As things continue to change and evolve in the world, I wanted to share some tips that I have used in every major change in my business – I’ve actually done some of them this week!
There is a lot of information coming out on a regular basis about managing change, but unfortunately,
- it’s not going to work to give every, single person clarity;
- nor is it going to be relevant for every single person;
- it requires a space of judgement and self-responsibility about the choices that you make in your life.
I know that what I am about to share won’t help everybody either. But I’m going to do my best with what I know has worked for me and for my mentees and friends in the past. We’re having these conversations in the background, so I thought I might as well have them in the foreground.
So here are 7 ways you can prepare for change in your business.
How To Prepare For Change
What is one major change you’ve made in your life that stands out for you? Think about the biggest changes that you’ve gone through in your life? It could be anything and may be different from what other people have experienced. Maybe it’s something like:
- your own health or the health of family members
- work situations
- diet
- homelessness
- divorce
- owning your own business
- death
- buying a home
- depression
One of my biggest ones was bringing a baby into the world. I know again, this won’t apply for everybody. But it was one of the biggest changes I had to make room for in my business and my life. It was a huge difference to have to start to look at the world in a really different way. And considering how that change would fit in my life. I had to make major adjustments to my lifestyle to make room for this change.
When changes happen, there are things you have to employ and bring in. There are resources, both internally and externally, that need to be brought in. The frameworks and structures to enable that to happen are huge.
However we manage it, the end result is that we do live through it. And here’s the thing – you are going to live through this as well.
We’re all in this for the long game. Just as having a baby or owning a house is the long game. There are so many changes that we have all experienced and this pandemic is just another series of changes that are coming through our lives – albeit very different to those we’ve experienced before.
Now is the time to bring in all the resources you’ve used in the past to get through big changes and see how you can use them now.
7 Ways You Can Prepare for Change
So, I’m going to share seven methods that I’ve used in the past to handle big changes. We’ve all gone through massive shifts and changes before and we can all do it again. I’m sharing what’s worked for me and I’d love to have the conversation and see what has worked for others.
#1: Pivot
Number one is pivot. Pivot to whatever you CAN do. Based on the most recent guidelines that have come out as of today, the 23rd of March, 2020, either from a state level or a Commonwealth level here in Australia, is that if we can pivot, we need to pivot. That’s what everything’s saying.
Victoria and New South Wales, in particular, have been quite verbal about it this morning on their news coverage and the premiers during their press conference. It’s all about if you can:
- work from home
- do home delivery
- hold online consultations
Please do it.
Again, I’m just going to take it back to what I can speak about. I can’t speak about losing my house to a storm or being homeless or so many other things others have experienced. But hopefully you can apply what I’ve learned from my experiences to your situations.
Pivoting to work from home
So, when I had to baby proof my business, I had to figure out what I could do online and what could get me recurring income to avoid the cycle of feast and famine income. I had to create an online programme, then a membership. I created packages to keep people going on their health journey.
Everybody is feeling some level of stress or anxiety now. I was having a conniption yesterday afternoon. Now I’m lucky enough to have lots of support around me. My husband was having a conniption in the middle of last week and we both were able to bounce off one another to get through. We’re also able to use some of the resources that we have inside of us, such as:
- movement in the house
- meditation
- and all of these other tools that we have a responsibility to own for ourselves
It’s about self-responsibility instead of reacting to everything. Noticing when we are reacting and understanding what we can control about the situation and not fixating on what we can’t.
#2: Control What You Can
So for you, what is it that you can control about pivoting? What can you create? Is there a service you can provide online?
- If you haven’t taken telehealth seriously, now’s the time.
- Or if you haven’t finished off an eCourse that you’ve got half done, now’s the time.
- If you haven’t made the most of the PowerPoint presentations or workshops you’ve run in person and put them out as webinars, now’s the time.
There are lots of opportunities to actually pivot and put your things online.
When I was worried about having to run my business using only one hand (because I had a baby in the other), the second thing I did was try to make my business work from my phone. When you’ve got one arm behind your back and you’re worried about financials, kids in the house, your responsibilities for rent, and all the rest when literally and figuratively you are one-handed, ask yourself what can you do with this other hand that keeps your business going?
If you can move anything, any part of your business into an easy way of accessing it online, now’s the time to do that.
#3: Ditch the Non-Essentials
Another thing is to make sure you stop any payments that are non-essential.
Literally yesterday, I went to my Bluehost hosting account and cancelled every single one of the recurring payments for URLs that I thought that maybe I would use one day. And there are other programmes online that I’ve been paying for but not using.
What can you cancel or put on pause?
For me, my priority is making sure that my team can remain on. So anything else that’s non-essential to that, needs to be dealt with.
Whatever you’ve got that’s non-essential, those things that pop up on your statement every month that you keep forgetting to cancel – now is the time to deal with them. Find out if you can pause it or cancel it. If you were thinking about cancelling it anyway, it’s time to cancel it.
I did this when I was baby-proofing my business and also when I was transitioning from one type of business to another. I’ve used this tactic in a whole range of different situations when things had to change. Take care of those things you’ve been putting off.
For example – don’t forget to check your Google Adwords, Facebook, or other advertising outlets. Cancel ads you don’t need and update the ones that you do to represent how your business is now online.
#4: Keep On As Much Staff As Possible
We need to keep the economy going. By making sure that other people are in work, that keeps the economy going. I’m doing absolutely everything I can in my personal finances to keep businesses going.
If you’re in it for the long game, then this small dip that’s happening has to be managed however you possibly can. I am absolutely committed to keeping my team on because I freaking love them! So I need to make sure that they are confident in what they have as their work. And I’m confident in continuing my work.
It’s the same when I was running Inspirational Health. I had some really tough times there, with floods coming through, major storms that destroyed the roof and decimated one of our storage rooms where all the files were. I had to pivot and take everything online at that time.
There were insurance claims that didn’t come through on time and the electricity was coming through the roof socket. At that time, even though my expenditure had to go out for a period, I made sure all my staff and everybody on my team knew that they were as safe as they could be in their jobs. I did absolutely everything I could to keep them going.
So whoever’s on your team, make sure they continue to be part of your team, if you possibly can. Make sure they know, they’re aware, and do everything that you can to keep that going.
#5: Take Action On What You’re Entitled To
Now, this is the thing. There is a lot of hearsay about where money is coming from, when it’s coming out, who it’s coming to and all that kind of stuff.
We are natural health practitioners. We’re amazing and resourceful and can research the most incredible, intricate, detailed things about the human body.
We can be just as resourceful and research where the root of entitlements around support, government assistance, banking, or whatever else is out there.
There is hearsay about these things, just the same as there is about different remedies. Use your skills, strengths, and talents to research and find out the root of where that information comes from. Go and take the action that’s required to receive that support so that you don’t have to do it later on.
That means hopping on to Centerlink or JobSeeker, if you have your wages have been affected. It means not making up stories in your head about whether you are eligible or not. Try to find out and take the action required to see whether or not you truly are, in fact, able to get support in this time.
Again, when I was having my baby I had to find out which leave entitlement I was eligible for. Was I able to get paternal, fraternal, or maternal leave? There was a baby bonus coming out at the time and it was coming to its end.
You can make up all the speculations in your head but until you take the action to actually go and find out what it actually is, you don’t know for certain. So if you are in a situation that is a bit more dire, take the action that’s required to find out the facts. Go in and receive that money because you’re doing what it takes to keep you going. So that in the long run, you as a practitioner will still be benefiting the community.
Here’s one to get you started. Don’t forget your BAS. If you do pay BAS, now’s the time to keep paying because you will get a refund for the outlays that many of you are doing because there isn’t as much cash coming in. You actually get money back. If you register the BAS, that’s the term when it flicks on that information when it comes to tax purposes and other bits and pieces that have just come out in these $66 billion stimulus packages. So don’t forget your BAS.
You’ve got this extra time. So go and fill out all of the spreadsheets or your Xero or whatever it happens to be, go and do that. Make sure that’s on time.
#6: Create Your Plan B
Now, this is the thing about going in with a baby. Holy moly, like that signing up for a massive, long game, right? And when I first had my baby, I wanted to take six months off.
At the moment, we’ve got a bit of a chat around whether the government or the chief medical officer leaves, how long this might go. It’s kind of the same. You’re not quite sure if you are going to go back after 12 weeks after you have a baby, or you might not go back at all. You might keep them home, homeschool them, all the other things.
So there’s this bit in the middle where you need to have a plan B. If you are fortunate and in a wonderful situation where you can talk to a bank about your loans, mortgage, business loan, credit cards – any of those hidden things. Go and talk to them about what your possibilities are for accessing funds.
I am not a financial planner or an expert in this situation, at all. But just as when I was having my baby and wanted to do some different things in the house to make sure everyone was safe and secure, we went into spoke to the bank to find out what we could actually do about it.
With the current and very quickly changing climate that we have, Australian Federal level is trying to release all of the red tape for people who already have loans to access more of the money that’s in their loans.
Again, I know that this isn’t a solution for everybody, but it might be the solution for you and that’s why I want to have the conversation. Consider what your plan B might have to be.
Maybe your Plan B is to sell that piece of equipment that’s been in the shed for a while. Whatever it is, find out if you have a Plan B. Because there’s a level of security that comes with the possibility that there could be more money available to you at any point in time.
That’s what it felt like for me when I was having a baby. We wanted to make sure that if anything went south, that we would have a Plan B there.
#7: Connect With Your Tribe
Number seven is to find your tribe and connect with them regularly.
Just like a mother’s group, a breastfeeding group, or a hypnobirthing group – try to find who you vibe with and start to regularly connect. Try and do it every week.
I’m opening up Freaky Friday in the Hub for exactly that reason. In the Natupreneur Hub, I’m going to be live-streaming a Zoom call every Friday. You can watch it or you can hop onto the Zoom call and we can actually chat and communicate.
It’s literally a cup of tea and whatever is coming up. That’s it.
Riding the Roller Coaster
In the Natupreneur Journey program, we talk about this kind of stuff all the time. It’s a really big mindset shift to be able to get prepared for something that you are going to play the long game for, and you’re going to ride out the roller coaster.
Right now that roller coaster is that feeling when you have no idea what’s around the corner, and you’re up on this thing with no idea of what’s going to happen on the other side. And everybody is kind of screaming.
You know how there’s the camera on the other side as you go down and everyone’s freaking out? You want to be the one that is breathing and going, “Yep. This is a roller coaster. This is what I expect on a roller coaster.” It won’t be like this forever, it’ll flatten out and calm back down again.
You may be feeling anxious today, even if it’s something you haven’t experienced before or in a long time. It’s huge. I’m going to be completely vulnerable with you. Yesterday afternoon, I was kind of freaking out. Looking for something to make me feel less anxious. extra time. I’m meditating, and I’m doing all of the things.
Whatever resources you have right now, and whatever support you have, particularly in your house with the people in your house – find them, hug them, be with them. Notice when the anxiety comes up and notice that it goes away, as well.
That’s another reason I really want to connect with everybody on Freaky Friday because we’re all feeling it and it comes in waves. One day we feel like we’ve got it under control and the next it feels like the whole world is a roller coaster again.
What if this is happening FOR you, not TO you?
What if everything that is happening was actually for you, not happening to you? How would you change what you’re doing? What would it be looking like?
Here’s an example. Bec McInnis has pivoted so much with her multi-modality clinic, it’s incredible. She had been meaning to put eCourses online, to get her staff up and running with their skills, gifts, and talents in neonates, post birth, osteopath, and naturopaths. They are now working together in a way that they never have before. So imagine if this is actually happening for you and you are here creating the pivots that you’re meant to make.
I know you’ve been through extraordinary things in the past. You can get through this as well.
Should You Drop Your Consult Fees?
I’ve gotten this question a few times. My answer is no. The value of what you do doesn’t go down.
You’re still providing value. My suggestion is to provide options. So don’t drop consult fees, provide online options and acute consultation options, is my suggestion. There are a plethora of other suggestions. But from my experience with mentees is that if you can provide short, sharp, snappy online consultations for a smaller fee, then you’re going to still continue to get cash flow through the door. And keeping duty of care in mind, if they need a full initial consultation, it’s the same process. But also provide an option that’s a smaller chunk.
This is one of the reasons I suggest packages and programmes is because it’s a long journey. We’re all in this for the long game. These people are going to need your health help throughout this isolation period and whatever else happens. It’s a journey. You want to be partnering with them along the journey. And if you’re partnering with them, then a regular payment that is for their health and wellbeing is going to be so much more beneficial than if they have to rock up and pay you a big chunk So, my suggestion is to provide options and particularly provide programmes or ways to connect.
A paid membership group right now would be perfect. This is the time. It is a perfect way to:
- overcome isolation
- cut through the rubbish that’s going on
- provide a safe space for people to talk
And it provides value, so you need to get paid for it.
Service the hell out of them. You can be of so much service. And the more service that you can provide, the more value you can provide, the more value comes back to you. I really think is a time for the Rule of Reciprocity, to really kick in because we’re all in it together.
Stay Safe To Keep Others Safe
Here’s what I know from my background in pathology. Viruses are virulent.
If we can work from home, we should work from home.
Where we can work online, we need to work online.
Otherwise, we are part of spreading the virus. If you are exposing yourself currently to the public, unbeknownst to you, and not by any intention of yours, and not by any intention of your clients, we could all be spreading the virus.
Because of that risk, the more of us who do stay at home, who do work online, the more likely we are to flatten the curve and the fewer people will die.
In the end, it’s not really about business. It’s about death, which is a pretty big deal.
You can mess around with the numbers but people are dying from this. So if you have the chance to pivot, you need to pivot.
I didn’t have the opportunity to do that back when I worked in pathology. There’s no way I could have worked from home. I had to be at the place with all the people and the most risk, and I wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it. But as a practitioner, we have the opportunity to pivot.
I know it’s hard. It’s so hard to to even contemplate all of the changes that are going on. But we need to for the health of ourselves, the health of our loved ones, and the health of people that we don’t even know. People that we probably would help in some capacity at some stage, but are going to be affected by this virus.
Don’t Forget To Feel Good
Find the things that bring you magic and enchantment. Whether it’s music, arts, crafts, or painting your house. Whatever makes you feel good during this time, do more of that!
Take Action
I hope this has been helpful. I know it’s not perfect and these aren’t the answers for everyone. But I’m absolutely doing my best to be here for you. To share whatever I have found helpful in the past, what my mentees have found helpful, and answer as many questions as I can, as imperfectly perfect as I can.
Please take from this whatever will help you and keep yourself safe and your loved ones close.
If you aren’t already a member, consider joining us in the Natupreneur Hub (which is free, by the way) to get support from the group as we all muddle through these confusing times. And join us for the Freaky Friday Zoom call. I hope to see you there!
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