COVID-19 has changed business a lot and, if I’m speaking frankly, I think it’s making a lot of permanent changes. If you’re a small business owner, these times can be real tough.
I lost the majority of my client base because they were in affected industries, and there’s a huge gap in my workload. And I’m not alone in that.
But instead of throwing in the towel (I’ve never been much of a quitter), there are a few things that I’m focusing on while my business has a little bit of a downtime. Here they are:
Leaning In With My Marketing
So many of my clients have approached me about stopping or reducing their marketing. Their concerns are that business owners simply don’t want to think about whatever service they offer during this time, but that’s completely false. In fact, there’s no better time than now for entrepreneurs to work on improving their business.
If you find that you have some downtime and you want to set yourself up for success, make sure that you lean in on marketing. As I’ve told my clients, you don’t need a ton of money (or me doing the work) to carry on your marketing. While you have the time, there are a ton of things you can do yourself.
Getting My Finances in Order
While I might not have cash pouring in, there is a lot of financial work I am doing on my small business. That starts with getting my accounting all up-to-date. All of those invoices I forgot to log and payments I forgot to classify, now is their time.
If you have messy finances, now is the PERFECT time to work these out. Likewise, if you are missing things like a business budget or future financial plan, now is the perfect time to get started on this too!
Business Planning
Business planning is exceptionally important to your small business. If you don’t currently have a plan, stop whatever you’re doing because it’s time to make one. And if you’ve neglected the one that you already have, now is the time to fine-tune it.
In addition to regular planning activity, I’m also looking at some of the areas of my business that fluctuate a bit more and seeing where I can make shifts so I never see a future slump as big as this one.
Fine-Tuning Products and Services
There is no better time than the present to take a look at your products and services, and seeing where you can fine-tune things. This means changing service packages and updating products that have real value but need a little extra something. There are a lot of changes you can be making.
Likewise, if there are areas of your business that you can turn into a more passive income strategy like creating an online course, then now is also the perfect time. Look to see what areas you can offload some work and go with it.
What are you currently focusing on in your business? Share it in the comments below!
Looking for More Business Insights?
- 6 Small Business Problems and Solutions
- Entrepreneur vs Businessman: Which Are You?
- Don’t Start Your Business Before Reading This
Tae started out as a journalist before following the money into the corporate world. But it turns out that the grass isn’t always greener and now you can find her spending most of her time writing about all the things she loves. Namely, money, travel and business with a hefty dose of self-deprecating humor. She is a podcast fanatic, blogging aficionado and loves to find new ways to turn passions into cold hard cash!
