The year 2020 is a challenging year for business owners as coronavirus pandemic starts affecting people in the start of the year from March. With decree for shops to close down, many business owners cannot make money like usual. The following are 3 tips on what business owners can do to help their businesses in the times of coronavirus pandemic.
1. Prepare a Business Continuity Plan
On viewing that shops keep having to close down, business owners should prepare a business continuity plan that will provide alternative place for customers to shop so that the business can resume its operation. The plan should involve the human resource department for concerns such as leadership continuity, working arrangements, sick leaves, and health insurance policies.
You will want to identify the areas that are vulnerable and the potential losses if you have to postpone those processes. You can set up communication plan in case of a coronavirus case in your store. Employees should be informed about their roles and responsibilities in the coronavirus outbreak. Communication channel should be set up so that employees can ask about their status.
2. Create a 3 Months Financial Plan
You may want to create a financial plan that last for 3 months. Think about the people you need to pay such as landlord, suppliers, employees and look for ways on how to cut costs. You can talk with other business owners and find out how they are staying afloat. There may be options available especially since government worldwide are providing initiatives to support small businesses. Therefore, you should stay tuned to news on how your government can help you to cut costs.
Perhaps you can reduce the rental by downsizing the office and temporarily freeze hiring some employees and replace with freelancers. You can consider changing your business model to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ask yourself if it is possible to market your products online. It is easy to set up an online shop in places such as Shopify. Once your online shop is set up, you can promote it via social media.
3. Implement Personal Hygience and Proper Cleaning Procedures
A responsible business will provide education for the employees on personal hygience. Training should be available to teach employees how to use disinfectant, hand sanitizer, and masks. If necessary, you can be more strict by implementing health screening plan, for example, fever scanning. You can monitor the development of coronavirus by listening to news from the government.
There should be a plan in place for vigorous cleaning and disinfecting the store if someone in the store has been confirmed to contact with the coronavirus. On top of that, in the workplace, they should regularly clean all the frequently touched surfaces. You can provide no touch trash cans to allow employees to conveniently dispose the trash. Hand sanitizer, soap, and water should be provided in multiple locations in the office.