Given how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed business norms and consumer behavior across every industry, small business recovery will be a slow process.
Here are a few steps to help you rebuild:
Assess the Damage
Determine the exact impact the pandemic has had on your business by comparing your current financial statements to last year’s (make sure your current statements are up to date). It may not be as bad as you thought. Consider other ways your business has been impacted through staff layoffs, lost customers, or a decrease in market share. All these factors should be accounted for in your rebuilding plan.
Adapt Your Business Plan
A business plan that functioned well pre-pandemic will need fine-tuning to adjust to a changed world. Identify your business’ strengths and weaknesses. See where you can improve so as to remain competitive. Make sure your business goals are realistic and scale back your target revenue projections to reflect the current circumstances.
Research how your overall industry has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Pay attention to any trends that might provide opportunities for your small business. The ability to fill a need that’s been neglected up until now could be critical to both reclaiming and expanding your customer base.
Develop a Timeline
It’s natural to want to take care of everything you need or want to do all at once. Creating a timeline will help you prioritize. Securing funding might be the most pressing issue, so address that first. Once you have the necessary capital, you can set dates for rehiring employees, restocking inventory, thinking about commercial construction, and reopening if your small business was forced to close.
Once approved for funding, keep track of your progress so you don’t waste time on anything that isn’t delivering a solid return on your investment. Check in weekly to see what’s working and what isn’t.
Create a Contingency Plan
One of the most important components of your recovery plan is a contingency plan that can prepare you for future disruptions such as burglaries, fires, and natural disasters. Take what you’ve learned from the pandemic, so you won’t be caught off guard. Building up reserves might be a priority if you found yourself with little or no liquid savings from which to draw when COVID-19 hit, or you may decide to focus on paying down debt. The more you do now, the better the odds of your small business not only surviving but thriving during unstable times.
Consider Refunding
Unless you had large amounts of cash pre-pandemic, you’ll need some working capital to jump-start business operations. Unfortunately, federal relief funds might be depleted by the time you apply. It’s critical to explore other financial aid options, such as an SBA 504 Loan, which require a much lower down payment. A SBA 504 construction loan is especially useful for small business owners interested in commercial construction, whether to build from scratch or expand an existing facility.
The COVID-19 pandemic has taught us how essential it is to be resilient, especially when you own a small business. At 504 Capital Corporation, our expert team can help you get your business back on its feet. Our sole mission is to assist small businesses and help them grow with SBA 504 lending programs. Our competitive low fixed rates help our clients purchase land, property, and heavy equipment, and we’re proud to be a preferred SBA lender in North Carolina with additional small business financing throughout Virginia, D.C., and Maryland. Contact us today to begin fulfilling your small business goals.
