As a wellness scientist, I cannot emphasize enough how much we need to comply with guidance from CDC and WHO. I have owned my wellness company for a decade, following in the footsteps of my family members as a fourth generation entrepreneur.
We are in challenging times that require us to be calm, yet prepared. As I learned in my MBA program, it is a given that our businesses are subject to external forces outside of our control at any minute. We all want to ensure sustainability for our businesses and serve others when our communities need it most, which is right now.
We want to look back on these COVID-19 days and know that we preserved our businesses the best we could. For many of us our businesses represent our livelihood that pays the bills, supports our families, and helps us leave a legacy for our children.
Here are 8 strategies you can adopt to remain agile online:
- Follow CDC and WHO standards for social distancing. Cancel all in-person events meeting their attendance threshold and offer a discount virtual option if your event is content related.
- Refund in-person event participants fully at 100% and offer them discounted admission to a future in-person event. We WILL get out of the house one day.
- Order products for your business online or for store pickup. Every step toward social distancing helps make this a short-term sacrifice instead of a more critical long-term requirement to officially quarantine. For those who are unaware, quarantine has legal consequences if broken, social distancing is highly urged and recommended, but has no legal consequences.
- If you lead a service-based business, leverage Calendly and schedule online Zoom video conference appointments instead of in-person appointments. Same costs/rate.
- What online courses can you develop? Service businesses are especially positioned to do this well, though others can. Consider Dropbox as your course repository and use the dropbox link as a redirect after course payment, or you can leverage professional platforms (that will take a portion of your sales) like Teachable or Udemy. Offer a videoconference bonus for those who purchase. Leverage ads and your e-mail list to market.
- Schedule video conference team meetings so everyone still feels connected, and leverage group chats like Slack for virtual communications.
- Pivot your business toward your value, not your process. In-person business is a matter of approach, it is not your actual business in most cases. That’s where many newspapers went wrong. The paper was not their business, the news was, yet they did not adopt an effective online strategy fast enough. Be clear on your value.
- Keep an eye on the turnaround shipping times and inventory of your suppliers. Do you need to diversify?
- What eBooks can you develop relating to your area of expertise or that relate to your product? Be sure the eBook is professionally edited. You can leverage Canva for diy design. Offer a videoconference bonus for those who purchase.
Systems are key – Mailchimp opt-ins, growing e-mail lists, and payment portals. I am committed to the wellness of women, and we can each do our part to maintain operations while supporting the social distancing needs of our communities. Plus, please consider giving a portion of your proceeds to a local food pantry to help the kiddos who will not have access to school foods during this time.
I hope this helps. Join me on Live Well, the podcast, as we get through COVID-19 together. And join me in the Wellthy Academy as well all take time to re-prioritize what’s important in wellness and work. We’re in this together. This too shall pass.
Live Well is a women’s empowerment lifestyle brand focusing on mental health, money, and motherhood. Established in 2010 by Dr. Jenn Edwards, Live Well specifically helps women avoid burnout, holistically invest, and parent with resilience. Jennifer is a wife, mother of two children, scientist, author, speaker, professor, and fourth generation entrepreneur.
LIVE WELL 