Find the Opportunities in Uncertainty

If your market is as crazy as Sonoma Valley's is right now, you've probably had to pivot your business dozens of times in the last few years. Since first moving to the city of Sonoma nine years ago, I've helped businesses pivot through two fire seasons, a high tourism season of black outs, four years of the pandemic, and now a global crisis with 30% fewer visitors, rising food costs, fewer alcohol drinkers, inflation, tariffs, and war. While it's been exhausting and hard on my clients and dear friends, the one gift is that uncertainty can open the doors to opportunities.

That is, if you open your eyes wide enough to look for them.

Despite these challenging times—and because of them, I'm convinced—I've watched countless businesses innovate when they may never have been otherwise inclined to. Restaurants have reimagined the way we consume food with pick-up windows, outdoor seating areas where there were previously none, and even changed menu offerings to accommodate families, smaller portions, and changing budgets. During the pandemic, wineries innovated with virtual tasting experiences, and now we are seeing more premium wine packaged in box formats, with wineries and tasting rooms even offering non-alcoholic cuvées and bars crafting $15 mocktails. Talk about pivoting!

Yes, we can all agree that pivoting is exhausting, and if you've pivoted as much as our community has, you have plenty of runway to complain. These years have tested even the most seasoned of hospitality leaders. It's been hard, backbreaking work, and many sleepless nights worrying about how to stay afloat.

This said, you also may have plenty of reasons to be grateful.

Why?

Because no one finds creative solutions like hospitality leaders do. "Show time" is go-time, and it's what you do best.

It's why you got into this business. It's not just the love of people, food, and wine. It's also about the joy of creating magical, memorable experiences. And let's even be more honest: if you wanted that consistent, stable cookie-cutter job, you probably would've tried it out by now. Hospitality isn't a job description—it's a way of life—and change and creativity are an intricate part of why we love it so much. Hospitality leaders love the feeling of being on fire, the bittersweet exhaustion of seeing a room full of happy guests, and the joy in knowing that no two days will ever be the same.

If pivot fatigue is getting you down, let's talk. Coaching can be a great way to find the hidden opportunities to learn new skills, grow your leadership and your business, and tap into the passion that brought you here.