Ep# 070: How To Show Up During A Disruption (Or A Virus)
What a wild moment to capture in history, isn't it? It's crazy.
At the time of this recording, China, Italy, Spain and France have already been shut down, literally shut down, because of COVID-19. Here in the U.S. we are very closely following suit. Church has been canceled, schools are closed, colleges have let out for the year, jobs are shutting down, people are being asked to work from home… There's just a lot of uncertainty right now, beyond just the scare of the virus. We are all being called to do our moral part and do what we can to slow the spread of this thing and protect those who really need the protection most.
We are all being tested in so many different ways right now. Some of us are worried about finances and keeping businesses afloat, some of us are worried about the health of our families, some of us are worried about travel plans. This is an emotionally taxing season.
So many things can (and should!) be discussed during this time, but what I want to focus on and talk about today is business: How do you run your business during a major disruption? How do you stay relevant? How do you cut through the crazy and how do you do it with a level of tact and class that is appreciated?
In this episode, we chat about:
The Idea of a New “Normal”
“Normal is done. Like normal won't exist. When this is over, we will create a new normal and a new lens through which we view the world.”
“Every single American, and likely almost every person globally, is going to be directly affected by this. Not just indirectly, not just like, ‘You messed with my country and you broke my heart and I'm mad and I'm hurting and I'm scared.’ This is directly affecting our day-to-day lives beyond just the emotional.”
“The world is being forced into doing things differently, and that will ultimately cause change.
“In Wuhan, China, we're seeing birds chirping for the first time. We're actually able to see things on our satellites because the pollution is clearing. Crazy things are happening! The same kind of things are happening in Italy. So that's likely to happen here because we've also been forced to slow down. There's been less travel and less car exhaust going into the atmosphere. So many different things have changed.”
“Many online businesses will be respected for the powerhouses that they are--the more secure businesses that they are.”
The Importance of Understanding Your Ideal Client Now
“Up to this point, you've hopefully gotten to know your ideal customer, the person that you want to serve, on a level where you not only understand what their greatest pain points and their deepest desires are, but you've started to create your products, your services, your experiences, your offerings around those very things. Your opt-ins are the solutions to their pain that build trust and give them guidance and value, and your offerings are the vehicles to get them where they want to go.”
“You can't assume that the same pain points that they've always had (and that you know that you already address) are the same pain points they're having in this moment.”
“They have a new battle. They're facing new levels of stress, new moments of questioning whether they can do it and how they're going to do it, logistically speaking.”
“To stay relevant to your people as the sky seems to be falling, you need to keep a finger on the pulse of your people. Anticipate their pain, know how you can step in and really serve them through this time. Sometimes what they need is not a new product or a service, they just need support.”
“What do they need right now and how can you give that to them? Whether it's support, or just feeling seen, or just feeling that trust and connection with you, or an actual product that is going to serve them even though it might not be something you would have typically created for them.”
How to Rise Up in Leadership
“The best leaders understand that they have to touch someone’s heart before they can ask them for a hand.”
“I don't sign up for your stuff to know what you're going through as a business. I sign up for your stuff because you solve a problem for me and as soon as you start making this about you, you've lost me.”
“The people who are going to thrive through this are going to be quick on their feet and ahead of the curve. They’re not just going to sit and wait and watch to see what everyone else is doing; they’re going to do what is right and what is relevant.”
Why Your Offer is Still Valuable
“Show that good faith, do the things that you can do that might hurt your bottom line a little bit now, but not in the long term. You're building loyal lifetime customers who will trust you and want to support you back through this time.”
“So all of a sudden you're not just giving them what they want, you’re giving them what they need and they didn’t even have to ask you for it. You are anticipating that need.”
“I've seen a lot of online business providers really scared or hesitant to make offers during this time. So first of all, if your offering was of value prior to this disruption, it's still of value, possibly of even more value depending on what you do.”
“Some people will most certainly be hit by all of the changes financially, but it wasn't your responsibility then, nor is it now, for you to determine what other people can or can't afford.”
“The businesses that decide to stop during this time are going to need to be resuscitated in a few months, and that’s not pretty.”
“The conversation might change. The marketing and messaging might change. The priorities might change a little bit, but you don't stop serving your people. You just do what you should've been doing all along: speaking to the heart of your customer and leading with a servant's heart as you bring to market what you have to offer. The world hasn't stopped turning and people still need the value you have to offer and it didn't lose its value.”
If you care, like if you deeply care about your people, you’re not going to do this wrong. Because it will feel wrong coming out of you if you’re not doing it from that place in your heart. So you’ll know if it’s not the right path and you have to fix it.”
The Time is Now
“Disruptions happen all the time. This is the biggest one I’ve personally seen since being in business, but they do happen often. And they will continue to happen after this is over!
This is also evidence that this is the best time to have your own business! And it’s the best time to scale your business. It's the best time to be bold in the market and know your value and bring it to the world. It's the time to hit the gas!”
“Life is short. I have an incredible opportunity to serve my people better. I'm all in.”
“Now is not the time to question whether you have the capacity or the time or the knowledge or the edge to start to build or scale your business, no matter where you're at in the process. Now is the time to wake up and look around and realize that it is too great of a cost not to.”
I’m praying for everybody. Stay home, protect the people who can't protect themselves. Take seriously what they're saying and know that it might get worse before it gets better, but we're all capable of coming together through this time.