In February, I asked a friend who had been working on and off for Racing Mentor if she’d like to join my business full-time. It was the next logical step for RM and my associated projects.
She said yes but we knew there was plenty I needed to get sorted, so I rented a shiny new office in Norwich city centre and put plans in place for her to start in April/May.
Then COVID-19 hit and not only couldn't I visit my expensive office but with the in-person onboarding needed for my friend to join me, we had to postpone our plans.
In reality, this allowed me to save a ton of money that means we both have a little more peace of mind. After all, this is a huge step for my little business.
But now that I’ve been back to the office and things seem to be calming down a little, I can see all the missed potential. It’s still gathering ahead of me but imagine where I could’ve been!
I know it’s not healthy to dwell on this but I’ve had enough of just waiting.
As much as I like to plan things and see them naturally unfold, I can’t just sit back and wait.
Have you ever felt like this in your business or career?
To combat this, I’m working on solutions that mean I can become an employer sooner rather than later, even if COVID-19 is still hampering things.
I’m actively seeking the level of clients I should’ve been working with by now. No more excuses of ‘I need help in the office to keep on track’!
As a result, I’m on a push for bigger things. No more using what’s happening around me as an excuse.
Who’s in?
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Social Experiment
This week, I’ve been going hard on the Instagram stories to promote a Racing Mentor webinar.
These stories brought me in about £150 of extra sales just before the webinar began.
The first I sent out the evening before with a hook that shows how important relationship-building (the topic of the webinar) is to a driver looking for sponsorship. I used the countdown to create a sense of urgency.
The next day, about four hours before the webinar was due to start, I gave people an insight into what they’d be learning in the webinar and showed off a couple of slides of the presentation.
Finally, I hopped on an Instagram Live half an hour before the start time to remind people that I was leading the training and was super excited about it. I shared this to my story with the final countdown (do do do doo).
The reason this worked so effectively comes down to two things:
I have an engaged audience that is used to responding to my Insta stories via sticker polls, the Q&A box, the DM ME button, and in the comments of my posts. They trust me and they pay attention.
I’ve been teasing this webinar for a while. These stories and the sense of urgency were enough to move those who were in the consideration phase through to the buying stage.
Jess Recommends
📺 Watch: Timetrap on Netflix - I don’t often recommend movies on here but I couldn’t stop thinking about this film. It just hooked me. It’s the right level of weird for my tastes but I laid awake that night just going over it again and again in my head. If that’s not enough for a recommendation, I don’t know what is.
📚 Read: 12 Types of Unconscious Bias in the Workplace - This week, I’m writing an internal comms piece for an automotive client on unconscious bias in the workplace. Sadly, I won’t be able to share it with you but I think it’s an interesting topic that often gets overlooked by business owners. This article looks at the different types of unconscious bias.
Join me for the Art of Freelancing Masterclasses
I’ve teamed up with Lauren Razavi and Tiffany Philippou to bring you a series of masterclasses to help you thrive as a freelancer. The next takes place next week (16 July) at 5pm BST and covers how to establish a personal brand as a creative freelancer. All the details are here.
Read more from Jess of All Trades:
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