To the business owners: The world is uncertain, but you can’t pour from an empty cup

Hey there, business owner, I see you.

I see you glued to the news, scrolling social media, soaking up the uncertainty, the horror of the world right now. The crisis unfolding in Ukraine, the floods in our own backyard. The suffering and chaos reverberate through your nervous system.

I see you calculating how many days or weeks you can go without promoting your business, how long you can pause your content to be sensitive to the climate around us.

Over the past three years, we have endured unprecedented upheavals to our communities and in turn, disruptions to business.

Of course, in the greater scheme of people losing homes to floods, fires and wars, these disruptions pale in significance. But your suffering and stress are real.

We have had launches and sales programs disrupted by great leaps backward and forward for humanity. We have gone quiet and taken respectful silence through Black Lives Matter. We have paused email sequences and ads as bushfires have ravaged our beautiful country. We have cancelled sales campaigns as lockdowns bulldozed our economy.

As businesses are in the rebuild mode, scraping together their footing after the past few years, we’re now faced with even more uncertainty, more climate disasters and global turmoil.

I see you, because I am you.

I see you struggle, unsure of whether you can put your sales and marketing messages out there, I see you wonder if you’re being insensitive.

But know this: you can’t pour from an empty cup. You can’t give back if your bank account isn’t healthy. Along with your bank account, your mental health will decline if you wait for the world to settle, to return to normal.

Please know that you can pause if that feels right.

But you can also push ahead, you can continue to run your business.

It is about being sensitive in your message. Be mindful of the uncertainty. You can strive while holding compassion for those around you. You are not morally obliged to comment on every crisis, or pause for every issue.

Breathe and make a plan to move forward, in your own way, in your own time and at your own pace. But know, you don’t have to stand still.

This article was first published on LinkedIn.