So our President announces that there is a case of corona virus in Kenya and that schools are going to be closed starting that very Monday. Listening to that news item, I was nonchalant as I felt that nothing much would change in my life. If anything, had they not said that the disease was mostly affecting older people, pr so I thought.
Yes, my kids were not going to attend school but they were almost closing school and so that did not seem like big news to me by then. Actually the kids were more than glad, only that they could not say it but their school holidays were going to be longer than usual.
As days went by though, more and more changes were made like the directive to stay at home unless you were offering essential services; say you were a doctor, a driver delivering foods, a serviceman at Kenya Power and Lightening Company or a security guard. There was also the cessation of movements as well as the impact on public transport which were directed to have less than half their normal capacity. And then entertainment joints, public gatherings and churches were all halted. A curfew of between 5am to 7pm was also put in place.
And here is when things started going topsy turvy. You see I run a boutique and since it there was a cessation of movement plus the fact that more and more people were staying at home, there were days when I would go without seeing any client come to my business.
Things could not go on that way. I knew for afact that my products were of high quality. Elegant. There is no way that people were not interested in them. But travelling was the problem. I had to look for a solution. It is then that a friend advised that the future of businesses is online. Unless you are doing something online and are easily accessible on social media and websites, then people might as well behave as though you do not exist.
And that was a big lesson. But look here, I am nothing but a fashion designer. I know how to come up with the latest designs as well as market them to my face to face customers. How was I going to learn how to market myself on the Internet, leave alone creating a social media brand or website. But I needed not worry because I miraculously bumped into this guys who do digital consulting services who were able to come up with the best digital marketing strategy that I have seen so far.
Now things have stabilized on my part. While the virus is still causing uncertainty especially for my competitors, I have fortunately found a competitive edge over them. Now, I just need to tell this guys to populate my website with images of the products that I have in stock, post them on my social media and that simply, I am able to focus on the other creative parts of my business. Clients are able to order online and I am happy that I have an increase in the number of customers who now have an uptake of my products.
At the same time, I have found ways to diversify my income. I have been trying to do graphic design since I have found that my services and creativity is heavy in demand on websites. After going through this post on legit ways to make money online without investment, I can now that I am wiser and able to get clients easily.