6 Solopreneur must-dos to thrive during an economic downturn

Marketing

Jun 4

This PappyClub workshop was inspired by this article from my friend Pia Silva, clients, colleagues and what I’ve done (and not done) to weather the storm.

You’re not alone

Every solopreneur gets impacted by an economic downturn, no doubt. Depending on what your industry, focus and audience is, you may have a varying degree of impact—some good, some not-so-good. Downturns often don’t have a foreseeable end, and you don’t know how long you’ll have to gird your business loins to ride it out.

For some, it could be an increase in demand which can make you overwhelmed and affect your service delivery. For others, it’s a significant drop in revenue.

I know during the COVID-19 pandemic, the professional speaking industry was hit hard because no one was meeting in person. Travel stopped. Conferences stopped. People stayed home and hid behind masks and Zoom screens. Many of my speaker colleagues found themselves pivoting into more training, consulting and coaching to expand their revenue sources. Others rode it out, and a few others took it as a sign to take early retirement.

Just take heart that when the economy shifts, and it always will, your attitude and actions will make it smooth sailing or rough seas. Here is a must-do list that can help you ride it out:

Do market - increasing your visibility consistently is very important, never stop marketing even though you may have resistance to it because of finances or fear of looking bad to others
Do ideate - help your audience discover new perspectives by inviting them to and providing tools that help them reframe the crisis
Do projects - write that book, start that podcast, create a new product or whatever has been “back burnered” by busywork
Do assess - clean house by automating, delegating and eliminating tasks that free you up
Do spend - keep the flow and energy open so money can come your way by spending (not frivolously)
Do act - Being in action tells the universe you are open and expecting thriving and that your efforts will lead to prosperity