What You Do Is Still Important

It's certainly been an interesting week, hasn't it?

You, me and everyone we know is scrambling to adjust to the new normal of social distancing, staying at home, working at home, homeschooling, washing our hands for 20 seconds (which I now realize I've been washing my hands for way shorter than I should have been my whole life) and just managing the anxiety that comes with economic uncertainty and protecting ourselves and the most vulnerable members of our families.

For me, my day-to-day hasn't really changed… yet.

I already work online from home, I rarely leave the house anyway, I coincidentally bought a giant pack of toilet paper two weeks ago, I don't have kids that are suddenly off school. I do realize from talking to my friends and family that I am not the norm.

But I've still felt a lot of uncertainty about how to move forward…

Is what I teach no longer important in the grand scheme of things? Should I stop sending out podcast episodes and trainings and pre-scheduled emails? Should I stop sharing my podcasts on Instagram and answering questions on Facebook and take a wait-and-see approach while we all process what's happening?

Or is empowering people to understand the tech and the strategy for making a living online more important now than ever?

I don't know the answer to that question…

But I do know that if you're a part of my community, you're probably a business owner (or an aspiring one).

Maybe like me, it's your full-time gig. Maybe it's your side hustle. Maybe you're still trying to get it off the ground.

Maybe it feels pointless to you to be working on your business at all right now because of thoughts like “Who would even care what I do right now…?”

That's how I felt when woke up and read the news yesterday…

But the more I thought about it, the more it didn't feel right.

Neither of us knows what's going to happen in the future. We never really have known…

And after journaling about it, and looking to my peers and others in the online business space that I look up to, I decided that I don't think it's pointless to continue talking about business right now.

I think it's more important than before.

Some of you might feel a greater sense of urgency to move an offline business online, or start seriously marketing the business idea you've been dabbling in, or grow the business that's doing okay but you know it can do better so that you have more control over your time + money…

And because of that, I'm not going to stop showing up in your inbox or on social media to talk about helping you with your business out of fear that it might not be the right time, or that I might say something stupid that I'll regret later, or that I might come off as insensitive.

I'm not perfect, I'm going to make mistakes and say dumb things, but my heart is always going to be in the right place: empowering you to build the life you want no matter what's happening outside of our control.

I was listening to a livestream from Mariah Coz yesterday for people who make a living selling online courses, and she said something that really resonated with me:

“Please don't think your work is not important enough right now to put it out in front of the people who need it.” Mariah Coz

She went on to say that right now, people need what you have to offer more than ever, especially if it's going to help them create a living online, or a healthier lifestyle, a better relationship with their family that they're now stuck with under the same roof for who knows how long, or improve their finances in a time of economic uncertainty, or simply keep them entertained and keep their mind off being scared as we wait for things to unfold over the next few months.

I personally needed to hear that, and I didn't want you to miss out on that message either.

What you do is still important.

Whether that changes in the coming days, weeks, months, I don't know. But for now, for me, I'm here for you.

So if you're gonna be cooped up at home for awhile and want to do something more productive than Netflix, I wanted to re-introduce you to my free educational trainings that can help you with whatever you decide your next move is:

• Free 5 Day Website Challenge – in-depth DIY web design course that teaches you how to DIY your website like a pro. Log in to your account here or click here to sign up
• Jumpstart Your Website Traffic Mini Course – a 6-part email course that teaches you how to start getting traffic to your website.
• How to Start a Freelance Web Design Business Masterclass – a 3-part masterclass series that walks you through the foundations of creating a successful freelance web design business.
• Pep Talks for Side Hustlers Podcast – over 275 episodes of inspiration, motivation and actionable advice to keep you moving forward.

If you know someone that needs any of these free trainings, please forward them this email. I'd love to help them out.

And for those of you who feel like it's time to take the next step in your business, I'm here for you.

It's business as usual with me and my Website Marketing Lab + Web Designer Academy students.

I'm in our private student-only Facebook groups daily during the week, answering their questions on our Live Q&As for them on Zoom, and we're continuing to move forward.

If you feel ready to work with me on marketing your online business and getting traffic, subscribers and customers, you can learn more about the Website Marketing Lab here.

If you want to become a freelance web designer and you're ready to work with me on starting (or growing) your freelance web design business, you can learn more about the Web Designer Academy here.

And if you have any questions about whether or not a program I offer is right for you (or right for you right now), let's talk.

Hit reply and let me know your questions and I'll let you know if I think you're a good fit (because not everyone is).

The future feels uncertain right now, but hasn't it always been?

What you do (or want to do) still has value. People still need it. As long as there's still internet, what's more clear to me is that the ability to make a living online is more important now than ever before.

So until next time, stay well, wash your hands, and just keep moving forward!