Nearly everyone with a radio, TV, or internet connection in the U.S. has heard or seen the term “PPP” bantered around in the news. It seems to have slipped temporarily out of the news cycle, so here’s a quick refresher. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 , otherwise known as the CARES Act (I am amazed at the acronyms the guys in Washington come up with) is a $2 Trillion stimulus bill designed to minimize damage to the U.S. economy based on COVID-19 related shutdowns. Within the massive bill was a $349 Billion fund intended to provide loans to small businesses with the intent of guaranteeing eight weeks of payroll and other costs associated with remaining viable. This little sliver of the gigantic stimulus bill is referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program or PPP. How this applies to knowledge-based distributors All but the largest of distribution-based companies easily qualify for the program. Based on a weekly survey we developed for the As...

A news flash just revealed over 2.8 Billion people currently live under some form of travel restriction. Here in Iowa, we are not under the same stringent guidelines as New York or California, but most sensible folks are limiting their exposure to others. Working from home, not traveling unless necessary and certainly curtailing all social interactions. Call it what you may, but for the sake of discussion, let’s say we’re quarantined. The readers of this group are still working; most from home and all working diligently to keep business flowing. But, the logistics of working from home creates extra time. For instance, we have no commute, no need to dress for work (some of you may even be reading this while donned in purple sweatpants) and no errands tied to daily work routines. Since our social life is limited to the spousal unit and maybe kiddos, we’re not required to attend networking events, parties, coach soccer practice or wait in line at our favorite restaurants, we’ve go...

Words like Pandemic, Lock-down, Disrupter, Social Distancing, and Community Transmission wash over us like a tsunami in an ocean of hand sanitizer.   Whole countries are under lockdown.   Tradeshows and other events are going into cancel mode.   States are declaring health emergencies and closing all public gathering places and there are forecasts of even more stringent plans in development. Many of our customers are considering going into emergency mode.   Travel is curtailed, everyone who can do so is telecommuting and business is being conducted in non-traditional ways. As distributors I feel we have two options available to us: 1.       We can stand idly by and simply react to the situation.   2.       We can anticipate the situation, make some plans, and push forward. Anticipating the situation It might be safe to assume the following will accelerate: Increased number of...