58 Things you can do during COVID-19 downtime for your business

So you own a business or founded a startup, and it currently seems like everything is closed for business and the world has stopped…

Perhaps.

But if indeed we're in some kind of a timeout, why not take advantage of it and use this unique period for our professional and personal benefit?

If you're up for it, @Doron Simhi and I crafted a list of 58 suggestions for how to do it.

We believe deploying only 5% of these suggestions will have a huge positive effect on yourself and your businesses.

So here we go!

1. Get inspired. ??

Subscribe to 5 newsletters of people you value. They could be founders of great companies, athletes, politicians, scientists, musicians, educators, great designers, philosophers…

2. Examine how other industries work. ??

Sometimes we find interesting and valuable tactics, strategies, business models, and more in companies operating in completely different fields. Is there anything there to learn and adopt?

3. Your competitors' newsletters. ??

Subscribe to newsletters of at least 5 competitors. Learn what they do, how they deliver their messages, what's their marketing strategy. Just do it.

4. Send a ‘how are you’ note to your customers. ?????

It's always good to keep in touch with customers as they are the ones who pay your bills, and can even be 'part of your family'. By the way, the communication is more genuine when you don't try to sell something to them…

5. (Significantly) improve your digital presence. ??

It's no secret that we are in a new reality as everybody is now staying at home, drinking social media… Perhaps it's an opportunity to spend some digital time you wouldn’t have in your busy daily routine. Find your difference and uniqueness.

6. Work with what you have

You have limited resources. Don't bother with what's missing. Use what you have.

7. Replace your profile picture on social networks. ??

You're not 21 anymore… Find some good tips on a good profile photo here.

8. Update your LinkedIn profile. ??

Yep, it's been that many years since the last time you've done this… See this link for some useful advice.

9. What have you learned about yourself in the current era?

How does this period make you feel? Are you creating new experiences or things you have put on the back burner? Have your priorities changed? Have you discovered new strengths or weaknesses? Take the time to get to know yourself better.

10. Digital books ??

Read only one episode per evening. This could be a great start.

11. Who are your customers?

It's a great time to (re)characterize the customers of your business: who they are, what are their pains, what they’re trying to gain. Now more than ever, the window of opportunity opens up for you to learn who your customers are and where the value you create/sell fits them.

12. Become a detective: think about your product from your customers' angle.

Put yourself in their shoes. How do they see your product? What would they think about your service? Are you exceeding their expectations?

13. Pareto

Are there any clients who are more suited to your business than others? Do you have customers who need to be fired? Is there room for upsell / cross-sell, or side sell for new complementary products/services?

14. Zero inbox ??

Can you take the challenge and move all the unopened emails to a separate folder, and reset your inbox to the beautiful round figure of zero?

15. Listen to inspirational lectures. ??

Great time to catch up with www.ted.com and other websites and hear great lectures from the past and present.

16. Become futuristic. ??

When everything is quiet and your children are asleep, pour a glass of whiskey and think about the world of the near future. What do you think will happen? Get some inspiration from speakers like Ray Kurzweil, Yuval Noah Harari, Bill Gates, and others.

17. Money comes in, money goes out. ??

Take an hour, and go over your bank account and credit card records. Sync your outcome and expanses.

18. Distant relatives ??

Have a look in your business card drawer and check if you see some interesting names you can (or should) reconnect with.

19. While you do point 18, redesign your business card? ??

In case you use one, perhaps it is time for a biz card makeover…

20. Volunteer in a nonprofit. ?

Find an NGO you identify with, and invest a small percentage of your time. Doing something meaningful for others is a sure recipe for happiness.

21. Learn, learn, learn. ??

Use the time to get smarter. This could be upgrading your memory capabilities or learning financing. There are a wide variety of courses, but remember that signing up for dozens of courses will probably leave you studying nothing… so start with one. Find lots of free resources from great institutes here.

22. Improve customer experience on your site. ??

Visit your site for a moment. Does it work the way you want it to? Does the customer see what you want him to see? Is the site built to trigger a particular action?

23. Upgrade a personal skill. ??

Interpersonal communication and strengthening customer contact, presentative and camera facing ability, effective time management, and more ...

24. Consult. ??

Great time to consult on a topic you had put off till an unknown date. Well, the time has come… Obtaining professional advice will greatly contribute and be more convenient as most people use video calls instead of going to coffee shops… :)

25. Remember that you are not alone. ??

We're here, aren't we? :)

26. Create new business partnerships. ??

Create a map of existing and potential business collaborations. Is there anything to do about it? Do you see opportunities? Build a plan accordingly!

27. Update the product purchase and return policy. ??

Today's laws and compliance are becoming dynamic due to the hourly regulations and the government implementing them in real-time. It is important to update the policy on your business/site to avoid confusion or noncompliance.

28. Got a popup? ??

Add a popup to your site with a soothing and relevant message.

29. Make someone happy ??

Is there anyone who deserves an extra effort? Send a small gift. Just imagine their smile...

30. Write down some dreams for your business. ??

What is the best-case scenario that can happen? Create a flow chart or checklist to start changing reality.

31. Get creative with your email password. ??

A password can change your life. Seriously. Read this.

32. Can you reduce costs and expenses?

It's a good time to think about how to reduce expenses in business and at home. Create a cash flow for the next three months which combines all expenses and all expected revenue. The purpose is to know where you are heading financially.

33. Check if you are eligible to receive any financial benefits.??

Consult your accountant or other consultants – you may be entitled to some cash back from your local authorities.

34. For free! ??

Create a valuable pdf, an Excel sheet with home budget supercalculations, or a song and spread it on social media, free for all… like this list, actually!

35. Teach others. ???????

According to the Learning Pyramid, we learn best when we teach others. It's the best win-win, as you learn more by teaching others!

36. Send a short survey to your employees. ??

They are your most important resource. What do they think about the business? What would they wish to happen? Consider making the survey anonymous…

37. Start a business offer or launch a product. ?

What can you offer from your resources? What could be a great real-time marketing based product?

38. Read a case study of an interesting company. ??

Search the web for interesting stories about companies and brands you like.

39. Create an email template to save time. ??

A welcome email, thank you for signing up, or anything else. Here are some examples.

40. Boost your Gmail! ??

There are some cool extensions out there that will do you real good:

For example, Streak is a free add-on that turns your Gmail to a CRM right from your inbox and follows up on email opening. The MizmMIXMAX plugin does a lot too, and there are more…

41. Disconnect from irrelevant social networking groups… ??

Time is the most valuable commodity, and optimizing time is important to create value for yourself. Take this opportunity to say goodbye to irrelevant groups on social media.

42. Check your site analytics. ??

Do you not understand what the data mean and what are the trends? Then take an hour to start learning what works and what doesn’t. You’ll begin to understand. :)

43. Listen to a different podcast every night. ??

There are so many good podcasts out there!

44. Create a side project! ??

What about taking a skill or hobby and making a small business out of it?

45. Organize folders in your mailbox. ??

Rearrange your inbox by using relevant folders. Give each of them a serial number, project name, and color. It will take some time to learn how to work with the new arrangement, but it’ll be worth it!

46. Create a newsletter template.

Try these services: Mailchimp.com, activetrail.com, Sendgrid.com, Sendinblue.com.

Got stuck? Ask Dr. Google or Prof. YouTube - they are always happy to help.

47. …and build a newsletter distribution program.

You have accumulated a lot of knowledge and tools over time that can now be shared. Create a business automation service to save you some hassle, and craft a weekly schedule based on day, time, target audience, content, curated content to create a funnel for leads, and more.

48. Pitch to your child (or grandmother). ??

Tell them what you do. See their reaction. Get their responses. Change your pitch accordingly. :)

49. Build an explanatory presentation for your product. ??

Sketch a scenario of using your product or service. Build a tutorial explaining everything you do. This may raise questions, or shed light on some bugs…

50. Is there a geographic market you wish to penetrate? ??

Take the time to research a new market. Identify key players, partnership options, regulations, and perhaps find an interesting business opportunity.

51. Use an automatic appointment scheduling service. ??

There are services like calendly.com and 10to8.com which can make scheduling a lot easier. Also be sure to use doodle.com to help you and others find the perfect time for meetings.

52. Improve your video call skills

Learn how to effectively deliver a video call message, what the room should look like, what to do with the lighting and the sound, and how to prepare a good script. The world will be much more receptive to video calls after the Corona than ever before, so get ready!

53. Learn how to build or design a website. ??

Take 90 minutes to learn each of the leading site-building platforms, and build the same landing page on each. Here's how to learn how to use them: wix.com, elementor.com, weflow.com.

This will teach you the pros and cons of each.

54. Spruce up your email signature. ?

You can use a service like WiseStamp.com, or get inspired by others, like this here.

55. Get on Fiverr! ??

Do you have a service that can be sold for $5-100? Advertise it on www.fiverr.com.

56. Upgrade your task management capabilities! ?

Choose a task management and project management platform and explore it for 60 minutes. There are great services like notion.so, asana.com, Monday.com, trello.com.

57. Refresh the look of your website with new visuals. ??

Buy some photos from stock image websites or get some for free at unsplash.com.

58. Map your mind! ??

MindMap is a powerful tool enabling you to sketch your thoughts and see some interesting (sometimes hidden) connections among projects, skills, personal vision, and more. These two services are very different, but do the same job: https://www.draw.io/ or https://www.coggle.it/

~

So, hope that helped!

Feel free to add more in the comments!

Stay healthy!

Erez.

www.erezgavish.com