How to Make Sure the Coronavirus Does not Affect Your Business

The effect of the pandemic has hit businesses very hard. Employers are letting go of employees, there have been pay cuts, everyone is busy protecting themselves. You are here because you don’t want to go out of business and you are looking for ways to protect your business. 

The world can come to an end but people need to go make money and business needs to flourish. Here are some of the things you can do to protect your business in these dire times;

Work remotely

Establish a work from home policy. Depending on the business you do, you can sometimes work from home. You should introduce new procedures and guidelines to your employees to make work easier, even through the internet. This way, you can protect yourself and your employees from getting infected with the virus. 

For some people, working remotely even makes them work harder. It helps reduce anxiety and distress, so productivity is guaranteed.

If you are a sole proprietor or you work alone, you can put your business online. Gather enough social media presence and share your craft or product on social media, have people do deliveries. Sit in the comfort of your home and make money. Protect your business by doing your business remotely.

Ensure safety protocols at the workplace 

If you choose not to do business remotely, protect yourselves at the workplace. As an employer, it is your responsibility to ensure that your employees are abiding by the safety protocols put in place to stop the spread of the virus. Provide face masks, sanitizers, Veronica buckets for employees and customers.

Employees who do not abide by this regulation should be queried and punished to serve as a deterrent to other employees. Customers who refuse to abide by the regulations should be escorted out of the business premises by security. There should be indicators like, “no face mask, no entry”, ” wash your hands”, “encourage social distancing”, at the entrance of workplaces to serve as a reminder.

Refusal to encourage your employees to respect and obey the safety protocols can lead to the closure of your business by authorities. What does that mean for your business and income?

Device a contingency plan

that sounds a lot but it’s not. You need to ask yourself a few questions and make plans to protect yourself from the outbreak. What would I do with my business if the pandemic lasts for a year or years? What do I do if my employees get sick? What impact will the pandemic have on my revenue? What are your answers to these questions? Will you be ready to adapt?

You need to have a backup plan if things go south. If my best working employee gets infected, what would i do about it? Who do i replace them with? How are you planning to manage your revenue? Sometimes you need to cut paychecks, remove redundancy to protect your business.

Always have a look at the worst-case scenario and think of what you would do in that situation. 

Check on your customers

customers are the backbone of any successful business, without their patronization, your business will be in shambles. In these dire times, with the pandemic and all the chaos going on, be sure to check on your customers, ask them how they are doing, what about their mental health? What would they want you to do for them? How can you be of service?

Doing this will not only save your business but also make you a better human. It will show that you care. Give them incentive packages. People who are locked down need food and other essentials. If you are someone who owns a restaurant or provision shop or supermarket, package a little something and have it delivered to your customers. 

You will keep them if you do these things. They will talk about you to other people and recommend your business, in no time, your business will skyrocket and you would wonder if the pandemic is even affecting you. 

Do the same for your employees. Let them know you are thinking about them. 

Take away

Do whatever you can to protect your business but not at the expense of anyone losing their lives, if you think your working environment is not safe enough to accommodate all your workers, start a shift program, or work remotely. Protect your business while protecting others.

If you do this right, you will be surprised at how good your business will do at the end of it all. People’s business will fall apart but yours will be at the apex. 

We do not know how long the pandemic will stay with us, so it’s just reasonable that we create a wall of safety around ourselves while going about our daily lives at the same time. Protect yourself, protect your employees and protect your business. Do it the right way.