Dose of Optimism: A Letter to Independent Retailers + Restaurateurs

Dear beloved independent businesses,

COVID-19 is extremely challenging for your small business, especially the independent retailers and restaurateurs who are non-essential and provided the goods, services, and the opportunity to draw strangers, families and friends together. Oh, how I miss grabbing a cocktail at Service Bar on my walk home after a long day at the office. I miss the opportunity to check out the new furniture selections at Hudson and Crane. I miss the conversations with the waiters at Tryst.

 Despite this longing for interaction with my neighbors and neighborhood, I am excited for the future of brick and mortar retailing and how small businesses can position themselves to benefit from the traumatic experience. We recognize your current perils and aim to provide four doses of hope to keep fighting; to keep an eye on the opportunity that can present itself upon opening up shop again; to keep proving time and time again that your businesses are a viable part of the community.

 Some of the non-apparent opportunities during this crisis are:

Lean Supply Chains are King.

From the source materials manufacturers to warehouse operators, the retail supply chain is often full of too many players. Many brands rely on outdated supply chains, low costs, imported goods to help them meet consumer’s price sensitivities. However, many of your businesses utilize local goods from fellow small business owners to create and deliver the products and services, creating new employment opportunities.

What you can you do now?

Understand what products and services are currently or will be needed and ensure that you build relationships with firms offering those things locally. Consider calling your competitors and exploring joint purchasing opportunities to build in economies of scale to lower the cost of goods sold (COGs). Don’t fret, you still can figure out a way to do it better.

Delivery, E-commerce and Telecommunities. Oh, My.

In this crisis, sales opportunities require a modernization in business operations. Stores that solely relied on foot traffic must digitize, integrating their systems with delivery, e-commerce, and web-based communications platforms. The process to adopt these systems is not easy but provides an opportunity to reach customers in your immediate community and far away. Retailing through different sales channels (omni-channel retailing) enables small neighborhood businesses to compete with some of the national counterparts – just need the marketing budget to match.

What you can you do now?

While onboarding with software to enable sales, take an opportunity to refresh your digital image. Ensure you can be easily found, search engine optimization is key – although it is something I’m still trying to figure out. Grow an intimate relationship with your customers at this time. Consider pre-booking reservations and appointments or pre-selling items you’re designing during this time. Check out Skillshare for some tips.

Brace oneself for data galore.

Small business datasets will be huge, benefitting from tuned-in stakeholders who want to make data-informed decisions. Loan and grant providers and digital platforms are the players here. It’d be great if we could quickly get you all in one system to save you a little time. Florida has instituted a state-wide survey to keep track of its businesses – yet many do not systematically keep track of data for future use. Can someone please create an app for this?!

What can you do now?

Ask firms collecting your data to keep up with your business’s health over time. Determine if they can anonymize the data to share broadly with the hope of receiving newly deployed resources.

A Wealth of Support.

I’m happiest that the world is potentially more connected than ever. From loved ones to small business support organizations, the collective effort emerging out of this crisis is heartwarming. It must continue, as many businesses are reluctant to take on post-disaster debt; they are uncertain of the ability to recapture a lost customer base.

What you can do now?

Take a moment to recognize who is reaching out, log their information because once you reenter the market they will hopefully still be right by your side. They’ll keep you abreast of resources available, networks present, methods of communications, and most importantly, a source for sales.

In closing, I’m looking forward to seeing many businesses reopen once we define our new normal. We can create innovative solutions from the universal trauma we are experiencing. We can collectively say no to the status quo of letting independent businesses fail during disasters. We can get through this and send a toast across the world!

Cheers!