Dear Chris, I've recently had a severe injury, which has laid me up for an indefinite amount of time. How can I keep my business in motion and attract customers who will be willing to work with me over the phone rather than belly to belly? M.S.

Dear M.S. Unexpected occurrences can provide for business challenges. I am glad to hear that despite a severe injury, you have the energy to work on your business. There are several ways to keep your business vibrant and to attract customers. Small business owners often find it a difficult to work “on their business” rather than “in their business”. In other words, the day-to-day demands of running a business can get in the way of working on the engine that is vital for business growth and sustainability. This is a great opportunity to work on your infrastructure.

Here are some things you can do: • Review and modify your business plan where needed. • If you don’t have a business plan write one now. • Make sure your goals are aligned with you vision and mission. • Review your marketing strategies and make changes where needed. • Write or review your social media plan. • Review your Web site for needed changes. • Update all of your social media sites. • Consider writing a blog. • Make sure your business is set up to run as smoothly as possible. • Invite trusted colleagues over for a business brainstorming session. • Add to this list as you can.

In order to attract customers to work with you over the phone, it would be good to develop a short statement that tells the story of why you are implementing this temporary shift that includes various options for how meetings between you and your customer can happen. This will allow you to convey with confidence that you are open for business, with some minor changes. Your customers will follow your lead.

For example: • Phone meetings • Video skype meetings • In-home meeting • E-mail exchanges • Google chat sessions

There may be other virtual ways to connect with your customers that I am not aware of, so put on your ‘out of the box’ thinking cap and see what you can come up with.

Also, it’s important to remember that you are in the midst of a healing process, so find the sweet spot between work and healing. When you find yourself worrying about your business, tell your brain to STOP THAT and focus on one small step you can take to move your business forward. Even though it’s not business as usual, you can move your business forward one small step at a time. It adds up and it counts!

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