5 Ways Small Businesses Can Weather Coronavirus

From the beginning of the Coronavirus outbreak in the United States, politicians and business executives alike didn't know how serious it would become. Some believed it would only affect some portions of the population or that it would have limited effect like the flu. Almost no one thought that it would bring commerce to a halt and lead to whole state lockdowns.

This pandemic hits small business owners particularly hard as many are not even allowed to operate with exceptions state-by-state. In this time of crisis, it's important to lay out some of the ways that small business owners can respond.

Here are five ways business owners can weather the Coronavirus outbreak:

Evaluate spending

One of the most effective steps you can take now is evaluating expenses that can be cut or reduced at this time. If you're an online business, reconsidering online business tools that cost you monthly could be an essential first step. If you're a retail business, considering monthly personnel costs and how long you can operate with lower revenues will be vital. Cutting unessential costs will help if or when revenues drop.

This is the primary advice of Fundera CEO, Jared Hecht, who implemented extraneous cost cutting as a first strep at Fundera as the threat of Coronavirus became more serious.

Communicate with customers

Keeping an open line of communication via email, social media, and your website with your customers about what your store hours are currently, how they'll change, and how you'll be changing your business model is vitally important for your small business weathering this difficult time. Make sure to gather feedback from your customers as well.

For example, maybe you'll learn that they're willing to buy gift cards from you for future use when you open back up or they're open to buying items from you directly by mail instead of through your retail location. Your customers won't be aware of what's happening with your business unless you communicate.

Consider financing opportunities

Business financing is routinely used by business owners to weather tough times, just like this outbreak. When considering financing opportunities, pay special attention to announcements from the SBA regarding disaster loans that are currently being used to help small businesses survive the Coronavirus outbreak. Learn how to apply for the Coronavirus business loan especially now that the SBA could approve additional funding for this vital resource for small business owners.

Find new opportunities

If your business is customer-facing, and is facing shutdown, consider new opportunities for you to make money in the interim. For example, if you operate a coffee shop, you could package and sell bags of coffee to your existing customers through delivery. Making it known to your customers that their purchases will help you and your staff stay afloat will be vital to regular sales. Social media, your website, and email list will also be integral to getting the word out.

If you operate a business that sells physical goods like a furniture or clothing business, consider setting up a website to sell your wares directly to customers rather than in-person.

There are many ways you could get creative to keep your business alive during this trying time but think hard about how you could continue making sales through this difficult time. Remember that your regular patrons want to keep their local businesses alive so don't be afraid to make it known that their online purchases or purchases of gift cards will be vitally important for you and your staff.

Follow all guidelines and state directives

Safety should be your first concern as a business owner. It's not worthwhile to keep your business open if it could lead to the infection of employees or customers with Coronavirus. Even if your state or locality hasn't released directives to close your business, consider the risk that regular gatherings could cause staff or clientele. This will not be an easy decision to make but the health of all involved is vitally.

If your city or state has directed for businesses like yours to be shut down, you must comply. At this point, it will be important for you to leverage new opportunities for your business as detailed in the section above.

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This will undoubtedly be a difficult time for your small business but with the right tools and resources, your business will prevail and will hopefully come out on the other side of this period stronger than ever.