Seriously in Business: Brand + Design, Marketing and Business

So many of us running our own businesses love it. But we love it so much that it's often all we do. And when we're not working - we're doing all the errands, house jobs and planning.

But I want to share with you something that I've done since I first started my business. Something I don't always WANT to do, but know I need to do if I want a sustainable, lasting and enjoyable business.

This is quite a personal episode... I don't often share about my faith but I really believe this principle can be so helpful to all biz owners (and humans), not just Christians.

It's the idea of "Sabbath" - one day a week where we STOP. From everything. And we just BE.

I think we so often believe the lie that our worth lies in what we DO. How much we work, what we earn, what we own, what we can achieve... but what's left of us when we stop and just exist? When we stop trying to earn our place on this planet and just enjoy our present moment without striving or comparing or wanting something different to what we already have and who we already are.

Once a week I take a day where I completely stop. Every single week. No matter what's happening - in the middle of a launch, or when life is ridiculously busy. Any time.

And I choose NOT to do chores, to not do errands, to not consume social media, to not do work. And instead, I write myself an a la carte menu of things that I love and I do those! I read, journal, walk, eat delicious food, relax with family... anything that energises me!

This day is one I look forward to every single week. It's often the highlight of my week.

BUT it has to be a choice. It's HARD to stop. It's the opposite of what I naturally do.

It's hard to get all the chores done before my day off. It's hard to trust that I'll be okay even if I don't hustle. But gee it's worth it.

If what I want to do in my life can't be achieved in 6 days, then I'm doing too much.

So, I'd love to challenge you - what might a "sabbath" look like for you? Are you willing to risk stopping? To let your worth be found outside of what you DO?

Try is one day. Then try it again. And then again. And let it become a rhythm of your life.

I also want to acknowledge that in our current, unjust and unfair world that this might not be possible for everyone. There is an element of privilege that comes with being able to rest. I firmly believe this SHOULD be for everyone, and could be... if we as humanity chose to really care for one another. But, if you, my friend are not in a place where stopping is possible - I pray you can find rest and rejuvenation in the little moments. You deserve it too.

Being the “expert” in our field is a RIDICULOUSLY daunting phrase. Yet, in business, we’re told so often to claim this word for ourselves.

In this podcast episode, I chat with Rachel Kurzyp on what being an “expert” really looks like NOW. And it’s NOT studying for 10 years, practicing for 20 years, and wearing a tweed blazer that does it.

Being the expert can be a simple as combining your unique passions together. As being one step ahead in the journey than your client.

Let’s learn to claim our unique expertise and share with the world how we can help them.

Rachel and I also cover 3 simple ways to claim your expertise:

• Knowing your leadership style
• Talk about your results and how you support your clients (in a different way than everyone else is doing!)
• Share content that connects with your audience (even things that aren’t “business-related”!)

Connect with Rachel:
Instagram: @rachel_kurzyp
Website: rachelkurzyp.com.au
Podcast: rachelkurzyp.com.au/the-rachel-kurzyp-show/

What does it take to carry a brand from just starting out to 7 figures? Well, SO many things... But one of them? A killer brand and graphics.

Erika at The Queen of Confidence has been a client of mine for almost 3 years, and while I no longer take on 1:1 done-for-you clients Erika and I wanted to share with you how design has impacted her business.

The Co+Creation Club has its doors open RIGHT NOW until the 15th of November 2021 (unless sold out prior - only THREE spots are currently left).

The C+C Club is an intimate, 6 week group coaching experience crafted to catapult your business to the next level in professionalism, authenticity and growth through supported self design.

Join now: www.diydesignmybiz.com/club

Connect with Erika:

Instagram: @thequeenofconfidence

Website: thequeenofconfidence.com

Let's find out your unique flavour! If you don’t know your vibe you’ll feel constantly unsure about your brand. Second-guessing yourself all the time.

And the worst bit? Your audience can smell it.

If you aren’t sure about your brand, you can bet your audience is even more unsure. This leads to confusion about what you offer...your audience are unsure if your business is for THEM and if they get confused you can bet they'll be navigating away from your business because it just doesn't make sense and they don't have the time to try work it out.

And if you’re like me - that is the LAST thing we want. We don’t want customers edging away from us and never buying from us. We want the opposite! We want to be drawing in the RIGHT people who feel aligned with us, sure of what we offer and excited to purchase.

So in this episode I share with you a sneak peek into DAY 1 of the #SeriouslyInBusiness challenge as we look into how YOU can uncover YOUR unique brand.

Join in on the challenge free here: www.diydesignmybiz.com/seriouslychallenge

Join the Seriously in Business 4-day FREE challenge HERE.

I was chatting with a business owner recently, asking her why she believed design was so important to a successful business...and she replied with a phrase that I LOVED. She said,

"Because it looks like you're seriously in business.”

So. Spot. On!

It painted the picture so perfectly.
There's SUCH a difference between those businesses that look like a little side-hustle and the ones that you CANNOT wait to work with.

🍉Between those businesses that look like they aren't in it for the long run and the ones that look like they've been around forever (in a good way).

🍉 The ones you are nervous about working with and the ones you seem to just trust immediately.

🍉 The ones that look like they don't know what they're doing and the ones that look like they're seriously in business.

And it often all comes back to how the brand looks.

As consumers, we are making split-second decisions about whether a business is right for us... if we trust them to deliver what they promise. 🤞🏻

Does your brand look like you're seriously in business?

In this episode I chat through 4 ways that you can really look serious in business:

Know your vibe

Learn to stop the scroll

Get serious about thinking like a designer

Set up for success with templates and processes

Join the Seriously in Business 4-day FREE challenge HERE to really take action to up-level brand so 2022 can be your best year yet.

You open up Canva or Pinterest and all you see are SO MANY PRETTY THINGS and you're overwhelmed by choice.

Too many options.

It's all so distracting and confusing. PLUS all you want to do is use that new pretty font you found or that super cute colour.

NO. STOP.

Getting distracted has no wins for your business. The key instead is to KNOW your brand. Take time to nut it out in a way that you are solid on what your biz is about, who you serve, the core message of your brand and how that is represented visually.

Once you KNOW what your brand looks like (and you're proud of it) - you know there's no need to get distracted by everything else. You have YOUR look, and you stick to it - anything else is you getting stuck outside your zone of genius and procrastinating the real work.

PLUS, I want to remind you that no one else is getting sick of your branding. No one else sees it every day. Rest in the fact that if you're getting sick of your brand then that might be a good thing because at that point you know that you're using it so consistently that everyone else is beginning to form a loyalty and connection with your brand and recognizing it when they see it in the wild #WIN.

PS. Using the same visual brand doesn't have to be boring. You can still have fun. Promise.

Get confident in creating graphics that connect with your audience: Download the "7 Mistakes that Make Your Business The Last Choice" free guide now.

Selling can feel so yuck - but to have a successful business chances are we're gonna need to sell (I KNOW! Shock horror!).

So what's a small biz owner to do?

Thankfully, there are actually methods we can use to sell in a way that doesn't come across pushy or rude but has service and care at its heart.

You see if you believe in the product or service that you sell, then you believe it will be able to help people...so?

Well once you switch your mindset to knowing that you're HELPING people, you can remember that when you're "selling" you are actually giving people all the information they need to be able to decide if you're offering can HELP them.

And you know what? If you choose to keep quiet and "not sell" then the people you want to help with your offering will never be able to find you.

(Don't worry, I'm preaching to myself here too).

In this episode of Design Hacks for DIYers I'm chatting to guest expert Merit Kahn. Merit is an expert on helping businesses to stop selling, and instead, helping their clients to "sell"ect them (see what she did there!!).

There is a TON of little nuggets of wisdom in this episode. All things ranging from emotional intelligence, creating appropriate offers and SO much more.

ABOUT MERIT:

Merit Kahn, CSP, is the CEO of SELLect Sales Development, author of Myth Shift: Challenging The Truths That Sabotage Success, co-host of The Smarter Sales Show podcast... and... writer, producer and star of the one-woman inspirational comedy show, "Book of Merit."

With more than 20 years of sales, sales management, coaching, training, consulting, writing and speaking experience, Merit has worked with thousands of clients across multiple industries with one goal in mind... grow sales and influence. She is certified in Emotional Intelligence and earned the highest designation in The National Speakers Association, one held by less than 12% of professional speakers worldwide, The Certified Speaking Professional, CSP.

Merit's work experience and certifications in both Emotional Intelligence and cultural transformation give her a unique perspective for hiring, onboarding, selling and retaining top talent.


CONNECT WITH MERIT:

For FREE resources: http://meritkahn.com/podcast
Need a speaker for your upcoming event: http://meritkahn.com/
Ready to stop selling and start getting SELLected by your top prospects? https://www.sellectsales.com/
Connect with Merit on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meritkahn/
Email Merit: [email protected]

It's no secret design can do HUGE things for your businesses success. But HOW?

Well if you're making some of your own graphics I want to let you know of 3 different ways that design can help you save time, attract clients (or customers) and feel proud of your business.

1. Create a style guide. This is a document that outlines the fonts, colours and graphic style of your visual brand. No longer will you have a mismatch of branding and feel overwhelmed every time you start a new graphic - instead the key design elements are already decided! All you have to do is refer to your style guide.

2. Know who your audience is. It goes without saying almost, but even I forget this sometimes. Learn who you LOVE working with and who you BEST serve and create graphics that appeal to them.

3. Use margin and space in your designs. Creating space is one of the EASIEST ways to up the professionalism of your graphics. Leave room around your graphics where the key design elements stay away from the edges. Make sure to also leave room for the eye to "rest" as you create your graphic. Don't feel like you need to squish everything on and into every gap you see!

Want to see this visually explained and get a recap of these points? Head here to download a freebie outlining it all now.

When you first start thinking about running Facebook ads for your business it can feel overwhelming...

Because you know what? It is! There's a lot of things to know!

So, in this episode I bring you a special guest expert, Natalie Alamio.

Natalie is a pro in all things Facebook ads and she comes sharing so much good stuff!

We chat about:

• What you can use ads for in your business

• Why "organic" posts are still important in your business strategy

• How knowing your businesses numbers and conversion rates will help you save money on ads

• How thinking about how YOU buy will make you a better advertiser

• What to do if you only have a small budget (hint: Facebook ads can be expensiiiivveee)

• What you need to know around all the Apple updates and how they affect your ads.

ABOUT NATALIE:
Natalie Alamio is a FB Ads Manager and Funnel Strategist for course creators. Natalie uses ads to help businesses scale and get their message into the lives of more clients and students. She knows that sharing their message is what allows business owners to create impact, achieve freedom and unleash their magic.

Natalie has spent 12+ years honing her strategic and technical skills in the Facebook World of digital marketing. Natalie mixes this strategic superpower and real-world experience with intuition and meaningful data to create ad + funnel strategies that fit her clients personality and business (because THAT’s when the best results happen). 

Natalie loves coffee, building Disney Lego and tap dancing, along with cuddling up to her husband Dean, and driving her son to skateboard lessons in sunny Gold Coast, Australia.

CONNECT WITH NATALIE:
WEB: nataliealaimo.com
INSTA: instagram.com/nalaimo
FACEBOOK: facebook.com/nataliealaimo

Sometimes we look around at the businesses around us and feel like they're moving ahead in leaps and bounds faster than us.

And I've gotta admit, sometimes it's true and sometimes it isn't.

But for those times that it is true, it's often because a fellow small business owner has decided to take a leap. They've made decisions in their business that might seem scary but that elevate their professionalism and confidence to new levels.

In this episode of Design Hacks for DIYers I want to chat about one of the key areas I see business owners failing to leap forward and the effect that takes on their business.

We can't always play it safe.

Where are you putting off taking the leap in your business?

Is it your design? Are you just muddling along with graphics that look just OK and that are yelling to your dream client, "I'm not a proper established business, you can work with me but at your own risk."?

You and your business need to put your best foot forward. How are you being perceived? How does your business come across? Does your website look schmick but your socials appear second rate?

Aim higher my friend, getting left behind isn't an option.

Download your free guide HERE for the 7 mistakes that you're making in your graphics that are making your business the last choice.