Dear Abel and Sofi: The Government Shutdown is Ruining My Life and Business. How Can I Push Forward?
About Dear Abel and Sofi: While our Q&A Forum addresses 1,000+ public questions weekly, we wanted to give our small business owners an outlet to anonymously share the kinds of frustrations, fears and private struggles few people express openly. Father-daughter duo Abel and Sofi co-author the column, bringing diverse perspectives to both professional and personal problems. A serial entrepreneur and counselor, Abel, 65, is known for his empathy and his uncanny understanding of many issues. Co-owner of a salon, Sofi, 28, has a younger, more candid approach to life’s challenges. To submit your anonymous questions, click here.
Dear Abel and Sofi,
I’ve been a graphic designer for the past six years. And I’ve found my niche in the food and beverage industry. It’s nice steady work and I just love it. That is, when the government is operational! This shutdown is horrific for my business. I do a lot of design work for beer and wine companies, and the labels I’ve created for their new lines aren’t being approved, because the government agency that reviews them is closed!
At first, I thought the pause would only be temporary, so I was cool about it. But now I’m feeling the heat financially. I’m not sure what to do, since my clients simply can’t move forward.
If that wasn’t stressful enough, the shutdown isn’t only crippling me professionally, it’s hit me hard personally, too. While it’s wonderful to have my elderly mother still alive, her health has deteriorated to the point where I can’t be the only one caring for her. So a few weeks before the shutdown, I applied to a federal program that would supply a caretaker for her. So much for that – another government roadblock.
Hate to say it, but taking care of my mother is becoming a very large burden, because I’m not really qualified to do it. She’s become a bit more than pleasantly plump and has trouble with her mobility. Meanwhile, I’m basically a 100-lb. weakling. Getting her in and out of the tub without incident can turn into a weird wrestling match on a good day. And that’s just one of 20 daily challenges she and I share.
Plus, I’m so stressed trying to figure out what else I can do to bring in some money, that we’re bickering a lot. My mom isn’t in a place where she can be alone, but God knows neither of us wants to be together 24/7!
Oh, great, she’s calling for me now! I need to go, but just let me know how I can try to keep my business going when most of my client work is on hold. And how can I find new work fast when so much time is consumed dealing with Mom?
- Shutdown by the Shutdown
Sofi: Dear Shutdown, Let’s tackle your family issue first. You need to solve that problem, in order to focus on your business.
Do you have anyone else in your family who can help take care of your Mom? You clearly need to find a new permanent caretaker, but, in the meantime, the burden shouldn’t be on you alone if others can step in.
If family isn’t an option, is there a neighbor who can help at least entertain and make meals for your Mom? One of my best friends has a grandmother who’s very vibrant -- and she takes care of an elderly neighbor. She does it part-time, splitting the job with another woman her age. It’s great because she makes some money, socializes, and still feels like she has purpose. It keeps her young! Perhaps you can find someone like that who can help care for your Mom. Ask your neighbors, your local senior center, or even your local librarian to see if they know of anyone.
You should also post something in your local Alignable Community Forum. Your network here might know someone just right for the job. Having a second set of hands will take some of the burden off of you, so that you can work on drumming up new business.
For your business, it seems like your only option is to branch out. See if you can find clients in the lifestyle/wellness industry. That should be close enough to what you do now, that you’ll still feel comfortable. But it’s different enough that it’ll challenge your creativity and strengthen your portfolio. This shutdown has shown that you need to diversify, which you could consider a silver lining to the storm clouds above. In the long run, your business could be stronger based on the strategies you need to employ now.
Along those lines, you could even establish a second business sketching young kids for their birthdays, or creating animated cartoon versions of the youngsters, that their parents could share on social media. Moms and Dads might go wild for such fun, personalized gifts. And I know this is a crazy idea, but for the pet parents out there, you could offer to sketch their pets or even their friends’ pets at a pet party. It might sound a little “out there,” but people love their animals, and it could be a fun, creative way to earn a side income.
I’m sorry to hear yours is one of the businesses impacted by the shutdown. Wishing you good luck.
Hang in there,
Sofi
Abel: Dear Shutdown – I agree with Sofi and have a few more thoughts:
- Turn Lemons Into Lemonade & Get Ahead Of Future Projects: For current clients, offer to develop plans for their upcoming projects, so that the strategy and conceptualization can happen, along with any other steps leading up to governmental approval -- before you might need it. This could help to make it easier for clients to actually stick with those projects even if they’re behind schedule. Either way, you’ll be a hero to them – and to your own business.
- Use Your Artistic & Digital Skills In Different Ways: I love the funky ideas Sofi offered and I’d expand upon those for a side business. But there are other ways to diversify your services. Look into designing websites, social media pages, landing pages, new logos, infographics, and more. You might end up with more business than you know what to do with a year from now!
- Value Time With Mom: Yes, caring for an aging parent and running a business can be overwhelming. But consider this time more of a gift than a burden. Find old family photos that haven’t been put in a book yet and ask your Mom to help with that project. Then use the photos to reminisce and laugh about old times.
Let’s face it, years ago, you were probably tough to get in and out of the tub at least a few times yourself and brought your Mom to the brink of insanity on more than one occasion. You needed her then and she needs you now. You don’t know how much longer she’ll be here, so make the most of that time, regardless of the world around you. You’ll thank me later for that advice….:).
- Count Your Blessings: Even during life’s tough times, please count your blessings. It’s a good way to realign your mind, enhance your creativity, and see more positives than negatives. Often, we see what we want to see, so if we want to see good things, we do!
- Ask For & Give Help: Use Alignable and any other professional networks you have to ask for help from other designers, marketers, social media experts, PR folks, and more. They could be buried in billable work right now and might need a hand. And then remember to look for the opportunity to help others after the shutdown ends. Hey, six months from now, you might be helping another business owner with supplies or services he needs after his office is blown away by a hurricane.
Wishing you the best of luck with your Mom, your business, and the rest of the shutdown. May it end sooner rather than later for your sake – and everyone else’s.
My Very Best, Abel
Comments (1-10)
Is it possible that we elected the wrong people to Congress?
This article is ridiculous! Very unbelievable.The government employees will all get their money paid to them. It has been 30 days and people should have savings. How many beer labels does a person resign? The government acting on a beer label approval sound inessential!
Nancy Pelosi and your congressmen and women are who you should call and blame. They are being obstructionists about our National Secutity! Vote them out!
I 've always been under the impression that having a fed job was a good job,well paying job,these people who say their hurting and can't pay their bills are spending beyond their means.after all it's only been a month,my rule of thumb is to have at least 6 months salary saved at all times for whatever reason may arise...
The long term answer to the business question is to diversify. That's hard to do quickly, but its vital to sustaining a business through the fluctuations of the business environment. In the short term, you might try checking out web sites like upwork.com and 99designs.com, which pair freelancers with clients who need design work.
Dear Fellow Soleprenure,
Just because the government has a shutdown, you do not have to be down too. Reach out to your Alignable family with your list of services that you can provide. This is a big community, I am sure you can come up with a list of valuable services that you can provide that this community could use; we care, would like to support you in your time of need. You have already received ideas to help with your mother, I am praying that you garner up the strength needed to push through this season. It will pass and you have support. Feel free to contact me if you need someone to talk you through, walk with you and to encourage you.
First of all, for those that are turning this into a political forum instead of trying to help someone by answering their question, is really wrong! Shame on you!
Secondly, I am also a graphic, website, and multi-media designer and developer, and the best thing I can tell you is that you are limiting yourself too much by just designing beer labels! You definitely need to branch out and do some type of other designing to help your business. One person wrote that you should check out sites like Upwork, and I totally agree. There are quite a few websites out there that freelancers can find work, and plenty of it! If you would like a list of sites to check out that are not scams you may contact me, and I will send you a list.
Thirdly, and probably most importantly, is that when people have a problem in life, or something really bad happens, they tend to look at things as though they have tunnel vision instead of looking at the bigger picture. I am a motivational speaker, and I tell people all the time, no matter what problem you have in life there is always a silver lining in everything. You may not see it at first, but if you really look I know you can find the silver lining.
I think your silver lining is that you have many opportunities through freelance sites etc that you can find work in your area of expertise, but this also gives you an opportunity to diversify. This is also a time that you can use to learn some other design work or how to create websites, etc., and you can pick up a class very inexpensively through Udemy.com.
As far as your Mom goes - I feel very badly for you and your Mom because I know it is a very hard time for both of you. You sound like a person that likes to think they can do it all, and now you find yourself in a pickle because what was working isn't anymore.
Your Mom needs to be in an assisted living facility - check around and look at different places, check out reviews online about them, and ask friends and family if they know of a good place. She needs more help than you can give her yourself, and I think this is a blessing in disguise because she should have been in a place long before this. She would be much happier, have people around her that are her age and be friends with, and will probably thank you for doing this for her.
I wish you and your Mom the best of luck, and I pray that you will do the best thing for her and you. God Bless You Both!
Being in the wine industry, I understand about label approval; however if you have structured your fees to be payed after approval, you have to revisit that. The work you do is for the brand, not the federal authorities. Your customers want assurances that the label will be approved, so they want to withhold payment until they get it, but you should ask for, say 50% of the fee upon submission, and the rest when approval is granted. See if you can do that going forward; and if your customer base has been with you for some time, you can ask for this, even if not in the current contract. If you have a track record of approval success, this may work.
We elected the wrong person. He is only thinking of him self and not the country's welfare
I would talk to your mothers family doctor and discuss your Mothers future, and for yourself, find a Caregivers Support Group. You have to take care of you and your Mothers health before you can think clearly about your business. Possibly there is a daycare in your area for your Mother to be with other people and that would help you both to have a break from each other. I have been in that situation, caring for both my Grandmothers and my diabetic brother that lost both legs. Good luck to you and I wish there was a way I was close enough to help out.
First big hugs to you for all you do for Mom.
I agree with the suggestions others have given.
Maybe now I can help you decrease your stress and improve your focus so you can great a new path for you.
I'm a stress and pain consultant so maybe we could start by trading services if we can agree on some common ground.
em me on FB if interested.
My prayers are with you and Mom.