No matter what type of business you own, you have been affected by the Coronavirus. The economy is uncertain, the unemployment rate is soaring to record levels, and that means people are spending less money. It is challenging to thrive during this time, but I believe that these tips will help you recession-proof your business.
There’s a saying that goes, “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” I believe if you haven’t already put these practices into place, the second best time is for you to start now.
5 Tips to Thrive During Economic Hardship
1. Have a Rainy-Day Fund
This tip is something you should be employing in both your business and your personal life. How much you should save varies on which financial teacher you are listening to. I recommend you put away at least 3-6 months of expenses. Of course, the more you can save, the better off you are. Colorado has been slowly reopening, but if you only saved for 3 months of expenses, you might be in trouble. This is the first line of defense when you recession-proof your business.
2. Be Willing to Pivot
WealthBuilders is a non-profit, but one of our key activities is hosting live events. We were scheduled to have a Real Estate Workshop in April, but we knew that wasn’t going to be able to happen. So, we pivoted. We pushed back the date of our event so that we could keep our customers safe and we offered a live-streaming option. If one of your revenue streams has suddenly become impossible, be creative and pivot. What are other ways you can offer your products or services? How can you safely work around the restrictions to keep cash flowing into your business? If you want your business to be recession-proof, you have to be willing to pivot.
3. Take a Hard Look at Your Expenses
Again, this is a principle that can be applied to your personal life as well. When people come to me struggling with debt, I always instruct them to take an honest look at what they’re spending their money on. You should do the same with your business: what are ways you spend money unnecessarily? This might not be obvious at first, you might have to do some digging into your books, but it’s an important step. Just make sure you’re not sacrificing the quality of what you are offering, only cut out that which is unnecessary.
4. Provide Value
You should always be looking for ways to provide the most value to your customers and clients. Each unique circumstance offers more opportunities to provide value. This may bring in new customers, but most importantly, it will solidify your relationship with your current customers. Becky and I do weekly live teachings with our WealthBuilders family because we consider them just that, a family. We are providing them with financial teachings for free because we want to walk alongside them during this time. We don’t make any money from these lives and we don’t try to sell anything. We’re simply pouring into our community and I encourage you to look for ways to provide value during this time.
5. Have a Contingency Plan
None of us could have predicted this pandemic or the effects it would have on the economy. However, you should develop contingency plans for crisis situations. I encourage you to consider possible problems that will come up for your business and how you will adjust. They may never be 100% accurate, but the thought and creativity you put into these plans will make pivoting and all the other tips I listed above much easier.
Your business will never be 100% recession-proof, but these tips sure will help.
Navigating the New Normal Livestream
In light of the current situation, I’ve been flooded with excellent questions pertaining to business, real estate, the stock market, and more. During this time, it’s more important than ever to reach out and ask questions. Becky and I have been doing our best to answer all of your questions on our weekly Livestream that takes place Saturday mornings from 10 – 11 a.m. MT. If you haven’t had the chance to tune in, I strongly encourage you to visit the wealthbuilders.org homepage and register for this week’s Livestream. I know we are living in an unprecedented time that can bring unique challenges, but the WealthBuilders community is here to provide you with the necessary resources to help you thrive, not just survive. We’re all in this together and with each other, we can find the Kingdom opportunities in every challenge.
