2020 Survival kit for Businesses

Which budgets are businesses most likely to cut because of the 2020 pandemic and its aftermaths? This international crisis impacted company spending in what felt like unprecedented ways. 

CEOs, Business Owners and Founders haven't dealt with comparable circumstances since the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. Hiring, Marketing & Advertising, Business Travel & Events, and New Investments were identified as the most likely budget cuts. Some Businesses cut up to 75% or even 99% depending on the costs type. 

So if the crisis has affected so many areas of business, how is it possible for you to thrive in this uncertain environment? 

We have clients in both Marketing and Advertising, Executive Search and B to C service related businesses which had to close their doors as of mid March. So we were very close to some of the strongest hit businesses in this first half year. 

We offered several ways to support our clients, and this is what saved their businesses from going bankrupt. What we did for all is go really deep into their cash flow forecast and adapt/correct the numbers to the actual situation.

Then, we supported some of them by pivoting their business models. We helped them create a whole new set of products adapted to the actual situation. Like going from one to one meetings to online course creation. Or instead of advertising for agencies, we helped them create a package for small businesses to modernize their websites. 

Then, for others where we knew cash was going to run out (Remember the cash flow forecast? That was our magic tool!) We helped them “put the business to sleep” and reduce all spending which would bring them in danger to almost zero. And prepare for the “wake up call” to be able to wake up the business as quickly as possible. 

For others which still had huge investments necessary to bring their products on the market and were still in pre commercialization phase of their products, we focused on maximizing what was there and bring some cash in by doing some small pivots to the business and use what they had to create as a support for other business ideas. 

Whatever the case, we focused on two things: the trust our clients had put in us to help them go through this crisis and our drive to make a difference in every business we touch. 

Because I strongly believe that clarity in numbers creates profitable businesses.

What is your biggest business challenge right now?

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Rebecca Troch is a Senior Business Strategy Consultant and loves a good cash-flow forecast. She is also the founder of Counting the Apples Consultancy and with her team, she helps business owners take control of their finances and make more profit. As a Senior cash flow wizard, she builds Financial & Management tools to understand & improve your business performance.