7 life hacks from entrepreneurs, how to stay afloat in quarantine

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Businessmen suggest looking for bold solutions, but retreat in time if necessary.

1. Move your business online

This seems to be overwhelmingly obvious advice. But now is the time to take one more look.

When the coronavirus pandemic was still an epidemic, those who could easily transfer their activities to the Internet did it. The others froze in anticipation. It was not clear whether quarantine would be introduced or not? And if they do, how much? And how will the state support? Now the answers are there, and the business doesn't like them. Instead of quarantine and emergencies, self-isolation, a high alert mode and a paid monthly weekend were introduced. Obviously, the situation will not be resolved quickly, which means that now we need to think about going online again.

According to the latest data, since the quarantine was established, Russian Internet providers have recorded an increase in Internet traffic by 10-30%. This means that users have many times more time for digital content. Therefore, look for ways to competently move from offline format to online. For example, many companies are now launching a series of paid online webinars for professionals and individuals and are finding that clients from regions who could not come to get advice are actively joining these webinars.

In order to continue working, it is important to understand what part of the old tasks you can perform in the new environment and how to do it correctly. Your clients also find themselves in a difficult situation, especially if you are dealing with organizations, not individuals. They will be loyal and grateful if you continue to fulfill your obligations no matter what.

Pavel Kotov Head of the ATOL Partnership Network Department.

ATOL products provide financial settlements. In a short time, we managed to organize a system for remote equipment monitoring and troubleshooting for our partners. Those, in turn, work with end customers, such as grocery stores or pharmacies. The system operates on the same principle as remote administration of computers. The partner can remotely make the necessary changes, quickly troubleshoot. We are available 24/7 for our customers.

Sometimes there may be several alternative products.

Anton Shardakov Co-founder of the network of drum schools "Not School of Drums".

Our business is a school for playing a musical instrument. Today we train more than 10 thousand people at the same time. Schools operate offline and drum kit is not an instrument every student can bring home. In addition, we have a network of franchises, where each franchisee depends on the management company in their actions.

We quickly launched alternative products that allowed us to temporarily replace the main one - the drumming course. The first product we announced was the Intensive with the Stars, a nine-day marathon where drummers from popular bands (Bi-2, Night Snipers, Melnitsa, Black Star) teach our students. In the first ten days of sales, we received 1.5 million rubles in revenue, which allowed us to partially cover the costs due to quarantine.

The second product is Drum TV. It is a drum TV format with its own program guide, educational, entertainment, news and emotionally supportive content that we sell through YouTube. Now we are filming dozens of lessons every week. And each of the students in the end has the opportunity to receive even more benefits than in "peacetime".

The third product is translation into online entertainment events. Before the quarantine, we had concerts and parties every week, where our students performed. They also received this format with great interest.

2. Translate communications to the Internet

Moving customer interaction online is worth not only during a pandemic, but also in the long term. This applies to both the B2C and B2B segments. Moreover, the latter is even more so, because here the commitment to personal contacts is especially strong. According to some reports, almost half of those making purchasing decisions do not have any contact with a potential seller. They get all the data from open sources. So the bet on personal meetings and active sales runs the risk of not working in the near future.

Of course, it would be more convenient to deal with the online side of the business in a quieter time. But you have to work with what you have.

3. Reformat your business

For some, restrictive measures prevent them from doing what they were doing before the pandemic. The goods and services of others are simply unclaimed. Many became hostages of the situation. When it became clear that the new reality will have to exist for a long time, it's time to consider what your company can switch to what is necessary and relevant. This will not always be the most obvious solution.

Ekaterina Kraivanova Co-founder of Next2U rental service.

Quarantine and related restrictions began in mid-March and immediately affected our rental service. The demand for everything related to events (evening dresses, tuxedos, lighting and sound equipment, decor and furniture) fell by 80%, now this figure has reached 90%. At the same time, it has grown significantly in categories that were not very popular up to this point: the rental of exercise bikes, treadmills, sports equipment, game consoles and robots - window cleaners. They are now hits.

To meet the explosive growth in demand, we have partnered with fitness and cycling clubs. The fitness club places on our service its offers for renting sports equipment and works with clients, ensuring its issuance and acceptance. We search for clients, provide an online contract, scoring and insurance. For this work, our standard commission is 20-25% of the transaction amount, but in April we reduced it to 5% in order to somehow support the rental market. Of course, renting even the majority of the club's sports equipment will not allow it to approach the pre-crisis income, but it will be a help that will help to wait out this time.

Following the same principle of cooperation as with fitness clubs, we plan to collaborate with gaming clubs to meet the demand for game consoles, which has also grown significantly.

4. Take care of your employees

In order not to spoil the relationship, it is important to keep it transparent. If your company is good, and you don't lie to people or expose them, chances are good that together you will be able to get through a difficult period. Perhaps for the sake of this, employees will even agree to endure some inconvenience. Taking care of them is an investment in the future.

Evgeniya Pruslina Co-owner of the BBAgency PR agency.

Back in early March, we agreed with copywriting contractors to reduce the rate for work by 1.5-2 times for two months. And together with the employees, they switched to a more subtle payment system: fixed - 50% of the salary that was, and everything else - a bonus for overfulfilling the KPI.

This is how we give our customers more value for the same fee, as everyone is now focused on high productivity in synergy. As a result, turnover due to the suspension of work with those clients who were involved in organizing offline events fell by 30%, while personal income remained at the same level.

Anton Shardakov Co-founder of the network of drum schools "Not School of Drums".

We're going to save our entire team by the time we exit quarantine. We have reduced the bonus part and bonuses, but at the same time we have given employees the opportunity to earn in the current realities: they are selling online products and will be able to receive remuneration for overfulfilling the plan. We also found companies that need outsourced salespeople, and we take on some of their work.

5. Cut costs

Structure all expenses of the company and divide them into groups according to the degree of need. So you will understand what you can refuse in the near future, and what you need to hold on to to the last. For example, you can negotiate with the landlord and temporarily reduce the payments for your office. Or work directly with the supplier of the goods you need, and not with the distributor.

It is important to "see the shores" here. Do not lower the latter if the light at the end of the tunnel is still not visible. Perhaps, in these conditions, it will be more competent to mothball the business until better times - if the industry allows, of course.

Ekaterina Zdesenkova Executive Director of the iConText Group.

If you are not ready for the situation, it is better to make the difficult decision to stop or freeze your business during the crisis. Sometimes it is better to ride out the storm than to convulse and spend the last money. Maintain your page on Instagram or Facebook, try to keep your main audience. If she remains interested in you, you will recover what was missed much faster.

6. Upgrade your brand

The crisis is not the right time for expensive marketing efforts. However, if you feel empowered and ready to invest in brand awareness, consider your options. With the right planning, this will not require prohibitive expenses from you.

Gayane Asadova Founder of the first PR bureau for ACG experts.

Experts and entrepreneurs have no other way out of the crisis than to declare themselves and their business through the media, to increase the trust of potential customers. Now, when the turnovers of most companies are not growing, owners and experts choose to grow their fame. This is logical, because the quarantine will end, everything will work as before. And by this time they will already be ahead of the competitors, which no one has ever found out about. Brand awareness directly affects a company's revenue.

Perhaps, in parallel with this, you will be able to find new channels for making money.

Elena Zubkova

Our client is a cosmetology clinic that was closed due to the pandemic. Together with the founder of this clinic, we decided to develop an Instagram account. We emphasized that women can take care of themselves at home: do facial cleansing, remove nail polish, and so on. At the same time, the clinic offers the necessary goods for personal care: masks, wipes for removing the coating from nails, etc. They are delivered by a courier.

7. Think about the future

The good news is that the pandemic and crisis will not last forever. This period will be difficult - there is no reason to predict otherwise, but it will end sooner or later. And you need to be ready for this.

Lilia Aleeva

I have before my eyes examples of how skillfully a small business adapts to the current difficult conditions. One of the Kazan beauty salons introduced a long-term pre-registration for loyal customers at attractive prices. On the one hand, this will allow the salon to hold out in a period of lack of money in terms of salaries and rent payments and not lose staff. On the other hand, to provide yourself with work after the end of the pandemic and not waste time restoring the flow of clients.