Ep. 97: Crisis Economy Thrival Blueprint
So, you weren't prepared to face a pandemic.
You were forced to close your salon or your studio.
Now, you’re worried sick if you’ll have a business to go back to when coronavirus decides to leave.
This podcast is for you!
In this episode, I lay out my crisis economy survival guide. A “thrival blueprint,” as I like to call it. I want you to thrive in this crisis. We are in a crisis economy! That’s a fact!
If you’re looking for certainty, you can find it, but you have to look for it. After listening to this episode, you will be in that position. You’ll have confidence despite the fear that you’ve been feeling.
You can take action! You can take action from a clear and level-headed place, and I want you to know that.
You’re thinking things like, “There’s no way I’ll be able to pay my rent,” or “There’s no way I’ll be able to pay my employees,” or “I’m not going to have any clients or make any money!” Is this resonating with you?
I know so many people want to make money even now, but without the know-how, without knowing where to go or how to start, it’s a hot mess.
In this podcast, I’m here to help offend you.
I’m here to offend you in the best possible way—I hit things right on the nose in this podcast that will basically call you out on what is holding you back from showing up in this season of uncertainty when there is massive opportunity!
Opportunity isn’t on pause! The world might look like it is, but opportunity definitely isn’t!
“But it’s so different now!”
Yeah, it is. But with opportunity? The difference is that it’s changed shape and location.
That’s it.
So in this episode, I lay out the options that you have during this pandemic:
- Hide and hope it all goes away or works out on its own
- Be proactive and figure out how to serve your clients.
Your business can weather any storm if you implement fast. I promise you.
In this podcast, I talk about how social media works to your advantage in this crisis (hello? Instagram is a MARKET, babe). Your clients aren't in your studios for those of you who haven't opened yet, but they're online.
I talk about the need to adapt as a successful entrepreneur and how to do it.
I show you step-by-step actionable strategies that you can start using right away to build and maintain.
This podcast is broken up into two major parts:
The first part is all about mental fitness.
The second part is about how to be financially strategic.
What do we do, Sheila?
How do we make money?
How do we save money?
How do we get by?
Listen in.
Here are the episode highlights:
‣‣ [04:57] Hold up, Sheila... you said you wanted to offend me?! Yeah, I did. Here's where I explain what I mean about offending you (in a good way!)
‣‣ [09:39] Wanna know how I know what I know? Here's proof. Here's where I tell you why you should trust me on this--on how to thrive where it feels like you're stuck at the bottom of rock bottom
‣‣ [13:30] I tell you about maximizing your time during a crisis at this minute mark. I answer why and how.
‣‣ [16:08] What do you do now? There are two options for you: Hide, hope it all works out, or DO something! Here's where I explain that.
‣‣ [21:33] HERE'S WHERE IT'S AT. This is where I start laying out the two parts of the crisis economy thrival blueprint.
‣‣ [22:44] Part 1: Mind Control -- just kidding. Mental Fitness! DO NOT SKIP THIS! I tell you all about what I mean and how to practice it at this minute mark.
‣‣ [32:55] What happens when things start opening up again? People are going to want to forget about the trauma that we lived in!!! Here's where I talk about that.
‣‣ [34:00] Sheila, what do you think is going to happen when this is all over? I give you my prediction right here!
‣‣ [35:08] What is actually necessary? Who are you supposed to be contacting to help you during this time? Here's where I lay that out for you.
‣‣ [36:18] At this minute mark, I start breaking down the first step of Part 2: Financial Strategy.
‣‣ [43:10] What do you know about demand? Do you have questions about it? What is it? How do I maximize it? How do I spot it? I answer those questions and more here.
‣‣ [47:11] I know. It all gets overwhelming. There's so much to process, and sometimes you just need to cry it out. Right here is where I encourage you to do that. It's necessary! But I also explain why you shouldn't stay crying. That's not necessary.
‣‣ [50:00] What is your mindset? Are you working in your own interest or are you taking an interest in others? I end off the podcast with this: what it means to serve others and why doing so is in your best interests.
I WANT TO THRIVE! GIVE ME THE THRIVAL BLUEPRINT! (Listen Here)
You can follow me, Sheila Bella, on Instagram @realsheilabella!
Here are the links that were mentioned in the podcast!
Grow Your Gram
Online Course Workshop
FOR MY LISTENER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy this podcast by downloading it on iTunes here.
(Life Hack: Subscribe to Pretty Rich Podcast to get the LATEST EPISODE downloaded to your phone AUTOMATICALLY)
FOR MY READER BOSS BABES
You can enjoy a transcript of the podcast here.
Sheila Bella:
You're listening to the Pretty Rich Podcast where you are totally the heroine of your own story. I'm your host, Sheila Bella, and I built a seven-figure PMU biz without a degree, without a fancy website or a sugar daddy. And if you and I hang out here long enough, you're going to start to believe that you can do it too because you really can. I know you think I don't know you, but I do, I really, really do because I am you. And I believe we're all on the same journey together. My perfect job didn't exist, so I created it. The job I wanted wasn't hiring me, so I skipped the line and hired myself as CEO, just like you can. So consider me your secret beauty biz BFF in case you need to be reminded that power is never given to you, you just have to take it. Are you ready beauty boss? Let's jump in.
So welcome everyone. Yes, I'm in my pajamas, I'm in my quarantine pajamas. I just took a shower, I smell so good. I work from home, and you know what, I want you guys to learn how to profit from home too. Awesome. So this is my crisis economy survival guide. So right now, what you guys are seeing is that we are in fact a crisis economy. If you're a beauty entrepreneur and you're feeling financially unprepared for this pandemic, my lash was feeling unprepared, this is the place for you. So if you're a business owner and you've been forced to close your salon or studio and now you're worried sick wondering if you're even going to have a business to go back to, this is for you. Anybody feeling that way, is that you? If so, type one in the comments. If you're a business owner and you've been forced to close and you're wondering if you're even going to have a business to go back to. So I want you to stick around because this is for you.
And by the end of this webinar, if you take it seriously, you're going to have a different outlook because I'm going to train your brain to see the massive opportunity for growth right now, for growing yourself, your business, and even your bank account. Dina, awesome. Customers are starting to reach out again, that's great. That's so great. So get your notepads out if you don't have them yet, get out your notepads. And not only that, get ready to implement because whatever it is that you learn in this webinar, I guarantee you're going to have a mindset shift, you're going to have a mindset shift. You should be excited about that because honestly that is the big difference maker, it creates the haves and the have nots. And I want to give you confidence that by the end of this webinar you will be in a more confident position to act in tremendous certainty.
Who wants to feel certainty? Tell me in the comments, type two if you want to feel certainty in the comments. You will be in that position. You're going to have the confidence despite the fear that you may be feeling. And I want you to feel like you can take action, you can take action from a clear and level headed place. So, so important. So I know that many of you are looking at the news thinking, "That's it, I'm done for." I've heard this so many times, even some of my friends have said this. And I'm like, "Are you serious?" "They're saying I better get ready to declare bankruptcy, I'm preparing my mind to declare bankruptcy right now." If that's you, type bankruptcy in the comments.
I want to know if this is resonating. "Because there's just no way I'll be able to make my rent, pay my employees, much less get clients or make any money during this crisis economy," a lot of people are saying that or they want to make money even during this time, but they don't know how. They don't know where to go, they don't know where to start. So I'm so glad you're here because I might be offensive in a good way. You know what, I'll be honest with you. Sometimes my pastor, true story. Sometimes my pastor will say things on Sunday and it'll just be so on the nose. I'm like, "Pastor, I am offended, I'm offended." I said that twice the past two weeks on Sunday morning, I'm like, "I don't know if I want to go to this church anymore." Glad I'm not alone.
So I am here to offend you. I am here to commit an apologetic assault on what is holding you back from showing up in this season of uncertainty where there is massive opportunity. You might think that opportunity is on pause, we are all supposedly taking a break from opportunity. But the truth is honestly, opportunities don't go away. There is massive opportunity right now. And the only difference is that it's changed shape and location, that's it. Opportunities don't go away, they just shift. They were here pre Corona, and now they're over here. And I'm going to show you where it is. So they just look a little different, and it's not true that there's less money to go around. No, there are just people doing it or a very select group of people exchanging it and for different things. It's not that there's not enough out there to hit your financial goals that you've set for yourself when the bomb dropped.
2020, we were like, "This is my year." I ripped up my vision board the other day, no, I'm kidding. It's really interesting, I'll share something a little personal. My vision board, my word for the year ironically enough was gather. And I was like, "Okay, that's my word, gather." But we can't gather. And I'm like, "Wait a second, I feel like in the last few weeks I've connected with more people than I ever have before." So yeah, it's still gather, it just looks differently than what I expected. And I get chills when I think about that. First I was mad. I was like, "The Lord was wrong again." So yeah, there's a very select group of people that are exchanging money and in a specific place. You can still hit your financial goals this year, I promise you. There's plenty out there. And it is your job as an entrepreneur because that's what you are.
You're an entrepreneur, that's what you signed up for. So go out and get it. And I'm going to show you where it is and how to do it. So let me remind you permanent makeup artists, you're an entrepreneur and the coronavirus economy is entrepreneurship. This is just the way it has always been, it's just now more in your face. It's entrepreneurship, but with coronavirus, it's just more in your face. Nothing's really changed, things have just been amplified or set up. This having your back against the wall thing, you guys, we've been feeling that, we've been feeling that for a year since we decided to do permanent makeup, since we decided to be our own bosses, this is how it feels. So you need to handle it, nothing is different. You need to figure out how you can be of service, how can you help? How can you bring value?
Now, the sad truth is that COVID-19 will cause more bankruptcies than deaths. It will also create more opportunities, more new entrepreneurs, more new millionaires than any other time. It is sad. I'm not celebrating it, I'm just stating the facts that this is the way it is. I have tremendous compassion for the people who are living paycheck to paycheck, the people who are very sick, definitely. But there's also a lot opportunity here, it's really strange to say. And my goal for you is to survive and thrive in this or any uncertain economic situation that we're facing. So this is going to apply anytime the economy is uncertain, not just COVID-19. And I want you wherever you are right now, I want you to say, "I'm ready." Say it, I'm ready, I'm ready for breakthrough. Say it, I'm ready to make money. Say I'm ready to make money.
That's right. Type it in the comments, say I'm ready. So why am I so confident that I can help get you ready, so ready? I'm really confident that I can help get you ready, I've done this before. For those of you who don't know me, I am Sheila Bella. I am a seven-figure celebrity microblader, multiple seven-figures turned online entrepreneur, global success speaker. I'm a beauty marketing strategist, and I'm also a business coach. And I've had a lot of ups and downs, I've made the mistakes for you. My focus now, and it has been for a couple of years is to help beauty entrepreneurs just like yourself pivot and make money online. I have a top rated podcast called the Pretty Rich Podcast that I've been doing now for more than a year. And now I'm upping my game on my YouTube channel apparently.
And honestly, I've been very consistent with this, and I interview some of the best and most successful people in our industry. I go deep with lots of people on a weekly basis, and it's really hard to not have insight when you have that many deep conversations with people. And as a business coach, I have troubleshooted several businesses not just during the coronavirus economy, but before. So right now I have to say that we've had a lot of success within Pretty Rich University. People are winning in there all the time, and it is amazing to see even throughout this recession or we're headed into recession. So I have to admit that right now I don't take for granted at all that I'm set up in a wonderful position. I'm in a safe place, I have a nice house, it's very safe, we are isolated here. But I earned it. Last time though, the last time I hit rock bottom, just like this, I was not in a wonderful position, I was in a crappy position.
Before I discovered permanent makeup. I was barely living paycheck to paycheck. I was a server at kind of a skanky restaurant, I'm not going to lie. I worked at a bar, and I felt like my life had ended when I got fired from that job because I was terrible at it. Guess it wasn't my calling. And I was forced to move back in with my parents after that. I didn't have a degree, I had fake friends left and right. Very shallow relationships, and I was lost. So to make a long story short, I had to fight for my future, for my dream. And I did it from ground zero, from nothing. And I discovered permanent makeup. And within three years, I created a seven-figure permanent makeup business, and in five years, multiple seven. And I tell you that to encourage you and to inspire you not to brag so that you know what's possible. You do the same thing I do.
I don't think I'm necessarily the best artists, I'm not, the best marketing wins. And I realize now that that is my genius, and you are going to uncover your magic. I was sound asleep probably during this time too, because you have to, and with my help. Without those moments in life that forces you to choose purpose and pivot, what would have happened? I would have just surfed and I would have been okay with the status quo. So it is no different for you now. Be grateful for this challenge because for many of you, it's going to grow you in ways you didn't even know was possible. Some people were praying for a chance to start over, praying for time. And now that you've got it, do something with it.
I said it the other day that, listen, you can always make money, you can always make money, it is not finite. But you know what is, is time. You can not get the time back. So use this time wisely. This failure could either be a waste of time or an incredible learning curve or preparation for success. You give it a meaning. Stop reading headlines, start writing it. It isn't easy for any of us. COVID-19 was the ultimate plot twist. So beginning of the year we're like, "2020 is my year." And then mid March happens and now we're like, "2021 is going to be my year."
No, I want to tell you 2020 can still be your freaking year, it can, it's just different than what you expected. So this webinar today is going to teach you guys how to survive and thrive through this storm because that's exactly what this is, it's a storm. It's not forever, it will eventually pass. It is not a state, it is a stage. There's a big difference. Say that with me, this is not a state, this is a stage, this is temporary. There is a ginormous window of opportunity open right now. The beauty industry, this is the good news, is one of the most robust and recession-proof industries that exist. People always want to look good and feel beautiful especially when things are chaotic. What do we do when we feel depressed? We eat ice cream, we drink wine, and we go out and get a massage and a facial. We get a new hairstyle, we chop it all off and change the color. Call up a girlfriend for coffee, get a mani-pedi and get our brows done and make him mad. Don't do that.
So how do you feel when you walk out of that salon? You feel like a new woman. We're better to those around us and to ourselves when we feel good. So I know what you're thinking, 'Yeah, sure, Sheila. I can't really service my clients right now and make them feel good because we're quarantined." You couldn't think any smaller, I'm sorry. Yes, you can. You can serve them just differently. Like I said, opportunity doesn't go away, it just changes location, it shifts. It takes on a different shape. But don't be mistaken, opportunity is still there, you need to look harder. You have two options right now. You can either hide under a pile of coats and hope it all goes away, hope it all works out or be proactive, figure out a way to serve your clients online or minimally in person, make them feel safer and focus on how to pivot your purpose.
Option B is looking pretty darn good, doesn't it? Your business I promise you can weather any storm if you implement fast. And here's some more good news for you, never before have your clients been glued to your social media like they are right now. You have their attention. Your clients aren't in your studios for those of you who haven't opened yet, but they're online. I know that parts of the country have already reopened, I'm sure there's still a great amount of fear for your clients to come and see you anyway. So the bottom line is it's safer to have multiple streams of income, a brick and mortar and an online business just in case. And I think now a lot of people are realizing that, and I want you to know that financial success is possible even right now, that.
And also it is the perfect opportunity to position yourself right now to be the one that clients will rush to as soon as it's safe, as soon as they're able. You can. Because if it's not you, if it's not you, don't you think you have competitors who might be courting your clients on social media, who might be doing these steps? You want to be the one because clients are online like crazy. The people who didn't really have time to choose now have time to get real picky. So I have compassion for those who are living paycheck to paycheck, and people are going to get sick from this. But you know what, there is also tremendous business opportunity for you here too. Let me scroll through. I want you to know that the most important word I guess you can focus on right now, your word aside from my word, which is gather, is adapt. You have to adapt. If you can tattoo that on your forehead right now, you should. Just do henna so it's temporary. And do it backwards so when you look in the mirror you can read it.
You need to adapt because ask any successful entrepreneur, and they'll tell you setbacks are guaranteed, but success is not. So actually you have to learn how to adapt anyway. So being an entrepreneur is all about your comeback rate, how quickly can you get back up again? How quickly can you get to acceptance so that you can adapt? Speed wins. You did not come this far to quit, this is a time out, yes, but only for seeing each other in person, that's it. Not for connection, not for making money, not for growth, not for business. You are being called to pivot, you are being called to adapt to the climate and the circumstances.
So maybe you've been hearing for several years how important it is to have multiple streams of income just in case your business was forced to close due to a global pandemic. Wow, plot twist, right? The world is changing right before our eyes, an online connection is becoming essential. So if you've ever thought about building your own online course, now is the perfect time to capitalize on this. There has never been a more lucrative time to be a digital entrepreneur. You can make money from home as a beauty boss. I am confident that I can help you do it because I am you. I'm an artist, not tech savvy at all. I didn't consider myself the absolute best, but I figured it out. And I'm so thankful that I had multiple streams of income to sustain my family and my business during this time. And I want you to be next. If you've ever thought about building an online course, there has never been a better time in the history of the world to be an online entrepreneur.
And I want to show you step-by-step actionable strategies that you can start using right away to build your own online course that will serve your audience. And I want you to know that no matter what gets thrown your way, I'm going to be here to help you overcome it by sharing the same strategies I'm using that are working for me in real time. So let's do this. Just go to sheilabella.com/onlinecourseworkshop, that's sheilabella.com/onlinecourseworkshop. And for a limited time, if you use the code podcast, you can get 10% off. And I'll see you in class.
Now, I am going to break this webinar into two parts. The first part, the instructional strategical part of this webinar is all about mental fitness. And the second part will be financially strategic. I know a lot of you probably came for that, the financial strategy, what do we do, Sheila? How do we make money? How do we save money? How do we get by? You might think, "Oh, Sheila, I don't need the wellness advice right now, just give me the good stuff, teach me how to save money and make money." So for those of you who skip this mental wellness part, I have to say, there's a reason why they call it the 1%, because the 1% understands that you need both because whatever pivot or adaptation your business needs to make right now is going to need you at your best. It's only going to work if you are well. You are going to take on this challenge of this pandemic, so you can't skip this. You got to be at your best.
We're about what, like eight weeks into safer at home for California, we are. So it's very important to have some routine that is going to support your mental wellness, this is how you're going to survive the next few months. I love routine, I love routine. Routine is such a turn on word for me. Do you have a wellness routine? If you had one before, recalibrate it. Now, I have a morning routine that feeds my mind, that feeds my body, that feeds my spirit too so that ... And I wake up early so that once it's time, once the kids wake up I've taken care of myself already. I'm ready, I'm dressed, I'm happy. I've had my coffee, I've had my morning run. I listen to podcasts, I spend time with God. I'm going to teach you guys one weird thing I do, but I love it. It's called mirror work.
And what I do is I take about 20 seconds, 20 seconds to look at myself in the mirror. And I speak words of love and support to my soul and encouragement. And it's really strange. But even if it's just 20 seconds, it really is a mindset shift. It takes you outside of your body and only you know what you need to hear. We can't rely on our spouses or kids or best friend, you know. Me, myself, and I, you're your own best friend. That is such a key to success. It's self-talk, it is. But it's just taking it kind of one step further by looking in a mirror. That's something that I've gotten used to, just discipline and self talk. Parent yourself. And I take all my supplements. Oh, gosh, this is closing anyway right here.
This is my AM supplements, I feel like I'm a senior citizen because these are just my AM supplements. But it's just like vitamin B, D et cetera, et cetera. And I take all my supplements not because I'm afraid of the coronavirus, I take my supplements because if I'm going to be a war leader, I need to be sharp. If you are going to lead your family out of this global emergency, you can't be messing around. Your mind and body need to be in shape, they need to have nutrition. This isn't the time to slack off and get soft. Did you get your heart rate up this morning? You want to stay fit, it is war time, mind, body, and soul, you're a leader. Routine is going to keep you sharp, healthy, and productive. And I know it's tempting to keep alerts for coronavirus on your iPhone. This happened, that happened, it just gets drearier and drearier. And somebody sent me this conspiracy video and I'm like, "Can I do anything about that?" I can't, I can't.
So I'm going to focus on the things that I can do things about, that I can control like my supplements, my business. I'm not saying be unaware, I'm not saying that, but how about let's keep it to a minimum, right? 10 minutes, coronavirus news. Because fear is addicting, it's always been that way. Gossip is also addicting because it tricks our minds into believing that we're getting something done, but we're not getting anything done, we're just getting deeper and deeper into this rabbit hole. We're human. So like in our biology, we're supposed to solve problems all the time. But then we could just get stuck in this rat race, and it's not really moving the needle forward in your business. And you need to do that to survive.
You are being called to something much higher, you need to be a superhuman to win this. Gabby Bernstein says worry is a prayer for chaos. And I'm not saying don't watch the news, but know that. If you spend the majority of your time looking up conspiracy theories, guess what, that's the energy you're going to have. Watch enough news to know what you can do to protect yourself and your family, that's it. Living in worry and fear is no way to live. I kind of think about the news and these scary videos kind of like alcohol. I do. I think of negative news like wine. I have a glass at dinner, and I should stop there. Maybe like two, but I should stop there because there's a point where it's just bad now. You should stop, I just want you guys to consume two glasses of negative news, it's perfect. It's just enough booze to get the job done. But any more than that, you're going to have negative consequences.
So you have to train your brain right now more than ever to think positively and to discipline your intake of stuff. Your energy is massively important because your energy will carry you through this. That's what's going to carry you through this. You got to protect your energy. So feed your energy with positivity, with knowledge, with inspiration, be on a positive propaganda diet, books, podcasts, Pretty Rich Podcast, my podcasts, YouTube, virtual events. Binge on this, stuff like this like inspirational strategic webinars. So who here wants a timeline? We're going to get to the strategy. Who here wants a timeline? Who's like, "I wish I had a timeline, Sheila. I wish I could look at a crystal ball and somebody would tell me, "This is what's going to happen.""? You and me too.
Remember, Cleo, of That's So Raven where she makes that face in the camera and then she just knows the future. I feel like I just got a That's So Raven vision. Well, I'm going to tell you what I predict, my vision. So everything I've been reading expert economists, scientists, my mentors, this is what I'm gathering. We are not going to be going back to normal for a while, that's what's up. So I know some places are open right now, but we don't know if those places will remain open. We don't know if there will be a second wave of this in the fall, should we get ready to do this again? You need to be prepared because everything is uncertain. So I think that there will be windfalls here and there where I think people will think like, "We're good, we're clear, but then we don't know how long that's going to last."
So let's think about the first week that this happened. When this first happened, we were all in denial. We're like, "Are you serious?" We're like texting up and like, "This is crazy." First it was like a little thing that we kind of ignored. It's so crazy because when Kobe Bryant died, first of all, that hit me really hard. When Kobe Bryant died, it was the main thing on the news, and then there was this little thing about how coronavirus found in Washington or something like that. But the focus was Kobe, and that was my focus too. We had no idea that this would be that big, honestly. So I want you to keep in mind that that's what your clients are going through as well because they're your customers. You have to get into their psyche if you're going to serve them.
So first week, we're all in denial, paralyzed, bargaining, shock that this is our new reality. Now, as we are in mid-May, things have settled a little bit, and actually people are getting a little more careless, I think so. We're getting careless. People are disinfecting things a little bit less because we've just been home. People are used to being home now, we've all kind of found a new way of being. So I predicted that around the summertime things are going to slowly start to open back up, and I was right. And people are going to start slowly introducing themselves back into the world, and I was right. Slowly start getting used to being in crowds again little by little.
Now, coronavirus will still be around, but it won't be as bad, it won't be as crazy. Now, around the fall, I think we're going to be back to normal a little bit more, a little bit more. I think there's going to be more testing coming out. I think we're going to have more information about this disease and hopefully more treatments, but I think we will be able to contain this virus a little bit more because there will be more testing. So schools are going to open back up. But like I said, we don't know for how long. But once schools open up, once schools open up, that is going to be the go signal I think for your clients. Because right now it doesn't feel normal because the kids are home. Once schools opened back up, once people start going to work, about a month after that will be a massive windfall where you need to position yourself to be the business, the beauty business that will catch that windfall.
There will be pent up energy, there's a lot of pent up energy for people to go out and kill it. And our kids being in school again, people that being back to work again, that represents normalcy. And guess what, your beauty business represents normalcy. People are going to want to feel good. They're going to want to treat themselves they're going to want to come out of hiding. And I want you guys to be prepared for that. That's when the harvest will come, that's when you will make up for whatever you've lost during this time and still meet your financial goals before 2020 is up. So whether this timeline is supposedly accurate in terms of monthly timing, I don't think that's a question. It may be off. I think the pattern however will remain. First denial, everyone staying home. Then comes acceptance, then comes the need for innovation. And then people are going to want to pivot and make money from home.
I don't know when, but whenever we do assimilate back into society fully, people are going to want to spend money, regain their sense of normalcy from this trauma, you have to be ready. You have to also be ready for things to go back this way perhaps in the wintertime, you have to be ready for that. So what do you need to do? Take notes, here we go. The first thing you need to do is get as low of a monthly expenditure as possible. Figure out what your outgoing cash flow is. There's basically a hole at the bottom of your bank account, it's just going. You need to plug that hole, you need to stop the bleeding. You have to see where you can cut costs, you have to see where you can defer payments, your rent, your mortgage, your memberships, car payments. Where can you cut down and get your monthly spending as low as possible? Stop everything.
Think about what things are actually totally necessary. Call every single creditor, stop acquiring interest on debts. Call your landlord, car payments, renegotiate any bloated leases right now. And why would creditors say yes to deferring payments? Because they learned back in the recession of 2008 that it in their favor to share the suffering right now with you instead of you walking away and declaring bankruptcy. Come certain about that, come confident when you make those calls. It is not the time to chase down debt. The beautiful thing about a recession is that the whole world is on sale. Real estate will be on sale pretty soon. For you to have a website is half price. Facebook ads are cheap right now. What you need to do is to spend money on things that will make you more money. That, you don't cut back on.
I've doubled down on Facebook ads actually, I've doubled my budget. It is amazing right now, it is so cheap right now. So why do you need to stop the bleeding too is because you are going to need cash to take advantage of the whole world going on sale on these opportunities that are only going to be right now. Seriously, what can you downsize? Do you really need your boat, your RV, your purses, do you? Do you need to maximize the opportunities that could set you up for life? Yes, priorities. Who can you borrow from? Who can you get a loan from? Can you access your retirement? You can do that right now without penalty up to $100,000. So think about, what is the lowest number you can live off of on a monthly basis? Figure out that number. And once you have that number, you need to find number one, three months of it cash. That's the first step.
The goal is 12 months of it cash. But right now, find three months of it cash because cash is king. So you need a minimum of three months runway. You need time to get innovative and to figure out how to make money from home, how to pivot your business to fit the times. Are you going to make masks? That's another business idea. Minimum of three months. This is not a suggestion, this is a must. Any liquidity, cash in the bank that you can get your hands on, get it. The goal is 12 though. If you have savings to last you three months, good job. If you don't, you need to find it. So loans, credit cards, cash, put it in your account, have an overview of your resources and figure out what you have in the events that you don't make a single time in the next 3 to 12 months.
Now that you have that in the bank, this is step three. Now that you have that in the bank, it is not to coast. You don't say now we're on vacation. We are not on vacation. You have 3 to 12 months, whatever it is you have to apply pressure, apply pressure. Say that in the comments, you have three months to apply pressure. Put Eminem in your headphones and go hard. Apply pressure to the things you didn't have time for this whole time. You have to find a new way, a new way to make money from home, a different income stream. You cannot just rely on your brick and mortar right now, you can't. So these next few months hopefully will give you some peace of mind to innovate and to pivot. And if you understand what's going on right now, if you see the opportunity, you're going to come out of this ahead while everybody else is behind.
Now, what you do once you have that three-month cushion is to obsess over your customer not the news. That is so important that I want you guys to type that in all caps in the comments, obsess over your customer not the news. That is where the solution is, obsess over your purpose not the news. Your customer is your purpose, your customer is who you're trying to serve. So you need to pivot your business to fit the times, which means your products, your pricing, your marketing, everything needs to shift to fit the times because times change and people do too. Half of the individuals here will freeze not pivot. The other half will catch on and pivot early. And this mindset shift will create the haves and the have nots.
My friend who's an online course creator just hit a $200,000 month, swear, in the middle of a pandemic, so proud of her. And then I have another friend, Lauren, who does PR, five-figure a week. And I tell you that not to brag, but I want you to know that it's possible. It's important for me to tell you because your friends and the news will lead you to believe that that's not possible right now. Your paradigm says everyone around me is panicking and everyone around me has no money. Mine is different, and we're friends now. I want to help you shift your paradigm. And I'm not saying that my paradigm is more truthful than yours. No, it is a blend of the two. What does it mean to pivot your pricing and your offerings? So if you do PMU, how many of you guys do PMU here? Anyone here not in the beauty industry, type it in the comments. If you're not in the beauty industry, I want to know where you're from, type it in the comments because I can help you too, it's the same thing.
So if you do PMU, figure out a way to serve your clients from home. You can teach in person, you can teach online. Rochester, pumping instructor, awesome. If everything that comes out of your mouth is not applicable to the challenge that people are facing right now, you will not be heard. Eva, you're a teacher, get into online tutoring. There is such a need for that right now. Teach kids online, I can help you do that. Oh my gosh, my husband's a teacher too. You can make a ton of extra money right now. Right now if you don't apply what is the challenge that's in people's heads, you will not be heard. If you kind of act like nothing's changed and then just like, "Oh, we're going to be back in business." You need to add to your current offerings. If you make every piece of marketing applicable to the pain points that people have, not only will you be heard, you will be in demand, demand.
Demand hasn't increased, sorry. Demand hasn't decreased, big difference. Demand has not decreased, it has increased in many areas. It's up to you to fit the way demand has shifted. So this might feel like you should cut back on marketing or advertising. No, it's cheaper, Facebook ads, Google ads, everyone else is thinking just like you, scared entrepreneurs thinking about ad budget, supply and demand. But it has never been easier to stand out and build a big audience and sell a lot of your products and position yourself to be an expert to serve people's needs. Ask yourself, what are the brand new needs and desires, and what do my skillsets and my past experiences have to do with solving them? Very important. What are the brand new needs and desires, and what do my skillsets and my past experiences have to do with solving them? 26 million people are out of jobs and their kids are home, they are all pivoting. A bunch of people are upset right now they won't get to see their brow lady for months. There's still a massive need to help them from home. They're upset.
So ask yourself, what do my past experiences and expertise have to bring to the table in this pandemic? In a crisis economy, you need to sell the pain pill not the vitamin. No one gives a crap about vitamins in a crisis economy, just me. They only care about solving their fears. People will become afraid out there because there's massive propaganda. There's nothing to be afraid of if you know what to do, I guarantee it. There will never be a cheaper time because of the fact that the world goes on sale, ads, spaces, websites. It's the best time for you to build a business of any kind and put yourself in a position to reap what's on the other side of every recession, which is positive quarters of upward growth.
You have impeccable timing right now in this webinar, so don't have fear. Don't listen to the naysayers. You're going to look back on this. And if you make the right moves, you're going to be super grateful for it. The opportunity right now is here. People are home, they're online, they have time. So what do I always say? Attention is currency, attention is currency. Gary V, says that. Now, it's the time to build that YouTube channel you've been talking about, start the podcast you've been meaning to, take a course like mine about Instagram. Seriously, I guarantee screen time right now on Instagram is at an all time high. It is a great time for you to build your following. If I were you, I would use this time to build your list, your email list. Because brick and mortars, some of them are making money, but not as much as before.
And some of them are making nothing because you're not open. But you know what is killing the game right now? Online businesses. Online businesses are killing it. So think of a good opt-in that could give massive value right now, that's relevant to people right now. You can use this time to position yourself too to be the person everyone will flock to once they're able to. So you have to think of a new way to create income from home. That's the long and the short of it. You have to innovate, you have to get scrappy. You have to get creative. Your business, if you do this right, listen to this, your business if you do this right won't be recognizable after COVID-19 is over. It will have a different shape, it will have additions.
And I have to say I'm not always this positive. When this first happened, I went inside, I went dark as they say. I went dark, I disappeared for two weeks. I needed to take the time to cry. And if you need to do that, please do that, it is necessary. But here's the thing, foolpreneurs are the ones who waste time crying about how they wish things were the same. Real entrepreneurs, we cry, but then we choose to recover and to adapt. New circumstances, new plan, let go of your old plan, it won't work. You need to figure out a new way to make money from home. Isaac Newton apparently came up with calculus and the theory of gravity during the plague. And right now, there's a plague. He created his best work from home. So your job is to look deeper at what problem do you have the solution for.
Those people who just got stimulus checks and PPP, hopefully you did too. Do you have education for them that they can buy? That's why I said get obsessed with your customer. Do you have a service for them like tutoring that they can hire you for? Put the needs of your customer first, it will come back to you. So once this is all over, like for real over, vaccine, immunity, whatever, the whole world will be on sale. Everything will be so cheap, people will exchange money at astounding rates. I don't know when that will be. But once we beat this, there will be a massive windfall for those who applied pressure in the right places, those who learn how to adapt. But if you're going to be one of those people, you need to work.
There are plenty of millionaires who were made during the depression era, did you know that? You could be one of those people. So if you follow me through this journey, if you do the work, once that list is built, and I'll teach you how to do that too. I'm talking about your audience, your email list. You're going to be ready to launch something, and you're going to win out of this whole thing because most people won't be ready. Most people are going to live in fear and cave then. Like I said, most people are going to obsess over the news and forget about their customer. But this is what it takes to survive and thrive. You are a leader or else you wouldn't be coming to a webinar like this. You get to set the tone. Your actions are what's going to determine what the person next to you is going to do because they are watching.
So serve while others are delaying, focus while others are distracted, save while others are spending, study while others are daydreaming, inspire while others are too afraid to put it out there, and keep going while others press pause. And pivot now early while others stay in denial and continue to bargain. You're a leader, don't be afraid to lead. Don't be afraid to shine in a dark, dark world that needs more light than ever. So set the tone. I want you to act with swagger, act with certainty. And when people see and feel you do that, it gives them permission to do the same. And I'm trying to do that, I'm doing it, join me. Let's link arms together. It is war time, it is time to be of service, it's time to be generous. It's not time to take, it's time to give. And guess what, I learned a lot about people throughout this time. We can fight this together. I want to see you slay because if you do that, it is going to light me up. Nothing lights me up more than seeing other women win.
So with that said, if you are wondering how to pivot during this time, if you have questions about what is right for you and your business, if you want to take your brick and mortar and figure out ways to transform it to an online platform, I would love to help you. I have never done this before, but I'm actually going to be opening up one-on-one coaching sessions for those of you that need one-on-one time with me. I have very limited time, I only do these on Mondays. So I have a few spots available for Mondays for coaching. If that is something you're interested in, go ahead and send me an email I'm going to type it right here to my team, [email protected]. And then we'll talk about rates, what you need, and pricing.
For those of you who know now that online courses might be a good way for you to pivot, I have a very inexpensive solution for you, it is called online course workshop. I poured my heart and soul into this workshop, it is $158 right now, but I swear to you I feel like it's worth so much more because in the beginning of my digital corporation, my digital business, I wished I would have known these things. Pulling an online course workshop is the best. Go check it out, it's $158, and it's four videos. And I believe the total running time is about 10 hours, it's about 10 hours of content. And it is going to teach you how to create an online course from start to finish even if you don't have an idea yet of what would be a profitable, such big deal, big difference, what would be a profitable course idea, it will help you pinpoint that.
So that is sheilabella.com/onlinecourseworkshop where I'll teach you how to create it, develop it, launch it, scale it. I go into branding, I go into the technicalities. And by the way, you don't need an expensive film crew or anything like that to have an online course, you can totally do it yourself. And this workshop shows you how you can even just do it from your computer or your iPhone, seriously. That's how I started, and I know a lot of successful people who do it themselves, who do it themselves. Let's imagine that you sell 100 mini courses at $29 for something. It could be brow shaping, it could be how to homeschool your kids, it could be relationship advice. I mean, it could literally be anything that you feel like you have the solution for.
And people are hungry for that right now. Did you know that e-learning is set to be a $4 billion industry, $4 billion industry by year 2026? And that statistic, you can look it up, that statistic was true before COVID. Now that e-learning is blowing up, I'll bet that number is higher. So if you don't have an online course yet, it's actually kind of so yesterday, because it's the way this business is going. You can't deny it. So perhaps this whole pandemic is just speeding things up. It's just speeding things up for people to go and pivot the way they've always needed to pivot anyway.
That's it for today's episode of Pretty Rich Podcast. If there was anything in this episode that has impacted you in any small or big way, I want to know. You can reach me @RealSheilaBella on Instagram. And by the way, if we are not text buddies yet, that needs to change. You can text my name Sheila, S-H-E-I-L-A to 31996 and we'll be connected. I really love hanging with you guys on here. And one last thing before we wrap it up, I got to include my kids, hashtag mom first. So here are Beau and Grey to close things out.
Beau:
Hi, my name is Beau.
Sheila Bella:
Can you tell everybody what our family motto is?
Beau:
I can do hard things.
Sheila Bella:
I can do hard things. Now, fill in the blanks, hard is?
Beau:
Fine.
Sheila Bella:
Easy is?
Beau:
Boring.
Sheila Bella:
Good job, buddy, I love you so much.
Beau:
I love you the best [inaudible 00:56:09].
Sheila Bella:
Grey say share with your friends.
Grey:
Share with your friends.
Sheila Bella:
Please review my mommy on iTunes.
Grey:
Preview mommy iTunes.
Sheila Bella:
Thanks for listening.
Grey:
Thanks for listening.
