You may sometimes wonder why your favorite restaurant has decided to temporarily shut down, or you are greeted by a sign that says “be back soon” on a clothing shop you often go to. It is actually quite common for businesses to temporarily close their offices or shops, for a number of reasons. One of which was when the COVID-19 pandemic forced a lot of businesses to either temporarily or permanently close their offices. Depending on each company, reopening may still be a good option but before they can do that it is essential to develop a business reopening plan that will make sure their business will be able to get back on track. This is because a lot of things must be considered before you can reopen your office or shop to the public. To learn more about this, let us discuss this further below. If you need to start planning, we’ve got a list of free business reopening plan samples that are downloadable on this page.

Business Reopening Plan

4+ Business Reopening Plan Samples

1. Safe Business Reopen Plan

safe business reopen plan

sandiegocounty.gov

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2. Reopening Your Small Business

reopening your small business

s3.amazonaws.com

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Size: 98 KB

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3. Business Reopening Return to Work Checklist

business reopening return to work checklist

legal.thomsonreuters.com

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4. Business Reopening Plan

business reopening plan

schoolsinsurancegroup.com

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5. Checklist for Developing a Reopening Plan

checklist for developing a reopening plan

halifaxnc.com

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What is a Business Reopening Plan?

When a company decides to temporarily close down its business, there may be a number of factors that may have compelled management to come to that decision. The most important reason is that the company could not risk losing more money. Or it could be because of personal reasons, which is common in small businesses. Needless to say, temporarily shutting down may give hope to clients that the business may reopen one day. If shutting down has been carefully thought about, then reopening needs to follow the same process. This is why it is important that owners develop a business reopening plan to help them get back on their feet. Even though you may think, it isn’t too hard since you’ve already got your clients who know about your business, but during those days of absences competitors may have already taken your client, or that newer trends have already taken over.

A business reopening plan allows management to review and revisit their business model, to check if your business will be able to adapt to the current changes and see if it is still viable to operate. With that, the company will be able to create necessary changes to ensure that they are able to successfully reopen. Anytime you reopen a business, it’s essential to rethink your communications and marketing to suit the current climate and showcase the changes your company has made.

How to Develop a Business Reopening Plan

Rather than going bankrupt or closing permanently, some business owners opt to temporarily shut down. This would give them time to go over their finances and reevaluate their business strategies and operations. Although it may also be a more feasible choice to consider closing for good and reopening when you’ve got a better market opportunity or the economy improves. Once a business suspends operations, it’s very difficult to bring it back to its former levels. This is why careful planning must be conducted. You cannot expect the same customers to come back to you, especially for a long period of absence. To help you develop an effective business reopening plan, here are several steps you can follow through.

I. Reevaluation

Reevaluating your current business model is important to help you identify if it is still feasible to use once you open back the business. During the closure period, a lot of things may have happened which may affect your business. So check and determine what changes need to be done to help you assess if you are able to keep up. What’s possible for your business depends on your industry, location, cash flow, and customer demand. You may need to adjust your business model or rewrite your business plan to satisfy customers and comply with new regulations.

II. Communicating Your Plans

If you still have employees who have not yet resigned, then communicate your plans for reopening. Advise them of their new schedules, new changes to be implemented, protocols, and how they are able to deal with customers. Aside from your employees, you also need to inform your clients about reopening soon. To do this, you can post on your website or other online platforms, via email, television, or radio advertisements. To get ready, it is important to be active until the day you finally reopen to keep customers updated.

III. Adapting a New Marketing Strategy

This is quite important for businesses that have been closed for a long time, so you need to adopt a new marketing approach to be able to capture back the market. Reassess your ads and marketing and adapt them to suit the current climate.

IV. Reviewing Finances

Your finances are what keep your business afloat, this is why there is a need to update your company’s financial plan. Make those necessary adjustments as you will also need to think about reopening costs.

V. Prepare to Readjust

Ever since you’ve closed your business a lot of things have probably happened in those months or years. This is why it is important that you’ve done your research; understood the current market, your competitors and customers; and develop new business strategies that are applicable to your current state. It may be quite a challenge at first, but if you are determined to get back up, then it is not possible.


FAQs

What is Bankruptcy?

Bankruptcy is the state where an individual or an organization is unable to repay its outstanding debts.

Why is a Business Model important?

A business model is essential for new and currently running businesses. This is where management would shape their concept, create a model for identifying products and services to sell, the market they want to target and also take into account anticipated expenses.

What is temporary lay-off?

A temporary lay-off is when management temporarily cuts an employee’s work without terminating or letting them resign. It may be required due to events at the institutional or employing unit level resulting in a temporary lack of funds or work.

Reopening a business can be quite difficult especially if you have been closed for a long time. It is important to prepare a business reopening plan so that your company will be able to adjust and prepare itself to accommodate the changes and capture back its customers.

 

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