We are back with a series on Life In Times Of COVID-19! Hear how emerging to experienced small business owners and solopreneurs are adapting and innovating. Receive validation. Get inspired. Keep innovating and changing with the times we are in! DOWNLOAD

Peter Beaumont is my first podcast guest in this series. He describes how it went facilitating his first online meeting with 55 members of the Small Emerging Growth Companies (SEGC) organization.

Our discussion follows a familiar six-step innovation process. Each phase of the process of change and innovation engage different emotions. You will hear how Peter framed the problem when the hammer went down in March and all of our lives changed. Have you felt shock, disbelief, and denial? How about fear?

We discuss the questions that prompted an exploration of ideas (feelings: anger, disillusionment, and despair, maybe hostility). The next phase in innovation is ideation where you edit ideas to focus on the specific needs of the population you serve. In Peter’s case, it is the SEGC members of solopreneurs and small business owners. Peter and the SEGC Advisory Board explored those narrowed options and created a ZOOM meeting prototype. How did that go? How many iterations of meeting formats did they examine before finalizing the meeting format? How much did they practice? What was the payoff? And finally, Implementation (feelings: acceptance, excitement, nervousness, optimism, hopefulness): On April 23^rd, the meeting went ‘live’ with six breakout sessions. What happened?  

Peter had all sorts of lessons he learned you can relate to. We usually fail to factor in enough time to learn new skillsets. A range of emotions surface under time constraints (see the Emotional Journey diagram). Have you thought about how your sense of humor comes across in a virtual setting? Peter describes his adjustment experience.

You can join the next SEGC online workshop on May 21^st from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (CST). Erik Gabrielson and his wife, Moira, co-author of “Our Fear Never Sleeps.” Erik will speak about his and his wife’s journey facing a decision no parent wants to make and other details in their book. Breakout sessions will follow his presentation. The topics discussed will focus on productive ways to work through paralyzing fear. Connect with Peter on LinkedIn or e-mail Peter.