STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING SMALL BUSINESS DISRUPTIONS

With the stock markets dropping and the COVID-19 cases heaving, small business owners are scrambling to find out the ways that can help them in dealing with disruptions. The pandemic is constantly spreading and affecting the world. Small businesses in India are fighting this double battle of managing operations and misinformation at the same time. It is not very late for these businesses to communicate with employees, set up distant workforces, and get all prepped-up. Also, they can employ other measures for reducing the chances of disruption.

• MAKE SURE YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE STILL RELEVANT 

Small businesses should not only work on finding out ways of surviving the outbreak, but they must also have strategies for the future. It will be a blunder to assume that after the pandemic is over, things will instantly be back in place. No, they will not. Chances are consumers will get in the habit of using remote solutions and online services for all their requirements. 

So, post the outbreak, they will not switch back to the services they used before the outbreak. Therefore, small businesses must adapt their services, so they are not just useful in the present times but even in the future.

• DETERMINE CHALLENGES TO BUSINESS

If you are looking to strategize effectively when it comes to reducing small business disruptions, the perfect starting place for you would be making a list of all the challenges you might be facing in the future. Strategizing for varied situations is important as it helps in considering every possibility. Take everything into account starting from supply chain disruption to problems in generating consumers, communication and competition. It’s advisable to plan for the worst possible scenarios that you can conceive.

• LOOK INTO UNSECURED BUSINESS DISRUPTION LOANS

The majority of the small businesses carry unsecured business disruption loans covering events like fire and natural disasters. Such loans can go a long way in helping businesses in getting over exclusions and disruptions caused due to natural disasters, fire, and pandemics. 

Try getting the details of such loans from financial organizations for covering unexpected events and see whether your business qualifies for the same. Chances are the loans that might not help you with the COVID-19 outbreak, but you can remain well-prepared for the future or for times when your business experiences problems.

• PLAN OUT SOLUTIONS FOR VARIED SITUATIONS

So, now that you have an idea of the challenges your small business might be facing in the future, it is time for you to come up with different solutions for the same. Trying to simulate exactly what will happen in the future might be a little tricky. But remaining prepared and strategizing for the same is better than being unprepared and unaware.

• MAKE USE OF ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR MAINTAINING DAILY OPERATIONS

Before the coronavirus outbreak, you surely had specific business plans, trips, and events in place, right? Do not cancel them; instead, brainstorm some creative alternative options. Take for instance, if you had plans of a customer visiting your business premises, in these times you can send the customer a pre-recorded video of the entire premises.

Keeping the compassion alive to do business in the toughest of times will surely help you out. You cannot protect your small business from the effect of this pandemic completely, but you can use measures to lessen its after-effects.