I do not work on a Friday.

But last Friday I had no choice. You see my brother-in-law who, fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on your view, is also a client of mine.

He called requiring some urgent work that my team could not deal with.

I could have said no. But that would mean upsetting the lady of the house i.e. My wife. And I do not mean break the China Tea Set unhappy. Oh no, we are talking Defcon 5 level. Star Wars and Death Star destruction level. Serious stuff.

So, I decided to get it out of the way early and arrived in the office at 7am. My team arrived at 9am and informed me that Madam Palaszczuk had just put us into lockdown for 3 days. I was, to be honest, a bit shocked. I was, like many of you, not expecting it.

Now three days is not a big deal. But listening to our leaders there was a more sinister note. If the current strain gets out in the community, we could be looking at a 30-day lockdown. That reminded me of Melbourne. They said something similar too and that ended up being many months.

I was now concerned. Not being a religious man, I considered praying to the Almighty.

Here’s why.

Queensland has been lucky. We have kept the furry virus at bay. This has allowed businesses to recover from the last extended lockdown. NSW & Victoria are similar.

But this experience has reminded us all that everything can change in an instant. Literally.

The federal Government is keen on ending JobKeeper in March. And to be honest I cannot see it coming back in the same form universally for the whole country. Yes, there will be help at a local level, but I do not expect that to be as generous. Think Coles own label Baked Beans instead of Heinz.

And I cannot see the virus going away in the next 12 months either. Yes, we have a vaccine but the roll out of that will take time. That means we are at risk of lockdowns at any time.

And that also means none of us are in control of our businesses. The outside environment is. Our State Governments are.

And although most of you are in business, your business income is now controlled not by you but by your Government because it determines your trading hours and can close you down instantly.

This creates uncertainty. Now if you sell toilet rolls or pasta you might be quite happy. But if you are dentist this is a problem. So too if you have a sit-down restaurant or supply goods to any business affected.

During the next 12 months I expect localised lockdowns like the last weekend to happen a lot more. Do not be surprised if we are put in 30-day lockdowns either. Get used to it. It is a matter of when, not if.

And 30 days is totally different to 3 days. It means losing large percentages of income you need to keep your business alive.

So, what can you do? Well, you can get angry and go to level Defcon 5. After breaking a few China Tea sets, you may feel like a whole new person. Or you can become clever.

• Think Outside the Box

Everyone thinks that all you need to do is go online. Err…. No not necessarily. Some things cannot go online such as surgery. It’s a bit hard to get your gardener to mow your loan online too. And during a lockdown some industries or businesses will not operate no matter what you do. Think of a party costume business. If there are no parties, it does not matter if your business is in a shopping centre or online. Same for my medical surgeons. If elective surgeries are cancelled, you will become an expert at watching Netflix.

If you have a business that will be affected by lockdowns, now is the time to start thinking about diversification. What else can you do or sell that makes you less vulnerable?

A gardener may not be able to look after a garden, but they could sell videos or a plan on how to look after a garden, so everything does not die. A surgeon can become a specialist witness for medical court cases or become an educator for those who are junior.

One needs to think outside the box.

• It’s about Passive Income.

I have said this before, and I will say it again. Those that rely solely on earnings are more stressed than those that do not. In other words, is most of your income or wealth tied to your labour? You work hours and you get paid. If it is, lockdowns can seriously affect your income.

If, however, your income is supplemented by other income such as net rent (rent received less costs), dividends and interest, then lockdowns will still affect you but not much because even if you are sitting at home mastering Netflix, some money is still coming through the door.

• Arrange for Other Forms of Finance

I always say a business should have enough resources to survive 3 months with not much income coming in. That does not mean you need 3 months of cash. It means you need access to 3 months of cash. It can be Lines of Credit, overdrafts, access to bank loan funds or even family loans.

I still remember Monday 23rd March 2020, the day the whole of Australia went into lockdown. In between frantic calls from clients and my team organising working from home, I wrote all funds my business had available on the back of an envelope (it’s true) to see if we would survive. We may have forgotten but that really is how scared everyone was back then.

The figure I had was enough for us to operate 6 months with zero income. I told my team not to worry, went home and had a good night’s sleep.

If I have learnt anything during this pandemic it is that yes, our government will look after us but there is a limit to what they can do. Having other forms of income or access to other forms of income is going to determine how well we sleep during the next 12 months.

If you would like more information on how to get a better night’s sleep, contact us on 07 3161 9548 or email hitesh@hiteshmohanlal.com.au