This year started full of promise for us as independent consultants – 2020 a new decade. I did my business and life planning, setting ambitious and exciting goals against emerging but distant news of a virus. Little did I know the impact that it would have on us in the UK.
I was explicit about wanting to do more international travel, so I could meet with clients in their environment. I managed to squeeze in a flying visit to the US. That time spent face to face has definitely helped me to work more effectively with those people since. Sadly, I don’t think I, or anyone else, will be doing much business travel anytime soon. I hope some travel will return though. Of course we have to be mindful of the environment but we also need to continue to understand different countries and cultures. I’m a huge fan of virtual working but nothing beats visiting in real life.
Early in the pandemic, I found that regular calls with my corporate clients brought a feeling of normality. Lockdown has also changed business dynamics. Often I’m the unusual one who is ‘dialling in’ remotely while everyone else is in a corporate office. Now we’re all joining meetings from home. Even CEOs and leaders are being interrupted by dodgy wifi, inquisitive children or demanding dogs. I love this change and I hope it continues.
Helping independent consultants to survive and thrive
I’ve worked with some fabulous independent consultants in the first half of the year, helping them to build a relevant story and share valuable content during the crisis.
” Working with Lucy has given me much more confidence talking about my business. I now have a good sense of my ideal client and feel that my website and written communications really reflect me and my personality.”
Celia Clark, Inspires Coaching
In March, things were changing daily and I learnt to react quickly. My webinar which began as ‘How to get hired by your ideal clients’ morphed into ‘How to build a resilient consulting brand in challenging times.’ These have undoubtedly been tricky times for consultants. Most have lost some clients and gained others, with many having to change either the services they provide and/or how they deliver them.
To help, I wrote an accompanying blog post, published a free guide and set up the Build Your Resilient Brand Facebook group,
I spoke at Business In Oxford about building a resilient consulting brand. You can watch my presentation here (20 min watch – grab yourself a cup of tea!).
We’ve had to be flexible with the Oxford Independent Consultants Meetups. In March, we took an early decision to take our speed networking online. Since then we’ve continued to listen to our members, most recently adapting three hours of monthly co-working to a fortnightly, one-hour working lunch online.
I’ve continued to invest in my development and work on my business, including joining a new group programme. If I expect people to invest with me then I need to show the same confidence by investing in work with others. I’ve attended my weekly mastermind sessions, a planathon (way more fun than it sounds!) and a weekend intensive on recession-proofing my business.
Emerging fatter or fitter?
I did my last Parkrun on International Women’s Day at the beginning of March. I had entered the Oxford Town and Gown which would have been my first 10k event. This was a major goal on my 2020 vision board. I stopped running at the height of the pandemic as I didn’t want to get injured. Instead, long walks with my husband, grounded from his regular international travel, have become a daily essential for fresh air and mental health. On most days, I also jump around to an old school exercise DVD. This gets me away from my desk and keeps my body moving.
I’ve spoken more often with family, finally getting my parents on Facetime. I’ve become unexpectedly obsessed with nurturing a couple of plants in the garden and finally appreciated the little village where we live. I’ve previously been known to moan that it’s too quiet and boring (no coffee shop) but over the past four months it’s been an idyllic retreat. Our local friendship group has gone online with a murder mystery party and wine-tasting. Doorstep cake deliveries from neighbours on Fat Fridays were a highlight though they eventually had to stop due to expanding waistlines 😳
I’ve made four banana breads (and counting) and watched more focused TV (‘Little Fires Everywhere’ is my fave). I haven’t finished a single book although I’ve started a few, including, ironically ‘Finish What You Start’ by Peter Hollins (I’m on page 75 and can recommend it so far!) And I still haven’t put the new strings that I ordered in the first dark days of lockdown on my childhood guitar. I’m glad I didn’t get carried away with any more extravagant purchases!
So what’s next…?
Lockdown has enabled me to fully embrace working in my home office. It’s been my fully-equipped base for eight years. For some reason, only now does it finally feel like the HQ where everything happens.
Instead of doing ALL the things and constantly dashing to events, I’ve become more focused. This has allowed me more time to work ON my business and where I want to take it next – more of that in the next couple of weeks when I’ll be writing about my experience in 10 years as an independent consultant.
In a recent survey 78% of my community said they are excited or optimistic about business opportunities in the next few months. Who knows what lies around the corner or how many of the recent changes will become permanent?
I’m especially intrigued to see what the long-term future will be for the corporate office and the 9-5(+) lifestyle. Presenteeism has long been a bugbear of mine and was a major factor in my decision to work independently. Leaders will no longer be able to insist that roles cannot be done remotely because the last few months have proven otherwise. I hope there will be increased flexibility and freedom of choice for everyone that wants it.
I’m excited about the plans I have for my business in the rest of the year, including my brand new podcast I’ll be launching in the autumn. For now though, I’m simply celebrating my first haircut and colour for four months!