Whew! This pandemic is hard – amiright? Like every other small business out there, Alejo lost clients. Some will be back. Some may never come back. No one saw this pandemic affecting the world, let alone business like this. No one was ready. We were all caught off guard. And like everyone else I was panicked. And I felt so alone.
I spent a couple days filled with anxiety, wondering how to keep my name and brand in the public eye? How to connect with potential clients? How to connected with current clients?
And then a businessman I admire – for his mistakes as much as his success – said something that made me stop short. He said now is the time to create, to innovate and to motivate. And he couldn’t wait to see what small businesses look like on the other side of this crisis. I knew he was right. So, I did what every good business owner does; I pivoted. I began organizing and joined forces with my 2 Girls Talking podcast partner, Ashley Bernardi, to offer virtual training services to our clients. For free.
I recognized that many of our clients, and their colleagues, would have to move their businesses to the virtual world and that being in front of a camera terrified them. A video camera is a friend to Ashley and me, we started our careers in broadcast. Now being on camera is a necessity for everyone. So Alejo shifted how we marketed our clients by teaching our clients how to market themselves. We created media and video training workshops for every client just as panicked as we were, using our expertise to help others. And yes, we do them for free. Not because we didn’t need the money – we did. We do. But Ashley and I have always felt our calling is to help others tell their stories, and during this crisis we all need to band together.
And something amazing has come from these workshops. We’ve trained people all over the globe from all different backgrounds and vocations. They have some of the same fears and questions and worries. Some have some very specific needs. All have benefitted from our workshops, and we have kept in contact with each of them. More importantly we have met potential clients, received rave reviews, testimonials and certainly made referral partners in areas we never would have thought to connect to.
All because of this pandemic. We innovated an idea, created the product and hopefully have motivated these workshop participants to practice on camera, create a space to be on camera and given them the confidence that they can succeed on camera.
