Fun Business Fun Money Podcast
EP 033 – Check your business foundations
If you’re putting a ton of effort into boosting your business visibility but not seeing the results, its time to go back to business basics – check your foundations.
There are 3 key things that most online entrepreneurs need to work on BEFORE they can share their amazing offers with the world. In this coaching episode we take a look at why those things matter. I also share my simple system to identify the gaps that are stopping you from achieving the results you want.
KEY MENTIONS
TRANSCRIPT
Hey there, and welcome to the Fun Business Fun Money podcast!
Today is Tuesday 18th April 2023, which means this is a coaching episode. This is where we dive a little deeper into one specific idea, concept or area of business and see how we can bring more fun, simplicity and ease into it for you.
I don’t know about you, but simplicity is LIFE for me. I’ve found myself being pulled in different directions in recent months, listening to various trends about marketing, visibility and showing up.
Much of the focus of course is on the various channels and methods of doing that. Which is all fine and dandy if you’ve got a solid foundation in place in the form of clear offers, aligned pricing and you’re completely confident in all of it.
If you’re NOT set up with a solid foundation, putting yourself out there with your offers and trying to attract new clients can feel really HARD. Like you’re doing all this busy work, shouting into the void and nobody is listening.
I love the professional profile dashboard that Facebook have now, I can see exactly how visible my posts are, what resonates with people and what doesn’t.
But the flip side of that is it can feel really disheartening if you’re pumping out content and its constantly falling flat.
There are a lot of reasons for that, but one of them is probably NOT that you’re not doing enough. In fact, you’re probably doing more than enough, its just missing a few pieces.
Thats what we’re going to focus on today.
We’re going back to business basics, what are the missing pieces in your business right now and how can we connect the dots so it all makes sense.
This is something that happened for me a few years back. I really wanted to work with this particular coach on an area of my business, shes amazing, her way of growing and scaling is like hashtag business goals for me! I booked a call with her and of course it ticked ALL the boxes for me.
But I had to say no to working with her right then. It wasn’t because of the investment, which I only found out about on that call. I know thats a ‘thing’ for a lot of people who will resist having that conversation because they don’t know all the information beforehand.
I say live a little, book the call, you know your budget and nothing bad will happen if you need to say “no thank you, thats not for me right now.”
The reason I had to say no was because I realised I had some MAJOR gaps in my business. I talk about helping you fill the potholes and gaps that your clients might trip up on, and thats exactly what I had at that time!
It was like shining this big spotlight on me and I could see all the fluff and band aids that I’d used to build the foundation of my business.
I’m not saying thats a bad way to start a business – even though it is – but I’m really glad I also didn’t allow myself to get bogged down in perfection before I launched anything into the world. It was all I knew at the time and I rolled along quite nicely with perfect imperfection for a decent amount of time.
But once you see something you can’t un-see it. I knew I had to go fill those gaps and potholes BEFORE I could work with this amazing coach on my messaging and visibility.
Most people think – and will be told by marketing gurus and experts – that all you need to do is be louder, more visible, pump out more content, be more persistent and consistent with showing up. You need maximum eyes on your stuff so people click to buy your thing.
Instead of being LOUDER, how about we focus on being CLEARER? Ditch the fluff and jargon and start talking clearly about who you are, what you do and how you help people. Thats when it feels simple and easy.
I want you to take a deep breath right now… and let it out. Release the tension in your body around having to be louder to be heard amongst all the other loud shouty online voices.
Take another deep breath in… and let it out.
Here’s a new way of thinking for you…
Its safe for my business to be simple and easy. Its safe for me to be clear and direct.
One of my friends has nicknamed me ‘Frank’ because thats how I handle those icky cold DMs that constantly appear in my inbox. I’m not rude, I’m clear and direct. I simply ask them to get to the point and cut the small talk. What do you want? And most of them respond with “Oh. I want to tell you about this thing I offer…”
Doing that takes confidence for sure, and the best way to build that confidence and KNOW that their offer isn’t for you is to be clear about who you are and what you do. You’ll know where you’re missing something.
This is why you need a solid foundation of 3 key things BEFORE you get to work on your visibility with marketing and using social media platforms.
1 – Knowing your own strengths, expertise and purpose.
This isn’t something to be humble about, its ok for you to say “Yeah, I’m bloody good at this thing. Here’s how I can help you with that.”
If you’re watering it down and playing it all casual and stuff, your voice WILL be lost amongst those super confident shouty loud types.
Be proud of who you are, what you know and the impact you want to have on the world. And don’t just tell people about it once, this is a core foundational piece that needs to be on repeat.
2 – Knowing who your ‘perfect for you’ clients are.
Who are you talking to? I remember one of my clients proudly telling me that she had posted something on Facebook and one of her friends DM’d her asking why on earth she was talking about this thing. Her response was so perfect, she said “That post isn’t for you, you’re not the person I’m talking to with that one.” She knew who her message was intended for.
“Your people” aren’t a specific gender, income bracket or any other kind of demographic. You don’t need to know what kind of car they drive or what they do behind closed doors.
You DO need to understand their thought processes and what causes them to seek the help you offer. You don’t work that stuff out so you can labour their pain points in your marketing either, they’re well aware of their current situation. But you can absolutely show that you understand where they’re at, and you also know what they WANT INSTEAD.
Connect the dots for them in a genuine, authentic, non bro marketing way.
3 – Knowing your exact process that creates the transformation they want.
Its not about your modalities or trademarked system, thats just fluff and jargon to most people.
What are the exact steps you take your clients through to get from where they are now, to where they want to be? You have to map that out and see it end to end before you can take anyone else through it and expect them to give you a glowing review about the experience.
The biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make is they skip over points 1 and 2, and they go straight to number 3. They’re not owning their expertise or understanding how YOUR life will be different after you work with them.
They’re also not clear on number 3 either – if someone can’t explain their process in simple terms it should be a red flag for you as you consider working with them. Its not about modalities or techniques or trademarked names, its about the end to end process that helps you get the results you want.
Basically what people want to know is “Can you help me solve this problem I have?” They don’t care about most of the other stuff you do behind the scenes, but that doesn’t mean YOU should skip over that part.
If you’re not clear on this you’ll blend in, lost in the noise and you won’t stand out as an option, let alone the no brainer choice for them. All your marketing and visibility efforts are literally like shouting into the void of social media because you’ve got gaps and wobbly bits in your business foundations.
The good thing is when you fill those gaps and create a solid foundation for current and future growth instead of just winging it, you can build an authentic CONFIDENT voice, theres no need for shouty loud ANYTHING!
We have to get better at talking about the overall process that creates the transformation our clients want, without any fluff or lingo that very few people actually understand. If you’ve ever worked in corporate you might have come across an acronym cheat sheet, an actual list of jargon that the company uses. That stuff has no place in your business LOL!
So how do you build a solid foundation? Don’t worry, you don’t need to burn it all down and start from scratch – although in some cases that may be the easier option! You just need to look for the gaps and potholes. Get your binoculars out and look for them!
🧐 Whats the first thing you do with your clients?
🧐 Whats the next thing?
🧐 Whats the next step after that?
🧐 Are you missing something between those steps?
I highly recommend writing each step on a piece of paper so you can lay it out on the floor, or on post it notes so you can stick them to the wall.
Keep asking yourself “Whats next?” until you can map that process out end to end and actually SEE how it flows.
Thats the exact connect the dots process I had to do on my own business when I realised I couldn’t say yes to working with that coach. There were some really obvious basic things that I’d overlooked and somehow managed to get by with!
But it was a real turning point that enabled me to feel like a ‘proper’ grown up business owner who isn’t just winging it, and I hope it can be for you too.
I did end up working with that amazing coach about a year later, it was everything I wanted and needed it to be, and I’m still using what I learnt from her now. But I couldn’t have done that without tidying up the mess I had created in the first place.
This is the foundational stuff that EVERY entrepreneur needs to take a look at. And not just once either. I do a review of my foundations, offers, client processes and everything else at least once a year, not to reinvent the wheel, but to make sure its still solid and serving its purpose.
This is the same process I take my clients through BEFORE we even get to creating their offers and setting their prices, and before they go out into the online world to increase their visibility.
Even if you think you’re good with what you’ve got, we do a review of who YOU are, your personal brand, and make sure your personality is shining through. Everything is easier when it aligns with your personality. Its a game changer!
We look at your niche and your ‘perfect for you’ clients in a whole new way, from a personality perspective, and make sure its a ‘hot market’ for you with endless opportunities to sustain long term growth, not just a tiny bucket.
We refine your client framework and make sure every step is solid, with a clear purpose and there are no loose jiggly bits that might fall off or trip you up as you gain more traction and growth. Make THEIR journey with you as smooth and easy as possible, and your own journey becomes smooth and easy as well.
THEN we create your Goldilocks Offer, which I talked about way back in episode 9, go check that out when you’re done listening to this episode!
The funny thing is, we get so hung up on what to charge for our work and nailing the perfect price that we think people will pay, that most people overlook all the important stuff that comes before it. Your pricing is a VERY small part of your business, and I promise its surprisingly easy to decide what to charge when you know you’ve got a strong foundation to back it up.
Don’t get caught out deciding what to charge FIRST and trying to build everything else around it, just because thats a comfortable number for you. Thats the fast track to undercharging, overdelivering and burning yourself out.
From there you can go basically go conquer the world, you can be as shiny and visible as you want without worrying that something is about to break – especially YOU. Ain’t nobody got time for THAT!
All of that is what we cover in IGNITE, my private coaching program.
If you’re ready for a BIG shift in your business and to make it a really fun and profitable way to spend your time, reach out and lets have a chat about it! I have spaces available from May 2023. You can book a 3 month package, a 6 month package or a 12 month package – the biggest difference being how much implementation and ongoing support you want and need from me.
You can email hello@deirdreamies.com , or you can send a DM on Facebook or Instagram, I’m @funbusinessfunmoney , all one word, on both platforms.
Thats what I’ve got for you today – are you connecting the dots for yourself and your clients in the easiest, simplest way possible so that everything flows beautifully?
When you clear away the fluff and band aids you’ve slapped on to keep things rolling, where are the gaps and potholes in your business that will let you down and trip your clients up?
Take care, have fun with the foundations of your business so you can be super confident in everything you do, and I’ll catch you in the next episode.
Want to make a BIG SHIFT in your business?
IGNITE private coaching could be the answer you’re looking for! Click here to check out the details, or send me a message for a quick chat about which option is the best one for you right now.
