We’ve all been there. But it doesn’t make it any easier.
I learnt a valuable lesson 18 months ago.
I was doing all the right things, business was great. There was a great flow and mix of clients.
Plus, I’d verbally been offered a short-term 8 week contract (on a bloody decent day rate). Things were great. Looking up almost.
Everything was ready to go, just needed the paperwork.
Confident, this was in the bag, I started to slow down activity. Letting clients know I’d be only taking on small jobs in the next few months. Reduced activity on socials.
And in the words of Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts, BIG MISTAKE. HUGE.
You guessed it. I was ghosted. Heard nothing. NADA.
Turns out, the poor team had been caught up in Royal Commission stuff and the team was no more.
I was in a real pickle. Where would my next dollar come from?
Not a fun prospect when you’re the main income earner. Lucky, I’m a numbers nerd and had a buffer ready. But – no way did I want to dip into that.
So here’s what I did. The marketing ideas that worked for me for when business was slow.
But only for a minute (well, however long it took to share a bottle of wine and lament my stupidity).
I needed an afternoon of wallowing, but was not planning on staying there.
What had I done to contribute to this empty calendar and no cash situation?
It was clear I’d put all my eggs into one basket.
Broken the rule – a job is only booked when money hits the bank account or a contract is signed.
Also, forgotten my own advice – you need an alway’s on approach to marketing.
Living in a constant state of busy doesn’t leave much time for reflection. So I played a game of what could I stop, start or continue?
– what’s working?
– where was my time going?
– what clients did I love working with?
– was I showing up in a way that would help them?
– what was I really trying to acheive?
– who could help if I had conflicting client demands?
The strategy nerd in me came out in full. How was I going to turn this around and how was I going to get some all important cash flow through the door?
Here’s what worked for my business when I was quiet.
And guess what happened?
I started to get bookings. Smaller jobs, led to bigger jobs.
Unpromted contacts from connections who’d noticed me online.
All of a sudden, my pipeline was full again. I now know, that for my business, it takes 6 weeks of solid activity to start seeing consistent results = AKA MONEY.
The lesson
If I don’t want to be at the mercy of other people’s timings and ability to refer work to me, I need to proactively seek opportunities, be visible and open to partnerships.
And, I should take my own advice I dish out to clients! This business caper is certainly a learning curve.
What has worked for you?
We’ve all heard the stories of the plumbers with leaky pipes at home or the chef who orders UberEats each night. Well the same thing happens to people in marketing and copywriting. We’re often too
The words you use matter. They influence the perception people have of you, your company and services. When you communicate clearly you’re giving people confidence in your ability to deliver what you say you’re going
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