It may not feel like spring but I love that it’s lighter later now… 🙂
We’re heading to the lake this afternoon for a visit to our favorite bookstore and then our go-to restaurant in the summer for dinner… yum.
Before we do, let’s talk about events.
First, there are the ones you attend… like perhaps my brand-new Simplify & Amplify event that’s coming up in the fall… 😉
Then there are the ones you host – or have been wanting to host.
I recently led a very comprehensive course called Profitable Live Events, that sold out, received huge accolades, and was quite profitable.
In fact, if you read my email from a few days ago where I shared some of my financials, this was the course that was my 3rd highest seller in 2016 – and was the one that was “very targeted in both content and audience”.
What I knew then, and still know now, is that this course is only going to be relevant to you if you want to host your own small live event (the course covers single or multiple-day events, masterminds, workshops, retreats, etc.).
And that’s the teaching point for today –
Honestly, I was nervous about using my precious spring promotion time to offer such a specific course, when I knew only a small percentage of my list would be interested in hosting their own live event.
But to my delight, the course sold out with just the right students and it was a joy to lead.
So my question for you today is, is there something you want to offer, that you have a certain level of credibility about (I had hosted and sold out 6 previous small events, so I knew what I was talking about), but that you’re hesitating about because you’re not certain ‘enough’ people will say yes?
Share it here and let’s see if we can get you some support or guidance, ok?
And if you do have a desire to host your own profitable small event, I’ll have a free learning guide available for you very soon that will give you those all-important behind-the-scenes strategies that will help you see that you CAN do it, and it’s not as hard as you may think. 😉
We’ve been out and about the last few days while the kids are on spring break this week, but today we’re hanging out at home…
At the moment, James is working on his presentation for a 1-Day University gig he has coming up, Chloe’s working on her Humanities homework, and Jack is reading (he’s very into the Wings of Fire books these days).
Me?
I’ve been running my financials so I can have a crystal clear picture of where I am and where I’ve been so I can accurately chart the course for going forward.
You may do this in December or January, but since my business year is September to June each year, it’s around this time of year where I start looking ahead and adjusting my sails…
One of the questions I’ve asked myself is what offers were financially successful – AND felt good delivering – during this business year?
I ranked them in profitability first (the facts) and then looked at them from the level of enjoyment I had in that offer (the feelings).
Because both have to be in alignment in order to create a successful business that continues to feel good as it grows.
I invite you to do the same. Look over the past year’s offers, what the gross income was for each, and rank them in order of highest to lowest profit. Then check in on each with your feelings, and write down any insights you have.
I learned two important things doing this exercise:
1. My 2nd highest income stream was a program that has lower enrollment than I would like, but it’s one I enjoy offering the most.
2. My 3rd highest income stream was an offer that was very targeted both in audience and in content.
So for #1, I will consider how I can re-work this offer to be more appealing to the right clients to increase enrollment.
And for #2, I’ll use this information as I consider offering a similar program in the future.
This kind of simple (yet smart) taking stock is super-useful as you grow your business, and is one of the things I’ll be talking about on my upcoming free MasterClass:
The Power of Simplicity ~
6 Shifts to Creating Ease & Flow in Your Online Business
Reserve your free seat here.
Now I’m going to see how Chloe’s research on cats in Ancient Egypt is going…
I don’t talk politics on social media, nor do I often comment on my husband James’ work (mostly because I can’t) … but what’s currently happening in our country has fueled a desperate need for James’ particular area of expertise…
He’s constantly being asked to participate in high-level discussions, and I’ll admit it’s fun to see people like Montel Williams retweeting and commenting on his tweets. 
😉
This morning he’s being interviewed for a documentary for Nat Geo.
Yesterday he was part of a critical conversation at Harvard.
He’s been doing this work (counter-terrorism) since 9/11. It’s dark and depressing and scary work to me.
But I’m so proud of him.
It’s Friday – a day I don’t schedule anything so I can review my week, tie up loose ends, make a plan for the next, and clean up the clutter that accumulates in my office (I’m a piler, like my Grandma Rose ;-)).
Today is a little different as I’m ‘off’ today and Monday because the kids are off from school for a long weekend so we’re going to have some Forest Family Fun together. 🙂
While they enjoy their allotted screen time for the day, I’m doing some online decluttering…
That means a detox of my inbox.
I have 251 emails in my inbox right now.
(I know some of you have WAY more than that, so I’d like you to pay close attention here)
This is my detox method – I’ll do it as I write this…
1. Delete – down to 193
2. Move – down to 34 (obviously I need to file as I go more! :-))
3. Delegate down to 30
4. Respond – so that leaves 30 emails in my inbox that only I can answer… just knocked off 4 of those, so I’m now at 26
Ahhhh, that’s better… 🙂
So here’s my breakdown, in case it’s helpful:
1. Delete
~ I sort the emails into/ “from” which makes it a lot easier to delete/move in groups if applicable.
2. Move
~ Next I move any emails that need to be filed. For example, if there’s an email from a colleague that doesn’t require a response but I want to keep it, I file it in the “colleagues” file.
3. Delegate
~ I then delegate whatever emails need to be responded to by someone else. For example, I have a podcast interview coming up and the host needs my bio, headshot, etc., so I’ll send that email to my assistant to take care of.
4. Respond
~ What’s left are emails that only I can take action on. I start at the bottom and work my way up. For some reason, this just feels better and seems easier (because I’m releasing them, so the energy is running backwards, possibly).
So in the time it took me to write this email, I’ve detoxed my inbox from 251 to 26. 🙂
You can do it too – and I’d love to hear your results… 🙂
Another 2-hour delay… and thinking tomorrow will be a full snow day.
When the kids were younger, and they were home from school unexpectedly, it used to be a lot harder for me to get anything accomplished in my business.
But now that are older (and able to entertain themselves), it’s definitely easier – but these are the days when I can’t do the things that really need my undivided attention and focus (like writing a sales page, for example).
So a long time ago, I started to keep a sort of master task list. It’s where I write down everything I want/need to do as soon as I think of it.
So while I can tell you off the top of my head what I need to do today to move my business forward, on days where my focus is split, I turn back to the master list and choose things that don’t need that level of focus: the small tasks, the tolerations, the quick emails, the quick fixes.
Doing this ended my frustration of not being able to get ‘anything’ done when my day shifted out of my full control.
If you have other things vying for your attention, what do you do to still get some things done when Life Interrupts?
Recent Comments