How CEOs can effectively lead their small businesses through the Coronavirus critical window.

The coronavirus crisis took over the world. Your city is on lockdown. Your business is in crisis. You invested all you had, funds, time and your life into your business. You did not see the crisis is coming and you are not prepared for it. You feel anxious. You are not alone.

It is difficult time, but you must not stop. You must lead. You need to not fail.

Step back from handling your business and think about the bigger picture. Evaluate your company. Estimate the impact of the current economic crisis. Think of what you can do to survive this turmoil. Revise your business goals. Establish the real target for each month in the coming year. Be prepared to stay flexible and adjust your operation as the situation around you will change.

Her are the possibilities that you can consider for your business.

1. Finance your business. First pain you feel when your business has no cash flow, no money coming in, no reserve. Now you are thinking about a financial loan. Think hard.  Unless it is a grant, you must pay money back. If you already produced goods and you need funds to sell it than a loan is the right option.  But if you lost your business and hope that you will resume with a loan, then stop. Don’t take a loan for your potential business. Focus on your present.

2. Close your business and move on. Be brutally honest with yourself. If you lost your clients don’t count that you will get them back. If you are already in debt it may be better for you to close your business and look for debt forgiveness. You will set yourself and your employees free. You will find new opportunities.

3. Sell your business. Selling your business could the most practical option. You can reach out to your competitors, clients, to someone who knows you and your business. You will get money plus you would save jobs for your employees.

4. Partner with businesses similar to yours. Unite with other smaller companies to reduce cost for business operation and to strengthen your business. 

5. Convert your business into different type. Having smaller operation allows you to change the type of business you are in proactively in a short amount of time. Research current market demand. Ask and listen to your employee’s ideas. Estimate cost and transaction time for transforming into a new business.

6. Alter your business operation. Adapt new methods of managing your business to become suitable to the current situation. It could be selling your goods fully online, organizing delivery or working with your clients electronically. As long as you manage your business to float you are doing a great job. 

Start acting today!

Decide what is the best for your company and start solving the hardest problem in front of you.

Set up a remote business operation 

Whatever you decide to do you must work remotely. Take time to set up your remote operation. Review software licenses you have. Subscribe a high-end video teleconference software. Set up remote work protocol for your employees. Don’t rush. Evaluate all options to choose the best one suitable for your business. 

Assign additional roles for remote operation

• Promote one of your IT staff to manage transition to remote work. Have a new manager prepare and implement step by step transaction plan. This will allow you to stay focused on business.  

• Appoint employees to run meetings. Make them responsible for remote attendance, agendas and questions. It will make your meetings run smoothly.

• Assign technology mentors. If you have millennium employees, you could assign them as mentors to older colleagues. They will teach them online technology while they would learn from life experienced seniors how to mentally deal with crisis.

Communicate with your people

Organizing completely remote operations is not easy. All task, decisions, problems and emotions you must be able to communicate using Slack or Zoom channels, emails or phone calls. You need to communicate with your people on a regular basis to earn their trust during this crisis. Some of your employees could have family members affected by the coronavirus. They will be anxious and scared. Listen to them and show empathy and kindness by relating to their situation. Stay calm and talk with confidence to make people feel safe and secure. 

Take this situation as the only one you ever would have in your career to rise.

Rise above the madness and turn impossible into possible.  

You are the LEADER.