The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of us in ways we never imagined. This crisis not only impacts our personal lives, but extends to our businesses, too. As small businesses, we are facing unique challenges that we never anticipated, not even 2 weeks ago. The way we do business with ourselves and each other has drastically changed and may never be the same, and this can be scary, especially for people who have always done things in a certain way. But, with change comes opportunity.
During this time, we will find better, more efficient ways to communicate. People have joked online about how many meetings can be said with a simple email, and we’re starting to see just how true that is. Maybe we don’t need to spend two hours in a meeting discussing every topic under the sun. Maybe our staff can be more productive working from home than we thought. It may be a silver lining for some organizations now that the majority of their employees are set up to work remotely.
Some challenges, though, cannot be overcome as easily as sending an email or a quick Slack message to your team. We all know how important it is to network and stay connected. This has become increasingly challenging during this time of social distancing and isolation. Some of your colleagues may not be as tech-savvy as others and may find it really challenging to connect and stay involved from their living room. Happy hours and grabbing coffee have been cancelled. In-person networking group meetings have been postponed, meet-ups have been moved to Zoom, and everything is done more remotely than ever.
Every small business is facing its own challenges right now like migrating completely online and staying relevant and top of mind. One thing we’ve already learned is that we will get through it together and our businesses will be stronger than ever if we continue to evolve. For now, we need to tackle these new challenges head-on.
Navigating the new normal.
As the business environment moves almost completely online during this unprecedented time, this is becoming our new normal. Along the way, we’ve discovered some new ways to overcome the hurdles that come along with it. Much of our sales process had to be revamped, our networking strategies have done a 180, and our communication methods have been adjusted. The inability to have face-to-face meetings with clients is a struggle for every small business, but we can’t get stuck playing the waiting game until we can be face-to-face again — and we don’t know when that will be. You and your business are likely experiencing this on some level as well. Instead of pressing pause on all of our networking, sales, and business ventures, we’ve put together a list of some methods to keep moving forward. As hard as it may be to see them when you’re locked away at home, the opportunities are still out there. Don’t miss out, go find them!
Staying relevant.
Keeping your business relevant and staying top of mind for both your network and potential clients is the key to getting your business through this trying, challenging time. You want your business to be the first thing potential clients think of, both now, and as life starts getting back to normal. You want to ensure that you are able to get enough new business to stay up and running throughout this crisis, while planning for the inevitable new normal.
So, how do you do that? How do you ensure that your business remains top of mind when it matters most? Here’s our list of10 Ways to Stay Connected from Home!
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