Joseph LaForte is a hard-hitting, hard-working finance professional. As the Director of Sales at Par Funding, Joseph has worked to achieve unprecedented growth for the business, even through tumultuous market shifts and dynamic industry changes. Throughout his six-year tenure with the company, it has helped more than 15,000 small and mid-size businesses access the working capital they need to keep reaching their business goals.
LaForte’s goal throughout those years has been to help bring businesses to higher levels of financial stability and customer service through better financial management and prioritization. Not only has he helped struggling non-profits and companies become high-performing industry leaders, he has put an infrastructure in place that has allowed Par Funding to help support its current and future clients well beyond those initial investments. He has:
Joseph LaForte Helped introduce cutting-edge technology to help manage clients’ finances. This new technology is now used at the corporate level, enhancing the financial results of many of the firm’s clients.
Incorporated community assets to aid small businesses. Many communities have assets and opportunities available, but not all small business owners are aware of those opportunities. LaForte has worked to better understand the assets available within the community and provide access to them to Par Funding clients.
Expanded product offerings and opportunities at the company. Par Funding, under Laforte’s leadership, hasn’t just helped its clients produce more effective customer service. The company has also moved toward providing enhanced offerings to its own clients, including increased services that provide greater benefits to those clients.
Joseph LaForte has shown immense tenacity and determination that has helped the businesses he works with generate more than a billion dollars in sales and revenue. His efforts have earned him an exceptional reputation in the industry, both in terms of the companies he assists and in terms of other industry professionals. He doesn’t give up or back down—and he’s willing to take his skills and his efforts and use them to help, not only the businesses who employ his company, but others within the community who need his unique brand of guidance and support.
In addition to his professional efforts, a former switch-hitting catcher for the Seattle Mariners, has dedicated his time, skills, and energy to charity work. He aligns himself with several local charities and churches, including working with inner city kids who want to start businesses of their own and local business owners who need a little extra help to launch their businesses and achieve the success they’ve been hoping for. As an accomplished mentor and small business expert, LaForte has been able to help many young people and adults break out of financial ruts to ultimately achieve higher levels of financial stability—a move that has helped many of them achieve their dreams and go beyond the realm of what they previously thought possible. His community involvement not only speaks volumes about his character and commitment, it also showcases the full range of his skills.
Many entrepreneurs are eager for the day when they can open the doors of their businesses again. They want to bring in customers, interact with them, and return to the familiarity of the in-person sales model. Across the country, many cities are discussing dates and lifting restrictions. That means it’s time for your business to start developing a plan for reopening.
It’s safe to say that reopening will be a sunrise effect—a gradual process—rather than the abrupt transition of simply flipping on the lights. Businesses will slowly ease into a regular schedule while meeting the restrictions and requirements enforced by state and local governments.
Developing a Plan: Critical to Your Business’s Success
Before you reopen your business, you need a solid plan in place that will allow you to protect your customers and employees while maintaining as many of your normal operations as possible. Now is not the time to be perfect. Many people want perfection as they build their product or service—but right now, that’s not necessarily what your business needs. Instead, you need a solid plan that will keep you and your employees safe and get your business back open again.
Do Your Research
Make sure you’re familiar with local regulatory requirements before you plan to open your doors again. You don’t want to inadvertently miss local rules and regulations. Look for information about:
- When businesses in your industry can reopen
- Safety guidelines specific to your industry
- Capacity requirements for your business
You want your business to remain in line with the latest local rules and regulations, not be caught out by non-compliance—not to mention the fact that those regulations exist to help keep your employees and customers safe.
Expect Unknowns
There are plenty of unknowns out there. You may have more questions than answers at this point—but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t create a plan. Instead, aim for an agile, responsive plan that will enable you to restart and maintain operations even if a curveball gets thrown your way again.
Precautions to Consider
As you plan to reopen your business, make sure you’re carefully considering the precautions you need to take and the steps you’ll need to prepare your business in light of precautions. You may need to consider:
Sourcing temperature readers and face coverings. If you plan to check employees’ temperatures or require face coverings for either employees or customers, you will need a source for those items. Make sure you know where to find those items in adequate quantities.
Setting up your physical location. You may need items like markings on the floor or barriers between cashiers and customers. You may also need to consider how you can rearrange your business to accommodate social distancing measures, including leaving more space in the aisles.
Creating new sick leave policies. You may need new policies that will allow you to accommodate recommendations for employees to stay home when they are sick or have suspected exposure to someone with COVID-19.
Checking your stock of cleaning supplies. You may need more cleaning products than before—or you may need to change the products that you use in your business on a regular basis to adhere to current CDC guidelines. Make sure you have adequate quantities in stock before you reopen your doors so that you aren’t left scrambling to source them at the last minute.
Altering the products and services you offer to adhere to the latest recommendations. You may need to make temporary changes to the services you offer or to the products you have in-store to adhere to not only recommendations, but supply and demand. Some items will be in higher demand due to increased need, while others may sit on the shelves longer than normal. Create a plan that will allow you to adjust your inventory accordingly.
Communicating your plan. Many of your employees may be nervous about returning to work, especially if they fear that you will not take adequate precautions. Make sure you have a plan in place for communicating with those employees to reassure them. You will also need a plan to communicate the efforts your business is taking to your customers.
Everyone is adapting to new operating protocols in today’s still-challenging conditions. As requirements change and the scientific community learns more about the COVID-19 virus, you may need to alter your plans accordingly in order to keep your business functioning as efficiently as possible. By putting a plan in place, however, you can set your business up for success as reopening begins. Follow Joseph Laforte on twitter: https://twitter.com/joseph_laforte
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