Many businesses are faced with downtime right now, and it can be an extremely scary time.
Business downtime is often avoidable, but not right now. Many businesses have been forced to close for the foreseeable, and it can be difficult to keep a cheery disposition when everything you have worked so hard for could be on the line.
Usually, if you have a plan in place to stop things from going wrong, such as strong online security measures, then you won’t need to worry about downtime at all. However, this pandemic has brought the world to its knees and both employers and employees are suffering because of it.
Here, you’ll find a few ways you can make sure you’re handling downtime appropriately. It might be the last thing you want to do when you’re anxious about COVID-19, but it could leave you in a much more positive position once this is all over. Read on to see how you could handle this business downtime:
Take Another Look At Your Business Plan And Goals
Pull out your initial business plan and the goals you set out. When was the last time you looked at them? Business owners should look at these things every few months to ensure they are on track, but most will admit that they rarely do. Now is a great time to take a look at your business plan and see if it needs to be updated. You might even get a sense of motivation from it, having forgotten the reasons you initially started your business.
It’s always nice to tick your completed goals off the list too, and then set bigger goals for when you’re back in action.
Come Up With An Idea For A New Product/Service
Is there a new product or service you could offer? Perhaps you could come up with something that you can use to help people right now. Offering this for free will be welcomed when people are at risk of losing their jobs and short on cash, and it will certainly help them to remember you and your business when all of this is over. Not only are you offering value to those that need it, you are gaining visibility and building a great reputation.
For example, perhaps you could offer free 30 minute consultations to help wannabe business owners get started on their own business. That’s just one example. You will always have an area of expertise that can be utilized in situations such as this.
Feel free to come up with ideas for your business that you can use once all of this is over, too. Write everything down, even those that don’t seem like they will come in handy. You never know when they might further inspire you or you might need them!
Learn A New Skill
Learn a new skill. Are there any soft skills you can improve on as a business owner, or something more technical that you’ve always wanted to try? What would help you to grow and improve your business in the long run?
You could even use this time to learn a skill seemingly unrelated to your business. Although it might not seem like it is related, it will help you to become a more knowledgeable, high value person.
See If You Have Any Stock Or Business Equipment Leftover That You Can Sell
In some cases you may have stock or business equipment you don’t need right now. It could be a good idea to sell it on. For instance, you can make a decent amount of money if you choose to sell unused ink cartridges. Make a list of the things you may have that you don’t need and look into services that could buy it from you. As another example, a beauty business could try to sell unused nail polishes and hair products to customers on social media for a reduced price. It may not be business as usual, but it will help to get rid of some stock and give you some extra cash.
Look Into Passive Income Streams To Tide You Over
Passive income streams do take a little time to set up, but if nothing else, all we have right now is time. See if you can share your expertise on a new YouTube channel. This will also be great marketing for your business. If you prefer, you could write an Ebook sharing some of your biggest secrets of the trade.
Take Good Care Of Your Health
Don’t let your health slip. It’s all too easy to stay in bed, eat rubbish foods, and sit around all day feeling awful. You’ll be in a much better position to get back to work if you look after yourself at this time. Do what makes you feel good and positive and you’ll have more energy to do everything else on the list.
Make Time To Do Nothing At All
As an entrepreneur and business owner, making time to do nothing might seem absolutely ludicrous. However, most entrepreneurs should be dedicating time to doing nothing anyway! Scheduling 30 minutes per day to do nothing could give you space to breathe, as well as allow answers to fall into your lap. Many people admit that when they are still, the answers they are searching for easily come to them.
Read/Listen To More Books
Pick up a book you’ve been meaning to read and devour it. Learn from people like Tim Ferris and Tony Robbins!
Figure Out If There’s A Way You Can Conduct Business Online
Is there no way at all you can continue conducting your business online? You may need to change a few things up, but with apps like Zoom it could be entirely possible to still perform some business processes. Consult with your team and see if they have ideas. You might be surprised at what they come up with!
How are you going to handle this downtime? Leave any of your own thoughts and ideas below!
