It's not a secret that these are hard times for small businesses. With brick and mortars shutting their doors, people worrying about spending money, events getting postponed or cancelled - our economy is taking a serious hit. As a small business owner myself, I fear the uncertainty of it all. How long is this going to last? What are the long-term impacts? How do I fill my time?
Since Mardi Gras, I've also been secretly wishing for some down time to re-focus, strategize, and plan. While this down time may not exactly be on MY terms, I'm still hoping to make the best of it and use my time to learn new skills, focus my services and products, strategize for long-term, and do tasks I've been putting off in the name of being "too busy".
Luckily, some other amazing humans and brands have decided to share some FREE resources to help us do just that and I thought I'd pass along the info. Here are some really amazing resources for small businesses and people who are just looking to use this forced down time productively. Feel free to share if you've found any other resources!
1. The Small Business Survival Guide from Jenna Kutcher
This gives some really actionable items such as social media post ideas, client communication templates, ideas for service and product based businesses, and ways to help support other businesses.
Some times I get stuck in a creative rut and I particularly love the social media prompts- it's helping me get a bit more creative.
Find the guide HERE
2. Brit+co. Online Courses
There's everything from creative lettering classes to business classes to cake decorating classes. And the best news is they are all FREE through March 31 with code SELFCARE. I've been wanting to learn more about Illustrator and how to up my design game so I signed up for 4 courses. Looking forward to using my ipad to start creating some fun things!
Sign up for classes HERE
3. 500 Free Online Ivy League Courses
I always wish I went to business school so when I learned about these courses I was quite excited. With over 100 business-related courses and over 500 additional courses I can fill in my knowledge gap from some of the best educators around. I don't know if I'm super excited about the Intro to Financial Accounting course but I know my accountant will be forever grateful.
Find the courses HERE
4. Skillshare Courses
There are hundreds of courses on Skillshare- from photography to drawing to business to freelancing. There is normally a membership cost but they are opening up to free 2 month memberships. There are a limited amount so sign up soon!
Check out Skillshare HERE
5. CREATIVELIVE Courses
You can stream live free courses or sign up for an on-demand membership. They have some amazing photographers and entrepreneurs teaching courses 24/7.
Check out the livestream HERE