Season Two, Episode 8: Why making money is good for the soul with Sara Yamtich

Sara Yamtich is the CEO of Resonate with Sara, a Facebook and Instagram ads agency whose mission is to transform the planet for the better.

In this podcast episode, Sara and I are talking about a belief that stops many mission-driven business owners from making money. That belief is: if you’re doing good in the world then you shouldn’t want to make money from that.

Behind this same belief is the thought that to do good in the world you should have minimal stuff, i.e., not have fancy clothes, etc. But, as Sara says, this belief does not serve us or our abilities when it comes to making an impact on the world.

Sara grew up with a single mom in a trailer in Southern Missouri, so it did not come naturally to her that she was worthy enough to make money and that it was morally okay. The transition happened over a couple of years after she started her agency, but the shift did not happen easily.

After she got her Master’s in social work policy, Sara had a job in government policy, making low six figures. She was making good money, but when it came to charging money to individuals, that was a huge switch for her. Her ability to feel good about making money came from her heart and mind. She wanted to help people and knew the work she did could do that.

It can be hard to realize you’re doing good and still make enough to have the life you want.

Money as energy

One of Sara’s mantras is, “fill my cup so I may fill the cups of others.” She doesn’t make money and hoard it away in her savings account. Instead, Sara brings in money to pay her team, to give them bonuses when she can, and to support other local businesses. She thinks of bringing in money as energy – she brings it in to then spread it out.

Think of money more energetically. It is not a capitalist item, you’re not oppressing people, instead, you are creating abundance in the world that you can share.

Money is not a bad thing

Money is often thought of as a bad thing, and there are a lot of good things you can do with money. The desire to make money can be thought of as inherently evil, but that mentality can hold back the people who want to do good. 

Spiritual people can make money

The thought that spiritual people shouldn’t make money is shifting. When you think about spiritual figures of our time, such as Eckhart Tolle, who is a monastic philosopher, remember that he runs Facebook ads. He also has a monthly membership program where you can have access to him and through that, he is generating income to pay the people around him so he can continue doing the work he does.

Sara has similar clients, they have entered the realm of accepting that it is okay to make money in their spiritual work so they can pay their teams and themselves and continue to do spiritual, mission-led work.

Letting go of old beliefs

If you find yourself blocked by the belief that you should not make money doing spiritual work, then you need to let go of your old belief system. Accept that you can make money doing good in the world. You have to believe you can create wealth and that it’s all okay. So many money beliefs keep us from making money – and there is nothing wrong with making money.

The importance of self-worth

Female entrepreneurs, in particular, who are making money and doing good in the world also need to have self-worth to open the door to making money. Self-worth can be a pesky belief. You need to believe you are worthy, inherently worthy, and that all the work you do has a monetary value. You can’t do it all for free… free doesn’t pay the bills.

Find self-worth and you will be able to fight money beliefs and make the money you are worthy of making. You will also be able to feel joyful about your work and will realize it is not selfish to make money. 

Learn more about Sara and her agency at ResonatewithSara.com, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

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Season Two, Episode 7: Overcoming your fear of sales with Laura Wright

Sales is a topic many business owners need to bust through so they can find success in their businesses. For many business owners, the first thing that often comes to mind when thinking about sales is, “Ugh, I hate sales!” Everything around sales is heavy, and there is this belief that sales are terrible.

Laura Wright is a super salesperson Ninja, which is one reason I invited her to be on the podcast. She is all things epic at sales and is also a strategic growth coach. She likes to help empowered women sell with ease and do things in a way that creates more income, more growth, sometimes more clients (sometimes less) and really maximize what they have. This is her 22nd year of doing all the sales things that she does. If there is a sales thing to be uncovered, she has probably done something around it.  

Sales stereotypes

Most stereotypical sales techniques are coercive. They can be a little sleazy and slimy and not feel good, but if you are not ready to buy and someone's pushing and forcing, it's not going to feel good. Sales is a service. It's meant to feel good.  

Even as a business coach, when I get to the end of a sales conversation and I've collected the credit card and someone says to me, “thank you!” I think, “Thank you? Thank you for taking my credit card?” That sounds nuts, but it's because we have created this belief system where sales can’t feel great.

Most business owners don't want to be pushy. They feel that anything that is beyond just very gently telling people what they do is being pushy and makes people feel uncomfortable.

Is sales in your make up?

According to Laura, anyone who has the feeling that they're afraid of being too pushy and too sales-y, should know that they will never be too pushy and sales-y. If you think like that then sales is not in your make up. It’s also important to note that sales is not something that you do to someone.

Sales conversations are meant to be a joined thing and Laura believes it’s a bit like a buyer psychology. If someone is uncomfortable buying something, they're going to clench up and not buy.

Whenever Laura gets on a sales call, she thinks about a few of her clients. They are sitting beside her on every single sales call. One of them was a woman who recently took Laura aside and let her know that she actually saved her life! Laura knew that things were pretty dire with her business when they met, but she didn’t think she understood the full picture of what was going. The work they did together to help her finally gave success in her business, and saved her life. Laura thinks about her every time she gets on a sales call because what if the most loving and kind thing you could do for somebody is stand up and be their advocate? What if instead of you selling at them, you're their partner in creating transformation?  

Believe in what you’re selling

The idea is to truly believe that what you're doing is helping. You need to believe that you are creating something that they want in their lives. When you're asking people to commit to something they don't want to do, that is when it feels like too much or too bold or too in their face.

If you're having conversations with the people that you don't really align with or who don't really align with you (because it goes both ways) then that conversation can feel hard.

Another thing that makes sales hard is when you don't know what to do on a call or you're doing something different. When you talk to 30 people and only two people said yes, that can start to bring you down. Then you start to change things you probably shouldn't change. When you have a formula that you can follow, you can actually relax.

When you have a sales process that is flexible and breathable and you can enjoy it, you can detach from the outcome and also know what you can expect. It will just feel better.

Know what you’re selling 

You need to know exactly what you're selling. According to Laura, you should be deeply, madly, passionately in love and lit up with all your offers – she is with hers! If you're not passionately excited about your offers or if you don't really believe in them then it will be harder to sell them. Create ways to work with people that don’t just get results, but also allow you to really enjoy the process and be in a great community.

We need to feel good about what we are selling and how we are selling – that makes a big difference in how we have sales conversations.

How to get comfortable with sales

Laura suggests business owners write out a list of people that they would like to sell to. It can be five, 50, 100, that doesn't matter. Then look at this list of people that you would feel really excited to sell something to or bring them on as clients. Then circle all those “hot prospects” first.

Then flip this list upside down and if you have names on your list that you don’t know or don’t feel attached to then I want you to reach out to those people first. Have a couple of conversations, get into a rhythm that makes you feel comfortable. Talk about your offers, and practice your rates like they're a fact. After you're in that rhythm and feeling good, then go to those hot and warm leads and make your invitations.

What will happen is, you'll be well-versed, well-practiced, relaxed, and by the time you talk with those people that you actually feel a little bit attached to, you will have taught yourself how to have detachment and I bet they're going to say yes.

Laura loves to teach sales! If you would like to learn more about how to do a sales call so there are no objections and if they show up, how to walk through them so you can relax and enjoy the process, go to Epicatsales.com/gift. You can also find her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Epicatsales

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Season Two, Episode 6: What’s the right way to do things in your business? With Stephanie Rainey

There is a belief among many business owners that things have to be done “the right way.” In this podcast episode, I am joined by Stephanie Rainey, owner of The Swimologist, to discuss this topic and why it is a haunting belief and how it can hold you back.

Stephanie Rainey is the former founder and owner of the Aqua Life Swim Academy, which is a private swim school in Ottawa, Canada. It was the first of its kind, and she sold that in January 2019. She’s now dabbling in new things, one of which is teaching adults to learn to swim.

As soon as Stephanie learned that I was going to be talking about beliefs and things that hold business owners back, this belief immediately came to mind.

For Stephanie, the belief that something had to be done the right way started when she was a child who was very imaginative. She quickly learned that people don't want you to wander around through life and that instead, people want you to have an order to what you're doing and want you to do what you're supposed to do. 

The right way to do things

Stephanie learned early on that there is a right way to do things. For example, this is the right way to clean up your room. This is the right way to do this homework.

It became super-uncomfortable for Stephanie to just wander around without any systems, rules or order to her life. And so, she became this person who used systems and tried to do things the right way to please people and to get ahead.

Stephanie believes she became a little obsessed with the “right way.”

Many people grew up believing there's a right way to do things. And so, that impacts us as adults and can add a lot of stress to how we do things.

If you're always looking for the right way, what does that mean for you?

When Stephanie was a school teacher, it wasn't so bad. There is a right way, there's a right answer. Everything is formulated. She would show up, she would teach, she would go home, she would evaluate, and she put a mark on a kid, and define them by what the right way is.

However, as an entrepreneur, she moved into a space where she knew some expertise in her business, but there was so much she didn’t know.

When you’re just starting out as an entrepreneur, you don't even know what you don't know. And then, you start to wake up to the fact that you need marketing, and you need process documents, and you need to bring on employees, and, as you grow and scale according to your dream, so much order has to take place.

There were many times Stephanie thought, "Gosh, I'm supposed to do something in marketing." But she was stuck thinking, "What's the right thing to do? What's the right way to market this?"  

Luckily, a friend helped Stephanie to realize that just making things up as she went was a part of her entrepreneurial journey and she had to embrace that.

It always looks like everybody else is doing something that you're not, and that they may know something you don't. Often, this is not the case. 

Somebody else’s right way is not your right way

You can read many great business books and they have great answers but there's also so much making it up that has to happen because not every business is the same. Those authors made it up for the business they became successful in. They followed a system, but they had to create that system, and that takes the creativity part of it.

The right way is really whatever you need to pull together to create the right way for you, as opposed to you having to follow somebody else's right way.

Stephanie realized that if you're always searching for the right way, it's debilitating, and it becomes paralyzing.

She spent so much time frozen in her first two years of business because it was overwhelming. She wanted to do it right. She didn't want to lose money. And so, she ended up defaulting to doing nothing. And, that was really the worst thing that she could have done.

If you want to keep moving forward, you have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And, sometimes that means making a very imperfect step, and then, readjusting as it hurts.

Embrace the imperfect

Don't let not knowing how to do it stop you. As well, when something is really hard in your business, and you're really struggling, talk to people or find a book on someone who's done it really well. Learn from them, and then apply that and tailor it to your business.

Even if it's painful, business owners have to figure out how to make it less painful. It’s about stepping through and figuring out what things are working.

Stephanie believes the biggest misconception she has about business, besides just having the right thing, is thinking that you should be amazing right off the bat. Business owners don't look back and give themselves credit for how far they have come.

Celebrate the teeny, tiny steps. If you're taking a tiny step, know that you're headed in the right direction. Every step, regardless of its size, is a step in the right direction.

For more information on Stephanie, visit her website: http://theswimologist.com or like her Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/TheSwimologist/

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Season Two, Episode 5: Running a Thriving Business with a Chronic Illness with Michelle Weger

I'm really excited to have Michelle Weger of Venture Creative Collective on the podcast today to talk about a belief that impacts people who struggle with their health.

Michelle’s business specializes in website development and business automation. They create websites, processes and systems that earn business owners more money than they cost. Most businesses take a huge amount of admin time – the average is 13 hours a week, spent on tasks that can and should be automated. Michelle and her team focus on finding areas that business owners are wasting time on and automating them so they can spend that time on better things, which could be higher income-generating tasks or time with family and enjoying life.

This entire podcast season is about beliefs and rules – things we've been taught to believe, but often hold us back. One belief I hear often is that it's hard to think of yourself as a business owner, that's supposed to be working hard and making money, if you also have a chronic health concern, illness or disorder.

Running a successful business despite a health issue

Michelle has narcolepsy, which is a super rare neurological disorder. Anyone who's seen the movie Rat Race or videos of fainting llamas or dogs will recognize this disorder. Michelle’s body will always be significantly more sleepy than anyone else's. It’s the equivalent of an average person having not slept, being awake for 48 hours, and that is how she lives her life every day.

So, logically speaking, one would think that having narcolepsy would make it nearly impossible to hold a job or run a business. And even statistically, that is true. Only one-third of people with narcolepsy will ever be employed, and only 1% will ever make over $100,000 in a single year. Michelle is not any of those norms.

Working outside the box

There are a lot of beliefs that can come in around having a chronic illness. One is, what can a person be able to do if they’re sick? What are they capable of? Sometimes, business owners don't see how to marry together not being able to work constantly with what they can still achieve. It doesn't have to be one or the other all the time. People get stuck in their one lane of “this is how things have to look in order to create success” that they don't look outside the lines for what else could exist.

According to Michelle, the main reason that she has been able to overcome the statistics is the fact that she didn't just look inside the box of what is normal. A great example is the typical business hours. Most businesses either work from 7 am to 4 pm, or maybe it's 9 am to 5 pm. It's certainly not 10:30 am, which is the time Michelle typically starts working.

When Michelle first tried to start a business, she tried to fit into the conventional work hours, and it did not work for her. She could have chosen to continue to struggle, she could have quit, or she could choose to change her business to fit her needs. And surprise, when she did change her business, the business didn't plummet. She didn't lose a ton of clients, and the business has grown significantly.

The more transparent she is about who she is, the more people identify with her story. And by making sure that the business fit what she needed, that ensured she would be able to deliver the best value because she was her best self whenever she was working.

Making your business work for you

I understand making your business work for you. ADHD is something I have been working with, and that means that there are things that if I tried to do the way everybody else does, I wouldn't get it done properly. Business owners need to figure out what their workaround is. If they get stuck in the belief that it can only work one way – you could get stuck permanently.

People often say “own your strengths.” Michelle says, “triple down on your weaknesses.” This means, find the areas that you're the least strong at. In Michelle’s case, it's always going to be the areas that having narcolepsy effects, and for me, that's where ADHD effects things. These are the areas that business owners either need to get magically better at or find a way to work around them.

By finding a workaround, all of a sudden, a business owner will be significantly stronger in that area than the average person is. Instead of feeling less than, they will have a reputation for being significantly stronger than normal in that area because they tripled down on it. Combine that with natural gifts and talents, and you can have a business that is significantly more successful than average.

When it comes to a health condition, don't bother going down conventional paths that are not going to lead to positive outcomes.

Why business owners need systems and automation

Something bad could happen to any business owner at any point. It doesn't just have to be related to chronic illnesses. So, having systems, technology, and plans in place where if you did have to take time off, not only is it important for the longterm success and protection of your business, but it also reduces stress.  

If you want to take a day off because, as in Michelle’s case, you’re exhausted, then you need to be able to do that without the potential that the business could be destroyed or that people would be upset.

Whatever the reason, all business owners need to give themselves permission to work less and still have their businesses run smoothly. Michelle has created a program to make it easier for business owners to build better client journeys so they can get more of their ideal clients and deliver better results for those clients. They have done this by creating a prebuilt system of the main go-to automations that every business should have early on.

There are all kinds of ways people can create a thriving business, even if they have a chronic illness or disorder, and even if they have other things pulling them in different directions.

When it comes to your life and your business, do you fall into the belief that you can’t be successful or are you going to allow yourself to have the success you deserve?

Find out more about the automations and programs offered by Michelle at https://venturecreative.com/business-process-marketing-automation/. You can also join her free Facebook Community for entrepreneurs with chronic illnesses, disorders, and disabilities.

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Season Two, Episode 4: Who will give you permission? With Lindsey Barr

Who do you need permission from to do new things, big things, and to call yourself certain things in your business?

My guest in this episode is Lindsey Barr, author, speaker, and the founder of World-Changing Kids, where she empowers children to be confident leaders who will change the world. Lindsey joined me to discuss giving ourselves permission.

Many people, women in particular, feel like they need to be given permission to do things. In this episode we’re digging into what feeling like she needed permission has meant for Lindsey as an entrepreneur, and why talking about permission is so important.

Waiting for permission

This summer Lindsey realized that she was waiting for someone to tell her she was an author, waiting for someone to tell her that she could do podcasts, or for someone to tell her that she could make videos. She would look at other people's bios, where they wrote author, speaker, podcaster, and would feel sad. She knew she would love to put that in her bio, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized she could. She didn’t know who she was waiting for to give her permission!

Who is that mystery person who is going to say, “yes, you're an author?”

Owning who we are

It’s hard for many of us to own certain titles and to not have imposter syndrome come in. It’s as though we say to ourselves, “Who am I to say I am an author? I can't just say that. Who am I? Nobody else would agree!”  

Except Lindsey has published a book, so she is an author! Plant a Garden of Kindness has 75 acts of kindness kids can do in their community. It's a workbook she self-published it and she has sold 550 plus copies.

Lindsey is also a speaker. She goes out into the community and does speaking engagements, assemblies, and people hire her to do this stuff.  

So, where is it that people get stuck between what they're doing, what they've started to do, what they know people would want them to do, and actually owning the wording and loudly declaring that's who they are?!

When your beliefs hold us back

For Lindsey, the hesitation has to do with her background. She has a business degree, and worked in the government, and then she had kids. She stayed home and then started building World-Changing Kids. She often thought she should have a Bachelor's of Education or a child psychology degree to do what she is doing, or that she needed to actually be published by a publisher, but yet she didn't send her book to any publishers! 

We often think that certain levels of education are required or that the step-by-step process of being approved happens by having a degree, a diploma, being hired into a certain job or getting promotions – but that is a belief. We were told that we had achieved something when somebody else told us. So, we start to think that needs to be how it always is.

Giving yourself permission

As an entrepreneur there's no one to “approve” of what we do. The person to best give yourself permission to do things is yourself. As a business coach, I do this with my clients all the time and my coach will do it with me. But you need to give yourself permission and you need to realize you have the power to give yourself permission to do so many things.

Lindsey does something I always recommend, she writes it all down – write down all your successes and celebrate your successes.

Write down your wins and also scream them from the rooftops sometimes, even if you fear being the centre of attention.

This podcast season is all about the mindsets, beliefs, rules, and the things that keep us from letting ourselves get to where we want to be. The more we talk about our fears and the things we want but don't know how to get, the more we realize that it's about our beliefs and we have the power to make change for ourselves. The only person who can give you permission is you.

To learn more about Lindsey and World-Changing Kids, visit: http://worldchangingkids.ca or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/worldchangingkids

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Season Two, Episode 3: Breaking Beliefs & Rules with Guest Megan O'Neill

My guest today is Megan O’Neill, a Business Mindset Strategist with international clientele. For over 18 years, Megan has assisted clients to break-fee of limiting core beliefs, fears and patterns. Her work specializes in the area of entrepreneurial mindset—helping clients understand why they're operating the way they are, and then working to clear it at a deep level so they can transform to who they really are!

Megan’s CBE journey began after realizing she logically and cognitively knew what her blocks were, but was stuck and couldn’t make the changes she really needed. Fortunately, the universe intervened—she received a pamphlet in the mail about a workshop on a method called Core Belief Engineering (CBE). After experiencing amazing results with CBE, Megan realized this is what she was meant to do and spent the next few years training in this mindset technique. She hasn’t looked back since and has enjoyed many wonderful years assisting her clients to create freedom for themselves by transforming themselves into who they really are.

Today, Megan focuses on helping entrepreneurs and small business owners from all over the world to get out of their own way by busting through their mindset blocks, so they can align with their business vision and make money without killing themselves.

This season of my podcast is all about the beliefs and the rules that are either holding us back or that we need to start letting go of so that we can reach our full potential. If we don't see what is holding us back, if we don't notice these blocks, then we're stopping ourselves from creating the life and business we want.

Rules and Beliefs are the same thing

Megan believes people have an understanding of what beliefs are, but they don’t understand how pervasive they are and how these beliefs determine what their reality is. Beliefs create your reality. They determine how you see the world. Just imagine you're wearing glasses, your beliefs are the lenses in which you see the world.

Rules are a set of beliefs

The good news is, beliefs are malleable. You can change them. We’re always changing our beliefs. We're growing and we're learning. One example Megan gives is, if you're a parent, you don't generally believe half of what your parents believed and how they brought up their kids. You have very different beliefs on child rearing, because you've grown, you have different information, you have different life experiences, so your beliefs are always changing.

Outdated beliefs

The reason we keep coming back to these old beliefs is because we think that they're doing well for us. Some of it might just be habit, but when you think about it and you have conversations with people, they really believe something to be true, but there's a reason that they're hanging onto this. It's because they think this belief is helping them. Always ask yourself what's the benefit of holding on to this belief?

A rule is something that's really familiar, you most likely grew up with it. It's something that you thought to be true and you've never questioned it, therefore it seems like an absolute truth. But truth is subjective.

Question the rules

So, these are our beliefs, these are the rules and we've never questioned them. Start questioning them.

Megan does this with her clients. She will ask them to ask themselves, is this really true? Is this still working for you? People take on rules at a younger age, they often absorb them from their parents or society, and they've been ticking along following those rules, and they have seemed safe for them, so that even when they're not working for the person anymore, they haven't questioned it. They haven't asked themselves whether or not it still works.

Start questioning the rules that are assumed to be true, or if it feels uncomfortable or if it feels like it's not working for you anymore. We need to be willing to think that what we thought before is no longer what we need to think moving forward. And if you're feeling resistant around that, what is it about it that's making you feel resistant? What do you think is going to happen?

Start to imagine that there's another way of doing things. Just imagine. Megan’s clients will often argue and say, "Well you know, this is reality, Megan. This is the way you must do it." Must, should. They get really locked into that, and that's kind of almost like a protectionism. If you can just start to imagine that things can be different, and things can change, and that beliefs are malleable, then I think that there's a whole world that will be opened up to you.

To learn more about Megan and how method of coaching can help you, visit: www.meganoneill.ca or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Megancorebeliefs/

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Season Two, Episode 2: I should be happy with what I have

We’re taught by society that wanting more is greedy and some of us have internalized that.

Minimalism is hot.

Materialistic people should be vilified.

The messages that we hear tell us we should be happier with less, we should declutter, we should be moving into tiny homes even! That means we start feeling guilty about wanting more.

More doesn’t have to mean more stuff

More can mean more experiences; it can be more support; it can be better quality stuff that will last longer or stuff that is made locally or is healthier for you.

More doesn’t have to mean wasteful and greedy, but we tend to think that it does.

The more you have, the more you’re helping

When you spend more money, you’re helping the economy. When you spend more money with small business owners, you’re helping them grow their businesses. When you have more money, you can spend on the things that are important to you.

I had a big epiphany when I realized that it was selfish of me not to make more money.

I was comfortable not being the kind of person who amassed a lot of wealth, but when I realized that having more money meant a lot of good things, everything started shifting. Having more money means:

• I’m showing other women entrepreneurs what is possible - I need to be a good role model.

• I can support more causes that mean a lot to me. This year I want to put more money into organizations that support women’s health and that support indigenous communities. If I don’t have anything more money than what my family needs to be comfortable, then I don’t have enough to give.

• When my family is well taken care of financially, I have more bandwidth for everything else. When I keep things too low, it creates stress, and I don’t have what I need to give as much to others.

Let’s all be happy striving for more!

I challenge you to think about what your goals are in your business. Are you holding back? Grab a pen and paper and write out some thoughts about the following:

• Do you think things like, “I’m happy with what I have” or “I don’t need more” or “I don’t want to be greedy?”

• What would it mean for you and your loved ones or the causes you care about if your income quadrupled this year?

• Are you comfortable with the idea of bringing in that amount of money? Some people are, but most of the people I work with struggle with it, so it’s okay if it makes you feel a bit off.

It took ME a long time to get comfortable with wanting more than I have, and it’s still a work in progress. Realizing I was holding myself back from making the money I know my business can make because I felt uncomfortable with the numbers was key to me taking leaps upward.

Spend time reflecting on all of this and then let me know in the show notes if you had any big realizations.

Beliefs and societal norms like this one hold many of us back in our businesses. That’s why this podcast season is all about breaking down rules and beliefs like this one. I hope you’ll join me for the next episode of The Biz Podcast by subscribing to the show on iTunes, Soundcloud or Stitcher and following along!

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Season Two, Episode 1: Welcome back!

It’s been a while, but I have missed you guys!

I am so excited to be back for another season of The Biz Podcast. This season I will be focussing on rules and beliefs.

I hope you’ll join me for the next episode of The Biz Podcast by subscribing to the show on iTunes, Soundcloud or Stitcher and thanks for following along!

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Should you have a Facebook Group for your Business?

In my work as a Certified Business Coach, a question I often hear is whether or not a business should have a Facebook Group. Facebook Groups are a great way to engage with your audience and build relationships, which is key to the next step, which is to get them to buy from you. But Facebook Groups are not for every one or for every business.

Before you start a Facebook Group there are a few things you need to consider:

1)   Is your audience on Facebook?

Not every business’ audience is spending a lot of time on Facebook. You need to research and find out if your audience is on Facebook. You also need to be clear on who your ideal audience is – once you know this, you will have the information you need to tell whether or not they spend time on Facebook.

2)   Do you like Facebook?

If you don’t like Facebook, chances are you are not going to like running a Facebook Group for your business. I am not going to lie, having a Facebook Group can be a lot of work and requires a lot of time on Facebook. That being said, I love Facebook so I am enjoying myself while I engage with people in my Facebook Group. But if you do not like Facebook – you won’t like running a Facebook Group.

If your audience is on Facebook and you love being there too then go ahead and start a Group, and once you start a Group, focus on what you need to do to make your Group work for you.

1)   You need to know what your audience wants

What is it your audience values? What is it they are looking for? What do they need? You need to be clear on what you want them to know and what they want to know – it’s not always the same thing.

2)   Simple is better

Smaller amounts of content are better. This is why GIF posts are so popular. They’re easy, they are fun and it makes commenting and engaging simple. People don’t like to take risks and look dumb - especially online. So, ask simple questions, such as: Where are you from? Where did you go to school? Simple questions get your engagement up and get people talking. And the more people talk, the more they will see what you post next.

3)   Post regularly

There are always people online who watch and don’t post or engage so you need to post at least daily, if not more. Give your audience value and keep it simple… bite-sized pieces of information.

What is it you like most about Facebook Groups? Are Facebook Groups right for your business? Leave a comment and let me know.

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 30-minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

Aligning your time with your goals

Managing Your Social Media While On Vacation

Why Business Owners Should Be Using Facebook Live

Understanding your “Why”

Do you know what your why is?

Do you know why people are always asking you if you know what your why is?

Understanding your why helps you make sure that what you’re doing in your business and how you’re communicating with your audience is really working well; it helps you stay on track and motivated.

When you ask most people what their why is, they think along the lines of: why are they a fitness coach/graphic designer, etc. – they are answering what they are doing right now. What their job title is. They are not answering their why in the way that I like to dig in to it, the way Simon Sinek does in his book Start With Why.

Start With Why

Simon Sinek’s book, “Start With Why” digs in to the heart of why your why is important. It explains how your why is beyond your business – it is something that is a part of who you are. Your why has been with you since you were young – and is a thread that ties everything you have done together.

Figuring out your why can actually be quite complicated. You need to dig in far deeper than just into what you do but figure out what is at the heart of the choices you make in life. What inspires you. What makes you feel fulfilled.

For example, I am not a business coach because I want to help business owners make more money and find clarity in their goals, etc. While it is something I want to communicate, it’s not my why.

My Why

My why is: community.

If I look through my entire life I see that I was always the one on the social committee, organizing group events, creating groups to get like-minded people together, etc. I have always enjoyed having people around me who are like-minded and want to celebrate the same things as me. I have always been about bringing people together. My why is: To bring people together in communities of support so that we can all be stronger together.

Why you need to find your why

Once you understand your why, you know what the right goals and choices are for you – and for your business. Making decisions can come back to your why, making it easier to choose.

Remember, your why is more than what you are doing right now – it may be part of it, but it is much more than that.

Once you find out what your motivation is, you will have a compass to help you create the right goals and it will be easier to achieve those goals because they will be more meaningful to you.

Do you know your why? If you don't, I encourage you to check on Simon Sinek's book Start With Why

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 40 minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

Why goal setting and planning suck

What I learned in 10 years of business - Part 1

Three strategies to get the life and biz you want

Money and your business

How is money impacting your business?

How is your mindset around money impacting your business?

Money is a topic that comes up a lot in my business and in my clients' businesses - that they want to make more of it. That they're finally ready to invest in a coach because they've been trying to do everything along and they aren't getting any where. That asking for it feels so uncomfortable that they simply don't ask.

Dealing with the money stuff in your business is like peeling an onion – there are so many layers. This is because money affects every aspect of your life. It is an emotionally loaded subject.

I wanted to dig down through a few more layers so I invited Core Belief Engineering Practitioner, Megan O’Neill, to once again join me on the podcast to talk about money and business. Megan is a belief and mindset specialist who works with entrepreneurs on their mindset blocks and what holds them back in their businesses. She works with clients internationally via Skype and loves to talk about how people get stuck on money. 

You can listen to the audio in the player above, read the recap in the blog post below, or scroll down to the bottom and watch the original live video!

Money is the number one mindset block that holds people back from moving forward in their business. This is because it runs through so many components of being a business owner – and believe it or not, the money issues we have as business owners are about more than just making money.

Pricing

Business owners get stuck when it comes to pricing because they are under confident about what to charge. They're not clear or confident enough to charge their worth. Instead they “price source” – they ask other people what they should be charging for their products or services.

Entrepreneurs often make up what they think they should be charging or let other people have a big influence on what they charge. Instead of doing this, recognize your value and charge your worth!

Everyone has a different perception on what they should be charging for a product or service. For example, say I have a beautiful piece of paper towel that one person may pay $20 for, but another person may only pay two cents because they don’t value it quite the same as the first person. If you ask the person who wants to pay 2 cents what to charge, you're going to be making a decision based on someone who didn't even want your paper towel in the first place, and without taking into account what it costs or is required to create that paper towel in the first place.

Pricing is a learning curve. When you first start out you may undercharge and what ends up happening is you end up giving away a lot of time for free, which can burn you out and make you resentful. This may then push you to raise your prices accordingly.

Judgment

Business owners and entrepreneurs often fear that if they charge too much they will alienate current and potential clients.  They fear people will think they charge too much and won’t want to work with them. In essence, they fear being judged.

If this sounds familiar, you need to determine what you need to charge in order to make what you need to make. For example, if you have 30 hours available to work per week then how much do you need to charge per hour, etc. in order to make what you need to make in a week?

Be strong and clear about your pricing. There will always be people who challenge you about your pricing, but be confident. Those who object may not be your ideal clients.

You should also know that you can start lower and increase your prices as you grow. If you are struggling to increase your prices then you need to dig deeper and find out what is blocking you. Do you fear being judged? Do you lack the confidence to charge your worth?

Sales

There is an old belief that often lingers with business owners that sales people are pushy.

Sales are just communicating what it is you do and what you have to offer.

Someone comes to you with a problem and you present them you with a solution – this is essentially sales.  You are offering a solution to a problem. What people feel like they're doing (or are afraid people are going to think they're doing) is yelling "Give me your money! Give me your money!" at them.

You need to remember that when you are selling to a potential client, you are offering them a solution for their problem and they can take it or they can leave it.

It’s the used car salesperson mentality that can make people fear sales. But you must remember that you are providing value, not just trying to 'get their money' and be confident in your product or service. 

If the idea of selling still frightens you, when people approach you about your service or product, ask them what they need. This empowers you to give them a realistic answer as to how you can help them.

Spending Money

It can be just as hard to let money out of your business as it is to bring it in to your business, but investing in your business is one of the best ways to start seeing growth. 

There comes a time in a business owners’ journey when they realize they can't do it alone. Whether that is building a website, or doing your own social media – you will need to outsource, but the need “bootstrap” might be holding you back.

"I can do that myself, or I can learn it."
"I don't have the money to spend on that right now."

This money mindset block holds you back from hiring for the tasks that you don’t need to be doing or from spending money on your business.

In order to overcome this block, you need to focus on the bigger picture. You need to see that in order to make money you have to spend money. You may see it as losing money as opposed to seeing the opportunities that can come from spending money on your business.

Think of it like this – if you can hire out something such as your weekly newsletter for cheaper than you charge per hour and to someone who can do it quicker than yourself, then think of how much more you can make by outsourcing this task. Not to mention, outsourcing the tasks that do not make you happy will make you happier in the end. Think of it in terms of money, time and happiness. 

Business owners and entrepreneurs need to get conscious about their money blocks. Often these money blocks are old and prevent people from earning the money they need to make. These money blocks are often mistaken for being smart i.e., if I do it all myself I am saving money – and even though it may feel like it is the right thing it is not the thing that will help you grow your business.

Money is a DEEP topic - personally and in your business. If you notice yourself struggling with making enough money, with asking for the sales, with figuring out to get comfortable with your prices or with letting yourself get help with certain things, considering booking a call with Lara or Megan. There are practical ways to figure out what to do next, and there are ways to dig down deep into your belief systems to find the root of the problem. Don't get stuck feeling like you figure this all out on your own when there are people who have already figured out the path through.

This episode was a new style, originally broadcast as a Facebook Live conversation and then brought in to the podcast. Did you like this format for the show? Would you like to see more conversational style podcast episodes? Leave a comment and let me know, and let me know what other topics or guests I should have on!

Resources & Links

Core Beliefs for Business with Megan O'Neill - Free Facebook Group

Megan's O'Neill's Mindset for Sucess Program

Join my Free Facebook Community

Book a free 40 minute call with me

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

 

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Your Relationship with Money

Entrepreneurs and Confidence

The danger behind loaded words

5 Five money mistakes I made in 10 years

I have made a lot of mistakes over the years, but I have learned a lot too – especially when it comes to money.

This is part two of what I have learned in my 10 years as an entrepreneur. A lot of the mistakes I am sharing today could have been avoided with simple planning; something I have struggled with over the years (but fortunately have a better handle on now :) . Often, a business owner's problems with money stems from their beliefs or what their history is with money. I am not immune to these mistakes and I am hoping the experiences I share here are relatable and that I can help you avoid the same mistakes by sharing what I learned over the years.

Have a budget

You need a budget. You need to know what your expenses are and how much you have to spend as well as how much you need and want to spend. When I had my first business, a clothing store, we didn’t really have a budget. We just bought what we wanted – if we thought something was cute and would sell then we would buy it. But we had no idea what our budget was in terms of what we needed to earn, how much we should spend on advertising, staffing and any other business related expenses.

A lot of entrepreneurs and small business owners do this same thing. The consequences of not having a budget can creep up on you slowly – before you know it you’re further into debt than you intended.

A budget does not need to be complicated. Know what you are earning, what you need to buy, know your numbers, and spend responsibly.

Don’t just “make up” your pricing

Entrepreneurs who offer a service often make up their prices based on what they think people are willing to pay versus what they are worth.

You need to know what you need to earn and what your hourly rate should be based on that number. You also need to keep in mind that you are not going be billing for every hour you are available to work; sometimes you will need to work ON your business. You need to consider the hours it takes for marketing, engaging with your Facebook Group, etc.

If you only want to work a certain number of hours per week then how much do you need to charge clients per hour in order to make the income you need to make? 

How much can you actually take home?

Don’t guess how much money you will take home at the end of the day. Most businesses are not built so that you earn $5, you get $5. Huge percentages of what you earn are going to different costs.

A good rule of thumb is the thirds rule.  1/3 goes to savings, 1/3 goes to expenses and then 1/3 goes to you. So, how much do you need to earn so that you can pay your bills and pay yourself? Think it through and plan for it!

I used to think I could pay myself 75% of what I made and only have 25% to pay my expenses – but this only increased my debt. Over time, I accepted that I needed to earn more money as well as think through how I could divide up the money I did earn to ensure my expenses, etc. were also covered.

What’s the bottom number? (Don’t start there!)

The lowest amount you’re willing to work for cannot be your price. Let’s say you figure out that you need to make $50 an hour in order to meet your income goal – don’t charge $50. Ask for more because this gives you the freedom to create packages, create discounts and deals when necessary, as well as give you some wiggle room to work for less if you need to.

Make sure you aren't accidentally earning way less than you deserve by not starting out at the right place. Earn what you need to make and charge what you need to make.

Save the HST

If you are charging sales tax then you need to save the sales tax. This sounds obvious, I know.

This is separate from your federal tax. I will admit that in the beginning, I didn’t do this, so when it came time to pay back my HST I had not put that money away and it took me a long time to pay it back. It's not that I didn't know I needed to save the HST, it's that I was falling behind by not charging properly, not budgeting properly, taking home the wrong amount of money and not having a plan - so I had to keep dipping in to the HST to pay all my expenses. I was not being smart! I now separate my HST so that it is now properly accounted for.

Consider all of these lessons pieces of a puzzle so that you have the money you need when you need it. This will save you from needless frustration and overwhelm. It will also prevent you from being underpaid.

Take the time to make a budget and create a plan so that you know what your numbers need to be and what that means in terms of how much you need to earn and how much you need to charge.

We all make mistakes in our businesses and you will likely still make some money mistakes in yours. That being said, a plan of action will do wonders to keep things on track.

It was MY coach that got me on track years ago and this is something I help my clients with regularly now. If you want to talk about how I can help you, book a free consultation and we'll talk. 

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#8: Your Relationship with Money

#14: Why goal setting and planning suck

#19 - What I learned in 10 years of business - Part 1

#21 - Aligning your time with your goals

What are you spending the most time on in your business? Are you spending time working on tasks that will grow your business, such as sales and marketing? Or are you busy working on mundane tasks that are preventing you from growing your business.

Kelly Roach is a coach who helps entrepreneurs all around the world make six and seven figure leaps. She also helps people build businesses around systems. Kelly joins me on the podcast to discuss why systems are so important in entrepreneurship and how focusing on the right tasks can make all the difference when it comes to reaching your goals.

Systems are important

Entrepreneurs tend to push back against systems, but systems can create freedom in your business. Systems don’t have to be hard. Systems are the things that hold and bind your business together and keep businesses running like well-oiled machines.

Systems are the core-principles or the automatic things that run a certain way to keep things moving each day. They are executed a specific way to generate a specific result and that could be your marketing, people management, product or service delivery, etc. If productivity is important to you and you want a freedom-based business, then you need systems to create the fluidity that can give you freedom.

The sooner you create your systems, the sooner you will grow and achieve your goals. Many people think of advertising or outsourcing as something that happens when you reach a certain level in your business, however the sooner you put systems in place for these things, the sooner you can do these things and reach your business goals.

Entrepreneurs do not necessarily enjoy sales and marketing. Because of this they are working more hours then they need to be on many areas in their business that make them feel busy, but all the while they are not working on anything that is going to produce a specific result.

Assess your time

Track and measure how much time is going toward sales conversations (online and in person. Also measure how many webinars you are doing, etc. Measure everything you are doing to get more clients. Many entrepreneurs can free up time if they focus on systems that will get them more sales, that will make you more money – because that should be your priority.

Most entrepreneurs probably only spend an hour or less a week on prospecting, when they should be investing a lot more time interfacing with their target audience. This can be via email, webinars, and networking events. If you’re not closing sales it could have something to do with where you are spending your time. You need to be making enough offers to be able to close more offers.

If you are in the new stages of your business, then you need to spend a lot of time outward facing and getting in front of your target audience. Sales are the driver of everything in your business so it is where your attention needs be.

Figure out what you need to make hourly in order to make the income that you want to make. Then sort out the tasks that you spend your time on each day and see which of those hours are profit producing – everything else should back into those tasks. Separate your genius work from the mundane tasks and then believe in yourself! Hire someone who can do the other tasks so you can focus on what you need to do to build your business.

You cannot build a million dollar business trying to piece together $10 an hour tasks. It doesn’t work. Trust the mundane tasks to someone else so you can focus on your genius work.

Get uncomfortable

None of us get into business with the intention of stressing over their financial situation. This is why you need to get uncomfortable… so you can do more of what you want to do, such as taking more vacations, home renovations, etc.

You need to be growing your audience, and this means getting in front of them and as uncomfortable as this may be for people – it is necessary. In order to do whatever it is you love doing, you also need to become a great marketer because if no one knows about you then it doesn’t matter how great whatever you are producing is, you are never going to get to do it and make money.

Free is valuable

People have thousands of choices every week so new, fresh content on a regular basis is necessary so people can vet why they should work with you. People are buying through your teaching and the content you are sharing versus through a direct sales pitch. So if you are not strong in sales, think about where you are strong – can you use your podcast to show your audience what you have to offer and how they can take it to the next level?

If you’re an entrepreneur then you know you can make income for yourself. You should also know you can earn extra income to pay for a virtual assistant, etc. You need to invest in your business so that it can grow, you can’t wait for your business to grow before investing in it.

Be honest with yourself with how much time you are spending having conversations with prospect. This will enable you to release the work that is keeping you busy and that isn’t growing your business. 

Remember: Your time should not be diluted on 100 different things that is not growing your business – align your time with your goals.

Resources & Links

Time Mastery Revolution: Cut 20 Hours from your work week while growing your business quickly.

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

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#1: Three strategies to get the life and biz you want

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#20 – Entrepreneurial summer post mortem

Was your summer as great as you hoped? Were you hoping for more?

My life and business are built  around needing a fair amount of time off to be with my three kids over Christmas, spring break and during the summer. As an entrepreneur, taking any amount of time off requires planning.

What does it take to take time off as an entrepreneur

In the summer I take 4-5 weeks off and some summers have been great, but others (especially in the earlier years) have been stressful because I didn't have the right plans in place. It’s one thing to say you’re going to take a few weeks off from your business but in order to take time off successfully you need to plan so that your social media doesn’t drop off, people still know who you are, and so that you still have money coming in during that time or make more money previously so you are covered during your time off.

In the past I had missing systems, which got better as the years went by, but last summer despite the right systems in place, I was stressed out for a whole other reason - I had a hard time stepping away from my work. I also had a hard time being present with my kids. This made me realize that I needed to do a summer post-mortem to see what worked and didn't and that I should share it with everyone else so they could do it too.

Realizing you need to make a change

Hanging out with Anne of Green Gables on PEI

It turns out, the summer model I thought I wanted is not the model I really want for my life or my business. I am okay with this – it’s okay that I changed my mind. I realized that I do not want 4-5 weeks off in a row during the summer. I realized I would be much happier with smaller blocks of time off.

I realized that the more downtime I have, the more ideas about my business I have; however if I have all this time off to spend with my kids I don’t have the time to actually implement these ideas… and these ideas are forgotten by the time I am back to work because I have other things that need to be done.

By being off for numerous weeks in a row I also miss out on many opportunities. I couldn’t take action on them because I was off and that made me nervous.

Lastly, I love my job. I love my kids, but they are busy and can be very intense, so I need my work as a break from the chaos of kids life. I don’t do well with constantly being surrounded by noise and chaos; my ADHD brain needs quiet (which is why working from home works so well for me). I also find myself resenting the fact that I can’t be working, taking advantage of new opportunities and implementing my new ideas instead of enjoying time with my kids.

I took what I learned last summer and put it into place this summer. I was off and on from work a lot (I think some people thought I took the entire summer off ;) and it was FAR less stressful for me and I was more present when I was working and more present when I was with my kids. WIN WIN!

Knowing you’re not alone

We love Calypso Waterpark

Last summer as I got back to my regular calls with clients I heard from business owner after business owner that they had struggled with summer as well.

Summer, for entrepreneurs, isn’t always as fabulous as we think it is going to be. We make plans for fun activities and time to enjoy the warm weather, and yet it can be disappointing when you reflect back at how the summer actually went.

I want to acknowledge that you are not alone if summer is hard for you – as a parent or as an entrepreneur.

I want to challenge you to think through how your summer went - do a post mortem so you can decide what to keep the same and what to change for next year.

Summer Post Mortem Quiz

Take the following questions and answer them in your favourite notebook or a word document. The reflection and answers will help you figure out what your summer plans should look like NEXT summer.

1. What was your plan for this summer? Describe in as much detail as possible how you thought it would go. For example, days or weeks off, extra help hired to make that happen, planned content, etc.

2. What did your summer actually look like?
    
3. How much did you work, how much did you not work?
    
4. How stressed or not stressed were you?
    
5. What went as expected and what didn't?
    
6. How did it feel compared to what you planned?
    
7. Was there any disconnect between what you wanted it to look like and what it actually did look like? Share where and how things did or didn't line up.
   Were your expectations off? Did you make last minute changes? Was it amazing? etc.
    
8. What did you enjoy about your summer? For example, specific activities. Getting to travel. Doing nothing. Binging Netflix. Quality time with your spouse. Taking an hour a day to enjoy the outdoors.
    
9. What did you not enjoy about your summer? For example, not enough time off. Too much time off. Felt too scattered. Seemed too organized. Not enough time outside. 
    
10. Did you make enough money?
     
11. Based on all of your answers - What do you want to keep in mind for next summer? Remember that by next summer your memories of this summer will be dimmer, so make some statements here that will help you know what needs to be a priority and what doesn't. For example: I won't book any meetings my first day back. I won't have more than X weeks off at a time. I need to hire someone to help manage ____. I need more time off next year. I would rather take long weekends than full weeks off.
     
12. What needs to happen to make this a reality?

Spend a few minutes seeing what comes out for you. Answering these questions is the first step in making these plans that will help you effectively plan for next summer over the next ten months.

I hope you had a great summer and had a lot of great moments! But if you didn’t – let’s make a plan to make next summer a great one!

Resources & Links

Join my Free Facebook Community

Subscribe on iTunes

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YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#1: Three strategies to get the life and biz you want

#9: Managing Your Social Media While On Vacation

#11: Why your personal life can’t be separated from your business life

#18: Batching to save time and energy

#18 - Batching to save time and energy

Nicole Liloia is a former therapist turned accidental entrepreneur who does business strategy for other accidental entrepreneurs looking to scale their businesses and have multiple income streams. An accidental entrepreneur happens when someone starts making money doing something they enjoy, either through a hobby or side-hustle. They do not intend to start a business; they just start making money doing something they love and it evolves into a business. Nicole loves the business of owning a business, but it happened by accident. She thanks her batch system for keeping her business successful.

The Internet has given birth to many new types of business, it has also seen many new businesses fail because they do not have the systems and plans in place to make that business sustainable. Some of these businesses start off lucky, but then they end up spending more money then they are earning, but it you’re committed to running a business long term then you need to make it work.

Mindset and Strategy

Business owners need to understand that business has ups and downs, highs and lows. You need to know this and be okay with this. You need to know this is a regular business cycle and not to get upset and quit during the downs and lows. You have to have a positive mindset to deal with this.

You also need a strategy. You need to strategize for today, tomorrow, this month and the entire year. You do not want to be caught flying by the seat of your pants. If you do you will be wondering where your next income is going to come from long term, instead of working to grow your business with intention.

If you have a strategy then you can work to grow your business and make a long term plan.

Understand your numbers

The amount of time you put into your business will bring in an income, but it may not be profitable right off the bat. You need to really think about your metrics and figure out how many people you can work with in a day, week or year. How can you reach your income goals? Do you need to create passive income streams or other ways to earn money? You need to also account for the time you have available and how many people you will need to talk to make a sale. Track all numbers – how long it takes to convert a potential client, the length of your sales conversations, etc. How long are these people remaining in your pipeline? You need to take all this into account when looking at your income long term – each month contributes to your overall income goal.

Passive income is one possibility, however it is much easier to be successful with passive income once you already have a steady income flow. Passive income is generally a lower income source and needs a large audience to sell to. Many passive income sources need to be created and generally cost money to complete, i.e. due to graphic design, web design, etc. Passive income should be incorporated into your long-term business strategy.

Stay Visible

It can be hard to be and stay visible as an entrepreneur. You need to market yourself and be consistent with your visibility. You need to find a pattern of visibility that you are comfortable with. Nicole sets aside 90-days in which she does hard core marketing and then backs off the rest of the time to focus on her clients. Again, you need to measure what works for you and your business day-to-day and for your overall income goals. If you batch your marketing efforts and repeat it over a specific amount of time then you don’t have to be in selling mode all the time if you don’t want to be. You can let people know ahead of time when you will be accepting new clients (in advance of your goals), which gets us out of being an accidental entrepreneur and into an intentional, strategic entrepreneur. This will help you get and stay ahead.

Batch Activities

If you’re organized then you can take a step back and look at your goals and make sure you have enough money to run your business. This also allows you to batch your activities so nothing important is forgotten. For example, set aside a day and time a week or month where you can follow up with people. This way no one is forgotten. You will be able to build relationships this way and not forget about a potential client.

You can get a lot more done if you set aside a specific time to accomplish something rather than constantly stopping and starting again. You are also in the right frame of mind to stay focussed and be confident with the task at hand.

Nicole has a tool that helps people batch their business activities. Batch like a Boss helps business owners get ahead of stress, content, deadlines, and whatever else you need to do and start feeling accomplished and confident.

In order to be successful in business, be consistent, take action and have a clear, identifiable goal that can be measured and work every day to reach that goal and avoid panic mode.

Resources & Links

Nicole Liloia's website

Nicole's Batch Like a Boss worksheet

Join the Free Facebook Community

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher
 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#4: Where to start before starting a business

#9: Managing Your Social Media While On Vacation

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#17 - Stop the overwhelm - get Productive!

Do you find running a business overwhelming? Do you struggle to find the time to work ON your business as opposed to just in it?

Shelagh Cummins is a business coach and consultant specializing in helping women build and grow their businesses. Shelagh and I see a lot of business owners struggling with overwhelm. There is so much for business owners to do and so many wheels that need to be in alignment that it can be tricky to know where to focus without tipping the cart.

Do a brain dump

Take a piece of paper and do a brain dump of everything that is swimming around in your brain. Business owners carry so much in their brain from day-to-day that it’s important to put it down on paper. Don’t worry about organizing it – just get it out to get some clarity! Think about the one thing that will have the most amount of impact for you, your family and your business. What do you need the most of right now? This creates a priority list of what you need the most of: is it revenue, a better team, a marketing plan? What is it that you need that will have a domino affect on everything else?

Once this is out put it on a wall in front of you and start crossing off the things that are irrelevant or not that important. Then find the pieces that help you fill the immediate need. What are the milestones that you need to get done to get you the results you want the most? Do you need to hire help? Do you need to send an email to your mailing list?

Shelagh’s Productive! Planner helps you determine what you want the most and then determines the hurdles you need to get through to get there. Once you have the milestones, you then have to lay out the actions you need to take to get that end result. Once you have this figured out, just sit with it and be quiet with it, before you take any action at all.

Figure out your "one thing"

There is going to be many “gears” or things that you want to get done. But think about what needs to come first – what one gear or wheel needs to turn to make the others work? For example, if your one thing is to earn more revenue, then you need more clients and in order to get more clients you may need to ramp up your marketing strategies. It’s a matter of looking at all the conflicting pieces and figuring out which one is going to fuel the other ones. Focus on that ONE first.

Build out your plan

What is the end result of your project or goal? Why is that important to you? If you set a goal then you need to anchor it in something important. For example, if you want to earn more revenue don’t think of it in terms of a number, think of it in terms of what you will be able to do with that number. It allows you to derive from a place of purpose. For example, if you make $5000 you will be able to hire someone to help you grow your business or take a dream vacation.

Reach milestones

How do you get to that goal? What milestones do you have to reach to get there? If your goal is to reach a certain number, such as $5000 – think about how many services or products you have to sell to reach that number. Is it a matter of raising the quantity or products or services, increasing the price or decreasing the production costs? What do you have to do to sell that much of that product or service? Is it being more visible on social media or networking more? What has to happen for you to get the end result?

We don’t allow ourselves the time to plan forward. We instead focus on tasks that keep us busy, but don’t necessarily work on tasks that will move our businesses forward. It doesn’t have to be this way. By being quiet and strategic about the actions you take each and every day, you allow yourself the momentum needed to get to your end goal. Planning is key.

Make power moves

Power moves are strategic and intentional actions. For example, scrolling Facebook mindlessly is not a power move – calling a client you haven’t heard from in awhile – that’s a power move. It’s an action that can pack a lot of punch.

Plan your day with intention

Start your day in a place of quiet. Visualize your day before it starts – walk through it in your head so you are ready and prepared for your day. Then recognize that one, nonnegotiable thing that needs to be done that day in order to be successful.

Ask yourself how you’re going to be powerful today or empathetic today – figure out who you need to be that day to get whatever your one thing is, done.

Prioritize your actions every day. It allows you to focus on what is important. Give yourself permission to be human and celebrate what you did accomplish and understand that what you didn’t accomplish will still be there tomorrow.

Resources & Links

Shelagh Cummins' website

Get your own copy of Shelagh's Productive! (Use Discount Code: CLEARANCE to get the planner for $20+HST!)

Join my Free Facebook Biz Studio Community

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#5: Moving your business beyond the startup stage

#14: Why goal setting and planning suck

#16 The danger behind loaded words

When you hear the word success how does it make you feel? What is your definition of success? Did you know that how you define certain words can hamper or help you achieve something—especially in business? We call these words “loaded” and Megan O’Neill joins me today to discuss what they mean for you and your business.

Megan is a Core Belief Engineering Practitioner who works with entrepreneurs. She works with her clients on a deep level to help them overcome their negative mindsets, including around a person’s beliefs behind loaded words.

Loaded words carry more meaning then their dictionary definition. People need to understand that there are words that are really loaded and that how they define these words can impact their business and how they work toward their goals. 

What are loaded words?

Loaded words have a visceral response to them; sometimes this response can be negative. If there is a word that automatically gets your back up then there is a belief within you that needs to be examined and your beliefs around it need to be changed.

The question becomes, how are you operating around the beliefs of this word? Meaning is your definition of a certain word or words preventing you from doing or achieving something? Many people have mindset blocks around a number of words that can impact how they perform in their business - loaded words such as rich, ambition, success, hustle, and busyness.

Ambition

How do you feel about the word ambition?

For Megan ambition is something to strive for; it’s an attribute. It is something you want to have in order to be successful. For Lara, ambition can be a risky path and does not always mean success - it's loaded for her with fears of too much work and sacrificing the joys of life.

Success

What do you feel when you think about success in your business?

Many people don’t define success for themselves, but instead they end up using society's definition of success, or what they've witnessed and believed to be successful around them in their lives. 

It is only when you start seeing what you truly want versus how someone else sees success that you can start breaking through your beliefs around a loaded word. For example, just because someone else has the desire and ability to vacation in St-Bart’s twice a year, doesn’t mean it defines success for you if that isn’t something you really desire to do. If the idea of being successful in your business feels overwhelming at all, it may be time to write down a new definition of personal success. 

Rich

Do you want to be rich?

While one person may think being rich would be perfect, another person may hate the idea of ever being rich because of what they believe having money will mean to them. Some people think that being rich makes you cold and disconnected and therefore don't want to ever be rich. That definition has a lot more meaning than just having lots of money.

Our definitions of loaded words form when we are children. Maybe it is from movies we have seen as children where the villain was rich, or perhaps it is from our parents’ belief that people with money are evil.

You need to learn that your definition of a word can put a lot of needless pressure on yourself. You also need to understand that these beliefs can be blocking you from achieving success. You could be viewing the definition of a word through a lens that is not giving you the true picture of your situation. If your definition of a word does not match your true beliefs around something then you need to take another look at the definition.

Hustle

There are two camps on what the word hustle can mean: If you’re hustling you’re working hard to be the best at your job, you love what you’re doing versus it sounds pushy, hard work, always in someone’s face, and never taking time for yourself.

Some people load it with positives, and some load it with negatives. Which camp are you in, or do you feel neutral about the word?

Busyness

Busy has become a synonymous with success. There is a belief that being busy is positive for a lot of people because they are always taking action ad are always doing something. The other side could be that they’re not taking time for themself, their family or for the things they really want to do. Instead they are doing the things they have to do and not what they want to do. Being busy does not have to be a bad thing.

What are your loaded words? What kind of unconscious beliefs are you running around these loaded words? You can change a definition around words at any time, you just need to get a new education regarding a word to change it and move forward.

Resources & Links

Megan’s Facebook Group

Megan O'Neill's website

Megan O'Neill on Facebook

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#12: When Saying No is Right for your Business

#10: Entrepreneurs and Confidence

#15 What's your business story?

When Deborah first came in to my Facebook community and introduced herself, she told a story. I've always known that stories are important - that stories are a way to connect to an audience, and that stories are important for business owners. Deborah's story clearly did all those things because the response was incredible. People wanted to know more about her, people wanted to follow her to her own group. 

She definitely sold her own product with that post and I wanted to have her on the podcast to talk more about storytelling because I think all business owners need to incorporate in more into their communications.

Who is Deborah?

Deborah Ager guides her clients through the process of finding the right words and using them in the right places to get more clients. She’s called a business muse, copywriter, marketing consultant, and business storyteller. She has 15+ years of marketing and copy experience for billion-dollar organizations, multimillion-dollar companies, and for small business owners—and with successes at each. She believes in serving those who aim to improve humanity. She lives in the Washington, DC area and is founder of Radiant Media Labs and host of a weekly free training on using words to grow your business.

What’s your story?

If you’re having a hard time finding clients, or are struggling to fill your funnel, the key to your success could be in the story of you and your business. Even if you don’t enjoy writing, or don’t believe you’ve had any interesting experiences, you have stories in you that, once shared, can help you attract your ideal customers.

Why does storytelling work?

A good story is compelling, peaks interest, and teaches people something. When you develop stories around your experiences in business that help people understand who you are and what you do, it helps your prospective customers sit up and pay attention.

What should you talk about?

Back in high school, we learned that a story had three basic parts to it: the introduction, or building of the action, the climax, and the denouement, or ending. This kind of story doesn’t translate well to the business world.

According to Deborah, a great story is a 6 part process:

1) Be clear on your audience

Who do you want to work with? This is a super important step when deciding what details to include in your story.

The more you know your target audience and what they like, want and need, the more you can create stories that speak directly to them. This means you’ll attract more of the people you want to work with, and fewer of the people that aren’t a great fit.

Pick a few of your favourite clients and make a list of the things that they have in common. What are they interested in? What could you include in a story that would really resonate with them? The more stories you tell them that really connect, the more potential clients will feel that you’re a person that understands where they’re coming from.

2) Be clear on what you do

Are you sure that your prospective client is clear on what it is that you do? How do you stand out from the pack? How are you different, better?

3) Be clear on why you do it

What are your beliefs? If you’re not sure what exactly you believe in, take a pen and paper and free write a page starting with “I believe”. If you let yourself just write continuously without stopping, you might just experience a breakthrough about yourself that can attract people with similar beliefs.

4) Include a struggle

People want to know that you’ve struggled. Don’t assume that appearing perfect will make people want to work with you. Easy might be desirable, but it sure isn’t interesting. You might write about a past business fail, a transformational process, or a problem you fixed that helped in your own business. If a prospective client sees that you’ve overcome the same struggles they’re having, they’ll know that you’re the right person to help them.

5) Add an element of surprise

People like intrigue and excitement, remember to bring in something that keeps things interesting to hold people's attention.

6) Add a satisfying ending

We want a solution to the problem and something that demonstrates that you've arrived in a place that your audience wants to be. Make sure not to leave people hanging - give them what they want in the conclusion.

Where do you want your prospective client to go next? You can include a call to action, a link to a freebie, or an invitation to the next step.

How much should you share?

You might be nervous about sharing personal info, or you might worry that sharing too many of your quirky qualities will push people away. Use words that are real and true for you and if someone doesn’t resonate with what you’re saying, that’s ok! If someone can’t accept you for who you are, you probably don’t want to work with them anyway.

Some people are totally ok with their lives being an open book, but others prefer to keep their private lives private. It comes down to deciding how much you’re comfortable with putting out there. Operate by your own rules, but err on the side of caution. Remember, once it’s out there, you can’t take it back.

What if you’re overwhelmed by creating content?

Storytelling can be a lot of fun, but people think they have to spend all day and night creating content. Work on small pieces of writing and don’t let it overwhelm you. You might want to start with a “safe” story like your business origins story and go from there. You can also find ways to repurpose your content to make it easier to create later on. Take baby steps—the better you get at it, the more you’ll enjoy it.

Start connecting to your audience through storytelling:

Download Deborah's blueprint help you build your brand/business origin story. It takes you through her 6 step process to produce your very own brand story!

Resources & Links

Deborah’s StoryLab Blueprint

Deborah's Website

Deborah's Facebook Group

Join the Free Facebook Biz Studio Community

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#1: Three strategies to get the life and biz you want

#2: The value of being authentic

#14 Why goal setting and planning suck

I hate planning - I really do. I'm the kind of gal who likes to fly by the seat of her pants; who likes to let inspiration take hold and GO GO GO!

There are so many reasons I hate it - any of these sound familiar?

• I don't have time

• I'm not ready for planning

• Planning stifles my creativity

• I'm doing fine without it

• I don't follow the plans anyways!

• It's all in my head so I don't need to write it down

If you've thought any of these things, let's keep talking and I'll tell you why I DO plan, even though I still think and feel these things on a regular basis. 

I don't have time

This is never going to go away - you're always going to have too much to do. You need to book in the time.

If you don't COMMIT to the time, you're not going to get things done. You need to figure out how to commit - do you need a coach? Do you need an accountability partner? Do you need to book a day out of your office somewhere to work on?

If you don't stop and think about your business, you end up missing all the places you have money you can be saving or making, all the places you can be saving time, or all the places that need re-evaluating.

You might be amazed how much extra time and money you find just stopping for a day and thinking about what you're doing and why.

I'm not ready

There are so many times when I'm talking to people and they tell me they aren't ready to work with a coach or stop and work on planning because they don't know what they want to do next.

I get it, you don't want to waste time working on the wrong thing; it's easier to stick with the status quo for now.

HOWEVER, if you don't stop and try to figure it out, if you don't talk to a coach or go through a workbook on planning, you're never going to make the time to get ready and you're going to keep running on that hamster wheel indefinitely. 

Don't let 'not feeling ready' stop you from taking the next step in your business. 

It stifles my creativity / I won't do it anyways

This is a BIG one for me. I never know what I want to do next. I don't want to be told what to do. This makes wanting to sit down and decide far in advance what will be happening next extremely unappealing to me.

The important thing to remember here is that we need to set realistic expectations when it comes to the results of our planning. Not every single thing we plan is going to work out. Not every single plan is going to be the right decision for us. We need to be ready to learn, explore, and experiment. If we make plans and decide in a month that we made the wrong plan and need to change it - that's OK. It also doesn't mean that the time you took planning was a waste of time. You learned a lot from making the plan and then figuring out what about that plan isn't something you want to do in your business.

Here's the other thing - when you think about planning that doesn't work for you, maybe you're thinking about the wrong kind of planning!

Not every method of planning works for every person. If you balk at the idea of step-by-step plans with dates attached, maybe you need to be more flexible with the way you plan and come up with ideas. Be willing to experiment and play to your strengths.

It's all in my head and that's working fine!

Getting things out of your head so you can look at it from a different angle is so important. It's really hard to get a true picture of everything when it's in your head. Things get forgotten, and you can't think of every possibility. You need to see things from other perspectives. 

While a lot of the times we can easily talk ourselves out of doing the planning because we're so busy, we don't feel ready or we feel it's going to be a waste of time, the truth is that it IS worth the time and effort to stop and re-evaluate. I challenge you to commit to some planning and goal setting for your business in the next month and see what happens!

What to do next

1) Book time to work on your business

2) Bring someone else in to help support you: a coach, a friend, or take a course. Find a person you can talk things through with.

3) Don't be afraid of planning - there is a system for each style of thinking and way of working - you just need to figure out what the right system is for you.

4) Set realistic expectations - if you think that you're suddenly going to make 100% more profit once you do some planning and it doesn't work, you're going to be really frustrated. Know that a lot of this is all about just spending time thinking - not every idea of plan is THE best one, but the act of doing the planning will help you in the long run.

5) Stop keeping everything in your head - talk it out to someone and get their feedback, voice record yourself and listen back to it, or just write it down. Take the time to see what things look like when it's more than just ideas floating around in your head.

If you're looking for more support you can:
 

Join my free Facebook Community
Book a call with me to see if we're a good fit for coaching

Subscribe to the podcast

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#1: Three strategies to get the life and biz you want

#4: Where to start before starting a business

#5: Moving your business beyond the startup stage

#13 - 3 Simple Steps for Managing Stress

How do you cope with stress?

Stress is common, but how entrepreneurs and business owners deal with it can vary; and sometimes it isn't coped with at all, until it is too late! Shulamit (Shula) Berlevtov is a social worker that works with busy women and businesswomen, offering support to help them manage and cope with stress. As Shula sees it, the problem is recognizing and dealing with stress before it gets too big.

 Businesswomen think there is something wrong with them because they feel some little thing (stress) has done them in. The first thing is to recognize that it is normal to feel this way. Secondly, realize that the effect of stress is cumulative. Think of stress like the weight limit on an elevator. The weight can build and build on an elevator, but eventually, if you surpass the weight limit, the elevator is going to break. You are the elevator and stress is the people – too much stress and you will break!

The irony is if you are in the elevator, you can’t see what is happening because everything that is happening is outside of the elevator – the cables start to fray, etc. Then when everything breaks you find yourself free falling and you don’t understand why you’re broken.

This is how stress works: it builds and builds, and unless you are paying attention it breaks you. If you don’t see stress coming you should be looking for signs, such as getting a short fuse or feeling constant exhaustion. Stress affects all bodily functions: mental health, emotional health, your respiratory system, your muscular skeletal system (body tension), digestion, heartburn, etc.  Stress affects the whole body.

Instead of living with the heartburn, etc. you should do something about it. Treat it like the “check engine” light in your car. You will be tempted to deal it later, but eventually that light could mean a larger problem.

So, what can we do in the moment?

As a businessperson, find a group or person who will put stress management on your regular agenda. Whether that is a mastermind group or a business coach – put stress management on your accountability list. Make a point of paying attention to the signals your body is giving you and then engage in stress reduction: discharge, soothe and nourish.

How to cope with stress

Discharge

To discharge is to release the built up energy in the body, which means moving. It does not necessarily mean working out, but just moving somehow. Identify your practice i.e. taking a walk, dancing to music, etc. You need to bring your awareness to this movement – don’t bring your stress with you.

Bring your attention inward and say to yourself that this is your stress reduction practice. If it’s a chore to do it will become stressful and will not be good for you. Make sure the movement is pleasurable for you.

Soothe

Soothing tells the nervous system that it doesn’t have to worry; and that it can relax. However you can’t just tell yourself to relax, your body responds to experience i.e., a hot bath or other calm, comfortable, soothing activity that will calm stress. This soothing activity is different for everyone. It is something that will make you say, “ahhhh.” And again you have to take the time to soothe yourself and find your calm. Commit to soothing your stress.

Nourish

Nourish has to do with feeding the nervous system the experiences it needs to thrive, such as joy, fun, inspiration, etc. For some people this means going to church, singing, playing with kids, reading a book or going to a good comedy show. Anything that makes you come out feeling enlivened. 

Find what works for you – you know what makes you feel good and you know what makes you feel that you’ve let steam off. If you don’t know, just bring an awareness to your feelings and you will quickly learn what your ideal stress reduction practice.

Stress is a part of being an entrepreneur (and a person!) but if you find the right techniques to release the stress the build up won't be such a problem. Leave a comment and let me know how you will discharge, soothe and nourish this week!

Resources & Links

Stress relief with breath and movement ebook and video

Shula's website

Join the Free Facebook Biz Studio Community

Subscribe on iTunes

Subscribe on Stitcher

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE THESE EPISODES:

#11: Why your personal life can’t be separated from your business life

#12: When Saying No is Right for your Business