Bright Entrepreneur Podcast

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Have your launches or evergreen funnels been performing worse than normal lately?

Have things just not worked the way they used to in your business?

It's not your fault. In fact, most businesses are seeing a significant decline in revenue right now because of the recession.

Listen to this podcast episode with Annie Hyman Pratt to learn how to survive the recession, 3 costly mistakes that could cost you your business, and a template for how to communicate any changes you need to make to your team in a way that builds trust and helps you retain your best team members.

Order a copy of Annie's book "The People Part" at https://anniehymanpratt.com/book

About Annie Hyman Pratt:

Annie Hyman Pratt’s mastery is developing leaders, teams and infrastructure that drives business growth—so entrepreneurs can do the strategic and creative parts while also having the time, freedom, and positive impact they desire. She founded the consulting and training company Leading Edge Teams based on her unique, decades-long experience as former CEO of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a successful C-level executive, and a highly sought-after business adviser. Leading Edge Teams provides entrepreneurial companies training and executive coaching in groups and one-on-one, online and in person. They have an unparalleled track record of helping businesses achieve massive, sustainable, team-driven growth.

Whatever challenges you may be facing in your business, Annie has likely already seen them—and solved them.

Some of Annie’s current and past clients include high-level entrepreneurs and businesses like:

Jeff Walker (Product Launch Formula), Fatburger, MOCEAN (a creative entertainment company that works with Disney, Sony, Warner Brothers, Netflix, Amazon, and other studios) , Dave Asprey (Bulletproof Coffee), Stu McLaren (North Results), Susan Pierce Thompson (Bright Line Eating), Ryan Levesque (ASK Method) and Reid Tracy (Hay House).

Connect with Annie at:

https://www.leadingedgeteams.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/anniehymanpratt/

https://www.leadingedgeteams.com/youtube

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This one is a bit more vulnerable than most...

Curious about Brighter Together? Lets chat at https://wearebrightertogether.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Seth Ellsworth https://breakthroughchallenge.com

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Hear the 3 Main Takeaways I got from attending Stu McLaren's Impact Mastermind in Jan 2022.

Mentioned in this episode:

Hello Audio for Private Podcasts: www.gethelloaudio.com

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At a certain point, joining a Mastermind can be one of the BEST investments you ever make in your business, but how do you know when it's time? This episode will give you 3 signs that joining a mastermind will help you grow your business faster while avoiding expensive mistakes along the way, or if it is still a little bit too early for you.

Have questions about Brighter Together Mastermind after listening to this episode? Reach out to me at https://www.wearebrightertogether.com and I'd be happy to answer your questions and chat about if it's truly a good fit for you or not.

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I've seen more entrepreneurs make this mistake than I can count in the 11 years I've been running an online business full-time. Don't let it happen to you as well, especially if you're putting together an evergreen funnel for your business!

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It's rare that an evergreen funnel works right out of the gate. My newest funnel worked FABULOUSLY with warm audiences but then totally bombed when we took it to cold traffic. So here's what we did & how we knew what to test next.

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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If people don't trust you, they won't buy from you.

From this episode:

Videoask: www.GetVideoask.com Get 10% off using discount code KesFBt6L

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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I'm revealing ALL the behind-the-scenes details of my high-ticket mastermind funnel in this episode of the Bright Entrepreneur Podcast.

Resource from the show:

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

(The links to the $49 training and Scaling Implementation Mastermind Experience are in the guide!)

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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A conversation with my long-time friend Molly who also started a new biz after a big Covid Pivot.

You can find Molly Keyser on Clubhouse @MollyKeyser and you can find Jamie Bright on Clubhouse @JamieBright

Check out Molly's free 5-Day Course Kickstart Challenge here:

https://bit.ly/3uRKolS

Connect with Jamie Bright on Instagram at @JamieBrightAdventures

Transcript:

Today I get to introduce you to one of my longest friends in the online space. Her name is Molly Keyser. She was in the photography industry with me and also made a big pivot in her business last year after COVID hit. And we had the most wonderful conversation that went. All over the place. We talked about the biggest mindset shifts that we've made since we started our businesses and how we are growing our businesses differently.

Now, we talk about the importance of messaging and how that shapes everything. We talk about focus. We talk about hiring. We get into all sorts of wonderful topics. I know you're going to enjoy it. So let's dive in to this phenomenal 📍 podcast

Molly has been a dear friend of mine for gosh, how long Molly ages? Like seven, eight, nine years. Yeah, like probably eight, I think. Forever. Very long time. And, um, we have both grown businesses starting in the photography industry and then pivoting away.

And she is just one of my dearest colleagues and I'm so excited to, excuse me. I am so excited to have her here today and to introduce her to you. So Molly, would you take a quick moment and share, um, Like super brief, like a little bit of your journey and where you are now and what you're doing now. Just so people kind of have context of who you are.

Sure. So hello guys. So yeah, I started out, let's see here many years ago, I ended up, I dropped out of college, started a photography business. With 81 cents to my name was living with my grandma low times, low times. And I grew that photography business to multiple six figures. So other people started asking me how I was able to do that.

And so I started doing a little bit of coaching and if you're doing coaching right now, you might relate to this. I felt like I kept repeating myself over and over. Um, so I thought, you know, what, if I take this same information and put it into an online course, So I put it into an online course. And for the last six years I had an online course for photographers.

Um, one of which we grew to $2 million a year. And then when the pandemic hit, um, I actually made the decision to pivot and I can maybe share more on that later out in the episode. But, um, now my, my one and sole focused business is called profitable courses. So I am a course expert and I help people just like you turn their passion into an online

course.

Yes. And you do such a good job of making things so clear and simple. You're such a good teacher, so all right, Molly. Um, what I really want to dive into right away in our conversation and just see where it takes us is talking about now that you've pivoted about a year ago. Gosh, it's almost. Exactly a year.

Isn't that crazy? Yeah.

What month is it? March one month

short of a year. March 12th is the day that it hit me. Oh my God. What month is it? That's so like, can I think like April

I started to pivot and I think may was like the official start of the new year,

like right away, you knew. But, um, since you've been through this pivot, I would love Tish.

Um, Just basically have a conversation about how you're building your business differently now and like how I've been building my differently now than back when we started and how that mindset has changed for, for you. So like you wanna, you want to start like, how is your mindset different today than it was way back when

you started?

Wow, it's crazy. I would say the first thing that comes to mind is just. Almost like a calmness, assuredness and focus. Um, and I will say, you know, when you're starting your first business ever, I feel like you are going to go through a little bit of chaos just because you're trying to figure out what works and what doesn't work.

And I feel like that was sort of, my last business was just like Jamie actually. And I were talking about this a different day and she said, it's almost like you've got your. Um, masters in business with your last company, like you got paid to grow that company, you know, because it was profitable and that is how I feel about it.

Um, now with the new company, it's so clear to me. Like what we need to do to have success and to help our students. And it's just such a clear path. And so I don't feel that chaos in this business, but I do think that that is because of the journey I had before and what I learned in terms of trying all the things like we tried, all

the things it absolutely did.

And I think some of them we did together even sometimes. I feel like,

yeah, we did. Yeah. Like one of us would have an idea. We would try it. Oh, this works. That works. Yeah. I feel like you tried a lot of different things as well. I think I tried

everything. I've done. Quiz funnels and evergreen and LA immersion trips,

challenges like a tiny offer, you know, mini

everything yet.

Yeah. I haven't done teleseminars. I think I came in just late enough to skip that, that I've

been involved in many telesummits.

We're getting old here. I was reflecting on this cause, um, two days ago as we're recording, this was my ten-year anniversary of starting my online business. So, um, like bef you know, it was so different having a blog before Facebook lives and like you had to have a blog and know how to code like HTML. I mean, it was just, there was no

blogging, honestly feels like a different lifetime and.

Well, yeah, like you'd have to code on the sidebar, your opt-in and be like, you know, open all the CSS.

Yeah, exactly. A place to host video and like,

yeah. Oh, it's image or I M G space

source. Oh, I know all this stuff. It was, it's just crazy to think about business before, um, before it was so easy and at least in terms of technology, um, which.

It kept the barrier to entry higher than, and it was easier because there was less competition, but I think there's never been an easier time to start a business. So anyways, I'm getting off on a tangent, which is fun. These are conversations, but, um, so what is one thing I would love? Um, so you talked a little bit about the mindset.

You have this assurance and this confidence, because you've done it, you've proved to yourself that you can do this. And so, you know, you can repeat it. And so as you're coming into like your gosh, you're not quite a year into the new business yet. Um, what would you say is the biggest difference now? With how you're growing your business versus back then when we were just throwing spaghetti against the wall and seeing what was sticking.

Yeah. That really

does describe what I did last time for sure. I'm going to say we a lot because my husband actually called owns this new business with me, my last business. I started on my own and then he eventually joined it. Um, I'm super jealous that you call,

you know, doing your ads and all the things employing my husband,

but no now we're co-owners, um, which I would highly recommend.

It's better to have your husband as a co-owner than an employee, but anyway.

Yeah. And there was that dynamic too. I agree.

Um, yes, I would say the biggest thing is going into the new business with a strategy. So I know a lot of people think they need like a business plan. I don't necessarily think you need a business plan because I think that can sometimes be something where you're trying to fit a lot of things into a document to say, like, I have a business plan, but rather you should have a clear plan.

That's just simple. So for me, for example, With my last business, it was like, okay, I have this successful photography business. People want to learn it. I'm going to start a blog and then, Oh, okay. Now people want to buy things from me. What do they want to buy for me? Okay. They wanna buy a posing guide?

Well, I should ask them what they want to buy next. Okay. What do you guys want to buy? Oh, you want to buy this thing? Okay, cool. I'm going to make that next. Whereas with this company, it's very clear. Like I came, you know, I just sat down and thought about who do I want to help? What's the one thing that's going to get them X result.

And then. You know, I'm only going to have one product, one business, and what are the vehicles we're going to sell that product? So I would say the biggest shift is my last business was what products am I going to create for people to buy? And I would just keep creating new products and new ways to sell them and all the things.

Um, whereas now I understand that one product is really a business, uh, just one product in itself. So with the new company, it's like, okay, how can we take this one product and sell it in all of these different ways to reach even more people and impact even more people while remaining. Calm cool collected enjoying life and not, you know, having a million different products, which is like running a million different businesses.

Basically.

It is. And I think that's, I mean, this is why I was so excited to have you come because we both have made this shift as we've been restarting. Like I don't want. To have like a bajillion products and 150 blog posts and like all the stuff, just for the sake of having the stuff it's like, what is the one thing that's most aligned with who I am that I can just go deep and focus on and say no to everything else and just sell the one thing.

Just sell the one thing, just sell the one thing and make it as easy as possible. And it's such a huge mindset shift from what I used to do before. I think, um, I don't know. I think I felt. Like I needed to be busier, so it makes sense. Yeah. And you know

what I'm so I proudly go to weekly therapy now and I actually wrote down yesterday, wait, what was it that you just

said, Jamie, I need to be busy.

Yeah.

Yeah. I wrote down that I was like, I was really burying myself in my work. It's really no different than any other addiction in my opinion, but that could be like a whole podcast topic in itself. But. I was going to say in terms of the one product thing that you and I were just talking about, I also think that we could share about how, like you, for example, you've picked podcasting to be like your one focus for.

Um, you know, I guess traffic or whatever you want to call it, would you say that that's

accurate? Yeah, this is my only free content platform and everything else feeds this. So like I have emails, but they feed the pod. They send people to the podcast. It's not separate content, so yeah, totally podcasting.

And to point that out that it's like one business, one product, but also. You know, be, be strategic with the one thing that you're focusing on because I see a lot of people trying to be on all the social platforms before they've even sold like one, one customer. And it's just like a cycle that'll never end because you can't do all the channels.

Perfectly by her, by yourself.

Yeah. I call it FOMO marketing because like they have this fear that they're missing out on these amazing clients that are on Instagram or Facebook, or like podcasting people there. And what if that's the place where everything blows up. And so people feel like they need to be everywhere because they've got this massive fear of missing out.

Right. And that they're not going to find like, they're just, you know, they just got to try and find the one thing that's going to work platform

that will explode is the one that you focus on. Yeah.

Because here's why, because most people do that. Like shallow little bit of everything, you know, they're like, well, I gotta do just enough Instagram and just enough this.

And then they do like the five or 10% that everyone does. And they don't have the capacity to go deep in one of them and really learn it inside and out. And if you would take all of that effort and go deep into one platform and it doesn't even really matter which one it is, as long as your customers.

Right.

It really doesn't. Exactly. I agree. Yeah.

So like as long as they do that and they go deep, they're going to beat out like 90% of the people on the platform who are just doing like the bare minimum, and then they're going to get way better results. It doesn't, it really doesn't matter which one it is.

totally agree with you. So with my last business, I totally tried to do all the things at once. And with this business, I started with one thing I would say the one I started with was Facebook groups. That's the one that I just chose to start with. And then once I had mastered and automated that, um, then we went to Facebook ads.

Uh, then we, you know, we have that outsourced and running and. To be fair. We have quite a bit of experience with Facebook ads. So it was, it's something that probably the first time you do it will take you years to get, but now that we've done it, you know, and then I hired a Pinterest agency, then I hired an employee to do Instagram and other things.

So it's like, I did it. I wasn't doing them myself. I like mastered one. And then I would outsource or hire. Uh, to do the next thing.

Can I, can I, can I, how, why you can do that? Can I share you have like the most brilliant, beautiful, tight messaging of anyone? I know. Oh, thank you. Well, no, but think about it.

So can you tell people, like, why it's so easy for you to hand this off to other people? Like, you know, because I think a lot of people think, well, what are they going to write? Or what's the voice or whatever. Like how do you, so I know your systems because you've shared them with, you want to talk a little bit about how you approach messaging so

that you can do that.

Yeah, actually, I'm so glad you brought this up because to be honest with you, So I actually kept a notebook while I was starting my new business, because just like what just happened? I almost forgot that I went through so many months of perfecting the messaging. You're right. Um, so it's like, yeah, I started with Facebook groups, but I also spent probably three or four months just perfecting the messaging and building like systems around the messaging.

So, so yeah, one thing that I did was I created a document. I think it's just called like profitable courses. Master messaging or something like that. Um, And it, it has in there, you know, it explains who is our ideal client. It explains what's our mission in one sentence. Um, so we help people turn their passion into an online course.

Like that's our mission, super simple. And then I wrote down, like, what are all of our customer's false beliefs? I think I have like over a hundred false beliefs, which is, you know, they, they would say something like, Oh, I don't think I can do a course because I'm too old. I'm too young. I don't have money.

I don't have an idea. Like all those things are false beliefs. Also thought I, I wrote down, um, all the other things that we would need for messaging. And then I also created a Trello board called I think I called it my story volt or something like that. And I think this is the thing Jamie's remembering.

I had a while since I made it, but we still use it. Of course. So, yeah, I came up with what are all of my different personal stories? What are the false beliefs and how can I tie those stories and false beliefs? To create the messaging. Um, so like every social post, every email, everything we use the story vault to sort of build that messaging.

And then the cool thing is, you know, once you have a solid amount of it, doesn't matter what it is. Let's just say you have a solid amount of podcasts, a solid amount of blog posts, a solid amount of emails, whatever that is. Then anytime you bring on someone or outsource or hire, you know, you can just, they can repurpose the content.

That's. You know, the messaging and that that's already exists, which that's a huge shift from my last business. I wrote a blog post every day for like five years or something for every week. Excuse me. But still, and it's like, I got to the point where I'm like, I don't have anything left to say. And then I thought like, Oh no, Is that horrible?

Like, does this mean my business is dead? And it's like, no, it just, you know, you should really, there's something wrong with repeating because people are not hearing every single thing that you say on every single platform. So there's nothing wrong with

repurposing. Yeah. No, and I actually, um, for me, I mean, I've followed Stu McLaren for several years now.

It hit me, I think about two or two and a half years ago, I was at this workshop. I'm like, Oh my goodness. I know Stew's messaging. Better than I know my own because he repeats it over and over and over and over and over again. And he has this core messaging that if people hear this and they believe in this, like it's plenty, it's more than he needs and it will attract the right people.

And that's all they need to want to do the tribe course. And I'm like, Oh my gosh. What is my messaging? Like what is the core messaging? And I don't think there's not a lot of people talking about having like that messaging, where it's the same stories that hit the same false beliefs so that people can actually believe it's possible for them.

And they can see themselves in your story and that you can. You know, you can write these out as big, long stories and then grab that tiny chunk of one for Instagram posts or, you know, you don't have to use the whole thing all the time, but when you have that bank and you have all of those things, very intentionally like selected, which is why I think it's so impressive.

And it. It's totally everything that I've been thinking about as I start over is like, what is the messaging? What are the stories? What are the things people need to hear? And how can I repeat them again? And again, and again, in ways that may not sound like just repetition, but like in different contexts.

So like maybe I'll share your story, Molly, and talk about focus. And then I'll share my friend Bree's story and talk about focus. You know, like you can use the same core messages.

Like trail running or what, and like tie that in. Yeah. See me as the queen of taking like what I would think wouldn't be like cool enough to write about and making it just so interesting.

I feel like that's like your total

gift. Yeah. I actually it's so funny. Cause I was doing stares yesterday. I tricked my brain into doing a bunch of stairs and I was like, okay. This is a great actually shared it in my mastermind today. The group that brighter together mastermind that I run. And, um, one of the guys in the mastermind, his name is Richard Ralston and he has this like obvious, next step thing where it's like, when you're doing accountability and you're trying to get something done, you don't have to worry about all the things you have to do.

Just figure out what is the. Obvious next step, like tiny itty bitty next step. So if I want to go for a run, the next step is like putting on my shoes or maybe finding my shoes or whatever it is. And so I, I there's these stairs that I love to run and, um, they've been IC. They haven't been ready and I, I shouldn't say that.

I don't love running them. I don't run them. I climbed them, but they allow me to run the trail. And so I do them because it's really good for me. And I went by him, I'm like, Oh my gosh, the snow is melted. They're clear. I'm like, I've got to do one set of stairs. It's 110. So I'm like, I have to do one flight of 110 stairs just to honor the staircase.

And that is open. And so I did, so I went down and I kind of ran up it cause I was only gonna do one and I got to the top and I'm like, well, if we're going to do one, like

I should really do like. Five

cause like I should just do a few

more really honor it. Yeah.

I mean, I should do a couple more. Like it's good for me.

It would be a good start to the year. And so I do five and I get to that happen. I'm like, well is kind of wimpy. Like I could do a couple more. Like I did 65 at the height of last summer, which is insane. I'm like 65 sets. 65 sets of them. Yeah. It was like,

Oh, I'm like 65 stairs. That's good.

Five sets of 110 stairs.

It was insane. Um, but I, and so I'm like five is not even 10% of that. Like I should do a couple more. I'm like I should do eight. Why eight? No idea. So I did a couple more and I got to eight and I'm like, well, he is really close to 10. I should just do 10. And I'm like, I'm like in my head of, no, I'm doing this and I do two more and then I get to 10 and I'm like, Oh, but I'm at like 820 feet of elevation.

I can get to a thousand by doing three more. And so then I did three more and I'm like, Oh my gosh, I just did 13 and today. Oh my gosh. My legs were like shaking by the end. Cause I'm so not in shape for that. And today I felt really sore, but I'm like, that's an example of like the stories that it's same in business.

You don't need to know all the steps. You don't even need to know exactly where you're going. Like maybe you kind of know, just got to take that next step. So sorry. I just totally, only thing really ignore it for, as I remember,

like. A few, I don't remember how many years ago, but Janie wrote this blog post that was like comparing business to a marathon.

And, and I remember after I read, I think it was something about running and I remember reading that and B and just being like so inspired that I, cause I always, you know, I feel like we always think our lives are too boring to like write about, and that really inspired me to be like, Oh, okay. So I can really turn any part of my daily life in for sure.

A learning lesson, you know, but as far as messaging, other than the volts thing, I think just really nailing our webinar messaging. So then when we bring anyone onto the team, it's like, like for example, we just hired someone to do Instagram and other social media as a full-time employee. And after five days, I would say he's about like 50 to 60% trained in, which is incredible.

Like I've now been able to do that in the past. And one of the ways was just. Ha ha he spent two full days just going through all of our messaging, taking our course, going through our webinar. And so, yeah, I mean, really it's funny. I remember when we started the new business, a Facebook status I made was in order to have a successful business, you need to like the most, what was it, the number one thing you need to conquer to have a successful businesses, your messaging.

And there are so many comments of people being like, I disagree it's ads or it's groups or it's this, or it's that. And. I think maybe they must understand what I was saying, because if you don't have messaging, you can't have ads. If you don't have messaging, you can't have a Facebook group, you can't have sales, you can't have anything.

So it definitely is the first thing you need to really

master for sure. And you do such a good job of systematizing that which does allow you then, right. When you have gone deep in one platform to then be able to scale to others without it being you, because you've done the heavy lifting, you've done the hard work, and now you can hand that to your Pinterest people or to whoever and say, go to town.

Here it is. And you know that it's going to attract the right people because that's the whole purpose of your messaging is to get the right people in the door to show them what's possible and then invite them to join your course creation stuff. So it's really. Nobody talks about that.

Do they? I agree.

People don't talk enough about messaging. Um, I did learn, uh, I mean, you and I both have learned messaging over the years from a lot of different people. Um, but I, you know, I do agree like, so one of Jamie's mentors is Stu McLaren and one of my mentors, Russell Brunson, I feel like both of them talk pretty well about messaging as well, but yeah.

I don't feel like it's talked about enough.

Yeah. Or how to systematize it and really hand that off to people. Because like, I was like you, I always thought I had to have a new message for every blog post and then a new lesson and teach something different every single time. So I'm like, gosh, I'm going to run out of content.

Actually, I did. I just stopped blogging.

No watching you. This is a really good example of this, actually. So I'm just going to quickly talk about clubhouse, whether you think it's cool or not. I think this is a good lesson. So all my friends are telling me, you know, clubhouse, clubhouse, and Jamie Jamie's like, you got to get on clubhouse.

Right. And I fought it for so long. I'm like, I don't want to, I remember

the post all about

focus. I'm like, I don't want to be in clubhouse, but then we have this challenge coming up and my whole main job is to drive traffic. So I'm like, okay, well let me just try this out. Right. So at first, so meeting who I am today, I was like, I'm going to track all my stats and really look at the numbers and see like, is clubhouse worth.

And, you know, so I don't remember exactly, but my, I remember my very first clubhouse room. I ended up getting like 50 to 200 opt-ins for my challenge. It was insane. Like my first room I'm like, wow. I mean, that would cost me. You know, like thousand dollars in ads or whatever it was, I'm actually really bad at math.

So let's see like 200. Okay. So yeah, $1,600 in ads. Um, and I'm like, so, okay. But it was two hours of my time. I'm like, so that's like, okay, you know, let's, let's keep going with this. Right. Um, but the thing that I learned about clubhouse is I noticed a lot of my friends, uh, not Jamie, other people are. Not recycling their messaging.

So they'll do like a new room with a new title, new content, all this new stuff. Um, or like, let's say their core product is about one thing I noticed. They're talking on clubhouse about something completely different. And then they're coming to me and saying, you know, why am I not getting as many opt-ins as you or sales or whatever that is.

And it's because, um, I just repeat the same thing over and over and over on clubhouse, over and over and over. So like my I'm not even kidding you, you can go right now. I mean, depending on when you watch this, but I have eight rooms scheduled, all of them have the exact same title, word for word, the exact same description word for word.

And I just do Q and a, and I repeat, I just, you know, people only ask the same, you know, 25 questions. So I'm really repeating myself and just driving people to that opt-in page. And it works so crazy. Good. Like one hour equals about a hundred opt-ins right now for my challenge. Um, and I just think it's a good example of you don't need more than, you know, one solid

message really.

And the beauty of that is that because clubhouse isn't recorded, you can do the same thing again and again, and again, and people don't feel like it's. Repetitive. And they, you know, if they miss it, it's not a big deal. It's new people with new questions. So it's not always the same, uh, it so more, and you're really learning their limiting beliefs and their issues

talking to a lot.

Every question is like false belief, false bleed. Exactly. That's

beautiful. Well, yeah, I'm actually, that's one thing I want to start doing is, um, weekly clubhouse rooms. I'm going to say it here. I haven't said it publicly yet. Molly 10:00 AM on Wednesday central time. I need to now schedule it. Yeah, you can do that because

you have your podcast systemized and you're hiring someone to help you.

Yeah. And I

think I, you know, and the crazy thing is I have gotten so many clubhouse followers without trying even okay.

Little tip. If you just schedule a room, I had my eight rooms scheduled a month in advance. I was getting consistent followers without even having going

live. That's amazing. I have gone from about 1500 to 1992 right now.

I've done very few rooms, very few rooms like, and it's, it's pretty cool. I'm excited about that when I

left last month. Cause I only go on to promote my challenge. Yeah. So it's been a month since I've been on and I jumped up over a thousand and I wasn't even on the platform. So yeah.

So what is your mind, your handle on clubhouse in case people want to find you?

Oh yeah. Let me check mine. Mine's at Jamie bright. Yours. Mine is

at. Molly. M O L L Y Keyser, K E Y S

E R. Okay. I'll put that in the show notes too, as long as I don't forget. So what you're doing is amazing. And I, I, I love, I remember when we were on there together at first. Cause you remember, we started together a few things and you're like, Oh my gosh, I'm getting this.

And you were sharing your stats. Oh Jamie,

she really, yeah. You really helped me because. This is basically what happened. I'm like, okay, Jamie, I finally did it. I joined what, what should I do? And you just like rattle off a bunch of tips. And I just ran with it and like, I really still, to this day, haven't really done much different,

but it's working, that's all that matters.

And I did a podcast episode, a few, like back in January or December on clubhouse. So if you guys want to hear the tips, you can go there and listen. So just go check that out, but yeah.

Is S O P so just to tie that into the topic of this, like, everything is like a focus in a system. So,

yeah. Can you, can you explain what an SOP is in case somebody is not?

Yeah, so it's a S

it stands for standard operating procedure, but that's just a fancy word, a few fancy words for, it's a checklist of like, step-by-step what you need to do. So like, you know, I'm I made once I, once I feel like I quote unquote mastered clubhouse for me, I made a checklist that way. It's like, okay, if I.

Don't go on for a month and come back. I'll actually remember what I did to have success with that, because if you're anything like me, you will forget

immediately. Yeah, dude, I can't even remember my kids' names half the time, so I need everything written down. I don't remember

what I had for breakfast. I don't know.

I didn't even know it was March, so.

It's hilarious. I like, I couldn't even remember my clubhouse handle and it's just my first and last name, like serious.

We don't have to think about those things like that mental load, man, when you can let it actually, that's a really good point too, is that the beauty of creating those processes is that you have less to keep in your head.

And so you don't have to carry that because there's so many things we're thinking about. And so many things we have to do in our businesses. And if you don't have the space to really. Think through things and have that clarity. If you've got all of these things weighing on your mind and you lay down in bed at night and you're thinking of your to-do list, like that's heavy.

And so when you can create these SOP use and just like not have to worry about it and like hand them off to somebody else to do, like, maybe you can't do that on clubhouse yet. You could though you could hire a student to run a room, right. I coach

you much outsource everything except for the actual speaking.

Right?

I mean, you could, because you have these SOP in place and that's just so powerful and you just create them as you go. I have my team members, when we do something new, I have them create their own SOP. Like you don't have to create all of them. You can have your people create them. So yeah. Also

another good they're good for everything.

Jamie just said, plus when you're onboarding new people, plus if you ever want to create a course about a topic, you can literally just grab all your SLPs and include them in your

program, which people love. Yeah.

Like my clubhouse SOP is like a bonus for when you join my program. So

love it. Yeah, for sure.

No, that's wonderful. So, uh, no, I love that so much, man. Um, Somali, is there any other mindsets. Actually, you know, what I would like to talk about is, um, we said something before we started recording you. Go ahead. You've got some, I'm gonna say I do

have a big mindset piece about hiring. Do you think that that's something that sure.

Bring it

anywhere. This is a fun conversation. People get to eavesdrop in. Yeah,

I'll explain it really quickly. But basically with my last company, I feel like a lot of my hiring decisions were based on. So, Hmm, let me start over. So with my hiring, I actually had a mentor and I asked that person, how do I know when it's time to hire someone?

And they said, hire where it hurts. And I thought, okay, well that means, you know, if I'm feeling overwhelmed with something, I should make a list of those things and hire someone to fulfill those duties. And that's not necessarily horrible. However, I have learned that there's a better way to go about it.

So when you're building a business, the whole point of the business is to make money, right. To make a profit. If you don't want to make a profit, then you know, you shouldn't have a business, it should be a hobby or something out of the foundation,

whatever that is right. For someone else, whatever. Yeah.

Business is

to make profit. And so the mindset shift that I've really made recently is. How can I, or where can I think of in my business, not where I'm busy, but where can I, where can I find the most leverage? So for example, this person we just hired. I'm like, okay, well, I'm not really busy with Instagram.

I'm not really busy with YouTube. I'm not busy with these things because we're not currently doing them because I don't have the time to do them. Right. But if I have someone doing these things and then I did the calculation. Okay. If they can get X amount of opt-ins. Um, I know that X percentage of those will convert into a sale.

So that means this person needs to get X amount of opt-ins per month to double or triple their salary. Um, so then you just come up with, okay, what are their 30, 60, 90 goals? As long as you're setting the correct goals with the correct measurements, then you can bring someone on, even before you quote unquote, have the money for them, because they will be paying for themselves.

And if they don't pay for themselves, which you will know, because you will be tracking these things. Then you let them go and it's not emotional it's business. And this is the biggest, this was a really hard lesson for me to learn, you know, I would bring people on and I just, I liked to front be friend people and, and, you know, I like to get really close with people and then I would it, and it was really my fault.

I wasn't measuring things correctly. And so I would ask my mentors, you know, well, how do I know if this person's doing a good job? How do I know if I should let them go? And. Now it's, it's clear, you know, you set number goals, not a goal of like, make Instagram look pretty, but, you know, drive X amount of opt-ins from Instagram, which they would then convert into sales.

And if they meet that goal, they remain an employee or they can move on up or whatever. And if not, then you let them go. So anyways, the mindset shift is thinking about. Hiring more in terms of the business and the logic and the stats behind it versus the emotion of like, where do I feel I need help. I actually don't even let myself say that anymore.

I don't let myself say like, where do I feel we need help in the business? Where do I feel like the word field for me in business? I just don't go there anymore because it's all about the stats. Um, and I know old me would be like, that's so boring, but. Business

is about profit. It is. And I know it's not that you're an unfeeling person by any means.

Um, but I

I'm actually yeah, very feeling an emotional person, which is why it's hard for me to, to change to this, but yeah.

Right. And, and you know, how many leads they need to bring in to make money because you know, your statistics, you know, how many people are going to convert, right. And w they will know what success looks like.

And if you know that number, when you're hiring them, they know the expectation upfront. So if they don't think they can do it, if they're not qualified, they're not going to take the job because they're going to get fired when they can't do it. So it's like you

see better for the employee. I can't imagine, like, I mean, apology to any of my master boys that are listening to this that had no expectations, you know, um, we all start somewhere and we all have to learn those things, but it's like, Yeah.

I mean, you need those numbers and those boundaries for the employee and for yourself

agreed for sure. And like I'm currently hiring an assistant right now. And, um, for me it was looking at. You know, is this the highest use of my time? And it was identifying what are the key things that I need to have in place in my business to keep the momentum moving forward at a bare minimum.

And am I actually doing them and doing them consistently? And frankly, the answer is no, because my life has been a little crazy. And so I was like, okay, well I need to hire somebody to keep, these are the bare minimum things that need to happen. I want podcasts coming out at least once a week. Um, I want to be.

Getting on as a guest on other people's podcasts is at a minimum on average once per week. And I want somebody to help me do that. And so I know if I do those things, everything else will continue to grow. And so that's literally how I designed this job. Like description was here. It's not a high level thing, but it's just keeping that consistency, keeping all of that.

Um, like I need those drivers in my business cause I know they will move me forward. So when you know that it makes hiring a lot easier and then. We can measure that. So it's beautiful. I love that. I love that. Okay. So I have to share before we hit record what we are probably recording, but out of context, um, we talked about a question that we've both been asking ourselves lately.

Um, what if it were simple, tell me where has that come up for you and how has that been shaping what you're doing?

So. I know this is a lot about comparing then and now. So with my last business, um, I was very stressed out. I was not, I didn't, I felt like I didn't have time for myself. I realized though that I just, I didn't have the right boundaries.

I wasn't making that time for myself. And things felt very, very hard, pretty much all the time. Like it's a lot. It was very chaotic, honestly. Um, With my new business, the whole purpose around my husband and I creating the strategy for this is it is for it to be simple is for us to have work boundaries and have a life and remain calm and so far so good.

It's been really awesome, um, business by design, but anyways, um, So, yeah, I guess when I started the new business, as soon as I started to feel any kind of stress or chaos or anything of any kind, I don't know exactly what helped me to ask this question. I'm probably assuming my amazing therapist has helped

me to come realize this, but.

I remember,

I was just like panicking over something in the business. Like I normally would. And I stopped and I just asked myself in my head, you know, what if I just allowed this to be easy? Like, what if I'm the one that's, you know, cause the business, it ultimately is a reflection of you. So I'm like, what if I'm the one creating all this chaos?

What if I'm the one? Um, You know, not allow, like not allowing myself to, to have space for myself or whatever that is or bringing on this stress. Like, what if I just let this be easy and just see what happens? Um, because a lot of times, you know, if I don't meet a goal or when you're first starting your business, you don't know if something's gonna work and I'll be like super nervous, like, will this work, will this work?

And it has allowed things to be easier. I have to say, um, It, it sounds like if I, if I heard this two years ago, I would be like, Oh yeah, easy for you to say that's woo. It's not like, uh, something that you can, it's not like hard to implement that thing. But I don't know. I mean, maybe it'll help you, maybe it won't, but just ask yourself, you know, what, if you allow this to be easy and what if you just actually allow it to be and then see what happens and go from there.

Yeah. And I've been, I've been looking at my business and saying, what if it were simple? Like, do I really like. What if I don't want to be on Facebook, how can I make it simple and not be there? I'm like, Oh, that would simplify. So I, you know, and it's fun, you know, I have to laugh that you went into Facebook groups as your first platform, because like I rock, I mean, you've.

You've been a group person for ages, but like I've rocked the snot out of Facebook groups. And like, I love engaging in Facebook groups. And I know sometimes for you, that can be heavy. Like you do it. Great. And you automate it. Well, it's funny

about the new business is it's not heavy for me anymore. We can talk about that more later, but

I'm trying to get to everything, but I know like my tendency is to spend lots of time in Facebook groups because I enjoy it.

And yours is not like. On the surface. I know we can automate, and I know it's not hard for you anymore because you've got it down. Um, and that would be a great podcast topic for sure. But, um, I think it's hilarious. I have not done a Facebook group. I haven't actually even done a free community and I'm doing all of my community on the backend as part of my business.

Whereas you are going more into community now, I think, than you did in the past, on the front end. Yeah. In a beautiful way and you've figured out your thing. And it's just, it's just very funny to me to see kind of like the flip-flop of

roles and it just all depends on what your product is and who your people are like for you.

A podcast makes so much sense. Um, for me, I actually did try a podcast in the beginning cause I've, I've done podcasts in the past with success, but. It just didn't get the traction that I wanted. So I tested it and, and that's the beauty too, is you can test something and go all in on it and give yourself that time.

And if it's for you. Great. And if not, you can try something

else. Totally. And really that question of what if it were easy, like the idea of having to nurture a free community when I've been going through a lot of personal change, didn't feel easy to me. It didn't feel light and it felt a little bit like a burden.

And I said, okay, well, if it were easy, it would look different. And what might that look like? And, and even my marketing, I'm like, well, what if I, what if I don't want high volumes of traffic, but instead want high, like high. Traffic that has a high amount of trust. Like I don't need

a lot

high quality perfect people.

And, and the corollary to that is what if they sought me out instead of me making this massive,

crazy difficult effort to have

to find each and every one. So that's the question I've been chewing on a lot? Like what would it take to. Attract the right people to me, as opposed to like trying to convince or market them to me.

Um, which I know it's subtle.

That's exactly why. So this question, same thing. I've been asking myself that a lot and that's exactly why I actually. Decided to do a course specifically, it's going to be different for everyone, obviously. But like, for me, that's what I feel is like, quote, unquote, easy, right?

Like I've done high ticket sales. I've done all those different things. And just like you, you know, you don't want to fill that sales push. And like, I don't either, like who wants to spend all day convincing people that they should buy your thing? Like, you know, they should, you know, you should have good enough messaging or whatever that you need for people to see that they need it.

And if not, You know, peace out because no one, no one wants to have that stress of like trying to convince people all day. Um, so yeah, that anyways, that's why I did a course because then I won't have to be, be doing that. It's like people can get into my funnel and they can watch my program for free. And if they want more, they buy it.

And if not, That's cool. You know, and then that, and also recently, or about a month ago, I was like, Oh, what could our next second product? What could our second product be? What could our next product be? And I'm drawing a funnel and I'm just like, Oh, it's for the future for the future. You know? And then I'm just like, Molly, what are you doing?

Like if it's simple, if you want things simple, why do you want a second product? That's why I know I can make the same amount of money with less effort. Just focusing on this one thing. So I'm like, why am I doing this? And so, yeah, I think it's a really

important question. Well, and I think sometimes for me, I feel a lot of worth from checking things off the busy list.

Like when I'm busy, then I deserve the success that I've earned. Whereas, and this is a huge mindset shift that I've been leaning into. Um, I don't want to work more than 10 to 15 hours a week, and that means. I don't want to create a job. I want to architect a business and bring other people in to be a part of it.

Like I genuinely want to build the building for other people to occupy and run and manage and not like a physical building, but just that idea of that container. Yeah. I want, I want to be the visionary. I want to be the leader of the inspire. Like I want to draw in the right people. Um, but I don't want to do the stuff it's kind of that whole book by Dan Sullivan.

Um, who not, how, and, um, I, it's a huge shift for me because before it was, Oh, look at that. It's a pose that she's putting up on the screen on zoom. It says find the who, hold on. Let me take a screenshot of this. I will post this in our little telegram Tamil on Instagram. That's fantastic. It says find the who, not the how.

Absolutely. And that's a huge shift for me is that I don't want to be doing it all myself anymore. I know that other, like, it means letting go of control and it means letting go of the sense that I have to work hard for my money. And I don't like to feel like I deserve it. Bologna. It's crazy. I can still relate to

that.

I think a lot of people can relate to that. Yeah.

Yeah. Because if money was easy, it feels like you almost feel guilty about it. Like I used to

come from an employee mindset to a business owner mindset.

Absolutely. It's taken me 10 freaking years to make that shift. Yep. Mainly there. And I'm, I'm really excited about it and I no longer feel guilty about hiring somebody to make my job easier.

I used to feel bad about, yeah.

Are you still doing things for message. My employees and be like, what can I help you with? Like, I work for them. Like. I think it's too we're from the Midwest.

Like probably I'm like, I'm sorry. I'm asking you to do this, even though I'm paying you still stay and ask you questions today.

It's like, wait a minute. I genuinely felt guilty giving them tasks. I'm like, wait a minute. They want to be okay. Paid, they want to do something, you know, like they enjoy their work. They want to be working with me. Why do I keep doing their job for them and feeling bad and not really allowing them to shine.

And it's just, I mean, there's just, we could go deep into all this mindset stuff, but. I think that might be a good place for us to kind of wrap up, um, Molly, can you share where people can find you, if they would like to hear more about what you're doing or maybe they want to add a course into their business, whatever it is, uh, how can they stock you and find you.

Yeah, so I would love to be friends. Um, I'm actually hosting a free five day course creation challenge. It starts March 22nd of 2021. So if you're listening to this before that, and you can go to profitable courses.com/challenge, and Jamie I'll have a link in the show notes. I'm sure.

As long as you give it to me

to know, as long as I remember to give it to her.

And then if you're listening after that, um, we do the challenge, um, multiple times a year. So you can go to the link and sign up for the next one. So yeah, I'd love to see you there. And whether you want to be friends or check out what I'm doing or build a course,

you know, I'm here for yeah. And you can be friends with Molly, but not best friends because I claim that status.

Thank you so much.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks so much for listening to today's podcast. If you are enjoying these conversations or there's someone that you think should definitely be on the podcast, I would love it. If you would hop over to Instagram and drop me a DM at Jamie bright adventures, I wanted to start doing more of these conversations because I think there's so much knowledge to be learned.

And frankly, It's just really fun for me to have conversations with people that I love and respect and get to introduce you to some of my favorite people in this space who are just crushing it and who are in sanely. Brilliant. And I personally always kind of find it fun to listen in to conversations and see where they go.

So, um, let me know what you think about, I'm really curious. I hope you're enjoying them as much as I'm enjoying recording them. And would that my friend don't ever forget that we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it 📍 brighter.

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Like this episode? Would you take a moment right now to please leave a review? That'd be amazing, thank you!

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Wanna learn more?

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Transcript:

Hey friend today instead of our regular podcast opener, I thought I'd play a little guitar for you. I'm out of practice, but why not? Right.

just kidding. Not going to do that. I don't know why I thought that would be a fun opening, but here I am. Let me put my guitar away. Oh, my gosh, I'm sitting in my closet recording. Cause the sound is better here. And my guitar happened to be here and I haven't picked it up in ages. So I thought I would. But today, what I really want to talk to you about is the intention behind what you're doing. Why are you growing your business? And I want to talk about why it's so important to answer that question and what got me thinking about it in the first place.

So it's going to be an awesome episode and I cannot wait to share with you 📍 so a couple of weeks ago I got mail, like a piece of paper, actually. It was several pieces of paper from Casey Graham, who is the founder of gravy. They're a payment recovery company and he sent out this thing called the outsider and it's a paper newsletter. And it's fantastic. I was really surprised to get it.

I've been a client of gravies for several years, although, with closing down the photography stuff, I'm not using them at the moment cause I don't have that membership going anymore, but they were great. And I got this outsider newsletter and it was all about defining your owner's intent, which is.

Basically the reason why you are growing your business and what your goal is for your business. Now that might seem really basic, but it's a lot deeper than you might realize. And it got me thinking in a big way. So when I was first starting out my business At that point, my entire goal was just to replace my household income so that I could have more freedom over my time and more autonomy. Be able to see more of my kids' milestones and be around more frankly, I was tired of commuting an hour and a half each day, and then working in a job that sucked the life out of my soul.

So my complete purpose in starting my business. Was simply to replace my income so that I could get out of a job that sucked the life out of my soul. I didn't want to be an actuary anymore. Because of that. And because that was my intention with the business, I basically created another job for myself.

The business was fully dependent on me. I was the face of the company. I was one doing the delivery. Yes. There are times when I had a team, but it was all based upon me. And I was constantly busy. Constantly busy. I did all the copywriting. I did all the sales pages. I did all the marketing. I did all the customer support until I got really wise and finally hired somebody best investment I ever made by the way.

And yes, it was amazing. And yes, it was very profitable. But I was very busy and it took me until several years later to really learn how to grow a team and to pass some things off so that I could get the freedom and autonomy that I was really searching for. And it was a really hard transition and I was still working on it even before COVID came.

I was literally in the middle of evergreening, everything so that I could step away a little bit, but it was still push, push, push, and very much so dependent on me, even though it was less dependent on me than it had been in quite a long time. And so when COVID came and I went through the whole massive business transition, it was kind of like giving myself a clean slate and.

I was able to think about how I would do things differently. Now with the 10 years of experience that I have doing this. Full-time. And at first I wasn't thinking about that at first I was thinking, okay, how do I get some more money into the business? Because my income dropped 85% like overnight.

It was awful. It was stressful. You can hear all about it. And season two, and it was a very much so income focused again. And by the way, there's nothing wrong. If that's where you're at right now. But as I began to move forward and as I began to get really clear about what I loved and didn't love, and as I remembered, and I thought about the fact that this was.

An opportunity to really build a business that just made me come alive in a way that I hadn't felt alive in a long time. I mean, I love photographers, but I haven't been passionate about photography in several years. And I was when I started that business. But today I would never start a business in the photography industry because that's not where my passions lie.

Can I help them? Absolutely. But I wanted something that was more aligned with me. I wanted to run. Masterminds and work with entrepreneurs. And I thought I would have to wait on the masterminds until later. Anyways, you've heard the story. If you've been listening to the podcast for any length of time, you've kind of walked through that journey with me and gotten to see where I've come from. But when I got this thing from Casey, this outsider. Pamphlet, I would know what to call it. paper newsletter. It really made me stop and think about why am I doing what I'm doing now? I had already been very committed to lifestyle design.

I know from experience that it doesn't get easier to step away from the business once it starts making more money. And that if you set it up from the beginning to be fully dependent on you and super busy, then later on. It's still going to be fully dependent on you, maybe even more so, and even harder to step away.

So with this one, I've been committed to creating a business that I really only had to do about 20 hours a week of work with, because I do homeschool my kids and. Uh, he ran a crazy long ultra marathons, which means spending miles and miles and hours and hours and hours on the trail each week training.

And so I need to have that flexibility if I want to have, well, one, if I want to have the presence that I want to have with my children, when I'm homeschooling and really do that well, but also have the time to do the training without it affecting my business. So, as I was thinking about the owner's intent, I realized more than ever that I don't.

Just want to run a mastermind or build a mastermind business that can scale where I'm running. All of these masterminds. I want to build a business that can truly have a massive impact beyond what I can do alone. I want to see entrepreneurs come alive and have the lives they actually want instead of getting stuck in the weeds and the to-do lists.

And actually not having, like most people don't even realize how trapped they are by the business that they themselves have created. And I know masterminds are a great way to help them out of that. I want to help them shine bright and make an impact in the world as well as an income. And honestly, I just want to empower you to know how to empower your people so that we can make massive impact in the world.

If I can help you change the lives of the people in your audience, even a one tiny way, then my impact has just been multiplied several times over. That's what makes me come alive, empowering people like you to empower your people so that my impact can scale so much greater than what I can do. I really started thinking about that deeply and about how I was doing that.

But I realized that. I actually want to be the architect this time and not an employee. I don't want to create a job. I genuinely want to create a business that yes, I'm going to do a little bit with, and yes, I'm going to be the face of it.

And it's going to reflect my heart and the impact that I can have in the world. But. I want to create something that can grow so much bigger than me. I want to empower people who have that same mission as me, who genuinely want to see entrepreneurs succeed, come alive and reach their goals and have a greater impact in the world.

I want to do that with other people. I want to bring them along. I want to empower them in the same mission with me, so that we can do it together. And that just lights me up and I genuinely want to be an architect and not an employee. In fact, my dream is to empower at least a thousand entrepreneurs through brighter together masterminds by the end of 2023.

And I can't do that alone. In fact, I actually wanted to have a much bigger goal than that, but we're going to start with that one as the stepping stone stone goal. And I honestly believe that it's possible, but it isn't possible if I'm simply creating a business. That's. Where everything is done by me, where I am the employee, where it's all based on me.

Yes, I am the architect. Yes, I have the vision, but. This time, this time is different from when I first started, because I can see that I can have the influence on an even greater scale. I can leave a greater legacy. I can impact more people by building a team of people to do this with me, by finding the right people, to be a part of this business.

And by structuring it in a way that's a legitimate business and not just. A side hustle. Not that there's anything wrong with a side hustle, but it's a totally different mindset shift. So my question to you is. Why are you building your business? I mean, yes. You want to help people. I assume, since you're listening to this podcast, but you could be working for somebody else doing that. You could be an employee. Why do you feel so deeply called to run a business? And why have you structured it?

And the way that you've structured it is this really how you want it to be.

And if you've enjoyed these podcasts and are getting a lot of knowledge from it, and you just feel like you resonate in a big way with the idea of not just making an income, but truly making an impact in the world with your business. And you would love to be surrounded by a community of like-minded entrepreneurs who are working to get out of the messy middle.

And scale their business and impact in a big way. I would love for you to consider becoming a part of the brighter together mastermind. Now at the time of recording this, I only have six spots available in the current group that I'm running and I'm not quite ready to start a second group yet. So if you are interested in having one of those spots and being one of the thousand entrepreneurs that. I am helping to reach, to empower and to grow their businesses in a real way.

And you would love to be a part of this. What I'd love for you to do is go to, we are brighter together.com and fill out the application. It's got all the details there. It's got all the pricing info and what we do and how often we meet and all the things about it.

And in the meantime, it just remember my friend, we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it 📍 brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Apply to join the Brighter Together Mastermind and get all the details by clicking here.

http://wearebrightertogether.com

Have questions about it? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieBrightAdventures

Transcript:

In the last episode I talked about how important it was to shift your mindset, if you want to get out of the messy middle and really scale. So in today's episode, I thought I would share three of the biggest mindset shifts that I believe need to happen in order for you to get out of the messy middle, because these three things will keep you stuck.

Long-term and until you recognize them, it's going to be really hard to move beyond them. And that's genuinely what I want for you It's going to be a good one. So let's dive in real fast 📍 you should probably know that the reason. I know these mindset shifts are so prevalent are because I have struggled with each and every one of them at some point in my entrepreneurial life. And when I overcame these three mindsets or shifted them into whatever they needed to be, that's when things really started to take off.

And kept me from being held back in that messy middle and started to grow much easier. So it's, it feels a little vulnerable sharing these with you, honestly, because I've had to work through them myself so much, but here they are because I want you to. Basically benefit from the stuff I've been through.

And if these are things that are keeping you stuck, the sooner you can recognize them the faster you're going to be able to move beyond them. So, number one, the reason that we are stuck in the messy middle. Is that we feel really insecure about our worth and our authority and feel the need to prove ourselves.

what I mean by that is we're putting out way too much free content, or we are over-delivering in our courses and our memberships where we might even been giving them. All of this information, that's really, really great information, but it's overwhelming them. They don't need to know all of it because they just want results.

They want to implement what they're learning and get results as fast as possible. But we feel this need to give them more and more and more information or to do more one-on-ones or. Basically, we take on this responsibility for getting them results. So sometimes, and I've seen this and I've done this, so not just seen it, but done it.

We even jump in and do the work for our people. So for example, let's say that you're a copywriter and you're teaching people how to write copy, and you give them all these templates and you. Teach them all the different things they need to be thinking about as they're creating sales pages and all these other things, but then you have somebody who reaches out and they're struggling and they're like, Oh, you know, I just I'm struggling with this or that.

Or could you critique this? And so even though you didn't charge them for it, and you've got a lot of people and it's not scalable, You feel like you need to prove that what you're doing is good and you feel like you must get them results. And so not only you do, you critique it, but then you give them all of this copy and you kind of do some of the work for them, which honestly.

Sorry to say it. It's kind of, co-dependence when we take on the responsibility for them getting results, we need to guide and help them learn how to do things on their own and focus on results more than on giving more information or just doing the work for people.

So that. They can truly learn how to do it themselves and be able to replicate it in the future, but also teach them how to trust themselves. The reason we do this, it's not bad to help our people. I mean, love on your people, help them get results for sure. But keep your boundaries in place because what happens is.

If we're doing this because we feel insecure about our worth or we really feel like we need to prove that we're good enough. And that we know enough that we really can do this. What's going to happen is that we are going to fill our calendars with time. We're going to put other people's needs above our own.

We're going to do way too much free content because. We don't really feel like we're good enough to sell, or we feel like we need to prove it to more people. And we basically fill our time with stuff that isn't actually going to move the needle in the end. So, number one, you need to know that you are enough, you can do this and that the goal is to help your people get the results that thereafter and do it in such a way that still gives you the freedom.

And. Protects your boundaries and allows you to live the life that you want to have. because when you don't, it's so easy to get sucked into doing way too much and not actually move forward. It's more like spinning your wheels and almost all of the time. And I know this myself it's because you're insecure about if you're good enough, or if you really can help people.

Number two, sometimes we get stuck in the messy middle. Because we're afraid of what other people are going to think. This usually shows up in the form of perfectionism. we want everything to be absolutely perfect. And it shows up in the form of shifts. Well, I should have this massive audience before I do this, or I should have this whole funnel in place before I ever sell, or I should have all of these things that I need to have, because that's what this course I take told me.

I need to do. Before I can legitimately move forward in my business and start selling to people. I should have the course done or the product finished, you know, I should have the sales page written. None of that matters. It only matters if you care about. What other people are going to think, or if they're going to judge you, we think we have to be perfect.

We think we need to have it all right. And we worry so much. Well, what are they going to think if I sell something to them and we created together and it's not perfect. What if I sell it before it's done? Well, as long as you're framing it. Okay. And saying, Hey, we're going to co-create this it's fine. as long as you're not lying about what's there it's okay.

But. Getting stuck in the sheds. Like I should be doing this. I should be running ads. I should any sheds don't should on yourself. Anytime the word should comes up, it should trigger up. I probably don't need to be doing this or there's maybe a different way or. Do I really have to do this, or is this me worried about judgment or not being good enough or any of the other things?

So fear of judgment will keep you stuck in the messy middle, because you will do all of this stuff that you don't need to be doing. You'll put so much time and energy on something being perfect. When spoiler alert. It's never going to be perfect. It won't, it's always a work in progress. This is like art.

It's not necessarily ever done. You don't perfectly right. a best-selling book the very first time there's multiple drafts, there's edits. There's all of these things that happen. It is a dynamic growing, changing, shifting thing. If you're truly going to have an amazing business and testing is a natural part of it, it shouldn't be perfect.

C plus work. It's enough now I know that's really hard to hear or do, if you are an Enneagram three, like I am a perfectionist. Somebody who wants to be the best at all, they do. But that's more a reflection of my own insecurities and my own fear of judgment then of what actually works to grow your business.

And so much of the energy that you're putting into your business. When you're afraid of judgment, isn't going to get you results. It's a waste. And it's keeping you from doing the things that actually matter. It's keeping you from reaching out and asking people to. Be a party of our business. It's keeping you from doing the things that really matter, and that really will move you forward faster.

They'll keep you stuck in the messy middle. The third thing that we need to recognize and overcome is that sometimes. We actually benefit from the busy work that we're doing, because it makes us feel good that we're busy. It feeds our ego straight up. It feels good to be wanted. It feels good to Mark things off the to-do list.

We gain our worth from achieving, even if it isn't the best use of our time, just, it feels good to make that little graphic in Canva instead of hiring a VA to do it for you. And. Sometimes the things we're doing are being done. Not because we really want to move forward, but because

maybe something in us feels like we need to earn our love or achieve in order to feel like we are worthy of love. That's something that I've dealt with. That's my not everyone's, but it's definitely mine. Or that if I give to my clients more, they will spread the word more for me and we try and earn it that way or whatever it is.

So often we're afraid to let go of doing all of the things and we make excuses about, Oh no, we really love doing all the things. We love them because they feed our ego and make us feel like we're doing something worthwhile. But they aren't growing our businesses. And so you really have to ask yourself, what's your goal here is your goal here just to feel smart, like, do you just want to go up on clubhouse and go up on stage and share some knowledge so that people think of you as somebody who's really bright and feel great.

Which that's okay, but recognize it for what it is or do you, I want to do it with intention behind it and not care so much about your ego and about getting credit or, being known for something because you want to be the best of the best of the best of the best. And so you focus on all this stuff that.

Helps you be known, but doesn't actually make you money because the backend stuff isn't as fun or whatever it is. Right. I've always wanted to be the smartest. I always want to be the most helpful. That's just kinda my own thing. I want to be perfect the best. And so, so much of what I did was motivated by my ego and it wasn't until I set my ego aside and said, Hey, you know, I don't need to prove all the things that I know.

I just need to help people get results quickly. What's the fastest, easiest way I can help them get results. What's the least amount of work they have to do in order to get the clients that they're looking for or to grow in their business or whatever it is. Right. And when I took that mindset shift and I went from having to show them how smart I was too.

Really focusing on them and how little could I do and starting to evaluate everything I was doing through this lens of ego, It feels so good to check all these things off the to-do list. But it feels even better to spend that time with my family or to be out on the trail.

And so I had to ask myself, am I willing to not help everybody with everything and to let go of these things that are feeding my ego in order to get the things that I say I truly want, do I really want them? And so here's what I want to ask you to ponder. Do you really want to move out of the messy middle?

Because if you do the first step is to admit that you want it and say, I want this more than I want to feed my ego. I want this more than I care about what other people are going to think. And I know that I can help people. I don't have to prove that to anybody, not even myself.

Because when you do this, It will change the way you spend your time. It will change the way you develop your products and it should change the way you do your business and allow you to let go of so many of the things that you're doing in your business that really are only there to serve your insecurities or your ego.

And aren't actually serving your prospective clients or your customers. And what I want for you is to let go of all that garbage and focus in on the stuff that really works, that really helps them. And that really moves your business forward because that. Is where you are going to start to move forward out of the messy middle it's through saying no.

And not saying yes to everything that will get you, that momentum to move forward.

because the more you can say no to, and the more you can focus on the things that remain, the more you're going to grow. Do more of what's working really, really well. Just go deep into it. And you are going to grow so much faster and have so much more space in your business, in your life.

And you're going to have more of all those things that you say you really want to have without it sacrificing. Your life without your business running you. And that is how you scale out of the messy metal. Now, if you want help with this and support as you go, I would love for you to consider becoming part of the brighter together mastermind, where you will be surrounded by like-minded entrepreneurs who are moving out of the messy middle, who are committing to focusing.

To supporting each other to learning how to be a mirror for each other. They can point out those limiting beliefs or those mindset shifts that need to happen and support you through it.

Do it and remind you of who you are. You can be seen and understood. And celebrated and supported. It's just magical. I would love to have you in it. If you're interested, you can get all the details@wearebrightertogether.com. Right now, as I'm recording this episode, I currently have six spots available, but once they're full, I'll be opening up a waitlist.

And if you'd like one of them just go to, we are brighter together.com. You're not going to see this perfect, beautiful, huge thing. It's a Google form, at least right now, as I'm recording this and it's got all the information there and what you need.

But I didn't let my perfectionist tendencies take over. Eventually I will make a bigger, more detailed page, but check it out. If you have any questions, just reach out to me personally, on Instagram at Jamie bright adventures. The link by the way to that is in the show notes. And I will be happy to answer any questions in the meantime, just remember we are brighter together.

My friends, the world needs us, so let's go out and make a 📍 brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Apply to join the Brighter Together Mastermind and get all the details by clicking here.

http://wearebrightertogether.com

Have questions about it? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieBrightAdventures

Transcript:

Confession. I don't do email. I just don't. I hate it. I hired somebody to start doing it for me in 2013. And I have not looked back since in fact, I don't even have email on my phone and. Yes, I have an email address, but it's fully managed by my customer service gal. And she is my favorite person in the entire world most days, because she can do everything I need in very little time and respond to stuff that needs responses from me by asking me a quick question, and then I'm not distracted by email all the time.

Now that being said, I do have one personal email address that I use for like my kids, teachers, and you know, all the things that require it, that aren't business-related that I have to deal with on my own. And somehow somewhere I ended up signing up for a newsletter with James clear. And I, I've gotta be honest.

I haven't read email newsletters in years because that's why I wanted somebody else to do my email because I will read them and I get sucked into them and I get pulled into all the hype and I need to focus. Like I don't need more stuff. I don't need more education. You probably don't either. I need focus.

I need to just do what I know I need to do and move forward. But I saw this newsletter come through from James and he's amazing, he wrote atomic habits. One of the most brilliant people. I follow a note. And when I do go into that inbox, which is like once a month or whatever, I never check it.

But when I have to, because I know there's something there from a teacher or something, and I see his stuff, I'll read it because. It's some of the best content in an email I've ever seen. And so today I want to share with you a nugget that I took from his email and talk a little bit about how that can help you grow in your business and help you identify what you should be focusing on right now. 📍

So here's a quote that hit me really hard that I wanted to share with you. Now, this is James clear. He said where to focus for the beginner execution for the intermediate strategy for the expert.

Can you guess what it is? That wasn't his quote. That's my little side it's mindset. Okay. That's James clear from his email newsletter. I just thought this was so brilliant because it makes so much sense to me when you're first starting out, you need to know like what the softwares are to use, what the tools are, how do you actually do the things and what does it look like and how do you get people onto an email list?

And what do you say. And the focus is all on getting it set up, it's figuring out what to do and how do you actually make that happen? And that's the bulk of your questions when you're just starting out. Then once you start to get some progress, you start to make some money. That's one strategy is so important.

That's when you get super intentional about your messaging, about your offer, about your conversion mechanism, about your traffic and about your nurture. When you get those things into place, then things can really start rocking. And rolling, this is where courses on marketing and sales and all of those things are super helpful and they can really start helping you to accelerate the results that you are getting in your business, which is fantastic.

However, and this is the biggest mistake I think I see that keeps people stuck in the messy middle is that we don't give our strategies enough time. We do this thing that I call FOMO marketing. We try a strategy and maybe it kind of works. Maybe it doesn't. And then we read all those email newsletters, which is such.

Oh, such a black hole and we get all hyped up and we're excited about so-and-so's new free challenge. And we get excited about this and that and somebody else's course, and then there's this course and there's that course. And we know intuitively that we need some sort of strategy to move forward, but instead of sticking with one and going deep with it, because I can tell you they all work.

They almost all work. I shouldn't say everyone cause haven't tried everything, but I feel like I have tried all of them in multitudes of different ways and you can get results from any of them. So I'm speaking from experience here, but the way you get from that messy middle to truly scaling into seven figures and beyond.

Is by focusing by not doing all the things, but instead saying no to as many things as you can, and focusing on the one strategy that aligns with you and a massive way, and that's going to help you move forward. Just go deep with the one thing and not give up too early. keep whipping the cream until it turns into whipped cream.

And if you miss that episode, go look back a few episodes ago where I talked about with cream. Basically at this point to move from that intermediate stage to that expert stage, you need that mindset shift.

You need to be able to focus. You need to trust yourself to implement one thing really deep, and a lot of times the easiest way to get that mindset. Is to be surrounded by other entrepreneurs who are doing the same thing as you, who can support you along the way, they can encourage you and remind you that you do have what it takes.

They can be a mirror to you and point out the limiting beliefs that you have. Sometimes we can't even see those things that are so close to us and so much. So a part of us that they're holding us back because we're too close and we. May need somebody else to say, Hey, you realize that's just a limiting belief.

Like this is really what's going on. It's not that your offer. Isn't good enough. It's that you've got fear holding you back from putting yourself out there. It's a fear thing. Perfectionism is just fear or whatever it is, right. That's just one example. And that is why I believe masterminds are absolutely essential.

If you want to go from that intermediate, messy middle level to getting to that expert level, because what I know to be true is that right now, If you've found some strategies that work, you probably know everything you need to know to really go deep and do this well, but you need to trust yourselves and you need to overcome any of those limiting beliefs and adopt some new mindsets to help you get there.

Honestly, that's what I focus on in my mastermind is helping people believe that more is possible and then helping them see how to get from where they are to where they want to be. Because when you believe that it's possible and you know that you have what it takes to get there, then it's only a matter of time until that becomes your reality and having the support along the way.

Is invaluable. It's absolutely invaluable. Especially if your friends and family don't understand what you do. Non entrepreneurs do not get it. I love my entrepreneur friends. I love being surrounded by them because they get it.

They know what I'm going through. They can call me on my BS and they, they can help me see the things that I can't even see myself. In fact when I was pivoting and starting over and I had to go in and cut all sorts of expenses, including team members and all sorts of things because COVID destroyed my business.

One of the things that I refused to cut from my business was a mastermind that I'm a part of and it's expensive. It's a 25 grand a year mastermind. I literally would have sold my house and moved to a new place before I would have left the mastermind. And that says a lot because I love my house. I love where I live, but I know the value of the mastermind.

It's just one person. Saying one thing throughout a year. And I make that money back in an instant when they can show me where my mental blocks are, then I can learn to move beyond them and get the momentum that I need to have the success that I want. I will never run my business again without being a part of a mastermind because I don't need more strategy.

I'm not there to learn more tactics. I'm there for the support. I'm there to be surrounded by people who know me, who know my business and who can call me on my crap so that I'm not held back by it. And who can. Leverage their own experience to help me see maybe where I might be making little mistakes and need tiny course corrections.

It's absolutely amazing. Plus they're just way fun. They're my favorite people in the whole wide world. They will literally become your friends because when the people that you're surrounded by don't understand what you do. You can only be so close to them, but when somebody truly understands what it's like to be an entrepreneur and they understand the vulnerability and the fears and.

How hard it is and the motivation and just all of the struggles that go into it. It's really bonding. It's really validating as well. I mean, to be seen and understood and valued for who you are. Is so incredibly valuable and will help you move your business forward as well. So if you're interested in being a part of the brighter together, masterminds, you can go to, wearebrightertogether.com and apply at the time of this recording.

I currently only have. Six openings for the mastermind. After those six are full of that, you will go on a wait list until I'm ready to open another group. But I would love to consider you as a member and the brighter together masterminds. If you have any questions, there's a link below in the show notes where you can ask me questions directly. You can send a little video to me, or you can reach out to me via Instagram, DM at @JamieBrightAdventures, which is also below in the show notes. because here's what I know to be true. It's so easy to just. Keep buying more courses and hope that one of them is finally going to work for you and waste a whole lot of money in a year. I mean, think about how much money you've spent on courses. if you're like most people, You spend a lot more money, maybe a little bits and pieces at a time, then you probably want to admit.

And many of those, either aren't fully done or maybe not done at all. Or you've done them and now you've moved on to the other next tactic and the next, next tactic, and you keep moving around and moving around and moving around and you're just not getting the results that you really need to, because it's not about more education.

It's not about more strategy. It's about the mindset, the community, the focus and everything that you need to support you moving forward, which is why a mastermind is so valuable. So we'd love to have you in there. wearebrightertogether.com and would that my friends remember, I mean, funny that this comes right after the website link, but we truly are brighter together and the world needs us.

So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Mastermind Promo Show Notes Links: Apply to join the Brighter Together Mastermind and get all the details by clicking here.

http://wearebrightertogether.com

Have questions about it? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieBrightAdventures

Transcript:

A few weeks ago, I had an incredible conversation with my friend, Jay Wong. Now I've known Jay for years. I think it's years now. Wow. And we don't connect super often, but when we do connect, we go deep and he's always somebody whose advice I value immensely. And over the last few years I have watched Jay go from struggling to sell a course on how to start a podcast to running this incredible multi, multi figure agency, helping people deliver podcasts.

And he's grown this massive team and he's just crushing. It he's even made some big pivots. And he said something to me in our conversation that I've heard before, but he said it at just the right time to really shape how I'm thinking about 20, 21 and subtly shift the direction I'm going in this year. And I cannot wait to share it with you in today's episode 📍 So Jay and I connected again because we ran into each other on clubhouse and we had this really phenomenal conversation about how we were using it and how we were planning to use it this year. And so we did this whole little clubhouse room on it, and afterwards we hung out together and talked for at least another two hours and.

Caught up because I don't know. I think we hadn't talked in about a year and a half since we were at tribe live together in Toronto a year and a half ago back when people could still meet with each other. Oh, I miss in-person events so bad. Don't you? Anyways, we were catching up and he was telling me about the incredible.

Progress that he had made in his business and how he had shifted into this agency model and had to grow as a leader and really build this incredible team because he was so beyond the point of being able to do it all himself. And in order to scale his agency, he knew that he had to bring other people on to help him do the work.

I was just so impressed by his progress, but even more so by the personal transformation. But he had to make in order to become the kind of person who can let go of control and really allow other people to do the work for his clients, for him on his behalf, which is, it's just a big shift.

Anytime you have a team, you know that they're never going to do it exactly like you would. And even if their quality is good, it's really hard to find people who can consistently meet the quality that you meet and hard to find people who care as much as you do. And all the things, it just requires a massive leadership shift, and you really need to change your mindset and learn to let go of a lot of control.

And honestly, a lot of fear of being judged because that's kind of where this all stems that comes from building a team and hiring other people to help you do the work. And it was just a beautiful thing to see how he had done this. And so I told him that and he said something really profound that helped shape the, the entirety of my thoughts over the next few weeks.

He said, you know, I've really. Built a business for where I want to go and not for where I am now or something along those lines. I'm terrible about remembering verbatim. And he talked about Wayne Gretzky, who was asked why he was such a good hockey player. And he said, well, I skate to where the puck is going.

Not to where the puck is right now. And I started thinking about my own business. I've been growing this mastermind, which I love so much. And my original goal with all of this is to get back to a seven figure business, which I could totally do on my own.

With just running, you know, several small groups of no more than 12 people and getting to that point. And that's been my goal. I'm like, okay, I'll start these groups. I just need eight of them to hit seven figures. But I realized that to grow beyond that, I'm going to have to hire facilitators.

I'm going to have to hire other people to come in and help lead the masterminds as well. So as I've been leading my mastermind, I've also been developing a handbook, Something that I can use with the facilitators and give it to them so that they can follow the same process and they can use the same frameworks that I'm creating and give people an experience.

That's basically the same as if they were in a mastermind with me personally, and then they will have access to me, in the larger group. But I want to really be able to equip these facilitators. To run a mastermind in the exact same way I would and help people get the exact same results that I'm getting with the groups that I'm running.

That's always kind of been the plan. It's always been in the back of my mind that I would run the first several. I would figure out this process and then I would scale it by bringing other people on to help. Well, what Jay's comment made me realize is that I'm skating to where the puck is right now that if I.

Spend all of my time and fill it with running eight different groups, which I know I can do sustainably. Like I know how much time it's going to take me. I know that I can totally sustain eight groups, but I can't sustain running eight groups. And. Have the time that I really need to invest and it growing and empowering the facilitators to be true leaders in the mastermind.

And it hit me really hard that once I get to that seven figure point, it's going to be really hard to scale because my time will be the bottleneck again. And so I was skating to where I thought the puck was going to be in a year, but really I need to skate to where the puck is going to be in two years or where I want to be beyond that.

And it shifted a lot for me because. Instead of me. Doing eight masterminds all myself, eight groups within the mastermind. It's one mastermind, but with lots of small groups, because I really believe that you need to have that connection with a set of peers. And it gives me the freedom to make sure that people are in a group that's perfect for them.

But. If I do eight of them, I'm going to get to that point. And I won't have the capacity that I need without either handing off one of the groups to one of the facilitators or something else. And it just getting out of that point and scaling seems so messy. And so instead, what I've decided to do is I'm going to start bringing on facilitators earlier.

Now, I don't know how many groups I'm personally going to run, but I'm probably going to start either the second or third one. With a facilitator and be co-running it at first with the full intention of handing that mastermind off to the facilitator. and then I would just still be in the main group with everybody, but they would be running that specific smaller group within the mastermind.

And if I start that now, Not only is it going to help me avoid having a bottleneck later on, but I'm going to have a better sense of what I really need to do in order to bring on multiple facilitators in order to have a bigger team. And what really excites me is. Well, honestly, what really excites me is empowering people to empower others.

So I love helping people become leaders who can empower their audiences. And so instead of me running masterminds, I'm even more excited about me. Helping develop leaders who can empower people within my mastermind and go out and take those same skills and use them in their own businesses. So it, it seems subtle.

It seems small, but it really is a massive shift in my mind. And it changes some of the strategy that I'm going to be using this year as I move forward, because I'm going to Bri bringing in facilitators sooner than later, which is exciting for me because. Really my role as the leader and the visionary is going to be.

To develop the leaders who can then develop the members of the mastermind because masterminds, generally, it's not me teaching it's me facilitating and everyone in the group who is very carefully curated to be in there supporting each other and growing together. And you know, you get to see behind the scenes of everybody's businesses over a long period of time.

You don't just see the Instagram highlights. You actually see what works, what doesn't, you can't get that kind of knowledge and experience. Anywhere else outside of a mastermind, it's really a beautiful, valuable thing that you get. And so it's not about me coming in and teaching this big curriculum. I don't do a ton of teaching.

It's me helping facilitate these masterminds and curate the right people in them so that you can learn from each other and support each other. There's a lot more to it. You can go back and listen to some of the episodes I did in October of 2020 to hear more about why masterminds are so valuable, but I am really excited about this because my heart is in leadership development and yes, that happens in a mastermind, but.

I really get excited about bringing on people to help lead within the context of my business. I really spent a lot of time learning how to do leadership, how to manage a team, how to it's kind of like a mentorship almost. And it just, it excites me in a big way. It also raises a bunch of new questions for me that I don't really necessarily have answers to yet.

Like. Where do I find these people? are they already people in my mastermind? Are they other entrepreneurs? What are the qualifications they need to have? Because obviously if you're facilitating a group Of entrepreneurs. You need to understand what they're doing and be able to point them to the right resources and all of those things.

And yet, if they're running their own businesses, how much time did they have to do this? How many should a person be running? all sorts of different things that. I haven't got answers to yet. how do I pay them? How much do I pay them? All of these things, lots of it. And I'm really excited about that.

But those questions weren't even on the radar before this conversation that I had with Jay and that one little comment he made has really helped me shift my thoughts to, how could I create a business that supports a thousand entrepreneurs in my masterminds, And what would I need to do differently.

In order to go there now. Like how could I start that now? Why should I wait? And if I wait, how am I going to pivot? And that was, that was huge. So I'm really excited about where I'm going this year with this still love masterminds. I think they're incredible. I, haven't done a public opening of my mastermind since October, but I am going to be opening it again soon.

And like I said, I'm not sure exactly how many. Mastermind groups I'm personally going to be running. I've got one that I've committed to running for sure. And I might run a second one, or just start a second one in hand that went off. So if you have been around here for a while and been thinking about joining my mastermind, when it opens up again, Highly recommend reaching out to me on Instagram @JamieBrightAdventures.

You'll notice it's a new Instagram handle. There's all sorts of details about my name, change on Instagram. I'll share more about that in the future, but for now you can go there. It's also linked in the show notes and drop me a DM. I don't have a big fancy. Mastermind details page going. It's not open right now.

but if you really want to be in the mastermind that I am leading, for sure, I have a very small handful of spots left in the current group. And I would love to chat about potentially having you inside there. If you feel like that would be a good fit. And honestly, I truly believe that even with other people facilitating masterminds, that it's going to be amazing because they're going to use my foundation we are all going to have one big group. So all of the different mastermind groups that I'm going to be creating will have access to each other and me, but the groups that I lead obviously get more intimate access to me. So you can always reach out to me if you're interested in that. Or if you want to hear more about it, I'm happy to give you all the details on how often we meet and how much involvement I have, because I will absolutely be involved in this. I love doing these masterminds are on my heart.

You've known that since the very beginning of the podcast, if you've been listening from the beginning, but just wanted to throw this out there for my loyalist of podcast listeners, if that's you. And you've been thinking about this now now's the time to reach out because, like I said, I only have a couple of spots left in the current mastermind that I'm leading before I start a second group.

And I would love to consider you for it. If you would really like to be in that group with me. All right, my friend. So my question to you then is. Where are you going? Where is the puck going in your business? Are you building a business for what you're doing today and only focused on what you're doing right now?

Or have you taken the time to think about where you're going and what needs to shift in order for you to go where you really. Truly want to go for me? The shift from thinking about having a hundred people in my masterminds to a thousand is a pretty significant one. And I believe that by thinking about a thousand people, as opposed to a hundred, that I'm going to be able to create a structure that'll grow more easily and help me avoid future bottlenecks.

If I was just thinking about a hundred. So while you're thinking about where your puck is going. Think about if I was to 10 X, that number would there be bottlenecks? Where would I run into problems shifting from what I'm doing now to really truly scaling. And that is your assignment for this week, would love to hear how this might help you in your business and give you more clarity on where you're going and hear about any shifts you're making.

Reach out to me personally, Instagram @JamieBrightAdventures. I would be happy to have a little conversation with you, super fun. And would that my friend just remember that we are together and that the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Join the Waitlist for the Launch Your First Mastermind Workshop here >>> https://www.launchyourfirstmastermind.com

Have questions for Jamie or are you interested in the Brighter Together Mastermind? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieBrightAdventures

Transcript:

One of the most fun and admittedly, sometimes frustrating parts of running an online business is that things are always changing. This means you always have something new to learn and figure out which can be really fun if you get bored quickly with doing the same old thing over and over again, but it can also be incredibly frustrating.

If it means that you're getting left behind and the market is shifting and you haven't kept up. Now, if you are at the forefront of this and you see where things are going and you can react quickly being the first in your market to make a massive shift that everyone kind of follows suit with, it can be a huge benefit.

And so today what I want to share with you. Is the shift that I see happening in the online education space that I am watching very closely and I mean, I've been in this business for just about 10 years now. So I've been watching and I know when the shifts are happening and they happen every, I would say every 18 to 24 months.

And we're right on the edge of another big one. So that's what I'm going to share with you today in this moment, 📍 cast Well, 2020 has been one of those years that many of us never want to go through again. One of the beautiful things that has happened is that many people have started online businesses. Now, this is really exciting for me because I know that when I realized I could have an online business that gave me the freedom and the life that I really wanted to have, I was all in.

Like, I literally remember the day that I found the pro blogger site from Darren Rouse. And started reading it and was like, Oh my goodness, I could do this. I could totally make money helping people. And it blew my mind. Like I was completely consumed for the entire day. And for months thereafter, I just got really excited about it and I know how much it's changed my own life. And so I get excited to see all of the people who are realizing the opportunity that's there for them and the freedom that they can have even though 2020 has been a really hard year.

And some of them are starting businesses because they have to, because they've been laid off from jobs or whatever it is, , which admittedly is very difficult. I really believe that many people are going to look back on this year, especially those who started online businesses and be really grateful for the transition that happened.

Now, that being said, for those of us, who've been here for a while, it means that the market is. Becoming more flooded. There are more and more people starting online education businesses, and each niche everywhere, not just online education businesses, there's even box subscriptions and e-commerce and all sorts of stuff starting.

So no matter what you're selling or what you're doing, if you're selling online primarily to an audience that's online and you don't have a brick and mortar store, your going to start to have a lot more competitors. This year, the people who have been selling how to start your own online course and how to start an online business type of resources have been flourishing.

In fact, I have friends who do that exact thing, and it's been a really great year for them, but that means as people start implementing this. And selling their stuff. The market is going to become more and more saturated. Now this can be really hard and this can be really scary to go through and it absolutely can affect your bottom line.

If you go back to season one of this podcast, back when I was called the personal brand journey podcast, you can all listen to what happened in my own business. When a few years after starting it. The market flooded with all sorts of people, teaching in the professional photography education space.

It was hard. I actually lost half of my revenue over two years because I didn't realize what was happening and I didn't take measures to protect against it. And it took me quite a while to recover. You can hear the whole story and the very first episodes of season one, that being said.

I don't think that you have to be afraid of the fact that the market is going. To be more flooded with people. You're going to have a lot more competitors. I think you just need to do three things to respond. Clearly. That's going to keep you ahead of the game and it's going to help you stand out from everyone else.

That's just started their online business and is offering stuff to your clients. And really help elevate you as the expert in your field in a way that maybe you haven't stepped into yet. So I want to share these with you because these are hard earned lessons that I learned after. I went through this experience and struggled through it.

the first one is one of already talked about a few times in the last couple of months is you need to get more personal and connect with your people.

One of the things that got me out of my slump back when the photography market flooded was moving from a generic bank brand to a personal brand and really focusing on how I could build real connections with people in mass. My photography business has 120,000 email subscribers. So you can't connect with each of those people one-on-one.

So I had to learn how I could build that connection, how I could build that familiarity, that personal connection, where people felt like they knew me. Even though I may never have even seen their name or had any idea that they were out there listening, watching, learning, et cetera. And the reason is that people buy from those, they know like, and trust as more and more people are offering the same types of products promising the same sorts of outcomes.

The thing that's going to make them decide who to hire. Comes down to who they feel, understands them best. And the people we feel understand us best are those that we've connected with and that we trust when we can show them that we understand their deepest fears, their struggles, and we can show them solutions for getting out of that.

Give them quick wins that help them gain momentum. They're gonna. Believe that we understand their problem more deeply and can help them with the bigger stuff as well. They're going to want to keep working with us. So you definitely need to focus on being personal, both in your own brand and being the face of your business as well as mixing in as much.

Personal touches. You can. And I have a whole episode, like I said, a couple episodes back about how to be more personal in your business that will give you lots of ideas of how to do that. Whether you have 105 email subscribers, or you've got 120,000 email subscribers, that's definitely worth a listen.

Number two, I believe there's going to be a massive desire for experiences instead of just. I believe that if you want to stand out from, what's been done for the last five or six years, which is mostly online courses, video courses with maybe a Q and a session or something. I think one of the biggest things you can do is to offer implementation experiences, a virtual retreats, some sort of opportunity to connect with other people to come and get stuff.

Done and to have a whole experience. That's not just learning. It also incorporates doing in a very tangible way, where at the end of the experience, they're going to have something completely finished and they're going to feel that excitement and that big win. Now I. I have seen a number of people doing implementation days with their students, where they offer to say, Hey, if you want to come and we'll all just work together and I'll kind of be there to answer questions and guide you through it.

Um, you know, it's a certain amount of money. We'll all hang out on zoom and we'll get her done. Another thing that works really well is masterminds, which is part of why I'm so excited to do this because I believe that, , having that connection. And that ongoing experience, not just one off is incredibly valuable.

Now this kind of actually leads me into the third point. So I'm overlapping a little bit, but bear with me not only do we need to be personal. Not only do we need to create experiences instead of just education, but I really believe that we need to be offering something to the advanced people in our specific niches.

Now, when people start their online businesses in a topic, like when I started teaching professional photographers, how to book clients. I focused on helping the beginners because I didn't feel that far along. I had a lot of insecurity about being seen as the expert, and I knew that there were always way more beginners than there were experts.

And so my market was going to be bigger if I focused on beginners. That's great. But if you've been in this business for any amount of time, or if you really know your topic inside out, you're going to find that all of these new people, I would say the majority of them are going to be focusing on how to teach beginners, which is great because what's going to happen is that there's going to be more people who are beginners, who actually start to make some progress.

And now. Are looking for that intermediate to advanced thing that can help them take what they just learned and implement it in a deeper way. And new people coming into the industry, rarely have anything set up that is going to help people beyond beginners to really advance in their fields. So if you can take your offerings and think about how you can serve that intermediate to advanced audience better, not only.

Are you going to have more people who are ready for that because of all these people who are flooding your market. So that's one of the positives of it, but you're also going to be able to charge more, which allows you to make more money, which is fantastic. And. Oh, and this is so beautiful. You're going to be seen as an even greater expert because you're talking about the things that are more advanced and not just beginner stuff.

And it's really easy to fall back into the trap to speaking to just beginners. But when you can shift that conversation, To a higher level conversation. You're naturally going to attract more advanced people into your business. It's all based on the conversations they're having. And my guess is if you're anything like me, you are so tired of having those same beginner conversations anyways, and it would be really exciting.

To have deeper level conversations with people who are further along in your topic or your niche that you can help in a deeper way. And you know, personally on my side too, I love working with people who aren't beginners. I mean, I love my beginners. I have nothing against them. But I really love working with the people who are more intermediate or advanced in growing their businesses, because they're my people, they're there.

They've done some of the work they've shown that they get progress. They're not the ones who are going to let limiting beliefs hold them back nearly as much because those people are weeded out at the beginning. Right. They never get past that beginner stage. And so it's easier to get them results and it's just more satisfying.

My favorite kind of people to work with are those who are more advanced because we can have deeper conversations. It's more thought provoking for me. They have stuff I can learn from them. It's just one of these win-win wins all around and because it is more advanced knowledge, I can charge a lot more for it.

So it brings me back to masterminds. I truly believe. That masterminds and running masterminds in a variety of different topics, not just in the entrepreneur space or how to build a business space, but having a mastermind structure, even if it's not called that is going to become more and more popular for people who want to stand out as experts. And honestly, People want this more than ever after having been stuck in their homes and being forced to cancel their travel plans and not see the people they want to see and live the lives that they've normally been living, which are full of people in connection, people are hungry.

To be a part of a community. They need someone to believe in them more than ever, and they are ready to move beyond this beginner stage and really dive into something deeper with other people. They value that energy more than they ever have before. And that's why I'm so excited about masterminds, because I think that.

Does this so well, not only does it provide that personal touch and the experience, that's not just once, but it's ongoing month after month after month, year after year after year. And it allows you to work with your best customers and clients and have those deeper conversations to really see them make massive growth and really just get to.

Believe in them. It's so fun to be able to cheerlead them and guide them and not have to be providing all that basic how to content, because they already know it. It's not something they're joining because they want more information. It's something they're joining because they want more support. They want somebody who can help them see what's possible and then help them.

Understand what that next step is. You know, masterminds are more about getting that one comment or that two comments a year that totally make your money back because they were the right thing in the right moment from somebody who knows you, trusts you and understands what you're going through in your business, that maybe you were just too close to see whatever it is.

I get really excited about them because they're also a lot of fun. And I think that fun and friendship and connection has been lacking so much this past year. So I would love to challenge you to think about as you're going into 2021, what's happening in your marketplace. Do you see a lot of people starting to teach in your marketplace?

And if you're still focusing on beginners, which is fine, I'm not saying you can't help them. I'd encourage you to think about how can you be more personal with them. How can you build more experiences into your business? Not just courses, but actual experiences where people get to connect with each other and implement something and come, even if it's virtually, which I assume it will be for a while yet, but come do something together and then have a tangible outcome by the end of the day or, you know, multiple days, whatever it is.

And then three. Okay. I would have you consider if maybe serving the higher end market with a mastermind might be something that can help you elevate your expertise and serve those more advanced customers and clients better. So if you want help with that, I'm currently working on putting together a mini workshop.

It's not going to be super long. It's not going to be super expensive. that's called launch your first mastermind. And basically it's how to launch that very first mastermind and what you need to know in order to price it appropriately.

Find the right people, get them to sign up and get this rolling as quickly as possible as well as what mindset shifts do you need to overcome in order to do this? Because when you start doing a higher ticket offer, working with more advanced customers and clients, sometimes that can stir up some insecurities and limiting beliefs that we don't even know is there, like we've got personal junk in there, things about our worth and our expertise and, you know, imposter syndrome and there's all sorts of stuff that.

Offering a high ticket item can start to stir up. So I also talk about a few of those things that can come up and how to overcome them in this workshop. Now it's not ready yet at the time of this recording, but it has getting super. Deeper close. if you want to be notified, when it is ready to go, you can join the wait list at. Launch your first mastermind.com. And if it's launched by the time you're listening to this, that'll take you to the information page where you're, it's available to you, but go check it out.

And if you have any questions about it, by all means, reach out to me. My contact info is in the show notes. but I really believe that going into 2021, this shift is going to become more and more apparent.

More markets are going to be saturated and people are going to be craving more advanced. Opportunities to help them get beyond that beginner level. And they're going to want to have that connection and that personal touch because 2020 has stripped a lot of that away from them.

They're going to want to have experience. They're going to want to build friendships as well as being able to grow their business or, you know, whatever it is you serve them and help them to do Check it out, launch your first mastermind.com. And would that my friend just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us honestly now more than ever.

So let's go out and let's make it 📍 brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Follow me on Clubhouse @jamiebright

Transcript:

A few days ago, I got an invitation to clubhouse, which is one of the newest, fastest growing apps that I have heard about in space in a long time. Now clubhouse is So you can't even get in. It's similar to how Pinterest and launched way back in the day.

And so it's causing a lot of buzz and a lot of scarcity and people really wanting that exclusive invite so they can get inside and see what all the fuss is about. So today what I'd like to do is actually tell you a little bit about my first impressions of the platform and why I am so incredibly excited I really hope that this one makes it and sticks around it has a of potential, especially for people who love it. Audio, which I assume you do since you're listening to my podcast and for people who really want to connect with others in a meaningful way. So that's what I'm going to talk about in today's podcast.

here's what I want to share with you. First and foremost, I want to talk about what clubhouse is, how it's run, what it looks like on the inside, why you might want to get an invitation to it that talk about. How do you actually get an So you can be a part of clubhouse. And then third, I'm talk to you today about some of the opportunities see clubhouse bringing to the table and how I personally am going to be approaching it in a strategic way.

Hopefully both to grow this podcast as well as, you know, the rest of my business, because that's what I am. I'm an entrepreneur. I want to, you know, move forward. I want to grow my platform. I want to help as many people as possible. So I always want to be growing my audience. So when new apps like this come out, I love to think about how I can use a platform, both in an innovative way, but also an interesting way. That's going to make people who are checking it out, want to follow and watch what I'm doing and emulate it. I want to provide great value on the platform.

And then two, I'm always thinking about different ways that I it creatively. To grow my audience as well. So I'm going to share you here and give you tips that I've gleaned in the couple of days I've been on it. So I will say I'm not a pro at clubhouse. I haven't been on it very long, but I do think that this is going to grow and I think it's going to grow quickly.

And I'm very excited about the possibilities and want you to be one of the bright entrepreneurs in the know about it from the very beginning, even though it's not quite the very beginning. It feels that way because everyone started talking about it. Okay. So number one, what exactly app look like?

Well, the app is actually quite simple, basically, having a list of zoom rooms that you into that have the inside listed. So right let up my app and see if I open up the clubhouse app. I have what's called the hallway.

And there's, um, somebody talking about having a big impact in business and life by fostering outstanding relationships. Cool. Interesting.

There's somebody talking about small business Saturday, we've got money to spend on your amazing products, which allows you to come in and pitch your product. How cool is that? Um, there's travel speed dating. Are you my future Bay? Okay, so I'm not into that one. That's fine. Somebody talking about sexual consent in the church, somebody talking about time travel, let's talk about it.

Right? There's all sorts of random things in here. Some of them are going to be pop culture. Some of them are going to be business-related. so this is called the hallway. And if your friends and the people you're following start a room, then you will see this in your hallway so that you can also enter that room and join the conversation. So you click on a link to join a room. When you join a room, you're hearing people talk.

Live now, there are no recordings that you can go back and listen to later. And I think that's part of the appeal is that if you're not there, you miss out on it, but that's also part of the beauty of it that these are conversations happening with real people. And it's voice only. There's no video and there's no.

Chat function like you can't sit and chat in the comments. So that's how it's different from zoom. For zoom. You can go in, you can have a big zoom meeting and you can have your video on and off or your audio on and off. Or you can chat in the comments. It's not that way in that there's no video at all.

There's only a profile picture and there's no chat. So the only way, if you want to talk, you actually have to raise your hand and go onto what they call the stage. And the person who starts the room gets to moderate that. So they can allow people to talk or not, and they can mute people. They can kick people out, they can do all the typical moderation stuff, but.

It's a beautiful platform because you're actually hearing people have conversations live. What I've found is that these rooms generally stay open for quite a long time. People come and go and it's explicitly said on there that it's not rude to ghost within clubhouse. So if you come into a chat, you're not having it, or you've got to run or whatever, you don't have to say.

Sorry, guys got to go. You just quietly leave. Actually the button even says leave quietly, which is just. Super beautiful and really graceful so that people don't have to feel bad breaking a social norm about communication that outside of the platform might be seen as rude. However, because the platform is made on conversations and it's meant to listen in and participate.

They totally understand if you have to go and you don't want to interrupt the conversation that's happening, especially if you're in a room with a thousand people who want to talk or have a conversation. Now, most of the rooms are quite a bit smaller than that, that I've found, but there are some rooms that are quite a bit bigger.

So it's a little bit like zoom in that you do have a room. But you don't have video. You just hear voices, but you can go back out into the hallway and you can see all the different rooms that are listed. And so it's just really addicting. It's really a beautiful platform for you to go in and have conversations about whatever it is you want to have a conversation about and really talk to real.

People, I absolutely love that so much. And there's so much support in the platform that I've found. And people have been really gracious to people who are new coming in and learning the platform for the first time and engaging for the first time. So I love it because I feel like it's a very personal real app.

You actually get to engage with people in a real way, because voice is really personal. It's part of why I love podcasting because podcasts that I listened to, I feel like I know them. I hope that you feel like, you know me in some weird little way. And so there's a big appeal in this app because it does feel so authentic.

You can't, sit and type out a post for 20 minutes before posting it and make sure every word is right. You've got to talk. And when we talk things come out sometimes and we can talk over each other and be rude, or we can be polite or, you know, we have to learn to moderate when it's a big group like this.

And it's really an interesting platform in that way. the other thing that they have not just rooms is they have something called clubs. Now you have to manually apply to have a club, which clubhouse is new. I mean, right now, as I'm recording this podcast, it is definitely in beta. There's definitely some bugs and.

They are rolling things out pretty quickly, but it's still taking a little time. So clubs is something that they have to approve for your account manually. So the process is very slow. You fill out a form that's on air table at the moment. Like that's how old school get her done done is better than perfect that they are, which I really love about them.

And you can request to have a club that's associated with your name. Now, if you have a club, people can actually follow the club. And if you want to, you can approve them as a member of the club. You can invite them to actually be a member. So there's kind of two tiers, and then you can start a room that's hosted by your club.

And when you do that, it actually goes out to all the people who are following your club as a notification, which is super cool. And you can schedule things on a calendar. For upcoming conversations that you want to have on the platform. So people can go up to a calendar and if they're following your club and you've posted it from your club, they're going to see that you don't have to have a club to schedule your conversations.

You can actually do that even without a club, but it's definitely neat to have a club because then you can do things that are members only, or that are open to the greater followers of your entire club. It's just another way for you to. kind of help set yourself apart as an expert in a specific kind of topic or niche, or like I'm doing.

To build a community on clubhouse. So mine is called bright entrepreneurs. Guess what? That's because I'm trying to create a movement, a bright entrepreneurs and a community, a bright entrepreneurs. And I just really love that format. I want to be known as an entrepreneur who knows her stuff. I want to grow my own podcast right here.

The one you're listening to. So, shamelessly, I'm just going to ask you to share it with friends. You think would like it, but. As I build my profile on clubhouse and I build a club for bright entrepreneurs, which I haven't even had approved yet. So I don't have it there.

I'm kind of in that waiting period, which they said can take one to two weeks right now because of their backlog. But assuming that that gets approved, then I can grow this club on their, not just my own personal followers. But followers within that club who then get notified of anything we do there, which is just neat, because then they don't have to follow me as a person if they're not interested in some of the other topics that I'm hopping into and having discussions around.

And I will use that club very intentionally to talk about business stuff, similar to, like I talk about here on the podcast, I can share my, things I'm thinking about in terms of growing my business or. Anything really the beautiful thing is because it's not recorded. I can share the same thing over and over and over again with new people, I can get a little bit more intimate and I don't have to worry so much about it being perfect because it's in real time.

And once it's done, once it's said it's gone, it's like conversation. I love it. It's a little bit more like being in a conference, but virtually, and I just adore it. I mean, yes, there's some differences because not everyone can be in a room talking at the same time, like at a conference, but it's a really beautiful way.

To find people who are interested in topics that you're also interested in, either by you posting them and starting rooms, and then letting other people who find the room, come in and start the conversation and naturally be attracted to you. But also by going on the platform and finding conversations that are already happening around your niche and joining in on them and really showing your expertise.

It's great. All right. So how do you get an invite to this? Well, you have to know, but he was on the platform. When I joined clubhouse, I was given one invitation, which I passed on to a mastermind member. Who's in the brighter together. Mastermind. Yeah. And we have a little chain there. That's going. So once somebody gets in, they commit to inviting the next person in our mastermind who commits to inviting the next person in the mastermind until all of us will get in that way.

But you only get one invitation when you join. So I don't have another invitation to give you right now, but apparently if you go in and use the app and the people that you invite go in and use the app, you. Somehow earned some sort of clout and you can get more invitations each week. If you're active in your people are active.

So you only want to invite people who, you know, are really going to use the app and be active on it so that you can get more invitations and bring more of your friends. So you can try and find a chain of people who are doing an invite train, I did one on a. Facebook group that I was a part of somebody had their one invitation.

They got that week. And so they said, okay, I'm going to give it to the first person who comments below as long as you absolutely promise to invite the person who's right below you. So that's how I got in is that I was able to get in through an invite, train that way now. you might have to find one of those on Facebook.

You can put up a post, like I did on my profile that said, Hey, I would love to have an invitation to clubhouse. If anybody knows anybody with one, I would love to join. that's kinda how I got tipped off to the fact that there is a group with a big. Chain going on. So that's one way you can find an invitation.

The other thing is that you can sign up on their app and apparently they have a waitlist and you may be sent an invitation via text message eventually. Now, I don't know anybody who got in this way because everybody I know, came through a chain and an invite process, but that is what they say they do.

And so. You can go to the app store and download the clubhouse app. You can actually reserve your username, which is fantastic. Even if you don't have an invite, go reserve your name right now. And hopefully they will eventually send you an invitation. If you don't already get one from somebody else that you know, now there's a little bad news for my Android users.

it's only available on iPhones or iPads. I don't know if they're going to be coming out with an Android version eventually or not, but honestly, if this is a platform that you want to get to know and access and build, especially if you have a podcast or you just love having conversations. I think it would honestly be worth going out and buying a cheap used iPad or iPhone that you can use just to run the clubhouse app.

And maybe you're just like, heck no, no way. That's fine. That's totally cool. for me, if I could get something for one to $200, I really think there's a lot of opportunity to grow a big audience on clubhouse right now, pretty easily. Because so many people are looking for people to follow. They want to find their people.

And it's very active right now, but so many people are new that they're afraid to start their own rooms and put themselves out there as a leader, because they're trying to learn the ropes that there's just tons of opportunity. It's just a beautiful playground right now.

And I think you could grow very large, very quickly and become known within the community if you wanted to go there. And I don't know if this platform is going to stick around. I don't know if it's going to be bought up and sucked up and whatever. I mean, maybe it's going to be like Periscope where people came on and it was big for like six months. And then Facebook lives rolled out and it basically killed Periscope and, you know, whatever else. But even if that's the case, I feel like it's an opportunity to make real connections with real people who would end up migrating with you wherever you go.

They do have a place to put an Instagram link and a Twitter link. So I don't use Twitter, but I absolutely use Instagram. And I've already had somebody on the platform literally within the first three hours that I was there. Go to my Instagram account, where it says that I do clarity coaching days and asked me about doing a clarity coaching day with me, which is super exciting.

I've already got people who are interested in hiring me and becoming one of my customers because of the first few hours I was there and I engaged. And that was it. It was super simple and it's a great way to get more exposure on your other platforms as well. All right. So now that you know what it is, how to get an invitation and some of the possibilities are there.

I want to tell you a little bit more specifically about the opportunities that I'm seeing and what I plan to do going forward. I've already talked a little bit about it because I just like to talk and things come up beforehand and I'm really excited about this app, but, by the way, if you. Are on clubhouse and you want to follow me?

You can find my information in the show notes. I'm at Jamie bright as in bright entrepreneur. So that's my handle. Jamie bright. You can go there and find it there. So that's super awesome. Go check me out. Follow me. I would love to hear from you. And, uh, if you want to send me a note, you're going to have to do it through Instagram because you can't send notes or messages via clubhouse without jumping in a room with somebody.

Which just sounded really dirty, but you know what I'm talking about. Right. Right. All right. So here's how I'm going to be using clubhouse and what I would recommend doing as well. So first and foremost, if you want to grow your audience, which I'm assuming you do, you're going to want to join in on some existing conversations that are already happening in the rooms and share your expertise.

So look for conversations that will allow you to talk about the things that you're most excited about. Or that might have people who are interested in your topic. So if there's an existing thing going on, um, definitely participate in that. And you can look through the calendar to see if there are any things upcoming that you can even schedule on your calendar to make sure that you're there and you don't miss them.

That's a really beautiful feature. Second. you may want to start your own room. About whatever topic it is that you are most knowledgeable about and see who shows up. Now, if you don't have a lot of followers or very many people that you are following, it might not show up right away for a lot of people.

You might have to build some traction because the hallway where all the different rooms are listed is definitely highly influenced by who you're following. And what clubs you're a part of. And who's following you. I think, I don't know the exact details. So a little bit, that is a speculation, but it's definitely highly influenced by those things.

So you want to start participating. You want to start following people. You can find people who are interested in your topics by going into the search bar and searching for those topics. It'll actually only bring people up, not rooms, which is kind of a bummer.

I wish they had a search and maybe they will eventually that lets you search for rooms about specific topics. But it's beta. It's very basic. So I'm sure stuff like that will come. There are also clubs that you can follow, but again, they don't have a search directory of all the clubs yet, but they do have it of the people.

And many of the people who have started clubs, for example, Akila is a friend of mine who has a club, all about SEO and about podcasting. So if you search for SEO, she might show up on the list as an active user. And if you go to her profile, You'll see in her about section that she wrote, that she is about.

She has a club about SCO and a club about podcasting and at the bottom of her profile, there's a list of the clubs she's in. And the first two are the clubs that she runs. So you can find them there that way. So you can use the search kind of in a backwards way to find people who are interested in your topic, but also may have clubs about them that you can then join.

And it's pretty safe to assume that anybody who's joined a club about that topic are going to be interested in that topic. So you can start following those people and hopefully start getting into more of the conversations that are happening around your topic. It's pretty cool that way now. If you do start your own room, which I highly recommend you do when you start the conversation, you're going to want to think of it as a conversation and not as a presentation.

So a lot of that comes down to asking questions. And allowing other people to answer, empowering them to join the conversation. Now I'm not going to go into all of the details on how to bring people onto the stage and enter into the conversation because they have these lovely. Welcome rooms that will teach you everything you need to know when you get on the app and by doing it, you'll learn.

So I don't want to go into all the tech stuff right now, but it's not that hard to be able to curate who can come up. People can raise their hand if they want to speak so that, you know, who'd like to actually come on the stage and have a conversation with you. And the more you can empower other people and ask good.

Questions the better your conversation is going to be. So one of the things that I want to be doing is I want to go in and I want to basically try and crowdsource really helpful information for people and be seen as a curator. So I'm hoping to invite a couple of friends who are already on clubhouse to come with me into a room and probably schedule it and basically have a panel it's like ask, you know, what's the best.

Marketing tip that you have from 2020. That's a great examples. Do McLaren did that on his podcast for a bunch of us in his mastermind. And that led me to make a whole podcast about my best tip. And you can do the same thing on clubhouse. I want to do something like that, where I basically just start a room that says.

You know, best marketing tips from 2020 from real entrepreneurs, come listen and share your own tips. So that way, not only is it me sharing my expertise, but it's also allowing the people who are in the room to get on the stage and share their expertise. Everybody here, who's there to grow a business and there's a lot of entrepreneurs on the platform.

They want to be seen as an expert. So if you can empower them by asking good questions that allows them to show off their expertise in a way that's not spammy, that might get them extra followers. That's really powerful. kind of how I'm thinking about it that way. I'm also, you know, when you're in a room, if you are the moderator.

You that you can do this thing called resetting the room, which basically means every so often, you're going to remind people what the topic of the room is, what the conversation is going on and what they can do to join the conversation or what question you're asking everybody to answer and tell them that they can raise their hand to come up and speak about it, because then people will, you know, who may have joined late.

Cause some of these rooms stay open for hours. You don't have to do it for hours, but. It's really neat. The conversations can go really long if there's a lot of people involved. When you do that, you can also say by the way, here's who I am and give a really quick little introduction and encourage people to follow you if they are your ideal client or you can say, if you want to be a bright entrepreneur who dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah, you know, you can speak to the bright future identity that they want to have. Then you can say, follow me. And I'm going to be doing more conversations like this. Give them a reason to follow you. Tell them what they will get from following you.

Based on the conversations that you're going to be starting in the rooms at clubhouse. It's really simple, but people are looking for other people to follow right now so that they have more rooms in their hallway that they can join. Because a lot of people aren't starting their own conversations.

They're waiting for others to start them and they're just consuming and you really only get. Half a dozen to a dozen different conversations at a time. At least that's what I'm finding right now. Maybe I just need to follow more people, but right now my hallway, isn't super huge. I think people are more likely to hop off. If they don't see a room that's interesting to them than to start their own room.

And so if you are starting rooms that other people find interesting, then you're going to start attracting a lot more followers. And right now, at least while the platform is newer, it's not oversaturated with everybody trying to do the same things. Now you do not want to be overly salesy. You do not want, I mean, you can sell, you can absolutely share.

You can absolutely offer things on there. But you're going to want to have real conversations and let people reach out to you, I think is probably the best way to do it. I don't see going on there right now and being really pushy about launching something or trying to sell something. I don't think that's going to work real great with the culture at the moment.

I do think more and more people will do that and they will find ways to do it well. And I think it's possible. Like, I don't feel like I'm overly pushy with how I share stuff here on the podcast. I just use my bright future content framework, you can actually get that content template that I use back in episode six of season three. So you can go back and listen to it. If you haven't, you could use that pretty easily without seeming very pushy or salesy in a room. But the goal is not so much to sell as it is to build your expertise, to get people to follow you.

And to check you out on other platforms because they see our expertise, they hear, they don't see it, they hear your expertise and it's pretty incredible that way. but the big thing is people are just looking for others to follow. And I don't know how long that's going to last, but as it's growing, if you can establish yourself as a voice that people are following other people, see.

Their friends following you, and they're going to want to follow you as well. It's just got a lot of opportunity now that it won't have later, because so many people are so new to the platform and a lot of people are following other people back. Right. So if someone follows you, they're like, Oh, who's this person. Let me check them out. Oh, I should follow them too. That looks interesting.

Make sure that you have a bio that's really clear. Now I couldn't figure out how to get. Spaces between my paragraphs, you know, like the line break between my paragraph. So pro tip go write your bio in notes on your phone and format it however you want it to be. And then copy and paste that out of there and paste it into the bio that you have on clubhouse.

Cause then it looks the exact same, which is lovely. So there's a little tip for you as you're doing your bios. But there's just such an opportunity to grow there right now. And to grow fast, if you're engaging with people, if you're having awesome conversations, if you're a wonderful moderator, if you're starting rooms that have topics that people are interested in, they want to join in.

They want to see what the fuss is about, and they want to follow people who are talking about stuff they care about. So it's an awesome opportunity to grow now. All right, my friend, if you are sitting there and you're saying, Oh my goodness, I want to get into clubhouse, but I have an Android or I don't have an invite or whatever.

I'm sure that at some point you're going to be able to get in. I don't know what their timeline is. I don't know how many invitations I'm going to be given, or when I've heard it's about one to three invitations per week. But after I get my mastermind people in, because my brighter together, mastermind, peeps get first chance at my invitations, but once those people get in, what I will do is I'm going to go to telegram and I have a telegram channel right here for the podcast, and I'm going to offer my telegram people, my invitations next. So as soon as I've gotten my mastermind, people in, I will go there and start offering invitations. Now it might be awhile, but that is where I will go next. So if you have not yet signed up for telegram for this podcast, telegram is just a free messaging app.

It's where I share when new episodes are available and a little behind the scenes things here and there, it's kind of for the insiders who really want to know what's going on, because I know it's a new app for most of you. It's also where I run my mastermind groups because it's so nice not to be on Facebook.

It's so much quieter. So if you'd like to be a part of my telegram group, that's actually only open to people who are following the podcast via email. So all you need to do is go down into the show notes and sign up to get notifications. When the podcast goes live via email, and once you've signed up, it's going to take you to a page that will allow you to join.

The telegram group as well. That's really only for insiders. So that's the way you get in there. So you can go to bright entrepreneur podcast.com/email, and that will take you to a place where you can sign up for the email notifications. And then that will allow you to get into telegram as well. It's optional.

So go do that now. And with that, my friends, if you have any other questions about clubhouse, I will put up a post in telegram where we can talk about it and chat about it there, because I think it's definitely worth talking about more. And I am so excited about the possibility. Of growing an audience on that platform and what it's going to turn into, it's still super basic, but I think it has the potential to really change things in a massive way.

And I don't think it's going anywhere unless one of the big companies buys it up and takes over it. But it's really the next big platform for entrepreneurs. At least that's how I see it. And I'm super excited about it. So definitely head over to telegram. We'll have a conversation about it there, and I'll be answering questions about it.

There. In the meantime with that, my friends remember that we are Prider together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

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Transcript:

I have a confession to make back in September, I ran a 52 mile trail race, which is crazy. I know it's, it's like a double marathon in an entire day on super remote rugged trails. And I talked a lot about it back in October during my launch series, which was a five-part bonus series that I use basically to launch my bright future method workshop.

but here's what I want to confess to you today. I have hardly run it all since my race. And I am super out of shape and I was feeling really, really awful about it. I was feeling like, man, I am never going to be able to get out on the trails again.

And I know that sometimes we get that way in our business as well. We feel like we're just not making any progress that we are just stuck. We've lost our desire to do anything. And we're approaching that burnout point pretty dang quickly. So today I want to talk about how we can get unstuck and start making momentum in our business. So I didn't mean to get out of momentum with my training and take such a long break, but back in August at the very height of my training where I was literally running a half marathon one day and a full marathon.

The next out on the trails to train for this insanely long 52 mile race. I tripped. I fell. I fell in the woods and the sad part is it wasn't even on a super technical part, but I clipped my toe on a root or a rock or something. And I felt now I didn't fall particularly hard, but my left knee hit a rock and it must have hit in such a way that.

It heard it kind of bad. Now it didn't like injure it where I couldn't run on it. In fact, I didn't think anything had really happened, but as I continued finishing my run and I think I still had another, I don't know, six to 10 miles left after that point. So it was on a long run. It wasn't a short run. Um, I got back to my car and my knee was really starting to hurt and it was starting to flare up.

And so I took kind of an easy week and I didn't do a lot on it. I gave it some time to heal and I knew it wasn't like a massive deep injury, but I also knew that it needed a little bit of rest. And so I gave it some rest. And the next weekend I went out and I had had my longest week, or it was like 18 and 32.

I did my 18 miler and I did it really gently if that's possible. I know this is insane. Just bear with me and. When I did that, I'm like, okay, it's, it's a little sore, but it's not bad. And so the next day I went out to do my 32, which was my longest, just one. And I got a mile and a half in and I'm like, Nope, turning around, going back because it was already starting to hurt and starting to hurt.

More than it had the day before. Like I could tell that if I continued running on it and did a full 32 miles, it was not going to be happy. And it might actually keep me from being able to do the full race, which was September 12th. I took three and a half weeks and I barely ran it all. I did a couple of very short runs, but I was really wanting my knee to heal so I could go out and do my 50 mile race. And I talked about tapering. And a past episode during that bonus series. So you may want to go listen to that because it was really interesting experience where my brain also felt like, Oh my gosh, I'm losing all of this running, you know, this athletic base that I've built up.

And it just, it was really hard for me to step away and be wise and wait. But then I got to the day of the race and it was amazing. I, my knees didn't hurt hardly at all. At the beginning, it was a touch sore, but not bad. And I was able to run the entire thing. And the last section was actually really hard on both of my knees at that point, just because it's a lot of miles.

And, um, I knew I wasn't injuring it. I knew it was just sore, but it was still hurting. And so anyways, I took quite a bit of time off after the race, because I really did not want to have long-term injuries in my knees. And I wanted to let them heal. I just run literally six, 700 miles over a summer, and I love being out in the woods, but I had some work stuff that had to happen. I was going to be launching. And so it was a pretty busy time. It was actually kind of nice to have a lot of my time back to work in my business instead of being out in the woods, even though I love the woods, I was training for a good 15 to 20 hours per week, which is a pretty insane commitment.

So I intentionally decided to take a few weeks off and see how my knee was doing well near the end of October, I started hiking and running on it again, and it was still a tiny bit sore, but it wasn't too bad. And so I was getting out there. I wasn't training long miles like I had been, but I kept finding excuses for staying in the weather was changing.

It was icy. Now it was. Not fun. Um, there was a couple of weeks, like two separate weeks where the weather was gorgeous and I spent pretty much the entire week outside as much as I possibly could. And those were wonderful, but I still knew I had lost some of my base having not done a ton of running since the mid middle of August.

And then hunting season hit and hunting season in Minnesota means I need to stay out of the woods. Because people are shooting guns and hunting season is very prevalent here because a lot of people actually rely on the meat that they get from deer to get through the year. And it helps their family in a massive way.

So I have no problems with the deer hunting season itself, but you're not going to find me in the woods. With people hunting. I do not want the chance of a stray bullet hitting me, even if I'm in blaze orange, just because I want to go out and run. And many of the trails around here, I actually closed for a solid two weeks.

So that came as well. And here I find myself this past week and it had been a couple of weeks, three weeks, almost, not quite since I had ran at all or hiked or anything. And I was just feeling so unmotivated And I know that I lost a ton of the athletic base that I had worked so hard to build, and I was really feeling discouraged and I knew that I just needed to get out there and start doing it again.

And that it would come back eventually. But just the thought of going out one in the cold, because now it's full on winter here too on the ice, which is slippery, which means you can't really run it all and you have to be a lot more careful and it's just more miserable. And just three being out there knowing that my body couldn't do nearly as much as it could in this past summer, it was really just disheartening.

Like it felt depressing. And I'm sure the fact that I haven't been exercising also made it feel worse because that really releases a lot of endorphins. And man, I come alive in the woods. I just forget. And part of me just wanted to hibernate. All winter long, eat all the delicious foods and just give up for a little bit, you know, like we all have those moments when we're just like, ah, screw it.

Let's just eat all the things and sit around and whatever it is, right. We have our, we all have our things. And so here's what I did because I'm like, you know what? My ski season is coming. It's not here yet. I was hoping it would be here by now, but we don't have snow enough to ski, unfortunately. So until then I knew that if I just waited, I might just get super lazy and lackadaisical all winter long because maybe it's going to be a winter without a lot of snow.

Maybe I won't be able to ski hardly at all. And I didn't want. To lose out, not just on the athletic base, but the energy that I get from exercise. I didn't want to lose out on the habit that I have when I exercise of just getting outside and more than anything, I didn't want to lose out on the stillness and that peace, joy, and love that comes from being in the woods and being quiet.

I mean, I love to find places of solitude to just sit. And meditate or contemplate or whatever, or pray, whatever word you want to use. And just soak up the silence. There are so few places where you can get true silence and winter, especially as beautiful as for silence because the snow just dampens all the sound around you.

And so I knew I needed to get it back out on the trails, and I knew that the first few times they're going to be. Pretty uncomfortable, but that it was worth it. And that if I wanted to get back up to where I was, or even part of the way back up, that I just needed to get out there. And I also knew that I probably hadn't lost as much as I thought it just feels that way, our brains just tell us these stupid things.

And so. If you're in your business right now, and maybe you've just been exhausted, maybe getting kids figured out what their schooling options has been really frustrating and exhausting to you, or going back into lockdowns or the holidays. I mean, there's all sorts of stressors. All sorts of stressors around us that might be dragging you down that might be cutting into your energy level.

That might make you feel kind of stuck. And maybe it's been harder than normal. Maybe the conditions haven't been, what you've needed them to be. Maybe you're having limitations placed on you because of COVID or whatever it is. This year has been especially difficult for many people, not everybody, but for a lot.

And the ones who get through it are the ones who finally say, you know what, despite all of this stuff, I'm going to make a commitment to moving forward anyways. And that's what I did as well. I'm like, you know what? Yes. It's cold. Yes. It's IC. Yes. It's kind of miserable. And the sun rarely shines this time a year here.

So it's going to feel really dark and dreary and yes, I've lost a lot of my base. And so it's going to be really a lot of extra work. And when you're hiking through snow, it's especially just all this stuff, right? Oh, this stuff, all the stuff. I had a hundred excuses. And what if my knee isn't good enough?

Cause it's still feeling pain and whatever else. And I just said, Nope. I'm going to commit to going outside at least 10 minutes a day. And I'm going to say specifically outside at first I was thinking, Oh, I'll just do any exercise, but I know for me and my spirit, I need to go outside. I need to have that solitude, that quiet that I get from nature that I can't get anywhere else.

And so. I did that. I decided, okay, I'm not going to commit to 10 mile runs. I'm just going to say 10 minutes now. I will absolutely stay out far longer than 10 minutes, but it's just committing to something tiny that starts me moving forward and gives me momentum that is going to help me get back into the pattern of getting up every single day.

Doesn't matter if it's raining and it's disgusting or it's sleeting or whatever else. 10 minutes is all I have to put up with it. Right? And by the way, the rain can be really fun, right? If you embrace it and you come at it with an attitude of, Oh, this is different, what's lovely about this. And if you don't worry so much about getting dirty and you let yourself jump in the puddles and play and be a kid, it's actually one of my favorite things to do.

It's very fun.

So don't let the things that you're like, Oh, that sucks. Stop you from doing what you need to do. So the first thing I would say, if you're feeling stuck is one, make a commitment to doing one small thing. Every single day, that's going to start you moving again. And if you only do the 10 minutes or whatever it is, that's okay.

That's okay. That is a win because you are taking action and getting back into momentum. Number two. Tell people about it. I don't know about you, but I am a woman of my word. And so if I tell somebody I'm going to do something, I do it. So I went to the people in my mastermind

and I said, Hey friends. I need you to hold me accountable to getting outside at least 10 minutes per day, because I know that if I tell them I need to do it, then I'm going to do it. And I'm going to show up and say, okay, here's my pictures. I was out there, proved it today. And I know that it's going to help me continue building this habit of getting outside.

That's going to help me reestablish this base that I've lost. That really is going to make my momentum grow because. This is the same in business, not just exercise. We will get far more from taking small, consistent action over time. Then we will, by doing one big, massive, crazy push and then crashing for a month or two and feeling burned out and then coming back and doing this crazy push where it all consumes everything we do.

And maybe we get really great results from that, but it can really cause you to burn out fast when you do it that way. And if you can find a more sustainable habit, practice, whatever you want to call it, that you can do small amounts of every single day and move in the right direction.

That's going to be far more valuable to you and sustainable to you than these massive pushes that then. Leave you burned out where you just want to abandon ship for a while because when you have momentum moving forward, just a little bit of an extra push every little day, or every Workday is going to be far more effective than, you know, think of pushing a rock.

If you, once it's moving, it's easy to keep going, but if you let it stop, then you've got to put a lot of effort into getting it going again. So it's really important that we keep our momentum going. And even if it's just 10 minutes of something that you know is going to move your business forward every single day, put those 10 minutes into practice, there's probably something that if you did it every single day, you know that that's going to keep you moving forward and growing faster, maybe it's reaching out to somebody every single day and asking them personally, if they'd like to be a part of what you're offering, maybe it's reaching out to network with other people who have your same audience to see if you can be on their podcast, or if they want to connect or be a JV partner or whatever it is.

I'm sure. Reaching out once a day to see if somebody wants to collaborate over a year is going to open up some incredible opportunities for you that you've never even dreamed of, or maybe it's doing Facebook lives or emails or blog posts or whatever it is. But if you take a moment right now and think about it, My guests, if you're truly a bright entrepreneur, is that, you know, that there's something you could be doing every single day that would move you forward.

That really isn't a lot of time that you could commit to right now. And then you could find somebody to tell who can keep you accountable, which is the second part The third thing. Is to remember that there will always be something that could hold us back that we could use as an excuse. And when we do that, we're actually being a victim.

We're actually playing that victim card and saying, Oh, these external things outside of my control are keeping me from doing it. Sure. I'm not going to be out in the woods during hunting season, but I absolutely could go to some of the parks around here that don't allow hunting and have done some sort of workout there or been out in nature there.

I didn't, they're not my favorite. They require me to drive a little further, but I used it as an excuse to not get out and exercise because it wasn't as convenient. And there's always going to be things in our business that hold us back. Maybe our market has shifted after COVID or maybe you feel like everyone else is doing something a certain way.

And so you can't do it differently or whatever it is, there are always going to be things that could keep you. From reaching your dreams and growing the business that you really want to have the difference between entrepreneurs who never really make it. And the bright entrepreneurs who create successful simple businesses that seem to grow on their own is that

bright entrepreneurs know that they can get past everything instead of seeing something and saying, Oh, guess it's not going to work. And I throw in the towel, they're going to say, what does this make possible? And that's a question. I hear Stu McLaren asking all the time. I've definitely grabbed that from him.

And I think he grabbed it from one of his mentors or business partners, but what does this make possible? Okay. So my photography business totally collapsed because of COVID. Well, what does this make possible? Well, what this made possible was me being able to shift into something that I've been wanting to do for three and a half years, but didn't have the space or capacity to start.

I've been wanting to run masterminds for ages. They make me come alive. So maybe the obstacle that's in your way. Is really allowing you to do something else or make something else possible that you never would have dreamed of if that obstacle wasn't facing you or perhaps that obstacle isn't even real.

It's just the limiting belief that you have to move past. Maybe you think nobody will pay for what you have to offer, but you haven't actually put yourself out there and ask them. And when you finally go out and ask them, you find, Oh, Fuck. There's all these people who actually want what I have and are thanking me for telling them about it.

So sometimes the obstacles are just our own fears that we have to work through, but whatever it is facing, the things that are in front of you that have been keeping you stuck and refusing to be the victim. And instead saying, what does this make possible?

What could I do to get around this? How can I make my dreams happen anyways, when you ask those questions and you really open yourself up to doing something in an alternative way or facing the fears that are holding you back, that's how you make progress and get unstuck for me. Yeah. There's all these things that could have held me back.

Yes. Sometimes, you know, if my knee is truly injured, it was wise to take a little time off, but I didn't need to take this much time off and I could have absolutely been doing other workouts or I could have just went and sat in the woods without having to go very far in if I had really wanted to do that and not used my excuses to keep me out of momentum, frankly.

So I have committed to 10 minutes a day of getting into the woods or at the very least exercising. But my ideal is to be outside at least 10 minutes a day, no matter what the weather is. So I am dreaming and hoping that we get dumped on that. We get a ton of snow soon, so I can actually be out skiing, which is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world.

It's so much fun, but until then, even if we don't have enough snow, which I could use as an excuse not to get outside. I'm going to go out and I'm going to walk or hike or maybe run. If the conditions would allow it for at least 10 minutes today, I was going to go out for 10 minutes and I did almost four and a half miles and was out there for like almost two hours.

Had a great conversation. Just because I committed to 10 minutes. I know there will be days when I get out there and I'm like, Oh, I'm not feeling it because when we, especially when you're first getting back that momentum, isn't there, there's a lot of resistance to doing it. And I might quit after 10 minutes, but that's okay.

Still a win 10 minutes is all it takes. I'm telling you here. Now I've told a bunch of my friends and I'm not going to let my excuses hold me back. So I'm going to move forward just like that. So my question to you today is okay. Where are you stuck in your business? Because if you're listening to this podcast, I'm guessing that there's somewhere that you're stuck.

What can you commit to doing daily? That's small that you can keep doing and moving forward, that's going to start building momentum. Who can you tell publicly so that you are accountable to it? And then three. What are the limitations and things that you personally need to overcome so that you can keep moving forward in your business.

Think about those and ask yourself, what does this make possible? How can I do it despite these obstacles and whatever else you need in order to move forward with this. You've got this, my friend, I know you can do this. I know I can do this. And I know we're going to be better people because of it, because I know once you get back into momentum and once you are doing things from a place of, energy and excitement and focus, you will grow so much faster than if you're just sporadic in what you're doing. And that's what I want for you. That's the difference between the bright entrepreneurs and the ones who just do not make it long-term. And I know that if you're listening to this, that you are a bright entrepreneur who can do this.

all right. My friends just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Interested in a Clarity Coaching Day or in joining the Brighter Together Mastermind? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

Transcript:

It can be incredibly frustrating when you know, you are doing all of the things that you're supposed to be doing, but it's still not getting you the results that you are waiting for. So what's going on? Why is this happening? Why aren't you getting the results as fast as you'd like? Well, we're going to talk about that in this episode.

So we just celebrated Thanksgiving here in the United States. And my daughters were helping me make the meal because this year due to all the COVID restrictions, we just celebrated as a family and didn't invite anyone outside of our household, but there's still nine of us to feed. So it's a lot of work.

And I remember dreaming of a day when I would have my oldest, daughter's able to help me cook and to do stuff in the kitchen and just celebrate holidays together with, so it was actually quite lovely. It was kind of the fulfillment of a personal little dream, but something happened with my second daughter.

Her name is Britta and there was something that she did that just hit home really deep for me. And I wanted to share it with you today. So. Brita was tasked with the job of making whipped cream. Now, I don't know if you've ever made whipped cream before, but it is the easiest thing ever to make. If you have a mixing bowl with a whisk and it's very good, it's the best thing you're ever going to have.

So if you haven't ever made whipped cream from scratch and you like with cream, all you have to do is go buy some heavy whipping cream. Grab some of your favorite sweetener. I like plain sugar. You could also use maple syrup, whatever it is you like to sweeten things and then use a little bit of vanilla.

Now there's no like hard and fast recipe, but you put it all in the mixing bowl. And then you whisk it and you just have to let it run for as long as it takes for it to get stiff peaks. So what that means sounds super dirty, but it's not what that means is when you lift the whisk out of the cream, it'll be, it'll leave a little peak.

Like you'll, you'll see where it came out. It'll kind of create like this little. Mountainous little thing. It won't just flatten out kind of like milk does. If you pull a whisk out of milk, it's just going to drip, but as it thickens, you'll get to that stiff peak. Now you have to be really careful and stop at that point because if you continue to whisk it beyond that, you're going to end up with a very sweet butter and it's going to start to separate.

And so really that's the only thing you need to worry about is watching. The cream while you whisk it so that it doesn't over whisk now, depending on the speed of your mixer, this might only take a few minutes or it might take longer. And so it's not hard. You just have to pay attention. So my daughter, Brita put all the stuff in and I don't know how much sugar and vanilla to put in.

I'm like just put it into taste, teaching her, you know, how to trust herself, which is a great lesson for all of us. And to go off what we think is best and, you know, dip your finger in and give it a little taste and see. So you can get a sense of what it's going to be like when it's done. So she put all this stuff in and she started whisking it and fuchsia standing there starting to get a little bit bored and she's like, it's not working.

And I'm like, honey, you just put it in and turn it on. You got to give it some time. And so she stood there and she let it whisk and we were doing a double batch. And so our bowl was quite full. So we couldn't put it on very high at the time because it would have splashed out the bowl. We had to wait for it to thicken up before we could increase the speed of the whisk.

So she's waiting and she's waiting and she's waiting and she's getting bored and she's like, mom, This is not working. Like, what am I doing wrong? Why isn't this working? And I said, don't stop. Just let it keep going. You're not doing anything wrong. You just have to keep the whisk moving. It will thicken up and it's time.

So she did. So she waited and then all of a sudden she's like, mom, I think it worked now because we were doing it quite slow. I think it took us a good 10, 15 minutes, which is a little longer than normal, but because the whisk was going slower, it was going to take longer for it to bring air in to the cream and for it to do its magic.

Now, I don't know exactly how it works. I just know that it does that as you whisk the air. Into the heavy whipping cream that eventually, if you do it long enough, it's going to turn into the most magical whipped cream you have ever eaten in your entire life. It's just lovely. I'm sure there's some beautiful science behind it.

I don't know what it is. I'm sure a quick Google search will help you find it. But we got to that point and we turned it off. And then I explained how, if she hadn't turned it off, if she had walked away and just let it go forever, it was eventually going to separate and turn into butter and. We talked about how that's such a good lesson in life that sometimes we're actually doing all the right things and all we need to do to get what we're dreaming of.

It's just keep doing them and be patient. And that is so stinking difficult. Right, because we think if we do all the right things, then magically, we're going to have the results that we want to have. But sometimes especially in our online businesses, and this is where I see people getting stuck in the messy middle all the time is that they're doing the right stuff.

And they want to grow faster. So instead of just continuing to double down on the things that are working and keep it simple, they're like, Oh, well, I'm going to do this too. Maybe I need to do this. Maybe I'm going to do that. And they, they have this whole FOMO marketing thing, like this fear of missing out that if it's simple and it's easy, That they're not going to be able to grow fast enough and they're not going to have the results that they want.

And so they've done all the things they're supposed to do. And so now they've got to do more, to get more money and to grow faster and get their audience bigger and whatever it is, they develop new products. They have more and more offers and more and more upsells, they do more and more marketing channels.

And before you know it they're overwhelmed. They have lost focus on the things that really matter. And they either stagnate for a good period of time or burnout or start decreasing in income and revenue. I've seen this many a time or all have some mix of all of those things. So here's what I want you to take from this quick little example that came from Thanksgiving dinner.

You might be doing all the things right. But you just haven't done it long enough. Some things take time before they really start to work. One of the things that I have learned that I know now as a bright entrepreneur, who's got almost 10 years of experience having done this online. Full-time what I have learned.

It's that consistency and a regular frequency is one of the most powerful things we have for growth. And that small, consistent steps is far more powerful than going out and doing this new, big, massive launch or this new, big social media channel or whatever it is that when you can stay laser focused on what you know works when you've got messaging that attracts the right people, when you are.

Really truly helping your people be transformed when they purchase your product or service or whatever your offer is. And when you know that you can sell, right, you can find your people, you can convert your people into your product and you can get them results. And if you know that that's working, then all you need to do to grow is continue to double down on that.

You don't need to do a hundred million different things. In fact, that's going to draw your focus away from what you need to be focusing on. And so how do you know. If you actually are doing the things right, and you just need to wait or maybe your messaging is off, or maybe your conversions are off, or maybe you're not attracting the right people.

That's a totally different problem. If you're not attracting the right people, you can do it all day long for years, you can grow a massive audience, but they're not going to buy your stuff. That's a different situation now, how do you know the difference? Well, one, you can look at your numbers. And I talked about that a few podcast episodes ago.

So go back and listen to the episode on knowing what to focus Cassandra grow. But two. If you have people around you, whether it's a coach or other experienced entrepreneurs who have been there, who've done that. Who've grown successful businesses and who know you and your business, they can help be Amir for you to know if what you're doing is really right as you gain your experience.

And as you've done it, like I have grown a seven figure business. I've been doing this full-time for almost 10 years. It'll be 10 years in March. And. I know what works and what doesn't. I know what's aligned with me and I can tell when it's just a matter of time, in fact, this whole mastermind thing that I'm doing.

I feel so confident about that because of my prior experience. I know I have my messaging down. I know I have a funnel that converts. I know at this point, it's just a matter of showing up consistently finding more people, continuing to talk about the brighter together, mastermind to get people excited for it.

So I know from my experience that that's going to work, I also know because people who are close to me who know my business really well, actually, people I'm in a mastermind with. Not that I was meaning to bring that in, but it's absolutely the case. These are the people who know me best the ones I've been masterminding with over the last three and a half years.

And Stu McLaren's mastermind. They've told me, I see what you're doing. This is perfect for you. It's only a matter of time until your success is there. They know from their experience of building seven figure businesses that yes. This is right. This is simple. I'm known for masterminds, or I will become known for them the more I keep talking about them and that's going to help me move forward.

And so I've got my self validation from my own personal experience, which if this is your first time building a business, you might not have that yet. And so I can understand why you might think you need to do all the other things. But if you are in a group of other experienced entrepreneurs who are like-minded, they have your values, they understand you and your business and your goals.

They can be a mirror to reflect back. If this is actually a good idea, or if there's something you're missing that you can't see because you're too close to what's there. So at this point, if you've done all the things, you might not need more information, you might not need to do more new things. You might just need to double down and keep doing what you've been doing and have some patience.

Keep reaching out, keep doing the stuff, just double down on the stuff that's working. Well, I can say this over and over and over again in a million different ways, but you need to know if that's the case or if it is a messaging issue or is it, if it is a conversion issue, so you can talk to people who know you and your business.

Well, if you have a business coach, you can talk to them and get that validation that yes, you're doing all the right things. Just keep doing it, ask them for accountability and. It's that simple. I know. It's just like, what really is it really that simple? Yes. It can really be that simple when you know that your business is built with intention, with focus and has a very strategic plan for moving forward.

You know, your messaging, you know, who you want to reach, you know how to get in front of them. You've got Supreme clarity about how to get them into your products and services and offers, whatever it is you're selling, you know how to convert them into your business. And then once they're there, you know how to transform their lives and give them the outcome that they are looking for, and then leverage them to help you get more.

You're going to grow. You are going to grow. You are going to get so much momentum and you just have to keep showing up and keep doing what you're doing. Keep consistent and not give up. Because you're not having growth as fast as you were hoping, or because you think you need to be doing all these other things that you're gonna let yourself get distracted by a bajillion different new projects.

If you're sitting here listening to this and you're like, man, I don't really know for sure. And I don't know anyone who can tell me if I'm on the right path or not. You have two options. Number one, I do have a couple of clarity coaching days left, where I would love to sit down with you. Look at your business and help you find the things that are really working and make sure that your strategy is both strategic and intentional to help make sure that you're attracting the right people, that you can convert them into customers.

And that you're serving them really well. That's one of my gifts is helping you cut through the mess so that you can simplify down. Get Supreme clarity, and then just do the stuff you need to do to move forward. I have some of those. So if you're interested in that, you can go down to the show notes and reach out to me personally.

And then number two, if you are interested in being a part of a larger group of entrepreneurs who can get to know you intimately, that you can mastermind with going forward, who can be mirrors for you so they can say, yes, this is right. Just keep doing this, or, huh. Maybe you need to look at your messaging or maybe this isn't resonating, or maybe you should try a funnel that's like this because it makes sense with X, Y, Z, right?

When somebody knows your business, they can give you really clear and helpful feedback because it's specific to who you are and what your business is. And they can leverage the experience that they have gained through growing their own business. And help you with that because really, truly the difference between somebody who's successful and isn't is their experience level.

They've got the experience, they know what works. They know what doesn't, they've had lots of failures too. And so they can use that to grow faster when they're starting over, which has definitely been the case for me in my own new business that I've started. So if you're interested in being a part of a mastermind, I do have mastermind groups available right now.

They're on an invite only basis. They're not like open to the general public. So you'll have to reach out to me and talk to me about it, but there'll be no more than 12 people in a group so that you can really truly get to know the other entrepreneurs around you. Very intimately. if that sounds good to you and you want go ahead and reach out to me either for the coaching day or the masterminds, but more than anything, I just want to encourage you because. It's so easy to over-complicate things it's so easy to want to give up when things aren't working, the way that we want them to work, when really it's just.

It's showing up. We just got to keep showing up. So if you're questioning this, uh, I would just take some time to go back and say, is this working, has this been working? Am I attracting the right people? And do I just need to keep doing this? Do I just need to be consistent? And most of us are creators. And so we get impatient and we want to do all the things and we get excited by the new shiny objects.

And I get it. It's totally something that I do too. But sometimes in fact, the most successful entrepreneurs, I know the ones who grow like are certain to grow big are the ones who are the most consistent, they're the most patient. And they're the most focused. And that's what I want for you. It's the difference between a bright entrepreneur and somebody who's new.

Who's just trying everything, just throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what's going to stick and somebody who really truly knows what they're doing and can do it fast because they have a simple focus plan. That's intentional that they just show up for day in, day out. All right, my friend, I hope you found that helpful.

You can reach out to me. If you have any interest in a coaching day or a mastermind, we'll have a little chat and figure that out. All the information is in the show notes, but just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Join the Waitlist for the Launch Your First Mastermind Workshop here >>> https://www.launchyourfirstmastermind.com

Interested in the Brighter Together Mastermind? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

Transcript:

I've been thinking a lot about how my experience of growing a brand new business now is so different from almost 10 years ago when I was starting my very first online business. And it dawned on me just the other day that there is a subtle but powerful belief that I have now. That I didn't have 10 years ago that has made all the difference. And I'm going to share that belief with you today in this episode, So I want to go way back into time and share a story that I think really illustrates the belief that I want to share with you today. So we're going to go back to the 1940s and back then. People did not believe that it was humanly possible to run a mile in under four minutes. They got really close. In fact, I think somebody got to four minutes and one second for a mile, so really close to it.

But for whatever reason, no one was able to get under that. And people. Would talk about how they did not believe that the human body was capable of running any faster than that. They thought we had reached our limit as humans, and that was all there is but in the early 1950s, there was a runner named Roger Bannister who made a goal of his own to run the first mile under four minutes. Now Roger's initial goal was not to run a sub four minute mile. I'm sure he would have been thrilled to do it, but originally he was an Olympic athlete.

In fact, he competed in the 1952 Olympics and he was really disappointed with his results. He didn't place on the podium. I think he might've come close. I believe he took fourth in one of the races he ran, but he was really down about that. And he considered. Quitting running altogether as a competitive thing.

But instead of quitting, Roger changed his focus. He stopped focusing on comparing himself to others and racing against others. And he decided instead to focus on bettering himself and trying to break the four-minute mile. So he enlisted the help of a few friends to run with him during his various attempts. He had two specific people who were very, very fast as well.

And one of them would start the race with him and keep him at a sub four minute mile pace. And then the second one would run the last chunk of the race with him to pay some just for that very last chunk so that he had two fresh people who could run the pace that needed to be run to run under a four minute mile, but who didn't have to do the entire four laps around the track that you need to do to make it the full mile. Finally on May 6th of 1954, Roger was successful. He ran the first mile under four minutes ever with the help of his two friends. Doing exactly what I just explained. Now, the beautiful thing about this was he proved that yes, it was absolutely possible for the human body to do this.

And do you know what happened? This was may of 1954 in June of 1954. That same year, just the next month. John Landry ran the second mile. That was less than four minutes. That was so quick for people to have attempted this for years and years and years and not believed it was possible. But as soon as one person, Roger Bannister proved that it was possible.

Then other people started to do it as well. I truly believe. That all of these new people were able to run less than a four minute mile because now they knew it was possible before then they weren't sure if it was possible, they questioned if anybody on the earth could run a mile that quickly. But once one person showed that it was possible, then they knew that it was.

And they were able to do it as well. And so here's what I want you to take from this today. the first thing, the most important thing is that you need to believe that growing a successful business. Is possible for you. This is the belief that is so different for me today than it was when I was first starting out.

Now, when I was starting my business, about 10 years ago, I knew that some people were successfully making money online. And I knew that it was possible in general, but I didn't know if it was possible for me. I didn't know if I had what it took, but now this time as I've been starting a brand new business, I know for a fact that it's possible.

I know that I can grow a seven figure business because I've done it before. I have the experience that has built the belief that it's possible.

And if you want to grow a successful business, you also need to believe that it's possible. For you. And you can do that in a couple of different ways. So let's look at how Roger did this. So he changed his goal. I want you to note this, he changed his goal from focusing on beating other people and trying to, you know, compare his progress to their progress on the racetrack, to focusing on his own personal goal of hitting a certain.

Number right. For him, it was a four minute mile or less, actually less than four. For you, instead of comparing yourself to what everybody else is doing, you need to focus on, uh, what success looks like for you. Change your focus from what everyone else is doing. Focus in on what you need to do to reach your very specific goal.

So that's the first thing you want to do. And then second, and this is probably the most important part is that you need to surround yourself with others who can help you get there. Roger did not get there alone. Roger had two people pacing him who were literally running. Side-by-side with him during his attempts to help him get to where he wanted to go.

They believed that it was possible and they were willing to help him do whatever it took to reach his goals and with everything that has happened this year now, more than ever, I believe that people need somebody to believe in them. Like those Pacers believed in Roger. People need someone to come around them and encourage them as they work towards their goals as they're training, as they're running and really stretching themselves that can remind them that they can do this, that all they need to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward to reach.

Their goals. They need somebody who can say yes, it is possible. And you can do this. You can do this. And we're here to support you in any way we can. This is why masterminds are so incredibly powerful and. Honestly, I believe they are needed more than ever in today's online business space. And even in the online, offline business space, frankly, I believe people need that connection and they need that support more than they ever had in the past.

Not only do people get to watch the other people in the mastermind as they are building their businesses and growing and showing that it's absolutely possible. To build a business, they actually get to watch the behind the scenes step-by-step process that they're taking to do it.

And so if you're in a mastermind and you're seeing all these people around you doing stuff that, you know, you can do too, and now they're getting better results and they're growing you'll believe that it's possible for yourself as well. So being in a mastermind absolutely builds belief that it's possible and shows you basically how to do it.

Watching other people it's like having your own running Pacers. They're showing you what you need to be doing to continue moving forward as well. They will help you hit your goals and support and encourage you as you move forward as well. Masterminds are just wonderful. Gosh, you guys know I'm passionate about these.

I've talked about them a lot. But I want you to take another thing in mind is Roger didn't need more education. He didn't need more learning. He didn't need to train in a different way. He just needed to continue doing what it was that he was doing. And he needed the support of people around him to keep him on pace and on track, literally.

This might be the same for some of the people in your audience. Some of your customers they've gone through your stuff. They know what they need to do, but now the only thing that's holding them back from hitting their goals and being successful is having people who can surround them and encourage them and support them as they move forward and do what they need to do to hit their goals. they need to watch other people like them moving forward and making it happen. They need to surround themselves with like-minded people with similar values who all want to support each other,

take a moment right now and think about some of your best customers. You know, the ones, they're the ones who have the best success stories or they're the ones who've done, all the things and they're moving forward and they have massive momentum. They are moving in the right direction.

And you know, you can see where they're going. You know, they're only going to continue to grow and you believe in them, you fully believe in them and you know that they are going to reach the goals that they are dreaming of. If this is you and you don't currently have a different way to support them, you may want to consider starting a mastermind. Now, starting a mastermind allows people to grow together. It basically is a place to take all the things they've learned and start implementing them. They can leverage each other's experience. You can support each other in it. And it's really truly a community of people who come together with a common goal that Bolieve, that it's possible and encourage each other and really seeking those dreams instead of competing against each other on the racetrack in the business world, they are banding together to pace each other.

So that they can all reach the goals that they are seeking. If this is something that you're interested in, I'm actually putting together a mini workshop called launch your first mastermind. Now I'm not ready with this yet. It's not done. It's in progress. I'm working on it at the moment, but I do have a waitlist ready to go.

If you are interested in signing up for it. And getting access to that when it's available. Now, this is not going to be a $2,000 course. This is going to be a much lower price point and anybody who's on the wait list will get the lowest price that I have ever going to sell it. So definitely jump on that now.

If you aren't already, and you can get on the waitlist@launchyourfirstmastermind.com. Once it's launched that link will take you directly to the product. So you can definitely use that, even if you're listening to this in the future, long after I've recorded it. So that's number one. If you're interested in launching a mastermind to serve your people, definitely go sign up for that wait list.

But number two, if you're listening to this and you're like, man, I don't have a group like that supporting me. I don't have people around me who have similar goals who can help me take what I've learned and put it into practice and who really truly believe in me. And I want that.

I want that community. I want that support. I want to watch others going after the same dream as I am. Then I'd love to invite you to reach out to me, to talk about potentially joining the brighter together. Mastermind. I'll put my contact details down in the show notes. So you can just use those to reach out to me personally.

And let's just have a little chat about it because here's what I know to be true as I've been restarting my business and I've been building from scratch, being in a mastermind myself. Has been one of the most valuable things that I could be in the support that I've received, saved the encouragement, the validation, just having people around me, cheering for me, especially in the lowest moments who can help take my hand and pull me out of it and remind me that I do have what it takes.

I can do this. And I just need to go one more step further and keep moving forward and keep that momentum building has been invaluable to me. And that's what I want for you. I want you to have that support, but I also want you to be supporting your own people that way. If you feel like a mastermind would be a good fit,

So, like I said, just go down into the show notes, reach out to me. I would love to have a chat to see if it's a good fit. And I'd love for you to get signed up for the waitlist for the launch, your first mastermind workshop, which will be coming out really soon. I'm super close to having it done. Also, if you do sign up for the wait list.

And you have questions about if running a mastermind is really going to be something that works for you. I'd be happy to answer them. There there'll be an opportunity for you to send me a little note after you sign up or a video, which is much better in my book, because then I get to know you a little better and you can ask me any questions you have and if I think this is something that's going to work for you and your niche, so feel free to ask away there. All right. Would that my friends. Just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us now more than ever. So let's go out and make it 📍 brighter.

Wanna learn more?

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Transcript:

A couple of days ago, I was talking with somebody who is growing her business and she's in the messy middle and has all sorts of stuff going on and lots of really good things happening in her business at the moment. And so we were talking about how do you know what you should be focused on in order to continue growing?

And there's actually a very. Easy way that you can do this, that most people don't know when they're first starting out or they don't do it when they're first starting out. That makes your focus incredibly clear incredibly quickly. And that's what I'm going to share with you today. 📍 When you're stuck in the messy middle of your business, you have a lot of moving parts and it feels like everything needs your attention.

And it can be really hard to now exactly where you need to be focusing. A lot of times the decision to focus on something comes from either what you feel like focusing on or what you think needs to happen. Or it can come in the way of having to put out fires like, Oh my gosh, we need to do this right now because it's broken.

So we're just going to go and do it. But there's a better way to decide where your focus needs to be in your business, that bright entrepreneurs now. And that's what I want to share with you today in this episode. And it came out of a wonderful conversation. I had with a quickly growing successful entrepreneur earlier this week. Who was doing all of the things, right. She has her messaging down. She's got her funnel, it's converting, but she didn't know. Okay. What do I focus on next to keep the growth happening? Where should I put my efforts? Should I be testing different ideas?

Should I be optimizing what I already have? How do I know what to do next? And so we talked about this and I wanted to share it with you because I think this is something that. I'm going to be straight up honest. It's not fun and sexy at all in any way. This is not the kind of thing that everyone's like, Oh man, I really want to do this.

But it is by far one of the most important things you can be doing to grow your business, because it'll show you exactly what you need to be focusing on in your specific business. Now, this is super simple. It comes down to focusing on your numbers. Once you've got everything set up, once you've been running things, when you have the actual data.

And you can start looking at what is selling, what is working, what isn't working, and you can start comparing your performance over time. It'll give you. Supreme clarity into what you need to be focusing on in order to continue to grow. So I want to share with you a few of the numbers that you need to be tracking in order to know what you need to be focused on in your business, because if you're crushing it.

With audience growth and you're getting tons of followers and tons of email subscribers and whatever it is, but you're not converting them into buyers. Then it's going to be clear that you need to be converting more of those people into buyers and putting your focus on selling.

but the reason we need to have numbers is because sometimes we think we're not doing real well, but then when we look at the numbers, it's actually really great. And a perfect example of this was my bright future method workshop launch, which I did a couple of months ago. Because I'm so used to launching to large audiences in the photography space, it felt so much different and so much more defeating to be launching to a much smaller audience. So during the launch, my emotions were telling me, Oh my goodness, this is failing your. Just not doing it right. Your messaging is off all of these things.

But then when the launch was over and I actually looked at the numbers, what they told me was pretty dang astounding. The reality was I wasn't getting a lot of sales because my email list of potential buyers was super tiny. I only had 53 people on my email list who didn't already have a version of the course.

And so I was literally launching a course to 53 people. I converted over 15% of those on a $1,300 product. Now that is a phenomenal conversion rate. Like that's fantastic for a product that size. So if I had just gone off of how it felt, it would have felt like a huge failure, but because I was looking at the numbers and because I knew that my audience numbers were small, it was easy for me to say, Oh, That wasn't a failure at all.

This is actually really resonating with your people. You just need more people to hear about it. You just need to have a larger email list. And it made me feel all sorts of better. I'll be straight up honest because man, so much of what we do is ruled by our emotions. And so when we are tracking the data, when we are looking at the numbers, What we think might actually be doing really poorly, might actually be going far better than we think.

Plus it will give you clarity on to where you need to be focusing. So what are some of the numbers that you should be focused on as you are growing your business? So, number one, I am tracking. Audience growth. And this is absolutely so essential. It's super basic. And it's easy for people to focus on that when they're first starting out and then kind of forget about it later on in their business, as they get busier and busier.

And focus on different conversion assets or different products or delivery or whatever else. I know that definitely happened to me in my photography business. I grew fast because I focused on growing my list. And then I got distracted by doing all of the things and trying to grow the team. And yeah.

Whatever else it came along and my numbers started to drop because I wasn't consistently bringing in new people month after month, I was relying on the momentum that I had to keep carrying me forward. And while it got me a little ways, it definitely started to show that when I shifted my focus away from bringing new qualified leads into my business, it affected the bottom line.

And so I don't want you to fall into that trap. So you should be tracking your audience growth. Now this might be your email list. This might be your social media platforms. It's probably all of them, honestly, but you definitely want to be tracking that at the very least on a monthly basis. The second thing that you're going to want to be tracking is your conversion rate.

So what percentage of the people going through your launches or your evergreen funnel are buying and you want this percentage to be as high as possible? Obviously, if you're bringing the right people into your business. This rate is going to be significantly higher than if you're bringing in the wrong people.

And so if you find that your conversion rates are low and I would say anything below one to 2% is very low above. That is great, but it also depends on the product you're selling the price point and a lot of different things. So giving you exact numbers is kind of a fool's game.

So you'll have to look at it. It's best if you actually track your own numbers over time and just continually work on improving them. But looking at your conversion rate can help you see, okay. Am I actually bringing the right people in. And is my messaging resonating with them in a way that's getting them to want to buy and see the value in what it is I'm offering them.

So you definitely want to be tracking that over time. Cause if your conversion rate is really low, you're either bringing the wrong people in or your messaging is off or your offer is off. Maybe they don't want what you're giving them. All right. The third thing that I recommend tracking is the average sale amount of the initial purchase they make with you? Now, this is especially important. If you're running an evergreen funnel or you're going to be running paid advertising, because ideally we'd like to be making at least as much money from our ads as we're spending on them.

If not several times over that investment. So even if somebody is joining your membership and you're going to have them for however many months, and you know, you're going to be making more income from them in the future, you still want to be tracking what that initial value is. Now, for some of you, if you just sell a single course that has one price, this probably isn't quite as useful.

But this is definitely useful for anybody who has multiple pricing options. So if you have like a yearly versus a monthly plan for your membership, or if you're like me and you have a course, but you also have an upsell for something else on the backend, you will see a fluctuating average because. You know, yes.

They might just buy it straight up for what the price is, but they may also add something on to help make that bigger. And I love having an upsell on there that makes sense with what they're buying. So for me, back in my photography business, I had the, how to start the photography business course. And that was the, the main thing that they purchased.

And if they wanted, at the same time, they purchased that. I also had a legal contract that they could use with their clients to book their clients. And so I would offer that to them at a pretty significant discount if they added it on at the same time that they bought the course. So it was a very logical upsell for them, something they were going to need either way and they could add it on at the point of purchase.

If that average sale amount at the time of purchase is a low, you're not going to be able to spend as much money on your ads because you're going to make less money. Right. You know, if you can get that initial purchase amount to be a lot higher than any future payments are all profit. Plus you might actually make money to grow your list and to get more buyers, which is the.

Ideal solution when you're paying for ads. So this is why you want to track that number. But the second thing you do want to be tracking is also the lifetime value of your customers. So that's great. We've tracked that first initial purchase, but we also want to know on average, how much does somebody spend if they become a customer

now, if you have a membership, this is going to vary from month to month, but you can actually calculate the lifetime value of your clients in your membership, your members. If you have two numbers, number one, you have to know how much they're paying per month. So that's pretty easy. You've got that number.

The number two, you need to have your average monthly retention rate. And so all you need to do, and I'm going to get super geeky on you here just for a second. So hang with me, but this is based on a geometric series. If you want to go look up the math yourself, but all you need to do to figure out the lifetime value of one of your members is to take one.

Minus the retention rate. So if you have a 90% retention rate, um, one minus 90% is going to be 10% or 0.1, and then you. Take the monthly amount that you charge and divide it by the number you just got. So if you charge $49 a month, you'd now take $49 divided by 0.1. And that's going to tell you the lifetime value of your members, which in this case would be $490.

Now this is not going to necessarily reflect reality. A hundred percent of the time, sometimes members will leave sooner. Sometimes they will leave later. You may make changes to your membership that actually increases retention over time, or maybe something crazy like a global pandemic is going to happen.

That's going to drop retention over time. But it's going to give you a ballpark number to kind of know how much money you're going to make on average from your members. So it's a super , useful calculation to have. Now, if you don't do a membership or if you also have other products, you might have to go back through your database and look and see, okay, what is the average amount of money I make per.

Customer, you may also want to actually see how much you're making per email subscriber the easy way to do that is just add up all the money you've made for a certain time period. And then divide that by the number of email subscribers you have on that list during that time.

that's going to give you the amount of money you're making on average per subscriber, which is pretty stinking.

Awesome. Because now, you know, if you want to run a Facebook ad to just. Increase your email list through your opt-in and you don't sell anything right away on the backend, you know, on average how much you can spend before you start losing money. Right? So if you, on average, you're making $12 per email subscriber per year.

Then, you know, if you're only spending four to $6 for an email subscriber, you're going to double your money in the end. And so this is why this number is really important to know as well. another number that you might want to consider is things like return on ad spend. If you're running ads, there's actually a whole lot of metrics there that you're gonna want to be looking at.

, what is your profit margin versus your expenses? So if you're running ads, or if you have an affiliate program where you're going to have to pay a pretty significant amount in either ad spend or commissions to your affiliates, you're going to want to see what your actual profit amount is after you take that out.

Now, there are a bajillion different metrics that you can be. Tracking. I know this is not the most fun thing to do. And I also know that there are a ton of other metrics that you could be tracking and you may very well want to be tracking. These are just a few of the main ones that I recommend focusing on. As you are trying to figure out where to go next in your business, because if you're not growing your audience or if you're not converting them well, or if you're not retaining them well, like if you join, if you have a membership and people only stay for like two or three months, then maybe you need to be focusing more on retention and how to keep them engaged in your membership.

And so when you're looking at all of these numbers, the beautiful thing is that it can help you get. Real clarity on where you need to focus. Going back to my launch, for example, I only had 53 people going through that launch. I would have had an incredibly stellar launch if I had had a lot more people going through it, even though it felt kind of junky because the numbers were small upfront.

The only reason they were small was because my email list at the time was small it's brand new business. Didn't focus on growing a very big email list. And so my results were tiny. So it showed me very clearly that I needed to focus on getting qualified leads. Into my business because frankly, I am making an insane amount of money for every single email subscriber that is on my list.

That number is very high in my business. It's multiple hundreds of dollars per email subscriber and that's that's in four months. That's. Insane. And I know I won't be able to keep that long-term most likely because I've been very personal with my people and any time you're personal, you're going to get higher results.

So as you scale your business, it's going to be harder and harder to do that for as many people, but it's not impossible. And it's way higher than the $12 per year. I was getting early on in my business when I was first starting out. And so now I can see, Oh, that's actually really good. I would track these every single month.

If you hate pulling all these stats together, you can easily hire a VA for what two, three hours a month to compile the numbers for you. So that all you need to do is go in and look at them and see how they've been changing over time so that you can make really wise decisions about what you need to be focusing on.

So I'm focusing on email opt-ins. I also am focusing on getting. More reliable cash flow, because I know for me looking back at the last few months, my cashflow has really been a stressor with starting over with everything COVID and so as I'm growing my business, yes, I can do launches. Yes, I can offer to sell something, but if I'm not building that recurring revenue piece into my business, then I have to keep doing it again and again and again, and it's overwhelming.

And so at this point, I am looking at how can I bring in both cashflow and leads? And so I'm going to be sharing more about that. I'm actually going to be running a little mini course that I'm going to be selling on how to launch your first mastermind. And I'll, you'll hear lots more about that in the future.

If you want to sign up for the waitlist. You get like the very first adopters great deal. You can go to launch your first mastermind.com, enter your email there. And I'm going to give anybody who is on that wait list, a very beautiful price. , when it first comes out but.

That is what I'm focusing on. It's going to bring in some cashflow, it's going to grow my leads. And then I have a very specific plan in mind for how I'm going to nurture my leads and get more people into the actual mastermind that I am running. But if I didn't know my numbers, I wouldn't know what I needed to focus on.

I'd probably have given up because I would have felt like my launch was a failure, even though by the numbers. It was fantastic. And so I also want you to know your numbers so you can make an informed decision and know exactly where you need to focus, because when you know that you can move forward with confidence.

And if you go back to episode two of season three, you'll see why confidence is so stinking important. If you want to be successful. In this business that you are creating, and I know you do, that's why you're here. That's why you're listening. And that's why you're still listening. Even though this podcast is all about numbers.

And I know for most people, this is like the least fun topic ever, but when you know your numbers, everything becomes easier. It really does. So go do that. think about any other numbers that you need to add. in the meantime, if you have not signed up to get email reminders about when the podcast goes alive or to hear about things like the, how to launch your first mastermind workshop that I'm putting together, I would love to have you on my email list so I need to do is go to, bright entrepreneur podcast.com/email. The link is also in the show notes and sign up for the email newsletter. I promise it will be worth it because you will not miss out on a single episode, which is super important, but also when you sign up, it gives you a chance to tell me a little bit more about you and your business.

And I'd love to get to know who you are. My lovely listener, because I don't know who you are. And I want to, I want to be able to. Speak to your specific situation. And I really want to help make this podcast as useful as possible for you. So when you sign up for the email list, you also get that opportunity to send a message directly to me.

And I will respond maybe later on in a few months, when things go crazy, I won't be able to respond to everybody, but in this moment, as I'm recording in November of 2020, I am responding to everyone who signs up. So definitely go do that now. Can't wait to have you on the email list and would that my friends just remember that we are Prider together and the world really needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter. 📍

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Transcript:

Recently, my friend assumed Stu McLaren reached out to me and asked if I'd be willing to contribute a very short little clip, explaining my best marketing tip for 2020 so that he could include it in his 200th episode of the marketing, your business podcast, which should be live right now. If you want to go check it out.

But it got me thinking about how everything has changed and how I'm building my business differently this time than I did the first time and how it's so much easier in some ways to build a business today than it was 10 years ago, even though there's just so much more competition now than there's ever been before. But the beautiful thing is there's so many more softwares and marketing techniques and all of these things to make it easier than ever to reach the people you want to reach and connect with them. And my tip was all about how I've been using personalization and building relationships with my prospective clients to get more sales.

And I thought I would do a podcast episode on that with you both because it is really powerful, but also because I want to go a lot deeper than I was able to in a little three minute clip. So that's what we're going to be talking about today. And I cannot wait to dive in 📍 We all know that the internet has changed, how things are sold forever. The whole invention of online businesses and our ability to sell anything to anyone, anywhere in the world. It's utterly incredible. And it's never been easier to start an online business than it is today.

when I started 10 years ago, I had to learn all of this crazy WordPress coding from scratch. And, I mean, YouTube, I don't think was even around. So hosting videos was. Almost unheard of and having video on your website and gosh, it was, it was a totally different landscape.

It is so much easier now with the softwares and the tools we have available to get something up and running fast. But there's one thing that absolutely has not changed over all of those years. And that is the same today as it was 50 years ago. And that is that people buy from the people that they know.

The people that they like and the people that they trust now this phrase gets thrown around a lot and it's really easy to say. Yeah. Yeah, I know. We know, but it's so easy when we're working in the online space, especially as our audience grows and we have to scale our business and we have to scale our messaging and we start.

Using marketing techniques that can welcome thousands of people to come and watch us at the same time or to get our emails or whatever it is. Right. We have this mass audience potential that makes us feel a little bit disconnected from who we are really serving in some ways, because we can't have a conversation with each and every one of those people in fact, it's impossible for a single person to have conversations with thousands of people a day. We just literally do not have the time to do that in and of ourselves. However, the more personal touches that we can do means the more trust that we're going to build, which means the more sales that we are going to get, people would rather buy from people. Then random companies, because when we connect, we feel like somebody actually understands us. And when we feel like somebody really understands us, especially when they can show that they understand the problems that we're dealing with.

We feel more confident that they actually know the solution as well, when they say they do, because they understand the problem. So we're more likely to buy from them. Plus, I mean, if it comes down to buying from some random person or company that I've never met or have no connection with versus buying from somebody that I know, and I like, of course, I'm going to buy it from the person I know, especially if everything else is similar, I'll probably even buy it from the person I know, like, and trust, even if it's more expensive.

Because I know like, and trust them. So this is why things like having a personal brand is really great because it can really help you scale that connection and that trust. And I talked a ton about growing a personal brand in the first season of this podcast. In fact, this podcast was originally named the personal brand journey because it was all about how I was growing my personal brand behind the scenes.

So if that's something that's interesting to you definitely go back from the beginning and start listening. Because you're going to get tons of tips on how to do that. But what I have found is that when we can be ourselves, when we can be more casual, more authentic and just more real. People feel like we're more like them.

And this is a difference that I've seen from when I started 10 years ago versus now. And even I see this in beginning entrepreneurs versus more established entrepreneurs is that, in the beginning we think we have to be super polished and we need to have this level of perfection or that nobody's going to take us seriously, that it's going to undermine our authority, that it's going to make our expertise seem less.

Legitimate. If we don't have the super polished, super high quality brand, and yes, we want to have high quality products. We want to get our people results, but. The trend that I've seen happen is that when it's all so polished and it's all so dry in corporate, it doesn't really connect with people in the same way that more authentic, sometimes less polished things really can.

Now I say sometimes because I absolutely think the best is when you can have both the Polish. And the authenticity. So you have a high visual beauty in your set in your stuff, but also still have that high level of authenticity with your people. And a lot of that comes with just being real with them, having.

Stuff out there like a podcast or, Instagram stories or whatever it is, Facebook lives, where they can get more of what you're doing real time and it's not super edited. It might still be beautifully lit. And aesthetically pleasing, but it's, it's still very personal and authentic and that that's actually better than if you're trying to do everything super scripted, super polished, and really formal.

bright entrepreneurs know that Don is better than perfect and that showing our imperfections. Honestly, it builds connection and trust better than trying to have everything polished and scripted and storyboarded and all of those things. Now, I'm not saying you shouldn't have intention in this, but I think so many people at the beginning of growing their business or, you know, even.

A few years ago, it feels like this is something that's developed more. But I think a few years ago we saw this in general, even with super successful people that we felt like we had to have this polished quality, because if we didn't, um, we thought that it would make our authority and expertise lessen.

It wouldn't be as legitimate. And so people wouldn't buy from us. it's something I'm super passionate about because as I've been growing this new business, personalization has been everything building real relationships with my people has been everything and I would much rather have AC.

Smaller audience that I have a real relationship with, or that is absolutely the right fit for me. And then buys a high ticket item. Then having a massive audience that barely connects with me at all that I don't really know on any personal level. I mean, you can't know everybody. I don't know. No, all the photographers who are in my photography business who've ever signed up for my email list.

I think we've, we were nearing 126. That was in people on our email list, by the time COVID came and kind of shut all of that down. And I didn't even come close to knowing a fraction of them. Right. But that doesn't mean I couldn't be personal with a handful. So even if you have a massive audience, Even if you have more people than you could ever reach out personally to, uh, I think that this is important to continue doing, even on a small scale for a certain number of people, for the ones that you can connect with on a personal level, you don't have to do it for everybody.

You can do it for a small number of people, and that can still be incredibly valuable. So here are three different ways that I personally have an adding personalization into my business. And plan to continue doing that going forward as much as I am able to do that because it's so powerful. number one, I am using video, ask for email opt-ins for this podcast right now.

So video ask us this amazing software. It allows you to collect a name and an email address and have conversations via video. With the people who use it. So you can check this out and see exactly how I'm doing it, you can go to the link. That's bright entrepreneur podcast.com/email. It's in the show notes and go to sign up.

You'll click a button saying, yes, I want to opt in and you'll enter your name and your email. And then you'll see a little video from me. That allows you to respond. You can actually press a single button and respond either with a voice message or a video, which is what I prefer. So I can get to know you a little more or even a text.

you can answer the questions that I ask you and help me get to know you a little bit more personally. And then I get a notification on my phone as soon as that's been sent. once it's been sent, I can actually click reply and send a quick video message back.

Now, I, I tend to do this wherever I'm at, within certain limits. Right? So for example, this morning, I got a response from somebody who actually sent me a case study. It's really great for collecting case studies as well. I've been using it for all sorts of things. Actually, video ask is amazing, but I saw that I gotten this response overnight, so I'm literally sitting in bed with a cup of coffee.

I have got bad head. My hair is all over the place. It's a little wild I'm bleary-eyed from not having been awake. That long coffee hasn't kicked in and I grabbed the phone and I click record and I send a quick little, thank you, video back, thanking them for sending me that case study and sharing a couple of little things.

And then I click send. And off it goes via email to them right away. And it doesn't bother me. Here's the thing it's real like when we can share those real little moments, no matter where we are, what we're doing we're walking down the street or waiting in line at the supermarket, whatever it is, it only takes literally 30 to 60 seconds at most to click that button, record a message and click send, and you can always rerecord it if you don't love it, whatever, but I don't worry about it.

I really don't worry about it. And it's so stupid, simple. So right now I have a video set up for people who subscribe to the podcast so that I can send them a little welcome message right away. And so you can actually go and check that out, subscribe to the podcast while you're there.

Absolute shameless promotion for sure. And at the moment, I've been able to respond to everybody who subscribes. Now I just set this up recently. And so I haven't been doing it since the very beginning. So if you've been subscribed for a while, I didn't see it. That's why go check it out now, if you want to, but it's been really effective for building relationships.

And a lot of the people I have done this with have gone on to either join my course. Or join the mastermind that I've created because we had that personal relationship right from the beginning. And as I scale my business and as the number of subscribers starts to grow in a big way, there's two ways that I can continue using this instead of ditching it all together.

One I can take, you know, 10, 15 minutes a day, set it aside and welcome as many people as possible and not worry about trying to reach everyone. I can just do, the most recent number of people and just call it good. There. And not get worried about it, not stress about it or too. I can actually ask other people to welcome others with me because the app allows you to invite team members.

And so I could invite alumni from my courses or other people in my mastermind or team members to actually send personalized videos back Without me having to do all of them.

And even though it isn't me directly, it would be somebody from my team and it would be a personal, customized response, not an automated response that says their name in it and answers any questions they have. Even though it's not as powerful as if it would have come from me directly. It's still incredibly powerful and people are still blown away by the fact that a real person took the time to send them a welcome video and say, hello and answer any questions that they have.

So that's something that. Would not be very expensive to have to hire somebody. Who's just literally there to answer those questions via video and to welcome people that during video cause paying an hourly rate, even if you're doing a hundred people and you're spending one minute on each of them, which is very reasonable because you could do this in 30 seconds, if you wanted to within the app, it's crazy simple.

So what's that that's less than two hours. So two hours to, maybe pay what 50 to. Seventy-five dollars for somebody to spend two hours sending quick little welcome videos to all your new email subscribers. That's a pretty worthwhile investment in my book because. The people who feel like they've gotten a personal connection, they buy, they do, they buy, they feel like you genuinely care.

It's the start of a relationship. And it's so, so powerful. So you absolutely can scale this. So that's one way is using video asks. Now I use it for email opt-ins. I use it for collecting case studies, answering sales questions. When I have them getting client feedback and all sorts of really fun things, highly recommended.

Check it out. The second way that I do, this is on Instagram. Now. I'm not heavily active on Instagram in terms of posting content. I don't have a regular content strategy. I'm not actively trying to promote my Instagram account because honestly, I feel like having a lot of followers, it's just vanity metrics and I don't love Instagram.

I talked about that. Oh gosh. At the very beginning of this podcast and season one, I don't remember the exact episode, but originally I thought I would spend a lot of time on Instagram and grow that, but I realized that I love podcasting more. So this is my primary platform, the one that I'm growing this an email.

And so I'm not really worried about Instagram at all. That being said, when people do seek me out there and follow me. I do try and send them a quick little voice message via a DM and just thank them for following me and try and get to know them a little bit. And it doesn't take very much time. I love the voice message feature because it's so fast and easy.

It's so fast and easy and it builds relationships. I can trace back specific people. Who've joined my course this fall. Because I welcomed them with a voice message when they started following me on Instagram. I figure if they've gone out of their way to find me on Instagram, since I'm not trying to do a lot there, they probably are somebody who's very interested in learning from me and interested in what I have to say.

And so I'm, I'll be honest. I'm not always as good at being disciplined on there because I'm not on Instagram all the time, but I do try and send voice messages to people. And anytime someone reached out directly with a voice message. Or a DM in general, I always am responding to them unless it's spammy, you know, I've been getting plenty of spam stuff.

I don't bother with those, but any legitimate person, who's just reaching out to say hi, I absolutely respond back to them. So by the way, that's totally an invitation. If you would like to talk to me personally, Go send me an Instagram DM do it. I'll answer. I'll respond to you now again, I know as I continue to grow, I might not be able to respond to everybody and that's just going to be how it is, but for now, and for as long as I can, I want to try and personally connect with anybody who wants to personally connect with me.

Because I want to build that relationship. Relationship is everything. And not just because I want to make the sale, but because I really love people. I want to help them. And I enjoy it. I really do care about my people and whether they buy or not. I want to see them succeed. I want to see you succeed. I genuinely believe that we are brighter together.

So that's the second place that I get really personal. And then the third place that I get more personal is within my course when I'm doing my Q and A's, I've made a very conscious switch from doing a Facebook live where it's just me talking at the camera and lots of peaceable listening.

To doing my Q and A's as more of a coaching style zoom session. So on zoom, everybody shows up, it's not broadcast live on Facebook, which is fine. I do have to upload the recording later, but it allows me to interact with my people personally. They can actually ask me their questions. I get to see their face.

I get to ask followup questions and I can engage with them in a more back and forth manner. That builds a deeper level of relationship and trust and connection truly. And that has allowed my people to connect more deeply with me and the movement that I'm creating around my products, because my products are designed to help entrepreneurs become the bright entrepreneur that I know they can be and that they need to be if they truly want to scale.

Yes, I want to make money. But more than anything, I am driven by making an impact and really helping them transform into the person they need to be into the leader. They need to be to grow their business because what got you here is not going to get you into the higher levels of business, because if it worked, you'd already be there, right.

You have to do the personal growth and you have to transform into the entrepreneur that you need to be to run a highly scaled. Business. That's just how it is. That's how it is. We have to do the internal work. If we want to see that reflected in our business, we need to become the kind of entrepreneur who has a seven figure business or an eight figure business.

And we have to develop and become in deep ways. And that's hard work. And most people think, Oh, no, no, no, I just need this strategy or this tool or this thing. And yeah, you might need those, but even more important as the personal growth that needs to happen because we all have this. Junk in us, that's going to limit our success.

We're going to hit these plateaus. We're going to feel like we can't let go of anything and we need to do all the things. And yet it's not going to give us traction and we're going to burn out. And there's just all this personal junk that gets in the way tons of it. And so that's my goal. My goal is yes to sell stuff, but also to see people truly transformed and I've created products, I've created a business that genuinely helps that transformation come to life. That's why I'm so excited about my mastermind, because I know how transformational that can be. I had no idea when I signed up for stews impact mastermind, how incredibly valuable that would be, how much I would change as a person by being surrounded by other entrepreneurs who were crushing it.

And how much that would help me to both believe that it was possible, but also to see exactly what that looked like. So I could start becoming that person as well. And as I did the internal work, as I started becoming the entrepreneur, I needed to be, to run a seven figure business, lo and behold, my business became a seven figure business.

Right. And it started to grow fast and it started to grow really, really quickly. And that's what I want for you. So today, my friend. Right now, what I want from you is to go check out my email list and sign up for it. If you aren't already would love to grow that. We'd love to give you a little sample of the personalization that I'm doing.

if you have any questions, you'll actually be able to ask me there directly. And I would love to answer them. If you want to know more about video ask or more about my masterminds, or if you just want to hear a bad joke, super lame joke. I've got some really, really not funny, super lame. Dad jokes. I mean, it's not, I'm not a dad, but you get the idea.

I've got some good ones, feel free to ask whatever it is. I would love to connect with you personally. So go check that out today and sign up for my email list. What you will be getting is not just, you know, more emails that clog up your inbox, but you'll get a reminder of when new podcast episodes are released.

And you'll be the first to know when I have either my mastermind open or I'm selling my course or whatever else. You'll just be in the know for everything that's going on. And we'll never miss out on something because of that. So definitely go check that out today. If you have any questions, ask me when you sign up for my email list, I'll reach out to you or you can feel free to send me a DM on Instagram too.

Now, you know, secrets out. I'm the one managing my Instagram inbox and I am responding to as many people as possible. So without my friend, just remember, we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and let's make it brighter. 📍

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Interested in Clarity Coaching? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

Transcript:

Over the last four months as I've been starting a brand new online business, working with entrepreneurs. The question that has been at the top of my mind is am I designing a business that fits the lifestyle that I really. Want to have, because I've been doing this about 10 years now, full time, and I've learned that there's a no magical point later on in your business where things suddenly get easier, where you suddenly have all of this extra time.

Sure. Your income is going to continue to grow, but it's so easy for complexity to

come in and droves, like as your income grows, your complexity grows. And you get stuck in this messy middle part. And so you have to be so intentional at every stage of your business, whether you're at the beginning in the middle or further along to make a simple business that fits your lifestyle and that doesn't consume everything you have.

And so I want to talk today a little bit about my journey in that and what I'm doing to help keep things simple, sustainable.

and how I'm building a business that is designed around the exact kind of life that I want to have, even from the very start 📍

I think there's this myth out there that when you start a new business, you've just got to hustle, hustle, hustle for a few years before you really start getting the momentum that you want and can step back a little bit. And while yes. It is easier to hire a team when you have more income coming in the door, which allows you to scale faster and do less work yourself.

You don't have to wait until you can afford to hire a team to create a business. That's really perfect. The lifestyle that you want to have. I actually have found that the simpler, you keep things the faster you are able to grow. And that one of the biggest challenges we have as entrepreneurs is to avoid complexity as much as possible.

And it's really easy for complexity to creep in little by little, we started doing one more thing and then one more thing. And then, you know, the next thing we know we've got all of these systems and products and marketing plans and opt-ins, and it's messy. It's messy. That's why we call it the messy middle.

And it makes sense, right? Because when we're starting out, we're trying to figure out what exactly do we want to be known for what messaging really sells? What platform is the best platform for us to be on. And we have all these questions in our mind as we are building this new business. And that's not a bad thing.

You do have to play at the beginning. You do have to try a bunch of different things and learn from them. But the hard part is that most people don't let go of the things that aren't working fast enough, they build all of this stuff. They create a hundred different opt-ins okay. Maybe not a hundred, but let's say, you know, half a dozen or more opt-ins.

I mean, I know some people who had a different often for every single. Podcast episode they've ever created. And while I fully believe in using your podcast and, whatever platform you're on to get leads, I definitely would never recommend that you try a different lead for every single piece of content that you're doing.

I mean, it made sense content upgrades is what people would call them, but in the, and what happens is you get this very crazy, messy business and not all of the things that you create. Are really created to help move people into that next level, to turn them from, you know, your free follower into a buyer who actually buys the stuff that you're offering.

Some. Opt-ins are going to lead to that more naturally than others. So without going into all the business strategy stuff, my goal has been, as I've been growing this new business, working with bright entrepreneurs is to figure out what is the one thing. That I really want to be known for. And how can I go deep with that?

How can I create a business that is so aligned with who I am and my zone of genius. And that is just so easy for me to run and so clear for me to market that that's all I have to do to get up to seven figures and beyond that's really my goal. So I have been using these first few months to play. I spent some time trying to figure out what could I teach entrepreneurs? And I created my bright future method workshop, which has been amazing. I have absolutely loved seeing the transformation that's happening with my students. But it's also really big because it's a high level strategy. There's a lot of work that goes into it.

And I've found that that level of strategy really requires mirrors. And what I mean by that is that you need people around you working with you, that you can bounce your ideas off and get feedback from. They can be a mirror to you as you're creating. And you're going through the deep work of strategizing how to run your business effectively with intention and purpose.

Now it's been super rewarding. But what I found was that my favorite part was not teaching the course or answering those questions in a Facebook group. My favorite part has been. Working with students directly in our group coaching calls, which I do once a week. And that showed me, the part that really lights me up is working with people on a deeper level, more personally. So it was great because I got more information. I said, wonderful. So what do I do with that? What kind of business models can I do that will make me the money that I need to make, to have the lifestyle that I want to have.

And that allows me to work more personally with people and go deep. And if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know that I decided to launch a mastermind, the brighter together mastermind. Yeah. And I launched that we are starting actually next week. I'm really excited. We have our first group of people and it's going to be absolutely amazing.

I'm so excited about that, but it just is an example of how you have to kind of try stuff and see what you like. And really be very honest with yourself and reflect very honestly with. What is it that you really resonate with? What makes you come alive? And so I've been thinking about all of that.

And now here I am just going to share some insight on where I'm at. This is how I'm different from when I first started out, when I first started out, I would have been like, okay, we're going to do that. And we're going to run the course and we're gonna do all these things. And I would just keep adding to it and keep promoting all the things.

And I would spread my focus far too thin. So right now, as I'm sitting here saying, okay, we have one more, one and a half more weeks left of going through the bright future method workshop with students. Cause I launched that six and a half weeks ago and it's been awesome. But I don't know when I'm going to launch that again.

In fact, I don't know if I'm going to launch that again in the same format. maybe I'll just use that information with the people in the masterminds. Honestly, I'm not sure right now, but what I do know is that I don't want to get crazy, messy, complicated, and I want to focus on one single thing because. It's so much easier to grow when you're focuses on a single thing.

Then when you've got even three different things to promote or six different things to promote or whatever it is, even two, even two is a lot. Now it's a little different scenario if one naturally leads to the next. So I absolutely could only. Open up my mastermind to people who've been through my bright future method workshop.

And I could use that as my funnel, because then I would promote my bright future method workshop. And then when that was done, it would be a natural time to invite them into my mastermind, which is a higher level group. Now that's great, but I don't want to limit the number of people who may join my mastermind to people who've gone through my course, because you don't have to have gone through the bright future method workshop to really be a good fit for the mastermind.

And so, yeah, I'm just, I hope you guys are enjoying me taking you behind the scenes on my thought process, but I want to share because it's so helpful to have these. Thoughts and to really get intentional about what you're doing. And it's so easy to see all of it and just do it because that's what you've already done.

It's that consistency principle that, you know, you've set this precedent. So you might as well do it again, but I'm really open to considering not doing it again, even though it's crazy valuable, even though the people in it have been asking me for links and telling me they want to promote it next time I do it.

So I haven't, I haven't given it up altogether. Just. Straight honesty. And I debated even sharing this with you because I didn't want you to say, Oh no, it's going to be gone forever. And I didn't get in. And I wanted to, or whatever, I'm not trying to incite panic, but just because it's helpful, doesn't mean.

I have to go down that route and we have freedom. And it's the same for you just because you've created these things and you sell these things and they may even be making you money. Doesn't mean you have to continue selling them and promoting them. If it's not the main thing that you want to be doing and focused on.

So I've really been trying to be very honest with myself and hold loosely. To all the things that I'm doing, it's never too late for a plot twist in your business. And this very beginning part is lovely because it's allowing me to play and make money while I play and figure out exactly what it is that lights me up the most, because I know.

That if I can stay focused and I can find the model that's most aligned with who I am and I'm very relational. I love to help people. I'm one of those social people who ends up sitting on social media accounts, engaging with my friends and helping them. And yeah. Chattering. And I do it naturally while also getting all my work done and it's not heavy for me.

It's actually something that gives me life. I need that connection. I love that connection and it lights me up to be able to help others make progress and step forward in their business. If I can bring them a moment of clarity, man, I feel so thrilled and it gives me energy to do the stuff that I'm working on.

It really drives me. And so that's why I want to focus on the mastermind model

so. As I'm sitting here again, taking you back behind the scenes of my brain, what's going on in there. And I'm thinking about how to keep this simple, because honestly I have six kids. I homeschool, I fully support our family with my business. There's just a lot of, lot of pressure on me. And so I have to keep it simple.

I don't want to be working 40 to 60 hours a week to get something going. I ideally would love to be working 20 to 30 hours a week at most, and then be able to spend the rest of that time with my family or out on the trails running or whatever it is. I feel like doing with my friends when we can do that again, more consistently I'd love to do more travel.

And so even from the very beginning, I have been doing my best to build a sustainable business and focus only on the actions that really help you get clients. I've been doing a lot of selling, which sounds funny, but you've got to do that at the beginning because that's where you learn your messaging.

That's the yeah. Moment of truth. You can talk to people all day long about what they'd like or not like, but you don't get their real objections and the real truth until you ask them to actually pay for something. That's when you get the real objections before then when it's just all conjecture it's I go, yeah, that sounds amazing.

I'd love this. I'd love that. But when you ask them to pay, it's like, Oh, But, and then you get the objections and the hesitation, and that's where you learn your messaging. That's where you can really craft your offer and refine it and grow. And so I have been talking with as many people as possible, and you'll hear in the next episode, how I've been getting really personal with people to help grow my business faster.

So that's coming, it's really fun, but I've been really focused on what can I do? To sell more effectively to help people more effectively and do it in a way that's aligned with who I am. That's simple. And that's basically, I want one funnel. So all right. Back to my brain, I know I keep going in circles a little bit here, but it's all, so this stuff, this stuff is really close to my heart because a lot of people speak to it, but very few people actually do it.

Even a lot of the people who say they do. Find themselves working long hours, much of the time and side note, it's okay to hustle once in a while, as long as you know, that it is a season with a very defined end and that it's a choice you're making in that time. This week, for example, I've been hustling to get an evergreen funnel out for my photography business that I want to try and.

You know, I've been putting in long hours because I feel like there's an opportunity for me to make this happen fast and that the timing is perfect for it. I'm not going to go into details on that now, but. I've been hustling because of it. And it was a choice that I made. I said, okay, I will do this. If I can get it done by a certain date.

So I'll hustle between now and then, but then when it's done, I can go back to the pace of business that I want to go back to. And so it's only a couple of days and it's a choice, so there's nothing wrong with that. But the beautiful thing is I'm not stuck in that. My business is not holding me hostage.

And if that's where you're at. Here's what I've been thinking about and what you can be thinking about in your business so that you can hopefully move beyond this messy middle and get into a much simpler, scalable business model. That's going to be awesome for you and create the life that you really want.

So for me, I'm thinking about what's the easiest possible way. For me to get people into my mastermind. What's the shortest route. That's going to take the least amount of time. And my big things right now is that I need to grow my list and I need consistent cashflow. Those are my biggest two things that I'm focusing on.

So instead of running my course again, which is very time intensive and only allows me to make a bunch of money in one week, that's a one-time purchase. And I really want this recurring revenue, which I do have in my masterminds if people pick a payment plan so I can get that recurring revenue.

Month after month, which is fantastic. That's what I, I really want to have because it's way easier to operate when you have steady cashflow coming in, that you can count on. instead of doing my course, I've been thinking about doing a smaller mini course or a mini workshop, whatever you want to call it, that comes on the front end of everything.

Instead of doing a free opt-in, which you can listen to my podcast for free. I'm so glad you're here. I am going to sell a tiny course. That is a no brainer price. It's a impulse buy for the middle-market clients that I want to be working with. I'm going to be selling this how to start your first mastermind course, because as I was launching my mastermind.

Okay. I would say, gosh, at least half of the people I talked to, maybe more chin, how they'd been thinking about starting their own mastermind, or they just started their own mastermind and they don't know what they don't know or whatever else. And I realized that, you know, if I was talking to my ideal clients and many of these people were absolutely my ideal clients that have half of them or more were already thinking about doing a mastermind or running one of their own, that this would be the perfect.

Front end product to help them get interested in what I'm offering to show them my expertise and hopefully to invite the, the ones who really are a good fit to join my mastermind. And that, that would seem like a no-brainer for them. That's a much quicker, easier path than going through, uh, a whole eight week course first and, you know, having to launch the whole thing and whatever.

And the beautiful thing is because I want to do it as a paid workshop and it's going to be pretty in gut though. The goal is to have as much done for you stuff as possible so that somebody can get this. They can. You know, learn the sales messaging that they need to have, and they can figure out what, how they want to structure it and how they want to price it and how to find the right people and just have as much of that all laid out for them as possible.

So that within an hour or two, they can go through it, grab my stuff, you know, the swipe files, everything and set something up and really. Get it out there and going, cause it's not that difficult. If you have everything ready to go for you to get this going. And if they do launch it and are making money and then want to be in a mastermind that really is there to support them, that they aren't leading because it's totally different dynamic. When you're the leader, then mine's available. It's right there and they'll have the money. They need to do it. Super simple. That's kind of the goal it's to help find more of the right people.

It's not something I'm going to invite everybody to join, because I really am particular about the people that I want to have in my mastermind. I want to make sure that it's a really high caliber level of entrepreneurs who are taking action, who have a high level of ethics who really are committed to growing together.

And I just. I just feel like it's such a great fit and so much easier than the bright future method workshop. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the bright future method workshop right now. My, my inclination is simply to give all of the content to anybody who joins my mastermind as part of the fee.

But I am thinking very clearly about. This model and I'm putting together, I'm in the process of putting together this workshop on how to launch your first mastermind. And I'm hoping to have it ready to go in the next few weeks. But if this works one, it'll supply the income. I need to grow my list because I'll be building a list of buyers.

And by the way, shout out to Justin dimmers has been doing a lot of these paid mini workshops on the front end, that lead into higher ticket items on the backend. And it's something I've been wanting to try. And his, his workshop was great.

So I took that and that's kind of what I'm inspired by. So I'm going to give that a try it. Hopefully it will allow me to grow my list of very. Qualified filtered leads that are actually buyers, which is great.

And if they're buying that should cover the ad spend, my goal is not to make money with this workshop. My goal is just to break even with ads or better. I mean, it'd be great if I made a profit from it, but. Truly, truly the front end is just to build my list for free and to build a list of highly targeted qualified leads for my mastermind, because then if I can continue bringing in people who are a good fit for my mastermind and filter through those, then I should be able to grow my mastermind, which is where I really make my revenue.

That's a high ticket item. It's the level of conversation I want to be having. It's the kind of thing that lights me up and brings me energy and that I want to be focused on completely. Right. And so if that works, that might be the only thing I do with my business. I might podcast sell this mini course and run masterminds.

Is that not like the simplest thing you've ever heard of? It feels so simple and light and beautiful to me. I mean, yes, there'll be Facebook ads to run and yes, I'll have to podcast, which I love podcasting. So that's not a problem. And yes, I'm going to have to show up and run masterminds, but that just like, that's what I'm made to do.

That's like what I do for fun. And it just sounds so much easier and lighter and doesn't require me to work 40 hours a week, week in, week out. It's simple. And lightweight, and it's something very specific that I can become known for. I can become known for helping people launch masterminds and for running the best thinking mastermind in the industry.

And I just want to crush it. And that if I just do that, if that's all I do, I will have a seven figure, possibly multi seven figure business the way I want to do it. that's going to be incredibly sustainable. That is going to be. So light and easy for me to run and is absolutely going to give me the lifestyle that I want.

So here's my question to you right now. Are you building a business that is so simple. That it's easy for you to think about running. It doesn't feel heavy and that it provides you the time and the income that you want to have the life that you want. I know a lot of people when they're starting out, like I said, it gets really complicated.

They get into the middle and they don't say no. To the stuff that's heavy to them. And so when you get into that messy middle, which, you know, you say yes, a lot to figure out what it is you really want to do, but then you've got to figure out what it is you really want to do and focus in and go deep with that and start saying no.

To the other stuff. And I have a podcast episode, not that far back, just a couple episodes back that, talk about that shift from saying yes, in your business to saying no in your business and how that can help you get out of the messy middle and scale. So that's what I'm trying to do because it's so easy to just keep saying yes to stuff.

And if you have, if you're sitting there listening right now and you're realizing that you're. I mean, barely have time to listen to this podcast, let alone do anything else in your life that you want to do. Maybe the only reason you're listening to this is because you're currently driving or working out or folding laundry or whatever it is, and you're sneaking it in, in those spare moments of time that you have while also doing something else.

And you just haven't had any time to breathe in ages. If you haven't had any self care there or space, because. Life is so consuming right now, your business is so consuming. It's big and it's messy and it's just heavy. And you know, it has so much more potential than it has, but it just feels really complicated.

And you yearn for that simplicity. You want it to be a business that is light and easy and incredibly profitable. And if you would want somebody to help you figure out how to make that happen, I would love to help you. And I do have a few clarity coaching days available between now and the end of the year.

So if you would like to book one of those days, you can reach out to me. My information is in the show notes of this episode, you can also reach me on Instagram at Jamie M Swanson, but I'd love to sit down with you and just basically. Let you lay everything out on the table and show me what's there in your business.

Like let's unpack it. And then let's talk about each of the things and create a clear, lightweight, and simple strategy for moving forward. In a way that's aligned with who you are and helps you build the lifestyle that you really want to have both from income, both with time away from the business, the freedom, flexibility, all those things that you were dreaming of when you started your business, that somewhere along the way, got lost in all the complexity.

when we simplify and we're just focused on growing one thing and put all of our efforts and thought on that one thing, it grows so much faster and so much more effectively.

And frankly, easily than when we were trying to do all the things in our attention is divided. So reach out to me. If you're interested in that, we'll do a free 30 minute. Clarity consultation just to make sure it's a good fit and that I really can help you. And that you like some of the ideas that I have for moving forward.

And then if that's a good fit for you, we will take care of all the payment details and whatever else and schedule a day to do clarity coaching. And, you know, I do some half-day clarity coaching as well. So if it feels like it's a. You're not going to take us a whole day to figure all of that out. I'll let you know that during the clarity consult as well.

So don't hesitate to reach out. I only have a few spots between now and the end of the year, but I would love to work with you if you find that your business is overwhelming and that you barely, I mean, even if you're looking at this. Upcoming holiday seasoning and saying, how am I even going to fit the holidays in?

And there's all this stuff and it's just, it's been overwhelming. So I'd love to help you simplify your business so it can be more profitable and just more simple and lightweight to give you the freedom and the life that you really want. So that is my invitation to you Okay, my friend, in the next episode, we are going to be talking about how to get personal with your people and how that can help you grow your business in a big way. And I'm going to share three specific ways that I'm doing that in my own business, as well as the specific tools that I'm using to make it super easy.

So it doesn't consume. All of my time and energy. So I would love to see you there. If you haven't yet subscribed via email to my podcast, please do that@brightentrepreneurpodcast.com slash email, the link is in the show notes. You'll actually get a taste of the personalization that I'm going to share with you in the next episode.

But also if you're listening to this and saying, man, I kind of want to run a mastermind or you find yourself saying. Hm. I'd love to be in one. Go ahead and sign up for your email as well, because that is where you will get notified when I have these available. So when I have the, how to launch your first mastermind workshop, ready to go, which I hope will be ready in the next few weeks.

Um, you will get the first chance to get your hands on that. By signing up via email. I'll definitely put it there first. And if you're interested in being a part of the brighter together, masterminds and really spending 12 months or more with a small intimate group of people, as we move forward, building your business, simplifying it.

It really making it fit your lifestyle. if this is interesting to you and something you want to hear about, sign up as well, because you will be the first to know when I am opening those up again. So with that, my friends, please remember that we are brighter together and that the world needs us.

So let's go out and make it 📍 brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Get a bit of custom encouragement from Jamie here >>> http://bebrightandinspired.com

Transcript:

It's been a pretty emotionally draining week for me. And I know that I am not the only one out there who is dealing just with this sense of deep exhaustion between the elections and the stress of the holidays coming up and more and more areas going back into lockdown and just all of the things. It's a really exhausting time for so many people.

So today I just want to do something a little different on the podcast. I want to share a little bit about how I'm dealing with it, but more than anything, I want to encourage you as we move forward through this time. And that's what I'm hoping this podcast will do for you a little bit today.

Okay, confession today. I kind of skipped out on my afternoon. I had a meeting plan. It was one that I had set up, but I had been, I've been in like a day and a half of meetings and it was a really emotionally draining weekend and the sun is shining and it's warm here. Okay. It's warm in November in Northern Minnesota, like the last two weeks had been about 25 degrees.

So below freezing, we had snow on the ground. And the last couple of days, it has been 50 to 60 degrees and sunny outside 50 to 60 degrees or sunny, like that's practically summer for me. I know it's not summer, but pretty dang close for me. And so this afternoon I had just gotten out of a few hours of a zoom meeting and I'm looking at the sun shining and I'm just like wiped out and I'm like, I just want to be outside.

And I had another meeting coming up and I just couldn't do it. I could not do it. I knew that I was going to be pretty worthless in the meeting that I wasn't going to be able to be myself. And I just, I took a personal day, so I canceled my meeting. I just personally didn't have it in me to show up to this.

And actually, I almost even forgot about this podcast episode. Oops, glad I didn't. But I made the decision to reschedule that meeting and then. Really go out and seek this stillness that I had been missing from sitting in front of a screen the last few days and just from kind of a crazy weekend.

And so I grabbed a couple of journals, so I could do some working up there if I wanted to, or just whatever I kind of went without an agenda. And it's about a mile and a half to get up to the top of this cliff where I can sit in the last of the sunlight. And it was so lovely. It's a, it's a big uphill climb it's equivalent to about 75 flights of stairs.

So it's no joke to get up there. It's a decent sized cliff and it's pretty remote. It's really, really lovely. I go up there relatively frequently so that I can just sit and find rest and find stillness. It's a beautiful place for me to get grounded with the earth. Cause it's really. I mean it's stone. It's like huge stone steps and, It's just amazing. It's just this deep place of stillness for me. And I love to sit there and the quiet, I love to listen to the wind. it's really a place for me to go and recharge. And so I went up there, I brought a blanket, I brought some decaf coffee, laid it out and just sat and soaked up. The son ended up having a lovely conversation with a friend and I just felt so much. Better, even within moments of getting up there where I could just breathe, I could just relax.

I could lay my body out on this rock and just feel myself melt into the weight of this rock. And actually even this little chipmunk, I've never had this happen before. It was like, So curious about me and it was like a foot away from me. It kept coming up like really, really close to me, which is not typical here because it's a pretty wild place.

I know sometimes in parks and things at might be a little bit more typical, but this was crazy. I've never had one get that close to me. And I didn't even have food that I was offering it. I don't know what was up, but it was just a lovely opportunity for me to really remember who I am. And what I'm doing.

And, you know, I took some notes about the mastermind that I'm starting and I'm trying to get all of that put together this week. And I've got a big to-do list. Honestly, I didn't honestly have the time to be going up there and doing this, but I knew that if I didn't, I would be pretty worthless and I wouldn't get a whole lot done because I was just so wiped out. So there's two things I want to encourage you with today. Number one, if you are feeling emotionally exhausted or burned out or anxious or any of the things. Take a little bit of time away, even if it's just a few minutes to get outside and breathe, or maybe it's some time to soak in a bathtub or I don't know what it is that brings you stillness and it helps you find peace.

But it's okay to step away for a little bit, even if you have to cancel some meetings and find your center to come back and find that piece, and I really call it stillness, you can call it prayer. You can call it whatever you need to contemplation forest bathing, whatever it is, find the thing that brings you peace and just really reminds you of who you are and let.

Everything in you, that's just start up, get still. And then second reach out to the people who love you and know you and are there to encourage you. It has been a rough few days for me, actually. It's been more than a few days, but it's been rough for me lately. And there have been. Several dear friends of mine.

Who've just been checking in on me. Who've been reaching out, who've been encouraging me and just really believing in me and in what I'm doing. And that means more than I can tell you. It's so wonderful to know that when I'm struggling or feeling down or even just I'm on the right path, but I'm exhausted.

They're there to help. Bring me up, they're there to encourage me and they are there to believe in me. We all need somebody who believes in us. And I believe that we can help bring that gift back into the world, by believing in other people as well. It's part of why I love mastermind so much because a lot of the people who reached out to me this week have been people I've met in masterminds and I'm currently in masterminds with, and it has meant more to me than I can even describe.

I've never felt so supported in my entire life, but if you don't have those people in your life right now, Here's what I would like to do for you, or even if you do, but you could use some encouragement right now. I've actually set up this cool little thing it's called a video ask. And basically I'd love to be able to encourage you.

Personally now, all you need to do is go to be bright and inspired.com. And let me know, how are you doing? Where do you need encouragement in your life? Where are you feeling emotionally drained? Are you struggling in your business? Whatever it is, it'll allow you to leave a message for me, and I will respond to you personally.

With a video

so go to be bright and inspired.com and I'll drop the link into the show notes as well. Leave me a message, either a voice message or a video message, and don't worry. No one sees it, but me.

So don't worry if your hair is all. Whatever, and you don't got makeup on. I don't care. It's totally cool. Um, just go there, leave me a message and I will send you back a video message with a little bit of encouragement and yeah, I just would love to give back in that way and be there for you because we all truly need someone to believe in us.

Because I know how helpful can be, to be reminded of who we are and that we are capable and that somebody out there cares. And even if I don't know you personally right now, I want you to know that I do care and I am so thankful you are listening and it's the least I can do to encourage you and help you move forward.

So be bright and inspired.com. Go leave me a message. And if you're listening to this in the future, and my podcast is exploded and I'm getting like crazy, crazy amounts of this, I'm not going to guarantee that it'll still be working, but right now in November of 2020, I am responding to everyone. So go ahead, go leave a message.

You can always try. I'm going to do my best. I love that service so much and I can't wait to get to know you a little bit better and to send some positivity and brightness your way. All right, my friend, if you haven't already done. So please subscribe to the podcast right now.

And if you would like to get email reminders about the podcast, when they go live, you can sign up for that@brightentrepreneurpodcast.com slash email. That link is in the show notes as well, would love to have you as an email subscriber so that you never miss an episode. so with that, my friends, just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us, so let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Interested in a Clarity Coaching Day? Send Jamie a DM on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

Join the Insider's Telegram Channel Here >>> http://brightentrepreneurpodcast.com/telegram

Transcript:

All right, my friend, how are you doing the fact that you decided to listen to this specific episode tells me that maybe right now you are feeling just a little bit or maybe a lot of overwhelm. In your life and you are hoping that you can find some relief and let go of some of the heavy burden that you are carrying.

And that's what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about a few things that I do to help overcome the overwhelm and move forward with clarity, focus, and energy. it's that time of year when it's really easy to feel incredibly overwhelmed. And this year is especially stressful. Not only is there a global pandemic, just as a reminder as if you could have forgotten, but we've got the elections coming up just around the corner and the holidays come soon after that.

And so she feels like everybody and their sister are launching something right now, or really trying to, do what they can to prepare for the holidays. And in some places it's been especially rough because a lockdown has been starting again. In fact, I just talked to somebody tonight who is struggling because they are now in lockdown in their area and they can no longer.

Do their brick and mortar store. And so their income has fallen away and that's coming in this fourth quarter when income is usually really high, especially for retail stores. So I want to talk about this because it's really easy when we feel overwhelmed to just want to burn it all down, to go back to working for somebody else to give up and to just throw in the towel or worse yet to just.

get burned out and not do what you know you need to do. And self-sabotage really indirectly, but very noticeably. And I want to help you avoid the self-sabotage. I want to help you avoid wanting to burn down your business. And I want to share the one thing that has been helping me in a huge way.

As I have been restarting my own business and dealing with the overwhelm as well, because it's definitely been a difficult year for me. So the biggest thing that I have been focusing on that's been helping is when I am working in my business, I'm really paying a lot of attention to the activities and the things that I'm doing that really light me up in a big way and give me energy versus the things that really drain my energy.

And I talked about this a little while back, but you know, there's something I want you to remember is that, you know, it is never too late for you to make a plot twist. And the story of your business, you can pivot at any time. Now I know in my old business, it didn't even cross my mind to consider doing things differently.

I had a course, I had a membership. I had a challenge that helped me get people enrolled in the course, and it was all working really well. And it never really dawned on me to think, huh, is there something else that I could be doing that was more aligned with my zone of genius?

That brought me energy instead of sucking the life out of me that last year, before COVID hit. I spent several months really transitioning away from a launch model and into an evergreen model in part, because launching is risky and I had a. Well, I mean, it was still a good launch, but it was a bad launch compared to what it should have been and ended up being about 30% of what we normally got because Facebook had made a little bit of a change and it threw my whole challenge out of whack.

And, basically, without going into all of the details, we spent a ton of money on ads and I'm talking like $45,000. And we knew we could do that pretty comfortably because we had done several launches in the past and knew that if we had a certain number of people signed up, we were likely to make a certain amount of income.

Well, because of this Facebook change, which basically made our challenge not work as well. w barely worked at all was super disappointing because Facebook wasn't showing stuff to people in the same way that it had been. We only ended up getting a third of the results that we were expecting to get.

Now, thankfully, we still made far more than the 45,000 we spent on ads. But it was really a big pillow and it showed me how much risk is in a launch model. Even when you have things, prepared, even when you've done it several times over, there's always things that can shift. And we hadn't launched four or five months prior because we were only launching a couple of times a year.

And so there's just so much risk that you put when. You make the majority of your money in a launch. Honestly, I really love the excitement and the connection that happens when you launch.

And I love running challenges because I get to work with so many people. I get to see so many people getting results and it just feels really, really good when you can make a massive impact on your industry and see literally. Thousands of people getting results. It's amazing. And then to have them turn around and buy your product afterwards is just cool.

You get to make an impact and you get to make an income. And it's just a beautiful thing. However, I just didn't want to deal with that risk anymore, because that was really a significant blow. Like, well, he lost multiple six figures of income because of that one little change that happened in Facebook.

So we decided to move to an evergreen model and my team, and I spent several months switching everything over and changing things up. And honestly, it was really a struggle for me because. There's something about having stress, which sounds terrible. And I really hate that this is how I am, but there's something about having a healthy amount of stuff where you're on a deadline.

You've got to get things done, yeah. Act into a corner and you've just got to make magic happen. I, I do my best work. Under those settings as much as I don't love that fact. for example, right now, as I'm building a new business and money is incredibly tight, I'm finding that my best work is coming out because I'm, I've got to do it.

Like I have to make this work and I need to make it work fast. Or we need to make some massive life changes

right. Despite the fact that I really love launching, and I love the energy and I do some of my most creative and best work with it. We decided to make the switch to evergreen and it wasn't quite the same energy because number one, when you go evergreen, you're not interacting with people one on one in the same way.

And I didn't have 5,000 people doing a challenge in my free group all within the same week. And it really. Was a huge drain to my energy. Now I don't regret it. And I actually believe that having a steady stream of income in your business, especially if it's a recurring stream of income is incredibly valuable to help offset those launch, you know, the launch variability and to really bring in a bunch of consistency and remove the anxiety from your business.

However, I found that setting up an evergreen funnel and doing all of the assets for it. It did not light me up. It did not excite me in any way. I didn't realize this at the time, but the main reason that it drained me so much was not because of the technology or any of that.

It was because my zone of genius is in connecting with people and inspiring them and really. Working with them on a one-on-one basis or a very close, intimate way. I love to connect with my people in real time. I don't want to automate my connection. And so all of those months,

when I was working on my evergreen funnel, I was working outside of my zone of genius because I was stuck in the details. I was stuck in the asset creation. I was suck setting up the technology and the funnels and converting everything over from a launch model into an evergreen model. And I was changing up my conversion mechanism at the same time, because what we had done before wasn't working in the same way because of that lovely Facebook change.

And so it was just really draining for me. It was incredibly draining for me. I wasn't sure exactly why I didn't love creating the evergreen funnel until this fall, when I've started paying a lot closer attention to the things in my business that light me up and. I really spent a bunch of time trying to figure out what exactly is my zone of genius.

What are those things that I do because they bring me energy and that I just do so naturally that I don't even realize I'm doing them. And how can I do more of that in my business and avoid doing the stuff that really is far outside my zone of genius and really brings me. It just drains me. It just takes all of my energy away.

And so that I didn't realize that that was why creating this evergreen funnel was so exhausting for me until this fall. So my commitment right now is I am rebuilding this business. has been to be very, very honest with how I'm feeling about what I'm doing. I've tried to be very aware and very curious about what lights me up.

What am I really enjoying doing? What leaves me feeling energized and alive. And for me, I almost always feel my best. After I've been directly working with people in small groups. And when I've been working with people one on one, that's why I enjoy doing the clarity coaching days so much. That's why I love doing masterminds.

And I am so excited about getting the brighter together, mastermind up and running, which should be happening super soon. And I am so. Like, I'm just so excited about how I'm doing things. And honestly, it's only been what, three and a half months at this point, and I've already kind of done a little bit of a plot twist.

Like I haven't given up on the bright future method workshop in any way, shape or form completely, but I don't think that's going to be my main focus. I believe that the masterminds that I am creating and I'm starting with one, but I eventually want to have multiple groups. I believe that this mastermind that I am creating. Is going to be nothing but light and easy for me to run. I know that after every single meeting we have, I am going to be filled with energy and literally energized. I'm not going to be exhausted. I'm not going to dread showing up. And because this is so deeply part of my zone of genius, I know that serving my people and.

Really helping them get the growth that they want to have in their business. And being able to work with a small group of people for the next 12 months, at least twice a month is really exciting to me. I know it's going to just bring me so much joy and that when we're working out of our zone of genius, we're going to help other people get their best results as well.

So as you are looking at your business and you're looking at all of the things. And, you know, sometimes there are seasons when you're just getting you're done and you know, you just need to get through it. Like, I'll be honest. It is really exhausting to always be worried about cashflow and how can I keep bringing it in more?

And how can I bring it in more and say, Oh, do I want to do this? Do I not want to do this? All the questions are exhausting. All of the emotions. Oh my goodness. The emotions that you have when you're starting over or. At any point, really? They never go away, but they seem especially acute when you're starting over ban, they are exhausting.

But I want you to know that it's never too late for a pivot. It's never too late for a plot twist in the story of your business. And when you find those things in your business that just light you up. Do more of them. And when you find those things that you feel like you just have to do, cause you just have to do it when you're working out of that sense of obligation and should ask yourself, is there another way.

Could I accomplish the exact same things in a different way. So as you're going into the next few months, when overwhelm is very likely to be high, and there's going to be a ton of obligations on your plate, both personal with the holidays.

And business with the end of year stuff and just all of the things, Be really mindful as you, you go through it of the things that you're just dreading and of the things that you just love doing. And if you're at the point in your business, this where you don't love doing any of it, because you are just burned out and exhausted.

The best thing you can do is to take a few days and step away. If you can take an entire week, that would be even better, but at a minimum four days, step away from your business. Don't worry about it. Don't think about it. Do what you need to do, you know, if you have lessons to teach or something, accord them in advance, but take a few days and step away from your business and just make space and just let your brain.

Rest. I mean, literally don't sit and try and figure things out. Don't think, think, think, think, think, go play, do the stuff you love, spend time with your family, whatever it is. And I just did this, this weekend in a mini form. I took two days completely away from my business, which is hard to do when you're starting over and everything is crazy busy.

Right. And I mean, completely away, there was no checking email. There was no responding to messages. It was like, Off grid only, not really off grid. I was off the business stuff and just totally, being present and taking time to rest and do the things that I love that really fill me. And it was the best thing I could've done.

I came back so energized and I came back so focused and you might need more than a few days, but just know that, you know, you're probably burned out if you don't enjoy everything. And if you really. Go on rest and you make the space and you come back and you still don't love anything. Then it's probably time to ask yourself, what are the kinds of things you might love?

What other things could you be doing if you weren't doing this? And don't be afraid to create a business that is perfectly aligned with who you are and what your goals are in life. Because when you do that, It becomes so much easier when your business is created to be perfectly suited to who you are and what your strengths are.

It doesn't drain your energy. It's not a burden. It is a. Joy. It gives you energy and you get excited to show up and do the work. And that's what I want for you now, you know, there's always going to be some tasks that you don't love doing, but that's where you start to outsource. That's where you build your team.

That's where you hire other people who are lit up by doing that thing to come in and work beside you. I know how hard it is to get out of that messy middle. And I know how hard it is to make space and really breathe. But if you continue to operate out of a sense of obligation and you live in that place of overwhelm for too long, Eventually it is going to catch up to you. It's going to cause massive problems for you, either in your business or your personal life or your health, whatever it is, but that's not why you started your business.

You did not start your business because you wanted to live in a constant state of overwhelm. You started a business because you wanted to make an impact. You wanted to do something that you love. You wanted to design a life. That's incredible. So, if you're looking at your business and your life right now, and it's not what you thought it would be, and you're just feeling defeated and overwhelmed, know that it can get better.

Use the process that I outlined in this podcast episode, to help you start finding hints as to what it is that might let you up, how you might want to change. And then when you find those things that bring you energy double down on them. And ask yourself, how can I bring more of this into what I'm already doing?

So for the bright future method workshop that I've been teaching, I've found, I don't love teaching lessons. I mean, I love helping people get results. And so that's part of it, but I love. The Q and a side of it. I love when we get together on zoom and we do these coaching calls and we walk through the material together and make sure everybody's understanding it and applying it to their businesses.

And I love seeing the aha moments that happened from that. And I played some for you here on the podcast, just a couple of episodes ago. And so what I've been asking myself, Is how can I do more of that in the business? And so that's why I'm launching the masterminds and that's why that's going to be more of the focus.

And I've even been thinking, huh? Maybe instead of teaching the course, maybe that's just included in the mastermind. I don't know. I don't know. I haven't decided those things yet, but I'm asking myself the questions and I'm asking myself, how can I bring in more of my zone of genius into my business?

Because then I know it's easy. It's the most important question you can ask yourself to truly create a business that you love and that gives you the lifestyle you want, and that helps you make your greatest impact in the world. Because when we're working from our greatest strengths, we're going to have our greatest impact so my friend, if you are struggling to find clarity or maybe you've discovered, gosh, I love these things, but I don't know how to bring more of that into my business. Or maybe you just have so much stuff going on that you can't even take the time to sit and figure out. What you really should be focused on, or you just get so overwhelmed when you're trying to figure all out.

If you'd like some help, And would love to do a clarity coaching day with me. You can reach out to me using the contact information. That's right here in the show notes. And what we'll do first is we will do a 30 minute clarity consultation. That's totally free just to hear kind of what's going on and make sure that I'm going to be able to help you get clarity and move forward.

And then if we both feel like it's a good fit, we will schedule a day to really sit down and go through whatever it is that you are working on and really help you get clarity and try and figure out how you can take your zone of genius. And go deeper with that in your business. And if you need to make some sort of business pivot, if you are ready for a plot twist, I'm happy to help you figure out the strategy that can take you from where you are now and gently redirect your energy so that you can create a business.

That's. Truly aligned with who you are, that's light, that's easy and that's simple for you to run so that you can scale it in a big way. So just reach out to me, use the contact information in the show notes, and we can talk about moving forward. Would that my friend, I want you to remember that we are brighter together and that the world needs us.

So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

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Transcript:

I'm three and a half months into starting my brand new business and pivoting after COVID made my old business a COVID casualty. And I took some time to really sit down and document what I have learned. In the first 90 days of starting over. And it's not exactly what I thought I would learn. Now, this is kind of a follow up because the very first episode in season three is all about my goal for making a 30 K and 90 days.

And so I'm happy to, I've made $31,386 in the first night, 90 days. And it's still continuing to grow, which is. Super exciting, but I want to tell you what I have learned because even more important than the money that has started coming in from starting from scratch, starting at the beginning. Um, yeah. Is the things that I have learned have been so incredibly valid you bowl, so if you find yourself starting over, because you've had to make a big pivot, or if you work with entrepreneurs who are just starting out, I think you're going to find this incredibly valuable so that you can serve them better going forward.

I think the biggest surprise to me was how much the emotional journey really affected everything I have done since starting over, when I'm having an anxious day, it is really hard to make good decisions and to do what I know I need to do, because at this point in my business, I've been running an online business for almost 10 years full time. and I know what to expect. I know what to do, but when you're starting from scratch, it's so much more intense, especially if you've gone through something really difficult, like COVID taking out your business like I did, or whatever else it is.

It's just incredibly emotional. And I was surprised at how much that affected my ability to do what I needed to do to come and sell from a confident place or whatever it was when I was feeling good and feeling supported, man, I could courage it, but those days when I was really questioning myself and I'm just going through the normal, emotional roller coaster, like when you launch.

You know, that first day is really exciting, but then after you put yourself out, there you go through that. vulnerability hangover on day two because you put yourself out there and now you need to see if it's going to work. And it, even though I know that happens and I've known that for years, It felt far more acute this time going through it than it did before.

Because number one, things were not proven. Yeah. Like I was trying to prove a con. And so there was a lot more uncertainty as to whether or not people would buy what I had to sell. And it felt a lot more like a Rite of passage. I had to be really careful not to internalize the results. As meaning something about myself.

Like I, my brain wanted to say, Oh, this means that you're worth it. This means that you can do it, or you can't do it, or you're going to be a failure. You know, all those stupid things that our brains try and tell us. I had to continually remind myself that whatever the outcome was. It didn't mean anything about who I am a failed launch.

They weren't failed. But if, even if I had a failed launch, it didn't mean that I was a failure person or whatever else. And my brain kept trying to give me these messages. And thankfully I'm aware of it. Yeah. But for somebody who's newer. If you're working with new entrepreneurs who are starting something from scratch, be aware of that and really speak to it to that because I could very easily see where somebody could get pulled off and away and give up or never actually launch or sell their thing because they be so afraid of what it might mean about who they are.

So definitely you want to normalize the emotional experience that's going on at the beginning. You know, the other thing is that when you're launching something brand new, there's just so much less validation. I launched my course to basically 52 people on an email list.

And so 52 people is not a lot of people. So even though my conversion rate, it was very high for a product that was 1299 when I sold it. I sold over 15% of the people who are on my email list into the course, which is a huge percentage.

It's still felt very, very low because there just were so many fewer people. I mean, it's launching to 52 people feel so much quieter than launching to 5,200 people. Right. Cause you know, if I had the same conversion rate, I'd have had 100 times more sales than I I had, if it would all hold.

And I would have been hearing ping, ping, ping, you know, so many more times than would just 52 people. So even though the conversion percentages look good, you just don't feel it in the same way. And it's not that much more work to launch too 5,200 people as it is to launch to 52 people. So it can be really crushing if you.

Don't have the right mindset and don't have people around you to step up and support you through that transition. So that's the first big takeaway is that, um, you really have to pay attention to the emotional experience, have your support in place. And if you are teaching. Beginning entrepreneurs, especially, but really, I think this is always the case, but especially beginner entrepreneurs, you've got to normalize the emotional experience so they know what to expect and they know what's normal because of course it's going to feel.

Difficult because they're stretching outside their comfort zones. They're doing something they haven't done before and people need somebody to believe in them. I needed my friends in the mastermind that I'm in to believe in me and remind me of who I was. Um, for those of you who are listening, who are those friends of mine?

Thank you. Because it meant more than you can know. Okay. And I knew what I was getting into, so I can only imagine how hard that is for somebody who is brand new. All right. The second big takeaway that I got in the first 90 days was that you absolutely have half to nail the offer and your messaging.

Beyond anything else. This is absolutely the most important thing ever. You need to have something that people want and you gotta be able to tell them what it is and why it's important to them so that they will buy. If you've got your messaging nailed, you can fly. I really believe that most people are stuck.

Not because they don't have something of value to sell, but because they just don't know how to. Message it, they don't know how to explain to other people what that value is in a way that makes them say, Oh my gosh, I need this. I want this right now and I'm going to go buy it. So you've got to focus in on your messaging and your offer, which leads to me to take away number three, which is sell.

Sell, sell your stuff as much as possible. Now, the reason I say that is because your message, the gene becomes more and more clear. The more you actually sell your products, because you're going to hear more of the objections. You're going to hear more, both hesitations. You're going to have conversations with your people that help you see.

Oh, you know, this makes sense. Like, I didn't even think of that. So for me, one of the big hesitations, that should be obvious to me. Like I know this, but it just didn't strike me as something that was, that was that important right away was that people are like, well, I've taken all the, are there things, how is it different?

And how much time is this going to take? Because I am so swamped in the messy middle that. I don't have a lot of time to put towards this. I'm already doing 20 different things. And so those two things alone, like, of course I know that, but having heard that over and over from people, as I was telling them about my work shop made me say, okay, I definitely need to add this to my messaging because when I overcame those objections, then people are like, Oh yes, I absolutely want to be a part of this.

And I did not get that clarity until I was actively selling my workshop. So the more you can sell the clearer, your messaging is going to be the faster you're going to gain momentum and get success. So sell, sell, sell, sell, sell as much as you possibly can. Now. Along those lines, kind of a second bullet point about this is ideally you want to be selling one to one early on.

Now. I know you can't scale that. I know that you can't do that forever. However, If you are not having one-to-one conversations and you can, can't sell your stuff to a single person, there is no way you are going to be able to sell it to the masses. You've got to be able to speak to a single person. If I put you in front of your ideal client and you can't get them to buy and they can't see the value in what you're doing, your messaging is way off and.

You're not going to suddenly start getting sales. If I magically put you in front of that was end of your ideal people. You've gotta be able to sell to one person before you can sell to the masses. So do that as much as you possibly can. at the very beginning, which leads to my fourth takeaway from the first 90 days of starting a new business, is that relationships and trust is the most important thing.

However, when you are building a new audience, you need to get personal. You need to be very. On the front lines, you need to be reaching out to your people, talking with them, finding out what their real struggles are. Like. We can think we know something, but when we talk to them and then we hear the exact language that they are using to explain it, it's going to strengthen our messaging.

It's going to help us understand them better. So build those relations, build that trust, get personal. I sent. Gosh, dozens and dozens and dozens of personalized video, voice messages, all the things, and actually reached out personally and had conversations with every single person on my email list and with everybody who I could, that would connect with me via Instagram, via Facebook.

I spoke one on one with as many people as possible, not just to sell to them like that. Wasn't like my primary goal, but to get to know them, to really understand them. And then when I was selling and I felt like it was a good fit for them, I absolutely reached out on a personal level and invited them to join me.

Wasn't pushy, wasn't manipulative. It was just a gentle invitation with an explanation as to why I thought this thing I was selling was perfect for them. So you absolutely need to get personal. Um, and the other cool thing is when you have that relationship and that respect and trust, you really don't need a sales page.

You don't need a fancy webinar with all sorts of psychology in it to convert people. If you have that trust. I ask people coming into my workshop, why they decided to join. And I do this, they have to answer it when they join the Facebook group. And I do this because what it does is it shows me what part of my sales message really resonated with them.

So that if my cart is still open, I can actually go and get real time feedback and say, Oh, this person joined because of this. I better talk about it more. And for the first time ever in a launch, because I got so personal with my people, almost every single new person said they joined because of me because of the relationship that they built with me, because they trust me.

They believe that I can help them get the results they want. And that was what they said, help them come over, you know, make that decision to come over and actually put money down and by enjoying what I'm doing. And so. I mean, I didn't even have a sales page on the first day and it didn't matter because it was all about the relationship.

It was all about the trust that I had built. And so when you are growing a new business and trying to get to know a new audience, you know, at the beginning you can be very personal. No, but as you begin to scale, you need to always keep in mind that you're growing a relationship and building that trust and that those things, Trump.

All the tactics that you could ever do it's better than fancy sales copy. It's better than all these psychology tactics for sales and stuff. Yes. Those help. Yes. Those absolutely can work. But when you have a relationship and trust that beats everything that beats everything. I know you've probably heard it a hundred times, but people buy from those, they know.

They like, and they trust. And I saw that in a big way in these first 90 days. And as I move forward with building my list, I'm going to be focusing on that and a huge way, as much as I possibly can. I'm going to stay as personal as I can for as long as I can. Until I get my messaging, nailed my offer nailed, and I'm ready to start scaling that connection in a big way.

And I think if you look back at season one, I talk a lot about connection. I've been thinking about how to scale connection and trying things for years. So I'm really excited to get all this stuff in line so that I can get to that point. But that's probably another three months down the line in my book, I guess.

We'll see. But for now I know that I'm getting really personal on a small scale. Because when you have the right people in your audience, you can make a lot of money without having a massive list, because it is all based on the relationship, having the right offer and having the right people there for it.

They really want what you have to offer. All right. The fifth thing, the fifth final takeaway that I'm going to share with you today is that the more aligned you are and you create your business to be with your zone of genius, the easier. Everything becomes. And the beauty of starting over is that I can do it however I want to do it.

And when I do it in a way that is aligned with who I am, it just becomes easy. Now I want to be honest. I found myself doing something, namely selling a workshop and teaching a course. and I've always done that. And so that was kind of my default method of making money is to sell a course.

So I started selling this course, the bright future method workshop, and it's awesome. And I, I love what it teaches people. I love how it is, is changing the lives of the students who are inside of it. Like literally changing their lives. If you go back to, the last episode right before this one, you can hear about Brian and some of the insights that he had, and yeah.

I mean, it's just so beautiful to see how the, his life is changing. His business is changing because of what he's learning. It's super rewarding. But what I realized is that I don't love teaching courses. I'm really tired of teaching, but here I am teaching a course, but what I love, what I love and come alive doing is actually.

The coaching calls and the live Q and A's and working with people directly within the workshop itself. When we get on zoom together and we talk about what they're doing and how they're applying it to their business and help them really see how to create a business that's aligned for them. When I'm having that, small group interaction and we're really making super big progress.

That's when I light up. And so this has been a beautiful mirror for me because it showed me that going forward, I'm not going to not teach a course. Like I've got this beautiful course. It's all going to be recorded. I'm going to have all the information. It's not that I'm not going to teach it, but I really want my focus to be more.

On growing the mastermind groups that I'm putting together, these brighter together mastermind groups, because I realized that the most helpful thing for me personally, has been the people in my mastermind who could believe in me, who could support me, me as I walked through this crazy emotional journey of restarting after having my business completely destroyed, who were really there for me.

This whole time and could share their experience. I was just too close to see stuff that was amazing. I just love connecting with people and helping them grow their business. Like, I've love that one on one connection. I know most people, I feel like most people I know who. Are running a business. They're really afraid to have a community because they're afraid of it sucking up all of their time in life.

And they really want to be more hands off. And I'm like, man, that's what gives me life. Like I would sit in my communities, working with people, um, specifically connecting with them over video or over telegram or. Yeah, more real, genuine interaction with people that lights me up. And I know that that's rare, but I am like a people person to the deepest level of my core.

That is part of my gift. That is part of my zone of genius. I know people, I know how to empower people and I love helping people very directly. And so even though I have this, of course, and I'm going to continue teaching it and I really do love how it's empowering my people. I'm most excited about the mastermind groups that I am launching.

And so I launched that on the back end. That was right after the 90 days, right. At the very end. And so those are still actually open through tomorrow if you want to apply to be a part of the first round of mastermind groups and.

My vision is to have a smaller group of no more than 12 people, probably six to 12 people per group that can really go deep with each other, but also, um, I get to go deep with them. I'm really excited to facilitate these groups. And so I know that that will be like the fastest way for people to grow their business because they'll get to share their experience.

Like our experience is the most valuable thing we have and. For me to be able to share my experience with other people in the group, for them to bring their own personal experience and share it. You get to leverage that collective experience. And that's incredibly valuable. That's why I've been able to make more money in the first 90 days.

Then I made in like the first year and a half combined when I was starting out at the beginning. Right. And so, or whatever the number is, I didn't look up the exact number, but it was a long time. I only made, I made just shy of $10,000 the very first year. That I started my business now. I was really happy with that at the time, but now it's like, man, I can do so much more of that so much faster because of my experience.

So creating a space where people can connect together, support each other, share their experience with each other and really grow their business fast. Just, Oh, I'm sorry. Excited. I'm so excited. These are like my baby. And so this, you know, kind of a side note to this whole idea of creating a business, that's really aligned with who you are, is that when you're starting over and actually really any time, you don't have to be starting over to do this, but it was a good reminder that.

I can give my business a plot twist anytime I want. So by taking action and running a course and doing these things, but being really aware of how I was feeling inside as I went through all of these things. I was able to see, Oh, I've always loved running again. Of course not because of the teaching side, even though I am a really good teacher, but because I love working with the people directly, I love it.

Yeah. Answering their questions. I love doing coaching. I love the connection. I love people. I love to love people. I love to be in the trenches with them and it just was a little mirror to me. It showed me, Oh, this is the part I should double down on. This actually makes me feel a lot better about taking a course and putting it on evergreen.

That's more self study. Because then I can separate out the part that's the high touch, the part that is that high level of interaction. And I can spend my focus there, but still be able to reach more people who, you know, may still want to be working on their own with it or whatever. And they can take and run with that.

That's not set up yet. That's a big possibility down the road, but I get to dream. I get to set this up, however I want to do it. And that's just ridiculously exciting and it's been really fun for me. And so, you know, that's that final takeaway is that everything is so much lighter, easier, and so much more fun.

When it's aligned with your zone of genius, it gives me energy when I'm doing the things with people. When I'm working within my zone of genius, instead of sucking away the energy and making me hesitant to want to do this. So it's been really, really. Fun these first 90 days, it has been terrifying. It has been anxiety ridden.

It has been, it's been a emotional roller coaster. There have definitely been down days, but man, it has been so amazing. And even though this year has been so incredibly hard, I am so. Thankful for this new business that I've been creating. I'm so thankful for the new people that I'm working with. They're my people, like, I just love hanging out with them.

I naturally want to go above and beyond with them because they're my people. I just love geeking out. Like I haven't been passionate about photography for a few years. I found that I was more passionate about the business side. And while I love photography, it was definitely a zone of excellence for me.

Being in the zone of genius and being around other people who love similar things, it's just exciting. I want you to get out of a business that feels heavy, that stuck in that messy middle, doing all of these things that you don't necessarily want to be doing and find the parts of your business that really light you up that give you energy and learn to double down on that.

Learn to say no to the other stuff so that you can say yes to the stuff that really just. Makes you come alive and where you can have your greatest impact, which is part of what I love to help people figure out and find. So a great way to do that is to be part of our mastermind groups. I've talked about those for the last few episodes.

If you have any interest in being a part of them and you want to be a part from the very beginning and you want to be surrounded by. Like-minded business owners who can help you get to that next level and scale, and really be a mirror for you. you get to watch all these other people build their businesses as well.

Well, you get to see under the hood of multiple people's businesses, including my own. And it's just, it's just awesome. So if you want to be part of that first group, Applications are due tomorrow, which is October 22nd. And, we'll be starting at the beginning of November.

So definitely go do that. Now, if you've been thinking about it I'd love to consider you for it. I definitely want action takers. I want people with a high level of integrity. I want people who are generous and not afraid to share with other people because obviously a big part of this is sharing our experience so we can all grow our businesses faster.

And I just really want people in there who are committed to building a business around who they are. And. Aren't afraid to do something that might look a little out of the box. you can go to, we are brighter together.com to apply. I will put that link in the show notes. There'll also be a link in the show notes.

If you have any questions about it, you can reach out to me personally. Remember again, I said I'm doing a lot of stuff personally right now, so I would love to have an actual conversation with you directly. About whether or not you feel this would be a good fit for you. And I will tell you if it's not, I am not here to waste your money or your time.

I really only want people in this group that I know will find this to be a no brainer when, and that we'll want to continue you year after year after year. I have longterm visions for this becoming the best online community for entrepreneurs, truly a bright entrepreneur movement. And it's just going to be awesome.

So, all right, my friend, I hope you found these takeaways helpful. I would love to hear your own business takeaways. , things that you have learned if you pivoted and started over or what's working for you today. So if you would like to share that with me and possibly have your feedback featured here on the podcast, what I would love for you to do is join my insider telegram group.

There's a link in the show notes here. Telegram is an app similar to messenger. But it's not on the Facebook platform, which I really love. And that group is where I give a little bit more behind the scenes. I remind you about new podcast episodes coming out, and you can send me comments back on there. So I'm going to be putting a post on telegram, which should be live when this podcast is live.

Asking you about your biggest takeaways from the last 90 days, whether you're restarting your business or you're just continuing to grow what you've been doing, or you're stuck in the messy middle and trying to get out of it. I'm going to ask you to share there. And if I get some good ones, maybe I'll mention your name here on the podcast and share your tip with people.

So, all right, so you go there, check out the show notes so that you can sign up for telegram. just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Apply to join the Brighter Together Mastermind and get all the details by clicking here.

http://wearebrightertogether.com

Have questions about it? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

Join the Insider's Telegram Channel Here >>> http://brightentrepreneurpodcast.com/telegram

Transcript:

Do you ever wonder if something is missing that you're just not seeing something that needs to fall into place for everything to move forward, the way you want it to, or that there's some hole somewhere and you're not sure where it is or what it is. And you know that once. Everything just comes together.
[00:00:18] It's all gonna fall into place and things are going to fly forward. Well, I had two of these experiences this week and I wanted to share them with you because in those moments where you suddenly realize something that you didn't even see, and it's just like, Oh, of course. And the unseen becomes obvious.
[00:00:44] It can change. Everything. And that's what I'm going to share with you today. this week has been a little bit of an emotional week for me. If I can be completely vulnerable and honest with you, which I always am. But, with launching the masterminds, I never realized how much those meant to me, because it is so, so deeply aligned with who I am. And I feel so incredibly passionate about them because I know what a huge difference being in a mastermind has made to me personally.
[00:01:47] I know I never want to be in business without being in a mastermind again, because I have these experiences where I don't know what I don't know or. Somebody sees an obvious opportunity or pitfall that I didn't even notice that changes everything for me. When I see it. And so I wanted to share a little bit about this week for me one, because I know that when you're doing something new and I know there's a lot of you who have pivoted recently because of all this covert stuff.
[00:02:22] And there are others of you who maybe didn't pivot, but are still growing and stuck in that messy middle. And you can get really, really hard. To push past the resistance. It can be really hard to get beyond the anxieties and you just, all the normal stuff that comes from growing a business and stepping outside our comfort zones.
[00:02:43] But especially as we go closer and closer to the things that are really truly aligned with who we are, it can be especially hard. And I know for me this week I had. an encounter personally, where I reached out to a friend who is very dear to me and we were discussing kind of what I could do with my photography business that I've stepped away from because it's, beautiful asset it's there.
[00:03:10]it, I don't want to just see it disappear and go to waste, but I also feel very, very called to step into this. So we were talking about, you know, some different options I could do with that. And just a number of other things and catching up and talking business. And. He said something to me that totally just blew my mind a little bit.
[00:03:33] And it was such a beautiful and helpful comment and it kind of seems so obvious looking back on it. But in the moment it was really, it was really insightful to me. Cause I was talking about how I just am not fully aligned with the photography business stuff anymore.
[00:03:50] Like my passion is in helping other entrepreneurs who are building online businesses and I love photographers. It's not that I don't love the people. It's just, I haven't been passionate about photography in longer than I'd like to admit. And I've wanted to do a mastermind for over three years. And I'm so excited about that.
[00:04:08] I know that's going to really use my gifts in the best possible way. But I was saying that, didn't want to. Do something with that. Now that would end up being a distraction from the thing that I really deeply feel called to focus on, because one of the biggest things you need to do in order to be successful is focus, focus, and not keep trying all sorts of different things.
[00:04:28] You should not be throwing spaghetti against the wall. And hoping something sticks. You should have a clear, focused, intentional plan for success. That's how you grow fast. And I know what that is, and I've got that plan, but I was also stressing a little bit because cashflow is tight right now. Like I have this beautiful mastermind idea and I know it's going to take off, but I was just, I'm just sitting here saying, well, what if this isn't enough? And what if he can't get us through, the next couple of months or whatever it is.
[00:04:54] And just honestly, I was just having a little anxious freak out and it's. Not something I needed to be freaking out about, but I was, and I mean, it's a legitimate anxiety would starting over.
[00:05:07] It's just, it's been stressful. COVID eight through our savings. And so, you know, I don't have that cushion that I had last year at this time to fall back on and it's causes a lot of anxiety and he said something. So why I used to me his name's Nate. , he's amazing. Yeah. He goes, you know, it sounds like right now, lack of cashflow coming in is actually a bigger distraction.
[00:05:30] Then anything else would be, and that may be the best thing you can do for getting your new business off the ground faster and making decisions from a really healthy place. Instead of asking your city stress place is just to figure out how to make some fast cash coming in, whether that's what the photography thing or, you know, whatever else.
[00:05:50] And it just seems so obvious after he said it. I'm just like, Oh right. Gosh, that makes sense because it would reduce stress. Although if I'm completely honest, I think the anxiety is less about money and more about the fact that I'm launching something that really is close to who I am and the money just amplifies the stress and the anxiety and whatever else.
[00:06:12] But it was such an enlightening and helpful comment to have. And I didn't even see it, it was like, Oh, of course, like that's the distraction. That's what I'm missing. And to have him there to be able to point it out. So clearly to me was super invaluable because then it's like, okay, well, if that's the distraction, what can I do to overcome it?
[00:06:36] Like what has brought me money over the last three months? How can I do more of that while growing my audience? I mean, I'm going to be honest, I haven't done any email list, building things at all. I have maybe 76 people, I think yesterday when I looked on my email list and my stats are amazing. A third of the people on my email list are buyers. That's amazing. Now I just need more of them. Like, it's very clear that I just need my numbers to go up and I know that I'm attracting the right people and that, they want what I have to offer.
[00:07:10] They're getting real transformation. They're already spreading the word about it, but I know what I need to do. I need to grow my audience and I need to make money. So it's pretty clear path moving forward. I know what I need to do to do that, but it just didn't Dawn on me that, Oh, maybe I should take this training that I created.
[00:07:28] And get it out in front of more people and start asking them to opt in to get that. And then following up afterwards with it to make some money and do some more sales. Cause I just need more eyeballs. I just need to get in front of more of the right people because I know that what I have works and converts.
[00:07:46] And so now it seems really obvious to me and I wish I would have seen it sooner because. It just gave me a lot of clarity on what my next steps need to be just immediately in terms of list building growth and how that'll tie into my income growth as well. But then, Oh my gosh. On Thursday, Thursday, I was doing a Q and a session with my bright future methods students.
[00:08:10] And this is part of why I want to do masterminds because I love working with people more one-on-one and we do them via zoom. So it's almost more like a coaching thing than it is just like a Facebook live Q and a. And I want to play this moment for you because this was a moment where. I was talking with one of my students.
[00:08:31] His name is Brian. And, it was just this beautiful moment where he had laid out his framework for helping teach volleyball coaches. And it was a great framework with all of these processes and like all of these really valuable things that.
[00:08:47] Are basically how he coaches it's his unique method for running his volleyball teams. He's a college volleyball coach and it was awesome, but I noticed something very good, obvious that was missing. And I want to play this little clip for you. It's of that moment, because I think.
[00:09:06] You and others like you, who are listening to this podcast, there may be things that you don't even realize you're good at that you don't even see are opportunities in your business that you're missing. And once you see them, Everything starts to fall into place. And this is something that is absolutely central to Brian success.
[00:09:31] And I know that as he leans into it, it's only going to make him more and more successful. And I know he's going to get better and better results for his coaches. And so before I say too much, let me play this clip for you. And you can listen to the conversation on your own. So here it is. Can I, can I also, if there's something else out there, Brian, I don't know if I, if this was in your, you coach B framework. I, I missed it. Yeah. Who are naturally really positive. Really? You've got a wonderful, and I told you that the first time I heard your voice. Yeah. Like it was voice Instagram. I'm like you have a great energy.
[00:10:14] You are a people person. And I get the sense that who you are as an empower of other people. And that is part of why you lead so well. And you do have these processes and you have all these things to streamline it. But I think, you're and I could be totally wrong. So just like disregard if it's off, you'll know inside, but my guess is that you are doing something because it's who you are that you might not be teaching.
[00:10:44] Because you don't even realize the power of it because it's, you're not doing it. You're being it. You are encouraging your people. You are empowering your people. It's not just the systems. It's how you are giving the feedback. It's how you're validated. And I don't know if that's in your methodology or not.
[00:11:03] Well, it's, it's what you're describing is true. Like, I think that that's how I am with my players, coaches, et cetera. So I, so the question is, do you address that in your framework? How do you address who I am in my framework? No, no, no, no, no. The, the empowering part, the part, the things you say, the way you encourage the way you Oh, okay.
[00:11:26] I see what you're saying. So basically the way that I teach, the way that I coach. Yeah. Like how, Oh yeah, I haven't talked about that, but that's a great point. So that's a great point. I think your secret sauce is not all of these beautiful processes. They're gorgeous. I think the reason you're amazing is because of who you are and you don't even see yet because it's just you being that.
[00:11:55] And so here's, here's, here's how you find that. It start to get really intentional about thinking about how do you interact with your players. And we're good. I'm an empower. You're an empower I can tell. And so you'll see some of that later in the course, because you're going to be like, Oh yeah, of course, of course, Maddie is another one.
[00:12:13] She's already doing this and empowering our people, but you are a natural leader and you're helping them become lean. Cause you can take a jackass coach and they can take your process and go through it. And they're not going to have a winning team because they don't know how to lead. It's, you know, it's funny, you said that not to toot my own horn, but my, one of my fingers, one of my players asked me the other day was like, can you give us another motivational speak?
[00:12:34] It really helped me. It really made me feel good about myself going forward. And I'm like, Oh yeah, sure. I do that. Like, that's I that's what I do. I start every practice with, like I say something I, I inspire, I do what you say. Like I'm really passionate when I, with anything I do. I'm really passionate. And I think that my, my, my players love that.
[00:12:48] And my, and coaches that I work with. Love that too, but I, I don't, I never really. Considered like an added as a factor. That's just what I do. So yeah, in your methodology, is it? No, but it should be, it should be exactly what you're teaching. Like this stuff is great and they need this stuff to be effective, but this is not your secret sauce.
[00:13:06] Your secret sauce is knowing how to empower people. And of course you don't see it because it's just what you do because that's who you are. So how can you help people become that if they don't naturally have that in them? Wow. That's really good. Okay. So where do I put that? Like, that place is everything.
[00:13:27] If you think about it, like that's well, that's my secret sauce. Yeah. Not that's my zone of genius as you call it like that, that's pretty sick. Okay. So I got it. Where it, where does that go? Like, that's good for that. That would be my unique methodology right there. They're like, that's it. No one can touch that except me, I guess.
[00:13:44] Right.
[00:13:45] part of why I wanted to share this with you. And the story about my own obvious thing that I was missing is that sometimes we are so close. To our business. We are so far on this, that, and the other thing that we miss, the obvious opportunities and the obvious pitfalls. That may be clear to somebody else who has that experience.
[00:14:15] I can see from the outside and say, Oh my gosh, this is obvious. I know you, I know your business. this is what you need to be considering, or this is the distraction, or this is your gift. This is where you need to lean. Yeah. And getting those moments of insight. Are some of the most valuable moments of insight you can get, because sometimes those are the pieces you need to get you unstuck and moving forward and really getting the success that you've been dreaming of.
[00:14:47] This is part of why being in a mastermind is so, so incredibly valuable. This is part of what I want to bring to you as a bright entrepreneur, who is probably doing really well on your own. And I know most entrepreneurs are super independent and I know we think we can do it all ourselves, but you don't know what you don't know, and you don't know how to get to where you want to go, or you would be there right now.
[00:15:16] And what I have found is that it is more valuable for my business alone. Like literally I can point back to all the different places where I have made my money back time and time again, year after year, I've invested, this is my fourth year in stews mastermind. And every single year I can point to at least one common.
[00:15:38] And if not multiples that have made me more than the very expensive. Fee that I pay to be in this mastermind to the point where that is my most important investment in my business year round, I will cut everything else out to stay in this. Now that might seem weird because yes, it's friendships. Yes.
[00:15:58] It's conversations. No, it's not necessarily specific content, but the conversations that happen there. The ability to get to know other people and watch them grow in their businesses over years and really get to see under the hood of all of these other people, also growing businesses to see what works, what doesn't to grab the best parts and incorporate them into your business to avoid the pitfalls that they run into and really to leverage the collective experience that.
[00:16:33] Is so valuable for growing fast. It's priceless. It's genuinely priceless. And up until now, there haven't been a lot of masterminds that were less than $25,000 a year, or that were open to people who were making less than half a million or a million dollars per year. And so that's a gap that I really wanted to fill now.
[00:16:57] I am starting these up. I'm hoping to do them starting the week, the first week of November. And I'm only taking applications for this first round through October 22nd, so that I can curate them and make sure to get back to people and have them ready to go for that first week in November. And I hate for you to miss out and not even know what you're missing out on.
[00:17:19] I know that 2020 has been one heck of a hard year, and I know that we y'all want 20, 21 to be, amazing. And I truly believe with all of my heart that joining a mastermind is that right? Best way that you can ensure that you are going to be as prepared as possible and ready to rock 2021. So I'd love to invite you to apply, to be a part of the mastermind. Now I'm not going to take everybody because I really want to make sure that people can contribute. But the main things that I'm looking for are integrity. I'm looking for action takers.
[00:18:01] I'm looking for people who are already selling something and know who they want to sell to. And I'm looking for people who are generous and not afraid to share what they know with others who are going to be honest with themselves and honest with the other people in the mastermind. We're going to meet twice a month for two hours each meeting and it's going to be so incredible. I'm so excited. I am so excited for what I know is in your future as you join this mastermind, because there may be things like I talked about in this podcast that you don't even realize that you don't know that could change. Everything for you, or maybe there's something that's very obvious to me or one of the other people in the mastermind that you're doing that is absolutely holding you back from the success that you're after.
[00:18:51] And as soon as you realize it and step away from that, things could take off. You just don't know what you don't know because you have limited experience. So when you can surround yourself by other like-minded business owners who can help you get to the next level and scale your business, because you can tap into their experience as well, and you can watch what they are doing in their business.
[00:19:18] It's priceless. It's priceless. And I would really hate for you to miss out on this and experience massive FOMO and keep struggling and stay stuck, where you are. And I know that there's a lot of people out there and maybe you're one of them who would love to be a part of this, but know that like money is super tight.
[00:19:41] Like I know I am in that boat and I know what a sacrifice this is to be in it. In fact, I have somebody who's like, maybe I can sell my long arm quilting machine because I really want to be in this. And I know that it's expensive, but I know that would pay off. she's trying to say, how, how can I do this?
[00:20:02] Because she sees the value. And she knows how much that could help her in her business to have that community, to have that insight with her for the next 12 months. And that's what I want for you. I know that it's hard. I absolutely do. I have a payment plan to help those of you who are pivoting to make it more easy to pair.
[00:20:27] But I want you to know that this is a literally the best investment you can make in yourself and your business. And I know personally from experience, I know it's terrifying. I almost puked when, when I got the news that, I was, accepted into Stew's impact mastermind because it was so much money and we were not making a lot of money. We needed every penny and, it was terrifying. It was literally terrifying. And I remember feeling so much fear but. we tripled our business in literally 18 months, and I know without a shadow of a doubt, it's because of the advice and the support that I got in that mastermind.
[00:21:05] And that's what I want for you. So my friend, if you would like to consider being in the mastermind, I would love to have you, you apply simply go to, we are brighter together.com and you can get all the details there and apply. Please do so by October 22nd, I'm going to be curating the applications after that.
[00:21:26] And if you do apply after that time, I can't guarantee you will be able to get in. For the first round when we are starting that first week of November, I don't have the exact date. if you have questions because I know that this is a big investment and it might not be clear to you, I would love to chat with you about it.
[00:21:45] I'd actually really love to have a conversation, not just a quick little message. I do have a link in the show notes that you can use to send me a little message via video. we can set up a time to meet or chat back and forth that way, or you can reach out to on Instagram. My link to that is also in the show notes and we can, I can either talk back and forth there, or we can set up a time to jump on zoom and see if it's a good fit for you, because I definitely want it to be a good fit for you.
[00:22:11] I don't want you to regret making this decision, but at the same time, I don't want you to regret not doing it. Because you were afraid or because you didn't think you could afford it. When I know that man, this has changed my life and my business in ways I can't even explain. And I know that that can be the same for you.
[00:22:31] In fact, if you want to hear more stories about how valuable a mastermind is in the last episode, I actually had people from the mastermind that I'm in now. Not one that I lead, but one that I pay to be in with Stu McLaren, I asked some of the other people who are in the mastermind to share why they continually invest in a mastermind and what value that brings yes to them.
[00:22:51] Especially as a really successful entrepreneur, who knows what they're doing. Of course they know the strategy. Why would they invest in a group like this? If they didn't also see the value. All right. My friend, we are brighter together.com. That's the link to the application would love to consider you for the mastermind.
[00:23:09] Do not hesitate in any way to reach out to me personally, I would be happy to have a discussion with you to see if this is something that you should be a part of. And with that, I just want to remind you that we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

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Transcript:

Back when I was first starting my business, I heard over and over and over again that I needed to be part of a mastermind and that it was one of the most valuable things I could do if I wanted to grow my business. But at the time I didn't even really know what a mastermind was. And I certainly did not understand why they were so valuable.
[00:00:22] Or why they were so expensive, frankly, it was really hard to see the cost of a mastermind, which most of the ones I was looking at were around 25 to $30,000 and really try and justify spending that much money on my business to join this group of people in a mastermind.
[00:00:41]So today I'm doing this something a little bit different. I actually went to several of my friends in an impact mastermind, which is the mastermind that I'm a part of that's run by Stu McLaren and ask them why they find being in a mastermind to be so valuable and what they really get out of it. So you're going to hear.
[00:01:02] From their own words, what they find valuable about this. Plus after the introduction music, I have got three really fun things that I want to share with you that I'm celebrating today. So let's dive in So this is a really fun episode because this is episode number 100 of the right entrepreneur podcast. It is so exciting to me to be able to bring in a bunch of my friends and closest colleagues and have them share in this hundredth episode, this is a huge milestone for me But also we just crossed the six, 2000 download Mark, which is really exciting for me as well. So I want to just say thank you first and foremost, for subscribing to the podcast for listening to it and for telling your friends about it. It really means a lot. And the final thing that I'm celebrating today is it's my birthday.
[00:02:27] I'm 39 years old today. I am so thrilled to be sharing this with you here on the podcast. But let me get to the fun stuff.
[00:02:37]I've been dreaming of running a high end mastermind for years, and I've planned on doing that. But coven makes travel a lot harder since so many things are restricted right now, but it finally dawned on me the other day that I could start. Online virtual masterminds right now for a fraction of the cost of what I would normally charge for our high end mastermind, because it's so accessible online.
[00:03:04] So I will tell you more about that in the end. I just wanted to mention it now, in case you were interested in joining one, but in the meantime, I have eight minutes, my friends here that are going to share with you exactly why they find a mastermind so valuable the eight people that you hear from today are all part of Stu McLaren's impact mastermind with me, which is a mastermind that I pay to be a part of. So they're kind of my personal peer group. They're close friends. They have helped shape my business and they are some of my greatest encouragers and supporters.
[00:03:39] And I am so thankful that they took a few minutes out of their day to share it with you today.
[00:03:43] so with that, I'm going to hand over the show to my friends
[00:03:47] Scott Paley: Hi, I'm Scott Paley from abstract edge. I'm also the co founder of the nonprofit leadership lab and I'm in a mastermind group, right with Jamie. she in fact is the one who convinced me to join the mastermind group originally. And I've got to say when she first suggested it, I was a little bit skeptical.
[00:04:06] I knew that I would benefit from the strategies and the tactics that I would learn from other really smart people in the group. But. It was hard to justify the cost because it was certainly not inexpensive. That said what surprised me now, having been in the mastermind group with Jamie for about three years, is that the biggest benefit that I get from it is as an entrepreneur, there are just so many times where you start feeling overwhelmed, imposter syndrome is, is kicking in full force and you just really need. People who get you, who peak, who understand you, who have context and know the background of your story in a pretty deep way. And when you have those people in your life who can support you through the tough moments, it makes such a big difference, not just emotionally, but from a business perspective, it helps you get through those really challenging times that can kill a business.
[00:05:10] And by getting through those, we've had, I had so much success over the last three years, with our membership sites that I definitely. Definitely can look at the mastermind group, and know that that played a huge role in the success that we've had highly recommend being part of a mastermind in one capacity or another.
[00:05:32] It makes a huge difference as an entrepreneur. I could not recommend it more highly.
[00:05:36]Next you're going to hear from my friend, Rachel Miller, who runs Moolah marketing and teaches people how to grow massive audiences. She's the most brilliant Facebook marketer I have ever met. and fun side note.
[00:05:50] She also has six kids like me, so I adore her dearly. Here's Rachel.
[00:05:55] Rachel Miller: I love masterminds guys. So often we're so close to our businesses that we don't see. What's literally right in front of us. And I've loved being in a mastermind with Jamie Swanson because she can cut through the bull crap. Seriously, the girl has a gift of seeing clear, helping us see clarity in our own businesses, almost like inspiring or opening up the blinders.
[00:06:21] So we can see that the path to what's next, being in a mastermind mind means that you have someone there that you can call when you need help, that you have a friend that's that that's your, your, your sidekick in business and in life. And that you have those tips, that the clarity, the blinder moments that make all of the difference for your business.
[00:06:43] If you're interested in a mastermind, I hear Jamie's got one come in and I know it. Yeah. I know. I have blessed been blessed by being in a mastermind with her, and I'm sure you will be as well..
[00:06:55]
[00:06:55]Susan Bradley: Hey gang. I'm Susan Bradley. I'm the founder of the social sales girls, where we teach eCommerce store owners, how to get more traffic, grow their sales, and really grow the business that pays them well. And the one that they've been dreaming about, and Jamie asked me to share with you why I think a mastermind is a great place to be when you're growing your business.
[00:07:18] And I've actually been a member of a mastermind for. Three years now. So I think that that in itself proves that it's a really valid place to grow your business. You know, over the course of those three years, my business has basically exploded. And I know I can't put my finger on one thing that made that happen.
[00:07:39] When I look at the massive change I've made in my business, it's a lot of it is due to being in a room with people who are working on similar goals. They have similar experiences they share openly. And I have learned so much from that. You know, one of the best parts of a mastermind for me is people sharing their ideas.
[00:08:01] I get to watch as they implement. And they share their results. And so it really helps me shape the way I grow my business based on what other people have had good luck with. So I really feel that that's a huge part of it. The other thing I love is that I feel like it is a very safe place to get great feedback.
[00:08:22] And so rather than going out into the business community as a whole and looking for feedback, I would always go to my mastermind first and ask for feedback on things like sales pages or strategies, or if I have an employee problem. That's where I go first, because I knew that these people are experienced Many of them have had these issues before, and I know that they have my best interest in heart at heart, and they will give me great feedback. So it's a safe place for that. Now the last thing is the relationships that you will develop. Not everybody in the mastermind will be your best friend, but if you give it your all, you will find that you will develop some really good longterm, strong relationships with other people that you trust.
[00:09:07] And those relationships may actually even benefit your business down the road. It might be opportunities to partner up. With people who you have that established relationship with. So really if you're considering it, I would completely encourage you to give it a try. I think if you really work at it and you make it a priority, you'll find that it will help your business grow in amazing ways.
[00:09:31]Emily Jeffords: Hey there, I'm Emily Jeffords. I'm an artist and I have the honor of teaching and mentoring other artists and running profitable and sustainable creative businesses. And I have enjoyed being in a mastermind more than I ever thought was possible. Cool. I think it is a very safe, special thing to be in a room with the smartest and wisest and clearest people.
[00:09:56] But I know people that normalize success, people that support you in your weaknesses and people that can come alongside with all of our unique gifts and talents and all of our unique strengths and really fill in each other's gaps. If I have a question about something abstract or outside of my wheelhouse, someone in the mastermind knows the answer and that's.
[00:10:18] One of the most special things. The normalizing success part though, I think is the most precious part about being in a mastermind for me, because when you're with a group of people that, that says it's okay to reach for more and it's okay to strive for excellence and it's okay to reach these levels of success that maybe aren't normal.
[00:10:40] That's a beautiful thing, just to have that permission to rise and to reach and to make as big of an impact as you possibly can. That is. So amazing. And Jamie's been a huge part of that. We've had some conversations, just the two of us that have really brought me so much clarity and so much focus. And she has a way of perceiving people so intimately and helping you where you need help in the kindness.
[00:11:06] Yeah. Clearest of all ways. I'm so thankful for that. So if you're considering a mastermind. I highly suggest it. I think it's one of the most profitable investments you can make in your business, but more importantly in yourself.
[00:11:21] Candace Dagnolo: My name's Candace, Don Yolo, and I'm the CEO and founder of pet boss nation. And I've been in the pet industry since 2006 and I've had a lot of ups and downs and I tried to go it alone in my business for the first five years. And that's when I discovered my first mastermind. See, I've been in a mastermind for over a decade.
[00:11:44]I've been in for this one that I'm in with Jamie now is my fourth mastermind. I've been in the very first one. It was amazing because it was. With a group of people who were in the same type of business as mine. And I got to learn so much, so much about business and retail that I didn't know before. And I loved those moments and being that group led me to the next group where I got to see what a bigger opportunity was out there for me and different industries and how I could apply different thoughts.
[00:12:16] To my existing business. And through those two masterminds, I was able to sell one of my businesses because of all the things I learned. Then I joined another one, which was amazing. It was a really, really big group, but they put us into small little pods. And I loved that because I got that one on one deep connection, but it was led and facilitated by somebody who, kept us all focused.
[00:12:41] And also called us out on our BS, which was awesome because who does that? Often? We're the bosses are of our business and very few people ever call us on our BS. And so that's what a good mastermind leader will do for you too. And then now in impact, I am just loving being with people who are so successful that I just really get to see what's possible.
[00:13:04] But also the vulnerability that's there and the connection and friendships and the giving of the community members in the mastermind. You just don't experience anything like that. Really anywhere else in life because our families don't get our businesses. Usually our friends don't get the business and we kind of feel like we're on an Island and we have questions, but we don't feel confident and comfortable sometimes to go into these Facebook groups and ask.
[00:13:36] That or we really need advice from the people who've been there before us to give us the right path. So I always invest in masterminds. I have for the last 10 years, it's constantly worth it. I always see the rewards and I encourage you to join a mastermind as soon as possible to get there faster and to stop going it alone.
[00:14:00]
[00:14:00]Tracy Harris: Hi there. My name is Tracy Harris and I am the car at mums with hustle and I help moms leverage the power of Instagram so that they can make more revenue in their business and ultimately build their dream life for them and their families, whatever that means for them. So being a digital Sayer.
[00:14:25] Canberra pretty darn hard. There were lots of highs. There were lots of lows. There are a lot of learning curves. And so for me, investing in a mastermind is just a no brainer. I have, come to realize how important it is to really, because on my circle of influence that, being the people that I choose to surround myself with, I always always make sure that I am learning.
[00:14:55] From a mentor, someone that shares the same values as what I have in their life and also in their business and someone that can definitely help light the way for the path that I'm embarking on for myself in terms of, the facilitator, their job, other than being a great mentor to you is also to bring a like minded circle of influence to you within the mastermind group.
[00:15:25] And that has been one of the greatest surprises. To me, of being in a mastermind that is, I'm not only learning from the mental themselves, but I am learning from the high quality people that the mentor brings together. People like Jamie, for instance, super powers, 100% lie in the area of encouraging and uplifting others, but also helping us to simplify.
[00:15:54]Exactly what we've got going on in our businesses, simplifying offers, simplifying messages, helping to bring about clarity and simple, well buying within the business self. So being able to tap into people like Jamie and into so many of the other peers that I've had the blessing and privilege of getting to know, and also learn from in these masterminds.
[00:16:19] Right. It's just absolutely priceless. I have been in a mastermind for about three years now, and I would not change that. it's definitely something that I plan to continue investing in because when I invest in myself, I'm then able to pass that on and just be better in my business. And that helps more people as well.
[00:16:44] So yeah, I, 100% recommend being in a mastermind. It's a no brainer.
[00:16:50]
[00:16:50]Nicholas Wilton: Hi, my name is Nicholas Wilton and I'm the founder of art to life. We help artists, discover and ignite their art and using a new approach to creativity in life. I've been in a mastermind the whole time. I finally learn it. It took a long time, but you can't get to where you're going by yourself.
[00:17:09] I used to do everything by myself and being in a mastermind has reinforced and taught me over and over and over how it is just, it's just not possible. And it's. Way less fun to try and do everything by yourself. So the main thing that I think that masterminds give you his objectivity, just like making art.
[00:17:34] One of the challenges artists have when they're making their art is they get so involved in it. They're staring at the thing. They're trying to figure it out. It's really, really difficult because it's just you in the room and that is the nature of art making. And so getting feedback and seeing the responses from once the work is done is always very illuminating.
[00:17:56] That's the tricky part of making art, but building a business, building something that is involves other people, you don't have to do it all by yourself. So in my mastermind, for an example, the one that I'm in with Jamie, I've shared things with Jamie and she's pointed things out to me that I would never have thought were of value to other people.
[00:18:19] One of the examples that happened recently was I told a story in our mastermind and. And, and it was just a story, but it was really fun. People thought it was really funny and I didn't really see it that way. And people said again and again, and Jamie was like, this is so hilarious. You need to share this more.
[00:18:37] And you're actually pretty funny. You should be more funny in your, in your teaching. It adds a lot to it. This is something I would never even have thought about. So that's just a small example that, that happened between Jamie and I, where it was this really amazing exchange. And it just got me thinking everyone has a different way of showing up at a different gifts they can share.
[00:19:01] And we're not always the best people to know. And that's what makes a mastermind, so great.
[00:19:07] Jennifer Allwood: . Well, Hey guys, Jennifer, all wood here. I teach women how to use social media to build their business in the online space. And I have been in a mastermind with Jamie for three years now. and prior to being in this mastermind, I was in a different mastermind for two years. So when I really started to build my business, in the online space, it was about six years ago.
[00:19:28] I had no, no intention of spending the type of money that is included in a mastermind, but somehow five years ago just got roped into, Oh man, let me see what happens to this mastermind. And it's a lot of money. but I'm hopeful that it can kind of take my business to the next level. And what happened is I.
[00:19:47] I got into a room with people that weren't even in my same industry, people that I didn't know. You'll have to excuse the construction noises upstairs. We're on a remodel. I ended up making my best business buddies and figuring out that first year at a mastermind that there's no way I can do my business and continue to grow it without being in a mastermind at this point.
[00:20:07] See, some of you might be listening to this and you've never been in a mastermind. So you just don't, you don't kinda, it's like kind of like, you don't know what you're missing. Right. You just don't know what you don't know. But what I know to be true is that at every level of business, a mastermind is so valuable.
[00:20:20] It's valuable whenever you're just starting so that you can get, try to get where you're going much quicker. and so I want you to think of that money then as like I'm an acceleration. Policy of sorts. It's going to get you to where you're going quick. and then I know that when you get to your business to a certain level, and you're really wanting to learn well up at, you know, that fee that you're paying that investment is what's going to being in that group.
[00:20:46] It will help you get to the next level. There's a lot of people that are pivoting in business right now, they're having to try different things or having to do things differently than they used to. And the investment of a mastermind is just unmatched because you get. So many different minds in a room, even on a zoom together and, and can add kid figure out things and get ideas and get invitations that you never could otherwise.
[00:21:10] And so if you've been struggling at all with your business or felt really alone in business, like you don't need to, Jamie's going to be providing a really awesome space. I literally got to kind of mastermind almost with her. even though we're in a mastermind together, she just was such a blessing to my business this fall, when we went to Boulder and we went out hiking and she has the ability to kind of look at a business from a bird's eye view and really help you figure out some strategy and some positioning that are gonna make you incredibly successful.
[00:21:36] Well, so, so should you join a mastermind? Absolutely. is the money worth it? 120%? Are you going to get anything out of it? Oh my gosh. Yes. Will you ever want to leave a mastermind? Nope. You really well. So I hope that you will, really consider, joining what Jamie's doing. she has an art for helping people level up.
[00:21:57] So that's your friend.
[00:21:58]So if this all sounds absolutely amazing to you, and you would like to surround yourself with likeminded business owners so that you can get to the next level and scale your business. I would love to invite you to be part of my brighter together mastermind groups. these are going to be carefully curated groups of no more than 12 people, because I really want you to have a group that you can get to know incredibly well. I have a full process and I'm not going to take everyone. the way that I'm curating.
[00:22:34] This is. To look at who's really taking action, who is somebody who's a go getter, who isn't afraid to step outside their comfort zones in order to grow themselves and their business and who might be stuck in the messy middle, and just not sure how move forward, but genuinely knows that they need people in their lives to be a mirror so that they can see.
[00:23:00] What they don't see or see the obvious Trinity that's sitting in front of them. And this year, frankly, has been so hard on so many people. And I really want to have an intimate place for you to come and get both the business, but also the emotional support that it comes from having a close knit community that you can trust, where you can be vulnerable.
[00:23:26] And you can be honest about what you're going through and how you're growing. So, if you would like to be a part of this, you can apply at, we are brighter together com that link will be in the show notes. And I'm asking, can you do apply by October 21st? But if you are a fast action taker, which by the way are my favorite people, I will be giving a one hour clarity call for free to anybody who applies by the 18th.
[00:23:54]This will give me a time curate the groups before we start the first week of November. And this is exactly what you need to set yourself up to start 20, 21 strong, no matter what the year brings for us.
[00:24:10]you can get all the details and apply at. We are brighter together.com
[00:24:15]and please apply by October 21st. If you have any questions about it whatsoever ever, you can contact me directly on Instagram at Jamie M Swanson. Just send me a DM there. I would love to help you see if this is really going to be a good fit for you or not. And it's been a while since I mentioned this, but I want you to know that I also have a telegram channel for those of you who are listening, who really love what, and want to hear a little bit more from me behind the scenes and connect with me.
[00:24:46] So if you are interested in joining that
[00:24:48] check the show notes, and it'll tell you exactly how to join. okay. My friends, I am so excited about this and I just cannot tell you how transformational it has been for me to be part of a mastermind this last three and a half years. It's been especially important this past year as I've had to make massive pivots and start over in my business because of COVID frankly, I don't know if I would have had what it took without my friends there to support me through this because I didn't need more content.
[00:25:23] I needed support. I needed people who could rally around me and really remind me of that, who I was, what I'm capable of and encourage me when things get hard, it has helped me get through this year with optimism, despite all the setbacks, despite all the disappointments, despite all the really hard stuff that's happened.
[00:25:46] And I am so incredibly grateful for each of the people who are here on the podcast with me today, as well as all the other people in the mastermind who have stepped up and supported me, you know, who you are. And I can't tell you how thankful I am, and this is the kind of support and encouragement that I want for you.
[00:26:05] I would love to get to know you and your business. And I really genuinely hope that I will see you inside the brighter together. Masterminds would that my friend just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

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Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

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Transcript:

Okay, my friend, I'm finally doing this thing that I've been wanting to do for over three years, and I'm a little bit nervous and a whole lot excited to tell you all about it in this episode. But man, I've had so much resistance to recording this just to be straight up honest before we even start. But it's time for me to finally put on my big girl panties and share with you exactly what I'm talking about.
[00:00:30] 2020 has been an issue sane really difficult year. If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know, that it completely destroyed my seven figure business.
[00:01:09] And that I have had to make a complete pivot in my online business, but not only has that been stressful and all the financial ramifications and everything else that goes with it being hard. It's been really heavy and so many other ways, there's all political stuff going on. there's the illness itself and all the fear surrounding that and all the everything surrounding that.
[00:01:34] I mean, that's just huge. And then there's all the other crazy stuff that has been happening. Like, you know, Killer bees and our, what are they called? Murder Hornets. I mean, let's make it more dramatic. Shall we? There's just all of these things. And I'm just so much that is causing this year to be heavy for online.
[00:01:54] Everybody. I know, even from my friends whose businesses are doing insanely well, So many of my friends have this low level of anxiety that just doesn't go away. And more and more entrepreneurs I know are feeling tired, burned out and more than anything, just do not have the emotional capacity to do as much as they used to do everything just takes takes longer, takes more effort.
[00:02:23] And it's the way that our bodies are coping with everything that we've been facing for the last several months. Now, it's been very hard for me, for sure. And. I have a couple of things that I wanted to share with you today, before I tell you what I'm going to be starting in a little bit that have really helped me to get through this time.
[00:02:44] And there things that I want to bring to you in some capacity. So first and foremost, by far without question, the most helpful thing for me in getting through everything that I've been through in this past year has been the people around me who are likeminded and who love me and can support me and remind me of who I am as I'm walking through all of these different times. Being surrounded by people who really get me understand the pressures of having the online business and how COVID has affected it, and really know the value that I bring it to the online marketing space and kinda encourage me to step into that and to keep going, has been so.
[00:03:36] So valuable because honestly my family doesn't really understand what I do. A lot of my friends who are outside of the business world have no idea. It's really hard to explain to them one what it is I do in general. Right. Have you experienced that too? Um, but also to the unique pressures that come from fully supporting your family and having to deal with this during COVID.
[00:03:58]It's different than if you were just working a full time job in dealing with that right now. For me having like-minded friends who are also running online businesses and have the same level of integrity and similar values as I do has been so, Oh, so inspirational and just really a cornerstone to me.
[00:04:21] As I've walked through creating a brand new business. As I walked through trying to save my old business before I threw in the towel and even just having them there too, talk through all of this with when you're making big decisions and you're not sure what to do and the ramifications of your decisions.
[00:04:41] So huge having people who can be there for you is so valuable. I didn't need a lot more content during this time. What I needed was support. I needed that emotional support and I needed people, cared for me and understood me to surround me as I moved forward, especially during the times when anxiety would overtake me.
[00:05:07] The second thing that really was helpful is that, um, I've been really incredibly focused on creating this new business in a way that is so aligned with who I am and with my zone of genius. Now that's a term that I've learned. I've heard it thrown around before, but I recently read a book called the big leap. And in this book, it really helps you see, what's keeping you internally from going past a certain upper limit. Like you hit a level of success and you just can't seem to get past it. And it talks about all the internal drivers that might be holding you back. But it also talks about finding your zone of genius, not just your zone of excellence, which is the stuff that you're really super good at, but drains your energy, but your zone of genius, which is the stuff that you're so good at that you don't even realize you're good at it because it's just a part of who you are.
[00:06:01] It's what you do naturally. It's what brings you energy when you're done and just lights you up. For example, I love doing my clarity coaching days, and even though some of them are quite long and they can be mentally exhausting by the time I get to the end of a clarity coaching day, I am fired up like.
[00:06:23] None other, I get so excited and I feel ready to go out and conquer the world. That is part of my zone of genius. Now, when I'm working on funnels and writing emails and doing all the tech stuff that goes behind things and setting up softwares and all those types of things, honestly, I'm really good at it.
[00:06:45] I am so dang good at it, but it drains me of energy. It's my zone of excellence. It's my zone of excellence. And the big difference between the two is how it makes me feel when I'm done, how much resistance I have to doing it. how much I enjoy it versus not. And so as I've been moving forward through 2020, and not only dealing with the stress from my business, but all the other stressors that are on me, I have been incredibly focused on trying to design a business that is so fully aligned with me.
[00:07:19] That it doesn't drain my energy. That it's actually something that can add to the energy that I have and equip me to go into the world, ready to face whatever is there and be emotionally stronger. I didn't even think that was possible. I realized for the last 10 years, I have almost completely been living in my zone of excellence and not my zone of genius.
[00:07:44] Isn't that crazy? I cannot believe it. I love the bright future method workshop that I have created, and that I'm currently teaching to a cohort of students.
[00:07:55] I love seeing their transformations, but as I've been doing it, I've noted. That number one, actually, teaching the lessons is heavy for me. Like I have all the content outlined. It's not anything I have to figure out because I've taught it before. I'm rearranging a few parts, but it's basically all there.
[00:08:12] I'm just polishing it off and teaching it again. And it's not hard, but I don't feel energized by it. It's like thing where it's like, okay, I'm just going to go do this. And I don't look forward to it. That being said, On Thursdays when we do our live Q and a sessions and we're, it's almost like group coaching because we all come together in zoom and I help people walk through the various parts of this because as Brian was saying, Brian's one of my, students in the bright future method workshop.
[00:08:42] He's like, This course is hard because you really have to think and be intentional with your answers and figure out what you need really want. It's not just a quick and easy, you know, do X, Y, and Z, and you'll get the answer. It's something that actually requires you to think about who you are and what you want and what you stand for and how you can help people and answered the questions that you really need to answer.
[00:09:06] If you want to have a deep impact on your people and in the way world. But I love that stuff. I love working with them. I love helping them walk through that process. And see the big ahas and see how it's already just two weeks in starting to transform their messaging, starting to get them more engagement and starting to clarify exactly, exactly what they need to be doing to move forward.
[00:09:32] And I always leave those live Q and A's sessions totally fired up. I stay on them way too long because I want to help people deeply. And so one of the things that I've noticed is that part of my zone of genius is. Helping people but I really believe that if you want to get out of that messy middle, and if you find yourself exhausted and you don't have time and you just dreading the stuff you have to do, and they're just, you're just, it's, it feels like pushing in your business.
[00:10:04] You're probably not working in your zone of genius because the more I'm adding things into my business that really. Helped me live in that zone of genius. The easier it is to do, like I get excited about it. I don't dread it. I don't put it off. Those are the things I do first on my to do list. And so if you want to go, so from, you know, that messy middle and really get to the next level in your business and scale, you've got to get clearly focused on what your zone of joy and an easy thing you can do.
[00:10:38] Just kind of, as a quick little side note bonus tip is to start. Feeling how you feel as you're going through your day and making note of it. So intentionally doing a task and asking yourself, how do I feel about this? Does it leave me energized when I'm done? Or am I dreading it? Am I avoiding it? Does it leave me drained?
[00:10:59] Because I think so many times we live in our zone of excellence or even just our zone of. Capability. Like it's something we can do. And so we do it because we feel like we have to, Oh my gosh. Operating out of obligation, not awesome. Definitely energy draining. That's going to SAP you and keep you from being able to do what you really need to do.
[00:11:21] To get out of that messy middle and really thrive. This is why I said a couple episodes ago that getting out of the messy middle and moving forward, isn't about what you say yes to it's about what you say no to, and going really deep on those things that you say yes to that are in your zone of genius.
[00:11:39] That just feel light and easy and give you energy. Okay. So the third thing that has been absolutely. Incredibly helpful is having people around me who can be mirrors for me. Now, when we're talking about the zone of genius, I think it's really hard for us to identify it because we can't see our greatest gifts because they're too close to us.
[00:12:04] Like they feel like who we are. We don't value them because they are so easy for us to do that. We just do them naturally and it doesn't feel. Like work. It doesn't feel like something we're actually even intentionally having to do. We just, we do it. It is who we are. It is how we are built. It is what we love to do.
[00:12:25] Naturally. It's literally the zone of genius. And so this past week I have spent. A shameful amount of hours, not shameful. I'm not ashamed of it by any means. It was amazing. But I've spent a lot of hours talking one on one with a whole handful of different people, really trying to discern and get clarity because yes, I am so good at helping other people get clarity, but even myself, you know, when I'm walking around, I can't see my face.
[00:12:57] You know, like if I want to see what my face looks like, or my hair looks like I need to look in a mirror because it's too close to me. It's too close to my eyes. It's not positioned in a place where I can see because it's part of my body. And the same thing happens in our business. Everybody needs people who can be a mirror for them who can reflect back.
[00:13:19] Not only who you are, but who can, you know, like what your greatest gifts are because we take them for granted. We don't even realize that. Not every gosh, that's not a big deal. It's so easy. Like that's not a gift. It's just what I do. . Those are the kinds of things that can really help point you towards your zone of genius.
[00:13:38] And sometimes talking with other people. We'll help you see that that's your zone of genius. Not only that, but we need people who can be mirrors for us, who can show us the obvious problems, but also the obvious opportunities that might be right in front of us in our business. Now, a great example of this was last fall.
[00:14:01] I had a friend who I was chatting with. She was in the mastermind that I'm a part of. And she gave me one comment. You know, she went into her experience and I, I was talking with her about how I was going to move forward about something. And she goes, huh, I've done this before. She's like, have you considered this?
[00:14:21] And I'm not going to go into all the details. Not because I'm holding out, but because it would be way too long to explain all the context, but I'm like, Oh my gosh, Of course, like that's brilliant. And this was something that she had done in her experience and it just made so much sense. They get into practice literally within like two or three days.
[00:14:41] And. That weekend I made over $32,000 from a single comment from a friend in a mastermind who saw my situation, who had experience in a similar situation and who was able to say, Oh yeah, just do this. This works great. And. You know, I was considering all these different things and it's not something that was unheard of.
[00:15:04] It wasn't like groundbreaking, but it was the perfect thing that I needed to see in that moment. And it was just so close to it and considering so many things that it wasn't obvious to me, and it was obvious to her. And so having people around us as mirrors, who can not only help us see who we are and what we're gifted at, but can see those obvious opportunities and pitfalls.
[00:15:26] And our businesses because they've been in a similar situation is absolutely unbelievably valuable because like I said, at the very first episode of season three, the reason that I can grow fast now compared to when I was starting out 10 years ago, basically comes down. To experience, I've got the experience.
[00:15:49] So I know what works and what doesn't, I've got that confidence. And when you have a group of people around you who can share their experience so that you don't have to do it yourself and learn the hard way and they can save you steps, they can save you time and heartache, and they can point out the easy, obvious path it's invaluable.
[00:16:11] It's invaluable. One comment made me all that money and. It was so incredible to have, especially this past year. So many friends around me and some of them who've been through some really difficult situations who could be mirrored for me, who could help me see what seems so obvious to me now. Didn't seem obvious to me even two weeks ago, isn't that funny?
[00:16:35] Like sometimes we need those mirrors and this past week has been such a gift to me, even though I've kind of stepped away from some of my daily stuff. I know I've been a little bit more reclusive this last week because I really took it to focus on next steps to focus on what am I going to do between now and the end of the year to position me to really thrive in 2021 to make me the money that I need to get through the end of the year.
[00:17:01] All of these things. Wonderful, wonderful things. And this week, one of the other things that I did was I was in a mastermind group and this is a small mastermind that I'm a part of that just started, just started a couple of weeks ago
[00:17:16] and the moment I got into this mastermind and we started the meeting. It dawned on me. I, I came into it knowing, and just that it was going to help me really get clarity. Like I just knew this past week was going to show me the next steps. And first five minutes there I am. And I realized, why am I not leading this?
[00:17:43] And I've been wanting to do a mastermind for. Years, like three and a half years. I even talked about it way back at the very, very beginning of this podcast so you can go back to season one and start listening from the beginning.
[00:17:59] And you will hear me talk about how I wanted to run masterminds. And I've been thinking about a mastermind all year. I've been thinking about how I would just love to run this adventure mastermind, where we go and we travel and we step outside our comfort zones and. We do things that stretch us physically and mentally and emotionally, and we let ourselves get uncomfortable because there's so much growth to be had in those experiences.
[00:18:27] And I said, okay, well I will do this other stuff. I'll do my course. I'll start a membership. You know, I'll do all those things first. And then when we can travel again in spring, then I will launch my mastermind. But as I said, sat there in the small group on zoom and I felt the connection and I felt the support and I just felt. How awesome it was to be able to come together even now, even though it's not in person and to have that connection from other entrepreneurs who really get what I'm going through, I just knew I don't need to wait. I can absolutely do that. Now. So what I've decided to do is to start brighter together, mastermind groups, because I want you to be surrounded by likeminded people who can help you get to the next level. And scale your business. I want you to have access to other people's experience and to have that emotional support that comes from having an intimate group of entrepreneurs who really get what you do, who understand you as a person, because they are also doing the same things that you do, who can encourage you, who can support you, who can check on you when you're struggling, because what I have found to be true is that.
[00:19:50] We need two things to succeed in our businesses. Number one, we need clarity and strategy and you know, all the business stuff we need. We need to know what we're doing. Let's just put it that way. I'll call it strategy. But number two, we need support, especially. Emotional support and then has never been more clear to me than it has this year, because I know that if you are feeling extreme anxiety or a lot of fear, or you're feeling burned out, it is near impossible to keep.
[00:20:26] Moving forward. And if you feel alone through all of this and you don't have somebody, who's there to remind you of who you are and what you're capable of, you're not going to make it. I mean, maybe you will. I shouldn't say for sure. You're not, but the chances of you making it through this and really thriving.
[00:20:44] It's so much less, and I know I've done it alone. I did it alone for so long and it, it wasn't until three and a half years ago that I personally joined a mastermind. And at the time. My business had declined by more than half over the last two years prior to that. And it was a scary time. I was burned out.
[00:21:07] I didn't want to do what I was doing anymore. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I felt so defeated and. Even though this year has been incredibly hard and I've had to say goodbye and walk away from my old business and start something new this year. Wasn't nearly as hard as when I was at that point. I was at my lowest point and just so burned out and I joined a mastermind.
[00:21:36] I made a huge, scary investment with money that I really couldn't afford to spend. And I really was investing in myself and trusting that this would work, that if I invested not just. Like monetarily in this mastermind. But if I invested myself my time and my effort into this mastermind really got to know the people, build the relationships and went deep with them that it would help me grow.
[00:22:06] And do you know what it did? It did. It did. I can't. I mean, I can't promise that you're going to get growth through a mastermind, but what happened was I was able to go from that $315,000 a year to over seven figures annually and just. 18 months, 18 months. And it wasn't because they had all this amazing new content for me or whatever else it was because I had the support of other people who understood how to grow an online business.
[00:22:37] What I was going through, they helped give me the emotional support and confidence. They helped guide me. They were mirrors for me. I could leverage their experience and we could do it together. Not only that, but I have friends. They've become real friends that are close them family to me. And I just, Ugh.
[00:22:56] I know with how, we've been so socially distance from each other. We haven't been able to hug each other and travel and actually spend time together.
[00:23:07] Like we used to and we're feeling it. We need connection.
[00:23:13] So while I can't bring you together in person yet right now, what I can do as I can help you build that connection with other people online in small intimate. Like-minded groups of no more than 12 people. That'll be led by me that meet twice a month for about two hours per time, and then do one big annual three day retreat.
[00:23:41] Now I want to actually have few different groups based on the income level and where you are in your business, so that you can be surrounded by like minded people, but also, so that you're not. left out if you haven't reached a certain stage yet, because I know that you will all grow together and you'll still have access to everyone in the larger group.
[00:24:05] Now, the focus is it's going to be both on growing our business, but also. On the personal growth that needs to happen to help you create a business that is fully aligned with who you are that really takes advantage of your zone of genius so that your business gives you energy and doesn't drain it so that you can face the rest of your time feeling.
[00:24:30] Like this actually helped you. It helped you to work. You are more prepared to handle the rest of your life because your business energized you and is bringing you in money, then draining you of all your energy. But to do that, you need to do the personal work. You need to do the business work, and here's the thing.
[00:24:50] You shouldn't have to do it alone. We've all had those moments when we are struggling. And I know for me, it took an incredible amount of courage to learn, to step up and ask friends for help, especially when I need it, that emotional support, because it felt weak. And I didn't like doing it. And I didn't like admitting that things were hard.
[00:25:13] But my friend, things are hard for everybody. We all need help. We all need support. That's what's missing for so many people who are stuck in the messy middle. They're trying to do it all alone. They don't have people who can show them, Oh, look, you're doing this. And this is going to pull you back, , they can't see the obvious opportunities and the.
[00:25:34] Obvious pitfalls. And they often are. Aren't running businesses that are fully aligned with them. They're in their zone of excellence and there's zone of excellence is usually huge, but they need to get into their zone of genius. They need to start saying no to certain things. I fully believe that when you come together, where they grow group of entrepreneurs who get it, that the value you get from their experiences and the collective experience of the group is so much more valuable than any course you could buy.
[00:26:10] It's so much more valuable than even hiring an individual coach who can only draw on their own. Experience, this is why masterminds are so vital to helping you grow because they are going to support you on an ongoing basis. And you can leverage the expertise and the experience of the people in the group.
[00:26:34] And this is truly what helped my business to finally take off and triple and just 18 months. Now, if you. Are somebody who deeply loves people. Who's transformation driven and wants to make a real impact in the world. If you find yourself in the messy middle, but you're so ready to do whatever it's going to take to move forward, to simplify and to build a business that.
[00:27:02] Makes you feel good like that isn't going to run your life, but that really amplifies the joy in your life and brings you energy and brings you more income and you want to scale it. And if you're serious about finding your people and being surrounded by likeminded people and this is a big one. If you refuse to compromise your integrity for any amount of income and your huge action taker, you get stuff done. Then I would love to invite you to join the brighter together mastermind groups that I am putting together.
[00:27:37] I'm going to be starting. These mastermind groups really fast, an action taker. I'd like to get them started and a couple of weeks at the latest. So if you, you are interested in this, if you need that support, please go to, we are brighter together. Dot com. And fill out the application. It's got all the details.
[00:27:58] It's going to tell you how often we're meeting. It's going to tell you all the stuff that's included. It's going to give you all of the pricing. Everything is there. Now I will tell you straight up, it is not one of the expensive $30,000 a year masterminds that you typically we see, but it isn't cheap.
[00:28:16] That being said, it is less than the cost of hiring me to do two coaching days with you in a single year. And you're going to get access to me personally, for four hours a month. During these mastermind meetings, I'm going, I'm personally going to be leading these groups. And so we are going to be starting soon.
[00:28:36] I would, I really love to have you as a part of this because here's what I know to be true. 2020 has been a difficult year, and there's still a lot of stress on you. And I know that the stress is likely going to continue into 2021, but I will you to be in the best possible place.
[00:29:02] To get through whatever comes our way and to prepare yourself to crush it in 2021, John, despite what's happening in the world, I would say want you to have a business that feels light and easy, and that can take you to the next level and help you scale. And I want you to be surrounded by likeminded people with similar values to you who are in a similar stage of business who love taking action and getting stuff done. And I know, I know how beautifully rich and valuable it is to have those friends who become closer than family to support you throughout the entire journey. I want to be there with you. I want to know your business. I want to help you move forward, and I want you to meet your new business.
[00:29:54] Best friends. We are truly brighter together. I mean, I created that phrase and I live it and I love it. And I'm calling these brighter together masterminds because of it absolutely true when we, our experience together and we share this experience of growing an online business, the things we can accomplish in the connection that happens is.
[00:30:15] Unbelievable. And I want you to experience that. So go to, we are brighter together.com fill out the application. Now, now I'm not going to take everybody. I'm going to be very selective because I know how important it is to have the right people in these groups. But part of my zone of genius is knowing and reading people and really curating incredible communities.
[00:30:42] And so that's going to be a big part of what I do. So go fill out the application as soon as you can please, so that we can start moving forward with these. And I will let you know, if you have been accepted and then we'll start moving forward with the groups.
[00:30:57] I'm going to work with everybody in the group to make sure we find a time that works for everybody. we can absolutely accommodate anyone in any time zone.
[00:31:07] And we would be happy to have you no matter where you are in the world. we are brighter together.com go fill out the application. Don't forget my friends. We truly are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Interested in hearing more about the Mastermind groups? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

Join the Insider's Telegram Channel Here

Transcript:

So today, I want to take you behind the scenes and into my mind, which is a little bit scary because there's a lot going on in there, but I thought you might enjoy hearing a little bit about the thought process that I am going through as I'm building this new business that I'm creating and what I'm doing very differently from the first time that I grew my online business.
[00:00:23] So if you find yourself. In a business that just is way heavier than you hoped. It would be where you have a hard time unplugging where, you know, it could be better somehow if you only had the time to change it and stand back and reevaluate. And if you just feel like you're burning out and don't have the capacity that you used to have, or want to have to really move forward.
[00:00:48] I think you're going to find a lot of value in today's episode.
[00:00:51] I'm in the middle of two days of masterminds right now. In fact, two different masterminds. One of them is kind of this secret small six person mastermind that I was invited to join. That just started with some brilliant women. And the other one is a larger mastermind that has 60 or 70 people in it. That is meeting for two days and both of them are wonderful masterminds, but it's been a beautiful time of kind of stepping back and thinking about this new business that I've been creating.
[00:01:56]if you've been listening to season three, you know, that my goal is to really create a business that's aligned with who I am and what I'm finding. And I'm not even quite three months in. I'm finding that it's so easy.
[00:02:10]To go back on autopilot and to just do what you think you're supposed to do, or what's easy to do or what you you've always done because you know, it works and it's so hard, hard to be true to yourself and really know what that means. And to know what that looks like when you are just trying to make some money and build some momentum and get things moving at the beginning of growing a business.
[00:02:36] So for me to put this into really clear light, I've been doing clarity coaching day, which I love doing those. And I have been teaching the bright future method course, which I just launched a week and a half, two weeks ago. And I'm loving, uh, the students that I have in there. I'm loving, seeing the breakthroughs that are happening.
[00:02:57]During this time, I've also been reading the book, the big leap, which is something that we were given in impact mastermind. Yes. I've been a bunch of masterminds. Just bear with me here. It's so good though. They're so good. I can't even tell you how good they are. But the big leap by gay Hendricks has really got me thinking a lot about what's limiting me from really growing big.
[00:03:23] And where is my true zone of genius? Not just my zone of excellence, like the things that I'm good at, but what are the things that I'm not only good at, but they give me life. They bring me crazy energy. And when I'm done with them, instead of feeling depleted and tired, I am fired up and ready to take on the world. the biggest question on my mind is what are the things in my business that fire me up and part of learning this, because it's not always obvious, but part of learning, this has been doing, taking action, launching my course, again, doing the podcast, doing all the things.
[00:03:59] And as I do them, I'm kind of doing this internal audit. And asking myself what feels the best? What feels heavy? What do I really not love doing? Even though I may be really dang good at doing it, but what feels light and what gives me energy and what fires me up. I'm realizing that a lot of the current business models aren't really fully aligned with who I am and that. There is a greater purpose that I can serve in the world. If I'm willing to think about how to better step outside the box, step outside the ship and, things I've done in the past and the things that I'm used to doing that I'm very comfortable doing.
[00:04:42] And think about creating something that's based 100% on the things that light me up. And for me, my zone of genius by far hands down is that I know people and I know how, how are people so I can see clearly as I interact with somebody and I can have conversations that help discover their strengths and see what's holding them back.
[00:05:09] And. Really helped them find alignment and clarity. I have clarity when it comes to people. I know how people work, which is why I'm very good at marketing. I know what motivates. I know how to empower. I know what can inspire. And I really love to help people connect and I'm seeing. That what most entrepreneurs need, especially the ones stuck in the messy middle isn't necessarily a whole lot of new tactics or content or strategy, but that they need belonging, that they need somebody who can be there to support, support them emotionally, as they're launching, as they're trying new things, as they are stuck in this messy middle and just exhausted. And I'm seeing that this need is greater than ever with 2020, let's just be real COVID and all the things.
[00:06:06] Have really taken a large toll on everybody. Now I know for me personally, I'm incredibly efficient, but my capacity for getting stuff done is probably about half of what it was pre COVID. I just do not have the emotional capacity to do all the things that I used to,
[00:06:26] which is part of why I've had to be so inclusive, probably intentional with the things that I'm doing, because I just, I can't work 40, 50 hours a week anymore. I can't work 60, 80. There's no way I can do 60 to 80 hours a week. Like I've done in the past. I have no desire to let my business rule my life like that again.
[00:06:44] And I know it doesn't have to, if I'm truly in my zone of genius, if I'm truly doing the things that I'm not just excellent at, but that I am phenomenally gifted at and that bring me life. And so what I've realized is yes, I can teach and yes, my framework is awesome, but I want to help. People, I want to connect with people.
[00:07:06] I want to help them connect with each other. I want to help entrepreneurs who feel exhausted and feel overwhelmed and who can't even unplug from their businesses to find a way to redesign their business and feel supported in it and feel like they have other people who really get it. To do this together to connect.
[00:07:30] I know for me, the thing that has gotten me through 20, 20 more than anything has been the friends that I have developed and I used to not really have friends and Kay. And I say that very honestly, and it might sound funny, but up until about a year and a half or two ago, I had acquaintances and I had a lot of them, but I didn't have close friends.
[00:07:53] Like the ones you can call on anytime, anywhere, and know that they've got your back. They're there to remind you who you are. They understand what you're doing. They see you. And they love you. Despite the fact that they know all the good, the bad, the ugly, you know, all of it. And I didn't have that. I thought it was broken if I'm totally honest, I'm like, yeah, I know how to relate to people.
[00:08:16] And I know how to like, Connect with people on a surface level, but I didn't feel like I knew how to have those deep relationships or find and not have them, but find them. That's probably a better way to put it, which is part of why I joined Stew's mastermind. If you go back and look, listen to some of the very first episodes in this series, way back to season one, you can listen to that journey and yeah.
[00:08:40] Or about why I joined the mastermind. I literally told them in the very first mastermind that I paid, all of that money. To make friends who get it because I was lonely and I wanted friends who understood the business side, that I could really develop deep friendships with. Like, yes, I wanted to grow my business, but I needed friends.
[00:08:57] I mean, yeah. I have people in my life who know who I am that love me, that. You know, care for me, but they didn't get what I did from a business standpoint. And if you've been doing the online business stuff for any amount of time, or you probably know what I mean, I mean, people don't even know what you do.
[00:09:11] They're like, how, what, what, what do you do? How do you make money? Sure. You understand? I have found that to be the most valuable thing for me in getting through this incredibly challenging year, especially with the demise of my old business and all of the craziness that I haven't even begun.
[00:09:28] tell you about on this podcast that I'm absolutely certain will come out at some point, but it's been such a year of massive transfer information and no tactic, no strategy. None of those things were enough on their own to get them me through this year. I've needed people and able to thrive through this year.
[00:09:50] And I don't know if you are out there doing this alone right now, and you do not have people that you can count on and that you can really call on and you feel alone. It doesn't have to be that way. And. It is so much easier when you have people that you can band together with. So what I'm thinking about right now is how can I create that belonging and that togetherness.
[00:10:16] For entrepreneurs, how can I leverage this gift of connection and clarity and site for people like you? Who, who are so exhausted, who are stuck in that messy middle, who don't have time, frankly, to make friends because it's absolutely vital. And at some point, if you don't do this, if you don't get clarity on what you're doing, if you don't get alignment on it, you are going to burn out.
[00:10:43] You are going to give up and. It's going to, it's going to cost your health, frankly, and you're missing out on all the things that could be, be like our businesses should be making our lives better, not completely taking over our lives and keeping us unable to, to unplug. And so I want to create intentional spaces for people to come together and connect in small groups so they can build deep relationships.
[00:11:12] I want to help people. Build business friends like create business friends, deep friendships. And you know, my, my longterm goal is to create an adventure mastermind where I travel the world with a group of entrepreneurs who are willing to stretch themselves outside their comfort zone. And do beautiful wild, creative things together that help us grow while also talking about life and business.
[00:11:39] And that I've always just said was on hold because COVID and travel right now is all up in the air. And you know, who knows how long this is going to last, but it didn't Dawn on me until yesterday that there's still a beautiful opportunity for us to connect together and we need it now more than ever.
[00:11:59] And so I've decided I'm going to be launching. There, I don't know what to call them. They're kind of like masterminds, but they're a little different because it's not the formal structure of a mastermind, but the focus is gonna be beyond belonging and really. Supporting each other, as we walk through this entrepreneurial journey together.
[00:12:19] So belonging and togetherness, and really connecting like-minded impact driven entrepreneurs who want to make a real change in the world who want to do this together, who are so stuck, that they, I barely have time to breathe. And I want to, until it hit a space for you to step back, to take a deep breath, And to help you realign yourself with your business, because if you don't ever stop to breathe and to reevaluate and to see what's working and what's not, nothing is going to change, you're either going to burn out and quit or.
[00:12:59] You're going to continue going, going, going, and just be exhausted forever. And I just, I know the need is so deep right now. I don't have all the details yet. I don't have it all figured out. It's not going to be the 25, $30,000 mastermind that I'm dreaming of. It's going to be much less expensive than that, but it's also not going to be like dirt cheap.
[00:13:20] It's going to be somewhere in the middle. And so right now, if this is something that you're interested in, I'm literally just kind of gauging interest in need. But if you really want to connect with other transformation driven entrepreneurs, if you really want to have a group of people, it can become deep, lifelong friends who can support you through this.
[00:13:41] You can be a mirror to you who can absolutely help you with the business side, right? More than anything are there to support you. In your personal journey and. Here's the big one. If you're willing to engage and support the other people in a small group as well, I would love to hear from you so you can go to the show notes and probably the easiest way would be to contact me via Instagram at Jamie M Swanson.
[00:14:11] And let me know, and if you're driving right now or doing something where you can't access your phone, because, you know, You're driving or whatever else. If you could take a moment and tell your phone to remind you to come back to this and send me a message, this isn't going to be a big launch. This is probably going to be me reaching out to some of the most amazing people I know who really would love this, who would get a lot of value from this.
[00:14:36] And who've expressed interest in being in some sort of mastermind. Cause it's similar to a mastermind. But it's going to be a little bit different. It's going to be a lot more accessible and it's all going to be virtual for now, until we know we can do something in person, absolutely open to personal or in person events in the future when we're able to do them.
[00:14:53] But for now it's going to be virtual. So it should be incredibly accessible to anybody. And I'm not going to run them in the same way that most people are running them really excited about that. I was, we'll give you more details later as I bang them out, because right now I'm literally still brainstorming exactly what this looks like.
[00:15:11] But if this is something that appeals to you and you're willing to commit a year, To getting to know other people, letting them know you and really reevaluating your business to create something that's so much more sustainable and so much more aligned with who you are. And you're willing to both work on your business as well as on your own personal growth.
[00:15:33] And you get excited by the idea of doing this together, then reach out to me. Let's have a chat about it, see if it's a good fit. And honestly, Tell me, like, what would make this a dream for you? Because right now I can design it any way I want. And I'm very excited about that idea. So without my friend, I mean this more than ever, we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Interested in a Clarity Coaching Day? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

Join the Insider's Telegram Channel Here

Transcript:

When you're stuck in the messy middle growth can feel incredibly daunting. Because you just don't have the capacity to take on more projects, more launches, more stuff to do because you're already overwhelmed and exhausted. And so the idea of doing more things so that you can have more growth, it's just too much for most people.
[00:00:21]Well, my friend, I have happy news for you that if you want to grow out of the messy middle. You don't need to say yes to more things. There's just one thing that you need to do. And I'm going to tell you all about it in this podcast episode, back in December. I took my daughter Britta to Mexico to do this beautiful art retreat with Nicholas Wilton, from art to life.
[00:01:15] We were in Salida and it was just a gorgeous setting. We were in this yoga retreat area and we were in a shallow up on top of a Hill or mountain. Thing. I don't know if it was technically a mountain or not, but it was way up high. And you could see mountains in the distance and you could see the jungle around and you could see the ocean and it was dreamy.
[00:01:36]We just had the most beautiful work space and I'm not really a painter and I haven't done a lot of painting. I love to paint. I just haven't done a lot of it. And Nicholas walked us through the fundamentals of making and art and painting, and it was all abstract painting. And one of the biggest things I took from it was that.
[00:01:59] You don't start with the end in mind. You kind of let yourself experiment. You let yourself grow. You let the painting change on the pallet in front of you. And so, uh, we'd always start by getting some paint. We just get some paint down. We just make something happen. We'd put some paint on, on the board.
[00:02:19] We'd let it dry. And then we'd start layering more on. And as we went, the painting would start to take shape. And one of the things that we were encouraged to do to make the painting stronger was to remove elements that kept it busy, to make quiet conversation and add space back into the painting so that the elements that remained stood out more and had more focus and attention.
[00:02:51] And that's exactly what needs to happen in our businesses. If we want to get out of that messy middle area. When you're starting your business, you have to say yes to so many opportunities to get things moving forward. And actually it's really good to say yes to a lot of these things. Anytime an opportunity comes your way.
[00:03:10] If it's something that's going to help you grow your audience or help you grow your platform or whatever it is is there's a lot of great reasons to say yes to the things that come your way. However point your palette is going to be full. There's not going to be any room or space left for you to breathe.
[00:03:31] And it's going to feel overwhelming to try and fit more on there. You probably can't even keep up with everything that's already on there. If you're like most people stuck in the messy middle. And if that's you take a screenshot of this, share it on Instagram and let me know tag me in it because I want to know who my people are, who are out there struggling so I can support you.
[00:03:49] And. Really just reach out and get to know you a little more personally, since right now you're listening to me, but it's not real time. This is a recording and I would just love to get some interaction with you. But when you get to that messy middle, I want to promise you and give you hope that there is something better.
[00:04:09] When we start to shift from saying yes. To saying no saying yes. Got you to where you are today saying yes. Was a beautiful underpainting where you tried things, you learned what you, he loved, you learned what didn't work, and now you've got this mess in front of you.
[00:04:27] And it's probably a very profitable mess. And it's probably a mess that brings you much joy, much meaning and has been really wonderful for you, but has left. You exhausted. It has left. You overwhelmed. And so now if you want to move forward and truly make a masterpiece out of this painting that you've created out of this business, that you've been growing, that you've been putting your heart and your soul into now, instead of saying yes, key for you is going to be saying no, what things can you say?
[00:05:01] No, two in your business that currently exists there that you can take away so that the things that remain. Really do well, where can you go deep? And what's left. And in part we need to say yes, early on. So we can learn what we really love. We can learn what works for us and what doesn't. We don't know what we're going to be aligned with without actually trying all the things and seeing which things feel phenomenal and leave us energized and which things where us out and leave us drained.
[00:05:36] And now that you've tried all the various things, you've probably taken all the courses and you know, many of the tactics now it's time for you to get focused and start removing things one at a time that no longer need to be a part of your business that leave you drained that you dread. Just because you added it to your business in the first place does not mean that it always needs to remain.
[00:06:03] Now I'm taking my own advice in this. In fact, I just announced to the membership that I had been running in the photography industry, that I'm going to be closing that at the end of January, just a few months from now, but it was another. Place in my own business in my life where I said, do you know what I love?
[00:06:21] So I held onto this longer than I probably we should have, but now it's fall. It's a time of life. Didn't go of the things that no longer serve us and making space for the beautiful new life and the beautiful new two things that are to come. And so. I made the announcement is the second time I've closed a membership in my business.
[00:06:45] And you know, it can be scary, especially if it's something that's been highly profitable, but when you, you really go deep with the things that bring you the most joy, bring you the most excitement and really feel the freedom. To let go of the things that don't, or that have served their purpose. Maybe it's a wonderful thing, but it served its purpose.
[00:07:07] Like the second membership, I have loved doing that membership, but I know you deep down, if I was honest that it had served its purpose in my life and in my business and that it was time to let go, even though I really need income and it's hard. Yeah. And to say goodbye to you, no recurring revenue coming in the door.
[00:07:25] I fully believe deep down inside of me that by creating that space, something beautiful and something better can happen. And I, and even if it's just going deeper on the things that I'm currently doing. So that's what I want you to be thinking about right now, especially if you're overwhelmed and tired.
[00:07:45] Fall is a beautiful season. To really reevaluate what things in your life and your business are no longer serving you. What things no longer bring you joy or never did in the first place? What are the things that make you know, that you're doing out of obligation? Because you think that you should, and not because they light you up and they really, really just make you feel alive.
[00:08:11] And be ruthless with this because here's what I know to be true when we let go of the things that we're doing out of obligation. And we take that energy that we've been putting into stuff that has just not been giving us life, the things that drain us. And we focus that energy into the things that are now naturally easy for us that are fun for us that bring us joy and give us energy.
[00:08:36] Everything changes. Not only do you enjoy doing your business more or, but you have more energy to do it. You feel more rested and you get far, far better results. It is more important than I can explain to learn. How, what, like what makes you come alive and to align your business with who you are as a leader and as an entrepreneur, because when you do that, That's when the true magic happens.
[00:09:04] That's when you start to get out of that messy, middle and start to see the growth that you've been longing for. And instead of feeling like you're pushing your business along, pushing people to become clients, pushing, pushing, pushing, it begins to gain momentum and it starts to grow. And you'll find that you're suddenly being pulled forward by the momentum of success.
[00:09:26] Yes, because you're doing the things you love. And I know it sounds too good to be true, and it's really hard to trust. I'm just going to speak it like it is because I struggle with that. As a doer, I have this, this belief that keeps trying to pop up and say that if you're going to be successful, you should have to work hard to get there, but it's not the case.
[00:09:44] You should have to work. Like not have to, you should get to work right. In your strongest gifts because that's when you have the best progress. That's when it's the easiest, that's when it's the most life giving. And that's when you're really going to Excel, don't focus on strengthening your weaknesses, let go of those folks, focus on going deep in your strengths and the things that bring you joy and the amount of benefit that you will get by doing those things even better, even more joyfully and making your business easier is kind of far outweigh any benefit you would get.
[00:10:16] From focusing on the things where your weak areas, where you're weak and trying to improve those. So that is my encouragement. You today, my friend is stopped thinking about the things that you should say yes to, and instead take some time to focus on the things that you need to say no to and put everything under examination, really examine how they make you feel.
[00:10:40] What you love, what you don't and, um, use that to make a plan for moving forward with life on your plates. You can have more time. You can have more joy. You can have more space while also having better results, because you're really doing the things you love. So, if you want any help with that process, I still have a few clarity coaching days left, and I would love to help you sort through the business that you've created and really simplify, simplify, and create a plan that is customed to who you are, so that you can go into this fourth quarter, which is going to be busy the whole day.
[00:11:19] These are coming as much as I hate to say it. It's not going to be long, and I want you to be able to go through them. With less stress and less fear and like overwhelm than you've ever had before. Because your business finally feels light and easy and you got clarity and what you need to go deep on. So if that's something you'd be interested in, I have a few clarity coaching days left to this fall, and I would love to consider you for a clarity coaching day.
[00:11:50] You can just go to the show notes. You can reach out to me on Instagram at Jamie M Swanson. That's in the show notes as well. In case you are listening to this while you drive or something, but reach out to me there and we will set up a free clarity consultation. It's about a 30 minute. Zoom call where we will talk okay.
[00:12:10] About your business and see if it would be a good fit if I'm really going to be able to help you clarify, but also give you a plan that is going to help you make your money back from that day. As soon as you can implement it, like that's my goal. I want this to be such a no brainer for you. And it's also an opportunity for you to see if I would be a good fit for working with you.
[00:12:30] So we can do that. I'll ask you a bunch of questions about your business, and if we both decide that it's a good fit, then we'll talk about, okay. You know how to make payment and move forward and set a date right then there at the end of the consultation. So it's very easy. It's low pressure. Well, not just low pressure.
[00:12:45] It's no pressure. I, it really needs to be a good fit for you, but I, I just want for you so bad. To get out of the overwhelm and I've feeling it, it feels so heavy. And there's so many people I know who are pushing so hard right now. It has been an incredibly difficult year. And when you can let go of the things that are draining your energy and just focus on the things that make your life better.
[00:13:09] You will have so much more time to do the things that are important to you. You have time just straight up time. Like that might be even new to you. It's how I've been able to homeschool my six kids while fully supporting our family with my online business and doing crazy things like training for 52 mile race.
[00:13:27] Like I don't work more than 25, 30 hours a week. Yeah. Because I don't need to. When I go deep into my strengths and I have the freedom to actually enjoy my life and to spend with my kids and to get out in nature, I had to do self care. Like I haven't done self care. I hadn't done self care in like 15 years, maybe longer.
[00:13:48] And. You know, that doesn't just mean like going to a spa or pampering or whatever. It just means truly filling my own cup so that I can come at life from a place of energy and a love and not exhaustion. Even though 2020 has been crazy year, I have never felt so alive and so excited about the future. So I want that for you.
[00:14:13] I really do. And I would love to help you find it. So if you'd like to work with me for clarity coaching day, Get all the details in the show notes already told you how that works. I would love to help you find this for yourself. And with that, my friend, just remember we are brighter together. The world needs us.
[00:14:30] The world needs you out there functioning at your very best. So let's go out and let's make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Interested in a Clarity Coaching Day? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson

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Transcript:

I have got dozens and dozens and dozens of launches under my belt. At this point, since I've been running my online business full time since 2011, I've brought in multiple seven figures of income, mostly through launches. And I have learned over the years that the tactic that you use to launch isn't nearly as important as understanding why do these tactics actually work and what needs to happen in order for a launch to be effective? So in today's episode, I want to share with you the things that I was considering as I prepared for a. Beautiful, but very tiny launch on very little time and with very little help so that I could maximize the results that I got.
[00:00:51] So coming into this launch, I only had 66 people signed up for my email list, 66 that's it it's like the tiniest little email launch ever, you know, like I've had over 120,000 people on an email list for my photography business. So going to launching from multiple thousands of people to launching two 66, people took.
[00:01:45] Big shift in mindset. So as I was preparing for this, knowing what I know, no now as a bright entrepreneur with all sorts of experience behind me, I knew that the more personal I could be with my people and the more I could make deep connections with my people, the more effective my launch would be. In fact, you know, I was putting into you other stuff I didn't need.
[00:02:08] Okay. Let's let's just talk about how crazy this was. I did not even have a sales page on the first day of open cart. All I had was an order form and. I didn't even get a video or anything up until the next day now. So I literally set up my sales page in like 90 minutes.
[00:02:26]Because I know that I get really sucked in and I want it to be perfect. And I know writing really great copy takes awhile. And I knew that if I didn't set a timer for myself and give myself a limit on how long I was allowed to spend time working on the sales page that I would spend.
[00:02:41] All of my time there and that it wouldn't be nearly as effective as the other things that I wanted to do, which I'll explain to you in a minute. So I made a really basic sales page, super duper basic, started with a problem, talked about my solution. shared a few. Case studies and talked about what was actually going to be covered in the course and how it was going to work and then had a call to action to join the workshop.
[00:03:06] I should call it a workshop. It's kind of like a course workshop, whatever, just like the term workshop better. So anyways, it doesn't matter. So I did that super, super first draftee. They barely even have finished first draft missing, all sorts of elements that you should find on a really persuasive sales page, super effective sales page.
[00:03:25] I know all the stuff that should go into it. And yet I got it done. Done is better than perfect. Right? So that's one thing that you should know going into this just a total side note is better to be done in launch and not have it to be perfect than to not take action and keep waiting. But what I did instead, the place that I spent the majority of my time was in two places, number one, and getting content out on a mass basis, which was for me, This podcast. In fact, you can go back and listen to the five episodes that I created to promote the enrollment period of my launch.
[00:04:03] And frankly, I kind of put those together last minute as well. They were not scripted. Normally I like to script things that are more of a sales. Type of, you know, selling mechanism, so to speak, not scripted at all, totally off the cuff, but it spoke to my heart. So we had that and then emails to back them up so that people could know that these were happening and get some of their questions answered via email to the whole 66 people who were signed up.
[00:04:29] I just laugh because it's such a tiny number. It's fine. It's it was great though. But then the thing that I really focused on the second. Thing was, getting really personal and trying to have as many, one on one conversations with the people as I could, you can reach out when you've got 66 people and talk to every single one or at least try to.
[00:04:51] And so that's what I did. I used a software called video ask, which I absolutely. Love it's, there's a lot of different uses for it. Honestly, I think it's best for collecting testimonials and feedback from your people, but it allowed me to send custom videos to everybody who had signed up either for my waitlist or for my podcast.
[00:05:08] No, those combined were 66 people just to be really, really clear here, not a lot of people. So I spent a few hours one day after I. Made my sales page. You know, I put my timer on, finished my sales page. It's a good enough tested it to make sure it worked. And then I went and I sent customized videos to every single person and asked to get to know them better.
[00:05:29] Let them know that the bright future method workshop was open and invited them to join. And it was very simple. The video messages were around 90 seconds long give or take a little bit, but they were different for every single person. I use their name in the video. I spoke to them directly. Okay. If I knew some of them or I'd had conversations with some of them prior, I reached out and I mentioned our prior conversations or.
[00:05:54] Bring details into the video that would show them that I remembered who they were. And I also reached out to a couple people on Instagram or Facebook that I had had some conversations with and ask them personally, if they were interested in joining now, you can't do this. When you've got 66,000 people signed up for your email list and you're launching to the masses.
[00:06:15] But when you're small, you can add absolutely get super personal like this. And the benefits are twofold. Number one. It's far more effective when you can reach out to somebody personally. So anytime you can leverage that personal touch in a real way, that's going to be. Far more effective when it comes to selling than just sending an email that you're sending to everybody else, the more personal and specific you can get to the person you're talking to, the more effective and relevant your message is going to be for them guarantee.
[00:06:48] And so few people are doing this, that it really stands out from the crowd to have this happening. . But the second benefit is, is that you learn your people inside out when you talk to them personally. So the software I was using allowed them to send a video or an audio or a text right back to my phone.
[00:07:07] So we could have a conversation right then. And right there. Now this shaped my messaging for the entire launch. There were things that people said in their responses that I was like, Oh man, I didn't even think about that as being an issue that were incredibly helpful for me in shaping my messaging. And I would never have known had I not reached out to them personally.
[00:07:32] So not only is it more effective in helping get more people into your. Business, whether it's into a course or a membership or whatever it is you're selling, but it's also going to help you get Supreme clarity on the messaging that you need to use in order to have an effective leader. No, I cannot tell you how important having clear messaging is.
[00:07:55] It's why we spend so much time focusing on that and the bright future method workshop, because the more clearly you can communicate your message, the more. Easily people can like no off the bat, if your product service membership, whatever it is, whatever your offer is, if that's really a good fit for them, they should know pretty quick.
[00:08:17] If this is something they want or need. And if this is going to be a good fit for them. So when our messaging is tight, man, everything falls into place. So being personal, building these relationships and reaching out people one-on-one helped me get. A very high conversion rate on a very tiny list made over $10,000 from 66 people, which is pretty dang impressive when you look at all the numbers and break them down.
[00:08:42] But also Gabe me so much clarity on how I could strengthen my message, which you should always be strengthening. Every time you launch, no matter how long you've been launching your product, you should become more and more clear every single year that you launch every single time that you launch, because you have these conversations because you hear the questions they're asking because you better understand your people.
[00:09:08] So I would say without a doubt, The one thing that I have learned through all of these years from launching that makes the biggest difference and launches, and the final results is building a true relationship with your people, connecting with them as personally, as you possibly can. And now that's going to look absolutely different, whether you have 66 people or 6,000 people or 60,000 people.
[00:09:35] You're going to do it in different ways and that's okay. But the more you can connect with them, the more you can build that relationship with them, the more that you can talk with them and make them feel like you're having a conversation with them instead of just talking at them or to them. The more effective your launches are going to be.
[00:09:56] So the tactics in this case are less important than the underlying principle of building connection and really connecting. And building that relationship on a personal level with them. In fact, this was verified because when people come into my group, I asked them, why did you decide to join? Cause we're doing this within a Facebook group.
[00:10:19] So they just bought, they literally just bought, they go to a landing page that gives them a button to, come and request to join the group where we're going to be doing our discussion for the course, the workshop. And so I ask them what made you decide to join? Every single person. And this blew me away because this is not normally the case with big launches.
[00:10:39] In this case, every single person that came into the workshop said some variation of. I joined because of you, I believe in you. I, I trust that you can help me get the results that I, I want. It blew me away. It blew me away. You can do all of them mechanics completely. Right. But if you don't have relationship, if you do not have trust, if you do not.
[00:11:09] Build that connection with your people, whether it's one-on-one individually with a smaller audience, or whether you scale that connection on a larger scale using, you know, stories and all sorts of tactics that I talked about a lot in the first season of this podcast. So I'll let you go back and find them, but if you're not building that connection and that relationship, your launches, your business ,
[00:11:33]they're just not going to be as effective as they could be relationship and trust and connection trumps all. So if you're listening to this and you're thinking, man, how do I build that relationship with my people?
[00:11:48] What kinds of things can I do at whatever? Part of the business you're in whatever size you are to build that relationship, to build that connection without sucking up all of my time and all of my attention and draining all of my energy. And you want some help getting clarity and figuring that out. I've got a few clarity coaching days open still this fall. And if you want to work with me for an entire day and get super clear on how you can build that relationship, how you can build that connection and what tactics are going to be best for you, whatever size business you have. In order to build that connection and get better results.
[00:12:30] I would love to work with you because if I had tried to do that, the same things that I did for the big launches back when I was doing this to thousands and thousands of people, I firmly believe it would have fallen flat on its face because you can't build the same kind of connection and get the kind of conversion rates that I got.
[00:12:51] When you're doing it for the masses like that, cause you can't build the depth of connection that I was able to with a tiny yeah. List. Because when it's tiny, you have the time, right. Capacity to reach out more personally. Right. But when you have these big lists or even a medium list and you can't reach out to every single person individually, there are absolutely ways that you can scale that connection.
[00:13:12] You can scale that relationship building and the most effective way for you to do that. It is going to be, to use a tactic that's most aligned with who you are as a person. And there's lots of different ways to do it. Like I said, I know pretty much all of them I've tried every one then before I realized that the stuff that works best is the stuff that really is aligned with who I am and what my gifts are.
[00:13:35] So, if you want help, figuring out how to pick a tactic, that's really going to work with you. That's aligned with you, and that is perfect for the size of your audience. And if you want help getting clarity on the messaging or planning out a challenge or any of those things, one of the clarity coaching days would be a perfect fit for you.
[00:13:56] So if you have any interest in doing this. And I would love to do it. There's nothing more fun for me than sitting down with somebody and really helping them. Layout, all the things on the table and getting really clear on, okay. Which ones need to be focused on, how we can fill in the gaps, how we can clarify the messaging, move forward and really.
[00:14:19] Make a lot of progress quickly. It just, it just lights me up. It's like my favorite thing to do. So if you would like somebody to have to take a peek at your business and help you figure out the strategies, the tactics you should be using to go from where you are now to wherever it is you want to be next.
[00:14:36] Reach out my contact information is in the show notes. And I would love to talk with you personally and see if a clarity coaching day would be a good fit for you. Now I'll be straight up honest. These are not cheap. They are several thousand dollars, but it will save you some how much time.
[00:14:56] And honestly, you probably do not need more courses or more learning what most people need to get out of that messy middle and really start growing fast. Last is clarity. Now I have my bright future method workshop, where I help people create the plan and they, they learn the framework for how to do it.
[00:15:15] They do it themselves, but a clarity coaching day is you actually get to work with me personally for the entire day. And you come out of it with a step plan to move forward towards your next goal and a ton of clarity on what you should be focused on and what you shouldn't. And that's my goal because when we have clarity, we can move fast.
[00:15:33] When we know what we need to do, we can get her done and make it happen. And I'm so good at working with people and helping them find strategies and tactics that are aligned with their gifts. So, if you want to do that, if this sounds amazing to you, I only take clients where I know that I can help them make their investment back quickly.
[00:15:54] So even though it is several thousand dollars, it's not cheap. Just going to be very clear about that. My goal is to make sure that it's a good fit for you and that I can actually help you do that quickly, because I don't want you wasting more money on stuff that doesn't actually work. .
[00:16:09] We've all been there. We have it's annoying and I can't in good integrity do that. And so the first, first thing we do is we will set up a clarity consult. Now this is about a 30 minute call. It's totally free where we're going to see if we're a good fit for each other. And I'm going to ask you a whole bunch of questions about your business to make sure that the ideas and the thoughts that I have for you are going to be a good fit for you and that I can actually help you get there. ? But in the same way, it gives you a chance to talk with me and see if you believe that I can help you get the clarity that you need and move forward together.
[00:16:45] There's no obligation. If you decide to do a clarity consultation with me, those are free. Like I said, And at the end, if we decided to good fit to work, then we'll, arrange for payment and all that good stuff. We'll set up a date. But I only have a limited number of clarity coaching days left this fall.
[00:17:02] Cause I'm also teaching my course right now. So the number of days that I have are very limited. So if you've been thinking about this, if this is something that would help you tremendously, if you want to make the fourth quarter, your best quarter yet. I would love to help you do that. So use the show notes, reach out to me personally, and we will set up a clarity consultation and see if we're a good fit. My friend, just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us, so let's go out and let's make it brighter.

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Transcript:

Well, hello. My friend today is the final episode of our five part series called five common barriers to building a successful online business. Now today's barrier is all about not having enough time. To do the things that, you know, you need to be doing in your business to really get ahead.
[00:00:24] It's when we get very stuck in the messy middle and feel like there's just not enough time to do all the things that we have to do now, there's a couple of different ways we can overcome this. But the way that I recommend is actually pretty counter-cultural. So are counterintuitive. I think counterintuitive is a better word than counter-cultural has nothing to do with the culture.
[00:00:46] Although kind of anyways, you'll see what I mean in today's episode So I've been sharing a lot of the lessons that I've learned from running a 52 mile trail race a couple of weekends ago. And today's lesson was definitely the hardest one for me to implement and learn because I'm a quick start and I'm a go getter.
[00:01:39] that's my general tendency.
[00:01:41] I. Tend to default into work mode and go mode, as opposed to rest mode resting is a discipline for me. So when I was setting up my training schedule for my 52 mile race, I knew that it was really important that I have this time that's called tapering. So for the last three weeks or so instead of. Adding more mileage into my training.
[00:02:11] I was actually cutting back pretty significantly until I was doing very little, that last week before the race. In order that I could be completely fresh and ready to go on the day of the race. Now I'm going to be honest. This was really hard for me because I was running a lot. , I was often running a half marathon on Saturday. And a full marathon or more on Sunday. I know it's it is what it is. Just, you can judge, if you want to. It's fair seems incredible to me as well, but I did that for several weekends in a row.
[00:02:46] And so to all of a sudden start cutting back significantly. Especially over a three week period, which felt like for ever really made me worried that I was somehow losing the fitness space that I had created and that it was actually going to make me less fit for the race itself. Now, logically.
[00:03:10] I know that it was good for me to do this taper, but it was still really, really hard to have that discipline to not be out in the woods because you have to love being in the woods. If you're going to do a long trail race.
[00:03:24] And I do, I come alive in the woods. So I loved all of the training time that I got to spend out in the woods and it was many, many hours. And so it was hard. Number one, just not to be doing something that I really loved doing because I enjoyed it so much. But to in the back of my head, I'm like, Oh, I really should be doing more like that compulsion in me.
[00:03:48]To constantly be doing and to be working harder and going further and, you know, just continuing to push, push, push made it really difficult for me to actually step back and to rest. Now I didn't cut back completely.
[00:04:05] I still did running, but I knew where I needed to cut back. And when I needed to cut back onto the intensity and all this stuff.
[00:04:11] Okay. So I had a plan. I had a plan. That's really the main part. If I hadn't had this plan, if I hadn't tapered, there's no way that I would have performed nearly as well as I had in the race, because my body would not have had time came to heal itself would not have had time to rebuild them muscles so that I could really go as far and as fast as I did.
[00:04:38] And so this is what I think happens to. So, so many entrepreneurs who are building businesses, they start to have success. And they continue moving forward. They're launching their marketing, you know, they're creating evergreen funnels, whatever it is, and they're going, going, going, they may be even taking courses and joining memberships and doing personal growth and all of the things, .
[00:05:02] But at some point, If you do not slow down and take a step back and look at the big picture and really get clarity about what's the most important thing and what you need to kind of let go of for a while so that you can really.
[00:05:19] Reevaluate what you need to be doing. You're either going to injure yourself or you're never going to heal. you're actually going to hinder your progress because you're not taking that time that you need to rest. To get focus, to get clarity and to make, make sure that you're not overdoing it overdoing.
[00:05:40] It can actually hurt your business. Now over the last few days, as I have been talking with a number of entrepreneurs who have been thinking about joining the bright future method workshop, I have heard many of them say, gosh, I would love to do it, but right now I've got this and that. And this. And that, and I just don't have any time.
[00:06:01] And I'm in this course and I'm in this membership and I'm doing all these things and I, I really want to do this, but I just don't have the time. I just don't know if I can take that time in the middle of all this craziness to really. Focus on the materials that you teach in the bright future method and implemented in my business.
[00:06:23]
[00:06:23] Now I have been stuck in that messy middle, and I've actually seen my business decrease because I didn't step back and slow down. And I just kept pushing, pushing, pushing, and I got so busy that I lost sight of the things that were really important. I lost sight of the essentials. And I wasn't watching what was happening with my clients, what was happening in my marketplace.
[00:06:53] And I failed to shift when I needed to, because I was so busy. I didn't even know, notice that everything around me was changing or that I will isn't doing, and focusing on the things that are really going to move me ahead. I was kind of doing the things that I had to do because , I just assumed that that's how I always had to do it.
[00:07:12] And it just got really, really. Exhausting. And so if you're exhausted right now, if you are stuck in this messy middle, there's something that I want you to understand. Well, one, you need to slow down if you really want to get out of the messy, middle and speed up and go far, it didn't take me that long in my tapering to really heal.
[00:07:36] And really prepare myself to go long, fast, and hard. And that was amazing. I tell you what, the day of the race. I felt like a total totally new human being. I felt invincible now. I was pretty tired by the end, not going to lie, but I got so much further into that race. And into that run before I even started feeling tired, it was incredible.
[00:08:03] Like, I think I was around mile 35 to 39 ish when I started to actually feel pretty fatigued, like, okay, this is starting to be a little bit of work, which is crazy because my longest run before then was like 29 miles. And I was. Dead at mile like 18 or 20, I was just like, how am I going to go on? And I couldn't believe how much more I was able to push and how much easier it was when I took that time to rest and heal, even though it's really, really hard.
[00:08:34] And so if you are really stuck in the messy middle, If you're so busy and you just don't even have a moment to take a breath, you're not doing the self care you need to do. You've got demands in your life from every which direction. And you just feel like it's absolutely impossible. one of the best things that you can do to get out of that messy middle. Is to slow down. Just really sit there, take a moment and say, what could I put on hold for a few weeks while I reevaluate, what's really important. And what's really gonna move me forward in my business. And so I can take a breath.
[00:09:15] And breathe and it feels scary because it feels like you're losing momentum and momentum is really key building an online business, but sometimes we need to slow down so that we can come back and re I really pushed hard. And that's when we start to grow. That's when we go far, because we have our focus, we are rested, we are strong.
[00:09:34] We know exactly what we need to do and we can move forward fast. So it could be that if you're stuck in the messy middle right now, Even though you may not have time for it, even though your attention may be scattered amongst a dozen different learning platforms and whatever else, if you don't know why you're not growing more, if you feel like you should be further along than you should be the bright future method workshop might be exactly what you need right now to help you move forward faster.
[00:10:05] Making the time to work through the course and go through all of the workshop. Materials might be the absolute best thing you can do to really see your business scale. I truly believe that. I mean, with all of my heart and I know it might feel really hard to make the time to do this, and it's not that it's tons and tons of time in lessons.
[00:10:28] There's a weekly accountability group that is like 45 minutes to an hour. And then the lessons each week, my goal is to have them at an hour or less might be as much as two hours for some of the weeks, but the real time comes in the thought that you're going to put behind in implementing this for some of you, it'll be really quick for others of you.
[00:10:47] It may take more time. And so. I don't know. I can't tell you exactly how much time it's going to take you to go through this process and really get clear. It might take longer if your business is especially messy and you need to really look at everything that's there and kind of weed through, but it will absolutely give you clarity.
[00:11:08] It will make your messaging stronger so that when you're putting it out there, you're attracting the right people. And it's. Building desire for your products and it's building more momentum in your business. It's reengaging your audience. So when you email them, they actually respond. Do they click the email links?
[00:11:28] They, you know, do what you're asking them to do when you post in your communities. People are gonna comment on it, like on it. And they're going to engage with each other. It helps you take your business from really busy feeling like you might be putting things out there, but not getting the results you should.
[00:11:44] I really tired business, right. To being. Revitalized to being empowered, to being truly engaged and effective, it will actually help your momentum grow. Now I know this is hard and you know, what's best for you, but I just, I just. Don't hear enough people talking about this level of exhaustion that comes in the middle, and I really don't want to see you hurt your business longterm because you didn't slow down it take the time you need needed to really focus.
[00:12:17] Okay. So. I would love to have you in the bright future method workshop. We start on Monday. You don't have to be there live on Monday. You can watch the videos at whatever time works for you, but I will, we'll be going live on Mondays 11:00 AM. So you can actually be there on the videos with me as I'm teaching them to you, but we're going to.
[00:12:35] Go deep into your business. We're going to reconnect with why you started your business. We're going to reconnect with that transformation that you want to help your clients. I have. We're going to look at what you're doing, doing, and see how you can most effectively help them get that transformation.
[00:12:55] And maybe some, you know, find some of the things that you can let go of in your business and not do, because they're really not building momentum. Maybe they're not aligned with who you are and you just hate doing them, but you feel like you have to do it because you always have like, maybe you've had, you know, some course that you've been selling and you just hate the way that it's structured or maybe you've been doing coaching and you really want to go all in with an online course or membership instead.
[00:13:22] The bright future method workshop is going to help you create a business. That's so much easier to run, to really clean up what you're doing. You're not so exhausted and give you extreme clarity about what your message is. Jane should be how you should be marketing it and how you can move forward fast, and then keep.
[00:13:43] The buyers that you are getting engaged in your business longterm, it's going to help you create those crazy loyal customers who want to stay longterm, who want to tell their friends all about your business? It's really going to help you build a movement around your business.
[00:13:58] I mean, it's whether or not you want a movement it's going to happen because you're going to have this community of people who love everything you're doing, they're going to feel so grateful for how you've helped change their lives. And they're going to want to bring that transformation to more people as well.
[00:14:14] So if you're tired, If you are in this messy middle, if you especially cannot imagine how you could ever slow down for anything, let alone take, you know, two months to do this course, which you don't have to take it off, away from your business. You can still absolutely keep doing stuff in your business.
[00:14:32] You just got to find a little bit of time each week to come and to focus on your business and invest. In looking at the big picture and really getting clear on intention and purpose and getting that clarity that I know you need. So if this is you, I would love to invite you to be part of the bright future method workshop.
[00:14:52] Now, today is the last day that you can enroll. So if you're hesitating, uh, you can send me a message. It comes directly to my phone by going to Jamie graham.com. Send me a Jamie Graham. I know super cheesy, but I love it. It's kind of cute too. J a M I E G R a m.com. It's using the super cool little app. So you can send me either a video, which is my preferred method, but you could also send an audio or a text message if you want to.
[00:15:23] It comes directly to me. So you bypass my customer service team. I will answer as soon as I get it, there's a slight delay, but I will answer as soon as I'm able. And I would be happy to answer any questions that you have about it, but you can get all of the details about the bright future method workshop, and join us@brightfuturemethod.com.
[00:15:44] Now all of these links are in the show notes as usual, but here's, here's where I want to leave you today. I know how hard this can be. I've been there and I know how hard it can be to take time, to slow down and to really focus, especially if you're a doer, it's going to feel really off. I mean, it could feel really hard if you really take the time to think about your business and work on your business instead of working in your business.
[00:16:16] But if you really want to grow, if you really want to scale, if you want to have the income and the impact that you know, you can make in the world with your product, then you've got to slow down. You've got to get intentional. It's a beautiful thing. and then once you set it up and you start implementing it. Things get so much easier. Things start to work the way that you want them to. So I want to share this story with you.
[00:16:42] This is from Stephanie. She went through the beta version of the bright future method workshop, and she's an experienced coach. She had been doing this for a year. She's been in the online space for ages. I think she might've even started before me. I know I've known her for ever. I feel like I've known her forever.
[00:16:56] Anyway. She's super sweet. And she sent me the story and I wanted to share it with you because I think it will. Help you see a little bit more clearly how the bright future method might work for you. So listen to the story from Stephanie now,
[00:17:10]
[00:18:24]
[00:18:24] all right, my friend, isn't that beautiful. So even if you've been in this online business thing for a long time, even if you've got a very successful business, if you find yourself stuck kind of at a plateau feeling busier than ever, and you know, that. Yeah, there's something holding you back from reaching your full potential and having that clarity.
[00:18:48] I want to help. I'd love to have you as part of the bright entrepreneur movement that I'm creating. Your first step is to join the bright future method workshop@brightfuturemethod.com. Which is only open for enrollment through Thursday night, September 24th. So if you're listening to this in the future, you can still go there and sign up for the waitlist.
[00:19:11] if you are listening, On the day that this podcast goes live, I'm going to be doing a Q and a call tonight . And I'll have the link in the show notes here. It's going to be@brightfuturemethod.com slash zoom. It's just going to be a zoom call.
[00:19:25] You can hop on with me and ask your questions. I'll probably be on there for a half hour to an hour. So. Try and be there as close to eight o'clock central time. I should probably be specific about that as you can, but otherwise just want to let you know that I really appreciate you, , would love to have you as part of this movement and would love to see you in the bright future method workshop.
[00:19:48] So if you have any questions, I definitely use the links below in the show notes to ask me, , there's also a little widget on thePage@brightfuturemethod.com where you can click and ask me any questions there too. , but with that, my friend, I hope to see you on the inside. We're going to start class on Monday and otherwise.
[00:20:07] Thanks for joining me for this five part series. if you haven't subscribed to the podcast yet now would be a great time to do it. , and there's a link in the show notes as well. If you'd like to get email reminders when we put out new podcast episodes. alright.
[00:20:20] My friends just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us, so let's go out and make it brighter.

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Transcript:

Welcome to part four of this five-part bonus series called five common barriers to building your online business and this bonus series, which releases every day at 6:00 AM Eastern time for five days in a row, we're exploring five of the common barriers that keep people from really getting out of that messy, middle and starting to grow their business with you.
[00:00:26] Ease simplicity and really scale it up quickly. And so I'm really excited about today's barrier because I know this is something that you can overcome and it's something that so many people struggle with. So with that, let's get into the episode
[00:00:42] So a lot of people focus on growing a big audience and growing their email list and starting a community and posting on social media and doing all the things that you need to do in order to build your business. However, So many people, so many entrepreneurs run into this problem where they start to grow this decent sized audience, maybe even a large, but it just isn't engaging.
[00:01:45] They are getting any responses when they send out emails. their communities may have a bunch of people in them, but it's kinda like. Dead crickets. Nobody's in 10 crickets. What kind of analogy is that? It's just quiet. You post something, you ask questions and nobody responds. Nobody's posting their own stuff, right?
[00:02:07] The community, isn't a community at all. It's an echo chamber and maybe your social media accounts seem just as quiet and empty, like you're posting, but you don't even know if anyone is. Seeing it because nobody's engaging with them, right? So this is super common. It's very normal. If you find yourself in this place where you may have grown this deep sized audience, but you just don't feel like they're listening.
[00:02:35] You're not standing out from the noise. There's nothing, that's really engaging your people in a way that, you know, you can engage them with. And so it's very, very frustrating. It's kind of like me. I have six kids, which, you know, in terms of families and kids is on the bigger sides. You could say that I've grown a fairly large audience of children.
[00:02:57] Just bear with me on this ridiculous example. And they don't like to listen to me either. Sometimes it feels like I have to yell at them to get them to pay attention and do what I want them to do. And I think so often in our businesses, that's what it feels like with these audiences that we've created is that unless for a yelling at them, which I know you're not yet, don't yell at your people, not the strategy, but it feels like we have to do something really shock worthy or yeah.
[00:03:24] Really intense to get their attention. And even then sometimes things don't work even then they might not pay any attention to us. This is an incredibly common barrier to growing your business past that messy middle, and really getting the growth, the income and the impact that you want to have in your business.
[00:03:47] So there's three things that you really need to learn how to do. That I can help you learn something. I teach in the bright future method workshop, which is open for enrollment right now, bright future method.com. But let me tell you what they are and a little bit about how to overcome them. So first, if your audience is silent and you are just not having the influence that you feel like you should have at this point,
[00:04:14] the first thing you need to do is make sure that you are attracting the right kinds of people who really want what you have to offer. Having a large audience doesn't matter if they aren't the right people. If you're trying to sell stuff to teachers, but you've attracted all doctors, well, that doesn't help you at all because all of your offers, aren't going to be relevant to them.
[00:04:38] None of what you're selling is going to be something that they need. So they're not going to buy it. So, number one, you need to learn how to attract the right. People. And we do that by having the right kinds of comments. Number two, you need to know how to build desire for your products, so that when you do offer them to the world, people buy.
[00:05:03] Now, I actually talked a few podcast episodes ago. I don't have the number in front of me. Right. But, I talked about how to create content that builds desire for your product. So you can get the basic framework there, but in the bright future method workshop, we actually create this thing called a transformation map, which is a tool that's going to help, you know exactly what kind of content you need to be creating to build desire so that people want what you are offering and are excited to buy it. As soon as they know how to do that. Third. What you need to do is learn how to engage your people and have real conversation with them and empower them to take action.
[00:05:49] Okay. That's kind of a couple things. All right. Got it. Okay. And then third, we need to learn how to lead and how to shape our conversations with our audience so that they're more likely to engage within it. We have to think about the questions we're putting out on social media and the posts that we're putting in our groups and the emails that we're writing and all of the content that we are producing.
[00:06:23] If we want to get people to engage, we need to think of it as a conversation. How do we have a conversation with our people that they're going to want? To join. Now, I go deep into this concept of conversation in the bright future method, because it's such a valuable idea on, how to kind of flip the switch from thinking about posting content, to thinking about.
[00:06:47] Growing in engaged audience and community that actually engages with you, but also engages with each other and really becoming the leader that they need that empowers them to not just talk to each other and learn, but to take action and this taking action thing as a really pivotal part of the puzzle that so many people miss, because action takers are buyers.
[00:07:16] Let me say that one more time, because it's so important. Action takers are your buyers. If they take action, now they have personal experience that what you're telling them actually works and gets results. And so they're going to be far more likely to buy your products. Not only that, but when they do buy your products and services, they're going to actually.
[00:07:40] Implement what they have learned and get results. And so they're going to be even more loyal to you and you're going to get better success stories, action takers, end up being your movement makers because they become so transformed through taking action that they fully own your deeper purpose and want to see this get out into the world.
[00:08:03] And so they share with anybody they know, so that needs what you have to offer. It's really exciting. So you've got to have that focus on empowering them to take action. And that my friend takes real leadership. It's not just about some fancy way of writing. It's not just some copy template that you can take and swipe.
[00:08:25] It's actually understanding the deeper underlying transformation that needs to happen and knowing how to empower and inspire and encourage your people to do that. And that's probably my favorite part. Of the bright future method. Workshop is a, when I get to talk about how to empower your people, because it's one thing to build an audience, I honestly believe anyone can build an audience.
[00:08:54] It's another thing to build an audience that actually follows you, listens to you, buys what you offer and does what you say. That's true influence, and it's not manipulation. I want to just be really clear. It's great. Leadership, you can do it in a way that is super positive, super encouraging, and really helps them own their own success.
[00:09:20] It's absolutely my favorite part of the entire workshop, because there's nothing more exciting to me then seeing somebody learn how to go from just like putting out this really, I don't know. Vanilla copy. I don't know what to call it. Content that just doesn't engage people to suddenly understanding what they need to do in order to empower their people and really inspire them to take action and then see things start to take off.
[00:09:55] So what I want to do is you could hear me, you can listen to me. Talk about this for hours. You may have if you've listened to my podcast for ages, but. I would actually like to share a story with you from Bita Bita was in the bright future method workshop back in may and June the very first time that I ran and it was super raw and rough point, and she had such an incredible transformation in her community and her membership.
[00:10:26] But I want you to hear from her words what happened. So let me share that with you right now. Hi, my name is Beeta and I took the bright future method workshop with Jamie. And I just want to tell you if you're on the fence about joining, don't be jumped right in, because it will change your life and your business dramatically. So prior to doing the workshop, I was really struggling with building my audience.
[00:10:53] Yeah. And not only that, but conveying the vision behind. My membership business and what I really wanted to bring to the table for my customers. And once I joined the workshop, one of the first things we learned was something called a transformation map, which helped me completely changed my perspective about my business.
[00:11:12] Right. Specifically the path that I wanted my customers to take from the point in which they met me and found out who I was all the way to the point in which they were one of the long standing members inside my business. So that completely changed the game right off the bat. And then we also worked on how we actually showed up and managed.
[00:11:35] Our Facebook groups, which for me was one of the pieces Mary's spots that I was trying to build an audience. I'll tell you, my group went from just people trickling in quietly, you know, not much happening in the group to me having a wildly successful Facebook group where engagement was high, people were jumping on board with me and my business, loving what I had to offer, begging me for more.
[00:12:02] And really, I just couldn't even keep up with. Approval requests and the Facebook group, because I was getting more than a hundred each day wanting to get into this group. And beyond that, getting customer testimonials of people saying how much the group has changed their life and how ready they were to jump into my membership.
[00:12:21] So I'm telling you, right, if you're just thinking about doing something for yourself, your business, and honestly, just really bringing people. Into your group and helping them on their journey and getting them to make a bigger impact in their life. You need Jamie's bright future method workshop. So don't hesitate.
[00:12:41] I'm telling you it's going to be the best decision you make.
[00:12:44]
[00:12:44] Isn't that amazing. I just love Bita. I love her enthusiasm and I'm so proud of her for how she, she took action. How she's as a leader, how she did the work to figure out what messaging was going to resonate with their people. And she worked through the entire bright future method and she did it. She's the one who did it.
[00:13:08] I followed the process that I've created, that you too can follow in use in your own business, but she did the work, she implemented it and now she's getting results. And I know that you can get those same results. So if your messaging just doesn't resonate, it's not bringing in the right clients and you really want to attract the right kind of people into your business that want to buy from you.
[00:13:33] Or if you want to build a community that is. Easy to maintain, not hard. I don't want to community to run your life. I want this community to be easy and lightweight, to maintain, but for you to get lots of buyers out of this community and have it be the super engaged placed that. I mean really grows your movement.
[00:13:55] I can help you with that and the bright future method workshop. And if you really want to understand how to create a content strategy that builds desires for the pro builds desires, we're not building multiple desires here. We're building desire for the product or service or offer that you are selling to your audience.
[00:14:16] Aye. That's what this, this is going to help you with the bright future method really is that high level strategy so that you know exactly what to say and how to empower so that you can grow a movement. Of course, customers who have been transformed in your business and who are so excited about that transformation that they want to bring it to the world.
[00:14:38] Your business will not be quiet again. I promise you, this is something that can engage them and to really grow. I could just babble about this all night long. I'm doing this at night, by the way, but I'm going to leave you with that. If you want to hear more about it. Enrollment for the bright future method.
[00:14:56] Workshop is only open through Thursday night, September 24th. Yes. Just like two days from now as this podcast goes live actually a little bit less than today, days from now. And so if this is something that you really need in your business, I would highly recommend you check it out. Bright future method.
[00:15:15] Dot com and enroll now, because when you get your messaging nailed track the right people and you get that messaging in front of the right people and you do it in such a way that really builds desire for the offers that you have. They will buy. They will be transformed and they will bring their friends because when you show up for them, they want to show up for you and it will transform everything.
[00:15:41] You will have greater impact on the world and you will have greater income in your business. And both of those are a beautiful thing. So I hope to see you in there. If you have any questions about it after you check out all of the information. Yeah. Bright future method.com. Feel free to message me directly by going to Jamie gram.com.
[00:16:00] That's J a M I E G R a M. Dot com like Instagram only Jamie Graham. And you can send a video, audio or text message right. To my phone. And I will respond as soon as I get. I do know there's a tiny bit of a leg from when you send it to when I get it. So be patient with me, but I would love to answer any questions you have and more than anything, I would love for you to be part of this bright entrepreneur movement that I am creating.
[00:16:31] I mean, I'm barely. A little over two months into this, and it's already attracting something, credible people who are my people. They have heart, they want to make an impact on the world. They want to support each other. They want to see each other succeed. And I want you to be part of that. I genuinely believe this is going to be the best online community for online business owners and entrepreneurs.
[00:16:57] And just a few years. I'm so excited about it. You can join now and watch me grow it. It's really fun. And you'll get to see what I'm doing. As I do it, it's kind of like this behind the scenes thing. As you learn how to do it yourself and your own business, I would love to have you as part of this movement.
[00:17:14]first step is to join the bright future method, workshop, bright future method.com would love to see you there. Definitely go check it out, sign up now and until then. Okay. I will see you tomorrow, our final installment of this bonus series. So, definitely check it out tomorrow as well.
[00:17:34] You're not going to want to miss the last barrier and it's all about time. So if you struggle with having enough time, you're definitely going to want to tune in, but just remember friends, we are brighter together. And the world needs us. They really do. They need the change and the transformation that you can bring them through your business.
[00:17:56] So let's go out and let's make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Sign up for the Bright Future Method Workshop here

Ask Jamie a Question about the Bright Future Method here

Join the Insider's Telegram Channel Here

Transcript:

I was only about 13 miles into my 52 mile trail race. When I came across something that I will never forget for the rest of my life. That scared me to my core. I'm going to tell you all about what happened and what I encountered on the trail.
[00:00:18] And this third part of this bonus series, all about the five common barriers that keep you from building a successful online business. So hang on because this one is one I will never forget. And I'm going to tell you all about it in a moment. So it was 5:15 AM. It was dark, it was raining. And it was about 50 degrees. When I got to the starting line where the race normally starts, now, it wasn't officially happening because COVID had canceled it. But I figured there would be a few other runners there and there were, there was actually another couple who was going to do it at the same time as me and I was really thankful because frankly, there's something really magical about doing a race.
[00:01:33] And it's not just the fact that you're doing an event, but having the energy of other people there. Really makes me perform better. I have found that I actually draw off of the energy of the other people around me. When I ski the Berkey every year, I always go faster. When I'm with a huge crowd of people, then I go when I'm out skiing alone in the woods while I'm training.
[00:01:54] And so that was one of the bummers. I knew that I probably wouldn't go as fast as I normally would since I would be doing this pretty much alone. So I was really excited to see two other people doing the race. With me at the same time, they're actually a married couple Deidre and Jamie and I was so thankful.
[00:02:13] When we try and go alone in our business, we don't get nearly as good a result when we create community. And we do this with the support of other people around us. We go faster, we go further and it's much.
[00:02:27] Easier to do the things that we need to do in our business and keep moving forward. So I want to talk today in this episode about five different ways that having community around us really makes us brighter together. It really helps us to shine our light into the world in a greater way, and build stronger movement, stronger businesses by banding together with other people.
[00:02:52] So the first way that this happens. Is that others help motivate us and push us forward to be our best. Now, Jamie and Deidre started out a little bit faster than I was planning on starting. I mean, it was dark, it was wet. I didn't want to trip over the rocks. You know, my, my headlamp was fine, but it was.
[00:03:11] You know, it's tiny light compared to when the sun is out or even just the daylight is there. And there's a lot of rocks and roots. And so I didn't want to trip over anything, but having them there, like literally we were brighter together because having three headlamps in the same area illuminated it more for me than just having one.
[00:03:31] And I don't know how to explain that better. But our lights combined and made it so much brighter for all of us than if we had just been running alone. And their pace was a little bit faster than I probably would have done on my own, but it was totally an acceptable pace. It was a good pace for me. It didn't exhaust me.
[00:03:50] And so I was really thankful because I might've gone a little slower, but because they were there with me. I was going a tiny bit faster and able to push myself a bit in a way that actually wasn't pushing me. I didn't think that I should go that fast first alone, but as I did it, I realized, Oh, this is actually super sustainable.
[00:04:08] I've been tapering. So my legs are totally strong and this is a better pace than I would have had on my own. So by running that first leg with Jamie and Deidre, I was able to go further, faster, and it gave me some accountability and keeping me moving forward. Alright, but then now this is the second part that I alluded to in the intro about 13 miles in the three of us encountered something that I will never forget.
[00:04:40] Now, we were passed about five minutes earlier by two more runners who started after us. And they were definitely much faster than us. So they cruise by us and they were going. And about five minutes later, as we were continuing to go forward, we, they were, they were there in front of us. And the lady who was part of this lady sounds so bad.
[00:05:00] Her name's Kelly, Kelly had fallen and there is a piece of rebar sticking out of the ground where it used to hold like an old login to make part of the trail, but the Rog log had rotted away. And so this rebar was sticking out about three inches. And for those of you who are a little queasy, I'm sorry, I won't go into detail, but it gashed her leg in a massive way.
[00:05:22] Like you could see. It was, it was, it was a physiology lesson or a biology lesson. I get really squeamish around blood. I have a hard time seeing blood, but it was a massive injury, really severe. And, the guy running with her was freaked out. Like it had just happened right before we got there and he's like, what do we do?
[00:05:44] We were way in the Backwoods. We had no cell service. Thankfully, we were only a little less than a mile out from the Trailhead, but most of the people who were there helping us, cause most of us had people resupplying us there. They were gone because they were going to the next aid station to help us.
[00:06:01] But one of the runners that was with us had keys to a van. And so he and the other guy ran out there and they actually got in the van, had to drive. , several miles. I mean, we were deep woods in order to call nine one one and get help for Kelly. Now, Kelly needed us there. First, we stayed with her. We stayed with her for an hour and a half while we waited for all of this stuff to happen.
[00:06:25] Normally, when you're running a race, they have medical staff on hand and they have like, you know, old school walkie talkies or whatever that can travel long distances so they can communicate out on the trail when needed our cell phones didn't work at all.
[00:06:38] Like zero bars, nothing was going to get through. We couldn't call for help. Absolutely. Could not, did not want to try carrying her because we didn't want her to bleed out because it was. It was that kind of injury. It was really bad. gave her the shirt off my back so she could tie it, you know, and the other gal had a handkerchief.
[00:06:56] So we made a tourniquet and more than anything, we stayed with her to help keep her warm. Cause it was wet and cold and to help keep her calm and to make sure her leg was elevated so that she wasn't going to lose as much blood now. I'll never forget this. It was, I mean, I, I was so afraid of what could have been, and I knew how remote we were, how dangerous this could be.
[00:07:20] But I also knew that the search and rescue teams were trained for exactly the situation. And so as long as she wasn't going unconscious or losing tons of blood or whatever else, our best bet was to stay with her, keep her calm, keep her warm and to do everything we could to just support her in staying calm during that time.
[00:07:41]it was, it was super scary for me and I felt, honestly, I felt pretty worthless because. I have no medical training. I'm not good with blood, but thankfully Deidre is a doula, so she's not officially medically trained, but she knew how to handle medical situation and had some understanding and we were able to stay there and keep her from panicking.
[00:08:01] And that's what she said. She was so thankful to have us there because she's like, otherwise I would have been laying here cold and alone and like, you know, not sure what to do. She would have been panicking is what she had said. So, Kelly is incredibly found out later that Kelly is an amazing runner.
[00:08:16] She won the hundred mile race the year prior. So she is like one of, for the women. She's one of the best runners, one of the best trail runners in the area, which makes sense. Cause man, they were flying and it just reminded me. That even the best of us, even the most accomplished of us sometimes fall and get really hurt.
[00:08:40] And without people around us to support us and to keep us grounded and to help keep us from panicking. Things can get really bad. We need that moral support. I guess, experience this in my own business when COVID almost completely destroyed my photography training business. I mean, we lost 85% of our income and it didn't come back and it was almost instantly, and it felt like a similar type of injury for my business.
[00:09:08] Like it just. Yeah. It was not even hardly real life at points. And I know if it had not been for my friends that knew me, the other business owners that I have connected with that I would have struggled to recover from that, that I would have struggled to have made the pivot that I've made so quickly.
[00:09:28] So no matter how successful you've been in your business, no matter how long you've been doing this or what, you know, When you have people around you to support you. It's going to help you overcome even the worst of things. And the worst of things can happen even to the best of people. Now, Kelly was incredibly lucky.
[00:09:48] I thought, for sure she was going to have to have surgery to repair stuff, but apparently the, it just missed all the vital stuff. Now I'm not, I can't explain all the whatevers. I have no technical terms, even now I'm getting kind of speechless about it all because when I go back to it, it just I'll never forget what that looked like.
[00:10:05] It just, it was, it was unbelievable. But, and it was so shocking because I'm like, Oh my goodness, we are in like week can't even call for help right away. but thankfully she, she only needed stitches, which I cannot fathom, because of how deep and wide and long that injury was. And it was, it was, you know, one of those miracles, keyless best case scenario is considering how awful the injury was.
[00:10:30]and staying calm, making sure she didn't. You know, bleed too much. All of that was a big part of what helped her get out.
[00:10:38]. Not only do we need people there for us when we fall and get injured or we struggle, but we also need people around us for ongoing support. Now, as we ran this 52 mile race, all of us had. A crew of people supporting us along the way. So, you know, every five to 12 miles, depending on, you know, the different sections of the course, my husband was there with extra food supplies, water, clean clothing, socks, shoes, all the stuff that I might possibly need so that I could get aid between, you know, sections and prepare myself to have the nutrition that I needed to get through the next section.
[00:11:22]Not only do we need people in our lives to provide nourishment for us, but we really do need that ongoing support team and people who cheer for us when we're feeling tired. I know I got to mile 50 and I had about two miles left.
[00:11:35] No, it wasn't even that I think it was mile 51. It was right near the end and my knees were just killing me and somebody else's crew was there with him, lights on, they were outside and they started cheering and ringing the cow bell as if they were there for the actual race, because we're waiting for another runner as well.
[00:11:55] And they knew exactly what I was doing. And that was such an amazing and unexpected blessing and surprise because. The race had been canceled. You know, normally there's like loud music and lights and cheering and all this stuff going on that you can hear, you know, over the last few miles while you're running it in.
[00:12:14] And there was none of that. It was all dark. It was, you know, the whole, that whole area was empty. So to come across a crew of people who were cheering at the very end was really touching and really supportive. It was I'm tearing up. What's going on. That's kind of funny, but. I'll leave it here because we all need those people in our lives to cheer for us, especially when we're getting really, you know, we think that, Oh man, we've done it.
[00:12:39] We don't need it. But having people there when you're tired and you've been going and going and going. It's so powerful and we can be this for other people as well. And this is why it's so important to have those people in our lives that we can support and who can support us, not just when we fall, but on an ongoing basis and who can remind you of who you really are and what you have done and how you are doing it so that you don't stop so that you keep going, that you continue this race that you've set out to run.
[00:13:13] It's super powerful. It's really beautiful. So we definitely need our crews. I still can't believe I'm so emotional about it. Wasn't that, but you know, whatever, it's honest. So definitely want you to have that as you're building your business, because we don't want to be doing this alone. You don't need to be doing this alone.
[00:13:32] And I know that sometimes when things get hard or when other people think you're crazy, because that definitely happens. I mean, I've had people say you shouldn't be training too hard. You're going to kill your body and edited it out, all this stuff. Or when people get hurt and you're afraid, like what if that was me?
[00:13:48] And what if I was alone? And you know, all these, what ifs happened in your mind, it can be really, really hard to keep moving forward. So when you have that crew of people with you and that support people along the way, and the people that you really connect with that, you know, just have your backs and literally just want to see you succeed.
[00:14:08] It's priceless, it's truly priceless and it will help you continue moving forward when you definitely don't want to. So the fourth takeaway that I want to share with you is not only do you have, you know, this crew in this aid station, but. When you have a real community, you finally feel like you belong.
[00:14:29]you can, when you feel, when you're with people who really understand what you're doing and get the difficulties of it and the company plexity of it, and, you know, they understand the big dreams that you have, and they don't think it's crazy because they also dream big like that. And when you all have a basis for understanding as to what you're doing, like they understand how to grow that.
[00:14:51] Online business, like for example, the people in my bright future method workshop, you all have this bright future method that you can use as a common framework to talk with each other and help each other grow it's so M impactful, like it's so amazing. To be with people who get it and to no, that when you come to them, talk about how hard it is or when you're struggling or even celebrate.
[00:15:18] I mean, okay. Let's face it. Most people don't understand. If you let's say like you have, you know, a hundred, $200,000 launches and you're disappointed because you have one that's only $75,000. Most people don't understand why that's a disappointment, right? Like, but other bright entrepreneurs might say, Oh my goodness, I totally get it.
[00:15:39] You know, normally I have much bigger launches that. Yeah. Because they know, they know the scale of things they think differently. They understand, all of the emotional journey that we're on and what you're doing. And it's so refreshing to have people who really understand you and to really find your people, Especially when you're surrounded by people who are driven more by purpose than by profit.
[00:16:04] That's part of the movement that I want to create. Yes. You're going to have a greater profit. Ironically, if you really dive deep into your purpose and you really helped bring transformation into the world, you're going to have a greater profit than you would if you're just trying to make some money on the front end and don't really care what happens to your people.
[00:16:22] And so you will, it's, it's lovely that both of those go hand in hand, But when you find those, especially even in the online world, there's plenty of communities and things that are just funnel driven, profit driven, all about having the flashy cars. And yeah, I always hate it when companies, there are so several companies out there who have affiliate programs that once you sell a certain amount of stuff, you get a car, some fancy car, whatever, and I'm like, I don't care about the car.
[00:16:49] Like, you know, it's not about the status for me. It's about the impact that I can have. And I know that the more money I make, the more impact I can have on the world. And I don't, I don't want to trick my customers into buying from me. I don't want to manipulate them. I want them to buy because they truly believe.
[00:17:08] That, what I have to offer will transform their lives and is actually going to work for them. And I want them to know that I care for them and that their transformation is my number one priority. And so it's really amazing when you can find those people. And for a long time there weren't many of them online.
[00:17:26] It was really hard to find somebody who had a high level of integrity. Now you're seeing more and more of those people come into the online marketing space. I'm trying to grow a whole movement of them. And, it's, it's beautiful because I really believe that the next phase of successful online entrepreneurs are going to be heart-centered transformation driven entrepreneurs, but I'm getting off on a tangent now, but just know that when you can find these people and join this community, it changes everything for you because you're finally with people who get it, who can encourage you.
[00:17:58] And then finally I talked about this a little bit at the beginning, but we shine brighter together. Now I know that share this at the end of every podcast. And sometimes it feels a little cheesy to, you know, let's go make it brighter and whatever else, but I truly believe that that we are brighter together.
[00:18:16] And it's not like when we combine the impact that we can have in the world. And we combine. All of the gifts that we have, and we give generously to each other and we help each other grow and we support each other and we encourage each other. And we really live in this growth mindset space. We really live in abundance and we know that there are plenty of people out there for everybody.
[00:18:42] That some of my people might be some of your people and they might really love what you're offering and they might need the transformation that you offer as well. Or some of your people might really need the bright future method and the transformation that I can help them have in their business using that.
[00:18:57] There's plenty of opportunities out there for all of us. And so we really do truly shine brighter together. Not only that, but life is richer. When we share it with other people growing an online business is such a unique experience. So when you can band together with people who have the same values with you, who really want to build a movement and make an impact in the world and not just make a profit and you can connect on that level.
[00:19:26] There's just way more love, joy and happiness. It's just so much richer. And for me, having a community online of other entrepreneurs who really get it has meant more to me than I ever could have imagined in profit, but also personally, and, in richness of life. Many of these people have become my dearest of friends.
[00:19:50] And so that's a big part of why I'm focusing on creating this bright entrepreneur movement of bright entrepreneurs who are heart-centered, who truly care about getting their customer's transformation, who have a growth mindset and believe in abundance who dream big. And don't think it's crazy that you want to change the world with their product or service or offer.
[00:20:15] These are people who take action and won't let anything hold you back. And when things get really bad, it's a safe space for you to be vulnerable and share and ask for support. And get feedback from people who are happy to give it to you, to choose where you on when you're feeling down and struggling.
[00:20:35] And that's my vision for this. Not only do I want to have this bright future method workshop, but I literally want to create. The best online community, this movement of people who want to make an impact and empower their people to make real change in the world. And I want it to be the best one online. I genuinely really believe I can do that.
[00:20:58] Growing communities and movements is one of my giftings. Yeah. And I would love for you to be a part of this. If you don't have people in your life who support you, and if you don't have people in your life who are there for you, when you, you fall down and get injured. If you don't have people in your life who can give you that ongoing support who really understand what you're doing and who really care about seeing you succeed.
[00:21:22] Then even if it wasn't for this course, I want you to join just for the community. We are actually going to be setting up small groups within the course itself so that you can connect within a tinier group to help get support. As you move through this, as well as being a part of this bigger group, it'll help provide accountability and support and encouragement.
[00:21:47] And it'll help provide a mirror as you figure out some of them, these things in your business that you may not have thought about before, or that you may be uncertain about. Sometimes we just need to bring stuff to other people who really get it to say, what do you think of this? And let them show us, you know, what they see.
[00:22:03] And I know having friends who I really think of them as mirrors, I don't know how to explain that better, but they can show me places that maybe the things that maybe I'm missing. Or, the things that I'm doing really well that I take for granted because I just do them naturally. And so community is such a massive part of growing and going forward faster.
[00:22:25] And we really are brighter together. If you don't have this community, I would love to have you be a part of the bright entrepreneur movement that I'm growing through this bright future method. Workshop. This starts on September 28th. You can enroll now through Thursday night, September 24th. we will have one of the best communities on the internet and you get to watch me build this kind of from the ground up because we have, I did a beta.
[00:22:54] I've got about. I don't know, 10 to 15 people in there who are still active, even though we did Aveda version of this course, way back in may, they are still active in the community. We started, they're going to be joining us as well in the new community. And I know that this is their, they're my people, they are my people.
[00:23:14] This is why so excited about this because says they're amazing people who are so generous and so care about helping each other and seeing everybody grow and succeed. And I want you to experience that. So not only do I want to help you have a plan for growing a movement around your business, but I want you to be a part of a movement.
[00:23:35] I want you to be a part of a community where you have found your people and truly feel like you belong. So I need to do to join us is to go to. Bright future method.com and sign up there. Now, if you have any other specific questions after you go there, you can read through all the details there, but if you have any more specific questions, what it is or how it's going to help you, please feel free to reach out to me directly.
[00:24:01] All you need to do is go to Jamie graham.com. That's J a M I E G R a M. Dot com and I'll link that in the show notes as well. And you can send me either a video, which I prefer, cause I'd love to see your beautiful face or an audio or a text. And I will respond to that as soon as I see it, that goes directly to my phone.
[00:24:24] And I, I do tend to respond as quickly as I can, but I also have six kids. So just give me some patients or, you know, if I'm, if I'm. Recording podcasts or something else that can't get to it immediately, but I do them as quick as I can. I do have my phone on me, so I will get back to you. I will answer your questions and help you see if this would be a good fit for you.
[00:24:44] But I would really love to have you have the support as you move forward with growing your business. And I would really love to help you get the clarity. And strategy that you need to really make a massive impact in the world. So go check that out. All the info in the show notes, just to reminder, that's only open for enrollment through Thursday night, September 24th.
[00:25:06] I'm going to shut it off Friday morning when I wake up. Not sure what time depends on how early my kids wake me up. Let's just be real here. but definitely sign up there and then remember my friends. We are brighter together and the world needs us. It genuinely does you have impact that you can bring to this world as do I, so let's go and let's make it brighter.

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Transcript:

Welcome to part two of our daily bonus series called five common barriers to building a successful online business yesterday, we talked about how imposter syndrome can keep you from growing the successful online business that you've been dreaming of and becoming that bright entrepreneur that I know that you can be today.
[00:00:22] We are going to tackle a, another one of the business barriers. So let's dive in today's episode is the second business barrier that people encounter when they're trying to grow a successful business.
[00:01:05] And this is that they don't have an intentional strategy created to help them reach their business goals. Now I've been talking about this crazy 52 mile trail race that I ran. Last weekend. I know it's insane, isn't it? It is crazy in the best of ways, but even, I can't believe that I did it. Like it's like, I hardly know who I am anymore in the best of ways.
[00:01:29] Like, I'm super proud of myself, but it's crazy, but here's the thing. I didn't just grab it. Any crazy running plan to finish that 52 mile race. I wasn't following the couch to five K plan. Let me tell you why is running a 5k was not going to be enough to help me finish 52 miles. In the woods. So I had to create a training plan that was totally customized to the race that I wanted to run.
[00:02:01] It had my goal in mind. I knew that there is going to be a ton of elevation on this trail because it's super rugged. It's a lot of up and down. And so I needed to create a plan that would help me train specifically for this race. Now we need to do these exact same things. In our business. And so today, what I would like to talk about share with you are the five components that you need to consider when you're creating an effective business strategy.
[00:02:31] That's fully aligned with who you are, so that you can reach your goals too, no matter what they are. So, number one is you need to have a clear vision. And know what your purpose is, you need to get really clear on what is the deeper impact that you want to make in the world with your business after your clients experience your product or your offer and get the transformation that it brings.
[00:03:00] This is going to shape your entire plan, especially if you want to build a movement around your business, which is what I teach in my bright future method workshop. The second thing that you need to have is an understanding of the client transformation that your offer is going to provide them. So who are your clients?
[00:03:23] Who is your offer going to help them become? Now, if you go back, you can listen to the bright future identity stuff that I've talked about earlier in season three. But everything we do when we're creating our plan is based on the client transformation that we're going to bring to the world with our offers, whether it's a course, a member, coaching and mastermind, whatever it is, maybe it's a physical product or a medicinal product or something, whatever transformation we're offering the world, we need to know what that is and how it helps them go from who they are now.
[00:03:59] To who they really want to be. Okay. So get really super clear on the transformation and you're going to use this to shape everything you do going forward. The third thing you need to have is very clear communication and conversion. Okay. So this means that you need to have clear messaging to communicate that transformation really well to people that's going to attract the right people.
[00:04:25] And that's going to build desire for the things you're offering them and get them to buy it. Right. That's really goal most of the time when people are failing or they're not getting the results that they really want to get it's because their messaging needs to be clarified it's because they aren't creating a content strategy that builds desire for their product and really attracts the right people.
[00:04:51] I mean, it's super easy to grow a massive audience. But who cares if you've got a million people following you? If none of those people are interested in buying the product or the offer that you have for them. Right? And so when you know the transformation, you know who they're going to become, you can absolutely create clear messaging that will.
[00:05:13] Attract the right people and sell your stuff. Right? That's the goal. We need to do that. So you need to have a plan for that. It's not as hard or scary as it sounds. It's actually a lot easier if you use the transformation map that I talk about in the bright future method workshop. the fourth thing that you need to have is a way to keep people engaging in your business.
[00:05:38] Now, really this comes from building a sense of belonging, and here's why that's so important. If you are building this. Business and selling your stuff, and then you lose people when they're done. They buy it and they disappear. They buy it. What would be a good phrase for that? I feel like there's gotta be a good tagline for that.
[00:05:55] Like buy it and bolt, I don't know. We'll come up with something, but that's, that's where my weird brain goes. Okay. So if they buy it and bolt kind of like that and they, you never see him again, you've got to focus so much time and money on finding new people coming in. Now, if you do things well and you really build belonging into your business, this is where this whole idea of building a movement comes in and people connect to each other and they connect to your deeper purpose.
[00:06:22] Then they want to stay. Then they want to continue buying from you and learning from you and being a part of this movement that you are creating. And that happens by building an intentional community. That makes them feel like they finally have found their people that they believe long. And then they come, they stay and they invite their friends to join.
[00:06:45] This is where it really truly becomes a movement. And it allows you you'd have more steady, predictable income impact. And growth, and we want all of those things in our business. And then finally, we need to have a plan for growing our business beyond that and growing this movement beyond that. a plan for equipping the customers that have become part of our business and have embraced our deeper purpose.
[00:07:13]
[00:07:13] And my favorite way to do this is by building that movement around my business. And equipping my customers to be an integral part and helping move this movement forward. This deeper purpose that we defined way back in that first part of the planning, which is what I talked about in step one, having that purpose, that vision, when they adopt that and want to see that move forward, things grow really fast.
[00:07:38] And so this isn't hard to do if you're getting your people transformation. And if you are equipping them to know how to do this, and they're going to want to do it. If they've gotten transformation from you, if you've shown up for them, they're going to want to show up for you. It's really exciting. So this is what I walked through.
[00:07:57] This is basically what I help you create. In the bright future method workshop. If you listen to all five parts of this and you're like, man, that sounds great, but how do I do each part individually? I'm going to tell you upfront, it's not a fast process. It's not something that you're going to sit down and do in an hour, but it is the most valuable thing you can do for your business so that you can create a plan.
[00:08:22] So you know exactly what you should be working on, you know, exactly what you should be focusing on so that you're attracting the right people. So that you're. Building desire for your product so that they're getting real transformation and they're wanting their friends and the people they know to get that transformation in their lives, too.
[00:08:40]This is the most rewarding thing you can do personally, to know that you can help other people get true transformation, but also like, just to know that you are changing the world with your business and you're bringing your people into this movement where they can do it as well.
[00:08:58] It's so rewarding. It's so exciting. And this is what I want to help you do in part, because my deeper purpose is that I want to have the biggest impact that I can. On the world. And I know that I can't do that alone. Like I'm not a nurse. I can't reach people in the nursing field. I'm not a, I'm not teaching early childhood development.
[00:09:21] So for those of you who are doing that and who can affect people in that realm, I know that I can have a bigger impact helping you learn how to empower your people as well. And if I can empower a bunch of entrepreneurs to go out and make change in the world, Now that's multiplying the impact that I can have with the knowledge I have personally.
[00:09:43] So that's why I'm so excited about this. That's why I've created this, the Sprite future method workshop, and I would love to have you involved. It's open right now for four days only. You can go to bright future method.com. You can learn more about it and sign up there. The link is also in the show notes. How many questions specifically about the bright future method workshop, and if it would be a good fit for you? just drop me a line at jamiegram.com.
[00:10:16] It's a place where you can send me a video, audio, or text message directly to my phone, which I will answer as soon as my six kids allow me to, because I really want to help, you know, either or not, this would be a good fit for you. But I really want to help you get the clarity, simplicity, and the ability to multiply your business into a movement that I know you will get by implementing what I do teach with the bright future method workshop.
[00:10:47] So hope to see you there. Bright future method.com. It will be open through Thursday night. I'll close it in the morning when I wake up on Friday. So ask me any questions. You have check out the information page to sign up and I hope to see you there. Now tomorrow is day three of this free bonus series on the five common barriers to building a successful online business.
[00:11:13] I know you're not going to want to miss this one because this barrier is one that most people struggle with. When they're starting out. And I know that once you overcome this next barrier, this is when people generally see their businesses take off in a big way. Once they they're taking action, they've got a clear plan. That's customized to who they are to follow. And then when you add this third component, things really start to accelerate. So tomorrow 6:00 AM Eastern time that will drop. So you can listen to it then. And until then my friends remember that we are brighter together and that the world needs us.
[00:11:50] So let's go and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Ask Jamie a Question about the Bright Future Method here

Join the Insider's Telegram Channel Here

Transcript:

Welcome to part one of this five day bonus series called five common barriers to building an online business. Now series, we are going to talk through the most common mistakes and barriers. That hold entrepreneurs back from building the six or seven figure business that they really want to have, and that keep them from being able to make the impact on the world with their business, that they are dreaming of each day, I'm going to be releasing a new episode at 6:00 AM Eastern time for five days straight. I'm doing this daily bonus series to help promote the bright future method workshop, which is going to be open for enrollment from Monday, September 21st through Thursday night, September 24th.
[00:00:51] I'll tell you more about that at the end of each episode, but for now let's dive in to the first common barrier that holds entrepreneurs back from building the online business that they are dreaming of.
[00:01:34] Last weekend. I did something absolutely insane it's wonderful, but it was crazy. I ran a 52 mile trail race through the woods on foot. In one day. Yes. I said 52 miles. Yes, it's officially crazy. And that was my absolute first ultra marathon. And so now I can officially call myself an ultra marathoner.
[00:02:01] Now the bummer is the race was officially canceled because of COVID, but it's local to my area. Oh, I did it anyways. And I learned so many things while running this race. About growing a business and just like I've used the Berkey to explain lots of business principles. I want to tell you a little bit about this crazy 52 mile thing I did as kind of the backbone to this free bonus series that I'm doing about barriers to building your business.
[00:02:32] Now, I. Always wanted to be a trail runner and an ultra marathoner, like, okay, let me rephrase that. I didn't always want to be one, but I always admired people who did it and wished that I had it in me to do that. My husband has been an ultra marathoner for years now. In fact, he ran the exact race that I.
[00:02:54] Did. And that was a big part of us deciding to move up into this area where we live right now. So that race holds a really dear spot in my heart. And there are so many times that I was crewing with the kids or waiting at the finish line and watching all of these runners come in thinking, man, I wish I could do that.
[00:03:16] I wish that I had it in here, me to train for something like that and do that. But the problem was. I didn't love running. Okay. I'm going to just be straight up honest, which I know might seem crazy, but I've done two half marathons, I think about 10 years ago now. And I did not love them at all. I had a bunch of friends doing half marathons, and so I don't know, it just got in my head that I should do it too.
[00:03:42] It was a way for me to get back into shape. I don't like to exercise generally speaking. And so running is kind of like my, my lazy way of getting really great exercise in a really short amount of time. I just didn't love it. I didn't love it at all. And so I trained in, ran a half marathon and I actually liked the race itself.
[00:04:01] The energy of being with all the people was really amazing. So even though I didn't love the training, I had this base of fitness. So I decided to run a second one, but let me tell you. The second one was miserable. I mean, it was like sleeting, it was 40 degrees. It was blowing, it was raining snowing. There wasn't enough aid station.
[00:04:20] It was, it was awful. It was a road race. And at the end I said, I will never run again. And I have to chuckle, anytime I say, I'm never going to do something. It always seems to come back to me and bite me in the butt. So I was, I was convinced I would not be a runner and I didn't run for a solid. 10 years.
[00:04:41] And so after having my six baby Olaf, yes, I have a son named Olaf and it makes me giggle every single time. He's one of my little tiny Vikings. I knew that I wanted to get fit again. I mean, six babies is hard on a body and I knew that if I tried to run, I just would not stay consistent. And so I knew that I needed to find something that I really loved and would enjoy doing.
[00:05:04] I actually got into cross country skiing, which was super fun for me. And for whatever reason, doesn't feel like exercise, maybe because I don't go very fast, but I can go far and I love it. And it gave me a lot of energy. So I started doing a lot of cross country skiing, but then summer came. So I got myself roller skis started doing that and I spent a summer basically I spent an entire year, either skiing or roller skiing, which was super awesome.
[00:05:32]And then we went hiking out in Sedona.
[00:05:34] We were there for a vacation with our family for Christmas, and we are hiking in Sedona and I've been doing all this skiing. And obviously there's no snow in a Sedona. And I really loved being on the trails around like chimney rock. And I think it's chimney, rock art, cathedral rock, I I'm probably butchering the names.
[00:05:54] They're not in front of me. I'm digressing a little bit, but bear with me. But we are hiking around these beautiful red rocks and I found myself. Kind of running a little bit up and down and I'm like, this is kind of fun. Cause it had been so many years of being pregnant or nursing where I had zero energy and I found that doing all that skiing and all the training for that had built up the space, whereas actually able to run for more than like five seconds and not stop.
[00:06:22] Like I could actually run for a good 15, 20 seconds and not feel bad about it. I'm like, Oh, that's kind of fun. And my husband goes, well, maybe you're a trail runner. And I'm like, no, I am not a runner. I hate running. I just have a little bit of fun going up and down these little Hills here, you know, they were just like little, little gentle, rolling things that were kind of fun.
[00:06:42] And I'm like, I'm not a runner. I've tried that. Been there, done that hate running. This is just the little thing, whatever. at that comment kind of stuck, but I didn't believe it. I genuinely was like, Nope, not a runner. So when we started hiking in the woods and I love the woods, I was like, Oh, maybe I should do some hiking once a week, maybe twice a week to help with some elevation training.
[00:07:03] So that when I ski the Berkey, which is that crazy long ski race that I do in February, um, I'll get a better time because there's a lot of Hills. And so if I could do some of that elevation training, During the summer, when I was out on the hiking trails, I knew that would eventually translate into better times in the winter.
[00:07:21] And I'm kind of competitive. So even though I'm not racing it, I want to get better each year. Right. So I started doing a little hiking and I fell in love with the woods. I fell in love with the woods. And at first, my goal was just to get to this cliff. That's my absolute favorite place on the whole trail without stopping to rest.
[00:07:44] I mean, just walking, I wasn't running. I was just, I mean, it was just a lot of elevation. I was not used to hiking and crazy rugged conditions like that. It was equivalent to about, um, 70 sets of stairs to get up to this cliff that I like to go to seven zero. So it was a decent amount of elevation and I often had to stop and rest on my way up.
[00:08:04]my goal was by the end of summer, I wanted to be able to get to the cliff without stopping to rest. Well, that happened in like three weeks. Apparently our bodies adjust really fast when we do something consistently. And I found myself on the way back down, starting to run a little bit and I'm like, What in the world is going on, I'm enjoying this and I'm running not a lot, but just a little bit.
[00:08:33] And it felt so good. And it was just like, who am I? I didn't even like, no who I was, but after a few times of doing this and after running a little bit and you know, it's downhill, so it's a lot easier than running up a Hill. You know, part of me was like, I think I might actually be a trail runner. Like this is crazy, but I really love this.
[00:09:00] And. There was one day in particular where I ran almost all the way down. So like a mile and a half, like I said, mostly downhill, but I got to my car and I just knew like, inside of me, I'm like, I am a trail runner. Holy crap. I'm a trail runner. And it was a pivotal moment for me because I adopted that label of trail runner.
[00:09:22] But I was not the trail runners that. You know, did these ultra marathons or even could run anything except downhill, like even running on flat surface for any amount of time. And I would wear out. And so I had a lot of insecurities. I'm like, well, I don't have any of the gear. You know, I don't know what I'm doing.
[00:09:40] I haven't done any of the races. And I felt a lot of imposter syndrome because I'm like, well, I'm not really a trail runner yet, but I think. That I am a trail runner inside and I just need to become a trail runner. Like I think I'm actually going to enjoy this process. So I was a trail runner in that I was at the very beginning and just starting, but there were still a lot that I had to learn and.
[00:10:07] Do and grow. And I basically had to do the running, right. I had to get out there and start hiking and running more and putting in the miles. And eventually here I am a year and a half later after making that decision that I was a trail runner. I was able to run a 52 mile race through the woods on the trail.
[00:10:31] And I absolutely loved it. And I know that that's crazy. Right. And you're probably like, what in the world? Why are you telling me this? What's the point. In order for me to become that trail runner who could do a 52 mile race, literally to go from being a trail runner to an ultra marathoner.
[00:10:49] I had to transform my thoughts. I had to transform my habits and I had to transform my actions. I had to go through this huge personal shift and it started with adopting that label of being a trail runner. And then starting to act like a trail runner would getting out there, putting in the miles, changing my habits and actions is really exciting for me.
[00:11:13] So this brings me to the very first common barrier that I see with people who want to grow successful businesses and be those bright, successful entrepreneurs who really are. Crushing it in their business. . And that first barrier that you need is imposter syndrome. Now we all go through this imposter syndrome is literally us just recognizing the gap between where we are now.
[00:11:43] And who we want to become, like you, you're just at the very beginning of the journey and you recognize that you have a long way to go now for me when I said, yeah, I'm a trail runner, you know, I didn't, but I definitely did not start by saying, Oh, I want to be an ultra runner. I just said, Oh, I'm a trail runner.
[00:12:03] I want to be out on the trails, whatever. And I'm just starting, but even there, I knew I couldn't even run. All of the way or even most of the way, most of it was hiking with just a little bit of running mixed in. And so I felt that imposter syndrome, there's a part of me that was like, I'm not a real trail runner yet, but as I put in the actions and put in the time and did more and more of it, I moved on that progression towards being a legitimate.
[00:12:31] Trail runner. And it's the same thing in our businesses. You start your business, you are doing online business, who you are, a bright entrepreneur, but you know, you have a long ways to go to meet the goals that you have for yourself. And so we have this sense of imposter syndrome and if we're not careful, this can actually become a barrier to our growth.
[00:12:53] And let me explain how this shows up and why it's a barrier. Okay. So, number one, if you deal with perfectionism where you want to make sure that everything is perfect before you put it out there, this is probably your imposter syndrome. That's showing Ted because it's making you be afraid that if it isn't perfect, is it, if it isn't, you know, the way it's supposed to be, it's not going to work the way it should.
[00:13:18] And you're not really going to be seen as that bright, honest Panera that, you know, you can be. Okay. It might also show up as self sabotage. You may start to get a bunch of momentum. You might plan for a launch, but then something in you, it doesn't do the work that, you know, you need to do because there's that fear of putting ourselves out there and not living up to what we see as this image of a successful entrepreneur, the bright entrepreneur, Or maybe you always have something else you need to do first before you finally do the stuff that's going to move your business forward. So for example, this can show up with people who are always busy and don't have any time to do what they need to do in their business. So they never actually launch.
[00:14:03] Um, you might keep busy doing all the non-essential stuff that actually isn't going to bring in sales, like tweaking the colors on a landing page and looking for just the right image. When really you just need to get it out there and launch your offer, right. Or if you've already had some level of success, maybe you're in the messy middle, and that's where you're working hard.
[00:14:27] You're doing a bunch of stuff, but it just feels so slow and you're not getting the momentum you need. And it's really hard to let go of anything because you feel like you need to do it all in order to be successful. Another way. That this shows up is if you're really afraid to fail. And, , you really are insecure about sharing what you're doing, what your results are, because you don't want to be seen as a failure.
[00:14:52] You don't want others to judge you as not being the bright entrepreneur that you want to be. Another way that it shows up is in limiting beliefs. limiting beliefs are a huge one in there. They're hard to see. Sometimes, sometimes we need friends to point them out to us, but these are things that often keep us.
[00:15:11] They're basically our excuses for why we haven't been more successful so far or why we're not doing what we know inside we need to do. So for example, I am my old business. When I was teaching photographers, how to find entrepreneurs as clients, I had this awesome challenge called the one K we can challenge and Facebook changed its algorithm and some of its rules.
[00:15:36] And so it broke the process that I was using for this challenge. And part of me said, Oh, I've got to find a new way to launch. I've got to find something else to do because now that Facebook. Changed. I'm not going to be able to do that anymore. And it took me a long time to realize, Oh, that's just a limiting belief.
[00:15:54] I can still use that same challenge. I just need to tweak a few different things and figure out how I can get around this change that happened. But I have been thinking, and it was really holding me back and keeping me stuck because I had been thinking, gosh, I've got to give that up. Now I've got to do something new.
[00:16:10] And really, I was just afraid that I wouldn't be able to make it work. that these changes would hold me back. And I know it doesn't really sound like a limiting belief, but trust me on it. It was. And once I realized it, I'm like, Oh, I, for some reason have believed that I can't find a way to make it work otherwise.
[00:16:26] Um, once I realized that. Like I put my mind to it and I was like, Oh, well, let's do it this way. So you have to reframe it as, how can I do it despite this thing that gets in the way. So when you have excuses or, you know, maybe your market, isn't the way you want it to be or whatever it is, all of these limiting beliefs are.
[00:16:42] Those things ourselves that we believe are true and will hinder our growth. And keep us from trying instead of us just saying, Oh, well, that's true. How can I do this? Despite the fact that this is the case, like it might actually be legitimate. Like Facebook actually changed what they were, you know, one of its rules or algorithms or whatever it is that was legitimately true.
[00:17:04] But I didn't need that to like, The, the part that was the limiting belief was that I couldn't use this same way of helping people to launch my business because of that. And it was like, Oh no, I can, I just need to alter it. And I have it in me to figure out how to alter it. It's small, but it's a great way to explain that limiting belief.
[00:17:23] Okay. And so I didn't actually, didn't do the one Kay weekend for like eight months or nine months. It took me that long to overcome and figure out, Oh, I just need to find a way around and that I can still use this another way. This shows up is that. We get stuck in learning mode and we don't move to doing mode, or there's always something that needs to be done before, or we do a launch or before we actually sell our offers.
[00:17:48] So for example, Oh, I've got to learn how to do this first. Or I've got to grow this big list first or whatever else. Let me tell ya from the queen of getting it out there without anything done, you do not need to have it. Anything out there to start selling you don't have to have a big audience. You don't even need to have a tiny audience start selling.
[00:18:07] You've just gotta be resourceful and you need to be willing to put it out there and really. I mean, if you have to start asking the, well, you know, if they know somebody, you just have to get it out there and start selling it. All of these things that people say are must haves. Yes, they are nice to have.
[00:18:24] It's absolutely good to have a list before you start selling, but you don't have to. And I'm proof of this. I've done this several times, even right now, as I am launching my bright future method workshop, my list, my wait list is like 25 people. It's tiny, but I know that this is. A good place to start,
[00:18:43] so what I'm going to be doing is going and reaching out to people personally, instead of trying to do this big, crazy launch, it's super bare bones, but it's super personalized. So even though my, my list is very small, that's actually beautiful because it means I can be very personal. So there's always positives to everything.
[00:19:00] And we, we think we need to do something a certain way when really there's always another way to move forward. If we're not afraid of failure and of looking like an imposter, right. I could easily say, Oh man, I've only got 25 people on my wait list. So I'm not legitimate. Well, that's not true. I mean, I've had 120,000 people at an email list, whatever, like, I know how to do this stuff just when you're starting, you got to get that momentum going.
[00:19:25] So. Anyways, let's talk about how to overcome the imposter syndrome that we feel, because it will keep us from doing the things that we want to do and getting results. If you're always feeling like an imposter, you're always acting in fear. It's going to hold you back in big ways, but it can be overcome.
[00:19:45] number one, we need to take action that matters and not get stuck in busy work. And for example, when I was running, I needed to get out there and start. Running like, I couldn't just read about it. I couldn't just think about it. I needed to go out there and do it in the book. Atomic habits. Oh gosh. I should have looked this up before I recorded this podcast, but here you go.
[00:20:10] Imperfect action is better than perfection. Right? We're going to get her done. Um, in the book, atomic habits, James clear talks about the root word of identity. I can't remember the exact, like breakdown of it, but it's basically small, consistent actions. It's like what we do over and over and over again is who we see ourselves as being.
[00:20:33] And so if we want to be the bright entrepreneur who has a successful online business, we need to be consistently taking actions. That we know a bright entrepreneur would be taking. So you don't want to just stay busy. You actually want to have a very intentional plan that is customized for who you are and can help you get your clients results and your customer's results, and also help you grow the business that you want to have.
[00:21:02] Now, this is what we're here. Talk about tomorrow as a little spoiler alert. So if you don't know how to create a. Plan that actually works. You might know a bunch of little tactics, but if you don't know that big picture strategy, you're definitely going to want to come tomorrow. It'll drop at 6:00 AM Eastern time.
[00:21:19] And listen to that, that episode, because we're going to talk about what goes into eating a plan that actually helps you move, move towards your goals. You also need to take extreme ownership in your results and reframe the obstacles that you encounter from, I can't do this to, how can I do this?
[00:21:41] Despite these obstacles?
[00:21:44] Then you need to start acting like the bright entrepreneur. You really want B. Now this a lot of self-transformation you can't just learn about what a bright entrepreneur is and does you actually have to start doing it and become it? Like I could have read as many books as I wanted to on trail running, but I wouldn't be a trail runner until I actually started running.
[00:22:09] I absolutely would not be an ultra marathoner until I had achieved an ultra marathon on the trails. And that does involve a lot of self-transformation. A lot of times what has gotten you here will not get you. To where you want to go. We have to continue to grow as leaders and transform into the people we need to become to run the business that we need to have.
[00:22:36] Now here's the thing I know you can do this. This is not. Something that's inaccessible to people. I know a lot of times when people start building their business and maybe they get into that, like one to $300,000 range, they get really stuck because they're doing, doing, doing, and they're in that messy middle where they feel like they can't do anymore.
[00:22:58] So how can they ever grow? And they don't know, know how to. Scale and grow without it taking up more of their time. And so this is why having that clear and focus plan in strategy is so important. And we're going to talk a lot about that because. You know that you're doing all this stuff. If you're in this messy, middle you've, and maybe you're not even at a hundred thousand yet, but I most commonly see it from like one to $300,000 per year.
[00:23:29] But that's the point where people get so busy and it gets so messy and they're like, why am I not growing more? It's like you plateau a little bit and you feel overwhelmed because you're doing all the things and you're working all the time and you just don't know how to move forward.
[00:23:44] And so we're going to talk about that later in this bonus series as well. So if that's you, if you are just overwhelmed with everything you're doing and you don't know how to continue growing your business, and you're, you've kind of plateaued in the thought of doing more is so overwhelming. You don't even know if you want to grow, right.
[00:24:02] If that's, you know, that you can get through this, you can do this and it can get. Easier. It absolutely can get easier. And if you are newer in this entrepreneurial journey, know that this imposter syndrome does not have to last forever as you take more actions and become more bold and actually do the things you need to do, which we'll talk about in the next episode of this bonus training.
[00:24:30] Then you're going to start getting some momentum and move more and more towards becoming that bright entrepreneur that I know that you can become. This whole podcast is here to support you. I want you to know that I am on your side. I am in your corner, cheering for you. It's part of why I've created the bright future method.
[00:24:51] Workshop now, this is my course. I told you is going to be open for enrollment Monday through Thursday, September 21st through September 24th, I think through the night of September 24th. And if this is something you're interested in, I would encourage you to go to bright future method.com and learn more about it because it's going to help, you know, how to do all the things we're going to talk about later in this workshop. But like I said, it's not open until Monday. So if you're listening to this episode right after it was released, you'll have to wait until tomorrow.
[00:25:23]
[00:25:23] but in the meantime, here's what I want you to do. Number one set a reminder on your phone each day from now through Thursday so that you can watch or listen to not watch. We're not on video, but listen to the rest of this bonus series. On the five common business barriers that are going to hold you back back from the growth that you really want to have this episode already covered barrier.
[00:25:51] Number one, which is imposter syndrome and talked about all the different ways that, you know, this shows up and different ways to overcome it. And it's all through taking action. Now, if you are ready to take it action and get out of the message middle and really start scaling your business. And your impact in the world and you truly care about your customers.
[00:26:13] You're not just in it for profit, but you're in it for purpose, which by the way, we'll keep you motivated and moving forward more effectively. Anything else out there then I would love to, to invite you to be a part of the bright future method workshop, we're going to be starting the workshop on September 8th and it will run for eight weeks and it's going to be amazing.
[00:26:36] I will tell you more about it over the next few bonus episodes, but until then, Thank you for listening today. I'm so excited about the rest of these barriers that I'm going to share with you in the next four episodes. I look forward to connecting with you on a daily basis. If you have any questions, maybe you've been listening to the podcast for a while.
[00:26:57] I know by the way that this pitch is imperfect, I know that this podcast could be tighter. This is such a bare bones launch for me. I'm trying to make it as simple, as easy as possible because right now, I'm newer in building this brand new business. And I know things aren't as streamlined as normal. So what I have done in order to help get your questions answered is I have set up something called a Jamie gram.
[00:27:21] So if you go to JamieGram.com, you can actually ask me whatever you want. You can send a little video or an audio or a text, and it goes right to my phone and I will respond to you personally so that I can answer any of the questions you have about the bright future method workshop that's coming up.
[00:27:48] And help, you know, if this is going to be a good fit for you. So if you could go there and ask any questions you have, I would love to help you see if this is something that can help you grow your business and until then have a great rest of your day. And I will see you tomorrow. Just remember my friend, we are brighter together and the world needs us.
[00:28:08] So let's go and make it brighter.

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Transcript:

We all know that everyone has the same number of hours in the day. However, whenever I hear somebody saying, man, I just do not have enough time to do this, that or the other thing, it really shows me that. They haven't made the leap to a bright entrepreneur yet because bright entrepreneurs understand that it's not that we don't have enough time it's that we don't have enough leverage in our business.
[00:00:29] We can absolutely buy back our time in a variety of different ways. And I'm going to share that with you today in this bright entrepreneur podcast when we're first starting out in the online entrepreneur space, we basically have to do everything ourselves. Right. We have to learn how to build the website and figure out what we're going to sell. And. Most people start by learning how to do it themselves and then implementing it themselves. And they're both the marketer and the sales person and the tech person and the customer service person and all of the people in one single place.
[00:01:34] Now that's wonderful that you can learn all these things and do all these things, and you can hit a certain level of success by doing everything on your own. But at some point. You're going to run out of time. And the idea of growing even more is actually really terrifying because you don't have more time to put into it.
[00:01:57] And you're still operating under this idea that more time in your business and more time working is going to equate to more income. Now. That's fine when you're first starting. And for many people, that's the case because they have more time than they have money. But when you hit that point, generally speaking, you have more money than you have time and you can start reinvesting back into your business.
[00:02:24] And so. When you do this, you can actually be high back, back your time by doing one of four different things that I want to share with you today, so that you can leverage your time better and not get stuck. Feeling like all you're doing is working. All of the time. Now I have found as I've been starting this new business, and I'm not even quite two months into doing it yet, that I'm committed to only working 20 to 30 hours per week.
[00:02:54] And I'd like to do that all of the time, even when I'm launching or doing some sort of larger promotion. And so in order to do that, I have four different things that I can leverage and I'm not using them all right away because we're starting at the beginning. But I have no doubts that as I move forward, if I choose to do it this way, I can work less and less and still have more and more results and better results.
[00:03:23] So what are those four things let's talk about them. So, number one, this is where most people start is that they start hiring a team. So most people may start with a customer service person. Or maybe they start with a virtual assistant of some sort for me. I hired somebody to edit the photos that I was taking of my clients.
[00:03:45] And as she was doing that, she's like, well, I can help you with other things as well, if you like. Great. And so I had her start managing my emails and she did such a good job of going through my inbox when she needed, like when something was, come in and there'll be a support question. And there needed to be a reply she'd search through my inbox.
[00:04:04] She'd see how I replied in the past. She'd copy and paste that in and then she'd make a template. So the next time somebody else asked that same question, she could just grab this canned response, pop it in there and go, and she'd know how to answer it. And she literally created this entire system for my inbox.
[00:04:23] Back in 2013, that has gone from several different people managing it because she's since moved on to do something else. And I have not done email personally since 2013. That's what? Six years. Oh, seven years. Gosh, I'm a math major. I should be able to do math. We're in 2020, and clearly it has messed with my mind.
[00:04:47] Oh my goodness. But you get the picture long time. I haven't even had email on my phone. Do you know how freeing that is? Do you know how much time I got back from that? And it only costs me in the beginning, like five to $10 a day, which might seem like a lot, but. I was spending a solid two hours a day, answering emails sometimes more.
[00:05:10] She was able to do it so fast and efficient cause she didn't get distracted by all the little rabbit holes that you can get down in your inbox. And I had so much freedom. And to this day I hate communicating via email. If you send me an email, you're going to get my team first and really. I maybe answer one or two emails a month.
[00:05:29] Uh, I'll probably do a few more when I'm reaching out to podcasters and trying to get on their platforms more personally that way. But even then I'm going to have my team helping it, let me know when those emails have come in and everything. So it's just one way that I've bought back a ton of time. I mean, two hours a day is 14 hours a week.
[00:05:47] And I would say absolutely checking them over the weekend because it was on my phone. And so that's a massive amount of time. That I ended up saving for like 75 bucks a week. So you can absolutely build a team and there's more and more that you can do. You can hire for a content repurposer, you can hire copywriters and marketing help and, you know, tech people, and all sorts of different roles.
[00:06:11] This isn't really a full episode about building a team. Although I'm happy to talk about building a team. If you'd like to hear about that at some point, let me know over in our telegram channel, if you are one of my insiders on telegram. But I, um, that is one way that you can leverage your time back and it can be incredibly freeing if you do it.
[00:06:32] Well, there's some really big things you need to watch out for, with team building. And I know this because when I first tried to fill it, build a team, I did it totally wrong and it was incredibly expensive and it ended up adding a lot of stress and I didn't do it well, and it didn't add to the bottom line.
[00:06:50] It was just a mess actually. Ended up getting rid of my entire team saying that I would never hire a team again. And that lasted a few months and I realized my folly. And then I learned what it took to build a good team. And it started building the team slowly in the right way. I'm starting with more contractors and then, then it was wonderful.
[00:07:11] Absolutely fantastic. So I'm down to a smaller team, again, as I'm restarting my business, but as I grow, I definitely will leverage this too. So right now I have a customer service person. Her name is Angie. She is my rock and my foundation. She makes sure that anybody who emails me is helped and she's does it with the sweetest, kindest thing ever.
[00:07:33] She's amazing. And then I have a full time nanny and house manager cause we need childcare. And with six kids, it's cheaper to have a live in nanny, which means she also does like meals and laundry. It's pretty amazing. So those are the two that I still have by my team, along with like accountants and lawyers and you know, all the things you have to have, but they don't work with me regularly.
[00:07:56] So, um, so it's small right now, but it will grow as I go. That's a whole nother topic. So that's one area of leverage and it's definitely a great place to start. And honestly, one of the people that is teaching, like how to leverage a team, it's James Wedmore, he has this thing called business by design, highly recommend it.
[00:08:16] If you are looking to build a team, I don't know when he's going to open it next, but, uh, I've been in that and it's fantastic. It's really wonderful. And that kind of leads me into the second way that you can. Leverage your leverage things to get more time in your business. And that is through processes, repeatable processes.
[00:08:36] And this is actually another thing that's really great from business by design is you get a ton of processes that you can take and run with from James Wedmore in that he gives you all of his processes, but basically a process or a standard operating procedure SOP, depending on who you talk to is a documented way of doing something in your business.
[00:08:56] Think of it as the user manual for your business. Now, the easy this way to make this is not some big, fancy thing. You can use something called process street, and I will drop a link to that in the show notes, if you would like to have that. But also the easiest way is to use Sirchie and their amazing Chrome extension, which basically lets you click record and record your screen and then stop and save it right into your Sirchie account.
[00:09:28] if you haven't used Sirchie before, basically it's a replacement for something like Vimeo, because it hosts your videos and you can embed them into your courses and memberships and all of that.
[00:09:40] But here's where it's so different. And so amazing. Is that you can actually search your videos and the contents inside them. And so if you talk about masterminds in one of the videos, but it's named something completely different and you want to go back and say, where did I talk about masterminds? You can actually search in Sirchie for masterminds, and it'll pull it up to the exact spot in the video where you say it, and you can watch from there.
[00:10:08] You can use this in your courses. You can use this in your membership sites and it's even better than that. , I know that there's some really incredible features that they're going to be adding soon, that I cannot share with you at the moment, but just know that Sirchie is a company that is going to be on your radar soon. If it isn't already, and this makes it super easy because you can make your process.
[00:10:27] You can just basically record what you're doing. Talk about what you're doing as you're doing it and then hit stop, and then it'll go into Sirchie. So if somebody needs to figure out how to do something in Ontraport, for example, which is the CRM that I use, you could type in Ontraport, and it would show you all of the videos where somebody has said anything about Ontraport and you can see what each of them are about so that it would be very easy for somebody to go in and figure out how to do whatever it is you want them to do.
[00:10:54] So when you have repeatable processes like that, And you, aren't the only one responsible for creating them? My customer service gal. She creates all of her own processes. I don't even know what she does to run my inbox anymore because it's been so many years and for each person who's in their role, I allow them to own their processes.
[00:11:13] So if they want to change it, as long as they outcome is happening, that we want to have happen. That's fine. They just need to update the process. And then we have them. All categorized. So they're easy to find. So she needs to step out for a while and somebody else is going to manage the inbox. Anyone can go in and they can watch a process for how to do refunds or how to answer a certain question or whatever it is.
[00:11:35] You can see her entire workflow for how she manages the inbox. And it's just right there. Very easy to follow doesn't even need to be fancy documentation, but when you, you have all that ready to go, here's where I find it most valuable. Even if you do not have a team yet, whenever you launch, whenever you do some sort of promotion.
[00:11:54] Even if you're doing something small. So for me, when I did my beta course of the right future method, I would do the video live on Facebook. And then I would go over into Sirchie, which pulls it in automatically. Isn't that awesome. And I would put it in the, uh, I would make sure it had the right title and I would put it in a playlist and then I would.
[00:12:14] Grab the captions. And I would make a transcript that was downloadable for my people. I had this whole little process that I did. It didn't take me long. It took me like five to 10 minutes, but there were several steps in it that I Oh, the captions. That's what I brought over, not the transcript, the captions, so that the Facebook video had captions.
[00:12:31] Anyway, it doesn't matter. Sorry. And all the tangents today and my friends anyways, I had this process, I don't know, eight to 10 steps long, and I documented that. And then every day that I did a video, I would pull up the process, even though I created it and knew how to do it. It reminded me what I needed to do step by step.
[00:12:51] So I never missed a step because no, if your mind is like mine, but it is full. I cannot carry a mental load around anymore. I've got six kids. I can barely keep track of their names, let alone all the steps on a process that's, you know, pretty fast and easy to do. And so when I have a process there. I don't need to remember anything when you can let go of the things that you need to remember and let them live somewhere else outside of your mind.
[00:13:19] And, you know, they're there for easy reference. It lifts that mental load and your work becomes a lighter. You have more internal. Peace. And so that's another way that you can leverage your time is that you don't have to sit there and remember, Oh yeah, crap. I forgot this step. And I got to do this. I am way faster when I can just follow a checklist and go down the list and make sure it's done close out that process.
[00:13:41] And really the only time it takes you to make these processes is the time it takes you to click record. Then you do the process like you would normally do it. And even if you mess up, it's okay.
[00:13:52] You know, just have it all there, have it in one place and then click stop when you're done and then make sure it's in something like Sirchie, where you can find it in the future easily, and that's it, like you can have a VA make step by step checklists out of it.
[00:14:06] If it's something that's repeated often, but you might not need to, it might just be there. So I have a whole process for setting up a website on a dune domain because I had to do it once. And I knew that I might need to do dig in, in the future. So I just documented it as I went so that the next time I wouldn't have to go and research how to do it.
[00:14:23] I could just watch my own little process, super easy, saves a ton of time in the future. Especially for big things like launches and it really helps you avoid dropping the ball on stuff that you might forget to do. And with launches, especially there's a ton of moving parts. So it's a really great way to make sure that none of the balls are dropped, whether you're doing it or somebody else is doing it third way, that you can leverage more time.
[00:14:47] And this is where I really get excited is by clarifying your. Strategy, if you know exactly what you need to be doing and when, and in what order, and you know, for sure that this is going to help you get the results that you want to have, that you just need to show up and be consistent and keep moving forward.
[00:15:08] And following the plan, you waste so much less time than if you really aren't sure what's going to work. And you're just trying one tactic after another and hoping that something sticks and taking one course and then taking another.
[00:15:21] We talked about this a couple episodes ago, so you know what I'm talking about, right? Having that strategy will buy you back so much time. Super clear example. If you want to go out to eat. Okay. If you just get in your car and start driving around in circles until you see something that looks good appeals to you, it's going to take way longer than if you get near car and you know exactly what restaurant you want to go to and you plan the shortest possible route to get there.
[00:15:50] That's what we're doing with the big picture strategy. when you have a clear strategy and you know exactly where you want to go and how to get there, Everything is faster. It's the greatest way to buy your time back.
[00:16:05] Now the fourth thing that you can do, and this is one that most people, people totally ignore it, that you can intentionally leverage your customers and community to help you move your business forward and buy back some of your time. So one of the ways, and actually it's not even buying it back, you can do this for free.
[00:16:24] You can. Earn a back some of your time. And this is a huge, huge leverage point that so many people ignore. So in my old business, when I would run my one K weekend challenge, we would have sometimes five, 6,000 people going through the challenge at the same time. And our Facebook group would go crazy. And when, I mean, when I say crazy, I mean, like 30 to 40.
[00:16:47] Thousand comments within just a few days. Now, my goal is to interact personally with as many people as I possibly can, because I want them to connect to me and to the business. Now there's just no way that in a one week period, I could read and respond to all of those comments. Like there is just. Not statistically possible.
[00:17:07] There's not enough hours in the day. And so what I would do is I had a group of alumni who had been so transformed by my course, which is what this challenge promoted. And many of them had done the one K weekend challenge themselves that they offered to volunteer and help engage in the group during the challenge.
[00:17:30] Now I didn't pay them. I did usually send them a coffee gift card before the challenge started, but that was a surprise to them. It was more a little something because I knew how nuts it was going to be. And so many of them gave many, many, yeah, ours simply to give back to other photographers because they really wanted to see their lives changed.
[00:17:51] Just the way that theirs had been changed by the one K weekend. And my course, it was a beautiful thing and it was a volunteer thing and I. Took them behind the scenes of my launch a little bit more. So they got insider access to me and my team and some of the strategies we were doing. So it wasn't that they didn't have any benefit from doing it, but overall it was intrinsically motivated and it helped me to make the challenge a better experience for everyone. But here's the beauty of it. It also one lifted up the alumni who volunteered as people of a higher status in the community. It recognize them for being exemplary examples. That's kind of redundant, but you know what I mean, in the community.
[00:18:37] And also too, it allowed people to connect with each other in a deeper way. Now a group is when, you know, maybe they connect with you and your content, and it's more kind of like a Facebook page. You don't truly have a community though until your people connect with each other in a deep way. And that's when true community happens.
[00:18:59] Lots of people run Facebook groups. Very few people have true community within a Facebook group, and that's where the magic happens. And so by empowering my alumni to help me with this and to be part of this greater movement of saving the photography industry that I was leading, they not only were getting status and recognition and some behind the scenes access to me and my team.
[00:19:26] But they were helping build the community by connecting people to each other and connecting people to them as well as me. And so they would point things out that they thought maybe I personally should respond to, but mostly they were able to respond just as much as me. And again, because we had processes, we'd say, Hey, if somebody asks this, here's how you should respond.
[00:19:48] And if they have this question, here's the answer. And we had this whole little database that they could come in and copy and paste the answers out to make sure that. All the communication was consistent, but also to make it really easy for the alumni to help, we really wanted to empower them to do this in is easier way as possible so that they could feel like they were making the biggest impact possible, but also so that they enjoy it experience.
[00:20:12] And it was really, really amazing. That's just one example of how you can empower your people and how they're going to want to help if they've truly experienced the transformation. That your product can bring. And that's why we are transformation driven entrepreneurs when we're bright entrepreneurs, because we know that when people are transformed, there's something in them that wants to see other people have that same transformation and wants to help others too.
[00:20:39] If we are intentional in setting it up, make it easy for them to do that. And if we encourage them to do that and show them that that's what bright entrepreneurs do. So anyways, that's what I go into that more in the bright future method workshop that I'm going to be teaching starting on September 28th.
[00:20:56] We'll be launching that September 21st. And so if you want to learn how to build a community around your business, that turns into a full on movement. Where people are happy to help you grow your business and your movement, your impact, and your profit. Then sign up for the waitlist right now, a bright future method.com.
[00:21:18] You can sign up there. We'd love to have you. And if you really feel like you love this podcast, you've already subscribed to it. If you haven't do that first, obviously. But if you want to kind of hear a little bit more about the behind the scenes of what I'm doing and connect with me more personally, and you're just really feel like we would be great friends and you just love all the topics we're talking about here, and you kind of geek out about it.
[00:21:43] I'd love to have you on my telegram channel and this is just for insider. So if you're new around here, you're not really sure. Don't sign up for it yet. This is really only for people who would self select themselves. It's like big fans. Yeah. Or whatever it is, you, you can call it yourself, advocates of what I'm doing or just, I really love it.
[00:22:00]It's part of why I'm doing it. I don't want everyone there, but I want them dedicated people there. And here's why you need to be dedicated. One it's a free app. You have to download. And so I know that there may be a learning curve if you're not already using it. So you're going to need to be dedicated, do it.
[00:22:15] Otherwise you're going to download it and you're not going to use it. And it's going to be worthless anyways. Right. But two, it also gives you notifications when I post and I don't want you annoyed, like yes, you can turn them off, but then what's the point of being on there. I'm not on there all the time, so you don't have to worry.
[00:22:30] But it also allows me to have conversations with you so I can post something. And there's a place for you to leave comments. So I can actually get feedback on like, on this podcast where right now you can't directly click a button and let me see it as I'm recording it because you won't listen to it too later.
[00:22:46] I think I said that, right? You won't listen to it until later. Yep. There we go. And so, um, it's, it's a little, a bit more delayed in the feedback and that just helps me really connect with the people who really want to be most connected with me. So. All right. So that stuff is coming up. Just wanted to let you know.
[00:23:04] But just know if you feel like your time is swamped, you are stuck in your, to do list and you want a clearer strategy, or you want to learn how to build a true movement around your business so that you can leverage that to help you grow faster. I would love to just teach you that and the bright future method workshop, eight weeks long.
[00:23:22] It's coming up again. Sign up for the wait we'll list@brightfuturemethod.com. And with that, my friend, just remember. That we are brighter together. I mean, really that's what the whole bright future method's all about. And the world really needs us. So let's make it brighter.

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Transcript:

I see newer entrepreneurs falling into this trap, all the stinking time. And the sad thing is they don't always get out right away. It can take years for these entrepreneurs to realize that they are stuck. They're stuck. That's the best way to put it, believing something that is holding them back in a massive way.
[00:00:20] And even more importantly, that's keeping them exhausted as they build their business instead of energized by building their business. So I want to talk today in the bright entrepreneur podcast about how you can go from being exhausted, lost it and overwhelmed and burned out. While growing your business to being energized and excited to show up each and every day.
[00:00:48] Just like, you've heard me say many episodes so far. This is another thing that I, I have personally struggled with early on when I was starting my business. The sense in my mind that I needed. To grow a business in the way that it was supposed to be done. So this was it's especially true in the photography industry.
[00:01:41] I just had this idea that clients expected things to be done a certain way. And so I needed to do it that way too. So sample, I thought, well, I've got to have consultations with my people in person so that I can sell my wedding packages or sell my portrait sessions and have them be more likely to buy well, You don't have to do that, but in my head, because I had decided that that's how things are supposed to be, then that's what I figured I needed to do.
[00:02:13] Like I was driven more by this external sense, how I was supposed to do it to be a good photographer. And if you could see me right now, you'd see me making the little air quotes. In the air as I talk about it. And that's how I operated. Like I operated so much, so, and I made so many decisions. Based on what I thought I should do or I was supposed to do.
[00:02:39] And this, you know, this is how we operate in life. When we're younger, we adopt labels. And this is part of why I get super geeky on this whole identity thing. So I'll try not to go on too much about this, but this is where I get really excited is that Seth Godin says people like us do things like this.
[00:02:58]So what that means is that when you adopt a label, so when I adopted the label of professional photographer, I made my decisions based on what I thought a professional photographer should do. Not based on what I thought was best for me and my clients. I did not break out of the mold. Right away. And I saw lots of photographers doing this.
[00:03:26] In fact, there was a whole ton of photographers back around like 2007, 2008. So we're going back a ways, but I started my business quite a long time ago. Back then, there is a huge shift from. Film cameras to digital cameras. They were finally getting to the point where digital cameras had a high enough quality where you could use them professionally.
[00:03:49] And there was this huge, huge shift from people doing studio work to working outside in parks and basically the whole digital camera revolution. Empowered many people to start taking photos who might not have done it in the past last, because they didn't have access to, uh, you know, developing it themselves.
[00:04:10] Or it was so cost prohibitive to buy all the film and then develop all the film that they just never did it. Digital cameras once he bought the camera, you could take. Thousands of photos with no extra costs. Once you had all the stuff, if you need it. It was a beautiful thing. It's literally, yeah, really why I finally got into photography because at the time I didn't have a lot of extra money, but I loved photography and I enjoyed it so much and I could finally go and play with it without feeling like I was wasting money with every shot I took.
[00:04:41] So the market flooded with photographers and there was this huge outcry from quote unquote, the old guard. And there I am doing my air quotes again for you who got really upset that these new photographers we're not doing it the way that it should be done, they were literally bitter and angry that.
[00:05:07] There is a disruption in the industry that they weren't doing it the way that they had done it in the past, and that they were undercutting them and they couldn't compete with that. And instead of using all of their experience and saying, huh, look at what these people are doing, how can I take my better understanding of the market and of photography and the people and adjust what I'm doing?
[00:05:33] And make that a benefit instead of getting bitter and going out of business. Cause that's ultimately what happened with them. You know, how they, they just got mad. They didn't go there. They, they chose to, you know, stake their tent on the, this is how it should be. And if it's not going to be this way, I'm not going to do it.
[00:05:50] Like they didn't want to give digital images to their clients. They refused. To do that. They insisted on selling overpriced prints to people who wanted images more and more to share on social media and all the different digital platforms. Right. And they refused to change what they thought should be done and what they were supposed to do.
[00:06:13] And it ultimately led to their demise. And I see this happening in other industries as well, but photography industry is an easy example for me because that's the one that I know best having come up through it for many years. And I saw the massive shifts that happened, that it happens in the online entrepreneur space as well.
[00:06:31] I see so many people who are running webinars or challenges or launches or whatever it is, or they're selling things a certain way. Because that's what they think they're supposed to, to do in their niche. Okay. That's what they think a bright entrepreneur does. They see people with larger audiences and successful businesses doing it one way.
[00:06:57] And so they say, Oh, I'm just going to copy that because that's obviously how it works, but they don't know the behind the scenes of what's really going on. They don't understand the deeper strategy. And so the tactics don't always work the same and sometimes people are so set on what they think they are supposed to do to be the person they want to be.
[00:07:21] That they never stop and say, is this really the best way for me and my clients to do my business. And sometimes those tactics are really out of alignment with who we are. It's people. For example, I love my friend, Susan Bradley she's in the eCommerce world. She's been wildly successful with eCommerce and I just adore her so much. I'm going to use her as an example because she's in the impact mastermind with me and she doesn't love doing big, crazy launches. She does this thing that I call stealth launching, which is kind of like a super low key.
[00:08:01] Lightweight series of Facebook posts and emails when she opens up her membership to her people. And it's so easy for her, she doesn't like the high pressure of a big launch. She doesn't like all the moving parts. She's brilliant to do it. Like she absolutely could. It's this, that she has the wisdom of having done this for so many years that she knows that that would be utterly exactly in draining to her.
[00:08:29] And that there's. Tons of different ways to do the same thing. And that the one that aligns best with who she is, is ultimately going to be the most successful for her. Because when we do things, because we feel like we should or are supposed to, but we don't really own them when there's a little bit of like hesitancy or, you know, like for example, I struggled, not struggled, but struggled.
[00:08:55] Yeah. We'll call it struggle. That's a fair word. I struggled to enjoy building an evergreen funnel. Not because I don't have the analytic skills to do it. Like my past actuary job totally set me up to do it well. But because even though I know the math stuff and I know all the different testing and I know all that, I know the whole system stuff, I know how to do evergreen and the things to watch.
[00:09:18] And I knew what to tweak and test. I knew I just had to find the right pieces to go together. And it's just a puzzle. It's really a big puzzle. And I knew it would come together and it did start to before covert hit. And, um, but I, it didn't bring life to my soul because I felt like I was always in the background setting up automations and technology.
[00:09:40] And I wasn't feeding off that one on one energy that I get when I launch and I'm doing things like Facebook lives and I can actually have conversation with people in person also. I'm a really great copywriter. But I hate copywriting. Like I hate doing it because it's not how I love to communicate. I love to communicate by voice, by video, even better.
[00:10:08] I love to communicate one on one with people. I am so. Fed and energized by being with other people and engaging with other people and connecting with them. That that's what appeals to me. So I was writing all this copy and setting up all this technology and then starting to run some of it, but not getting that direct feedback from people in the same way.
[00:10:31] Like I do with a launch where you could just feel the energy and I'm highly intuitive. So I feel it all. Impathics well intuitive too, but highly empathic. That's the word that I meant. Yeah. So I feel all of it, right. It felt empty. It drained the life from my soul and. This was just like this year. I mean, I was working on stuff and I'm not saying I'll never do an evergreen funnel again, but I, I realized that when I was starting this new business, I wanted to start it out based on feedback and have it be more community based and engagement based.
[00:11:08] Now I'll be honest. I've struggled a little bit. Would this podcast, even here, even though I love to talk and teach with talking like, this is my favorite way to do it. Love speaking on stages. I mean, I can be way more casual on my podcast with you because it's just a podcast, but I much prefer this to writing any day, any day, but it's been harder doing this than say Facebook lives because I don't get that direct feedback from you.
[00:11:36] So there's a few things I will do. Eventually I will have a Facebook group that goes along with this business, besides just my paid group. I will have a free Facebook group as well. I just have not had the capacity to start it yet. Cause I'm only like seven weeks in as I'm recording this episode. But. Uh, I'm realizing that I need some feedback from it.
[00:11:56] And I don't get that here in the same way that I do for Facebook lives. So one of the things that I've created, and if you really want to engage with me and get to know me, man now is the time because my audience is tiny. So you can bet that I am answering every comment I'm getting from people. If you want to get on my radar, there has never.
[00:12:18] Ever been a better time than now. And so I've started this telegram channel. So telegrams, a free app. You download it to your phone. It's kind of like a messenger app, except for then we don't have all of Facebook's crazy rules, which I really hate. And they're just getting stricter and stricter all the time.
[00:12:36] So I'm using. Telegram. And what I do is I can put posts there and then there's a comment section. So you can actually reply back and I can get some feedback from you. And this is not for everybody. Okay. So my telegram channel, please only join this. If you actually want to engage with me and you want to be one of my insiders, like if you're like, yes, I love everything you're doing Jamie, and I just want to be involved in it.
[00:13:00] And in your community, if you will, you are my people then absolutely join telegram if you're still on. Sorry. And just, wait, wait until you get there, because this is overwhelming and a little place for my insiders. And this is for the people who want, cause you do get a phone notification, you know, like you can turn them off, but if you're gonna turn them off, just don't.
[00:13:19] Join telegram, right? This is for people who want to be engaged and follow what I'm doing and be a part of my business. These are for my people, like I talked about in that last episode, who want to be a part of the community that I'm building, who care about in KA pact, who care about seeing their clients transformed and who want to build a simple business with purpose and intention and strategy behind it.
[00:13:41] If that's you go join right away, we'd love to have you a bright entrepreneur podcast.com/telegram. If you're. On a treadmill right now, or you're doing the dishes or you're driving a car or something where you can't use your hands, please do not text and drive or whatever else. Just pause this and verbally tell your phone, say, Hey Siri, remind me at whatever time to go and join the telegram channel.
[00:14:08] And then come back at that time when you get the reminder. So you don't forget. That's what I do. That's my hack. That's a bonus hack that you get in this podcast for how I do things. Um, When I can, when I'm afraid, I'm going to forget. I use my phone for all sorts of reminders like that. So do that if you can't do it right now, but if you're one of my people go join that, say hello over there.
[00:14:27]Here's the thing you can make your business aligned to who you are and when you do, then it energizes you when you are stuck living in the sheds, when you are stuck, living in the I'm supposed to that's when things get exhausting and there are so many different ways to grow a business, bright entrepreneurs know that it's less about the tactics because.
[00:14:54] Tons of 'em work. There are thousands of different ways to grow a successful business. It's more about finding a way that aligns with who you are that brings you energy and brings you life instead of keeping you sucked into this exhausted state. And so. I just want to encourage you today that you can do this any way you want to do this.
[00:15:18] And when you get real about what is it that you really love and how do you want to do it? Things go from being really heavy, to really light and easy. Now you might not know exactly how that alignment. Like what it is. You might not know what really resonates with you. You might not know what's gonna make you come alive or the best way to do it with you.
[00:15:41] And so one of the things that I like to do is as I'm going through my day and doing stuff in my business, or when I have stuff I need to do, and I'm procrastinating, I take note. I've got a bunch of admin stuff that I need to do this week, talking to my accountant and a bunch of other junk that frankly.
[00:15:58] I've been putting off too long and I need to get back to it. Things like worker's compensation and all of the stuff that actually has to be done to run a business. There's always those parts. And so one I'm recognizing that I hate those things. I don't want to be the one doing all of those things all the time.
[00:16:14] So noted. Those are not the kinds of things. Now I either can do them, myself, or I can hire somebody to help me handle them in the future. And that's generally what I do. But then too. The other thing I take note of when I feel that resistance to something is what are the activities that I do. Instead, he's like, I call it procrast a working.
[00:16:35] And this is when, like I will go into Facebook groups and engage on posts or I will connect with people for me. It's a connection thing. I love helping people. It makes me feel good. I love knowing that what I have learned can help. Other people grow their businesses and have a greater impact in the world.
[00:16:55] I love the appreciation and the validation that comes from it. And I've just, I've just had to own that without shame. And you can own your, the things you enjoy without shame as well. And so I take note of that and I go, huh. Okay. If this is what I'm going to do to procrastinate the stuff I hate doing, um, then this is probably something that I want to double down on and make bigger part of my business.
[00:17:18] It's okay for me to want to do more live launches, or to want to create something that has more personal touches or a deeper community in it, then. Not, and that's great, you know, like that is a totally valid way to do it. Maybe the whole idea of running a free Facebook group, like stresses you out in a big way.
[00:17:43] And even if you've learned how to do it well, so that it doesn't suck the life out of you. So there's a difference between I want to do it, but I'm afraid it's going to consume my life and not be worth the results, which is a very valid and very common fear. And, um, you know, just genuinely not enjoying doing all that one on one connection, or it doesn't even need to be one on one, but you get the picture right.
[00:18:05] Some people do not want, uh, the community aspect and would be really happy to have everything be passive income and all automated, and they don't have to touch hardly anything. They just need to show up, make their content and go, and they don't need that in person connection. That's on me. I need that connection.
[00:18:22] And there's nothing wrong with people who are more funnel focused who are more automation focused. In fact, Dear friend of mine is more in that camp, but for me, I love the touch. I love the connection. I love knowing the people that I've actually helped as much as possible now. I mean, I'm the geeky one.
[00:18:39] Who's like, how do I scale connection? Which is how this whole podcast. Right. So when you start looking at how you run your business and the things you love and the things you don't, you'll start to identify the things that are heavy and the things that you really love doing. And even as I was teaching the bright future method workshop for the first time as a beta, I was kinda surprised cause I I'd go through with curiosity and the lessons that I enjoyed teaching most were not the lessons that I thought I would enjoy most.
[00:19:10] And then the, the ones that I thought I would like geek out on that I almost built an entire business around, which was just like the tactics of growing a community. I love all of that. I've got all sorts of like hacks and tactics and things for making it grow and getting engagement. And that was where I was thinking about focusing first and foremost, um, I realized that, you know, I absolutely can do that, but it doesn't light me up in the same way as it does to help.
[00:19:39] Help. Honestly, what I love is helping entrepreneurs step in who they really were created to be, and to be the best version of themselves that they can and really empower them yeah. To empower their people. I'm so good with empowering people and inspiring people. And. I've grown a lot that I can even say that without feeling like I'm bragging or whatever, cause that's not it at all.
[00:20:03] Like I know that that's a strength of mine. I know that I can coach people and help them see the places where they're stuck and just need to make a little shift and then things will come together for them. I'm really good at helping people overcome their fear, fears and step forward in boldness and.
[00:20:22] Yeah, really align themselves with what they're doing so that it becomes easy, effective, and success. That's what, that was the stuff that lit me up. I was like, what? Teaching the lessons about how to empower your community to be leaders like helping you, help your people. That was what lit me up the most.
[00:20:39] And I was shocked because, you know, it's, it's almost like personal development, but with a huge business strategy bent, but. So much of that is based on growing a community and you need to know the tactics and I didn't hate teaching it. It was just an interesting thing to me because I really thought that all the engagement and community and culture stuff was where I was going to geek out most.
[00:21:01] And really it was in helping people become leaders. Like helping you become the bright entrepreneur leader, you can be so that your customers get real transformation and feel like they belong and want to be a part of the movement you're creating. Like that just lights me up in the biggest way. So, um, that is, you know, you can kind of discover where your alignments are as you.
[00:21:28] Kind of just keep your awareness open, notice your hesitations, notice your anxieties. Just be curious, be mindful when. You're procrastinating. What is it that you do? What is it that just really makes you feel like, yes, this is awesome.
[00:21:43] Like you get off of it. You're like, ah, like these podcasts, this is how I know I'm a podcaster because right now I am like fired up and I know I'm going to get off of recording this podcast and be like, I'll probably send some crazy messages to friends. Um, I've got my, a verbal lubrication going as my friend Levi calls it, which I think is the most ridiculous and weird and funny term ever.
[00:22:07] It cracks me up in a big way, but I know that this brings me energy. This is not hard for me because this is aligned with who I am. Now writing emails sucks the life from my soul. I absolutely can do it, but that exhausts me, podcasting energizes me. So as you become more and more aligned in your business, you're going to want to shed the stuff that sucks the life out of your soul and exhaust you.
[00:22:38] And really lean in to the stuff that energizes you. Now, there's a couple different ways you can get rid of the stuff that exhausts you. Some of it you might have to do, like I said, and I'm not going to go into all of that in this episode, because I'm sure at some point we can talk about team. We can talk about how to do that stuff.
[00:22:53] We can talk about race structuring, and that's actually what, uh, I. In some ways in the bright future method, we do talk about how there's lots of different ways to go about it. So if something really doesn't jive with you, you can go into your accountability groups and talk about what are some other possible ways you could do the same thing, or maybe you can shed that altogether.
[00:23:13] But what I know to be true, and this is big thing. So listen closely is that when you are operating out of your strengths, when you are doing the things that totally aligned with who you are. It's never a burden to show up in work. It's never a burden to work on your business. I had a conversation again with my friend Levi, several months back and we were talking about what do we really want?
[00:23:40]if we had all the money we needed, like when we get to that point, what do we want to be doing? And I had asked him that because his business has exploded. It's been really fun to watch and he's getting to the point where he doesn't need to be the one doing it anymore. And that's, it's just so cool.
[00:23:55] But I, you know, I asked him that and he flipped it around. He says, well, you tell me first, what would you do? And I sat and I thought about it for a moment and I'm like, I would do exactly what I'm doing right now. Like, I love what I'm doing. I get an immense amount of satisfaction and joy and just real deep meaning and purpose.
[00:24:21] From empowering other people to have successful businesses and helping them see that it is possible for them, and then equipping them with the strategies that they need to not only create a business that they love, but then. You know, bring greater purpose in change into the world. Like I want to see you build a movement around what you're doing.
[00:24:43] If that's where your heart is, not just a profit, they come hand in hand. You don't build a movement with it making profit. If you're doing it right, you will absolutely make profit too. But it was really awesome for me. Cause I hadn't asked myself that question in a long time, but it showed me that I am so aligned with what I'm doing and that's why I don't need to work 40, 50 hours a week.
[00:25:07] I can do 20 or 30 hours a week because when you're aligned. And you're doing the stuff that's really in your strengths, you do it more effectively. You do it faster and you do it better. You get way better results from it because you're not taking all day to write a stinking email. Right. I'm doing several podcast episodes in a row right now because I'm going to be traveling and I've got the law launch coming up and I'm just banging them up.
[00:25:28] Bam, bam, bam, bam. Bam. I'm all fired up for one, which is super fun, but also because this is aligned with who I am and I want to help you create the same thing. So if you want a business that's aligned with you. If you want to have this higher level strategy that can help you build a community around what you're doing, build a movement, not just a community, but.
[00:25:52] Full on movement around your business. So you can have your greatest impact in the world. If you truly care about seeing the transformation happen for your customers, and then wanting the greater world to have that transformation as well. And you don't know how to do it, cause you're stuck in the weeds, you're doing all this stuff that's heavy and you want to step back for a bit and really refocus.
[00:26:18] With strategy and a community of the right people around you to help. If you do that, I'd love to help. My bright future method workshop is launching again on September 21st, going to have some sort of free workshop or challenge leading into it. The doors will open a few days later, but class starts on September 28th and I would love to have you be a part of it.
[00:26:42] It's going to be eight weeks long. We're going to put you into accountability groups that are run by Richard Ralston and his team. He's amazing. And I've been using them. They're like the most effective way I've seen to make sure you continue getting things done, but also to have a group of people around you as you're going through the bright future method to bounce things off of.
[00:27:05] Because as you're developing your strategy and trying to figure out what's really aligned with who you are. Sometimes we need other people to be mirrors for us and to help us discover this in ourselves. So we're putting you into groups so that you can have a full experience, not just the content, but also have other people around you in that community supporting you.
[00:27:27] And you'll be able to support. Other people and helping them see what's going to be best for them as well in a way that is lightweight and life giving. If this appeals to you, I would love to have you in the course, you can sign up for the waitlist@brightfuturemethod.com. So go right there and sign up now.
[00:27:48] And if you just love learning from me and want to learn more, um, you can. Join my telegram. It's kind of the behind the scenes. That's the super casual, like if this podcast is casual, that's even more casual. Um, but join my telegram. Go to bright entrepreneur podcast.com/telegram. Do not join unless you really want to be one of my insiders.
[00:28:10] I'm letting you. Self select this, but if you love the messages you're hearing on the podcast, if you know that you are my people and you geek out about the same awesome things that I do, and you're committed to creating a business that is truly aligned with who you are, that is fun for you, that is not heavy, that energizes you and just gets you all excited.
[00:28:35] Then I'd love to have you, so go sign up for that can also get email reminders. All the links are in the show notes, you know where to look for them here's what I want to leave you with and remind you of, we are brighter together, my friend, and I know I say that at the end of every podcast, but I mean, it, we are truly brighter together and frankly, the world needs us.
[00:28:56] The world needs you. So let's go and let's make it brighter.

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Transcript:

When I was first starting out, I did everything alone. I've always been a fiercely independent woman who didn't feel like I needed anybody to succeed and have always had the mindset that I could definitely figure things out on my own. If I just tried hard enough and put enough time into researching it and trying things and not being afraid to fail, I really have never let anything hold me back and saying that that's a bad thing.
[00:00:29] Bye. Any means, but it can be a really lonely thing. And if you are one of those people who tends to do stuff on your own, who honestly probably is supporting all of the people around you, if you're you're the main supporter and lots of people depend on you, but you don't really have somebody or a group of people who are there to support you back in that same way.
[00:00:56] Then you're missing out on one of the biggest benefits and frankly, the most rewarding joys that you can get in this life from creating a community around you, that you can be a part of at that can support each other. Because here's what I know. If you want to be strong, you need to belong. Right. If you want to go your furthest and you want to perform at your highest level, having a community that is there to support you in the thick and the thin, especially when things are hard, a safe place where you can be vulnerable.
[00:01:37] And when people can remind you of who you are, that is the best way. To regain your momentum and to regain your clarity and to move forward in your business when you're feeling stuck or you're feeling down, or you're just struggling and burned out or whatever it is, it's when, and we belong and have that community, then we can be strong even when we are struggling.
[00:02:03] So. And that's what I want to talk about today is all about creating a community of people around you to support you and finding the right people, because not everybody is the right person to support you in your online business. three years ago, I joined impact mastermind, which is run by Stu McLaren. And it's a phenomenal mastermind the very first meeting we had where everybody was new and none of us knew each other Stu went around and had each of us share why we had joined the mastermind.
[00:03:06] as people went around and were sharing the reasons for joining many of them, or to become better leaders or to learn a certain tactic or to absorb more of Stew's amazing knowledge or whatever it was.
[00:03:19] And it came to me. I was brutally honest. It's still kind of makes me laugh to this day because it sounds a little pathetic, but I just basically yeah. Said I was struggling to find friends and a community that really understood what I did online, who really supported me that could understand the scale and the magnitude at which I was working.
[00:03:46] And I was willing to pay multiple five figures per year to be surrounded by people who understood what I was doing in the online space. And hopefully. Could become my friends. Like I literally said, I paid all this money because I need friends in the online world and I love Stu and I know that he attracts the kind of people that are my people and I want to be involved.
[00:04:11] And so, I mean, it was, it was brutally honest. It was totally honest. And honestly it has not disappointed. And it has been such a rewarding experience for me. In fact, part of the reason that I was even thinking about this and wanted to podcast about it is because we are meeting right now this month. Again, we meet three times a year and it's been such a vital part of my business experience over the last three years.
[00:04:40] It has shaped me more than anything and frankly, This year with everything that has happened with my business, being a COVID casually and going from a seven figure a year business to literally starting a brand new business from scratch in a new market with no audience and living through seeing that I could not revive my business no matter how much I tried because the market was so.
[00:05:11] Injured. Right. I had never been through an experience like that before. And if it had not been for my friends in the impact mastermind, who fully understood the pressures of an online business and what I was going through, and they understood the ramifications of what was happening with COVID well, before most people saw this, I don't know if I would have made it.
[00:05:33] Like, part of me was really tempted by the idea of finding a full time job. Just selling my house, like moving away from this lifestyle. And, you know, sometimes it's kind of stressful. If you buy a bigger house, then you've got to keep making bigger money. Right. We had the seven figure lifestyle and all of a sudden our income was gone and it was.
[00:05:55] Terrifying. It was literally terrifying. And if you go back to season two, you can listen to how I walked through that and the way that I processed it and how I made the pivot and move moved forward. As I've looked back over the last few months, and even now I, as I'm recording this, I'm only seven weeks into having started this new business fully. Like I did the beta course along with trying to revive my old business back in may and June, but it really got my scraps.
[00:06:23] It was the leftovers of my time. I mean, it's a great program in the beta course. It really helped transform the people who were in it, but it wasn't my main focus. My main focus back then was trying to revive my old business and get it back and profitable again. And it just didn't work. And so seven weeks ago today as I'm recording this, I started over from scratch.
[00:06:44] I let go completely of the old business and started. Over now. And if it hadn't been for my friends in the mastermind, who constantly reminded me who I was, that I was capable, that anxiety and fear was absolutely normal, but that I could do this. I don't know if I would have been able to do it in the same way.
[00:07:05] I certainly know that I would not have been as successful as I had been being. All ready. Um, and so that has been a massive, massive benefit that I can't even put a number on. You know, like when people think about investing in masterminds or investing in communities, It's really hard to explain the value because it's not always a direct return on investment.
[00:07:31] Like yes, every single year. Absolutely. I either get one experience or I have one conversation that makes me far more money than I pay to be part of this mastermind. So for example, last November, I was trying to figure out. Um, how to do something with my evergreen funnel and I was struggling with it. And I was talking to another gal, Sonia stringer.
[00:07:55] Who's a dear friend of mine. Hi Sonya. If you're listening. Um, she had giving me one suggestions. She's like, have you thought about doing this? And it changed. Everything for me. And that one suggestion made me $32,000 over the next week. That one suggestion. And it happened to be the thing that I fixed my funnel that made it start working.
[00:08:20] All right. Remember I talked about how sometimes you've just got one little thing off and you just gotta figure out what that one thing is. And then everything falls into place. That's what I talked about in the last episode. So go back and catch that if you missed it, that was the one thing I needed.
[00:08:34] And so, yeah, that's a tangible return on investment that I can measure. And every year I have at least one of those. So this is by far the best investment, just from like a financial standpoint, but more than anything, I cannot measure how much that support has meant to me. And I can't measure how much further along I am, because I am surrounding myself by other people who are the kind of people that I want to be.
[00:09:04] I am surrounding myself with the brightest entrepreneurs in this industry who are doing incredible things and have the same values as me. The conversations that we have are around. Impact. Yes, they're around profit too, but they're often around impact and how we can truly make a difference in the world.
[00:09:24] And that's part of why it took me so long to invest in a mastermind, frankly, because I could not find somebody that had the same high level of integrity and values that I hold, that I was willing to invest multiple five figures a year. In for a mastermind. I wouldn't follow somebody who is going to tell me to do something that I felt was unethical or lacked in integrity.
[00:09:46] Stu hit all of those things. And I knew that he would attract people who had that same high level of integrity. And it's been great. It's been fantastic. I always knew that was going to be a good investment. But the reason that I'm telling you about this today is that. I want you to have a similar sense of belonging because when we belong, that's when we can truly be strong.
[00:10:11] This is my little sound for the episode. I'm trying to get better at these sound bites, but yeah, we are strong when we belong or let's get cheesy with it. We are strongest when we belong. Just. Oh, please, please just shake your head and groan because I had to say it it's been in my head. It's been driving me crazy.
[00:10:27] And you guys need to know my weird, if you're going to be following me, that's just how it is. Right. So I will laugh at myself and my pathetic jokes as well. Get used to them. There are more coming, but. Even if you aren't in a place where you can invest in a high level mastermind, or maybe you're not making enough to qualify for some of the masterminds that you'd really like to be in yet, because I know as a bright entrepreneur, you are getting there and you will get there.
[00:10:56] Um, It is so important for you to at least find a larger community people that hold the same values as you. And this is something that is so important to me as I am at creating this new business around the bright future method. That I am sharing and teaching in my workshop is that I want it to be built with an intentional community of people around it that not only want to make a profit, but they really want to make an impact in the world.
[00:11:29] And they are transformation driven. Meaning you genuinely care. About getting your customers results. You want to see their lives completely transformed for the better, and you've created a business or you're in the process of creating a business that helps them get the transformation that they are a longing for.
[00:11:51] This is where my heart is, and this is what I want to invite you. Into, I'm going to be doing my bright future method workshop. Again, starting September 28th. I'm actually going to open the doors to it a few days before then. So if you want to get on the waitlist, you can go to bright future method.com and sign up via email.
[00:12:10] And if you are really one of my people, once you've signed up via email, there's a little button that will let you join via telegram as well, which is a, an an app it's a totally free app where we can communicate together. I can share more behind the scenes. You can actually comment back and have conversations with me.
[00:12:27] So it's a great opportunity there, but, um, this is part of what I'm doing with this. And if you don't feel like you have a community where you really belong, if you don't feel like you are surrounded by people who totally get you. Or maybe you are struggling and doubting. If you really have what it takes, if you can do this or worse, maybe you have people around you who doubt that you can do this, who are criticizing you and wondering when you're going to get a real job or maybe they just don't even understand what you're doing.
[00:13:01] Like my family is. Not criticizing me for what I do, but they don't understand it in the least it is huge mystery for them. They know, I know that I do something online that I've built this audience that people follow me and somehow I've convinced them to give me money and it works like that's pretty much all they get like, and I'm sure maybe you've.
[00:13:20] You got some, you know, family members who are like that, or maybe you have people who just tell you really negative things and really feed into your doubts and insecurities. And if that's you first and foremost, I'm sorry, because those are the, I mean, so many of us are self critical enough in the first place that to have other people saying those things to us can really be crushing.
[00:13:43] But I want you to know that that's not the case. That is not. True. I genuinely believe that you can do this. If you have this strategy and an offer that brings transformation and you want to make an impact in the world, all you need is somebody to walk you through the process, which is what my bright for future method workshop will do.
[00:14:04] So that is going to be opening up again in just a few days. Like I said, if you would like to be part of a community while also learning that high level strategy and learning how to build a community around your own business and bring true belonging to your own customers and build a movement around your business, who you can have, have your maximum impact in the world.
[00:14:30] I would love to see you in the bright method. Bright future method. Workshop would be good if I could even say my own thing without tripping over it. Hey, so anyways, that's there definitely sign up for that. And, um, you know, like I said, if you are one of those people who says, man, I really resonate with the values that I've explained already and the ones that you've heard here on the podcast, and you want to be a part of the community that I'm creating.
[00:14:55] Then definitely go sign up for the waitlist and join us in the bright future method workshop when it opens. So we'd love to see you there, but even if my community is not the one that you need to be a part of, I cannot stress enough. The importance of finding your own community and finding the people to support you.
[00:15:16] Because I don't care how strong you are. None of us are invincible. Even me, I have more confidence than just about anybody. I know I have very little negative. Self-taught talk in my mind. I've worked with really hard over the last two decades to really overcome those negative voices in my head. I don't have a lot out of insecurity.
[00:15:36] They're there, but not very many compared to a lot of people. I know which I'm thankful for, but. Even, so I still struggle. I still have days where I doubt I still deal with burnout and anxiety. And I question if I should even move forward, even the most seemingly unshakeable around us struggle. Every single person.
[00:16:03] And when you have a safe community where you can be vulnerable, where you really belong and you know that they understand who you are, that is the most powerful. Way to overcome these dark moments and to be reminded that you do have what it takes, you can do this and that there are people cheering you on who want to show up for you and with you who are going to help you get.
[00:16:34] To the success you're dreaming of, they're going to help you be that bright entrepreneur as bright entrepreneurs we band together and we support each other. We don't criticize you each other and feel competitive and negative ways. And yeah, all of that nastiness when none of that is. Part of the community that I'm building.
[00:16:53] And if people come in and they show that they are out, like I will absolutely refund somebody and kick them out if they are bringing negativity and, um, CRI criticism to the group or just spam too. But that's a side note anyways. So, um, if this sounds like something you could really use in your business, I mean, besides the fact that you get incredible strategy, you're going to get clear messaging.
[00:17:18] You're going to learn how to build an intentional focus strategy. So you know what you should be doing in your business. You get the big picture so that you can grow fast, right? You slow down, you figure out the plan so that you can go quickly. Like you get all of that. But even if you didn't the community and the support alone are worth.
[00:17:39] Every penny and we're going to be doing some incredible things. Richard Ralston is going to come in and set up accountability groups for us. He's been doing this with my beta group for the last several weeks. And it has helped us continue making progress in our business week after week after week. Like no other accountability setup I've ever seen has.
[00:18:02] And we're going to implement that. Into the bright future method workshop during the eight weeks that we're doing it and then beyond as well. And so if this is something that you want to be part of and you really want this community, it would be worth it for that alone. So anyways, would love to see you there.
[00:18:18] Go sign up for the waitlist. It's not open yet, unless you're listening to this after September 21st. Um, and before the 28th, when the doors closed, so that's the window for it to be open. And I would love to have you be part of it. So go sign up@brightfuturemethod.com. And if you really are an insider sign up for telegram as well, you'll see how to do that.
[00:18:39] After you've signed up for email. And with that, my friends, I will catch you in the next episode. It's been wonderful, but here's the thing I want you to remember this. I mean, I say this at the end of every episode. No, but it's true. I really mean this. We are brighter together and the world genuinely needs us, so let's go out and let's make it brighter. .

Wanna learn more?

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Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Transcript:

I have found that as we run our businesses and we continue being consistent in our strategy and putting it into practice, that if we aren't getting the success that we really want say a launch, doesn't go as well as we hope it does something doesn't sell as much as we want it to, or we don't get the number of leads that we think we will from something.
[00:00:21] That it's not usually because everything is broken and we're not good enough. Usually there's just one or two little things that are slightly off. And as soon as we really get those things in place, Everything starts to take off. I like when your website breaks, I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but say your website goes down and your tech team has to go in and figure out what's going on.
[00:00:46] Or you, if you're your tech team, which been there. Done that don't ever want to do it again. Don't recommend it unless you're a web developer, but normally there's just one little thing that it's off that needs fixing that brings everything back up and online and makes it all work beautifully. Right. So if one piece of code in your website is screwed up, it may be just might mess something up a little bit, but maybe it takes down the entire site.
[00:01:14] And so. In the same way your business might be 99, 9% really amazing. You might be doing 99% of them. Right. But you've got 1% of it off. But when you shift that 1% back to what it needs to be, everything's going to take off. So that's what I want to talk to you about today in this episode of the bright entrepreneur podcast One of the biggest things that I have learned through my almost 10 years of running an online business, is that when things go wrong, it's usually not a reflection of me and who I am as a person. Total transparency for me right now. most of my entrepreneurial life. I was really afraid of failing. And in part I was afraid of having a bad launch or something, not working, not because I, really needed the money, even though we needed money and whatever else, like a business, his whole purpose is to make money.
[00:02:45] So you want it to be profitable. So my fear was less about. Financial gain or the lack of financial game and more about what it meant about me as a person. Now, I didn't realize this back then, but as I've been spending a lot of time doing personal growth over the last year and a half, I've realized that I get a lot of my worth or I used to based on the success of the things that I'm doing, I wanted to be a bright entrepreneur and it really, really mattered to me to prove that I was good enough to prove that I was worthy of love. And like, I just tangled all sorts of meaning into my success that simply did not belong there. And I never realized that I was doing it, but I was so afraid of what people would think of me. If I had failed that when something didn't go as well as I wanted it to, I was afraid to tell other people I was downright ashamed to admit it and to ask them for help.
[00:03:49] Now that's all craziness. And now it's easy for me to look back and say, Oh man, it has nothing to do with me as a person. And when I recognize that and I was able to step away from that and realize that when something didn't go, the way I wanted to, this was just a great opportunity for me to learn what didn't work and really try and figure out how I can.
[00:04:09] It shifted it was experiments. , I think I shared this with you guys on the podcast. If you listen to my Burkey episodes, but maybe not because COVID hit and everything went a little crazy, but my theory, when I'm cross country skiing and I do this like 55 kilometer cross country ski race called the American burka Biner or the Berkey for short.
[00:04:28] And it's amazing, but it's super duper hilly. So it's up and down Hills on cross country skis. For miles and miles and miles like 34 miles or something. And my personal philosophy of that, that is if I am giving it my all, I ought to be wiping out at least a few times during the race, because otherwise I'm not going all out.
[00:04:51] I'm not going to the edge of my control and really mad maximizing my potential by giving it everything. If I'm not getting to that point and sometimes falling over it and crashing. And I had a yard sale. I mean, I had total yard sale of a moment on the Hills last February. And it was at the worst possible time, this guy at the top of the Hill.
[00:05:13] Oh my gosh. Okay. I have to share this with you. So total side note, but bear with me. Um, it's my podcast. So you just have to listen. It's just how it is. This is the quirky Jamie that you get. But, I am obnoxious on the cross country, ski Hills. And when I say of noxious, I mean, I'm the obnoxiously happy one.
[00:05:33] I hoot and holler with joy. When I am cruising down the Hills, I even sing out loud. This race, it's not a tiny ski race on a tiny trail through the woods. This is like 17,000 people going through this massive highway in the woods. It's cool. Crazy. It's the most beautiful, insane, amazing thing ever. And it's all up and down Hills.
[00:05:56] And so, it's literally like a roller coaster of Hills. There's very little flat where you're going. And so I was hooting and hollering and just bombing the Hills and. People are a little nervous about it because a lot of places don't have Hills like this that you can train on around the U S and people come from around the world for this.
[00:06:12] And so I, this guy I'm at the top of a Hill and we're about a third of the way through the race. And he goes, man, you must really love the Hills or love bombing them or whatever, but it was not like. Happy. He was totally being judgmental. And I'm like, yeah, if you don't enjoy it, like if you don't enjoy going downhill, why are you doing this?
[00:06:30] Because no one enjoys climbing up a Hill with skis on their feet, because let me tell you, it's harder than walking up a Hill when you've got long skis on your feet and they're attached and you've got to go up a Hill like. Duck walking, it's called, um, herring boning. You can look it up online and it is, it's awkward.
[00:06:49] It's not easy and it's not fun. Let's just call it what it is he is. And so if you're going to ski 34 miles, you better enjoy the downhills, right? Like, cause what else is there to do? You're going to hate yourself if you don't. So I'm like, yeah, of course. And so I bombed this Hill cause I went before him and of course this would be the Hill right after he makes that snide comment that.
[00:07:10] I just yard sale. I wish there was a video because I mean, I, I literally like somersaulted fell gear, flying everywhere as to why they call it a yard sale. Cause it all comes off and it like litters the Hill and, and as he goes by a second later, he goes, well, that's what happens when you go down so fast or you bomb the Hills or some super snide.
[00:07:33] I mean, really, really jerk. Comment. I won't say what I want to say, because I want to keep this clean in case there are kids listening, but he was not very kind about his comment, but in the past stuff like that would have bothered me in such a massive way. I would have seen it as a personal failure or a reflection on my character or even worse on my.
[00:07:55]Worth or my abilities as a person. And I've grown so much that I'm like, this is just part of the process. Like I want to do my best. And if I know, I know that if I'm really giving my all, if I am really going to my limits and pushing just a little bit more, because I want to get as much potential momentum as I possibly can, sometimes I'm going to fall.
[00:08:19] And sometimes I'm going to fail and that's where I get to learn something. And so now if I have a failed launch or promote or something, I do doesn't work as well as I want it to it doesn't freak me out in the same way. And what I have found is that. Bright entrepreneurs know that there's really only a few main reasons that a launch fails or something goes really, really poorly in our business.
[00:08:44] And that's what I want to share with you today, because I know how easy it is, especially as you're starting out. And you're trying to prove that you do have what it takes, because I know in the back of your mind, if you're anything like me that maybe you're saying, do I really have what it takes? can I really do this?
[00:09:01] Am I good enough? Because. If you see all these other people around you succeeding in your not and if you're doing the other things that they're doing and you're following the tactics, or at least you think you are, and it's not working the same for you, it can feel like maybe it's your fault. You don't know what to look for.
[00:09:19] And I want you to know that generally speaking, it's not your fault. I genuinely believe that almost anybody could run an online business successfully if they understood good. The big picture strategy. And some of these key things that I'm going to share with you right now.
[00:09:37] So I know that was kind of a long story to get into it, but I really wanted to illustrate that point and, , show you that failure does not have to be a reflection on you. And I'm going to specifically talk about launching and selling because.
[00:09:50] That's kind of the measure of a successful business, right? I mean, yes, absolutely. Impact is a big part of it. But if you can't sell your product or your offer, that's going to bring that impact. Nobody's going to get the transformation that it brings, right? So let's, let's focus in, on launching your product or selling your product.
[00:10:08] And so, number one, you need to nail your offer. So what I mean is people. Need to want what it is that you're selling and it needs to be priced appropriately. It needs to have the things inside of it that they're going to find helpful, and that will actually bring the transformation and the results to them that they want.
[00:10:30] And it needs to be basically packaged up in a way that they're like, Oh my gosh, this is absolutely what I need.
[00:10:36] Second, if your offer is good, if you know that what you are selling brings real transformation to people, and it's something that they're actually going to want, then it might just be that your messaging is off. Now, your messaging is the conversation that you're using. To sell your product. And so for me, this is, this is where I'm focusing a lot.
[00:10:58] I know without shadow of the doubt that my bright future method will change the lives of others, entrepreneurs who implement it in their business, and it's going to help them change their customers' lives and make it. Deeper impact on the world because it's created to not just grow your business, but to also create a movement around it, of transformation, it's going to bring transformation to your client, and then it's going to teach you how to empower them, to want to help others have that transformation as well, and invite them to come and join your business and buy your stuff right?
[00:11:32] Because they want the same transformation. That's what it teaches. So I know the offer is good, but my messaging it's so big. And I talked about this in the last year episode, but the strategy is a higher level thing. It's harder to know what messaging is going to really resonate with people as I talk about it, because it's going to do so many different things.
[00:11:54] When you put that strategy. Over top of everything else that you're already doing, it's going to help you clarify your messaging. It's going to help, you know, how to get your clients, the transformation they need, how to build a community, not just a group, but a true community where people feel connected to each other.
[00:12:09] It's going to help you. No, how to empower your customers, to want to invite their friends, to be a part of your business and to buy your things without you having to pay them to do that. They are going to want to join this movement and move it forward with you. Okay. That's all wonderful things. But it's really hard to say, here's what you get when you're done with the course.
[00:12:30] Here's the one results you get. And so you will have that big picture strategy. But part of me feels like maybe that messaging could be tighter. You will absolutely have clarity, but again is clarity. What you're sitting there saying, Oh my gosh, I just need clarity. And maybe it is, I I'm still learning. I don't know.
[00:12:49] Right. as entrepreneurs, we need to be thinking about this, we need to say, okay, what is the best message? And it becomes more clear as we explain it over and over and over again. here's the thing we need to be careful of. We get really. In love, we, we really own something.
[00:13:07] Um, we explained it in a way that it makes sense to us, but it doesn't necessarily make sense to our clients or it doesn't necessarily. Expressed in a way that really gets them excited. So for example, if you are selling anything around mindset, very few people are staying up at night, worrying about their mindset being right.
[00:13:29] You know, they're worried about something else. It's a totally different external problem that they're worried about. Mindset might be what they need to make the shift and overcome their problems and have the transformation they really, we want. But if you're just selling mindset, That might not appeal to them.
[00:13:45] Sure. It might appeal to a small number pupil, but there's absolutely a better way to sell that. So when we can nail our messaging and we can get really clear on what it is that people are already saying in their minds. And this goes down to the conversation.
[00:14:00] Again, we talked about this back in episode five of season three, where when we can understand that conversation, that's going on in the minds of our prospective clients, and then enter that conversation at that point and then help them see how we can provide the transformation that they really desire in a deep way.
[00:14:20] Yeah, then our messaging is on and they want to have our stuff. If we show that that's how they get from where they are now to the bright future identity that we want to take them to. Right. And so for me, it's really. Something that I'm playing with, I guess is the best way to put it. And as you're selling your product, as you're launching your stuff, if your messaging is off, even if your offer is totally on, it might not sell very much, even though the people that you're attracting the right people and they really need what you have to offer.
[00:14:51] But when you get that messaging clearer, when it really, really just rings true. And it's, it hits people and they go, Oh, yes, that's what I want. Then things really start to take off. if you feel like you have to explain what you're selling, really in depth for people to understand it, your messaging is probably off and it may take a while to get really clear on your messaging. I mean, I'm still working on it.
[00:15:16] Like I said, you guys are listening to all the different ways. I explain what my bright future method is here. But I know that once I nailed that and lock it down and it becomes really clear, then it's going to sell like hotcakes. And so if you're struggling, if your launches aren't doing well, your offer might be off.
[00:15:32] Number one, number two, your messaging might be off. Or number three, you might just not be getting it in front of enough people or in front of the right people. It might just be a traffic problem. So for me, that's another thing that I'm working on. I had no list right now. I have a whole whopping 15 people on my wait list for my bright future method workshop.
[00:15:56] Not a lot. Now I have a lot of podcasts. Listen, hello to you by the way. I really appreciate you, especially if you've been listening. Faithfully twice a week. I just cannot tell you how much I appreciate your listens. behind the scenes, total transparent. I've been getting about 200 listens per or at least downloads.
[00:16:16] I hope you're listening to it. I'm 200 bucks. Well, nodes per episode, within about a week or two, after an episode goes live, now it kind of ebbs and flows like, so it might go down for a little bit and then come back up. But that's kind of where I've been. My goal is obviously to grow that significantly higher, but that's about where it's been settling for each episode.
[00:16:37] So I know I have a little bit bigger audience here than I do. That's showing on my email list or the telegram, but, that's where it is. And so for right now, I'm thinking about how do I increase the traffic for my, because it would be. Crazy for me to, hope to have a seven figure launch of the bright future method workshop that's coming up in just three weeks, when I only have those few people right now, I know it sells. I know it gets the transformation that people want. I absolutely know it works. My messaging's a lot, a little soft. I'll just admit that up front. Right. But. My traffic is the part that's going to hinder me more than anything.
[00:17:18] And so even though it's awesome, my expectations for what the launch is going to do are relatively low, because I know that I simply do not have the traffic that I need to have a massive launch. But that also shows me where I need to be focusing going forward. I know that as I continue moving forward, growing the podcast, growing my email list, growing the telegram list, eventually starting a free Facebook group, which I just haven't done because I haven't had the capacity to do it yet.
[00:17:49] Right. We'll get there. It's coming. But as I do all of these things, and as I grow. My audience and I get more traffic into my business. My launches are also going to grow. Right. So these are the main things. If you are struggling in your business, usually it's a messaging issue or an offer issue, or it's a traffic issue.
[00:18:10] Right. if you are sitting there saying, man, I just feel like I should be bigger by now. I should be more successful. Sit down and evaluate yourself in those three areas and think about which one might be the problem. If you haven't been growing, how you think you should have been growing by now, ?
[00:18:28] Because you might be a lot closer to success. Then you think maybe your messaging is just slightly off. Maybe you've got a huge audience. Maybe your offer is absolutely exactly what they need and, you know, without a shadow of a doubt that it will transform their lives as they see it. So your focus might just be on messaging and it might be figuring out, okay, what do I need to say to help them see the benefit of this and want this more?
[00:18:56] Clearly messaging is probably the biggest thing that I see people struggling. And once they nailed their messaging, then the focus more towards the traffic problems. So hopefully this will help you see, usually you're probably not as far away from success as you think. And so I just wanted to encourage you today.
[00:19:14] If you want help with any of these things, my bright future method workshop. Is going to be opening up for enrollment. We're going to launch that on September 21st. And so I would love to have you and the bright future method workshop with me so we can work through exactly what your messaging to be. So we can talk through how can you create more transformation for your clients?
[00:19:38] And if you need to shift some of the offers that you have, and then. I love talking about how to get more traffic to your business. Now, one of my favorite ways to do this is by growing a community around your business and leveraging that community to see your business grow. It's almost like organic growth now.
[00:19:59] I absolutely use paid strategies. Yeah. And, you know, I'm a huge proponent of networking and whatever else, but I have found that most people do not even come close to really leveraging the potential traffic that they have from their clients. Who've been transformed. By their products. And so I teach you in this exactly how to empower them, to want to share.
[00:20:26] Like, you're not like begging them. You're not manipulating them, but you're creating an environment and a culture and a movement around your business that they want to share. Like everyone wants to be a part of something bigger than themselves.
[00:20:41] For example, when I can help you become the bright entrepreneur that you really want to be and see your business explode and have the success and have the impact that you really want to have. And then show you how you can help other people have that and how you can help make an impact in this world by helping spread the message.
[00:21:01] If my things, the thing that's helped you do that, you're going to be more likely to share the bright future method workshop with other people. If you have personally experienced a massive transformation with it, this is what I do with Stu McLaren and tribe all the time and any other product that has truly transformed me and brought me.
[00:21:20] Massive benefit in my life. Like Steve has probably been the most influential person in my life in terms of business. And business growth and success. If you're not following him, he's got a marketing, your business podcasts, go check it out. It's everywhere that you listen to podcasts. He's a brilliant dude.
[00:21:36] He also is the real deal. He has the same heart in person as he does on all of his stuff. So I can't recommend him enough, but he's not paying me right now to do that. Yes. When he launches this course, I do have an affiliate link and I will absolutely share that. But honestly, I would share it anyways.
[00:21:54]I've been on Amy Porterfield's podcast, helping her promote tribe for him, because I knew that my story and the transformation that I got from tribe would help more people on her platform. Cause she has a massive platform, which is. Beautiful Amy, if you're listening well done, my dear, you have just rocked it, but I was willing to go on her podcast and share my story of transformation in the hopes that it would inspire more people to sign up for tribe at zero benefit to myself.
[00:22:23] Right. I didn't get any affiliate money for that. Yes, I got an Amy Porterfield's podcast, but only for a little 10 minute clip. It wasn't like she was featuring me. So it didn't even really grow my, authority or podcast or anything like that. It was really truly a give, but I was willing to do that because of the transformation that I've personally experienced in that community.
[00:22:43] And. I can help you understand and empower your clients to want to do the same for you or your customers, whatever you want to call them. I say clients cause in the photography industry, it's more one-on-one, but really if you're scaling a business, customers is probably more accurate, but that's what I teach.
[00:23:01] And that is what I have had happened in my own businesses. And it's already happening in this one from like the 13 beta members that I had back last spring when I ran this for the first time. Several of them were referrals from other people in the beta course. So I'd love to teach that to you. If you'd like to sign up for the waitlist bright future method.com/no, will take you right to the email waitlist.
[00:23:25] And if you really love what I'm doing here on the podcast, and you never want to miss an episode and you're already subscribed. I do have a secret telegram channel telegrams, a free app that you download to your phone. It basically lets me communicate with you and tell you a little bit more behind the scenes.
[00:23:44] Make sure you don't miss an episode, but that gives me the opportunity to actually have conversations with you because you can comment there. So this is not for everybody. This is only for you. If you really love what I'm teaching here on the podcast and he want, you know, any of those behind the scene, thoughts or things that I'm working on or thinking about, you can join that.
[00:24:04] A bright entrepreneur podcast.com/telegram. That link will also be in the show notes. So if you're driving right now or if you're chasing kids around and you just can't stop, you can always come back and check that out. I recommend doing a voice reminder on your phone and asking it to remind you to come back and do this later.
[00:24:22] When you know, you're going to have a moment to do it, but I'd love to see you there as well. But again, only. If you really are an insider, because I want to know who my people are, and that's a great way for me to do that. So if you really feel like you're one of my people or that I'm, I'm your kind of person and you want to belong to the community that I'm building, go join that telegram and basically self select.
[00:24:43] And tell me that because that's the easiest way. It's one of the hardest things for me with having a podcast is that I don't know exactly who my people are. My most dedicated people are because I haven't started my Facebook group yet. So I do a lot of Facebook lives. I love them because I can see people like Tracy Reed.
[00:24:59] I know she's and my dearest fans and Richard Ralston. And there's, there's a whole lot of you. You're wonderful. And I adore you. But, you know, as I do Facebook lives, I can actually talk to you here. I'm talking to you all at once and can't hear your feedback because you're listening to it at a different time.
[00:25:14] So anyways, that's for you. If you are one of those people, go check out the telegram, but without my friends, that's the end of the episode for today. Go join the wait list. If you're interested in the bright future method. We are brighter together. My friend, the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

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Transcript:

One of the biggest things that sets bright entrepreneurs apart from all the other entrepreneurs out there is where they place their focus. Once you've grown a successful business and you have learned what's important. And what isn't you realize that many of the things that you focused on when you were first starting out or really getting into growing your business?
[00:00:25]Really was the wrong place to put your energy and that a lot of it didn't actually matter. So in today's episode, I want to talk about that difference. What should you be focusing on if you really want to be a successful, bright entrepreneur and what should you be spending less energy on? If you are feeling stuck and are really struggling to grow.
[00:00:51] So that's what we're going to tackle today in the bright entrepreneur podcast. So I've a lot about my bright future method workshop and the launch that I have coming up for it. And I've been struggling a little bit with the positioning of it because frankly it's a high level strategy. Course that really gives people the big picture of what they need to do, help a client go from connecting with their content, to connecting with you as an entrepreneur and a person to connecting with each other in your community, and then connecting to your deeper purpose and really wanting to take it out into the world.
[00:01:59] And it's a beautiful system and the strategy is lovely and there's a lot of different ways you can customize it to really fit who you are, but it's a lot harder to. Explain and to come up with a clear promise for it, then say something like tribe, which is my friend Stu McLaren's course, where you are going to learn how to create recurring revenue in your business with a membership site.
[00:02:26]That's a really clear and easy promise. You know, that once you go through it, you're going to come out with this ability to create recurring revenue. And he's going to give you all the strategies for that. It's brilliant. It's really good. Right. But I know that something that's going to help my business grow is really getting super clear on what that promise is and I'm working on it.
[00:02:47] You know, I know the more that I explain it, the more I kind of fumble through what it is and talk about it, the easier it's going to be. Be to get clarity around what messaging actually works.
[00:02:59] As I was thinking about this, it occurred to me that there's actually three different levels of things that people tend to focus on and these things shift over time. Right? So the very first thing that people start to focus on when they're starting their online business and they're just getting going, and they're very uncertain of themselves.
[00:03:19] Is on what tools and resources do they need to have in order to really get their business off the ground. So I know for me personally, I spent a ton of time researching the different email options out there I remember researching all the different options out there and taking way too much time.
[00:03:42] To really make a decision. And it felt like a lot of pressure because I knew that it was hard to move an email list, although it's not impossible by the way. , and I just felt like whatever I picked, I had to be married to for the rest of my business career, which also is not true. And I really think what happened was I was afraid to make the wrong decision.
[00:04:04] I was afraid that I wouldn't know enough to make the right decision. And my lack of clarity on which one was best in my hyper-focus on trying to pick the very best thing for me was more a reflection of my own insecurities and fears. Then it was me really needing to make sure that I had the right things, because I thought if I picked the wrong tool, then everything was doomed to fail.
[00:04:30] Well, spoiler alert. That's not the case. You can always switch if you want to. It might not be easy, but it's definitely not impossible. And honestly, no software or tool or resource out there is absolutely perfect. So you shouldn't be worried about picking the absolute perfect thing. Ever, yes, some tools are better than others, but even the best tools have their quirks.
[00:04:55]Then as I continued to grow my business, I realized that the tools that I picked didn't matter nearly as much, but now my focus shifted to the tactics that I need need to be using, you know, should I podcast, should I be on Facebook?
[00:05:12] Should I be running ads? Should I do a quiz? Should I run a challenge? Should I do PLF videos from Jeff Walker or what should I be doing? What's the next tactic that I can use in my business to try and get clients to grow my email list, to grow my social media accounts, all of the things, right. Everything focused on various tactics. Now this is where I see most of the educational resources.
[00:05:41] In the marketplace landing, there are courses on how to create a quiz funnel. There are courses on how to make courses. In fact, there's several of those. There are courses on how to do Instagram stories and how to grow on tick talk and how to do all the various things, but almost all of them.
[00:06:01] These courses are a single tactic and not taught as part of a larger. Strategy, they show the little picture, grow things, but they don't show how they should intentionally fit into a big picture and how every little piece and tactic should help each other. I mean, What's the point of having a massive tick tock following, if you can't actually convert them into buying clients and why should you be there if your clients aren't there or whatever it is, right.
[00:06:36] That's just an easy example to show. And so what I did, and I'm, I'm totally guilty of this. So I'm explaining this is, this is all me. Is I bought so many courses and I bought so many products and I have literally tried almost all of them, things that I mentioned here, except the tick tock stuff. But every other thing that I have mentioned, I have bought a course on, I have learned how to do I have implemented it in my business.
[00:07:07] Oh, webinars. I didn't even talk about webinars. Evergreen funnels and, Oh my gosh. So many things, email strategy, what you should put in your email content SEO stuff. I mean, I would bet that I have spent close to a quarter million dollars or more. On education since I started in 2001, I bet it's a lot more than that.
[00:07:29] If I'm honest, that's just a really conservative estimate and it's really good to learn these things. I'm not gonna lie. Like those, those things have all been insane, really helpful. But what would happen was that I would take it of course and learn a tactic and then I'd implement the tactic in my business.
[00:07:48] And I get maybe some level of success, maybe not. But what I found was eventually, and this was in my first business. Everything was kind of disjointed. It was like I was throwing stuff spaghetti against the wall and hoping that something stuck and maybe it'll stick a little, but then I'd see another chorus with another way of doing things.
[00:08:09] And I think, Oh, maybe that's what I'm missing. Maybe that's the piece. That's, we're gonna make it all come together and help me overcome that 200 to $300,000 a year. Mark. I was kinda stuck there for a little bit. And so, you know, I got all excited and I try this new thing and, you know, I'd implemented in my business and I'm not going to say that they weren't helpful.
[00:08:29] I definitely learned a ton of different things, but the biggest thing I learned through doing all of those different methods is that honestly, They all going to work, but nothing, all of them were like a, hit it out of the park home run for me until I retire. I really sat down and I slowed down and I stepped back and I started to focus on the big picture strategy of how it.
[00:08:57] All worked together and how every piece helped my clients go through personal transformation. Okay. So this is the big thing. This is the big shifts. This is where I see entrepreneurs going from, you know, early six figures to really exploding and gaining tons of a momentum is when they can take all of these tactics and tools that they've gotten, they understand, and they can step back.
[00:09:24] They can create. A strategy that's aligned to who they are as a person, but more than anything is absolutely focused on helping their customers get the transformation that they promise in their business. They help them go from where they are now to becoming that bright future identity that their business has been created to help them become
[00:09:47] and so it's kind of this shift from. Basic tactics and how do I make money and how do I do this online and that self-focused entrepreneur phase to really shifting, to focusing on the transformation and results that we can get for our clients and how each of the things from our free content and our opt-ins and our launch strategy.
[00:10:11] And our conversion strategy and the products and memberships and offers and all the things fit in to this cohesive system that all works together to help our clients get that personal transformation. And I think that's why it's been so hard for me to explain what the bright future method workshop really is because it's that big picture strategy that takes all the things you've learned.
[00:10:40] And really helps you put them together in a way that makes sense. It builds in purpose and intention in psychology behind it with the basic. Understanding that we're doing this to get our customers transformation, to help them become the bright future identity. And if you're not sure what I mean when I talk about the bright future identity, go back to episode three right here in season three.
[00:11:06] And I explain all about it, but basically it's the person that they want to become awesome. After they've experienced the transformation. That our business is going to bring for them. And so it's really hard for me. I'm still working on explaining this, but. My upcoming bright future method is going to help you create this strategy.
[00:11:29] And that's where I see bright entrepreneurs really starting to shine is when they take all the stuff they've learned and they really step back and slow down for a few weeks and get very intense about every little thing they do. Not only do they need to work less because now they have an intentional strategy.
[00:11:52] But all of the pieces start to work together and multiply their effect. So if you're doing free content, that free content is actually going to attract the right people instead of just anybody and that free content is going to desire for your offers. Right? And then if you have, let's say, if you have a method like mine and you can do this in multiple different ways, that's the beauty of this bright future method.
[00:12:20] Um, Let's say you're like me and you have a course on the front end as your first paid product. And then after that, you're going to have some sort of membership so that you can bring recurring income into your business, like I'm planning to do so that course should give them what they need to get that first level of transformation.
[00:12:39] And then the membership for me is going to continue supporting them. As they move towards becoming the bright entrepreneur that I know they are because when you're getting big picture strategy, like I'm going to be giving in my bright future method workshop.
[00:12:54] it is a lot of thinking because it's a lot of intention. We're not as focused on the tools and the tactics, although they do play a part in it. We're more focused about how all of those pieces fit together. And. Build upon each other, right? So you get the framework and then you work on implementing it and you work within a community of other bright entrepreneurs where you can bounce ideas off each other, where you can talk about the things you're struggling with, where you can help find the missing pieces and each offer.
[00:13:28] Prepares them for the next thing. So when we can step back and we can look at everything, we can look at all of our offers and our products and memberships and all of that stuff, and we can line it up and really clarify our messaging along the way.
[00:13:42] We can look at that conversation that's going on, which is episode five of this season. If you haven't listened to that yet. And we can understand what we need to be saying at each point, along the customer journey. And what we need to do to help that customer go from who they are when they're coming into our business, to that bright future identity that we know we can help them have that transformation that we can give them.
[00:14:10] And we know how each of our offers helps move them a little bit closer towards that trend formation. That's when the magic starts to happen. So. The bright entrepreneurs who are really successful, the ones who are making seven figures and beyond, they understand that they're focused, needs to be on the high level strategy that the tactics.
[00:14:34] Yes. There's lots of them that work. But they don't matter nearly as much as we think they do. Just like when we're first starting out, we think the tools really matter. And then later as we get into the tactics, we realize, Oh, it doesn't really matter if you're on MailChimp or if you're on drip or if you're on Ontraport, all of them work fine.
[00:14:52] But what matters more is, you know, what are you doing with it? What are the tactics that you're using to really make the most of that service? Well, there's that final layer where the bright entrepreneurs sit, who say, okay, That's great. We've got the tactics, we've got the resources and the tools now, how can we put them all together as a high level system, an intentional purposeful strategy.
[00:15:17] That's really going to make all of them work together and grow our business. And that's what the bright future method workshop does. I'm going to be opening up the bright future method workshop. In just a couple of weeks, we're going to do a launch on September 21st. And the course is going to start on September 28th.
[00:15:37] If you are interested in taking some time to really step back and look at the big picture of your business and focus on the strategy so that all of these tactics that you've been trying and all of these tools that you've got can come together and work cohesively. And so you're not wasting your time on stuff that.
[00:15:57] Doesn't really work. Then I would love for you to join our wait list. Just go to bright future method.com. Enter your email and join there. And you will be the first to know when the doors open. I'm actually only gonna have the doors open for about four days. I'm going to do a little bit of prelaunch content.
[00:16:17] Still got to figure that out. This is what happens when you're only seven weeks into building a new business. But, um, we're going to do some sort of launch content. I'm trying to decide between either a webinar or a challenge. I love the challenges. It's just more, a matter of getting myself all set up for that.
[00:16:32] We're going to do that starting September 21st, and then the cart going to open about four days later. And so definitely get on that list. If you want to hear about it, if you are ready to start focusing on the right things so that you can really see your business start to grow and. Massive ways. The bright future method workshop is for anybody who really wants to be a bright entrepreneur who wants to have the intentional strategy and purpose behind growing your business. Now you can do, I need to know who you are, want to serve before you join the bright future method.
[00:17:07] If you're not sure exactly. What kind of transformation you want to bring to people or who it is you want to work with? This is probably not going to be the course for you yet work some of that stuff out, do some beta launches, you know, sell your stuff to people and see how it goes and really gets at least enough clarity around what kind of transformation you want to bring to people through your business before joining the right future method workshop. But if you kind of know who you want to serve, and you've got a product that you sell, or a membership or some sort of offer that you've sold to them, and you want to add this layer of strategy to your business, then sign up for the waitlist now.
[00:17:50] And I will make sure that you hear. All about it. So with that, my friends, I just want to thank you. If you're new around here would love it. If you would subscribe to the podcast. if you really love the podcast, I actually have a secret telegram channel. Now this isn't for everybody. This is only for the people who really do not want to miss an episode of this podcast and who want to hear a little bit more of the behind the scenes. Of what I'm working on in my business, as I'm restarting this brand new business, took my other one out.
[00:18:29] That was just hard. Anyways. If you really feel like you are, are one of my biggest fans, you love what I'm teaching and you believe that this is something you want to focus on going forward. I would love for you to join the telegram channel all you need to do is go to bright entrepreneur podcast.com/telegram. Now I will put that link in the show notes. You'll also see a link to that. If you sign up for our emails, which will remind you at least once a week of any new podcast episodes that we've released and you can sign up for that, right?
[00:19:04] At bright entrepreneur podcast.com/email link is also in the description. So for my greatest fans, you should definitely do both of that once you've already subscribed. And for everyone else. Keep listening, subscribe to the podcast. And once you've decided that this is really for you and you really love what you are learning here, you don't want to miss any of it, then come sign up for it, because this is really for my insiders.
[00:19:29] I want to know who my people are, and that gives me a way to interact with you a little bit. More personally. So thank you guys for listening today. , I don't have a review pulled up right now to read for you. I meant to have one, but I'm kind of doing this episode off the cuff. And so I will try and read a review in the next podcast episode or two, but if you have not left a review for the podcast, I would really love if you would do that.
[00:19:56] All you need to do is go to my podcast on iTunes, scroll down to the bottom of the screen on your phone, and it's going to show you some reviews. And then right below that, I think it says, write a review. Give it a rating and then a writer of you and let other people know what you think of the podcast. And if it would be a good podcast for them as well, it would really mean a lot to me. I do want to be reading these here on the podcast for you, but more than anything, it just helps me know what's really hitting the Mark for you and what you're finding most helpful.
[00:20:29] So I can do more of that in the future. So, all right, friends with that. I am looking forward to seeing you in the next episode. And I hope you have a wonderful rest of your day. Just remember we are brighter together. The world needs us, so let's go out and make it brighter.

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It's more than just a strong community, and it can impact lives as WELL as making you a profit. Check it out!

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Show Notes:

[00:00:00] I've been hesitant to use the word movement when it comes to your business because it's a bit ambiguous movement can mean a big social movement like black lives matter, or it can be a smaller cultural movement, like a group of people that all share an obsession with an obscure movie, but there's huge benefits of creating a movement around your business.
[00:00:24] So I'm going to explain exactly what I mean by that and today's episode and help you see if this is something that would be a good fit for you and your business. Or not In the last episode, we talked about how you can build true belonging in your business by going through three levels of connection with your customers. So the first level is when they connect with your content and that's when they become a follower. The second level of connection is when they connect with you.
[00:01:24] And that's when they become one of your fans. And the third level is when they connect with other fans and really connect with each other. And that's when they become a member of your community. And really like they belong. That's the three levels that bring us to belonging. And that's awesome, but there is a fourth level of connection that very few entrepreneurs I know out there actually have as part of their business, even some really, really amazing entrepreneurs who are doing wonderful things in the world are missing this fourth level of connection that can really create a full on movement.
[00:02:07] In their business. So to transform belonging into this bigger movement, that fourth level of connection is to get your people to connect with our deeper purpose behind our business, and truly become advocates and promoting not just the business, but the greater impact that it has on the world. So many people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves and feel like they're making a real difference in the world.
[00:02:38] That one day they're going to be able to look back on their life and say, wow, I didn't just live this for me. I actually helped make the world a little bit of a better place. But I also know that it's really common for people to feel like there's not a lot that they can do on their own that what can do Hey, as an individual person actually do, that's going to affect any greater change in the world.
[00:03:05] And I think a lot of times we tend to not do things because we convince ourselves that. It just, isn't going to matter that one person's little changes. Won't matter. Now we all know that's not true, but when we, as business owners can help them connect with the deeper purpose and change that we're having in the world that comes straight from the transformation that they have personally had.
[00:03:30] And then we can equip them to help move that movement forward and bring that transformation to the greater world. Even though there may be, they may be aren't doing any more than they would have on their own. It feels like they have a greater impact because there's so much more momentum. And so many people also doing what they are doing as that bright future identity.
[00:03:55] Yeah. That we help them become in our businesses. And if you're not sure what I'm talking about, go back to the last episode. Um, you can hear more about the bright future identity in episode three of season three as well. So that's there. So our goal is to really help them connect with this deeper purpose that.
[00:04:13]We have in running our business. And this goes back to your dream, like, what did you dream of doing with your business besides making money? I know that the bright entrepreneurs who are listening to this podcast who follow me, who are like, you. Yes, we want to make money, but we know that our businesses are one of the greatest ways for us to make a real true impact on the world.
[00:04:39] And we want to change lives. We want to create movements of change and transformation in the world, make it a better place, and we can't do it all alone. So when we can create a community. Of our best customers. Who've experienced that transformation for themselves, empower them to go out into the world with us to gather we can do so much more than when we're alone.
[00:05:06] We are truly brighter together. And that's part of why I love that little slogan because together we can, we can all take small actions. That turned into this huge, massive amount of impact. Yeah. In fact, what drives me is thinking about how I can empower people. So like you to go out and make change in your circle of influence, right?
[00:05:30] In your niche, in your passion, whatever it is that you want to make a difference in. And if I can empower another bright entrepreneur to go out and I can power another person to go out and do this. And I can teach people to go out and make real change in the world. That's so much more change. Then I could just do myself, even if I grew a big platform, right.
[00:05:52] Because maybe we've got people who work with newborns and I'm not doing anything with newborns and maybe they help them be healthier adults one day, or I don't know what right. But. You can see where this is going, right. We all have these passions. We all have these gifts. And my deeper purpose is to really bring as much.
[00:06:12] Change and transformation in a good way to this world as possible. I would love to see you and each person listening to this podcast, start a movement around your business. That makes it super profitable business. There's nothing wrong with profit. In fact, the more money we have, the more impact we can make, which is a quote from Stu McLaren.
[00:06:32] And it's one that I really love and live by. It took me a while to get there, but I fully believe it now, but to like, I just know that. Not only can we make money, but we can make real change. It's a win, win all around. And that's what gets me so, so excited.
[00:06:50] So when our clients have had a personal transformation after working with us in our business, and then we can help them connect to that deeper purpose behind what we're doing and show them how they can help other people have that same transformation, their lives. They naturally, we want to do that and because our business was what helped them get that personal transformation.
[00:07:17] As they do that, they're going to be promoting your business as the way to make that happen. And so it's a natural way to both make change, but also to grow your business, it's just beautiful. Right? And they're not even selling, they're just helping people they know, and they love to be transformed, to become better people, to get whatever transformation it is.
[00:07:45] That you're a business brought to them. Super natural, not supernatural, but like super natural. It's not pushy. It's not salesy. And they want other people to be transformed by your business. Isn't that amazing? Isn't that wonderful. All we have to do as leaders is empower them to know all how to do that.
[00:08:10] We need to make it easy for them. We need to share how to do that because they're naturally going to want to do that for us. And I've seen this in my own business. So. If you started your business because you wanted to make a deeper impact in the world. And if you really are driven by more than just money, like yes, you should absolutely want to make money.
[00:08:36] But if what really drives you is helping make real change in the world. But you're currently feeling a little bit caught in the weeds, or maybe a lot from your to do list, maybe feeling overwhelmed with just trying to keep your business profitable and learn how to serve the clients. You already have just know that you don't have to do this alone.
[00:08:58] I'd really love to help you learn how to gently shift what you've been doing now. Wow. And refocus your energy. So you can truly build the movement around your business that you've been dreaming of and have the impact in the world that you really know that you can have through it. And I want to help you do it in a way that is light and easy.
[00:09:21] And not hard. There's basically two ways that I can help you do this. One would be to sit down one-on-one for a day long clarity coaching session and map out that transition from where you are now and all the things you're focused on now to helping you shift into really intentionally building this movement.
[00:09:40] In your business and refocus what you're doing so that you, I have this custom plan set up so that you can make that transition really easily. So if you're interested student doing something like this, you can find my contact info in the show notes. Just send me a message and let me know that you're interested in this.
[00:09:58] And tell me a little bit about your business. Then we can talk about moving forward that way, but the other way that I can help. Is that in a few weeks, I'm going to be opening up my bright future method workshop. Now this is an eight week workshop, or you could call it a course if you want. , which I'm going to be launching again September 21st.
[00:10:19] And if you're interested in this. If you can pause this episode right now and go to bright future method.com and sign up for the wait-list so that you don't miss out. It's only going to be open for a few days because I'm going to be going through this pretty in depth with the people who sign up and it's eight weeks long.
[00:10:42] And so it's going to be pretty intensive. The bright future method walks you through my entire repeatable process for building a movement around your business. That is a light easy and driven by purpose so that, you know, you're making a difference and not just spinning your wheels and getting lost in the weeds.
[00:11:00] So go sign up now, bright future method.com. , especially do this so that you don't miss out because the price is gonna go up. And increase drastically the next time I offer it. And so you're not going to want to miss out, and I'm only going to have it open for a couple of days. And if you are new around here and found this helpful, it would be awesome.
[00:11:19] If you would hit the subscribe button to this podcast right now. So you don't miss any future episodes. You can also sign up for email reminders. The link is in the show notes. If you would like them. And it would mean a ton to me. If you would take a moment to leave a review, if you're on iTunes, it's kind of hard to find where to leave a review, by the way, basically go to my show.
[00:11:42] You scroll almost to the bottom, and then there's a little spot underneath the bar that has reviews in it that says something like leaver review. If you click that, then you should be able to leave a review for me. I've had a couple people say, Hey, I wanted to do this and I can't figure out how so that's how you do it on iTunes.
[00:11:59] Not a hundred percent sure on the other platforms, but I am trying to read more of these reviews on the podcast and I would love to feature your review here. So bonus points to you, if you leave your name and Instagram handle in the review as well, so that I know who sent it. This review comes from and she said, five stars. You lift to the sky, this podcast, nails it listening from episode one. You get to see how Jamie started her biz and where she is now. She uncovers. Probably everything. She provides tremendous ideas on how to do stuff in your business, and none of them I've ever heard of.
[00:12:38] And she looks at things from various angles. She draws you in and gives you plenty of proof to trust her and shows you how to do the same in your business. Cool. Hey, come try and replicate. I love it. Thank you, Wren Scott. I appreciate that. You took the time to leave a review and I can't wait to hear how these.
[00:12:59] Tips work for you. So definitely drop me a line on Instagram and let me know how they've been helping you grow your business. all right, my friends, we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and let's make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Want more "lifer" customers who buy all your stuff and stay with you long-term? Learn how to create that in today's episode.

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Contact Jamie about a Clarity Coaching Day or about Mastermind Interest by sending her a DM on Instagram @jamiemswanson

Show Notes:

I've noticed a big divide in the online entrepreneur space that I personally believe is only going to grow. Now on one side, we have the old school, bro marketers. These are tactic based marketers who use a lot of pushy, urgency and scarcity, and they're selling tactics.
[00:00:19] In fact, sometimes it's so much that it kind of feels manipulative like. They almost are trying to trick somebody into buying their stuff. Now their customers come, they may buy, but then they go and they don't really stick around because they don't nurture the relationship with their client. They basically just try and get what they can out of it.
[00:00:42] A little bit like a one night stand where , they've got a singular focus, they just want to make a sale. And they really just want to get as much out of that sale as they can feels gross. Yeah. Icky right on the entire. Opposite. End of the spectrum are the bright entrepreneurs who are entrepreneurs with heart who care, not just about profit, but also about helping clients get real transformation.
[00:01:13] Their marketing is heart-based and it's. Genuine. It's not all this pushy manipulative stuff. They don't need tricks and gimmicks because they build real trust with their customers and they leave a lasting impact on their lives. Their sales don't feel slimy. Their sales are more like invitations and the right people will respond without feeling a ton of pressure.
[00:01:38] And these are the kinds of customers that come and stay for life. They buy all of your things and they tell all of their friends about it and that they should buy it too. And that's what I want to talk about today. How do you create a business where people really truly become lifers, who stay for years?
[00:01:59] You know, the ones who are inviting all of their friends and they just want to see your business grow. Right. So that is what we're going to dive into.
[00:02:10]
[00:02:41]just start by saying that your business doesn't have to feel slimy and pushy to be successful. I know you're probably not like the extreme that I talked about in the introduction. At least I hope not, but I know for me personally, there were definitely times when I was growing my business and following certain successful leaders where I felt like I needed to use some of these.
[00:03:04]Tactics or these things in order to be as profitable as I could be. And there was always this internal, you know, fight going on. In fact, a lot of times I wouldn't do them because they just didn't feel right. But then there are other times when I would follow copy templates or, you know, funnel tactics or whatever else that.
[00:03:26] Just felt a little pushy, but I thought, you know, let's try it and see, I can do my own little spin on it, but it still wasn't fully aligned with who I was. And so I just want you to know as are diving into this, if you felt that from anybody that you follow, and you started to think maybe that's what you need to do to be successful.
[00:03:47] It's not true. You don't have to do that. You can absolutely grow an incredibly successful business in a way that is light, that is easy, and that genuinely serves your clients. Okay. But I want to kind of explain why this divide exists. And now I know that there are lots of people in between, you know, the two extremes, but here's kind of what I see this divide coming from.
[00:04:13] Those old school, bro. Marketers, they're coming from a place of scarcity, right? It's like, I feel like they have to squeeze every single penny that they can get from a person while they have their attention and as quickly as possible. Right. And they're going to use any means possible because they believe that they could get distracted and never return.
[00:04:33] Right. They are so focused on the mechanics of the funnel and I'm forcing the sale quickly. That they forget that they can build a hold relationship with the client and that come back later and actually feel better about their purchases. But bright entrepreneurs operate from a place of abundance and heart.
[00:04:53] They know that they don't need to milk every penny up front because the true reward enriches come from that longterm relationship that they have with their customers. And the irony is it's far more profitable and frankly, personally rewarding to do it this way as well. So how do we build that longterm relationship and really make it sticky?
[00:05:15] So they stay longterm. How can we be these bright entrepreneurs who aren't, you know, using tactics that just feel gross, house to grow businesses. I want you to feel good and light and that awesome about what you're doing and still. Make a healthy profit, right? Well, we do this by focusing on belonging.
[00:05:38] Okay. We want to not just create a business that helps people get results and solves their problems. We want them to encounter our business and feel like they have finally found their people that they have found place where they truly belong. And that they want to stay. My first, really big experience with this was when I joined tribe with Stu McLaren.
[00:06:06] Now I hadn't been in pretty much all the big name courses and you know, some of them were phenomenal courses and I had learned a lot from them. But the people that I was learning from had never really built communities around them, of people who really felt like my people, like I got into tribe. And yes, I think recurring revenue is fantastic, but.
[00:06:31] The level of integrity that Stu showed in teaching his marketing tactics six and the community, the people that he attracted because of that, it was exciting to me because finally felt like for the first time, I was surrounded by people like me, people who were bright , who did not want to have to use it, saw that pushy stuff to be successful, who really their customers and wanted to be honest and authentic with them and everything they do.
[00:07:03] I did without feeling like they had to try to manipulate, relate them into buying more. By putting, you know, false urgency on something or upsells that we're going to expire in just five minutes, if you don't buy it right now. Right. We've all seen those things. Right. And so you've really taught me a lot because I just, I ha I connected so deeply with his community.
[00:07:28]There's never been somebody that I've purchased a course or a membership or something from that built a community where I felt so seen and known and understood.
[00:07:40] And so I just connected with the tribe community in a deep way, and to stew in a deep way, because I really valued a lot of the same things that he valued. In fact, , that's part of why I joined his mastermind. I had heard for years that a mastermind, despite being very expensive, most of them are 25 to $30,000 there's per year or more, which might seem crazy, but truly I'd heard for years that that was one of the best investments you could make in your business ever.
[00:08:13] And I just was never willing to invest that kind of money. With somebody whose integrity wasn't at the same high level that mine was. So when I found Stu and I saw his level of integrity and I saw the kinds of people that he attracted and I saw his values. And then I heard that he was thinking of starting a mastermind.
[00:08:36] I sent him a big, long email. I was just like, stew, you have to do this. And here's why, and here's what I'm willing to pay. And like, here's what I want it to look like. And I was a little bossy, but I knew that I had finally found somebody that I could invest that kind of money with without any hesitation, because I knew that nothing that would be taught in that mastermind.
[00:09:02] Would be stuff that I would be uncomfortable with. Right. And that's so important. I knew that that mastermind was going to be filled with my people. We are highly social beings. Like human beings are crazy social and. We tend to do what those around us do. And that's kind of the power of a mastermind because we see all of these people doing similar or things to us and having these great results and, you know, it's that whole rising tide lifts, all ships ships thing where.
[00:09:34] Everybody starts to grow. And it's been really fun to watch the progress of everyone in the mastermind over there the years, but we want to be well to build this kind of belonging into our businesses as well. It doesn't just have to be in a mastermind. That's just one example. But what I have found is that when people find your business and they get involved in your communities and you have a community, that's part of this and.
[00:10:01] They feel like they finally found their people. Magic happens. This is where they become incorrect, probably loyal to who you are to your business, and to bringing people into the, the community as well. It's a super magical thing where your business really starts to take off and you keep people for years.
[00:10:24] Years, and years and years I've been doing online business for just about 10 years now. And there are still a few, a few people who found me way back at the beginning, who are still going along with my journey today. Some of them are pivoting into what I'm doing or online entrepreneurship as well. Others of them have, you know, continued in the photography industry or pivoted into something else.
[00:10:49] But. They've built this connection with me and they still follow me, even though it may not be relevant to them today because there's that sense of belonging. There's that sense of connection. And that is how we truly create belonging and stickiness in our businesses and get people who are happy to buy our stuff.
[00:11:12] They love our stuff. They want to promote it for us. Seth Godin said in his book, this is marketing. That's the title of the book. He said, people like us do things like this and smart, bright entrepreneurs get to define what people like us do. That's part of the beauty of building this community and belonging.
[00:11:38] In this culture around your business is that you can pick a name for people. You know, I've picked bright entrepreneurs for people like you, and I can share what bright entrepreneurs like you tend to do. And as you connect with more people in my community and you see them taking similar actions that I recommend.
[00:12:01] You're going to be more likely to take those same actions because you want to get those same results. These are your people, you feel like you belong and you want to be like the people that you've connected with. That's that whole theory behind that quote. And so our goal is bright entrepreneurs. Is to help people feel like they belong to help them get the transformation that we can give them through our products and help them truly become that bright future identity that they really want to become.
[00:12:35] And if you're not sure what I mean, when I talk about a bright future identity, you can go back to episode three of this season, season three. And listened to that and it's basically figuring out who it is. They want to be in the future and helping them become that through the offers that we present to them.
[00:12:52] Right. And when they really adopt the bright future identity for themselves, and they surround themselves by other people who also who have adopted this bright future identity, and they really connect on a deep level and just feel like they're with their people and belong, they will stay longterm for you.
[00:13:13] And that's what I want for you. That's what I want for your business. This is part of why masterminds are so valuable. Like I talked about with stews, um, but also in our communities, this is important. Eventually I'm going to be launching my own mastermind. It'll be a few months from now when we can actually meet in person, because I think that's really important but before we end our episode today, I kind of want to talk through, four levels of connection that happened as we continue to grow our movement, grow this belonging and grow the connection that people have with us, our business.
[00:13:50] So the first level, all of connection is when they become followers. And this is when people connect with our content. The second level of connection is when they connect with us.
[00:14:02] So this is when we call them a fan. So they went from a follower who connects with our content now to being a fan that has also connected with us as a person. The third level of connection is when they become a member. And this is when they connect with each other within the community. They aren't just connecting with us as people.
[00:14:23] They actually have made real friendships and have started even hanging out in person with some of the other people in the communities that we're building. And that's where that true level of belonging really happens. Now, there is a fourth level of connection. But I'm going to leave it as a tease because I am going to tell you all about it in our next podcast episode.
[00:14:46] It's all about that fourth level of connection. So that's coming, but I wanted to let you know if you aren't sure exactly how to build this belonging. In your business or if it sounds crazy heavy, I want you to know that this is what I teach in my bright future method workshop, and it's not nearly as hard as it seems.
[00:15:11] I know communities can feel really weighty and if they're done wrong, they can absolutely suck up all your time and not bring any money. But when you do them, right, and you manage them wisely, they are. Absolutely worth it. And they grow really, really fast without a ton of effort on your part. Do you have to put some in, I'm not saying it's totally hands off just to be clear, but
[00:15:35] it doesn't have to control you. I know a lot of people have that fear. So basically I created this bright future method to help people learn how to create a business. That's truly transformational driven that isn't based on the scarcity and the urgency and the manipulation that we talked about from those old school row marketers at the beginning.
[00:15:56] And I want to show you how to create real communities. , they have people that want to be a part of your business for life, where they buy all your stuff and, you know, tell all their friends that they should buy it too, because they've truly been transformed by your business. And they want others to have that same transformation as well and make a brighter future for as many people as possible.
[00:16:21]
[00:16:21] I know this might seem crazy overwhelming to learn, but like I said, it's not as hard as it sounds. It does take some time to stop and really put some intention and purpose behind what you're doing. But I lay out that entire process in the bright future method workshop. So this is going to be coming up soon.
[00:16:40] And if you'd like to learn how to create this kind of belonging for your business in a way that doesn't consume all of your time and energy and it shouldn't, if you do it right, I'd love to have you be a part of the bright future method workshop. when it launches again on September 21st.
[00:16:57] So if you'd like to join the waitlist and be the first to hear, when it opens, just go, go to www that bright future method.com. Enter your email and sign up for the waitlist. I'd absolutely love to have you. It is an eight week workshop and it is absolutely incredible. if you're interested in hearing more about the mastermind that I'm thinking of launching, you know, and a few months definitely drop me a message on Instagram at Jamie M Swanson.
[00:17:26]because I'd love to share my vision about it with you and hear a little bit more about your business and why you think a mastermind might be a good fit for you. And by the way, if you're new around here and found this helpful, please make sure to subscribe right now. So you don't miss any future episodes and it mean a ton. If you took a moment to leave a review, I'll occasionally be reading them here on the podcast. And I would love to feature you in your review.
[00:17:51] So bonus points to you. If you leave your name and Instagram handle in their review, because sometimes those iTunes usernames are kind of funny and I'm not sure, sure who you are, but today's review comes from Julie, see 99 in Canada. Yeah. She says five stars. It's bright and awesome. Amy is fun and transparent.
[00:18:12]. And those are only a few of the qualities I love from her. She's always sharing such great info and inspires us to become who we want to become by showing possibilities and paving the way she's generous and all the content that she shared. And you can tell she is so passionate about helping other succeed.
[00:18:32] Thanks for being you Jamie X O X O with a kiss. Well, thank you, Julie. I appreciate that you took the time to leave her a review and I can't wait to see you succeed in your business. Also let you guys know. I have finally, finally got my stuff together and started, , an email. List for the bright entrepreneur podcast specifically.
[00:18:56] So if you also would like to get email reminders, the link is in the show notes, you can go to bright entrepreneur podcast.com/email and get email reminders at least once a week of the new episodes that are happening in case you don't, you know, sign into your podcast app. Cause I would hate for you to miss a single one.
[00:19:17] All right. My friend, we are brighter together and the world needs us. So let's go out and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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View Details

If you're feeling overwhelmed and lost in the weeds of your to-do list, this podcast episode is for you!

Interested in a Clarity Coaching Call? Send me a DM on Instagram @JamieMSwanson and let's see if it's a good fit.

Get email reminders about new podcast episodes & join the waitlist for the Bright Future Method Workshop by clicking here.

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Show Notes:

Why did you start your business? What was it that you were dreaming of back when you first got started? And we're thinking about the kind of change that your business could have have in the world. Okay. And how does your business today reflect the amount of change that you want to be having? Are you on the right page? And do you feel like you're making a massive difference in the world? Or are you like most people and feel like you are so overwhelmed with funnels and technology launches, audience building, and all the things that go into building a business that you don't have, the time that you really want to, to focus on changing the world and really bringing forth the transformation that you want to have, regardless of where you are.
[00:00:49] Today's episode is going to talk about. Why why you started your business and hopefully encourage you as you move forward and create a business that changes the world.
[00:01:02]
[00:01:02] Well, Hey friend. So this podcast is a little different than most of the ones I do in that I am out on a walk outside right now. And I decided to, just to hit record, because I have been trying to plan out this podcast episode all day long, and I keep procrast to working on all sorts of things that need to be done, like an email opt in which, by the way you want to get email updates about this podcast, you can go to bright entrepreneur podcast.com/email and sign up.
[00:02:06] And I will drop a nice little note in your email, but once or twice a week, when there's new episodes, That's a side note. Anyways, I just was really struggling because in this episode, like what's been really on my heart is like wanting to share my heart and I liked it. Come in with clear notes and be super succinct and have everything all laid out in front of me and speak to you from an outline because I'm kind of a wordy person sometimes.
[00:02:40] But I just was struggling and I think to write the outline and I think it's just easiest when speaking from the heart to just let myself speak. So that's what I'm doing here. You'll hear all sorts of sounds from the outside, from the highway, from the birds, from the woods, maybe even some water dripping down off the leaves because it was raining.
[00:03:05] But I came out to clear my head and thought I would just talk to you on my little walk, as I clear my head and share my heart with you. So I just got off a call, I don't know, a half an hour ago with my friend Richard, Richard Ralston. Hey Richard. I know you're listening cause you're like my biggest fan.
[00:03:22] And, um, if you guys don't know who he is, go check his website out. Richard ralston.com. He does accountability, pods or progress pods. He's amazing. Anyways, that's a side note, total plug just from a friend, but we had this really fantastic conversation. And one of the things that I really loved about our conversation that kind of stuck with me was, um, and it was just a tiny part, just a simple little tiny part was this whole no idea behind why we do what we do and what I really have been wanting to speak to is.
[00:04:03] Like to the people and maybe this is you, maybe it's not, but to entrepreneurs, to friends, to you, anybody okay. Who just feels so stuck in their to do list and who feels so overwhelmed and in the weeds with all of these things to do, and just really struggling to keep making a profit and keep making bigger numbers and not struggling as in, you're not doing it, but just like.
[00:04:30] Overwhelmed. You've got all this stuff in front of you to do, and you've lost sight of why you started your business in the first place. And. What kind of impact you wanted to have? I have on the world as people encountered your offer and got the transformation that your product brings them. Oh man, I wish you could smell it right now.
[00:04:55] Smells like heaven. Cause it rained. I just walked on this mossy road. Anyway side note. This is why I have an outline my friend, because otherwise I go on tangents like this and I notice every little detail in nature anyways. Um, there's so many people who've lost sight. Of what they started their business for.
[00:05:16] And maybe this is you. I mean, maybe you had big dreams and you wanted to make this massive impact in the world, but you've gotten so sucked in two funnels and technology and content creation and social media and all of the things. Yeah. And it just feels like day in and day out. You're constantly battling a, to do list that never ends focusing on making a profit and not spending as much time on the things you love working with your clients or your customers, and really bringing that impact into the world in a way that you know, that you can and.
[00:05:57] It just breaks my heart to know I've been there. I mean, I have been there. I have been so overwhelmed with all the things and it's so, so easy to feel like you just can't do anymore. And you can't add anything more to your life because it's overwhelming and then there's money stress on top of it possibly or not.
[00:06:19] And it's just, it's so hard and it's not what you thought it was. And you may even have had a good level of success. Like you may have a six figure business or multi six figure business and still be feeling like you're constantly on the go, that you can't step away. That you're still at this point, even focused on, you know, all the, to do's all the things that have to happen to keep the business running.
[00:06:47] And part of this conversation I had with Richard. Was going back to the why. And he was giving me some feedback on the bright future method, a workshop, which he was part of the beta course for that. And we started with this idea of the why and what your origin story is. And, um, he just, he just mentioned that he's like, I don't know how that connected to all the rest of that.
[00:07:13] And so I explained, I said, well, it really connects to everything because if we don't know our, why. If we don't remember that deeper purpose that we, I had in mind when we started our business, if we can't clearly explain the change that happens, that transformation that happens. To our people individually when they work with us, but also say if a hundred million people had that same transformation, how that would change the world and the culture and your industry, right?
[00:07:52] How would that make a massive change? And if we can't define those things, and if we can't verbalize those things, and if we don't think about those things, Then we tend to get sucked into the, to do's and we tend to feel overwhelmed and we forget why we're doing it. We may even give up on why we're doing it because it's just so much work.
[00:08:14] And it's so draining because we aren't getting filled by the thing that means the most to us. And so. Um, it was just helpful for him to say that to me, because then I helps me remember, as I'm teaching the workshop again, which I'm going to be doing on September 28th. I want to make sure that that message gets out there.
[00:08:36] That I explained more clearly that this is why we start there, but the whole purpose of that bright future method is to help transform people and their businesses from being so profit focused, which by the way, profit is a great thing. The more money we make more impact we can have Stu says that all the time, stick McLaren.
[00:08:55] And I fully agree with that fully aligned with that. But. Not, I don't want you to be so focused on making a profit that you forget about the impact and the transformation that you can actually have. And what most people don't realize is that what got you to where you are today, like doing it yourself and being resourceful and learning how to do all the things and implementing them and figuring out the funnels and.
[00:09:24] All of those things that are so important, like you needed to learn them, you needed to go through them, but you cannot continue doing them. By yourself into the future forever. Now, my course is not about building a team. That's one way you can start scaling and moving on and really growing both your profit and your impact.
[00:09:45] Um, my bright future method workshop is about how do you become the person you need to be in order to work more intentionally? Um, with more purpose and basically gently guide you from where you are now and the things you're doing now and refocus and reshift your energy into creating a business that has that impact that you were dreaming of when you first started your business, that has the ability to help you make a massive impact in the world without you having to do it all by yourself.
[00:10:23] And you can do this. Like I said, by growing a team, there are courses that go into that. James Wedmore does business by design. He teaches all of that stuff beautifully. I instead tend to focus more on how do you simplify everything you're doing in your business? How do you simplify the strategy? To get you there more easily, so you can clean up what you're doing and focus on the things that actually get results that actually make an impact on people and realign yourself and your actions and your business with your deeper purpose and that bigger impact so that you can take more focused action.
[00:11:05] Um, this week is a great example today. Today's Friday. Um, this will come, go live and like today, but I, I took Monday and Thursday completely off as well as the weekend. I only worked three days this week. My team is very minimal right now. It's basically me, a customer service person and a, um, a content repurposer that I work with for projects.
[00:11:32] So not even regularly, she works with me like once a month for a couple of things. So it's super basic. And yet, because I know exactly what I need to do because I know the messaging I want to bring into the world because I know what works and what doesn't and how to make sure that I'm designing my business.
[00:11:51] So intentionally that it's going to have that purpose. I don't, I don't need to be doing everything. I don't need, need a huge team to accomplish big things. Yes. I'm absolutely going to hire more people as this new business grows. Undoubtedly, but before yeah, you get to that point, it's better to become more efficient and more purposeful and really realign yourself with the reason you started your business with the results that you really want to get, not just money, but also impact.
[00:12:22] And you can have both. I absolutely believe that as you go deeper and deeper into. The reason you started your business and the big, deeper purpose that drives you. And as you consciously make that decision to use your business and leverage what you've created to build a movement around it and invite other people into that deeper purpose with you.
[00:12:46] You will grow your profits. You're going to grow your profits and your impact. And, Oh man, I wish you could just see it right now. It's beautiful. Like I'm walking down, it's an old road. The bridge is out. So it's, it's like a diff it's an old highway. That's overgrown now, but it's like filled with Moss on the road and these trees on each side and it's just magical.
[00:13:04] I'm such a sucker for Moss, but anyways, um, I know that you can do this. I know that by realigning your purpose, you can get there. So I do teach us in my bright future method workshop. I'm going to do some sort of launch. I haven't even planned that out yet. Starting on September 21st. And we're going to run the workshop live again for eight weeks, starting on the September 28th.
[00:13:30] So you know that that's coming up. Um, but not, you can't join it now. So. More than anything. I just wanted to speak to you from the heart and start getting you thinking about why did you start your business? What is it that really drives you? What is that deeper purpose behind everything? If you want help creating that plan, I can help you in a coaching day.
[00:13:54] I've got about four left between now and when I launch. And so if you'd like one of those four spots, you can check out the show notes and contact me and we can set that up. That's the fast track way to getting something super customized for you. You'll have your whole plan and entire day. Um, otherwise you can also start thinking about being a part of my future method workshop, and you can sign up for that soon.
[00:14:22] I don't even have the wait list done yet. So right now, if you're interested in that, I would recommend signing up for my email updates for the podcast, which you can sign up for at bright entrepreneurs, podcast.com. Slash email super easy. And I will put the link for that in the show notes as well. But regardless, even though both of those things can help you.
[00:14:46] Um, I just, I just want to give you a hug, give you a virtual hug as I'm walking down this road and back and forth and talking to you in the woods. And I just want you to know that what you're doing is amazing and what you've done is amazing. But it doesn't always have to be overwhelming. It doesn't always have to be 80 hour plus weeks.
[00:15:11] I legitimately talk to somebody just last night. Who's like, I counted up all my hours. I'm legitimately spending 80 hours a week working like that made my heart so sad for her. Because there's no reason you should have to do that. And I know you love your work. We all love our work. We wouldn't be doing this.
[00:15:29] We wouldn't be running our businesses if we didn't love it, but you can do this in a way that's sustainable, that has a greater impact. And that allows you, the freedom that you can get as an entrepreneur who has full control of your schedule, full freedom. To do it in a way that doesn't just rely on you and you can build a movement of customers around this deeper purpose who want to help you with this.
[00:16:00] When you're clear on your deeper purpose, they can get excited about your deeper purpose too, and start calling other people into it with you as well. And that's what I've done really. Really well, I want to help you build a movement of people, of crazy loyal customers around your business who can help.
[00:16:19] Make a deeper impact in the world. So, all right. I'm almost back home. Okay. So I hope you enjoyed this podcast. I normally would read a review for you, but I'm on my phone. Just walking outside. I don't want to have, I don't have one in front of me, but maybe in the next. Podcast episode, I will read your review if you haven't left one yet, please do that.
[00:16:42] That would be a great way to say thank you. But also wanting to let you know that I did finally get an optin set up. So now you can get reminders via email of when this podcast goes live. I send them once or twice a week. I should send them every time I podcast, you know, every Wednesday and Sunday. But sometimes they only get one out a week, but either way you can get a email.
[00:17:05] If you'd like to, that'll give you reminders about the podcast and it'll give you information about the upcoming bright future method workshop. Um, and anything else it's not, I mean, I mentioned the stuff that I sell in there, but it's not just one big, massive sales pitch. So, uh, just. Full disclosure. Um, so that is in the show notes.
[00:17:23] It's also bright entrepreneur podcast.com/email. And if you are really one of my insiders and you want to know what's going on and get a little bit more behind the scenes, I started a telegram channel. Telegram is a free app that you download to your phone or your desktop. It works on both and it's.
[00:17:43] Kind of like a messenger channel, except for, I don't have to deal with all of Facebook's funky rules and I am going to be, um, dropping the behind the scenes updates. Actually, I'm going to go take a picture of the road with all the Moss and the trees that I was talking about. I'm going to place that in our telegram channel and you can join that and get.
[00:18:05] Behind the scenes looks. I love that. I love that. I've been wanting to show photos once in a while, and that would be a great way to do it. So I'm going to drop that photo in the telegram channel. And I'll also tell you when you know, episodes are coming and whatever else it's going to be like my little way of.
[00:18:21] Chatting with you more casually fan of connecting with people through apps like telegram. And so if you would like to be a part of that, you can go to bright entrepreneur podcast.com/telegram and find it there. And that will also be linked in the show notes. So you can find that we'd love to have you as a part of that.
[00:18:44]And if you haven't subscribed yet, please do that. So you don't miss an episode that way either would that my friend just remember we are brighter together and the world needs us, so let's go and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Interested in working with me? Send a message to me on Instagram at @jamiemswanson and let's see if it'd be a good fit!

Show Transcript:

When I was first starting out, I just created how to content. That was super helpful for my people, but that didn't build desire for my products, but now everything is different. The brightest entrepreneurs know how to make content that both creates desire for their product, builds up their authority as the expert and provides real value to the person it's created for want to know how.
[00:00:27] I will tell you, in this episode, most entrepreneurs when they're first starting their business, feel like they need to create how to content so that they can teach their audience how to do a specific thing. Number one, it does prove their expertise. And so it shows that they are an authority worth following. That's definitely true. And two, it does give a ton of value.
[00:01:22] But if you share too much, you might only attract freebie seekers and not actual buyers. They may not even need your product if you give them so much on the front end. And this is something that I see happening all the time, people get so much free content because the entrepreneur really wants to prove that they know their stuff that.
[00:01:46] They it's, it's overwhelming. They get full, they don't need your product because they can't even get through all of your free stuff. So how do you know how much to share for free and what should be reserved for your paid customers? And know it's not just giving away the what and selling the, how, like so many people teach in the online marketing space.
[00:02:09] How do you intentionally build desire for your products and each piece of content you create? Well, first you enter the conversation that they're having in their minds so that you can attract the right kind of person like we discussed in the last episode, this, you create transformation based content that helps them become the bright future identity. They want to be that I talked about an episode three of this season, just a few episodes back.
[00:02:39] They aren't that person yet, but becoming that person would make their future brighter. That's why I call it the bright future identity. It's basically why they feel imposter syndrome. So for example, maybe they're an entrepreneur, but they don't feel like a legitimate entrepreneur yet because they're just starting out and haven't had enough success in their minds to feel like a true entrepreneur.
[00:03:03] They feel like an imposter. So when you're content, you want to highlight the transformation that needs to happen for them to get from where they are now, to where they want to be in order to become that bright future identity. And you want to position your unique product or service as the way to get that transformation and become the person they're dreaming of being.
[00:03:25] Okay. So let's use the first episode I recorded in season three, as an example, where I shared my plan from going from zero to $30,000 per month in just 90 days. Now I entered the conversation by talking about pivoting, due to COVID, which lots of people are dealing with right now. My goal is to get entrepreneurs, to hire me for a clarity coaching day.
[00:03:49] And to help them create a step by step strategy that they can be confident in and follow to grow their business. Something that's completely aligned with who they are and customized so that they get the most results as easy as possible for them. So I talk about the difference between where I was when I was first starting out and where I am now as a bright entrepreneur who gets it, it and has been successful in the past.
[00:04:15] I shared how I'm doing things differently and hope to make 30,000 a month in less than 90 days after starting over completely from scratch. And I shared what I know now that makes is it truly feel possible versus who I was. It was when I was just starting out and couldn't even fathom making $30,000 in a month.
[00:04:36] So when I explained that having a clear step by step plan, that fully aligns with who I am and that I can follow confidently without second guessing myself. And when I explained that that makes all the difference, , it just built huge desire for people to have that because really. That does make the difference.
[00:04:55] That is the massive difference between now and then. So naturally for people who I want to be a successful bright entrepreneur, but who don't have that clarity. And aren't sure if they're doing it right, or why things aren't working the way they hoped they would, they want to have a plan to like, of course they want to have that certainty.
[00:05:15] So I implicitly highlighted where they fall short and I'm offering my product. As the way to transform them into this successful bright entrepreneur, they want to be. Plus I've proven my expertise by clearly showing the difference between the two, right. I've offered to help them create their own plan for their own business.
[00:05:35] So they can be that bright entrepreneur as well. Do you see how powerful that is? I mean, I know that that's just laying out what I did, but
[00:05:43] when you consistently create transformation based content that helps them see how to become the bright future they want to have and position your unique product or service as the best way to get there. It really makes people want to buy your product and when they want your product and believe it can help them become the person they want to be. They will rearrange their budget to find a way to pay for it and make it work. Trust me on this one, I have seen this several times over.
[00:06:11]You simply need to contrast the difference between who they are now and who they want to become and tell them how your product can help them get there. Here's the real key. Don't just focus on what they need to do, but focus on identity shifts and beliefs as well. Our identity isn't, it's what we do.
[00:06:28] It's also what we believe, feel, and understand. It's so much deeper than what we just do. Then don't forget the most important part. Right? You've got to put a call to action at the end to tell them what you want them to do next. So if you're doing this right, it's going to make people want to buy your stuff.
[00:06:48] If you're running a closed membership, or course that's not open right now where they can't buy it, then make sure to tell them how to join your waitlist. Or how to get involved in any of the free communities you have or if they can purchase it right now, tell them how to do that. I use a similar format, almost every time for these podcasts, with just small changes, I call it my transformation based content framework. You enter the conversation. You show the transformation between where your client is now and how they can become the bright future identity.
[00:07:19] Then you position your stuff as the way to bridge the gap. And you follow that up with a call to action, telling them. What steps to take next. It's so easy and non pushy, and it makes people want to do it. They want to buy your stuff. They want to do whatever it is you're calling them to do in the call to action.
[00:07:39]Have you noticed how I do this naturally and confidently at the end of every episode? Do you invite people to hire me for clarity coaching day, listen, closely, watch what I'm doing. Right. Think about how it would feel if you had this complete content strategy that attracts the right people, builds desire for your product and gets them to become more and more engaged in your business.
[00:08:00] So, if you can see how valuable that would be to your bit business, how much time and second guessing it save you. And if you already have a product that gets your customers results, just know you don't have to create this strategy alone. Let me help you. You, I am insanely talented at it and I can walk you through creating a content strategy that best uses this transformational content, same work.
[00:08:25] Right? So. If you are a bright entrepreneur who doesn't just want to make a profit, but really wants to make a real impact in the world with your business. I'd love to help you do that. If you want to stop second guessing yourself and have that step by step content plan, that's fully customized to be lightened easy for you.
[00:08:44] Just check out the show notes, to get my contact information, send me a message, letting me know you're interested. And if I have any open spots, which I only have two per week, so. Often they're booked, but if I do have any that are open, we will set up a free 30 minute call. We're all asking you a bunch of questions about your business to help discover where you should be focused in your business right now.
[00:09:07] And if I can help you reach your goals, if we both feel like it's a good fit, we're going to schedule a clarity coaching day with each other and create a step by step strategy for you to follow it, to grow your business. So just head on over to the show notes right now and send me a message. By the way, if you're new around here and found this helpful, please take a moment to subscribe right now.
[00:09:28] So you don't miss any future episodes. It means a ton. If you took a moment to also leave a review, but at the very least subscribe, I will occasionally be reading some reviews here on the podcast. And I would really love to feature you like this one from beta, who was one of my bright future method, workshop students.
[00:09:46] So she gave me five stars. She said so refreshing and much needed for entrepreneurs. I love this podcast. Jamie is so down to earth, funny and real about the strategies entrepreneurs face and how to overcome them. There are so many amazing nuggets of info and helpful advice in every single episode. She doesn't waste any time with fluff or super long intros.
[00:10:09] She dives right into the topic at hand, and isn't afraid to share examples of ups and downs from her own business. Peter. Thank you so much for your kind words and for leaving a five star review, it's been awesome to watch your journey for the rest of you. I hope you found this helpful and we'll check out the show notes and consider hiring me for a clarity coaching day.
[00:10:29] I would love to work with you and make things clear for you and help you have a strategy for making the most of this transformation based content framework. Take it, use it, try it, see how it works for you so that you can make. A bigger impact in the world. We are brighter together. My friend, the world needs us.
[00:10:47] So let's make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

View Details

Interested in seeing if a Clarity Coaching Day is for you? Reach out to Jamie at @jamiemswanson on IG and send her a message.

Transcript:

Growing a big audience doesn't mean anything if they don't buy from you. Today I'm going to talk about how to attract the right audience, an audience of potential buyers who are perfectly suited for what you have to sell them.
[00:00:11] A few weeks ago, my new friend, Laurie invited me to go on an adventure to meet her friend group. They were going hiking, skinny dipping, and then finishing out the night at a bonfire on the beach. And I was really excited to be invited to this group because I know a few of the people in the group kind of casually, and I've always thought they were amazing people that I would just love spending time with.
[00:01:07] But the group generally is 20 to 30 years older than I am. And so when I first got to know a lot of the people in the group, I was having babies and I just wasn't in the same season that they were in. And so it never worked out to really go and spend time with them. So it's finally worked out. I was really excited about it.
[00:01:27]And I got there and, you know, we had our hike and our skinny dip and we went over to another beach and I was sitting next to this lovely woman and I didn't know her at all. And so I started asking your questions and I turned to her and I go, so what do you do? And she kind of gave me this, this look and she's like, well, I'm retired.
[00:01:50] And I'm like, Oh dad, this whole group has retired. Everybody in this group is done working. the question doesn't work anymore. Like of course I can ask that to people. My age. I can ask that to people who are in the entrepreneur space. Cause they're all. Building businesses. And almost tire group was retired or was really close to retirement and on their way to getting there.
[00:02:17] And so it was such a fascinating experience for me because the conversational questions that I generally use to get to know somebody. they didn't work. They weren't as relevant. And people didn't really know how to answer them because they're at a different stage in life. I wanted to share this story because this is what so many of us are doing.
[00:02:41] In our marketing that first question, the first, like, especially for doing a Facebook ad or even putting social media posts out, sending emails, whatever it is that headline, that first line of the copy, whatever it is we're using to try and grab their attention and get them to listen has to be relevant to the situation and the life that they're living.
[00:03:06] Right. If you're going to a bunch of retired people and saying, what do you do? They're like, well, I can tell you what I did. Right. It's not who I am today. Right. And so it was such a beautiful picture of marketing done wrong, even though I wasn't marketing to them. But. I wanted to share it with you because I think it shows exactly why so many people's marketing falls flat, and maybe you have put content out there and it just doesn't go anywhere.
[00:03:33]So our goal, as we are trying to reach the right kind of audience, is to make sure that when we start the conversation and when we provide help and content and advice and whatever it is, That it's relevant to the people that we want. To serve. I love thinking about this as a conversation. We need to enter the conversation that is already going on in their minds.
[00:04:01] And when we enter a conversation, then we have the opportunity to shift it. So for example, when I was talking to this lady, I was able to shape where the conversation went. Based on the questions that I was asking her and the things that I said that would, bring things up.
[00:04:18] you can make a conversation, go wherever you want it to go. Yeah. If you can first get that person's attention and get them interested enough to listen to you and have a conversation with you. And this is all we're doing with our marketing.
[00:04:32] the other reason, I really love thinking about marketing and our messaging as a conversation is because it shifts over time. For example, When you're first starting your business. If you're a brand new entrepreneur, right. What you are thinking about and talking about and wondering about, and that conversation that's going on in your mind is very different from the conversations and the questions and the struggles and the frustrations that my friends and impact mastermind who are running seven, figure businesses.
[00:05:07]Are having right. The conversation is going to shift over time. And so in our businesses, we need to understand what is the conversation. That the person we want to reach when they are first encountering our business. What is that conversation that they're having? How can we enter into that then? How does it shift as they, they become that bright future identity that we're going to help some become as they experience the transformation and the benefits of buying our products, being parts of our membership, whatever it is that you sell, your product, your service, your course, your membership.
[00:05:46] Whatever it is, as they experienced that transformation from being a party or business, how is the conversation changing? So, for example, when I was working with photographers, the conversation was very different. If they didn't know what personal brand photography was versus if they had already booked several clients, they had been through my courses and now they just needed more recurring clients.
[00:06:11] The conversation that I would have with each of those photographers. Extremely different. And so when I'm setting up my marketing for those people, I would have very different messaging depending on who it was that I wanted to reach. And it's especially powerful since we aren't actually in front of that person and able to interact with them in most situations, like right now, as you're listening to this pod cast, you're not able to pause what I'm saying and like speak back to me and then have me real time.
[00:06:40] Have a conversation with you. I mean, yes, you can definitely reach out to me on Instagram. You know, you can connect with me that way, but you're not going to be able to have this conversation as you're listening to the podcast. This is kind of a one way. Conversation, you know, it's not exactly a conversation cause it's just me, but what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to enter.
[00:07:02] The conversation that you have about content. I'm trying to talk about the problem that you're seeing in your business of attracting the right person and help guide the way you should be thinking about it so that you can become that bright entrepreneur who has successful marketing campaigns and is incredibly profitable in their business.
[00:07:23] Right. I want to help you figure out. What conversations you need to have to build a real movement of people around your business who want to bring what you have out to the world so that the world can be a better place. And so when we can speak to that conversation, especially when it's their problems, frustrations, emotions, skepticism.
[00:07:47] If we can speak to somebody, shame or guilt or their fears, any of those really deep things, they start to believe that, Oh my gosh, they understand the stuff that I'm not telling people. So they must understand how to help me become who I want to become and get past them. This problem.
[00:08:04] It's a really powerful way to capture attention. Is for somebody to feel like you really understand them at the deepest place, in their minds, in places that they may not have even admitted to others or even themselves, and then show them how they can get from where they are to that bright future identity that your business can help them have.
[00:08:26]Your free content should mirror the conversation going on and your perspective audiences mind. Now, I'm going to tell you in the next episode, what you should do to build desire for your product, once you've captured their attention, if have started having this conversation, but just know that your messaging absolutely needs to change as they buy your stuff and they make progress and really become that bright future identity.
[00:08:51] Conversation and messaging is a big part of the right future method workshop that I ran earlier this summer.
[00:08:58] And it's been really exciting to see how the bright entrepreneurs in my workshop have started implementing this, seeing greater engagement, higher sales. Seeing more people really use the stuff that they're putting out there. They're attracting more of the right people. And it's just been really fun.
[00:09:15] Like it's just helped everything. It's kind of like giving their business a shot of caffeine
[00:09:21] I've really honestly been thinking about this with the podcast a lot as well. Am I sharing the right topics? Am I giving the advice that I want to be giving to attract the clients who really could benefit most from hiring me for a clarity coaching day right now? Because honestly, that's what I want to be doing most at the moment I want to do just for a couple of months.
[00:09:48] And then I want to focus in, on selling my bright future method workshop again, but I really want to dive deep and help a number of people, both so that I can get some cash flow in the door. But also because it feels. So good to me to connect with a person one-on-one and to really see all the light bulbs go off and help them get that clarity and momentum and focus that need to move their business forward and reach their goals faster.
[00:10:20] It's just so much fun for me. And, but I've been thinking a lot if I'm, if I'm sharing tips that are too basic, if I'm sharing tips that are actually relevant, if I'm really, truly entering that conversation. Ironically enough, the more coaching days I do, the more clear that conversation becomes. So it's something that I'm thinking about even here on the podcast and with the content that I'm putting here.
[00:10:43] So if there's something you'd specifically love to see, don't hesitate to send me a DM on Instagram. My contact information is in the show notes, but. if you find yourself also struggling to attract the right people into your audience, and you really want to clarify your messaging and the conversation around it, so that you never wonder if you're attracting the right audience or not, and you have a step by step plan to get there.
[00:11:10] And if you already have something that you sell that convert, you know, I'm not really looking to work with people who don't know what to sell, who haven't learned, how to sell it all, because that's a different conversation and yes, I can have that conversation. Yes, I can help them. But. I can help so much more that people who are ready have taken action, who have something that sells and really want to see it grow.
[00:11:32] That's like where my sweet spot is. if this is you and you'd like help, I would love to help you. Don't have to try and figure this out on your own. You know, there's a reason why I can go from zero to 30,000 a month so much faster. I'm hoping in 90 days or less. Then I was able to, when I first started out where it took me years to have my first $30,000 month.
[00:11:55]and that's because I have all this experience and I would love to pass that onto you and help you find the clarity and focus that you need to have to do this as well. So I love to work with bright entrepreneurs who. Don't just want to make a profit, but also want to make a difference in the world with their business and really clarify the messaging around that too, for that matter.
[00:12:16] So if you want to stop second guessing yourself, if you want messaging that stands out and captures attention and really brings in the right. Audience so that they want to buy your stuff. yeah, if you want the step by step plan for creating that, if you want help, would somebody there to really help you lay it all out?
[00:12:38] You're out what that conversation is because it was a process that we can walk through together. I would love to do that for you simply go into the show notes, get my contact information and send me a message. Letting me know you're interested if I have any open spots, cause I'm only doing at most two per week and I'm only doing them for a couple of months.
[00:12:58]yeah, if I have any open spots, I will set up a free 30 minute clarity call with you, or I'm going to ask you a bunch of questions about your business and make sure you're going to be a good fit for this and that I can really help you. And that you're going to make all the money back that you spend on this.
[00:13:14] That's really my goal. I don't want to take any clients. That I have any hesitation would not make their money back. Like I just, I know that what I can offer is so much more valuable than what I charge. I just want to make sure that. It's right for you. if you would like to do that, if we do that clarity call, it's a good fit for both of us.
[00:13:32] Then we schedule a full clarity coaching day, where we work one-on-one together over zoom and we lay it all out. We figure out what you really want to have happen. What are you doing now? How can we simplify it? Clarify it, and create the messaging around it. That's really going to move your business forward fast.
[00:13:51] We're going to figure out what those conversations are. So that you can have the right conversations and attract the right people. Stop attracting those freebie seekers and attract those buyers. So, head on over to the show notes, get my info and send me a message. Now, if you're interested in that, and if you're new around here and you found this helpful would love it.
[00:14:11] If you would subscribe. Right now, just smash that subscribe button so that you don't miss any future episodes. And if you have a moment and can leave a review, I mean, obviously not if you're driving, but it would mean so much. If you left a review, I'll be reading a few of them here on the podcast. Like this one from killer Mimi who left this review a few days ago, right after I started season three and rebranded the podcast, she says, it was five stars.
[00:14:37] She says, it's a masterpiece. In itself on how to hook your potential clients. I love this episode just for the fact that it shows in itself, how did it elegantly and effectively introduced a pivoting podcast and how to draw petition listeners and customers into the following episodes? You walk the talk.
[00:14:55] So skillfully, Jamie, that makes sense. All of your tips and strategies, a real proven business jam and you and authentic and trustworthy teacher. Thank you. Well, thank you. Killer Mimi for the awesome review. I really appreciate it. And I know there are those of you out there. Who've been thinking of leaving a review.
[00:15:13] For maybe a long time now. Cause I meet you in person and you tell me that and you haven't yet for whatever reason. So if this is you and you can't do it right now, cause you're driving or whatever you phone and tell it to give you a reminder to leave her of you later on, when you know you're going to be free, it would mean a lot.
[00:15:31] I'd really appreciate it. So my friend, we are brighter together and the world needs us out there. So let's go and make it brighter.

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Hey, Friend. I just wanted to let you know that I had some audio issues with this podcast, but the content was so good that I wanted to share it anyways. So thanks for your understanding.
[00:00:08]if you've got kids who are going to be home for either all or part of their school this year, no matter what kind of school you're doing, and you're trying to grow your business and aren't sure how you're going to do it all. I'm here to help I've homeschooled my six kids four years while also running a seven figure online business.
[00:00:30] And I'm going to share my best tips with you in this episode. Good
[00:00:34] Okay. Start by acknowledging how hard all of this is, no matter what you selected or have forced on you. I just want you to know that I get how hard this is and I'm here to support you in any choice you have made or whatever situation that you're in. So for a little background, for those of you who don't really know me very well yet, my kids are age 14, 13, 11, seven, five, and three.
[00:01:31] And I've got how many years of homeschooling behind me as well as having done some public school. And so I know firsthand how hard it is. To start and grow a business while having the kids at home all the time. I also know that mom guilt feeling like you're never present enough with the kids, but you're not able to work as effectively since your attention is continually divided.
[00:01:57] So the first thing before we even get into the tips, just try and let go that don't judge yourself over it. This is a pandemic after. All right. My goal here is to help as many people as possible to learn from my experience. So if you know any other entrepreneurs who are going to have kids at home, and if you find these tips helpful, it means so much to me.
[00:02:22] If you could share this episode with them, once you're done, I'd love to help as many entrepreneurial parents as possible, and I need your help to do it. So here are my five best tips to help you grow your business while also doing school from home. So number one know that the first week of school sets the tone for the entire year.
[00:02:44] So think of this, like our client onboarding. If you run a membership or you do a coaching program or something, you know that those first impressions after that by really shape a lot of their experience going forward. So spend some time to make this first week really fun and special for your kids. And I especially love to focus on positivity.
[00:03:07]
[00:03:07] The other thing I'd mention about that first week is if you're able to you ease into it, don't just suddenly go all in. And I have eight hours a day of school, which I never do eight hours a day for the record, in case you wonder, and really start to ease in and think of it as a transition. This is important.
[00:03:25] Both for your kids. But also for you, not just easing into the transition, but having this really great first week, because if you can really set that tone for the rest of the school year, if you can get your kids excited about it. And if you can in place some of the things that I'm going to talk about in the next tip, it's going to run so much smoother for you.
[00:03:48] Now, if that first week is a train wreck it's Oh, okay. Don't worry about it. Life goes on, but if you can, in any way, go above and beyond to make that first week really awesome for both you and the kids. It's just going to be way easier to keep them going, keep them motivated and to read, really succeed as the school year continues on.
[00:04:10] Okay. So one other thing I'm going to mention here here is a resource. It's a book called the power of moments by chip and Dan Heath. And it's all about engineering, memorable moments in a person's life. Now I have found this incredibly helpful and insightful and helping me create moments that my kids will remember.
[00:04:31] Forever, but it's also helped me a lot in designing experiences within my business that make my clients absolutely love and adore me and feel incredibly loyal towards me and help spread the word about my business. So it will have a double benefit. If you read the book highly recommended, you will come up with all sorts of great ideas for that first week of schooling from home.
[00:04:56] And you'll find it's probably going to be something that changes how you interact with your kids going forward throughout the rest of life as well. And with your spouse or partner or anybody else that you really care about and want to create a moment for it's really awesome. So check out the book, power of moments by chip and Dan Heath.
[00:05:14] I'll put a link in the show notes as well. All right. The second tip is to plan ahead and this is kind of like multiple tips all within one. Little heading that I didn't want to have like 13 different tips for you. but all of these are based on the actual school day with your kids.
[00:05:34] So number one, create a routine. Now it's really easy when you're doing school from home, especially if you're homeschooling or have a lot of autonomy over your schedule, where nobody's telling you, you have to be somewhere at a certain time. It's really easy to just start that day later and later and later.
[00:05:53] And all of a sudden, it's just a mess. It consumes your entire day. So I absolutely believe in starting school at the same time every day. And I even liked to create a school area that is where they just do school. And honestly, it's really beneficial for you to also create a work area. If you're working from home, that is the only place that you, you really work.
[00:06:18] And when you're there, the family knows you're working. You know, when you're, and I know if you've got toddlers or babies or whatever, you can't always honor that, but as much as possible, that's where you do your work. That's where you have. this whole environment of productivity around you, even if it doesn't feel that way, cause kids are screaming in the background or whatever, you know, we've all been there.
[00:06:38] Trust me. I'm there every day and I'm just. If you can make those spaces, it's especially great for the kids, because then they know that they're kind of quote unquote, going to school, even though it's not going to school. Now, when we first started homeschooling, we didn't have spaces that we could use for their homeschool.
[00:06:58] And so our routine was every day to do school around the kitchen table. And so if anything was piled on the table, which I don't know how it's a magnet, but it always is right. So at the beginning of the day, we would make sure that everybody cleaned the table off. We started with a brand new clean table, pull out all the supplies.
[00:07:16] We pull out all the stuff we need, and then we'd start our day in school at the table. Now that my kids are older, sometimes I'll let them go and do some of their different subjects in different locations. But generally speaking, it's really helpful to have a specific location for school and it gives them a little bit more of a separation between what school time.
[00:07:39] And what's playtime, which is really helpful for kids in staying focused. You may also want to prep a whole lot of snack in advance. I don't know what it is about school starting again, but I swear my kids become bottomless pits. And so when I have, you know, a lot veggies, all cut up and prepped or a lot of crackers and stuff, it's ready to go.
[00:08:03] And, you know, I don't have to think about it. I can just pull something out real quick. And there it is. I don't have to be like. Oh, gosh, what are we going to have? You're hungry again. You can't be hungry again. You just ate five minutes ago, , you know, the conversation, right. But when you have that, all those snacks prepped in advance, it's just easier.
[00:08:21] And then the other thing I want to mention about this, just from a very practical standpoint, in terms of like planning ahead and how you're going to handle different situations to make it go smoothly, is that some days. How can it be really hard? And so don't be afraid to take a mental health day off.
[00:08:40] Now I get the benefit as a homeschooling mama of course, the entire day, without having to be accountable to anyone else. So if you are using some sort of virtual school or there is somebody else that the children are accountable to, you should really view this as like a mental health. They, even if they're doing okay, because, you know, They are not going to learn anything when they are in a certain mood.
[00:09:05] And if you can't turn that around, if they can't turn that around, it's just going to be a wasted day with nothing done. And it's going to be full of pain and fighting and arguing and whining, or just difficult stuff that isn't going to actually benefit anybody. And so you might as well take that day, find a way to refresh them.
[00:09:24] If you have to give them the day off just to go out and play, whatever. I've just found that it doesn't matter how positive I am and how well I have followed the routine they follow been fed and whatever.
[00:09:38] There are just some days that are really hard and they're just over it. And so giving them some space, not, you know, every day, not every week. But having a day here and there, that's really rare and saying, you know what, you're right. Let's turn this off. Let's do something really fun. That's super atypical.
[00:09:57] I believe that that can be a really helpful and healthy thing for your kids. And sometimes all you have to do is like an hour or two of this activity, and then they can come back and they're reset and they're ready to go. So don't be afraid to do that when your kids really need it and you'll know, or frankly, if you really need it.
[00:10:14] In fact, that's why I did one of my public school years was after we had Olaf, which is my sixth baby. He's three, he's my three year old, the year, right after we had him, I swear he broke my back. Like I love the kid, but something about going from five to six, I just, I was not capable. Of doing school that year.
[00:10:35] Like I just knew that I wouldn't be able to do it well. And so we put the kids in public school for a year and it was totally fine. It was actually really validating because it showed me that they were way ahead, even though we do so much, many fewer hours than the public school. And, then the next year we went back to homeschooling.
[00:10:51] So, you just know yourself, know what you can handle and not. And if you need to call them for a day, call it for a day. There's no shame in that. Okay. So the third thing piggybacks right off of that is to prioritize self care daily and even more regularly like quarterly. Okay. So this was really hard for me.
[00:11:16] In fact, I didn't know, do self care for probably a good solid 10 years, maybe 13 years, because I always felt like it was really selfish. I always felt like my family had to come first. And my, you know, we had to make money. We had to pay the bills. I was super responsible person. All these things just sucked all the life out and I felt bad any time for myself.
[00:11:41] And I've completely shifted that 180 degrees. Now I make sense of care, the most important part of my day. And I've had to figure out how to fit it into my schedule. I do it daily and sometimes it's just a few minutes here and there, sometimes it means taking a longer chunk of the day and getting out into the world, whatever it is for you.
[00:12:03]honestly, sometimes for me, it's grabbing like a snack or some candy or a doughnut, which I'm not a big sugar person, but every once in a while, I love to have something like that. Something I enjoy and going and hiding in the closet in my bedroom and eating it alone. So I don't have to share it with my kids, which sounds crazy, but that can be self care too.
[00:12:23] Like it's okay to have something you love. That's just for you, you know, maybe it's meditation or contemplation. I do that in the mornings. Maybe it's exercise for you every day. Getting out for a run. I know that's been a huge part. Of my self care this year in particular, especially as I've been training for an ultra marathon, whatever it is, try and get them daily.
[00:12:45]you know, but also think about what can you do? We do weekly, monthly, quarterly. That really is going to help you be your best self. Because when we are rested, we can give from such a better place than we, when we are continually exhausted. And I especially want to speak to the moms out there. I know that.
[00:13:05] There's this , weird, weird conditioning out there that says good mom is always, you know, selfless. We give to everybody, we are servant leaders and I fully believe in serving and I fully believe in being generous, but there's almost the shame around giving ourselves that same care and courtesy.
[00:13:28] Can you imagine? How it would feel if somebody even cares for you one 10th of the way that you care for your children, right? Do this for yourself, make this a priority, do not feel bad about doing this. The thing that really got me started with self care, and it's not just going to a spa all the time or whatever, it can be all sorts of things.
[00:13:49] I'll give you a couple other ideas in a minute, but the thing that really drove this, Tom for me, was thinking about my daughters one day. What I want them giving to such an exhausted in an overwhelmed level, what I want them living their life like that day in and day out, day in, day out. Okay. All for other people and never ever for who they were created to be what I want them to sacrifice their gifts and their passions and their talents so that they could be, something they feel like they should be, but that's completely draining them.
[00:14:26], I would never want them to feel bad, taking a little bit of time to do the activities that they love. They bring them life and that make them a better mom that make them a better partner, whatever it is, make them a better person in general. Right. And so when I thought about it, that way, it's just like, Oh, why would I go way out of my way to do this for my kids, but never myself.
[00:14:48] And so once I got over that, it changed everything in my life. It's been one of the best things I've ever done. you know, maybe for you, it's weekly wine with your girlfriends or a monthly or quarterly getaways, you just have to figure out what the, this means for you, but, okay. Do you know that one of the most, supportive things I have in my life that I consider it self care in some ways is connecting with a group of friends.
[00:15:14] And I don't even need to have lots of time with them. I don't even need to see them every day or talk to them every day or whatever. But knowing that I have groups of friends that I can just send a quick little message over to and say, Oh my gosh, I'm struggling today. How are you doing? Or, you know, send help.
[00:15:30] This is what's going on, craziness or whatever, and just have the empathy and the compassion and have them speak truth back into me and encouragement. It's so. Amazing. And I really did not pursue building friendships for years cause I was just too busy and I didn't prioritize self care and it's something I've gone deep into in the last year and a half and has changed everything.
[00:15:55] So highly recommend that. if you go back in the archives, by the way, season one has some episodes about retreats and stepping away and creating space. And I don't have the episode numbers in front of me. Sorry about that. But if you go look, you'll find them. and I highly recommend listening to some of the benefits to that.
[00:16:13] It has literally changed my life in the best of ways. Okay. So definitely prioritize self care on the regular, both at least daily, something small. also, you know, bigger things throughout time as you need them and schedule them or they won't happen. It's another tip. Schedule them in advance. All right.
[00:16:31] Number four is as a business owner, it's really important for us to buy as much time back. As we can to work on our business. If we have kids at home all the time, it is going to make it much more difficult for us to get our work done. Because even if we able to work the same number of hours, the fact that we have the mental load of thinking about the kids being there or hearing them and knowing that they're there.
[00:16:56] And the fact, you know, like it's just, it's heavier. It's always there, especially for us moms and maybe for some dads too, not a dad. So it's harder for me to speak to that, but. Especially as moms, it's really hard. I found it as a mom, really hard to unplug from hearing everything that's going on and paying attention to it, to really focus on my business.
[00:17:16] So my attention is divided never as effective and efficient when I'm trying to work with kids in the background, even if they are fully entertained and behaving well, as I am, when I can leave my home where there's all sorts of triggers of things that need to get done, and the mental load is big. Right.
[00:17:34] But if I can leave my home and have dedicated work, it is easily five to 10 times more effective and efficient. I get way more done when I can get out of the house. Okay. So, maximize the amount of work, only time that you have dedicated work hours and buy it back, if you can. And here's some ways you can do that.
[00:17:53] So, number one, a free way to get more time is to ask a partner or a spouse, if they can. Set aside some time for you that is dedicated to working. Now, maybe that's a couple hours a day. Maybe it's just one hour a day. Maybe it's , an entire day, a week where you go and you just, you know, you find a park or something and you just work like mad and you get or done, right.
[00:18:17] Whatever it is. If your partner, you have one can provide some really dedicated work time where you're just away from everything that is huge. the second thing you can do is it can actually hire a tutor to help the kids with school. There's a lot of teachers who are out of work right now, who would love to be able to help your kids through school, to make up some of the money that they've lost.
[00:18:41] Even if they're doing virtual public school, having somebody there who can help keep them focused and make sure that they're doing during their homework and keep them accountable. We'll free up so much mental load, and we'll give you extra time that you can be working while they're working with their kids.
[00:18:56] That's another thing you can do, right. Is hire a house manager. Now, this sounds weird, but they do, they can do things like laundry, cooking meals, basic cleaning. They can even do some nanny. Yeah. And childcare for you running errands. This is probably the most life-changing hire we ever made. And I fought this one for a long time because you know, we're not the kind of people who has, live in help or whatever.
[00:19:22] And it doesn't have to be live in. Ours, happens to be living because we live super remote, but we have a full time house manager. And it's kind of like having another wife, which sounds funny, not like the relationship side, but like somebody to make sure that everybody gets fed and all the clothes, this is washed folded, put away the toys are put away.
[00:19:42] So when I am home, I don't have to be focused on doing the mound of dishes. I can actually be focused on my children. So in the mornings I do my homeschool with them and work with them. And then I can go work in the afternoons and come home and actually be mom, instead of having to do all the chores and trying to multitask all the time, yeah, no idea how heavy that mental load is and how much that keeps you from doing your best work.
[00:20:10] Until you have somebody there who's really on your team, who's happy to help you with all of those things. It's been nothing but a joy. I do teaching of the lessons and I give them their assignments, but she can help follow through to make sure they get it done. She's not doing any teaching, but, it's just changed so much.
[00:20:28] I mean, if you can hire some childcare or a nanny or somebody to come in and watch your children, so you can get a little bit more dedicated work time. That can be great, whether full time, part, time, whatever, but also you may want to consider hiring more people on your team. If you haven't ever hired somebody for your business team, starting with a virtual assistant is a really great way to start outsourcing tasks that you definitely do not need to be doing.
[00:20:54]maybe for a content repurposing. So for example, I hire somebody to take my videos and reformat them into blog posts, into audio, okay. Into summaries, into an email, social media posts and schedule them on all the platforms. So all I have to do is one single video and upload it. And then they do all the rest and it costs me like $30 a video to have all that content done.
[00:21:17]it's a no brainer. It's absolutely. One of the best investments ever. And I buy back so much of my time, so I can do the stuff that actually brings things and money. Yeah. Instead of focusing on all those things that are simply processes that anybody can follow. growing your team and being willing to invest in your brand in yourself and my buy back your time so that you're doing the most important things will change.
[00:21:43] So much. Now here's a big thing to remember. It don't be you afraid to invest in your business when you can leverage it to make more money. Okay. So I know that if you've been doing this yourself, and you're not making a ton of money yet, this can be really hard, but bright entrepreneurs who are successful, who are really growing.
[00:22:04] No, that they're not wasting money. This is not an expense. This is literally an investment that will make them back far more money in the end, multiple times over because they're getting more work done faster. So they're getting more results faster, which means more money faster. And the rate of growth in terms of profit is almost always greater than what you're going to be paying a team.
[00:22:33] And it should be if you're going to be doing this, it's called an ROI. If you're doing the whole team process, right? If you're making processes, people can follow. If you're really empowering them to do the work and not micromanaging running a team is a whole nother area of leadership. So that's something you want to hear more about and I have done it all wrong, but I've also done it.
[00:22:54] All right. And then with this, COVID destroying my business. I've really pared back to like the barest chosen. I'm going to be rebuilding my team again, basically almost from scratch as this business grows. And so if you want hear more about that process, if you want to hear more about how to grow a team correctly, make the right hires all of those things.
[00:23:16] If you could drop me a message on Instagram, just at Jamie M Swanson and let me know, that's something you'd be interested in. let me know. And I'll, I'll consider talking about that more. It wasn't something I was thinking about originally, but I know that this is an area that can really be an expensive mess if you don't know what you're doing.
[00:23:35] And so I'd be happy to share some of those insights with you here on the podcast, if there's enough interest for it. Alright. So fifth and final tip that I would say is really, Get very good at leveraging the time that you do have and use it in a very focused way. Okay. So what I mean by this is, a lot of entrepreneurs who are even into the six figures, like, you know, one to $300,000 or less, they are doing so much stuff that really doesn't matter.
[00:24:07], they're rebranding the website and they're, they're doing this and that. And the other thing, and they're posting and all the social media channels and near her busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, we've got these big, complicated businesses that are profitable, but they just can't keep up. And if this is you and you are just like, how am I going to do school and do all this stuff?
[00:24:25] And my business is going to go into decline. It's overwhelming. It's absolutely overwhelming. And so. What you really need to focus on is the five to 10% of the stuff you do that actually brings in more income and grows your business. Now it can be easy to, I think he needs to do all this stuff, even vital stuff, right.
[00:24:48] Starting over. I know so many people who are like, Oh, I have to grow list first before I can sell to them. And then there's me. Who's like, Oh, I've got 17 people on my list. 17 people on my list. That's not an exaggeration or an under exaggeration. It's literally seven. Yeah. Teen people. And I've made over five figures of income in the first 30 days.
[00:25:09] We're not even at the 30 day Mark yet from the 17 people. Actually. It's not all from them. I just started selling it's people I attracted. Yeah. It's just, you don't need to have a big audience in order to start selling and making money. If you have a plan. No. How do I attract the right people? And how to position your product for them in a way that they want it.
[00:25:34] Like when they see it, they're like, Oh gosh, yes, I actually do want this. And so you need to have a very concise, focused plan. That really is just the stuff that really matters. Right. This is another way of buying time back because you're not wasting it and procrastinate working on stuff that does not get you results.
[00:25:52] Okay. second in terms of saying focused. Stick with what you are most aligned with and do most naturally, right. serve out of your strengths, not out of your weaknesses when we're doing something that is naturally easy for us to do.
[00:26:09] It takes us way less time and we get way better results. Whereas when we do stuff that we're not as good at, but we feel like we have to do it. It takes us the longer, it wastes a bunch of time. We don't get as good a result. And so we really want to focus on the stuff that we are good at and go all in would those things.
[00:26:28] And you'll find usually that the five to 10% of the stuff that gets results is this stuff that's naturally easy for you to do anyways. So it's a really great way to leverage the time you have. You also do not want to be second guessing. You plan create a strategic step by step plan and stick to it. You should always know what you're going to be working on this week.
[00:26:49] What you're going to be working on next week. You should know any moment that you, you have to sit down and work without them kids without distraction. You should know exactly what you need to jump into and not be wondering. Gosh, what should I do next? Because then you're going to get sucked into some Facebook group or some podcast episode.
[00:27:07] And talking to people or whatever it is you do to procrastinate. Right. For me, I connect with people cause I love to connect with people and I love to learn. So those are my two things that I do a lot of when I really am not fully clear on what I should do next, or I'm trying to procrastinate. I don't want to do it.
[00:27:24] I know needs to happen next. Right. So when you have a plan and you're not second guessing it and you stick to it, You get it done faster and you don't waste your time on stuff. That's not going to bring immediate results. Okay. And then consistency here is key. And I just want to mention this. You'd probably know this already.
[00:27:42] You're here. You're bright entrepreneur, but your business is going to suffer most when you're inconsistent and you stop showing up for some time. So you want to do everything you can do to avoid that. And this might be something that that's a challenge as you're doing school from home. Because they're just maybe times when you can't get to everything.
[00:28:03] And so now before everything gets crazy or hopefully you're not in that moment right now, if you are just get started, get back on the horse. But as soon as you have a time really through where are the spots that are going to be potentially sticking and how can you plan to overcome them now and stay consistent with your content schedule?
[00:28:25]making sure your contents schedule is actually, you know, bringing in the right people, creating the desire for your products and selling it, which we're going to talk about over the next few episodes. So Hey, you know, if you haven't subscribed yet, here's your hook, just subscribe, but definitely make sure everything is staying consistent because if there's a gap, if you become inconsistent, the numbers are going to plummet this podcast.
[00:28:48] Fantastic example of that. As much as I hate to say it. But this was this podcast, seasons one and two were really a passion project for me. I didn't have a business plan for them. I was doing it because I love the idea of working or I'm doing a podcast CAS, and I wanted to share the stuff I was learning as I grew my seven figure business with other entrepreneurs because that's, that's my people, which is why it made so much sense for me to pivot into the entrepreneur space.
[00:29:20] But now I am absolutely committed to consistency because the last two seasons as I would podcast for a while and the numbers would start to grow really well. And then they would plummet because I would just stop and I would stop for a couple of months or more and I'd stop in the middle of stuff.
[00:29:37] Right. And it just kills any momentum that you've built. You've got to keep that momentum going and to keep the momentum going. You've got to have consistency. So. If you have listened to all this stuff, and you know that it's going to be rough this year with kids at home, and you want to figure out what your step-by-step plan is, what those five things, 10% of those activities are that are really going to bring you in the revenue and really what you're gifted at, what you're aligned with it.
[00:30:09] I am so good at helping people figure out. Where their gifts are and how to really lean into them , if you already have something that sells, you're making some money and you want help doing that, you don't have to do this alone.
[00:30:23] I would love to help you. I would love to do a clarity coaching day with you. And really set up a step by step plan so that you don't lose momentum so that you always know exactly what you should be focused on as you're moving forward and have this work time so that you can continue growing your business.
[00:30:43] Even if you're schooling from home, you don't want to let that affect or hurt your business in any way. And I improve as a mom with six kids that you do not have to have this. Hurt your business. Right? I homeschool my children and have for years. So I know this from experience and I am so good at helping you figure out what you want, make a clear and simple plan for getting there.
[00:31:09] Simplicity is everything, and I would love to help you get that. So yeah, if this sounds interesting to you, all you have to do is go into the show notes and find my contact information. and then message me and if I have any open spots, cause I'm only doing two per week at the most.
[00:31:28] we'll set up a free 30 minute call where I'm going to ask you a bunch of questions about your business and really just make sure that we're a good fit. I want to see if I can actually help you do this because I would never want somebody to hire me that I didn't 100% feel confident.
[00:31:43] I could, I mean that they would look back on this and say, that was the best investment in the business they made in a long time, because they made several times over their money back. Right. So, if we do this discovery call and we feel like it's a great fit, then we'll set up a clarity coaching day where we will spend a day together and create that step by step strategy for you. That's super focused. It's really easy so that you can follow it and grow it business as you school from home. So just head on over to the show notes and send me that message.
[00:32:14] Now, if you're new around here and you found this helpful, we'd love it. If you'd subscribe, you know, tell all your friends who are entrepreneurs who have kids at home doing school, even if it's just part of the week, have them come listen to this episode. and also if you like this episode, it would be awesome.
[00:32:31] If you would leave a review. I know it's the shameless ask. We all ask that. but I'm occasionally going to be reading them here on the podcast and I'd love to feature your, your review. Like this one that I just got recently from N D H Vaughn, which says five stars. I love Jamie's podcast.
[00:32:48] I've followed Jamie for the better part of a decade. And I really love her podcast. I listened to a lot of podcasts, mostly entrepreneur and business related, and I really liked the helpful and real content she's putting out. I admire her ethics, her vulnerability, and her genuine desire to help others grow their businesses.
[00:33:05] She's very knowledgeable and really fun to listen to you. Subscribe. You'll be glad you did. Thanks. N D H Vaughn for the awesome review and my friend, we are brighter together. The world needs us. So let's go and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

The Power of Moments: Why Certain Experiences Have Extraordinary Impact

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Contact me for Clarity Coaching Sessions or with feedback on Instagram by sending me a DM @JamieMSwanson

Book: This is Marketing by Seth Godin (affiliate link)

Episode Transcript:

there's one thing in business that almost everybody agrees on. If you want to have a successful business, you have to understand your ideal client and what keeps them up at night.
[00:00:10] Who are these people? What do they need right now when we know who they are and can help them overcome this immediate need with the stuff we sell and they believe our stuff will work for them. Then they buy it. It's basic marketing. Right. But how do you stand out from all the other people who are selling something similar to the same ideal client as you?
[00:00:33] How can you make your messaging shine bright in a sea of noise so that people choose you instead of your competitors. There's a simple little shift you can make that changes everything. And I'm going to share it with you in this episode.
[00:00:49] most people focus on who their ideal client is right now in the present moment. Every marketing course you'll ever take will make you walk through some version of defining who your ideal client is right now, what their problem is. Where are they look for a solution and their demographic info, all sorts of things.
[00:01:38] They get super detailed. I've even taught this myself. It's not wrong. Exactly. It's just not complete focused solely on the present moment who the ideal client is right now, the problem that they want to have solved right now. And most people failed focus on who their ideal client wants to be become when you shift them, Jordy of your focus on figuring out who they want to be, that bright future identity that they'll have once their problem is gone and they've been transformed.
[00:02:13]Everything changes. In fact, Seth Godin said in his book, this is marketing, which you should read. If you hadn't. It's fantastic. He says people like us do things like this. Basically what he means is that we make decisions based on our identity, not just based. On our problems. It's a subtle shift in focus, but it's incredibly powerful when we start focusing on the future identity that people want to have, our messaging becomes much stronger.
[00:02:49] It stands out from everyone else. Who's just talking about problems and solutions and the right here, fear and the right now. And. This is why it's so powerful. It's because it's focused on real transformation. It's real power is in helping people become who they want to be and appealing to their identity, not just to the problem or not just to some little whim or thing that they want.
[00:03:16] This little subtle shift is, Oh, you stand out from the crowd. In fact, this is the basis for the entire bright future method that I've created, which helps create a bright future for both your client, through the transformation that your product gives them and a brighter future for them world, as they help you spread the word and your business impacts more and more.
[00:03:44] People it's how I have built everything I've done over the last 10 years. So let me give you an example to help make this a little bit more concrete, because I know it's a little bit heady .
[00:03:56] I usually see this with a bunch of newer entrepreneurs who are trying to do all the things at the same time. You know, they they've gotten some success, they've got something they've sold. They're just not growing the way that they want to. Um, but they're trying all this stuff. They figure, you know, I've literally heard the term, they're throwing something against the wall and hoping that something sticks, right?
[00:04:19] So they start an email list. They do all the different social media accounts on all the big platforms. Maybe they start a blog and a podcast and, you know, maybe they make an opt in, or maybe they have several different opt ins to see which one will work best. They buy a course or two, they start doing all the tactics they make a quiz is they just do all of the things, right.
[00:04:40] But it takes for ever for most of them to get any tangible results, if they get any at all. So why is that? Right? It's because they're doing all those things, things, because they think they're supposed to. Not because they have a strategic plan for leveraging those and understand the purpose between each of the pieces and how they all work together.
[00:05:03] Right. They think they need to be doing those things because yeah. See other entrepreneurs, they follow doing them and they want to be that kind of successful entrepreneur. They w they do what they think a successful entrepreneur is supposed to do because they so desperately want to be successful.
[00:05:22] But, like I said, they don't understand the big picture. They have no idea what the strategy is behind all the moving pieces. So they aren't getting results. In fact, this is why most of them feel imposter syndrome. they second guess themselves all the time, they don't feel like they're good enough or legitimate.
[00:05:38] because frankly they're super busy doing quote unquote. All the right things, but they are making any money because they're missing the most important part. Right. And in some cases they may even start to wonder if it's their own fault. Like they might start to think that maybe there's something inherently wrong in them that is keeping them from their success.
[00:06:00] Like maybe they don't have what it takes or maybe the aren't good enough or maybe they aren't smart enough to make this happen. Or maybe they're not working hard enough and just need to hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle, hustle more, or make it harder on themselves. You know, whatever they, they overcomplicate things.
[00:06:17] Do you ever feel that way? Here's what I know to be true. If someone doesn't make it in business. It's not usually because they aren't good enough or they don't have what it takes. They just need to get really clear on the big picture strategy and understand how all the moving parts work together. They need that simple step by step plan to follow, and they need to stop trying to do all the things they need.
[00:06:43] Focus. And clarity and they need to stop second guessing themselves and overcome any fears, holding them back and start taking interest. Intentional action. It's amazing how much people do because they think they are surprised host you in order to be a good so, and so in fact, some people build a pretty successful business, just trying to do what they think they're supposed to do.
[00:07:05] So you can have some level of success here, but it definitely can be very limiting. You know, I was talking to a person earlier this week on a clarity coaching consultation call, where we were seeing if it would be a good fit for us to work together. And, , they were actually thinking about changing their entire product and business model.
[00:07:28] Because they thought they had to do it in order to be a successful entrepreneur, even though they didn't really want to serve these new clients and they didn't really want to do it that way at all. In fact, if they had made this pivot, that would have been a huge mistake because it wasn't what they were passionate about.
[00:07:45] It didn't align with their deeper purpose or who they were. And they just thought that in order to be the person they wanted to be to be this successful entrepreneur, this is what they had to do because that's what so many people around them we're doing. So I offer clarity coaching days to help people create that step-by-step strategic plan to become the successful and bright entrepreneur that they want to be.
[00:08:10]And when I talk about how I help someone go from just throwing things against the wall and hoping one of them sticks to building an intentional plan that helps them become the profitable entrepreneur that they want to be. It's far more compelling than just talking about how I can help them get more members or make more money or grow their email list.
[00:08:30] You see that it's a subtle difference, but it's a powerful one. You know, I'm not just talking about the results. I'm talking about the identity. That they want to have and how I can help them become that person. This is why I base my entire bright future method of running a business on helping someone experience real transformation from.
[00:08:52] the stuff that you're selling, right. And when you shift your own marketing to speak to your clients, bright future identity, whatever it is, cause it will be different for all of us and the clients that we want to work with. It's going to help you stand out and shine bright in a sea of noise.
[00:09:10] This is what we can, you'd separate ourselves from all of that. And frankly, as a side note, this is also what allows you to speak to more than just one ideal client. So as long as they all have the same bright future identity, and they all want to have that identity in the future, if you focus your messaging on that, and that's the primary driver, you can actually connect with a far broader audience and expand your market base.
[00:09:37] Even if that ideal client right now, Looks very different from each other. Cause the thing they have in common is who they want to become. So here's what I want you to do. Give it a try. Let me know how it goes, shift some of your messaging, start talking about that, the person that they can become, and then let me know how it goes.
[00:09:57] You can send me a DM on Instagram at Jamie M Swanson. I'll put that in the show notes as well. So you have that there and just let me know how it goes, because I know that this is subtle. But it's powerful. It's so incredibly powerful and most people don't get it at all. So if you find yourself listening to this and thinking, man, okay, I want to be that entrepreneur that Jamie's talking about.
[00:10:24] I'd love to work with her to get even more clear on my messaging and, you know, learn more about this bright future method and how you can use it in your own business. and you already have a product or service that gets people results. I would love to help you. , right now I'm doing it. Clarity coaching day is helping bright entrepreneurs who not only want to make a profit, but want to make a real impact in the world with their business.
[00:10:47] I'd love to help you do that. I'd love to help you create messaging. That's going to grow your business impact and grow. the impact you're having on the world, not just in your business. So if you're interested, all you really need to do is go down into the show notes, find my contact information, and then.
[00:11:05] Send me a message. Tell me what you'd like to do if I have any open spots available. Cause I'm only doing two of these per week. We will set up a free 30 minute call will where I will ask you a bunch of questions about your business to help discover, where you should be focusing your business right now.
[00:11:22] And, make sure that it's a good fit for us to work together because I absolutely only want to work with people that I know can make their money back from the clarity coaching day. Very easily once they implement the plan. if we both feel like it's a good fit, then we'll schedule a clarity coaching day with each other and we'll work together to create a step by step plan for helping you create the business that you want to create.
[00:11:46] We can clarify your messaging to help you stand out from all the other people who are trying to sell it to the same people that you are. And we can use that bright future method to really become clear on who you're going to help people become and how to get them to that point. Okay. How to shift your messaging, how to change all that, how to communicate it in a way that builds desire for whatever it is that you're selling.
[00:12:12] So just head on over to the show notes right now, send me a message. If you found this helpful would love it. If you'd subscribe to the podcast, if you haven't already so that you never miss an episode. And if you would leave a review would be really, really appreciate, you know, if you've got a friend, you can always tell them too, that would be awesome.
[00:12:28] Would really love to grow this podcast. If they are the kind of person who really wants to make a difference in the world, because that's who I want to work with. And that's who lights me up most. So we are brighter together. My friend, the world needs us and our businesses, so let's go and make it brighter.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

This Is Marketing: You Can't Be Seen Until You Learn to See

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Contact Jamie via DM on Instagram @jamiemswanson if you're interested in booking a Clarity Coaching Day.

Episode Transcript:

[00:00:00] I'm starting a brand new business with zero audience with a goal of getting to $30,000 per month. Within the first 90 days in today's episode, I'm going to share how I plan to do it and why it feels really doable at least what I'm not listening to my fear, but first check out the new podcast, branding and introduction.
[00:00:22] At the end of June, I officially stepped away from the personal brand photography training business that I had been running for years after trying for several months to revive it after COVID hit, it was really a rough demise. If you want to hear. About the majority of it and how I handled that you can go back and listen in too.
[00:01:13] But basically what I ended up doing, I was running a beta course on the bright future method that I had been basically doing. In my business. I'd just never taken the time to get it out of my head and teach it to others. And I did that in may and June with a handful, all of entrepreneurs to see if it would really work for them as well.
[00:01:36] Not just for me. It gave me a ton of clarity. And how I wanted to move forward for the next few months, even though, while I was doing this beta course, I was also trying to keep my photography training business going, because I really believe that that industry is set up to be. Really profitable in the future.
[00:01:59] More and more people are online than ever. But the reality was that photographers got hit really hard by COVID even now as I'm doing this a few months later, They're still trying to dig out of the hole.
[00:02:12] And many of them still see the impact on their business because, you know, people don't want to be taking photos with masks on, in the photo. And there's just all sorts of stuff that make it very difficult for them. So if they aren't making money, very few of them are spending money. Some are just not at the rate that they were before.
[00:02:31] And I saw some drop about 85%, which was. Just brutal. So I tried for about three and a half, almost four months to really revive that and bring it back. And I do believe that it's going to come back in the future, maybe six, 12 months down the line, but right now I can't afford to wait that long. So we're pivoting and I kind of saw this as a great opportunity to become more aligned in my business with who I am now, because when I started my online business, Almost 10 years ago now, which is just amazing to look back and think of, I was a totally different person than I am now.
[00:03:08]And so even though this has been really not fun, really not fun to walk through. And if you have been going through it as well, you understand, even if your business is okay, you know how hard it's been on a personal level. So we're all struggling through this together. And even though it's been a really, really hard.
[00:03:27] I feel this huge sense of excitement and freedom as to what can be in the future. And I know that one day I'm going to look back at this and see this as one of the best things that's ever happened, because it's allowing me to really do something that I'm super passionate about today. And it's allowing me to dive into helping people that I just love geeking out with.
[00:03:50] And so anyways, all of that said, I'm very excited about it. And July 13th, It was the day that I was officially all in with my new business where I've stepped away, almost completely from the photography stuff. It's still there. It's still got some evergreen funnel running.
[00:04:06] In terms of my time, everything is focused on the new business as of July 13th. And so my goal is to be making at least $30,000 a month within the first 90 days of July 13th. Now it took me a few years to have my first $30,000 month. When I was first starting my online business. This would have seemed like an unfair.
[00:04:32] Fathomable goal for me back when I was first starting out online. So I wanted to share why I think now I can totally make that happen and what's different, right? Because I think you might get some benefit from hearing how I approach things differently. Now almost 10 years in. Versus how I did them when I was first starting out, or even had a few years of experience under my belt, but didn't fully understand what it took to be successful.
[00:05:01], number one, I have way more. Clarity about what I want. And I created a step by step plan for getting me there. Okay. So first I know exactly what I want to sell. I am not selling $20 a month memberships, which would take 1500 people for me to get to $30,000 a month.
[00:05:26] That's a lot of people to find and convinced to become buyers in 90 days. Like that is really hard. Instead, what I've decided to do is go higher end and do some coaching days. So I called these clarity coaching sessions and I'm charging at least at the time of this recording. $5,000 for clarity coaching day, where I walk through the big picture strategy with people, I help create a step by step plan.
[00:05:56] That's going to help somebody who already has a business running, who already has a product, but really wants to sell a lot more of it. And aren't sure what they're missing. They don't have that confidence. They don't know what works or what's going to work best for them. And they're doing a little bit of that FOMO marketing, where they're trying one thing, and then they're trying another, and they're just really hoping that something sticks, right.
[00:06:17] I can come in and use the expertise that I've gained in the last 10 years and help them create that step by step plan, but they can have full confidence in moving forward. And so that's, you know, I only need six people if it's $5,000 for a day and that's going to go up as demand increases. And that's going to go up as demand increases.
[00:06:39]that's only six people a month to get to $30,000. Now that's way easier to find people, even if it's a higher price point, then to find 1500 people at a lower price point. that's really. A huge advantage coming out the gate. people get really concerned about price being just right.
[00:06:58] And they're very afraid, especially early on that. If they price it wrong, nobody's going to buy. But what I've learned over the years that it's really not that much harder to sell a high ticket item than it is to sell a lower ticket item. If you know that what you have provides value really is going to get people results that make it worth the money you're charging.
[00:07:19] Right. And so I find it much less daunting to get six people than to get 1500. Now I'm not going for, or direct recurring revenue yet it's coming right now. I just want to see some money coming in the door, and then I'm going to take some time as I work with people. To develop some sort of recurring revenue in my business as well.
[00:07:39] I just don't know what people need most yet, or the best way to move forward with that in terms of what I want to offer. And so I'm spending a little time letting myself think about that, but eventually I want this to be recurring, not just one offs or six offs per month or whatever. But as I get demand growing and it's already started right away, which is really cool.
[00:07:58] I do hope that I'll be charging 10,000, maybe even 15,000 or more per day for these clarity coaching days. But right now I feel like I can easily help people make their investment back several times over at the $5,000 price point. So that's where I've started it.
[00:08:21] In addition to that, I also have the beta course that I did back in may and June. Now I'm not currently promoting that, like the thought of going in and setting up all the core stuff and doing a big launch for that felt. Heavy. And it felt slow compared to starting with the coaching days. And one of the things I wanted to do was really work one on one with more people right away to get a better sense for what is really going to help them get the transformation and progress they need in their business, so that I can go back and redo the bright future method again, with a new group of people in the future.
[00:08:56] But have a better sense of how I can help them have a better sense of where the holes are and the gaps are. I already learned a lot with the current beta course and the people who were there from their feedback, it was super helpful. Like I would never just create a course or a membership out the gate without having done it with at least a handful of people first in a messier, but more authentic.
[00:09:17] Like down and dirty kind of environment where you're learning together. And you're getting that direct feedback, because I know when I do put this out, it's going to be phenomenally amazing. That being said, the people in the course who went through it as a beta, there's about 15. Who've actively gone through it.
[00:09:35] And a handful of more who've who've joined it, but haven't gone through all the material yet, but those people have been asking me. When they can invite their friends. And so I'm not doing big launch. I've got my own little wait list right now, but I am letting them share the link with their friends.
[00:09:51] If they know somebody who really I could use it. So I could potentially get a little revenue from that on the backend as well at the moment. So that's another way that, you know, I could potentially bring money in
[00:10:02] for the $30,000 per month that I'm hoping to make. Now not only do I have clarity on what I'm going to sell, I have the intentional strategy for how I'm going to book these coaching sessions and eventually relaunch the course myself. Okay. So number one, I've figured out where people are hanging out for me.
[00:10:22] I know the people that I want to work with are listening to podcasts or reading. Or listening to books, that's where they get the majority of their information. Now, writing a book would take too long. So podcasting it is. And thankfully it is the medium that I love the best. This is my favorite way to make content.
[00:10:40] So I'm really excited about that. I created a content plan that builds desire for my coaching days. So I'm not just here spewing out random things, whatever comes to mind. I have an intentional strategic plan for. Every single episode, and I know how to create content that builds desire for whatever it is I'm selling, whether it be coaching days, whether it be the bright future method that I've created.
[00:11:07] I know how to make listeners. You really wish they had access to that. And it's, it's not anything manipulative. It's just in how you. Structure your content and messaging behind it. It's one of my little superpowers that I've found. I didn't even realize I was good at this, or how good at this I was until I went through this beta course and saw so many people seeing their messaging.
[00:11:32] Really becoming strong and really starting to stand out from the crowd because they were putting in place some of the things that I was recommending and doing it in the ways that I was encouraging them to do that, using this bright future method. And I'll share a little hints of that coming up in one of the episodes in the next few weeks.
[00:11:52] So watch for that. You're definitely going to want it. So everything's intentional. All my content is created. To build desire for the coaching day. And I'm keeping everything super simple, well enlight so I can implement it fast. I don't want to be spending a bunch of time building automated funnels right now.
[00:12:10] I want to be bringing money in the door quickly, and I didn't want this to be heavy. The last few months have been very exhausting. Sure. Can you relate to this? Have you had a few, are you exhausted moments? Are you just feeling the fatigue yet? I know so many people are kind of at the end of their rope, especially with school restarting up here in the U S.
[00:12:30] Soon or not. And all, it's just, it's a crazy mess. It's a crazy mess. And we are all exhausted Austin, including myself. And so I wanted this to be as light and simple, as easy as possible. So it's literally as easy as contacting me. Having a little chat to see if this is actually a good fit for both of us and then booking the date for the clarity coaching call.
[00:12:52] If it is a good fit for people, it's about as simple as a funnel can get. And I am all about keeping things simple in my right now. And then. I'm also doing absolutely everything with intention. I'm not doing anything without knowing exactly how it's going to help either build desire for my product, get people to buy or help them get better results and want to share it with the people that they know who need it.
[00:13:16] Right. So I'm definitely one of the big, you know, differences since I started out, is that everything now is intentional. I know why I'm doing every little thing that I'm doing. I also know now that it's not about the tactics, it's more about the big picture strategy. When I was first starting out, I get really concerned about all the little details, like what software do you use and how do you do this? And all those little things. They don't really matter, you know, like they're just the things that we use to keep us from moving forward. Our fear latches on all little details, because were afraid of putting ourselves out there.
[00:13:55] So it's much easier to hem and haw and worry about getting the color exactly right on your landing page or what platform should you use to. Deliver your content or any of these things that, yeah, you've got to make a decision about it. It doesn't really matter when you understand the bigger strategy and what's going on and have the messaging nailed down.
[00:14:20] All those little things. They're just a waste of time and your fear attaches to them. Just not letting myself care about that. I'm making it as simple as possible. And I just make a decision and move forward and don't worry about it. Doesn't have to be the best. It just has to be effective.
[00:14:34] Just has to work. That's all that matters. I also have learned that every single part. Is intentionally designed. So I'm not wasting time on stuff that isn't actually going to get me results. So not only do I have an intentional strategy, but I've sifted through and said, what other ones that can get me there, the fastest and the easiest, because I need money.
[00:14:56] Like, I'm just going to call it like it is when your income drops 85%. It is really devastating. I mean, I've had to cut my team way back. We've had to cut back on a ton. One of other things, this is our only income. So having had that decrease so much has really caused us to make some difficult decisions.
[00:15:17] So partly we just need some money coming in. So I want it to be as fast and easy as possible. I can't afford. To wait. That's part of why I'm not launching the course right away is because yes, I could redo the beta course and I, I absolutely love the bright future method I've done or that I've put together in the beta course.
[00:15:36] And I know that it's super effective, but. I want to get some money coming in now, and then I will shift to that because that's just what we need to do in terms of cashflow. I know what's going to work now and what's fast versus what takes more time and it's something I should focus on next. I'm very good about filtering all that down.
[00:15:54] That's something you learn with experience. And then. The other thing, and this is a really big one, in terms of really having clarity is that I've become very good at learning. What's a real limiting belief. That's holding me back versus what a legitimate issue is in the marketplace. I think. The first few years I was held back more by the limiting beliefs that I didn't even realize were limiting beliefs.
[00:16:22] Then by legitimate issues, it was all in my head. And I had to become somebody who was both aware of the limiting beliefs that would surface when they came up. But also was bold enough to move past them and not let that hold me back. So for example, part of the reason I stuck with trying to revive the photography training stuff for so long was that I didn't want to, like, I wasn't sure if the, my idea of this being really.
[00:16:51] You know that it was legitimately the fact that photographers didn't have money or if it was another thing that was actually causing the drop in sales. So part of me is like, that could be a limiting belief. Like maybe that's not true. So how can I continue moving forward? What would be the best thing to do right now?
[00:17:08] If this is a limiting beliefs that, Oh, they don't have money right now. Because maybe they do, maybe they've got a spouse. Maybe they want to invest in training right now. Maybe that's just a story I'm telling myself. And so I did all the things, assuming that was just a story. And then I watched the outcome from that.
[00:17:26] And I, you know, I talked with a lot of the colleagues that I have in the industry and pretty much across the board, everybody was seeing the same thing. And the things that I know work just were not working in. The feedback I was getting from people was literally because of money and because they didn't know if they could even book and work with clients because all the restrictions are training.
[00:17:46] So because all the restrictions been changing so frequently, and it was really hard to keep up with all of it. So when you can tell what a limiting belief is, it's just a story you're telling yourself, versus what reality is. It really helps you move forward much faster. So getting clarity on all those things is really key.
[00:18:06] Okay. So clarity, that was a big thing. Clarity and clarity on strategy, all that stuff we just talked second is that I am fully, fully and alignment and owning my decision now. There is no internal dissonance about my business model. I love what I'm doing. There's nothing that I'm doing from a sense of obligation because I think I should, or because I think that's how it has to be done to work.
[00:18:32] I am like. Fully in with this. And it took me a while to figure out what I could really own completely, like I wanted to do coaching, but I had all of these fears about it. Like, will people actually hire me all the stuff? How can I find people when I've been working with photographers and this isn't for photographers, this is for entrepreneurs who have a product, a service, a course, a membership, something that they're selling on the line.
[00:18:58] That I can help them really grow faster. How will I find these people? How will they know that they can trust me in that their investment is going to not only pay for itself, but it's going to pay for itself several times over. So I had a lot of limiting beliefs behind it, but once I really said, you know what, no, I really do want to do this.
[00:19:17] I want to own this. I want to overcome my fears. This is what I want to do. It was so easy . To just own it and go all in and start seeing results. Like literally within the first two weeks, I was booking clarity coaching days, which is amazing, but I didn't have any interest in that or from other people before that I had to own that I needed to like.
[00:19:39] Fully embrace it and say, this is who I am. This is what I'm doing. And this is how I'm going to do this, but not only was it aligned with what I wanted, it's aligned with the greater purpose that I feel is part of my life. I really want to empower entrepreneurs to empower their audiences and customers and make real change in the world.
[00:20:04] I don't just want to help people make money. Yes, I think that's great. Money can help you make a greater impact on the world, but I want to work with people who want to make a difference and know that their businesses. Or one of the best ways that they can have a greater impact on the world, especially if they're empowering their people to help them make that deeper impact and grow the movement around their businesses.
[00:20:28] It's so exciting. And I'm so, so excited about how impact full that can be and how much. just how much change and transformation they can come. If I'm working with people who have audiences, who they can empower, if I can empower them to empower their people, like now it starts to multiply in ways that I could never do alone.
[00:20:50] The number of people who can be reached and impacted and transformed and the number of ways in which they can be transformed and the world can become this brighter future place is so much greater than if it was just me. So I really feel a hundred percent behind this. I'm so excited about the potential that this has to leave a greater impact on the world.
[00:21:13] And that drives me far more. Then just making money to make my life more comfortable. There's nothing wrong with having money. Money is an amplifier. If you're a good person, more money is just going to allow you to do more good in the world. If you're a crappy selfish, entitled person, more money is just going to make you more crappy, more selfish, more entitled, right?
[00:21:32] So we choose how we're going to present in the world. And I get really excited about helping other amazing people who have big hearts who want to see real change in the world to make more money. So that can be amplified and just made bigger in the world that, that lights me up. And frankly, when you fully own something, it works like it really works.
[00:21:56] Like I said, as I'm recording this right now, I'm just shy of $10,000 after only three weeks of fully making this shift and owning. This new business model for me, which is really exciting. So it works. And then the third thing that I have now that I didn't have when I was starting out. So first was clarity and strategy.
[00:22:18] Second was fully, fully being aligned with what I'm doing and owning every part of it. Like there's nothing that I don't feel comfortable with. The third thing is confidence. What I'm offering is absolutely going to make people way more money than I'm charging. And I'm only going to take clients that I know without a shadow of a doubt, I can help.
[00:22:42]I will not. Book somebody with me, if I do not fully believe that they're going to make their money back and make it back fast, as soon as they implement what they've learned from me. I'm not second guessing myself. I know that this is going to work.
[00:22:54] And so I just, I rely on that. I have confidence in that. I know when I'm fully aligned, when I've got that step by step plan, when I am speaking the right language and my messaging is on that people are going to book me. It's just a matter of showing up at day after day, consistently at the same frequency and doing the work, bringing the message it's it's patient.
[00:23:17] And yes, there are absolutely things we can do to grow faster. But I'm not going to be like, Oh, maybe I should do this. And maybe I should do that. And maybe I should go do Instagram, or maybe I should start a tech talk and maybe I should do whatever. Like there's no formal marketing in me. I am not hopping from one thing to the next hoping something sticks.
[00:23:35] I've created a plan that fully aligns with who I am that I absolutely know will work. And now I just need to execute it. And having that confidence is really contagious. You know, like when, you know, you can get results for your people. It's so easy to help them see that too. Like if, if I'm talking to you, okay, so you personally, you, you might lovely listener.
[00:23:59] Who's listening to this right now. If I came to you and we talked about your business and I could say, yeah, I am absolutely can help you make the investment that you would pay me back. You know, when you implement this and maybe, you know, maybe it's not tomorrow, cause it might take you a couple of weeks to implement whatever, but I can help create that strategy that will get you there.
[00:24:20] So you're not second guessing why this isn't working. You're not wondering if it's really you, you know, I can shine a light on some of the limiting beliefs that maybe you're holding inside yourself and we can create a plan that's customized to you because let's face it. There are a thousand ways to do this and then work like you can do it in any way you want to do it.
[00:24:40] But if it's not aligned with who you are, If you don't have confidence in it, and you don't have clear charity around the strategy for doing it and you just hop all over the place, that is absolutely a recipe for failure. And it's not because you don't have it in you to do this. It's just that you don't have that clarity.
[00:24:56] You don't have that plan and it's not fully aligned with you maybe, or maybe you don't have that confidence. that's a problem, like if you don't have confidence, if you don't truly no, that you can get. Transformation and results for your, and that your stuff works in your uncertain, or maybe you wouldn't pay the prices that you're charging for something like that.
[00:25:18] And so you're like, Oh my gosh, why would anyone do this? Because I would never pay for this. You're going to sell from your heels. Right. Even if you don't say it out loud, you're buying language is going to say, I'm not sure if this is worth it. And so that person is not going to work with you. They're not going to hire you.
[00:25:34] And they're not going to buy you stuff. If you don't have full confidence in what you're selling. And if you aren't really aligned with what you're doing, Of course, it's not going to work because I mean, they're probably just going to say it's too expensive or I didn't need it or whatever. They're not going to see the value, but when you have that, it's so contagious.
[00:25:52] It's so contagious. And I have a little bit of confidence, so I have. A lot of confidence, cause I know it's going to work. Like I just, I know I've, this is the difference between Jamie now versus Jamie 10 years ago. And I was starting my thing and I didn't have, you know, 10 years of proven experience and have tried a bajillion different things to really understand what works and what doesn't.
[00:26:17] And what's really important. And what's not now. I mean, big picture stuff. That is my jam. I am a Visionaire, I'm a strategist, I'm a commuter unity builder, and I am really good at messaging. And so those things all combined together to give me a lot of confidence that I can. Have created a plan, a big picture plan, and I know where everything fits into the plan and what its purpose is.
[00:26:42] So I'm not wasting time, which frankly really important to a mom with six kids like me to make sure that the little bit of time I do have to work is fully leveraged and I'm not wasting it on something that doesn't. So, you know, having done that for the last 10 years has meant I've had to learn what works and what doesn't.
[00:26:59] So yeah. Confidence is absolutely there. So this is why today, even though I'm starting over fully believe that I can go from zero to $30,000. Per month in 90 days or yes, you're right. I've got that clear strategy. It feels so light and easy to me. I know I can get people results that are worth far more than what I'm charging and I've got complete confidence in the process.
[00:27:27] So now it's just a matter of putting the strategy into place and making it happen. So if you're listening to this right now and you're thinking, man, I don't have that confidence. I don't have that strategy. I don't know what works or not. You know, maybe it's me. Maybe, maybe I've got these limiting beliefs that are holding me back that I don't even realize are there.
[00:27:48] And if you've already got a product or a membership or a course that has sold and is getting your customers results, you don't have to do this alone. I would love to help you. I work with bright entrepreneurs who not only want to make a profit, but want to make a real impact in the world with their business.
[00:28:09] And I'd love to help you do that if that's you. So if you want to stop second guessing yourself, and if you want to have that step by step plan for growing your business, that's fully customized to be light and easy for who you are. So it's fully aligned. Simply check out the show notes and get my contact information.
[00:28:27] Send me a message and let me know that you're interested. All my details will be down there. Eventually I'll have some fancy landing page, but like I said, super simple right now, I'm not worrying about the details. I'm just putting my contact info in the show notes. So if I have any open spots, when you listen to this.
[00:28:43]we'll set up a free 30 minute call. Well, where I will ask skew a bunch of questions about your business, really, to help you discover where you should be focused just in your business right now, and find out if I can help you reach your goals. If we both feel like it's a good fit, we'll schedule a clarity coaching day.
[00:28:59]With each other, and then we'll create a step by step strategy for you to follow, to grow your business and your impact in the world. So head on over to the show notes, send me a message. And if you're new around here, by the way, and found this helpful. Please right now, it would mean so much to me, if you would subscribe to the podcast.
[00:29:20] So you don't miss any future episodes, plus it would mean a ton. If you took a moment to leave a review, both of those things really helped me grow the podcast. And it's such a nice, easy way to say thank you for what you've learned. So here's what I know. My friends, we are brighter together. The world.
[00:29:39] Needs us. The impact that can happen is so much greater when we go out there and we live our best lives and we grow our businesses. If that's what we feel called to do. So let's go out and make it brighter.

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Hey, Friend things are a little different around here. This season, season three brings with it a new name and brand the Bright Entrepreneur podcast. As I roll out my new business coaching entrepreneurs and teaching them the Bright Future Method that I developed over the last few months.
[00:00:16] So they can build a business with both profit and purpose. If you're new around here, welcome. I'm genuinely thankful you took the time to listen to this, and it's my goal to help provide you with inspiration and tips that help you grow your business. Make an impact. If you dive into the archives, you'll find that during season one and two, the podcast it's called personal brand journey.
[00:00:41] Season one, focused on my journey, growing a personal brand. And gives you a behind the scenes. Look at how I it's a seven figure photography training business in season two, shared real time. How I responded to COVID, which basically destroyed my business overnight. I left season two hanging and took a break from podcasting as I worked.
[00:01:03] Over time trying to save my photography training business while also running the base course where I taught my bright future method for the very first time. But I'm back and I could not more excited for season three in this season. I'm going all in with helping transformation driven entrepreneurs.
[00:01:21] Like you understand how to grow your business with intention. Simplicity and purpose. I'll talk about how to do this with an engaged community and how to transform your community into a movement that spreads the word about your business and makes a real impact in the world. It's going to be my best season yet, and I cannot wait to get rolling.
[00:01:46] I'll be dropping new episodes by Sunday and Wednesday each week. So check back on those days to keep up to date. And if you haven't yet smashed that subscribe button right now.
[00:01:56] So you never miss a new episode with that. Check out any episodes in season three, to hear my newly branded intro. And once you've listened to the entire episode, drop a review to let me know what you think of it. I read and appreciate it. Each and every review that I get. So thank you in advance. Truly.
[00:02:17] It's one of the best ways that you can give back. If you found any value in this podcast, I genuinely hope that this quickly becomes one of your favorite. Can't miss an episode podcast, and that it helps you create a business that you can be proud of. We are brighter together. My friend, the world needs us.
[00:02:37] So let's make it brighter.

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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so often we start with the solution that we've created, the product, the course, a service, whatever, but the best way to get people to buy is to focus on the problem that our product solves and then help them see it as the logical solution. That's what we'll be discussing in step three of the beta launch method.
[00:00:25] If you're new here, you've started in the middle of my series on how I'm beta launching my new course. I highly recommend you go back and listen to episode 12 of season two first, which is an overview of the entire process. You can see how this fits into the big picture. So now that we're here on step three, we know who we want to sell to, but why should they buy our stuff?
[00:01:04] What problem does it solve for them? The more painful the problem is, the more they're going to want the solution and be willing to pay for it. For example, if you find out you have a rare form of aggressive cancer, you'll do anything you can to find the best doctor to help you cure it, cure it as fast as possible.
[00:01:26] Even if it costs you your entire life savings. But if the problem is just that they're bored, there's lots of things that they already own that might serve to fill that problem, and they'll have a lot less urgency about purchasing your product now. So you have to ask yourself, what problem does my potential client have and how badly do they want to solve it?
[00:01:50] So for example, this new beta course that I'm launching, here's some of my first thoughts on the problems. And I'm going to be really honest with you. I feel like I still need to work on these a little bit, but Hey, we're beta launching done is better than perfect, and so we're just gonna roll with it right now, right?
[00:02:06] That's kind of how I do things. All right. So first, I'm looking to work with people who are doing all this work and just are not being heard. Like they put out all this content and they just hear crickets. No one responds, no one engages. No one comments. Things like that. They have little to no engagement.
[00:02:26] They have to work harder than they should to get new sales. They just feel like there's gotta be an easier way. They don't feel like they have a lot of loyal clients. They have very few testimonials and pretty much no word of mouth marketing, and there's just no real community. In their business. They're just not standing out from the crowd.
[00:02:49] They're kind of blending in with all the other businesses serving their same market, but they know they're doing all the right things, yet something is still missing and they just don't know what that thing is now. All of these things are valid problems, but I'm going to be honest, they're a little bit weak on the urgency side, like none of them require immediate action, like getting audited by the IRS would require.
[00:03:15] Right? Like if you got that note and they said, Hey, we're going to audit you. You need to get us this stuff. You're going to be talking to your accountant and making that stuff happen right away because that's, you know, kind of a big deal. These aren't nearly as. Urgent is that is, but they're still problems that keep a business from growing.
[00:03:35] And when you solve them, your results start to amplify. So it's easy to forget.
[00:03:44] Now. I know this might seem basic, but it's really easy to forget to identify the problem when you're thinking about creating a new product and what it does, but truly understanding what the problem is and how your product solves it will help you have a stronger offer, which we're going to talk about in an upcoming episode.
[00:04:05] When you paint a picture of what the problem is and then clearly contrast that with a detailed picture of the solution your product brings them and you explain how that's going to change their life and their business, then the real magic happens. That's when people really want to buy. So we're going to be talking about the quick wins and all of the longterm benefits that people get from using our product in the next episode.
[00:04:33]. So I can't wait to see you there. Now, if you want to make sure you hear it, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already.
[00:04:40] And if you want to get the entire 12 step checklist that I'm using, and get all these questions that I'm asking myself as I'm preparing to beta launch my new course, you can go to personal brand journey.com and enter your email address and I will send it right over to you.
[00:04:57] Now, if you found this helpful or if you've enjoyed the podcast, one of the best ways to say thank you would be to tell someone you know why they should be listening and what value they would get from it. It's a great way to say thank you and I appreciate it so much.
[00:05:11] If you post it on Instagram, definitely tag me at Jamie M Swanson and yeah, I just appreciate you and I will see you in the next step. So.
[00:05:19]

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Hey, it's Jamie here and this is the third podcast in a series all about how I am beta launching my new course. Now I'm walking you through the entire process step by step, and if you've missed the last couple of episodes where I went through the big overview of how I'm doing this and then started breaking it down, you're going to definitely want to go back to episode 12.
[00:00:24]In season two and start there because that's the overview where I give you the big picture. And in here today I'm going to talk about the second step, which is who exactly are you going to serve and why? That's so important to know,
[00:00:38] I'm going to tell you about the process that I'm using to get really specific with that and the mistake that you need to avoid. To make sure that you don't end up with nobody signing up for your beta course, right? We want to actually get people in the door. So the key thing in this is that we want to get as absolutely specific as possible with who we want to serve so that we can speak to their needs. More clearly now I see a lot of new entrepreneurs coming into the online space saying, Oh gosh, well, I could help anybody. I shouldn't narrow it down because then I might turn people away.
[00:01:28] And I see this with photographers too. In the photography industry, people are like, Oh, I can photograph anything, and they don't want to get specific. But when you're trying to talk to a CEO who needs a very formal headshot. And to a new mom who wants newborn photos all in the same website page. Your messaging has to be so generic and broad in order to speak to both of them that it's not really gonna resonate with either of them nearly as well as if you were saying.
[00:01:57] Speaking to one very specifically, and so the more specific you can get here, the more effective you can be. Now, this is hard for me too, because I know that this new course that I'm bringing into the world that's going to help people create this. Devoted group of advocates that are basically in a market for them for free.
[00:02:18]This could really benefit anybody who sells anything online or not. But I can't just sell it to any entrepreneur because then my messaging to get the word out there is not going to be very tight.
[00:02:31] In fact, even just saying it like that here isn't very tight because honestly, messaging is the hardest part, and so I've had to spend some time thinking about who is the type of person that I want to serve super specifically, just because I can help. Anybody who's an entrepreneur do this doesn't mean that I should, and it doesn't mean that it's going to be the best result if I try and keep it that broad.
[00:02:57] So the more you can narrow it down and become specific, the more effective your messaging is going to be, plus the more effective your course content is going to be in helping them get results. And you need to be getting people results in your beta course so that they can give you testimonials and stories so that you can launch this again.
[00:03:16] And have a, you know, a lot of momentum on your side. Get more people in it the next time you do it. So what I've done is I kind of sat down and said, who would the most fun person to be to work with and to have in this course, like who is already perfectly situated and ready to go to get results from what I want to teach right away?
[00:03:37] Those people are going to be the best people for my beta course because if they're. In the right place and they're ready to get results, and I don't have to do a bunch of prep work beforehand, then it becomes easy and it becomes fun. So for me, I'm not going to be going after people who are just starting out, who don't know what they're going to sell, or maybe even are, you know, beta launching their very first product.
[00:04:02] So if you're listening here and you're beta launching something and you've never sold anything online before, this is probably not going to be the best fit for you. This is going to be better for people who are already established on entrepreneurs who already have a product that sells, that they can scale.
[00:04:22] So it doesn't have to be online education, but it does have to be something that they can sell in mass quantities and not a service like photography where you can only work with a handful of people yourself like you don't need. In fact, you wouldn't want 10,000 clients in a year. For photography. That would be a nightmare for them unless they want to do a big agency and scale that way.
[00:04:46] I'm talking about people who sell courses, people who sell products that you know they can sell to thousands and thousands of people. Anything that can really scale where you can grow a very large group. Of raving fans who are just excited to tell everybody about what you're selling. And yes, this would work for people who do services, but I'm going to focus on the people who can scale because frankly, it's easier for me to customize my content and get them results when I know that everybody's on the same page for that.
[00:05:21] Now, the other thing is that they have to be the vision. And strategy person for their business. I had a friend asked me this who said, Hey, should I send my team member through it? Would it be valuable for them? Now, they might get some value from it, but the way that I'm going to be teaching this course is going to be talking about a higher level business strategy and it's going to help people get a lot of clarity around what they're already doing.
[00:05:46] Because I found that once people hit a certain level in business, specifically around six figures or. You know, maybe 200 to $300,000 their businesses are kind of messy and they've been doing a lot of it themselves, and they really need to clarify what they're doing and simplify it so that it can multiply.
[00:06:04] That's kind of the three words that I live by is clarify, simplify, multiply. And so I need somebody who can make those decisions at a high level. Without having to consult a ton of people and who can see the vision and the strategy behind what I teach and set up the processes to implement that. So I'm looking for,
[00:06:25] preferably people who are in the six figures, not only because they're already profitable and have something that sells, but they have a different mindset than somebody who's just coming in at the bottom level. I'm also looking for people who take action fast. This is especially important for a beta course because a big part of why I'm doing the beta course.
[00:06:47] Is to get feedback from the people who are in the course itself so that I can make it better if I teach it again in the future, and so that I can get success stories from them as they implement it so that I can use those to promote the course in the future. I also am looking specifically for people who value building a community.
[00:07:08] If somebody is just looking to sell a product and doesn't actually care if there's a community of people built around it, they're not going to be a good fit for this because community and connection is a big part of what I teach and what I do. Frankly, I really don't want people who are just in it to make money.
[00:07:25] I want people who genuinely care about the people they work with. And about getting their clients results. That's really important for the strategy that I teach. If they aren't getting results, they're not going to be these raving advocates, these amazing fans who are willing to market for you because people don't do word of mouth advertising if they haven't gotten amazing results themselves.
[00:07:45] So that's key. Like if they aren't doing that. And they don't have a product that actually gets people results. This isn't going to be a good fit for them because they're going to have to restructure everything they do. They might even need to recreate products, and that's going to put them way behind, but I do need those action takers who are ready and willing to take action on what I teach them so that they can start seeing results faster as opposed to slower.
[00:08:10]I also want to make sure that the people who join this have a deeper purpose behind their business that other people can get excited about. So, for example, Stu McLaren, you've heard me talk about him a loads in season one of the podcast. He's still a dear friend of mine. I'm still in his mastermind and think he's great.
[00:08:28] He attracts impact-driven entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in this world, who, yes, they want to make a ton of money so that they can leverage that money and really make the world a better place. That's a deeper purpose that a lot of people can get behind. In fact, when I heard that in his marketing videos the very first time he launched the tribe course that he sells.
[00:08:49] I was sold because there are so many people online who show photos of themselves, but you know, with a personal jet behind them, or bro marketers with their flashy cars and their, you know, like fraternity dreams, let's just, unless there's call it what it is, you know, and I just, those aren't my people. I don't want people who are just in it for the money in the status and the fancy stuff.
[00:09:12] Now, there's nothing wrong with having any of that stuff. But if that's their sole driver and they don't really care. If they change people's lives for the better and they don't really care about making an impact in the world or having a deeper purpose for their business, they're not my people. They're not going to be a good fit for this.
[00:09:29] Because another big part of this that I teach is having this deeper purpose that other people can also rally behind. And so thinking through how I teach my course and. What kinds of people would be most likely to get results fast from it? I've been able to narrow this down to a very specific kind of person.
[00:09:52] Now I'm focusing on values. I'm focusing on some of the milestones that they've hit. I'm not focusing on specific niches so much because it that doesn't really matter. Like people in different niches can definitely get results as long as they have some of these values. And they have a product or a course that they know they can scale that is already selling.
[00:10:17] So those are some of those key things that have helped me narrow it down. So now my, my question to you is, if you're thinking about beta launching, or even if you're not and you're just learning from me, how can you get really, really specific with the kinds of people that you're trying to reach and attract into your business?
[00:10:37] Who would be most likely to get benefit from what you're doing? Right away without you having to teach them a bunch of extra information first. Right. And in that, who would you love working with the most? Like, I love all online entrepreneurs, but it's way more fun for me to talk to somebody who's been in it for awhile, who already gets results, who understands more of the struggles of scaling than somebody who's just starting out and trying to pick the right software and figure out what their offers should be and all of those things.
[00:11:11] But you know, I haven't had to worry about, and a long time, you know, it's way more fun for me to be working with somebody who is like me than somebody who is well behind me. And I think that I can serve those people better as well. So who do you love working with? The boast. Definitely take that into account.
[00:11:27] And how specific can you get with defining who they are in terms of values and in terms of who's most likely to get results from you fast. And that's where I would start in terms of narrowing things down and getting specific. Now the nice thing about that is it's easier to speak to them more specifically when you do market this, and so they're gonna, they're going to know more.
[00:11:49]Clearly and faster if this is a good fit for them or not. If you're listening to this and you're like, Oh man, this is totally me. I've been doing online business for awhile. You know, I've, I've had a course that I've been selling, but I just feel like I'm not getting the momentum I need. This might end up being a great fit for you, but if you're listening to this and you're like, Oh yeah, I've never really made more than $20,000 in my business, you know, I have an offer.
[00:12:13] I doesn't really sell really well. Not sure if it's the right thing to sell or I don't know the platforms or. You know any of these other things, like as I went through my list, if you're like, ah, no, that's not really me, it's probably not the best fit for you. see how going through something like this and defining it will either help you feel like, Hey, I should really think about this versus, Oh, I probably don't need it.
[00:12:35] people can self select whether or not this is a good fit for them. When you can clearly communicate. Who it is that you're trying to attract and why this is a good thing for them. Now, this isn't a sales podcast, like I'm not trying to sell you on this. I'm just trying to use that as an example.
[00:12:52] Honestly, my messaging in this is not written in such a way that I would write it if I was trying to sell you on this. we'll talk about messaging in a few episodes from now, cause that's the hardest part of, of doing. A brand new course with a new market, because you just haven't worked with people long enough to know exactly what's going to resonate with them in a big way.
[00:13:12]and messaging is something that you always will be tweaking, but the more clear you can get on who you want to serve, the easier it's going to be to create this messaging in the future. So even though you can help everybody. Don't, don't go specific. When I went from trying to serve all photographers to serving only personal brand photographers or photographers who wanted to do personal brand photography because it didn't really exist before then I lost 85% of my audience.
[00:13:46]only 15% were interested in doing personal brand photography. I check those metrics really closely, but my income doubled. In just two years. It was so fast because I was very specific. My messaging was very, very tuned to exactly what they needed, and so it was more relevant and far more effective than trying to speak to just any photographer who wanted to know how to grow some kind of business online.
[00:14:13] So there is riches in the niches as they say it is true. And the more specific you can get, the more. Effective. Your messaging will be, your course will be, you'll get better results and you get better people in the course. So get as specific as you can. Don't stay generic. You can always open it up later, but start with a very clearly defined core.
[00:14:36] And honestly, I could probably even get more specific with this. This is all still a work in progress, but this is kind of where I'm landing right now. And, don't, don't be tempted to try and keep it open to just whomever, because the more specific it is, the more the right people will hear about it and resonate with it and definitely want to be part of it.
[00:14:56] And that's what we're going for is those uncommon commonalities. Those really tight, resonances where they're like, Oh, that's exactly who I am. I definitely want this. So that's what you need to do. It's hard. I get it. It's super hard. It feels super counterintuitive. But the better you can do that, the better it'll be for everyone.
[00:15:13] All right, so in the next episode, I'm going to talk about step three, which is about the super painful problem that they have right now that's going to get them to pull out their credit card, because if you're not clear on that. Even if you have the right people around, it's going to be hard to get them to buy.
[00:15:29] So I'll see you there. If you haven't subscribed yet, definitely do that so you don't miss an episode. And if you want to get the entire 12 step checklist from episode 10 of season two, which this was step two in the checklist where I went into depths on it, go to personal brand journey.com. Fill in your email address and I will send it over to you today.
[00:15:47] If you know anyone else who needs to hear this podcast, please send it to them. I would appreciate that. And with that, I'll see you in the next episode.

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Did your business get hit as hard by the pandemic as mine did? I know it was very shocking to see all new sales stop and to see my membership drop by almost half simply because my clients and the audience that I work with is struggling themselves and none of them are allowed to work.
They're all non-essentials and they can't do their jobs from home. So. I did get sucked into a fear for about 10 days, but then. I spent some time reflecting on how I wanted to use this space, this opportunity, and see it as something good instead of bad. And I decided to use this time to pivot into teaching something new to a new audience in a new market that I've never.
Taught before, and I'm going to be beta launching this course really soon, and I promise to take you behind the scenes. Now. In the last episode, I walked through the step by step process that I'm going to be using to do that. In today's episode, I'm going to be sharing the very first. Step, which is how do you decide exactly what to teach in a beta course?
So the first thing that I had to do was try and separate myself from my past. Now that sounds really funny. It might sound weird, but. I keep thinking about who I've been serving in the past, and you know what I've always done and how I've always done it. And it was really hard to break myself away from that, which I have to do because right now, photographers aren't spending money.
I've been an online entrepreneur since 2011 and I absolutely love sharing what I know with other people. So it was really exciting for me to think about teaching something that I know to somebody completely different and trying out a brand new marketplace. Now the problem is I've got like a bajillion ideas.
That I could share. I'm a homeschooling mama with six kids, with all the people crisis schooling right now, I have tons and tons and tons of information and resources and help that I could provide for those people, and it's a huge need right now. So that was one option.
But I also have all this online entrepreneurial experience. I mean, I've been doing this successfully for what, nine years now, and I absolutely love it. And there's so many different things within the online business space that I could teach. And that's another area where people are really excited right now because they're home.
They've got time to spend with, their families, but also with growing themselves, like if they are in a non essential job and laid off right now. They have plenty of time to think about starting and growing an online business, and there's tons of knowledge that I have that I could share with them on doing that.
Not to mention I love to quilt. There's just all these things that I could do really any of my passions. I love sharing with other people and you don't have to be like some crazy expert in order to teach people online. You just have to be able to teach people who are one step. Behind you. So if you're, avid quilter, for example, and maybe you've been quilting for a couple of years and you really love it, but you don't feel like you really know everything.
You could still teach quilters how to get started. You could teach them the basics, because right now is a great time for people to be started getting into hobbies because they've got extra time on their hands.
For me, it wasn't a lack of ideas. It was just trying to narrow them down to figure out which one was going to suit me best during this time. And if I love it. I may continue teaching it after this time as well. I fully believe that my current business with photographers is going to pick right back up again once photographers are able to get out there and start shooting because it works really well.
It's been a phenomenal movement. I know that it changes people's lives, so I know that that will come back and I will be able to continue moving forward with that. But right now, while that's kind of on a standstill, I want to use this time to try teaching something new that, if I really love it, I may continue to teach afterwards.
So. All right. Here's some of the things that I was thinking about as I was trying to decide what I was going to teach. Okay, so number one was if I were starting over for the first time today, what is it exactly that I would want to do and become known for? Now, the reason I asked myself this is because everything's easier when you are fully aligned with and excited about what you're sharing.
If you're just doing something for the money in your heart, really isn't in it. You're going to have a hard time truly being successful because our energy is so. Contagious. It just flows out of us. And when we get excited about something, other people get excited about it. Now, that's not to say that there aren't opportunities out there that you could do to make some money in the meantime, but if you really want to do something that you might continue doing longterm, I highly recommend it.
Thinking about what you're super excited about and what you would geek out about just for fun, and I know for myself that when I'm really excited about a topic. It doesn't feel like work to me. I just get really excited about sharing it and that excitement flows over into the students who are taking the course with me.
So I wanted to really think about what I would do if photography wasn't an option. And what really made me excited today, because. My interests have shifts shifted a ton in the last nine years.
I love my photographers. I love the industry because I know it, and it really gave me my start into becoming an entrepreneur. But it's not passionate. I wouldn't pick photography today if I was starting over fresh and for my photographers listening, I don't want you to feel like I don't love you.
I'm just trying to be really honest with myself and where my passions are. And part of that is because photography introduced me to this online business space, and that is really exciting to me. And so I've used this online. Marketing information that I've learned to apply to photographers and to teach to photographers so that they can grow their own businesses using these principles.
Because that's the people I knew that's who were in my network. But today. I just get super excited about the online business strategy and working with entrepreneurs more than anything. There's nothing I love more than talking business and strategy. In fact, it's why I invest multiple five figures every year to be in a business mastermind where we get to travel to see each other three times a year.
And sit around and talk business for a few days because that's like my dream vacation. Traveling, having fun and hanging out with other people who think that online business is just as fun to talk about as I do it is a really weird thing. I know I'm an oddball, but online entrepreneurs are my people.
It's why I've been doing this podcast for free for the last year and a half without really making any money from it. Simply because I want to help other online entrepreneurs. I just absolutely love talking about business and strategy. there's tons of different ways that I could serve that audience. I had to start thinking about. How can I narrow that down a little bit? So for me, I realized that I really want to work with higher level entrepreneurs, not people who are just starting a brand new business. So if I'm going to launch this beta course, I'm not going to be launching like how to start your first course and what's all the tech you need.
Like I want to talk. Strategy. I want to get into the nitty gritty stuff that's going to help people really accelerate their results, but I want to be surrounded by people who already have a base of knowledge and get it. They've been doing it. They've got some level of success, but they want to be in an incredible community together, geeking out over how to take this and grow it in a big way.
Now, my superpowers are visioneering strategy and connection. And so I started thinking about how have I used those in my business already very successfully, and how can I bring this to. A group of higher level entrepreneurs in a way that would actually help them get results. So I know that my superpowers have been really great for running high level masterminds.
But right now with people unable to meet in person, that's off the table. So maybe in the future, actually. I want to do that in the future. And you can listen to season one. There's lots of episodes that talk about masterminds and they're amazing, but right now that's probably not the best thing to beta launch because we can't meet in person.
So I was thinking about what else I've been able to do with those super powers that might be unique to what other people are doing out there and teaching out there . One of the things that I've been able to do with this is build a crazy, loyal group of customers that have offered to help me with pretty much anything I need for free.
In fact, I've had over a 10% of my paying clients join a Facebook group that literally for that exact purpose where they've said, Hey, Jamie. You know, if there's ever anything I can do for you, please let me know. I would be happy to help, and most of them feel this way because I've helped transform their own businesses and they're just thankful.
I know for me, I would do that for Stu McLaren and a number of other entrepreneurs that I know because they've impacted me so deeply. That's, it's the least I can do to basically thank them for the progress that I've made in my own business and the success that I've had. That's huge. Like having over 10% of my people willingly join a group like that.
Many of those came because I was getting email after email from people saying, Hey, how can I help you out? What can I do to help you move forward? And it's such a touching thing to have that. But I know that it's also a really rare thing and that many businesses do not get that kind of feedback from their customers.
And so I was really thinking about how can I help online entrepreneurs who already sell something, create more of these advocates who are really willing to step up and do free marketing for them and be a part of a greater movement in their business. And. It's kind of like a free marketing group, right?
And they're just these crazy, loyal customers that love me, that love what I'm doing, and genuinely want to help other people get the same results that they've gotten. It's a beautiful thing, and this is something that I've cultivated into my business really intentionally. And so as I was thinking through my superpowers, as I was thinking about the stuff that I geek out about, I realized.
That this is the thing that I can bring to the table and help people grow in their own businesses. This is something that every entrepreneur who already has a product figure out, figured out, who already knows that they can sell it, can benefit from, because we all want to see our clients. Getting more results and being so thrilled with our business that they want to help in any way and they want to help others get results.
And it's one of the most valuable things you can create for your business. So that's what my beta course is going to be about. So if you're thinking about doing a beta course, and you need to pivot right now, here's what I would ask yourself to figure out what it is that you would want. To teach? What could you bring it to the world that is gonna help somebody up, right?
What could you beta launch? So number one, ask yourself what you're most passionate about and what you geek out over. Number two, ask if you were starting over from scratch, what would you want to be known for? And I know for me, that changed so much in the last nine years. I never would have been able to teach this nine years ago.
But now with all my experience, it's. Easy for me to say, Oh yeah, I do this, this, this, this, and this thing to help get these results and to make these people feel connected to not just me, but my business and the deeper purpose behind my business. Like it's a whole movement that they want to be part of.
So what is it that you know you can do now that maybe you couldn't have done a few years ago? Try and get really honest with yourself and say, okay. Today starting over? What would that thing be? And that's hard because we have all this like junk in our mind from what we've done in the past and what we're currently known for.
Try and let that go as much as you can and say if it was brand new. Clean slate. What would I want to be known for today? Then ask yourself, what are your super powers? What are you really, really good at? And then how have you seen that play out in your current business? Like how has that shaped the successes that you've had?
And is there any way that you can take these unique successes that you've had because of your gifts? And bring them to the world. So that's the process that I have used to pick the topic for my beta course. I hope you found this helpful. In the next episode, we're going to be going into step two, which is where we're going to talk about who this is for super specifically.
Now, this is the place where most people make the biggest mistake, and if you make the biggest mistake here. You're going to end up probably not having anybody in your beta course. And so I know that sounds really obvious, like of course I know who it's for, but we're going to go a little bit more in depth in the next episode on why you need to get crazy specific on this and what that actually means.
And then why that's so important to the success of your beta course. So if you haven't yet, please subscribe to the podcast. I'm going to be going through all 12 steps that I am following to beta launch this new course, taking you behind the scenes. you can get the entire checklist by going to personal brand journey.com and entering your email.
We will send it out to you via email so that you can follow along. And then I'm going to be doing these little podcast snippets quick to explain each and every step so that you can get more detail on what each step looks like, so that if you want to beta launch a new course, you can too. So hope you found this helpful.
If you know somebody who needs to hear it. Man, it would mean so much to me if you'd pass it on to them. And with that, I will see you in the next episode.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Download the Beta Launch Method Checklist here

Transcript:
[00:00:00] I'm about to beta launch a new course to a brand new market with zero audience and absolutely no content created for it yet. Most people spend weeks or months preparing to launch something. I prefer to do it in days. In today's episode, I'm going to walk you through the step-by-step beta launch method I developed that allows me to launch crazy fast to show you how easy it can be done if you just get out of your own
[00:00:26]way.
[00:00:26]
[00:00:26] I've been a full time online entrepreneur since 2011 and I do things differently than most online entrepreneurs. I mean, I started doing it the way that everybody tells you to, where you create lots of valuable free content so that you can build an audience and an email list and then ask them what they really want and need.
[00:01:00] Then you create a product that fills that need. You set up your sales funnel and then you offer it to people and you hope that they buy it. It can take months, if not years, to finally get your product service or course out on the market. And I know this because that's what happened to me. It took me, I think, a good solid two years to create my very first course and get everything ready to go so that I could launch it.
[00:01:27] Now the problem with that method is that. There's no money coming in while you're doing all that. There's lots of money being spent and you're taking a ton of time creating free content and getting everything set up and paying for all the softwares, and honestly, it's really easy to start overthinking things and get caught in that fear of failure and not actually ever putting it out there.
[00:01:51] When you finally launch it. You have no idea if all that time and money spent is going to be worth it. I mean, what if people don't buy? What if you spend two years getting something ready to go and making it perfect and then nobody buys it? Right? I used to do it that way, but it's so risky and there are so many unknowns.
[00:02:13] Plus it just takes so long before you finally start making money. But two years ago I found a much better way and I basically do things backwards now. I start by selling the thing that I want to sell before I've created it before. I've done pretty much any of the other steps with very minimal audience building.
[00:02:36] I know sounds crazy, but I'll explain how I do it in a bit. Then. I create it with the people who join and I listen to what they need as we go. It's really a cocreation process that's very interactive. Then I leveraged the money that I made by selling that beta course to build an audience faster and create a final, more polished version of the course.
[00:03:01] After that beta courses done. And I use the success stories from the initial beta course to market and promote it in the future. So I really do things backwards and actually the first time I bade a launch like this was about two years ago when I pivoted my business from working with any kind of professional photographer to specifically helping people who wanted to pivot into personal brand photography.
[00:03:24] It was honestly kind of accidental. I wasn't planning on doing it. But it totally changed how I launched. and I made . And when I did it that way, I made just over $70,000 in that very first beta launch, and I was able to hit seven figures with that course alone in less than 18 months because I was able to invest the money I made up front in that first beta course launch to grow much faster.
[00:03:56] Now you can listen to all the details about that specific beta launch in here. All the reasons why I think beta launching is the only way to launch a new product in episodes 10 and 11 from season one of the podcast. But this upcoming beta launch I'm doing is a little bit different. Because this time I don't have an email list to leverage like I did in the last launch, and I'm offering it to a completely different audience and market.
[00:04:23] It's a complete pivot with no overlap with what I've been doing. And so I've had to get really creative with how I'm going to market this and get it in front of people. Now I'm doing this because the coronavirus has cut my sales down in my photography education business over 80% and so they are way down from what they were.
[00:04:45] Because frankly, if photographers can't be doing photography right now and so they're not spending money at the moment, so I'm choosing to see this time as the perfect time to launch something new and a completely different space instead of focusing on the fact that everything is failing right now in my regular business because people aren't spending money there.
[00:05:05] I know that'll take off when they can get out and start working again. But in the meantime, it's kind of a beautiful gift to myself to be able to go after something new and try something that I've been wanting to do and teach for a long time, but haven't yet. So if you want to hear the whole story of how I came to this point, go back a few episodes to the start of season two and start listening from there as season two released right after the pandemic hit, and we are all starting to get the stay at home orders.
[00:05:32]But in today's episode. I'm just going to give you the overview of the beta launch method that I'll be following to launch this new course in a brand new market. Then in the next few episodes, I'm going to take you behind the scenes and how I'm actually doing. Each step of the process so that you can do it too if you want to.
[00:05:52] So this is really the big picture. I'm not going to tell you what I'm doing for each step here that's coming in the next few episodes. So definitely subscribe if you want to hear exactly how I'm going to do each of these steps in detail so that you don't miss them. I don't want you to miss a single step because they're really important.
[00:06:10]So if you want to get a copy of this checklist that I'm going to go through today so you don't have to scribble notes really fast, or you know, if you're doing the dishes or something, you don't have to worry about stopping and taking notes I need to do is sign up via email for our weekly newsletter at personalbrandjourney.com and I'll send it right over to you. All right, so let's dive into the checklist that I'm doing in this beta launch method.
[00:06:35] Okay. So number one, the very first thing I did, and this was really hard for me, was to get super aligned with what else I would do if I wasn't doing photography education, what's most true to me? what would I love to be known for? Now, I haven't asked myself this question in a few years, and so it was really hard for me to step away from what I've done in the past and think, okay.
[00:07:02] What might I want to be known for if it's not personal brand photography or if it's not in the photography industry. If everything was opened up and I was starting from fresh, what would it be? So that's where I'm starting because I know that when we're most aligned with what we're doing and we are really excited about it and geek out about it in the craziest of ways, we will grow so much faster.
[00:07:25] Next up. I wanted to get really clear on who this is for. Super specifically. A lot of people call this the ideal client avatar. There's lots of different ways to find this, but for me, I had to get very, very clear on exactly who I wanted to serve with this and who I could help most in this area of alignment that I wanted to be known for.
[00:07:47] Step three was to identify the acute super painful problem that these people have that is going to get them to pull out their credit card now so that I can help them with the solution, which brings me to step four. Is identifying what wins are they going to get when they go through my beta course. Now I'm looking at both quick wins because people want to get some sort of result fast, but also what kind of longterm transformations are going to happen when they apply the method and the framework that I'm going to be teaching them. We need that quick win to keep that momentum going. Plus, that quick one really helps us with collecting success stories, which is super important when you're doing a beta launch. But you don't want to forget about how this all works long term.
[00:08:38] So I like to have both of those. So I'll explain all of that when I talk through step four later in step five. And this one is really hard. You have to really sit down and say, what makes this new or different from what's already out there and not just better, better is not enough. Better is great, but it's really hard to sell better because if they've tried somebody else's course or method doing what you want to teach and they haven't gotten results with it, and yours is the same, it's just better.
[00:09:10] You know? In your mind, are you trying to convince them that it's better. It doesn't matter because they're like, Oh yeah, I've already tried that. It didn't work. Even if I try it and do it better, I still don't think it's going to work. You have a lot more to overcome now when you have something new or slightly different from what other people are doing, it makes it so much easier for somebody to join because they haven't tried it before.
[00:09:33] They're like, Oh, well, I tried part of it, but I've never tried it with this angle or this hook, and so having something new or different is really important . Step number six is getting really clear on what the exact offer is. What's the format going to look like? How much is it going to cost?
[00:09:50]How am I going to deliver it? All of those things need to get outlined in very specific. Step seven is developing the content framework that I'm going to teach in this beta course. This honestly has been the most time consuming part for me because I am teaching something that I do naturally. I do this without even
[00:10:12] Thinking and I have built it into my business in so many different ways, that having to extract it and putting it into frameworks that I can teach to others has definitely taken a lot of time, but it's also been the most fun thing I've done in a really long time. So I can't wait to share that with you and tell you a little bit more about the content that I'm going to be teaching when I get to the podcast.
[00:10:33] On step seven. Step eight is really figuring out what messaging is going to resonate with people when I explain it to them. So they want to be part of the beta course.
[00:10:45] This is super duper hard because I know that what I have to teach can help a ton of people. But it's different than what other people are teaching. And it's really hard to explain something that's new and different. So I'm going to talk with you all about how I'm going to message it and how I'm going to explain it to people so that it's clear and it shows them why they should join.
[00:11:07] honestly messaging changes over time. As you're doing a beta course and as you are running your business and talking to your people and getting to know them, having conversations with them, it's going to shift and change. You're going to refine it. It's going to become more clear, but you've got to start somewhere.
[00:11:25] And so that's all of what step eight is about, is trying to figure out how do I explain this? So people really want to have it now and are willing to try. A beta course with me before I've even proven that I can teach this effectively. Step nine is to really identify the barest essentials that I need to launch this, so what technical pieces do I need to have set up?
[00:11:46] How am I going to communicate with people and what platforms am I going to use? All of that sort of stuff is what you figure out in step nine. Step 10 is about how I'm going to market this with the no audience. what am I going to do to get in front of the right people so I can start getting people into this beta course and get some momentum building.
[00:12:09]Step 11 is getting really clear on how I want to build the audience, what platform I want to use. Am I going to use email? Am I going to use podcasting, etc. And where I'm going to grow this new audience. Step 12 is just the details of when I'm going to open my cart and what I'm going to do during the open cart phase to try and get more sales in to the.
[00:12:34]Beta launch.
[00:12:35]So that's the process that I'm using to beta launch something brand new and a new market where I have zero audience.
[00:12:42] No, I'm totally going to share how the launch is going with you, and I'm going to tell you. All the behind the scenes stuff, as I'm doing it as much as I can so that you can stay caught up with me as I launch this brand new beta course. But in the meantime, if you haven't yet, please subscribe so that you don't miss any of the coming episodes that are going to talk through.
[00:13:05]How I'm doing each and every step in detail.
[00:13:08] And those are going to be coming right after this one. So subscribe now so you don't miss any of them. And if you want to get a copy of this checklist delivered right to your inbox, simply go to personal brand journey.com and sign up there and I will send it to you via email And finally, if you found any value in this, and if you know somebody else who's either moving into an online business after having run a brick and mortar business and is now shut down because of the pandemic and they really want to try launching something new, or if you know somebody and they're pivoting into something new and you think that they might find this useful. I would really appreciate it if you would take a moment to share this episode with them.
[00:13:52]that would just be a really great way to. Say, thank you for the info you've learned here.
[00:13:55] So that's it for today. Can't wait to see you in the next episode, or we're going to talk about step one, how to pick this new idea, this new course, and get super aligned with what you're going to be teaching so I'll see you there in the next episode right after this.
[00:14:10]

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I couldn't help but to ask myself the question, what if I just rest? For awhile I found myself frantically working and not getting any results. I was starting to feel really jealous of the people who were sheltering in place with their families and could just chill out a little bit and enjoy, cooking and making puzzles and.
[00:00:20]Taking up instruments and all the things. And here I was frantically working and pushing and pushing and not getting results. And so I had to ask, why am I doing this? What would things look like if I just rest? And maybe you find yourself in that same position. Should you keep pushing hard? Should you take some time and rest?
[00:00:38] How should you best spend this time during the shelter in place to make sure that you and your business come out of this as best as you possibly can? That's what I'm going to talk about in today's episode.
[00:00:49] So last week, I think in the last episode that I posted, I talked about how I'm going to be beta launching a brand new course, which I'm really excited about and I haven't given up on that idea, but I found myself later that evening after I published it.
[00:01:18]Exhausted, just emotionally tired. I had been pushing and pushing and pushing for a couple of weeks without hardly taking any time to breathe and I was making decisions left and right and left and right and I mean, I did 10 FOD gassed episodes in a few days and just really found myself determined to just work harder and just push harder and make things happen.
[00:01:44]And they just weren't happening. And I was getting really frustrated and in tired and there was all this news about this new stimulus bill that was going to be coming out, the cares act. And so I just took some time and I said, you know what? I'm going to take the weekend off. I think it was Friday when I decided this, and I'm going to take the rest of Friday and then all of Saturday and Sunday and I'm not going to make any decisions and I'm just going to let my mind go wherever my mind wants to go because.
[00:02:14] I found that one of the ways that I feel valuable is by doing things like when I can Mark things off my checklist, I feel good, But I wasn't actually getting any results. It wasn't bringing money into my business. It was taking time away from my family and I was getting really exhausted.
[00:02:32]And so I wanted some time just to think, when you find yourself jealous of people who are sheltering in place and not able to work on their normal jobs, you know, that's probably a sign that you need to step back a little bit and find some balance. So. I slowed down a little bit and I gave myself some time to really just let my mind wander.
[00:02:53]I took this really long, 10 mile snowshoe. It was five and a half hours because, I dunno if you've ever snow shoot or not,
[00:03:01] but the feeling that you get when you're snowshoeing on your feet, it's kind of like having soaking wet tennis shoes that are caked with a half an inch of mud around the outsides of the shoes. They're just really heavy. It's a lot of extra weight to carry, and I was going up and down these Hills on super soft snow because yes, we have a ton of snow here still, and it was just exhausting, but awesome.
[00:03:24] It's been a long time since I've moved my body so much, and at one time, actually it's been since my race back in February. And it just felt really, really good to be out on the trails. And I listened to some audio books. I talked to some friends on the phone. Did, you know, our phones could be used to talk to people.
[00:03:40] Like I never use my phone as a phone. It was really cool. So I talked to a couple of friends on the phone. and I, Just really spent that time thinking and listening to music and podcasts and atomic habits by James clear, which by the way, absolutely fantastic. Highly, highly recommend it, but I just kind of let my mind go wherever and didn't make any decisions and didn't.
[00:04:02]Try to think about anything or try to figure anything out. And I kind of used it as this flow meditative state, even though it wasn't like meditation, where I would sit for a while on a cliff and then I'd go hike a bunch more, and then I'd sit on a different cliff, and then I'd hide back to the first cliff.
[00:04:20] And I did this kind of pattern back and forth where it was physical exercise, but also just like this mental freedom. And I rarely. Give myself that kind of space to just let things happen. what I decided to do was that moving forward, I'm still going to do the beta course. I'm really excited about that, but I decided not to do that this week.
[00:04:40] I decided to take a week and really take some time to apply for the stimulus stuff because the income and my business is pretty much stopped. And so when I heard that that was coming, I wanted to have everything set up and in place so that I could. Apply for that as soon as possible,
[00:04:55] and so I took some time to get all of that stuff set up. One of my team members got sick, and so I, have some extra content duties that I had to do and just really took this week to try and figure out exactly what do I need to do going forward if I were to rest more. But not completely give up on my photography business.
[00:05:14] I want to keep sustaining that. I want to keep nurturing my people so that when everything comes back and they can go out and do photo sessions and you know, get back to life in a more normal way, it'll never be the exact same, but at least start working again and bringing income. And again that I can pick right up where I left off and really start serving them well.
[00:05:34] So I want to still be with them and serving them this time. But I really looked at my week and said, how can I do less while still keeping that momentum going so that I can have the space that I need to do this beta course and to be with my family and not just run myself ragged because it makes me feel good.
[00:05:51]Getting something done, you know, that frantic work pace, it's not healthy. It can't be sustained longterm. And so that's kind of where I'm at this week. Like I said, I'm doing a bunch stuff that's just not fun. Nobody wants to go apply for stimulus loans and whatever else. But I've come to this really great place of peace, even though it's been one of the hardest weeks I've had maybe ever.
[00:06:13]I've had to make some really hard decisions this week. And even though it's been really hard, there have been so many bright spots in it, and I feel hope moving forward and I feel peace about everything. I'm excited about the transformation that's happening within me personally.
[00:06:28] I'm not freaking out anymore the way I was, and yeah, I've got a few moments here and there where I start to feel a little bit of anxiety, but for the most part, I'm really excited about this shift that it's allowing me to make. I'm really excited about how people have started coming together again. I have loved reconnecting with some friends in ways that I haven't in years, and even though we aren't connecting.
[00:06:52] In person right now. It's just so nice to see people doing more stuff with their families and connecting with their friends. I've been seeing more of the positives and I'm loving, even though I'm not loving it, like I'm loving that this is such an awesome opportunity for personal growth and I just really want to look back on this time, like a year from now.
[00:07:12] I want to look back. And I want to be like, well done, Jamie, you did this great. And so I'm trying to see. Everything through that lens like a year from now, how will I have wanted to walk through this time? And I decided that I don't want to run frantically just because it feels good to feel busy, but I want to go through it smartly.
[00:07:31] I want to continue working. I want to keep the momentum going. I want to continue taking the right kinds of actions. But I also want to use this time to help me make the pivot that I've been planning for a couple of years now. I really have wanted to work with entrepreneurs and influencers for ages, and so if I can help them create a raving fan base of people who just love them and want to buy from them and just really nurture their communities in a super deep way and build these movements of people around their business.
[00:08:01]That just brings me great joy. I'm really excited about that. So that's what I'm going to be doing going forward. you know, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. I'm going to keep working on the podcast stuff, and I'm going to share all the behind the scenes stuff that's coming. . And then next week I'm actually going to be doing a podcast with rusty rial. He invited me to be a guest on his podcast. yeah, I'm excited about that and I want to continue, reaching out for those kinds of opportunities and getting the word out there because right now it's a great time.
[00:08:29]To be guests on other people's stuff cause you have more time than normal. So that's on the docket. but really the focus next week is going to be mostly on clarifying my messaging for the new course, figuring out exactly what my framework looks like and trying to get all this stuff that I know how to do out of my head and into a really clear framework and start prepping to launch that.
[00:08:49] So I want to do a bunch of conversations with people and try and get some of The frustrations and the struggles that they have in their own words. So I can use that as I'm promoting it, because the clearer your messaging can be, the more specific it can be, the more effective it's going to be. So, yeah, that's kind of what I'm looking at doing moving forward. I'm still committed to podcasting what's happening, but I just wanted to encourage you as you're going through this time, that it's okay to take a little bit of a step back and breathe especially if your business is really struggling or it's closed or there's things you can't do to increase sales.
[00:09:22] Like the amount of effort it takes to get sales right now is so much bigger than it normally is. hopefully it will get easier later in summer and that this won't take too long. But if you find yourself just spinning your wheels, staying busy because that's what your anxiety is pushing you to do and it's not actually getting results, maybe it's time to step back.
[00:09:41] Take a deep breath and just take a day where you're not making decisions. Spend some time with your family and loved ones that are with you in place. Obviously, get out in nature and move your body or go for a walk And give yourself a little bit of thinking space.
[00:09:56] Maybe you make some art, maybe you play some music, do something that gets you out of your element and lets your brain just do its thing without the pressure of having to figure things out or make decisions or know how you're going to pay the bills. Just give yourself. a breather a day, a couple of days.
[00:10:13] You know what you can do so that when you come back to this and you're ready to dive back in, you can do it with balance. You can do it with focus and you can feel a deep peace coming into it. Knowing that. This is going to ultimately help you in the end, but that you're not coming at it from a place of anxiety and compulsion.
[00:10:32]And that's what I was doing. So I'm still going to be moving forward. I just am slowing down a little bit, which is really hard for me cause I'm a quick start and I get a lot of my worth from my doing. And so it was a really good lesson to learn. And you know, I also encourage you to document this time in some way.
[00:10:47] I like to use the Otter app. O. T. T. E. R. it's this free app that lets you do voice dictation and it immediately transcribes what you say it's really cool. And so I've been using that sometimes when I'm out and about. And I just have a couple of thoughts quick.
[00:11:02] And when I say out and about, I mean on the trail, not out like with people. So I'm still definitely sheltering in place. Don't send me massive messages, angry at me for being out, but I live in the woods. And so for me to go outside is very easy. On my 10 mile snowshoe, I did not see a single person because that's how remote it is.
[00:11:20]but I love the Otter app because I can pull it out wherever I am, and I can just. Speak into it and have a place to capture my thoughts as I go through this, because sometimes things will hit you at the craziest times and it's really nice to have something fast to capture that. But also.
[00:11:38]I want you to be able to really learn from this time we have been given this awesome opportunity of this struggle that we all get to do together. It's actually really kind of cool that we all get to go through a really tough time together. I think it's gonna really draw us together as people in general.
[00:11:53]But difficult times, even though they super suck, have such gifts to give us if we're just willing to look for them. And the amount of personal growth that can happen when you're under pressure is just so huge. And I know that you can do hard things as Glennon Doyle says, that's from her book, untamed, phenomenal book.
[00:12:14] If you haven't read it, highly recommended all sorts of recommendations today. but you can do hard. Things you can get through this. You just have to take it one day at a time, one step at a time, and we're all in this together, you know? I know not everybody is struggling, which is great. I'm really happy for the people who aren't, but the majority of the world right now Is stressed out by this. They're affected by the pandemic and I know that we are going to come out on the other side and that there are beautiful things for you to learn and see and experience despite the darkness. There's always a light somewhere to find, so find that light. Find your balance. No, you're going to get through this.
[00:12:55]And give yourself some space to breathe and then start moving forward with intention. I'm super excited. Can't wait to share it. I'm going to be doing in the next episode in terms of launching this new beta course. So definitely subscribe. If you haven't. If you are a podcaster and you are looking for guests, I would love to be on your podcast if the messaging fits for your audience and we can talk about that.
[00:13:17] Just send me a DM on Instagram @JamieMSwanson would love to chat with you to see if it's a good fit. And if you know anybody else who would find this podcast helpful, definitely spread the word for me. I would really appreciate that. So would that my friend. I will catch you in the next episode. You have a great day.

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Okay, my friend, it's happening. My business is struggling so bad that I am totally making a massive pivot. Huge pivot, and I'm going to tell you all about that in today's episode and help you discover if maybe you should pivot to.
[00:00:18]
[00:00:18]
[00:00:33] So yesterday I spent a good deal of time journaling out how I wanted to come through this really difficult time in my business when it was clearly not going to be making it. I'm losing income. My members are canceling because they're, they don't have any money to pay for the membership, and my sales have slowed to a complete stop.
[00:00:55] And so I don't have much money coming in. my income is down a ton, and I know I'm not the only one for whom that's happening.
[00:01:03] But I knew I needed to take some time to really examine what that meant. And there's kind of two ways you can approach this. Like one, you can think about all the costs that you can cut and you can think about how you can pull back. And I talked to my bank and I talked to them about all the different options we had there.
[00:01:19] And there's always the option of taking on debts. And. All this stuff that I just, I don't want to do it. I don't want to do it, and I will, and I have in the past, but I just really hate focusing on the reduction airy stuff because it feels. Hopeless. There's only so much you can cut. I prefer to focus on abundance on on growth, and what can I do to make more money in a time where I have an online business, I have a lot of skills and just because my photography business is not working right now. What I'm doing in the photography industry isn't working right now because that industry has been chopped off at its knees. I mean, it is not doing well. It's not my fault. Doesn't mean that I can't make something work in a different area, in a different niche.
[00:02:09] And so as I was thinking about how I wanted to move forward to read this, I realized that I wanted to move away from thinking about all the things that I was going to lose and all of the things that could happen if money stopped coming in and think about how I could bring in additional income instead.
[00:02:27] Now. I didn't want to completely give up my business altogether because I genuinely believe that when this is done and people can get out there and start doing photography again, that there's going to be more online entrepreneurs and influencers than ever. And so personal brand photography is going to flourish.
[00:02:43] Like I think after this, it's going to be amazing. It's kind of like when winter comes and everything dies and you know, it's all, it's not debt, it's dormant. All the leaves fall off. The snow covers everything and. The life just feels God. It is. It's a really hard, dark black and white kind of season, but then the snow melts off eventually.
[00:03:07] I wish it would melt off here sooner and the the leaves start to grow again. The grass starts to grow. Grit again. In fact, I already have seen some Moss peeking through the snow on a few rocks and it just brings me life. It makes me so happy. I'm super obsessed with Moss. But life is going to come back through this, and in just a few months, everything's going to explode with growth and it's just going to be a totally different transformed environment.
[00:03:35] And I feel like that's what's happening right now within the personal brand photography industry, is that everybody's at home. Nobody can do photography right now, and we're just sitting dormant and all the stuff that we've lost and all of the things that have fallen apart. Are being covered by snow and they're laying on the ground and they're going to decompose and that through this challenging long, silent time that feels really dead and depressing and difficult.
[00:04:04]There's going to be beautiful growth that happens. Like all those things that go down in the ground and decompose are going to be the exact elements and fertilizer that has been needed to fuel this new beautiful growth that's coming. And so I don't want to give my business up completely because I know that once things turn around.
[00:04:25] Everything is going to be so much easier. Like I think this is just going to take off like nuts. So I don't want to completely close my business. I have a friend who's doing that. She's literally shutting the doors to her business in about a week. And , she's happy about it, which is great, but it's scary and I don't want to do that.
[00:04:43] I don't want to completely give it up. But. I need to find something else to bring in income right now. So as I was thinking about what I wanted to do during this time, I started thinking about all the different things I could do. So one, I could do some freelancing. So I'm a really great copywriter. I'm phenomenal at community management.
[00:05:04] And I thought about offering to work for whoever might need. Even I had a friend, even I had a friend, I had a friend even offer to hire me as a community manager during this time because they're looking for help on that. And. I thought about it and it just didn't sit right. Not because I don't want to work for my friend.
[00:05:21] She would have been phenomenal to work for, but because doing freelance work right now for me, felt like it would kill all the momentum that I'd been building in my business and in my personal brand because I wouldn't have the same amount of time. To podcast to work on my own business, you know, whatever it is.
[00:05:38] And one of the things I want to pivot into is obviously growing my personal brand and I really want to help people create real movements, not just audiences. And I really want to help people understand how to activate their communities and grow them. Cause that's one of my super powers. I am so good at connecting with people and helping people connect with each other and building that engagement.
[00:06:03]Within a business, I can get people to engage like crazy. , so this morning I was watching a Facebook live from Stu McLaren and he happened to bring me up as an example for something, and I was chattering away in the comments and I kind of offhandedly had mentioned that I'm thinking about doing something within the community space and helping people really grow thriving communities or pivoting in some way during this time until I'm able to come back to this.
[00:06:31] And my lovely friend Lisa Kay, she was there and she chimed in and she's like, yeah. I am your ideal client. I would love that. I would definitely want to be a part of that if you want. I'd be happy to hop on a call with you and talk through what it is that I would love to learn and all my issues, and basically let me pick her brain so that I could figure out exactly what my offer could be.
[00:06:55]. So we jumped on a video chat right then and there, and we ended up spending two hours talking back and forth about what she needed in her business, how I could help, what would make this a win for her.
[00:07:09] What kind of messaging resonated with her most? what my framework might look like, what the format might look like, all of it. Like it was the best two hours I have spent in my business in a long time because I learned so much information in such a short amount of time. That was such a gift to me, Lisa, and if you're listening to this.
[00:07:31] Thank you. Thank you, thank you. I know it was a win win because you learned some stuff too, but if you guys can talk to the people you want to serve and allow them to speak to you about what they're struggling with, what they really want. learn their language for what they say. Cause I was thinking about building movements and she's like, Oh, that's heavy.
[00:07:52] I don't want all the social justice stuff behind it. And I'm like, Oh yeah, there's kind of this idea of what a movement is. And it's different from what I consider a movement to be like. It can be both. And it was like, Oh, using the word movement is not the best messaging for this. And so we talked through some of that and it was so, so helpful.
[00:08:14] And I just. Use that time with her to really help craft my offer. I even said like, which of these would appeal to you more like building an active community or learning how to engage people in your business? Because so much of what we offer isn't like the actual content, because the content would be the same.
[00:08:33] Either way. It's figuring out what language the people who really need us would use and resonate with so that they want to buy what we have. And so I'm probably going to do a Facebook group for, I don't know how many weeks. I'm going to guess that it's going to be six weeks, maybe it'll be eight weeks.
[00:08:52] I'm going to do it totally beta style, and we're going to cocreate it. I'm going to bring people in. I'm going to do it exactly like I launched by personal brand photography course. It's going to be totally off the cuff in that I'm going to do it live. I'm going to have a huge. Big picture like topics, but I'm not going to know exactly what lessons I'm going to do from day to day because in part, that's going to depend on the questions that people are asking and what they really need to know.
[00:09:19] Because what I know is that when we are really good at something, we take it for granted and we forget what people don't know. Like for us it's like, Oh yeah, well that's obvious. Of course we do this, or for me it's like, Oh yeah, well, when you start a group. At the beginning you have to drive that engagement, but at some point, , things get easier and other people start to own the group and feel ownership towards it and engage with it too.
[00:09:43] And then more and more people begin to comment and build that up, and then you can step back a little bit. You still leave, but you don't have to be the main person leading all the stuff. And then as more and more people adopt that. You go into this phase of them inviting their friends, because now they own the group, they feel a sense of ownership towards it, and they're super engaged and they think it's awesome.
[00:10:05] And so now they naturally want to bring their friends in even without you asking them to, and you go through this period of really fast, big growth. And then you come to a point where. There's old people who are kind of upset that it isn't as intimate as it used to be and that there are all these brand new people coming in asking the same question over and over and over again instead of searching, you know what I'm talking about.
[00:10:30] Right. And. It gets so big that it's almost too big and you kind of get this divide. It's not the same. The old people are upset. The new people aren't really getting engaged in the culture fast enough. And then how you handle that can determine whether the group totally falls apart and becomes disengaged or if it actually morphs into something better that can grow further.
[00:10:53] Well, this is stuff I like take for granted. I don't even think about it anymore cause I've just know it like I've seen it happen with several groups. I've learned that and she's like, Oh my gosh, that's gold. And if you forget, if you don't talk to people. And so I was really excited about the idea. Of doing this together and co-creating this course around helping people get engagement and build communities of people who actually show up and communicate.
[00:11:18] Because from memberships, if you can get people to stay engaged in a community and to actually do the work that you're doing and if they do it, they're going to get results. If they connect with people there, they're going to be less likely to leave. It's a beautiful retention strategy.
[00:11:33]But also if you have a free group, there's ways to do it so that those people actually become buyers and aren't just freeloaders, are just there to pitch their own stuff. And for most people, I know they're afraid to do a free group because it's a burden to them
[00:11:47] And they don't know what to put in a free group versus what to put in a paid group so that they're paid. Members don't feel like they're missing out. And like, there's all this stuff that I've thought about and that I've, that I've done, and that works really well for me and my business. And it's not just Facebook groups, like I know how to engage email lists and social media accounts, and it's just what I do naturally.
[00:12:08] And the more engaged your people are with you and your business, the more money you're gonna make.
[00:12:12] I just get really excited about the idea of helping people, like you create communities and places where people go first to spend their time during the day. So many people are online right now sitting at home during this Corona virus stuff. Where are they spending their time? I want them to be spending time in your groups, on your platforms, on your social media accounts, engaging there because when you have their attention, you're going to grow.
[00:12:41] You just are. The more you can do that, the better. And so many people get a ton of engagement and a ton of activity around a launch. And then it just kind of Peters out and they don't know how to keep it going. They don't even know how to do conversations with them or build that engagement or get people to connect or any of that stuff.
[00:12:56] So that's what I want to do. Like we talked about this for two hours, you can probably hear how excited it makes me because it's totally my jam. Like I love this so much. So she really helped me craft my offer. She helped me realize that I actually want to work with entrepreneurs who already have a business and a product so that they can accelerate that.
[00:13:14] Like she's been doing this a long time. She's got a podcast, she's got the email, she's got a book, she's got a product, she's got the stuff. She doesn't need to learn how to build an email list. There's plenty of people out there teaching that. She needs to learn how to engage those people in a deeper way.
[00:13:30] And make them most of the assets that she's already created so that she can start really leveling up. She's like, I've done all this stuff, but I'm just not making that progress. And I'm like, I can help with this. I know how to do this stuff. And engagement is the key, not just in a group, not just in a community, but in your entire business.
[00:13:50] , I love this stuff. I love. This stuff. So that's what I'm going to do. I'm absolutely going to beta launch this course as soon as I can possibly get it all together and I move fast. The only thing that's going to slow me down is I am determined to podcast through this all so that if you are sitting there and you're thinking that maybe you need to make a big pivot, maybe you're a photographer.
[00:14:13] And you're like, you know what, I love photography, but I need to be doing something else right now. Maybe you want to do some graphic design teaching or teach people how to use their images, whatever it is. Maybe you have an idea for a course that you want to sell and you just don't know how to do it.
[00:14:28] How do you even launch that? Maybe you like to knit or quilt like I do. I love to quilt and maybe you want to do some quilting tutorials or something and you want to put something out there. Bring a community along to do it with you,
[00:14:41] notice me. The way I do things is in community. It's what I do. So I create courses in community. None of it is done. I mean, I don't even have the big outline of any of it yet, but it's coming. It'll come, and I'm going to be very upfront about that. You can actually go back to some of my earliest episodes here on the podcast.
[00:15:01]
[00:15:01] If you go back to episode 10 from season one of the podcast, you'll actually hear exactly how I launched my personal brand photography course as a beta launch. And then episode 11 is going to tell you why you should beta launch as well. Why this idea of selling something before you've ever created it is actually way better than creating it first and then hoping that it's going to sell.
[00:15:27] It's a really great. Set of episodes. So go listen to those if you haven't, but I'm literally going to walk you through this real time for free right here on this podcast, even though I know I could probably sell this as well, because I want you to see how it works, and I want you to hear my thought processes.
[00:15:45] I'm going through it, and ideally I want you to join the course with me and learn how to continue engaging this audience. Once you've. Launched your own thing because the more you can get that beta group involved and engaged, the more likely they're going to be to actually do what you're teaching them to do and get results, which means that you'll then have awesome stories and testimonials that you can use to promote it when you do it again in the future.
[00:16:09]That is like the best part of having a beta group. So I want to basically show you what I'm doing. I want to bring you along so you can see how I'm doing it inside this group, and I'm going to give you all the systems and processes and things that I use to do it. It's going to be so much fun. I'm so excited.
[00:16:26] I can't even sell it to you right now because I've got nothing to send you to. I've got literally nothing to send you to. So my goal, I'll share a couple of little high level things that I'm thinking of right now is to use this in part honestly, because I know there's a ton of people out there who are wanting to launch something online cause they got all this time they're sitting at home, some of them have lost their jobs.
[00:16:48] Some of them are really trying to figure out, you know, how can they get this course out into the world and make some extra money online and they could use this to do that. They can follow the formula. It's, I'm really excited about that. But also , I'll probably run a few Facebook ads, really low dollar, maybe Instagram ads as well.
[00:17:07]To the podcast to help build some audience. I don't really have much of an audience here, like I said, but right now, because everyone's online and because people are struggling, the cost of Facebook and Instagram ads is way low and sending people to something that they just get to consume and listen to you without an opt in or without selling something is like mega cheap.
[00:17:28] And so I will take a little bit of money. I don't have a ton extra to spend, but I do believe that. , even , a couple hundred dollars, which I could probably even spend less than that, but using that to send people to this podcast to listen is probably a really good use of my money because I'm going to sell this for four 99 and so. Even if I just spend $499 on ads, I feel pretty confident that I'm at least going to get one extra sale because of this. So I'm definitely willing to spend at least that much. That's probably going to be my budget.
[00:18:00] We'll see. Who knows? I can always turn it off if it's not converting, but I'm thinking that this would be a great thing to send people to because they have time to listen and they might find it really helpful. I'm also probably going to talk to some of my friends and cash in a few of my networking chips and the hopes that they will mention it to their audiences because there's a lot of people I know who have the type of person who would find this really helpful.
[00:18:24]And. I really believe that this can compliment a lot of what's already out there without directly competing with it, and so it's a really beautiful way to hopefully, get a few people to send me some of their audience so I can serve them well as well.
[00:18:38]we're going to see how it goes. I'll keep you updated on how everything is happening. I'm going to walk you through the entire thing right now. It is literally just an idea. All I've done is spent that time with Lisa earlier today. Thanks again, Lisa. Really picking her brain and talking through it, and I'm so thankful she offered to do that and she, it just helped me bring so much clarity.
[00:18:57] I have 13 pages of notes, and so I'm going to go back. I'm going to review those notes and really use that to help write up my offer and shape. What I'm going to you like what I'm going to say to get people into this, cause I'll probably do a few Facebook posts and I'll probably do a Facebook live or two and I'm going to need a name for this thing.
[00:19:13] I kind of suck at naming things, but I'll hit up some of my friends who are good at naming them. summer and Levi, I'm looking at you. You're going to get hit up for help with naming, but I love calling my friends out on my podcast anyways. I'm excited to share it with you. We'll see how quickly I can get it out.
[00:19:29] Like it's really a race to do this. ideally, I will have this out the door in the next few days and we'll start a week from Monday. So like a week and a half from now, I'd actually be starting creating content with people. Not sure if that's realistic or not, but that's what I'm going to push for.
[00:19:44] So zero audience, zero outline or anything. It's just the stuff I got to extract from my head and set up. And no assets created in a brand new niche. And if I can beta launch a new course, hopefully make some money doing it. I know you can too. Now, I might not make any money doing it, but I feel confident that I absolutely will get at least a handful of people, and honestly, I don't need a ton.
[00:20:07] I'd love a ton. When I did my personal brand photography course, I got a 167 people. The first time around. That would be a mazing. But even if I don't get a ton, even having a few people would just be fantastic for helping with cashflow right now, but also for helping me to hone this so that I can teach it again in the future.
[00:20:28] So that's what I'm looking at. that's where I'm at. If you're wanting to make a big pivot, come along with the journey. If you're finding this interesting and helpful, would really love it if you would share it with a friend who might also need it. Leave a great review for us, and if you haven't yet, definitely subscribe.
[00:20:43] I'm going to be doing a lot of podcasting over the next few days. I can already feel it. I'm excited to share it with you and I definitely want to take you along for the ride, so thanks so much. I will see you in the next episode.

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Yesterday was a pretty tough day for me. If I can be completely honest. I couldn't shake this sense of fear that I had, that things were never going to work out and that we were going to lose everything. And I want to talk to you about how I handled that, because when we're faced with that kind of fear, we have two big ways of responding to it.
[00:00:20] Number one, we can wallow in fear and. Get paralyzed and not be able to move forward. Or number two, we can face it and take certain actions that are going to help us overcome. So I'm going to share with you today what I did to help overcome the fear that I had yesterday and put myself into a much better place today where I'm excited.
[00:00:43]I am hopeful and I'm being driven by positivity and not fear.
[00:00:48]
[00:00:48] So yesterday I released eight podcast episodes and I did a new show with my photographers called the bright side show, where I focused on the wonderful positive things that were happening in the photography industry. And I just got stuff done. Like we are talking one of the most productive days ever, and by mid afternoon I was starting to feel a lot of anxiety because I was doing all this stuff. And it wasn't working. Like my industry is struggling in such a big way right now. So even though I'm able to help photographers book clients, because there are still people booking clients, most people don't believe it's possible.
[00:01:46] And so they're not even trying. They're even discouraging other people from trying. And it's so frustrating to see that. And I just got really down seeing that. and even when they are booking clients, like they're keeping the money because they need to, things are really tough right now and they're not buying my course.
[00:02:05]I've had a bunch of people cancel and my membership because money is suddenly tight without all the sales and the clients that they normally have. we're down at least, I think we're down about 20% right now. If I, if my really quick glance at the numbers is somewhat accurate. And it's a scary place to be.
[00:02:20] And so I was doing all of this work and just feeling like it wasn't going to go anywhere. And so the question at the forefront of the mind and my mind, so the question at the forefront of my mind was, how long do I keep doing this? How long do I keep pushing and pushing and pushing. And just seeing results drop.
[00:02:43] I mean, seeing my income go down, seeing no new sales coming in, like when do I throw in the towel and make a massive pivot and how do I do that? Like I have a photography audience. I don't have a massive audience in the entrepreneur space. You listening right now, this podcast is the only thing I've done intentionally to really try and serve entrepreneurs.
[00:03:08] Or anyone outside of the photography business. And so it was kind of daunting. Like I've always wanted to work with entrepreneurs, and that's what part of why I love personal brand photography is because I get to serve both entrepreneurs and photographers, but I haven't ever really went after that directly because one, I believe that having focus and consistency in a business is one of the most important traits you can have.
[00:03:33] And I didn't want to get distracted by it, but to. The photography stuff has always made us the money. I mean, I've been doing that since 2011 it's been fully supporting our families since 2011 and so there was never really time or space to go after a new market or new clients or do something completely new where I'd have to start audience building from scratch.
[00:03:57] Because this is where we needed to put our focus. This is what I needed to spend my time on because we don't have other outside income. This fully supports my entire family, all our benefits, everything. And so stepping outside of the realm that I was used to doing and used to serving that was supporting us felt really risky.
[00:04:17]. In fact, this podcast has been my pet project to really be able to serve entrepreneurs. And I know like the more you understand the value of personal branding, the more likely you're going to be to hire a personal brand photographer. So it builds the entire industry.
[00:04:33] But I haven't really done much of anything to monetize this podcast, and it's been the thing that's gone on the back burner when things were really busy in the business doing other things because it wasn't a moneymaker. And sometimes you just got to put your head down and focus on the things that make money So I found myself really anxious and I saw all of this frantic work, which made me feel better because I accomplished something. But it wasn't getting results and I kept hearing the story go through my head every once in a while when I was talking to other people. You've heard it here on the podcast, or even just as I was thinking through stuff, I kept hearing we might lose everything.
[00:05:13]Go through my head and there's absolutely the possibility that we might lose everything, but that was starting to replay in my head over and over again. Now, I came to a really healthy acceptance of that fact a couple of days ago where I'm like, you know what? It's all stuff. It doesn't matter. It's, I mean.
[00:05:33] First world problems truly to, , have to downgrade your house and your living situation or whatever else. Not a big deal. , I mean, if we can come out of this healthy, I'm going to be thrilled. so I came to a healthy acceptance of that, but when it came to what I was hearing happening in my mind, those voices, those stories that we tell ourselves in our mind.
[00:05:53]It was coming up more often than I liked and I wasn't hearing the narrative of this might be the best thing ever. We might come out of this much stronger than we ever were. All I was hearing was we might lose everything and it was. Really putting deep fear and anxiety into me in a deep way, like super deep way.
[00:06:14] I was stuck in my head and it was just giving me this low level of anxiety underneath the surface that I could feel was building and welling up. And so when I start to get that way, I know the best thing I can do is to get out of my head and get into my body. . Now. I didn't appreciate this in the past.
[00:06:33] I didn't really understand the value of being active and really feeling how my body feels until, I don't know, six to nine months ago. Last summer I did a lot of physical activity and it brought so much stillness into my life and so much peace into my life. And I found that it was one of the best ways to raise my spirits.
[00:06:54] I mean, it's chemical. You get all the endorphins. It just makes you feel phenomenal when you're done.
[00:06:59]So when I'm particularly anxious or stressed out or just feeling like junk, getting out for a walk or a run or a ski or whatever it is, getting out and moving my body and really being in my body is one of the best things I've found to do. It helps me get out of my head. It helps me find peace and it helps me really calm all of the craziness that's going on.
[00:07:25]So it was really actually kind of fun because I got out on the trail and I felt like junk and I was so down on myself because, , I have a 50K race in the books for may. If that's going to happen, I doubt it'll happen. And I knew that I was going to have to do a lot of training to really build up to being able to do a 50 K trail race in may. And there weren't a lot of weeks between my big ski and the trail race. We're right in the middle of all of it right now.
[00:07:49] And so I went out on the trail and there's still tons of snow and I just, I felt awful and I just got really down on myself for a minute. And then I actually remembered. Episode five from the season two where I talked about how , you can't judge things by the first mile.
[00:08:04] the start is always the hardest. And I was thinking about how even in this. Pandemic, how we've come into it doesn't determine how we're going to come out of it. It was like I was listening to my own lessons and hearing it again for myself in a new light, and I realized that I needed that message that just because I came into this scared and just because they came into this with a business that is failing didn't mean that I was going to fail or that this wasn't going to take off some other way and that.
[00:08:34] It wasn't an indicator of how I'm going to go through it. So as I was out there, I came across this big opening in the snow . where there's a little bit of water going through and a bunch of rocks, and I was able to go down into it. It's about 18 inches down, and I just listened to the water running and dripping
[00:08:51] and I sat there and listened to it for probably a good 15 minutes. Just feeling the peace, feeling that calmness, feeling that stillness. And settling myself, and that felt. Amazing. And then I kept going and I was listening to this book from Glennon Doyle called untamed, which by the way, is freaking amazing.
[00:09:18] I cannot recommend it enough. It'll really help you figure out who you are, what you really want in life, and really help undo a lot of the constructs that you probably don't even realize you have that we get when we're young and from our culture. That's fantastic. But one of the things that she does is she talks about writing a new story, like what is it you really want?
[00:09:41] And I've always known how powerful writing and journaling is, and I, I was still disturbed by this. The story going through my head. things not working out. And so I realized I wanted to take this journal prompt that she gave us for our life and use it in the context of our business. ,
[00:10:01] so when I came back home from my snowshoe, I felt 100% better, by the way, and I didn't feel nearly as bad after that first mile. Just to put things in perspective. But I went in and I talked to my husband and I just said, Hey, can I spend the night out in our cabin? So we have a guest house, it's, we call it our cabin.
[00:10:18] And normally we have guests who stay here for free, but right now with all the virus stuff, it's wide open. And so I said, I just need some time to think and to journal because I've been so frenetically moving and doing and taking action. That I haven't really sat down and thought about what I would do if this doesn't work in a really practical way.
[00:10:40] I mean, I'd talk to the bank. We've looked at the finances, and I faced where we are right now and what is going on, which is a huge win for me in the past. I just want to avoid that, but I knew that if I was going to move forward with any ability to think, I had to know. Because if I didn't know, it would just paralyze me with fear and I'd think it's worse than it is.
[00:10:59] I don't really think it could get much worse than it is, but , it would just paralyze me. So I faced that, which was great, but I was keeping myself so busy in the hopes of what I had done before continuing to work. If I just put enough effort into it, and it's not that I needed some time to regroup and to rewrite that story in my head about us potentially failing.
[00:11:21]And so I came to the cabin and it's, it's right on our land. I walk, I don't know, 50 feet from the house to get to it, and I sat down with my journal. And I took the time to rewrite my story and I did this. I literally wrote it out because there's studies that show that when you write something down, you begin to believe it.
[00:11:45] I believe it was in influence by Robert Cialdini where they talk about the power of writing things down and the consistency principle, but I'm pulling that out from the top of my head. So fact check it before you quote me on that. I'm not going to fact check it right now because I'm in get her done mode.
[00:12:03] But just I think that's where it's at and I really started to say, okay, what is it about this story of failing that actually serves me? Like why does my mind keep going to that idea? What there's gotta be something there that might have some benefit. there's some obvious things like, , the financial burden to keep our family afloat will be much less because we wouldn't have nearly as many monthly expenses.
[00:12:29] Now the reason we're here is for this cabin. It's to provide a place for family, friends, people in ministry to come and rest and find rest.
[00:12:38] And I love that we do that, but having this place is really expensive. It's not a cheap place. And so there's a part of me that feels like it's a really heavy burden to bear, even though I feel so strongly that we're meant to be here and be doing this, and I love that we do that, but that's a benefit.
[00:12:55] Like if we fail and lose everything, then whatever we do next would be so much easier to sustain because it wouldn't be nearly as expensive. So when you have those fears and those stories, it's really helpful to ask yourself. What are some of the ways that these fears actually serve us? Why is that kind of appealing for our mind?
[00:13:15] And I just wrote down as many benefits as I could think of of us failing, which sounds really weird, but it was really super helpful. Then I also wrote down all of the lies that were flying through my head about why this might be happening, about, , myself and my abilities and all of the stuff. I just got it out and some of it was like.
[00:13:35] Embarrassing to even write out into a journal that nobody else will ever read. Just because I couldn't believe I was having those thoughts, but getting them out of my head was so helpful. the question that really helped the most was this question from Glennon Doyle's book untamed, which was what's the most beautiful and true story I can imagine about my business during this time?
[00:14:00] Now that's modified a little bit from her actual question in the book, and I'll let you go read the book on your own to get the full version of that question, because it is a beautiful book and you should read it. , but I sat and journaled about it and I thought about the experience that I wanted to have and I thought about me in a year from now and a year from now. When I look back on this time. What will I wish I have done? Like how do I want to have approached it? Because in the moment it's really easy to get totally paralyzed by fear, but taking that time to say, who do I want to be during this?
[00:14:38] Who will I have wanted myself to have been during it when I'm removed from it? And I know that's kind of a weird way to look at it. But it was so helpful to think about my identity and what the most beautiful and true story could be for my business through this. And what I discovered and the story that I rewrote in my head was amazing.
[00:15:03] And I'm absolutely going to share that with you in the next episode because it means I'm going to be making a massive pivot in my business. But before I get to that.
[00:15:14] here's what I want you to do right now. If you're feeling that fear and anxiety, if you're stressed about your own personal situation, and especially if you are hearing a story in your mind or you've started believing a story in your mind that isn't what you really want to see happen, that's more fear-based than it is based in hope, then I encourage you to take some time to move your body.
[00:15:43] Drink some water, find stillness, and I know that can be really hard for me. I really great way to find stillness was to sit on a cliff and let myself feel the anxiety, like actually try and make it worse. I know that sounds funny, but when I actually sit down and I just let myself be still and I feel in my body, wherever I'm feeling, the fear.
[00:16:08] And I give myself permission to go into that feeling and feel it, which I don't like to do. I like to stay in my head and not feel things, and I notice how my physical body responds. It actually lessens and goes away. I know that's super weird and super un-intuitive, but I literally say, okay, now is the time for me to feel the fear.
[00:16:29] Let me focus all my efforts on that feeling of fear and try and make it stronger. And inevitably when I try and feel it more, it just goes away. Like I don't even know how to explain it. It's just the most magical thing ever. But the physical feelings, I can't make them worse. , it lessens them. And now maybe that won't work for you, but it is the most amazing thing I learned from this wonderful lady named Lorraine.
[00:16:53]never fails. I go into the anxiety and say, okay, my chest is tight. It feels like a weight. Let me make it more heavy. Can I make that feeling even more? And something about letting myself feel it and just embrace it, makes the physical aspects of that start to melt away. And I know that sounds super woo, but it's just something that I've found works really well for me.
[00:17:14] That might work for you. And then I can really breathe through a lot of that. And. Like, except more of that piece in stillness. So if you can find the stillness and do that, move your body, get out of your head into your body, and then think about, these stories that you have in your head, are they serving you or are they hurting you?
[00:17:32] Is that really what you want for a reality? How does it serve you? What are some of the lies you're hearing, and what's the most beautiful and true story you can imagine about your life and your business during this time, one year from now, when you look back at how you handled this time. What do you want that story to look like?
[00:17:52] What do you want to say? What do you want to have done? write it down and then read that every single day so that you can move forward through this time as your very best. And sometimes when we just think about it a little creatively and out of the box like that, it helps make everything a little bit better.
[00:18:13]. now, I am not a counselor and I am not a professional, therapist or anything. So take all of this with a grain of salt.
[00:18:21] If it works for you, great. If it doesn't and you need real help, don't be ashamed or afraid to get it, but know that you're not alone. Know that we will all move past this that. We can do this and that. There is definitely hope to be found. Maybe for you, you'll find out that you want to make some massive pivot like I do.
[00:18:44] I don't necessarily want to make it, but I definitely feel drawn to make it and I feel this compulsion in a really great healthy way to make this. Or maybe you'll find that you need to just go deep into what you're doing now, or maybe you need to rest and allow this to just play out. I don't know your story or your situation.
[00:19:03] But I just want you to know that you're not alone. You can do this and that. I believe that one year from now you can come through this and look back and be proud of how you handled it. That's what I want for you. So, Hope you found this helpful. I will tell you more about what is happening in the next episode for definitely.
[00:19:22] Check that out. I'm going to be podcasting a lot because I want a podcast this whole journey, and I don't know about you, but when I'm super stressed and there's craziness going on in the world and I'm backed into a corner, that's when I do my best work, and that's when I learn the most, and I feel like I'm learning several amazing new things.
[00:19:42] Yeah. Every day, like almost every hour. It's crazy. I don't even know how personal growth can happen so fast, but I want to be sharing that with you as I go. So if you haven't yet, please subscribe. If you're finding this really helpful, there's two big things that you could do that would mean a lot to me.
[00:20:00] Number one. Leave a review on whatever platform you are listening to this too. So if you're on iTunes, leave an iTunes review or Stitcher, wherever, that would mean a lot. I'd love to hear that this is helpful for you because it's definitely taking time out of my, you know, day that when I could be doing other things to try and grow my business, but I just feel so compelled to help even one person, like if it just helped one person saved their business or overcome the fear.
[00:20:28] All of this time and effort would be worth it. And I believe that this is my time to step up and grow. So if you could help me do that by leaving a review to encourage me to let me know what you think, but also if you could spread the word to anyone else, you know who might be really struggling through this time, who's a small business owner.
[00:20:44] I would appreciate that so much. you can either take a screenshot and send it to them in Instagram, however you communicate with them, you know, maybe you're on Voxer or Marco polo or , Facebook messenger, Instagram, whatever it is. If you just have one or two people or better a group of people that you know would find this helpful.
[00:21:03] Spreading the word is one of the best ways that you can thank me for putting this content out if you find it helpful. So. Please spread the word, tell everyone you know who would be a good fit for this and leave a review. That would be amazing and I will catch you in the next episode and I will share with you the big pivot that I'm going to be making as soon as I can possibly make it in the next episode.
[00:21:25] See you there.

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When I started this podcast, it was because I saw the need to have a personal brand to really have a successful online business. As more and more people flooded. The online space, which we're going to see in a massive way over the next few months, is all of these people at home have time to finally build that business they've been dreaming of.
[00:00:20] It's going to be more important than ever. To have a personal brand to set yourself apart from everyone else who isn't doing that. So I definitely think that that's important. But since starting this podcast, I've realized that you don't just need a personal brand. In fact, there are two other critical elements that you absolutely have to have in order to have a thriving business, and I am going to share them with you today in this podcast.
[00:00:52]
[00:01:07] the reason having a personal brand is so vital to growing a business is because we all connect with other people more deeply than we will ever connect with some random brand. And I use the example of Apple all the time because I am totally an Apple fan girl. I've got the iPhone and iPad, I've got the a MacBook pro.
[00:01:28] I love Apple products. I will stick with them because I just, I, I do. I adore them. Been great for me. Making the switch was scary years ago and I have never regretted it despite the fact that they're crazy expensive. So. I love Apple, but I will never ever connect with Apple in the same way that I would connect with you if I got to know you as a person.
[00:01:53] And as more and more people come into your market space, your market space, there's a good term, your marketplace or your niche, whatever you want to call it, you get the idea as they come into your industry. And began selling products to the same people that you're trying to sell products to. The easiest way for you to stand apart is to have a personal brand and to really let people get to know who you are as a person and a lot of season one talked about how to do that, how to build those connections, how do you story to do that?
[00:02:30] And I absolutely think that's still important. And I have. Even more ideas on that that I will share throughout this season, but it's not the only thing you need. I used to think that that was the big differentiator, but since then, over the last few months, I've realized that there's two other key things that you need to have, including your personal brand is one of them, like along with your personal brand.
[00:02:56] That are going to help you have a thriving online business and without these things, it's really going to be hard to grow the business that you really want to have. Like there really isn't a lot of set it and forget it. Passive income stuff anymore. Like, yes, I know some people make a bunch of money with display ads and whatever else.
[00:03:16] But it all still takes work. It's not really passive. And so the businesses that I see thriving and what I see working in my own business, at least up until the craziness that's happened and what I, although I do believe that this is going to help me make it through, is that not only do I have the personal brand in my industry, but the second thing I have.
[00:03:38] Is a system or a method that is specific to how I teach people, and that is different from what other people are teaching in my industry. So no matter what you wanted to, you know, for me, I teach photographers how to do photo shoots using story because I'm teaching personal brand photography. That's kind of my niche.
[00:03:59] And within personal brand photography, we need to be able to capture stories. Your stories. In an image so that people who are your ideal clients see the image stop in their tracks and want to read the description and get to know you more. They see something in that image that they can connect with and say, Oh, that's me.
[00:04:20] Like maybe they see a kid crawling all over you as you're working in front of the computer trying to grow your online business, whatever it is. You make that connection in an image and that image tells a story and captures their attention and then you can, it's basically what stops them in their tracks and gets them to pay attention to you.
[00:04:41] And attention is everything in marketing. If we can't capture people's attention, our marketing falls flat. And so I teach people how to do that using story. So I have a system, a method called the story session system, and a lot of what I teach in there goes against. What typical photographers have done in the past.
[00:04:59] It goes against what a lot of people in my industry had been teaching as best practices. and it, well, the old best practices, they're all outdated anyways. Like if you wanna Mark your images before giving them to a client to use online that you can't, nobody wants to use an image to promote their business with somebody else's watermark on it.
[00:05:17] Like your job is to, our job as photographers is to help you grow your business. Not. To use your platform to market ours. Right? So the logo thing, that's, that's one thing, but there's like different crediting issues and like, editing, letting people edit their photos. And there's, there's like five big things that I teach that they can't do anymore that sets me apart.
[00:05:38] And then I have this whole step by step system. It's more of a system than a course that helps them implement these things into their business so that they can work with you to help figure out what stories. Actually, we'll connect with your people, which stories we'll build that know, like and trust factor so that people do want to go deeper.
[00:05:55] What will stop people in their tracks who are a perfect fit for you so that you can grab their attention and serve them in some way so they want to keep coming back to you. This is what I teach people in my story sessions system, and it is a system. It's literally a step-by-step checklist that people have used in my industry to get results.
[00:06:16] So I've got my personal brand number one, and I've got a system that is unique to me and has a name. So, you should have a personal brand. Obviously if you don't have a system and you just giving regular information, you're going to have a really hard time standing out cause there's a lot of free information out there that's not organized into a nice step by step system.
[00:06:36] There's something about having a system or a framework or a method or some sort of. Organized structured piece that's named, that's not your name. So like mine's the story session system. So I'm Jamie, I'm Swanson who teaches the story session system, who teaches the story session system. And then the third part of this, so personal brand method or system.
[00:07:00] The third part. Is the movement. It's the lifestyle, the thing that they want to have, the thing they inspire to be. Okay. So for me, it's a successful personal brand photographer. Personal brand photography is my movement. The story session system is how I help my people become personal brand photographers and my personal.
[00:07:21] Brand is how I connect with people. Now, the beauty of all these things is that they all play together in your entire strategy. So when you're thinking about what you should share on social media, one, I think you should be sharing stories pretty much all the time because I think it's one of the best ways to grow your personal brand, but it should either be helping grow your personal brand or.
[00:07:44] Bring awareness to your system and build desire for your system or be building the culture of your movement and helping people know what it means to be. A successful personal brand photographer or whatever it is. So that's the culture piece. That movement is building the culture. So for me, I want a culture of action takers, like I want people to take action because I know successful people take action.
[00:08:09] I talked about this a couple podcasts ago. Taking action is key to getting results and being a successful personal brand photographer. I also want a culture of positivity and people who. Don't play the victim card. You know what I'm talking about? You know, you always see those people who are like, Oh, well, that'll never work in my industry, or, Oh, nobody wants that right now.
[00:08:33] And they have all of these limiting beliefs and excuses that are there so that they can sit in their fear instead of taking action. Because if they really believe it's not going to work and they never take action and they never try, well then they can't fail, right? So they can just say, Oh, well, but I'm mad, but I don't.
[00:08:50] People who can't get over those excuses. People who just live in that fear and that limiting belief and don't try, don't even try something like, they know why it's not going to work for them. We all know those people don't, they just drive you crazy. You try and give them advice and they're like, yeah, but yeah, but yeah, but you know, and so it's those.
[00:09:11] Yeah, but people. That's a really funny thing to say. I hope you're laughing at me, but it says, yeah, but people that I don't want to have in my movement because my people are action takers and my people have confidence and hope and positivity and are like, huh. Instead of, yeah, but they're like, how can I do it?
[00:09:30] Despite. This like, okay, that's there. Maybe I live in a rural area and it's three hours to the nearest Metro area. How can I grow a profitable personal brand photography business despite the fact that I live three hours away from a Metro area or whatever it is. And so, there's a lot of culture pieces in there.
[00:09:50] And we'll talk more about culture and building a movement. I talked about it some last season, but when you start to see these three things and how they play together as a framework, it starts to make your business come alive. Like you can build strategies around this framework. So, you know. Your naming becomes more clear because you've got a personal brand name, you've got a system or a method name, and then you've got a movement name or something that they inspire to be.
[00:10:16] And so you've got multiple pieces to your brand and your naming that people can use. You can build hashtags for your culture. that's, you know, where that would fit. You can do swag and merchandise and things for people to like. Where and adopt as part of, you know, the movement piece. People can feel connected to a movement and being part of a movement, you know, without having to know you personally like they can, they can rise up and help grow that movement when you've defined the culture really well.
[00:10:46] I know this isn't super clear right now that I'm kind of, I feel like, as I'm describing this, I have a lot of messaging to clarify yet. This is kind of a new thing for me. It was, like I said, just came out like yesterday, maybe the day before as I was talking to my buddy Levi about this. but I really feel like these three pieces are absolutely key.
[00:11:05] To growing a successful business. And that when you put them, like when you think about your business in these three facets, that everything is going to start to come together because the culture should know about the system and should build the desire for the system. So like for me, I want the one K weekend challenge to be a massive part of my movement.
[00:11:25] In fact, I want any single person coming into my group to have heard about it from somebody else in the group. Or have heard about it before they even join the group and do it. Like I want every single person in my group to have done the one K we can challenge or to tell somebody to do it. Like I don't want anyone coming in who doesn't know about it because it's that ingrained into the culture.
[00:11:46] So as I'm thinking about the content I want to create for my group and my movement, I'm thinking about how I can promote the one K we can challenge them. To get people to do it and to want to do that and to feature the people who are doing it, to give them status, to raise them up in the movement and give them a place there and inspire them to be leaders within the movement.
[00:12:08] Right. I also am thinking about how I can use that challenge in that, you know, to get people into my story sessions system and to build desire for that because it leads into it very clearly. There's a . ClearPath that I explained back in season one. but yeah, the movement will help. Grow the system and the income, and I get to, as the personal brand be kind of the figurehead that people connect with, that helps build that culture, that helps support that system and promote that system.
[00:12:40] And though we all kind of promote each other, you know, like I can, I can promote my system. And when people hear about the system, they learn about who I am, they learn about what the culture is. It's kind of this three way like. Beautiful synergistic system. Gosh, I need better words for this. You guys are getting the raw raw messaging right here.
[00:13:02] It needs work. Isn't that funny? I'm sitting here podcasting, just flying off the top of my. Cuff. Dang it. I mix up my metaphors too, off the cuff. That's the metaphor you get in the off the cuff first version of this, but it has helped me clarify how I'm going to be moving forward with my business. It's helped me see, Oh.
[00:13:23] Okay. These are how all the moving pieces work and everything else will fit within this framework. And I need all three pieces. If I don't have a system or a method, and I just teach random tactics, well they might as well go to YouTube and learn it there. It's get some free blog posts or something because it doesn't differentiate my system from what everyone else is teaching.
[00:13:46] So why wouldn't they just go to someone else? Right. And yeah, they need to know who I am because they connect with me more than they're going to connect with my random system name. And then this personal brand photography movement, it taps into their desires. It's, it's an identity piece. It's who they want to be.
[00:14:04] And Oh man, I've got thoughts about identity that will come out. But as you're growing and as you're moving forward and as you are trying to grow your online business and grow your personal brand, think about, okay. What is the system or the method or something that's specific to you that you're teaching some sort of framework.
[00:14:24] Stu McLaren calls it a success path. You know, what is that that you can teach that's different that you can give a name to? Because for whatever reason, when we give a name to something, it seems more important or special, right? What can you do that's specific to you that has a system name or method or whatever.
[00:14:43] And then how does that help grow your movement? How does that help your people adopt the identity that they really want to have and become the kind of person they want to be? How do they become your ideal avatar, you know, and then how can you be the leader and guide them through this process and into this movement?
[00:15:04] And inspire them to take action and become the kind of person that you know they can be. How can you help encourage them and inspire them to take the actions that are going to set them up for the success they want to have? And that's exciting to me. So that's the raw first time off the cuff explanation of all that.
[00:15:24] I know that I'm going to clarify that messaging, but those three pillars, those three things, just form that massive framework. That when you have all of those things working together, I believe that your business to get in, to grow like crazy and you're going to have massive momentum and success and impact on people.
[00:15:40] Thanks for listening. I would love to hear what you think about this. let me know. Drop me a line on Instagram if you want to add Jamie M Swanson and, If you haven't already signed up to get notifications on telegram, you can do so@personalbrandjourney.com. I know I've talked about this a lot lately, but really check it out.
[00:16:00] It's amazing. It's a really great way to communicate. just go personal brand journey.com. Download the telegram app. If you haven't already, it's totally free. And then join the channel. If you don't click the little join button, you'll see it, but it won't notify you in the future. And I want to make sure you don't miss any of the notifications of the new episodes that are being released.
[00:16:21] So with that, my friend, you have a wonderful day. Go think through what your three pillars are. You already know who you are, you know who you are, and that you're the personal brand. But what's your system and what's your movement? Let's start thinking through how you can start integrating that.
[00:16:35] Into your current business and how it's going to shape things going forward, and then let me know. I really want to hear, so. All right. Have a great day, my friend.

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Now that everything has changed in the world and in many of our industries, how do we know what we should be working on right now when maybe our stores are closed or were unable to go do photo shoots or whatever it is that you are doing in whatever business you're in. with all of the changes that have happened in the world.
[00:00:17] How do we know how to keep our businesses alive and move forward? How can we decide what's most important for us to be working on during this liminal time of transition? That's what we're going to talk about today.
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[00:00:30] This pandemic hit at a really interesting time in my business. It was already a transition point because I had been working really hard to get an evergreen funnel finished. And after that, it was time for me to start transitioning into driving traffic into my evergreen funnel, like the work was done and now I just needed to get people to get into it and do it.
[00:01:09]But then when all of this hit, there was this deep desire in me, not immediately, but pretty soon thereafter, to really be a leader through this all and bring positivity to the masses. Because I found in my darkest moments. Things that helped me get through where when I would talk to friends and family who were encouraging, who were positive, who brought confidence back to me and reminded me who I was and that even if everything changed, even if the photography industry completely, you know, like self-destructed and disappeared overnight and my business was gone, I could find something new to do that I was resourceful, that I was smart, that I was.
[00:01:56] Going to get through this, and I was resilient and I needed that so much. I soaked it in. Not only that, but seeing the good that's coming out of this, seeing people connecting with each other in ways they haven't in maybe all of my lifetime. You know, like seeing people really get. ho, like think about others and begin to help them and seeing people sing from the balconies in Italy together and just seeing the beautiful bright spots amongst all the darkness and all of the panic and all of the fear, the bright spots, the positivity.
[00:02:34] Brought me through this, that reminder of who I am, despite my circumstances brought me through this and I knew in my belly that I needed to help you remember who you are, that we are going to get through this and yeah, our businesses may look completely different after this. Our personal brands may look completely after this, or our personal brands may look completely different after this.
[00:03:02] But we will get through this and we will come up on the other side. Having learned lessons that we never would have been able to learn if we hadn't gone through this. And I just felt so compelled to share this message. I mean, I just, even now, like I cannot help but to want you to see this as an opportunity to question.
[00:03:24] Everything that you've done and say, is this really what you want to be doing? Or maybe there's something you've always wanted to try or do that's different. Or maybe there's something about you that you want to develop. Like, this is a small example, but I want to, I want to, I've always wanted to be a good guitar player and I just never took the time to do it.
[00:03:43] I was. You know, I've said several times over that if I could go back to when I was a kid and I was super musical as a kid, really talented on clarinet, and I always said, if I could go back, I would have learned guitar instead because playing clarinet alone is not very fun. You really need to be in an ensemble to make it sound good and to really get the most of it.
[00:04:01] And I love that. Like I, I, I'm in a community band right now. I have a B flat clarinet and a little E for clarinet that I just love to play in an ensemble, but alone. A clarinet is not a solo instrument, it's just not. But guitar really is. And I just, I wish I could play guitar as well as I play clarinet because I would be amazing.
[00:04:22]And I was just said, ah, I really regret that. And it hit me like, Oh, I can still do that now. Like if I just spend consistent time practicing, if I make it part of my routine, it wouldn't take that many years for me to really be a great guitar player. Anyways. I know that's a weird example. Has nothing to do with business, but it has everything to do with what we're talking about today, which is finding focus.
[00:04:45] And you know, for me, knowing that I wanted to inspire you to figure out what is it you really want and to take this as an opportunity to explore maybe some of the things that you've been putting off. Because it was just easy to keep doing what you were doing. Cause it brought in the money. you know, you were getting business and it took a lot of time.
[00:05:05] And so there wasn't a lot of extra time to explore some of these other hobbies or these other things that maybe you wanted to pursue. And so, you know, for me, I felt that compelling. Like I just feel this deep, compelling. Pull. It's a fire. It's, it's, I can't not do it to help you and to anyone else out there who happens to hear this or come across me on Facebook or Instagram or wherever, I can't help but to want to help inspire you to really dig deep and figure out who you are and to bring hope even.
[00:05:40] Even in the darkest situations, like I know that things might be really hard for you. I know they're hard for us right now, and I know you might be dealing with losses. You may know people who've passed away. I've started hearing my first stories, not of people I know yet, but. Of people I know, having people they know pass away from this pandemic, and it's terrifying, right?
[00:06:02] And so we're gonna hear more of those stories, and I know we're all going to know somebody who's passed away from this by the time it's over, if it's really as bad as they say it's going to be. And so. Number one for me, I, this whole thing caught me off guard and just makes me want to podcast all the time and share hope and share inspiration and love on my people.
[00:06:25]but I also recognize that I need to figure out how to make money through this. My business fully supports our family. We have no other income coming in and it has for years and it's been great, but now we need to figure out how to keep making money if my industry completely falls apart. Plus, I've got a bunch of admin crap that I've got to deal with.
[00:06:45] You know, I've been not wanting to deal with doing taxes, but it's on the list of things that have to get done. But thankfully, now we've got that three month extension if we want it. But, you know, there's just all this stuff. And, And I sat down, you know, after we did the one K weekend and I got that funnel running and, and I had to just sit down one day and I was just like, what am I supposed to focus on?
[00:07:07] Like I want a podcast, I want to get into my Facebook groups and I want to just love on my people and help them succeed and inspire them and give them ideas for how to do this and all this stuff. And, I was just, I felt like I was going in circles like, what do I focus on first? What do I do next? Like it was already a pivot point in my business and now with all of this thrown in, it's like, how can I do this?
[00:07:31] Like how can I do all of it and possibly do it with less. People. I've had an awesome team. I happened to have just lost a few team members before right before this for totally unrelated reasons. And so, you know, we're, we were right in the process of hiring more and now it's like, well, do we really even hire those people or do we cut back and just run lean?
[00:07:53] And if so, like, how much can I take on myself that, you know, maybe before I had team members doing like this podcast right now. I'm producing my podcast. So, you know, it's just, it's okay because I feel so drawn to do this that I can't, not, even though I don't really have help with it right now. So, and I can't really, honestly, I'm afraid to spend money doing this because this doesn't make me money, you know?
[00:08:14] Right. This is my passion project. So, So I, I just, I kept going in circles like, do I podcast? Do I not? Do I, do I do something else? Do I make a new product? Do I offer a coaching thing? How do I get through this situation? Making the money I need to support my family, but also listening to that call to inspire people and how do I do that best?
[00:08:34] And like, Oh my gosh, you, you're already hearing me talk a lot. But my mind was like, woo. Crazy, crazy. And that's okay. So I took some time. To get focused. And I know maybe you are sitting there saying, gosh, I just cannot focus. It's just all these things swimming through my mind. And so here's how I got focused in my business and really figured out not just business, but personal life too, and really figured out what I should be moving forward with.
[00:09:04] Okay. So the first thing I had to do, and I didn't want to do this, and I'd. I'm hoping that you've already done this, but in the case that you haven't, I took some time and I faced all the what ifs that were going through my mind. Okay, so what if my business sales dropped significantly or completely stopped and we no longer had money coming in?
[00:09:25] Like, what if I had to cut back on team or not hire somebody new? what did I need to do? Like who were the absolute essentials that I would keep no matter what? And who would maybe. Have to be let go, or you know, like if I can't pay them or laid off temporarily, right? If I had to do it mostly myself, what are the big rocks in my business that had to keep moving forward?
[00:09:48]and that depended on what my main goals were. And so I had to figure out what my goals were. And the final thing was what does self care look like when you're stuck at home? Especially if you're stuck at home with six kids because it can be crazy. And I know for me, getting out as big part of my self care, and so I had a lot of things I wanted to really face and go through and here's, here's kind of where I came.
[00:10:13] And it wasn't like a doomsday thing, like, yeah, it's. Feels that way sometimes, but when you finally face it, you can acknowledge your fears and just say, okay, well, worst case scenario, which may happen, well you don't know, but it might not, you know, it doesn't hurt to at least prepare for that. Where are we really at?
[00:10:30] And just see and say, what would things look like if, how could we do what we want to do? Despite. All of these difficulties. Okay. So I started with my personal stuff, like what is it that I personally really wanted to focus on during this time? For me and for me, a personal thing was, I feel this, like I said, this fire to inspire people, and I really felt this compulsion to create content that would genuinely help my photographers get through this.
[00:11:01] Or even you, whatever you do, whether you're a photographer or not, because this is more. I'm speaking in my mind, I'm speaking to all online entrepreneurs here, not just photographers. It's not a photography podcast. it's anybody who wants to have a personal brand, right? And so no matter what industry you're in, you know, I want to help you and inspire you, and I want to do podcasts and I want to do Facebook lives and all this stuff.
[00:11:25]so. That was a big thing for me is, okay, I want to do it. This is a personal thing that I want to do. This isn't a moneymaker right now. Maybe one day it'll be, but right now as I'm recording it, it's not. Number two. I wanted to practice physical distancing, but not social distancing. I'm extremely extroverted and I knew that I was going to need to connect with people more than ever.
[00:11:48] Because of all this isolation. And so I hate the term social distancing. I'm all about physical distancing and I think it's absolutely important. But don't stop meeting with people. I knew I needed to stay connected with them, but not only that, I knew that I wanted to help people connect with each other and connect with my brand and my personal brand.
[00:12:07] So if I could help people, and you know, if you feel like you're closer to me because you're listening to this or that, I've helped in any way. Like. That makes me happy. That's what I want to do. And I've added a lot of personalization stuff to my business because I really want to connect with my people and I want to help them connect with each other because isolation is just going to feed any fear and shame.
[00:12:28] We need each other to get through this in a healthy way. So. I wanted to help other people keep from getting isolated. I wanted to learn the guitar. I'm like, it's time. If I'm ever going to do it, why not now? Already talked about that. Plus, I know that I want to hike or snowshoe three to five times per week.
[00:12:46] Now, I prefer to hike than snowshoe, but we still have too much snow on the ground, not to snowshoe. if all of this blows over, I'm signed up to do a 50 K trail race in the middle of may on this period. Your hiking trail, which is. Insane. It's 31 miles. I am not ready, even though I just did my Burkey a month ago, which is a 34 mile, ski cross country ski up and down, all sorts of Hills.
[00:13:09] So that's insane too. I actually got a little bit of an injury to my hip flexor during that, so I took three solid weeks off and this past week, which was my fourth week since the Berkey, can't believe it's been that long. It feels like. Ages, but, I only did a couple small hikes just to kind of test it out.
[00:13:25] Thankfully it seems to be healed, but, I want to get out three to five times a week. And thankfully I live very remote, so there's no people, like there's hardly anyone here. So the nice thing is I can get out without having to worry about, you know, running into lots of people in spreading the bug or contracting the bug, thankfully.
[00:13:42] So that was kinda what I wanted to focus on on a personal side.
[00:13:49] Then I talked. Then I took some time to really focus on what my big rocks were for my business. Like if I could only have a couple of outcomes in my business, what would I want to see happen? So number one was I wanted to see people actually take action and do the one K weekend challenge. both so that they can get results and keep moving forward.
[00:14:12] But also. Practically so that they would have the money that they needed in case they wanted to keep really diving deep into personal brand photography, using my story sessions system, which has been proven to get people, clients, you know, month after month by over a thousand photographers. We've got in there.
[00:14:31] It's amazing. And, so I really wanted to get people doing the one K weekend challenge and taking. Action. Okay. second, I want my photographers to survive this. And both the people who have bought from me in the past and are in my alumni and people who've never bought a thing from me, like I genuinely want to help as many photographers survive this pandemic as possible.
[00:14:58] And I've already seen a few people say they're, they're quitting, they're, they're done. And that just breaks my heart. They haven't even tried yet, but it was our, it was kind of like. The straw that broke the camel's back. You know, they've been struggling a long time, and this is just, they're done. They're just tired.
[00:15:14] They're done. And that's okay too. Like if that's really where they're at, then maybe it's a great time for them to pivot and find something that's going to bring them great joy. But for the people who really love photography, excuse me. Those are the people I want to help because I believe that when we come out on the other side of this, it's going to be awesome for personal brand photographers because there's going to be more people starting online businesses than ever.
[00:15:41] Right now is a great time when everyone's at home for them to be working on their online business. You know that with all of these teachers being forced to teach online that they're going to see, it's not as hard as they thought, and some of them are going to want to start selling online courses or doing more stuff online and making a side income that way.
[00:15:59] And I just, I feel like we're going to come out the other side of this and. It's going to like explode the need for personal brand photography. So if we can get through this dip, you know, especially if people are leaving and giving up their businesses, there's going to be fewer photographers as well, so there's going to be higher demand.
[00:16:17] And less competition. And so the more people I can help hold on and really help them get set up for success right now during this hard time, the more profitable and successful they're going to be when they're able to finally start working with clients again. And I'm really excited for that. Plus, I believe that there's going to be some opportunities to add additional revenue streams to their businesses that are going to come to them and to me, and to like all of us through this time, like when we create this space and we just have time to think because we can't do all the things we normally do.
[00:16:53] That's when their best ideas happen. And I've talked about that and the last season a few times, but this is like forced space creation. Like. That sounds really funny, but you know what I'm saying? Like people are forced to stop and think and get creative and say what if and what else and how can I stick with this despite what we're facing?
[00:17:15] And I'm really excited for the innovation and the creativity that's going to come through that. So I want to help my photography. So one, I want to get them to do the one K weekend challenge because I believe if half of them are getting results, I'm going to have a lot of photographers. The more I do it, the more results they're going to get.
[00:17:32] I want to help photographers survive this and really implement what they're learning in my system. So I'm. Then I want to really focus on building the culture and the personal brand photography movement. I want to create a safe space for my photographers to come and be honest about what they're struggling with, how they're doing.
[00:17:53] Just give them a place to feel connected. Like I don't want just an audience. I want to create a movement, and I don't want to just be the only one nurturing that. I want this to be full of people who want to help each other who aren't. Action takers who genuinely believe we can get through this together and aren't afraid to help other photographers get through it too.
[00:18:15] So, the final focus here is to become a leader in the entrepreneur space and a voice of hope and inspiration in this crazy time because I really want to encourage you. To lead to start and lead your own movement. Like, yeah, having an online business is awesome. Making money is awesome, but how much cooler is it to make an impact and lead a movement of people who you can help?
[00:18:42] And I just, I feel, honestly, if I'm, if I'm completely honest, honestly honest, honest, can I say honest a few more times. Oh, you guys are getting all my weird quirks, but, I do believe that this is my platform and that these are my giftings. I'm kid with vision and strategy and connection, and I want to teach other people to do this too.
[00:19:06] Because we can do so much more than just make money. We can change the world. We can change lives with the influence that we're given. And I want that to be a huge part of my personal brand and my message and who I am. Like I want to be on stages talking about this. So that's my business focus. Get people to do the one K weekend helps photographers survive, build this culture and movement.
[00:19:28] And make it a safe space for my photographers and then become a leader and become known for helping people build and create movements. So, okay, so we talked about first and foremost, facing the what ifs, right? So this is how we get focused face the what ifs. What do you need personally? What are your business focuses?
[00:19:47] If you can only have some big rocks. Finally, this is a final piece. You need to look at. How can you make this happen as simply as possible? Like, what do we do? We can't do everything. I definitely can't do everything. So for me, I definitely want to use Facebook groups to nurture my movement. I want to go through.
[00:20:08] My story session system again with my alumni and any new people who've joined and do another six weeks of Q and a and actually do it together as a group one because they have the time to do it now. So it's a great time to go through it again too, because it's going to build that culture, that belonging, that community.
[00:20:27] And I can help them navigate through this new landscape that we are all in because of the pandemic. And I want to do that for them. I just genuinely want to help. They're not paying for anything extra for me. I'm just giving extra because I know that it's going to help. So I'm excited about that. I want to do a lot of Facebook lives to really help encourage people to do this one weekend.
[00:20:48] I'm running some ads as well, but I know the lives themselves. when people come alive and engage with them, that's the most powerful. And I want a podcast like crazy to really inspire you and become the thought leader that I believe that I am inside, even though I'm not super well known yet. So, I'll also use email to get out, you know, get the word out to my current list.
[00:21:10] But the new one that I'm going to add that I've been kind of playing with for the last few months, kind of here and there, just to kind of test it out, is telegram. Now, telegram is an app that's going to help me stand apart from all the noise. So it's, it's similar to something like Voxer or Marco polo, if you've used either of those, or messenger or WhatsApp.
[00:21:30] But it. There's a number of reasons that I'm not going to go into now as to why I'm choosing telegram. But I would love if you want to check it out, because this is something I'll probably talk a lot more about in the future as I use it more. go download the telegram app and it's free. If you go to personal brand journey.com, it'll take you to.
[00:21:51] My podcasting channel, and you'll have to one, download the app, but then to click the join once it takes you to that channel, and you will get updates and see exactly how I'm going to be using telegram to let you know when podcasts are live and sometimes to give you a little extra behind the scenes.
[00:22:11] Information and insight are goodies. But the reason I want to do that is because email, I have not done email since 2013. I hate email. And I know a lot of you don't read your emails or, the inboxes are using algorithm, so you don't even see them. Like maybe you'd love to see them and read them, but you don't even get them because of whatever crazy filtering the algorithms are doing behind the scenes.
[00:22:32] Because yes, emails are subject to algorithms as well. And so, you know, it's. No one likes, you know, emails any, you don't email your friends, you know, so I don't, you know, I don't want to do that. I feel like Facebook messenger is kind of personal. I've used that a lot in the past, and I know there's still definitely some benefits to using it, but I like telegram better.
[00:22:54] And so. telegram. It is. So check it out. plus it's less noisy than social media because you get, you can set it up to get notifications every time there's something new, so you never miss it. So definitely check that out. Some other people out there who are playing with this are Stu McLaren. He just started using telegram, I think this week.
[00:23:12]James Wedmore has been using telegram a little bit over the last few months. So I know there's other people as well, but I really think that this is going to be a great platform going forward. So check it out because it's something you might end up wanting to use in your business as well. So those are the platforms that I'm going to be using to reach my business goals is Facebook groups.
[00:23:32]and that'll be both for nurturing the movement and redoing my story session system with my alumni. When you're doing Facebook lives on my page and in my group, I'm podcasting emails and telegram. So it seems like a lot, but it's pretty, it feels light and easy for me based on who I am. So you have to figure out, as you're looking at your goals, what would make it light and easy for you to do that?
[00:23:54] You know, part of the podcast, I think it was heavy, was I had this whole production, this whole. You know, SOP, which is a standard operating procedure for how to publish it and do it all the right way. And I just realized, you know what? I don't have to do all the keywording and all the whatever. I can just put the podcast out and let you hear the message.
[00:24:13] And so I might not have fancy show notes. I might not have all the bells and whistles. I might not be marketing every single episode. But between publishing it and using telegram to tell you it's there. That means that I can get it out faster and easier and getting it out, even if it's not perfect, is better than not doing it at all.
[00:24:32] We want to be taking action during this time. So here's my questions for you to find your focus. Number one. Face your what ifs, what are the things that you need to get real about? Look at how things really are right now and what if things don't go the way you want? What could, what would you have to do?
[00:24:50] Like what would it look like if you need to cut back? If you're struggling, if you're not great, but you can still go through the what ifs if you want to. look at what you need personally during this time. Look at what your business focuses are, what would make the biggest impact in your business, and then figure out what your big rocks are and how you can do it as simply as possible.
[00:25:09] So for me, my next steps are, I'm actually gonna put a calendar. I'm going to put a calendar together for myself to say, okay, Monday is the day I do my question of the week. And I do my new bright side show. Which is a Facebook live that I'm going to be doing in my group that I'm super excited about to nurture the group and to really help them focus on the bright side of things.
[00:25:28] And then I'm going to say Tuesdays, this focus Wednesdays, this focus Thursdays, this focus, and it's not going to map out every single hour, but at least having each day have a focus will help me know what I should be working on and where my capacity is. And if I go in and I say, man, I don't think I can do all the things I really want to do.
[00:25:46] Then at least I can re prioritize and come back and cut some of those things out, or maybe, which would be amazing. This quarantine won't last as long as we think it will, and I'm going to need to cut it back because all the activities are going to start up again. I'm banking on that, not happening yet. I feel like we still are getting into the worst of it, but, in the case that.
[00:26:09] You know, we do have a 12 week quarantine. It's not, that's the wrong word, 12 weeks isolation, social distancing, whatever it is. Maybe shelter in place, depending on where you're at. you know, I can, that means I have a lot of extra work time and I can set those times up and I can figure it out so that I can come to my day.
[00:26:26] I can know what I should be working on, at least from a focus perspective and not worry about when I'm going to fit everything in. It'll just help me keep from dropping all the balls. So, yeah. So I would love to know what your main business goals are, how you can best serve, you know, like, how are you planning to best serve your people through this?
[00:26:44] And, if you want to share that, it'd be great. Go ahead. Do a story on Instagram and tag at Jamie M Swanson. I would love to hear. I'll be sharing some of them on a, I'll share some of them on my stories. If you tag me in them and talk about how this episode, this finding focus episode, and with that go definitely check out telegram, personal brand journey.com and if you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, so yeah.
[00:27:09] Hope this was a helpful episode. I know it was super long, but this is a process that I went through that was so helpful. That has given me so much peace because now I know how to move forward. Now I know what my big goals are despite the world having flipped upside down. And I know how to allocate my time to make sure that they're going to happen.
[00:27:28] So, all right, in the next episode, this is really good. I was talking with my buddy Levi, and we were talking about branding and personal branding versus all the movement and culture stuff and whatever else. And he's going through a massive rebrand for everything. so we were discussing it and he had some questions.
[00:27:48] And during that conversation I realized that if you really want to build. A successful business with a massive impact, you need more than just a personal brand in order to do that. Well, in fact, you need three elements. One of them being your personal brand to really be successful, and our conversation helped me.
[00:28:10]Really find that framework and that is what I'm going to share with you in the next episode. So be ready for that because it's a really good one. . Don't forget to subscribe and sign up via telegram@personalbrandjourney.com and I'll see you there. Bye friend.

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It was the night before I was about to launch my one K weekend challenge, evergreen funnel. When I had my Covid moment and realized how serious everything was, everything began shutting down. Everybody was going into their homes and staying apart and taking this seriously finally and social distancing.
[00:00:21]And here I was literally one day away from telling people, photographer, specifically, here's what you say and do to book clients when they're getting cancellation after cancellation from events, closing, weddings being postponed and the works, they can't even get out of their houses to do their work. So what was I going to do?
[00:00:40] What was I going to do? That's what I'm going to tell you about in today's episode.
[00:00:45] I really went back and forth for quite a while as to whether or not I should do the one K weekend and it starts with the live video. That then encourages people to opt in to download this guide that I created so that they could do the one K we can challenge and at some point, I'm totally gonna walk you through how I change the structure to go from doing a event, a big challenge in real time online, which is what I've done in the past, very successfully to having a challenge going all the time, but still being able to support people and hopefully help them get results.
[00:01:38]But the beginning of it is a live video that I wanted to record with people there live to have their energy and then use that in the future and keep sending people to it. And I didn't know if it was appropriate to do it. It seemed like the literally the worst time ever, my industry was like shutting down.
[00:01:55] People were freaking out and here I was saying, Hey, go try and book clients. But what I realized is that. If it worked even for a few people, those few people would be helped immensely because they'd have extra money in their bank account coming into this scary time. So we did it. I decided to do it. I put out an email that day.
[00:02:19] That morning and I put a post in my Facebook group and said, Hey, let's do this. Why not try sign up here and I'll give you a reminder or just come watch live and you can sign up for the guide afterwards if you want to. So. I don't own an eight to 10 hours. I had 368 people who signed up to come and do the one K weekend challenge, and I was thrilled.
[00:02:42] Like I was just hoping to get like 50 people there because I knew that just having a few people there would give me that energy. When I'm on live, I really love doing live video. It's, Probably my favorite podcasting is second, but I don't get to interact with you in the same way in a podcast. You just have to sit and listen to me talk while I love to talk.
[00:02:59] It's just not quite the same, but I went into this, I did the live video, and then I waited and because it was time for people to do the stuff, and unlike a launch, I had everything built beforehand. I had been working for. Little over a month and a half to get all the messaging done, all the Facebook posts, done, all that supporting videos, done all the emails, written, everything was done, and now all I had to do was support people and really encourage them to go through the funnel and go through the process and trust that it was going to work.
[00:03:32] Right. I had . Intentionally created us to be as hands off as possible. So it was really an odd feeling because normally with the one K weekend, like the group goes crazy. I'm answering comments left and right, whatever. And so, I started seeing a few people interacting on the post that we had put , there's a post for them to like share when they've posted it, so we can encourage them.
[00:03:54]there's some posts about how to support them. So like if they're not booking clients, here's a couple of things that could be going on here. Some more ideas. I had about four or five different little video posts to help them in various situations, and they were getting a little bit of response and a few people were booking clients, which is fantastic.
[00:04:13] In fact, I started using this new software called video ask, and I'll try and put a link in the show notes if I remember. It's phenomenal. It's a really great way to get testimonials. And so two of them even recorded testimonials for me that day, like that over the weekend that I was able to share on Monday and say, look, even though everything is going crazy right now, we're all being asked to stay home.
[00:04:37] Ven events are canceling and weddings are canning, you know, all this stuff. You know what's going on. Everybody in this world is dealing with this now or has dealt with it depending on when you're listening to this. And so. you know, I was, I was happy to see that people were still booking clients using this process because, you know, I didn't know if it was gonna work.
[00:04:56] And if you're challenged doesn't get people results, it's definitely not going to get them to purchase your course. so yeah, so there was some positive things. There was some excitement building. But then Monday came and that's when I did my video. I did my stuff, and then I looked at my numbers and that Monday, so I should back up a second.
[00:05:06] When they do the one K weekend, I really love action takers because those are the people who survive in business. Those are the people who get stuff done, even if it's not perfect, and it's that. Momentum of actually taking action and not just wallowing in fear and learning more and more and more before they ever move forward.
[00:05:25]. I mean, it's like the biggest indicator of somebody who's going to make it in business. So I love to work with action takers, and I told people that. If they did the one K weekend, regardless of whether or not they get results, they could get my course for half price.
[00:05:39] So my course goes for $2,000 or $399 a month over six payments. And so if they just do the one K weekend, I give them a private invitation window where they can get it for either nine 99 or just six payments of one 99 so basically. I give them $1,000 towards taking the story session system and then hopefully the challenge makes them $1,000 or more so that it's a no brainer if this is something that they want to do going forward.
[00:06:07] It just works really well. so I was getting testimonials and then we started into the sales sequence. And, I was no, well, before they get into that, they also get a bonus video, which is really great.
[00:06:17] It's like how to turn their one-time clients into recurring clients. And, I started looking at my numbers because I wanted to see how many people had done it. It's that Monday afterwards. It's the start of the sales sequence. It's the start of when they get their bonuses. And I had only had 12 people, 12 people.
[00:06:35] I had a 368 people who signed up to do it. Only 12 of them took action. That's just 3% now, of those 3% who did it, half of them booked clients, which was phenomenal, but I just had this panic moment because if nobody's going to do the challenge . My funnel is broke. it doesn't work. If people don't do it, it will not work if people are not doing the challenge.
[00:07:01]I mean, anyone who's doing it and getting results like great, even if they don't get results, but they can see how it works and they can see the progress they're making, there's hope there, right? And so, I was just super down. I'm like, what am I going to do if people don't actually take action if they're so afraid to move forward that they're not even trying?
[00:07:22] I'm going to be straight up honest. I had another dark day. It was a very dark day of thinking about what would happen if I can't bring any money in, my business will fail and it's probably only got like two months maybe. I'm not sure if that were the case. And, that's another thing I need to do this week is look at all the numbers, which is terrifying, but I'm going to do it tomorrow.
[00:07:42] In fact, and if you haven't, you should do it too, even though I know it's scary. , so I had a dark day, but the next day. I had a brilliant moment. It was a beautiful moment of incredible clarity and incredible productivity too. It's just one of those great days. And I realized that the people who are gonna make it through this in my industry were the ones taking action.
[00:08:05] Because the ones taking action, half of them got results. Like that's a really great statistic. And I was so thankful that I had taken the time to actually set up all of this up in my funnel so that I could track the people who , did it and track the results and the ones who got, the clients, the ones who didn't and how much money they made and how many clients they booked to have it all there.
[00:08:23] It's all there. Cause I wanted to be able to celebrate them and feature them in my community. And so I did this Facebook live and I did it on Instagram too. I've never done an Instagram live before. That was kinda fun. And I shared about who I thought was going to make it in this industry and who wasn't and why.
[00:08:40] I thought there was a possibility of 97% of photography businesses failing through this. And I basically took it straight from the numbers in my funnel. Now I know there's a lot of if, ands, or buts in that, but if only 3% of people are actually taking action to move their business forward during this time, and 97% are not.
[00:09:00]Either because they don't believe it's going to work or because they're afraid and paralyzed by it or whatever it is. They're not going to make it. If you are so terrified right now that you can even take action in your business and move forward, of course you're not going to make it through. Like we have to keep that momentum going.
[00:09:19] We've got to keep moving forward, even if it's just one little thing a day to do towards growing your business. and I know that's scary, but. People were so moved by that, because then I could say, you know, I know you don't think that anyone's going to book, but look at these 3%, those 12 people who did it, half of them did actually book clients.
[00:09:38] One of them booked seven clients during that. She made $3,500 during that challenge, , the goal was to show them that there's still hope, not to say, Hey, you're going to fail. But the difference, the thing that separates the people who will absolutely fail and the people who will hopefully make it is the ones who hopefully make it and probably will make it, are the ones taking action who have not given up.
[00:10:01] Even when they don't know if it's gonna work, and I saw that in myself. I had to still do this video even though I didn't know if it was going to work. I knew I needed to put it out there and that if I didn't put it out there, I absolutely wouldn't be making any money like I had to do it, even though I knew the results would be lower.
[00:10:16]And yeah, I totally had a dark day when I realized only 12 people, only 3% actually did it. But then when I realized that I could encourage people to get results and take action and show them that. It's easy to keep moving forward if you're taking action, like part of this is just doing the thing, right?
[00:10:34] Just doing the thing. And so right now I have more people doing it. This is only a few days ago. So, we will see how it goes in terms of the funnel performing long term. We did get one sale from it, which was great. It gave me hope that people will actually take this time to buy and to work on their business and they have hope as well.
[00:10:54]And so, you know, my business might survive. I need more than one sale a week to survive though my, Oh my. But, Here's what I want to encourage you right now, and it's the same for me to keep. Taking action, do not let this panic and this fear and all of this stuff, which is there, and it's valid to acknowledge it, but like don't let it hold you back from taking action and don't just be passive about it.
[00:11:21] Like, yeah, it's absolutely great to update your website and do all those things that you've been meaning to do, but do not neglect marketing or even sales. It's not wrong to try and sell right now. There are some people. Who are thriving right now. there are several people in the mastermind. I'm in impact mastermind with Stu McLaren who are crushing it because they have memberships or products that serve people who.
[00:11:49]Like hobbies, for example, or like the artists, they have people who are ready to dive into the art who finally have time to do it because they didn't have time before. Right. And so they're thriving. music lessons. My friend who runs a guitar membership is just crushing it right now because people are finally picking up their guitar and playing.
[00:12:08] Actually, I'm one of those people, it's really funny. I have played my guitar. Every single day in March after not playing it for like years and years and years. I picked it up a little bit this last year again, but, it's just been amazing to see some people are thriving. I imagine that, companies that sell home.
[00:12:26]Workout equipment are thriving. we all know that like puzzles and games and anything to entertain kids is surviving and thriving. there's lots of people out there who are definitely gonna make it through this really well. And there's plenty of industries that are going to hit be hit hard by this, like the photography industry.
[00:12:45]But the thing is we can't stop taking action, or we. Absolutely aren't going to make it. So think about one thing you can do right now today to take action on your business and to do so in a really active way, not just passively, but like actively trying to promote the product or the service that you sell.
[00:13:05] Now, if you're a service provider and you can't do it, like if you're a photographer, you can't shoot right now, but you absolutely can do an offer for people to say, Hey, if you book me now, I will give you a discount. Because let's face it, we need money, and this gives them an incentive to book.
[00:13:20] Now , and if you do that now, we'll plan over the next few months or weeks or however long the, I hope it's not too many months, but however long it is that we cannot be together and do the actual session. We'll take this time to plan it out. And then as soon as we're able to, we'll schedule a time and we'll shoot the session.
[00:13:37]After all of this quarantining and everything is done. Okay? So you can do that. You'll get it. They get a deal now because you're just trying to keep cash flow during this really hard time so you can keep your business afloat and they get a deal because they get to invest now for something that they'd normally have to pay a lot more for later that they still absolutely need.
[00:13:57] So there are ways to do this that are a win for us. Everybody. There's nothing wrong with that. And so think about the things you can do, not just passively but actively. the best way to figure that out is to have focus, I'm going to talk about that in the next episode because that was my biggest struggle was, okay, I'm going to take action.
[00:14:15] I'm going to keep moving forward. But what do I do first? How do I focus? So that's where we're going in the next episode. Make sure you don't miss it. Sign up at personal brand journey dot comm to get notifications through telegram, which is a free app. I highly recommend using it. download telegram, and then click the join button once it takes you to the channel.
[00:14:35] Personal brand journey.com and if you haven't yet, subscribe to the podcast. The more subscribers we get, the more we go up through the ranks and , then you have a second thing that gives you updates if you go into your podcast app. So would love to make sure that you don't miss this next time.
[00:14:51]thanks for subscribing and if you've enjoyed it, we'd love it if you'd leave a review as well. So would that. Have a great day. I will catch you in the next episode all about finding your focus. You know how to move forward during this crazy time in your business,

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Are you starting something new in your business, or trying something you’ve never done before? This episode is a special message for you.

I’ve observed so many business owners start a launch, struggle to get momentum, get bogged down by the heaviness of the startup, and then... They give up.

Friends, don’t let your first attempt tell you that you don’t have what it takes. Keep going. Don’t give up too early. The first mile is never a reflection of what the rest of your run will be like. It will get better. You will learn. You will grow.

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Knowing how to create an Evergreen sales funnel is a really powerful tool in the hands of a business owner. But, without the right instruction, the process can prove to be pretty bumpy...

In this episode, I’m letting listeners in deep and sharing the three things I wish someone had told me before creating my own Evergreen funnel.

If you’re wondering why I switched to Evergreen, make sure to listen to my most recent episode: “The 5-Step Plan for Growing My Personal Brand in 2020” where I explain the reason behind this big switch in my business.

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I’ve had a dream since 2018 to take a leap in my business and do something bigger than anything I’ve ever tried before. However, now that we’re a few months into 2020, this dream of mine has remained on the back-burner… But that’s all about to change.

In this episode, I’m sharing with you all how I’m making this dream happen this year. Join me as I outline my five-step plan for growing my personal brand in 2020. These points will outline business goals, nurturing my audience, personal growth goals, and more.

If you also have a dream that you want to tackle this year, this episode is for you. I know that these steps will be so transformational for your business and will yield great results in your entrepreneurial journey.

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I had planned on launching it the very next day, March 12th and the whole premise behind that is to help my photographers book to clients and make $1,000 over a weekend.
[00:00:11]But here we were the day before and everything is shutting down and people are being told to social distance and my stomach just dropped out. I'm like. What in the world am I supposed to do?
[00:00:25] It was Wednesday, March 11th when I had my CoVID moment. That moment when I realized that this was something that I needed to take seriously, everything around me was starting to cancel. There had already been a few big shocks with like South by Southwest canceling and then one event after another after another, and then the school started canceling and all the events started canceling and everything.
[00:01:05]Just kind of blew up in a good way and that people were finally understanding the distancing stuff, but it was really. One of those moments, and I'm sure you have your own where you realize the gravity of it. Before then, I was really self focused. I was in my own world, I've been working on creating an evergreen funnel from my one K weekend challenge, which you've heard a lot about.
[00:01:26] The one K we can challenge in season one and I really wanted to get that into an evergreen format, and so I had my head down. I was focused. I was creating. Emails and content funnels and the whole works. And I had planned on launching it the very next day, March 12th and the whole premise behind that is to help my photographers book to clients and make $1,000 over a weekend.
[00:01:51]But here we were the day before and everything is shutting down and people are being told to social distance and my stomach just dropped out. I'm like. What in the world am I supposed to do?
[00:02:05] I can't not watch this thing because I had put a lot off to do this. money's been a little tight lately because I haven't launched in a long time because I've been working on this evergreen stuff and it was a crazy fall.
[00:02:18] Personally. I'm sure you'll hear more about that as the podcast progresses this season, , so I was kind of in a tight spot, Michael, I don't want to put it off because things can get worse over the next few weeks. And what if it works? Like what if people are still able to book some clients and they can do all the planning and stuff now and just shoot the session later after all of this stuff has passed and everybody's out and about again.
[00:02:41] So, I still did it. I launched it on Thursday and I'll share more about how it went in a future episode, but it was such a roller coaster of emotions. Honestly. Mostly panic. you know, like I had said, we'd been putting off launching , we probably had like six to nine months of income set aside to live off of as a cushion, which we'd been eating into in order to not launch so that I could focus on converting this to evergreen. And we were starting to see some results with another funnel that I had put together. But this one was the one that I knew was going to be the big money maker.
[00:03:20] So. When this hit, it really sent me into a panic because we're near the end of what we have for our cushion financially, and that's never a good place to be. And just like that sales stopped, like stopped altogether. We are getting, you know, a handful of sales every week and then we got nothing, nothing, nothing.
[00:03:40] And yes, we've gotten awesome membership, but it doesn't cover our bills. And I was just hiring two new people, someone to do tech for me. VA for me, not that this would ever come at a good time, but it came at a really rough time. And , I had a couple of really dark days.
[00:03:55] I don't know how you handled your CoVID moment and how it affected you or how it's affecting you now. But I was super concerned about the financial impact because I saw my photographer is losing. Business not being allowed to shoot, having to close their doors for at least a temporary amount of time.
[00:04:16] And I could see the financial impact that that was going to have on the entire economy, not just photographers, not to mention all of the health implications. I mean, that's serious as well, but , it's big. Right? , I'm sure you've had this right. , I'm super empathetic and so all it takes is one person panicking around me and it just pulls me really down.
[00:04:37] I feel their emotions. And that's been really hard. living with so many people. I mean, I've got six kids. There's my husband, we have a nanny who lives in the house. , . I mean, it's totally normal to feel all the downside of things and that's okay. But what I found is that I really needed positivity and that, when I was around somebody who could bring hope and encouragement and confidence, it would pull me right up.
[00:05:01] And so it was kind of this roller coaster of swinging down though and kind of dealing with the anxiety and the panic and then swinging up. And going to this place of wanting to be an inspiration and wanting to bring positivity to this world. And that's kind of where I've been lately. The last few days have been really good.
[00:05:19] Thankfully for me, it's been 11 days since my coven moment. and so we're still brand new into this, but the last few days I have felt the deepest. Calling to bring hope and to bring inspiration to people out there who are hurting, who are panicking, who don't know how they're going to pay their bills, who don't know if their business is gonna survive or not.
[00:05:44]and I just feel this deep fire in me to walk through this with you and with everybody else. And, I really feel like this is the year that I'm going to step up and I don't know if my business is going to make it I'm sure it'll have to change a little bit from what it is because my industry is struggling.
[00:06:01] And so that has that direct effect on me. It's just, it's crazy is this not crazy times people, but here's the thing, I know that regardless of what happens to my business, I know that there's so much to be learned through this process. If I'm just open to it, I know that this is going to be.
[00:06:22] Bring in new ideas and transformation. And if this business fails, I'm resourceful and confident, and I know that I can pivot, find something else, but I'm not going to go down without a fight. Which sounds really funny and I want to bring you along on that journey. So I'm so glad you are here with me on this journey listening, and I really appreciate you.
[00:06:42] And if just one thing I say can inspire you or bring you hope or help you move forward. Then that is a win for me. , I am a fighter and I am determined to make it through. but even if I can't, even if we lose everything, , and that's a possibility. I want to go down inspiring and helping as many people as I possibly can.
[00:07:04] No, I don't think we're going to lose everything and whatever else, but I've had to accept that that's an actual possibility. Right. But it's just stuff , here's what I want to do is I want to focus a lot on this podcast as much as I possibly can. Take the time to do that. Like, yes, I've absolutely still got to work on my business and work on making money in this podcast right now.
[00:07:23] It's a labor of love. I'm not doing anything to monetize it. Maybe I should, but at the moment I just feel like this is the platform where I can document the journey and inspire and bring hope and share stories, and hopefully as you see me walking through the difficulties that I'm facing in my business, because you can absolutely be certain that I am going to tell you about them here.
[00:07:45] I'm going to tell you how I'm getting through them, what I'm doing. I'm hoping that it will help you move forward. So here's what I would appreciate if you find this helpful, is if you would let other people know about it as well. I really feel this is the year that my platform is going to grow and we've had over 40,000 downloads on this podcast, even though a season one ended .
[00:08:06] Back in August, I think, and I appreciate you so much, and I just really want to see the podcast grow this year because this is like, I don't know, I just feel so called to share what I know with entrepreneurs and influencers and really anybody who wants to be in the online business space. And the last several months, so the last nine months have been hugely.
[00:08:30]Transformational for me, and I've got a ton of takeaways for it. And a lot of it revolves around growing a personal brand in this crazy time. Right. and here's the, here's the other weird thing. Okay. I already recorded three episodes for the season before all this coven. 19 stuff broke loose. And so, What I think I'm going to do is I'm going to release those three episodes next, right after this one. So it's going to be kind of disjointed because I know right now I'm talking about the coven 19 and how I'm going to face that with positivity. And then you're going to jump back to three episodes I recorded in January.
[00:09:05] because I want to give you a little context on how the year began, but they are, pre pandemic, I don't know what the correct terms are here. You can pick the one that suits you best, then we're going to come right back to this. So I'm going to actually release them at the same time as this episode and encourage you to go binge listen to them.
[00:09:22]There's some really great stuff in there. And I'm basically taking that as my foundation and pivoting off of that. So start there and then we're going to come back to this and, dive in. But in the meantime, if you haven't yet, go sign up for notifications using a free app called telegram. I know you have to download an app, but it's seriously one of the coolest things ever.
[00:09:42] It's the best way to communicate with you without it getting lost in emails without it getting lost in a sea of social media. And so, you can sign up for that by going to personal brand journey.com and then, Click join. Well, you have to download the app if you don't have it yet, and then click join.
[00:09:58] It's a totally free app, but it's super amazing and actually is one that I want to be using more and more and that I recommend you start playing with and using with your audiences and your movements as well. It's just wonderful. It's a really, really wonderful app. So, all right, so go dive into the next three episodes to get the backstory.
[00:10:15]And then I'll be back with more of this journey through the pandemic and how I'm handling it and how I am trying to stay positive and focused despite these waves of panic that come. Because I know the biggest thing that has helped me is having positivity and having that encouragement, and that's what I want to focus on here.
[00:10:35] We're going to focus on the bright sides of stuff without. Ignoring the difficulties, and we're going to see how we can take these moments of. Hardship, truly and transform them into something beautiful. just like in the forest in fall, everything dies and then in winter it's laying on the ground and it's decomposing underneath all the snow.
[00:10:58] And we still have a ton of snow in Northern Minnesota. It is. Almost the end of March, and there's over two feet in the woods still. It's crazy. This winter, we'll never end here, but underneath that two feet of snow, it's starting to melt and the old leaves and plants and everything is decomposed. And I know it won't be long from now, but.
[00:11:17] All of that stuff that died, , the beauty in the life and the leaves and all the plants and everything that I mourn over winter when it feels so empty, it's all breaking down and creating the exact nutrients that the forest needs to come alive with new life again. And that's my goal and my hope with this season is that there will be new life that comes from our past experiences that even if everything breaks apart and falls apart.
[00:11:44]That our past experiences and everything that happened prior to this is just setting us up to have new life, new growth, and to go forward with hope. So would that go catch the next three episodes? Sign up for telegram@personalbrandjourney.com
[00:12:01] and with that I will see you in the next episode.

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I'm honestly not sure that my business is going to survive this new pandemic that has swept the globe, but I am dedicated to moving forward with positivity, with hope, and to document the entire journey along the way. And that is going to be our focus here on the personal brand journey with Jamie M Swanson in season two.

[00:00:23] I know for sure that 2020 is going to be a year of total transformation, not just for me, but also for pretty much everybody on the globe. Now. I have hope. I have a lot of faith that we can move forward and we can find a way through this. But I'm also being really realistic about the fact that my industry photographers are struggling right now and when they're struggling, that directly impacts my business.

[00:01:07] So I am determined to focus on positivity and see the bright side of things. I'm determined to help bring a bright new future. And. Part of the beauty of this is that I feel like it's time for me to really find my platform and my messaging and become the personal brand that I'm meant to be through this.

[00:01:28] I actually think that there's a huge opportunity for you and I to learn a ton of stuff through. This incredible time that we're walking through and yes, it's going to be painful, but it's also going to bring many joys and there's going to be a lot of hope. that comes out of this and positive things like people connecting with each other and thinking through what could be in ways that they never have.

[00:01:55]Before you and I are both in for many new life experiences this year. And if we look at it that way and we can come to it curious and non attached as much as possible and just open to whatever it brings, I think we have so much to learn together. As Stu McLaren often says, I think he got this from, Michael Hyatt, he says, what does this make possible? And that's what I want to find out this year with you on season two of the podcast. So if you're excited to hear all about that, to get the behind the scenes on my journey, and I'm going to be honest, I'm, I'm gonna like not hold back on how I'm really doing, cause it's been kind of rough.

[00:02:40] But I also want to share the good parts and how I'm handling this, and I want to call you to find who you are through this and what you can be doing through this. And if you want to be part of that journey with me, we're going to try something new this season. I actually set up a telegram app. I don't know if you're familiar with telegram.

[00:02:58] It's totally free, but it's going to be a way for me to communicate more frequently with you and easier with you because I don't know about you. I haven't done email in years. my email is mostly junk, other than like the support tickets and I have somebody else doing that, and social media is just getting louder and louder and louder.

[00:03:14] So if you want to make sure that you're never going to miss an episode and I'm going to be podcasting whenever I feel like it, I've realized that if I could give myself some freedom to do it more often when I've got a thought or just pop into telegram real quick and share something there because it's got a super awesome audio experience there, I want to be able to do that.

[00:03:32] So I would highly recommend. If you're excited about season two and diving into this with me, go to personal brand journey.com download the telegram app and then click the join button because I would love to have you following along there. And, I'm really excited to see what's in start. So that's changed number one, but let's go forward together.

[00:03:52] Let's. Make the best of a situation that is incredibly hard. And I'm not trying to downplay how difficult this is, I'm just trying to find the joy within it and be real about what's going on and how I'm basically desperately tried to save my business. So let's do this together. Let's have an awesome safe and honest conversation.

[00:04:14]And so yeah, I'm excited to dive into season two and I'll see you in the next episode.

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I have learned that there is nothing that makes me happier than being submerged in nature. It makes me come alive and unlocks space in my brain for self-reflection.

Every time I make space in my life for nature, it rewards me by making me feel filled up and it gives me such clarity! In this episode, I'm going to tell you all about the six-day solo retreat I took in North Dakota, and how it gave me an opportunity to think deeper about Masterminds and how I am going to build local communities.

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Mentioned in this episode Stu McLaren

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Early on in my business, I learned that you can’t give everyone everything all the time.

It might feel like you are selfish to take time away, but in fact, it’s really transformative. I am telling you; it will reconnect you with yourself and your business in a high-level way.

In this podcast, I’m going to share exactly how my husband and I take retreats by ourselves and the three rules to follow to help you honor that time.

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In this third podcast about my latest Mastermind, I'm going to share with you the steps I took to form deep connections between the people who attended. When you can take a group of people who don't know each other at all and watch them transform and connect...man, it's amazing.

The steps I used were intentional, but the connections that formed were beyond what I had hoped for. I can't wait to share with you how this happened so you can use these techniques as you grow your personal brand!

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Mentioned in this episode

Rachel Hollis
Stu McLaren
Amy Porterfield

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A few weeks ago, I ran my very first Mastermind, and it was amazing! If you've been hanging around with me online or on this podcast you know that I'm a big fan of Masterminds, they've been a significant part of my business success (and my personal success, if I am honest).

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to take part in a Mastermind? On today’s podcast, I’m going to walk you through what we did at my Mastermind and how amazing connections were formed!

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Mentioned in this episode
Stu McLaren

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When you're growing a personal brand, you know that you'll be in the spotlight at some point, but your reaction to it may be a surprise to you. Jamie shares in this episode how she reacted to leading a Mastermind class and the insights she gained from this.

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Mentioned in this episode
Stu McLaren

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When your business results start to change, it can really shake your confidence. Jamie knows this firsthand because in the course of a few years her income dropped in half.

She shares what you need to look at when the market shifts, and how that can affect you personally and professionally.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Is balance a mythical creature like a unicorn? Does it seem like you can't find the right way to get things in balance? What would your life and your business look like if you could have balance?

Jamie shares the technique she uses to help find balance in her life, with the hope that it helps you, too!

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Do you sometimes feel like you are doing everything you possibly can for your business, but it's just such a struggle? Does it sometimes feel like you take a step forward and two steps back?

This podcast episode is all about the massive shift Jamie has seen in her business since she implemented one simple thing that has reduced her stress and made everything easier.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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This episode is really special because Jamie got to talk to Jayson Gaignard whose podcast Community Made she's been following for some time now and HIGHLY recommends!

Learning how to really connect with other people is something that's critical in life and also in growing your personal brand.

Jayson shares his insights in this interview. There are so many ways to grow community!

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this episode:

Jayson Gaignard

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Sometimes, as you're building your business and your personal brand, you might have to backtrack. It's not fun, it's not pleasant, but oh there is SO much value in it.

Join Jamie on a walk on the Superior Hiking Trail and hear two stories of recent events in her life and the lessons she took away for her business that you will need to use at some point in yours.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Jayson Gaignard

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If you're building a personal brand where you are working towards building a community or movement that you feel passionate about, you're going to LOVE this podcast episode.

Jamie walks you through why leveraging the power of your dedicated community to help you grow is one of most powerful and under-utilized marketing plans out there.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Stu & Amy McLaren

Jayson Gaignard

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Well hey there, it's been awhile!

While Jamie didn't intend to take a whole month off of podcasting, sometimes life shows you that you have to take another path.

This past month has been a whirlwind, but in all kinds of good ways! She shares what's been going on, all the new stats and numbers, and how her launch went.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this episode:

Amy Porterfield

Stu McLaren

Jayson Gaignard

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There's a word that is a really judge-y word, a word that we use in regard to ourselves and in regard to others.

Jamie shares how that word keeps you from working from a place of confidence and holds you back--and how to find a clearer path to a strong personal brand.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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At a recent one-day workshop, Jamie picked up this tidbit that really resonated with her and gave her a lot of clarity for moving forward. Sometimes it’s the smallest things that can make the biggest difference in our businesses.

In this episode she shares what worked for her, so you can get some clarity and surpass your goals.

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Mentioned in this episode:

Stu McLaren

James Wedmore

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Jamie has noticed two things that are big mistakes that new influencers and entrepreneurs tend to make when trying to grow their personal brand. She knows for sure they're mistakes because she's made the same ones herself!

She shares with you EXACTLY what those mistakes are so that you can avoid them as you grow your own personal brand and business.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Jamie talks about how to grow your confidence so you make choices out of abundance and not fear.

If you're deciding if you want to grow a personal brand, a thing that might be holding you back are your own insecurities. We all have different insecurities, but some common themes are often

"Am I interesting enough?"
"Why should anyone follow ME?"

If you don't find ways to work through your fears and insecurities, you'll set yourself up for failure right from the very beginning.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Stu McLaren

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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If you have a Facebook group (or are thinking of starting one), there are some really simple questions you can ask that are easy for people to answer. These questions will really give you clarity on the effectiveness of your messaging and can help you grow your business in a big way!

Sign up for Stu McLaren's free TRIBE workshop! (affiliate link)

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Episode 14 - "How to Create True Connection with Your Audience" on iTunes and Stitcher

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Jamie explains how messaging determines your success more than any software or tactic ever could and shares key tips to really connecting with your community.

She explains how to draw your community in deeper and get them more committed to you and what you're sharing.

Sign up for Stu McLaren's free TRIBE workshop! (affiliate link)

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Amy McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie explains why being part of a mastermind is such a powerful experience--even when you're just starting out. She shares the different levels, the benefits of each, and how to get the best value from it.

Jamie's planning to eventually run her own mastermind, and she tells you how she's thinking through that process, too!

Sign up for Stu McLaren's free TRIBE workshop! (affiliate link)

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Ep. 5 - "How I Found My Niche Using Google" on iTunes and Stitcher

Ep. 16 - "Is All This Hard Work Worth It?"on iTunes and Stitcher

Amy McLaren

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie has invested in many courses over the years, but it wasn't until recently she found a community to be FULLY invested in.

She shares what it was exactly about the community that got her to go all-in and ideas for injecting those characteristics into her own business (and yours!).

Sign up for Stu McLaren's free TRIBE workshop! (affiliate link)

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Stu McLaren

Ryan Levesque

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Jamie shares the mistake she wishes she hadn't made the first time around that she's sure cost her hundreds of thousands of dollars.

She explains the different stages of her business, the stresses she faced, and the one decision that would have changed everything.

Sign up for Stu McLaren's free TRIBE workshop! (affiliate link)

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

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In last week's episode, Jamie talked about her thoughts and decisions when figuring out how to handle a hater in one of her groups.

This week, she shares the actual audio of what she said in response to his accusations and how confronting the problem made for a stronger community--and course launch.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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If your community grows big enough, you'll eventually face the haters--the trolls and naysayers who try to drag down your mood and the mood of the group.

Go back to a moment where Jamie had to decide how to deal with a hater during her recent launch. Listen in to her inner thoughts about how she was going to handle it and the kind of impact that decision would have on her business.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie's had many years of building successful communities. She shares what it takes to have an active, engaged group and some of the speedbumps you'll face along the way.

Plus, she addresses some of the issues specific to using Facebook that can create a bad user experience and how she avoids them.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Russell Brunson's Expert Secrets

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Whether on social media or through an email list, building an audience just isn't enough anymore. It lacks a few very important elements that will keep you from leveling up your business.

Jamie explains what's missing and how to really shift the way you look at your relationship with the people you serve in your business.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie explains how all the tips she's shared over the past episodes fit together and how they form the overall strategy for growing a personal brand.

She also walks you through how she nailed down what she wants to be known for and what the central purpose of this podcast is.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie shares some updated stats and the behind-the-scenes steps she's taking to get this podcast to take off.

She explains how she's leveraging relationships she's built over the years and the ways she's connecting with high-level entrepreneurs and influencers.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Sometimes it can feel like your business is a one-man or one-woman operation, but even if you're a solopreneur, the people you surround yourself with can have a BIG impact on your business.

They can hold you back or they can help push you forward towards your own success. And we ALL need people cheering for us.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

American Birkebeiner

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As a mom with six kids who also runs successful business full time, Jamie can't afford to hit burnout. She shares three ways she avoids burnout.

She explains what she does before, during and after peak seasons and busy times to keep it all running smoothly.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

American Birkebeiner

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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It's all a journey--and you get to choose your attitude. Jamie explains her mindset while racing the 55k American Birkebeiner and how this is her attitude towards her business and towards life.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

American Birkebeiner

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie shares the details of her race skiing 55K in the American Birkebeiner and the lessons she's taking back to her business.

Specifically, she explains what her three falls during the race taught her--and how you can apply those takeaways to your business.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Giphy Ski Fails

American Birkebeiner

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Jamie explains exactly what a core message is and why it's important. She also shares the struggles she faced coming up with hers before an interview, including imposter syndrome.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie describes the power of shared experiences, the special kind of tax all entrepreneurs have to pay eventually, and the kind of growth required to become a business leader.

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Stu McLaren

Nicholas Wilton

Annie Hyman Pratt

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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In every successful challenge launch, there are three phases that you need to understand in order to have an incredible launch. Each phase has one main focus, and without that focus your entire launch will fail.

Jamie describes the three phases, the focus for each, and how they affect the overall success of your challenge launch.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Not all challenges will give you the same results. Jamie explains the factors that make a challenge bring in clients and create desire for your product.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Jamie gives you a behind-the-scenes look at her very popular 1K Weekend Challenge and how challenges can be a catalyst for your own six-figure launches.

She explains in detail how challenges create a desire for your product by encouraging real engagement, challenging existing beliefs in your audience, and giving them real results.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this Episode:

Robert Cialdini's Influence (affiliate link)

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie talks about how small, consistent actions can have a big pay-off and explains how to build trust with your audience, so it can really grow.

She also shares some surprising benefits of showing up regularly for your business and for your audience.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Jamie tells the story of how she came to sign up for the 55 km (34 mile) Berkie Classic and why it took overcoming a lot of fears and doubts to begin taking training seriously.

She asks you to be clear about what your fears really are and encourages you to consider what might be on the other side of that fear.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

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Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

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Although Stu McLaren, Jamie's mentor and friend, has been a successful entrepreneur in the business world for many years, it's only recently that he began to build his personal brand.

Stu shares the lessons he's learned on his own personal brand journey and the most important mindset and techniques you can use to build your own.

If you haven't already subscribe to Stu's podcasts, you can do so here:

It's a Tribe Thing - Stories of successful entrepreneurs running membership sites

Marketing Your Business - Marketing Tips from Stu McLaren

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers by clicking here!

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Mentioned in this episode:

Stu McLaren

Brandon Swanson

Wendy Batten

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

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Whether you're trying to do a better job reaching out to your audience or you're trying to connect with a fellow entrepreneur, it helps to know what people are really looking for.

Jamie explains the one simple thing people are looking for and how to give it to them. Best of all, it's easy and free.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

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Mentioned in this episode:

Brandon Swanson

Andy Stenz

Tracy Reed

Wendy Batten

Cyrissa Carlson

Jenna Kutcher

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie shares the top personal brands she follows and the lessons she's learned from them.

She explains what sets these entrepreneurs and influencers apart and how we can emulate them for building our own personal brands.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Jennifer Allwood

Amy Porterfield

Russell Brunson (affiliate link)

James Wedmore

Jenna Kutcher

Rachel Hollis

Donald Miller (affiliate link)

Stu McLaren

Rachel Miller

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie shares lessons she's learned observing Nicole Walters and her new podcast to see what's working right now in building connections with your audience.

Jamie heard Nicole speak at Stu's event TRIBE Live and has been so impressed with how genuine--and funny--she is.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Nicole Walters on iTunes; on Stitcher

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie walks us through the decision to hire a coach and the thought process that goes in to making that investment worthwhile.

She also clues us in on the ways that Stu made this a great client experience and a no-brainer win for her.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Ep 16 "Is All This Hard Work Worth It?" on iTunes and on Stitcher

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie gives all the behind-the-scenes stats on this podcast, how it's growing, and the critical importance of patience.

She shares what she's doing right and where she sees a need to improve, so her personal brand can really take off.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

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Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Ep 16 "Is All This Hard Work Worth It?" on iTunes and on Stitcher

Stu McLaren

The Nicole Walters Podcast on iTunes and on Stitcher

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie shares a valuable tip to keep your social media accounts fresh while also strengthening your personal brand.

She explains how to find the right stories to tell and how the most successful personal brands share those stories.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Ep 14 "How to Create True Connection with Your Audience" on iTunes and on Stitcher

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie has a major revelation after one of her mastermind meetings that could upend the direction of her business.

She takes you back to last September when she recorded her innermost thoughts on a walk through the streets of Toronto, assessing the risks of this big leap.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Stu McLaren

Jennifer Allwood

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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When Jamie tried to build a team the first time, she made some big mistakes that led to massive, expensive and stressful failure.

She shares what went wrong and, in detail, what it really takes to build a powerful and efficient team, like she does now.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

James Wedmore

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie shares what makes someone become the biggest fan of your work and why these people are so important to the success of your business.

Then she goes into the details of what builds those connections between you and your audience--and between one member of your audience and another--so you can replicate that community strength in your business.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

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Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Jayson Gaignard of CommunityMade.com

Ep 8 "Is Your Personality Interesting Enough to Attract Followers" on iTunes and on Stitcher

Hilary Rushford

Jenna Kutcher

Jamie's Vetted List

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie explains what helped her grow a really focused and engaged audience in 2018 and double her income from 2017.

She shares the most important things she learned that you can use to make your business run smoother and be more effective.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

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Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

The Power of Moments by Heath and Heath (aff link)

Start with Why by Simon Sinek (aff link)

Russell Brunson (aff link)

Ep 5 "How I Found My Niche Using Google" on iTunes

Ep 5 "How I Found My Niche Using Google" on Stitcher

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie shares the questions and serious concerns she had about sharing her faith as part of building her personal brand and community.

She explains why these are important questions to ask yourself about your personal beliefs--no matter what they are.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

James Wedmore

Jennifer Allwood

Russell Brunson

Stu McLaren

Amy Porterfield

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie explains why diving in before you're ready is the only way to make things happen in your business.

She shares the specific benefits to beta launching that make you more efficient and pay off in the long run.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie had no sales page and no email campaign. She didn't even know what she would teach. Yet her beta launch brought in over $70K.

Jamie shares exactly what happened, the tactics she used, and why the launch was so successful.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers. Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Russell Brunson (aff link)

Jeff Walker (aff link)

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Getting this podcast up was a little rocky! Jamie goes behind-the-scenes of the launch of this very podcast. She explains what went right and where they hit speed bumps along the way.

She also shares the initial stats, so you can see exactly where she started, and the plan for growing her audience moving forward.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Go to personalbrandphotographers.com for Jamie's Vetted List.

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie explains what our audiences are really interested in, even when we're building personal brands.

She shares what makes the strongest personal brands so successful and how to apply it to your own business.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Check out Jamie's list of personally vetted photographers at personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Even without every single detail planned out, Jamie decides to put into motion her plan to grow her personal brand.

Jamie shares exactly how she gained complete clarity and momentum and went from feeling stuck to unstoppable.

Need a Personal Brand Photographer? Go to personalbrandphotographers.com!

If you enjoyed this episode, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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In eight years in business, Jamie has learned that even though she can do 100 things, she shouldn't. If she wants to deliver quality to her audience, she has to choose what to focus on.

She walks through the steps to making that tough decision and shares the issues that can come up during that process.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow Jamie:

Follow her on Instagram

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Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Rachel Miller

Stu McLaren

Jennifer Allwood

Nicholas Wilton

Scott Paley (aka "Scotty the Body")

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie explores how to use her strengths to serve an audience and figures out if the big investment they made in a mastermind would really help her find a new direction.

She also talks about how difficult it was to decide what to do with her existing business--and whether she should give it up altogether.

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast & leave a review!

Follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Stu McLaren

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Jamie shares the behind-the-scenes of how to get noticed by leading influencers, and the impact it had on the direction of her business.

Learn how to choose a good mentor and practical ways to get on their radar.

Interested in learning more about Stu? Check out his podcast Marketing Your Business.

If you like what you hear, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast!

Follow her on Instagram

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Join the Facebook Group

Mentioned in this episode:

Stu McLaren

Amy Porterfield

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Which platforms are best suited to grow a personal brand? Jamie explains the thought process behind choosing her personal brand platform (and reveals which platform she is focusing on!)

She also mentions the pros and cons of platforms like Instagram, Podcasting, etc.

Then, Jamie shares her actual numbers and statistics with you, so you can see exactly where she is at now, and watch her grow her personal brand over time.

If you like what you hear, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

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Why grow a personal brand instead of a business brand? It seems like a risky move, since you can't sell your business as easily.

Join Jamie as she shares her journey of growing a personal brand as she goes about it, and hear what to expect along the way.

If you like what you hear, please follow Jamie:

Subscribe to this podcast!

Follow her on Instagram

Like the FB Page

Join the Facebook Group

Wanna learn more?

Free 5 Step System to Scaling Your Business the RIGHT Way (Plus access to my PRIVATE podcast feed) --> https://howtoscaleguide.com

Brighter Together Mastermind Info: https://www.wearebrightertogether.com

Chat with Jamie (anything goes, but I'm especially interest in your questions or feedback about the episode!) https://www.videoask.com/fgg8ofabv

Bright Entrepreneur Podcast: Recent Episodes

Jamie Bright