With our lives (and businesses) impacted by coronavirus COVID-19, entrepreneurs are left to make some fear-based decisions as client’s cut back their budgets and work slows down. As self-employed business owners, we ride the rollercoaster of up’s and down’s that entrepreneurship brings, but we thrive on the freedom and perks that it brings.
But COVID-19 is a prolonged ‘low’ in that rollercoaster, and for business owners who aren’t prepared for it, it can be devastating with no positive near-term outlook.
Revenue is down. New clients are scarce. Profits are falling, and a peek at your bank account is enough to bring on a full-fledged anxiety attack.
You start to experience that sinking feeling of a business that’s trending downward.
If you start to worry about money, that worry can lead to poor decisions that ultimately have a negative impact not just on your business finances but your morale too.
1. You Take On The Wrong Client
When business is down, it can be tough to keep your ideal client avatar in mind.
Instead, you jump at the chance to work with anyone who comes along.
The trouble with this scenario is you can find yourself with a roster full of clients who:
- Aren’t willing or able to do the work required
- Spend all their time telling you why your ideas and advice won’t work
- Drain your energy and make you dread your office
2. You Stop Creating
And who can blame you? With profits down, you have to pull back.
You can ‘lose your creative mojo’ so-to-speak, and fall into a creative slump.
How to stay positive as a business owner during COVID-19
First, connect with your peers. Find the Facebook Groups and communities for entrepreneurs and small business owners that you can use to break the feeling of isolation. This will lift up your motivation, and allow you to gain momentum by being energized by others who have a positive outlook on the situation.
Second, stay in the forefront. Be proactive. Reach out to past clients to see how they are doing. Search online project marketplaces for interesting short-term projects to keep your creativity up, or work on that course or digital product you’ve been dreaming of building for a while but never found the time to start.
Hold out for that perfect client. And while you’re waiting, take what you’ve learned from your drop in sales and create the killer program you can launch to your audience that they can relate to. For example, I’m working on launching an e-mail series with advice and tips for ‘Working From Home’ to provide support to those who typically don’t work from home and aren’t used to their new work environment.
