Driving in the fog of Covid-19

I have compared trying to do business as a female solopreneur or micro business owner during Covid-19 to driving in the fog. This comes directly from an experience that I have had a few years ago driving in the Alpes in France.

One evening, I was in the car with my family, driving along a precarious road that wound around the mountain in the south of France. The weather hadn’t seemed too bad when we set out, but suddenly, a wave of fog cloaked us in under a minute. My initial reaction was to stop, but this wasn’t possible as I was on a single rural rack road, so it would have been more dangerous to stop. Instead, I had to keep moving. It felt like they could hear my heartbeats from the car behind, my hands were sweaty on the wheel and my mouth was dry: I slowed down but I continued.

This is rather like what we’re all experiencing at the moment. As female solopreneurs and micro business owners, we were all on a mountain road, striving to reach that beautiful viewpoint, when suddenly the fog came in and took away our view. It has been already a long journey in the fog (7 weeks in) and we don't even know when we will be able to get out of it. We are all tired, worried, stressed, bored, missing our friends, our local pubs and coffee shops...Yet, we must continue our journey.

Instructions for Driving in the Fog

The instructions for driving in the fog are:

1. Slow down but keep driving,
2. Make sure you are paying attention and be aware of all potential hazards.
3. Ensure your own visibility – turn on your flash and fog lights, so others can see you are there. You need to avoid a crash but carry on until the fog has lifted. Then you can return to normal speed to reach your destination safely.

In business, it is much the same.

• It is not time to stop your business activity, although you might have had to stop trading due to the lock-down. Think of your business as your vehicle: if you stop, most likely you will have an accident or others will definitely pass you and moreover you will not reach where you’re going. Use this slow down of activity to work on your business. On the other hand, as an entrepreneur, you will need to find ways to keep your mindset positive. Follow your wellness practices (whether it is a glass of wine per night or meditation in the morning, or maybe both) From a business perspective, the best way to keep the doubt away is to keep the momentum. Don't forget, when riding, you lose balance when you stop the motion.
• Increase your attention: Stay tuned in to your customers' needs and the market. Connect with each customer one-by-one, make sure they know that you are listening. Do it regularly, consistently and methodically. If you don't have active clients, make sure to connect with your old clients. Your customers are your guides to how you should pivot your business and adapt yourself. Here are some principles to apply whether you are in contact with an active customer or a prospective customer: Listen up, connect, keep it real, be reachable, be helpful, be generous, be different, be clear, adapt, shift and bring value.
• Keep your business visible – exactly like putting your fog lights on so, you can be seen when driving! Put your creative hats on, get out of your ways and find new avenues, messages, channels to increase visibility: Make alliances with other small business owners, like we’re doing here with EMPOWER Tribe. New partnerships can create new offers and value. Keep talking – not to sell, but to stay in people’s eyes and minds. Breakthrough the current noise. My dear friend Samantha Lawton (multiple WIBN franchise owner) just posted a fantastic video on her webinar essentials: a ring light, false eyelashes and a pair of fluffy pink sleeper. How fun is that! She brought lightness and smile to her audience, broke the noise and stood out. Guess what, she got amazing engagement and even a possibility to sign in a new member.

This week on EMPOWER Tribe:

We are now in the 5th week of our FREE EMPOWER Tribe programme and we have been providing training, coaching and tools for each strategy that I mentioned above. Last week, we have started to create our monthly action plans so that our members start creating the momentum they need to grow their businesses post Covid-19.

This week, our focus is all about nurturing client relationships. How to connect, feed, bring value and become the irreplaceable partners for your clients (old, new, current, prospects) during Covid-19?

We cover many aspects of client retention and organic growth strategies. From "Growth Clients" to "Prospect Clients" we will guide you through different tactics that you could use to strengthen your connections with your customers.

During our Zoom Coffee, this week, Jenny and I will be running a guided role-play session to empower your questioning and active listening skills and arm you with a framework which will help you understand your customers' world, thus adapt your offer and message to their needs.

Our amazing community of AWEsome female founders is growing day by day. We are so grateful for the genuine interest and engagement that we have been witnessing. It is amazing to see all these women business owners willing to go beyond what seems possible for their businesses and bring to each other the most valuable thing we need right now: togetherness and support.

Therefore, we will be bringing to our community the best content, coaching and mentoring possible.

Don't forget, our ZOOM COFFEE is on Friday (8th of May) at 1 pm. To participate, simply register on our website for our Empower Tribe programme.

See you there, until then, enjoy the sun, call your customers and stay safe.

Love

Ceylan