Like everyone I too never imagined to be a part of this freakish situation. Not only India but the world is on its knees all thanks to a virus. Novel Corona Virus AKA COVID-19 have put all of us in a fix.
The rich and poor all are influenced, multinational firms are struggling to cope with this outbreak and are incurring significant losses, Small firms are taking equal or a bigger hit. Routine operations have become challenging or non-existent.
Starting from paying salaries to employees, managing with your next month’s funds are the things that can simply imbalance ones plan of their financial year.

My situation is no different, with a firm/product younger than a year,Nabhi Sutra-Ayurvedic belly button oil. This current scenario is difficult to grasp despite my extensive experience of running an IT firm for over a decade and several other businesses along the way. Before the Pandemic, Nabhi Sutra, only available on online platforms was sailing smoothly. Our strategies, planning and efforts were just starting to bare fruits due to God’s grace and our hard work. All of a sudden on 24th March our Respected PM took a much needed harsh step of a 21 days lockdown, I respect this firm stand our Nation has taken and follow it 100%. The further extension of 19 days is also needed, we owe as a responsible citizen to obey this lockdown.

In midst this crisis I believe planning and strategizing is the only way we will be able to fight this unique situation. So, am just penning down my ideas to make this quarantine productive. Defining a routine is the 1st step, scheduling working hours, developing your own space and yes a cup of coffee goes a long way.

As in today’s world thanks to internet your social media is your biggest market. You should take your online presence like your social media page, your website, your online branding and PR are your assets. You should not compromise with them. You can pick and choose from the below steps as plans may vary from one niche to another.

Enhance your skill set – During our busy routine schedule, we always wanted to learn new things that may help us to run our business more effectively. We tried but we could not find time. Now we have it all the time we need. Choose some online courses that can help you to convert yourself as a better entrepreneur. You can learn peacefully during the lockdown. You need to make a list of your learning and it will lead you to create a next plan for your new innings.

Assess your business – Here is a good time to check and analyze your past business movements which you may have missed out/outsourced due to your other commitments. Make sure, you as an entrepreneur/owner is aware of each and every aspect of your own business. Collect those old files and emails and get the detailed idea of it.

Add new keywords and backlinks – Now a days, online presence is a must and it is important to nurture your presence well with help of SEO and SMO. Check the online and offline SEO Score of your domain. Add new required keywords for promotion in your list. Analyze current backlinks and build a plan to get more backlinks. Build your own network of bloggers from similar niche. Try to build your social media handles with more followers organically. Build your personal network and profile as an entrepreneur can also help you to move ahead and build new opportunities in future.

Influencers and Networking – Connect with value adding influencers for your niche on Instagram and facebook during this extra time. Communicate with them and make the deal ready. Do not start with promotion though but build your own database which you can use once the system is on.

Update the skillset of your Team – When your employees are unable to work from home due to lack of system during this lockdown, inspire them enough to keep themselves indulged with their respective profiles with further knowledge gaining activities. Give them assignments that they can perform from home. Suggest them the online courses from Udemy or other websites which can help them to grow. When you start with the work after lockdown, make sure you have a 2.0 updated team for your business.

Deal with finance more wisely – The most difficult part of this crisis is your business’s financial situation. When earning has stopped but your office rent, salary and other static monthly expenses are still there to take care of, you can feel the major crunch. Do not worry! Things will be fine soon with a expected boom in the market. People will start spending on goods after the pandemic. It is important for people to get back to the normal mindset and mood to get the right results on sales. People are fearful and so the chances are high to get failed with your basic promotional activities. Keep calm and analyze things first. Invest wisely once you restart with your work. Create small budget campaigns and invest a little low on branding. Delay your plans on PR and promotion for 1-2 months to check on the movement. If you want, you can take small loans for your mental peace to deal with this phase. You can fulfill it once the business is back on track.

Manage your manufacturing effectively – If you are in product based industry, you can strategize a bit and plan your manufacturing with extra care. There are chances to save your money on manufacturing by optimizing operations and developing production line for increased output. Understand current stock and coming opportunities to plan it well. Start planning now! Try to save a bit from this part.

I myself am involved in all the above mentioned topics giving me a clear picture to deal with the future. As per the experts, in china, many brick and mortar took severe hit due to corona but the online industry has shown a big hike. So, if you are not present online, make your place. If you are already present online, just be prepared for July. We can hope for the best.