For solopreneurs and experts, COVID-19 clearing out your speaking and workshops doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Here’s how to make the best of a coronavirus quarantine.

At the time of writing this, I’m back in Brisbane after being in Adelaide for the last few days. I’ve spent Friday meeting with a few contacts, but instead of shaking hands, we were bumping elbows.

The coronavirus situation is rapidly evolving and changing almost hourly. Every day there are new cases, and new precautions to take into account. On 11 March 2020 the World Health Organization officially declared it a pandemic and expressed serious concerns about the levels of spread and severity. And with China and Italy as examples, businesses throughout Australia are frantically working on their business continuity plans, worried and anxious about the inevitable shut downs.

But this doesn’t have to be the death knell of your business. Instead, it can be a great opportunity for investment in your business.

Coronavirus Quarantine

Make hay while the sun shines.

There’s an old proverb that says, ‘Make hay while the sun shines’. It might not seem like the sun is shining right now, but in a lot of ways, it is. And it’s vital that you are taking advantage of these opportunities. A coronavirus quarantine is going to clear out a lot of businesses – they simply won’t be able to pull through. We don’t want that to be you.

The actions that you take in the next 90 days will define your business for the next 18 months.

What could you do in in the next 30 days to set yourself up for success?

Here are some ideas:

1. COPY: Create a persuasive website landing page for your programs.

2. CUT-THROUGH: Create a whitepaper that generates meetings.

3. CONNECT: Create a LinkedIn Profile that creates 10 leads per day.

4. COMMUNICATE: Create a newsletter with a 40% open rate.

5. CONVERT: Create a brochure that sells.

6. COMMUNITY: Create your CRM, Build Your Tribe.

7. CAPTIVATE: The five stories that every expert needs to tell.

8. COMPOSE: Write a 10,000 word e-book in three hours.

9. CREDIBILITY: Write a powerful About You page.

10. CUSTOMER: Set up your “Google my Business” page.

11. KEYNOTE KIT: Design your speaker kit and website landing page.

12. CONVERSATION: Have sales meetings that grow your revenue.

13. COMMENTARY: How to get featured in mainstream media.

14. CURE: Create a diagnostic that creates insight and solves problems.

If you think 30 days is not enough time to get the above done, you’re wrong. Content Club was launched last week. It was a natural extension of the Content Creation Bootcamp. It was put it together because clients could use it and wanted it. And, it’s been the perfect timing because it’s a new way of working catering to people who are working from home. But more to the point, Content Club members created ten pieces of unique content in a two-hour period today. If they can do it, so can you!

Don't sit around watching Netflix.

The point is, if you find yourself in a coronavirus quarantine situation, don’t go and sit on the couch, cry, eat ice cream and watch Netflix. If you do that, you’ll be left behind. But if you make the most of these opportunities while you can, you’ll be positioning yourself well. If you were stuck on a desert island, you wouldn’t just sit around waiting to be rescued. You would build yourself a boat or start swimming.

In fact, I recently read Arianna Huffington’s comment on LinkedIn where she shared that, "In 1665, the University of Cambridge temporarily closed due to the bubonic plague. Isaac Newton had to work from home and he used this time to develop calculus and the theory of gravity".

Do get creative and innovative.

This time can either maroon you or motivate you to get creative. Think outside the box and embrace innovation. You aren’t operating under normal circumstances now, and normal solutions may not always work. But that’s the beauty of it.

Remember, this is the new future. We have to get used to disruption. We need to be agile, flexible and make the most of each moment that we have.

As Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Time abides long enough for those who make use of it”.

How do you choose to respond, with panic or productivity?