TOOLBOX
THE #1 COMMUNITY OF SUCCESSFUL CONTRACTORS
CCN
MAY 2020 FROM THE PRESIDENT
IN THE TOOLBOX
The art of slowing down and other timely advice BY SCOTT SIEGAL
L 3 Coronavirus and the
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) alert
What you need to know about this new act
4 Building tomorrow with a little help from the past Why "time-tested" matters when selecting materials
6 How to win at working from home
Tips and tricks for your success
8 Business as usual.
(During a pandemic.) How RGS Exteriors is getting it done
10 You’re outta here
How the progressive disciplinary process works
Scott Siegal, President CCN
ast month, after the COVID-19 outbreak, we kicked off our April issue by tackling the topic of the “unknown” and discussed the importance of preparedness in the event of an emergency. We discussed WHAT needs to be done in such situations as the one we’re facing now. This month, I’d like to discuss HOW we must be facing our current reality. When the world turns upside down, and everybody enters panic-mode, our natural instinct is to speed up. To get everything done as quickly as possible. When the pandemic hit our industry, the fuse was lit and companies were charging full steam ahead, some trying to apply for the Small Business Association (SBA) loan. It was a rush to get the applications. Then it was a scramble to find banks we could apply to. And once the loans were approved, word came down about an expiration date—funds had to be used within an 8-week period, in order to be forgiven. So, it was off to the races again, even without clear guidance from the SBA on loan forgiveness. Before panic-spending, and before rushing off to do anything else, maybe it’s time that we all just SLOW DOWN. Collect our thoughts. And re-examine the road ahead. Yes, we may only have 8 weeks to spend this loan, but don’t make any drastic moves until you know what we’re dealing with. Until we actually know what the loan guidelines stipulate. At this point, things are changing. Everything is very fluid and far from concrete. And we need to be fluid, too, and willing to adapt to the changes that could come every day. The end goal is to make informed decisions to help us keep all of our employees and survive the months to come.
A word about chess The current economic climate is a lot like playing chess. While we don’t know exactly what will happen next, we can anticipate what needs to be done, when certain moves/events happen. So, we don’t have the official rules yet from the government for the SBA loan and we need clarification. What can we do with the funds? What can’t we do? At CCN, we brought in CPA’s and attorneys to review the current language around the loan, but it all comes down to interpretation until we get definitive answers from the SBA. So, what’s our move? We have to do the best we can with the info we have. At first, I had been advising people not to get crazy with their money. At first, I thought it was clear—we need to spend on payroll costs, overhead, and then your business is good to have the loan forgiven. And continued on page 2
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