Things a business owner can do during COVID-19

BY CHRISTINA GWIRA

I remember during one of our episodes of In the Now, I expressed my frustration to my co-host Simone about the fact that at that time, everything in the news was surrounding COVID-19. Boy was I in for a shock! What once was an annoying news item to report on has become a global pandemic, slowing markets, closing businesses and killing people in the thousands. Bringing this news closer to home, many businesses and entrepreneurs are struggling to find their feet during this time of uncertainty, and with good reason. We are living through a pandemic. As defined by Wikipedia (don’t shoot me), “a pandemic is an epidemic of disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of people.” This is the first time many of us have lived through these conditions: long lineups for food, limited movement and fear surround us. Times seem bleak; times seem bad. But with everything, there is a silver lining, even for small businesses who may be feeling the weight and brunt of these times the hardest.

I’ve compiled a to-do list of sorts for the entrepreneur and small business owner who may seem a bit lost in the foray at this time. You may have lost business, may be considering closing up shop, and that’s rough. However, this would be a great time to look at turning your business into something new, something different. During the housing crash of 2008, businesses like Uber, Airbnb, Square, Slack and Dropbox found their feet and more than a decade later are still making headway in the game. There is hope for you yet.

Immerse yourself in social media and the web
If six months ago you didn’t have time to figure out how to setup your company email, now is the time to do so! Everyone is on social media… EVERYONE! Most people are working from home, meaning more people are spending time – and money – online. Use this time to get to know what the social media landscape looks like. Pretty up your banners, start building your website, create communities surrounding your business. Now is the time for your business to go online, so get to it.

Go over your finances
There are a number of plans and programs being provided by the government. However, these programs may require you to get certain forms and documents together and in order. Here’s your chance to catch up on your bookkeeping, pay your accountant a visit and see if your business is in the right place to take advantage of these programs. You may never know what help the government may be able to provide you and your business during this time. Reach out, get organized and see if there is some way that you can get the help your business needs during this time.

See where you can pivot
Let’s say you have a restaurant; now might be a good time to get onto Uber Eats and Doordash in a big way! If you’re a hairstylist, it may be time to start bringing your hair routine tutorials to Youtube and Instagram. Are you a lawyer or service person? Now’s your chance to start planning out that webinar and course you’ve been talking about for so long. It’s become very clear to all of us that this is the new normal; this could be the way things will be for some time. As my dad would say, “change your hand”. You have the opportunity to test, change and turn the direction of your business around during this season. Believe it or not, the market is much more forgiving. Give it a shot, whatever it may be for your business.

Seek partnerships
In the book of Ecclesiastics, it states that, “a cord of three strands is not easily broken […] two is better than one”. Build alliances and partnerships that could help benefit the good of your business and clients, as well as the customer base of another business. As an example: maybe, as a restaurant, you could partner up with a baker to provide your food plus tasty cakes and baked goods with each order. A web designer could partner up with an illustrator to provide additional custom graphic work to clients. There is more than one way to share the wealth and help each other out with their business.

We’re in different times. None of us have walked on this path before or ridden on this journey. It’s all new to many of us. However, with these simple tips, I hope that our community of businesspeople and entrepreneurs will be able to find new vim during this time. It is through our dedication and ingenuity that we were able to create businesses in the first place. Corona can’t keep us down.