7 steps entrepreneurs need to take right now to make the most of the $349 billion in emergency funds the government is about to start handing out

• Last week, the US government passed a $2 trillion stimulus package to stabilize the economy during the coronavirus crisis.
• The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides $349 billion for small businesses, beyond the Small Business Administration's existing Economic Disaster Loans Program.
• Business Insider spoke with small business adviser and coach Bob Prosen about the immediate steps that entrepreneurs should take in order to get through this tumultuous period.
• Visit BI Prime for more stories.

Coronavirus relief loans could begin paying out this week, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, but small business advisor and coach Bob Prosen says companies can't afford to wait to get organized and begin seeking funding.

Business Insider reached out to Prosen to discuss the immediate steps that entrepreneurs should take now that relief is on the way in the form of the $2 trillion package passed last week.

"I used the same techniques through the 2008-2009 recession to help clients stay alive and make a lot of money," Prosen said. "And there are ways to do that, despite what's going on."

Here are his recommendations for the steps small business owners should take right now.

Figure out your cash position and burn rate

If you don't know what profit-and-loss or cash flow statements are, spend some time putting those together. Not only will they help you understand your current situation, but you will need these documents in order to get approved for funding, whether from a bank or the SBA.

"Figure out how much money you've got, and what your burn rate is," Prosen said. "How much cash are you using on a daily basis, and how long can you last? You've got to know that. You can't guess at it; you actually have to know it."

Once you have that number, you'll have a better idea of how much runway you have left, and what your choices are.

"The closer you are to exhausting cash, the more you have to do something immediately," Prosen said.

Draw on existing credit

One immediate way to stay liquid is to use the credit that's already available to you. Prosen recommends requesting a maximum increase on any credit cards, as well as fully drawing on existing lines of credit you may have.

"In most banks there are clauses where, if they need to, they can recall that loan and just sweep your account," Prosen said.

Once you've figured out your working capital needs and maximized the available credit limits, you'll have a much better sense of what you'll need in terms of additional emergency funding.

Depending on how much you get approved for, you may not want to take on the maximum amount of new debt. Using your past revenue and cash flow numbers will help you figure out how much you can afford to take on.

"You've got to ask yourself a really tough question here," Prosen said. "Will your business rebound in time for you to even pay it back?"

Reach out to your local bank

Although applying for an SBA disaster loan might seem like the first step, Prosen says the system is already experiencing a significant backlog and advises business owners to make a visit to a local bank their first priority. According to Prosen, the government is encouraging the local banks and credit unions to make funds available. You may be able to secure enough to bridge the gap until other relief comes.

"If I were a business owner in that situation, I'd be doing that immediately," he added. "I wouldn't wait one minute about getting in front of my bank and my credit union, and I would do whatever it takes to apply for a short term business loan."

Review all contracts and relationships

It's also important to remember that you're not going through this pandemic alone, nor is it affecting all businesses equally. Some of your suppliers and customers will be seeing a surge of productivity and profits, while others are on the verge of bankruptcy.

When disaster strikes, all contracts are up for re-negotiation, Prosen says.

"You need to be planning how you're going to get out of this and staying in touch with all of your suppliers," he said. "Check your entire value chain so that everybody knows what's going to happen and figure out where you are in the priority of your suppliers."

That doesn't mean you suddenly have an excuse to low-ball or short-change your partners. What it does mean is that you should take steps to make sure business can resume as efficiently as possible when the public health emergency eventually winds down.

"When production does come back, are they going to be able to service your needs?" Prosen said. "Figure that stuff out, because it's going to happen."

Reinvest in your business and reimagine your business model

With loan limits up to $10 million and incentives to keep your employees on payroll, now might be the time to invest in your facilities or digital infrastructure.

"If you take that money and you keep your people employed," Prosen said, "you don't have to repay that piece back, so it's a grant. And there's nothing out there like that."

In addition to retaining your team, CARES funding could help with other expenses and investments that position your business to weather this storm and make for a strong comeback.

"You can pay debt if you have to, buy technology for backup systems," Prosen said.

Brick-and-mortar businesses are certainly seeing the worst disruption from this public health emergency, and these funds could help them adopt the tools they will need to be more resilient going forward.

"If you haven't become part of the digital world yet, this is an opportunity for you to do that to change your business model," Prosen said. "You can do a lot with 10 million bucks."

Do your homework, but do it fast

The actual legislation weighs in at over 1000 pages, and Prosen says that every business owner should spend the time parsing through the bill in order to see which provisions offer the best opportunities for their specific situations.

"Once this is over, and businesses are still in business - not going through bankruptcy, which ties them all up, which is what this whole CARES initiative is about - then we're going to gear up faster than what people believe," Prosen said. "I'm an optimist when it comes to that."

In order for that to happen however, business owners need to act decisively - and act fast.

"You have to be creative right now to get through this tough next couple of weeks if you've already survived this long," Prosen said. "Time is not your friend here, you've got to act fast. If you haven't already acted you're behind."