Nearly all small businesses have suffered in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, but many are capable of recovery. Here are four tips to help businesses re-emerge following the pandemic.

1. Determine the damage
In order to recover, you’ll first need to assess the impact that COVID-19 has had on your business. Update your financial statements and compare them to last year’s figures. Remember to factor in other types of loss such as employee layoffs and a reduced marketing budget.

2. Revisit your business plan

You need to figure out how your business model fits in with the new normal. For many small companies, this is a good time to expand your digital store as more people are shopping online. You should also adapt your business growth goals to better reflect the current reality.

3. Look into available funding
Now more than ever, you need to spend money to make money. As you create a recovery budget, find out whether your business qualifies for government funding that will help you bounce back. Financial institutions may also offer more lenient loans to help struggling entrepreneurs.

4. Create a realistic timeline
It’s important to keep in mind that your business won’t recover overnight, and you won’t be able to implement all your rebuilding strategies at once. Establish your priorities and track your progress to ensure you’re investing in the right areas.

If you want your business to thrive, it’s essential to hire competent and hard-working employees. However, attracting the right candidates is easier said than done, especially if you work in a competitive industry. Here are some common strategies that companies rely on to successfully recruit top talent:

• Create an engaging and informative “Careers” page on their website

• Post descriptive job offers on numerous platforms including job boards and local newspapers

• Strengthen their employer brand to appeal to the desired pool of candidates

• Encourage employees to make referrals and share the company’s posts on social media

• Refine their application and interview processes to more effectively identify quality candidates

While these strategies require some time and effort to implement, they’re a worthwhile investment in your company’s future.

When you think of Facebook or Instagram, it is not immediately clear that the gargantuan is local, not just global.

Every community has an online presence of citizens that use the website to communicate with their local friends and family, as well as out of town folks.

So a small business can successfully market to its regular customers online.

The key is getting people engaged and getting people to share information about products and services.

Some ideas:

– Announce new products with photos using local people and local locations.

– Put your unique product ideas out there.

– Ask questions that involve your product: Use local people in local pictures or just a good photo.

– Do a short video of your new take-out appetizer.

– Show how it’s made with a video.

– Post photos of your sales associates and delivery people.

– Show your products and services in connection with holiday and obscure special days.

– Create and announce virtual events.

– Have a photo contest.

– Create video tutorials.

– Parody other videos.

– Post inspirational videos.

So, now what?

Their stores closed. The offices are vacant. Their income limited.

Small businesses had to answer the question of what they can do right now.

And, for the most part, they did.

About 92 percent of small business owners reinvented themselves, according to Small Biz Trends.

Digital technology was the answer to many small businesses.

– 58% created new online delivery channels.

– 40% created a new virtual service.

– 36% made a new offline delivery channel.

– 31% created a new product.

– 19% worked for a new customer group.

Small restaurateurs and stores selling unique goods all could have had a website presence, but many owners were too busy to make it happen before the coronavirus crisis. When lockdowns happened, they had to set those up.

Virtual services are not just for schools. Trainers, chefs, music teachers all have tried to involve local customers in virtual classes. While they might find new customers, the same services also find they compete with existing businesses online.

For some, new products have helped. Some small manufacturers began making the things most in demand: masks and sanitizers, for example. Breweries made sanitizer. Pillow companies made masks and medical scrubs.

For some, it has worked. Fifty-one percent of businesses that did a pivot say they have increased business against forecasts. But small businesses are still facing issues with skills and staffing for new skills, as well as a lack of money.

If you own a business, you likely know that skilled and hard-working employees are an invaluable asset. Unfortunately, these employees are the ones most likely to be approached by your competitors with tempting offers. Here are a few tips to help you create a positive work environment that will make your staff want to stay.

Provide opportunities for advancement
Talented and ambitious employees are often driven by a desire to achieve their full potential. If their opportunities for growth dwindle, they may wonder if it’s time to seek a new challenge elsewhere. You should also consider paying staff to attend seminars and workshops. This shows that you’re invested in their professional development.

Take their ideas into consideration

If an employee approaches you with a strategy to improve the company’s services or productivity, listen to their proposal, and seriously weigh its merits. In addition to providing you with a fresh perspective, this shows your employees that their insights and opinions are valued. Another way to promote this type of open communication is to regularly ask the staff for their input.

Show your appreciation For a job well done
Taking the time to recognize an employee’s hard work and success is a simple way to boost their morale and strengthen their dedication to the company. While a simple thank you can suffice, consider rewarding employees who go above and beyond. You could give them tickets to an upcoming show, a bottle of wine, a meal from a local restaurant or a paid day off.

Finally, if you’re concerned that an employee isn’t satisfied, ask them what would make them happier. Oftentimes, a simple adjustment can make all the difference.

As a kid growing up in downtown Los Angeles in the 1950s, John Paul DeJoria didn’t really think times were tough.

The second son of an Italian immigrant father and Greek immigrant mother, DeJoria’s parents divorced in 1946 when he was two years old. Eight years later, he and his brother landed in a foster home.

After two years in the U.S. Navy, DeJoria got a job as a janitor. Then he peddled encyclopedias door-to-door. Next, he sold life insurance the same way.

After getting fired from an entry-level job with a hair company, DeJoria slept in his car while selling shampoo door-to-door until 1980, when he and Paul Mitchell took out a $700 loan to launch John Paul Mitchell Systems, Inc.

The idea was to sell their unique new shampoo to hairdressers only. According to CNBC, their shampoo required only one wash (saving time and money) and a conditioner that remained in the hair. The big deal about the conditioner was that while acting as a sculpting agent for the hairdresser, it also defended hair against the blow dryer’s heat and neutralized any chemicals on the hairdresser’s hands.

The shampoo took off like a rocket, and almost 40 years later John Paul Mitchell Systems remains one of the premier hair-care companies in the world.

Not long after their shampoo’s debut, Paul Mitchell died in 1989, and DeJoria took over the company. DeJoria and partner Martin Crowley acquired a stake in the Patron Spirits Company to develop what they said was the smoothest tequila ever. In 2018, they sold it to Bacardi for $5.1 billion.

Having been down and out so much of his life, DeJoria, now 76, relishes giving back. In 2011 he signed Bill Gates and Warren Buffett’s pledge to give half his earnings to better the world. Today — with a net worth of $3.1 billion — John Paul DeJoria’s view of wealth is this: “Success not shared is failure.”