Barry Nicholson Guest Post: Covid-19 Small Business Action Plan

With the financial and socioeconomic repercussions this pandemic has brought us, it is important to consider all options, be frugal, and get creative to keep your business afloat. Local entrepreneur Barry Nicholson has summarized steps a business can take to create a Small Business Action Plan to give your business its best chance at surviving these uncertain times. Here’s what Barry has to say:

As you have no doubt figured out by now, there is new information coming at us by the hour on Covid-19 and the efforts to help small businesses during the crises and hopefully into the recovery afterward. The good news is that there are is a lot of help available. The bad news is that it’s overwhelming for most of us to try to keep up, educate ourselves, and take any specific actions. Yet, we really must keep watching and reading and taking as many actions as we can to preserve our businesses during the crisis and prepare to pivot toward a recovery in the future.

Based on what I have learned in the last 10 – 15 days, I recommend the following as a start to a Small Business action plan if you haven’t already done so:

1. Reach out to your favorite credit union and/or bank and ask what they can do to help us. Most have some form of loan payment deferral program available for your existing debt. They do still have money to loan, and are open to discussing business needs. Additionally, it seems they are likely to be the best conduit for the SBA loans and programs coming from the CARES Act.

2. Contact your insurance company and ask them about the 60-day payment deferral that New York is enacting. Most insurance policies have clauses that don’t cover losses due to “pandemics,” but you should ask anyway.

3. Reach out to your landlord if you rent. Ask about options to defer a couple of month’s rent, perhaps increasing future months to cover the missed month(s) instead.

4. Watch for delays in tax payments due dates, or at the very least, removal of fees and penalties for late payments. New York announced a program like this on sales tax, and it looks like property taxes may have a 21-day delay.

5. Contact your tax accountant and ask about the CARES Act changes affecting 2019 and 2020 tax filing.

6. Watch for webinars and education sessions about the CARES act and determine those for which you qualify.

7. Finally, stay positive and share the things that work for you with others.

This is by no means a comprehensive list, and I am certainly not an authority on what’s available, but I am happy to share your good ideas with others. This link from the US Chamber of Commerce below is a good place to start. Also, I am happy to discuss any thoughts that you have about how to survive and someday thrive again!
 
Be well, Barry