Need a small business pandemic plan? This article series introduces you to some vital ideas, techniques and tools that will help your company navigate its way through the twists and turns of this global pandemic.
Small companies all over America are fighting to survive through an economic downturn caused by a rogue virus. COVID-19 has triggered sweeping changes in society, and it’s indiscriminately destabilized the small business sector. You’re trading at a really tough time in history!
The good news is that a lot can be done about it, with the right advice.
This starter kit will orientate you on what you can do, as a small business owner – to embrace the ‘new normal,’ develop your COVID-19 resources, and guarantee that you stay open through any future outbreaks. Every link is an article with comprehensive resources you can use.
Find out:
- How to keep your small business open
- How to protect your people (employees & customers)
- How to social distance like it’s normal
- How to grow in a recession
- How to prepare for the second pandemic wave
These 27 minutes are an investment in your business. Grab a cup of coffee, and update yourself on this essential information. Use the links above or browse this article, using it as a guide to find the answers to your questions!
How to Keep Your Business Open
No-one anticipated a national crisis in 2020, yet here it is. Companies that were doing extremely well last year are now close to bankruptcy. Almost overnight, 2% of the country’s small businesses closed – that’s over 100,000 companies that won’t reopen their doors because of the global pandemic.
Here’s what you need to know:
- You need a plan, and a way to manage the hype and misinformation
- You can be your own disaster response coordinator!
- Building a business continuity plan is the right thing to do
- If your business has old continuity policies they will need to be refreshed/updated
- Retrain your employees, it will make a big difference
- Seriously look at investing in other ways to create income
If you want to know how to keep your business open, then you need to work through these important steps. Your Small Business Pandemic Plan begins by orienting yourself on how to do all of these things, using your business website as a base of operations.
Read up on How to Keep Your Business Open during a Time of National Crisis for exact steps to follow to keep your doors open during a national emergency.
How to Protect Your People
The new normal is a world where people wear masks inside and out, they shop online more often, and they are generally afraid of contracting COVID-19 wherever they go. Your small business has a responsibility to your employees and customers – to keep them as safe as possible.
Here’s what you need to know:
- COVID-19 is going to be around for quite some time
- Your employees deserve protection
- You must learn and implement the correct sanitation, hygiene and cleanliness protocols
- Step up as a leader and address your employees fears and pandemic concerns
- Host meetings and communicate openly and honestly with staff
- Protect your customers in a variety of ways from rescheduling events, to enforcing hygiene protocols – you are their defense
Having a solid pandemic plan for business means doing everything you can to create a clean and safe environment for staff and customers. Use your website (with decent WordPress hosting to limit downtime) to communicate how you are putting people first during COVID-19.
Read about these 14 Ways to Protect Your People during a Global Pandemic for the full scoop on everything you can do to stay safe, healthy and COVID-19 free as you continue to trade.
How to Social Distance Like its Normal
Next up in your Small Business Pandemic Plan starter kit series, is how to adjust to social distancing and use it to your advantage. Anything can be leveraged and there is opportunity in these mass social distancing measures. Some studies say that they will last beyond 2022.
Here’s what you need to know:
- Your business will never go back to what it was in 2019
- There are ways to pivot and adapt to the new normal
- You can create in-demand COVID-19 products for extra income
- Take real-world events online
- Consider switching to a wholesale delivery model
- Use a virtual storefront to earn the bulk of your income
- Institute curbside pickup and delivery options
- Support customers negatively impacted by the coronavirus
Your business should be a prime location for community COVID-19 resources, news and convenient services. Choose the social distancing measures that will enhance your company. They should be a big part of your business continuity plan moving into 2021.
Check out 7 Ingenious Ways to Adapt to Social Distancing to get some amazing insights on how to keep operating at a distance, when the entire world has come to a sudden halt.
How to Grow in a Recession
Pandemic planning for business isn’t easy, especially when you’re trying to grow as a company. The only road ahead that makes sense is to grow your online sales. The pandemic has pushed the world forward in terms of digital adoption, and you can’t afford to be without a virtual presence anymore.
Here’s what you need to know:
- The lockdowns changed how people shop
- Many companies should reimagine their business plan
- Consider redesigning, updating and enhancing your business website
- If you’re not selling online, you should be
- Digital products are a great way to earn from what you know
- Social media makes a big difference when disaster strikes
A good business continuity plan for pandemic eventualities will take into account the growing need for virtual products and services. The fastest way to grow in an unstable climate like this, is by leveraging the power of online sales. Do it now, do it in earnest, and you’ll find stability.
Here are 5 Helpful Tactics to Leverage during an Economic Downturn – they will inspire you to expand in new directions, pivot in interesting ways, and find new ways for your business to thrive.
How to Prepare for The Second Wave
The second wave of coronavirus hasn’t struck yet, but experts say there’s a good chance it will. If you’ve managed to get this far without a company pandemic policy, spend your time creating one. You will use it in the future, and it will save you time, money and significant stress when the inevitable happens.
Here’s what you need to know:
- The second wave of infections could be worse than the first
- The pandemic is likely to ebb and flow for another 24 months, at least
- You should review your human resource protocols
- Consider finding and locking-in different local suppliers
- Move all records to the cloud for safety
- Make your website a communication hub
- Build your e-commerce business now
- Stockpile sustainable personal protective equipment for use
When it comes to the coronavirus, small business owners can’t afford to think that the worst is over. Hoping for the best, but planning for the worst is a better strategy in the long run. Have your plans in place, your online presence at its best, and your supply chains in order.
Check out Your Plan for the Second Wave of COVID-19, for some great information on what you need to do to prepare for more lockdowns, restrictions and outbreaks of this deadly virus.
If you work through each of the suggested article resources, you’ll learn how to stay open, adopt essential COVID-19 protocols and practices, and rollout tactics that will insulate your small business from the rise and fall of a disruptive economic downturn.
Share the Small Business Pandemic Plan (Starter Kit) with other business owners – and help smaller companies survive this moment in history!
