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We all know that life has changed within the past two months. For many of us, our pre-pandemic “normal” is only loosely related to our social distancing “normal” .
Moreover, we are in vastly different situations depending on family situations, job situations, and emotional states. Some people are completely overwhelmed by trying to work from home, learn the new programs and apps, they need to use in their new virtual life, help their kids with online school work, all while keeping themselves emotionally healthy. Right next door, there may be someone frustrated because they have more time on their hands that ever, but no idea what to do with it.
Spoiler alert: This article was not written for that first group. If you are struggling just to keep up with the day to day, don’t put more guilt or pressure on yourself for not being up for something new at this exact moment.
On the other hand, if you are in that second group, OR if you are someone (like me) who deals with stress by producing something and distracting yourself with work, you might be feeling as if you WANT to do something, but just have no idea what to do. Even if your side hustle or micro-business is on hold at the moment because of social distancing, there are a TON of things you can do to make your business and your life run more smoothly-and hopefully produce more income – when life outside the four walls of our houses becomes a reality again.
Obviously, not all of these will work for everyone. Focus on the 1-2 that you think will make the biggest impact. (Or that you have the mental energy to tackle.) Some of these actions are all about setting a foundation for later, while others can actually help you improve your bottom line right now, depending on your business and/or side hustle.
No matter your situation, remember, I believe in you. You’ve got this!
Improve your online presence
Depending on your side hustle or micro business, creating or expanding your online presence could potentially bring in money today, while also increasing your business’s visibility for the future. Here are four ways to do so.
Create or update your website
Yeah, I know it just screams “Let the good times ROLL!” but updating your business’s website, or creating one if you don’t already have one, is a great way to leverage this forced time at home.
I don’t know about you, but I’m actually not a fan of tech stuff. It messes with my head, I have trouble with the plug ins, and all the little fiddly stuff never seems to work. So if you are techie, this doesn’t apply to you. But if you are intimidated by tech, I’m going to give you my absolute BEST tip here: Check out Shannon Mattern’s 5 Day Website Challenge.
I used it for the first time about 2 years ago, and I – yes, the woman who can make a computer malfunction just by walking into the room with it – I built a website in WordPress. But wait, there’s more! Shannon takes you through all the fiddly bits step by step. Plugins and banners and email lists, OH MY! Shannon does it all, and makes it, if not easy, at least completely do-able.
Seriously, if tech intimidates you, but you want a professional looking and functional website, you’ve got to check her out!
And if you have a website, but it is not bringing you the traffic you want, Shannon’s got your back again! For FREE again! She also offers a Free Jumpstart Your Website Traffic Mini-Course that I am actually working my way through as we speak – or um – as we blog. And in case you think I’ve got a girl crush on Shannon (OK, so maybe she is my business crush. Is that so wrong?) here’s why I keep sharing her stuff: I recently paid over $200 dollars for a course. It’s not bad. I’ve learned several helpful tips from it. But Shannon’s free stuff totally blows the paid course out of the water! So if you are taking the time to read my stuff, I want you to benefit from the content creators who are really head and shoulders above the rest.
Create a media presence
Let’s say you aren’t about the headache of creating a whole website. That doesn’t mean you can’t let people know about your talents. If you pet sit, how about starting an Instagram account for your business? Posting pictures of you doing fun and cute things with your pet (or perhaps a borrowed pet) will help your friends and family, and even people outside your circle associate you with pets and keep you top of mind when people once again need dog walkers and pet sitters.
Learn a new social media platform and create a presence
I am NOT a Pinterest girl. But as Marie Forleo says, “Everything is figureoutable!” So I’ve been trying it, and I have to say, it is a bit addictive to see my stats update and trend upwards.
If you have an online presence, but it’s not getting you the traction you want, why not use this time to try out a platform you don’t normally use? Here’s the trick: Don’t try it a week and then give up. Commit to using it every day for at least 2 months. See what happens. Every platform has different algorithms and it takes time to figure out what works and what doesn’t in each different situation.
Build a mailing list…
So you have a website, but you don’t really have an email list, or you have a list, but it is not something you really engage with. Now is the perfect time to change that.
If your website isn’t set up to collect email addresses, you are letting potential customers just slip away. I was terrified by the idea of setting up a mailing list. But again, with the help of the FREE 5 Day Website Challenge, I did it. THEN, I tackled switching providers. I won’t say it went without a hitch, but I will say that I have an actual email list now.
…And use it to create a ‘know, like, trust’ relationship with potential customers
If you already have a list, but you have kind of neglected it, this is the time to turn that list into a real asset for your business. Potential customers are more likely to buy from you if you 1) have a product or service that will solve a problem for them 2) they feel good doing business with you.
As a business owner, this is a great time to provide real value to your customers for free so that they begin you see you as a trustworthy expert in the field. Give some thought to what frustrations or challenges your customers might be wrestling with right now, and provide free resources (to the extent you can) to help them cope. Chances are good, they will remember you the next time they are dealing with a similar issue.
This brings us to our next point.
Create and send valuable content
What does your customer need to cope with this crisis?
If they are a teacher, they probably need someone to cut through the million and one offers they are getting right now and help them figure out what online teaching aids are really worth investing their time and energy into and which are so-so.
If you provide pool service, perhaps they are trying to figure out how to maintain their pool on their own right now without access to their normal pool maintenance technician OR how to manage it on their own long term if their finances have changed.
If they are a parent, they probably need some assurance that they are not alone and that everyone is struggling.
My readers are probably a bit stressed about money, so this is the perfect time for me to promote my free 5 Day Free Money Challenge.
Figure out what you can provide to your ideal client that will massively improve their life at this point, and share it with them. And don’t underestimate your ability to do this. The people on your list are there for a reason. They have some need or desire for what you offer. If you can figure out what they need and how to help right now, you may have a customer for life.
Upgrade your business
In Steven Covey’s famous book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, the 7th habit is “Sharpen the Saw.” In other words, invest in yourself and constantly improve your mental, physical, and spiritual health. Don’t allow yourself to neglect things that are truly important in favor of actions that seem urgent, but don’t move you forward. Here are 4 ways you can use this time productively to sharpen the saw by investing time in business systems and improvements that really are important, but might be pushed aside during more hectic days.
Free online trainings (or paid ones)
There is an amazing variety of online professional development trainings available that will allow you to add to your business skills. Today, you can find both free and paid courses on accounting, coding, marketing, creating online courses, running webinars, and about a thousand other topics that may apply to your specific niche. While you don’t want to waste time or money on a fluff course, reviews make it easier to find the courses that really deliver and the ones that are mediocre, at best.
One thing is for sure: When the economy starts up again, the competition is going to be fierce. Stratigic skills you develop now will give you more options and more credibility with potential customers and clients.
Set up tracking and accounting systems
Blec! Blec! Blec! Yeah, I don’t like accounting either. At. All. But as a small business owner who does her own books, I have to cope with them. So I’m investing a bit of time during these weeks to revamp my budgeting spreadsheets, run through my subscription services to see which ones I really use, and set up systems that will help me stay on track during this coming year.
It doesn’t have to be a weeks-long torture session. Just a few hours a week (with a nice reward at the end – I’m looking at you, Lemon Gelato!) can make a huge difference! Come on and join in the fun. Please? Misery loves company, after all!
Front load the work
Are there tasks you can do to get ahead or to give yourself a cushion in case something comes up and you can’t keep to your normal schedule? As teachers, we often have a folder of “emergency sub plans” just in case we wake up too sick to make plans or have some kind of accident that keeps us from sending work in. They are not the perfect, optimal plans. They are the “just got to get through this” plans.
Your business needs that kind of emergency plan, too. But we are often too busy to just sit down and do it. Have a blog? Write some extra blog posts? Teach private lessons in person or online? Create props or videos for upcoming lessons. Order books, or just pick them and put them in the shopping cart for later. Do you clean houses? Inventory your cleaning supplies, especially the ones you don’t use often so you know what you need and what you have an over supply of.
Figure out 2-3 little things that will make your life easier when it gets hectic again, and focus on those.
Build strategic partnerships
This is a great time to build connections with people who provide different services to a similar clientele. If you teach art classes to preschoolers, you could offer area preschools a video of 5 at-home art projects they can share with their families (who might be struggling mightily to keep those kiddos entertained). If you are a photographer, you could contact local florists or DJs and offer to write a blog post for them about how to pick the perfect wedding photographer or wedding shots you don’t want to miss. They may be willing to return the favor. That’s what we call a win-win.
The point is to think about other businesses, blogs, or individuals whose clients would also benefit from your services, but aren’t your competitors and use that connection to enhance both businesses.
There you have it. So whether you are totally into tackling the entire list, or just counting it a victory to make it out of bed in the morning, I believe in you. Remember, you’ve got this.