Adapting Your Home Business to the New Economy

Five Home Business Owners Share How It Is Possible

- Gerri Detweiler

It would seem natural for home-based businesses to have an edge these days. While other businesses scramble to work from home, they are already there. But that does not mean the work is still there. Just like other entrepreneurs, many are finding themselves having to change their businesses just as rapidly.

Here, five home business owners share how they are adapting to this new and uncertain economy.

Leverage What (and Who) You Know

Chris Chan is the founder and CEO of 3C Strategies, LLC based in Washington DC. Founded in 2017, 80% of the firm’s work is event planning, which ground to a halt in March 2020. Chan has worked to rapidly shift his business. He is doing more graphic design work as well as virtual events production. He has also tapped his network to get consulting work around the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). He has also applied for COVID-relief funds for his business.

Chan encourages other business owners to be strategic as they seek out new avenues of income. “Working smart is a priority now,” he says. “Don’t burn yourself or your bank account out by chasing phantom leads. Work on engaging your prior clients or ones that nearly pulled the trigger in the past. They are better opportunities for new business than just flooding google ads or social media advertising out to a broad audience.”

Lesson: Build your network and do not be afraid to leverage it.

Be Willing to Stretch