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ASSOCIATIONINSIGHT Portable Sanitation Association International News BIWEEKLY EDITION AUGUST 5, 2020 Page 12 Continued on page 13 Economic Outlook, Part I: Navigating through Uncertainty…continued from page 6 » Residential construction will depend on market saturation, housing prices in your area and whether more workers will be at home. In general, residential construction was expected to go down in 2020-21. However, low interest rates and mobility due to remote working may increase building of new residences in some markets. For example, in areas where people often have vacation cabins or cottages, there is already a trend toward moving out of the city and living full time in vacation-type dwellings if remote work will likely continue. Others who know they will be working or schooling from home indefinitely may choose to find housing with better home office space. As long as interest rates remain low, employed people will likely stay mobile. Actions You Can Take Unless you are an infectious disease expert in your spare time, there is likely nothing you can do to change the forces that will impact the economy over the next two years. However, you don't have to sit by and watch these things damage your company. You can take control. Here are some things you can do right now to help you through until the fog clears and the sun comes out. 1. Adjust your daily operations for the long haul. Infectious disease experts from around the world have differences of opinion on many things related to COVID-19, but most agree it is not going away any time soon. Currently, the science is mixed about whether that is even possible without a vaccine. The best guess on when a vaccine will be widely available and safe enough for most people to take is sometime in 2022 or after. Think about how you will run your business in a socially-distanced world. Explore these questions with your team: » What does this mean for your ownership family? Your staff team? Your customer prospects? » What things have you put in place "temporarily" that need to be updated for a more permanent situation? Think about policies, contract conditions, employee accommodations, equipment and PPE modifications, and customer messaging. Assume that the "normal" you knew before March 2020 will never come back. » When COVID illnesses go up, they are more likely to affect your workers, directly or indirectly. The workers may be sick themselves and call in sick. They may have to take care of children because schools are closed, or they may just have to stay home due to quarantine requirements. This can dramatically affect your ability to put your trucks on the road every day. Have a plan. This is especially important as fall and the regular cold/flu season adds confusion and additional absenteeism to the mix. 2. Plan for your business using new assumptions. Maybe some distant day a semblance of the "old normal" will return, but that's too far away to contemplate. Therefore, you must adjust your business model to conditions that currently exist. What equipment do you need? What business options should you explore? Where are the new customers? Pay attention to prospects to adjust your business in light of the new restrictions and things happening in your market. Here are some opportunities and threats to consider. » The shift to online consumption will reduce the number and size of brick-and-mortar buildings. This could affect the number and type of construction jobs in your area. Figure out where the construction jobs will be and you are one step ahead of your competitors.