Latest / WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas / 53. How I Made My Business Work for Me Off the Grid

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53. How I Made My Business Work for Me Off the Grid · WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: We often see influencers and business owners right now, since it is summer, showing off that they're on vacation while they're on vacation.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't know about you, but I can't help but ask myself, are they really on vacation if they're always on their phone posting?
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Are they present with themselves, their partner, and loved ones?
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And come on, we're just no longer in that dumb money era.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Consumers like you and myself are smarter.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I actually ask myself, are they using this vacation to launch something?
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then you see them pitch and sale.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I know this process, I know the system because what's disgusting is I used to do this myself, you know, showing off that I'm somewhere else and then promoting.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And yeah, it did work when I did it.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: But even though it may have worked to get sales, what it failed to do was have me present in my personal vacations.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I was not present for myself, for my boyfriend, for loved ones, whoever I was with.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: So in this episode, I share the behind the scenes of how I've been able to make my business work for me where I was two weeks off the grid, no laptop, no Wi-Fi, no cellular service.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: And how I actually want to encourage you, and I want to create this like new hashtag and movement of be present now, post later.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: Because yes, I do want to take pictures and post eventually, which is what I did when I was gone for two weeks.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want to learn how I did it, how I was able to create my business to work for me completely off the grid, you're gonna want to take notes on this episode.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: So before we start, let's drop the beat.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Elaine Lukardas, your host and a business and career coach that LA Weekly named the number one thought leader, and Apple News named one of the top five business coaches.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I know you've established yourself in a leadership and executive role.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: And this podcast is here to remind you that you can create a holistic life so you can lead without sacrificing your well-being.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So expect me and my guests to have some conscious conversations with you on creating intentional direction and sustainable strategies so that you can create an aligned team, career, business, and life.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Don't worry, I'm not gonna give you a one size fits all prescription.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: You'll learn how to define your own holistic leadership so you can prioritize a life led by fulfillment and self-trust.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Now, grab your coffee, tea, or boba and let all your dreams to lead your legacy.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: So it's always 2023, and I just came back from the most life-changing two-week vacation.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was in Tanzania.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: I hiked Mount Kilimanjaro within six days.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: It's the tallest single freestanding mountain in the world.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: And right after that, for another week, I went on a safari and I got to see beautiful animals like lions, giraffes, zebras roam around free.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: And doing that for two weeks, not only was I hiking Mount Kilimanjaro and going on a safari, I was 100% present on my vacation.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: I was off the grid and to commit to being off the grid.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: I did not pack my laptop on this trip.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: I went on airplane mode, turned off my cellular data, and I occasionally turned on my Bluetooth so I could share pictures with my boyfriend.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: I took my vacation seriously to be present.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I want you to know that I want you to have this too.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: So why?
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Why was it important for me to be completely off the grid and not just online posting on social media?
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: Because I could have just not brought my laptop, right?
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And also still be on social media, but I really wanted to be off social media too.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: But here are three reasons why I wanted to not be on social media to be completely present, not bring my laptop.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you relate to these three reasons.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: So the first reason is I knew I had to stop creating a codependent relationship with my business.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: I've already started doing that, but I wanted to make sure I had a life and identity outside of my business, that my business could function without me if I needed to do it.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: Second, my mental health.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you've listened to this Color Your Dreams podcast for a while, you know that last year in 2022, I was completely burnt out from how big my company grew in 2020, 2021.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: I did really well during the pandemic.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I was always on, I was always working, and I couldn't sustain the amount of work I did.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: Basically, I had lunch every day with my laptop.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: It was not cute.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: Third reason I want to be off the grade for my relationship.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: This was a trip with my partner, and I wanted to also be completely present for him, be present for myself, be present with the animals and the environment.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: And oh just doing this for myself, it has absolutely changed me.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Like it made me appreciate my vacation so much more.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I couldn't believe that.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: So I actually give you specific action items.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna want to bring out a notebook and take notes because this is action-packed.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: One is I changed my business model to not be codependent on my time and energy.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my God, I used to go on lives every day.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: I did monthly events.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: That's how clients got to know me.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I really wanted to focus on my referrals and people finding me through Google SEO.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I simplified my business by focusing on that.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: I really did not want to be social media dependent.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And you could listen to another episode.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: There's episode nine, why I ended my mastermind, how I simplified my business.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: I really simplified my services and how I created my business.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: So here's some questions I have for you on how you could change your business model.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm when I say change, I'm not saying drastically change, but how can we make it more simple?
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: So ask yourself the hard question Do you have a business that's codependent on you where you have to be on all the time?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: What are things you can let go of?
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Does it have to be you doing that?
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, if you're on my email list, you could join my GIF and gifts newsletter that I send out every other week.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Go to ElainLew.com forward slash join.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: I write my emails because I really enjoy doing it, but I don't do everything when it comes to email marketing.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: I have another team member who edits my emails after I write them.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: And then I have another team member who uploads the emails and tests it.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't take care of the whole process of email marketing.
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_00: I have a step-by-step process on what I do, where it doesn't have to be all me.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are tasks and projects that are repeatable that you could delegate to other team members?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: The second piece is I realigned my marketing plan to my ideal clients.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: I had to be honest with myself, I knew that if I was constantly on social media, specifically Instagram, it would attract actually newbie entrepreneurs.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to work with entrepreneurs who are more established.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to work with career leaders who are more established, like in the manager director roles.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: My ideal clients are not on social media all the time.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: They're busy, not just busy with work, but busy with life.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: They know what they want, which is why I have a high referral and renewal business.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: Also, another thing that did happen to me is Facebook restricted me.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So this happened to me last year.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: I just wore tink tops and halter tops.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: And apparently that showed nudity because I was showing off my arms.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: So Facebook restricted me.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I just realized I wanted to own my own content.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: So that's why I have blogs.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: If you go to ElaineLo.com forward slash blog, that helps with Google SEO.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_00: And even recently, prior to going on the trip, LinkedIn made me one of the top communication voices.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: So if you haven't added me on LinkedIn, you can.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: What I love about LinkedIn is that it attracts high-quality people, people who are manager director level.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: And there's even stats about it, but people who are on LinkedIn are on average making 100K or even more.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: And it's not so much the money, but those are my target people who are at high levels in their career and their businesses.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: So you can listen to episode 38 that I did with my marketing show, I just Monica Shock on how I became less dependent on social media.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: So, how can you get clients without having to be on all the time?
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Two things I did that a lot of coaches don't even talk about is I created a Google business page and Yelp page.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Create that.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's completely free.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: What I love about Google and Yelp is people find you.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: And have I gotten clients from Yelp?
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_00: I've actually gotten a couple and I've already talked about Google.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Google has been amazing.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: I love the leads that come to me because people are finding me.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'll put my Google business page and my Yelp business page so you have an idea of a template that you could even do in your own business.
• 10:23
  SPEAKER_00: And how has Google SEO impacted my business?
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Incredibly.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, look up the keywords woman of color business coach, WOC business coach, business coach for a woman of color.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: After the ads, I am number one.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I have been working on this intentionally.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason why is because when it was 2020, I was online all the time.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: I was documenting what I ate, what I did every day.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I was like, I am tired.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: I can't do this all the time.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: How can clients come to me?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what made me decide to do Google on SEO.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I am not saying you have to focus so much on it, but it takes what 10 minutes to put up a Google Business page and Yelp page.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: So might as well do that for yourself.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Legacy leader, want more tips and advice for your business, career, and life?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then sign up for my gifts and gifts newsletter at elaneloo.com forward slash join.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: So here's three things you'll get.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: One, you'll get funny gifts, because who doesn't love memes and pop culture references?
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_00: This newsletter is so fetch.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Two, you'll also receive actionable gifts.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Tips on your business, career, and life.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: And third, you'll also receive the gift of me.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: So my gifts and gifts newsletter is like an up-to-date diary.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Think Zenga or Live Journal, where I'm gonna share vulnerable stories, relatable mistakes, and important life tips like what to watch on Netflix.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're ready for those fun gifts and actionable gifts to create a more sustainable life, join my newsletter at elaneli.com forward slash join.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Third thing I did.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_00: So the second thing I talked about was realigning my marketing plan.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: The third thing I did was understanding what are repeatable systems working for me.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I do biweekly Color Your Dreams podcast.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_00: I have my bi-weekly gifts and gifts newsletters.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: I know clients are coming from me through referrals and Google SEO as for making sure my clients are successful.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_00: My clients receive weekly accountability emails where they receive individualized reminders of tasks that to do.
• 12:39
  SPEAKER_00: And there's no pressure that they have to get it done, but they are reminders.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_00: What's great is that these are systems that we have been doing in my business in the past year.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: So my team knows this to a T.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: However, to prepare for my vacation, there were parts of these systems where I was in it.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I made sure I scheduled ahead of time the things I had to do for my business to function while I was on vacation.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: So for example, I recorded two podcast episodes prior to me to going on vacation.
• 13:15
  SPEAKER_00: The newsletters, I made sure I drafted it beforehand and edited it and sent it to my team prior.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_00: I had my team draft some social media posts that promoted my blogs.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I edited that ahead of time.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And it was my team member that scheduled everything.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_00: So I didn't have to do any work during that.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: It was my team that scheduled things.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: And all this work was done ahead of time that my team was able to run through it, which was incredible.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: What's great is that I got to relax and trust in my team.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_00: And here's what you can do: you could list out all the repeatable systems in your business and see what are things you could start doing to delegate to other people and use a vacation to test it out.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if there are things that's needed for you to do, do it prior to the vacation and then have your team schedule it out.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like if you have to record a podcast, if you have to write an email or social media post, do that stuff before you go on vacation.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then you can use an automated scheduler or have your team do it.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have to do all the things.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to go more in depth of figuring out how to be clear on the systems working for you, check out episode 48.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's with both of my team members, Monica Schrock and Juliana Wise, who does both marketing and systems.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_00: It's called SmackDown Marketing versus System versus Strategy.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: So the fourth tip is letting go of ego, that it has to be all you, and setting up a plan.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to my right-hand woman, Caitlin, my integrator in my team.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: She put a list together of all the things that would happen when I was gone for two weeks.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: So all the repeatable tasks that would be done weekly and daily.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: And in addition to that, usually I do office hours.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: I had three of my team members, Monica Schrock, who does marketing strategy, Juliana Wise, who is certified project manager, and I had my psychic and intuitive coach Irene come in to do sessions.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it was Caitlin communicating with all three of my other coaches, sending reminders to my clients two months prior to me leaving that I was gone.
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: And it just ran so smooth.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_00: What's great as well is that when I came back, I've even had clients tell me how it inspired them.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I want to be able to go on vacation without my laptop and be present.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I didn't feel a certain way that you're gone for two weeks.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're planning for a vacation to not bring your laptop and to not work, start letting your clients know one to two months ahead of time.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: See which staff members can help.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure there is one team member who takes the lead to make sure everything is functioning and have him or they create a plan of systems and then review that list, see what's missing, see what possible challenges or issues may work.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: And if there's any challenges, then you could take care of it when you come back.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_00: And making sure you also have a team member who's checking your inbox.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: So I had Caitlyn manage my inbox and anything that was important for me to read, she would star.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_00: And then I read it when I came back.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: And in a podcast episode, I wanted to recommend is listen to episode 43 with Juliana about leading change and managing overwhelm for you and your team.
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: And this will help.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: So my fifth tip, and really when I think about it, I probably should have put this as my first tip, but I'm just talking here and having a conversation.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Is I want you to think about how does your ideal life look like five years from now?
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Not just your career and your business, but how does that look like?
• 17:00
  SPEAKER_00: Are you on vacation once a month?
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_00: I realize I've been on vacation once a month this past year.
• 17:05
  SPEAKER_00: Did not have that as a goal, but I realize I've been doing that.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Are you taking your parents to their doctor appointments?
• 17:11
  SPEAKER_00: Are you walking your kid or driving your kid to school and back every day?
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_00: Are you able to have lunch with your partner every day since both of you work remote?
• 17:21
  SPEAKER_00: What does your personal life look like?
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: Are you working out four to five times a week?
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually sharing with you how I wanted my life to look like.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: And if your life is not looking like that, what are things that need to change?
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not saying you have to make all those changes, but maybe baby steps.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe twice a week you're intentional having lunch with your partner.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you start out small and you're working out twice a week.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_00: So, what are small things you can start doing?
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: And one of my goals and intentions is that when I was gonna go on vacation, I was not gonna work.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: And it happened for me.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is your dream life five years from now and see what small steps you could start doing towards that?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_00: So, what were the results from me being two weeks off the grid not working?
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, let me share with you my personal that work results.
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_00: My personal results.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: One, I was more present for my vacation.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't been that present for a vacation since I started my business.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I had a better relationship with myself and my partner, with my with the animals and the environment.
• 18:35
  SPEAKER_00: It made me really grateful.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: And two, it also made me realize that there's a lot of things that I need to let go of in my business where I'm not doing all the things.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm actually putting systems in place where I'm not doing everything.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: My business results.
• 18:51
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I had seven sales calls scheduled while I was gone.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: I was speaking gig with podcast movements, the biggest podcast conference in the world in a few weeks.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_00: At the end of the month, I'm filming my third course with Maidcraft.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_00: I got asked by Radiant Coaches and International Coaching Federation School to create a certification for business coaching, which I start filming in September.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I already have 12 clients coming in for the Call Your Dreams Inner Circle Retreat in October.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: All this was still happening while I was on vacation.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: So, what is my action item for you?
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you could have a business that works for you while you're off the grid.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to journal and reflect how do you want your life to look like beyond your business five years from now?
• 19:34
  SPEAKER_00: And what are small steps you can do to start creating that sustainable business and life.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: If you enjoyed this podcast episode on how to make your business work for you off the grid, here's three things you can do if you feel called to do them.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_00: One, share this with a friend.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Send them a personal message on how this episode can help them be more present on their vacations.
• 20:05
  SPEAKER_00: So they're not working and posting all the time.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And they're present with themselves and loved ones.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_00: Two, leave a rating and review for the Color Your Dreams podcast so more women of color and allies can create a sustainable business and life.
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: And third, if you would like to see how it would look like to work with me, so you could create a more sustainable life like me, where you can be present on vacations and you can be present when you're back from vacations with yourself and loved ones.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_00: Schedule a complimentary legacy business review call where you're going to receive at least three action items.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: So go to elaneli.com forward slash call.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's E-L A I N E L L U.com forward slash call.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: Legacy Leader, did you enjoy today's episode?
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_00: If so, subscribe to the Color Your Dreams podcast and leave a rating and review.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: It goes a long way and it lets other fellow leaders find this incredible free resource.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want more, you can find all the links and information mentioned in this episode in the show notes on my website at elaneelew.com forward slash podcast.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: That's E-L-A-I-N-E-L-U.com forward slash podcast.
• 21:35
  SPEAKER_00: All right, legacy leader.
• 21:37
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in our newest episode in two weeks, and remember to follow your dreams to lead your legacy.