Has your business closed due to restrictions? Here is our advice for you.

To all the businesses who have closed today in Melbourne, as part of Stage 4 restrictions, and to all the other businesses around Australia who continue to be impacted by closures, we send our love and support.

It is now over four months since our world was turned upside down and our core industry was 'shut down'. We have been (and still are) where you now find yourself so we wanted to share our advice and top tips on how to get through this. 

You will get through it, it will stretch you, you will have your ups and downs, and your business might come out looking a little (or a lot) different, but you will also find great new opportunities

Here are our top tips and what we have learnt along the way:

• Stay in touch with your customers and clients. Keep them up to date, whether that is through emails, social media updates or personal phone calls. Don't be the fair-weather friend that disappears during the tough times and expects to walk back into their world in the good times. *We have engaged with former clients and re-established some great relationships by just staying in touch*
  
  
• Nurture your existing customers and clients. Check in on them. See how they are doing. Ask what help you can provide during this time. The more you involve your network, the stronger the relationship you will build and maintain with them. *We recently surveyed all our contacts to see what information and help they want during the current restrictions*
  
  
• Stay visible. In a time when people are stuck at home, they will be on their electronic devices more than ever. Look at how you can stay visible through your social media updates and promoted social media posts. You now have the opportunity to reach an even wider audience and create new relationships for the future. *We have actually increased our social media followers and e-news subscribers by simply staying visible and keeping in touch during the last four months*
  
  
• Don't stop. While you might not physically be able to do your core business, think what else you can do in the 'down time'. Can you update your website, review your marketing collateral, research potential clients and marketing platforms, develop new services, plan social media posts? *We have made updates on our websites, written blogs and filmed videos - all things that we have been meaning to do for ages but never 'had the time'.* 
  
  
• Get back to your purpose. While you can't deliver it in the same format, think about how you can still deliver on your purpose in other ways. If you are a gardener, can you provide video tips on how to keep your lawn healthy? If you are a hairdresser, can you develop videos on how to keep your hair healthy between cuts?  *We help people run their events, we can't do that in person at the moment so we turned to running online webinars to share our insights*
  
  
• Look around at what other industries are doing. You will be surprised how much inspiration you can take from seeing how other industries have adjusted and adapted during this time - you just never know what ideas this might spark. *When COVID first hit and cafes had to change their business model really quickly, we were continually inspired by their ideas*
  
  
• Work together and collaborate. Now is the time to stop seeing other companies as competitors but see them as partners. The more you can work together, share ideas, swap learnings and support each other, the stronger your industry will be. *We have met and worked closely with some fabulous event management companies over the last four months who we previously would have seen as a competitor. Working with them has not only widened our network and audience, increased our knowledge but it has also been a great morale support*
  
  
• Be kind to yourself. Take each day as it comes and do what you can. Each little step and momentum will keep you on course

We send all our love and support to you and if you need to chat to someone who has been through it, we are here to listen.

Author

Georgie Stayches is Founder and Chief Engagement Officer of Fetching Events & Communications, a boutique agency specialising in event management, communications and volunteer management. Fetching Events & Communications specialises in working with NGOs, NFPs, peak bodies, associations and community groups.