I am sure you have had more than your fill of COVID-19 updates so I am not going to share our new policies and procedures. Our staff has been able to work from home for about 7 years and we wash our hands regularly so things are pretty much business as usual internally. Externally, the world is changing faster than any of us could’ve possibly imagined.
One of the benefits of being digital advertisers is that we get to work with a wide variety of clients in a myriad of industries. Right now, we have clients in the e-commerce space that can’t even come close to keeping up with increased demand and we have clients in the travel and entertainment space that may not survive when less than 4 weeks ago their 2020 outlook pointed toward significant growth.
This type of unprecedented economic turmoil is overwhelming and stressful for all business owners. We’re all being impacted in some way by what is taking place in our world right now. I know that my brain is running around the clock, assessing and reassessing various scenarios as I try to find opportunities in the chaos for our business and for our client’s businesses.
In all of this chaos, what has impressed me the most is how well the world has started to band together to help fight coronavirus. Earlier this week a few members of our team were on a conference call with a global client that has staff members spread across three continents. Every person on the call was working at home. Every person on the call had their kids home from school. Every person on the call was taking extra precautions to stop the spread. They were in different corners of the earth, from different cultures, and at different risk factors but they were all doing their part. As cynical and divided as we have all become I am extremely encouraged by the way our world, our state, and our community is pulling together to help each other, to share resources, and to make sure that those who are suffering are cared for whether they are sick, hungry, or hurting economically. While this situation is heartbreaking and devastating it is also encouraging to see that we can still set our differences aside and rise to the occasion and help our neighbors.
Our goal is to do exactly that, help as many struggling business owners as we possibly can. We feel the best way for us to contribute right now is to share what we know. Below you’ll find links to free advertising, resources, and tools intended to help our clients and friends as they aim to navigate this crazy business climate.
Currently Available Resources
Free Facebook Advertising:
Facebook is offering $100M in cash grants and ad credits for up to 30,000 eligible small businesses in over 30 countries. These are not yet available but we will work to keep you up-to-date on this. Enter your email below and we will alert you as soon as we know more.
Federal Disaster Business Loans:
If you are a small business or non-profit that has suffered a substantial economic injury you can now apply for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan. https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Information/EIDLLoans
You can also find out more about SBA resources related to coronavirus here:
https://www.sba.gov/page/guidance-businesses-employers-plan-respond-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19
Free Marketing Consulting:
If you believe you or your business could benefit from advice on how to use online marketing, social media, email marketing, or traditional marketing to better connect with your customers during this crisis, our team is offering 2 hours of free consulting, advice, planning, and strategy to any impacted business. We will help you map out strategies and provide clear implementation steps you can take to start reaching your customers free of charge.
Free Video Conferencing Software:
Conferencing software providers like Cisco, Google, and Zoom are offering free trials and free service to qualifying businesses, schools, and non-profits. You can find out more in this great article from ZDNet. (https://www.zdnet.com/article/video-conferencing-deals-coronavirus-spurs-offers-from-webex-google-and-others/)
If you need help setting up a solution, Cerium Networks is offering some great deals on helping business get up and running with remote workforce tools. https://ceriumnetworks.com/cerium-cisco-work-from-home-offers/
Advice on Managing a Remote Workforce:
If your company is experimenting with a remote workforce for the first time we would be happy to provide advice, assistance, or tools that have worked well for us as we have navigated this process. We have developed a number of systems and processes to help communicate, collaborate, and oversee a distributed team and we’re happy to share everything we know.Â
LinkedIn has also shared some great free training on the topic that may be very helpful for your team as you get used to the remote workplace.
https://www.linkedin.com/learning/paths/remote-working-setting-yourself-and-your-teams-up-for-success
I hope that you take advantage of some of these resources. As we hear about others we will certainly add to this list and we will share them via our email update system. We believe strongly that the best way to get through this crisis is to work together for the greater good and we will be doing everything we can here at Zipline to help as many business owners and individuals as we can. We hope you do the same, and together we will get through this!
