In these trying times, businesses are struggling to make it out of the COVID-19 pandemic alive. This is attributed to the severe downtrend in customer activities due to measures such as “stay at home” to prevent rapid infections. Customers are more inclined to use online platforms to obtain their necessities; this is why Amazon and other e-commerce sites are booming. But what if you are a small business owner? What about your favorite shop down the street? Well, worry no more! Here are some tips in making sure small businesses like yours survive this pandemic.
Plan and Understand your Finances
This is probably one of the most important aspects of running a business even without the pandemic. Australian Corporation, Small Business Development Corporation (SBDC) recommends that business owners should evaluate their financial capabilities. This includes questioning whether you can operate under the government restrictions or whether your business would make enough to cover expenses.
SBDC also suggested making good use of government subsidies and assistance. The U.S and Australian government employed a few assistance packages in the form of multiple Stimulus Packages, Business Subsidy, and Financial Relief.
On the other hand. Forbes recommends that businesses should plan for “little productivity” and “supply-chain bottlenecks”. The current situation with the COVID-19 has dampened the operations of most businesses; this leads to reduced capacities to produce and function. Understanding and planning where to make changes in supply chain and production is a great step in optimizing a business in the Pandemic.
Find Opportunities
Entrepreneur-Middle East tells that during the pandemic, business owners should be really thinking hard about the nitty-gritties of your business. This time, you need to focus on your business model and whether it could stand the test of time. This is the most important part of your business since you need to ask yourself what could be the changes by the time the pandemic subsides. Will there be a new trend when it comes to customer behavior? What would (and would not) work?
Another great question that springs up is whether you could digitize some of your services or products? With the stay at home orders, being an online presence among your stakeholders pays off big time. This could also be a great time to upskill your staff using affordable courses online. Entrepreneur mentions that you NEED to take care of your staff because they depend on you.
Consider this time as a way to explore new ideas, remodel some processes, and adjust the business for the “new normal” after the pandemic.
Communicate with your Stakeholders
Communication is KEY. No successful business owner would neglect his stakeholders and loyal customers even in the pandemic. The Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) suggested that in order to survive the pandemic, businesses MUST communicate with their stakeholders to give them an idea how the business will function during the pandemic. This also allows a business to gather some information about their customers. This is an effective digital marketing tool, and leaves a more “personal” touch.
Opinions expressed by AsianBlurb contributors are their own.
