4 ways Houston businesses can recover cash flow in a post-COVID world

Guest column

There's no quick fix to getting back to where you were, but a keen eye and sensible decision-making will ensure you're more prepared than your competitors. Photo via Unsplash

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a cash flow disaster for many businesses, whether it's small restaurants forced to close their doors for months on end or commercial rental properties unable to fill their office space in light of widespread remote working.

Houston, much like many major US cities is facing a big recovery job as the country looks to move on from the worst of the pandemic. While much is to be determined when it comes to what the Delta varient's effect is, businesses are open and the time to think creatively about recovering cash flow is here.

In this article, we'll look at how Houston businesses can get over what was a huge shock and re-evaluate for a post-COVID world.

First things first: Assess the financial damage

Before you can begin to work on a strategy for recovery, your business first needs to assess the financial damage COVID-19 inflicted on it.

There are many different layers to this, which will become more important depending on the size of your business. Start by looking at the hard numbers that define your business (both pre and during the pandemic), such as:

  • Year profit
  • Yearly spend
  • Yearly losses (and expected losses)
  • Employee salaries

There's a chance things aren't quite as bad as you expected. You might have saved on office space through working remotely or have seen an uptick in online customers that represents a revenue shift. This may seem like basic business management, but in a situation such as this, it's easy to ignore the forest for the trees.

Once you've got these numbers in line, you can start to develop a rebuilding plan that relates entirely to your business, rather than cutting and pasting one from another business that is unlikely to have experienced the same issues.

Re-assess your business plan

Chances are, you didn't include a contingency option for a global pandemic in your business plan. No need to panic. If you made it this far, you were obviously a well-structured and organized business. However, to ensure you survive future challenges, it's worth re-assessing your business plan.

Specifically, you need to look at how ready your business is to pivot to the idea of the 'new normal'.

There are many decisions to be made, from top-level finances to employee management to customer service. You may be forced to implement new systems to keep track of your newly remote team, offer subsidies for utility bills to your staff or implement new quality control tests to keep your customers safe and comfortable with your business.

A wider analysis of your industry can be a more effective exercise than looking directly at your plan. Competitors may have innovated in ways you didn't initially think possible. Pay attention to trends and emerging opportunities to mark yourself as a business worth shopping for and working with. Find that profitable niche and see if your business plan can be re-worked around it.

Your business plan will lay bare your business model's strengths and weaknesses in the new world. Don't try and plough through difficult weather with the wrong tyres. Make a simple change, even if it means hard decisions, for the good of your company.

Optimize daily processes and cut out wasteful tasks 

So you've analyzed the damage and re-assessed your business plan for a new set of challenges. Now you can get into the gritty details of making a change.

One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways of getting your business running with a positive cash flow again is to optimize those wasteful daily processes and tasks you and your team get stuck on every day.

Of course, many of these will be unique to your industry and way of doing business, but from invoicing to daily admin tasks, there's so much wasted time every day that could be better spent getting your business back on track.

A few immediate suggestions include:

  • Cutting down on business travel by prioritising virtual meetings and re-thinking how your sales and executive staff travel. Even company cars can become less of a money burden if you take the time to know how to how to save gas (and the money you spend on it)
  • Going paperless and using that printer money to operate through cloud software won't just bring your business into the 21st century, but make daily meetings and employee collaboration more most-effective
  • Using financial trackers to assess your financial situation regularly and automate invoicing, making sure you're always getting paid on time

Monitoring all of this excess spend spillage and ensuring you're on top of emerging problems can be made very simple through time tracking tools. Rather than just a way to keep an eye on remote employees and cut out excessive slacking, Houston businesses can spot which needless tasks are making key employee's life difficult and where budget is being wasted through these (as of March 2020) essential digital tools

.

Consider outside funding options

Last year, we covered how creative thinking in terms of financing can be Houston businesses' path out of COVID financial burden. Since then, much has changed, but many of the methods remain realistic ways businesses of all sizes can recover cash flow.

Unless you went into the pandemic with significant cash to burn, you're likely playing things quite close to the line right now. Without customers through the door and big contracts, you might need working capital to jump-start your recovery.

Fortunately, some great financing options for small businesses have sprung up or gone from strength to strength throughout the COVID rebuilding period. Some of these options include:

Now, not all of these options will work for your business, particularly the ones aimed at small businesses. However, they're all reasonable ways of getting a short-term boost to buy remote office equipment, re-work your business for social distancing to avoid closures or bring in new employees.

The key is not to become reliant on these revenue streams. They should be short jabs to get your business going again, not a consistent fix you should turn to in the event of financial challenges. Borrowing can be both an unhealthy attitude to have and a competitive venture.

Completing these tasks will help you establish a timeline for recovery. No one is quite sure what their business will look like once COVID-19 is completely a thing of the past, but the pandemic should be a lesson that no business can be caught slacking.

The journey to recovery, particularly sorting out your cash flow is full of tiny steps. There's no quick fix to getting back to where you were, but a keen eye and sensible decision-making will ensure you're more prepared than your competitors.

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Kayleigh Alexandra is an entrepreneur and writer at WriterZone and Micro Startups based in the United Kingdom.

What does Houston's tech scene look like from an outsider's perspective? Ripe for success, according to this guest article. Getty Images

Non-Houstonian identifies why the Bayou City is prime for a tech and startup boom

Guest column

Houston might be known abroad as the Space City, but it's got a lot more to offer than interstellar exploration. As we continue toward the second half 2020 — even in light of the COVID-19 crisis, Houston is attracting the best talent, tech, and businesses around — and with good reason.

Here we look at why Houston is such an attractive prospect for enterprise in 2020.

More bang for your buck

While the likes of New York or Los Angeles are established places to launch and grow a business, they are expensive. But in Houston, your important dollar goes a long way.

The cost of living in Houston is around 35 percent lower than in New York. Consequently, cash-strapped but ambitious graduates flock to Houston to enjoy a better (and more affordable) quality of life.

For startups looking to gradually and sustainably grow in their first year (and succeed), Houston is an attractive place to start. They get more bang for their buck, so they can focus on growing their business without paying through the nose for expensive office space (and staff).

It's a beautiful, historic city

Founded in 1836, Houston has a long and rich history, and its aesthetics perfectly represents that — something Houstonians and Texans don't take enough time to recognize usually. Its architecture is a healthy mix of historic and modern.

Downtown Houston features gorgeous old buildings spreading out from Allen's Landing. Its residential architecture too offers some stunning mansions, as well as some rustic row houses. As the city developed throughout history, its skyline has grown to include some breathtaking skyscrapers, including the Heritage Plaza and the JPMorgan Chase Tower — one of the tallest composite buildings in the world.

Looking beyond architecture, Houston offers plenty of green spaces to enjoy. Hermann Park is an impressive 445 acres, and acts as a community space for the entire city. If you want somewhere to run a few miles before heading to work, Memorial Park offers plenty of open space and trails to take advantage of too.

Looks aren't everything, of course. But with the rich sprawl of Houston all around you, they certainly help.

There's a thriving coworking scene

Houston is home to dozens of stellar coworking spaces — with more opening regularly. There's a few WeWork outposts from the Galleria area to The Woodlands, as well as home-grown spaces like The Cannon, Station Houston, and Wicowork, where businesses from virtually every industry come together to work and collaborate.

These spaces form part of a thriving startup scene with plenty of scope for networking and collaborating. Growing a business is easier when you're doing it alongside others, and Houston's coworking spaces offer a fertile ground for meeting and sharing inspiration.

It's not all about established businesses either. Houston is also the perfect place for individuals to launch a creative side hustle, with a thriving scene of artistic self-starters and passionate solopreneurs available to draw upon for inspiration. These coworking spaces provide the perfect place to meet like-minded individuals and get your vision further.

Although COVID-19 has affected coworking spaces, the crisis has pushed coworking to provide virtual resources, which will only benefit coworkers across companies.

Choose from a great pool of talent

Every growing business needs the best and brightest talent to join its ranks and help it succeed. Thankfully, Houston is home to some of the finest universities in the state. The University of Houston and Rice University produce plenty of smart, driven graduates looking to make their mark on the chosen industry.

These universities also have a close relationship with local startups too. Each has its own startup accelerator to help small enterprises get ahead. UH's RED Labs has helped launch dozens of companies since its inception in 2013, and Rice University's OwlSpark has 54 startups to its name to date.

Consequently, plenty of businesses are looking to Houston to seek growth and attract top talent. With such a wide pool of talent on tap, startups and growing businesses alike will have their pick of the crop.

Everything's bigger in Texas, and Houston is no exception. With a growing pool of bright talent, a stellar startup scene, and beautiful surroundings to match, Houston is the top destination for talent and business in 2020.

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Kayleigh Alexandra is an entrepreneur and writer at WriterZone and Micro Startups based in the United Kingdom.

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Microsoft partners with Rice University's OpenStax on AI teaching tool

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Rice University’s OpenStax and Microsoft are partnering to integrate the nonprofit’s content with the tech giant’s AI innovation, known as Learning Zone.

“At OpenStax, our mission is to make an amazing education accessible to all,” Richard G. Baraniuk, founder and director of OpenStax, said in a news release. “That’s why we’re excited to integrate our trustworthy, peer-reviewed content with Microsoft’s AI technology through the Microsoft Learning Zone. Together, we aim to help more instructors and their students access engaging, effective learning experiences in new and dynamic ways. We also share a strong commitment to the thoughtful and responsible application of AI to better ensure all learners can succeed.”

OpenStax is a provider of affordable instructional technologies and is also one of the world’s largest publishers of open educational resources (OER).

Microsoft Learning Zone promises to provide educators and students with “responsible AI technology and peer-reviewed educational content to support learning” on Microsoft Copilot+ PCs. Microsoft Learning Zone works by utilizing on-device AI to generate interactive lessons for students, and its integration with OpenStax content means educators can rely on OpenStax’s digital library of 80 openly licensed titles.

The goal is for educators to create effective and engaging learning experiences safely, thereby bypassing the need to source and vet content independently. Included is a library of ready-to-use lessons, opportunity for immediate feedback and differentiated learning. Educators will maintain control of instructional content and pedagogical strategies and will be able to update or edit lessons or activities prior to sharing them with students.

Other tools included in the Microsoft Learning Zone are additional languages, reading coaching, public speaking help, math and reading progress, and a partnership with the online quiz platform Kahoot!

OpenStax resources have been reported as used across 153 countries, and this current collaboration combines the power and potential of responsible AI usage in education with content that has been utilized by 13,569 K-12 schools and 71 percent of U.S. colleges and universities, according to Rice.

“Through our partnership with OpenStax, we’re combining the power of on-device AI in Copilot+ PCs with OpenStax’s trusted and diverse peer-reviewed content to help educators quickly create high-quality, personalized, engaging lessons,” Deirdre Quarnstrom, vice president of Microsoft Education, added in the news release. “We’re excited about how this collaboration will empower classrooms globally.”

Houston ranks among the 15 best cities in America for 2025

Ranking It

A new national report ranking the best cities in America has declared Houston is the 13th best U.S. city in 2025.

The annual "America's Best Cities" report from Resonance Consultancy, a Canada-based real estate and tourism marketing firm, ranks the relative qualities of livability, cultural "lovability," and economic prosperity in America's principal cities with metropolitan populations of 500,000 or more.

These top 100 cities "brilliantly weave local culture with economic prospects, aligning with global and domestic travel trends to create premier experiences for both residents and travelers."

Houston's new placement is three spots lower than its triumphant No. 10 rank in 2024. Though it no longer holds a prized top-10 spot, the report hails Houston as a "coveted hometown for the best and brightest on earth."

Among Houston's other shining attributes are its booming population growth – which has now grown to a staggering 7.51 million people – plus its competitive real estate market and a vibrant hospitality and culinary scene. Additionally, Houston earned a well-deserved No. 4 rank in the report's "restaurants" subcategory.

"A 221-room Home2 Suites/Tru by Hilton debuted near Toyota Center in March, while Marriott’s newly renovated Residence Inn NASA/Clear Lake keeps surging visitors happy," the report said. "West Houston’s Greenside will convert 35,000 square feet of warehouses into a park-laced retail hub by 2026, while America’s inaugural Ismaili Center, rising along Allen Parkway, remains on schedule for later this year, adding yet another cultural jewel to H-Town’s festival-fueled mosaic."

The report additionally puts a large focus on Houston's innovative energy sector and its numerous large companies that boost the local economy and create thousands of jobs. Several of these Houston-based companies are some of the best places to work, according to U.S. News and World Report.

One such company that was specifically praised in the report was the HyVelocity Hub, which aims to "ensure economic resilience and long-lasting, domestic energy production" along the Gulf Coast.

"The HyVelocity Hydrogen Hub just locked in up to $1.2 billion from the U.S. DOE, targeting 45,000 jobs and slicing 7.7 million tons of CO₂ a year," the report said.

Elsewhere in Texas

Dallas (No. 14) and Austin (No. 15) ranked right behind Houston in the top 20, while San Antonio sank into the No. 41 spot after previously ranking 32nd last year. El Paso also fell from No. 83 in 2024 to No. 100 this year.

Jason McGrath, the executive vice president and head of U.S. Corporate Reputation at Ipsos, said in the report that American cities are proving their resiliency as they are faced with "climate issues, increasing infrastructural demands, and shifting geopolitical landscapes affecting international relations and travel."

"Despite these hurdles, cities are creatively reinventing themselves to shine as examples of cultural vibrancy and innovation, keeping their competitive edge both locally and globally," McGrath said. "Our report shows that the allure of American cities remains strong, thanks to their rich diversity and vast attractions — from natural wonders to buzzing cultural hubs."

The top 10 best cities in America in 2025 are:

  • No. 1 – New York City, New York
  • No. 2 – Los Angeles, California
  • No. 3 – Chicago, Illinois
  • No. 4 – San Francisco, California
  • No. 5 – Seattle, Washington
  • No. 6 – Miami, Florida
  • No. 7 – Boston, Massachusetts
  • No. 8 – Washington, D.C.
  • No. 9 – Las Vegas, Nevada
  • No. 10 – San Diego, California
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This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

Houston biosciences company opens new sequencing center for drug development

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Houston-based Avance Biosciences has launched the Next-Generation Sequencing Center of Excellence, designed to enhance the company’s sequencing capabilities for drug development. Specifically, the facility at the company’s main campus in Northwest Houston will pursue breakthroughs in biologics, cell therapy and gene therapy.

In the drug industry, sequencing refers to studying nucleotides in DNA and RNA molecules. Nucleotides are the building blocks of DNA and RNA.

“This is a major milestone for Avance Biosciences as we continue to support the evolving needs of biologics and cell and gene therapy developers,” Xuening “James” Huang, co-founder, CEO and chief technology officer of Avance, said in a news release. “By consolidating state-of-the-art sequencing platforms and scientific talent, we’ve created a highly capable organization ready to solve complex genomic challenges with precision and compliance.”

In 2013, Avance rolled out next-generation sequencing (NGS) that complies with federal guidelines. Since then, Avance “has remained at the forefront of regulated sequencing services,” the company said. “The launch of the (new center) strengthens the company’s ability to deliver accurate, reproducible, and regulatory-aligned sequencing data across a wide array of therapeutic modalities.”

Cal Froberg, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Avance, said pharmaceutical and biotech clients trust the company’s technical capabilities and regulatory compliance.

“With the ever-changing global landscape and increasing scrutiny around international sample shipments, conducting advanced, cost-effective NGS testing domestically is now more feasible than ever,” Froberg said. “Our clients have confidence that their samples will remain in the U.S.”

Avance, founded in 2010, plans to hold an open house at the new facility in September to showcase its capabilities, technology, talent, and services. The company’s services include sequencing, molecular biology, cell-based testing, and bioanalytical testing.
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