You gotta grow with it: Consumer habits are changing. Here's how small businesses can adapt too.

Welcome back to #FoodForThought, a newsletter serving up food for your brain — exploring news headlines, economic trends and workforce issues. Below, you’ll find insights from new small business LinkedIn Live show #TogetherInBusiness and a spotlight on mental health during the coronavirus pandemic. Hit subscribe above to be notified of future editions and share your thoughts in the comments.

Among the many concerns for small businesses in Australia right now is the viability of their business and retaining customers, according to research by QuickBooks Australia and YouGov.

Social distancing measures have prompted dramatic shifts in consumer values and behaviour reports market researcher Euromonitor International, leaving small business owners to shadow box a moving target — all while juggling cash flow worries (more on that here), balancing work and family and the stresses that come with navigating a global pandemic.

That's why we launched #TogetherInBusiness; a weekly LinkedIn Live show dedicated to talking about the issues that matter to Australia's small business community.

This week on #TogetherInBusiness, RedBalloon founder and Shark Tank investor Naomi Simson, Social Soup founder and CEO Sharyn Smith, and Shorties Bar & Dining owner Philip Jensen joined me to talk customer retention and business planning in the age of coronavirus. Together, we covered:

• Adapting to engaging with customers remotely and why businesses need to prioritise 'being helpful' over selling.
• How your pandemic pivot can be an opportunity to scale your business model post-crisis.
• Get strategic: How to ensure you're thinking smart and reactively.
• Why taking it one week at a time is as good a plan as any.

Watch: Together In Business in full above

Resources for your business:

• How Treasury is supporting small businesses.
• Income support for sole traders
• The Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman My Business Health portal.
• Information, grants and assistance state-by-state.
• COSBOA COVID-19 small business quick links.
• The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry's employer help guide.

Latest conversations

JobKeeper wage payments commenced roll out on Wednesday, with around 4.7 million Australian workers from 73,000 firms in line to receive the $1,500 fortnightly payments.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants most businesses up and running again by the end of July, with restrictions to be lifted in three stages.

Fast-food workers will forego penalty rates for the next three months in a deal to keep staff employed.

House-bound workers are turning to home improvements during isolation, prompting a 25% rise in spending on gardening, home renovations and office fit outs compared to last year. 

Flight Centre will refund customers who were charged $300 per person for a cancelled international flight, and $50 to cancel a domestic flight, avoiding a costly legal clash. 

Australia’s big businesses are expecting to ask office staff to work remotely for “at least half the week” throughout the remainder of 2020.

Spotlight on: Mental health

Workers across Australia are weathering the same storm but in different boats, with two different experiences emerging from LinkedIn’s #WorkforceConfidenceIndex, a fortnightly snapshot of how workers are feeling about their job security, financial situation and career in the long-term.

The latest #WorkforceConfidenceIndex polled 2,292 randomly selected LinkedIn members across Australia between April 1-7 and April 13-19 and found that overall confidence is slightly up (at +12 on a scale from -100 to +100) thanks to a clearer picture of job security. But the degree to which people are affected varies from industry to industry, and experience to experience. 

Pointing to a different hierarchy of needs, respondents with a low Workforce Confidence Index were more likely to list the following professional challenges:

• Job uncertainty (layoffs or inability to advance in a job)
• Job market (worries about lack of jobs or being able to change sectors)
• Finances (loss of income, bills, caring for dependants)
• Social and health impact (worry about age discrimination, fear of the unknown)

While respondents with a high Workforce Confidence Index were more likely to cite:

• Changing communication methods (feeling isolated, facing “meeting-heavy” days, staying productive when everyone is virtual)
• Working remotely (juggling home and work responsibilities, losing motivation)

Read more findings here: https://lnkd.in/eXtqvWS

Wellness: Creating a mentally healthy business

It comes as professionals warn of a “much deeper, longer curve” that needs to be flattened: mental health. 

In March, Lifeline answered almost 90,000 calls, an increase of 25% compared with a year earlier. BeyondBlue has reported a 40% rise in the number of people using their services, and the Federal Government has responded by announcing a $74 million mental health package to expand telehealth services and fund crisis hotlines.

Next week: Join LinkedIn Editors Australia on Thursday at 12pm AEST for a new edition of #TogetherInBusiness; a weekly LinkedIn Live show talking about the issues that matter to small business owners and their employees. 

Each week, we'll hear from business experts and answer your questions on topics like maintaining cash flow, building your brand and managing your team in a time of crisis. 

Next time: Mindstar CEO Aaron Williams, wellness specialist Bec Mitchell and Smiling Mind co-founder Jane Martino join me to talk wellness: creating a mentally healthy business.

We're taking your questions: Are you worried about your own mental health or that of those you work with? Perhaps you're struggling to separate home and work. Or need some tips for creating a productive environment.

Share your thoughts, queries and questions in the comments below and we'll get them answered in next week's show.

Watch #TogetherInBusiness live Thursday at 12pm AEST. Follow LinkedIn Editors Australia to receive a notification when we go live.

Something for you

In need a pick-me-up? Check out this picture of two newborn lambs from my Mum's smallholding in Hertfordshire, England. Spring has sprung in the northern hemisphere and lambing season has begun, which means I'll have plenty of baby animal pictures to share with you in the coming weeks.

• Feeling flat in iso? The eruption of hundreds of extra tiny decisions we need to make amid the Covid-19 pandemic is to blame. Here’s why.
• Even during a pandemic, you don't have to put your career transitions on hold. London Business School professor Herminia Ibarra shares these tips.
• Maintaining hope can serve as a powerful antidote to stress during hard times. Here are some ways to remain optimistic. 

Additional reporting by: Andrea Beattie, Andrew Murfett, Scott Olster, Capucine Yeomans, Cayla Dengate

(Photo credit: Getty Images)