These are not normal times for much of anything. Virtually every business in the United States has been affected by the global pandemic. A handful of them are busier than they can possibly handle – businesses like hospitals, internet providers and delivery companies. The rest of them are trying to find ways to survive in the new reality; unfortunately, that’s where many painting contractors find themselves.
Here are three things you need to be doing to stay afloat during the next weeks or months.
Stay Informed
People are glued to the news right now. Unfortunately, you can’t do anything with most of the news out there. It’s just informational.
As a business owner, however, you need news you can use. American Painting Contractor has put together a page of resources specifically for painting contractors, however, and it’s full of things you can do. There are emergency plans, templates for emails you can send to customers, and information on Small Business loans for affected companies.
Stay Busy
Many people have frozen up in the past few days, paralyzed by shock and panic. The businesses who are going to come out of this doing well are the ones that are thinking (not worrying) and acting quickly.
Customers don’t want you in their house – so market exterior services. They don’t want to be close to non-family members – so offer to interact via phone. They’re worried about money – so, if you can afford it, offer payment plans.
These things alone aren’t likely to keep you busy for 40 hours a week – but crises create opportunities as well as threats. For businesses that are financially stable, it’s a great time to get their office painted without worrying about how the fumes will affect employee productivity. If you haven’t offered small and mid-size business services before, now might be the time to try.
And if there’s not enough painting work, the need for delivery services is beyond anything the world has ever seen. Whether it’s groceries, business-to-business courier services, or even transportation of medical tests to the diagnostic lab, there are opportunities for entrepreneurs to work right now.
Stay Ahead of the Curve
The world six months from now is not likely to look like the world did last month. Finding jobs will be harder. Finding employees will be easier. The government will be flooding the market with money, including businesses, but that money will likely come with strings attached; those who hire new employees will be rewarded.
If you’ve ever wanted to build something bigger than yourself and give back to your community, there may be an opportunity in a few months to do just that. If you want to help your community, and your country, rise from the ashes of a recession and come back stronger than before, this is the time to start planning for how you might do that. When the opportunity arises, you won’t be able to grab onto it if you haven’t built a strong business plan.
To learn how ProPainter Websites can help your painting business earn new customers, call us at 919-424-6121 or email us at Team_PPW@ProPainterWebsites.com.