Today we’re going to talk about the rumors of another possible forced shutdown on the heels of the second wave of Covid-19. Not a super happy topic but I’m here to talk about the silver lining, or just some tips to get through that if it does happen. There are definitely ways for your business to get through it and survive. It may sound a little cliche, but it rings so true for us; we want you to not only survive but thrive! We’ve seen many businesses thriving right now despite the ‘general state’ of things.
Go Find Money!
Yes, you should go find money during this time. PPP, SBA and EIDL loans are all something you likely have looked into already. If not, they’re all still open right now so you should go in and apply for those. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the government does come out with another package, particularly for restaurants and retail because they’re getting hit the most. We always keep our eyes open for this because many of our clients are in the hospitality industry. This is likely because of the chaos of the election in the last few months.
The SBA does have EIDL and Disaster Loans available, so go to SBA.gov and see what you can apply for. If you’re not sure if you need it, just apply for it anyway. You can always pay it back. If you don’t need it right away, put it aside in a high-interest bearing savings account and keep it there as a safeguard because we don’t know how long these loans are going to be available. They’re inexpensive, low interest, long term and so they’re easy on cash flow and well worth it.
The next thing I want to talk about in terms of funding is grants. I recommend going to your state’s website and googling grants in your county, in your state and in your town. There are many hospitality grants going on right now. In my state, Massachusetts, we have the MGCC (Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation). It’s a non-profit that’s been around for a while and is designed to help small businesses. The state of Massachusetts funded that over 50 million dollars this year to thrust some more money towards small businesses. There are many other states that are doing similar things.
Keywords that we suggest using are grants, low-interest loans, Covid loans and Covid-19 relief with your state added on as well. For more on loans, check out our blog on small business covid relief loans here.
Restaurants
TOAST
Another resource that I wanted to share is from Toast, a point of sale system that a lot of our clients use. They have a great blog that I love to read regularly. Here is a link to one of their posts that has a list of nationwide, on the line relief programs for restaurants and restaurant workers.
Adjusting your Restaurant Business Model for Covid-19
Moving on, I’d like to talk about what you can do in your business to make it through this time. Depending on your state and what stage of the ‘waves’ you’re in, you may actually have to shut your physical doors. However, you can still sell in a safe, socially distant way such as curbside takeout or delivery.
There is such a need for that. People are going to be trapped in their homes for any period of time at this point (I think we’re all kind of sick of it). BUT, we’re still going to all want something new and something to reward ourselves with, so there is a way to tap into that.
Going back to restaurants, there is a definite need to do takeout food. People stuck at home don’t necessarily want to cook, and from what we’re reading on what’s happening across the US, there are not a lot of restaurants doing it right.
Don’t be Fancy
If you put yourself in the place of a working mom or dad and think about what they’re going through every day, the only real treat that they can get for themselves might be a Friday (or any other day) night takeout. What they don’t want is to have what they used to have at your restaurant beautifully placed on a plate just scraped off into a takeout box. It’s not the same thing! We’ve seen some of the higher-end restaurants around here doing this and it just doesn’t work – you’re going to disappoint your customers if you do this.
I would completely adjust your menu to do family style or individual style take out. Do it in a way that your meal can travel easily, doesn’t look terrible in a takeout container (do NOT mush things together) and make it simple. It doesn’t need to be fancy.
That Little Extra Sumthin’
The other thing I’m going to add here is to take a little extra time and/or spend a few extra cents and add something special in there. It’ll go a long way right now. An example might be to add a little tic-tac-toe game printed on paper with a few little crayons so the family has something fun to do at the kitchen table. Or, bake some chocolate chip cookies, wrap up three to six in a bag with a little ribbon on it. It’ll feel like a gift and mean so much to your clients.
You have an opportunity for a big win here. You can create a menu that has high margins because it can be simplified and have less ingredients. This means you can save on labor while creating something that’s delicious, easy to reheat and travels well. With that extra little special something, you’re creating a better overall experience for your clients.