I own a digital media agency and I coach small businesses on how to improve their businesses.
I often explain to business owners that being an entrepreneur is like flying a plane on the way down. Sometimes, it feels like you have fuel in the engines and things are leveling out, at other times it’s as if you are still trying to figure out if you even have an engine.
Now my friends, is when I feel like it is an excellent time to say “Get your towel. Don’t panic.” (If you don’t know what I am referring to here then Google it or go ask Chat. I’ll wait…)
The digital world is a roller coaster right now and small businesses are going to get hit by a hammer if these tariffs actually do go into effect. We may not feel it today or tomorrow…but we need to focus and control what we can control.
Focus On The Process
What are your Critical Action Steps? I am stealing this line from Donald Miller, excellent business writer and business owner, who developed the Small Business Flight Plan. Your Critical Action steps are the THREE things that you can do every day that will move your business forward towards your goals.
These are not always the most complicated actions. Often they are the simplest that you need to keep top of mind.
For some business owners it could be to just plan out their day so that they know what needs to be done and they don’t get caught on social media for hours on end doing “research”. For others it could be ensuring that they mention a program or product to each customer they meet that day, or maybe it is connecting with five new people on LinkedIn, writing a blog, or simply, checking email.
Your critical action steps are the things that you CAN control and will move your business forward. James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, reminds us that it is the PROCESS of the doing that needs to be our focus rather than just focusing on the goal. A goal is great, but a goal without a plan or a process to move you closer to that goal, is just a vision that will never be realized.
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” -James Clear

Change Is In The Air
How can a process help you today when it feels like the government is actively working against us and our small businesses? (Or maybe that’s just me…alas)
It gives us a focal point. Something to control and something to center us.
I have daily critical actions and I have a process in place to improve my writing and my company’s visibility at the same time. Every day I focus on connecting with new people to grow my network. If I can reach out to just 5 people a day, then I have added 25 new people to my network each week. In a month that’s 100 more people, in a year that’s at least 1200 people.
Each week I focus on writing every Tuesday and Friday. This isn’t a daily critical action, but a consistent habit to build my writing skills and editing. It also gives my team content for all of our social media channels, which we need, because another daily critical action is to post on a minimum of one of our social platforms once a day.
If I don’t network, if I don’t write, then we don’t have content and my pool of clients drastically dries up. Maybe not in a day, but it will and that is not hypothesis, it’s a fact. During Covid my networking took a backseat and I focused on my current clients only. It was fine for that year, but when the world opened back up? My network had gone cold and I was starting from scratch.
It’s Time To Diversify
Think about the daily actions and the processes in your business that need to be solidified. Think about daily tasks that drive your business but also give you the flexibility to pivot if needed. Now is the time to diversify your business and your marketing if you haven’t done so already.
Do you have a diverse enough pool of product providers? Have you focused solely on growing your network in only one country or local area? Are you only posting on one social media platform? Are you using email (hint: START) to keep in touch with your clients and customers?
When it comes to marketing and our product offerings, it is critical to make sure that you don’t have all your eggs in one basket. I am currently advising my clients to only have one foot in Meta – if they are only on two social media platforms. Choose Facebook or Instagram and another platform – Pinterest, LinkedIn, Bluesky…something not owned by Meta.
I will also be reaching out to clients who offer products to their customers. We will discuss how they can improve their offerings without suffering a hit on costs for them or their clients. I am usually a fan of buying a small selection and going deep with vendors but now in the short term, it may need to be a change in tactics and instead stay wide and shallow. Give yourself a lot of options in case some are no longer feasible in the future.

Uncertainty Reigns
Right now we don’t know what’s going to happen in a lot of sectors.
A lot of people are out there telling us the world is ending and on the flipside, this is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
I know that I have spent too much time doomscrolling over this weekend but we aren’t powerless.
We can control many things in our lives and in our businesses. You can control where you shop and how you spend your currency – both attention and money. Because know this, our attention is absolutely a currency that people are in desperate need to attract.
As business owners we are constantly seeking attention and from that attention, revenue.
I believe that the country will survive.
I believe that there are MILLIONS of amazing people in our country and I am encouraged by those unsung heroes in the federal government who work jobs no one knows about and yet, they continue to work because they are the backbone of our country. When COVID hit the essential economy rose above all else when the country needed them. Now I believe that the essential workers in the federal government, will do their work, behind the scenes, to keep us safe.
As for the rest of us, we will do what we can to keep small businesses functioning, independent journalism working and information flowing.
Now is the time to support small. Find your local grocer, your tiny boutiques, your local farms, your hobby shops, printers, florists, and shop directly from the small websites, even if it requires you to pay a bit more in shipping.
All hands on deck folks…and don’t forget that towel.
I just joined Bluesky (@venturewrite) – follow me for random nature and cat posts, tech updates and yes, the political updates I follow.