Business Development

When you bring up the terms “bear market” or “recession,” a lot of people want to just avoid the topic altogether. Business owners don’t want to think about it until they absolutely have to, but this head-in-the-sand approach creates a scenario where you have to be reactive rather than proactive and prepared…and that’s not a great place to be! 

In this episode, we’re going to help you create a plan and feel SECURE in your business, no matter what the market does or how your industry changes.

You don’t have to come up with a buttoned-up plan or completely restructure your business in a bear market, but this is the time to take a step back and look at the changes happening in your industry. NOW, before sh*t hits the fan, is the time to plan out how to market and/or pivot your business going into a recession and adjust to the changing climate.

Step 1 is to create a threshold for survival; essentially, get an idea of how much revenue your business needs to survive at the bare minimum. 

Next, we’re going to make a variety of worst-case scenario plans: what happens when business goes down 10%, 20%, 50%? Make an A, B, and C plan for these scenarios so you have a solid plan of what to do if these situations arise!

-What expenses can you trim back?

-Who do you have working for you and who do you need at different levels of business?

-What additional tasks do YOU need to take on without driving yourself into the ground?

Why do we do this? To help our brains feel SAFE. If the worst-case scenario does happen, you already have a plan, a safety net of how you’ll survive and you don’t have to go into panic mode. 

Another aspect to evaluate during a bear market or recession is your marketing; look, I know we run a marketing agency so this might seem a bit biased…but PLEASE don’t eliminate marketing until you absolutely have to!

Marketing is like your main source of food for your business; why would you cut off the source that’s feeding you? It might seem like you should spend less on marketing during a recession, but large companies actually DOUBLE their marketing budget during recessions; why? Advertising becomes cheaper, there’s way less competition, and there’s a HUGE opportunity to gain ground in the market! 

Here are some ideas of how to take advantage of marketing in a bear market:

-Create evergreen ads that you can turn off/on

-Turn up/down your ad spend depending on how much business you’re in need of

-Take advantage of low/no-cost networking and marketing opportunities!

It’s as simple as this: you can’t turn off your marketing and expect your business to grow. 

Lastly, think about how your clients and customers are working through these same things; look into what their pain points and struggles are and utilize their language and their mindset to get their attention. 

Tune in to the full episode for more tips and information on how to best prepare your business for any upcoming recession. 

Need help putting together a plan? Download our free bear market guide at theminacompany.com/bear-market-guide-freebie/

The absolute worst thing: You booked a networking event a few weeks back; The day of the event is here and you’re on your period, you have no energy, and you simply just DON’T want to be there. Sound familiar? Let me introduce the concept of cycle mapping.

I spent YEARS fighting to work against my cycle and my body’s natural rhythms and let me tell you…it’s rough! Our world was designed with a man’s 24-hour cycle in mind but as women, we have a 28-day cycle that dictates our energy, focus, and strengths on any given day. The solution? Cycle mapping!

Cycle mapping is a way of tuning into and embracing the different phases of your cycle so that you can utilize your cycle to work FOR you rather than fighting against it. Sounds pretty dreamy, right?! It’s not as woo-y as it may sound and it’s not that challenging either; in fact, once you start embracing your feminine flow and energy you’ll realize that it actually makes life and work a lot easier! 

As a business owner, cycle mapping can totally transform how you support your business and your team. In today’s episode, I’ll teach you the basics of how to determine your feminine and masculine energy, take advantage of the peaks and valleys of your energy & focus, and batch your work to make the most out of your cycle.

Need a quick overview of the phases of your cycle & how they play into your business? Look no further!

Menstrual: a time to slow down & rest; this is when ideas flow!

Follicular: energy is building; the time to make plans & schedule, carry out new ideas

Ovulatory: your energy is at its peak; the time to be seen & be social

Luteal: energy is dropping; the time to wrap things up & finish projects

Listen in for more tips and tricks on how to best utilize each phase of your cycle and optimize your energy!

Resources referenced:

“In the Flow” by Alissa Vitti 

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I’m Erica: agency owner, girl mom, and ultimate hype girl for female business owners.

I’m starting this podcast to teach you the actuals of how to start a marketing agency.

Learn how to start your own successful marketing agency and strategically outsource immediately – yes, that means you don’t have to do everything on your own, even as you’re just starting out!

This episode is all about me (yikes!), but I think it’s important for me to tell my story despite the discomfort I feel in recording a full episode about myself! I love learning about other people, hearing their stories, and discovering how they tackled all they’ve accomplished. So today I’m documenting my own journey into entrepreneurship; it’s one riddled with trauma and grief but also with so much joy and growth. 

If you’re interested in hearing how one agency owner got started, tune in! 

What drove me into entrepreneurship was a time when both my work and personal life came crashing down, from caring for a sick parent to a complicated pregnancy and even getting laid off, it felt like my world was ending…so I had to create a new one. 

My first step? I made a list. I made a list of local businesses that I loved and saw potential in, got vulnerable, and asked if they would consider letting me do freelance marketing for them. 

I didn’t have business cards, a website, a portfolio, anything! I started simply with what I had and gave my ALL to the clients who would take me. The most amazing thing? It worked! 

Despite the blows that life continued to throw at me (and trust me, there were a LOT!), I slowly grew my client base and, eventually, a full agency. But truthfully, the only reason that this business survived and grew in the way that it did was because of the structure I set up in those first few months. The structure is what saved me when life was too much, and THAT is what I’m aiming to teach any freelancer who dreams of owning their own agency. You deserve to have both financial and time freedom, and friend? It is truly possible; it’s not just a pipedream. 

My goal is to get you to make the leap to agency owner. If you feel scared, trust me, I get it! When I got started, all I had was a spreadsheet, a resume, and a prayer; if I can do it, you can too. 

Links mentioned: 

1:1 Freelancer to Agency Owner Coaching

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