Are You Ready To Get Back To Business?

What a crazy month! Anyone else feeling a little like it’s about 2/3 of the way through peak wedding season?

You know, the time when you’re just trying to keep your head on straight and nose above the water line. The time when you lose track of what day of the week or month it is? The time when you’re not sure you can make it the last little bit to reach the end?

But it's only April!!!
 
The crappy part about the position we’re all in right now is that unlike peak wedding season, we don’t know when the 2020 pandemic is going to end.

Trying to decide what the solutions are to the riddles we’re dealing with is, in the words of Tom Robbins, “like betting on a dark horse in a race that has no finish line.”  
 
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
 
You can’t predict the future, but you can prepare for it
 
A month ago, you were hoping that your state would be spared any restrictions on gathering sizes under 250 people.
 
Three weeks ago, you were scrambling to reschedule postponed weddings that were on the books through mid-May.
 
Two weeks ago, you were wondering how long you were going to be stuck inside your house when the orders came in from the governor of whatever state you’re in.
 
Last week, you were skimming the CARES Act to see if and how you could get some of the funds going to small business owners and independent contractors.
 
Today, you are…
 
What are you doing today?
 
It’s a good question, because the answer’s not easily apparent. The thing about a crisis is you’re often doing what you’re doing because it’s the biggest, hottest, fastest growing fire in your business that’s on fire all over the place.
 
Clients who have to cancel their event that’s next week? Let’s find a date for them.
 
Couples who need to postpone into the summer, fall or even 2021? Let’s think about rescheduling and how to price dates.
 
Contracts not working for rescheduling? Time to get an attorney or trusted colleague’s template.
 
People don’t want to pay you now so your bank account is getting low? Think about reducing expenses.

Inquiries stop coming in? Best look at unemployment, loans and grants from the federal government in the CARES Act. 
 
When will Q1 priorities end?
 
If you’re a Stephen Covey guru, President Eisenhower fan, or understand time management basics, you know an easy way to organize your to-dos is based on a quadrant approach with urgent and important as the two axes. (If you’re not familiar with it, click here to see what I’m talking about.)
 
It’s clear we’ve all been operating in Q1 (important and urgent) for the past month. Normally, I’d raise my eyebrows and/or get serious heartburn if you were spending a bunch of time with Q1 activities, because it’s usually an indicator of poor planning. But what we’ve been dealing with is absolutely unavoidable. 
 
It’s 100% understandable to have been in this area for such a long time. 
 
And it’s not just with our businesses, it’s with our lives in general, too. Getting food (and TP), cleaning supplies, checking on family, homeschooling kiddos, and so many more things that’ve needed immediate attention over the past month.
 
Many wedding pros are still working through Q1 priorities – and you should too until they’re all taken care of.
 
It might be time to dive into Q2 activities
 
Proponents of the Eisenhower matrix know it’s not ideal to live in Q1 for long.

The most valuable commitment you can make to your company is spending as much time as possible in Q2 (important but not urgent work). 
 
While Eisenhower and Covey referred to this quadrant as the “Plan” matrix, today we call it “working on our business, not in our business.” This is also where you’d put “deep work,” if you include that in your regular schedule.
 
A simple goal for every wedding pro right now is to get out of Q1 and into Q2. It’s where your most important work gets done, and it’s the kind of work you’ve got to be in a good headspace to do well.
 
Are you ready?
 
Many wedding pros are there, ready to go, eager to move on. You want to put the panic and loss behind you, and now get your business set up for success. If you are, sign up for our free group coaching to learn what you should be doing right now to get ready for another round of 2020 rescheduling and new 2021 bookings.
 
But many of you aren’t there yet – and that’s perfectly fine too. We’re doing our Instagram morning show every weekday between 7:30-8am PDT to talk about how things are going and provide support in key areas. We hope you'll join us for all the feelings that come up during these hard times.
 
Everyone grieves in different ways. You do you.

We’ll be there for you no matter what…