I’m sure this question has crossed your mind in the past couple of weeks. I wish nothing less than health and safety to everyone during this sudden Coronvirus Pandemic we find ourselves in. It is truly incredible how this catastrophe has impacted every single person’s life in the majority of our world today. We have to be more mindful of our own personal hygiene, which in turn leads to better health of those around us, especially our senior citizens and those with pre-existing health conditions. It is rather humbling and teaches us so many lessons.
What about if you’re a business person who’s income and work has come to a screeching halt or majorly slowed? What possible blessings can come from something as awful as this? The bad news is that we’re currently in the middle of the “fire” so to speak. The good news is that this too shall pass eventually. But below I have listed 3 main points and an honorable mention on what you can do for your business/line of work while in quarantine and downtime.
1) Explore creative ideas to generate business. There is no getting around the fact that any small business has been negatively impacted in terms of the model of how they generate business. If you’re like me and have certain goals to meet in terms of business and revenue, you can’t just easily accept this crisis as an excuse for why you’re “going under”. There’s a quote from Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin in which one of his “Tomlinism’s” is “The standard is the standard”. Whatever your standard is, it is the standard. It may take some mental work, strategy, extra catering to your customers, prayer and meditation. But take advantage of this time and space to ponder on new and fresh ideas that will not just help you make it through a stopped economy, but even accelerate right out of the gate when eventually this pandemic begins to turn and things get back to normal. Maybe you can do more business through your virtual communication and computer than you originally thought. Perhaps putting in forced new practices for more efficient business during this time is something that can carry over and be adapted even when the economy starts rolling again. Don’t be afraid to try new (and physically safe) things.
2) Tidy up the “Back-End” of your business. Any time I get a break in the action, I go back through my processes, sales proposals, budgets and graphics to look at everything more closely in terms of how it’s helping my business. Maybe you’re looking for a new job. Now is the time to beef up your resume. Use good keywords and clearly lay out what makes you the best candidate for the job. For me, here are some of the questions I ask: Is there something I need to change with my proposals? Do I need to get leaner in an area of my budget? Do I need to update my own website? Think about your own practice or job situation and what you can do make it a better and more profitable experience for both your client and yourself. I’ve always said that I never want to get to the point where I stop asking “What can I do to provide a better experience for both my clients and then myself?”. Do you need to make your process less complicated and more efficient? Do you need to even improve your people skills so you are conveying care for your customers? Don’t be afraid to ask honest questions so you can come to better results, so long as apply the appropriate solutions.
3) Examine beyond the headlines about the Coronavirus. Wait. Aren’t you talking about business? Why does examining the Coronavirus Crisis pertain to my business? It does because regardless of the impression the news media is leaving us, there is good news out there in spite of all blaring headlines, the cases, and deaths from this terrible disease. By examining the good news like the record time of FDA approval of drugs that can successfully treat COVID-19, testing becoming more available, decreasing death rate in America per cases, and record-timing of trials for vaccination, this will give you hope for yourself and your business. Why? Think about it. When you’re anxious or in fear, its a lot harder to focus. Yet, a positive mindset helps you stay focused on just being in spite of the hardship we all are currently dealing with. Because when you see positive news, it inspires comfort and hope which in turn, steers your attention away from fear and helps free up your mind to commit to the first 2 points I outlined here. It’s very easy when we’re trapped inside of our houses to start getting a bad case of cabin fever and lose focus on what we should be doing.
Honorable Mention) BE CHARITABLE. This can apply to your business but it more or less applies to how we personally interact with each other. This is a very difficult time for a lot of us. It’s the fear of the unknown that has really forced us to hunker down and lay low. If someone you know is in need of food or supplies and is short on cash, you can help them out through the CashApp or as simple as not hoarding all the toilet paper and not taking a 2-years supply of chicken. And most simply yet importantly, commit to social distancing. You never want to unknowingly carry the virus and then pass it on to someone unsuspectingly.
We haven’t seen a pandemic with this much force and contagiousness hit us in quite some time. It’s flipped many people’s world’s upside. I can only imagine what the people who’ve lost loved ones to this disease are going through right now. However, let’s choose to believe in hope. Our society and our country have overcome many major issues and events in the past. And we can and will overcome this. We can only concern ourselves with what we can control, and that is our response to adversity. Let’s remain calm, use hygienic common sense, and focus on our business.
Much love
Joe Gardonis