What To Do With Unexpected Downtime
I just worked with a client who partnered with her husband to build a new business. Her husband has a full time job and has also been subcontracting under another company. Their goal is to establish a new independent company so they can quit the subcontracting gig and the full time job. 
But now they have hit an unexpected problem. Make that 2. The company from whom they were subcontracting had to reduce the workload; and unfortunately it came at a time when the wife hurt her back and had to step away from working as well.
Expect the Unexpected – and Use It
Life’s journey is full of road blocks that can greatly affect our entrepreneurial path. Emotional stress, physical pain, financial loss – typically it catches us by surprise.
I counseled my client to understand both challenges are temporary, and to make the best of an uncomfortable situation. “Consider this downtime as a gift” is what I told her.
Her back pain means she can sit still and use the time for research and learning the ins and outs of their new industry. The reduced work for him means he can go meet with all the contacts he’s accumulated to fill in the gaps of information in his new industry and get networked and connected with all the right people.
This physical and financial setback is an opportunity to use your personal resources to create a written plan, a business model, a marketing strategy and make sure everything that needs to be done is documented and tracked. The extra time is a gift to be used for learning and asking tons of questions.
When she’s back in good health, and the subcontracted work picks back up, their “learning and planning time” is gone.
When we’re thrown into an unexpected setback, ask yourself, “how can I turn this into a winning opportunity?” Sitting back and whining about it is not getting you closer to success, it’s sucking your energy right out of you.
What task and project had you continually put aside for “when I have more time”? It’s now or never! Get to it. Use your unexpected gift of extra time before it slips away.
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