I'm here to do something I don't normally do—overshare.
The decision to start sharing a deeper behind-the-scenes (BTS) look at how I've built (and continue to build) Career Contessa came about last month after I hosted our first Career Contessa Community Hour—my unique take on a focus group/feedback session.
Hosting focus groups and hearing directly from readers is something I love doing and yet, I always struggled to make space for these hours. And the irony of all of this is that when I first created Career Contessa it was the byproduct of my master's thesis project and I hosted focus groups to confirm that women needed their own career resource build inclusively for them. So, even though it was focus groups that initially launched Career Contessa, I've been dragging my butt on making them a regular part of this business ever since.
TAKING MY OWN ADVICE
Additionally, the advice I've shared whenever people are job searching, laid off, trying to figure out their next career move, etc. is to start with self-reflection. That includes asking questions, getting feedback, and more. (P.S. my book, Power Moves, has a whole section on how to conduct your own "listening tour" that I highly recommend.)
So, I took my own advice and went out on my own listening tour. One of the takeaways was that Career Contessa users wanted to learn more about entrepreneurship. I've always shied away from sharing my "business" advice because...I guess I figured you all didn't need or want that from me. Note to self— don't assume.
But I also think entrepreneurship, side-hustles, freelancing—and any other name you want to give to working for yourself—are top of mind as more people experience unemployment than ever before and there are quite literally fewer jobs to apply to. All of that makes your future uncertain and all of that makes people want to take control—and launching or growing your side-hustle into something that can replace your salary from your last job makes total sense. I think this is why we see so many great businesses get launched in recessions—but this is not an economic's course so let's get back to it...
HOW WE WORK (+ HOW YOU'RE HELPING US)
I'm dedicating this blog post and new series called "How We Work" to sharing a more BTS look at how we're running a small business in the midst of a pandemic in the hopes that it's helpful—or at least interesting.
Like many businesses, Career Contessa is not immune to the changes that COVID-19 has brought us all. About 50% percent of our revenue comes from brand partnerships and those "paused indefinitely" overnight in March. YIKES.
To handle this drop, we quickly pivoted to grow other revenue streams such as our online courses. We also found other ways to work with advertisers like display ads and affiliate marketing. At Career Contessa, we prioritize monetizing via advertising and brand partners because that allows us to keep most things either free or low-cost for our users. We know that advertising can be "annoying" to users.
I share this so you know that when you click on an ad, read a sponsored article, or follow through on a podcast advertiser's offer, YOU are helping to keep all of the resources on Career Contessa available. And we will continue to create the resources that help you grow in your career.
Keeping things mostly low-cost (or free) for users has always been important to me—to democratize access to career advice so all women can build a career on their terms. But this is a business, which means we have to make money to support the operation.
We also had a few "lucky" breaks add a protective layer. My Power Moves book advancement insured us against some of the brand partnership losses. We had also made hard decisions to cut expenses and are operating on a very lean scale. However, these tough calls—and, to be frank, large workloads—allowed us to keep our two full-time staff positions without interruptions.
FINDING OUR LANE
Another note to self—revenue and profit are two very different things. In 2019, I made the mistake of assuming higher revenue would also mean more profit. It didn't. Many of the strategies I tried couldn't scale—especially in a self-funded business. Another note to self—don't compare your business to VC-funded businesses. In hindsight, it's been a "gift" to have to think things through more, be scrappy, and not try to be all the things.
So, here's where we are. We have a lane—it's career development. We also have a medium—it's online and digital. This was not easy to come by. It means we're not doing many things we wish we could. That's why you've never seen a Career Contessa shop and why you've probably never attended an in-person Career Contessa event.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP ISN'T GLAMOROUS
And what does this all mean? It means that entrepreneurship is not glamorous or easy (even if Rihanna makes it look effortless.) It means that I don't have all the answers and right now we are taking our "strategy" one day at a time.
It means showing vulnerability to my team and now, to our audience. It means that saying "no" and not doing things can actually be what grows your business the most—and in a meaningful way.
It means that I'm re-evaluating what type of business I want to build. One that is profitable, provides for a lean team, and find joy in not being a "glitter" company but rather a "glue" company.
We want to be a business that will be here long past COVID-19. We want to be a business that provides reliable tools for all the career pivots, changes, and stages you'll embark on. Great career advice is not a fad and it's definitely not a means to commodify feminism. We're not interested in being cool or iconic—we simply want to help you in your career.
Now, I want to hear from you. Did you enjoy reading about how we work at Career Contessa? Should I share more advice on entrepreneurship? And for the business owners—how are you adjusting with COVID-19? Shoot us an email at info@careercontessa.com to share!
