How is it I can take a three-ingredient recipe for pound cake and make it so difficult and cumbersome that I spoil the cake and hate the process? Three conversations today happened on the topic of simplicity. Solopreneurs, especially us creative types, have a tendency to make everything much more grandiose and extreme than things really need to be. And it's wearing us out.

From the teacher with the new business model who just made herself physically sick because she felt she had to be on all the time in order to fill her class. The class didn't get all the way full and she ended up with digestive problems.

And then there's the new freelancer who has so many ideas and not enough time to finish even one of them, feeling overwhelmed because she's imagining and offering more options than she can manage.

And then there's me, who wants to create an online course but ends up making it include everything. Translated: the course never gets finished because it's just too doggone big and collapses under its own weight.

Giving ourselves limits is a good place to start. Instead of trying to be all things to all people, try being one things really well for a few people. Instead of creating an exhaustive menu of product options, limit your levels to two and encourage them to take the more expensive of the two.

Keeping things simple starts with the commitment that we don't need a long list of ways to keep things simple. We just need one or two good ways to rein in our creativity for a few minutes while we actually get something done.

#productivesolopreneur #underwhelmedfreelancer #feweroptions

Four different conversations today centered on the challenge of planning for the ends of things. There's so much we can't know about our futures so we're creating a projecting an imagined future and constructing a plan for that knowing full well that life never goes exactly according to plan.

In our businesses, so much energy and effort go into planning for the start of the business, and we get to the middle stages of planning soon enough, but I haven't met many business owners who plan for the end of their business, or for their exit from it.

And then there are the times when we find ourselves in the midst of unplanned endings with no vision for the next stage of our lives. How can those times be planned for? 

And ultimately there are plans for the ends of our lives. Some of us don't want to think about this at all. Too scary and too painful. But if we neglect these, our families are left to deal with messes that could have been made much easier had they been planned for.

I'm not sure how to proceed on this topic, but it's what's on my mind today. I'll be back tomorrow.

At least make a package for your family, friends, or business partners when you depart that has a current will, all your important documents, and every password you set in the two years before you left.

#beingpreparedforeverything #allthiswillbeoversomeday #exitstrategy

This morning was a low-energy morning as many of my mornings are. I used to be thwarted by these kinds of emotions. Depression and anxiety are a kind of baseline for me. Over the past few years, I've learned some valuable things about the way our psychology and physiology work that have given me some useful tools and techniques to get myself out of the morning lows and into some useful highs.

The first time I read The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle, the part of the book that was most important for my life at the time was the section about the pain body and how to bring attention to the painful places in our being. I've worked with that ever since then and it's my first tool of choice. I believe that our attention is one of our primary superpowers. 

Another helpful resource I found was the understanding of psychology called the Three Principles, articulated by Sydney Banks. In a spiritual awakening experience, he saw the relationship between three constant principles of our psychology: Mind - the energy that is the source of all formless and form, Consciousness - The ability to experience life and be aware of the experience, and Thought - the creative principle that is the root of our psychological and emotional experience. He saw these three aspects, common to every human as the source of our experience of life, and changed our understanding of life from one determined by our external circumstances to one of being spontaneously generated moment by moment by these internal processes.

These understandings have helped me to become free of my own emotional impulses and perceived limitations. Now I see emotions much like the weather. They will change on their own without any help from me. Bringing them more fully into my awareness helps them to have the space to shift and change, and I don't have to wait for good feelings to happen before I act.

I no longer see low energy and the accompanying feelings as a problem, they're just a momentary snapshot of what I'm dwelling on. Don't let your feelings and emotions determine whether or not you take action. Your feelings will shift quite well on their own.

#threeprinciples #eckharttolle #sydneybanks

Pretty bowled over by the news of Taylor Hawkins' death today. He is definitely too young, too soon, and yet he's made a lot of people feel better through his work here. I'm grateful for his music, his smile, his kinetic energy, and for the connections I share with my son through our mutual love for the Foo Fighters and their music.

If you have a big idea or a big dream you've been sitting on, waiting for the right time, tools, or circumstances, please get over your fear and just start. Write, play, sing, create, paint, dance, sell stuff - whatever you want to do - DON'T WAIT!

Don't pass up this one-time opportunity to enrich and enliven yourself and those around you. You'll create experiences worth having, and you'll be missed more significantly and deeply when you're gone. DON'T WAIT!

If you need someone to talk you into it, I'll be happy to help. Get in touch and you'll be doing your thing an hour after our call is finished. https://franklintaggart.com

#taylorhawkins #foofighters #positiveinfluence

After two years in business as a brand strategist, Dre Beltrami became a mom. She tried to operate her business according to her pre-parenthood terms and the latest advice from the business gurus but found herself stretched too thin and needing a long break.

Like every other business owner, Dre was challenged by pandemics and quarantines to reevaluate everything about her life and her business. Facing her existential crisis head-on, she made some critical decisions about her business model, her marketing strategy, and her online accessibility and visibility.

Hear the rest of the story in this full-length interview that was inspired by an email Dre sent out just Wednesday morning. You'll want to join her weekly email list by clicking the orange button on her homepage: https://thesolopreneursociety.com. While you're there take a quiz or two to discover some valuable insights about yourself. And don't forget - The Mom Bundle will only be available next week - March 28-April 1. She'll be sending out information to her email list and Support Lounge members. 

Join the Solopreneur Society Support Lounge Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/solopreneursociety

This is the email that inspired this episode: https://ckarchive.com/b/qdu8h7hxzegl

#brandstrategy #newbusinessmodel #solopreneurmom

Sing to the tune of Daft Punk Is Playing At My House.

Yes, everything that worked yesterday is not working today and it's thrown a kink into my works.

I'm hoping the tech gods smile upon us and the technician visit tomorrow afternoon will do the trick.

This is an expensive service that is costing those of us who depend on it a significant loss of productivity and income. The people have been nice, but I'm ready for the promise of yesteryear that technology will be the solution to our problems to actually come true.

Herein lie a few tidbit insights on customer service. People remember these experiences and talk about them.

Let's see if Comcast's social listening is on point. If I hear from them as a result of this post I'll let you know.

#comcast #customerservice #brandawareness

The first question to ask when you're not filling up your programs, selling enough products, or enrolling enough clients - How Many People Know? I have a client trying to get ten people signed up for a class. So far there are only three. We can assume those three found the offer attractive enough to enroll, so lets go back to the first question. How many people know?

She emailed her list of 500 people and has gotten around a five percent open rate. So 25 of her email followers have heard about the class. This class is not the same thing she's been offering all along so it's new to her audience. So many of the people who have taken her classes before won't immediately understand the need to look more closely.

She also has a small personal Facebook following and a dreadfully small Business page and Instagram following. She's posted several announcements there, but they haven't received enough engagement to be favored by the algorithm. Our strategy that we came up with was to reach 5000 people total with the class announcement in the next week. If she can't attract ten people for this class out of five thousand, there's a problem with the offer which we'll also try to anticipate and address before she reaches all these people.

How many people know about what you're doing? Your business? Your offers? Your new content? Your role? Your life? This number is a good starting place for understanding why results aren't matching expectations.

Looking for a marketing strategy that fits your personality and operating style? Let's talk https://franklintaggart.com

#marketing #audiencebuilding #customercommunity

Have you ever had an idea that seemed so amazing and brilliant that you just had to share it with someone, but they didn't get it? 

I was listening to The Entrepreneur's Ecosystem podcast this morning and they interviewed the creators of Interact quiz software (you should try it! I'm an affiliate https://interact.grsm.io/jboh69i54xwj). 

In the interview, they talked about their first years in business and the experience of having people not immediately see the value of the software as they sought investors and early adopters and other partners. It wasn't even an idea that the founders were particularly emotionally connected to, but they invested years of development and investment because they believed it could be an industry-changing tool.

I was struck in the story by how much faith they had in the idea that it would carry them all the way through to a successful outcome. They had to believe in that validity and value of it for years while other people had to catch up with their vision. They talked about the turning point being when they made a few improvements to a couple of articles and sales pages and people finally started getting on board and the product rapidly gained momentum as people experienced all the possible ways the quiz tool could be used in their marketing.

You may not immediately get positive feedback when you bring something you've created to other people. They may not understand it, they may not see the value, and they may not want it. Maybe it's just a case of bad timing. But if it's the great idea you think it is, your faith in it will need to carry it through.

Today I'm helping a person start a podcast. It's her big idea. Want personalized and effective help starting yours? Get in touch at https://franklintaggart.com

#podcast #tryinteract #quizfunnels

Here's the link for the podcast I was talking about: https://shows.acast.com/the-entrepreneurs-ecosystem/episodes/living-the-quiz-life-with-josh-haynam-and-matt-clark

Had a great conversation with a client this morning after returning from three days off. We were wondering why there was an emotional scorecard around taking time off. We both commented on having habits of stacking missed work up before or after a trip so that everything will continue to get done, but it seemed to both of us that didn't make much sense and it didn't make taking time away from work any easier.

In this Coffee Break, I ask about some of the underlying beliefs and habits that drive such behaviors. What is it that makes us feel like taking time off without guilt is allowed?

Do you struggle with this? How do you counter those beliefs and feelings/

I like Dan Sullivan's approach - schedule your time off at the beginning of the year before you schedule your work and make sure your work both gets delivered and covers your financial bases. Easier said than done, but important to consider.

#selfcare #guiltfreevacation #takingbreaks

I just finished reading Small List, Big Results for the second time. Author Robbie Samuels has packed a powerful coaching process into 140 pages that will walk you from beginning to launch of a product or service that your followers will be waiting for. It will be exactly what they're looking for because you will be working with them from idea to launch.

For entrepreneurs and businesses who have followings between 500 and 5000, you'll want to have this book in your collection and follow the steps for a simple way to create and deliver the products and services your clients need most. 

Robbie also offers a fantastic collection of tools to help you all the way through the process. Find out more about the book at this affiliate link: https://amzn.to/37tznzR

#smallbusinesscoaching #solopreneurstrategy #ideatolaunch