“It’s okay to modify things. It doesn’t need to always be business as usual. In fact, I would recommend to people, if you’re really worried about how to show up, how to sell, how to market right now, just be giving… Be a giver.”
~Sami Gardner, Career Specialist
Life in the time of Covid-19. Whether you’re brainstorming a complete personal website rebrand or nesting under a pile of bread-baking cookbooks, one thing is certain in these uncertain times: the world of work has been radically altered.
How do creatives greet these changes? Where do they find new opportunities? Who can they turn to for help?
Sami Gardner is a digital nomad, podcast host, and career specialist for the gig economy. With her guidance, thousands of professionals have developed their networks, reinvented their revenue streams, and generally recession-proofed their careers. With the current crisis grounding Sami to her family’s home in Tucscon, AZ, she’s taken the forced time-out to assess all aspects of her business before the next challenge hits – namely, a virus-prompted recession. She shares some pro-tips with The Creative Impostor that you can put into practice today, tomorrow, or whenever you’ve recouped enough stamina to look ahead.
As someone who prides herself on working several revenue streams across multiple countries, the pandemic forced Sami to pivot hard. She’s cancelled upcoming career-boot-camp programs with NomadFest and retooled once-evergreen content to better address the new reality.
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“We’re all nesting in different ways. I’ve done the physical get my stuff sorted but the nesting that I’ve been doing recently is all the stuff for my business. Cause I do see the recession coming ahead… [it’s] time to shore up all your reserves.”
~Sami Gardner
Sami balances maximizing this odd downtime with a version of self-care that fits her personality. Boxed wine and video games help her recharge. Common-sense business strategies keep her business afloat while she navigates uncharted economic waters. Reconnecting with past clients is a familiar lead generation task. Today, however, calls for lower expectations. In her own recent experience, Sami notes that clients aren’t as quick to return calls as they previously had; an understandable byproduct of the pandemic and one that requires greater compassion on all sides.
One of my favorite Sami-approved tactics for amplifying your humanity is to become a giver. She advocates for live streams in which a charity is spotlighted and content is given away for free. It’s a low-grade way for entrepreneurs to stay relevant in people’s feeds and do good in the process.
The bottom line is, while this isn’t the perfect time to reinvent a business, it’s the time we’ve been given. How can you make the most of it and stay sane in the process?
If you need to take time out before you answer for a bubble bath or your favorite video game, that’s okay, too.
Connect With Sami
You’re invited to celebrate 100 episodes with me!
Here’s how…
- Go to thecreativeimpostor.com/titlelist.
- Pick one of the episode titles listed there that resonates with you — it could be because you listened to that episode and it pinged something for you — or maybe you didn’t even listen to the episode, it’s just the phrase that holds some meaning.
- Write (200-300 words) or record audio (2-3min) -ish of a short story about how that phrase, idea, episode either influenced you or has shown up for you in your creative life or work. You don’t need to do any editing. Even just a voice memo on your phone will be great.
- Email it to me andrea@thecreativeimpostor.com ASAP!
I know, I know, if you are not already a podcaster, recording your voice for public consumption may feel terrifying. Let me assure you that since you are a part of The Creative Impostor community, your story is going to be relevant to other listeners in this community. If you share genuinely and authentically you will get nothing but love and knowing head nods back.
Also sharing your insights, wins, fears, major failures, resilience, discoveries can be SO liberating and affirming. (truthfully, this is one of the main reasons I podcast.)
And if you really want to contribute but you still feel too uncomfortable, you can always ask me to read or play your story anonymously.
Of course if you want to shout your website, blog, etsy shop, podcast etc from the rooftops, include where we can find you so I can shout it from the rooftops!
Connect with me!
Email or Voice andrea@thecreativeimpostor.com
Facebook Group The Creative Impostor
Facebook Page @andreaklunder.creative
Instagram: @andreaklunder
LinkedIn: @andreaklunder (I only accept connections from people I actually know, so include a message to say you’re a Creative Impostor listener.)
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