This COVID-19 stuff is just as new to me as everyone else, but I wanted to share a list I made about action steps for entrepreneurs during these crazy times.
These are in order of importance.
#1 Family and health first. Sorry, I hate starting lists with things that say "ignore the rest of the list," but none of the tips matter if family and health aren't handled first. I wish I could include "help the community," but that isn't possible for most people and the best thing most of us can do, sadly, is try to not get sick.
#lowerthecurve!
#2 Pay the bills but don't worry about monetary growth in the short run. I wanted to put learning ahead of this one, but that seemed out of touch. Obviously, feed yourself and family before worrying about self development and all that.
If your bills are paid, the next step shouldn't be to try and amass as much money as possible. Many people are trying to do that, but I think it's less valuable than step #3....
#3 Learn. Many entrepreneurs saw their net worth and/or businesses plummet. One thing that you will never lose is your skill set. The deeper it is, the easier rebuilding will be.
You will come back from this. The question is, will you come back stronger or the same?
You need to come back stronger and you have that chance now.
#4 Create. Now is the time to finish that book, course, software, start the blog, record the podcast etc.
If you've been waiting for the "perfect time" to grow your business but you're spending time bingeing Netflix right now, you likely will never succeed as an entrepreneur. Unless you change that mentality, you might as well just not waste your time. That sounds cold but it is absolutely true and many of you need to hear it.
#5 "Dig your well before you're thirsty." This was one of the big takeaways from Russell Brunson's Traffic Secrets book. Now is a great time to connect with influencers in your space who are also locked down. It's an extra weird time to try to do business deals so just focus on making new friends in the space.
The "dig your well," concept is covered in tremendous detail in a book of the same name by Harvey MacKay. It is number 3 on this list of books referenced by Russell Brunson.
#6 Get prison buff. I put this last but I had to put it lol I'm on day 17 of P90X and have actually gotten in better shape than when this all started. How does this relate to your business? In every way. You'll have more energy and mental clarity. Also, it's no secret that many entrepreneurs exercise. If you went from a regular workout schedule to no working out, you'll feel it. It's already a sad time, no need to add to that by cutting your dopamine from exercise, especially if your body is accustomed to it.
#7 Stop reading so much about the virus. Look, we all need to stay as informed as possible and I'm not saying ignore the news and media right now, but let's be honest...it's too much. Spend a few minutes each day checking the status and seeing what you need to do, but beyond that, stop immersing yourself in it if you don't have to.
Thoughts?
Most of our best selling private label food products are delayed and sold out due to the current situation. I reviewed some of my app subscriptions and several allowed me to put them on pause for a while, so our monthly expenses can be lower until we get back in stock. Really great that they’re willing to help.
Yeah that’s awesome that many companies are doing that. I’ve reached out to a few in the Amazon space and several said their payment processors aren’t able to do it even if they wanted to 🙁