Planning for Long-Term Business Disruption

Although the business is starting to get closer to normal in countries like Germany and South Korea, the current business disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could last for many more months, or even years.

Uncertainty seems to be the new default condition for the foreseeable future. Even so, it’s still possible — and important — to plan for long-term business disruption. Here are some strategies that will help:

Assess and quantify

Dig into your prior financial statements and compare last year’s year-to-date (YTD) revenues to the current YTD figures for the same period of time. Determine the difference and adjust your projected revenues accordingly. Many financial software packages let you input numbers to see how these projections will impact you in the next quarter and beyond.

It’s important to quantify the impact on your company’s bottom line so that you understand what you may be facing in the upcoming quarters. No matter how discouraging it may look, preparing for worst-case scenarios helps you refine your long-term business disruption strategies and minimize the disruption’s impact.

Reduce and eliminate

Now is the time to cut as many expenses as possible. There may well be costs that were “nice-to-haves” but are no longer necessary. If so, strike them from the books.   Think “lean” about everything related to your business. Taking this action can help maintain your reserves. Which items are unnecessary? The answer is different for each company and depends on factors like the impact on employee well-being and overall savings.

Review and research

Learn about the new financial assistance programs offered by government agencies. Under the different coronavirus relief bills there are numerous ways to get the funds necessary to sustain your business over the long term. Options include grants, payroll assistance loans that can be forgiven, bridge loans, no-interest or low-interest disaster relief and recovery loans, and income tax and payroll tax deferment.

Start looking at resources directly from the federal and provincial government. They have streamlined applications ready to fill out online.

Communicate and negotiate

When you assessed your business costs, you undoubtedly noted many monthly expenses that were critical. These include mortgage or office rent, existing business loans, vehicle loans, equipment financing, insurance, utility bills, and vendor payments. Depending on your business focus and model, you may be facing some or all of these essential expenses.

Based on your revenue projections, expense reductions, and the amount of pending financial assistance, you’ll need to update your projections to see which essentials you can continue paying and for how long. You may need to explore different scenarios to see what various payment and deferment strategies do to your long-term financial position.

Pause and pivot

Although so much of a strong long-term business disruption plan maintains an internal focus, you also need to look to your external environment for signs and opportunities that can sustain you through the crisis.  A smart pivot can help you sustain your business, whether it’s for this pandemic or some other crisis-driven disruption in the future.

Connect and support

Look for ways to support your current customer base, even if it’s just to reach out and connect. Keep those relationships going through the business disruption, and customers will most likely return in droves when the economy improves.

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