SPEAKER 1: 00:46.3

Welcome back, everybody, to this episode of the Grit Reapers. And today we are going to be chatting about something that we see quite often in the online space. And in fact, we've both experienced it one from the one side and the other from the other side.

SPEAKER 1: 01:06.0

And what I'm talking about is actually pushing pause on your business, taking a step back and just sort of seeing where you are and seeing whether the direction you've been going in is actually the direction that you've kind of grown into. 

SPEAKER 1: 01:23.7

And cands. I know that you have been, doing this recently, and it's kind of what got us thinking about doing this episode. So. Yeah. Can you tell us a little bit about how you pushed pause? Like, what.

SPEAKER 1: 01:39.2

What led you to doing it, and what the results of having pushed pause pause on your business has been? 

SPEAKER 2: 01:45.9

Yeah. Okay. Amazing. So I think that when you get started in the online world, and I'd heard this, I'd actually heard it, you know, like, sometimes you just hear these things and you're like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know that. But it doesn't actually land with you until something happens where it becomes, like, a lived experience.

SPEAKER 2: 02:06.1

And so I had kept hearing from people that often where you start off and you've got this idea, it's not actually where you land at, finding success. So I kind of got into this whole online space. I feel like, by default, I feel like I almost fell into a niche.

SPEAKER 2: 02:24.6

So I had an idea, and because I was trying to promote this idea, I was, at the time, Instagram had just come out with reels. And so I was, like, making videos, and I was trying to promote this membership, and it wasn't working. And just by absolute, like, default, by kind of, like, just because I was making reels, people started messaging me saying, how do you know how to do that?

SPEAKER 2: 02:50.0

Like, can you teach me? And this is exactly what all the coaches say. It's like you. Often your niche will come to you versus you having an idea of what your niche is. And so I started off teaching people a little bit about Instagram and I.

SPEAKER 2: 03:06.2

And then people were like, oh, my God, this takes so long. Can't you do it for me? And I was like, sure, I can do it for you. And before I knew it, I had too much work. And, I was doing, like, what I would think now is more like social media, like, management, you know?

SPEAKER 2: 03:24.8

And I did that for a year, and it was great. I had tons of clients, there was a lot of need. And at the same time, I was learning and evolving My own knowledge about online businesses. And so I started feeling a bit like social media management's okay, but like there's no strategy here.

SPEAKER 2: 03:46.2

Like, it's all very well to make a funny real lip syncing, but like, what's the point? Where is this going, you know? Yes. Yeah. And the clients were getting frustrated because they were saying things like, this is such a waste of time and it's so much effort and I'm not getting any leads, I'm not making any sales.

SPEAKER 2: 04:05.4

And I kept saying, I think it's because there's no strategy. I, like, you don't have offers, you don't have funnels. Like, anyway, some of them were really open to that and wanted to become more strategic and others weren't like, others just wanted to have like a social media presence, you know.

SPEAKER 2: 04:24.3

And so, you know, I kind of. I, wanted to move on and start working with people that wanted the strategy. And so then I started attracting more people that were wanting to use their content in a strategic way. And that worked really well for a while.

SPEAKER 2: 04:42.0

What I found was I was doing all this amazing stuff for people in their businesses and actually seeing it work. Like, all of a sudden they were starting to make sales and their registrations for masterclasses were improving and conversion rates were getting better.

SPEAKER 2: 04:57.7

And I was like, oh, my word, this is unbelievable. I wish I could do this in my own business, you know, but, you just kind of like hit the ground running, you know? And so when work is coming in and you're earning money, you know, that's the priority.

SPEAKER 2: 05:13.9

And I've got to pay bills, I've got to earn money. And in the back of my head I just had this like, like a thorn in the side, like, oh my God, I need to do this for my own business. But there was never time. There was just not enough time in the day.

SPEAKER 2: 05:30.2

And so life interfered and literally forced me to stop. And I had that knee up last year. Developed this unbelievably rare complication where I couldn't sleep, I couldn't walk, I could barely sit.

SPEAKER 2: 05:47.5

I was in so much pain, I could not think properly. So my whole life literally ground to a halt. Didn't have any clients. I was literally just focusing on trying to understand what had happened and get rid of this agonizing pain that I was in.

SPEAKER 2: 06:04.6

And so when everything stopped, I had nothing but time. And I was like, okay, I'm gonna just start thinking through my own business. So I feel like. And honestly, I don't know if I would have done this.

SPEAKER 2: 06:21.9

I don't know if I would have done it unless I had been forced to do it, because I think I just would have carried on in that rat race of, like, doing stuff for people and be correct. So I do feel like it was like, a bit of luck in a way that it actually happened because it just forced me.

SPEAKER 2: 06:40.0

I, now was sitting with so much time, I mean, Besides for watching YouTube videos on the neurological system and nerves. Like, I had nothing but time to think about my own business. So I started doing what I do for clients on my business.

SPEAKER 2: 06:57.6

And I suddenly realized, like, holy Moses, like, almost like, give yourself a bit of a pat on the backhand as it's amazing that you've actually had so much work given that your systems are an absolute mess. Like, they know, in fact, they know systems.

SPEAKER 2: 07:13.7

There is no clear, client pathway. There is, like, nothing is in place. It was all, like, word of mouth, thankfully, you know. And so I got to work, and once I got in, I was like, oh, my.

SPEAKER 2: 07:30.3

Oh, my God, this is a mess. Like, nothing makes sense. And so I did a kind of like a revamp of my messaging and then ran with that for a while and then realized, actually, no, I'm still missing something, and then had to relook at it. 

SPEAKER 2: 07:47.4

And anyway, so in. In taking the time just to push pause and look at things clearly, I was able to identify, like, these big gaping holes, like, in my, business systems, and then was able to see where I needed to plug them.

SPEAKER 2: 08:07.4

Like, what was going to be the best use of my time and energy now so that I don't find myself getting back into that pattern of, I've got so much knowledge, I've got so much that I can help people with. And it's doing amazing things for their businesses. 

SPEAKER 2: 08:24.6

But my business back end is an absolute disaster, you know, so, okay, so what did I learn? I learned that to make like. And I think, Gail, you know this, I honestly feel like, content is the glue of everything in your business.

SPEAKER 2: 08:43.5

Like, it is inescapable that you have to be making content if you want to get in front of, like, people, if you want to get in front of new people. If you don't want your business just to rely on word of mouth, you've got to have some kind of, like, cold traffic strategy. 

SPEAKER 2: 08:59.5

Doesn't have to. I'm, not speaking like, it doesn't have to be that you want a launch with a hundred people, even if it's just one new person, right? But to make good content takes a lot of time. You know, I always say there are these three rules that I've just learned to live my business life with, and one of them is the words quickly. 

SPEAKER 2: 09:20.0

And I'm, just going to, like, they don't exist because nothing is. So to make good content takes a lot of time if you're doing it properly. Like, you actually doing it strategically. You're linking it to funnels and you linking it to stuff that actually makes sense.

SPEAKER 2: 09:37.5

Sense. Like you're not just using a freebie because you've got that freebie, but actually it makes no sense for the person who's just watched something and to be running client work. And I'm a mom to three relatively young kids still, and I have a home and a husband and like, I would like some semblance of a personal life.

SPEAKER 2: 10:01.6

Like, I need someone to help me. Like, I just cannot. There's like a limit to A, how much time I've got available and B, like, my capacity.

SPEAKER 1: 10:12.6

So I started looking for someone who I'd actually had my eye on, who just has like such a knack for content creation that is like so natural. And I reached out to her and so I slowly started plugging holes.

SPEAKER 1: 10:30.2

But it hasn't been quick. I mean, it's taken a lot of time and I've, Still, in the meantime, I mean, I was dead quiet for three months of the year was. Because everything had come to a grounding halt.

SPEAKER 1: 10:45.6

I felt like I had lost momentum. And then I was saying to my husband one night, okay, maybe I must just. I can't do this anymore. I'm like exhausted. I'm exhausted from being an entrepreneur. Like, maybe I must just go get a job. You know, I always tell you I'm gonna go walk dogs.

SPEAKER 1: 11:01.1

I'm gonna be a dog walker. Thankfully, he's got a little bit more sense than me and he knows that I'm like a very passionate and emotive person. And he says, okay. He okay, what job are you going to go get? And I was like, I don't know, but I swear I don't know. 

SPEAKER 1: 11:16.7

But I can't do this anymore. And he said, okay, well, let me tell you what's going to happen. You're going to go get a job and in a week you're going to tell me you hate your life and you don't want to do it anymore. He's like, just stick it out. Because I know when the work comes, you're going to be in that.

SPEAKER 1: 11:32.4

It's that feast and famine syndrome, you know, you're going to be. And strew is God. Three weeks later, I was inundated with discovery calls, projects. Like people were saying, yes, yes, yes. And, And before I knew it, I was back in atla, back in dealing with clients stuff, making sure I did what they needed. 

SPEAKER 1: 11:54.1

And my business again gets put on this, like, back burner. Luckily I've got someone now who's helping me. But it's slow. It's like it doesn't happen quickly. At least I feel though, that that forced pause made me realize, actually this isn't a sustainable model.

SPEAKER 1: 12:16.3

This is, in fact, this is not a business model. Like you just hit the ground running is not a business model. You know, and unless you can identify and look at your business as much as possible by removing the emotion from it, like seeing it quite for what it is, that allowed me to say, wow, like, this is a mess.

SPEAKER 1: 12:42.2

There are no systems, like, there's no plan for client retention. There's no plan for cold traffic. There's like all these things that need your attention. And the truth is, you got to schedule it in. Like, you've actually has to become part of your priority versus well, one day when I have time.

SPEAKER 1: 13:02.4

Because the truth is that never happens. You never just have time, you know.

SPEAKER 2: 13:06.4

Yeah. And.

SPEAKER 1: 13:07.3

Yeah.

SPEAKER 2: 13:07.5

You know, cands you make such a good point there? And you know, the people within our sort of sphere, I hear about them talking about having a CEO day. So, you know Kimmy, who's been on our podcast, I think she has a CEO day every Monday. 

SPEAKER 2: 13:25.1

She does no client work. She books it out for herself. It is her time to do those things in her business, you know, that we say, oh, I'll, get to it someday one day, you know, so that's a really good way. I tried it and I'm so bad because I just be like, oh, but somebody needs something from me. 

SPEAKER 2: 13:48.7

And I just sort of. That's the day that goes. But you have to. I think you have to while you're building your business. You have to be very strict about that. And I'm. I'm sitting in a very similar situation to you cands in that.

SPEAKER 2: 14:05.5

When I first came into the online space, it was as a Kajabi service provider. So my website is as a Kajabi service provider. It's it. I Think my headline is something like, does Kajabi tech make you want to scream? You know, and my About Me page is me going, I love Kajabi.

SPEAKER 2: 14:25.0

So over. You know, it was fun at the time because that's what I was doing. But over the last five years, my whole focus has changed. And while I still do Kajabi projects and I still love Kajabi, I've also changed. You know, now I do a lot of.

SPEAKER 2: 14:41.4

Well, you know, my AI is my passion, so I do a lot of AI. But I also do feel like I've grown more into business strategy, online business strategy, you know, so. So my website no longer reflects what I actually do.

SPEAKER 2: 14:57.2

And I think when. When I show up on socials and if people do go over to my website, they must actually at this stage be a bit confused. Like, Gail was talking about AI image generation, and here's her website that says, does Kajabi tech make you want to scream?

SPEAKER 2: 15:14.4

So I've been, you know, it's been on my to do list for months now, probably maybe a year, and I just haven't got around to doing it. But more and more as I'm, I'M becoming more known in the space for the AI stuff.

SPEAKER 2: 15:33.2

It's more, it's becoming more and more critical. Do it, you know.

SPEAKER 1: 15:37.9

Yeah. 

SPEAKER 2: 15:38.4

And so yeah it's time for me to hit pause and schedule it in. That's the bottom line.

SPEAKER 1: 15:48.5

Yeah, so I've done that now as well. Mondays are content days. So my Monday morning from 8:30 to 12 it is literally filming, scripting, writing the carousels design like it is a full on content morning.

SPEAKER 1: 16:08.6

And then my afternoon is writing emails for my business. There is no client work on a Monday and I became much stricter about only having for example discovery calls on a Tuesday and a Thursday.

SPEAKER 1: 16:26.2

It's not every day so I have become better in some areas. But like again you know there's always that like oh, I need to write that email sequence but that's good enough. When actually it's like it is good enough because you've written the first email that delivers whatever it is but then it's like it doesn't go anywhere. 

SPEAKER 1: 16:50.2

So trying instead of doing a million things, just good enough getting one thing done to completion so that I feel like at least if I send someone there I can feel easier that I know that has been thought through for the person.

SPEAKER 1: 17:11.5

For the person. Right. It's like what would this person find helpful next? Oh, I've got something That versus oh I just need to write an email sequence so I'm. Yeah and you're not thinking through and I get it like I mean we all, we all in it. 

SPEAKER 1: 17:27.9

It's like there's just so many things you have to do and, and everything takes long if you want to do it like properly. But yeah, it's been a really, it was a horrible experience to have terrible nerve pain but it was a great thing actually because it made me reassess a whole lot of stuff and it's helped me identify gaps that I can plug the holes.

SPEAKER 1: 17:52.1

And yeah that's kind of where we are at the moment.

SPEAKER 2: 17:55.5

And K I love what you said about instead of trying to do a million things just okay, you focusing on things to completion. And that's one thing that I've also been doing. And and I've got a little to do list platform software thing called Before Sunset.

SPEAKER 2: 18:14.0

The idea of it is that you complete your to do list before sunset. So it's also kind of a little bit of work life balance. And what I've done there as well is I've focused kind of per project. 

SPEAKER 2: 18:30.0

So yes, you know, there will be client work interspaced, but like when I'm setting up a new offer or a low ticket offer, that to do list will be focused on that for that, however long it takes, whether it takes one day, three days, you know, And I will tick that off the list instead of kind of leaving, getting half of it done, then moving to another project, then moving to another project.

SPEAKER 2: 18:57.0

So actually, for my own sense of sanity, at the beginning of the week, I decide what projects I'll be working on that week. And then I try not to. I do get very distracted with AI because I'll see this cool thing and I'll be like, oh my gosh, my clients would love that. 

SPEAKER 2: 19:15.1

And I'll go and learn a whole new AI strategy. But I have tried to become more focused, you know, and I found with, that little app, it's got. So like now if I find something that looks really cool, I will pop it onto the later.

SPEAKER 2: 19:33.5

There's like a later, little tab. I'll pop it into the later so that I don't forget about it. So then my brain can kind of relax and I'm not going to forget about it. So I'll pop it there and then if it's really important, I'll come back to it. 

SPEAKER 2: 19:49.6

If it's really not important in a week's time, I'll look at it and I'll think, okay, that wasn't that important. And I'll just. I love that.

SPEAKER 1: 19:56.6

I love that. I really feel like when we had Christina Rava on our, podcast, she was actually, we were talking just about like, what to look for in a good coach, like before investing or courses. But she actually shared something that has been so impactful, actually for me, and I've, carried it with me.

SPEAKER 1: 20:17.8

And that was like she said, choose like the thing in your business that you know, you need to upscale with. Right. And then if anything else crosses your path, that does not have to do with that. It's a, not right now thing. 

SPEAKER 2: 20:34.7

Yeah.

SPEAKER 1: 20:35.2

And it's been incredible because yes, I want to learn this and I want to learn this, but I'm like, you know what? At the moment I'm, just sorting out basic systems, basic strategy stuff that can come. And I think you're right.

SPEAKER 1: 20:50.9

Our minds almost have like they loose ends and then they don't stop. The, the, the jabbering. Once you kind of like have resolved, like, you know what? I'll get to it. Yeah, I am gonna do it. It's just like not right now then my mind feels a little bit like, okay, at least we know she's gonna get to it.

SPEAKER 1: 21:08.6

We don't have to do it today, you know.

SPEAKER 2: 21:11.4

Oh, my gosh. This online. This online business has been such a learning curve, not only of online business, but it's been a learning curve of how I function, how I work, how I think.

SPEAKER 2: 21:26.5

And it's not something that I ever really had much time to think about when I had, you know, face to face businesses. It just kind of. Because, yeah, you were, you were client facing all the time. It just, it just kind of seems different. So, yeah, I've enjoyed that.

SPEAKER 2: 21:43.1

I've enjoyed the process, but it is definitely a process. Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER 1: 21:47.7

And, and like we were saying earlier, you have to have the capacity to tolerate. You have to have like a half frustration tolerance level. I feel like you really have to be able to tolerate things not moving quickly. And it's so ironic because it's like, it's digital.

SPEAKER 1: 22:05.2

It's like the business is digital, but the processes are not. You know, so you do have to have that capacity to just be like, oh, this is not working. Why is it not working? Let me go look at it. You know, any, pushing pause is a really important thing.

SPEAKER 1: 22:23.7

You know, before you get to a place where, like, you have to, you have to.

SPEAKER 2: 22:29.1

Absolutely. Well, thanks so much for that, Candice. I think this has been. Yeah, it's a lot to think about and I am definitely going to be pushing pause over the next couple of weeks. Things have quietened down a little bit for me, and so I am going to be definitely instituting some CEO days, working on my website and kind of just looking where my business has evolved to.

SPEAKER 1: 22:55.6

Amazing. Amazing. All right, cool, guys. Well, we will catch you again next week for another episode. We'd love to have feedback if you've got anything on your mind, like you would love to learn more about or hear more about. Maybe it's those special human, side of grit episodes.

SPEAKER 1: 23:11.5

Maybe you're enjoying those a lot. Let us know. We always open to feedback, but otherwise, thanks for listening.

SPEAKER 2: 23:17.9

Have a good week.