How small business owners work at home is our blog discussion today. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit all of us, small business owners. We have had to adjust by working virtually from our home base. Rather than complaining, we should remember there are many businesses that work from home and this started long ago. In fact, it started long before the pandemic occurred.
For some small businesses, this new working environment has presented a new opportunity for growth. It can be developed as an alternative method to seek and work with consumers after the pandemic has ended. Along with this new opportunity we also want to discuss how to work safely and avoid any exposure in our workplace (at home).
Working from home during the pandemic:
As we work from home we do need to keep in mind that our workspace should be maintained properly to keep us safe, just as we would do so if we were cleaning our brick and mortar office space. Although we are working virtually, we do leave our workspace occasionally to retrieve groceries, pharmacy items, etc. This exposes us to the outside world. Along with wearing a facemask and washing our hands before and after we leave our home and return, we also have to consider that our workspace at home can become contaminated.
Keep in mind that most of us have family around while we work. Children are little Petri-dishes carrying germs. When kids are nearby it is especially important to follow your cleaning regimen. Kids are notorious for touching anything and everything so remain vigilant.
Clean your keyboard and all items you will be touching as you work virtually from home. follow guidelines for keeping safe in the home workspace.
Additionally, keeping hands clean at all times and not touching our face as we work is also important for safety. As we leave our home and venture outside more and more, this will still be the regiment to follow.
Additionally, touching your face can bring the contagion close to the areas where the virus could enter your body. So stay alert as you work at home to stay safe from COVID-19.
Stay active and exercise:
New habits moving forward after the pandemic:
It really appears to most of us that this pandemic will forever change our work habits, even when we return to our office locations. When we meet with clients in the field, we will now maintain a distance and avoid shaking hands. If we stick to our new habits of cleanliness we might even stop some influenza during the year as well.
Meetings are now through Facetime, etc.
We have noticed that many of the clients asking for changes in their websites are asking us for Facetime visits or calling us instead of visiting our office. We have adapted to this new normal by dressing in business attire during the daytime hours rather than sitting around in our pajamas all day working. That came to a halt once clients started using Facetime for communication.
New website client opportunities:
In the past, most of our new clients were requesting in-person visits. However, with the pandemic, they are now happy to be setting up a quick Facetime meeting to discuss options. We have found this to be more convenient on our end. Less travel and more time to work on pending projects.
More inquires from farther away:
Our design wizards have also noticed we are getting more inquires from all over the country recently, rather than from our immediate area. This may be because those clients who preferred local companies are now finding companies out of the area to be just as convenient. We have also noticed that clients are willing to have us create tentative layouts to review online and work with us through email and website reviews.
Many of our clients who have sent COVID-19 messages for their websites are now having those removed. This tells us that we are slowly returning to work outside the home base. As we return to normal we are convinced that the lessons of safety we have all learned in the past several months will not be forgotten soon.
The conclusion: working from home during COVID-19
We wish to send our condolences to all of the families who have lost loved ones from this terrible disease. There really are no words that can relieve the hurt and pain from losing our loved ones. But we all can do our part in keeping as safe as possible to keep from spreading it to others.
Let’s stop the spread!
Ramona J. Holland-Rose
Chief Creative Officer & SEO Professional
Inside Design Orlando
(an Orlando Website Design Co. since 2001)
