You know that feeling you get from spending time with high energy, life-giving people?
It’s electrifying.
You feel an upshift, a literal upshift.
And your momentum grows.
That’s exactly how I feel after attending Amy Porterfield’s The Entrepreneur Experience. Virtually, of course.
In this whirlwind of a year. A year full of change. So much change. And pandemic and politics and racial injustice and virtual everything and isolation.
This. This experience was the light I needed.
And I’m breaking it all down for you. To share a bit of excitement and energy. And maybe even the encouragement you need to end the year strong.
This isn’t your grandma’s recap.
I’m also including the very steps I’m taking to implement – and take action – in my biz.
Amy Porterfield, Online Marketing Expert & Event Host
You may know Amy Porterfield as a course creator. Or a badass entrepreneur. Or a multimillion-dollar launch queen.
I know her as a mentor. A coach. And a good human.
And you guys, up there, on her stage, she was full of hope. And inspiration. And energy.
Her first message? To remember.
Remember why you started your business. And why you continue to chase your dreams on your bold, sometimes crazy entrepreneurial journey.
As you approach the end of the year, pause, and reflect on your why.
And make these three commitments to yourself:
Show up and play all out.
Make a big decision so that you can get into intentional action.
Commit to playing a bigger game.
Amy hit that last one home, leading us through a series of questions. I’ll share with you my favs.
Where are you playing small in your life? And in your business?
If you were brave, what would you do instead?
What three ways will you show up differently to be this brave new version of you?
And because it’s Amy, she went deep. And got specific, really specific. She knows her audience, seasoned, and aspiring course creators.
But so much of what she said applies to all businesses. Your business.
Make it about them and not you.
Focus on your clients, your customers. Make everything you do about them. Not about you.
Take up space.
Said a little differently, do the dang thing.
Write more if you’re hesitant to write. Create more video content if you’re camera shy. Interact more on social media. Lean into the discomfort.
Repeat and refine. Do not start from scratch.
In her context, she was talking about course creation. And it’s totally valid. But for the service side of my business, I’m adopting her philosophy. Refine. And repeat.
How? By streamlining my writing approach for blog and web content; and by creating a stellar swipe file for inspiration. And by refining my lead magnate, All Things Business, tailoring it for even more impact.
So, ask yourself:
Where in your business can you make it more about your customer?
Where can you take up more space?
And what can you repeat and refine?
Answer these three questions, and jump into action mode.
Michael Hyatt, Author & Leadership Coach
Gosh, he was good. So good. His style and charm and message was on point. And his story was really quite incredible.
Did you know he was in his 50’s when he became successful? And he launched his business, Michael Hyatt & Co. when he was 56?!
No?! Me neither.
He shared a framework, a business approach that has served him well. And I’ll pass it along to you, too.
Step One: Resist the illusion your workload is temporary.
You’ve got more tasks than time to do them. Five years ago, last year, and today.
Step Two: Recognize that not all work is created equal. Focus on your desire zone.
You’re going to have the most impact and scale your business when you focus on work where you have the greatest passion and most proficiency.
So focus on your desire zone. The things you love to do AND the things you’re good at.
For me, my desire zone is made up of writing, researching, and casting a vision. I feel freedom doing those three things. Creating more weekly blogs for my clients and writing more launch copy – sales pages and email sequences for course creators.
Step Three: Reduce your non-desire zone activities.
Make some tough decisions. Decisions to eliminate, automate, or delegate everything not in your desire zone.
A quick breakdown...
Eliminate the things that don’t need to be done.
Yep, the Real Housewives fit in this category. Same with all those emails you signed up for but just take up space in your inbox. And Pinterest? If it isn’t moving the needle in your business, delete it from your phone.
Automate things – create templates and processes.
For me, that’s client onboarding and weekly bookkeeping. I’m investing in accounting software that syncs to my business bank accounts and tracks my expenses automatically.
And finally, delegate it – hand it off.
In the next year, I’ll be delegating editing services and bookkeeping. And all my admin.
Step Four: Redesign your day.
Follow the Pareto principle, 20% of your effort drives 80% of the results.
Each day, identify three tasks that will move the needle on your project, your goals.
Step Five: Recruit a coach to accelerate your progress.
Coaching helps you go further faster.
And boy, did I learn that this year. Over the summer, I recruited a business and copywriting coach, Sarah Turner. I completely changed my business model and tapped into my ‘desire zone’ – writing, researching, and vision casting.
And I’m making more money, consistently.
When looking for a coach, ask...
Do they have the right experience?
Do they get the right results?
Do they offer the right format?
Hire a coach and grow your business. Even in a year of complete mayhem.
It’s the best decision I’ve made in my business. Hands down.
Want to go deeper on Michael’s framework? Grab his book, Free to Focus.
Jasmine Star, Photographer & Business Strategist
You guys, Jasmine is high energy. Like really, really high energy. She’s all kinds of business preaching, the kind you could listen to for hours on a Sunday morning. Yep, she’s full of fire and the best kind of sass.
And relatable. So relatable.
She gave us a kick in the pants. And here it is.
Your desires are anchored in your limiting beliefs.
Yeah, let that one soak in for a minute.
And in her stern mom voice, she passionately told us to build a freaking business.
Build a business with the help and facilitation of social media. Not on the back of it.
Three main desires of creative business owners.
I want more clients, more people buying my product/service.
I want my social media to look branded and consistent so people buy my product/service.
I want followers to comment and engage and buy my product/service.
Do you identify with these desires? If so, get to work.
Create a photo bank.
Literally, a folder on your phone with photos that fit your top five topics. Five things that represent you and your business. Your five themes.
If you don’t have a handful of themes, make them up. Like right now. Grab a sticky note and jot them down.
Hers are family, her dog, Polo, coffee, photography, working from home, and inspirational quotes.
I made mine up on the spot. And they are family, farming, camping, inspirational quotes, working from home, and writing.
See what I did there? I totally stole three of hers. And personalized three that visually represent me and my business.
To help people get familiar with me. To trust me. To engage with me. And buy from me.
Give the engagement you want.
Your social media impact will grow exponentially if you give the engagement you want.
I’m hopping into LinkedIn to do just that. So go on, connect with me.
Engage in your comments.
These are the gateway for your future content.
Literally, the gateway for your future content.
Listen to your audience, your clients, and create content based on what they are saying.
I’m listening to the #EE audience and recapping the highlights of the conference. Because it was a lot of information. A lot. And folks were overwhelmed. And busy. And struggling to focus. Because we all wear many hats. So. Many. Hats.
Yep, I’ma solve their problems (and mine!) by tapping into my desire zone… writing.
I was all for her message. Preach, Jasmine, PREACH.
Stu McLaren, Membership Expert
Okay, so I was thrown for a loop by Stu. He’s goofy, loud, and in your face. Did I mention goofy?
He literally jumped up on his chair, all Tom Cruise like, and shook his booty. Twice. Yep, he’s business on top, party on the bottom. And those sweatpants. Bless.
In all seriousness, Stu is a membership guy. And his wisdom runs deep. It will help your bottom line.
Connect and culture.
Determine your identity and your language. Really think about the things you do with your clients and community on a regular basis. And focus on the opening and the closing of each relationship.
For me, I’m creating a template email for new clients. Something that makes each new client feel special, welcomed, and excited to work together. And I’m thinking about ways to celebrate our milestones together, to celebrate her progress and victories.
Engage more.
Stu told us to find points of connection with our audience, and amplify them.
I’m starting with my LinkedIn community. And asking myself how I can generate more interaction with those people who reach out to connect.
A great first impression.
The delivery of your product or service is so, so important. And your onboarding process is a great place to start. Does it leave a great first impression? Does it have clear steps?
Sometimes it’s the most obvious of things. I recently had a client reach out, a bit embarrassed, asking where her blog article would be posted. She reminded me to pause, to take a step back, and to meet her where she is, not where she’ll be in month two or three of working together.
The first impression of Stu? Well, he was a bit of a disaster, really. His backdrop was crazy. His head was centered in a double-door type thing in what looked like a laundry room. Boxes everywhere.
Amy totally called him out on it in the Q&A. Come to find out, he’s in the middle of moving. Literally, trucks were showing up within the hour.
Sweatpants and all.
He didn’t let that slow him down. He was all in. Talk about practicing what you preach. He connected. He engaged. And he left a great (... and quirky and memorable!) first impression.
Zafira Rajan, Copywriter
The calmest voice of the event was Zafira Rajan. Yep, she’s a writer. More specifically, she’s a launch copywriter. And she kicked things off with an eyebrow story. An eyebrow story.
She spoke to owning your uniqueness. And how to pull more of you into your copy.
First things first, stop being all buttoned-up all-the-time.
Lean into your authenticity. Really explore:
Your personality, sans all the 'businessy' stuff
Your personality, with all the ‘businessy’ stuff
And she dropped gold on a crowd of course creators.
With the three key sections on your sales page.
Your headline.
This is your gift to your audience. And your personality is the wrapping paper.
Start by understanding how much your customer already knows about you.
If your customer would say: Your headline should focus on:
“IDK who you are, to be honest…” → your big idea
“My life sucks right now!” → their top three pain points
“I’ve heard about your program…” → your product/services key features
“I’ve been waiting for you to release this!” → urgency and scarcity.
I’ve changed my tone and focus on my site, and it’s really working for me.
Your bio.
This should take your customer on a journey. Embrace your weird side. Include a range of emotions and consider it an opportunity for your customer to see themself in you.
Her framework is this:
A weird, unexpected headline – with a dash of mystery.
Common pain points between you and your audience.
Your ‘aha’ moment behind your course.
The impact you hope your course will create for your customer.
And a love letter.
Zafira recommends a love letter as the last thing on your sales page. A personal message, from you to your customer. Or more specifically, to your customer’s future self.
I’m a huge fan of this and will definitely be adding it to my course sales page.
All to shift your message from desperation to hope.
Maybe you need to hear that right now.
If so, as you write, ask…
How can you shift this (product description, bio, call-to-action) to that of hope?
A Final Thought
As #EEwithAP came to a close, Amy shared a video clip from the one and only, Oprah Winfrey.
In it, Oprah reminded us that there are no wrong paths.
And she encouraged us.
She asked...
What is the next right move?
Such a timely question as we close out the year.
Well, there you have it. A full rundown of all things Entrepreneur Experience.
Along with how I’m implementing them in my business.
And now I’m curious…
What’s your next move?
Comment below and let me know.
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