How to Plan Ahead When The Future Seems Uncertain
Pat Alva-Kraker ○ May 29, 2020
An important strategy for new and seasoned entrepreneurs is to plan ahead, anticipate challenges, and work toward goals proactively. But what happens when the future is unknown? COVID-19 has stopped us all in our tracks, forcing many of us (51%) to work from home and putting business planning on hold. Entrepreneurs and business owners worldwide are all trying to get their footing in this new world order.
There’s still hope, however. You can plan ahead despite an uncertain future and use the current circumstances to focus on building and growing your business. Whether you’re a new entrepreneur or an established veteran, there are some strategies to keep you going.
Plan Ahead with What You Can
The first step is to evaluate. Many entrepreneurs have found themselves with extra time on their hands as they work from home. Although this spare time has translated, for many, into lost revenue, it still holds its value. Time is money, and it’s always worth something. As many business coaches advise, use any spare time to evaluate and improve your business.
During this process, you can plan ahead by taking an in-depth look. Determine what needs improvement or investment, or what you can let go. Prioritize your tasks and trim the fat where you can. Then, use the time to discover what you can still do right now. There are, of course, some aspects of your business—big or small—that can still go on as scheduled.
Focus on Marketing
Along with focusing on what you can do, use your time to concentrate on how you can promote your business. Because most of us are on our computers and working from home, we can do what we can to perfect and build upon our brands and image. Seasoned entrepreneurs know the game of marketing all too well. Marketing, whether you like it or not, can make or break your business. If you’re a new entrepreneur, a strategic PR and marketing plan is even more critical.
Establishing a brand or perfecting what you have can help you prepare for when things are up and running. Business planning doesn’t have to stop, even in a pandemic. Enhance your website, start a blog, promote your social media sites, and create a bank of fantastic content. New entrepreneurs can start to build SEO-driven content that puts them on the map. Seasoned entrepreneurs can develop their current reputation with reviews, press releases, and collaborations with other businesses. The sky is truly the limit when you have extra time.
Plan Ahead for a New Future – Be Innovative
Sometimes, in times of crisis and change, we can’t plan ahead as we once did. COVID-19 is changing the world, and the future might be uncertain. However, the future might also be new, and you can still employ a business planning strategy that’s proactive and solutions-oriented. However, it may require some innovation and creativity.
Will COVID-19 put businesses online? Enhance your website, make it interactive, and establish your business’s presence on the internet. Will socially-distanced social media be the key to future client and customer interaction? Join all the channels, start to build your following, and make it fun. With so many people on social media these days, it’s essential to stand out. Is there another way that your business can survive and thrive in a post-coronavirus world? Your best strategy to plan ahead with an uncertain future is to be an innovative and creative business owner.
What are you interested in? Entrepreneurship, Growing your Business? Managing Stress? Starting a Business? Put a keyword in the search and we'll take you to the right place!
Taking care of yourself doesn't mean me first, it means me too... L.R. Knost
"You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream." - C.S. Lewis Ladies, I recently met a woman who switched careers at 55. She said, "I’m just getting started!" Her excitement was contagious. Reinventing yourself isn’t just possible—it’s necessary for growth. 🌱 Stay open to learning new skills or exploring new passions. Reinvention is key to relevancy. For more insights on longevity, vitality and relevancy, join the conversation on LinkedIn!
Ever feel like your energy just isn’t what it used to be? You wake up tired, need more coffee than usual, and by mid-afternoon, you’re crashing hard. Let me introduce you to Lisa, a client of mine who was once in that exact spot. She was 52, an executive, and constantly drained. “I just don’t have the energy I used to,” she admitted. But the truth? It wasn’t age stealing her vitality. It was her habits. With a few simple tweaks, Lisa completely turned her energy around. And today, I’m sharing those shifts with you. Why Energy Declines After 45 (And How to Fix It!) Your energy isn’t just about sleep—it’s about how you fuel your body, mind, and soul. Here are three things stealing your energy (and how to reclaim it): 1️⃣ You’re Not Hydrated Enough. Dehydration is sneaky—it mimics fatigue. By the time you feel thirsty, your body is already depleted. ✔ Fix it: Start your day with 16oz of water. Keep a bottle nearby and sip all day. 2️⃣ You’re Overloading on Caffeine. That second (or third) coffee? It’s draining you. Caffeine spikes energy but leads to a crash. ✔ Fix it: Swap out an afternoon coffee for green tea or electrolytes to sustain energy. 3️⃣ You’re Not Moving Enough. Exercise isn’t about weight loss—it’s about energy circulation. Sitting too long slows blood flow, which makes you feel sluggish. ✔ Fix it: Set a timer to stand up and move every 30 minutes. A quick walk or stretch does wonders! Your Energy Makeover Challenge Lisa committed to hydrating more, cutting caffeine in half, and walking 10 minutes every morning. Within two weeks, she felt like herself again—alert, focused, and full of life. Now, it’s your turn. 💡 CTA: What’s ONE energy-boosting habit you’ll start today? Join the conversation on LinkedIn! Let’s reclaim your vitality together. 💪✨
"Laughter is timeless, imagination has no age, and dreams are forever." - Walt Disney Do you remember the last time you played just for fun? A study in the Journal of Aging Research found that adults who engage in playful activities have lower stress and live longer. Meet Lisa, a successful entrepreneur who had lost her sense of joy. She decided to take a pottery class —just for fun. It transformed her mindset. She felt more creative, relaxed, and energized in her daily life. Play isn’t just for kids—it’s a vital part of mental and emotional well-being. ✔ Dance, paint, or sing— do something just for fun. ✔ Try a new hobby— curiosity keeps the brain young. ✔ Laugh often— joy is a powerful anti-aging tool. 💡 CTA: What’s one fun activity you’ll try this week? Join the conversation on LinkedIn!
Do you feel the pressure to raise the bar in your business at the beginning of a new year? I've felt like that, too. This year I decided that I want more in my business and life; more ease and grace, more play time and more joy. I want my business to be driven more from within, my higher-self and source. This requires surrender, listening and trusting the journey. For me, surrender means letting go of the outcome and the “how”, especially the “how”. I have a morning routine that includes meditation. I’m now asking during my meditation time; what do you want me to know, do and be? Whatever message comes through, I have committed to follow and trust that it’s for my highest good and in response to my ask for “more”. I’m, in essence, an employee to my higher-self. What a fresh way of looking at my business! Right? Did you know that you, too, can have the CEO of your company be your higher-self – Source. Did you know that when you apply this way of running your business, everything changes, transformation happens and your imagination goes beyond what you thought was possible? In my 35 years of working for corporate, I never received training that taught me to surrender and trust my higher-self for the answers. I’m committed to you, as a mentor, to bring this way of running your business with ease and grace. Are you ready to shift to a different way of growing your business and making an impact? Let’s chat about how you are doing business today and create a path to more ease and grace, fun and joy. Click the button below to schedule a complementary 30-minute session where you will walk away with at least one idea to implement.
Like a hummingbird, when we live our day empty, there is a delicious freedom of not having to be anything other than who we are. The rest of the story: We are fully present to our senses. We see things in their true nature. We smell the sweetest of scents. We hear even the smallest of leaves fall and our skin is sensitive to the slightest of breezes. We live empty and open. Are you full of the noise of the past or worrying about the future? Distractions from the present moment prevent us from receiving intuitive messages, and seeing the opportunities in front of our eyes. Take a deep breath and bring your attention to the present moment. “Excerpt from the Amazon’s bestselling book “Katherine’s Quest: One Woman’s Journey to Elation”. To order the book click here
The coronavirus pandemic forced businesses to adjust to ensure their survival. We all welcome 2021 with open arms. It’s important to stay on top of the latest business trends. As entrepreneurs, we need to be ready for these trends.
Gratitude is one of the highest and most empowering states you can achieve. Being grateful raises your vibration level and truly magnetizes you to attract more positive energy into your life. When you are grateful you feel joyful, satisfied and filled with heartfelt appreciation for what you have received and continue to receive. You basically tell the universe, “Thank you, this is wonderful – send me more please!” The universe dutifully responds to your request by sending you even more reasons to be grateful. It must respond in this way; universal law demands it. How do you become more grateful and therefore, attract more of what you truly want? These five practices are a good start. Choose one and practice it for 30 days. Express gratitude to others . This could be as easy a phone call, a text or a thank you note. Rarely do we receive cards any more. Imagine the smile on their face when they receive your note. Wow! Can you imagine the positive impact you would have on their day? Adopt the “gratitude is an attitude” lifestyle . Everyday write down five things you are grateful for and why you are grateful for that particular experience or thing. Just 15 minutes a day focusing on the things you’re grateful for will significantly increase your body’s natural antibodies. This can be done at the beginning or at the end of your day. Look for what you want to see vs. what you don’t want to see. Too often we go about our day waiting and expecting awful things to happen, or we expect to be disappointed. Some of us walk around saying, “I don’t like this, and this, and that….” and look for things that need changing. I wonder what your day would look like if you focused on what you did indeed want to see. “I like this, I like that…. oh, and I really love that!” You would be a better a mood, smile more and see the good in all. Thank yourself. Gratitude doesn’t always need to be focused on what other people have done for you! Make sure you give yourself a thank-you for the healthy habits you’ve cultivated in your day and life, such as eating a balanced meal or giving yourself enough time for rest each night. Look for the silver linings. Even the most difficult times in our lives come with some benefit—you just have to look. Making a mistake teaches you a lesson. Being sick draws the attraction of family and friends. When things seem hard, ask yourself: What’s good about this situation? Gratitude is a magical therapy. Start collecting the magic today. What are you most grateful for?
Have you had a day where you have said “I hope to not have another day like this” or “I wish all my days were like this”? We all have those days. Some days we live our day from the neck up. Our mind chatter dictates our mood or how we feel about ourselves. Our chatter instills a lack of confidence and we play small, make decisions from fear or worse take no action at all. The bummer part about it is that sometimes we are unaware that this is happening. Each morning we get to start brand new and be conscious and intentional about our day. I love it! Have you had that kind of day when you wake up feeling rested, positive and full of energy? You connect with what truly matters and your decisions throughout your day come from this place. There’s this wonderful and peaceful place of alignment. Ahh…you want more of these days. It’s all there for you every morning. Embracing each morning as a new beginning allows you to be open to possibilities, to remind yourself what it feels like to make decisions from your heart and to acknowledge that you are exactly where you need to be. “Embrace each morning as a new beginning” …. Pat Alva-Kraker – excerpt from Katherine’s Quest: One Woman’s Journey to Elation. Pre-Order at https://amzn.to/2EP69O0 .
Passion is an essential piece of the entrepreneurship puzzle. Without it, it’s more challenging to get your footing as a new entrepreneur. It’s a driving force behind preliminary success, and it’s easy to find in the beginning. But what happens when it starts to wane? How do you find your passion again and again? Any seasoned entrepreneur will tell you that passion will fade. It’s inevitable. But the key to prolonged success in starting and running your business is always to find your passion, even when it takes a temporary hiatus. Why? Because without it, it’ll be challenging to keep your energy infused in your daily tasks. The Magic of Passion in Entrepreneurship Passion is like a magic wand for new entrepreneurs: it can change the things you don’t like into exciting endeavors. When you’re enthusiastic about something, those menial, tedious tasks magically become stepping stones leading you to your goals. Of course, not everything will be butterflies and rainbows. But doing something with emotion will always feel more natural than doing it without, and it will often bring you more success. So what do you do when that magic is gone? Find Your Passion at the Start When your energy fades, or you start to experience burnout, it’s often a loss of passion. You had it once before, where is it now? The secret is to go back to the beginning. If you seek business coaching, you’ll learn the importance of keeping a personal record of your journey. If you write down why you started this endeavor, you can quickly and personally remind yourself of that essential ingredient. We all need those reminders of why we dove into entrepreneurship in the first place! Connect With Clients & Customers As new entrepreneurs, life is usually inspiring despite the challenges. Your adrenaline is pushing you through, dominating roadblocks. But when we start to sink into the pile of mundane tasks, the passion can quickly begin to fade. Remind yourself of why you started your business (as in #1) and then connect with the people you’re helping. When you take some time to reconnect with the WHY and interact with your devoted clients or customer base, then you’ll eventually start to feel the magic again. This process will need repeating as you continue your journey. Seasoned entrepreneurs know that passion is something that you’ll chase for many years. Find Your Passion in Other Things Life cannot be all about your business! If that’s the case, you’ll undoubtedly experience burnout and lose passion forever. Instead, diversify your sources of energy. If passion starts to fade in your work, take a little break, and explore it in something else for an afternoon. Maybe it’s baking or gardening or hiking. Refresh your passion in something else so that you can insert it back into your business. Reach Out to Your Community In business coaching, this step is imperative to both new and seasoned entrepreneurs. Sometimes, you merely need to connect with someone else who “gets it.” Every business owner will experience this multiple times, so reach out to your safety net and ask them to help you find your passion again. Most likely, it’s just a phone call or a cup of coffee away. The Power of Positive Thinking Here’s the catch: when your passion starts to fade, it’s still inside you. It never leaves your mind; it’s usually just clouded by exhaustion and negative thinking. Enter the power of positivity and positive thinking. It might sound silly at first, but positive thinking is a common tactic in business coaching and successful entrepreneurship. By focusing on the good, you’re essentially focusing on your passion. Don’t squash honest emotion—when you feel bad, let it out. But then, try to center yourself around positive energy, which passion loves.
