Business Tips for Surviving Covid
Small businesses around the world are struggling to survive the dreadful reality that COVID-19 outbreak created. While a lot is unknown about the future, there are things you can do to adapt.
- Coronavirus Business Impact
Most small businesses lack the cash reserves to weather a month-long interruption, and the coronavirus pandemic led to unprecedented shutdowns and disruptions throughout the whole year and it still hasn’t cleared.
- Small Business Survival Guide For Covid
The key steps involve reducing unnecessary expenses and discovering new ways to increase your revenue while keeping your employees, customers, and community safe.
Adjust
Understanding the current reality, consider how you can adapt your business to continue to serve your customers, such as offering different goods or services, offering your services virtually, selling your offerings via a virtual marketplace and offer what people need right now.
Explore your options
You need to stay informed as there are many loans and grants from state and city programs. Connect with your peers to find the best solutions together.
Review your expenses
Review each line of expenses on your budget and identify areas where you can reduce them.
Create a safe environment for your employees and customers
No matter the circumstances, it’s your responsibility to make sure your customers and employees are safe by implementing sanitary practices, sick leave policies and allowing employees to work from home whenever possible.
- Ways To Save Money In Your Business
Saving money does not have to be painful. You can cut costs, spend less and improve your bottom line without sacrificing on quality or harming your customer experience.
Implement energy efficient habits
You can double your savings by implementing energy efficient practices such as turning off lights whenever they are not in use. Install a fan so your AC does not have to work as hard.
Make your business more energy-efficient
Upgrades that make your home more energy-efficient will pay off themselves through savings. Use power strips to prevent wasting that 75 percent of electricity that is being used while plugged-in items are not in use. Programmable thermostats can save you up to 15 percent in energy costs. You can save an average of 45 percent and as much as 75 percent in energy costs by automating lights with motion sensors.
Renegotiate your deals
Call your suppliers to renegotiate your rates.
Shop around for electricity and internet
Start with your utility bill by shopping for a low-cost utility provider like Scana Energy to make sure you have the cheapest rate.
DIY content marketing
You are the expert of your field so why not provide create content that you know your customers will find valuable.
Buy Second-Hand Equipment
It will perform the same as a brand new one, while costing significantly less and being friendlier to the planet.
Go digital
Telecommuting saves your business money. By saving your employees time, you will also increase their engagement and satisfaction; and it’s only a matter of time before this results in increased profits.
Get interns for simple tasks
Students or recent graduates will appreciate any opportunity to gain experience. Just be kind to them and do offer them a valuable learning experience in exchange for their hard work.
Fire unprofitable customers
As hard as it may be, customers who are paying less but require additional hand-holding, support and hard-to-quantify services are costing you money and draining your resources so you’re doing your business a favor by letting them go. It’s better to have fewer customers that are profitable than a ton of unprofitable ones that are not beneficial for your business’ long-term success.
Takeaway
Increasing sales might not be under your control, especially during a global pandemic, but keeping your business afloat is. As scary as things might seem, they will get better eventually. Make sure you go through this period as unharmed as possible by negotiating every single one of your purchases and investments, from suppliers, consultants, credit card companies and even your customers. Whether it’s necessity that drives the creative energy to save money or just plain good business sense, your business will eventually be better off because of the effort you invested.
