How do you schedule clients around an unreliable body?
A few weeks ago I interviewed an unquestionably successful entrepreneur and coach. (I’ll call her Catherine.) She usually has a lot of energy for her business, but all went to you-know-what when she became suddenly ill with a mysterious digestive ailment that persisted for about 6 months. She told me that during the worst times she could only work about 2 hours a day. Putting the physical pain and emotional fears aside for a moment, it’s frustrating when others are dependent on you and you can’t do much.
Once Catherine grasped the reality of her situation she was able to adjust her client schedule so that she only met with clients during “safe” times. But not everyone can do this. If you watched the interview I posted a few weeks ago with Terri Williams, you may remember that she does not know what a day will be like until she gets started.
A few days ago I spoke with a woman who gets migraine headaches about 10 days each month. Like Terri, she does not know when she will feel well and when she will not. She wants to offer teleseminar workshops and fears that she will schedule an event and then not be able to follow through. We brainstormed solutions and alternative means for delivering her material.
These are the solutions and alternatives we discussed:
- Instead of holding live workshops she might consider recording webinars when she’s feeling well.
- She could develop do-it-yourself programs that would include an ebook and/or a sequential email program.
- She could hire a Virtual Assistant with sufficient skills to moderate a workshop with her, or in her absence.
- She could find a business partner, or form a strategic alliance with someone in her field, someone who can step in and take over if she cannot conduct the workshop herself.
- She could tell program participants about her situation and give them advance notice of a potential need to reschedule.
Each of these options is less than optimal in that they represent a potential compromise to her ideal, to work directly with a group of clients and deliver a stellar program.
I’m becoming increasingly convinced that the most sustainable business model is not the solo venture, but one where at least one other person is involved in the business. The roles of the other team member(s) depend on a variety of factors, but the best solution accounts for Plan B contingencies.
Which of the above solutions seems most practical to you?
Have you tried something similar?
What has been the result?
Linda Norris-Waldt
I was just down for 9 days with a mysterious flu. I NEVER get sick.
#1 Thank goodness I was already moving towards a model of part timers (eventually employees) who kept me afloat because I was blinded by a headache and couldn’t even work with a laptop.
#2 It helped me to really prioriitize as I got better and realize was extra and what was necessary. I’ll go back to the “extras” when I get through the “necessaries” but for those entrepreneurs who get sick, the silver lining could be a more realistic prioritization of your workload!
Linda
Joan Friedlander
Linda, thanks for sharing your experience here. As you say, necessities first, extras maybe and only if time and energy. I am glad your illness was short lived.
Terri
I really shared these thoughts and love the creative options you and she came up with. I’m going to print them out and post them on my computer to help me keep distractions at bay. Also read an interesting book about the bad effects of wheat in the diet. It claimed to link wheat to MANY health concerns – many of which we’ve discussed in this forum. While wheat is in an alarming number of food items, it’s really not too hard to eliminate it and eat more healthily. I can already fit into jeans I haven’t been into in a while! I’ll let you know how it goes – so far it’s only been about a week – but I’ve been really happy at how EASY it is to get it out of my life.
Joan Friedlander
Terri, I’m glad the creative options were helpful. Let us know if you come up with others.
On your other topic, the problem with wheat and its link to many health conditions, you’re right. It is relevant in that it can create an inflammatory condition in the body. When I first became ill it was recommended I eliminate it from my diet. 20 years ago it was MUCH harder to find substitutes for some of our favorite foods. Now that gluten-free diets are more mainstream it’s much easier. Yes, added bonus can be weight loss!