Gene Marks is a nationally recognized CRM and small business expert. Gene talks about how businesses can gain access to disaster relief funds and his take on the federal response. Plus, Gene gives us practical advice on how small businesses can manage their cash right now, foster employee relationships, and adopt technology to help their business weather the current crisis.
The one thing I can tell you is the coming recession is very different than the Great Recession. In my business, we sell various CRM systems to our clients across the country and while current projects are still moving forward, future projects are on pause right now. The response we are hearing from clients is very different than in 2009. There is an abundance of capital available, including the massive stimulus from the government as well as private sources.
I talk and write a lot about small businesses and what I can say is it is hard to generalize them because there are over 30 million. Generally, things aren’t going well right now and most small businesses are experiencing what I’m experiencing, a freeze on current or future projects. However, there are pockets of businesses that are seeing an increase in the demand for their services. The point is while generally small businesses have been negatively impacted some are doing quite well.
So far, I don’t feel like the federal response to the pandemic has been enough. The federal government is trying hard to keep things going by providing funding for disaster recovering loans, unemployment insurance, and tax credits for employers. While all of those are good things there is still a lack of certainty and my feeling is the government should provide the direction to shut everything down for a few weeks to let the virus run its course. Give a date when businesses could reopen but for 3 weeks just shut it all down so we can get through this virus as quickly as possible.
In the past, if you wanted an SBA loan you had to go through a process with your local bank to submit everything for the SBA to guarantee the loan, which would take forever. Right now that is not the case, the loans that are available are coming from another area of the SBA that is reserved for disasters. If you go to the SBA home page at SBA.gov there is a big link on there to learn more and apply for the loan.
The advice I have for small businesses right now is to think about how you are using and managing your cash. Go to your suppliers or vendors, especially the larger ones, and request to defer your payments for 60 to 90 days. You will likely find they will be very accommodating because the last thing they want is negative PR about how they are coming down hard on main street America. The next tip I have would be to educate yourself about the new government legislation, especially as it relates to employee benefits, and then educate your staff on what options are available to them. Both so that your employees feel grateful towards you and so they will be ready to come back to work when the time comes. Last, look for ways to leverage technology to help you run your business better.
Resources: