Currently, we’re in the middle of a global pandemic caused
by the novel coronavirus SARS-COV-2, which causes a respiratory disease known
as COVID-19. Although most people who contract the virus have mild symptoms and
recover after around one or two weeks, it can be fatal to the elderly and those
with underlying health conditions. Thousands of people around the globe have
died from this disease, which is why we’re currently living in a way that most
of us aren’t used to. Most people are being asked to stay at home as often as
they can and only leave the house when absolutely necessary, non-essential
businesses have been closed down, and everyone who can is working from home.
If you’re sitting at home
waiting for it to be safe to go back into work again, you might be wondering
what you can do to feel productive and use the lockdown period to achieve
something. While there’s nothing wrong with simply resting as well, many people
find that having something to work on is good for their mental health. And if
you’re unable to work right now and have been furloughed until further notice,
you might have found yourself with more spare time on your hands than you’re
used to, so why not use it wisely?
Many people are using the COVID-19
lockdown to begin laying the foundations for starting their own business. While
the current situation might make it difficult for you to start taking on
clients and customers right now, depending on the type of products or services
that you plan to offer, there’s definitely a lot that you can do in order to
have your business ready to launch once the world goes back to normal. Here are
some suggestions to consider.
Improve Your Business Qualifications:
Starting your own business doesn’t require a degree or any
other formal qualifications, but if you have been considering doing some
studying in order to help you improve your business knowledge and achieve more
success with starting your own company, there’s never been a better time than
the present to get started. Sites like Udemy are currently offering heavily
discounted online courses as they know that lots of people want to spend
lockdown being productive and learning something new, so you can snap up a
bargain.
Or maybe you want to focus on something more serious? While
lockdown will hopefully be over by the time you’ve graduated, there are plenty
of online degree programs that you might want to enrol on and get started with
now. Aston University Online has an article on the
various MBA programs that are ideal for preparing yourself for business
ownership.
Write a Business Plan:
If you don’t already have one, you should write a business
plan before you start taking any further steps to set your business up. Your
business plan is an essential document that will help you determine which steps
to take first and which directions to go in when putting your business together
ready for launch. In addition, your business plan will also be necessary if you
decide to apply for business funding or pitch your idea to an investor in the
future. You can use your business plan as you go along to make sure that you
are staying on course, or to help determine whether or not certain changes need
to be made. When writing your plan, consider factors such as who your biggest
competitors are and how your business intends to compete with them, who your
target audience is and how you will market to them, and how much profit you
expect to make in a certain time period. You can find business plan templates online to
help if needed.
Design a Visual Brand:
The first step to take is designing a visual brand; once you
have this covered, you will have a clearer idea of what you want your website
and other aspects of your business to look like. Bear in mind that your brand
is much more than just a logo; it should be the face and voice of your
business. But that being said, you’re not going to get very far without a logo,
and this is often the first thing that new business owners create as it sets
the tone for the rest of the visual brand. Consider brand colours, too – find
two or three colours that work well together and represent your brand and what
it is going to offer. You can get help from a branding professional using sites
like LinkedIn or Fiverr.
Set Up Your Website:
If you’ve already got a business idea, know who your target
market is and what you’re going to be selling, you’ve got plenty of time on
your hands to set up and start building your online presence. Start with a
website; there are still plenty of web developers and designers who work
remotely and will be happy to build a site for your business or if you want
something to do and enjoy being creative online, why not try building your own
with a platform like WordPress, Shopify, or Wix? If using WordPress, look into
plugins like Elementor, which allows you to build a professional site easily
with no coding required.
Prepare Your Content:
Once your website is ready, it’s time to start preparing the
content that you’ll be providing to your target audience. Even if you’re not in
a position to get your business launched until after the lockdown period is
over and the pandemic is a thing of the past, you can use this newly found free
time to prepare as much content as you can in advance. That way, once you’re
back to your normal routine and don’t have as much time on your hands any
longer, you won’t need to worry about writing blog posts, creating infographics
or putting explainer videos together as you will have
a library of pre-prepared stuff to post.
Build Your Social Profiles:
Just because your business might not be ready to trade just
yet it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t pay any attention to social media. In
fact, social media is one of the best tools in your box for creating some hype
about your upcoming new brand launch and engaging with the people who are
likely to become your first clients and customers. You can start using social
media now to find out more about your potential client base and target
audience, figure out what kind of content gets the most engagement, and
encourage followers to sign up to email newsletters and similar that you can
use to share content and promote your products or services in the future.
Test it Out:
Once you’ve got the basics covered, you’re in the perfect position
to start testing things out now, so that once you launch your business, you
know what’s going to work well and which strategies are best avoided. A/B
testing is an ideal choice as this allows you to test two different strategies
at the same time and determine which one gets the best response; this will help
you make the best choices when it comes to marketing your products or services
after the launch of your business.
Build
Relationships:
While we may not be allowed to go out and meet people in person,
there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be able to use this time to
build and strengthen your professional relationships remotely. Spend some time
using social networking sites like LinkedIn to meet with and get to know other
like-minded professionals who may prove to be very useful for you and your
business in the future. Bear in mind that many self-employed people and
business owners are struggling for work in this time of uncertainty, so you
will be able to find professionals ready and waiting to help you with several
aspects of your business, whether you need somebody to conduct a marketing
audit, produce content for your brand or help you define your target market.
Promote Your Business:
The more you promote your business, the easier it’s going to
be to find paying customers or clients once you launch it. Use this time to get
people excited about your upcoming business launch and provide them with
something to look forward to in the future; most people are looking for
something to get excited about these days as they’re sat at home wondering when
life is going to get back to normal! Along with using social media, come up
with some creative ways to promote your upcoming brand. You could use offline
methods such as placing posters in your window or in your car to catch the
attention of passers-by or run an online competition to help raise awareness of
your upcoming brand. Be sure to set a launch date so that your prospective
clients or customers know when to expect your brand to be open for business. If
you’re selling products, you might want to consider offering the option for
customers to pre-order them.
If you’ve been thinking of starting your own business for a while but simply haven’t had the time, the COVID-19 lockdown could be just what you need to get all the preparation done and have your brand ready for launch once it’s over.
