What it takes to run a business

Podcast

Before the crisis hit, in episode 18, Jay, Dana, and William talked about what they thought the next recession might mean for their business and the benefits of starting a business during a recession: “What I've learned is, when things go bad and I lose $300,000 and I take out a second mortgage on my house, no one comes into my office and says, ‘Hey, boss, can I give you some money?’” Plus: Some making tough decisions on employee compensation.

This week, in episode 17, Jay Goltz and Dana White talk about overcoming the fear of raising prices (during a pandemic!), deciding when is the time to tell employees they have to come back if they want their jobs, and finding opportunities amid the crisis disruption. But the focal point of the conversation is Dana White discussing her realization that she’s been more productive during the crisis, even with her hair salons shut down, than at any other time since she started her business seven years ago. “I have been emotionally drained for years,” she told us. “And because I've been emotionally drained, I have not grown my business.”

This week, in episode 16, Karen, Jay, and Laura talk about dealing with questions they’ve never faced before: Is it safe to fly again? What do you do if you run out of inventory and can’t get more? How do you entice employees back into the office who’ve either been happy working from home or happy collecting enhanced unemployment? Do you offer hazard pay? And if so, how and when will you stop? “We're trying to stay in business, for God's sake,” says Jay Goltz. “We will have been shut down for two and a half months. And there's a point where I'm the only one who's gonna be losing money in this deal. At the end of the day, [my employees] are getting extra money from the government for unemployment. They're getting hazard pay. Everybody at the end of the year is going to have a banner year for income. And I'm going to lose hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

This week, in episode 15, Jay, Dana, and Laura talk about the process of reopening—the precautions, the risks, the consumers who might not show up, the dilemma of asking employees to accept less in pay than they were getting in unemployment, and the possibility of a second coronavirus wave that could bring a second shutdown: “I don't have the luxury of just saying, ‘Oh, I'll tell you what. Maybe we'll open in six weeks, eight weeks.’ I mean, there's some point where I'll be out of business.” Plus: Dana got her PPP and an EIDL.