3 Lifelines for Businesses That Have Struggled During Covid-19

Helming a business is hard at the best of times, but the ongoing impact of the pandemic has brought many organizations to the brink and pushed plenty over the edge as well.

If you're still soldiering on in spite of the fallout of COVID-19, but you want to prosper rather than merely survive, here are a few lifelines you can use to help your business thrive in the future.

Relief and Economic Security Act and The Coronavirus Aid

There are many aspects of the CARES act, some of which you may already be aware of and have harnessed for yourself.

However, one of the more overlooked elements that can make a big difference for small businesses in particular is the Employee Retention Tax Credit, or ERTC.

Image Source: Pexels

What is the Employee Retention Tax Credit?

As the name suggests, the employee retention credit scheme was set up to encourage organizations to retain team members during the height of the pandemic, rather than letting them go.

SMBs can claim as much as 50 percent of employee wage payments throughout most of 2020. And the good news is that it's still possible to claim this retroactively, so even if you haven't done so to this point, there could be a huge cash injection coming your way so long as you're eligible.

Better still, the ERTC is tax-exempt itself and can be used to offset tax payments by employers, easing the pressure put on tax flow by the coronavirus crisis.

Rapid revenue recovery

Another one of the influential lifelines that businesses can consider in order to bounce back from the turbulent times they've just been through is a strategic one. Rethinking how you operate as an organization is better than doing things in the same old way and hoping that you'll still get results in this uncertain period of modern history.

Thinking and functioning more like a startup rather than an established company is one piece of advice that many experts have reinforced recently. Being proactive and bold, rather than cautious and timid, is better.

Embracing the shift to digital solutions and services is part of this, and will give you the resilience to withstand future disruption, rather than being struck down by any similarly sizable calamity which comes calling down the line.

Changing how you cater to customers, based on the new trends and expectations that they've become familiar with in a post-pandemic world, is also necessary if you want to recover revenue rapidly.

Accountability is also part of this; there needs to be an acceptance of responsibility at all levels of a business, from new hires to leaders.

Alternative sources of capital

Now more than ever, businesses need to consider where they gather outside investment. After the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, it might not be enough to rely on government tax credits to restore balance. You could be tempted to sell up to a third party, or hand over most of the control to an outside investor, to the detriment of your own position within the business.

There are alternative routes to take, of course. Crowdfunding is one good example, and can be used to fuel new projects that you aren't sure are worth the risk otherwise. Reconfiguring your business plan to take this into account will be necessary.

Wrapping up

There's no shame in having struggled during the pandemic, and indeed only a small minority of industries went unscathed or happened to benefit from this crisis.

It's equally important not to take hold of the lifelines available to you if you're in a tricky position. Short-term strife can be turned into long-term profitability in the blink of an eye.