By Amy Collett
The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected countless nonessential small businesses. Now that the government has started to open things up again, owners might be wondering how to navigate the next few months while keeping their employees safe and increasing sales. The following resources will help getting through the transition of reopening.
Prioritizing Safety
If you and your staff will be returning to in-person interactions with customers, establish strict safety and hygiene protocols.
●Read local newspapers so that you don’t miss any updates on local business regulations or safety recommendations.
●Ensure that all employees and customers wear masks, and check that your staff knows how to put them on properly.
●Provide hand sanitizer and encourage frequent handwashing.
Implementing New Business Strategies
In our current economic circumstances, uncertainty is the one thing we can predict, so you need to be ready to shift to new business strategies quickly.
●Design or buy an app for your business to make it easy for customers to place orders for delivery or curbside pick up.
●Host virtual events or classes for those who don’t feel comfortable leaving their homes yet.
●Don’t be afraid to think outside the box - this is the perfect time to come up with innovative solutions for these unexpected challenges.
Supporting Remote Work
If your employees have been working remotely, and you’d like to allow them to continue, work together to develop a plan for moving forward without bringing them back into the office.
●Consider if your team needs to stick to specific hours, or if you could begin to allow more flexible scheduling.
●Consult with your team to develop guidelines for remote collaboration that everyone can follow going forward.
●Experiment with different remote work management tools to determine which program work best for your business.
Renovating Your Retail Space
Get ready to welcome customers back to your store with simple but inexpensive changes like painting the interior walls of your store to give your space a new look, or creative product displays in your windows.
For the majority of small business owners, this pandemic will be remembered as a very difficult time. But if you’re willing to take entrepreneurial risks while going the extra mile to keep your employees and customers safe, you’ll see that your business can survive just about any disruption!
Amy Collett's website is Bizwell.org.
