Many businesses are struggling in light of the pandemic. And it’s important for company directors right now to realize that there’s help for them, but also, businesses can make the most of their own resources to help others in need. Let’s show you how you can help yourself by helping others.
Using Your Premises
You can make the most of your space if it’s not being used right now. The best modern example is the company Brewdog which is offering the use of their refrigerators to store vaccines. If you are running business premises that are not being used right now, such as a restaurant, you may want to make the most of your refrigerators, or at the very least, purchase a portable vaccine refrigerator to store vaccines. You can use your premises right now, and as you are paying rent on the space, you’re putting it to good use.
Using Your Products
Another example right now is food businesses using their raw ingredients to help children who are going without school meals. If you have the opportunity to help out, it’s a far better use of the items before they go off. If you are not in the food business, but you’ve got other ways to help, every little will. Using your products right now could very well mean delivering items to people in need. Or you could make your services free. For example, if you provide a platform that is usually subscription-based, you can help by giving it out for free. Linkedin has given many of its courses out for free, which has helped people in the pandemic.
Don’t Forget Your Entitlement To Support
You may be entitled to financial support. For example, the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) provided by the Small Business Administration is accepting applications until December 31st, 2021. Small businesses can apply to recover some of their costs in light of the pandemic. It’s important to note that it depends on how long you’ve been in operation, and also where you are based. There could be local support as well.
Temporarily Downsizing Your Business
This is one of the best options. The big problem with downsizing your business is that you are losing people that may not come back. It’s one of the ways to lose trust. But by temporarily downsizing your business in the interim, gives you the opportunity to look after the business. Hopefully, you can scale it back up again later, but in the meantime, if you can use any business support to cover the employees who you need to temporarily lay off, this can show them that you trust them and want to bring them back. It all depends on the individual. They may be able to help the business out, provided you pay them a part-time wage. And this could very well be beneficial in the long run.
Running a successful business in the current climate is not easy, but it’s important to note that during tough times, there are things you can do to give back.