How to protect your small business in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak
PUBLISHED TUE, MAR 10 2020 8:01 AM EDT
UPDATED TUE, MAR 10 2020 10:35 AM EDT
The first sentence in the article doesn’t inspire optimism:
“Stock markets are plunging — down about 7% at Monday’s close — oil prices are in free fall, supply chains are being disrupted, and in the middle of it all, small- and medium-sized businesses are dealing with frightened employees, skittish customers and an uncertain future.”
Even if you’re the only employee in your business, you’re dealing with clients or customers, and they’re skittish and not sure whether to go out or engage in their normal activities. This article tells stories of businesses impacted by the coronavirus, but it also gives some helpful advice for dealing with the challenging business environment.
- It’s never too late to plan. – If you do have employees, it’s not too late to do some strategic planning for how to handle situations when they may have to work from home instead of the office.
- Communicate with employees. – Innovate and set up communications to be in contact with remote employees. Whether it’s email, online chat, texting, or other ways, plan for constant communication remotely.
- Consider a company VPN. – A virtual private network or other online system and the bandwidth to support it are a good idea.
- Be prepared. – No matter when this crisis ends, another will come at some point, so develop a preparedness policy and plan.
There’s more in the article to help you, no matter the size of your business, so check it out here.