Are You Prepared to Ramp Up Your Business? Again?

Depending on your situation, this may seem like a thoughtless and far-off question. Oh, how we want to have everyone working and our businesses hopping, right? Normally, when business is quiet, managers hunker down to plan and forecast and ready themselves for growth and new possibilities. All that seems hard to imagine, at times, when the hunkering is enforced, and business fears abound.

Still, we will get through this. I don’t know how different commerce in your industry will look, but hopefully, you are able to bounce back into a larger demand for your product or service. Once we all can eat at restaurants, visit libraries, and join group celebrations, I think demand will explode. Will you be prepared to re-open with the type of flurry that is a successful upstart?

Use the Downtime to Plan Ahead

If you are making strategic changes in the hopes of a boon, review what you need to be prepared. In many ways, it will feel like starting over.

1. Supply Chain Options: Disruptions in supplies are evident now. If you need more than you used to, stay in contact with your suppliers so you know where the weak links lie. Maybe there are back-up services you can get on board now so you can utilize Plan B if needed.
2. Review Technology. Automation can quell inefficiencies that seem to multiply when volume increases. This includes accounting software, employee scheduling abilities, and streamlined communications that might continue to be needed off-site or in someone’s home.
3. Equipment. If equipment limitations are limiting your revenue recovery, look now for some being sold at a low cost. And talk with your lenders about business loans that are probably on the way to make getting back to work less expensive.
4. Fine-tune Processes. From hiring systems to production, review ways to expedite getting new employees up to speed. If a process needed correcting before, do it now to avoid the same hindrance in the future. Put it in writing, too, so it can be more readily shared by others, not only you.
5. Appreciate the Employees. The ones who return and the new ones, too. After a long-term layoff, they will be hungry to earn money. Make sure they are part of the team that willingly satisfies customers for you by demonstrating how much you value them. The culture you renew (or re-establish) will become permanent quickly.
6. Get experts on your team. We are in uncharted waters. Use lawyers, CPA’s and other business professionals as guides during your planning. If ever there was a time to surround yourself with smart people, this is it.

Rapid expansions can be as difficult as rapid contractions. If you remain vigilant, you will be ready to ramp up quickly. I hope it happens soon, and that you reap all the benefits of being prepared.

Author: Jon Forknell is the Vice President and General Manager of Atlas Business Solutions, Inc., a software marketing company specializing in employee scheduling software, including ScheduleBase employee scheduling software, and other business software solutions. In the past, Jon has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration as a SBA Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Atlas Business Solutions was named as one of Software Magazine’s Top 500 Software Companies in 2004 through 2007, and 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018.