10 ways to help your business get through the impact of Coronavirus

What a very strange and unsettling time to be in business. There are no promises and no future dates to plan for. It feels like the world has been thrown into the air like a snow globe and we’re just sat (at home in lockdown) waiting for it all to settle.One thing’s for sure – we’re all in this together. We’re all affected and there are very few (if any) businesses who are not struggling, having to adapt, or reeling from the effect of COVID-19.Here’s something to consider…You can’t change what’s going on globally, so it’s actually a case of accepting what’s not within your control. You’re where you’re supposed to be, along with the rest of us. This is like a reset button for the whole planet.The sooner you accept it, the sooner you get real and start to think productively. There will be opportunities to grow your business.That said, it’ll be a tough and rough ride so it’s time to act Smart. We’ve collated some ideas and suggestions to help your business navigate your way through the chaos.If your business has been impacted by Coronavirus, Be Smart is here to support you.

Stay healthy!

This is beyond anything that we’ve seen so make sure you’re frequently checking in on your team who are now almost certainly remote. Ask them how they are, and what they need help with.And look after yourself too. You’re human too and you need to practise self-care, however that looks for you.One of the best ways to maintain some normality is to have a new routine.

Get dressed. Please don’t sit around in your PJs as it’s not good for your mindset.
Stick to your same morning routine.
Build in some exercise even if just a ‘Boris walk’ or cycle around your street or town.
Tend to your garden. It needs it now anyway!
Don’t watch the news 24/7 and avoid untrustworthy opinions on Facebook.
Go for reliable trusted sites like gov.uk/coronavirus or just take yourself offline.

Protect your mental energy by limiting the amount of time you spend on social media and take a look at meditation if you can. It’s really good for you, especially if you’re having difficulty sleeping.

Get good at remote working

This might be a breeze for some, but if you’ve never worked from home before then it’s OK to be in the process of adjusting to it all.Here are some tips to help:

Mirror the desk set up you had in your office – your environment is important.
Use tools like Office Vibe to manage the team morale.
Have daily ‘scrums’ – online team meetings. In these meetings lead on how everyone is, chat, get social and keep that team morale high and communication flowing. We all need that now.
Let your team know that you’re aware there may be children around and that you understand. If you can offer flexible working times they’ll thank you for it in future.

Get good at using tools like Skype, Zoom, Slack, Dropbox and other cloud-based systems.

Don’t slash your marketing!

We understand that you need to ‘be careful’ with your expenditure for a while but the last thing you need to do right now is strangle your future business by starving it of oxygen. Marketing is the oxygen of your business!Re-work things. Move budgets around a bit. Consider more online marketing than traditional marketing. Look at how you can go online with products and services if you can. Google Ads, Facebook Ads, and other online marketing channels are going to be more important, more needed, and clicked on even more now. Make the most of this ‘forced’ online movement.

Pivot!

It’s time to re-think things. The world will be different on the other side of this, so can you make a decision to change how you do things and what you offer?Just look at people like Joe Wicks whose morning workout videos on YouTube are incredibly popular with children and adults alike. What can your business do to help and make the most of this huge shift in behaviour?

Stay alert!

Look for the opportunities out there – they do exist. The beauty of a situation like this it’s like a re-set button to review EVERYTHING. What opportunities can you see?Keep a growth mindset and make sure you’re ready to take on more work than you ever had, rather than focus on those few leads, clients, and deals that might fall by the way side.The universe loves a vacuum – so fill those opportunities with new and better ones.

Get pragmatic in your business

What are you paying for that you don’t need? What can you cancel? Where can you save where you really should have been anyway? There are loads of things you can stop, pause, and if things are really tight – claim!With a combination of business interruption loans, Government grants, and the cancellation of subscriptions and services you really don’t need, you could come out of this stronger than ever. Make sure you’ve applied for everything you’re entitled to. Your accountant should be able to confirm what this could be.Don’t forget to review your bank statements and see what’s going out. You’ll be amazed at what you’ve paid for twice, or you might be paying for services you don’t use.

Check your KPIs… daily!

If you’re anything like us, we have a set of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), which we always used to check monthly. This includes the number of leads, conversion rate for existing clients, conversion rates for new clients, etc.STOP! Check them daily from now on. Get really focused and drive your activity. This is an ever-changing situation, often by the day or even sometimes by the hour. Get there first with your phone call, Zoom meeting, or proposal.

Build a new plan

Why not create a 90-day strategic plan for your business while you have time? Make positive plans to grow now; not when ‘it all gets back to normal’.Then repeat after us: “There is no normal!”Work on your plan to boom over the next 90 days and get your business into a fabulous position with all the new opportunities are out there right now, right at this moment.

Call them, maybe?

Call all of your clients! Yes. Call them. Don’t hide and wait for them to contact you. Make the decisions, make the moves, aim to help and serve them and check in to see how they are. They’re probably struggling now. They’re worried. They might need your help.See how you can support them and start having some positive conversations.

Take advantage of our FREE offer!

As our clients are changing, regrouping, and reviewing their budgets, we’ve freed up two hours of design work a week free of charge for small businesses who are really struggling but want to keep going.It will be on a first come, first served basis. The maximum is 2 hours per project to give everyone a fair chance of benefitting.Interested? Contact us right now and we’ll get you booked in!Be quick. These will get snapped up really quickly! We look forward to helping you now and in the future. Stay safe.