Show notes can be found at tashcorbin.com/219

This is a very special episode of the Heart-Centred Business Podcast because this is our first episode in our twice-weekly podcast.

In the second podcast of each week, we are going to be alternating between Q&A's (questions that you have submitted) and Spotlight Series episodes where we put another entrepreneur in the spotlight with a special interview.

Today we have a special Q&A episode for you, with a fabulous question from Anita Bronwyn Toi. Her question is in relation to social media for introverts, so if you would like some tips on how to navigate social media - even if you are very introverted and might find it a little bit draining - then this is going to be a great episode for you.

Let's jump in!

Our question comes from the fabulous Anita Bronwyn Toi who you can find at anitabronwyntoi.com or @anitabronwyntoi on Instagram.

Here's Anita's question:

"Hi Tash,

I'm an avid listener to your podcast but I don't enjoy hanging out in big groups on Facebook. I have no desire to have my own Facebook group either, yet I know both are proven ways to grow and connect with your audience. The thing is, I prefer 1:1 connections and small groups.

I don't feel like its a fear of being visible. It's simply knowing that interacting in large groups, whether in person or online, drains me more than it energises. I also prefer to limit my time on social media in general, as I find I'm much happier and calmer that way.

Do you have any suggestions for sensitive introverts like me who want to share their gifts and reach the right people, but in a way that feels aligned and supportive?

Thank you!"

To you Anita, I will say a big thank you as well, because this is a very common question that I get asked. So much so that I actually already have another podcast episode in which I specifically talk about growing a business and social media for introverts versus extroverts. It's episode number 210, so you'll be able to go along and read that previous episode of the Heart-Centred Business Podcast as well.

For today's Q&A episode, I thought what I would do is give you five little things that you might be able to work with to help you decide what your best strategy is moving forward. I'll also show you how you can navigate social media, even if you don't love being in large groups or facilitating large groups.

1. Question: What part of that process actually drains you?

Engaging in Facebook groups on social media has lots and lots of different components. There is the energy of being in a group for hours and hours on end each day, which of course, you're going to find quite draining if you're just sitting in that energy of a lot of people. But there are lots of different parts about being in a Facebook community.

I know for myself, even facilitating the Heart-centred, soul-driven entrepreneurs Facebook group with 34,000 people, these days, I spend about 15 to 20 minutes a day in the group, and that's it.

The activities that I am doing in that community are commenting on people's posts and cheering them on - that's a one-to-one interaction with individuals - and sharing my posts for the community.

For me, that is actually not necessarily needing to hold space for 34,000 people and needing to be in the energy of 34,000 people at one time.

Really focus in on what it is about being in the groups that specifically drains you. You might find that the reason being in large groups particularly drains you is because you think that there are certain things you need to do to be successful in those groups.

That's actually not true.

Those aren't the actions that you need to be in there doing.

The other thing is with starting your own Facebook community, you don't need to be doing it all on your own. I don't do the administration of my Facebook group anymore, I have a team to do that for me.

It may be that holding off on having a Facebook group until you've got the capacity to have a team helping you with it is the right step for you.

I know lots of people who facilitate large groups as very highly sensitive people and introverts, and they use a combination of having really strong boundaries, spending limited time in those communities and also having team members to help them navigate that.

I would say that every single marketing strategy and every single option for social media has pieces that favour introverts versus pieces that favour extroverts. You just need to get really clear on what piece of it drains you, and how you may be able to:

• Not do that part
• Find the strategies that work for you that you don't find particularly draining
• Outsource parts of that strategy

2. Is social media the problem? Or is your strategy just not working?

If I paid you $10,000 a day to spend 30 minutes in a Facebook group each day, would you still find that activity draining?

The reason why I ask this question is that when we get down to brass tacks when it comes to any social media strategy, it can be very easy to say that it's the strategy that drains you. But for a lot of people, it's the strategy and continuously feeling like the strategy isn't working, that actually drains you.

It's a little bit of a tough-love kind of question, but I think that it's an important one.

I wouldn't be doing my job if I just said that the internet doesn't work for introverts so they should just run away and not worry about it.

There is so much opportunity that is available to us with social media and the free platforms that we can access.

For a lot of people, the reason why it's draining is that it's not working.

If it was working, you would actually be energised by that, and therefore, you wouldn't be linking it to introversion versus extroversion.

Let's not forget, the internet was created BY introverts FOR introverts.

I don't know anything more introverted than being able to sit on your own in your home with your own energy, your own boundaries, with complete control over when you show up and when you don't show up, and with complete control over who you see posts from and who you don't see posts from.

I really find it interesting that so many introverts find social media draining or find online business draining, when if we're really honest, it's one of the group experiences in which you have the most control over your boundaries and whose energy you let in and how much time you invest in that particular experience.

The question of if I paid you $10,000 a day to do 30 minutes of it, would you find it draining is a real valid question. If you were making great money from this strategy and it was working really easily for you, I would challenge that perhaps you wouldn't find it so draining.

The question then is: How do you make it work in the strategies that really feel like they're aligned for you? Instead of just saying that being on Facebook or being in Facebook groups doesn't work for you because you're an introvert.

3. Don't be afraid to invite the party back to your place where you can have more control

If you don't love being in Facebook communities or you don't love being on social media, why not use strategies such as:

• Using automated scheduled posts
• Using other platforms, ie. Instagram, your page, paid Facebook ads
• Invite people onto your mailing list and have that as an intimate conversation

For me, there's very little difference between writing an email to my mailing list and writing a post in my Facebook group that goes to largely the same group of people, but I understand for some people, they attach more energetic pressure on being in that group environment.

Bring the party back to your place where you do feel like it is a more intimate gathering or it's a more intimate group of people.

Then just be really mindful of nurturing that audience.

For many people, the reason why they find large scale strategies so difficult and draining is not that it's hard to get reach these days. It's actually because they're so focused on reach and so NOT focused on nurturing and conversion, that in order to get a baseline level of sales that feel sustainable, you have to be active, doing so much and reaching so many people.

If you are getting 10 people signing up to your mailing list each week, those 10 people should be treated as though they have walked into the most glamorous VIP event. They should be getting connection with you and an opportunity to really have a conversation with you.

If you're an introvert, you're going to totally nail those one-to-one interactions.

Yet when I speak to most people about the strategies that they're using on social media and online, they're using these high reach, low touch, low conversion strategies that require them being in a space with hundreds and hundreds of people just to make one sale.

When I first started my business, I was in other people's Facebook groups, and there was one group in particular where I was very well known. I was doing 20 minutes a day in that Facebook group, and in that 20 minutes, I would do my posts for the day and I would look for three people whose questions I could answer. Then I'd do a bunch of liking and cheering people on with any time that was leftover.

In that time, I was getting five or six people every single day either reaching out to me on Messenger or signing up to my mailing list, and I sent a private personal reply to every single one of those people.

What that meant was, with a mailing list of only 150 people, I was still getting three to four sales conversations every single week.

It's not about needing ginormous reach, it's about being really mindful of how you nurture the relationship you have with the people you are reaching.

Bring the party back to your place, be an epic party host, and then you don't need to worry about going and pilfering everyone else's parties.

You can have an amazing, nurtured, curated space, and have an intimate conversation with people and not need to be in those groups every single day for five hours.

4. Build YOUR strategy to YOUR strengths

I think this ties all of this together really beautifully.

Don't jump straight to the reason that it's not working for you because you're an introvert if something isn't getting the traction that you were hoping to get.

Give it the time and energy that it deserves.

Give it nurturing, tailor your experience and your strategy on that platform, and give it the time that it takes to get a little bit of traction.

Instead of asking: Does being in Facebook groups work for me or not work for me?

Ask the question: How can I make a Facebook group strategy that really works for my natural strengths, sensitivities and my introversion?

In that instance, you're going to be able to look for this solution instead of focusing on the problem.

You can build your marketing strategy to your strengths instead of trying to build it to someone else's specifications or suggestions.

5. Work with an introvert specialist

There are business coaches and strategists out there who specialise in supporting highly sensitive people or introverts with their social media and their online marketing strategy.

If these suggestions and these ideas alone aren't enough for you to feel like you can find a social media or Facebook strategy that really works for you, then I would highly recommend that you find someone who specialises in working with people just like you.

Most of them have been there themselves and have grown their businesses with their introversion, and built it to their strengths as an introvert.

Don't be afraid to hire the support that you need to create that specialised unique strategy that's really going to work to your strengths.

I hope that's answered your question, Anita.

For all the other beautiful introverts out there, I know it seems really weird an extrovert giving you advice as an introvert, but I have worked with thousands and thousands of women over the years, the majority of whom are introverts. We're always able to find a solution that works out to be tailored to the strengths of the individual because there are parts of every strategy that favour introverts and there are parts of every strategy that favour extroverts.

It's just about creating that unique strategy that really works for you.

If you haven't yet checked out podcast Episode 210: Is it really easier for extroverts to succeed at online business? make sure you go and do that.

If you've got a question that you'd like me to answer here on the Heart-Centred Business Podcast, simply GO HERE, pop your question in, make sure you give me all the details of how we can give you a shout out and answer your question here on the podcast.

If reach and conversion are areas you’d like to focus more on, and you do a lot of selling on Facebook (or if you’d like to), I actually have a free resource for you.

It’s my Zero Dollar Facebook Marketing Plan.

This is a free training that helps you to make more money from Facebook by getting better rates and better conversion.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Show notes can be found at tashcorbin.com/218

In today's episode, I'm going to be telling you to stop wasting money in your business.

I'm going to help you with five ways that you're potentially wasting money right now, just so that you can be aware and make the decision of whether or not it's time for you to stop that wastage.

Let's dive in...

These days there are so many opportunities to buy solutions, buy courses, and invest in ways to grow your business. It becomes really difficult to tell if what we are investing in is the right decision for our business.

There are so many investments that have a potential return (that may not be there) or that feel like they're a good idea but you're not sure if you should be investing your money there right now.

There can be a lot of wastage in our business expenses in particular.

That is why I'm here to give you five ways that you might be wasting money so that you can keep an eye out for these things.

Something might jump to mind for you as you read along and you can sit down and really assess whether it is the right investment for you right now.

Here are five ways in which you may be wasting your money:

1. Buying courses

This is particularly prominent in self-study courses when what you actually need is a mentor or a team member to outsource to.

I made this mistake several times when I was starting out. I bought a course on how to create a website when I should have just paid someone else to build me a website (which I ended up having to do anyway). Even though I knew enough about Facebook ads that I could have hired a Facebook Ads Manager and known basically what it was that they were doing and what they were talking about - but would have been able to tap into their expertise and have them managing everything - I paid for a course.

I should have outsourced Facebook ads stuff way sooner, but I did TWO separate courses on it.

For a lot of us, we look to courses when it's actually not a skill we need to be learning.

It's usually not something that's going to be in our wheelhouse, it's something that we should be getting someone else to do in our business.

Buying a self-study course when what you really need is someone to have a look at what you're already doing in your business is definitely a big one where people are wasting money in their business.

I see this a lot when people are launching. They think that they need to do launching courses and all of the different bits that go into launching, such as how to:

• Run a challenge
• Do high conversion webinars
• Structure a launch
• Systemise a launch
• Do ads for launch
• Do freebies for launch

They spend money on all of these self-study courses when working with a launching mentor would have been a way smarter investment of both time and money.

Buying courses when you need to have a mentor or outsource it can be a really big source of wastage in businesses.

2. Investing in reach when you aren't getting great conversion

I see this one with a lot of people. They'll do their first launch of a course or program, and when it doesn't particularly convert well, they blame it on the fact that they didn't get enough leads or enough reach. Then they stick $10,000 in Facebook ads behind it, get 10 times the leads but still get really low conversion.

I would not be investing in something that's giving you more reach - whether that be ads, funnels, freebies, SEO of your website or any of those opportunities that are getting you lots more reach - until you know that when you get people into your world, you've got good conversion rates.

For most people, whenever I say that, they don't know what a good conversion rate is, or what conversion rate they've even gotten.

If that's you, then go and find out what your conversion rate is first.

Instead of looking to someone else to tell you what a good conversion rate is, invest three months in trying to improve those conversion rates. Really feel like you've done everything you know and need to do in order to maximise that conversion.

THEN you can go and invest in reach.

That would be the order in which I would do those things to allow you to stop wasting money in your business.

3. Investing in things that you don't use

How many people have got an online tool or a subscription to something, and they've been meaning to get to it but don't actually use it?

Perhaps you're in a membership but you're not actually engaging in each month, or you have an online tool or a platform that you have been meaning to get around to setting up but you're not actually using it.

Those things that you don't use but you're investing money in, it's wastage.

Really get honest with yourself: Are you likely to fix it in the next 30 days?

If no then cancel it because you're wasting money in your business.

Most online stuff when you go and cancel it, they try and keep you in by giving you a super-duper discount.

But make sure you just go and get rid of those things that you're not using.

Most people don't do it because they think that it'll be more expensive when they come back to do it as a new customer. But for many things, when you cancel them, they'll do everything in their power to get you back as a paying customer again in the future.

Once when I was cancelling something, I got given a 30% discount offer when I was leaving. I declined the offer, but saved the customer service email address. I then sent an email six months later asking for the discount because I was thinking about coming back, they gave it to me and I got back my membership at a discounted rate.

If there are things that you're not using, go and cancel them. That wastage doesn't need to be there in your business, and you'll feel like such a grown-up if you do.

4. Investing in all education and no implementation

Again, this can be a big one with those self-study courses, but it also could be investing in going to conferences, virtual events, workshops, courses or anything where you're just learning, learning, learning, and you're not actually implementing or changing anything as a result of that learning.

Something that I do for myself is I balance the content I consume with the content I create and the things that I implement in my business.

If I enrol in a course and it's three hours a week of learning time, then I put three hours a week into my calendar for implementing learnings from that course.

For every hour of consumption, I have an hour of creation.

If I don't have the capacity to do the extra three hours of implementation, then I don't have the capacity to do the three hours of learning.

Really focus on balancing consuming and creating - education versus implementation.

5. Trying to solve the same problem with similar solutions that don't work

I reckon that this one is going to make a few people cringe.

I have had several issues in my business where I just keep spending money to try and solve the problem, but all of the solutions are kind of the same. It's often just a different person with a better sales pitch or someone who's convinced me that it's going to be different in some way, yet it's not actually different.

If you've got a particular problem that just keeps coming up over and over again, invest in a mentor and stop wasting money in your business.

For example, if you've done four courses on how to get your niche in your messaging right and nothing seems to be working, then invest some time with a VIP mentor and get one-on-one support.

Maybe you've been trying to put together a course or a program, and you've done six different launch courses but just need to get a different way of solving it, then perhaps you need to hire a Launch Manager instead and just get someone else to do it for you.

You could be trying to get your content up on social media, you've hired several different social media content VA's, yet no one ever seems to get it right and it just doesn't ever get fixed long term.

Stop trying to solve the problem with the same type of solution over and over again if that solution is not working for you.

Those are my five ways that you may be able to stop wasting money in your business quickly and easily.

Some leakage of money that might be going out of your business could help you to improve profitability if you stop it in its tracks.

If you are looking to grow your reach and grow your business without investing lots of money in it, I have a great free resource for you.

It's called my $0 Facebook Marketing Strategy.

If you did resonate with point number 2 - Investing in reach when you haven't got great conversion - this training will show you exactly how to with $0 ad spend. It will help you get high conversion strategies working on Facebook so that you can know what's going to work before you start investing in that reach.

If that's something that you're looking to do, then go check that out.

I'd also love to hear YOUR confessions in the Heart-Centred, Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook community on what lightbulbs you've had throughout this podcast and what actions you're going to take. Head over there, use #podcastaha, let me know you've been reading episode 218 and share which of those five leakage areas you're going to stop wasting money. If you have any questions, then please ask them as well.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Show notes can be found at tashcorbin.com/217

In today's episode, I'm going to show you how to be a go-to speaker and get more speaking opportunities. I know that more speaking gigs is on the list for many of you, so let's dive straight into this juicy episode...

Before I tell you HOW to get more speaking gigs, let's look at some of the benefits: Why is it that we should want to have more speaking opportunities in our business?

It's really good for your reach.

Whether your speaking opportunity is:

• Being a guest on a summit
• Being on someone else's podcast
• At an onstage event
• Conference
• Any other kind of speaking event

Those types of engagements get you really good reach.

We know that more connection equals more conversion, so it doesn't just get you better reach in your business.

It gets you high conversion reach.

Let's say you go to 20 webinars in a year and you purchase at two of them. Compare that to going to in-person events, speaking gigs, or workshops, where that person is selling something. The odds that you are going to buy from them at the in-person event is going to be a lot higher than the online.

If you are working with someone or going to someone's speaking gig online, and you actually get to see their face and hear them present, that is also way higher converting than if you were to read their free ebook or grab a checklist.

We know that speaking - particularly video, as well as in-person speaking - is high conversion and is really high-quality reach that you are getting for your business, particularly if it's the right audience for your business.

Other benefits include:

• Networking opportunities
• The chance to be seen as a PR
• Being set up as an authority in your area

There are so many great benefits for your business, but if we just focus on those two core ones of having better reach and higher conversion, then it's a bit of a no brainer to look at bringing more speaking opportunities into your business.

But how do you get more speaking opportunities and become that go-to speaker?

1. Practise

It's really hard for someone to select you as a speaker if they've never seen you speak before. If you haven't had that practise, aren't confident, haven't presented or gone out there and got more got speaking gigs before, then you're not going to necessarily be giving off that very confident I've-totally-got-this-I'm-a-go-to-speaker vibe.

You need to find ways and opportunities to get lots and lots of practise as a speaker.

The beautiful thing with the online business world is that there are endless opportunities for you to practise being a speaker.

There are so many ways that you can practice presenting a particular workshop, giving a signature talk, dealing with Q&A's and all of the other things that come with being a speaker in your business.

If you're thinking that you just need to be picked and then you'll be a speaker, I just want you to stop and look for how you can get more practise FIRST.

Practise is such a powerful way of getting more and more opportunities. It creates this amazing snowball effect for you.

2. Choose yourself

Stop waiting for other people to choose you as a speaker... choose yourself as a speaker.

My first speaking gigs in my business were me offering to do goal-setting workshops and business planning workshops for local business groups. I also did a bunch of local workshops on topics that I was really passionate about and invited people to come along to those.

I did some for free, I did some low cost, and I did some higher cost.

All I did was create lots of speaking opportunities for myself.

I found that with in-person events, things that were free didn't particularly convert well. People would say that they would come but they wouldn't actually come, so in the end, I mostly just did low-cost in-person speaking events.

I'd do a $75 workshop that was a couple of hours long and it would be focused on a very specific, very tangible topic or outcome.

I did workshops on:

• Sales funnels
• Social media
• Setting up a sales system
• Sales conversations
• How to run a webinar where we'd set up our slides together in that workshop

Those in-person workshops were my way of getting lots of speaking practise.

Before I started my business, I had run workshops dozens of times in the previous year. I had done presentations to audiences of 5 - 5000 people, I was a skilled facilitator of workshops, I'd done keynote presentations in my corporate role, and I was the president of the Youth Forum for a large government organisation.

Being a public speaker was something that I'd had lots of practise in, but I knew that speaking in my business was a different thing.

I needed to get practise at that as well and really build my confidence in facilitating those outcomes when it was my own business.

The other thing I knew was that I really needed to practise my upsell.

I was really prevalent in creating those speaking opportunities for myself so that I could practise bridging into the sales pitch at the end (if that was appropriate for that particular speaking event).

I chose myself a lot and created many speaking opportunities for myself.

From the very beginning of my business, I started a video blog because I knew speaking on video was something that needed to be a really big part of my marketing strategy. It was also such a great way for people to see me as a speaker.

I've done speaking tours, book tours, workshop tours, and conference, and I would say 90% of the speaking opportunities that I've had in my business have been things I've created for myself.

Choose yourself and create your own opportunities. 

3. Get help

I think for a lot of people, they just think that being a good speaker comes with the territory with their business. They think they should just be good at it or they just need to practise and get speaking gigs and everything will be okay.

But there are people out there who can help you with the mindset part of speaking.

A lot of people resist speaking on camera because they've got some mindset issues around it. Some tell themself that they don't want to talk to a flashing red light and they're better with a live audience so therefore they won't create pre-recorded videos. Or there are some that are the opposite and tell themself that they're better pre-recorded so they won't do Facebook Lives, workshops, webinars or anything live.

For a lot of people, their resistance to speaking, and the reason why they haven't had a lot of speaking gigs, is actually because there is some mindset stuff going on for them.

There also might be some visibility issues, fraud complex, or it might simply be that they're afraid of messing up on stage and therefore, they're keeping themself away from those speaking opportunities.

There's also a lot of skill to being a speaker.

I know for myself that it really helped me when I got some training in:

• Structuring my presentations
• How to articulate the words that I wanted to say
• Intonation and stage presence

For me for in-person events, that training really helped me to build my skills as a speaker, which then made me feel more confident. This allowed me to come across more eloquent and confident, and I got more speaking events out of it.

There are also people who can help you get speaking gigs, so you can actually get help from people to get more speaking opportunities.

There are so many people who are specialist speaking trainers and speaking mentors, and part of what they do is they help you create speaking opportunities for yourself but also help you put yourself forward for other speaking opportunities as well.

It wouldn't hurt to get help if you're really struggling with this and it's something you really want to do in your business model.

4. Go to more events

Where I have been on stage at other people's events, most of those opportunities came from me going to that event in the first place.

Many conferences that I've spoken at, I was an attendee the first year and I came back as a speaker the second year.

A lot of the networking events or networking breakfasts that I've spoken at, they have come because I've attended that networking event previously. Opportunities come because I've attended as a participant and then I've asked great questions or I've really connected with the person who's organising it, or I've had a conversation with three people at my table and they've gone and told the organiser that they want to see me up on stage.

It's really important that you go to the types of events that you want to speak at.

For my conference, the Heart-Centered Business Conference, almost half of the speakers each year are people who've been to the previous conference as an attendee.

We even have pitchfest, which is for ticket holders to pitch to become a speaker at the Heart-Centered Business Conference. I have so many people who reach out to me and say that they'd love to be a speaker at the conference, and I tell them that the first thing to do is grab a ticket and come to the conference so that I can get to know them, they can get to understand conference and then we can see if it's a good fit. More than half the people who I say that to, respond by saying that they don't go to conferences as an attendee, they only go as a speaker... well, they aren't gonna be a speaker at mine.

Really think about that. Are you saying that you want to be a speaker but you're not willing to go and support other speakers? You're not willing to go to support the event organisers, from whom you want to get speaking opportunities?

I think it's a really important thing - a rising tide lifts all ships and you give to get, not just get to give.

Going to more events is actually one of the really easy ways that you can become a more prolific speaker. You learn what works and what doesn't from speakers, by going to conferences and seeing people try certain things, do certain tricks, use that type of slide or do that kind of fun thing.

That's where I have honed how I do and how I don't want to show up as a speaker on stage.

If you're not going to any events, if you're not actually there in the room at events supporting speakers and supporting event organisers, but you expect event organisers to pick you, there's a bit of incongruence there as far as I'm concerned.

Go to more events. Get out there and be an event supporter as well as a speaker at events.

5. Start online

It's so easy to grab a light, flick your camera on, start talking about your topic areas, start presenting and creating a connection with people. It really is one of the most powerful ways that you can start being seen as a go-to Speaker.

I had two really amazing opportunities this year (they were cancelled because of COVID-19 but they'll probably happen next year) which both came into fruition by the organiser seeing my podcast videos.

One person had been listening to my podcast on iTunes, heard about the shownotes, went to my website where it was on video, started watching my videos and then they went down the YouTube rabbit hole and started seeing what I was presenting on video there.

Another person found me on Youtube. They had my podcast Episode 147: How to increase your prices recommended to them by Youtube, then they watched another and another video, and reached out to me with an opportunity to speak at an event that they were running because they loved what I was teaching.

Start online and know that the more consistently you're speaking and showing up for your business, the more consistently you are creating potential opportunities for someone to see you, hear you or for you to be recommended to them as a speaker for these events.

They are my tips for you on how to get more speaking gigs and become the go-to speaker in your industry.

1. Practise
2. Choose yourself
3. Get help
4. Go to more events
5. Start online

I hope that you found this really helpful.

Join us at the Heart-Centred Business Conference!

If you've been reading along and think you would like to come to the Heart-Centred Business Conference, then please check that out here.

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode. If you've had any insights and “aha’s” from this episode, make sure you come on over to the Heart-Centred, Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook group, use #podcastaha, let me know you've been listening to episode 217, and tell us how you're going to get more speaking gigs.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Show notes can be found at tashcorbin.com/216

In today’s episode, I’m exploring how to tell if your niche is narrow enough, and what signs and pieces of information to look out for that will help you tell whether your niche is actually narrow enough or if you need to do some refinement.

Let’s dive in because this is a really practical one.

First and foremost… what is your niche?

Your niche is the specific group of people that you focus on when you are marketing in your business.

A lot of people get very confused about niching and they mistake their niche for their modality or specialist area.

But your modality and specialist area are not people so they’re not niches.

A niche is the specific group of people that you’re focusing on.

The other thing that I see people do is that they try and articulate their niche as all the people that could benefit from their services.

I understand that we do have very broad groups of people that could benefit from our services and the transformation that we facilitate. But that doesn’t help you when it comes to getting specific in your marketing.

We want to make sure that when we select a niche, we’re not just selecting who you could help, but in fact, who you are focusing on when you market your products and services.

Your niche actually is the foundation of your business that informs the other critical decisions that you need to make.

For example, your:

• Messaging
• Value proposition
• Offer – how you package up your products and services
• Marketing strategy
• Channels that you select

If your niche is narrow enough, it’s much easier for you to make those decisions and answer the questions:

• What does your message need to convey?
• What should your offer be?
• How do you talk about the value proposition of that offer and the problem that it solves?
• What channels should you be focusing on when it comes to marketing your products and services?
• What marketing strategy is going to be most effective for those people?

As you can see, by just making that one critical decision – that foundational decision of who you’re focusing on when you’re marketing – you can therefore inform all of the other really important decisions that you have to make as an entrepreneur.

That actually gives you a clue on how to tell if your niche is narrow enough.

I have three key areas where you’re really going to struggle if your niche isn’t narrow enough.

If you’re struggling with any of these areas, my number one piece of advice is to review and nail your niche.

1. Your messaging

Can you articulate your tangible and practical value proposition?

When I say tangible, I mean can you talk about the transformation that you facilitate, the intangible ways that impact on me (your client) today?

A great example of this is doing an energetic clearing.

Whilst it might be really lovely that you are able to do an energetic clearing, and it makes me feel better, if there isn’t a very real and measurable difference to my life today, then you’re going to struggle to have me convinced that I should be giving you money for that particular outcome.

You want to be able to really clearly define what it is that you stand for, what the core message of your business is, and the tangible and practical value proposition of working with you.

The value proposition is: What is the difference between before I work with you and after I work with you?

If that value proposition is clear, relevant to my current needs, and a bigger value proposition than the amount of money you’re asking for in return, then your messaging is going to really resonate. It’s going to have people saying that that’s what they need and you’ll be attracting in more clients.

If you are struggling with your messaging and articulating what you do in a way that’s tangible, real for people, relevant, and actually speaks to a challenge that they’re facing in that moment, then I would be reviewing your niche because it is not narrow enough.

In your messaging, I also like to look out for the word ‘or’, the word ‘maybe’ or any ‘slashes’. No slashies here.

If I say to you: What’s your value proposition? Who do you help? How do you help them?

And then you find yourself describing a massive range of different people in various potential circumstances using lots of ‘maybes’, ‘ors’ and ‘slashes’, then chances are that the actual problem is that you have not been specific enough with your niche.

2. Your offer

If you struggle to articulate your offer in a very specific way that solves a specific and tangible problem, then:

a. You’re going to struggle to sell it
b. You have not been specific enough with your niche

A great way to measure whether your offer is specific and tangible enough, is… does it sell?

When you have conversations with people about working with you, are you actually making sales?

When you post about your offers on social media, do you have people responding saying that’s exactly what they need?

Or do they just say that that sounds really lovely? Whilst that is a compliment and is nice to receive, it does not mean that you have nailed that specific intangible problem that you solve.

If you are struggling to really get specific with your offer, or if you’re struggling to decide on WHAT you should offer, then what I would say is: Go back and review your niche and make it more specific.

3. Your marketing

The questions you need to answer are: Is it 100% clear to you where and how you should be marketing? Have you got 100% clarity on exactly what your marketing strategy should be?

If not, chances are that you actually don’t have a specific enough niche.

If you are still tossing up between Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and all of the other channels that you could possibly be marketing on, then chances are you haven’t actually gotten really specific about your niche.

When you are specific about your niche, it’s really clear where you should be focusing your energy and attention on in the first place.

Particularly in HOW to market as well. It’s not just about WHERE in terms of channels because I know even if you have a very specific niche, portions of your ideal clients might be on different social media… but there is definitely a front runner.

It’s also the HOW to market.

People come to me and they ask if they should be doing a webinar or an Ebook as their freebie. If you can’t tell me what your ideal client would prefer, then it may be a clue that your niche is not narrow enough and you need to get more specific.

You can see how that one decision of your niche can really inform all of the other parts of your marketing, messaging, products and services.

It is such a critical foundation.

This is why when I work with people either as VIPs, in my Take Off program, or in any other space where I’m supporting people with their businesses, the first thing we work on is niching. The first part of the business value proposition that we work on is getting that niche clear. It informs all of the other decisions. It literally is the first foundational decision, yet so many people are more worried about their branding, marketing, what social media they should be on, and working on all of these things in an un-niched way.

Then they have to go back and change it because it doesn’t work and it doesn’t create that organic momentum of its own, due to the fact that they were not speaking to a specific niche with their marketing.

For anyone who is deep in niche resistance, give yourself the gift of 60 days.

For the next 60 days, focus down on a very specific niche and just see what it feels like and how much easier it makes your business and marketing decisions.

Then I’m convinced that after 60 days, you will be able to either clarify that it’s not quite right and you need to pivot your niche in a specific way, or that it’s totally working and you’re going to continue as is.

I have never, ever, ever in all of my time working with thousands of entrepreneurs, worked with someone on their niche and then had them say that they want their niche to be really broad again after the 60 days of getting really specific.

What happens is that when people really get that niche right, and when they see how much easier it makes life when they have niched, they are converts. They are screaming from the rooftops for all to listen to Auntie Tash because she knows what she’s talking about.

I was in niche resistance initially as well. But then I saw how much easier it makes it for me to create my marketing strategy, to get clear on my messaging and to craft offers that really do sell like hotcakes and resonate with the right people.

I hope that these few signs to tell whether your niche is narrow enough has been helpful for you.

I wanted to leave you with one last question…

Are you becoming known for the work that you do and who you do it with?

If you have been promoting your business for a few months or even a couple of years, and sometimes have other people asked what it is that you do and they CANNOT answer that question clearly, then that is also a big alarm bell to go back to the drawing board and get specific with your niche.

The beautiful thing about this is that it’s always a great time to review.

I consistently review my niching decisions in my business.

Every quarter, I have it as part of my CEO date with myself to look at my niching and see where I may need to adjust a little, or where I may need to refine some more.

The beautiful thing is that even when I’ve made decisions to niche that have been the wrong niche, I have realised that and gotten clarity on what the right niche is so much faster than if I had just stayed un-niched.

The resistance to niching for a lot of people is this worry that maybe:

• They won’t have as many clients
• They’ll have to turn some people away
• It will mean that they get less inquiries because they’re focused on something that’s way more specific

The reality is that when you become really specific, you instantly get insight into whether that’s the right niche or not.

Rather than staying un-niched and continuing to run around in circles trying to work out how to grow your business, it is much more powerful to focus down on something narrow, and then adjust it as you go.

Keep making those minor nudges and little shifts because then you are actually moving forward instead of being stuck without a niche, going round and round in circles.

If you’re not becoming known for your work and who you work with, then that’s also a clue that potentially your foundations need some work.

If you’ve been listening along to this, and thinking you’re ready to “fast track” your business, get it off the ground, and build a business model around your strengths, I have a great free resource for you!

Fast-Track Your Start-Up is my free training that helps you to understand how niche actually informs messaging, offer and your marketing decisions. It’s all about building your business and getting money in the door quickly by building a business to your innate strengths.

I’d love for you to go and check that out.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Show notes can be found at tashcorbin.com/215

In today's episode, I'm going to share with you what I would do differently if I had to start my business over again.

I've done this type of podcast episode every year since I started my business and it is so much fun to look at what I would do if I was starting a business from scratch today.

Let's jump in...

I absolutely love doing a fresh version of this podcast every year.

The reason being that the online business world is changing rapidly.

When it comes to starting a business, if I were giving you advice based on what I did when I first started my business back in 2013 without taking those changes into consideration, then I wouldn't often be giving you very good advice.

A lot of the core marketing and messaging strategy has been particularly similar, and I would still give the same advice to this day when you're starting a business. But there are many things that I would do 100% differently.

I want to make sure that I'm upfront with you about what I would do differently if I were to start my business all over again today...

1. Look for ongoing mentoring

When I first started my business, I signed up to work one-on-one with a business coach on a VIP day. All I had was six hours. In those six hours, we did a lot of amazing theorising, and we came up with some great models and ideas.

But ultimately, when I went out to implement some of the things that I had learned, a lot of them didn't work.

I had no one to go to to get insight and feedback on why it hadn't worked for me and what I was supposed to do now... How do I continue to get out there and find new clients?

I invested US$4000 when I first started my business in that one VIP day, and I would definitely not do that again.

Instead, I would look for either a group program or an ongoing mentoring package.

Then I could work with someone, go out and do homework, do some work behind the scenes, and then come back and get feedback on what I had done. I could also get redirection if something I tried didn't necessarily work.

Due to the fact that I did all of my coaching and mentoring with a business mentor when I first started my business in one go, it was all based on theory. My mentor wasn't familiar with the type of people that I wanted to work with in the online business world and she didn't have a lot of experience or connections in that space. This meant that when I tried some of the strategies that she had recommended, they didn't actually work.

I can see upon reflection why they didn't work. Over time, I learned what was going to work for my target market and my ideal clients, but I didn't have the benefit of having ongoing check-ins with a mentor over an extended period of time.

That would have made such a difference to my first six months in business.

2. Don't DIY your website

I say this every time I do this type of podcast episode, but it was such a silly idea on my part to initially DIY my website.

Granted, back then we didn't have a lot of the awesome tools that we have these days. Squarespace wasn't a thing and we didn't have the tools that you could use to DIY your website.

Even now, if I was starting my business from scratch, I would not get behind the scenes of my website and try DIY it. I would just wait until I could put aside enough money from sales in my business to build that website.

When I first started my business, I DIYed my website a couple of months in, and I didn't get a single sale through my website until about five months into my business.

I did some big website updates after that and I actually ended up hiring someone to do my website for me because the DIY course that I bought was way too techie for me.

I know for myself and also for the businesses and entrepreneurs that I work with now, that there is no way that you need a website before you can start making sales.

I've had clients who've made $30,000 in sales before they've ever had a website in their business.

If I were to start my business over, I would hold off on having a website. I'd just use a Facebook page and the free tools that were available to me to get my business off the ground, make some sales, get money in the door and really prove what the right messaging and brand was first.

Then I would just hire someone to build me a nice and simple WordPress website.

That's how I would do it if I were starting my business all over.

3. Start a business course with more students

After working with that VIP coach for one day, I just tried to work things out myself for a little while. About two months in, I decided I was going to invest in a social media course. Unfortunately, that course only had five people in it.

Whilst it was great and I made amazing connections with those people - two of which I ended up being in a Mastermind group with - there weren't enough students in that course in order for me to actually have access to a great ready-made network.

I see a huge difference between the people who, when they first start their business, join a small program versus the people who join something that's got hundreds of people in it. It really does open up so many more opportunities for you when you have other peers going through the program with you.

There are enough people that you don't have to necessarily be partnering up with every single person that's in the program with you, compared to when there are only six people in there.

I would definitely look for a social media course and social media marketing course that had more students in it than the one that I joined because it wasn't really a big enough program to get the networking benefits from it.

I can see now that if I had had a better network of other entrepreneurial people who were going through courses with me and that I saw as peers and colleagues, it would have really sped up my business growth, especially in the first six to twelve months.

4. Nail your marketing

When it comes to my marketing, I wouldn't really make any changes.

I used Facebook groups to get my first clients and my existing networks, but really I just tried a bunch of different things, and when something worked, I doubled down on that strategy.

I'm really proud of myself for how quickly I got into the groove of online marketing, considering I had zero experience when I first started my business.

I got to $20,000 in my sixth month of business and that was so phenomenal. It completely blew me away how quickly and effectively I was able to develop my marketing strategy and my messaging. This occurred by me just working it out as I went along. I didn't have an ongoing business coach or mentor, the social media course that I did didn't cover organic marketing strategies, messaging, copywriting or any of those sorts of things.

I just got really curious about what people were looking for and whether I could meet that need.

With this approach, I started crafting and experimenting with offers and messaging that I thought would be useful and resonate with the people that I wanted to work with.

When it comes to my approach to marketing my business when I first started, I would still do exactly the same things as I did back then.

I ran a webinar a month from three months into my business onwards for the first two years, and I would definitely still do that again.

Webinars were one of my biggest ways of:

• Growing my audience
• Growing my mailing list
• Creating a trusting connection with people
• Converting people into paying clients

When it comes to the way that I marketed, I am really glad that I worked out what was going to be a good fit for me and really resonate with my clients and my business.

It took off and I'm so grateful that it did.

5. Scale marketing activities and strategies faster

When I first started my business, I did some experimenting with Facebook ads. I did three rounds of Facebook ads with a $1,000 budget per round.

It was in month four, month five and month eight of my business that I did these Facebook ad experiments.

For my $1,000... I got zero return.

This resulted in me becoming a bit shy about exploring Facebook ads.

The reason why those ads didn't work was that I was using a really bad strategy.

I hadn't learned how to scale my marketing beyond warm audiences, so I needed to really refine my messaging and marketing so that it worked for cold audiences as much as it worked for warm audiences.

The Facebook ads strategy that I was learning wasn't necessarily being taught by someone who had great experience with getting results for clients. It was just taught by someone who was experimenting themselves, had found something that worked for them specifically, and was telling other people what they should do without having proven results with clients in other industries.

If I were to start my business all over, I would be a bit more discerning about where I get my advice in relation to using Facebook ads. I would definitely scale up faster, especially in terms of Facebook ads, consistent list growth and regular newsletters to my mailing list.

I think that those things would have made a huge compounding interest kind of impact on the ongoing growth of my business.

For the first two to three years of my business, it was 50% easy, fun, playing and doubling, but the other 50% of it, I would get too close to the end of the month and realise that I really had to hustle just to be able to pay rent.

There were times where I didn't really create that sustainability of income as quickly as I could have.

I'd say that it was because I was ready to scale some of my marketing strategies, but I was too shy to use ads. I was also a bit resistant to being more consistent with my list growth and scheduling things up.

It took me a long time to get into the groove of both consistency and investing in paid advertising.

I would do that a lot faster if I had my time again and were to start my business all over.

6. Relaunch programs that do well

When I first launched the Take Off program, which is my signature program for helping people start a business, I launched it and I had 13 students in the first round.

Then as that first round was coming to an end, I had some of those students saying that they wanted to continue working with me due to the change that they've seen in there business with clients, marketing and many other aspects of their business. They wanted to know what was next, so instead of relaunching the Take Off program once I'd finished the first round, I created an entirely new program and launched that.

Then the only people who really purchased that new program were people who had done the Take Off program before. This meant that I actually ended up only making six sales of that program in the first launch of it. Then I did a relaunch to a broader audience and made about 30 sales in the second launch of it, but it was a low-cost product so it wasn't a sustainable income for me.

The goldmine was right there in front of me and I ignored it for months and months on end.

If I were to start my business all over, I would relaunch the Take Off program as soon as the first live round had finished. I would have relaunched it four or five times before I ever created another product again. Looking back, if I had relaunched the Take Off program and got it the momentum that it deserved way back then, it would be a much bigger program today.

I am still working on consistently relaunching that Take Off program and really nailing my messaging, marketing and launch strategies for that program so that those launches can run on autopilot.

I'm really lucky these days when it comes to launching the Take Off program because all I really do is fill in my launch document, give it to my team, and then turn up and run my webinar.

It is a much easier process for me these days.

I know that if I had done that way back when I first launched the Take Off program in 2014, it would have been a very different story in terms of the launch and growth trajectory of that program.

They are the six things that I would be doing differently if I was restarting my business from scratch today in 2020.

If you have any questions or ahas from today's episode, come on over to the Heart-Centred, Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook group, use #podcastaha, let me know that you've been listening to episode 215 and share your lightbulbs, things you're going to do differently and questions relating to this episode.

If you’re ready to “fast track” your business, get it off the ground, and build a business model around your strengths, I have a great free resource for you!

It’s called Fast-Track Your Start-Up.

It’s all about building your business and getting money in the door quickly by building it to your innate strengths.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Shownotes can be found at tashcorbin.com/214

In today's episode, I'm going to be sharing with you how to articulate your unique value proposition in your messaging and marketing.

This is going to be really helpful for those of you who struggle to talk about what you do in a way that has your ideal clients saying "Yes, that's exactly what I need."

So if that's you, jump on in and let's get started with this episode.

It is such a common issue for women entrepreneurs, in particular, to struggle with how they sum themselves up, sum up their business or portray their value quickly and easily.

The term 'unique value proposition' is often thrown around as one of those special secret keys to helping you get your business really thriving and getting your messaging clear. This helps people know very quickly, "Are you for me or not? Should I work with you or not? How do I work with you?"

The thing is that there's not a lot of great advice out there about how you actually do that.

How do you start to really articulate your unique value proposition in a way that's meaningful for your ideal clients? In a way that portrays your value quickly and easily, and helps you build messaging that you can use in your business on all of your different platforms?

I've come up with six tips for you on how you can really get good at articulating that value proposition, and how you can incorporate that into your messaging and marketing.

1. Stop playing the Highlander game.

If you're not familiar with the movie Highlander, what I'm saying with this is that it's very easy to think that your unique value proposition or your messaging in your business should be this one catchy phrase. That it should be this one catchy statement, tagline, or a couple of sentences that you just have to learn off by heart and if you say them over and over and over again, people will start getting it.

But that's actually not really helpful.

If you think about it, there are two ways you could craft that phrase. Either you craft that phrase using really common words and language that people actually understand - but then if you do, you're going to sound like every other person who works in your industry.

Or you could use really unique words. Some people make up their own modalities and they make up all these words that they think have really special meaning, but that may be open to interpretation. So if you use those unique words - I call them 'sparkly words' - then often when you say that statement, the first thing people say is, "What does that mean?" or "I don't quite get it. I don't understand. Is that me?"

And that is the last thing you want when people are first finding out about your business.

So if you play the Highlander game and just keep looking for that one phrase to rule them all, chances are you'll either create a phrase that makes you sound like everyone else that isn't unique, or create a phrase that's unique, but no one understands.

That's why we need to let go of that belief system instead.

2. See your messaging as an ecosystem.

We want to see your messaging as an ecosystem. Your blog posts contribute to that messaging, the posts you put on Facebook contribute to that messaging, the words on your website, the words on your banners, on your Facebook page, all of those words and the posts that you do, are actually all part of the one ecosystem.

So that's why it's really important for you to understand what your unique value proposition is and what your core messaging is, so that when you do post consistently, you know that you're hitting the pieces of your value ecosystem.

Now, inside my Take Off program, we actually build that ecosystem out in a beautiful diagram. We call it our messaging onion, and it shows the different ways that you articulate your value proposition depending on how hot the audience is or how cold the audience is.

We have different layers of the ways that we talk about our business, the value proposition and our messaging.

This ensures that it's connecting with people at the appropriate level for what stage they are in, in terms of the customer journey.

Instead of looking at your messaging as this one thing that you need to just nail and as this one section of words that you can just spew out over and over again, view all of the words that you use in your business - as well as your visuals - as part of your messaging ecosystem. And then when you are clear on what it is you want to say in that ecosystem and where it's appropriate to say it for each person, then it makes it so much easier to be able to speak about your business in a way that makes sense to people.

So remember that messaging is an ecosystem, not Highlander.

3. Make sure you've nailed your niche.

If you're struggling to articulate your unique value proposition and if you're struggling to articulate your messaging, then chances are the issue goes back to your niche.

First and foremost, you need to make sure you've absolutely nailed your niche decisions because they are the things that directly inform your core message and your unique value proposition.

Your value proposition is different to someone who is a time-poor entrepreneur, versus your value proposition compared to someone who's working in a job and is energy-poor - they've got plenty of time, but they just don't have the energy to do anything with it.

So if you think about the way that you're trying to explain your business, chances are that if you're struggling with it, it's because you're trying to speak to everyone.

And we know that when you try to speak to everyone, you end up resonating with no one.

So first and foremost, before you go about changing up any messaging or worrying about whether you're able to articulate your unique value proposition properly, go back to the initial question of what is your niche? And if you cannot answer that effectively, and you don't cover a mix of demographics, psychographics and sensor graphics in that niche statement, then we need to sort that out first.

4. Write down 10 sure signs that someone in your niche needs YOU.

Once you're clear on your niche, then I want you to write down 10 sure signs that someone who's in your niche needs YOU specifically, they need YOUR products and services - be really specific about this.

If they're tired all the time, they might need you or they might need someone else. If they are wanting to make more sales, that might be your job or it might be something else.

They aren't sure signs that they definitely need you, but YOU know when you're clear on your niche, that if you're talking to someone and they're saying all the things that they need - and if that's exactly the thing that you do - that THEY need YOU.

For me personally, I know that when someone says to me, "Oh, I'm not making any sales, and I feel like I've tried webinars and I've tried challenges, and I've tried Facebook ads, and nothing really seems to be getting me that initial momentum in my business." Then that is a sure sign that they need me.

So I want you to write down 10 sure signs that someone needs you, and they need you specifically.

5. Practise and pay attention.

The other thing is that no great messaging was built on theory, no unique value proposition was built on theory.

You may have ideas and theories in your head about what your messaging should be and what your unique value proposition is, but you won't know whether it's resonating with people and whether it works until you actually start using it and practice talking about your business through that lens.

Practise and pay attention to the way that people respond to you talking about your business.

If you are at a networking event, and someone asks you what you do and then seem disinterested by your answer, then you know that it hasn't necessarily hit the mark for them.

By the same token, if you are speaking to someone, and you know that 100% they are your ideal client, and you are talking about your work with them, and they keep saying, "Yeah, but I don't quite understand," and they keep asking questions that indicate to you that they're not getting it, then we need to actually review that messaging.

And the types of questions that people ask you often give you really juicy insights into what it is that you actually need to be saying.

For me, something that I discovered very early in my business was that I could see that the two biggest areas where people needed my help were in niching and messaging. And yet when I talked about niching and messaging in the online business space - and in the spaces where my audience were hanging out - a lot of people weren't really getting it. They would say, "Yeah, I understand about messaging. I reckon I've got it nailed, but I just don't know how to write an offer," and I would be like, "Well, that's actually part of your messaging."

People are actually identifying this as 'crafting offers', so therefore I need to talk about how I help people craft offers.

And if I said things about niching people say, "Oh yeah, I've got a niche, I'm a kinesiologist" and I'd realise that some people think their modality is actually a niche, when your niche is actually the group of people you focus on when you're marketing. So that meant that I needed to understand that I can't say "I help online business owners with niching and messaging," because that doesn't actually articulate the unique value proposition of what I do, and it certainly doesn't articulate it in a way that works for my audience - particularly for cold audiences.

So that's where I need to be really mindful about how I express my value proposition and my messaging, depending on the audience that I'm speaking to.

6. Talk and talk and talk.

My final tip on learning how to articulate your unique value proposition in your messaging and your marketing is to talk and talk and talk.

The more you do Facebook Lives, the more you record videos, the more you type up blog posts, the more you do posts on social media, the more you have sales conversations with potential clients, the more clients you actually work with, the easier and easier it gets for you to start articulating this.

It's really important that we don't create messaging and value proposition statements in our own bubbles based completely on theory.

Whilst we might make assumptions about what people would understand and what they wouldn't understand, or what people want and what people need, honestly, the best way you can actually practice and refine is by refining it with an audience, and by talking about it in as many ways as you can.

So if you've been thinking, 'Yeah, I will do blogging, but I'm gonna wait until I've got my messaging sorted,' then you've actually put them the wrong way around - by blogging, you sort your messaging.

If you've been saying, "Yes, I'm going to do offers into Facebook groups, but I've got to get my messaging sorted first," then you're doing it the wrong way around - start sharing offers so you can refine your messaging.

Now again, I want to reiterate point number three here: You do need to make those niche decisions first.

I also love validating your niche through using things like market research, but as soon as you feel like you understand what your niche is, and you understand what they want and need, then it's time to start practising with an audience.

It's not time to journal, journal, journal and type, type, type, and theorise all the way in the background, and then unleash all of this messaging all at once on your audience, and then not know which bits of it are resonating and which bits aren't or why it's not working if what happens is that you get crickets.

So as much as possible, get out there and talk about it with an audience.

If you do then it's going to give you the most valuable feedback you could ever get in relation to your messaging.

So with that in mind, I have a very special invite for you today and that is for you to come over to the Heart-Centred, Soul-Driven entrepreneurs Facebook community, and using #podcastaha, let me know you've been listening to episode number 214, and I'd love to know first and foremost any lightbulb moments that have happened for you as a result of this podcast episode. I also want to encourage you to start practising talking about your message and your unique value proposition.

So using that #podcastaha, and as long as you let me know it's episode number 214 you've been listening to, I want to invite you to practice talking about your unique value proposition, "Here is my unique value proposition for the work that I do in the online business world," because that is a very easy, very effective way for you to start practising.

And you've got a beautiful audience of 33,000+ women ready to cheer you on and support you in the development of your messaging.

If you’ve been listening along to this, and thinking you’re ready to “fast track” your business, get it off the ground, and build a business model around your strengths, I have a great free resource for you!

It’s called Fast-Track Your Start-Up.

It’s all about building your business and getting money in the door quickly by building a business to your innate strengths.

I’d love for you to go and check that out

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Shownotes can be found at tashcorbin.com/213

n today's episode, I'm going to share with you five ways to increase your business income quickly and easily.

Sound good? Of course it does! Let's get started.

When it comes to increasing your business income, it doesn't have to be hard.

For most of us, the biggest issue that we have around increasing our income quickly and easily is the mindset of 'If I'm going to make more money, I'm going to have to work harder. If I want to get more clients, I have to do more marketing. If I want to have more profits, I have to make more sales.'

So for most of us, there's mindset stuff we need to unpack first and foremost.

We need to embrace this idea that it can be easy, fast, lazy and fun to increase our income in our business and make more money.

But what are some of the strategy options that are available to us?

If we are clear that it's not a mindset issue, we just don't know how we're going to bring more money into our business.

1. Increase your prices.

For so many people, increasing your prices is something that you need to do as quickly as possible.

You're undercharging.

People tell you you're undercharging, and you keep telling yourself:

"No, no, I'm about in line with industry average."

"No, no, people won't pay any more than this for me and for the services that I provide."

"No, no, I just need to get this qualification first, or I just need to do that first or I just need 20 clients first, or I just need this first."

So for a lot of people, increasing your prices is a really good way to start increasing your income and it's quick and easy.

One thing I will say is that giant leaps in prices can sometimes be disconnecting for your audience. So if increasing your prices is something that's important to you and if it's something that you would like to explore, make sure you read about how to increase your prices first because it's a whole strategy in and of itself.

2. Launch and relaunch.

Even if you're just selling VIP services, you can launch them. Even if you are you've got a course and you've already launched it, you can relaunch it. Even if you've got a membership and it gets a few new clients or a few new customers every month - but you want to really bump up your business income - you can relaunch it.

For a lot of people, they don't take a launch mentality with their business.

They don't realise that more and more you can take people through that launch process of getting to know you, getting some quick wins, getting an outcome, and then presenting them with the next logical step of working with you in a different way, in the next program or in working with you as a VIP.

That launch process is really powerful for getting that income, growing your business and growing that business income quickly.

I know myself that when I first launched my Take Off program, I made the epic mistake of not relaunching it pretty quickly afterwards.

If you have already got courses, programs or VIP offers, and you don't have enough clients in those things yet, I would 100% recommend you focus on launching and relaunching what you already have.

Don't build new things - building new things is not one of the five ways to increase your business income quickly and easily.

Building new things is not quick and it's not easy.

But a relaunch of a course can be something really quick and easy, especially if you systemise the way that you do that launch, and you learn and have it all locked in on how you do it.

My launches of the Take Off program are so easy for me now because it is literally two documents, reroll them out different dates and away we go.

It's also so easy for me to facilitate and run that launch. Every time I do, it's $30,000 to $70,000 in my business by just rolling out that relaunch.

So launching and relaunching can be a really quick and easy way to get that extra income in your business and grow your baseline income in your business as well.

Now one of the things I will say about this is that when you first launch, it is going to be harder.

But it does get easier and easier as you go.

Especially, as I said, if you systemise the way that you're launching.

So if you are looking to launch or relaunch something again, I've got a really great freebie on launching your course or program.

Launching and relaunching is something that I specialise in. I think a lot of people overcomplicate it, a lot of people have low conversion type strategies that don't really work for them, and a lot of people just fly by the seat of their pants and they don't necessarily set themselves up to make each launch more and more leisurely. We have #leisurelylaunching in the Ladyposse and it is so much more fun than freaked out, fly by the seat of your pants, burn yourself out, stay up until 3am launching.

Trust me it's so much easier to do a leisurely launch.

3. Follow-ups and calls to action.

For a lot of people, you are missing out on sales.

You're missing out on sales when you're not following up with the people who have said that they're interested, people who've worked with you before, people you've had sales conversations with but it wasn't the right time back then, or if you're just not emailing your list or following up with anyone.

There's a big range of different activities in the way in which I do follow-ups:

There's the one-to-one version of follow-ups, but I also have one-to-many follow-ups.

For example, if someone visits the link to the Take Off sales page, you'll be followed up with ads, so you'll then be retargeted with ads to follow up and say, 'Hey, it looks like you were checking out the Take Off program. Have you got any questions? Let me know.'

So there are some really powerful ways that you can be following up with people not just in the one-to-one space, but also in the one-to-many space and sometimes it's as simple as having a call to action.

How many posts do you put up on your Facebook page where you never tell people what the next step is? Whether the next step is to go and check out a blog or a podcast episode or sign up for a freebie or your mailing list or whether that call to action is, 'And if you want to work together on this, get in touch!'

Putting a call to action on some of your posts on your Facebook page will help you to increase your business income because you're giving people the instructions on what the next step is.

It doesn't always have to be buying from you, it could be getting them on your mailing list, but when you get them on your mailing list, they're getting your regular communications, and then they end up converting into a paying customer down the road.

Those consistent follow-ups and calls to action are the lifeblood of your conversion in your business and so many people skip it, particularly the one-to-one follow-up.

People are so afraid of rejection that they miss out on conversion.

So ask yourself, 'Am I avoiding rejection and in doing so, am I decreasing my conversion rates and therefore, lowering my income in my business?'

4. Scale.

For some people, they know how to run a webinar, get 200 people signed up to it and get a good conversion rate and they roll the same thing out over and over again. But they're not increasing their audience size. They're not increasing their reach, they're not scaling that launch or that freebie or whatever it might be.

There comes a time where you know it's converting, you know you can get a certain amount of reach or results organically, so it's time to start putting money in to get more money out.

Scaling with things like ads or SEO (Search Engine Optimization) or maybe using SEO building platforms such as Pinterest or those sorts of things.

There are multiple ways that you can scale.

It all depends on your target market, your conversion rates and what your budget is.

But looking for ways where you can scale can be really helpful in building up that business income, and they can be some of the quickest and easiest ways because you're paying for it.

So it's quick and it's easy.

It's not costing you time and energy - it's costing you money.

And so maybe you know, 'Well, I can get 200 people to that webinar, organically. And if I put $200 behind it, I can get another hundred people to sign up. So I get 300 people with pretty much the same energy and effort.' - especially if you outsource to an ads manager.

So scaling your reach and scaling your audience is a really easy and quick way to increase business income, especially if you know that conversion is already working - it's people in, people out.

5. Hire a team member.

This is my final tip to increase your business income quickly and easily and that is to hire a team member.

I know for me, the big growth in my business and the big leaps in income have come when I've had a really great working relationship with a team member, and where I've scaled up my team in some way, shape or form. Because that time that I'm freeing up from myself needing to do that work or having to schedule those posts or whatever it might be, I can now invest in my presence and growing my conversion strategies.

I know the more present I am with my audience, the higher conversion my launches are, the higher conversion my sales funnels are, the more people reaching out and asking 'How can I work with you? How can you help me do this?' and therefore the higher that income is in my business.

I've just taken a big leap in my business recently and hired a couple of permanent employee based team members, and I know that that's the next step for me to go to that next level of income in my business.

So there are some really great opportunities for income growth simply by stopping doing the things that you're probably good at doing, you're probably really fast at them, but they're things that could be outsourced to someone else relatively easily.

And that extra time can be invested in you showing up with more presence, being more connected with your audience or looking at other strategies where you can grow your organic reach and grow your conversion in your business as well.

So they're my five strategies for you.

I want to know what your strategy is and what of these do you think is the next step for you?

Come on over to the Heart-Centred, Soul-Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook group, use #podcastaha, let me know which episode you've been listening to and tell me any light bulbs or questions that you might have as a result of this episode.

If you’ve been listening along to this, and thinking you’re ready to “fast track” your business, get it off the ground, and build a business model around your strengths, I have a great free resource for you!

It’s called Fast-Track Your Start-Up.

It’s all about building your business and getting money in the door quickly by building a business to your innate strengths.

I’d love for you to go and check that out

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Show notes can be found at: tashcorbin.com/212

In today's episode, we are going to explore how to be creative in business without throwing away structure, planning and routines.

Now before you click away at the mere MENTION of structure... I want to show you in this episode how systems, structures and routines are actually the keys to more creativity and freedom in your business.

If you are someone who craves creativity and freedom, I want you to stick with me and listen along, because this is such an important episode for you.

Why do we resist structure and systems?

I see so much resistance in the online business world to the systemised structured parts of being in business. So many people don't want to niche because they want to work with a range of different people and have this creative freedom and difference in their business.

They want their business to be interesting.

This means that niching is going to take away that interest if they really focus down, so it creates this nice resistance. I see people resisting structure in their day because they want to go with their intuition, follow their gut, go with whatever creativity unfolds, and be really flexible.

People often resist systems in their business because they want to do everything bespoke. We want to be really giving to our customers.

We want to treat everyone as individuals.

Creatives can resist adding routine, systems or planning in their business because they want to stay flexible. See how the week unfolds.

But I want to pose this little question to you and plant this small seed today:

What if a lack of structure is actually stifling the freedom and creativity in your business?

Let me explain this one:

Imagine you're sitting down to work on something in your business that requires you to be creative, intuitive and flexible. You've got a couple of hours free in which you can work on this. Maybe you're doing some cost creation, mapping out content ideas, doing some graphic design, some artwork. You're doing something that requires you to be really creative, flexible, expressive, tapped into your intuition and able to go with the flow.

You've only got a couple of hours to get it done.

Imagine the difference between you spending that couple of hours free of any burdens and just totally in the moment. Or that couple of hours being spent with you having a to-do list of 30 things rolling around in your head. Feeling guilty that you haven't done your newsletter this week, pretty sure you haven't followed up on that invoice that was supposed to be paid. Not being 100% sure what your day looks like after this couple of hours, and carrying around a bunch of things in your brain.

So many people live like this every single day in their business - their entire existence is a stress bed of to-do lists and reminders and worries and concerns rolling around in their head.

How creative can you be with that burden on your shoulders?

How creative can you really be if you don't have the freedom of knowing these two hours are actually free time to get creative?

So many people don't ever get to experience true creative, intuitive freedom in their business. Why? Because their business feels like a giant, unending list of things to do. And because they haven't got the structure, systems, processes and plans in place, it haunts them 24/7.

What if we got the boring, repeated parts of your business as effortless as possible?

What if we got your to-do list out of your brain and into a system so you know it's sorted, or will be?

Imagine how much freedom, creativity and intuition you would experience with THAT business...

I've seen a lot of resistance to structure and systems lately. I think it's something that we all experience as entrepreneurs from time to time.

At the Heart-Centred Business Conference in June, systemising was a big theme.

The comments box was pinging with lightbulb moment after lightbulb moment:

"I should totally be systemising all of this stuff in my business.
Why have I not automated that sooner?
Why don't I have a team member yet?
I'm still doing all of these low return activities in my business.
So that's actually why I still can't hit my income goal."

If there's a way you can systemise, structure, or automate something in your business, then think of it as unburdening you as the business owner.

Think of it as unleashing your freedom, your flexibility, your creativity and your intuition.

Because it's no longer something that you're trying to carry around in your brain. You don't need to remember to do it later. You don't experience the burden of guilt that you should be doing something else.

I want to plant the seed of systems thinking, because I know how powerful this transition can be.

One area where you can achieve BIG results from systems is list growth.

Once you are at the point of knowing what your products and services are, knowing how to sell them and knowing who your audience is - it's time to get your list growing on autopilot. I don't have to tell you this, but your list is one of the most important assets in your business.

The faster you need to grow your list, the more expensive that growth becomes.

There's a compound interest effect of nailing ongoing list growth. I want you to experience it!

If you start growing your list on autopilot from the very early stages of your business, it is going to reap beautiful rewards (and cash) for you consistently. It's definitely something I waited far too long in my business journey to get sorted.

If you would like to get your list growth sorted, and have that list growth starting to happen on autopilot, I have a great resource for you and it's totally free.

Want to set yourself up with list growth on autopilot?

Grab my free training here: CLICK ME

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

We all know how yucky it feels to be spammed... but are you accidentally a spammer yourself?

In today's episode, we're going to figure it out. You might not even know that you're being spammy, so I want to share my experience of social media etiquette, and how I ensure I don't create a spammy feel. Want to learn more? Watch on below!

What makes for spam on social media?

First and foremost, what is spam?

At its core, spam is unwanted marketing. In most cases, when we think of spam, we think about unwanted emails. The first iterations of spam were all of the unrequested emails promoting products and services straight into our inbox.

When I first started my business, most businesses didn't even ask for permission in order to send you emails. You could actually buy lists of email addresses from companies and just cold spam a bunch of people.

We've come a long way when it comes to protecting our inboxes from unwanted marketing emails and protecting them from spam! We also have a really great filters these days (sometimes they’re even a little too good at their job). But these filters take what looks like spam or unwanted marketing material and puts it into a separate space for us to go and check it out if we want to, without cluttering things up.

Whilst email is so much more protected and looked after these days, we can also be quite spammy on social media. Social media is another space where you can unintentionally be putting your marketing material in front of a bunch of people who didn't ask for it. And that can feel really spammy.

We want to be mindful that on social media channels, we have the appropriate permissions to send people information, and that we're not coming across as spamming the internet with unwanted marketing materials.

How do you know how much is too much? Well, lucky for you, I've got four key things for you to look out for!

1. Be mindful of the space you’re in.

The posts you put on your Facebook page are quite different to promoting your products and services in Facebook groups, and still quite different to reaching out and private messaging someone to tell them about your products and services.

Just be mindful of the permission level you have for promoting your products and services in that space.

For example, on your Facebook business page, it is entirely reasonable for you to promote your products and services quite consistently.

In fact, for most women in business, I would say they under-promote their products and services in that space.  Your Facebook business page is one place where you have a free ticket to promote as you like.

When it comes to understanding what's too much, and what's unsolicited, think about the space.  I like to keep a ratio of five non-promo posts to every one promo post for my audience so that there's a great balance between promoting things and giving tips, advice and information for free. That's the ratio that I like to keep, but you can 100% have just promos on your Facebook page if you want to.  It's your space. It's your decision.

The second space to be mindful of is when you're in other people's Facebook groups.

In most cases, they have guidelines around how often you can promote products and services.  For example, in my Facebook community, the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook Community, we have "market day" for promoting paid offers, and on "freebie day" you can promote free offers. We actually have two out of seven days where you are encouraged and asked to promote into that space.

The thing I find a little troubling which can make you look quite spammy without you even realizing, is that on the other five days of the week, a lot of people try to weave a little bit of a sneaky thinly veiled promo for their services right into the theme for the day.  They might say something like “I’m giving myself a shout out because I'm such a good coach,” or whatever it might be.

If you do that too much in these spaces, you need to be mindful of how that makes you seem spammy in the space, right?

But it's really easy for people in those Facebook communities to tell when you're trying to use a selfie post to also sneakily talk about your webinar that's happening next week, or when you're trying to use a genius tip post to also sneakily tell people about your book coming out soon.

Honestly, people have really switched on to notice these types of things. And you might think you're fooling people or tricking the admins and sneaking around the rules of that community. But ultimately, the person you're doing the biggest disservice to is yourself.

You’re also doing a big disservice to your potential clients, because you're likely turning them off. Instead, I would suggest that when you are in those groups, make sure you have a really good balance. People want to connect with other human beings. That's why they are in those groups.

If you’re only there showing up as the perfectly polished person who is constantly trying to mention creating their own healing modality or that they got a $10,000 client or had a $50,000 day, (just hoping to plant a seed for people to be keen on your offer next offer day), then chances are, you're actually missing the whole point of being in that community. You may actually be turning a lot of good quality leads away.

The third space I want to talk about on social media is private messaging.

Here is my hard and fast rule: If you don't have explicit permission to send someone a private message, don't send one. That's as simple as it gets.

I would have I would say there are about 200 to 300 people in my close circle of entrepreneurs I hang out with who would be totally happy to receive a private message from me.

In 99% of those cases, I wouldn't be sending them a promo anyway. But I may reach out to those people and say, hey, I've got a new boot camp and I think you said something about wanting to do it. Message me to send you the details. So I might private message someone who I knew was interested in my stuff and didn't have explicit permission to private message, but have a really strong relationship with.

If I don't know that person, have never met them in real life, or don’t have a strong connection with that person, I would not be private messaging that person with a promo!

This is a really common misconception about social media.  Unfortunately it's a commonly taught, but very dodgy strategy - to befriend as many people as you can on social media. Ugh!

It goes something like this: Start a private message conversation with them not about your products and services, but then try and move the conversation towards your products and services over a period of time.

Honestly, it’s really freaking hard work and most people see through what you're doing anyway.  AND it's not a smart marketing approach, because you're starting a relationship with someone based on deception. It's not fun.

So when it comes to private messaging, I recommend you ask for exclusive permission first.  For example, if someone comments on a Facebook post that you've done, and they say, oh, wow, that sounds really interesting, I'd love to hear more about that. Then say to them, Oh, wonderful, is it okay if I send you a private message with more info.  ASK THEM – it’s totally beautiful for you to do that permission sequence and ask for the permission first.

Now, I want to give you an offline equivalent of what this would be like in terms of how to navigate it because sometimes, online etiquette is really hard because we're not used to it.

If we think about it in an offline way, we know how to navigate that kind of social setting. Think about yourself going to a networking event, right? Let's say Facebook is a giant networking event.

You wouldn't walk into the room and start pulling people aside one by one by saying, Hey did you know I do life coaching and am qualified at the fourth level and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and my packages start from 295, right? You wouldn't start a conversation like that with people in real life.

If you went to a networking event, you wouldn't immediately go and take the microphone off the person running the event to say, “Excuse me, everyone, I just need you all to know I provide VIP health coaching services to help people with overcoming diabetes,” and then every five minutes grab that microphone again to say, “By the way, I just want to remind you in case new people have arrived, I help people with diabetes.”

You don't want to be that person, right??!

So think of social media as a giant networking event and ask yourself - Is it your space? Are you running that event? If you are, you're on your own Facebook business page, and that's your stage, so you get to promote yourself as much as you like.

But at someone else's networking event, i.e. in a Facebook group, it's not your stage to take over all of the time. Just behave appropriately as though you were in a networking group that was someone else's event.

I know that a lot of coaches teach much more aggressive strategies. But I must tell you, after seven years of running my business online, mostly through Facebook, I've been very successful, and have grown my business phenomenally without ever needing to be a spammer in the Facebook space.

2. Be mindful of the balance.

You might think about the ratio of giving versus asking in your social media strategy. If on your social media platforms, you are there thinking, “What can I get? What sales can I make? How much money could I make today? How can I make more money?” - Chances are, you're not going to have that really beautiful balance.

We want to have a balance of showing up and serving and then also asking.  It's the giving and the asking.

When I'm on social media, 80% of the time I'm there to give - doing Facebook Live sharing tips, creating trainings or promos or genius tips or whatever it might be. I'm there just giving.  I'm there helping people with how to create their promo. I might be recommending ways for people to do messaging, or get more followers, or promote themselves.

Whether I'm giving tips and advice, giving space for other people to promote themselves, giving cheer and support, or answering people's questions, 80% of my time on social media is truly social and in the space of giving.  The other 20% of my time on social media is my “ask,” so that might be inviting people to come to my webinar, telling people about my new VIP package, or letting people know about my TakeOff program.

So I have this beautiful balance of 80% giving and 20% asking.  Now I'm not saying 80/20 is the perfect balance for everyone. Everyone is unique.

I know some people who are really successful with a 50/50 approach. I know some people who are really successful with a 95/5 approach so it's totally about what feels comfortable for you.

I would say for most women, they are more on the side of giving too much and asking too little. So just be mindful of that.  Maybe just push yourself to be a little bit more open about how people can work with you. Be mindful of that balance.

When it comes to being mindful of balance, another thing I would suggest is being in fewer spaces.

Many people get out of balance with giving and asking because they're trying to spread themselves too thin over social media. They've got TikTok, they've got Instagram, they've got a Facebook page, and they're in 15 different Facebook groups where they're trying to show up every single day.

When you're trying to be in all those spaces at once, the entrepreneurial brain will default to trying to make sales in a rush all the time.

If you find yourself on social media feeling rushed all of the time, and you're in too many spaces, that is something which can inadvertently tip your balance to be always spamming and asking and never really being truly present giving in that space.

So if you find yourself in that situation, I would recommend thinking about what spaces you can cut out. Can you just be in three Facebook groups? Can you just focus on Facebook and one other social media channel for now?  You don't need to be nailing it in every single space all at once!

In most cases, trying to spread yourself too thin means you nail it nowhere. Be mindful of that balance between giving and asking and maybe just being fewer spaces as well. Instead, show up more fully in the ones that you choose.

3. Be mindful of value.

Think about why other people are actually there in that space.

Most people on social media are there for social things. They are there because they want to see funny cat videos, or keep up to date with what their friends are up to.

Other entrepreneurs are there because they want to be growing their business and being present with their audiences. So don't just think about why you are in this space. Think about why other people are in that space.

When it comes to your Facebook page or your Instagram – ask yourself: Why are people following you? Are they really following you because they want to be first to know about every single product or service that you've got to offer? Or are they following you because they want to get some value or some advice? Maybe they want to be inspired. They want to get to know you as a human being. Consider why people are following you in that space.

Think about Facebook groups. Why are people in those Facebook groups? We don't turn on the TV just to watch the ads, right? The ads are a necessary price we pay for the quality TV programming that we get to watch (and I say that a little jokingly because I don't really love commercial TV, but you get the picture, right?)

Most people aren't going into Facebook groups to see what they can buy. Most people are in those spaces to connect with other people, get some support, see what they can sell, and who they can bring into their own audience.

And the beautiful thing is, we can each get all of our needs met if we are mindful of why everyone else is there. As long as we're not just focusing on our own selfish desire to go in and just spend 10 minutes to get some sales, get some money, withdraw it from the Facebook bank, and then get on with our lives.

So have a think about why other people are there, what value they're looking for from their experience, and how you can add to that experience for them.

I know for myself when I'm in Facebook communities, I'm not just there to sell.  Sure, I love growing my audience and growing my business, but I'm also there to be supported as a human being, and to feel like I'm not alone in this thing. And I'm also there to feel like I can help and support other people.

We're all in this together.  A rising tide lifts all ships.

I want to find some really light-hearted, like-minded women and take me with them, right? I feel like if we all just work together, we're all going to be way more successful.

When I go into spaces in which I'm not able to show up as that whole version of myself, and I'm just constantly being bombarded with a bunch of spam, it's so much less valuable to me. 

When people there are asking questions but don't actually care about the answer, they only care about the number of replies they get to grow their algorithm to get better rates to make more sales - I have to tell you, I don't get value out of that space when I hang out there much. And I don't hang out there as often.

We are responsible as the members of social media, as the members of those Facebook groups, as the people who are in that space - we are responsible for creating the culture, the environment and the value proposition that we also want to experience.

So just think about that and be mindful of that and think about how you might be able to nurture a more connecting experience for people - something that people are going to enjoy way more.

One thing I know 100% for sure is that the more people getting cheered on in social media, getting supportive comments, being asked really meaningful questions, and being told they're doing amazing work, the more often they show up every single day.

If I can be more of a cheering person on social media, I am going to be more of that cheering person, because I know that those people are going to come back next the next day. They will keep coming back for weeks and weeks, and we will grow to be a really beautiful community of women who love each other, support each other and we all succeed together.

I'm not just on social media for what I want to say. I'm also there to listen, to witness other people, and to support other people as well.  I may do that with encouraging words, by buying their products and services, following their Facebook page, signing up for their mailing list, or coming to their webinar.

I try and do as much of that as I can because I know it creates the kind of space I want to be in.

In most cases, if you're conscious of wanting to NOT be a spammer, then in most cases you're likely to not be too spammy. If you're thinking about this and worrying about being too spammy, in most cases, you're not.

Usually it's not the people who worry about it!  It's those who are like, okay, I just need to get in, get out, get my spam done. So I just want to reassure you, that if you have been listening along to this, and you're like, “Oh, I still don't know how much is too much. I think I better tone it down. I don't want to promote my business anymore,” please don’t make that your takeaway from this podcast.

As long as you're mindful of the space, mindful of the balance and mindful of the value of why people are there, then 99.9% of the time, you are totally fine. And in most cases, I need to encourage women to promote their products and services more often, rather than less.

If you are still new to navigating online spaces and promoting your business on social media, and particularly being part of groups, I have a really great resource for you, and it's a free course. It's got four modules, and is really simple, but it's really powerful.

It’s called Heart Centred Group Strategy.

Head on over to the show notes at tashcorbin.com/211, and you'll be able to find the link to the Heart Centred Group Strategy training.

I would highly recommend that you check it out because it gives you some really great strategies on how to maximize the return on investment for your time in being involved in Facebook communities, and also how to understand some of the finer points of etiquette so that you are not showing up as a spammer.

You’ll be less likely to have your posts deleted or have admins kick you out of spaces and those sorts of things. So if you're worried about it, make sure you go and check out the Heart Centred Group Strategy training because it is really helpful, very practical, and goes into a lot of those finer details.

As always, I'd love to know if you’ve got any questions? Have you had any lightbulb moments? Come on over to the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook Community, use the #podcastaha and let me know you've been listening to episode 211.

Until next time, beautiful entrepreneur, I cannot wait to see you shine. Big Love from me and I'll see you over on socials. Bye for now!

In today's podcast episode, I'm going to be answering the question:

“Is it really easier for extroverts to succeed at online business?”

This is a common reason people give for not growing their business as fast as other people or for struggling with some parts of online business and marketing.

I want to address this because I think it's a really important one to unpack, and I hope you'll find this really helpful.  Let's jump in!

This topic arises as a common reason why some people say they can't grow their business faster, and is also given as a reason for wanting slower growth or for not reaching goals as a business owner.

Many people I speak with say things like, “Well, that's all well and good for you Tash, you're an extrovert, you're a skilled speaker, but I'm an introvert so I can't do what you do.”

In other cases, they may say they can't do the specific things that are needed in order to be a successful entrepreneur online. As a result, they believe they just need to expect slower growth because of being an introvert.  So I think it's a really important conversation for us to have.

Yes, I am an extrovert and I'm wayyyy over in the extrovert side of being an extrovert. But I also know many of the things I do in my business are more suited to introverts than extroverts.

It's not that extroverts have different or better skills.

Instead it's about understanding what extraversion and introversion really mean, and whether it truly impacts your ability to grow an online business!

1. Let's get clear on what introversion is.

It's actually about energy. It's not about skills.

It’s not about speaking skills. It's not about social skills. It's not about being an exhibitionist or being on stage. I know a lot of exhibitionists that are also introverts.

Introversion versus extraversion is about your energy.

As an extrovert, I get energy from being around others, and I recharge by being around others. I get depleted when I'm on my own too long or spend too much time solo.  When I don't have other people around me, I can feel quite low on energy.

That's why I often say when I take a week off from my business, whether it be after conference or after a big launch, sometimes it feels like it's a punishment rather than a reward, because I actually do get depleted if I spend too much time solo without other people.

If we look at extraversion versus introversion based on energy, then extroverts want to be surrounded by people. That's what actually energises us.  But Introverts are energised by alone time and are depleted by time surrounded by lots of other people.

So that let's get clear on what introversion is, because a lot of people say they're an introvert, and therefore they can't be a public speaker. And those are actually two very different issues. By lumping them all in together, you're creating labels and boxes and pigeon holes for yourself that aren't helpful.

2. The internet was built by introverts for introverts.

A lot of the things I do online, like recording this podcast, are solo activities.  I'm here on my own.  I'm speaking into a little yellow light on my laptop.

For me, I actually need to visualise other people listening to this podcast when I'm putting together my structure for it, and I need to visualise people listening to my podcast before I record it, so that I'm nice and high energy.

I can't record too many of these things at once! If I were to spend a whole week just recording podcast episodes, it would feel really depleting to me.

When it comes to creating a business, you're in the driver's seat, and the internet is built by introverts, for introverts. So you actually get to choose how you show up, and you can create a business that feeds and energises you.

3. Recognise that you are in the driver's seat.

It helps to balance some of that required “extrovert” time with other people, so that you are consistently recharging yourself effectively.

You get to create a business model and business structure that works for you.  What better way to create the perfect work environment for yourself as an introvert than to create an online business?

Some of my most amazing mentors and successful women in business I know are total introverts - that's what drew them to having an online business.

They are able to control how much time they spend online and how much time they spend in the presence of other people.  They get to set up their workday in a structure that really works for them and energises them.

I actually find that for a lot of extroverts, online business is a little trickier.  Sometimes extroverts may find themselves hiring more team members than they need, or joining more online courses, or running more masterminds than what is truly beneficial.

They may also spend more time with their clients and struggle to keep good boundaries, because they're actually getting an aspect of their extraversion satisfied from that time with their clients.

4. Sometimes it's a mindset issue.

There can be a belief that we need to be a certain way in order to be successful.  We may think we cannot be as successful because of this aspect, and often that belief comes from childhood programming.

Introversion may not work well in a very busy classroom when you don't get a lot of solo time to recharge. Introversion can be seen as social awkwardness or shyness in early years, and then it's become a “label” and you carry that along with you through life. That label stays with you, and it becomes a programmed belief.

A lot of the introverts I work with have actually been told they're “socially awkward” from a very young age.

When we look at the journey that got them to that conclusion, and how have they reinforced that belief through their behavior, we uncover that it's actually a belief rather than an ingrained trait they cannot change.

So if there's something coming up for you about running a business, and thinking you can't be successful because you can't do Facebook Lives or doing the same things as other online business owners – it’s definitely worth spending some time paying attention to where this belief comes from.

What was the earliest memory you have of someone saying this about you or to you?

Is this something you want to keep telling yourself is true for you?

Or is this something you might want to change?

I had a beautiful client I worked with a couple of years ago. We were talking about this whole shyness and social awkwardness concept. When we talked about introversion and her journey as a child and what was said to her, she'd basically set up her whole life to fit someone who's really socially awkward.

But she actually wanted to go to more events. She wanted to get out and make more friends. She wanted to be more active on social media. But she had this belief that she was "socially awkward," that people didn't like talking to her, and that she was a bad conversationalist.

So we had a conversation about whether she wanted to keep that belief, or if not, what it would take for her to let go of it.

Fast forward to six months later and she was facilitating group masterminds, belonging to an amazing group mastermind, and had surrounded herself with six really amazing business BFFs.

She made her own little miniature ladyposse wolf pack and she started going to local trivia nights.  Everything had started to change after she unhooked this belief of being both "socially awkward" and an "introvert."

She'd actually unlinked “socially awkward” from “introvert,” so they no longer went hand in hand for her.

We created business processes and a marketing strategy that worked for her as an introvert, such as doing more pre-recorded versus live stuff. She focused more on time working on things behind the scenes, and having one to one coaching and debriefings.

Building lots of space into her day was really important for her. So we did that for her business.

Then we started shifting this belief that being socially awkward was something she was going to be for the rest of her life. It was a really beautiful shift to see.

So ask yourself: Is this a belief I want to hold on to? Is this something that's serving me or not?

5. Look for inspiring role models.

As I said, many of the successful women entrepreneurs I know are total introverts, and they've built successful businesses based on that.

Their business model is set up to work with the fact that they're an introvert. So keep an eye out for it, and if you're following people and are curious about it, ask them if they identify as an extrovert or an introvert.  For a lot of people, you'll be very surprised at the answer.

No one is surprised when I say I'm an extrovert, but there are a lot of people I see online and might assume they're extroverts, but when you ask them, they're actually total introverts.

They take control. They're in the driver's seat, and they've built a business around making sure they replenish their energy, making sure they give themselves lots of space and alone time, and making sure they're supported in the way that works for them.

So If you want to build your business your way, I want to write you a beautiful permission slip right now.

If you're an introvert and you've been believing you can't be as successful in online business as other people purely because you’re not a raging extrovert, I want you to just stop and ask yourself these questions.

• Is this belief helping me and serving me?
• Can I build a business model that works for me and plays to my innate strengths?
• Am I using this as a reason for keeping my business small?
• If it does get big, and I end up with thousands of followers, is there a fear of the unknown or a desire to keep myself safe that is keeping my business small?

If you've been listening along to this, and thinking you’re ready to “fast track” your business, get it off the ground, and build a business model around your strengths, I have a great free resource for you!

It's called Fast-Track Your Start-Up.

It's all about building your business, and getting money in the door quickly by building a business to your innate strengths.

I’d love for you to go and check that out, and I'll pop a link over with the show notes to today's episode tashcorbin.com/210 because this is episode number 210.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Hello, amazing entrepreneur.  It's Tash Corbin here and welcome to another episode of the Heart Centred Business Podcast. This is episode number 209, which means all the relevant links and show notes can be found at tashcorbin.com/209.

In today's episode, we're going to answer the question ‘Can launching ruin your business?’  And the answer is actually yes.

But here's how to tell whether it's going to ruin your business specifically.  Let's jump on in!

It can be so alluring to leap into selling group programs, courses, memberships, and doing big launches…

We hear things like “stop trading dollars for hours,” and there's so much messaging out there that tells us the only way to scale your business is to do big launches, sell group programs, use high ticket sales amounts, or invest tens of thousands of dollars in Facebook ads to get really high numbers of people joining your programs.

The sad truth is that while it can be really fun and exciting - and launching is one of my favorite things to do - for many businesses, it can also be very derailing.

For some people it has actually marked the end of their business.

One failed launch has put them at the point where they need to go back and get a job or find other means of supporting themselves financially, because the launch wasn't successful enough to sustain their business.

We want to make sure that your business is ready for launching, to ensure that it's not going to ruin your business. And I know I'm using very specific and direct language here. But I have seen way too many women go from having a “sort of” sustainable business income to completely decimating themselves financially, all by leaping into launches way too soon.

I want you to make sure you are feeling very confident that launching is going to be the right decision for your business, and that your business will be able to survive the launch process as well.

Here are four key things I think you need in order to be ready to launch and if you don't have them specifically, some backups you might be able to have instead.

1. Your business needs to be financially viable, even if the launch flops.

One example I have is from a person who wasn't a client of mine, but I knew her in the online space. She was making 3 to $4,000 a month by selling her VIP services. And she really wanted to launch a $2,000 group program course, similar to what the “big names” are doing out there.

She had hired a launch specialist for four and a half thousand dollars, and they had come up with a launch budget of $15,000.  So they were going to spend $15,000 on Facebook ads management as well as the setup of the online course and all of the copywriting and editing for professional videos - a proper big launch.

Sadly, only three months later, that beautiful friend of mine had a $20,000 credit card debt and no income in her business. She no longer had any VIP clients because she had spent so long selling her group program.  After investing all of that money and time, even with a launch specialist working with her, she only made four sales of her program, which was $8,000 - not enough to recoop even the slightest part of her costs.

She then had to go back to working in her regular job while supporting those four clients through a group program that was designed to have 50 to 100 clients in it.

So you really want to make sure that your business will still be financially viable, even if that first launch doesn't go to plan.  I always recommend that you don't invest more than you can afford - I really don't recommend going into debt for launching.

I know some people have done it with great success. But for me, having seen as many or more failures than I've seen successes with it, you need to make sure that you have confidence your launch is actually going to work.  And you want to make sure the anticipated success is not just because you've got the best minds working on it, but because you know you have an audience who are ready, willing and able to invest in the outcome you're offering.

Unfortunately, a lot of people try outsourcing to industry experts to skip some of the steps it takes to grow your business and grow your audience. And while it may work for some people, it is a big risk to take.

One of the things I do when working with people on launching is setting some income targets from other income sources.

So for example, I am working with a VIP client at the moment, and our first phase of working together is to get her to 10K months with VIP clients - just getting three to four VIP clients a month in the door, so she knows she's got a good solid income to support herself financially, and put some money away for future launches in her business.

Even when she launches her group program, which is going to be coming in the next couple of months, she’ll be able to continue to bring in and make money through her VIP clients.

That way, even if the launch doesn’t succeed, her business will still be sustaining itself and sustaining her. She'll be able to learn from whatever happens in that launch, whether it's successful or not. But she won't be putting herself into the risk of financial ruin by jumping in and spending money that she doesn't have, or spending tomorrow's money, which I see a lot of people doing.

For most people I work with, especially on their first few launches, we don't invest significantly in Facebook ads - there's not a huge financial investment in that launch process. We use fully organic strategies, like organic list growth and audience building strategies, and we have a nice long runway to do that.

When it comes to the actual launch process, they only need to sell two or three spaces for it to be a profitable launch. That's an even better way of doing the launch process.  I won't go into that in detail, but I would suggest that you make sure your business will still be financially viable, even if the launch doesn't result in the sales you were expecting.

2. Make sure you have the capacity to launch and deliver the program.

Many people see jumping into group programs as so sexy because they are getting more money with less time spent actually delivering that product or service.

When they compare selling a 10-hour package for $2,000 and earning $200 an hour for delivery, versus selling a 10-module group program with 10 live group calls for $1,000 and 10 spots, they're getting paid more per hour in the group program, so it feels like a really sexy proposition for them.

But in order to sell group programs, it takes more time in both the launching and sales processes to get people in the door in the first place.

Where it might take one to two hours of marketing activities and maybe a 15 minute VIP chat to get someone signed up as a VIP client with you, to launch a group program and run those really big scalable launches, you need to put tens if not hundreds of hours into the pre-launch and launch activities.

When you really add it all up, a lot of people mistakenly think that delivering group programs is going to be a better financial return on investment on their time, and it actually ends up being the opposite.

You want to make sure you've got capacity to be involved in the launch process, putting together the creation of the program and the launch materials, and facilitating that launch.

We know that the more present and connected you are during a launch, the higher the conversion rates, so if you only have an hour a week to spare, and you think you can launch a group program in an hour a week, you're going to be sadly mistaken.

That launch is not going to perform as well as you think and you may very well burn yourself out.  It’s also possible that by the time the program actually starts, you're so burnt out you can't deliver for the people who have purchased.

So really check in with yourself and be honest about what your capacity is to create and deliver the program, and to launch and market it, because people underestimate the time and energy that goes into launches.

This is especially true with the first few because you're writing all of your emails from scratch. You're writing a sales page from scratch. You don't know what questions people are going to have.  You're delivering your webinars and dealing with questions on the fly, and will probably have to do more Facebook Lives to answer questions.  You will have to do live updates to your sales page to answer questions you didn't even think to include on the sales page.

All of those things take time and energy! And if you don't have capacity to do that, or capacity for you and your team to do that together, then unfortunately, it means your launch probably isn't going to be as successful as you thought it would be.

3. You have proof of concept and value proposition.

This is where I see a lot of people struggle when they're first starting a business and they jump straight into launching courses and products.

They are in “trial and error” for years and years before they ever get to profitability.  It is so much easier to prove that people are willing to pay for your thing by getting it out in front of people as quickly and effectively as possible.

Having proof of concept that people are willing to pay for this outcome, and that people see the value proposition in what you're selling, is much sexier than winging it on the fly.  It’s much better than trying to work out whether people actually do see that value proposition whilst knee deep in your launch, after you've already spent $10,000 on Facebook ads.

Find ways that you can organically get that proof of concept and that value proposition sorted before you jump into launching.

4. Have an existing audience.

While this is not absolutely mandatory because you can buy an audience using Facebook ads and other advertising methodologies to get in front of more audiences, you convert far better with an existing warmer audience than with cold audiences hearing about you for the first time during your launch.

It’s in your best interest to make sure you are growing your audience as much as possible before you go into that launch process.  You want to create an increasingly larger warm audience - people who are more likely to buy than those cold leads brought in during the launch process.

So there you have it, those are my four tips on how to tell if your business is ready for launch, and whether launching might ruin your business.

I have a beautiful freebie for you as well.  

If you are thinking, “okay, I've got a few of those pieces in place,” or maybe you've got all of them – then perhaps it's time to create and launch that online course.

I have a free in-depth training that helps you map out your plan, and have a really great launch plan. That's an extra bonus tip for you: A great launch plan can be the difference between a launch that rocks your business and a launch that ruins your business.

In Create and Launch Your Online Course, we don't just go through the course creation process. We also go through launch planning, launch preparation, and executing your launch as well.  You’ll get it all mapped out in front of you at once.

You can go and find the link to Create and Launch Your Online Course over with the show notes for today's episode at tashcorbin.com/209

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of the Heart Centered Business Podcast. As always, the conversation continues over in our beautiful community. Come on over to Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook Community and jump on in using the #podcastaha.  Let me know you've been listening to episode number 209, and let's keep the conversation going. Do you have any follow up questions? Do you have any light bulbs that just pinged for you about whether you are ready to create and launch online courses?

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Hello, amazing entrepreneur, it's Tash Corbin here and welcome to another episode of the Heart-Centred Business podcast. This is episode number 208 which means you can find all the relevant links and show notes over at tashcorbin.com/208.

In this episode, we are going to deal with the icky topic of what to do when someone says, "give me back my money!"  When you get refund requests from customers or people wanting to drop out of your coaching packages - How do you handle it? What do you do? Have you completely failed?

No you haven't. We're going to deal with all of this in today's episode, so let's dive straight on in.

Ugh, I can already feel your discomfort right now.

It is so “ick” - that feeling, even just the fear of having it happen.  Someone's asking for a refund or wanting to drop out of working with you, or they don't feel like they got value and are telling you it was horrible.  And they demand they get their money back.

Oh my goodness, it is so icky.

Now for all of you tappers out there, feel free to do some EFT as you're following along to this if any of those feelings are coming up for you!

I totally understand as an entrepreneur and business owner, especially for those of us who have personal brands where we put our heart and soul into our business - having someone say something wasn't good enough or they don’t want that anymore – It can feel like they're saying you as a person are not good enough, or that you as a person have failed.

There's a lot of emotion tied up in someone not wanting to work with you anymore, or them wanting their money back.  So I want us to take an objective step back for a moment.

I've got three things you can do when it happens.

But first let’s take that objective step back, and think about our own experiences.  Not only as the seller, but also as a buyer, because we can have both good and bad experiences with refunds and people dropping out as both the seller and as the buyer, and I have plenty of examples of these.

I was working with a VIP mentor once and after a couple of sessions together, I started to feel like we weren't a great match.  One of the key reasons was that the business and marketing strategies that they were trying to get me to use didn't really feel like they were aligned with my values. And I also felt like I got very overloaded in the first couple of weeks and then kind of left high and dry for a little while.

So I reached out to that person and expressed how I was feeling, with the intention of us having a conversation and working out how we could continue working together, but in a way that was better suited to my needs.

I instantly received back an email that basically blamed me and told me that it was all my mindset that was the problem, and gave me a list of all the reasons why the provider was doing the right thing, and suggesting that it was me as the client who was doing all the wrong things.

Wow, this left such a bad taste in my mouth!

I truly didn't know how I was going to continue working with that person, after the way they had reacted to my initial inquiries about maybe adjusting the way that we work together.

It became a really interesting experience for me as a buyer, to experience the backlash while not even asking for a refund, but just looking to pivot the way that we were working together.

I've also had times where I tried to get a refund from a course or program because what was on the inside did not match what was advertised, and I had to jump through a bunch of hoops to access that refund - it felt really gross.

In one course I did, the promotional webinars and sales page showed a “30-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee.”

I had felt very safe in buying that because I knew that I could jump in, give it a go, see what it was like, and decide whether it was actually the right fit for me.

But “silly me,” I didn't read the “terms and conditions” when I purchased that course.  I will never make that mistake again.  Nowadays, I always read the Terms and Conditions very specifically when I buy courses!

So I jumped into that program, but sent an email just five days after joining and said, ‘Actually, I would like to access the 30-day, no questions, Money Back Guarantee.’  I did this because after watching the first two modules, I could see it wasn’t in alignment with the way I wanted to grow and market my business.

Some of the strategies being taught felt pushy and aggressive to me. And I didn't want to engage in that way.  The strategies weren't what I was expecting. I didn't feel like what was promised in the promotion matched the quality of the program on the inside.  In particular, there had been the promise of lots of connection, but when I got inside the program, the calls weren't run as Q&A calls, they were run as teaching calls, so you couldn't even ask questions.  It was just not the way I like to learn.  But I didn't say all of that in my email - I just said it didn't feel like a good fit.

So when I sent through my refund request, I got a canned response that said, “this is a digital product and there are no refunds.”

I emailed back and said, “well, actually on the webinar, there was a promise of a 30-day, no questions asked, money back guarantee. So I'd like to access that refund, please.”

I then got another email back saying that I needed to read the terms and conditions of the course, and there was a link to a PDF.

And in the terms and conditions, it said you get access to a 30-day refund so long as you do the work.  And “doing the work” involved completing at least five modules, and investing at least $500 in Facebook ads using the strategies that were taught.

So what they required for me to get the refund was to actually take a screenshot of my Facebook ads account to show that I had spent $500 on Facebook ads.  But I had never run Facebook ads up until that point, and didn't have the evidence to provide to get that refund!

Now, through a lot of back and forth emails, I eventually was able to get a 50% refund on the program. But I would never recommend that program to anyone, nor will I ever follow that person again, and it has left a really bad taste in my mouth. So as a buyer, I know what it's like to ask for a refund and then be forced to jump through hoops or be told that it's my fault.

Another example that's not with an online business was when I bought one of those NutriBullet things.  On the box it said it was dishwasher safe on the top shelf.

At the time, I was getting into smoothies, so I totally fell in love with it. One day I popped the two cups into the top shelf of the dishwasher as instructed, but when the dishwasher was finished, both of my cups had melted and completely deformed.

I got in contact with the company and checked the instruction manual, checked on the box, checked everywhere that said it's completely dishwasher safe as long as it's on the top shelf and that is exactly what I did.

When I called the customer service line, I had to speak to three different people and all three of those people accused me of putting it in the wrong spot in the dishwasher. I had to tell them, “I can assure you, it was definitely on the top shelf, and it has melted.”

Then they tried to get me to give them my dishwasher model and all sorts of things. They just kept saying it was my fault, and acting like I’d done something wrong.

They made me wait for the regional manager to give me a call, and she said, “well actually it's not guaranteed dishwasher safe. If you read the instructions, it says it's better to hand-wash but you can put them on the top shelf of the dishwasher.”  And I told her that I had put it on the top shelf of the dishwasher.

It can become this crazy space when I'm asking for refunds of being like a dog with a bone – feeling like it would have been easier for me to just purchase a completely new machine with all the new cups for $125, but it's the principle of the thing, right?

I've done consumer law as part of my degree, and I’m into a lot of psychology and Consumer Affairs sorts of things, so I'm very clear on my rights.

And I just imagine all of the other people who aren't clear on their rights, who just take it as they're told, and accept it as fine. They just take the blame and walk away.  So I feel like my little win is a win for everyone.

Because I know what it feels like to be a buyer, when I am acting as a seller I want to make sure that I provide a really amazing experience for people, even when they are asking for a refund.

I find that the energetic and emotional feelings I have about refunds are way more manageable than many other people who may be still feeling scared about them.

As a seller, I've had good and bad experiences in giving refunds.

When I have been deeply invested in that person staying or their person's business results, or I've crossed a boundary into the real trouble of needing them to be successful because I've attached it to my identity or my value, then that's when I have tricky experiences with refund requests.

But when I have that clear boundary that this person's business, or them staying or not staying with me, actually doesn't reflect upon who I am as a person.  It doesn’t impact my value, or my worth as a human being, and that boundary really helps me to experience refunds in a positive way.

So here are my three tips for when people ask for their money back or inquire about dropping work with you as a client.

1. Keep it classy.

We each have so many horror stories!  And people are more willing to share the horror stories than the positive stories.

If I have a refund experience that is really positive, I am conscious of sharing the great experience and continuing to support that person because they've kept it classy.

Unfortunately a lot of people don't consider this. But if you don't stay classy in that experience, it is going to be bad.  We want to make sure we always keep it classy, and treat that person the way you would like to be treated if you were requesting a refund.

Remember, we've all been through those horrible situations, so don't be someone who perpetuates those horrible situations for others.

Please take note that even the passive aggressive post on Facebook is not classy. It has happened to me where I requested a refund from someone, and they were totally classy about it to my face, no questions asked, and gave me my money back.  But then they went on their Facebook page the next day, and complained about what a terrible client I was.

They would talk about how this is why we weren't meant to work together, and basically celebrated my refund request and us not working together anymore. They've had a passive aggressive message that it was my fault something went wrong, and that it was because I wasn't their ideal client, and that their life is so much better because I've disappeared from it.

That is so not classy! I know that you're not actually calling someone out by name, but when I see other service providers sharing any of that passive aggressive, gross stuff on their Facebook page, it says way more about the person posting it than it does about the person who's left and asked for a refund.

So just check in with yourself. Sometimes we want to go out there and celebrate in a safe space for ourselves, or convince ourselves that it's totally okay and it doesn't mean anything about us. But you need to be really mindful of the audience you choose for sharing that kind of post.

Instead, I suggest getting yourself a lady posse wolf pack of just a few people that provide you with a safe space to go and have that debrief without necessarily downloading on your entire audience.

There have been people I've gone to work with, and then seen these passive aggressive style posts, whether in courses we've done together, or in free Facebook groups, or on their Facebook page or Instagram. And that has turned me off working with them! Because I can’t help but think about who is that poor person that’s being referred to? What did they do, and what if I end up being that person if I opt to work with this service provider?

So please be sure that that you keep it classy!

2. There are some big positives from refund requests.

If someone has signed up to work with you for a six month package, and after a month they decide it isn’t the right fit or they aren’t getting the outcomes, that's actually really good information for you.

If they aren't the ideal client, and they don't see themselves getting great results from staying with you for six months, wouldn't you rather them articulate that early?  Rather than just staying with you, going through the motions, and then after six months becoming someone who hasn’t had great results or the best experience?

You don't want to force someone to stay working with you if they don't feel like it’s a great fit or like they're getting great value.

My goal for everyone who joins one of my programs, like TakeOff or the Heart-Centred Business Academy, or who works with me one on one, is that when they end that time together, if it's not a 100%, heck yes “loved it,” then I want to know as soon as possible.  I want to know what it is they don't love, and if there's a good reason why it's not a fit for them.  I would much rather give them a refund and clear that space for someone else that will be the right fit.

You also want to make sure you’re not creating really weird standards for yourself. One of the positives about refund requests is that there are industry norms. There is a normal refund rate of between 3 and 5% of people who buy online courses. There's a normal dropout rate between 3 and 5% of people who sign up for your VIP work.

If you are trying to keep a zero percent refund rate, then chances are you're going to fail at that.

For a lot of people, the positive of getting a refund request is that it's actually still well below industry average. So it's totally brilliant to celebrate that someone has opted out. Someone who isn't the right fit and isn't going to get great value from it.

Another positive that comes from getting a refund request is that it's a rite of passage.  When you get that first refund request, I want you to celebrate it because baby, you made it! Every business has refund requests - every business - and you cannot have a multi-million dollar online business without some refund requests.

Instead of avoiding them, if we aim to stay around or below industry averages, and we celebrate those refund requests as the people for whom it's not the right fit dropping out, then suddenly refunds just feel like a normal part of business - a totally positive part of business.

3. Look for the opportunity.

When you get a refund request, there's often an opportunity in that refund request for review.

Do you have good refund systems in place?

When people request a refund for my programs, I don't actually know about it anymore. My customer service team takes care of that for me.  They refund the person, and the person can tell us why, or they don't have to tell us why. The only time I know about refunds is if we have a big spike in them and it’s something we need to actually deal with. As long as it stays under our normal average of under 2%, I don't even need to know about it.

My system makes it easy for that person to get their refund, and the system makes it easy for me to not get bogged down in worrying about the refunds.  And the system also means those refund requests are recorded and reported appropriately so I can pay attention to the refund rate to see if there's a spike or anything I need to be worried about. But if there's nothing I need to be worried about, I'm not worried about it.

Refund requests also present a chance for you to review your policies. For a lot of people, the reason why refunds feel really awkward is they don't actually have a clear and concise refund policy in place - it's a bit of a gray area. Then you're left with needing to make a decision about whether that person is entitled to a refund or not, without having clear guidelines and policies that will give you a straightforward answer.

If you haven’t got refund policies in place, you don't have terms and conditions in place. You don't necessarily have clear guidelines on what to do if someone is looking for a refund or if something's not the right fit for them.

That refund request is your opportunity to review those policies, get them in place, and think about various scenarios that might happen.

When it comes to working with VIP clients, the completely risk averse approach would be to have people sign a contract. And in that contract, you would have very clear terms and conditions about refunds, about dropping out, about failed payments on payment plans, etc, and it’s completely written to the letter.

The opposite end of the spectrum would be to not even talk about it. We don't want to be at that end of the spectrum.  Usually somewhere between the middle and the very risk adverse space is ideal when it comes to a refund policy for people working with you as a VIP.

I really want to focus down on this one because I have heard some horror stories.  I've also heard of people using the contract as a way of basically separating themselves from needing to deliver good services to their customers.

I had a client who had previously been working with someone else. She had been working on a six month VIP package with this person at a negotiated price, and paying on a monthly basis.  After three months of working together, she realised she was not getting the level of support she expected to get in that package. She was not getting enough detail in the execution of the strategy she was learning. Therefore she was finding she wasn't getting any results from the process, and was feeling more and more overwhelmed, being told she needed to hire more and more and more team members, which was never discussed when they first started working together.

So she reached out to me for some advice on how to approach this. It wasn't through the lens of wanting a refund or wanting to drop out at first, but just wanting to really clarify the deliverables, and how much more money she would need to invest to get the results.  Truth be told, she had invested her last bit of money in working with this person, thinking that if she invested in this coaching, she should be able to put those strategies in place and get return on investment.

She didn't realise - and there had been no initial conversation - that there would be another 10 to $15,000 worth of hiring needed in order to scale the business and get the intended results.

And so I helped her draft up a little email indicating maybe she wasn't quite exceeding the expectations, and requesting a conversation about where to go from here.  The provider wrote back and said, “If at any time you don't think it's the right fit, you can just stop working with me. However, as per the contract, you need to complete your payment plan.”

Instantly after sending that email, the client was essentially told, “well, I don't really want to work with you either. But you still have to keep paying me.”  This service provider was using that contract as a means of saying, the law is the law, you still have to pay me.

Ultimately, that is not how I want to show up as a provider online.  It would be interesting for you to reflect on how you want to show up as a provider online?

Yes, your rights as the seller need to be protected. But you also have an obligation as the provider to deliver on what you promise and to be upfront at the start of the process about what it's going to look like and what people can expect.

I'm not saying you shouldn't have contracts, or you that should.  But I do think no matter what it is that you are selling, no matter how you deliver those products or services, no matter how risk averse or risk friendly you are, you want to make sure at the start of any engagement that you're really clear on what your rights and responsibilities are, what your buyers’ rights and responsibilities are, and what you're going to do.

If either party feels like it's not a great fit anymore, then you don't need to necessarily have a detailed contract that covers those things off.  I personally cover that off in a very informal confirmation email. For some industries, you do need to have it in writing, such as handling someone's finances or if you're doing something in health, sometimes you do need to actually have a contract.

But for me, I actually have an informal confirmation email that talks about those core things. It very clearly says that we are two grown adults, and if at any point in this arrangement either of us feels it's not a fit anymore, we're going to talk about it and see if we can adjust what is being delivered to make sure it fits both parties needs.  If the person decides they don't want to do it anymore, here's how the refund or payment would be renegotiated or adjusted to reflect the level of service that had already been provided. And also, here's what to do if you're not happy with that. It's a simple way of just being really clear.

Developing this approach came through a specific experience with a refund request where I realised I hadn't made that 100% clear. The person had been a little bit unhappy with the level of stretch I was giving - they wanted to be stretched and pushed further – but I was still working on the basics with their business because their foundations needed some work.

So the person wasn't happy they weren't doing the more advanced style strategies. But for two months - four sessions - they hadn't said anything because they didn't know how to raise it. And so it ended up escalating for them behind the scenes and kind of blowing up because they hadn’t been happy for three months, and it all came out at once.

I took a day. I read the email several times and then I recognised that I hadn't been upfront about what to do if someone didn't feel like it was meeting their needs. So that person got a partial refund, and we stopped working together. I sent them to a friend of mine who I thought would be able to help them with more advanced stuff, and it actually ended up working out really well.

As a result of that experience, I included an extra part in my confirmation email when we first start working together on what to do in that situation.

It’s important that you look at this through the lens of “it's all a practice,” and sometimes you don't know what people are going to want or how they'll want you to deal with things, or what boundaries people are going to be pushing, until those boundaries are pushed.

All you can do is set yourself up with some systems and basic policies, or get advice from a legal representative to set yourself up in a way that feels good for you.

Know that you might have to make some adjustments on the way - you don't need to get it perfect from the very start.

Now, the final opportunity that I want to talk about from a refund request is the learning opportunity.

It might be that your sales processes aren't clearly articulating how your services are delivered, or your sales processes are promising things that aren't clearly delivered in your services. It might be that your marketing is attracting people who aren't the right fit because of the way you talk about something or the audience you're advertising to.

There are many reasons why it might not be working.

Refund requests are great opportunities to look at where there might be a disconnect. Don't be afraid of asking people, after reassuring them of their refund, to share why it's not a fit to what they expected.

I only ever ask that question after I've given the refund. We just ask for any feedback that may have been able to prevent this issue. And that is a really beautiful learning opportunity as well. It helps me to get clearer with my offers, and ensures I am getting clear on who my ideal clients are.  Then when I'm putting my courses together, it speaks to the level of information and detail people need to make an empowered decision, without making assumptions about what's included.

So just to recap - Stay classy, look for those positives, and look at all the amazing opportunities the refund request will give you.

Now, I also just want to say in closing this podcast episode, that refund requests are all part of scaling your business. The larger your business becomes, the more clients you have, the more likely you are to get some of those refund requests.

So please, please, please, if I can leave you with one thing, it's the understanding that a refund request is not a reflection of your value as a human being!

A refund request does not mean that you are a failure at business.

A refund request is simply a part of your business scaling. And it's a sign that you are on your way to bigger and better things.

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of the Heart Centered Business Podcast. If you’ve got any questions or lightbulb moments as a result of this episode, come on into the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook Community, use the #podcastaha and let me know that you've been listening to episode number 208. And let me know any “aha” moments, light bulbs or questions you might have in relation to refunds.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Hello brilliant entrepreneur. It's Tash Corbin here and welcome to another episode of the Heart Centred Business podcast.

This is episode number 207 which means all the relevant links and show notes are available for you over at tashcorbin.com/207. In today's episode, I'm going to help you answer the question ‘Are you even ready to start your business?’

Whether you've just been thinking about it, are maybe on the fence, are dabbling with a few things here and there, or are trying to get your ducks in a row to get started, this is going to be an extra valuable lesson just for you. Let's dive on in!

To be honest, there is a lot of information, opinion and frankly, a lot of misinformation out there about what you actually need in order to start a business.

I've heard all sorts of things – like needing specific qualifications, needing to have six months’ worth of savings in the bank, needing to build up an audience of at least a few thousand people first, needing to have a website, needing to work with a business coach, and all sorts of things that you need to do, be, or have in order to be ready to start an online business.

But the truth is that there are eleventy billion different paths to having a business and getting your business off the ground. Many of those things I just mentioned that you're “supposed” to have in order to start a business, I did not have myself.

Yes, I had university level qualifications in business, but I didn't even know that much about Facebook.

I did not have six months of savings in the bank.

I had zero audience.

I didn't have a website.

And whilst I did work with a one on one coach for a one day VIP intensive, at the end of that intensive I still didn't know what to do in my business, nor did I have a step by step set of instructions to tell how to go out and get clients.

I want us to take away these restrictions and rules about what you need in order to “be ready” to have a business and get that business off the ground. I want to dive into what it is that you do need, and what that would look like for a bunch of different pathways.

We are all unique, and all of our business ideas are very unique. Therefore, we have different requirements about what it's going to take to start a business.

As a very basic example, it takes a lot less cash to start a service-based business than to start a product-based business in most cases, because in a product-based business, you need to have some form of stock unless you're doing drop-shipping. So even when the traditional model of that business requires a bunch of money to start up, there are so many cool ways that you can overcome that cash shortage when you're first starting out.

I've got four things that I think tell you that you are ready to at least get started with an online business. Sure, you might not make your first million dollars with only these four things, but you are certainly able to start bringing in clients and making money.

1. You're ready to have a business and get it started.

If you've got some idea of what it is that you want to do, you don't need to be 100% clear.  When I first started my business, I knew I wanted to do some form of service-based business and some form of coaching.

I thought I was going to be doing career coaching for women in the corporate world. But after working with just three people, I realised I left the corporate world for a reason - I did not want to be doing that anymore. I totally pivoted!

You don't have to have a concrete idea and 100% clarity about what it is that you're doing. All you need is to have some idea of what it is that you want to do, the type of business model that you might be interested in exploring, and then just get out there and get started.

If I had waited until I had an audience, a website, and a bunch of money before I started actually working with paying clients, I would have been so deeply invested into that process that it would have been much harder for me to pivot.

I am so grateful I just jumped in and got started. I realised this wasn't the type of work I wanted to be doing, and because I wasn't knee-deep in things I'd already created for it, it was so easy for me to pivot and start working in a different space.

So you don't need to have everything mapped out. You don't need to have absolute clarity on exactly what you're going to be selling, how you're going to be selling it, or exactly what your niche is. You just need to have some kind of idea.

2. You need to be willing to make mistakes.

A lot of people think that to be ready to start a business, you need to know exactly what you need to do. They believe that you need to have the perfect marketing plan, and the best of the business coaches.

But honestly, even with all of those things, you're still going to make mistakes. I know a lot of people who had all their ducks in a row, the best marketing training, the best strategy ideas, but because they were so focused on getting it perfect and not making any mistakes along the way, they weren’t able to get their business off the ground.

By being consistently focused on not making mistakes, and not doing anything wrong, they never actually took any risks, and they never really explored what's possible or got that big leap forward.

Instead of needing to have the perfect plan mapped out in front of you, all you need is to be willing to make mistakes and give things a go. Try something!

Be willing to make those mistakes quite publicly as well. That is something that was a big mindset shift for me when I first started my business.  I was so focused on just jumping into the world and having a business and not letting people see me try and start a business, I just wanted to go from zero to business.

It meant that when I was showing up online, I wasn't showing up 100% authentically. It meant that I didn't do things until I felt like I had it 100% figured out. Because of that, I did have a bit of a delay in getting things out there when I first started my business.

It was a few months into my business journey that I realised I needed to just get out there and be willing to make some public mistakes, and publicly have people see me try things and maybe not get as much success as I wanted to.

I had to do that to learn from those things and pivot as I moved forward. So a willingness to make mistakes and potentially make them publicly is definitely more valuable than having the perfect step by step plan mapped out in front of you.

3. You can commit at least a few hours a week and do it consistently.

It’s totally possible to start a business with 10 hours, then no time for a few weeks, and then a couple of hours and then no time. Different business models are more aligned to be able to do that.

Preferably, if you can at least commit four hours a week, every week, that is going to be much, much more effective than 20 hours this week, and no hours for the following three weeks, and then 30 hours a week after that, and then nothing for three months.

Look at what can you commit as a minimum, but consistently, and make a commitment to allocating that time to growing your business.

I jumped straight into my business and started full time from day one. I was very fortunate and lucky to be able to do that.  But I know that, especially for online businesses, many people just getting started are doing it on the side of a day job, or when they're looking after their kids at home, or they have other commitments. I think it is totally possible for most people to commit a solid five hours a week or four hours a week, every week for the next three months.

If you protect those hours, really nurture and put boundaries around those hours, and consistently show up in that time, you're going to be far more successful than trying to convince yourself to do 10 or 20 hours a week while also working 40 hours a week.

Trying to do five hours every night after dinner seven days a week, and then not actually follow through with it - that is the opposite of what works.  Rather than trying to convince yourself that you can definitely work till 2 am every night for the next three months, instead just commit a small amount of hours, but be very consistent with those hours and protect them fiercely.

4. You have a plan on “where to” next, even if it's just short term.

When you try to plan too far ahead, it can backfire.  If you’re thinking, “I’ll do this for the first three months, and then this for the next six months, and then a year later I'm going to launch this course,” then honestly, you're planning for a future that has a 1% chance of actually being your reality.

You just don't know how your business journey is going to unfold.

A lot of people in startup ask me if I can help them develop their first year's business plan. And I will say to them, “let's set goals for your first year of business, but let’s only do detailed planning for the first three months.”  Because honestly, what happens in those first three months is going to dictate where to go for the next three months and then beyond.

There isn’t a lot of predictability in startup.

We have more predictability the longer we’re in business and the more consistently we are in business.  Over time, we can begin to predict what is going to be happening, and what the results of that are going to be, and what our budget can be for those things.

But when you're first starting out, there's so much unknown. Rather than trying to map out all of the plans for the entire first year, (some people want five-year plans during startup!), instead set some clear goals for yourself for those periods of time.

Don't feel like you need to have every move planned out in detail. Just focus on what your next steps are in the short term.

For example, when I'm working with people in startup, the first stage is getting really clear on what you bring to the table and what you want out of your business. Setting those early goals.

Then it's about defining a very specific niche.  For so many people I work with, when we get into niching, they tell me they wish they’d had someone help them with this on Day 1 of their business.  If you haven't got your niche sorted for starting your business, that's your next step.

So if you've got some idea of what you're doing, you're willing to make some mistakes, you can commit a few hours a week, and have gotten your niche sorted, you may be ready!

Maybe you are ready right now to start playing with that niche, get clear on what it might be, and start connecting to people who are in that space.

If this has fired you up, and you’re thinking, “what am I waiting for, I just need to get out there and start this business,” then I have a super-duper treat for you.

I have a free training called Fast-Track Your Start-Up.

Not only does it help you with the niching part, but also those first important steps in your business.  There’s no fluff!  Only the stuff you need to do to start making sales and bring money in, because once you're bringing money in, you are in business.

And once you decide you are in business, you are in business. Don't let anyone else label your business a hobby. Don't let anyone else minimise your business by calling it a "side hustle," or "trading time for money," or any of those labels people use to diminish what you are achieving.

You are the CEO of a business when you decide that you are, so if you would like to jump on the fast track to growing your business and get those sales in the door as quickly and easily as possible, head on over to the show notes at tashcorbin.com /207 and grab your Fast-Track Your Start-Up training.

You can jump in and get started - the training takes just over an hour to complete. You can even watch it on double time if you want to complete it more quickly.  In no time you'll have a very clear map of what your first steps are to getting money in the door, which is what tells you you've got a viable business!

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of the Heart-Centred Business podcast. As always, I’d love for us to continue the conversation so come on over to the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs Facebook community, and use the #podcastaha. Let me know that you've been listening to episode number 207. And I'd love to know if you've got any questions, lightbulb moments or “aha’s” as a result of listening to this podcast episode.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Hello, brilliant entrepreneur.  It's Tash Corbin here, and welcome to another episode of the Heart-Centred Business podcast. This is episode number 206, which means that all the relevant show notes and links will be available for you over at tashcorbin.com/206.  In today's episode of the podcast, I'm going to be sharing with you some signs that your niche is too big and how to refine your niche so you can scale your business with ease. Let's jump in!

It is such a common question that people ask me, especially when they are in startup or wanting to scale their online business:

"Why does my niche have to be so specific and so narrow?"

You've probably heard some of those lovely catchphrases before, such as “the riches are in the niches” or one I like to use, “if you want to scale your reach, you need to know your niche.”

These statements are trying to explain why niching is so important and why it's such an important part of online business in particular, but they don't give you a lot of detail.

I want you to explain first and foremost why niching is so powerful when you are starting to grow your and scale your business online, and share some signs that your niche is just too big.

Your niche is “whom you serve.”

When I ask people what their niche is, sometimes they'll talk about being a kinesiologist, or helping people with social media, or being a Facebook specialist.

Those things may be your service, but your niche is the specific group of people you focus on when you are marketing.

It's important to understand that niching is not about who you could help with your products and services because, for a lot of people, their modality or service or product could help a wide array of people.

Just because you can help everyone doesn't mean that your marketing should be that broad as well. So your niche is who you focus on when you are marketing your products and services.

The more specific we make this, the more resonant your messaging can be.

If you try and create messaging that speaks to anyone who could benefit from this, then it isn’t resonant for anyone in particular.

A great example of this would be if you are a coach and you offer a one month coaching package that could help anyone who wants to make a life change – including leaving a partner, changing careers, going on a health kick, or starting a business.

With this in mind, let’s compare the difference if you were to craft two ads: The first one says, “Do you want to make a big change in your life? Well, I can help you with transition coaching and here is how it can help you with that.”  And then you craft another offer that says, “Are you a woman who wants to change careers, worried you're just jumping from one bad job to another, and you want to make sure you do your career change wholeheartedly to maximise the results?”

Now you might assume that a woman who is wanting to change careers would see both ads and resonate with both because she fits in the broad category of wanting to change as well as the very specific category of wanting to change careers.

But the specific ad is the one that's actually going to stop and grab her attention because it's speaking to a specific experience.

Put yourself in that person's shoes, seeing these two separate ads that look like they're from two separate providers. One says I can help you with any change you want to make. And another says, you want to change careers, but you're worried you’re making the wrong decision.

Which ad would you be most drawn to?  It's the one that's hyper-specific.

Not only is the one you're most drawn to, but from a pricing perspective, generalist coaching versus someone who really specialises in people changing their careers, people will pay more to work with the specialist.

This is where niching is so powerful.

By trying to speak to everyone, you deeply resonate with no one.

Clients that you do get tend to see you as a generalist, and therefore it's more difficult to charge premium prices and be seen as an expert in the market, even if you are the best coach in the whole wide world!

You will not be able to charge as much as someone who's just starting out as a coach but decides to go really specific.

So you can see that it's really powerful, not only for your marketing, but also for your business growth and business model, and the way you’re perceived online.

What are some of the signs that maybe your niche is too broad?

1. How you describe your niche.

When you try to describe your niche, do you find yourself putting “slashes” in there?  I actually have a ban on slashes when we do niching work in my programs.

It's a little bit of a joke because people try and find the sneakiest ways to get a slash in there. But if you say, “it's men or women,” or you say “maybe they're going through this or they might be going through that,” it’s just not specific, powerful niching.

Even just by paying attention to the way you describe your niche helps you to see whether you’re being specific and clear enough, or are still just a bit unsure and trying to hedge your bets!

2. Can you specify your niche quickly and easily?

You should be able to sum up your niche in five key decisions, and I'm going to give you those five key decisions in this podcast episode.

If you are asked what your niche is and you give a broad sweeping statement like “busy moms,” that's not a niche!

Or if you end up spending a few minutes trying to explain it, then chances are you aren't 100% clear, and you don't have a specific enough niche.

3. You use irrelevant demographics to narrow it down because you're not willing to narrow down in the most important ways.

A lot of people, when asked to explain their niche, will say things like, “it's women aged between 35 and 42.”  They believe this is the way to get specific for their niche.  However, age range isn't a big influence on the way you market your products and services.

Remember, your niche is whom you focus on when you're marketing your products and services. If it's not relevant, then don't include it as a demographic.

Anther common niching misfire is using descriptions like, “she does yoga every day.”  This happens when you make up a picture of this person, and that’s what you see, so you think it’s a niche.  If you’re using weird niching descriptors that actually aren't relevant, then I would say your niche isn't specific enough.

Instead, I recommend that you niche through three layers.

The first layer is the demographic layer, and within that layer, there are two important decisions you need to make: women or men, and do they work for themselves, someone else, or are not working.  None of the other demographic decisions matter unless they're relevant to your services, so I wouldn't worry about them.

The second layer of niching is psychographics. This includes their goals and dreams, their personality traits, etc.

And then the third layer is a word that I totally made up, which is sensor graphics – meaning their five senses telling them what their lived experience is.

I've also got five key questions or decisions you need to make about your niching that address those three layers in the most critical spaces.  I will get to that at the end of this podcast episode!

4. You’re not getting an “oh my goodness yes” from your audience.

You want to create the feeling that you know their situation so well it’s almost like you were peeking in their window last night.  Almost like you know them better than they know themselves.

That kind of feeling is totally possible when you have a really specific niche.  It helps people feel that you are the expert who is best to help them because you deeply understand exactly what they are experiencing right now.

That is the power of niching.

When I'm working with people, and they tell me they've got an issue with their marketing or their offers aren't selling or they don't know how to craft offers, or they don't know how to talk about their work or they're struggling with their messaging, the first place I go is niche.

If you’re experiencing any issues with your messaging, your offers, the way you market, getting more reach, getting better conversions - start with reviewing your niche!  Check that it’s specific enough, because chances are it's not.  And most likely that is what's causing issues at the other layers of your business.

By the way, you don't have to tell people what your niche is.

It doesn’t have to be public, it’s just what determines your messaging and your offers. That is where you create resonance.

Talking about a woman who's aged in her late 30s, and lives in such and such, and has her own business, and blah, blah, blah – this is not what creates the feeling that you understand me.

It’s about actually crafting messaging and offers through the lens of knowing what that specific niche is that you're speaking to.

So here are the five decisions that you need to make.

Decision number one is gender.

This can be contentious for people because you think you can help both men and women. But remember, your niche is who you focus on when you are marketing.  The way you market to men is very different from the way you market to women.

Now, just a little side note here, as I am an intersectional feminist. In relation to gender identity, it doesn't necessarily need to be "born as a man" or "born as a woman."  So when I am identifying my niche, it's people who resonate with feeling mostly female, or mostly women, and / or non-binary. That is my descriptor, and I use womxn with an x as a way of clarifying that for myself.  I don't necessarily go out and share that publicly, but that is my descriptor.

You don’t need to go out immediately and say, I work with women or I work with men. I just want you to make the decision when you are marketing.  Choose whether you are going to be focused on niching to men or niching to women. And if you niche to women, and a man comes along and wants your help and you want to work with him, you can. But that doesn't mean you then need to broaden your niche.

Decision number two is job status.

Again, this is critical in your demographics because of how it frames your messaging and your marketing.

The job status decisions relate to whether this person has their own business or works for someone else or is not working.  You need to make a decision of one of those three things for niching.

Decision number three is a trait.

This is a long-lasting, permanent personality trait. You want to create a business with marketing and messaging that attracts the kind of people you want to hang out with and that you want to help.

That trait might be extroversion, introversion, people who are hyper generous, or it could be people who are deeply creative. People who are colourful people, or are deeply spiritual, are deep thinkers, or they surround themselves with hundreds of hundreds of people.

Think about the kinds of traits of people you like hanging out with - it doesn't necessarily need to be related to your business.

For example, if you're a parenting coach, you could choose a personality trait of raging extrovert - it doesn't need to be specific to the work that you do.  Maybe they sell eco-friendly products, and that makes you really want to hang out with them. It may make them more open to your messaging.

The trait that I chose is people who are really generous, people who give almost to a fault!

I don't necessarily go out there and put it in my messaging.  But when I craft my messaging for offers, or choose the types of podcast episodes to create, or the type of language to use when discussing my products and services, I really want to speak to people in that space - the giving type people.

That means the majority of people who come to work with me are in that space, not because I said you have to be a giver to work with me, but because my messaging really resonates with those types of people.

It also means that it's a really great space to hang out in when you join my programs. And I absolutely love and adore everyone that I work with. They fit the other decisions that I've made, and so it's really easy for me to help and serve them. But we're all these beautiful givers, and it's just this really gorgeous connected community-driven space, and it makes my business a joy.

Decision four is their priority goal you can help them to achieve.

If your ideal client has a number one priority goal they're trying to achieve, and you can help them achieve that, start focusing on the core thing that's important to them.

For my ideal clients, they want more clients, right? They want to make more sales.

Yes, their business is more heart-centred and more aligned. But the core of why they want to work with me is because they want their business to be more successful. They want more paying clients, they want to serve more people.

If I were to talk about creating a business with purpose, and sales that don’t feel sleazy, and all those sorts of things, without getting to the point of you making more money and getting more clients, then I'm just speaking around the periphery, and not getting to the core priority. That is the one thing my ideal client is looking for.

Ultimately, you need to get to the core of your ideal client’s priority.  If their priority goal is to lose weight and you're talking about getting more energy, you are speaking at the periphery.

If their priority goal is to make sales online and have a really simple, easy to use website, and you're talking about user experience and SEO, you're not getting to the point of what they want.

There's a difference between your what your ideal client’s goal is, what their top priority goal is, (in their words), and what you can see is what they really need.

Decision number five is establishing why they don't have it yet.

For my ideal client, they want to be making more sales online. They really, really want to be serving more people. But there are so many things they need to do that it feels like marketing is too hard. See how simple and straightforward that is?

It might be that your ideal client wants to lose weight, but they can't stick with any plan that they ever pick up. Or your ideal client wants to have a really easy to use website, but they don't have the budget to pay for a fancy-pants web developer.  Or they want to grow their reach on Facebook but think they need a $10,000 a month Facebook ads budget so they're just waiting till they have the budget. Or it might be that your ideal client wants to feel more aligned with their soul's purpose.

You can see how the priority goal and why they haven't achieved it yet are so intertwined.

When you're talking about the challenge, don’t talk about them "not knowing where to start," because if you are focused on trying to attract people who haven't even bothered to google it yet, then you're going to attract nightmare clients.

Really think about why she is saying she can't get it.  Why is she saying she hasn't achieved it? Why is she saying she's not there yet?

Because when you really deeply analyse that conversation and that part of your niching decision, that is where the gold is.  That is really where the juicy niching gold lies.

Okay, so here are the five decisions again: gender, job status, personality trait, priority goal, and why they haven't got it yet.

You can see when you make those five core decisions for your niche, you're hyper-specific.  Imagine how much easier it would be for you to craft resonant messaging and offers that convert when you made those five decisions.

If you are finding yourself in natural resistance, remember - it's just, for now, it's not forever. Even just try an experiment for a couple of months.  What if for just a couple of months, you completely focused on this specific niche. Just see what happens. Trust me, it is so much easier, and your business grows so much faster.

So if you would like to review that and make some more decisions about your niche to get 100% clear, and learn how to translate that into resonant messaging and offers, I have a super juicy offer for you.

It’s my Fast-Track Your Start-Up training.

Even when you've been in business for a while, if you are still not making those consistent sales, and you're struggling to articulate what it is you do, or you're struggling to craft offers that really resonate with people, I want you to go and watch this training.

It will help you to see where you might have gaps in the foundations of your business, and get those plugged so that you can fast track the sales and the income you're bringing in in your business. It's available here: https://tashcorbin.com/fasttrack.

And if you have any questions or "aha" moments, make sure you come over to the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group, and use the #podcastaha. Make sure you let me know you’ve been listening to podcast episode number 206!

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

In today's episode, I'm going to talk about how you can grow your business, even if you can't afford to work with a coach yet.

I understand that for a lot of people when you're bootstrapping it and starting lean, investing thousands of dollars in working with a VIP one on one coach may be a little bit out of reach for you today.

That doesn't mean growing your business and getting results isn't possible for you.

In fact, after today's podcast episode, I'm sure you will agree you can get the support, information and encouragement that you need without needing to invest big, especially not at the start of your journey.

Being hand on heart upfront with you, when I first started my business, I had a very shoestring budget.

I had bought into this belief system that to be successful when first starting a business, you must have a one to one business coach who walks you through that startup journey.

This belief system says that otherwise, you'll be going around in circles for months, if not years, and will never succeed. And that if you invest, then your clients will invest.  This is what the coaching industry wants us to believe about what it takes to start a business.

When I started my business, I had a very limited budget. I maxed out my credit card before I started my business, pre-booking a VIP day with a one on one business and it was US$4000.

That got me one day with a VIP coach, and that was all I could afford. I bought her signature offer after doing her free course - a low cost product, low cost course.  I felt like the way they taught business was really aligned for me, and was building a business based on purpose. I found that to be very powerful and something I wanted to do.

I was launching my business and going on holidays in the same timeframe that I quit my job.

We had a three and a half week holiday booked in Europe.  So I quit my job and gave a month's notice before the holiday so instead of going on holidays whilst on leave, I just left the organisation.  I worked out my one month resignation window, rather than being on holidays during that whole full week, so that I could transition and hand over all the things I'd been working on.  I wanted to look after the company I was leaving.

To plan ahead, I pre-booked this VIP coaching day before we went on the holiday because I knew if I didn’t, we’d just spend all the available money on the holiday, which we totally would have.

It was arranged so that when I came back from holidays, I would be working with this coach. And she reassured me that in our VIP day, we would craft an offer and get really clear on my niche. We agreed to come up with a marketing plan that would help me implement getting lots of clients right away, and that my business would flourish because I had invested the big bucks.  And I was totally bought into this concept.

I did that VIP one on one day with that business coach and at the end of that one day I had an idea of what my niche will be. I had three different offers I thought I could potentially sell to those people.

But…I had no marketing plan.

I had no strategy.

Towards the end of the VIP day I was starting to ask questions about how do I find these people? How do I get this in front of people? How do I build an audience on social media? How on earth am I going to find these people who I am picturing, and I've done this amazing avatar description of?

I knew every demographic of them, including what brand of yoga pants they wear, and had collected all of this information, and wondered now how do I go and find that person and attract them into my business?

And she said to me, oh, yeah, we'll talk about that at the end of today's session.

But we didn't quite get to it.

Instead she offered for me to have a free 30 minute follow up two weeks later.

So I had two weeks to get out there and find these people and make these offers.  I went out and signed up some clients that were mostly friends of mine that I’d already been talking to before starting my business who were interested in working with me.

Other than those people who were my friends, who’d already decided to work with me before my VIP coaching, I did not manage to sign up any other new clients.

When I met with her again two weeks later I was able to say: I've put in all of the homework that you've given me, I've got it all worked out. Here's my offer. Here's my sales page. Here's my website. Here are the 10 posts I did on my Facebook page. I've done all of the homework now, so in this session, I really need you to tell me how do I get these people in the door as paying clients.

Well, at the end of that 30 minute free session, it turned out there was a sales pitch for a six month mastermind that was 12,000 US dollars.

Not once did I get any support around extra strategy.

I. Was. Devastated.

I had totally believed what everyone in the industry was saying - that you had to have a coach.  But here I was, I'd spent all my money on getting a coach, and I didn't have any results.

At the time, I really believed I needed to buy that $12,000 thing. I thought, if I don't have a coach, then I don't know what to do, and I'm not going to be successful.

I was in tears on this call as I explained that we’d maxed everything out in Europe, that I had already paid her with all the money I had, and that I would need money to be coming in from clients to be able to pay her more.  That I was the big breadwinner in our relationship.  That I had quit my job to start this business based on us having a marketing plan coming out of this coaching session.

Needless to say that jaded my experience in the coaching industry.

Out of necessity, not really by decision, I had to decline.  But if I’d had that $12,000 I would have paid her right then.  At the time it was about AU$15,000.

If I could have gotten a credit card for $15,000, I would have done it, because I was totally in this space of needing someone else in order to succeed.

And I had been listening to coaching books and going to webinars and following a bunch of business coaches and life coaches.

I was this close to doing another coaching qualification because I thought I needed to be at the top level because coaching was amazing. But I didn't have the money.

Because I didn't have the money, I was on my own.  I had to learn how to grow my business and make money and get momentum without a coach.

Before I go any further - because I've likely offended all of the coaches listening along today - I want to say that I have since reconciled my relationship with the coaching industry.  But I also think that we need to stop blindly accepting this belief system that in order to be successful, you need to have a coach at all times.

We can be a lot more discerning about which belief systems the coaching industry teaches that we want to take on board (and which ones we're happy to leave behind).

One that I have left behind is: if you're not decisive and make quick decisions about who you're going to invest with, then you're going to attract people who are indecisive as well.

That is not true.

If you want to take 48 hours to sleep on whether you want to make a purchase or not, then take 48 hours and sleep on it.

If anyone tells you that in some way makes you not a good decision maker, not a good business owner, not worthy of success, then RUN, don't walk, AWAY from them – That is a fear-based selling tactic!

Some of the best decisions I have “slept on,” because I really needed to go through some analysis of where I'm going to get the return on investment from.  And I've actually been way, way happier with my purchase by waiting to make that solid decision versus jumping in to buy while I'm in a heightened emotional state.

I've gotten way better results from some of those things versus the things I did just jump in and buy out of FOMO or because I bought into the concept that “if you don't make a quick decision, you're not a CEO who's making great decisions and you're not going to have a successful business.”

That belief system - I've totally left it behind.

Another belief I have totally left behind is that you need a coach at all times.

It’s actually why I have created this podcast episode for you. Because I believe that, especially when you're in startup, you can grow your business without necessarily needing to work with a one on one coach.

I also believe in startup there are things you need mentoring on. But having someone trying to coach those things out of you is not necessarily the right approach when you're first starting out in business.

So if you are in the camp of really wanting to start a business, but not necessarily having the funds to work with a coach, then listen up because this episode is going to help you work out a plan to get the information and support you need to grow your business without necessarily having to invest in a one to one coach.

When it comes to getting results and growing your business, I believe there are three core elements.

There is the learning you need to do, the skills and techniques and practices and strategies that you're going to need to invest time in learning.

You also have to implement. It's one thing to learn strategies about webinars to grow your business. But you also need to actually implement those things.

Then there is the mindset piece, and the commitment to getting some form of external support.

Let’s go through each of them in detail.

1. Learning

When you’re starting a business, there are going to be some things you don't know how to do or even which things to learn. You don't know what your options are. You don't even know the full landscape.

There is so much amazing free content out there that can give you that information. You can search YouTube for how to start a business, how to get your first paying clients, how to grow your social media following.

If you already know what to search for, then you will find free content that will lead you to information.

But there is a lot of conflicting advice out there. And if you listen to too many gurus, (I have another episode about the many guru syndrome), or you listen to too many experts, you're going to get too many options.

You’ll get stuck in this either vortex of not taking any action because there's just too many things to decide.

If you’re like most women that I see, you're going to try and implement “all of the things” and then you end up half-implementing everything - and nothing really gets working.

Then even if you do get a few clients in the door, you can't work out which of the 37 things you implemented actually resulted in that client!

So what I recommend is picking between one and three people that you like based on the way they teach business, and the way they treat you.

Have a look at the process they take you through when you first sign up to their mailing list, the types of emails that they're sending, and whether they are empowering you or making you feel this crazy fear that you're never going to succeed.

And as you choose these three people, also consider using this:

• Person One - a clear business strategy person who works across most of the online industries.  Choose one person who's very marketing and business strategy oriented, who doesn't necessarily specialise in your specific area.
• Person Two - someone from your industry. So if you’re a health practitioner, it’s another health practitioner, who teaches you how to grow your business as a health practitioner.
• Person Three – someone you just really vibe with. They might not necessarily teach hardcore business strategy or marketing but they have a really successful business. Maybe you'd love to emulate what they do, not necessarily in your industry, but you just really love the way that they do business.

This approach allows you to get a great balance of industry specific advice. You’ll get core marketing and business advice that transcends industries and doesn't play into the mindset blocks of a specific industry. You're getting different viewpoints.

And I would make sure that if those three people have a podcast or blog that comes out each week, you add it to your priority list to listen to or watch that every single week. If they do any free webinars or trainings, you are signing up to those and going to them.

Since it’s just one to three people, you're not going to be overwhelmed with names, or thousands of things. Each of them may have one weekly piece of shorter content, and maybe one webinar a month, so you're not attending to eleventy billion things.  You can focus on those core things, and then turn off, unsubscribe and clear those other people.

Experiment.  Maybe for a week or so, you are on 30 different lists, and you assess as you go. When you see something you don’t like, you can unsubscribe immediately, and avoid having all of this fear based language into your inbox.

Don’t second guess your decision on who you're following. Pick your three and stick with them. Then focus on what you need to learn that is a priority for you and your business at this stage.

Maybe you hope to create an online course eventually, but right now you're focusing on selling VIP offers one to one.  So if someone you're following is talking about how to have great sales conversations, how to sell VIP services, how they get leads for the VIP services, then that is content you will consume.

If they're talking about strategies that are a bit beyond you right now, like launches and Facebook ads, and you're just not at that stage of your business yet, do yourself a favor and don't listen to it. You don't need to listen to that one right now.

Not everything that they say needs to be consumed by you the minute that they say it. You don't need to worry and have fear and FOMO that you're going to miss out on some kind of important thing you should be collecting.

In three years’ time when you’re ready to do those Facebook ads, you'll have the information there. It'll all be out of date by that time anyway. And chances are that person is going to create more and more amazing content that's fresh and up to date.

Stop hoarding information - you're never going to go back to it!

2. Implementation

So it's one thing to learn a bunch of stuff. But it's another thing to actually implement from the learning of that information.

As a rule, for every hour of content consumption, I invest an hour in creation. I am balancing what I consume with what I create.

If I listen to a 45 minute podcast, I will put 45 minutes aside to review what I learned from that podcast and what am I going to implement as a result, and I get in and start implementing.

As an example of this, I was listening to a podcast about email sequences and buyer behavior. It was a 45 minute podcast. I set aside 45 minutes the next day to implement an update to my email sequences for my freebies.

I actually sat down and went through my two most important email sequences. And I made three or four changes - it wasn't a huge amount. But I felt like I'd really implemented the thing that I'd learned.

Implementation comes down to setting up a system and having that balance between consumption and creation. There's a difference between making a commitment to yourself to balance creation and consumption and actually committing to those three 25-minute pomodoro sessions when you’ll sit down and do the implementation.

Finding ways to get that sense of accountability and implementation support for free can be really helpful, such as with a mastermind group.

When I first started my business I reached out to three people who I really admired in a Facebook group.  I said to them, I really want to do some form of masterminding with other women who are growing their businesses, I think you'd be a really great fit. Would you like to be in a mastermind with me? And two of them said yes, and one of them had another friend who was interested, and so the four of us met every single week, on a Monday.

Every Monday we talked about what we did or didn’t do, and the things we’d committed to and did we do them or not? And then we made new commitments for the week ahead.

It was so good for me, because we had time to talk through different strategies why some things didn't work for us, and also keep each other accountable to doing the things we said we were going to do. So a mastermind is great.

I've also got a bunch of business buddies that I connect with regularly. So some of it’s more formal and structured, ie we meet once a month, and we spend half an hour talking about each other's businesses.  Or it's just totally casual.  I'll message them when I'm going for a walk and say, Hey, do you want to have a quick catch up?

There are lots of different ways you can buddy up with people and get that sense of accountability as well. Particularly if you have a friend or someone else in business or someone that you know, and you're both launching at the same time, it can be really great to buddy up with them and be each other's launch support partners.

It’s the same with running a webinar. When I first started my business, I would say to people, I need to run a webinar next month - what if we both ran our webinars in the same week? And so we're doing all of the things together in the lead up and the follow up to that webinar.

I did that three or four times in the first year or two of my business, and it was so good because I learned from other people's systems and their primary strategies. They learned from mine too. Buddying up with people can be really helpful.

You also want to set systems for yourself to make sure you have balance. Over the years in my business, I’ve perfected the way that I task myself and manage myself and reward myself.

A lot of it is just experimenting with what works for you, what doesn't work for you, discovering where you’re letting things go and not following through.  Identifying what the biggest wobbles are for you, and creating a system simple enough that you'll always use it follow through.

Now in all of these examples, I've talked about free ways that you can do these things. But I also want to quickly acknowledge that sometimes there are group programs that get you exactly the same result for a minuscule percentage of the price. And I've had that experience as a purchaser but also as a provider.

For example, if someone wants to work with me as a VIP one on one client, that is now upwards of 12,000 Australian dollars.

However, they can come and join my TakeOff program for under $2,000. And in the program, there are learning modules and action items. But there are also systems and support that helps with the implementation part.

So in the TakeOff program, there are three layers of implementation.

• One is being able to talk to me and actually discuss your business with me in the group calls. They are "hotseat" style calls. We talk about your business and I get to know your business.
• The second one is the Facebook group. You can create that accountability and sense of having people watch what you're sharing what you're doing. It keeps you on the ball with your implementation.
• And the third thing is we have pods in the TakeOff program, which are small group masterminds. So you've got small group visibility as well as visibility with a coach and mentor, and visibility with a large group.

Here's the caveat on joining group programs for starting a business though.

There are certain things that you need someone else's eyes on your business for, and this is why I don't recommend self-study group programs for starting a business because I've seen so many people pick the wrong niche. No one's actually checking their work or giving any feedback on that niche.

Then they go running off for miles and miles thinking they've got their niche sorted, but they've never had any feedback on that niche, nor any discernment applied to that particular decision.

So if you do choose to join a group program when you are first starting your business, the one thing I would recommend is make sure you get access to the person who's teaching the program.  That can be through the group calls, or one to one support, or some form of access to them.

Being able to ask them questions and talk through your decisions is really important to get some kind of oversight.  When you're in startup, it's very easy to go running off in the wrong direction thinking you've got everything sorted because you're DIY.

And then it takes three or four months of things not quite working before you go, Oh, actually, I think my niche was totally wrong. Oh, I think my messaging was totally wrong.

If you choose to embark upon the group program way of getting that learning and implementation rather than working with a one on one coach, make sure the group program comes with some form of the expert’s eyes on your specific business and giving you feedback in some way.

3. Commitment

You might not be able to work with a coach or VIP mentor for a period of six months, but there are certain decisions in your business where you do need to get some feedback on things.

Make sure that you're committing to getting that support, and assess along the way where that feedback is needed.  Use the free options that are available for you initially, and as you make sales, put portions of that money aside as you earn it, so that you can get the feedback you need at some point in time.

I did this when I started my business. Once I realised, oh my gosh, I need to go out and make a bunch of money and start paying off these credit cards before I can invest in anything else - From that day, I put 5% of every dollar I brought in right into a business growth fund.

And I was saving up to do a social media mentoring program, so as soon as I had $500 I knew I would join that program and learn some of the high level social media stuff because that was really my weakness in the sales process.

If you aren't going to work with a coach or mentor when you're first starting out, make a commitment to at least putting some of the money you make aside so you can invest in getting the right support, mentoring and guidance as you get further into your business journey.

Hopefully you found this interesting and informative in helping to create some kind of strategy to ensure that you’re growing your business - even if you can't afford to work with a VIP coach at this stage.

If you've got any lightbulb moments from this or any questions, make sure you come into the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group and using #podcastaha, let me know you've been listening to episode number 205 and ask your question or share your comment, and we can continue the conversation over in the community.

Remember all shownotes and relevant links are over at tashcorbin.com/205.

If you would like to get some of that free learning with an implementation focus to help you get your business off the ground as quickly as possible, I also have a great free resource for you!

It's my Fast-Track Your Start-Up training program.

It’s totally free for you to come and join, and is at tashcorbin.com/fasttrack.  So come on over and grab that free training, and let's get your business bringing in some sales as quickly as possible, so you can get the support that you need to really magnify that growth and get your business booming.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

In today's episode, I'm going to be talking through the seven telltale signs that you need a business strategy.

Regardless whether you think you have a business strategy or not, I want you to listen along to this podcast episode and just look for any of those warning signs that the business strategy you have isn't clear enough, isn't the right strategy for you, or you actually think you've got a strategy, but you don't.

When people ask me about which tactics they should employ to get more customers, one of the most common problems I see is a lack of one clear, overarching business strategy.

As they start a new business, a lot of people think they know which specific social platform they’ll work on, or they've laid out specific tasks they think they need to do in order to get paying clients. Over time, they simply add more tactics to that plan.

You might initially start working on Facebook, join a couple of groups, and then realise you really love Instagram so you go on Instagram as well.

You run a webinar here and there, you run challenges, you do sales conversations, you've got VIP services, you've got people working with you in group programs. You've also got a book on the way…

And all of a sudden your business process to get paying clients starts to look a little bit like a Frankenstein. There are bits bolted on here, there, everywhere.

And when I ask people: What's your core strategy for business growth over the next couple of months? They cannot answer my question. Or they give me a list of 35 different things.

I’m going to go through what core business strategy is, and the seven signs that you may need one.

A core business strategy is a focus.

It’s the one overarching core focus you use to grow your business, get clients, and deliver in the next two to four months.

Your core business strategy can pivot and adjust over time.  It incorporates some of the tactics you might use to get out there, reach people, convert them into paying clients, and then deliver your products and services.

But what is not a core business strategy is 35 different things all taped together with sticky tape!

So here are some of the signs that your business strategy isn't as focused and clear as it could be, or that it hasn't actually got that overarching core approach.

1. You just want to serve, you don't want to sell.

If you see marketing and selling as something separate from you being of service and helping people, then chances are you don't have an overarching business strategy.

When you're spending most of your business life trying to avoid marketing and selling activities that get people in the door, then you haven't got a core marketing and business strategy that actually works to bring in paying clients.

If you find yourself with that feeling of "Oh, I just want to serve and do the work. I don't necessarily want to do marketing in my business," then you may need some help to create a business strategy that's going to work for you and for your audience.

2. You have “many guru” syndrome.

When you're scrolling on Facebook, just chilling out and looking for fun things to engage with, you are very susceptible to those ads telling you if you're not doing this, you need to do it because you're leaving money on the table.

If you find your inbox contains hundreds of people telling you what to do in your business, or there are dozens of people telling you what to do in your business on the regular, then chances are you haven't found the overarching business strategy that is right for you.

When you don't have confidence that taking specific actions will grow your business, get the clients you’re looking for, and keep your business on a growth trajectory, then you become very susceptible to all of the fear-based marketing on your social media feed or in the “business besties” grapevine.

I know I have gone through some phases of this, because there have been times where I got a little bit fearful and a little bit worried, thinking 'oh maybe I haven't got it all worked out' and that is when I am susceptible to “many guru” syndrome.

If you’re feeling like you’re missing something, some secret you haven’t been told yet, then stop and check in with yourself: Are you feeling confident in your core business strategy, or not? Chances are, you're not, and your business strategy needs to be reviewed, or you need to build a better one.

3. You have overwhelming “to do” lists.

I run planning workshops for the Heart and Soul Planning System, which includes 4 focus areas for each quarter. When I work with people in those workshops, they tend to say, 'oh, I've got 16 things on my list for this quarter. How on earth am I going to get all of those things done?'

When I ask them to tell me which 4 are the most important, they can't do it, because their business strategy isn't built in a way that is focused on the core – it’s a scattergun approach.

You just end up overwhelming yourself with too many things to do.

And we all know, the more things on the “to do” list, the less things you're actually going to achieve.

If you have overwhelming “to do” lists for your business, chances are you haven't got that core business strategy nailed. It’s sent you into a spiral of thinking you need to do all these things, which makes it really difficult to discern what aligns with your strategy and what doesn't.  It makes it difficult for you to prioritise effectively.

4. You feel like you're doing a lot of work for little result.

I see this happen for a lot of people when they're just in the early stages of business.

Let's say you've been running your business for 3 to 6 months, and you've got a few clients coming in. But it feels like you put 25 hours a week into getting clients and 5 hours a week into actually delivering to them.

You feel like you’re investing so much time into just getting the few clients you're getting. Then when you think about scaling up and getting more clients or growing your business even more, it feels really overwhelming and hard because you don't know how you could possibly fit in more marketing time to get those additional clients.

If you find you're doing more and more work, and it's not necessarily translating into more results, your business strategy needs to be reviewed.

Chances are you don't actually have a core business strategy mapped out.  So if you feel like you are doing a lot of work for a little result, review your core business strategy, get 100% clear on what that is.

5. Your business is feeling harder as it grows, rather than easier.

When you've Frankenstein’d a bunch of things onto your list, deciding what's important and what isn’t can become difficult to discern.  You can’t tell what’s actually creating the results in your business, or the difference between “nice to do” versus “actually working.”

You need to be very clear on where you focus your energy and attention, so you don't feel overwhelmed, or feel like it’s hard and is going to be hard forever. That is the last thing that I want for you!

6. You have a lot of tactics.

If you find yourself on multiple social media platforms, and have multiple types of freebies, and are creating lots of different products, services, programs, memberships, and courses, you don’t have one core focus.

And when you have lots of different tactics, but not one core focus, that is actually a sign you don't have a business strategy, and you need one!

7. You sit down to work and don’t know what to do.

You may sit down with an intention of putting in a solid 2 to 3 hours of work into your business, but then not know what to do in that 2 to 3 hours.

Maybe you spend the first hour checking emails, working from what other people want from you.  Then you might jump onto social media and do a few posts, and another hour goes by.  Then in your last hour you start to panic, doing a bit of admin behind the scenes so you can at least feel like something's been achieved today.

But ultimately, you've wasted three hours because you didn't know what to do first.

One thing I really love about my business strategy is that whenever I sit down to my desk, I know exactly what I need to do every single day in order to move my business forward.

Believe me, it hasn't been like that from the very beginning!  It’s taken time and consistently reviewing my strategy in order for me to get it down to 'Where do I need to show up? What is my core value proposition that I can add to my business today? How can I move my business strategy forward in three easy steps today?'

Most days, when I sit down to work in my business, I have 90 minutes at the start of each day to work on what I need to work on.

Then whatever client-facing time I have after that, my work is already done for the day and I know I've moved my business forward.  I know I’ve taken things off my to-do list, and that my business is going to continue to grow into the future.

That is such a beautiful feeling to get to. I had to try a lot of different tactics to get to that point in my business. I had to see what worked for me, what worked for my audience, and what was converting.

It also taught me how to be very consistent in getting rid of the things that don't work, outsourcing the things I shouldn't be focusing my energy on, and really understanding what metrics I need to look at to make great decisions.

All of this allows me to continue to grow my business and serve more people more effectively.

If you are listening to this podcast episode thinking, ‘oh my goodness, I think I am missing that core business strategy - I'm not focused on the key priorities to move my business forward,’ then I have a free resource you might find really helpful.

For those of you who are at the startup level, still not consistently making $5,000 to $8,000 a month in your business, this is going to be a really juicy free resource for you.

It's called Fast-Track Your Start-Up.

Whether you've been doing this for three years or three minutes, if you aren't making consistent sales online, and you've noticed some of these telltale signs we talked about, I would really encourage you to come and check it out.

It's just over an hour of video-based training, and will help you focus on the activities you need in order to feel like you have a very clear business strategy.

This is really juicy and practical, and will help you determine what you need to sit down and work on day in day out. You’ll also save time because you'll reach your results faster, and let go of some of those activities you’re only doing because someone along the way said it was a good idea and they managed to get a bunch of people into their business as a result.

You can let go of those things with confidence, knowing you can focus instead on the things that will be most important for you and your business growth.

If you have any questions, make sure you come over to the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group, and use the #podcastaha. Let me know which of those telltale signs really resonated for you, and what you are going to do as a result of listening to this podcast episode.

Also, if you've got any questions, you can use that same #podcastaha to ask them. Make sure you let me know you've been listening to podcast episode number 204.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

In today's episode, I'm going to share with you the seven surprising habits that support my business growth. And I'm not going to be focusing on the "business as usual" things you would probably expect. I'm going to talk about seven things that might just surprise you.

So let's peel back the curtain and jump straight into it.

I want to talk about these seven habits through the lens of why they support my business growth and also encourage you to think about what habits you need to put in place to ensure you are supporting your business growth as well.

1. Eating completely gluten-free.

This is something I have tried and failed to do (and been on and off the wagon about) for many, many years now. I know that gluten is not good for my body. I know it's not good for my system.

I have had many a naturopath and doctor tell me I should not be eating gluten, and yet delicious gluten just kept creeping back into my eating. But I have now been completely gluten free (aside from a couple of accidents) for at least four months now, and it has made a significant difference to how I feel.

A big thing for me is brain fog. But the biggest impact that gluten has on me is the physical discomfort - it really messes with my digestive system.  I get really bloated, have no appetite, and I lose my sense of hunger for weeks after consuming gluten.

Then I end up with no desire to eat food, and just snack on low nutrition things, which creates a huge cycle for me. But this decision is very specific to me. Going gluten-free is not what I'm talking about today.

I just want you to think about: What is one thing your body needs from you?

Whatever that is, it should be a consistent habit.  Can you make it a priority? For me, I can directly link my consumption of gluten with dips in my income in my business, dips in my productivity, dips in my effectiveness, and dips in my energy.

Some of the big gaps where I didn't release podcast episodes for extended periods of time happened because I was feeling so lethargic with so much brain fog.  There were times I would turn on my recording system to record a podcast episode, and after an hour, I still hadn't formed three coherent sentences.

I know this was happening because of what I was putting into my body. So I just use gluten as one sexy example.

But for you it could be needing to hydrate more effectively. Maybe you're not eating enough vegetables, maybe you need a greater variety of colors of the rainbow in your diet. Maybe you need to stay away from gluten or sugar or dairy or whatever it might be for you.

Whatever that thing is for you, it means that your body is not optimized in terms of its performance.  For me, it's particularly what I'm putting into my mouth.

My habit of eating gluten-free actually impacts my business growth.  I can see direct links between how I feel and how I show up in my business with what I'm putting in my mouth.

2. Taking a slow meandering walk every morning.

This is another of my surprising habits that directly impacts my business growth. I go on a morning walk with my beautiful dog Munchkin. And I'm not a power walker. I wake up so slowly. I have fresh lemon and warm water in the mornings, and then I put my shoes on and I wander out the door with Munchkin. And we go for a slow meandering walk.

Some days I listen to podcasts. Some days I listen to walking meditations. Some days I listen to an audible book. Some days I don't listen to anything. But that habit is very good for my business in a number of ways.

When I feel like I'm needing some inspiration to listen to other people, it's great to create that space and consistent habit of listening to something every day.  Particularly when I want to get through a great audio book, if I'm out walking for at least an hour each morning, I usually listen to books on one and a half times, and can get through plenty of chapters in that time. So it's a really great way to get through my audio books quickly.

That morning walk is also a really beautiful boundary in my business, to be able to create that space - to not roll out of bed and start talking to clients straightaway. This means that when I do talk to clients, I'm switched on and I've got lots of oxygen in my system. I have already had that beautiful morning walk and had a chance to get my head together. I’ve set myself up for the day really beautifully. By the time I have my first client call, I've got myself together.

Part of the reason why this morning walk is so important to me is that it's part of my vision of what I want my life to look like when I'm a multi-millionaire. It's a part of that vision I can do today. Every time I get up in the morning and go for my beautiful meandering, slow walk, I am living like “millionaire Tash” today. And that's a really powerful thing to do.

So have a look at what you think your life will look like when your business hits its mark, wherever you want to get to, and pick something you can start doing now. If it's walking, then walk; if it's having someone come in and clean your house once a week - do that. If it's something that's free - start now. If it's something that's paid, and you need to get to a certain income level to do it, set yourself the goal of getting to that income level and get there as quickly as possible.

The reason I brought this habit up is because it has so many different layers in how it supports my business. It's about setting my day up correctly, it's about having those boundaries. So I'm not having to roll out of bed straight into client time and feel rushed. I feel so spacious every morning.

It's also about what it's doing for my body. Of course, I get all my steps done in the morning, so I don't have to worry about getting my steps in at any other point in the day. I do more vigorous activity in the afternoons, which I don't do every day, but I do my meandering walk every morning. It also contributes in terms of listening to things and getting that inspiration and those ideas - it just contributes in so many different ways that I love.

3. Colouring in.

One of the things I love to do at the end of every day is track my income. And I love doing it because it's the perfect window into what's going on with my mindset. It helps me get clear on how much money is coming in for my business, and allows me to show insane gratitude for that money.

It’s the very last thing I do each day when I'm working in my business.

To give you an insight, I am recording these podcast episodes, and when I have finished this podcast episode, that's me done for today. So whenever I close the lid of my laptop for the day, I pull out my income tracking, check out how much money have I brought in today, and do this beautiful coloring in.

That coloring in is not only great for my money mindset, for paying attention to my cash flow and looking at my income stuff, but it’s great for my gratitude.

That becomes my gratitude practice for the day - done. And it’s this beautiful transition between working in my business and tuning out for the day.

Sometimes it takes me two minutes, sometimes it takes me a little bit longer, but when I do that coloring in, I am signaling to both sides of my brain: “Okay, the day is done, it's time to shut down.”

Another little habit I do is whilst I'm coloring in, if things pop to mind that I need to remember to do tomorrow, I just quickly stop and write those down in tomorrow's planner page, so when I step out of my office to have dinner or take Munchkin for another walk, or go to the gym, or whatever it is, I am switched off from my business.

That is a boundary that means I'm way more present with my partner, I'm way more present with my friends, I'm way more present with my Munchkin. I'm way more present to my exercise that I'm doing and moving my body.

Sometimes I'll get a massage or get someone to come to my house and give me a massage in the afternoon, and I'm way more present and can totally relax into it. My mind isn't racing with things I haven't done today, or things I have to remember for tomorrow, or haven’t quite shifted gears from business mode to outside mode.

Coloring in is one juicy little habit does so much for my business growth. I know that when I turn up the next day in my business, I'm going to show up way more effectively if I've actually switched off in between.

It can be so tempting to just say I’m an entrepreneur and I never stop thinking about my business.  But by consistently saying that to yourself, you are keeping that true.

If you are hearing how I talk about switching off in the evenings and think maybe you’d like to try a little bit of that, just experiment with it.  That little transition from “working” into “not working” now is hyper, hyper powerful.

4. Getting my hair done.

At the moment, it's every three weeks, but I will move that down to every two weeks and then eventually every week.

It's moved to every three weeks because the hairdresser closest to me actually has closed down. So it went from five minutes to get to the hairdresser, to now about 45 minutes to get to the hairdresser. But I go and get my hair done.

I had it done today (can you tell?) – it’s so shiny! I usually get them to do a little soft curl or something every three weeks, and I don't get it cut every time - I get it cut every second time.  And I don't get coloured every time, I just get a shampoo treatment and blow dry or curl, and then the next one I'll get the cut and colour and then blow dry as well.

So that is something I always book for a morning. And then that same day I will schedule time to do some videos and Facebook Lives, and focus and all sorts of things because my hair is feeling great.

Having that consistent habit in my business and in my life actually means my business is growing because I'm consistently creating content. I do more Facebook Lives on that day, I pre-record little videos for different launches. I can batch up a bunch of stuff, because I've got my hair done, I'm feeling really amazing. And I mean, who doesn't feel amazing after getting a scalp massage or sitting in a massage chair? They make me a little cup of tea and I have a great chat about random things that are happening in town. It is so nurturing and so lovely to be looked after. It just puts me in a really great frame of mind.

Sometimes while I'm getting my hair done, I'll be jotting down little ideas about the things I want to record, so I'm really using that time effectively. Sometimes I just sit and read magazines about what Meghan Markle is up to or whatever, but most of the time, I’m thinking about things in my business and just jotting things down. Especially when there is wait time like waiting for the colour to set in or waiting for the treatment, whatever it might be.

I will use that time to just jot down ideas for videos, so that when I do finally sit down later to do the videos, not only do I have my content plan for all my podcast episodes, but I often have all these extra little ideas. And I can just go and do them straightaway and it's super fun. I love to get my hair done. If you can get it done weekly, I recommend getting it done weekly.

5. Have a Toy Box.

My toy box is where I put all of the fun project ideas, new product ideas, and things.  It's an Evernote notebook called “Tash’s Toy Box.”

Whenever I think of something new, like doing a retreat, and the ideas flow (“we'll do this and we'll do that” or “we should do this thing at conference,” or “maybe I could add this thing to the academy” or “maybe I could make this entire new course”...) Those things go into the Toy Box.

When I go back to Australia, I'm going to do some partnered speaking gigs, so I will reach out to three or four members of the lady posse, whom I know are all in one particular local area. And we'll put on a half day mini conference together. So I've had this amazing idea, and I really want to do it, and I was working up that idea from the toy box, because that was already in the toy box from several years ago.

I set a timer on my phone for five minutes, I go straight into the toy box, I create a new note for it in the toy box, and I spend five minutes playing with that idea. And then I close the lid of the toy box and I go back to what I was doing.

This is really powerful for my business because I know that in order for me to really hit my goals, get that growth, get that scaling happening, I need to stop playing with shiny objects.

I know that I can come up with lots of really cool ideas. But that's not actually where I need to be focusing my energy and attention in my business. I've got a plan, particularly for the next one year, and I need to stay focused on that specific plan to make sure I'm nailing that before I start playing with any other new shiny things.

The toy box habit allows me to keep generating all these creative ideas and play with that creativity, but in a way where it doesn't derail and sabotage my business.

Every second Friday afternoon, I have Toy Box time scheduled into my calendar.

As long as I've got all my jobs done for the week, and I'm really feeling it, I want to play in the toy box. I will allow myself a couple of hours to pull something out of the toy box and play with it.  I might design things or put more detail into it, or maybe chat to a few people and ask some questions. Then when toy box time is over, I put it back in the toy box, and I move on.

I keep pulling things out and playing with them and then I put them back until they are ready. Then there's space in my business for those things to come to life.

Now the beautiful thing about the toy box habit is that I don't ever shut down new ideas. When new ideas come, I reward them and encourage them and celebrate them, because what we focus on and show gratitude for is what we create more of, and generating ideas is one of my zone of genius things.

It's also a value proposition for my clients and for people who are following me, because there's always new core strategies coming out. But that doesn't mean I need to stop what I'm doing in my business right now and derail everything to focus on that new thing.

It’s a really beautiful strategy and a great habit that does support my business growth.

I love Elizabeth Gilbert's take on this, and she talks about it in her book “Big Magic.” She says that if an idea comes knocking at your door enough and you don't pick it up and run with it, it will go and knock on someone else's door.

Something I have recognized with the plethora of ideas in my toy box is that it can also be really fun for me to hand those ideas on to someone else. As a result, a lot of my VIP clients have products, services, courses, memberships, that were actually born in my toy box.

The ideas may have come in originally for my business, but after evaluating on a scale of 1 to 10 how important it was to my model, how likely I would be to actually implement it, and whether it was really aligned with my core business, I sometimes concluded it wasn’t a fit.  Then I asked myself, well, whose business is it aligned with? Sometimes I know exactly who to give it to straightaway and I go talk to them about it straightaway.

A lot of the time, it will come up in a VIP session with a client. The client will be talking about wanting to do a membership thing and I already have a really amazing idea in my Toy Box.  So we pull it out and play with it, and as a result there have been masterminds and group events and conferences and new courses and new memberships all born out of my toy box.

It’s exciting to know that this thing is going to exist, and I can help that person bring it out into the world.  And I don't have to be responsible for the ongoing management of that thing. Ideation is one of my favourite things to do. And I get to do it really beautifully because I have this amazing toy box. So my toy box habit of allowing myself to play with new ideas but then putting them back in the toy box has allowed my business to grow in so many different ways.

6. Taking time out.

I understand that when you’re in the thick of things, and you’re going for a goal and you're in the middle of a launch, taking time out is not necessarily aligned to what you believe is actually going to grow your business.

But as a reformed workaholic/perfectionist, I can tell you that the more time I take away from my business, the more effective I am in my business, and the better my business runs, and the more I keep those boundaries about who does what in my business rather than taking on jobs I've delegated to someone else.

The more I take time off from my business, the better my business works and the faster it grows.

I talked about this in a previous podcast episode (tashcorbin.com/192) about how taking time out in your business isn't always just an all or nothing concept.

You can take time out in your business by making sure you finish at four o'clock every single day. That is taking time out and actually shutting down. Or you can have a three day weekend once a month.

You can also take time out of a certain part of your business. Maybe you don't do client facing time on Mondays and Fridays, only on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Maybe you don't do any group stuff except for on Wednesdays, right?

So if you can you keep those boundaries around things, it helps you to create this sense of spaciousness and this capacity for lots of time off, not just a four-week chunk once a year, but actually spaciousness throughout your time in your business.

Taking time away supports me my mental well-being and my health well-being. It supports my creativity, my idea generation, my enthusiasm and motivation for my business. It supports me having a great relationship and not feeling like my business is costing me my relationship or my friendships or my social life.

All of those things add up to a more effective and a more successful business. So taking time away, habitually, is actually responsible for a lot of my business growth.

7. Decluttering.

I love decluttering in lots of different ways. We do this in my Fast Money Challenge. In the Fast Money Challenge, I talk about the different layers of decluttering that you can do for your business.  I declutter whenever I'm going for a goal as part of my manifesting process.

And whether it's my monthly income goal, or a 10-day short term income goal, or a longer-term goal, I will declutter as part of that process of manifesting the money.

There are different layers of decluttering that I do.  The first phase of deep decluttering is physical decluttering, like getting in the habit of tidying your desk.  Keep your workspace nice and organized and declutter your purse, handbag, or laptop bag.

This helps to keep things feeling spacious physically.  Physical spaciousness and decluttering is the first stage because physical clutter is the fastest way to slow down the energy of a space. (Hashtag let's watch some hoarders and see just how true that is!!)

Then I do a digital declutter. I recently decluttered my calendar. I had lots of random blocks in my calendar for random things. I had blocked out Mondays for this and Wednesdays for that, and every Friday afternoon for toybox time and all those sorts of things, but there were just so many of them.

So I went in and decluttered all of the things out of my calendar that were recurring appointments or random appointments that didn't need to be there. I just left the bare minimum appointments. Then I went into my Acuity and changed my hours of work, so I didn't need to keep blocking out all that time. I put in three time blocks for the three most important things and they are recurring weekly time books, and it was so good.

My calendar is now spacious again, and that spaciousness creates so much excitement for me. It energizes me. It means there's room for more in my calendar because I've decluttered the unnecessary stuff.

In a digital declutter, I also tidy up my downloads folder if it has got a few too many things in it, or my documents, or the desktop, or the inbox - all of those spaces where you might just have clutter accumulating digitally.

I have a folder called “business development” and a folder called “personal development,” and if I go to webinars, or sign up for freebies, I will save a lot of those things in there. So every month I declutter it, because if I haven't watched something within a month, the chances of me watching it are pretty low!

Just declutter it. It creates so much spaciousness, releases that heaviness of feeling there are still more things to watch or do.  I figure if I really need to learn that thing, I have this amazing magical tool called Google, right?

I also do energetic decluttering. You could call this mindset, energetic, or emotional decluttering.  I might write down a list of all of the worries I have, and then I'll tap on them.  I'll do some journaling, and clear out the mental clutter that's going on. Sometimes I find even doing my end of day ritual that I may still be carrying mental clutter, like to do lists or shopping lists. So I consistently put those things down somewhere.

In our phones, both Davey and I have a family management app. It has shopping lists, to do lists, a shared calendar and a shared diary like a gratitude journal, and a shared message board. It's a really cool app. I love it. And in that app, I have the shopping lists and stuff.

So when I’m thinking, “I have to remember to buy that,” I’ll get it out of the brain and put it in the app. Because if it’s in the app, both Davey and I can see it, and we might be able to take care of some things for each other. And not only that, when I go to the shops, I will actually remember to open the app and find it. It's just getting into the habit of using the systems that you already have to declutter your mind.

If you have a bunch of grievances you're holding onto in your brain and are wanting to remember to be cranky at that person, write it down, forgive it, tap it away and just let it go. All of that emotional clutter is slowing down your business growth.

On that note of decluttering and keeping your business growth going quicker, I want to share with you a free resource called Fast Track Your Startup.

It's not just for startups, but does focus mostly on those early stages of business. In that training, I take you through the things that you don't need to focus on and the things that you do need to focus on in order to get that income going up quickly in your business.

It helps you to declutter all the things you don't necessarily need to be doing. And it also helps you to focus on and prioritize those things that are going to bring the income quickly.

Before we close up on today's episode, I'd love to know which of my seven surprising habits surprised you the most? And what habit are you going to implement into your business to fast track your business growth?

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

In today's episode, I'm going to share with you how to be magnetic to your leads and clients. This one is super juicy!

There are actions and strategies you can use to be more magnetic to the right people. In this podcast episode, I'll share five of those strategies, and I've even got myself a very dodgy but cool magnet metaphor that perfectly demonstrates how you can be more magnetic in your business.

So let's jump in, shall we?

In this day and age, particularly with this whole feeling of “have’s” and “have-not’s” on social media, the “cool kids” versus the "not-cool kids," it could be very easy for us to assume that magnetism - or being attractive to your ideal client - is a thing that some people have and some people don't.

But speaking from experience, I can tell you that being magnetic to your ideal clients and leads doesn't come down to some random innate quality that you have.

Let's look at five concrete strategies for magnetism.

1. Magnets are polarizing.

So magnets have a north and south - a positive and a negative. And when it comes to you showing up in your business, you need to reconcile yourself with the fact that not everyone is going to love you.

When you share your deeply resonant messaging from the heart, some people still won't like it, and some people will actively dislike it.

There are people out there who hate Oprah. I don't understand it.  There are also people out there who hate Adele. I don't understand that either. But there are.

And the thing those two ladies have in common is they deeply connect with their true belief system and what they're willing to do and not willing to do. They go and share it unapologetically. And they aren't on Facebook looking at all the negative reviews about themselves.  They aren't going, “Oh, that person didn't like that song. I'm not going to release another song again until I get it right.”

That's not how you become magnetic!

You become magnetic by deeply standing in your power about the message you share, your belief system, and accepting that not everyone is going to love you.

Now being polarizing is sometimes used in poor ways. For example, being a jerk on purpose, or swearing a lot because you want to drive away people who don't like swearing, or doing things that are purposefully controversial when it's not even particularly important to you.

I actually had a conversation with someone about this at a recent event. She said she's not really that big of a swearer, and she doesn't really care about swearing, but she swears a lot on her podcast because it drives away people who don't like swearing and she thinks that “niches” her down. And I was like, “but if it's not important to you, why are you polarizing people on it?”

There are also people out there who teach this as a strategy, to purposefully choose a popular belief in your niche and then argue against it.  Sometimes it's done as a click-bait thing. And I just think this is really stepping out of alignment.

So when I talk about being polarizing, I'm not saying to be a jerk, or to purposefully go out there and criticize something popular just for the sake of it.

Instead, be really clear on what you do believe in and stand for it.

If there is something you see happening a lot, and you profoundly disagree with it, don't be afraid to talk about it.  You may repel a bunch of people, but that's what magnets do.  When you polarize, you will repel those who aren't your ideal clients, and you will magnetize those who are.

Be really clear about who you are, what you stand for, and do some reflection on which beliefs you hold near and dear.  Start speaking about those more consistently, with the understanding that some people aren't going to like it.

When it comes to getting haters or people un-following you or un-subscribing, it's all just part of what we call in the TakeOff program “Business Bingo.”

That’s right.  We actually have Bingo - things you can check off when they happen in your business, because they are part and parcel of being an entrepreneur. That includes people sending you messages saying you're stupid, people hating on you, and people un-following you.

Have you heard of “hair tossing?"  It's when someone leaves your community, un-follows your page, or un-subscribes from a mailing list, but they can't just walk out quietly - they have to get up and toss their hair and tell you what you've done wrong before they exit. That is just part of “Business Bingo,” and it's going to happen.

In fact, it's a sign that you're making it, so celebrate it and check it off!

2. Get stronger. Share more content.

Did you know that when you consistently rub a magnet on another magnet in the same direction, it gets stronger? That is so cool. (You get a little science lesson in with your podcast episode today!)

As online business owners and entrepreneurs, we need to get stronger as well. The way we get stronger and grow our magnetism is by being consistent and sharing valuable content. That is what magnetizes people towards us. So yes, it's a bit of a stretch with this magnet metaphor, but it works, right?

We want to get stronger. And we want to strengthen our magnetism by putting out more consistent, valuable content for our ideal clients.

This works in a range of different ways to magnetize people towards you:

• SEO. When people are Googling things, and you've got content that relates to these things, they're going to be more likely to find you.
• Shareability. When you create valuable content for your ideal clients, they will share it with other people who need that content as well.
• Consistency. Consistency always trumps “flash and crash” strategies when it comes to growing your reach and your audience.

When I can trust you are going to turn up consistently and you're going to add value consistently to my day, then I will consistently follow you and be drawn into watching your video or consuming your content.

I've had hundreds of people tell me when they are scrolling Facebook, and they see those spots, they stop scrolling to watch my video because they know it will be valuable for them.

That has come from consistency, not just a single fancy schmancy video that I did once and was a value to them. It was that consistency - I have proven my worth and my value in investing their time to watch my videos.

3. Moving closer.

If you've got a ball bearing here, and your ideal client is over on the right side and you're the magnet and you want to draw that ball bearing towards you, you can do that simply by moving closer and closer and closer.

But you don't have to chase them. Sometimes when you use a magnet and you push it too close to something too quickly, it actually pushes the thing away.

That is what happens when you brace in too far. So don't be aggressive towards your customers and ideal clients, but move a little closer to them.

A great analogy is from the movie “Hitch,” when Will Smith talks about how you come in 90% of the way, and you let them come in the other 10% - that is exactly the type of metaphor that I love!

You’re moving closer to your ideal client, saying “hey, look at this magnetic thing that I have here,” and then they get to make the decision about whether to jump on board or not.

This includes things like asking for the sale consistently, talking about your products and services, talking about the way you serve and help people, and consistently inviting them to engage with you.

You can put this into action when you send your regular newsletters, or short emails to your audience to say “hey, just wanted to send a quick email to check in and see if you still need help with A, B or C - let me know.”

Those simple steps are actually moving closer to your audience while still giving them the power to make that final call.

4. Get out of the box.

Magnets left in boxes and shiny packaging are not particularly effective at attracting iron towards them, are they?

Often when we are in business, we feel like we have to have this beautiful shiny packaging, but that packaging makes you less magnetic.

People want to buy from other human beings.  Showing your true self and your flaws - jumping out of your shiny packaging - is actually a way that you can magnetize more people towards you.

When I share posts like a ranty Facebook Live on my couch with no makeup, I often get a better response than the pretty, well-presented ones where I'm sitting at my desk. And me sitting at my desk often performs better than those beautifully modeled, studio recording sessions.

In fact, I've never done beautifully modeled studio recording sessions because when I see them from mentors that I follow, I don't really like them as much, and don't watch them as much, because they look like a perfectly manicured ad.

Humans are distrustful of advertising and marketing, so the more you look like a perfectly polished ad, the less magnetic you are – I know, it's so counterintuitive!

We come from a long masculine history of admiration marketing, and “you need to admire me because I'm perfect and I've got it all figured out.” Buuuut that doesn't work anymore.

In this age of human to human business, being more human actually makes you more magnetic.

So get out of your perfect packaging from time to time, and start connecting human to human with your ideal clients.  You might just find that you become instantly more magnetic.

5. Find your true north.

Left to its own devices, a magnet will consistently point north. For us as online business owners and entrepreneurs, finding our true north makes us more magnetic.

When I say "find your true north," I'm talking about things like trusting your gut and following your intuition.

Stop following people who don't align with your values and what you prioritize. Stop trying to be a cookie cutter model of someone else's business and find your own true north instead.

For a long time, I thought that I needed to have lots of testimonials in order for people to feel like they could trust and buy from me. But whenever I asked my clients for testimonials and shared them, talking about how so-and-so made $8,000 after just six weeks in the TakeOff program, it just felt really weird to me and I was uncomfortable with it.

Then I had a conversation with a client of mine, talking about my discomfort with those kinds of testimonials, and she agreed.  She worked in the weight loss space, and she said, “I don't like sharing my clients “before” and “after” photos, because it's like I'm taking the credit for them, and I've had companies and coaches do that to me, and I don't like it. I lost weight because I was the one who did the work.”

And I feel exactly the same when it comes to client testimonials. Me saying that so-and-so made $10,000 in six weeks doesn't actually resonate or feel congruent for me.  Sure, that person might have been in my program or done coaching with me, but they did the freaking work. They're the person who went out there and got the clients, and delivered to the clients. They did the marketing.  They showed up. They overcame all the mindset blocks and did the work.

I just didn't really enjoy nor feel aligned with the process of sharing client testimonials - particularly the ones about the money.

Instead of getting perfectly polished client testimonials, what I do now is collect those moments when someone just organically shares their thoughts and feelings about the program.  When they say, “oh my gosh, this was amazing, thank you so much” in reference to a specific part of the program or process, I share their words, onto sales pages or occasionally social media, but I don't share them a lot.

By talking that through with my audience, so many people said, “That's why I love you. That's why I still follow you, because you're not claiming all of your client’s successes.” And it was such an amazing thing for me.

It simply came from listening to myself - listening to what felt right for me and what didn't.

Now, there's a big difference between this and slightly pushing me outside my comfort zone. This just wasn't aligned to my values. It's important that we get good practice discerning between the two.

Ultimately, if you are feeling like something is not the right fit for you, or not the right strategy for you, you don't want to behave in that way.

Trust your instincts and find what is true north for you.

Don't be afraid to discuss it with your business coach or mentor, because a great business coach or mentor should be able to help you to dig into whether this is a values misalignment or just a discomfort.

A great business strategist or coach will be able to help you find other strategies to get the same outcomes without having to step out of alignment.

Throughout my years in business, when something comes up and I feel like it's a values misalignment, I discuss it with my coach or mentor immediately.  At times it has led to me firing that coach or mentor, because they wanted me to blindly keep implementing something I could see was deeply out of alignment.

I once had a coach who wanted me to put a countdown timer on an email I was sending, even though that countdown timer wasn't real, and didn't actually change anything. We had this deep conversation about why I wasn't willing to lie in the sales process, and they just wanted me to blindly do it.  So I fired them. It was like - I can't work with you as a mentor if you can't help me keep my conversion rates high without creating false scarcity. That was such a great eye opener for me!

So if you are having these thoughts about different business strategies you're being taught, go and speak about them with the people who are teaching them to you because they will be able to help you discern between a values misalignment versus just nudging you outside your comfort zone.  If it is a values misalignment, they should be able to help you find alternative strategies that feel more aligned for you.

So here is a quick recap:

1. Polarize, but don't be a jerk!
2. Get stronger through being consistent.
3. Move closer. Be present but don't be gross!
4. Get out of that shiny packaging!
5. Find your true north. Trust your gut and your instincts!

You're a smart, capable woman, and you know exactly what is good for you and what is not good for you.

If you liked this super juicy reflection, and you want to explore these more deeply, I have an entire book (with worksheets!), which is completely free!  You can get it for free as part of listening to this podcast. All you need to do is go to the show notes at tashcorbin.com/202.

There will be a link there for you to come and grab my Magnetic Business book.

And it's not just a book, it's actually got worksheets and exercises that you can do to help you really clarify where you can show up and be more magnetic in your business.

As always, if you have any thoughts or questions from this episode, come on over to the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group and use the #podcastaha, and let me know that you've been listening to Episode 202 and what your questions or “aha” moments have been.

You can also use that hashtag to tell me which of these five magnetizing strategies you need to focus more on in the next few months.  It will be lovely for us to continue the conversation!

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

In today's episode, we’ll talk about what to do when your offer isn't selling.

We’ll look at it through three different lenses, and will get quite practical.

Grab a pen and paper, or listen along and bookmark this one to come back to.  Let's dive on in!

It can be really heartbreaking and challenging when you feel like you have something that is going to change people's lives - it's an amazing offer at a really juicy price – but you just cannot seem to convince anyone to invest in the outcome.

We can be so challenged by a lack of sales.  It can feel like you just hear those resounding crickets when you talk about your paid products or services.

But there is no such thing as failure. There's only feedback.

If your offer isn't selling, that is a form of feedback!  You can use a very structured review process and look at this through three specific angles.

I'm going to help you understand why your offer isn't selling and how to take action to ensure you’re selling.

If you've been listening to me for more than 10 minutes, I have a “not so secret” 3-part marketing plan:

1. Reach: How many people are you actually getting in front of?
2. Conversion: How many of those people are becoming paying clients?
3. Mindset: What energy are you bringing to it, including thought processes and feelings?

We can look at your offer through these three lenses to see where you need to be focusing your attention, and where you may need to make changes so your offer starts to sell.

Sexy, right?

1. Reach.

So let's talk about reach first and foremost. The biggest piece of feedback I have for most people is this: You haven't shared your offer enough.

People will come to me freaking out, saying, “I had this amazing offer. I spent the last two months putting this package together.  I've worked on my messaging, I've hired a copywriter, I've created the most amazing sales page, I've got all these brilliant photos. It is so juicy. And I haven't made any sales.”

And when I ask how many times they’ve shared it? The answer is…drumroll… ONCE.

Listen.  Even if you put it out there to a mailing list of 5000 people, you cannot guarantee that it will sell the first time that you talk about it!

I've been guilty of this myself.  Even recently!

When we had to move the Heart-Centred Business Conference to 2021 because of Coronavirus and the pandemic, we made the decision to put the Heart-Centred Business Conference as a virtual conference on the existing dates in June.

We put the sales page together and I said to everyone, “My gosh, great news. The Heart-Centred Business Conference is going online, you can buy tickets to the virtual event.”

And we had a super early bird launch, and I talked about it maybe four times.

Annnnnnd we sold 12 tickets.

I was so disappointed in that. I wonder, how many people heard me talking during one of those four times and had an interest, but then never saw anything from me again, and completely forgot to buy their ticket?  I’ll never know!

So we need to reach as many people as we can, particularly those that are ideal for this product or service.  And not just reach them once - we need to reach the same people over and over again.

Marketing studies have shown that people need to see something six times to take action on it. Whaaat?

In this day of superfast scrolling through the internet, and being overwhelmed with all the white noise out there, it's looking like we might want to say things more like 10 to 12 times in order for people to take action on them. So we need to get better at stopping the scroll, we need to get better at reaching people.

Yes, we want to reach more and new audiences. But we also need to remember to reach the same people over and over again.

If you haven't got a strategy that gets your offer in front of your hottest leads and clients more than six times, maybe it's time to review your promotional strategy and address the reach.

Let's say that you have a new VIP offer you want to share with people. And your call to action is for people to book in a free conversation with you about whether this is the right fit.

If your goal is to get three to five people to have a conversation with you about this VIP offer, you want to be sharing that VIP offer at least 10 times.

So think about all of the spaces where you could share it more than once. I'm not saying copy and paste those same words 10 times and throw them all over Facebook – that’s not going to work for you either!  Actually, the more duplicate content that you have on Facebook, the lower the rate of that content anyway.

Instead, write out 10 different promo posts for that VIP through 10 different angles, or focusing on 10 different features, or 10 different benefits, and then go and share those consistently for the next four weeks.

If you were to do that and share it 10 times over the next four weeks, the odds of you having someone book in a sales conversation with you are wayyy higher than if you just copy and paste the same offer once a week for the next four weeks. Make sure that you are doing the right things to get the reach that you need to give this offer a chance.

2. Conversion.

Now, if you feel like you've got the reach part nailed, then the next step is focusing on conversion.

And if you have reach but are not converting, chances are it’s because of the value proposition.

While value proposition can mean a bunch of different things, ultimately it means how valuable is that thing to the prospective client? And how aligned is it to their priorities?

Whilst you might think it's really valuable for me to look after my health and assess the mineral content of my bloodstream and take supplements to boost my minerals, if that's not attached to a specific goal that is a priority for me, the chances of you convincing me to do that are actually pretty slim.

A lot of people make the mistake of thinking they can convince their ideal client to change their priorities. But the easiest way to get conversion and sell your products and services is to attach to their existing priorities.

As a small business owner, one of my priorities is business growth. So if you can convince me that having this mineral mix in my in my drink each day is going to help me be sharp and more vibrant, and therefore make more sales in my business, you'll have a much better chance of making a sale to me. (By the way I just made this example up. Please don't send me angry letters saying I told people that minerals would grow their business!)

So get really clear on who your ideal client is and what your niche is. What is her priority or his priority? What are the top three things that this person is focused on making sure they nail every single day?

If you can link your product or service to those existing priorities, you will have a much better chance of converting than if you don't.  Trying to convince people to change their priorities before they are ready, willing and able to buy will only stretch out your conversion process and purchase time, and will make it more difficult for you.

Now, I actually have an entire previous podcast episode dedicated to conversion and profit, but for most people, their offer is not selling because they haven't gone deep with that value proposition.

Often, the reason why they haven't gone deep with the value proposition is because they haven't niched specifically enough.  Or it could come down to not being very clear with messaging and having deeply resonant messaging for your ideal client that speaks to what's going on for them right now.

Ultimately, having that value proposition really clear is going to be the best way to improve the conversion of the service or product you are offering.

And, a final little shout out to connection as well!  We are more likely to buy from someone that we know versus someone who is a stranger.

One of the first things I do to help people increase conversion is make sure they use their name and photo consistently. That is a quick and easy shift that really does have an impact on conversion.

For example, if you are running a webinar and you don't have your photo in some of the slides, please add your photo, because people buy from people and they want to know who you are.  They need to connect your voice and your face. And that creates more connection for them, and therefore they are more likely to convert.

If you're in Facebook communities, and you only ever share those perfectly manicured photos of you that you got taken three years ago, and you're not sharing real photos of who you are right now, that can create disconnect for people. That can often reduce your conversion rates because people have this sense of distance from you.

Connection is the number one way to maximize conversion.

3. Mindset.

The third part of our three-part marketing plan is mindset.  I know a lot of people that just copy and paste their offers into Facebook groups each week, and they get someone else to write their copy for them.  They're not particularly excited about what they're doing.

That energy is palpable when we read what you're putting out there - whether it's an email, your sales page, or in your offers.  Are you actually coming at this with a positive, high vibe mindset?  Or are you coming at this like, “Oh my gosh, no one's ever going to buy from me, I can't be bothered today, but I'm desperate for the sale. So here's my offer.”

When it comes to mindset, I also think that desperation is palpable, and with all of the recent events in the world, (I'm not going to talk about it in detail), I didn't just see panic buying around the world. I also saw panic selling.

People were worried if they didn't make the sale now they were going to have a cash flow crisis in the coming months. And that desperation and panic came through in their offers and emails, regardless of whether their words specifically said it or not.

I truly believe your audience can pick up on your vibe regardless of whether you're convincing yourself everything's fine or not.  So I would highly recommend that if you don't have a consistent daily mindset practice, that you build one now.

Having the tools to feel you are coming from a space of abundance and trust and belief rather than a space of fear or limitations or poverty makes a real difference. It also makes a difference in your messaging and whether your offer is selling or not.

Take a moment to really tune into whether you truly believe in this offer.

Do you truly believe in the value proposition of this offer? Do you truly feel like you are high vibe, feeling great, everything's cool?  Are you coming from a space of abundance and bringing joy to your work right now? Or is there something that's kind of a niggling, not-so-awesome feeling for you right now?

It’s worth investing 15 to 20 minutes to tune into what that is, and use your mindset practices to clear it. You can package it up and tie it in a bow and put it aside for later if you don't want to work on it right now. But there are so many amazing tools and modalities and practices out there. Experiment with some and find the one that works for you to do consistently.

I share all the time that I journal every day. I tap every day, most days. Each day as I start to work, I write down my income goal.

Those things really do help me to tune into how I'm feeling right now, so that any of those niggling thoughts coming up can be cleared before I start my workday.  I know this contributes to the effectiveness of my offers and my posts.

Alright, so you've got three layers that you can review your offer through and decide if there's an area you need to improve on to get it selling.

If reach and conversion are areas you'd like to focus more on, and you do a lot of selling on Facebook, (or if you'd like to), I actually have a free resource for you.

It's my Zero Dollar Facebook Marketing Plan.

This is a free training that helps you to make more money from Facebook by getting better rates and better conversion.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Now for this special 200th episode, I've got a juicy episode for you today.

I'm going to be giving you my 10 biggest lessons from having a podcast that is now 200 episodes strong. So let's jump on in - I've got a lot of stuff to share with you today.

For those of you who don't know, the Heart-Centred Business podcast actually started as a podcast called #ladyposse on the 7th of May 2016.

So the podcast bit has been running for almost four years now and was started whilst I was actually living in Bali.  I started the Heart-Centred Business podcast because I really loved listening to podcasts myself. And I really felt like it was a beautiful, intimate way to connect with my audience as well as provide great business advice.

We use the podcasts not only for solo shows, but also to do interviews called "Spotlight Series" interviews. And you will be pleased to know we've got lots of extra juicy Spotlight Series interviews coming back onto the podcast in the coming months as well.

The Heart-Centred Business podcast has been around for almost four years now. And over that time, I've learned some really big lessons about podcasting, content creation and even business growth as it relates to my podcast as well.

So I've compiled my 10 biggest lessons for you and I want to share them with you today. So let's get started, shall we?

1. Consistency.

Consistency will beat “flash and crash” strategies so many times.  I cannot stress enough that consistency is a critical thing when it comes to creating a podcast.

I know for myself, there have been times where I have taken a break from podcasting altogether - there have been times where we've had five or six episodes all come out at once and then nothing for a few months.

And they have been times when the podcast is coming out every single week, without fail, on time. And those times have probably been less often than the inconsistent times.

But I know that when it comes out every week and I am consistent with it, that is when the podcast does best. Now, there are a number of different reasons for this, but the biggest reason is that if people are subscribing to this podcast, and they don't get a fresh podcast in their feed over the course of 30 days, then that podcast actually sinks down on their list, and when a new podcast episode comes out, a lot of people may have unsubscribed.

I saw this in my most recent period away from podcasting, when we were overhauling everything behind the scenes in my business in May 2019.  I made a conscious decision to not release any podcast episodes until we'd gotten the entire system working, my new website was up, and we knew that the podcast episodes I created would actually get released.

So I ended up taking about six to seven months off from podcasting. And I think we actually ended up with nine months of no podcast episodes released, and when we came back, whereas we would normally have over 300 instant downloads of every podcast episode because of the subscribers, that dropped down to about 150.

Because of this, over the last few months, I've needed to really rebuild the podcast listener audience and the subscribers. Being consistent is of course going to be a priority moving forward.

Now the great news is that for you as a listener, you will be able to predictably know that on every Monday you will receive a new episode of the Heart-Centred Business podcast in your feed. And if we need to release more than one episode a week, we will do that. But the Monday one stands.

The consistency part of creating and releasing podcasts has been really critical for the growth of this podcast.

And I have no hesitation in saying that if those 200 episodes had actually come out on the same day, every week, over the last 200 weeks, I would have way more followers and subscribers to this podcast, I would have way more reviews on this podcast and I would have way more business coming from this podcast as well.

So hand on heart, I know that I have not nailed the consistency part of this podcast.  For the short periods that I have, I've definitely seen that it's had a bigger impact on my business and in particular, the growth of my mailing list in my business as well.

All of that being said, I would love if you have a moment to jump on over into the iTunes podcast app, and give this podcast a review.  I haven't had a review on the podcast, I think for over 18 months now. So if you do listen to the Heart-Centred Business podcast if you love it, and even if you don't, I would love to get your review.

It's always great to get real, meaningful feedback from people. And I do go and read those reviews. So please make sure that you go and review it if you haven't done so yet.

And if you haven't subscribed, make sure you subscribe, because now you can know and trust that you're going to get a new podcast episode into your feed every Monday.

2. Practice, not Perfect.

I really do think I completely embrace this.  When I first started releasing this podcast, and even to this day, it's still practice. It's not perfect.

I knew that there were certain standards of quality of podcasts that you would want to be aiming for, certain standards of equipment that everyone else was using, and I felt a lot of worry - What if my sound quality isn't good enough? What if my podcast quality isn't good enough? What if my editing isn't good enough?

When I first started this podcast back in 2016, it was actually standard practice that you would take out all of the “ums” and “uhs,” and all of the “whitespace” in the podcast.  You would cut it so that it was a completely clean, uninterrupted conversation, and it was completely and perfectly polished.

You would have the perfect sound, and you would tweak the sound and make sure every single background noise was reduced, and you would have the highest quality of microphones, and you'd have the highest quality of everything, and you would use a third party person to do all the editing.

And I made the decision to go ahead with the podcast without all of that stuff.

I just decided I wanted to get started. And when I first started recording my podcast, I recorded it using my apple headphones that I got for free with my iPhone. And I was using the voice memos app on my iPhone and just recording it as audio files.

That's how #ladyposse started as a podcast. Over the years, I have made some changes - Now we have the video version of the podcast, and then it gets turned into an audio version, and it also now gets transcribed so people can read the podcast.

But honestly, if I hadn't started back when I started, then my commitment to consistency that I now have wouldn't be as strong, and I would have waited and waited and waited.  It's about “practice not perfect.”

To this day I still don't edit my podcast episodes for anything around sound quality or background noise or any of those sorts of things. I literally just do it as a one take using the photo booth on my computer.

And I only just got that if you're watching on video, you will see me pointing to it, if you're listening on the audio, I'm pointing to a new microphone.

I only just got this microphone – and this is the first podcast episode in which I'm using this microphone. It's not even that fancy of a microphone, it cost me under $200. And I actually bought it because I wanted the pop filter in the foamy thing more than I wanted anything else, to ensure that the sound quality of the podcast was getting better as we went along.

So don't worry about getting it perfect. Just treat this as an opportunity to practice. Treat this as an opportunity to show up and share with your audience. And I wouldn't be worrying about any of the editing or anything like that.

One of the things that people say about why they love this podcast so much is that they hear me taking a breath and there are pauses in it. And it feels like we're actually having a conversation, not listening to a robot reading a perfectly manicured script.

I don't use a script for my podcast, I talk from the heart, from my brain - I just talk naturally.  And I think people really appreciate that.

Most people who subscribe definitely appreciate that. And the people who would prefer that more scripted and structured, no “ums” and “uhs” and all those things, they listen to other podcasts and that is totally okay. I'm not for everyone. And I totally understand that.

3. Finding my voice.

This has been a huge lesson for me from this podcast. Over the years, I have felt more and more comfortable talking about the way I do business, talking about my beliefs about online business, teaching my tools, my strategies, and coming up with my own models and ways of explaining things.

It has been such an amazing practice and it has been such an amazing opportunity for me to clarify my thoughts.  I am an extrovert. So I think with my mouth, not with my brain, and this podcast has allowed me to think with an audience and create things in a way that other people can understand it.

And it's through the podcast episodes that I have refined and created some of my greatest models and practices that I teach, both here and also for my clients.

In putting together a podcast episode, I need to think, "okay, if I was going to teach someone who isn't working with me VIP, logically how to do this, what would be the steps?"  I have to map it out, do my research, and get really clear on the way that I'm going to be sharing it. And then I record the podcast episode.

For me, this has actually been an amazing opportunity to find my voice, to get really clear on what I do stand for and what I'm not going to stand for. And I've absolutely loved and adored it.

It's been really interesting to me, because the more I create great podcast content, the more feedback and engagement I get from you, the listeners. And that has been an amazing opportunity for me to refine what I'm talking about.

People ask questions or they ask me to clarify something, or they come into the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group and share their “hashtag podcast Aha.” And sometimes that podcast “aha” is really surprising for me because it wasn't exactly what I was saying, but I totally see where they got it from, and it’s amazing, and I totally agree with them.

So it's been a really amazing time for me to find my voice. I would encourage you if you are listening along, if you are not in the habit of creating consistent content, even if you're not an extrovert like me, creating some form of consistent content really does help you to find your voice and find where you stand on the matter.

For a lot of people, their biggest resistance is “I don't know what to say.” The best way to work out what to say is to start putting something out there, and practice just speaking to your audience.

Speak for your audience, teach people something that you would teach them in a one to one conversation, and you will be surprised at how quickly you can find your voice and the thing that you want to speak up for in your niche as well.

4. Numbers do not lie.

If you are creating consistent content, make sure you are consistently reviewing what numbers you are getting on each of your episodes. So whether you're doing things on YouTube or you share a Facebook Live once a week, and that is your meaty piece of content for each week, go back and look at what gets the most reach.

Keep track of those numbers. Because of all podcast episodes of mine, podcast episode number 147 on how to increase your prices has been consistently viewed and is still getting the most clicks on my website of anything else.

It is so interesting to see which things get the most clicks and the most interest from my followers, and even the most interest from non-followers i.e. cold traffic.  It has been absolutely fascinating to see.

Over the last few months we've been reviewing this in depth, and the two biggest things that people want from me are sales (sales advice, sales structure, sales conversations - anything with the word sales in it), and things that are “How To’s,” like how to increase your prices, how to conduct a sales conversation (that was a really big one), how to start a podcast, how to grow your reach, and how to build an audience.

I am going to be very clear in the future to ensure that I'm talking about those things more consistently on this podcast, because the numbers are telling me that's what my listeners are looking for.

So numbers don't lie. Make sure that you are keeping track of those things and reviewing them consistently. Because your audience will tell you what they want from you.

5. Start with what you have.

This hearkens back to the equipment thing - just use the equipment that you have to get started.

Don't go out and buy eleventy billion things. You can get started with your headphones with a microphone in them.  I always say there are millions of dollars of research that goes into those Apple headphones.  The microphone has really good background noise reduction, it has really good pop filtering.  You just want to keep it a little bit away from your face so that you're not like this close and speaking really closely. But it is a really good quality microphone.

Just start with that - start with the voice memos app on your phone.  If that's all you have, just start with it.

You're better off to get started now with what you have, and keep building and being consistent, rather than waiting to be able to afford all of the crazy amazing setups that you see that other people might have.

You don't need to have all of that in order to get started.

6. Simplify the content.

This lesson came in a big way for me in 2017. After the Heart-Centred Business Conference in September 2017 I was doing a review of my business and I decided to merge my blog with my podcast.

Up until then, I actually released a video blog AND a podcast episode every week, but I did them separately. The podcast was audio only, and it was one topic. And then the video blog, which was on YouTube and my website, was a different topic - every single week.

I had two tabs on my website - one was blog and one was podcast. And I was completely inconsistent with it because it was really hard to keep up creating two really big, long-form pieces of content every week.

Also, I felt like it was really confusing that in order for people to get all of the things I was sharing each week, they needed to watch a video blog, listen to a podcast episode, and watch the five or six live videos I was doing every single week.

Back then, I was doing periscope videos, as well as Facebook Lives.  I was also doing some video content that was on YouTube, but it wasn't a blog because it wasn't as long.  There were “quick tips with Tash” and all sorts of things.

There was just so much content going out everywhere.

The biggest shift I made that was so powerful for me was to simplify down to ONE thing a week, and that was my podcast episode.  I record it as a video, and the audio goes onto iTunes, the video goes on to YouTube, and then everything goes on to my website with a transcript so that people can read it if they want.

So there's one piece of content each week, but that one piece of content is really juicy. It's well produced. It's well thought out. It's in response to what people are looking for from me, and I do a much better job of it.

The biggest surprise for me when I when I did that was the feedback that I got from my audience.  It was “oh my goodness, thank goodness you're doing this.”

I didn't realize my audience was finding it overwhelming to chase me around the internet to get access to all of the different things that I was speaking about.

Actually, for a lot of people, it was the reason that they hadn't signed up to do the TakeOff program, or signed up to work with me - because they still had a backlog of hundreds of pieces of content they had been studiously saving to go back and watch later.

So it was such a smart decision for my business, and for my energy, but it was also really well received by my audience.

Having a podcast is a great way to just focus on one thing - one piece of juicy content that you're releasing every single week.

7. Distribution.

This is probably the one where I feel most like I've robbed myself of growth in my business, of really building my audience, and also really growing what I'm doing here.

For a lot of my podcast episodes, they were never ever shared publicly.  They were put onto iTunes, they were put up as podcast episodes, but they were never distributed. So for those people who subscribed to the podcast, they got it. But if people weren't subscribed, they never knew that podcast episode ever existed.

Out of the 200 episodes of this podcast, at least 50 of them have never been shared with my mailing list. At least 50 of them have never been shared on Facebook. And I really feel like I let my podcast down by not having that all taken care of.

It's a big lesson for me moving forward in making sure that all pieces of that process are working really effectively.

If you do follow me on Facebook or in the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group, you will see that more and more I'll be sharing podcast episodes from earlier in my podcast journey, because I really feel like I've robbed my audience of seeing those episodes and knowing that they existed.

From here, the distribution of my podcast will be something that I'm paying very close attention to.

To be honest with you, sometimes the distribution didn't happen because I thought I had outsourced it and it just wasn't being done.

Sometimes the distribution of my podcast didn't happen because the communication links with my team were down, and I wasn't actually proactively letting them know – “This podcast episode is ready to be shared. Please make sure it gets scheduled up.”

There were lots of different broken cogs in the wheel of things that were not working in the process and they have been fixed. We're working on it even more consistently now. And we will be sharing some of the backlog of those podcast episodes with my audience.

But as a minimum, every podcast episode will be shared with the people who are subscribed to my mailing list, and every podcast episode will make it to Facebook as well.  Even just getting those tiny pieces working is a really critical part of the podcast process.

So if you're going to go to the effort of creating a podcast and creating consistent content, please, please make sure that you also then close the loop on that and consistently distribute it to your audience, whether that be sending it out to your mailing list, or posting on Facebook, or scheduling it out to be re-shared on Facebook, or best case scenario, all three of those things.

Please do make sure that you take care of the distribution of your content, not just the creation.

8. Freebie mania.

This lesson came from me seeing other podcasters create a new content upgrade for every single podcast episode and feeling like I needed to do the same.

I think this really first started with the thriving of Amy Porterfield’s. podcast. I think she still to this day has a new freebie for every single podcast episode.

However, she has a huge team. She doesn't create the freebies herself. And she doesn't do any of the other parts of her podcast process. All she does is record the podcast episodes. And most of the time, what podcast episode she creates is dictated by her marketing team.

This was a big lesson for me. I thought that I needed to follow that model. I had seen a lot of different podcasters - not just Amy - do this and have lots and lots of different freebies. A freebie for every single podcast episode.

But to be honest with you, that's why a lot of the time my podcast episodes were so slow to come out, because creating a podcast episode wasn't as simple as sitting down and recording the podcast (which is my zone of genius and the thing that I'm really good at), but then I also needed to create a freebie to go with it, and then it needed to have an opt-in form, and an email sequence.

It needed to have all of these other pieces of the puzzle to go together. And it was all the other pieces of the puzzle that was slowing down the process.

So in May 2019, when I completely wiped my website and started again from scratch, I wiped all of the freebies away as well.

On all podcast episodes, you'll see a note that says the freebies or resources mentioned in this podcast may no longer be available. But that was a decision that I needed to make in order to just give myself some breathing space, and free myself from this rod for my own back that I had created of this expectation that every podcast episode would have a freebie with it.

And again, lots of people actually said to me that the reason why they didn't buy anything from me was they had this bank of freebies that they'd saved up and downloaded and they still hadn't done those. So why would they join my program if they still hadn't used the free resources that I had made available.

These days my freebie repertoire is much, much smaller. There is no freebie attached to this particular podcast episode, although I do have a super juicy little challenge that I'm going to set for you, and you can win yourself a prize - super fun.

But I have taken the pressure off myself to create a whole new freebie for every single episode. And in fact, I have been able to whittle it down to the freebies that are the most valuable for my audience, as well as most likely for my audience to move to the point where they are ready, willing and able to invest in joining one of my programs or working with me.

That is the job of the freebies, after all. Freebies are actually better for my audience and better for my business now that I've focused down on just a select handful.

So if you feel like in order to create a podcast, you need to have eleventy billion freebies that go with every single thing, just chill out, relax. You definitely don't need to do that.  In fact, it's probably better if you don’t.

9. Asking for the sale.

I cannot believe that I'm still learning this lesson, even though it's something that I teach other people over and over again.  (#coachesneedcoaches).

Whilst I am quite consistent in talking about my specific freebies that I have on the podcast, I don't often talk about my programs and courses.

I don't often talk about how people can pay to work with me - it's very rare that I will promote the TakeOff program on my podcast, for example.  It's very rare that I'll go into the details of outcomes that people have achieved in the programs or those deliverables that people are able to access by joining my programs.

I don't often talk about the benefits of the TakeOff program consistently on the podcast. Now that has it’s benefits, but it also does have its downsides.

Over the last few months and coming into the future, I will talk a little bit more about what my programs involve and what they include and who they are for.  It won't necessarily be doing the hardcore pitching on the podcast because I think the value of the podcast is the free resources and information that I share, but for some people, they are curious about how they can keep working with me.

So you'll hear a little bit more about the TakeOff program, you'll hear a little bit more about the Academy, and you'll definitely be hearing more about the Heart-Centred Business Conference as we go forward with this podcast as well.

Don't be afraid to ask for the sale on your own podcast.

And please don't use me as your role model of how often to talk about your paid products and services. Because I think that I err on the side of too little and I'm going to be talking about it a bit more moving forward.

10. Get specific.

This is a big one for me, and it actually is something that has happened as a result of creating the podcast and being more consistent with it.

Whenever you go to create a new piece of content - whether that's your first ever webinar, or your first ever podcast episode, or your first ever video blog, or your first ever Facebook Live - there is so much pressure on that first episode to really hit the mark on all of the things that you need to say with the world.

But honestly, I don't think anyone is equipped to hear all that I have to say, all at once. I don't think it's in anyone's best interest for me to try and jam everything that I believe and every piece of advice that I have and every single thought that I have about online marketing into one thing.

By being consistent with my podcast, it allows me to get down into the detail and get hyper specific about certain things that I want to teach or I want to say on this podcast.

It's a really great way for me to niche more effectively, be of more service, get really practical, and get specific about the things that I think people can be doing more effectively in their business to get more money, to get more clients, to make more sales.

If you have been holding back in your content because you believe if you talk about A but don't talk about B, C, D and E that you’re not really serving your audience fully because you’re only sharing part of the story, I want this to be a permission slip for you.

Just because in some podcast episodes, I don't talk about feminine business, or feminist business, or stepping away from fear-based marketing, or pain-point marketing, or those sorts of things, that doesn't mean I'm not being of service in all of my podcast episodes.

In my “How to raise your prices” podcast episode number 147,  I am talking about very practical, specific tangible steps that you can take to raise your prices in your business, when to do it, and how to make it a win-win for your audience.

And I don't get ranty about feminist business in that, but because I'm talking about how to raise your prices, people are more likely to be raising their prices and doing it in a way that grows their business.

It is actually a brilliant opportunity for me to be of service. And so what happens is that the collective of all of these podcast episodes is actually a perfect expression of the Tash Corbin business model of heart-centred, soul-driven business - of what the ladyposse is all about.

It's the combination of all of these things that creates that overarching message. So don't be afraid if you are putting out content, if you're thinking of putting a podcast together, don't be afraid to just tell little parts of the story, piece by piece, by being really practical, specific and tangible.  Again, you're probably going to be of more service to your audience if you do it that way. How cool is that?

So don't feel this pressure to say all the things every single time - sometimes you can just solve one really minor, really practical challenge that someone has for today. That is totally cool.

And in fact, they'll love you for it, because if they are experiencing that problem, you've just solved it. And we didn't have to get a lecture from you on all the eleventy billion other things that you've been meaning to say.

Those are my 10 best lessons from 200 episodes of the Heart-Centred Business podcast /#ladyposse when it first started, and I'm going to recap those 10 for you again.  I'll also have them in the show notes of this episode, which you can find at tashcorbin.com/200.

But before I do a little recap, I also want to invite you to come into the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group, using the #200pods.

I would love to hear from you: What's the number one thing that you've learned from these podcasts?

I'm going to be going and reviewing and listening and reading all of your reviews and all of the things that you've learned from the podcast.

And I am going to pick one of you to win a free VIP intensive with me as my thank you!

So all you need to do is go into the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group, use #200pods and share with me what has been your number one lesson that you've learned from listening to the Heart-Centred Business podcast.

Now if you can refer to the podcast episode number when you do - extra bonus points to you.

And you can of course then give everyone the link to that podcast episode by using tashcorbin.com/podcast number because that's always going to be the podcast episode number. So do if you can share the link to that podcast episode (youdon't have to in order to be in the running).

I'm going to read through all of your lessons. If I see any patterns, I will make sure that I do future podcast episodes to continue the conversation on that topic as well.

In order to be in the running, you just need to share your #200pods biggest lesson before the 15th of May 2020.  So if you're listening along to this after the 15th of May, it's closed, but you can still come and let me know what your #200pods biggest lesson has been.

If you do share before the 15th of May, you will be in the running to win a VIP intensive with me. And I will be doing a Facebook Live and announcing the winner on my Facebook page after the 15th of May.

Thank you so much for joining me for this episode of the Heart-Centred Business podcast.  In review, here are the 10 biggest lessons from 200 podcast episodes:

1. Consistency.
2. Practice not perfect.
3. Finding my voice.
4. The numbers don't lie.
5. Start with what you have.
6. Simplify, especially when it comes to content.
7. Distribute.
8. Freebie mania. Let's not go there.
9. Ask for the sale
10. Get specific.

If you have any other insights and “aha’s” from this episode, make sure that you use #podcastaha, when talking about it in the Heart-Centred Soul Driven Entrepreneurs group, and I always love seeing any questions or aha that come up from each episode.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

Today we're going to be talking about the four big considerations you need to think about before creating and launching a membership.

So if you've been thinking about putting a membership out there, this is going to be a really juicy episode for you.

What is a membership?

It is where you have people in a group program and they need to make a recurring payment in order to stay in the program.

For example, you might have a course where people make a payment and then they’re in the course until it's finished, and then they're done, or they’re in the course evergreen so they can stay in the course for as long as it exists.

A membership requires that people pay a membership fee in order to stay inside that program.

So in my business, the Heart-Centred Business Academy is a membership. It has a monthly fee people can pay by the year or pay by the month. But when they stop paying and their membership expires, they then leave that membership.

Creating a membership can be a really sexy way to get into leverage and add more leverage in your business. It's a way where you can be paid on a recurring payment, and you don't have to re-market to the existing members in order for them to decide they want to stay in.

Now, that isn't always 100% true, because you do want to ensure that you are encouraging people to stay in the membership as much as possible. But you don't have to go out and sell membership spots every month to be making money every month from your business, because if there's a value proposition for people to stay and keep paying membership, they will.

So it can be a really juicy model, and it can sound very appealing to create and launch a membership program. But as with any business strategy and model, you know that I like you to go in with your eyes open, knowing exactly what you're getting yourself in for.

I think memberships are sexy, I have one. I'm not saying don't create a membership.

But I do want to give you four things to consider before you just jump straight in, so that you can keep your eyes open and know that you're making the right decision for your business, for you, and for your clients.

1. It’s the right fit.

First and foremost, make sure that it is the right business fit for you. And don't assume that because it has recurring income that it's going to fix all recurring income problems that you have in your business.

It's not the only solution to good baseline income in your business. I have a number of clients who thought the only way they would be able to fix their recurring income issues and their cash flow issue issues in their business was to create a membership, when instead what we've done is put their existing course or program on evergreen and created evergreen sales funnels.

For example, with the Heart-Centred Business Academy, the current rate is $196 a month. But the current price of the TakeOff program is $2,000, or thereabouts. So if I want to create $2,000 in recurring monthly income in my business, I can sell one spot of the TakeOff program every month, or I can sell 10 spaces in the Heart-Centred Business Academy and have those 10 members stay in.

And that's where the sexy part is for a lot of people.  They think, “Well, once I get someone in, they're definitely going to keep paying me and so therefore that's going to be way better for the long term baseline income of my business.”

But I tell you, it is easier for me to sell one spot on TakeOff than it is to sell 10 spots in the Heart-Centred Business Academy. And also, for me in particular, selling 10 spots in the Academy takes a lot more work because there are certain things that people need to have ticked off before they're really ready for the Heart Centred Business Academy.

Additionally, the workload that's required to keep people in the Academy at $196 a month means that when they join, it doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to be with me for a long time.

So for some people, the cash flow solution that they're looking for is to put their course on evergreen and create funnels for it.

For other people, the cash flow solution that they're looking for is actually to get a couple of VIP clients on monthly payment plans that are going for the next 10 to 12 months.

The delivery model, and the work that's involved, and the marketing that’s involved in them getting a couple more VIP clients is way less than the workload, marketing, and delivery required for holding space for 50 people in a membership at $50, $100, or even $200 a month.

So just make sure that when you are looking at bringing a membership into your business model, you are making it for the right reasons and you're not making assumptions about it being the best or only way to fix the issues that you're currently facing.

2. You’re ready for it.

Number two is to make sure that you're ready for it and that your business is ready for it as well.

I actually have already done an entire podcast episode on this - it was episode number 189. Here is a link to episode number 189 so that you can go and watch that one in detail.

What I will say about readiness for selling a membership is, first and foremost: Do you actually have a solid audience that you can launch to?

Secondly, do you have clarity around your value proposition? Are you good at messaging to the outcomes that you deliver already?

And thirdly, can you cope with the loss in cash flow? Now this third thing is actually my point for today as well. So I'll be talking about that one in a bit more detail.

3. You’re clear on the membership type and value proposition.

Number three is being clear on what type of membership that you are selling, and also the value proposition of that particular model.

There are two main types of membership. (There are actually three but the third one is a really bad one and I'll tell you about what that one is so that you can avoid it!)

The two main types of membership that I recommend to people are: Plug and play memberships and Process driven memberships.

Plug and Play Memberships

The Heart-Centred Business Academy is a plug and play membership. It has modules in it that people can grab and implement when they feel ready for that thing or they're looking for that particular piece of advice.

Because it is a business strategy membership, there are modules on how to create great welcoming onboarding sequences for your business, how to grow your list, strategies on running webinars about how to scale up the rates of those webinars, how to run a five day challenge, and how to launch an online course or program. People grab the modules that they need when they are ready to use them.

So it's a plug and play, not a sequenced process that you need to go through.  And even though we've got different stages of business, it's plug and play.

If you're already creating automated funnels, you can jump into the Heart-Centred Business Academy and there are modules on creating funnels, so you don't have to go through the Academy modules in any particular order.

A plug and play style membership fits where what you're teaching is something where people can grab and choose bits that they need. Other examples might be if you're doing meal planning, people can grab certain meal plans for certain seasons, or certain meal plans based on the types of foods that they like, or dietary requirements, or what they've got in their cupboards at that point in time, whatever it might be.

If it's really valuable for people, they'll pay to continually have access to this plug and play library, and then that could be a good model for you.

Now with my membership, it also includes live access to one on one conversations with me through our group coaching calls, because often people don't know which module they need to plug and play at that point in time.

That's a huge value proposition of the Heart-Centred Business Academy.  It’s not just the information that they have access to, but it's actually the transformation it will facilitate in their business because we're talking about where they're at in their business, what the right strategy move is for them, and then there's modules that they can go and watch to implement that particular strategy.

They also then get to come back and have conversations with me about what they've made decisions about and whether they've got questions on things and where they've got stuck on things.

So the value proposition isn't just the modules, it's actually making sure they're accessing the right information at the right time for their particular needs.

Process Driven Membership

The other style of membership is a process driven membership, in which people come in to learn a specific process of yours, but the value proposition of staying in the membership is continuously improving and refining that implementation.

So let's say you have a six step manifesting process where people can manifest an income goal. Why would people continue to pay to be part of that membership? Well, it's not just to learn the six steps and then they leave and get on with their lives.

It's because when you're implementing those six steps, you usually have self sabotage, barriers, questions, all sorts of things that come up for you. So you're paying to stay and practice that process.

It also works really well for things like productivity or where people are learning to embed habits or skills that they may not necessarily have learned before. But it's not just the learning that they're there for - they are there to continuously practice in a supported environment.

Information Driven Membership

Now, the third type of membership, which I do not recommend, is an information driven membership, one where you jump in and you're drip-fed different pieces of information as you go, and there's no direction for a plug and play, nor support for a process driven membership.

Memberships that are driven only by information generally are the ones that have high dropout rates and low conversion rates.  This is because information is available to us freely, and the value proposition of joining your membership is not the information you get access to - it's the transformation that it facilitates.

Yes, that curated information may assist with the transformation process, but if it's only information driven, then chances are you will fall into the industry averages, which are three month dropout rates and less than 1% conversion.

So that model of membership is low profitability, it requires a high level of marketing because you've got a lot of churn, and in a lot of cases it doesn't have the ongoing loyalty that other styles of memberships will deliver.

It also isn't necessarily the right fit for your ideal clients, and it's not particularly valuable to them, because information is freely available everywhere.

What they want is to achieve some kind of change, some kind of outcome. And if you're not facilitating that change in your membership, are you really serving your customers and clients effectively? So you need to be clear on what type of membership it is that you are facilitating.

4. Are you ready for launching?

Launching a membership can sometimes result in a significant drop in your income in the short term.

When you're launching a course or program or membership for an extended period of time, you're focused on promoting your lead magnet, which is free. And in most launches, you have two periods of lead magnet promotion.

So there are two extended periods of time where you're focused on promoting free things. Then you have your cart open and cart close, your early bird, your full price, whatever it is that you're doing, but if you're selling a membership, and most people are buying by the month, then the return and the influx of income that you would normally get when you're launching a course, for example, may not be there because it's actually growing your ongoing income.

If you're launching a membership program for a month, and you normally charge $2,000 for your VIP services and $1,000 for a course, and you're charging $100 a month for your membership, and you get 400 people signed up to your webinar with a good conversion rate - let's say a 5% conversion rate, which means five people for every hundred - so that's 20 people who join your membership, and you make $2,000 for the month.

Now, think about your likelihood of having that high conversion rate on your first launch, of having that many people sign up to a webinar on your first launch. Are you really going to make enough money to get through that launch process?

That's not even taking into consideration the ad-spend. Whereas if you were able to launch your course, and you got 20 people converting at 5% - 400 people - that's $20,000, if they're paying you $1,000 for your course.

So you can see that the short term cash results from launching a membership can sometimes be a dip.  There are strategies to overcome this and dampen the impact on your cash flow when you're launching a membership.

Something that I do recommend to my clients is - when you first launch your membership, have your first lead magnet sell people into buying a year upfront only. Do it at a lovely no brainer price, but in a way that's going to give you the cash flow that you need in the short term from your early bird.

And then in your second lead magnet, open up paying by the month.  That way, you're going to have the best of both worlds - you're going to have an income injection, and you're going to have that ongoing income coming in through the people who are paying by the month as well.

So yes, there are some ways that you can get around it, but you just want to go in with your eyes open.

Ok?  Aunty Tash wants to make sure that you aren't going to completely derail your business and get into the huge mindset wobbles and downward spirals because you didn't think about these things going in, and you were sold this idea of an information product.

It's not about your knowledge. It's about facilitating transformations.

If you are ready to jump into launching a membership, I have a juicy free resource for you as well.

It's almost two hours long, but it's a free training and it is very valuable. It's called Create And Launch Your Online Course.

Now, I know it says "online course." But most of the lessons in this particular training also apply for memberships, so long as you bring together the information I just gave you in this podcast episode with that free training.

Where I talk about courses in the training, you just slot in memberships, you have a think about those particular considerations that I've posed to you today.

You have everything that you need to know, and exactly what you need to do, to not only create but also launch your online course or membership.

Questions about this episode? Comments? Continue the conversation in the Facebook Group using the hashtag #podcastaha and the episode number.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

In today's episode, we're going to talk about how to make a profit quickly when you are starting a business.  It comes down to finding a sexy strategy that works for you. So let's jump right into it.

Ultimately, every business strategy can be boiled down into three core elements:

• Reach a bunch of people who are potential clients.
• Convert the appropriate ones into paying clients.
• Continuously support and nurture your mindset and energetic well-being.

A lot of the time our results come down to the fact that we are sabotaging ourselves. Maybe we're not doing the things that we need to do, we may be procrastinating and all of those sorts of things.

I truly believe that mindset and energetic well-being need to form part of your core business strategy.

If we are talking about the key strategic decisions that you need to make, about how you're going to grow your business and where your profit comes from, most people starting a business think their number one job is to get reach, to get in front of as many people as possible. The more people you get in front of, the more sales you will make, right?

But that's actually not where profitability comes from, because reach is actually the biggest expense in your business.

Reach is the biggest expense in your business.

If you need to reach thousands and thousands of people in order to make the sales that you want to make in your business, then you're going to need to find those people, you're going to need to reach those people.

And you will either need to do it through ads or organic strategies. That will either take money or time.

Even if you keep doing it purely through organic strategies, you are either investing your own time, which is an opportunity cost, or you are paying for someone else's time, which is also a cost.

So if you think about a business that's starting up, and you get in front of 100 people, and you get one sale from those 100 people, would it be smarter to go out and find another 100 people to make one more sale? Or would it be smarter to focus on your conversion strategies and make a sale with the people you already have access to?

Now, this might sound counterintuitive, and it might sound like it goes against the grain of what a lot of other experts and marketers out there are telling you.

But ultimately, the higher your conversion rate, the less people you need to reach, and therefore, the more profitable your business will be. Because you’re not needing to invest as strongly in that most expensive expense - reach.

When people are working with me in startup, a lot of the time they find this really disconcerting. They're like, “No, no, no, no, no. I need to reach more people with my Facebook page. No, I need to reach more people. I need to get more people watching my blogs, I need to have more people visit my website.”

Ultimately, yes, for scalable growth in your business that is something that you want, but when you're first starting out and you’re looking to get to profit quickly, you are much, much, much more likely to do so if you focus on your conversion strategies over your reach strategies.

So high conversion - how do we get this?

How do we improve our conversion? How do we make more sales?  Well, the number one factor in contributing to your conversion is connection.

And this is why I think women are so much better at online business and can be so much more successful just by tapping into our innate strengths, because no one connects like the ladies connect.

And we don't connect over perfection, or the sexy tools we have, or perfect photoshoots and all of those sorts of things.

For most women, we connect over the things that make us human - our periods, nipple chafing from breastfeeding children, feeling frumpy in a dress, whatever it might be.

Those things actually make us connect with each other more deeply than any perfect Prada handbag ever will.  And even when we do connect over the Prada handbag, we are very quick to reassure everyone that we're still human. We're still just like everyone else.

There's a whole other conversation about needing to be relatable, but ultimately, what this means is that by tapping into your capacity to connect, you will be able to improve the level that you convert in your business.

So instead of trying to focus on ways that you can reach hundreds and thousands of people, and then sell to those hundreds of thousands of people and convert them in “one to many” models - for example, running Facebook ads to thousands of people, sending emails to your entire mailing list, selling online courses, group programs memberships, passive income products, all of those sorts of things...

If you want to get to profit quickly, you will be more likely to do so by selling one to one and delivering one to one.

That is where early profitability shines through, particularly for service-based businesses. By focusing on ways that you can create one to one connection with people, and ways that you can deliver one to one VIP services, (and charge appropriately for those VIP services), you will maximize your profit in startup and get you to profitability faster than any of these high reach, low-cost product strategies.

Think about it - in order to get one lead these days with Facebook ads, you're looking at least $5 in Facebook ad spend, if not $10, $15 - I've even seen $20 and $30 being thrown around.

So in order to reach one lead, you need to be investing at least $5. And in order to get that one lead, you probably have to reach 100 to 200 people.

If you do the math on all of that, you need to get that lead, then you need 100 leads to make a sale using the rule of 1%. So you need to spend $500 on your reach in order to make one sale.

Even if your VIP service is $1,000, having that 1% conversion rule means that you would need to spend $500 in ads to make that thousand dollar sale, so you've instantly halved your potential profit.

Instead, what if you focused on getting out in front of 10 people, doing it organically, and having conversations with those 10 people?  What are the odds that you're going to convert one of them into being a paying client with you?

By having that one to one connection, you get to understand them deeply, you get to understand what their challenges are, you get to understand what it is that they're looking for.

You can present a compelling message and a compelling offer that will help them achieve what is important to them, and also help you make great money.

It's a no brainer to me, and yet still hundreds of people starting businesses fail to see that this could be the smartest strategy for them.

But that doesn’t have to be you, right?  Promise me!

If this sounds really good for you, and you would like to start exploring low-cost reach strategies that are high connection and high conversion, I actually have a free training called The Zero Dollar Facebook Marketing Plan.

In this free training, I show you how you can use free strategies on Facebook to get highly connected leads and have highly converting sales conversations with them.

The resource is completely free. It takes you about an hour and a bit - I call it an hour and a smidge - to go through it.

In this training I'll be showing you how you can create highly connected reach through Facebook strategies that cost nothing.

Wouldn't it be worthwhile trying that out?  I think it would be worth investing a little bit of your time in order to get that outcome.

You'll be able to find the link to sign up and register for free with the show notes for today at tashcorbin.com/198.

Questions about this episode? Comments? Continue the conversation in the Facebook Group using the hashtag #podcastaha and the episode number.

Until next time, I cannot WAIT to see you SHINE.

In today's episode, we're going to be talking about five signs that it's time for you to branch out with your own business.

Now first, I want to say before we talk about the signs that it might be time to start your own business - the motivating factor of wanting to run away from something isn't always enough.

For example, a lot of people would say that if you're peeved with your job and you don't love your boss, then it's a sign that you should branch out with your own business, and I actually think that's often not enough for sustainability.

Running away from something and not having something you're running towards, can be a good motivator to start you off. But it doesn't necessarily help you keep that momentum and sustain what it takes to really grow a thriving business.

However, if you are peeved with your boss, you are on maternity leave, you don't want to go back to work, you've got financial issues, you don't want to be lining the pockets of someone else with your efforts… or any other reason for wanting to start your own business right now, then that's a great motivator to get you started.

But we want to make sure we're also tapping into what's going to sustain you long term, so here are five signs that it might be time for you to branch out with your own business.

1. You have an epic vision.

This was definitely one of the big things for me - my epic vision.  When I first started my business, it was being able to make enough money to live an amazing life of luxury, and have a giant beach house and travel a lot. And also run a not-for-profit that I had a very specific vision about at that particular point in time.

My desires and goals and what my vision is has changed a little, not a lot, but it has changed a little, and that epic vision really motivated me, even when I was first starting out in my business. And it allowed me to really tap into the bigger goals of wanting to start a business.

I didn't want to just start a business and make the same salary I was making in my day job, which was a very handsome six figure salary at the time.  I didn't want to just replace that income. I wanted to have a million dollar business and a multi million dollar a year business from when I first started my business.

Part of the reason was that big epic vision that I had. I had a vision of wanting to change lives, influence people, and really help those who wouldn't otherwise get help and support that they need. And I was sick of relying on the government to do the right thing, to be 100% honest with you.  Young Tash had political aspirations, and business-starting Tash had already decided politics was not the way that I was going to enact the change that I wanted to enact.

I started to see entrepreneurship as a pathway for me to create that change. And so that is what really drove me to get my business off the ground. It drove me in those times when I was feeling like, “well, maybe I could just take my foot off the accelerator and just be happy with $75,000 a year,” and then I’d remember, “no, my big vision is epic."  And I want to make sure that I stay aligned with that vision.

2. You have transferable skills and knowledge.

This one is really interesting because a lot of people assume that the skills and knowledge they've developed through their career or through their job or through university or wherever, would be thrown away in order for them to start a business because it's completely different or in a completely different space.

But if you actually sit down and do an assessment of the transferable skills and knowledge that you have, chances are, there's a lot more that you have to bring to the table than you're giving yourself credit for.

Something that I did before I started my business was use Marcus Buckingham’s Strengths Finder. And I also did a transferable skills assessment when I worked in a consulting firm - we had a recruitment week and we actually had a transferable skills assessment that I did. I looked at some of the skills that I wanted to develop and some of the skills that I already had, and I could see that I actually did have a lot to offer already. Granted, I was working in business consulting at the time, and I was moving into business coaching and consulting, so it wasn't a big jump for me.

A lot of people may think that the skills that they have actually aren't critical to what they're doing. But think about the transferable ones, like maybe you’re someone who's really good at following through on projects, or you’re really good at generating lots of different ideas, or finding creative solutions to things. Maybe you’re tenacious, great with customers, or have really strong empathy.

All of these things will serve you in your business when you start it up.  If you've got a really good understanding of what your transferable skills are, and you are really looking at them through the lens of “oh my gosh, I could do all of these things. I'm really good at all of these things,” then that usually says that you are ready to branch out and have your own business.

So have a look through your experiences, your personal history, your professional history, and look at all of those strengths that you bring to the table. And look at it through this lens of it not necessarily having be applied in exactly the same way.

For example, customer service skills that were normally used in retail can absolutely transfer into the online space. You just need to learn the platforms and the ways that you get to have those sales conversations and those customer service conversations. And it's done quite differently, but the same principles apply. And if you already have those skills, you already have that knowledge, that's going to really hold you in good stead for starting your own business online.

3. You have a nagging and consistent idea.

This was definitely one for me - for a long time I denied the nagging, consistent idea of “you should have your own business Tash” because I had some personal, family-of-origin stories around what it means to have your own business and how unreliable the income is and how unreliable you become, and all of those sorts of things.

But I did have the really nagging consistent idea of having my own business. And once I got into a coaching model working in the consulting world, and I saw what coaching brought into the consulting package, then I really did start to have this nagging idea that I should be doing this on my own.

When I first started my business, I thought I'd be a career coach because I thought that's where I would have the best impact and it would be the easiest transition for me because I'd done quite a lot of career coaching in my in my corporate job, and it was something I really love doing.

But thankfully I was very open to what my business was going to look like, because after working with just three career coaching clients which I did for free - I did target market research interviews with them and then I did a free session in return - I realized that I had left the corporate world for a reason.

I realized I didn’t want to have these conversations about your numpty mansplaining Boss, I really didn’t.  I realized I didn’t want to help people thrive in that environment, I wanted to help them escape that environment.

And so that's where I transitioned into working with entrepreneurs, because I really could see that’s what I was more passionate about - bringing people into this beautiful world, because you don't have to ask for permission from anyone and you get to be your own boss, and you get to create an environment that you will thrive in. You get to reap the rewards of your own work as well, and that's a really beautiful thing for me.

So if you've got this nagging, consistent idea, even if you're not 100% clear on what the business would be, but you've had this nagging, consistent idea of “I really should start my business, oh, I really could do this myself” - pay attention to that. That's usually a good sign that it might be time for you to at least dabble, at least have a little play.

4. People keep telling you to turn something into a business.

I would have had 100 different things that people told me I should turn into a business!

It was - Oh my gosh, you should make novelty cakes as a business.  And - Oh my gosh, you should do career advice as a business.  Or - Oh my gosh, you should be a coach with business.  And - Oh my gosh, you should sell crochet blankets (because I love crochet and I'm into arts and crafts).

And all everyone was really saying is: You should have a business.

Now, I wouldn't necessarily pay attention to what people tell you to have a business in. But if a lot of people are telling you that you should have a business in something or another, listen to that “you should have a business” part of it. Because often that just taps on the on the shoulder of, “Hey, have you thought about having your own business?”

A lot of people won't understand what you actually end up doing. Not one of the people who’d initially told me I should have a business, when they heard the business I was actually launching said, “Oh that’s exactly the business I thought you should have.”  Instead they were all saying, “What do you mean? I don't understand - selling online? What? Social media? Isn’t that just when you share photos of your food?”

They weren't necessarily across what it was that I was going to do. But they all thought I should start a business. They definitely saw that coming.  So if people keep telling you, you should have a business, maybe it's time.

5. You've already taken some action.

So do you hoard URL addresses? Have you already set up a faux website, but you've never sent it live? Do you own a bunch of different Facebook pages or you've got a bunch of things that you've been playing with in the background?

Chances are your entrepreneurial brain is already fast at work, and if that's a sign, then you are definitely ready to start going deeper and start your own business.

Now I've given you five signs that it's time to branch out with your own business. But I see a lot of people when they first start a business get all wrapped up in comparing their beginning with someone else's middle or end point, or with someone else's mature business model.

It can be very easy to believe that the pathway from startup to there is not a treacherous or rocky one and that it's just simply going straight into working in this space.

Yes, when you come behind people who have already gone before you and they've already paved the way, there are some things that you can leapfrog.  For example, things that I did that you would never have to do when you started a business.

Back when I started my business, we didn't have prolific numbers of Facebook groups. We didn't have Zoom – it didn't exist.  We didn't have opportunities to run webinars without using $200 to $300 a month platforms. We didn't have platforms like Kartra, an all-in-one.  We had to tie a bunch of different technology platforms together.  You don't have to do all that stuff, you get to make the leap frog.

But there are certain parts of the startup journey that you really want to nail effectively, so that you can get to profitability quickly and you can get to the point where you've proven this is a sustainable business model as quickly and easily as possible.

In today's episode, we're going to talk about where to go to learn the best business strategy. And I've got some juicy options for you. So let's dive right in.

When it comes to finding advice on how to grow your business and where to focus your energy first, you have so many options.  Oh my goodness, if another internet marketing expert jumps into the pond, it doesn't even make a ripple.

There are so many people out there who want to give you their advice. They want to teach you their special methodology. They believe they've found the juiciest secret, and you have so many options available to you.

Now if you were to listen to the advice from some of these online marketers, you would be led to believe that every single person is able to be helped specifically by just one person. But that is never actually the case. What works for someone might not work for someone else.  What works in one market doesn't necessarily work in another.

• We need different business strategies for different people.
• We need different business strategies for different target markets.
• We need different business strategies for different products, different services, different countries, different cultures.

So when it comes to selecting someone to tell you what to do with your business, to help guide you to grow your business, here are a few things to look out for.

1. Check Alignment.

Does their sales process, ie the way they are trying to sell to you, align with your values? Have a look from an external perspective and take a step back when you're going through this sales process. Look at the steps that they take you through.

Does that feel aligned? Would you be comfortable taking people through those steps yourself?

How do they make you feel when you sign up for their free training?  Does it make you feel positive and excited and thinking about possibilities, or does it really make you feel panicked and worried and freaking out that you're not going to succeed without them?

Chances are if they are using feelings-based and emotions-based strategies on you, when you learn business and marketing from them, they are going to tell you to do exactly the same to your potential customers.  Does that feel like something you would want to be doing for other people?  Is that the way that you want to show up?

2. Examine the Sales Process.

Specifically, are there certain things that happen in the sales process that you would never do as part of your sales process?  For example, do they tell you that it's a limited time, once-off offer? And then you see it in several other places online?

Are they using misleading information in this sales process?  Are you made to jump through hoops for seemingly impossible reasons?

Do they force you to make early commitments when you're not really sure you're ready for it?  Look at that sales process through the lens of whether you would be willing to do that to someone else. Because if you're not, then chances are when you start to work with that person, you're going to feel like it's misaligned. And you're not necessarily going to embrace all of their process in your own business and marketing techniques.

A lot of these sales processes require an “all or nothing” approach. I once had a business coach say to me if I was not willing to tell people that my pre-recorded webinars were actually live, then he would not work with me, because that's where his conversion rates and confidence came from. So that was a really big alarm bell for me, and I didn't end up signing up - (surprise, surprise) - but have a think about these things.

You don't need to have that kind of confrontational conversation with someone to really get a feel for what the sales process is that they use and whether that feels like something you would be willing to do as well.

3. Listen to your gut; listen to your heart.

You are very smart person and often your body and your intuition is telling you to run in the other direction, but we make it mean that maybe we're just not cut out for this stuff.  You think, “Maybe this is exactly what I need because it's really pushing my buttons. Maybe this is what I just need to suck it up and do in order to be successful.”

But if you have a gut feeling that this person isn't for you, or that this process isn't for you, or that you're not 100% comfortable with what's just happened, then listen to yourself.  Listen to your intuition. Listen to those gut feelings. Only you know how aligned you feel with a business mentor and a marketing mentor.  Only you are able to really tap into whether it feels right, or whether it feels completely misaligned.

4. Review Stage of Business.

Are the strategies that they are teaching appropriate for your stage of business?  Now, this is a really interesting one, because a lot of people jump into programs and courses and business strategy they're not ready for yet, thinking they are leap-frogging into a stage that's really aspirational for them. But if you're missing some of those solid business foundations, you end up playing in advanced marketing and strategies that rely on things you don't actually have yet.

For example, if you are wanting to leverage your time and sell online courses and programs, but you don't have an audience, you don't have solid messaging, you haven't proven that people are willing to pay for that outcome yet, then you might just be playing with marketing strategies that are “up here,” when what you really need to do is sort out what's going on in the foundations.

So get really clear about what stage of business you're at, and get really clear about what this particular marketing strategy is targeted towards.

Is it actually targeted towards people in start-up, like you? Or are they just trying to convince you that you can jump in and invest in Facebook ads and get results straightaway?

I was very disappointed a few weeks ago to go to a free webinar, where someone was teaching advanced sales funnel strategies and automations, and they were trying to pitch it as being appropriate for people who are in very early stages of start-up all the way through to having hundreds of people on your mailing list.

Actually, a lot of the strategies that they were talking about would involve you risking a lot of your time and a lot of your money in developing automated and pre-design all sorts of different funnels without actually knowing or having evidence that when people get to the end of the funnel, they'll actually buy what you have to offer. That they're actually interested in investing in this particular outcome.

So have a think about and do some assessments about what stage of business you're at. And then when you're looking for business strategy advice, make sure that it's appropriate for your stage of business, and really listen to what that person is saying about who it's designed for.

If they are saying it’s for start-up and all the way through to advanced, chances are the people in the earliest stages of business will get left behind, and will feel like there's something wrong with them, and won't actually get the results and end up going round in circles, because they haven't got those solid foundations in place.

If the person selling you the marketing strategy isn't clear on what stage of business it's for, reach out and ask them. And if they give you a very broad brush answer, chances are they haven't actually been discerning about whether this strategy is appropriate for all stages of business, because there are very few strategies that can be applied to all stages of business, carte blanche.

In particular, look for where they talk about investment in advertising, or other functionality, technology, and platforms. Because if they are expecting a significant investment, then you really want to make sure you've got proof of concept before you go down that pathway. A great question to ask before you join any course or program is: “What am I expected to invest beyond the purchase of this course or program?”

For example, in the Takeoff program, on the sales page, I say that all of the tools and strategies we use require less than $100 in investment beyond purchasing the Takeoff program.

I'm very upfront and very clear that you don't need an additional budget in order to get the results.

Many years ago, when I was looking at purchasing a Facebook ads program, I reached out to ask what the expected investment in Facebook ads was. I said, “Look, I only really have around $500 to $600 a month to invest in doing Facebook ads in my business. Will I still be able to get value from this program, or is there an expected investment that's a little higher?”  The person replied back to me and said “No, $500 is enough. Just make sure that you jump into the program.”

However, just before I clicked the “Buy Now” button, I went and read the terms and conditions of the program. This program had a 30-day “no questions asked” money back guarantee, but in the terms and conditions of that course, it said that I needed to show I had invested over $2,000 in Facebook ads within the first 30 days to be eligible for the refund!!  What!

Now I'm sure my legal peeps would say that technically, I would have been able to get out of that refund policy if I had chosen to invest, but you want to make sure that you're going in with your eyes open.

So review the marketing advice and the potential investment that you're making through the lens of whether this is appropriate for your stage of business.

5. Ask around.

Don't just ask people their opinion but ask for their results - what the process was and what their return on investment was as well.

The other little trick I like is to ask for opinions from people who invested in the program over a year ago. If they are still feeling the love for the program, then chances are it is a good fit and it is a great opportunity.  What I find is when I ask for opinions on programs, the only opinions and advice I get back in public spaces are from people who've just joined. So they've just joined in the last four to six weeks, and they're really excited about their investment, and they want other people to join them as well.

One of the things in buyer psychology is that “if other people are coming in behind me, it helps me to justify my decision.”  You might see this with people who are with certain telephone providers, they always recommend the one that they went with, because that's the one that they went with, and they want to justify their own decision by making sure that other people see it's a great opportunity as well.

So whenever someone offers to give me feedback on a program or share their experiences, I'll always ask “How long have you been in the program?”  And if they haven't been in the program for more than a year, then usually I won't necessarily take their feedback on board as strongly as I would if someone has been in the program longer.

It's a really good way to just see what kinds of results people are getting and really dig into whether it could be a good program for you or whether this is a great person to follow.

Now, the other thing I like to talk about is not just people's opinions on the program, but to ask them what their results are, and ask them what it feels like - what's the process inside the program. Ask them, “How long did it take for you to get return on investment from this particular program?”

They are really juicy questions to ask, and give you way more information, versus, “Is it a nice program? Is this a nice person? Is this worth my money?”  People can't make those decisions for you, and people can't tell you whether it's worth your money because everyone has unique circumstances and situations.

6. Try out their free stuff first.

Often what we find in online marketing circles is that there is a push to get you to invest as quickly as possible. Other online marketers will say that the first 30 days when someone joins your list is the most critical time and you need to really bombard them with all the information and make sure that you get them to commit to the investment because if they don't purchase within that 30 days, then the chances of them investing over time will go down and down.

But for myself, the opposite of that is actually true.  The longer someone has been in Tash Corbin world, the more likely they are to eventually invest in something with me.

And I think this is because I give people a really good indicator and experience of what it's like to work with me through my freebies, and through podcast episodes like this, and the Facebook Lives that I do.

Over time, I'm actually growing people's trust in me and what I offer, rather than diminishing their trust in what I offer.

In today's episode, we're going to be talking about how to build your credibility as a business owner and entrepreneur.  I understand that in times gone by, your credibility was measured by the size of the shoulder pads in your jacket, but those days are gone.

I absolutely adore talking about this topic. And I'm really excited about this podcast episode as well because it allows me to be talking about something that we see online, and we "kind of" think we need to do it and we're not 100% sure. And I have some very specific advice in this space.

More and more these days online, we hear about this need for credibility and creating "expert status" for yourself.

We talk here about social proof and all of the things that help people to make a decision to invest with you.

And people want to work with leaders.

They want to work with experts.

They want to work with people they trust and who are really credible.

I totally understand that this can be something that we think is very important when we first start our business. But in today's episode, I want to actually talk about decreasing the need for projecting credibility and expert status and also creating a sense of expert credibility in an authentic, heart centred way.

So first of all, let's talk about why we think we need to have this expert status or credibility.

Why do people crave it?

I find that, particularly for women in the online business world, it's because we don't want to have to sell ourselves.

So we actually look to external validation in order to make us feel like we are a trusted source, we are an expert, we are valuable, we are worthy.  But by trying so hard to keep seeking out all of this expert status and proof of credibility, we are often devaluing what we are actually worth.

We are devaluing what we have to offer.

We are saying to ourselves, the universe, and potential customers and clients: “I'm only valuable and reliable and a valid source for you because I've got this expert status, because of something that's outside of me.”

You might feel that same resistance to selling yourself, you might feel that same resistance to just standing in your power, and being yourself and saying: This is who I am and this is what I have to offer you.

I understand why that feels like a real safety net to have that expert status, to have that external validation, to have that credibility, and to say, I've got the certificate, or I've got this or I've got that - I totally understand. And there are better ways that you can create that credibility.

But I want us to cover that off at the end of this podcast episode, once we have actually reduced the need for it, after we recognize that our desire for that expert status or credibility is just a crutch. It's a sense that because this trusted source says “I'm good,” or because all of these people give you social proof that it means "I'm good."

So we're going to actually reduce the need for it first, and then we're going to build your credibility and expert status in a heart centred, very authentic, very connected way.

So first of all, let's reduce the need for it.

All that I've just explained to you may have worked in the past.  For most people, after they've heard all that they think, "Oh my gosh, I'm totally trying to hide behind my 17 certificates."

Or "Oh my gosh, I'm totally trying to use 45 testimonials in my webinars, because I don't want to say that I'm good. I want other people to say that I'm good."

So even just knowing what's going on for yourself can often reduce that desire to have all of this external validation.

People trust it less these days.

You know yourself when you go to a sales page and you read the 25th testimonial, you're thinking to yourself, "Okay, I get it - other people like you, can we just move on? And can you just tell me what you're going to do? Can you just tell me what I'm going to get out of this? Can you just tell me what the value is of this?"

Because that's what we really want to know when we are buying something, particularly when we're buying from a personal brand.

We want to know that this person understands us, this person has something that can help us, this person is deeply committed to helping us get that outcome. And this person knows how to get us that outcome.

We can get all of that reassurance and all of that information from you just speaking about what it is that you have to offer. We don't need to hear other people talking about you. And also, that external validation does not have as big an impact on our ability to decide whether you're good or not, whether you're going to have a good service or not, as a sense of connection to you.

For example, when you go to a barbecue and you meet an electrician, and they say, "Oh, yeah, I'm an electrician." You don't then go and Google to find five other electricians. You don't ask them, "Do you have external references?"  No - You met that person, you've created a connection with them. Often you've met them through someone that you already know. And so that creates that initial connection, but you trust them because you've had a conversation with them. And you choose them because you've got a connection with them. Not because they tell you, "Oh, yes, Jen over here actually had some lights installed by me a few weeks ago. Would you like Jen to tell you how amazing my light installation was?" That's not why we make these choices!

So we want to make sure that in our business, we're not actually costing ourselves sales by focusing so much on the external validation that we're not actually talking straight about our products and services.

It's not as big of an impact as we think it is.

Actually our connection strategies will help us create higher conversion and get the results we're looking for and make the sale wayyyy more than testimonials, social proof, trusted recommendations, being seen as an expert, 45 different certificates, or that “as seen in” bar across the bottom of your website that has 14 publications that are no longer in print.

So how can we increase connection to get that conversion happening rather than increasing your social proof, external validation credibility, or expert status?

1. Connect via humans!

Humans love buying from humans. You now have ads for banks on television saying, when you call our call centre, you'll speak to a real live human being - that is a selling point.

So if you are a human who is selling services to humans, guess what, you already have a competitive advantage. Just connect and be human, allow people to ask you questions.

When I'm in the mood to buy something, I am much more swayed by the ability to type an email to someone and ask for some clarification on something and getting an answer from them than I am swayed by the 45 fake testimonials that they've got on the sales page.

Allow people to connect with you, be human, show your human side, and you might just find that you get way more results than you ever will get with any of that external stuff.

2. Get good at talking to your outcomes.

Instead of relying on other people to tell your ideal clients that you're good at what you do, instead of relying on other people or certificates to speak for your work, learn to speak for your work well.

• Learn to speak about the outcomes that you are able to create for your ideal clients.
• Learn to speak about the value proposition of your products and services.
• Learn to speak about the transformation that you are facilitating.

Because all of that time you're spending on getting that external stuff, if you were to invest that on really nailing your messaging and your value proposition, you'll get way faster results anyway.

3. Be transparent.

I find it so connecting and so engaging when someone says, "You know what, I haven't got all of that figured out. But I'm really good at this, and if you need this, this is what I'm going to help you with." Or people saying things like, "This is this is my first year in business."

I actually find that I'm more drawn to people who are in start-up.  It might be because I love helping people in start-up and I love investing in working with people who are in start-up and helping them get their business moving really quickly. I'm very passionate about Women in Business, but often the things that you are hiding are actually part of your value proposition.

For example, I was working with someone and she was in her early 20s, and she didn't have any photos of herself on her social media, or on her website. And when I asked her about getting some photos onto her socials and website, she said, "Oh, no, people are gonna judge me because I'm too young." She was worried that older people wouldn't buy from her because she thought they would perceive her as too young. And when we worked out who her ideal client was, it was actually women in their 20s and 30s. She wanted to work with young, vibrant, vivacious women. So the thing that she was trying to hide - her young age - was actually a value proposition in her work.

I see this happen for a lot of people who say, "Oh, well, I'm not really qualified." They're trying to hide the fact that they're not necessarily qualified. But they actually could be highlighting that all of their abilities come from practical, grounded experience.

So often the thing that we're trying to hide or the thing that we're worried about, or the thing that we don't really want to bring attention to is actually the full, transparent, authentic self.

Another great example was when I was working with someone who has a chronic illness. And she said, "Well, I don't want to tell too many people about this illness, because then they might think that I'm going to be unreliable." But in talking about it we realized, "If your ideal clients also are dealing with a chronic illness or something that stops them from showing up fully, wouldn't it demonstrate to people that you deeply understand what's going on for them?"  If you start the relationship with people knowing your situation, then those people who choose to buy from you will be more understanding, and you'll be able to create safety nets and systems because you've been transparent about it. And once she started to embrace that, her business boomed.

So connect to the human, talk to the outcome, and be more transparent in your business.

Now, with all of that in mind, now that we've dialed down your need for this expert status and credibility, and dialed down your need for external validation, you can see that credibility doesn't come from externals, it comes from internals...

So here are three things you can do that will give you that extra edge of credibility.

Focusing

And when I say focusing, I mean focusing on a very specific niche.  A. Very. Specific. Niche.

When you focus down on a very specific niche, you are instantly telling people you specialize in solving this particular problem for this particular group of people.

So by creating that focus, what you're actually doing is putting yourself in the specialist category, very quickly, almost instantaneously, just by choosing to focus.

Consistency

And this is a really interesting one because so many people struggle with consistency, particularly when they first start in their businesses. But actually, the number one driver of trust in a relationship is that I can accurately predict how you are going to behave.

Let me say that again: The number one driver of trust in a relationship is that I can accurately predict how you're going to behave.

So if you say "I put out a new video every Tuesday," and then you don't put a video out every Tuesday, you don't do what you say you're going to do, you are eroding the trust that you are creating with that audience.

And that is derailing your credibility way faster than you can rebuild it up with expert testimonials.

So be really mindful about how you can ensure consistency in your business. That includes consistency in delivering what you say you're going to deliver to your clients - when you tell clients that you'll do something for them by a particular deadline, you hit those deadlines and exceed them. When you say you're going to do something for someone, you actually do it, you show up consistently, you provide value consistently. You send your newsletter consistently.  All of those things actually give you way more credibility than a bunch of testimonials on your website.

Pricing

For so many women in business when they first start out, they price themselves so low that people see their prices and do a double take, like - Is this a trick? There must be something wrong with it.

So by focusing on pricing that is appropriate, and consistently reviewing your pricing to ensure that it reflects the level of experience and qualification and the time that you've been in business, you can actually be insuring the credibility of your business as well.

A lot of coaches have taken this message and run with it so far that they will say things like, "If you're charging under $3,000, you're wasting your time."  And I actually do not subscribe to that model.

When you're first starting out in business, you need to charge a price point that feels really comfortable for you. Because the early phases of your business are when your confidence is the lowest, and your worries and wobbles are most likely to come to the fore.  And if you are also charging a huge price that you've never charged before, you have no idea if people will ever pay you for it, so when you don't make sales, it can create some really big wobbles for you.

But something that I've seen happen that's even worse is: If someone gets convinced that they should be charging $3,000 or $5,000, and they put their price up from $1,000 to $4,000, and they make a sale - they're celebrating, they're going, Oh my god, this is so amazing. And then months pass before they make another sale.

And they can't put their prices back down because someone has paid the full price. So then they start doing secret offers to people behind the scenes, or they're rocking in the fetal position in the corner because they don't know what to do – they’re stuck at an impasse.

Because of that, I am a big fan of incremental price increases and consistently reviewing your prices.

When I first started my business, I charged $97 for an hour. I'm now charging $2,000 for an hour, but I've gotten to that over incremental price increases over a period of time. And when I first started my business, it was very aggressive. It was consistent that I increased my prices as I developed my confidence and as demand for my products and services went up, and I was developing online courses and all sorts of things.

But honestly, if I had jumped into it being $5,000 or nothing to work with me when I first started my business, I know that all the mindset stuff and all the money blocks that would have come up would have been very difficult for me to overcome.

I also know that that predictability of income for me would have been so low that I wouldn't have been able to make some of the moves that I did in my business.

Related to this, the higher you go with your prices when you're first starting out, the less people you're working with.  When I first started my business, I wanted to work with as many people as possible. I needed to practice, I needed to work out my processes. I wanted to understand people really deeply and understand what their challenges were, what wobbles they had, who did their homework, who didn't do their homework.

I needed to work with a wide range of people within my very specific niche, so that I could get really clear, really calm and really confident.

If I'd gone straight to the $5,000 or nothing model, I wouldn't have got all of the experience that I got in the first six months, and the first year, and the first two years of my business, which is now the foundation of this rock solid business that I have today.

So yes, pricing does give a reflection of your experience and your expertise and your credibility. But I don't want you to drive yourself up to a price point that puts you in wobble mode, robs you of the opportunity to work with a bunch of clients and build your confidence, and achieving that real deep knowing within that you know your stuff, you can get the outcomes, and you are here to stay with a sustainable business.