2020 has been hard on us– illness, lockdowns, business restrictions, and a restrictive economy threaten to damage the most mentally stable and physically healthy. COVID-19 has run rampant in many states, with the hardest hit being coastal states such as New York and California. Millions of people have been affected, businesses have been forced to close, and families are struggling more than ever to make ends meet while dealing with unprecedented losses in history.
With thousands of small businesses in California now dealing with the “new normal,” business owners have had to adapt or die, change their policies, or suffer losses that they simply cannot recover from. Those who weather the storm have some things in common regarding their actions and attitudes toward current challenges. Read on to see what some of our valued California businesses are doing to survive what looks like another impending lockdown:
Several businesses are proactive about building success despite what current events are throwing at them. Let’s take a look at how they’re getting it done:
1. They are maintaining flexibility. The most popular option is having staff work from home, but not every business can function in that format. Others have implemented mandatory social distancing measures on company time while staggering schedules to limit the number of workers around one another at any given time. From offering more services online to scheduling Zoom calls outside the workday, these institutions are dialed into both their customers’ and their employees’ needs, and they are answering those calls.
2. They are changing location. With restrictions on US soil regarding when and how we can do business, the advantages of Mexico manufacturing with maquiladoras are becoming more apparent to business owners. They’re now taking advantage of moving manufacturing practices south of the border not only to reduce labor costs but to make business operations more efficient during a restrictive time.
3. They are creating new products and services based on need. Dine-in restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues have been very hard hit due to the pandemic. The service industry has done a marvelous job of pivoting and figuring out how to offer new products and services to keep business in and keep employees working. Offering delivery, curbside service, meal plans, and even new menu offerings are just some of the techniques they have used to keep the profits coming in.
4. They have been altering the concept of the storefront. For many small businesses, the cost of rent, utilities, and operating a physical space is too much to handle at this time. Companies that aren’t making a profit in their physical locations have shifted their focus to virtual space, online offerings, and social media to keep their businesses afloat. With millions of Americans connecting via the internet, a smart entrepreneur capitalizes on all of this extra online time by carving out a unique niche in cyberspace that ensures a continual profit.
5. They are making room for remote work for the long haul. One benefit that has occurred as a result of the pandemic lockdown is that it has exposed the possibility of remote work within businesses that may not have considered it before. Weighing the cost of in-house employee work with remote employee work is something that many California businesses will be studying soon to develop future business and marketing plans.
All of these resilient businesses have in common their ability to reframe what looks like a negative and restricted situation, turning it into something that works for the greater good. Keeping a positive perspective and committing to forward movement will undoubtedly propel these businesses right past the pandemic lockdown and into more consistent profits soon.
