Today’s times are uncertain but not unprecedented in human history. The Spanish Flu of 1918 has proven how destructive a pandemic can be on the economy. What’s unprecedented is the opportunity to start a business even when being encouraged to shelter in place.
Starting a business during a pandemic may be scary. You won’t be able to serve a lot of people; a part-replacement franchise can still get clients, but they’ll have to adapt, so do a lot of businesses. The best thing to have happened while the pandemic occurred is the capability to go online with your business.
It takes a brave businessman or woman to get a start-up working during the pandemic. If you want to know how to make it big without breaking it, here are a few things to consider for your small business during the pandemic.
The Online Business: Consultancy
There are many people locked in their house right now, and you have a job to do. If you are in the medical field or a similar profession, you could try to go online and give consultations through the Web. Many other services can be taken online, and you should know which ones these are.
Other consultancies exist. You can advise on business and finance, education, and more. It’s a low investment business to get into. If you don’t have it, invest in a good laptop, and brush up on your skills. You will also need a good connection, but other than these, you’re good to go.
The Online Business: YouTube
YouTube accounts for around 44% of online traffic based on the last survey. People go to the channel to look for different things. Some of them go here for entertainment, while others want to learn from the so-called online experts. This is where you come in.
If you’re excellent at, say, music, you can work on that and go online on YouTube. Tutorials are big as people stay at home and there are many topics you can choose from. Gardening, online businesses, and health and life tips are only a few streaming ideas. Who knows? Maybe you’re the next big sensation online, and your channel is just waiting for you.
The Online Business: Education
Education professionals have taken to reaching out to their students through the online platform. At school, there is a lot of room for transmission of the virus. The education system will not stop school, so they managed to bring everything online to keep things as normal as possible.
If you’re not a teacher, you can treat this as a tutorial. You can offer your services for helping students get better at certain subjects or teach them new skills. You can reach out to others through these or collaborate with other websites to become a ‘subject expert’ or a tutor of sorts on a certain subject.
The Online Business: Let Them Know You’re Working
It’s hard to sell your services or your products if people don’t know that you’re up for business, so make them see that you’re open. Announce on social media or certain websites that you’re definitely offering your services. That way, they’ll be aware enough to send you inquiries.
Search your target audience. It should be easy for you if you know the places where they are. Maintain an online presence in these places so that your prospective customers will know where to contact you. Remember, there are a lot of social media tools at your disposal nowadays.
The Online Business: Go Digital
There was a time when running a business or starting a small company meant you had to go traditional. You would’ve gone on radio or TV to advertise your business. Considering how expensive some of these ads go, it’s not advisable for a small start-up or something similar.
If you want, you can go completely digital. All you need is a little design know-how and the places to put up your ads in. It’s also a big avenue to reach out to people right now. With everyone opting to stay at home, there’s no question that most interactions will happen in the cyber environment.
The pandemic is something you weren’t prepared for, but that’s no reason why you should stop embracing the grind. Start a small business and brave the unfamiliar landscape. All you really have to do is see it for what it is — an opportunity to learn the new digital way of doing business.