Can Your Business Survive?

Written by CMG News Contributor, Doug Carleton

“There is a growing sense that the recovery may come more slowly than we would like….” To read a comment like that by the chairman of the Federal Reserve made on April 13th says it all to describe the environment that small businesses will be living with well into 2021, and probably beyond. Then on “60 Minutes” Sunday he added that the US economy could take more than a year to recover from the coronavirus-induced shock. Another way to look at your business Once you have taken a serious look at your business and its projected cash flows, will you have enough cash to make it through December? Maybe it’s time to do a serious cost-benefit analysis. Is there enough of a benefit to justify the cost of pushing forward into a steadily worsening economy? Trees such as the short-leaf pine do not have thick bark that can withstand a wildfire and are commonly burned to the ground. Yet their strong roots below the ground quickly rebuild after the fire has passed. Entrepreneurs need to remember that they have a strong root system that they have built up over the years. They have knowledge and skills. Decision time? Before running out of cash in the belief that you can make it through the end of the year having no idea (any of us) what might happen to the economy in the short-term, might the benefit of “going dark” now in order to live to fight another day outweigh the cost of pushing on? How strong are your roots?

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This blog entry is from Doug Carleton's 'The Daily Life Of A Small Business Owner' series. Doug is a mentor with SCORE, Startup Virginia, and Lighthouse Labs, and has 25+ years of experience in small business finance including 12 years in SBA lending. To contact Doug directly, please email him at sbaloanspecialist@comcast.net.