Uncategorized

Think back to when you started your business, be it months or years ago. You might have formulated a kick-ass business plan, hired the sharpest mind in town to build you a website and a logo, and got yourself some awesome clients.

“Why did I wait so long to do this?” You exclaim. “Running my own business is easy.”

Till suddenly, it’s not. The methods you used at the beginning? They no longer are bringing in clients. You’re not making it rain money. In fact, you might have had to dip into your slush fund or set up a GoFundMe.

You suddenly wonder if you’re delusional. Maybe you just had a lucky streak, and your luck’s now dried up. You put your Indeed job recommendations email alert back on. You notice Target is hiring at $12/hr.

I know I’m not the only person who has done some or all of these things this year, and I think I’ve uncovered the reason why.

You know how Madonna “reinvents herself” with every album she puts out? One minute she’s blond ambition, the next she’s long haired, third-eye, Kaballah loving.

OK, I might have just aged myself a bit with that reference…

Friends! You, over there, you TOO need to reinvent yourself with your business every so often! And the start of the new year is a great time to do it.

Here’s how I’ve done this, and how it can work for you too.

1. Observe your favorite method of reflection. For me, that’s a combination of meditation and journaling.
2. Contemplate what worked really well in your business this past year, and what didn’t. Who were your favorite clients? What projects made you want to tear your hair out? I uncovered that I really love doing SEO content, for instance.
3. Look back at your vision for your ideal customer. Is it the same person? I had anticipated that my CYJ clients would all be fledgling entrepreneurs around my age. In actuality, I was hired more often by established entrepreneurs who were seasoned enough to understand the ability to outsource. As a result, I’m undertaking #4…
4. Change your messaging to reflect any revelations you’ve made. Do your Facebook ad targeting metrics need to change? Do you need to update your services offerings to reflect the skills you want to highlight?

Do you need some help putting these four steps into action for your business? Completing a Messaging Magic session is a great way to start! Contact me to order yours today!

This is the way most of my blog posts start:

Me: “Self, you’re going to write a blog today.” Schedules time for it. 

When the time shows up:

Insert thumb twiddling. Computer staring. Spotify playlist switching. Go down a Google rabbit hole of something marginally related (“hey, let’s include a cat video on this post!”).

The worst part of working on your business is often when you actually have to work on your business, and not your client’s.

Blogging is one of my favorite methods of my own marketing, but hon, I get it. 

Here are 6 things that I do to prevent entrepreneur self-destruction:

1. Don’t do it at all. Plan your self-business-care time on a day when it’s 80 and gorgeous? Fuck that shit. Go to the beach. If you don’t, what you produce won’t be from an aligned place. You’ll be bitter about missing out on your Vitamin D and it will be reflected in what you come up with. In addition, I usually find myself to become more inspired once I step away from what I was doing. I like to write content in the shower. For real.
2. Give yourself a time limit. Let’s face it, the first 10 minutes of doing anything are usually the worst. But if I push past that and commit to doing something for like…25 minutes (Pomodoro technique, anyone?), then chances are, I’m all in.
3. Set yourself a ritual. For me, work can only begin once I’ve smelled my Rosemary essential oil , lit a candle, poured some tea, and put on a playlist. Yours may be different. Maybe it’s different for your client work vs. work you do for yourself. Experiment with what gets you in the mood to create.
4. Make your work into play time. Does anyone else like to putter? I’m a putterer. Sometimes, “creating a content calendar” really ends up with me tinkering around with my opt-in sequence. Or changing the theme of my website. But you know what? Those moments of playing around often lead to me turning on my creative juices and feeling inspired to develop something great.
5. Get inspired by someone else. DISCLAIMER: I am not giving you permission to go down an Internet vortex. But taking 5-10 minutes to read someone who’s in a similar niche often inspires me to go “hmmm, I could write about that from a different angle.” If you do yoga and see a blog post about healing anxiety, and you notice your favorite posture isn’t on there…write a blog post about it!
6. Do something for your clients. Self-promotion often doesn’t happen because of imposter syndrome (ie “who am I to be an expert about this?”) By getting into your work that you do for someone else, you’ll start to convince yourself that you CAN make a difference for someone, and know just what you need to highlight to prospects.

What do you do when you don’t feel like working on your own stuff? I’d love to hear about it! Contact me and let’s have a conversation!

Let’s have a talk about the B word that everyone hates. No, not that one.

Boundaries.

Most new entrepreneurs (self included) automatically turn cringy when they think about boundaries because they have a mindset of scarcity and are afraid of turning away prospective clients and much-needed money.

Friends!  Here’s the magic statement that will turn your life around:

If you keep giving space in your life with people who aren’t right for you, you won’t have any time or energy left for the people who ARE right for you.

We have limited time and energy in our day. Why would you want to waste your reserves on something that you’re not 100% about? It works in your personal life too. See my absolute favorite article about this.

How do you begin to set boundaries? Here’s some tips:

Think about how you work best.

Do you do your best “real work” in the morning? Then don’t allow clients to invade your time with meetings until after noon. Are you a night owl? Set your office hours to start at 11 am, or find clients who work in Pacific time.

Think about how you like to communicate.

*soapbox rant* I HATE the phone. I am usually working with headphones on, so by the time I take them out, I’ve missed your call. I can rarely think on my feet well enough to sound eloquent and professional, and my phone service loves to cut out.

For the longest time, I humored clients who <3 the phone because, well, they’re clients. But you know what happened when I confessed to a couple  that it really wasn’t my ideal form of communication?

THEY STOPPED CALLING ME. Because they value my work and they want me to be able to give it their best.

We also came to an understanding about why they enjoy the phone (it’s easier and faster) so now, I’m actually inclined to call THEM if I need something quickly. Even if there might be a screaming kid in the background.

Think about the level of collaboration you desire.

I found it life-changing to take email off my iPhone and only respond to messages during designated “email times.” Other people may like to deal with messages as they come in so that they don’t pile up. Some people like weekly status calls to keep on track. Some may thrive on getting “Thank you” email confirmations, others may absolutely abhor them.

Think about how much you need to get paid.

I know money is the hardest thing to think about. There are people right now doing the kind of work I do for $5/hour. There are people out there doing the work I do for $500/hour.

The right client for you is the one who can afford the rate that you set because it’s what you need in order to 1. Give the relationship your all 2. Keep your lights on 3. Have time for Netflix and a personal life. If a client tries to undercut you, they don’t understand the value of your work. Do you really want to be in a business relationship with someone who undervalues you?

Once you know what you want out of a relationship, TALK TO YOUR CLIENTS about what your preferences are. This doesn’t have to be a hard conversation. Most of my boundaries have been stated when we’re doing our initial shoot-the-shit how are you before we break down to business. If you have clients who do not want to meet your guidelines, they are not your people.  There are always more clients out there. Cut your losses and find the people who are right for you!