By Leroy Ferrao
We are in the middle of a COVID-19 storm. It’s now 10 months after the virus was first detected in December 2019 in China. The Spanish Flu lasted for about 2 years. This pandemic could go beyond. Have you made a solid plan to deal with the crisis?
Here are 5 threats and your response plan to navigate the crisis caused by the Covid -19 pandemic successfully.
#1.Protect your personal health
The first threat of the COVID – 19 is your health. People have got complacent and are not following the safety instructions. In other words, they imagine that everything is going to return to normal and live in a denial mode that Covid-19 will not infect them. How will you respond to getting infected with the virus after taking reasonable precautions?
Response 1 – Immediately consult your family doctor.Â
It would be wise to consult your family doctor online or offline. Firstly, I would advise herbal therapies or alternate medicine. Secondly, if the patient is not improving then it would be ultimately conventional allopathic medicine.
Response 2 – Take the medicines religiously.Â
Prescribed medicine should be taken without missing your dose during the prescribed period and buy it even if it is expensive as your life is at stake.
Response 3 – Go for a COVID-19 test.
Covid -19 test will clear the doubt in you and others. Research suggests that if you find it difficult to hold your breath for 10 seconds and began to cough you could be in trouble. Therefore, an early detection of Covid – 19 ensures that your chances of recovery are good.
Response 4.- Quarantine for 14 days at your home.
Most importantly, it is preferred that you self quarantine yourself at your home as there are dangers in the hospital because of large number of Covid-19 patients and the healthcare workers being infected.
Response 5- Stick to the basics.
Eat healthy, drink a total of 4 to 5 litres daily with a 15 minute gap of warm water, steam inhalation, multivitamins, minerals, immunity boosters, sleep well for 8-10 hours, kill stress,and above all remain positive.
Response 5.- Apply for a base and top-up health insurance.
Invest in a Rs. 5 lakhs health insurance policy and top it up with another 20-30 lakhs to save costs. ( Applicable for India) Consequently, it will help you save your cash reserves.Â
Opt for a hospital cash policy, which comes with daily cash hospitalization benefit.Â
#2.Protect your job security
The second threat of the COVID-19 is your job security. Firstly, businesses have closed down during the lockdown, are in the process of shutting down or will close their operations in some time in the future. Secondly, always prepare for the worst- case scenario. Most importantly, accept the reality that you will be affected by this crisis if you are not in my four top industries that will thrive in this pandemic. How can you plan to absorb the coming shock?
Response 1 – Upskill yourself to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 era.Â
Begin by taking online courses and become multi-skilled. Gone are the days of remaining a specialist all your life. So provide more value than you are paid and then you will not only retain your job but find another one if the need arises.
Response 2 – Build a list of your contacts.
Most importantly, build your contact list of people, who can refer or recommend you a job because 80% of all jobs are through referrals. Only 20% of jobs reach the market and 80% are seeking those jobs. Therefore it has often been said that your network is your net worth.
 Response 3 – Increase the quality and speed of your work.Â
Above all responses increase the quality and speed of your work. How? By adopting better tools and equipment to achieve it. For instance a faster processor can get your work done quicker than a slow computer. Furthermore, invest in learning and using technology. As a result, you will be miles ahead of your competition. Keep in mind the principle, ” Always give more than you get paid.” This principle will make you invaluable.
 Response 4 – Don’t quit your current job.
 Do not quit your present job because your walls of achievements have grown over the years of your working period. You will have to prove yourself again as you start from the scratch in your next job and build a new foundation during this crisis. Are you sure you will be able to build walls again or will you be stuck at the foundation? Think for a moment of compounding. Everything in life gets compounded. Do you want to start from scratch during this pandemic and lose the power of compounding at your present job? Unless the company let you go, stick with your current job and over deliver. I am against the idea of moving out for growth because growth can easily happen at with your present job. Furthermore new employees get sacked first during a recession. Ultimately, its only the most valuable workers who survive the axe and if your company survived earlier downturns and is in my 4 recommended industries list do not quit your job please.
Response 5 – Use Internet tools to apply for a new job.
Use the internet tools to apply for a new job in case you lose your existing job, to the concerned person of your targeted company. For instance, these internet tools i.e GetProspect.io, Klenty.com etc. will help you get the email addresses of your future employers
#3.Protect your finances by having multiple streams of income
These are difficult times. Your income may stop due to unforeseen factors and you need to create multiple streams of income to keep your life machine lubricated and moving. The old proverb “Do not put your eggs in one basket” holds true. What are the different streams of income as a family you must have? Start creating the following income containers.
Response 1- Earned or Active income.
This income is the earned by doing something or by spending your time e.g the money you make in your job or freelancing income by doing client based projects.
Response 2- Profits.Â
An expert in personality development said that profits are better than wages or salaries. Create a product and start selling it for a profit. It may be even selling lunch or some food items. It’s your product and reap profits.
Response 3- Interest income.
Lend money to the government in the forms of bonds and deposits kept at the RBI or Indian Post Office if you stay in India and earn secure interest amount from it monthly or cumulatively.
Response 4- Rental income.
Rent or lease your land or real estate to reliable parties legally and earn rental income each month.
Response 5- Royalty income.
Write books, create a product or design, an intellectual property like an invention and sell it ,as a result, the buyer of your product will have to pay you a royalty to market your product for as long you mutually agree, in some cases 70 to 100 years.
Response 6. – Online income.
Start an online business or, create online courses of your marketable expert , get into affiliate marketing or conduct online coaching and webinars and you are in new income stream.
Response 7- Farming, fishing or livestock income.
Set up on your land any of the above activities which will be in always be in demand. I know an educated person who began cultivating chillies on his land and making a cool Rs.1.5 lakhs per month. You can learn farming on YouTube.Â
#4.Protect your children's education by pivoting online
Your children are precious and it is your responsibility to protect their education and pivot them online. Therefore, I strongly recommend that you take it on your head and shoulders and do not throw that responsibility on the helpless education system which is fighting a losing battle for its own survival due to the pandemic.
Why will you switch to your education institution’s online education when on the internet you get the best education for a fraction of the cost?
Furthermore, schools are closing down now because students are getting infected with the virus. Your children may survive the virus because they are young, however, it will spread the infection in your home and infect the elderly.
Consequently, I strongly encourage homeschooling in this new normal. It is better the students get exposure to technology now and are able to stand on their own feet in the years to come so that you can protect your child’s future.
Response -1. Take them off the school rolls.
Pull out your children from their school if it does not have online training now. Period or witness the destruction of their future with your own eyes.
Response – 2. Continue only for the current academic year.
Unless your current education institution is providing online education, continue with it only for this academic year. However, also pivot online so that for the next academic year, your children will be able to make a smooth jump to the online world.
Response – 3. Hire online teachers and educators.
Hire online teachers and trainers to supplement online education if you can afford it. Invest in your children education and future and your ROI will be high.
Response – 4. Protect your children online.
Protect your children online educating them about the pitfalls or dangers online. Therefore, monitor their content and their association as online predators are as dangerous as offline ones.
Response – 5. Exercise and social activities.
Plan games at home that will result in physical activity. Above all, limit their online or mobile exposure, so that they can remain socially connected with family offline and online thus developing maturity and interpersonal skills needed for their future.
#5. Protect yourself declaring war on debt.
If there ever is a time to get rid of debt, this is it. Period. Families burdened with debt face the worse of all worlds. Focus all your energy in killing it.
Response -1. Attack credit card debt first.
Pay of your worst debt first. Experts recommend that you pay the card which you owe the least and progress to the card that you owe the most. Do it on a war footing because the compounded interest you are paying could be over 35%.
Response -2. Pay back all personal loans.
Personal loans are they second most expensive debt instruments after credit cards. Either earn more to pay by increasing your streams of income as discussed above or cut expenses drastically. You can sell assets like real estate or gold now and pay back the bank for whom you have been working for so long by taking loans.
Response – 3.. Close your car loans immediately.
Car loans are the third most expensive debt instrument in the market. Reduce your expenses on fuel, maintenance, spare parts, insurance etc. and save precious resources.
Firstly, the value of your present petrol / diesel car will come to zero because electric cars are taking over the world.Â
Secondly, the government is increasing taxes not only on the fuel but on polluting vehicles.
Lastly, act smart and dump your car on the fool as he/she will part their hard earned cash reserves for a liability.
Response – 4. Start clearing your housing loans.
Pay off your residential housing mortgage if your income is steady or sell your additional property if your income has stopped or become unpredictable as real estate will come crashing as a result your bank could increase your EMI. Otherwise, you will get trapped, as the banks will foreclose your flat or apartment and you could lose your roof. Keep your residence but sell your second home or other real estate properties before the crash.
Response -5. Abstain from business loans.
My strong conviction is that a business must start with zero investments.. How? Launch your business with a service like teaching or repairing as you only require knowledge or skill. Then as the income comes in, re-invest it in the business. As a result you will grow. Business loans are expensive and can derail you as we live in uncertain times.
Conclusion
In conclusion, these are 5 ways to protect you from the COVID-19 pandemic that could last for years. Protect your health, job, finances, children and yourself from the Covid-19 pandemic onslaught. I have also given you steps how to respond to each challenge. If however, you want to apply this knowledge to your circumstances feel free to contact me and book your appointment on the chatbot for customized solutions to your problem. One thing is sure is that COVID-19 is here to stay and above all, weather the storm by having a response plan implemented in your life.
Who do you know requires this knowledge to keep them in survival mode during this Coronavirus pandemic? Will you share this blueprint with them and help them cope with the tough times we are in together, just like I shared with you?
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