The business owners that survive this crisis won’t be those sitting on the sidelines gnashing their teeth, they will be the warriors who develop a plan of attack to win the war. Here are the five points of attack you need to implement your plan:
1. Rethink what your business can do
A business is a skilled combination of capital and labor. Take stock of your capital:
- Facilities
- Inventory
- Technological & physical equipment
What can you do with those assets right now? How can you benefit others? What pain can you alleviate in society? Get prepared to engage.
Same with you and your employees. What skills do you/they possess? What do they do well? Dig deep into who they are and how they can be an enormous part of your team’s game plan. Engage, inspire and listen…you aren’t the only one with good ideas. Give everyone ownership!
2. Repurpose your assets to create new products and services
Smart teams get publicity. Why? Because they get creative; alcohol distillers make sanitizers, restaurateurs’ feed medical professions and first responders, and car manufacturers build ventilators. What can you do? I am willing to wager plenty.
3.Improve your communications
Are you communicating with your customers and clients? We at Modernize Wealth are ramping up rapidly with more videos on our website, hosting client progress meetings on Zoom, performing complete electronic on-boarding for new clients, hosting webinars and using more interactive technology to increase our communications. We are writing more articles and publishing on LinkedIn and Facebook. What are you doing?
4. Reexamine your financial assets and liabilities
Take stock of your cash flow. If you haven’t done this, call your CPA or call us here at Modernize Wealth at 480-346-1283. We can help you understand your cash flow position and help to develop a strategy to get you to the other side of this crisis. Talk to your banker and if you don’t have one, we can refer some very good people that will help you.
Also talk to your creditors and suppliers. They can be an enormous help to you and your team. You won’t be the first to need help during these times, and the more forthright business owner is the more respected one. Your honesty with your creditors and suppliers will be appreciated and will often be rewarded.
5. Redeploy and re-engage your team to action
Once you’ve completed the first four steps, redeploy your assets, align your resources, create a financial plan, engage your team and attack! You will make mistakes…so what? Better to be decisive than indecisive. You can always correct mistakes, so long as you stay involved and listen to your employees, customers and strategic partners.
You Can Survive and Thrive
As you march forward, constantly review these five points and update as necessary. We at Modernize Wealth will be here for you. Please reach out to me at 480-346-1283 or email hello@modernizewealth.com if you have any questions, or just want to discuss further.
About the Author
John Herbert’s financial industry gravitas comes from almost 30 years’ as a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Portfolio Manager. An accomplished educator, John taught Economics at Chapman University and the University of Phoenix for many years. Sensitive to finding a balance between business, family and finance John has always had a passion for helping people build long-term wealth for their families.
