Find the systems you need to grow your business
This week I was honored to have two guest posts go live and wanted to share them with you!
On Monday I was posting over on lkrsocialmedia for Laura Roeder writing about 3 Ways to Hire Support For Your Business (even if you’re just starting out).
You can read the full article here.
And on Friday, I guest video blogged at Video for Shy People for Bianca Filoteo about How to Incorporate Videos to Your Day!
If you haven’t checked out Bianca’s 30 day video challenge yet it’s not too late to join!
Recently I shared a video where I showed my utter frustration with seeing so many talented entrepreneurs who are trained, brilliant and filled with passion for their fields but who are not sharing those gifts with the world.
I have seen and experienced just how frustrating it can be – coaches and mentors say that you need the right brand and business plan, a fully optimized website, business cards, social media plan, landing pages, custom shopping cart, professional video studio… and the list goes on.
While I recognize that each of these components makes up the bigger picture of a successful business, I kindly call bullshit. I’m sure you’ve seen the infographic claiming the internet is made up of “marketers selling marketers” and for the most part it’s true!
But I ask : do you really need all that extraneous stuff to announce and sell your offers?
Especially if you’re just getting started, your ideal clients don’t always care that your business cards match your logo and your Twitter page background. They just care about how you’re going to help them reach their goals.
So if you’re not getting out there by launching in a big way there are three common reasons:
1. You’re scared and can’t get past the fear to launch.
Many people assume that a fear of failure is paramount but I also see a deep fear of success as brilliantly identified in this quote from Marianne Williamson:
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
No matter what the fear may be, if it’s keeping you from moving forward with decisive action and you need a little push.
2. You’re selfish and want to be the student for as long as possible.
I believe in lifelong learning but also wholeheartedly understand that the best way to learn is to put your knowledge to action and teach. It’s an incredibly intense process to put yourself out there and teach what you know, admit what you don’t and guide others to success.
It’s much easier to play the part of the student, but once you get caught in that mode it’s very hard to break out – there’s always something new to learn and I’ve seen talented entrepreneurs avoid launching their businesses for years because they’re still “not ready.”
Understand that if knowledge exists on a scale of 1 to 100 and you place your knowledge level for a particular skill at 30 then there’s plenty of clients in the world with knowledge ranging from 0 to 29 who can learn from you. And the sooner you begin to teach and put your knowledge into practice the faster you’ll accelerate your own skill level.
3. You’re stingy and don’t want to put yourself out there and share.
Personally, I don’t think this is often the issue internally. Most of the entrepreneurs I know, whether healers or coaches, trainers or marketers, are driven by the desire to support others. So what does this apparent stinginess boil down to? I think it comes back to a common fear of being too braggy or showy as you’re sharing what you know.
But the problem is that you look stingy when you have so much expertise, skill and knowledge and you’re not sharing it with those who are struggling. Because the truth is there are thousands of people out there who are stuck – they may understand that something’s not working and might have and idea of the outcome they want but they’re absolutely lost figuring out how to get there. And you have the answer but you’re not sharing it.
No matter which of these reasons is holding you back, there is just one single solution: launch. As I shared on Friday, it’s time to get off your assets and make a big splash. To stop putting yourself through class after class and take some action.
So I challenge you to launch and don’t let selfishness, being scared or stinginess hold you back any longer.
Let’s start by the very basic understanding of a launch by asking a few questions. How do you know McDonald’s has a new menu item? Why do you know there’s a big Labor Day car sale at the dealership in town? How do you know that a marketing coach is promoting a new event?
It all comes down to the same reason: you know new offers are made when they are launched to the public. Otherwise it’s very unlikely you’ll just show up in the right city on the right date with the right amount of money for the conference you wanted to attend.
Launching is all part of the sales process, making your audience aware of the things you offer. When done correctly, launches build excitement, grow your leads list and fan base and can bring in thousands (or tens of thousands of dollars).
What does a launch look like?
A launch can be as simple or elaborate as you want – or I should say as needs to be to make your sales goals. Typically with higher priced products and services and more detailed launch may be necessary but if you have an audience who is regularly buying and primed for the next service then the process may be shorter.
Launches typically include an announcement, emails, a sales page, an online ordering page, possibly a free call or preview event, and a deadline. Now all of these are variable and can be done many ways but the most important one for this topic is the announcement.
Here’s the problem… most people never announce when something new is available (and I’ve been guilty of this as well when business is full and time is pressed!). Unless your audience is psychic you’re not going to have the awareness of your programs or the sales you envision until you tell them. How else would you know if the price is right, the offer is compelling and your audience is ready if you don’t ask?
I see far too many entrepreneurs giving up on offers that were never properly promoted! A launch is a way to put your offer out there, make sales and tweak the process. This time you launched on a Wednesday, next time try Monday. Maybe your launch had one price point, next time offer two. This launch may have been basic, no frills or extras, so next launch add bonuses to encourage fast sign ups.
It all seems like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Then get your team involved so they can support you and earn their keep!
Here’s a brief list of the ways your team can support your launch:
1. handle the things you normally do so you can focus on the launch
2. answer customer service inquiries
3. write copy for websites, email or your teleclass
4. track the metrics of traffic, buyers and attention
5. handle the affiliates who are supporting your launch
If you don’t have a team or even a VA who can help keep you sane check out the free video series 5 Days to Finding Fabulous Help for Your Online Business on this page. It’ll give you my hiring system for getting the help you need and can afford for your business.
Watch this short video about 2 gifts I received in the last week and read below for gift #3!
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Surprisingly, the same week that these two gifts arrived I received yet another from EzineArticles.com as a thanks for being an expert author – a package including a new mug, coaster and coffee.
How are you showing your clients that they’re special to you?
If you’ve been watching the Olympics from London this summer you probably know the story of Russian gymnast Ksenia Afanasyeva who fell on her face during her floor routine. During the difficult routine you could hear the thud when this strong competitor hit the floor which is not cushioned to enable falls.
What impressed me the most was that Ksenia as a competitor had trained and practiced and perfected the routine to the best of her ability. But when the time came and she misstepped, Ksenia picked herself back up and continued on. There wasn’t any time to wallow or whine or be concerned with how the judges were perceiving such a fall. She simply got right back to work.
Which leads me to the question, are you and your business rebounding from missteps?
We all like to think that we cannot fail, but as the Olympics prove every few years, the best in the world still fall, trip or miss on occasion. What matters when we do misstep is how we keep on going. Preparation is key, of course, but even the best concerts have sound issues and the best cameras sometimes fail.
I’d go so far as to say that we, as a culture, like to see people trip on occasion. It’s part of the reason gossip magazines are so popular – we love to see how the mighty have fallen and know that the lives of the rich and famous are not so perfect after all. How you react, on a scale of grace under pressure to John McEnroe, will reveal more about your character than a perfect performance.
It’s tempting to wallow, especially when the frustration is so great you’d just like to acknowledge that this sucks. But if you have fallen down and stay down it becomes increasingly difficult to get perspective on the finish line. Which is why when an athlete falls but picks right back up and keeps on with a smile the crowd cheers. Because we all know how hard it is to keep going. You’ll never reach the finish line if you sit down and cry – even when that’s all you want to do.
Here are some tips to help you get back up:
Keep your perspective by remembering that your teleclass, event, launch, video, presentation, or other business opportunity is not as big as the Olympics. Millions of people are not watching you and there is not a panel of judges noting every movement in your body. Sure the stakes are high but they’re not insurmountable. You can do this.
Build it into your story. No one likes a liar or someone who pretends to be perfect despite evidence to the contrary. So share your success and failures and use it to grow your credibility having ‘been there and survived that.’
Focus on getting back up, not the fall. If there’s anything people like more than the fall it’s the story of redemption. It may be easy to think that everyone in the world is thinking of your fall, but take a lesson from the Olympians and let them see your dedication and strong finish. While you make a commitment to always put your best foot forward, take the missteps into your story and grow along the way.
As the Olympics come to a close what has been your favorite story of a stumble or success?
Video challenge for you this week!
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Your turn to share in the comments (or link to a video!) what are your credentials and experiences?
It all started with this article and a challenge from Patrick and so I decided to go 30 days without social media, or more accurately, only 5 minutes per day. Eeek!
But I love social media… I protested to myself. It’s lovely. Connecting and supporting and caring about people who need help, that’s what I do! But I could see the point. I get to do more in depth and actual support by writing, building new content and serving clients.
So June 20th the smackdown on social media began.
I knew that it would not be easy and this is a long post to give you my tactics, my challenges and the tools I used to change my habits over 30 days.
First was installing a Chrome Plugin called StayFocused. Of course it was a little silly because I was in Firefox most of the day, every day, so that wouldn’t help me. So I decided it was time to migrate to Chrome where I had no bookmarks, no autocompletes so when I type www.f it wouldn’t show up facebook.com and where I could reorganize and create my bookmarking system.
It was a great plan but since I’m such a creature of habit that I kept using Firefox because that’s where my passwords are stored and where I don’t have to remember the exact URL for everything. Consider this a work in progress.
The next challenge was the business. I teach my clients that they need to show signs of life and care and be active on social media! Frequently! Because engagement is essential and you can’t disappear, unless you’re the CEO of Twitpic. So it was back to the drawing board for automation tools.
First, Twitter. I already use Hootsuite but I began to use it more often and refocus on what is really important to be posting. My posting has definitely been sporadic this last month but I’ve made up that time with an absurd amount of content creation for an upcoming launch!
Second, Facebook. If you’re on the Facebook page for She’s Got Systems you know I regularly post quick systems tips. Now I’ve always written these a few days or weeks in advance but now I had to get serious. So I completed the tips for the rest of June and July and I scheduled them.
Say again? Yes, you can do that now and it’s pretty simple!
But there are other things I like about Facebook so the StayFocused option gives me 5 minutes per day. Often times I would read and read and then get distracted and have nothing to share. So instead of posting for the sake of posting, I decided to think about what happened in my day that was truly important.
Duh, right?
Who really cares that your cousin’s nieces’ baby spit up yogurt? You ate a sandwich. It’s raining. Instead I decided to refocus on the extraordinary events, sharing inspiration and being grateful.
Because I’m a member of several groups on Facebook I decided to spend my 5 minutes scanning, commenting and connecting off the facebook platform with colleagues who wanted to chat. For many months I’d been frustrated with the message feature in Facebook because I would forget I’d seen a message and no follow up would occur. Now I have settings so that only direct messages to me alone would push to my private email account.
Why? Again, it all comes down to why. In the original post Steven gave great reasons like to run every day, meditate more, write a book. You know, noble reasons.
My first reason was something pointed out to me by Patrick. Whenever something goes wrong (tech won’t work, get a difficult email, tired and don’t want to write) my first response is usually Facebook. It’s like a little drug that temporarily distracts me from my problems.
Now, I like to marinate on ideas sometimes and I get great copy when I drive (probably because I can’t physically write and steer at the same time). So instead of wasting time on Facebook until I get inspired to respond to a difficult email I decided to leash up my dog and go around the block or head to the gym and swim.
The second reason is the most obvious: time. Instead of feeling behind because I didn’t see all those status updates I am being intentional about the media I consume. A few years back thanks to another challenge with Patrick, I stopped watching the nightly news, reading it online and paying attention. While that may make me a bad citizen it does make me more focused, calm, and significantly less stressed. Now at the end of this 30 day challenge I can say that most of the days I failed miserably. I was on much more than 5 minutes a day and well, it was just too easy to cheat using my iPad or smartphone!
However I did learn some important lessons in my 30 days of low social media:
1) Intentional action is key to making progress. It’s not about being perfect but getting better!
2) Some opportunities are worth it. Namely the biggest interview given to date which was announced on Facebook that I would have otherwise missed.
3) Big milestones deserve some social media love like this month when my first fiction book proof arrived and I saw a lot of comments that were encouraging to read!
We share a lot about business support systems because I’m a firm believer in getting help to grow your business to avoid burnout and frustration. But what about all the time we don’t spend working – can we infuse some support elsewhere in our lives? Absolutely – here are 4 simple ways to get support to make your life run easier!
This is by no means an exhaustive list but grab a pen and jot down ideas for yourself and, if you need help hiring, check out the 5 Days to Finding Fabulous Help video series.
1. Cleaning & Organizing
If you’re like most entrepreneurs everything else can fall away when you’re focused on work, including housework! Whether you prefer to keep your house clean so you can work without distraction or use your space for entertaining, getting some help with cleaning can be amazing!
If the thought of someone else making beds and doing dishes fills you with dread, remember that in your business it’s recommended that you pass off the chores other people can do so you can focus on your brilliance. Clothes need to be washed, does it really have to be you that does it?
If you have a home office you may also find yourself disorganized when it comes to paperwork, resources and electronics. A professional organizer can help you assess your space, get the tools you need and create some custom systems that work for your office. Investing in the space you work from can increase your productivity and keep you focused on work instead of the stack of books you meant to ebay.
You’re not exempt if you live in an apartment, often times the smaller square footage means a lower cost and can help ensure you get your security deposit back.
2. Shopping & Errands
Personally there are few things more frustrating than grocery shopping, especially since it has to be done every single week! Here, a combination of software and support can save you time and energy. Shop around for a service you like and put your most purchased on autopilot – such as Amazon Checkout which allows you to subscribe to getting toilet paper delivered every 5 weeks.
For local errands, having a trustworthy assistant in town is invaluable. Whether it’s dropping off library books, picking up coffee from your favorite local cafe or getting mail from the PO Box, not having to leave your office in the middle of the work day can really boost productivity.
And make the most of your local support by finding or training someone to help you by preparing meals or simply prepping the ingredients for you. How many times have you torn yourself away from the computer only to be exhausted at the idea of making yourself dinner from scratch? Instead of heading straight for the TV dinner route, have meals ready to go so you’re not wasting food and making the most of your time.
3. Maintenance & Repairs
Entrepreneurship seems to fill up 100% of our attention and most of our days as well. But many times we need reminders and time to stay on top of regular maintenance and repairs. If you have a vehicle that needs tire rotation, oil changes and tune ups, look into hiring an auto shop that does full service pickup or look for a local assistant who you can trust to take it in for you. Home repairs are similar, cleaning gutters, installing new appliances and fixing leaky faucets should probably be left to professionals. If you enjoy these tasks try to contain them to the weekend so you make the most of your work week.
Now if you live in a major city, use a Zipcar or public transit and rent your apartment you’re not off the hook yet! Consider having someone get your favorite shoes repaired when the soles wear out or upgrade your computer when it begins to falter. While a house or car may be the most valued assets, they’re by no means the only ones that need service.
4. Childcare
I saved this one for last because I am not a parent but draw on my experience as a nanny to six kids. However you balance child care and work is for your family to decide but there are a few ways you can consider getting extra support. Carpooling can be shared with another family or one family can pay for gas while the other always drives. For school aged children you might have an older student serve as a tutor, ensuring homework is complete and accurate while being another set of eyes after school is out.
It’s possible you’d never consider asking someone else to take your child to the doctor or orthodontist, to picking up school supplies or getting a haircut. But each of these tasks has planning steps which can be outsourced, such as securing appointments, reviewing advertisements for deals and comparing them to a school provided supplies list, etc.
The idea has never been to outsource your life and relegate your family to an assistant. But the more you’re able to delegate the tasks that don’t need your attention, the more time you can spend and enjoy on field trips, eating healthy meals, driving a well maintained car or relaxing in a clean home. As you become relaxed and appreciate the support you have to run your business you’ll see your company grow and flourish with the new attention it’s received.
Hi it’s Kelly Azevedo with She’s Got Systems and today I have a video blog for you on Outsourcing 101 and Today’s question is “Should I hire a paid contractor or an unpaid intern to do the tasks in my business?”
First of all, it’s great you’re getting support for your online business and looking at all the opportunities out there to bring people into your business. There are some benefits and drawbacks of working with interns and I’ll go over those today.
The first thing, though, to consider is the likelihood that your business will be able to attract a pool of intern candidates and that you’ll be able to convince them to work for you in an intern model.
Now, one of the benefits of doing an internship is that you can work for a big name company which looks great on your resume.
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If you’re a brand new business and may not have notoriety or branding behind you then it may not be worth your time to find interns and you may find that the ones who apply are not the best candidates to do the work. In that case, you may want to start by working with contractors and build up to an internship program.
The second thing you should consider is if this is a long term or short term opportunity. If you’re just looking for someone to come in for a few hours on a dedicated project, then a short term internship could be worthwhile. But if you’re looking for something that will be an ongoing project and you don’t want turnover every 3 to 6 months, then I would suggest hiring a contractor. The reason is if you have interns that coming in just for a few weeks or a few months at a time and that position is constantly turning over, then you may be expending more time on training than you want.
If you work with contractors, you can filter at the beginning and let them know it’s a long term opportunity.
Now the other possibility is if you hire an intern but would like this to potentially be a long term opportunity you can let them know when the position will be opening up. That way someone may choose to work with you for 3 months and then be in the running to be hired for that position once their internship is completed.
The third thing you want to look for is really the commitment level. An intern is by default a short term opportunity and is in a transition time between school and work. It also may be a way for somebody to get their feet wet in an industry and see what they like before branching and out deciding what to do next. In contrast, when you work with a contractor, they’re usually a professional in their field who’s been doing this for some time and has plans to do this for the future.
So if you are building your business and would like to build a team around you, consider what level of commitment you’re going to ask for from that team. Now, of course you can’t guarantee that a contractor will stay long term, but if they are intending to do that in the beginning and are looking for a long term opportunity, then you are much more likely to get that than with an intern who is just at the beginning guaranteeing 3 or 4 weeks or a few months at a time.
It also depends on how you work with your contractors. If you would like to have fresh ideas and new people coming in because it energizes you, then it may work to supplement the contractors you have with short term interns.
Remember that the 5 days to Finding Fabulous Help for Your Online Business video series, which is free on this site, can help you whether you’re doing internships or hiring contractors.
Through the video series you’ll get really clear on what tasks need to be done, how they should be done, how you’re assigning them and following up and who to choose for your business to do these tasks. Now as you grow you may need to shuffle that around a little but I recommend getting the video series because you’ll be able to go through it over and over especially when you go into hire a new intern or a new contractor for your business.
If you’re clear from the beginning about what you need and who you want in your business then you’ll be much more intentional when you go out to find them.
Recently I’ve been recording several videos to complement the 5 Days to Finding Fabulous Help for Your Online Business series. Because although it may take just 5 days to find the right help, there is so much more to this hiring system. If you’ve come to the process of hiring in our business and stalled, then this is your chance to ask a targeted question and get additional pieces of the comprehensive hiring system.
Beginning this week I’ll post one video a week, often with additional resources and scripts, to help you as your business brings in additional support. If you’ve been fighting getting support check out these articles for more information: How Trying to Do It All Alone Inhibits Business Growth, Leverage Your Time by Outsourcing Incompetencies, Creating a Job Description, How to Test a Team Member Before You Hire, and Can I trust my VA?,
But I need your help – what are the things that have held you back from hiring? What are you worried about? I’ve compiled a short list based on my own experiences but want to hear from you in the comments. Here’s what I came up with:
invoices
firing / cutting back hours
contracts
being the boss
holding meetings
Each of these will be a stand alone video post, and I’ll be including transcripts for those of you who prefer to read. Of course, you should begin with the video series so if you don’t have 5 Days to Finding Fabulous Help yet just add your name and email to the box at the top of the page to get started. And, as a bonus, in each weekly newsletter I’ll give you some bonus tips, exclusive scripts and insights on how I or other successful entrepreneurs manage a team and these issues.
Catch up on the videos already available:
Should I hire one person for my business or look for multiple assistants?
Are you hiring an assistant or a consultant?
