The Haves and The Have Nots
Apr 06, 2020
The requirements of businesses to shutdown or convert to team members working from home has created a new social divide between the haves and the have nots.
The Haves
There are those who still have work to do. They are working from home, often in cramped and difficult situations. Some are working from their laptop whilst sitting on their beds in order to create a quiet space away from the rest of the family.
Others are dealing with children at home, learning how to homeschool during the day and then sitting up late at night doing their work.
Some have dedicated offices already, others are using the kitchen or dining table.
Those business owners are the lucky ones. They still have work to do, clients to invoice and money, hopefully, coming into their bank accounts to pay the wages and the bills.
But are they really the lucky ones? Maybe. Maybe not. It's a case of setting up new systems, learning new management skills and how to keep in touch with and motivate a dispersed workforce. All the while, still worrying about whether the money will continue to come it. Because, whether work will be paid for in a timely manner will depend on the financial stability of their clients.
Sure, you've probably saved a couple of hours a day in travel time. But now you'll have extra responsibilities at home, and the extra layer of communicating with your team and clients remotely.
So whilst there may be more time available, it's important to be planning the future.
Time to review your cash flow forecasts (or prepare one, if you don't have one normally), and take time to think about how you'll jumpstart "business as usual" when the time comes.
Chances are some of your team are going to want to continue to work from home, at least for a few days a week. Others will be desperate to be back in the workplace surrounded by their work colleagues.
The Have Nots
Then there are those who have had to shutdown their business completely. They can't do what their business does and they've got all day every day to somehow fill in.
These are the people who are doing it tough. With no money coming in the door, they're reliant on business savings and government initiatives to limp through isolation restrictions until such time as they're able to open the doors to business again.
Time can be used wisely by learning new skills, finding ways to fill in the gaps of knowledge. Whether it's learning about marketing or HR or the numbers. Chances are time could be well spent improving some areas of business.
It's also important to take time to deal with the emotional trauma of being forced to shutdown your business.
Then start to think about the future, what you want your business to look like, perhaps some new products and services, or improved procedures. Consider too your staffing structure and what you'd like that to ideally look like.
Plan for the re-opening of your business. But be mindful that it may not be instantaneously business as usual from the day you open the doors again.
And sure, enjoy catching up on Netflix, Stan and so on while you can. Because when you're back to business again, you probably won't get a chance for a while as you'll need all your energy and focus to re-build your business.
In Summary
Whether you are a have or a have not, cash flow is an integral part of your business. If you don't have a cash flow forecast, you'll be stressing about the unknown. If you do take the time to prepare one, you'll be stressing about how to fix a known problem. There is a difference.Having a cash flow forecast is empowering in a time when we feel completely out of control of what is going on around us and the impact it is having on our businesses.
The Simple Cash Flow Management program provides the business owner with the information needed to understand their cash flow. To find out more, register your interest here.
Photo by Helloquence on Unsplash
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