How to Keep Growing Your Business During Covid19 [plus Step by Step Calendar]
We are in a strange place in the world during the Covid19. If you are in the USA, or many countries worldwide, your business may be shut down due to shelter in place orders and being a non-essential business. I am a big believer we all need to do our part to flatten the curve but I know for photographers, and other creative business owners who may be shut down (stylists, estheticians, artisans, bakers, salon and spa owners, fitness owners, event based businesses, speakers etc) this is a scary time & you might feel paralyzed or a sense of “what now?”
While we can’t control the circumstances, we can do our best to come out stronger on the other side. There’s so much in our businesses we put on the back burner because we are too busy running our businesses. Many of these things would make us MORE MONEY, give us MORE IMPACT or make things EASIER… if only we had time to work on them.
And while I get that we still may not have an abundance of time if we are suddenly homeschooling, applying for financial assistance, or dealing with our intense emotions (all of which are welcome), the fact is we still can carve some time aside to work on our business each day. I can say from personal experience, doing one action every day for my business (no matter how big or small) feels really good and like I have control over something in this surreal time.
Below are all the actions you can be working on in your business each day! There are over 40 things (plenty to keep you busier than ever during a potential 2 month quarantine).
Want even more accountability and ease in implementation?
Grab my calendar for how to grow your business during quarantine >>HERE << for free.
Work on Your Systems - Our systems & processes are something we usually put thought into when just starting out but as our business picks up, we often forget to update them. Yet our systems are so important to keeping our business operating efficiently. Now while things are slow is a great time to think about how we can be more efficient by doing things like:
Update your CRM system -- do you use a software like 17 hats, tave, shootq or ontraport to manage your clients? A CRM (customer relationship management) software can be such a help in your business and help you keep your client care organized, streamlined and save you time (by sending invoices, scheduled emails, contracts, etc). These softwares often update and get new features and sometimes when you are in the thick of running a booming business you don’t have time to take advantage of the new features or updates your software is offering. While things are slow, it’s a really great time to have a refresher on how your program works, all the features and evaluate if you could be using the software to help you more and run your business more efficiently.
Update your workflow - if you have been in business for awhile you probably have a system or workflow for how you deal with your clients, or how you create your products, or how you deliver your goods to your customers. Sometimes we know our workflow is not super efficient but we don’t have the time to slow down, fix the “holes” and re-learn how to do things. Now is a great time to look at your workflow. What is working and what could be better? Can you rework your workflow to make your life easier?
Update your email templates - Oftentimes we send nearly the same email to each client over the time they work with us. If you have not written your own templates for emails yet, now is a great time to do so! It is such a timesaver later down the line when you are getting multiple inquiries or have a full client load. Writing emails not your thing? If you are a portrait or wedding photographer, you can buy templates from me!
Research payment processors - if you don’t accept credit cards yet in your business, you really should! Yes you pay a fee but studies show customers spend more money with businesses who accept credit cards. If you do already take credit cards that’s great but do you know how much you pay in fees? Researching ways to accept credit cards and comparing processing fees is not exactly a fun task when you are a creative but it’s so important because it makes you money, and if you can save money on the fees that’s a great way to trim costs in these tight times.
Research & trial new software - Ever thought about trying a new software to help your business run smoother? Maybe you want to try to create an email list or maybe you want to try a CRM or maybe you want to try an online appointment booking system. Now is a great time to make use of free trials and see what programs work for you and you like! Again, use the slow down in your business to make the road smoother so you can speed down it when you are open for business again.
Create an operations handbook - As you are updating softwares, CRMs, workflows… it’s a good time to WRITE it down in a “operations handbook” (can be a google doc). This way you won’t forget what your new flow is AND god forbid you ever get sick and someone else has to ever run your business, they have the instructions all written down. This is also helpful if you ever end up hiring an assistant or employee to work for you in your business.
Update Your Policies - When you think over the last few years of your business, were there issues that came up? Did you ever have to offer a refund or have a client cancel at the last second and leave you hanging? Maybe something else? Now is a good time to think about your policies and put them in writing… which leads me to...
Update Your Contracts - do you have contracts in place for your business? When was the last time you updated them? Contracts are important to protect yourself and honestly they protect your clients as well. It makes the agreement of what they get for their money very clear and outlines policies around refunds, cancellations, etc. You can and should update your contracts to reflect what is currently working in your business.
Get your inbox to zero and find a way to keep it that way from now on - if you are like me, getting an email inbox to zero might feel like a magical situation. It’s not that I don't reply to people, but I like to mark newsletters and optional things unread that maybe I want to read one day… I have been using this time (when emails are slower) to get my inbox to zero each day. It feels really good and like an accomplishment! Now is a good time to try it!
Work On Your Offerings - Our offerings are our money makers. And when we are busy in sell mode it is easy to not think about what else we could offer, or think about being more profitable by raising prices and/or cutting costs. Now is a good this to evaluate our offers.
Create a new offer that may be more relevant - most people are worried about making money NOW but their normal offerings can’t be delivered (because they are in person services) or they don’t seem relevant. What can you create for your clients that they can use right now? Maybe it’s stock photos or prints or product photos or something else entirely. Put your ear to the ground and see what people need and how you can help.
Update Your Pricing & Packages - While now might seem like a weird time to raise your prices or change up your packages… it’s actually the PERFECT time because you have time. Look at your cost of goods and labor for each package. Can you make your packages & pricing more profitable? Are your margins really high enough. This crisis is showing us why running profitable and sustainable businesses is crucial so now is a great time to get real on your pricing and improve it.
Pivot An Offer To Be Online (if possible) - Is there anything you currently sell or offer as an in person service that could be turned into something you sell online? Or if you can’t make the offer online because you are a photographer-- can you make more parts of the booking & sales process online? Think of ways you can still sell your services but using the internet.
Create a new promotion (spring cleaning sale) - come up with a new sale or promotion that you can offer right now. Maybe if a client buys a $100 gift card they get an extra $25 as a bonus. Be creative. If you are a portrait photographer, I do a “spring cleaning sale” where I sell the unpurchased prints or digitals from my ordering sessions in the prior year. It's a great cash infusion and it’s selling images I already took a year or more ago! You can learn more about this sale HERE.
Review any products you offer and your cost of goods. Can you make this cheaper and better (or cheaper and the same quality)? Similar to evaluating your pricing… when looking at your products and the costs that go into creating them… is there any way to make the same quality product for less money? Maybe there is a supplier or manufacturer with a similar product for less? Look at ways to cut your costs so that your offerings are even more profitable.
Create an introductory offer - are most of your services or offerings high ticket? No shame in being a luxury brand (my business is). However, during a recession and tight times can you create a mini introductory offer that is still profitable and enticing but leaves your clients wanting more. A personal example, is once a quarter I will offer mini headshots that don’t include hair & makeup or any fluff. It’s a 20 minute session and they get one image. Many of these clients come back for family sessions or a bigger personal brand shoot!
Work on Your Marketing & Sales - I am an advocate of ABMS (that’s always be marketing and selling). But let’s face it there are so many ways to market yourself and when we are in the thick of running our business you usually have to pick a few tactics and stick to them. The covid19 crisis shows us how important online marketing is, and if you are not good at upkeeping your online presence now is a great time to revamp or start online marketing.
Update Your Blog & schedule out content for an SEO boost - regularly scheduled blog content helps your site stay in Google’s favor and helps your site be found by more people. Now is the time to schedule out as much blog content as you can to get that good google juju and help you be discovered by more people
Create a podcast, youtube channel or igtv episode - Have you ever wanted to start a podcast or youtube show? Have you heard that IGTV is the best way to grow your instagram? Have you been putting this off? You can create this content with just your phone! How amazing is that! It’s really just about putting in the time to get it done. Now is a great time to launch that show or podcast, position yourself as an expert and grow.
Plan out your instagram content for the next quarter) - similar to batching your blog content, now is a great time to pre plan out your instagram content for the next quarter. Grab your images, write your captions, and plan your hashtags. Set reminders so you know when to post!
Update your website (copy & photos) - Websites are notorious for going unrefreshed for YEARS. Now is the perfect time to audit your website. Could your copy be enhanced? Could your images be updated? Do all your links still work? Is there old info in there that no longer applies. These are common website mishaps and now is the time to fix them.
Perfect your sales pitch - while you may be going to less in person networking meetings right now, it is a great time to practice your “elevator pitch” in front of the mirror. Get really comfy talking about what you do in a concise and enticing way. That way when you are back in the networking circle you can impress everyone.
Work on your sales techniques - similar to working on your pitch, you can work on your sales techniques. Get comfortable saying your prices. Brainstorm on your most common objections from potential clients and find the perfect responses and practice them so they roll off your tongue with ease.
Work on your phone etiquette - these days phone etiquette is not a common skill though in my opinion it is pretty important if you are a business owner to be confident on the phone. Now is a great time to get more comfy with talking to potential clients on the phone.
Create a campaign - while it may not feel aligned right now to launch a big campaign right now, you can do all the prep work so you are ready to launch when our quarantine is over. This might include creating a landing page, writing facebook ad copy, creating graphics or video, writing pitch letters to press or co-marketing partners etc. There are a lot of pieces to a successful campaign and it can take months to prepare for one. Use this time to get all the elements in place for an easy breezy launch down the line.
Learn facebook ads - facebook ads are a powerful business tool. Now is a great time to learn how to use them effectively.
Create an opt in - An opt in is a free item (usually a pdf but it could be a video or something else like a discount code) that has immense value! So much value a person is willing to give you their email to get it! If you want to grow your email list this is the best technique to do so.
Create an email list and newsletter content - If you have an opt in, you can use this time to create or grow your email list. And you also want to create regular newsletter content to send to your list. Pro tip: You can repurpose your blog content!
Write handwritten notes to clients - nothing says class act like a handwritten note! Use your extra time to write a thoughtful note of appreciation to your clients. Build goodwill and let them know you care and they are likely to come back.
Call or check in on your clients & colleagues to see how they are doing - similar to a handwritten note, a phone call is also a very nice gesture. Especially during this time where people are anxious and dealing with a lot of emotions. You will warm your clients hearts and show you are a small business who genuinely cares about their customers.
Have a virtual coffee date or brainstorm session with a colleague or networking group - while you can’t network or have in person coffee dates we can have zoom meet ups! Have a virtual date to stay top of mind in your community in this time.
Work on your branding design, colors, logo - could the visuals of your brand use a touch of elegance and class? Now is a great time to use low cost or free resources like canva to elevate your visual brand.
Work on your branded marketing materials - now is the time to make graphics, cards, pamphlets, pdfs… any client facing materials digital or printed that your client receives can be refreshed or made prettier during this time!
Connect with other business owners with a similar ideal client and in a similar need right now and see what you can create together - co-marketing is a powerful strategy where two aligned businesses join forces on an offer or campaign to help each other grow. And now many businesses are struggling and looking for help and open to collaborating. Even if you have not been able to get noticed before by a dream co marketing partner, now is a GREAT time to reach out and be a helper and come up with a campaign that’s win win for both of you.
Update your client database - Make sure your client database is up to date so you can keep marketing and connecting with your clients (who are most likely to become repeat customers) during this time.
Update your leads list and see who needs follow up - your leads list is your next best go to source to tap into for business. How can you show your leads you are thinking and caring about them right now.
Start/Revamp A Facebook Group - As we are moving to more online marketing during this time, you can create a facebook group of both clients and leads to connect with! Make your group engaging and fun. It might be nice for people to have a happy escape on facebook right now. You can do that for them!
Have a virtual book club - need some accountability to read a business book or just want to have people to discuss with? You can create a business book club on zoom. Or if you want-- you could have a fiction book club and invite clients!
Work on Your Skills & Craft & Knowledge - Now might be the time to hone your skills or a new craft or gain some expertise that you can use to help you make even more money. Times are tough and finances are tight. But you are an entrepreneur and you know how to bootstrap and get savvy. Here’s some examples on how new skill sets & knowledge that you gain now can make you money in the future or even right away
Learn a skill that you usually outsource - Is there a part of your business you typically outsource because it was crucial but in the thick of running your business you didn’t have time to sit down and learn the thing yourself. When we are busy & making money it doesn’t usually make sense to spend hours learning something not in our zone of genius. That said, now if things are tight it might make sense to do it yourself after all. If you are a photographer, maybe you should do your own retouching. If you hired a VA to do your tech or email blasts, maybe now is the time to learn the softwares and do it yourself. If you hired someone to do your social media posting, maybe you should learn to use social media. Maybe you have a bookkeeper doing your books and could learn how to enter the data yourself. You may not always have to keep diy-ing it, and it’s hard to let a contractor go knowing they have bills to pay too, but if you can learn the skills with the time you have and DIY it for now, you may feel more secure in your financial situation. And you may find a new understanding for a part of your business.
Learn a skill that you could make money with in the future or right now - As entrepreneurs we need to know how to read the landscape and move with the times. Maybe you have always liked social media and doing it for yourself and have some knowledge there but never thought of doing it for money. People do make money doing social media for other people, so maybe if you deep dive and learn more about the ins & outs of it, you could actually offer this as a part time service. Or you could learn to build websites. Or you could learn product photography or video. Now is a great time to pick up new skills and get some entry level experience and get paid. You could pick up work on sites like fiverr or upwork. You could offer these services to your existing clients. You never know what people might need. As long as this service or skill is related to remote work, you should be just fine selling & promoting it during this pandemic.
Learn a skill you have been wanting to include in your business - As a photographer, I see so many new techniques & skills I want to try each year. Maybe I have even have bought courses of lighting demos or retouch techniques and never watched them. Now is a great time for me to watch these videos and practice if I can on the members of my household. Maybe you can relate? And the thing is, the skills don’t even have to just be technical like a lighting technique. Maybe you have always wanted to be better at sales or learn social media, or learn online marketing. Now is a great time to either take a new to you online course or go to one you may have purchased but never watched.
Work On Your Customer Experience - Similar to systems, we usually start our business thinking about our customer and their experience working with us. And as we get into flow we often don’t pause to reevaluate. Now let’s see if we can improve or enhance our buyer’s experience in any way.
Re-evaluate the way clients book and buy from you- Is it easy? Can be more simple for you and the client? Can it be automated (maybe using a software like calendly)? Walk through the process and see how you can make it more seamless. Clients will really appreciate a thought through system when bookings pick up again.
Create FAQ pages for different products or high ticket services so clients can learn more about what you do and each offer before a phone call - FAQ pages can be tremendously helpful to clients and also save you time by answering some basic questions (policies, starting pricing, what to expect) before you get on the phone with them. These can take some time to write and create and you need to think about what clients NEED to know, and how you can answer in a friendly, concise way!
Update your office/meeting space or studio (or even the background clients might see if they zoom with you) - Now is a great time to spruce up your office or meeting environment. And since we are all on zoom a lot more, maybe thing about your zoom backdrop and environment!
Research gifts or special touch points you can add to your experience to make it more memorable - gifts and touch points are a great way to take your client experience to the next level of WOW! A well placed touchstone or gift can create a raving fan and referral from a client (taking them from happy client to evangelist). While you may not have funds to invest in these gifts now, you can do the research and bookmark it for later.
Create a referral program - if you don’t yet have an incentive or referral rewards program now is a great time to make one!
Work on Your Finances - A lot of creatives don’t like to think about numbers, math and finances! It can bring up the ickies, the fear, the money blocks. Budgeting, after all, sounds way less fun than creating beauty for our clients! But obviously, since we are in business the numbers are pretty important. Now more so than ever if you have less money coming in and still have money going out. Now is a great time to get in control of your financial life.
Update or create a budget - If you don't have a business budget, there’s never been a better or more necessary time to create one! If you DO have a budget, now is the time to update it to reflect the times we are in.
Review spending and cut unnecessary expenses - look carefully at expenses both business and personal. Cut the fluff and keep what’s necessary. Don’t forget that business education is actually necessary right now if you are new and trying to navigate these challenging times.
Review your different products and offerings and evaluate what is really making you money - In most businesses, you will have some services or offerings that make you a lot more money than others. Some will cost you more time than others. Some have the potential to be profitable if only you gave them more effort. Now is a good time to think about HOW you make your money. If there’s an offering that’s really not making you money can you simplify and cut it?
Look for affiliate commission opportunities on any programs or products you regularly recommend - so many companies have affiliate opportunities. Maybe it’s not even related to business but just a product you love in your personal life. Now is a good time to make a little extra promoting other people’s products and getting a cut.
Start a practice or ritual around looking at and after your money - Money is a whole big topic and a lot of us have money blocks or a challenging relationship to our money. This might be MORE heightened right now if we have little to no income and yet still have expenses. Now is a great time to grow and figure out how to be in a loving, healthy relationship with money. So create a ritual around being a good steward of your money-- it can be as simple as when you sit with your morning coffee you quickly check your bank account and credit card.
Learn more about finances - many creatives describe themselves as not financially savvy. Now is a great time to read a book or take a course or watch youtube videos and learn more about money.
The things to look forward to list - Do you love to buy things? I certainly do! As a creative, I love fashion, interior design and pretty things. However, this might not be the best time to invest in the frills even if they bring me joy! So I am “window shopping” online and creating a wishlist of things to look forward to buying at a later date. This takes away the scarcity of not being able to find it or get it again but is saving me from impulsively buying.
Want even more accountability and ease in implementation?
Grab my calendar for how to grow your business during quarantine >>HERE<< for free.