Summary:

COVID-19 has caused unprecedented business disruption over the past several years. Businesses had to implement essential health and safety protocols, shift to virtual, navigate changing regulations, and try to reach customers whose lives were equally upended. Everyone has struggled to find balance, and many businesses had to close their doors permanently. Though we hopefully won’t see another pandemic in our lifetimes, there’s a lot to learn from COVID-19.

Today we talk to two very different businesses who found ways to successfully navigate the pandemic. Wildwood Electronics, a women-owned contractor for NASA and the Department of Defense, was deemed an essential business and had to keep their employees safe while staying open. Phase Three Star, a fast-food franchisor with more than 80 restaurants, pivoted their whole service model to protect employees and keep serving customers. Both companies used similar grit and leadership to survive. Today, we dive into the decisions they made to keep their businesses afloat.

Lori Underwood is the vice president of Wildwood Electronics. She details the creative ways that Wildwood emphasized employee safety and security. Jack Kemp, CEO of Phase Three Star, is an Army veteran and graduate of Harvard Business School. He shares the relationships he leaned on the most, and how he stopped being reactive and started being proactive. They’re joined by their dedicated Cadence bankers, Robert Curtis, North Alabama market executive, and Dan Holland, executive vice president of restaurant banking, who guided them and many others through these difficult years. All of them stress the importance of listening and communicating—with employees, partners, vendors and customers.

COVID-19 also accelerated trends amongst these businesses and forced them to implement future solutions to solve current problems. We’ll hear from Lori and Jack about how much their companies have changed since 2020, and how they’re using strategies they’ve learned in the pandemic to achieve success out of it.

So, join us for this masterclass in crisis management to hear from people whose expertise was proven through the gauntlet of the past two years. That way, you’ll be prepared for the next crisis that hits your business, even if it isn’t on a global scale.

Highlights:

• How Jack & Lori dealt with pandemic uncertainty (9:07)
• Be decisive (10:17)
• Survival is a team effort (11:49)
• The importance of vendors who understand your business (15:05)
• PPP & using every resource at your disposal (16:09)
• Leveraging existing relationships (18:09)
• Communication is critical (19:43)
• Surviving is a win (24:35)
• The new normal (26:19)
• Robert and Dan on how companies have become more resilient (29:25)

Links:

• Cadence Bank Website
• Cadence Bank Twitter
• Cadence Bank LinkedIn
• Phase Three Star Website
• Jack Kemp LinkedIn
• Wildwood Electronics Website
• Lori Underwood LinkedIn
• Robert Curtis LinkedIn
• Dan Holland LinkedIn
• Cadence Bank PPP Page

Feedback:

If you have questions about the show or topics you'd like discussed in future episodes, email our producers, sheena.cochran@cadencebank.com or danielle.kernell@cadencebank.com