The Boundless Mindset Podcast

Making your brand irresistible and getting your audience to fall in love with your business must be part of your daily strategy.  It's not enough for your audience to have only heard of your brand once, you have to be in front of them consistently engaging, with them, offering value and sharing content.

The following strategies will help you become irresistible to your target market:

 Differentiate 

• Without differentiating your brand from that of competitors, your business won’t stand out and you will find it hard to connect with your target audience.
• Think BIG - BOLD & BOUNDLESS  
• Take a stand, and never try to be all things to all people.

 Create your distinct brand personality

• Be original and let your brand have its own personality . 
• Create a visual identity that is unique and engaging and translates your brand story well
• Colours, fonts, formats, icons, drawings, and logos are all part of the visual identity or brand assets of your company. 
• The way you look can make your audience feel connected to your brand immediately or get you passed over for your competitor. 

Build relationship with your audience

• To have a happy and lasting relationship with your audience, you need to engage and build a relationship with your audience
• Use social media  to monitor how  your audience is responding to your products and services.  
• Use the feedback you get to improve your business offering,
•  By communicating your brand story with engaging and relevant content, your audience will feel more connected with your brand. 

You need to demonstrate consistently that you genuinely care about your audience's needs and offer solutions to their problems.  Becoming a leader in your space and gaining the trust and loyalty of your target market.

For more on creating your successful brand, Download the  4 Step Guide to Starting a Lucrative Online Business You'll Love!

Finding the right business name is crucial for your business.  It can set the tone for your brand and help you resonate with your target market. 

Here are 6 things to keep in mind when choosing the best name for your business.  

1. Keep it simple. Simple is good. You don’t want potential customers getting confused about how to spell your name when searching online. You want to avoid having to continually correcting the misspelled version of your name. Keep it simple.

2. Check how it sounds when you say it aloud.  Sometimes names look good on paper, but don’t sound so good when said aloud.  Before deciding, consider choosing a name that sounds good and easily rolls off the tongue. 

3. Think long term, don’t pick a name that could be limiting as your business grows.You don’t want to limit your business to a particular product or a specific location. This can prevent a lot of problems down the road.

4. Your business name should convey a deeper meaning.
You will be using your business name for a long time, therefore it should be a name that has a special meaning for you and your target market would be able to relate to it. 

There are a number of sites that can help you brainstorm names, including:

• VisualThesaurus.com (gives you a visual around a keyword)
• Shopify Business Name Generator (generates business name ideas and checks domain availability simultaneously)
• Naminum.com (allows you to generate names based on a theme)

5. Get feedback on the name. Come up with 5 to 10 names and then run them by friends, family members, and your potential customers. Get feedback from your target audience as well. This will help you get another prospective and identify somethings that you might have missed.  

6. Conduct a thorough Internet search. Once you have chosen your best name, it's time to do a web search to see if the the domain name is available. Ideally you want to find available domain name so that you don’t have to purchase it from the owner. Get the .com domain name, instead of .org, .biz, .net …etc.  Customers tend to associate a .com name with a more established business. 

I'd love to hear from you! What are your thoughts on choosing your business name? 

 
Download your 4 Step Guide to Launching Your Lucrative Online Business

In this episode,  had the pleasure of chatting with Maxine Grant! 

Maxine has 15 years of experience in the marketing technology space, working in corporate Canada and always keeping her side hustle as a Graphic Designer, Project Manager, Special Events Manager, and marketer. She's helped many owners of start-ups establish their businesses.

In 2020, Maxine found herself downsized at the height of the pandemic.  With her diverse skill set and genuine passion for encouraging others,  Maxine felt that it was finally time to bet on herself and faithfully represent the change she wanted to see.

Searching for her "WHY", Maxine realized her purpose was considerably bigger than herself. She restructured her freelance gig to a full service marketing agency. She began disrupting change in the business world using proven Martech principles, and out of the box customer journey experiences - Creative Bang Lab was born!

Hear more about Maxine's entrepreneurial journey, where she gets her inspiration and resilience from, and how she's managed to become highly sought after in her industry.

Connect with Maxine here:

Website
creativebanglab.com
Blog
https://medium.com/digital-speaks

Social Media

LinkedIn:   https://www.linkedin.com/company/creativebangagency/
IG: @lady.purpose
FB: https://www.facebook.com/maxineg3/  
@creativebanglabagency

Growing up in Guyana with her single mother and seven siblings,  Abina appreciated the support her family received from the community.  As a family they were spared hunger and deprivation by the generosity and kindness of people in the community who helped them during those tough years. 

The experience had a lasting impact on Abina, and became the core driver of her intrinsic desire to provide similar acts of generosity and kindness to single parent families in similar circumstances.

She founded the SHARE-ON project in January 2020, a charitable initiative that aims to relieve hunger in single mother households in her childhood hometown of Linden in Guyana, South America.

Connect with Abina here:

WEBSITE:

https://www.shareonproject.org/

LINKEDIN:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/share-onproject-abina-gilbert

In the words of the iconic Steve Jobs: "The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do."

There has been alarming data showing that entrepreneurs are experiencing mental health problems that’s often not addressed

There's a study done by the Canadian Mental Health Association: Going it Alone – The mental health and well-being of Canada’s entrepreneurs.

• Generally, entrepreneurs were likely to experience mental health issues frequently. 
• Nearly half (46%) of the entrepreneurs experienced low mood or felt mentally tired at least once a week, while three of five (62%) felt depressed at least once a week. 
• Nearly one in two (46%) felt that mental health issues interfered with their ability to work. 
• Nearly seven in ten (67%) were stressed about their business’s cash flow. 
• More than one-third (39%) were stressed about adequately fulfilling their responsibilities at work and at home. 
• They also experienced stress about finding the right talent for their company (36%) and due to high self-expectations (34%). 
• The degree of stress reported by entrepreneurs coincided with mental health concerns. 
• More than half reported experiencing feelings of inadequacy (51%) and more than half reported depressed mood (50%). 

The impact of entrepreneurial stress not only affects the work of an individual entrepreneur, but also extends to their personal and professional relationships: 

• About three in five (66%) entrepreneurs face difficulty in maintaining worklife balance due to entrepreneurial stress. 
• More than half (54%) of the entrepreneurs reported that stress impacted their level of concentration at work.

Some groups of entrepreneurs were more likely to experience mental health issues than others. 
• Female entrepreneurs reported feelings of uncertainty and inadequacy, depressed mood, and feeling overwhelmed with far greater frequency than did male entrepreneurs.
 
• Entrepreneurs whose businesses are in the earlier or “growth” stage were more likely to report experiences of stress and were more likely to report mental health concerns than their counterparts whose businesses were “mature.”

But how come the numbers are so high for entrepreneurs suffering from mental health problems?

• Entrepreneurs are highly focused on their business development in the early stages to the extends that nothing else matters as much
• Their self-worth is linked to the success.  They can’t allow the business to fail.  
• The world expects them to portray that successful image at all cost no matter how they are feeling

So what’s the solution? How can Entrepreneurs become better at managing their mental health?

• Focus on the work, not the numbers.  This means that entrepreneurs need to understand that sometimes the numbers will look good and sometimes they will not.  So you should not be drastically effected by this all the time.  
• Having the attitude of “This too shall pass attitude." Helps.
• Invest in creative outlets.  Creative activities give the mind a feeling of productivity and fulfillment. 
• Journal Regularly.  Journaling is a way to keep tabs on your emotions. You can also identify patterns that signify deeper mental health problems and work to address them. 
• Don't dismiss therapy. Many people find that they can manage high levels of anxiety by applying all their own helpful tools and strategies, but in some cases, these strategies don't work.  And entrepreneurs need to seek the support of a mental health professional. 

So you're feeling discouraged that someone else already started their business with your idea!  You think that maybe you're too late and there's nothing you can do about it, so you should just forget it!

Before you give-up, hear me out ...

Competition is actually a good sign.  The fact that another profitable business exists means that there's demand for this product/service.  Being the first in the market does not really guarantee success.  Infect it's more riskier and requires a much more investment in changing the consumer perception

Having similar ideas in the market will give you the opportunity to improve existing gaps and inefficiencies.

Here are three strategies that you can use to differentiate yourself from your competition.

1. Create Your Niche

Differentiating yourself by creating your own niche is one of the most effective ways to stand out in a competitive market. 

You can effectively customize an existing product or service to offer tailored benefits your specific niche.  The more personalized your offerings are the more success you can achieve.

2. Create Custom Business Model

Can you figure out a way to create a  revenue model that will help you gain access to the market effectively?

For example, can you offer a tool or resource for free while selling complementary products/services at a premium price.

You can offer a resource like blog or podcast to attract your ideal clients. That way, you can build trust and credibility with your target market, and you can introduce your premium products/services.  

Or, You can consider changing your pricing to only charge for what a customer use.  Another option is to offer  bundles and packages to give more added value for your ideal customers.  

3. Create Unique Customer Experience

80% of our business depends on repeat customers and referrals.   Having a great customer experience, allows you to differentiate yourself at a personal level in making your customers feel like they matter. 

Although automation may be an effective solution for different areas of business,  but when it comes to customer service, it may not always work well.  No matter how smart  artificial intelligent software can be, there will always be a need for the human touch. This could be a great advantage for your business creating that high value human touch for your ideal clients.

So if your startup idea already exists, do not give-up too quickly.  Make sure you assess the market, your competition and the unique value you can bring to this space.  You can save a lot of time and resources by studying your competition and offering superior product/service for your target market in a way that's relevant and effective. 

Love to hear from you! Did you learn anything new from this episode?

For More Resources Download Your 4 Step Guide To Starting Your Lucrative Business

We go through reinvention multiple times in a lifetime. You can see reinventions happen as we move from childhood and to teenage years showcasing our character and identity.   

Turning 30 can often trigger a lot of people to start adulting and taking life more seriously. That’s reinvention. 

 A different kind of reinvention might happen in our 40s or 50s.  We might call mid-life crisis and can lead to major reinventing! 

I feel like every five years or so I go through a reinvention, I consider it levelling up.
 
So if you are realizing that it’s time for you to reinvent yourself and choose a path that’s better suited for you at this stage of your life, Here are 10 ways to help you:

1. See the new YOU. Create a vision of your future self.  What are you doing? How do you look? How are you feeling? Who’s with you? Don’t see this like to have to change who you are…it’s more like evolving to the better you.

2. Become the New YOU. Change your inner dialogue. Talk to yourself in the most positive manner. Never put yourself down. Always encourage. Write a brief description of the vision of yourself, the success you have and how you are living your life.  It’s like a vision and mission statement for your personal life. Visualize every morning when you first wake up and every night before you go to sleep.  Regular and repeated visualization will facilitate a quicker change. You will start to being and feeling the person you are becoming

3. Be patient. Know that change takes time.  But with consistency and effort it will be sure to happen.  Have faith that whatever you are envisioning for yourself belongs to you and will happen for you.  Be grateful and stay the course.  .

4. Upgrade your environment. Spruce up your closets, your home bathroom, your personal wardrobe. Everything that you see and other people see on a daily basis needs an upgrade.

5. Use your strength. We often so focus on improving our weaknesses, that we neglect to capitalize from our strength. Leaning into your strengths will give you the confidence to facilitate your reinvention. Create a niche that's complementary to your gifts, strengths and experience.

6. Become in-tune with your purpose. This may take more time than you like. If you will relax and just ask this question, "What is my purpose in life?" for 7-10 days every night before you go to sleep, the answer will appear. Trust me.

7. Let go of your past. It’s very important to not dwell on the past! It’s done! You have to move away from it and embrace the future that you’re creating for yourself.  The best in the world only go into the past for analysis, evaluation and swift learning. Share my story about the gym

8. Upgrade your energy. Bring your best energy into your interactions with others.  When you choose to vibrate at a higher frequency, you will be able to influence the energy of those around and position yourself more favourably. Try this, next time someone asks you "How are you? respond with something like "Fantastic!" instead of "I've been better".  

9. Protect yourself from the haters. Of course not everyone will be onboard with your the new version of you.  Your family and friends will have their own opinions about the direction you are going.  It's important to not let their input influence and sway you from your goal and vision.  They are speaking from their own fears and insecurities that has nothing to do with you.  

10. Build your own community of supporters. You want to surround yourself with people that are supportive and appreciate the person you're becoming.  They will be part of your support system as you reinvent yourself into your best version of YOU

What is Impostor Syndrome?

It's the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications.  It was first identified in 1978 by psychologists Pauline Rose Clance and Suzanne Imes.

Where does it originate?

Some experts believe it has to do with personality traits—like anxiety or neuroticism—while others focus on family or behavioural causes,

Some childhood memories, such as feeling that your grades were never good enough for your parents, or that your siblings outshone you in certain areas, can leave a lasting impact and make you feel like you’re not enough.

 institutionalized discrimination, can also play a major role in spurring impostor feelings. The feeling of alienation, not seeing others that look like you in successful spaces, being told that you have to work twice as hard as the rest to show your worth, keeps you feeling like you're  never good enough…that you have to outperform everyone else to be worthy.

Perfectionists who set high expectations of themselves can feel like a failure if they don’t meet 100% of the requirements.  Any small mistakes can leave them questioning their competent.

Taking on the “Super woman” role can also leave us feeling stressed and  exhausted from the need to attain unrealistic expectation  in all areas of their lives 

What are the Symptoms?

Feeling like and imposter can happen to anyone; The Imposter syndrome doesn’t equate with low self-esteem or a lack of self-confidence. High achieving, highly successful people often suffer from imposter syndrome

The ultimate reason why we suffer from imposter syndrome is to protect our ego.  We take on roles and anything that can damage that image becomes a threatening.

We don’t feel at a deeper level that we are worthy! We have the need to proof  to others our sense of worthiness.

You may feel that you're not good enough! That you  have not achieved enough! That you have so much to do before you can claim any success.

“I must not fail” – the pressure not fail which leads to an inability to seek success and to enjoy success when we get it.

“I feel like a fake” - Imposters believe they do not deserve success or professional accolades and feel that somehow others have been deceived into thinking otherwise, they have deep feelings that they lack.

“Success is no big deal” - The tendency to downplay their abilities or success and discount their value … they may say things like" I had a lot of help" or "It's easier than it looks".

Is there a Cure?

Unfortunately here’s no cure.  Most people experience moments of doubt, and that’s normal and part of everyday emotions. The important part is not to let that doubt control your actions.

One of the first steps to overcoming impostor feelings is to acknowledge the thoughts and put them in perspective. 

The goal is not to never feel like an impostor, the goal for is to have the tools and knowledge to deal with the imposter feeling or thought when it comes up.  

Some helpful tips to keep to help you avoid the imposter syndrome taking over your life:

• Have fun! Don’t take yourself too seriously
• Understand that you don’t have all the answers and that you still have more to learn and that’s an opportunity for growth
• Value your current position and know that there’s great benefit in what you have to offer
• Connect to your WHY.  Know that you are not doing this to impress people or to get their approval.  It’s not about you … it’s about the service you are providing.

Excited to hear from you! Please share you takeaways and comments :)

In this episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sowmya Rajasekaran.

Sowmya is a champion and an outspoken advocate for inclusion & women’s empowerment with a key focus on social impact. She currently works with the Ontario Disability Employment Network to focus on Innovation & Best Practice in Diversity & Inclusion.

When COVID-19 hit, Sowmya lost her job and began reaching out to her community to check in. These conservations inspired her to launch Buildupwomen, an online community created to inspire, learn from, share, support, engage and build up women during and post-COVID-19.

Here's us, two WOC having a candid discussion on our experiences at the workplace, building our own tables and the future we want for our kids.

Connect with Sowmya here:

• LinkedIn: @SowmyaRajasekaran
• Twitter @SowmayaRajasekaran
• YouTube @Sowmya Rajasekaran

Hope you enjoy it! 

Please share your takeaways, rate and review this podcast episode :)

This is a gratitude episode! As we celebrate the one year anniversary of the podcast.

I'm sharing with you the journey;

-  How it all started
- What I learned along the way
-  And some insight

Thank you so much for being part of this journey!!! I couldn't have done it without all your support.

Here's to US! and this exciting journey that we're on!

Excited to hear your thoughts :)