Preparing your Business for its Grand Reopening

After months of following strict mitigation guidelines and in some cases complete closure and loss of revenue, business owners have a chance to make a comeback. This will not be a 0-100 complete, immediate reopening, but it will be a huge step in the right direction for many struggling businesses, owners, and employees. Unfortunately, many businesses did not survive the pandemic. If yours did, there are two factors that need to be considered to reopen a business. The financial factor is a high priority, but the health factor cannot be forgotten under any circumstances.

The first step to returning a business to a good place financially is to assess the damage that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused. If your businesses was able to remain open at some capacity over the past three months, you might not have sustained as much damage as a business owner who had no choice but to close completely. Sitting down and simply reviewing/updating your financial statements will help tremendously. Based on these numbers, you may need to review your business plan. You might have a business plan that worked tremendously before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred, but making sure that you have a plan that will be just as impactful going forward is important. You should also be prepared financially for a relapse of the pandemic in the coming seasons, as some experts have predicted will occur.

As far as the health factor goes, changing your relationship with your employees might be more important in this case than it sounds. According to the guidelines set by the CDC, employees should be encouraged to stay at home if they feel sick. Developing policies that encourage employees to stay home if they are sick without risking a negative consequence is extremely important. Conversations should occur regularly between employees and employers about the health and concerns of employees. It should be taken into consideration that some employees (such as older adults and employees with pre-existing medical conditions) might be more concerned than others. These employees will need special considerations and accommodations made for the sake of their well being and productivity. As simple as it may sound, implementing practices of minimal face-to-face contact as well as coughing and sneezing etiquette is essential. Providing soap with a large alcohol content and promoting hand washing can create a great impact. If there has ever been a time to be tedious and serious about cleaning measures that your business takes, that time is now.

Simple financial review, business plan review, extra health measures, and a good relationship with your employees will make all the difference in the success of your business reopening. There is no doubt that this has been an extremely challenging time for business owners across the world. Unfortunately, many businesses did not survive. By taking measures such as these to ensure that your business is reopened smoothly and safely, you can create the best opportunity for success post-pandemic.