The Strength of Business + Community

By working together, towns and small businesses can overcome adversity and emerge stronger than ever.

By Liz Gray

Unexpected disruptions happen to businesses and communities. How quickly they recover from such events is based on how well they are prepared. That, at the core, is the definition of being resilient.

According to the Small Business Development Center’s (SBDC’s) June 2020 Business Resiliency Survey prepared by the University of New Hampshire’s Survey Center, the COVID-19 pandemic showed that four out of five businesses across New Hampshire were not properly prepared.

The good news for businesses and communities is that there were resources to get many of them through the worst of the pandemic.

The SBDC, which provides expert advising and education to small businesses free of charge, helped more than 7,000 small businesses access $44.3 million in new capital and increase their sales by $9.3 million in 2020.

Last year, SBDC business advisors helped their clients pivot to marketing in the new normal, focusing on cashflow and looking to e-commerce and partnerships. They also promoted recovery and resiliency webinars to encourage small businesses to develop a plan.

Owning a small business is challenging, which is only heightened during the stress of a pandemic. Consider clients such as Molly and Ben McCoy, owners of Wicked Flannel, a two-year-old business in Hampton selling quality, affordable comfort wear and accessories.

The McCoys, both 26, have a special relationship with the town after the community supported them both financially and emotionally following a horrific motorcycle accident five years ago. While their store was closed in the early stages of the pandemic in regulation with state mandates, the McCoys began working on building their online presence. They worked with their SBDC advisor to better manage their supply chain and refine their strategy to make sure they had the products they needed when they needed them.

“First and foremost, he was able to give us an expert’s view,” Molly says. “Where to go for help. How to access cashflow. He was so instrumental in that process.”

The success stories that have emerged from the pandemic’s economic challenges serve as an inspiration to businesses, new and old.

National Flight Simulator of Manchester has been operating since 2006, but owner Steve Cunningham said the aviation training center — the only one in New England approved by the insurance companies that require annual training for corporate pilots to maintain their licenses — was crippled when the industry experienced an unprecedented drop in air traffic worldwide.

“We had shut down. Everything came to a screeching halt,” Steve says.

With the help of the SBDC, Steve has been able to navigate the rough weather Covid-19 has brought and keep his business operating during a turbulent time for many small businesses, especially in the airline industry.

“It was lifesaving,” Steve says of the guidance provided by his business advisor. “We would have been out of business.” Now, Steve is ready to grow National Flight Simulator.

“We want to get this thing solid again post-COVID,” Steve says. “We want to upgrade our simulator, upgrade our technology. There’s room for expansion.”

Coworking House (CoHo), a shared office space in Milford, turned to their SBDC advisor to navigate the challenges of keeping operations going when many people worked remotely.

“From coaching our members through this pandemic to assisting us in filing for EIDL grants, helping brainstorm ways that the community might need to use CoHo now that the world looks very different – we appreciate the SBDC’s programs always, but especially during this time,” says CoHo owner Kristin Hardwick.

Every business, regardless of size, industry, or stage of growth, needs a resiliency plan, because at some point, it will face an unexpected disruption. It could be a fire, a flood, or in the case of 2020, a pandemic.

To ensure more small business owners are better prepared for the unexpected, the SBDC and the UNH Cooperative Extension are teaming up to bring New Hampshire its first ever Small Business & Community Resiliency Academy. The program launches this spring with two-hour academy sessions on April 7 & 21, May 5 & 19, and June 2.

Academy attendees will gain the tools and advising support they need to develop or update individualized resiliency plans. The plans are intended to provide guidance to a business’s team on how to function during an unexpected disruption in operations. Resiliency plans look at risks and threats, communications, emergency response, supply chain management, cybersecurity, and more.

“There is a natural connection between businesses and communities working together and learning from each other. No one is in this alone. Everyone should feel connected and know where to go for help. We need to get resiliency planning integrated into the mindset and culture of all businesses and communities to strengthen everyone’s ability to deal with unexpected challenges and turn economic recovery into economic growth and prosperity,” says Liz Gray, state director for NH SBDC.

For more information on putting together a sustainable plan to grow your business, go to nhsbdc.org, get paired with an advisor, and register for the Small Business & Community Resiliency Academy.

Liz Gray is state director at NH SBDC and leads a team of dedicated professionals that serve the Granite State in collaboration with federal, state and local government agencies, business sector partners and clients.