Staring a Business During a Crisis


Millions of jobs and small businesses are being threatened by the COVID-19 health crisis and the subsequent economic crisis it is causing.  Since we can’t predict the outcome on our economy, when things will return to some level of normalcy, the safe response is to hunker down and wait it out.

We don know one very important thing… Our country will get through this crisis. This will pass. Yet the pain so many business owners and employees are suffering right now is real and very scary.  My hope is that this short guide will help you find a path to survive the coming months and thrive on the other side.

History teaches us many lessons, if we but take the time to look and examine the past.  If ever we needed proof that now, during this crisis, is as good a time as ever to launch a business in one of those lessons. Take a look at these influential companies born out of economic recessions.
  • ·      Thomas Edison launched General Electric right as the nation was heading into the Panic of 1893, a period of 16 months where business activity dropped nearly 40% across the nation. 
  • ·      Nevertheless, the company persisted and went on to be one of the original 12 companies listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1896, where it remained for over a century.
  • ·      During the recession of 1937–1938, William Hewlett and David Packard decided to formulate a plan for their new electronics company, Hewlett-Packard. Still feeling the sting of the recession, the duo incorporated their business on January 1, 1939, and would go on to build one of the worldwide powerhouses in computers.
FedEx Founder Fred Smith launched the business right on the tail end of the Recession of 1969–1970. Yet he was able to overcome the challenge and would go on to pioneer industry and grow a business that in 2019 delivered over 6 million packages a day.

As the COVID-19 outbreak worsens across the US, the urgent need for medical gear has compelled the 3D printing industry to put their tools to work in entirely new ways.

Boston-based Formlabs is working to supply hospitals with 3D-printed COVID-19 test swabs. Formlabs has organized the deployment of nearly 1,000 printers to mass-produce the swabs quickly.

3D printing company Stratasys is mobilizing all of its resources to quickly produce thousands of disposable face shields. These will be provided to medical personnel for free.

HP is mobilizing to produce a variety of 3D-printed components for medical facilities across the globe. So far, the company has helped deliver more than 1,000 3D-printed parts to local hospitals.

Ford Motor Company is partnering with GE Healthcare to expand the production of ventilators and other critical equipment in the US. Ford also plans to assemble more than 100,000 face shields per week.

Volkswagen has formed a task force responsible for adapting its manufacturing facilities for the production of ventilators and medical gear. Part of that effort includes leveraging its more than 125 industrial 3D printers.
In the face of a global pandemic and a financial meltdown, founders are confronted with a new reality. There are three distinct but equally critical elements of how you manage a business, a new business start-up or re-launch a business during and after this crisis:

The first is managing losses.  This will be the most painful and challenging thing you do as a CEO because it involves people, but it’s often not so much about the what as it is the how. Your empathy and speed are key here.

The second is gaining ground. These are the ways you will reorient your focus, your tactics, and your team, so you come out ahead after a crisis.

The third is managing psychology. It is crucial you keep yourself, your team, and those around you healthy, sane, and productive.
A question arises as “work-at-home” becomes the new normal… How can a business owner/leader use this extended period of forced remote work to reshape the company for the better?

With such a sudden shift from cubicle to dining room table,  from offline to online, how can we keep our communities connected and engaged with the business mission? 

From online conferencing to intimate virtual networking experiences, there are five principles for any business, but especially startups scrambling to ramp up virtual community building efforts quickly.
  • ·      Don’t be afraid to swing for the fences.
  • ·      You’re growing a tree, not building a house.
  • ·      Focus on first principles instead of exporting your offline event strategy.
  • ·      Set dual goals to stay authentic.
  • ·      Measure, measure, measure.
Someone once said these words… “Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”

Don’t give up on your dream of launching a new business just because the world is in the midst of a pandemic. 

This crisis is revealing new and profound opportunities to seize new emerging markets, fill gaps in services, products and new ways of collaboration.

Just like "The Babe" --- Swing for the center field fence... Swing big... with everything you've got and keep on Swinging!


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