A Business Owner's Survival Kit To Navigate Through Covid-19

In a matter of a few months, businesses have laid off or furloughed millions of employees. Some companies were able to transition their teams to remote work while others had to completely shut down.

It has been madness! With all the craziness that has been going on in the world, I wanted to gather a list of helpful resources so business owners can navigate through this difficult time. Pay close attention, because these resources may save your business a lot of time, money, and hardship.

Track Your Business Expenses The Smart Way

I know a lot of business owners and freelancers are having a hard time staying profitable during this time.

However, if your business is making money, you’ll want to save every penny of what you earned. You probably already know that you should be keeping track of all your business expenses to write them off when tax season rolls around.

After all, it is one of the biggest perks of being a business owner. The IRS is with the times and digital receipts are now allowed to be used to write-off expenses. This means expenses in your bank account or credit card statements can be used as proof.

So, throw away your old receipts and start using an expense tracker software.

Here is a freelancer tax calculator you can use to see how much taxes you’ll owe.

SBA Loan Relief

Many small and big businesses have sunk into bankruptcy. If your business is struggling to stay afloat, the government is issuing financial life jackets in the form of low-interest rate loans.

The loans will be issued so small businesses can keep running, employ their workers, and look out for the owner's well-being.

A struggling business can apply here for the Coronavirus relief loan.

The SBA offers affordable loans with a payment schedule of up to a maximum of 30 years.

Your business should advantage of this opportunity. You can even get your Covid-19 loan forgiven if you meet certain requirements.

Budget Your Finances

When money is scarce, you gotta be smart about your budgeting. You can’t get success without a budgeting plan in place. Most business owners try to survive from week to week and month to month. With everything that is going on right now and all the businesses that went bankrupt, you can see why that is not the best idea.

Businesses should be planning out and organizing their expenses to get a clearer image of their financial future. Budgeting simply allows businesses to make smarter financial decisions based on data and spending.

Whether you have a lot of capital to move around or limited resources, budgeting will help you make the most of your assets.

Here is a list of budgeting apps to help you properly allocate your money and expenses.

Be Ready To Transition to Remote In The Blink Of An Eye

With social distancing being so prevalent right now, it would be a great option to have your business ready to go remote at the snap of a finger.

Countries and States are bounding around between lockdown and reopening so you’ll need to be prepared for if the circumstances require you to be remote. Develop systems and operating procedures that can keep your business up and running.

Some helpful software to help with the transition:

Zoom - a great tool to use to host online meetings.

Slack - useful messaging software for workplaces or teams

Loom - a video recording software to capture instructional clips for your business employees or share messages

Calendly - a scheduling software to organize online meetings

Follow The Guidelines Set Forth In Your City

Businesses in my hometown started to slowly open up, and one bar was immediately shut down because they did not follow the safety measures set forth by the city. Customers flooded through the doors and completely ignored social distancing measures.

If you have a physical business that requires workers to show up to the office or store, make sure you are following the CDC guidelines for the safety of your employees and yourself.

Let’s All Get Through This!

As Covid-19 numbers are going up throughout the nation, a second shutdown may happen again. Now, businesses have the experience from the first shutdown to prepare themselves for another lockdown.