Let's talk. I have no idea what season of life you are in, what you are creating, and what challenges you have faced. I am almost 99% sure that you are an entrepreneur, side hustler, and/or involved in selling your business in some way. Perhaps, you have found yourself afraid of being seen and it is costing you.
My story involves life shattering transformation in fear to faith, devaluing to purity, self hate to love, corporate to calling, pain to purpose, lies to love and bondage to freedom. I transitioned from experiences in 7+ industries in corporate to entrepreneurship.
I became a full-time entrepreneur in 2011. I was 32. Years before, I experienced incredible close rates externally in getting opportunities I desired, as well as internally getting companies and industries to shift. Isn't it crazy how when we go off on our own we somehow sometimes lose our faith and confidence? That is what happened to me exponentially.
At the same time, the vision I co-created with our creator exponentially caused me to increase my faith and aligned action. Sharing a vision, initiative, and project even to the tune of billions when it was sharing others dreams somehow seems less risky. When I created my own in 2015, it has tested my faith, resilience, and drive like nothing else. Anyone else relate?
Last year, I began to increase my faith in being seen and taking action. With each and every leap of faith, my confidence, humility, and grace increased. Hear me, and hear me good. I have not yet reached a million dollars in this business. Not even close.
At the same time, I feel more aligned and confident that I will and far beyond to give back both to helping people create a life & business they love and causes I am and we are passionate about.
For the people in the back, I would not be where I am now without taking action to the tune of millions of dollars within less than a year. I would not be taking the bolder leaps of faith. I would not believe in this mission and vision more than ever without it.
That is what I want you to get for creating a life and business you love.
Transformation is required to create what you love - period.
If you are anything like me, you are not like you were last month, last year, or five years ago. Creating a life and business you love will cost you who you were and many things about your life. It will gain you freedom, purpose and passion beyond what you imagined.
Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash
Pitch Your Business Like a Boss
In Pitch Your Business Like a Boss: Lessons from Millions of Dollars in Proposals, I am sharing five lessons I learned from pitching millions within the last year. Yes, I reached millions in other industries within a year previously.
Spoiler Alert: No, I have not yet reached a million yet here. Not even close.
Last year, I earned less than 1%. Was it hard - hell yes. Humbling - oh yes.
Would I trade it for anything - no.
I feel like too many entrepreneurs and brands talk only about the successes. and not the times you learn that are necessary to get you to where you need to go. So, I am sharing openly and vulnerably in the hopes that it is easier and less painful for you.
I am pulling back the curtain on what it was like pitching millions in less than a year, and what it taught me is priceless.
Lessons Learned from Millions
My journey in shifting from being unseen to seen hasn't been easy. Along with transitions from a scarcity to abundance mindset in many ways, I have been stretched and pulled in more ways than I may count.
At the same, I refuse to quit. I may get punched, beat up, and rejected sometimes all in the same hour. Each and every time, I get back up. My bounce back rate now is much faster than years ago because of years of practice - just like in proposals.
My goal is to reach being a millionaire in 2020-2021 and being debt-free in 2021. I am putting my faith and action where my mouth is, and now some days exceed a million dollars in proposals.
I would not have gotten here without sheer faith, drive, and persistence like a damn pit bull.
Pitch Your Business Like a Boss: Five Lessons Learned
1. Identify Who You Serve & How to Communicate With Them
Along the way, I identified focusing on wellness, marketing, business & travel communities to increase circles of influence, awareness and results. Depending on which focus I am communicating with, the approach and focus upfront varies.
Not only that, the process varies depending on if I am sharing a blog/show, launching an online course, and/or submitting a proposal to a brand (or a brand is requesting a proposal for wellness, marketing, business, and/or travel.
2. Imagine How You & Others Want to Feel in Your Experiences You Offer
Early on in my entrepreneurial journey, I made up my mind that I wanted to feel like friends and community with people I connect with - whether they are community, creators, and/or creatives.
The focus is first and foremost relationship, joy, and service and the actual transaction of value for value is secondary. Years ago, I allowed the world to sway me to focus on recognition, titles, and money first and not focusing on the relationship.
As a result, my focus is on creating a community and a 6 Pack of Wealth.
3. Take Action Consistently
Listen, I know it's hard first hand to take action and not see the results you want immediately. I am not blind to the fact that myself and millions of others are walking through tough circumstances now more than ever.
At the same time, choose to take action and be grateful for every single win. Everything matters.
Each and every step you take leads to another.
Whether your action is sharing content like a boss, creating communities with influencer marketing, listing on platforms and communities online, and/or proposing brands directly, it all counts.
4. Connect with Communities Online and Explore Opportunities
You don't know what you don't know. I write down my goals daily. At the same time, I have no idea how things will happen and through who so it's key to be open.
Since 2015, I have connected on social media channels, over 15 FB groups, over 25 influencer marketing platforms, and many other online business platforms.
Countless communities have inspired and helped me:
1 Sharing my wellness journey in ThriveGlobal
2 Learning and growing with Herbalife Global Nutrition
3 Starting an online membership and courses
4 Sharing marketing proposing on Upwork, FreeUp, and writing platforms
5 Growing our influencer community to over 300 million in reach on platforms
6 Pitching brands directly for ongoing work, retainers and sponsorships
7 Increasing travel communities like Wanderful, Press Trip Group on Facebook,
Travel Massive, and others.
There is always more to learn and do. At the same time, don't overlook loving yourself!
5. Learn and Scale to Amplify Your Results
I cannot overstate the importance of learning continuously. Whether it's free resources on a blog, a show, and YouTube, or in online courses and live events. It all counts.
On a weekly scale, I consume 3-5+ free sources of content. In addition, I am currently in Unstoppable with Bethany Hamilton (yes Soul Surfer) and her husband Adam, Achieving Optimal with Tommy Newberry, and regularly attend events with Herbalife Nutrition, church sessions with Transformation Church and Passion City, and participate in Lifeway Women studies and events.
Not only that, learning is a habit I have cultivated for years - from school to undergrad to grad school to certifications to entrepreneurial investments in programs and events with Strategic Coach, Dani Johnson, Herbalife Nutrition, Brendon Burchard, and Chalene Johnson among others. What you are reading and listening to is a result of those investments.
It amazes me how often people say they want to create a life and business they love and they refuse to invest time and/or money. Not a recipe for success, my friends.
These actions, along with countless books I read annually, expand my mindset far beyond what I imagined. I regularly ask how can I save time and scale?
A great example is my ongoing list of Fortune 500 companies and travel brands globally. I zoned in on decision makers, identified how LinkedIn is the best platform to connect, and outsource the task weekly to virtual assistants.
Note: I add this into my monthly mastermind: Creation Club - as one of many perks in the program!
Pitch Your Business Like a Boss: Steps to Connect
My experiences have taught me to prioritize my days and tasks. For the week this includes community actions like partnerships, proposals, sponsorships, and retainers; creator collaboration launches and meetings with influencer marketing and management; and creator series like this one covering our wellness wonder series tying to the Creation Club.
It's easy to see now how the priorities go from larger impact to initially smaller impact (that may and does grow). I didn't arrive here overnight. Being a multi-passionate entrepreneur is a blessing, at the same time it requires learning to prioritize and focus.
#1 Find the Best Way to Connect with a Decision Maker
Determine what you are trying to do, and find the best way to connect with a decision maker.
Take bold action and leaps of faith. Reach out showing you have done your homework and know about them, and how they serve.
Share why a partnership/proposal/retainer/course/challenge with you would be great. All along the way track your return on investment and results.
Here is a great example of a letter of reaching out to brands that generates responses. One of the tools I love is HoneyBook with an initial form highlighting what a brand wants and/or influencer wants for influencer management.
#2: Take Aligned Action and Learn from It
Consider everything I shared in the Lessons Learned. Stop weekly and identify what is going great e.g. actions taken and what's not going so great e.g. meetings and cash. Identify 1-2 things to shift.
#3 Celebrate Evidence of Progress Daily
We are used to things at our fingertips - from Google to microwaves to Instagram to Instacart. The thing is that their is a gap between your vision and reality especially when you start, and when things get hard along the way.
The bigger the vision, the more you will be tested along the way to build your character and resilience, Not only that, but to prepare you for what you are asking for.
In 2020, I recognized how for years I focused on what's next vs. being present. This year, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on the past, immersing myself in the present, envisoning the future, and celebrating the wins along the way daily.
Years ago, I didn't and I would often get discouraged because I didn't focus on the fact that every step added up. I didn't take time to celebrate daily and/or the big wins before moving on to the next. I decided to fall in love with the journey and celebrate my wins in every area of life daily.
Every single day - minimum 5 times a week now - I outline my wins from my morning to night. Without fail now, I have anywhere from 15-30 wins every single day.
Seeing the practical evidence of winning is a game changer. They will help you keep going when times are the toughest in your circumstances, and you feel like you are walking on water (or blindly).
Lessons Learned from Millions of Dollars in Proposals
Lessons Learned from Millions of Dollars in Proposals have taught me patience more than anything else. Patience with myself, the process, and others. I never imagined things would take as long as they have.
I walked in faith taking action in millions of dollars in proposals within the last year, yet I made <$10,000 last year. Was it hard and humbling? Hell yes. Would I trade it for anything? No. Is it worth it? Oh yes.
The lessons I learned are priceless because they showed me how & where I didn't believe in myself, this incredible platform to help people create a life and business they love. Taking the action showed me were I allowed distractions, confusions and complexities to hold me back. I learned where I wasn't taking action daily on needle movers in business.
Without the action, none of that would have shown up. On top of that, my ability to think outside of the box more than ever from innovating on larger scales, increasing impact daily, and figuring out a way to eliminate expenses and rent coming in 2021 and so much more.
What actions could you take to Pitch Your Business Like a Boss? Increase your clarity on who you are serving? Shift your communication in approaching decision makers? Prioritize and accelerate your actions? Eliminate distractions and time-suckers?
If you are anything like me, likely it's D) all of the above.
If you love this, you'll love 7 Ways to Market and Monetize Your Business Online and In the Real World.
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