This is Part III in a four-part series where we’re previewing the important business aspects that we’ll need to focus on in the year ahead. The goal is to help our citizens understand where our businesses are at, and let them know how we can help them thrive in 2021.

In Part I, we looked at the overwhelming issue affecting business recovery, namely, that COVID-19 is still with us in 2021. To summarize the conclusion: the quicker we get COVID-19 behind us, the better for business, as its prevalence affects, literally, every decision we make this year. In Part III last week, I laid out the four-point approach every organization is taking when deciding future programming. Looking back, it was a little wonky, but you will see below how it ties into the final point about planning.

This week, I want to do two things: describe how dual planning stresses our business owners (and how you can help them) and preview Part IV of our series looking at the difference you can make in public policy decisions.

Last week, we looked at the four-point approach to planning which was: Should it be done? Can it be done safely? What changes would need to be made? If those changes happen will the program still be worthwhile? Though we used the SMMC as the example last week, it’s important that you know, literally every business runs through this same approach. Take a restaurant, for example. When curbside delivery first became available early in COVID protocols, restaurants used the four-point approach to decide if they could succeed with it.

Some restaurants could make curbside work, while others couldn’t. Why the difference? Could be many factors, but employee availability, food costs, safety equipment, building ownership, and customer traffic are all key concerns. Customers were more likely to pick up a coffee or a pizza than a four-course meal, so your product selection mattered too. Yet, going through this approach, many restaurants figured out how to make it work.

Dual planning is now taking the four-point approach and utilizing it to create multiple plans for the exact same project. This is exhausting, but necessary, for businesses and it’s where a lot of stress builds for business owners. Let’s examine that using restaurants as an example again, and let’s consider how they’ll operate this summer.

Every business should have a ‘back to normal’ plan while also maintaining a COVID-considerate plan, or two. For restaurants that did curbside and outdoor dining last year, they’re ahead of the game as they have two plans already for summer: a back-to-normal plan or redoing what they did last year. However, they will likely build a third and fourth plan too. The third will be to improve on what they did last year to make it more efficient, and a fourth plan could be outlining how they would run with more restrictions should they come down. The restriction changes happen fast and they need to be prepared.

Now consider, the restaurants that struggled with outside dining or curbside, what does their COVID plan look like if back-to-normal isn’t possible? Will they be able to hold out? With more time to plan, can they come up with a way to make it work, or negotiate outdoor seating space, or get a loan for upgrades? Add to that, outdoor dining and curbside are only one issue- they also need plans for indoor dining, entertainment, catering large functions, and more.

Dual planning means each business owner has to be ready with 2-5 different scenarios for each aspect of their business, and each scenario has its own costs and communication. How do they keep employees informed? How do employees survive until then? How do owners pay rent or mortgage? Do they have the right space? Are they eligible for the loans needed or how else will they come up with income?

The stress of this is overwhelming for many. We need to give our business owners a break from having to make multiple plans for each project they want to do. How do we help?

Again, we find ourselves back at the original point from Part One of this series, which is: if businesses didn’t need to have 2-5 plans for each aspect of their business- if COVID wasn’t around anymore- it would be better for them, their employees, their vendors, their customers and our communities as a whole. Can you imagine how much easier it would be for them, without the uncertainty of COVID? Each time we ignore masking and social distancing guidelines we’re simply prolonging the effect of COVID-19 and making it harder for our business owners and their employees. It’s up to us.

Now to switch gears, completely, let’s preview next week.

Our economic recovery in 2021 will rely heavily on the legislative decisions that happen at the state and federal level. In order for our legislators to make the best decisions for us, they need to hear from us, as businesses, community members and engaged citizens.

We’re positioned nicely in the Midcoast to be heard. Our chamber has a great relationship with our state representatives and senators and they’re great about keeping us informed with what’s happening in Augusta. Federally, our two senators are key collaborators in the bipartisan efforts to find answers and our two representatives are also very vocal and engaged. All four have staff that our Chamber communicates with throughout the year.

What this means is, when you have questions, ideas or concerns, our chamber can help connect you with these legislators so they know your story when making these vital decisions. You can’t imagine how impactful that is. We’ll dive into this more next week on the key issues to watch, how to use your voice to be heard and I’ll have some numbers from a recent business survey so you’ll know what businesses need right now.

Cory King is the executive director of the Southern Midcoast Maine Chamber.