Fun Business Fun Money Podcast

EPISODE 105 – The simple action transforming your business one day at a time

You’re probably doing a LOT of things for your business.

But if you’re not doing them CONSISTENTLY you’re likely losing money and wondering why you’re not seeing results.

In this coaching episode we take a look at 4 key areas of your business where the simple action of being consistent on a daily basis can make the biggest difference to your income and client results.

Plus I’ve got 4 tips to help you stay consistent no matter what.

TRANSCRIPT

Hey there, and welcome to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast! I’m your host, Deirdre Amies.

Right now as this episode goes live its Boxing Day 2023, the day after Christmas, December 26th.

I gave some serious thought to putting the podcast on hold for a couple of weeks because this is a great time of year to reduce workload, switch off and recharge. I mean, surely nobody will want to listen to podcasts between Christmas and New Year??

But I quickly threw that idea out the window for the very reason we’re talking about today, which is CONSISTENCY!

 

“Ugh, consistency is SO BORING!”

If you’ve just done a mental UGH or eye roll at the thought of consistency, you’re not alone! I know that feeling all too well because I’ve done it myself countless times!

Its like UGH, don’t tell me to keep doing this thing over and over and over, its boring, I’m bored, and I’m sure people are bored of hearing me say it.

Its easy to think you need to keep innovating and changing things, being more creative, constantly upping your game, right?

Wrong. Thats the fast track to burn out, and we don’t want THAT!

 

The simple action that matters the most

The thing is, when you’ve got the foundations for your business just right, your message is clear, your offers are well balanced and all the things are just right, its easy to take take consistent purposeful action towards your goals. All the other ideas floating around become fluffy and pointless. You don’t need them!

But if you DON’T have those things sorted? It can feel like wading through the Swamp of Eternal Stench, followed by pushing a boulder up Mt Everest. Ok maybe not THAT dramatic, but it takes a whole lot of push energy, which is exhausting!

What we’re talking about here of course is HABITS. Consistency = habits. Thats all it is.

You want to make the core functions in your business a consistent thing that you do over and over and over again. You’re forming a habit.

 

Fun, value and profit – one day at a time

Those core things should always tick the boxes of fun, value and profit. Is it fun to do? Does it add value for you and your clients? Does it make you money?

Daily habits are critical to success, as boring as they may seem. You’re not seeking perfection here, just consistency.

That happens one day at a time, one MOMENT at a time. Theres a ton of research into how long it takes to establish a habit, which, depending on the source or who you listen to, ranges anywhere from 21 to 66 days. But what really matters is doing something consistently, one day at a time.

 

Personal habits vs business habits

There are a ton of personal habits that you can work on that will help you in all areas of your life and have a flow on effect to your business.

I’m talking things like eating clean nutritious food instead of junk food. Cutting back or cutting out alcohol. Exercising every day. Getting plenty of sleep – all things that we know are good for us.

I can tell you I’m a cranky bee-otch if I don’t get enough sleep! And back when I was eating junk and drinking too much wine I certainly didn’t have enough consistent energy for my business as well as family and everything else I had going on!

Instead of thinking of it as ‘giving things up’ it became a whole lot easier when I shifted to focusing on consistent energy and feeling great. Thats a whole different vibe!

Seeing as we’re coming into 2024 I have magically come up with 4 areas of business that needs greater consistency, 4 business habits to focus on.

If you work on these areas you won’t even recognise yourself or your business in 6 months time, let alone a year. In a positive way of course!

 

HABIT 1- CONSISTENT AUDIENCE GROWTH

You don’t need a massive audience. You just need loyal people who keep coming back because they know, like and trust YOU. They like what you have to offer AND they want to buy from you.

Add new people to your list, to your friends list on Facebook, connections on LinkedIn, your followers on whatever platform you use.

Weed out people who really aren’t right for you, or if they’re clearly being a dick, a negative Nelly. Even if its someone you’ve considered a close friend in the past, if their values are no longer aligned with yours, you can gently enforce some boundaries there.

And then actively look for people that ARE your kind of people. You can do that using your content, which I’ll talk about in a second. But basically getting them to self identify and raise their hand to show “Hey I’m your person!”

 

HABIT 2 – KNOW YOUR NUMBERS

Yep, that awkward thing that makes the whole business thing an actual business – money.

If you’re not tracking your numbers in terms of how much each customer is worth to you on average, and therefore how many customers you need in order to hit your goals, you need to make this a priority habit.

It can feel weird and awkward to focus on the numbers, especially if you’re not used to it. But I promise you, if you consistently track your progress, on a DAILY BASIS, it loses that weirdness and becomes completely natural.

You’ll see where you’re leaving money on the table. You may see that if you increase your prices you’ll be able to serve your clients in a far more effective way. And also eliminate or reduce that burn out!

Working out that ratio is essential, its something I ignored for a long time in the early days, simply because nobody told me it was important, nobody taught me how or why. Consider yourself told – its important!

 

HABIT 3 – CONSISTENT CONTENT

Get in the habit of writing or creating content every day, every week. You can batch it, write a few posts, record a few videos, create your graphics. It doesn’t have to be hard, just commit to the habit of CREATING.

I’m sure some of you will have instantly thought “I’m not creative, I can’t write, I don’t like doing videos” or all manner of variations on it. That thinking doesn’t serve you. Its a mindset shift you need to make, and make it quickly. It may take you telling yourself OUT LOUD every day until you believe it “I AM CREATIVE!”

Content is by far one of the most critical elements of being an online entrepreneur – and you’ve got to have content that entertains, that informs, and that also converts to sales. It has to get people engaged with you in some way.

You don’t always have to create new stuff, as I’ve shared before I have a huge archive of content that I repurpose to different platforms, or tweak it slightly and repost it months or even years later because its still relevant. You can share your FB memories, go Live with a random thought you’ve just had, it doesn’t have to be complex.

I remember reading about Stephen King, the author, and his writing habit. He sits down at his desk every day by 8:30am, having completed his morning routine to start the day, and he writes. He’s trained his brain that thats what he does every day at that time. He may not always feel like it, but he does it.

I can promise you, this one habit alone will change your business for the better if you step up and start creating consistent content.

 

Be the Queen of Your Content

If you’re already creating it but you don’t know where to FIND the stuff you’ve created or have a clear system to MANAGE and ORGANISE your content, definitely check out my Queen of Content Master Index.

Its a simple content management system that I’ve personally used for a few years now. Its easy to implement and use, you’ll have it up and running in less than an hour. It’s really liberating knowing you can find your brilliant words with just a few clicks!

Its only $15 AUD, about $10 USD or £8 GBP right now in December 2023. Small investment for a massive impact.

You’ll find the link to learn more and purchase your template in the description and in the show notes.

 

HABIT 4 – CONSISTENT SALES

Are you making offers?

Do people know what you do, and how they can get it?

Are you having ANY conversations with people about your business?

Get used to having these conversations consistently, and they become natural, just like talking about money. If you need to write yourself a script to start with, do that.

Whatever it takes to get you comfortable with consistently talking about your offers and how you help people solve their problem. I love helping people feel normal about money conversations, there’s no awkward or weird vibes. That happens when you’re talking about it consistently.

 

ONE SIMPLE ACTION TO RULE THEM ALL…

Theres one consistent thing you can do that encompasses all 4 of these areas and has a flow on effect in your business – and thats consistently showing up online.

I remember doing a challenge in a membership I was in back in early 2019, it was called “One Thingy For Sixty”. Do one thing consistently for sixty days. That one thing was to post daily on social media, I chose Facebook. I had a loose plan for topics, we were given some suggestions, and I chose which one felt right on the day.

Which, side note, is how I do almost everything! I have themes and ideas to inspire me when nothing is coming through, and I go with whatever feels right and aligned in the moment. Thats the easiest way to create content or pretty much anything you want!

Go with the flow, yo!

After 60 days I was so in the groove I decided to aim for 100 consecutive days, then 200, and it kept on going. I did eventually stop the daily posting just shy of 2 years, 720 days. I needed the mental break from constantly creating new stuff.

But thats where repurposing your content comes in handy, to fill those gaps and to maintain consistency. Again, thats where the Queen of Content Master Index can help – it’s one location full of quick references to everything you’ve created So simple and easy!

 

What did showing up consistently for 720 days straight do for my business?

I was visible every day, people expected to see me in their newsfeed, it wasn’t a surprise at all. They knew WHAT to expect. Even now, a couple of years down the track, people know whatever I’m sharing is from a positive, optimistic perspective.

I can be a bit of a dork and poke fun at myself, along with insights about business, money, energy, mindset, productivity.

They know me as a cheerleader, and that there’s a high chance of seeing our huskies singing along with the crows in the trees or doing something funny because they’re complete goofballs! People know I love good quality coffee and crunchy peanut butter, comfy shoes and going to the beach.

It’s no wonder that one of the most common things I hear when I first get on a call with someone new is “I feel like I already know you!”

 

Whatever your overarching theme and personal brand is, show THAT to the world consistently.

When it comes time to make offers to work with you, people aren’t going to be surprised to see you! They’re used to seeing you. They know what you do because you’re already telling them on a consistent basis.

Can you see how THAT can only be a good thing?

While we’re on the subject of consistency, I’ve got 4 quick tips to help you build that new habit muscle and achieve something awesome in 2024.

 

TIP 1 – DECIDE

Decide that you’re going to show up consistently FOR and IN your business. No putting it aside for everything else, you don’t need to be responsible for everything, which I talked about in a previous episode 

I’m not just talking about social media and online activities, thats just the obvious example.

I’m talking about showing up consistently as the person you WANT to be, the successful awesome version of yourself, on a daily basis behind the scenes as well as in full view of the world. Be ‘all in’ on being the best version of yourself every day.

That doesn’t meant you won’t have up and down days! Nobody wants to live an endless cycle of sameness like Groundhog Day, and nobody wants to SEE that from others either. Everyone has an energy cycle influenced by a multitude of factors including hormones – hello peri-menopause! – sleep patterns, you’ve got young kids, its the full moon, EVERYTHING. Thats a whole other topic!

 

TIP 2 – REMINDERS ARE YOUR FRIEND

Set reminders in your diary, twice a day if you need to, so an alarm goes off and reminds you to do the thing. Pick a time when you’re most likely to do it, remembering that its flexible to work around life stuff, but its still non-negotiable. Then do it!

Don’t let yourself off the hook, you’ve already DECIDED to go all in, remember?!

 

TIP 3 – SET CLEAR GOALS

Set yourself a goal for this thing, whatever it is, and write it down! Get your numbers down on paper, and if you’re not sure what to do, ask for help.

You need to know WHY you want to make this a consistent thing, its not just a box you tick. Whats the desired outcome and impact it can have for you? Don’t be fluffy about it or it won’t stick.

 

TIP 4 – AVOID SAYING “TFTO (thank fuck thats over!)”

This is probably THE MOST IMPORTANT TIP TO REMEMBER.

If you get to the end of something and say ‘Thank fuck thats over”, you haven’t established consistency yet. As far as you’re concerned you’re done and dusted, it doesn’t need to be continued.

Consistency is about creating a lasting habit, doing something without needing an end date. It just becomes a thing you do on the regular.

 

But also…

Now a caveat on this is where it may be something completely wrong for you. You give it a go, but you recognise very quickly that its NOT for you.

Don’t waste time and energy slogging it out trying to finish 60, 90, 100 days of something, especially if its completely out of alignment for you.

An example of this is following a system for success created by someone else. It’s not always a magic pill, particularly if its completely out of alignment for you.

That person who created is probably a completely different personality, archetype, or human design to you. Whatever you’re doing, it has to be something that works for YOU or you just won’t stick with it.

 

Thats what I have for you today, I hope that helps spark some ideas about where you could have more consistency and the impact it can have on your life, your business AND your bank balance.

 

Want help?

If you’d like my help in being more consistent in your business, let’s talk! Send me a DM, I’m @funbusinessfunmoney all one word on Facebook and Instagram. Or connect with me on LinkedIn, I’m Deirdre Amies there.

Whether its a VIP Day or my full IGNITE business and money coaching program, I’m very good at keeping clients on track without it feeling like accountability (even though it is!)

Everything is done with a clear intention that feels good for you and aligns with the goals you want to achieve. You’re actually inspired to do the thing!

That’s what I’ve got for you today! The habit of consistency sounds sooooo boring, but its the thing we all need anyway.

Take care, have fun building consistency one day at a time, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.