Hey.
When you love what you do, it’s easy to want to immerse yourself in your business. To disappear into client work, or your website messaging, or coming up with new programs, and ignore everything else.
And yet, our businesses exist in a larger world that we can’t ignore. And right now, the world we live in is heartbreaking. George Floyd, Minneapolis, and so many more…
If you have a sensitive bone in your body, it’s easy to wonder, “How can I focus on my business when there’s so much awfulness going on in the world?”
So I want to share something I wrote after the Kavanaugh Supreme Court appointment (remember when we thought things couldn’t get worse?). It rings just as true now, about WHY it’s important to continue to get new clients, even when the world sucks.
This week we saw a white woman call the cops on a black man who was birdwatching, knowing full well that by simply alleging “he’s attacking me”, she would be believed and he would not. And we saw a black man die on camera at the hands of a white man whose job is to protect people.
Before that, it was the video of Amaud Arbery getting killed for jogging. The week before that, another instance. And before that, another.
Black people can’t safely read a book in their own car (Keith Scott), be in their own apartment (Botham Jean and Atatiana Jefferson), sleep in their own bed (Breonna Taylor), go to church (The Charleston 9), walk down the street (Trayvon Martin), play with a toy (Tamir Rice), or apparently, look at birds…
…without being antagonized, met with brutality that results in fatalities, or simply outright killed. And these are just some of the ones that we’re aware of. There are thousands of others.
It’s easy to say, “This isn’t us.” But the truth is, it is us. It always was us. It’s not getting worse, it’s just getting filmed.*
And now we’re seeing what happens when you ignore, silence, deny, brutalize, and kill people for generations. The voices of the unheard are making themselves heard.
And this? What’s going on now in cities across the country? It’s our fault.
We have had more opportunities than we can count — years worth of opportunities — to demand the end of this injustice. Our elected leaders have had years worth of opportunities to do something about it. The people that those leaders appoint, they have had more than enough opportunities too.
We all need to do better. As a white woman, I need to do better.
By advocating hard against injustice at all levels. Voting with my dollars more often, as well as with my vote. Studying this chart and seeing what acts I am guilty of overlooking, and committing to calling out all of it when I see it. Having tough conversations.
I want to say to the women of color who are reading this: I’m sorry for the pain and you are experiencing (and have experienced countless times.) I’m sorry we keep failing you.
Many of you will be nodding your head right now, but in case you’re someone who’s thinking, “don’t bring politics into business,” I have news for you: politics affects every business, and how you run your business, every single day. And big companies and industry associations spend huge sums lobbying to make it easier to do their business.
As a business owner, just look at how you’re taxed, who you can hire, how you get healthcare, or how PPP loans are distributed. Politics is already in business.
And politics is already here, in my coaching practice.
Having a point of view that black lives matter is no more political than a point of view encouraging women empowerment, helping women achieve financial independence, or saying that LGBTQ people should have equal rights. My coaching practice already was political, it just might not have been the type of political you like.
But back to why we’re here.
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It can be hard to stay focused on work when the world is burning. It can be hard to continue to build your business when it seems like other things are more important.
That’s why I thought it’s the right time to remind us all of WHY it’s important to continue to get new clients, even when the world sucks.
Here’s the piece I wrote.
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Why you need to get new clients (even when the world sucks)
Originally published after the Kavanaugh Supreme Court appointment.
If you’re anything like me, the past couple of weeks have been pretty tough. Hell, the past 19 months have been pretty terrible. (UPDATE: now 40 months)
But especially the past several days, with news that makes us question who we are as a country, and the near-constant assault on our collective humanity.
So in the face of all this, you might think, “How could I even focus on learning how to get new clients when the world feels like it’s going to shit?”
If you feel this way, you’re not alone. Even I feel it, and I’m the one teaching this stuff.
But here’s why I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, even when everything sucks.
Reason #1: Because we need to control what we can.
Right now, so much feels out of our control. And in the face of that, we need to control what we can. And for us business owners, that means our businesses.
We can do great work. We can make a difference in our client’s worlds. We can find fulfillment in practicing our craft, whatever our craft may be. We can put our personal philosophy out into the world.
And to do that, we need clients. And not just clients that are ‘good enough’. We need the ones that fuel our soul. Because when the world feels like it’s going to shit, and our soul feels empty, we need to fill it up however we can.
That’s why I’m going to keep teaching you exactly how to get new clients that you want for your business. There’s enough out there to make you feel frustrated, just scroll Facebook for 10 seconds. Getting new clients shouldn’t be frustrating too.
Reason #2: Because I want you to make a shitload of money.
That’s right. Tons. Because I want you — all of us — to donate to the causes, organizations, and candidates we care about. If you’ve been hanging out in, “I don’t need to make that much money”-land, it’s time to move out and move up.
That’s why I’m committed to teaching you how to get paid bigger numbers for every. single. client. project.
My student Marcia raised her prices 66%, Allyson doubled her fees, and Megan tripled her price for her latest gig… and in each case, the clients said yes. This is what we’re talking about. Money is power, and we all need more of it.
(UPDATE: Last week, one of my SIGNED students just signed a 6-figure contract for a six-month project. That’s what I’m talking about.
When you can make more money, you can support the causes you care about, help elect the leaders you care about and create the world you want to see.
That’s why this week I’ve made donations to The George Floyd Memorial Fund to honor George Floyd’s memory, The National BailOut Project, to free people whose only reason for staying in jail is not having enough disposable income, and Amy McGrath of Kentucky so she can unseat Mitch McConnell in the upcoming election.)
Reason #3: Because we are in this together.
When I’m scared, my natural inclination is to clam up and close off. But that’s not what we need right now. We need to be here for each other. With each other.
So that’s why I’m committed to showing up for you, with you. To help you get the clients you want, so you can do the work you want, so you can make the money you want. So in this time of utter craziness, your business becomes your happy place. The place where you can effect change.
I’ll be with you in the Facebook group. I’ll be with you step-by-step in the programs I offer.
I hope you’ll be with me too. Because none of us is going to get through this alone. But we are going to get through it.
Leah
