I believe in hustling. I believe in working hard, paying your dues and making a name for yourself but I also believe that at some point, you have to flip the switch.

Let me back up a little.

If you are like me, this having your own business thing hasn’t been all smooth sailing and it’s natural to accept everything that comes with the “process.”

You know what process I am talking about, right? It all comes in a neat little package.

Lots of learning, lots of experimenting, lots and lots of trail runs and most likely (and most painfully) less money.

All of us do this at some point. We find ourselves in this place where we are working with lots of people and charging very little or even worse, not working with many people at all and still charging very little cash money.

As a response (and this might just be me) we make excuses:

• My audience just doesn’t have enough money to afford the amount I really wanna pay (actually, they’ll find the money, they just don’t want to work with you bad enough to find the money)
• I don’t need a lot of money (everyone could use more money — money does SO much good and gives you so much space to live and experiment)
• We don’t know enough to charge the big bucks (well WHEN will you know enough, my friend? You are supposed to be an EXPERT, yo)
• I am still figuring things out (don’t even get me STARTED on this one)

 

Another side-effect of being constantly in survival mode? No blog posts. No newsletters. You aren’t engaging your audience. So as a result, you get caught in this loop of nothingness. You get STUCK in this feeling of going nowhere. Stuck inside the struggle.

And you know why?

When you are in the “just starting/hustling/intheprocess” mindset you are only motivated by desperation and a need to survive and you can’t think about thriving.

 

Let’s pretend that you decided you wanted to get an apartment and it cost 300 dollars more than the one you are in now. You have signed the papers. You are living in it. Things couldn’t possibly stay the same, right? You would need to change your life so that you could make the extra 300 dollars a month.

 

Now imagine if you did the same for your business. You decide you are going to start making 10k a month and start living like it. Things would have to change.

Your business won’t change if you don’t change.

The first step is deciding that you no longer want to just survive and that you are ready (right now) to start living the dream. It is so easy to get used to the hustle lifestyle and  forget that the purpose of starting your own business is to create a life that makes us happy.

And most likely, you don’t “feel” ready but no one ever feels ready for anything, right?

What does that look like, anyway? How do we start acting like a BOSS?

Here are some examples: 

• Creating a business model that makes you money consistently, so you aren’t having to constantly hunt
• Declaring yourself as an expert at what you do and running your brand accordingly
• Creating space in your business (this could mean hiring someone or scheduling things) so that you are devoting your time doing what you truly want to do and not the other stuff
• Charging what you are worth, in alignment to the amount you are actually working and the impact you are truly making in their lives

Doesn’t that sound awesome?

A note on pricing for your audience, because this has always been a struggle for me: You can create offerings at different price points so that you CAN thrive AND address the fact that you want to create services and products that are affordable. In fact, that is the BEST way to create an effective sales funnel so don’t be afraid of creating a Big Bling offering.

Yep, you CAN have it ALL, yo.

Ok, let’s talk about it it! What is the ONE thing you can do to get your business out of survival mode?

 

In fact, I’ll be doing a very special webinar that will teach you step-by-step how to start thriving. Who would  like to make 10k a month? EVERYONE!

I’m doing a FREE webinar that is all about helping you hit 10k a month. In this webinar you will learn:

• how you can make more money WITHOUT taking more clients (and staying up all night)
• how to attract clients that will happily pay more for what you do
• the one type of service you need in your business if you want to hit 10k
• why you should actually work with LESS people if you want to make more money

When you sign up you’ll instantly receive my “Anatomy of a 10k Month” Worksheet which will help you get excited for our call and start getting you thinking about what your life would look like if you started making MORE money.

Ready?

Sign up here! 

 

 

 

So I talk a lot about making money wherever you are now but let’s face it: Clarity is a BIG deal when you are talking about sales and here is why:

 

I have worked with dozens of women on their offerings and clarity is always the biggest hurdle to get over.

 

If you can not COMMUNICATE the value of your offering, you can’t expect someone to buy it can you?

 

Have you ever gone to a sales page, read the whole thing and still had NO IDEA what it was and whether or not it was for you? That comes from a lack of clarity.

But what if you aren’t exactly sure what the heck you are doing? Or what if you are turning lots and lots of coaching and service providing into an offering and have NO CLUE how to bring it all together?

 

Message to a very specific emotional story.

 

People buy products that they can see, touch and feel in their day-to-day lives. We don’t think in words or blocks of text. We FEEL and experience.

 

So let’s pretend that I am a coach. I don’t like to put labels on the type of coaching I do. In fact, I am not sure what exactly I do. I just do it. And there are a MILLION coaches out there that do the same thing. How do I set my services apart? Pick a very specific and real emotional story and stick with it.

Ok, let’s say that my last clients was a writer who wanted desperately to write but couldn’t actually sit down and do it. Lots of resistance. Lots of fear. I helped him get past it so that he has the confidence to actually start taking his writing seriously.

So my emotional story would look a little something like this:

You want to do something big but you keep putting it off. And putting it off. And the months and years pile up. You are afraid you will never start doing that thing you really want to do.

 

That is your story. That is what you are selling. Finishing. You help people start something and actually finish it.

 

And sure, your coaching might reach beyond, below or under this topic (sometimes you gotta dig really deep to get to some of the good stuff) but ultimately, you help people with this very specific story.

 

Your copy, your brand, your website all starts serving this specific story.

 

Oh and by the way, you aren’t STUCK with this story forever. You can totally change. But the process to committing to A story and putting all of your energy behind it is EXTREMELY powerful and makes a huge difference.

And yes, you might be able to help people with lots of different stories but I find that learning out to sell one story only helps you with other ones you decide to go with. COMMIT, BABY, COMMIT!

 

Here’s the one thing you HAVE TO DO: Make sure there is someone who HAS this story. This is so important and one of the biggest reasons why people don’t sell things. They create a story that does not exist for ANYONE and as a result, it doesn’t resonate with anyone.

Remember we want to create content in the language of our customers and not from our expert minds.

 

Your turn: Can you think of one specific emotional story that you can start using as the focus for your next offering? Think about clients you have had in the past or problems you KNOW people struggle with. Post those in the comments and let’s talk about them!

 

P.S — In that “I can’t figure it out” space but wanna get something online so you can start selling? Check out AWKWARD, YO!

 

 

 Cool Money is a series devoted to the cool (and well branded) ways that people make their money. Get inspired to think about your income in a whole new way.

Name: The Fresh 20

 

What is it?:  A monthly subscription service — $5 a month or $15 for three months

 

What desire does it meet/problem does it solve? I want to eat healthy but I am overwhelmed by all of the legwork that goes into creating healthy foods. I hate spending hours in the grocery store, I don’t have time to spend hours cooking and when it comes time to go to pinterest to find delicious recipes, I am OVERWHELMED by the options and so I just end up getting takeout instead.

 

What it looks like: Every week The Fresh 20 sends out a menu and shopping list with 20 ingredients required to make your dinner for the whole week.

 

Why it works: SIMPLICITY. The Fresh 20 embodies what making money should be about. It should be clean. It should be easy. It should be simple.

It also caters to a specific, on-going need.  <– This is SO important. 

I often see subscriptions die because after a few months, the need has been met and the customers just move on. You want to provide solutions to ongoing problems. 

 

What it takes to make this work: brand ambassadors! Subscription services like these are ALL about numbers. You need lots of people to make it work and in order to do that, you have to deliver awesomeness every week.

If you want to do a subscription-type service, make sure you are doing the stuff you REALLY want to do and that you like doing it every month. Otherwise, you could just offer one-offs every month. That way you are not locked into creating any content and if you decide it’s not your style, you can move on.

 

Who this type of income is BEST FOR: Established bloggers who have big followings and want a simple, streamlined way to start making some money. People who create a LOT of content also do well with this type of model.  If you are not yet established (don’t have an audience) this low price subscription service won’t pay off immediately.
You can check out The Fresh 20 here!

 

Imagine you could make a subscription work (or maybe you can right now), what would you do?

P.S — I have one opening in JUNE if you’d like to be SHAZAM’d! Here is a review from sales coach Kendrick Shope, who was just SHAZAM’D this week!

 

“If you’re considering a Shazam session, take my word for it. DO IT!

Everything seemed perfect in my business. I was finally making money and getting to do what I loved everyday. The only problem was I was so busy keeping my business running there was little time or energy to create something new. Sure I had a million ideas swirling around in my head like a raging tornado but actually getting those ideas turned into a product seemed impossible. My husband joked that I was working so hard this business was going to kill me before I ever enjoyed all the effort I had put into building it. I was secretly worried he was right.

When Shenee told me she could help me I was skeptical because I’ve never known anyone to be able to take ideas and turn them into a profitable product in a matter of hours. I was wrong. I cannot believe the quality of the information I received from my Shazam session.  Shenee will continue to be on my list of superstars that keep my business evolving and making money.”     –Kendrick Shope, Creator of Authentic Selling and Sales Coach

 

 

 

Hey, this is #2 in a series about getting your first client. You can find #1 here. 

 

 

Here is the deal, my friend.

In the beginning, customers don’t just come to you. You gotta WORK for them.

If you are in this place of “well I built it, where ARE they?” you are going to be waiting for a really long time.

Remember last week when we talked about how to answer one of those posts you always see floating around for help? We are going to take it to the next level.

IMAGINE that you really need something and you find someone who not only tells you that they can help you but takes the extra step of emailing YOU and showing you how they can help you.

 

That would rock, right?

 

Let me go back to my health coaching example again. I still haven’t really made a firm decision because I am so overwhelmed with options. I don’t WANT to hunt. I just want the right person to appear in my inbox, so I don’t have to look anymore.

 

People WANT you to be the person who will solve their problems.

 

If you truly believe that you can help them, you are doing them a huge solid by emailing them. Let me REPEAT that, yo.

We WANT you to be the one. You are not bothering us. You are helping solve our problems.

 

Let me tell you a little bit about my story:

Hot Brand Action made it’s big debut January 2012. I didn’t have much of a list (I think it was around 120 people) but I had a desire to sell out the class so instead of using traditional launch methods (doing the webinar and the big show to go with it), I just emailed the people that I thought would really love the class.

I sent lots of emails during that time but I also filled the class.

 

These were people who had been responding to my blog posts or folks I met through classes and most of them signed up. While most of us have a fairly complicated relationship with our gmail accounts, we can feel nothing but happy when the right person lands in our inbox. 

 

So let’s do this!

 

How to Write Your Email

Make sure you have at least had some contact with them. Maybe you haven’t talked to them a lot but you know them well enough to know that they need what you have. Try not to send random emails.  You won’t get great results and you’ll just end up agitating them.

This also hits on a greater problem that a lot of people have. If you don’t spend time getting to know people and reaching out to your community, it’s gonna be a HELL of alot harder to get that first client. 

 

It takes TIME to develop relationships and a following and allow yourself the time to create that — you’ll feel more confident emailing people that you know already like you and truly enjoy what you create.

 

Keep the email short and sweet. Get straight to the point and don’t try to dress the email up as something different. YES you are sending this email because you would like this person to be your client. Guess what? That is OK.

Mini-template 

1. State their problem using THEIR words. This is one of the best ways to make your copy REALLY effective. Make sure you are not talking about the problems the way you would be really locking in on the way THEY talk about those problems.
2. Introduce yourself and your solution

3. Give them an action to take.

4. Make sure you leave them your contact info

 

5. Bonus: include a link that demonstrates that you know what you are talking about. This is a really great thing to do if you are emailing someone from a forum who doesn’t really “know” you that well. 

 

Example:

 

Hey Neo,

You mentioned in the Matrix that you have been trouble dealing with being “The One.” I totally get it. Being the one is a BIG deal and I know that I can help you find some life balance so that you can actually ENJOY the world that you are trying so hard to save.

I love working with people who have found themselves in the middle of an epic adventure but still have trouble dealing with what that means for their day-to-day life. How do you go back to getting coffee at the Starbucks when you know that the coffee isn’t even real?

I created Being the Chosen One + Having a Life for people like you because I know that despite the fact that you are saving the world, you can still make time to have your morning coffee and read the newspaper.

You can learn more about the program here. 

I would also love to chat with you on the phone about it this week. That way, we can get to know each other a little more and I can tell you more about the class.

Do you have some availability this week?

 P.S – I just wrote a post about life balance over at my blog. Check that out here. 

 

Your email will evolve as you get more practice. As you start emailing people, you will start to learn what works and what doesn’t work. It’s all experimentation. This is a great way to get practice becoming MORE comfortable with selling and it also helps you get better at articulating the value of your offer which is one of the keys to selling, yo.

 

Your Action for this week:

Respond to someone’s call for help AND email them personally.

 

Heads up! I have 1 opening  available for June and two spots open for July for my SHAZAM sessions. If you have a big idea that you are eager to get out in the world but need some help making it a reality, fill out the application and let’s talk! 

 

A little preview of what I help people do:

 

 

 

 

 

So how do you get a new client? What makes people choose YOU over the million other people doing the same thing as you?

If you are in business, you are most likely a part of a forum or a group where there are lots of potential clients just waiting to work with you. Often times in these forums, people post questions asking for advice or help.

 

I find that the response always goes a little something like this:

 

I can help! Email me!

 

Let’s talk about why this does not work.

1. Most people hate sending emails, especially emails for the first point of contact. It’s awkward and it takes too long to figure out what to say.

2. How can you help me? Why do I think YOU can help me?

3. Do NOT make prospective clients contact you if you are answering them personally. It makes the other person feel like they are not actually important to them. Let me repeat this. Do NOT ask people to email YOU if they want your help and you are responding to their posts. 

 

We are going to use my experience looking for a health coach this week as our model.

 

Ok, let’s look at my post where I clearly outlined what I was looking for:

 

 

Let’s pretend that you are a coach and you see my post and decide that you can help me. What do you do next?

Apply your point-of-view to MY problem

 

Point-of-view is SO important because it distinguishes you from other people. This is especially true for coaches. There are SO MANY COACHES out there. You need a voice to make your mark. 

 

Let’s compare approaches.

 

Hey Shenee, I can help! Email me!

or

Hey Shenee! I know exactly how you feel and I know I can help. I believe that it’s all about making small changes and creating simple (20 minutes or less) meals that will make it easy for you to eat well. I know that you are really busy and don’t have time to spend a lot of time thinking about what you are eating and when. You can check me out here.

 

Which one makes you want to get in touch? The second one, right?

 

How about this one?

 

Hey Shenee! I totally get it and I think it’s all about figuring out how to train your body to not even WANT the food. Can you imagine just saying NO to the pasta because you don’t want it? That is what I teach my clients to do.

 

This one is even better because she is using my language and pairing it with HER point-of-view.

 

You can even turn this information into a post that you create in a forum to attract clients and get people interested in what you do:

So, do you ever feel like you can NOT read another book or post about how to “eat well.” Are you overwhelmed with all of the options out there (so many FREAKIN’ recipes) so just decide to grab a pizza instead? Do you KNOW that you are overeating but can’t seem to stop?What if you could wake up everyday and have everything you need already ready for you to eat. What if you could eat just enough and avoid your daily date with your pepcid-ac? I can help! Check this out.

 

See how specific that is? If I saw that in the forum, I would stop and take notice because you would be telling me everything I need to know.

 

Need a point-of-view? Start by thinking about your beliefs. What do you believe? What do you know about your topic that they don’t know yet?

 

Action step:
Practice this! If you see someone on facebook or on a forum complaining about something YOU can help with, couple your point-of-view with their pain points and see the difference it makes. Try to put your point-of-view in one sentence.

 

But of course, we just don’t stop there.  That’s not enough to get that new client. The next step is REACHING OUT. We will be covering that in the next post next week. Want to make sure you get it?  Be sure you are on my list. You’ll be the first to know AND you’ll get a free profitable branding course.

 

Oh! And in case you missed it, I launched my 1-on-1 offering yesterday. We have a FEW spots for people who want the special deal. Here is a testimonial from one of the people who has received SHAZAM.

 

“Shazam is right! I’m a published author, so I thought I was pretty set on writing copy for my own website. I also have an MBA from Harvard, so I figured I knew most of what there is to know about convincing people to buy what I’m offering. It may sound arrogant, but it’s really how I felt! I was truly astounded at how much Shenee’s input, advice, and changes transformed my copy from good to GREAT! She helped me understand how to get into the mind of my potential customers, empathize with them in just the right way, and communicate the value in such a way that people would come running to buy what I’m offering. Honestly, my session with Shenee transformed the entire way I think about my whole business. I now value what I offer much more, and realize that if I don’t do all I can to learn how to market and sell the holy baby Buddha out of what I have to offer, I am truly keeping my talents and skills from the many people who really want them and need them. I’ve been a long-time fan of Shenee’s but working with her 1-on-1 on getting an idea out of my head and ready for delivery to my audience was truly a game-changing experience. Thank you, Shenee!”

 

 

It’s natural to complicate things. I mean, when it comes to business there are SO MANY THINGS you could get wrong. So much research to be done.

It’s easy to become a collector of information. Ask tons of questions. (“What ____do you use? What do you do about _______?) Read a ton of books.

But you know what happens when you do that, right? You can’t pick! What is the BEST way? What should I do now?

And a confused mind? It doesn’t take action.

And that is what keeps most businesses from growing. Most likely, you are confused. You don’t know what to do because in your mind, you have SO many things to choose from. As a result, you wait around for months — not doing much. You are waiting for it to all make sense.

 

It’s a crazy mindfuzz. In an effort to learn more and do more, we end up not doing anything at all.

 

I am known for my accelerated approach to business. I make it a habit of teaching people to do things in 1 day that usually take months to complete. And I do the same for myself.

 

I create quickly and as a result, my business has grown. Really fast. And without spending 30,000+ to get there.

 

How do I do it?

SIMPLICITY + ACTION = BIG BUSINESS GROWTH

 

Let’s break this down.

 

Simplicity

 Have an idea for something you wanna do? How can you deliver this in the simplest way possible? Instead of solving a million different problems, how about one?

Which one of these two scenarios seems most likely to become a reality?

 

Option 1: Your FIRST product or program you are planning is a giant 6 month program with a billion bonuses and you want to launch it by doing 20 interviews and a webinar (GAHHH)

Oh and p.s — you have never launched anything before

 

Option 2:Your first product is a small mastermind group with 3-4 people that you invite personally at a great price

 

THE SECOND ONE, RIGHT?

 

Simplicity is key.

When you make things simple in your business:

• You are able to make changes WAY easier. You can revise. You can try again. When you have created something really big and involved a million other people, you can’t.
•  Things are way easier to sell when we someone can look at it and know EXACTLY what it is and the program or product becomes way easier to talk about, which is key.

This doesn’t just apply to products but marketing efforts and content-creation. If your blog posts are so loaded and full with information, you never want to write them. Just talk about one thing.

 

Action

Action = making decisions.  It’s about making a decision and not turning back, backtracking or changing your mind. So many people make a decision to go a direction, hear crickets and decided they must be doing in wrong. This will keep you going in circles. Pick a name. Launch it. Just do it.

This won’t always work out perfectly but it will strengthen your business owner muscles.

Think about facebook. People hate the changes facebook makes but they NEVER backtrack on a new feature. Ever. And we all just get used to it, don’t we? Nobody leaves because of a crappy feature.

 

Yes, we want to listen to customers, experts and friends but ACTION is about listening to yourself.

 

You can NOT run a business in the long run if you need to be constantly told what to do. There is no way. Practice picking something and trusting you made the right decision.

 

Awkward, yo  was based on a conversation I had with a friend. She clearly articulated a problem that I believe so many people have. How do I get ONLINE when everything is so freakin’ awkward?

Next step: Figure out how to solve this problem in the simpliest way possbile.

I could have easily waited and created a huge class for it. I could have done a week-long challenge and launched it. I just wanted to get it out. I wanted to see if this type of product would work.

So, what did I do? I wrote the copy and released it. No fan fare. No launch. Just an email and a simple optimizepress page.

 

I did my first week-long facebook challenge almost 2 years ago. 4 people participated in it. I was there everyday, responding to their questions and learning.

Next time I did it, a few more people participated. Maybe 12

I kept engaging. I kept creating simple ideas for facebook challenges.

My latest 5 day challenge? 400 sign ups.

 

When you  approach your next steps  with simplicity + action in mind, your business grows faster because you MOVE faster.

 

Making everything a “big deal” makes your business clunky and inactive because it takes WAY too much energy to do anything.

Do you feel that way? Like you are constantly walking through mud and that every step just feels….difficult?

 

 

Yeah. Treat yo self to SIMPLICITY + ACTION!

 

Gonna turn this over to you! What do you think? Have you ever found yourself STUCK because every direction felt like it was going to take so much work? Have you ever stopped because you read something about a way things could be done differently? Let me know!

 

 

 

P.S — Awkwad, YO IS HERE! Have you picked it up yet? I just added a tutorial that will help you create your header. It’s awesome!

So if you are WAITING and wishing to get online but don’t know how to take the big leap from just collecting info and saving money for a designer or copywriter to actually showing up, making money and making connections, this is just the mini-workshop for you.

And it’s only $25!

What the whaaaat?

Do iiit

 

Melissa is a PR SUPERSTAR AND A Idea to Income graduate! Today she is sharing her Idea to Income story. It’s a good one! Yeahhh sold out!

 

Here’s the sales page/landing page (http://www.make-headlines.com)

 

 

Why did you decide to take Idea to Income?
While I’ve launched many things in the past 7 years, it’s always hard to create “space” to launch something new. It always feels like drudgery, and I’m constantly second guessing my decisions and launch plan.

My theme for 2013 is “Create” and Idea to Income proved the perfect opportunity to make space and create a class that I’ve taught in fragments for several years and piece it all together into something juicy + awesome.
What were some of the tangible results of the class?

I launched my DIY PR class – Make Headlines – a few weeks after I took Idea to Income and officially had 87 paying members, which is just shy of $13,000 in revenue (we just wrapped the class last week).

I also took Shenee’s suggestion to create a free challenge prior to “launching.” This netted me an additional 500+ people to my list and I decided to continue the challenge for the entire year so I’m consistently getting new sign-ups. Many of my challengers have already become students or hired me for private coaching. Plus, we have a total blast hanging in a strong community of people that want an irresistible business and have a mutual adoration for guilty pleasure TV.

I already have a waiting list of around 130 people for the next time I run Make Headlines live.

What changed for you and your business?
The success and response to this class really gave me the confidence to move my entire business from 1:1 consulting into classes for small business owners who want to become totally irresistible to customers + the media. It’s easy to do the revenue projections, and I now have a simple system to roll out new classes (I have 2 more classes launching this year plus a hot digital experience.)

 

What kind of skills did you learn in the class?

:: To create something for people to get them pumped and excited, but not to do an icky sales pitch at the end
:: That if you put your mind to it, you can create a brand-new offer in one day. No more procrastination!
:: That you don’t have to follow the same old dumb-dumb rules for “launching” – you can make it your own, have fun, and pull in some awesome revenue

 

What was your favorite part of the class?

I really enjoyed the pre-work so once the class started, it was just about sharing + tweaking what I put together during the week prior. Then I was ready to rock + roll by the end of the day!

Anything you want to say to someone on the fence about taking Idea to Income?

DO IT!! I’ve taken tons of classes on launching and creating programs/offers. No one breaks it down as simple + easy as Shenee and puts it in a real “get shit done” format. Plus, Ryan Gosling is basically the class mascot, so….who doesn’t want that?!?

 

—

 

You totally want in, right? This is your LAST CHANCE to get into Idea to Income, YA’LL. This is it.

Sign up!

 

 

 

Ready? Take a deep breath. It’s time. THIS IS IT, yo.

Time to make the decision. The big choice! No turning back. Indecision, be DAMNED.

Next. level. shiz.

 

Let’s decide to do what it takes, to move forward and never look back. Let’s make our happiness the true measurement of our success. Let’s decide to not just live but thrive.

Time to commit to the next chapter. Go all in. Balls (or ovaries) to the wall. This is IT. No more playing it small.

Decision = made.

No compromise.

We might crash and burn.

We  might fail.

We might not make the sale.

Things might not work out.

People might start talking.

We might make total ASSES of ourselves.

What if it doesn’t work?

 

Everything could change.

And…..

It could be awesome.

We could make more than we  could ever imagine.

We  could save a life.

Change the world.

Buy those pair of shoes.

Find freedom. TRUE FREEDOM.

We could do that thing we have always wanted to do. That thing we have been waiting for. You know! That thing that we said we would do when the list got to be the right size or when we learned JUST enough. The thing we said we would do when the weather got better and when the kids (or dogs) stopped getting sick all the time.

Yeah, that thing.

Let’s do it.

No turning back.

This is the day we decide. What do we want our life to really look like and how BAD do we want it?

Today was a week of starting at the bottom.

I am a skillshare addict. There are so many classes to take and I am taking one in particular that is really challenging. LETTERING. BAH!

Now let me start off by saying that I am not a fan of being bad at things. I am all about putting yourself out there and trying but there is no way around feeling like you suck at something you really want to be good at.

Let me present to you, my very first lettering sketch.

 

NOT GOOD, right? NOT GOOD. I am in a class full of people who don’t actually NEED the lettering class. People who are really good and are mostly just showing off their skills.

To be honest, I’ve been a little shy to post. SUPER shy to get feedback and help. And I practice. I practice a LOT and I don’t feel like I am getting better.

I hear a lot of stories like this with my clients and friends.

“I am trying and it’s NOT getting better.”

“Everyone is better at this (busniess) and I can’t seem to get it right.”

“Shouldn’t something be happening by now?”

“I am not one of the IT bloggers.”

I GET IT, YO.

When I was in school, I used to take art and design classes and I wasn’t good. At least, not in the traditional way. I am not a “artist” in the traditional sense. I can’t draw. Or paint. And it used to drive me CRAZY.

BUT! I had a style. It was my style. I loved stories. And I loved typography. I would create little narrative stories and digital works that allowed me to play to my strengths. I loved to bring the real world online.

So I got better, but in MY own way.

When I first started my lettering class, I was trying to be like everyone else when what I SHOULD be doing is trying to find my own style and approach to lettering. That is what I am focusing on now.

Now, back to business. If you are trying and trying and not getting anywhere, check in with yourself. Are you trying to be like someone else and failing at that? Because if so, getting better at being like someone else will ALWAYS be hard. How about doing things your own way? What should “getting good” and “rising to the top” look like for you?

I remember when I was trying to “build my list.” It just WASN’T working. And then I asked myself a simple question:

What if I DIDN’T build my list? What if I just got to know more of the people on my list?

What if I tried to make my newsletter the BEST it could be every week?

And my list grew, my business got better and it was all in MY own way.

I am not saying that lettering will not still be hard for me but when you are in the zone and feeling authentic to yourself, you see progress everywhere. You FEEL like you are getting better. And it doesn’t hurt so badly.

Here are some questions to ask yourself if your business just isn’t working!

1. Could I do this better if I did it my way?

2. What does “getting good” really look like for me and my life? What do I really want?

This is so important. In my lettering class, a lot of my classmates are creating super curly and feminine type. That’s not even my STYLE. Why am I even trying to do that?

3. What if I stopped pushing where I was getting the most resistance and focused on what I do best?

Are you desperately trying to build your list or sell one of your products? What if you leaned in somewhere else instead? What are you really rocking at right now?

4. Is this what you REALLY want? 

One of the hard truths of entrepreneurship is that a lot of people like the idea of working for themselves and don’t really want the lifestyle that comes with it. It’s the hard truth, yo. So check in with yourself. Do you want more of whatever you are doing right now? If not, ask yourself what else you could want. DOWNER. But totally true.

 

So, what do you think? Have you ever found yourself at the bottom and feeling crappy about it? Do you have any tips for people like me (haha) starting at the bottom and trying to keep the faith while trying to get better?

 

OH SNAP. Have you heard? It’s IDEA TO INCOME time, yo! I have run this class 3 times and I LOVE IT! We even have a special new payment plan! You can sign up now for $95 dollars! AH! CRAZINESS!

So, how well do you know your customers? No, seriously. How well? I am not talking about the fact that they go to Whole Foods or they love Danielle LaPorte (this describes just about everyone) but do you actually know them?

It is easy to just create products or put offerings out there based off of some vauge description or understanding we have about our ideal customer. I have done it.  BUT! iit is WAY more powerful and profitable to take a few extra minutes to really get to know who your customer really is.

Most copy and content I read from clients is written in “expert speak.”

Expert speak = the language/words we use to describe what we do. We need to know how our customers talk about what we do.

We want our copy to be what I like to call REAL TALK. Yep, it’s in all caps.

REAL TALK = the language/words your customer uses to describe their problems 

Example:

Expert speak:
I help women heal their relationships with themselves.

REAL TALK:
Why do I hate EVERYTHING I PUT ON? Nothing works on my body. Must. eat. less. crap.

See what I mean?

What sounds more real? What sounds like something someone would really pay for?

REAL talk can be difficult to get, especially if you don’t really have the same problems as your clients. Here are 2 ways to get more REAL talk in your copy, your blog post and all your other content.

 

1. Talk to your clients

Well, actually LISTEN to your clients. Over the last year, I have talked to over a 100 women about their struggles around business development, copy, branding and everything else. I am pretty much FLUENT in REAL TALK.

Action: Know of someone who really digs your stuff? Offer to jump on the phone and jam. Listen to what they have to say. Let them talk as much as they want.

 

2. Do a survey

We talk a LOT about surveys in my classes. The key to creating a great survey is to let your customers write as much as they want about their business. Keep questions open-ended when you can. In fact, one of my favorite questions EVER goes like this:

So, what are you struggling with right now?

LOTS OF REAL TALK, YO.

Action: Create a survey for your favorite clients/blog readers and start collecting REAL TALK.

REAL TALK = the reason why you buy products, read blog posts and love the content creators you really love.

If you want to start making a BIGGER impact with your writing, getting more REAL is a great way to start.

So, let’s talk about REAL TALK. Do you struggle to identify with your customers? What questions do you have?

Idea to Income is coming April 16th and the cart will be open REALLY SOON. Want in? Sign up for the list!