Here’s a question I get asked all the time:
“I don’t know you how do it, Alicia…with two little ones to care for and so few hours in the day to actually focus on your work. Somehow you manage to write your weekly ezine, hold a bunch of teleseminars each month, run your group and private coaching programs, AND be creating and promoting new offers and new products all the time. I’m so impressed and inspired by you, but more than that, I want to know how you do it all!?”
To be honest, sometimes I wonder myself! Something I often say to other, especially new, mothers is, “despite what everyone tells you to do, do whatever works for YOU.” In a way, that’s how I started running my business after I had my daughter. I just did whatever worked. I still do.
When she got a bit older, it was easier to manage both being a full-time mother along with running a successful business. Then enter baby #2 and it was back to square one. It’s not easy but it is possible. And here’s what’s really interesting (mompreneurs, take note): I started making about $3k more each month since having my son – and I’m working LESS.
A client once pointed out to me that it seems the biggest growths in my business have been when I’ve been having babies – and she’s right!
Over time, I’ve figured out how to get the most important things done while still being able to focus the majority of my time on my family (after all, that’s one of the main reasons why I went into business for myself in the first place).
1. Setting my work hours
When my kids were younger and still at home during the day, my typical work day looked like this: I got organized the night before for the next day. That jump-started my day and made sure that when I did get those tiny pockets of time to get something done, I knew exactly what to do. That made me feel like I was accomplishing stuff in-between having tea parties, blowing bubbles, crawling around on the floor, exploring the neighborhood or running errands.
But I didn’t get any real work done until naptime. I worked for about a total of an hour or so while the kids napped, five days a week. Then I put in some more time after they went to bed at night, whether I was leading a teleseminar or catching up on emails. My biggest block of focused time, usually reserved for writing and product creation, was on Saturdays, when I worked approximately 4 hours.
During a perfect week, that would give me about 12 hours of time dedicated to business. However, there’s never a perfect week (one or the other doesn’t nap, I have some pressing non-business-related task that I can only take care of when they’re sleeping, one of them is sick, etc.), so my best guess is that this gave me about 8-10 productive hours to work on my business each week.
Fast-forward to both kids being in school from 9-3, and my day has definitely taken ona different look. I now have about 5 hours a day during the week when I can focus on my business. But you may be surprised to find out that I still don’t work more than about 15 hours a week. I’m very clear on my priorities and where I want to focus my time, so although I may not be taking care of the kids during most of the day (unless they’re home sick or it’s school break), I’m spending that time doing other things that bring me joy.
2. Ignoring the phone
I’m serious when I say that I ignore the phone. Some of my clients get heart palpitations when I tell them that I never jump when the phone rings and suggest they do the same. I don’t even have the ringer turned on on the business line. Does this mean I miss some important calls? Probably. But my virtual assistant checks my messages in a timely manner, takes care of what she can, and forwards the rest to me. I then call people back at a more convenient time for me, instead of letting the interruption take me off task.
3. Quick consults
When a prospective client wanted to speak with me about ‘just a few questions’, I used to gladly schedule a time to talk. But instead of a few questions, I’d be on the phone for at least a half hour, basically giving a free coaching/consulting session, and being frustrated with myself for not valuing my time more.
And until recently, when a potential client or customer requested to talk with me further about working with me or about one of my products, they could schedule a time to talk for a much smaller fee than my usual hourly rate, and if they decide to go forward with working with me, they could apply the fee they paid towards the program or product they were interested in. It’s fair and values both our time and investment in the process.
Now, however, prospects can talk with my virtual assistant should they need more information about any of my programs or products. If someone is interested in working with me one-on-one, they need to apply for a private coaching spot and if I feel it’s a good fit, we set up an interview to discuss moving forward.
BONUS: Make and use lists
I’d be lost without my lists! I’d never remember to do anything if I didn’t write it down. I keep a bunch of reporter’s notebooks around the house and anytime I think of something I need to do, I write it down in whatever room I’m in – whether it’s business or personal. Then I periodically gather the lists and separate them into three main lists; personal, business, and other (which includes the “someday I’d like to…” stuff; things that aren’t a priority but that I want to remember to do at some point), and check things off in priority order from there.
If you start applying some of these steps now, I guarantee the number of productive hours you spend on your business will increase. And you’ll also feel less overwhelmed and less stressed about trying to get it all done!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this – share them with me here
I’m so impressed with my 8-year-old daughter Chloe’s ability to express herself through writing and art. Here’s a piece she created that was published in her school’s newsletter this month.
She’s inspiring me to get back to my own roots of writing fiction… and it made me wonder…
What things did you do as a child that you loved that may have fallen by the wayside? And how might you bring them back into your here and now?
Please share in the comments 🙂
By Alicia Forest, MBA
The Business Shifterâ„¢
How would you like to increase your sales even BEFORE you officially launch your product, program or service? The following are some of the most effective ways to set your offer up for more success from the get-go:
1. Use Social Proof
What is “social proof”? Simply put, we are all conditioned to watch what others are doing and follow along (think teenagers). Using social proof in your marketing helps you to influence your customers to purchase your products, programs and services, gets new prospects to sign up for your list and gets people talking about you and your offering – and that’s just the start.
So, how do you use this psychological trigger in your marketing?
One way is to use results-based testimonials or case studies. Ask you current clients and customers to share with you their before-and-after experience with you, as in “Before I used this product, I was X. After I used this product, these are the great results I got.”
Sharing these types of testimonials or case studies not only provide proof positive to your offer, but also cement the idea in your potential buyer’s mind that they can do it too, which is typically the thing they are wondering the most (and is one of the first objections you have to overcome).
You see, anyone who is buying anything almost always has this objection: “Sure, you can do it, but can *I* do it?”
In addition to using yourself as an example (if appropriate) as evidence that what you are offering does what you say it will, it’s also important to make sure you get social proof from people in your client/customer’s peer group. Then your potential buyer sees people like themselves and understands that “hey, it worked for them, it can work for me too.”
2. Use Limiters
Creating a sense of urgency around your product, program or service will help move your potential buyer into action. You want people to make a decision, whether it’s a yes or a no. While there are many ways you can use limiters during your launch, the following are three of my favorites because they’re easy to implement and are always effective.
a. Time Limit
Giving a time limit on when they can purchase keeps your launch in motion as well as helps to move those people who are ready to join you into action sooner.
b. Limited Quantity
If you are selling a physical product and you are only having 100 produced, then use that format to create the same sense of urgency you would with a time limit. Or if you are selling spots in a program, limited the number of spots will move people towards making a decision sooner. Use a countdown on your web page to highlight that if your potential buyer doesn’t buy now, they may miss out.
c. Time or Quantity Limit on Bonuses
Additionally, you could offer bonuses for a certain length of time (for example, the first week only) or for a certain number of products sold. For example, the first 30 buyers would get an additional special report (valued at $XX) as a bonus.
Obviously, you can use these tactics unscrupulously, and you’ve likely seen it or experienced it yourself. But if you want your business to be truly successful, in all ways that are important and meaningful to you, then you must only use these strategies with integrity and honesty.
If you really are only going to print 100 copies of a physical product, then only print 100 copies. That doesn’t mean you can’t do another print run. It just means that you tell your market that you’re only going to print 100 now, and if you do decide to do another run, then they will have to wait another few weeks before they can get their copy.
If you really are going to raise your price after a certain date, or after a certain number of items are sold, then you must follow through. You can give your current client/customer base the chance to buy at the ‘original’ price before you raise it, but you still must raise your price if you say you will.
Using even just these few strategies, along with a strategic launch plan to put them into action, will create more sales for you than ever before.
And if you want my personal help with developing your own strategic launch plans so you get better results from your own offers now and into the future, be sure to join me for my upcoming comprehensive Launch Logisticsâ„¢ Intensive!
Please share your thoughts below!
Just like writing a sales page for your product, program or service, writing successful email promotions can be easier than you think. There’s a science to it, more than an art, and to get you started, I’d like to share a tested formula for you to follow.
Taking the time to consider and answer the questions below before you write your email promotion will make it easier to write, easier for your reader to engage with, and easier to turn your prospect into a buyer.
Here are 5 essential elements to writing email promotions that will increase your sales:
1. Who’s your audience?
It’s important to know exactly who your audience is before you start writing the copy for your email promotion. Obviously, you’ll be sending your promotion to your list. But will it be for your entire ezine subscribers list? Or are you making an offer only to the people on your list who have bought from you before, your customers? Or are you targeting your one-on-one clients only?
Getting really specific about who you are writing your email promotion to will allow you to make it as personal as possible, and the more personal you can make it, the more sales you’ll make.
2. What action do you want to your reader to take?
Decide what it is exactly that you want your reader to do. Is it to subscribe to your ezine? Is it to join one of your group programs? Do you want them to invest in a new product or take advantage of a sale you’re having on an established product?
Choose only ONE thing for your reader to do (remember, ‘a confused mind always says no’) and they are much more likely to do it!
3. What benefits will your reader get?
If your reader purchases your product, how will they benefit? If someone subscribes to your ezine, what will they get out of it? If a reader signs up to work with you one-on-one, how will that make things better, easier, more fun or whatever it is that you can do for them?
Make the benefits your reader gets crystal clear in your email promotions. If you have more than one, use bullets to make them easier to read and digest, and lead the reader smoothly to your call to action.
4. What’s your ‘take action now’ lever?
For each promotion you do, you want to choose and use a tactic for getting people to take action. We’re all procrastinators, so you want to strongly encourage your reader to take action right away.
Some tactics you can use are to offer a limited availability, a limited time, limit spots, special price, free shipping for a limited time, etc.
5. What’s your format?
Couple of notes on the format of your email promotions:
– Testing shows that HTML emails with bullets tend to generate higher response rates, and keep them short (1 page is plenty!)
– Make sure your call to action (‘Buy Now’, ‘Visit This Page for More Info’, ‘Order Today’) is near the end of your email promotion, after your list of benefits and your ‘take action’ lever.
– Include contact information at the bottom of your email promotions, with an email address and/or phone number for people who have questions.
– Don’t forget your unsubscribe information as well, to comply with CAN-SPAM laws.
– Include a PS, which is the second most read part of any sales copy. One effective use of a PS is to ask for the order again, including the link.
Use these 5 elements as a framework for your next email promotion and track your conversion rates. You should see more results and make more sales by doing so!
Chloe has a children’s book titled Milton’s Secret: An Adventure of Discovery through Then, When, and the Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle and Robert S. Friedman, which really simplifies the concept of living in the present moment, and how the practice of that will, for the boy in the story, eliminate fear and worry.
I wanted to explore that as it pertains to your business, with a slightly different slant. I wonder if you, like so many of my clients, and myself as well from time to time, are so hooked into the future that we’re missing the NOW and not fully enjoying the journey?
So how do we unhook from it to allow what we truly want to come to pass without always feeling like we’re striving for it? Here are 5 ideas:
1. Let go of the goals that take you away from the present.
Let me say first that you can have everything you want – and there’s no judgement here on what those things are.
That being said, do you want a mansion, to be the #1 speaker in your market, to be the one with the biggest email list in your market, to be a New York Times bestselling author, to make a million dollars? There’s nothing wrong with any of those lofty (and completely attainable) goals.
And, what happens is when we’re so focused on the sexy dream we tend to get ourselves so riled up about getting there that we miss all the amazing stuff happening NOW.
What I’ve noticed is that people get impatient, sad, frustrated, and even angry when they’re so focused on the future goal that the present seems uninteresting at best, despairing at worst. The antidote? See #2.
2. Polish the present
I want to encourage you to stop striving so hard and thrive in your present. What I mean is that if you make what you already have better, and polish what’s already good and working, you uplevel your life without expending that energy on something that doesn’t exist yet.
Yes, it’s about appreciating what’s already good and right in your world and in your business AND it’s about how you can make what’s already there fulfill you even more. It’s true that if you make the most of what you already have, you’ll get more and better of it with a lot less effort on your part.
3. Don’t plan so much
I’m all about having the big picture plan down to the day-to-day details, and yet I know that most of the time, the plan changes.
One of the reasons we – as business owners – plan so much is because it gives us a sense of control and it helps to alleviate the fears and doubts we have about knowing what we’re doing.
So have the plan and be willing to be flexible with it. Let it be a guide but not the only way. If you get wrapped up in THE PLAN you’ll actually hold yourself and your business back from being able to adapt quickly when things change – and they always do.
Assess if you spend more time planning than doing – and if you do, stop right now. And if you tend to fly by the seat of your pants more often than not, you might want a lightly-built framework around you to give you some sense of stability.
4. Get out of the striver’s club
Stop trying to acquire a better future with others who are striving. It’s just too exhausting. I’m not saying to surround yourself with lazy folks, but to get out of the overdrive club if you want to relax into a currently compelling present instead of an exhausting still ‘out there somewhere’ future.
5. Get off the ‘if/when’ rollercoaster
I admit this is a pet peeve of mine. Not from people who are decisive, but from people who use it as an excuse to not be happy now. When you make ‘if/when’ statements, you’re living in the future. Dreaming and visioning is one thing; otherwise it’s a holding pattern for you but even worse, you’re not enjoying where you’re at right now!
I’d love to know your thoughts on how to unhook from the future so you can enjoy the present – please leave your comments below.
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