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Don't get a 'virus' of the mind

By Marc Beauchamp I'm not suggesting we ignore reality; let's face the reality
Bankcard Life of the situation and see how we can intelligently and
rationally deal with it. So choose to focus on what you can
hat a difference a few months can make. control and don't get a "virus" of the mind. If you succumb
It seems like just yesterday the stock mar- to such a virus, it will stay with you much longer than the
ket was roaring higher, merchant volumes novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
W were rising and many ISOs were having a What you can do
killer start to the year. Now, as I pen this article, we are
facing business closures, merchants are struggling just to Here are five tips for managing the current crisis:
keep the doors open and the majority of the country is
under quarantine. I don't think any of us can say we've 1. Don't panic: This country has faced numerous chal-
seen or experienced anything like this – even the 2008 lenges, and we have always prevailed. Wars, plagues,
financial crisis, as scary as it was – didn't shut the entire floods, tornados, gas shortages, runaway inflation,
county down. health epidemics, financial crisis' and terrorist attacks
– just to mention several that I've experienced in my
Things are evolving at a rapid pace, by the time this lifetime. America always overcomes the challenges
article is published; the environment will have most likely we face. We adapt and we overcome. We have the
changed again, hopefully for the better. Like everyone most vibrant economic engine in the history of man-
else, I'm trying to figure out what this means for my kind, some of the greatest minds on the planet, a great
business interests and personal finances as well. The only healthcare system, a motivated workforce, committed
thing I know to be true is that I can control only what I can healthcare workers (my wife is one of them) and first
control. I cannot control the trajectory of a virus pandemic, responders to face this challenge. This too shall pass.
who is infected by the virus, government policy or when a Winters always yields to spring.
vaccine or treatment modality will be brought to market.
2. Preserve cash: We take oxygen for granted until
Control your reaction there isn't any available. For a business, the oxygen is
We've all heard it before, and we now have an opportunity cash flow. If the business lacks oxygen is will smother
to put it into practice: You can't control what happens to and die. Review your cash flow; assess your residual
you, but you can control how you react to it. I believe this stream, unpaid bonuses income, third-party revenue
to be true for me. I believe it, because I've experienced and accounts receivables.
the negative effects of not following this maxim in my
own life. Today I choose to focus on what I can do in the Evaluate your merchant portfolio and come up with
situation rather than thinking along the lines of: what an estimate of how your residuals might be impacted
happened to me, what they did to me or what a bad hand over the coming months. Project your cash flow based
I've been dealt. on outgoing expenses and incoming revenues. At this
point, you may have to make some hard decisions.

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