In the last couple of weeks we have been going over specific tips on how to be a power parent in business.

First, we discovered what you offer and sell.

Second, we talked about how to iterate continually until you have a core product or service that is selling consistently.

Third, increasing your profit by maximizing productivity.

Last week we talked about building success by establishing and adjusting your morning routine.

This week we are going to talk about the next logical step: hiring a business strategist.

Business strategists are able to submit a very specific recommendation on tangible things you can do in your business to really move it forward.

To look for a business strategist, look around in your industry. Find someone who has become successful in your specific industry, and ask them how they did it

If you don’t have a regular income you will need a mentor to push you to the next level. Only get a business strategist if you have a regular income.

Toggl is a tool that will revolutionize your time management. It’ll help keep you on time, and is a great resource to use in addition to a business strategist and/or mentor.

When you take a short break, get up and move. It’ll help clear your mind and get you ready for your next task.

Find someone who is recommended from someone you know. That means you need to hang out with people who also need business strategists and who are creating success.

Resources:

The Miracle Morning

Toggl

Last week we talked about mastering your productivity so you can master your profit. This week, next week, and the week after that we are going to talk about your mindset.

The thing we’re going to tackle today is your morning routine and how to adjust it for productivity.

Your morning routine won’t stay the same; you need to adapt it.

The thing that never changes is writing down the three things you need to do that day to get you closer to your goal.

Maximize the time you take to make progress in your mindset. You should have moments of clarity and breakthrough, otherwise it’s just a simple routine.

Every day, every moment, we make choices. If you allow it, there will be a moment in which your mindset shifts.

You need to adapt to make sure you’re constantly changing so that you’re not stuck in the same old routine.

In order for you to get to the next level something needs to change.

Your peace and clarity will happen in moments of meditation, and with that will come your next step.

Falling out of that state of clarity is normal.

Become the best human being you can, give to yourself, and then give to others.

Mediation will help train your brain to get rid of all the noise and just listen to yourself. Take this time for YOU

When you can find your few minutes of clarity in which you block out the distractions and noise, magic will happen.

In order to get better you need to adapt what you do. Adjust your morning routine to gain clarity.

Resources:

Billionaire Code

Tony Robbins

MommyLoves – iterated myself almost into bankruptcy

Didn’t ask my customer what they wanted, let alone what they needed

Stayed inside my own head

PEP – only did what others asked me to do

Wasn’t strategic, directed, or purposeful, except to help parents build businesses

Didn’t grow beyond 6 figures

Messenger Funnels

Almost made the same mistakes as PEP

But, now I knew better

I’m no MBA type, so I hired one

Got really open and excited about what I didn’t know

Embraced the uncomfortable, and built a steering wheel for my sparkly, fun, profitable rocket ship

What you need to do:

Ask your audience, customers, prospects what they need, what they like that you do, and what they don’t like that you do.

Ask your staff/employees/contractors the same questions

Go with your gut

Know and embrace your limits

Hire those who don’t have the same limits

Don’t spend money you don’t have to iterate your products/services

Enjoy the Journey!

In the next several episodes, I’ll be doing something new, fun, and different: I am going introduce the Power Parents in Business Series. These episodes are going to be steps 1-10 of the things most crucial for you building a successful business online or offline while you’re raising a successful family.

I’ve been thinking about this because I’m kind of in the exit strategy with my kids, and one of my businesses too. As a result, I’ve been looking back at how my life has been since starting my first online business back in 2003.

The first thing I’m going to talk about in this series is this: if it all possible, discover as quickly as you can what you offer and what you sell. Most of us start off selling one thing, but it usually turns out that that’s not what the customers want.

Lots of times we have to sell people what they want, and actually fulfill with what they need.

Find out what your particular audience needs, and fulfill it!

My first business was MommyLoves; I finally had a baby, and when I did I created a simple design that I put on a shirt to wear. I was stopped EVERYWHERE by women who wanted the shirt for themselves or daughters.

Fast forward to when I self-published a book about my experience breaking both my legs while pregnant. Everybody loved the book, but people kept coming to me asking how I self-published the book. This was at the very beginning of self-publishing becoming popular. I started a business called Help Me Self Publish; I was going to formulate the manuscripts and bring an editor to help. I was able to help people self publish, but I learned that helping formulate this was not what I wanted to do. I found out what people wanted, but it was not what I wanted.

With Messenger Funnels, I learned how to build these Chatbot funnels, and it just clicked. I asked people if it would benefit their business, and they said yes.

I was at the very beginning of the trends in my other businesses, and it is the same with Messenger Funnels. Chatbots are starting to really rise, and this year is going to be the year that they explode. I discovered what I wanted and what I wanted to sell; I did not want to be an agency that basically does marketing and sales for other business, so instead I actually build the engagements for my clients in messenger and I try to get them the highest conversions that I can.

Here’s a tip for discovering as quickly as you can what you offer and sell: you can try different things, but very very quickly you have to decide if the specific thing you’re offering is going to be successful. It has to be something you enjoy, something clients need and want, and they need to be able to pay for it.

I am learning constantly, and I really hope you are too.

Just got home from Social Media Marketing World in San Diego, CA where I proved something to myself:

* Intentions Matter: I openly chatted and connected with everyone who wanted to connect and chat, regardless of whether or not they could benefit my business or become a client. Every conversation I approached with that intent was such a boost in energy for me that I was on a high through an exhausting 3 day schedule.

* True Value is Always Appreciated: The most satisfying of those conversations were the ones where I provided tons of value, and helped that person level up huge… and that provided me with a much greater reward than any amount of clients I could sign at the event!

* There were a few conversations that ended awkwardly to me, and in retrospect I realize I had a very different intention. I was seeking something from that person and my purpose in talking to them was for my benefit only.

* I’m glad I went alone, so I didn’t cling to anyone, or depend on anyone.

I am so thankful for the opportunity to grow, and I look forward to continuing my journey of growth through life and business.

How do you grow after you attend a conference or event?

* In this solo episode, I really want to share a couple of insights with you from this last year building relationships with people; with my client’s prospects and my own

* Buckle up, because this is going to be a very real episode about what it takes and where we are going

* There are all kinds of tips and tricks people tell you, but today I am not going to talk about a specific “trick”

* Instead, I’m going to talk about the true face of online business; what is behind all those tips and tricks

* No one just starts up their computer, follows some sequence, and creates some $10,000 launch. It just doesn’t happen

* There has to be some kind of track record or relationship

*

* These are people; human beings

* We have become accustomed to thinking in HUGE numbers of subscribers in order to make any money

* In email terms, that’s usually how it works

* My point is to specifically say that it’s not just numbers. It’s about people

* My standard clients, who are making lots of money now through messenger, only have anywhere from 1,000-3,000 people in their messenger list

* I have about 700 people in my messenger list

* The numbers are smaller, but because of those percentages of engaging people actually enjoy the interaction there is a huge difference

* You don’t need those huge numbers in messenger like you do in email

* I had a client contact me on Friday, Feb. 2nd about doing some messenger stuff for a live webinar he is starting on Tuesday evening (yes, four days away)

* He asked if I could create and monitor one of my messenger funnels with the intent of getting prospects to the webinar for a sale of his $397 course

* Normally, we’re part of a marketing team that prepares launches like this for at least a month in advance

* I agreed to do it, even though there wasn’t much time to gain more subscribers

* I asked how many people he had on his email list, and he said 100,000. That’s a number I like to hear; even if it’s just a 20% open rate that’s still 20,000 people

* I had the basic lead generation tool built and ready to accept subscribers within about two hours

* We build some growth tools (similar to lead boxes on a landing page) and everything was supposed to go live that Saturday

* I sent him a link to send out to his email subscribers, but it wasn’t sent out until Sunday

* Once they’ve subscribed via email, they get prompted to subscribe to messages from Facebook Messenger

* That button to subscribe didn’t actually go live until Monday, the day before the webinar

* By the time we hit the webinar on Tuesday we had 374 total subscribers

* 112 people actually clicked through to join the webinar

* 47 came through the link to messenger, and the rest came from his email

* 19 of them actually clicked through to the sales page

* 6 people purchased the course

* He only had 19 total sales on this webinar, and 6 of them were from messenger

* You may not be impressed with those numbers, but keep in mind that those 374 people would fill a Boeing 747 jumbo jet to 90% capacity

* 112 of those people actually paid attention to his “in flight instructions”

* 19 of those people were convinced to get up and put on a parachute (they were interested in what he had to say beyond just his talk)

*  Through this webinar and messenger, 6 people actually jumped out of the airplane to the vast unknown of the course with only the creator as their guide

* Out of the 100,000 people 1,200 people were registered for the webinar, and only 350 actually showed up

* 100,

Once Upon A Time As Thomas Hybki:

* When Thomas was four or five he had been with multiple foster homes, but when he was around five years old had a realization that if he stayed with his birth mom he would not make it in life

* When his dad came around he had an opportunity to escape: that offered a more sane environment

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* Thomas had two girlfriends in his life, and he married one of them

* He worked primarily in sales and other things, but a year or so ago his commission was changed and he got a lot less money

* After this happened he finally started to delve deeper into the online world and entrepreneurship

* He found the world of chatbots, and that really resonated with him

* Thomas met his wife when he was around 18 or 19, at a church function

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* A year or so later they got the rings and were married

* Thomas always knew he wanted kids; his oldest is eight. They got started with kids when they were 23 or 24

* There are no connections to the corporate world left for Thomas; about 8 or 9 months ago he became a full time online entrepreneur

* Thomas has always thought of himself as a facilitator: someone who makes progress easier

* Even from a young age he was figuring things out and helping others to do the same

* It helped that he had three older brothers; he saw the mistakes they made and made sure he didn’t make them too

* The stability of a corporate job may be very alluring, but that doesn’t serve to bring happiness

* When you work for someone you need to deffer to what they need and want, as opposed to what you want

* When you become good at a particular thing people start to notice

* Thomas has had enough of public education; his kids are home schooled

* Thomas’s kids are loving and helpful; however, things most likely would have worked out differently if they were home schooled

* In sales, you see your impact on the company

* It is not too big of a leap to go from a sales position to an entrepreneur

* There is a safety blanket when you’re in a “normal” job, but when you’re an entrepreneur you really need to worry about providing

* Usually the biggest struggle for new entrepreneurs is letting work thoughts and actions bleed into their home lives

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* Email conversion is maybe .5%… but in messenger it can be from 3% to 29%!!!

On The Fence?

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* Don’t put your kids in an environment that would hurt them, and put yourself in an environment where you’re able to really grow

Once Upon A Time As Lauren Fritsch

* Before becoming a parent, Lauren was in business for 11 years

* She started out in business at 23, and she became an entrepreneur because she could not fathom going to an office every single day

* As a result, she found her own way. That led her in many different directions, but she started out in the fashion industry

* As in parenting, the challenges are different in every stage in a business

* Three years ago Lauren became a parent, and her life changed instantly

* In the time since she has had her child, it has further clarified her desires regarding her business

* In addition, it has caused her to completely change her business model and find many new and innovative ideas

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* The joy money matrix comes from Lauren’s belief that joy needs to be prioritized

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* After prioritizing joy, the revenue will actually increase

* It is easy to get caught up in whatever task is in front of us, but then it becomes easy to not prioritize joy

* When you begin to prioritize joy, you’ll see that a lot of things you do don’t actually produce a lot of revenue and it doesn’t bring you happiness

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* It is very easy to be all or nothing about your joy

* First you need to know what makes you happy

* You must also realize that, for example, you don’t need an art studio to create art

* In addition to her joy matrix system, she has a model for customer acquisition that she has used with her large clients

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* Lauren looks at the joy in a corporate environment, and then she trains one team in the company on her joy imperative system

* This helps add joy to the business, so instead of employees feeling disengaged they’re more engaged and happier to be there

* It shouldn’t be like a war zone to try to find clients

* Lauren fell into attachment parenting early on and ended up in a depression

* She did not have many boundaries, but eventually she got a team and she was able to get back to a place of happiness

* Hot to get everything to work is the questions parents ask all their lives

* if you just listen, you will be ready for the milestones of your children growing up

* Make sure they feel open to talk to you about everything

* If you aren’t open and accepting of people making mistakes then you will not provide a fun and enjoyable work environment

* Our childhood and the way we were raised totally directs out actions

* Having an open and honest relationship with your child is a must

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* Sometimes parents behave in a way at home with their children that would get them fired in the work world

* Lauren will think that if she shouldn’t do something in public or in someone’s office she shouldn’t do it at all

* Prioritize joy. Even if it’s only ten minutes a day, you need to fill your cup of joy

*

Connect With Lauren:

* Her website:

* Twitter:

Once Upon A Time As James Sudakow:

* James had been working in big corporate America for a long time, but after a time his wife helped him to realize his dream of running his own business

* James was a VP in a big multi-billion dollar company, but he wasn’t very happy

* Now, in his consulting business, James focuses on two big things:

* Companies going through big transition periods

* Talent and people

* James does loads of things in his consulting business: he is a mentor, coach, he deals with strategies, and lots of other things

* James started out saying that he didn’t want to coach anyone, but since then people have been coming to him for coaching and he realized that he loves it

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* However, it is not necessary to take advantage of every opportunity

* Work life balance doesn’t really exist: there are always changes that come along

* Choices are what really drive life

* There are points in time where you are required, both as a parent and an entrepreneur, to be in control. However, there is a point where you will need to let go

* The differences in experiences of kids growing up require you to change your strategy for each different child

On The Fence?

* Compartmentalization

* It is very difficult to juggle so much family and business every day

* When you do work, do work. When you’re doing family, don’t let work get into it

Connect With James:

* His website:

* Linkedin:

* Twitter:

* Facebook:

Once Upon A Time As Aaron Hendon:

* Aaron’s dad was an entrepreneur, and his success showed Aaron that being an entrepreneur was always a possibility

* Aaron has a style of life he wanted to achieve, and becoming an entrepreneur was his way to do that

* After some time of working in the corporate world Aaron began to feel the entrepreneurial itch once again

* The illusion is that working for someone else is more stable, but in fact being an entrepreneur is more stable

* People are getting downsized right and left, but as an entrepreneur you make the hours and success for yourself

*

*

* Authority, education, and trust are great ways of generating more reliable business

* As an entrepreneur, no one is there to tell you what to do

* Sometimes this is troublesome when no one is there to steer you on the right path, but you are able to forge that path on your own

* If you look at things from a right or wrong point of view you’re not going to get anywhere. Relax, there may be consequences but there is never a wrong choice

* As a parent, there are some amazing benefits to being an entrepreneur

* Pick yourself up from failure and go do something else

* Through parenthood identifying self-doubt becomes easier

* Find yourself a good mentor: someone who is willing to take you under their wing

* The model has been made, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel

Connect With Aaron:

* Linkedin:

* Facebook:

* His website: