Pretty much everyone on the planet was affected by the events of 2020, and I was no exception. For a year that started out like any other, 2020 rapidly changed life as we know if when covid hit the scene in March. The impact on everyone was different, and for me, the impact on my businesses was most significant.
When this year started, I had two businesses that were plugging along, but I wasn’t thrilled with where I was with either. The biggest problem, to be honest, was I was trying to grow two emerging businesses at the same time, and it was draining and difficult to attempt to focus on two things at once.
As a business coach, I am very careful about the words I use, and “trying” is a word I don’t like to use, and I certainly caution my clients from using that word. Like the wise Yoda said, there is no try – you either do something or you do not.
In the case of my two businesses, I was in the middle of doing and not doing. I was taking action to grow both, but it wasn’t enough because I was splitting my time, and more importantly, my attention was split.
The experience of attempting to grow two different entities at once showed me clearly why that’s a challenging endeavor. As a creator, I like to go “all-in” on one thing, sometimes to the point of obsession, and I felt guilty that I was never “all-in” on both businesses at the same time.
That split focus situation had nothing to do with covid, but when the changes to how businesses operate were put into place, and the onset of major fear grasped the market, it felt like I had built a house of cards that came tumbling down. The crazy thing about the mind is that wasn’t a real thing that happened – the house of cards part – but it certainly felt real.
So, in the late spring of 2020, at the peak of covid panic, I closed both my soapmaking business, and the coaching business for soapmakers. I was tired, and frustrated that my efforts to grow two businesses at once weren’t effective.
It was time to stop, to step back from the game for a bit and go in a different direction.
One of the amazing things about SKILLS is that once you learn them, you can use them in a variety of ways. That is why after I closed that chapter in May, I knew I had everything I needed when I was ready to start a new chapter.
I was very fortunate to find a thriving team to join as a coach, which helped me further grow my skills around coaching, business and putting together offers.
Understanding how to put together an offer, and how to find buyers for that offer is the KEY to launching a business. And that skill applies to so many different types of businesses that once you have that skill, you can apply it in so many ways.
So, if 2020 and covid have forced you to go in a different direction, to pivot in your life and your career, remember that your skills will carry over.
Your skills will serve you in the next chapter, in the next season of your life, whatever you choose that to be.
My next chapter is still being written, but it is clear to me that I love coaching business owners, and I truly love helping people launch new offers. My current focus is on service businesses, which honestly are much easier to grow than the physical products businesses that were a part of my last season.
Stay tuned for the next episode of my story, and I’d love to hear about how you have changed direction this year. What’s next for you?
