Episode 10: How to Pivot Your Personal Styling Business During a Crisis

Happy Wednesday everyone. I’m interrupting our series of espies to talk to you about COVID-19 and address the global crisis and #WFH (work from home). 

By the time you listen to this, we’ll be 1-2 weeks into self-quarantine for COVID-19 in 2020, and some states in the US may have already implemented mandated quarantine (I’m recording this on 3/18). 

If you’re a stylist already in The Founders Club, then  you have already been getting support from our community, and putting in place different ways of working (going virtual, creating community offerings, and smaller service packages) as it’s been the only thing they can do. 

If you’re NOT in The Founders Club, you may be a little lost as to what to do. You may be freaking out. And I want you to STOP. Take three deep breaths. And tell yourself how grateful you are for this time to innovate, to think outside of the box, and to hunker down and work on your business.

While this is in response to COVID-19, the four things I’m going to share with you can apply to your business at any point in time when we are facing a crisis - that could be a recession, shooting, or another virus outbreak. 

As humans we are SO flexible and adaptable and I see this as just one more way we can truly learn how to choose wisely as to what media we are consuming in order to protect our own energy, but also to protect our clients and project an energy of hope, forward thinking, and professionalism.

So, let’s talk about 4 things you can do to pivot your business during a crisis. 

1. Don’t discount your services.

Discounting services was RAMPANT during the first initial week of COVID-19 and I’m sure you either offered a freebie yourself or thought about what discount you could give on your services to attract clients.

STOP - this is a scarcity mindset and it won’t serve you. Now -I want to make a clear distinction here. Not every discount is bad. Not every free service is bad. But it DOES matter where that energy is coming from - if you are discounting from a place of scarcity - that’s no good. If you are truly considering how you can serve your community and feel called to give a discount or a freebie and feel GOOD vibes about it - then go ahead. 

But you ALSO have a business to run, yourself and possibly a family to sustain. There are people out there who want to support you - let them!
I’ll give an example. I had planed to relaunch my online style course Style Camp in Fall 2020. But I figured people might want it! I launched it at full price, but also offered 3 scholarships - in order to gain access, you could nominate someone and then I would choose. That felt aligned with how I wanted to give back while still giving people an opportunity to learn from me without discounting my services. 

2. Create smaller, more niche offerings at a lower price point that lead in to your larger packages.

Okay - here’s where you get to have some fun! While I firmly believe that there are people who will still be your full paying clients, this can also be a good time to create NEW content / material that support your existing services and in fact, LEAD UP TO your other packages. 

Example: create a PDF guide or smaller video course or package that is very specific such as: how to find the right jeans for your body type or how to pick the right swim suit for your body type. Launch this at a lower price point and go ham on marketing it and selling it. 

This is also a great way for clients to get a taste of how you work and they may find they NEED and WANT you to come do your deep style stuff with them.

3. Use down time to your advantage. 

Any down time that you have (NOT just a crisis) is a great time to start and FINISH a big project you’ve been thinking of. I am a huge proponent of the 90 day project - the idea is that if you can’t create and finish a project in 90 days, then you’re either procrastinating too much, wasting time, or it’s not the project for you. This typically means, you need to stop doing 20 things at a time and never finishing them, and stick to your one thing so you actually finish.

4. Create sustainable income streams that do not rely on in person appointments. 

Ya’ll - it’s time to get online. This doesn’t have to mean creating a whole course. But it does mean you need to figure out Zoom, figure out how to clean out a closet while not being there, and how to run a fitting over the internet.

It’s truly not rocket science and it can be done. HUNDREDS of stylists are doing it every day and I hope you are one of them.

If you’re not - then you may be FORCED to be doing it right now and guess what? Now is the best time. You’re getting to learn IN REAL TIME with real clients while getting paid. Honestly that’s a dream!

If you’re listening and found this helpful, I would love if you screen shot and share - tag me @chicstripes and let’s build our community together. See you next week.

Listen Q:

@bernadetteball said: “San Francisco, CA is in lockdown. No-one can leave the house for 3 weeks except food delivery.”

The obvious question here is what to do. Every situation, market and person will be different. I believe we are all hopeful that we’ll maintain or create a new normal - that may be working at home for a lot of people. So how can you adapt to those people? The points in today’s podcast speak to that - adapt services or messaging or find another way to deliver services to your clients.