How I Beat The COVID Blues To Keep Thriving In Lockdown (And You Can Too) + Brand Survival Guide

Enough already!

Stop feeling ‘sick’ of coronavirus and start making the moves to protect your brand and future-proof your business and career.

When we were first thrown into lockdown, like so many professional women and business owners, I was completely unsure of its impact on my brand and business.  

What I found most challenging was the impact on my mindset. You see, I was in the middle of launching a massive new project. I was motivated, inspired and ready to go!

I had a plan, timeline, and launch date. Then, boom: COVID swept across the globe, sending us spiralling out of control, into lockdown, and working from home.

Like most people, I felt uncertain, vulnerable, and exposed. I was caught off guard; I didn’t have a crisis plan in place. I mean, who could have anticipated a global pandemic, right?!

So, as the world was thrown into chaos, lockdown restrictions were sudden and brutal, and millions of lives, careers, and businesses put on hold…

I didn’t have much time to react at first, but pretty soon that was the one thing I had lots of… time!

Time to reflect, and assess… and I quickly made a plan.

I realised I had the choice to either let circumstances control me, or regain my power and take control of my brand and business.

It’s not easy challenging your way of thinking. It’s uncomfortable, foreign and natural to try to resist it.

Especially when anxiety, lack of sleep, depression, and burnout are the other COVID-19 symptoms.

It takes courage and clarity to rise up, face your fears, find balance, and beat the coronavirus blues!

But there are always choices. 

Having spent years learning the power of positive self-talk and effective energy management, I chose to use these supportive mental muscles to look for new opportunities to grow my brand and business (and my coaching clients) through this challenging time.

I asked myself two questions:

1) What can I do to continue to grow my brand and business?

2) How can I pivot, shift and adapt to the ‘new normal’?

Ask yourself these two simple (but hard!) questions, and take the first step to regaining your sense of freedom, energy, and purpose!

I did – and so, my Woman Of Confidence Online Members Club was born!

A safe place and ‘home’ for high-performance professional women, industry experts, entrepreneurs, and small business leaders to find online support and guidance to grow a brilliant personal brand, commercial identity, and a thriving business. 

Coronavirus has given me a new sense of purpose: to help professional women all around the world build unstoppable personal brands – even in lockdown!

WILL I SURVIVE?

Three words we’re all scared to ask… but desperate to answer

Finding ways to pivot your thinking to align with the changing economy and work restrictions will impact how your brand and business will come to the other side of lockdown.

Instead of seeing this time as a major setback, flip your mindset: see it as an opportunity to open your mind, experiment new tactics, strengthen your digital profile, and importantly, keep the conversation going!

Of course, that’s easier said than done… so here are some great tips you can implement right now to keep you focused, motivated, and engaged!

HERE ARE 4 WAYS TO KEEP YOUR PERSONAL BRAND AND BUSINESS THRIVING DURING LOCKDOWN.

1. Start Or Join An Online Mastermind Group Or Advisory Board

Whether you’re working from home or are abiding by your local area’s lockdown rules, your house becomes a bubble!

You don’t have the luxury of batting ideas around the office, or meeting colleagues for a power session.

As such, you’re feeling unmotivated and uninspired, and stress is impacting productivity. 

Above all, you feel frustrated and overwhelmed at the prospect of losing your career momentum, brand awareness in your niche or an uncertain financial future.

The solution? Reach out to others in the same boat and start a Mastermind or Advisory Group of professionals, entrepreneurs or small business owners!

Turn up, tune in, and power on by starting (or joining) an online Mastermind Group or Advisory Board of professional women or business owners who want to keep forging!

2. Become More Fluid In What You Do – And How You Do It

I get it: you’ve suffered enough (bad) disruption in your life and career! And you’re over it.  

But there is also (good) disruption that leads to greater rewards and success.

Think about how you can make your brand, products, or services more fluid to accommodate for the restrictions you’re facing in your career or business.  

 What else can you do, how can you do it, and what value can you add?

Unlock your personal ‘value vault’ of soft skills to fully appreciate who you are, what you offer, and how you can use it to strengthen your personal brand and create opportunities for your career or business during lockdown.

The latest buzz word for brands and businesses in response to COVID-19 is to “pivot”. 

And the approach couldn’t be more valuable!

All smart leaders and businesses seek ways to pivot their brand in order to keep serving their customers and stay relevant (and keep their team employed).

If you can manage to do this successfully, like Melbourne-based business owner Kate Hannaford from Moth Design, you will thrive.  

Hannaford’s jewellery business relied on 40% of her revenue from wholesale orders. When one large international order was cancelled during the pandemic, she thought – “how else can I serve my customers?”

By asking this simple question, she identified people were sorting through old boxes of forgotten stuff while stuck at home in lockdown.

She pivoted her business model to offer a jewellery repair service from her workshop, unlocking a new opportunity for business and brand growth.

How can you pivot? What else – and how else – can you help your consumer, strengthen your brand, and connect with others?

3. Develop Your Thought Leadership Snapshots; Reconnect With Your Sense Of Community And Purpose 

What are you feeling or learning? How are your clients feeling? 

People, especially women right now, are looking for leadership and guidance; your journey and insights may help someone like you see the bright side of life and keep them motivated!

So, think of ways you can help them be their most confident, courageous, and thoughtful selves – and connect them to your brand and business too!

How can you connect with them on a deeper, more emotional level? Can your insights help them navigate the same issues or problems?

Don’t hold back for fear of feeling irrelevant or not being of value! You may not realise you have something worthwhile to say and share, until you sit down to say it!

Journaling can also unlock enormous ‘hidden’ value you can use now or in the future to grow your personal brand, authority, and thought leadership. You can share your unique insights or thought leadership snapshots with a wider global audience, to keep you relevant, connected, and part of the bigger conversations.

Be creative, think big, and practice mindfulness everyday. 

Challenge your mental muscles to build resilience and balance under stress. Those muscles are there – trust me – so be sure to activate them consciously!

4. Leverage Social Media

Social media has been a massive part of our lives for years. Right now, it’s indispensable.

It’s where conversations are happening. It’s where someone in Sydney can talk to someone in London in real-time with nothing more than an internet connection and pair of headphones.

During COVID-19, social media has proven its worth – and power – for keeping people professionally and personally connected; and opened up the playing field for small businesses to establish a more prominent digital footprint.  

Our world may feel totally disconnected at the moment, but social media is one critical component that’s keeping us together and your personal brand or business front of mind. 

The reality is your business or career may be on hold, but maintaining an active social and digital media presence online will give people the perception that you are still in the game.

Take the time to review your social media profiles

• Check for consistent messaging and branding
• Update your profile picture
• Dive into conversations – engage with people you’re already connected with
• Share updates often with your consumers – and don’t let customer service slip
• Post, share or blog often – but don’t share simply for the sake of meeting a quota
• Support your staff by encouraging them to do all of the above, too!
• Set up a social listening tool like Google Alerts to keep up to date on news relevant to your industry and interests

Login>> to Woman of Confidence Members’ Club now to download your Personal Brand Survival Guide. 

Not a member? Join NOW>> to access my complete knowledge bank of personal brand, image and leadership resources!

To your success,