What Lessons COVID-19 Has Taught Small Businesses About Where To Invest

The COVID-19 crisis has been one of the worst things to happen to small businesses. Or has it? There are small businesses in America right now feeling 99% sure they are down for the count as a result of shelter-in-place orders in their state. What can be done to help them stick around or even better yet, come back better than before?

For those small businesses awaiting relief from the government to stay afloat, there are things to learn right now that may make all the difference for longevity when their check comes. Small businesses are usually started with one or two people who have a dream and some idea about how to make it all happen. Maybe they borrowed money, perhaps they drained their savings accounts, no matter how it happened, money was invested to give the dream life. That dream became a small business and like every other dream that was invested in before them, it becomes all there is. No one ever starts a business to see it all implode in a week. But COVID-19 made that nightmare a reality for too many small businesses. What could make the difference when the sun comes out again in America?

COVID-19 Has Taught Small Businesses Who They Can Trust 

This is a tough one and it is true on more than one level. For those small businesses who had to quickly switch gears to working remotely, there was a lot of valuable trust put into the workers who now had to log-in from home to keep their work moving in the right direction. How did that pan out for your small business? Chances are, some of your workers rose to the occasion, making the most of whatever resources they had to keep on top of things. But still, there was likely more than one employee who has revealed themselves to be the one(s) not pulling their weight now that the office is closed. 

These disappointments shouldn’t discourage you from making sure your business is thriving once the office lights come back on. You might have to consider if there are one or two employees who shouldn’t be part of the next wave of your success because they weren’t there for your small business when you needed them to be. Likewise, who should be rewarded for going the extra mile? These are the realtime lessons small businesses are forced to learn during the COVID-19 crisis.

Then there are the vendors who let small businesses down during this time. Did you have vendors who were not willing to be flexible during this terrible time for small businesses? The COVID-19 crisis is no joke. So, expecting your vendors to work with you while cash flow has ceased shouldn’t be too much to ask. If you have vendors who have let you down, it might be time to find replacements for them while you are waiting to open shop again.

Small Businesses Have Been Taught How To Pivot On The Fly 

With necessity being the mother of invention, many small businesses have been forced to rethink things during the COVID-19 crisis...for their own betterment. Isn’t it interesting how well adversity gets us to look at things from a different angle? You might not have thought remote workers, gig workers, or employees working from home would have even been possible just a month ago but look at you now all working from your home office and stuff. Are your employees grateful for the flexibility and ability to keep working during this time? 

Outsourcing work in some cases is a great way to free up your small business to focus on growth and customer satisfaction. That’s what you want at the end of the day anyway, isn’t it?

What else can you take off your plate to streamline productivity and solution building for your customers? What could you do if you relied on people outside your office to get the job done, now that you see what is possible?

You might have also had to rethink your delivery of services or customer meetings right now. For many small businesses, remote meetings and more automated customer delivery models were what your small business needed to expand its horizons. Adversity often works for the ultimate good. If you haven’t thought about what the COVID-19 crisis could do for your business instead of to your business, it’s time to get the pen and paper out and discover the missed opportunities. 

PEOs Are A Great Solution To The Next Wave Of Growth For Small Businesses

Now that small businesses are working hard from home, deciding who and what will be with you going forward, consider a PEO to help you take off better this time. PEOs help small businesses by outsourcing HR services, payroll functions, benefits sourcing, and management, as well as many other benefits all while cutting costs for small businesses who are managing these solutions separately.

Thinking outside the box during the COVID-19 crisis should also include what you can do to maximize your employees’ satisfaction while cutting down on expenses. If you’d like to find out more about what PEOs can do for your small business, contact us today for a free consultation.