take now so that your small business will not go under due to this dangerous pandemic.
Many of you, Dear SBOs, are worried about losing your livelihood after President Trump lifts the national emergency placed a week ago to combat the coronavirus pandemic. Your employees are worried that you will let them go and may become destitute as early as April since the national emergency has led them to skip rent, utilities, and car notes payments. To that end, this blog is here to help SBOs brace themselves for what will be a challenging return to daily operations. Here are two considerations to keep at the forefront of any calibration efforts to devise a recovery strategy that can best fit your small business.
Since operating on a slim margin of profit is a way of life for SBOs, now is the time to explore the best debt management practices for your business.
Since we don’t yet have a concrete timetable to a definite date to resume economic activity, SBOs have to explore any alternatives that will limit fiscal bleeding.
The name of the game is to stay as fluid as possible as the world around us continues to change at lightning speed. The way to breaking even will require even more flexibility over the next quarters. Cut the dead weight off now! You’ll need to identify the payments you need to suspend and get in touch with the financial institutions that hold your debt right now to negotiate a new payment schedule.
Amid these uncertain times, you need to open the lines of communication wider than usual and keep your employees abreast of your fiscal concerns.
Just remember Dear SBOs that your employees are just as riddled with anxiety as you are. They are worried that they will relive the nightmare of the Great Recession of 2008. Therefore, you must be honest and manage their expectations.
This blog recommends being brutally honest with your employees by going over all the scenarios that are under review and the ramifications of all possible outcomes. Please do not hide anything from your employees under the misguided belief that you are protecting them! Instead, show them that you care about their welfare and invite suggestions. You might be surprised by their recommendations.
Keep in mind, Dear SBOs, you have the luxury to operate with the level of management flexibility unavailable to big corporations mired in enough complexity and bureaucracy to eviscerate any sense of teamwork. You are not supposed to lead in the same manner a Teflon Don throws marching orders with no regard to the moral of the team. Simply put, your job is to lead and inspire your employees to find the strength to move forward.
There you have it, Dear SBOs! The reality is that you have to accept that your 2020 forecast is in the tank and set aside the one for 2021 altogether since we don’t know yet when President Trumps chooses to jumpstart the economy again. The good news is that you are not alone. We are all in this together. Tougher times have forged the American ingenuity, Dear SOBs. You can face this! We all can face this common enemy if we dig deep and come together to fight it. Not a single person has the answer. However, if we pool all of our resources and expertise together, we shall overcome this monstrosity.
As always, thank you for stopping by our blog today. As always, we want to hear from you! What are your thoughts? What are you doing to keep your anxiety at bay? How are you communicating with your employees? What are you doing now to prepare for the eventual return to daily operations? Tell us all about it in the comment section below, by email at jms@branding24seven.com, or by mail at:
JMStrategy LLC
21 S. 11th Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19107.
We salute the first responders, health professionals, national guard service members, and everyone who has been on the frontline of this crisis. We salute essential personnel who have been working hard to deliver food and medicine for us all. Your courage and dedication are appreciated. Thank you for everything that you are doing.
As always, Dear Readers, please stay safe! Also, please take all the precautions you need to protect your families and keep your spirits up. We shall overcome this!
Leave a Reply