Tough times come, and we’re not always prepared for them. COVID-19 and what it has done for us as individuals as well as businesses around the world was unimaginable as little as a year ago.

Personally, it reminds me of the war times of my youth. Having lived through them, and while it is hard to imagine living through this virus now, I consider it a blessing that we can go out and walk around without people shooting at us, or bombs dropping from the skies.

I say that to bring a light on the blessings we have today. While these are tough times, we are blessed that we are able to do what we do.

With that, let’s focus our energy on some of the insights we’ve gained from dealing with tough economic times like 2000, 2008 - and for our most senior citizens, even the difficulties of the 1940s.

As business owners, what can we do to keep things moving in a positive direction?

While we never really know what is going to happen, we’re accustomed to dealing with the unknown. Many of us know only how to work with the unknowns. With today’s unknown - the length and strength of this virus and all it entails - we may need to dig a bit deeper even though they are not much different from the past.

We should expect that life will not be back to normal until summertime. We can only suppose what impact this storm will have.

But we have to deal with it one day at a time, and plan for - maybe - a few weeks at a time. Consider what you can do to survive the next two months, or beyond. Do you have enough cash to weather the storm? Can you lower your burn rate to be able to handle the storm? Can you keep a bit of cash in case your credit is destroyed or eliminated?

BEFORE YOU GO

We see our blogs as opportunities for dialogue. Please share your thoughts as comments.

1. Establish a network of people you trust, support, and with whom you can share ideas and thoughts.

2. Hold on to the cash as long as you can to weather the storm.

3. Extend an offering that can help the communities in which you live.