Focus on things you can control

The most important thing I am doing is remembering to breathe (and being grateful I can!). It is easy in these times to go down the Armageddon Road (especially at 3a.m …) to where your business has collapsed, you have lost your house and your family has fallen apart. Someone once said (let me know if anyone knows who?):

The bridges you cross before you get to them,
are over rivers that aren’t there.

No-one knows how this will pan out, so the Number One thing I’m doing is focusing on what I do know, controlling what I can control and making a plan for my business. I’m also choosing not to read articles with phrases like “worse economic collapse since the Great Depression” or “untold misery to come for small business”.

 

Claim everything you can as soon as you can

Now is not the time to be stoic or proud especially if there are others relying on you for their wages. Investigate all the options that you may be entitled to including:

• Government wage subsidies or loans
• Tax deferrals / claw-backs
• Mortgage restructures / bank loans
• Rent relief
• Insurance
• Mentoring schemes

 

Connect with people

Networking groups, customers, suppliers, business advisers, mentors, friends, family – anyone who will offer support and guidance; or you can offer support and guidance to. Share your business plans with trusted contacts and get as much input as you can.

This may need to be via some form of technology (apparently good old telephones still work – who knew?) rather than face-to-face but this is not the time to be going it alone. While we are technically “all in this together” this will impact groups differently (as these things always do) but there are many people who are wanting to provide help and support so access it where you can and offer help in return if you are able.

 

Review your business and plan for beyond lockdown

Get a clear picture of where you currently stand:

• Get your financial records and systems in order
• How much stock do you have?
• Who owes you money?
• Who do you owe money to?
• Prepare a cashflow forecast for the next 3-6 months
• What is likely to happen to any future work you had lined up? How are your clients/customers coping?

 

If you think your business can survive post-lockdown and beyond (in its current form or with a new opportunity)

Look at the likely restrictions at each Alert Level and think about how your business will manage those, e.g. contract tracing, social distancing, click and collect. Investigate the support that might be available while you gear up again. Think about how your strategy might need to change to accommodate the new environment we will find ourselves operating in.

 

If you think your business won’t survive post-lockdown work out what that will mean for you and your family.

I would recommend seeking some external advice before deciding your business won’t be able to survive as there may be opportunities/options you haven’t considered or aren’t aware of. However, if there is no other option for you, work out what that will mean for you and your family so you are not crossing one of those rivers that aren’t there.

Many years ago, I was working for a large corporate that was undergoing a significant merger and redundancy programme. Typically, we couldn’t get any clarity on whether our team was going to be made redundant or not – a very stressful time. Rather than stay in this limbo situation, we decided to face the worse-case scenario and look at what we would each do if we were in fact made redundant. How much money would we get, what would we do about the mortgage, what other options might we pursue (go back to university, join the police force, retire early …) In the end, the team weren’t made redundant, but several team members decided their “worse-case scenario” options were actually better than staying and left anyway. Facing your worse-case scenario is scary, but if you work out how you would handle it, what you would do, then you might find it less scary than you thought; and at least you will have a plan if it does come to that. Again, seek external advice at each step to make sure you know all your options.

 

This will pass

Yes this is an unprecedented global health and economic situation, but it will pass. A vaccine will be developed, a cure found or the virus may simply die out. No-one knows when this might happen but, in the meantime, the basic principles of business remain the same:

 

Plan,   Prepare,   Act

 

We've prepared a guide to help you review your business which you can download below. I wish you all the best for you, your family and your business. I’m going through each of these steps too and if you have any questions or tips you have found helpful, would love to hear from you.

Photo Credit: Victor He / Unsplash.com