One Question to Price a Lost Week (And Why Most Owners Underprice It)

One Question to Price a Lost Week (And Why Most Owners Underprice It)

Most business owners can tell you what a “good week” looks like. Fewer can tell you, quickly and confidently, what a “lost week” really costs once you include the hidden ripple effects.

The problem is not that owners are careless. The problem is that lost-week costs are usually scattered across different buckets: payroll, refunds, make-up labor, delayed deposits, missed follow-ups, vendor premiums, and the quiet customer drift that happens when people cannot reach you.

Many small businesses operate with a limited cash buffer, the median small business holds cash sufficient to cover about 27 days of typical outflows. 

The One Question (use it today): If next week stopped producing revenue, what would you still have to pay - no matter what?
That number is your “non-negotiable weekly outflow.” It is the baseline price tag of a lost week before you even count recovery costs.

Most owners price the week by sales, not by outflow

A common mental shortcut is, “A lost week equals one week of sales.” In reality, many costs keep running even when revenue pauses, and some costs increase because you are scrambling.

• Clinic example: Payroll continues, and patient reschedules create a “double-booking” pressure that can increase overtime or extend clinic hours. Even if you “make it up later,” the labor intensity increases and the calendar stays congested longer than expected.

• Quick Service Restaurant example: Labor, utilities, and minimum vendor commitments continue, and your revenue is highly time-sensitive. When the lunch or dinner rush is disrupted, that sales window usually does not “shift” to tomorrow or later in the week. If a fryer goes down or an outage hits, you often pay a premium for rush repair, emergency equipment, or expedited parts.

• Retail example: A closed or disrupted week does not just lose sales; it can trigger markdowns, missed deliveries, seasonal timing loss, and an increase in customer service workload the following week.

The recovery week is often more expensive than the disruption week

The week after the disruption is where many owners get surprised. Catch-up work is real work, and it has a cost.

• You may pay overtime or additional staffing to “dig out.”

• You may discount or offer freebies to win back frustrated customers.

• You may pay emergency vendor rates or expedited shipping to restore normal operations.

10-Minute Action: Build your “Lost Week Price Tag” in one pass

Set a 10-minute timer and write down three numbers:

1. Non-negotiable weekly outflow. Include payroll, rent, key subscriptions, loan payments, insurance, and utilities.

2. Recovery friction. Estimate what it usually costs to “catch up” after even a small disruption (overtime, extra delivery fees, refunds, rework).

3. Customer impact. Write a conservative estimate of how many customers you might permanently lose after a disruption week (even if it is only a few). Convert that into dollars using your average ticket or average weekly spend.

When you finish, you have a working “lost week” estimate that is more realistic than revenue alone.

A lost week is rarely just “one thing.” It is usually a time-sensitive disruption that cuts revenue, paired with fixed costs that keep running, and then a more expensive catch-up period that drains time, staff energy, and cash flow. That is why the 10-minute action above matters: it gives you a simple way to reduce the odds that one disruption turns into a full week of avoidable stress. 

If you would like a plain-English snapshot of where your business is most exposed, and what to fix first, you can take my free (2 minute) Resiliency Assessment below. It is designed to help you prioritize the next small step that protects your time, cash flow, and customer trust.
 

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Thank you for taking a few minutes to read this. I know time is tight for business owners, and I do not take your attention lightly. If you would like a plain-English snapshot of where your business is most exposed, and what to fix first, you can take my free Resiliency Assessment (above). Next up: "One vendor that could shut you down tomorrow—and how to find that risk fast." with one simple way to spot the weak point most likely to turn an everyday disruption into a lost week.

Thank You,

Warren