Collaborative post – may contain affiliate links

If you’ve managed to keep your business afloat throughout the lockdown, then it must be great news to hear that things are easing up and you can finally start earning. The thing is that the coast is not clear just yet. Even though your business is reopening, it might still need to operate on survival mode for the first couple of months. To help you navigate your way through the rough waters ahead, here are five tips to get you on the right path to reopening your business.

1. Go over your finances

The first thing you would want to do when reopening your business is to go over your finances. Your business may have been closed down for the last couple of months, and if this is the case, you probably didn’t rake in that much. Going over your finances may involve doing some AR management, cost evaluation, and financial projections for the coming months. 

Once you do this, you can then decide how to move forward. Keep in mind that this might equally involve cutting down costs just so you can keep your business afloat for the first couple of months after reopening. 

2. Re-hire your employees

If shutting down your business caused you to lay off your employees, this is a great time to bring your strong team back. No one is saying this will be particularly easy to do, as employees who have been laid off quite recently are entitled to unemployment benefits as well as some additional cash from the government. 

For that reason, they may not be too keen on returning to work, especially if they are concerned about how safe it is to work in the midst of a pandemic. One way to lure them in is by leveraging their health insurance. 

3. Prepare your workplace

As mentioned above, one reason most employees might be hesitant to come back to work is that they are worried about their health and safety in the workplace. While reopening your business, it’s your responsibility to make sure that your employees feel safe coming back to work. 

The CDC recommends a distance of at least 6-feet between individuals, so you should consider restructuring your office space to adhere to this. Also, providing face masks, hand sanitizers and a designated area for washing hands can make your office feel like a safer environment to work in. 

4. Go over your current business model 

This might be the very last thing that you want to do, but it is one of the major things that can keep your business afloat when it opens again. While going over your current business model, you need to ask yourself some important questions like “is this current business model profitable considering the current business environment?” 

Think about the products/services you sell, who your target market is, and how you deliver these products/services to your consumers. Can all these aspects of your business model rake in gains the way they are? Asking yourself questions like this can help you restructure your model in a way that will allow your business to adapt accordingly. 

5. Take advantage of government funds and help from the community

The government has provided different funding programs and resources for businesses such as the Paycheck Protection Program to help them in their time of need. Also, in a lot of communities, landlords and local vendors are offering their help to businesses by either easing rent or reducing the cost of materials. 

Do some research on what your local community is doing to help restore businesses, as well as some of the options you have when it comes to government funding. Take advantage of these resources to help you get your company back on its feet.