I am a trainer and coach for international students and entrepreneurs who want to learn about the Silicon Valley. I also offer career coaching to managers in transition.
I started working with international business students and entrepreneurs in 2014. I was part of Learning Expeditions and bootcamps hosted in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley.
In March 2020 because of the pandemic, all of it shutdown. The borders were closed.
I still had my career coaching business, but the in-person meetings were gone, replaced by phone calls and one-on-one video sessions.
I knew I needed to keep my name and my business in front of people who could no longer meet with me in person. So, what did I do?
- I revamped my website. No more procrastinating, I had time now. Complete overhaul.
- I learned how to use Zoom. I partnered with an incubator that featured my business, to talk about maintaining a small business during COVID. They taught me how to do an online presentation to a live audience and helped me become a seasoned Zoom speaker.
- I updated my LinkedIn profile because that was my primary connection into Europe. I knew that former students and colleagues in Europe follow LinkedIn. It was a means to show them I was still interested in their growth and their entrepreneur programs.
- I attended lots of online webinars, presentations, panel discussions about people working remotely, and stayed current with advice from career websites and presentations to be sure I was well informed to coach job seeking clients.
- I wrote blogs outlining how to get a job during COVID. You can see many of them on my website.
So, what did all this do? It kept me focused. Many people had trouble concentrating on their business and their brand because of the upheaval during the pandemic. I knew I would need to be laser focused to survive.
I am on the other side now. I am sharing my story to help you benefit from my experience. If you maintain focus, you too will thrive.