The Robyn Graham Show a Podcast for Christian Women - Become Calm, Confident, and Consistent

Starting, growing, and scaling a business is impossible without the implementation of systems and processes. Systems and processes are key for organizing your business and executing offers. Every entrepreneur needs systems and processes to start, grow, and scale their business. Systems and processes are the backup plans every business needs to have in place in order to survive and thrive. Are you working so much that you are your evenings and weekends are consumed with business tasks? Are you frustrated because signing a client feels like climbing Mount Everest? What you need are systems and processes. Top problems holding you back from growing and scaling your business Entrepreneurs are over-capacity, overwhelmed, and frustrated. They can't hire someone because training them is too time intensive. Missing deadlines. Using paper isn't effective because your notes are forgotten. Using more than one tool or one process in one tool and another process in another tool for the same project, i.e. social media. The goal of systems and processes for your business is to simplify and save you from having to be in your business all of the time. The disadvantages of not having systems and processes in place and being dis-organized in your business are: Sacrificing time with family and/or friends. Not being present outside of your business. You can't scale because you are stuck in a vicious circle of to-dos. What systems and processes should you prioritize first in your business? Systematizing your business begins with organizing and creating processes for your offers. Automate as much as possible. Onboarding clients from the point of a discovery call to signing them. If you give your clients a stellar experience, they will refer you. But, if you are all over the place you may overwhelm and frustrate them. This includes invoicing and providing all follow-ups in a timely manner. Offboarding should also have a process in place. Ensure your clients have a pleasant experience so that their last memories are pleasant, not those of frustration. If you do not want to have a project management tool, at least use a paper calendar with an electronic calendar as a backup. Read the complete show notes and access links.

You don't have to be afraid of conflict or difficult conversations because you can become a conflict-intelligent person. Entrepreneurs need conflict intelligence. Why? Because many people are afraid to deal with conflict. This fear is simply from a lack of conflict intelligence, but you can learn how to shift your perspective on dealing with conflict and your response to conflict. It is important to note that not all conflict is bad, but not all conflict is good. The key is knowing how to transform it. As an entrepreneur, you are a personal brand. Everything that you do and say is a reflection of your business. Thus the importance of managing relationships within your team, with your clients, and with your community so that you can build rapport and the perception you want others to have of you. Three key methods to handling conflict Self-awareness There are many levels of self-awareness in a broad spectrum. People tend to think that they have self-awareness, but often it is less than what they originally thought because of the different levels of self-awareness. Implicit bias is a good example. If you have a brain, you have bias, but you work on identifying it and changing it. The same holds true for self-awareness. There are multiple ways you can see and deal with conflict. It is important to note the escalating process you've used as you handled conflict. There are many levels of skills necessary to change how you respond to conflict. Some people may have the skills already, and some may have them but aren't using them based on the work they do or the goals they have in their careers or workplace. Once they know how to use the skills to address conflict, some people may be able to go on and be great leaders, while others may need more work to change how they deal with conflict. As entrepreneurs, we have many different opportunities to lead others. When you are authentically you, you are more likely to be self-aware and behave as a leader. Read the full show notes and access links. If you are in the beginning stages of starting a business, download my free eBook on my success equation for starting, growing, and scaling a business for long-term success. It all begins with a solid foundation.

Entrepreneurs need to create a mental health plan, the same as you create a business plan. No matter how great your business plan is, you will not succeed without a healthy mind. In order to succeed in life and business, every entrepreneur needs a mental health plan. Why, because your thoughts influence your emotions, which influence your behaviors, which in turn influence your outcomes. The healthier your mind, body, and soul connection, the better your business will develop and the better your relationships will be. It is difficult to manage your mental health and well-being while running your own business. There is an intersection between business and mental health. Every entrepreneur needs a mental health plan to avoid burnout. Factors contributing to mental health challenges, hitting a wall, or becoming burnt out throughout entrepreneurial journeys include: High achieving mindset Perfectionism Isolation and loneliness Don't delegate soon enough resulting in burnout It is the cumulative impact of running a business without taking care of yourself. Self-care is a complex concept, especially for high-achieving, busy women. Listen to Episode 126 with Sara Palmer. There is a baseline level of activation in our nervous system that makes us who we are and to have the ability to handle the stresses we are faced with. We all have a baseline level of tolerance and if we are always at the top level of this tolerance when life gets overwhelming, we peak over our personal level of tolerance. This results in burnout. Every entrepreneur needs a mental health plan that includes inexpensive and easy-to-accomplish and repeat self-care ideas: It is important to be able to regulate our level of stress to keep it within our level of tolerance. An idea for self-care to keep you in a positive mental state and be able to handle stresses that arise is to set a timer for every hour. When the timer rings, stand up, stretch, and look out the window. Micro-moments of self-care and regulation of the nervous system are powerful. We all need small doable things that we can do repeatedly. Stimulate creativity and focus with self-care activities When you take a moment to enjoy the world around you, you not only reset your nervous system and mindset but also stimulate your creativity. This will also help us focus on tasks ahead. Listen to episode 171 with Alex on creativity. Steps to create, implement and adhere to a mental health plan Similar to the key performance indicators you have in business, there are lead and Lag indicators for mental health. Lag indicator Impact, effect, or result of lead indicators Lead indicator Tasks and strategies you implement Recognizing lag indicators – signs and symptoms – that reflect something going on in your life or business yesterday, last week, or cumulatively over time Examples of lag indicators Inability to sleep Panic attacks Difficulty focusing Inability to make decisions Examples of Lead indicators High-stress level Lost a client A dip in revenue Lag indicators help you identify how you are doing well or not doing well with your mental health. Lead indicators are your self-care practices For example, if you are used to running every day but haven't run this week, and you notice that all of a sudden you feel more anxious, aren't sleeping, etc, you realize that you haven't run and that has caused the additional anxiety. Identify your lead indicators, the things that make you feel good, and do a check-in regularly. Look at the results you are getting with the efforts you are putting in. How are you feeling today, what have I been doing, and what has led me to feel this way, good or bad? This insight will help you do more of what is making you feel good and less of what is making you feel less than good. Your thoughts create your feelings Fifty percent of people's distress is caused by what they tell themselves. You can alleviate this by doing a weekly review of how you've felt. For example, if you lost a big client, you can associate that with not feeling good, being anxious, or being down. A lead indicator is something that happens that affects your mood or feelings. Tips for getting back to who you are at the core People are unique and what works for one person may not work for another. Therefore, it is necessary for you to look at your lead indicators and identify what soothes your nervous system, mind, body, and spirit, what nourishes your nervous system, and what discharges thoughts and feelings. Read the full show notes and access all links. Are you ready to take action to alleviate anxiety and develop a healthy mindset? Yes? Download the free eBook, Alleviate anxiety to develop healthy habits for a healthy mind.

Would you like to go from being an introverted entrepreneur to a confident introvert? As an entrepreneur, being an introvert can be exceptionally challenging, but it doesn't have to be a limiting factor in your entrepreneurial journey. Becoming a confident introvert as an entrepreneur can decrease pressures, anxiety, and stress and open doors for you and your business. The introvert and nature versus nurture Stephanie is more of an introvert, but she also grew up in a household where showing her true personality was not an option. For Stephanie, it came down to a decision to transform from being an introvert to being a confident introvert. She didn't want to linger in the space of a distant wish to have a community. Instead, she took action to change her mindset and create opportunities to reinvent the version of herself that she believed was the truest and the most fun. Oftentimes, introverts will stand on the sideline and hope and wish that someone will come up to them. Being a confident introvert is actively engaging with other people, and starting a conversation. It is so much more empowering to take ownership and introduce yourself to make a new friend or have meaningful conversations. Likewise, set out to have meaningful conversations. This will help you avoid feeling disappointed that you were stuck speaking with someone with whom you felt no connection. Similarly, it's important to develop the skills to end a conversation that is lacking connection and is not meaningful to you so that you can move on to a different conversation. What are the steps to take to become a confident introvert Start with a base level of calm. Build confidence from and on top of the calm. Make connections. Rise into leadership and make your mark in the world. As an introverted entrepreneur, you know that you are here for more than the moment and your immediate self. You are meant to make an impact. If you lack confidence and have doubt, having an impact can seem very far away. When you focus on building connections while being anxious, you can tap into your energy, find calm, and build connections. Read the full show notes and access all links. Struggling with negative anxious thoughts? Download my free eBook, Alleviating Anxiety by Developing Healthy Habits for a Healthy Mind.

Are you ready to start a business? Or, have you been working on your business but feel stuck, overwhelmed, and like you are spinning in circles without reaching your long-term goals? If you answered yes to any of those questions, the Purpose to Results™ Method is a program that will help you transform your business, and therefore, your life. The Purpose to Results™ Method is my signature program to help Christian entrepreneurs start, grow, or scale their businesses. What is the Purpose to Results™ Method? The Purpose to Results Method is the program I created to help my clients achieve complete clarity around their God-led calling and purpose, overcome mindset barriers, create a brand marketing strategy, navigate the challenges of tech, tools, systems, and processes, and take intentional effective action to build a solid foundation for the long-term success of your brand and business. Read the full show notes and access all links. Click here to learn more about each option or to book a discovery call to learn more about coaching with me and which option is best for you.

Your inner critic often makes it challenging to love yourself. But finding self-love is possible. Follow these 4-steps to silencing your inner critic and take a journey to find self-love that will transform your life. If your inner critic has overwhelmed you with negative thoughts, it's time to take a journey to find self-love. The journey to find self-love has many advantages When we find love for ourselves, we can better serve others. The Bible tells us to love others as we love ourselves, it doesn't say love others instead of ourselves. If we don't quiet our inner critic, the critic voice will stop us from doing what we are called to do to make a difference in the world. We are to love others as we love ourselves, but as Paul gently reminds us in Philippians 2:3, we are to be humble and value others above ourselves. So yes, self-love, self-respect, and honoring our bodies and minds, is important and right, but we are to do so by loving God first, and respecting and honoring others above ourselves. Self-Marriage as part of the journey to find self-love Erin's journey to find self-love began when she went to a festival and discovered the concept of self-marriage. Self-marriage is the concept that you are always there for yourself. She identified what she was looking for in a partner, someone to make her feel smart and beautiful, and there she learned that she could do this for herself. Through self-marriage, she committed to doing this for herself throughout the rest of her life. Until this point, Erin had been looking for a guy that would make her feel smart and pretty. She thought that if she found that guy, she'd be able to go out into the world and be her full self. The self-marriage experience was a turning point for her, that she could do this for herself. After this experience, Erin when to medical school to become a naturopathic physician. What is a naturopathic physician? Naturopathic physicians are trained to be primary care physicians. Toward the end of Erin's school journey, she discovered mind-body medicine. She decided to work in this area to help people find their mental-emotional issues so people could heal from their physical ailments. Erin worked in private practice doing mind-body healing for a while. She loved the deep work. Her work involved helping women discover that they were whole and complete as is. During Covid, Erin decided to take her business online. Her focus became self-love. The experience of teaching classes on self-love since 2009 came into play to help her build her online business. In a nutshell, Erin helps women feel comfortable and confident in their own lives. Our thoughts create our results Robyn emphasized that we, as women, experience so many things in our lives, traumas, relationships, etc. that lead to inner criticism. We know that our thoughts create our results. Our thoughts influence our emotions and feelings which in turn influence our actions, inaction, and behaviors. If you aren't working on your mindset, you will delay your ability to make progress in life or business. Likewise, you may not be able to discover true joy, hope, peace, and purpose. Read the full show notes and access links. For more Bible verses related to entrepreneurship, download the free eBook, 37 Bible verses every entrepreneur needs to reflect on and live by.

Proactive public relations and strategic social media can help you increase visibility, which will help attract more ideal clients. Many entrepreneurs want to increase visibility because they struggle with being found online by their ideal clients. Fear is often the leading culprit holding people back from being forward-facing in their business. However, being visible, which is very specific to individuals, can make a significant difference in the level and rate at which you attract your soulmate clients. Think of it like a magnet. Your energy is going to attract the energy of the person who needs your help. But only if you are visible for them to find you. Entrepreneurs often attract people that are not a good fit, not their soulmate clients. Because they want to achieve success, they take on clients even though they are not ideal. The result is that they become frustrated. This happens because people aren't visible in a way that attracts their soulmate clients. Think of it like a magnet. Your energy attracts someone with a need, the other side of the magnet. When you are present as your authentic self and are visible to your potential clients, you will attract them. Parasocial relationships It is a scientific fact that when we show up with our face, we are able to build trust with the customers we want to work with. Parasocial relationships are when a person, a media user, engages with a media persona. This can happen with influencers, media personnel, celebrities, and even entrepreneurs. Learn more about how visibility influences parasocial relationships here. When we show our face online and explain what we do and talk about the problem we solve, our ideal customers who have the need we can solve, begin to trust us. An instant connection can be formed. Similarly, you can think of this as a trust-building exercise. Instead of shying away from your story share your failures to increase visibility Most female entrepreneurs shy away from sharing their failures. However, like Kendra Scott telling her story of the failed hat boutique, and then making jewelry in her spare bedroom, she has authentically connected with her clients. Failures are part of the journey and the story that can connect you with your ideal clients. Sharing the big picture, and the story of a very personal event builds trust. It helps people get to know you, like you, and trust you. Therefore, showing up on camera and being visible builds the final step of trust. People buy people not products and services. Strategies to increase visibility Proactive public relations (PR) is you going out and seeking PR opportunities instead of depending on opportunities coming to you, for example, HARO (help a reporter out). Using HARO is more of a reactive PR strategy. When it comes to proactive PR, it is about pitching yourself to the dream media outlets and sharing your authentic story. It also comes down to remembering that it's not about you. Yes, you should be true to yourself and tell your authentic story, but it isn't about you, it is about what the media outlets can gain by having you on their show or in their publication. What can you offer the media outlet that will bring their audiences in and cause them to appreciate the media outlet more? Media outlets want to gain and retain audiences. Anytime media outlets can respond to the cravings of their audiences, they are happy. When you provide them with exactly what their audience will learn from you, and you provide the answer that the media outlet wants to provide for their audience they will want to interview you. How can your story serve someone else? The answer is how you will build that connection with a media outlet. Read the full show notes and access links. Learn more about incorporating PR and social media into your brand marketing strategy by downloading the Purpose to Results™ Method eBook.

There may be times in which you feel your brain is not working properly, you can't learn fast enough, you don't understand things, or maybe you are tired of navigating negative thoughts. But if you learn to leverage your brain and its unique power, you will succeed. When you learn to leverage your brain you can change behavior patterns and shift negative thoughts to achieve more success in life and business. It's not how you learn, it's what you understand - leverage your brain to make understanding easier When it comes to learning, what happens inside your head is much more important than the way you learn. For example, using flashcards, mind mapping, and taking notes. If you can't explain a topic in your own words and in a way that you understand and in a simple language, you haven't actually integrated it. You haven't taken the unfamiliar and put it into a familiar context. Until you can do this, you can't understand things. As you hear something, think about what imagery comes to mind. Likewise, how would you explain it to a 5-year-old? Test your understanding of a topic. If the predictions of your understanding aren't accurate, ask yourself why. To improve understanding, leverage your brain and its unique abilities. Leverage your brain to apply understanding in your business and life When it comes to learning, Collin explained that people generally fall into 3 different personality types. The 3 learning personalities, or mindsets are: Hobbyist - learning just for fun Hoarder - learning just in case Hunter - learning just in time Young children typically fall into the hobbyist mindset. They are typically having fun while learning. Similarly, retirees fall into the hobbyist mindset. They spend time learning because they enjoy it and like the process. The hunter is learning for a very specific reason. They only care about what they need to learn and they block out everything else. Hunters recognize that what really matters is what matters to them in that specific moment. Most people fall into the hoarder mindset. They think that all information is valuable, but it may not be valuable at this moment in time. Hoarders like to have information just in case. They think that the information may be useful at some point in the future. They don't want to miss out on an opportunity to learn something. Hoarders seldom go deep into any subject. Every time they start to explore, they get distracted by something and want to learn about that. Their brains are full of disjointed information that isn't very useful because they are unsure how to apply the information. You can leverage your brain to focus better and shift away from the hoarder mindset. Leverage your brain to organize and discern what you learn In order to organize and discern what you learn you must systematize. Organize by what is valuable and important to you. You have to have a process for saying no. Identify what is most valuable and important for you right now and every time something else comes up, ask the question, what am I willing to say no to so that I am able to focus on this thing that is my priority? Collin reminded us that you have to say no before you can say yes. There is always an opportunity cost to saying yes. If you aren't cognizant of that, you will end up saying no to the important thing for the thing that distracted you and this will become a vicious cycle. This cycle prevents you from truly committing to things. You can divide your time between two things, and you can have multiple interests, but keep in mind, that your brain is now splitting its time. Having multiple priorities is not the same as having one priority that you are fully focused on. It is important to leverage your brain and control your thinking to prioritize. Robyn emphasized how this is similar to having 5 goals at one time. When you have multiple big goals instead of focusing on one or two, you aren't able to go all in on the goals to accomplish them. You end up being less productive when juggling multiple large goals. Learning to say no The hoarder mentality is never effective for learning or accomplishing your goals. Being in the hobbyist mindset is great because it's fun and an end in and of itself. Know what you are willing to say no to so that you can say yes to other things. Have criteria defined, here's why I am saying yes to this, and here's what would have to happen for me to say no? In order to be able to say no to things, you must have a hierarchy of values. If you can't define your values, you have nothing to base your decisions on. To begin, write down the first three values that come to mind, the three values you want to live by. After you identify those three, are there any you want to replace? Once you have decided on your final three values, ask when you've seen others exhibit each value. What was it about the way they behaved that showed me what this value looked like, and how am I going to live this out in my life, what will I say no to because I want to live this value? Every time you have a new shiny object pop up, ask if it is aligned with your values. Is it the thing I was prioritizing before, or the shiny object? If it is the thing you were prioritizing before, you need to say no to the shiny object so that you can say yes to the original priority. Read the full show notes and access all links.

Doing what feels right to you so that you can attract clients with ease! And this starts with creating a successful marketing plan that is authentic to you. A successful marketing plan will help you attract clients, build trust, address objections, and capture sales with ease. When you do the work you love, you help others see that anything is possible. It helps others have inner security and live joyful lives. When we get to do what we love and help others to do what they love, we create a ripple effect of good in the world. And that is why having a great marketing plan in place is so important. 4 things to help you discover the marketing plan that makes sales easier People often want to know how to get more clients. Look at these 4 categories. The 4 categories of a marketing plan that will help attract more clients Messaging – do people understand what you do? Services - sometimes people don't meet their revenue goal not because of not having enough clients, but the need for a shift in packages or services. Strategy – what are the three parts of your funnel and where is the clog? A funnel should flow. Mindset – sometimes you don't have a problem, you just think you have a problem. You may just not be showing up the way you need to be to consistently communicate your message to get results. Once you have reviewed all of these categories, you can begin to create a signature marketing system. However, if you don't have a positive mindset, you aren't going to show up and do what needs to be done. Likewise, if your message isn't clear, you can market yourself to death but you still aren't going to attract clients. 3 components of a signature marketing plan How do you want to show up to attract clients? What is going to work for you to attract clients? Once you know how to get clients, you can do it on repeat. It is important to know that you do not have to have fancy bells and whistles to make your marketing strategy work. You can set up a funnel using your email marketing platform and do it authentically to you so that it feels good. Even if you have a system and everything is in place, you still need to know how to sell. More and more people want to know you and want high touch, which means you have to know how to sell, to build relationships. No software system can build relationships for you. Robyn emphasized the importance of having a personal brand and differentiating yourself to build relationships, and trust. Trust determines buying practices so one must build it to achieve success. Part of selling is helping people get to know you and building relationships. When you educate people on what you do, how you do it, and what differentiates you and makes you unique, you demonstrate why you are trustworthy. This helps people trust you. Communicating how you help your people and control what other people think, say, and feel about you is imperative to building relationships, and trust. Again, trust is what helps convert people to paying clients. Selling starts at the top of your funnel. It begins in your Instagram bio and explains what you do. Sales take time and you get better as you practice it. Episode 64 with Emi Kirshner and Episode 154 with Elyse Archer Read the full show notes and access all links. Download the Purpose to Results™ Method free eBook and learn how to create a brand marketing strategy that will help you connect with your audience and ultimately make more sales.

Asking for money can be intimidating. But if you are a non-profit or if you are an entrepreneur who needs funding for your business, asking for money is a necessity. Asking for money can feel icky, but if you apply these strategies you will feel more confident and you may have more positive results. What is outbound fundraising? Outbound fundraising is looking at fundraising from inside your business out into your community. How can you take the ick out of the ask when asking for money as a business seeking investors, as a non-profit seeking a donation, or even on a sales call? Kel is interested in helping her clients lead from a place of humanity and empathy, and doesn't subscribe to the idea of separating professional from personal. She values getting to know people and having interactions can help heal scars from our past. Doing so can help us move forward in a healthy way. Taking the ick out of asking for money is very personal. It is important to recognize scenarios or situations in which you felt icky - either the way someone asked you for something or when you had to ask for something. Looking at things from the individual perspective is a great way to start. We all have different emotions and responses to experiences. However, money mindset challenges are common when asking for money. How can you fund your business? Are there generalizations that apply when people are asking for money to fund their business or for donations? There is always a need for financial support when starting a business or if you are a non-profit. Strategies that you can implement to overcome generalizations about asking for money include? To always be closing is icky. It shows you are just trying to get to the person's wallet versus getting to know the person. Instead, start a conversation to get to know the human being. Relating to each other as individuals shows genuine interest and will help with building relationships. Relationships go farther than asking for money. Find a commonality between yourself and the person you are asking. Be the host of the conversation. Always be the person who is in control. What is the ARC of conversation, and how is it going to look and go? When asking for money it is important to be personal and candid and know what is a comfortable ask. As you get to know the person you are speaking to, set the amount that you want to ask for. Set this amount before you begin the conversation, but allow it to change as you do research during the conversation. The ask strategy and what to say "It would be really great if we could count on you for this amount", then give them a moment to think about it. Separate what the amount of money means to you versus what it might mean to someone else. It is all scalable. Truly if you separate yourself from the meaning of the amount you can ask for any amount. Find the comfort to ask and you will be able to ask for any amount. Blue Jeans Theory - no matter what you know about people, you never really know what their relationship with money is. It's hard enough to figure this out for ourselves. Someone who makes $30K a year may invest $300 in a pair of jeans while someone else who makes $ 300K per year won't invest more than $30 in a pair of jeans. Therefore, it's impossible to figure out what someone's perspective on money is. Instead, ask "what do you think". Don't ask for a yes or no. Really make space for a gray area and keep it light. Say things like "I'm going to shoot for the moon and see if you can do this much." "I was thinking, could you give this amount, what is your initial instinct about that?" See if these open a deeper conversation. Read the full show notes and access all links. If you are starting a business or looking to scale your business and are tired of spinning in circles and doing it all alone, let's connect. Book a free consult with me by clicking here.