Opinion: This Crisis Will Test the Mettle of Every Business

‘Getting to the other side.’

That’s the mantra you’re hearing now. Or one of them, anyway. That and ‘flatten the curve.’

Business owners and managers across the region and across the country are talking about the ‘other side,’ that magical place when and where we can talk about the COVID-19 pandemic in the past tense.

It seems a long way away, and it probably is. It could be a few months. It could be several months. It could be 18 months, according to some sources. We have to hope it’s not that last number.

Whenever it is, the assignment is to get there, and it’s already becoming painfully evident that some won’t.

Those that will get there will have to call upon every bit of imagination, persistence, and resourcefulness they possess, because, as we’re already seeing with the restaurant sector and other aspects of the hospitality industry, the challenge is already significant and will only get worse with time.

Indeed, it was just a few weeks ago that people were talking about rescuing the White Hut in West Springfield. Now, the talk is of how to rescue not only every restaurant in the 413, but businesses in virtually every sector.

In this battle, resilience and resourcefulness will be the key attributes, and we can already look to the restaurant industry for some inspiration in those regards. Indeed, while most all of those businesses have had to lay off people, many are winding ways to keep people employed as long as possible while also looking for whatever revenue sources they can, including delivery, takeout, and even bringing the restaurant experience into one’s home — a concept still in the formative stages.

Meanwhile, restaurant owners are already exploring every form of relief possible, including state and federal assistance, SBA loans, and more — something many businesses will have to do. And they are collaborating on an effort called Strength in Numbers, which encourages area residents to support their favorite eateries by buying gift certificates now for use later, with a 20% incentive.

And we can also look to that sector for inspiration in other ways — everything from how area residents are, in fact, supporting those businesses, to their positive outlook at a time when their world has literally been turned upside down.

Indeed, we like what Peter Rosskothen has to say about all this. Perhaps no business owner in the region has been hit harder. His multi-faceted stable of businesses is grounded in hospitality, especially banquets, gatherings, and fine dining. At the moment, he can’t host a wedding, a meeting of the Holyoke Rotary Club, or BusinessWest’s Difference Makers banquet (yes, that was scheduled for tonight — March 19 — at the Log Cabin, but has been moved to Sept. 10).

Still, he’s finding ways to stay positive.

“The best we can do is utilize our smartness and fight through this as much as we can,” he told BusinessWest. “We’re a very resilient country; we’ll come out of this, and something good will come out of this — I’m convinced of that. We might be struggling a little bit, but something good will come out of this.”

We agree. Such optimism, by itself, isn’t going to get us to the other side, when we can finally, thankfully, look back on all this. But it certainly helps.