How to Find Profitable Opportunities During COVID-19

Imagine almost half of your immediate income evaporating in just 24 hours…

Income that you need to pay rent, feed your family, pay bills, and cover business expenses.

How would you quickly replace the lost revenue?

This is the position my client, Alexandra, found herself in when the COVID-19 quarantine hit.

Then, in just three weeks and with minimal expense, she put into place three new income streams that not only replaced the money she’d lost but also will become a key source of ongoing income for the future.

Here are the three steps Alexandra followed to make this happen (and that you can follow to launch a new income stream quickly, too).

1) Uncover What Is Most Relevant to Your Audience Right Now

The first thing Alexandra did was to check in with her intended audience (those she wanted to serve as customers) to see what they needed help with, especially in light of the current events.

One way she did this was by browsing a Facebook group for professionals in her field (certified movement analysts).

She noticed an interesting thread where a lot of people were expressing a desire to use quarantine as an opportunity to refresh their professional skills and knowledge. Alexandra immediately saw an opportunity to create value.

The coronavirus has brought massive change for everyone in every facet of life. Overnight, everyone’s needs shifted significantly. New priorities emerged. What was important the day before was no longer as important.

Uncovering these shifting needs is the key to creating value that your audience will eagerly and happily buy right now.

Keep I mind, this may be a variation on things you’ve offered before or something entirely new.

2) Put Together a Simple Pilot Offer

To fulfill the need she uncovered in her market, Alexandra put together a simple offer — a 1.5-hour live session going over the fundamentals her audience wanted to review.

To keep things simple, she chose to do the session live over Zoom. There was no need to record anything in advance or set up any fancy tech. After all, this was her first time ever offering a class on the Internet.

Low cost. Low risk. Simple.

She set the date about a week out. The key here was to get something to market fast so she could:

Test to see if people would indeed buy it
Bring much-needed cash in quickly
Get early feedback and testimonials

She promoted the class to her network, on social media, to her list, and through a joint venture partner’s network. To her delight, she maxed out her Zoom room capacity (100 people) which far surpassed her goal.

It would have been easy to assume that teaching a class on the Internet about movement wouldn’t fly. But given the circumstances, people ate it up.

3) Build On Your Momentum and Success

At this point, Alexandra knew she was on to something. It was time to double down on the results from her pilot.

First, she offered the recording to those who got shut out when the course reached capacity. Another 50+ people bought.

She booked another class for movement analysts for the following week.

She also noticed that a number of dancers and other performers signed up for the class because they were desperate for connection and an opportunity to move their bodies. So she started a weekly series of classes just for them.

Encouraged by the success of her first online class. She decided to convert one of the workshops she had to cancel into a four-week Zoom series.

In addition, she quickly planned and promoted a two-day weekend workshop for another segment of her audience.

Alexandra turned disruption and forced change into opportunity. She now has multiple online courses she can run in the future and an ongoing series bringing in additional income.

She’s also creating digital assets that she can monetize for months and even years to come.

The Bottom Line

Despite all the uncertainty and ongoing change in your industry, the economy, and the world, there are still needs your audience is willing to pay you to help them fulfill.

Uncover these needs by interacting on social media, getting on the phone with them, or surveying your list.

Launch a simple pilot. It could even be a one-off Zoom class to test your idea.

Based on what you learn, build on the success of your first pilot.

This is what we do as leaders and entrepreneurs. Find a need and fill it. Find a need and serve.

These opportunities are everywhere.

Just think, within a matter of weeks, you could have something new bringing in income and serving your audience.

What would that mean for your brand and business right now?

In my next post, I’ll share with you a simple framework for launching a pilot course as Alexandra did.

Launch an Online Course Workshop 3-part series:

How to Find Profitable Opportunities During COVID-19
4 Steps to Launch an Online Course in 3 Weeks
How to Attract Your Ideal Customers Without a List