As the COVID-19 virus continues to spread, SMB web creators should be aware of the impact it will have on their businesses and prepare accordingly.
The coronavirus pandemic poses a threat to web creators, not only from a health perspective but from an economic one, too. More and more people are confined to working from home, while the world’s economy is undergoing challenging times.
Long Term Vs Short Term
The short-term effects of COVID-19 on different industries are obvious. Suspended flights, canceled conferences, and a deep dip in the stock market are just a few indicators of the global economic challenges brought on by the virus.
But the long-term effects are no less concerning. Early signs point to the potential financial threats COVID poses on SMBs (Small and Medium-sized Businesses).
Is Being A Web Creator An Advantage Or Disadvantage?
Since many web creators are used to working from home, it might seem that they are most equipped to deal with the new remote situation. While employees of Google and other tech companies are advised to start working from home, freelance web creators already have their workstations, routines, and tools set up and ready to go.
How Web Creators Can Prepare
If we understand the risks COVID poses, we can take measures to protect our web creation business from them.
1. Keep Your Expenses to the Minimum
Web creators should find ways to reduce costs. Consider conducting meetings with existing or new customers via video chat and cut back on travel and gas costs. If you have expenses that do not contribute to your immediate cash flow, consider lowering them, or cutting them off altogether. Take stock of the expenses you currently have: hosting, software licenses, subscriptions. Pausing some of them might free up some valuable resources.
That 50 bucks you spend on your theme or form plugin? Maybe you could do without it. Hopefully, this won’t be too blunt of a plug, but Elementor does help in replacing the roles of several themes and plugins (we actually have an upcoming post about this). You should also stop hiring new employees, and possibly reduce the freelance work you outsource. Take back certain tasks you normally send off to external providers.
There are many actions you can take to reduce the costs of your business. What matters more than the budget-cutting measures is adopting a more cost-conscious approach, that takes into account the expected decline in new projects.
2. Sort and Prioritize Your Portfolio
This pandemic has had a varied effect on different businesses. While the travel industry suffers, hand sanitizers thrive.
If you have a varied portfolio, now could be the perfect time to reorder and prioritize your projects, according to the thriving types of businesses. Glance over your body of work, and consider if there are types of projects that need to get more focus over others.
If you built websites for a hotel and an online shop, how can you bring more focus to the latter? Now is a great time to reorganize your portfolio page, and get some testimonials from businesses that are expected to grow during these times and might need your help. The same goes for the services you offer. If you are an expert in conversion rate optimization and also a campaign manager, I would put more focus on the conversion side, since demand for a campaign manager is expected to diminish. Take a look at an article we wrote with tips on building your portfolio right.
3. Find Alternate Ways to Connect With Your Past Clients
All the ‘regular’ venues to meet clients are blocked, and web creators need to explore other ways. Meeting clients through mingling in social situations such as conferences is not an option in today’s climate. Don’t get discouraged, you are much more likely to close a new job by reconnecting with an existing client.
4. Learn New Skills Which Are in Demand During These Times.
Since less client work is expected, this will free up a large chunk of your weekly schedule. Invest this time in learning new skills and expanding your knowledge. Focus on the more relevant skills we mentioned earlier, skills that help your clients’ immediate business goals. SEO, conversion rate optimization, and commerce are examples of skills that may remain in high demand and even see an increase in demand.
The original post can be found here;https://elementor.com/blog/prepare-for-corona-virus/
Credit to Elementor.