Despite the unpredictability that has accompanied this global crisis, it is not too late to implement changes to protect you, your employees, and your business. Here are some tips and strategies to help you navigate these challenges and the ones to come.

1. Participate In and Promote Social Distancing Practices. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that employers “explore establish[ing] policies and practices, such as flexible worksites (e.g., telecommuting) and flexible work hours (e.g., staggered shifts), to increase the physical distance among employees and between employees and others.” At the time of this writing, the President has discouraged gatherings of more than ten individuals. As an employer, creating a safe and healthy environment is critical for your company’s success. Thus, employers must work toward complying with the guidance provided by local and federal leaders. Be sure to maintain the cleanliness and sanitization of any facilities where your business operates. Failure to maintain safe environments could result in loss of the goodwill you have already established within your community.

No matter how rich or poor you or your parents are, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, you need to be asking these and several other questions. When your parents become incapacitated or die, their affairs will become your responsibility, and it will be impossible to ask them to clarify anything. So, if you do not know whether or not they have estate planning in place that will help you best support them, read on.

The Best-Case Scenario

In a best-case scenario, your parents have an updated estate plan, and they’ve walked you through it. They have provided an inventory of their assets that’s easy for you to find listing out everything they own, how it’s titled, and who it should go to and how. Ideally, it also includes directions on how to handle their non-monetary assets, and an audio recording or written stories that pass on their values, insights and experience. On top of all that, it’s best if they’ve introduced you to the lawyer who set it all up, so you know who to turn to when the time comes.

Business attorneys are equipped to assist you in handling a variety of tasks that can protect you from potential legal and business pitfalls, in addition to solving existing legal issues. As important as they are to your team, finding the right business attorney may be challenging if you do not know what to look for. Keeping in mind the following tips can help you find and choose the right business attorney.

1. Assess Your Needs. When you start looking for a business attorney, it is important to consider your specific legal needs. Attorneys experienced in certain niches may be better suited for the ongoing services your business requires. Consider the following types of legal assistance you may need:

However, the use of the word “unprecedented” regarding what’s happening now is not an exaggeration. And they may not understand it all or what they should do, not because they aren’t wise, but because the news has been confusing to interpret.

As of 4 pm on March 17th, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the United States was only 7,043 cases across the United States with 95 confirmed deaths from the virus. And this doesn’t sound like that many, or seem to warrant the kind of lock-in that we need in order to stop the spread. So, if your parents are seeing these numbers, they may not be taking the need to stay home seriously.

This video from Dave Asprey, founder of Bulletproof, makes the case quite clearly about why we need to stay home, even if we aren’t afraid of getting sick ourselves.

When we first became aware of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, there were several TV pundits and other authority figures saying that the virus was just another version of the flu. We’ve learned a lot more about the seriousness of COVID-19 in the past few days, and the current advice is for people to stay home, particularly for the next two weeks, in order to “flatten the curve” and slow the spread.

Often, business owners try to compensate for shortcomings in their business by bringing in more and more revenue. For many people, however, business closures and quarantines have seemingly eliminated that option.

At the moment, you may be running around like your hair's on fire, trying to find any possible way to bring in more money. You may feel like you are too busy trying to control the present to worry about the future. Take some comfort in the fact that you’re not alone in feeling this. Now more than ever, though, it’s important to remember our “LIFT” principle. Take a breath and consider your legal, insurance, financial, and tax situation, and whether the pillars of LIFT can help you get through this time.

If you need to talk with someone, to brainstorm options about how you can shift from your previous income model to one that will work virtually or in an innovative manner considering current conditions, reach out to us and schedule a call to see how we can help.

If revenue is not an issue, and you are ready to pivot, awesome—do it, and let us know how we can support.

Here are 3 things that you can do as you pivot to create the most stability for you and your team.