Many professionals, job seekers, and small business owners are feeling pressure from AI, changing consumer habits, and the rapid shift into the Modern Economy. For many people, this creates fear, uncertainty, and doubt, aka FUD!
On the CanadianSME Small Business Podcast, I shared that I have lived through several seasons of disruption, including a major medical event in my family, the 2006 real estate crash and its resulting impact on our home services business, the 2020 COVID disruption, and now the rise of AI and digital assets. Each season taught me that we cannot always control what changes, but we can take inventory of our resources and what we do have, get organized, learn new tools, develop new systems, and create a plan forward.
That is where the Kitchen Table Blueprint begins.
The kitchen table represents the place where families, leaders, and business owners come back to what matters most. It is where we ask honest questions, define values, sort through options, and decide the next right step.
For job seekers and professionals feeling job insecurity, one important next step is learning how to become more visible online and begin turning life experience, knowledge, skills, and problem-solving ability into digital assets.
Digital assets are not only crypto. They also include online posts, PDFs, eBooks, videos, courses, guides, checklists, podcasts, websites, coaching resources, and other tools that “package knowledge” into formats to help people solve problems.
This matters because the Internet is a worldwide 24/7 marketplace open for business and connection with others, and it is increasingly becoming a necessity to be visible online, not only with a profile picture, but with content creations showcasing what you do, how you help, who you help, and what your challenges, learning, wins, and insights are.
Everyone has valuable knowledge to share that can help others. They simply have not organized it into formats that can be found, shared, searched, downloaded, purchased, or used online. This is what it means to create digital assets into Modern Economy formats.
A practical starting point is to write down what you know, what people ask you for help with, who you help, and how you help. From there, you can begin turning your experience into useful digital formats.
Start small. Create one LinkedIn post, one checklist, one short PDF, one video, one guide, or one simple resource that helps someone understand or solve a problem.
Over time, keep creating and learning to post, refine, and improve, and your content becomes a professional showcase. It helps people see how you think, what you value, what you know, and what it might be like to work with you.
This is especially important in a changing workplace. A resume may tell people what you have done, but your online presence can show people how you think, how you communicate, how you solve problems, and how you bring value.
My own podcast experience is a case in point. When I watched myself on screen, I could see areas where I want to improve my delivery, camera presence, eye contact, and pacing. Let’s just say I am naturally expressive, and that came through in the podcast. But the content was valuable to help others with my story and experience, and that is the point: you do not have to start perfectly. You can be yourself, start where you are, learn from what you create, and refine your delivery over time. The message matters first. The polish can improve with practice.
My Life Well-Lived book series also reminds people to begin with values and priorities. On the podcast, I shared how my framework grew from decades of using principles shown in the Stephen Covey books, First Things First and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
Out of decades of experience, through ups and downs, I developed what I call The TLC Method of Mindset | Tools | Systems | Marketplace™ to apply to all physical spaces and all situations.
Plus, I developed the 5 TLC Legacy Lists™ that become your North Star Compass for decision making. I start with a Kitchen Table Planning Session to make decisions through different seasons of life and business and chart my course for the next season of life.
Before you ask, “What should I post?” ask, “What matters most?”
Before you create a digital asset, ask, “Who can this help?”
Before you chase a trend, ask, “Does this align with my values, skills, experience, and goals?” This week, take out a notebook and answer five questions:
1. What do people ask me for help with?
2. What have I lived through that taught me something useful?
3. What skill, process, or insight could I explain to a beginner?
4. Who could benefit from what I know?
5. What is one simple post, checklist, guide, or video I could create this week?
Job insecurity is real. But we can do a SWOT Analysis, as we do in business. List your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Then use your strengths, work to strengthen weaknesses, take advantage of opportunities, and take action to mitigate threats.
Start at the Kitchen Table. You can take inventory, learn new tools, build your professional and personal integrated online brand presence, and create digital assets. Determine how you want to become visible, found, and useful to the online marketplace.
Decide where to start. You can create:
• Your first online post
• A resource guide
• A quick video
Then keep going. Before you know it, you will have created a collection of digital assets that can help you stay relevant in the Modern Economy.
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Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available information intended only for informational purposes. CanadianSME Small Business Magazine does not endorse or guarantee any products or services mentioned. Readers are advised to conduct their research and due diligence before making business decisions.
