All businesses need to navigate uncertainty, especially today during the global COVID-19 pandemic.  Family-owned, small and medium-sized businesses are faced with unique uncertainties.  Even if your business is an "essential" business, you are very likely being challenged to make financial ends meet, support your loyal employees and customers, and manage the stress and anxiety of not having an end date to the crisis.

When navigating these times, we recommend following three principles to put yourself in a position to not only survive but thrive:

1. Communicate core values: Communicate verbally and in writing your core values to all those in your circle of trust and domain of responsibility.  Not only does it provide comfort to you but also gives your closest allies an understanding of what is important to you. These values could include desire to maintain loyalty, persistence, innovation, discipline and empathy.
   
2. Tap into support:  Access all the support that is made available.  Starting with your family and loved ones, support can come from many sources.  Emotional support is just as important as financial support.  Federal government, state and local governments, trade unions, group purchasing organizations, and central banks offer different types of support to take advantage of.  (For a useful list of financial support programs in the USA, visit this Forbes resource.)
   
3. Maximize liquidity: Just as oxygen is the key to life, cash is key to keeping business running.  Do everything you can to satisfy #1 and #2 while also reviewing your cash inflows, cash outflows and future obligations and re-organize cash flow forecast to minimize outflows and obligations.  Doing this routinely (i.e., every few days) will help maintain cash needed to keep afloat during the worst period of the crisis.