ApartmentData.com CEO Rudy Mui recently participated in “How Small Businesses Excel during COVID-19,” a presentation by the United States Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce (USPAACC). USPPAACC Director of Operations Janice Tu hosted the conversation and was joined by Saint Hung of Universal Processing and Usha Bodappu of Esolvit, Inc. The business leaders talked about ways their companies pivoted in response to the pandemic.
Tu said more than 100,000 small businesses have closed in the United States since March. Plus, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce survey from July 2020, about 58 percent of small-business owners are worried about permanently closing. Tu asked the panelists, who wear many hats as leaders of companies, communities, and families, to share thoughts and tips to help small businesses overcome today’s hurdles.
Mui said ApartmentData.com worried about customer cancelations in the early days of the pandemic, but more critically the team had concerns about their health and jobs which needed to be addressed first. The company used collaborative efforts and innovative solutions to remain strong. Mui sent employees to work from home with no intention to lay off or furlough anyone, which kept morale strong, and team members promised to do their jobs better than ever to keep clients.
Productivity skyrocketed. ApartmentData.com reached out to customers to explain how its products and services could be especially useful during this time, which enhanced customer retention. The company also continued to develop innovative products and services. For example, the team unveiled a new tool called Competition Radar Price Analyzer Plus, an upgrade of Competition Radar, which helps clients keep an eye on competitive changes in the marketplace, including prices which were dropping rapidly. In this way, the various teams showed exceptional creativity, and they even set a revenue record in June, after several months of revenue declines.
Mui advised business owners to be flexible, patient and creative, and he highlighted the critical need to foster teamwork within a company. He urged business owners not to give up, and he shared his hopes for a bright future.
“Although we couldn’t control the external situation,” Mui said, “We could control our reaction to it.”
During the talk, Bodappu discussed the need to cultivate long-term relationships and learn from everyone. Hung encouraged Asian-American business owners to rely on community values. Tu concluded by urging people to remember that we are all in this moment together.
See the full presentation here.
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