Help Your Business Stay Open and Resilient

Difficult situations such as pandemics, natural disasters, fraud among others are inevitable in business. The current COVID-19 pandemic is a clear indication that you can never tell when disasters can hit and how long they can last. You also can’t tell the extent of the damage.

However, one clear thing is that businesses need to stay open to such occurrences all the time. They also need to stay resilient if they are to sail through the murky waters and get on the other side unscathed. You see, if your business is resilient, it will be able to adapt quickly to the situation and respond rapidly to ensure business continuity.

Here are ways that you can help your business stay open and resilient for future crises.

1. Have an emergency fund

Businesses need money to run. Unfortunately, business slows down during a crisis. Money inflow could be low or entirely cut off depending on the crisis. How do you survive when the money generation is poor?

It is for such times that emergency funds were invented. It is very important for any business to have some money stacked somewhere for such times. In fact, when raising capital, it is good to raise an extra amount enough to take you some time if you run into a crisis. If this is not possible, have an available line of credit that you can run to on short notice to get the money that can get you through the crisis.

2. Be agile

Flexibility is very important in adapting to a difficult situation. You need to be flexible enough to jump to the direction the situation takes your business.

For starters, you can start by allowing flexible schedules in your organization. Allow employees to work from remote locations. If you look at what COVID-19 did to workplaces, you can agree that it is important that people get used to working in alternative locations.

”In such crucial times it’s important to provide your workforce with the flexibility and resources to be productive whatever the environment, be it remote or in the office.” – say experts from Upsuite, a coworking space marketplace.

Another area you can be flexible is in your offerings. Your flexibility should touch on your creativity and innovation. You should be quick to spot opportunities that you can take advantage of to keep business going. For instance, businesses that were flexible enough started offering products that were in demand when the pandemic started. Talk of care packages, PPEs, and the like. 

3. Have a plan B

There is never a guarantee that a plan will work. You can have an emergency plan in place, but you shouldn’t bank on its success wholly. Have a plan B and C and as many as you can in place. The plan should cover a list of all possible crises that can hit your business.  Detail all the risks and what they mean to your business. Focus on all the possible responses that you can take before, during, and after a crisis.

However, you should remember that business dynamics shift at a rapid rate. Business strategies change and technology keep advancing. It is important that you constantly review your plan so that it remains actionable and updated with the latest strategies.

If your Plan B options were already exhausted, given the state of the economy and the job market. To refocus, you can also consider listing your business for sale. Increasing your cash flow can be accomplished by selling your business. It allows you to pursue other businesses to put that money towards more profitable ventures with a better rate of return.

4. Build strong relationships

The need to build strong relationships is mostly downplayed in the course of doing business. However, the importance of having such comes into play when a crisis hits.

When you have built strong relationships with vendors and suppliers, you can be sure that they will listen to you when you need them. They can extend help in terms of extended credit period or limit in times that you need them most. On the other hand, customers are more likely to stick with you through the rough patch.

5. Invest in technology

The advancement in technology has come to help businesses streamline business operations. Businesses that have been able to invest in technology find it easy to adapt to difficult situations. Thinking of the current pandemic, businesses that relied heavily on manual processes were hurt when businesses were asked to have minimum number of people on the premises. For those that were using technology, the hurt wasn’t as hard.

If you haven’t thought of investing in technology, it is high time that you do. You can also think of having an online store, which can guarantee business continuity if there comes a need to close your physical store.

Conclusion

When business is going well and all is normal, it can be hard to predict a hard time. The reality hits most businesses when they are far in a crisis. Thanks to the current pandemic, businesses are now awake to the possibilities of disruption due to a crisis. You shouldn’t let this reality fade away, help your business stay resilient with the above tips.