This, too, shall pass. Will you? As a small business owner, I have taken quite a few hits to my revenue this past week. Just yesterday I lost jobs worth about 10% of my anticipated 2020 revenue, and I don’t see many potential customers spending discretionary dollars on photography during this “hunker down and wait” period of time. At the same time, I see great opportunities for growing my business.
There’s a saying that you can’t control your income, but that you can influence the outcome. I’m spending some of my social distancing time doing just that. My new headshot brochures went to print yesterday and will be back in my hands next week. I’m doing a test YouTube episode this week and researching topics to include in my online learning series when I go live. Even if I can’t bring many clients into my studio in the coming weeks I’m still going to stay in touch with them on social media.
Are you doing what you can to be the lion (image above from my 2016 photo safari in Tanzania’s Serengeti national park), or will you be the zebra he obviously feasted on the night before? Now is the time to think about your business plan so you can spring into action when the virus scare fades behind us. Your days of isolation ahead present a perfect opportunity to practice your skills, to do online learning, and perhaps even to evaluate to whom and how you will market your business when society normalizes again.
Finally, this is a perfect time to focus on your mental and physical health. Take a walk (alone) as the weather improves. Read a book. Exercise in your home. Start those better eating habits you’ve talked about but never seemed to get around to. And call your loved ones, because you never know when that opportunity might be lost forever especially with your aging parents.