What to do When Things Get Tough

We are repeatedly seeing on all the forums on social media some people in our industry are sharing their vulnerable scared feelings of the status of their practice. Many people are sharing they are slower. First, I would like to share I have been there more than once as I am circling to my 23^rd year in the industry. I know the worry and fear can be real. But can we stop for a second and ask what does fret and worry do for you?

Think about the cave man days – no action would probably get you killed. I am not saying you shouldn’t be aware or ignore facts. I am suggesting that you take a deep breath and get a clear head.

Know that while you may be struggling some people are still booked up and doing great. I am not saying that so you feel bad. It is simply to show hope that you can be busy too. Whether or not you are struggling now there will be ebbs and flows in our economy. That is normal and it’s best to prepare for it.

I have always had a different mindset when a roadblock comes my way. I generally don’t just stop and turn the other way or find a million reasons I can’t do anything to make it work. I know not everyone is wired like I am. I give some credit to this mindset to being a girl scout as a child. The activities we did provided us many opportunities to think outside the box and find alternative solutions.

I know and understand that some people are in dire positions. Today I want to share some tips on some different things to try to get through a tough time.

1. Stop focusing on the negative. You MUST change your mindset here. Instead of wallowing in your sorrows you need to – as Taylor Swift said best…. Shake It Off. You can have your moment of sadness, anger, or whatever emotion. But then pick yourself up and get to work. Sitting in those emotions does not fix the problem.

2. Get creative at work – our last blog post we talked about marketing differently and focusing on the self-care. You can read that here. There are other ways of being creative. Can you perhaps market mini treatments or sessions with you? Perhaps your clients can do a smaller offering with you instead of a larger one. Look into selling off any unused product, equipment, etc… You can also check out another blog post Low Cost Ways to Boost Your Clientele for some additional tips.

3. Take advantage of your slower time. Check out this blog post on some great ways to utilize this time.

4. If you don’t have as much demand at the moment, maybe reduce or condense your hours. On your extra hours off pick up a side hustle or gig. We are in a gig economy. There are sooooo many things you can do on the side for extra money. This is a great opportunity for you to make money ends meet and maybe even get ahead but not give up on your career. Here are some ideas for you:

•  sell unused items in your home and / or you can flip thrift store finds

• babysit

• drive for Uber, Lyft, Doordash, Instacart, Amazon

• run errands for someone

• clean houses

• house sit

• pet sit, scoop dog waste, walk dogs

• work from home customer service jobs

• do yard work, snow removal

• utilize a skill you already have

• tutor

• pick up a seasonal job

• donate plasma

 

5. Try to reduce or eliminate debt you have.

6. Be smart with your spending. Buy only what you need, not what you “want”.

7. Bring your own lunch, make your own coffee, reduce eating out.

 

Once you are on the other side of this scarcity feeling it can be helpful to work on creating an emergency fund of savings of at least 6 months income. That may sound like climbing Mount Everest at the moment, but just like any large task it is achievable by taking small steps and right choices regularly. If you are overwhelmed with your lack of knowledge about money I would recommend learning. There are a lot of resources out there. If you didn’t learn or feel overwhelmed, we have created two courses Making Money Work for You & Your Career (for employees) and Making Money Work for You & Your Business (for owners, independent contractors, and solo technicians). These courses start at the very basics of money, so you won’t feel lost and the course will educate you through so many areas of the financial world. If you haven’t already learned about money or are confused (which it is just that a skill you just haven’t been taught properly) this is a great opportunity to change that and at your own pace. Having financial knowledge will help you make continual good, educated choices both personally and professionally. 

If you are not someone who thinks outside of the box or gets derailed with roadblocks, I challenge you to start trying. I challenge you to consult with others when you feel stuck. When someone gives some genuine ideas don’t immediately shoot them down. It’s possible that idea that was given to you needs just a tiny bit of adjustment to work for you.

Hopefully some of these tips resonated with you and provided some ideas to get through a tough time. You do have the tools and capabilities to do hard things. Give yourself some grace and space. You can do this!