Who would have thought that in such a short period of time, Australia and the world would face a pandemic which has basically shut down the world economies and reset how we look at the future in all manner of living.

Firstly I must give a huge shout out and thank you to all our emergency and health workers in Australia. We have experienced an unprecedented period of time with bushfires and then COVID-19. Our essential workers have not missed a beat and our leaders across all levels of Government have shown what true leadership and bipartisanship is all about.

They say we are the “lucky country” but it is forged on all citizens trusting our leaders and working as one to overcome adversity, so congratulations to everyone!

The future is still very uncertain, however Australia has to date fared very well in comparison to other countries.

All levels of government, lenders and property owners have been very forthcoming with assistance to small business so I would hope you have all availed yourself of the accessible assistance. The measures announced were put in place to ensure small businesses would survive and come out stronger to face the new business and economic landscape.

Scott Morrison has set the scene for change to ensure we as a country come out both stronger and more agile. But as a business, how can we prepare and respond to this situation to ensure we achieve this strength and resilience?

Firstly, review where you are, map a plan for how you can move forward, and put the plan in place for the future. When doing this, you need to look at your business as a whole, and also look at your business drivers:

1. Systems and Processes
2. People
3. Customers and Markets
4. Products and Services
5. Risk
6. Your Business Value

All of these drivers have been affected by COVID-19, and how they operate will be different going forward.

It is a time for real improvement and we have shown we are agile and can pivot to ensure survival, so let’s harness this “can do” attitude in your business when doing your review and setting future plans.

At Power Tynan, we have performed this review and it has shown that it is not a set and forget plan, but constant monitoring and reassessing to ensure we and our customers get maximum benefit.

If you are not sure how to approach this, please do not hesitate to contact your adviser so we can guide you through this process.

Many people have suffered greatly over the past six months. Please be kind to one another, look out for your neighbours, employees and fellow workers to ensure they are coping. If you need to talk to someone, Power Tynan has an Employee Assistance Program that is currently available to our clients as well (details are below).

Until next time, keep well and stay safe.