Is your business in upheaval because of the “shelter-in-place,” social distancing, and “stay-at-home” orders in place because of the coronavirus? Or have you been laid off because of the virus?

Ironically, the crisis has only affected my business indirectly since I’ve always had it set up for me and my staff to be able to work from anywhere.

For close to 25 years, I’ve worked from locations as far flung as Key West, Rome, and Nova Scotia.

Because of all the tools available now, it’s way easier for you to get started working remotely than it was for me. If I could do it then, you can surely do it now! All you need is a computer, mobile phone, internet access, and apps that provide the functionality that you need.

In addition to helping you weather COVID-19, adapting your business now will give you lots of flexibility in the future:

• mobility to travel for fun and work from anywhere,
• ability to move when and where you want,
• enables you to be a caregiver for your parent or love one, and
• helps you start transitioning into retirement.

1. Analyze your situation.

Are you in a position that you can offer the same products or services you’ve been doing and just deliver them in a different way? If so, your adjustments will be a lot easier. You basically just need to decide what software and resources you might need to adapt the way you work and deliver.

2. Do you need or want to create new products or services?

If you don’t offer services or products that are conducive to remote work, you may need to get creative and come up with new offerings or new ways to deliver them.

It’s possible the crisis might have even created new opportunities for you, though. Even if you don’t need to, you might want to develop new products or services to help meet needs that others have during this time.

This can be a great opportunity to reposition your business and create your own new niche to really differentiate.

3. What software and/or equipment do you need?

Needs can vary widely, but communication and organization are especially important when working remotely. Most everyone can benefit from using the following:

• Video Conferencing: Depending on what you do, the features needed for this can vary widely. If your interactions are typically short, you may be able to just use an app you already have, like Facetime. Most likely, though, you’ll want to use software like Skype or Zoom. Both of these apps have a free version, and allow you to have video meetings with multiple people using the camera on your computer or smartphone. Zoom also lets you set up meetings in advance and send invitations that include links to call in by voice or video when it’s time to meet.
• Project management: You need a way to change the way you manage tasks and responsibilities. Depending on your needs and working style, you could do something as simple as using a Google Drive spreadsheet that all of your team can access or as advanced as software like Trello that will help you organize anything with anyone. Trello does offer a free plan.
• Facebook Live: If you want to be able to reach your customer base in a casual way to stay front of mind, Facebook Live is an easy way to do it. Your connections will get a notice that you’re now live so they can watch if they want. People who watch live can interact with you by sending chat messages, which you can answer while talking if you want. Your broadcast will also be recorded, though, so followers can come watch it later if they missed it. At it’s simplest, all you need is a smartphone to broadcast.
• Voice messaging: Of course you can use your smartphone or Facebook Messenger to send voice messages, but we like using a walkie talkie app called Voxer. Voxer is push-to-talk like the walkie talkies you probably used as a kid. You can hear messages as people speak, or listen to them later at your convenience. You can also send text, photos, video, gifs, and share your location. I use it a lot with clients who have me on retainer, so they can easily reach me whenever they need to. It keeps us both from having to go into email, make a phone call, clutter up voice mail, or type a bunch of copy into a text message. It’s especially helpful to make sure we’re not missing some nuance that could be lost in a text message or email.

Marketing automation, email marketing, and client relationship management software can also make your life easier – though that’s true even when you’re not working remotely.

Facebook Messenger chatbots can also be a great timesaver. They’re created with software that interacts with Facebook Messenger, and you can use them to automate correspondence, collect leads, and deliver lead magnets to customers and prospects. To see a sample chatbot in action, message us the word SAMPLES using your Facebook Messenger app, on our company Facebook page, or at https://m.me/glerincreates.