September 2018 Archives

Episode 22: How to Fix Anything

If you’re the kind of person who gets paralyzed, overwhelmed, and tired when you hit a problem in your business, this episode is for you. I’ll show you how to quickly diagnose any problem so you can fix it!

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Full Transcript:

Hey everyone, this is Julie, hope you’re doing amazing. It’s been a while since I’ve done a podcast and that’s mainly because life has been so busy, but I wanted to take a minute today and talk to you about something that I notice in all the coaching groups that I manage. And that is that when stuff doesn’t work, your business idea, your offer, your team, whatever it is, people get paralyzed and they don’t know how to solve the problems. And the funny thing about business is that stuff not working is more normal and more expected than stuff working. I think today’s episode, hopefully, it will be a little bit of a paradigm shift for you.

Alright, so the first thing is that we often as business owners think or when we get into this game, we think you know what things are going to go well and once in a while there will be an obstacle. And this is what we think in real life. You know, we get married, we have kids and life is pretty normal. And then there’s the occasional crisis. That’s not the way business works.

In fact, business is just a series of obstacle removal moments. Which sounds kind of depressing, but if you flip the script and you think about businesses like, okay, every time I remove this rock, now I’m going to advance to the next level. And every rock that you remove out of your path usually gets you more visibility, more money, more freedom, all those kinds of things.

It’s kind of like a video game. I used to play Mario Brothers all the time when I was little and I would go to level one. I’d have to beat the Bowser at level one, then level two, level three, and I never was under the delusion that there wouldn’t be a Bowser. Right? That’s the whole point of the game is to beat the next Bowser. So I think that instead of looking at business and being like, oh, this didn’t work, oh, this client…I can’t get clients, or oh, this offer didn’t work.

Instead of seeing it as a unique problem that only you’re experiencing, realize that you’re in a business video game, and this is your Bowser. This is level one Bowser, right? And then once you beat that, it’s going to be level two and level three. Just changing that alone will change the way you handle business obstacles.

And case in point, my traffic got shut down with Facebook and Instagram. This is my Bowser, right now. This is the level I’m on. And once I clear that rock, there’s going to be another one down the line. All right?

So let’s figure out some easy ways to diagnose when stuff isn’t working. Here’s what I would say. The very, very first thing is that most people have to make sure that it’s actually a true problem and that the expectation around the problem is correct. Here’s what I mean.

I see people all the time who come to me and say, oh my gosh, I tried this in business and nobody bought it and I don’t know what’s working. It’s not working. And they just kind of spin like a tornado and there isn’t actually a problem. It’s just that their expectations were mismanaged and they were mismatched.

And so first we got to get expectations out of the way. And then if we’ve done that assessment first and something’s still not working, then we can figure out how to solve it. All right?

So there’s three expectations in business that you have to satisfy first and make sure that those are all aligned. Expectations on difficulty, time and capital. So if something is not working in your business and I don’t care what it is, the reason why you are seeing it not working or you’re perceiving it as not working is because you had an expectation that was different and was that expectation reasonable to begin with?

So for example, maybe you expected making $100,000 was going to be easy or maybe you expected that building a funnel was only going to take you two hours or maybe that you expected that $500 in ad spend was going to get you 500 leads. Are your expectations around difficulty time and capital realistic?

And if you are not in a mastermind or you don’t have a coach or any sort of network that can keep you accountable, you’re going to come up with ideas in your head and these expectations are going to be out of whack.

This is one of the primary reasons that I feel like having a coach and a mentor is so important because they will help manage your expectations with difficulty, time and capital. Okay. So assuming that you’ve gone through those three expectations and you recognize, yeah, actually this is reasonable both for difficulty, time and capital.

Then now you’re like, okay, there is actually a problem. So to identify what exactly isn’t working, there’s really at the end of the day, only five possible problems in your business. No matter what’s not working. The first is that your offer, whatever you offer the marketplace isn’t working, it’s not converting, right? And that’s either because you have a terrible offer that the market doesn’t care about or you’re not messaging that offer correctly. Right?

So in one case, it’s the actual product or service itself and the other case, it’s just the way you’re creating that sales message. So I would say that would be an offer funnel problem, right? That’s the problem.

The second problem is that you have a great offer and a great message and you just don’t have any traffic, right? You’re not in a crowded marketplace, you’re selling on the side of the road in the cornfields of Kansas and nobody’s there. Right? And so you just can’t get money. So that would be the second problem.

The third problem and this is probably 90 percent of problems and very, very closely related to expectations. Your mindset. Your mindset is off. Either your expectations are really out of whack or even if your expectations are in line, the most common mindset issues are procrastination, not good enough, perfectionism, overwhelmed, comparisonitis, paralysis or confusion. So all of that just kind of go under mindset and that’s why again, having a coach is so unbelievably important.

The fourth thing that might be the problem is money. Mismanaging of money. Either you thought that you could just quit your nine to five and make 100k in the next month and so now you’re strapped for cash or you’re just not managing your money properly.

And then the last one is systems. And as my friend James Friel says, a system is simply a combination of a person, a process, and a tool. And if your systems are out of whack, this can create problems in your business.

And so at the end of the day, when you feel that sense of like, ah, this isn’t working, right? And you’re overwhelmed and you’re just not sure why, the first thing is to go through your expectations on difficulty, timing, and capital to make sure that your expectations are actually reasonable and there is a real true problem and just not an imagined one in your head because of the expectations you had.

And then the second thing is go through what’s not working. Is it the offer or the message of the offer? Is it the traffic that you’re in a deserted cornfield somewhere? Is it your mind that you haven’t exercised your mind and gotten yourself in shape mentally to be a business owner? Is it your money that you just literally lacking in capital or mismanaging your capital? Or is it your system? The people, the process and tools that are in place to help you manage your day to day?

I hope that’s helpful for you because then all of a sudden that swirling tornado and that sort of paralysis that happens when you hit a problem. It’s usually super easy to figure out what the problem actually, where that root is. Once you know that, then you can solve it. And just remember every problem you solve is like killing another Bowser in level one, level two, level three of Mario. And you’re going to go to another level and then there’s going to be a bigger problem and a harder battle. And that’s part of the game. So don’t be one of those business owners that just goes back and plays level one over and over and over again because you’ve learned to avoid problems instead of seeing it as part of your journey.

You guys have a great day. Appreciate you. Talk soon. If you’re ready to create, grow, scale your online business, you can go to createyourlaptoplife.com/podcast and get a free plan and how you can get started today.

How to Break Shiny Object Syndrome

How often do you fall prey to Shiny Object Syndrome?

You know, those times when something “shines” and distracts you from the current path you’re on in your business?

Shiny Objects come in many forms…

– Tools
– Gurus
– Business Offers
– Courses
– Programs

This week’s episode is all about breaking down Shiny Object Syndrome and healing for good.

Do you keep getting distracted by the blue light special in aisle 5? Tell me all about it in the comments below.

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Video Transcript:

Hey guys, this is Julie and today I want to talk to you about Shiny Object Syndrome.

For those of you who have never heard that, I don’t know why, I don’t know if you’re living under a rock, but shiny objects syndrome is when

you’re on your merry way building your business and then all of a sudden a new tool, a new offer, a new guru, a new formula shows up and you’re completely distracted by the shiny object.

Oftentimes people get wrapped in a cycle of chasing shiny object after shiny object, and today I want to break down how to break that disorder and heal yourself for good.

Let’s break it down. They’re all different kinds of shiny objects. I want to talk about the most common ones and then you can figure out which one

drives you the most bananas. So the first is tools, right? Shiny Object Tools.

Somebody comes out with a new funnel builder or a new email marketing service and we think, Ooh, Ooh, that one looks better.

What’s going on with the shiny object tools? Because at the end of the day, they’re just like buying paints and a paintbrush.

You’re not going to be Picasso with Picasso’s paints and paintbrush. You need to actually have the skill and talent. But we know the marketing of these tools is so good, we think that if we have the tool, we will then somehow magically absorb the magic behind it and become successful and that is not true.

Now, in some cases, if you are struggling with your existing tool, something you’re doing, it’s not really working, it’s not optimizing. That’s a signal that you actually need a new tool.

But if you have all the tools and they’re working well and your business is systematized, chances are you’re falling prey to shiny objects syndrome with tools.

Okay, so that’s the first one. The second kind of shiny object is gurus.

Every three months a new guru shows up, a new expert shows up, and we are tempted to leave our methodologies behind and go chase the new one.

The question I want to pose to you is that the successful people are following somebody. They have a mentor, they have a coach, a guru probably,

but they actually follow that method and they stay the course because here’s the reality.

You can actually get to Point Z lots of different ways and so maybe guru A is your is your favorite or guru C, but if you just hop from person to person thinking that they somehow have the magic bullet, they don’t.

The magic bullet is just sticking with someone and someone’s methodology and carrying it out to the end.

The next one, I see this all the time and if you are an entrepreneur personality type, you may have Shiny Object Syndrome in your own business.

And in this case it’s you think this offer’s going to hit it and then this offer and this offer and you’re constantly in the cycle of creating new products, launching them, not really giving them a lot of attention and then going back to the drawing board and creating something else.

Again, I’m going to say, follow the people who are successful. The people who are successful are focusing on one funnel. They’re focusing on one product, one value ladder, one offer.

The only way you’re actually going to be able to scale what you’re selling is if you stick with it and you don’t keep running back to the creation board to create something new.

And I know some of you are like, but what if it’s not working? What if I have to pivot?

And I will say that if you have spent a significant portion of your time and money and investment trying to launch a product and it’s not working, ask a coach for help.

Maybe you do have to pivot, but Shiny Object Syndrome shows itself very differently. If you see a trail of dead products in your past, chances are you are struggling with this one.

The last one is Shiny Object Syndrome with courses or programs or masterminds.

Now, it might seem funny that I’m talking about this since I sell courses and programs and masterminds, but shiny objects syndrome shows itself when every time you get a new email in your inbox with some scarcity flash sale, you are buying course after course, after course and not doing anything with it.

I would encourage you in your business, the next time you buy a course or a program or a mastermind, do what it says. Believe it or not, that’s a lot harder than it sounds.

Go do what it says. You may need another course and another course, but if you just promise yourself to take action on what you purchase, you’ll eliminate 90 percent of Shiny Object Syndrome because you’ll be too busy taking action to even realize there was a flash sale in aisle five. I

often am accused of having my head in the sand. I don’t always know about the latest sales or the latest courses or the latest methodologies, but that’s because I’m focused on taking action.

So divert some of that attention from your inbox to your to-do list and you might see a change.

If you struggle with any of these kinds of Shiny Object Syndromes let me know in the comments below. I want to know what’s distracting you, what kind of Squirrel Syndrome you have.

I know the best conversations happen after the camera stops rolling and for more videos like this one that you can go to Juliechenell.com. I’ll see you next time.

Business Strategy Sep 18, 2018

How to Create a Content Plan for the Entire Year

Content creation is an important part of any business’s digital marketing strategy.

Developing an effective strategy for content creation is not only good for business, but it can also lead to less stress throughout the year as you regularly release content.

My first tip for productive content planning is to complete content in batches.
This weekly show, for example, was filmed in batches and slowly dripped out over time.

I’ll also discuss why my favorite medium is video and different ways I repurpose video into other mediums such as podcasts and blog posts.

Watch this week’s episode for the exact step-by-step plan I use to strategize and build content in advance to release throughout the year.

Get ready to systematize everything from planning and keyword research to repurposing and distribution.

Subscribe to Facebook and YouTube to get instant updates when new episodes are posted!

Video Transcript:

Hey, Julie here today I want to teach you how to create a content plan, even a year’s worth of content in advance.

Some of you may not know this, but the video you’re watching right now was done in batch. I create my content in batches and it makes delivering content so much easier

because you can do a lot of things in one shot and then drip it out over the year. So how do you make a content plan for the entire year?

This is the steps that I do. Okay, so the first step is you’re going to brainstorm 12 topics or you can even call them themes.

So for my business, which is very much about entrepreneurship, I think of things like video marketing, affiliate marketing, blogging, social media, graphics, things like that.

Big overarching topic and theme. So pick 12, you want 12. That way you have one theme of the month.

Then what you’re going to do is you’re going to come up with four subtopics underneath each theme.

So for example, if the topic is video marketing, maybe I would do video equipment, maybe I would do video scripting, editing different types of video.

I would come up with four topics. You can actually do more than this if you plan to release content more than once a week. So for a lot of people, once a week is plenty.

So you could do four subtopics and that would be for a once a week plan.

But if you have a three times a week plan, if you’re really aggressive, underneath these four, you would want to do subs of subs.

So you could do, let’s say the big theme is video marketing with your subtopic, let’s say it’s video equipment. You would maybe do a blog post or a video on Adobe Premier or iMovie or Final Cut Pro. You know, you’d break it down even more.

So this is how you can come up with a content plan for the entire year, whether you’re doing once a week or three times a week.

All right. Step three is to do some keyword research.

So your topics probably have. You probably already know what the keywords are, but if you don’t, you can use Google keyword planner or you can use something like Ahrefs.

I’m going to put that down here so you can see it. E, F, S or the keyword planner from Google, and you want to find keywords that have low competition related to all these topics.

Now you have a really, really good foundational backbone of what you’re going to talk about.

So this is the planning stage right here. So that’s step one.

Now phase two is really about the platform. Okay, so the platform that you’re going to use and what kind of content are you going to use?

So everybody needs to pick a native platform. It doesn’t mean you can’t be on all the platforms, but pick your primary.

So for example, mine is Facebook, but you could do Instagram, especially if you’re a food blogger or you could do something like Pinterest or Youtube.

Alright, so pick your original platform and pick your medium. Are you going to do video, podcast, or are you going to do a blog?

Now my recommendation is that you choose video as your primary and that’s because it’s easier to shoot for a video first and then repurpose everything than it is to do podcast first and try to like turn it into a video or turn to a blog.

It’s easier to go from here to here, but you pick.

So pick your medium whether it’s going to be video, podcast or writing and then pick your native platform.

I’m going to just use me as an example. So I have Facebook and video. So now that I have my whole topic and plan, now I’m going to choose to batch film my videos.

Some of them are like this talking head with the whiteboard. Some are just graphics, some or screen shares. Some are just me talking and I’m going to film as many of them as I can.

You don’t have to do this. If you have all your video equipment at home, you can do like a bunch and then a bunch and then a bunch.

You’re going to choose. So, I would choose video and I’m going to shoot my video knowing that it’s going to go on Facebook, so more horizontal. If you were going to do Instagram, you’d want it more vertical. Youtube is definitely more produced content.

So that’s how you kind of choose what sort of medium you’re going to use and your platform. So I’m going to shoot my videos.

Once they’re done, now it’s time to repurpose. And repurposing is amazing. It’s like killing ten birds with one stone.

So out of one video, I can turn it into a blog post which will help with my SEO.

Then I can make a Pinterest image and I can pin it. So now it’s helping with my Pinterest traffic.

Then I can create a couple quotables. It’s what I call them- quotables. And I can make graphics and I can put them on Instagram.

Then I can do a raw live Instagram teaser, like on Instagram stories. And if I have 10,000 followers, I can ask them to swipe up and go to the blog post. I can also put the video on Youtube and I can link to the blog post.

And this is the most amazing part about video is I can extract the audio and I can turn it into a podcast.

So as you can see with one piece of content, I’ve just now taken care of almost all the types of traffic.

Additionally, you can edit this video and you can make teaser videos, you can make Facebook ads with them.

And the best part about this type of content is that it grows over time so it doesn’t just disappear into the netherworld.

So this is how you make an entire year’s worth of content in one big batch by brainstorming all your topics and doing your keyword research, picking your platform and your medium.

And my recommendation is video, even if it’s, you know, raw and simple, and then repurposing it using blog posts, SEO, Pinterest, quotables, Youtube, and even turning it into a podcast.

And that’s how you can take a really overwhelming content plan and scale it down so that you have one goal each week and each month.

I know the best conversations happen after the camera stops rolling. So if you’re watching this video and you have a question about your content plan, put it in the comments below, let me know what kind of content you do, what platforms you love, and I’ll be sure to get back to you.

Coaching Sep 11, 2018

How to Build a Business Under Your Boss’s Nose

DISCLAIMER!: DO NOT blame me if you get fired. ????

Chances are you’re still working a traditional 9-5 as you’re trying to break out of your 9-5.

A student recently asked me how to achieve this when she’s friends with her boss on Facebook.

While beginning your business under your boss’s nose is done at your own risk, I do have a few tips to get you started.

In this episode, I discuss what starting a business might look like if you’re still working a 9-5 job, and how you can do it without your current boss knowing.

If you’re trying to build a business and leave your 9-5, what’s working and what’s not? Let me know below.

Subscribe to Facebook and YouTube to get instant updates when new episodes are posted!

Video Transcript:

Hey, Julie here today I wanted to talk to you about how to build your business under your boss’ nose.

Before I begin, I need a really big like disclaimer running across the bottom of the screen that says, do not blame me if you get fired because this is something you should do at your own risk. But I understand that a lot of people who are trying to break out of their nine to five, need to do so while they’re still in their nine to five.

I had a question here from a student who said, I’m trying to build my business, but I just don’t know how to get visible when my boss is friends with me on Facebook. So how do I do this?

So the first thing is I would join private communities. Most of my business was found when I joined the private Facebook groups. The best part about it is when you post and respond in a group, nobody can see except those who are in the group.

So join a bunch of groups and go to the members tab and just make sure nobody you know is actually in the group.

Then you can talk and respond and if there are any leads or prospects, go ahead and move over to private messenger in Facebook and then nobody will ever know.

The next thing to consider is to create a business name that’s completely separate from your name.

It may not be the most ideal situation to do so, but if you create a brand name like I did Pipe & Lime Media, you can create a business page and nobody will know that you’re attached to it.

This way you can run ads and traffic straight to that business page and until somebody clicks over and goes to the contact information, they’re not going to necessarily know that it’s you.

You can do this the same way with creating email addresses linked to your business name with things like hello@ then your business name.com or contact@.

This way, you don’t even have to have your name associated in email conversations.

The third thing that’s the most important thing to remember is that you don’t ever want to do business work on your own business during your work hours.

So make sure that if you do take a lunch break, you go out to a cafe and you use your own device and a different internet connection. Do things early in the morning, in the evenings, even in the middle of the night if you have to.

And try to build a business where you can do the work on your own time. There are certain kinds of businesses that just won’t work this way because you have to be available during business hours.

So until you’re ready to leave your nine to five, come up with a business idea that can be done in the evenings, on the weekends and early in the morning.

And if for any reason you need help, just outsource. I know it does reduce your profits a little bit, but if you can get things up and running and you can kind of get that snowball effect when you’re ready to leave your nine to five. If you want to go ahead and let go of your contractors, you can and then reap all the profits for yourself.

I know the best conversations happen after the camera stops rolling, so if you’re trying to leave your nine to five, but let me know in the comments below what’s working for you and what isn’t

Business Strategy Featured Sep 10, 2018

Mighty Networks: Why I Moved My Paid Groups Off Of Facebook

About a week ago, Facebook deleted my profile, along with 11 years of content, coaching, livestreams, and personal posts. Yes, I did get it back, but I decided to not let this lesson pass me by without taking action on the cold hard truth that Facebook doesn’t care about you or your community, and will delete it in an instant.

And…to be honest, about a year and a half ago, Facebook deleted BOTH of my paid groups, without warning. They brought them back eventually, but not before I’d setup backup groups, and tried moving all me people.

Enough right?

Facebook is free rented land, which means, I am at the mercy of their whims, algorithms, and punishment. So after scouring the Internet for a place to move my community, I found Mighty Networks….

And I’d like to take a few minutes to explain why I chose to move my paid groups off of Facebook and into a new-ish web app like Mighty Networks.

Notification OVERLOAD

It’s been years since I’ve been able to use the notifications tab on Facebook. I think it was a combination of growing visibility coupled with the weird way that Facebook now chooses to show some notifications and not others. It’s almost like their’s now a notification algorithm. No thank you.

I’ve been missing tons of posts because I can’t possibly wade through them all. And if I’m being fair, it’s more important that I answer tags from paid customers than free followers, but Facebook doesn’t differentiate.

Over on Mighty Networks, I just have to worry about my paid customers, so I can go through each notification to check and see what’s important and not to be missed.

I’m Tired of Algorithms

The newsfeed on Facebook is not under my control. It’s also not chronological. The same goes for inside my groups. It’s maddening. I miss questions that don’t get any love or reply because Facebook shoves them down the feed thinking they aren’t relevant. NO YOU DOPE, it is relevant if a paid customer has asked a question and can’t get an answer.

On Mighty Networks, everything is simply chronological, so if I’m offline for a few hours and want to catch up, I just scroll from top to bottom to catch up.

Private Messages Are A Disaster On Facebook

The private message feature is so handy in Mighty Networks – both for individual communication, as well as one big group chat. It’s like the best of Slack and PM, without all the buzzing ridiculous notifications and requests. I’ve now started communicating with some of my higher end clients in chat, and it’s really convenient when I’m in the app and responding to questions.

You can take a group chat (like my DI mastermind chat) and turn it into a post if you think the content will help your members.

It Was The Best Forum/Community Platform I Could Find

There were a lot of choices. And all of them were pretty lame and web 1.0 looking. Mighty Networks was the first one I found that seemed to understand how to combine the features of Facebook that we all love so much with the needs of a group community. Here are some of the things I love about it:

Facebook style newsfeed with nesting comments and replies. You can tag, add links, video, photos, polls, and more.
Private and full group community chat for easy conversation and questions that don’t require a full on post.
Each post has it’s own unique permalink.
Events export out to Google calendar, have RSVP buttons, and link out to upcoming online or offline events.
Mighty Networks has topics. This means you can identify your post by a topic, and then go into that topic and follow it, or view a newsfeed with just that topic in mind.
Private paid groups within the main group. This is an amazing feature. It means that there’s virtually groups inside of groups if you wish. So my Digital Insiders are nestled in the larger group but locked away in their own space.
Mobile app! When you download the Mighty Networks app, your customers can easily toggle between different communities they are a part of that are all on Mighty Networks.
Members can easily spot people who live near them with the “nearest you” filter.
You can follow individual people if you want to make sure not to miss their activity.
It has the ability to build courses right inside the group area – so for people who want to keep it all in house (without the threat of FB deleting it), they can!

There are also a ton of management features that make communicating with your group a lot easier than on a social media site.

With my paid communities off of Facebook, it means I can turn Facebook off MORE. It means I can leave my web browser open with my community and not be endlessly tempted to fall into the black hole of social media.

The two hardest things about moving my membership away from Facebook?

Training people to not look for me on Facebook
No livestreaming

I think livestreaming is something that the developers will (I hope) make a huge priority, since it’s so embedded in our habits now. The way I’ve gotten around it is simply scheduling Zoom events (you can do the same with YouTube live events) right into the posts and having people RSVP and then join.

You can also embed an active FB livestream into the app as well, you just have to be going live from somewhere (which isn’t practical for me since I wouldn’t want to go live on my profile for the sake of my paid group).

Teaching people to move has been tough.

I have about 1100 people to move. So far, I’ve got about half of them moved. In order to really make sure it all sticks, I turned off posting capability in my paid Facebook groups and then committed to answering WAY more questions on Mighty than I would just on Facebook.

Tutorials help. Reminders help. Special activity just on MN helps.

Patience helps too.

It can be done, and ultimately, it’s a good move – even if it’s painful at first.

As the saying goes, “Fool me once, shame on you – fool me twice, shame on me.”

I couldn’t continue to put my most valuable assets – my customers and my content – on a platform that has shown, not once, but twice, that it will annihilate me at will – even if I’ve committed no offense.

I expect to see more and more people moving off of Facebook in the coming months. Facebook is unable to attract younger customers – which is a HUGE issue (I know they are with IG). And I’m not the only influencer this has happened to.

If you have a paid community, or are thinking about one – I would strongly consider you take a look at Mighty Networks!