The Kim Doyal Show

After all, you’ve started your business because you wanted to do something different outside the norm.

You knew there was something else you were supposed to do with your life.

Or, maybe you started your business because you needed to.

Maybe you were let go from a job, could not find a job that justified the cost of daycare/commute, etc., or knew that if you didn’t start something for yourself, your mental health and quality of life would continue to decline.

My reasons for starting my business were sort of a combination of all of the above.

I had been working full-time in retail management most of my adult life, and after losing my husband in a car accident at 32, with a six-year-old and a two-year-old at home, I knew something needed to change.

Prior to that job, I had tried a handful of entrepreneurial things, but it wasn’t until I discovered what people were starting to do online (first discovered this space in 2006) that I knew “this was it!”

I had no idea what that looked like, but something lit up in me and grabbed hold of me.

I lost my husband in 2003 and started my business in 2008.

The five years in between were some of the hardest years of my life. It’s too long to go into here (we’ll save that for another podcast episode), but if I could go back and tell myself anything during that time, it would be to be gentle with myself.

On top of grieving, I was in massive judgment of myself all the damn time.

My therapist used to say I would “get myself coming and going.” No matter what I did, it wasn’t enough.

Learning to listen to our own intuition and trusting ourselves are incredible gifts you give to yourself if you’re willing to do the work.

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Until probably 12 years ago, I don’t think I ever would have considered myself “intuitive.” In fact, I was probably a little judgmental about that word and associated it with people who were a little “out there.”

Regardless of how you define intuition or your perception of it, we’re all intuitive.

We just haven’t learned to tap into our intuition or trust ourselves with it.

A simpler, maybe more acceptable way to talk about intuition is learning to trust your gut.

I’m going to try to mesh the tangible with the intangible here if you will – because in order to grow and scale a successful business, you need both.

And I’m on a mission to bring more of this language and discussion into the marketing space.

Here’s a great example from the first year I was in business.

There was an internet marketing who I had discovered prior to starting my business. I had been listening to a CD set by Mark Victor Hansen (co-author of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books) about becoming a speaker.

This internet marketer was talking about how he was making money with the internet with niche sites, affiliate marketing, and teaching.

I didn’t understand half of what he was saying, but I was fascinated.

So when I finally made the leap into starting my business in 2008, I sought out this marketer and signed up for his coaching (which was 5k and the most I had ever spent on something like that).

Part of his coaching was coming to his house for a private retreat with a few other coaching clients.

By the time I went to this retreat, I had been in business...

It all depends on how you approach it.

I’ve been on both sides of the coin and somewhere in between when it comes to creating a Black Friday Cyber Monday Offer.

As someone who spent way too many years working in retail management, I had a pretty negative feeling about Black Friday for many reasons, mainly because I usually worked that weekend. I would have rather been enjoying time with family or kicking off my own holiday season.

Once I was out of retail, though, I promised myself I’d never go into a store that weekend… and for the most part, I haven’t.

I may have gone once or twice with my Mom and sister, but that was more about doing something with them as opposed to shopping.

For the sake of all of our sanity, I’m going to stay away from the argument that addresses the ‘for or against’ Black Friday Cyber Monday.

It is what it is, I don’t see it going anywhere, and there’s no point getting worked up about it.

What we’ll focus on is how to create a Black Friday Cyber Monday offer that aligns with who you are, how your support your audience, and what you can create that feels good for everyone.

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This question might seem a little contrary to the topic of this episode (because obviously, I think you should), but there are a handful of things you should consider before deciding whether you should create a Black Friday Cyber Monday Offer.

First question: Do you want to?

Before you call me Captain Obvious, what’s really important about this question is getting clear on your “why” behind the answer.

Many people say they don’t want to because they’re “anti” the whole concept. I’m sure you can come up with many reasons why you or someone else might be “anti” running offers over this weekend. Fair enough.

Just make sure you’re being completely honest with yourself.

Putting together the right offer for the right reasons and for the right people takes work.

You also need to go into it with the right expectations.

If you’ve never run one of these offers or created any type of similar marketing campaign, there’s going to be a learning curve, but more on that in a minute.

Second question: Do you have an email list?

Unless you sell on social media ONLY (and have data that supports how well your social audience responds to offers), you have to have an email list.

I don’t care if it’s 500 or 5000.

Every single business needs an email list. This is the one source of traffic you control. And yes, if you don’t have one, it’s not too late to build one so you can send an offer over the Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend.

Last question: Are you willing to do the work?

I might sound a little like a stern parent here, but if you’re not willing to put the time and energy into this, then don’t bother.

Can you half-ass it and make some sales?

Sure, but with enough lead time and effort, why not go all in and do it correctly? There are no guarantees of how it will go, but keep in mind that regardless of how well your offer does, you’re most likely going to make some sales and will gather massive data.

And more than likely, you’ll end up with an offer you can use later with another campaign (different season, sale, special, etc.).

This was one of those questions that brought massive clarity in the span of about 1 minute. We’re going to get into that in a minute, but let’s do a quick catch-up and recap from last week.

First, if you missed last week’s episode, I officially announced my first-ever Women’s Business Retreat in Costa Rica!

The IGNITE Mastermind is happening this October 24th – the 28th. My dear friend and amazing branding expert, Liz Weaver, is co-hosting this with me.

We’re just now getting around to promoting the event, but we only have four spots left, so if you’re interested, be sure to head over to IgniteMastermindCR.com for all the details. This is the lowest price this event will ever be. We’ve set this up as an all-inclusive event (food, lodging, airport transportation, retreat workshop, and a catamaran sunset cruise). All you need to do is get yourself there!

We’ve even hired a professional photographer so you can get some gorgeous headshots in this amazing location (a luxury beachfront home).

Click here to learn more about the IGNITE Costa Rica retreat.

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Is it me, or does it feel like this summer has completely flown by?

Maybe it’s because it was so cold when I moved back in February that winter felt like it was never-ending. Now that we have warm weather and longer nights, it feels like it’s going to be time for all the pumpkin spice everything.

Mind you, I’ve missed fall the last couple of years in Costa Rica, and I am one of those nutty pumpkin people, so I’m looking forward to enjoying all the coziness that fall brings.

Halloween decorations and candy are showing up in stores already.

When I was younger, I loved seeing this (I mean as a young adult, not a child). Maybe it was because it was forced on me by being in retail for so long.

By mid-August, I was already getting pumpkin-spiced candles for the house.

The older I get, the faster time seems to be moving, so I’m not in a rush to have seasons come and go too quickly anymore (although I’ll probably be ready for summer by the end of January, haha).

Every month of the summer feels like it’s been a little busier than I’m used to (or at least what I remember). Being back in California with family has been wonderful, but it also means my calendar is a little fuller.

When I start feeling a little squeezed, I remind myself that I always get everything done.

My goal is always to stay present and focused.

When I keep things simple (my three things), I always complete them, do better work, and enjoy my day more. Novel idea, isn’t it?

Sometimes this is harder than others, but oddly enough, I find that slowing down helps me do this. The more I try to squeeze into a day, the faster the day goes.

My challenge to you as we wind down the rest of 2023 is to choose to be present.

To quote Maya Angelou:

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Moving on.

I heard this in a video I was watching...

It’s much greater.

But before we get into that, let’s do a little recap of the last week.

In last week’s episode, I talked about ‘burning the boats’ and simplifying everything in my business. Sharing that and getting the podcast published was the fuel I needed.

There is something about putting stuff out there that lights a fire in me.

I love setting up some sort of accountability that keeps me on track.

Whether it’s to a mentor, a friend or publicly putting it out there – it works. I used to judge myself because I always felt like it was weak to need that (this was many years ago), but now it feels like a superpower.

I know what works for me, and I’m running with it.

I also did something last week I’ve been putting off for far too long – I got back in front of the camera! Go me!

And here’s the truth… which I’m guessing most women will be able to relate to: I was having a really good hair day and basically told myself, “Girl, your hair is on point today. You need to record a video.”

Whatever it takes, right?

So, I raised my desk, decided on the topic, and hit record. I posted the video to both my Facebook business page and personal page. Then I posted it to the biz page first and then to my personal page. On the personal page, I asked people to tell me where they saw it first.

I got more comments on my personal page than on my business page, but it’s all a process.

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Here’s the crazy thing…

After having a conversation with my friend, Emma Hersh, and my experiment posting the same question on Twitter, Linkedin, and Facebook – I’ve decided I’m going to focus on Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Emma was great and sent over some data she found, and let me tell you, Facebook is NOT dead. Gen Z may not be there, but my audience is.

Then the next day, I came across a Gary V video (and I haven’t watched or listened to him in a long time), and he said the three platforms people should be focusing on are: Facebook pages, YouTube shorts, and TikTok.

So that felt a little confirming.

That being said, I say show up where you feel most comfortable, create what you enjoy creating, and go all in.

Because I’ve made the commitment to do more video, it’s easy to repurpose what I’m doing across all three platforms.

So, that being said, here’s where you can follow me on all three. And bear with me as I start reworking my profiles on these platforms:

• Facebook business page
• YouTube
• TikTok

Here we go, friends.

The Cost You Pay

I get super giddy when I come across someone new who inspires me.

You’ve heard me talk almost non-stop about Dr. Benjamin Hardy and the books he’s written with Dan Sullivan. I had come across Ben Hardy last year, but for whatever reason, I wasn’t quite ready for that work.

Clearly, that’s changed.

Well, last week, I came across someone I had never heard of, who is killing it, and I have been bingeing her content. What I love about this woman is that she’s not in the BS guru internet marketing/creator space.

I won’t go sideways ranting or throwing shade at anyone here, but I think you get my point.

The people who are unrelatable, keeping themselves at arm’s length from their audience, and whose message feels tired (or is this just me?)

Anyway…

I’m referring to Tiffany Carter of 

Well, it might seem like my best-laid plans for the podcast have gone sideways, but I assure you it’s anything but.

I won’t go into much detail about life with this episode, but the last couple of months have been super busy with family stuff, and I’ve been quietly working behind the scenes and, for lack of a better description, have been “burning the boats.”

This episode is for anyone who has or has had that niggly feeling in their gut for far too long about making a change in their business. It could be niching down, a pivot to something entirely different, focusing on a different audience, or adding something brand new.

Whatever it is, my goal with this episode is to both inspire you and give you a few things you can do to get the ball rolling.

One thing to remember: this is going to look completely different for each individual. Don’t compare your pivot to anyone else’s.

On one hand, the burning of the boats feels like it’s been years in the making. On the other hand, I made this decision fairly quickly because of the level of focus and structure I’ve implemented.

The first time I burned the boats in my business was when I pivoted from “The WPChick” to my personal brand. This was back in 2018, and I knew it was time.

In fact, it was probably time a few years prior, but I didn’t have the clarity or the courage until 2018.

During the last few years as The WPChick, I felt very limited.

I didn’t want to:

• Create any more how-to WordPress tutorials
• Do anymore client work, no more websites
• Continue creating content about plugins or themes

I changed my tagline on my site to “A Place Where WordPress and Marketing Collide,”… which I loved, but at the time, the WordPress space was so anti-marketing (God forbid you made a living in that space outside of service work), and I didn’t feel like dealing with the trolls (I had my fair share in that space).

What I loved doing was creating content and marketing.

The more I learned about marketing, the more I enjoyed it.

In many ways, I held myself back when I was The WPChick. Because there was such a self-righteous anti-marketing stance, I avoided trying things or going deeper with marketing strategies. I’d do the surface work and get some results, but not the results I truly wanted.

I tried to please everyone but myself.

If I could go back and tell myself anything, it would be to only pay attention to people who were already where I wanted to be.

Here’s another way to look at his:

I’ve spent far too much of my life worrying about what other people think.

This might come as a surprise to people who don’t know me very well or to those who I haven’t allowed myself to be vulnerable with, but I’m over it.

This is probably one of my favorite things about getting older… as you start to realize that your time on this earth is actually finite and you may have less in front of you than behind you, you realize it’s time to stop playing small.

Or, as Brené Brown shares in her article, ” The Midlife Unraveling,”…

Recently I was at my niece’s high school graduation party.

A handful of my sister’s dearest friends came to celebrate my niece as well, and it was wonderful to see all these women. All were friends she’s known since childhood, so I’ve also known them all for 35+ years.

In a conversation with one of her friends, we started talking about my sister’s birthday this year (she’ll be 50, and I’m just about to turn 53 as I write this). As we were talking about this, her friend (who is 48) was saying that she’s “not looking forward to turning 50 at all.”

My response was so immediate and natural that I didn’t think about it before I said it.

“I absolutely love being over 50! I am so happy with who I am at this stage in my life. It just gets better.”

She looked at me, a little surprised, and said, “Really?”

It wasn’t coming from a place of judgment at all… it was genuine curiosity.

Anyone over 40 can probably think back to when you were in your 20s, and 40 seemed so far away. And old. 😅

Ha!

There’s a lot of truth to the body aging and things changing, but we have access to so much more information and understanding… I truly believe that you can be in better shape in your 50s than you were in your 30s if you want it.

It’s all up to you.

I started my business back in 2008 at the ripe old age of 38.

Which, at the time, didn’t feel old unless I was looking around at all the 20-something bros who were “killing it” (more on that in a minute).

I started my business for a few reasons:

• I was widowed in 2003 with two small children (6 & 2). I wanted to be home for them.
• I have always felt in the deepest part of my being that I was meant to do something different with my life (entrepreneurial, not a job).
• I wanted more freedom.

The years between 2003 and 2008 were some of the most challenging years of my life (up to that point, because let’s face it, none of us get out of this life without heartache and challenge. I’ve had more since then, but we learn to hold it differently as we age).

Fortunately, I found an amazing therapist who has since become more of a mentor, and I still speak with her/see her today. She’s also an incredible model for creating whatever you want in your life. I have nothing but massive appreciation, gratitude, and deep love for her.

She also challenges me.

Which is what I’m hoping I can do for you.

There have been three distinct “spaces” I’ve been in since I started my online journey. I’m calling these spaces because they’re way too broad to be a niche.

1. WordPress
2. Internet Marketing
3. Creator Economy

The common thread among all three is that they’re all dominated by men.

WordPress

For the first ten years online, I was “The WordPress Chick.

I discovered WordPress, grabbed the domain name (which, btw, someone wants to buy… hmm..), and went about sharing what I was doing with WordPress.

I wasn’t a developer or a coder, but I was figuring out how to use it and thought I’d share what I was...

Well, I’ve officially been back in California for four months.

Let me just say it’s been an adventure.

I won’t bore you with all the details, but here’s a little gist of how the first few months went:

• I returned to some crazy cold weather and snow like we hadn’t seen here before. I officially don’t like the cold anymore and was pretty miserable (I know, #firstworldproblems).
• I got sick a couple of weeks in, and with the weather, that seemed to stick around for a few weeks.
• I was still healing from my back surgery last October
• I had to adjust to living with someone else… who is pretty chatty. Once my Dad got it in his head that I was working and not to come in and chat with me throughout the day, things seemed to flow
• A few weeks ago, I ended up with Shingles… my first time getting them, and fortunately, it wasn’t a bad case. The pain is still there but lessening every day.

Those are just the niggly things that came up all while trying to adjust to life back in the States.

I’ve had a few a-ha moments as well, which is what I’d like to focus on with this episode as I share the future of the podcast (I never intended to take four months off!), what’s been born out of this unplanned little sabbatical of mine, and why I’m incredibly excited about the rest of this year.

My original thought in moving back to the States was that since I was moving back, I might as well stay in Northern California, where all my family & many of my friends are. Then I wasn’t so sure.

I’m staying at my Dad’s right now (he’s got a pretty big house and has loved the company since my Mom passed away) and had thought I’d be here 3-4 months tops. My Dad is about an hour southeast of Lake Tahoe and about an hour from Sacramento, in a cute little remote town. It kind of feels like Tahoe up here, and he has an acre of property with plenty of pine trees.

While it’s beautiful, one of the things I was looking forward to in coming back was the conveniences, which isn’t necessarily the case being this far out. Mind you; everything is much more convenient than it was in Costa Rica.

Then I went to Costco on a busy Saturday afternoon with my Dad and realized that, holy hell…this was not for me either.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Costco, but having worked for myself for the last 15 years, I haven’t really needed to go on a weekend in a long time, and I always wear AirPods and listen to something while I shop.

I was so overstimulated by the time we left (and then went to a huge nursery, which was also incredibly busy) that I could have skipped dinner and just gone home.

It was definitely a case of “been there, done that’ – meaning suburbia and the big box retailers. I have zero judgment about it for anyone else, but I’ve realized it’s not for me.

I keep joking that “Costa Rica broke me.” 🤣

What’s more accurate is that I think it helped me find a more natural rhythm for myself.

I miss the ease, the energy, and the way of life.

I’m planning a trip back in October, and my new goal is to be able to go back and forth between California and Costa Rica. I don’t know what that looks like yet, but that’s the plan.

I’m also at an age where my health is a huge priority – and the truth is I physically felt better in Costa Rica. However, I do appreciate having healthcare in the States...

Kim Doyal 0:01

Welcome to F the hustle. I'm your host, Kim Doyal. You want a life that is meaningful and exciting. In this podcast, we're going to talk about launching and growing an online business that fits your lifestyle. After the hustle is all about doing good work, building real relationships, and most importantly, creating a business that supports where you want to live your life. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of your life today to create something that sets your soul on fire. And yes, that includes making a lot of money. So we'll be talking about selling, charging, what you're worth, and help earning more means helping more people. My goal is to help you find freedom and create a business on your turn. Hey, what up what up? I am super excited today. My guest needs no introduction, but I will introduce him. We're not going to do the typical rewind of tell us about your backstory, because he's been on the show a few times. My guess is my good friend Jason Resnick. Jason, thanks for being here today.

Jason Resnick 0:58

Yeah, thanks for having me, Kim. Um, I can talk nerdy about email all day long. So I'm happy to be here.

Kim Doyal 1:06

Yeah, and I always feel a little guilty when I'm like picking your brain on our other calls. I'm like, like, I should be paying for this. But I'm grateful for everything. So I have to explain to the listeners, viewers, why I asked you to do this, because it was kind of funny how this whole thing started. So for those of you who are not familiar, Jason and I ran an experiment last year, we have, we had a newsletter called Get deliberate, where every single issue of the newsletter was an experiment on growing your email list and adding subscribers and we did it from scratch with that brand. And so we kind of hit a point where it was like, I don't know, have we covered a lot, I think 40 Something issues of that. And so we put it on pause the contents amazing, we're going to repurpose that repackage it somehow at some point this year, but this is what happened. So we have we Jason and I both use ConvertKit. And by the way, Jason has nurture kit.com where he's, he is a ConvertKit, expert, duck, duck nurture. kit.co Sorry about that. And of course, res.com but and I'll have all the links in the show notes. So just stay focused on the show. So here's the story behind the evolution of this experiment and conversation that we're gonna have today is that so Jason and I both use ConvertKit. And then we use ConvertKit. For deliver it? Well, because of that we know ConvertKit sends you a weekly summary of sales and conversions that you've had with with your email marketing, once every week, because deliver it was linked to Jason's account and my app and my personal account, we each had it linked. So I was getting these emails, it's like, here your ConvertKit sales, and every week it was I don't know, do you mind me giving numbers through automations? Okay, all right, you know, 1200 $1,500 every single week, and I'm like, well, this isn't my shit. Excuse the language, but it was just like, What is he doing? Because, honestly, Jason, so I have a follow up sequence. And I offer something at the end of it through one, one lead magnet at the same time. There's so many other things that can happen. And it took me way too long, if I'm being brutally honest, to implement that. Because, you know, I just, there's always so much to do is how it feels. And I've had my account, I don't know how long at this point. I'm like, I need to go in and clean up and do this and whatnot. And then I get into everything is liquid, and then I want to do coats. Right? But you've totally simplified that. So for everybody. I just wanted to explain, like Jason lives, breathes, implements, just does all the things. He's not just talking to talk. And I witnessed it firsthand. So I'm like, Alright, this is a priority for me this year with with my personal brand. And of...

For now.

I’ve been pondering this decision for a while now, even though I said I would stay for two more years at the end of my 1-year lease last year.

Many factors have contributed to my decision to move back to the states, but the biggest one is family.

My Dad is 78, and while he’s already had some health issues, they seem to be compounding or worsening. Most people who know him would probably look at him and not think twice. Still, after spending so much time with him over the holidays (I hadn’t seen him for a year in person – he was going to come to Costa Rica, and I got Covid the day he was to fly down), I’ve been reminded that time is precious.

I never saw my Mom age since her passing at 71 was unexpected. Even though I watched all four grandparents age, it’s an entirely different feeling when it’s your parent.

Maybe because, secretly, it means I’m aging too.

I noticed a significant slowing down with my Dad, which I’m sure is partly due to age and health concerns. My aunt also had some health challenges this year (my Mom’s younger sister, who I’m incredibly close to), and I want to be closer.

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I’ve had my own fair share of challenges this year (don’t we all), and being in a foreign country steps things up a bit.

Having to take my dog in for surgery on both back knees – and then a second time, because something happened to one of the knees, was a little traumatic (I felt like I’d failed her)- then to have surgery on my back?

It was a lot in a short period of time.

I also had visitors every month through August, except for February, and while I wouldn’t trade it for anything (I also had some incredible experiences), it was a little hard to start and stop so much (with work).

Having just launched “Create It,” I’m pretty head down with my business right now (the new content planner). I think it will be easier to manage things in the states than here. This might sound a little strange since it’s a digital business, but here are a few reasons why:

• Shipping: we’re shipping the initial orders and will hopefully switch to a distribution service by the second quarter, but we’ll be the shipping department (my daughter and me).
• Events: with the world opened up. I’d like to get back to networking and traveling to events. I’m looking at joining an e-commerce mastermind to scale the new brand, and there are quarterly events, which are much easier to get to from the states.

Another factor that I kind of can’t believe I’m sharing here (although why not? I share everything else, and knowing me, I’ve probably mentioned it in another podcast) is the dating scene.

It’s pretty non-existent.

I’ve shared before that the area I live in, while amazing, feels more or less like it’s made up of retirees and families (because of the proximity to the international schools).

I’ve had my fair share of younger Tico’s ask me out (when I was getting out and about more, haven’t done a whole lot of that over the last 4+ months with my back), but that’s not my jam (as flattering as it may have been haha).

When I had started thinking about moving back to the states, I had originally been thinking of Oregon or Washington, so I was still close enough to drive to see family.

Then it seemed silly to move back to be closer to family and not actually be close (I know, I’m a genius). So it’s back to Northern California, I go. I’ll land at my Dad’s for a few...

This isn’t my official year-in-review podcast episode (I’ll record that in January), but I’m starting to look ahead at what I want for 2023.

Both business and life.

We’re about to enter December (or, depending on when you’re listening to this, we’re already there), and I head back to California in a few weeks.

The new planner, Create It, is done and off to the printer, so I can catch my breath for a minute and regroup.

I’ve worked almost every day since the week off after my back surgery. Still, now that I’m starting to feel a lot better physically, my mental energy has shifted as well (nothing like being resistant to what is… although I’ve stopped saying my back is taking longer than I’d like. My only answer now is that my back feels better and better every day).

Not that I could do much else…

It’s been raining almost every day (although, as I write this, there are bright blue skies outside… I’m hoping they stick around so I can take the dogs to the beach this afternoon).

Let’s get into today’s episode…

I went into a lot of detail in the last episode that announced Create It, about the planner itself (as well as my decision to do this).

I want to go a little deeper about my vision for Create It Company, why I decided to start another company separate from my personal brand, and how I see them fitting together.

My first “real” entrepreneurial endeavor was the scrapbook store I opened with a business partner back in 1998. This was at the beginning of the scrapbooking craze, and I had just been laid off from my district manager position.

Even though I didn’t necessarily have the capital to do it, I would have opened another store (and can I say amen that we didn’t). I had BIG visions for that store (and we could have killed it online had I known what I know now 

… hindsight is 20/20, isn’t it?).

My business partner didn’t.

It was more of a hobby for her, whereas I needed it to bring in an income.

In many ways creating a physical content planner brings me full circle. Even at the Scrapbook store, I taught classes… so much of what I do today has been a part of my journey long before coming online.

I’d like to see how far I can take Create It.

Not just the planner, but the company.

Which is why I needed to do this on my own.

I’ve been fortunate to partner with amazingly talented people, but any time you bring on a partner, you’re giving up control.

And as crazy as I make myself, I’m much more willing to take risks, even when I have no idea how it will happen.

The idea of giving up on myself feels like a death sentence.

I have zero intentions of “retiring”… in fact, I see myself creating more as I get older.

One of my goals with Create It Company is to scale it to the point where it doesn’t need me. And who knows, maybe even sell it for a nice exit, but that’s getting ahead of myself.

Plans for the Company

In addition to hiring people (again, I went into much more detail about this in the last podcast episode), we have many more products planned for the brand.

I don’t want to give them away too much here, but here are the categories of products we’re looking at:

• More planners (beyond the content planner)
• Stickers (physical & digital)
• Pens
• Card decks
• Lots of training courses (with guest experts)
• Monthly content prompts and template subscription
• Consulting on planner creation and publication (helping other people produce planners)

To do this, I will need a little help and guidance in the e-commerce space, which is where my friend Trey Lewellen comes in.

Trey is a master at e-commerce.

So I’m looking at joining his mastermind in January.

Obviously, organic content and social media will be a big part of our growth strategy, but so will paid...