April 8, 2025 • 12 mins
Feeling the squeeze in your local, service-based, or creative business right now? You're not alone. The market is shifting, consumers are taking longer to make decisions, and many entrepreneurs are panicking – but this isn't the time to shrink or stand still.What's happening might surprise you:In this episode, I share my personal experience navigating economic shifts, including how I pivoted my photography business in 2010 when others resisted change. While competitors clung to outdated methods, I adapted to meet evolving customer needs—and thrived.Key Takeaways:
- People aren't hunting for the cheapest option; they're looking for businesses that provide genuine value and demonstrate expertise.
- History shows that lowering prices during uncertainty often backfires. Instead, focus on maintaining your prices while enhancing your value.
Ready to stay consistent with your marketing through uncertainty?
- Why the middle market disappears during economic uncertainty.
- How to stay visible, consistent, and authentically connected to customers.
- The importance of listening to your customers instead of competitors.
Download my free Content Clarity Calendar from the show notes and position yourself as the steady, confident business that discerning customers are seeking right now.
🎧 Like what you hear? Follow the show and leave a review it helps others to find this podcast.
📥 Grab your free Content Clarity Planner
📸 Connect on Instagram
🌐 Explore free resources + programs
💬 Ready to grow your business with clarity and less stress? Apply to work with me
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Brenda Eckhardt (00:00):
If you're feeling stuck in your small
(00:01):
business right now, you're notalone.
People are taking a littlelonger to make buying decisions,
and if you're starting to panicor maybe think you're not cut
out for this, you're definitelyin the right place.
Stick around.
We're gonna talk about it,because now is definitely not
the time to shrink and it's notthe time to stand still.
What's actually happening withconsumer behavior right now?
(00:23):
People are still booking,they're still looking, but
they're being a lot morediscerning.
They're taking their time tomake decisions and they're
trying to make quality decisions.
The bottom line is people arebeing more discerning.
They're not necessarily huntingfor the cheapest option.
They're looking for the bestbang for their buck, the most
value for their time, and theydo want to work with businesses
that actually care because theyfeel like they're getting the
(00:44):
most for their time.
And they do want to work withbusinesses that actually care
because they feel like they'regetting the most for their money
.
And if you've been doing thework to show up, people want
depth.
Your consistency will pay off.
Keep connecting, keep educating.
The right people will find you.
The bottom line is in aservice-based business, people
only like let's usephotographers for an example, or
(01:05):
landscapers, even florists.
If someone hasn't beensearching for that business or
they haven't needed it in a fewyears, the first thought isn't
oh, I should call ABC Landscape.
They think I wonder if they'restill in business.
But the goal with smallbusiness ownership and marketing
(01:26):
is to stay visible enough thatthey already have the answer to
that question.
So then they do just eitherpick up the phone to text call
schedule right away.
So if you've been consistentwith your marketing, you're
going to be fine.
You just need to have somepatience, because people haven't
forgotten you.
(01:46):
Your visibility will pay offand that's where the value comes
in that people are looking for.
In a time and an economy likewe're in, the biggest
misconception in small businessis that now is the time to lower
your prices, and that is notthe case when the economy gets a
little strange or people'sbuying habits come from a place
(02:08):
of being a little bit morenervous or apprehensive.
What I've found and whathistory shows us is
traditionally, in a good seasonor a good time, there's a bottom
, middle and top, meaning lowervalue, churn, burn, crank and
bank type of businesses than themiddle businesses that are.
(02:29):
Maybe they do this as a sidegig, but they do a really great
job and their prices are middleof the road.
And then there's the higher endthat provide high value
customer support, customerservice and really connect with
their customers.
Well, when we go into a littlebit more of an unsure time, that
middle goes away.
People tend to go toward thelow value quick money option or
(02:56):
they really think it through andthey go for the high value
option where they know thattheir money is well spent.
That's the sweet spot that wewant to be in, because burnout
lives in that lower and middleend.
And in the higher end, whereyou've really created a quality
customer experience and you havea quality service or product,
(03:19):
you don't need to work as hardbecause the value is there.
Your prices are in line withwhat you bring to the table.
The ones who stay in the middle, they vanish, unfortunately,
and there's very talented peoplethat you're going to see maybe
you already have that will justvanish.
You'll see announcements leftand right that they're closing
their doors.
So we all have a decision tomake Do we want to compete on
(03:43):
price or do we want to competeon value and connection?
I always choose value andconnection.
I have a story to share with youalong these lines.
Here's a story of when I walkedaway.
So in 2010, when the economywas dropping here in the US, we
had a double whammy in thephotography community because
(04:04):
that was happening at the sameexact time that film was being
taken over by digital cameras,and it was a very vulnerable
time as artists and asphotographers, because everybody
really believed and felt atthat time that the true art was
in film and digital was going toruin everything.
(04:25):
Just like people are feelingright now about AI, not thinking
of how it could enhance what aworld Photoshop and Lightroom
opened up for us, and thatwasn't really in existence as
much in the film days.
So I was seeing a lot of peopleclose their businesses.
I was buying props from peoplethat I so respected in the
(04:46):
industry and what I was seeingwas a pattern of people that
were really holding tight tofilm.
They weren't embracing digitalas much.
I started mixing in digitalright away and at a certain
point, I knew that I couldn'tstand in the gap any longer.
If you stand in the gap, youget stuck.
You have to keep it moving andyou have to make decisions and
(05:10):
trust your gut and yourinstincts and all of the
education and learning thatyou've had up until this point.
So at that point I was trustingmy gut and I was asking a lot
of questions of my customers andwhat they really wanted at that
time was their digital files.
All of these online labs werepopping up and people were
(05:30):
frustrated with otherphotographers that they didn't
have access to their photos tobe able to print.
So I sat down one day and Icreated digital packages and I
decided print photos were goingto be very secondary to what I
offer.
I was going all digital.
If people wanted prints, ofcourse, I would still help them,
(05:51):
they could still order throughme, but digital was going to be
my flagship product.
And when I walked out of thestudio that day, I took a few
steps In my mind.
I threw a match over myshoulder and I thought let it
burn.
I'm going to stand strong in mydecision and I'm going to keep
moving forward.
If it's not the right decision,so be it, but at least I'm
moving forward.
(06:11):
I saw everybody so stuck andparalyzed with indecisiveness,
and that changed everything formy business.
I was the first to go digitalin my area.
For a while I was called a fake, a phony and a fraud.
I was getting messages andemails from other photographers
about how I was single-handedlyruining the art for our area,
(06:33):
and none of those people are inbusiness anymore.
So it turned out to be theright decision for me.
Now I'm not saying for you to dosomething that totally just
metaphorically burns yourbusiness to the ground, but it
is important that you don't getstuck and you're going to start
to see a lot of others spintheir wheels and feel very stuck
.
It happens especially on MainStreet, where all of the shop
(06:59):
owners start talking to eachother and they get very caught
up in the conversations of oh,numbers are down and oh, we're
not seeing as much foot traffic.
Well, let somebody make adecision here.
Somebody needs to get ballsyand make a decision for their
own business and keep thingsmoving forward.
Do things that embrace whatyour customers want and ask a
(07:19):
lot of questions of yourcustomers.
Don't listen to other people inyour industry.
Listen to your customers andwhat you can do that's unique or
what you can continue to dothat's really worked for you in
the past, and know that theright people will come.
So what decisions did I makethis year, knowing that things
are a little strained.
People are making buyingdecisions slower.
(07:42):
It's going to take longer forall of our schedules to book up,
just because people are being alot more thoughtful, and I
personally think that's great,because if people are calling
around, I'm going to usephotography as an example,
because that's like 40% of mywork right now and it's what
I've done for 21 years.
They're calling otherphotographers to ask about
(08:04):
pricing and just to get an ideaof what it's like to work with
that photographer.
And I love that stuff becausewhen they call me, I'm like yeah
, you know, I try to create anadventure and I'm really
connected.
I try to ask a lot of questionsso that I can lead us down the
path of giving your son ordaughter exactly what they'd
like for senior pictures.
(08:24):
Like let's really figure outwhat is them and let's bring
that to life.
Maybe there are otherphotographers that do that.
Maybe you're watching it rightnow, I don't care, do the same
thing.
But it's like interviewing fora job every day when you run a
small business and right nowthere's a lot of job interviews
happening and it primes us.
(08:46):
It just hones our skills.
We have to work for it now andI think that's awesome.
I personally love it and itmakes us better at what we do
and it really helps us to betterdefine why us, why you?
Why would people choose you?
Get clear on that, becauseconsistency is what pays off,
(09:06):
because panic marketing doesn'twork, especially in a time like
we're in.
But consistency, visibility,authenticity that does Scared
money.
Don't make money If you'rescared to raise your prices or
at least to keep your priceswhere they're at.
If you're feeling that gnawingfeeling that maybe you should
lower your prices for this year,ask yourself are you standing
in the gap or are you steppingforward?
(09:28):
Standing still because you'reafraid is the best way to get
stuck, and you may not realizeit in the past, but if you look
back at the times when you didfeel stuck, it's always because
you're standing in the gap inindecisiveness.
Because you're standing in thegap in indecisiveness, unsure,
waiting to see how things panout, letting it ride.
Well, the only time that youwant to kind of stand in the gap
(09:51):
is more when you know you'vedone everything you can, you've
done all the marketing, you'vebeen great to your customers,
you're still being consistent,but then you're not in the gap
anymore, you're moving forwardand you're almost floating, and
that's where you want to be.
We don't want to be stuck, wewant to be kind of floating
forward.
We've done all the work.
We have some propelling goingon.
We have that momentum goingthat we need to keep in place,
(10:15):
surrender and show up.
Here's the truth.
None of us are in control ofwhat's coming, what customer is
going to schedule when, or who'sgoing to walk in the door at
what time.
Obviously, none of us are incontrol of that.
But if you've done the work andyou've been consistent, or if
you haven't and you're gonnastart as of now, it will all
work out.
It's gonna be great.
(10:35):
When you put out that energy orthat panic, it affects all parts
of your business and people dopick up on it.
If you're the steady businessthat is consistently showing up,
your visibility is there,you're not panicking.
People are attracted to thatand it's going to be great.
Things will continue as theyshould and it might be your best
(10:57):
year in business.
So this is your season to getyourself ready physically,
emotionally, spiritually.
If you're in a pre-season,meaning it's about to get busy,
or you're kind of in that uh,when's the phone going to ring,
use this time to take care ofyou.
Make sure that you're ready forthat busy season.
Don't get stuck.
(11:17):
Don't burn yourself outmarketing yourself to death.
Know that you're doing thingsconsistently and you're also
taking care of yourself so thatyou're primed and ready to go
when things go crazy, becausethey're bound to go crazy again.
It happens every season.
So we're not going to spiral.
We're not going to spaz out.
Everything's going to be great.
We just need to stay consistentand we're going to watch other
(11:40):
people spaz out if need be, butjust know that you're the steady
person, the person that has thecustomers that are going to be
attracted to you, and it's allgoing to continue on.
So if this resonated with you,please tell me in the comments.
I want to hear what you'refeeling right now, where you're
at, and if you're ready to justbe where you're at and if you're
ready to just be consistent andcontinue forward, or if you're
(12:03):
feeling stuck in any certainarea.
Download my content claritycalendar as a great way to keep
yourself consistent.
I'll put it in the show notesso that you can easily grab it,
and I look forward to talking toyou next time.
If you're feeling stuck in your small
(00:01):
business right now, you're notalone.
People are taking a littlelonger to make buying decisions,
and if you're starting to panicor maybe think you're not cut
out for this, you're definitelyin the right place.
Stick around.
We're gonna talk about it,because now is definitely not
the time to shrink and it's notthe time to stand still.
What's actually happening withconsumer behavior right now?
(00:23):
People are still booking,they're still looking, but
they're being a lot morediscerning.
They're taking their time tomake decisions and they're
trying to make quality decisions.
The bottom line is people arebeing more discerning.
They're not necessarily huntingfor the cheapest option.
They're looking for the bestbang for their buck, the most
value for their time, and theydo want to work with businesses
that actually care because theyfeel like they're getting the
(00:44):
most for their time.
And they do want to work withbusinesses that actually care
because they feel like they'regetting the most for their money
.
And if you've been doing thework to show up, people want
depth.
Your consistency will pay off.
Keep connecting, keep educating.
The right people will find you.
The bottom line is in aservice-based business, people
only like let's usephotographers for an example, or
(01:05):
landscapers, even florists.
If someone hasn't beensearching for that business or
they haven't needed it in a fewyears, the first thought isn't
oh, I should call ABC Landscape.
They think I wonder if they'restill in business.
But the goal with smallbusiness ownership and marketing
(01:26):
is to stay visible enough thatthey already have the answer to
that question.
So then they do just eitherpick up the phone to text call
schedule right away.
So if you've been consistentwith your marketing, you're
going to be fine.
You just need to have somepatience, because people haven't
forgotten you.
(01:46):
Your visibility will pay offand that's where the value comes
in that people are looking for.
In a time and an economy likewe're in, the biggest
misconception in small businessis that now is the time to lower
your prices, and that is notthe case when the economy gets a
little strange or people'sbuying habits come from a place
(02:08):
of being a little bit morenervous or apprehensive.
What I've found and whathistory shows us is
traditionally, in a good seasonor a good time, there's a bottom
, middle and top, meaning lowervalue, churn, burn, crank and
bank type of businesses than themiddle businesses that are.
(02:29):
Maybe they do this as a sidegig, but they do a really great
job and their prices are middleof the road.
And then there's the higher endthat provide high value
customer support, customerservice and really connect with
their customers.
Well, when we go into a littlebit more of an unsure time, that
middle goes away.
People tend to go toward thelow value quick money option or
(02:56):
they really think it through andthey go for the high value
option where they know thattheir money is well spent.
That's the sweet spot that wewant to be in, because burnout
lives in that lower and middleend.
And in the higher end, whereyou've really created a quality
customer experience and you havea quality service or product,
(03:19):
you don't need to work as hardbecause the value is there.
Your prices are in line withwhat you bring to the table.
The ones who stay in the middle, they vanish, unfortunately,
and there's very talented peoplethat you're going to see maybe
you already have that will justvanish.
You'll see announcements leftand right that they're closing
their doors.
So we all have a decision tomake Do we want to compete on
(03:43):
price or do we want to competeon value and connection?
I always choose value andconnection.
I have a story to share with youalong these lines.
Here's a story of when I walkedaway.
So in 2010, when the economywas dropping here in the US, we
had a double whammy in thephotography community because
(04:04):
that was happening at the sameexact time that film was being
taken over by digital cameras,and it was a very vulnerable
time as artists and asphotographers, because everybody
really believed and felt atthat time that the true art was
in film and digital was going toruin everything.
(04:25):
Just like people are feelingright now about AI, not thinking
of how it could enhance what aworld Photoshop and Lightroom
opened up for us, and thatwasn't really in existence as
much in the film days.
So I was seeing a lot of peopleclose their businesses.
I was buying props from peoplethat I so respected in the
(04:46):
industry and what I was seeingwas a pattern of people that
were really holding tight tofilm.
They weren't embracing digitalas much.
I started mixing in digitalright away and at a certain
point, I knew that I couldn'tstand in the gap any longer.
If you stand in the gap, youget stuck.
You have to keep it moving andyou have to make decisions and
(05:10):
trust your gut and yourinstincts and all of the
education and learning thatyou've had up until this point.
So at that point I was trustingmy gut and I was asking a lot
of questions of my customers andwhat they really wanted at that
time was their digital files.
All of these online labs werepopping up and people were
(05:30):
frustrated with otherphotographers that they didn't
have access to their photos tobe able to print.
So I sat down one day and Icreated digital packages and I
decided print photos were goingto be very secondary to what I
offer.
I was going all digital.
If people wanted prints, ofcourse, I would still help them,
(05:51):
they could still order throughme, but digital was going to be
my flagship product.
And when I walked out of thestudio that day, I took a few
steps In my mind.
I threw a match over myshoulder and I thought let it
burn.
I'm going to stand strong in mydecision and I'm going to keep
moving forward.
If it's not the right decision,so be it, but at least I'm
moving forward.
(06:11):
I saw everybody so stuck andparalyzed with indecisiveness,
and that changed everything formy business.
I was the first to go digitalin my area.
For a while I was called a fake, a phony and a fraud.
I was getting messages andemails from other photographers
about how I was single-handedlyruining the art for our area,
(06:33):
and none of those people are inbusiness anymore.
So it turned out to be theright decision for me.
Now I'm not saying for you to dosomething that totally just
metaphorically burns yourbusiness to the ground, but it
is important that you don't getstuck and you're going to start
to see a lot of others spintheir wheels and feel very stuck
.
It happens especially on MainStreet, where all of the shop
(06:59):
owners start talking to eachother and they get very caught
up in the conversations of oh,numbers are down and oh, we're
not seeing as much foot traffic.
Well, let somebody make adecision here.
Somebody needs to get ballsyand make a decision for their
own business and keep thingsmoving forward.
Do things that embrace whatyour customers want and ask a
(07:19):
lot of questions of yourcustomers.
Don't listen to other people inyour industry.
Listen to your customers andwhat you can do that's unique or
what you can continue to dothat's really worked for you in
the past, and know that theright people will come.
So what decisions did I makethis year, knowing that things
are a little strained.
People are making buyingdecisions slower.
(07:42):
It's going to take longer forall of our schedules to book up,
just because people are being alot more thoughtful, and I
personally think that's great,because if people are calling
around, I'm going to usephotography as an example,
because that's like 40% of mywork right now and it's what
I've done for 21 years.
They're calling otherphotographers to ask about
(08:04):
pricing and just to get an ideaof what it's like to work with
that photographer.
And I love that stuff becausewhen they call me, I'm like yeah
, you know, I try to create anadventure and I'm really
connected.
I try to ask a lot of questionsso that I can lead us down the
path of giving your son ordaughter exactly what they'd
like for senior pictures.
(08:24):
Like let's really figure outwhat is them and let's bring
that to life.
Maybe there are otherphotographers that do that.
Maybe you're watching it rightnow, I don't care, do the same
thing.
But it's like interviewing fora job every day when you run a
small business and right nowthere's a lot of job interviews
happening and it primes us.
(08:46):
It just hones our skills.
We have to work for it now andI think that's awesome.
I personally love it and itmakes us better at what we do
and it really helps us to betterdefine why us, why you?
Why would people choose you?
Get clear on that, becauseconsistency is what pays off,
(09:06):
because panic marketing doesn'twork, especially in a time like
we're in.
But consistency, visibility,authenticity that does Scared
money.
Don't make money If you'rescared to raise your prices or
at least to keep your priceswhere they're at.
If you're feeling that gnawingfeeling that maybe you should
lower your prices for this year,ask yourself are you standing
in the gap or are you steppingforward?
(09:28):
Standing still because you'reafraid is the best way to get
stuck, and you may not realizeit in the past, but if you look
back at the times when you didfeel stuck, it's always because
you're standing in the gap inindecisiveness.
Because you're standing in thegap in indecisiveness, unsure,
waiting to see how things panout, letting it ride.
Well, the only time that youwant to kind of stand in the gap
(09:51):
is more when you know you'vedone everything you can, you've
done all the marketing, you'vebeen great to your customers,
you're still being consistent,but then you're not in the gap
anymore, you're moving forwardand you're almost floating, and
that's where you want to be.
We don't want to be stuck, wewant to be kind of floating
forward.
We've done all the work.
We have some propelling goingon.
We have that momentum goingthat we need to keep in place,
(10:15):
surrender and show up.
Here's the truth.
None of us are in control ofwhat's coming, what customer is
going to schedule when, or who'sgoing to walk in the door at
what time.
Obviously, none of us are incontrol of that.
But if you've done the work andyou've been consistent, or if
you haven't and you're gonnastart as of now, it will all
work out.
It's gonna be great.
(10:35):
When you put out that energy orthat panic, it affects all parts
of your business and people dopick up on it.
If you're the steady businessthat is consistently showing up,
your visibility is there,you're not panicking.
People are attracted to thatand it's going to be great.
Things will continue as theyshould and it might be your best
(10:57):
year in business.
So this is your season to getyourself ready physically,
emotionally, spiritually.
If you're in a pre-season,meaning it's about to get busy,
or you're kind of in that uh,when's the phone going to ring,
use this time to take care ofyou.
Make sure that you're ready forthat busy season.
Don't get stuck.
(11:17):
Don't burn yourself outmarketing yourself to death.
Know that you're doing thingsconsistently and you're also
taking care of yourself so thatyou're primed and ready to go
when things go crazy, becausethey're bound to go crazy again.
It happens every season.
So we're not going to spiral.
We're not going to spaz out.
Everything's going to be great.
We just need to stay consistentand we're going to watch other
(11:40):
people spaz out if need be, butjust know that you're the steady
person, the person that has thecustomers that are going to be
attracted to you, and it's allgoing to continue on.
So if this resonated with you,please tell me in the comments.
I want to hear what you'refeeling right now, where you're
at, and if you're ready to justbe where you're at and if you're
ready to just be consistent andcontinue forward, or if you're
(12:03):
feeling stuck in any certainarea.
Download my content claritycalendar as a great way to keep
yourself consistent.
I'll put it in the show notesso that you can easily grab it,
and I look forward to talking toyou next time.
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