Despite the small period of freedom we all felt when restaurants started to reopen and stores began to open their doors, quarantine is still in effect across the country. What does this mean for your small business?

The current times are very uncertain for small business owners and I have a feeling the second wave of COVID-19 will knock us off our feet even harder. There’s a good chance we’ll be staying in self-isolation even longer than initially expected.

Now, I’m sure you’ve caught up on all your favorite tv series, became enthralled by Tiger King, watched Hamilton a few times, and published one too many TikTok videos mastering the latest dance trends. 

While all these activities may be addictive and fun (trust me, I’ve done all of the above except watch Hamilton!) they aren’t going to help scale or streamline your small business.

Lucky for you, I’ve got a few tasks for you to add to your agenda that will benefit your small business during quarantine. 

Check Off These 3 Tasks To Benefit Your Small Business During Quarantine 

Enroll in some form of self-education during quarantine. 

Transfer the time you’re currently spending watching Netflix to something a little more productive like watching modules of an online course. If you’re not someone who finds themself mindlessly watching Netflix, I recommend taking the time you would normally spend commuting and turn that into your self-education time. 

Yes, that may mean you’re going to start waking up a little bit earlier again. But your business and life will be rewarded in the long run.

Whether you decide to subscribe to a new podcast, read a series of blog posts, engage with a few free pieces of training, enroll in an online course, or just pick up an educational book; the action of initiating self-education will benefit your mind and your business.

Plus, with your new knowledge, you may be able to level up a few of your services or product offerings.

Review and Refresh How Your Small Business Is Showing Up Online

Who else feels like every time they look at their website they find one little thing that they want to tweak? **Raises Hand** This was me for the longest time, but then one little thing would turn into 20 different things and by the time I was done, a few hours would have gone by. Can you relate??

Use your new downtime as go-time for sprucing up your website and giving some TLC to your neglected social media feeds. Create a plan for your social media accounts if you’ve neglected them in the past and dedicate time to updating your website to perfection.

Be sure to delete any irrelevant content and optimize your web pages for SEO. 

I also suggest going through old blog posts and seeing if you can update your highest-performing content with new opt-ins or visuals. Not currently generating quality leads on your blog posts? Now’s the perfect time to integrate your lead magnets!

Do what works best for your brand and your company’s needs, but by setting aside some time to rework your website, you’ll be ahead of the game when life picks back up.

Organize Your Small Business’s Files and Storage Systems During Quarantine

By golly is it overwhelming when you can’t find the file you’re looking for. I’m sure you’ve been in a hurry one too many times and incorrectly saved a file to your desktop. 

Transfer all your files to one place, whether it’s into Google Drive or a hard drive. Properly label each file so it’s easy to find when searching for it and don’t forget to create folders for certain file types.

When your digital files are organized, you’re making the most out of your time. 

If you’re still using physical files, maybe now is a good time to scan your documents and digitize them! 

If you’re hell-bent on keeping paper records, be sure to create a file system that’s easy to maintain and track so you’re not stressed out when life picks back up again.

Now’s the perfect time to discard unnecessary documents and organize miscellaneous files you currently have scattered throughout your office.

Easy access and discoverability are the most important aspects of your files when you need them the most.

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Once these three action items have been crossed off your quarantine to-do list, feel free to reward yourself with a big bowl of ice cream or a tall glass of wine – at least that’s how I celebrate!