Latest / Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs / 81: Essential steps to creating a profitable online business

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81: Essential steps to creating a profitable online business · Online Business Uncovered: Simple Strategies for Female Entrepreneurs

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome to the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: This is episode 81, and in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about the essential steps needed to create an online business.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump right in and let's get started.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Karen and I'm here to lift the lid on what it actually takes to create a successful business.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you are an ambitious creative ready to build a business on your own terms and without compromise, then this podcast is perfect for you.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: With my award-winning approach to marketing and expert knowledge in creating online courses, this show will leave you feeling inspired, energized, and ready to bring those big dreams to life.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Join me each week for a dose of motivation and marketing know-how, along with actionable step-by-step strategies to help you accelerate your business's growth.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in and don't forget to subscribe to all my upcoming episodes, which drop every Wednesday.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: So this is your creative hub, if you like, to help you start moving your business online.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Now by accessing the Digital Creators Hub, you will gain access to all of these tools and resources that I've talked about, which is going to help you to kickstart and grow your online business with confidence and with ease.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this hub is completely free, there is no cost, I'm giving it away for no cost whatsoever.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: I just want you to get in there and dive into the resources to help get you started because there's no better time to get started with creating an online business than now.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: So go and gain access to these resources and go and enjoy them.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now to access this hub, just head over to my website www.pink-lemondigital.com forward slash hub.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: As I said, it's completely free.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's my gift to you to thank you for listening to this podcast.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I look forward to seeing you over there.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so back to today's episode, and today I am talking about the fundamental steps that are needed to help get you started online.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're new to this podcast, what I talk about is about creating business online, and all of my episodes dive into an aspect of online business, and this episode is about the essential steps needed in order to be successful in doing so.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I have a library of 80 episodes, so the library's growing week on week.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't accessed those previous episodes, then honestly go and gain access because there's a there's a there's a treasure trove of goodness in those episodes, and each one talks about a specific topic in relation to building a business online.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: I've had some great feedback from listeners and I am always open to suggestions for future episodes.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you would like to reach out to me on Instagram at Karen Digitalcoach, then message me and let me know what you want to listen to because I will talk about anything in relation to the online world because that's what I love.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's what I love to talk about.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: So if you have any particular questions, you want to listen to a particular topic, maybe you want to find out how to do something, then reach out to me, let me know, and I will happily create an episode around that.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: But as I said, today we are talking about the essential steps that needed to create an online business.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just gonna share some things that I think are really important.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are thinking about moving into the online space, maybe you want to create some products that you can then sell in your business, maybe you want to create passive income, then this episode will hopefully help you to just start thinking about what you need to have in place.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: But before we dive into that, I just want to quickly talk about why creating an online business is a smart move if you are a service-based business.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Because when we start a business, we often come from that place of the way I'm gonna make money is I'm going to deliver a service and then I'm gonna make money from that service.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: The problem with this approach is capacity.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: You can only work with so many clients before you're overbooked, you only have so many hours in the day to be able to provide a service, you only have a certain amount of energy before you start to feel burnt out, especially if you are not practicing self-care and you are juggling so many different things all in one go, which let's face it, many business owners are, and also you have a limited capacity on inclination because the truth is that there are clients out there that are really challenging to work with, and every time you take on a challenging client or a client that is demanding of your time, you probably are feeling like you have less inclination to want to go and find new clients because you don't want to find yourself back in the situation of working with somebody that is just draining you.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: So capacity is a really big issue, and when you're first starting out in business, not really thinking about that because often it's just a case of I'm going to find any client and I just want to make money here and now.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: But as you start to move through the different phases of running a business, you soon realize that a service approach, whilst it's great because you're able to support other businesses or other individuals or whatnot, you are going to be limited in one way or another.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Unless you have a desire to scale your team and to bring new members on board, you're always going to find yourself at a capacity.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is why I talk about online products and online business, because this is the one business model that you can invest in and you can scale, but it's not going to take more of your time.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: You just evolve through the different strategies that you implement and you get better at learning the skills necessary in order to sell your products, but you're not having to multiply yourself every time you take on a new client because it is a build-it once and sell it on repeat model.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, there's going to be work that needs to be done up front, but once you've done that work, you are literally selling it on repeat.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: I was in Florida last April, and this really hit home at how powerful this approach is because I was at I think one of the Disney parks with my family, and I was literally making sales, and that is incredible to be out with my family, having this amazing family holiday, but also to be earning, and I think as business owners, that's what we need to be working towards, and we can't do that if we're so reliant of having to find clients all of the time.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why today I just want to break it down and I want to talk about the essential things that you need to have in place in order to make this possible for you.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: The level of effort that it takes to sell a service is no different to the level of effort it'll take to sell a product.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: The difference is that with a product, you get to scale it, and you don't have to be there in person each time to deliver it, and I think that's a really big difference.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I know in my business it's made a tremendous amount of difference as well because what it's done, it's given me time back, and that time that I get back enables me to spend time with my family or to work on the stuff that really lights me up because after all, that's why I started my business in the first place, and I'm and I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling like that as well.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to talk about the three essential things that I think you really need to have in place before you start to move into the online space.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: So, first and foremost, and I've spoken about this many times before, but it is really important.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: I can't stress how important it is, but it's one of those things that you could easily skip because you could make the assumption that you have all the answers already, and so this is one of the reasons why I continuously talk about this because it's so essential and vital for you to set yourself up for success, and that is about defining your niche and understanding your audience.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that I really recommend you spend time on before you start creating any digital products.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: You need to know who you're creating those products for, and so the more you can understand about your audience, the better your products are going to be because you will be able to create things that actually serve a need rather than creating stuff off the back of assumptions.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I think anything that we do in our business, there needs to be purpose behind it.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_00: We need to understand why we're creating something and what it's for and what that transformation looks like because if we don't, then we can end up creating things that don't get sold.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And the name of the game when you're in the online space is to make money, is to be profitable.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're not being profitable because you're not being able to sell your stuff, then you're just not going to have the business that you ultimately want to have.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: So we need to spend the time at the beginning understanding exactly who our audience are so that we can show up and serve them in the way that they need.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: So I would always sort of say that your first step is about really nailing down your audience and really understanding who they are, what their challenges are, what they need, what that solution looks like, and what the difference is gonna be to them once they have that solution.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: So there is a bit of a process there by taking that time and going through that process, you will be able to determine a product that will really make a difference, and that's what we want to be creating.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: We want to be creating things that have an impact that help people that make their life easier one way or another, and the only way we can really do that is by understanding exactly who our audience are, what they need, and what solutions are going to work for them.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Spend that time getting clear on your niche and exactly who your audience are as well.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And there are many ways to do this.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, you can run a poll online, you can dive into Facebook groups and ask questions, you can survey your existing client base, you can have chats with people who maybe you feel are your ideal clients if you know them in your personal life.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many things that you can do just to kind of get a heads up as to what it is they need, but I think it's really important to invest time at the beginning so that you're laying these solid foundations because once you have these foundations in place, you can then build on them.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: The second thing that I would recommend before you start creating any digital product is to have a plan, have a vision, and know exactly why you're doing what you're doing.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: The clearer you are on what your goals are, the more focused you're going to be on achieving them.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if you can put some real depth to your thinking and understand what it is that is driving you and why what you're doing is so important to you, and what you're working towards, then when things get challenging, you can draw strength from why you're doing it.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I and I think that's really important because entrepreneurship is really hard.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: You need to have a lot of motivation, a lot of focus, a lot of resilience because part of the journey is about learning, and sometimes the way we learn is by things not going right or maybe things failing, and we have to go through that.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: However tough it is, however challenging it can be, we have to go through that process because that's the thing that's going to teach us the things that we need to know so that we can move forward and achieve that success.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: And I think part of the entrepreneurial journey is learning lessons that perhaps you wouldn't necessarily learn in everyday life.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to understand why you're doing it so that you can keep your head in the game when things get tough.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now, your vision doesn't have to be life altering, it could just be something simple like you want to earn a consistent five five grand a month in order to live comfortably.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: It could be something as simple as that, or it could be that you want to build an authority in an area that's gonna sort of lead to you being able to speak on stages because maybe that's your dream is that you wanna be somebody that creates TEDx talks and speaks on stages and just be an authority in a specific area, or you might be a bit like me where I'm not necessarily driven by money, but what I am driven by is accomplishment.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: I really want to feel like I'm accomplishing, I'm I've I've set myself a goal and I want to achieve it, and so it doesn't have to be this life-altering thing.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: Your goals, your visions are gonna be really personal to you, and it might be driven by money, it might be driven by a desire to support people, it might even be driven by the fact that you just don't want to go back and and go and have a corporate job, and because maybe for you that just feels the worst thing in the world.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: I it doesn't really matter.
• 15:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think what matters is that you have something, you have something to grasp onto.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: Why are you doing what you're doing?
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Why is this important?
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: What does it mean for you?
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: What does it mean for your family?
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: What is it gonna give you when you achieve what you achieve?
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I think by really connecting to it on a real cellular level, it is gonna be the one thing that keeps you moving forward.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_00: So when things get tough and things don't go the way they need to go, and maybe you find yourself waking up in the morning panicking because you don't know what you're doing, which by the way is perfectly normal.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: You have something that you can hook on to and hold on to and know that you are doing it for a reason.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I think having a plan, having a vision, knowing your why, all of that good stuff, I think is really essential before you start creating anything.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then my third tip is about establishing a strong identity online.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: So when you move into the online space, you're showing up more in the online world, it's just the nature of the beast, and in order to really get yourself out there and to become visible, you need to be able to communicate who you are effectively to your audience because your audience are buying into you, not your product.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: Your product is obviously something that's going to help them solve a problem, but they want to have confidence in the fact that you are the person that they want to buy from.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, in order to do that, you need to develop a strong identity, and usually in the online space, this is more about you than it is your business.
• 17:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you might be like me, my business is pink lemon, but in when I talk in the online space, when you see me on social, when I am delivering this podcast, for example, you're listening to me, Karen, and not my business pink lemon.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: So I think really understanding that your identity in the online space is really important, it's fundamental, and having a really good understanding of what makes you you, what makes you authentic, and why would people want to work with you, I think is going to be paramount in being able to attract the right audience.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_00: We want to bring ourselves into what we do.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: You don't want to be a faceless business.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: The if you're buying from somebody, you want to know who that person is, you want to understand what it is they're about, and I think that's something that is very prevalent in the online space.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_00: You want to know exactly who you're buying from.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, one of the things that I do think is really important when you're thinking about creating an online business is really grasping who you are as a person and then reflecting that in your identity online, and this will come through in the way you look, the the visuals that you use, your colours, it will come through in your messaging, it will come through in your imagery.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's not just one thing, but I think having that understanding at the very beginning is going to help you to create a deeper connection with your audience when you are marketing your products.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think creating a personal brand online is one of the most fundamental pieces of the online puzzle because this is where you get to be different from everyone else.
• 19:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I know it's scary because it can be very uncomfortable putting yourself out there, but what I do think is that you need to put yourself out there in order for people to understand who you are, and that's what ultimately people buy into.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: So whether you are showing up on social media or you're writing email campaigns or you're running Facebook ads or you're delivering webinars, it really doesn't matter.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: People are buying into you, and so having that identity in place that you are controlling, I think is going to make it easier in the long run, and ultimately that's what's gonna build your authority because people are buying into you and what you have to say and not your business.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Think of it as the business is the mechanics, it's the machine, it's what's going on behind the scenes.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: Your personal brand is what they're seeing out front, it's the shop face, and that is what's gonna determine whether somebody's going to buy into what it is you're talking about or not.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, like I say, having that control at the very beginning and knowing how you want to show up is fundamental in ultimately selling the products that you then go on to create.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, there you have it.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: They're my three essential steps to creating an online business.
• 20:23
  SPEAKER_00: Remember though, when you are starting anything, it takes time, there's always a steep learning curve, and you just need to embrace that because it's just all part of the journey.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: But the way you're going to figure it out is by doing is by taking action and getting started.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are thinking about creating an online business and widening the services and offers that you currently offer in your business by having digital products, then go and check out the digital creators hub because there is a treasure trove of resources and tools and so much value in there that's going to help you to get started.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: Head over to www.pink-lemondigital.com forward slash hub.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you found this episode of value and of course please feel free to share it with others who you may think will also benefit from listening to today's episode.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: If you're feeling inspired and would like to know more about getting started online, then don't forget to go and join the Digital Creators Hub by visiting www.pink-lemondigital.com forward slash hub.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great week.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_00: So why not rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode?
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in today, and I will see you next time.