Opinion

5 Steps To Move Your Business At Home

Covid-19 is forcing people indoors. For small entrepreneurs, it can mean severe business disruptions. However, if you’re running a small business and are worried about how to survive financial uncertainties, the first and most important thing to do is to stay at home. You can’t build a successful business presence if you put your team and yourself at risk of infection. For small companies that are office-based, embracing a remote work process can be tricky at first. But with the right approach, you can make it work. 

 

#1. Make your data accessible outside the office

Your team needs to be able to access all projects, customers, and everyday process information in a click from home. As such, it means that you will have to work with data that can be remotely accessible. If you use an in-house server, now’s the best time to reach out to experts for database migration service. You have to move your database to a cloud-based solution, such as Google Cloud, for instance. Additionally, you may want to outsource your IT queries and troubleshooting during the first weeks to a remote specialist who can help individual members of your team to configure their laptops or computers for cybersecurity. 

 

#2. Schedule catch-up meetings

Working from home doesn’t mean isolating. You can maintain your relationship with your team by scheduling regular catch-up and sanity chats. A webcam chat with everyone in the morning can help break the isolation of home-based work. 

 

#3. Be visible 

Your office is shut. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be visible to your target audience. Strategic advertising can help to reach out to your existing and prospective customers to keep them in the loop. They need to know how you are managing the crisis and if your products and services are safe to buy. Video advertising is one of the most engaging and effective approaches as it taps into a natural human behavior. We, people, are visual creatures. Creating attractive and informative content about your Covid-19 policy, your offerings, and your promise to your customers can keep you relevant. 

 

#4. Find a partner

You don’t need to go through the financial challenges alone. You can keep your eyes peeled for a partner who shares your values. Two small businesses that join forces through the crisis are more likely to come out of it stronger and support their customers. Firstly, it will give you the best chance of survival as you can share work and costs. Secondly, you can use the partnership as a way to provide for local customers. 

 

#5. Collaborate effectively

Working together is no big deal when you work in an office where you can check on everybody’s progress. Working from home is another story. Investing in a collaborative tool that lets you manage tasks and workload is no wasted money. You can help your team to keep track of their to-dos, using a tool such as Slack or Trello, for instance. Additionally, complex projects are best managed through such a platform to assign different tasks to the right individuals. 

 

There is no denying that today’s current pandemic situation affects us all and puts small businesses at high risk. However, you can continue to provide dedicated service to your target by proactively moving towards a secure work environment at home. Hang in there. Times are tough, but your team and your customers need you! 

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