Ramblings of a Marketing Gurl: Startup Resources for Remote Work, Pandemic Response

Never in my lifetime have I seen 17 million people file for unemployment within a few weeks. Couple that with all the country-specific travel restrictions, and the shutdown of certain retail industry sectors: entertainment, in-store dining, travel, brick 'n mortar stores, and from a state mandate, closure of non-essential businesses such as daycare centers, hair salons, eateries w/o takeout or delivery options, etc.

Here is a compilation of resources that your small business or startup may find useful:

Video conferencing. Alternatives to Zoom conferencing if user privacy is a concern:

Google Meet (formerly Google Hangouts)
Goto Meeting
Join.Me
WebEx
Microsoft Teams & Skype

COVID-19 Response Plans. HR policies and procedures that address health and safety of employees

HR Examiner - Employers Coronavirus Checklist
Coronavirus Overview for Startups by Elad Gil (blog)
LifeLab's Google Doc - HR & People Ops Prep Doc
CDC Guidance for Business re: Coronavirus
Baker MacKenzie - Essential Action Items for US Employers
Sample Response Plans

Remote Work Policies & Tools (examples):

Slack - Remote Work Tips
SHRM - Legal Resources & Tools for Remote Work
Zapier - Guide to Working Remotely
GitLab - Tools for Remote Work
InVision - Running Effective Remote Events [PDF]

Grants and other non-money assistance:

Google - $340 million in Google Ads credits available to all SMBs with active accounts over the past year

Small Business Gov't Resources

SBA's Small Business Guidance & Loan Resources

100 most active SBA 7(a) lenders

WA State

WA official COVID-19 website
SBA COVID19 Disaster Loan Programs
Working Washington Small Business Emergency Grant (WWSBEG) - application [PDF], CREDC website (local small business agency in SW Washington) - one-time grant of $10,000 for small businesses with 1-10 employees or sole proprietors, FAQ

Serena Y. Hsi, MBA

Welcome to my ramblings about marketing techniques, insights, business models, and perspectives on what companies do to bring products and services to market. My marketing work encompasses corporate and agency marketing handling many aspects within the marketing discipline: competitive intelligence, market strategy, market research, consulting, customer segmentation, database marketing, and identifying better customer acquisition methods and cross-sell opportunities.

The strength of a company's product or services should be as strong as its business strategy and marketing insight into its own industry. My passions are marketing and technology, which just happens to also be my career path.