back to search all episodes

    Episode 171: Should You Pivot Your Business Right Now? – with April Beach

    SweetLife Entrepreneur Podcast April Beach

    This episode is for those in Phase 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 of the Lifestyle Entrepreneur Roadmap™ Not sure what Phase your business is in?

     

    Episode Bonuses:

    Need faster business growth? Schedule a complimentary business triage call here.

    Who This Episode is Great For:

    This episode is for entrepreneurs and small business who aren’t sure if you need to shift your offers, confused about how/if you should be marketing and who want clear answers as to if you should hold tight or make changes. 

    Summary:

    This episode is for entrepreneurs and small business owners who aren’t sure if you need to shift your offers, confused about how or if you should be marketing your services online. We cover the 3 greatest dangers to small businesses are facing and thoughtful solutions to overcome each pitfall. This show will help you identify what stage of action your business is in, if it’s time to move, and how to move with intention based on what’s appropriate right now.

    Highlights:

    1. Identify your business position grasping on to the current business opportunities
    2. Identify the 3 biggest pitfalls small businesses and entrepreneurs are facing and how to overcome each
    3. Change your mindset to become a leader and build strong relationships

    Resources Mentioned:


    SweetLife Podcast™ Love:

    Are you subscribed? If not, there’s a chance you could be missing out on some bonuses and extra show tools.  Click here to be sure you’re in the loop.  Do you love the show? If so, I’d love it if you left me a review on iTunes. This helps others find the show and get business help. I also call out reviews live on the show to share your business with the world. Simply click here and select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”. Thank you so much ❤︎

    Need faster business growth?

    Schedule a complimentary business triage call here.


    Full Show Transcript:

    you’re listening to the sweet life entrepreneur podcast Simplified strategies to grow your service business and launch a life you love faster with business, mental and entrepreneur activator a probe Age Hey, guys! And welcome to episode number 171 On today’s show, we are talking about the shift, also known as your pivot plan. I wanted to dive into this because it’s really timely to be really honest with you. I had been avoiding recording to show strictly on pivoting based on the wave of the economy and the way that our world is.
    And this is very strange time that we find ourselves in because a part of me kept waiting to just wake up the next morning and it would be different. And even though I knew in my mind that rationally that was not gonna happen, I kept hoping for it. So I feel like I wish that I had released this to you two or three weeks ago. But here it is now, because it’s really important that we talk about the three dangers that entrepreneurs and small businesses air facing right now and what you can be doing to shift your business to pivot your business.
    It’s also really important that we dive into how long is this pivot for and what to do if you feel like you don’t want to pivot. And so that’s the gist of everything we’re talking about on today’s show and you’re gonna leave with very clear strategy is very clear. Questions. To ask yourself to answer your own personal questions is, should I shift and should I pivot my business? How do I know whether or not I need to make changes and how confident I am? I as a business leader to the people that I’m responsible to take care of,
    which are your clients and your customers in yourself in your own family? How am I doing right now in this current very strange world that we’re all a part of? And how can I find the opportunities within what’s happening right now to protect and rise up myself on those people around me? Those are all the questions were answering on today’s podcast. If you’re on the go, which you shouldn’t be, by the way, you all should be staying at home. But if you can’t take notes, cruise over to our podcast website,
    which has found its sweet life podcast dot com where all the show notes from everything we talk about today and links and resource is I’m gonna be sharing with you in today Show to give you actionable items that you can do right now to make smart decisions for your business. All of those air found over at sweet life podcast dot com. Okay, let’s dive into today as we talk about pivoting as we talk about shifting the biggest danger. Actually, that face is small businesses and entrepreneurs is our mindset, and I’ve been in round tables hand smog herb leadership meetings online.
    Now for about I think the first leadership meeting that we actually held was now over a month ago or right around four weeks ago. Seems like 4000 years ago. But I’m still hearing the same questions, and you might be asking these questions and there, you know, what should I be doing right now? Should I be selling? Should I be marketing what I sell? How do I connect with people? What will people think of me if I sell right now? Should I be reducing my prices? And I’m hearing statements like I’m lost,
    I’m stuck. I’m afraid I don’t know what to do. We’ve been talking a lot about this in my podcast community. By the way, if you are in this place as a small business as an entrepreneur, you should not be doing this alone. Cruise over to my podcast group. My Facebook group is totally free. You should not be here alone. And so I want to make sure that you’re getting connected with other like minds. Really cool, amazing people that can help you through that. So you could just go to sweet life community dot com and join us in the Facebook community in there.
    So little side note Resource number one for you. So let’s dive into this. The mindset problem is that you aren’t really sure what to do. And so you may feel lost or confused about this and not really sure how to take action. There are three types of people three times of business owners that have been identified, two responding in certain ways during this shift that were going through, I learned about this in a leadership meeting. I was really fortunate for really thankful to be in been taught. Hermann was speaking in this meeting,
    and he was explaining that there are really three kinds of people and how they’re responding. And these air from CEOs of big, huge companies down to, you know, solo entrepreneurs and freelancers said that first of all, there’s this a type of person who is totally stuck, right, not taking any action at all. They aren’t pivoting. They’re moving, they’re doing anything. It’s almost like if you’re this person, you feel like you’re your feet are stuck in wet cement, this solidifying around you and you can’t take any action at all.
    You might feel some depression. You obviously feel anxiety and fear, and you aren’t changing anything in your business or whatever, because you feel completely out of control. You feel like you have no control over anything in, so you are just completely subdued in your space. First of all, if this is you, it’s okay is a matter of fact. The majority of businesses are still in this place. You are not alone.
    I understand that. And then there’s this second person, so Category B, I guess we’ll call it.
    The second person is this entrepreneur who is willing business owner willing to make moves, willing to pivot, willing to make adjustments.
    But there’s no direction. And so there’s zero confidence in that. Like you want to do something you want to move,
    you’re looking to move, and maybe you’ve been trying a bunch of little different little things, and nothing is sticking and you’re not really sure what direction to go.
    So there’s no clear plan, no confidence, and you’re only doing like the bare minimum. And then there’s the third entrepreneur.
    So Group C, which actually makes up at the time that I heard the data of this lesson. 9% of all business owners in this group is the one that is pivoting,
    taking action scene opportunities, creating solutions and actually making moves. That’s only 9% of people all right, and even out of those 9%.
    Most of them are not sure at all what moves they should be making. They’re just making moves in making big steps because they refuse.
    Thio, frankly, be a victim and I have their business. Be a victim of what’s happening, so wherever you are,
    wherever you find yourself in this first, I want you to know that you are not alone until we’re gonna dive into some of these mindset issues and how to help you solve them.
    Therefore, giving you the questions in the action steps toe act upon to help you make smart decisions for your business in the direction that you will go.
    So if you find yourself in this place where your mindset is saying I don’t know what to do, you know,
    and you’re you’re kind of weekend of every day feeling a little lost, wondering what’s gonna happen. What should I do now?
    What should I sell which I offer? The reason why you’re in this situation is because you don’t feel valuable.
    You don’t have an offer that people desperately need. Right now, you don’t have confidence in what you’re saying,
    and so perhaps you just aren’t saying anything at all, and you, frankly don’t have a plan. And the reason for that isn’t because you want to,
    like, sit there and not do anything. It’s because I totally believe this is that you want to make sure that whatever you offer whatever you do is good and helpful and worthy.
    It’s not because you don’t want to do anything. It’s because you really want to do the right things.
    Does that sound like you? I’m betting that you’re like shaking your head, being like, yeah, that’s me.
    You want to do the right things. You only want to offer something that’s good and hopeful and relevant.
    You don’t want to take advantage of the situation, and you would never take advantage of people. We know that.
    But you also know that there are business opportunities out there and you want, and you need to make sure that they’re not passing you by,
    especially right now. So if that’s you, let’s go ahead and go into the next section of this recording here.
    Okay, I want you to be aware of three really big dangers. And when I say them out loud,
    it’s not gonna be like Thanks for the epiphany, April. It’s gonna be Yes, April, Captain.
    Obvious. But just bear with me here because as we talk through them, I believe that in these discussions it’s gonna help.
    You really kind of reframe your mind and help you identify if and how you should be pivoting are shifting in your business.
    So danger number one that we’re seeing that I’m hearing from my clients that people on my communities we’re talking about and actually on this one I mean,
    I’ll be honest with you. People aren’t talking about this as much as they are dangerous two and three.
    So this one you can hear in the whispers of everybody’s subconscious. The problem is, is it you might be losing your relevance like that Hurts,
    especially for those of you guys who have worked years to build your audience, is years creating content, sending it out every single weekend,
    email faithfully doing your live streams, creating content again and again and again. If you’re afraid you’re losing your relevance.
    It feels like you might be losing that leadership role like no one is looking at you for help because they don’t see you as somebody that can be relevant to help them.
    Right now, you could be feeling like you’re losing opportunities to connect with your audience and that there’s this chasm that is growing whiter and whiter,
    and it’s gonna be a really long jump to get from where you were in your relationship, and you know your banter and your friendship and your back and forth,
    you know that you might have had with your with your community and your fans and your followers and your lists and your clients and your customers.
    So what’s gonna happen in the future that that kind of seems like on the way far side of this Grand Canyon,
    and you’re just not really sure how big the Kenyans gonna be? And so if you feel like you might be losing your relevance,
    that you might be coming insignificant to your audience, then that is a really big problem. That’s a boom indicator that we need to shift something so that you’re creating relevant content and you’re taking mindful actions and that your connecting authentically with your community in a way that meets them where they are right now.
    Okay, now it’s brings us to danger to this is the completely obvious one that still people are not talking about is number three.
    But y’all are thinking this, and that is your sales are in jeopardy. You know, we’re talking about finances.
    They are a hard thing to discuss, especially when the going gets tough. But what happens then? That’s when the tough get going and that’s we’re talking about on this show.
    If you’re in this place, if you’re feeling this pitfall, right, if you’re feeling this danger in your business now,
    I will tell you not everybody is feeling this. I have clients whose businesses are thriving right now. What they had in their offers and what they do is just really aligned with what people need.
    Right now. Our own companies are doing really well because we are online business developers. And so this isn’t the case for everybody.
    But this may be the case for you. If what you’re selling is the wrong thing, you’re in danger of actually losing more and more income,
    either established clients or and or not bringing in new customers into your business or you could be not selling anything at all,
    so you could be selling things. But they just are the wrong things, and it just doesn’t feel good to sell those things right now.
    Or you could have nothing to sell whatsoever at all that is relevant or nothing is selling. This can also be you if you’re feeling like you have an insignificant offer,
    so you’re feeling guilty about what it is that you are in fact offering. Maybe you offer some sort of a lavish service,
    and you just don’t really feel comfortable. Here’s one of things I want to say to you. And you.
    I don’t hear this a lot because it isn’t super quote unquote. And I’m sitting here to myself doing my air quotes,
    Strategic. But if you feel like what you’re offering, just doesn’t feel good to sell. Right now,
    I really want to encourage you to listen to yourself that that is your intuition, that is your spirit,
    that is, whatever you call it. That’s your own inner wisdom, saying, You know what? I’m just kind of getting a check here,
    that it doesn’t feel this great to sell it. And if you are feeling that way, I just want to encourage you to listen to that.
    You know, one of the things that also want to encourage you is that if you have offers in that,
    they’re not really the right things. Your service is aren’t going anywhere. What we’re talking about here is creating a bridge or just a little detour out of some construction bumps in the road were just shifting gears a little bit for a little while to drive people back to where we were before,
    but in the better way that we have ever been. Okay, So if you’re struggling with sales in this area,
    I want you to really think about what are your clients, your customers? What are their greatest needs right now?
    We talk about, you know, identifying the needs, coming up the solutions. That’s business. Wanna one right?
    But I want you to go further with us. I want you to really think about it in a way that it’s like this.
    Imagine a map you has. No, I’m a geek. I geek out over maps. I even,
    like, used to draw on, create maps for fun. When I was a little girl, Imagine a map and it’s a road map of your client’s journey.
    And in the past, especially for you established business owners, you have their journey mapped out for them.
    That’s great. But something has happened, and you have to create a detour. And along the detour are a couple of different pitfalls that is even the old enough.
    Listening to this, you guys remember the video game pitfall where we had to, like, actually grab the rope.
    It was like an Atari game pitfall. Okay, well, that’s what’s happening right now. There are pitfalls along your clients.
    Customers journey, whether you’re taking them to a journey of wellness or a journey to having a marketing plan or attorney to have a no well branded business where a journey to learning to speak on stage or write a book,
    or a journey to re finishing antique furniture, or going from not having house to buying a house. Whatever the journey is right.
    There’s, um, roadblocks, and you are responsible for creating a new path for them that brings them to the same destination britches in a different way.
    And that’s what we’re talking about right now. That’s what’s important right now. If you’re feeling like your sales are in danger,
    if you are in that group of businesses where you aren’t selling anything or you’re you’re starting to slip, then I want you to take a really hard look at what it is that you’re offering and the pathway that you are getting people from point a to point.
    In this case, it’s just only see in the past you might have taken them from a to Z.
    But right now, maybe they just need your help getting from A to F. And that’s cool. That is really important,
    because that’s what they need right now. Less danger. Number two is your sales danger Number three and this is the one that everybody’s talking about.
    Is is your marketing. And here is why everybody’s talking about it because nobody wants to sound like a sleaze bucket.
    Okay, nobody wants to go out there in, sell their stuff and have people be like, Oh,
    my gosh, that person is so insensitive. What? I can’t believe that she is out there just peddling her product when our world is in such a precarious state,
    right? I know that you don’t want that. So if you feel like you’re risking being insensitive or if you feel like you don’t know what to say in your marketing or that you just can’t market as usual.
    But you aren’t sure how to change that, that is another indicator for you. But you need to make a shift that you need to make a pivot the way that we do.
    This is totally authentic. There isn’t any grand marketing strategy behind this. You guys. It is seriously just calling the elephant in the room out the way it is and saying,
    Hey, Lis and we’re changing. Something’s up here just for a little while because things were different for a little while.
    There’s nothing wrong with just calling elephant in the room like Sarah tomes. She was on last week’s podcast.
    Sarah’s a very good friend of mine, and I’m very grateful that she’s our Facebook ad strategists and part of our team.
    She’s like, You gotta read the temperature in the room, and if it’s too hot, let’s talk about the fact that it’s too hot.
    So we’re going to turn on the A C. Whatever that ISS. Just take your marketing strategy head on and talk about the things that are already on your client’s minds.
    Don’t pretend like they aren’t there. I’m not saying I want you to listen to me very carefully that you should not go with a Doom Sayer type of approach,
    right? Nobody wants to hear more about the problems with the situations they’re having. They do want to hear from mindful,
    authentic, full hearted leaders who are giving them solutions, cause everybody wants to be doing good and thriving and were craving.
    I already feel it like, Don’t you feel it? Were craving our feelings of crawling our way back to greatness?
    It feel it right now. I know you do, too. And so, with your marketing, your marketing should talk about why make Maybe you’re making some small shifts or pivots in your business or how you’re doing things different.
    You’ve already seen the TV commercials doing it saying, Hey, we deliver, you know, contact free food delivery because we know that’s what you want.
    Right now, that’s what you should be doing, too. So if you find yourself that you’re not doing any marketing or you’ve stopped marketing altogether,
    it’s because you’re not really sure how to actually just take it as it is in share. It is it.
    It’s and I just want to fill you up again with creativity and encouragement and telling you that you’re an entrepreneur.
    You do not give yourself enough credit. As a matter of fact, entrepreneurs are the most important people right now.
    Entrepreneurs are the ones figuring out how to get P, p e and from other places and how tow rig ventilators and how to come up with medicine to help all of us.
    They’re entrepreneurs in their scientists, their creative people in you’re one of them, too. We’re the most creative,
    disruptive, tenacious, tough, unstoppable group people on earth. So you can take your marketing and you can take all the thoughts that you have,
    and you can pivot them and ship them to the degree in which they should be, which it could be a great deal for your business.
    Or it could be just like a teeny tiny smidge. But talk about that. Talk about what you’re doing and why you’re doing it in your marketing.
    Start with relationships, personally connect with people and really create ah, marketing communication that builds relationships. Dive into relationship with your clients.
    It’s a very best thing that you could be doing right now, no matter what you do, pivoting in what degree in your business.
    So today we talked about dangers, the businesses we’re facing right now, why you may be facing it.
    And if you remember in the beginning I talked about the greatest dangers, our mindset, and we talked about all the different questions the business’s owners are asking themselves right now.
    and you might have found yourself asking some of these questions. Then we dove into the three problems. The lack of relevance that your business maybe having the lack of sales in the lack of marketing in overall,
    the lack of leadership. If you find that you’re struggling with what to do or what your place is right now,
    it’s very simply because you have yet to create a solution that you go to sleep at night, vote really good about in know that people need because you might not necessarily see your business as a life raft that they need.
    And if that’s the case, if that’s where you are, I want to encourage you to dive in and to really think about how you can and possibly should be shifting and pivoting just for a little bit right now,
    in order to be what people want and need for you to be right now and in order to meet people where they are not in unauthentic way in order to build and create a bridge for your clients to walk from where they were with you,
    toe where they will be with you again in the future when we all reset. I was on another leadership call a couple weeks ago with Jeffrey has led of Sea Sweetened.
    It was it was a really cool call to be a part of. I don’t normally sit in C suite.
    Leadership calls. As many of you know, I’ve never worked in a corporate office in the day of my life.
    But it’s always a challenge for me to surround myself with people that do different things, you know? And one of the things that Jeffrey was saying was that we’re in a race to reset,
    and that’s where we are right now. As an economy, that’s where we are. It’s not a fast race.
    It’s actually really careful race. Instead, we should call it like a cross country run to reset and we’re having to take these detours is a business,
    and we’re having to guide people along with us and to carry people. We are called to carry people and to serve people to the degree that obviously makes sense within your business.
    So I wanted to let you know what just encourage you if you feel like you’re not being relevant right now,
    if you feel like you’re you’re slipping, Your business is slipping. Take a look at those three danger areas.
    Are you loosing relevance? Are you not selling things? And are you not really sure about what you should be saying in your marketing?
    If those are the areas that you’re getting hung up, then then go back and replay this podcast episode.
    And then here are two other resource is for you. Number one. I really don’t want you to be alone.
    We need to connect, We need to support each other. And, like I said, lift each other up.
    During this time, I invite you to join us over in our free Facebook community at sweet Life community dot com.
    The second opportunity and this is not going to be there forever because thes podcast episodes air evergreen. This will be out there in 2021 2023 this will not be available.
    But it is right now, So right now we have launched a program. It’s a short term program,
    guys, because this is a short term fix in the program is called Shift 2020 and it’s a time for you to dive in,
    not to everything this is not in everything program. This is a get what you need. Get your important ducks in a row for your business.
    Identify what your clients need and delivered to that program. If you feel like you’re trapped and you’re losing significance and relevance with your audience that they aren’t looking to you for leadership or you’re losing the relationships that you have worked really hard to build for years and years and years or frankly,
    if you have never established with the relationships with people before, if you are slipping in your sales or you’re losing sales,
    we’re not bringing in any more clients than the shift is an important programme for you to be a part of right now.
    And if you’re not really sure what to do in your marketing or how to communicate authentically or how to really pivot or what you should be doing,
    who you should be connecting with, how often? How frequently, even though that means the same thing.
    You know in what way, If you’re not sure about any of those things, then I highly recommend that you check out our shift program.
    It’s called Shift 2020 again. It’s only a short term program. But what we do know is that we need to make some shifts for the next 30 60 90 maybe the next 120 days.
    And this podcast and everything we do here is dedicated to helping you in your business. Arrive to the degree in which you may need to make a shift is only going to be revealed based on digging into the strategy and how people are responding and who you want to need to be is a business and is possibly a personal brand to your industry.
    So if you guys want more information about shift 2020 here are two different ways you can find it. There’s no website for it.
    There’s no long as sales page to join because that’s not what we’re doing right now, because that’s not relevant.
    Right now, we’re just helping you get what you need immediately so that you can help your people get what they need immediately.
    So for more information on the shift 2020 you can go to the show notes for this episode, so there will be a link in the show notes for the episode.
    You can get there by going to sweet life podcast dot com forward slash 171 So sweet life podcast dot com forward slash 171 Or you can very simply text the word shift to the number 31996 will shoot over links.
    You could just read more information on it. Let us know if you want in love to have you there.
    It seemed like the right fit for you again. That is texting the word shift to the number 31996 All right,
    you guys help your Well, I understand that things were rough right now things air give you a little tense here in the beach house also.
    Ah, we have been on lock down at the day of this recording. I’m we’re on day 33 1 of my boys was just so restless.
    He literally went outside golfing barefoot in the snow in our front yard today. So people are totally going crazy,
    but we’re still here, and we’re well, and we’re thankful for that. And I pray that you guys were well and those that you know,
    a few work on the front lines or somebody in your family does. We’re praying for you guys. And just thank you so much for for all that you’re doing.
    Thanks for listening to the show and sharing it with your friends again. Show notes are at sweet life podcast dot com slash 171 and more information on the shift is by texting 31996 And just type in the word shift.
    Okay, guys, Bye for now.
    That’s all folks!