The Kim Doyal Show

There's a lot going on with WordPress this week, so I'll do what I can not go too deep into the question in this post title, but I can't make any promises.

I don't know about you, but when it comes to music I have pretty eclectic taste (and a 16 yr. old daughter who introduces me to new music, which is great). I listen to music based on my mood and the lyrics. Because I'm also such a geek about 'quotes' this probably doesn't come as much of a surprise. So when I heard this song a couple of weeks ago I was hooked, then when I saw the video I thought it would perfect to bring up in relation to blogging.

The song I'm referring to is "Brave" by Sara Bareilles and it's speaking to everyone who has ever held their tongue or held back from being who they are (I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this pretty much includes everyone at some point in their lives).

Chris Brogan wrote an awesome book called "It's Not About The Tights: An Owner's Manual on Bravery", which I LOVED ( I think I've referred to this book in a previous post) and is a great read for anyone who feels the need to be a little different, do things there own way or step outside of the box.

Bravery is something you don't see mentioned very often when it comes to blogging, writing or building an online business.

Which is a bummer.

Because it is VERY BRAVE to step into this space and really put yourself out there.

I think the key thing to remember is that if you feel a little uncomfortable it's not a bad thing. It probably just means that you're on the right track. You can't get to where you want to go by doing the same things you've always done.

I think I'll save the rest of my discussion on bravery for another individual post, so stay tuned for that because I'd love to get a discussion going about it.

[sws_divider_basic]

Last week I hosted a free webinar to subscribers of my list who have WordPress businesses (primarily design /website businesses). The common challenges and questions everyone had are the same issues I faced in the first few years of my business and to some extent am addressing as I grow my business and shift my role in what I do.

Here's what we talked about:

Building your business under your own name vs. a business name

Having a 'team' (support when you get stuck or need help)

Business plans

Process flows

Finding a niche

Getting clients

Pricing & fees

Diversifying (ebooks, classes, etc.)

It was a very informal webinar with lots of questions, which was great. I also asked people if they would be interested in a Mastermind, coaching and a couple of other classes (WooCommerce got a BIG yes!). I'm not exactly sure what is going to come first, but a Mastermind is definitely in the works as well as the WooCommerce class!

[sws_divider_basic]

Upgrading to WordPress 3.6 and Genesis 2.0

If you follow WordPress at all I'm sure by now you know that one of the big features that was supposed to come with WordPress 3.6 was Post Format UI was removed so the release wasn't delayed any longer. If you don't know what post formats are, no worries. I've been meaning to do a post on post formats and custom post types for a while now, so that should be coming in August.

When you see that WordPress 3.6 is released (in your dashboard you'll see the yellow notification bar to upgrade) you'll definitely want to go ahead and update. I always recommend doing a full backup before you upgrade (even if you have automatic backups being done, better safe than sorry). Once you've done your backup go ahead and upgrade. If you don't keep your WordPress install up to date you create vulnerabilities and expose yourself to easier access for hackers.

Upgrading to Genesis 2.0

It looks like this isn't going to be a difficult process, which is awesome for anyone who has zero desire to muck with any type of code. I thought the easiest thing to do would be to list some references you can peek at and people who can help you IF...

There's a lot going on with WordPress this week, so I'll do what I can not go too deep into the question in this post title, but I can't make any promises.

I don't know about you, but when it comes to music I have pretty eclectic taste (and a 16 yr. old daughter who introduces me to new music, which is great). I listen to music based on my mood and the lyrics. Because I'm also such a geek about 'quotes' this probably doesn't come as much of a surprise. So when I heard this song a couple of weeks ago I was hooked, then when I saw the video I thought it would perfect to bring up in relation to blogging.

The song I'm referring to is "Brave" by Sara Bareilles and it's speaking to everyone who has ever held their tongue or held back from being who they are (I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that this pretty much includes everyone at some point in their lives).

Chris Brogan wrote an awesome book called "It's Not About The Tights: An Owner's Manual on Bravery", which I LOVED ( I think I've referred to this book in a previous post) and is a great read for anyone who feels the need to be a little different, do things there own way or step outside of the box.

Bravery is something you don't see mentioned very often when it comes to blogging, writing or building an online business.

Which is a bummer.

Because it is VERY BRAVE to step into this space and really put yourself out there.

I think the key thing to remember is that if you feel a little uncomfortable it's not a bad thing. It probably just means that you're on the right track. You can't get to where you want to go by doing the same things you've always done.

I think I'll save the rest of my discussion on bravery for another individual post, so stay tuned for that because I'd love to get a discussion going about it.

[sws_divider_basic]

Last week I hosted a free webinar to subscribers of my list who have WordPress businesses (primarily design /website businesses). The common challenges and questions everyone had are the same issues I faced in the first few years of my business and to some extent am addressing as I grow my business and shift my role in what I do.

Here's what we talked about:

Building your business under your own name vs. a business name

Having a 'team' (support when you get stuck or need help)

Business plans

Process flows

Finding a niche

Getting clients

Pricing & fees

Diversifying (ebooks, classes, etc.)

It was a very informal webinar with lots of questions, which was great. I also asked people if they would be interested in a Mastermind, coaching and a couple of other classes (WooCommerce got a BIG yes!). I'm not exactly sure what is going to come first, but a Mastermind is definitely in the works as well as the WooCommerce class!

[sws_divider_basic]

Upgrading to WordPress 3.6 and Genesis 2.0

If you follow WordPress at all I'm sure by now you know that one of the big features that was supposed to come with WordPress 3.6 was Post Format UI was removed so the release wasn't delayed any longer. If you don't know what post formats are, no worries. I've been meaning to do a post on post formats and custom post types for a while now, so that should be coming in August.

When you see that WordPress 3.6 is released (in your dashboard you'll see the yellow notification bar to upgrade) you'll definitely want to go ahead and update. I always recommend doing a full backup before you upgrade (even if you have automatic backups being done, better safe than sorry). Once you've done your backup go ahead and upgrade. If you don't keep your WordPress install up to date you create vulnerabilities and expose yourself to easier access for hackers.

Upgrading to Genesis 2.0

It looks like this isn't going to be a difficult process, which is awesome for anyone who has zero desire to muck with any type of code. I thought the easiest thing to do would be to list some references you can peek at and people who can help you IF...

One of my favorite aspects of my podcast is the interviews I get to do! (what... did you think I was going to say something about how funny I think I am? :-) )

Even though I'm the one getting in touch with the interviewee it's still fun when we finally connect on Skype for the actual interview. With many of the interviews it's the first time we've actually spoken outside of a conversation via email or social media.

That was the case with Jennifer Bourn of BournCreative.com.

The funny thing is that Jennifer and her husband and business partner Brian live all of an hour away from where I live. Which, I'll get a chance to meet them in person next week as they invited me to speak at the Sacramento WordPress Meetup and of course I said "absolutely!" (I'll let you know how that goes, it should be fun).

One of the (many) reasons I had asked Jennifer if she would be up for an interview is because I had seen Jennifer at a conference or two in the past (I think it was Ali Brown's "Shine" in 2010), had seen her site (love her work) but had noticed that they had started popping up in the #GenesisWP conversations on Twitter as they were now using Genesis for all their client work. Most people  in the "Genesis" community aren't part of the "Internet Marketing" scene (for lack of a better description -for the life of me I can't think of a better way to explain that). Because I knew Jennifer was also part of that community I thought it would be a great  interview to show a successful merging of two styles of business.

After my recent post "The Real Housewives of WordPress" where I talked about the different 'perceived' communities within WordPress I think you'll get a good insight on how you can be a part of whatever community you create and want to be a part of after listening to my interview with Jennifer.

[sws_grey_box box_size="550"] "Don't network where your competitors are."

- Jennifer Bourn [/sws_grey_box]I love hearing the stories behind the business and the brand - especially the bumps and bruises along the way (we all want to hear we're not the only ones, right?).

Jennifer didn't hold back anything. ;-)

From transitioning her business as a solo entrepreneur to having her husband join full time (and he started from scratch in terms of coding and development and is now brilliant at it. I know, kind of nauseating...), it's all here.

And because I'm such a geek about quotes (not sure if I've ever shared that tidbit here, but I am.... I have 3 different quotes on my monitors as I type this) I grabbed a few from the interview that struck a nerve with me, the first one being above in regards to not networking where your competitors are as well as the quote I started the podcast with today:

[sws_grey_box box_size="550"] "If you aren't saying No 50% of the time you're not charging enough."

- Jennifer Bourn [/sws_grey_box]A third and final quote that certainly left me with something to think about:

[sws_grey_box box_size="550"] "Get out from behind your computer."

- Jennifer Bourn [/sws_grey_box]I'm not really a shy person and I like to think I'm pretty social, but I can also get caught up in the day to day "stuff" of life and can easily paint a picture for myself that going to something or networking is a pain (need to get ready, drive into San Francisco, blah, blah, blah.. I know, poor me)- not anymore. As long as I don't have a prior commitment? I'm in. Which is why I said yes to speaking at the Sacramento Meetup next week. And of course if you're in the area we'd love to have you join us. Register for the Sacramento WordPress Meetup Here.

Like Jennifer mentioned in the podcast, Bourn Creative is hiring! If you think you might be a good fit for this amazingly creative team, check out the job listing and apply today.

Enjoy the interview!

Links mentioned in this episode

BournCreative.com

Job Listing at Bourn Creative

One of my favorite aspects of my podcast is the interviews I get to do! (what... did you think I was going to say something about how funny I think I am? :-) )

Even though I'm the one getting in touch with the interviewee it's still fun when we finally connect on Skype for the actual interview. With many of the interviews it's the first time we've actually spoken outside of a conversation via email or social media.

That was the case with Jennifer Bourn of BournCreative.com.

The funny thing is that Jennifer and her husband and business partner Brian live all of an hour away from where I live. Which, I'll get a chance to meet them in person next week as they invited me to speak at the Sacramento WordPress Meetup and of course I said "absolutely!" (I'll let you know how that goes, it should be fun).

One of the (many) reasons I had asked Jennifer if she would be up for an interview is because I had seen Jennifer at a conference or two in the past (I think it was Ali Brown's "Shine" in 2010), had seen her site (love her work) but had noticed that they had started popping up in the #GenesisWP conversations on Twitter as they were now using Genesis for all their client work. Most people  in the "Genesis" community aren't part of the "Internet Marketing" scene (for lack of a better description -for the life of me I can't think of a better way to explain that). Because I knew Jennifer was also part of that community I thought it would be a great  interview to show a successful merging of two styles of business.

After my recent post "The Real Housewives of WordPress" where I talked about the different 'perceived' communities within WordPress I think you'll get a good insight on how you can be a part of whatever community you create and want to be a part of after listening to my interview with Jennifer.

[sws_grey_box box_size="550"] "Don't network where your competitors are."

- Jennifer Bourn [/sws_grey_box]I love hearing the stories behind the business and the brand - especially the bumps and bruises along the way (we all want to hear we're not the only ones, right?).

Jennifer didn't hold back anything. ;-)

From transitioning her business as a solo entrepreneur to having her husband join full time (and he started from scratch in terms of coding and development and is now brilliant at it. I know, kind of nauseating...), it's all here.

And because I'm such a geek about quotes (not sure if I've ever shared that tidbit here, but I am.... I have 3 different quotes on my monitors as I type this) I grabbed a few from the interview that struck a nerve with me, the first one being above in regards to not networking where your competitors are as well as the quote I started the podcast with today:

[sws_grey_box box_size="550"] "If you aren't saying No 50% of the time you're not charging enough."

- Jennifer Bourn [/sws_grey_box]A third and final quote that certainly left me with something to think about:

[sws_grey_box box_size="550"] "Get out from behind your computer."

- Jennifer Bourn [/sws_grey_box]I'm not really a shy person and I like to think I'm pretty social, but I can also get caught up in the day to day "stuff" of life and can easily paint a picture for myself that going to something or networking is a pain (need to get ready, drive into San Francisco, blah, blah, blah.. I know, poor me)- not anymore. As long as I don't have a prior commitment? I'm in. Which is why I said yes to speaking at the Sacramento Meetup next week. And of course if you're in the area we'd love to have you join us. Register for the Sacramento WordPress Meetup Here.

Like Jennifer mentioned in the podcast, Bourn Creative is hiring! If you think you might be a good fit for this amazingly creative team, check out the job listing and apply today.

Enjoy the interview!

Links mentioned in this episode

BournCreative.com

Job Listing at Bourn Creative

I have to start the show notes out with something that has become glaringly apparent to me and yes, I know it seems obvious, but there is such a difference between "getting something" and "understanding something".

The more I write and engage the easier it gets.

I can't seem to write a post that is less than 1000 words!

Whaaaaat? (this is one of my favorite new sayings, which I stole from Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in the movie "The Internship", which isn't an academy award winning movie but was a fun, enjoyable afternoon at the movies with my son).

I'm not even kind of complaining... I'm having a ball!

BUT...

bom bom bom.... of course now I start seeing posts about how shorter posts are better (think post formats, which if you're not sure what they are I've got a post and video coming soon), and how single author blogs are dead. REALLY? Oy  vey. I don't think so.

There will always be trends, "new fangled fancy pants" ways of doing things but at the end of the day providing quality content will always work. Period. End of story. Full stop.

(can't believe I used the statement 'new fangled'...)

By the comments I'm receiving on these lengthy posts I'm not too worried. I'm receiving more comments than I ever have before and am building some amazing new relationships! So do yourself a favor... go ahead and read the latest and greatest news about what's working online, take it all and and then see what sticks! Think of it like panning for gold (I've actually done this! My parents live about an hour east of the Sierra Mountains, so we've actually panned for gold in 'them thar hills'... what is up with my lingo today?).

When you pan for gold you scoop a bunch of of 'stuff' out of the river, but then you clear through all the crap to find the gold. You may only find a tiny nugget, but that tiny nugget is worth far more than a HUGE bucket of pebbles, rocks and sand (or whatever else you may find in the river).

[sws_divider_basic]

The Best Advice I've Ever Received

Kind of a bold claim, I know.

Of course when I had this 'nudge' to share this as the best advice I've ever received it felt like "BAM!" That's powerful! Now as I write this I'm thinking,  "hmm... is this the BEST advice I've ever received?" Aah... my sidekick, the 'overthinker' has shown up. I'll push my sidekick aside and leave this as is, because no matter what you're doing, what area of your life you apply this to, it's going to pay off. I live by the saying that "you don't regret the things you do, you only regret the things you don't do."

The best advice I ever received was actually in reference to my past relationship (promise I won't go all Dr. Phil on you here, not how I roll. Wayne Dyer yes, Dr. Phil, no). It was in the first couple of months of the relationship (you know, the 'honeymoon' phase) and I was on cloud 9. I was talking to my therapist about it (well, giggling like a school girl is more like it) and here's what she said to me:

"Go ALL in Kim!"

There was more to the conversation than that, but the overall message was give it all you've got. If it doesn't work out you can at least look back and know you gave it everything and savored every moment.

Of course she was right.

It didn't end the way I had hoped it would, but I have no regrets. 90 percent of the time it was great. And like most things that end (relationships, friendships, businesses...whatever), I can see now that there is no way I could have spent my life with him, but I know without a doubt that I went ALL in!

This is a question you need to ask yourself about your business.

Are you going 'ALL' in or are you playing at your business?

How to determine if you're ALL in

Here's the thing.

This is going to look different for each person, so there isn't really a system or task list that will help you determine if you're going all in. You're the only one who can determine that. But YOU know on a gut level if you're going "ALL in" or if you'...

I have to start the show notes out with something that has become glaringly apparent to me and yes, I know it seems obvious, but there is such a difference between "getting something" and "understanding something".

The more I write and engage the easier it gets.

I can't seem to write a post that is less than 1000 words!

Whaaaaat? (this is one of my favorite new sayings, which I stole from Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson in the movie "The Internship", which isn't an academy award winning movie but was a fun, enjoyable afternoon at the movies with my son).

I'm not even kind of complaining... I'm having a ball!

BUT...

bom bom bom.... of course now I start seeing posts about how shorter posts are better (think post formats, which if you're not sure what they are I've got a post and video coming soon), and how single author blogs are dead. REALLY? Oy  vey. I don't think so.

There will always be trends, "new fangled fancy pants" ways of doing things but at the end of the day providing quality content will always work. Period. End of story. Full stop.

(can't believe I used the statement 'new fangled'...)

By the comments I'm receiving on these lengthy posts I'm not too worried. I'm receiving more comments than I ever have before and am building some amazing new relationships! So do yourself a favor... go ahead and read the latest and greatest news about what's working online, take it all and and then see what sticks! Think of it like panning for gold (I've actually done this! My parents live about an hour east of the Sierra Mountains, so we've actually panned for gold in 'them thar hills'... what is up with my lingo today?).

When you pan for gold you scoop a bunch of of 'stuff' out of the river, but then you clear through all the crap to find the gold. You may only find a tiny nugget, but that tiny nugget is worth far more than a HUGE bucket of pebbles, rocks and sand (or whatever else you may find in the river).

[sws_divider_basic]

The Best Advice I've Ever Received

Kind of a bold claim, I know.

Of course when I had this 'nudge' to share this as the best advice I've ever received it felt like "BAM!" That's powerful! Now as I write this I'm thinking,  "hmm... is this the BEST advice I've ever received?" Aah... my sidekick, the 'overthinker' has shown up. I'll push my sidekick aside and leave this as is, because no matter what you're doing, what area of your life you apply this to, it's going to pay off. I live by the saying that "you don't regret the things you do, you only regret the things you don't do."

The best advice I ever received was actually in reference to my past relationship (promise I won't go all Dr. Phil on you here, not how I roll. Wayne Dyer yes, Dr. Phil, no). It was in the first couple of months of the relationship (you know, the 'honeymoon' phase) and I was on cloud 9. I was talking to my therapist about it (well, giggling like a school girl is more like it) and here's what she said to me:

"Go ALL in Kim!"

There was more to the conversation than that, but the overall message was give it all you've got. If it doesn't work out you can at least look back and know you gave it everything and savored every moment.

Of course she was right.

It didn't end the way I had hoped it would, but I have no regrets. 90 percent of the time it was great. And like most things that end (relationships, friendships, businesses...whatever), I can see now that there is no way I could have spent my life with him, but I know without a doubt that I went ALL in!

This is a question you need to ask yourself about your business.

Are you going 'ALL' in or are you playing at your business?

How to determine if you're ALL in

Here's the thing.

This is going to look different for each person, so there isn't really a system or task list that will help you determine if you're going all in. You're the only one who can determine that. But YOU know on a gut level if you're going "ALL in" or if you'...

*Be sure to check out the offer Flywheel has generously made to my listeners & readers at the end of the post /podcast*

For those of you who are new to my site I'll give you an overview of what happened with my hosting drama in the last year so you have a little history on how this all came about.

It was probably a little over a year ago when I started having issues with my site (which was on hostgator). Initially I thought it was just a little slow until someone emailed me to tell me they were getting messages that their anti-virus software was alerting them that my site was dangerous. Then a few more people told me the same thing.

Ugh.

So I started the process of moving my site to WP Engine...which was great, but then I found out I couldn't have directory installs, so I stopped the migration (and for the record, their service was fantastic. NO complaints). Then went back to hostgator on a VPS (virtual private server). Then was getting the virus issue popping up again, my site was running slow and I was hitting my limits. (Not O.K. when you're paying $79.95 a month for hosting). The standard response I received from support at hostgator was that I had too many plugins (I didn't). I had hostgator move my site to a shared server (it loaded faster and was only $14.95/month) and things seemed fine. For a while. Then it started all over again.

Are you KIDDING ME?

So I did what any frustrated person would do... I took my dilema to Twitter! ;-)

I mentioned in podcast episode 4 that thanks to Ben Boykin I was introduced the a fantastic new company called Flywheel.

Aah....

How does being migrated (for FREE) in less than a week sound? 

Fo shizzle my nerdizzle! :-)

I was floored at how quickly they moved everything- and there were no issues to boot! (Which I was pleasantly surprised with after all the issues there had been with hostgator).  It was the easiest, smoothest migration I've experienced since I've been doing any type of website work (5 years).

Let's not forget one of the MOST important factors.

SPEED!

On Flywheel my site was easily 8-9 seconds faster!!! Of course I had to test it multiple times... every browser, check my laptop... and of course ask a few friends to check it out. I felt like I won the time lottery. Literally. No more waiting and waiting for a post to update so I could view it on the site to check out the formatting. Just click update and VOILA! ;-)

 

On to the Interview with Dusty Davidson

Dusty is one of the founders of Flywheel, along with his partners Rick and Tony. Pretty quickly after signing up with Flywheel I knew I wanted to do an interview with them for the podcast.

Flywheel is unique.

You know that feeling you get when you try something new or come across something that just "feels right"? I felt that in my gut when I landed on the Flywheel site. I'm SUCH a geek about the visual /design side of things so I instantly fell in love with the way their site looks (Dusty gave props to Rick on the design), let alone how fan-friggin-tastic the interface looks for users!

Just take a peek:

Of course it's not just that the Flywheel site looks great (although I think they've raised the bar for other hosting companies! Time to stop using stock photography images of servers and generic groupings of diverse groups of people on your website)- Flywheel provides exactly what WordPress users want and need!

Managed hosting (they manage security and do backups. So bye bye additional plugins!)

Speed

Customer service 

AND... some personality.  ;-)

I had the pleasure of talking with Dusty while he was in Paris (you'll have to listen to the interview to hear more about that). Dusty shared his background prior to Flywheel, how the company came to be and why they chose the name 'Flywheel'.

And just to make your life easier, here's an awesome tweetable quote from Dusty:

"Anyone can buy a server, put it in a closet,

*Be sure to check out the offer Flywheel has generously made to my listeners & readers at the end of the post /podcast*

For those of you who are new to my site I'll give you an overview of what happened with my hosting drama in the last year so you have a little history on how this all came about.

It was probably a little over a year ago when I started having issues with my site (which was on hostgator). Initially I thought it was just a little slow until someone emailed me to tell me they were getting messages that their anti-virus software was alerting them that my site was dangerous. Then a few more people told me the same thing.

Ugh.

So I started the process of moving my site to WP Engine...which was great, but then I found out I couldn't have directory installs, so I stopped the migration (and for the record, their service was fantastic. NO complaints). Then went back to hostgator on a VPS (virtual private server). Then was getting the virus issue popping up again, my site was running slow and I was hitting my limits. (Not O.K. when you're paying $79.95 a month for hosting). The standard response I received from support at hostgator was that I had too many plugins (I didn't). I had hostgator move my site to a shared server (it loaded faster and was only $14.95/month) and things seemed fine. For a while. Then it started all over again.

Are you KIDDING ME?

So I did what any frustrated person would do... I took my dilema to Twitter! ;-)

I mentioned in podcast episode 4 that thanks to Ben Boykin I was introduced the a fantastic new company called Flywheel.

Aah....

How does being migrated (for FREE) in less than a week sound? 

Fo shizzle my nerdizzle! :-)

I was floored at how quickly they moved everything- and there were no issues to boot! (Which I was pleasantly surprised with after all the issues there had been with hostgator).  It was the easiest, smoothest migration I've experienced since I've been doing any type of website work (5 years).

Let's not forget one of the MOST important factors.

SPEED!

On Flywheel my site was easily 8-9 seconds faster!!! Of course I had to test it multiple times... every browser, check my laptop... and of course ask a few friends to check it out. I felt like I won the time lottery. Literally. No more waiting and waiting for a post to update so I could view it on the site to check out the formatting. Just click update and VOILA! ;-)

 

On to the Interview with Dusty Davidson

Dusty is one of the founders of Flywheel, along with his partners Rick and Tony. Pretty quickly after signing up with Flywheel I knew I wanted to do an interview with them for the podcast.

Flywheel is unique.

You know that feeling you get when you try something new or come across something that just "feels right"? I felt that in my gut when I landed on the Flywheel site. I'm SUCH a geek about the visual /design side of things so I instantly fell in love with the way their site looks (Dusty gave props to Rick on the design), let alone how fan-friggin-tastic the interface looks for users!

Just take a peek:

Of course it's not just that the Flywheel site looks great (although I think they've raised the bar for other hosting companies! Time to stop using stock photography images of servers and generic groupings of diverse groups of people on your website)- Flywheel provides exactly what WordPress users want and need!

Managed hosting (they manage security and do backups. So bye bye additional plugins!)

Speed

Customer service 

AND... some personality.  ;-)

I had the pleasure of talking with Dusty while he was in Paris (you'll have to listen to the interview to hear more about that). Dusty shared his background prior to Flywheel, how the company came to be and why they chose the name 'Flywheel'.

And just to make your life easier, here's an awesome tweetable quote from Dusty:

"Anyone can buy a server, put it in a closet,

WOO HOO!!!

O.K., so before we get into the show notes I have to point out that not only am I publishing my tenth podcast episode this week, but this week is also the 10th anniversary of WordPress! Coincidence?

Um...yea. I wish I had been that clever and planned this out, but it was just fate. :-)

So Happy Anniversary WordPress! And THANK YOU!

Because of you I have a business I love and a quality of life I couldn't have imagined.

 

Now let's get down to business!

When I was thinking about what I wanted to talk about for this episode I started feeling a little bit of pressure (gotta love that self-inflicted pressure of expectations). Not to get it done, but that it should be huge or monumental. What does that look like? I have no idea.

Then I decided to do something that is still a bit of a challenge, but hands down works EVERY time.

Surrender.

I really use to be soooooo Type A. Needed to get something done? Just tell me it's not possible and "I'll show you!". Pissing myself off to motivation was a standard practice (I kid you not when I tell you that I'm laughing as I type this). So much of what I did was driven by external motivation, not wanting to disappoint people and needing to 'prove' myself. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?

It was. (And it will stunt your growth as a business owner faster than anything else!)

If I could bottle up what I've learned over the last few years in terms of relaxing, surrendering and trusting myself... I'd have my own version of the Shark Tank because I'd be a ba-zillionaire  (investing in other people's businesses).

I decided for today's show that I'd do a few different things, but I promise I'll do my best to keep things cohesive (which, if you've listened to this podcast before you know I cut my sentences off and can talk in circles sometimes).

First, I wanted to publicly share some thanks and appreciation for people who have helped me get to where I am today, whether they know it or not. Gratitude and appreciation are hands down one of the easiest and simplest way to inspire action. Why? Because it feels good. And when you feel good, you do good.

So I'm going to break down my public thanks into a few categories:

Personal

Friendships

Online Inspiration

Personal

I won't spend to much time here because I'm not sure anyone I'm going to thank here actually listens to my podcast, but that's o.k., even if they don't totally understand what I do they support me with their whole hearts!

First is my kids. Britt & Collin - I don't know what to say other than Thank You for being who you are. I could not be prouder of the people you're becoming and am so grateful you believe in me and have been patient and loving through the trying times. Now we're at a place that we're celebrating the successes more often and to see your faces light up when I share how many downloads I've had or that I have a new client means the world to me. You're both amazing people and have been the inspiration behind everything I do.

My family: My parents and my sister first. I honestly was blessed with the most amazing parents. They've always believed in me and encouraged everything I've done. My mom has stepped in and helped out with administrative work when needed and my dad still brags about me to anyone who will listen. Any time there was an event for me to go to they did whatever they could to support me (staying with the kids, carpooling to school and soccer... you name it). They'll be able to listen to the podcast soon with their new iPhones on the way (they've upgraded into the 21st century from flip phones). I literally live around the corner from my sister and brother. My sister is my best friend and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her love and support. I won't go into more details here but the rest of my family (brother, aunt & uncle, nieces & nephews, grandparents) have all been my rock as well. I truly am blessed.

WOO HOO!!!

O.K., so before we get into the show notes I have to point out that not only am I publishing my tenth podcast episode this week, but this week is also the 10th anniversary of WordPress! Coincidence?

Um...yea. I wish I had been that clever and planned this out, but it was just fate. :-)

So Happy Anniversary WordPress! And THANK YOU!

Because of you I have a business I love and a quality of life I couldn't have imagined.

Now let's get down to business!

When I was thinking about what I wanted to talk about for this episode I started feeling a little bit of pressure (gotta love that self-inflicted pressure of expectations). Not to get it done, but that it should be huge or monumental. What does that look like? I have no idea.

Then I decided to do something that is still a bit of a challenge, but hands down works EVERY time.

Surrender.

I really use to be soooooo Type A. Needed to get something done? Just tell me it's not possible and "I'll show you!". Pissing myself off to motivation was a standard practice (I kid you not when I tell you that I'm laughing as I type this). So much of what I did was driven by external motivation, not wanting to disappoint people and needing to 'prove' myself. Sounds exhausting, doesn't it?

It was. (And it will stunt your growth as a business owner faster than anything else!)

If I could bottle up what I've learned over the last few years in terms of relaxing, surrendering and trusting myself... I'd have my own version of the Shark Tank because I'd be a ba-zillionaire  (investing in other people's businesses).

I decided for today's show that I'd do a few different things, but I promise I'll do my best to keep things cohesive (which, if you've listened to this podcast before you know I cut my sentences off and can talk in circles sometimes).

First, I wanted to publicly share some thanks and appreciation for people who have helped me get to where I am today, whether they know it or not. Gratitude and appreciation are hands down one of the easiest and simplest way to inspire action. Why? Because it feels good. And when you feel good, you do good.

So I'm going to break down my public thanks into a few categories:

Personal

Friendships

Online Inspiration

Personal

I won't spend to much time here because I'm not sure anyone I'm going to thank here actually listens to my podcast, but that's o.k., even if they don't totally understand what I do they support me with their whole hearts!

First is my kids. Britt & Collin - I don't know what to say other than Thank You for being who you are. I could not be prouder of the people you're becoming and am so grateful you believe in me and have been patient and loving through the trying times. Now we're at a place that we're celebrating the successes more often and to see your faces light up when I share how many downloads I've had or that I have a new client means the world to me. You're both amazing people and have been the inspiration behind everything I do.

My family: My parents and my sister first. I honestly was blessed with the most amazing parents. They've always believed in me and encouraged everything I've done. My mom has stepped in and helped out with administrative work when needed and my dad still brags about me to anyone who will listen. Any time there was an event for me to go to they did whatever they could to support me (staying with the kids, carpooling to school and soccer... you name it). They'll be able to listen to the podcast soon with their new iPhones on the way (they've upgraded into the 21st century from flip phones). I literally live around the corner from my sister and brother. My sister is my best friend and I honestly don't know what I'd do without her love and support. I won't go into more details here but the rest of my family (brother, aunt & uncle, nieces & nephews, grandparents) have all been my rock as well. I truly am blessed.