Like many of you reading this article I’ve read dozens of books on how to be a smart business owner and run my consultancy effectively.
I read how some of the most successful businesses started in garages or on the kitchen table, so I guess it can’t be that hard! Or can it?
If you are a consultant or a mumpreneur just starting out – this current lock down could be impacting your business significantly.
Maybe the consultancy has plateaued, and you can’t get it to the next level. Face to face with clients is how you have been conducting and building your business and this is no longer possible – for the foreseeable future.
Don’t give up – maybe you haven’t looked in the right places for inspiration.
My business colleagues and I have been inundated with questions about sustaining business remotely. We as a consultancy are spread all over the world and rely on a variety of social media platforms to stay connected on a daily business.
Remote working is not new to us. But what we have done is to ‘up’ our responsibility to educate others. Without realising it, this offering a helping hand to others approach has benefited us in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
So, here are a few examples from our pandemic experience that might help you.
1. Make a decision to share your expertise with anyone and everyone. Don’t assume people will take your ideas and use them against you, yes, they might, but you will get far more back from others in terms of ideas and input to your business. People are in a very generous mood at the moment. They want to be part of a world that helps each other survive.
2. Create a webinar. You have something to say, write a script and speak it into your mobile device and post it. If you don’t know how to do this – head to Google. One word of advice stay reasonably professional. I’ve seen a few shockers where people are in their old sweatpants, it’s not a good look. It doesn’t need to be a formal outfit, just a reasonably clean one.
3. Increase your LinkedIn following: not just linking with more people but reach out and ask them what they are doing. In the past seven weeks my LinkedIn following has increase by 1500 hundred and it’s been fascinating to see how generous people are with offering thoughts, experiences and suggestions.
4. Start a Zoom book club with other business owners. Select a good read and suggest the others read it and then Zoom together and discuss it.
5. Create a new Instagram account (away from family photos and what you had for dinner) and offer ‘thought for the day’. Yes, you do have something to say. I’ve suggested this option to many people and am always surprised at how it’s increased their business opportunities.
6. Take a long hard look at your business and determine what is missing. Then check with everyone you know to understand their business. You might well find that partnering together will be the answer to keeping both businesses afloat at this time.
I and my colleagues have been remote workers for many years. We are disciplined. We still keep to a daily work routine and check in with each other on a daily basis. Where time zones are an issue, the daily call meeting is recorded ready for the next day for others.
Work smarter. Have confidence in your ability. You started out confident you could build a business – tap into that confidence. We may never go back to working as we have in the past so be creative and remember your network has now gone global – use it.
In the spirit of offering a helping hand. Let me know if I can help. If you are reading this, you’re already on your way as you logged onto this great website.
_________________________________________________________
Carol Pocklington is a Human Performance Accelerator. She has worked with Hugh Massie since 2001 as the DNA Behavior concept was conceived. She works with people and businesses worldwide. Her real-world application of behavioural insights, gives her the capability to serve as a business strategist, coach, mentor, and trainer. She is also a prolific blogger, a public speaker and author, specializing in human behavioural insights.
