Last week’s conference fired me up! I left Tuesday night with a billion ideas for growing my business, changing my focus, raising my value…. I was planning to scour my new motivational books, buy some new shoes, expand, invest, extend! Grow, Beth, grow!

And when the phone rang Wednesday afternoon, everything changed.

The news from home has left me stunned. My family and I are at a loss. I’m flying out on Tuesday to support people who are making horribly tough decisions. I tell ya, no one’s having fun here.

This blog is about my adventures as a small business owner, for better or worse. I’ve spent a very long year building this business, and it’s how I make my living. Thus, I have to give some real thought to handling these circumstances.

Here’s my emergency management plan for Avenue Z Writing Solutions:

• Maintain the status quo with my current clients.
  I just lost my monthly retainer with one client, but I’m good as gold with the rest. I need to keep up with those projects, keep meeting deadlines and keep the income incoming.
• Put the expansion/growth on hold.
  I definitely understand a vision for the new shape of my business, but I don’t have to roll with that vision today. Or tomorrow.
• Make family a priority.
  I’m loyal to my clients. I love them. I want to be there for them and make sure they have what they need. But if they were to lose a trusted copywriter, they’d survive. My family needs me, and I’m irreplaceable.
• Shore up my hardware.
  I ended up having to return a laptop I purchased this summer because the keyboard went out. Thus my original limping laptop is all I have to travel with, and I anticipate I’ll be traveling quite a bit in the coming months. I need to purchase a new computer toute de suite. I’m thinking of getting a pink one.
• Avoid black/white thinking.
  My knee-jerk reactions are all absolute. I really need to wear a smart cap to make sure I don’t lock myself into one mode of thinking and stop exploring other options. There are many paths to get through this, I think.
• Recognize that I will not be as productive.
  I’ve got my financial goal printed right here next to my desk. Sure, I’d like to hit it daily, but if I don’t, I need to recognize that things will be ok. I have a little savings. I will not starve. My cat will not starve.
• Don’t forget to take care of me.
  This one sounds really selfish, I know. But here’s the deal…. I have to work really hard to make sure I stay mentally sound. It doesn’t always work. And when I’m a basket case, I’m no help to anyone. In fact, I contribute to the volatility of a dreadful situation when I go off the deep end. To stay sane, I need to eat right, to exercise at least five days a week, to occasionally put some distance between me and intense situations, to take care of my business and to make sure I am not losing what I worked so hard to achieve.