Resilience (A word on COVID-19)
COVID-19 + 8 Tips to Thrive in Your Business
Heart Centered Entrepreneurs,
If you're feeling ALL the feels this week, that's 100% normal. Writing a note to send EXTRA support your way.
So yes girl, prep that pantry.
BUT ALSO-- I want to give you some advice to help you stay grounded AND still grow your biz this month.
I’m not a medical professional or disaster expert BTW, I just KNOW what it’s like to make it through ups and downs of internal life stress (hello 1.5 year sprint of being a single mama, and a family cancer diagnosis) and external life stress (massive city evacuations from fires)--
And what I KNOW to be true is that you can and will make it through this.
In fact, I believe if you practice RADICAL SELF-CARE, fierce boundaries & grace in the next few weeks-- your business will become more aligned, more efficient and more profitable in this process.
You're a diamond baby, you get stronger under pressure.
Here's 8 things you can do:
Address it // If your audience or clients are affected directly or indirectly (#letsbereal we all are!), write up a quick note or send a memo to your email list. During times of tension and crisis we need grounded women speaking up and leaders stepping up to support us-- your people need YOU!
Simplify Your Visibility // This is nothing new if you’ve been in my audience for a while, but I really recommend you have ONE content home where you show up, connect and sign clients on social media. If you have multiple or you’re feeling scattered this is the perfect time to commit to one place.
Create a Content Bank // Pick six pieces of content that you’ve already written or recorded and paste or link them all on one google doc. These can be pieces you knew were epic but didn’t get many views OR pieces that received a great response-- just scroll back on your IG feed. Have these on hand for when you need a little mental health break. Even if you don’t use it-- it’s a great asset to have on hand for any time of year and that peace of mind is invaluable. Gather 6 pieces in 30 minutes or less.
Embrace Online Service // If there’s part of your business that isn’t online yet, now is a PERFECT time to transition to using tools like zoom and social media to market your business and meet with clients virtually, even with people in the same city. I remember when I had to be home more in the later part of my pregnancy. I would do virtual calls with people just a few minutes away. It's time to remember that you are an adaptable business owner and our circumstances can be the POSITIVE force we need to make changes that are better for the long run of our business! People will be looking to virtual support (for their health, life, businesses) more than ever before and you have the tools to make it happen. Often when I help my clients make the LEAP into online entrepreneurship or from an in person business to an online business, it can take WEEKS to get the courage to start-- but in a time of pressure it can expedite your courage.
Manage Your Mind // Most of you ALREADY have an online business. Yesterday I was thinking about how lucky that my almost all of my clients have no changes they need to make to be able to keep running and even GROWING over the upcoming months as demand for online services only grows. Several of my clients (I think it was 5 last time I counted) are pregnant and they can still support their clients without having to leave their home. So if you ALREADY have a business that is online, can you take a minute and give some major gratitude for yourself for starting a business that can weather events like this? Focus on the POSITIVE-- that you can keep serving your clients from your home and their home. Often when we ARE prepared it can be just as hard mentally as if we weren’t because it doesn't give us a lot of busy work to do. In times of unknown we often feel best in ACTION or keeping our hands busy. If you’re already online your job is to manage your mind so that you don’t create extra complexity or busy work in your business.
Manage your Time // You might actually have EXTRA time if your business is already online, virtually nothing is changing. If you are at home more, ask yourself how you want to use that new time on your hands and be intentional. With your extra hours, what do you most like to do? Can you call up a friend? Do you want to deep clean a room in your house? Work on a fun creative project? Connect with your audience more? How can you reach out and help others in need?
Manage Your Energy (& Phone) // As business owners I truly believe that managing our energy is just as important as managing our time. What do you need to do to stay focused and filled with peace in the next few months? I recommend doing your essential business tasks EARLY in the day and week-- often it’s harder to be productive when we have more time, so prioritize getting your “money making tasks” off your plate first thing. I recommend putting your phone to bed at 8 PM in another room and using the nighttime hours to read or rest, pick a time that works for you and stick to it.
Get Creative with Your Self Care // If you have to stay home, how can you get active in a new way? If your old routines don’t work, remember you are ADAPTABLE-- ask yourself the top 3 ways you like to take care of yourself and keep them handy on a sticky note. My favorite ones are-- a shower, a cup of green tea, upbeat music and meditation or yoga video. This weekend calls for EXTRA, EXTRA self-care.
Remember-- You are Flexible and Resilient!
Here's what I know, over the course of our lifetime we will face many challenges in our business and the goal isn't to hold our breath and make it through but to find out how to thrive in the midst of it. You’re in this for the long haul and your business won’t just survive in 2020 but THRIVE.
The demand for ONLINE support isn’t going anywhere. I'm not going anywhere (and neither are you sister ♥️)
Take. Care. Of. Yourself.
Keep. Your. Head. In. The. Game.
Check in with how you are feeling this week and what's weighing on your mind?
Share with us what's been the hardest part (or the silver lining) this week in the Facebook group.
Let's talk,
XX Anna