It is tough being a business owner – but even tougher if you are running a small business right now. There is bad news for small businesses the world over, and in the US, according to the The Yelp Economic Impact report, which tracks business via customer reviews online, almost 164,000 businesses have closed in the U.S. between March and September 2020.

Small businesses have been particularly hard hit, with many closing temporarily, and yet in June 2020, it was reported that thousands of small businesses are closing their doors without reporting closure. More disturbingly, there is a wave of those businesses who close with reporting closure officially. Bloomberg’s Madeleine Ngo describes them as  “silent failures, reporting “This wave of silent failures goes uncounted in part because real-time data on small business is notoriously scarce, and because owners of small firms often have no debt, and thus no need for bankruptcy court.”

So how are the 30.7 million small businesses in the USA (which also account for 54% of all new jobs created each year) going to rise out this awful economic climate? Let’s dive in.

Three Quick Tips To Help Keep Your Small Business Alive 

It’s not going to be easy, when there are varied lockdown and quarantine rules in different regions (which people continue to ignore), and surging COVID-19 rates almost everywhere. There is little hope of getting financial aid from the government either. Assume that help will not be on the way, and its time to get creative, smart and fight to keep your business afloat. 

The good news is that most of the steps that you need to take ow are applicable whether or not times are tough – they are sound business tips that you should use to run your business.

1. Think about your customers – it is a very difficult time to service business customers and cater to their needs. If you produce and ship heavy duty products think about using long lasting thermoplastic custom pallets and containers from Jecoplastics.com for example. These would have the advantage of being impervious to most known solvents, and unlike wood they do not absorb moisture and rot. You not only will have a long-term saving, but you will be able to ensure that your customers is satisfied with their delivery every time – giving you a competitive advantage over your customer, and keeping your costs down with less returns of damaged products and less spoilt goods!  

2. Rent, don’t buy – if you are in a capital equipment laden business, where you have to make heavy investments in machinery, think about conserving your cashflow by leasing or renting equipment to own. There are reputable companies like Millennium Leasing who even offer hands-on training for all their rental or leased products. You’ll not only get the benefit of brand-new equipment that you can own outright at the end of the rent-to-own period, you’ll also be able to wrote off 100% of the rental payments against your tax bill as a business expense. A win-win. 

3. Take time for yourself – this may seem to be counter-intuitive, but if you allow stress to take over, your thought processes will become foggy, and that is when panic and decision-making mistakes are made. Take some time to decompress and take up a new hobby or actviity; you can some useful tips about what you need to know before you go hunting for example, at this website.

So in conclusion, things may get tough, but with creative and flexible thinking, and making sure that you have great customer service, there is hope for any business even in these difficult times. Do feel free to share your best small business advice in the comments below.