Well, I launched over the handlebars (see my previous post), and it felt like I landed face first and was headed to the hospital.

Ready to Launch

As the first major push of my new law firm, I set out to host online live trainings (“webinars”) to assist conservative churches and ministries establish appropriate statements, policies, and procedures to respond to the new legal landscape regarding same-sex marriage.

I had my webinar software set up. I had my PowerPoint drafted. I had a new HD computer camera and an expensive mic.

And I couldn’t move.

Fear was Staring Me Square in the Face

I was paralyzed by fear. What if nobody signs up? What if I sound like an idiot? What if nobody wants my services? Is the website ready? What about my logo? Will this be a waste? What if I’m successful? What if this goes big? What if? What if? What if?

I was frozen. It was Thursday. I was going to launch the webinar the next day, but not one soul on the planet was aware of it. Not a sustainable marketing strategy.

I called my wife; the wife who needs her husband to be the fearless leader in this time of uncertainty. And I told her I was frozen, scared, and unsure.

Her encouragement was what I needed. I wanted her to tell me that I should postpone my plans and market the launch better. She didn’t follow my script.

She said I needed to tweet that the webinar was ready for sign-ups and to do it the next day, whether anyone showed up or not.

She was right.

Things Get Worse

It’s Friday, the day of my webinar, 30 minutes before showtime.

I call a close mentor to make sure everything is working right on the other end of the internet.

“Austin, I don’t see any video, just a blank, white space.”

Let that sink in: an empty, voidless space where the future of my business was supposed to be.

45 Minutes of Scrambling                     

I scrambled. I Googled. I edited code. I created web page re-directs. I was in shock.

I thought to myself, “Everything is falling apart and going terribly wrong.”

The Show Must Go On

By 2:15, I had linked to the live YouTube stream, so people could, at the very least, see and hear the training. It wasn’t what I wanted. It wasn’t perfect. But it happened. I persevered.

And guess what happened. People found the stream. People watched. AND I ended up getting a client from that very training.

Let that sink in: an empty, voidless space transformed into the future of my business.

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PS- If you run a church, ministry, or Christian school, you can sign up for an upcoming webinar on same-sex marriage policies at webinars.wilkersonlegal.com.

PSS- I would also appreciate any of you that want to tweet it out to your Twitter followers. Here is a prepared tweet: [Click to Tweet] “Check out this free legal training- The 5 Steps Churches and Ministries Must Take Under New Same-Sex Marriage Laws http://awilk.co/1KmKPu8.”