"Maesato the Manager Vol.2: What I Should Do Now"
What to do now
If retail stores continue to refrain from operating, sales will naturally drop to zero, meaning they will not make any money.
What managers need to do in times like these is to raise and pool funds.
If you have funds, you can continue to employ people and keep the company afloat even if you don't have sales.
And you can invest in preparation for when this situation ends.
Not only do we have to protect the status quo, but we also have to imagine the near future with our limited imagination. (It's painful...)
Of course, we also need to keep in mind that the world after the COVID-19 pandemic will not return to the way it was before the pandemic.
However, we must not be fooled by the media's "change, change" scam.
There are many things that "don't change."
A little realistic...
I can't really go into too much detail here (laughs).
If I were to consider applying for a loan program to combat the coronavirus, I think I would choose one of the three below.
・Shoko Chukin Bank
・Guarantee Association (via financial institution)
・Government-affiliated financial institutions
The most common type is a guarantee association, which is applied for through the financial institution that provides the loan, and as the name suggests, is an organization that acts as a guarantee for the borrower.
It might be easier to understand if you think of it as being like a "guarantor" for an individual.
And the guarantee rate is a whopping 100%! (Depending on the system, it may have been as low as 80%)
In other words, the risk to the financial institution providing the loan is zero! But the financial institution still receives interest from the borrower (lol)
Financial institutions have a great time these days, making profits with zero risk even though it's a commercial transaction!
(Of course, even though there is zero risk, the costs of administrative work are borne by the financial institution.)
This time, there is a system in place that allows borrowers to borrow money interest-free, but even in that case, the national or local government will pay the equivalent amount of interest to the financial institution.
Well, if financial institutions were to take on the risk, the speed at which the loans were executed would be reduced, and the goal is to execute the loans quickly.
Even if that's the case...I can understand why they would want you to use the guarantee association anyway!
However, it should not be misunderstood that there are benefits for the borrower as well when using a guarantee association. This is important!!
I went to a government financial institution.
I went to consult with government financial institutions quite early (in early April) after the decision was made to implement the COVID-19 loan program.
After receiving my ticket, I waited for 90 minutes, and the lobby was packed with people, making it feel very crowded.
I came here to fight the coronavirus, but I was surprised to find it so crowded...
I feel like this could be improved by making announcements or something, but perhaps they don't have the time to do that, or perhaps they have to focus on speeding up the turnover of people seeking advice.
I'm sure there must be some reason behind it. (Unfortunately, an employee at the Shibuya branch has been infected.)
I didn't want to stay in the lobby for long, so I timed the time until the next person was called, calculated the approximate wait time, and went outside.
With regards to this loan, each person in charge listened to me attentively, and all the preconceived notions I had up until now have completely flown away, Nihon XXXX Loan Corporation!
The person who consulted me had red eyes and looked exhausted, but he listened calmly and sympathetically to the selfish manager's story.
He said that he was holding on only out of a sense of mission, and that it was extremely difficult to be told to "get the loan tomorrow."
But it really is true that if you don't have the funds by tomorrow, it's all over, and that sense of crisis is something that people who haven't experienced it can't understand.
You might think, "It should have started earlier!", but for the people involved, it's a very tight deadline.
I want to hold on to hope (and not run away) until the very last moment.
So when they lose that, some people can't bear it. I don't feel like writing about this feeling of being on the edge in real life (lol).
Since I applied for this loan, I have received two phone calls from the person in charge.
Both times were between 8:30 and 9pm, which was previously unheard of (but of course it is).
He even bowed deeply on the phone.
They say in a tired, apologetic voice, "I'm sorry for getting back to you so late," "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting at a time like this," and "It was a busy time to carry out the project...I'm sorry."
I think he was probably thinking about the applicant's current situation, but I found myself repeatedly on the verge of saying, "Please don't apologize like that."
No matter how you look at it, I have no reason to complain to someone who is working so hard, so I just told them to express my gratitude and to take care of their health.
Feelings on the ground
Whether it's in the medical field, infrastructure-related work, or those involved in coronavirus countermeasures, people on the front lines are really working hard, and I would rather hear the voices of people on the front lines and their ``feelings on the ground'' than hear from ``sophisticated experts'' on TV who don't know what's going on on the ground.
Of course, the people on the ground are probably too busy to have time for that...
rival
As I mentioned briefly at the beginning, I actually applied for a loan from this government-affiliated financial institution when it was first established, and the person in charge at the time (a young woman who didn't seem to have much experience) had a very bad reputation.
Even though I had brought some documents with me, I kept asking, "What will you do if the results fall short?"
I was so curious that I started counting and found that I had been told "downgrade..." 24 times.
It seemed like he wasn't even trying to understand my explanation, and was just gauging the timing to say "downside..." No manager works hard to make a downside, and it's only natural to create a business plan with some degree of downside in mind.
I had heard rumors that this government-affiliated financial institution depends on the person in charge, but halfway through the interview I realized I'd drawn the wrong answer.
I was informed of the results of the audition over the phone while I was on a business trip to Taiwan, and to my surprise, I received a zero response! I was so shocked that I asked my boss to hand me over, but she replied, "The results won't change even if someone else does."
Later, when I met with my boss (who is a decent person), I brought up my sales results, which had improved a few months later, and naturally, he was shocked.
I feel sorry for her because she was sent to the field without any experience of what it's like to be in management, but I really feel sorry for the applicants she was put in charge of.
"There are big-headed people in most companies who only have knowledge, but they are always the ones with high pride, which is a real problem and really exhausting."
So that was just an added tale of how humiliating it can be at the beginning.
If you borrow it, you can return it someday
Some people say, "What if I can't pay back my debts?" I think that's not a bad way of thinking.
However, if you are unable to repay your debt at the current interest rate level, you will not be able to survive in the near future, whether you borrow or not.
I believe that a company's mission is to continue and protect employment, so I have no hesitation in securing cash.
To put it very simply, I think the important thing is to earn a return on your business that is higher than the interest rate.
For this reason, I think it would be better for managers to secure a certain amount of cash and focus on making profits, which is what they should be doing, rather than spending time every month trying to manage their finances to the limit.
Unless you have ample funds to start with, the pace of the world today is too fast for you to stabilize and grow your business with just the funds you have.
This is purely my personal opinion.
There is no name on the money
As expected, or perhaps it's only natural, it seems that this interest-free loan is being used for investments outside of the company's main business.
The purpose of the funds is specified, and there is no need to make estimates, carry out construction, make payments, or report after the fact, so it works well.
If there is no interest, you won't lose money unless the principal is lost, and at this time it is unlikely that you will incur a loss.
What should I do next time?