The crisis caused by the pandemic is unlike anything the world has faced recently. Unfortunately, the world is ill-equipped to deal with it. That includes the owners of small businesses who are facing uncertain times ahead.

The sad thing is that most of the advice and tips that are available right now does not offer any concrete help. Here are the main concerns that small business owners should address and what steps they can take:

Short-Term Financial Solutions

The main problem for most small businesses right now is how to deal with the short term financial obligations that they are facing. In short, how can they pay the bills? There is no easy way to answer this since most businesses are facing fewer customers and transactions.

Here are some things you can do:

1. Prioritize the expenses. Some bills must be paid no matter what.
2. Consider cutting the unnecessary expenses and those that are not generating revenue.
3. Reduce on manpower, though this must be considered carefully.

Get a Loan from SBA

The government has authorized the Small Business Administration to provide loans to small businesses to cover for the losses during the pandemic. The terms are pretty good, you can repay in up to 30 years with an interest rate of 3.75%. You can borrow up to $2 million to cover up for payroll costs and other things that you cannot pay for right now.

Policies Regarding COVID-19

If your business is still operating and there are no lockdowns in your area, then you should discuss with your employees the protocols that must be followed in your workplace to prevent the spread of the virus. You should follow the CDC guidelines as much as possible and be lenient with employees who want to take sicks leaves.

Dealing with Employees

If things become worse, you may be forced to make difficult decisions and one of the most difficult that you have to make is letting go of your employees. Don’t make plans that are too far into the future because the situation is changing almost daily.

You have to reassure your employees as much as you can. Even if you are forced to lay them off, for now, you will need to rehire them in the future once everything is back to normal.

Implement remote work for your employees whenever possible. Who knows, that might be a better option for you in the future.

Marketing

As much as possible, you should continue your marketing campaigns but tweak it to match the current situation. If your business is currently shuttered, then just give them updates and reassurance that everything will be fine. Depending on what you’re selling, you can develop new ways of delivering your product or your service.

These are just a few of the survival steps that you can implement for your business during these trying times.

While things may get worse, just remember that this is not a world-ending situation. Once the spreading has stopped and a vaccine has been discovered, economies will start working again and your business can go back to running. You just need to hang on.