Drowning in good advice during the virus crisis? Want some more?

What a week in business. In my 12 years of running my own little show, in fact in my life and probably your's too, I've never experienced anything like it. There is so much to learn during this period and we are now going to learn it - whether we want to or not. Whatever our personal concerns I think one thing is clear - a pandemic might cripple our health service, lead to thousands of deaths, overwhelmed crematoria, coffins in churches and people dying alone. Two weeks ago in Italy, this was unimaginable, now it is reality. I hope and pray we fare better - my heart goes out to those who have already lost loved ones wherever you are. We have to behave as if we are all responsible for the lives of others to minimise our impacts.

I praise a government for trying to face this situation as best they can. They are damned if they do and damned if they don't. I hope they will help people like me financially - yet more than that I hope they are doing enough to allow our health service to survive and to save lives. I think of doctors and nurses who may have to make moral decisions around life and death which will never leave them. I hope to goodness none of my loved ones are affected and none of your's.

As for business, this is as scary as the first day I sat at my kitchen table, with my new laptop, earning not a penny and wondering when I would ever get any business or earn any money. I keep returning to that first day when I've had bad moments this week. I was 42 and felt scared of how the world would view an out of work journalist and tv producer. I had to put my doubts aside and take baby steps forward. The first step was to be visible and engage. I did it once, I can do it again - this time with over a decade of experience behind me.

You will probably have seen me, if you follow me on any social media, starting to ramp up my visibility and advising my clients to do the same. Yes, it's to sell yet it also to share, to care and to connect. Information and connection is power. A super-connecter like me has always know this to be true.

Things in business I've seen this week which have made me despair:

*Profiteering - people who, realising their product or service is going to suddenly be more important than before, whacking up their prices - often at a manufacturing or wholesale level. You should be ashamed.

*The 'don't reduce your prices' brigade of coaches - most people who are reducing prices doing this are doing it for one of two reasons - to earn some money and to help others. If you are a coach and you feel strongly about this, then you buy their products or services at full price instead of preaching to others when you are not living their lives. Shut up.

*Bad payers' delight - I've seen these business owners using the #viruscrisis to say they are going to restructure their finances, when they are simply bad payers and are using this as an excuse not to settle existing bills. You disgust me. Do it to me or any of my trusted business partners and I won't hesitate to name and shame you. You know who you are. You've been warned.

*Total panic - a wholesale need to get rid of suppliers and get rid of costs immediately out of fear. The business version of panic buying in the supermarkets. Take a breath and talk to your suppliers and clients and come to a #viruscrisis compromise. Good people will agree to this to allow all us to come through. If you cut off your nose to spite your face now without a conversation, good people won't come back to you and you may not recover. Perception and reputation are critical.

*Robotic accountants - accountants are very important at this time for many businesses. The best accountants are looking at your business and understanding the human cost of cutting back and acting accordingly. Those who just seen lines of costs (without thinking about the human costs) and scratching lines through them - you will over time find you will fade away. Ethical business owners will not thank you in the long run. You are being watched.

Things I've seen which have inspired me:

*The business owners who have embraced their teams, their suppliers and clients and said 'let's work together to get through this together'. I'm working with some of these and all I can say is 'thank you'.

*The business owners who are in bigger organisations, who are still paying their staff and offering out their services to the community or charities who really need volunteers. Thank you.

*The business owners who even though they are desperately worried about their own personal situations are 'out there' sharing hints, tips, information or simply be available to provide a listening ear. Thank you.

*The business owners who are shouting loudly that they need extra staff because they are overwhelmed and other business owners who are answering their call - helping out their own staff to find work and helping the national effort. Thank you.

We have to work together in every way to get through this - those who don't take that positive route will create a terrible impression and perception even at a very low level and it will be hard to recover. It's time to be visible, be kind, be caring and with the money you have buy as you've never bought before even if it means you have less. Ask yourself this - is this product or service valuable to me and my business? is it helping another small business? Is it keeping my business front of mind? In the end will this put me in the right place to embrace a greater share of my market? That's the best advice I can give you for PR.

*Thank you to Barbara Leatham of Barbara Leatham Photography for the image - you are worth every penny....