Trading from somewhere temporary is the fastest route back, and it does more for you than the revenue. It keeps your customers in the habit of coming to you, it keeps your staff together, and it changes how a lender, a landlord and an insurer read your situation, because a business still trading is a different conversation from one that has gone quiet.

The reason to move on it early is straightforward. People still need their hair cut, their lunch bought and their dog walked, and they will find another way to get it done while they wait for you. That is not disloyalty, it is life, and the sooner you are findable again the fewer of them you have to win back later.

Work out your minimum viable operation. Not everything you used to do, the part that earns and that fits somewhere smaller. Most businesses find that a third of the space does two thirds of the revenue.

Check your policy before you sign anything. Commercial policies often include business income and extra expense cover, which in some cases pays toward operating from a temporary site while yours is unusable. Whether it applies, and what it reimburses, depends on your policy wording and the cause of loss. Not yet confirmed by LAEDC. Ask your adjuster in writing and keep the answer. Spending your own cash on a temporary site that would have been covered is a common and expensive mistake.