Monthly Archives: June 2020
A COVID Update from Arizona…
We are still hunkered down in Arizona due to COVID. Several have written asking about our status, so here is an update.
We are doing fine. We self-isolated in early March, and have not been in a store or restaurant since then. We order groceries on-line, and we walk the dog in a local park. We finally ventured out for some take-out. Otherwise we stay at home.
Not all bad though. We gave our first on-line class two weeks ago. Two and a half days spread over four days of four hours each. In went well, and we now have two more classes scheduled. More planned.
No doubt COVID has had an impact on consulting and training. So if you are worried, be ready to pivot. The good news is the technology is there to support you. Time to learn new ways of doing business if you are not already doing so.
What we thought might last a month now looks like it may last much longer. Arizona is now a COVID hot spot — thanks to closing too late, opening too soon, and a lack of political will to do what was needed.
Our governor assumed Arizonans would act responsibly. They clearly did not. Bars and night clubs were packed, and three weeks later there was an explosion of COVID cases. No great surprise.
And no masks, of course, which were finally mandated. Thanks to political games, the governor can overrule local mandates. So our governor chose to do just that. On Friday, a clearly frightened governor changed his tune, allowing cities to require masks.
Here is a letter I just wrote to our governor:
We were pleased to see you finally changed your tune on masks, and allowed cities to proceed. Not being snarky — we thank you. It is a good start.
It was obvious from your press conference that you were scared, as you should be. This is serious. This not about politics — this is about protecting the people of Arizona — in some cases from their own arrogance and stupidity.
The next step should be to again close night clubs, bars, and inside seating in restaurants. None of these businesses are essential. You assumed Arizonas would show common sense — it is obvious too many owners and patrons did not do so.
Keep them closed until the cases are well under control, both for health reasons and to drive home the seriousness of COVID.
May I suggest you be less defensive when pressed for answers?
—There is nothing wrong with admitting past errors and taking responsibility.
— There is nothing wrong with changing direction with new data, or when the present approach is not working
—Work on crafting new solutions, rather than placing blame.
Those are the marks of leadership.Finally, stop listening to Trump, and trying to impress him. Do you think he really cares about you, or about Arizona, or about any of us? Time to be your own man and lead.
Good luck — from a business leader (owner/founder) and community leader who has stood in the fire…
If I stepped on toes with my Trump comment, get over it. As an aside, Trump will be in Arizona this week for a rally. I am appalled at this behavior in the middle of one of the largest COVID spikes in the country!
As consultants, sometimes we need to speak up. Particularly when we see problems that should and can be solved.
Time to put politics aside, and do what consultant are supposed to do — make the world a better place.
P.S. Coming up — a return to regular programming, starting with some questions from the mailbag.
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You don’t need to be Financially Independent to start a consulting practice…
No, you don’t need to be fully Financially Independent (FI), but you should have enough in the bank to last you six months to year. That is exactly what I did — the second time around – and it finally worked.
My first attempt was precipitated by a layoff/firing. I had been moonlighting, and decided to try full time consulting as the itch was pretty bad.
Although I had some savings, it was not enough. The economy was down, so after about three months I (wisely) threw in the towel and climbed back into the corporate womb.
As a result, I do NOT recommend starting a consulting business after a layoff unless you can survive financially for six months to a year.
My second attempt a couple of years later was planned in advance, with at least six months money in the bank, plus commitments from future clients. The unplanned event was the stock market crash the first day in business, but thanks to my financial reserves I succeeded.
Even on the second attempt, I was not yet fully FI. That came a few years later. But with enough F-You money in the bank, I felt confident and succeeded. The timing was good, and I’m not sure it would have been as successful had I delayed my jump a few more years.
My point is this — you don’t need to be fully FI to start — you just need enough to get you to positive cash flow. You also need a vision of why and what your are jumping into!
In recent years the FIRE (Financially Independent Retire Early) movement has taken off. I enjoy following the financial adventures of FIRE bloggers, and applaud the fiscal prudence they advocate and follow. (It works — I followed that path myself.)
Unhappy with their current jobs, however, often the emphasis seems to be on the Retire Early (RE) part of FIRE, with little thought of what to do next.
Hating your current job is not a good business plan, consulting or otherwise. Better to focus on what you want do with your life, not on what you want to escape. Jump TO… not FROM. That can take some serious soul searching, but in the end is worth it.
Finally, give some thought to WHO you want to serve. That is the essence of consulting – serving clients by solving problems and/or helping them achieve dreams.
Figure that out, and I’ll do my best to help you with the mechanics of making your own JumpToConsulting.
Cheers,
Uncle Daryl
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