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She Made Success Happen Anyway
Julie Deem shares how a pandemic hurt her massage therapy business, but she tapped into skills she already had and made success happen.
For years, Julie owned and operated a small business as a licensed massage therapist. Things were going well. That is until the COVID-19 pandemic arrived and we went into a mandatory quarantine across the United States. Coronavirus did not slow down business for Julie. It utterly shut her down.
The impact of COVID-19 on small businesses was four out of every ten were temporarily closed (PNAS, 2020). Julie’s business was one of them.
That did not stop her though. Having recently started a podcast, the UNITED State of Women, with a friend, Julie realized that she could leverage those skills in helping just a few of the more than an estimated half a million start-up podcasts from 2020 edit and publish their shows. Creators could focus on recording their content, and hand of their recordings to Julie’s new business for some processing to make it publish-ready. Faced with a catastrophic shutdown of her income, Julie made success happen anyway.
You may be faced with a career setback right now. The feeling of loss can be great. No one enjoys being at the top of their game only to have the game swept out from underneath. You need a win! You want a win!
First, consider the things you have already. What skills do you have that will meet a need around you? Is there something you are good at doing, or knowledge that someone else does not have? If that is the case, then you have something that another person is willing to pay for.
You can create the income you need with an idea, a business structure (even a simple one), and the passion to go after it. Like that shoe company is known for saying, “Just do it!” There, I said it. You knew it was coming.
Maybe you don’t want to go into business for yourself, and that is okay. Income may still be an issue though, and that would mean a new job. In some ways, you may have been freed up to find a new vocation. In a similar fashion, take some time to review the skills you have.
Rather than go to the job boards, reach out to a professional headhunter. Many of them are paid through referral fees collected from the hiring company. I know someone who does this for healthcare professionals, especially those in leadership roles.
Veterans of military service have made success happen as their experiences set them up to be entrepreneurs in many respects. The blogging team at CreditCards.com provides these guidelines for veterans on starting a small business.
Get out there so you can also look back and say, “I made success happen!”
Who is Julie Deem?
Julie Deem is a licensed massage therapist in the state of Indiana (AMTA, NCTMB), and co-host of UNITED State of Women podcast. The COVID-19 practically shut down business and income for Julie when the pandemic reached the United States.
Out of necessity to earn an income safely, Julie conducted an inventory of the skills, knowledge, and resources she already possessed and discovered a need she could meet with what she already possessed. She now operates a business called The Business Podcast Editor helping business owners deliver their message and purpose through podcasting.
The Internet provides opportunities for us. That was leveraged by Julie in such a way that she was able to replace her lost income and place herself in a position to have multiple businesses in operation as the pandemic eases.
Resources and Links
Visit Julie’s website, The Business Podcast Editor
Listen to her podcast, UNITED State of Women
Listen to these past episodes of people who revamped their businesses in a crisis
- Start Your Own Virtual Assistant Business with Alyssa Avant – BtR 243
- Making Child Care Business Adjustments During COVID-19 – BtR 217
- How Military Spouse Laura Pennington-Briggs Began a Successful Freelance Writing Business – BtR 196
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Episode Credits
Host: Brandon Cunningham
Co-Host, Editing, and Production: Jerry Dugan
Music: “Oceans Apart” is our theme song composed and performed by Scott Ian Holmes.
