How I make it when the economy is being weird ðŸ«
[QUICK NOTE! This post is about how I've stood out when the economy turned down. That being said, I want to acknowledge that I have a lot of other things going for me besides strategy: luck / privilege / other factors beyond my control. That being said, I hope these stories about things within my control spark insights and ideas you can apply in your own way!]
I have always thrived during economic downturns.
I started college during the 2008 recession,
which meant I was graduating with a loooottt of student debt in 2012 (overpriced art school) and a pretty shit job market.
And yet -
On the day of my college graduation, I was told no thanks by JibJab in LA after 3 rounds of interviews (soooo close), but YES by Martha Stewart's digital arm in New York City, and YES by a local digital agency. (I went with the local digital agency).
Meanwhile, many of my peers had no job offers at all, let alone any interviews lined up - despite their massive talent and extremely expensive degree.
And the next year, while I was paying off massive chunks of my student loans with my new grown-up job, many of my friends were still without a job in their chosen industry.
This was not because I was the best and brightest in my class.
This is because some of my peers were moving with the same thought process as generations before: finish college = get a job.
I knew I would need more than a degree to get a job.
So, I spent all of my free time senior year HUSTLING. I applied to countless jobs and internships.
I also spent all of my college career BEEFING up my resume with as many projects as I could.
Anytime someone was doing something cool, I volunteered.
👉 "You're planning an event for college students at the art museum? Do you need a student ambassador to help plan and promote?"
👉 "You're making a short film? Do you need someone to co-produce?"
👉 "You're interviewing a local digital agency for a class project? Do you need someone to film while you do the interviews?"
(That last one is what landed me said fancy office job.)
Since then, I've survived a few other weird economic times:
2020 was my second-best year for revenue.
First best? This year.
Even though the economy is being weird again.
So what allows me to stand out during hard economic times?
I always remember one thing:
Money doesn’t disappear completely.
It’s just spent with more discernment.
In 2012, when I was graduating, companies were still hiring.
They were just hiring with more discernment because they had more applicants to choose from.
Your ideal clients are still out there.
They are just more discerning on how to invest in order to grow their business.
So what makes you the type of service provider that makes it through their filter of discernment?
ANSWER: An impeccable offer.
You need a strong and consistent process that you can talk about in your messaging and to your referral partners.
You need a client experience that impresses your clients so they tell all of their friends, and come back to you for more.
Your offer needs to be the one that's an easy "yes".
The first step to building out the systems for an offer that can withstand a weird economic year is mapping out your offer's process.
Process Mapping is the very first thing I do with clients when I am building them a streamlined system for their offer.
👀 Brings clarity to what’s really happening behind the scenes of your offer
âš¡ Pinpoints inefficiencies and gives you a clear plan to streamline
💻 Recommends tech to cut busywork and free you up for high-impact work
After Process mapping, you'll walk away with:
A Visual Map of your offer.
Ideas on how to make your process more efficient.
Tech recommendations!
👉 Ready to see what’s possible? Book your process mapping session here.
