A year and a half into the pandemic, most American small businesses in various sectors are still struggling to make ends meet, let alone become profitable. The main challenges they are facing are coronavirus restrictions, poor cash flow, and security risks on the rise.
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1. How To Deal With Coronavirus Restrictions
All businesses, big and small, had to adapt their operations somehow in 2020, with small businesses being the most affected by Covid-19 restrictions. As time went by, we saw these restrictions morph into a new way of doing business, and business plans needing significant adjusting. Small business owners know that best, as they had to let a high percentage of staff go.
But where there is a challenge, there is also a way to transform it into an opportunity, and this is the beauty of this painful period. What you need to do is redefine your values, products, and services in order to better serve customers in this new emerging world.
No matter what your line of business is, it’s important to keep in mind that what people are looking for in 2021 and beyond is a simpler, safer lifestyle. Can you provide them with this? Can you incorporate a dash of wellness into your strategy? Can you add a live experience to your portfolio? Find a way and lend a helping hand. It will come back to you tenfold.
2. How To Overcome Poor Cash Flow
Small businesses can truly benefit from financing in order to keep up with their business strategy and plans. Hence, the most obvious answer is in this case also the correct one: a business loan!
Whether your business needs a major investment to re-establish itself in the new context created by the pandemic, or just some cash infusion to get back on your feet after a shortfall, flexible loans are the way to go.
Opt for a direct lender instead of the usual brokers out there. Direct lenders offer loans for businesses with no credit and you cut out the middleman, thus saving money by paying significantly less every month. As there is no third party involved in the decision-making, the approval process is faster and your personal information is more secure.
3. How To Keep Security Risks At Bay
With businesses moving so much into the remote realm, digital communication became key for successful operations. But this has also sparked the interest of hackers who saw an opportunity in the fact that more people are now using technologies they weren’t used to before, hence being more susceptible to attacks.
As 2021 continues to unfold, cybersecurity becomes a bigger and bigger concern for small and medium businesses, who now need to redesign their IT infrastructure in order to include reliable barriers, be they physical or software-based. But firewalls and anti-viruses are not the only tech-related issues to deal with.
New emerging technologies have to be adopted as well, and they are not free, staff must be trained to use them, and so on. The solution here is to embrace technology in a sustainable manner:
- Incorporate secure online “experiences” for your employees and customers alike
- Hire a good security engineer and follow their advice
- Invest in developing web skills for your entire team
We hope you now feel more prepared and more knowledgeable about strategizing your business plan, and most importantly, relieved! We are all in this together and we will make it until the end by helping each other thrive.
If you are interested in even more business-related articles and information from us here at Bit Rebels, then we have a lot to choose from.
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