Thriving Without Contagious Success

By Rhonda Campbell

Success is contagious. We all want to be around successful people, admiring and celebrating them. Rack up enough contagious success and you could become a heroine or hero. That’s because we know it takes guts, a rarely seen persistence and tenacity (inner drive few of us are willing to commit to) in order to realize one success after another.

Contagious success also takes vision. Reason being . . . all of us face challenges, experience down periods. Truth is. None of us is always at the top. Even successful solopreneurs that generate thousands of dollars in annual profits go through down periods.

Achieving Success During Down Periods

What do you do when your business experiences a down period? After all, as a solopreneur, you don’t have options other business owners have. For instance, you can’t save money by cutting employee payroll costs. You also can’t ask one or more employees to take on additional work absent a salary increase.

But, you have to do something, because how you handle down periods may determine how your business is positioned after the economy shifts in your favor. Following are steps you can take to make the most of down periods, setting yourself up for greater success after the down period swings up:

• Network. Network.
• Attend industry specific conferences, seminars and trade shows. Continue to learn and connect with influencers in your industry or field.
• Enroll in an online or classroom training course that teaches you skills you can use immediately.
• Get active at social networks. Be assertive.
• Start blogging. Add new posts to your blog at least once a week. Active blogs generally get more traffic. Also make sure that your blog content is relevant and SEO optimized.
• Write and sell e-books. Include your business name, address and website URL at the front and back of the book so readers can find your business.
• Create business video training seminars. It’s a good way to land paying speaking and training engagements.
• Get organized (i.e. organize files, taxes)
• Review and modify budgets
• Trust your inner guide and keep taking “smart” risks
• Have faith (the evidence of things that your physical eyes don’t see is already here)

It’s during down periods when heroines and heroes are truly made. It’s during down periods when people learn how to build contagious success. However, it’s also during down periods when you and other successful business owners may be most tempted to sit back and do nothing, hoping and praying that the tide will shift like magic. Don’t do this.

Stay in the game. Keep brainstorming, connecting with other people who are building contagious success, and keep taking the right risks. If you have a solid talent base in  your chosen field, things could swing up, positioning you for a rise all the way to the top.

Rhonda Campbell, an East Coast journalist, is the owner of Off The Shelf radio and publisher of the new books Long Walk Up and Love Pour Over Me.