Stuck Inside? It Might Be Time to Start on That Dream Project. Use these difficult times as inspiration and, if you have the opportunity, a chance to build something.
The spread of COVID-19, or coronavirus, has dominated our lives, as the federal government declared a national emergency, states shut down their restaurants and bars and the DOW keeps falling. All of us have been encouraged to practice social distancing to help flatten the curve of infection rate, which means much more time away from work, family and friends. Every aspect of our lives has been disrupted in unimaginable ways.
If you are healthy and have found yourself with extra time on your hands, and you're trying to decide what to do while you're stuck at home for the foreseeable future, this can be your chance to make that website, write that book or start that business you've been thinking about for so long. It could put you on track to fulfilling a dream.
Entrepreneur has resources for all sorts of different ventures, but here are five ideas to help get your mind going.
1. Starting your own business
If you need a business idea, we have plenty. But if you've already got one, you might just need to know how to make that idea a reality. Our twelve-step guide to starting a business can help you with the basics, starting with evaluating yourself, doing market research and getting feedback. It can then walk you, briefly, through writing a business plan, making your first hire, finding an office space and selling your product or service.
Related: 7 Online Business Ideas That Could Make You Rich
2. Starting your own franchise
Our Franchise 500 has been around for more than four decades now, and you can break down opportunities by price range, industry and a host of other categories to find the right options for you. Once you've selected a franchise — or perhaps a licensed store, like a Starbucks or Chick-fil-A — author and contributor Mark Siebert's series of excerpts from The Franchisee Handbook: Everything You Need to Know About Buying a Franchise can help you take a peek behind the curtain.
Related: Never Buy a Franchise Without Researching These 5 Sources
3. Writing a book
Whether you want to share your knowledge and ideas, position yourself as an expert or public speaker or just create a passive revenue stream, writing a book can be a worthwhile investment of your time. Everyone has a story in them, but that blank page can be terribly intimidating. So, how do you get over the hump and actually go from aspiring author to published? Our five-step guide on actually writing a book from beginning to end has tons of tips not only from the Entrepreneur staff, but also from massively successful authors like George R.R. Martin and Stephen King. It breaks down writing and editing tips, of course, but also bits of positivity that can help you push through when you decide you hate your second draft and want to give up.
Related: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Writing a Book
4. Generating more passive income
Eventually, life will return to normal. We will go back to work and the office once this crisis has passed, and if you want a source of income that can help complement your regular paycheck, you might want to use this time to establish streams of passive income. Entrepreneur contributor R.L. Adams breaks down 17 ways you can create passive income, including creating an online course or publishing an audiobook.
Related: 7 Ways to Make Extra Income Even With a Full-Time Job
5. Building a website or app
You might think that if you don't know how to code, you can't make a website or app. But that's simply not true — in fact, many entrepreneurs are better off delegating technical tasks like this to those who have specialized in these skills. Our guide on how to make an app when you can't code can help clear up some of these misconceptions and get you started. Then, you can check out our guide on making money online to format a business strategy.
Related: Why Search Engine Optimization Is the Key to Making Money Online
