Are you providing value?

If you want people to pay attention to you in this very busy, loud and overwhelming world then there is one thing you need to make sure you always do - PROVIDE VALUE. 

People will only make time for things they really WANT, so it's your job to understand your audience enough to have figured out what they want. 

WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE?

Can you describe your audience? Every audience is different and you need to take the time to really figure out who your audience is. Understanding who makes up that audience, what they like, what they don’t like and what they would like from you is critical in creating the kind of content that can help you build relationships that turn your audience into customers.

Once you’ve figured that out, creating and sharing content that can connect with your audience becomes a lot easier.

WHAT DO THEY VALUE?

Not every audience is looking for the same kind of information. Make sure that everything you share has some kind of connection back to who you are and who your audience is. 

Think about why they followed you in the first place. What would people expect the content to look like coming from your brand? Make sure your content doesn’t go too far off from that.

Things that people value tend to fall into three main categories:

1. You’re teaching them something,
2. You’re entertaining them, or
3. You’re giving them tools and knowledge. 

WHAT DON’T THEY WANT?

Nobody likes to follow a brand that is only trying to sell to them. That’s valuable to the brand, not to the audience. Make sure that you’re giving your audience something they want or can use so that when you do post some sales posts - and you definitely should - they think so highly of you they’re far more inclined to buy.

People don’t want information that has nothing to do with them or that they can’t relate to.

LET’S LOOK AT SOME EXAMPLES

• If your main audience is young women about to get married, interesting articles about retirement doesn’t make sense. 
• If your main audience is men who want to home brew their own beer, then funny cartoons about being a new mom doesn’t make sense.
• If you promised tips and tricks to help them do something better, just sharing things you’re selling isn’t going to convince them of anything other than that you’re pushy and too sales-y.
• If you sell hammers, make sure that you talk about the hammers, and the things you can do with the hammers. 

Where and how do they want to receive information?
 

Where do your people like to hang out? If they're on Instagram, creating podcasts is never going to work well for them. If they're on YouTube, they want video, so you want to make sure you're creating video.

If they love really clean design you're going to be creating different things than if they really like stories. The more you understand what format they like to receive content in, what they want to know, and where they want to receive it, the more likely your content will hit the mark and connect with them.

Spend some time thinking about your content and what you’re giving to your audience that they would value. Then share some examples (good and bad) of what you’ve seen or done that relates to giving an audience value in the comments.

If you'd like help finding ways to share content online so people are ready to pay attention, come and join my free Facebook Group - The Biz Studio Community. There's a free cheat sheet in the files section with templates to use to highlight the benefit and value of your content when you share it (because even more than providing valuable content, you need to also make sure you're telling people what you're sharing and how it's valuable).

5 things business women need to stop doing ASAP

As a business coach, I spend many hours with entrepreneurs and there are big themes that come up on a regular basis. Today I'm sharing five themes that stop business owners from truly enjoying their businesses and living the life they want to have.

1) Doing things because they can

"Just because you CAN do a thing doesn’t mean you have to do a thing."

What?!

I’ll say it again.

Just because you CAN do a thing doesn’t mean you have to do a thing.

Have you ever taken on a contract or task you really didn't want to do? Something that you were not only perfectly able to do, but that you could probably do really well, but just don’t really like doing?

Why did you take the job if you don’t really like doing it?

Because you’re building a business... and you need to make money... and you want people to be happy with you and… and… and…

Start thinking about what you WANT to do. Make a list and keep it at hand, you need to be doing more of that.

Start thinking about what you don’t actually like doing. Make a list and start saying no to those tasks. The more intentional you are about getting the work you DO WANT, that’s what you’ll start to get. You’ll be happier doing it, and probably make more money doing it because you won’t be wasting your time, procrastinating and being bitter that you’re working on a project that you hate.

2) Doing things because they should

The amount of times people tell me what they should be doing when I ask them what they could be doing to make their business more successful or to make them happier in their life or their business might really surprise you.

We get stuck in our 'shoulds' ... 

We should be eating healthy

We should be out networking

We should be on Twitter

We should be trying to make 6 figures

You CAN do all of those things, but don’t do them because that’s what you SHOULD do, do it because that’s what you want to do. Don't let someone else decide how you should be living your life and running your business.

3) Doing things because that’s what "one does”

What does success look like to you? Have you really thought about it? How much money do you want to earn? Why?

I see business owners all the time who are caught up in the quest for “more.”

More is better. More is success. More money. More business. More sales. More things.

I’m not going to lie, I like more too. :)  What I think is key is to decide what you actually want. What do you want your life to look like and why? What does success actually look like to you?

You can have it look like anything you want--but you need to take the time to decide what you want and not just let your next steps be dictated by what you think other people would do. I have a worksheet to help you do that and you can grab it for free here.

4) Doing things without a baseline measure

Do you suffer from shiny object syndrome? I do. 

I love new ideas, projects and heading in new directions at the drop of the hat. It’s a big reason I’m an entrepreneur--so I can do that!

But not every good idea should be implemented (bummer, right?).

Not every idea makes sense for you. For your family. For what you want in the long run. For what you want your business to look like in the long run.

That life plan I mentioned in point three gives you something to hold up next to your new idea and to help you decide one of three things:

* This fits perfectly. I’m doing it!

* This doesn’t really fit with my life plan and that life plan is actually more important. I choose that plan and will let this idea go for now.

* This doesn’t really fit with the plan, but it’s a REALLY good idea, and I think it’s worth sacrificing some of the things that I thought I wanted to make this happen.

Any of those decisions are great, but if you didn’t have the plan to hold up next to the new idea, you wouldn’t have anything to measure the new idea by to make sure it’s a good fit. Trust me… this is how you end up running a store in a mall, working crazy long hours into the nights and weekends when you meant to be quitting your corporate job to be spending MORE time with your kids. I really wish I'd gone through this exercise back then.

5) Doing things without a destination

Are you doing what you thought you were going to be doing when you started your business? Have you veered left or right at some point and you're not sure how you got to be doing what you’re doing now?

If you are, trust me - you're not alone. So many business owners start a business to do a thing - “graphic design,” “sleep consulting,” “lawyer,” “coach," and don’t think through the plan. They don't know what kind of work they want to be doing, who they want to be doing it with, how they want to deliver their services, what kind of hours they want to be working, etc That’s like saying you know you want to go to the United States from Canada (or vice versa) and not knowing where in the United States you want to go. You can start heading south, but where you end up is a pretty big gamble.

If you pick a specific state or a specific city, you can pick your route - then there's a lot more certainty you'll end up in the right place.

Instead (my car analogy goes on a while here, stay with me) most of the entrepreneurs I talk to are driving down the highway with the pedal to the floor going as fast as they can. When I ask them where they’re going they yell, “I don’t know!” and when I suggest they stop and figure it out they yell “I can’t! There’s nowhere to stop!”

You need to stop the car and pick a destination and a route. It’s going to make it so much easier to know if you’re heading in the right direction if you have a destination. And if 100 miles down the road you decide you want to stop and stay right where you are, or you decide you want to go west instead, you totally can, but at least you’ll know you’re making that decision intentionally and not just letting it happen by accident. 

You may have noticed a theme here - it’s all about thinking about what you want. You CAN be choosy. You CAN be specific. You CAN decide what you want your fate to be.

Not only CAN you, but making all those intentional choices has a magical effect. It has you loving what you do more. And when you love what you’re doing, you attract more of what you want.

The first step is choosing - what do YOU want?

The 2016 work from home business woman's holiday gift guide

As the holidays quickly approach I thought I'd share something a bit fun and lighthearted and different than what I usually share. Seeing as how I work with mainly business women, most of whom work from home at least a portion of the time, I wanted to share some of my gift ideas to make the holidays special for them. I also asked for ideas in The Biz Studio and got a lot of great ideas there as well, so I'm putting all of them together for this first ever edition of the work-from-home business woman's gift guide!

Help them plan

If there's one thing business owners are always looking for, it's more time. The more organized they can be - the better. There are a lot of really fabulous planners out there, here are a few I've used or know are really popular and people find a lot of success with them.

Productive! - This planner is designed by my business coach, Shelagh Cummins, and is all about figuring out what your power moves are and working towards them. They've just arrived in Canada for shipping so check them out.

Leonie Dawson has a whole package that I order every year. It comes with a planner, but also with workbooks that are designed to get you thinking about what you achieved in the previous year and how you're going to make the next year exactly what you want it to be, in both your life and business. It's pretty and all the graphics are hand drawn by her. 

Planner Pad - This is a planner I've purchased several times over the years and works on a funnel down approach. You list everything you have to do at the top of the week and funnel it down to when it will actually get done. 

Passion Planner is a planner I haven't personally used, but know a lot of people who really love it. They like that it balances the personal side of what needs to be done with the business side, It also includes sections that help you figure out what you want to do and how to break down the steps to achieve them.

Pretty paper and pens

Entrepreneurs like pretty stationary and fancy pens. Like, we really love them. Whether it's a gift card or a pretty journal, these are almost always a great gift idea (with the exception of a few people who have fully embraced the paperless way of life :) 

Scribe Delivery - My husband got me this for my birthday and I literally squeal when I get my package every month. So many fun notebooks and pens!

A gift certificate for the things they are regularly ordering - Vista Print, Staples, etc

Pens! Lots of pens! (I think I could get 365 new pens every year for Christmas and still have days where I can't find one) ;) 

Technology

We entrepreneurs use our tech a lot, and if you're anything like me, they wear our way faster than you'd like. I'm going to admit to my Apple bias here, but I'm sure there are great equivalents in Android and whatever the other tech is that I pretend doesn't exist.

A new phone - we spend time on our phones, A LOT. Having the latest and greatest just feels good.

A new tablet - I don't even have a tablet any more to be honest, and a tablet is a great place to do a lot of the readings we're always doing to stay on top of our industries and our business game. 

A new lap top - just like our phones, we spend a lot of time on these and there is little more frustrating that having them crash or tell us there is no more hard drive space. A brand new shiny laptop that runs quickly and without stress is an entrepreneur's dream.

A smart watch - I always notice when people are wearing these and they just seem tech forward. I'm not necessarily one to run with the crowd but I'll admit, there's a lot of envy there.

No more cleaning, no more cooking

A huge theme that comes up is having someone else take care of the cooking and cleaning (a lot of my examples for these are local, but I'm sure you can find something similar close to where you live).

There are all kinds of great local services for cleaning that you can look in to and you can also check out personal chef services (The Magic Fridge is a local one run by a friend of mine) that take the stress out of shopping, cooking and cleaning up after you cook.

There are also lots of services like Hello Fresh (that link will give you $50 off your first order) and Chef's Plate that will mail you all the ingredients for a set amount of meals per week, taking the stress of planning and shopping out of your weekly schedule and also making the recipes really easy to follow with relatively little prep required. There's also Supperworks where you can go and assemble everything you need for your own meals or pay a bit extra and they'll assemble everything you need.

But if they do need to cook, they might love some cooking classes. 

Pampering 

A gift certificate to their favourite spa or for a massage was high on the list for many of the entrepreneurs in my group.

A day away at a spot like Le Nordik or Scandinave Spa for example.

A massage from a local clinic is also always appreciated, such as Byward Massage Therapy Clinic or the Massage and Treatment Clinic in Orleans.

Bring on the drinks!

Beer, wine, coffee, tea - we like a variety of drinks as entrepreneurs, whether it be for during the day or for when we put our feet up at the end of the day. Here are a few ideas when it comes to the drinks department. I'm a big fan of subscription services in this category. :) 

Beer subscription service - we get Brew Box here in Ontario but there are many great ones. 

Nespresso is a popular coffee machine with lots of varieties of coffees - even better if more comes to your door every month. 

How about a box of wine delivered to you every three months? If only I liked red wine this would be perfect for me. 

Meaningful bling

A piece of jewellery that speaks to our goals and dreams is a thoughtful way to commemorate all the hard work business women do.

I know for one I would love a bracelet like this from Citrus Silver with my word for 2018 stamped on it (my word for 2017 was Open and I think I'm going to write a blog post soon to share my 2018 word with everyone!)

Health, fitness and wellness

For the business owner who wants to stay fit but doesn't have the time to make it to the gym a lot, this one year membership to the 15 Minute Workout Club will be a way for her to easily in sneak those effective workouts.

Help one of your favourite business owners celebrate her creative side and send her off to this weekend women's retreat (I'll be there!) in February where she can play and connect and create out in the peaceful country air. 

A sweet ride

I may not have added this on to the list but an amazing amount of suggestions were new cars. So if that's in your budget this year you may want to consider:

A Tesla

A Jaguar F-Type

A mini Cooper

A Jeep (like MacGyver drove. That's been my dream vehicle since childhood. ;)

I had fun thinking of all the ways we could celebrate the entrepreneurs in our lives - maybe this sparked a few ideas for you. Leave me a comment letting me know if you'll be adding any of these to your shopping list!

To note: A few of these are affiliate links, most are not, but all are things I truly believe in and nothing is included just to make a buck :) 

The Ultimate Digital Marketing Bundle

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As an entrepreneur or business owner you probably know that you need to be online, but getting online with a consistent plan is sometimes easier said then done. Or maybe you don’t have all the necessary tools needed to fully implement your digital marketing plan? When you don’t have the tools and plans in place for social media and digital marketing, you can begin to doubt the importance of even being online.

Three big reasons you need a digital marketing plan:

1. Reach potential customers easier: For example, if someone is looking to purchase shoes they are more than likely going to Google shoe stores. If your shoe store does not have a website or online presence, then they may be overlooked by a shoe store who does have an online presence. Being online is your best chance to be discovered by a new client!

2. Showcase your products and services to a wider audience: Social media makes showcasing your products and services easier than ever before! With visual social platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest as well as the visual additions of Facebook and Twitter, posting pictures and even videos of new and featured products has never been so engaging and exciting!
    
3. Engage and build relationships with clients: Whether it is through exclusive offers to just your newsletter subscribers or contests only for your Facebook fans, digital marketing not only makes it easier to engage with your clients, but the ability to quickly respond to queries and ask questions directly to your audience also makes building relationships easier.

All of the benefits of digital marketing make it very appealing, but for some, it can appear too time consuming. It is for this reason that I created the ultimate digital marketing bundle to get you started. It contains a wide array of tools an entrepreneur or business owners needs to create engaging content on a consistent basis – on their website, through their social media channels, and in a regular newsletter.

What's included in the Digital Marketing Bundle:

• 7-day Business Planning Challenge – This eBook will help make sure that you’re ready to tackle 2016 with the right business plans in place.
• Simple Start Basic – This eBook is a step-by-step process for figuring out what kind of content you should be sharing online on channels like Facebook and Twitter.
• Monthly planner – Use this worksheet to plan your online content on a monthly basis.
• Blog planning worksheet – Do you have a blog or are you planning on starting one? What is its purpose and what kind of content will you be sharing? This worksheet will get you thinking about that.
• Email marketing worksheet – Are you planning to send email to your audience? This worksheet will help make sure you’re thinking through the kind of content and what platform makes the most sense.
• Editorial calendar template – Plan out your content ahead of time in this excel spreadsheet so you know what you’re going to say and when.
• Analytics template – Keep track of your numbers on a monthly basis to see what’s working and what needs tweaking.
• Daily social media checklist - when you're online, what are some of the things you can be doing to make the most of your time?

So, what are you waiting for? Get started with digital marketing with this value packed digital marketing bundle - it's only $27! To get started – click here.

Are you ready for a great 2016?

Planning has never been one of my fortes. I'm more of a fly by the seat of my pants, figure it out as I go... "instructions?! No way!" kind of person.

I've owned quite a few businesses over the last 8 + years and over each year it has become increasingly clear that regardless of whether or not I like to plan for a new year, doing it makes my business better, stronger, and (this is the best part) it makes more money!!

I thought I would share a few of my favourite strategies and tools for getting ready for a new year.

1) Three words

Every year I like to choose three words to theme my year on (thanks to a trend started by Chris Brogan quite a few years ago!). These words help guide me in figuring out what I want to do, how I want to be of service and who I want to be in my business.

In previous years I've chosen:  Create, Teach, Help and Focus, Organize, Produce

I like to spend a bit of time every year thinking about what words I want to have guide me and I encourage you to do the same. This year my words are Grow, Inspire, Support - and I look forward to showing you how those are going to be actualized in my business!  Leave your three words in the comments below!

2) Planners and workbooks

There are a lot of great planners out there. Every year I buy Leonie Dawson's Life and Business workbooks because they help me think through all the important pieces of the previous year and the year that's to come. That gets me to the place where I can start to put my new year out on paper as well and into my planner. My favourite planner is the Planner Pad because I love the funnel down system of managing tasks but there are many wonderful planners out there (including one from Leonie Dawson).

I encourage you to pick something and start getting it ready for the new year. It's taken me many years to find systems that work for me, but trying out different ones and experimenting with them was key. If you use a different planner you love, leave a comment and let me know what it is!!

3) My new 2016 Free Planning Challenge

I've been putting together so many resources for my clients on getting ready for 2016 that I decided to put together a free challenge for everyone. Sign up by clicking here and starting December 1 you'll get an email a day for 7 days setting you up for the best year ever. I would really love to have you take part so I look forward to seeing you in the Challenge update posts in the Biz Studio!