We feel-good stories. And people are awesome.

Not only that, but giving back is a great way to stay connected – with family, with friends, with fans, with customers. Here are some great examples to inspire you.

The owner of a local strip mall slashed his tenants’ April rent in half. Other businesses are going even further: Landlord’s advice to tenants:  ‘pay employees’ instead of rent

On a grander scale, actor John Krasinski has launched his weekly SGN show on YouTube- It stands for “Some Good News”. This week, he brought the cast of Hamilton back together (virtually) to serenade a young fan who missed out due to the corona virus. 

Support small businesses!

Yesterday I bought a 5 lb bag of coffee from a local roaster (Pirate Coffee Company- for real!). They were thrilled, as was I! (please pardon any caffeine-induced typos…)

We’ve heard about many people buying gift cards from local small businesses (especially restaurants, salons, and other services) to use later. Restaurants and ad hoc community groups are providing meals for kids who depend on schools for breakfast and lunch.

Did you know that you can now take virtual tours of some of the most famous castles in Europe? Yes, please! And many museums and concert halls are making their art digitally available, for free. 

We can’t visit seniors, but we can check on our senior neighbors, kids are making cards, stores are making special shopping times just for seniors and other vulnerable groups.

At times like this, kindness and connection are key. What else can we be doing?

➤ Want another feel-good story? Why not?! Check out my post on The Power of Civility

For many SMBs, their greatest challenge is hiring and retaining quality employees.

For those that had to immediately close their business and lay off employees, they will be faced with this task when they open up again.

Hiring and retaining quality employees can be a significant challenge for SMBs. In fact, over one-third (36%) of small businesses with 10-25 employees claim that hiring and retention is one of their top 3 greatest business challenges. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many SMBs have recently been forced to lay off employees, particularly in retail and restaurant industries. Larger companies, such as Starbucks and Uber, have generously given their employees up to 30 days of wages to help during this period, while the SMBs haven’t had that advantage. With these employees being hourly, many may have found alternate positions in those industries that are currently booming, namely the larger chain grocery stores. When social distancing measures are lifted, competition for the best employees will be fierce, and SMBs will have to move quickly to capture the workers they desire.

Relief is available though, provided by the CARES Act recently passed. Ironically, this bill does require quick action and navigating through paperwork and applications, and SMB owners rate themselves only a 3.89 on a 5-point scale for being confident with their ability to handle legal business matters, which was the lowest confidence for a variety of talent required to run a SMB.

One of the aspects they appreciate about having a small business is enjoying having close relationships with each employee – they’re not just numbers on payroll. So these closings/lay-offs are more personal for them.

Most SMB owners/managers will tell you one of the greatest joys or rewards in small businesses is the ability really get to know each and every one of their employees on a personal level, which leads to strong, important relationships.

How they talk about these relationships:

“I know who my employees are, a little bit about who they are, what their motivations are, and what’s happening in their life… There’s a lot more connection – I don’t sit in an isolated office as a cog in a giant machine.” (small town manager)

“You can treat your employees like family. One of my favorite parts is that it’s not some huge corporation where people get lost. We know the day-to-days of everyone’s life. If someone’s mom or child is sick, we can always make sure like that can be the priority. We’re a team here, we’re a family here. If you’ve got some stuff going on on the side, we have your back. I have loved that part.” (realtor)

“You get to know people – you get to see them on a daily basis and get to interact on a closer basis on projects. You get to work close with people and get to know them well and it’s more rewarding to work in this type of setting.” (educational institute finance manager)

The COVID-19 pandemic may bring additional stress, concern, and anxiety for SMB owners as they worry about multiple aspects of their employees’ welfare – physical health, mental health, and financial status, and their ability to help is limited. All this while trying to keep their SMB afloat and keep their own family safe and healthy.

Many small businesses struggle with the seasonality of their business.

One gold/diamond shop owner told me there are days when not even one customer walks through his doors. CV closures are this on steroids, especially if they were about to head into busy season.

SMBs tend to feel the impact of seasonal sales harder than their larger counterparts because they are less diversified in their offerings.

“There are certain times of the year where we’re very busy … and other times we’re very slow. We’re not exactly seasonal, but there are certain times when we are very busy and certain times when we can go a couple of weeks and see almost nobody in the door.” (retail jeweler)

For this store owner, imagine if those couple of weeks turned into a couple of months!

For those businesses that were finishing up their slow season and anticipating their busy season in March through May, COVID-19 may be particularly financially devastating. Graduation party vendors, restaurants with outdoor seating, professional organizers/cleaning services are just a few business types that will be hit hard. In a typical year, they can plan for the downtime by budgeting, but when their busy season is unexpectedly and suddenly shut down, it may a fatal blow.

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If you are receiving this email it is because I consider you a friend or I greatly respect you and your work.

I feel as a nation we are facing two very dangerous curves that if not checked will create a crush with devastating long term consequences. The first we are addressing with #SocialDistancing.

This is helping us to not overwhelm our healthcare system, limit contagion and allow our healthcare workers to methodically help those in need.

The second curve, the one we are not addressing, is the current blow to our economic system and our own financial lives. Obviously, there are some businesses and industries that will have a difficult time no matter what. If you are in the travel industry or work in a restaurant or hospitality, you will have to wait for a recovery. However, in my colleagues’ clients, I am seeing a lot of people ceasing to do business out of fear or just holding to see “where this is going.” I am comparatively insulated from this, unlike many working Americans who are living completely check to check. I was raised in extreme abject poverty but also graduated from the London School of Economics, spending a full year studying the 1929 global economic crisis––the Great Depression.

Here is the issue. If we fall into the category of businesses that are “holding off” out of fear––the majority––I am exceedingly nervous about the domino effect we are setting up economically. If we all shut down––even though most of us offer products and services, remotely deliverable, that are still vitally needed by all––we shut down the economic system. If our economic system shuts down, the long term effects of this will have severe, even longer-lasting effects on our physical and mental health. Many will perish if there is a global economic crisis, as they did during The Great Depression. We cannot wait for our national governments or hope that a stimulus package will solve this.

We must do what we can, together, NOW. The economy is a human health issue.

This weekend David Paull, CEO of Engagious, posted across his social media his thoughts about turning the “economic curve.” The writer Michael Lewis did an interview on CNN echoing the same. If we want to take our lives into our own hands we need to make #DoBusiness relevant in the world as a message, share what is working, discourage paralysis created by fear, and ensure we all––as a collective––prevent an economic crush that could destroy lives. This is the most, yet relatively unexpressed, truth in the world right now. Obviously, supermarkets and toilet paper manufacturers do not need to be “holding” in their efforts to do business. Many of us are still offering vital products and services that we all need, but are holding out of fear. Let’s STOP holding and turn the curve, freezing the domino effect that comes from holding––by DOING EVEN MORE BUSINESS REMOTELY––for all of us who can. The world must go on, the world will go on and, as it does go on, commerce needs to go on––to save lives and prevent any more suffering. We need to work together––#DoBusiness––to stop the domino effect.

You can help by SPREADING #DoBusiness

1- POST the #DoBusiness graphics below (3 JPEGs attached) to your social media. Pin them to the top of your feed and make them your cover pages.

2- Post these once a day and then, with the below images, share content that expresses your thoughts in your field, in your life, and what you are doing to TURN THE ECONOMIC CURVE.

3- Make the sentiment of us continuing to provide each other the vital products and services we still all need––#DoBusiness––as popular a notion as #SocialDistancing so that we can all start addressing the second curve that is equally vital to our global physical and psychological well being.

Here are three assets for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn created by me and a local industrial designer.

PLEASE COPY/SAVE THEM AND POST URGENTLY REPETITIVELY AND EXHAUSTIVELY––AND PUSH OUT TO YOUR NETWORKS––ASKING THEM TO POST REPETITIVELY AND EXHAUSTIVELY.

To download: Right-Click > Save Image As…