7 Ways To Prepare For & Thrive In A Recession [SOLO ROUND] EP 1347

Here's an uncomfortable truth. Your morning routine is one of the single best predictors of your health, your wealth, and the quality of your relationships. And if you're serious about finishing this year strong, about stepping into the greatest version of yourself, then I invite you to join me for this upcoming free webinar, the Five Secrets to the Ultimate Morning Routine. And I'm gonna break down this ultimate morning routine for you for free and give you the key factor that you need to stick to so that you can create long lasting change and improve the quality of your life. But first, you need to commit to showing up. The real question to ask yourself is, who are you ready to become? What future are you ready to live into? So make sure to visit lewishouse.com/routine to sign up for this free training today. Listen, I know these times are tough and all the talk about the economic recession probably has been stressful for you. the best way to make yourself recession proof is to learn. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you.

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I want you to take a moment to imagine what it would feel like to have the ability, the confidence, and the belief that no matter what life throws at you, you'd be okay. How much less stressful and how much more enjoyable would your day-to-day life be? How much more empowered and at peace would you feel in your life? I know there's a lot of stress about the current state of the economy and the anxiety around all the uncertainty of it. And I get it. There's a good reason for the worry. According to studies, a dozen countries around the world are on the verge of debt default. Inflation is through the roof and the stock market is reflecting all of this. But here's another thing I want you to keep in mind. More millionaires are made during recessions than any other time in history. Despite all the negativity and the stress, despite all the noise, there's a ton of opportunity for you, for your business, and your career during these difficult times. And that's why I wanted to take today's episode to walk you through seven ways to not only survive but thrive during an economic recession. And I hope this episode gives you tools, to empower you to make it happen and more importantly, the courage to believe that you can. So get out a piece of paper and a pen and let's jump in right now. The number one thing I want you to think about is learning the language of money. So get this, according to a 2020 study, only 47% of Americans use a budget to keep track of their spending habits. So less than half of us know where our money is going right now. And now this isn't entirely our fault. We weren't taught anything about personal finances in school really. That said, not having a budget is like going on a road trip without knowing how much gas is in your tank. Without at least having a general pulse of your budget, you'll always be guessing and coming up from a place of uncertainty when it comes to money. And I want you to be there. I know this firsthand because I used to be terrified of money growing up. I didn't know the first thing about it and as a result it really scared me. Money in general scared me. And after my college football career came to an end, I was struggling. I was trying to figure it all out. I was broke on my sister's couch living off credit cards that I really couldn't afford to and became even more terrified of money, debt, investing, saving, all these things. And the root cause of all of this is the fact that I didn't really know anything about it. I wasn't educated about money. and fear comes from not knowing, lacking the information, the knowledge and the skills. It wasn't until I began educating myself with the right books and podcasts and courses, surrounding myself with money-minded mentors, which is huge, that I really began to become familiar with the language of money. They say the best way to learn a new language, whether it's Spanish, French, English, Mandarin, is to immerse yourself with people who speak it. The same goes for money. So be sure to start learning the vocabulary around money. And so many of us are afraid of money and budgeting because we're coming at it from a negative space, a fear-based place. We're afraid we'll have to face the reality of needing to spend less or sacrifice all the things we enjoy in our life because of the numbers, right? But what if this is not the case? What if budgeting means you'll actually have more to spend than you thought you had in the beginning. Instead of being worried and stressed out every time you swipe your credit card, budgeting allows you to approach these situations with confidence and more certainty. Number two, get crystal clear on your why. This is a big one for me. Getting clear on the purpose and the mission for your life will unlock so many things for you and thriving through a recession can be one of them. The reason might seem simple on the surface, but I've seen so many people across all different tax brackets fall victim to not having one time and time again. So it's worth us going over. First, I want you to ask yourself what big time purchases you've made or you're planning to make and why they are important to you. Do you really want that expensive three-story home or are you just obsessed with the status it'll give you in your social circle? Do you really want that convertible or do you just want heads to turn when you drive by? Do you really want that new pair of $1,000 jeans or do you just want to show off the logo to a bunch of strangers? You just got to ask yourself and reflect about this. And look, maybe you do actually want those things and that's fine for you. Maybe you've always had a dream of owning a certain type of car and to you, buying one is a symbol of how hard you've worked over the years. It's fine. But for most people, the material possessions they choose to invest in almost always come from a place of insecurity. I'm not saying it's all the time or everyone. but that's sometimes. And not fully loving themselves and not knowing what they truly want out of life. So I'm telling you, when you get crystal clear on your why, you'll find most material desires start to fall away. You don't need them as much. You're more confident in who you are. For instance, if the mission you have for your life is to provide help to first time startup founders, then it makes it easy to prioritize how, where and what you spend your money on. We all deserve to be rewarded for the hard work we put in, but I see so much unnecessary debt that people find themselves in that could have been clearly solved by getting clearer on their purpose. And in times of economic uncertainty, avoiding overspending becomes even more essential. And I'm not going to sugarcoat it. The stakes are high right now when it comes to your finances. There's a lot of uncertainty that's happening in the world. That's why now is a powerful time to dig into your why, your mission, and really your mindset around money, this understanding. To get you started, I've actually created a money mindset quiz. It's totally free and an easy way to better understand your unique perspective about money, abundance, and financial freedom. I'd love for you to take it. Just go to lewishouse.com/quiz or click the link in the description below to get started, it'll tell you what really your personality type is around money. So the next thing is, thing number three, is to network and really build quality relationships. Now that we've laid the foundation and established the mindset shifts that need to take place when it comes to preparing for the recession, let's dive a little deeper about the details. Now research shows that 70% of jobs aren't published on any job sites. and as much as 80% of jobs are filled through personal and professional connections. The reality is that who you know matters, especially in uncertain times. And more importantly, who knows you and who has a good relationship about your personal brand. Businesses come and go, markets are red hot, then cool off, the economy is in full swing one minute and then drops the next. But your network can last as long as you're alive. Investing time, energy, and strategy into developing a world class network, it'll help you weather the storm in any economy. So to begin, I want to go over the main thing people get wrong when it comes to building relationships in an authentic way and networking. Most of the time, they make it about themselves. And that's not what you should do. How many times have you been approached on LinkedIn or received some cold email or phone call that didn't provide you with any value? When it comes to networking and building quality relationships, people are so quick to ask for favors, but so slow and often unwilling to give favors themselves. It only gets worse the more successful you become in your field. To avoid this common mistake, keep these three points in mind whenever you're reaching out or trying to grow your network. Number one, make it all about the other person. Lead with as much value as possible. be genuinely curious about whatever the person is up to, what projects are they working on that excite them, what plans do they have for the next stage of their careers, what about their industry do they love, and what do they think needs to change? Really think about adding as much value to them first. Number two, keep in touch between your asks. You know, it's unfortunate, but we all have those people in our lives who only reach out to us when they need something and it never really feels good. The same goes for any relationship, even a professional one. Instead of only reaching out to someone when you have a book to promote or you're looking for a new job, make sure you keep in touch between those times as well. Build an intimate quality relationship. Wish them a happy birthday. Check in on them and see how they're doing. What's up in their lives, their families, their careers. Cheer them on in social media when they have something exciting that they're announcing. these little touch points go a long way. And then by the time you ask for a favor, it'll feel more well intentioned and earned because it is more well intentioned and that's the key. Number three is to lead with emotion. In business, we hear a lot about keeping our emotions out of everything and not letting them cloud our judgment. Now that's true and important to remember, but people too often take this robotic approach and apply it to relationship building. and the truth is it just doesn't work that way. Maybe it's social media or the virtual world that we're living in right now, but never forget that you're connecting with another human being on the other end of every relationship. Don't make the relationship transactional. Again, I love to lead with as much love and appreciation and communicate with them in a way that you wish someone would communicate with you. Now, with all this in mind, there are a lot of different platforms out there for you to meet high quality connections both virtually and in person. You can join different sites like meetup.com or get active on LinkedIn and Facebook groups that are connected to your industry and invest in conferences, live events and so much more. Another thing when it comes to networking is what we'll call industry adjacent networking. So for example, let's say you're a graphic designer living in London. Naturally, when you think about networking with others in your line of work, your mind probably goes straight to the nearest design conference or mixer. These are great, but oftentimes connecting there can feel a little forced. Everyone knows why people are attending and things can feel a bit inauthentic if you aren't careful. So instead of only going to graphic design meetups around London, make sure to check out art shows, painting class, or a film event. Chances are there are people who attend those sorts of events who are also graphic designers or maybe need graphic design work. So begin to get creative and put industry adjacent networking to good use. But remember, it always comes back to being genuine in your relationship building. So a rock solid network can help you thrive through any economy, any recession. So be sure that you invest in yours at all times. Number four, never neglect your emergency fund. Everyone's economic situation is different. I get it. So I know you might be thinking that you don't have enough money to set aside for emergency right? I totally understand and I know what it's like to be scraping pennies together. But the most important thing here is building a positive habit. And whether you can set aside $1,000 every paycheck or $10, the act of making an emergency fund a non-negotiable will give you the practice that you need to build long-term recession proof wealth. However, before you automatically assume that you don't have enough money to save, I want you to take inventory of your spending habits. In a recent survey that studied people making over $20,000 per year, here are the most common places they were overspending. 39% of respondents said dining out was their number one place they overspent. 32% of respondents said they overspend on groceries. And 22% said they overspend on entertainment. Now, I don't know about you, but do any of these sound familiar for yourself? I know it can be tough, but taking a good look in the mirror will help give you the clarity and motivation to take care of your finances like you do with the other areas of your life. Luckily, there are tools today to make building an emergency fund easier than ever. There are apps that give you a quick snapshot of exactly where you're spending your money to allow you to budget more effectively. There are platforms that allow you to automatically transfer money from one account to another. So you don't even need to think about where your money is going. And remember, it isn't necessarily about the amount you put into your emergency fund. It's about building the habit so you'll have peace of mind during the good economic times and the challenging ones. Number five is to level up your personal brand. I cannot emphasize this enough. There aren't many certainties when it comes to business or career opportunities, but this is one that I've come to know as a fact, at least for me. The best way to make yourself recession proof is to level up your personal brand. Investing in yourself personally will allow you to improve the quality of your network, improve your earning potential, and improve the quality of opportunities that are available to you. And to get you started, I recommend getting clear on what we'll call your personal brand elevator pitch. So take a minute to write down your answers to these three questions. Okay, personal brand elevator pitch. Question number one, who do you serve? Now, again, who do you serve? This is the audience you're trying to reach out to. For instance, if you're a wedding photographer, this would be couples who recently got engaged. And if you're a marketing consultant for startup companies, then yours would be tech entrepreneurs potentially. Question number two, why is this important to you? This is where soul searching and introspection comes in. Why is the thing you're doing in your career aligned with the purpose you're created for your life for this season of life? Maybe you've always had a passion for whatever it is that you're doing or maybe something happened to you that changed your life forever causing you to dictate your career to helping others in a similar position. Okay? Question number three, why are you the person to do it? What skills, what talents or unique gifts make you the right person for the job that you're positioning yourself for? Maybe you've driven incredible results for past clients or customers or maybe you've spent a decade learning the skills of your trade. Whatever makes you stand out, be sure to communicate it clearly. And once you have your personal brand elevator pitch down, The most important next step is making sure you're doing everything you can to be visible to the people you're trying to reach and get in front of. Get active on LinkedIn, attend meetups and events related to your industry, make a beautiful website to showcase your work and anything else you can think of to put your brand out there. The more proactive you are when it comes to your personal brand, the more you'll be able to thrive when economic times are tough. Remember, especially in the beginning, it's not about making money, it's about adding value and the money is sure to follow. Number six, increase your ability to earn. Now this comes from one of the most important books on wealth ever written, the Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason. So increasing your ability to earn more will help you be prepared in case of an emergency during a recession. and one of the best ways to take your financial freedom into your own hands is by launching a side hustle or some type of side business, right? Now, I know not everyone listening right now has a business that they're running. So I've divided this section into two parts. Those who want to launch a new side hustle and those who already have one or a full-time business on their own. So for those without a side hustle, I'm going to take you through an exercise I created called the Sweet Spot Diagram, which will help you discover what your perfect side hustle will be. So first, I want you to draw three large circles on a piece of paper. Okay? Three large circles. Label one love, another skill, and the last one income. Love, skill, and income. Inside the love circle, I want you to list out your top five to ten things that you absolutely love to do. These can be hobbies, anything that you do in your spare time or your lifelong passions, right? This goes out inside the circle. Inside the skill circle, write down again, five to 10 skills that you're best at. And you have to get creative here sometimes because there might be skills you do that you don't think you can monetize, but just focus on this. Whether that's photography, computer programming, guitar, maybe you like salsa dancing like myself, whatever it is, write down that. And in the last circle, the income circle, write down the many different ways someone could make money online or in person. This usually includes sales, coaching, consulting, events, freelancing, sponsorships, design or creating products, both digital and physical. And now we're going to find the sweet spot. where all three come together. So for example, maybe you have surfing in your love circle and coaching in your skill circle. And with these in mind, maybe you can start selling online courses or in-person coaching to teach beginners how to surf. And what I love about the sweet spot diagram exercise is that it's quick, it's easy, and it takes you through a series of self-reflection to help make the decision a no brainer. So next, let's apply this principle to those who already have part-time or full-time businesses they're operating. Over the years, I've come to learn that there are five primary ways to increase your ability to earn as an entrepreneur. So let's stick with the surfing coach example by applying them to his business. So here they are. You can increase your rates or your prices. Maybe when you're first starting your business, you charge $100 for private surfing lessons. If you begin charging $150 per lesson, the amount you make will go up as a result. provided you keep bookings consistent. You can increase the number of leads or prospects that your business has. You start experimenting with local ads on Instagram, YouTube, Google, maybe somewhere else online as well. And maybe you host a webinar titled the Ultimate Essentials for a Surfing Beginner and collect all the emails of the registrants to that webinar as prospects. You can improve your business's processes and workflows. This is another area. As entrepreneurs, there are so many things going on that it's easy to have blind spots in your business. No matter who you are and what business you have, hiring an outside expert to come in and help you streamline and optimize your workflows is a great investment. More than likely, you're leaving money on the table or overspending in a number of areas. Next, you can increase the number of products that you sell. For this example, you could start selling online courses, publishing affiliate content after partnering with surfboard brands, or launching a new group surfing package. The list goes on and on how to create new offerings. And last, you can improve the quality of people on your team. This might be a little down the road for someone who's just starting out in the business world, but nothing will take your company to the next level faster than investing in the right people for your team. Smart, driven, kind, passionate people will enable you to focus more on the things you're best at and less on the things pulling you away from your talents. Now, I know this might seem a little bit overwhelming to start from scratch, but the fact is that launching a business or a side hustle is one of the fastest ways to increase your earning potential. I know it's not easy. I know it takes time, it takes energy, but it's something you can do. And that remains true during a recession when times are great and everything in between. and always to add to that, you want to find the pain. Where is the biggest challenge for someone right now in their life? And how can your talents really support people in overcoming those challenges?

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Number seven, this is a big one, a big mistake that a lot of people get wrong. And number seven is avoid shiny objects. We've made it to the final point. And again, this is where most people get distracted in life. they take on so many different shiny things. And one of the best ways to thrive during the recession is to be realistic with yourself and honest with yourself about how much risk you're willing to take. There's going to be a ton of temptations that come your way during an economic downturn. Every investment under the sun, every good opportunity is going to show up. Upfront prices for homes and cars will likely decrease. Scammers will be using people's vulnerability to prey on others. New businesses with bad intentions will probably come up and a lot more. This is why it's so important to set a budget and stick to it. Be relentless and vigilant when it comes to where your money is going. And now this doesn't mean that you shouldn't take any calculated risks. That's how a lot of millionaires are made during recessions. But what it means is that you should always be focusing on the essentials first. and know exactly what you're getting into when it comes to investments and know how big of a risk that you're taking. Which brings us to another point that's critical to remember. If you are in a position to do so, please start paying off your debts. Interest rates are likely to go up during a recession. So if you can afford to pay some of them down, it's probably better to do so sooner rather than later when it's too late. Financial publication Investopedia has an easy way to approach paying off your debts. It says there are two strategies to pay it off: the debt snowball, where you can pay off the smallest debt first to build momentum and confidence, or the debt avalanche, where you tackle the biggest debts first and pay them off in one fell swoop. No matter how you decide to tackle your debt and expenses, remember that there will be people and companies trying to take advantage of you and others during the recession. So be careful where you put your money during these tough financial times. And there you have it. These are the seven ways that you can not only survive but thrive during an economic recession. I hope you found value in the strategies we shared over this episode and that you'll put at least a few to the test during this period of financial uncertainty. Also, let me know which one that you found the most valuable. Leave a comment below. Subscribe to this video like this and leave us a review. We'd love to hear what else you want from this type of content. And now, I want to leave you with this final thought. Listen, I know these times are tough and all the talk about the economic recession probably has been stressful for you. But I want you to take a moment to think of the last time that you felt like you hit absolute rock bottom. When was this in your life? The time you felt like your life would never be the same. Really think about and visualize that moment and how it made you feel. I know what that was like for my life. It wasn't fun. No matter what the circumstances were, no matter what the aftermath was, if you're listening to this episode, if you're watching this right now, if you're listening, it means that you're here. It means that you overcame, that you persevered. It means that you made it through the challenging time. And I don't know what the next six months or a year or two years will hold for you or the world, but I do know one thing. I hope you do too, that you will make it on the other side and you'll be better for it at some point. Wherever you are, thank you again for watching, for listening, thank you for being here, thank you for being you, and I'll see you in the next episode. Thank you so much for listening. I hope you enjoyed today's episode and inspired you on your journey towards greatness. Make sure to check out the show notes in the description for a full rundown of today's show with all the important links. And also make sure to share this with a friend and subscribe over on Apple podcast as well. I really love hearing feedback from you guys, so share a review over on Apple and let me know what part of this episode resonated with you the most. And if no one's told you lately.

I want to remind you that you.

Are loved, you are worthy, and you matter. And now it's time to go out there and do something great.

I'm Katie Nolan and I have a.

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