We're worried too. Tips for preparing your small business for a crisis.
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Hi Friends \\u2014 I know that things in the world feel heavy and uncertain right now, so I wanted to share some important reminders and tips:
This won\\u2019t last forever.
Stay calm and remember that this won\\u2019t last forever. I know the uncertainty is unnerving, and we all have different circumstances that we\\u2019re dealing with \\u2014 but this will end at some point.
This won\\u2019t last forever.
Stay calm and remember that this won\\u2019t last forever. I know the uncertainty is unnerving, and we all have different circumstances that we\\u2019re dealing with \\u2014 but this will end at some point.
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Understand your finances.
Take a look at what you have in your business and personal reserves.
Look at your monthly expenses and see what you can curb temporarily (tech, supplies, reduce or postpone your next new release, etc). We don\\u2019t know how long this will last, so be conservative in your spending.
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Assess your income streams and anticipated revenue for the next 3-6 months. What orders or projects may be postponed? How can you incentivize your current customers?
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Do you have savings to lean on?
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Identify supplemental income options
If product sales are down, think about picking up design work or other freelance gigs on Upwork, Fiver or through your local communities.
Consider small business loans - SBA loans, Fundbox, Kabbage, even PayPal offers small business loans if you need some extra cash temporarily.
As a last resort, you can also pull money out of a retirement account or 401k. There are large fees associated with early withdrawal and the market is down right now, so I don\\u2019t recommend this unless absolutely necessary
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Have a back-up / continuity plan
Who can you trust to run things if you or a family member gets sick and you\\u2019re unable to work. My financial planner recommends identifying a few people who understand the business and who you trust to step in if you need to step out. This could be family, a friend, or even a colleague.
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Use this time to work on your business.
Back-end systems & processes, update our website, play creatively, design new products, take photos, update your catalog, pre-plan social media content or write emails\\u2026. All of the things that you\\u2019ve been putting off, use this time to prep what you can for when things get back to normal.
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Change your messaging.
Remember that many of your customers are also small business owners and they are feeling their own stress & anxiety. If you\\u2019re sending out marketing emails, change your messaging \\u2014 acknowledge what\\u2019s going on in the world, how we\\u2019re all in this together and ask how you can support them.
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Sales are going to be slower right now because people are concerned about their personal lives and their own businesses. But, reaching out to clients and letting them know you care will help to build the relationship \\u2014 which they will appreciate when this is all over.
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Give yourself time to process your feelings.
We all react to stressful situations in different ways.
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We all are dealing with different personal and business circumstances.
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Give yourself time to process how you\\u2019re feeling, what your concerns are and how you want to proceed. Take care of yourself, your family and your team \\u2014 that is the main priority right now.
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Leverage our community
You have a whole group of people here who understand what it\\u2019s like to run a small business. We\\u2019re all feeling the crunch & uncertainty \\u2014 but we have each other.
Share what\\u2019s working. Check in with each other. Let\\u2019s help to keep each other calm and focused on getting through this together.
We will get through this. We will be ok.