In these weird times entrepreneurs are left scratching their heads wondering what to do next - myself included. My business bestie, Bernice Williams of Intentional Connection had a great idea to host online zoom calls for 2-2.5 hours long and invite local entrepreurs onto the call to talk about challenges and brainstorm together solutions. We invited marketing pro and friend Brian Geddes of Direct Ad Factory to join in the fun as well. The three of us have been hosting online calls through our already existing network as well as chamber of commerce, tourism, craft councils and more.
The sessions we have been hosting typically have around 10 or so business owners and follow this format:
First 15-20 mins a round of introductions.
Rest of the time - approx 2 hours - brainstorming time
Bernice sometimes shows a few videos for inspiration before we dive into the brainstorming time. You might think that 2 hours is long for brainstorming but the magic is having plenty of time spent talking about ideas. We ask business owners to bring up a challenge that they are currently facing. Perhaps they have been forced to close due to government restrictions/rules. Maybe they are a service based business that can't provide those services right now because they are typically done in person.
The feedback that we have received from entrepreneurs so far have been incredibly encouraging.
Prior to each meeting we send out a google calendar invite with instructions including this visual that I created to help walk people navigate zoom. Lots of folks have never been on a zoom call before so having the visual can be helpful to understand some of the asepcts of zoom.
During the call I use the 'share my screen' feature or use technology to choose my screen as my camera and showcase my sketching program so that people can see the visual unfolding as people are speaking.
It's quite common in these calls for people to talk about their anxiety, fear and trying to get motivated for the day. Bernice is an awesome facilitator and she holds space with words while I hold space to represent their concerns and ideas visually. Having the opportunity to discuss challenges lead to wonderful ideas on how to increase business. We often hear things like 'wow, I've never thought of that before'.
If you are interested in joining in on one of our free calls - please fill out my contact form and reach out and we'll let you know the next available time slot available!