Escaping the chronic COVID hangover
In 2020, the COVID pandemic interrupted the world and filled people with fear. We each dealt with it how we dealt with it, and to a large degree, are still dealing with it. Business-wise, my 2020 was actually pretty good. However, mid-year I stopped actively developing business and used COVID as an excuse to stop rainmaking and instead build a membership site with a TON of content.
I’d been wanting to build a membership site for a long time to help ease the burden of what I was having to repeat training-wise and also offer more value at a lesser price point for early-onset solopreneurs. And you know what? I had a blast building PappyClub. It is an awesome product and I’m very proud of what I created. It houses courses, micro-training from vetted experts, business resources, how-to guides and uplifting audio tracks to form a better solo mindset.
Although I had taken on many new tactical coaching clients in addition to done-for-you conversion website and selling system clients in 2020, I chose to spend the last two quarters of 2020 face-down at the computer building content, shooting video and recording audio for the membership.
Two critical things happened that have since impacted my 2021. One was 100% on me, the other was a direct outcome of the pandemic:
Me: I stopped rainmaking and outreach went to zero because I had an existing client base and allowed myself to be distracted with the membership site
The pandemic: my primary target audience, professional keynote speakers/trainers/consultants, had been hit incredibly hard with live in-person engagements dropping to zero and having to pivot in their businesses after losing nearly every booking they had on the calendar for 2020
As 2020 wrapped and 2021 arrived and the pandemic kept surging, I realized I had to pivot like everyone else, but I was late to the pivot game. That kept my first two quarters of 2021 struggling for new revenue. Thankfully, I retained several clients and was incredibly appreciative of their loyalty.
The decision that cost me the most
The reason I’m sharing this experience is because I made a decision in mid-2020 that I regret, but have learned from. That decision was to allow the pandemic to influence my ability to have an impact on people who really needed it and let my business stall. I stopped selling. I stopped looking for new ways to help those in greater need due to the pandemic. I sold myself the story, “Oh, well, speakers are not working as much and are not spending money on their marketing because there are no stages to keynote from,” and so on.
That story cost me, and it cost any prospective client as well that I could have helped through the worst pandemic in our lifetime. It was a mindset—and excuse—I adopted so I could be more selfish and hide like everyone else was.
It feels like a hangover—the chronic COVID hangover—that just won’t go away and I struggle to return to my pre-pandemic thriving helping people simplify their marketing and multiply their opportunities through the websites and marketing content I create for them.
I’m not alone—others suffer from the hangover
As I’ve been back to prospecting and outreach, I’ve been having interesting conversations with speakers, trainers, coaches and consultants. I started discovering through call after call is that everyone did something similar. Some of the comments I heard included:
“I haven’t been selling because my clients aren’t doing events and have no plans to do any in-person events right now”
“I decided to work on my online courses”
“I am working on a membership site” (yes, I wasn’t the only one)
“I had to take care of a family member who got sick from COVID” or “I was down for months from getting COVID”
“I’m in so-and-so’s program on how to do your keynote in an online course”
“I’m just lazy, I guess”
“I decided it was time to retire”
What I’ve also noticed is that people adopted a scarcity mentality, and are holding onto cash reserves and not investing in themselves or their business where they need to because they are afraid of the unknown. How long will business be slow? When are we getting back to normal? People’s mental outlooks are optimistic out the outside but dismal on the inside, and the inside drives their decisions and actions.
I decided that I’m not going to let my story about the pandemic, the economy, my target audience’s perceived struggles or anything else stop me from being me. From offering value. From having a conversation with another solopreneur about how to make their business work smarter and simpler. I’m back at it, and I invite you to take two aspirin, get your shots and get back out there. Kick the chronic COVID hangover in the butt—the world needs us both!
The escape:
How have you slowed down or stopped doing the actions that grow your business as a result of COVID? What have you done to improve opportunities as a result of COVID? How has the pandemic inspired you to shift and do what you love to do versus what you used to hate? What good has come of the last sixteen months? What story are you telling yourself about your prospective audience that isn’t quite true but allows you to escape responsibility in your business? What have you done to expand, simplify or pivot your business and what has opened up for you as a result? Explore these questions to see how you can climb out of your own chronic COVID hangover.
