This article comes at an opportune time, as we are currently dealing with the second wave of Covid. Covid not only harmed public health and safety, but it also harmed many small businesses. This article also discusses how small and medium-sized businesses can protect themselves from an economic downturn.
Small businesses face structural challenges that existed prior to the pandemic and have now become more severe:
Factors such as decreased demand and the cost of health-and-safety compliance such as lockdowns are putting pressure on already-thin margins. Adopting new business and operating models can be time-consuming and costly. Installing new technologies that can help small businesses succeed necessitates an investment that many SMBs cannot afford. It will take time for you to recover. Small businesses took an average of six years to establish themselves. Small companies will benefit from the following steps to strengthen them, increase their long-term resilience, and shorten their recovery time:
Assist small companies in making the transition to the new standard.
This initiative will necessitate an initial time commitment, but the benefits of being trained and embracing newer technology would position you for financial success beyond the downturn. Adopting simple accounting and billing software, bringing your company online (online store), and using online inventory management software are a few examples of how you can achieve success with some initial effort. Naavo is one such platform which offers you do all of the previous mentioned functions.
Measure and Manage your finances conservatively
It is important to first calculate the financial inflow and outflow, regardless of whether you are in a downturn or not. The value of measuring your financial records is even more important at times like these. Reducing your expenditures by eliminating unnecessary transactions and experimenting with your sales strategies, such as digitizing your inventory/products or selling them online, would help you improve your margins. Naavo lets you securely calculate and maintain your financial records; now is a good time to download and use it on your smartphone.
Strenghten your partnerships with your local communities
Depending on the nature of your market, you might be able to recognize and collaborate with members of your local community to sell your goods. Most communities (whether residential or commercial) have associations; find these associations and collaborate with them to maximize your sales.