3 Ways to Get your Business Through COVID-19

Business Growth during COVID-19

Written by: Jimmy Newson

Jimmy Newson is the founder and CEO of Moving Forward Small Business, a membership-based digital publishing company on a mission to save a million small businesses from failure by 2050. He presents workshops and training regularly with Start Small Think Big, NY Public Library, SCORE, Digital Marketing World Forum, DC Start-Up Week, and international SaaS companies.

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May 19, 2020

The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has opened our eyes to how vulnerable the modern world is. We may have all of the tools to remain connected, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to keep us away from the social distancing reality we have to live in.

While everything may seem to be in shambles, I’m here to tell you that you can make it through this storm. Government aid aside, I have 3 ways for you to survive and keep growing your business through this crisis.

I’ll be breaking down three tips individually, and each one is designed to help you handle a different aspect of the pandemic. Also, when you make these adjustments, you’ll be able to survive future problems that may come your way.

Let’s dive right in.

1. Keep your employees engaged

The first thing you’ll want to do, whether you have 2 or 100 employees, is to keep them in the loop. The worst thing you can do for your business is leaving employees guessing on their future and job situation. This can cause stress, anxiety, and any projects you may have had to become stagnant.

How to keep your employees in the loop

The best way to keep your employees engaged is to utilize online services like slack, zoom, and even Monday.com. My advice is to combine a service that provides a dashboard with a service that allows you to converse with your staff. For this, Slack and Monday work really well with one another. If you want to continue growing your business, you’ll need to make sure that you have a solid core staff.

Using these methods will keep your employees engaged, in the loop, and ready to continue any work they may need to from home. Also, as bleak as it may sound, I would always recommend telling employees sooner rather than later if they need to be laid off.

2. Optimize your website

Website optimization is going to be key if you want to handle this crisis. Think about it, while we may all be stuck indoors, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t actively engaging with the online world. This means that having engaging content on your website needs to be a priority during and after the pandemic. So, if you want to continue growing your business through the pandemic, optimization is going to be key.

SEO optimization

The first step you need to take is the optimization of keywords, backlinks, authority, and technical SEO. All of these need to be done in accordance with one another, and you can find detailed guides online if you need help along the way. SEO should be a priority for a lot of reasons, but you want people to be able to find you quickly when they conduct a Google search, right? Well, for that, you need SEO.

Blogs

Having a blog is a great way to make sure people can find your website, and it might even help engage with consumers during the pandemic. Take a look at a few different platform options you like, and start typing away. You’ll want to focus on topics within your niche and feel free to experiment.

Web design

Half of all online searches are being done on mobile devices, which means that you’ll need to have your website optimized for mobile usage. If you don’t, potential prospects and consumers may end up leaving you behind. The process is simple, and if your website is a bit behind the times, now is the time to get that taken care of.

Social media

As a business owner, if you’ve been slacking on social media, I bet you’ll find that things are pretty slow. If your business is not on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter already, it’s time to start building your image on these platforms. Not only will this help your business stay connected with consumers during the pandemic, but it can grow your brand after.

3. Take it one day at a time

The most important tip I have for you is to take everything one day at a time. There is a lot of uncertainty out there, so I get that you may feel overwhelmed. Always remember to take care of yourself, and try not to stress yourself out over variables that are out of your control.

A lot of business owners panic when trouble reaches their door, but that doesn’t have to be you. If you can remain calm, cool, and collected, you and your business can survive this. Always be sure to stay up to date on current events, and frequently check with the government for potential financial aid or relief.

Final thoughts

I know that the pandemic is causing quite the stir, but don’t let it turn your business upside down. Take everything day by day, and make sure that you keep your staff up to date on what’s going on.

The worst of the pandemic should be over soon, and if you’ve made it this far, I bet you can make it through the rest.

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