I’ve spoken with many businesses during this time and many are experiencing a decrease in sales and some have been totally shut down. What are you doing to improve your business during this time? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to increase business after the COVID-19 pandemic? What if your company blasts out of the gate and increases revenues 10-50%?

  1. The reality is that we are all in this together. Virus? What virus? The same one that is not just affecting you but everyone. Whether it is Florida, New York, California, Italy, China, Russia, Australia or any other country, we are all being affected by the pandemic. Seeing the situation as WE are in this together instead of I am being affected by this virus drastically changes the conversation. Mindset is key!
  2. Kindness. While this should go without saying, during stressful times many of us get scared, frustrated, overwhelmed and don’t always exhibit kindness towards others. Some of the most important people that are assisting us these days are the grocery/drug store workers, delivery drivers, paramedics, emergency services, nurses and doctors. Don’t get frustrated by a lack of toilet paper or hand sanitizer. We are all experiencing much of the same stress. Be kind.
  3. Identify how you can improve your everyday life after this ends. For many of us, being forced to completely stop and change our way of life gives us the chance to pause and think about what we like during this time and what we really miss. For example, I have heard from several friends that they have spent more quality time with their children (and I am not just talking about homeschooling) and it has given them some perspective on a change they want to make moving forward. I have also seen many people exercising that weren’t before so how will you incorporate that into your life when we get past this. Use this time to make some positive changes.
  4. Stay connected and use this time to continue building relationships. During busy times when each of us is running here and there, we often say or hear from others that there’s never enough time to get things done, start a new service on your business, review your business plan, have that elusive meeting. Now is your time to not let excuses get in your way.
  5. Collaboration. While some of us may not be actively growing our business due to the circumstances, that does not mean we can’t collaborate with others and put pieces in place for when we get through this situation. Use this time wisely to set up some one-on-ones or fun group calls. You never know what may come out of it.
  6. Identify challenges in your business. If you have not reviewed 2019, take a look at what was working well and what wasn’t working in your business? This is the perfect time to really dig deep and see how you can improve practices, services, marketing and other applications that really help or hurt your productivity and success.
  7. Adapt or do a 180. Are you one of the small businesses that is completely shut down? I know many hairdressers, nail salons, massage therapists to name just a few who cannot practice. How do you create NOW revenue. Again, use some of these tips in this article to help you create NOW revenue. Need to brainstorm? Pick up a phone or schedule a ZOOM call to ask a friend or business associate what they think. Can you create online classes? Why do your clients love coming to you? How can you leverage that?
  8. Set your goals to get at least ONE to TWO big things done each week. For example, I am working on launching my podcast for Dream Plan Start Grow. There are several things that I needed to do to move forward. I launched the website a couple of weeks ago and I keep writing consistent content so I get more engagement. Next is to start recording a series of podcasts so I can start releasing them one by one. What big goals are you getting done during this time?
  9. Social Media. Guess what, more people are home and many are going on social media. While we have seen different stats, pretty much all of them show an increase in usage. If you are not using this time to market and more importantly develop relationships on social media, you are missing the boat.
  10. Plan & Prioritize. Many of us will start our day and do what is easiest first but that may not be the one or two things that are most needed. Prioritize what your goals are, set specific strategies to accomplish those goals and create action items to focus on throughout the week. Plan with the idea that we really don’t know if we are going to get through this in a month, two months or even longer.

Life and business have certainly been upended due to the novel Coronavirus but we have the opportunity to make the best out of the situation and work to have our businesses come out even stronger on the other end. Use this time to get things done around your home but also to review your business for improvements, continue to build relationships, as well as plan and prioritize your next steps. Maybe you want to start a business? Don’t miss out on the opportunity to do many of the same steps and be ready to launch when we come out of social distancing and back into our more normal everyday lives. Be safe, be healthy and most of all be blessed.