Coffee & Coaching: 5 Actions to grow your business right now with virus lockdown

Hello, hello. Good morning everybody. Welcome to coffee and coaching. I am coming to you live from Newport beach in California. A little bit of background for where I'm at. I've cried about five or six times today already. I have come over to the US for to host my first international retreat for her empire builder. And yeah, this morning had to make the call to change it from an in person retreat to a virtual retreat. So heartbreaking to do that with everything that goes into it, both on our end and from all the participants as well. So it's been hard. It's been very emotional being here by myself as well, like being. I've been in America for the last four days getting everything ready and preparing for the retreat and yeah, just being alone and with all the craziness that's going on, it's, it's crazy. But the thing that I, that I want to remember is, is this too shall pass. It's one of my favorite sayings. It's one of those sayings that I've always said if I was ever to be the type of person to get a tattoo, I would get it. To sa this to shell pass. That would be it. Hi, Stacy, how you going? So today I wanted to talk because of the craziness that we cannot ignore. I really wanted to run through five things that we can do to grow business in this time of uncertainty. Because I think that we have control over what we can focus on and we can focus on doing the positive things. We can focus on doing whatever it is we that's going to allow us to be okay and to thrive in there as well. So I know how difficult that is. I mean, as I said, I've lost it five times today going, oh my gosh, I just want to be home. It's nuts. And the more you go on social media sometimes the nuttier it can get. So I want to provide some positivity and some action steps that you can take. Five things to grow your business in these times. Cray cray. So the first one is choose now to serve. So what I mean by that is however you can. The only way we're going to get through this, okay, is to totally act as a community. So I was talking to someone before who looks after a whole heap of people with dance studios. And to use that as an example, if you're running a service based business like a dance studio right now, that's really panic inducing because people are going to start pulling out if they haven't already. And what a lot of people are doing is saying, well, I'll pull my kids out of that for right now. And then in June, July, August, September, we'll put the kids back into it. But here's where I'm talking about the community aspect is if people all pull them out, then there won't be a dance studio to go back into at the end of the year. And so a lot of things that we're putting our kids into, a lot of services that we're getting if you can. And I know everything is really tight, but we have to, as a community, keep the economy going. So, you know, if someone, if you've got children in different services, if you want that service to still be around, you need to keep that going. I don't mean send the kids. If you want to keep the kids away, keep the kids away. But if you can, don't ask for a refund because those businesses will suffer and go down. And then for those of us, I mean, never have I been more thankful to run an online business. Oh, my gosh. But for those of us that are in that position, now is the time to serve. So now is the time to look at our community and go, how can we add value? How can we help people here? Because I do think the only way that we're going to be able to get through this without the economy being hit so severely is if we really keep that community mentality and help one another and keep that going. Stacy said, I need to see and hear your happy, positive self today. Well, lucky you weren't here an hour ago. When I had to change my retreat from in person to virtual, I was like a blubbering mess. But yes, I have my smile back on now. Good morning, Frances. How you going? So that is number one. Number two is to market. So a lot of the time when business reaches a tricky spot like it is now, and there's no getting around it, there's no hiding from it, there's no denial to be had. So I think rather than ignore it, we can look at it and go, okay, how can we use this opportunity? What can we do to serve? And how can we get our name out there so that when people are ready to go, we're top of mind. I don't want you to stop marketing. I don't want you to pull back on a lot of things. Now is the time to actually double down on what you're doing business wise. And if you've got a comment on something, be able to share that. If you're on social media and you're Active on there. Continue being active on there. Try and inject some positivity into it. So, I mean, I know for me, I woke up this morning and went onto social media and started scrolling and then just burst into tears, just going, holy cockamoly. Like, this is overwhelming. And that's what kind of happens. That's what accumulates there. And so be part of the good. Talk about the good things, help people to grow and do that. Francis has said, what? You're not in person at Palm Springs. No. No, we are not. So Australia has put on isolation, travel bans, all sorts of things. So, no, we are running it virtually, which is why online is so important, but still heartbreaking. Francis has said, I'm actually thinking about how I can provide remote services and using this as an opportunity to expand my model. Awesome. That's where I want your head at. I love where your head's at. Frances. Hello. Hi. Karen and Helen was just talking about how I was crying before. Karen and Helen were also coming to Palm Springs, but we will do it online. Okay, so that's one and two. So number one, serve number two, continue to market. Number three is collaborate. So some of the best things that I've been able to achieve had come out of collaboration with other people. And it's one of my favorite kind of trends that business has gone in in the year is that collaboration over competition. So what I want you to do is have a think about who could you couple with, who could you work with to offer something to people that's absolutely amazing, where your collective is more powerful than what you would be alone. So the more that you can collaborate, the more that you can actually talk to people and be human. I mean, in this time, this is something we could never have foreseen. What's happening. There's not anybody that has the answers for this. There's not anybody who is prepared for this. And so I think more than ever, it's okay to be human and to reach out to people and say, you know, I love to work with you on this. How about we do a joint venture? And we can, you know, the sum of our parts is greater than what we are individually. So thinking about collaboration there, the fourth one is focus on core. So what I mean by focus on core is there would be things in your business that are your core products. And I always like to remind people that usually a boring business is a profitable business. So as entrepreneurial types, we can always want to recreate and reinvent and come up with all of these new things. But if we focus on our core that we know is profitable, that's what's going to get us through hard times. So a lot of the time at the moment with the economy going away that it looks like it's going to head, it's going, okay, what can we spend money on that's going to give us a return on investment? What sort of products and services should we be offering that our customers know and love us for and what sort of costs can we stop that are not going to make any immediate difference now? So it's looking at all of those sort of things and going, all right, let's go back to basics on the business and go, let's focus on what we need to do to grow. And that's it. Which is hard. And again, I, I definitely hear you with the, with the. It's hard. I was supposed to launch my new program at the end of this month off the back of the Palm Springs retreat, but now I've chosen to kind of delay that and just shelve it because I think it's not the time to be launching. So I'm all in the mindset of over the next month, I just want to serve and help people to get through everything that's going on and it's not the time to launch something new. And so I'll be focusing on everything that we already have and how we can double down on that. And so it's a good idea for you. I mean, depends on what sort of business you're in. If you're in a service based business, then yes, something new is definitely going to be what gets you through. But if you've got those core things that, you know, work, you can turn on that tap, you've done it a hundred times before. Stick with what you know and what you're really good at, because that's what's going to bring you the best return. Karen and Helen have said, yeah, collabs is definitely where it's at. You even say it, cool. Collabs. I would say collaboration. Okay, so that brings me to number five. So so far we've got the five things that can help you grow in this time is to serve your audience, keep marketing, collaborate and focus on your core. And then the fifth thing is reinvention. So when it comes to reinvention, and I do think that there's going to be no business really unchanged by what's going on here, I think the severity of everything and the intensity that it's all happening will shake us and get us to question a whole lot of different things, both in business and personal. And it's, you know, where I've been at today. Like I've already said, I've burst into tears a few times today. But where my head's kind of at is it's taking a while for my brain to actually catch up to the reality of the situation. Because I have such an amazingly strong optimism bias, which is usually a superpower. It's kind of caught me unawares in going, everything's going to be fine. Everything will work out just as it should. And all of this sort of thing. While I love an optimism bias, I do think that in this time that we're in that over the next few months, every business will be changed because of it. And the ones that survive and the ones that thrive are the ones that are looking at how can I adapt the current business that I'm running now for the times that we're in? And so for me, I mean, I'm in online business and oh my gosh, am I thankful that I'm in online business. I mean, I used to look after 33 tutoring centers, which right now would have me breathing into a paper bag. So I'm very thankful for that. But I'm also of the belief that if you don't have an online component to your business, now's the time to do that. And that can sound extremely biased coming from me who helps people create online courses. But everyone that I've spoken to that has online is going, thank gosh, like, at least we have something there. And all of these people are in their homes and everyone's going to get bored. There's only so much Netflix you can watch before you start going, you know what? I'm going to use this time to actually learn something to upskill, to change my business, to grow as a human as well as an entrepreneur. And so with that, if you don't have one yet, make sure you jump on. This afternoon I'm running a webinar that's free for how to create an online course. So if you don't have an online component of your business, you can go to tinatower.com webinar. So let me put that in the box and then jump on there. It's on at 1pm Sydney time. So if you don't have an online component for your course, that is a good way to kind of introduce something and reinvent in a way. Because everybody has expertise, everybody has a way of doing that. I mean, I was talking to someone just a couple of hours ago, who's a presenter and a speaker and she's going, you know, she's facilitating a group of 50 people in a couple of weeks. What happens if that is cancelled? I'm like, well, we have to approach them and say, let's make it a virtual summit instead. And you know, the reason I run live events as well as online events is I do think there's an extra something that you get from being in the energy of the room with the same people and the relaxedness and the lack of distraction and all of that sort of thing. But that's not an option to us at the moment. That option has been taken away and we don't know how long it's going to last. It could be, I mean, the optimism bias in me thinks maybe by the end of the month this will all be over and we'll be like, oh my gosh, biggest overreaction in history. Or you can look at some of the graphs and go, okay, this is around till like August. And if that happens and you're running a service based business with no online component, now is the time for that reinvention there. So that is my five points. If anyone has any business questions, I can see a lot of people on here at the moment. Ask them in the comment box now and I can answer them for you. But what I want you to do is focus on the things that you can control. I think a lot of the reason that we're all going batshit crazy is because the uncertainty is off the hook and it can feel like a lot of things are out of our control. And so focus on what you can control, which is your mind, the way you react, the way you respond, the way you plan. And if you are going to be stuck inside for the next two, three, four plus weeks, use that time to create something that's going to be beneficial. Use that time to learn. Use that time to grow your business. And above all else, like, I know when it gets stressful and you go, I'm not sure how we're going to be okay through this. I want you to remember all of the challenging times that you have been through before. So everybody who has been in business for longer than a month has been through challenging times. I mean, I don't know, I first started licensing right when the GFC hit in 2008 and then there's been so many different things that have happened. And I feel like this year, you know, with the bushfires in Australia and then having this on top of it, it's Challenging, there's no getting around that. But you've been through challenging times before and you're going to get through this. It's going to take a lot of reinvention. It's going to take a lot of positive self talk. It's going to take for me anyway, a of meditation, a lot of, I mean I was tapping this morning. Does anyone do tapping? Anyone tapping? So if you get your left hand, there's a spot just here and it's hooked into all your nervous system. So if this is something that you believe in, you tap it here and it hits the spot in your nervous system. And so I've been doing that multiple times a day going, I am safe, I am safe, I am safe. And that kind of sends it out for you. And if you try it, if you're feeling a little overwhelmed, try it. I guarantee it will, it will calm your nervous system down. Nadia has said so glad she changed to online teaching last year. I bet, I bet you are. Francis has said. Do you think it's worthwhile creating a special offer period over the coming weeks for online course to push it out now? Yes, most definitely because a lot of people are in their homes, so a lot of people are in their homes either isolating or working from home. And so if you've got that there, then yeah, I think it's a good way to do it. So yeah, definitely if you've got an online course then because people want to go. So Frances, for example, is running a forever home course. So for people wanting to build their forever home, they start learning with her. And so for people that are there going, well, I still want to get on with building my house and planning for that at the end of the year or next year or however long that timeline is, then while you're stuck inside, especially while your spouse is around, too great time to be able to do it. So definitely give that a try. If there's any other business questions, keep them coming in the comments. Stacy says she's going to try the tapping plus the box thing. So the box thing I've spoken about in a previous, a previous broadcast, I guess a previous coffee and coaching, which is box breathing, which is also something I've been doing in the last few days as I've been stuck here in America all by myself. I feel like playing the violin, singing the Bridget Jones anyway, I won't do any more of that but it's stressful and so the box breathing really helps. And so if people haven't heard that before, you draw a Box a square and you've got to breathe in for four. Actually, let's do it now because I feel like we all need it. So breathe in for floor. Breath. Hold for four. Out for four. Hold for four. See, that feels better, right? If you do that three times, oh, it'll instantly change all the chemicals in your body and you're like, okay, I can function again. I'm okay. All right. Is there any other questions that we have going, going through? Does that help at all in trying to do those five things? Does that make sense in getting through this, how you're feeling? My goal is always to leave you feeling good, is to leave you feeling better. Donna also I used dance studios at the beginning as an example. Donna runs a dance studio up in Gladstone and planning virtual dance classes. If we're forced to close, would you recommend reducing fees or stick to the usual billing format? I would stick to the usual billing format. So the example that I gave at the beginning was if people don't come and if people are asking for refunds and if everything's there, then it's going to be hard for service based businesses to still be there in six months time. I would be really honest and be really human with that and just say it like it is. And if people are doing virtual, I mean for the kids as well, when kids are sent home, I know there's quite a few schools that have closed in Australia today and if that happens, kids are going stir crazy. And so if you can put on a structured dance and learn a dance every day or something like that, I would, even if the schools get shut, do a special in going, let's do a two week dance routine. And for every day for an hour kids can log on and learn something to be able to play in their lounge rooms and do that because otherwise a lot of parents don't know what they're going to do with their kids either. And they're still, still working from home and it's a whole thing. So that's what I mean by getting creative and going still do the normal classes that are there. But could you offer another thing while you're doing that virtually as well for the local kids that maybe have friends that are at home, that are stuck, that are looking for something to do and you could do it with parents and their kids. I know I've spent way too much time on social media in the last few days because I've been really trying to figure out what to do in terms of our retreat and also because I've been Alone and away from the family. It kind of. I don't know, it causes me to go on there too much. But one of the things that I've seen a lot of is in between all the doom and gloom is like parents and their children doing TikTok videos on there, which I'm like, oh, my God, that's so cool. I wish I could do a dance well enough with my boys to put it on TikTok, but I would not do that right now. Whereas I'm like, if you taught me a dad over a week to do with my kids, then I'm definitely logging on to that. And you can run it on zoom and run it all virtually and would all work out fine. So I would give that one a go, Donna. Okay, so Donna said. Thank you. Nervous about families who feel that the value isn't as great as face to face classes. Yeah, and I mean, it's very difficult always with online, that's the pushback. But again, we're in these times where face to face just may not be an option. So online is better than nothing at all. And so, I mean, I think online is great because you can reach a lot of people in their own time, in their own space, so that it's easier. But I would say, like, if you were going to run an ongoing kind of online, then, yeah, the price point is going to be lower than what it is if you were running it in your dance studio. But in your dance studio right now, if you've got to cut all those fees, if you lose all those students, then if this goes on for a couple of months, then that's real trouble. You're gonna have to start laying off staff and teachers and all of that sort of thing. So then when people want to return to the dance studio, they won't be there anymore. And so I think people are understanding that. And the only way we're gonna get through this well is to take that real community mindset and where we can support the local businesses that we. That we know and love. So hopefully that helps. Francis has said I did provide a discounted rate for my masterclass that is now a webinar, as I'm not providing drinks and nibbles. Yeah, no, it's not the wrong thing to do. Look, the only thing is to do what's right at the time. So it's all an experimentation. It's all learning, it's all working out what do we want to do and how do we want to do it. And so I think that is totally fine. To be able to do that. But try it again another time with the normal price because whether it's $5 less or not to counteract for the nibbles really won't make a difference to people's decision making process. There's. Alrighty. I think that's all the questions that have come through. So I hope that was helpful. I hope this is a great week for you. We're stepping into a whole world of uncertainty. But I am certain of one thing and that is that you have awesomeness and we will all work together and we will all figure this out and figure out how we can still grow and thrive in this really, really uncertain climate. So have a great day everybody and have a great week and I'll see you next week. Coffee and coaching. And if you want to jump on to the webinar this afternoon, if you don't have an online course that's at 1 o'. Clock. Sammy's just asked one question on there. How's the morale in the States versus Australia? So I don't know how it is in Australia at the moment because I'm in Newport beach in California. But if I just walk outside, it's totally life as normal. Everyone's at the beach, everyone's in the bars and the cafes. So it's all totally fine. So it's really hard to work out. It's been a real mind game in going what's going on. Like, because when you turn the news on and you watch the news for three minutes you think, okay, the world is ending. So yeah, I don't know whether the media and the government is really overreacting or whether we're all underreacting. Who knows? Nobody knows. So the best that we can do is to make the decisions that's right for you and your family and make sure that you're reinventing so that you're continuing to grow the business that you're in so that you're there to serve for many, many years to come. Alright everyone, see you later.