Cogent Bank President Chirag Bhavsar spoke at last week’s Synapse Summit held in Tampa   on a panel titled “Learning to Thrive: Financial Planning for Navigating a Recession”.

With the uncertain financial climate, we’re currently heading into, investors and business owners were able to glean insight from the combined expertise of Cogent Bank’s President Chirag Bhavsar, Dominic DiMaio, Vice President of Commercial Services for Suncoast Credit Union, and Thomas Arseneau, Managing Director of Centri Business Consulting.

Navigating a pending recession is no easy feat, with the financial landscape changing and shifting in unpredictable ways. But with the right guidance and insights from industry experts, you can identify reliable strategies and solidify a strong financial future. The panel discussed effective solutions and resources that are available to survive fiscally challenging times.

During the panel Chriag told the audience, “First look at the cause of the recession. This recession is being driven by inflation. If you’re a business in this environment your number one priority is stabilizing your balance sheet and ensuring you have financial partners that can help you navigate the current environment.” He went on to say, “Trying to lock down funding for your business will be very difficult today compared to six-to-nine months ago. Cogent wants to be your financial partner for tech firms and will take the time to learn about your business and provide you the proper resources to grow your business.”

It is crucial to keep open lines of communication with your financial institution as challenges arise from a recession.

As a business owners there are clear ways that you can start to prepare for a recession. Managing your business debt and cutting unnecessary expenses are both crucial places to save money. Don’t wait until you’re forced to make cuts or add additional debt to your plate. Prepare ahead of time by critically evaluating where you could reclaim funds in your business budget. One of the biggest areas that businesses struggle with is managing cash flow. This is where we can step in to help. With effective guidance and support from a Cogent Bank Commercial Relationship Managers, a small business may be able to overcome many of the current issues they’re facing and survive a recession.