I never thought that I would have to record a podcast episode encouraging people to avoid killing their grandparents. But, here we are. Recently the Lieutenant Governor of Texas said that he would be willing to die so that his grandkids could have a strong economy. Now, I could say Ok Boomer to that or I could help him out with ideas on how to support local business without killing MeMaw. By the way, his comments literally made me cry because I love my Grandma and would do any and everything that I can do to protect her and everyone else’s grandparents. She brings so much joy into my life. I’ve decided to share my ideas because this is some next level sacrifice that we can absolutely avoid because it’s 2020 and we have technology, choices, and the ability to use collective action to support our local businesses. I’m also going to share a few ideas for businesses who aren’t sure what they can do during this time.
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If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the Coronavirus and talk of a Recession, purchase “The Corona Virus and Recession Planning Kit. From Freaked Out to Back in Control“ available for now-FREE. If you’re needing some help figuring out what to consider, what to prepare for, and how to stockpile without losing your mind. Michelle is Money Hungry is an empathetic space in the personal finance verse. I’m here to help you, not shame you.
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Show Notes
- It’s heartbreaking to acknowledge that many businesses will be lost during this time. You can’t literally physically remove customers from businesses and not expect that to be the case.
- But it’s 20 freaking 20 and this crazy thing called the internet that we can use to take action now.
- There are, however, many things that we as customers can do to support our local businesses while self-isolating and protecting ourselves from Covid-19 aka the Coronavirus
- First, understand what your state is mandating citizens to do during this time.
- Use social media to shout out your favorite local businesses. If you have beautiful pictures of a favorite meal at your favorite restaurant, a beautiful outfit that you purchased at a local store, or a picture of a perfectly made latte at your favorite coffee shop. Share them and link to those businesses’ social media pages many of which are sharing updates on how to support them during this time.
- Purchase gift cards from businesses. Many businesses are creating gift card specials where you get more bang for you buck. Instead of a card having just the amount you purchased, many businesses are adding bonus amounts to your gift card purchases.
- Pick it up! Many cities are allowing pick up orders from your favorite:
- Coffee shop
- Restaurants
- Pot Shops (I do live in Colorado-making sure you’re listening)
- Use delivery services-just remember to reheat the food, throw out the boxes fast, and wash your hands before eating.
- Shop online-I love shopping and when I first launched this blog it was called “The Shop My Closet Project” where I shopped what was in my home because I had so much stuff. I used to love to go to the mall. In the past 5 years I’ve fallen out of love with going to the mall and fallen in love with online shopping. It’s fast, efficient, and I can access deals that the website may have that the shop might not.
- Crowdsource support-This could type of support could happen in a couple of different ways:
- Organize via your neighborhood’s Next Door portal to support different businesses on a rotating basis.
- Buy meals
- Create shopping days
- Reach out to the business and ask if they could create a coupon to be used by a certain date.
- Organize via your neighborhood’s Next Door portal to support different businesses on a rotating basis.
- Create Local Facebook groups focused on supporting local businesses
- Connect business owners with helpful resources that they might not know about because the situation is happening so quickly.
- Tell them about GRANTS that don’t have to be paid back
- Stimulus programs for businesses
- Non-profit programs that may be for specific types of people
- Women
- 1st Generation business owners
- People of Color
- Etc.
- Interview your favorite business owners on your podcast. They can be short 20 minute episodes sharing their brand.
- Bilingual? Connect translation services or share official resources that are published in different languages.
Businesses How to Help US Help You
- Tell us what you need
- Pick up unused food
- Purchase gift cards
- Do you need us to share your business with other people. We will NOT judge your transparency. We need it because we’re struggling in the dark too.
- How we can support your business and make it easy for us to do it.
- If you’re a yoga/dance/fitness studio offer classes online via Zoom. I’m still taking classes via my studio via Zoom. You can also offer 20 minute free classes and upsell to your paid classes.
- Partner with other businesses and share one another online.
- If possible, change what you sell and KEEP selling. You need to eat.
- Communicate how you’re keeping customers safe if they have to come into your place of business.
The Reality
- We are not powerless
- We do not have to sacrifice people in order to keep the economy healthy
- The day that I recorded this episode the stimulus package was passed.
- Some businesses will be lost and it sucks. But, we don’t have to kill off our grandparents to help the economy.
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It looks like you’ve misspelled the word “whic” on your website. I thought you would like to know :). Silly mistakes can ruin your site’s credibility. I’ve used a tool called SpellScan.com in the past to keep mistakes off of my website.
-Kerri
Thanks!