If COVID-19 has taught us anything as small business owners, it's that it pays to be prepared. Whether it's through financial reserves or emergency resources, having a safety net for your business allows you to be ready for whatever economic downturns may come your way. In this episode, Gene Marks and his special guest Mindy Yanish share several precautionary measures that helped sustain her business throughout this pandemic.

Executive Summary

0:34—Today's Topic: Which Precautionary Measures Will Best Serve My Small Business Right Now?

3:16—If you sense that your business is approaching a period of diminished sales from its brick-and-mortar storefront, it might be more cost-effective to temporarily close up shop in favor of an online platform.

4:16—Avoiding debt and building up strong cash reserves also provide your business with a financial buffer for when profit margins are low.

5:17 —Trust your instincts when they tell you to proceed with caution.

9:07—While it is easy to seclude yourself and your business under our current circumstances, continue to stay involved in community outreach programs. This will not only help forge genuine relationships with your existing clientele, but it will also allow you to broaden your customer base.

11:57—Take advantage of all the generous payment plans and lower rates that are being offered right now.

12:18—Even if you have reserves, don't be afraid to seek out financial assistance. This will help shoulder some of your operating expenses and keep you from completely depleting your savings.

13:24—Because of a potential second wave of COVID-19 cases, we need to extend our efforts to protect our small businesses.

Links

Offerings Gallery

Transcript

Gene: Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Small Biz Ahead podcast. This is Gene Marks. My friend, John Aidukonis is not here today, so I'm going to go solo. I've got a great session and a great segment planned with a great interview with Mindy Yanish, who is the owner of Offerings Gallery in Katonah, New York, which is Westchester County, Mindy, right, about an hour from New York City?

Mindy: That's right.

Gene: Well, it's great that you're on here. First of all, let's get some of the basic facts down. Offerings Gallery, it's offeringsgallery.com. What does the store sell?

Mindy: Well, basically it is a community resource and that's what it's evolving more and more in, but the thing that I've always believed in is trying to support handmade American products. I have a beautiful curated selection of American handmade jewelry, and I know all the artists that I represent personally. So it's really more like a big extended family, which is my favorite part. And then I also have handmade pottery, also all American made blown glass, fine art, and some very interesting, unusual smattering of antiques, as well as my own art.

Gene: This is just a retail shop on a main street, or do you sell-

Mindy: Yeah, it's on the main street of Katonah .

Gene: Got it. I get this vision that Katonah is this beautiful little New York State town, with the main street and drug store and outdoor restaurants.

Mindy: It is. It's a very precious gem of a town. It's kind of rare in that it's mostly local owned,