Happy 2020!!
I hope your new year is off to a roaring start and you know where you’re headed when it comes to growing your Lifestyle Business!
One of my goals for 2020 is to 10x my audience growth, and in celebration of that, I’ve kicked off a new FB Live series called…
Let’s Get Visible! 😉
In this series, I’ll be sharing with you tips, tools, resources and more about how you can grow your audience (without working harder!) this year too.
Here’s what’s in the first video:
Are you not reaching enough of your audience?
Do you catch yourself saying, “I know I need to build my list, my social media following, my networking efforts, but…”
In this video, I’m sharing one of the biggest reasons why you’re not growing your audience and what to do first to overcome this hurdle.
As a lifestyle entrepreneur, I know you may feel like this should be easy – and it can be – but until you get handle on why it’s not happening, you’ll continue to spin.
Watch below for more!
Let's Get Visible!
Are you not reaching enough of your audience?Do you catch yourself saying, "I know I need to build my list, my social media following, my networking efforts, but…"In this video, I'm sharing one of the biggests reasons why you're not growing your audience and what to do first to overcome this hurdle.As a lifestyle entrepreneur, I know you may feel like this should be easy – and it can be – but until you get handle on why it's not happening, you'll continue to spin.If you want to dive deeper on this, I've got a brand-new course coming, and you can get on the early notification list for it here:https://aforest.lpages.co/ft2t-interest-list/
Posted by Lively Biz with Alicia Forest on Thursday, January 9, 2020
If you want to dive deeper on this, I’ve got a brand-new course coming, and you can get on the early notification list for it here:
https://aforest.lpages.co/ft2t-interest-list/
If you’ve found this video valuable, I’d love to know your thoughts via the comments below and if you’d share it via the share buttons below with your friends and colleagues too, I’d be grateful – thanks!!
People ask me all the time what I’m reading, listening to, watching, and following as I continue to grow my lifestyle business, so I thought I’d share some timely goodies with you today. 🙂
So, I stumbled across Rachel Hollis when I found a bunch of unused credits in my Audible account. Her book, Girl, Wash Your Face sounded interesting and had a lot of good reviews, so I downloaded it and started listening to it on my walks last spring.
It just celebrated its 1-year anniversary and has been the catalyst for Rachel’s rise to the top of the inspirational/motivational speaker/writer circuit.
In the book, Rachel gets really real and is an engaging storyteller – but it’s her voice that drew me in (and I’m not a auditory learner) and the fact that I felt like she was sitting on the couch with me, talking with me, not reading her book to me.
Check it out here.
And just out on Amazon Prime is her documentary/behind-the-scenes look at her live Rise event, Made for More…
I took Chloe to see it in theaters last month and I don’t know who enjoyed it more – me or her. But it’s definitely something to watch yourself, with your daughter, with your girlfriends. It’s a keeper…
See it here
And her next book, Girl, Stop Apologizing is available for pre-order (Chloe actually pre-ordered it for me for my birthday since it comes out next month, which is my birthday month ;-)) right now too.
Pre-order here (there’s a cool bonus when you pre-order too).
If you’re looking for some inspiration and motivation, with a solid dose of realness, and genuine fun, check out Rachel – she’s pretty cool. 🙂
Note: Those are my Amazon Influencer links, so I may receive a tiny (and I mean tiny ;-)) commission if you purchase through my links. That said, I never recommend anything I haven’t purchased and loved myself.
If you haven’t spent a few minutes thinking about, visualizing, writing, or creating a vision board about what you want to bring into being in 2019, take at least a few minutes today to do so.
Mine is to complete my manuscript of Book #2. 🙂
Truth be told, that’s been on my dream list for more than a few years (and at least since my first book was published in 2014), but as much as I wanted to write my next book, I wasn’t really doing anything about it.
Do you have a dream like that too? Here’s what I’m doing that’s helping me stay on track that may help you too.
1. Write it down
Write down your dream every single day. I’m serious. Add this 10-second ritual to your morning to support you in achieving your dream. And handwrite it – that makes all the difference.
I write, “I’m a NY Times Bestselling Author” every single morning. Will Book #2 get me there? Who knows? But I’m setting my intention and sending it out to the Universe every single day. I won’t be surprised when it happens – giddy, but not surprised.
2. Create a container for your dream
In my case, that’s Scrivener. Scrivener is a word processor and project management tool created specifically for writers, but that really doesn’t even come close to covering what it actually can do. In my case, it gives me a separate place to write my book. Not jumbled up with Word or Pages, which creates just one long document.
Scrivener works the way my brain works. When I wrote my first book, I created a table of contents, chapter headings, and some of the front and back matter in Word. I printed those out, 3-hole punched them and put them into a physical binder. Then I would add pieces of content I’d already written by printing them, punching them and adding them to the binder wherever made the most sense. I’m a visual person and if I can see how something fits together, it’s much easier for me.
But Scrivener does that for me! I created a binder and I add chapters as I go, that I can easily re-organize however I want. And the best part is the cork board, where I can stick post-it notes of content I want to be sure to include in my books somewhere – stores or tips or concepts I want to expand on.
What container do you need for your dream? Is it specific software, or a course, or an artist’s date (like in The Artist’s Way) with yourself once a week to work on it? Is it a coach or mentor or a friend who holds you accountable? What will support you in moving steadily towards your dream?
3. Ask for help
Ok, now I’m going to get pretty woo-woo on you. I’m going to share something I learned from Christy Marie Sheldon many years ago called What Would It Take. Now, I don’t know why this works, and honestly, I don’t care. But it works for me and when my clients embrace this, it works for them too.
Here’s what you do. Think of your dream. Then ask this question to the Universe.
“What would it take for <fill in your dream>”?
An example of one of mine is: “What would it take for me to become a NY Times bestselling author?”
Now, here’s the trick. You’re NOT asking for the HOW. You’re putting it out to the Universe to send you the HOW. That may look like an idea that pops into your head, an email that shows up, the course or program or book or a conversation with someone that will help you move closer to your dream.
Sidenote: If you have a hard letting go of the HOW (like, ahem, me), this is an excellent practice for you.
I ask my WWIT when I’m getting ready in the mornings (I actually have WWIT written on my bathroom mirror to remind me) and it’s not the same every day. I ask about what’s the priority for me in that moment, so it might be “WWIT for me to manifest an extra $20k before my birthday?” or “What would it take for us to be awarded enough financial aid for the kids to stay at their school?” or “What would it take for us to find the right next cottage to book for the whole summer?”
By the way, those were ALL ones I’ve put out there and here’s what happened: I made/manifested (pick your preferred word) $22k in 6 weeks (10 weeks before my birthday). We received an award package for the kids’ tuition that was way beyond what we could have ever expected. And we’re heading into our third summer at the perfect ‘next’ cottage.
I don’t question it, I just do it. And perhaps the lack of attachment to the outcome helps too. 😉
4. 15 minutes a day
Now to get back to the practical… I work on my current dream for 15 minutes a day. I write for 15 minutes in Scrivener, usually early morning, though sometimes it happens later in the day. But I can always find 15 minutes to write even if the muse is missing and the writing is crap. Writing from a blank page is always hardest. Rewriting is easy. But you can’t rewrite it you don’t get something down first.
Sometimes I write longer than 15 minutes but never shorter. We’re 21 days into 2019 and I’m at 9069 words. At this pace, I will end up with at least 100k words by the end of this year, which roughly equals about a 210-page manuscript, which is more than enough to publish it.
How can you chunk down your dream in 15 minutes a day?
If you’re not sure, ask yourself what’s ONE thing you can do today to move forward towards your dream? If you’re still not sure, do a mind-purge of all the things it’s going to take for you to achieve your dream and keep it handy. Look at it every morning and pick one thing. Even if that one thing can’t be completed in 15 minutes, you can at least get started and keep working on it in your 15-minute dream-achieving time, right?
There you have it. This is how I make stuff happen. A little woo and a little practical equals a lot of dream-achieving. Try it, and let me know what happens!
This year was another “float” year. After my Dad’s passing just after Thanksgiving 2017, I didn’t realize how much that would take out of me, emotionally, mentally and physically, and I spent most of 2018 just trying to hold it together, be there for my family, and stay afloat in my business.
I’m grateful that my business did stay afloat, especially because I didn’t have it in me to do all the things I planned to do. After our summer at the lake, I finally started to feel like I had my feet back under me, and was emotionally and mentally able to get back in the game, which I know is what my Dad would have wanted.
Out With The Old, In With The New
I had decided after my last live event that I needed a break from it. I had been leading a 3-day live event every year since 2010, and even though I tightened it up to 2 days last year, I really just needed to let it go for a year, re-evaluate it, and decided if it was really something I wanted to do anymore. I realized that I had been doing it for a couple of years just because the attendees wanted it (which is not a bad problem to have) instead of it being enough of a return on my investment as well.
Instead, I decided that I was finally going to launch my Lively Biz Business Club membership in November. I started seeding it and pulling together all the launch details, building the wait list, and developing the membership site itself. I put a ton of time, energy and effort into this launch, especially during the open cart week, and it paid off. I also got a lot of comments on how impressive the launch was, and I share that only because it was a live launch, where I literally was going live with the videos and emails every day – it wasn’t a polished and queued-up kind of launch. Although it was scary to decide not to do my live event this year (because it did bring in a big chunk of revenue for me), not doing it was absolutely the right decision for me.
Shifting Gears
Much like not doing my live event, I also knew I needed to work with less clients one-on-one or in smaller packages, so that I could truly serve them with the capacity I had while I moved through the grieving process.
I renewed private client contracts with those I truly love working with, and basically only offered short-term packages to new clients, like my 3-hour Business Breakthrough virtual retreats. I’ve been consciously lowering the number of clients I work with 1:1 over the last few years, from 12 to 8 to 5, because I’ve wanted to tip the scales back to being able to serve a lot more people in the membership. At the moment, I’m only working privately with two clients, which gives me the capacity to focus on the Lively Biz Business Club members and the growth of the membership – and that combination feels really right.
Looking Ahead
I’ve heard (via IttyBiz’s astro guide) that 2019 is going to be a great year for getting things off the ground and growing, and after 2018 being such a drag, I’m jumping on this bandwagon!
For Lively Biz, that means hitting 100+ members in the Club before summer, a full Lively Biz Accelerator program (we’re almost there already), a handful of openings for Business Breakthrough virtual retreats, my second book written and published (I’ve already written 8776 words!), a reboot and fresh launch of my podcast, hiring another team member to help with back-end stuff, and three brand-new virtual workshops. It also means continuing to tip the scales back from 1:1 to 1:many so that I can inspire and inform a lot more women business owners with creating their own priority-based and profitable online business in less than part-time hours.
I’m spending time during this pause between Christmas and New Year’s in a more in-depth review of business – and life – and I invite you to do the same. There are things I want to acknowledge, thank and release from 2018 – a lot of things actually – and things I want to bring into being in 2019.
When James lights the fire as we get ready to ring in the new year, I’ll be ceremoniously burning a list of those things I’m ready to release, while posting the things I most want to welcome in my office where I can see it every day as I do the work – both inner and outer – of continuing to create the lifestyle business I most desire in the year ahead and beyond.
In the meantime, know I’m wishing you and yours all good things in 2019!
cheers & xoxo,
~ A
Is your business starting to feel stagnant?
Or is it at a standstill completely?
Are you just not as enthused about it as you used to be?
Or does it feel just OFF and you’re not quite sure why?
There are many reasons this could be happening to you (especially with how much has changed in online business) but some of the more simple things to look at are if your current look and feel, messaging, and model are aligned with who you are and the work you most want to do as well who you want to do it with and for.
Often times, a simple ‘refresh’ of what we’re doing, that’s more closely aligned with who we are today and the work that makes us light up inside, and being of service to just the right people, can move the energy and rekindle your enthusiasm.
Here are 3 simple ways you can hit the refresh button in your business today:
1. Look and Feel
When you look at your website, what does it feel like to you? Does it make you smile? Does it give off the energy you want it to? Does it work the way you want it to? Do you love it?
When you look at your marketing materials, ask yourself the same questions. If you’re not feeling it with your stuff, chances are that your target market isn’t either.
As you grow personally and as your business grows, your look and feel should change to reflect more accurately your current state of being.
Where in your business can you refresh the look and feel to more accurately reflect where you are in your business today?
2. Message
Think about the main message you deliver to your market. Is that message still accurate? Has it changed over the last year? Does it feel like it needs to change to more accurately reflect who you serve and how you serve them?
As you become more clear about what it is that you do and to whom you do it for and with, you’ll want to adjust your message accordingly.
For example, my message for many years was about mentoring women entrepreneurs to break through to 6 figures and beyond so they can live the life they ache for. And while that is still true, it became clearer to me what really matters is not the 6 figures necessarily, but what really matters to them personally – and that’s reflected in my new brand, Lively Biz.
A Lively Biz is playful, purposeful and profitable and part-time. It inspires you to live your life first. It allows you to enjoy this crazy entrepreneurial journey without making you crazy. And it enables you to make a lot more money.
3. Model
Take a mini-audit of your offerings. What parts of the work that you do do you love to delivery and in what way? What parts could you let go of and feel really great about?
For example, after two years of year-long coaching programs, I reduced them to 8-month programs. When I restarted a monthly membership, I changed from live teleclasses to pre-recorded ones. I now offer virtual retreats in addition to in-person retreats. All of these changes better suit my chosen lifestyle and resonate with my best clients as well.
What changes can you make in your business model to better serve you?
I am a big believer in making decisions and moving forward while course-correcting along the way.
And one of the ways I know my business grows is through making decisions and setting clear intentions.
So every summer while we’re at the lake, I review the last business year, releasing anything that no longer feels good and right for where I’m headed, and take with me the lessons and insights learned along the way while I set new intentions.
Then I get really practical. 😉
I decide what my intentions are for moving closer to my business and lifestyle goals and the big picture decisions that will help get me there. I share these in-depth with my private clients, so I thought it might be helpful to give you an idea of what I mean too.
For this business year (for me that’s September-May, with summer being allocated to travel, rest, and creative space), here’s what I’ll be focused on:
1. List Growth.
I’ll be leading a List-Building Mastery monthly training because I’m a firm believer based on my own experience and that of my clients that growing your list supports a thriving business. I’ll be focusing on specific strategies to growing my lists consistently each and every month, so that’s what I’ll be doing with private clients too.
2. Storybrand.
If you don’t know Don Miller’s work, I strongly suggest you check it out here. I’ve been working through this material this summer and it’s been very helpful for gaining so much clarity and definition around what I do and for whom that I’ll be using it with clients this year specifically as well. Don’s free information is a super-helpful place to start if you know you need help in clarifying your message (and don’t we all?).
3. Facebook Growth.
Because Facebook is my main social media channel for connecting with more of my audience, I’ll be working on growing my Facebook page and group and will be sharing what’s working for me, my before-and-after results, and more with private clients. (My personal not-so-secret weapon for all-things-Facebook? Rachel Miller – check her out here).
I see this as imperative to growing my brand-new Lively Biz Business Club membership, which leads me to…
4. Membership.
The Lively Biz Business Club launches this fall (private clients get membership for free, of course), so it’s going to be a lot of membership-focused stuff going forward! I’ve been a part of Stu McLaren’s Tribe for the past few years and it’s been invaluable for helping me create the foundation for what will ultimately be one of my two main revenue streams.
So now that I’ve covered the tangibles, a piece that’s even more important going forward is this…
5. Money Mindset
Yeah, that old clunker is still kicking around. With so much of my mental and emotional energy focused on intense family matters the last 18 months, much of the time I was just letting the flow take me and support me.
That said, without any effort on my part going forward from here, I’m not going to get where I most want to be!
My plan this summer was to focus some time on learning new business growth strategies and making a plan of action for the fall because that’s what I do and what I’m really good at.
However, I found myself reading three different books on money, re-opening a course I invested in over a year ago, and listening to inspirational audiobooks on my walks along the water (namely Rachel Hollis’ Girl, Wash Your Face and Tosha Silver’s Outrageous Openness – both excellent).
So, there you have it – a peek inside what’s happening here at Lively Biz.
I’d love to know what decisions you’re making and intentions you’re setting as well, so please share in the comments. 🙂
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