Thinking when is this MCO going to end? Feeling lost in planning ahead for your business?
I need to feed my employees but how if I’m tight on cash flow?

First thing first, calm down your mind and analyse your business situation. Despite wondering when is this going to end, ask yourself what you can really do now?

1. Keep yourself protected & stay calm

You may think this is pointless when cash flow is the only thing bother you, but think twice, staying calm would help you to make healthier & wiser decisions. You are not alone in fighting the crisis, if you are emotionally unstable, find the right person to talk with and seek for help. Meanwhile, make sure you and your family is protected and practicing social distancing. Things will be okay if you plan it right.

2. Tap into government policy & resources for business

Keep a close eye on government policy and how you can benefit from it. The Malaysia government has announced a scheme to help SME to go through this tough period.

Refer: Wage Subsidy Programme Expansion by PERKESO
Company will be receiving as much as RM1,200 subsidy per employee if you fulfilled the criteria. Submit your application before 15 September 2020.

3. Lay down your 3-6 months financial plan

In order to combat this short-term challenge, small business owners should advocate for efforts to provide immediate liquidity and keep businesses solvent.

Harvard Business review by Catherine Monson
March 27, 2020

To make sure you have the ability to access to cash for the 3-6 months, you got to first make sure your production and resources is sufficient during this period. Being in the e-commerce industry, sellers have an advantage of still making good sales online and do not have brick and mortar cost.

Let me share with you some real-life cases. A famous peanut butter jam business was facing a hard time in their production during Covid-19 crisis, therefore they came out a plan to ask for pre-order from the customers or else they going to shut down the business soon and say bye to the peanut butter fans. Surprisingly, many new customers who don’t even like peanut butter jam still supporting them as a gesture in helping Malaysia’s business. You are able to turn a crisis into an opportunity if you know how to position your business well.

4. Maintaining your operation flow

Despite the good, you have to make sure your logistics partner is still operating and what is their business continuity plan (BCP) if the customer is in red zone area, or delivery to office addresses. If you are doing well in answering customer’s doubt, you will gain their trust and solve the problem.

Other than that, don’t forget your staff is your asset. Try to upskill them from what they have been doing good and consolidating resources to make a good teamwork. Many companies came out with a cost-saving plan to sustain the welfare of the staff in the long run but some big companies even trying to do the other way round, as this is a good time to show the shareholders that your company is financially strong enough to sustain.

Action has to be taken now, but staying healthy is all you need to do first.

We are with you, sellers!

References:
https://hbr.org/2020/03/what-small-businesses-need-to-survive-the-coronavirus-crisis
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/348365