“Never never never give up” 

– Winston Churchill –

“Never, never, never give up” is a quote from Winston Churchill.  As I take my walk today, I started to think about my clients as this economic downturn happens and find ways to help them. Trying to stay positive and thinking of this as a bump in the road or a temporary interruption.  But we have to be proactive.   

I’ve reached out to most, and not surprisingly many have pivoted to remote access and working from home. Attorneys are lucky in that way as they are initially somewhat shielded from the immediate loss of revenue like some businesses that had to close completely  by the nature of their industry, like my yoga studio, for example. I say “shielded” because it will all trickle down to all of us eventually.

The questions that float through my mind…

1.

How do we stay effective?

2.

As an accountant, how can we help?

3.

What do we do with our time that we might have because the work has slowed down?

Staying Effective

Staying effective means helping your client with cash flow and possibly helping them with emergency funding if they need it. Here’s a wonderful resource, from John Shieldsmith, via Intuit’s site that spells out what needs to be done and how you can manage for the short run to pay your bills when the revenue is reduced.  If you have client’s in need of help, reach out to them.  Call them.  Help them.  Do it because you care about them.  If this turns around quickly, your moments of kindness may be the reason your customer stays in business.

Help Others

How do we help as accountants? By showing up, asking questions, offering up a zoom meeting to have some contact with each other as human beings. Help one another.  We are only seven days into this social distancing. It’s hard. Before the pandemic, one of the things my business partner, Sarah, and I were thinking of doing was flying out to meet our clients and having face-to-face contact. Our travel is put on hold right now. But we still want to do it. 

The human connection is so important. And at times like this, it makes you realize that even more. Use technology.  Reach out to a friend or colleague..or neighbor.  Especially if they are elderly.  Offer to shop for them.  Or just call and talk to them.  

Do this Daily

My last suggestion during this stressful time is to take care of yourself. You can go out and walk in nature. Keep your distance from others. Clean the surfaces. And try to stay connected via zoom. Sarah and I jump on a zoom daily, and we chat. We work independently. Sometimes we work together. But we’re talking to each other, and we can see each other’s faces. We laugh and enjoy each other’s company. I do the same thing with my friend Bhairavi and my friend Matthew. We send each other’s messages..sometimes they are just a “good morning!” message. So reach out to your friends. And be grateful you have them. Starting your day with gratitude for what you have will help you through this.

In the video below, I wanted to share a guided meditation.  Taking five minutes for yourself.  You deserve it.  Just five minutes to sit in a quiet space.  See this post I wrote last year where I had an epiphany moment in my life after my yoga training.

Misty Schachtell-Megia inspired me to create this meditation video. Meditation can calm the nervous system. You may not even realize that your body has jumped into fight or flight mode. Meditation will bring back the homeostasis, it will bring the body back to its natural state. It’s just five minutes. You will feel better.

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