How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse

How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse

All business growth is driven by marketing and sales.

 

And to succeed in marketing and sales, it’s important to master the art of creating irresistible offers. A single irresistible offer can significantly increase your sales and revenue by increasing the conversion of your prospects into paying customers.

If you’re driving visitors to your website via your marketing efforts, then it’s imperative that you have an irresistible offer clearly showcased so that your visitors are compelled to take action, engage with you, and spend money with you.

 

What is an irresistible offer?

An irresistible offer is simply a strategic structuring of your products and/or services where the value-to-cost ratio is value-heavy. Which means that the value of your offer far exceeds the cost to access the value (Michael Hunter, 2019). The offer seems so good that it’s an easy “yes” for those who need it. It feels like a ‘no-brainer’ and your prospect feels compelled to buy now.

In this article I’m assuming that you already intimately know and understand your ideal client and that you know what their most pressing challenges and pain points are — and the solution you provide solves those challenges.

 

Your irresistible offer needs to solve one of your ideal client’s most pressing ‘hair on fire’ issues with a bulletproof solution.

 

Once you know that your offer is going to solve a critical and high-pain problem that your client is currently experiencing, you can get busy crafting your irresistible offer that will make them want to say ‘yes’ to you right now.

There are 12 ingredients to crafting an irresistible offer. Not all 12 ingredients are necessary at all times, but try to include as many as you can where possible to maximise your chances of people engaging with your offer.

 

The 12 Ingredients of an Irresistible Offer

 

1. Emotion. Emotion. Emotion.

Powerful marketing is all about connecting your prospects to the emotion or feeling that they’ll experience through engaging with your product or service.

As I’m sure you already know, humans are driven by feelings. You might have heard the saying:

“People buy with emotion and then justify their decision with logic.” This is 100% true.

How will your customer feel when they’ve consumed your product or service? How can you describe that in your offer? 

Here’s an example from a client of ours who’s a Health Coach. See how she’s focused on the feelings of “lighter, brighter and beautiful” after engaging with her 12-week health coaching program. The imagery she’s chosen also helps the customer to tune into those feelings of freedom and lightness. This client filled her program quickly using this irresistible offer.

 

2. Clearly Define Who it is For, the Problem they Have and the Solution You Provide

When it comes to making an offer, the more specific you can be, the better.

  • Clearly express WHO your offer is for: Spell it out as specifically as possible. For example, my Profit Accelerator program is specifically for the “success-obsessed business owner in the first 1-5 years of business”.
  • What are the specific problems your target clients are dealing with? List 3-5 bullet points. For example, the specific pain points I’m targeting in the Profit Accelerator program are: 1. “You’re amazing at what you do and yet you struggle to attract a steady stream of paying clients.” and 2. “You’re savvy and resourceful but you’re struggling to make sense out of all the conflicting information out there about how to best grow your business.”, and 3. “You’re not sure what to focus your time and energy on to get the best results.” and 4. “You want to generate consistent revenue and profits as quickly as possible.”
  • What is the solution you provide? Clearly outline how you solve their pain points in your offering. What are the results your clients will achieve through working with you? Summarise them in 3-5 bullet points.

 

3. Sell the Destination, not the Aeroplane

Many business owners fall into the trap of selling their process instead of the results that their process will generate. Once people understand the transformation you create, the money becomes insignificant and they will pay you to help them achieve the transformation. In marketing, the term ‘transformation’ refers to the process of you taking them from point A (where they are now) to point B (where they will be after working with you). Being able to clearly articulate the transformation is THE KEY to effective marketing.

To help you understand the difference between the destination and the aeroplane…

Imagine you’re run down and tired and you desperately need a holiday in the sunshine. You go to the travel agent and they recommend Fiji as a good destination. Then they start telling you all about the Boeing 737 that will get you to Fiji. “It has in flight streaming, reclinable chairs and in-flight meals”. The truth is, you don’t care how you’re going to get to Fiji. You only care about what you’ll find when you get to Fiji: i.e. the poolside cocktails, easy beach access, consistent thirty-degree sunshine and warmth etc.

You need to sell the destination, not the aeroplane!

You can do this by moving from speaking in feature-based language (the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of your product or service) and instead speak in  results-based language (describe the impact or effect of working with you). 

Check out the following two examples and see for yourself which one feels more compelling.

You can easily see which one feels more compelling, right?

Wherever possible, define the feelings and emotion of the end destination that you take your clients to, and always speak in results-based language to maximise your chances of your offer engagement.

4. Clarity

You might have heard the marketing statement “The confused person never buys.”

In marketing, clarity is everything. The clearer you can be the better. If your prospect ends up confused about what you’re offering, what’s included and what’s not and how much they need to invest, they’ll simply click away and you’ll lose them.

Be crystal clear about what your offer entails and what the outcomes will be for your customer. Below is an example of one of my offers called “Fast-Track Your Funnel”, clearly showing what they’ll get and for how much, including emotive imagery to capture their imagination and emotion. How could you represent your offers graphically?

 

5. Easy Payment Solutions

People don’t generally like to make large payments at one time. To lower your buyer’s resistance and to make it an easier “yes”, always provide an option for a payment plan

Generally speaking, I recommend that you offer an incentive (typically a 10-15% discount) to pay up front because it makes your life easier when people pay up front (there’s no administrative burden or chasing payments). But always provide a way for people to pay-as-they-go and offer all payment options (e.g. credit card, PayPal or direct debit).

You don’t want to lose a customer because you make it difficult for them to pay you.

 

6. Offer a Time-Sensitive Discount

As you saw in the health coaching offer above, The Wholesome Health Coach offered a 50% reduction on normal prices for her ‘Winter Special’. In the terms and conditions for her offer, she specified a strict cut off date for the end of the offer to give people the incentive to buy now while the price is so heavily discounted.

A time-sensitive discount gives people the motivation they need to take action now, rather than delaying their action any further.

And be sure to raise your prices again at the end of the offer period. Always act with integrity and stick to your terms and conditions of your own offers otherwise you’ll lose the trust and confidence of your client base.

 

7. Add a Bonus or a Premium

A great way to give your prospect extra motivation to engage with your offer (and to make it extra irresistible!) is to offer a bonus in their package. For example, if you’re a personal trainer, you could include a customised meal plan with their personal training package. Or if you’re a Book Coach, you could offer a home study course on how to publish your book with Amazon, for example.

What’s a bonus you could include or create to make your offer extra irresistible?

 

8. Create a Bundle of High Value

Which products or services could you bundle together in order to give your client the incentive to buy more?

Which things could you package together that provide massive value?

For example, when my clients join my Profit Accelerator Private Coaching Package, they get access to my Inspired Business Collective and my Business Start-Up eBook Bundle for FREE.

 

9. Can You Reverse the Risk?

A great way to make your offer irresistible is to make it risk-free for your customer. How can you shoulder the risk instead of your client (reverse the risk)?

Ask yourself the question: 

 

“What would you do if you only got paid when your client got the desired result?”

 

Asking yourself this question forces you to focus on how to best get your client the desired result, as fast as possible. For example, as a Sales Coach, you could promise your client that they’ll make their invested money back by the end of your program, and if not, you’ll work with them until they do. This is a type of ‘value-first’ offer which makes it an easy “yes” for the prospect.

Here’s another example of how you could shoulder the risk:

“Try us for your first month, at zero risk or obligation. If you’re not totally satisfied for any reason, let us know. You’ll get a prompt and courteous full refund of your first month’s fee. After your first month, cancel anytime, and you won’t be billed a penny more.”

This is a softer version of the value-first offer.  If you try and aren’t satisfied, you’re get your money back.  The risk of the transaction is not on you, the client, but on you, the seller.

The point is to take on as much of the risk as possible, so the client feels like they’ve got nothing to lose. But everything to gain.

How could you integrate this concept into your offers?

10. Provide Urgency or Scarcity

So far we’ve explored various ways you can give your prospects several compelling reasons why they should take your offer.

But you still have to explain why they need to take your offer right NOW.

As you’ve probably experienced, in the world of sales, “later” usually means “no”. If a prospect visits your sales page and decides to “come back later”… you’ve most likely lost that sale.

This is where urgency comes into play. Urgency gives people a reason to buy right now, today, rather than putting it off for tomorrow.

How can you inject some urgency into your offer?

The easiest way to do this is through a combination of scarcity and/or a deadline.

Scarcity is when you have only a certain number of products available, or spaces left in a workshop or program. 

A deadline is similar to your time-sensitive offer: Your product is only available for a limited time. If you decide to offer a price reduction, be sure to only offer it for a limited time. Be sure to stick to your own word to maintain the trust and confidence with your client base. 

 

11. Champion a Cause

People are becoming more and more socially conscious and want their buying choices to have a positive impact somehow. Can you give a percentage of your profit to a charity you care about? This demonstrates a level of social consciousness that lowers your buyer’s resistance even more.

What can you contribute to through your product or service that will provide an extra incentive for your customers to say “yes”. Which causes does your target market care about?

 

12. Social Proof

When you’re making an offer, show the social proof that your offer works through testimonials or other credibility boosting things like awards or affiliations.

Wherever you can, try to get testimonials or social proof that your product or service actually works. This is yet another quality that makes your offer irresistible. Because if others have gotten results, they should be able to too!

 

Bringing it All Together

To see what a sales page looks like for an Irresistible Offer, check out the sales page for my Profit Accelerator program by going to this link: The Profit Accelerator: 90-Day Program.

 

I hope you’ve found this information super helpful and it enables you to go and create your irresistible offers.

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like:

Why You Need to Know Your Business ‘Why’, Vision and Mission.

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

 

Authentic and Natural Selling: Powerful Lessons from the Balinese Culture

Authentic and Natural Selling: Powerful Lessons from the Balinese Culture

It all started with a pedicure.

 

On the beautiful island of Bali last week, we were busily enjoying the Inspired Business Bali Retreat. As busy mothers and business women, juggling all the balls, it was our chance to unwind, relax and rejuvenate in the tranquil surrounds of north-east Bali while taking time out to work on our businesses — and gave us an opportunity to do some of the self-care things we never get time to do back home. Staying at the beautiful Entrepreneur Resort’s Vision Villas near Keramas Beach, you could get everything you wanted — massage, poolside cocktails, yoga. But the lady who usually did pedicures and manicures was away that week. 

My colleague and I set out to do something about our ‘winter feet’ — feet and toenails that were desperately in need of some love and attention. We hired two scooters and rode them from our hillside resort down to the beach, thinking we would easily find a nail salon down there, as you would in the touristy areas of Legian, Seminyak and Canggu.

After stopping at a tiny roadside stall to fill our scooter’s tank with petrol from an empty Bombay Sapphire gin bottle, we rode from beachside village to village, soon realising that it wasn’t at all touristy in these parts. Which was refreshing and wonderful, but not when you want to find a nail salon!

 

We were just about to give up when we noticed a small glass-fronted shop with a sign saying ‘Nails’ on the front.

 

It seemed closed (it was late in the afternoon). But as we tentatively walked up to the front door and peered inside, a friendly girl (aren’t they all friendly in Bali?) inside caught sight of us, broke into a big smile and came to open the door.

We explained that we wanted to get a pedicure each. She said we’d have to wait twenty minutes while she called in a friend to help, but she could get started on one of us straight away.

Perfect, we were happy.

Customer service!

Her friend arrived on her scooter within twenty minutes as promised (she travelled all the way from Ubud) and within an hour my friend and I walked away with shiny, fresh toes that were now open shoe worthy.

 

 

 

As often happens, the Balinese girls chatted to us in their broken English while they worked on our toes, asking us where we were staying and what we were doing. As we were finishing up, my girl handed me a card and said:

“If your friends want a manicure or pedicure, please tell them about me. I can come to your villas”. 

The card that she handed to me had her name on it, Sandat, with the words “Nails & Massage”. 

I said to her “Oh, you do massage too?” 

It had been difficult to book a massage at our villas because there was only one girl available and available slots were limited. We hadn’t been able to have the daily massage that we’d hope for when we arrived (oh, first world problems!).

“Yes, I can do massage!” Sandat replied. “How many people need a massage? I can bring a friend.”

I told her we had five ladies at the resort who would love a massage. She gave me her WhatsApp number and we connected online straight away, with her telling me she would be at our villas the next day with her friend, ready to massage five women.

Perfect!

It was a win-win. She identified an opportunity to sell us something we wanted and she and her friend got the chance to earn some money that they wouldn’t have earned, had Sandat not been forward in offering her services.

 

It was a beautiful example of authentic, natural selling and I spent the evening marvelling at how well the Balinese do that.

 

One of the retreat guests mentioned to me that she hadn’t once felt harassed, or “icky”  or “sold to” during our time in Bali. It feels more like the Balinese are genuinely curious about your needs and finding ways to meet them. 

I’ve been to Bali many times over the decades and it’s always struck me how resourceful the Balinese people are. They have a natural entrepreneurial spirit with an ability to find ways to make money. It seems to run in their genes and as a result they ‘sell’ very authentically and naturally.

[And no, I’m not talking about the awful beach hawkers that most of know and despise! That’s the kind of selling that’s pushy and forceful and makes us want to run for the hills.]

My theory is that the Balinese know how to sell authentically because they don’t have the luxury of unemployment payments like we do and the majority of people don’t have access to quality education. They didn’t get any JobKeeper payments from their government during the tough COVID years. They all had to battle it out on their own. And it was tough. 

 

There’s no safety net in Balinese society. If you don’t know how to make money, you don’t survive. Simple as that. And so the Balinese have become very resilient and business-savvy people as a result, always looking for opportunities to sell.

 

And it got me wondering — Why is it that so many of the business owners I work with in Australia struggle to “sell”?

Learning to sell is the most critical skill you need to learn when starting and growing your own business. But inevitably all clients I work with say:

“I don’t want to be salesy or pushy”.

And I get it, because that’s how I felt in the beginning too. I’d come from a corporate consulting engineering environment in which ‘selling’ was not a skill I had to develop in the true sense.

In our culture we haven’t grown up with many positive role models for natural and authentic selling. Most of us associate selling with the uncomfortable experiences of door knockers trying to sell us things we don’t need. As Seth Godin said:

 

“We don’t mind being sold to, we just hate being sold to poorly.”


SETH GODIN

 

So how do you sell authentically and naturally?

Selling feels authentic and natural when you have the intention to serve, not sell. It’s motivated by an underlying desire to genuinely help someone to solve a problem they have. Or to add value to their situation in a way that makes their life easier. The solution you offer is truly valuable. It’s about focusing on building relationships and creating value, rather than simply trying to close deals to meet sales targets. 

Which is exactly what the Balinese do without even trying.

And I believe we can learn a lot from them.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong
Inspired Business
Helping Startups and Small Businesses Succeed
+61 424 176 658
[email protected]

 

Have you got your copy of The Marketing Map yet?

Essential Marketing Tactics to Grow a Profitable Business You Love.

Download it now, it’s FREE!

How to Accelerate and Improve Your Marketing Using AI — and How NOT to.

How to Accelerate and Improve Your Marketing Using AI — and How NOT to.

Last Friday morning I woke up to the news that Google Bard had just been released. It’s the long-awaited competition to ChatGPT that everyone’s been talking about in recent months.

 

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm since late 2022 with its revolutionary ability to do things like conduct comprehensive research on different topics through to writing a whole month’s worth of social media posts in under a few minutes.

Both Bard and ChatGPT are artificial intelligence (AI) language models designed to produce human-like text and converse with people to assist with a wide variety of tasks.

I asked Google Bard to write me an 800 word blog post about how large language models (LLMs) like Bard and ChatGPT can accelerate and improve your marketing. The article it produced for me was good — in fact, very good! I could have posted its content here as a new blog post, sent it out as a newsletter and moved onto the next task on my to-do list. 

 

But that’s exactly the catch. 

 

In this new era of generative AI (meaning LLMs that have been specifically designed to help generate text-based content), producing new content is easy. Anyone can do it. Simply give your LLM clear instructions and you can have a blog, presentation, social media post, or essay whipped up in seconds — to a high standard. You can even ask it to add humour, make it more ‘Australian’ (or any other culture) or translate it into a different language.

With the advent of generative AI, there’s no excuse any more as a business owner for not writing blog posts (to increase your SEO — search engine optimisation) or posting on social media. With these tools at your disposal, creating content is super easy.

 

But in this new world of oversaturated volumes of content, people don’t want to read generic stuff anymore. They want highly specific information relevant to their specific interests, needs and desires. 

They want to hear your opinion, your critical thought and your unique voice. 

 

And that’s the part that AI can’t do for you.

  Yes, AI can help you with idea generation.

  Yes, AI can help you research your topics quickly and easily and it can curate thoughts and ideas into spectacularly well-thought-out articles.

  Yes, AI can help you write your content quickly and efficiently and drastically cut down the amount of time it takes you to produced content.

   Yes, AI can help you edit your content for grammar, spelling and clarity.

  Yes, AI can help you optimise your content for search engines by tell you the right keywords and phrases to use (this part is gold!). It can help you improve your content’s ranking in search results which can drive more traffic to your website or blog.

 

And yes, I used AI to generate the above list of yes items (ha!).

In fact, Google Bard tells me that AI “is a powerful tool for accelerating your marketing content creation. By automating tedious tasks and providing assistance with idea generation, research, writing, editing and optimisation, AI can help you produce higher quality content more quickly and efficiently.”

 

And yes, that’s true.

 

But Google Bard also tells me that AI is not a replacement for human creativity and judgment. It cannot:

   Create original ideas: AI can help you generate ideas based on existing data, but it cannot come up with truly original concepts.

  Understand the nuances of human language: AI can understand the literal meaning of words, but it cannot understand the nuances of human language, such as sarcasm and emotion.

  Write with a human voice: AI can generate text that is grammatically correct and factually accurate, but it cannot write with a human voice that is engaging and persuasive.

  Understand the needs of your audience: AI can analyze data about your audience, but it cannot understand their needs and desires in the same way that a human can.

  Be creative: AI can generate new ideas, but it cannot be creative in the same way that a human can. AI cannot come up with new concepts or ideas out of thin air. It can only generate new ideas based on existing data.

And so my suggestions on this are:

  • Use AI to help you overcome the ‘blank page syndrome’ that results in procrastination and inaction.
  • Use AI to help you generate draft content quickly and easily.
  • Use AI to share great content, regularly and consistently.
  • Infuse your content with your unique brand voice, with your creative thought and originality, your critical thought and your opinions.

And I hope I’ve managed to do a good job of that with this article as an example.

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Drop me a comment in the comments section below if you agree/disagree with any of the above. This is a whole new conversation and I’m happy to be having it with you!

 

Have you got your copy of The Marketing Map yet?

Essential Marketing Tactics to Grow a Profitable Business You Love.

Download it now, it’s FREE!

In service to your success,

Kate

KATE DE JONG, PhD
INSPIRED BUSINESS
[email protected]
+61 424 176 658
katedejong.com

Are You Sending the Right Message? How to Develop Core Brand Messaging that Converts

Are You Sending the Right Message? How to Develop Core Brand Messaging that Converts

Words are powerful things.

 

When used correctly, they have the power to clearly convey an idea, thought, or message. And the reverse is also true. The wrong choice or mix of words can leave your customers feeling completely confused, or worse — repelled. 

One of the most challenging tasks as a business owner is to find the specific words that accurately reflect the essence of who you are and what you do in a way that resonates with your ideal clients.

 

When it comes to marketing your business, clarity is everything.

 

You might have heard the saying “The confused person never buys”. It’s 100% true! One of the biggest reasons why people ‘bounce’ when they visit your website or they look confused when you deliver your pitch is because they can’t figure out what you do and if or how you can help them. 

Clear, sharp, and impactful messaging makes all your marketing and sales efforts easier. Get your messaging right, and you’ll see your revenue increase seemingly with ease.

 

Marketing is not about convincing anyone of anything. It’s about creating resonance with your ideal clients.

 

As the famous Simon Sinek quote goes:

Your job is not to do business with those who need what you have.
Your job is to do business with those who believe what you believe. 

— SIMON SINEK

Your messaging needs to tap into what’s true for your clients at a belief level.


Your prospect then feels a resonance with your words. As one of my favourite mentors, Jeffry Van Dyk, says, “Your message
activates something in them.”

And then the deal is done.

There’s no competition anymore.

Your message has reached into their heart and mind and they know that YOU are the one they want to do business with.

Great core messaging is not forceful or manipulative.

It’s magnetic.

 

So What is Core Brand Messaging?

Your core messaging describes the essence of who you are, what you believe, and what you do, boiled down to a few critical sentences or phrases. What do you want people to know and remember about your brand? It all starts with clearly defining your ‘why’, vision, mission and tagline. This then flows into all your marketing assets and the way you speak about your brand. 

To learn everything you need to know about how to develop your core brand statements, check out this article: How to Craft Your Brand ‘Why’, Vision, and Mission Statements

You’d be surprised how many businesses struggle to clearly articulate their brand core message. And they struggle to make sales as a result.

It’s not easy to develop your core messaging. It takes time and it requires a willingness to dig deep down into your beliefs and what drives you to do business.

What’s an example of core messaging?

It took me quite some time to develop my own brand messaging. When I dug deep into why I do what I do, I discovered that this is what I believe:

WHY
Because I believe that entrepreneurs will save the world.

VISION
To empower purpose-driven entrepreneurs to bring their vision to life.

MISSION
To help entrepreneurs master the craft of starting and growing a thriving, scalable business so they can make the difference they’re here to make.

TAGLINE
Grow your business with ease.

When you nail your messaging you’ll see an immediate increase in leads and conversions because people now know exactly what you’re about, who you help, and how. Here’s what my client Zina had to say.

Kate exceeded my expectations in every way. She gave me actionable and practical advice that paid off almost immediately! Her advice on my core messaging was next level and once I implemented the changes I saw an immediate increase in traffic to my website and conversion rates. I’m blown away by how much value Kate was able to add to my business in such a short time.
— Zina Le Sueur, Zina Le Sueur Photography

Do you need help defining or refining your core messaging? Reach out to Kate at [email protected] or 0424 176 658 or visit https://katedejong.com for more information.

Have you downloaded your FREE copy of The Art of Business Building yet?

Discover the Essential Strategies to Market and Grow Your Business, the Easy Way!

Go here to download it now.

In service to your success

Kate

Soft Skills are the New Superpower: IQ is No Longer the Metric of Choice for Top Global Companies

Soft Skills are the New Superpower: IQ is No Longer the Metric of Choice for Top Global Companies

Having a high academic score doesn’t necessarily make you a desirable candidate anymore for global tech companies like Google. These days, corporate giants are specifically looking for soft skills in their new employees (Abdul S, 2022)

 

Soft Skills are the New Superpower

 

Soft skills are non-technical skills that describe how you work and interact with others. Unlike hard skills, they’re not necessarily something you’ll learn in a course, like data analytics or programming. Instead, they reflect your communication style, work ethic, and work style.

Terms like ‘soft skills’ and ’emotional intelligence’ have only become widely accepted in the past decade. Back in the early 1990s, publishers told science journalist Daniel Goleman not to use the word ‘emotion’ in a business book. The notion at the time was that emotions had no role in the workplace. Business management focused on workers’ physical productivity, not their feelings. It was believed that ‘hard skills’ drove the bottom line. 

It wasn’t until 1990 when psychologists Peter Salovey and John Mayer published their landmark journal article called ‘Emotional Intelligence’ that things started to shift in mainstream perception. They described emotional intelligence as “the ability to identify and manage one’s own emotions as well as those of others.” They proposed that emotions serve a particularly useful function and that emotional intelligence (EQ) is not just a group of capacities or skills, but rather, it is an actual intelligence that is equally important as cognitive intelligence (IQ). 

There’s now a growing acceptance that emotional intelligence can be taught, measured, and improved.

 

Companies that focus on developing emotional intelligence in their employees see significant increases in staff retention, engagement, and productivity.

 

In other words, cultivating emotional intelligence in your workforce significantly improves business profitability (Harvard Business Review). And this is why the most sought-after companies like Google are now using EQ as the single most important metric when hiring new employees.

 

Emotionally intelligent people are happier and more successful.

 

Since the nineties, emotional intelligence and self-awareness have been studied extensively by the world’s leading academics. Results show consistently that people with a high EQ are:

More fulfilled.  

More creative.  

More competent.  

Better communicators. 

More promotable.  

More effective leaders with more profitable companies. 

More powerful and better negotiators.  

Happier and more successful. 

Perform better at work.  

Have stronger relationships. 

Are less likely to lie, steal, and cheat. [Dr Tasha Eurich

 

The Six Intelligences in Business

I’ve been fascinated by the concepts of emotional intelligence and self-awareness for decades now. I love learning more about myself and other people — and helping my clients to do the same — through behavioural tests like the Harrison Assessment (one of my favourites), the Enneagram, Myers-Briggs and DISC (you can learn all about those here)

One of the most powerful tools available to develop greater emotional intelligence that I’ve come across in recent years is the B.A.N.K Personality Coding system which identifies six different types of soft skills that literally give you superpowers in business. 

The six intelligences are:

  1. Emotional intelligence.
  2. Personality intelligence.
  3. Sales intelligence.
  4. Business intelligence.
  5. Artificial intelligence.
  6. Spiritual intelligence.

 

These six intelligences are the engine that drives your business results. When you actively take the time to cultivate skill across these six different areas, it results in your ability to:

Be a more influential leader.

Create more powerful marketing.

Be a more profitable business.

Create high-functioning teams.

Produce high-converting sales.

In short, soft skills create business success.

 

 

Discovering and learning the B.A.N.K Personality Coding System has allowed me to:

  • Increase my sales conversion rate consistently from around 60% to more than 90%.
  • Produce powerful marketing messaging and assets that convert.
  • Speak the language of my clients so I can work with them more effectively.
  • Develop more fruitful relationships and strategic partnerships that benefit my business.

 

You can ‘crack’ your own B.A.N.K personality code by going to this link.

 

 

The 6 Intelligences

 

1. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand, use, and manage your own emotions in positive ways to relieve stress, communicate effectively, empathize with others, overcome challenges and defuse conflict. Emotional intelligence helps you build stronger relationships, succeed at school and work, and achieve your career and personal goals. It can also help you to connect with your feelings, turn intention into action, and make informed decisions about what matters most to you.

Emotional intelligence is commonly defined by four attributes:

  1. Self-awareness: The ability to recognise your own emotions, strengths, blind spots and your impact on others.
  2. Awareness of others: Ability to recognise another’s emotional state with compassion and non-judgment.
  3. Self-regulation: Able to wisely manage your emotions and impulses.
  4. Empathy: Able to identify with and understand another’s emotions.
  5. Interpersonal skills: Effective at managing relationships that benefit everyone involved.

 

 

2. Personality Intelligence

The Greek physician Hippocrates, known as ‘the father of medicine’ (460—370 BC) already defined four different and distinct types of personality during his time. He defined them as:

1) Melancholic: Analytical and literal
2) Choleric: Ambitious and leader-like
3) Sanguine: Pleasure-seeking and sociable
4) Phlegmatic: Relaxed and thoughtful

Modern psychology has embraced those four different types in varying formats, and B.A.N.K is rooted in a similar personality distinction, but it’s the first time a system has been developed around buying behaviour, which is what makes it so powerful in business. When you understand why your clients buy, it’s a powerful weapon.

Personality intelligence means:

  1. You understand and can identify the different types of personalities.
  2. You know and understand how you’re different and similar to others. 
  3. You use your understanding of another’s personality to drive your communication.
  4. You know the underlying values of the person you’re talking to and you know how to speak directly to their values.

 

 

3. Sales Intelligence

In business, sales intelligence is the information and techniques that salespeople use to make informed decisions in the selling cycle. It’s about having a powerful understanding of why people buy and using that understanding to increase sales conversions.

In sales, the sales velocity equation is a well-known formula used to drive sales growth.

Your sales velocity is influenced by the number of leads you have, the deal value, your conversion rate and the length of your sales cycle. Understanding and using the B.A.N.K system helps you increase the number of leads you generate, increase the conversion rate, and decrease the sales cycle length.

 

4. Business Intelligence

Business intelligence is the ability to use your soft skills to drive business decisions by:

  • Know the personality type of your ideal customer.
  • Know how to speak to all customer types.
  • Understanding all customer’s buying motivation.
  • Crafting all marketing messages to appeal to specific types.
  • Customised sales scripts and communications for different personality types.

 

The B.A.N.K system helps with all of the above which is why it’s such a powerful system.

 

 

5. Artificial Intelligence

The artificial intelligence that’s built into the B.A.N.K system is one of the most powerful aspects of the model. You can copy and paste a client’s emails, communications or social posts into their AI tool and it ‘decodes’ their personality, telling you how to speak to them in a way that resonates with their buying values.

It’s a game-changer!

 

 

6. Spiritual intelligence

The B.A.N.K methodology is the first time I’ve come across a business tool that explicitly discusses and measures the concept of spirituality in business. I’ve always been aware of my own spiritual understanding and path, but it’s not until now that it’s been discussed in a business sense. I personally find it refreshing and revolutionary. Spiritual intelligence is about:

  • Seeing greater meaning and purpose in life.
  • Actions are driven by wisdom and compassion.
  • Viewing your business and career as an opportunity for spiritual growth.
  • Your identity is not defined by your physical self.
  • Feeling guided in decision-making by a higher power.
  • Detecting qualities in people that transcend their physical appearance, personality and emotions.
  • Seeing the potential for good in difficult or tragic situations.

 

 To learn more about the B.A.N.K Personality Coding Methodology, check out these articles:

Selling is Not a Numbers Game: The B.A.N.K Personality Coding System—An Overview

The Powerful Lesson I Learned from Losing One of my Best Deals Ever

How Does an Engineer End Up Becoming a Business Coach?

You can ‘crack’ your own B.A.N.K personality code by going to this link.

 

I hope you found this helpful! If you’d more information, please reach out.

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, PhD
Inspired Business
Business & marketing coach for small business owners
[email protected]
katedejong.com
0424 176 658

The Rise of Four Different Species of Entrepreneurs—Which One Are You?

The Rise of Four Different Species of Entrepreneurs—Which One Are You?

Find out about the emergence of four different species of entrepreneurs in today's changing professional landscape - and discover which category you fit into! #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #success #successmindset

Definition: Entrepreneur

A person who sets up a business or businesses, taking on financial risk in the hope of profit.

 

If you’re a business owner, or working for yourself, then you’ve ventured into the world of entrepreneurship.

Traditionally, there have been some key differences between ‘entrepreneurs’ and ‘business owners’. 

As Melanie Spring writes in her great article Are You a Small-Business Owner or an Entrepreneur? The Difference is Important, these are some of the key differences:

  • Small business owners take relatively small financial risks. The results may not be huge, but it keeps them moving forward. Entrepreneurs take larger risks, knowing that if they put in their full effort, there will be a good ROI (return on investment).
  • Small business owners tend to think local, while entrepreneurs think big and global.
  • Entrepreneurs put their focus on growth and scaling and their core mission is to develop a business that they can on-sell it eventually to make a significant profit. 

 

However, the definition of entrepreneurship is subtly changing.

 

Bruce Bachenheimer, a clinical professor of management and executive director of the Entrepreneurship Lab at Pace University says:

 

[mashtweet tweet=”“Entrepreneurship is much broader than the creation of a new business venture. At its core, it is a mindset — a way of thinking and acting. It is about imagining new ways to solve problems and create value.” – Bruce Bachenheimer” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

And given the changing nature of our workforce and the emergence of the new Purpose Economy, there are ever-increasing opportunities to solve new problems and create value, and people are responding to these market gaps.

 

Entrepreneurs are driven by a desire to make a difference and to contribute their gifts in service to something larger than themselves. Discover how the world of entrepreneurship is changing and evolving, and how you can play your part in this brave new world. #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #successmindset #laptoplifestyle #leadership

Hence the rising number of entrepreneurs worldwide.

 

Linda Rottenberg, entrepreneur extraordinaire, founder of Endeavor and author of Crazy is a Compliment: The Power of Zigging When Everyone Else Zags says:

 

“Today entrepreneurship doesn’t just mean starting a tech company. It means undertaking any bold venture – from improving your neighbourhood to selling crafts out of your basement; from modernising your family business to proposing a new initiative in your corporation.

The techniques involved in sharpening your idea, facing down critics, recruiting boosters, and handling setbacks apply in almost every realm of work.”

 

Rottenberg describes the increasing trend of entrepreneurs worldwide like this:

 

[mashtweet tweet=”“In the world today, there’s an unstoppable, unwavering trend toward individuals who seek to improve their own lives and, in the process, improve the world around them. They’re entrepreneurs.”” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Research in Australia, my homeland, shows that “small and micro business is Australia’s fastest growing employment sector. Aussie start-up culture is burning brighter than ever before as Baby Boomers and Gen Y lead a movement to ditch the corporate ladder in favour of becoming their own boss.” [1].

Research in the USA shows that people are increasingly choosing entrepreneurship too. A study by Intelligent Office revealed that nearly 65 percent of workers would rather be an entrepreneur or independent employee than work in an office.

Rottenberg says:

“If some moments have been ripe for diplomats, financiers, soldiers, or politicians, today is ripe for entrepreneurs.”

The reason for this, she says, is this:

“The reasons behind the shift are complex, but they come down to one simple reality: We live in a time of uncertainty. Our economies, our companies, our jobs, are no longer stable and secure. Change is the only constant. To survive, we all need the skills required to continually reinvent ourselves.”

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Everyone needs to take some risk or risk being left behind.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Entrepreneurs are true 'men in the arena' (and women!). They're willing to get in there, have a go, they're willing to fail and get knocked down, knowing that if they fail, they'll fail while daring greatly - and that's where the true breakthroughs, fulfillment, and positive change happen. Are you entrepreneur? Discover which of the four emerging species you belong to so you can thrive even more! #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #success #successmindset #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #leadership

As happens with the growth of any field or model, the entrepreneurial field is diversifying and spreading in its form and impact.

Once reserved as a term largely for the start-up industry, it now infiltrates just about any sector you can think of.

Linda Rottenberg has spent her entire career finding, coaching, and financially supporting fledgling entrepreneurs with big ideas through her organisation Endeavor. In her many years of experience of working with thousands of entrepreneurs and speaking on countless panels on the topic, she defines four different types of entrepreneurs.

I found her definitions fascinating and insightful.

Here are the different types and their characteristics. I’m most definitely a butterfly. Which one are you? (All definitions below are taken from Rottenberg’s book Crazy is a Compliment.)

 

The Four Different Species of Entrepreneurs

 

1. Gazelles

Gazelles, Rottenberg explains, are the classic entrepreneurs of myth and reality:

“Someone who starts a new business venture and aims for it to explode into a white-hot phenomenon”.

Examples are Home Depot, Facebook, Jenny Craig, and Instagram.

 

High growth is the goal.

 

The term ‘gazelle’ was coined by economist David Birch in 1994 to describe high-growth businesses whose sales double every four years. Though only a minuscule 2—4 % of companies fit this model in the USA, this group accounts for nearly all job creation in the private sector.

When you hear politicians say “Small businesses really create most of the new jobs”, they’re talking about gazelles, Rottenberg says.

In her experience, while wildly brilliant and visionary, gazelles tend to make the same mistakes over and over: They expand too quickly, they lose focus, they tangle with their partners and they can’t give up control. But when they have a supportive team around them who can help them balance out these aspects, they’re unstoppable.

 

 

2. Skunks

The term ‘skunk’ was adapted by Rottenberg from the Lockheed Corporation, which during World War II set up a secret division to build fighter jets. It was called Skunk Works.

Skunks are:

“Entrepreneurs operating within large corporations [who] go out of their way to stink up the joint.”

They’re sometimes also referred to as ‘intrapeneur’, an employee operating within a company who takes responsibility for “turning an idea into a profitable finished product through assertive risk-taking and innovation.”

 

They’re often people who have become fed up with the limitations of conventional company practice and develop a better way to do it, or see something that is desperately needed and go against all bureaucracy, traditions, and resistance to get it done.

 

Given the rapid pace of change in the world and the need to adapt and innovate, corporations are now urgently requesting and encouraging their employees to be more independent and creative. The corporate world knows it’s essential to their survival.

 

Entrepreneurs who are driven to create social change through their enterprises are the new entrepreneurial 'dolphins', often working in the not-for-profit or public sectors, advocating for real change. Which species of entrepreneur do you belong to? #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesswoman #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #success #successmindset #laptoplifestyle #leadership 3. Dolphins

These are people who dedicate their skills and services to helping the social sector become more entrepreneurial. These days they are referred to as ‘social entrepreneurs’.

Rottenberg explains: “Dolphins are contrarians in the non-profit or public sector who are willing to buck the conventions of their professions and agitate for real change.

 

“Why dolphins? Because they’re smart and social (they live in cooperative pods) and are one of the few animals shown to be altruistic toward others. But they’re not pushovers: Harm a dolphin’s pod, and watch out!”

 

Rottenberg continues: “Today even causes for which there are no compelling private-sector solutions are ripe for an entrepreneurial shake-up. It’s dolphins making the waves.”

 

4. Butterflies

This may be the fastest-growing group of all. These are small-scale or lifestyle entrepreneurs. First among these are sole proprietors – plumbers, yoga instructors, freelance writers, organic farmers, artists etc.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that a majority of U.S. businesses have no paid employees. Forty percent of American adults have now spent part of their careers working on their own, and 24 million more are expected to be self-employed by 2018.

Globally the number of independent contractors will reach 1.3. billion by 2020. Rottenberg explains:

 

“These fields are booming because they’re open to anyone: Moms, dads, grannies, twenty-somethings, even teens starting microventures in their basements, cars or bathrooms. As Jay-Z put it ‘I’m not a businessman; I’m a business, man.’”

 

While some of these entrepreneurs aim to be fast-growing gazelles, many are content to stay small and local. Rottenberg’s reasons for calling this group of entrepreneurs ‘butterflies’ is beautiful:

“Butterflies are incredibly varied (there are at least 17,500 different types of butterfly) and [are] driven by freedom and individualism. In both Eastern and Western cultures, butterflies have long symbolised the soul, especially one reborn after a period of cocooning. Beyond personal transformation, butterflies are vital to their habitat and an indicator of its overall well-being. More butterflies equal a healthier ecosystem.”

At first glance, this group may not appear to reflect the ground-breaking level of skills that entrepreneurs usually harbour. Linda says:

“Do you really need to be disruptive when you’re selling homemade cheese at the farmer’s market?  The answer: You do, especially because your competitor probably has an in at Whole Foods, now accepts credit card payments with a Square reader and has just launched a vibrant Web business.”

Besides, she says, “butterflies are uniquely suited to this age of disruption. In chaos theory, ‘butterfly effect’ is the term given to the idea that change can come from anywhere. The weather in Central Park can be affected by a butterfly flapping its wings in South America […] Don’t underestimate the tenacity of a butterfly. […] They aren’t waiting for changes to happen to them; they’re making changes happen every day.”

 

So clearly entrepreneurship is no longer restricted to a minority group of high-growth tech start-ups but is infiltrating increasingly into every corner of life including the public sector, the corporate sector, and the small business/lifestyle sector.

 

I found it humbling and validating to know that butterflies like me are on the rise and that “more butterflies equal a healthier ecosystem.” At the end of the day, a healthy ecosystem is one in which all species are thriving and growing. And in the case of entrepreneurship, this definitely seems to be one growing, large, and thriving global ecosystem.

In service to your success,

Katie De Jong, Ph.D
Inspired Business
Business & Marketing Strategist
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

[1] https://www.nbnco.com.au/blog/business/the-rise-of-the-aussie-entrepreneur.html

[2] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/227776

[3] https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/238502

[4] https://www.preservearticles.com/201101143321/essential-qualities-of-an-entrepreneur.html

Selling is Not a Numbers Game: The B.A.N.K Personality Coding System—An Overview

Selling is Not a Numbers Game: The B.A.N.K Personality Coding System—An Overview

If you own your own business, you’re in the business of marketing and selling.

 

“The ability to sell is the number one skill in business.
If you cannot sell, don’t bother thinking about becoming a business owner.” 
– Robert Kiyosaki

 

Thankfully, the ability to sell is something that can be learned, which is comforting for business owners to know given that it’s so critical. I’ve completed dozens of different selling courses and programs over the years, but there have been few that I would refer to as a ‘game-changer’—until I found the B.A.N.K Personality Coding System.

Discovering and learning the B.A.N.K Personality Coding System has allowed me to:

  • Increase my sales conversion rate consistently from around 60% to more than 90%.
  • Produce powerful marketing messaging and assets that convert.
  • Speak the language of my clients so I can work with them more effectively.
  • Develop more fruitful relationships and strategic partnerships that benefit my business.

The use of personality science in selling is not new. Personality science itself is ancient, with Hippocrates (460 BC) being the first that we know of who documented four distinct patterns of human behaviour. 

However, this is the first time that personality science has been applied to selling to understand what makes people buy.

 

So what is the B.A.N.K Personality Coding System?

Developed by Cheri Tree at Codebreaker Technologies in the USA, the  B.A.N.K. Personality Coding System is an easy-to-use personality typing system that predicts decision-making behaviour based on your prospect’s deeply held values, ideals, and worldview.

 

B.A.N.K helps you understand why people buy.
And we’re all different when it comes to our motivation for making buying decisions. 

 

I’m sure you can recall a sales conversation where you’ve been able to easily build rapport and trust and the conversation flows easily. As a result, your prospect wants to buy from you. It’s likely that your prospect was similar to you and you were speaking their language. 

On the other hand, you would have experienced a sales conversation where there’s a disconnect and no matter how you try to navigate the conversation, you just can’t seem to connect and as a result, they say ‘no’ to working with you. I wrote about a time like this when I lost a big deal in one of my articles: The Powerful Lesson I Learned from Losing the Best Deal Ever.

The B.A.N.K system helps you understand why that happens and gives you a tool to make sure every sales conversation is a fruitful one.

 

You’ve probably heard the saying “Selling is a numbers game”

 

Well, this statement simply isn’t true. You can significantly increase your sales conversion rate by learning to speak the language of your prospect.

There are four personality types in B.A.N.K Codes: Blueprint, Action, Nurturing, and Knowledge. I’ve provided an overview of each one for you below. Each one of us has a ‘B.A.N.K code’ which is the order of the different values systems that are most important to us. 

There are 24 different B.A.N.K. codes possible from four different value sets (shown below).

 

 

Use B.A.N.K’s Artificial Intelligence to ‘Crack the Code’ of your customers so you can speak their language

 

The great news is that you can use B.A.N.K’s artificial intelligence (AI) technology to ‘crack the code’ of your prospect before meeting with them, so you can speak to them in their language from the get-go to build rapport and genuine connection.

You can also crack your own code by going to this link.

To help you start understanding the different primary personality types, I’ve provided an overview below.

 

BLUEPRINT — ‘Inside the Box’

The first BANK code is ‘Blueprint’. These personality types value responsibility, planning, and structure. They’re usually specific with their actions and think things through before making decisions. See below for guidance on how to deal with a customer who leads their code with Blueprint.

 

Typical BLUEPRINT Behaviours

  • They expect everyone to follow the rules and regulations.
  • They need people to keep their word.
  • Their focus is on minimising risk.
  • They love to set up and implement predictable systems.
  • They trust proven authority.
  • They see everything in the world through the lens of right and wrong.
  • They learn best through memorising, recall, and drill.
  • They appreciate agenda-driven, efficient meetings that start and end on time.
  • They work best with systems, routines, and procedures.
  • They learn from past mistakes and proceed with caution.
  • They don’t appreciate spontaneity or unplanned visits.

What to do when meeting or working with a BLUEPRINT

  • Be well-organized and show that you are organised in the way you work.
  • Go above and beyond to show respect.
  • Greet them with a traditional handshake (no high fives, hugging or over-the-top gestures!)
  • Act professionally.
  • Demonstrate a system for success.
  • Present your offer in a way that is low- or no risk to them—blueprints don’t like risk and they’ll do everything to minimise it.
  • Acknowledge their position, credibility and accomplishments.
  • Provide full disclosure of costs and timelines and never go over budget.
  • Give them access to special discounts or savings incentives. They love a good bargain.
  • Show up on time for appointments—never show up late to an appointment with a blueprint, it will be a no-deal from the get go!
  • Show them your appropriate credentials for their field of work.

Deal-breakers for a BLUEPRINT. Don’t do this!

  • Don’t be late to appointments or be late with deliverables. 
  • Have no structure in your process or approach.
  • Make up your own rules or have no regard for the rules.
  • Display informal or rude behavior or be insensitive to surroundings.
  • Interrupt them or make unscheduled calls or visits.
  • Fail to acknowledge their perspective or point of view.
  • Use aggressive sales tactics or behaviors.
  • Set unrealistic expectations or offer false promises.

 

 

ACTION — ‘Outside the Box’

Action types care about freedom, opportunity, and excitement. They’re free spirits. If you were to pitch a product to them, you’d want to demonstrate how it’d help them get ahead in life or elevate them. You also might tell them about how your product will give them greater independence in their lives.

Typical ACTION Behaviours

  • They negotiate skillfully and look for their own win.
  • They’re optimistic and act on instinct.
  • They’re competitive and have a propensity for sports and entertainment.
  • They love beauty, status and anything aesthetically pleasing.
  • They recognise and go after opportunity.
  • They’re always looking for a better way to do things.
  • They rebel against rules, routine and structure.
  • They takes risks and love getting things done.
  • They’re entrepreneurial and like to lead.
  • They learn best through hands-on methods: “Show me, don’t tell me”.
  • They don’t like boredom or waiting.
  • They don’t like abstract ideas, excessive details, and useless theory—get to the point quickly.

What to do when meeting or working with an ACTION

  • Where possible, show your connections to celebrities, business executives, or other high net-worth individuals.
  • Wear or carry high-end fashion accessories.
  • Paint a picture of a dream lifestyle that they can achieve through working with you.
  • Name other successful people you have worked with.
  • Greet them with enthusiasm. They love high fives and other enthusiastic gestures.
  • Notice and compliment their fashion or style.
  • Convey a sense of urgency.
  • Give them access to VIP experiences.

Deal-breakers for an ACTION. Don’t do this!

  • Show that you don’t care about style or your outward appearance.
  • Provide too much detail or get into the minutia.
  • Lack confidence and courage.
  • Give the impression you don’t have relationship capital or a sphere of influence.
  • Fail to recognize them for their achievements.
  • Be low energy or not engaging.
  • Lack the ability to motivate and inspire.
  • Come across as cheap or lacking generosity.

 

 

NURTURING — ‘Recycle the Box’

These are the caregivers. Nurturing personalities focus on relationships, authenticity, and personal growth. To relate to a nurturing personality, you need to demonstrate your good intent. They’re able to sniff out dishonesty and greedy sales pitches.

 

Typical NURTURING Behaviours

  • They dislike inauthentic or fake people.
  • They enjoy training, motivating, and coaching others.
  • They need interaction with people, groups, and teams.
  • They seek deeper meaning beyond material possessions.
  • They show appreciation easily and in many ways.
  • They avoid conflict, contention, and excessive competition.
  • They’re genuine, kind, and thoughtful.
  • They’re on a quest for self-actualization and want others to do the same.
  • They believe in the greater good of people.
  • They support and empower others to be their best.
  • They’re empathetic and intuitively understand the needs of others.
  • They’re here to positively impact other human beings.

What to do when meeting or working with a NURTURING

  • Give them a warm personal touch or energy.
  • Connect with them over a common background, shared interest, or mutual experience.
  • Go above and beyond to show thoughtfulness and gratitude.
  • Show you’re purpose-driven, not money-driven.
  • Provide opportunities for charitable causes.
  • Show you’re passionate about the things that are important to them (if you are of course—be genuine, they can sniff out disingenuity!)
  • Create a sense of community so they can feel connected.
  • Try to understand them as a person.
  • Introduce them to others on your team so they feel a sense of belonging.
  • Ask them questions about their personal story (e.g., family, vocation, hobbies).
  • Be friendly and approachable.

Deal-breakers for a NURTURING. Don’t do this!

  • Show that you care more about the money or making the sale than about them personally.
  • Be rude or obnoxious.
  • Be egocentric or lack humility.
  • Come across as inauthentic.
  • Forget important personal details (birthday, anniversary, etc.)
  • Fail to demonstrate high integrity or moral standards.
  • Show you don’t care about others or a sense of higher purpose.

 

 

KNOWLEDGE—’Engineer the Box’

Knowledge-focused personalities find passion in intellectual substance, in the mastery of their craft, comprehending the big picture, and in perceiving the rationality behind statements. For these personalities, you need to lace your sales pitches with analysis and facts. They need to know your claims are credible before making the decision to purchase.

 

Typical KNOWLEDGE Behaviours

  • They trust research, facts, analysis, logic, and reason above all.
  • They’re precise in their speech and they notice contradictions.
  • They have a need for data and meaningful interpretation of it.
  • They don’t like to make a decision quickly, they need to do their own research in their own time before deciding.
  • They easily learn abstract ideas and can process several issues at the same time.
  • They dislike rote learning without understanding.
  • They resolve conflict logically and rationally, without emotion.
  • They use diagrams and models to communicate concepts.
  • They can easily recognize truths and untruths.
  • They dislike chitchat and instead seek conversations with substance.

What to do when meeting or working with a KNOWLEDGE

  • Display a deep understanding of your subject matter.
  • Be prepared with supporting information to back up your claims.
  • Give them enough information to make well-informed decisions.
  • Approach everything logically.
  • Offer a new perspective.
  • Be an expert in your field and show that you master your craft.
  • Provide accurate facts and figures.
  • Demonstrate a deep respect for wisdom and life experiences.
  • Come across as smart speak intelligently.

Deal-breakers for a KNOWLEDGE. Don’t do this!

  • Come across as ignorant, arrogant, or unintelligent.
  • Have no data, bad data, or made-up data.
  • Attempt to placate a situation and not deal with reality.
  • Underestimate or insult their intelligence.
  • Disregard their opinion or thought processes.
  • Show that you lack experience or expertise on the subject matter.
  • Be defensive or debate based on emotion.
  • Not giving them time to process information or do their own research.
  • Nonsensical small talk or conversations that lack direction or purpose.

 

When you’re armed with your customer’s code before engaging with them, you’ll find that your sales or work conversations proceed so much more smoothly!

To inquire about access to the B.A.N.K. artificial intelligence so you can crack your customer’s codes, reach out to me direcly at [email protected].

And to crack your own code, go to this link.

I hope you found this helpful! If you’d more information, please reach out.

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, PhD
Inspired Business
Business & marketing coach for small business owners
[email protected]
katedejong.com
0424 176 658

 

 

 

The Powerful Lesson I Learned from Losing One of my Best Deals Ever

The Powerful Lesson I Learned from Losing One of my Best Deals Ever

“We can either be pushed by pain or pulled by pleasure”
—unknown.

 

I heard this quote a long time ago and it’s always stuck with me because it couldn’t be more true in my experience. Like all of us, my biggest learnings and growth have been born out of loss and struggle. 

One of these painful incidents occurred in recent years in business when a prospect came my way who felt like a perfect fit. I was so excited about the idea of working with this particular client because I loved what they were doing and what they were about. I could see the potential of what we could achieve if we worked together. Her work was in alignment with my values and my experience. I knew I could add value to her growing business.

 

Except it appears I read her completely incorrectly.

 

I had made certain assumptions about her and her values that I wasn’t consciously aware of at the time. She seemed so much like me and so I spoke and wrote in a way that was in alignment with my priorities and values. In our discussions and in my proposal, I focused on outcomes and qualities that are important to me (and I assumed to her too). But as it turns out, they weren’t as important to her. And she chose to work with someone else.

I was devastated.

 

It took me completely by surprise because it wasn’t the outcome I was expecting at all. I couldn’t understand what had gone so wrong. It confused me for the longest time.

It wasn’t until very recently during my certification process for the B.A.N.K. Personality Coding Methodology that I finally understood what went wrong with this particular client. As I worked through the learning for each personality type, it suddenly dawned on me that even though this client had seemed so similar to me, her underlying values system was quite different from mine. I’ve been able to figure this out thanks to the incredible artificial intelligence (AI) that is a part of the B.A.N.K. system.

 

The B.A.N.K artificial intelligence can decode a person’s social profiles, website, and other written material to tell you what their personality code is—which means you can then speak and write to them according to their internal values system.

 

 

Each one of us has a ‘B.A.N.K. code’ which is the order of the different values systems that are most important to us. There are 24 different B.A.N.K. codes possible from four different primary value sets (shown below). You discover your B.A.N.K. code (as a preliminary assessment) by ordering the cards below in order of their importance to you. 

 

 

You see, I had assumed that this prospect was like me. As someone who leads with the ‘Nurturer’ type (my personality code is NKAB), I love to do business with people who:

  • Are authentic, transparent, and genuine (N).
  • Show me they are not driven by money (N).
  • Connect me with their community, team or tribe (N).
  • They’re purpose-driven and passionate about their cause—and mine (N).
  • They’re warm, friendly and sincere (N).
  • They’re smart and know their information (K).
  • They can provide me with the intellectual substance behind their approach (K).
  • Their knowledge or system is current and state-of-the-art (K).
  • They have a sense or urgency and don’t waste time on insignificant details (A).
  • They get straight to the point (A).

But based on my research since, I now understand that my prospect’s values were more in order of the list below (AKNB)—with A as her highest value by far. She predominantly wanted to do business with someone who:

  • Focuses on the fun, sizzle, lifestyle, and the dream (A).
  • Displays excitement and enthusiasm (A).
  • Can introduce her to other successful, powerful influencers (A).
  • Is charismatic, cool and dressed to impress (A).
  • Loves to make money, and lots of it (A).
  • Has a sense of urgency and remembers that time is money (A).

Had I known this at the time, I would have conducted my communications with her completely differently!

 

I could have spoken directly to her cherished values and priorities in order to build her trust and confidence in me. I could have focused my proposal directly on the things that are important to her and then worked with her in a way that met her needs and values. If only I’d known then what they were!

But as always, hindsight is a wonderful thing. And this situation taught me a very powerful lesson in what NOT to do when it comes to pitching your services to someone.

Selling and succeeding in business is all about building quick, natural rapport with your prospect and developing trust and confidence in you as the provider by speaking their language.

 

 The B.A.N.K system teaches you exactly how to first understand and then speak the language that is going to resonate with your prospect’s value system. 

 

And the best thing is, you can ask your prospects to crack their own code before you speak to them using the BANKPASS. That way you know exactly how to relate and speak to them in a way that resonates with their core values from the get-go.

This has been a complete game-changer for me in my business.

Want to know what your B.A.N.K personality code is?

Go here to find out now.

 

Has this article been helpful? Drop me a comment if it has! I love hearing from you.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, PhD
Inspired Business
Business & marketing coach for small business owners
[email protected]
katedejong.com
0424 176 658

How Does an Engineer End Up Becoming a Business Coach?

How Does an Engineer End Up Becoming a Business Coach?

If anyone had told me back in my early twenties that I would end up quitting my engineering career in my thirties to become a business coach, I would have told them they were crazy.

 

Stepping away from my fifteen-year-long career as a consulting engineer in my mid-thirties was one of the hardest things I’ve done. No one around me could understand it. I couldn’t understand it either—I just knew I had to.

“But you’re such a good engineer!” people used to say.

“You’ve built such a successful career!” others said.

It didn’t seem to make sense.

I’d been so passionate about my career path and I poured my heart and soul into it. Starting out with a Bachelor of Science (majoring in Biotechnology), I then went on to complete an Honours Degree and eventually a PhD in Process Engineering. For nearly ten years, I worked as an engineering consultant in Australia and overseas, helping water utilities to optimise and upgrade their large-scale wastewater treatment facilities. I was passionate about protecting the environment. I wanted to make a difference. My work felt noble, satisfying, and fulfilling.

 

Except on the inside, things were unraveling.

 

What started out as unshakable tiredness eventually turned into what could only be labeled by doctors as chronic fatigue. It was a ‘mystery illness’. I woke up feeling exhausted and unwell every day. Nothing seemed to ease the extreme fatigue and brain fog that pervaded every waking moment.

For nearly ten years, my body was giving me all the signs that I was on the wrong path. I was constantly unwell, whether it be a lingering cold or flu, a gut problem, tonsillitis or hyperactive thyroid. I felt constantly unwell and miserable. 

Still, I kept pushing through. I put on a brave face. I’d learned to wear a happy mask to hide what was going on underneath. My suffering was my secret. “I’m great!” was my standard response if anyone asked. No one knew of the hell I was living.

 

I struggled on until I was brought to my knees in 2010. 

I was forced to reassess everything.

 

In the aftermath of my life crisis (which I write all about in my bestselling memoir Seeds of a Calling), I finally realised that my career was draining the life force out of me and it needed to stop.

Making the decision to quit engineering was massive and it wasn’t a decision I made lightly. But I knew it was what I needed to do.

As soon as I mustered the courage to quit, my health started to improve. It was miraculous. It was like a ten-tonne weight had lifted from my shoulders and my energy and health started returning with ever-increasing speed.

I spent half a year reflecting, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I started my own coaching business in 2013, and I haven’t looked back.

 

For me, entrepreneurship has been the path to freedom, happiness, and fulfillment.

And now I help others who want forge their own way.


But still, I couldn’t figure out why it had all turned out the way it did. And to be honest, it’s puzzled me ever since.

How could I feel so passionate about my career and yet get so unwell from it?

How did I get my career choice so wrong?

What went wrong?

 

I’ve had an epiphany in recent weeks.

 

Despite all the personal growth work I’ve done over the years, I’m always learning new things about myself.

I’m currently doing my certification in the B.A.N.K. Coding Methodology—a personality typing system that predicts our decision-making behaviour based on our deeply held values. Each one of us has a ‘B.A.N.K. code’ which is the order of the different values systems that are most important to us. There are 24 different B.A.N.K. codes possible from four different value sets (shown below). You discover your B.A.N.K. code (as a preliminary assessment) by ordering the cards below in order of their importance to you. 

I’d done all the personality typing systems before—Myers Briggs, DISC, the Enneagram, True Colours, LSI etc.

But when my wonderful and talented friend and colleague Christine Thorpe introduced me to B.A.N.K., I knew it was powerful because it’s values-based personality science. It helps you understand what’s driving your decisions and behaviour. 

My B.A.N.K. code is NKAB: Nurturing (22), Knowledge (22), Action (20), Blueprint (14). 

What’s yours? Go here to find out.

Just this week, two things have dawned on me:

  • Why I was drawn to science and engineering in the first place.
  • Why I struggled so much in my career as an engineer.

 

Suddenly it all made sense. 

 

I’d been drawn to science and engineering because KNOWLEDGE is my equal highest value: I value lifelong learning, science, universal truths, expertise, competence, accuracy, the big picture, technology, and research and development.

But my other highest value is NURTURING which is all about people, relationships, personal growth, teamwork and service. I wasn’t able to fully express my ‘nurturing’ values in my engineering career in a way that felt satisfying.

I’m also very high in ACTION, meaning that I need a lot of variety, flexibility, freedom and spontaneity in my work. My work as an engineer didn’t tick all those boxes.

Plus, engineering requires a dominance of BLUEPRINT qualities: Structure, systems, planning, processes, predictability, stability. Blueprint is not my happy space; it’s by far my lowest value set. And yet it was a critical part of my role as an engineer. I wasn’t operating in my zone of natural genius. 

 

I struggled as an engineer because I was out of alignment with my core, intrinsic values.

 

And I’ve only just realised this now, in my late forties. 

How many other people are struggling in their careers because they’re out of alignment with their core values?

How many other people are struggling with health issues because they’re out of alignment with their values?

BANK has been such a powerful tool to help me understand what makes me tick.

My current role as a coach is in full alignment with my intrinsic values (NKAB) which is why I now love my work. I haven’t had a single significant health issue since realigning my professional work with my natural values.

 

I’m now living and working full-time in my zone of genius. And it feels great. Are you?

I’d love to know. You can crack your own BANK code now by going to this link. I’d love to hear how you go!

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, PhD
Inspired Business
Business & marketing coach for small business owners
[email protected]
katedejong.com
0424 176 658

 

How to Grow Your Business and Profits With a Scalable Business Model

How to Grow Your Business and Profits With a Scalable Business Model

As those of you who have built your own business know, the first giant challenge when starting out is to beat the statistics and establish yourself as a stable, profitable business in the first one to three years. 

 

It takes enormous grit, perseverance, and smarts to get through what I refer to as ‘the valley of death’ where 85% of all small businesses fail, between the verify and break-even phase (see below).

 

When you finally get into a phase of sustainable profit, it’s time to celebrate! You’ve overcome the odds to survive the first three years—a huge milestone. 

But most business owners don’t even have time to celebrate when they finally reach stable profit because they’re too busy working themselves into the ground trying to keep all the balls in the air. I know that place well, I’ve been there myself too. It’s not fun at all. You feel like a slave to your business and you can only dream about taking a holiday. You can’t leave your business because it can’t run without you yet.

What to do?

Start working on your business, not in it.

 

The next big challenge after reaching the profit phase is to find a way to untangle yourself from your business so that it can run and scale without your continuous input. This doesn’t happen overnight and it takes careful strategic planning. 

The key to growing your business to the point where it can run without you is to do these four things well:

Implement Systems and Automation.
Systems and processes are critical, especially if you want to sell your business down the track. Systems result in efficiency, a critical element of a well-oiled business. Wherever you’re doing repetitive tasks, you’ll need to find a way to automate them. There are systems available these days—many of them free—that allow you to automate your workflows and reduce the time required to do your core business.

Outsource and/or Delegate.
It’s time to start building a team around you who can do the heavy lifting for you so you can focus on high-value activities like business development and serving your clients. Whether it’s taking on virtual assistants, a contractor, or a staff member, it’s important to start delegating in order to grow. Hire people who have strengths that you don’t have so that your team is well-rounded and effective.

Marketing Powerfully.
You need to get strategic with your marketing and invest in channels that deliver a high return on investment. Have a clear marketing plan with specific goals that will generate the revenue you need. Automate your lead generation to create consistent leads and clients.

Develop a CEO Mindset.
Every new level of your business requires a new you. Your mindset needs to grow and expand to allow your business to do the same.

 

 

 

How do you Scale Your Revenue?

Grow Your Revenue with a Scalable Business Model.

 

Once you’ve covered the four key areas above that allow you to work on your business (not in it) and you’re running as smoothly as possible, it’s time to celebrate again because now you can finally take a holiday! 

Hallelujah. 

You’ve earned it.

Now (if it feels right for you) it’s time to scale your business so you can increase your profits and enjoy financial freedom and the lifestyle you deserve, without working more. And who doesn’t want that?

But firstly, what’s a scalable business model?

The term ‘scalable’ means that your business has the potential to multiply its revenue with minimal incremental cost. It’s where you uncouple your revenue from your operating expenses in order to easily expand and grow your profits without requiring more of your time and resources.

 

Scaling a Product Business 

If you’re selling digital products, your growth is literally uncapped if you have the right systems and automation in place.

If you’re selling physical products, you can engage a third-party logistics provider to fulfill your online orders so you can scale in an unhindered way. 

But how would you scale a service business?

 

Tips for Scaling a Service-Based Business

The key for service-based business owners is to stop selling your time and start leveraging your time. This can be tricky since the original business was built very much on your expertise, your personality, and your vision for serving others. How do you duplicate yourself? How do you scale up what you do?

The answer is two-fold:
1. Stop trading dollars for hours and start selling a result.
People are willing to pay good money for a specific result. For example, if you’re a personal trainer, you could—aside from offering hourly sessions—also offer a package that delivers a specific outcome, perhaps like ‘Killer abs and booty in 60days’

2. Share your expertise in a one-to-many offering.
How could you develop a program or course that allows you to lead, teach and/or mentor a scalable group of clients?

In order to scale, you need to refine your service offering as well as your target customer. To figure out which of your services you should zero in on, step back and look at the problems you are solving. Look for the most difficult problem that generates the most value for the customer when it’s resolved.

 

Package your Service like a Product.

 

Products are offerings that solve specific problems. Take my Inspired Business Collective as an example. It’s an online mastermind group for business owners dedicated to growing their business with ease. After speaking to all my clients, it became apparent to me that they all needed three things to grow their businesses:

  1. Knowledge of how to grow and scale with ease.
  2. Build valuable relationships with other business owners.
  3. Accountability to achieve their goals.

So I structure the Inspired Business Collective to deliver those three things.

It’s a service that I offer, packaged as a product.

To offer your service as a product, you need these three things:

  1. A unique approach or process.
  2. Articulate the problem you’re solving for your clients.
  3. Articulate clearly the results your client will achieve (the benefits).

How could you package your service to deliver a scalable, one-to-many service? The difference is profound in how it frees your time and allows you to make an even bigger impact.

Look at the difference between the two images below. The first image shows how your calendar looks when you’re providing a 1:1 service only. In this case, the service provider is limited to 21 sessions per week. They’ve built free time in their schedule to work on their business, manage admin, and to recharge. As you know, it’s impossible to deliver a 1:1 service all day, every day, without burning out.

Now look at how your calendar looks when you’re delivering one high-value group program that gets amazing results for your clients. And the beauty of the group program is that, if designed right, it provides uncapped growth and revenue, all in the same amount of time input each week. How great is that?!

Do you need help to grow or scale your business with ease?

Our Inspired Business Collective mastermind group is dedicated to helping you grow your impact and profits, minus the struggle. Come on over and check it out now!

Have you downloaded your FREE copy of The Art of Business Building yet?

Discover the Essential Strategies to Market and Grow Your Business, the Easy Way!

Go here to download it now.

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, PhD
Inspired Business
Business & marketing coach for small business owners
[email protected]
katedejong.com
0424 176 658

Purpose is an Evolving Thing: It’s Time for a New and Exciting chapter.

Purpose is an Evolving Thing: It’s Time for a New and Exciting chapter.

If there's one thing that COVID has taught us, it's that the only thing we can be certain of is change. Things have been evolving in my world and I'm excited to announce the latest evolution in my purpose. Read on to learn more! #purpose #findyourpurpose #vision #mission #values #why #startwithwhy

 

 

purpose

[ˈpəːpəs]

NOUN

The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

 

 

As humans, we need purpose like we need oxygen. Purpose gives us energy, motivation and a reason to get out of bed each day. It puts the spring in our step and the inspiration (from the Latin words ‘in spirit’) in our lives.

There’s possibly no one who understands how critical purpose is to our survival than Viktor Frankl, the Jewish Austrian Psychiatrist, who spent three years in four different concentration camps during the Nazi reign. His wife was forced to terminate her pregnancy with his child at the onset of the Holocaust and she later perished in the Bergen Belsen concentration camp. He then lost his father to starvation and pneumonia and his mother and brother to the Auschwitz gas chambers. 

He literally had nothing left to live for. 

But Frankl knew he had to find a reason to live because he had observed around him daily that those who lost hope perished quickly. On the other hand, those who could hang onto a sense of purpose—like, believing that their loved ones could still be alive—managed to endure relentless hardship and torture to survive.

Being a well-known psychiatrist before the war, Frankl decided that his purpose would be to survive the camps so that he could write about the details of the horrors and suffering he endured as a prisoner in Nazi camps for future generations to witness. 

Despite horrendous starvation and hardship—and against all odds—he did survive. He lived to write his classic bestselling book ‘A Man’s Search for Meaning’ in just nine days in 1946, which went on to become an international bestseller. It’s still a number one bestseller to this day and has been translated into over thirty languages. His book is compulsory reading in many high schools and universities. Thought leaders like Simon Sinek have said his book is “essential reading for every human.”

Frankl famously wrote:

He who has a ‘why’ to live for, can bear almost any ‘how’.

It’s this sense of ‘why’—of meaning, purpose—that drives each and every one of us. Purpose is the rocket fuel for your motivation and zest for life. I know from personal experience how soul-destroying it feels to be out of alignment with your purpose. I wrote about my fifteen year journey of struggle in my bestselling book Seeds of a Calling, which describes my decade-long challenges with chronic fatigue, illness, devastating miscarriages and eventual breakdown. My knees hit the floor and I was forced to reassess my entire life and what I was doing to myself.

It wasn’t until I finally stopped and stepped out of the rat race and did the self-reflection that was required to reconnect to myself that I found my way forward.

 

 

What I discovered is that purpose is not a ‘thing’ you have to find. 

Purpose is a feeling that emerges when you’re working in your zone of genius (doing the things that come easily and naturally to you and they feel joyful—your gifts) AND you’re doing something that feels meaningful—work that’s in perfect alignment with your deeply held values. And in the process of doing so, you come alive.

Purpose makes you come alive.

Nothing describes this better, I believe, than the famous Howard Thurman quote:

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

—Howard Thurman, American civil rights leader, author, philosopher.

 

 

Intuitively, I feel that my purpose is to help heal and uplift humanity by supporting others to find what makes them come alive. Because that’s what makes me come alive.

The thing that makes you come alive can take on many different forms, and it changes and evolves with time. 

 

My first purpose evolution with my business Inspired Careers

When I branched out on my own in 2012, ‘my mess was my message’. What felt purposeful to me after quitting my professional career in consulting engineering was to help those who felt like I had —off-track, unfulfilled, depleted, drained, over-worked in their career—to find a professional path that lights them up. I started with the development of my signature program Pathfinding—How to Find Your Inspired Path & Purpose in 2014. 

Hundreds of people have now been through this program with amazing results and I still guide people through it now. The Pathfinding program works because it helps people to reconnect with themselves; to remember who they are underneath all the societal and parental conditioning. This is where they discover what makes them come alive.

 

My purpose evolution with Fempire

In 2017 I met Marnie LeFevre, the founder of Fempire. Marnie had been my business mentor who helped me to grow my Inspired Careers business. We realised that we worked well together and we had complementary skill sets. When she told me that she wanted to grow her business and asked if I would like to come on board as a contracted coach, helping her to teach her sales and marketing programs, I said—YES! It just felt right. It felt aligned with my purpose. It made me come alive.

And after a year of working together, Marnie announced that she was going to change the business model and launch her franchise called Fempire. I knew I wanted to be involved because it felt like the next evolution of our journey together. Our mission was to give women the tools, strategies and skills to make money and impact doing what makes them come alive, through the vehicle of entrepreneurship.

We launched Fempire in 2019 and in that time, we created programs and platforms and led hundreds of women through Fempire’s signature program called Fempreneur Online. I learned so much from Marnie over the years about selling, marketing and how to be a powerful business owner, for which I’ll be forever grateful. I worked with beautiful women from all walks of life and in different businesses. It was a privilege to serve so many inspiring women. 

COVID hit us hard, as it did to most businesses worldwide. We had to pivot quickly, innovate, upgrade our systems and processes and deliver results under extreme time pressure. And we did. I’m super proud of what we achieved together as a team during the years we spent together. We helped so many women to start and grow profitable businesses and we became resilient, smart business women in the process.

But if there’s anything we’ve learned through this whole COVID experience, it’s that we’ve entered a phase of accelerated change. The only thing we know for certain is:

Things don’t last forever and the only constant is change.

Fempire is now pivoting towards a “train the trainer” model, becoming a business that certifies women to become licensed business coaches. Their goal is “to make the business of business coaching easy”.

I love Marnie’s new vision which is “To have a massive positive impact on one billion women and inspire generational change worldwide.”

But intuitively I know that this is now the time for me to step away now and do my own thing.

It’s up to each of us to continuously listen in to our inner guidance. What’s calling you? What feels heavy? Exciting? Light and joyful? Make it your mission to follow the lightness and joy.

It’s time for a new chapter and new phase of purpose evolution for me.

How do you know when you're aligned with your purpose? In my experience, you know you're aligned when you feel light and joyful. You know you're off-track when things feel heavy and difficult for a prolonged period of time. I've been through a period of reassessing my business direction in recent months and I'm happy to announce that a new and exciting chapter is about to emerge. Read on to discover more. #purpose #findyourpurpose #vision #mission #values #why #startwithwhy #pivot #pirouette

My next phase of purpose evolution as an independent coach as Kate De Jong—Inspired Business.

What’s calling me in my heart right now is to scale back, simplify, and get into flow as an independent coach. I love the hands-on work of helping people to make an impact through their business with good business and marketing tactics and strategy. I want to help people (men and women) to become savvy business owners. Because I’m passionate about the impact that small business has on society. And that’s what I want to be doing right now.

And so over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be sharing with you the next phase of my purpose evolution, branching out on my own.

It feels exciting. It makes me feel alive. And I can’t wait to share the details with you soon.

Thank you for listening and for witnessing my journey.

In gratitude and appreciation

Kate De Jong | Inspired Business

[email protected]

https://katedejong.com (new website coming soon)

Change is a comin' ... it's time for the next chapter in the evolution of my purpose and how I can serve you. Read on to learn more! #purpose #findyourpurpose #vision #mission #values #why #startwithwhy #pivot #pirouette

Profit Queen (Part 1): 5 Powerful Ways to Optimise Your Business Model for Greater Profit

Profit Queen (Part 1): 5 Powerful Ways to Optimise Your Business Model for Greater Profit

Are you tired of being a slave to your business and want to break through into higher levels of revenue and freedom? It’s time to become a profit queen! Discover five ways that you can optimise your business model so you can finally create the business and lifestyle you deserve. #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategies #womensupportingwomen

 

Have you been in business for a while and you’re working your backside off, but you’re not making the money you deserve? 

 

Are you feeling like a slave to your business?

Are you still not able to take a good holiday away because your business can’t run without you?

If so, you’re not alone.

It’s common for first-time business owners to get stuck around the ‘breakthrough’ phase in the 6 stages of business growth (see the image below).

[mashtweet tweet=”Moving from breakthrough to profit and scale requires a whole new approach – and a whole new mindset.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Have you been stuck in the break-even phase for too long in your business and you finally want to break through to profit and growth? Read on to discover how! #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategies

 

This article is part one of a two-part series on how to grow and scale your business (you can access Part 2 here).

There are two areas you need to focus your attention on so you can finally create the freedom and revenue you desire.

 

You Have Two Leverage Points as a Business Owner:

 

1. Your Business Model.

Your business model is the process you apply to you generate your leads, convert them into repeat sales, and how you price your products or services to generate profit. It encompasses the whole ‘customer value journey’ that takes your customer on a journey with you to get maximum results and value, while simultaneously maximising their expenditure with you.

We’re covering your business model in this article.

 

2. Your Operating Model.

Your operating model is how you operate your business. If you’re doing everything yourself right not, you won’t be able to grow or expand and you’ll remain forever trapped in your business.

Many experienced entrepreneurs often say:

“If you can’t take a break away from your business, then you don’t have a business.”

In a serial entrepreneur’s eyes, a business is something that can be sold on for a profit and it can run completely independently of you.
Your operating model is the piece that will give you leverage, time, and freedom. Discover how in Part 2 (click here).

So to grow and scale your business, let’s first look at the five elements you need to optimise in your business model.

 

 

5 Ways You Need to Optimise Your Business Model: 

Lead Generation, Sales & Repeat Purchases.

 

The formula below defines your business growth potential (ref. Ryan Deiss, Digital Marketer, Houston, USA).

 

 

 

Each of the four different elements in the formula makes a big difference to your growth potential. And when you make a small change in each one of them, the compounding multiplying effect is significant.

So what are these elements and how do you go about optimising each one to maximise your growth potential?

 

1. Increase Your Leads

A lead is anyone who is actively interested in your product or service. How are you letting people know that you exist and how you solve their specific problems? How are you demonstrating your value so that people can become interested in your product or service? 

This is the realm of ‘lead generation’ and it’s all about moving prospects from the ‘awareness’ phase into the ‘consideration’ stage of the buyer’s journey

Methods to generate leads include ‘push’ marketing like social media marketing, advertising, content marketing, email marketing, and networking, just to name a few. And it also includes ‘pull’ marketing tactics like SEO (search engine optimisation).

To get more customers into your pipeline, you need to have strategic methods in place to generate leads. Which strategies can you implement or grow to add more leads into your pipeline?

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Ultimately all businesses who want to grow and scale need to have a ‘tap’ that they can turn on to generate new clients when needed. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

To develop a ‘tap’ of leads that you can turn on and off when needed, you’ll need to enter the world of advertising.
If you spend $1 on ads and you get $3 in return, then you’ll never have to worry about money again.

 

Advertising allows you to generate clients on demand. Without advertising, you have to rely on your organic marketing strategies and word of mouth referrals, which of course are very important for small business (85% of all small business transactions come through word of mouth referrals).

But if you want to grow and scale, you’ll need to develop a lead generation strategy that includes advertising.

I highly recommend that you learn how to set up a digital marketing campaign (Caffeinate Digital’s 90-Day Lead Generation program is fantastic), or work with a digital marketing agency to dip your toe into the world of Google and Facebook Ads so that you can start to experience the ease and flow that advertising can bring to your business!

 

Have you been stuck in the break-even phase for too long in your business and you finally want to break through to profit and growth? Read on to discover how! #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategies

 

2. Increase the Amount of Customers You Serve

The next element to increase your growth potential is the number of customers you bring into the business.

In order to generate customers from your leads, you need to get really good at conversion, i.e. turning your website visitors and prospects into paying clients. This requires that you master the art of selling, both through:
1. An optimised website, landing pages, and sales funnel, and;
2. Powerful sales conversations that close your prospects.

 

The ability to close deals and convert prospects into paying clients through compelling sales conversations is a real skill that you need to learn, develop, and practice continuously.

 

If this part makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone, but you must focus on becoming great at selling as quickly as possible!

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Selling is the piece that lets most female business owners down. Many women say they don’t want to come across as too pushy or aggressive. But selling doesn’t have to be about being pushy or aggressive. You can be completely authentic and gentle and still close your ideal clients into your programs.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend that you attend an intense sales training course. I did this a while back and my conversion rate went up from around 10-20% to more than 50% conversion. With a few solid strategies, you can learn how to become much better at converting leads into clients. 

If you do nothing else, just focus on learning to close clients through powerful sales conversations and your growth potential will increase dramatically.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”An increase in your conversion rate has a significant impact on your business growth potential.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Now that you’re able to convert more leads into customers, the next thing to maximise is the profit margin on your products or services.

 

3. Increase Your Profit Margin

This is all about your pricing strategy. Your profit margin is the difference between your selling price and your cost for delivering that product or service. 

For example, if you run workshops at $100 per ticket and you have 10 clients per workshop, then you generate $1000 revenue. But if your cost of venue hire and catering combined is $600, then your profit margin is only $400 per workshop. To increase your margin, you’ll need to either increase your price per ticket or find ways to reduce your venue and catering expenses.

What can you do to increase the profit margin on your products or services to increase your business growth potential?

 

4. Frequency of Purchase

The final element in your growth potential formula is the frequency in which you bring customers into your business. If you run webinars once every three months to generate leads and clients, then can you find ways to start doing that every two months instead? 

The more frequently you’re generating leads and clients, the greater your business growth potential.

What can you do to start increasing the frequency of purchase?

 

5. Map Out Your Customer Buying Journey

 

[mashtweet tweet=”If you want to grow and scale, you need to mindfully map out your customer buying journey because this is how you give maximum value to your customers while maximising their expenditure with your business.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Here are the typical steps involved in the customer journey.

  1. BECOMING AWARE 
    How will you make prospects aware that they have a problem you can solve? At this stage they’re often unaware that they have a problem. Methods I recommend to build awareness are content marketing, free videos, networking, podcasting, SEO, and advertising, for example.
  2. LEARNING
    How will you educate your prospects about their problems and the different ways they can solve them? How will you catch your prospect’s attention and invite them into the journey with you? Great methods are social media posts, live videos, free masterclasses, content marketing, blogging, podcasting and YouTube videos, for example.
  3. CONSIDERING
    How will you get prospects to engage with you and your brand? The best way to do this is via a compelling lead magnet. A lead magnet is a digital asset of high value, that solves a specific pain point for your clients, that you provide for FREE in exchange for a customer’s contact details (usually name and email address). It’s used to build your marketing email list and to generates sales leads.
  4. ENGAGED
    Your prospect has now decided to engage with your brand by downloading something you’ve offered for free. Now it’s your job to ‘nurture’ them into a paying client. You do this by continuing to build trust and confidence in your brand by sharing your expertise and solving their problems for free. The easiest and most effective way to do this is with an automated email nurture sequence via your CRM (email database). Include videos in your emails if you can, they’re very effective at connecting people to your brand. Your prospects will be so impressed by your free content that they’ll now have the confidence to BUY something from you. At this point, they become a paying customer.
  5. CONSUMING
    Your prospect has now decided to dip their toe in the water with you by purchasing something that you’re offering. At this point, they’ve entered into your ‘service ladder’ where they’ll work their way through the different services you have to solve their challenges.
  6. REFERRING
    Your job is obviously to serve and delight your customer so that the become a brand advocate and start spreading the good word about your business. You’ll need to offer something to keep your brand advocates engaged with your brand, perhaps through an ongoing membership or affiliate arrangement.

 

An example of a Service Ladder, leading customers from one service to another to gradually solve their challenges.

 

 

How will you lead your customers through the entire buying journey with you?

Get crystal clear on your specific customer buyer’s journey and put a strategy in place – including retargeting – in order to maximise your business growth potential.

The implementation of marketing strategies to nurture your buyers along the customer journey will bring far greater levels of revenue into your business – which is awesome. Need help with your marketing plan to generate more revenue? Reach out for a FREE discovery call to see how I can help you today!

So in this article, we’ve looked at Part 1 – Optimise Your Business Model. Head on over to Part 2 to find out how you can optimise your Operating Model to achieve huge profit and growth!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like…

How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read

How To Boost Your Revenue Quickly With Google Reviews

How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
https://katedejong.com
[email protected]

What’s in a name? 10 Tips for Finding Your Perfect Business Name

What’s in a name? 10 Tips for Finding Your Perfect Business Name

What's in a name? Well it turns out - a lot! Your business name can make or break all your business-building efforts. In my blog this week, I'm sharing all the things that matter when it comes to deciding on a name for your business. Are you starting your business or rebranding? If so, this article is for you! #businessname #smallbusiness #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #womensupportingwomen #smallbusinesscoach #startup #businessstartup #startabusiness

 

It can be super challenging choosing a business name that clearly reflects your business vision and essence – and that someone else isn’t already using!

 

As I’m sure you’re aware, every country has a business name register. You’re only allowed to register a name that isn’t already in use by someone else, which narrows the options considerably in many cases.

But how do you create a business name that ticks all the boxes? And what makes a great business name?

A great business name is:

  • Clear.
  • Compelling.
  • Memorable.
  • It speaks for itself.
  • It makes sense to your target market.
  • Search-friendly.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”A great business name is clear, compelling, memorable, it speaks for itself, it makes sense, and it’s search-friendly.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

If you’re struggling to find a business name you love, I sincerely hope my top ten tips below help you! They’re designed to help you create a business name that you and your customers love.

 

10 Tips for Finding Your Perfect Business Name

 

 

1. Decide Whether you’ll be a Personal Brand or a Business Brand.

A personal brand is where your business is named after you. For example, I’m a personal brand, being Kate De Jong – Fempire Coach Pty Ltd. A business brand, on the other hand, is where your business name is not related to you in any way. For example, Fempire is a business brand. The coaches operate as personal brands within the overarching Fempire franchise. 

Whether to personal brand or not is a whole topic unto itself that we cover in other articles and resources. However, here are some quick pointers to figure out whether you should be a personal brand or a business name:

  • Use a personal brand if your customers are buying you (e.g. you’re a coach or a sole trading service provider of any kind).
  • Use a personal brand if you are the face of the business.
  • If you plan on building a larger business with staff and contractors, then it’s probably best to use a business brand name.
  • Use a business brand name if you intend to sell your business to someone else when you retire or move on.

 

2. Make Your Business Name Clear. 

Ideally, your business name should communicate immediately to your audience what your business is about. If you’re a personal brand and you’re using your name, be sure to include some clarifying words in your name. For example: Rhiannon Blackaby |The Wholesome Health Coach. It’s clear that she’s a personal brand and she’s a health coach. Try to get the balance right: Be descriptive and concise and not too general or vague. Anyone should be able to understand what your business is about from your name.

One of the hardest things when starting or rebranding your business can be choosing a great name! It's not always an easy process and in this week's blog, I'm providing you my top 10 tips for creating a compelling name that you and your customers love. #businessname #smallbusiness #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #womensupportingwomen #smallbusinesscoach #startup #businessstartup #startabusiness

 

3. Keep Your Business Name Simple and Positive.

Choose a name that’s as short as possible and simple. Your business name needs to be appealing to your customers, being easy to pronounce and remember. If people trip over your name, they won’t be able to easily tell others about you and they might not remember it themselves! Also, ideally, your name should sound pleasant, familiar and conjure up positive emotions. 

 

4. Try Using Related Words in a Creative Way.

You can try using a play on words of related keywords, provided it expresses what your business is about. A good way to create catchy, memorable business names is to use alternate versions of common words related to the service you’re offering.

Clever examples are: Canva (short for design canvas), Flickr (the flicker of a camera flash) and Compaq (compact). I’ve been working with a client recently who came up with a great name for her new pet food e-commerce chain – Bowlsome. It’s wholesome food in a bowl – very clever!

 

5. Be Original (Don’t Copy Your Competitors).

Avoid choosing a name too similar to other businesses in your industry. Appearing to be unoriginal (or a copycat) is not good for your brand image. It can also mean potential customers confuse your business with your competition, making it more difficult to get work.

 

6. Choose a Name That’s Scalable and Future-Proof.

Pick a name that can expand your business. For example, if you sell just books, you might one day sell stationery products or accessories too, so choose a name that can accommodate that expansion. Also, if your service is based in a certain area, you might extend to other cities. So, select a broad name that can encompass your future growth.

 

7. Make Sure Your Name is Available and You Have a Related Domain.

Once you’ve narrowed down your name options, you have to make sure the name you want to use is available. Check if the name is already registered as a trademark or acquired by another business. You can check the availability of your business name in Australia using this link. If someone’s already using the name you had in mind, you’ll need to find a different business name.

 

Are you struggling to find a great name for your business that A. You love, B. Isn't already taken already and 3. Accurately captures the essence of your business? If that's you, read on to discover my top 10 tips for creating a business name that rocks! #businessname #smallbusiness #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #womensupportingwomen #smallbusinesscoach #startup #businessstartup #startabusiness8. Try to Avoid Using Acronyms.

Many big companies use acronyms of their name, like IBM and KFC. But at the start of your business, when your goal is to establish your brand, acronyms will only confuse your potential customers. Also, there’s a great possibility that your business acronym will match with someone else, making it very difficult for you to rank in search engines. I personally find it really hard to remember names of small businesses who use an acronym as their business name.

 

9. Make it Search-Friendly.

As you know, search engines are always trying to match customer searches with businesses using relevant keywords. Sometimes a simple business name that says exactly what you are works best. For example, the name ‘Perth Business Network’ works great for business owners looking for business networking groups in Perth. Nicholl Plumbing is a plumbing business run by the Nicholl family. Anyone searching for them will easily be able to find them. Sometimes saying exactly what you are is the most powerful approach!

 

10. Final Advice.

Choosing a name can be challenging when you’re setting out to start a business, but not something to agonise over! Get opinions and ideas from friends, other business owners, family or even potential customers. It’s always a good idea to get a few different points of view.

If you find a business name you love and it’s available, the next step might be to trademark it to prevent others from using it.

You’ll also need to secure the domain name for your website. You can make sure your desired domain is available by doing a domain name check. If someone’s already using it, you shouldn’t necessarily abandon a good business name just because an exact domain is not available. Here are a couple of things that you can do instead:

  • If it’s a parked domain, consider buying it. It’s probably going to cost you, but a search-friendly, memorable domain is worth it.
  • Add modifiers to the name. Say your company name is Sleepytime and you sell pyjamas, but sleepytime.com is already taken. Then you can look for domain names like sleepytimeonline.com or sleepytimepyjamas.com.
  • Be creative with domain selection. Nowadays, businesses use different top-level domains to make their URLs more memorable. For example, the blogging platform Postachio chose postach.io as their domain. Another well-known example is del.icio.us.

 

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful business and discover everything I wish I’d known back when I was starting my business!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear so You Never Lose a Customer Again

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers.

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level.

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 2): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level.

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know.

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
+61 424 176 658
www.katedejong.com

How to Get Great Testimonials from Happy Clients with These 10 Powerful Questions

How to Get Great Testimonials from Happy Clients with These 10 Powerful Questions

Have you noticed how hard it can be to get reviews from happy customers? There’s something challenging about having to make the time to sit down and think about writing a coherent review for someone. We wonder, what should I write? How do I write it? And because it doesn’t come easily, we procrastinate on it. However there's an easier way to get great client reviews! Read on to discover a simple hack that I've created to make the process of reviews easy and effortless for your clients so you can accumulate even more five start reviews! #testimonials #fivestarreview #5starreview #businesscoachforwomen #businesscoaching #smallbusiness #smallbusinesssgrowth #marketing #fempire #fempirecoach #marketresearch #clientfeedback

 

Great client testimonials are an essential part of business.

 

Testimonials (or reviews) provide the social proof that gives new customers the confidence to buy from you.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Businesses with the best and most reviews usually win the sale!” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

But have you noticed how hard it can be to get reviews from clients? There’s something challenging about having to make the time to sit down and think about writing a coherent review for someone. We wonder, what should I write? How do I write it? And because it doesn’t come easily, we procrastinate on it. 

And I have to admit, I’m often guilty of procrastinating about writing reviews for people too. When we’re busy, it just keeps falling off the critical to-do list. It can take me weeks, sometimes months to finally get around to writing a review for someone, even when I’ve loved their service!

Surveys – on the other hand – seem to be less problematic, especially when we’re told it will take less than three minutes of our time. When you’re asked a specific, direct question, it’s not hard to write down some short thoughts on the topic.   

Over the years, I’ve found that the easiest and fastest way to get great testimonials from clients is to get them to complete a short (less than three minute) survey in which you ask great questions.  

[mashtweet tweet=”Over the years, I’ve found that the easiest and fastest way to get great testimonials from clients is to get them to complete a short (less than three minute) survey in which you ask great questions.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

You then use their answers to compile a testimonial. Once you’ve created the testimonial from their answers, you send it to them and ask if they’re happy for you to use what they’ve written as a testimonial on your website and other marketing materials (in the eight years I’ve been doing this I’ve never had anyone say no!).

 

Also ask them if they could take a moment to copy and paste it to your Google Reviews, Facebook Reviews and anywhere else you’re collecting reviews. People don’t mind copying and pasting because it’s easy – there’s no brain power required!

Here’s the process in a nutshell.

How to easily get great testimonials from easy clients.

  1. Create a short survey (10 questions) requesting specific feedback. I’ve provided the questions we’ve been using for years now below (my favourite free app for creating surveys is Typeform).
  2. Take what they’ve written and turn it into a paragraph that serves as a testimonial.
  3. Send it to them and ask if they’re happy for you to use it on your website and other marketing materials.
  4. Ask them if they can copy and past it onto your Google and Facebook reviews (and anywhere else you’re collecting reviews).

Great client testimonials are an essential part of business. Testimonials (or reviews) provide the social proof that gives new customers the confidence to buy from you. Businesses with the best and most reviews usually win the sale! Read on to discover a simple process to easily and effortlessly get great reviews from your happy clients. #testimonials #fivestarreview #5starreview #businesscoachforwomen #businesscoaching #smallbusiness #smallbusinesssgrowth #marketing #fempire #fempirecoach #marketresearch #clientfeedback

 

However, it’s important to note that not all questions are equal!

 

The quality of the answers you receive will depend on how you ask the question. 

The question you ask should prompt a specific or detailed response that you can use as a testimonial. If you ask them yes/no (closed) questions, you won’t get anything useful from your client.

Below are the 10 questions that I’ve used consistently over the past eight-plus years to build up my reviews and testimonials. Please feel free to use them yourself and let me know how you go!

The great thing about these questions is that they will actually provide you with very helpful, insightly feedback about your product or service that will allow you to continuously fine-tune and improve – which is what we should all be doing in business!

You can also use these questions to conduct market research, so that you understand how your product or service is being perceived by your customers.

 

These are the three powerful things you can do with these questions:

  1. Get great client testimonials.
  2. Get great market research data.
  3. Get important, constructive feedback about your product or service so you can continuously improve.

 

Keep reading to discover my 10 powerful questions!

Have you struggled to get reviews from your happy clients? Have you sent them a link to write you a review on Google or Facebook, but they take forever to get back to you, or just never do it? There's an easier way! Check out my latest blog to discover a simple hack to make the whole review process much easier. #testimonials #fivestarreview #5starreview #businesscoachforwomen #businesscoaching #smallbusiness #smallbusinesssgrowth #marketing #fempire #fempirecoach #marketresearch #clientfeedback

 

 

Our Top 10 Questions to Help You Get Great Client Testimonials

 

  1. On a scale of 1 – 10, with 10 being the highest, how would you rate your overall experience with [program / event / service / product]?

     

  2. How would you describe how you feel now after [finishing the program / attending the event / using the service / using the product], and how did you feel before [program / event / service / product]?

     

  3. The  promise of the [program / event / service / product] was to help you [ … ]. To what extent do you feel the [program / event / service / product] enabled you to achieve this?  (On a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the highest).

     

  4. The  [program / product] contained [ … ] different [modules / segments / areas / benefits] to help you [ … ]. Which was your favourite [module / segment / area / benefit] – and why?

     

  5. How satisfied were with with [program coordinator / event organiser / service provider / product provider]‘s level of expertise? (On a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the highest).

     

  6. Do you have any specific feedback on [program coordinator / event organiser / service provider / product provider]‘s style / method / techniques?

     

  7. Do you feel you received the right amount of value for the amount of money you paid?  If not, how much would you be willing to pay for this [program / event / service / product]?

     

  8. How likely are you to recommend this [program / event / service / product] to others? (On a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 being the highest).

     

  9. Do you have any suggestions for improvements to the [program / event / service / product]?

     

  10. hat was the thing you most enjoyed about this [program / event / service / product]? And least enjoyed?

 

I hope you get great results using these questions! If you do, please reach out and let me know! Send me a message to [email protected]. I love hearing from you!

 

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful business and discover everything I wish I’d known back when I was starting my business!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear so You Never Lose a Customer Again

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers.

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level.

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 2): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level.

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know.

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
+61 424 176 658
www.katedejong.com

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear with Productisation

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear with Productisation

When people visit your website, are they converting into paying clients? One of the biggest reasons why people don’t buy is because they’re confused, or there’s no clear path to a purchase. Discover how you can make your offerings crystal clear so that your offers convert! #marketing #conversion #sales #productisation #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneurYou might have heard the saying:

 

The confused person never buys.

 

When we’re confused, we don’t purchase. Simple as that.

I’m sure you’ve been there yourself many times. You see something you’re interested in online, so you click through. But then you end up confused about exactly what they’re offering, or maybe there are too many choices and you don’t know which one’s right for you, and because it’s all too hard and you’re busy, you bounce. You click away and get back to what you were doing.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”This happens so often and it’s one of the main reasons that advertisements or offers don’t convert: Your prospects are confused.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

So as a business owner, you need to do everything you can to make sure that your product and service offerings are clear and concise.

 

 

If you’re a service business, you’ll need to master the art of ‘productisation’, which means turning your services into clearly defined products. The official definition of productisation is:

 

Productisation = The process of developing services into standard, packaged, and marketed products.

(Reference: Investopedia).

 

One of the biggest reasons why people don’t buy is they’re confused! Either your offers aren’t clear of there are too many choices. Discover how you can use productisation to make sure you convert your prospects every time. #marketing #conversion #sales #productisation #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur

People like to buy service packages that are clearly defined, that have a beginning and an end, and that promise a significant transformation as a result.

Presenting your services in the form of ‘products’ allows your prospects to get an understanding of the range of services you offer and the results you achieve, so they can choose a package that suits their needs and budget.

Interestingly, research has shown that psychologically, people like to choose between THREE options. It gives them a sense of the full range of options available to them and they can choose the tier they want depending on where they’re at.

 

Don’t include more than three options in your productisation table! It’s too confusing and your customers are likely to remain indecisive.

 

If you run a product-based business, then simply use the process I describe below to present the most popular product packages your clients buy. 

 

 

Here are some rules to apply to your productisation:

  1. Develop three different service packages that represent different ways clients can work with you.
  2. Present your three service packages in a single table ranging from lowest price (left) to highest price (right).
  3. Use a catchy (emotional) name for each package that speaks to the transformation you deliver.
  4. List the features that are included along the left vertical column.
  5. Use ticks to show what’s included in each service package.
  6. Highlight your middle package as being the most popular (if in fact, it is!). If your products are priced and constructed the right way, most people will choose the middle tier.
  7. Show the investment at the bottom. Pricing should increase from left to right.

 

To help you develop your own productisation, here is Fempire’s table showing the productisation of our private coaching programs.

 

Fempire Private Coaching Productisation

 

 

The process of productisation is the easiest way to showcase your products or services in a way that is clear and concise, giving you the best chance of closing the sale.

How can you present your products or services in a table like the one shown so that you give your prospects the best chances of buying what they need?

I hope you found this helpful!

Please reach out at [email protected] if you need help figuring out your productisation process. I’d love to help! 

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful business and discover everything I wish I’d known back when I was starting my business!

 

 

Effective marketing always has two key ingredients: clarity and emotion. It’s so important that you present your offers in a crystal clear manner. Discover how you can use productisation to easily convert all your prospects with bulletproof clarity! #marketing #conversion #sales #productisation #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur

Did you like this article? You might also like:

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers.

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level.

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 2): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level.

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know.

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read.

 

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
+61 424 176 658
www.katedejong.com

Why You Need to be Spying on Your Competitors to Achieve Business Success!

Why You Need to be Spying on Your Competitors to Achieve Business Success!

Nine ways to analyze your competition and create even more business success for yourself #KateDeJong #KDJ #Fempire #analysis #market #research #brandIf you want to be a successful business owner, you need to be keeping a close eye on your competitors.

 

In marketing, the act of monitoring your competitors is referred to as Competitor Analysis or Competitor Intelligence. And even though you might protest and say that what you do is unique and special, which I’m quite sure it is, the simple fact is that there are other businesses out there delivering a similar outcome to you. And when people are shopping around for the best person to deliver that outcome, rest assured they’ll also be checking out your competitors and assessing all their options before deciding to buy. I’m sure you do your due diligence and shop around before you decide to purchase something, right?

Unless your business marketing and social presence is compelling and instils trust and confidence in your brand, it will be difficult to win business over your competitors.

But that’s not the only reason you should be spying on your competitors.

 

You should also be doing Competitor Analysis with the intention to find ways to improve your own business strategies, and to elevate your business above the rest.

Competitor Analysis can give you inspiration and ideas on how to do things better.

 

And don’t worry. By doing Competitor Analysis you’re not doing anything wrong. On the contrary! Competitor Analysis is an established requirement of all marketing teams in all businesses. It’s completely legal. It’s simply the act of collecting information that is already available in the public domain and using it to better understand your position in the market.

When I first engaged in Competitor Analysis (which I resisted for a long time), I found it strangely empowering and liberating. It helped me to understand how I’m the same, but also different to my competitors. It helped me clearly establish my USP – or Unique Selling Proposition – which made all my branding efforts much more powerful. Your USP is one of the most critical ingredients in your marketing strategy.

There are 9 steps we recommend you follow for a simple but powerful competitor analysis. There are all kinds of clever ways to get competitor information online (for example Spyfu, iSpionage, Fanpage Karma etc), but it’s not necessary for a robust competitor analysis. Keep it simple to start.

Follow the 9 steps below to spy on your competitors and set yourself up for maximum business success!

 

 

How to do a Simple but Effective Competitor Analysis

 

1. Stay Ahead of Industry Trends & Competitors with Google Alerts

Before we get into the nitty-gritty of competitor analysis, the first thing that every business owner needs to do to stay on top of industry trends and announcements is to sign up to Google Alerts. This is a free service offered by Google that notifies you of all publications across the web for keywords that you can specify. For example, if you’re a Life Coach, you could set up an Alert using the keyword ‘Life Coaching’. Then Google will send you a daily digest of everything that’s published each day that contains that search term.

This is a fantastic (and essential) way to learn what’s happening each day across your industry and to stay on top of what your competitors are doing. These Alerts can also provide great content for your curated posts on social media.

 

Nine ways to do the best research to analyze your competition. Position your business as the best in the market. #KateDeJong #KDJ #Fempire #market #research #business #success #entrepreneur

2. Make a List of Your Top 5 Competitors

Set yourself up with a spreadsheet or table with 7 columns: 1 column on the left for the headings outlined below, 1 column next to that entitled ‘Your Business’ and then 5 vertical columns labelled Competitor #1 through to Competitor #5 (you’ll have one vertical column per competitor).

Do a simple Google Search using your industry keywords to determine who else is delivering a similar service, in a similar way to you. For example, if you’re a Health Coach specialising in the Keto diet in Sydney, Australia, you might search for ‘ Keto Health Coach Sydney’. Write down all the names of other coaches who appear in the search results. If you’re in the online space then location is not as important. Simply search for keywords that are relevant to your perfect customer and service or product.

Try to imagine that you are your perfect customer and you’re trying to find the service you offer. Which search terms would you use?

Keep searching online until you find five competitors who you feel are most similar to you in terms of business size, service or product and the specific market they’re targeting. 

Before you proceed, make sure you have a table with five columns with five of your most relevant competitors at the top of each column.

 

3. Analyse Your Competitor’s Business Profile

Your first task is to try to understand a bit about your competitors’ businesses. In the left-hand side of your table, write down the following row headings:

  1. Business Overview: In this row, write down any general notes that you observe about their business. What’s their business name? What’s their brand promise?
  2. Year Established: See if you can find information in their About section on their website about how long they’ve been operating.
  3. Website URL: Write down their domain name (e.g. ketohealthcoach.com.au).
  4. Company Size: Can you find out how many staff or business partners they have, if any?

 

Nine-step guide to do market research on your competition to grown your own business. #KateDeJong #KDJ #Fempire #market #resarch #analysis #competitor #business #success4. Analyse Your Competitor’s Marketing Profile

Now try to find out everything you can about your competitors’ marketing strategy by looking carefully through their website, social media profiles, and publications they’ve produced.

You might even want to sign up for their newsletter or lead magnet if they’re offering one so that you get an insider’s perspective on what’s being offered. Don’t feel awkward, people join their competitors’ email lists all the time! It’s the best way to understand how your competitors are marketing themselves. You probably have several competitors on your email database too!

Try to write down detailed information about the following:

Target Market: Who do you think is this competitors’ perfect customer? Who are they targeting? Try to be very specific, including their gender, age, education, interests etc.

General Marketing Strategies: How are they marketing themselves? Do they run live events? Do they frequent trade shows? Do they offer free discovery sessions? Are they using Facebook Ads, and if so, what exactly are they pitching? What appears to be their main way of attracting clients?

 

5. Analyse Your Competitor’s Product & Service Profile

Now it’s time to analyse the different products and/or services your competitors offer. In your table, write down row headings as follows:

Products/Services: Describe their products and services. What types of programs do they offer 

Pricing: How much do they charge for their various products and services? This may require some digging around or joining their newsletters in order to get pricing information.

Gather as much intelligence as possible about their products and services and write it all down in your table.

 

6. Analyse Your Competitor’s Website Profile

I recommend doing ‘website walks’ through each of your competitors’ websites. This means taking some time to browse through all their different web pages to get a good understanding of their business. Make notes as you go. 

In your table, include the following headings:

Website Overview: Is it easy to navigate? Does it look good on mobile? Is it professional? Is their branding and messaging appealing and compelling? Would you buy from them?

Lead Generation: What do they offer on their home page? Do they offer something for free in exchange for your email address (i.e. a lead magnet)? Do they offer a free consultation to get you in the door? Or do they simply provide their phone number and tell you to ‘Book Now’? Are they offering a free challenge, webinar, or telesummit? Write it all down.

 

Why you should be researching what your competitors are doing and how to do it for your own business success. #KateDeJong #KDJ #Fempire #market #research #analyze #competition #business #success #entrepreneur7. Analyse Your Competitor’s Social Profile

Visit your competitors’ social media accounts. Write down the following headings in your table.

Social Media Overview: Which platforms are they present on? Do they get good engagement? Are they actively replying to comments? Which one appears to be their dominant platform?

Social Media Strategies: Try to figure out what social media strategies they’re using. How are they getting their followers to engage? Are they running different promotions? Do they send people to an opt-in page? Write down all the details.

Social Media Following: Make a row for each of the social media platforms and write down the number of followers they have across each one. Capture the number of followers they have on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, SnapChat and anywhere else they have a presence.

 

8. Rate Yourself Against Your Competitors

Now it’s time to use the information you’ve collected to rank yourself and each of your competitors relative to one another across the different categories. This allows you to assess how you currently stack up against your competitors.

In your table, give yourself and your competitors a score out of 10 for each of the following categories:

  • Branding
  • Messaging
  • Professionalism
  • Marketing Strategies
  • Quality
  • Website
  • Social Media presence
  • Pricing (overpriced/under-priced/average)

 

9. Determine Your Strengths & Weaknesses Relative to Your Competitors.

Now that you’ve spent some time researching your competitors, you should have a really clear idea of your strengths and weaknesses relative to your competitors. Your table of Competitor Intelligence gives you a clear understanding of your position in the market, as well as the threats and opportunities for your brand.

Focus on building on your strengths!

While it’s good to be aware of your weaknesses, be sure to continue building on those areas where you’re a step ahead of your competitors. This will continue to set you apart from the rest.

Can you see how powerful this research can be? You should now feel confident and strong in where you are as a brand and know which steps to take to continue to establish your unique position in the market.

 

We can’t overstate the importance of Competitor Analysis for you and your business.

If you take the time to do it well, you’re setting yourself up for success!

 

We wish you all the best on your business building journey.

 

Have you downloaded your FREE copy of THE FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK yet?

Learn the 6 stages of business growth and exactly what to focus your time and resources on in each phase so that you can fast-track your success and establish yourself as a thriving, profitable business as quickly as possible!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
katedejong.com
[email protected]

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set Your Business Up For Success

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set Your Business Up For Success

There's no silver bullet or magic pill that will miraculously generate business success for you overnight, but if you take the time to implement these 10 strategies and do them well, long-term business success is yours! #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen You have passion, a huge vision and a burning desire to get your work and message into the world through your business – but how do you navigate your way through the mountains of conflicting information out there?

How do you know which advice to follow, or what to focus on first?

 

 

Our mission at Fempire is to help you cut through all the noise and help you focus on what matters most when it comes to establishing yourself as a sustainable, profitable business.

Loyal customers and consistent revenue are a result of your ability to develop trust and confidence in your brand, which takes time to build. But if you commit to implementing the following ten elements, and keep plugging away at your business with focus, passion, and determination, business success will be yours!

Here are our recommendations for the 10 most critical elements you need to implement in order to provide a stable foundation for your business success.

 

The Top 10 Most Important Elements That Will Set Your Business up for Success.

 

#1. A Professional-Looking Brand.

Don’t cut corners when it comes to your brand image. Remember, first impressions count, and in business it’s all about developing trust and confidence in you and your brand. Take the time to find a good, professional designer to create your logo, your brand colour palette and your brand fonts, and stick to your brand style consistently. Invest in some high quality portrait photos and in-action photos of yourself that allow your personality and authentic essence to shine through.

It takes time to build brand awareness among your potential buyers, but it will be so much easier (and faster) if your brand looks credible and professional.

 

#2. A Professional Website.

There’s a lot of advice out there about how you can build a business without a website and do all your marketing and sales through your social media channels. But if you take this approach you’re limiting yourself. Consumers searching for business in search engines will never find you if you don’t have a website. And most people will want to check out your website before they do business with you because they’re trying to establish whether they can trust you.

Your website builds brand awareness, allows you to be discoverable in search engines, establishes your credibility, and allows you to stay connected with your potential buyers through contact forms, blog comments, and your email list. Also, a website gives you the ability to host your own blogs, videos or podcasts, which can get you upwards of 4.5 times more leads! In this day in age, a website is a ‘must’ for your long term business success.

Is your website a client-generating machine? Check out this article to make sure you’re doing all the right things: 10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website.

 

#3. Compelling Social Media Profiles.

In this modern age it’s essential that you have an online presence across multiple social media platforms. Your social media profiles display your credibility, expertise and authenticity. Choose at least two platforms that you will commit to and show up there consistently. You don’t have to be posting every day, but choose a consistency that you can commit to and maintain. Two times a week can be enough to get started. Consistency and transparency shows that you are reliable and professional.

[mashtweet tweet=”Find out which social platforms your target market are hanging out on and show up there consistently to build your brand awareness and win clients.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Not sure which social platforms you should be focusing your time on? Check out this article: Discover the Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business.

 

 

There's so much attention paid to social media posting to build your business, but have you made sure your SEO is optimised? This can make a huge difference to your bottom line! Read on to discover nine other must-have business tactics to succeed in business! #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #4. Make Your Business Find-able.

Take some time to research the important long-form and short-form search terms that people are searching for in your niche and use these search terms across your website so that Google and other search engines can find you.

Invest in your website SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) because you want to show up in search results when people are searching for services like yours. There’s a funny – but true! – saying:

Where’s the best place to hide a dead body? On page two of Google search results. – anonymous.

People won’t be able to find you without good SEO!

Also, use appropriate hashtags so that you can be found on platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. SEO is essential for gaining paying customers. I write all about the essential fundamentals of SEO in my articles How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot and 3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020.

 

 

#5. Show Ample Social Proof.

Social proof is validation of you and your brand by your clients, business partners or colleagues. It includes things like testimonials, reviews (Google, Facebook), brand associations, partnerships, accreditations, awards, featured articles, guest blogs and recommendations (Facebook, LinkedIn). 

Social proof proves your credibility and establishes trust and confidence in your buyers. You might have great marketing materials and strategies, but if you don’t show your potential customers evidence of where your service or product has worked for other people, they won’t be convinced. It’s essential that you find a way to show genuine, compelling social proof of your product or services.

Are you capturing and showcasing your five-star reviews?

 

#6. Offer Compelling and Valuable Lead Magnets to Build Your Email Database.

A lead magnet is something of high value that you offer for free via your website or social media, in exchange for someone’s contact details. It’s the most effective method to grow your email database with high quality, warm leads. Is email marketing dead? Absolutely not! It’s still one of the most effective forms of marketing and selling, especially if your audience has come to you via a strong lead magnet.

Your lead magnet might be an E-Book, a downloadable checklist or guide, a free video series, or a free training. Choose a lead magnet that allows you to showcase your expertise in your niche and allows people to experience you and your brand – for free. For examples, you can check out my lead magnet page here.

[mashtweet tweet=”Lead magnets grow your email database with potential buyers, which then allows you to nurture the relationship with them, build trust and confidence in your brand, and eventually offer your services to them so that they become paying clients. This is hands-down the most effective marketing strategy to build your business.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

#7. An E-mail Database Manager and Follow-Up Campaign.

Once you have a lead magnet that allows you to collect the contact details of your potential buyers, you’ll need a mechanism to store all those contacts somewhere and have a way to communicate with your leads regularly.  For that you’ll need an email database manager (or CRM – Customer Relationship Management) such as Hubspot, MailChimp, or AWeber (my favourite), or ConvertKit or InfusionSoft. For a great overview of how CRMs work and why you need one, check out this article What is a CRM by Christopher Sirk.

Did you know that on average, people require around 20 touch points with you and your brand before they’ll consider buying from you? This is why it’s so important that you begin a process of communication with your subscribers so they can get to know you and trust you. Implement a welcome campaign that includes around 2 – 5 welcome emails (spread out over 1 – 2 weeks) that provides your subscribers with information and valuable resources that showcase your expertise and establish you as an authority and leader. This will make them more likely to buy from you when you finally make your offers.

 

Delivering great products and services is an obvious 'must' in small business! Word of mouth referrals account for 85% of income for small businesses. Discover the nine other essential tactics that you need to implement to become a successful business owner. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen # 8. Offer and Deliver Great Services and Products.

This one goes without saying. In order to be successful in business, you obviously need to deliver services and products of a consistently high standard. Focus on delivering outstanding service and you will get great word of mouth referrals. Statistics show that 85% of small businesses get customers through word of mouth, which means you can spend less time and money on marketing and more time on doing what you do best – serving!

Find a way to package and price your services and products in a way that’s compelling and encourages repeat, long-term business with you. Develop an effective business funnel to move clients through the different offerings you have, along the Customer Value Journey. You can learn more about that here: How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey.

Try to move away from charging per session or a time-for-dollar model. It’s essential that you find ways to package and leverage your services so that you can serve more people more effectively.

 

# 9. Produce Great Content, Consistently.

‘Content’ is the term for any original material you produce to educate or connect with your audience. Content includes blog posts, video trainings, social media posts, podcasts, or downloadable workbooks and checklists to name a few. You need to create content to build your brand awareness, to generate and nurture leads, and ultimately to generate sales.

Content is Queen! Good content showcases your expertise, establishes you as an expert in your field, and builds that much-needed trust and confidence in you and your band. You’ll need to find a way to new, original create content regularly in order to establish yourself as a credible brand. To discover how, check out this article: The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients.

#10. Invest in Systems, Processes and People.

You won’t be able to do everything in your business if you want to do all of the above and focus on growing your business. You’ll need to invest in a good CRM that automatically captures and nurtures your new leads, and you’ll need to automate things such as your Customer Value Journey (automatically moving customers through your funnel), calendar bookings, your social media post scheduling and payment procedures so that clients can easily pay you.

 

It’s key that you learn to work on your business and not in your business in order to grow.

 

As you grow, find good people to outsource your time-consuming activities to so that you can focus on serving your clients and growing your business.

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Download your FREE copy of my FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK to fast-track your business success! This value-packed guide contains everything I wish I knew back when I was starting my own business in 2011. 
Click here to download it now.

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Top 10 Mindset Qualities You Need to Embrace to be Successful in Business.

5 Powerful Strategies that will Triple Your Income: A Case Study with Business Owner Revi Chai.

How to be a Mother and Successfully Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time.

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

How to do Set Powerful Goals that Drive True Business Growth

How to do Set Powerful Goals that Drive True Business Growth

We know from experience that the women who succeed in business are those who set aside time to strategically plan their business goals for the year ahead and translate their goals into actionable 90-day plans. If you have a bit of an aversion to setting business goals and prefer to just ‘go with the flow’ (and trust me, I get it!), just know this: Business planning more than doubles your growth potential. Read on to discover how to set powerful goals for next year that will drive true business growth. #goalsetting #businessplanning #annualplanning #goals #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #businesscoach

Energy flows where intention goes.

 

Business planning is one of the most powerful activities you can undertake in your business.

Do you feel resistance when it comes to goal setting? I know I have in the past. The whole process of setting goals can feel too masculine, pushy, or ‘corporate’.

 

But I’ve come to appreciate that goals are simply clear intentions for the things you want to create, experience and achieve in your business.

 

I’ve tried running my business both with and without clear goals, and I can safely say – hands down – that my business has thrived and grown so much more when I’ve started the year with clear intentions.

And over the many years of coaching women to start and grow their own businesses, I know this for sure:

The women who succeed in business are those who…

  • Set aside time to strategically plan their business goals for the year ahead. 
  • Set clear goals and intentions for their business. 
  • Get support from a business mentor to find the fastest and most effective path to achieve their growth goals. 
  • Translate their goals into actionable 90-day plans. 
  • Measure their progress and pivot where necessary to stay on track. 

 

Plus, stretch goals elevate you and inspire you, because research (like this) has shown that you feel happiest when you having something to work towards that allows you to grow, unleash your full creativity and potential, and contribute to something you care about (that’s larger than you). 

 

Business planning more than doubles your growth potential (Biz Trends, 2016). 

 

Business planning is one of the most powerful activities you can undertake in your business. At Fempire, we spend several days in October, November and December mapping out our annual goals and marketing strategy. It’s how we stay on top of our game and continue to grow, year after year. As the old cliché goes: Failing to plan is planning to fail. Read on to discover the 7 steps to setting powerful goals that drive true business growth. #goalsetting #businessplanning #annualplanning #goals #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #businesscoach

And as the old cliché goes: Failing to plan is planning to fail. 

 

Trying to run a business without having a clear vision of where you’re heading and what you need to do to get there is like flying blind. 

At Fempire, we spend several days in October, November and December mapping out our annual goals and marketing strategy. It’s how we stay on top of our game and continue to grow, year after year. 

And while money goals are important, there’s more to setting goals than just focusing on revenue growth. Goals can be a great way to intentionally create a personal and professional life you love. 
 
 

What does ‘success’ mean to you?

 
[mashtweet tweet=”For me it’s not just about the money. Success means waking up every day feeling excited to get on with the day. It means loving what I do. It means working in my zone of genius. It means feeling healthy and energised. It means making a positive difference in the lives of others. It means feeling connected and valued. It means feeling fulfilled and peaceful. It means having meaningful relationships and connections. It means living in the moment and appreciating what I have.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]
 
 
An essential component of setting goals that work is the act of first tuning into how you want to feel.
 
I give full credit to Danielle LaPorte and her Core Desired Feelings concept that has been a major force in shaping how I now approach goal-setting. Danielle was one of the first people to make me aware of how we have our traditional goal-setting processes backward. Traditionally, we focus on an end goal without taking the time to figure out how we actually want to feel, which often leaves us feeling empty and discontent when we actually reach the goal, because it didn’t actually make us feel how we wanted.

 

Your goals should excite you.

The thought of achieving them uplifts, inspires and motivates you.

How to do Set Powerful Goals that Drive True Business Growth

 

Step 1: Acknowledge & Celebrate the Year that Was.

Sometimes we don’t give ourselves enough credit for everything we’ve done, and instead focus on what we think is still missing. The simple act of documenting, acknowledging, and celebrating everything you did in the previous year lights the fires of passion, purpose, and creativity for the year ahead.

Gratitude and appreciation for all the goodness that manifested in your life provides an inspiring and exciting platform from which to springboard into your goal setting process. The easiest way to do this step is to write it all down, making sure you document:

  • What you DID;
  • How you GREW;
  • What you LEARNED;
  • Which new CONNECTIONS or networks you established;
  • And any other highlights of the year that feel significant.

 

 
Make sure you find a way to celebrate and give gratitude for all the goodness that manifested in your life. If it feels right for you, close your eyes and spend some time in quiet gratitude. Perhaps light a candle. Practicing gratitude stimulates all the wonderful high-frequency emotions that are necessary for getting into an effective frame of mind for goal setting (including appreciation, joy, optimism, hope, grace, ease etc).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Step 2: Tune into Your Business Why, Vision and Mission.

Before launching into your goal setting process, it’s important that you tune in again to your business why, vision and mission, to align your compass in the right direction.

If you don’t yet have powerful and succinct why, vision and mission statements for your business that excite you, I highly recommend you take your time to develop them. To help you, I’ve written an article all about that called Why You Need to Know Your Business ‘Why’, Vision and Mission.

My ‘why’ statement is: Because I believe the world needs more successful female entrepreneurs.

My vision and mission statements are below. What are yours?

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Step 3: Prioritise Yourself First: What do you need to be the best version of yourself next year?

This reflection is relatively new for me. I used to be someone who put my work before everything else, but that led to severe burnout in my mid thirties (you can read my story here).
 
Now in my forties, I make sure I do everything I can to protect my emotional, mental and physical well-being. As a businesswoman, you need to get into the habit of prioritising your personal needs, because your business is a reflection of you.
 
That means prioritising and fiercely protecting the things that I need to do to feel happy, healthy and balanced.
 
So here’s what I invite you to do. Reflect on these questions.
 
1. What are your personal needs and what do you need to prioritise to be the best version of yourself in 2021?
For example, I know that I need a sound healing every two weeks, plus a yoga retreat twice a year, plus regular date nights with my husband, and two family holidays (just to name a few), in order to stay balanced. So I book them into my calendar for 2021 NOW so that nothing interferes with those things. 
 
2. Block time in your calendar for your personal needs and make them non-negotiable.
If you have to change it, just move it somewhere else, but don’t ever delete it!
 
3. If you have children, get all the school holiday dates and pupil-free days into your diary so that they never take you by surprise.
As someone who’s often been taken by surprise when school holidays are suddenly upon me, I’ve learned to get them all into my diary at the start of the year so I can plan around them.
 
4. Decide how you want to FEEL in the year ahead.
 
I believe this is the critical missing piece in all of our goal-setting processes. Failing to take the time to do this step can set you up to achieve goals that don’t necessarily make you happy or satisfied or fulfilled – or burn you out, even.
 
To tune into how you want to feel, take some time to get quiet. Take a few deep breaths in and out. Place your attention into your chest area if you can. Take a few deep breaths and really feel into the energy in your heart centre. As you try to keep your focus there, ask yourself:
 

 

“How do I want to feel this year?”

 
 
Write down whichever words come up for you. My words for this year are:
 
 
 

If you need some inspiration for possible feelings, take a look at my Core Desired Feelings Library inspired by Danielle LaPorte’s Desire Map. Click here to go to the Core Desired Feelings Library.

 

 

  

Step 4: Engage in Divergent Thinking to Imagine Quantum Leaps for your Business.

 
If you want to set exciting stretch goals that drive business growth, it’s critical that you undergo some form of DIVERGENT THINKING before you narrow yourself down and choose goals that you want to shoot for in the year ahead.
 

 
So many people go straight into convergent thinking in their goal setting, without going through divergent thinking, which makes them choose goals that are ‘same old-same old’ – and don’t stretch them beyond conventional thinking into a true growth zone.
 
We use divergent thinking to CREATE CHOICES, and then we use convergent thinking to MAKE CHOICES.
 

Do you struggle to set goals for your business that feel really inspiring and motivating? Annual goal setting is so critical. The act of setting business goals more than doubles your growth potential. Trying to run a business without having a clear vision of where you’re heading and what you need to do to get there is like flying blind. Read on to learn seven steps that we follow at Fempire to set powerful goals that drive business growth, year after year. #goalsetting #businessplanning #annualplanning #goals #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #businesscoach

An important part of the divergent thinking process is allowing yourself to DREAM BIG and to expect ‘quantum leaps’ in your business. Price Pritchett defines Quantum Leaps in his book You2 – A High-Velocity Formula for Multiplying Your Personal Effectiveness in Quantum Leaps. I highly recommend reading his book if you want to learn more about his approach, which integrates quantum physics principles into personal effectiveness tools.
 

Don’t you think it’s a pretty amazing thing that the only thing limiting us in life is our imagination? That we can literally do anything we want if our heart and soul want it badly enough? We get to literally dream up the life we want to live. As Price Pritchett says in his book You2:

 

“Seeking the quantum leap means violating the boundary of the probable. It means achieving well beyond the obvious. So don’t limit your desires to what you think you ‘can have’ …. start going after what you ‘want’. This means you must give yourself permission to dream, to risk. You must set yourself free.”
– PRICE PRITCHETT

 

What kind of goals would represent Quantum Leaps for your business next year?

What could you strive for that would drive quantum business growth?

Do you struggle to set goals for your business that feel really inspiring and motivating? Annual goal setting is so critical. The act of setting business goals more than doubles your growth potential. Trying to run a business without having a clear vision of where you’re heading and what you need to do to get there is like flying blind. Read on to learn seven steps that we follow at Fempire to set powerful goals that drive business growth, year after year. #goalsetting #businessplanning #annualplanning #goals #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #businesscoach

 

Step 5: Choose 3 – 5 Goals that Will Drive Business Growth.

 
 
Now that you’ve been through a process of divergent thinking to dream big, now it’s time to ‘converge’ and choose which goals you want to aim for in the year ahead. When doing this, remember that ‘more’ is not necessarily ‘better’. Choosing a few quality goals that are closely aligned with your vision and mission – and represent quantum growth – will position you to have a great year.
 
Choose 3 – 5 big goals that feel exciting and motivating.
 
If you’re looking to increase profits in the year ahead, check out my article Profit Queen: 5 Powerful Wats to Optimise Your Business Model for Greater Profit to understand your leverage points to grow your business.
 
 
 
 

Step 6: Translate Your Goals into Milestones and 90-Day Plans

Now that you have your high level goals, it’s time to translate them into:

  • Your business plan
  • Your marketing plan.
  • Your marketing schedule.
  • Your financial budgets.

This is where the rubber hits the road and you get super specific and clear about what you want and need to achieve in the year ahead.

Each year at Fempire, we spend several days planning out our goals and translating it into major marketing  and business initiatives. We then get those events or milestones into our calendar with specific dates that drive all of our efforts.

There are many reasons why 90-day goals are the most effective in driving business growth. Go here to learn all about it: How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals.

I’m sure you’ve heard of SMART goals before.  We recommend using the PACT system instead for defining your goals, which stands for:

P: Purposeful
A: Actionable
C: Continuous
T: Trackable.

To learn more about PACT goals, go here.

 

 

Step 7: Get your Goals and Milestones into your Calendar.

To make your goals real, you’ll need to schedule them into your Yearly Planner so that you can work towards them. Put them somewhere where you can see them and be reminded of them consistently.
 
Lastly, have a think about some support structures you can put in place to make sure you regularly check in with your goals and modify them if needed if they’re not aligning with your desired feelings.
What support structures can you put in place?
A vision board?
Hanging your goals up somewhere where you can see them?
Telling your partner so they can remind you? Telling a friend and asking them to check in with you?
Joining a group that will actively support you in pursuing your goals?
 
One of the most powerful things you can do to stay on track with your goals is to get a Business Coach who will support you and keep you accountable. The average return on investment for business coaching is five times! Invest in mentoring now to take your business to new heights.
 
If you’re interested in learning how I can support you to grow your business, book your Discovery Call (at no charge to you) with me to see if we’re a good fit. Book your call now.
 
 
 
 

Do You Need Help with Your Strategic Planning for 2022?

 

Have you started thinking about your business goals for next year yet? If not, you need to! 

Business planning more than doubles your growth potential.

How would you like to: 

  • Arm yourself with strategic business goals that feel clear and exciting – that are achievable but will stretch you in all the good ways. 

  • Go away on your Christmas break knowing you’re ready to hit the ground running in 2022. 

  • Start 2022 stress-free by getting all your business planning done now. 

  • Feel clear and inspired about the year ahead. 

I have a very special offer for you and I only have FIVE spots open for November – will you be one of the wise women who invest in strategic business planning to make next year your best ever?

Be quick! These always fill up FAST.

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.

 
 
In service to your success,
 
 
Kate De Jong, Ph.D.
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
www.katedejong.com

 

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

 
 
 
The Three Hats that Every Business Owner Needs to Wear

The Three Hats that Every Business Owner Needs to Wear

Have you ever wondered why the vast majority of small businesses end up failing within the first three years? It's because they don't do the work required to master the skill sets of the three different hats required in entrepreneurship. In my latest blog, I describe these three essential hats are - and how you can make sure your business is one that will thrive into the future! #entrepreneurlife #smallbusiness #fempire #fempirecoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #smallbusinesssuccessThe idea of running your own business is incredibly appealing: Be your own boss, work your own hours, do things on your own terms, make money doing what you love.

 

But the reality is that forty percent of businesses fail within the first year and eight percent fail within five years.


Why do so many businesses fail?

In Michael Gerber’s fantastic book The E-Myth, he explains that the reason why most businesses fail is because of the big myth – or fundamental misunderstanding – in what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur.

 

The Big Myth:

The notion that skilful technical work and a good idea form a sufficient basis for business success.

 

You probably started your own business because you excel in a certain field, maybe graphic design, or personal training, coaching or counselling. Or you have a fantastic product that people need. We call the art of delivering your product or service the ‘technical work’ – and you’re the Technician who does this work. If you’re like most business owners, you’re incredibly passionate about making a positive difference using your technical craft.

But if you believe that this is enough, you’ve made the fatal assumption :

 

The Fatal Assumption: The mistaken belief that knowing how to do technical work means you know how to run a business

(From: The E-Myth, Michael Gerber, 2004)

 

The technical work is obviously essential, but it’s just one hat out of three that you need to wear as a business owner.  And learning how to master these all three hats is the key to business success.

 

 

The Technician

We’ll assume you’ve got this hat covered! It’s why you started your business, because you’re great at what you do. And you love it. You’re a technician, extremely gifted at your craft. This is all about delivering a great product or service.

 

It's a sad but true fact that the majority of start-up businesses don't survive beyond the first eighteen months. And it's because successful businesses need business owners who have mastered the THREE HATS, first described by Michael Gerber in his book the E-Myth. Read on to discover what these three hats are, and how you can develop these skills to thrive now and into the future. #entrepreneurlife #smallbusiness #fempire #fempirecoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #smallbusinesssuccessThe Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurial skills are absolutely essential to business success, and if you’re lacking in this area, you’ll need to find ways to consistently grow and upskill in this area. Some people are natural entrepreneurs, while for others it’s a skill set that needs to be learned. You can test your entrepreneurial potential using tests like this one.

So what are the qualities of an entrepreneur?

The entrepreneur is the innovator who looks around and sees a world of opportunities. They’re dreamers and visionaries, forging strategic relationships and collaborations, leveraging their network and pivoting to new possibilities when required. They think like a CEO, focusing on ways they can grow, scale and generate more revenue. They’re public-facing and natural marketers. They love to get in front of the cameras to spread the good word about their business. They know how to make the most of publicity and to build their brand visibility and awareness. They know they’re great and they’re not afraid to tell everyone!

Here are just some of the things you need to do, wearing your Entrepreneur hat:

  • Regularly attend networking events or meet with a business connection one-on-one at least once a week. Consistently grow your network.
  • Find other businesses with a similar target market and create offerings that benefit your mutual customers and provide a win-win for your businesses (collaborations/joint ventures).
  • Proactively grow your brand’s visibility in the market: Seek out public speaking opportunities, be a guest on podcasts or start your own, go live on social media regularly, find creative ways to grow your brand’s visibility.
  • Market yourself effectively, generate leads, close sales.
  • Take risks and invest in new opportunities with a good Return on Investment.

 

The Manager

The Business Manager is the pragmatic one who craves order and structure. Rather than seeing opportunities, they see operational problems to fix. They love to get things organised and efficient. They want things to be streamlined and effective so that your business becomes a well-oiled machine.

Managers engage in forward planning, they set goals, measure progress, and track numbers. Consider them the manager of operations, always looking for ways to free up your time to focus on the technical work.

Here are just some of the things you need to do, wearing your Manager hat:

  • Use an online platform to organise your business. Our favourite project management platform at Fempire is Trello – we run our entire business through Trello and couldn’t live without it!
  • Get yourself set up with a professional bookkeeping and accounting software like Xero, MYOB or Quickbooks to manage your business finances.
  • Actively track your monthly Profit and Loss statements and monitor your revenue against your goals.
  • Set clear goals to drive your business efforts and measure your progress against them every quarter.
  • Adopt systems, processes and automation to streamline your business operations and free up your time to focus on revenue-generating activities.

 

 

There are six different stages of business growth and there are essential activities that need to be undertaken in each phase in order to progress to the next. All phases of business growth require a combination of skills that we refer to as THE THREE HATS - read on to discover what they are and how they can help you grow a business that goes the distance and makes the impact you desire. #entrepreneurlife #smallbusiness #fempire #fempirecoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #smallbusinesssuccessWhere are You in the 6 Stages of Business Growth?

If you’re not familiar with the six different stages of business growth yet, I highly recommend you check out my article The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and Why You Need to Know Which One You’re In.

During the first four phases of business growth, unless you’re blessed with great start-up capital or angel investment funding, you’ll need to figure out how to wear all three hats – the technician, the entrepreneur, and the manager. You simply won’t have the cash flow to hire a business manager or marketer to get your products and services out to market and to cover all the activities required by the entrepreneur and the manager. Plus, you’ll need to know how to do things in your business yourself before outsourcing to someone else, otherwise you run the risk of getting over-charged by service providers who spot a naïve business owner.

It’s absolutely possible to learn how to be a great Entrepreneur and Manager, and this is precisely why we developed our programs Fempreneur and Female Entrepreneur Mastery – to teach you how to get your business from validate all the way through to profit as quickly as possible, through developing great entrepreneurial and managerial skills.

Once you hit profit, you’ll then be able to start outsourcing some of your key entrepreneur and manager tasks so that you can free up your time to work ‘on’ your business and not ‘in’ your business. Typically the first things to start outsourcing are your marketing and your business admin tasks. As you get comfortable with outsourcing, you can start to delegate more and more tasks to virtual assistants or contractors so that you can focus on doing the work you love.

 

Business heaven is where you have systems, structures and processes in place such that your business can run without you.

 

You can start working towards this ideal situation – right now – by establishing and documenting your business procedures and automating your processes wherever possible. That way, you can bring new people into the business and all they need to do is follow your clear procedures or use the systems you’ve set up. And the great thing about this is – not only can you go and take a holiday when you want to – you’re also creating a business that can be sold onto someone else, if this is what you desire.

Need help mastering the three hats required to run your business?

Reach out for a FREE discovery call and we can chat about how I can help you! Go here to book now.

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

 

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

6 Powerful Productivity Strategies that will Help You Get More Out of Your Day

The Top 10 Mindset Qualities You Need to Embrace to be Successful in Business

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Download your FREE copy of my FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK to fast-track your business success! This value-packed guide contains everything I wish I knew back when I was starting my own business in 2011. Click here to download it now.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers

Are you comfortable telling your prospects about what makes you so good at what you do? Do you tell them why your clients choose you? If not, you need to! If you don’t tell them, how are they meant to know how good you are? An easy way to convey your business excellence is through what I call your Business Superpowers. Read on to discover how you can figure out what yours are. #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategiesAre you comfortable telling your prospects what makes you so great at what you do?

 

If not, you need to be!

When it comes to marketing and selling your products or services, people will only know why they should work with you if you tell them.

I recently learned a technique from Petar Lackovic at The Sales Insititute which I refer to as Your Three Business Superpowers.

Your superpowers summarise:

  • What makes you so great at what you do.
  • Why your clients choose you.

 

Once you know what your superpowers are, you should tell people about them! Market them across your social media channels, write a blog or video about them, and get them onto your website for your prospects to see.

Learn how to succinctly describe your superpowers to your prospects during sales conversations and watch how your conversion rates increase easily and effortlessly! 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Your superpowers allow your prospects to quickly and easily identify if you’re a good fit to work together and if they resonate with you and your brand.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

There’s a format you need to follow when articulating your superpowers. Be sure to keep it clear and succinct (and the rule ‘less is more’ applies here).

Here’s the format:

  1. A ‘green brain’ (i.e. emotional/powerful) name.
  2. The background or story that makes your superpower important.
  3. Your superpower.
  4. The result for your client.

 

To give you some inspiration, I’ll share my personal business superpowers, as well as the Fempire superpowers. I hope you’ll use these examples to develop your own descriptions.

 

 

My personal superpowers: Kate De Jong, Fempire Coach

My three business superpowers are (based on what my clients have told me):

  1. I’m a lightning-fast strategic thinker and problem solver.
  2. I’m kind and compassionate while also being results- and action-oriented.
  3. I easily cut through the noise to focus on what matters most in your business.

 

If you’re not sure what yours might be, ask your clients!

Here’s an example of how you would break down one of these superpowers further for your clients, using the format I’ve given you:

As women, we’re not typically good at telling others how good we are. But in business this is a necessary thing to do! Otherwise, how will your prospects know why they should choose you over your competition? Learn how to convey your brilliance with the Business Superpowers technique. Read on to discover how. #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategies

[‘Green brain’ name] I’m a lightning-fast strategic thinker and problem solver.

[Background/story] Business is a constant game of problem-solving and strategising. You need to constantly troubleshoot your marketing strategies, develop compelling ways to sell your products or services, and come up with innovative ways to serve your clients to get results. This is where my first superpower comes in handy, which is my lightning-fast ability to solve problems.

[My superpower] I have a highly technical background, spending four years completing my Ph.D and then 15 years as a consulting engineer on large water projects worldwide. My highly analytical mind allows me to diagnose your business quickly.

[The result for you as a client] What this means for you is that I help you cut straight to the core of what needs to be done to generate profit as quickly as possible. No more spinning wheels or wasting time or money, I help you get on the straight and narrow quickly and easily.

 

Do you get the idea?

To give you some more examples and inspiration (if you’re like me, you might learn best through examples), here are Fempire’s three business superpowers and a breakdown of one of them.

 

Fempire’s Three Business Superpowers

  1. We’re unapologetically a female-focused brand.
  2. We have a 12-step Business Breakthrough Formula that provides a business-building roadmap for you.
  3. We have a Sisterhood Community for success.

 

Your prospects won’t know why they should choose you over your competitors unless you tell them. Discover how you can easily articulate your business brilliance through using the Business Superpowers technique. Read on to find out how! #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategiesBreakdown of superpower #1.

[‘Green brain’ name] We’re unapologetically a female-focused brand.

[Background/story] Our experience has shown us that women learn differently, run our lives differently, and we think differently. And the only person who really gets this is another woman. 

[My superpower] Because of this, we are unapologetically a female-focused brand. All of our business coaches are women. We intimately understand how women achieve and how they need to be supported to thrive in business.

[The result for you as a client] What this means for you is you feel fully understood and supported as a woman in business, which allows you to business success more quickly and easily.

 

So what are your business superpowers and how will you articulate them succinctly to your prospects?

I urge you to take the time to brainstorm your superpowers because this level of clarity will greatly accelerate your sales conversions.

And let me know how you go!

Did you like this article? You might also like:

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read

How To Boost Your Revenue Quickly With Google Reviews

How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
https://katedejong.com
[email protected]

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read

Business success requires an almost obsessive desire to constantly learn and grow and reading is a great way to do so. These are the top fifteen books that I believe every female entrepreneur needs to read. Are any of your favourites in here? I’d love to know! #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #successmindset

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Business success requires an almost obsessive desire to constantly learn and grow.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Business success requires an almost obsessive desire to constantly learn and grow. And reading is a fantastic way to do that. As I’m sure you’ve heard before, your business is a direct reflection of you. The more you strengthen and grow your mindset and your business knowledge, the better you’ll do in business. 

Here’s a list of fifteen books that I think every female entrepreneur needs to read. These are my favourites and the ones that have had the biggest impact on me. Whether you’re just starting out or you have an established business, the following books are guaranteed to give you many “ah-ha!” moments and inspiration. There’s always more to learn. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did.

1. Out of the Closet: A Business Book for Women (Marnie LeFevre, 2016)

Topping my list is the wonderful book written by our Fempire founder Marnie LeFevre. I’ve always found it really helpful to learn how other women have managed to create a business from the ground up and in this book Marnie does exactly that. She describes with authenticity and vulnerability how she started her first business in her tiny closet, next to the ironing board, shoes and clothes, while raising her two small children. Having gone from working for Richard Branson and large corporations to becoming a stay-at-home mother and wondering if she could survive another Wiggles video, Marnie finally realised that staying at home was not serving herself or her family.

In her book she describes how she built her very successful marketing agency from scratch while raising her family and growing several other businesses locally and globally, receiving awards and recognition for her work.

What I love most about this book is not only the step by step guidance on how to brand, market and grow your business, but also the specific focus on what it’s like to be a woman in business. As women we face different challenges that only a woman can truly understand, which is why Marnie wrote this book – as a female entrepreneur – for female entrepreneurs, so that you feel understood and supported on your journey. Filled with practical advice and actionable strategies, Marnie writes with humour and grounded wisdom, making this book a page-turner and oh so enjoyable to read.

Get your copy of Out of the Closet on Amazon

2. Girl Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Success, Sanity & Happiness for the Female Entrepreneur (Cara Alwill Leyba, 2017)

Cara Leyba writes about personal growth and entrepreneurship in a way that’s unique, glamorous, and refreshing. She first became famous through her blog The Champagne Diet, which started out being an outlet for her to chronicle her own personal transformation. She ended up with a huge following and her blog connected her with thousands of women around the world who were experiencing similar things. She realised that no matter where we come from, we all share the same fears and desires.

Cara explores the important questions:

“Why do women keep falling victim to the traps of jealousy, comparison, negativity and cattiness?”
“Why hasn’t everyone discovered just how fabulous life can be when we empower each other rather than tear each other down?”

In her eight rules of Girl Code, Cara describes how we, as women, need to do the work to rewire our thought patterns, shift our mindsets and truly practice Girl Code so that we can become more successful than we ever dreamed possible. She steps you through exactly how you can do this and there’s some great advice in this book. If you’re in need of a mindset shift and some fantastic motivation, this book is for you!

Get your copy of Girl Code on Amazon

 

 

3. Unstoppable Influence: Be You. Be Fearless. Transform Lives (Natasha Hazlett, 2018)

I had a light bulb moment while reading this book. I’d never really understood why I feel so much fire and passion in my belly to make a positive difference. Natasha Hazlett explains it in a nutshell in her book. It’s because I have ‘influencer DNA’.

Are you someone who can’t help but always try to positively influence those around you and inspire to them to do more and be more? Do you have influencer DNA? If so, you need to read this book. It’s full of nuggets of wisdom and insight to help you on your journey to creating the impact you desire.

Hazlett is a former attorney, a speaker and a business coach and she gives practical advice and strategies to kick your approval addiction and negative self-talk to the curb, reboot and recharge your life and business to make the money you deserve without working longer hours, and to instead welcome true freedom, happiness and abundance into your life. 

Sounds great, right? And it is! I highly recommend getting your hands on this book. You won’t regret it. It will give you the inspiration you need to create your biggest impact as an entrepreneur.

Get your copy of Unstoppable Influence on Amazon

4. Chillpreneur: The New Rules for Creating Success, Freedom, and Abundance on Your Terms (Denise Duffield-Thomas, 2019)

Finally! Here’s a book for female entrepreneurs that explains how running your own business doesn’t have to be all about hustle and grind. Denise shows you how you can make great money doing what you love, while taking great care of yourself and your family along the way. She defines the rules for running a business without the stress or the burnout.

Denise gives practical advice on how you can trade in stress and overwhelm for strategic flow. And get richer while doing it. She’s the ultimate money mindset mentor, and has a masterful way of helping you see where your mindset is holding you back in business. Denise shows how each one of us has the ability to create so much success when we let go of our limiting beliefs and substitute them for the Chillpreneur business principles.

If you’re not yet making the money you deserve, you need to read this book!

Get your copy of Chillpreneur on Amazon.

5. Everything is Figureoutable (Marie Forleo, 2019)

It’s no surprise that this book is amazing because everything that Marie Forleo touches turns to gold. This book was inspired by Marie’s mother who once told her:

“Nothing in life is that complicated. You can do whatever you set your mind to if you roll up your sleeves. Everything is figureoutable.”

This one, single belief paved the way for Marie to create her multi-million dollar business, the life of her dreams and to be able to impact hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs worldwide.

Marie describes how there are no ‘quick fixes’ in business, but rather it’s all about how we respond in the face of obstacles, challenges and setbacks. She shares the attitudes, beliefs and mindset that have enabled her to become one of the most sought after coaches, speakers and writers worldwide. This book is guaranteed to get you inspired and focused and if you follow her advice you’ll become…. unstoppable.

Get your copy of Everything is Figureoutable on Amazon.

6. She Means Business: Turn Your Ideas into Reality and Become a Wildly Successful Entrepreneur (Carrie Green, 2017)

Carrie Green started the Female Entrepreneur Association as a business woman who felt lonely and realised there wasn’t a platform to support female entrepreneurs worldwide. She turned it into a thriving membership hub that now supports 350,000 female entrepreneurs across the globe.

I loved this book because Carrie describes in logical steps how you can up-level your business and life and get your ideas and messages into the world with maximum impact. It’s no surprise that once again, so much of what she shares is about mindset and developing positive inner self-talk. Her perspective and ideas are refreshing and very practical. If you need some tangible strategies around how to develop a positive mindset and put yourself out there in the market in an impactful, get yourself a copy of this book.

Get your copy of She Means Business on Amazon.

Reading is a great way to open your mind to new insights, ideas, and concepts. And great leaders are almost always big readers. If you’re looking for the next good book to read, here are my top fifteen suggestions to get you inspired and armed with great business wisdom. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #successmindset

7. Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living (Glennon Doyle, 2020)

While this book isn’t written for women in business specifically, it’s a book that every woman needs to read. My copy of this book has post-it notes and highlights all through it because there are so many powerful sentences and nuggets of raw wisdom that really touched and changed me.

As a female entrepreneur, you need to learn to live by your own rules and expectations and trust your own inner voice and intuition. And that’s exactly what Glennon explores in this book. She describes with raw authenticity and humility how she finally discovered peace and joy when she stopped striving to meet others’ expectations and started to trust the voice deep within herself. She shares, through telling her own very personal story of bulimia, divorce, and finally marrying her love Abby Wambach, how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honour our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become powerful women, grounded in our own self-love and truth.

Get your copy of Untamed on Amazon.

8. The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know (Katty Kay & Claire Shipman, 2014)

Authors Katty Kay and Claire Shipman are journalists, reporters, and founders of Womenomics – a movement based on the idea that women’s economic advancement improves economies. In their book, they discuss how some of the greatest female leaders have an extraordinary, almost unimaginable belief that they can succeed, even when the odds are stacked, boulder like, against them. They have unshakeable confidence. As it turns out, these women are Unicorns because they’re so rare.

Over two decades, Kay and Shipman have researched confidence and interviewed some of the most influential women around the world. They realised that even these powerful women swim in self-doubt. During their research they discovered that low self-confidence is prevalent amongst most women, even when holding high positions in leadership and outwardly appearing to be very confident.

The authors discovered that self-confidence is in fact partly genetic – some of us are simply born with more confidence than others. But newest research shows that we can literally change our brains at any age (the scientists call it plasticity). Which means that if you choose to, you can develop this essential quality. Apparently confidence is what psychologists call volitional: our choice. With diligent effort, we can expand our confidence. And in this book they tell you exactly how. If your self-confidence is holding you back in your business, then you need to ready this book!

Get your copy of The Confidence Code on Amazon.

9. Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead (Brene Brown, 2012)

I read this book soon after it was first published in 2012 and it was a major turning point for me. Starting off with Theodore Roosevelt’s famous “The Man in the Arena” speech, Brene makes a case for how vulnerability is the key to a successful and fulfilling life. She says:

“Vulnerability is not knowing victory or defeat, it’s understanding the necessity for both; it’s engaging – getting in the arena. It’s being all in.”
– Brene Brown

When I read this book I was in the process of launching my own business. And it gave me the courage and confidence to just do it. I put aside all my doubts, fears and insecurities, and fears of what other people would say, and I just decided to go ‘all in’. And it was the best decision I ever made.

If you’re struggling to go ‘all’ in with your business, or you’re stuck in procrastination or afraid of criticism or judgement, you need to read this book!

Get your copy of Daring Greatly on Amazon.

10. Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich: 75 Avoidable Mistakes Women Make with Money (Lois P. Frankel, 2005)

If you want to be a successful business woman, you need to learn how to get smart with money. There’s no two ways about it. Business women who pay close attention to their money and consciously apply strategies to grow their revenue, end up succeeding. And those who don’t stay stuck in scarcity.

Lois describes the key behaviours and beliefs that keep women from being financially independent and following their dreams (and I’ve been guilty of many of them!). She shares her tried-and-true coaching tips on how to take control of your money and your life. She describes all the ‘nice girl’ behaviours that sabotage your success and gives you specific strategies to overcome them.

If you’re serious about succeeding in business, you need to get your hands on this book, read it front to back, and apply everything she suggests!

Get your copy of Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich on Amazon.

11. Why Didn’t Anybody Tell Me This Sh*t Before? Wit and Wisdom from Women in Business (Marcella Allison & Laura Gale, 2019)

There’s nothing better than reading stories from women who have blazed the trail before us. This book is a collection of more than 60 letters from female leaders of multi-million dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every kind of woman in between. Each woman explains in detail what it’s like to be a female business leader, and shares her story in order to help other women succeed.

The stories are filled with truth, experience and hard-won wisdom. Because as the authors say “the only way we can begin to change the world is if we break the silence and begin to speak.”

I found these stories to be a lifeline and a road map to navigate our increasingly complex business world. Some of the stories describe extreme hardship but there’s also laughter, growth and triumph, and there’s so much to learn from these stories.

This is a comforting and inspiring read and it allows you to learn from the experience of business women just like you. Their stories of strength, courage and a fierce will to succeed will inspire you to continue on and build the business and life of your dreams.

Get your copy of Why Didn’t Anybody Tell Me This Sh*t Before? on Amazon.

12. Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder (Arianna Huffington, 2015)

Arianna Huffington knows a thing or two about starting and growing a business into a global phenomenon. She co-founded the media company Huffington Post (which she sold for $315 million in 2011), before launching her extremely popular global wellness site Thrive Global, which provides science-based solutions to end stress and burnout. She’s a serial entrepreneur, mother, author of fifteen books and a highly sought after speaker.

Arianna had a big wake up call when she injured her face severely after falling down from exhaustion and lack of sleep. She realised that she’d sacrificed her health and well-being for the sake of her career and she knew she had to do something different. She’s since been on a mission to try to change our corporate business culture from stress and overwhelm into a culture where self-care is at the centre of our agenda.

Her story is incredibly interesting and she talks candidly about her own challenges with managing time and prioritising the demands of her businesses and raising two daughters, juggling deadlines and family crises. She has a very analytical mind and draws on the latest groundbreaking research and scientific findings in the fields of psychology, sports, sleep, and physiology that show the profound and transformative effects of meditation, mindfulness, unplugging, and giving. There’s a different way to do business and Arianna describes exactly what that looks like. Every business woman needs to read this book.

Get your copy of Thrive on Amazon.

13. Shark Tales: How I Turned $1,000 into a Billion Dollar Business (Barbara Corcoran, 2003)

Real estate mogul Barabara Corcoran tells her captivating and entertaining story of how she grew $1000 into a multi-billion dollar Fempire. It’s an inspiring story that all female entrepreneurs should read. What struck me is the key ingredient that plays out in the background, all throughout her book. And that is, her unshakeable belief in herself and her abilities, in part thanks to the great role modelling and support from her mother and her grandmother.

Barbara proves that if you believe you can do it, you absolutely can. Once again, her story highlights just how incredibly important self-belief is for success. She proves how unstoppable we can be when we’re not held back by limiting self-beliefs.

Her story also shows how important strong and positive female role models are in our lives. And if you haven’t been fortunate to have strong female role models in your own life, then now is the time to step up and be that inspiring role model for the women coming behind you.

Get your copy of Shark Tales on Amazon.

14. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It (Michael E. Gerber, 2001).

Every person who’s determined to succeed in business needs to read this book. Gerber is an incredibly experienced entrepreneur, having helped more than 25,000 businesses worldwide since 1977, and he knows what it takes to achieve business success. As he often says, there’s no ‘magic bullet’, but it’s about doing ‘the right things’, consistently.

When I first read his book it was a revelation, because he finally articulated what I had already grappled with over the years, and that is that as business owners we need to wear three uniquely different hats – that of the Technician, the Entrepreneur, and the Manager. We need to develop a level of mastery in each of these areas in order to success, and he explains how.

As Gerber says “This book is about an idea – the idea that says your business is nothing more than a distinct reflection of who you are. If your thinking is sloppy, your business will be sloppy. If you are disorganised, your business will be disorganised. If you are greedy, your employees will be greedy, giving you less and always asking for more. …. So if your business is to change – as it must continuously do to thrive – you must change first.” And armed with the insight and knowledge in this book, you’ll finally know how to go about doing this.

Get your copy of The E-Myth Revisited on Amazon.

SELL LIKE CRAZY: How to Get As Many Clients, Customers and Sales As You Can Possibly Handle (Sabri Suby, 2020).

As a woman in business, the single, core competency you need to master is the art of selling. Having the best product or service won’t get you there on its own. You need to know how to sell your great product or service in order to thrive.

My copy of this book has more than 100 post-it notes and highlights in it. It seems every page contains some important nugget of wisdom that’s worth remembering. Suby’s ruthless, direct, and honest style shakes you up and makes you realise that selling is all about mindset and the application of tactics that work.

Suby describes his eight phase ‘secret selling system’ that’s earned he and his clients over $1 billion. His advice is practical and actionable and will help you understand how to optimise your sales funnel to achieve sustainable success.

Get your copy of Sell Like Crazy on Amazon.

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful business and discover everything I wish I’d known back when I was starting my business!

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

The Reality for Women in Business: 11 Fascinating Things I’ve Learned as a Fempire Coach

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

Why You Need to Know Your Business ‘Why’, Vision and Mission.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
+61 424 176 658
katedejong.com

Your business is a direct reflection of you, and the more you can read and open your mind to new possibilities and insights, the better you’ll be in busines! Here are my top suggestions for books that every female entrepreneur needs to read. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #successmindset

When is it Time to Take the Leap of Faith and Quit Your Corporate Job?

When is it Time to Take the Leap of Faith and Quit Your Corporate Job?

 If you're sitting on the fence, wondering about whether to quit your day job to pursue your heart's calling, these 5 reasons may be just what you need to make the decision to finally break free #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneur #workfromhome

Do you fantasise about quitting the rat race to start your dream business?

 

Thanks to high-speed internet and cloud-based systems, it’s easier than ever before to work from anywhere you like. Culturally, we’re getting tired of the rat race and more and more people are craving more flexibility, freedom, purpose, and creativity in their work.

I quit my corporate engineering consulting career back in 2011 and I haven’t missed it at all. I now get to create my work days on my own terms, and I fit my work life around my busy life as a mother to two young boys. 

Freelancing and ‘gig’ workers are on the rise.

 

Freelancers now make up 35% of the American and Australian workforces, and these numbers steadily are on the rise.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The percentage of freelancers is even higher among the younger workforce. A survey conducted by Upwork and published in The Herald Sun showed that in Australia, among workers aged 18 – 24 years old, 47% are freelancing either part-time or full-time, versus 28% of Baby Boomers.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Having grown up in the digital world, it’s natural that young people in the modern era are more flexible, agile, and connected with big networks – the perfect ingredients for entrepreneurship and freelancing.

 

It’s interesting to note also that the majority of older people who chose to start their own business did not do so out of necessity, but by choice (57% of the total), with flexibility, freedom, and improved work-life balance “luring them from the rigid confines of the 38-hour work week.”

I know that when I was growing up, entrepreneurship always seemed incredibly risky to me; the responsibility for generating your own income throughout all economic cycles seemed like a far bigger risk than I was willing to take. However, independent workforce surveys such as the UpWork survey in the USA show that freelancers are now, in fact, earning more relative to their old jobs. Among respondents in the UpWork survey, more than half are earning more than they did getting a steady pay cheque in their former job. A total of 46% were able to successfully raise their rates in the past year.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”53% of freelancers believe that having a diverse portfolio of clients is more economically secure than having one employer. Times are changing indeed.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

 

Are you stuck in a career or profession that you don’t love? Is it time for you to finally take the leap of faith to start doing the work you really want to be doing? Find out in this article. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneur #workfromhomeBut if you’re sitting on the fence about whether to finally answer that little voice that’s nudging you to quit your day job to pursue something closer to your heart, I understand from personal experience how hard it is to make that decision.

Deciding to leave a stable career path and a reliable salary for an unknown outcome, no matter how exciting or appealing the idea, is absolutely not an easy decision to make to. And it’s not one that I made lightly myself. It wasn’t until I started suffering from severe chronic health issues that I was finally forced to change direction (you can read my full story here).

And even when all the signs were pointing to the fact that I needed to branch out on my own, it was still an absolutely terrifying thought; I had a lot of fear and insecurity to overcome before I was able to consider the idea of becoming a ‘business owner’ seriously.

But taking the leap of faith to start my own business was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life, for the reasons I’m about to share with you. Of course, it hasn’t always been easy.

 

Starting your own business is not for the faint-hearted. It requires enormous resilience, grit, perseverance, and most of all, belief in yourself.

But the rewards more than outweigh the challenge.

 

There are days when it all feels too hard and I want to give up on my dream (as I write about in my article 7 Powerful Strategies to Get You Through Those Days When You Just Want to Give Up on Your Dream). But they’re happening less frequently as I establish more reliable structures, systems, and approaches that allow me to earn a more reliable and predictable income. Establishing yourself successfully in your own business won’t happen overnight, but it will happen. As long as you approach it with a practical, low-risk strategy and get advice from those who have gone before you, you’ll find a way to make it happen.

 

Here are 5 big reasons why you should break free and start your own business.

 

1. You’ll enjoy greater freedom and flexibility.

If you’re tired of the groundhog days of alarm clocks, rushing and commuting, then you’ll love being your own boss. No more forcing yourself into the office early in the morning no matter how late you stayed up the night before, or the complete lack of free time to do the things that sustain and nourish you.

[mashtweet tweet=”As your own boss, you can work according to your own schedule and work with the natural rhythms of your body clock and creative impulses. I love that I can now take time off when I need to and catch up on my work in the evening if I have to. Freedom and flexibility have become especially important to me since becoming a mother to our two young children.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Yes, you’ll need to have robust self-discipline and sufficient structure in your days to force you to be productive and be able to enjoy the traction and momentum you need in your business. But when you’re doing something you love, it’s not hard to find the motivation to get onto your work.

 

It’s been my experience that structure and routine are your best allies as a small business owner. The good part is, you get to decide on the business structure and routine that suits you.

 

2. You can do things on your own terms.

If you’re someone who finds it hard to be micro-managed or to follow someone else’s ideas (especially if you don’t agree with them), then you’ll love being your own boss. In the great article “Why entrepreneurs choose freedom over money”, they conclude:

“Despite the fact that people who work for themselves often work more, have fewer benefits and experience more on-the-job stress than those who work in a company, the majority of Americans would prefer to be entrepreneurs. Our research shows that entrepreneurs are more satisfied with their jobs – and happier in general. Workplace autonomy is a powerful motivator.”

 

3. You’ll experience more fun and fulfilment.

I really needed to pinch myself the first time I received money for my coaching services; it seemed such a gift to be paid for something I found so enjoyable and enriching. Doing something you love really is the biggest gift you can give yourself. Plus, entrepreneurs are a fun bunch of people! It continues to amaze and inspire me to see how much entrepreneurs seem to enjoy their work. One of my favourite mentors Jeanna Gabellini always says:

 

“If it ain’t fun, don’t do it!”
– Jeanna Gabellini

 

A central part of Jeanna’s work and message is teaching people how to harness the Law of Attraction in their business to attract more profits and abundance, and having fun is an essential part! This was something that took me a long time to get used to. I was used to having to work hard and to ‘struggle’ at work; I’d come to accept that work is a necessary evil to pay the bills and to get ahead in the world. It feels so great to now to actually have fun in my work each and every day. To learn more about the Law of Attraction, check out my blog article: How to Create More of What You Want Using the Law of Attraction.

 

Are you stuck in a career or profession that you don’t love? Is it time for you to finally take the leap of faith to start doing the work you really want to be doing? Find out in this article. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneur #workfromhome4. You get to fully express your unique gifts and talents.

You have your own unique zone of ‘natural genius’ – the things that you’re naturally good at without even trying. You’ll experience greater fulfilment and fun when you’re operating in your zone of natural genius most of the time.

During my corporate career, I was operating in my zone of natural genius only about 20% of the time. The rest of the time I was doing things that weren’t aligned with my natural strengths and they felt hard and draining.

I know that every career includes tasks and activities that we like and many task and activities that we don’t like. But when you’re working in a way that allows you to fully express the gifts you do have, somehow the other parts don’t feel so onerous or annoying – they’re in service to the beautiful thing you’re creating through your business.

Are you working in your Zone of Genius? Find out in my article: How to Live & Work in Your Zone of Genius: Your Strengths are More Than Just the Things You’re Good at.

 

 

5. You get to see the direct results of your efforts and enjoy making a positive difference.

Do you often wonder whether your daily work is having any impact? In my former career I spent countless hours writing Business Cases, proposals and strategic plans that were often shelved, delayed due to lack of funding, or often dismissed because it was “not the way we’ve always done things”.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”And while I was part of some important breakthroughs during my career, I wanted to spend less time justifying and defending my ideas and more time just getting on and doing them.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

When you work for yourself, you can pitch your idea and philosophy clearly and those who resonate with your vision – and need exactly what you’re offering – can engage with you. And then you can get on with the task of serving those people directly and effectively. I believe the more people who embrace their yearning to make a difference and put themselves out there to start serving in their own unique way, the faster we’ll see things improve in the world.

 

Are you ready to leave your day job to start your own business?

 

If you’re at the point of wondering whether you should leave your career behind to pursue something closer to your heart, Helena Klein suggests asking yourself these questions:

  • Do you have to justify your job to yourself and others? Do you find yourself saying your work is actually ‘not that bad’, when in reality you know there must be a more joyful and fulfilling way to spend your working days?
  • Is your work giving you energy or draining you of it? Is there at least one part of your work that you look forward to each day? If there’s no part of your work that truly excites you, it’s time to make some changes.
  • Is there anybody I work with whose life I would like to have? If you don’t see any positive role models at work to look up to and who have the kind of life you want, then why are you there? There is no use in working your way up to a job that you don’t want to have.
  • Do you feel inspired by your work? Are you able to think freely, out of the box? Or do you feel trapped and patronized? If you spend too much time completing other people’s tasks, ignoring your own thoughts, or withholding your talent from the world, then it’s time to think seriously about change.
  • Last but not least: is my work in line with my personal values? If the things you’re doing at work don’t feel good to you, this is a big warning sign. You should feel proud of what you do and feel good about yourself when you do it.

 

As Farnoosh Ahram says:

 

[mashtweet tweet=”“If you want to venture out on your own, pursue a call to greatness and live a meaningful life on your own terms, do it. Do not wait for permission. Do not wait for acceptance or validation. Do.Not.Wait, my friend. Because time is the one thing that you cannot buy back with all the gold and power in the world.” – Farnoosh Ahram” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

 

Do you want to break free but you’re not quite sure how to go about setting up your own business? Get yourself a FREE copy of THE ULTIMATE FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK and learn everything I wish I knew when I decided to start my own business back in 2011!

Are you still trying trying to figure out what you’re meant to be doing with your professional life? This FREE E-Book will help you: PATHFINDING: How to Find Your Inspired Path & Purpose.

Learn how to build a career that unites your true nature, your passion and your natural genius into work that is a full expression of yourself, allowing you to get your unique and valuable gifts into the world in a way that is FUN and deeply fulfilling!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

How to Be a Mother and Successfully Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time.

How to Live and Work in Your Zone of Genius: Your Strengths are More Than Just the Things You’re Good At

Why is it So Hard to Find a Career You Love? 5 Powerful Tips for Finding Your Inspired Professional Path

Career Bliss: How to Find Your Inspired Professional Path & Purpose

The 12 Best Work From Home Gadgets & Accessories

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
www.katedejong.com
Life’s too short to spend your days doing work that you don’t absolutely love. What’s holding you back from taking the leap of faith to finally do what really want to do? Read on to find out. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneur #workfromhome
Profit Queen (Part 2): 5 Powerful Ways to Optimise Your Operating Model for Greater Profits

Profit Queen (Part 2): 5 Powerful Ways to Optimise Your Operating Model for Greater Profits

Are you tired of being a slave to your business and want to break through into higher levels of revenue and freedom? It’s time to become a profit queen! Discover five ways that you can optimise your business model so you can finally create the business and lifestyle you deserve. #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategies #womensupportingwomen

 

Have you been in business for a while and you’re working your backside off, but you’re not making the money you deserve? 

 

Are you feeling like a slave to your business?

Are you still not able to take a good holiday away because your business can’t run without you?

If so, you’re not alone.

 

This is Part 2 of a two-part blog series that teaches you how to finally achieve greater revenue and freedom in your business through optimising your Business Model (Part 1) and your Operating Model (this article).

If you haven’t read part one yet, I highly recommend you do (click here). And then come back to read this article as both pieces need to go hand in hand to grow your business. 

So let’s look at how you can break through to achieve greater levels of revenue and freedom in your business through changing your operating model.

 

 

 

5 Ways You Need to Optimise Your Operating Model: 

How To Run Your Business to Give You the Lifestyle You Desire.

 

So you started your business as a solopreneur and most likely you had to learn how to do everything yourself because of budget constraints. But now you’re still doing everything yourself while also trying to juggle your client load, win new clients, and keep up with the accounts and admin.

And it’s not sustainable anymore, right?

If you’re serious about breaking into a new phase of healthy profit and growth, you need to make some big changes.

Here are the five big ways you can untangle yourself from the business to finally create the freedom and revenue you desire.

To break through to the next level of growth and profit in your business, it's going to require a new mindset and way of thinking. As a business owner, your business is a direct reflection of you and your way of thinking. Discover how you can shift your mindset to embrace new levels of growth and profit. #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategies

 

1. Start outsourcing.

To reach profit and scale, you need to start working ‘on’ your business, not ‘in’ your business. You’ll need to surround yourself with a team of people who are reliable and competent and can take the administrative burden off you.

 

If you haven’t dipped your toe in the world of outsourcing yet, it can be scary, especially if you struggle with perfectionism and letting go.

 

But you need to find a way to work through this, otherwise, you’ll be forever stuck in the breakthrough phase and you’ll never get to profit and scale.

 

This doesn’t mean you have to start bringing on employees. Simply start by hiring a virtual assistant for just a few hours per month to do some simple tasks like social media scheduling and posting or payment tracking and client onboarding. If you’ve never worked with a VA before, check out my article: What is a Virtual Assistant and Why Do You Need One?

 My advice when it comes to hiring virtual assistants is to go by word of mouth. Work with those who have proven themselves to competent and great value, because otherwise, you can burn lots of money and not get very far.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”But when you find a great virtual assistant, you’ll start experiencing the true freedom of outsourcing. It will help you see how you can untangle yourself from the ‘doing’ so you can focus on growing your business.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

And when it comes to outsourcing, always follow this rule:
Any activity that you can pay someone else to do for a lower hourly rate than your rate, outsource it now!

 

 

2. Stop flying by the seat of your pants and start planning.

If you want to grow and scale, you must make annual planning an integral part of your business operating model!

What are your growth targets?

How much revenue do you want to make?

Set some solid revenue goals to work towards. And chunk them down into 90-day goals that you can work towards every three months to maximise your productivity.

Determine the marketing strategy that will enable you to achieve your revenue targets. How many times a year are you going to conduct your main lead generation strategy, whether it be a webinar, or an event, or a challenge? Plan them into your diary so that you can start developing your marketing calendar, which will include the delivery of your follow on signature program.

Or if you have a product line, plan in your seasonal promotions and offers so you can get your marketing schedule aligned. 

 

Planning so critical to business success.

As the saying goes: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

 

Take the time to get all your events and marketing milestones onto a single page marketing calendar and get busy working towards it. The gold is in the planning!

 

3. Start measuring your performance against your growth targets.

Once you’ve set your revenue and marketing goals, you’ll need to measure your progress against them on a regular basis. I recommend doing this every three months (90 days). That way you can revise your targets as you go and (hopefully) increase your targets upwards.

 

[mashtweet tweet=” There’s no point in setting goals if you don’t check in regularly and monitor your progress against them.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 It can feel really scary to take those big steps that are required to grow your business, like outsourcing, investing in advertising, and growth mapping, to name a few. But the freedom and increased revenue you'll enjoy as a result make it well worth your while. #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #growthstrategies

 

4. Automate your systems and processes wherever possible. 

Now that you’re ready to grow and scale, it’s time to invest in systems and processes that take the administrative burden off you. As a minimum, here are some of the processes that should be automated: 

  • Your client onboarding processes including proposal signing, sending of T&C documentation, payment, client set up.
  • Your email welcome sequences when clients subscribe to a lead magnet or discovery call.
  • Your calendar booking system and appointment reminders (I recommend Calendly).
  • Client payments (use an auto-debit system so you’re never chasing payments).

 

5. Leverage your time. Move away from time = money.

If your revenue relies on your time, then you’ll need to think strategically about how you can uncouple yourself and leverage your time more effectively. Here are some ways you can do this:

  • Package your knowledge into digital products like online courses, programs or membership sites.
  • Move from one-on-one service provision into group work. Make your private service a premium price so that you only take on a small number of high paying, private clients, and the rest you serve in a group format.
  • Develop other streams of passive income through affiliations or joint ventures.

 

What are some ways that you could start uncoupling your business from your own personal time input so that you can finally start growing your revenue, independently of your time input?

If you found this valuable, be sure to head on over to Part 1: How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): 5 Ways You Need to Optimise your Business Model to Achieve Growth.


Did you like this article? You might also like…

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read

How To Boost Your Revenue Quickly With Google Reviews

How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
https://katedejong.com
[email protected]

Discover the Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business

Discover the Best Social Media Platforms for Your Business

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat, TikTok, YouTube... the choice of social platforms can be overwhelming! How do you know which ones to focus your time on? In this week's blog I'm sharing all the stats for the 8 biggest social platforms worldwide, so that you can make sure you're focusing your time and energy on the right platforms for your business! #socialmediamarketing #socialmedia #businessmarketing #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #womensupportingwomen #ladybossesInstagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn… the list seems endless.

 

Did you know that there are now over one hundred different social media platforms? And the list keeps growing!

 

The world of social media can be overwhelming.

 

How do you know which platforms you should be spending your precious time and energy on?

 

In this article I’m giving you an overview of the top eight most used social media platforms worldwide so you can figure out which ones are right for your business!

 

Firstly, Why Use Social Media in Business?

 

Social media platforms are a critical part of any business growth strategy today.

Here are just some of the reasons why your business needs to be on social media:

 

8 Reasons Why Your Business Needs to be on Social Media.

  1. To raise your brand visibility and brand awareness (i.e. to let people know you exist!)
  2. To build your audience of potential customers (it’s so much easier to sell to a ‘warm’ audience as opposed to a ‘cold’ audience who’s never heard of you before).
  3. To connect and engage with your potential customers and to learn more about their key challenges and struggles.
  4. To inform, educate, and inspire your audience and move them up the Customer Value Journey from ‘problem unaware’ to ‘solution aware’ (discover everything you need to know about the essential Customer Value Journey is my article here: How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey.)
  5. To build trust and credibility in your brand. Your customers want to know whether they know, like, and trust you before they’re willing to invest.
  6. To establish your authority and leadership in your field.
  7. To grow your email list so you can nurture your audience and build the relationship with them.
  8. To sell! You can use social media to convert your audience into paying customers.

 

So now that we’ve established why your business needs to be on social media, the next step is to figure out which platforms you should focus your marketing efforts on.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”You have only so much time in your day and you don’t want to spend it all on social media.  ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

The best thing you can do on social media is to pick one or two platforms and focus your energy there to start with. Don’t try to spread yourself too thin! Your target audience won’t be on every single social media platform so you shouldn’t be either. Use this guide to figure out which social media platforms you should be using to see results in your business. 

Social media marketing is absolutely essential for your business in this day in age. But which ones are the best for your business? Read on to discover the latest statistics for each of the big eight social platforms globally so you you know which ones are right for you! #socialmediamarketing #socialmedia #businessmarketing #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #womensupportingwomen #ladybosses

 

The Key Thing to Consider When Deciding on Which Social Platforms to Use

 

The key question you need to ask yourself when trying to decide which platforms to use is:

 

Where is your target audience spending their time?

 

There’s no point in spending lots of time on TikTok if your ideal clients aren’t even on there! Where are your ideal clients hanging out?

The following information is intended to help you decide which platforms to use in your business based on some of the statistics available for each platform. I’ve collated this information from several different sources (see the sources at the end of the article!)

The social platforms below are ranked in order from highest number of users to lowest number of users worldwide. All stats are accurate as at May 2021.

Are you ready?

Here we go!

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, SnapChat, TikTok, YouTube... the choice of social platforms can be overwhelming! How do you know which ones to focus your time on? In this week's blog I'm sharing all the stats for the 8 biggest social platforms worldwide, so that you can make sure you're focusing your time and energy on the right platforms for your business! #socialmediamarketing #socialmedia #businessmarketing #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #fempire #fempirecoach #womensupportingwomen #ladybosses

 

Everything You Need to Know About the World’s Biggest Social Platforms

 

1. Facebook

What is Facebook?

Facebook is a platform for social connection. People tend to jump onto Facebook to catch up with what’s going on in their friend circles and to stay up to date with social happenings. It’s by far the most widely used social platform worldwide.

Facebook’s Company Vision Statement: “People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.”

Number of active users per month: 2.7 billion

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 86% of people aged 18-29. 
  • 77% of people aged 30-49. 
  • 51% of people aged 50-65. 
  • 34% of people aged 65+. 
  • 54% of users are female. 
  • 46% of users are male. A
  • Average income ranges widely from $30K – $100K+.

 

Important Characteristics of Facebook

  • Facebook is the most widely used social platform with the most varied demographics of users, meaning your target audience is probably on Facebook. 
  • It’s a ‘pay to play’ platform, meaning you’ll need to invest some money to promote your business page, your offers, and your content. Of course, you can post without paying, but organic (unpaid) reach is very low these days and building your brand visibility without Ads is a long process and requires a lot of effort.
  • Facebook Ads is a very powerful platform to use for promoting your business offerings, with good ROI on average. You can target very specific audiences and demographics with Ads because Facebook collects lots of personal information about its users. 
  • Using a low budget and trying to reach a large audience is less effective than a larger budget targeted to a more niched audience. 
  • People are generally on Facebook for social reasons as a form of time out. Your content will need to be captivating in order to disrupt your audience and gain their attention.

 

 

2. YouTube

What is YouTube?

YouTube is a search engine for video content. Video is the most powerful form of content these days because showing is more powerful than telling. Plus, it allows you to make a direct connection with your audience. They get to see you and know you as if they’re in the room with you. That’s why video traffic is predicted to make up 80% of all traffic online by the end of 2021. If video isn’t part of your marketing strategy yet, it probably should be! 

Plus, being a search engine, your audience is actively searching for content on YouTube and so when you’re using the right keywords, it can be a powerful marketing machine for your business.

YouTube’s Company Vision Statement: “Our mission is to give everyone a voice and show them the world. We believe that everyone deserves to have a voice, and that the world is a better place when we listen, share and build community through our stories.”

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 81% of people aged 15-25. 
  • 71% of people aged 26-35. 
  • 67% of people aged 36-45. 
  • 66% of people aged 46-55. 
  • 58% of people aged 56+. 
  • 55% of users are female. 
  • 45% of users are male. 
  • Average income ranges from $30K – $100K+. 


Important Characteristics of YouTube

  • YouTube is a search engine, hosting and streaming platform for video content. 
  • Owned by Google, it gives you access to Google’s advertising platform, which you can use to your advantage when running YouTube ads. 
  • Being a search engine, you’ll catch people who are actively looking for your product or service. You’ll need your videos to use appropriate keywords and tags so people can find your content.
  • Optimize your search rankings by including searched keywords in your title.
  • If you prepare a lot of video content (which most businesses should do!), you can create your own YouTube channel for free and use it to host and showcase all of your video content. 

 

 

3. Instagram

What is Instagram?

Instagram is a free social media platform for sharing images and video content. It’s a great platform for making connections with people and other businesses who see the world in interesting ways. You can find and follow people and businesses based on their content, and if they like yours, they’ll follow you back.

It can be a powerful marketing mechanism for your business. It’s essential for E-Commerce businesses and creative businesses that rely on your customers seeing your visual content.

Instagram’s Company Vision Statement: “To capture and share the world’s moments.”

Number of active users per month: 1 billion

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 67% of people aged 18-29. 
  • 47% of people aged 30-49. 
  • 23% of people aged 50-64. 
  • 8% of people aged 65+. 
  • 51% of users are female. 
  • 49% of users are male 
  • 60% of users earn $100K+ (more affluent platform).


Important Characteristics of Instagram

  • Instagram is for visual content, including infographics, photos, and video. 
  • Instagram is owned by Facebook so you have access to the same extensive user base and advertising platform. Ads can be run across both platforms simultaneously for a wider reach. 
  • Instagram posts can be directly cross-posted to Facebook. 
  • It’s one of the best platforms for E-Commerce and creative businesses. 
  • Instagram Reels are now providing strong competition to TikTok for animated videos. 
  • Instagram is a great platform to directly engage with your followers and to have conversations with them in direct messages. 

 

 

4. TikTok

What is TikTok?

TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing and discovering short videos. The app is used by people as an outlet to express themselves through singing, dancing, comedy, and lip-syncing, and allows users to create videos and share them across a community. It’s starting to get more and more traction with businesses as a way to connect with their audience.

TikTok’s Company Vision Statement: “TikTok is the leading destination for short-form mobile video. Our mission is to inspire creativity and bring joy.”

Number of active users per month: 800 million

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 41% of users are aged between 16-24 years old. 
  • Further stats pending. TikTok was only established in 2018. 

Important Characteristics of TikTok

  • TikTok is a mobile app for creating and sharing short videos. 
  • TikTok’s mission is “to capture and present the world’s creativity, knowledge, and precious life moments, directly from the mobile phone”. 
  • The platform is great for business and content creators, allowing you to engage with customers through video, in short, bite-sized clips. 
  • You can share your business core content messages in marketing videos. 
  • Your TikTok videos can be shared across your other social platforms. 
  • Younger users create and share animated videos that commonly include singing, dancing, lip-syncing, and comedy. 
  • Adult and business usage is growing: In less than 18 months, adult users grew 5.5 times from 2018. 
  • This platform is one to watch!

 

 

5. SnapChat

What is SnapChat?

Snapchat is a popular messaging app that lets users exchange pictures and videos (called snaps) that disappear after they’re viewed. Some businesses use it as a way to directly connect with their potential customers.

SnapChat’s Company Vision Statement: “Snapchat is an app that empowers people to express themselves, live in the moment, learn about the world, and have fun together. It’s the easiest and fastest way to communicate the full range of human emotions with your friends without pressure to be popular, pretty, or perfect.”

Number of active users per month: 381 million

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 53% of people aged 15-25. 
  • 34% of people aged 26-35. 
  • 18% of people aged 36-45. 
  • 11% of people aged 46-55. 
  • 4% of people aged 56+. 
  • 61% of users are female. 
  • 38% of users are male.

Important Characteristics of SnapChat

  • Snapchat is a mobile app for Android and iOS devices designed mainly for social interaction in a casual and fun way. 
  • It’s about being authentic, not picture-perfect. 
  • Photos and videos that you take in Snapchat are known as ‘snaps’ that can be posted, sent, and received. 
  • Known as the app for #RealFriends, ‘snaps’ are lighthearted and creative.
  • 87% of users are younger than 35. So if your target audience is young, Snapchat is an essential platform for your business. 
  • One of the core concepts of the app is that any picture or video or message you send is only accessible for a short time before it disappears. This temporary nature is designed to encourage a more spontaneous and natural flow of interaction. 

 

6. Twitter

What is Twitter?

Twitter is a microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as “tweets”. Its intention is to provide a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages. “Tweets” can contain photos, videos, links, and text. These messages are posted to your profile, sent to your followers, and are searchable on Twitter search.

Twitter’s Company Vision Statement: “The mission we serve as Twitter, Inc. is to give everyone the power to create and share ideas and information instantly without barriers. Our business and revenue will always follow that mission in ways that improve – and do not detract from – a free and global conversation.”

Number of active users per month: 330 million

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 38% of people aged 18-29. 
  • 26% of people aged 30-49. 
  • 17% of people aged 50-64. 
  • 7% of people aged 65+. 
  • 50% of users are female. 
  • 50% of users are male. 
  • Largest demographic (41%) is households with annual income > $75,000. 


Important Characteristics of Twitter

  • Twitter is a live, interactive platform where users post and view short ‘tweets’ of up to 280 characters. 
  • The platform is very popular with academics, students, policymakers, politicians, celebrities, news channels, and the general public. 
  • You can reach practically any person or business simply by tagging them in a Tweet.
  • You can witness real-time conversations and debates between people around the world. 
  • Stay up to date with the latest trends, conversations, and news-making headlines via their trending notifications. 
  • We recommend you only use Twitter for your business if you know that your target audience is actively spending time on there.

 

7. Pinterest

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a search engine and visual discovery platform for finding ideas like recipes, home and style inspiration, personal growth and development guidance, business growth resources, and so much more. You can create your own ‘pins’ which lead to different articles on your website. It’s a great tool to drive traffic to your website when you use the right keywords and hashtags in your pins. It’s a very powerful – and often underestimated  – platform for showcasing your expertise and growing your email database and your brand visibility.

Pinterest’s Company Vision Statement: “Our mission is to help empower people to discover things they love and inspire them to go do those things in real life.”

Number of active users per month: 322 million

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 34% of people aged 18-29. 
  • 35% of people aged 30-49. 
  • 27% of people aged 50-65. 
  • 15% of people that are 65+. 
  • 70% of users are female. 
  • 30% of users are male. 
  • Largest demographic (41%) is households with annual income > $75,000 (same as Twitter). 


Important Characteristics of Pinterest

  • Pinterest is a visual search engine and is an essential platform for those in the creative industry (jewelry, home design, crafts, clothing etc). 
  • The platform helps people to find and do the things that they love, from deciding what to do for dinner to planning a holiday or redecorating their home. 
  • A ‘pin’ is a long vertical visual image (600 x 900 pixels) containing visual content that is connected to a URL. 
  • Users can click through to the pin owner’s website. 
  • All businesses can use Pinterest to showcase their products and services, share their content, educate and inspire their audience, build their brand visibility, and grow their email database with a compelling lead magnet that requires an opt-in. 
  • The visual element of the platform helps you to tell your brand story. 
  • Pinterest is a source of inspiration for many entrepreneurs to launch their business, and for others, it’s the tool to help them grow. 
  • Being a search engine, Pinterest is connected to Google and can drastically increase your SEO when you use your power keywords regularly.

 

8. LinkedIn

What is LinkedIn?

LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network on the internet. You can use LinkedIn to showcase your expertise, market your business, find the right job or internship, connect and strengthen professional relationships, and learn the skills you need to succeed in your career. It’s sometimes referred to as ‘Facebook for Professionals’.

LinkedIn’s Company Vision Statement: “To connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful.”

Number of active users per month: 260 million

Who Uses the Platform?

  • 21% of people aged 18-24. 
  • 60% of people aged 25-34. 
  • 17% of people aged 35-54. 
  • 3% of people aged 55+. 
  • 43% of users are female. 
  • 57% of users are male. 
  • 60% of users earn $100K+ (more affluent platform). 

Important Characteristics of LinkedIn

  • Known by some as ‘Facebook for professionals’. 
  • Originally developed as a recruitment platform, it’s now widely used by professionals to connect with other professionals, engage with each others’ content, and market their services. 
  • The platform is used predominantly by professional service businesses. If your target audience is professionals, you should definitely be marketing yourself on LinkedIn.
  • It’s currently the most effective platform for organic reach, engagement, and lead generation (with 59% lead generation rate compared to Facebook’s 24% – Ref. 2).
  • You should definitely be on LinkedIn if you run a professional service business. 
  • The platform is less relevant for trades, E-Commerce, and product businesses.
  • Algorithms give preference to those who engage regularly on the platform with other peoples’ content. 
  • Make engagement part of your daily strategy if LinkedIn is part of your marketing strategy.

 

Whew! You made it!

You should be much clearer now about the qualities of each platform and which ones are best for your business. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Everything You Need to Know About the World’s Biggest Social Platforms” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Here are some key takeaway messages:

  • You should probably have a presence on Facebook, given that your audience is most likely on there (most people are!). 
  • All professional service businesses should have a visible presence on LinkedIn. 
  • If your brand is creative or highly visual, you should be on Instagram and Pinterest. 
  • If your target audience is young (<35 years old), you should be on TikTok and Snapchat. 
  • Video content gets by far the most engagement on social media, so make it part of your content strategy. Take some time to learn how to create animated, visual content on platforms like Instagram ‘Stories’ and ‘Reels’, and TikTok, or simply using a tool like Canva. It’s really easy to create short, engaging videos in Canva!

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey

How to Speak Transformationally So You Can Sell More

How to Drastically Increase Profits with a Product or Service Ladder

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear so You’ll Never Lose a Customer Again

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Professionals
katedejong.com
[email protected]

 

References

REF 1: https://khoros.com/resources/social-media-demographics-guide
REF 2: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/linkedin-vs-facebook
REF 3: https://au.oberlo.com/blog/tiktok-statistics
REF 4: https://www.pocket-lint.com/apps/news/snapchat/131313-what-is-snapchat-how-does-it-work-and-what-is-it-used-for
REF 5: https://prowebmarketing.com/which-social-media-platform-should-i-use-for-my-business/ 

How to Be Authentic, True to Yourself, and Run a Profitable Business

How to Be Authentic, True to Yourself, and Run a Profitable Business

Are you tired of all the marketing hype out there? If so, you're not alone. Consumers are craving more authenticity, depth, and substance in the brands they buy from. Read on to discover how you can increase your profitability by being authentic and true to yourself. #authenticmarketing #authenticity #authenticbusiness #smallbusiness #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoachIn a world of paid influencers, polished celebrity profiles, and relentless advertising, consumers are craving authenticity more than ever.

 

According to the latest marketing research, consumers are craving depth and substance, and less hype. People want “real and organic”, not “perfect and packaged” (Frontify, 2020).

Eighty-six percent of people say authenticity matters when deciding what brands they like and support. To win the hearts and business of your target customers, you have to convince them you’re trustworthy and authentic.

 

You show your audience you’re trustworthy and authentic by getting real, raw, and vulnerable.

 

You’re wasting your time if you’re trying to create perfect, polished posts. In fact, the statistics consistently show that imperfect, raw posts get the greatest engagement and build trust and confidence in your brand. My social media post that got the most engagement last year was a makeup-free selfie of me looking all hot and sweaty after a yoga workout, sharing how passionate I am about yoga. People want to see the real you; the imperfect, unpolished you, doing things that are important to you. Your audience is trying to figure out if they know, like, and trust you, and they can only do that if you share the ‘real’ you regularly – your beliefs, your values, and your priorities.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”This should be good news for you if you hate all the marketing ‘hype’ out there. You don’t have to follow any formulas or scripts that an ‘expert’ tells you that you need to follow. Just show up and be yourself.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Just show up as yourself with your own, genuine message, and that is enough. You don’t need to dance and jig on a reel if that doesn’t feel authentic to you. If it does – great! Reel your heart out! But if it doesn’t, find a way to show up regularly in a way that feels genuine to you, whether it be through writing, or video blogging and sharing messages from the heart.

You have full permission to be yourself – in fact, we implore you to please be yourself – because you will attract more ideal clients and your bank account will reflect your authenticity.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Because authenticity sells.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Your ‘Why’ is Everything

The Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2020 found that 64% of today’s customers are belief-driven buyers. They think brands “can be a powerful force for change,” and they use their wallets like votes to support the ones willing to take a stand.

[mashtweet tweet=”To build trust in your brand, you need to share your beliefs and your values on a regular basis.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

What do you believe?

Are you telling your audience about it regularly?

What’s your business ‘why’? If you’re not sure yet, check out my article called Why You Need to Know Your Business Why, Vision, and Mission.

People buy from brands who have a similar belief system. As Simon Sinek always says:

[mashtweet tweet=”Your job is not to do business with those who need what you have. Your job is to do business with those who believe what you believe. – Simon Sinek” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

At Fempire, we believe that the world needs more successful female entrepreneurs.

 

We believe that all the masculine energy (yang) in the business world needs to be balanced with an equal amount of feminine energy (yin), just as the yin-yang symbol reminds us. We believe that until the masculine and feminine energies are balanced –  until we have more women leading in the business world, and more women are involved in decision making at the highest levels in all areas – the system will not be balanced, harmonious, and whole.

[mashtweet tweet=”If you believe what we believe, you’ll be attracted to our brand and our work. And if you don’t believe that what we believe, our message won’t resonate with you, and you’ll find someone else that resonates. Your ‘why’ is a great way to find and filter out those who are meant to work with you and those who aren’t.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Your audience doesn't want polished, perfect marketing. They're craving more authenticity, depth and substance and less hype. Read on to discover why and how you can run a profitable business by being true to yourself. #authenticmarketing #authenticity #authenticbusiness #smallbusiness #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoachGenuine Marketing Without All the ‘Hype’

So many women who come to us say they hate marketing and selling because it feels icky and inauthentic. They don’t want to be ‘saelsy’. They don’t want to follow a sales script or a video formula to create the perfect ‘pitch’.

And the good news is that you don’t have to hype up your marketing. In fact, please don’t!

People can smell out inauthenticity from a mile away and they’ll cringe if they sense that you’re out of alignment with your truth.

But that doesn’t mean that you can get away with avoiding sales and marketing. As Fempire founder Marnie LeFevre always says:

 

If you have a business, then you’re in the business of sales and marketing.
– Marnie LeFevre

 

So you need to find a way to get comfortable with selling, which means getting comfortable with sharing why people should work with you. You need to tell them regularly about the problems you solve and how you can help them find solutions. It’s your duty as a business owner to tell people how they can work with you or buy from you. But you can do it in a way that feels authentic. Show up as yourself, speak from the heart, and tell your audience how you can help them.

If it doesn’t feel genuine and authentic, don’t do it.

 

Research shows consumers want to buy from brands who are making a positive difference. What is your business WHY and are you sharing it regularly with your audience? It's the fastest route to profitability. Read on to discover how. #authenticmarketing #authenticity #authenticbusiness #smallbusiness #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach

Stay true to yourself and your customers will love you for it.

Stay true to yourself, and you will sell more.

 

And if you need any help, please reach out. We’re here for you.

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Art of Being Yourself: 5 Ways to Embrace Authenticity as Your Way of Life

How to Maintain Strong Boundaries in Business and in Life

What Does it Mean To Be True To Yourself? My Personal Journey of Finding My True Path & Voice

How to Speak Transformationally So You Can Sell More

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear so You’ll Never Lose a Customer Again

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
https://katedejong.com
[email protected]

How to Make Your Product Launch a Spectacular Success

How to Make Your Product Launch a Spectacular Success

Have you ever tried to launch something and it flopped? Did you follow a proven launch formula? If not, read on to discover the exact steps you need to take to generate huge sales from a launch! #fempire #entrepreneur #launch #productlaunch #businesscoach #womeninbusiness #fempirecoach #launchformula #ladybossHave you ever tried to launch something and it flopped? 

Did you pour your heart and soul into an offer that you were super proud of and yet no one seemed to want it? 

 

We see it all the time with new businesses. And it’s heart breaking when that happens. 

But the good news is that it can be completely prevented with a comprehensive, powerful launch strategy.

 

Where Do Launches Go Wrong?

 

Launches go wrong when there’s no thought or strategy put into the build up period prior to the launch. Most people tend to put all the thought into creating the actual product or offer itself, without the same thought and care applied to the launch process.

Have you been guilty of putting something out to market without implementing a carefully considered launch process? I know I have, especially in the early days. And then we wonder why it doesn’t convert.

 

A launch is when you’re going out to the market and asking people to buy something from you.

 

Let’s think of a dating analogy. Just like you can’t ask someone to sleep with you before you’ve been on several amazing dates, you also can’t ask someone to buy from you when you haven’t spent time romancing them or allowing them to get to know you.

You might have heard of this quote or similar before. 

One of the biggest mistakes most businesses make is they’re walking around trying to sleep with complete strangers.

– Sabri Suby

 

It sounds a bit harsh, but this quote is metaphorically very true with any marketing strategy and it’s especially true for launching!

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Did you know that most people need at least 7-20 touch points with you before they’re willing to buy?” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

That’s because of the extremely important concept in the world of marketing known as The Customer Value Journey (read all about it here: How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey). The Customer Value Journey leads your prospects through a series of touch points that are designed to ‘romance’ and warm up your prospects. The different touch points help you to build a relationship with your audience, establish trust and credibility, and generate a willingness and desire in your prospects to buy from you. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”People need to know, like, and trust you before they’re willing to buy from you. And a great launch strategy will help you do just that. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

If you launch to an audience that hasn’t been warmed up appropriately, they won’t want to buy from you.

So How Do You Make Your Launch a Spectacular Success?

 

There are a series of steps to follow to maximise the chances of your launch’s success. You should start your launch preparation around 30-40 days before you intend to launch, to launch like a Queen!

Here are the steps we recommend you follow.

 

1. Set a Launch Date.

 

It’s essential to have a launch date to work towards. Like everything in business, you need a specific goal that keeps you accountable and helps you avoid procrastination. Choose a date that’s realistic but also stretches you a little. Most people work more efficiently with a little pressure!

Have you been guilty of putting your offerings out to the market without a comprehensive launch strategy, and then you wonder why no one is buying? Discover the exact steps you need to take before you launch to make your launches spectacularly successful! #fempire #entrepreneur #launch #productlaunch #businesscoach #womeninbusiness #fempirecoach #launchformula #ladyboss

2. Grow Your Social Followings, Your Email List & Establish Promotional Partners.

You don’t want to launch to an empty theatre! Put a concerted effort into growing your social platform followings and your email database before you launch so that you’re launching to as big an audience as possible. Find colleagues in your field who are willing to promote your offer to their audiences on your behalf and set up a simple affiliate arrangement where they get a small percentage of the sale if the prospect comes from their list. This will get your offer out to much larger audiences.

 

3. Start Building Anticipation.

Make a public announcement across your social profiles and your email database about when you’ll be launching your product or service offering. Be specific, tell them the exact date and be sure to launch on that date! 

Start to romance your audience with high value content related to your business or product so that you continue building anticipation. Provide content that piques curiosity and teases your audience so that they’ll want to see what comes next!

 

4. Release High Value Content Piece #1: ‘Why’

You’ll need to prepare a series of content (blog posts, videos, social media posts, or infographics) that answer that question ‘Why?’ 

  • Why should your audience care about your product? What’s in it for them?
  • Why should they listen to you? 
  • What’s the transformation and the result you will offer them? Why do they need it?
  • What do you believe? Remember, your job is to do business with those who believe what you believe (see Why You Need to Know Your Business ‘Why’, Vision and Mission).

You don’t need to give your audience any details of your offering at this stage, simply explain why they need it, and let them know you’ll be providing all the details in upcoming posts.

 

5. Release High Value Content Piece #2: ‘How’

Now you need to educate your audience about how you will deliver the transformation that you promised in your first piece of content. Present a short case study or demonstrate how your offering works. Answer common questions, which is a way to address any objections they might have. Help your audience to see the big picture and how it can impact their life. Let them know you’ll be explaining the offer in detail in the next post and to ‘stay tuned’; this keeps building the anticipation.

 

6. Release High Value Content Piece #3: ‘What’

Now you get to announce your offer and let them know all the details they’ve been waiting for! Tell your audience exactly what your offer is. Teach some key concepts related to your offering so that they can see the benefit of your offer. Explain how your offer is different to your competitors. Give them a tip or trick that is really valuable and that they can implement right away. What can you give them or teach them that will make an impact and make them want more? 

 

Learn how to launch like a Queen with our proven launch formula. If you do the work, it works! Discover how to more sales and make the impact you deserve. #fempire #entrepreneur #launch #productlaunch #businesscoach #womeninbusiness #fempirecoach #launchformula #ladyboss7. The Countdown

For the final seven days before you launch, continue to build the anticipation and excitement by doing a countdown with your social media posts or emails. For example you could post a big number 7 with balloons and champagne one week before launch, and continue with the countdown 3 and 1 day before launch. Send an email to your database to get them excited about the impending launch.

 

8. Launch Day

This is when you finally ‘open your shopping cart’ and announce that your product is now live and available for purchase. Your offer should be irresistible, meaning, your audience perceives it as high value for a great price – which it absolutely should be! It should seem like a ‘no-brainer’ for your audience and an easy ‘yes’,  because it is. To learn more about crafting irresistible offers, check out this article: How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that Your Prospects Can’t Refuse.

If you have a sales page, give your audience the link to your sales page where they can go to purchase your offer. Or tell them clearly the process they have to follow in order to work with you. Tell your audience exactly which action you want them to take to engage with your offer. Be clear and specific. Remember, the confused person never buys! 

 

9. 7-10 Day Launch Period

You’ll want to keep your offer open for 7 – 10 days, and then close it down. People need a deadline to make a decision, it’s just human nature! That’s the beauty and power of launches, it creates anticipation, builds tension, opens the offer, and then closes it down. It provides urgency and scarcity, the key ingredients to successful sales. People feel the FOMO (fear of missing out) if they choose not to engage with your irresistible offer, which motivates them to buy now.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”With a legitimate sense of scarcity and urgency, you’re helping people to make a decision that you know will positively benefit them.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Hopefully now you can clearly see what it takes to successfully launch a product. It’s a lot more than just putting your offer out to the market. It takes a lot of work, but the results are well worth the effort. If you can develop a process and templates for your business, then it becomes a matter of rolling out the same process over and over again each time you go to market with a new offering.

Give it a try and watch how your conversion rates drastically increase! And please reach out if you have any breakthroughs, I’d love to hear about them!

Did you like this article? You might also like:

How to Speak Transformationally So You Can Sell More

How to Drastically Increase Profits with a Product or Service Ladder

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear so You’ll Never Lose a Customer Again

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Professionals
katedejong.com
[email protected]

How to Outsource Effectively So You Can Grow Your Business Faster

How to Outsource Effectively So You Can Grow Your Business Faster

In small business, you eventually get to a point where you realise you can’t do everything yourself. Discover how to start outsourcing to break through to greater levels of profit and freedom in your business. #outsourcing #virtualassistant #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen Have you hit a wall in your business where you’re trying to do everything yourself and you’re becoming an over-worked, frazzled human in the process?

 

If so, you’re not alone!

You have to wear so many different hats as a business owner. You need to be the saleswoman, the marketer, the manager, the content creator, the service provider or product developer, the operations manager, the networker, the business development manager, and more.

 

Eventually you get to the point where you realise that you just can’t do it all on your own.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Eventually you get to the point where you realise that you just can’t do it all on your own.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

If you’re serious about growing your business, you need to start working ‘on’ your business and not ‘in’ your business. You’ll need to get serious about training other people up to do what you do, or you’ll be forever caught in a cycle of stress and overwhelm.

To grow and scale your business, surround yourself with a team of people who are reliable and competent, and can take the administrative burden off you. Outsourcing is a critical and absolutely essential step that’s required to move from ‘Breakthrough’ to ‘Profit’ in the 6 Stages of Business Growth.

This doesn’t mean you have to start bringing on employees. You can start by hiring a virtual assistant for just a few hours per month to do some simple tasks like social media scheduling and posting or payment tracking and client onboarding, to get started. If you’ve never worked with a VA before, check out my article: What is a Virtual Assistant and Why Do You Need One?

 

[mashtweet tweet=”If you haven’t dipped your toe in the world of outsourcing yet, it can be scary, especially if you struggle with perfectionism and letting go.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Outsourcing is not something that women seem to find naturally easy to do. Over the years working as a business coach for women, here are the biggest objections I hear when I suggest to a client that it’s time they start outsourcing. 

 

 

Common Objections to Outsourcing

“I’m not comfortable with letting go of control.”

“I haven’t got the time to get organised enough to train someone else. It’s easier to just keep doing it all myself.”

“No one can do it as good as me.”

“What if they make big mistakes that make me look bad?”

“How do I trust someone else to deliver my high standards?”

 

Have you been guilty of saying any of these statements or similar?

If so, find a way to work through this resistance.

The good news is, all of these objections be easily overcome with great outsourcing processes in place, which I’m sharing below.

 

We all get to a point in small business where we have to start outsourcing in order to grow and scale effectively. Outsourcing can be so liberating! It allows you to focus your precious time on the things you love and that are in your zone of genius. Read on to discover how to outsource effectively now. #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen The Benefits of Effective Outsourcing

Here are some of the things that business owners say when they’ve been able to build up a team of reliable, trusted assistants around them:

“Oh my goodness, I wish I’d started outsourcing sooner!”

“Outsourcing has given me my time and freedom back.”

“I can finally focus my time on doing the work I love and growing my business.”

“I can take a holiday and my business keeps running without me!”

“Other people can actually do things better than me!”

 

What To Outsource?

The general rule for outsourcing is:

Any activity that you can pay someone else to do for a lower hourly rate than your rate, outsource it now.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Any activity that you can pay someone else to do for a lower hourly rate than your rate, outsource it now.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

The easiest things to start outsourcing are shown in the table below. Bookkeeping and accounting are the obvious things to start outsourcing if you haven’t started doing that already. Getting someone else to manage your client onboarding processes (organising payments, organising social media access, setting up email sequences etc) will also free up your time significantly.

If possible, you should continue to create your long-form content yourself. In my article The Art of Content Marketing I explain how you can repurpose and leverage one long-form piece of content into many different social media posts. Your virtual assistant can do all the repurposing and scheduling/posting for you, allowing you to spend your time putting your brainpower into a single, high-quality piece of long-form content.

Get started with outsourcing in your business with this list. Read on to discover how outsourcing can be your ticket to freedom and profit in your business! #outsourcing #virtualassistant #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

 

How to Outsource Effectively

Effective outsourcing is all about effective communication. Outsourcing starts to go wrong when there’s a breakdown in communication.

Here are four steps you absolutely must follow in order to establish a successful outsourcing relationship.

 

1. Set Clear Expectations

Let your contractor or virtual assistant know exactly what you require of them. They can’t read your mind, so you’ll need to lay out all your expectations and requirements very clearly and succinctly. Don’t leave any room for ambiguity because this is where things can start to go wrong.

 

2. Provide a Clear Process to Follow

You’ll need to lay out the exact steps you want your assistant to follow. Once again, don’t assume they know anything, because they’re stepping into your business cold and they’ll need to know exactly what to do. It takes time to set up processes and procedures, but they’ll give you so much freedom and flexibility once you’ve established them because then your outsourcing can flow easily, freeing you up to focus on what you do best.

Plan out your content calendar and then get clear on what you want you want to post, and when. How many times per week do you want to post, and to which platforms? If you haven’t worked out your content strategy yet, then you’ll need to read this article: The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients.

Here’s an example of daily instructions that I give my virtual assistant in Trello, which allows her to tick off the items as she goes.

Setting up checklists is a great way to set clear expectations and instructions for your virtual assistant.

 

3. Establish a Clear Review Process

To avoid any reputation risk, be sure to have a clear review process established with your VA so that you can review their work before they put it out into the world. My VA puts all her planned content into Trello before posting and scheduling it so that I can check over it and do my quality control before she sends it out. This way, you won’t be having to pull posts down if they haven’t met your high standards.

 

4. Establish Clear Communication Channels

Let your VA know how you want them to communicate with you. Do you want to set up a Slack channel for your work together? Or will you communicate via WhatsApp? Or Voxer? Again, be clear on where and how you want them to communicate with you so you can enjoy a fruitful and productive relationship together.

 

I hope you found this helpful on your journey to outsourcing.

If you liked this article, you might also like:

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients.

How to Drastically Increase Profits with a Product or Service Ladder

How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level

Why You Need to Know Your Business ‘Why’, Vision and Mission.

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
https://katedejong.com
[email protected]

How to Speak Transformationally So You Can Sell More

How to Speak Transformationally So You Can Sell More

Are you speaking transformationally when marketing your products and services? Are you helping your clients to clearly understand the before and after state you lead them from and to? If you can learn how to speak transformationally, you'll start to see massive shifts in your business. Read on to discover how! #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

 

Cambridge Dictionary:

‘Transformation’

UK /ˌtræns.fəˈmeɪ.ʃən/  US/ˌtræns.fɚˈmeɪ.ʃən/

Noun: A process that results in a marked change in form, nature, or appearance.
 
 
 
 

If you want to win more clients in your business, you need to learn to speak in terms of the transformation you provide.

 
What is the ‘before’ and ‘after’ state that you lead people from and to?
 
What are the results and the outcomes they get through working with you?
 
Have you ever spoken to a business person who starts telling you all about an amazing product or program they have, or an incredible app they’ve created that has all these incredible features? And you’re left wondering – “But why would I want that?” 
 
Many business people get so excited about the features of whatever they’re selling, that they forget to tell you why you would even need those features. To what end? What results do you get from using their product or service? What’s the outcome? What’s the transformation?
 

 

Are you selling the aeroplane or the end destination in your marketing copy? People don't care about the aeroplane - the process, or the how - they just care about the end destination! If you can clearly articulate the end destination you take your clients to, you'll find selling so much easier. Read on to discover how! #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

 

Are you selling the end destination or the aeroplane?

 
When you want to book a holiday and you go to the travel agent, what’s the thing you’re most excited about? The end destination, right? If the travel agent starts telling you about the amazing aeroplane you’ll get if you choose one service over another, do you really care? All you’re thinking about (if you’re like me) is the cocktails by the pool, and the beautiful beach you’ll be close to – the end destination. I don’t care how I get there. I just want to know that I’ll get there.
 
It’s the same in marketing.
 
People don’t generally care about the process you’ll use to get them from A to B. They just want to know that you can transport them from their current ‘before’ state into their desired ‘after’ state.
 
 
[mashtweet tweet=”They want to buy the transformation. And if you can learn how to speak in terms of transformation, you’re going to sell more.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]
 
 

Many business owners make the mistake of talking about the features of their products or services in their marketing strategies. But no one really cares about the features, they care about the results and the outcomes you achieve for them! What’s the transformation you create for your clients? Learn to speak transformationally and you’ll sell more! #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

 
Let’s use an example from Fempire to demonstrate the difference between speaking in feature-based language and outcome-based language.
 
At Fempire, we offer a twelve-month coaching program that helps female business owners bring their business vision to life and to finally make the money and impact they deserve.
 
Check out this image below. In the top section, we’re using feature-based language. In the bottom section, we’re using outcome-based language.
 
One of them sounds much more powerful, right?
 
 
 
So how can you start to change the way you market your products or services to be much more outcome-focused? Learn to speak transformationally, and you’ll start to sell more.
 
 

Try it and see for yourself.

 
 
Did you like this article? You might also like:
 

How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 2): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
https://katedejong.com
[email protected]

How to Drastically Increase Profits with a Product or Service Ladder

How to Drastically Increase Profits with a Product or Service Ladder

Did you know that most businesses spend more than 80% of their marketing budget on the acquisition of new clients? If you focus some of your time on encouraging repeat purchases from your current happy clients, you can drastically increase your profit margins, because repeat customers are highly profitable. Read on to discover how. #serviceladder #digitalmarketing #customervaluejourney #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomenRepeat customers are highly profitable.

 

If you want to create a significant increase in your revenue quickly, focus your time and efforts on encouraging repeat purchases from your existing clients. Getting happy customers to come back and buy again is more valuable and cost-effective than constantly acquiring new ones. And a product or service ladder will help you do this.

In this article, I’m going to explain why repeat customers are profitable and how you can encourage repeat purchases in your own business.

 

Why Are Repeat Customers Profitable?

Did you know that most businesses spend more than 80% of their marketing budget on the acquisition of new clients? 

[mashtweet tweet=”Repeat customers are highly profitable because there’s no cost to acquire the customer. All the revenue goes towards your profits. Research by the Harvard Business Review shows that a 5% increase in customer retention results in a 25 – 95% increase in profitability.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

And while repeat purchases only make up 8% of purchases (according to statistics from the online world), they happen to result in 41% of revenue.

According to smile.io:

A returning customer spends three times more than a first-time buyer, and a loyal customer spends five times more.

 

This is because repeat customers are already familiar with and comfortable with your brand.

It all comes down to trust and confidence in you and your brand.

If you haven’t heard of the Customer Value Journey before, it’s a process where you turn a stranger from not knowing you exist into a loyal brand advocate. It’s a very reliable and essential process that you need to have in place to help your new prospects develop trust in your brand. But it’s also lengthy and takes time. The customer value journey is powerful but it’s also the reason why customer acquisition is costly, because build trust and confidence takes time and money.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Encouraging repeat purchases from existing happy clients allows you to avoid the expensive costs of customer acquisition and puts more profits in your pockets.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

What is a Product or Service Ladder?

A product or service ladder is a range of products or services rising in price and value. A higher price gives your clients more features and benefits.

One way to do this is to make your entry-level products or services (bottom of the ladder) free or relatively cheap. If your customer is happy and they feel they’ve received value, they’ll come back for more. And your profits increase easily as a result. 

See Fempire’s service ladder below.

A product or service ladder is a range of products or services you offer that rise in price and value. A higher price gives clients more features and benefits. Discover how you can set up your own service ladder so you can leverage the high profitability of repeat customers and boost your profits! #serviceladder #digitalmarketing #customervaluejourney #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

Your product or service ladder makes it easy to start small and build trust so that it’s easy to come back for more.

[mashtweet tweet=”Your product ladder must give your customers the opportunity to take one step at a time.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Each step of your ladder builds trust.
And when you trust that someone is going to provide you with value, you’re likely to come back for more.

 

How to Create Your Product or Service Ladder

If you’re already in business with one or two products or services, you can break them up into smaller products or services, or offer a ‘starter’ version.

What’s a way that someone can experience your work and the value it provides for a relatively small cost? Or for free?

If you don’t have a process in place in your business to encourage repeat purchases from your happy clients, then you’re leaving money on the table! Discover how you can use a product or service ladder to boost your profits quickly. #serviceladder #digitalmarketing #customervaluejourney #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen For example, if you offer virtual assistance services, perhaps your signature offering might be a full social media management package including content creation (e.g. blog), graphics creation, captions, hashtags, and social media post scheduling. But not everyone is ready or financially able to jump into this big offering. Perhaps your ‘starter’ package could be comprised of graphics creation and post scheduling only. And once your clients recognise the value and freedom it gives them, they might want to progress onto one of your more comprehensive packages.

If you’re selling physical products, you could offer your products in a range of bundles, for example, starting with a single item, and then bundles of three or larger, each bundle providing more value than the next as you move up the ladder.

If you haven’t yet gone through the process of productisation for your products and services, check out this blog article How to Make Your Offerings Clear with Productisation and be sure to do this as well. It will help you set up your product ladder and be clear about what you’re offering at each step.

How will you set up your product or service ladder to maximise your profits?

I hope this article has helped you. You might also like:

How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 2): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2014!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
https://katedejong.com
[email protected]

 

How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey

How to Win More Clients with a Powerful Customer Value Journey

Have you been asking prospects to get into bed with you before they even know you, in the proverbial sense? If so, you’re making one of the most common and costly mistakes that first time business owners make. Discover how you can naturally generate great brand fans and sell easily with a compelling customer value journey. #digitalmarketing #customervaluejourney #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomenDo you need more clients? More leads or sales?

If so, it’s likely you need to optimise your Customer Value Journey.

 

One of the biggest mistakes most businesses make is they’re walking around trying to sleep with complete strangers.
– Sabri Suby

 

This might sound harsh, but metaphorically it’s very true.

Has this happened to you before? You go to a lot of trouble to create a great product or service offering that delivers value and transformational results for your client, and you’re super excited to put it out to the market. So you send your great offer out to your email list and post it all across your social media channels multiple times. And then you wait with bated breath for the clients to start rolling in.

 

Except all you hear is … crickets.

 

If that’s happened to you before, you’re not alone. It’s a very common problem that first-time business owners encounter. And it’s completely normal that no one responds to your offer if you haven’t yet taken the time to move your leads and prospects through a powerful Customer Value Journey.

In this article, I’m explaining what the Customer Value Journey is and why you need one.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”A Customer Value Journey is a step-by-step process that attracts and converts prospects into paying clients and keeps them coming back. It’s an invaluable digital marketing tool that helps business owners improve their conversions, their sales, and their Return on Investment (ROI) – definition by ViralSolutions.net #digitalmarketing #sales.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Marketing and selling is all about building relationships

 

[mashtweet tweet=”People only buy from people they know, like, and trust.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

When was the last time you bought something from someone who you don’t know or trust? I’m guessing you’re like the rest of us, and you’ve never done that.

It takes time to build a relationship and there are roughly eight different stages.

You know how it goes when you meet someone you like. You might first invite them for a coffee, and if that goes well you might invite them out for dinner, and if that goes well you might do that a few more times before inviting them back to your place, and so on.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”If you were to invite someone back to your place before you even know them, that would be creepy! You need to build the relationship slowly. And the exact same is true for marketing. You need to give people time to get to know, like, and trust you before you start asking them to buy from you.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

The diagram below shows the eight different stages of a human relationship, which coincides with the eight different stages of the customer value journey in marketing.

 

Both are a process of building a relationship naturally and organically. If you try to skip a step, it feels weird for everyone involved.

 

Marketing is all about building relationships, and developing trust and confidence in you and your brand so that prospects feel safe and excited to spend their money with you. Discover how to do this using a powerful customer value journey. #digitalmarketing #customervaluejourney #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

Figure 1: The 8 Stages of Relationships & Marketing

 

 

So how do you apply this to your marketing?

You’ll need to provide different types of content during each different phase of the customer value journey with the intention to move them one step further along.

Below is an overview of how you might apply the different steps to your marketing strategy (courtesy of Caffeinate Digital).

Figure 2. The Customer Value Journey – courtesy of Caffeinate Digital

 

Phase-Relevant Content Types

Here are the different stages and the different types of content you can use to organically move prospects along the customer value journey. The content is divided into ‘top of funnel’ strategies, ‘middle of funnel’ strategies, and ‘bottom of funnel’ strategies.

 

Discover the different types of content to use during the different phases of the Customer Value Journey in order to easily generate more leads and paying clients. #digitalmarketing #customervaluejourney #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

Figure 3: Content Marketing and the Customer Value Journey

 

Now let’s look at the eight different stages of the Customer Value Journey in detail.

 

The 8 Stages of the Customer Value Journey

(adapted from Digital Marketer’s Customer Value Journey)

 

Step 1: Make Your Prospects Aware

Are you having trouble getting prospects to engage with your great offers you’re putting out? If so, it’s likely that you haven’t yet optimised your Customer Value Journey, which forms an essential part of a successful marketing strategy. Read on to discover everything you need to know about how to set up your optimal customer value journey. #digitalmarketing #customervaluejourney #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomenThe first step is to make your customers aware that you exist and that they have a problem that you can solve. During this phase, you’re simply educating, entertaining, and inspiring your audience. It’s all about giving value with no strings attached. You’re not asking them to spend any time or money with you, you’re simply giving lots of value for free.

In terms of human relationships, this is like the ‘romancing’ phase (see Figure 1).

The types of content to offer during this phase include blog posts, free events, social media posts, podcasts, video, etc (see Figure 3).

 

Step 2: Get Your Prospects to Engage

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, engagement is defined as “emotional involvement or commitment”. During this phase, you’re still continuing to show up and offer great value with no strings atttached, because your prospects are still trying to figure out if they know, like, and trust you. If they’re liking what they see so far, you’ll see your prospects engaging with your posts and your content, either through clicks, comments or shares. They’re starting to trust you.

If you can prove your value during this phase (by giving lots of great value), then they’re more likely to want to spend time or money with you, which comes during the ‘subscribe’ phase (next).

Your goal in this phase is to keep giving great value and informing your audience about how you solve the different challenges they may have so they’ll feel more compelled to get involved with you and your brand.

 

Step 3: Ask Them to Subscribe

As Digital Marketer says: “When someone likes their experience with your brand, trust begins to build. Once that happens, it’s time to ask for a small commitment – subscribing – and giving you permission to email them.”

In this phase, you offer them a lead magnet (something of high value that they can download for free), in exchange for their contact details. This allows you to continue marketing to them via email, further nurturing the relationship with them, and further building the trust and confidence in your brand.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”You offer something they want, they fill out a form to get it. It’s that simple.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

There’s just one problem. Today, people are careful about giving out their email address. You have to offer something valuable that makes it worth their while. Think webinars, free samples of a product or chapters of a book, demos, reports, and guides.

You offer something they want, they fill out a form to get it. It’s that simple.

 

Step 4: ‘Convert’ – Make Them a Customer

As the team at Digital Marketer says: “If your free offers have enough value (answering questions and solving problems), your prospects are often eager to deepen their commitment. They just need to know how.

The best way to do that is through an entry-point offer—a high-value, low-risk offer that lets them sample your wares without putting too much skin in the game.

To be clear, an entry-point offer is not designed to make you a profit. Its only purpose is to create a smooth transition from subscriber or follower to a paying customer. You can focus on profits later in the customer value journey.

Now, in this phase, you only need to ask for a small commitment: say, $8–$20. Your goal is simply to cover your costs in acquiring the customer.

 

Step 5: Get Them Excited About Your Brand

This is all about creating memorable experiences for your new customers.

As Digital Marketer says:

Buying generates warm fuzzies. It’s a scientific fact.

Buying generates warm fuzzies. It’s a scientific fact. The dopamine from a new purchase gets people excited—which is why the fifth stage of the Customer Journey is to build on that excitement.

How do you do that? By giving your new customer a memorable experience.

Consider offering a quick-start guide… bonus features that surprise and delight… quick wins… any content that makes your new customers happy.

 

Step 6: ‘Brand Advocate’ – Turn Your Customers into Multi-Buyers

At this stage, your goal is to generate repeat buys and real profits. While your entry-point offer was designed for conversions, your ‘ascension’ phase offers should be geared for profits—because if you’re serving your customers well, they’ll want to buy again and again. Your ‘ascension’ ladder is how you can upsell your existing customers from your core offer into higher ticket items with you.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”As a general rule of thumb, the profit margin increases with every upsell you generate, because you have no cost to acquire the customer. They’re already a brand fan and advocate.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Ascension offers may be simple upsells made after that initial purchase… bigger, better solutions… or “done for you” add-ons.

 

Step 7: ‘Referrals’ – Ask Them to Spread the Love

Happy customers love to share their experience…

Happy customers love to share their experience, but sometimes they need some encouragement to do so. The cool thing is, once they do, they become even more loyal to your brand.

So, at this stage of the Customer Value Journey, ask people to share their positive experience with your brand by writing a review, by sending referrals your way, or sharing social media posts with their audience.

 

Step 8: ‘Promote’ – Make Them a Promoter

Up until now, any “promotion” your customers have done has been passive. But in the promotion stage, your customers actively spread the word about your brands, products, and services. They tell stories, make recommendations, and share your offers because they truly believe in them.

Active promotion may be an affiliate or commission relationship—or just a free offer for sending some new customers your way. The point is, it’s a win-win for both of you.

 

How to Help People on Their Journey

Digital marketing is about helping customers move along this journey faster. That’s why you can’t use just one tactic or an ongoing series of unfocused marketing campaigns.

You need a plan that addresses every stage of the Journey. And you need to think in terms of optimising that journey.

Did you like this article?

You might also like:

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear so You’ll Never Lose a Customer Again

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 1): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level

How to Become a Profit Queen (Part 2): Growth Strategies to Take Your Business to the Next Level

 

Are you starting or growing your own business?

Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful business and discover everything I wish I’d known back when I was starting my business!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
+61 424 176 658
www.katedejong.com

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know

How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know

There’s a good reason why 80% of all small businesses fail within the first eighteen months. If you’re serious about starting your own business, discover three things you need to know before embarking on your exciting but challenging journey! #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneur #marketing #goalsSo you want to start your own business?

 

That’s super exciting!

Because being in business for yourself has so many benefits. And being your own boss really is a beautiful thing.

But it’s also not easy to get a profitable business off the ground and it takes time. There’s a good reason why up to 80% of small businesses fail within the first eighteen months (you can read about that here).

If you’re contemplating taking that big step to start your own business, take note of these three key things that will give you the best chances of success.

 

Three things you need to know when starting your own business.

 

1. Know your ‘why’.

Why are you going into business? It’s critical that you get clear on this.

What is it that you care about so deeply that you want to go ‘all in’ and spend your days building a business around it?

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Does your reason for being in business invoke fire and passion in your belly? Because building a business is hard work and you’ll need that passion and fire to get you through the tough days.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Your business ‘why’ is also important because it should form the central message of your marketing strategy. If you haven’t yet watched Simon Sinek’s YouTube video called How Great Leaders Inspire Action, then you need to do that right now! It will help you understand why knowing your ‘why’ is just so critical and how you can communicate this through your marketing and promotions.

You’ll also need to get very clear on your business vision and mission. If you’re not sure how to develop those statements, head over to this blog to find out: Why You Need to Know Your Business ‘Why’, Vision and Mission.

 

 

2. Learn the art of sales and marketing.

[mashtweet tweet=”If you’re building a business, then you’re in the business of selling. You’ll need to learn how to sell and how to market yourself powerfully because unfortunately your fantastic products and services just won’t sell themselves in this day and age.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Are you starting your own business? That’s super exciting! Being your own boss is a beautiful thing. Read on to discover three things you need to consider before embarking on your journey to give yourself the best chances of success. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneur #marketing #goalsSo do whatever you can do to learn about the art of selling. Sign up to some foundational sales and marketing courses, follow some sales and marketing experts online and soak as much as you can from their wisdom. 

 

And be sure to get clear on the transformation that you create for your clients because this it’s that transformation that people actually buy. Your ideal clients want to move from a ‘before’ state to a desired ‘after’ state. How can you describe that transformation clearly and succinctly in your marketing?

 

Remember, if people want to take a holiday in Hawaii, they’ re wanting the golden beaches, the palm trees and the cocktails by the pool (the end destination). They’re not concerned about the aeroplane that will get them there (the process). So learn how to describe the end state that your dream clients are after – with as much emotion as possible (after all, people make decisions based on emotion and justify it with logic!), and your sales will go up dramatically.

And be sure to brand yourself up professionally. Selling is all about establishing trust and confidence in you and your brand, and the first step to doing that is great branding. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”First impressions count. So package yourself up professionally to give yourself the best chance of business success.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

3. Write a business plan on a page.

This is critical.

 

Planning is absolutely critical to your long term business success. You just won’t survive long by flying by the seat of your pants! Discover how you can give yourself the best chances of business success in my article How to Start Your Own Business: 3 Things You Need to Know. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneur #marketing #goalsAs the saying goes, “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”

 

You’ll need around $5 – $10,000 as a minimum to get your business off the ground, and it will take at least 12 months to two years to start turning a healthy profit (read more here).

So you need to have a plan for how you’ll fund yourself during that time. Do you have some saved funds available that you can draw on? Or perhaps you’ll need to apply for government support such as the NEIS scheme in Australia (The New Enterprise Incentive Scheme) which provides new business startups with income support for 9 months and quality business training for 12 months.

Once you’re clear how you’ll fund your startup, develop a one page business plan that outlines the key components of your business.

  • What is your business vision and mission?
  • What will be your basic business model and business funnel? 
  • Which products and/or services will you offer, and how will you price and package them?
  • What will be your revenue targets for the first year? And the fifth year in business?
  • How many clients or sales will you need to achieve that target and where will you find those clients?
  • How will you market and promote your products and services? i.e. outline your marketing plan both online and offline?

These are all questions you’ll need to answer in your one page business plan so that you have the basic clarity that you’ll need to launch your business and succeed.

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get yout FREE copy of the FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK and discover everything you need to grow your Fempire as quickly as possible!

 Did like you like this article? You might also like:

15 Great Books that Every Female Entrepreneur Needs to Read

How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
www.katedejong.com
[email protected]

 

How To Boost Your Revenue Quickly With Google Reviews

How To Boost Your Revenue Quickly With Google Reviews

Google reviews are an easy way to get ranked highly in Google search results, above paid ads and SEO optimised sites. Discover how to use Google reviews to your advantage in this article! #SEO #Google #GoogleAds #GoogleReviews #DigitalMarketing #Entrepreneur #Fempire #ladyboss #SEO #Google #GoogleAds #GoogleReviews #DigitalMarketing #Entrepreneur #Fempire #ladybossGoogle reviews are an extremely powerful tool to attract clients and boost your revenue quickly.

 

Did you know that Google reviews help you to rank more highly in Google search results than businesses who use paid advertising or advanced Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?

It’s true!

Google reviews are an underestimated tool that can drastically increase your visibility and credibility, bringing you a consistent flow of leads and clients. In this article I’m going to explain how and why Google reviews are so powerful and how you can use them to your advantage.

In order to get Google reviews, you’ll first need to register your business with Google Business (go to this link to do so: https://business.google.com/create).

 

If you haven’t already registered your business with Google, I highly recommend you do so as quickly as possible.

 

There are many advantages of registering your business with Google.

A Google Business profile…

  1. Shows that you’re a ‘real’ business.
  2. Gives you instant credibility.
  3. Allows Google to easily match searches to your business.
  4. Boosts your SEO organically (this is worth its weight in gold!)

 

Google Reviews form part of your Inbound Marketing strategy. Before we get into how it all works, let’s first recap the difference between inbound and outbound marketing, and how Google Reviews fit into your overall marketing strategy, so that we’re on the same page.

 

 

The difference between Inbound and Outbound Marketing – and Why You Need Both

 

Outbound Marketing

Outbound marketing is anything you ‘push’ out to a wide audience to promote and sell your products or services. e.g. via social media marketing, blogging, advertising. 

Your audience is not always actively looking for solutions when you’re engaged in outbound marketing (often they’re scrolling on social media late at night and they might not be interested in your promotions).

 

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is how you magnetise people to your website through search engines. It’s how people find you when they’re actively searching for a particular product or service. Inbound marketing includes Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and Google Reviews (which help boost your ranking in search engine results, as you’ll see below).

Inbound marketing allows those who are actively looking for online solutions to find you. Those prospects are very ‘warm leads’ because they’re actively looking for a product or service that you provide.

Both inbound and outbound marketing strategies drive people towards your website (see below). And once they get to your website, you’ll need to have a very compelling offer that entices your visitors want to engage with you and your brand. I call these ‘irresistible offers’. To discover how to craft an irresistible offer, check out my article How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse.

Inbound marketing is an essential part of your marketing strategy. Discover how Google reviews can greatly enhance your inbound marketing effectiveness and bring you clients quickly.. #SEO #Google #GoogleAds #GoogleReviews #DigitalMarketing #Entrepreneur #Fempire #ladyboss

 

So How do Google Reviews Enhance Your Inbound Marketing?

You might have noticed in Google search results that the first results that show up are paid ads. Google Ads are a form of paid advertising in which you can pay Google to have your business shown first when people are searching for a product or service that you provide. You can recognise Google Ads by the words ‘Ad’ that’s in front of the search result (see the screenshot below).

Examples of Google Ads when searching for ‘business coach’

 

After paid ads, the next thing that shows up on Google search results is the ‘maps’ section. These are businesses that have a physical Google-registered address in the area close to you. And the businesses that get shown first in the maps section are those who have the most reviews. This is why you need to start building your Google reviews!

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Latest research shows that the maps section of Google results gets at least 20% more clicks than paid Ads or SEO generated search results!” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

To see some of the latest research on Google, check out Hursh’s videos here: https://tradesignaus.com.au/sales-accelerator-resources.

 

The maps section of Google results get more clicks than paid ads and SEO-generated results. And the businesses who feature highest in the Google maps section are those who have the most Google reviews.

 

Here’s what the maps section results looks like for a search on local carpet cleaning businesses.

 

Google search results in the ‘maps’ section

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The important take-away message here is that Google reviews help you to get listed first, above paid advertising results and organic SEO results. So start building your Google reviews fast! #googlereviews #SEO #googleads #digitalmarketing” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

How to Request Google Reviews from Happy Clients, Past or Present.

The easiest way to start building your Google reviews is to reach out to your happy clients, past or present, and ask them to leave a 5-star review for you. They’ll need to have a Google account (e.g. a Gmail account) to be able to register a review for you. Or they can create a Google account for free if they don’t already have one.

To make it as easy as possible for your clients, send them the direct link to leave a review. The direct link can be found in the back end of your Google Business account, and looks like this (below).

When you click on that link, you’ll be shown a link that you can copy and paste into a message to your clients to ask them to leave a review for you. The link will look like this (see below).

 

Set yourself a challenge to get 20 Google reviews in 20 days and when you reach out to your clients you can say “I’m on a mission to get 20 Google reviews in 20 days and I’d love your support.” You might be surprised at how happy your clients will be to help you out!

I hope this article has helped you to understand how important Google reviews are, and how instrumental they can be in helping you to build your business.

If you have any questions, please reach out at [email protected]. I look forward to connecting with you!

If you liked this article, you might also like:

How to Craft an Irresistible Offer that your Prospects Can’t Refuse.

Why You Need to Know Your Business ‘Why’, Vision and Mission.

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals.

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020.

How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Professionals
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

You don't have to spend lots of money on SEO or Ads to get featured in Google's top rankings. Discover how Google reviews can float you to the top easily and effortlessly. #SEO #Google #GoogleAds #GoogleReviews #DigitalMarketing #Entrepreneur #Fempire #ladyboss

How to Craft Your Brand ‘Why’, Vision and Mission Statements

How to Craft Your Brand ‘Why’, Vision and Mission Statements

Successful businesses use their ‘why’, vision, and mission as the cornerstone of their marketing strategy.

 

There’s a lot of talk about these important company statements. But what’s the key difference between them, actually? And how and when should you apply them?

That’s exactly what I’m going to unpack for you in this article. But first, let’s explore each statement individually.

 

Start with ‘Why’

 

Do you know why you’re in business?

Do you know what you believe in and what your business stands for?

And can you articulate that in a clear, concise way so that those who believe what you believe can find you and work with you?

If your answer is ‘no’ to any of these questions, then you’re missing out on your most powerful marketing asset. The most successful businesses worldwide make their ‘why’ the cornerstone of their marketing strategy to put themselves above and beyond their competitors, easily and effortlessly.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The single most important thing you can do as a business owner is to find a way to clearly articulate your business ‘why’ so that your ideal clients, those who believe what you believe, can find you and work with you.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Simon Sinek’s now world famous TED talk called Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action (published in 2009 and now with 7 million views at the time of writing this article), he explains why ‘starting with why’ is the key thing that all successful businesses do.

Sinek’s research was driven by finding answers to these questions: 

  • Why are some people and organisations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? 
  • Why do some companies command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? 
  • Even among the successful companies, why are so few companies able to repeat their success over and over?

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The answer was: Successful businesses know and clearly articulate their ‘why’.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

So why is knowing your ‘why’ so important?

Those of you with young children know that every child wants to know ‘why’ things are a certain way and why we do certain things. It’s our natural instinct to want to know the motivation and driving force – the reason – behind things. We’ll happily comply with a request if we understand there’s a good reason for it.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”And when it comes to business, knowing your ‘why’ is your marketing secret weapon.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

As Simon Sinek says:

 

“Your goal is not to do business with people who want what you have, your job is to do business with those people who believe what you believe.” – Simon Sinek

 

 

Sinek explains why this is so important and how this works using his ‘Golden Circle’, which actually correlates to the anatomy of the human brain (see the diagram below).  

When you look at a cross-section of the human brain, the outer layer – the neocortex – is the newest evolutionary layer. Our neocortex corresponds with our rational, analytical thought and language. This is the ‘how’ and ‘what’ level of thinking.

The middle two sections of the human brain constitute the ‘limbic brain’, the emotional centre that makes up all of our emotions and feelings like trust and loyalty. It’s also the section of our brain that’s responsible for all of our decisions. It’s responsible for driving our behaviour. The limbic part of our brain has no capacity for language.

 

As Sinek explains, every organisation knows ‘what’ they do. Some know ‘how’ they do it. And their biggest mistake is that they lead their marketing with their ‘what’ and their ‘how’, talking about features and benefits. But the problem is that, in the majority of cases, nobody cares what you do or how you do it, until they understand ‘why’ you do it.

“Every organisation knows ‘what’ they do. Some know ‘how’ they do it. But very few organisations know ‘why’ they do it. What’s your purpose? Your cause, your belief? Inspired, successful organisations all act and communicate from the inside out. Most other organisations start from the outside and work inwards.” – Simon Sinek

 

“When you communicate from the outside in, talking about features and benefits of your products or services, you don’t drive behaviour. But when you talk from the inside out, you’re talking directly to the part of the brain that controls decisions and behaviour. It’s where gut decisions come from.” – Simon Sinek

 

It’s well known in marketing and sales theory that people buy with emotion, and then use logic to justify their buying decision. In other words, they make the decision to buy using their limbic brain (the ‘why’ part of the circle), and then use their neocortex to analyse and justify their buying decision (with the ‘what’ and ‘how’ parts of the circle).

 

[mashtweet tweet=”This is why it’s so critical that you can articulate your ‘why’ in business. Because it drives decisions and behaviours. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Some examples of great ‘why’ statements.

Apple Computers
“Everything we do, we believe in challenging the status quo.”

They believe in doing things differently, in innovation, in the crossroads between creativity and technology.

Fempire 
“The future is female.”
We believe that females need to step up to drive the change that we desperately need to see in the world. It’s through a balancing of the masculine and feminine energies in the corporate and business world that we’ll start to see lasting, positive change.

High Stakes Communication Coach, Jane Jordan:
“Powerful communication is the cornerstone of influential leadership.”
Jane knows that it takes more than twenty years to build a great professional reputation, and only seconds to destroy it. And she’s passionate about helping professionals to master their communication so that they can enhance their reputation and become more influential leaders.

 

What’s your business ‘why’? 

What do you believe in as an organisation? 

What do you stand for?

Figuring this out might just be the most important thing you can do for your business this year.

 

 

Your ‘why’ is what you believe.
Your vision is where you’re going.
Your mission is how you’re going to get there.

 

 

Your Vision Statement

While your ‘why’ describes what you stand for and what you believe in as a business, your vision statement defines the aspirational end destination that you want to take your business to. It’s the inspiration, hopes and dreams for your business. It describes what you’re trying to build and the impacts of that. Your vision requires you to dream big. 

It answers the big question “Where are we going?”

It’s your north star, your guiding light.

 

Your Mission Statement

Your mission is ‘how’ you are going to deliver on your vision. It’s your compass that guides your way to your final end destination.

I always describe the difference between your vision and mission using the diagram of Australia shown here. Your vision is the end destination. Whereas your ‘mission’ is your compass, it’s ‘how’ you get there. Your ‘why’ is where you started.

 

Great examples of Vision and Mission Statements

Here are some great examples to help you to refine or develop your own vision and mission statements.

Tesla
Vision: To accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.
Mission: By bringing compelling mass market electric cars to market as soon as possible. 

Nike
Vision: To bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.
Mission: By creating groundbreaking sport innovations, by making our products more sustainably, by building a creative and diverse global team and by making a positive impact in communities where we live and work.

TEDex
Vision: To spread ideas worth sharing.
Mission: By creating a global community, welcoming people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world through sharing ideas. We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and, ultimately, the world.

 

I hope this has helped to clarify the key, critical differences between your ‘why’, vision, and mission statements. If you haven’t taken the time yet to ‘nail’ your why, vision, and mission statements, it’s absolutely worth taking the time to do so. And if you’re having trouble, reach out for a FREE 15-minute business strategy session so I can help you. One of my superpower’s is helping you to articulate your cornerstone marketing messages!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90-Day Goals

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

This was a Complete Game-Changer for My Business: The Fempreneur Business Mastery Formula

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Inspired Business
Business & Marketing Strategy for Small Business Owners
[email protected]

 

 

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

How to Quickly Grow Your Business with 90 Day Goals

90 days is the true sweet spot of goal setting. Read on to discover why and how you can use 90-day goal setting to drive huge business growth and start revenue more revenue, fast! #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesswoman #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #workfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #laptoplifestyle #goals #goalsetting #90daygoals

 

90-day goals bring laser focus to the most important next steps in your business, over and over again.

 

Those of you running your own business know how important planning and goal setting are to your success. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”We see it time and time again with our clients: Those who plan, set goals and follow through on their goals, succeed. Those who don’t plan and set goals end up failing. It’s as simple as that.  ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

But not all goals are effective at driving progress and success in your business.

 

The sweet spot for goal setting, without a doubt, is 90 days.

 

Why are 90-day goals so effective?

90-day goals are effective because:

  • 90 days is long enough to achieve something substantial.
  • It’s close enough to feel a sense of urgency and to stay focused.
  • There’s a clear end in sight.
  • There’s no time to procrastinate.

 

This has definitely been my experience.

Setting 90 day goals brings laser focus to your business, over and over again, which dramatically increases your productivity and effectiveness. You’d be amazed at what you can achieve in 3 months! Read on to discover how to apply 90 day goal setting to your business to drive huge revenue growth as fast as possible. #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesswoman #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #workfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #laptoplifestyle #goals #goalsetting #90daygoalsSince using 90-day goals in my business, my productivity has increased dramatically. You’d be amazed at what you can achieve in 90 days! I’ve created and launched an entire online ‘Find Your Purpose’ program in that time, I’ve completed my first book draft, and we’ve recently created and delivered a whole 6 week online Fempreneur Business Breakthrough program to 40+ ladies, all within less than three months!

Interestingly, 90-days seem to be a natural rhythm for our bodies and minds. Ninety days is roughly the length of a season. It’s about the length of a school semester and the span of a business quarter.

 

We’re used to operating in 90-day periods personally and professionally, so why not make the most of that for your business goal setting?

 

 



[mashtweet tweet=”Another interesting thing to note is that the final fourth quarter of each year is always a company’s most productive quarter, because year-end deadlines ratchet up the urgency. When you set yourself non-negotiable 90-day deadlines and stick to them, you can make every quarter of your year just as productive as the final quarter.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

 

How to Set 90-Day Goals to Drive Your Business Success



1. Check in with your 5-Year Business Vision
When you do your 90-day goal setting you need to check back in with your 5 year business vision (if you don’t have a 5 year vision, you need to create one!)

2. Chunk it Down into 12-Month Goals
Chunk your big vision down into 12-month goals. You might need to refer back to the 6 Stages of Business Growth and look at the key areas you need to work on in your business to get to the next stage. I define the different goals for each phase of business growth in my free handbook The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start or Grow Your Wildly Successful Business.

Depending on which phase of business growth you’re in, your business goals will be different. Which phase of business growth are you in? Do you know which key areas you need to be focusing on? Read on to discover which goals are relevant to your business now. #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesswoman #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #workfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #laptoplifestyle #goals #goalsetting #90daygoals

 

3. Chunk it Down into 90-Day Goals
When chunking your 12-month goals down in 90-day goals, you need to figure out which things are on the critical path to your success. 

I love using Gary Keller’s philosophy ‘The One Thing’ to do this, which is: 

 

“What’s the one thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?”
– Gary Keller



When it comes to 90 day goals, I ask myself this question (based on Gary Keller’s ‘One Thing’ philosophy):

 

“What are the key things I can achieve in my business that make everything else easier or unnecessary?”



4. Break Down Your 90-Day Goals into Actionable Steps.
Once you have your 90-day goals defined, you’ll need to break each one down into actionable steps.

I love using Trello to capture my actionable steps. It allows me to go in and break each goal down into actionable steps that are specific, defined, and have a deadline attached to them. This gets me out of procrastination, fast!

Here’s a screenshot of what my overall goal setting Trello board looks like:

I then break down each umbrella goal into actionable steps, as shown in my Trello card breakdown below.

 

Trello board and cards for 90 day goal setting

 

5. Block time in your diary to action your goals!

If you don’t block time to actually work on your goals, you’ll never get them done! Once I started blocking time in my diary to work on my goals, I actually started getting stuff done – and fast.

Here’s an actual screen shot of my diary from last month when I was working on my Pathfinding online program. I blocked time to work on my goal, and I didn’t let anything interfere with that.

Time blocking - and why it's so important

If for some reason something comes up that interferes with your blocked time, be sure to shift that time block to another day in the future. Don’t delete it! 

Business owners who plan and set goals succeed in business, always. An essential component of goal setting is time blocking - scheduling time to actually work on your goals. Without time blocking, your goals won’t be achieved. Read on to discover how you can apply goal setting and time blocking to achieve big growth in your business. #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesswoman #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #workfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #laptoplifestyle #goals #goalsetting #90daygoals

[mashtweet tweet=”To succeed in business, you need to prioritise your goals, make time for them and make them non-negotiable. No excuses.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

I hope you’re feeling inspired to go and apply 90-day goals in your business.

And let me know how you go! I love hearing about your successes!

Did you like this article? You might also like:

This was a Complete Game-Changer for My Business: The Fempreneur Business Mastery Formula

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

 

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong,
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

Content marketing is a powerful way to consistently build your brand’s visibility and credibility over time. Read on to discover the 10 essential steps of developing a great content marketing strategy. #contentmarketing #fempire #fempirecoach #digitalmarketing #SEO #businesscoach #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #entrepreneur #marketing #content #businessgrowth #femalebusinesscoachHave you ever wondered how some businesses have the time and energy to show up on social media with great content, consistently?

 

I used to wonder that too.

Back when I first started my business, several coaches advised me that I needed to ‘put myself out there’ and be posting on social media daily, as well as doing live videos at least once per week. So I dutifully started doing this, only to realise within a few months that this was all I was doing. 

I didn’t have time to focus on anything else and I felt like I was spinning my wheels.

So much of my time was taken up with:

  • Trying to figure out what I was going to post about each day (and changing my mind countless times).
  • Trying to figure out how I was going to talk about the topic I’d finally chosen (and maybe change my mind one more time).
  • Creating the content, revising it, refining it, critiquing it, deleting it, procrastinating, and finally pulling something together to post.
  • Spending half a day trying to record a five minute short video.
  • Spinning my wheels with indecision and self-doubt.

 

Needless to say, this was all extremely time consuming and it was stressful knowing that I wasn’t spending any time doing the things required to actually grow my business like:

  • Getting out and having real conversations with people.
  • Following up with warm leads and getting them signed up into my coaching programs.
  • Creating, testing, and refining the content for my coaching programs and offerings.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”As a business owner, it can feel frustrating spending too much time on social media trying to market yourself, knowing you’re not spending enough time on client- and revenue-generating activities.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

A large part of this is a normal part of being a new business owner and being new to social media and the world of ‘content creation’.

 

But the other major factor contributing to this never-ending, pointless hamster wheel is a complete lack of organisation or strategic plan around your social media presence.

 

If you’ve been in business a while, you’ll know that it’s critical to build trust and confidence with your audience so that they feel safe spending their money with you. 

You build credibility by:

  1. Creating compelling content to share your ideas and knowledge, consistently (i.e. content marketing).
  2. Develop social proof so others know you’re credible (testimonials, reviews, awards etc).
  3. Build a network of brand advocates who spread the good word on your behalf.

 

And it’s point number one that we’re talking about here – Content Marketing.

 

So firstly, what is Content Marketing, and why should you bother doing it?

 

My definition of Content Marketing is:

Content Marketing is the creation and sharing of digital information (blogs, videos, workbooks, social media posts etc) to stimulate interest and build awareness of your products or services. It builds trust, credibility and confidence in your brand. Its purpose is to provide value to the customer, and ultimately to turn your followers into paying clients.

 

Content Marketing runs on the philosophy that you should provide free value to your customer about 80% of the time (as a way of building trust and confidence), and then you pitch (sell) your services around 20% of the time.

This is distinct from Direct Response Marketing, which is a sales technique designed to evoke an on-the-spot response and encourages a prospective customer to take action on an offer being advertised (like all those Facebook and Instagram ads you see coming through all the time).

 

Direct Response Marketing uses paid advertising to deliver fast results.

Content Marketing is free and takes longer to see results, but allows you to build up a catalogue of great content and followers and establishes you as a leader.

 

Do you have a content marketing strategy that you’re implementing consistently? It took me years to find a system that works for me. Read on to learn about the 10 steps of content marketing. #contentmarketing #fempire #fempirecoach #digitalmarketing #SEO #businesscoach #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #entrepreneur #marketing #content #businessgrowth #femalebusinesscoachSince Content Marketing is free and gets results, why wouldn’t you apply it in your business? 

Here are the benefits of Content Marketing – all for free!

  • It builds brand awareness.
  • It generates website traffic.
  • It grows your email database.
  • It gives you a competitive advantage.
  • It increases client engagement.
  • It generates leads and conversions.

 

Different Types of Content

Content is any information you put out into the world to inform, educate or sell to your audience. There are different types of content as shown in the graphic below.

  1. Long form content (high effort, less frequent)
    This includes things like longer blog posts (800- 2000 words), 30-60 minute videos, or a podcast. They require effort and time to research and pull together and they demonstrate depth of thought and expertise.
  2. Short form content (medium effort, more frequent)
    This includes infographics (i.e. images that demonstrate a concept graphically, e.g. a health coach showing how gut nutrition works), or short form blogs (400-600 words), or a short video (< 10 minutes).
  3. Social media posts and curated content (low effort, frequent). These are posts that contain an image and short text description or they can be content shared from other experts in your field (curated content).

 

Types of content - content marketing

So how do you implement a Content Marketing strategy that allows you to be consistently visible, but doesn’t consume all your time?

 

You need to find a system that works for you and that you’re able to implement consistently.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”To build trust and confidence in your brand, consistency is key. How would you feel if your partner showed up for a week and then disappeared for three weeks? Your audience feels the same. Consistency builds trust.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

7 Steps to Building Your Consistent Content Marketing Strategy

 

1. Set Your Intention and Business Goals

There’s no point implementing any kind of marketing strategy without being crystal clear about what you want to achieve with it. How do you want your content marketing to serve you?

My personal content marketing strategy has several goals:

  • To grow my email database consistently with 20 new warm leads per week.
  • Generate 5 Free Business Strategy Sessions per week.
  • Consistently build my brand visibility, credibility, and awareness through weekly live videos and a consistent, high-quality social media presence.

 

What is it you want to achieve with your content strategy? Do you have the digital infrastructure in place to achieve those goals? If not, how will you implement it? (Please reach out here for a free strategy session if you need help with this!).

Be sure you have solid goals in place before you proceed.

 

2. Decide on a Content Strategy that You can Stick to Regularly. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Consistency and planning is key. Don’t commit to a frequency of content creation that you can’t keep up with and always plan in advance.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Consistency and leverage should be your key goals with any marketing strategy. If you create a blog post, be sure to get maximum leverage out of it by creating multiple social media posts on your blog topic across all your different platforms, and create videos on your blog topic too.

Here’s the strategy that works for me (and works for many of my clients too).

A simple content marketing plan

You create one piece of long form content (per week, per two weeks, or per month, depending on the frequency you can commit to consistently). Then you turn that long form content into multiple social media posts that can be scheduled out over time using a social media scheduler.

I personally generate one piece of long form content every week (but I also have a backlog of content now that I can draw on and recycle if I don’t get time to create a new one).

As you can see in the image above, you can generate 23 social media posts to go out across your different social media channels, just from that one piece of content.

We’re certainly not recommending you get across all of these different platforms (we usually recommend that you master 2-3 platforms first), but once you have a long form piece of content, it really isn’t too much work to turn those into short social media posts or videos.

What are you going to choose as the central piece of your long form content? A blog? A vlog? A podcast?

And which social media platforms are you going to focus on to leverage your long form content?

Write it down and commit to it. You might need to try several different strategies before you land on one that works for you and that you can stick to consistently. It took me several years to finally land on my strategy that now works for me. Be prepared that this will be a process of trial and error initially, but commit yourself to finding what works for you!

 

Content marketing is a great way to market your business and get wide publicity, for free! Discover how to implement a reliable content marketing system that will build your visibility but not take up all your time. #contentmarketing #fempire #fempirecoach #digitalmarketing #SEO #businesscoach #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #entrepreneur #marketing #content #businessgrowth #femalebusinesscoach3. Determine the Frequency of Content Creation

Now you know how you’re going to approach your content marketing, you need to figure out how often you’re going to create your original content and the leveraged posts that you create from that content. 

Here’s what you need to do:

  • Decide how often you can commit to creating one long form piece of content.
    Will it be once per week? Once per month?
  • Decide how many social media posts you want to create from your single piece of long form content.
    To leverage your long form content, you should generate at least 4-6 social media posts from one blog/video/podcast.
  • Determine your frequency of social media posting based on your content creation frequency.
    For example, if you only blog/vlog once every two weeks, and you only want to create 6 social media posts from that content, you’ll be able to schedule your posts to go out every 2-3 days.

Now that you have a plan to follow and a frequency to stick to, you can get busy creating your content on a consistent basis!

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Once you have your content plan in place, you then need to create a database of content ideas that you can draw from.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”] 

 

4. Develop Your Ideas Database: Determine Your Content Categories.

When you’re not clear about what you need to write or post about, it’s easy to get into procrastination and time wasting (I’m sure you can relate).  A game changing strategy for me has been to develop a large database of topics and ideas for my blogs that I can choose from and plan out for each month, so that I never have to worry or think about what I’m going to write about.

Here’s how you can easily develop a huge database of content topics and ideas.

Hint: If you take the time to do the following exercises, they will transform your business!

Choose how you’re going to break down your business into different umbrella categories.

For example, for business coaching, my categories are as follows (what are yours?):

  • Business Strategy & Growth
  • Mindset & Personal Growth
  • Marketing & Selling
  • Websites
  • Social Media 
  • Time Management & Productivity

 

5. Develop Your Ideas Database: Use Content Multipliers to Expand Each Category into Multiple Topics.

Once you have your categories, it can still be difficult to break it down into multiple posts. This is where ‘content multipliers’ come in extremely handy, which are different ways to present the same or similar content, or at least help you generate ideas to maximise your content.

Different types of content multipliers you can use:

  • How to’ article: Tutorials or walk-throughs, e.g. How to Build Your Email Database.
  • Listicle: List-based articles, e.g.  5 Apps that will Help You Easily Streamline Your Business Processes.
  • Editorial: Standard type of blog post, e.g. The 6 Stages of Business Growth
  • Curated: A list that brings together great content from other influencers in your niche, e.g. 10 Books that Every Business Owner Needs to Read
  • Interview: Interviews with clients, colleagues or other leaders in your industry (e.g. How Natasha built her six figure business within twelve months)
  • Personal Story: Write about your personal experiences, e.g. How I grew my email database from 50 to 2,000 in six months.
  • Case Study: Write about a client’s experience or journey. 
  • Fun post: A post with the goal being to entertain, e.g. My favourite 10 social media ‘faux pas’
  • What post: A post that explains a concept, e.g. What is a Profit & Loss Statement?
  • Why post: A post that explains the importance of a concept, e.g. Why you need to understand the six stages of business growth.
  • Resources: Create a list of helpful resources, e.g. My favourite five books to help you master your money mindset.
  • Reviews: Write a review on a particular product or service, e.g. A Review of the Best Email Database Managers.
  • News-jacking: Leverage a news-worthy topic that people in the industry are talking about, as long as it relates to your audience.
  • A Presentation: You can use PowerPoint or Google slides to visually showcase your topic in a way that gets a lot of engagement. Presentation Geeks have some great ideas for you in this article: 12 Digital Content Strategies to Elevate Any Brand.

 

6. Develop Your Ideas Database: Create a Matrix to Map Out Your Topics.

Use the content multipliers above to create 10+ topics for each of your content categories and then get those ideas into a matrix.

I love to use Trello for this, as it’s a great way to capture, store, and organise your ideas while also giving you the flexibility to easily change or move things around if you change your mind (as I do all the time). An excel spreadsheet or Google Sheet will also do the job fine.

 Below is a screenshot of my Topic Database stored in a Trello board where I map out my topics using the content multipliers.

This means I never run out of ideas to blog about!

Trello Blog Ideas Matrix

 

7. Schedule Out Your Topics so you Know Exactly What You’ll be Writing About, and When.

Now that you have a database of content topics to draw from, you can schedule out when you’re going to create a long piece of content for each one of them. 

As mentioned, I create one blog post per week, which I then turn into 3-4 social media posts one each platform (which means I’m posting every second day).

Once I’ve created the blog article, I store the blog link in a Trello card and attach the social media images to go with it too. That way I can schedule out the social media posts straight from Trello.

Content calendar

 

8. Block Time in Your Calendar to Prepare Your Content.

It’s all well and good to map out a content calendar, but if you don’t block the time in your calendar to create the content, it will never happen!

The most effective way to create content without letting it take over your life is to batch your time. Which means scheduling time in your calendar to create all your content in one sitting.

I work on a weekly basis, so I spend half a day each week preparing and scheduling my content (I’m very fortunate to now have a Virtual Assistant to help me with the scheduling, but for years I did it myself!). 

I highly recommend that you block at least half a day each week to create your content (if you create content weekly), or block out a whole day or two days each month if you like to prepare a whole month’s worth of content.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Please don’t try to prepare your content on the fly, this is ineffective and time-inefficient. You must get into the habit of batching your time and preparing all your content in one sitting. This is how you escape the trap of spending all your time on social media and not having time to spend on growing your business.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

9. Schedule Your Prepared Content

Now that you’ve prepared your content (your blog/vlog/podcast and all your social media posts and videos), you can schedule them out to go out consistently over the period of time you’ve chosen.

My favourite scheduler is Hootsuite because you schedule across all the different social media platforms (including LinkedIn), and they provide you with a dashboard so that you can see a clear overview of where and when your content is going across the different platforms. You can move scheduled posts around or spread them out to get an even, consistent presence in the way you want.

 

10. Review and Refine Your Content Marketing Strategy

You’ll have to monitor how your marketing strategy is working and whether the quantity of work required is manageable for you. As I mentioned, it took me a long time of trial and error to find a strategy that I could implement consistently.

If you’d like to talk through different options for your business, please reach out!

 

As I’ve said many times, commit to showing up consistently!

Make your content deadlines non-negotiable. And watch how your leads start to grow.

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

This was a Complete Game-Changer for My Business: The Fempreneur Business Mastery Formula

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

 

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook (see below) and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2012!

I hope you found this helpful, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions to [email protected]. I love hearing from you!

In service to your business success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

This was a Complete Game-Changer for My Business: The Fempreneur Business Mastery Formula

This was a Complete Game-Changer for My Business: The Fempreneur Business Mastery Formula

Back in late 2017 I was feeling really frustrated in my business. 

 

I’d spent tens of thousands of dollars on different business programs and I’d worked with lots of different coaches to grow my business. 

There was so much conflicting advice and information out there and every program and coach promised that they had the solution to my business challenges.

But nothing had helped me to get the traction and momentum that I needed.

I’d had some success. I’d developed a coaching program and rolled it out to many women who’d gotten transformative results with it. I’d run my first online group program with great engagement and results.

For a couple of years I’d made a reasonable amount of revenue, but certainly nothing I could live off. 

I’d reached and helped all the people who were the ‘low-hanging fruit’ in my network, i.e. those people who knew me and needed my programs.

 

But then I’d hit a huge roadblock.

 

How could I get my message out to people beyond my network in a powerful and compelling way?

How could I start making decent money? (I was hardly breaking even).

How could I turn my business into a thriving, profitable venture that felt fun and exciting instead of feeling like a frustrating and draining ‘hobby’?

It was around that time that I saw a Facebook Ad for women in business, asking “Do you want to start making the money and impact you deserve?”

YES! That was me.

It was a free event hosted by the powerhouse founder of Fempire, Marnie LeFevre, and I signed up straight away.

The event was incredible and I came away with so much new practical, grounded knowledge and insight that I felt could actually (finally) make a difference.

I signed up for the 3-day Fempreneur program to continue the journey with Marnie, together with a great group of other women (who are still my close friends today).

 

It was the best decision I’ve ever made.

 

During our three day Fempreneur workshop, Marnie unpacked her Fempreneur Business Mastery Formula, which is the exact formula she’s used to build multiple successful businesses and to become a multi-award-winning CEO.

It’s the formula I now use as a Fempire Coach to help female business owners to start and grow their profitable businesses.

The Business Mastery Formula contains two essential components: the inner work (mindset, confidence etc) and the outer (strategic, practical) work. 

 

And the formula works.

 

Once I went away and started applying the Mastery Formula in my own business, things started to improve quickly. I finally started feeling the momentum and satisfaction I’d been craving all those years. 

My coaching business started to take off.

 

And this is why I decided to become a Fempire Coach, because I’m passionate about helping women to apply this Business Mastery Formula in their own businesses.

I want to see more women succeed in business.

Because I believe that when women take their rightful place as equally successful and impactful business owners globally, the world will be a better place.

 

Due to the COVID-19 crisis, we’ve now taken our 3-day in-room workshop into the online space and it’s now being run over 6 weeks – starting on the 27th April (and again on the 11th May 2020!).

The price has been massively reduced so that we can help more women in business during this time of need.

We’re passionate about giving as many women as possible the tools and strategies for business success during this time, because we know you need them more than ever.

You can take advantage of this amazing offer now!

Click here to schedule a time to talk with me to see if the FEMPRENEUR program is right for you.

 

Here are some of the areas we cover in the program.

 

The Inner Work

  • Your passion and purpose.
  • Your personal and business ‘why’.
  • Your mindset.
  • Embracing authenticity.
  • Harnessing your intuition.
  • Growth & confidence.


The Outer Work

  • Powerful and compelling branding, marketing and messaging (this is so critical!).
  • Packaging of your products and/or services.
  • Positioning yourself powerfully in the market to stand out from your competitors.
  • Money and pricing strategies.
  • Promotional strategies (content and social media marketing, inbound marketing/SEO).
  • Selling and converting leads into clients.

 

Once you get all of these elements right, things start to flow.

 

Here are just some of the things we workshop in our time together.

  • Accurately and powerfully identify your target market and avatar so you can reach the right people.
  • Getting you armed with powerful branding and clear marketing messages that you gain curiosity and sell more.
  • Your elevator pitch workshopped to perfection.
  • Developing your compelling ‘brand why’ that magnetises the right people to you.
  • Mindset tools for women CEOs to 10x their business profit and impact.
  • Price setting, packaging of products/services to reflect your true value.
  • A full social media strategy and content marketing plan.
  • How to sell and close more clients.
  • How to build a solid foundation then scaling for success.
  • Online and offline marketing templates and blueprints.
  • Email marketing templates, blog matrix, testimonial questionnaire, cash flow forecasts.
  • Full social media sales funnel mapped out for your business.
  • How to turn your website into a powerful marketing tool that generates new clients.
  • Creation of a mini marketing plan for you to action straight away.
  • Positioning statements to help you stand out from the crowd.
  • Business planning and goal setting so you can get where you need to be in the shortest time.

 

The New Online Format for The Virtual Fempreneur 6-week Experience

The Fempreneur program will now be delivered online over SIX weeks, giving you time to digest the content and do the homework.

You’ll receive:

  • One comprehensive training module per week delivered online via pre-recorded video so that you can watch it at a time convenient to you.
  • One LIVE Q&A Zoom session each week with Marnie and the Fempire Coaches. This will be a chance for you to ask any questions you have about the training, clarify the information and tasks, make connections and bond with your new sisterhood all over Australia, share your progress with the group and gain feedback, and to work through the challenges you may have.
  • Pairing with an accountability partner. Together you’ll help each other stay on track with the materials and support each other through any stumbling blocks.
  • The detailed Fempreneur workbook posted to you beforehand (this is stil my go to ‘Bible’ for business growth!).
  • A private Facebook group to connect and bond with your Fempreneur sisterhood.

 

We truly believe that this format will be a very powerful way for you to learn everything you would normally receive in the in-room format, in fact, we believe it might prove to be much, much better!

 

We can’t wait for you to receive all the value and support you need to up-level your business during these challenging times.

Click here to talk to me. Are you ready to take the next step?

We’d love to have you on the journey.

Are you ready to finally get your business where it needs to be?

What is it costing you to stay stuck? 

 

Come and join our sisterhood of successful, impactful business owners and finally get the support you need to make the money and impact that you deserve!

 

Are you starting or growing your own business? Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook (see below) and discover everything I wish someone had told me back when I was starting my business in 2012!

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

Opportunity in the Chaos: How Fempire has Pivoted to Survive the COVID-19 Crisis

Opportunity in the Chaos: How Fempire has Pivoted to Survive the COVID-19 Crisis

 

These are crazy times.

 

Less than four weeks ago, our Fempire team was busily preparing for our big national tour of Australia which would consist of a five-city tour (Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney) to inspire, educate & empower women in business with free marketing and social media trainings.

Our live, in-room training events of 100+ ladies are also the way we promote our business and coaching programs to generate new clients and revenue.

We’d had the biggest number of sign ups for all of our events. We were booked out for our Perth event, our hometown. We’d been celebrating the fact that our new Facebook advertising strategy had been working better than expected.

We were expecting over 200 ladies at The Crown in Perth on the 14th March for our free 4-hour event, where we teach a range of mindset and marketing strategies to help business women make more money and impact in business.

 

And then the COVID-19 disaster hit.

 

It was early days and there hadn’t been any social distancing measures announced by the government. But it was already starting to feel scary and we’d all been watching the disasters unfold in China, Italy and Spain.

Given the fear and chaos that was starting to ripple across the world, as to be expected, only half of the expected attendees showed up to our event in Perth after all. 

As disappointing as it was, we completely understood why. 

We’d been unsure about whether to proceed with the event, but with a lack of clear direction from Crown or from the government, we decided to show up for the hundred-odd ladies who still wanted to come.

Unsure about how the situation was going to unfold, the team decided (cautiously) to continue with the next four events over east and flew over to Adelaide. We’d put so much effort and resources into the planning of these events that form the lifeblood of our business, so we felt we at least had to try.

 

And that’s when things started getting really bad with the COVID-19 situation.

 

The government announced bans on events of over 500 people. And even though our events were much smaller, the fear was causing everyone to worry, including us.

After delivering the event to a small audience in Adelaide (only half the predicted audience showed up, same as in Perth), in good conscience we made the call to cancel the remaining three events in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, our biggest audiences.

It was hugely disappointing.

But we knew it was the right thing to do.

After returning to Perth, licking our wounds, the team took a few days to rest and process what had just happened. 

This was a huge hit for Fempire. Our client- and revenue-generating activities had come to a halt.

It took a few days to process it all.

But like everyone else, we’ve hunkered down, re-grouped and come up with a comeback strategy to survive these times.

 

Taking Things Fully Online

The main strategy to ‘pivot’ in these circumstances of course (like everyone else), has been to take all of our offerings online.

Our Fempire team has had extensive experience over the years with delivering coaching and trainings both in-room and online. 

However, our big ‘tour’ events, which comprise the start of our business funnel (and are the main way we generate new clients), have always been live and in-room in different cities around Australia. Fempire founder Marnie LeFevre is a renowned speaker and award-winning CEO and has the ability to attract and inspire large audiences at a time. Her free trainings are always a great entry point for our clients into the Fempire sisterhood of business coaching and training.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”In our experience, it’s impossible to replace the connection, the energy, and the transformation that takes place at in-room events. It’s the reason we’ve continued to stick with in-room events as the main source of our client-generating activities, because we know how powerful they are for creating space for deep learning and change for people.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

But, we’re now faced with a situation in which live events are of course not possible.

And given the current conditions, the online space is where we have to be 100% if we’re going to survive these times.

To that end, we’ve had to convert our in-room events to online events as follows:

1. Converting our live, in-person 4-hour free events into a 90-minute online webinar.
We’re now in the process of converting our live events into an online webinar of 90-minutes, with the first three being delivered this week to the Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne rooms that missed the tour entirely. We’ll be releasing more in coming weeks to the other states.
This is an exciting time as we test the validity of the online approach for generating new clients.
But we’re going all in with optimism and a can-do attitude!

2. Converting our in-person 3-day Fempreneur workshops into the online space.
Typically we run our live, 3-day Fempreneur workshops three times per year for business women in the startup space. We usually have 15-25 women in the room per workshop.
We teach them the fundamental marketing and mindset strategies they need to grow their business into a profitable enterprise.
We’re now in the process of converting our 3-day workshop into an online program delivered over six weeks. Our first online Fempreneur program will kick off in April.
We’re putting a lot of thought and attention into how we can deliver a value-packed program that delivers as much ‘punch’ as the in-room version.
And we’re confident we’ll do it!

3. Taking all of our coaching programs and in-person business trainings online.
We’ve always offered and delivered online coaching and training as part of Fempire. However, obviously now all sessions are being conducted online via Zoom. We have many clients who have always preferred to meet in person. So we’ll have to see how this goes for them during this time.

 

Fempire’s Experience with In-Person versus Online Events and Programs – the Pros and Cons

 

Part of the reason we’ve resisted the online space up until now for our tour events is because of the reasons below.

However, if anything this COVID-19 experience has taught us the need to diversity and not to have “all of our eggs in the one basket” when it comes to event delivery models.

 

Advantages of in-person events and trainings

  • There’s no doubt that in-room, live experiences create faster connection, bonding, vulnerability, and transformation than online virtual events.
  • Women form deep connections and friendships after spending time in-room together, and these connections last well beyond the training.
  • Women need in-person connection with other women to feel truly supported and nurtured. 
  • As coaches/trainers, it feels easier to give personalised support to clients one-on-one, in person.
  • Sometimes a hug can make all the difference! And often, that’s exactly what our clients need.

 

Advantages of online events and trainings

  • Suddenly you’re not constrained to a physical location anymore to deliver your offerings. You can literally reach anyone, anywhere in the world,and become ‘international’, relatively quickly.
  • There are no costs for travel, room hire or catering, which brings costs down significantly.
  • For many of our clients it’s easier for them to attend an event from the comfort of their own home rather than travel and spend time away from home.
  • Due to the low cost of delivery, you can run your programs and events more frequently to generate a more steady client stream.

 

A major disadvantage of online trainings and events compared to in-person programs

In our experience with delivering both in-room and online programs over the years, one of the major disadvantages of online events is the lower retention of clients. Our private coaching programs run over twelve months because that’s how long it takes to establish a sustainable, profitable business.

But when the program is run online, typically it’s hard to retain clients beyond the six month mark. The human, in-person connection is critical for keeping clients engaged. Client drop-off rates are much higher in the online space. 

 

The big lesson learned from the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 situation has brought it home for us that it’s important to be diversified in your offerings.

We’ve realised that it’s important to offer both in-person and online client-generating models in future. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”A hybrid model of both in-person and online offers the greatest resilience, long-term.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

In a way we’re grateful that this crisis has helped us to get moving in the hybrid model direction sooner rather than later.

In every situation there’s a silver lining, right?

We hope this insight has been helpful and please leave a comment below if anything resonated with you!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
katedejong.com
[email protected]

10 Powerful Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

10 Powerful Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

A blog is an essential component of a modern day business. Discover 10 compelling reasons why you should be blogging on a regular basis to grow your business. #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach#SEO #blog #blogging #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner #inboundmarketing Have you been wondering whether blogs are passé, or whether you really need one for your business? 

 

Have you been procrastinating about starting a blog because you’re not convinced of the value of having one?

If so, the following points should clarify any misconceptions you have about blogging and convince you to either start one, or to keep going with your blog.

I wrote my first blog article in 2013 and it’s been the main vehicle through which I’ve grown my audience over the years.

Today, my blog is the cornerstone of my marketing and content strategy and I couldn’t recommend blogging highly enough as a tool for you to grow, evolve, and profit as a business – for the following powerful reasons.

 

10 Reasons Why Your Business Needs a Blog

 

1. Blogging is a highly effective form of inbound marketing (SEO)

In this modern era, you need to be actively engaged in ‘inbound marketing’, which is the art of drawing customers to your products and services via content marketing and search engine optimisation (SEO). It’s how people find you organically through search engines, without you lifting a finger!

Outbound marketing, on the other hand, is anything you ‘push’ out into the world, like advertising, events or social media posting.

A blog boosts your SEO by giving Google and other search engines an abundant supply of keywords and phrases to work with so that it can link the people who are searching for content to your website. 

This is a compelling enough reason to start blogging on its own, but if you need more convincing, keep reading!

 

Have you wondered whether blogging adds value to your business or not? Here are ten reasons why you should be making blogging an integral part of your business. #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach#SEO #blog #blogging #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner #inboundmarketing 2. A blog gives your brand a voice and helps you stand out from your competitors

Consumers want to buy from brands who they resonate with and who have similar values.

Blogging is a great way to give your brand a voice and to share your insight, perspective and views so that your ideal clients can connect with you and become loyal fans.

 

3. It keeps your website content ‘fresh’ and increases your search engine rankings

Google and other search engines love websites with new, fresh content and they reward those websites by increasing their rankings in search results. If your website hasn’t been updated in a while, you’re not doing yourself any favours. 

Include a blog module with the last three posts of your blog on your website Home Page so that your home page is updated each time you publish a new blog (this is good for Google rankings). Plus, when you get into a habit of regular blogging, it signals to search engines that you’re an up-to-date, relevant website and you also provide search engines with a continuous supply of keywords and phrases to continue boosting your rankings.

 

4. It establishes you as an authority in your field

Blogging is a great way to showcase your expertise and passion in your field. When you take the time to provide relevant, valuable information to your audience on a regular basis, you establish yourself as a leader in your field and your audience will respect you for it.

 

Blogging is a powerful tool to drive your content marketing strategy and to drive profits in your business. Read on to discover how. #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach#SEO #blog #blogging #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner #inboundmarketing 5. It helps you organise your thoughts and ideas.

I love blogging because through the writing process I discover what I think about certain topics and it helps me to organise my thoughts and ideas. This in turn makes me a better coach and teacher. 

Over time you’ll become more articulate and confident in your thoughts and ideas, which makes you a better business owner.

 

6. It builds trust and confidence in your brand.

Regular blogging shows that you’re committed to sharing your knowledge in your field and providing value to your customers – for free – which increases your credibility and instils trust and confidence in your brand. 

And people want to buy from brands who they know, like, and trust. 

 

7. It teaches you important reflection and introspection.

Blogging forces you to take time out from the busy-ness of your day to sit and reflect deeply on a particular topic. This process teaches you introspection, which leads to greater depth of knowledge and self-awareness, which makes you a better leader.

 

Are you taking the time to blog regularly? If not, you’re missing out on lots of business growth opportunities! Read on to discover why. #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach#SEO #blog #blogging #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner #inboundmarketing 8. It makes you a better writer and communicator.

You become a better writer when you commit to writing your thoughts and ideas down on a regular basis. Like everything, we get better at writing and communicating through practice.

I laugh now when I look back at some of my early blogs (and feel a little embarrassed!). It’s a wonder to see how far my writing has grown and evolved over the years since I’ve committed to regular blogging. And you will find the same too if you keep up the practice.

 

9. Amplify your brand’s reach.

If people resonate with your message, they’ll share your blog with their friends and family, giving you a much greater reach without any paid advertising on your part. 

Remember to ask your audience to share your article and use social share buttons to make it easy for people to share your blog to their platforms.

 

10. It’s free publicity.

Blogging is free PR! 

You don’t have to wait to get featured in a media outlet, journal or magazine, you can simply put your thoughts and ideas out into the world off your own bat – because you can!

Blogging is one of my favourite things in the world for growing my business. If you’d like some guidance on how to get started or to up-level your blogging efforts, please reach out to me at [email protected] and I’ll be happy to chat with you!

Want to know more about how to start and grow a wildly successful business? Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook and start building your Fempire now!

Discover everything you need to know about building a profitable business from the ground up in The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful Business. #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach#SEO #blog #blogging #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner #inboundmarketing

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Art of Content Marketing: How to Build Your Brand Credibility and Easily Win New Clients

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

Let your website do all the hard work for you by implementing these 10 essential strategies. #websites #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach #SEO #websitedesign #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessownerWe often get asked the question by clients starting out in business:

“Do I really need a website?” 

 

The short answer is: YES.

 

While you might be generating some good business so far just through your Facebook Business Page or your Instagram page, without a website you’re missing out on all of the potential business from people who are actively searching for your product or service online. 

Did you know that 97% of consumers these days find what they need through online searches? In order for your business to get found by Google or other search engines, you need to have a website. There’s no two ways about it.

If you need any further convincing, statistics show that 75% of consumers judge the credibility of your business based on the quality of your website. I know I definitely base some of my judgement of other businesses on their websites!

 

[mashtweet tweet=”In the world of websites, it’s important to realise that not all websites are created equal. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

A good website needs to look both aesthetically pleasing (i.e. look professional with compelling branding and messaging), but it also needs to be functional and convert your website visitors into leads and paying clients.

 

Below is a list of the top 10 things you need to build into your website to optimise your online real estate and maximise your chances of winning the clients you deserve.

 

10 Essential Things You Need to Have on Your Website

 

1. Powerful Branding and Messaging.

First impressions matter.

Website visitors will only become paying clients if they feel a sense of trust and confidence in your brand. And that trust and confidence is built in large part through your branding and messaging. 

It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to get good quality design and branding done, and this is not an area you want to do on the cheap. Get a professional to help you with your logo and brand style, and take the time to get crystal clear and powerful with your messaging.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”All marketing requires two elements to be effective: Clarity + Emotion” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Our 3-day Fempreneur workshop is focused specifically on helping you to develop a powerful branding and marketing strategy for your business. Click here to inquire about upcoming dates and workshops.

 

Is your website bringing you a consistent stream of leads and clients? Discover ten essential components of a high-converting website and make your website work for you. #websites #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach #SEO #websitedesign #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner2. A Clear Call to Action

After you’ve instilled trust and confidence with your branding and messaging, you need to tell visitors what they need to do to engage with you. 

Do they need to book a Discovery Call with you? A Free Initial Consult? Do they need to call to make a booking? 

Whatever the action is, make it very clear and very easy to do.

Tell your lead what the next steps will be and be sure to follow up with them quickly!

 

3. A Capture Opportunity

A capture opportunity is where you invite your website visitors to download something of value for free, in exchange for their email address and contact details, via a ‘pop-up’ or email opt-in. Once they’ve downloaded your free product (often referred to as a ‘lead magnet’, which might be a free training, or E-Book for example), they join your email database where you can stay in regular contact with them and build a relationship with them.

One of the most important things you can do as a business owner is to build your email database and nurture the relationship with your community. This helps people get to know you better, to build trust and confidence in your brand, and eventually, when the time is right, they’ll want to do business with you.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”You need to have a clear and compelling capture opportunity (i.e. lead magnet and opt-in) on your website and have a strategy in place to grow your email database over time. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

For more details on how to do embed capture opportunities into your marketing strategy to generate a steady stream of clients, download my lead magnet called The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful Business for free!

Discover all the things I wish I knew when I started my own business back in 2013! This guide contains everything you need to know to thrive in business. #websites #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach #SEO #websitedesign #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner

 

4. Your Contact Information

Be sure to provide a phone number or email address so people can contact you directly without having to go through an online contact form. 

I know that I personally feel frustrated if I have to go through an online form if I want something. I’m a fast action taker and I need to know how I can contact someone directly, straight away, otherwise I’ll ‘bounce’ (click away).

 

5. Easy and Clear Navigation

Make it as easy as possible for people to find what they need.

Use a logical, user friendly navigation map.

Don’t use more than six headings in your navigation menu, otherwise it becomes too complicated.

Test it out on your friends and clients to see how they experience your site navigation and make it simpler and easier where you can.

 

Let your website do all the hard work for you by implementing these ten essential client-winning strategies. #websites #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach #SEO #websitedesign #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner6. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)

SEO is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of traffic to your website via search engines like Google. For search engines to find your website, you need to invest some time and money in optimising your site SEO. 

Take some time yourself (or better yet, engage an SEO expert) to research the important long-form and short-form keywords that people are searching for in your niche and use these keywords across your website so that search engines can find you. 

You won’t get found without good SEO! It’s absolutely critical that you pay attention to this.

To learn everything you need to know about SEO, check out these two related articles:

Three Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020 

How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Auto-Pilot

 

7. Video Content

As we’ve said, people are more willing to buy from you when they feel a sense of trust and confidence in your brand. And one of the quickest ways to establish trust is through video. 

Give your visitors a chance to experience you in person and to hear you speak and interact with them. It gives an instant sense of familiarity and connection which makes it easier for visitors to know if they like you and if you’re a good fit for them. 

If you don’t have video on your website yet, get onto it sooner rather than later!

 

Don’t allow your website to be ‘just’ a pretty brochure! It needs to be a high-converting client machine. Discover how with these ten essential strategies. #websites #businesscoach #fempire #fempirecoach #SEO #websitedesign #businesssuccess #workfromhome #laptoplifestyle #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #ladyboss #smallbusiness #businessowner8. Your Blog

A blog is a catalogue of articles or videos (or a combination of both) where you showcase your ideas and expertise on different topics. 

A blog is essential for many reasons, but some of the top reasons for needing a blog on your website are:

  • It drastically increases your website SEO: Your blog is filled with keyword-rich phrases that gives search engines greater opportunity to increase your search rankings. Plus, blogging keeps your website content alive with regular ‘fresh’ content which automatically increases your search engine rankings.
  • It established you as a leader in your field by demonstrating your expertise and passion.
  • It helps you to organise your thoughts and ideas so you become a better communicator in your field.
  • It gives your brand a unique voice, personality and perspective.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”If you’ve been resisting blogging, you’ll need to get over it and embrace this important business activity for all of these important reasons.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

9. Fast Page Load Time

Don’t underestimate the importance of a fast website load speed time. If it takes longer than a few seconds for your site to load, your visitors will ‘bounce’ and this damages your Google rankings.

The loading speed of your site depends most heavily on the website host you use. There are many different hosting options available (examples are Smarter Websites, SiteGround, GoDaddy etc). Generally speaking, you get what you pay for. And this is not something you want to skimp on because it has significant impacts on your ability to develop leads and clients. Do your research and be sure to get some good advice before deciding on a website host.

 

10. Social Proof & Social Links

Getting back to building that essential trust and confidence, your website visitors will want to see that you have ample ‘social proof’ in the form of testimonials, affiliations or industry awards. Highlight your best testimonials on your website, showcase any awards you’ve won and any media outlets you’ve been featured in.

Also, people will want to check you out on social media (to establish whether they know, like and trust you), so make it easy for them to find your social profiles and provide direct links to take them there.

I hope these top ten tips have helped you and if you need help to start or grow your business, please reach to me directly at [email protected]. Let me help you to get your business where you need it to be!

 

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

The Day I Met a Mentor who Changed My Life for the Better

The Day I Met a Mentor who Changed My Life for the Better

 

So much can change in just two years.

 

Back in early 2018 I was really struggling in my business. 

 We’d just returned from six years overseas and I was trying to establish my new career coaching business in my hometown of Perth, Australia.

Like many women, I’d left my corporate career when I gave birth to my first child because it felt like my former professional role as a Consulting Engineer wasn’t compatible with motherhood. 

The company I worked for didn’t offer part time roles or job-shares for returning mothers and to be honest, I knew I wouldn’t be able to manage the demands of a career as an Engineer alongside the demands of motherhood.

  

I’d been unhappy in my career for a long time and I knew there was something else I was ‘meant’ to be doing. 

  

After lots of soul searching, I decided to branch out on my own and start my own business, while also raising two small children (my goodness those years were really tough!).

Like so many of us who start our own business, I thought “I’m a smart girl, I’ll figure this business thing out.” 

And to my credit I did manage to figure lots of it out and I made a lot of progress. 

 

But there was also so much that I couldn’t figure out. 

 

 There was so much conflicting advice and information everywhere.

 Every single coach promised they had the magic solution or the ‘silver bullet’ to all my problems.

 I burned so much money (and I’m talking tens of thousands of dollars…) on coaching programs, E-courses and private coaches.

 But progress was very slow and very frustrating.

After a while I realised that I wasn’t making anywhere near the kind of money I wanted to be making and I had no idea how to position myself or package myself up to generate a consistent income.

There were so many times when I was close to giving up and going back and getting  a J-O-B….

 

The more that time went on, my confidence started to drop and within a couple of years I was wallowing in major self-doubt and self-criticism, wondering if I’d ever make it on my own. 

 My husband started hinting that I should go back and get a job in engineering again.

 

And then all of a sudden, out of the blue, a Facebook advertisement showed up in my Facebook feed about a free workshop for women in business, focusing on social media and marketing strategy. 

And it was run by Marnie LeFevre, founder of Fempire.

I hadn’t heard of Marnie LeFevre at the time, but her messaging spoke to me and something called me to sign up for the free workshop. 

 

 It was the best thing I ever did.

  

Marnie’s free workshop explained so much of the mystery around business building. 

It helped me understand why I’d been struggling so much, and what I needed to do about it.

She gave practical tips and strategies to help me on my way.

  

But perhaps the most beautiful thing for me was that I finally felt supported – I’d finally found my tribe.

 I was so tired of doing it on my own…

 

And the fact that Marnie had created a sisterhood of women in business who support each other to succeed felt like such a relief.

I went up to the back of the room at the end of her presentation and waited to speak to her (along with many, many other women!)

I’ll never forget my first interaction with Marnie. 

I told her about my business and how I’d been struggling, but also how big my vision was and how badly I wanted to succeed.

 

 She looked straight into my eyes and said:

“I can see you have what it takes but you lack self-confidence. 

You just need someone to believe in you. 

And I can be that person for you until you can believe in it yourself.”

 

WOW… my eyes filled with tears. 

She was so right. 

I’d lost all belief in myself. I had no self-confidence left.

And just knowing that she believed in me, without even knowing me, filled me with so much hope and optimism.

Needless to say, I signed up for Marnie’s 3-day Fempreneur course, and then signed on to be mentored by her for 12 months. I can’t tell you the relief I felt to finally get really solid, practical advice to grow my business in a way that actually worked.

 

Fast forward two years and now here I am, working with Marnie as a Fempire Coach and loving every minute. 

 My whole life changed with that one decision to attend her workshop.

  

I feel blessed that I now get to help so many women who are in that place of feeling stuck and confused, just as I was, and I get to help them move into a place of momentum, flow, and business success. 

We all need a good mentor.

Do you have one?

 

Do you have someone who can believe in you until you can believe it yourself?

If not, please reach out.

 

Our passion and mission is to empower women like you who need someone to help and guide you along the path of building a thriving, profitable business.

If you haven’t already, reach out for a free Discovery Call to see if we’re the right people to provide you the support you need.

Maybe our programs will be the transformation that you need to get where you want to go.

 

If you’re feeling lonely, stuck, and confused, let’s chat!

It could be the best decision you make this year!

 

To apply for your complimentary 30-minute Discovery Call, please take three minutes to complete this short survey and we look forward to speaking with you very soon: CLICK HERE TO APPLY FOR YOUR DISCOVERY CALL

 

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

Do you know where you are in the business growth cycle? If not, you’re flying blind. There are certain critical activities you need to undertake in each phase in order to generate profit in the fastest possible manner. Read on to discover what they are! #fempire #fempirecoach #goals #goalsetting #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurmindset #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #mompreneur #workfromhome

 

Perhaps you started your own business because you were tired of the constraints of your job and you craved more freedom and flexibility. Perhaps you don’t like working for someone else and you wanted to be your own boss. 

Or maybe  you went into business because you have a product or service that you’re passionate about and you love making a difference in the lives of others through your work.

 

There are so many benefits to working for yourself and being your own boss really is a beautiful thing. 

 

But on the flip side … it’s also really hard to establish a profitable business and there’s a reason why only one in ten startup businesses actually succeed.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Too many people go into business with rose coloured glasses on, expecting the ride to be easy, fast, and fun.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

But becoming a successful business owner doesn’t happen overnight. 

In fact, statistics show that most small businesses take at least 2 to 3 years to be profitable and become truly successful once they’ve hit the 7 to 10 year mark

One of the hardest things I’ve experienced as a business coach is managing a clients’ expectations when they first come to me for coaching. Often a client will say things like “I need to generate $100k within twelve months in order to replace my corporate salary.” 

I then need to introduce them to the six stages of business growth and show them how this goal is unrealistic and highly unlikely (unless they’ve already worked through the first three phases).

 

[mashtweet tweet=”We live in a world of instant gratification, and unfortunately, the reality is that building a business takes time, persistence, hard work, and perseverance.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

So what are the six stages of business growth?

And why is it essential that you find out which one you’re in?

 

Introducing the 6 Stages of Business Growth

 

For a full description of each phase, the approximate length of each phase and a summary of which critical activities you need to focus on, be sure to download your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful Business.

Do you understand the six stages of business growth? As a business owner, you need to know exactly where you are in the business building journey, so that you can focus your precious time and energy on the things that matter most. #fempire #fempirecoach #goals #goalsetting #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurmindset #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #mompreneur #workfromhome

 

As you can see, there are four major phases you need to work through before you can start generating profit.

And those phases can take anywhere from 18 months to 3 years, depending on a variety of factors.

 

The key message is that there’s a period of time in which you’ll need to invest money into the business, before your business will start returning a profit. And this is the message that many first-time business owners don’t fully appreciate when they start out on their journey.

In a nutshell, you need to invest money in order to grow a business.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Unless you’re fortunate enough to attract an angel investor who provides full financial backing for all of your up-front investment requirements, you’re going to have to put money into your business in order to establish the foundation it needs.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Typical initial investment requirements include the cost of business registration, building your own website, developing your marketing and brand materials, and investing in any inventory or materials you need to get set up and started.

 

While being in business for yourself is wonderful, the reality is that it’s not an easy journey. It’s critical to understand where you are in the process and what to focus on in each phase. Click to read more about the 6 stages of business growth so you can become and stay profitable! #fempire #fempirecoach #goals #goalsetting #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurmindset #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #mompreneur #workfromhomeA common complaint from my clients in the beginning is that “everything costs money”. 

 

And especially in the beginning, it feels like you’re constantly spending money on  your business, with little coming back in terms of revenue. And this phase can feel extremely frustrating, uncomfortable, and scary. It will most likely trigger all your deepest fears and insecurities. This is the point where many people decide to give up and go back to get a job.

But as a startup business owner, you have to appreciate that even when you can’t see the fruits of your labour yet, all the work you’re doing is laying the foundation of a profitable business. There’s no avoiding going through this phase that feels like hard work for no return. 

You have to trust that with persistence and focus, you will eventually hit break through and profit.

I highly recommend you take the time to get acquainted with the different stages of business growth and you understand the critical elements you need to be focusing on in each phase.

 

3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know which Phase of Business Growth You’re in.

 

1. You Can Focus your Time and Energy on the Right Things.

 

There are so many bright, shiny objects in the entrepreneurial world (have you fallen prey to the Shiny Object Syndrome (SOS) before?). Every marketer seems to have ‘the silver bullet’ to your success. 

Back when I was first starting out, I spent so much money on different courses and programs, each one promising to help me finally make the progress I wanted. Everyone had conflicting advice and a different ‘system’ that made them millions, if you just follow their advice.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”There’s no one perfect system or approach that suits every business.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

How do you decide whose advice to follow or what to spend your time and energy on, and when? 

Once you understand the different stages of business growth, you’ll appreciate that there are a few key things you need to focus on in each phase, all of which are outlined in your FREE Fempreneur Success Handbook.

Don’t get distracted by the shiny objects and be sure to focus your precious time and energy on the right things!

 

It’s important to have a solid understanding of the different stages of business growth if you’re serious about generating profit and scaling quickly. Discover what these different phases are and how you can maximise your time and resources by focusing on the right things at the right time. #fempire #fempirecoach #goals #goalsetting #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurmindset #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #mompreneur #workfromhome2. You Can Intentionally Plan and Manage your Cash Flow.

Once you know which stage of business growth you’re in, you’ll be able to plan your financial resources more effectively. 

You’ll know exactly which things to invest your money on in order to move through to the next phase most efficiently. You’ll know where to spend your money for maximum growth and biggest impact. 

And perhaps more importantly, you’ll know what not to spend your precious money on in each phase of business growth.

 

3. You’ll Find Greater Peace and Acceptance (and Enjoyment!) with Where You Are in the Process.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”It’s easy to feel perpetually frustrated if you don’t understand the business building process. If you’re measuring your level of success and progress in terms of dollars in the bank, you’ll be constantly disappointed (especially in the beginning).” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

You’ll need to establish different measures for your success in the beginning, for example by client feedback, by how quickly your email list is growing, or how many word of mouth referrals you’re gaining through your networking, or how your website is converting, to name a few.

 

Progress is all about measuring your success with the right metrics. 

 

And appreciating that you’re moving up the trajectory of business growth, even when you can’t see dollars in the bank (yet).

I hope you find the courage and strength to stay true to your path, because with passion, persistence, and great support, you will get there and establish a thriving, profitable business!

 

If you’re in need of strategic advice on how to best grow your business, let’s chat! You can reach out to me directly at [email protected]. Let’s get on the phone for a free 30-minute discovery call to see if our programs are right for you!

And don’t forget to download your FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK and make sure you’re spending your precious time and resources on the right things, at the right time.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

Blog feature image courtesy of Pixabay.

There are three emerging SEO trends you need to know about if you’re keen to stay ahead of your competition. Keep reading to discover what they are! #SEO #searchengineoptimisation #digitalmarketing #SEOtrends #inboundmarketing #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #businessstrategy #ladyboss #fempire #fempirecoachPeople used Google to perform over 2 trillion searches last year.

 

If you’re like most business owners, your main concern is finding a way to drive more organic traffic to your website so that you can convert interested browsers into paying clients.

 

The best way to do this is by optimising your website for search engine success.

 

To discover everything you need to know about Search Engine Optimisation to drive your business growth, check out my related article called How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot.

Search Engine Optimisation is one of the most important forms of Inbound Marketing that you can engage in as a business owner. Inbound marketing refers to marketing efforts that are designed to draw visitors and potential customers in, rather than outwardly ‘pushing’ a brand or product. SEO is a form of inbound marketing because it draws customers to your website via organic searches in search engines (like Google,Yahoo, Bing etc). If someone is searching for something that your business offers, you want to make sure that you appear in the Google search results so that they can contact you and become a paying client.m

Outbound Marketing refers to any form of content that you ‘push’ out into the world (advertising, social media posting etc) in order to bring traffic (visitors) to your website.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Outbound marketing relies on your own individual effort, whereas Inbound Marketing happens organically, while you’re sleeping, without any effort on your part. It’s essential that you intentionally engage in both forms of marketing (inbound + outbound) in business.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

But in addition to the fundamental SEO methods described in my previous article, there are also three important SEO trends that you need to know about this year if you want to stay ahead of your competition.

You can waste a lot of time and money by using marketing methods that are old or ineffective. This is why staying on the cutting edge SEO is so important. The following are some of the SEO trends you need to be aware of in 2020.

 

3 Critical SEO Trends You Need to Know in 2020

 

Featured snippets are an important element of your search engine optimisation strategy. Discover how you can use them to drive organic traffic to your website on autopilot. #SEO #searchengineoptimisation #digitalmarketing #SEOtrends #inboundmarketing #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #businessstrategy #ladyboss #fempire #fempirecoach1. Featured Snippets Can Drive Organic Traffic to Your Website

In the past, business owners were mainly concerned with getting their website to the top of a Google search engine results page, or at the very least on page one of Google search results.

In the past few years, Google has unveiled the Featured Snippet functionality. Featured Snippets provide users with a concise, direct answer to their questions, right there on the search results page, without the users having to click through to a specific result. If the snippet is compelling and the visitor wants to know more, they’ll click through to your website and increase your web traffic as a result.

Google picks the snippet from the web page that best answers the query in a simple, concise format. This levels the playing field and leaves the door wide open for content that isn’t in the number one search result spot to be featured above everything else. This has massive potential to drive visitors to your website.

 

If you want to get more clicks from Google, you need to optimise what your site looks like in the search results. And you can do this with Featured Snippets. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Featured snippets give marketers a chance to beat competitors, boost conversions, and drive traffic right to their site, because people are more likely to click through to learn more if they get direct answers to their questions.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

HubSpot research has shown that content with a featured snippet gets a 2-times higher click-through rate. This is huge! But getting your website into the coveted spot of Featured Snippet is not easy. In order to accomplish this goal, you will need to work on answering common questions about your industry in your website content. Sites like Answer the Public are great for helping you understand the long tail keywords that people are searching for in a given topic.

If you’re unable to develop content for either your website or a guest posting site, working with professionals is a good idea. Outreach Mama has a plethora of Blogger Outreach Services options to offer. With their help, getting great content and relevant back links will be a breeze.

 

2. Voice Search Optimisation is Important

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past few years, you’ll be well aware of technology like Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. These devices have changed the way consumers interact with search engines and other parts of the Internet. Instead of using text to find items in Google, more and more people are using their voice to search the web. As the popularity of voice search grows, you’ll have to adapt. Changing the way you approach the content on your website is essential when trying to capitalise on the popularity of voice search.

Search Engine Optimisation is critical in modern day business because it’s the means by which customers find your website organically and buy from you. Discover 3 trends that you need to know about this year to optimise your SEO #SEO #searchengineoptimisation #digitalmarketing #SEOtrends #inboundmarketing #entrepreneur #businessgrowth #businessstrategy #ladyboss #fempire #fempirecoach

Using long tail keywords is smart when trying to optimise your website for voice search. Putting yourself in the mindset of a consumer searching for something in your industry can help you develop the right long tail keywords. Most search queries performed with voice search will be posted in the form of a question. Answering these questions can help you increase the amount of organic traffic your website receives.

 

3. Modern Consumers Love Video Content

If your website is devoid of video content, you need to fix this problem in a hurry.

 

The amount of time that consumers spent watching YouTube nearly doubled last year.

 

With the power of engaging and entertaining, you can draw in potential customers and increase sales. The key to making a great video is developing a script beforehand. Trying to get your point across in a concise manner will take some planning.

With an outline of what you want to cover in the video, you can avoid rambling and potentially boring the water. If you don’t have experience with this type of marketing, consulting with professionals is vital. Paying these professionals for their help will be worth it due to the results they can provide.

 

Don’t Let These SEO Trends Pass You By

Now that you know more about the marketing trends of 2020, it is time to take action. These trends can help you bring your marketing campaigns into the 21st century. 

Want to know more about SEO and how to use it to optimise your business success? Check out this great article:
How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot.

 

Are you Starting or Growing Your Own Business?

Get your FREE copy of The Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover you need to know about building a thriving, profitable business on your own terms!

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Professionals
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com.

Our Youngest Clients Ever Are Ready to Take the World By Storm: How Kellie & Abbie Started Their Business at Just 7 Years of Age

Our Youngest Clients Ever Are Ready to Take the World By Storm: How Kellie & Abbie Started Their Business at Just 7 Years of Age

Discover how two young girls aged 13 and 16 have started their own business so that they can make a positive difference doing work they love. #fempire #fempirecoach #goals #goalsetting #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurial #entrepreneurmindset #success #successmindset #worksmarter #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #leadershipOne of the greatest things about the work we do at Fempire is that we get to work with inspiring and talented female business owners all across the country.

 

We recently had the pleasure of welcoming our youngest clients ever into our three day Fempreneur workshop in Melbourne. At just sixteen and thirteen years of age, Kellie and Abbie Thomas are two sisters who are passionate about providing quality, ethically sourced baby products for newborn babies and mothers, as well as providing opportunities for women in developing countries to establish their own livelihood through creation of baby products for sale overseas.

 

How do you develop such clarity and passion at such a young age, you might wonder? 

 

Their story is a very inspiring one. 

 

When Kellie was three years old, her younger sister Abbie was born with Left Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia that wasn’t picked up until twelve hours after her birth. She was rushed from Shepparton Base Hospital to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne to receive life saving surgery at just four days old. 

As Kellie recounts:

“Being in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit while Abbie recovered was so special for me. I just loved being surrounded by so many little babies and helping to care for Abbie. I nearly lost my sister, who means absolutely everything to me, everyday I praise God she survived. 

The impact of Abbie’s birth left a real imprint in my heart and from then on I knew I had a passion for babies. A few years later, when I was seven years old, I decided I wanted to open my own baby shop in support of our love for babies. My dream immediately became Abbie’s and so nine years later here we are, two sisters who are passionate about nurturing and cherishing both mum and bub.”

Incredible, isn’t it?

Last year, the girls came to our Fempreneur Workshop accompanied by their incredibly supportive and encouraging mother Alice Thomas. The girls had been struggling for a while to get real traction and flow in their business and they wanted some guidance and direction on how to position themselves going forward, so they can make an even bigger difference and impact.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Our Fempreneur Workshop is a 3 day immersion for women looking to accelerate their business and marketing know-how using Fempire’s 12 Step Business Mastery System, designed specifically for women.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

You’re never too young to start your own business! Discover how Kellie and Abbie started their own business at just age 13 and 16. #fempire #fempirecoach #goals #goalsetting #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurial #entrepreneurmindset #success #successmindset #worksmarter #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #leadershipPerhaps one of the most powerful parts of the Fempreneur process is helping our clients get crystal clear on their ‘why’ and their purpose for being in business, and then allowing that to flow through into their branding, messaging, and their business and marketing strategy.

Thanks to the clarity that Kellie and Abbie developed during the three day Fempreneur workshop, they’ve been able to launch a complete rebrand and have found new direction and inspiration. 

Here’s what the girls had to say in an email recently:

 

We are writing to you because we are so excited to tell you that we have officially rebranded! Our new logo was designed and we redid our website. We are now officially selling as ‘Kellie & Abbie.’

We want to say a huge thank you for support and guidance in making this possible. The time we spent with you was incredibly useful, as it helped us solidify our business direction and pathway forward. 

Since Fempire we have been in busy conversations with Thania, the lady from Indonesia who is employing improvised women to hand knit baby items. Mum has just finished writing the knitting patterns and sent them off to Thania in Indonesia, where she and the ladies are now going to send us a sample of their knitting. 

We also have been busy with the creation of our salt soak and coffee scrub, we are just finalising the labels now. And Abbie has been experimenting with designs for her hand painted covers to go on our journals. 

The social media strategy Kate taught us has been incredible. Through this, we have been able to connect with some beautiful mothers in Victoria who have encouraged our business and promoted who we are. We partnered with one lady in a give-away which was so fantastic!”

 

Thanks to the Fempreneur workshop, the girls have defined new Vision and Mission Statements for their business.

Mission Statement – Kellie & Abbie

To be the best family company that nurtures and cherishes mother and baby through the journey of new life, locally and globally, through family customer service and handpicked ethically sourced products.

Kellie and Abbie went through life-changing experiences that made them want to start their own business so that they can give back in a way that feels meaningful. Discover how these young girls have decided to become entrepreneurs at age 13 and 16. #fempire #fempirecoach #goals #goalsetting #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurial #entrepreneurmindset #success #successmindset #worksmarter #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #leadershipVision Statement – Kellie & Abbie

We combine our love of cherishing new life, capturing precious moments and nurturing mothers with our commitment to supporting impoverished mothers in underdeveloped countries, to provide ethically sourced unique quality products and family service for our customers.



Inspiring, huh?



We feel so grateful and blessed to have the opportunity to support such positive, altruistic young women who are striving to make the world a better place.

Kellie and Abbie’s dedication to sourcing products ethically and to helping improve the lives of women and babies both here in Australia and in Indonesia is truly inspiring.

Please do show your support by following them on Instagram and by checking out their products at Kellie & Abbie online. Their products make perfect gifts or essentials for newborns and mothers and the love that’s put into these products is something else.

We wish them so much love and best wishes for continued success in their business!

Want to know more about our Fempreneur workshop? Message Kate direct at [email protected] to discover the dates and prices of our upcoming workshops to get your business moving in the right direction!

In service to helping you bring your business dreams to life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
katedejong.com

The Reality for Women in Business: 11 Fascinating Things I’ve Learned as a Fempire Coach

The Reality for Women in Business: 11 Fascinating Things I’ve Learned as a Fempire Coach

We believe that the world needs more heart-centered women in business who are making a positive difference through their work. We believe that the future is female. Read on to discover why. #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #liveyourpassion #followyourheart #liveyourdream #passion #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurial #entrepreneurmindset #success #successmindset #ladybosslife #worksmarter #changemakers #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #leadership #businesschicks

 

Fempire is unapologetically a female-focused brand. We know that women have different needs to men when it comes to starting or growing a business. We think differently, feel differently, act differently and behave differently in the world of business. We saw a need to provide women with the tailored support they need to navigate the world of entrepreneurship. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Our mission at Fempire is to provide female entrepreneurs with the support, knowledge, & strategy to bring their business vision into reality. And we believe that the world needs more successful female entrepreneurs.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

David Orr famously said in the book Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World:

 

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind.” – David Orr

 

Women are naturally drawn to the roles of peacemakers, healers, restorers, and storytellers – in fact, the vast majority of our clients fall under these categories – and small business is the perfect vehicle for them.

Female business owners face unique challenges when growing their own business. Read on to discover 11 fascinating things I learned in my first year as a Fempire Business Coach for Women and how you can set yourself up to thrive as a successful entrepreneur. #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #liveyourpassion #followyourheart #liveyourdream #passion #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurial #entrepreneurmindset #success #successmindset #ladybosslife #worksmarter #changemakers #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #leadership #businesschicks

But as Lindzi Caputo and Charlotte Sandell write, the success rate for women in business is markedly lower than for men. 

 

At Fempire, we’re on a mission to change that.

 

My first year as a Fempire Coach in 2018 was a wild and fast ride of rapid growth and learning. There was laughter, tears, challenges, and celebrations. And while I came into the role with many years of coaching experience under my belt in my own practice, my role with Fempire took me on an accelerated path that taught me so much about myself, about others, and about women in business in general.

In order to help you succeed as a business woman, I’m sharing the most important lessons I’ve learned in the hope that they give you comfort, help you to know that you’re not alone, and give you the courage and confidence to continue on, knowing that with courage and persistence, you will succeed as a business owner.

 

 

11 Fascinating Things I’ve Learned as a Fempire Coach

 

1. Most Women Struggle with the Imposter Syndrome

If you feel like a fraud when starting out in your own business, you’re not alone. Every woman struggles with the imposter syndrome to some extent, but it’s even more prevalent among female entrepreneurs because we’re constantly stepping outside of our comfort zone. According to Rebecca Burn-Callande, the imposter syndrome is “the single biggest block to success” for women in business. Thoughts of “Who am I to do this?” or “When will they figure out that I’m not qualified to do this?” can send you into an anxious spin and prevent you from showing up as your powerful self, with negative consequences. I see it all the time.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”If you struggle with the imposter syndrome, know that it’s a completely normal reaction for female entrepreneurs. And ask yourself, who are you not to do this work? What will the world miss out on if you decide not to answer the call to get your work into the world? Try to keep focusing on how you can be of service and the positive difference you’re already making.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

And just in case you’re wondering – yes, you are completely qualified to do the work you’re doing. We need you!

 

 

 

2. Women Struggle to Charge What They’re Worth

Women have a natural tendency to over-deliver and under-charge. Especially if you’re struggling with the imposter syndrome, you’ll be afraid to charge your clients what you’re worth, because even you don’t believe in your own value yet. Most of my clients come to me drastically under-charging. But here’s what I’ve learned:

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The amount you’re willing to charge for your products or services is directly related to your level of self-confidence.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

And if you need to start out with low prices in order to build your confidence and to prove to yourself that you definitely do add value and that you provide an amazing product or service, then do that. But make sure you increase your prices when you start to feel resentful. You’ll quickly realise that your clients are often relieved when you increase your prices because it means you’re finally stepping into your power and claiming your value. And the clients who know and appreciate your value will be more than happy to pay you what you’re worth.

 

3. Being a Successful Business Woman Requires Sacrifice

There’s no denying that even in this modern era of working mothers, women still do the lion’s share of household duties. In surveys across the USA in 2016, it was found that women spend twice as much time on household activities each day than men. All those school drop offs, lunch preparations, loads of washing, and kids sporting activities take time. And if you’re serious about being a successful business woman, you have to make sacrifices and compromises at home. 

You need to have difficult conversations with your husband or partner around them doing more at home, or maybe you need to hire help so that you can spend the time required to grow your business. Perhaps you’ll need to put your kids in before- or after-school care. But you can’t be one hundred percent responsible for your domestic duties and grow a business at the same time. I know that for a fact. And you’ll need to decide which one is a priority for you.

 

4. Mother Guilt is Real

Since us women have to make the tough decisions between work and children, we carry a lot of the guilt that goes along with it. When you finally decide to sacrifice some school pick ups to grow your business, you’ll be plagued by a constant sense of guilt and at three o’clock you’ll be thinking about your kids and wondering if you’re doing them any damage by not being there. I struggle with this too, and so do all working women.

Even though it won’t rid your guilt entirely, you might be comforted to know that groundbreaking studies have shown that children of working mothers actually fare better later in life. Carmen Nobel write that “Children whose mothers worked outside the home are more likely to have jobs themselves, are more likely to hold supervisory responsibilities at those jobs, and earn higher wages than children whose mothers stayed home full time”. Kathleen McGinn says:

 

[mashtweet tweet=”As we gradually understand that our children aren’t suffering, hopefully the guilt will go away.” #motherguilt #fempreneurs – Kathleen McGinn” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

So focusing on growing your business is most certainly not harming your children in any way, and may even have a positive effect. Plus, you’re being an inspiring role model for your children and helping future generations by helping them to understand that woman’s work is equally as important as a man’s.

 

5. Not All Women are Cut Out to Be Business Owners

In his book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, Michael Gerber describes how every business owner needs to be able to fulfil three different roles: 

  1. The Technician: This person knows the craft of your business. If you started a clothes line, then you’re a great seamstress and designer. If you’re a life coach, then you’re great at helping people find solutions to their life’s challenges. Most of us start out in business as technicians with a honed craft.
  2. The Entrepreneur: This person has the ideas, innovation, passion, and charm. They have the desire and ability to forge strategic relationships with collaborators and investors. They’re forward thinking, and thinking about growing and scaling. They’re focused on opportunities and closing them.
  3. The Manager: This person is details-focused and organised. They’re a planner and always on top of the accounts, the timelines, and the project milestones. They know which items are on the critical path to success.

 

Gerber says that the number one mistake that business owners make is this:

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The fatal assumption business owners make: If you understand the technical work of a business, you understand how to run a business that does technical work. – Michael Gerber” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

And this isn’t true! The majority of us go into business because we’re technicians and we want to make a business out of it. But we’re not trained entrepreneurs or managers. These are skills that we absolutely must learn and grow. 

Women who understand this and embrace it become successful business owners. They dedicate themselves to learning the art and craft of being an entrepreneur and manager and they go on to establish thriving businesses. But some women discover they’re not at all interested in becoming an entrepreneur or a manager, nor are they naturally inclined that way. And they then realise that small business is not for them.  

 

After coaching both men and women, in my current role as a Fempire business coach for women, it’s become abundantly clear that women face unique challenges as business owners. Read on to discover what they are. #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #liveyourpassion #followyourheart #liveyourdream #passion #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurial #entrepreneurmindset #success #successmindset #ladybosslife #worksmarter #changemakers #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #leadership #businesschicks6. Women Have Different Business Coaching Needs to Men

Having coached both men and women, and having worked among men and women during my professional career as an engineer, I’ve learned that women have different needs when it comes to coaching. Men generally need the right strategy and ongoing guidance, and they’re off and racing. As women, we need a lot more nurturing and validation. We need someone to believe in us until we can believe in ourselves. We need someone to discuss not just our business challenges with but also our emotional ones too. We need someone to remind us of our value on a regular basis. And when we get all of this, we thrive.

 

7. Your Coach Can’t Do Your Work for You

If you’re a business owner then hopefully you have a business coach who’s helped you to map out the best way to grow your business and establish yourself as a successful business owner. Your coach would have worked with you to develop your business vision, your mission, your goals, your business funnel, your pricing structures and your marketing strategies to promote your business, to build a sustainable and growing client base.

But unfortunately the onus is then on you to implement the advice and strategy. It’s up to you to carve out the time needed to take action on the things you agreed upon. It’s my greatest frustration when clients come to their sessions with their tail between their legs, having to admit that they haven’t done what they agreed they would do. I understand it’s hard. I have a young family too. And I really want you to be successful. But if you’re not willing to make the time to do the work that’s required to grow your business, then maybe being a small business owner isn’t for you.

 

8. Your Coach Can’t Save You

As a coach, my biggest desire is to see my clients succeed and to enjoy the fruits of running a successful business. And I want to be there to support you, guide you, and give you encouragement and inspiration along the way. But unfortunately I’ve had to learn the hard way that I can’t save you if you get yourself into a pickle. For example, if you’ve sold out a workshop and then you haven’t been able to generate the content for it on time, I can’t jump in and rescue you. While I would love to, I’ve had to learn (the hard way) that as a coach, I need to pull back. Because if I do it for you, I’m not empowering you or teaching you how to do it yourself. This is really hard for a coach who wants to see her clients succeed.

 

9. Women Thrive in Community

An essential component of our Fempire business coaching programs is the monthly group workshops we provide where all of our coaching clients come together to network, workshop, and learn business education. We often get clients coming back after they’ve left the nest, asking to re-join the group workshops again because they realise that they need the support of the sisterhood in order to thrive. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”As women, we need connection and community like we need air. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

It’s simply essential to our ability to thrive.

 

10. Once Their Confidence Catches Up, Women are Unstoppable

One of the most beautiful things I get to experience as a business coach is watching my clients grow their confidence and then blossom like flowers. Often they start their business journey doubting themselves, struggling with imposter syndrome, and under-charging for their products or services. But with the right support guidance, encouragement, and sisterhood, they start to believe in themselves, step into their power and claim their worth. And they become unstoppable. It’s a beautiful thing to see.

 

11. Collaboration is Infinitely More Powerful than Competition

Once women get over the need to compete with each other, and instead start supporting each other through collaborations, referrals and affiliations, amazing things start to happen. We see it time and time again. When we come together, we really do have the power to change the world.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”You can tell who the strong women are. They’re the ones building the other women up. – Unknown.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

And this is what Fempire is all about.

 

I hope you loved this article. You might also enjoy:

6 Powerful Productivity Hacks that will Help You Get More Out of Your Day

How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set Your Business Up For Success

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
katedejong.com

The power of women coming together is phenomenal. Read on to discover 11 fascinating things I discovered in my first twelve months as a Fempire business coach for women. And may they inspire you to greater levels of success! #fempire #fempirecoach #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #liveyourpassion #followyourheart #liveyourdream #passion #solopreneur #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurial #entrepreneurmindset #success #successmindset #ladybosslife #worksmarter #changemakers #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #leadership #businesschicks

6 Powerful Productivity Strategies that will Help You Get More Out of Your Day

6 Powerful Productivity Strategies that will Help You Get More Out of Your Day

The number one skill that differentiates successful entrepreneurs from the rest is their ability to effectively manage their time in pursuit of their business goals. Read on to discover my Golden Rules of productivity that will help you maximise what you can achieve each and every day. #productivity #timemanagement #goals #goalsetting #successstrategies #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #entrepreneurmindset #fempire #fempirecoachAre you tired of feeling like there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done that you need to?

Do you wish you had a magic fairy who could wave her wand and give you three extra hours a day? 

 

As an entrepreneur, you get to determine how you spend your time. Which is great, and if you’re like me, it’s probably one of the main reasons why you decided to go into business for yourself – for the freedom, flexibility, and fulfilment that comes with working for yourself. But on the down side, if you don’t know how to use your time efficiently, you can very easily end up spending lots of time doing stuff, but not getting much done.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”To be a successful business owner you need to be ruthless and laser focused with your time.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Particularly if you’re a mother who’s also running a business, you’ll know that every minute in the day counts and it’s up to you to squeeze every drop of  productivity out of the hours you have.

There are limitless articles out there about productivity and time management hacks. The following techniques are the ones that have allowed me to be an engaged mother at the same time as growing my business. It’s still a huge challenge and my life is messy and imperfect, but with the help of these strategies I’ve managed to achieve great things in my business in recent years.

I hope they help you too.

My Golden Rules of Productivity.

I’ll be sharing the details of the Golden Rules in the video and article below.

 

 

 

Productivity Strategy #1 – Stop Going with the Flow and Start Planning

 

“Failing to plan is planning to fail”. – Benjamin Franklin

 

If you’re someone who likes to ‘go with the flow’ and deal with whatever arises each day, you’re not doing yourself any favours. You need to change this if you’re serious about succeeding in business. Going with the flow means you’re perpetually in a state of reaction, which is highly ineffective. 

[mashtweet tweet=” The most successful business owners intentionally carve and mould their time around the actions that are most critical to their business success. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Fall in love with planning, and you will succeed. One of our coaching clients tripled her income within a year and she contributes her success to her decision to make planning a central part of her business. Her results speak for themselves.

Here are 3 planning strategies that have helped me transform the way I do business and skyrocket my business results.

 

1.1. Take the Time Every Quarter to Set 90-day Goals

While it’s essential to have five year and 12-month goals (discover how to develop yours here), ninety days has been proven to be the most effective length of time for getting stuff done. The reason being that 90 days is enough time to get something substantial done, while also being close enough in time that it feels urgent. It’s the ‘sweet spot’ of goal setting. 

Schedule a morning or afternoon in your diary every 3 months to develop, revisit and redefine your 90-day business goals. This approach has been one of the game-changers for me. It allows you to stay adaptable while being highly focused and effective.

1.2. Weekly Planning

Block one hour in your diary every Monday morning or Friday afternoon to plan what you will work on in the coming week. Refer back to your 90-day goals, and look at the commitments you have in the diary for the week. Can you delay or cancel any appointments in order to work on your goals? Eliminate non-essential things from your diary and schedule time for things on the critical path to progress.

1.3. Time blocking

Once you have your goals defined, you need to set aside the time to work on them. 

[mashtweet tweet=”Goals without time attached to them are just wishful thinking. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Use time blocking to block out chunks of time in your diary to get the work done. If you must move a block of time (and you inevitably will), don’t delete it but instead move it to another day – don’t delete them! Time blocking is how you fiercely prioritise and protect your business goals.

 

Efficient time management is the make-or-break skill among entrepreneurs. If you're not good at getting the most out of the hours you have each day, read on to discover my Golden Rules for productivity that have helped me grow a business and a family at the same time. I hope they help you! #productivity #timemanagement #goals #goalsetting #successstrategies #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #entrepreneurmindset #fempire #fempirecoachProductivity Strategy #2 – Stop Multi-Tasking and Start Batching

It’s well-known that multi-tasking is highly ineffective and causes stress. Multi-tasking generally results from being reactionary (i.e. sitting down at your desk and just responding to everything that comes up), as opposed to being proactive, which means taking the time to plan and focus your time on the tasks that matter most.

You’ll significantly increase your productivity through ‘batching’ your time, which means allocating chunks of time to similar tasks or assignments. If you’re working on a batch of work, turn off all distractions (email and social media notifications, the phone) and focus on the task at hand until it’s done or the allocated time is up. 

Here are some examples of how you can batch your time as a business owner:

  1. Spend four 3-4 hours writing multiple blog articles and schedule them to go out once every two weeks, so that you only have to write blogs once every few months.
  2. Spend 2-3 hours per week creating and scheduling your social media posts so you only have to focus on social media once per week.
  3. Spend one whole day recording multiple videos that can be scheduled to go out once every 2 weeks, meaning you only have to prepare videos once every 3 months.
  4. If you’re a coach, allocate three days a week to coaching and block out the remaining two days to work on your business with focus. 

 

Productivity Strategy #3 – Get on Top and Stay on Top of Your Email Inbox

Email is the biggest distraction and cause of multi-tasking! 

[mashtweet tweet=”If you want to succeed in business, you need to control your email, and don’t let it control you. ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Here are three recommendations with regards to controlling your email.

3.1. Turn off your email notifications!
They’re the biggest cause of time loss because you’re constantly shifting your focus. Allocate time each day to read and respond to your email,and outside of that time, don’t check it.

3.2. Reduce the amount of mail you receive.
Become ruthless with the emails you allow into your inbox. If you have too many subscriptions, use the Unroll.me app to give you an overview of all your subscriptions, and then unsubscribe from any sources that are not essential. When I first used this app I was in email overwhelm because I had more than 100 subscriptions! I can’t tell you how good it is to finally get out of email overwhelm and on top of your inbox.

3.3. Use the 321-Zero Rule for Email.
This is a great way to control your email. Check your email three times a day, and get your inbox to zero within 21 minutes (set a timer!). You’ll be surprised how quickly you can get on top of your email when you get ruthless and use these three options to handle them:

  1. Action it.
  2. Save and action it later.
  3. Delete it.

 

There’s a huge difference between being busy and being productive. Read on to discover how you can become highly productive in my article 6 Powerful Productivity Strategies that will Help You Get More Out of Your Day. #productivity #timemanagement #goals #goalsetting #successstrategies #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #entrepreneurmindset #fempire #fempirecoachProductivity Strategy #4 – Stop Revisiting Small Tasks. If it Takes Less than Five Minutes, Do it Now!

Another way you significantly decrease your productivity is by revisiting small tasks. When you’re in the middle of your allocated time for email, take action on the items that require less than five minutes of your time to complete. If it’s going to take longer than minutes, flag it as important and put on your list to action at a later date.

It takes time to revisit small tasks, so try to reduce the amount of time you spend revisiting things.

 

Productivity Strategy #5 – Aim for Progress over Perfection.

Perfectionism is a huge cause of ineffectiveness. If you keep waiting to get something perfect before it goes out, you’ll never get anywhere. If you’re someone who gets stuck in trying to get something ‘perfect’ before you send it out, pin up this statement somewhere where you can see it regularly. And stick to the 80-20 rule. Eighty percent perfect is good enough.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Imperfection action beats perfect inaction.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Productivity Strategy #6 – Get Organised with a Project Management App.

You need to find a system that works for you to keep you organised. I’ve tried so many different applications over the years to help me capture and prioritise important tasks, but I never really implemented them seriously until I found  Trello. I can’t tell you how much this free software has transformed the way I do business. It’s simple, user friendly and super convenient with its phone and desktop versions. Without this tool I simply wouldn’t be able to achieve my business goals!

I hope these strategies will give you some insight into how you can better use the time you have to achieve more. If you have any comments or new insights, please reach out by leaving a comment below. I love hearing from you!

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

Why You Need to be Spying on Your Competitors to Achieve Business Success!

How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set Your Business Up For Success

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong
Fempire Coach
katedejong.com
[email protected]

As an entrepreneur, you need to find ways to intentionally carve out time to work on the activities that are on the critical path for your business growth. Discover the exact steps on how to do this in my article 6 Powerful Productivity Strategies that will Help You Get More Out of Your Day. #productivity #timemanagement #goals #goalsetting #successstrategies #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #entrepreneurmindset #fempire #fempirecoach

How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot

How to Use SEO to Skyrocket Your Business Growth on Autopilot

If you've been ignoring the important topic of SEO, get on top of it now! You're leaving clients and money on the table. Read on to discover the basic essentials that will get you on the road to effective SEO for your business #SEO #searchengineoptimisation #websitetraffic #womeninbusiness #ladybosses #girlboss #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #womensupportingwomen #fempire #fempirecoach

 

If you’re a business owner, you need to get your head around the topic of SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation.
It’s critical to your business growth and success.

 

For the first few years in business on my own, I completely ignored SEO simply because I didn’t know what it was and I didn’t appreciate how important it was. If you haven’t paid much attention to it until now, I hope this article helps you to understand the basics and to take some critical first steps to getting on top of it.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”SEO is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results in Google and other search engines.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

SEO is also about improving the user-friendliness of your website to increase its credibility, so that search engines rank you more highly.  SEO is critical to your business because it’s how people find you. If you’re a remedial massage therapist working in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, you want to make sure that if someone in eastern Melbourne searches for a remedial massage therapist, you show up in the search results!

You might have heard the saying:

[mashtweet tweet=”The best place to hide a dead body is on page two of Google search results.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

It’s funny, and also metaphorically very accurate! If you can’t find what you’re looking for on page one of Google search results, you usually just refine the search and try a different search term, right? So obviously, you want to do everything in your power to rank on page one of Google search results.

Google is increasingly the go-to tool to find anything on the internet for the majority of the population, so it’s important that you harness it correctly. Search traffic has grown by 2000% in the past 20 years. In 1999 Google processed one billion searches, and now that number is up to 2 trillion searches per year! The average person conducts 3-4 Google searches per day (for more mind-blowing stats on Google, check out this article 27 Mind Blowing Stats About Google).

SEO all starts with understanding the keywords and phrases (long tail keywords) that people are searching for when they’re trying to find a product or service that you offer. It’s all well and good to use fancy language and phrases on your website, but if people aren’t actively searching for those terms you’re using, you won’t appear in search results.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The first step in any SEO practice is to undertake what we refer to as ‘keyword research’.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

There are some great free tools that are available to do keyword research such as the Keywords Everywhere browser extension, or the Keyword Tool, or the Answer the Public site. Take the time to research your keywords extensively. Spend at least 1-2 hours doing this if you can. And once you have an extensive list of commonly used keywords and long tail phrases that people are searching for in your field, you should keep them somewhere where you can access them regularly, and make sure you use them across your website.

There are two ways you can build your SEO capability – with ‘on-page SEO’ and ‘off-page SEO’.

On-Page SEO

Have you ever wondered how to get a basic handle on SEO to make sure you’re making it easy for people to find you and to get great rankings in search engines? Read on to discover the basic strategies of SEO that will get you a long way to optimising your business growth. #SEO #searchengineoptimisation #websitetraffic #womeninbusiness #ladybosses #girlboss #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #womensupportingwomen #fempire #fempirecoach

‘On-page SEO’ is all about getting those keywords into as much content on your website as possible – blog articles, page titles, picture descriptions.

 

You want to eventually have an even spread of keywords throughout your website, however the most important places so start with are your page titles, post titles, and meta descriptions as a minimum. If you can get your important keywords into titles and meta descriptions, you’re well on your way to maximising your SEO.

Obviously you don’t want to go overboard and do what’s called ‘keyword stuffing’. Keyword stuffing is trying to get as many keywords into your site as humanly possible. But it will ultimately work against you because it doesn’t look or sound natural, and your top priority should be making your website a positive user experience so that people spend longer on your site and become returning visitors (both great qualities for increasing your rankings in Google). Plus, Google algorithms are extremely clever and they can always recognise when someone’s trying to ‘keyword stuff’ – and it’ll work against you!

Other forms of ‘on-page SEO’ include things like proper URL structure, user-friendly 404 pages (for when a link is broken), mobile-friendly pages and a fast loading page (I can’t understate how important it is to find a fast host! I highly recommend Little Bizzy for fast-loading hosting and great customer service). Slow loading pages simply won’t rank highly with search engines and your potential clients will click away before your site has had a chance to load.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”If your website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, you’re losing clients and money. Website load speed is that important.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Off-Page SEO

‘Off-page SEO’ refers to SEO activities that are performed beyond the boundaries of the website. One of these important activities is known as link building, which is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. Companies spend a lot of time and money trying to acquire links from other websites back to their own because it increases your site’s credibility and Google rankings.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”If you can master the art of building high-quality back links from external websites to your own website, it can truly put you ahead your competition. #SEO” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Other forms of off-page SEO include social bookmarking, social media marketing, content marketing and others (see this great article Everything You Need to Know About Off-Page SEO). 

In my short video below, I give an overview of all the very basic tips and tricks you can use as small business owner with limited tech-savviness (like me!) to optimise your SEO so that you can easily win more clients on autopilot, starting now.

Make sure you’re doing these essential things and you’ll start growing your business with ease.

 

3 Critical SEO Trends You Need to be Aware of in 2020

Check out this article  to discover three trends that you need to know to get the most out of your site SEO and stay ahead of your competition.

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is critical to your business success. While it seems complicated, there are some simple strategies that you can implement straight away to get your SEO moving quickly in the right direction. Read on to find out how. #SEO #searchengineoptimisation #websitetraffic #womeninbusiness #ladybosses #girlboss #entrepreneur #entrepreneurlife #womensupportingwomen #fempire #fempirecoach

3 Important SEO Trends You Need to Know About in 2020

 

I hope these tips and strategies help you to get on top of your SEO and if you have any questions, please reach out!

Did you like this article? You might also like:

Why You Need to be Spying on Your Competitors to Achieve Business Success!

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set Your Business Up For Success

5 Powerful Business Strategies that Tripled Her Income: A Case Study with Revi Chai

 

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

 

5 Powerful Business Strategies that Tripled Her Income: A Case Study with Revi Chai

5 Powerful Business Strategies that Tripled Her Income: A Case Study with Revi Chai

One of wonderful clients recently reported a tripling of her income in less than 12 months! Read on to discover her top 5 game-changers and how she's managed to finally achieve the success she desires ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #fempireinternational #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #ladybosslife #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurial #womeninbiz #womenempowered #girlbosses #businesswomen #womeninbizaustralia #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #inspiration #womensupportingwomeninbusiness #businesschicks #businesschicksaustralia

One of the greatest joys of being a business coach is witnessing how much progress our clients make.

 

Recently at Fempire we were over-joyed to receive a beautiful message from one of our clients Revital Chai, the director of Melbourne’s Paint for Fun, who was celebrating one year with the Fempire Group Coaching program – and a tripling of her income in that time! Here’s what Revi had to say:

This is the kind of feedback that makes our heart sing! This is why we do what we do, helping women like you to achieve business success so that you can make the impact and money you desire.

In our group coaching program, all of our clients receive a one-on-one private ‘Hour of Power’ coaching session each month to work on the specifics of their business, as well as a group training on a specific business topic with their sisterhood of fellow #ladybosses, over a period of twelve months.

I asked Revi if she would mind highlighting the specifics of what changed the game for her. Find out what she said below.

 

Revi’s Top 5 Game-Changers for Growing Your Business.

 

1. Running a business is a marathon, not a sprint.

Revi says: “First thing – the deep understanding that running a business is a marathon, not a sprint. As I’m a person who likes immediate results and I tend to sabotage if I don’t get instant results, it made me understand that if I want to be successful I need to have a clear vision and just stay focused in that direction. Be persistent and focused.”

It’s been Revi’s persistence and focus over the past 12 months that’s earned her the success she’s achieved. It doesn’t happen overnight, as most of us in business know only too well. But it absolutely does happen with sustained, consistent action and focus. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, as Revi says!

 

Planning is a critical element of running a successful business. Discover the other 4 game-changing business strategies that tripled Revi's income! ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #fempireinternational #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #ladybosslife #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurial #womeninbiz #womenempowered #girlbosses #businesswomen #womeninbizaustralia #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #inspiration #womensupportingwomeninbusiness #businesschicks #businesschicksaustralia2. To be successful, you have to start planning.

Revi’s next big game-changer was planning:

“Second – planning! I hate planning but that’s something that separates successful people from the ones chasing their tails. If it’s finances (I didn’t do cash flow before Femme), marketing and working with my team to plan, I now take the time to plan because I know it grows my business.”

 

3. Work ON your business, not IN your business.

“Third – work ON my business and not IN my business to become bigger. So I now have people that write text, post in social media, teach, make calls etc. so I have more time to look forward and grow the business.”

This one is so important. If you’re someone who hates to delegate, or you’re a perfectionist, you’re not going to grow your business. There’s is no way you can do everything yourself when you’re running a profitable business. Outsource the activities that are highly time-consuming and allow yourself to focus your time and effort on what’s important – those things that are required to grow your business.

 

4. Get uncomfortable!


“Another thing – get uncomfortable! You can’t break through if you play safe – not possible. It’s OK to make mistakes as long as I’m taking actions and making moves. Follow my instincts is a good one as well.”

Yes – if you want to grow your business, you have to get uncomfortable! Learn to become friends with fear and discomfort. Do those things that scare you but you know will open doors and bring you new clients and opportunities. And listening to your intuition and following your intuition is essential too.

 

Goal setting and planning are so critical to business success. Discover the other four critical business strategies and triple your income like Revi did! ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #fempireinternational #smallbusiness #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #ladybosslife #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #entrepreneurial #womeninbiz #womenempowered #girlbosses #businesswomen #womeninbizaustralia #entrepreneurlife #entrepreneurship #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #inspiration #womensupportingwomeninbusiness #businesschicks #businesschicksaustralia5. Grow – personally and professionally.

Revi’s final game-changing strategy is:

“Finally, grow as a person, be strong mentally. Which I knew already but there’s nothing like being around one to really get it.”

Are you surrounding yourself with people who are mentally strong, who uplift and inspire you? Are you finding ways to learn and grow consistently? Do you have a mentor who’s walked the path before you and knows the right steps to take? Do you have a sisterhood of women who are there to lift you up when the going gets tough, and to celebrate your successes with you? 

If not, come and have a chat with us at Fempire!

Nothing gives us greater pleasure than to give you the support, knowledge, and structures to thrive in business and life. Click here to schedule a FREE, no-obligation 30-minute discovery call to understand how we can support you to achieve your business dreams.

Did you like this article? Check out these great articles too:

 

Are you starting or growing your own business? Download your FREE copy of my FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK to fast-track your business success! This value-packed guide contains everything I wish I knew back when I was starting my own business in 2011. Click here to download it now.

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Top 10 Mindset Qualities You Need to Embrace to be Successful in Business.

The 10 Most Important Tactics that Will Set Your Business up for Success.

7 Ways to be an Inspiring Leader in Small Business.

 

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

The Top 10 Mindset Qualities You Need to Embrace to be Successful in Business

The Top 10 Mindset Qualities You Need to Embrace to be Successful in Business

Building your own business is hard - but it's also one of the most rewarding and fulfilling things there is! There are certain mindset strategies you need to embrace in order to succeed in business which I've discovered after 6 years of building my own coaching practice. Read on to discover what they are! #mindset #success #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

 

You’ve probably heard the saying:

 

‘Success is an inside job.’

 

And when it comes to building your own business, this is 110% true. Your mindset will make or break your ability to establish and run a profitable business. In fact, your business is simply a reflection of your inner world and your way of thinking. If you’re someone who thinks big and believes in abundance and prosperity, your business will reflect that. And the opposite is also true.

Here are the top ten mindset shifts you’ll need to make if you want to succeed in business in the long term.

 

1. Your business is not about you.

It’s a wonderful thing to go into business because you want to make a difference, or you want to have more freedom and flexibility, or be your own boss (all reasons why I started my own business). But you won’t survive long in business unless you’re selling something that people need.

The number one reason why businesses fail is that “they start making things that people don’t want.”

[mashtweet tweet=”You might have come up with the best idea or service, but if no one wants it or needs it, you’ll never get off the ground.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Your job is to figure out the ‘pain points’ that people in your niche struggle with, and then find a way to help them overcome those challenges. And do it in a way that’s different to, and better than, your competitors.

Obviously you want to do something you love and enjoy so you can go the distance, but make sure it’s something people need – and if you do, you will succeed.

 

2. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

If you’re going into business for a quick solution to your money problems, you’re in for a big disappointment. It takes time and persistence to build a profitable business from the ground up. You need to take consistent actions each and every day and have realistic expectations.

You have to be in it for the long haul. It won’t happen overnight.

[mashtweet tweet=”Statistics show that it takes three to five years to get to the point where you’re turning a healthy profit. And if you’re someone who likes to word hard and see instant results (I can relate!), this can be very challenging.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

In those start-up years, try to view your time and efforts as a process of planting seeds, with the intention to eventually harvest a crop. You’re spending your time sowing the ground, making it fertile, and nurturing your seedlings with the right conditions. Over a period of time, your seeds will start to bloom and you’ll eventually harvest the rewards.

If you’re willing to stick it out with persistence and dedication, you will absolutely get there.

 

3. Know your ‘Why’.

Do you know why you’re in business?

There’s a reason you’re pursuing your business.

What is it?

What’s the specific difference you want to make through your work?

Powerful brands have a clear vision that their clients resonate with.

[mashtweet tweet=”Starting with ‘why’ gives your followers and customers a way to identify with you on a personal level (Ranadive, 2017). It communicates your passion,  your vision, what you’re working towards as a brand.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

As the great author and speaker Simon Sinek often says:

 

“People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

 

Every business knows what they do, and most businesses know how they do it – their systems, processes, or programs. But few businesses know how to articulate their why – their purpose, cause or belief. And as Simon Sinek says:

 

“Your WHY is why anyone would care about what you do”.

 

What do you believe?

When it comes to your business, finish the sentence: “Because I believe …”.

Your job as a business owner is is to articulate your vision clearly, often. Your sole purpose is to show up and “do business with those who believe what you believe”. 

Forget about anyone else. You’re not here to serve them.

 

 

4. Be obsessed with your ‘why’.

You might have started your own business because you’re passionate about making a difference, or doing things on your own terms. But as a business owner, passion isn’t enough – you need obsession in order to succeed.

While it can be a wonderful experience building your own business, you also get knocked down and experience rejection, obstacles, and self-doubt on your path to business success. And your obsession will get you through the tough times and inspire you to keep going. It’ll get you back on the horse after it kicks you off.

[mashtweet tweet=”Without a healthy dose of obsession and a clear, heartfelt connection to your ‘why’ in business, you’ll simply run out of steam and give up.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

Make sure your business vision is one you’re willing to obsess over!

 

Business success requires an ability to get very uncomfortable - often! Do you have the right mindset to succeed in business? Discover the 10 mindset strategies you need to embrace to become a successful fempreneur! #mindset #success #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen 5. Be willing to get uncomfortable – often.

To succeed in business, you’ll have to become friends with fear and discomfort. You’ll be required to step out of your comfort zone and do things you might never have done before.

Whether it be public speaking, live videos, networking, or something else you find scary, you’ll need to put yourself out there in ways that are bigger than you have before. You’ll need to say ‘yes’ to anything that helps build your brand visibility and awareness.

It’s completely natural to feel fear – you’re literally hard-wired to feel scared whenever you step out of your comfort zone; that’s how we’ve managed to survive as a species for so long.

 

 

 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”But survival won’t grow your business. If you’re feeling scared – great! You’re on the right path. You’re growing and expanding. And that’s how you get to business success.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

6. You’ve got this. Develop an unshakeable belief in yourself.

When you’re building your own business, all of your inner critics will rise to the surface for you to face. Those little voices in your head that say “You’re not good enough” (or other such untrue things) will be right there every time you make a brave decision to step out and put your work out into the public domain. Be prepared to work on your mindset constantly and do whatever it takes to develop a strong mind and an unshakeable belief in yourself and your abilities.

[mashtweet tweet=”Rock solid self-belief is absolutely critical to your business success.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

7. Build your chicken first. The eggs come later.

One of the big stumbling blocks for many small business owners is the mindset that you need to invest time and money in order to grow a business. Some people go into business thinking they’ll be making great money within 12 months, with little investment, while this is rarely the case. I’m going to use a chicken and egg metaphor here to describe what I mean and compare it to being an employee.

As a new employee, you’re joining a company that already has a profitable ‘hen’ (business structure) that’s laying eggs (generating income). Therefore as an employee, you show up and do your work, and you get paid (you receive some eggs).

But when you’re starting out in business, your job is to first build your ‘hen’. You need to go through the process of establishing profitable programs, structures and systems to bring in reliable revenue streams.

You can’t expect your chicken to start laying eggs immediately. It’s impossible! That’s like asking your two-week-old chick to hurry up and lay eggs. It won’t happen!

It takes time, money, and patience to get your business off the ground. Be prepared to build your chicken first. The eggs will come later.

 

There's nothing quite as wild as the entrepreneurial ride! Have you got the right mindset to be successful in business? Check out the top 10 mindset strategies you need to embrace to thrive in business. #mindset #success #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen

8. Adapt a CEO mindset.

The mindset of a business owner is drastically different from an employee mindset. As CEO of your business, you know that the onus is on you to bring in clients, deliver great customer service and develop a base of raving fans. You need to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. Here are some of the qualities you’ll need to develop to succeed as the CEO of your business:

  • Be constantly on the lookout for opportunities and follow them up rigorously.
  • Get out and network and build relationships.
  • Stay on top of industry and market trends.
  • Get connected with other leaders in your field.
  • Be optimistic but realistic.
  • Take calculated risks.
  • Develop great communication skills.
  • Learn from your mistakes.
  • Be an inspiring leader.
  • Think outside the box.
  • Be flexible and adapt quickly.

 

9. Develop a positive relationship with money.

Starting a business requires money to start, to operate and for you to live on as you get established. If you’re not good at managing money, those bad habits will follow you into your business. Your ability to generate profit requires the discipline of tracking every cent and reviewing your numbers as you go, so you can start to see patterns and be on the lookout for ways to reduce your operating costs and increase your profit margins. Especially in the early years, you have to be frugal. Which is not something a lot of business owners want to hear! You’ll need to get into the habit of saving as much as you can so that you always have a cash surplus. The number two reason why most businesses fail is they “run out of cash”.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”The fact is, business growth requires investment.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Become friendly with the concept of Return on Investment. Don’t look at something as an ‘expense’, but view it as an ‘investment’ instead. And how much are you likely to save or get back in return by investing that money? Are you prepared to spend now to save later?

 

Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways to express yourself fully and to create what you want, on your own terms! But it's also a challenge to establish yourself as a successful business owner. Discover the top 10 essential mindset qualities you need to embrace to succeed in business. #mindset #success #marketing #fempire #smallbusiness #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen #entrepreneur #womensupportingwomen 10. Fall in love with selling and planning.

If you have your own business, then whether you like it or not, you’re in the business of selling! Find a way to fall in love with sales and you’ll thrive as a result. Selling is serving, it’s an act of love, so shift into a mindset in which sales is fun and fulfilling and watch how your business starts to shift and grow.

And if you’re someone who likes to fly by the seat of your pants, you’re going to struggle in business. Business success requires solid forward planning and strategy.

Successful business owners have their entire year of marketing and service activities mapped out, and they have budgets and income forecasts to accompany it.

You’ll need to embrace the habit of sitting down at the beginning of each month and mapping out what you need to create, achieve, and deliver. I can tell you from experience that planning is something you can learn to love, especially when you experience how much easier it can make your life – and not to mention profitability!

And perhaps most importantly – enjoy the ride!

It’s not easy to establish a profitable business, but there’s also nothing quite as rewarding or fulfilling either.

You get to be your own boss, earn your own income, and create something that didn’t exist before that has a positive impact on other people. And if you can truly enjoy what you do each and every day, the whole journey will be so much sweeter. 

I hope these mindset strategies will help you set yourself up for success so you can enjoy becoming a successful business owner!

 

Are you starting or growing your own business? Download your FREE copy of THE FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK to fast-track your business success! This value-packed guide contains everything I wish I knew back when I was starting my own business in 2011. Click here to download it now.

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The 10 Most Important Tactics that Will Set Your Business Up For Success.

5 Powerful Strategies that will Triple Your Income: A Case Study with Business Owner Revi Chai.

How to be a Mother and Successfully Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time.

5 Reasons You’re Losing Leads and What You Can Do About it (by Madison Miles Media)

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Business Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
katedejong.com
[email protected]

 

With All This Female Empowerment, What’s Happening to the Men?

With All This Female Empowerment, What’s Happening to the Men?

It’s easy for men to feel threatened in this new era of female empowerment, but read on to discover why we need men now more than ever! And how women’s empowerment is simply about restoring balance, not about overtaking or dominating anybody - and it’s been proven to be good for everyone. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #mindset #successmindset #worksmarternotharder #laptoplifestyle #workfromhome

Fempire is on a mission to bring balance to the business world by supporting female entrepreneurs to be equally as successful as their male counterparts.

 

We believe that positive change occurs happens when women are equally represented in the business world. Just like the yang needs the yin, we need more successful women in business leadership because diversity of perspective, approach and opinion creates better outcomes for everyone.

In their article More Women Equals More Profits, So Why Are We Still Lacking Diversity on Boards?, author Nassim Khadem says:

“Want to make more money? Put more women on your boards.” 
– Nassim Khadem

 

Research has shown that more women in business leadership creates better results for organisations. However, when it comes to the entrepreneurial world, women are simply not equal to men and are not represented to nearly the same degree. In their article Gender Pay Gap Worse for Female Entrepreneurs, the authors discuss how female entrepreneurs earn 30-40% less than their male counterparts. And only 45% of women contribute to their superannuation and are not building their future wealth. One of the industries most affected by gender disparity is the tech industry. Jennifer Gregory wrote a comprehensive article explaining the complex factors that have prevented women from thriving in the tech industry in her article The Empowering Guide for Women in Tech in 2023.

We’re on a mission to change all of that.

Our tagline at Fempire is:

The Future is Female.


And this doesn’t mean that the future doesn’t include men. Not at all! It simply means that we need more females in the business world because it’s currently out of balance with an under-representation of successful women.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Just like the yang needs the yin, we need more successful women in business.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

 Just like the yang needs the yin, we need more successful women in business. Read on to discover why. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #mindset #successmindset #genderequality #womensempowerment

If our tagline triggers you, it’s meant to. We’re intentionally and unapologetically a disrupter brand. We know that in order to disrupt the status quo and create positive change, we need to ruffle feathers. We need to have those difficult conversations. And that can be aided through controversial statements that open the way for discussion.

Our tagline was inspired in part by the Dalai Lama’s famous words that he spoke at the 2009 Vancouver Peace Summit:

 

“The world will be saved by the western woman.”
– the Dalai Lama

 

He made this comment while he was sitting on stage with some pretty powerful women including Nobel Peace Prize winners Mairead Maguire and Betty Williams and former Irish President Mary Robinson. When asked what he meant by his statement, he followed up with:

We need more effort to promote basic human values — human compassion, human affection.
And in that respect, females have more sensitivity for others’ pain and suffering.”

The Dalai Lama – The World Will Be Saved By the Western Woman.

Compassion, understanding, and kindness, he says, are the antidote to the world’s most pressing problems, and those qualities are more fully brought to the table by women. He also inferred that western women are in a position of privilege that gives them the opportunity and power to create this much needed opening and balancing of masculine and feminine roles worldwide.

 

In other words, it’s up to women to step up and claim their power, thereby bringing more feminine qualities into business leadership.

 

As a Fempire Coach, I spend my days helping women to become successful leaders. But focusing solely on women is not something I ever imagined myself doing. Gender isn’t something I’ve ever consciously attached a lot of significance to because I believe that men and women are equally competent and necessary in the workplace (I write all about that in another article here).

However I’ve seen through my own experience that there’s a huge need for female entrepreneurs to be supported in a way that allows them to become successful and thrive as business owners.

 

And while I’m passionate about empowering women, I also feel equally passionate about empowering men, children, and in fact any human being to express their full potential.

 

One of the most important questions I get asked by my male friends and colleagues regularly is along the lines of:

 

“With all this female empowerment, what’s happening to the men?”

 

 

So here are my thoughts.

Firstly, let’s define what we mean by an ‘empowered female’ is.

I love Oliver Chapman’s definition:

Female empowerment is great for men too! Read on to discover why we’re so passionate about supporting female business owners to step up and thrive in business.#fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #mindset #successmindset #genderequality #womensempowerment“An empowered woman takes responsibility for her life, makes her own rules, honours herself, lives by her inner compass, values her passions, chooses empowering relationships, takes a stand, … she is courageous, empowers other women and owns her pleasure….
In this way, then, a fully-empowered woman can empower men to rise above the stereotypes of the past to become the fully-confident man he has always wanted to be and to share that confident life with her. And if all men embraced this, this world would be better off for it.”
– Oliver Chapman, in Are Empowered Women Empowering Men?

 

So according to Chapman, confident women inspire men to be the best version of themselves too.

 

The question, as Chapman points out in his article, is whether this kind of female is threatening or should be welcomed. At Fempire, of course, we would argue for the latter. But it’s understandable that many men might feel threatened as we move from the old paradigm in which the role of men has traditionally been to act as protectors and providers, into a new era in which those roles might no longer necessary.

In this new era of confident, independent women, what is the new identity for men, exactly? This is the question that many men find unsettling in the whole ‘female empowerment’ movement. And it’s understandable.

 

We Empower Women Through Empowering Men

Firstly, we won’t get anywhere with empowering women unless we empower men too.

We are clear in our vision for Fempire: We are not a men-hating brand. Quite the opposite. We love the men in our lives; most of us at Fempire have husbands, sons, and/or fathers who we adore and cherish.

 

And we know that our empowerment has positive flow-on effects to the men and children in our lives.

 

Our mission is to create even more loving relationships through the work we do, for ourselves and for the thousands of women we impact. In this era of female empowerment, we can’t forget men.

Most gender equality initiatives continue to focus on women, understandably.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”But a society of empowered women requires men to feel secure and empowered too.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Maria Correira sums this up beautifully in her article Let’s Empower Women by Empowering Men. Correira says:

“It is not enough to enlighten and empower women and expect men to follow.”
– Maria Correira

As she rightly points out, men are critically judged and assessed in our current cultural norms, based on our ideals of manhood. Terms like “man-up” suggest that being a man means exercising control over women, being tough, being strong, suppressing emotion. As Correira says, “It is also a challenge for women, who consciously or unconsciously often perpetuate these same social norms in the way they raise their sons or interact with men.”

 

As a mother of two young boys, I’m very conscious that my most important job is to raise boys who are kind, secure, and confident, who are comfortable with strong, confident women – and who respect and appreciate all women.

 

The gateway to positive relationships and empowered men, I believe, is to teach them how to be comfortable with their emotions, to be able to cry and feel, and to be able to express themselves and their needs respectfully. There needs to be a focus on helping men to move beyond traditional expectations of being a protector and a provider, and to see themselves rather as allies and equals with their female counterparts.

 

Female Empowerment is Good for Families

Women who feel fulfilled and happy enjoy better quality relationships at home. I know from my own personal experience that getting back into the workforce after having children was a huge positive move for my husband and I. I was happy to take time out from my career to raise our young children. However, there came a time when I was desperate to reclaim my own identity outside my role as wife and mother. My husband knew how miserable I had become. I was feeling disempowered and resentful and those negative feelings flowed onto him and the kids. He’s so much happier – we are so much happier as a couple and family – now that I’m thriving professionally and feeling happy and fulfilled again. Not to mention the relief my husband feels in not having to be the sole financial ‘provider’ anymore – that’s a heavy burden for men to carry.

There have been many times when I’ve had to go away for work and my husband has had to step up and take over full responsibility for all the domestic duties. And it’s been great for us. He’s gained a greater appreciation for everything I do, and I come back happier and energised because I’ve had some time to focus on myself and my work. My work trips have become a great tonic for our relationship as a family. We’ve all learned to appreciate each other more.

Female Empowerment is Good for the Economy

And it’s not just at the personal level that the positive effects of female empowerment can be felt – they’ve also been clearly measured at the community and global level. As Sean Illing succinctly says in his article Want Less Poverty in the World? Empower Women:

The single greatest antidote to poverty and social stagnation is the emancipation of women.”
– Sean Illing

In his article 5 Ways Men Benefit From Women’s Empowerment, William Petrocelli says:

Female empowerment is not only good for men and families in general, it also has far-reaching benefits for economies. Read on to discover how female empowerment is a win-win for everyone. #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #mindset #successmindset #genderequality #womensempowerment“Women’s empowerment benefits us all, because it’s important for the economy. Countries that have opened up education to women and brought them into the workforce do much better economically than countries that keep women suppressed. It’s no surprise that countries that suppress women and deprive them of an education are more economically backwards than others, because leaving one-half of your population uneducated means that you created have a drastically inferior workforce.”
– William Petrocelli

In their book entitled Equality for Women = Prosperity for All: The Disastrous Global Crisis of Gender Inequality, Lopez-Carlos and Nakhjavani (2018) describe the findings from research across 189 different countries worldwide.

 

Their research showed how gender inequalities – a across education, income, law, employment, and wages – lead to instability and chaos at almost every level of society.

 

Whereas in countries where females constitute an almost equal percentage of the workforce, the economy and the culture have been radically improved.

And here are some other important benefits that result from gender equality (from If You Think Women Are Too Outspoken These Days, I’ve Got News For You).

 

Do we need any more compelling justification for gender equality across the board?

 

So what is the new role for men in this emerging era of ‘empowered’ women?

As we shift away from traditional masculine and feminine roles that have allowed us to evolve and survive as a species until now, we now have the opportunity to embrace a new way of relating as men and women which is based on seeing each other as allies and partners. We have the opportunity to truly see other as equals, while also embracing, appreciating, and honouring the vastly different yet essential qualities that both males and females bring to the table. Both masculine and feminine qualities need to be equally valued and necessary. Empowered women are here to support and strengthen the men, not compete and threaten them.

To calm the minds of those men who might feel threatened by the emerging empowered women, Sandra Sully has a great way of putting it:

“This is not a race where women are running against men.
We are not competing. This is not a battle. We are not enemies.
Gender equality benefits us all.”
Sandra Sully

 

And as Hugo Schwyer says beautifully in his article Does Empowering Women Really Make Men Less ‘Relevant’?:

 

“[Feminism] offers [men] an opportunity to be intimate allies with their female partners, to forge relationships based on more than duty and dependency. It gives men a chance to be loved for the wholeness of who we are, rather than solely for what we can provide.”
– Hugo Schwyer

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

And given all of the above, I now feel sufficiently justified in taking a powerful stand for feminine leadership in everything I do, and first and foremost in my role as a Fempire Coach. Bring it on!

If you’re starting or growing your own business, get your FREE copy of THE FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK: How to Start & Grow Your Wildly Successful Business and discover everything I wish someone had told me when I was starting out in business back in 2012!

Get your free copy of the Fempreneur Success Handbook and discover how to start and grow your wildly successful business! #fempire #fempirecoach #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #entrepreneurship #ladyboss #womeninbusiness #businesscoach #solopreneur #mindset #successmindset

 

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The Reality for Women in Business: 11 Fascinating Things I’ve Learned as a Fempire Coach

Does Gender Matter When It Comes To Choosing The Right Mentor? A Female Perspective on the Role of Gender in Professional Mentoring Relationships.

The 6 Stages of Business Growth – and 3 Important Reasons Why You Need to Know Which One You’re in.

The Top 10 Mindset Qualities You Need to Embrace to be Successful in Business

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D.
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

Does Gender Matter When It Comes To Choosing The Right Mentor? A Female Perspective on the Role of Gender in Professional Mentoring Relationships.

Does Gender Matter When It Comes To Choosing The Right Mentor? A Female Perspective on the Role of Gender in Professional Mentoring Relationships.

Do you think gender matters when it comes to choosing the right professional mentor? Read on to find out my views and other great research in the role of gender in professional mentoring relationships. #gender #mentoring #mentoringrelationships #womensupportingwomen #genderbias #genderinmentoring #coaching #careerguidance #careermentoring #careers #careeradvice #businessadviceforwomen #womensempowerment #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurshipGender isn’t something I’ve ever attached a lot of significance to because I believe that men and women are equally competent and necessary in the workplace.

 

I grew up as the middle child of three sisters, and we were fortunate to have a loving father who instilled in us an enduring belief that we could do or be whatever we wanted, as long as we put our mind to it. My father was convinced that women belong equally in the professional world and that eventually the number of women in leadership and management positions will equal those of men. And that conviction passed on to my sisters and me, for which I’m eternally grateful.

Due to this “can do” attitude instilled by my father, after high school I went on to study Science & Engineering – a field that typically has a low representation of females (only 15 – 30% of University degrees are earned by women worldwide in Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths – ref 1). And then following that, during my 15-year engineering career it was just an accepted fact that I was always in the minority as a female engineer – only 12.4% of all engineers were female in Australia’s labour force in 2016 (ref 2). It never bothered me that I was often the only female in a boardroom meeting.

 

And despite always being in the minority, I never felt any prejudice against me whatsoever. If anything, I was often treated with a healthy respect by my male counterparts.

 

In terms of mentors, both formal and informal, it was only natural that most of my mentors were men, given the low numbers of women in leadership positions. In fact, all of my mentors were male up until my mid-thirties, when I finally came across a rarity – a female boss who had worked her way in the Engineering World to a senior management position. It was refreshing to say the least, not just because she had a bright and bubbly personality, but also because she was committed to growing her employees and was always encouraging us to take on greater roles and positions.

It’s now been eight years since I quit my engineering career to branch out on my own as a Career Coach. During that eight years, I’ve taken on many different mentors as I’ve tried to learn everything I need to know about becoming a successful entrepreneur. I’ve had both male and female mentors, and it’s definitely been easier to find female mentors in the world of entrepreneurship. Statistics show that a growing number of women are starting their own businesses. Today there are double the number of female entrepreneurs compared to 20 years ago, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ref 3).

 

After spending 15 years in a male-dominated industry with great male mentors, and eight years being mentored predominantly by women, here are my views on the difference between male and female mentoring relationships. #gender #mentoring #mentoringrelationships #womensupportingwomen #genderbias #genderinmentoring #coaching #careerguidance #careermentoring #careers #careeradvice #businessadviceforwomen #womensempowerment #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurshipAnd while it’s good news that the number of female entrepreneurs is on the rise, the bad news is that female entrepreneurs don’t seem to be as good at making money as male entrepreneurs. It’s hard to find a female mentor who is truly successful in the financial sense.

 

One Australian Bureau of Statistics report showed that women who operate unincorporated businesses have an average weekly cash income of $522, while for men it is $831. And the average weekly cash income for incorporated business owners was $998 for women and $1,451 for men (Ref 4).

That’s a huge disparity.

 

But What Does This All Mean in Terms Of Mentorship?

 

In reflecting back on the qualities of the different mentors I’ve experienced over the course of both my engineering career and my coaching career, I realise I’ve been fortunate. All of my mentors have always been understanding, caring, compassionate, and committed to helping me develop as an individual and a professional.

The best mentoring relationships I’ve had have been where there’s been a strong match between my values and the values of my mentor, where the mentor is already in a position that I aspire to be in, and also where my mentoring needs have matched what my mentor was able to provide. I’ve found men to be equally compassionate when it comes to balancing work and personal needs, and they’ve always certainly been committed to helping me find a way to meet my career and personal goals.

 

I don’t feel that gender has been a significant factor in the success of my mentoring relationships – however, if I’m being completely honest with myself, I definitely do find it more enjoyable to be mentored by a female. There’s no denying that I feel a greater sense of ease, comfort, and enjoyment when working with a female.

 

And it seems I’m not alone in this sentiment. Dr. Stacy Blake-Beard conducted extensive research into the role of gender in mentoring relationships across more than 1000 college students in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math). One of her main conclusions was:

 

Having a mentor of one’s own gender or race was felt to be important by many of the women… However, matching by gender did not appear to affect academic outcomes – even though students were more satisfied with their mentoring experience and believed race and/or gender matching to be important.”

 

Does gender actually play a role when it comes to professional mentoring relationships? Here are some interesting facts you may want to consider when it comes to choosing the right mentor for you. #gender #mentoring #mentoringrelationships #womensupportingwomen #genderbias #genderinmentoring #coaching #careerguidance #careermentoring #careers #careeradvice #businessadviceforwomen #womensempowerment #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurshipSimilar to my own experience, it appears that same-gender mentoring leads to a more enjoyable experience, but not necessarily better performance outcomes (ref 5).

 

However, aside from the comfort factor, there’s also another important factor that plays into my personal preference for female mentors.

 

And it’s all to do with…

 

The Invisible Barriers that Professional Females Face

Despite the fact that we might be treated equally at an individual level in the professional workplace, there are still a number of undeniable, invisible barriers that we face as women, including:

  • The gender pay gap. In Australia, there is a real gender pay gap of 14.6% for full-time employees (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
  • The “Glass Ceiling”. There is still an active, invisible barrier preventing women from reaching the top. Women hold under a quarter (24%) of senior roles across the world in 2018 (according to Catalyst’s Women in Management).
  • Less investment funding is provided to female entrepreneurs. Business Insider France’s Elisabeth Hu  found that enterprises founded by women receive about $935,000 in investments on average, while those founded by men receive an average of about $2.1 million, even though women have a much better return on investment (for every dollar of funding, start-ups founded by women generate 78 cents, compared to 31 cents for start-ups founded by men! Ref 6). So despite the fact that women are safer bets when it comes to investing, there’s still an unspoken prejudice against them.
  • Women are particularly discriminated against in the high-paying STEM fields. According to an article by Cleverism called The Latest Stats on Women in Tech, there’s a huge gender gap between men and women. The median man in Silicon Valley earns 61% more than the median woman, and 63% of the time, men are given higher salary offers than women, despite being in the same job at the same company.

It’s simply not easy to make it to the top as a woman in the corporate world, or to establish yourself as a thriving, successful, and well-paid female entrepreneur in business. 

 

Finding a successful female mentor feels like finding gold.
A female who has managed to overcome all of the invisible barriers to ‘make it’ is a huge inspiration to other women.

 

And I believe this is the real underlying reason why I personally prefer female mentors. If they’ve managed to do it, then they can teach me to do it too.

 

The Power of Female-Female Mentorship

In 2018 I met the wonderful Marnie LeFevre – a highly successful international entrepreneur, author, speaker and marketer who founded the Secret Women’s Business Academy. Marnie is passionate about empowering women to establish themselves as successful entrepreneurs, because she knows intimately the struggles that women deal with when it comes to being successful in business. And she has a large following of women who want access to her rock-solid business wisdom.

I was honoured to join Marnie’s team in 2018 as one of her Business Academy Coaches. I now spend my days mentoring other women to start and run their own successful businesses. And part of the reason that Marnie’s Academy is so successful is that women really do love being mentored by other successful females.

 

As women, we know how hard it can be to forge your way as a successful professional woman or entrepreneur. And we crave to be guided by a woman who’s already managed to do what we aspire to do.

 

Over the past half-year I’ve enjoyed being personally mentored by Marnie herself. Being in her vortex has taught me so much about the nuts and bolts of what it takes to run a successful business, but perhaps more importantly, being around her has taught me about the mindset you require to truly make it in business.

 

Have you ever wondered whether to choose a male or female mentor to help you develop yourself and your career? Here are my thoughts on the role of gender in professional mentoring. #gender #mentoring #mentoringrelationships #womensupportingwomen #genderbias #genderinmentoring #coaching #careerguidance #careermentoring #careers #careeradvice #businessadviceforwomen #womensempowerment #womeninbusiness #entrepreneurshipBeing around Marnie has instilled in me a sense of quiet confidence, a feeling of “If she can do it, I must be able to do it too.” And that, in my opinion, is what makes female-female mentorship so powerful.

 

What are your thoughts on the role of gender in mentoring relationships? What have been your experiences, both positive and negative? I’d love to hear all about them in the comments below!

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

 

Kate De Jong
Global Career Coach for Thriving Professionals
Inspired Careers International
katedejong.com
[email protected]

 

References

Ref 1 https://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-science-technology-engineering-and-mathematics-stem

Ref 2 Andre Kaspura, The Engineering Profession: A Statistical Overview (Thirteenth Edition) (Engineers Australia, 2017): p. 32.

Ref 3 https://www.smartcompany.com.au/finance/economy/more-australian-women-are-business-owners/

Ref 4 https://financy.com.au/gender-pay-gap-worse-female-entrepreneurs/

Ref 5 https://www.evidencebasedmentoring.org/matching-by-race-and-gender-in-stem-based-mentoring-relationship/

How to Live and Work in Your Zone of Genius: Your Strengths are More Than Just the Things You’re Good At

How to Live and Work in Your Zone of Genius: Your Strengths are More Than Just the Things You’re Good At

The best way to succeed in life is to consciously work in your zone of genius. Are spending the majority of your time playing to your strengths? Download your free E-Book to discover your unique zone of genius! #careers #businesscoaching #businessgrowth #entrepreneur #beyourownboss #purpose #careerchange #careerplanning #bestcareeradvice #strengths #personalgrowth #zoneofgenius

Your strengths are more than just the things you’re good at.

 

Each and every person has a unique ‘zone of natural genius’ and you’ll feel fulfilled and satisfied if you spend the bulk of your days working in your zone of genius.

Just because you’re good at something, doesn’t mean it’s a ‘strength’. A true strength is an activity you do with a high level of ease and competency, and it also leaves you feeling energised and fulfilled at the end of it. 

 

If you’re not operating in your zone of genius, you’ll easily feel drained and frustrated at the end of a workday.

That was my story for the best part of fifteen years.

 

When I was nearing the end of high school, I was advised by Career Counsellors and many other well-intentioned people that I should pursue Science or Engineering as a profession because I was good at maths & science. But I was only good at those subjects because I poured endless hours of study, sweat, and tears into them. I knew that maths & science were highly valued by my school and by my parents (my father was an Engineer), and being the chronic people-pleaser that I was back then, I slogged away to make sure I got good grades.

 

But no one ever asked me if I actually liked maths & science – I didn’t.

 

I actually kind of dreaded them. And it didn’t seem to matter to anyone else that technical subjects didn’t come naturally to me. They felt hard and heavy. My brain was more wired for Literature, Languages, and Social Sciences. Those subjects felt natural, fun, and easy for me. But after being told countless times that I would never find a well-paying job in the Humanities, I decided I should follow the overwhelming advice to study Science & Engineering and guarantee myself a career of financial security. So that’s what I did.

 

And then I spent the good part of fifteen years feeling miserable.

 

I poured everything I had into my career, but it never felt quite right. I would come home from work feeling exhausted and empty. It was deeply frustrating that I never felt completely fulfilled by my work. I felt lost and confused, continuously searching for ways to make my career feel better, but no amount of tweaking of my career gave me the satisfaction I was craving. I started developing chronic illnesses that wouldn’t go away and I was eventually diagnosed with chronic fatigue, which I struggled with for many years.

 

And then one day I hit burn out, and I couldn’t go on anymore. I knew I had to step away from my career as a professional Engineer altogether.

 

I now know that your strengths are so much more than just the things you’re good at. And the only way to feel completely fulfilled and satisfied in your work is to find and operate in your own unique Zone of Genius.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Since discovering my own unique Zone of Genius and deliberately shaping my career around it, I’ve felt flow and inspiration like never before. My health is great. I feel energised and vibrant. And I finally love what I do.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

One of the greatest things you can do for yourself is to uncover your unique zone of genius so that you can operate from that place each and every day #careers #careerpaths #whattodo #businesscoaching #businessgrowth #entrepreneur #beyourownboss #careerpathsforwomen #careerideas #purpose #careerchange #careerplanning #bestcareeradvice #inspiration #motivation #strengths #strengthsanalysis #personalgrowth #professionaldevelopment #zoneofgenius

And it’s all because I consciously chose to operate in my Zone of Genius.

 

So how do you operate in your Zone of Genius?

 

Marcus Buckingham has done great work in the fields of Strengths Analysis. In his book Go Put Your Strengths to Work, he defines four signs of a true strength, which happen to follow the acronym of S-I-G-N.

 

 

 

 

 

The Four Signs of a True Strength.

 

S is for SUCCESS

A strength is an area in which you achieve success or a high level of proficiency with relative ease. And you’re able to sustain great performance over time. And they’re also the areas in which you’ll improve the most as your train and practice your craft.

 

I is for INSTINCT

Your strengths have an “I-can’t-help-but” quality to them. Maybe you can’t quite articulate why, but you find yourself drawn to particular activities repeatedly. For example, even though I was studying science and engineering at University, I always loved going into New Age bookstores to read anything and everything I could about spirituality, philosophy and personal growth. I did Reiki courses in my spare time and I was constantly drawn to anything that discussed psychology, finding your purpose, and metaphysics. It wasn’t until much later that I could see how all of these seemingly (at the time) unrelated topics formed the basis for my love of Coaching. What are some of the things you find yourself being drawn to repeatedly? Where does your instinct lead you?

 

Do you understand your unique zone of genius? If not, you need to! Working to your strengths is the key to success and fulfilment. Download your FREE workbook to uncover your unique strengths and start experiencing greater levels of success today. #careers #businesscoaching #businessgrowth #entrepreneur #beyourownboss #purpose #careerchange #careerplanning #bestcareeradvice #strengths #personalgrowth #zoneofgeniusG is for GROWTH

Buckingham discusses how, from a neurological perspective, ‘intelligence’ in a certain area develops through the creation of thick branches of ‘synaptic connections’ in your brain. Neuroscientists have now established that a strength is an area where your brain made large connections very naturally and easily; larger than other areas.

Nature has a habit of piggy-backing on existing infrastructure, meaning that you’ll grow the most new ‘synaptic connections’ (i.e. brain capacity or ability) in those areas where you already have the most existing ones. You will learn the most, come up with the most new ideas and have the best insights in areas where you already have a natural affinity.

Since you can’t peer inside your brain to see where these thick branches of brain connections already exist and what they relate to, you have to look for the signs yourself. What does a thick branch of synaptic connections feel like? According to Buckingham, it feel like this:

 

“It feels easy. It feels like you’re not trying very hard. It feels like an activity that, for some reason, proved quite simple for you to pick up. You learned it quickly and you find it easy to concentrate on it. You naturally stay focused on it and it feels like time speeds up, and you still stay focused and time speeds up some more. You have to remind yourself to look up at the clock, and when you do, whole hours have flown by while you’ve been completely absorbed in the activity and really enjoying it. It feels like interest, and more, it feels like inquisitiveness. It’s an activity you want to practice, to read up on, to refine with new tricks and techniques, to grow. It feels like true happiness.” – Marcus Buckingham

 

It’s not that these activities are without effort. There is almost certainly effort. But it feels, seemingly, effortless. You feel challenged, but in just the way you like to be challenged. You actually want to concentrate. And when you do, you lose your regular perspective and you become immersed. You become lost in the activity for a long moment.

[mashtweet tweet=”The most successful people, the happiest people, the people who make the biggest impact – they intentionally carve their lives, their careers, by playing to their strengths. – Marcus Buckingham.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

N is for NEEDS

The final sign of a strength stands for needs. Whereas the Instinct sign refers to how you feel before you engage in the activity, and the Growth sign relates to your feelings during the activity, the Needs sign points to how you feel right after you’ve done it. Some activities just seem to fill in an innate need of yours. When you’re done with them, you may feel physically tired. But you don’t feel psychologically drained. Instead, you feel fulfilled, empowered, restored, the exact opposite of drained. It’s a satisfying feeling, but it’s also much more than mere satisfaction. It feels authentic. It feels right.

Here’s a summary of Buckingham’s SIGN acronym for true strengths:

  1. When you do it, you feel effective, proficient, competent: The S (Success) of SIGN.
  2. You actively look forward to doing it: The I (Instinct) of SIGN.
  3. You feel inquisitive, focused and satisfied while doing it: The G (Growth) of SIGN.
  4. You feel fulfilled and authentic after completing it: The N (Needs) of SIGN.

 

I hope this insight has helped you look at your strengths differently. It’s so important to know what your strengths are. If you can begin to build your awareness of the activities that contain these four qualities for you, you can more consciously align your job or career around your true strengths. And as a consequence, you’ll enjoy more flow, satisfaction, and fulfillment in your day-to-day work. And this is the greatest gift you can give yourself.

[mashtweet tweet=”Happiness is … living and working in your zone of natural genius.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Do you want to know more about your unique strengths?

Download my value-packed workbook Uncover Your Zone of Genius for FREE here and learn how to live and work in your Zone of Genius today!

I know how hard it is to feel lost and uninspired in your work. The gateway to finding truly fulfilling work is to understand your unique strengths and qualities. Download my workbook ‘Uncover Your Natural Genius’ workbook to discover your unique zone of genius today. #careers #businesscoaching #businessgrowth #entrepreneur #beyourownboss #purpose #careerchange #careerplanning #bestcareeradvice #strengths #personalgrowth #zoneofgenius

 

 

Click here to download your FREE E-Book Uncover Your Natural Genius.

For more articles on the topic of finding and living in your Zone of Genius, check out these great articles:

1. Forget IQ Tests. Here Are the Real Reasons Why People Succeed.

2. Why is it So Hard To Find a Career You Love? 5 Powerful Tips for Finding Your Perfect Professional Path

3. Create Your Dream Job! How to Get Unstuck in Your Career with Life Design Principles

4. Pathfinding: How to Find the Work That’s Perfect for You.

 

It’s critical to know your unique strengths as an entrepreneur because it’s the key to success. In this value-packed, FREE workbook, I guide you through specific exercises to uncover your specific zone of genius. Get your copy now! #careers #businesscoaching #businessgrowth #entrepreneur #beyourownboss #purpose #careerchange #careerplanning #bestcareeradvice #strengths #personalgrowth #zoneofgenius

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
www.katedejong.com
[email protected]

The Art of Purposeful Living: How to Live and Work in Alignment with Your Personal Truth

The Art of Purposeful Living: How to Live and Work in Alignment with Your Personal Truth

Are you living purposefully? Are you living fully in alignment with your personal truth, both personally and professionally? After spending 15 years climbing the ladder, only to finally realise that I had my ladder up against the wrong building, I’m now passionate about helping you find and walk your true path so that you can finally experience deep and lasting joy in all realms of life. #personalgrowth #personaltruth #truth #findyourpurpose #findyourcalling #truepath #liveyourbestlife #positivemindset #motivation#inspiration #purpose #purposefulliving #theartofunlearning

There’s a path that’s perfect for you… let me help you find it.

Kate De Jong

 

It’s been many years since I left my corporate career and took the leap of faith to follow my heart.

 

When I finally realised that I not only wanted, but needed, to quit my career, there were no career coaches or mentors I knew who could guide me through the process of transition. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I only knew that continuing on my current path was no longer an option. Fumbling along on my own, my transition was filled with more doubt, fear, and uncertainty than was necessary. And this is why I’m now so dedicated to being a guide for you, to help you avoid the struggle I went through, and to help you transition into a life you love with ease, grace and, most of all – joy.


Are you living fully in alignment with your personal truth, both personally and professionally?


Are you walking your true path?

 

What is your ‘true path’? I define it like this.

 

Your ‘true path’ is the path or vocation that allows you to express yourself fully and to contribute your unique gifts in service to something you care about, while making a positive difference and earning you an abundant, reliable income.

 

It took me more than 15 years to realise that I wasn't living my truth professionally. Once I made the decision to discover my truth and to align my life around that, my health shifted for the better and my life improved in so many ways. Read on to discover how you too can live in alignment with your personal truth and thrive in every sense. #careers #careeradvice #bestcareeradvice #careertransition #careerchange #personalgrowth #personaltruth #truth #findyourpurpose #findyourcalling #truepath #liveyourbestlife #positivity #followyourheart #motivation #inspiration #purpose #purposefulliving #theartofunlearningDo you long to feel more fulfilment and joy in your professional life? Do you wish you could wake up each morning excited to jump out of bed and start your day because you absolutely love what you do? Do you wish that your work could energise, uplift, and nourish you? Does all of that sound wonderful, but also like an impossible dream? If so, I’m here to tell you that it might be closer within your reach than it seems, and I’m here to guide you there.

I know how painful it feels to wake up each morning with a sense of dread, knowing that you have a busy day ahead with so many meetings to attend, deadlines to meet and different balls to juggle. And that despite how ‘busy’ and full your days are, you still won’t be able to escape that nagging feeling of emptiness inside.

 

If you’re tired of the struggle and you yearn for something different, it’s time.

 

Your feelings of frustration and emptiness are a signal that you’ve wandered off your true path. Prolonged struggle and frustration are not noble, admirable or necessary. If you’d tried to tell me that seven years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’d grown up hearing constant messages like “Success takes hard work, grit, and determination” and “Nothing worth having comes easy”. I had seen my parents work incredibly hard to build their lives and I believed I would have to do the same.

But here’s what I now know: Yes, of course you will have to work hard to achieve your goals and dreams, but if it feels like hard work you’re probably doing the wrong thing. When you follow your heart and do what you’re good at, what you’re passionate about, it won’t feel like hard work. It feels easy, joyful and fun. But you’ll find that you’ll want to work hard, because you love what you do.

 

There’s no ‘struggle’ on your true path, just committed and inspired action that feels good!

 

Take some time to tune into how you feel about your work right now. Do you look forward to getting stuck into your work each day? Or do you feel a certain level of anxiety about it? Does your work inspire and uplift you? Or does it bore you or tax you too heavily? Does it feel light, easy and joyful? Or does it feel constricting and heavy? Does your work fill you with a sense of purpose and meaning? Or is it something you do to pay the bills? You’ll know if you’re on your ‘true path’ or not – and if you’re not, what I’m about to tell you will help you find it.

 

How to Find and Walk Your True Path

“Sometimes your hear a voice through the door calling you…
This turning toward what you deeply love saves you”
Rumi

 

Step 1: Turn and Face the Longing

The first thing you need to do in the quest to find your true path is turn and face the longing. This is hard for many of us; I know it was for me. I felt scared that if I surrendered to my deepest desires, I’d be completely overtaken by them. I had responsibilities and obligations after all. I had bills and a mortgage to pay, savings and superannuation plans to build, and a rising cost of living to cover. Over the years, the ‘Golden Handcuffs’ had kept my straying heart at bay, with financial benefits and bonuses rewarded to me in exchange for my loyalty to the company. How could I possibly give that up to follow my heart’s wild impulses?

There really is an 'art' to living purposefully, in alignment with your truth. And it's where you'll find true happiness and fulfillment. Read on to discover how you can live purposefully in alignment with your true self. #personalgrowth #personaltruth #truth #findyourpurpose #findyourcalling #truepath #liveyourbestlife #positivityrules #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #followyourheart #motivation #inspiration #purpose #yourbigwhy #startwithwhy #purposefulliving #theartofunlearningAs Oprah says in her book O’s Little Guide to Finding Your True Purpose “Concerns about money and status long ago extinguished most people’s ability to think authentically about their career options.” I’d been so caught up in my perceived obligations and expectations from others that I’d learned to suppress my heart’s desires at all cost.

In my ‘Moment of Clarity’ I’d finally realised that my constant effort to suppress my authentic desires was the cause of all my feelings of emptiness and depletion.

 

It took an enormous amount of courage to walk away from all the financial security into the fire of risk and uncertainty, to surrender to those deep desires.

 

But I haven’t regretted it for a second. The feelings of freedom and satisfaction I now feel are indescribable. With the right guidance and support and a pragmatic risk management plan in place, you can navigate the process of career transition with grace and ease and set yourself up financially relatively quickly. When you do what you love, the money will flow. I have seen this happen too many times with my clients to think otherwise.

If you hear your heart whispering but feel too afraid of the risks involved, I urge you to ask yourself this question:

 

What is the cost to you of not following your heart?

 

How is your current career direction impacting your health, your happiness, your relationships, your family life, your freedom, your ability to have fun and enjoy life, and your sanity? Try to imagine how you will feel at the end of your life about the decisions you’ve made. In Bronnie Ware’s famous blog article Regrets of the Dying she describes the number one top regret of her elderly patients as:

 

“I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me”.

 

You have a choice. You can choose to commit to following your heart and doing whatever it takes to be true to yourself. Or you can live with the whispers in your heart for the rest of the days and wonder what it would have been like if you’d had the courage to follow them. Which one do you choose?

 

Don’t be afraid. Turn and face the longing.

 

 It takes courage to live and work in alignment with your personal truth. But it might be closer within your reach than you realise. #careers #careerchange #careertransition #bestcareeradvice #inspiredcareers #personalgrowth #personaltruth #truth #findyourpurpose #findyourcalling #truepath #liveyourbestlife #positivityrules #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #followyourheart #followyourintuition #yourheartknows #motivation #inspiration #purpose #yourbigwhy #startwithwhy #purposefulliving #theartofunlearningIf you truly wish to live a life that is fulfilling, joyful, rewarding, deeply satisfying and abundant, you must start to listen to the whispers. Your desires contain the seeds of your calling. Yes, your path will be challenging at times like every path in life, but the rewards will be greater than anything you could ever imagine. You’ll feel profound levels of joy, freedom, prosperity and satisfaction when you make the decision to find and walk your true path, full out.

 

Step 2: Start the Process of Figuring Out What You Really Want to Do.

So, what do you really want to do? That’s the million dollar question! And it’s not one we’re easily able to answer. If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably heard the whispers in your heart and you know you can’t ignore them any longer. And yet you don’t have enough clarity to know what those whispers mean and how they could possibly translate into a new career direction. It’s very difficult to decipher the whispers and yearnings to know what you really want. As the famous psychologist Abraham Maslow once said:

 

It isn’t normal to know what we want. It is a rare and difficult psychological achievement.
– 
Abraham Maslow

 

So don’t be discouraged if you feel lost and confused; it’s completely normal.

I know how difficult it can be to feel the longing for a more joyful and fulfilling professional life, and at the same time to have no idea how to make sense of the longings to create a new career direction that really is the right direction.

 

The last thing you want to do is give up your current career and financial security to follow a brilliant idea you have, only to find out that your new direction doesn’t leave you feeling truly happy and fulfilled either.

 

So before you take the leap of faith to forge a new career path,  take the time to do some deep self-reflection to uncover the four elements that are critical to finding your true path.

Are you living purposefully? Are you living fully in alignment with your personal truth, both personally and professionally? After spending 15 years climbing the ladder, only to finally realise that I had my ladder up against the wrong building, I’m now passionate about helping you find and walk your true path so that you can finally experience deep and lasting joy in all realms of life. #personalgrowth #personaltruth #truth #findyourpurpose #findyourcalling #truepath #liveyourbestlife #positivityrules #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #followyourheart #followyourintuition #yourheartknows #motivation #inspiration #purpose #yourbigwhy #startwithwhy #purposefulliving #theartofunlearning

Your True Path or Purpose: Where your natural ability meets your true nature, your passion, and your ability to meet a societal need (profit).

 

 For a full description of each of the four elements, refer to my article Pathfinding: How to Find Your Unique Professional Path & Purpose.

You’ll know when you’ve found your purpose: You’ll find unlimited creative energy, motivation, inspiration, dedication, devotion and a deep and lasting sense of satisfaction and fulfilment.

 

Finding your professional purpose feels like coming home.

 

It connects you to something fundamental to your sense of identity, purpose, and well-being. Living in this zone provides a sense of self-revelation, of defining and expressing who you really are and you finally know – without a shadow of a doubt – that this is what you’re ‘meant’ to be doing with your life. There’s a feeling of devotion and obsession, almost. Many people who finally find their unique calling describe it as an ‘epiphany’.

 

There's something so deeply fulfilling when you finally find your 'purpose' - that special path that allows you to express your potential to the fullest, and to contribute yourself in service to something you care about. If you're struggling to find yours, read on to find out exactly how you can find your purposeful path and start experiencing true fulfillment. #careers #careeradvice #bestcareeradvice #careerchange #careertransition #personalgrowth #personaltruth #truth #findyourpurpose #findyourcalling #truepath #liveyourbestlife #positivityrules #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #followyourheart #followyourintuition #yourheartknows #motivation #inspiration #purpose #yourbigwhy #startwithwhy #purposefulliving #theartofunlearning Step 3: Clarity Comes Through Consistent, Inspired Action.

If you’re waiting to find out exactly what your calling is before you start to take action, you might end up waiting forever. You’ll only discover what you’re ‘meant’ to do by getting out there and trying different things. You might have lots of wonderful ideas, but it’s not until you actually engage in them that you discover whether they really are the foundation of your true calling. When experimenting with different ideas, be sure to pay close attention to what lifts your energy and excites you and to keep moving in that direction. If you try something and realise it’s not what you thought it would be, that’s OK and completely normal. Try to view the whole exercise of finding your calling as one of trial and error, adventure and discovery.

 

There is no failure, only feedback.

 

All feedback is useful and helpful. But don’t quit your job and pin all your hopes on a big idea you have before you’ve had a chance to test it out. The big question I often get asked is “When is the right time to quit my job?” This will depend entirely on your unique situation and the answer is different for everyone. If you’re happy (enough) where you are to try different ideas while still holding down your full-time job, that is the best option. Try to provide yourself with as much financial stability as you can while experimenting so that you don’t have the stress of finances while trying to find your way. If you want to break free and go it alone, figure out how much money you’ll need to cover your cost of living for at least six months and make sure you can cover it before you throw yourself into the new venture.

 

It takes time to build momentum and get traction.

 

Inform yourself as much as you can about your idea or new career direction. Read up on everything you can and better still, talk to people who are already working in the fields you’re interested in. You’ll find that most people are happy to let you buy them a coffee in exchange for some insight into what their job is like and what a typical day looks like. Dave Evans and Bill Burnett call these Life Design Interviews, where you interview people with the intent to find out more information about different vocations. A wonderful by-product of these conversations is a valuable network and connections in fields you’re interested in.

Don’t jump into a new venture without first informing yourself fully. Research, investigate and talk to as many people as is humanly possible.

Step 4: Leap!

As scary as it sounds, at some stage you will have to take the leap of faith and dedicate all your time and resources to your new career direction. This feels incredibly scary, I know. Something I’ve discovered since quitting my corporate career in 2011 to build my own thriving coaching practice is this:

 

Fear and excitement are in constant tension on your true path.

 

You’ll be called to do things you haven’t done before. You’ll have to jump without knowing whether you’ll land on safe ground. And you must be prepared to feel the fear and do it anyway. In Jenny Blake’s wonderful book Pivot she reminds us “Do not expect courage to rain down from the sky before you make a move. It comes from taking action. Courage will not arrive in full [beforehand]; it will appear afterward, when the confidence from making a life-changing decision settles in… The more courageous action you take connected with your vision and values, the more confident you will feel along the way.”

 

Step 5: Get the Right Guidance and Support on Your Journey

Finally, remember that you can’t do it alone. We all need guidance, advice, support, cheer leading and mentoring from those who have walked before us. I’ve been so fortunate to have the help and support of many mentors throughout my journey who each provided a valuable piece of the puzzle. It’s thanks to their wisdom and guidance that I’ve managed to build my thriving coaching practice that allows me to do what I love and love what I do while helping countless men and women to find their true path and live the life of their dreams. If you feel stuck and need help, I’m here for you! Please do get the guidance you need. I know how frustrating it is to feel lost and stuck, and it’s not necessary!

Nothing gives me greater pleasure than to help you navigate through the fear, doubt and uncertainty into your ‘zone of magic’ where your clarity, confidence, and abundance reside.

To find out more about finding your true path, get yourself a free copy of my E-Book Pathfinding: How to Find Your Inspired Professional Path & Purpose.

There's something so deeply fulfilling when you finally find your 'purpose' - that special path that allows you to express your potential to the fullest, and to contribute yourself in service to something you care about. If you're struggling to find yours, read on to find out exactly how you can find your purposeful path and start experiencing true fulfillment. #careers #careeradvice #bestcareeradvice #careerchange #careertransition #personalgrowth #personaltruth #truth #findyourpurpose #findyourcalling #truepath #liveyourbestlife #positivityrules #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #followyourheart #followyourintuition #yourheartknows #motivation #inspiration #purpose #yourbigwhy #startwithwhy #purposefulliving #theartofunlearning

Did you like this article? You might also like:

How to Live and Work in Your Zone of Genius: Your Strengths are More Than Just the Things You’re Good At

Why is it So Hard to Find a Career You Love? 5 Powerful Tips for Finding Your Inspired Professional Path

Career Bliss: How to Find Your Inspired Professional Path & Purpose

If you have any questions at all, I’d to help you. Please reach out to me at [email protected], I’d love to connect with you!

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

This article is the first chapter in our International Bestseller THE ART OF UNLEARNING: Conscious Choices for Empowered Living. Did you enjoy the article above? Get yourself a copy of THE ART OF UNLEARNING and continue reading the stories of eight other inspirational women, who found a way to overcome their hefty life challenges in order to find and live their truth. GET YOUR COPY NOW.

 

How to Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time

How to Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time

 Are you trying to raise children while also growing a business? You’ve taken on the ultimate challenge! Kudos to you. Discover 5 strategies to help you navigate the ups and downs of this challenging ride. #entrepreneur #motherhood #workingfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #womeninbusiness #workingmothers #workingmoms #fempire #fempirecoach #ladyboss #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #laptoplifestyle Being a working mother requires an almost supernatural ability to keep dozens of balls in the air simultaneously.

 

And if you’re a Mother who’s chosen to grow your own business while simultaneously raising children, you’ve taken on the ultimate challenge. Many of us choose to become an entrepreneur because we’re passionate about our business vision and we want to have the flexibility and freedom to fit in around our children and their needs. But the harsh reality is that juggling business building with motherhood is hard – and there are a few truths you need to be aware of if you want to be successful in both.

Here are 5 truths to live by as a Mother and Entrepreneur.

 

1. If You’re Not Obsessed with Growing Your Business, Step Away Now.

As mothers, we carry the entire mental load of the household – costumes for school assembly, dentist appointments, food shopping, school lunches, after-school activities, and the list goes on. And growing a business can be all-consuming too. Squeezing the demands of a business into our already-overcrowded mother-minds is no small feat. And just like a child, if your business doesn’t get the time and attention it needs to grow and flourish, it will simply wither away and die.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”It requires not just passion, but obsession, in order to succeed. Obsession will get you through the tough times and inspire you to keep going. Without it, you’ll simply run out of steam and give up. Make sure your business vision is one you’re willing to obsess over.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

2. Figure Out What You Will and Will Not Sacrifice

To succeed in business while being a mother, you’re going to have to make your business an equal top priority. Which means you have to sacrifice certain things. Despite what some idealists declare, the reality is that we can’t have it all. We can’t be there for every school event, be the canteen mum, or have a perfectly tidy home while simultaneously growing a business.

Get yourself really clear on what you absolutely will not sacrifice. Are you willing to miss some school assemblies? Your spot on the Parents & Teachers Board? Or miss being there at school pick-up every afternoon? Whatever feels right for you is right. But you’ll have to make some sacrifices (queue the mother guilt). What will yours be?

[mashtweet tweet=”And let go of the guilt of not being ‘the perfect Mum’. There’s no reason to feel guilty anyway. In fact, some heartening research from Harvard Business School across 24 different countries shows that children of working mothers experience a whole range of positive benefits later in life.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

So you’re giving your children a gift when you choose to prioritise your business equally as high as your children.

 

Starting or running your own business while simultaneously being a mother is no easy feat, but well worth it if you can make it work for you and your family. Follow my five strategies to successfully grow your business and your family at the same time! #entrepreneur #motherhood #workingfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #womeninbusiness #workingmothers #workingmoms #fempire #fempirecoach #ladyboss #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #laptoplifestyle

3. Stop Making Excuses and Ask Instead “What Do I Have to Do to Make This Happen?”

During my time as a Business Coach for women, I’ve heard all the excuses – “I didn’t get time because I had to take my son to the doctor”, or “I couldn’t attend the workshop because I had the kids”. I can absolutely relate because I’m a mother too and I know how hard it is with the usual plus unexpected demands on our time. But if you’re serious about succeeding in business, you’ll need to figure out what’s required to grow your business, and then make it non-negotiable.

What are the core activities that will win you new clients and allow you to serve more effectively? And what do you need to do to make it happen? Do you need to get a regular babysitter you can call on? Do you need a live-in nanny for a while? Does your partner need to take care of Wednesday or Friday pick-ups? What do you need to do to achieve your business goals? Stop making excuses and make them happen.

 

4. Invest in Yourself and Your Business In Order To Grow

Be willing to invest in yourself to develop the skills and competencies you need to be a successful business owner. And be willing to invest in your business to set up the right systems and structures, grow your brand awareness, win clients, and serve them effectively. For every ‘expense’ that comes along, ask yourself “What’s the Return on Investment?” If it’s going to win you new clients or help you to deliver an improved service, it’s not an expense but an investment. It’s the chicken and egg thing. But the reality of business building is that you need the chicken before it will grow an egg.

 

[mashtweet tweet=” Business growth requires investment. And if you’re not prepared to invest up-front in order to grow yourself and your business, perhaps entrepreneurship isn’t the right path for you.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

It’s been many years now that I’ve been growing and running my own business from home, while also being a mother to two young boys. While it’s certainly not easy, it’s also not impossible to be a great mother and build a successful business at the same time. Here are my top 5 tips on how to do just that. #entrepreneur #motherhood #workingfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #womeninbusiness #workingmothers #workingmoms #fempire #fempirecoach #ladyboss #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #laptoplifestyle

5. Find Your Tribe

Combining business with motherhood is hard and not everyone ‘gets’ it. Find a tribe of like-minded women who encourage and support you to keep going when the going gets tough, and who understand you and what you’re going through. It takes time to build a company from scratch. And it ‘takes a village’ too. So find your tribe and get the support you need.

It’s our mission at Fempire to provide a powerful tribe to support mothers and women in business. None of us can do it alone. If you haven’t found your tribe of inspired, ambitious, and heart-centered women yet, please come and join us here!

 

Are You Doing Too Much Around the House?
Is it Time to Have a Difficult Conversation with Your Partner?

Did you know that more than 86% of women still do the lion’s share of housework, even when they work full-time jobs or run their own business? Work180 is an employment agency that matches women with ‘female-friendly’ employers. They’ve developed an amazing resource that I use all the time with my clients. It’s a checklist that covers everything from cleaning the kids’ teeth to cooking dinner and planning a family holiday. It’s their most downloaded resource because it will help you understand the percentage split of household duties between you and your partner. And if you’re doing more than fifty percent of the household duties, then it’s time to have some difficult conversations about how your partner can step up to support you more, so you can spend more time growing your business.

Your business is important. So make sure your time reflects that!

Download the ARE YOU DOING TOO MUCH – CHECKLIST (courtesy of Work180) and discover just how big your share of housework is!

 

Keep your chin up, keep going, and know that you’re doing an amazing job. 
We’ve got your back.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

Here are my top 5 strategies for successfully navigating the ultra-challenging task of being a mother and a business owner at the same time. Follow these steps and watch yourself thrive! #entrepreneur #motherhood #workingfromhome #mompreneur #mumpreneur #womeninbusiness #workingmothers #workingmoms #fempire #fempirecoach #ladyboss #businesscoach #solopreneur #success #successmindset #laptoplifestyle

When Struggle and Confusion Turns to Clarity and Confidence: How the ArtMark Experience Worked Its Magic in My Business

When Struggle and Confusion Turns to Clarity and Confidence: How the ArtMark Experience Worked Its Magic in My Business

Capturing my experience with Tracking Wonder's ArtMark Branding Program and how it worked magic in my life and business #ArtMark #Branding #MarketingStrategy #BrandStory #Clarity #SmallBusiness #Entrepreneurship #ConfidenceThose of you who run your own business know how critical it is to be able to articulate clearly who you are, what you do, for whom, and why. And yet it also happens to be one of the most difficult things to do.

 

When I first felt the call to step out of the corporate world and into the entrepreneurial world, I was full of ideas and excitement. Finally I was going to be able to unleash my own unique genius in the way that I wanted and I was going to do things on my terms, in my own way. I had a vague idea of how I wanted to serve others through my business, and I thought that would be enough to get started.

 

But it wasn’t.

 

I struggled to find the right words to explain what I do in my branding and marketing material in a way that would captivate and magnetize people. Despite the passion I felt in my own heart, I wasn’t able to convey that passion to others in a way that made sense to them.

 

And then the dreaded question at social gatherings – “What do you do for a living?”

 

I always dreaded that question because no matter how hard I tried, I struggled to spit out a powerful, succinct answer. And my business was suffering as a result. I failed to consistently attract the right people who needed what I uniquely had to offer.

 

Thankfully, early this year I found Jeffrey Davis’ 4-month ArtMarkTM experience at Tracking Wonder, and everything changed.

 

ArtMark is a group program designed to help you “Captivate Customers and Community with an Irresistible Brand Message and Story.” The program helps you get crystal clear on your unique brand promise, identity, and services – and perhaps most importantly – who you are here specifically to serve.

 

Jeffrey’s philosophy and approach are built around the idea that inner clarity about your business comes from a deep awareness and appreciation of your own unique personality, gifts, and strengths.

 

The program begins with a deep dive into understanding your unique personality, and how you specifically captivate and elevate people. One of the tools used is Sally Hogshead’s Fascination Advantage Personality Test, which helps you discover the Primary and Secondary Archetypes that best describe your unique personality – and more importantly, how to leverage them fully to captivate your audience.

The program then leads you through a deep process of self-reflection and self-discovery to uncover:

  • Who your competitors are and how they present their unique brand message and story so that you can understand where you fit into the already existing market;
  • ‘Your Signature Elixir’ – the unique services that you offer that solve a particular problem that people have.
  • Developing your Captivating Story to magnetize your people.
  • Your ‘Gallery of Experiences’ that will serve your people in the most effective way (often referred to as Business Funnel – as a side note, Jeffrey has developed a refreshing vocabulary to describe common marketing terms in a way that feels much more authentic, customer-focused, and service-oriented.)
  • Your Visibility Strategy.

 

The beauty of the program is that it helps you distill large amounts of information and self-analysis into succinct sentences that capture who you are and what you do. The ability to clearly describe yourself, your mission, and your vision, are truly empowering.

 

Here are some of the sentences that emerged on my ArtMark journey, which have allowed me to overhaul my branding and marketing strategy and materials in order to attract the people I am here to specifically serve.

 

My Anthem (My Fascinate Unique Advantage)

Cutting-Edge Expertise

 

My ‘Trueline’

I guide people to freedom and joy by reconnecting them to their hearts and true potential.

 

My ‘Centerline’

In a world where we’re so often pressured to be something that we’re not, I guide and empower heart-centered professionals to find and walk their true path so they can make a difference doing work they love.

 

My ‘Tagline’

Helping Heart-Centered Changemakers Find and Walk Their True Path.

 

The biggest revelation in the whole ArtMark experience for me personally was discovering the words to describe my ‘niche’. I’d struggled for so long to clearly articulate this part, which meant that I sometimes attracted clients who were a great fit to work with me – and sometimes not. I could never quite understand what the missing piece was in being able to consistently attract the right people.

There have always been a couple of threads running through my unique ‘purpose’.

  1. I empower people to reconnect with their authentic voice and to live their truth proudly and impactfully.
  2. I help people who feel unfulfilled in their career to find the path that allows them to express themselves and their unique gifts fully.

 

Until ArtMark I was missing the one critical thread that makes my purpose complete:

3. I help heart-centered changemakers make the impact they desire.

 

These were the words I finally uncovered thanks to Jeffrey’s powerful process:

 

Heart-Centered Changemakers

 

It was such a big revelation that I dedicated an entire blog post to it here – ‘Relax, You Are Exactly Where You’re Meant to Be: A Powerful Lesson in Trusting the Flow of Life.’

 

As a result of The ArtMark experience, I’ve been able to develop my Business Manifesto for Heart-Centered Changemakers.Are you a Heart-Centered Changemaker? If so, please do come and join our Community! The Heart-Centered Changemakers

 

My hat goes off to Jeffrey and his team for their ability to help passionate and budding entrepreneurs like myself and my fellow ArtMark colleagues find the clarity and insight we desperately need in order to thrive in business and make our unique impact on the world.

 

Doing It Together

Jeffrey’s operating motto is always “Doing it together (DIT) beats Doing it Yourself (DIY)”. To honour some of the great work being done by my ArtMark colleagues, here are some beautiful branding examples that are the result of this year’s ArtMark experience.

  • Michaelene Ruhl’s new website DragonFly Journeys.
  • Suzi Hunn’s new Teach Your Thing branding and website.
  • Sally Jean Fox’s new Vital Presence: Create and Thrive in Your Peak Season website and article describing her ArtMark Journey.
  • Anne VanBruaene Ingersoll’s new website College Bound Associates LLC.

 

To find out more about the ArtMark experience, please visit Jeffrey Davis’ website at Tracking Wonder. I can’t recommend his programs highly enough.

Please leave a comment below if you resonated with something in my article! And share with your friends using the social media icons below!

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Katie De Jong, Ph.D
Global Career Coach for Thriving Professionals
Inspired Careers International
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

Tired of Procrastinating? Try These 6 Powerful Tips to Overcome it Now

Tired of Procrastinating? Try These 6 Powerful Tips to Overcome it Now

Tired of procrastinating? 6 Powerful Strategies to overcome it nowDo you often find yourself procrastinating, instead of getting important things done?

 

If so, you’re not alone. In a survey I sent out recently to find out more about my clients’ challenges and struggles, ‘procrastination’ came in as one of the top responses when I asked the question “What do you feel is the biggest obstacle holding you back from making breakthroughs in the areas you desire?”

‘Fear’ was the number one response (which will be the subject of a follow-up article that I’m currently procrastinating over), followed closely by ‘Procrastination’.

 

I felt compelled to write about procrastination because I know it’s a big challenge for many business owners. And I struggle with it too.

 

There are certain important things I know I ‘should’ be doing in order to grow my business or to keep on top of things at home, and I often find it really hard to just get on and do them. And it got me wondering – Why? And what can I do about it? Because it frustrates me when I catch myself doing it and I’m aware that it’s a form of self-sabotage.

I was heartened to find out that I’m only a ‘mild procrastinator’ when I did the Mind Tools ‘Are You A Procrastinator?’ test. But I was told “You need to understand better why you procrastinate – there are several reasons for it, and more than one may apply to you. And you need to learn the steps you can take to stop doing it.”

Exactly. So what exactly are those reasons and what can I do about them?

 

Firstly, it was nice to know that procrastination is not the same as laziness.

 

As the Mind Tools article on Procrastination says:

“Procrastination is an active process – you choose to do something else instead of the task that you know you should be doing. In contrast, laziness suggests apathy, inactivity and an unwillingness to act. Procrastination usually involves ignoring an unpleasant, but likely more important task, in favor of one that is more enjoyable or easier.”

I find that a great description. I know I’m not lazy because I’m very willing to act. But I definitely have been known to ignore the unpleasant, but more important tasks, in favour of ones that are more enjoyable or easier.

To overcome this pattern of behaviour, Mind Tools suggests that the first thing we need to do is:

 

Recognise That You’re Procrastinating.

 

As with everything in life, the first step in being able to ‘fix’ something is to notice that you’re actually doing it. Find out where you are on the procrastination scale –  Are you a true procrastinator, a mild procrastinator, or not a procrastinator at all (congratulations – lucky you!)?

And once you know where you fit on the scale, you can start to figure out why you’re doing what you’re doing and how to change it. There are many reasons for why you might procrastinate. Here’s a list of the most common ones.

 

Are you letting procrastination steal your dreams? Learn these 6 strategies to overcome the procrastination demons and start achieving every milestone you need to thrive in business and life #stopprocrastinating #procrastination #productivity #efficiency #workefficiency #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #liveyourbestlife #ladybosses

6 Reasons You’re Procrastinating and What You Can Do About Them

 

 1. You’re Not Organised Enough.

As a business owner, it’s up to you to enforce structure in your day. It was different back in my old corporate career when there were certain non-negotiable obligations like routine meetings, deadlines, or admin tasks that had to be done. But when you work for yourself, that’s much more fluid. If you don’t feel like doing something, you don’t have to do it.

 

But the guilt and shame that you feel as a consequence of not doing what you know you have to do can be detrimental and (as you know) can lead to a downward spiral of negativity and inertia, which can be very hard to pull yourself out of.

 

This is why it’s so essential to get organised. You need to create a schedule that forces you to do certain things on certain days, and then make them non-negotiable. For example, commit to getting your email newsletters out every Friday at 2 PM. Or schedule three hours every Tuesday morning to prepare your social media posts for the next 2 weeks. I can’t tell you how much this has helped me get on top of things in my own business. Suddenly I don’t have time to procrastinate anymore!

My favourite tool for getting organised in my business is Trello. It’s been a game-changer for me and my business. I highly recommend using Trello to create structure and discipline in your business.

 

Consistency, routine, and effective prioritising of your tasks are essential in overcoming procrastination.

 

Accountability can help you get things done too. Ask someone to check up on you and regularly remind you of what you promised you would do. Get coaching, or join a Mastermind group. Accountability is why coaching relationships are so effective. Coaches help you understand what’s important for you and they hold you accountable to the things you say you’re going to do. And we all need that! As a business coach myself, I still need my own coach to help me stay accountable and on-track.

 

2. Poor Decision-Making and Lack of Clear Priorities.

Have you ever had those days when there’s so much to do that you just get started on something, and then you end up drifting through the day being super ‘busy’, but at the end of the day you ask yourself “What did I actually do today?”

That’s a day without clear and focused priorities (and is slightly different from not being organised). If you can’t decide what to do, you just end up jumping on the first thing that feels good and suddenly you’ve spent six hours doing things that really are not a high priority and you know it.

The best question I’ve learned to ask at the start of each day is Gary Keller’s famous question that he describes in his #1 bestselling book The One Thing which is this:

 

What’s the ONE Thing you can do such that by doing it everything else will be easier or unnecessary?

 

I recently put together a video explaining The One Thing and how you can apply it (you can watch the video here).  Asking that question has been a true game-changer for me and when I get stuck, this is the question I turn to. I highly recommend trying it out.

 

Are you letting procrastination steal your dreams? Learn these 6 strategies to overcome the procrastination demons and start achieving every milestone you need to thrive in business and life #stopprocrastinating #procrastination #productivity #efficiency #workefficiency #dreambelieveachieve #dreambelieveachieverepeat #liveyourbestlife #ladybosses 3. It’s Boring.

This is an obvious one and possibly the most common. I’m constantly putting certain tasks off because, frankly, they’re boring. Why pay the outstanding invoices or get on top of your admin when you could do the fun website changes you’ve been wanting to do or make pretty social media images?

The best technique that’s helped me make myself do those boring tasks that need doing is this:

 

Focus on how good it’s going to feel when you’ve finally done those boring tasks and you can tick them off your to-do list. Keep tuning into the feeling of relief and satisfaction you will feel and use it to get you through the task.

 

Another thing you can do is promise yourself a reward. If you complete a boring but necessary task on time, reward yourself with a treat; maybe a slice of cake and coffee from your favourite coffee shop. Or if it’s a really big, important task, reward yourself with a massage or anything else that feels like an absolute treat – because you deserve it.

 

4. You’re Worried About Failing.

This type of procrastination is simply ‘fear’ disguised as procrastination. And the only way to overcome this one is to schedule the time to do the scary thing that needs to be done and push through the fear. As the famous saying goes “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.”

All the things I’ve been really scared of doing (live videos, leading group calls etc) only became less scary when I finally plucked up enough courage to just do them. And through doing them they became much less scary and even enjoyable.

 

The more you do something you fear, the more comfortable and enjoyable it becomes.

 

There’s a certain adrenaline boost that you get when you overcome your fears that can become addictive with time, to the point where you actually really start getting hooked on doing the thing you once feared.

 

5. You’re Being a Perfectionist.

Perfectionists are often the best procrastinators. You’re so dedicated to getting something perfectly ‘right’ before you put it out there that you become paralysed with inaction. This was once a big trap of mine, and the only thing that helped me work through this was repeatedly saying the mantra:

 

Imperfect Action Beats Perfect Inaction.

 

If this sounds like you, print out this statement in big letters (make it pretty if you have to) and hang it above your desk somewhere where you can see it all the time. And make the commitment to yourself to choose imperfect action above perfect inaction at all times. Watch how this simple mantra changes your life!

 

Are you letting procrastination stand between you and your dreams? I go through periods where I struggle with this more than others. Here's what you can do to overcome this big time-thief now #stopprocrastinating #procrastination #procrastinating #effectiveness #productivity #efficiency #motivation #inspire #empower #liveyourbestlife6. You’re Worried About Succeeding.

You might even be worried about doing something really well because it means that you’ll suddenly be swamped with requests from other people and you’ll get overwhelmed.

Maybe you don’t want to be known as someone who gets things done because you’ll end up being their go-to person. In that case, you may just need to be up-front and set some clear boundaries with people. Let them know what you’re willing to do but let them know you have limited time because you have your own tasks to get on with. This may require having some uncomfortable conversations but the effects will be liberating.

As Marianne Williamson has said often:

 

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.”

 

Maybe you’re scared of how your life will change if you actually become successful, and so you keep yourself small so that you don’t have to get uncomfortable? If so, recognise that you’re doing that, and then try to shift your focus to all the positive things that will result from succeeding, for you and others.

I hope this list has given you some insight and helpful strategies to overcome your procrastination patterns. The top one for me remains staying organised in order to overcome my procrastination demons and something I’m working to improve each and every day.

And be sure not to beat up on yourself. Don’t let yourself get dragged into the spiral of shame and guilt that procrastination can draw you into. Be gentle with yourself and congratulate yourself for always doing your best and for actively seeking ways to improve. That in itself is worthy of a little celebrating.

 

Are you starting or growing your own business? Download your FREE copy of my FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK to fast-track your business success! This value-packed guide contains everything I wish I knew back when I was starting my own business in 2011. Click here to download it now.

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set You Up for Business Success.

5 Powerful Strategies that will Triple Your Income: A Case Study with Business Owner Revi Chai.

How to be a Mother and Successfully Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time.

 

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

If you struggle to get onto the important things that you know you need to do on a regular basis, these 6 powerful strategies will help you to overcome the procrastination monster and start producing your best work. #stopprocrastinating #procrastination #procrastinating #effectiveness #productivity #efficiency #motivation #inspire #empower #liveyourbestlife

7 Ways to Be an Inspiring Leader in Small Business

7 Ways to Be an Inspiring Leader in Small Business

A huge study of more than 800 businesses showed that there are four essential qualities of a great leader. Read on to discover what they are! #leadership #smallbusiness #fempire #womeninbusiness #successmindset #leaders #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen

 

If you’re a business owner then by default you’ve stepped into a leadership role, even if you’re not explicitly aware of it.

 

You might have started your own business because you wanted more freedom and flexibility. Perhaps you wanted to do things on your own terms instead of working for someone else. Maybe you wanted to be more impactful and serve others more directly, rather than getting caught up in corporate processes and red tape.

Whatever your motivation for starting a business, if you’re like me, you probably didn’t start a business in order to become a leader. I started my business so I could make a difference. And leadership is something I’m growing into because I can see that my business will only thrive if I level things up and step into a leadership role. It’s a continuous journey of personal and professional development, but one that you can use to inspire and uplift others along the way.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”To be truly successful as a business owner, you need to consciously and proactively step into leadership.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

All successful business owners:

  • Step out of the shadows and claim their position as a leader;
  • Have a clear vision that inspires and resonates with people;
  • Know how to communicate their vision to their audience and why it’s important;
  • Know how to serve their people with services and products that help move them towards that vision.

 

If you want to create positive change in the world as a business owner, learning the art of influential leadership will serve you very well.

 

Great leaders have a genuine passion and devotion to serving their people.

 

As a business owner, you need to step into a role of leadership if you want your business to thrive! Discover 7 ways you can step up to become an inspiring business leader. #fempire #businesscoach #womeninbusiness #leadership #mindset

 

It’s often easy to tell who is in the game of leadership to further their own egotistical pursuits (power, status, influence, or control) as opposed to those who are in it to make a difference.

In his book Return on Character: The Real Reason Leaders and Their Companies Win (2015), Fred Kiehl describes the results of seven years of a landmark study of more than 100 CEOs and over 8,000 of their employee’s observations of their leaders.

[mashtweet tweet=”Kiehl showed that leaders of ‘strong character’ achieved up to five times the Return of Assets (ROA) for their organizations than leaders of ‘weak character’. That’s a 5-times increase in financial performance in businesses with leaders of strong character. Good leadership is highly profitable!,” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

In other words, great leaders make much more money and impact!

 

Kiehl defined four qualities that leaders of ‘strong character’ consistently display:

  1. Integrity
  2. Responsibility
  3. Forgiveness
  4. Compassion

 

As I reflected on those qualities, it took me back to some of the moments in my life when I’ve personally experienced leaders of ‘strong character’ and the profound effect they had on me, including:

  • The boss who came past each morning and asked my team members and I individually how we were going. Not in a superficial chit-chat kind of way, but in a genuine “How are you and is there anything you need to do your best work today?” kind of way.
  • The senior colleague who believed in me and empowered me to step up, break out of my comfort zone, and achieve more than I thought was possible.
  • The manager who took it upon himself to undertake hard negotiation with company executives on our behalf to significantly improve our salaries and workplace conditions.
  • The manager who took responsibility for a ‘big mistake’ on behalf of our team, worked with us to brainstorm solutions and empowered us to collaboratively get things back on track; no blame, just compassion, forgiveness, and empowerment to move ahead.
  • The manager who very compassionately told me to go home to rest and take care of myself when I wanted to keep working through a personal crisis.
  • The leader on Twitter who says she’s working on a particular issue of national concern and would like to hear everyone’s input and feedback in her comments section. She then reads all of them and acts upon them, responding to all the concerns raised.

 

As a small business owner, it’s even more critical that you go out of your way to show qualities of strong character because your strength of character is your business; it’s your personal brand.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Since people only do business with people who they know, like, and trust, you’ll need to consistently display the four qualities of ‘strong character’ to build that trust over time.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Businesses operated by leaders of 'strong character' are up to five times more profitable than other businesses! Read on to discover how you can become a great business leader. #leadership #smallbusiness #fempire #womeninbusiness #successmindset #leaders #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomenAnd since Kiehl has shown an astounding 5-times increase in financial performance in businesses with ‘leaders of strong character’, strong leadership is critical to deciding whether your business will thrive or fizzle out. Leaders who inspire and uplift others, succeed.

So to all you small business owners out there who want to step up your leadership game and more consciously and proactively choose to be a leader of ‘strong character’, focus on these things below.

 

7 Ways to Become an Inspiring Leader in Small Business.

 

1. Have a clear and inspiring ‘Why’.

As Simon Sinek famously says, “Your job is to do business with those who believe what you believe.” What do you stand for as a business? What’s your vision? What’s the future that your business is working towards? Let your vision serve as your personal inner compass and the compass for all your business decisions.

If you’re not sure how to develop a compelling ‘why’, business, and mission statement, check out this article: Why You Need to Know Your Business Why, Vision, and Mission.

Communicate your business vision in all the important places you can, such as your website, the descriptions on your social media platforms. Write regular posts about your business ‘why’ and vision. Put them in your email signature and on your business letterheads. Take every opportunity to remind your audience what you stand for.

 

2. Embody the morals, principles, and values of your business vision.

Integrity is number one in Kiehl’s top four qualities of influential leaders. As a business owner, you need to “walk the talk” loud and clear. People can smell misalignment a mile away and you’ll lose trust immediately if your behaviours and actions don’t match the philosophies you say you stand for.

Be a walking example of the future that your business is contributing to.

 

3. Demonstrate your genuine passion for serving your people.

You know how awful it feels to be treated like a number, and not a real person, right? I had this experience just recently with a digital marketing agency who I felt (rightly or wrongly) just wanted my money and didn’t actually care about the success of my business. It’s not a good feeling and we never go back after an experience like that (and we spread the bad word too!).

But on the flip side, we all know how good it feels when we feel like someone genuinely cares about helping us. We become loyal customers for life. Be the business owner who cares about the success of your clients and make your clients feel special, because they are.

 

4. Request feedback, listen to your audience and act on their feedback.

As humans, we all love (and need) to feel seen and heard. Your clients will appreciate it if you take the time to ask them how they’re finding their experience with you. Ask them what’s working well and what’s not working so well. Request their advice for improvements, and then be sure to act on that advice. Let them know you’ve taken their advice on board. There’s no point in asking for feedback if you’re not going to act on it. Once again, it comes down to integrity.

 

5. Believe in your clients and inspire them to be better.

Inspire your clients to be more, do more, and reach higher. Just as we all need to be seen and heard, we also need someone to believe in us in order to be the best version of ourselves. Be that person for your clients.

 

6. Admit your mistakes, take responsibility.

Admitting mistakes doesn’t make you weak, it makes you strong. It takes strength of character to be transparent and vulnerable and to own up to your mistakes. Admit openly where it went wrong, and tell your clients how you’re going to make it right. This builds trust and shows your commitment to the client. There’s a good reason why ‘responsibility’ is the second-highest quality of great leaders. Leaders who take responsibility gain the long-term trust of their clients.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”It’s OK to be ‘imperfect’ and still lead your people. Genuine vulnerability is a strength, not a weakness and your people will respect you even more for it ” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

7. Practice forgiveness.

Be kind, compassionate, and forgiving to others. Always remember the saying: 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Even when someone is being obnoxious or aggressive towards you (which happens often in customer service as we know!), always try to validate their experience and understand where they’re coming from. Err on the side of kindness and compassion, and you’ll find that with kindness, many of the complaints dissipate and get resolved easily.

What are some of the commitments you can make to yourself to uphold greater levels of ‘character’ and become a truly inspiring leader in your role as a business owner? I’d love to hear them, leave a comment for me below and I promise I’ll respond!

Are you starting or growing your own business? Download your FREE copy of my FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK to fast-track your business success! This value-packed guide contains everything I wish I knew back when I was starting my own business in 2011. Click here to download it now.

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set You Up for Business Success.

The Confused Person Never Buys: How to Make Your Offerings Clear so You’ll Never Lose a Customer Again.

How to Sell More with Your Three Business Superpowers.

5 Powerful Strategies that will Triple Your Income: A Case Study with Business Owner Revi Chai.

How to be a Mother and Successfully Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time.

In service to your success,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

Discover seven ways you can become an inspiring leader and take your business to new heights of profit and success. #leadership #smallbusiness #fempire #womeninbusiness #successmindset #leaders #businesscoach #businesscoachforwomen

7 Powerful Strategies to Help You Get Through Those Days When You Just Want to Give Up on Your Dream

7 Powerful Strategies to Help You Get Through Those Days When You Just Want to Give Up on Your Dream

Read on to discover my top strategies to help you next time you inevitably hit your next entrepreneurial dip! #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #resilience #perseverance #grit #ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #businessstartup #startuplife #bossbabes #businesswomen #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneurlifeBuilding a business is hard work.
It takes grit, perseverance, determination, and persistence.
It’s most definitely not for the faint-hearted.

 

And building your own business confronts you with all of your insecurities, fears, and doubts about yourself, raising questions like:

  • Who am I to do this work?
  • Why would anyone choose to work with me when my competitors are younger, smarter, and further along?
  • How will I ever make enough money?
  •  What have I got to offer?

 

That little inner voice is debilitating and completely takes the wind out of your sails.

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone.

So many female entrepreneurs struggle with these fears, doubts and insecurities. We see it all the time with our clients. And I’ve been through it myself so many times too (trust me, I know what you’re going through!). 

Fear, doubt and insecurity are a natural part of stepping outside of your comfort zone. Those little voices come from that primitive part of your brain that’s designed to keep you ‘safe’. They don’t want you to step outside of the hut because you might get eaten by a mammoth. When you’re building your business you have to put yourself out there in a big way and open yourself up to judgement, criticism, and unsolicited feedback.

It’s scary and very uncomfortable!

Not to mention all the doubts you have about our own capabilities and competence.

It can be hard to pull yourself out of those situations where you spiral into self-doubt and fear. And there are days when you just want to give up on the dream. I know, I have them too, those days where I ask myself:

 

Wouldn’t it be easier to just go back and get a job?

 

I’ve learned over the years that there’s unfortunately no shortcut to establishing a thriving, profitable business.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”There’s no quick fix, no overnight solution. It takes a lot of consistent, hard work before you begin to see the fruits of your hard labour.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Some days it feels like you’re putting your work out into a vacuum. Those are the days when it’s hard to get motivated. It’s hard being in business for yourself, being the sole person responsible for generating revenue, particularly in the early days when your revenue is dependent on your time and input. I’ve read all the promises of the 4-hour work week and ‘passive income’ and while they sound great, those are things that take time to build, and that advice is unhelpful when you’re in startup mode (which lasts for 1-3 years!). If you’re not familiar with the 6 stages of business growth, check out my article here.

The early years of a startup business are really hard. Here are my strategies to help you get through those days when you feel like giving up. Hang in there! #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #resilience #perseverance #grit #ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #businessstartup #startuplife #bossbabes #businesswomen #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneurlife

If you ever get into one of those downward spirals of despair and negativity, here are some tips on how to pull yourself back up and out of it. These are some of the things that help me on a regular basis when I get into a funk.

 

 

1. Remember why you started your business.

When you’re in this state of mind, it’s important to reconnect with your personal and business ‘why’.

What is it that made you start your business in the first place?

What’s the important contribution that you want to make through your work?

Who’s going to miss out on receiving the benefits of your work if you decide to succumb to fear and insecurity and not show up? 

If you’re not clear on your business ‘why’ yet, check out Simon Sinek’s video How Great Leaders Inspire Action and answer this sentence for yourself: “Because I believe….”

 

2. Get out a piece of paper and write down all the things that make you awesome.

I’m serious, you need to do this exercise if you’re feeling fearful and doubtful. Get out a pen and paper and write down your answers to these questions:

  • What have you achieved, overcome, and created in this lifetime?
  • What are your unique strengths and talents?
  • What qualifications have you achieved, or awards have you won, or things have you accomplished over your life and career?
  • What do your best friends say about you? What would they say if you were gone?

Remember and reconnect to all the positive things about yourself. So often we get focused on what’s ‘not there’ and forget to remember everything that ‘is already there’.

Remind yourself of just how awesome you are and believe it in your bones! Because it’s true.

 

3. Re-read some of the positive feedback from your clients and appreciate the areas where you have traction in your business.

Go back and read or simply remember some of the positive things people have said about your work and the impact you’ve made on them.  Find a way to remember that your work matters and that people need and appreciate what you have to offer. 

 

Being an entrepreneur is not an easy path, it’s definitely like riding a rollercoaster with big ups and downs. Here are my tips to help you keep going when you might feel like giving up. #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #resilience #perseverance #grit #ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #businessstartup #startuplife #bossbabes #businesswomen #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneurlife

4. Focus on what you love about working for yourself.

Take some time to remember the reasons you decided to work for yourself. Write them down. For example, I remember how much I love the complete freedom and flexibility of my schedule and my pure freedom of creative self-expression. I love the ability I have to work from home, to be there for my kids, and to focus my time on what I want, when I want.

What is it that you love about working for yourself?

To stimulate your ow thinking, you can read what I wrote about mine here: Quitting the Rat Race: 5 Reasons Why You Should Break Free and Follow Your Heart.

 

5. Force yourself to step away from the desk and take a break.

Any action you take while in a negative frame of mind is not going to be productive or inspired. It’s important to get yourself back into a good frame of mind before attempting to do anything at all. Do whatever it takes to re-centre and re-align yourself.

Perhaps you could get outside into the garden, or go for a walk, or do something uplifting, comforting and nourishing for yourself.

If you’re really struggling, please try some of the tips I outline in this article: Soul-Care: 10 Ways to Comfort Yourself in Time of Overwhelm

 

6. Remember that you’re making progress, even when you can’t yet see the fruits of your labour.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Building a business requires us to continuously plant seeds and they don’t always germinate when we’d like them to, or sometimes they don’t germinate at all. Some days it feels disheartening when you feel like you’re not seeing any results of your hard work. But then suddenly you might experience an unexpected surprise or breakthrough and I’m reminded that progress is ALWAYS being made, even when it doesn’t feel like it.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

7. Don’t give up. You just may be on the verge of making a breakthrough!

No matter how bad your day is feeling, don’t give up. You might be just about to make a touchdown. Keep your thoughts and energy focused on the vision you hold and how good it feels to be living your dream, on your own terms. If you need help staying tuned in to positive energy and the flow of abundance, take a look at my article How to Create More of What You Want Using the Law of Attraction – Part 1.

And if all else fails, take a day off, go and do something you love and tomorrow is another day. But most importantly, hang in there. The world needs your precious gifts!

Are you doing all the right things when it comes to growing your business?

Get your FREE copy of THE FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK and discover all the tactics and strategies that have helped my clients achieve sustainable business success within the shortest amount of time!

[mashtweet tweet=”Get your FREE copy of THE FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK and discover all the tactics and strategies that have helped my clients achieve sustainable business success within the shortest amount of time!” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

And if you ever need to reach out for some moral support, I’d love to connect with you.

You can reach me at [email protected].

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

Save & Exit

If you’re having a challenging day being your own boss, read these top 7 strategies to help you get out of your dip and back into the zone of motivation and fun! #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #resilience #perseverance #grit #ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #businessstartup #startuplife #bossbabes #businesswomen #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneurlife  We all go through challenging days as business owners, it’s part of the natural cycle of things. Try out these 7 powerful strategies to keep your motivation going when you’re feeling down. Hang in there! #entrepreneurship #smallbusiness #resilience #perseverance #grit #ladybosses #fempire #fempirecoach #businessstartup #startuplife #bossbabes #businesswomen #womeninbusiness #womensupportingwomen #entrepreneurlife

 

What is a Virtual Assistant and Do You Need One?

What is a Virtual Assistant and Do You Need One?

blurred peach background text overlay What is a Virtual Assistant and why you might need oneVIRTUAL ASSISTANT

A trusted asset who takes away your frustrations by completing the tasks you don’t want to do, letting you focus on what you love.

 

It can be so hard when you’re starting your own business, or running a ‘side hustle’ alongside your main job, or even trying to stay up to date in the rapidly changing online world. For Gen-X people like me (born 1963 – 1980) or older, it’s particularly challenging since we haven’t grown up with the Internet, Social Media and the Online Business World like the younger generations have.

Proficient ‘digital literacy’ isn’t part of our basic, native skill set, unless we’ve been educated and worked specifically in the IT fields. When I see how easily my 6- and 3-year-old boys navigate an iPad or computer, or how easily a ‘Millennial’ navigates their way through the online world, I realise how much things have changed since I was growing up and how much we’ve had to learn and adapt to stay afloat.

 

There have been so many technological breakthroughs during our short lifetimes

 

… from the emergence of home computers, to fax machines, to E-mail … from ‘floppy discs’ to recordable CDs to USB memory sticks … from record players to tape cassettes (and ‘Walkmans’), to CDs and then to MP3 players … from Analog TV with four channels to cable-TV with 100+ channels … from basic old Radio to ‘online streaming’ … from videocassettes to DVDs and eventually Netflix-like systems. It’s been one continuous stream of technology upgrades that requires constant adaptation to stay ‘up with it’.

 

The very first Apple Mac computer that we had in our home in the ’80s. We felt very modern and ahead of the times!

Still, I was proud that I always adapted well to all the technology changes. I embraced social media in 2007 and was doing fine in my previous career as a Consulting Engineer, mastering all the software and technology systems we used to do our work efficiently.

 

 

I thought I was doing pretty well at keeping up with the times…. Until I started my own business.

 

And then I realised oh how very little I actually knew about anything in the online digital world. Of course one of the first things I had to do was develop my own website, which meant finding a domain provider, a web host, choose a website builder, develop a logo and brand colour scheme, choose an email marketing host (which one?!), build an email list, understand digital marketing, develop digital products for my marketing, make sure my website was SEO-friendly (what’s that?!), choose business management software. People were recommending all kinds of different platforms/scheduling tools/business ‘must-haves’.

 

To say my head was swimming in this sea of endless information would be an understatement. There were times when I just felt like curling up into a ball and retreating back into my old corporate career where none of this stuff was necessary.

 

Woman with glasses sitting in front of a computer text overlay - Focus on your business. Why hiring a Virtual Assistant can help your business grow

I’m usually pretty good at figuring stuff out. But at some stage, I had to admit that I was well and truly LOST. There were two things that helped me navigate through all the noise and FINALLY find my way in this seemingly impossible world of digital information:

1. A great business coach.

2. My Virtual Assistant (VA).

My business coach helped me “see the wood for the trees”, helping me figure out what was important at that stage in my business and to choose systems and strategies that would work for me. We developed a business strategy for my small coaching business. This gave me an enormous boost of clarity and was a big help in moving forward (if you’re stuck, I really highly recommend working with a good business coach).

My business coach often suggested that I start employing a “V.A.” to help me out with all the tasks that were needed to set up and keep things running. When she first said “V.A.” I didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. And when she explained what it meant, I resisted the idea enormously. I was just starting out and hardly making any money, so how could I afford to pay someone to work for me?

 

But it’s the chicken and egg thing.

 

Do you continue spending your time doing things that are well outside of your own ‘zone of genius’, or do you hire someone who’s incredibly savvy in the online world to do these things for you in the blink of an eye? Do you first need to make money before you can pay someone to help you? Or do you need someone to help you before you can start earning money? It’s been my experience that it’s the latter.

A Virtual Assistant is someone who is right on top of everything in the online world. They’ve either been trained or educated in the world of web development, software and/or digital marketing, or they’ve worked in these fields their whole career and so it’s second nature to them. So things that feel hard and clunky for many of us feel very easy and light for them. Their genius is website development, social media engagement, digital marketing and more … all the things that are clearly NOT my genius.

 

And hiring a VA is not as overwhelming or daunting as it might seem.

 

You can initially hire someone for just a couple of hours a month to help you with the most basic tasks you need covering. And as your business grows, you can increase those hours as you need. But it’s certainly been my experience that they can at the very least help you GET THE BALL ROLLING, and once it’s rolling, they can help you keep it rolling smoothly (as possible).

 

So what kind of tasks can a Virtual Assistant do for you?

Here are some examples of what they can do for you:

  • Website changes, web page development, sales pages, website analytics to measure your site’s performance;
  • Set up your online payments or accounting/invoicing systems;
  • SEO-optimisation for your website;
  • Social media graphics, social media scheduling, social media analytics to measure how you’re performing;
  • Email community newsletters, Email broadcasts for particular promotions;
  • Product launches;
  • Blog broadcasting and distribution;
  • Manage your Email inbox,
  • Set up your Client scheduling system, manage your schedule … and more.

Anything you need to have done in the online world, they can do for you.

The biggest challenge I find is in having the courage and foresight to DELEGATE. This has never been a strength of mine, but I’m working on it and it feels so good and so efficient when I manage to do it well.

 

What have been the BIG POSITIVES I’ve found in working with a Virtual Assistant?

 

  • I learn so much from my V.A. As I work with her I’m learning so much about all the different aspects of online business and my own knowledge and proficiency are increasing exponentially. Just one example is that she taught me everything I need to know about SEO (a concept I ignored for the longest time because I had no clue what it was). It stands for Search Engine Optimisation and it’s just a little bit critical to running a business. Thanks to my V.A., if you now search for keywords related to my business, you’ll actually find me. I hadn’t appreciated how important that is. If people are looking for a service you offer, they need to be able to find you!
  • She allows me to focus on the core elements of my business – i.e. the coaching, writing, and content development – rather than wasting my time doing things that I’m terrible at.
  • She figures out ways to do things that I am just completely stuck with. She saves me time and energy and handles the online things with way more elegance and finesse than I would ever be able to.
  • She has helped me professionalize my online presence and as a result, I feel more professional and can deliver services that are more professional.

 

It can take some time to find a good VA.

 

It took me some trial and error to find the fantastic V.A. I now work with. I tried a couple of girls in the USA because the whole concept of V.A. is much more widely accepted and implemented over there (relative to Australia where the concept is still emerging). But due to the time zone differences and currency exchange (with the US dollar being significantly stronger than our Australian dollar), it was ineffective and expensive for me.

 

Image of flowers on a desk with a computer blurred in the background - text overlay - Put your focus back on your business. Why hiring a Virtual Assistant can help you grow your business.

You may need to try a few different people before you find the right one for you. Sometimes you’ll have a very different working style to your V.A., which can become an obstacle to a good working relationship. But when you find someone who you work well with, hold onto them because they’re worth their weight in gold!

 

With my wonderful V.A’s permission I’m going to share her details with you (very begrudgingly because I don’t actually want to share her with anyone – lol). But she does have some spare capacity at the moment and would be able to help you out if I’ve managed to convince you that you need one!

Her name is Alex Hammett at Lemon and Lime Business Solutions. I couldn’t recommend her more highly so please do reach out to Alex if you need some virtual assistance.

I really hope this insight has helped you and if you’ve been unaware that you can hire a V.A., or if you’ve been sitting on the fence about getting one – please do go ahead and find one as soon as possible. You won’t regret it!

Are you starting or growing your own business? Download your FREE copy of my FEMPRENEUR SUCCESS HANDBOOK to fast-track your business success! This value-packed guide contains everything I wish I knew back when I was starting my own business in 2011. Click here to download it now.

Did you like this article? You might also like:

The 10 Most Important Tactics That Will Set You Up for Business Success.

5 Powerful Strategies that will Triple Your Income: A Case Study with Business Owner Revi Chai.

How to be a Mother and Successfully Grow a Family and a Business at the Same Time.

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

Are You Ready for the Emerging Purpose Economy?

Are You Ready for the Emerging Purpose Economy?

Purposeful people and businesses are set to thrive in the newly emerging Purpose Economy - find out how you can find your professional purpose and make a difference doing work you love #purpose #purposeeconomy #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #makeadifference #womensupportingwomen #fempire #fempirecoachWith his prediction that purpose was the next major economic era, many are racing to find answers and direction toward finding their personal, professional, and organisational purpose.
– Aaron Hurst

 

We’re on the cusp of the emerging Purpose Economy in which ‘purpose’ is the new driving force.

 

Your personal and professional purpose – or BIG WHY – acts like your internal compass that keeps you finding ways to serve and thrive financially, no matter how much instability and upheaval is going on around you.

 

Only businesses with a strong, positive purpose will survive in this new era.

 

It’s not often that a book comes along that feels like a real game-changer, but that’s exactly how Aaron Hurst’s book THE PURPOSE ECONOMY (Oct, 2016) felt for me recently. His book felt like a welcome confirmation and validation of everything I’ve been observing and witnessing over the past several years, and his ability to clearly articulate what I’ve been sensing for a long time felt so significant that I wanted to share it with you.

You might have seen this happening around you too: People are increasingly craving more MEANING in their work. More and more people want to contribute something positive through their work.

And with this new Corona virus situation in 2020, this is being brought home even more loudly.

 

It’s clear we can’t go back to the way we were before where society was ‘asleep at the wheel’, blindly harming our natural systems that support and sustain us. And being ego-driven, instead of taking care of the collective. 

 

It’s no longer enough to simply go to work to pay the bills, or to view work as a means to an end. We spend such a large percentage of our waking lives working that more and more people are realising they need these three things in the workplace:

1. Engaging work that’s meaningful. We want to feel as though our work MATTERS.

3. Connection: To each other, and connection to our sense of purpose.

2. Authentic self-expression and personal growth.

 

The emergence of the Purpose Economy defined and how purposeful people and businesses will be the ones who thriveAnd this is where Hurst’s book comes in: THE PURPOSE ECONOMY – HOW YOUR DESIRE FOR IMPACT, PERSONAL GROWTH AND COMMUNITY IS CHANGING THE WORLD.

In his book, Hurst describes how as a human species we’ve evolved through various different economies in the past few thousand years and how this evolution has created the era of PURPOSE that we’re experiencing now. I’ve summarised the evolution of these different economies briefly below.

The Agrarian Economy

Starting out as hunter-gatherers for many thousands of years, we eventually learned how to farm and cultivate the land in ways that allowed us to produce more stable sources of food and to stop moving around. An economy began to develop, centered around our agricultural interests. As the farms grew, so did the first villages and towns. This also marked the beginning of land ownership, social classes and specialised trade. Wealth and freedom were tied to owning the land and the ability to optimise its output.

The Industrial Economy

With the invention of the first commercial steam engine in Britain in 1712, a new wave of industrial innovation was born and the new Industrial Economy emerged in which wealth was tied to the large-scale production of goods and services and value was placed on increasing efficiency. Many industries needed more and more specialised labour and saw education expand to develop the talent needed. As people moved from farms to factories, vocational services were introduced. Modern democracy merged. International trade boomed, connecting cultures around the world. All of this came at enormous cost to the natural world, with widespread pollution and the mass extinction of countless species.

The Information Economy

By the middle of the 20th century, the marketplace was dominated by large corporations and institutions. The bigger the organisations became, the greater their need for improved communication and information systems. In the Information Economy, the commodity of value was information and the ability to develop it and transmit it quickly and efficiently. We’ve been fully immersed in the Information Economy for at least the past 30 years. And we’re now standing on the rising tide of the Purpose Economy.

The Purpose Economy

What is the Purpose Economy?Times are changing. We’re now entering the Purpose Economy. Read on to discover what this is and how you can be ahead of the wave. #purpose #purposeeconomy #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #makeadifference #womensupportingwomen #fempire #fempirecoach

As Hurst says: “The Purpose Economy describes the new context and set of ways in which people and organisations are focused on creating value and defines the principle for innovation and growth; the quest for people to find more purpose in their lives.

It’s an economy in which value lies in establishing purpose for employees and customers.

The emergence of purpose as the new organising principle of our economy is a product of our current moment in time, based on where we stand in history: our current culture, values, education, technological abilities, social organisations, political realities, and the state of our natural environment.”

 

 

 

 

These are the global forces shaping the emerging Purpose Economy:

  • Our increasingly interconnected global community. The Internet has allowed people all across the globe to connect, communicate, and collaborate, independent of our physical location. As a result, we’re collectively more aware of global issues and how our actions impact the world around us.
  • Our evolution upwards in Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Many people around the globe have reached a level of personal fulfillment and now desire to transcend our own needs to prioritise the needs of all society and future generations, seeking more connection and self-actualisation.

 

  • Longevity. The average lifespan in 1796 was 24 years old. Just 100 years later, the same person could live to be 48. And now 100 years later that average has almost doubled again. And given the aging population, we won’t be able to retire at 60 and live off our savings and pension anymore. We’ll be required to work until we’re much older, which means we need to find something that feels purposeful and that we ENJOY doing, or life will get very tedious!
  • Changing families and evolving roles. Both parents in most families now work, and we’re hiring people in record numbers for the jobs highest in purpose – caring for our kids and aging parents. We want to know that our carers feel a sense of meaning and purpose in their work too, since we’re trusting them with our precious people. AND since we’re giving up our precious time with our families to work, we want to know that our work MEANS something and has an impact.
  • Environmental, economic and political turmoil has created great instability, upheaval, and uncertainty worldwide. The pace of change in our lives is ever-accelerating as large institutions and organisations restructure, collapse or merge in order to stay relevant and survive. People are seeing this upheaval and turmoil and desire to do something to help.
  • A rising desire by many to have a positive impact on the world somehow.

All of these factors have caused major changes globally that were magnified by the ‘Great Recession’ in 2008. The global instability has drastically changed the fabric of today’s professional workforce. We no longer have a single employer for our entire career and the average tenure in a company has dropped steeply, with the average employee staying at a single job for a mere 4.5 years today. As Hurst says:

 

“We’re all becoming de facto freelancers, on our own and navigating great uncertainty in every direction. The global shift has placed meaning and purpose at the heart of the contemporary workforce. Purpose, rather than career longevity, now provides the stability we need.”

 

In the new Purpose Economy, win-win solutions are the new commodity of value. People increasingly respect companies that provide a product or service that creates a positive net benefit or outcome for other people, nature, and the economy. There is no longer any respect or room for exploitation or selfish aggrandisement.

 

If your business doesn’t create positive value to all stakeholders, it won’t survive. There’s a rising need and requirement for businesses to lead the way and show how to not only create a win-win solution but to thrive because of it.

 

 

Here’s why I’m personally so passionate about ‘purpose’:

Aaron Hurst first described the Purpose Economy in 2016 and it’s now starting to fully emerge as the new economy. Discover how you can prepare yourself for this new inevitable change #purpose #purposeeconomy #smallbusiness #entrepreneur #womeninbusiness #makeadifference #womensupportingwomen #fempire #fempirecoach

I quit my corporate career of fifteen years in 2011 to start my own business in a completely new field (career coaching), because no matter how many changes I made or roles I took on in my previous career as an environmental engineer, I just couldn’t find or sustain a real sense of fulfilment, satisfaction or JOY in my work.

My health and relationships suffered terribly as a result. I felt completely lost and off-track. It wasn’t until I made the decision to quit my career to follow something more aligned with my strengths and passion that my health started improving and my life started feeling better and better.

 

Ever since then, I’ve been on a mission to understand why some of us seem to easily find a professional path that we love, while some of us really struggle with it.

 

Through talking to people, coaching many clients and doing in-depth research on the topic of career satisfaction, it seems that there’s one thing that separates someone who really loves their work from someone who feels just “meh” about their work, and that is:

 

A clearly defined sense of purpose.

 

Once I was finally able to clearly define and claim my own purpose, everything fell into place and my life took on a whole new level of meaning and fulfilment, both personally and professionally.

Over the years I’ve pondered the topic of ‘purpose’ extensively and developed my own definition for it. It reads like this:

 

Your purpose is the path or vocation that allows you to express yourself fully and to contribute your unique gifts in service to something you care about, while making a positive difference and earning you an abundant, reliable income.

 

I discuss in detail how to find your joyful and purposeful professional path and purpose in my related blog article: Pathfinding: How to Find Your Inspired Professional Path & Purpose.

In summary, there are four different and very critical components to your purpose, as shown below.

When you manage to get these four different components working in harmony in your professional life, work feels GOOD and deeply fulfilling.

 

So how do set yourself up to thrive in the Purpose Economy?

 

To prepare yourself for the Purpose Economy, it’s essential that you take the time to do some self-reflection and ask yourself the following questions:

  • What’s the positive impact I personally want to make and how? #impact #service
  • What’s my ‘why’ and how do I centre my work around it? #purpose
  • What do I actually care about enough to want to dedicate my time, energy and resources to it? #passion
  • What are my unique abilities and how can I contribute them in a way that makes a difference? #proficiency
  • How can I make a positive difference and make great money doing it? #profit
  • What kind of organisation, profession or business idea will allow me to more fully express myself authentically? #personality #truenature

 

Getting clear on your purpose is an essential step to thriving in our society going forward. If you need help answering any of these questions, get your FREE copy of my E-Book Pathfinding: How to Find Your Inspired Professional Path & Purpose.

 

Did you enjoy this article? You might also enjoy these related articles:

Pathfinding: How to Find the Work That’s Perfect for You

The Art of Purposeful Living: How to Live and Work in Alignment with Your Personal Truth

How to Live and Work in Your Zone of Genius: Your Strengths are More than Just the Things You’re Good At.

Quitting the Rat Race: 5 Big Reasons Why You Should Break Free and Build Your Own Business

In service to your success

Kate De Jong
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
katedejong.com

How To Design Your Dream Life With Life Design Principles

How To Design Your Dream Life With Life Design Principles

Are you feeling stuck, disillusioned, or frustrated in your career or business? Harness the power of Life Design Principles to get yourself unstuck and loving your work! #fempire #fempirecoach #careeradvice #lifedesign #findyourpurpose #purpose #womeninbusiness

 

Are you guilty of continuously complaining about your job?
Or wishing your job, business or life could be better?

 

Then you need to stop complaining or sitting around waiting for it to get better, and get busy creating it!

With the help of Dave Evans & Bill Burnett’s Life Design Process, it’s absolutely possible to proactively create a professional and personal life you love.

[mashtweet tweet=”Whether it’s a new job that you want to find, or a new business that you want to create, with the Life Design Process you can find a way to make it happen. All it takes is absolute clarity about what you want and a mindset to not give up until you get there.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Whether it's a new business that you want to create or a new job that you want to find, with the Life Design Process you can find a way to make it happen. All it takes is absolute clarity about what you want and a mindset to not give up until you get there! #fempire #fempirecoach #careeradvice #lifedesign #findyourpurpose #purpose #womeninbusiness

The Life Design Process

Evans and Burnett define three steps to creating your dream life.

1. Figure out what you actually want.
Do you know what your ideal professional life would look like, in clear detail? What does your ideal day look like? What kind of people are you working with? What kind of projects are you working on? Where are you physically located?
If you’re having trouble defining what your dream career or business looks like, get your FREE copy of my E-Book PATHFINDING: HOW TO FIND YOUR INSPIRED PATH & PURPOSE.

2. Get busy conducting Life Design Interviews.
You build your way into your dream business or career through relationships and connections. Use what Evans & Burnett call Life Design Interviews to easily and authentically start building these relationships and connections (more on these below).

3. Apply the Life Design Principles to actively create the business or career you love.
I’ll go through these principles in detail below.

 

In this article I’m discussing how you can use Life Design Principles to:

  1. Build your dream business, or;
  2. Find your dream job.

 

If you’re clear on the dream job you want and you sit around browsing job seeking websites, waiting for the perfect position to show up, you’ll be waiting a long time. That’s because of this interesting fact:

 

Only one in five jobs are advertised.
Four out of five jobs opportunities are not made available to the public.

 

If only twenty percent of jobs are advertised, where are the other eighty percent?

Evans & Burnett call it the Hidden Job Market, which they describe as “the job market that’s only open to people who are already connected into the web of professional relationships in which that job resides. This is an insider’s game, and it’s almost impossible to get inside that web as a job seeker.”

So how do you become one of the ‘insiders’ when you’re on the outside?

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Accessing the hidden job market all comes down to one thing – networking.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

In a recent LinkedIn study, it was shown that 85% of all jobs are filled via networking. 

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Did you know that eighty percent of all job openings and business opportunities are filled through networks and relationships? Your ability to create the business or career you want is directly related to the strength of your network and professional relationships.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

When you apply Life Design Interviews to networking, it becomes easy, authentic, and fun to build your network.

 

Life Design Interviews

Life Design Interviews are structured discussions with professionals who are already doing the thing you want to do (or close to it). You invite them to a no-strings-attached, half-hour coffee interview with you (you buy the coffee of course!). These discussions are an opportunity to learn more about the industry/business you want to create and what it takes to get there.

The great thing about these interviews is that most people are more than happy to have a free coffee for half an hour and an opportunity to talk about themselves and their work, especially when they know that the intention is to seek information, not to request or apply for a job or business opportunity.

In the interviews you’re seeking to understand more about what it’s actually like to do that kind of work you desire, and the different pathways to get there.

Life Design Interviews are a fantastic way to do two things:

  1. Fact-find and learn about the business or profession you want to create for yourself.
    By speaking to people who are already doing the work (or similar) to what you desire, you get to know what it’s actually like and how to make it happen.
  2. Build professional relationships and a strategic network.
    You establish a connection with an insider in that field. You’re networking in a completely organic and non-forced manner, bringing you closer to accessing the hidden job market or strategic business relationships.

 

Evans & Burnett state that you must approach the conversation “as a sincerely interested inquirer – someone looking just for the story (not looking for the job). That’s how this works.”

 

There’s something magical that happens when you move from a place of desperation and neediness into a place of open-minded curiosity and non-attachment.

 

You can build your way into the perfect career or business with strategic networking. Discover how to make networking fun, authentic and powerful with Life Design Interviews. #fempire #fempirecoach #careeradvice #lifedesign #findyourpurpose #purpose #womeninbusinessWhen you’re presenting at an interview as an interested inquirer, there’s a shift in your energy and you open up the conversation to an authentic connection and conversation, as opposed to an attempt to coerce the other person into giving you something you need. People are very good at picking up on ‘needy’ energy and it’s repelling.

Curiosity, on the other hand, is inviting and appealing.

The more people you interview, the more information and insight you learn and the more connections and relationships you make.

Evans & Burnett describe how one of their clients, Kurt, started off as a job-seeker. He submitted thirty-eight job applications, along with his impressive resume and thirty-eight individual crafted cover letters. Out of all his applications, he received terse rejection emails from eight companies and never heard back from the other thirty. “No interviews, no offers, no follow-up calls.” Needless to say, he became disheartened and dejected.

After learning of the Life Design Interview process, Kurt then identified people he could talk to and went out and conducted 56 life design interviews in different companies and organisations related to his dream field. During that process, he established a wide web of authentic connections and in the end, was offered seven wonderful job offers and had to spend significant time considering which one was the best fit for him. He turned his situation of desperation into one of being connected and in-demand. This is how the Life Design Process works.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”To find your dream job or to build a business you love, it’s crucial that you shift yourself out of a powerless, dependent-on-others mindset into an empowered, proactive and non-attached mindset.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

This shift in itself will create several positive benefits you hadn’t anticipated.

 

Take back your power and rather than wait for the next best thing to come along, get busy deciding what you want and figuring out how to create it!

 

To proactively build your way into your dream business or career, here are Life Design Principles that will help you.

 

The Life Design Principles

1. Be curious – adapt a curious mindset.

Endless curiosity is key to a well-designed life. There’s something interesting about everything and if you adapt a curious mindset, you’re going to learn so much that’s going to direct you towards what you want.

Here are some examples of questions to ask yourself to get curious:

Which kinds of people could you talk to to find out more information about your career or business?

What do experts in this field argue about and why?

What are the key issues people in this field deal with?

What are the problems/issues/challenges that keep these people up at night and are these issues you are passionate about too?

“Endless curiosity equals increasing knowledge, options and clarity about your life direction.”
– Evans & Burnett, Design Your Life

 

2. Try stuff – there’s no failure, only feedback.

When you shift into a mode of being bias-toward-action, you stop being stuck. There’s no more analysing, worrying, pondering, or solving your way through life.

 

[mashtweet tweet=”Evans & Burnett talk regularly about “building your way” into your dream job.” text=”” username=”katiedejong3rd”]

 

Keep figuring out the next action to take and do it.

Who can you talk to next?

What’s something you could do to find out more about a certain field?

What can you read or learn to find out more about a particular idea you have?

Are there any courses or self-study modules you could follow to learn more and up-skill yourself?

 

3. Re-frame problems

Re-framing is a change in perspective, viewing something from a different angle and changing the meaning around it. For example, a dysfunctional belief could be “I’m too old and it’s too late to find my dream job”. A re-frame would be “It’s never too late to design a life you love and I have the power to create anything I desire.”

Ask yourself “What perspective do I actually have in this situation?” and is there a way to change it for your own benefit and empowerment? We have the power to re-frame any situation and substitute a limiting belief with a resourceful one. 

You get to choose and design your own life!

 

4. Know That It’s a Process

Knowing that building your dream career or business is a process (and not a linear one!). Try not to get frustrated or lost and don’t ever give up. Keep going, trusting that eventually you will create the life you love.

 

5. Ask For Help

You’re not meant to walk this path alone. Your success depends on building networks of support and collaboration. Find yourself a mentor (or several) and join groups or networks of like-minded people with similar aspirations. 

So get yourself unstuck by brainstorming who you could conduct some Life Design Interviews with and get out there and start actively and intentionally building the career or business you desire. You are in charge of your life and your destiny and only you have the power to build the life you want.

Did you like this article? You might also like:

Pathfinding: How to Find the Work That’s Perfect for You
7 Powerful Strategies to Help You Get Through Those Days When You Just Want to Give Up on Your Dream
How to Find the Vocation You Love So You’ll Never Work Another Day
Why is it So Hard to Find a Career You Love? 5 Powerful Tips for Finding Your Inspired Professional Path
Are You Ready for the Emerging Purpose Economy?

Get your FREE copy of my E-Book PATHFINDING: HOW TO FIND YOUR INSPIRED PATH AND PURPOSE and learn all the tips and strategies you need to build a life you truly love.

In service to your success,

Katie De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach 
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com

The Art of Dreaming Big: How to Harness Your Imagination and The Law of Attraction to Create What You Want

The Art of Dreaming Big: How to Harness Your Imagination and The Law of Attraction to Create What You Want

Do you allow yourself to dream really big? Are you preventing yourself from experiencing greater levels of success and abundance? Read on to find out. #lawofattraction #dreambig #dreambelieveachieve #manifestation #motivation #inspiration #inspirationalquotes #motivationalquotes #busninesssuccess #entrepreneur #mindset #success #tips #steps #careerHave you experienced first-hand how the magic of the Law of Attraction can work in your business and life?

 

In 2015 I completed a great course for entrepreneurs and business owners called ‘Profit Quest’ by Jeanna Gabellini at Masterpeace Coaching. This was my first introduction into applying Law of Attraction principles into my business.

Her tagline that drew me into the course was:

“Double your profits, double your fun!”

When I first saw her promotions I thought “Wow, that’s a big call.” Can I really double my profits and double my fun in my small coaching business by the end of her course?

I enrolled in her course to find out and lo and behold – it appears her system really works.

 

It’s powerful and yet it’s so simple. And it’s based on the Law of Attraction.

 

Do you remember the big ‘hoo-ha’ surrounding the movie “The Secret” when it came out all those years ago? The movie was all about the Law of Attraction. I really liked the message in the movie, but at the time I thought it was also a bit simplistic and materialistic, telling people they could have whatever house or car they desire if they could just imagine having it.

But I’ve since realized that there’s much more to the Law of Attraction.

 

The Law of Attraction teaches you how to be a co-creator in your own life – to align yourself with a vision you love and then allow it to unfold.

 

The Law of Attraction is basically this: Like attracts like. So within, so without.

 

When you imagine having, being or doing something you care about deeply, something that feels joyful and exciting, you create an energetic ‘blueprint’ for what you desire. When you step back and surrender, and (importantly) believe that you can and will have the thing you desire, then quite miraculously, what you desire starts turning up in your life somehow. Not always straight away (although sometimes it does!); but the steps to reach it will start appearing. You’ll start getting intuitive insights into what you need to do. Suddenly you’ll meet the right person, or you’ll find the perfect resource to help you take the next steps.

The key is to let your imagination run wild and to feel into what you would really, really like to manifest in your life. And here is the catch – most of us are so trained into thinking a certain way; we have so many beliefs about what we think we can and can’t have. And when we focus on what we would really love to create in our life, we come up against all the internal, negative programming that tells us we can’t have that.

 

We’re not trained to dream big.

In fact, most of us have been taught to keep our dreams small.

 

One of the tasks we had to do early in the Profit Quest course was to define exactly how much money we would love to make by the end of the year, if everything in our business suddenly started aligning and flowing. This was quite difficult to do. At first my head took over and I wrote down a number that I thought I ould realistically achieve.

There's an art to dreaming big. From a young age you're taught to keep your dreams small and to not want too much. But the only obstacles to achieving what you 'truly' want are the ones in your mind! #lawofattraction #dreambig #dreambelieveachieve #manifestation #motivation #inspiration #inspirationalquotes #motivationalquotes #busninesssuccess #entrepreneur #success #mindset #tips #steps #career

That number, however, is not a number that got me excited or inspired. We were asked to write down the dollar amount that would make us feel super excited – not a number too far out of our league that it feels impossible and overwhelming (hence leading to disappointment and fear of failure), but a number that feels like a big stretch, but also feels energizing and exciting.

 

So I wrote down a number that felt super exciting.

At the time I wrote it down, I didn’t actually believe that I could make that much money, but I thought it would be cool if I did!

 

When you allow yourself to think big like that, all of a sudden things start showing up that align with that vision. Since adopting this technique, I’ve experienced major positive growth in my business, all because I’ve managed to make big shifts in my internal mindset around what is possible for me, my business and my clients.

Jeanna makes a digital and hard-copy journal available called Speed Dial the Universe, which has been an incredibly powerful tool for me. It’s a daily reminder to dream big and to set your internal compass towards allowing miracles to manifest in your life. I was skeptical at first, but my experience with it has shown that it really does work. The journal is a fun way to start your day because it focuses your mind, body, and soul on positive outcomes that you desire in your life.

 

Here’s How The Law of Attraction Works

Manifestation  =   Clear Desire  +  Surrender + Trust  +  Belief  +  Gratitude 

The Law of Attraction explained in simple terms #LOA #personal growth

 

First, you need to be able to dream big and set a big, clear intention about what you want to create.

 

 

In the law of attraction, you don't attract what you desire but rather what you're BEING. The cliche "You have to fake until you become it" holds absolutely true. Discover how to apply the LOA in your biz and life. #lawofattraction #dreambig #dreambelieveachieve #manifestation #motivation #inspiration #inspirationalquotes #motivationalquotes #business #entrepreneurmindset #success #mindset #tips #steps #career

This isn’t easy when we first start out. Our internal beliefs put all kinds of limits on what we think is possible. But you can strengthen this ‘muscle’ and over time, if you commit to doing this practice daily, you will find that you’re able to allow yourself to dream bigger and bigger. And when you start seeing the signs and small steps of what you desire appearing in your life, it’s so much fun!

The other important ingredient is surrender. You have to set your clear intention and then let go. This part can be really hard! We’re so used to controlling everything we want to create in our lives. However, without surrender, you can’t be in a receptive state and be open to receive the insight and wisdom that’s trying to be transmitted to you.

And finally, belief. This is very intertwined with surrender and can be difficult. With many things that I write down in my journal, at the start I’m not sure I actually believe I can have those things. But I’m willing to write them down. And with this simple act, it opens the floodgates for possibility, belief, and optimism to flow in. And this allows us to start behaving as if we already have the thing we desire. This in itself opens the doors to miracles.

 

So when you start acting as though you already are someone who has the things you desire, you become a ‘vibrational match’ to the things you want, and you start attracting those things into your life.

 

Discover how the Law of Attraction ACTUALLY works and start manifesting greater levels of joy and flow in your biz and life! #lawofattraction #dreambig #dreambelieveachieve #manifestation #motivation #inspiration #inspirationalquotes #motivationalquotes #business #entrepreneur #mindset #success #tips #steps #careerFeel like giving it a try? Start dreaming big, focus daily on the things that you would really love to create in your life and then sit back and enjoy the ride. And let me know if anything shifts for you. As always I would love to hear from you!

To read more about The Law of Attraction and how to apply it in your life, take a look at my two recent blog posts:

HOW TO CREATE MORE OF WHAT YOU WANT USING THE LAW OF ATTRACTION – PART 1

HOW TO CREATE MORE OF WHAT YOU WANT USING THE LAW OF ATTRACTION – PART 2

In service to helping you live your brightest life,

 
Kate De Jong, Ph.D
Fempire Coach for Thriving Female Entrepreneurs
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com
 
Forget IQ Tests. Here Are the Real Reasons Why People Succeed.

Forget IQ Tests. Here Are the Real Reasons Why People Succeed.

In this article we're busting the myth of IQ tests as a measure of intelligence, thanks to cutting edge research by Scott Barry Kaufman at Yale #IQ #intelligence #intelligencetests #intelligencequotient #successmindset #theperilofIQtests #IQtests #grit #perseverance #determination #attitudeiseverything #genius #zoneofgenius #strengths #strengthstests #strengthsfinderHave you ever felt constrained by a label? Or been unfairly compared to others? Or have you felt empowered by a label?

 

I felt compelled to write this article because I’ve seen both the positive and the destructive forces of labels playing out in the lives of many people close to me and I’ve felt them acutely myself.

Labels like ‘gifted’, or ‘not gifted’, or ‘talented’ or ‘not talented’ put us into artificial boxes that don’t actually exist (except in our minds) and they can limit — or over-inflate — the way we feel about ourselves.

Plus, they can become self-fulfilling prophecies in that what we believe about ourselves tends to become our reality. One of the biggest dream-killers is a lack of self-belief. And what better way to kill someone’s aspirations than to tell them they’re ‘not gifted’, or ‘not talented enough’.

 

Labels can hold us back. By comparing ourselves to others, we feel less-than.

 

And they don’t allow for the ever-changing nature of our authentic self to unfold and flourish. We’re not static, we’re constantly changing and learning. And measuring our ‘intelligence’ at a single point in time is unfair.

As a Career & Business Coach, one of the biggest hurdles I experience when coaching people to create the lives they so desperately want is their beliefs about themselves. I see them get all excited and lit up by an exciting vision of the future they’d love to create. And then I see the fear and inner gremlins creep in that tell them they’re not good enough, or ‘smart enough’ to make it happen.

 

You’re about to discover that IQ tests are not necessarily an indicator of your potential. Instead, there are four real elements that determine your level of success.

 

And you’ll find out how you can apply these four principles in your own life in order to thrive and unlock your full potential.

 

“In the 40-plus years that I have worked with children, I continue to be in awe of each young soul whom I am privileged to get to know. I have learned a great deal about each Self. I’ve experienced their emotions, anxieties, joys, passions, and ambitions, and I see that each Self is perfect in itself. It is only when we start comparing them to each other that we begin to see imperfection.”

— Annemarie Roeper, quoted in Ungifted, by Scott Barry Kaufman.

 

I’ve always had a bee in my bonnet about the concept of human intelligence and the idea that some people are inherently more ‘intelligent’ than others. I’ve simply always felt intuitively that it’s not accurate.

 

I believe we’re all equally intelligent, but in radically different ways. And it depends on our environment as to whether we get the opportunity to fully nurture and develop our unique form of intelligence.

 

When I was about nine years old I was made to sit a test called PEAC (Primary Extension and Challenge), based on IQ (‘Intelligence Quotient’) measurement. I was very surprised that I scored highly on that particular test, because I knew very well that I wasn’t any more or less intelligent than my classmates. I was under no illusion and I knew that my classmates were very good at some things that I wasn’t, and vice versa.

 

My classmates and I were all different and clever in our own, very different way.

 

My mind just seemed to work in a way that made me score high on this particular IQ test. As a result, I was labelled ‘gifted’ and channelled into after-school ‘extension’ classes. Suddenly my afternoons that were once filled with play time were spent sitting in a classroom learning about electronics, meteorology, ancient mythology and Italian. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I really didn’t enjoy those classes. It became a real source of anxiety for me to attend them. Plus, the label ‘gifted’ was very uncomfortable for me among my peers as well as at home among my siblings and created all kinds of unwanted tension. Comparison really is the beginning of all problems.

 

Then there is the story of Scott Barry Kaufman.

 

Scott is the author of the wonderful book Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined, who at a very young age was diagnosed as having a learning disability based on IQ tests. As a result, he was channelled into special classes for the learning disabled. Like me, he knew that he wasn’t any more or less intelligent than the others, but his particular kind of intelligence wasn’t fully quantifiable in an IQ test. He tried desperately to escape the label of ‘learning disabled’, which affected him in immeasurable ways (as you can imagine).

It wasn’t until one particular teacher in high school took a chance on him and allowed him to enter her ‘normal’ classroom. Scott went on to prove his school psychologist (and countless others) wrong by graduating from high school and he eventually completed a PhD in Cognitive Psychology at one of America’s most prestigious universities – Yale.

 

After being labeled ‘learning disabled’, he is now one of the most respected Psychologists in the field of human intelligence and is a wonderful example of how labels can be proven utterly wrong.

 

Latest research at Yale University confirms what I have always intuitively understood – IQ tests are not an accurate prediction of someone’s potential or level of success in life. Read on to discover the four true parameters that define how likely you are to succeed in building your dreams. #IQ #intelligence #intelligencetests #intelligencequotient #successmindset #theperilofIQtests #IQtests #grit #perseverance #determination #attitudeiseverything #genius #zoneofgenius #strengths #strengthstests #strengthsfinderKaufman’s book highlights the real limitations of IQ testing. He discusses how the first modern IQ test was developed in France by Alfred Binet in 1905, who was given the task of inventing a test that would distinguish ‘fast learners’ from ‘slow learners’ in a school environment. The IQ-test that Binet developed was quite effective at doing so, but Binet himself knew the limitations of the test.

After working with hundreds of children and their test results, Binet knew that the outcome of the test was not 100% reproducible and depended on a number of factors including the level of anxiety of the child at the time of the test, their current level of maturity, their environment, how motivated they were to do well in the test and the amount of stimulation they received until that point.

 

Binet knew that the IQ-test was not a direct sign of potential, which depends on a myriad of other factors.

 

Binet said himself: “With practice, training and above all, method, we manage to increase our attention, our memory, our judgement and literally to become more intelligent than we were before.”

And yet despite his public statements about the limitations of the test, the test was fervently adopted for measuring human intelligence worldwide. Lewis Terman, a professor of psychology at Stanford University in the USA was smitten with the Binet test and with some modifications developed the Stanford-Binet test in 1916, which went on to propel the IQ-test forward as the gold standard for human intelligence testing and remained America’s test of choice for half a century (Kaufman, 2013).

Terman and his team believed that intelligence is fixed, enduring and hereditary (which we now know is not the case). His labels influenced a whole new generation of IQ classification schemes. Interestingly, as Kaufman discusses in his book, Terman’s impact surprised even himself. As he noted about fifteen years after the first edition of his test was published “I knew that revision of Binet’s tests was superior to others then available, but I did not foresee the vogue it was to have an imagined that it would probably be displaced by something much better within a few years.”

 

The imperfect and flawed IQ-test was not superseded by something better within a few years as Terman predicted. It is still the basis behind most intelligence testing used worldwide today.

 

 

In his book Ungifted, Kaufman refers to research by Kevin McGrew which showed that IQ tests are “fallible predictors of academic achievement.” He explains how for any given IQ test score, half of the students will end up obtaining final achievement scores at or below their IQ score. Conversely, and frequently not recognized, is that for any given test score, half of the students will end up obtaining final achievement scores at or above their IQ score [2]. So as you can see, IQ tests are not a be-all-and-end-all summary of your potential. They simply “measure an important but limited slice of intellectual functioning in a very limited test environment”, as Kaufman says.

 

So what is intelligence then?

 

I’m a big fan of Nicholas Lore’s definition of intelligence in his book The Pathfinder: How to choose or change your career for a lifetime of satisfaction and success.

“Intelligence is a natural gift for doing anything well.”
– Nicholas Lore

 

We all have a natural gift for doing something well. And therefore, we are all intelligent.

 

Human intelligence is vast and varied. There are so many different forms of intelligence. Who decided that one particular form of intelligence is more valuable than the others? Why do we value certain types of intelligence over others? In this article, thanks to cutting edge research at Yale University, we bust the myth of IQ tests and outline what it really takes to succeed. #IQ #intelligence #intelligencetests #intelligencequotient #successmindset #theperilofIQtests #IQtests #grit #perseverance #determination #attitudeiseverything #genius #zoneofgenius #strengths #strengthstests #strengthsfinderEach of us is unique, with a very distinct and particular zone of what I call natural genius; a particular set of skills, gifts, and talents that are unique to us. And who are we to judge whether one set of skills and abilities makes us more intelligent than someone with a completely different set of talents and abilities?

I call the things you do naturally well your natural genius because I believe that the term genius shouldn’t be reserved only for those who become successful and wildly famous because of their specific gifts. It should be acknowledged that we all have a specific kind of genius, and the only things that separate you from a well-known ‘genius’ are these following things:

· The right conditions, environment, and support to nurture and develop your particular zone of genius;
· The belief that you have a very unique and particular zone of genius;
· An attitude of ‘grit’, a term gaining popularity to describe “A passion and perseverance for long-term goals” (defined by Angela Lee Duckworth);
· A passion and love for something that allows you to sustain and fuel an attitude of grit, which in turn allows you to develop and express your genius to its fullest extent.

 

In her famous book Wishcraft, Barbara Sher discusses how we’re each born with a ‘seed’ of genius that contains the maximum potential of our fully expressed life; a bit like the acorn contains the blueprint of the fully developed oak tree.

 

But that acorn will not become a fully developed oak tree unless it is nurtured in the right conditions with nutritious soil, water, sunshine and air. Your natural genius needs a special kind of nurturing too with regards to the environment you grow up in and live in. Sher explains that all accomplished ‘geniuses’ received the right conditions to nurture their particular genius, including support from their environment, encouragement, stimulation, and opportunity.

Kaufman (2013) says that a nurturing family environment is a necessity to help a child flourish, just as a fish needs water to swim and survive.

 

And one of the most important discoveries in recent years is that the environment you’re in triggers gene expression.

 

This means that some talents lie dormant in all of us, waiting for the perfect environmental conditions to trigger them. So a supportive and stimulating environment is critical to the development of your own unique intelligence.

To understand whether your own zone of natural genius was nurtured as you were growing up, try to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following questions [from Wishcraft].

 

Did you know that IQ tests are inherently flawed, and they’re not an accurate predictor of your potential or level of success? Read on to discover how the IQ myth has been busted, and learn the four true parameters that will determine your level of success (hint – they’re all within your reach!) #IQ #intelligence #intelligencetests #intelligencequotient #successmindset #theperilofIQtests #IQtests #grit #perseverance #determination #attitudeiseverything #genius #zoneofgenius #strengths #strengthstests #strengthsfinderWas your natural genius carefully nurtured while growing up?

 

1. When you were a child, were you treated as though you have a unique kind of genius that was loved and respected?
2. Were you told that you can do or be anything you want, and that you would be loved and admired no matter what that was?
3. Were you given real encouragement in finding out what you wanted to do, and how to do it?
4. Were you encouraged to explore all your talents and interests even if they changed regularly?
5. Were you allowed to complain when the going got tough, and were you given sympathy?
6. Were you rescued when you got in over your head, without being punished or reprimanded?
7. Were you surrounded by happy, fulfilled people who were pleased when you succeeded?

If you answered ‘no’ to four or more of these questions, then it’s likely your natural genius wasn’t provided with the optimal conditions to fully unfold and develop. It’s possible that you don’t know what your natural genius is and perhaps you feel skeptical about even having one.

On the other hand, if you answered ‘yes’ to four or more of these questions, it’s likely that your natural genius ‘seed’ was nurtured very well and allowed to germinate, perhaps grow into a seedling, or perhaps even into a fully developed tree. It’s likely that you have a clear and healthy sense of your own abilities and your unique gifts and talents.

 

That’s a wonderful thing. You’re very lucky!

 

 

In this article we discuss the true nature of 'intelligence', and how to discover what your zone of genius is so that you can consciously live and work in your zone of genius and thrive. #IQ #intelligence #intelligencetests #intelligencequotient #successmindset #theperilofIQtests #IQtests #grit #perseverance #determination #attitudeiseverything #genius #zoneofgenius #strengths #strengthstests #strengthsfinderOne of the best places to start looking to uncover your natural genius is in your childhood. What are the things you loved doing as a child, what did you naturally gravitate towards and what would others say you were naturally good at? And what do you love doing? The seeds of your natural genius will be hidden in there.

 

There are many different kinds of intelligence and an infinite number of ways in which these types of intelligence can interact and complement each other within each of us.

 

Commonly referred to as ‘talent stacks’, different combinations of talents can result in very different and powerful abilities. Thankfully today there are numerous approaches, systems, and tests for discovering your own particular innate strengths, which can help you understand the best professions and environments that suit and nurture your particular genius.

I’ve highlighted just some of the many different ways the innate abilities can be classified in Table 1 at the end of this article. What’s important is that you recognize that you have a zone of natural genius. In her book Coach Yourself To A New Career, Talane Miedaner says:

 

“Our inherent abilities are so much a part of our makeup that they can be like breathing; we may take them completely for granted and not even recognize them as special talents and abilities”.

– Talane Miedaner

 

You’ll know you’re operating in your zone of natural genius if:

· It feels fun and easy;
· You can do it for hours and you are more energized afterward, not less;
· Time collapses around you. You lose track of the hours when you’re engaged in your natural talent;
· You create superior results with less effort;
· You add value effortlessly to those around you;
· It is easy to be successful;
· You are happy and fulfilled;
· You feel fully alive and self-expressed (Miedaner, 2010).

 

So how do you realise your maximum potential and succeed?

 

Potential, Kaufman says in Ungifted, is a constantly moving target. The more we engage in something, the more we develop our brain capacity in that area and the more our potential grows.

In his book Brain Rules, John Medina describes how what you do and learn in life physically changes what your brain looks like — it literally rewires it. So you can absolutely develop intelligence in an area, depending on how much time you dedicate to something.

There are four essential ingredients for success:

1. Grit.

2. Perseverance.

3. Belief.

4. Passion.

 

IQ is over-rated. Discover the four true parameters that will determine your level of success and how to apply them in your life. #IQ #intelligence #intelligencetests #intelligencequotient #successmindset #theperilofIQtests #IQtests #grit #perseverance #determination #attitudeiseverything #genius #zoneofgenius #strengths #strengthstests #strengthsfinderIn her compelling TED talk, Angela Lee Duckworth describes how in study after study, she found that the most telling factor for success was grit (passion and perseverance for long-term goals). Talent and success are usually unrelated or even inversely related.

 

She argues that it’s all about perseverance and follow-through.

 

This brings me to the other essential ingredient for developing your potential — passion. Passion is what fuels and sustains grit and follow-through. When you’re passionate about something, it means you care very deeply about it. But being passionate about something doesn’t guarantee that you’ll always feel upbeat and joyful. In fact, in Joseph Campbell’s famous book The Power of Myth he explains that the Greek root of the word passion translates to suffering.

In her article on the topic, Annabelle Parr describes beautifully:

 

“Following your passion means choosing a vocation that is so important to you, so vital to your being that you’re willing to suffer for it.”

– Annabelle Par

 

Annabelle Par goes on to define passion as being “where fulfillment, growth, joy, and change exist”. Your passion will push you to your growth edge and force you to fully develop and express your gifts which can feel scary, challenging and very difficult at times. But through this unfolding of your full potential, while being in service to something you care about, you’ll naturally feel deeply fulfilled and satisfied throughout this process of growth and change. Many studies have shown that people who feel most fulfilled are those who are giving their gifts in service to something larger than themselves.

 

Find your passion and you will discover your capacity for grit, which will allow you to develop your intelligence and proficiency to follow your dream.

 

So please, if you ever feel those inner gremlins creeping in that tell you haven’t got what it takes to fulfill your dreams, I am here to remind you of this:

· You are a genius in your very individual, unique way. Don’t let an IQ test result, or anything else for that matter, stand in the way between you and your dream;
· The world needs your specific gifts.
· The way to develop and express your full potential is to forge ahead with grit, perseverance and belief in yourself.
· Find your PASSION and let it fuel and sustain your grit and perseverance, and take you to the most fully-expressed, happy and fulfilled version of yourself you came here to be.

 

“Greatness is not born, but takes time to develop, and there are many paths to greatness.”
— Scott Barry Kaufman

Do you need help uncovering your very unique Zone of Genius and learning how to full nurture it? Get your FREE copy of my E-Book UNCOVER YOUR NATURAL GENIUS: Complete Strengths Analysis for a Lifetime of Success, Fulfilment, and Happiness.
In service to helping you live your brightest life,
Katie De Jong, Ph.D
Global Career Coach for Thriving Professionals
Inspired Careers International
[email protected]
www.katedejong.com
QUEST 2017: A Profound Approach to Plan an Impactful Year Ahead

QUEST 2017: A Profound Approach to Plan an Impactful Year Ahead

For the first time ever, this year I joined an inspiring group of wide-minded, visionary entrepreneurs in Jeffrey Davis’ Quest 2017: 12 Principles to do Business as Unusual – a powerful approach to planning the year ahead that involves weekly writing prompts to invoke “a possibility mindset, provocative points of view, deep reflection and a healthy dose of wonder”.

The group shares their thoughts and ideas in a Facebook forum that provides the container for everyone to share what kind of possibility 2017 could hold for each of us. As Jeffrey says “Together, we’ll seek meaning, integrity and impact in life and career while remembering that Do It Together (DIT) beats Do It Yourself (DIY)”. This is an open, free forum that you can join too if you’re looking for a thought-provoking and creative way to plan your year. The QUEST2017 group process is finished for now, but you can still use the writing prompts in this blog to reflect on your own journey. I decided to share the process with you here for two reasons: 1) To share my reflections, hopes and aspirations with you for the year ahead, and 2) To help you reflect and ponder your own plans and ideas, in the hope that it helps you align your own heart, body, mind and soul. This is a long blog post with 12 short essays so I don’t expect you’ll have the time to read through all of it! But please feel free to scroll through and jump to the sub-headings that feel relevant for you. Below are the 12 different writing prompts from 12 different visionaries, plus my responses.

 

THEME 1 – INNER YOU

 

Writing prompt #1: Your True Calling

The first writing prompt has been contributed by Krista Tippett (@kristatippett). Krista is an American journalist, author, and entrepreneur. She created and hosts the public radio program and podcast On Being. In 2014, Tippett was awarded the National Humanities Medal by U.S. President Barack Obama. Krista asks:

What is your vocation, your sense of calling as a human being at this point in your life, both in and beyond job and title?” #YourTrueCalling

  This happens to be an easy one for me to answer right now because the question has been a central theme in my life for as long as I can remember. They say that what we’ve struggled with most in life is often the very thing that we’re called to do as our vocation. And interestingly enough, the one thing I’ve struggled with most in my life is having a clear sense of what my true calling is. And I’m quite clear in my heart now that helping others find their true calling is my true calling. To me, your true calling is something that makes you feel completely aligned in body, mind and spirit. It allows you to unleash and fully develop your very specific and unique gifts in a way that feels joyful, uplifting and energising and allows you to contribute your gifts in service to something larger than yourself. I believe we each have unique and valuable gifts that the world needs and that we each have a specific calling that we’re uniquely designed for. I’ve come to believe that your true calling is the alchemic ‘sweet spot’ where your true nature (your authentic self), your natural genius (your natural strengths and talents) and your passion (what you care about deeply) intersect. Walking the path of your true calling allows you to become more and more of who you are (a process of unfolding), while giving your gifts in service to something that the world needs.

“Our purpose in life is to become the fullest expression of ourselves” – Kate Northrup

We start walking our true path when we commit to following what feels light and easy and joyful (I agree completely with fellow Quester Paula Trucks-Pape on this concept). And as another one of our fellow Questers Ginny Lee Taylor quoted, your true calling is:

“… Where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.” – Frederick Buechner

  I now dedicate my business to helping people uncover their true calling through a process that’s designed to find their own sweet spot where natural ability meets passion and joy. If we’re doing something for the money or success or image, it isn’t our true calling. If we’re doing something for the job security and to play it safe, it isn’t our true calling. Sure, we may have to do these things as intermediate steps on the way to our true calling, but I believe it is our intention that defines whether it’s our true calling or not. If our intention is to serve the world somehow through our unique abilities, then we’re living our true calling. The calling itself may take on various forms and outwardly appearances along the way, but if we stay committed to developing and expressing our natural genius in service to something we care about, we’re on the path of our true calling. I know firsthand how soul-destroying it can be to feel completely out of alignment with our true calling and to ignore what wants to be expressed through us. I’ve felt a deep call to do something meaningful with my life for as long as I can remember. There was a distinct moment when I was seventeen years old as an exchange student in rural Paraguay, South America, standing on the banks of a local river looking out at people bathing in the polluted water that was just downstream from a major cement factory. I felt called to do something about situations like this where people and nature suffer from the effects of heavy industry. And that’s what I ended up doing for almost fifteen years, working as a process engineer designing wastewater treatment plants that clean up polluted water before it’s discharged back into the environment. It felt good to be doing something to keep our environment and waterways clean. For years I was a strong advocate of sustainable planning and strategy. But even though it felt good to be doing something positive and to work on interesting, challenging and rewarding projects, internally I felt empty and frustrated and a continuous, nagging feeling that there was something else I was ‘meant’ to be doing. If I’m completely honest, I pursued science and engineering to please my parents who thought that engineering would give me lifelong job security and opportunities (which is true). But I most definitely wasn’t operating in my zone of natural genius, or in my zone of joy or true passion. I knew I had gifts to give that were completely untapped. My gifts are in languages, writing, teaching and connecting with people. For years I struggled on in different roles as an engineer, always hoping that the next role would give me the fulfillment and satisfaction I was seeking. But it never did. Eventually, this stifling of my natural talents and heart’s desires turned into very real physical effects. I developed what the medical world could only describe as ‘chronic fatigue’. I battled constantly with lingering illnesses and viruses, combined with continuous, overwhelming fatigue. I kept going to work during this period, but every day felt like a living hell. I can now see clearly that the illness was a ‘soul crisis’ and my body’s way of telling me that I was completely out of alignment. But it took me almost ten years to finally accept that I had to stop living my life to please others and to finally find out what it means to please myself. I had to go through a process of shedding everything that I’m not, and to instead embrace everything that I am, in order to ‘find’ my true calling. Interestingly enough, after years and years of seeing different therapists, medical professionals and natural healers (with little to no effect), my health made a sudden turnaround on the day I decided to quit my corporate engineering job of almost fifteen years to focus on things closer to my heart. I gave myself permission to give up the struggle and striving and committed to doing only what feels joyful and uplifting. And every day after that my health and energy improved. Today I feel so blessed to experience ongoing health and vitality. And I’m convinced that it’s because I chose to finally listen to my heart and give myself permission to be me. If it feels at all relevant for you, feel free to get a copy of my free E-Book Pathfinding: How to find and start living that special calling that you are uniquely designed for, where I discuss this topic of finding your true calling in depth. Helping you find your true calling really is my true passion!

Writing prompt #2: Do I love myself enough to stop working on myself?

  The second writing prompt comes from Susan Piver (@spiver), a New York Times bestselling author, a meditation teacher and renowned speaker. She is the author of eight books, including How Not Be Afraid of Your Own Life. Susan’s mission is to teach everyone to slow down, soften our hearts, sharpen our minds and create a life of fearlessness and authenticity. Susan asks:

“Do you love yourself enough to stop working on yourself yet? Who would you be in that case?” #LoveYourself

My immediate response to the question “Do you love yourself enough to stop working on yourself yet?” was – No. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to answer that question in the affirmative, although after reflecting on this question these past few days I’ll definitely strive to. Here’s a picture of my bedside table today.   It pretty much always looks like this, the titles of the books just shift and change over time. But they’re almost always on topics of personal and spiritual growth, psychology or social entrepreneurship. I’m a life coach by profession, so it’s hard to know how much of my reading is to stay informed and abreast of the latest developments in my field and how much is my desire to improve and ‘fix’ myself (because I don’t love myself enough to stop working on myself yet?). But I find this question intriguing and through-provoking and I’m grateful to Susan Piver for asking it. I feel such an ongoing hunger for knowledge in the area of personal growth, and despite how many times I’ve told myself to take a break and read something different for a change, I always end up getting bored and reverting back to whichever self-improvement book I was reading. So am I constantly reading because I don’t love myself enough to stop working on myself yet? Or am I doing it to better serve my clients? I think both. And because it feels like my calling. In my response to the first Quest 2017 prompt #YourTrueCalling I explained how my true calling happens to be helping others find their true calling. And funnily enough, the one big issue that gets in the way of people having the courage to follow their true calling is SELF-LOVE. We all know the inner critic dialogue that says “I can’t do that, I’m not smart enough” or “I couldn’t run my own business, I’m not savvy enough” or whatever line it is that comes up when you try to justify to yourself why you can’t make the transition to making your JOY your full-time job. “I can’t/couldn’t …. [insert what your heart really wants to do] because I’m not … [insert limiting beliefs and negative judgments about yourself]”. A big part of my work is helping my clients work through their own inner barriers to authentic self-confidence and self-worth (= self-love), just as I struggle continuously with this myself (we’re all human after all). We’ve all built up so many excuses and reasons for why we can’t and won’t commit to pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone and into the zone of uncertainty and fear – where the magic happens! – to follow our true calling. And why? Because we think we’re not good enough and can’t make it happen. Because we don’t believe in ourselves enough. And perhaps because we don’t love ourselves enough to do whatever it takes to make ourselves blissfully happy…? Don’t we think we deserve this and nothing less? We were all born as pure, unconditional love, before we started getting bombarded with negative judgments and criticism from our environment. Panache Desai calls our original pure love essence the ‘liquid gold’ that’s inside each and every one of us. And he refers to it as gold because it can take time to excavate and dig through the layers of emotional scarring that we’ve built up around it to protect ourselves from the pain in the world. If we want to fully love ourselves, the opinion in the psychology/healing world has been that we need to peel back the layers of the emotional onion, layer by layer, with the help of a therapist, counsellor or healer, to heal them and to rediscover our original, undamaged inner child who knew only love. Or do we? Could we just make a conscious decision right now to love ourselves anyway, emotional scarring, warts, imperfections, flaws and all? I guess that’s the whole purpose of Susan Piver’s question “Who would you be if you loved yourself enough to stop working on yourself?”. Perhaps we’re fine and worthy of 100% self-love right now, as imperfect as we are. What if there’s nothing to learn, do, or fix or improve? Who would I be then? Hmmm. Good question. Could I stop working on myself and love myself anyway? Could I stop bombarding my clients with techniques and tools for removing emotional barriers and instead just mirror back to them the unconditional, pure love that is within them already? Is it my true calling to reflect back to others the liquid gold that is already theirs? Interestingly enough, I had similar thoughts recently when I realized that everything boils down to being able to love ourselves in the midst of all our imperfections. I wrote about this recently in my article Radical Self-Love & Acceptance: Could this be our one true purpose in life? But back to Susan’s question. Who would I be if I loved myself enough to stop working on myself? I would be free. I would be relieved. I would be relaxed. I would be at peace. I would love and be loved, fully, unconditionally. I would be secure in the knowledge that I have arrived, and there’s nowhere to go. I would be someone who feels so at peace in my own skin and in my own heart that I naturally exude peace and love to all those I come into contact with. A kind of Dalai Lama. Is that possible? I don’t know. But I’m sure as hell willing to give it a try. Thank you Susan for your beautiful question. I can see now. This is it. This is what we’re all being called to do. To love ourselves unconditionally just as we are, right now, right where we are. In our all imperfection and total perfection.

 

Writing prompt #3: Where will I be brave enough to bring forth even more of myself this year?

The third writing prompt comes from Kristen Noel at Best Self Media (@BestSelf_Media). Kristen is a writer, speaker, motivator and Editor-In-Chief of Best Self Magazine, the leading voice for holistic health and authentic living. Kristen asks:

Where are you going to go deeper this year, where can you be brave enough to bring forth even more of yourself — to infuse your work, creativity and business with that which is uniquely YOU, thus inspiring others to do more of the same? What could that look like in 2017 for you? #BringYouForward

Hmm. Another good question, thank you Kristen. I guess this brings me to the first question – who am I if I’m being uniquely ME? I believe the keys to our uniqueness lie in who we were as a child, before we became conditioned by our environment. So I started looking there. My uniqueness #1 – An ability to embrace the paradox of life The first thing that comes to mind is that I’m quite a person of paradox. My brother Cam who’s 14 years younger than me always saw this quite clearly. He used to call me a ‘square on the edge’, which I thought was hilarious (once I could get past the square part). When he was young he observed me as a teen and young adult and he saw someone who worked hard, studied hard and got good grades, but who also loved to party hard, rebel and push the boundaries. My mother used to say that I didn’t just burn the candle at both ends, but that I “snapped the candle in two and burnt all four ends”. When people asked me how I did it all I would reply, “I don’t sleep much, I’ll sleep when I’m dead” (thanks Bon Jovi). As I’ve grown older I’ve been forced to find a more appropriate middle road, because living that way is not sustainable (obviously). But I still walk the tightrope between the polarities of my character. I love yoga and meditation and reading books on Buddhism and spirituality, but I also love to drink gin and rock out to Led Zeppelin or AC/DC. I love going for slow, peaceful hikes in nature but I also love to compete in high-energy triathlons. I love drinking my hot lemon juice and green smoothie every morning, but I also love to eat hot chips and drink beer on occasion. I’m a responsible Mum to two young boys and a focused and disciplined small business owner, but I also love to goof around, be silly and dance to Hi-5 with my boys.

“We cannot run from paradoxes; we can only embrace them and become one with them. For, in reality, the apparent opposites are two sides of the same coin that are meant to reside in harmony” –Patricia Spadaro

How will I use this quality to infuse my work, creativity and business this year to inspire others? In reflecting on this question, it strikes me that the ability to embrace seemingly contradictory behaviours can actually be beneficial for all of us. It’s about balancing out all the different aspects of ourselves. By giving ourselves permission to embrace all the crazy impulses we feel, we start expressing ourselves more fully and feel more alive as a result. This year I’m going to commit to embracing my paradox even more. And I’m going to encourage my clients to give themselves permission to feel all the unique impulses they have and to find ways to act on them. This seems to me a fun and enjoyable road to authentic and full self-expression. And since my calling is to help others express themselves fully through their work and life calling, this is probably an essential component that I hadn’t thought of until now! (thank you, Kristen) . My uniqueness #2 – A (latent) ability to speak my mind freely As a child I was always very forthright with my opinions. My mother tells me that she always knew exactly where she stood with me. But growing up, I was constantly told by my family that I would end up having no friends if I didn’t learn to keep my thoughts to myself and be ‘nice’. So I learned to temper my opinions and say only what I thought people wanted to hear. I learned the hard way that others don’t always value what you think and that true authenticity and honesty is an opinion that’s tempered with maturity and compassion for the other person’s perspective. Otherwise you’re just being obnoxious and small-minded. But over the years I’ve swung completely the opposite way and it’s now a major challenge for me to speak my mind freely and to put my opinions out there, for fear of upsetting someone. I’ve developed a hyper-alert sensitivity for knowing when I could upset someone and to keep my thoughts to myself. But given the challenges we’re facing as a global community right now, I don’t think we have the luxury anymore of beating around the bush. I need to develop the courage to voice my opinion and withstand the inevitable controversy and discomfort this brings, and hopefully inspire others to do the same in the process. I’m going to shift my focus from wondering how I might offend someone, to how I can say the right thing to inspire and motivate someone towards positive action, even if I risk receiving negative feedback. I have to assume that the number of people I will help will be greater than those I might offend. My uniqueness #3 – An ability to see and hear others It’s really important to me that the people I’m with feel heard and seen. If I’m in a group I want to make sure no one feels left out. I like to really seepeople and to appreciate the unique qualities, abilities and perspective they bring. I’ve been fortunate to live more than half of my adult life overseas in different countries on four different continents and this has given me a deep appreciation of different perspectives and the huge challenges that people face around the world. It’s helped me see that at the end of the day, no matter what our background, history or culture, we all want the same things – to feel secure, to belong, to feel valued, to be appreciated and to be happy. This is my true desire for everyone. Where will I be brave enough to bring forth more of this quality this year? I feel committed this year to take an even stronger stand to connect people with each other (to nurture a greater sense of belonging for people) and to really see and hear the people I connect with. I will make a commitment to ask and listen, rather than teach and talk. My pledge for 2017 This year I commit to bringing even more of myself forth into my work, creativity and business with that which is uniquely ME, by focusing on these key areas:

  1. Embrace and nurture the paradox in myself and others.
  2. Speak my mind more freely with the intention to inspire and motivate.
  3. Nurture connection and belonging. Ask and listen.

Thank you taking the time to read my thoughts. I’m so excited to dive into the next writing prompts to plan the year ahead with possibility and wonder!

 

THEME 2 – ENGAGE

Writing prompt #4: How will I use my power as a force for good in 2017?

Today’s writing prompt comes from the visionary psychologist Dacher Keltner at the Greater Good Science Centre (University of California, Berkeley). Dacher asks:

“In your work life, your personal life, and in your community, how will you use power as a force for good, and empower those around you in specific acts that make up your day?” #PowerforGood

At first glance I found this a difficult question to answer, given that I haven’t had a particularly broad sense of the word ‘power’ until I decided to download Dacher’s highly revered book The Power Paradox. I was immediately glad that I did. This is a man who speaks to my heart and who believes that each and every one of us has the potential to be a force for good in the communities and networks we move in. I love how he defines power: “Power is the medium through which we relate to one another. Power is about making a difference in the world by influencing others.” Keltner has a beautiful way of describing this concept further: “Power is not something limited to rare individuals in dramatic moments of their highly visible lives – to malevolent dictators, high-profile politicians, or the jet-setting rich and famous; nor does it exist solely in boardrooms, on battlefields, or on the U.S. Senate floor. Instead, power defines the waking life of every human being. It is found not only in extraordinary acts but also in quotidian acts, indeed in every interaction and every relationship, be it in attempt to get a two-year-old to eat green vegetables or to inspire a stubborn colleague to do her best work.” Given that I’m a mother to two young boys, much of my ‘power’ these days is indeed in getting children to eat green vegetables. I found Keltner’s description refreshing and uplifting, reminding me that power is indeed not limited to how we conduct ourselves in business, but how we operate as a person in every aspect in our lives. In his enlightening book, he defines four ‘social practices’ that constitute powerful, positively influential leadership: empathising, giving, expressing gratitude, and telling stories. He suggests that each of these practices “dignify and delight others… They constitute the basis of strong, mutually empowered ties. You can lean on them to enhance your power at any moment of the day by stirring others to effective action”. So, to answer this writing prompt, I decided to address how I’m going to implement these four practices in my work life, my personal life and my community. Empathising: Like many creatives, I have a natural ability to empathise and I’ve spent much of my adult life trying to figure out where the other person stops and where I begin, so that I can untangle myself from the emotional problems of others and give back what is not mine to carry. Learning to turn down the dial on my empathy register has been a challenge for me and to move from being a ‘fixer’ and ‘saver’ into someone who has healthy, strong boundaries, while still maintaining my ability to empathise. I spend a significant amount of each day empathising with my sons and my husband and the issues they’re dealing with, as well as with my coaching clients where I act as an empathetic sounding board for the challenges they’re working through. However, in terms of using empathy in service to ‘power’ more effectively, I could be more empathetic in my networks and social communities by asking more questions and listening to the answers, as opposed to focusing only on giving and teaching. People like to know they’re being seen and heard, and I can definitely pay more attention to seeing and hearing those in my social networks in 2017, and showing genuine empathy for the challenges they’re dealing with. Giving: Again, giving is a natural part of your profile as a mother and wife. It seems that most of our day is spent in giving our time, attention and focus to people other than ourselves. However, I can definitely focus on giving more to my clients this year in terms of excellent service, providing more free resources and helpful information to support them on their journey. The same goes for my social media networks. After reading Dacher Keltner’s book, I believe that a subtle shift in focus from ‘marketing’ with an agenda of giving to receive, to plain and simple ‘giving’ will help me grow my social outreach more organically, with more authentic and genuine impact. Expressing gratitude: While gratitude has been a focus of mine for a few years now, this is definitely something I can always do more of. I can extend heartfelt gratitude to those people already within my networks and in my community, because without them, I have no ability to have any ‘power’ or ability to influence others. I can express more gratitude to my family and friends because they are my support, my nourishment, my everything. And I can especially extend more gratitude to my clients, because without them, I have no ability to build my business, to develop my gifts, to live my true calling or to affect any kind of positive change. Telling stories: I love this one. I really believe that stories are how we connect to each other. It’s through sharing our stories that we connect authentically, share our humanity, our vulnerability and our strength. And most importantly, stories help us know that we’re not alone in our humanly struggles and triumphs. I’ve written about the Power of Story in a recent blog post. Until now I haven’t thought of telling stories as an effective ingredient of leadership, but I can see how it is. Leadership is all about creating connection and a sense of camaraderie around a common cause. I will strive this year to use story – both telling my own stories and encouraging others to share theirs – as a way to nurture a feeling of camaraderie, belonging and togetherness in my networks. As Jeffrey always says, Doing It Together (DIT) beats Doing It Yourself (DIY)! Thank you Dacher Keltner for helping me reflect on this topic and for your valuable, refreshing insight.

 

Writing prompt #5: What sacrifice am I willing to make in 2017 in service to the greater good?

  Today’s writing prompt #5 comes from Scott Barry Kaufman, Scientific Director at the Imagination Institute in the Positive Psychology Center (University of Pennsylvania). Scott asks:

“What is one major personal sacrifice you are willing to make this year in the service of the greater good?” #Sacrifice

This was a really hard question for me to answer. I’m coming out of a long phase of life that’s felt like one long, challenging road of self-sacrifice. I’m 41 years old and we’re very blessed to have two young boys aged five and two. It took us a long time to manifest these two little guys and it wasn’t easy. It was a journey filled with heartache, loss and pain, but we did it and we’re so grateful that we’re one of the fortunate couples who were able to make our baby dreams a reality. I’m acutely aware of how many couples struggle every day with the pain and devastation of unfulfilled baby dreams. The road to parenthood was filled with much sacrifice; sacrifice of the small pleasures in life while we tried to live, eat and be extremely healthy to give our bodies the best chance of conceiving. And then as every mother knows, the first few years of raising young children requires an enormous sacrifice on every front. We sacrifice our sleep, our bodies, our sport, our free time, our work, our social lives and more. I really like the quote that fellow Quester Alicia Anderson found on sacrifice:

“A sacrifice to be real must cost, must hurt, must empty ourselves.” – Mother Teresa

I’ve definitely done all of that and more 0ver the past six to eight years. Would I have it any other way? No, absolutely not. And yet I’m at the point in my life where I’m ready to reclaim my life, to start building my own identity again and to keep working on building my business and my dreams, which include the ability to inspire and empower others to live their best lives through my small coaching practice. The hardest part for me over the past six to eight years has been the need to put my work and my business on the back-burner to focus 100% on my family. This year I’m finally in a position where I can start to focus more on myself and my work and that feels good! So, what is one personal sacrifice I would be willing to make this year in service to the greater good? Hmm. My greatest challenge as a mother to young boys is time. What do I need to sacrifice in order to find more time – Sleep? Family time? Time with friends? Sport? Social outings? No, I’m no longer prepared to sacrifice those important things because they’re what make life so rich and rewarding and I believe we must enjoy the journey as much as – if not, more than – the destination.

“You should never sacrifice three things: Your family, your heart, your dignity” – Unknown

Rather than sacrificing life’s small pleasures for the sake of the greater good, I believe that my ability to make a positive impact will lie in becoming more focused in the time that I do have. I’m making a commitment to myself to spend more time planning and less time jumping in and engaging in random actions that aren’t aligned with a bigger vision. I’m making a great start by planning the year with Quest 2017 for the first time, and I start private business coaching next Monday to help me approach 2017 with laser focus. I’ve decided that my one big personal sacrifice this year will be along the lines of what many fellow Questers have already voiced – my addiction to playing safe and small. While I continue to play small and keep my (potentially) controversial thoughts to myself, I’m not serving anyone. The fear of speaking out and attracting negative feedback is irrational and no longer a reason to withhold the gifts I have to offer by speaking and writing freely. It’s only through truth, raw honesty and authenticity that we have the ability to provoke, invoke and inspire. It’s only by daring to put ourselves out there and be seen, that we reap the joy and satisfaction of being of true value and service. My pledge for 2017 This year I’m willing and prepared to sacrifice my addiction to playing small and safe. I will endure the (potential) discomfort of negative feedback when voicing my opinions freely and without inhibition. I commit to stepping up into greater visibility in the knowing that in doing so, I’m helping others do the same. Thank you Scott Barry Kaufman for helping me reflect on this topic and for your valuable, refreshing insight.

Writing prompt #6: How will I shift my focus from ‘keeping busy’ to ‘leaving a legacy’ in 2017?

Today’s writing prompt #6, the final prompt under the theme ‘ENGAGE’, comes from Jocelyn K. Glei (@jkglei), author of the book ‘Unsubscribe’. She describes herself as a writer who’s obsessed with how we find more creativity and meaning in our daily work. Jocelyn asks:

“How can you shift your focus from “keeping busy” to “leaving a legacy?” #Legacy

Hmm… another great question, thank you Jocelyn. I often help my coaching clients get a sense of the kind of legacy they want to leave, so they can build a life vision and goals around that. It’s a very useful and powerful technique for getting through to people’s desires and motivations in life. But it’s been a while since I’ve reflected on the question of legacy myself. So thank you Jocelyn for the prompt. What kind of legacy would I personally like to leave? When I think of legacy I often think about what my dearest ones would say about me at my funeral. I’d love to be remembered for my big heart, for my big dreams and my zest for life. I’d love people to say that I uplifted them, nourished them and made them feel good about themselves and their choices. I’d love people to remember me as someone who was fun to be around and who could make them smile and laugh. I would be touched if people felt that they could be themselves fully around me, knowing that my heart is warmed by people who have the courage and confidence to be themselves without inhibition, who don’t care what society expects or demands, but who choose to do what makes their heart feel good. But in reflecting on this, I have to remind myself that legacy is not what people will remember about you when you die … it’s about what you leave behind that will continue on without you when you’re no longer here.

“We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever, the goal is to create something that will” – Chuck Palahniuk

So what will be my legacy? Who am I to leave a legacy? Is it reserved only for the mighty and powerful who change the world in some significant way? Or is it possible that we all have the oportunity to leave a positive legacy, no matter how small we feel our contribution might be? If I’m to leave a legacy, what would I like to leave behind? I love to empower and inspire people to embrace everything about themselves and to find ways to express themselves authentically in life and through their work. My business mission is to help as many people as possible in this way: “I’m devoted to helping you connect to your heart and find your calling, to design a life that feels truly joyful and fulfilling.” I believe a life well lived is one where we give ourselves permission to own the desires and dreams we have and to make them a reality in whichever (small or large) way we can. I believe we’re all born with natural, innate gifts and talents – what I call your natural genius – and I’m on a mission to help as many people as possible to unleash their natural genius into the world in service to something larger than themselves. My business vision is all about helping people harness their natural gifts in service to the greater good. It states: “I hold a vision of a world in which each and every one of us is expressing and contributing our unique gifts in a way that feels deeply satisfying and rewarding, in service to something larger than ourselves. This focus on serving the greater good while bringing our full, authentic selves into our work creates a world in which everyone feels connected and valued and is expressing their full potential, while contributing to the flourishing of life.” If that could be my legacy, to know that I’ve contributed to this vision in some bold, impactful and courageous way – I would be one proud lady. If what I leave behind is a trail of people who have – because of me – had the courage to follow their hearts and to impact the world in some way through their gifts, then I would know I have left a positive legacy. And what is the part that will continue on without me? Perhaps it will be an organisation that I set up, dedicated to helping people get their gifts into the world. Hmm, I like that idea… So – how do I shift from simply keeping busy, to aligning my daily actions and choices directly with this greater vision for my life and my business? I believe the answer may lie in questions that I could ask myself each and every day before I jump into action:

  1. What’s one thing I can do today that will allow me to serve people more effectively?
  2. What can I do today to uplift or inspire someone to step up and find more courage and confidence?
  3. What can I do today to build on my legacy of helping people get their natural gifts into the world?

I’m excited about the New Year and the chance to see how these questions might act as a daily compass to keep me focused on the bigger vision and legacy for my life and my business.

THEME 3 – CHALLENGES

Writing prompt #7: Do you spend your time acting or reacting?

  This week’s writing prompt came from Jonathon Fields (@jonathonfields), a New York City dad, husband and lawyer turned award-winning author, media producer and entrepreneur. His most recent book, How to Live a Good Life: Soulful Stories, Surprising Science and Practical Wisdom, is a wake-up call and a path to possibility, complete with 30-days of inspiring, actionable explorations. Jonathan’s current focus, Good Life Project, is a global movement that inspires, educates, connects, and supports mission-driven individuals in the quest to live better, more engaged, connected, and aligned lives. Jonathon asks:

“When it comes to the way you live each day, do you spend more time acting or reacting? If the latter, what one commitment can you make to be more intentional in the year to come?” #ActingorReacting

  This will be a short response today. I’m very fortunate that I’m a Mumpreneur who gets to divvy up my time in the way I want, working from home while raising two young boys. They both go to wonderful schools and so I have time during the day to work on projects that I want, without the inevitable disruptions and distractions that come with working in an organisation or company. So, I spend my days every day acting very intentionally, rather than reacting to things around me. It’s a delightful way to live and I chose very intentionally to live and work this way so that I can focus my time and efforts on my life work and passions. One of my biggest frustrations in my old corporate career was the inability to focus and get things done, due to the constant need to react to the things happening around me. So it’s truly a blessing to be able to work the way I do now. My biggest distraction while working from home is my own procrastination and household chores than can always be done, rather than working! I find that having a very detailed plan of what I need to do each day helps me to focus and stay on track and inspired with the work I’m doing.

 

Writing prompt #8: Adapt from within or adapt from without. Are you ready?

  Today’s writing prompt #8 under the theme ‘Challenges’ comes from Linda Rottenberg (@lindarottenberg), author of the fantastic book ‘Crazy is a compliment: The power of zigging when everyone else zags’’. Linda is the CEO and Founder of Endeavour, the world’s leading organisation supporting high-impact entrepreneurs. Linda asks:

“Today we all have a choice: We can take risks and actions to ensure that we adapt with the constantly changing times or we can hope for the best and do nothing. Adapt from within or you may be forced to adapt from without. Are you ready?” #Adaptation

  I think this is a great question and so relevant for the times we’re living in. I’ve spent a lot of time in my life wondering how to best adapt to the times we live in. I studied Biotechnology at University, largely because of long discussions I had with my Dad when I was trying to figure out what to study. We both agreed that innovation and environmental protection were going to be big needs in the 21st century and Biotechnology was at the forefront there. My Honours research was on a topic called ‘Bioleaching’ – a mining process that harnesses bacteria to remove precious metals from minerals. It was a pretty novel process for the mining industry back in the late nineties. My first professional job was with BHP in Reno, Nevada (USA) in 1998 as a process engineer. It was exciting to be involved in cutting edge, innovative projects that promised to be more environmentally responsible. But then I experienced my first mining industry crash in 1999. Less than one year out of University and the entire mining industry ‘busted’ as metal prices came crashing down. The BHP headquarters in Reno was forced to close its doors and my colleagues and I were made redundant from one week to the next. A classic case of ‘adapt from without’. I vowed after that experience I would never work for such a volatile industry or allow my life to be so heavily dependent on market conditions. I decided to go back to University and study further in the field of environmental engineering. I was determined to do something positive for the environment and to immerse myself in a more stable and predictable industry. I had an interesting and challenging career in water management and I was fortunate to experience the good times in Australia from 2005 to 2011. Infrastructure projects were booming and the engineering consultancy I worked for had an over-supply of exciting, large and challenging water projects to work on. Engineers could name their price and pick and choose where they wanted to work. We received generous pay rises each year and bonuses were in abundance. They were definitely the glory days. And then in 2012 the bubble burst. On the back of yet another resources industry collapse, engineering consultancies across Australia were forced to let go of many of their staff and those left behind were forced to fight over the small project scraps being tendered out, as infrastructure expenditure halted across the country. We were fortunate enough to be in a position to move overseas with my husband’s work in 2011 for a 5-year long adventure in Paris, France followed by Geoje, South Korea, for his role on Shell’s first ever floating LNG facility. When we first arrived in Geoje in 2013 it was yet another ‘boom’; big companies from all over the world were working on large shipbuilding and oil & gas projects at the massive shipyards here in Korea and expats were flown in from all over the world with generous salary packages. And then the bubble burst again. For the past two years oil prices have come crashing down and again massive projects are being shelved and people are being laid off. In 2011 I’d had enough of the boom-bust cycle in engineering and I made the decision to branch out on my own and start my own coaching business while raising our young family. I’m so grateful I did. It hasn’t been easy and I’m learning the hard way that working for yourself is uncertain and challenging and it stretches you well beyond your comfort zone. But the rewards are deep job satisfaction, flexibility and an ability to do things on your own terms. You get to do what you want, when you want, and work on things you care about deeply. But most importantly, you develop a certain resilience and ability to generate income even when times are tough globally. If you offer something of real value where there is a deep and consistent need, then you’ll always find a way to serve people and build your business in the process. Adaptation has become my middle name since branching out on my own. I’ve been on a steep learning curve while adapting to the field of coaching and the online business world. I’ve had to learn how to set up and run my own website and blog, how to create and launch programs, how to market and sell my services, how to set up online systems to support and develop my business and how to move with the times in technology so that I can stay afloat and embrace the fast-pace changes in the online world rather than get left behind. It’s become plainly clear to me that we’re facing times of unprecedented change. It’s most definitely a time where we need to adapt from within or be forced to adapt from without, as Linda Rottenberg suggests. I’m so incredibly grateful that I happen to love change, variety and finding new and creative ways of doing things. So to answer Linda’s question – “Adapt from within, or adapt from without – are you ready?” – my answer is YES! Bring it on.

Writing prompt #9: How will you stop yourself from being held back this year?

  This writing prompt was contributed by Desiree Adaway of Adaway Group (@desireeadaway). Desiree is a writer, speaker and coach whose mission is to build resilient organisations. Desiree leads difficult conversations on race, class and gender. She asks:

“How have you allowed a system, institution, or tradition to hold you back? What will you do to make sure this does not happen in 2017?” #HeldBack

  I didn’t need much time to reflect on this one, and my answer will be short. I’m thankfully in a phase in my life where there is nothing holding me back except my own fears and inner gremlins. I’ve worked in many organisations and institutions during the course of my life where I’ve felt held back in some sort of fashion. My decision to branch out on my own in 2011 was a direct result of this frustrating feeling. Now that I’m working on my own terms, I’mrevelingg in the delicious feeling of freedom and free reign to work how and when I want, and to impact the world around me in the way I want. Nothing feels more delightful than that, and it’s my mission to help as many people feel the same way! Thank you Desiree for the prompt!

 

THEME 4 – LOOKING AHEAD

 

Writing prompt #10: What is your intuition telling you to do in 2017?

  Prompt #10 is from Jess Lively of The Lively Show, a podcast designed to uplift, inspire, and help you add a little extra intention to your everyday. Inc.com named it “the #1 podcast that all female entrepreneurs should listen to” and Levo League named it “one of the 10 best podcasts every woman should know.” Jess asks:

What is your intuition calling you towards next?” #FollowIntuition

Whew. It’s mid-January and my family and I have just returned from a few weeks away to my second home – Holland – where my husband comes from and where we lived for many years. Although our time away was filled to the brim with jetlag, visits and catch ups, I always find holidays a refreshing break from the routine of day-to-day living and they allow me to gain fresh insight, even if they are crazy busy. They also help me tap into my underlying intuition. There are a few things calling to me this year. Intuitive nudge #1 – Forgive more I’m a believer that things don’t tend to come into our awareness ‘by chance’. As I was reflecting on this question this morning, a tweet popped up on my phone screen by Emily Burgess that says “The only type of growth comes from forgiveness. Heal your heart. Forgive more.” I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I think my intuition is telling me loudly that in order to make sure this year is a good one, I need to forgive more. Forgive myself, firstly, for the things that I could have/should have done better in 2016, and give myself permission to be human and to make mistakes. What’s important is that we acknowledge our mistakes and try to make amends where we can. I need to find the grace within me to forgive those who I feel ‘wronged’ me in 2016 and refer to the quote by Lewis B. Smedes that says “To forgive is to set a prisoner free and to discover that the prisoner was you.” We all do the best we can under whatever circumstances we’re presented with, and sometimes our imperfect actions hurt someone else. We need to cut each other some slack and allow each other to make mistakes, and forgive quickly. So first port of call this year – more forgiveness. Intuitive nudge #2 – Step out of the shadows into full visibility Next, I’m feeling a very strong intuitive urge to step up and out of the shadows. I’ve been comfortably hiding in the shadows for the past few years while I’ve undergone several major life transformations; quitting my corporate career to re-educate myself and start my own business, becoming a mother to two young boys and living in several different countries as we follow my husband’s work. As we prepare to move back to Australia in the next six months, it’s time for me to have the courage to live my message out loud. I’m passionate about helping people find their true calling and to live the work that lights them up and energises them. The only way I can do this effectively is if I commit to stepping up and proactively getting myself in front of people, with the intention to serve them in the best way I can. Intuitive nudge #3 – Employ at least one virtual assistant to help develop my business The next message coming loud and clear from my intuition is that I must start to leverage my time more effectively and employ one or two people who can assist me with the things that I’m not good at – social media, website development, email newsletters, administration, book-keeping etc. This past year I’ve spent way too much time trying to figure these things out myself when I could have been spending that time coaching or putting my ideas together and developing services and products. I’ve been stuck in the chicken-and-egg thing; I want help getting my business off the ground properly and yet that requires a significant financial investment. So I continue to try to do everything myself, which means I don’t have time to move my business forward as effectively as I could. So it’s time to bite the bullet and employ people to do the things I’m not good at and frankly do not have the time for. It’s time! Intuitive nudge #4 – Develop and launch my coaching programs My next intuitive nudge for this year is to work hard at developing the content for two coaching programs I’m working on that provide people with the opportunity to do much of their deep self-reflection and introspection at home, privately, before they enter coaching sessions with me. This leverages my time much more effectively, and allows me to serve and reach more people. I just need to stop procrastinating and get the programs developed and out there! Intuitive nudge #5 – Continue to get private coaching myself At the end of 2016 I decided to invest in private coaching from Jennifer Smith at The Art of Better Blogging, and it was the best decision I’ve made. Thanks to Jenn’s help, I’ve been able to get crystal clear on exactly what I need to do to grow my business and get the exact, specific advice I need to hear in order to step up into full visibility and get my products and services out there. For too long I dabbled in online programs and courses without private coaching, thinking I could do it myself once I had the necessary information – wrong. I became stuck in an endless cycle of spinning wheels and was not going anywhere. Deciding to invest in private coaching was by far the best thing I did in 2016 and I now know it’s an absolute necessity going forward. Intuitive nudge #6 – MORE is not BETTER Something I discovered in a very tangible way last year was that doing more does not mean I accomplish more. What’s important is that I take the time to get quiet, to listen to my own intuitive guidance and to align my heart, mind, body and soul before proceeding in any particular direction. I’ve been a perpetual ‘doer’ my whole life, and it’s not only exhausting, but ineffective. In recent years I’ve experienced that when I take the time to slow down and align my actions very intentionally, magic happens. And this year I intend to infuse a whole lot more magic into my life! Wow. That’s a LOT to work on this year. I’d better stop writing and go and get started. Thank you Jess Lively for your wonderful prompt and for your super insightful podcast that I’ve recently started listening to. I highly recommend Jess’s podcast to anyone who wants support, encouragement or advice on how to live your best life. @JessLively.com

 

 

Writing prompt #11: How will you take stock of your habits and improve them in the coming year?

Writing prompt #11 comes from Charlie Gilkey (@charliegilkey), a self-described “Walking contradiction: author, consultant, social philosopher, and veteran. Co-creating a better tomorrow with others today.” He’s a champion of and catalyst for Creative Giants, talented Renaissance souls with a compassion-fueled bias towards action. Charlie asks:

“How are you going to take stock of your habits and improve them the coming year?” #KeepDropAdd

Charlie advises that in order to make way for new things in our limited time, we need to ‘drop’ some things. He asks us to reflect on which things in our lives should stay, which things should be dropped, and which things should we add? Thanks Charlie for this reflective prompt. It was necessary for me to think about these things with intention, even though my habit is to just keep ploughing ahead without thinking about these things. I think I can answer this one fairly quickly. Here’s what I’ll keep, drop and add this year. KEEP: My morning 20 minute yoga routine, quality family time on weekends. DROP: Unfocused time on social media, trying to do things myself that I’m not good and instead pay for help to do those things. Paying for help with the tasks required for running my business is the only way I’m going to break the unproductive cycle and win some extra time in my day. This will be a big goal for me this year. ADD: More self-care (a massage once a month, more yoga practice, more meditation), more telephone chats or catch-ups with friends, more date nights with my husband.

Writing prompt #12 – What does your ideal day look like?

  This prompt comes from visionary Jenny Blake (@jenny_blake), an author, international speaker, business strategist, career coach and yogi now living and working in New York. She’s the author of ‘Pivot’, a wonderful book I’ve just finished reading that outlines a four-stage process to mindfully navigate career paths. Jenny asks:

“Describe your ideal average day one year from now. Where are you? What routines help start the day? What projects are you thrilled to dive into? What kind of impact are you having on the world around you? Who are you with? How do you unwind at the end of the day? Don’t think too hard about the answers; go with your gut and fill-in whatever first comes to mind.” #IdealDay

This is a fantastic exercise that I get my coaching clients to do when I’m working with them. The only way we can begin to create the life we reallywant is to first imagine it. The hard part here is to let our mind think truly big, rather than confining ourselves to what we think is possible. It’s not easy to imagine our most ideal life, but opening up our imagination to what’s possible is the first and critical step to creating more magic in our lives. It was great for me to spend the time reflecting on this (I don’t tend to do it enough myself). Here’s how my ideal day would look: It’s December 2017 and it’s been a truly wonderful year. I wake up to the gentle noise of birds outside our window and as I lie in bed I give quiet gratitude for the day ahead and for all the blessings in my life. I wake up gently, put on my yoga clothes and head outside in the cool, fresh morning air with my yoga mat to do my fifteen minute yoga routine on the back lawn. The sun is just coming up over the horizon and the birds are chirping on this beautiful, warm summer morning. I feel my body ground down into the earth as I move through my yoga poses and then I sit quietly in ten minutes of meditation and reflection, imagining a perfect outcome to the day ahead. I head inside to make my morning lemon juice. My boys are now awake and we enjoy a cuddle, a chat and breakfast together. It’s my husband’s turn to get the kids organized and off to school this morning, so I take the time to relish a long shower and prepare myself for my exciting day ahead. Today I’ve been invited to speak on ABC Radio about my Joyful Career Academy that helps young adults through a process of self-reflection and self-discovery that identifies their unique strengths and soul gifts, to uncover the most ideal career path that allows them to bring their full self into the work place. Before the talk after lunch, I’m spending the morning with two of my favourite coaching clients who I’m guiding through a process of starting up their own business. We’ll be working through some of their biggest challenges and helping them break through their blocks to maor growth in their business. After the delightful coaching sessions I go out for lunch with a dear friend of mine and we discuss all things from family life and holiday plans to the things that light up us up and make us feel excited. We discuss music, fashion, sport, shopping, our latest projects and ideas. After a nurturing conversation, I head off to the ABC to get ready for my talk. It’s a wonderful afternoon connecting with like-minded people and reaching out to more people with my message. I feel uplifted and inspired by the impact I’m able to make in helping people unleash their natural genius and get their unique gifts into the world in a way that makes them feel deeply fulfilled, satisfied and valued. I head to school to pick up my beautiful boys and we head down to the beach for a play in the sand, a swim and an ice-cream. My husband meets us down at the beach for fish and chips. We all head into the water for one more swim and play before we head home. The kids go to bed easily after a bath and bedtime story, and my husband and I relax onto the couch to enjoy some quiet alone time with a good glass of red wine. It’s been a great day. It’s been a great year. I’ve developed a full and rich website of resources and guidance for people seeking a more fulfilling working life. I’ve earned my first wonderful annual income based on my high-end coaching packages and public speaking engagements. I’ve launched an online course to help fulfilling career seekers find and live their calling. I have a wonderful team of talented, highly competent people working for me and helping me serve and reach more people. We moved back to Australia and found the perfect family home, in a suburb we truly love. We’ve made new connections and rekindled old ones. We’re surround by caring friends and family. We really are truly blessed.

BONUS writing prompt #13: How will you manifest your understanding that we’re all connected?

Our final visionary for Quest 2017 is Rebecca Walker (@rebeccawalker). She may be best known for her role as the original leader and founder of Third Wave Feminism, the movement, and the co-founder of the Third Wave Foundation, a non-profit organization that works through grant-making, leadership development, and philanthropic advocacy to support young women ages 15 to 30 working towards gender, racial, economic, and social justice. She has authored many books, including her latest collection, Black Cool, which explores the singular aesthetic that has helped to shape the world. Time Magazine named Walker one of fifty most influential American leaders under forty because of her transformative views on race, gender, sexuality and power. Rebecca asks:

“This coming year you have the ability to share a bit of your privilege, energy, and love in a way perhaps you haven’t done before. In 2017, for what person or group will you support with your whole heart and clear voice to make their life easier and personal evolution more possible? How will you manifest your understanding that we are all connected?” #Connected

I truly do believe that we are all connected and that when we make the decision to show up powerfully and be the best version of ourselves, we have a positive and inspirational impact on those around us. We impact the world predominantly through our connections and relationships. And so this year I commit to connecting and reaching out more, to proactively building networks and communities with the intention to serve as many people as I can with my message. My message is an echo of Howard Thurman’s famous quote “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive”. There are so many people out there feeling less than excited about their work. So many people drag themselves into their office or workplace and feel frustrated, uninspired or at worst, depressed and loathing about the way they spend their days. Many people don’t know how to lift themselves out of the rut in which they’ve unknowingly landed and struggle with the nagging feeling that there must be a more enjoyable and fulfilling way to live life. Many people feel they have a ‘calling’, if only they could figure out what it is and know how to live it, and how to make enough money in the process to quit their day job. I will show up for those people this year. I’ve heard many stories lately from friends and acquaintances who struggle at a very deep level with overwhelm and fatigue in life. One of them said “I just have to rediscover my love for my work”. But perhaps the love for your work has changed or been lived to its completion and it’s time for something different. We need to let people know that it’s okay to crave change and something different. It’s a very normal and healthy reaction to life, if we could only embrace the positive side of wanting change. We shouldn’t see it as a failure or a shortcoming of our own in some way. It’s simply acknowledging that you’re ready for the next exciting phase of life. There are ways to change or shapeshift your career to find more pleasure and enjoyment in day to day living. It is possible – and necessary – to move in the direction of something that lights you and up and allows you to use your strengths and talents in a way that offers real value to others. It’s possible to love your life, and you should! Life is too short, it’s a tragedy if we spend our time feeling stuck and overwhelmed. So – my commitment this year is to show up for all of you who struggle with the issues I just described. I know how it feels. I’ve been there – for almost 15 years I was there, struggling with feelings of frustration and complete lack of inspiration. And now that I know the joy of finding my calling, I want more than anything for everyone to feel that kind of deep joy and satisfaction every day. So dear friends, this year I will be here for you, cheerleading you and motivating you to dig deep, to find your calling and most importantly find the courage to take the necessary steps to get out there and start living it. And since we’re all connected, I know that any small positive impact I can have on someone’s life, those changes will flow onto the people around them and the ripple effect takes action. All we need to do is step up and show up for the people we’re here to serve.

Pulling it all together – synthesising the QUEST

Wow. What a process! So much reflection and deep processing of my values, thoughts and ideals. I’ve emerged so much clearer and stronger in my convictions and plans for the year ahead. Thanks to Jeffrey Davis tools and resources, I’ve been able to process the different themes and visions to come up with a solid plan for 2017. I feel really thankful to have been able to participate in this process. A big shout out to anyone who wants to jump on board this process for next year, I highly recommend it. And I hope that by sharing this process with you, it’s helped you in some way on your journey.

 
In service to helping you live your fullest and brightest life,
Katie De Jong, Ph.D Life Coach & Career Strategist Whispering Heart Coaching [email protected]
 
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