Small Businesses Surviving COVID-19
Don’t ask me what number day of quarantine (shelter-in-place) we are on. I’ve completely lost count. I think I’ve gone through the gamet of emotions in the past few weeks. This year, has simply been completely unpredictable. It started off great, then I got sick with the flu (or was it COVID-19 - I'll never know,) then this worldwide pandemic.
I find myself back working at my kitchen table. I really miss my studio office and people! So many distractions at home. The first half of my day is productive while my teenager sleeps off her disappointment at missing out on all her senior year.
So what are we as small business owners to do? PIVOT.
I’m listening to podcasts, taking educational webinars and trying to find a way to serve others. Here’s some of my ideas on how to spend this newfound spare time:
Start creating a family portrait gallery wall. I know you’ve got hundreds if not thousands of pictures on your smartphone and computer, why not print those memories (you can do this online and have them sent to your home.) Go through the boxes of pictures that you’ve stored away for a rainy day.
Find old photos you’ve inherited that might be damaged or perhaps you want them in a larger format. I retouch old photos and depending on the size, I can product a larger print of it as well. Email me - I love this type of work!
Search up old memorabilia from the same era as those old photos and plan to have them all framed together. I did this for my great grandmother and great uncle (see photo below.) I had her passport and old photos and found old coins and even an old postcard of the ship she came over on from Sicily! Ancestry.com has loads of photos too.
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Help your local businesses by buying gift cards to provide critical cash support during the COVID-19 crisis. We have had to cancel all of our scheduled photo sessions in order to do our part to help reduce the spread of the virus. To all our customers waiting for their albums, wall art and print products, our professional photography suppliers here in the US and Italy have stopped all production activities until further notice. If you are waiting for your prints, I will contact you directly as I receive updates. I look forward to getting back out there and capturing your special life moments!
"Porchtraits" During COVID-19 Shelter-in-Place
ETA: THANK YOU for everyone’s interest, however, we are no longer scheduling PORCHTRAITS at this time.
Like all things in history, I believe they should be captured in a photo. I'd like to come around the tri-valley and do "porchtraits" of families in coronavirus quarantine to help our community.
I'm bored. My cameras are lonely so let's make this as fun as possible!
5-minute family photoshoots from the curb in which you and even your neighbors can get outside and have some fun from the safety of your own porch or front yard.
These sessions are free but donations are accepted.
Sessions available in Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin and San Ramon.
Please tag and share your friends and familly.
Before you Hire a Branding Photographer, What's Your Why?
I talk about this a lot with my Personal Branding clients during their Branding Strategy. There are some things you really need to think about before hiring a photographer to take your branding photography. You’ve made the decision to invest in yourself and your business so let’s get started!
START WITH YOUR WHY
What’s this all about? Well, when you have a deeper sense of purpose, your message will resonate with more people. To help you really define your why, here are some questions to think about:
What would you do even if you didn’t get paid to do it?
What makes you forget to eat lunch?
Who inspires you most?
If you had a year to live, what would you do?
What did you love to do when you were 10 years old?
What would you regret NOT doing in your life?
What makes you smile?
What makes you angry?
What do other people ask you for help with?
What are you naturally good at doing?
What are the challenges you’ve overcome?
What causes do you strongly believe in?
If you could get just one message across to a larger group of people, what would you say?
Before you launch that new website, print that new brochure or book a speaking gig, you want to get clear on what you want to be known for. That way, the clients you attract are strategic.
COVID Productivity Plan: Tame the Squirrel!
How To Stay Productive
Current situation: Home all day with a 17 year old #shelterinplace #sendwineandchocolate #nowiknowwhyidontworkfromhome
If you’re working from home now, you know there’s a distraction around every corner - meals, laundry, pets, urge to nap, etc. It can be really hard to be productive.
I have to get really intentional with my time.
As techie as I am, I still have a calendar/notebook.
Here’s how I use it daily:
Themed Days
3 Must-Do’s
SATs
Tracking
SO LET’S START WITH THE THEMED DAYS.
Theming your days is CRUCIAL. The most effective entrepreneurs I know only do specific tasks on certain days of the week. Meetings only on Tuesdays, social media posts only on Wednesday, etc. Theme your days and stick to it. So here’s what my week looks like in terms of theme:
Monday:
SATs
Editing
Tuesday:
Meetings/Calls
Photoshoots
Wednesday:
Photoshoots
Writing
Thursday:
Bookkeeping
Editing
Friday:
SATs
Photoshoots
Depending on your line of work, you’s modify this to accomodate your most frequent tasks. The key it to make sure you plan your week around your themes. Don’t schedule meetings on days that aren’t slated for them. It’s ok f you have to make an exception once in a while, but be sure to get back on track. Have you ever noticed how fast a “quick” coffee meeting can end up taking 2 hours? Not productive. Consider scheduling back-to-back meetings at the same coffee shop or even at your office. This will also keep you on schedule.
Theming your days keeps your focused. Task switching throughout the day is not efficient. When you are planning out your week, you already know which days to schedule which tasks based upon your theme. I do this on Monday mornings, you may want to do this on Saturday or Sunday evening. I take weekends off, so I do it on Monday morning. The goal is to try and plan my entire week on Monday.
I know that on Wednesdays, I write. So I will schedule Instagram, Facebook and blog posts for Wednesdays. It might be difficult to resist working on now, but I know that I have very little focus time so I have to stick to my themes. I schedule client calls and photoshoots for Tuesdays and make bookkeeping and editing on Thursdays.
3 MUST-DOs
Minimum should be three, but if you can fit more in then go for it!
The three things that you 'must get done' need to fall within your theme. If you have the luxury of working on your business all day with no interruptions you might want to pinpoint 6-8 things that must get done.
After you’ve decided what needs to get done that day, you need to assign a set amount of time to it and work hard to get it finished within that time.
For example: if I am working on writing and scheduling posts, I allocate an hour or two. Once I’m done - I’m done. This is critical in staying focused. Sometimes if I don’t get it done, I’ll allocate more time to it, but I schedule it. Get through the task so that you can move on.
Sometimes I plan 15 minutes to brainstorm social media and blog posts. I set the timer and brain dump. You’ll be surprised at what you can come up with when you are against the clock. Later you can refine and expand on your ideas.
SATs (small annoying todo’s)
SATs helps me tackle my squirrel brain. Before I started this system, I would be in the middle of doing something and another task would pop in my head and I’d fall down the rabbit hole. Now I use BRIGHT sticky notes to write down every thing that pops in my head so that I don’t get distracted. When I do this, I don’t task switch. I stay working on my task at hand, but know that I’ve written it down and I won’t forgot about it.
I schedule SAT tasks for Mondays and Fridays. These are the little tasks that aren’t urgent but need to get done. Things like dentist appointments, writing thank you’s, meal planning, etc. Then I block out an hour in my day on Mondays and Fridays to complete those small things. If necessary, I move these sticky notes from to week until completed.
TRACKING
it’s important to track each day so you can look back on it and check your progress. As business owners, you should be working towards a goal. Perhaps set up small incremental actions that can be done daily and tracked.
That’s it for today! I hope everyone is staying well, safe and inside. These are some strange times we are living in and look forward to the near future when we can say “remember the toilet paper shortage at COSTCO?”
Grow Your Business
Now that you're prepped for "shelter-in-place" and you have enough toilet paper, canned beans and wine to host a campout in your backyard (but you can't actually invite anyone over,) what will you do with all of your spare time??
Here's a few ideas:
1. Don't spend the entire time binge watching. Unless it's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. You should definitely binge watch that. Otherwise turn the tv off....especially the news! Listen to inspirational Ted Talks or podcasts.
2. Sit down with someone you care about and check out 36 questions to make you fall in love. These questions are a beautiful way to inspire deeper conversation.
3. Start meditating. It's a much better way to deal with anxiety or trouble sleeping than popping a pill. You can get started with guided meditations with the Meditation Oasis app.
4. Make a list of all of the crap you've told yourself you "don't have time to do" and do it. Clean out your closets. Empty your email inbox. Organize your pantry. HELLO Marie Kondo! Listen to her book on audible while your at it: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
5. LEARN something new. About tech. About yourself. About the people around you.
6. Practice GRATITUDE. Start a journal and each morning when you wake up write down at least 5 things you're grateful for.
7. Have Zoom dates with old friends and catch up. It's okay to wine and whine a little but be sure to share some positive stuff too!
8. Calling business owners - use this time to work on ways to grow your business in the coming months! One of the best ways? Visibility! Let's set up a Zoom call to chat about how I can help you create a fantastic library of personal branding images for you to share with the world.
9. Be that POSITIVE voice in the world. Think of 5 local small businesses that have made you happy recently. Go write them a positive review! Facebook, Google, Yelp - wherever you think it will help them best and get the most exposure.
10. And finally be of service to others. Ask around and see if there are any elderly or young but immune-compromised and at risk people in your area. I promise you there ARE! You just need to find them. Offer to bring them supplies. Shop for them. Pick up their prescriptions. Even just leaving a card on their door letting them know you're thinking of them will mean more than you can imagine!
I hope some of these inspired you! We will get through this!
Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce Photographer
I love my town of Pleasanton. I live here, my studio is here and it’s an honor to be Pleasanton’s favorite photographer. Thank you for such a nice article about me and my business written by the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce.
Realtor Personal Branding Photos
Meet Paul Kepler of the Kepler Group LTD - aka “The Protector.” (You really need to see his video - no really you do!) Paul is an independent insurance broker and senior living advocate. The best way to summarize Paul is in his answer when I asked him what his core values are. His response: honesty, integrity and doing the right thing all the time. And I can say from personal experience, that this is 100% true. He’s always serving his community. He’s an Ambassador with the Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce and on the Board of Directors for the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce.
Why do you do this type of work? My father passed away unexpectedly 25 years ago and left my mom with a great deal of debt. Unfortunately he didn't have a life insurance policy to help her financially. She struggled for years to make ends meet with a situation that was completely avoidable. Losing a loved one is traumatic enough, I want to help people avoid the same painful struggles she went through.
Describe your ideal client. Who are you hoping to connect with through your images? My ideal client is open to the concept of protecting themselves, those they love or their employees and is willing to take action steps to sleep better at night. I hope my images convey a message of connection. I am all about the relationship when it comes to helping others navigate the insurance landscape. I hope my images reinforce this ideal.
How does your client's life change after working with you? What's the outcome? The primary thing my clients tell me is they now have peace of mind. For example, putting protection in place after 10+ years of "I'll take care of it tomorrow" relieves a significant trigger point in their life.
What is your signature method or process? Tell us more about working with you. I like to meet with my clients face to face, get to know them, their goals, dreams and desires. Once we've identified hese points, we work together to tailor a solution unique to them.
What do you do for your clients that is unexpected? How do you make them feel special? Doing whatever it takes to help them. I can typically meet, research, apply and get a client coverage within a few weeks. However, there are cases that are more challenging resulting in longer approval times. For example, I've been working to find one particular client coverage for several months. I won't give up until I am able to find him a solution.
When people see your brand images, what do you want them to feel? I want people to feel like they are the only client I have. I want them to see experience, integrity and trust in my expression. I want them to know that I will do right by them.
Where do you draw your inspiration from? I draw my inspiration from my faith, life partner, family, friends and network. I also practice gratitude every day in every way; easier said than done. I feel very fortunate to have such amazing people around me.
What do you love to do outside of work that can give us a peek at who you are behind the scenes? I truly enjoy spending time with my life partner, family and friends. I love wine tasting, traveling, food experiences, golf and networking (I’m all about being a connector).
Learn more about Paul Kepler of the Kepler Group LTD.
Personal Branding Image Library
Meet Michelle King, one of our recent clients who was looking to create a library of images to use for her website and print collateral.
Why do you do this type of work? We live in a world where so many of our challenges feel overwhelming. I love connecting with people, meeting them where they are and helping them to navigate past their challenges to build a life that works for them.
Describe your ideal client. Who are you hoping to connect with through your images? My ideal client is someone who is ready to tackle their challenges (personal or professional), who is willing to become more self-aware through self-evaluation and exploration. I am hoping that people who are interested in coaching, leadership development, personal development or business development will see these images showing kindness, compassion. fun, and someone they can trust.
How does your client's life change after working with you? What's the outcome? That's my favorite part! When I work with a client they walk away with a plan they are excited about, tools to navigate future challenges and a greater sense of themselves.
What is your signature method or process? Tell us more about working with you. My signature method is called Crafting Your Personal Vision which begins by evaluating your satisfaction in different areas of your life, focusing on your values, and aligning them with your personal vision. At the end of the session you have developed a personal board of directors to support you in pursuing your vision. My method is solution-focused. What this means is that I help clients work on what they have control over in their lives and how they can get to a solution (or definitive steps toward the solution) in every session.
What do you do for your clients that is unexpected? How do you make them feel special? I am a certified Mindfulness instructor and a Connection Practice instructor so one of my specialties is helping clients find a way to incorporate mindfulness into their daily routine. As a Connection Practice teacher I can help them to learn how to resolve conflicts and develop their intuition. I also provide two services that help my clients feel truly heard - I send a follow-up email after each session with what we discussed and what we agreed they will be focusing on for the next week and I offer SOS sessions where a client can reach out to me to schedule a quick 15 minute session when they need some immediate help.
When people see your brand images, what do you want them to feel? I want people to feel that I am someone they can talk to easily, someone who will truly listen, care and help them to find their way.
Where do you draw your inspiration from? Everywhere! Honestly I am continually inspired by my clients, my friends, family and the world around me. Particular influences are individuals who have sought to help people feel more connected like Brene Brown, John Maxwell, Simon Sinek, and Martin Seligman to name a few.
What do you love to do outside of work that can give us a peek at who you are behind the scenes? I am a stained glass and mosaic artist. I have a workshop in my garage and about 6 projects that are in all states of development. I love using beautiful glass to create art pieces. I am also a writer, love to read (you should see my stack of books), and enjoy cooking. I'm a mom of six so family activities are important to me. My husband and I love to travel and our mutual passion is music festivals and concerts.
What the three core messages of your business? 1. Everything you need is already inside you. 2. Asking for help is a strength. 3. Together we can find the solutions
Learn more about Michelle King HERE.
Grandparent Photo Sessions
These sessions titled My First Best Friend originally started as my personal project. I felt a calling to photograph the unique relationship between and grandparent and a grandchild because I had a truly special relationship with my Grandmother. She has passed many many years ago, but thankfully through photographs I still see her everyday and I can even hear her laughter when I look at her picture.
I can’t tell you why it is truly so important to get my message out to people to take advantage of these portrait sessions. But it’s something I’m so passionate about.
You just never know how much time we will have on this earth with one another so do something special for you, for them, for your children and come in and see me. I promise, you will never regret having these portraits done.