Lightning Struck My Plane! 3 Ideas for Your Business During Coronavirus Uncertainty

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 

5 tips for writing your first book

Do you dream of writing a book? Writing a book is a huge way to set yourself apart as an expert, to share your message on a broader scale, and attract clients to your business. The word “author” has the same root as “authority” for a reason.

I believe if you’re feeling prompted to write, sharing that book inside you is one of the reasons you’re on this planet.  

I’m in the final publishing stage of my first book, the most transformative professional project I've taken on yet. (We’re talking, my-life-will-never-be-the-same kind of stuff, and a catalyst for why I cofounded www.themamaladder.com.)

Writing this book was more challenging and rewarding than my master’s thesis, which I wrote during maternity leave and I thought would kill me! So yeah, this 300-page baby means a whole lot to me.

FIRST, THE BACKGROUND STORY ON THIS BOOK

In summer 2016 I was commissioned to write a biography for Alan E. Hall. He’s well-known in northern Utah and beyond as serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and philanthropist. He has influenced thousands and thousands of people around the world as a caring employer, generous philanthropist, and inspiring leader.

We spent a year and a half meeting regularly for interviews for the book. There’s something sacred about hearing someone’s life stories like that. I got to know about the kid, teenager, young adult, and mature versions of Alan through his memories. And what I loved most of all was how he’s dedicated his life to GIVING BACK after finding his own business success.

5 TIPS TO HELP YOU WRITE A BOOK

His lessons have become intertwined into how I view the world, family, business, philanthropy, and most of all, myself. I’ll share some of those insights in another post, but for now, here are five tips to help YOU write your own book.

1.  BE PREPARED FOR SERIOUS MENTAL BLOCKS.

Any time you do anything important, you will have an internal struggle. It’s so much easier NOT to finish something hard. To tune out deadlines and binge on Netflix. To fill your life so full of commitments there is no room for creativity. For me, this internal struggle was painful. I fought with self-doubt, procrastination, and self-sabotage I couldn’t really understand.

 Thankfully, I read Stephen Pressfield’s landmark book, “The War of Art” during this project. I cannot recommend it more highly. Pressfield so eloquently identified my daily battles with inner Resistance—and then gave me tools to fight it. Some days Resistance won the battle. But I won the war.

2.  FOCUS. FOCUS. FOCUS.

The hardest part of writing a book was NOT the writing. It was forcing myself to focus. To carve out uninterrupted chunks of time where I could lose myself in the process. I deemed 2017 my year of “FOCUS” specifically because of this project.

I found a quiet, beautiful location in my local community without Internet where I couldn’t be distracted by email notifications, whining kids, or taunting piles of laundry. I’d go there, put in earplugs, and time myself for a three- or four-hour chunk of focused writing time.

3.  DOUBLE HOW LONG YOU THINK IT WILL TAKE.

Originally, I told Alan I thought I could write his book in nine months. That date came and went. Alan was patient with me, and happy with the chapters he’d seen so far, but I felt behind.

To give me some credit, I really didn’t know what I was in for. (And I made lots of mistakes. Once I accidently didn’t save a chapter, and 20 hours of work was gone!) It took 18 months before I sent Alan the final chapter to review. If possible, I highly recommend giving yourself ample time.

4.  SET MINI MILESTONES ALONG THE WAY.

During this process, the sheer personal effort reminded me of running a race. When I compete in triathlons or half marathons, I bring my whole self to races: physically, mentally, and emotionally. Writing a book was the same. For me, each of the 19 chapters was like passing a mile marker, one mile closer to the finish line. Without chunking it into mini milestones, I would have felt much more overwhelmed. Make sure to have little victories along the way.

5. BELIEVE YOU’RE WORTHY OF WRITING A BOOK—AND JUST START.

This is closely tied to mental blocks, but important enough to have its own bullet point. Sure, having a paying client forced me to face my own dreams (and demons). But now that I’ve written one book, I believe I’m worthy of it and hungry for more. It feels SO GOOD to get those words down.

I struggled with the thought, “Me? Are you sure you want me to write this?” but working through every page, paragraph, and sentence helped me see those insecurities for what they really are: excuses. The truth is, WHY NOT ME? And the same goes for you: WHY NOT YOU? Just start. Commit to finishing, and have someone important in your life hold you accountable.

Want to read Alan’s biography? For right now, it is not available for the public. It was written as a memoir for his family first, with the possibility of publishing in the future.

However, I’m currently working on my second book. It is written for YOU, the mom entrepreneur climbing after business dreams. This book “baby” is a labor of love and I can hardly wait to share it with you. (But first, let me double the time I think it will take me!) Sign up here for updates and to get a free chapter in the coming months.

Keep climbing,

Crystalee

Why Fear Can HELP You Progress in Business

Fear. It's a four-letter word. But then again, so is hope.

And FEAR doesn't need to stop you from starting or growing your business. No, Mama! 

In my recent interview with fabulous Monica Packer of the About Progress podcast, I shared my (ongoing) journey through fear as a mama business owner. 

She asked great questions and I was radically open and honest about what I've learned about fear, money, business, and motherhood ... addressing a lot of points from our 37-page, packed-full-of-goodness eBook, "The Mama's Guide: How to Embrace 7 Big Business Fears." (Which listeners get as a free gift!)

Listen in to hear:

• Why fear is a GOOD thing -- and you need to listen to it
• My biggest fear I am working through (even now!)
• Why money is not good OR bad 
• Practical tips on how you can embrace your fears and BE, DO, and CREATE more in your life

Listen here to the interview on the About Progress podcast >>

What fears are holding YOU back in business? Share below. There's power in telling your truth.