Brett Farmiloe , Score.com — August, 2020

INNOVATION
​Co-creation as the foundation of innovation is the ultimate ‘killer app’ in any company. Co-creation means collaborating and bringing different experiences, thoughts, and ideas to the table, each one valid for brainstorming to be effective. Diversity is the secret ingredient that enables co-creation to exist. It is embracing differences that fuel disruptive thinking, a different view of customer experience, a business process, and a new business venture.
-Kate King, Beni.fit

THE ABILITY TO ADAPT
​You can’t build an evolving organization without a diverse collection of people who can adapt to the changes in the workplace. That’s the benefit I find from diversity: the ability to adapt. Individuals can change when they want to and having diverse workgroups helps influence and accelerate positive change.
-Ryan Nouis, Executive Staffing Agency

RECRUITING IS MADE EASIER
​When a candidate steps into the office and looks around, they take note of the people working there. They naturally ask themselves a series of questions like “Do I see myself fitting in here?” The question becomes a lot easier to answer if there’s someone already at a desk that mirrors a candidate in some way. That could be gender, race, age or another attribute that helps ease those candidate concerns of “Will I be safe here? Can I be myself at work? Will I be able to connect with my coworkers?” A diverse set of employees helps attract the right candidates, and recruiting becomes just a little easier.
-Brett Farmiloe, Markitors

EMPLOYEE RETENTION
We are big believers in diversity. In October, we just celebrated our fifth annual Diversity & Inclusion career event and have an ongoing list of ideas to promote inclusion and workplace diversity. As the founder of the most respected workplace award program in the Southwest, we have seen that the biggest benefit of diversity is employee retention. You can sense it in surveys and you can see it in statistics. Plain and simple: the best companies prioritize diversity because they recognize employee retention positively impacts their bottom line.
-Denise Gredler, Best Companies Arizona

A TEAM CHARACTERIZED BY A COMPLEX SKILL SET
A diverse workgroup is more likely to be characterized by a complex skill set because people with different backgrounds bring along different experiences and lessons. Diversity in the workplace is essentially the glue that brings all the pieces together and makes magic happen.

When it comes to age, we found that all generational groups bring something valuable to the table also, making them irreplaceable. Specifically, Gen Z is the one who can understand programming the best, while Millennials have idea-generation abilities and are more creative. On the other hand, Gen X has greater complex problem-solving abilities while Baby Boomers are emotionally intelligent.

The fact that each demographic group is characterized by unique skills is proof that diversity is an asset that makes a team complete and organizations cannot afford to neglect it.
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–Stavros Triseliostis, CareerAddict

IMPROVES COMPANY REPUTATION
​Our experience is that working diligently to hire diverse employees from different backgrounds and walks of life, not only promotes productivity and creativity but also sets the standard for what kind of company you are. Actively seeking diverse employees can improve your company’s reputation and let people know that if they are searching for an accepting and diverse employer, you are it! People will begin to start seeking you out.
-John Yardley, Threads

THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
​As a husband and wife team, we have over 35 years of combined experience and 15 years of experience working together. We met in the courtroom when I was a defense attorney and Michelle was a prosecutor. Our collective diversity not only gives us perspective in terms of being male and female but it really brings a different level of emotional connection, empathy, and compassion for our clients.

My wife, Michelle, is an expert negotiator. I love taking cases to trial. Together, we have been able to successfully resolve thousands of cases and believe that we are going to get clients the best outcome possible because of our partnership.
-Court Will, Seattle Personal Injury Attorney

EXIT THE ECHO CHAMBER
​Diversity makes it harder to enter a self-reinforcing echo chamber. A wide spectrum of opinions gives us more data points to triangulate the best course of action.
-Lukas Ruebbelke, BrieBug

MIRROR THE POPULATION YOU’RE SERVING
​Recruiting for diversity has been, and remains, the number one source of my success in leading teams and delivering business results. The variety of ideas, the learning that comes from incorporating ideas and the ability to mirror the population you’re trying to serve are key. Diversity comes in all forms: background, ethnicity, religion, gender, generation and lifestyle. It’s hard, it’s fascinating and it’s the best thing I’ve ever done for my personal leadership growth. Even for the development of my kids, as many team meetings were at my home.
-Tracy L. Bullock, Sandler Training

AIDS IN UNDERSTANDING POTENTIAL CLIENTS
We have employees from a variety of different backgrounds and life experiences. While it makes us stronger as a company in general, it also makes us more appealing to potential clients. We have people who better understand certain communities and how to market to them. When they’re in charge of acquisitions for those communities, we see a much higher rate of conversion.
​–Dan Bailey, WikiLawn

Office of Governor, Phil Murphy — May, 2020

TRENTON – As part of the Administration’s coordinated response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Phil Murphy and Lieutenant Governor Sheila Oliver today announced the creation of the Small Landlord Emergency Grant Program. The program, administered by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, will provide emergency grant funding to small property owners for COVID-19 related decreases in rent revenue for a four-month period between April and July 2020.

Funded through the CARES Act, grant amounts will be generated based on the total amount of missed rental payments and the number of COVID-impacted rental units that serve low- and moderate-income tenants. Landlords who receive assistance will be required to pass along benefits to their tenants by forgiving back rent and late fees accumulated by COVID-19 impacted units.

“To emerge stronger from this crisis, we need to make direct investments in our hardest hit neighborhoods and communities,” said Governor Murphy. “Ensuring that responsible landlords can continue to maintain their properties and provide quality housing to our tenants is essential to our recovery. Through this program, we can also provide direct support to COVID-impacted renters by forgiving back-rent.”

“We know that many of New Jersey’s landlords are not companies or corporations. Rather, they are families and individuals. And like the families they rent to, they are struggling because they are often locked out of access to capital and federal resources,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Oliver, who serves at Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and Chair of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA) Board. “The number one priority of this program is to offer much-needed relief to small landlords, who will in turn pass along the benefits to their tenants who are also fighting to stay afloat in the midst of this ongoing public health and economic crisis.”

“No family should be without a home, especially in a national pandemic. Approximately 30% of all New Jersey renters and 27% of low- and moderate-income renters live in 3-10 unit buildings. We have designed this grant program to ensure that our most vulnerable renters and landlords get the help that they need,” said Charles A. Richman, Executive Director of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency. “At NJHMFA, our mission to ensure safe and equitable housing for every resident of New Jersey has never been more critical than during this crisis. These dollars will have the increased impact of securing financial sustainability for New Jersey’s families. HMFA is enormously proud to provide this assistance to landlords and tenants and thankful for Governor Murphy and Lt. Governor Oliver’s championing of this program.”

“No one should lose the roof over their head or their business because we failed to act during this crisis,” said Congressman Andy Kim. “I voted to pass the CARES Act because we needed bold action to help get our communities through this pandemic, and I’m proud to see programs like this being set up that will help our neighbors stay on their feet during these tough times.”

“This funding from the CARES Act will ensure that small landlords are able to maintain their livelihoods and support their families, and that tenants do not lose their homes during a pandemic,” said Congressman Tom Malinowski. “I will continue to fight in Congress to bring federal resources home to help struggling New Jerseyans get through this crisis.”

One-third of program funds will be reserved for applicants who are registered in DCA’s RIMS database as individual or family owners. Qualified applicants must meet the following specifications:

1. Owners with properties that have at least 3 but no more than 10 total housing units;
2. Owners with properties that are not seasonal or vacation rentals;
3. Properties must have current fire inspection certificates as of March 9, 2020;
4. Owners of properties with at least one non-vacant rental unit impacted by COVID-19 between April and July 2020; and
5. Owners with properties that have low- to moderate-income rent levels or rent based on up to 80% of the median area income.

Applications must be submitted between August 19th at 9:00 a.m. and August 26th at 1:00 p.m. to be considered.

Grant funding will be allocated on a case by case basis, based on the number of COVID-impacted units, and the amount of missed rent. Applicants must be the Primary Property Owner of a residential rental property in New Jersey and be registered with DCA’s Bureau of Housing Inspection as of July 17, 2020. Applicants can check here to see if their property is registered.

For more information on the Small Landlord Emergency Grant Program, visit www.njhousing.gov/rentals/sleg

​Nicole Fallon, Uschamber.com — July, 2020

Before the world even knew about coronavirus, financial experts predicted the next economic downturn would be coming in 2020. Now, several months into a global pandemic, those experts say the “COVID-19 Recession” is officially here, and it’s expected to be the worst one since World War II.

Most businesses felt the immediate financial impact when states issued stay-at-home orders and shut down many non-essential businesses. Despite nationwide phased reopenings, many entrepreneurs are preparing for – and worried about – the long-term effects of lost revenue and foot traffic due to public health concerns and mass unemployment.

While the post-COVID recession is poised to hit businesses hard, there are ways to make it through periods of widespread economic hardship. Below, experienced entrepreneurs share their best advice for creating a recession-proof business plan and adapting your business model to the current climate.

The pandemic has given small businesses a crash course in adaptability. Businesses that weren’t operating online or remotely suddenly found themselves making huge changes to their business model on the fly. This willingness to pivot quickly and be flexible with your previous plans is the key to surviving the current recession.

“You can’t be married to any specific strategy, product or service,” said Abhi Lokesh, CEO and co-founder of Fracture. “You’ve got to be willing to try everything you can, see what works and pivot accordingly.”

Lokesh, who launched Fracture at the height of the Great Recession in 2009, acknowledges that change can be uncomfortable and difficult, but entrepreneurs can’t let pride, stubbornness or tradition get in the way of survival.
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“It’s a matter of being incredibly detail-oriented and leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of being as financially stable as possible,” he told CO —.

Understanding and serving your customers’ needs is important at any time, but it’s especially important to empathize with their current struggles and changing purchasing behaviors right now.

Eli Diament, founder and director of Azurite Consulting, emphasized the importance of using primary research to better understand these changes. By collecting insights from consumers and suppliers in the form of focus groups, surveys and one-on-one interviews, your business will be better able to adapt to rapidly-changing needs and behaviors.
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“If done effectively, primary research will allow you to tap into the decision makers and users you want and need to hear from,” Diament added. “A well-designed and precisely targeted survey can collect these insights, far better than any panel, ‘gut feel’ or word-of-mouth.”

Keeping a close eye on expenses and cash flow can help you plan for your financial future and avoid overspending in certain areas of your business.

“Explore innovative way to make sales and slash cash spending,” said Lisa Vitale, business matchmaker at BarterPays!. “This is going to be a long, financially-lean road. Seek out alternate revenue streams to continue building your client base and allowing you to preserve your financial stability, even when existing customer sales are down.”

William Vanderveer, CEO of Redefine Healthcare, always recommends keeping six months’ worth of expenses in savings in case you don’t see the sales you’d hoped for. However, this isn’t always possible, especially for businesses that depleted their savings trying to stay afloat through COVID-19.

“For … business owners [who are] unable to preserve this amount of capital, I would recommend obtaining lines of credit representing similar cash requirements,” said Vanderveer.

To save even more money, David Foley, CEO of Unify Cosmos, advised business owners to shift more processes into the digital realm.

“Investments should be made to make the most out of the limited capital,” Foley said. “This is the time where businesses need to look towards an online platform to better serve their clients with the use of VR tours, video calls and complete reports that can be easily sent online.”

​Vendor expenses can add up quickly, and during a financial crisis, discussing concessions or negotiating new terms with vendors and suppliers can be extremely helpful to all parties involved.

“Many would like to retain your business after things calm down and will be willing to work with you,” said Vanderveer.

Lokesh recommended reviewing every vendor agreement and seeking flexible monthly contracts in place of long-term commitments.

“Negotiate payment terms to extend cash flow and runway,” said Lokesh. “Redefine what’s a ‘nice to have’ versus a ‘need to have’ for the business.”

Tyler Read, CEO of PTPioneer, said the best way to recession-proof your business plan is to diversify every element of your business, especially your income streams and the markets you serve.
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“If you provide just one service in one industry or have all of your money resting on the success of one product, there’s every likelihood that your business will fail when a recession hits and people stop spending money on that particular service or product,” Read said. “Put passive income streams in place and expand your offerings to serve a greater diversity of industries or people.”

Read also recommended diversifying your staff to bring diverse perspectives to the table.

“The more diversity you have in your company, the more creative and innovative ideas you’ll have access to when a crisis hits,” he added.

​Surviving the current economic downturn will be difficult for any business owner, but keep looking for opportunities, even when things feel bleak, said Vitale.

“Don’t stop marketing and advertising,” she said. “Businesses that continue to invest in themselves and advertise during recessions come back stronger and bounce back faster than those that [don’t].”

CO — aims to bring you inspiration from leading respected experts. However, before making any business decision, you should consult a professional who can advise you based on your individual situation.