For those entrepreneurs that have been through tough economic moments before, they know that when the economy “comes back” or “returns to normal” that it is never like it was before the tough moment came along. Entrepreneurs and business owners that have never been through a crisis will tend to hang onto hope that life will return to normal when the crisis subsides. It doesn’t. The is always a new “normal”. The best strategy you can have when you are working through a crisis is to plan for the worst and hope for the best.
How much has your business lost over the past few weeks and how much more do you think your business will lose? How much has your revenue dropped? How much of your expenses have you cut? How many customers or clients has your business lost? 25%? 50%? 75%? If you can define the losses that your business has experienced you are already in a position to make sure your business can rebound when the dust settles and the crisis begins to fade away.
If you think your business will not return to where it was before the crisis began, you can do the work now to plan for a new normal. How many customers will you still have and how many more do you need to break-even and cover your costs? What can you do now to lay the groundwork for finding them and being ready to serve them when the time comes? Will your products and services change or will the manner in which you deliver them to customers change? If so, make the changes now and adjust as you move forward. Your business will only make the most of the opportunities you decide to pursue. If you want to have a business that thrives when the economy settles down then the work today to figure out what opportunities you will have and what you need in order to take advantage of them.
