The Amy Porterfield Show

Several years ago a well-known podcaster that I love, Jess Lively, shared an episode with her audience with this type of format (I think she called it Things I’m Afraid To Tell You) and the honest and raw truth from that post really hit a chord with her listeners, and I believe that even back then, it created a bit of an “online honesty” movement. She still does these episodes and they’re priceless.

In my opinion, there are far too many people in the online world that have created these “everything is awesome” online personas and it really casts a false light on what’s actually going on behind-the-scenes.

I, for one, don’t want to be looked at by those that follow me as this person that has it all figured out, doesn’t have bad days, doesn’t struggle in both my personal and business life (that’s so far from the truth, it’s laughable.) So, I titled this, “10 Things I’m Embarrassed To Tell You” - and I know I shouldn’t be embarrassed by this stuff, it’s just life stuff -- the real stuff, but when I look at social media, I feel embarrassed because it’s not my highlight reel. Although, as an entrepreneur, I believe that what’s personal is business, and what’s business is personal, and I see my business as my baby. This means the personal and business are bound to blend together, especially with a personal brand, and I wouldn’t be being honest and transparent if I were to just show the highlight reel.

I bet you’d be surprised at how much we have in common when it comes to the types of things that make us feel embarrassed, ashamed, or stupid, but we wouldn’t know it unless we talk about it, right?

Here we go:

1. Sometimes I wonder if Hobie and I made the right decision to not have kids together.

2. I work well under pressure so sometimes I let myself wait to the very last minute to finish something, because I know I’ll get it done, however, this causes tremendous stress for my team AND I am not so nice to Hobie in those moments and I hate myself for it.

3. I worry about aging because of my online presence.

4. I sometimes don't like to tell you that I use a copywriter.

5. I don't always love being the one in the relationship that makes the most money.

6. I’m a fierce competitor and want to be at the top of the charts with my podcast and the #1 affiliate in launches that I do.

7. Ok, this next one is super personal …. Growing up I was always afraid of my dad.

8. I am embarrassed about my weight and I don’t like to do video because of it.

9. When I have a big success (like a million dollar launch) I have this weird tinge of guilt thinking I don't totally deserve it - or I struggle with thoughts that it will all go away.

10. I struggle with letting go, even though I have an awesome team.

So there you have it...a bit of me baring my soul. The point of this week’s episode was, as I said, for me to be honest about parts of my personal and business life that you might not know about me yet - I really want you to know me. So when you see me out and about in real life, or better yet, come to one of my events in San Diego, you don’t just know the shiny, social media approved side of me. I want you to know all of me - and know that I am just like you in so many ways. That’s when true connections happen… I also really hope that maybe something I said will help you to not feel so alone in what you’re going through, or maybe even encourage you to be more honest and real with your own online community.

And can I just say, Thank you! Thank you for allowing me to feel safe enough to share these types of things here today. I truly love my community -- you all are such a source of encouragement to me!

Have a great day!

Today I’m bringing back one of my favorites, Facebook ads guru, Rick Mulready.

The difference is today I’ve got him nervous—because he’s here to share with you what he’s NEVER shared before…he’s taking you behind the scenes and letting you in on his process of how he got to a million dollars in just one year (!). He’s also talking about how he reached that number with a decent (but not monster-sized) list of 17,000 (which once upon a time was 30,000).

You know I love to talk tips, tricks, and strategies, but I also think it’s important to look at how you are thinking, how you are feeling, what motivates you to make certain decisions and how they actually work for you… which is what Rick is sharing today.

Tips and tricks will only get you so far unless you learn to get your head on straight around everything you’re working on in your business. And Rick is ready to get raw and honest and show you the shifts he made during 2017 and the results these changes had on his life and business. Let’s get all of the scoop.

Check out these highlights:

Random moment of the episode: my new sauna (I didn’t bring this up myself, but it’s a fun tidbit to hear). [4:40] The offers Rick made in 2017 to get to a million bucks. [8:20] The issue of quantity vs. quality for your business model. [10:46] How Rick changed the way he was thinking about his own email list size. [13:38] Shifting your mindset from a lack to abundance as it relates to your team. [27:55] Let’s get honest: Are you not growing your team because you’re scared to spend money? [32:29] At some point, you might not make it without a team… [37:55] Rick’s awesome email list re-engagement campaign. [42:07]

Today I’m taking a trip down memory lane to my early days—

the first few years when nothing seemed to go as planned and everything that came my way felt like a BIG deal…I’m getting personal and raw and sharing with you what my business looked like when I first started out, the decisions I made to get where I am, and the most significant challenges along the way. (You asked, and I answered!) More specifically, I’m sharing those things I said “yes” to in the early days—the yeses that got me where I am today, in a multimillion-dollar business with an incredible and engaged audience.

Wherever you are in your own business, you need to know:

The business you have today will look dramatically different a few years from now… but it is the choices you make today—the things you say yes or no to—that will lead you towards where you’ll be tomorrow. And then tomorrow you’ll be able to make different choices, but because you and your business will be in a different place. So here’s a little help to get you to (hopefully) make better decisions...

This episode is brought to you by: My free Masterclass—“How to Confidently Create Your First Profitable Course in 60 Days.” If you’re thinking about creating your online course or have been for a while and don’t know how to get started, this free masterclass is for you!

Check out these highlights:

Shonda Rhimes, the creative powerhouse behind Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder, wrote a book a few years ago called Year of Yes that really resonated with me. I’m sharing five takeaway lessons that have impacted my personal and business life in a pretty major way.

First, let me set the scene for you as to why Shonda even wrote this book. Shonda and her sister were in the kitchen getting ready for Thanksgiving dinner way back in 2013, and Shonda was telling her sister about some parties, talk shows, and conferences that she'd been recently invited to, you know, the Hollywood type stuff. She was talking about how she was too busy to do any of it, and without blinking an eye, her sister said something to her that day that became the wake-up call that Shonda needed to transform her “busy life”, and those words were:

Her sister knew that Shonda was hiding behind being too busy to avoid doing things that scared her and would take her out of her comfort zone. Her sister also knew that Shonda had ZERO balance in her life and she was actually miserable. Now, would the outside world have known that she was miserable? No. However, Shonda knew that her sister was telling the truth. She’d been called out and it was the truth.

This brought on an epiphany that something major had to change in her life. She wrote in her book: "This could not possibly be what having it all was supposed to feel like, could it? Because if it was, if this is what I spent all this time and energy working so hard for, if this is what the promised land looked like, what was success ... was what success felt like, was what I sacrificed for ... " And then she trailed off, telling the reader she didn't even wanna go there.

This was her aha moment! And the reason I bring it up here is because I think many of us are working our tails off, hustling to the core, and if we're not careful, we're gonna work ourselves into the ground, and then one day we're gonna pop up and say, "Wait. Was this what I was working so hard for, to feel burned out and overworked and tired?” We’ve got to be really mindful of this. I know we're creating businesses we absolutely love, but just don’t work yourself into the ground, okay?

So, there you have it! I hope these five lessons I learned from my mentor, Shonda Rhimes, have given you a new perspective on how to live a more fulfilling life and to run your business from a place of empowerment and truth.

Don’t forget to download the freebie I created for you. It’s a worksheet that is going to walk you step-by-step through some exercises that go along with the lessons I talked about today. It's a bit of a journaling type of exercise, but believe me, it will make everything you learned more actionable.

This episode is brought to you by: Master Class: How to Confidently Create Your First Profitable Course in 60 Days www.Amyporterfield.com/courses

Have you ever thought about creating a physical product to sell online, maybe even adding one to your digital line up?

And if you have, have you found yourself overwhelmed with not really knowing where to start in order to bring that product from merely an idea to something your customers can physically hold in your hands?

As most of you know, my business consists of all digital products and I would say 90% of my audience is the same, but I still get questions, pretty frequently, asking me about creating physical products to include in their existing online business. Maybe you’re at a point where you’d like to add a physical product. Questions like: How do I know if I’m ready to add a physical product to my digital mix? Where would I even go to get started? What kind of physical product could I add to the mix?

Since I get a lot of questions around this topic, but I’m not the expert, I thought, “Let’s bring on someone who is.” My guest today, Lara Casey - founder of CultivateWhatMatters.com, has authored two books, Cultivate, and Make it Happen, and has had huge success in launching and selling physical products online. If you’ve ever heard of the famous PowerSheets, she’s the creator!

Lara is going to talk to us about how she knew it was time to launch a physical product; how she figured out and managed all the details around designing, producing, and fulfilling a physical product. And to keep it real, she shares the ups and downs as she created her product along the way.

When I asked Lara to tell my podcast listeners a little bit about herself, this is what she said: “We’re all about planting seeds and helping women to Cultivate What Matters and giving them the tools they need to plant seeds of growing intentional relationships or cultivating their faith...whatever it may be, specific to them.”

Planting seeds...cultivating...intentional… I love this!

Lara continued, “I’m a mom to three, a grateful wife, and I’m really passionate about helping an instant-results culture embrace the power of little by little progress, instead of perfection.”

Head over to www.CultivateWhatMatters.com/Amy to see Lara’s amazing products (and check out that job listing, if they haven’t filled it by the time you’re reading this). When you use that special link, Lara is giving you a special discount because you’re part of my awesome community. Yay for us! And, thank you, Lara!

Also, don't forget to let me know, in the comments below, if you like this longer, more detailed version of show notes. I appreciate your input!

This episode is sponsored by my free masterclass, How to Create Your Ultimate List-Building Catch-Up Plan. You can get it at http://www.amyporterfield.com/listbuilding. If you are not building your email list every single day there is no better time than right now!

It’s time to talk team!

In the last 6 months, it’s been a staffing bonanza: I’ve hired four of the five full-time positions on my team. And boy, has it been a whirlwind, filled with mistakes, wins, fears and A LOT of excitement.

But through the process, I’ve identified 7 big distinctions to help you build your own team. Now, I’m not saying go out and hire right now! At this point, all you might need is an amazing VA, or a part-time contractor to help you out. I’m tackling this subject as well, so stay tuned.

Building your team—the right kind of team—is essential to the growth of your business, to eliminate some of the stress and overwhelm, to make a bigger impact, and yeah, to make more money! So if you’re a business owner growing your business, this will be a must-listen for you. (44:34)

With the right team on your side, the sky’s the limit!

So, join me as I share with you how I built my “Small, But Mighty” team, and how I figured out what I needed and what I didn’t need. I’ve also got an awesome freebie for those of you starting to build your team virtually—you can get my “7 Make or Break Questions When You’re Interviewing for a Virtual Position” here. Let’s get started!

This episode is brought to you by:

Gravy—my very own 24/7 engagement team who contacts my customers within hours of their failed payment, captures updated billing information and saves the customers I worked so hard to acquire. If you have a subscription model business or offer payment plans, you’ve got to check out Gravy!

Check out these highlights:

My husband Hobie and I had a great time recording this episode!

It was extra special because a couple weeks before recording the episode, I asked my audience to send in questions for me to answer: business, personal, silly, or whatever. The hook was that I couldn't look at any of the questions in advance. Hobie was the only one that got to look at them. He went through all the questions. He said there were a bunch of great questions and that they were pretty hard to narrow down. Perhaps we’ll have a Part 2 at some point!

Thank you to all of my awesome fans for sending in such great questions. You truly are the best!

Well, as you can imagine, I was a bit nervous because I had no clue what was coming at me. I told this to Hobie and he assured me that I was, and I quote, “definitely going to be uncomfortable on a few of them.” Great! Just great!

Alright, I’m going to list out the questions here and give you a bit of a teaser on each one, but I invite you to tune in to my podcast to hear our full conversation (just press the play button at the top of this page). : )

QUESTIONS: YOU ASKED AND I’M TELLING HOW DO YOU FIND A FAMILY AND BUSINESS BALANCE WITHOUT LOSING YOUR SANITY AND FEELING GUILTY? —NATHALIA MELO WILSON

• My answer has to do with having an understanding husband who speaks up when he needs to.

WILL YOU GIVE IN AND MOVE OR RETIRE TO TENNESSEE? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW. —SHANTELL BRIGHTMAN

• Hobie and I dream of a lake house in Tennessee one day!

WHAT WAS THE BEST VACATION YOU EVER HAD? ~ TRACY GREEN CAINES

• Let me just tell you, the mini-pool on the balcony overlooked the ocean! Ahhhh….

CAN YOU SHARE WITH US A CHALLENGING PERIOD IN YOUR LIFE AND HOW YOU GOT OUT OF IT? ~ MYKAO THAO

• A time when I wanted to wrap Hobie up in bubble wrap every morning. I know the suspense is killing you, isn’t it?!

IF A WORK-LIFE BALANCE IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, HOW CAN YOU TELL YOU’RE GETTING IT RIGHT? ~ MICHELLE ONYANGO

• I actually get into this topic in an episode that airs shortly after this one (it will be episode 210...be on the lookout). My answer in this episode has a lot to do with the happiness of my family.

HOW DID YOU PICK YOUR DOG’S NAMES: GUS AND SCOUT? ~ SPURGEON PERKINS

• You'll have to tune in to the show to hear how we came up with their names.

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL DAY LOOK LIKE FOR AMY PORTERFIELD? ~ RACHAEL WATSON

• Doing videos, writing, meetings, family time, exercise. If you’re interested I did an entire “Week in the Life” type episode that you can listen to here.

WHAT’S THE BIGGEST MISTAKE YOU’VE MADE IN YOUR BUSINESS, OR THE SINGLE BEST THING YOU’VE DONE? ~ AMY WARE

• Without a doubt, taking the leap to do what I do now!

HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO NOT RESPOND TO NEGATIVE COMMENTS? ~ NIKOLINA ANDRIC

• I’m pretty good here, but Hobie’s another story. ; )

DOES AMY SHARE THE COVERS, HOBIE? OR IS SHE A COVERS HOG? INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW. ~ NICOLE WALTERS

• Hobie shares why he nicknamed me “The Alligator” when it comes to hogging the covers.

IF YOU WERE JUST GETTING STARTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA, WHAT ARE THE THREE TOP PLATFORMS YOU WOULD FOCUS ON BUILDING AN AUDIENCE? ~ TAMMI HARRIS

• YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.

Well, I have to admit, I may have been a little nervous at first, but that was super fun. If there are any Pittsburgh Steeler fans out there, you may want to tune in to the last part of the episode for a good Steelers story.

**********

And that's a wrap! Maybe Hobie does have a future in podcasting after all! 😍

Amy

P.S. If you'd like to hear more from Hobie, listen in to this episode where we talked about how to make love and business work. 

If you have an online business or an email list that you communicate with, you’ve probably heard the rumblings around the internet about the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation (let’s just call it GDPR, shall we?). This new regulation goes into effect May 25, 2018 and in an effort to understand what it is, what it means to online marketers, and what we need to take action on, I’ve invited Bobby Klinck, an intellectual property attorney, to help us navigate all things GDPR. Bobby is not only an attorney, but he is an entrepreneur himself, so he really has his finger on the pulse of what online entrepreneurs need to do to protect themselves.

Let’s dive in and figure this all out!6 principles of the GDPR

#1: Data shall be processed “lawfully, fairly, and in a transparent manner.”

#2: Data shall be “collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes.”

#3: Data processing shall be “limited to what is necessary” for the purpose.

#4: Data shall be accurate, kept up to date, and corrected.

#5: Data shall be kept so it identifies a person “no longer than is necessary.”

#6: Data shall be “processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security.”

Let’s break down all 4 options:

What’s Next?

Check out Bobby’s Free GDPR Training: I’m breaking my rules a bit here because you all know I’ve had a policy for the last year or so of not sending podcast traffic to someone else’s sign up page - I’ve talked about that strategy on my show before. HOWEVER, this information is important and I want you to protect yourself. So I’m making an exception. I want to encourage you to check out Bobby’s FREE mini-training all about the GDPR. The goal of his mini training is not only to make sure that you, as an online entrepreneur, understand the legal requirements but also to give you the tools and practical advice you need to thrive in a GDPR world.

THANK YOU, Bobby, for your time and generosity in helping us understand GDPR. I truly feel I now have what it takes to move forward and implement to get compliant before the deadline! -- Amy