everything changed in 2020

Everything changed in 2020 and I know that this year has been tough for many people.

I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t have my moments of frustration, anxiety and despair.  Literally everything changed.  Our freedom of movement, home environments, social interactions, businesses, and more.

But overall, despite the craziness of the world around us, this season has been really good for me.

This isn’t meant to be boastful.

But I am hoping that some of the things I’ve learned this year can help you and your business, too.

my life was chaotic

Prior to March 2020, my life was chaotic.

I was running two business – this one and the Afri-love Connection Club (a membership network for female founders).

My calendar of events, workshops, courses and more was planned out for the entire year. I felt so organised and energised.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like everything was moving in a positive direction and that 2020 would be MY year. It was all falling into place.

Or so it seemed.

but then everything changed

Everything changed.  For all of us.

Once the first case was diagnosed in Kenya, my business partner and I decided to halt all activities of the Afri-love Connection Club and freeze the memberships of those currently in the Club.

Our business model was entirely based around things that were no longer allowed – in-person meetings, events and social gatherings.

Freezing membership bought us some time to figure things out. We didn’t want to make any quick decisions without considering all of our options. But it also meant that we could no longer rely on this revenue stream.

so I put all of my attention towards my coaching business

I looked for opportunities to be of value to my audience of small business owners, wherever possible.

I delivered some relevant workshops around working from home, business continuity and financial management.

Some of my offerings moved completely online.

I designed a completely new offering to help you attract customers and make sales.

And I secured some one-to-one clients in my signature program.

My revenue has certainly been much much less than I’d estimated at the start of the year. But I’ve felt surprisingly calm about it all.

you see, I was raised in a household where money scarcity was always an issue

I watched my mom work 5 jobs, just to have enough to pay all the bills and pull herself out of debt. And because of this, I’ve always held on to extra (maybe too much) cash, in both my personal and business accounts.

This emergency fund can cover at least 6 months of my expenses (sometimes longer, but never less!).

And this emergency fund means that I can make decisions about my life and my business from a rational place rather than one of panic.

I could take time to consider the opportunities in front of me.

I could consider what I truly wanted.

And rather than go after anything that seemed like it could be viable, I could be more strategic about it.

so I made a big decision

I decided to simplify everything.

I simplified the crazy lifestyle that I thought I loved so much, but was really wearing me down.

Instead of being on the road every 3 weeks, I spent 150 days at home (and then had to escape to the coast for a bit, because the sea is good for my soul!). And who knows how many hours I have saved by not being stuck in Nairobi traffic!

I simplified other parts of my schedule by making dedicated time daily for focused work, during my most productive hours.

My availability for (online) meetings became limited to 2-3 days per week, so that I could have uninterrupted time to work on my business.

I simplified my workload by hiring two assistants.  They have taken on many of the tasks that were not a good use of my time and, quite honestly, drained all my energy and motivation.

I simplified my diet by following a simple keto diet and meal prepping at the start of the week. This has helped me to stop wasting time during the working day trying to figure out what to eat and then preparing it.

I simplified my social life by removing any relationships that felt superficial or one-sided.

and I’m in the process of really simplifying my business

Over these past months, I’ve designed and implemented new processes and systems.

I’ve automated a bunch of tasks so my intervention is no longer needed.

And I’ve delegated so much stuff to my assistants, so I can really focus on the work that I am great at!

but part of simplifying business also meant making some hard decisions

And to let go of the things that were no longer working.

Everything changed around me, so I needed to embrace it rather than fight it.

One of those hard decisions has been to close down the Afri-love Connection Club. During our two years of running the Club, we had the honour of supporting hundreds of women to create the life and businesses of their dreams.

But our business model was not scalable in its previous format. And I just couldn’t get excited by the thought of creating an online membership model and trying to differentiate ourselves from the other offers already out there.

it was a sad decision to make

It is always hard to let go of things that we love. But sometimes it is absolutely necessary to let go of things, in order to make room for new opportunities.

So I’m going all in on Step & Stone. No more distractions. No more competition for my time, energy and focus.

And it’s scary!

Because over the coming months, I’ll be designing a new offering that will ultimately replace everything else that I currently sell.

Everything.

I’ll share all the details in time, but for now I will leave you with this…it will be all about simplicity – in life and in business!

over to you…

I’d love to hear from you.

What parts of your life or business do you need more simplicity in? Let us know in the comments below and I’ll create some new resources to help you achieve simplicity.