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Today’s talking point:

Things are strange in the business world and our economy right now. I know business is uncertain for so many of you. So, in this episode, we’re going to look at how you can take back control and thrive in uncertainty and the income-producing activities that will make a difference at this time.

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As an online business owner, chances are you see what’s happening in the world right now and you feel a little anxious.

You might be asking: what do I do? What's going to happen to my industry? Are my clients and customers going to stay with me during this time of transition? Should I start saving money or investing the money I do have? Where should I put it? The questions are endless.

In this episode, I want to answer as many of these as I come for you. The first part will focus on how to future proof your business. The second half of this episode is where I’m going to reel off a bunch of income-producing activities that you can use in your business that will actually make you money instead of just making you feel busy.

Now, I want to make a disclaimer that this isn’t about me telling you what I believe you should do. There’s no one-size-fits-all here. But I want to give you the options so you can choose what works for you and stop getting caught in ‘what if’ syndrome.

Before we dive in, I want to share the four main business pillars to consider at this time.

Finances: knowing your numbers, how to use your money, how to make money, how to maximise your money
Planning: ensuring that you have a strategic plan, knowing what you need to do and how to do it in the next 90 days. This allows you to pivot based on your results.
Systems: we need systems that can be used for being able to grow. So from marketing to client delivery, ensuring that you are putting both feet forward will create success.
Mindset: specifically, having a leader’s mindset. Instead of feeling like the world is falling apart, we need to understand our mindset and understand what we can and cannot do to change and be aware of how important it is for us to lead.

How does a change in the world impact our business?

I think a lot of us are confused as to why we're being affected by everything that’s happening globally. And, let’s be honest, it’s unlikely that the changes we’re seeing in our economy are not going to affect you in some way.

But if we focus specifically on our online business space, here's a very top-level overview of what's going on right now:

Your current customers will evaluate the importance of your product or service and whether it’s essential for them. You need to prepare to have customers not renew with you. Be prepared to provide more value for money. You’re not competing with someone else in your industry: you’re competing with what someone’s budget is during a tough economic time
Potential customers are likely going to be spending more time in research mode. If you’re using content in your marketing strategy, keep going. Attention will cost less because people spend more time in the research and certainty stage of purchasing.
Potential customers want to see a variety of different products and offers at different price points – this might be something you need to tweak.
Your marketing and sales strategies may have to change. You need to be prepared to work more to earn the sale.

Overall, you’re likely going to require a new version of your business and who you are as a business owner. To change the narrative you might be hearing right now, I believe that we are heading into our most abundant time period yet.

I want you to ask: how can I use this as an opportunity? It's all about thinking about the future and investing in your business.

Let’s explore the core things you can focus on right now.

Taking care of your current clients

Times are uncertain right now, and the biggest thing your customers and clients need is a level of certainty and security. It doesn't matter what niche or industry you're in. Right now your clients and customers are probably scared, and they don't know what to do about it. So we need to adapt.

Here are some practical ways to do that:

Give more attention and intimacy to your clients
Offer extended payment options or flexible payment terms
Understand what they need and what they would be willing to pay for that
Over-deliver on what you say you’ll do
Share the wins of your clients and customers

So basically, we want people to look at paying you not as an expense but as a really good investment. That’s why it's time to stand up and be a leader to those who you lead, no matter how you lead them.

And like I said, you're not competing anymore with others in your industry. You're competing with your own ability to provide value, clarity, and alignment for your customer.

Build your audience and community

So alongside your clients and customers, you most likely have an audience or community you've built up as well. I think that it's also our responsibility and opportunity to help our audiences and communities grow and evolve during this time.

I believe the best thing that you can do right now is to show up, talk about what's actually going on and ways that you can help. If you don't know what to talk about, curate information from others and share it. It's so important that you use this attention to give them the positive outline and opportunistic outlook that they need.

Fundemental to this is adjusting the way you market. But what should we change?

The biggest thing you have to realise right now is if you're not changing your marketing to be associated with what's going on, it will not land at all. So everything from your funnels to what you promote and your offers are going to need to change in order to be associated with this new feeling and experience.

Marketing is now more about hope, positivity and solving the pain more than ever before. Your marketing then obviously leads you to selling. And I believe that selling comes down to three core elements: community conversation and connection.

Now is the time to be doing all three of these in succession. Build it, and they will come hasn't worked in a very long time. And it definitely doesn't work right now. It's time for you to create a community.

Start conversations with people who like your posts or reply to your emails or your stories. Be curious and present with someone.

While your marketing will bring so many of your ideal people if done correctly, your selling is simply about helping someone see their vision and that you can help them fill the gap. Now is the time to ensure people can work with you or buy from you in that sales process and can do that quickly.

Remember, someone really needs you right now and they need what you have to offer. They may not reach out unless you have a conversation with them and start it. Sales are now about letting marketing open up the opportunity and allowing you to connect with someone and show them how you can help them.

Plan frequently to allow for pivots

A lot of people who work with me don't know where to start when it comes to planning, and that is even more prominent when times are uncertain. Why should we plan?

Right now, it's extremely important to be able to plan on a rolling basis (so the next 7, 30 and 90 days of what's going to happen inside of your business).

In order for this to work, you also need to be okay with changing things and offering things based on results.

Develop a plan and review it every single morning. Right now, it's more important than ever to have a plan that is not based on just getting up and doing whatever you can and deciding on things daily. You need to know exactly what you're going to do each and every day and every week now more than ever.

If you're going to use now as a time to maintain build and grow your business, you're probably going to have to do things that you've never done before.

Go all-in on what’s working

Another question that I'm certain you are asking yourself is: should I ease up and cut expenses? Or is it time to double down and attempt to grow more?

Truthfully, you’re probably experiencing a certain level of fear and uncertainty in your body right now. That’s normal.

So I'm going to tell you what I've been telling my clients: there is never a perfect time, but rather seasons in our life. The season we've entered right now is going to push us it's going to expand us and our capacity to help us become even better leaders and business owners.

I don't suggest that you ease up. I suggest that you double down in every sense of the word, not because I'm afraid that you're going to lose your business or that things will be bad for you. But because there are so many people who need you to show up in a powerful way that you may not have even experienced yourself.

It's a time for you to respond, not react, to plan strategically to listen to your gut and people who've been there and done this. It's time to be calm in the middle of the storm. It's time to surrender. And then it's time to get to work and shine.

For me, that means going all in. It means spending my time and helping my audience and community. It means doing difficult things so I can have an easier life in the future instead of doing the easy things now and making a difficult life for myself later on. So to sum it all up now is the time that true business owners make money and don't let the fear take over them.

Income-producing activities

As I observe and coach a lot of people in this industry, I see what creates results and what keeps people from getting results. It's the misunderstanding or not truly knowing what their highest revenue-producing activity is.

So, before we get into what will help you make money I want to gently call you out on what doesn’t make you money…

Listening to podcasts
Scrolling social media without limits
Affirmations and vision boards
Making graphics
Research

Yes, these are important. But they’re mostly part of your personal development. That is a core pillar of being a business owner. But they are not revenue producing.

Working on your thoughts, healing your stories, and addressing your limiting beliefs doing those things definitely create income. But they only create income if you act on those things. And I see a lot of people just not taking action.

So what is an income-producing activity?

Connecting with people talking about the business
Talking about your product/service
Content creation
Growing an aligned audience
Adding value (and not just some inspirational words, but actual value that provides a transformation)
Customer fulfilment and checking in with your people, those who have said yes and the people who love your products
Selling and learning how to sell in different ways in your copy
Following up with leads
Creating content to nurture your current audience and adding value to them
Growing your email list
Making time for yourself

Do’s and don’t’s for uncertain times

Do share your financial situation with your significant other, even if you're worried about it.
Do develop a plan with your family based on different scenarios to create a level of certainty.
Do spend more time doing things that bring you joy, especially laughing because it's the best medicine.
Do be as proactive about your finances as possible.
Don't put your head in the sand.
Do check in with your friends to see if they need support with anything.
Don't talk about or watch the news all the time.
Don't get lost in a scroll hole on social media.
Don't spend too much time talking about worst-case scenarios.
Don't lie or minimise the truth.
Don't feed the fear and the feeling that fear gives us

And just a note on the importance of mindset. Your mindset defines every single part of you of your experience on a day-to-day basis. I can honestly say most of the issues I help my clients with are purely based on a mindset.

So I want to end by just giving you a few things to remember: