Heart Behind Hustle® Podcast: Entrepreneurship | Marketing | Lifestyle for Impact-Driven Coaches and Experts

Sarah Grear has personally written copy for over 200 businesses from start-ups to earning 7 figures in a single launch. As a copy conversion expert, speaker and published author her focus is on helping entrepreneurs turn online browsers into buyers with persuasive writing.    Along the way Sarah has been a speaker at Social Media Week Los Angeles and featured as one of "50 Must-Follow Women Entrepreneurs in 2017" by the Huffington Post.    When she's not writing copy, Sarah is teaching entrepreneurs with her DIY online writing classes that have been taken by over 1,000 people in more than 30 countries. She supports entrepreneurs who want to amplify their voice and their sales.    

0:00 Sarah Grear Introduction

In an episode all about copy, copy conversation and figuring out exactly what kind of people to hire in what kind of role, Kamila had a really enjoyable and valuable chat with Sarah Grear.

Sarah has personally written for over 200 business' from start up's to to seven figures in a single launch. As a copy conversion expert, speaker and published author, her focus is on helping entrepreneurs turning online browsers into buyers with persuasive writing. She's been named one of the 15 must follow women entrepreneurs in 2015 by Huffington Post.

 

1:50 Sarah Grear's Story

Started travel blogging as her first experience of writing online and fell in love with telling stories and engaging with people.  She believes at on some level, we are copywriters at some point. In her 20's where she went all over the world to Thailand, Mexico and Europe, she was telling engaging stories about her experiences. Working in the Art World, by day she was installing Art for difference Museums, she was on leave at the time from the California Science Centre during a really iconic moment in  Los Angeles' history where the Endeavour Shuttle did three loops over the city.

After reading "The Well Fed Writer" by Peter Bowman – on online writing and marketing which become her intro to writing. This was her gateway book. She started out doing this for local business owners whilst going to networking events trying out being a copywriter.

 

 

4:47 Being an Entrepreneur and a Business Owner

Sarah explains that after she quit the Museum Industry and dove in head first to be a entrepreneur thinking it would be easy, as she was so in love with the creative aspect of it and the people that she was meeting. What she didn't grasp was being a business owner on top of an entrepreneur.

In hindsight, going into an entrepreneurial endeavour blindly, however she had no other option than to make it work. Over time, when reality kicked in that indicated she had to do other things to continue to grow the business. 

It's easy to be an entrepreneur as you have an idea, a vision and you put it out there. it's a whole different thing to be a business owner – it's the no so pretty part. A business owner sits down and looks at their PNL, invoices their clients and following up on their leads. Sarah shared that she had to fall in love with that part as much as she loved sharing stories.

Kamila shares a story about a dating experience she had where she found out that there's a difference between entrepreneur and business owner.

When Kamila started online dating, she put in her bio that she was an entrepreneur as it's a big part of her life. All these people would talk to her and ask her what business she would want to start, and she realised she had to tell them that she had a business already. She also shared some advice on using copy correctly to market the right audience – for example, if you want to attract six figures plus, you have to market to a business owner.

 

 

10:35 How much should you outsource when it comes to copy?

Sarah believes in the crash and burn test when it comes to copy – she believes the best way to decide is while you're still starting your business to try it and see if the market responds and your copy is working for you, keep writing. If your copy crash and burns and there are no sales, hire a copywriter. The business' she's seen grow the fastest have teams that are aware of what they are skilled at and what they are not.

 

12:40 Elements That Should Be Outsourced Faster versus others

When you map out a launch and you're looking at all the different pieces that have to happen for this launch, start with the sales page if you're going to outsource copy. A lot of the language that you establish in the sales page and the clarity of your offer, that's what people are going to buy as that's where the yes or the no happens.

You can take a lot of that language and put it into the promotional emails and training pages.

A copywriter's job is take the ideas that you have and make them better and make them appealing and attractive to the consumer.

When you go to hire a copywriter, there's a wide spectrum of clients. You want to find a copywriter who definitely has an intake process that will save you time when you meet. Once you have gone through that intake part with them, find out what their process is.

The other place that is really important to hire a copywriter is the opt in page to your free training – if you're doing a challenge or summit.

These two examples maximise opportunity for leads and sales.

 

16:05 Biggest Things You Have Learned Around Copywriting for Coaches, Consultants and Leaders

Often people don't give enough time to copy due to time constraints and deadlines and other activities taking precedence. All the sections that are there in copy need to serve a purpose and really create opportunity for conversions.

Conversion Hack #1: Anytime that you have a photo next to a button, it converts better. For example, if you have a section of your sales page where it's a call to action and you want people to buy what you're selling, have a picture above or below it and it helps with conversations. It creates a level of trust with people who land on your sales page.

 

If you're looking at a launch, give yourself 6 weeks to get your copy together. The first thing you look at sales copy because that's the groundwork, then opt in, then the email blast.

 

Conversion Hack #2: In terms of the page itself, one thing to keep in mind is the pyshcology of people who land on your page. People who look at an online page are grouped into Four Different Colours:

Reds: Very much about take action and will not read your sales page. They have already made their decision and will likely look for your buy button. For them, put in an anchor link at the top of your page so they can directly click through to the buy.

Blues: More of the huggy, feely and visual times of people. They will be drawn in by your photos and your bright colours which will excite them to look through your sales page. For them, have really strong photos.

Yellows: These are the fun, party people. They like humour in your copy. Use plenty of wit.

Greens: These are the people who you are writing an entire sales pitch for – they will read the sales pitch from top to bottom. They are very detailed oriented people.

These are important groups to consider for your type of audience. Once you know the colour code, you can use this for team building. For examples – Reds and Greens really work together.

Yellows are great at socialising so they would be great at customer service.

The Blues are great because they are great at project managing and ensuring that people are taken care of.

The best way to figure this out is to do a survey of some type with your team so you can give examples in context to your business. You will be able to decipher what colour they are.

 

25:20 Advice to get better at Copywriting to create sales

Coach yourself through books when getting started or finding a course with somebody who teaches copy than you know what kind of person you are hiring. Getting training for yourself is important otherwise you are doing your business a disservice.

 

26:20 Connect with Sarah Grear

Sarah has a free brand copy guide for The Kamila Gornia Show Podcast listeners. Visit - www.sarahgrear.com/kamila for free guide to start telling your brand story.

 

It's about time we bust the passive income myths. A lot of people think that passive income is easy because that's how everyone online makes it seem. We've all heard the success stories where someone sets up a sales funnel once and then sits back as the money just flows in. The problem is, it doesn't really work like that. When it comes to passive income, most people think that it's the end all be all, but there's a lot more that goes into it.

 

A lot of online entrepreneurs set out to start businesses by focusing on passive income versus creating more projected income that they have more control over. Even for the very lucky people, results won't always be consistent, and there is plenty of tweaking, testing, and changing going on behind the scenes. Be realistic about the idea of making money without lifting a finger; the money may be "easier" in a sense, but it still requires work.

 

 

Tweetables:

 

"What people say to you online in terms of passive income isn't 100% how it really works."

 

"When it comes to passive income most people think it's the end all be all and set out to start their businesses by focusing on passive income versus creating more projected income."

 

"A lot of people think that passive income is easy because it's what everybody online makes it seem to be."

 

"While the money is coming you don't have to actively deliver the content that they're buying, but is it really passive for you to keep tweaking and testing?"

 

"Be really cautious whenever you hear someone giving you huge claims about easy money, fast money, or passive income."

 

"When it comes to passive income it really means easier money, something that you don't have to deliver yourself."

 

Today's episode is AMAZING, I am getting actual coaching around a failed launch that happened earlier this year and what came up for me and why it ended up the way it did - I'm getting super real and personal here, so I know you're gonna love it. The coaching was done by a total rockstar.   Rachel Luna is a best selling author, international speaker and Sales Confidence Strategist. A former US Marine, this 4 foot 11 inch firecracker has a reputation for inspiring confident action and helping her clients double, triple and quadruple their income.    She's the host of the podcast, Real Talk with Rachel Luna where she dishes on how to gain more clarity and confidence in life and business.   Rachel has created numerous courses, The Feel Good Sales Society, Profit without Products, and the Confident Entrepreneur Academy to name a few. She hosts live events throughout the year and is working on her upcoming book, Girl, Confident, launching this fall.   An international speaker, Rachel has been invited to share her powerful talks all across the globe from the US to Europe to Japan and has been featured in The Huffington Post, Success Magazine and Latina Magazine among many others.   If you're looking for sales confidence, mindset mastery and marketing strategies that will boost your revenue while building your legacy, Rachel Luna is the girl you call.  

1:30 Rachel Luna's Story

Rachel grew up with not much confidence with what she called "false confidence" and lived in that cycle. She looked the part but deep down she was struggling with alcoholism and two eating disorders. She remembers being the shortest in her class and having to always really yell to be seen and be heard. Her insecurities took her down a path that was just no meant for her. After lots of meaningless sex with the same people which was caused from a where she didn't value herself, she experienced low Self Esteem, struggled with anxiety and severe depression.

She woke up one day and realised that this was not the kind of woman she wanted to nor was raised to be and something had to change.

In an attempt to try and figure out the patterns of her destructive behaviour, she hired a life coach. At this time she was in a lot of debt, at her highest possible weight.

One thing that is very important to Rachel is integrity –she wanted to be a woman of her word even though she didn't always necessarily live up to that. Her Life Coach during her sessions told Rachel that she would make a great life coach.It made sense as in the fourth and fifth grade, some of her classmates referred to her as "Oprah," for the way she gave advice. It was that life coach that planted the seed that maybe this life was a possibility for her. She lost the weight from changing her mindset, self worth and value perspective.

She became a certified Life Coach at a time where people were not even talking about Life Coaching. Even though people thought she was crazy, she just knew she had to help people. Rachel found that she liked Life Coaching for Entrepreneurs in particular as they were driven more than the average individual. A lot of the feedback from her clients was that the result they received from her was confidence. She worked on her own confidence and mindset.

One thing that's common amongst entrepreneurs is what she calls a "Paralysis moment," And the first thing to do is to recognize that you're in paralysis

 

11:49 Working through your Paralysis moment

To take you through the steps of working through a paralysis, Rachel uses Kamila's recent launch experience where things didn't go as planned.

 

Feeling Like A Fraud.

Whether we are Oprah or Tony Robbins, it is natural human instinct to feel like a fraud when results don't happen the way that we expected them to. Everyone struggles with that no matter what level they are at – even at the mastery level. We exercise this behaviour because we want people to know that we are the expert and to not lose faith in us. Dispel the myth, It will attack us at some point or another no matter what we have accomplished.

 

14:10 Before The Paralysis

Kamila tried to analyse what happened – and why things didn't go the way she planned. Analysing helps to identify patterns of what worked and what didn't to ensure for the next time, these can be improved upon or avoided. What happens from here is, because Kamila is a strategist, her mind clicks over to the, "how can I make the money that I thought I could," and her mind occupies with a thousand ideas and how to execute them. Rather than going out an executing them, she falls into a paralysis.

 

Rachel explains that this happened because Kamila didn't go back to examine the facts around the deep rooted thought and fear that she had was "I'm a fraud, I'm not good enough.:

 

I am not good enough is the number one limiting belief that every single human being has on the planet. It manifests in it's different ways. You can call it whatever you want but at the core, the belief is, I am not good enough.

 

16:43 Facts Around The Launch

The Fact Is she had over 1,000 people sign up for the launch.

The Fact is she had over 300 people live per day.

 

17:40 Meaning & Story

Rachel asks Kamila what story and meaning she gave to the facts.

"I didn't hit my goal," was the thought and the story. The feelings and emotions that came up with that were disappointment and anxiety driven hopefulness.

Because she didn't reach her goal, even though 1,000 people signed up, she told herself that "There's not enough." This attaches the energy of lack of abundance into the entire launch sequence. So everything she was going to do going forward, there would be this underlying lack that it wasn't enough.

The next fact "300 People Showed Up Live," Kamila told herself the story

More subconscious stories deployed from "I thought it wasn't going to be terrible,"

The story she told herself was that "I know based on the numbers, we're not going to make it."

 

21:16 A fact during Kamila's paralysis that she missed "We changed the time. My audience is an evening attendance type person."

"When I do what I want, when I do what's best for me – people don't show up."

"I have to change what I want to do to accommodate other people."

To break apart these stories - The facts actually were:

1. Kamila had things to do so she could only do it at that time
2. She only wanted to do it at that time
3. She wanted to build a business the way she wanted it to be and the fact is, they just didn't show up.

 

All brand new facts where you can tell brand new stories.

 

When you have this recognition in the paralysis cycle, the fact is:

I am worthy

I have launched many times

Attendance was low because I changed the time

 

It's not a reflection of my worth

It's not a refleiciton of my contribution, service or program.

 

The only thing this mean, based on the facts, people couldn't show up at that time.

 

24:36 Belief in Entrepreneurs

 

Humans don't believe people enough. And we also don't believe ourselves at all. This is why consistency is such a big problem for entrepreneurs as this lack of belief is letting you down.

Deep down, if we can't trust ourselves, we can't trust other people.

Take what people say to you at face value. At Truth.

If you start to operate in your truth, then you'll start to see and attract more truthful people that you can count on.

 

25:58 Rachel Luna's Book

A book that challenges to make massive shifts in your self awareness,

perspectives, relationships, in your business and the way you communicate with yourself and other people.

 

26:05 The Cycle of False Confidence

The premise is that most of us have lived our lives operating from the cycle of false confidence which says we take courageous action not confident action. We are expecting a result, positive or negative and

no matter what that result is, we find yourself in a state of paralysis because we are seeking joy as a result of the result.

When we take action and a result happens, we expect joy and fulfilment are waiting for us there.

 

28:55 The Cycle Of True Confidence

You take courageous action with a confident mindset and that confident mindset is assuring you that no matter what happens, it is safe for me to operate from a place of joy and fulfilment right here and right now. And when I get there, which becomes here, no matter the result, I'm not going to die and it's safe for me to keep going.

You're able to look at the entire journey of getting you from here to there and recognize that you have been in a state of joy and fulfilment along the way, so you didn't really lose anything. In fact, what you've done is gained wisdom, lessons, power and strength so that you can continue. Our brain is programed to keep us alive. We think that everything we do can potentially kill us. When you have the confident mindset you know that the chances of you launching or partaking in any business activity and dying are super super slim.

People think that enjoying fear means that you can't feel the emotions that are associated with fear.

Get aware. Get Present. Separate the fact from the story

When we are scared or experiencing fear, we add certain elements that eventually paralyse us.

 

39:02 Keep Up To Date with Rachel

Visit www.racheluna.biz/profitable

Get your free 20 page guide of a profitable To Do List. It comes with an audio that walks you through basically how to set your days up so that you are taking inspired, confident action to make more money.

Stay tuned for the release of her new book Girl, Confident.

 

Tweetables:

"There is here."

"My happiness, joy and fulfilment are not dependent on the result of my action. My happiness, joy and fulfilment come from taking the action."

"Enjoy every step of the Journey"

"If I try to save someone while I'm drowning, I'm going to drown."

"Admitting that you're scared actually brings you so much peace."

"I am not good enough is the number one limiting belief that every single human being has on the planet. It manifests in it's different ways. You can call it whatever you want but at the core, the belief is, I am not good enough."

 

It's extremely important to set boundaries in your business and create time for what matters to you. So many entrepreneurs are drowning in their endless tasks and to-do lists. Instead of feeling energetic and accomplished, they're left feeling overwhelmed and obligated to do things that they have no interest in. They're committing to things that aren't serving them because they don't want to miss out on opportunities.

The word "no" needs to be in your vocabulary, and saying it should never leave you feeling guilty. It's less important to show up everywhere and more important to guard your time wisely. Do you really have the time to keep saying yes to all of these things that are draining you? If it's draining you and you're dreading it, set boundaries or don't do it. Your time and energy are priceless - make room on your plate for the things that matter and clear away the rest.

 

Tweetables:

 

"Setting really clear boundaries and what you have time for is important because you want to have a social life and time for yourself."

 

"You need to care about yourself and put yourself first for a change - that's so important."

 

"Do you really have the time to keep saying yes to all of these things that are draining you?"

 

"Why are you not setting boundaries and why do you feel like you can't let go of things?"

 

"If it's draining you and you're dreading it, set boundaries or don't do it."

 

"Claim your brilliance and the fact that you are worthy of saying no and having time for yourself."

 

Dr. Lindsay Padilla is a teaching + learning consultant for trailblazing entrepreneurs who want to create value-packed, student-centered digital content that get their clients (students) A+ results, while making a lasting impact on the world! Using her years of teaching adults online at a community college and the ridiculous amount of learning she has done in all things education, she specializes in translating 1:1 client work experiences into signature courses, group programs + membership sites, as well as mapping out instructional content into a conversion machine that she lovingly calls the "Teach First Funnel."

2:20 The journey for Lindsay so far

Lindsay shares her story as to how the path to teaching started. She knew intrinsically that she also wanted to be a teacher and so began to take actions towards that with little pivots along the way. She enjoyed high school and wanted to teach high school.  When she began teaching, she didn't like the subject that was in her curriculum being history however what she was quick to discover was that she enjoyed the essence of the subject which was learning about people and the past.

Growing up in suburbia, once she finished her first degree, she moved in with a friend from college and her in in Huntington Beach to pursuit her master in sociology. This is where she fell in love with the subject and wanted to teach it all day every day or to anyone who wanted to listen. 

It was clear that teaching was not only her gift, but her passion also. After her masters, Lindsay pursued her doctorate at the University Of San Francisco.

7:35 How Fitness ignited the Coaching path

Having such a long academic spurt meant that when she had received her doctorate, Lindsay was out of the continuous writing routine that academia demanded of her. She filled the gaping hole of time with nothing other than working out. Committing to a workout routine for over a year, she then began coaching in areas of health.

Being inspired by Amy Porterfield and other entrepreneurs who continuously talked about business' and the lives they were creating around health, Lindsay bought 90 day year –and began to dissect exactly why she was on the path she was on.

One day she found herself sitting with coach Melissa Griffin at lunch whom she helped her think through some things for her course. Lindsay explained things to her in a way that aligned exactly where Melissa wanted to take her course in the value that it provided her students. This was when she turned to Lindsay and said, "Why aren't you teaching this?" That was just the  "aha" moment Lindsay  needed and everything else was lining up. She was inspired, ran home and she knew that her business would involve helping others to create courses.

11:56 How Her Business Looks Like Now

When Lindsay started her business, she was on lots of calls and began co creating courses with her clients. During this time, she went back to teaching that August which effectively meant she was running a business full time and classes full time. She eventually left in the middle of the school year, even though financially, that decision didn't make sense, she knew that the money would find her after she made this choice.

Diving into her business, she had five clients that hired her that she serviced which eventuated in her running an "MBA," course which was "Misfit Business Academy," as a contest on Facebook.

 

From there, Lindsay went into high level course co creation whilst working with established people in the industry and was working to make sure that her client's courses would sell to expectations.

At the same time, she began talking to Emily Hersh who's business seemed to have services that would complement Lindsay's. It made sense for the two to form a partnership.

A year later, as Lindsay intuitively felt all along, some money came through! She received this from her house and used this to invest in things like team building and hiring people full time. The scaling allowed her to move away from the VIP course style creation and focus on smaller business'. She wanted to serve that population and by putting a team under allowed her to manage and grow her services. She was able to be more productive and less overwhelmed.

 

17:05 Biggest struggles when it comes to creating Courses

Being an industry leader in course writing and course creation, Lindsay explains the top three struggles she hears from clients when it comes to creating courses: 1. How do I make sure it's good and that the students are learning? 2. How long should lessons be? What kind of content? What's the best LMS? 3.  How do I motivate and encourage my students

Lindsay found that people seek validation from someone who has designed courses before, especially given how she had positioned herself in the market. When it comes to teaching, she dives into the deeper stuff with her clients and tries to understand the thought processes going on inside their minds.

19:50 How to Start a Course

Sharing some tips on the best way to actually get started to writing a course, Lindsay recommends:

1. Market Research – Know your market and assess any problems or gaps in that market. Make sure you find a problem and that you are actually solving that problem.
2. Avoid the burning desire to have it sold instantly; You can't start with what you want to teach or what you think what your following needs.
3. Make time to Brain Dump. Whatever thoughts you have in your head, make time to actually dump those thoughts onto a page. The course may not be perfect however the brain dump process can be developed over time. 

24:01 Mindset & Courses

There are common feelings that teachers have and the core thing that was observed is that teaching can be very vulnerable. You are sharing what you know through knowledge, experience and story – that's very revealing. You have to adapt to students and how they are feeling and responding.  We get scared that other pioneers that do similar courses to our expertise may teach different aspects that we don't. The way you get around that is knowing that you are a different teacher. Who you are as a person is what teaching is. It is the connection of your inner self to lots of people. If you're really teaching, your soul is bared to your students and you're going through the subject together. You have to be ok with the fact that you put out course material exactly as it is in the way you express it best.

Students tend to mirror what you are putting out there. Rather than being worried about being challenged, let go of the pressure that you actually put on yourself to hold all the answers. The subject you're teaching is actually in the centre, not the teacher. Both the teacher and the student are looking at it together and you look at things through totally different experiences through a live subject. The students will see you as the authority when you support them and guide them, not necessarily when you have all the answers.

34:42 Structural Side of Making Your Course Great

The results that you are promising your students –think about what is the student going to be able to do after this course. This can be broken down into certain milestones to which the student can achieve without your assistance. This will ensure your course is actually streamlined.

With adult learners, you find that they need to feel very autonomous and have constant motivation and reminders. Generally, these adults are busy so you need to make sure you don't add any fluff to their schedules.

You can also catch the students who are in different places - those who are more advanced, can be advised to skip the step. However, bear in mind that some entrepreneurs of late aren't getting basic enough. People don't realize they don't know the things they don't know.

45:06 Connect with Lindsay

Connect with Lindsay on her soon to be revamped Facebook Group – The Teachers Lounge http://www.lindsaympadilla.com/fb-group/

Tweetables: "If you're really teaching, your soul is bared to your students and you're going through the  subject together:

"You have to be ok with the fact that you put our course material exactly as it is in the way you express it best. "

Influential content marketing is essential when it comes to growing an authentic, message-driven business. If you are a service-based entrepreneur, you want to make a difference in your client's lives, whether that's with your own story or with the work that you do for them. Sharing content can support you, not only in always staying fresh, but also by remaining relevant in peoples minds.

 

If people forget you, then it's going to make maintaining engagement with them difficult.

 

Another benefit to sharing content consistently is that you will be showing that you know what you're talking about. People will see that you have confidence in your topic of expertise. When you establish this credibility, you'll be seen as a leader and an authority figure in your space.

 

Content creation is vital when it comes to growing your business. Unfortunately, a lot of people struggle in this area and not everyone is naturally creative. Some people are very analytical, and others worry that they won't portray themselves accurately. Luckily, the current trends taking place in the online marketing world are proving that it's not all about perfection.

 

What's most important is sharing value through your stories, lessons, and learnings to bring people behind the scenes.

 

Being transparent is incredibly powerful when it comes to connecting with your audience and making yourself and your brand more desirable. Get raw and be open with people versus just writing how to's and tutorials that people can find anywhere else. You have an audience, but how much longer are you going to keep sharing these same ideas with them? They may already be familiar with what you're putting out there, but they want to know more about you.

 

Hook them into wanting to continue to follow you. What you're sharing plays a significant role in why your audience started following you, but the reason they keep following is that they feel like you're someone that's very relatable. You may be a figure of someone they aspire to become or someone that they want to meet one day. That kind of admiration doesn't happen by itself.

 

You create a deep connection with people by being open, genuine, and letting them in behind the scenes to see the real you.

 

An easy way for you to start sharing the transparent experience behind your brand is simply by talking about what you're doing. You can discuss lessons that you've learned and the challenges you're facing in your journey. Your audience will be able to see that you're not a perfect human being - you are just like them, and you have the same struggles that they do.

 

If you flip the script and share something personal with your audience, you're going to get even more engagement. You may receive messages from people you've impacted by sharing your story. You don't have to get too personal or vulnerable, especially not right away.

 

Start thinking about the last 30 days and ask yourself what you have done that relates to your business?

 

If you're a health coach, have you recently completed a 5K, attended a health food festival, or maybe tried aerial yoga for the first time? There are a lot of things that we do in our every day lives that we may not even consider using as content. Be aware of what these things are and how they can tie into your business. Is there a lesson or something that you can share with your audience that will allow them to see that you apply your methods in your own life as well?

 

If you're not showing people that you live what you're sharing with them, it's going to be really hard for them to trust you.

 

You can talk all day long about being vegan, but if you don't show people and lead by example, then eventually they're going to have some questions or maybe even lose interest. I was talking to a client recently who mentioned a live stream I had made when I had moved to New York. Initially, I had thought my life would completely change, and it did - but not necessarily for the better.

 

Other people, including this particular client, would have never known that I struggled so much with my move. It was embarrassing for me to admit since I was amping it up so much initially, and then once it happened, I ended up disappointed. But, I started to be very real with my audience, and I shared this live stream explaining what I was experiencing behind the scenes. I received feedback from people who had shared similar experiences and reactions and was able to connect with them.

 

Because I am my brand and business, I want to be real with my audience and make sure that they know what's going on in my life.

 

I invite you to do the same. Make a challenge for yourself to think about something you have done over the last 30, 60, or even 90 days, and talk about it. Is there a lesson that you've learned or something new that you've tried? Why is it important and how is it allowing you to live as the person you desire people to see?

 

Try creating your content in new ways. Your audience wants to know what's going on and how they can support you, so let them in. The whole point of the human experience is to connect with other people, and we can do this through the power of our business.

Kathleen Ventura is a high-performance coach, conscious consultant and TEDx speaker. Making a move that would terrify even the bravest of non-conformists, she quit her high-pressure sales job in 2012, sold everything, and set out to ride her bike across the United States. After 2 years of perpetual travel, she found her calling as a coach and consultant. Kathleen supports influencers—entrepreneurs, professionals and celebrities—who are crushing it professionally and realize they need to be more intentional about creating a lifestyle full of things they desire beyond business for their success to be both sustainable and fulfilling.

1:15 Kathleen was in her mid 20's working a high pressure sales job in Chicago just prior to the recession.  She had never planned to be in that kind of job and soon realized she was sick of the endless cycle of endless work.  She and her husband decided to sell their posessions, quit their jobs and begin travelling nomadically around the world. 

3:52 Kathleen and her husband then lived in various countries over the next two years.  It was while they were spending time in Portugal that Kathleen had what she calls an "independent woman breakdown."  She had been working non-stop since she was fifteen and now was simply spending money with nothing coming in.  She felt this was irresponsible. So she decided that it was time to re-enter the workforce.

5:30  Kathleen knew that many of her friends and family were unhappy with their working lives and realized that she could play a role in helping people to accomplish their goals.  Since that realization she has spent the last five years building a coaching business.

7:50 Kathleen wanted to help woman live "intentional lives".  She began life-coaching entrepreneurs but had never incorporated her principals as an environmentalist and feminist.  Slowly over time she realized that keeping her work and personal lives separate was a mistake.  If she wasn't part of the solution, she was part of the problem.

13:13 Kathleen likes to ask her clients about their personal values..  What are the things they know that they wish others knew?  Does it have to do with malnutrition? Climate change? Gender inequality?  Once that is established she helps her clients to effect positive change. 

15:20 In a world where Kim Kardashian sells lipstick on Instagram Kathleen wonders what would happen if similarly high-profile influencers were trying to effect positive change in the world.  Incorporating positive things you are doing in your life into your personal brand is the way to change the world.

18:10 The public is fully on-board with the idea of paying more for responsibly produced products.   Millennials are becoming more and more loyal to products and services produced by progressive companies.  There is always a risk those values will alienate some but those that remaining will be much more passionate about those companies.

22:25 Kathleen hesitated about being more open about her personal values as a vegetarian and environmentalist.  She didn't want to put her beliefs in peoples face because she was worried about putting people off.  She wanted to be a role model rather than someone waving their finger.  To do that she began to re-educate herself about the basis of her own beliefs to make sure she had all her facts in order.

26:38 Kathleen believes that people need to see themselves in you.  You can't be an unreachable personality.  You have to start where you can.  You don't immediately become a perfect vegetarian or a perfect environmentalist overnight.  Be gentle with yourself.  All that's important is doing something.

29:00 What is the one thing you know that you wish others knew?  It's the question that Kathleen believes will guide you to the issue you should be focusing on in your personal life and on your social media presence.  "Success is a few small things you focus on every day."

32:00 Kathleen has a gift for listeners.  It's a 21-day Earth Day challenge that can provides a guide about how to live a more sustainable life.  You can find that at kathleenventura.com/EarthDay

 

 

 

 

To grow your business in a sustainable way that makes an impact you have to create deep connections with your audience and prospective clients. A great way that you can do this is by opening up and being vulnerable and authentic in your marketing. It's important to open up as an entrepreneur and as a brand. One of the best ways to make sure that you are fulfilling your mission is to put yourself out there and be willing to be transparent.

 

Something that is currently very popular and that people are starting to expect from brands is more vulnerability.

 

Your audience wants you to show up being real, raw, and open with them. Being vulnerable is very important and can make your marketing so much more effective. I don't want to necessarily talk about using this as a strategy since there are a lot of people out there using it without the best intentions in mind.

 

I know that you want to change the world, make an impact, and that you have a bigger message and mission in mind. Since I know this about you, I feel more comfortable sharing why vulnerability is so incredible and beneficial in business and marketing. Being vulnerable with others is about sharing stories from your personal life as well as your business experiences. Share things in your life with your audience that are relevant to your industry, and also share things that aren't always 100% relevant.

 

On Facebook, we see the highlights of peoples lives, and it's very easy to start comparing our lows to other peoples highs.

 

When we start comparing our lives to others based off of only the things they want us to see, we may start to feel unhappy, depressed, and like our lives are somehow lacking. How are they so successful and happy when I'm hustling so much and still where I am right now? Having these thoughts does not feel good for anyone.

 

Being a leader in your business gives you the space to be real, open, and share the hardships that you face throughout your journey. Share specific stories that may not always be comfortable to share, and might not even necessarily be 100% relevant to your business. There's always a way to connect a story to what you're doing or to use it as a metaphor.

 

If you want to connect with your audience profoundly, and you want to make a huge impact, sharing yourself is going to be extremely instrumental to your growth.

 

If you think about it, we don't usually follow people or influencers that are perfect and seem to have no problems in life. Using the Kardashians as an example, we see all of the highlights of their lives through social media, but through their TV show, they show their hardships as well. Showing personal struggles with the world is a pretty vulnerable thing to do. The Kardashians have mastered this act of vulnerability through using story, and that's their way of marketing.

 

They're getting more followers and customers through being themselves and not necessarily filtering what happens to them in their lives. So, how can you use this in your own business? Think from the perspective of serving your current and prospective clients. Is there a particular story that happened in your life that made you into who you are today? The answer is yes - your entire life has made you into who you are today.

 

The different events that have happened in your life, whether good, bad, seemingly irrelevant, have contributed towards creating the person you are today.

 

I want to share an exercise with you that I shared with some of my clients when I did my Authority Launcher live event in Chicago. A lot of people had amazing break throughs around how they wanted to show up with their audience. This exercise is about the experience of sharing stories and figuring out what to share. Start thinking about ten events that have happened in your life (feel free to go further and think of more, but start with ten).

 

I don't necessarily mean major events like getting married or having a baby. Just think of random situations that have happened, positive or negative, and list them out and write about them. Ideally, five of them would be business or industry related to what you do, and five of them would not be related. When you list these different events, I want you to start thinking about the common threads throughout each situation as it relates to your business.

 

Is there a theme or a lesson you've learned from one of your life experiences that you can share with your audience?

 

Discover how to tie your stories into conversations about your industry or what you're trying to teach your clients. Sharing stories in your business marketing strategy is solid gold and can help grow your audience and increase the likelihood that people will buy from you after a pitch. Always ask yourself, how can I tie this into my business? I invite you to start thinking about the different things that have happened in your life and find ways to relate them to your audience - they will love you for it!

Nicole Jackson Miller, is the Founder of The Project Designer, a company that helps entrepreneurs manage their projects and their people.  From her 10 years of management experience negotiating deals for major TV networks, overseeing 6- and 7-figure projects online and even orchestrating some of the behind-the-scenes magic of the Beijing Olympics, Nicole basically knows her stuff. Today she runs a successful Project Management agency, mentors and trains Project Managers, and supports entrepreneurs with Human Resources (or their "people" management!)

 

1:18 Definition of Project Management

Project Management is managing projects that you have in your business. A project can really be anything. A project can be of any size, from anything from starting your business, bringing in a new team member to launching an online program or membership site.

Project Management is essentially making sure that the ideas you have and want to execute actually get done.

 

2.15 How Nicole Came into the Project Management Field

She's worked in television before she had her own business. It taught her a lot about managing her own time. The television environment was fast paced and operationally lean, so that meant there were a lot of projects happening and a few people to execute them. This forced Nicole to learn how to be the master of her own schedule – to learn how to priorities and communicate with people and keep up the quality of the project. It was natural to break into the project management space, we were able to explain what we did and manage the different pieces of projects.

 

5:02 Defining Moment to Project Manage on own

There were several moments in my corporate job where I asked myself whether I want to do this job. I was such a perfectionist and wanted to do everything well. I was the epitome of wanting to climb the corporate ladder. I battled eating disorders, relationship problems and alcohol – I wasn't an alcoholic, but was using different coping mechanisms. That was when I realized I needed to figure it out. I dived into myself and got the help that I needed which opened up a whole new world for me spiritually. I realized that I could make an impact on the people I was around, so, with the advice of my spiritual teacher, I started where I was. I had an urge within me to start my own thing .There were many restrictions in terms of what I could do in my job setting, so I started to explore the online space.

 

9:48 Being in a position to empower people and your team

Move away from typical responses – how to manage your team, during the difficult times or challenging times where they need you the most – if you can be with them throughout that experience, that's what keeps great people around you. It ties into starting where you are, in every moment you have the ability to impact the situation which takes a lot of self awareness and presence. I remember being on teams and when something messed up, the memory was around being told off or scolded and my work effort was not acknowledged. I try and bring those experiences in when I manage my own teams or my clients – as long as you've done a great job hiring and you trust the people around you, you have to trust that they are working just as hard as you are. I believe that as a CEO, you have to be there for your team. They are the ones who will help you grow.

12:48 The other elements of People Management

People can be anyone in your business – from a team member, partner to a coach, who is helping you in your business. It really comes down to relationships. The things that go into People Management boils down to developing relationships including knowing how to communicate; when things are going well and when things are not going well and to also work out a way to ensure things are getting done – that the teams able to execute as smoothly as possible.

14:28 The element of hiring and firing and building better communication

If you've hired well and managed well, you don't have to fire as much, or hopefully at all. It's going to happen if you're in business for longer than a year or two. I think of building a team as dating – sometimes you're great with someone to a certain level and then you realize it's time to part ways. Then there are others whom you grow and develop with together and you're able to keep going. It's the same principle with relationships. Hiring is a big one – make sure you are making the best decision for you and your team, and the first step to that is knowing yourself. The second step is being able to communicate that. When it comes to hiring people think they have to change who they are in order to be able to have a team, and although there are certain tweaks you can make to improve yourself and develop professionally, you're just going to be who you are. The most important part of that is to find a team that works with that. I think good people are everywhere and I also think it's really tough to find a great match. It's the same thing with people on your team – just because they don't work with you, doesn't mean they're not good at what they do – they're just not the right match for you. I find that the best clients to work with when I help them with hiring and team management are the ones that know themselves and know how to communicate it.

Firing is one of those thing that sucks to have to do it. Make sure you understand what happened and what needs to be done different next time. A lot of people go to fire and don't realize that this could be avoided by simply having an open conversation with someone. I only fire quickly on two occasions – if someone has done something illegal or they have a poor attitude. If there's an issue, address it fast, but it doesn't mean you have to fire fast. An open conversation with your team can reveal exactly what's going on so you can be in a position to be there for your employees or co create a solution before you just jump to re-hiring.

 

20:37 Conscious Conversation: Catch The Fire before the Explosion

Nicole connects with her team weekly, or twice a week to talk through things, clarify things and adjust it. It's a great way also to give feedback to my team and I've learnt every time something keeps coming up, it's because I haven't addressed it. If I'm on the phone to a client with a team member and something occurred that I would have preferred to have been done differently, I will bring it up with them. Otherwise that behavior will simply not change. It's my job to communicate that. When I don't say anything, it almost always happens again. It's a practice that I believe in and it's worked. It may be a difficult or uncomfortable conversation to have, but if I procrastinate, it will keep happening. Miscommunication is no communication. As a leader of your business, you have to manage. People often want to delegate management, which you can do a degree. You can have a whole director level, however you still have to know how to manage your people. Managing is like a muscle, you have to practice it.

 

25:47 Balance between Planning and Planning Way Too Much

I have a Project Management company and I launched something without a plan. Obviously I knew it wouldn't do too well and I was talking to my team member about it and she was making suggestions on how this process could be improved for next time. Planning is an important stage, you need to ensure that everything works rather than just throwing ideas on a wall and hoping it sticks.  Everything works together. It was a great lesson to me because I preach project planning all over the place. It was one of those instances I had to get out there and do it. I did get other clients from it , just not in the way I thought I would.

 

28:54 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make in Planning or Managing

When you hire, to really understand yourself and be able to communication what you need and go through a process. What can sometimes happen is that they decide they need customer support immediately. If you rush the hiring process and you're not very clear on what you need and how you need your clients or customers to be supported - you may bring on someone who is not a great match. Part of that is not finding a great fit, but even if it's a great fit, they're not able to communicate what you need efficiently. Have people read a job post, fill out an application and interview them. Ask all of your questions. Make sure you get along with them, because you're probably looking to grow your team and your business.

Kamila talked about her hiring process. In college, you're not really told how to apply for jobs and to be noticed. Have that application and be clear about what you're looking for. Some people are filling out applications mindlessly and not paying attention. In the past, if somebody misses a call or interview, I don't chase.

Attention to detail and timeliness that is demonstrated earlier on is something you can learn about a person in the process. Think about how you would hop onto a sales call and evaluate how you can take on the new client. There's a lot of things that come up that will indicate how it will be like to work with them later on.

The next mistake will be that plans are not run past their team. Any time we work with a new client, a conversation is had and an evaluation of how things are going to pan out. Nicole uses the example of a client she had who was about to launch something. She was heavily reliant on an assistant at the time who seemed to be MIA The importance of communication and conversation around expectations of the launch. When you are the owner of your business, you are responsible for everything that happens in your business. Accountability can be taken by team members. Plans need to be communicated to the team.

 

37:28 Advice for consciously knowing who to hire

When you're looking to hire somebody in your business, start again with knowing yourself. What do you like to do and what don't you like doing. Think about what you like doing and what you don't. A person who loves design is not going to hire a designer. A client she had was copywriter because when she wrote, she stopped. Think about the kind of support you need and what area you need it in. What is it your passionate about? Do that. Whatever slows you down, get support. The same things go for team. Team members are passionate, so there is no template for who to hire first. Know yourself, Know what your passionate about and priorities and hire those first. Then question your team about what they like and don't like doing and delegate or hire there. It's all about relationships and communication. If you don't talk or communicate with your team, you would not know this information. If we can create happy business and happy teams, it's so much better. We all lift each other up.

 

42:12 Gift for our Listeners

A resource that talks about hiring, managing and firing available at theprojectdesigner.com

 

Are you operating as the CEO of your business and your life, or are you only staying in the role of the service that you're providing? If you are like most people, it's very likely that you are not operating as a CEO. I am not here to make you feel bad, but I want to bring it to your attention that you might be digging yourself into a hole.

 

One of the most common reasons we go into business is to have more freedom. Whether it's to travel more, have more money, support your family in a bigger way, or maybe move to another place, sometimes having your own business makes those opportunities possible. Regarding having my own business, moving somewhere new was a big factor for me. I wanted to move to New York City, and then I wanted to move to San Diego.

 

I craved the ability to do that; I wanted to travel, speak at events, and live in a way that I desired in the places that I wanted.

 

I often hear people saying very similar things, but many of them are building their business in a way that forms a breeding ground for frustration, discouragement, and overwhelm. What I mean by that is, they are creating a business that is entirely reliant on them being present at all times to function. That is not a good recipe for success.

 

For example, one of my clients was getting married, and she wanted to go away on a honeymoon for two weeks. She was freaking out because how would her business function without her there? What would happen to her clients and her marketing? She was concerned because she was not operating as a CEO - she did not have that CEO mindset.

 

She was growing her coaching business, and this company was reliant on her. It's hard for people to let go of this mentality of needing to be there and present at all times. It's easy for anyone with a service-based business to feel like their clients are going to fail if they're not there for them 24/7, supporting them in a high touch way. Many people believe that they're directly responsible for their client's success, but that's not how it works.

 

They need to go out, actually show up, and do their part of the job. Whether they succeed or not is not up to you. You can be there to support them in making it happen by creating that environment, but it doesn't mean that you need to forgo your life or not go on a honeymoon to make this possible.

 

Your clients should still thrive, whether you're present 100% of the time or present in a more boundary driven way.

 

Sometimes there are situations in life that require you to step away. Occasionally things happen that aren't very happy - maybe there's an accident that happens, or you're sick or hurt and need to be away from your business. What's going to happen then? Is your business going to crumble and fall to pieces, or will it keep going? Is it still moving forward, or does everything stop because you can't tend to your clients?

 

If it's the former, it means that you're not operating at the CEO mindset. I want to empower you to think bigger, past just being a coach, designer, copywriter, virtual assistant, or any other service provider. How can you start to think bigger and brainstorm how to create a legacy and a company that is going to serve you, regardless of what happens? Of course, this isn't something that will happen immediately.

 

It's not something that will occur in a week or a month, or even a year unless you're very fortunate. But, the sooner you can start thinking about it and becoming aware of how you want to structure your business, the better off you will be. This game plan will bring you closer to the opportunity of having the freedom that you want, and more space for innovation and creativity. That goes beyond just serving yourself and your family; how can you make a bigger impact when it comes to your work?

 

If you are always exclusively working with clients, then it's really hard for you to have that space for freedom, innovation, a greater impact, and global thinking.

 

Take a look at your calendar right now. How much of your week do you spend on client calls or sales calls, and what space do you have left for business development, creating potential partnerships, or focusing on long term vision goals? There may be a balance issue if you are building a business that is extremely reliant on you being there at all times.

 

Even if you have a team that supports you with some of these tasks, you're still delivering on all of them. If all of your time is spent on your calendar and working with clients nonstop, that's not giving you any space for doing the bigger things you want to do in your life. If you don't care about any of that and this is fine with you, then you're obviously in good shape. But if you know deep down in your heart that you are meant to be doing more, then you need to start thinking about things a little differently.

 

If you keep spending your time on these things that are not serving you, there's going to be a bit of a problem in terms of growth.

 

There are two things that you can start doing that can help you significantly. The first one is outsourcing. Look at how you can outsource some of the things that you're doing right now that are taking you a lot of time and that you don't personally need to do. The second one is leverage. Make sure you aren't spending all of your time on delivering one on one services and that you're not the only one delivering them.

 

Have a team in place for outsourcing, where you can leverage them to support your clients in getting the results that they're asking to receive. If you're a coach or a mentor, you should be creating leverage based offers as well, so that it's not only one on one services all of the time. This is how you will be able to invent other ways of bringing in income outside of just one specific offering.

 

Think about business development and growth in a bigger way that supports you personally. Don't be afraid to take on that CEO role and start structuring your business so that it won't crash and burn if you're not around.