April 2024 was one of my worst months in my 6+ years of business… and July turned out to be my best month ever.
Wait, rewind… context.
In March 2023, we bought our first house. On the very day we signed the contract, my biggest client informed me they were shutting down… $25k per year, gone.
Shit.
With a new mortgage to pay, I instinctively went into survival mode, asking myself the obvious question: **“What would MacGyver do?”** The answer (as always with the mulleted Mac Daddy) was to use what I had and make it work. So, I started pushing my Quickee design services, and by March the following year, I ran the numbers—I had not only made up the loss but surpassed it.
**“The Funk” enters the chat**
It wasn’t burnout (that bitch), but something more “meh” and less intense. I was tired, annoyed, and so over, well, everything. Especially my business. I even started searching Seek ads (which didn’t last long—I suspect who I am now is distinctly unemployable). Now, if you’ve met me, you know melancholy, self-pity, and flatness are not my default settings. I’m more ridiculously positive, nauseatingly enthusiastic, and often a little too much.
Predictably, after weeks of this nonsense, my bank account mirrored my energy levels… zero.
Fuck.
I grudgingly emerged from my hermit cave, still exuding a general air of despair and a whiff of sulkiness. I did the only thing I could think of—I called my rant buddy. We have a rule: we can call and rant, getting all the ugly, boring, selfish thoughts off our chests with zero judgment. And surprise, surprise, she was feeling the same. After a series of “me too” moments and ranty talk, I was ready for the next call to my peppy, cheerleader, happy-go-lucky, Mary Poppins biz bestie.
I cried, I sulked. I wore my ‘poor me’ persona like my comfiest (daggiest) trackies (which, at that stage, I was probably wearing). She was unfazed and consistently brushed aside my excuses with her unfailing logic and tried-and-true advice. And the one that stuck?
Do the easiest thing first.
For me, it meant reaching out to past and present clients. Just for a chat. To check in. To offer some love. To compliment or commiserate.
To connect.
The wave of ‘same page’ sentiments came like a virtual flood—a swift, love-bomb reminder of why I do this. For them. For you.
Riding the dopamine high, I made a list of all the types of people I could reach out to and, even more importantly, why:
Who: Fellow designers and web developers
Why: To commiserate, get real, and explore potential overflow work.
I then made a list of these people (a list within a list, **swoon**).
What followed was a flurry of outreach. On one rainy Sunday, I:
- Voice messaged designer friends, Insta buddies, and past clients about my situation
- DMed people in the course space about my earlier offer, which had limited success
- DMed speakers about my new offering to get their input
- Sent out 30+ emails to past clients, local design agencies, and connections from networking events over the last six months
- Posted in Facebook groups to gauge interest in a new offer
- Sought new LinkedIn contacts and sent messages
- Reached out to local networking groups for upcoming events
- Sent an email newsletter
This is the point where you might be expecting me to say, “It brought in X amount, and you can do it too.”
But this isn’t that kind of blog.
- I got ghosted.
- A bunch of people unsubscribed from my email list.
- I didn’t instantly fill my bank account.
- I still felt a bit jaded.
But I also heard:
- Lots of “me too’s”
- “This is the hardest year in business yet,” over and over
- Tearful stories of struggling with money and paying bills
- “I’m here for you”
The actual results from over 70 messages (for those craving tangible data):
- Booked 18 meetings/catch-ups/vent sessions, both virtually and in person
- 3 people had work for me (potentially worth $6k+)
- Over two-thirds replied to my emails
- Nine new leads on my new offer, with email addresses
- A new professional contact with magazine and publishing leads
- 4 people expressed interest in referring their clients to my services
Honestly, the majority of these came out of left field and weren’t a direct response to my outreach. But the biggest lesson I learned was the importance of regular outreach and how directly it connects to dollars in my bank account.
- Remember, as much as being in business can be lonely, you are not alone.
- As hard as it can be, a problem shared really does help.
- And the simple act of just doing the thing can be the catalyst for the next amazing leap in your business.
If you are feeling your own version of the above, I get. Like I **REALLY** get it. So if you need a rant chat, a peppy cheerleader brainstorm sesh or simply a shoulder to cry on or an ear to bend, I AM HERE FOR YOU. Please book a chat below:
