TUNE-IN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | GOOGLE PLAY

Things You’ll Learn in this Episode of Doing it Online:

• Lessons from my Bizaversary – Part 1 of my bizaversary celebrations
• 7 lessons I’ve learnt from 13 years in business
• Join my FREE 3-Day offer overhaul challenge – Sold-Out Success starting December 8th. Sign up at kateschallenge.com

 

This week we are celebrating my bizaversary! 

 

It’s been 13 years since I hit send on my first ever email newsletter, and my very first business Drop Dead Gorgeous Daily was born.

Since then, it’s become a little ritual for me each year to really sit back and reflect on the lessons I have learned along the way.

Some big, some small, some very painful.

But I hope that by sharing these with you, there will be a nugget or two in here for you that will help you to move your business forward too.

So let me share part 1 of my lessons from my Bizaversary…

Bizaversary Lesson # 1 – Public declarations are the best way to get things done

Public declarations helped me get my business going. When it comes to starting a new business or creating and launching a new product or service, it can feel scary and hard. 

You’re overwhelmed by all of the things you need to do – so you keep putting it off and waiting until the time is right. 

There will never be a perfect time. Life never gets less busy. 

So you’ve just gotta do it and make a start. 

A public declaration can help you do this.

When I started I messaged everyone I knew telling them about my new business, the date it was launching and what it was and encouraged them to sign up to the mailing list if they were interested.

So then I had people waiting for this business – so I had to make it happen.

That’s how I had the courage to finally hit publish. Having a deadline helped me to take action. 

And now every time I create something new, I get it done by publicly declaring it’s coming. To get it off my to-do list and get it done. 

Bizaversary Lesson #2 – Test before you invest

Now this lesson took me a little longer to get – but it’s one of my main philosophies with everything in my business. 

Whether it’s beta testing a new course before you create it, to live test elements of a funnel before you spend on Facebook ads.

This will help you save so much time, money and stress!

Bizaversary Lesson # 3 – Find a great mentor, coach or teacher…

…and actually listen to them.

Every big income jump I’ve had, has come after working with a coach…and actually implementing what they say. 

Sometimes that thing would be something I would push back against over and over, like webinars.

I had all of the excuses when it came to running a webinar – but my coach kept coming back to that…so I decided to give it a go.

And it gave me another great tool to use in my business. 

Other times my coaches would help me to see something so obvious, but I was too close to see it myself.

And other times it was them giving me the reassurance that I’m on the right track and to just keep going.

It doesn’t always have to be a big new shiny strategy that makes all the difference. It’s having that person in your corner. 

Yes, a coach is usually an investment, a stretch, but I actually seek that out because I think the investment acts like its own motivation – that extra skin in the game to make sure I’m taking it seriously. 

When I invest big I am that much more motivated to make sure I make my money back. It keeps me accountable and helps me to push through to the next level.

Bizaversary Lesson # 4 – It’s OK to let go of things that don’t serve you anymore 

Even if they make you money. 

I shut down two multi 6- figure businesses (one on track to hit 7-figures the next year), because they made me miserable. 

And it is seriously the best thing I’ve ever done. 

It allowed me to reset and create a business that was based around my goals, my lifestyle, how I wanted to serve and who I wanted to serve.

It’s easy to jump into your business and do what you think you “should” be doing (to pay the bills). 

But I love to share this lesson with you, so I can help you realise this sooner. That the choices you start to make and the things you start to say yes/no to – they might seem like small choices…but they’ll get you moving in the right direction and feeling happy and fulfilled. 

Bizaversary Lesson # 5 – Hire help as soon as you can…

…and systemise even sooner.

Team is one of my focuses for the next 12 months. Elevating the team to help take my business to where I want it to be. 

But it can be as simple as setting your budget and finding someone who can support you and take things off your plate for a couple of hours a week.

It’s not just about hiring…it’s also about systemising and having processes in place so when you are hiring you’re not having to teach them from scratch over and over again.

Anything you do more than once in your business – should have a Standard Operating Procedure or SOP. 

So next time you do that task (the one that you do all the time), record yourself and talk it through – save a library of these videos so when you bring on a new team member you have somewhere to start. 

Do this for all your repetitive tasks. Starting building (and systemising) the guidebook for your business.  

Bizaversary Lesson #6 – Keep your tech simple…

 …and 3rd party where possible!

People often come to me asking for my tech stack recommendations. 

My motto is – what do you have already that you like?

Changing software is a pain and can take a lot of time! Doing it more than once can be self sabotage.

So if you have something that works for you, and you like it…there’s no need to change it. 

Look for third party options that keep your biz life simple.

The most important thing about tech is that…

• It works
• It’s reliable
• It gives a good user experience
• It’s easy for you to use

Base your decisions off this…rather than what looks the prettiest or what the cool kids are saying is the best option. 

Bizaversary Lesson #7 – Commit to mastery not perfection

It’s not about trying to make things perfect…

Otherwise you’ll get caught up in your perfectionism, taking you away from what’s really important in your business.

So instead of focusing on perfectionism – focus on mastery – being as good as you can be at the most important parts of your business. 

 And this applies to every part of your business from your marketing strategies to your offers… but the first place that is really important is your offers (your products and how your market and sell them).

If you’re spending all your time trying to perfect your social media…

And you haven’t yet mastered your offer (that is easy to sell, delivers a great result)…

And how to sell it time and time again…

Then you need to switch your priorities.

I know I was stuck in this trap too.

I was trying to fix a sort of selling offer by throwing every shiny new marketing tactic at it. Then wondering why none of them ever were instant successes…

Just because something doesn’t work perfectly doesn’t mean it’s a failure and you should quit.

Highlight what actually did work and then make tweaks to what didn’t. 

Success takes time, and mastery takes practice… and laser focus.

So there you have it…the first 7 lessons from my Bizaversary.

And if you’re currently stuck in that trap, with an under performing offer and you’ve tried ALL THE THINGS… 

Then I have created a FREE 3 day challenge just for you!

You can spend just 3 days doing a deep dive on what you offer, what does and doesn’t work, and learn the simple tweaks to make it sell better than ever.

It’s called the SOLD OUT SUCCESS Challenge and it all stats VERY soon (Dec 8th Aussie time) – so head to kateschallenge.com to sign up.

I can’t wait to overhaul your offer with you.

And stay tuned for Part 2 of my lessons learnt from 13 years in business – next week!.