It‘s Time to Restart. Begin the Fight to Win the Future

The PPP and EIDL loan programs are not even a month old and yet somehow it is hard to remember our lives before it. During that time we have banded together, seen Congress initiate the first PPP program fully subscribed in a week, introduce a second PPP program that was much more friendly to smaller business owners, sought fairness from banks, and seen a great deal of press highlighting the plight of small businesses. There have been successes and failures, but the bedrock of our small business community is still hanging tough.  

A month in, almost everything about our lives has changed in some way because of COVID-19. As business owners tentatively feel their way to reopening, resolving to win the fight and reclaim their future is real.

The fight phase is critical because it creates the opportunity to win the future. It will be protracted and expensive and will vary greatly by community and segment. The adequacy of economic policy will determine how fast we can recover to normalcy and avoid a future lockdown. No one knows how long the crisis will last, but already we are seeing innovation in small business owners beginning to fight back.

I don’t see any way business activity returns to pre-virus level before the public regains it confidence to venture out again, but we must begin the fight now. Create a mindset of sales growth based on what your customers need now. Start or expand your online presence and begin thinking about potential sources of advantage you can build on during the fight.

How will you transform your business to win the fight and the future?