Vistage Webinar: Managing Your Business Through Crisis and Beyond

It's hard to believe...we are where we are... All your strategic plans that were nice and shiny...are now on the shelf as we try to understand and rationalize exactly what the coronavirus crisis is and what it means to our businesses.

- Joe Galvin, Vistage's Chief Research Officer

So begins this spotlight webinar as part of a larger Vistage outreach to equip business owners with tools and resources during this unprecedented situation.

In the webinar, Joe Galvin reveals the recent Vistage CEO Confidence Survey results that show how hundreds of CEOs report being immediately impacted by COVID-19. He then introduces Balentine CEO Adrian Cronje, Ph.D., CFA, to share the insights and lessons that we advise our business owner clients to implement, just as we've done ourselves.

Adrian's key message pivots off of the presentation that earned him a Top New Speaker of the Year¹ recognition with Vistage, about understanding market signals ahead of a recession, and dives deeper into four key focuses:

1. Build Resiliency. Increase the resiliency of your business model to manage through the crisis.
2. Apply Best Practices. Apply lessons from the Great Financial Crisis (GFC) to 2020’s Coronavirus Crash.
3. Accept Aid. Take advantage of the significant government assistance available to businesses through the CARES Act.
4. Be Strategic. Position your business for a world after the immediate crisis subsides.

If you are a business owner, you are likely concerned, and probably bearing the weight of tremendous responsibility and stewardship for your clients, colleagues, and family. After enjoying bumper growth and profitability last year, many businesses have suddenly been plunged into crisis. We understand that.

Balentine has a unique vantage point during this unprecedented period. For over three decades, we have advised business owners and served their wealth management needs. We understand that the health and outlook of a business are central to providing a holistic investment strategy in pursuit of achieving families’ goals. We are also an independently owned firm and understand the unique emotions, challenges, and opportunities of managing a business through a crisis.

Crises bring both clarity and opportunity. They test the resiliency and adaptability of your business and people to manage through a sudden period of stress. For those businesses able to bend and not break, they present a golden opportunity to accelerate “skating to where the puck is going,” as legendary hockey player Wayne Gretzky famously said. In other words, they highlight how you can update your strategic plan to capitalize on a changed post-crisis world, putting your business on a trajectory for even more significant growth and profitability.

As Adrian explains, while today’s healthcare pandemic is tragically inflicting human suffering on a staggering scale, business owners should not overlook the opportunity to make decisive changes to their businesses that they otherwise may have deferred or avoided during good times.

¹ Vistage Top New Speaker of the Year criteria:

• Fewer than 2 years as a Vistage speaker
• At least 10 and no more than 50 presentations total
• Minimum average annual score of 4.7 in each: content, delivery, and real-world applicability
• 95% or better member recommendation

Much uncertainty exists right now around the coronavirus and the ripple effects of this pandemic. We will continue to assess new data and provide timely information and insight around current market volatility and economic impact. Visit the dedicated resource page on our website for a consolidation of the market updates, insights, and resources we encourage investors to read: Latest Market Updates Amid the Coronavirus.