The COVID-19 outbreak has brought on many challenges for small business owners.  From restaurants to barbershops and realtors, we all have been affected by the global pandemic. During these challenging times, it is important to quickly adapt and pivot your business to overcome the crisis.

The real estate market during the coronavirus crisis is still going strong. There is a high demand for homes and the inventory is low in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. However, like many other small businesses, we had to adapt our ways of doing business and take extra precautions to continue showing properties or listing new properties while keeping our clients and team safe.

In this article, we are going to list a few ideas on how to pivot your business during the COVID-19 outbreak.

What can you do as a small business owner to pivot your business during the COVID-19 outbreak?

The COVID-19 outbreak has forced many global companies to pivot their business and shift their business models quickly. By doing so, you can protect the brand of a business and repurpose some of your assets to create new value while trying to survive.

These are a few examples of some global companies who made a change in their business operations in response to the pandemic:

• MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, the largest pillow manufacture based in the USA, announced that he is shifting 75% of the production to make face masks.
• Hotels booking platform are partnering with different hotels to create isolation centers
• P&G is now making hand sanitizer in response to the COVID-19 outbreak

Not all businesses will be able to pivot their production or service the same way these global companies did. This does not mean that all is lost.

Also read: 4 Startups that pivoted their way out of COVID-19 Crisis

What can you do, as a small business owner,  to adapt to the global pandemic?

Now is a good time to reflect

You may be able to change from being an offline business to an online business. If you can no longer physically be doing the things you were doing before, be more radical with your thinking. Changing your mindset and above all staying positive is going to be key to overcome this crisis.

Now is also a good time to take a step back and reconsider how you have been doing business. Can you review your business operations and work on improving certain areas?

Think outside the box and engage with your audience

Many small businesses have at least one social media platform. Think of different ways you can connect with people using Facebook Live, Instagram Live, Webinars or virtual conferences like Zoom. This is exactly what we did and included the zoom call in this post. I recorded a zoom call with Aaron Almeida, a realtor and business entrepreneur based in Tampa, to discuss a few ideas on how to pivot your business during the COVID-19 outbreak. As realtors, we built our business by working directly with clients and showing properties. We quickly pivoted our strategies by introducing home tours via video chat and virtual listing appointments.

Zoom call with Aaron Alameida, a small business owner, and realtor based in Tampa.

Our office is still open during normal business hours so I produce different videos every week to show another side of our business including our team or virtual tour of newly listed homes in the area. I also produce multiple zoom calls and webinars to keep engaging and educating people during this time.

With so many people forced to stay home due to the latest restrictions, people tend to spend more time on their computers. This is a chance to connect to a broader audience that you may not have captured previously. This is an opportunity to find new potential clients. Think of sharing free educational sessions, share tips and advice in your business niche that makes you the expert and helps people remember your brand.

Up your online advertising skills

With some downtime on your hands, this is a good time to watch online video tutorials to master online advertising. Even though your business may be closed or running differently, the power of social media advertising can pay off.

Here is a good example of a pivot to online marketing. A small business entrepreneur and friend of mine, Fred Cullen of Green Team, a junk removal business in Massachusetts, took some time to master Facebook ads. He was running them before but never had a chance to refine his skills. After watching youtube tutorials on how to best run Facebook ads, he was able to run a campaign that put his brand in front of 50k+ people for less than $100. His efforts resulted in getting multiple quote requests and keeping his business busy.

related  Pivot how you advertise

We truly are all in this together and this too shall pass. Keep dialogues with clients and your team. The more value you can offer your customers right now, the more successful you’ll be as we shift to a new way of doing business these days,

Stay strong, practice social distancing and Let’s help each other!