If you are like me, you will be a little bit amazed at yourself completely changed the world in a few weeks. And you fear what it will look like if the corona virus threat wanes. So many small businesses are affected and the small business landscape will change forever.
I had my desperate moments like all of us, but I'm looking for the silver lining. There are always lessons to be learned in chaos; It is up to us whether we pay attention to them or not.
I was released a few weeks ago as a direct result of COVID-19. It stung. It felt like parting with a relationship that was perfectly healthy and happy.
But I am not angry or bitter, although it would be reasonable to do so. Why? Because I know I'm not alone – 20% of my company has been fired. Millions of other people have been laid off, on leave or have noticed a reduction in working hours.
We are all panicking. We are all afraid of how we can make ends meet.
Because I am also a business owner, I also see the other side. The few customers I have kept have asked for a temporary drop in prices. Am I giving it to you and happy to make some money? Or say no and don't do any? You could be struggling with the same decisions.
This pandemic made me very aware of how connected we are. There has never been anything in my life that has influenced everyone on earth. It's reassuring to know that I'm not the only laid-off employee or the only business owner who has problems.
What are you doing in your business right now? Are you curled up in a fetal position waiting for things to get better, or are you proactively finding creative ways to market your business? Are you in the process of submitting a funding application or are you also watching how you can keep employees working?
It is scary. We can agree on that. But doing nothing will not help the millions of small businesses in this country to survive. We now have to plan proactively – even if that means deviating from the path of the business plan – and think about how we have to turn for the future.
Speaking of the future, we keep talking about how we hope things will become "business as usual" again soon. But the truth is that things will not be "normal". Not for a while. Maybe never. I feel bad in my stomach when I think of how many stores will be closed because of COVID-19 and never open again. Whole industries will change the way they work.
How did you do business? That probably has to change. If you think about it now, you can create a plan for how these changes will take place.
