Have you secured your rental information against a natural or man-made disaster? You are likely not asking yourself this question on a daily basis, but it is important not to neglect this key area of business. Case in point: The wildfires raging across the West Coast threatening homes and businesses.

While the first concern regarding such natural disasters is the resulting property and financial damage, business owners also have to worry about their rental information. Since you cannot predict when calamity might strike, it is better to think ahead and always be prepared. For example, what happens if you lose all your rental information in a fire? It is going to be hard for you to get your company up and running again after such a loss.

In March of this year, over 500 trade shows were canceled globally, according to news accounts. Eight seven percent of audiovisual (AV) solution providers and 83 percent of AV end-users said their companies were negatively impacted by the pandemic, according to a survey conducted in the same month.

The same company reported data in June that the industry impact appeared to be lessening slightly, and attributed it to slowly opening economics and projects. While the impact of the pandemic may be lessening, it is important for AV rental companies to adapt to the “new normal”.

The pandemic has impacted every industry differently and while most are facing tough challenges, others, such as office furniture rental businesses, are seeing an uptick in business.

There is a simple reason for the sudden increase in demand for office furniture. Now that people are spending more time at home and in a lot of cases, setting up their home offices, they require furniture pieces that can help make the workspace more comfortable.

Businesses survive tough market conditions by adapting and pivoting and the rental industry is no different. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted rental businesses across a broad spectrum of industries. Customer needs, behaviors, and priorities have changed as people have made unprecedented changes to their lives.

 People are renting items for a whole range of new purposes which can facilitate their socially distanced lives. Take the example of renting work-out equipment instead of physically going to the gym. This trend is not just limited to individuals but also impacting entire industries.

No matter which segment of the rental industry you function in, rental businesses of all sizes have one goal in common: improving the bottom line. This means increasing profits and reducing losses as much as possible.

Long-term market shifts show that the equipment rental industry in the US has been growing steadily. Increasing demand means companies can stock greater quantities of equipment so they never have to miss out on an order. On the downside, this also means more maintenance schedules to keep track of, and greater upkeep costs.

As of July 20th, the US has entered its fourth phase of reopening amidst COVID-19 lockdowns. The extent of relaxing the lockdown and reopening the economy varies widely across different states, counties, and even cities. Businesses that operate indoors are more hard-hit than ones that lend themselves more to social distancing. The construction industry is among those that are steadily opening up with work resuming at sites across the country.

Many states including Kentucky, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York have either reopened or are in the process of reopening the construction industry. While nonessential construction projects are still on hold, all essential ones, such as bridges, hospitals, affordable housing, and homeless shelters, are ready to start again.

While there are several different kinds of rental businesses out there, they all share a similar goal – increasing profits. As you focus on making money, make sure your company should also find ways to save money. Every rental business should have an emergency fund, but there are many that don’t. No matter what kind of rental company you operate, you should be looking for ways to save money and cut costs.