Thread by @kurteichenwald

Historically, when confronted by a transformed economy, the best businesses - large & small - accept the change & adapt. The rest fail.

I have a friend who runs a small business. The COVID collapse destroyed revenue coming from her usual customers. Yet, her business thrives.../1

...how? Because she is a smart businesswoman. Quickly, rather than sinking more money into her standard operations - which she knew would be drained for possibly years - she looked around, thought of her customers, thought of their needs, and changed her business completely.../2

...that first change kept her afloat. But it wasn't enough. So, she thought about her customers' long-term needs, what the COVID mess would require for them. And she came up with idea number two. She reached out to suppliers sucking wind, and negotiated very good deals. Then.../3

...she reached out to her customers, let them know what she was doing, and the orders started coming in from folks saying "Omigod! That's exactly what we need!" Her business is flourishing.

Another person we know took the opposite tact. Refused to adapt, believed it would.../4

...go away in April, that it was all just a conspiracy to hurt Trump. People laid out idea after idea on how to keep in operation while this was going on. She refused. Heard today, she will likely lose her business. It's sad, but also - thats how capitalism works. Customers.../5

...arent just there for you. Your business is not a charity. You need to look at the world now & think, "Given what we do, given who are customers are, what do they *need* now? How do I serve *them* rather than expecting them to risk their lives to help me?"

Some answers.../6

...put simply, people are afraid of getting sick, they are afraid of hurting others. They want products, they want services, but they are not going to risk their lives.

Let's start with a big business - hell, it can even be just a group medical office for MDs who do elective../7

...procedures. What is *needed* out there right now?

Obviously, testing. But that is a government thing, and is beyond the capacity to be managed. So if not testing....assurance of safety.

When people stopped trusting used cars, the smart companies introduced "certified".../8

...used cars. The business of used cars took off cause it attacked the problem of lack of trust.

A big business needs to start two things - learn everything about best pracitces for safety & create both a procedure for safety system (with online testing) and training../9

...now, would you feel better going to a store that says "We, the store, are keeping people safe" or "We, the store, are certified in best practices for minimizing risk of disease spread and have adapted all of our procedures to meet the requirements of that certification.".../10

...every company, from small business to large, needs to vastly expand their online operations. SMART web designers would, for small businesses, do all work at cost with an ongoing contract for payment out of future revenue.

Massively increase deliveries - take employees.../11

...who did other work and make them into delivery. Pay them as close to the same amount as possible. Include a set tip which can be raised. And make sure they have best practices training.

Next - delivered product decontamination. Lots of folks are washing their groceries.../12

...its long, tedious, and we are all doing it without much advice for best practices from the government. You, the business - learn it. Learn best practices of everything - how to put on gloves, how to take them off, same with maskls (yes, there are specific ways to do that../13

...that prevent cross contamination. Let customers *see* the washer wash his hands (bring water/soap). *See* them put on a mask and fresh gloves. *See* the process of cleaning - packages, groceries, everything.

Would you pay for that? I damn sure would..../14

...you want people to eat in your restaurant? That's kind of demanding. You're not addressing the need. So tell people up front exactly how food is handled in the kitchen. Have the manager stop worrying about customers in the dining room - since you actually don't want any.../15

...the managers do three things and three things only: Learn best practices on disease risk mitigation, teach that to staff, and stand at every step of the process, watching to make sure that the staff follows those rules. Fire them if they don't. AND set up a webcam in the../16

...kitchen. Give customers, if they want, the opportunity to watch their food being prepared, packaged and set off for delivery. Let them *see* that you are abiding by best practices. And offer - at a fee - additional cleaning options at time of delivery...../17

...where do all these ideas come from? Not from me. From a couple of small business entrepreneurs I know who are reacting to this the same way as my friend whose business is thriving by going in a new direction. This couple of bizness guys are looking at the millions of..../18

...opportunities the new world has created for business. They are looking at the vast pool of people seeking work who are available. And they are saying "Let's brainstorm 100 ways we can make a lot of money in this new world." A lot of what I listed isn't stuff necessarily.../19

...for *them,* but their brainstorming has just come up with an array of spare ideas as they walk from customer-to need -to business response. One of them said, "Working hard while so many businesses are giving up is the greatest opportunity we've ever had."

Yes, the world.../20

...we lived in may never return . Just like the buggy whip companies couldn't adapt to the car, the businesses and companies that refuse to face the new realities deserve to die, because there are plenty of smart people eager, willing, & starting to profit from the new world.
fin