3 Steps to Pivot Your Business or Freelance Career – Fast
Have you experienced a major lifestyle disruption and need to pivot your business or freelance career really, really fast? If you’re currently under pressure to get new clients, adapt your business offering and create income quickly, here are the three core steps I recommend following.
But before we dive in, I want to offer a reframe. You might be feeling panicked and overwhelmed at how little time you have to do this, and wish you had more space to really feel your way through this process, to do research, and take your time over decisions.
However, when we’re faced with an ambiguous or generous timeline for a major transition, it can hold us back from actually committing to taking action. Or we get distracted and end up investing time, energy and money into unnecessary tangents that don’t bring us closer to our true desire.
Consider this instead: you now have 15, 30, 60…? days to sprint towards your goal in a single-minded and determined fashion by focusing only on the essentials.
You are the right person for the right people. And somewhere out there, the right people are just waiting for what you have to offer.
Here’s how you can make it work in three steps:
Step 1 — Use the Goal-Setting-To-The-Now Framework to Work Backward From Your Goal
Think of all the steps you need to take to get you from A to B and list out everything you can think of: any admin and bureaucracy you need to take care of, conversations you need to be having, market research…all of it. Then draw yourself a timeline and start working backward to plot in all those milestones and tasks chronologically.
What should emerge is a pretty clear roadmap.
Next, analyze each of those tasks and break them down as far as you can into manageable action steps. Now you have your action plan.
When we need to make a huge leap in a small amount of time, it can feel incredibly overwhelming. But by breaking big things down into small things, we can focus our attention on one thing at a time. You take step one. Then you take step two. And then before you know it, you’re at step twenty.
Step 2 — Get Crystal Clear on Your Offer
Where can your unique combination of strengths, skills, and experience meet an emerging unmet need at this time?
Here’s one of the hidden benefits of being forced to pivot so fast. The number one reason that new businesses fail is that they are not clear on the market for their offer. The cause? Entrepreneurial people falling so deeply in love with their own idea that they never test its viability. Good news: You don’t have that luxury. So you won’t fall into that trap.
Here’s what you’re going to do instead:
Do an inventory of your strengths and skills (the free High5 strengths test might be very helpful). Think beyond what you normally do for work. Every person and business has a unique set of strengths and skills you may not have been directly paid for before but could be incredibly relevant today in the context of a specific problem or industry.
Ask yourself: How might I increase the power of this strength? What uses of this skill have I not applied yet? Now come up with imaginative and creative ways to apply your strengths to the current situation. Challenge yourself to write 20 ways you could apply this strength to different problems, industries or situations. Then pick two or three that make you feel excited.
Don’t believe you have any ‘essential’ skills or valuable strengths?
Not true. First — look at the evidence. Follow the news, particularly the business pages. Where are the current struggles or shortages? The success stories? Use the power of your intuition to imagine possible scenarios. What kind of company might need more hands-on-deck? Who might need your skills who have never needed them before? What kind of individual is suddenly under an incredible amount of stress and strain and needs help relieving it?
Really use your imagination here. This might involve coming up with a service you’ve never offered before, or even seen anywhere else. All normal rules do not apply.
Here are the key things you need to keep in mind as you’re designing or adapting your offer:
Who is the target client?
Which marketing channels and approaches will you use to reach them?
What pain points are they experiencing and how does this service provide the solution?
What are the top 3 benefits they can expect from using this service?
How will the service work from a delivery point of view?
Step 3 — Be Direct in Your Marketing Messaging
People only buy things that feel urgent and compelling. So how will you communicate that?
When crafting your pitch or your value proposition, be direct and clear: speak to the pain points your potential client or employer are likely experiencing in this unique time, and show how you could use your strengths and skills to help them overcome them. Do not expect someone to go hunting all over your website or LinkedIn page to put two and two together — nobody has time for that.
Need help writing a powerful value proposition? Get my free, 5-part course on how to create yours in relation to 5 key human needs.
Do your research on that company or person and offer examples of specific problems you could solve for them. Don’t just say “Hi, I do X job and I’m available.” Available for what? Spell it out. Point out missed opportunities, technical errors that are currently costing them, and ways they are leaving money on the table. Demonstrate, don’t just talk about, your expertise.
98% of people right now are asking clients or employers to solve their problem (ie. they need money to pay the bills). Be one of the 2% who demonstrates that you’re ready to solve your clients’ problems. Your words mean more than ever. Choose them wisely.
(Quick Tip — Highlighter test: When writing your pitch, highlight all the times you talk about yourself and all the times you write about them in different colors. Compare. You want to see far more of the colour you’ve used to highlight where you talk about them.).
If you are stressed about having to make a quick change in your life or business, I hoped this has helped somewhat. Please remember this: you don’t need the bells and whistles in place to take action. You don’t need a fancy website. You don’t need a great business name or a cool logo. You don’t need to have 10 years of experience. You just need to show up with whatever you have that is useful and relevant at this time and put it in front of the people who need it urgently.
What works best in times of crisis and uncertainty?
Embodied leadership. Radical empathy. Owning our vulnerability. Listening to our intuition. Imagination, solidarity, honesty. In short, being as human as we can.
Now, more than ever, is the time to trust in yourself. This is your chance to show what you’re truly made of; to step up and lead by modeling what a new way of working, collaborating and doing business can look like.
You are the right person for the right people. And somewhere out there, the right people are just waiting for what you have to offer.
I’m Imogen, and as a Strategy Coach, I help entrepreneurial people lead their businesses to success with personalised and powerful marketing, sales and productivity strategies.
If you are stressed about having to make a change in your life or business, book a free call with me today to discuss my ‘Fastest Path to Cash’ coaching workshops.
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