It’s OK to ask for help

It’s taken me a while to decide what my first blog would be. I’ve had many ideas whizzing round in my head. In all honestly my blog has ended up going to the bottom of my ‘to do’ list, as client work always comes first.

Thinking about the last few months, it became obvious that my first blog should be about how I’ve dealt with being a new start-up when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I’ll be pulling back the covers on my initial fears and how the lockdown became my most successful period yet!

Lockdown, an unexpected stop and going it alone

At the start of lockdown I was just over a year into my freelance venture and things were going well, but overnight my work stopped. My clients at the time either worked in the arts sector or were classed as non-essential businesses and, understandably, PR was put on hold for them.

Being self-employed you are very much out on your own – for the highs and the lows - that’s what I signed up for. However, when the government made funding available for self-employed people I was optimistic that there would be some support I was able to access. Unfortunately another blow, it turned out I wasn’t eligible as I hadn’t been freelancing for long enough.

Turning things around

So, what was I going to do to help my business through the pandemic and bring in a little money? Following my own communications advice, I decided I would try and do something positive.

If you follow any of my social media channels you will have seen that I’ve been running a competition. For £15 a ticket I was giving away the chance to win three months PR and communications support. Nothing ground-breaking and I didn’t have a clue how it would go, but it was a quick and effective way to keep my business visible and get some potential new business contacts.

I couldn’t have guessed how willing and supportive other businesses and people would be. The feedback I have received while running the competition throughout the past few months has been heartwarming.

“This is a really great idea”

“Love this creative way of both marketing and keeping going during this temporary blip (lets hope it doesn’t last long)”

“…that sounds like an ingenious idea”

“I saw you were based in the area, and I like to try and keep spending as local as possible, I prefer independents as opposed to big chains etc”

These words have meant so much to me throughout this tricky time, especially as so many people are in the same situation and experiencing financial uncertainty.

Asking for help when you need it

I was very honest in my plea for help and support throughout my social media campaign. People seemed to relate to the vulnerability and honesty of my situation.

I haven’t yet filled all 50 numbers – you can still enter the competition :-) -  but I have taken on two brand new clients as a direct result of the social media campaign. They got in touch after seeing my social posts, booked a zoom meeting and off we went. I’ve also received lots more enquiries that I will be following up and contacting in the future.

Keeping a positive mindset

My experience in all this is that it’s ok to ask for help. It’s ok to admit things are hard, but keep your mindset and your overriding message positive. It’s hard when you’re starting out and admitting that won’t impact your professionalism, as long as you stick to your tone of voice and your key messages.

If you’re reading this and thinking that you and your business are struggling, I’d tell you to think about what you can do to turn the situation into a positive one. Is there something you could do differently that could help you turn it around?

Now more than ever people are keen to support small and local businesses. By trying something different or opening yourself up to a new or existing audience, you might just be surprised by the response you get - just like I was.

Do you need PR and communications support?

If you’d like to enter my PR competition (one last plug I promise) I have a few numbers left. Visit my Facebook page to enter.

Or get in touch if you’d like a talk about how I could help you creatively get your positive message out there. I offer bespoke services completely tailored to your business needs. You can read more about them by visiting my website.