Will the coronavirus change the way you plan your business going forward?

[Employer]

The vast majority of businesses in the UK will no doubt run on a month by month basis with very little in the way of reserves. Over the years we have seen some monumental economic challenges such as the 2008/9 US mortgage crisis, Brexit and now the coronavirus. Even those businesses which have historically held significant funds in reserve are unlikely to have anywhere near the liquidity they had in the past. However, do you think you will start putting aside a certain percentage of your income each month going forward as a kind of emergency fund?

 

[Needhelp]

I think we would be foolish not to at least adjust our business plans going forward as a consequence of the coronavirus. Personally, I think this type of highly infectious virus could well be a regular occurrence in years to come. I am not suggesting it will happen every year but every few years we will get different mutations but hopefully we will be better prepared. Remember, we have seen many different viruses over the years such as SARS, bird flu, etc and the only reason we have been "saved" is the fact they were not as highly infectious as the coronavirus.

 

[Ron@CFA]

The idea sounds good for those businesses that are still able to trade at pre virus levels, but what about the small business? I mean the small manufacturing companies that support the larger companies in the UK. If companies do not want to get into more debt, what about considering equity investors?