Minimize the Impact Coronavirus Has On Your Business

The Coronavirus is starting to make an impact on businesses across the U.S. as it takes the country by storm.  Whether you are personally worried or not, there are A LOT of places that are trying to be proactive about preventing the spread of this thing and it's creating a ripple effect throughout the economy, especially in the small business community.  We're starting to see the Coronavirus impact business by events having to be canceled, schools closing and more.  Quite honestly, it's all got my Beauty Bosses concerned and this is the part of small business ownership that is hard.So, let's be real.  We can't personally change much about the overall situation, or minimize how the Coronavirus is impacting business.  The only thing we can do is change how WE react.  My suggestion...if you see a dip in business because people are nervous to go out in public or spend money, use it as an opportunity to work ON your business instead of working IN your business.  Here's a few ideas on how to leverage downtime due to the impact of Coronavirus on your business.

10 Ways to Minimize the Impact Coronavirus Has On Your Business

1. Create content - More people are either opting to stay home or they're being forced to cause things are closing.  That means, they will probably have their nose in a device more than usual consuming content.  Let it be yours.  Write a blog post.  Create an email campaign.  Work on a video explaining a new service you're offering.  Think of the part of your business you want to grow and create content around it.  Even if someone doesn't book with you NOW, you've planted the seed for the future.  You can also save the content and publish it later when things get moving again.
2.  Plan - If you didn't get a chance to map out a plan for the year, it's the perfect time to make that happen.
3. Holiday promos - If you don't want to plan out your year, at least plan out your holiday promos and start getting your marketing materials in place so when the time comes, you'll be ready to go.
4.  Run a Gift Card Promo - I love this idea.  A decline in bookings likely means a decline in revenue for anyone in the beauty business.  A great way to combat that is run a gift certificate promo.  Then you're bringing in some revenue and people can use their gift cards when this is behind us or contained.
5. Marketing Projects - If updating your website or fixing your brochure or any other marketing project has been on your to do list for weeks, it's the perfect time to tackle it.
6. Work on Your Systems - This is something we should all be doing anyway but it's also something I personally find difficult to carve out time for.  That said, use your downtime to look at the systems you have in place and make sure they are running efficiently for you.  This could be everything from your booking software to how your day to day operation runs.
7. Spring Cleaning - It's been a LONG winter full of germs.  While I'm sure each and every one of you pays extremely close attention to sanitation on a daily basis, use your downtime to do a deep clean of the surfaces you may not get to on a daily basis.
8. Push E-Commerce - If you have an e-commerce store set up on your site, push it!  With people not wanting to go to public places, it's the perfect time to remind that you have products that can be shipped directly to their door.
9. Refresh Your Space - Paint your waiting area, refresh the decor or just do some rearranging.  Use the time to give your space a facelift so when business picks back up, your salon, MedSpa or studio is looking it's best.
10. RELAX - This too shall pass.  Yes, it could be days, it could be weeks, some are saying years.  Who really knows.  But, even though it can be hard, try to relax.  This could be behind us sooner than later and it's better to stay optimistic and try to minimize impact of the Coronavirus on your business, rather than panic at this point.  Being a small business owner means you'll experience some ups and downs.  This may be one of those "downs" but it will pass and eventually things will go back up.

If you want to talk about a marketing project that's been looming on  your to-do list for far too long, let's talk!