How I learned to stop worrying and Overcame the Pandemic
By Kate Cervoni
The Spring of 2019 was approaching fast, and looking back now – I was burned out! I had been successfully working in the media and entertainment consulting business for 25 years. Yet I couldn’t stop that nagging feeling that while my professional treadmill was set at full-speed – I was going nowhere fast. Yes, I had made a very good living – had built up a great network of people that I respected and who, more importantly, respected me. But my family had started to get tired of my being tired – and then there were the migraines – and then, as my health got worse, the really tough questions began to eat at me.
What AM I doing?
Where do I go now?
Most importantly – what do I DO now?
I knew I wasn’t washed up – besides, I still had tuition to pay for my kids. What I needed was to reinvent myself the way Madonna did after she moved to London or the way Tony Bennett did repeatedly after he turned sixty. I needed a simple action PLAN! I came up with this three-step approach:
Step 1: Move to Naples, Florida. Life is too short to shovel snow and stay inside half the time.
Step 2: Start my own business. If I had owned a working Ouijiboard or a half-decent crystal ball in 2019, I would not have contemplated starting a new business. The first signs of COVID-19 were only 6 months away – but ignorance is bliss – and off I went to work with a seed funding partner based in Park City, Utah who had offered to jump-start Kate Cervoni version 2.0. I knew what I wanted in a company.
Step 3: Create a culture that treats clients and consultants with respect – a group that works exclusively with stellar professionals, many of them women, who are recognized experts– not trainees or MBAs. I knew I had the contacts and knowledge to do what was needed – I just needed to do it. The happy result is CNOmniMedia.
The last three years have been a certified three-ring whirlwind roller-coaster tilt-a-whirl circus. The Pandemic, with a war thrown in for good measure, have created a business climate that should in all likelihood be imploding, but paradoxically, is exploding with opportunities. During this challenging period, during which I lost my own mother to Covid, I have followed five simple but time-tested edicts to stay on track:
Don’t pay attention to the noise of the world – single-mindedly keep working on what you set out to do. Focus on the business, because sometimes difficult conditions can be a tailwind for what you are doing!
Take care of people – your own staff and the consultants. Technology workers have a lot of choices today, so treat them fairly and spoil them! This was always my plan anyway, but the pandemic made it even more crucial.
Deliver! Bad news travels fast. It only takes one bad engagement or one poor hiring decision to derail your reputation in a media-tech market where everyone is constantly talking.
It’s not a perfect world. We all know that, but when things are slow or not going well, double down on what IS working, and do more of that!
Stay positive! CNOmniMedia’s first year was not always easy, but our team stayed focused, upbeat, and ready to do business.
Fortunately, I have been lucky enough to work with some of the best clients in the media industry, and the future is bright! I look back with amazement and know we surpassed our 2020 goals in the first six months. Those clients and companies that gave CNOM that break are forever in my gratitude. The Pandemic appears to be waning – but we all know there will be other storms ahead. I choose to look at it this way – my team is tested and ready for the next challenge!
Kate Cervoni
Senior Vice President of Operations
CNOmniMedia
