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Fauquier Times | www.fauquier.com | June 17, 2020
E-commerce and cash flow keys to small business recovery By John Hagarty
Times Contributing Writer
Christine Kriz, director of the Lord Fairfax Small Business Development Center, has never been busier. She and her part-time staff of four provide support to the region’s small businesses as they reintegrate into an economy laid low by COVID-19. Kriz’s turf covers eight regional counties, including Fauquier, and the City of Winchester. Her charter assists any firm with fewer than 100 employees and less than $50 million in annual revenue. In quieter times, the Lord Fairfax SBDC helped aspiring entrepreneurs start and run a business. Such assistance would include creating marketing plans, preparing loan applications, helping manage day-today operations, and even providing support for selling a company. Disciplines included accounting, human resources, marketing, operations, distribution and virtually any aspect of creating and running a company. Before the pandemic, Kriz’s team assisted about 420 clients a year. Today, she is on track to helping some 1,200 local firms recover and thrive from the impact of the national lockdown. While all of the previous support is still in place, two issues regularly surface from businesses struggling to find a path back to normalcy: e-commerce and cash flow. E-commerce is poised to play a
more significant role in the months and years ahead. Initially, many of her clients were eager to embrace a more substantial digital role to survive. Now their focus is shifting back to the conventional strategies, especially for retailers. “But we are still emphasizing e-commerce because there are people who prefer to buy that way. We don’t know if the economy will shut down again if a second virus wave hits later this year. Companies need to be prepared to sell both online and in person. “Among the many things we offer is free consulting, paid for by tax dollars, to help people meet with Google and other e-commerce experts. These are people who can help them get their websites up and running. We also offer free website evaluation, social media expertise, and overall online marketing strategies to drive people to those sites,” said Kriz. When the pandemic first hit, businesses were seeking her out for immediate assistance in building their e-commerce skills. Now that Phase 2 recovery is in place, many firms are shifting their focus back to former sales strategies. “We are preaching the message that ‘you cannot forget about your online presence. Don’t lose the momentum you’ve begun to establish.’” The advice she provides companies is to reach out to their customers and continuously ask them, “How
do you prefer buying from us?” She said there are a majority of buyers in the marketplace who still do not feel comfortable going out shopping. The second important issue is creating a cash flow plan. When Kriz encounters owners who eschew working with numbers, she urges them to have a bookkeeper do it or to meet with her. She can also point businesses to numerous free tools that are available to help achieve sound budgeting practices. “I can’t overemphasize how important it is for companies to know their numbers today and to know their cash flow,” emphasized Kriz. "In normal times, 80% of firms go out of business because of cash flow problems. We want people to make rational decisions, not emotional ones when it comes to their finances.” LFSMDC receives funding from the Small Business Administration, which is matched by at least 50% from local economic development groups. The funding is vital because federal funds will not be forthcoming unless local judications contribute too. “If there is anything positive that has come from the pandemic, it’s the response from our economic development partners. They have been fantastic,” said Kriz. Since March 17, Kriz and her team have been both telecommuting and meeting via Zoom with businesses in need. She operates out of three Fauquier Enterprise Centers located in
Flint Hill, Marshall and Warrenton.
The future
If the economic ship of state rights itself and the country begins to return to prosperity, how CHRISTINE KRIZ long will it take to see the good times return? Kriz said, “I follow a lot of top-level economists who are predicting it will take three years to make a complete comeback. “Seven percent of all jobs will not return. For small business owners who are doing well, it's because they are pivoting their businesses based on what their customers are telling them. An owner cannot rely on a ‘this is the way we’ve always done it,’ business model. “The key is communication with customers. Finding out what they want and how they want to buy. If you cannot adjust to the reality of these demands, you will not be around two years from now,” said Kriz. The Lord Fairfax Small Business Development Center website may be found at https://lfsbdc.org/. Firms can also sign up for a free no-obligation business consultation using its COVID-19 recovery website https://www.virginiasbdc.org/ recoveryresourcecenter/.
LFCC/U.S. 29 intersection to partially open to traffic June 23 The new grade-separated interchange at the intersection of U.S. 15/17/29 and Va. 880 (Lord Fairfax Road) — one of the busiest intersections along U.S. 29 in Fauquier County — will partially open to traffic on June 23. The ramp from southbound U.S. 15/17/29 to northbound U.S. 15/17/29 business toward Warrenton will open to traffic on June 22 in the afternoon. Most of the other ramps, the bridge and the two roundabouts will open on June 23; one ramp is not built yet and will require a detour. Mid-morning on June 23, weather permitting, traffic will begin to use the new interchange instead of the traffic signal to access Warrenton, Lord Fairfax Community College, the Warrenton landfill, nearby homes, businesses and U.S. 15/17/29. Motorists on northbound U.S. 15/17/29 will exit to Warrenton via the right lane instead of the left turn lanes at the traffic signal. Drivers will continue through the new roundabouts, over the bridge and into Warrenton. All existing turn lanes will be closed on June 23 and the traffic signal will be removed.
Temporary detour via Meetze Road
Once the interchange partially opens to traffic, crews will begin constructing the ramp from the roundabout on the west (Warrenton)
This illustration shows how the new intersection at Warrenton’s gateway will work.
To Warrenton
trol devices and open the interchange. Drivers are encouraged to follow the message boards and directional signs and to use caution while traffic adjusts to the new traffic pattern. Visit the project website for roundabout driving tips. Expect nighttime lane closures on U.S. 15/17/29 on June 23 and June 24 for removal of the traffic signal and overhead signs.
Project information
side of the project connecting to the acceleration ramp to southbound U.S. 15/17/29 toward Opal. While the ramp is under construction, motorists on the east (LFCC) side of the project intending to go south on U.S. 15/17/29 toward Opal will be temporarily detoured via northbound Va. 15/17/29 to Route 643 (Meetze Road), to southbound U.S. 15/17/29. The acceleration ramp from southbound U.S. 15/17/29 business, coming from Warrenton, to southbound U.S. 15/17/29, toward Opal, will reopen to traffic on June 23. Motorists on the west (Warrenton) side of the project can use this ramp via
the right lane to access southbound U.S. 15/17/29 and will not need to use the detour. The detour will be in place for about three months.
What motorists can expect on June 23
Message boards will be updated both prior to the interchange opening and again once the interchange is open to traffic. Motorists on U.S. 15/17/29 business and Va. 880 should expect brief traffic stops and congestion that will result in potentially major delays around mid-morning on June 23 while crews make final adjustments to traffic con-
Under a $19.6 million contract, design-build contractor Shirley Contracting Company, LLC of Lorton, with design services from Dewberry of Fairfax, has worked since February 2018 to design and construct the grade-separated interchange, utilizing two roundabouts connecting all points of travel. Until the project is complete -- by Nov. 25 -- motorists should watch for workers near the travel lanes while the remaining project tasks are completed. The shared use path and the new park and ride lot with 20 commuter parking spaces on Lord Fairfax Road are still under construction. More information about the project, including roundabout driving tips, can be found on the Virginia Department of Transportation’s website at www.virginiadot.org/ projects/culpeper/warrentoninterchange.asp.
