Latest / WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas / 96: How to Brace Yourself for Q4

Transcript

96: How to Brace Yourself for Q4 · WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: In the States, Labor Day just passed.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: So it's unofficially fall, and I'm Filipino.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: And September 1st is when basically Christmas has started, which means the busiest part of the year is almost here.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Q4.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: So before we talk about work, let's talk about how I celebrated before September started.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: So last day of August, I did some Muay Thai with some girlfriends, then went to the beach with my boyfriend slash partner.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: So don't judge me.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: But fun fact about me, I don't like going into a pool or ocean.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I just love staring at the water and dipping my feet.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: I know I'm weird.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so that's my update on how I celebrated the last bits of summer.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: I can't believe it's almost the end of the year.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Now let's get back to how do you brace yourself for Q4 for preparing for work and knowing you're gonna have to deal with family during the holidays.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: First, let's talk about work.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: I shared in episode 95 that Q1 was a difficult quarter in terms of revenue.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: And to make up for that lost revenue, I am a focus on making more revenue in Q4.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I'm doing for work.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: But how I'm doing that, which I have noticed lately talking to a couple of folks where they're like, okay, I need to make more revenue.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: And they often think it's about doing more, adding more marketing and sales channels.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually staying focused on what's working and looking under the hood.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: So that's about work.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I'm about to get ready to go to a two-week vacation to Australia and New Zealand.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm already bracing myself for my family, probably getting upset with me because I'm leaving the week of Thanksgiving.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Also, international trip tip, international trip tip, say that like five times.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: If you live in the States, a great time to travel internationally is actually during Thanksgiving week.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I live in LA, so going to LAX and the international terminal, it is actually empty during Thanksgiving week.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: I remember going to Italy when I was 28 during that week, and it was so empty and quiet.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: And then when you're in Italy, barely any lines.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: It was great.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: So besides my international trip tip, in this episode, I share the behind the scenes of what I'm doing to prepare and embrace myself for Q4 and what you can do too.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's drop the beat.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm Elaine Lucartas.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm a business and career coach for women of color and allies.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Elaine Weekly awarded me the number one thought leader, and Apple News named me one of the top five business coaches.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Done doing the most as a woman of color or ally, and you want to create your own definition of success and happiness.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, grab your coffee tea or boba and let's do some business and career real talk.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Regardless if you have a job or business, here's what I want you to get.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: One, get your list of goals that you made in the beginning of the year.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Two, get that list of personal and business goals so separated.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: Three, review your year to date 2024 numbers, business numbers.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And then four, review your year to date 2024 personal numbers.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: Personal could be, you know, just because I'm getting older.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: It could be cholesterol, like your blood when you took a test, or it could be how much you want saved, or how much you want to make in salary, whatever those personal numbers are.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: And in this episode, it's broken down in four parts.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: One, the personal, two, the numbers, three, racing for the holidays and family, and four, how to hold yourself accountable.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, let's start with the personal.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: That's right, we're gonna go personal.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now, really, how has this year been for you?
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I shared Q and was tough.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: And my dad also had two knee surgeries, and I chose to be there for him.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: So that was a choice in the first weeks of his surgery to help him and my mom out.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I'm gonna get vulnerable.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: I've also been noticing more growing and healing I need to personally do.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, even though I am doing really well in terms of revenue and profit margins, I identify I want to heal more.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_00: So called up my therapist in two weeks.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: I haven't seen her since probably the end of last year, and started going to therapy again.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: And I share that because maybe for you, you realize you need more support or a tune up, whether it's a therapist, and you could go to psychology today.com to find a therapist or to find friends or loved ones you feel safe and vulnerable to talk with.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're feeling burnt out.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm going to challenge you.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: If you're feeling burnt out, can you add some personal downtime into your calendar?
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: For example, one of the things I'm working on with my therapists is more somatic practices, which is being more present and still.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Even a simple wear once a day, I'm doing deep breaths just for two minutes.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: So breathing in, breathing out, like six seconds in, six seconds out.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: It was interesting.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: She was sharing with me a stat that usually we breathe, we do like 15 to 30 breaths a minute.
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: So if you could do, try to do six in a minute so you could be more present.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you notice, if you've ever been anxious or human, I would think you would be.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: Not that I wish every human to be anxious, but when I notice I'm being anxious, I'm taking short breaths.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're taking deep breaths, it helps with that anxiety.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: And also sitting, being present in your environment around you.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's noticing, okay, what's my favorite color?
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: It's red.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: How many red products or items do I see around me?
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: Being present that way.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I am so glad my boyfriend and I, we went to the beach.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: And like I said, I don't like going into the ocean, but just laying there, being present, feeling the wind, putting my phone on airplane mode, really restricting myself to just trying to take photos all the time, but just laying there, feeling the sun and uh just being present could help with the overwhelm.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like I did my little life coaching part of the podcast.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: So the second part, something that gets people anxious, that's why I started with the personal, with the breathing, as I mentioned earlier, is the numbers.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm going to be straight up real.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: I used to be delusional thinking that I can accomplish anything and everything and not look at my past current numbers.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you're not hitting the numbers you want and you're feeling horrible, just a reminder that numbers do not define you.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: They tell you where you're at.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: One of my mentors said it best.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you can't measure it, you can't fix it.
• 7:26
  SPEAKER_00: So even if your numbers are not where you want them to be, I just want to let you know you can fix it.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: Let's look at how you are getting those sales and marketing.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Are you tracking it?
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Why am I sharing this with you?
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I just had a session with a client who wanted to add a new marketing avenue using IG.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: I asked them, well, have you gotten clients from Instagram?
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: They responded, no.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay, let's look at the numbers of how you're getting clients right now.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: They responded, oh, referrals and Google.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: So then I asked, how can we focus on improving your referrals and Google SEO?
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: And they realized, oh, I can focus on my newsletter because I have them in my email list.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: And to validate their reasoning, I shared this makes sense because email average rate is 20%.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Instagram algorithm is 2%.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: So for example, if you have 100 followers, only two of the 100 followers are going to look at your stuff.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have 100 people subscribe to your email list, since 20% is an average rate, 20 people will look at it.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: See what happens is I meet people where, oh no, I'm not hitting my revenue.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Let me do all these new things because it's working for other people.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Hold on.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: Let's see what is working for you right now and how can we make it better?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: And if there is a new thing to try, is there proof that your audience is telling you they are finding you that way?
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: For example, I've been in my business for seven years.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: Three years ago, I invested in doing Google SEO for my websites for two reasons.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: One, I don't want to be social media dependent.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to be constantly performing and keeping up with the Joneses.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And I did do that.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: I was posting every single day doing lives, not saying present in life.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And you can listen to more how you became less dependent on social media on episode 38 with my marketing strategist, Monica Schrock.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I really just didn't want to be dependent on social media.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Even with this podcast, I mean, you could say I've been feeling lazier, but I just don't want to record my face.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna record my audio.
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: I have a bun up and I'm not feeling cute, but I'm feeling really comfortable.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what matters.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, I am digressing.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Let's go to the second reason why I decided to invest in Google SEO.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I promise this will help you figure out what to invest your time, money, and energy on.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: Two, here's a big tip.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: I had evidence that people were finding me who wasn't in her role by looking for the keywords woman of color coach, woman of color business coach, woman of color career coach.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: That's what made me curious.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I asked myself, what if I tried this?
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I tried Google SEO for six months because I knew it was not going to be an instant ROI.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: The thing is with social media, I mean, they know how to work with those dopamine hits.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: When you get likes and comments, it makes you feel good.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I knew Google SEO was going to be for the long game.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_00: Three years later, it's 2024, September 2nd.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: My ROI for Google SEO is 1100%.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: And if you want to learn more about Google SEO and what I did, listen to episode 61 with my Google SEO strategist, Andres Aguero.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And all the podcast episodes I mentioned are in my show notes, so you could check it out there.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Legacy leader.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: I know what you're thinking.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: Elaine, you have such good stuff here.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: I want more.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: So if you want more tips and advice for your business career in life, sign up for my Gifts and Gifts newsletter at ElaineLew.com forward slash join.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's J-O-I-N.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: And here's three things you'll get when you join, because I'm like Santa Claus.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: I love giving.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, funny gifts.
• 11:17
  SPEAKER_00: Cause who doesn't love memes and pop culture references?
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: This newsletter is so fetch.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, receive actionable gifts.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's business, career, and life tips that you can start doing today.
• 11:31
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• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: Not only do you get my wins, but also my failures, my reflections.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: My gifts and gifts newsletter is like an up-to-date diary.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: Think Zenga or Life Journal for my fellow millennials, where I share vulnerable stories, relatable mistakes, and important life tips like what to watch on Netflix.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: Like when's the next Bridgeton season?
• 11:55
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• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: That's J O I N.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's get back to the episode.
• 12:14
  SPEAKER_00: Going back to you, if you want to try something new, do it if you see your current audience is always coming, like already coming to you because of that.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if they aren't, why not ask your current customers their perspective?
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: So for example, I had another client who wanted to post on LinkedIn.
• 12:33
  SPEAKER_00: I was like, okay, ask your audience if they hang out there.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Found out that their audience does.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And they use it to research certain things that would make them more inclined to learn more about their service.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: So they're on LinkedIn.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_00: So ask.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: I just figured I'm sharing with you everything I'm doing because it makes sense.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not just doing things because I'm being reactive.
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm doing this new things because I'm being intentional and doing research on it.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Another thing I've been focused on is I've been working with more executives and Fortune 500 companies.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: When connecting with my executives, Fortune 500 companies, what they are looking for when they hire an external coach like me, they're looking for someone who is a professional certified coach through the International Coaching Federation.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: So a couple of weeks, your girl got her certificate.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: And if you haven't noticed, I'm always seeing what is my target market looking for?
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: And am I in the position and messaging for future clients to come to me?
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: Because I come from a place of curiosity, looking at my numbers.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: And mind you, I'm not saying don't pay attention to your intuition.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: Your intuition is there.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: What happens is when you get the feminine data, your intuition, as well as your data masculine, you combine both your intuition and the data, it makes you more confident to move forward to try something new or to create changes.
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: So the result that has happened in my own business is every week I have sales calls scheduled with qualified leads who want to work with me.
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: And despite getting sales calls each week, I still hand pick who is a good fit.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm able to cancel calls when they're not a good fit, which is great because time is important.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's go to the third part preparing for family and the holidays.
• 14:25
  SPEAKER_00: It is an election year.
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: I know the holidays can be triggering when you're around people that you haven't seen in a while because we all see majority of people that we don't see during the end of the year.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: So some tips if a family member says something you don't agree with or you don't feel safe in, you could say simply like, I need to go to the restroom.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: You don't need to continue on with a conversation with that loved one.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: You don't even need to share why you don't want to continue it.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: You know, sometimes I think to myself, does this person deserve feedback from me?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: Are they even gonna listen to the feedback?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: No.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: So then why am I gonna share feedback as to why I'm leaving?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_00: I could just say, I'm going to the restroom or I'm gonna step out.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Being Filipino, I know family members will always make comments about weight, whether losing or gaining.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: So feel free to share a script.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like if someone says something inappropriate to you about your body, hey, I love my body and would really appreciate if you respect my body as well as yours, as well as others, by stop making comments about other people.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: So try that.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_00: And honestly, similar to how we prep for meetings, prep for gatherings by putting scripts on what people may say or ask of you and your responses to it.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: Just like we prepare for meetings, do the same thing in your personal life.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_00: All right, fourth, because I want to make sure you not just embrace yourself for Q4, but you absolutely smash Q4.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is how can you hold yourself accountable?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_00: Is it finding a team member, a loved one, friend you can share your goals with?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_00: For example, when my clients are working with me on their numbers, whether they're working in a department or have their own business, they often report back in the next call where they're at.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: So they're held accountable whenever I meet with them.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe you're preparing for a holiday gathering.
• 16:19
  SPEAKER_00: And prior to that, you could talk to a friend who goes through similar challenges or their family.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, hey, why don't we work on scripts prior to these gatherings?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you don't want to work or connect with anyone about it.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's completely fine.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's about putting dates in your calendar on when to work things.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: For example, if you're working on asking for a salary raise at your job, putting time like a one-hour block on a specific date and time, just like you would for a meeting on when you draft your script and bullet points on all the things you've accomplished.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: I know how anxiety-provoking it can be to think of the bigger goals, but when you break it down, it'll be easier to do.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, for example, I was talking to one of my mentors actually today when I was recording this podcast of how when people feel really overwhelmed, think about like UPS truck drivers, for example, especially during the holidays, right?
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: They're driving, there's a lot of boxes in their truck.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: It gets really overwhelming when they see all the boxes, like they open up the back.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_00: But to get over the anxiety for their training, they're told folk, just look at that one box, not the whole thing, one box.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: So, what I'm trying to share with you is look at that one small action item, that one box you can do to brace yourself for Q4.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it's scripts to prepare to talk to family members, whether it's like setting aside a block time to look at your numbers.
• 17:40
  SPEAKER_00: And what I mean, numbers, not just your bank account, but okay, what's a percent of my clients right now that are coming from referrals, renewals, Google SEO, Instagram, LinkedIn, however we're getting clients?
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_00: Or okay, what are my numbers when it comes to personally?
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Can I really add another trip or two by the end of the year?
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, well, I didn't save enough.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: So these are the adjustments I have to do.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: Can't believe how fast this year has passed.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like as we get older, it just gets faster.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: And if you found this episode helpful, there are four things you can do if you feel called to do them.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_00: One, if you could leave a five-star rating in review, that would mean a lot to me.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: My team and I created this podcast for accessible education for women of color and allies.
• 18:29
  SPEAKER_00: And each episode takes about four hours to create, one hour for me to prep, and another 30 minutes to one hour to record.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: Then my team spends another two hours to edit and market.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_00: Number two, because we care about accessible education, share this with a friend who is feeling overwhelmed preparing for Q4 or just getting ready for it.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_00: Three, don't forget to follow this show, WC and Allies Business and Career Real Talk, because when you hit that follow button and the podcast you are subscribing to, it lets that podcast platform know how important this podcast is to fellow women of color and allies like you.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_00: And fourth, if you need support in your career or business and you're interested in working with me, then schedule an introductory legacy business or career review call.
• 19:22
  SPEAKER_00: I only bring in two to four new clients each month to ensure each client receives the results they deserve.
• 19:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you can schedule a complimentary legacy business and career review call at elanelu.com forward slash call.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's E-L A-I-N-E-L-O-U.com forward slash call.