Business During a Pandemic

COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, is the talk of the town. Literally. Within only a few weeks, coronavirus has shut down major travel, business, and trade. Even though the cleaning industry is considered “essential,” contractors are experiencing a loss of business, especially from commercial clients who cannot maintain contracts with no customers visiting their establishment. Here are a few tips for navigating the COVID-19 outbreak.

• Acknowledge the pandemic. People are scared. They are holding onto their money. The stock market and economy is struggling. In classes, I talk about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Chief among them is safety and security, food and shelter. People tend to cut spending, especially for what they consider to be “non-essential.” When they do spend, they want to know that you’re taking things seriously. One of the first things to do if you haven’t already is to establish a COVID-19 protocol statement. This is a short statement that outlines the steps you and your business are taking to fight the spread of COVID-19. This can include simple things like wiping down door handles, vehicle handles and steering wheels, and cleaning facility bathrooms on a regular basis, to notification if an employee or immediate family member is sick or being tested for coronavirus. The statement should be concise, well-rounded, and let people know that you’re taking the outbreak seriously.
• Offer sanitation services. While regular cleaning may have declined, the need and demand for sanitation services has skyrocketed. Now is the time to market the sanitizing qualities of sodium hypochlorite, as well as sanitizers like quaternary ammonium (quat). SH can be used to sanitize surfaces. Depending on what you’re sanitizing, using a neutralizing agent like Agent Halt is a good idea. Agent Halt neutralizes and removes bleach from a surface, and is a good step to add before rinsing the surface.
• We also recommend using a quaternary ammonium (quat) sanitizer where able. We recommend San-Q, a food-safe, EPA registered product that has been confirmed by the CDC as effective against coronavirus. San-Q is available in limited quantities from the Power Wash Store.
• Go after shopping carts, commercial bathrooms and entryways, and hospitals. They are in need of sanitation services and are likely looking to hire a contractor now.
• Apply for an SBA no-repayment loan. There are options to help small business owners who have been economically hurt by the pandemic. Sba.gov is offering “no-repayment” loans of up to $10,000 for small business owners as part of Economic Injury.

1. Go to sba.gov
2. Click on “Learn More” on the COVID-19 banner
3. Navigate down the page to the “Coronavirus Funding Options”
4. Follow the link and choose the EIDL Loan advance, or any other options that are relavent to you.

This outbreak is hurting everyone, but there are ways to help offset some of the loss. Stay busy, look for new opportunities with sanitation services, and stay safe.Agent Clean Solutions offers high-quality detergents, surfactants, and degreasers for use in the exterior cleaning industry. Originally developed to provide optimal products for Agent Clean franchise, A leader in the cleaning industry, Agent Clean Solutions provides a product lineup useful for day-to-day soft washing, power washing, and window cleaning operations, as well as business and systems training at events around the country.