What Can Small Businesses Learn From the Coronavirus Crisis?

There has been a fundamental change in the way we work and perform our daily business operations after the coronavirus outbreak. Many small businesses had a severe impact, and their business setting is going to change forever. Also, there’s uncertainty about the situation once the threat of coronavirus disappears. There are always lessons to learn in the moment of crisis; it’s our choice whether we pay attention or not.

We’re in this together. Many people are made redundant as a direct impact of COVID-19. It may seem that the fault has been on an individual’s end, but as businesses struggle to meet revenue targets, the workforce across the world is going through laid off, furloughed, or a reduction in their working hours. The panic is real, and we are all worried about how to make our ends meet.

As a business owner, you may have faced clients who request for a reduction in rates, especially during the ongoing crisis. You might be struggling with the decision of whether to agree and be glad that you are at least making some money, or decline and make none. Whatever decision you make, it will directly impact the person at the other end. This pandemic is something that has affected the daily lives of every person on earth like never before.

Steps taken now will determine future outcomes. How are you dealing with the crisis, and what steps are you taking in terms of your business? Are you merely waiting for the things to get better, or actively searching for innovative solutions to adapt your business to the situation? Are you in the process of applying for funding, and making decisions to transition your employees for working remotely?

We can all agree that the current situation is intensive, both physically and mentally. But doing nothing isn’t the appropriate action and will only make the matter worse. What we need is proactive planning – even if it means deviating from the long-term business strategy – and make decisions for not just survival but also come out more robust.

The future is new. If you are hoping that things will get back to ‘business as usual’ eventually, you might be in the dark. The truth is we have entered into the ‘new normal’ period, and things won’t be like they were in the past, not for a while or maybe ever. Countless businesses will shut down due to COVID-19, never to open again. The way of doing business will change for entire industries.

Perhaps, you will also need to change the way you’ve been doing business. Like many organizations, you will learn how to operate remotely and help customers from the comfort of your home. The silver lining in all these is that companies are recognizing the benefits of a distributed workforce to save money and access to a broader talent pool.

There’s nothing called over-preparedness. No one could have prepared for this crisis. It is critical to realize that we can’t be ready for every disaster. What we can do is be vigilant and gain skills that help us to tackle the oncoming threats correctly. Many business owners were ill-equipped when it came to applying for loans.

For instance, some businesses were recording their income and expenses only to file taxes every year and were now rushing to tally those numbers to apply for loans. Instead, this is something they could have done monthly or quarterly to have better control over their finances before the worst comes knocking at the door.

It will also pass. Although everything looks terrible right now for most of us, this will also be over soon, like every disaster before. Many of us are even not sure whether we’ll be able to pay the next month’s bills. Even if its financial damage and overall impact may last longer than other situations you faced, you will get through this in the end. Stay positive and have faith that this too shall pass.