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28: Lessons learnt during 2022 · 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 28, and in today's episode, I'm going to be sharing my top 5 lessons that I've learnt this year.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: So let's jump right in and get started.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the digitally she does it show.
• 0:26
  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.
• 0:32
  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.
• 0:40
  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.
• 0:51
  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.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: So let's dive in and don't forget to subscribe to all my upcoming episodes, which drop every Wednesday.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Hello and welcome.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining me today.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Karen and I really appreciate you hitting the play button to listen to today's episode.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm going to be sharing my top five lessons that I've learnt this year, and my goodness, what a year it has been.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: This year has been filled with so many triumphs and challenges.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now I wouldn't say it's been the easiest of years because I do think we are still having to deal with the realities of post-pandemic life.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: However, for me it has definitely been a year of growth both personally and professionally.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Now there's nothing quite like running a business through difficult times to test your limits, boundaries, resilience, and tenacity.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Now there have been so many moments of self-doubt and fear, as I have embarked on probably the most testing year to date.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is that despite all of these ups and downs, it has probably been one of the best years I've experienced in business because of what I have learned.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now at the start of 2022, I decided to step in the online course space fully.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I decided to take that sort of brave move and pivot my business, having experienced what digital courses have done for my own business.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so what I wanted to do was pivot into this space so that I can support more people to create revenue streams for their business and to help them create passive revenue.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Because I do think that given the times that we are in, we do need to be looking at ways to create a more robust business so that we can survive these turbulent times.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's not easy being an entrepreneur, but it's even harder when you're having to deal with the difficulties of things that we face at the moment, either in the economy or just in business as in general.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Which is why I made the decision at the start of the year to focus my energy in this area.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what I wanted to do was move into a space where I can support more clients and help them to build a more secure business for themselves.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: So, for those of you who may not know, I also have another side to my business where I have a branding studio, and I've been running this branding studio for probably about five or six years, so I'm not exactly new to business.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: I have been running a business for quite some time now, and so stepping into a brand new space was a very bold move because I've been spending probably the past five or six years building up my business's reputation and supporting clients with their branding and their website creation.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: So moving into the online course space was um it was something that initially I hadn't anticipated, but the truth is I just fell in love with it.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: I fell in love with it during lockdown.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: I could see the benefits that it would have not only on my business but on others other people's businesses as well.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think looking back for me, the pandemic just changed everything.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: It was like it threw everything up in the air, and what came down, what settled, was the reality of the situation we were in, and I know we've moved into this new normal, however, for me it has left a long-lasting imprint that I don't think will ever go away because I saw how quickly everything just changed overnight, and so I think what that's done it led me to really think about sustainability in a way of our businesses and longevity because that's what we're working towards, isn't it?
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're not we're not working towards something that we're creating today and we're going to sell tomorrow, it's with a long-term vision in mind, and I think we can only bring that long-term vision to life if we build businesses that support that long-term period, and if everything's on our shoulders and we are having to constantly find work all the time just to keep the lights on, it just puts us in a really vulnerable situation.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: I think for me, at the start of the pandemic, especially, I realized that as a service provider, which is predominantly what I was, I was incredibly um reliant on clients to generate revenue, you know.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't really directing my attention in other areas, I was selling things in other areas, I was making online sales, but I wasn't really putting the energy or the effort into it.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: Not like maybe looking back, maybe what I should have been.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: I was spending a great deal of my time just finding new clients to pay the bills rather than focusing on expanding what it was I was offering and focusing my energies on doing what I really loved, and I think I got so caught up with focusing on the here and now that when everything disbanded, which it did during that period, everything that I built, I just felt like it was on quicksand because very quickly things were being affected.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in business, we talk a lot about resilience, and I think during that period of time we needed that resilience more than ever because it required us all to dig deep and find the resilience and tenacity to survive that time.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: But as I said, it does leave an imprint, and for me, it's that feeling of instability and losing control, which is why I did decide on focusing on not only developing my own online courses but also helping clients to create their online courses because that's where I feel the opportunity really is.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's about giving people their control back so that they can determine their own future and not be so heavily reliant on having to find clients all the time.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, having a low-cost, high-value offer on the table opens up so many opportunities for your business, it puts you in a league of your own because it means that you're no longer just a service provider, you are also a product-based business, meaning that you have something to sell that does not require you to have to be there time after time.
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Now, not only does this give you money in your pocket, but it also gives you time back, and what's the two things that we seem to constantly want more and more of exactly time and money.
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, with all this in mind, I thought I would share with you my top five lessons that I've learned along the way whilst pivoting my business, which I really do hope you find useful.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so the first one is all about mindset.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I knew this before, but I feel it's only right to start with this because mindset is everything, and I mean everything.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, there's no doubt about it, the success that you achieve has a direct correlation with the state of your mind.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's something that I've learned over the past year, if not through the pandemic, is that it doesn't really matter what your goals are because if your mind is not there, you will simply struggle to achieve them.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: So it really doesn't matter how motivated you are feeling, if your head is not in the right place, then you're going to be fighting a losing battle.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now, in business, I believe it's vital to cultivate a strong growth mindset so that we open up to taking risks, but also learning from our failures as well.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Because failures in business are equally as important as the successes that we achieve.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, of course, this can be really scary because nobody wants to fail, nobody sets out to have these failures, but I do believe that these failures are necessary because it's a part of growth.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: You're not always going to grow every time you get something right, but you will grow every time you get something wrong because it opens up an opportunity to learn.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I think failure is just as important, and I think really outside of the mindset, being okay to fail is equally as important, and that's also something that I've learned this year as well.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: Because before it was one of the things that I know personally would had held me back, because the last thing you want to do is attempt to do something and then not achieve it, so that fear of failure can actually be can get in the way, and what we have to do as entrepreneurs is get okay and be okay with the fact that things may not be okay or go okay, and we have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable as well, because failure is a part of growth, and in order to get our businesses to where we need them to be, we have to experience that because that's ultimately how we're going to learn, and so developing a mindset around that so that you can almost balance it out, you can you can make logical sense out of it, I think is incredibly important.
• 11:20
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if we stay in our comfort zone, we will never be able to push past our fears and find what it is we truly feel passionate about.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: So taking away that fear of failure and developing a mindset for growth, I think is incredibly important.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I know one of the things that I probably did worry about last year because I've been working in the online course space for some time.
• 11:49
  SPEAKER_00: So I stepped into it fully this year, but I think probably realistically I've been working in this space since about 2019 because that's when I developed and I launched my branding course.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: But it was something that I did on the side alongside my branding studio, and I think one of the things that held me back from stepping into this space fully before this year was that fear of failure, because in my mind, people knew me as sort of the branding lady, the the pink lemon, you know, that's what I'd built up, and so I developed a fear around the prospect of shifting my business because I didn't want to lose what it was that I'd built, and so instead of seeing it from the perspective of growth, I saw it from the possibility of failure, and I think for a while that stopped my business and me moving forward.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: Once I got my head in the right place and I realized that wasn't going to be the case, then everything shifted and everything changed.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: So your mindset is incredibly important, and how you see failure is equally as important.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_00: And the truth is that failure doesn't really exist because when things don't go to plan, we just learn a lesson and then we start again.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: But we start again with that knowledge, that insight about what doesn't work.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now we only truly fail when we stop trying, that's the only time we can fail.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: So reframing how you view failure will help you to develop a mindset for success.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so my second lesson is that perfection doesn't exist.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's idea of perfection is different, which makes it subjective, and so we may as well conclude that it therefore doesn't exist.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: How I see something and how you see something is going to be very different.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So my idea of perfection and your idea of perfection is equally going to be different.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: How many times have you been crippled by the need to deliver perfection in your work?
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, for me, I can say a lot because one of the downsides of being a designer is that I am guilty of getting caught up in the detail of trying to make everything I do perfect.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: But what I've come to realize is that it doesn't matter how long I spend on something, it's just hindering my development because sometimes good is good enough.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is something that I realized when I developed my Passion to Launch program.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_00: In the early stages of that program, I realized that in order to create a program of high value, I needed to get insight, I needed to bring other people on board, and I needed them to be a part of the process.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so, by doing so, what I did was that I pre-sold my program before I had created anything.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, pre-pandemic, I would never have done that.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: I would have been so caught up in the need to create this thing that I thought was perfect, and what would have happened is that I most likely would have stopped myself getting it out into the world because I would have been caught up in those details.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think after lockdown happened and I decided to step into this space, I just made a decision that everything was up in the air anyway.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: I may as well put it out and see what response I get.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I have to say, that was probably the best thing I could have done.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: That is one of the things I'm probably most proud of.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't fully finished, and and people that came on board the program knew that because I was very open and honest about where the program was and what my intentions were.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: But because I did that, I was able to create something that worked because other people came on board and supported me with that.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Had I got caught up in the whole idea of perfection, I would never have achieved the results that I achieved, and my business wouldn't be where it is today.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: So going back to this idea of perfection, I want you to really think about it.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't exist.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: There's no point wasting time trying to create programs, online courses, services, digital products that are perfect.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: Good is good enough, and we have to start being okay with being able to put what we have done out into the world and just allow feedback to flow to us because it's only when you get feedback and you get insight that you can really make something its best.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we need a first rough draft, sometimes we need to create something that is far from perfect because then we can go through that process of making it better.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: We need to have that rough version in place first so that we can work from that place, and so I think one of the key here is to develop again, it all goes back to the mindset.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_00: Develop a mindset around the idea of perfectionism and to understand that it's okay for things not to be perfect.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Throw away the idea that everything has to be finished and polished before it goes out into the world, and realize that you simply need to just do your best at any given moment, and your best is good enough.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so my third lesson is about building a strong team.
• 17:53
  SPEAKER_00: No man is an island or one lone person, so we cannot make a successful business if it's just all on our shoulders.
• 18:03
  SPEAKER_00: We cannot do it, it is too much.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: When I started my business back in 2017, I never anticipated taking on a team, it was never my intention, and I probably did have the mindset of I can do this and I can do it alone, but I was wrong, so so wrong.
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Even if you are a solopreneur, you still need help, whether this is in the form of an accountant, a VA, a designer, or even if it's just a friend being there to act as a soundboard.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_00: You must never make the mistake of thinking that you have to and can do everything yourself because this is one thing that I do think it's impossible, there's just too much to do all of the time.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the biggest error I think people make, especially when they are new into business, is trying to establish themselves but save money by doing it themselves.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: And as I said, I am completely guilty of this, which is why this is one of my lessons.
• 19:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't know much about building websites, then don't go and create a cheap do what do it yourself website just to have a website, find someone that can support you with this.
• 19:32
  SPEAKER_00: The reason being is because this is your marketing tool, it needs to represent you and your business in the best way, and I think many entrepreneurs fall into the trap of thinking that this is an area they they can save money in because they can do it themselves.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_00: But the truth is that you're most likely going to drive away potential customers because of how your website looks, how it feels, and probably the experience it that those customers are encountering.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same with an accountant.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: When I first started my business, that was one of the things looking back that I I regret.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't bring an accountant or a bookkeeper on board immediately.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I could do it myself.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: I thought I could do my bookkeeping, and oh my god, how wrong was I?
• 20:24
  SPEAKER_00: I absolutely hate bookkeeping.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to do it, I don't have the time to do it, and there are people out there that are more qualified and know more about what needs to be done.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_00: And every time I did it, I was wasting my time.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_00: I could have spent that time doing something that was revenue generating to pay for that bookkeeper.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: So don't fall into the trap of thinking that you have to do everything yourself and that you can do everything yourself.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: You are good at the things that you're good at.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: Let somebody support you so that you can focus your attention in the area that you can make money.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so my fourth lesson is always start with the end in mind.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: So knowing what you're trying to achieve is important because then you can work back from there.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I mean by this is define your vision, create your roadmap, and outline your goals.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that I talk a lot about, and it's the first thing I establish when I meet my clients.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: Because if you don't know what your vision is, how can you develop that roadmap?
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: How do you know if an online course is right for you?
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: Because you don't know where your end goal is and how that online course can help you.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't defined your vision, then do that before you do anything else.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: Your vision's going to change, it it's going to evolve.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_00: That that it does, your goals are going to evolve.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: But you need a starting point because once you have that starting point, you can then work backwards.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: For me, I've always had some kind of vision that I've been working towards, but one of the things that I have learned is that even when I'm making changes in my business, I need to realign my goals to that vision and check in to see if that vision is still what it is that I want to create.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_00: Because as people, we evolve all the time, and therefore our desires change and what we want to create for ourselves.
• 22:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's worth it checking in from time to time to make sure that the vision you have is still the vision that you're looking to achieve.
• 22:48
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's really important to get clear on what those goals look like because those goals are what are going to help you achieve that overall vision, and we're in business because we're looking to develop something that's going to support us in some way, and as I say, our businesses are the vehicles to take us to wherever we want to go and to bring that vision to life, but we just have to get really clear as to what that vision looks like.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so my fifth and final lesson is to stop worrying about what other people think because it's none of our business, it really does not matter how what other people are thinking.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: There are always going to be people that judge other people, and usually this will come from a place of them feeling insecure, and we have no control over that.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_00: We have no control over how other people behave, we can only control how we behave.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: You're always going to get those people that will judge others, and it may be because they are limited in the success that they've achieved for themselves.
• 24:00
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe they don't know what their path is, and maybe they struggle to see people do things differently.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: But people are like people like this are in the minority, and I understand that when we're running a business, this can often feel as though those judging eyes are everywhere we look, especially when we're trying to do things for the first time.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_00: However, this self-consciousness can have a massive negative impact on us and our businesses, even though rationally we know that most of the people we deal with are often on our own side.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_00: The trick is not to assume that everyone is rooting for us because not everyone is.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um but we can make the conscious decision not to pay attention to those naysayers, those people that are negative for whatever reason.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the day, the only person who can judge you is you, and if you are determined to treat yourself with kindness and respect, then there's nothing that you can't achieve.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: Now I know this firsthand because when I was pivoting, this was something that I was really aware of.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: But in the end, I just made the decision that I had to do what was right for me and my business because only I know how I feel, and only I know where my strengths lie, and I'm so glad that I didn't let the insecurity, those insecurities, stop me.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are somebody that worries about what other people think, then try and reframe your mindset, try and think about it from the perspective of maybe people are judging, but maybe they're also standing in awe of you and what you have achieved for yourself.
• 25:51
  SPEAKER_00: And just remember what they think about you is really none of your business.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_00: If you focus your energy and your effort on making your business be the business that you desire it to be, then that's all that matters.
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so there you have it.
• 26:09
  SPEAKER_00: Those are my five top lessons that I've learned during this past year.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now I know they may seem really straightforward, but I do think sometimes we have to reconnect with the things that are important because it's so easy to get caught up with the day-to-day running of our business and we forget the things that actually do make a difference.
• 26:31
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, by listening to them today, hopefully, they have resonated with you and given you some food for thought.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think December and January are fantastic months for re-evaluation, and I think it's the perfect time to really sit back, reevaluate the year gone by for yourself, but also to make changes and make shifts for the year ahead as well.
• 26:59
  SPEAKER_00: I would love to know what lessons you have learned over the past year, so please do feel free to share them with me.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_00: Pop over to Instagram, maybe share them on my Instagram account at Karen underscore digital coach.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode.
• 27:19
  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.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: If you are feeling inspired and would like to know more about getting started with creating an online digital course, then why not download my free ebook, 10 Steps to Digital Course Success, by visiting my website www.carenhyphindavies.com.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: I will be back next week with another episode, but until then, have a great week.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Digitally She Does It Show.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget to check out the show notes for all the links and resources mentioned in today's episode.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: New episodes drop every week on a Wednesday.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: So why not rate and subscribe so you never miss an episode?
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for tuning in today, and I will see you next time.