Growing Your Photography Business (Part 9): Social Responsibility, Building Resilience, Working Remotely
Social Responsibility in the Midst of Crisis
Social responsibility has become the spotlight of businesses in recent days as COVID-19 wreaks havoc around the globe.
Whether it’s helping the needy in the community or donating goods to front-liners, our society is adopting the moral stance that both the private and public sectors have a higher calling to take on more responsibility, care for our neighbors, and improve the world we live in.
When life throws us sourness, we turn difficult challenges into something positive. Hence, it’s “lemons to lemonade.”
Social responsibility can improve your business’s reputation, build an emotional connection and make the brand stand-out. It can boost your team’s morale, leading to greater productivity.
In our small little way, there are needs we can supply ‘til the storm passes by. Some things can cost zero to small monetary value but the impact can go a long way. Here are 50 Examples of Companies Doing Good For The World During This Coronavirus Pandemic
Check out my Shot List to help you get organized with schedules, appointments, and commitments.
Build Resilience
Some people would seem to collapse in terms of adversity, but some even rise up stronger because of it. What sets them apart? Resilience. Resilience is when you rise from the occasion when the going gets tough.
Whether during a pandemic or normal business cycles, learn to bounce back from difficult situations by building your “resiliency threshold.”
Resilience is not tenacity or grit.
Tenacity/grit is pushing through in difficult times, resiliency is bouncing back after setbacks
Resilience is the capability to not fold under demise even if you don’t feel calm or confident
Resilience is to be able to sustain energy in a highly-demanding environment. It’s the ability to cope up, to bounce back, to pull yourself up, and press on.
Qualities of Resilience:
Positive Outlook - you turn negative self-talk to ‘self-teach’ and change your perspectives to see the silver lining in every situation
Empathy - you have the ability to understand another person’s situation, and therefore, you develop a better system for your team or a better product for your client
Emotional Regulation - “Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.” Proverbs 25:28. A personal without emotional regulation is vulnerable. Guarding your heart and feelings is crucial to bounce back and face another day’s challenges. You don’t drain your energies today because of the regrets of yesterday.
Resilience may sound like something you’re born with, but it’s not. It can be learned. You can improve through work and persistence. Like an athlete, discipline, focus and commitment can raise your ‘resiliency threshold.’
Stressful situations can be emotionally draining, but resilience will make you overcome both in work or personal life.
A Shot List and content calendar is a good combination to help you maintain a blog.
Working Remotely
Working remotely may be your normal routine in the past already. But for many, work-at-home is unfamiliar territory due to the outbreak.
Remote work demands that you accomplish your job at home or anywhere, usually doing it with an electronic device and internet connection.
Whether remote work is your preference or “forced” upon you, there are valuable things you can appreciate in this lifestyle:
You save time for commute, reduce carbon footprint, and use the time for self-development
More energy to do your home or personal errands
Being physically present with your loved ones
Freedom of time (in some instances) and location (such as working in another country)
Home quarantine because of COVID-19? Make the most out of it. Here are the keys to success:
Secure clear guidelines from your company pertaining to work-from-home. Clarify meeting times, expectations, EOD, tools, etc.
If you have a team, clear communication is key. Invest in a well-lit room for video interactions, make sure the noise is canceled out or reduced, set boundaries in your home when work time starts.
Make sure your internet connection is stable and good to avoid unpleasant experiences and failed meetings. See if you can upgrade or increase bandwidth.
Sync your schedule with your team by sharing your calendar so they know your whereabouts.
Set-aside a “balcony time” where you devote time to learning new tools or skills for remote work or other skills of value. Check out Udemy, Coursera, Linkedin Learning or Youtube.
Follow a schedule where you address your overall well-being including exercise, eating healthy food and strengthening your relationships
Avoid distractions by communicating clearly your work schedules with your family, assess if your pet will create noise distractions, invest in a room or corner for calls or video meetings, or use a good headset or mic.
Get a good working knowledge with communication tools such as Skype, Google Hangouts, Zoom, Loom, and others.
Develop skills in using cloud or collaboration tools such as Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Trello, Slack and more.
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In case you missed it,
Here's the rest of my business tips for photographers:
Part one
Success in your business involves establishing a solid financial foundation. Thank you for reading my photography business tips and I wish you many years of success!
XoXo…
