Wow! Where do I even begin…this decade is definitely nowhere near what I imagined. Life was going fine until Rona I mean the Coronavirus hit the scene. I know this virus has ruined so many lives–physically, financially, emotionally the list goes on and my heart goes out to everyone. So many things are out of our control regarding this virus, yet, one aspect that I feel everyone can position themselves better is their brand. 

Regardless of whether you work a 9 to 5 or you own your own business, this situation has given us all a reason to step back, evaluate our chosen professions in order to determine new ways to pivot or elevate your brand.

Even though I believe every job is important the virus created a division creating new terms such as essential and nonessential businesses. Essential businesses would be considered grocery, hardware, gas, and restaurants (carryout and takeout only) you get the picture. Basically anything outside of the aforementioned was deemed nonessential and meant that you would have to work from home. Many people literally saw their livelihoods shut down overnight. So if you owned a clothing store, a gym or specialty store you were forced to close your business.

For the record, I don’t believe that this was fair. Small business owners should have received the same opportunity the big box stores, like Walmart, Target, and others received to implement social distancing measures to comply with the Stay at Home order rules. Don’t even get me started on this so, anyway, for this episode I’m going to focus on the fact that I’m a Group Fitness Instructor that works for a gym/studio.

I have a 9 to 5 job working in marketing (I work from home) and I teach dance fitness classes and I’ll soon be adding boxing classes as well. With that said, like many group fitness instructors, I work for a gym. I’m sure many folks know all too well that the gyms were immediately shut down and in many parts of the country, they remain shut down or are forced to give outdoor classes.

Now if fitness were my main gig this is what I would be doing in this order:

• Create fitness videos to upload to a variety of streaming video platforms (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok)
• Offer live on-demand classes  (the charge for your classes) /events
• Create my own website and embed this information within the descriptions as well as a link to sign folks up to your mailing list
• Depending on how friendly I am with those that you work at my gym, I may contact them to notify them about my videos (especially if I wasn’t able to gather my student’s contact information).

Side note: Here’s the verbiage that I would use if I was hosting virtual classes
(insert name of event) All-Access pass Cost: (insert your fee) This pass covers (insert number of classes)  If you want to dance but can’t afford the pass, please message me. That last sentence is optional. Again, I believe most people would be able to afford $5, but you’re still allowing someone the opportunity to try your class for free if you really want to go that route..

Again these are some things right off the bat that I would do. Just a reminder, I’m teaching for pure joy and a discounted gym membership; however, if this was my primary income I would treat it like it was my own business not me working for someone else. You are your own brand. Oftentimes people in the fitness industry fail to see themselves as a brand and just work for a variety of different gyms to make ends meet. There’s nothing wrong with this, but I get tired just listening to some folks’ schedules when they share their schedules with me…Again, to each its own but this is how I would pivot.

Now, if I’m an established brand in the restaurant business, you most likely saw a huge decrease in revenue as well. Many restaurants (especially mom and pop), do not spend much time or money on their websites. This is a huge mistake. You never get a chance to make a first impression. During this crisis, those who wanted to support restaurants would most likely visit their favorite restaurants’ site first. If a business makes it difficult for me to locate your contact information you’re off of my list. 

There’s no reason why a business should have a crappy website. They are way too affordable and easy to put together. I’m not saying you have to have a top of the line website, but if you’re using Wix or Blogspot for your site, it’s time to step up your game.

So one major way for offline brands like restaurants, clothing stores, etc. to maximize their business is to shift their offerings online. Look for ways to cross-promote your product/service. You can check out the blog where I share a ton of ways you can go about promoting yourself in a cost-effective way.

As always if you need any assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Thanks so much for listening to today’s episode. I’m confident that my side hustle of helping others to invest in themselves via my youtube channel, podcast, and most importantly my online courses can be of assistance to you.

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Remember, if you’re everything to everyone then you risk being no one. You never know who you may inspire. See you in the next episode!

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