BUSINESS COMMENT
12 • July 2020
Coast River Business Journal
Recommendations for navigating the current crisis
Clatsop Community College Small Business Development Center is here to help
By Kevin Leahy
Executive Director
Clatsop Economic Development Resources
It is easy to panic when our economy is
slowed to a crawl, the stock market is volatile,
and unemployment is at record numbers. Don’t!
Research has shown that people are more likely
to make mistakes when they are cash strapped and
primed to think about financial stressors — a state
that describes a lot of people right now.
Here are some strategies for making good
decisions when the world is in such a state of flux:
Give yourself time to decide. Many
entrepreneurs like action and refuse to leave
something sitting on their desk when they can help
it. But that’s a bad strategy when every day reveals
a bit more about how the covid-19 crisis will play
out. Everyone makes better decisions when they
have better information, and you will have more
information tomorrow than you do today. Before
making any big leaps, take a cooling off period —
and maybe even having a trusted third party such
as a friend or colleague look over things with you
— might help you avoid doing something you’ll
come to regret. Break your big goal into smaller
goals and focus on achieving those.
Figure out how your customers’ needs have
changed. This covid-19 pandemic is a shock for
the whole world. Almost all of your customers’
lives are different than they were three months
ago, and they will probably be different again in
At the Clatsop Small Business
Development Center,
We are here to
help you.
—
CLATSOP COMMUNITY
COLLEGE
Our services are designed to help business owners and operators in all
stages from start-ups and businesses in their first year, to mature business
looking to grow.
As an entrepreneur, your path to start, run, and grow a business is likely to
be filled with a variety of challenges that you’ll need to overcome to avoid
costly setbacks or even failure. The journey can sometimes be overwhelming
and risky- but you don’t have to do it alone. The Clatsop SBDC’s team of
professional business advisors are available to help you navigate your way to
success!
For more information visit bizcenter.org/clatsop
SCHEDULE A FREE AND
CONFIDENTIAL
ADVISING SESSION
Call 503-338-2402 or email sbdc@clatsopcc.edu
Clatsop Community College is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution. ADA accessible. For the complete Non-Discrimination and Accommodations statements, please visit https://
www.clatsopcc.edu/ada. Clatsop Community College es una institución de igualdad de oportunidades y de discriminación positiva. Para las declaraciones completas de No-discriminacion y de
Ayuda a las personas discapacitadas, por favor visite https://www.clatsopcc.edu/ada.
six months. They may never be the same. Your
short-term cash flow depends on providing them
with goods and services during the crisis. Your
long-term viability depends on understanding how
their needs will be different when the pandemic
is over.
The first thing to consider is that people are
building new habits right now. There are many
local isolated households whose normal routines
have been upended, and just like them you have
to experiment if you want to remain a part of
their lives. Your customers don’t need an email
about how you care about them, but they do need
entertainment and comfort and hope. Some of
their new habits will persist after the pandemic,
which means it is particularly important for you
to figure out how to continue to offer services that
deliver value during the crisis.
Think hard about how the post-pandemic
world will change your business model —
and bring your customers into your planning
process. Many of your customers will be eager to
enjoy themselves after the long seclusion. Many
are still scared about the risks of contagious
disease. Some of them may have decided that
they like ordering online. Reach out to them to
learn how their lives have changed and figure out
the most exciting thing that you can offer your
customers as they leave their homes to shop,
dine and have experiences again with the “new
normal.”
Do some realistic accounting. Try to form
realistic estimates of your cash flow both during
and after the pandemic. Compare that cash flow
with your fixed expenses and with those expenses
that you can cut. Remember that sometimes it
makes sense to cut the more flexible expenses
early, so that you can still keep paying the more
vital expenses later. Also stay abreast of other
forms of assistance and other ways of bridging
the financial gap as they become available. This
landscape is also evolving, and fast.
Keep your best employees loyal. Your workers
are always your most valuable asset. If you lose
your best ones during the crisis, rebuilding your
operations is going to be even more difficult. Even
if you have to cut labor costs dramatically during
the crisis, you want to maintain your ability to
rehire your best workers when the world is open
for business again. The key here is to focus on the
long term and to be human.
Yet, there are also steps that small businesses
can take to make sure they are doing the best they
can given the situation. To navigate the current
crisis, it is necessary for owners and managers
of small businesses to act both with a sense of
urgency and with prudence. It’s important to
understand the broader landscape. And it’s critical
to be aware of the potential for avoidable mistakes
Kevin Leahy
in decision making in these situations. By taking
stops to avoid such mistakes, and by thinking
through the broader set of levers available right
now, it is possible to navigate this complicated
landscape.
Stepping up in a time of need
At the Clatsop Community College Small
Business Development Center, we have served
159 covid-19 clients in Clatsop County since
March, hosted 35 free webcasts with over 1,200
participants, and assisted our business community
with almost $3 million in financial assistance
through CARES Act funding since March.
Let us help you navigate these opportunities,
now and in the future. Our passion is helping our
business community get back on their feet with
growth and prosperity in the future.
I will end my article with comments from Josh
Allison, owner of Reach Break Brewing, a Clatsop
SBDC client and recent “graduate” of our Clatsop
Small Business Management Program.
We hope this gives businesses who have
not reached out to us the “nudge” to give
us a call or email to set up an appointment,
always free and confidential.
“The Clatsop SBDC is a tremendous asset to
our region, and an amazing partner for Reach
Break Brewing. My interaction with the center
began with the Small Business Management
Program in 2019, and our business had been in
operation for just over two years. The staff and
advisors at the Clatsop SBDC are not only highly
knowledgeable in their fields; but they are also
effective educators, they are passionate about
our local small businesses, and they are truly
invested in the success of our community. In the
best of economic times, they have proven to be
critical to helping local businesses establish,
Continued next page