Finding Silver Lining in Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has been life-changing. Currently, in New Jersey, as in many places across the country, certain businesses have been shut down, others are restricted, and gatherings of more than 10 people are banned, among other things, all in the name of trying to curb the spread of COVID-19. While these are some very difficult times, we should try our best to make the most of it, as there is little else that can be done.

I am directing this to business owners. While your revenue-generating activities may be severely impacted, or perhaps even eliminated in the case of mandatory shutdowns, use this downtime as an opportunity to work on some areas that were pushed to the sidelines while you were fully operational. Your operation may be drastically scaled back but that does not mean you cannot be productive in other ways in the meantime.

Think about issues that you were facing while your business was operational. What was going on that you just didn’t have the time to work on because you had customers in and out throughout the day, dealing with personnel issues, maintenance or repairs, or administrative tasks that you just couldn’t get to. Use this downtime to address those issues so that you are setting your business up for success on the other side of this pandemic.

Perhaps there were regulatory or financial issues that have been hanging over your head. Work on them now. Maybe you had new hires that you didn’t have time to train properly before you closed down. Train them now using videoconferencing tools like Skype or Zoom. If you had repairs or preventative maintenance that was put on hold, take care of that now. Clearing out all of these bottlenecks now during this downtime can help you get up and running faster, and in better shape, when these restrictions are eventually lifted, allowing you to provide a better product or service.

Removing bottlenecks or working on analyzing your business to make it safer, more efficient, more profitable, and even more enjoyable for your employees and customers is well worth the investment. Be creative, be productive, and most important of all…be safe!