How to help small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Order takeaways to your heart’s content

It might seem a bit unorthodox to promote grabbing takeaways. It’s a convenient and expensive habit (trust me, I used to be terrible) but in these uncertain times it may actually be the best way to keep your favourite places open.

While many of us are now banned from entering bars and restaurants, food chains are being encouraged to keep takeaway orders going – even McDonalds in the UK has been asked to make every single one of its buildings a takeaway or drive thru. Deliveroo has announced it now has a contact-free delivery process that minimises the spreading of potential disease, and some takeaway services are not charging delivery fees for the next month.

Basically, if you can afford to do so, now’s the time to eat your favourite meals to your heart’s content. We can’t go to the gym right now anyway, so ordering in is your best bet to keep food places running over the next month or two.

Get donating online to emergency workers

We’re in a very strange situation where non-essential workers are being told to stay indoors, while nurses and shop assistants are being urged to get to their jobs by any means necessary. All of this overtime, panic buying, and calamity in general means that many are out of pocket despite working even harder than normal.

Luckily there are some online initiatives that are encouraging the public to donate money to help emergency services. The One Fair Wage website has a live donation page available and if you live in the UK you can visit the Red Cross site to donate directly to the national coronavirus appeal. Some of this money will go to small business owners and workers – so it’s definitely worth doing.

Pick up a ton of gift cards

I’m not the biggest fan of gift cards in normal life when there isn’t a pandemic going on. They seem like an excessive use of plastic to me and a little bit of a marketing ploy. It’s like money except, you know, a lot more restrictive.

With that being said, gift cards during the COVID-19 crisis are a great way of securing smaller businesses with a little extra money to get by while things are shut. This is particularly true for the performing arts and theatre production companies, most of which have had to close their doors indefinitely.

Picking up gift cards at the moment is a great way to get a ‘use later’ service that means companies can get a little revenue even when they’re not producing anything for now. If your local theatre or indie cinemas have gift cards, get them! You’ll be helping out your community a ton by doing so.

Support artists by buying their work

The modern day business model for musicians is completely unequipped for a pandemic such as this. Nearly every artist under the sun makes most of their revenue from touring, one-off special performances, and merchandise. With everyone being confined to their homes for the foreseeable future, every gig until the summer has been cancelled.

This means there’s a huge hole of income for artists who were expecting to do tours and shows throughout the year. Some are combatting this with virtual gigs, though how successful or profitable these will be remains to be seen.

For now, the best way to support struggling artists and creatives is to buy their work. Instead of streaming, buy albums outright directly from the band or artist’s website, or buy some merchandise wherever possible. You can do the same for authors, painters, or any other creative with tangible items for sale. Pick up physical copies where you can and help artists around the world. They’re going to sorely need it this year.

Share content and articles on social media

Okay, so that probably sounds like a sly way to get our articles some extra engagement, but I’m not just talking about us. Wherever you see links to online artist stores, advice to help small businesses out, or just useful information, it’s worth sharing it across your feeds to get the word out.

There’s a lot of talk about how governments will be aiding those in need financially and this is, of course, totally valid and necessary. But by the same token, it’s useful for consumers to know how much their choices will have an impact in the coming weeks and months on those who are struggling financially.

By investing in local business we’re making a real difference. The more of us that realise this, the more likely that money will find its way to the right people.

Give out tips wherever you can

While its common practice to give out tips to anyone in the service industry in the US, things are a little more ambiguous over in Europe. Any animosity might have to stop for a few months if we’re to help out those who need some support, though, and giving out tips will go a long way.

This one’s especially true if you’re ordering takeaways and having things delivered by local restaurants. Workers will be on overtime with less pay than they’re used to, and anything extra they’ll be sure to appreciate.

Giving supermarket workers some extra change, maybe paying artists a little more than the asking price, and being a little over generous in all areas will help out enormously during these weird, scary times.