How Digital Marketing Skills Saved My Business – And Why You Should Learn to Launch Online

Taking imperfect action is better than waiting for life to force your hand, and I learned this the hard way. When a crisis strikes, hesitation can cost you everything. 

This week, we witnessed the devastation brought by back-to-back hurricanes in parts of Florida. Homes, businesses, and entire livelihoods were uprooted in a matter of hours. 

It’s a stark reminder that tomorrow is never promised. 

Listening to Dave share the heartache sweeping his hometown, I couldn’t help but recall a moment of my own: the day we had just one hour’s notice.

Our business was ordered to close immediately due to COVID-19.

I remember the panic in my husband’s voice…

How will we pay the bills? We still owed every dollar on the building, insurance, all the expenses of doing business…yet we couldn't do business.

There was no word on when we might reopen, and it felt like everything we had built was slipping away instantly. 

But I refused to let that be our reality. 

If you know me, you know that if I’m going down…

I’m going down swinging.

There had to be another way, another option…and luckily, I had one…

What Did I do?

Luckily, I had already invested time, energy, and money into something that would ultimately save us…

digital marketing.

2 years prior, I had joined a mastermind group dedicated to business owners like me, focused on implementing online marketing. At the time, I was still a part of this group. Plus I was now to a point where I was working with clients outside of our brick-and-mortar business.

The skills were there, waiting for the moment I needed them most.

That night, I looked at my husband and said, “We may not be able to open our physical doors, but we can open a virtual one.”

I stayed up until the early hours of the morning, building an online membership area and a virtual class schedule.

Our students, who were on monthly tuition, suddenly had access to new online classes, workouts, and perhaps most importantly, connection with their favorite coaches and classmates during an uncertain and stressful time.

We had just one day without classes.

Our physical doors were closed for over three months, but our virtual doors were closed for only a single day.

What did that decision do for us?

• It kept our employees working, running classes through Zoom from their homes.
• It kept the kids active and connected, even while stuck at home.
• We were able to pay all our building rent on a 12k sq ft building that we still owed each month. (A lease our landlord was not willing to budge on)
• And we retained 88% of our enrollment during the shutdown.

All because I had previously learned digital marketing.

Someone once said “We were lucky.”

But luck had nothing to do with it, it was from preparation, follow thru, and consistency that when a situation we never imagined, the skills would come into play.

Dave Sharpe, our CEO here at Legendary Marketer, said it best this week:  YOU MUST GET VIRTUAL.

He too, in the middle of the hurricane aftermath, can continue to keep the doors open, stay focused on business because here at Legendary Marketer we're virtual. 

You never know when a wrench is going to get thrown into your plans.

I fell in love with marketing long before that day, but that experience confirmed my belief…

Everyone should learn digital skills, open their own virtual doors, and stop relying on “what ifs” to never happen to them.

Action Is Key

Waiting for the “right time” or for life to force your hand is a risk you don’t want to take.

Start where you are, with what you have, and learn as you go.

The key is to move forward before a crisis demands it.

Don’t wait for a storm to hit before you start building. Whether it's taking a first step, a new step, a start over step, and just continuing to step – ACTION IS KEY. 

The businesses like mine who had digital marketing experience survived the pandemic. Those that didn't want to grow into the online space…unfortunately did not make it through. 

It all came back to a commitment to ongoing growth in skills and knowledge. It's the same for you, for all of us. 

The day we stop learning…(or asking for guidance and advice)

The day we assume nothing bad could happen…

Is the day shit will absolutely hit the fan. 

And the coolest thing of all, is here at Legendary Marketer, Dave built an entire support and education system to help you learn and implement digital marketing before you ever feel forced into change.

So take advantage of what you have access to – take the challenge, jump on support calls, reach out in the community and do what you need to in order to keep moving forward.

Want detailed advice from content creation, faceless marketing, to building a funnel…all with a built in advisor to help? Grab our 5-Day Learn Launch Lead Challenge for 5 bucks! GRAB IT HERE