Episode 173: 21 Things I’ve done (and never done) in my business
When I started my online business in 2015 I had a lot of assumptions about what I “must do” in order to be successful.
I thought that if I wasn’t hitting those $10k months or bringing in a $20k launch that I must be missing some success secret or worse, maybe I wasn’t doing enough money mindset work or was thinking all the wrong thoughts and making the universe give me the wrong things.
::big eyeroll::
I fell into a lot of “traps” online when I first started my business and I want to talk about them today and also share 21 things that I've done (and not done) in my business to get where I am today.
There's a lot of pressure to hit specific milestones as a business owner, but you don't have to do all of them in order to be a legit entrepreneur.
Transcript:
You are listening to episode 173 of The Mindful Productivity Podcast. I'm your host, Sarah Stickler, and on this week's episode I'm going to be sharing 21 things I've both done and never done done in my business. This episode is about transparency, honesty and just talking about some of the things in running an online business and being a human that don't always get the spotlight. So if you want to know different ways that success can look like and maybe want to validate some of the ways that you might be feeling or some of the ways that you might want to be doing things differently in your life and business, then definitely keep listening because I will be sharing some behind the scenes and you might just be able to hear Bella Snoring if you keep listening to welcome to the Mindful Productivity Podcast.
I'm your host, Sarah Steckler, and this is the place to be to live a more mindful and productive life. If you're ready to turn daily chaos into com and start your days with intention, then get ready to join me as we dive deep into mindful living and personal productivity. It's time to connect with your true self so you can live the life you want to live and it all starts now.
Welcome back, friends. I am recording this podcast episode from the couch and Bella is in my lap deep snoring so you can hear her. She is happy as a clam being a total snuggle bug. Today, I want to share 21 things that I've done and never done in my business, and this is actually a blog post that I recently wrote on my blog so you can find the blog post. I'll link it in the show notes, and I'll also have a transcript available at this podcast episode as well.
If you've already read the blog post, I'm going to be going a little bit more in depth into everything I mentioned during this episode and have more of a conversation around these talking points. But let's go ahead and get into today's topic. Really, if you walk away with one thing from today's episode, I hope it's this that you do not need to hit any specific income goal in your business to be a legit entrepreneur. When I started my business back in 2015, I had a lot of assumptions about what I must do in order to be successful.
I thought that if I wasn't hitting those ten K month or bringing in a 20K launch that I must be missing some success secret. Right? Or worse, maybe I wasn't doing enough money mindset work or I was thinking all the wrong thoughts and making the universe give me the wrong things. Seriously, I roll to that I want to share before we get into all these 21 things that I fell into a lot of traps online when I first started my business. And here's what I mean by that because for a long time.
I really bought into the whole manifestation thing, and I thought that everything was connected to a bigger meaning about something else. I'm not saying that it's wrong to have a belief system or to find deeper meaning within things, but it got to a point where it really wasn't grounded in reality. In some ways. I really wanted to believe that everything had a reason behind it, because that made it feel safer and it made it feel less overwhelming if I could come up with an explanation for the unknown.
And I think a lot of us fall into this. Sometimes I envisioned that all of my success was due to my thoughts alone and what I was thinking. And then I beat myself up when I was going through a spell of clinical depression or I had other business owners telling me I just need to be more positive and get my energy aligned with the universe. And then I would see the money flow in there's so many issues with that way of thinking, and we won't get into all of that today.
But I really want to share kind of this place I was in when I first started my business. Right. Another example is that I believe that I had all these money blocks and that I alone was causing. Right. So I definitely think that what we think and how we feel about things will absolutely impact our actions. But our thoughts alone and how we think, I think carry a lot more weight, especially in the entrepreneur space, like people will really say things like, well, if you have a negative thought, that's why that happened to you.
Right. And that's scary because that's not true. But when you kind of go down this rabbit hole of self development and selfimprovement, some of these books and ways of thinking become kind of front of mind, and you can find yourself really starting to do a lot of self blame for things that are just part of reality and things that happen to everyone. And you can get caught in this way of magical thinking that I really think can be dangerous. So I definitely had ways of thinking about money that could be improved.
Right. But I got to this place at certain points in my business, if I didn't see success or if I didn't see a launch go, well, where I was like, oh my gosh. It's because I was thinking the wrong thoughts, and I thought that was it alone and that's wild to me that I was in that place, right. Because I definitely never was thinking about maybe other ways that things could be contributing other factors and also, like, different policies, socioeconomic factors, all those things. So then I'd also believe that when I did see success, right?
It was because I manifested it instead of realizing all the ways that I was also coasting on forms of privilege. Right. That allowed me the time and space to work on and build the business without as many issues or distractions. Maybe as other people. Now, I share all of this because I think a lot of new business owners find themselves with similar experiences. You're doing something that the majority of the population is not doing. You're, quote, unquote going against the grain by doing something that you don't learn in school and that society hasn't paved a pathway for.
So by default, it feels daunting, exciting and unnerving. And because of this and the lack of support from people around you, understanding what you're trying to even do, it can become really easy to fall down these rabbit holes of toxic positivity, right? Cult like entrepreneur advice and spiritually bypassing forms of logic that are actually based in magical thinking versus grounded realism. Now that it's nearly the end of 2021, I think it's time to share some of the things I've learned and also share some of the things I've never done and some of the standard entrepreneurial milestones that I actually haven't hit yet.
And even though I haven't hit those, that doesn't disqualify me or you from being a real entrepreneur because let's be honest, being a business owner can look many different ways. You can make all different kinds of income. You can do it full time, part time. It can be a side gig. It can be a seasonal thing. I think there's so much pressure for it to look one specific way that really can hinder our progress and hinder how we view ourselves. So in this episode and in this list, I'm about to share about what I've done and how my business growth is going.
I want to make it clear that it's not me saying that doing or not doing any of these things is necessarily good or bad, but instead it's about me sharing a different version of what business growth can look like because I think we need to see more examples. Right? And more than anything, I want entrepreneurs to know that there are so many ways that you can exist in a business space, right? You don't have to shout out about high income months or project mindset work like as if we all have some complete control over the flow of money or as if some kind of magical thinking will be the way right?
I want to move away from that. And I also want to move away from just other entrepreneurs in general. And I've been guilty of this too, right? Where you make others feel like you know something that they don't, because really, it all comes from experience and trial and error and error because Newsflash. And if I could highlight this on the podcast, like in audio format, I would there is no magical secret to running an online business. It takes time, experimentation, the right network and audience, a business model that works for you and your energy management and a willingness to set a realistic and sustainable pace that you can keep working with.
To be honest, too, the biggest shift that occurred for me that allowed me to make more money was to finally hold space for how I truly wanted to run my business and then actually do it that way and on paper and in saying that out loud, that seems very simple and rather obvious, right. But it took me years to get to that point. It took me years to turn off all the other voices of other people online, telling me how I should do things. It took me years to move away from coaching advice I'd received or things I felt pressured to do in a program I was enrolled in and really understand that the way I was going to run my business was going to be unique to me, my values, my energy management, and what I really enjoyed and loved doing.
And it's going to be the same way for you in that regard. I also want to hit home that it wasn't one specific strategy that I learned right in a mastermind or it wasn't decoding the social media algorithm or finding a way to manipulate people into buying. No, it wasn't any of those things. It was true. Honest time, tears, confusion backtracking, experimenting, failing, trying again, trying it again, saying no, saying yes, building one thing, building another having meltdowns, being burnt out, wanting to give up, seeing success, feeling more confident than questioning everything, and then basically doing that over and over again until it happened less often.
And I found what felt best. Now, there are obviously going to be ways that you learn to do things where it doesn't have to be continually difficult. Always. I think the more you get to know yourself and the more you run an online business, the more you'll learn and those things and those skills and self awareness will stack up on top of each other. Right. So it won't be like falling on your face every time I always think of that clip or that scene from The Simpsons with Sideshow Bob where he's walking in this parking lot and there's all these rakes and he keeps stepping on them and they keep slamming him in the face.
Entrepreneurship can feel that way a lot of times, but it doesn't have to be that way always. But I think that the people that are telling you that there will never be any struggle and that there's a really easy way to just be in alignment and flow and never have struggle and never feel upset. No, they're obviously trying to sell you something, right. I just think it's important to address that the way through is not an avoidance of discomfort or avoidance of all these things, but it's holding space for them and realizing that there's so much learning that can be had within that and going through things and enrolling in different programs and seeing what works and what doesn't will help you get there.
So you right. This is not the most sexy or glamorous advice or what I'm talking about here. But I also knew that doing things my way and not jumping on board with some of the slimy sales tactics that I see, right? It also meant that I would likely see slower growth in my business. Right? I wouldn't be making as much money as fast, and I would find it difficult at times. And this is something Sidebar that I just really want to touch on, and that is there are definitely ways to grow a business faster.
There are definitely ways to streamline more things. There are definitely people that you can hire and things you can outsource. And if you listen to my episode on Momentum, which is Episode 85, I do talk about how hiring people or investing in courses can help you get there faster. However, one thing that I think is not always talked about or is being talked about more. I thank goodness is that when you hold space for slower growth and you really try to dig into what feels best for you and what's going to work for you long term and what's going to be sustainable, your business may grow a little bit slower, right?
You may not hit income goals as fast. There may be a little bit of a stall zone, but I also want to say that in my experience, there were those first few years that I didn't see as much income or revenue in my business. But the experimentation of allowing myself to shift into what I did like and what did feel better did help me make more money in the long term. Right. So I feel like there's some almost contradictory things I'm saying right now. But what I ultimately mean is experimenting in your business and holding space for growing that self awareness may feel right like you're slowing down and you're not making progress.
But having that self awareness long term is what is going to help you make more money. So I hope that makes sense. And looking back, I'm so glad I did decide to honor slow growth in my business because it's allowed me to land in a place that feels so good, right? Versus making tons of money in a business model that sucks my soul away. And so I've talked about this before for me personally doing one on one coaching. Although I loved my clients and I loved helping, it wasn't sustainable or scalable for me because it drained my energy so much, and I didn't have creative access to my brain for days after a coaching session.
So now my business model is built on offering courses and programs where I serve one to many me to many students, and I use my podcast here for the majority of my marketing. I continue to build my community of email subscribers. All of you are so amazing, and I provide ongoing value to all of my current and past students with lifetime access models for all of my programs. And then I really share whatever I want on my Instagram stories. And this is not to say that in order to be successful online, you should just share whatever you want.
What I mean is I currently don't use my Instagram stories to sell, sell. I did at one point and did see results from that. But now, in order for social media to feel cozy and sustainable for me, I use Instagram differently. And Instagram is just kind of the place I like to be. That may change in the future, but on my stories now, if you follow me over at Mindful Productivity Blog, you'll notice that there's a lot of stuff on there. I share that it's not business related, and it's more about finding connection with people.
So right now I'm decorating super early for Christmas. So I've been sharing kind of like what I'm decorating with and what I'm setting up in my apartment. I share a lot of forest walks with Bella and all that kind of stuff, and that actually sparked so many conversations with all of you, like, other people will respond to stories or say that they're doing something similar or they'll be like, oh, that's such a fun idea. And I think we don't always talk about how there's room for human connection and running your business.
You don't always have to be, quote, unquote on. As a business owner, you can also show your personality. You can also show behind the scenes and those boundaries are up to you. So you're not required to show anything from your personal life. And many people don't want to. And that's fine. But I like sharing that I've been using Instagram stories in a way that just feels good and fun for me, and that's actually allowed me to create a deeper connection with my current students, with prospective students and just other people in general.
Like the goal for me being on Instagram, I run a business account, but I also just really enjoy that I connect with other humans, so many other humans, many that will never have and maybe never will, like, buy anything from me. And that's fine. I enjoy the human aspect of it as well. Right. And so I like just that I've created this space where I feel like I can really be my real self on social media. I don't feel like I have to mask or any of that.
And that's been really nice. And while I think it's important to establish that people can trust you for the topics you're talking about, I've also kind of moved away from trying to be like, the, quote, unquote expert or authority in many things. And instead, I like sharing what I know and what my niche is in. I talked about my influence, I talk about productivity, I talk about planner publishing, I show up and I'm valuable with what I have to share, and I'm helpful. But I'm also real about life lessons and experiences along the way.
So what I mean is while I think it's important to establish yourself as someone who knows what they're talking about, I also find that it's refreshing to have humility and not be afraid to share, like when you make a mistake or when you don't know something. I think it's also important to note again that nothing about me is inherently special or novel. I am a person that's running a podcast and running a business, but I'm also Sarah and I keep doing all of this regardless of what anyone else might think, because it brings me joy.
It helps others, and it's allowing me to make a living in my business, right? It feels good, rewarding, and it feels down to Earth. And I think sometimes when people think about using their voice online, they feel like they can only do it if they show up a certain way. If other people think of them as better than or smarter, and we can also just all help each other by being our human selves and not being perfect. You can run a very successful business. You can make a lot of money by being human and not being perfect.
Okay, so we've had our little pre ramble here. Let's get into this list. And again, just really want to reiterate that just because I have or have not done these things, there's no judgment here. Okay. This is just a sharing of I think some of the milestones are some of the things that we think we need to hit in order to have other people see us as successful. And I've seen what I define as a lot of success in my business, a full time income by doing and not doing these 21 things.
So let's go ahead and get into them. Number one, I've actually never gotten professional headshots or photos of me. Any photo that I've taken for my business of me was either taken by me in the form of a selfie or a selfie stick. This is not to say that I wouldn't love to have that done. I just haven't made it a priority. And I remember when I first started running my business and back in 20, 15, 20, 16, it felt like really like the thing to do was to go have a photo shoot in like a pink suit and act like you work in these really fancy places that were really hotel lobbies and no shade to all of that.
A lot of those photos were super cute, but I remember thinking at the time I was like, if that's what I have to do to be an online business owner, this is going to work because the majority of how I run my business is not glamorous at all. I'm on the couch right now. It's currently 08:55 a.m. On a Tuesday I haven't showered yet. Bella, my Bulldog is in my lap. You've probably heard her snoring throughout the podcast. My kitchen is messy. I work from home.
I work the majority of time in my office usually, but it's not glamorous, right. And there's no way that I'd want photos of me online from how I look most of the time. So I just want to share that as the first one. Number two, I've never spent thousands of dollars to go to some fancy retreat somewhere or to network with other business owners in that way. So I remember seeing a lot of business owners, like first starting my business, and now I'm jet setting to some business retreat that's thousands of dollars.
And I know that if I do that, I'm showing the universe that I'm going to be successful. And I mean, whatever gets you going, right. But I remember thinking, like, I don't want to do that, and I don't think that's necessary, right? I'm not saying networking is bad. It's obviously amazing. And I've networked online with a lot of entrepreneurs, mainly through Instagram and stuff. But I've never done that. I've never went to, like, a big fancy retreat or spent thousands of dollars. And also I feel like that mentality of you need to do that.
It's very controversial because not every business owner obviously is going to have that available to them. Right? It's kind of like blocking networking for people that only can't afford to do that. And I don't think so. I think we should all be able to meet each other and meet different business owners without having to open our bank account. Right. Or go into debt or something like that. Number three, I've never actually went to an in person networking event for other business owners. I would like to, but I also don't want to.
It's very introverted. And again, the Panini hasn't helped, and I move a lot. But I've never actually went to an in person event. So I think that that's something maybe a lot of people would assume that you'd have to do to make money in your business. I have not done that yet. Number four, I don't yet at the time of this podcast, make six figures a year in my business. It's not a goal to hit that number per se, but I know that as I continue to grow and scale, I will most likely get there.
But right now in my life, that number is not necessary for the lifestyle my husband and I live. I think more money can always be great, right. But I want to share that because I think sometimes we think that other people aren't successful unless they've hit a certain money milestone. It's just this number for whatever reason where we think we all need to get to. And again, I want to make it clear that I'm not saying that you shouldn't make six figures or that if you want to make more money that's bad.
Not saying that. I'm saying that in order to get to six figures, it can require different things in your business, right? Like it could require hiring a VA or a team, or it could mean a different business structure that doesn't feel good yet. So it's okay to make less in your business. And I don't want you to feel like ashamed if you're not making as much as another entrepreneur friend you have, right? We all have different income levels, and that alone doesn't measure the success of your business.
Number five in year six of my business. So it took a while, right. I started making more money than I ever made working in nine to five. So now I currently work way fewer hours than I did when I was in my career path in my 20s. That's changed number six ties into this. And that is, however, the first three years of my business, I worked more than I had ever worked in my entire life. And I made very little money. So just many. And I'm not even kidding, like, 1216 hours days.
I don't think you have to do that to run your business, but that's the journey I went on. There was a lot to figure out and learn and experiment with, and I didn't quite have that community around me. So I was really learning everything. So maybe now it might look kind of semi glamorous that, oh, Sarah works less hours and makes more money than she ever did before. Yes. But the first few years were not like that at all. Number seven, the first handful of years in my business, I actually reinvested most of what I made back into my business in the form of online coaches, coaches, trainings and software.
And I've talked about this before in terms of, like, the best business investments I've made and what I've invested in. And again, I want to also point out that this was a privilege to me, right? I'm married and I had a spouse and still have one. And we had a partnership that allowed me to be able to make a little bit less income, and we were still able to meet our financial goals. Right. So I was running a business, and I was able to reinvest most of what I made back into my business because of that.
And I share that not that I think we need to all explain how or why we did everything. But to say that this is just one reason why it's silly to try to compare yourself to anyone online because you just don't know their story. You don't know their situation. You don't know what kind of money they have. You don't know if their parents are supporting them. You don't know what their rent is like. You just don't know. You don't know. So don't compare yourself if you can help it.
Number eight, my business goals do not revolve around hitting a specific monthly income or launch goal to share on social media. I remember when the first couple of times I launched things online. I remember feeling like I needed to show people a Postit note wall of all my students to prove that people were enrolling, and I think it's important to have sales validation and know that people are buying from you. Sure. But I remember feeling like if I don't show people a wall of Postit notes of all these students enrolling, if I don't prove to people that other people find myself valuable, then no one else is going to enroll or if I don't share my monthly income report, people aren't going to think I'm actually doing it.
I felt such a need to prove it right, and that's just not necessary. Let's move into number nine, which is some months I make a lot more than other months. So summer, for example, is usually a slower season where my net income can be literally thousands less and then fall and winter tend to be my bigger income months where I've hit higher numbers and I can make thousands more than even my average months. So I normally know that if I'm seeing lower income or lower sales in the summer, that's pretty on par.
Pretty standard run of the mill part of the course, if you will. But I know that I will usually make that up in fall and winter, and I think it's just important to know the season of your business over time. Number ten, I don't share my income report to my business, so if you message me asking me how much I make in my business or how many sales I see that's not currently something I share, and that's a boundary I've set really to protect my mental health and my own sanity.
I have shared some of those metrics before on Instagram because of the time it felt good or I wanted to share like a huge milestone I'd reached in terms of hitting an income goal or getting to full time income. But I definitely have set the boundary that I never want to feel like the value of my work or the worth of my endeavor is always tied solely to that money metric, right? Because making money is important, but it's not the only way to measure business success and longevity, and there's no reason you need to share your income reports if you don't want to.
So boundary setting is important. Number eleven. I don't have a specific morning or evening ritual that makes me more any one way. My days change all the time. There are absolutely things that I do that are helpful and I reevaluate my energy drivers and what actions I need to take. That help me a lot more. And I'll link to I have a little Energy driver habit tracker if you want to check that out and I look at those all the time. However, I don't have some, like magical morning routine where it's like I get up at this time and then I drink three, four of a cup of peppermint tea and then I stretch for 2.5 minutes.
I don't have something like that again that works for some people. It does not work for me. I need variety. And so there are things that help me. But I don't have a specific routine in terms of what makes me any one way. If that makes sense, there's definitely times where I have more evening rituals like lately I've been making a pot of tea at night to help calm me down. But again, that's something that could change. Like I may not do that in a couple of weeks.
So nothing in particular. Number twelve. I don't have a specific book recommendation that changed my life. This is a question I get asked when I do like interviews or stuff like that, and I always feel like pressed to come up with a great example. But I don't really have one book that changed my life or changed my way of thinking when it comes to business. I think there's bits and pieces of things I've learned along the way, but seriously, the best lessons have been personal experimentation in my business over and over and over again and then learning what works best for me.
Because truthfully, that's the only way you're going to learn. It's like learning a language. You can read about it, you can study it. But until you're actually in the thick of it talking and learning and listening to other people talking that same language and immersed in it, that's when you're really going to learn the stuff. Number 13. I don't work all the time anymore. So remember how I was saying in the first few years of my business, it was like, go, go. I mean, my husband would literally be like, when have you slept?
Do you need to go to bed? Do you need to turn off your laptop? There are a lot of days now where I will work three to 4 hours during the day and then spend the rest of my time on responsibilities outside of my business. And that's a luxury I've now gotten to because I'm clear on my business model and I'm clear about what I need to do. It's harder to work less when you don't know when you're setting up your business right. When you're doing the back end stuff.
When you're figuring out an email provider, when you're figuring out where you want to host courses or when you're figuring out all that stuff, it's going to be difficult to only work three to 4 hours a day. That being said, you can still make a ton of progress. Even working 1 hour a day. If you're a full time business, if you're working full time or if you're doing a side hustle, you don't need full time to make a business work but it will take you more time setting up your business.
Right? So now that I'm clear on my business model and what I need to do, I can work fewer hours because I know what I need to do and then the rest of it. I don't need to spend tons of time researching what tech software to use or what to do here, because I already know, right? I've already figured that out. 14. I'm pretty chill with my students if you've been part of my online program or if you've attended any calls and published with Purpose, for example, you'll soon realize that I show up as a human, often in a sweatshirt, sometimes without makeup, and I'm going to help you do the thing and come up with great ideas and answer all your questions.
But I'm also going to tell you when I don't know things, right. And so you'll also notice that I'm Super awkward on our last call for publishing purpose, for example, I was talking and I got really excited, and I was like, moving my hands all over the place, and I completely knocked my ipad off of my desk and it made the loudest noise ever. And that's just an example of how weird and human I am. And within that, I always share, like, what mistakes I've made and how you can learn from them.
And I think a lot of people do this. I'm not saying I'm unique. However, I've definitely been in programs where it feels like the person is on a podium, right? Like, they're dulled up with the perfect makeup and the perfect backset, and they know all they know everything, and it can feel sometimes, like a little intimidating as a student to ask a question. And again, there's nothing wrong with those. Like, there's nothing wrong with doing makeup and showing up that way. However, I just want my students to know that they can show up however they want for me.
If I see someone that's also in sweat, I'm like, oh, hey. Okay. Yeah, we're cool. This isn't going to be a big deal. It's just nice. Number 15. I take a lot of naps, and I have my own set of mental health struggles. So this actually includes depression, anxiety and a new diagnosis of PTSD, which I will likely share more about at some point. But these things make me both incredibly creative, compassionate, and fun. But they can also limit my mental capacity and drain me rather quickly.
Right. So as a business owner, if there was a reality show of me running my business, it would be pretty boring and not that exciting. You probably wouldn't want to watch it because I get up. I start my day, I go for a walk, I do my stuff, and then I take a nap with Bella in the middle of the day, or I have a quick cry session, or I have days where my brain gets stuck trying to process trauma and I can't get through things, and I'm slowly finding more support and more resources that are helping me and I'm making progress.
But some of these things are also things that have been a part of my life my whole life and aren't necessarily going to go away permanently. So working through them and adapting with them is something that I have to do as a business owner. And so if you're someone that struggles with mental health or you're going through a new diagnosis, know that it's completely available to you to run your own business or do something in life that may feel out of reach. You don't have to get over something or fix something about yourself first before you do something you're really passionate about, you can do both.
Right? Number 16. I'm not always the best at planning out all of my content ahead of time. Real world example here my podcast usually goes out Monday, today's, Tuesday and it didn't go out yesterday, right? It was a rough mental health week that's okay. These things happen. This sometimes is by choice, right? Like this week. And then other times I like creating as I go, so I don't do a ton of content planning ahead of time. And like I said, sometimes my brain gets stuck and I can't create new things for a while.
So wanting to share that with all of you as well. Number 17, we're getting right along. We're almost at the end of the list. I am not perfect and I have my own set of struggles just like I mentioned in the other one, but just like any other human. And one of these things in my personal life is finding community outside of my business. Right? So I move a lot and my husband is in the military and I'm now in my mid 30s and I'm still trying to find what my community outside of my business looks like.
So just sharing that example to say that I'm a human and I am not perfect. And there are definitely ways that I struggle and I think we all do. Man. Bella is really snoring. Can you hear her? Number 18. I have done and continue to do all of the tech and back end integrations in my business. I am not sharing this to put a badge on this or say that you should also do everything yourself. But this is what my experience has been, and I also really love that.
But every email sequence trigger automation, integration, connection, sales page, sales card, check out, etc. And I've taught myself how to do those things and then I've done all of them. I am a beast, and many people might call me delusional for wanting to continue to do a lot of this stuff, and I will likely at some point have more people that can come in and help me do those things as my business grows. But so far in the many years I've been running my business, I have done all of that.
Number 19. I've also written and continued to write all of my own sales page copy, blog content, podcast content and course curriculum. So I do that I'm a one woman show right now. It's a lot again. It's why things sometimes move slower in my business, but I've really enjoyed all of that. Again, not to say that you shouldn't outsource that, right. I have a couple of dreamy people I can't wait to hire at some point to help me fine tune more of the sales page copy.
But right now in my business, I've done that. Number 20. I say all the above things not to brag, right. But I want to share the extent to which I do and have worked in my business and why this can also lead to slower growth like I just mentioned. Right. So hiring a team could absolutely speed up parts of this process. But that hasn't been something I've wanted to either do yet or that I just have made time or funds available for you. Number 21, this has probably been the most helpful thing I've done in my business.
Saved me tons of time, and that is, I create ways of duplicating myself in my business so that I can do more. Here's what I mean. So this includes running an ongoing FAQ database in my courses. So specifically and published with purpose. Students have access to an FAQ database where they can access my brain at any time. Right. And this has been growing. Gosh there's hundreds of questions and answers in their tutorials videos, links to things. But finding a way where when people ask questions or when I know that there are common questions.
Creating a duplicated version of myself online that other people can access and research and search through has been a game changer, and it's helped me support more students quickly, especially on different time zones. Or if I don't get back to a Facebook post for 24 hours, they can search that and likely find their answer. So if there's ways to duplicate yourself in your business, that can be really helpful. So there are many things that you may or may not do in your business, and no one thing is going to dictate your ability to make money, to see your version of success come to life, or to help other people.
I find it really fascinating that entrepreneurs feel the pressure to be all these certain things in order to give back to the world and run a business they love. When so many other industries don't make us feel this way. I never once thought that I needed to have everything in my life together or have the right mindset around anything in order to make money at my past nine to five job. But for whatever reason, running a business paints this false narrative of what it means to be human and how you need to think in order to do all these things.
And while self improvement and business sense and all that kind of stuff can help you run your business, you don't have to get to some special, magical, higher end place in your mind to be successful. You can do the thing right now, and there are many endless ways to do whatever thing that is right. So don't get stuck on what everyone else is telling you. Instead, focus on what works for you. And if you don't know yet, keep experimenting. So I hope this episode was helpful.
I hope it may be validated some things for you ended up being a little bit longer of an episode this week. But thank you so much for listening. And if you want to find more resources and get access to my weekly newsletter where I talk more about mindful productivity, then make sure to head on over to mindfulproductivityblog. Com or you can find more resources. Planners and courses available to you there. Thank you so much for listening. I will see you back here next week.
