With at-home and limited travel restrictions that are in place across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, business owners are facing new challenges to keep their operations running smoothly. From remote working situations to daily video meetings and conference calls with staff and clients, the current work landscape is unfamiliar to many. One key trait of many successful entrepreneurs is the ability to be flexible and adapt to these types of situations. As a business owner who is also learning to work in this new business environment, I thought I would share some actions you can take to ensure that your company comes out just as strong, if not stronger when life returns to normal and regular business practices resume.
• Work your network
You have been going to trade shows, conferences and networking events for years and have built up a network of industry contacts and potential clients…what better time to contact them and see how you can work together and help refer to each other? Try reaching out to contacts with complementary skills to yours to see how you can help each other by referring business and possibly joining resources which may help deepen your current client relationships by allowing you to offer them services that may be out of the scope of your typical practice.
• Use social networking
If you are like most entrepreneurs and business owners, you have stacks of business cards, hundreds of contacts in LinkedIn (and additional invitations), and most likely a presence on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other places online. All of the shared connections on these sites are in a similar situation to you right now and are also trying to figure out how to connect and still develop new business in these awkward times. Use this time that you would normally be out shaking hands and handing out cards to strangers at a conference for connecting with people you already have met and schedule a video conference to get the next best thing to meeting them in person..
Use the extra time you have to your benefit
All of that time that was previously being spent traveling to local meetings, at the airport, flying to other cities, riding in Ubers, and even most daily commutes is now yours to use until business practices return to normal. This is a great opportunity to catch up on any continuing education that you are needing to complete for the year or to take some online courses and additional certifications that may help you become more skilled at your trade and will allow you to add additional services to your current selection.
Review your corporate tax structure and your overall financial picture
Reviewing your corporate tax structure will allow you to make sure that your business is set up in the best way to benefit you tax-wise and to make sure that you are not leaving any money on the table when completing your annual filings. This is also a great time to review your financials and your prior tax filings to make sure that you have taken advantage of all deductions available to you and to identify potential future financial opportunities and any tax credits that have recently been enacted that may offer benefits to your company. We are here for you if you need a resource to assist with this process.
Please remember, the information above contains general information and it may or may not apply to your particular situation. It is strongly advised that you contact MyCannabisAccountant or your own tax adviser if you have any questions related to our Coronavirus business advice, or any other tax issues related to your business.
