We're going through unprecedented and very interesting times right now. 

People are falling in two ranges of play right now. 

There's business owners that are really struggling and suffering that were forced to close. Then there are businesses on the other side that are thriving and absolutely can't keep up with the increased demand. 

And then there's kind of business owners that are falling somewhere in between…

Whether you’re in either camp, or are in the grey area where you’re kind of just holding on, in this article I want to give you my top tips on recession-proofing your business. 

Tip 1: Have a plan

It's important that you have a solid plan in place that in some degree predicts the changing circumstances and the actions that are required for you to take. 

This helps to ensure that you maintain break even, and at best profitable times throughout a recession. 

Something to look into is to assess first of all your strengths. What do you have in place right now in your business? Is it that you've got or sitting on a surplus of cash? 

What are your weaknesses? Maybe you haven't got a lot of cash put in place. Maybe you weren't prepared for this. Maybe you owe a bunch of money to a bunch of people, and all of a sudden things are drying up.

What opportunities can you see in your current business and your current model? What are the potential threats? If this was to go on for another week, another month, another six months, another year, what could happen?

Do a SWOT analysis, work out a plan, start to put your budgets in place. Use budget projections to get clarity on if you start to see even further drops in revenue, what that looks like and what measures you have to take in order to ensure that you can do business through ideally profitably, but at absolute worse, a break even scenario.

Tip 2: Look into insurance

Have you got business interruption insurance? Some of our clients have got insurances that are paying out based on their COVID-19 pandemic. And some of them don't. Either way, reach out to your insurance broker and understand whether you've got interruption insurance. And if not, consider applying it for future potential circumstances. 

Tip 3: Team communication

Now more than ever, it's important that you communicate with your team regularly. 

They're going to be having a bunch of worries and fears, probably consuming way too much social media, and they need some strong leadership that needs some strong direction. 

So it's important to communicate with them. What are you doing to get through this and to make sure that they retain their jobs? What are you doing in terms of if they get sick or to have time off, how are you supporting them in that? It's really important. 

Bring them around the campfire, have an honest and open conversation, allow them to express their concerns, their vulnerabilities, address them, and then align them. 

Tip 4: Supplier repayments

Contact your suppliers and look at reducing your debt repayments. Or looking at reducing your payments. 

Can you negotiate with suppliers to extend payment terms? Can you negotiate with your landlord to get a rent free period or reduced rent for the next three to six months? 

And also, can you ask your bank about reducing loan repayments, getting better interest rates or even having no payments for the next three to six months? 

If you haven't already and find out what government grants and stimulus packages are available for your business, contact somebody outside of your current circle of safety, somebody who's geared up just to cover your bases. 

Want some more tips like these?

If you've liked this article, I'd love to know what's been the best or the number one takeaway. Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

And of course, if you want help recession-proofing your business, please reach out. At The Game Changers we are working with our members to ensure they are set up to not just survive, but thrive through this current crisis and beyond.

To have a ‘getting to know you’ chat with us, leave a comment below and my team will be in touch.