{"id":1151,"date":"2020-03-31T13:00:39","date_gmt":"2020-03-31T13:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/?p=1151"},"modified":"2025-07-01T17:20:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-01T17:20:22","slug":"to-blog-or-not-to-blog-blog-suspended-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/to-blog-or-not-to-blog-blog-suspended-for-now\/","title":{"rendered":"To blog or not to blog. Blog suspended . . . for now."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We published our first blog on August 4, 2010 and have continuously posted two new blogs per month since then (we did miss one publication date during recovery from knee replacement surgery, but apart from that, our string has been uninterrupted).\u00a0 It appears Covid-19 is about to end that streak.\u00a0 As we look at online news sources, radio and television news, newspapers and magazines, all the news (and we do mean all<\/em><\/span> of it) is about the virus.\u00a0 And rightly so.\u00a0 Unless you were around for the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, none of us has ever experienced anything like this.\u00a0 So as we approach our next publication date (March 1, 2020), it seems inappropriate to talk about the normal business issues we typically discuss here as though the Covid-19 virus wasn\u2019t happening and life was going on as usual.\u00a0 On the other hand, writing about the virus seems like a fool\u2019s errand . . . we have no insights, or knowledge, or wisdom that hasn\u2019t already been thoroughly explored by every media outlet on the planet.\u00a0 Therefore, we will suspend publication of this blog until such time as the virus comes under control and it seems reasonable to once again discuss normal business issues.\u00a0 However, we would like to offer a few thoughts and observations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To\nblog or not to blog.  Blog suspended . .\n. for now.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Don\u2019t\npanic.<\/strong>  Decisions made\nin a panic don\u2019t usually work out all that well.  So stay calm. \nExamine your options with a clear eye. \nWe got through the Great Depression, two world wars, 9\/11, and the Great\nRecession.  We\u2019ll find a way to get\nthrough this too.<\/li>
  2. Stay\nin touch.<\/strong> \nMaybe you\u2019ve had to lay off or furlough a portion of your workforce.  Maybe you\u2019ve had to lay off or furlough your\nentire workforce.  Maybe you\u2019ve asked all\nwho can to work from home.  Whatever the\ncase, you\u2019ve probably got people experiencing some level of separation\nanxiety.  They need to feel connected, to\nfeel like they know what\u2019s going on.  So\nprovide that connection.  You can do much\nof it via texts or emails, but at least some of it should be more personal.  If your organization is too big to make\npersonal phone calls practical, maybe you organize department-by-department\nconference calls.  People need to hear\nfrom their leader in his or her own words, and they need to be able to ask\nquestions and get answers.  They need\nhope that eventually they will have a job to go back to.<\/li>
  3. Take\nadvantage of government programs.<\/strong>  Both federal and state governments are doing\nwhat they can to provide safety nets for individuals.  These come in the form of extended\nunemployment benefits, forgiveness of mortgage interest, suspension of\nevictions, and suspension of student loan payments, to name a few.  Make sure your employees know what\u2019s\navailable to them.  Also make sure you\nknow what financial resources are available to your business, particularly through\nthe Small Business Administration. \nConsult with your banker and with your accountant to understand what\nhelp is available to your business and your employees.<\/li>
  4. Reach\nout<\/strong>.<\/strong> \nIf you belong to an industry trade association, find out if they are\norganizing conferences or seminars to help members deal with this crisis.  If you have friends or acquaintances who lead\na business similar to yours, they are undoubtedly facing the same problems that\nyou are.  Exchange ideas on how best to\naddress those common problems.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    For\nnow, you are in survival mode.  Your job\ntoday is to do those things you need to do to open the door and turn on the\nlights tomorrow.  At such point as the\nbusiness demonstrates it is stable (that is, it is at least minimally\nprofitable and has positive cash flow), you can start to think a bit longer\nterm.  But for now, your focus needs to\nbe on the here and now . . . on survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When\nbusinesses are allowed to reopen, and when people are no longer confined to their\nhomes, we will resume our regular twice monthly publishing schedule.  Until then, stay calm, stay focused, and stay\nhealthy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    We published our first blog on August 4, 2010 and have continuously posted two new blogs per month since then (we did miss one publication date during recovery from knee replacement surgery, but apart from that, our string has been uninterrupted).\u00a0 It appears Covid-19 is about to end that streak.\u00a0 As we look at online<\/p>\n

    Read More\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[36,127,26,22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1151"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1154,"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1151\/revisions\/1154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rocksolidbizdevelopment.com\/ourblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}