Planning for the future is one of the cornerstones of good business practice and success, yet the past year has made it clear that even the best laid plans can go awry.

2020 took us through some unchartered territory, with the powerful and damaging emergence of the pandemic in early spring, the lockdown phase and numerous restrictions which were imposed through the summer months, followed by some cautious optimism and a sense that some degree of normalcy might be on the horizon. That optimism has now given way to a renewed dread, with the virus making a formidable comeback, and setting records everywhere for infectious cases. When unanticipated factors, such as COVID-19 and a disruptive bear market, suddenly arise to dominate the environment, it can be difficult to respond to the uncertainty as a business owner.

In this new episode of our financial podcast series, our President & CEO Matt Evans along with one of our clients Terry Tanasiuk, President of Krawford Construction, discusses the challenges of navigating a pandemic from their own experiences, the lessons learned and how they are planning for the year ahead.

Terry Tanasiuk explains how he drew some lessons from the 1918 pandemic, which followed a similar pattern as the present pandemic. This called for taking on small, quickly-completed projects to keep employees busy, while waiting for a return to normalcy. Another approach the business owner adopted was to pivot their strategy by adapting the current situation. Using creativity, communication and flexibility has never been more important.

Matt Evans and Terry Tanasiuk also discuss the importance of having open communication with their team and clients. As they navigated the uncertainty of the environment, they learned the importance of persistence and consistency when leading a business amid a pandemic

CWB Wealth Management

Krawford Construction