The Great Lock Down: A Few CEO Resources to Help
Six weeks ago in mid February 2020 the world was different. The bright economic prospects in the U.S. for another year of expansion and growth seemed inevitable. Employment was at record highs, business and consumer confidence was strong, and GDP was forecast to grow at a healthy 2% for 2020. The expectation was that the roaring 1920s were back!
But then came the Corona Virus (Covid-19) which lurked in the wings, and has in 6 weeks spread across the world and turned a robust global economy into dust overnight, and has left in its wake thus far more than 2 million people infected, 140,000 dead, and it’s not over according to daily live tracking statistics.
To make matters worse as of today, mid-April 2020 if you haven’t been living on Mars, maybe you should be. Because most U.S. state orders are for businesses to close and citizens to stay at home, work from home, and not go out unless you have a darned good reason to. And as a consequence, the U.S. went from gaining 200,000 jobs per month to losing nearly 23 million in the last few weeks alone. Nothing like this has ever had such an enormous impact on labor since the Great Depression. It’s unreal, or surreal like a zombie apocalypse movie. And regardless of how many times I try to wake up, I can’t because it’s not a dream. And for now, this new reality for CEOs and business owners may not forecast increased sales, but rather increased bankruptcies.
Enter the US Government to the rescue In response to this health-driven crisis many governments around the world have braced for impact, all hoping to ease the economic crash by injecting trillions of dollars into their respective economies. The U.S. in response recently passed the $2 Trillion dollar Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) … to help fund payrolls and other operating expenses for 2.5 months for small businesses. The hope is to help shore up small business until the crisis passes. Sounds scary, and it is.
As a consequence, managing or owning a business has thus gone from approaching a paradise in February 2020 to Hell in March and going forward a living nightmare if your business was forced to close until further notice.
To help, we already reviewed dozens of webinars, newsletters, articles and websites over the past 3 weeks and found a few that we believe can really help cut through the haze and focus on how to specifically get aid to your business and keep you afloat. Check these out:
- How to Obtain an SBA Coronavirus PPP Loan and Have It Forgiven:
o https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/348552 - 8 Ways Business Owners Can Take Advantage of the Federal Stimulus Package:
o https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/348710?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email - SBA Loan Application – PPP – Paycheck Protection Program :
o https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/paycheck-protection-program-ppp - CEO Coaching Int’l group: Navigating the Crisis with access real-time CEO advisors:
This CEO Coaching Int’l group brings together CEOs offering free time to discuss your particular Covid-19 situation and offer some resourceful tools and ideas.
Best Advice
From my experience the key performance exercise is creating a detailed CASH FLOW PLAN for the next 6-12 months. Minimizing outflows and using the government loan and forgiveness programs to ease the pain. So if you haven’t taken advantage yet, better get started asap. Many will qualify for relief, but fewer if you don’t act fast. Second is to gather your executive team and external advisor including your CPA, Attorney and Banker. Everyone needs to be on the same page and follow your business crisis & continuity plan. This is your moment to shine through as a strong leader with a keen foresight and a keen ability to communicate to your staffers how the company will navigate through this existential crisis like no other. Until then… please stay well, stay strong, and stay together. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
Rick Andrade, Managing Director
