Many of us have worked hard and smart. Hard enough and smart enough that we have all the trappings and we pay for our children’s braces and we pay for their college tuition and we plan on that not too far off period where we can just deep sea fish or hop a plane across the pond to Rome. And we feel blessed that our lives worked out so well. We are so very proud because we earned all of the above.

And then coronavirus, seemingly overnight, shuts our offices, shrinks our savings, makes us dip into our retirement funds and we have to helplessly watch our 401Ks become emaciated. What can we do about it? We can’t even leave the house so how can we even begin to think of something so foolish as buying that boat now. So what exactly can we do?

We can plan for when this is over is what we can do. Because that day WILL come!

If you are fortunate enough to have employment in a “COVID proof” industry, then the answer is simple – Wait for this to blow over and simply go back to work. But if you are like the millions of Americans who work for a business that will not exist, or even worse, own a business that will not exist after this terrible period? You are going to need other options.

Here are some some possible suggestions:

If you have indeed built up a retirement nest egg that you can afford to dip into? Maybe take a portion of it and use it to start a home based business. (Note: And this is VERY important! Do NOT try to start a website that advises, informs and entertains people like yourself that want “The good life”. It has been proven that only one website like this can be successful at a time. Guess which one? Wink!)

You may now have much more free time on your hands than you are used to. Stop looking at CNN and research learning new skills that may complement your existing skill set. If you are an engineer but you are not comfortable speaking in front people, your post coronavirus job could include speaking to a group of engineers about your experiences and training so take an online public speaking course. If you are a sales director for a hotel chain, learn about the sales cycles of another industry that will not be as vulnerable to this COVID crisis as hotels are proving to be. If you have an associate’s degree, finally take this time to take an online course and get your bachelor’s. Bachelor degree? Get your MBA. COVID-19 changed a lot of things. One thing that it didn’t reconfigure is that more education is always more marketable when looking for employment.

The key here is that NOW is the time to adapt. Start planning before your company does or does not tell you if they will survive. Start training to enhance your skill set or learn a new one with online courses. Start contemplating your retirement plans before transitioning funds from your 401K to gold on the market.

The reality is that the other side of this pandemic will see more than a few brands of airlines, department stores, hotels and restaurants completely disappear. Our economy is beyond the point of there being no casualties. The expert predictions are that neither the virus nor the economy will be completely fixed by the end of this year. But it is only April. So take that online class now. Research a new industry now. Start that new home based business now. Just do not forget that building a website similar to the one that gave you this good advice is a very bad business idea. 

A horrible idea actually. (Wink!)