When times get challenging, nothing will serve you better as a small business owner than tapping into your creativity. From operational issues to financial struggles, all it takes is a little innovation to help you find an appropriate solution. In this episode, Gene Marks along with special guest, Luciana Gomez discuss the creative strategies that not only enabled her to keep her business running, but also allowed her to retain all her current employees.

Executive Summary

0:47—Today's Topic: How Can I Become More Creative with My Small Business during COVID-19?

2:05—One way to sustain your small business during periods of economic downturn is to have multiple streams of income.

4:51—While it is possible to keep all your current employees, you'll have to adjust your business to accommodate both your finances and the new safety guidelines. These adjustments might include reducing your usual business hours, decreasing the number of onsite staff members during each shift, and assigning more employees to take care of the deliveries or other offsite work.

7:52—Cash reserves and PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans can help shoulder some of the financial strain your business might be experiencing.

9:17—Because safety is your primary concern right now, you must continue to enforce social distancing policies. It's better to have less traffic in your business than to risk the health of your staff and customers.

11:02—Apart from PPP loans, you should also consider applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

13:03—If you belong to a marginalized group, be sure to research grants, loans and financing options that are reserved specifically for minority business owners.

15:30—Rather than panicking, business owners should use this current crisis to fuel their creativity and develop more innovative ways to run their operations.

Links

Cafe VictoriaPaycheck Protection Program LoanEconomic Injury Disaster Loan

Transcript

Gene: Hey everybody and welcome back to the Small Biz Ahead podcast. My name is Gene Marks from The Marks Group and I'm glad that you have joined us. And also joining us today is Luciana Gomez, who is the owner and founder of Cafe Victoria in Dallas. Her website is cafevictoriadallas.com, and I will give that at the end of this segment as well. But Luciana, welcome. Can you give me an awkward hello?

Luciana: Hi, Gene. Awkward. Is this awkward enough?

Gene: Yeah, that's awkward enough.

Luciana: Or I do have an accent, so let's just say-

Gene: Oh, no, that's plenty awkward.

Luciana: Everything I say will be awkward.

Gene: No, that's great. I appreciate that. I'm glad you're joining me today, Cafe Victoria, this is a coffee shop?

Luciana: It is. It is a neighborhood coffee shop. We're a small shop in the heart of Victory Park, which is a small neighborhood next to downtown Dall...