How can local businesses to help alleviate COVID-related issues

 

We’re at a time when, at least in my country, COVID has taken a toll in daily life: people forced to self-quarantine for at least two weeks (if not more), shops closed, school closed, parents having to work remotely and home-schooling their children at the same time.  Business-as-usual does no longer exist.

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Yet, in times like this, I realise how important local businesses can be to everyone. Many small companies are offering their services to help ease people’s discomfort during these tough times:

  • Online schools and apps have been offering their materials free of charge so that children can continue their education

  • Local gyms have been putting in place Skype sessions or even sending tutorials via WhatsApp so that people keep healthy by exercising at home

  • Farmers are organising fruit and veg delivery for households so that people don’t have to go out

  • Neighbours have been encouraging each other to share their skills on their balcony – whether that’s DJ-ing from a balcony as it happened in Italy, or singing

Local small businesses are making a huge contribution to the well-being of communities around the world.

So the question is, how can you adapt your business model to help your community today? What can you offer that would make people’s life from home easier? These can be things or activities that may make people lighten up.

There are several common denominators that businesses use:

1. They are all local and aim to help their communities - assess how diverse is your community and what are the current needs.

2.  They offer essentially their own skillset – what is your skillset? How can it help people today?

3.  They offer their services for free at the time being – of course, we all need to work for a living but, the current situation demands that we support each other at all costs to ensure our welfare. Besides, giving away freebies can be a great marketing tool for whenever the time comes to offer premium content. Is there any part of your business (service, knowledge, skill) that you could offer for free for a limited time and which would greatly impact your clients and community?

4. They find ways to connect with others – see how you can connect to your community. Small things like reaching out to others in a moment of need can be life-changers

Do you want to talk more about how you can potentially serve your community through your business right now? Contact me at: maite@valuebymaite.com



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Maite Caballero Tomassmall business, covid19, community, services, skillset, local business, consulting