Today I thought I’d share snippets of recent conversations I’ve had with people pushing through the current coronavirus pandemic. Not to talk about how they are dealing with it or about the thoughts and conversations we’ve shared, but about the successes that are still happening in their businesses today. I am of the belief that it is of paramount importance to be a positive force in the lives we touch – especially when times get tough. As my mother likes to say, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” So please enjoy these snippets of the tough people in my life.
The first story I’d like to share is from my first experience on a video networking call - thanks Zoom! On this call I listened to a gentleman from Canada who was looking to immediately hire upwards of 100 people in non-medical/emergency fields specifically in our area of South Florida. Who knew?
The second is a story I heard through the proverbial grapevine. There is a social media strategy called 20-5-5. The way it works is as follows:
You follow 20 related businesses/people, post five times per day on their content (intelligently) and finally post your own content five times a week. The end goal is to build/strengthen your digital network. For those paying close attention, our company has implemented similar efforts as of late. A local business owner executed on this strategy for about a month and was able to land their biggest account ever. Talk about a success!
The last story is not about any person in particular, but about the larger South Florida business community as a whole. The way we have been able to pivot doing business virtually has been amazing to see. Weekly networking events are now successfully being coordinated online to continue their mission of connecting people so that they can help each other’s business thrive. There are also new players in the online networking space who might not have previously thought to explore this avenue. And in my experience, they have emerged because of a larger sense of purpose to help other business owners stay connected and assist each other navigate unchartered waters. As someone in my network recently put it, “if you can’t do business with your network today, focus on building a network you can do business with tomorrow.”
It is my hope that these stories help you gain the same optimism I have towards the future of our community and our country’s business. The landscape might be changing, even if just for the time being, but I am confident that those who remain tough will be better positioned once this passes than they were before.