Coronavirus and Your Business
We went live over in our free Facebook Group for small businesses about the coronavirus and its impact on your small business.
We know that this situation is going to impact us all globally, whether it be in a personal, business or (hopefully not) physical way.
Here are our top tips for your business during this outbreak:
1. Don't Fucking Panic
Firstly this is affecting us all in some way, shape or form. Don’t panic. Don’t panic about your health, your business or anything else.
Just keep you and yours as safe and healthy as possible.
In terms of your business, please don’t panic about this either. This is where knee-jerk reactions and short-sighted ideas are a killer. (I mean, look at the stock market!!).
If you are open for business as usual:
Reassure your clients by posting specific messages on social media.
If you have clients affected, see if you can support them in anyway – they will remember your help and support. So if your audience is mainly parents, let them know about things like Twinkl’s offer for those affected by school closures.
What precautions are you taking to mitigate the effects of the virus? Tell them!
For the most part your customers aren’t going elsewhere (mainly because they aren’t going anywhere), so just stay in touch with them and keep them informed
Some examples we’ve seen:
Cafes, play centres, etc, wipe tables and chairs with disinfectant between customers.
Provide handwashing facilities for everyone.
If your services are affected by the Coronavirus:
Again, keep in touch with your customers and tell them.
We may be self-isolating, but for loads of us, that means that social media and email will be on the go all the time!
Give specifics about which of your services or products are affected and estimated timelines (if possible).
2. Understand That We're in This For the Long Haul
This pandemic will not go away quickly or suddenly.
We are all in this for the long haul, so pop on your big girl pants and start thinking long-term CEO, rather than short-term Sally.
Your stock may be affected, your materials or your services may be out of action.
Just remember that all businesses will be feeling this disruption and in some cases it will level the playing field.
Do not be afraid to think outside of the box for short-term income. If you have tons of certain stock, push it; if you need to go to People Per Hour to earn some extra cash, do it; but don’t lose sight of the fact that this is marathon, not a sprint.
3. Pivot
Recognise that you may need to change your approach right now.
Do you meet people in person? Do you have a showroom?
What can you switch up? Can you do virtual meetings, demos or sales?
Be flexible and accommodating in your approach.
If you sell physical products, have a look at your suppliers – will your logistics be affected? Are there supply chains which won’t be affected? If so, look to market those products more.
If you’re service based, you do have an advantage here – offering online products will be great at this time, especially as so many people will be at home.
Product based businesses:
Don’t feel that all is lost, especially if you are a bricks and mortar business. This could be an amazing opportunity to do a few things ‘outside of the box’.
Update your website, social media and Google My Business. Let people know if you are still open for trading, or if you have restrictions in place.
Make sure to keep all of your followers updated on an ongoing basis. Even though buying your items might not be their priority right now, keeping them updated will increase their trust in your brand.
4. Look After Your Team
If you are closing your building – you are not closing your business!!!
If you have a team and are paying them, then assign them tasks.
Can they work on your social media?
Can they create graphics, ads? Can they contact clients?
Make sure they have all they need to work remotely if necessary – a laptop, device or connection.
Make sure that you all have the passwords to everything between you, and stay in touch at all times.
5. Income Producing Ideas and Strategies
If you’re stuck at home and not able to work your business as you usually do, then now is the time to start looking at alternative income sources.
Joelle Byrne, Passive Income Specialist has already guest blogged for us about ways to make more money from your business, and if you’re sitting at home twiddling your thumbs, then this could be the time to get started.
If you’re a crafter, maker or service provider, then consider showing people how to do what you do from home. You can do it for free, or charge for a workshop, but sharing will be beneficial.
Create an ebook, online course or other digital product. We have a lot of stuff that we’ve created (both free and paid) that can be used throughout this time.
Make sure your online presence is as optimised as possible.
What will people be doing at home? We can expect to see a massive increase in searches for crafts, activities and products across pinterest, IG, Social media and YouTube.
6. Use Your Time Wisely
If you’re anything like us, you may have longed for a bit of time just for you… Well, it might not be exactly as your imagined, but make sure you use this time wisely if you are self-isolating or otherwise out of your normal routine.
Now is the time to catch up on that training you wanted to do, or get your marketing strategy done. It’s the time to schedule your social media for the next few weeks/months and do that product research you wanted to do.
Unsure where to start? You can grab our digital checklist for small businesses here.
Do all the stuff you’ve been putting off – start a FB community, an email campaign and join those groups that you never had time for before!
In a cheeky plug, we are launching our Traffic Accelerator course next week (great timing, eh?!) so feel free to transform your business in 6 weeks for under £200.
7. KIDS
Schools may well close.
Some schools and universities are testing out remote teaching, but those little “little angels” may be home soon.
Let’s all say a big thank you to CBBC and Apple.
It’s all about compromise. Yes, you will have to spend time with them, but a bit of time working while they OD on Peppa is OK. Don’t guilt yourself!
Resources
Here are some resources which could help. Some of these are affiliate links, which means that we get a small commission if you choose to purchase, but we never recommend anything that we don’t use ourselves.
Webinarjam – $499 a year for the basic package but we have an affiliate link which will give you 60 days for $1
Zoom – Basic package is free. Up to 100 participants, up to 40 mins (but i’ve always been given extra time free)
£11.99/mo is the Pro package
Perfect Passive Profit Academy – This is your one-stop shop for all things passive income. Joelle is an expert in creating revenue streams from existing businesses.