12 weeks. It has been almost 12 weeks of limbo where we rode the roller coaster of panic, awakenings, fear, boredom, over-indulgence, lethargy, overworking, etc. There are a million large and small decisions we have had to make for our business, employees, personal finances. From creating websites to how (and if) we are going to sell products on social media to how you are going to re-open when it is time. Yet, talking to many store owners, we are all a group of serious bad-asses. Check us out! We are hanging in, making huge decisions, and leading the way to the new normal.
Never has the national attention been in small business at the level it is now. Our absence is being felt so what are we going to do with this knowledge? What is our new normal during this pandemic and during our slow recovery? I have watched so many Webinars, videos, and articles I am over-informed on what COULD be next. Now it’s time to sort the information and decide what applies here.
At Coventry we are digging into answering a few questions for ourselves to define what our future will be:
What has changed forever (or for the foreseeable future)?
What are we making this shutdown mean for us? Is this neutral, an opportunity, a death knell?
What new information am I bringing into my future? What do I want to do over?
Every business I have talked to has their own variation on that answer. I encourage you to talk this out with your business colleagues; inspire each other, vent, cry, and find a way through. It is good for the soul.
A FEW RESOURCES:
Websites are the new black…..
If you don’t have a website yet or need a new one, I have a vendor who is offering free consultations on how to quickly and easily get your products online, or at already a base amount of products.
Woodward Movement (where we get our patches and stickers from) has expanded their branding expertise to include building websites for their customers. To get a free consultation from these amazing marketers, visit https://woodwardmovement.com/pages/ecommerce-scheudle.
Woodward Movement is a promotional marketing, eCommerce and Screen-Printing agency that can assist with all your branding needs. Client satisfaction is our #1 priority, so we work closely with you every step of the way.
Site examples:
InkAddict.com
Woodwardmovement.com
Landlords, rent and the void of business revenue
Lisa Berden, Linchpin Legal PLLC, www.linchpinlaw.com, 248-509-4498 sat down with me and gave me amazing wisdom and working with my landlords.
From Lisa - Every tenant should look at their lease before talking to the landlord as there is often a “force majeure” clause that allows for non-performance for things like acts of god, strikes, etc. If they are in your lease agreement, they usually carve out payment obligations, but sometimes they don’t. Always start with reading the contract!
Most of navigating through this issue is going to come down to common sense and relationships. Like small business owners, both parties are often thought of as rich. We know the reality for small biz owners. The reality for most landlords is that they are heavily leveraged...they owe banks for huge mortgages on their buildings. Landlords do not want a tenant to go under or otherwise leave the space-it costs more money to replace a tenant than to keep an existing one there. But they need their lender’s permission to do any rent modification.
All that is to say, know what is in your lease, when it expires, when you need to give notice on any renewal, etc. approach the landlord understanding that it is also under the same pressures all businesses are facing right now, but they also don’t want you to leave and know likely there is going to be a lot of additional space from businesses that don’t make it through putting downward pressure on rents and possibly creating vacancy situation like we had in 2009. So approach them with an “I want to stay, but...(if that is indeed true!)”
If you are close to renewal, it might be a good time to negotiate lower rent rate or other perks (for example, 3 month abatement of rent that they would likely provide to a brand new tenant)
If you need more landlord tenant insite, Lisa is available for a consult, or look for a business attorney in your state. It may save your business.
Hand sanitizer is now a commodity
A few customers asked if Coventry would make hand sanitizer. We decided that was not a good fit for us but found a list of places that are making and shipping hand sanitizers. By the way, Woodward Movement is one of them and they will brand it for you too
Look for local distilleries, many of them have switched over to making hand sanitizer and they are usually the best price around. Bulk Apothecary is also shipping now, as are other soap making suppliers
A quick google search got me a few more resources:
We got this – you got this. There is no script on how to do it, and that’s a good thing. That means the power to manifest is our hands!
Keep it Magic!
We have 104 candles, 56 oil blends, and 15 sprays, and wow that is a lot of magic to choose from. What is even a bigger task, is guiding you toward the best product for your situation. We know because we get asked all the time, which candle should I burn? Which oil or spray should I use and how do I use it? As much as we think our stuff is self-explanatory, we realize it is not.
We’re sure you’ve had the experience described below and so have your customers, so turn this into an opportunity for an event in your store. As you read through our girls night out experience below, picture yourself being the guide and your store is the perfect place for people to gather.
We all want to get the best candle for our money and we also want it to be a pleasant experience from first strike of the match to the last gasp of the flame. We want them to smell good just sitting there on the table, which is called the cold throw.