Years ago I was working the friendly skies as a flight attendant and lightning struck our plane at 30,000 feet. It was loud, made a metallic zing and flash of light that hit hard and fast. I was walking down the aisle, delivering peanuts, pretzels, and cookies. We were all stunned.
Babies started crying. Adults started hyperventilating.
My heart pumped faster, seeing dozens of passengers look up at me. The gal with the wings on.
I knew in that moment I had to keep my cool, not matter how freaked out I felt. I called the cockpit, and the pilot told me our engines were OK and we might have to make an emergency landing in closeby city.
Then in one of my greatest acting moments, I made my announcement with a stone face and confident voice:
"Ladies and gentlemen, yes that was lightning that struck our plane. The pilot has everything under control and is in contact with Air Traffic Control. We will all be OK. The best thing we can do is stay calm."
I didn't know if I believed it myself, but I'll never forget that feeling of responsibility to help others in a scary moment.
I feel it now, as I type these words to you.
We're facing unprecedented days right now for small business owners. I'm not alone in saying I never would have guessed in a million years that we'd see what's happened in the past 36 hours.
Schools closed. Disneyland closed. NBA games stopped. Churches cancelled. National emergencies declared.
The world is put on pause for coronavirus to pass.
We could swap stories all night about cancelled trips, lost money, broken dreams, and bad timing.
But ultimately, we're all on the "plane" together, journeying along this crazy ride of life. And we WILL be OK, even if we may feel stunned by the impact right now.
⚡ CONSIDER THESE 3 IDEAS FOR YOUR BUSINESS DURING CORONAVIRUS UNCERTAINTY:
1. For service-based companies: Most corporations will have a hiring freeze right now. If you need more clients, look for companies advertising for full-time workers who have your skills. For example, if you do SEO, look for companies who need an SEO Specialist. They may not be able to hire someone, but they likely still need the work done. Now is a time to offer your services as an "interim" outsourced solution.
2. For product-based companies: Think about for-profit organizations who could use your products right now, in bulk. For example, my friend Alyson sells adorable newborn graduation outfits at Kinder Keepsakes. She could reach out to hospitals right now because maternity ward mothers are not getting their normal number of visitors and likely feel super stressed. She can offer her beautiful products as a special gift for hospitals to offer mamas of itty bitty patients. (Again, be really genuine about this. It's filling a need, adding extra help where you can with the fabulous products you've made for the world!)
3. For every mama business owner: Be really, really gentle with yourself right now. We're all in this together. Everyone is hurting in some way. This will pass. And if we're looking for them, there are opportunities for each of our businesses right now. So like I said when I was a flight attendant, We will all be OK. The best thing we can do is stay calm."
(I will confess I've eaten an ungodly amount of Ruffles potato chips the past day. Comfort food, baby!)
Healthy vibes to you and yours,
Crystalee
