Coping in a Crisis as Small Business Owner
Emergency Toilet Paper by Amanda Weedmark
Some ideas on how to cope as a small business owner in a crisis.
We are in unfamiliar territory as this virus unravels everything we know. Everything we find comfort in. Everything we thought we were sure of. Essentially pulling the rug out from under us. And it’s not just us as a community or a country, but the world!
I’m no crisis expert, and these may / may not apply to every business & situation but thought I’d share how I’m navigating it as a small business owner.
Here’s a list of things you can pick and choose from. I hope it helps.
You’re not alone
As a small business owner, just 3 months into my business full-time, I never thought I’d have to face a hurdle of so many unknowns of what is on the other side. It’s scary to say the least. My livelihood and future feel so much at risk right now.
With more questions than answers, it can really spike the anxiety.
What will tomorrow bring? When will we find some kind of normalcy again? How much will this change the landscape of our lives? Will we come out stronger? How can I find a job to support myself when my business isn’t bringing in any money? Will there be any jobs? How much support will our governments provide?
I don’t know. No one does. But knowing that I’m not alone in my thoughts and feelings, makes me feel like we’ll be ok if we stick together. One day at a time.
Host a sale or switch to online
Many of the business I deal with are hosting some kind of sale on their website. It could be free shipping or a percentage off their order. Maybe porch drop off service or store pick up service.
I’m personally hosting a 10% off sale in my retail shops and free shipping on $150+ on wholesale orders.
But many people aren’t buying right now so sales may not do much to give you the boost you need.
If not, it’s a great time to give your website or social media some TLC. If you have an online shop but don’t have everything listed, list a few things a day and post on your social media feed. If you don’t have an online shop but have a social media account, you can explore the idea of accepting phone or email orders. If you don’t have a social media account, it could be a great time to get one started.
If you need help in how to take product photos or how I’ve billed people outside of my website in the past, let me know. I’d be happy to offer some help - free of charge.
Review business operations and finances
As sucky as that sounds, it’s so important to look at your operations & finances to see where some cleanup can happen. We don’t realize how much we miss when we’re so busy getting through the day.
Maybe there’s a process you’d like to explore. Or something new you’d like to implement. Maybe you can look at a new product, service, or vendor that might help you grow your business once we’re out of the woods. Or sift through your financials to see if there are any ways you can tighten things up or eliminate payments that you don’t need to make.
Reduce monthly costs
Reducing monthly costs will help free up funds to stay afloat. With the exercise above, I was able to see what subscriptions services were necessary to have and what weren’t. The ones that weren’t, I temporarily put a pause on those. The ones that were, I reached out to ask for a temporary reprieve on payment or atleast a discounted rate.
Don’t avoid it because “they’ll just say no”. They just might say yes!
Work on a back burner project
There are many projects on my back burner so those are coming to the forefront right now. They’re creative projects I’ve thought about but never really felt were important enough to spend the time on them. They’re also cleanup and organization tasks.
Hopefully by tackling these, it will set me up to be more organized, efficient, and bring something new to the table when the dust has settled.
For this to happen though, we will require a bit of discipline since we’re doing these things for ourselves and not because we have to. I find that dedicating a specific time and a timeframe for that task, retains focus. As opposed to having it open-ended and losing all motivation.
Learn something new
I love learning new things so I will be exploring some topics I’ve always wanted to know more about.
Product line development is something I’ve really wanted to learn more about - which will help me in my business in the future. And business is always an on-going learning experience for me. And there’s always something new to learn when it comes to programs or services I use.
Connect
Check in with the people you do business with. Even if it’s just to say hi and share your experiences with. Maybe even get as daring as to dream about new things you want to do together. It’ll help provide a bit of normalcy - even for the moment.
Load up on the good stuff
It’s important that you, as an individual, stay strong so load up on all the good stuff; The good sleep, the good food, the good exercise, the good weather / the good nature walks. If you can, the good company.
Even with social distancing in play, you can chat to a neighbour over a fence, have Face Time calls with friends, spend quality time with family. Or maybe enjoy some much needed time by yourself.
Don’t forget to take in some of that good news!
Stay present
I want to be able to predict tomorrow and make plans for my future. But I can’t. How frustrating!
I also want to rewind time and NOT leave my stable 10-year job. Had I only spent a few more months there, I might not have so much worry about where my next pay cheque is coming from.
But if yoga has taught me anything, it is to stay present. Don’t look back. Don’t look at tomorrow. Be here. In the now.
Explore ways to find your comfort. Adapt. Adjust. Embrace new sensations, thoughts, emotions, & opportunities. Move slowly. Pause. Breathe.
Find your joy
It’s really difficult when your joy lies in the thing you do for a living - and you can’t do that thing.
So when you have this forced time and space, you might remember things you’ve forgotten about that bring you joy. It’s as if you’ve been transported back to childhood - or a simpler day - where you had to find things to do to fill your time.
Find joy in being bored. I’m a person that needs to feel busy and productive, especially now that I’m running my own business. Because I can’t, I feel restless and impatient.
So to keep my mind off of that, I flip it on its head and lean into the boredom.
With that, I’m learning to embrace it. Embrace longer, more thoughtful walks with my dog. Embrace taking an extra 10 minutes to lay in bed before I jump out and start the day. Embrace eating my breakfast slower. Embrace mental space to let thoughts and ideas come and go. Embrace the tiny little things I miss in a day, like the birds chirping or cloud dancing in the skies.
Being bored is where the header design for this blog post came from. It literally came to me in a dream and I woke up laughing. While I’m sure it’s not a new concept, it brought me a laugh. Had my mind had been filled with too many things from the day, I may have missed out on it - and the joy it brought me.
Find joy in creating in other ways. Design and running a business are huge passions for me but essentially it’s the creation that I love. So I’ve been finding ways to apply that to other areas like writing, drawing, cooking, cleaning, or creating something for the joy of it instead of the need to commercialize it. Like I used to as a kid.
Who’s crafting right now?!
Find joy in being unplugged. I don’t actively check the news for updates as frequently anymore. I realized how much of a toll it was taking when I started having nightmares.
I must admit, it’s tough to escape completely. So I have to make an active effort to get away from it. Email gets closed. Phone gets put on a shelf. I physically leave my house. I throw on a Netflix show or my favourite relaxation music. I decide when I’m ready to connect in again.
Find ways to help
We can’t really help that things have gone the way they have but we can definitely find ways to help ourselves and others through this time.
It could be as simple as self-isolation. Or maybe you offer something to your audience that helps lift their spirits or provide some relief. Possibly offering a portion of your services for free.
I’m still exploring this one myself but you can definitely use the time to brainstorm what ‘helping’ means to you; Both personally & professionally.
Most importantly…
Abide by recommendations from your municipalities / government / health officials. And let’s take this thing one day at a time with strength, compassion, and good health.