Many business people have panicked during COVID-19. What seems like an economic downturn though does not have to be that way. Although money isn’t everything, you can still revitalize your business and find funding from all sorts of sources during this pandemic if you are willing to get creative. In the following article, we will explore sources you can utilize.
Government Incentives
Most governments will have incentives that give you a boost. In the US, there are stimulus checks. Additionally, there are also other specific funds that they have. You can consider taking what they have to offer your business in the form of unemployment. If you have been laid off from a company, this extra money can go towards starting your own venture during this time. You will certainly have the hours at home to accumulate ideas for the future. The government is there to help people who have no income but have been working before this.
Friends and Family
Never underestimate the willingness of your friends and family to invest in you. This time has brought out the generosity in many people. They sit at home and count their blessings. They may be willing to spend some of the extra money the government is giving them on you. Also, if they still have a job, they could feel fortunate and willing to share. Whatever their situation, it doesn’t hurt to reach out to them and ask. You may be surprised that your friends and family are wanting to donate to you. However, you should view this as a blessing and just take what they give you. You can apply it to your business to help you stay afloat.
Bank Loans and Lines of Credit
One of the best places to go when you need some no strings attached loan money is the bank. The bank will give you a line of credit if you demonstrate a good history of making money. They also might have business loans to offer you that you never really got out before. You might be eligible just by virtue of the fact that this is a difficult time and they don’t mine giving out loans to businesses right now. You probably won’t get any special rates on them, but bank loans and lines of credit can really help you to stay on track with your expenses. If you want to quickly figure out how much will be your monthly payment, there are some good business loan calculator like that from Pigly.com that you can use online.
Increase Your Credit Limit
You can ask for an increase in your credit limit. This may ensure that you have $10,000 or more dollars to pay expenses if you are really desperate. Sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say. You should just ask for your credit limit to be increased so that you have some wiggle room if things go south.
Get An Online Job
Once you’ve done everything you can, you should consider using your spare time to work online. You can generate income doing surveys for the many survey sites out there. The best part about this money is that you will have no interest on it. Survey money is nothing to sneeze at. If you could make an extra $50 a week on surveys while you watch Netflix, then you are really paying one of your bills at home on your downtime. You need to find a way to make your time by yourself work for you now. When there aren’t a lot of options, you will need to look for simple things that you qualify for to help you get by.
If you have specialized skills, consider starting a consulting business online. A lot of companies like Wix are offering free sites to people at this time. If you literally do not have the capital to invest in anything, you can make a free site. You can offer workshops and other ventures to teach your skill. You can get paid to empower other people during the pandemic. They are probably off of work looking for a new skill. Instead of sweating over firing people and other actions that are out of your control, you can start to build up people. The consulting option is very lucrative and you can easily charge a lot of money for this option.
Lastly, if you have an existing blog or website, especially if you have good amount of solid followers and viewers, you can start making money by being an Influencer. Depends on how many people are viewing and engaging your content, you can be a Nano-Influencer. Many companies related to your niche would love to be mentioned and endorsed to your audience.
Cut Down Your Household Expenses
If you are trying to keep your business alive, then you probably do not want to be signed up at home for $100 a month of streaming and $100 of cable. You can cut everything down to just one $10 service and already save yourself $90 a month. It may be sad to give up cable and all your options, you will find that there is still plenty on offer with just one streaming service. Additionally, you can make your coffee and baking at home, which will save you a bundle. You just cut your coffee and cake expenses down to $50 a month when you could have been spending $150 if you made just a $5 purchase every day. Setting your sights on cutting down at home will help you to feel more in control.
Research What Companies Are Doing to Help
If you have a mortgage, you should be looking at if your company is offering to defer it. In addition, find out if your phone company is offering special breaks in pricing. Make a list of all the companies that you pay any money to, and find out what they are doing in light of COVID-19. If you don’t know, you can just call and ask. Most of the time, they will be doing something but if you haven’t inquired about it, they might not have given you any special rate. Do this will your business expenses as well, and you will be finding that you can cut costs at home and at the job.
Conclusion
It can be a difficult time to keep up morale, especially when you have to worry about keeping positivity on the business front as well as dealing with your home life. However, it’s still something you can aspire to do with grace by taking advantage of all the resources that are out there.
