

Hello and welcome to The B-Side, a mastermind group for entrepreneurial women! On the first of each month, I share my business-related goals, challenges, and triumphs while inviting you to do the same! I'd love for you to join me; you can learn more about participating by clicking here.And with that, the first month of 2015 is officially in the history books! And what a month is was for me..."wow" is all I can say. Here's how I fared in January plus my plans to take over the world improve my business in February:
Last Month's Results
- Plan my January event. Launch Your Life Atlanta, my business and life workshop that I held this past Saturday was AMAZING! So much fun! It turned out way better than I had planned for, I was just blown away by all the support me and Natasha, my event partner, got for this event. Firstly, we got FREE catering, FREE event decor, FREE cakepops and treats (they even had "Launch Your Life written in the icing), FREE gift bags...I mean, it was ridiculous. People came out of nowhere with offers to sponsor our event with different products and services that made it that much more special. Additionally, I'm personally really proud of the content that Natasha and I put together. We were both very sensitive to making sure that our attendees got the information they were looking for with our event. Based on the surveys we received back from everyone, apparently we more than delivered. Now yes, there are little things that I want to improve on for the next event (we went over time on the breaks and my video camera cut out half way through the workshop...agh!) but all in all this was definitely a slam dunk of an event and I am so happy with how it turned out. Now I just have to figure out how to take this show on the road... ;-) P.S. - Visit my instagram page for pics and video clips from the event!
- Successfully launch my workbook. I launched my workbook on January 12! The response to it has been great -- both online and to the women I've been selling it to directly at my events. The best thing, however, is that I'm getting feedback that my workbook is actually helping people get clear on what they want in life, which was the whole point. A reader recently told me that she was inspired to start a business after going through my workbook, which was GREAT to hear. Even my own accountability partner told me my workbook helped her realize she'd been structuring her business in a way that wasn't true to her personality and now she's brainstorming ways to revamp it. So I'm happy to have it out in the world and I'll be thinking of ways to continue to promote it throughout the year.
This Month's Business Goals
- Get my business "foundation" in place. While I appreciate that January was a gangbusters event for me, I realized there's a lot of foundation things I need to get in place if I want to continue to grow my business. For instance, this month I sold lots of books, took on 3 new coaching clients, and ran a profitable event...yet I have no accounting system and I'm using an old savings account to manage all the proceeds. Yeah, definitely need to open a business checking account and get my accounting together. I wish that were the only thing I need to do but I have all kinds of "loose ends" in my business that I need to clean up. I need to rewrite my about page, my LinkedIn profile needs some SERIOUS updating (Don't look me up. I'm serious...), I still need to finish my personal website, I hate my hosting company and need to research switching, I need to officially announce my coaching services and make the packages available online, etc, etc, etc! I have a full list of "to-do's" with a timeline of what I need to do each day of February, so my goal is to finish everything on that list.
- Create and follow an editorial calendar for my newsletter. Lately I've been learning about the power of maintaining an email list for your business, so I want to be more intentional about regularly emailing and providing great content to my subscribers. My email list doubled after doing the Life Haul Masterclass with Myleik, so I want to make sure I'm introducing new subscribers to what Think & Grow Chick is all about while continuing to foster relationships with my existing subscribers. My goal is to send out a helpful email to my subscribers once a week.
- Post everyday (or nearly everyday) on Instagram. Another platform I'm learning the power of is Instagram! I've always loved it as a normal user but I'm learning it's a very powerful way to brand and promote your business. For instance, my followers are giving me some GREAT feedback on new products and events they want me to come up with based on what I'm already doing. Since my Instagram following has also doubled since the Myleik Masterclass (seriously, she has her own "Oprah Effect") I want to make sure I'm posting fun and engaging images that helps new followers understand what Think & Grow Chick is all about!
Current Challenges
- Doing everything myself. So...I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a virtual assistant soon. I literally do everything myself right now (social media, graphic design, writing content, event planning, website coding, etc.) but it's getting to a point where that's not going to be feasible for long. The thing is, I'm still trying to keep expenses very low as I continue to offer more products and services and increase sales. So I'm in this weird limbo where I'm *this* close to needing outside help but I don't feel like I'm at the point where I can financially afford one. So we'll see. In the meantime, I've been outsourcing little projects which leads me to...
Current Successes/What's Working
- Fiverr! I. Love. Fiverr.com! It's such a great website to get simple tasks done quickly for a low price. For instance, did you watch my Masterclass with Myleik and sign-up for the notes? Both the webpage where you submitted your email address AND the interview transcription itself was done by people I found on Fiverr.com! Since I'm approaching my limit with doing everything myself, Fiverr.com has been a really handy resource in alleviating my workload.
- Setting Deadlines. I had no idea I'd be able to write and publish a workbook. Or host an event out-of-state. But they were both things I wanted to do so I just set a deadline and did it. And wouldn't you know, once I set a deadline, something crazy happened -- I figured it out. That's the amazing thing about our minds that I think we don't give ourselves enough credit for. If you commit to doing something at a certain time and make it so you can't back out, you will find a way to do it. I'm learning that the secret to "making things happen" is to commit, then figure out "how". Why? Because (at least in my experience) the "how" only appears after you start taking action. And setting a deadline is a great way to help you do just that.
Your Turn!
Mastermind Rules
- Share your goals, challenges and successes in the comments.
- The goal of this mastermind is to support each other, so be sure to read all the comments and check out all the participating blogs and businesses! If you have something to offer, leave a comment and help each other out!
- If you are a blogger, feel free to create a post sharing your entrepreneurial goals, challenges, and successes (via the format above) on your blog and link back here. You can even grab the button and include it in your post:
B-Side Facebook Group
Be sure to join the B-Side Facebook group! Since the B-side post will come out monthly, this women-only Facebook group will serve as a "hub" for us to ask questions, share what we have going on, and generally connect with each other on a day-to-day basis. You can join right now: http://facebook.com/groups/bsidebythinkandgrowchick