Businesses Respond to COVID-19: Sharla Holladay, Best Beverage Equipment Service
/Response time is crucial during situations like this pandemic. Business owners will search for answers while trying to maintain the status quo of their business, keep morale up, and support their customers the best they can.
I’ve reached out to my industry contacts to see how they are coping and what they are doing to hold it all together during this time. My hope is that this will help business owners and managers alike to see what other people are doing to keep moving forward.
Sharla Holladay from Best Beverage Equipment Service was critical is motivating the CTG to act fast. Her initial article on how the handle this crisis was excellent. She has some great insight here.
Thanks for reading and feel free and contact me if you have questions.
Sharla Holladay, Best Beverage Equipment Service
Hylan Joseph: Have your service calls dropped since this pandemic began?
Sharla Holladay: Last week we ended the 2-week period down 19% from the previous 2 weeks.
HJ: How are you communicating with your staff concerning the loss of work?
SH: Video conference meetings, virtual happy hours and other cultural "together" mindsets we foster tend to glue us together pretty well. The employees are already listening and they care, so we have been at an advantage because we were already communicating – now we just say what we have happening and they listen.
HJ: Are you going to utilize any of the state and federal program offered?
SH: Yes, it would be silly not to. We don't know what the next few months hold, and we must use every advantage that we can to ensure healthy cash flow so that we can maintain the ability to care for our employees and their families.
HJ: Have you or your company participated in any community volunteer events or roundtables during this event. If so, what were they?
SH: Small business health is a soft spot for me. It's difficult to watch what is happening with small businesses right now. There is so much confusion and many rumors, and it's hard for business owners to understand what to do and when.
On top of the business pain, this is also a very painful personal time. The impact on families and individuals is very direct and personal, and every day is a new challenge. Some days I spend a good part of my day helping local businesses find lenders and fill out Paycheck Protection Program paperwork, other days I’m on calls with small businesses and individuals in various areas trying to mentally sort through the panic and find the facts and clear paths forward, and then some other days have been filled with group calls regarding supply chain solutions with manufacturers, importers, and vendors. Every day is different right now. And this is just what I'm doing – John is doing different, yet similar, things also.
HJ: How do you feel your local community has responded to this situation?
SH: It depends on your definition of “local community” – we are based in Arkansas but have employees across other states. Each community is different, yet somehow we are all similar. We want to be good and encourage social distancing, we want to protect our families, and we want to know that we will be OK.
HJ: How are your employees reacting? What creative measure are you using to assist them through this time?
SH: We have a strong-minded group of folks. My main message since the beginning has been: Stay safe and care for your family. Stay calm and turn off the news.
HJ: Do you think this event will alter our industry? If so how.
SH: I'm not sure how it will alter our industry specifically, but I believe that this event will alter the face of business forever.
HJ: What are your key takeaways so far What are the crucial lessons you will walk away with for the future?
SH: Cash on your balance sheet isn't such a bad thing, unlike what all those business management classes try to tell you.
HJ: Are you hiring during this time? If so, why?
SH: Yes, because we are an essential business. There are health care facilities needing functioning coffee brewers right now, and convenience stores needing to fuel the truckers that are hauling the toilet paper… This isn't the end of civilization, it's just a change to our normal way of living.