Author: Finola Annibella

Karen Susman (kdsus@aol.com, 720.545.7110) – offering a list of more than 20 ways to expand your network in Coronavirus times.   

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Peter Tedstrom (PeterT@TedstromWealth.com, 303.996.6514) – offering to help members and/or their friends/neighbors/relatives by providing them with a complimentary second opinion regarding their financial plan and investments.

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David Silverman (David@dsilvermanlaw.com, 303.858.9850) – offering to provide complimentary conversations regarding the new Federal CARES Act, Governor Polis’ and the CO Dept of Public Health and Environment’s concurrent Orders of March 26, 2020, and contract performance issues that have arisen in this environment.

The focus of the conversation is to raise awareness of opportunities to get money from the government under the new CARES Act and opportunities to potentially stay in business and even possibly expand your business based on analysis of the Governor’s Orders.

While David has presented this information in a Zoom conference format, he has also been having individual conversations which he has found to be more personal, flexible and beneficial. If there are a few of you that would like to meet together, he would also be glad to have smaller Zoom meetings or conference calls.  

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Dave Johnson (djohnson@c2solves.com, 303.409.6048) – offering 4 hours free consulting to anyone that asks. Here are two blogs that have a 70% open rate.

Here is a three-part process summary that we recommend getting through the current economic shutdown.

Step 1: Cash is King

• Contact your landlord and negotiate a 90-day rent delay. You may have to settle for a major reduction rather than 100% but you are in the driver’s seat. Many local governments have suspended eviction and foreclosure processes.
• If you have a bank line, draw it all down and keep the cash available in your accounts. Once you have the cash, you have leverage to deal with your banker.
• If you have leased equipment, contact the lessor to negotiate interest only payments for six months.
• Analyze your accounts receivable to determine who will pay and who won’t. Some of your customers will also ask for reduced payments so you be prepared to deal with them.
• Look at your sales pipeline to determine if anyone will still be buying. Offer deals where needed to get the order. The more pending sales, the stronger your future.
• Contact your venders to set up payment plans and be more flexible with those vendors that you need in the future. Conserve cash but don’t burn bridges.
• Put all this information into a 90-day, weekly cash forecast. We recommend having three scenarios: best case, likely case and worst case.

Step 2: Back to Basics

• Look at every aspect of your daily operations. Tie your expenses to a sales ticket or to a customer. If the expense does not have a direct link, question whether it can be postponed.
• From Step 1, look at your sales forecast and look for ways to offer deals to boost it. Look for possible new clients that would jump on a deal. If you can lower inventory, do so.
• Look at your staffing to who supports sales, product/service delivery, or support for those people. If a person is not directly involved in these areas, they go on furlough.
• For the remaining staff, defer 25% compensation for six months. Defer rather than reduce so they will feel respected and put in the extra effort needed for an understaffed company. Communicate, communicate and communicate. It is critical that employees know the survival plan which directly affects their survival plan!
• Communicate your COVID-19 plan to your landlord, banker, key customers and key suppliers. This tells them that you will be there to fulfill your obligations.

Step 3: Survive or Grow

• With the information gathered from the parts 1 & 2, determine what will be needed past the initial 90 days.
• Determine who your weakest competitors are and call on their customers. Their worry may move them to you since you have a plan.
• Work with your key suppliers on your growth plan to see if they will support you. If growth is not an option, work with them on an extended survival plan.
• Use your three scenarios from step 1 to develop alternative plans for survival and growth.

This is a follow up blog on our 3 Steps in Dealing with a Financial Pandemic published March 27, 2020.

Step 1: Cash Management

• The newly approved federal rescue programs are now being put in place. Contact your banker to get in the queue and complete the SBA application forms. Your banker will tell you which of the programs best suit you. Banks are restructuring their credit departments to handle the SBA application load.
• Under the new Federal programs, you may defer paying the employer portion of social security until after the end of the year and this saves 6.2 % of cash on every payroll. This is an interest free loan!
• You can refile previous tax returns for 2018 and 2019 to take advantage of the new rules on extra depreciation, increased limits on deductions and reduced quarterly estimated tax payments. You can get tax refunds or greatly reduce your taxes owed. Consult your tax preparer or tax CPA to determine what works for you.
• Increase your accounts receivable collections effort before your clients pay other vendors. The “iron fist in a velvet glove” gets action. Even progress payments help your cash flow.
• Get those special offers out to your clients and prospects. Offer discounts for down payments with the order.
• Contact your venders to set up payment plans and be flexible with those vendors that you need in the future. Conserve cash but don’t burn bridges.
• If you have completed the three scenarios: best case, likely case and worst case for 90 day and six-month outlooks, rework them with the possible cash savings mentioned above.

Step 2: Managing Daily Basics

• Examine every contract for ways to reduce costs, delay payments or cancel the contract. Consult your attorney to determine if a force majeure clause can be used to cancel the contract or force renegotiation.
• From Step 1, look at your sales forecast and look for orders more than 90 days out. Focus on offering a program to customers to move up the order delivery. This will offer more employees a chance to work, improve cash flow and reduce future risk of cancellation. Time degrades all deals.
• Discuss the Payroll Protection Program with your banker to determine if you are eligible for that federal assistance program to fund your payroll. The forgiveness portion brings new capital.
• Communicate your COVID-19 plan to your landlord, banker, key customers, key suppliers and employees. Make sure to communicate with furloughed employees as well. If you want them back when the economy improves, you must keep them in the loop.

Step 3: Survive or Grow

• Talk with your banker about existing loan covenants. Most loans have a fixed cost ratio covenant that will likely be broken when revenue declines rapidly. Find out if the bank will wave that for a short period.
• Work with your key suppliers on your growth plan to see if they will support you. If growth is not an option, work with them on an extended survival plan.
• If growth options are not there and your banking situation is weak, contact your attorney about a bankruptcy contingency plan. This can be used as a negotiation tool with suppliers and landlords.

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Topic:  An interactive members and guests meeting facilitated by our very own Dean Isaacs.  There will be no speaker this month allowing for plenty of time to get to know one another on a deeper level, which is what we, as an organization, are all about.  We’ll see you there!

Panel Presentation — DAB Past Presidents

Current president Mike Butler acted as emcee to a panel presentation of past DAB presidents. Those we celebrated were John Jordan…Anthony Lambatos…Tom McConnell…Peter Tedstrom…Gary Taylor.

The DAB was formed in 1986. At that time, it consisted of twelve men and one woman. The organization was called The Advisory Board and met at Lakewood CC.

Gary Taylor — joined in 1988 and was in the organization for 32 years. He served as president from 1994-2000. In his tenure, the organization hosted three education forums that served the community and raised funds to donate to local charities. Partnership with to the Senior Hub organization started in this time. In this period, the name of the organization was amended to The Denver Advisory Board.

Peter Tedstrom — joined in 1999 and continues as an active member today. Membership in 1999 dropped to six people! Dues were $2,000 per year. Ouch. There was no president for awhile until he was “volunteered” by another member. He served from about 2004 to 2008. Membership grew to 25 members as dues were cut significantly. Peter initiated more charitable programs, began the annual golf tournament, and formed a committees’ structure.

Tom McConnell — joined the DAB in about 2007. The membership was just under 30 people and strong. He became president in 2008 and served until 2014. Tom created the quarterly happy hours, an election process for the role of president, established membership goals and formed the first Strategic Planning Committee.

(According to the photos Mike shared, the stress of leading the organization for each of these fine gentleman caused them each to lose their hair!)

Anthony Lambatos — joined DAB in 2009 and immediately took over the chair of the Events Committee and created many fine events for the membership, including the annual Kickoff party. Anthony served as president in 2014-2016. Membership continued to grow to about 50, mostly because of the “loud” suits he liked to wear! During his tenure, the monthly meeting place of The Oxford Hotel bumped us in favor of an all-hotel event and Anthony scrambled to get The Aquarium to host the upcoming meeting. He subsequently led the change to our current and ongoing location at the Aquarium. Anthony initiated a president-elect process to help in the transition of leadership.

John Jordan — joined also in 2009 and took on the chair of the Programs Committee. Members enjoyed and learned from many excellent speakers, including Governor John Hickenlooper. After running against Anthony in 2013, John was elected president and served from 2017 to mid-2019. With his guidance, the DAB expanded member categories and he initiated a process to encourage committees’ chairs turnover to keep the BOD fresh and vibrant. John also started the Member Engagement Committee, and had the habit of clanking an iritating cowbell at the start of each monthly meeting.

Mike Butler — joined the DAB in 2012. Hanging quietly around and grasping (finally!) the finer aspects of the organization, he stepped up to lead the Events Committee in 2018. Mike became president in mid-2019 and in partnership with all the committee Chairs is beginning his initiative to “Rev It Up!” in 2020 and beyond. Mike expects to be the first re-elected three-term president (or until the Dallas Cowboys call him to be their new head coach).

– Doug Phelps

Topic:  2020 – An Early Look At a Tumultuous Political Year.  This will be an overview of the 2020 political landscape and of our political system even more broadly – presented with a non-partisan perspective and with time at the end for Q&A.

Eric Sondermann is a high-profile, Denver-based political commentator, writer, pundit, civic leader and consultant.

Having been a frequent columnist in the Denver Post for many years, Eric now writes a regular column for Colorado Politics, a publication of the Gazette. He is a regular panelist on the weekly “Colorado Inside Out” program on Colorado Public Television and co-hosts the “Colorado Decides” political debate series sponsored by CBS/Denver-Channel 4, Colorado Public Television, the Colorado Sun and KOA Radio.
He is regularly called upon as a go-to source of independent political insight by a laundry list of media outlets across the state and nation, and occasionally beyond our borders. He is respected for his candor, his independent thinking, and his ability to distinguish analysis from spin.
As a civic leader, Eric has chaired the Boards of the Colorado I Have a Dream Foundation, The Logan School, Roots Elementary and Catapult Leadership. He has also served as a Board member of Urban Peak, the Colorado League of Charter Schools, Colorado Public Radio, the Children’s Museum of Denver and the Colorado Symphony. He most recently joined the Board of Judaism Your Way.

Well over two decades ago, Eric founded the well-respected media and public affairs consulting firm, SE2. In 2014, he sold his interest to his long-time business partners to devote his next chapter to these pursuits in addition to some high-level strategic consulting on a handful of critical public policy issues.
Eric and his wife Tracy Dunning divide their time between Denver and a mountain retreat near Tabernash. They are the parents of two (mostly) grown children, Katrina and Clarke.