I am a big believer in using times of challenge or change as fuel to find creative solutions. In a way, that has been a theme across my whole life. So, as the situation with COVID-19 has evolved, I have gone into a mode that I have tapped into many times before. I asked myself, “What can I do? What can I set in motion?” This is a time where we can all be going big while staying home, and there may be a pivot, a project, or a launch right in front of your eyes, waiting to be discovered.
A few weeks ago, I had a regular monthly meeting with my team. Michelle from my team said, “What can you do right now virtually? What about virtual summits?”
I haven’t actually attended a virtual summit before, so I have an idea what it involves without really knowing the details. Michelle’s idea was one we bandied about on our call. At the end of it, we had decided that as a team we would look for opportunities for me to be a speaker at other people’s virtual summits.
A few days later, I was on a call with an ally in business. We were talking about the landscape for small businesses and what recovery and reopening would actually look like. And then it clicked. I was talking to a potential speaker at my own summit.
I still didn’t know what a virtual summit was, exactly. But the seed had been planted by my team, and there was a speaker who was already excited to work with me.
To make a long story short, “Webinar Week: Small Business Recovery during a Pandemic” went from concept to launch in under 2 weeks. I am interviewing 15 experts from 15 industries or business topics to talk about small business recovery. Two weeks may sound like a short story in terms of time frame. Believe me when I tell you that a lot of work and a lot of heart have gone into this in that time.
It’s not perfect.
Nothing we launch right now is going to be perfect. We are imperfect people in an imperfect world. But, there is no question in my mind that I can imperfectly connect people to information and to each other, and that there can still be a ton of value in that.
When an opportunity for a smart project, launch, or pivot presents itself, it often comes in the shape of work. But, if you know what your business is, and you have an idea of what really matters for that business, it is possible to see clearly what you should say yes to. Even at a time like this.
This is a different time, and it may require you to do something different than you have done before.
When it comes to webinar week, there is no way I could perfectly research and learn everything about virtual summits in the time I have to get this out there. I started from where I am with what I know. For this time around, I have created a hybrid model of a virtual summit, a webinar series, and a podcast.
It took just over one week to get this speaker list to sign on, most of whom I have never met or spoken to before. The enthusiasm around the idea was clear. At the same time, some of the speakers have expressed their own fears around how they have to stretch themselves to take on a forum like this. Let’s face it. None of us knows exactly what recovery looks like right now for small businesses. Yet, we all know the value of talking about it. That conversation needs to happen in a robust way RIGHT NOW. The businesses that strategize to recover are the ones that can recover.
I can tell you that I’m stretching myself to do Webinar Week. Hosting 15 interviews in one week on many subject matters I personally am not an expert in is going to call upon my improv skills, my ability to be an active listener, my not-so-honed ability to read a chat and have a conversation at the same time. But at the core I know that bringing a bunch of small businesses together from across many different industries to talk about recovery during a pandemic is important. So, I’ll stretch myself. I’ll learn a lot on every level. And hopefully so will those who take part.
Usually, my Marketing Tip of the Week is instructive. I tell you about a specific area of marketing to give you a new tool to add to your tool belt. This week, it’s not about instruction. It’s about asking you to think about how you can adapt to the situation we are in. What new opportunity is presented to your business in this moment – even if it comes n the form of work – that can allow you to launch or pivot into an area that will keep your brand out there and your business moving forward.
Those who are waiting, waiting, waiting…what are you waiting for?
This is a time for going big while staying home.