How I Run 3 Businesses in a 20-Hour Workweek
I used to believe that I was the only one who could complete most tasks in my business, which resulted in long days, late nights, and tons of overwhelm.
I got a rude awakening when I almost died in 2020 and the recovery took 2.5 years! Suddenly I learned that the key to scaling up, while personally slowing down comes down to three things:
- Automation
- Online courses and e-products
- A supportive team
Due to these three important business shifts, my mindful education consulting company served 200,000+ human beings, while I navigated endless doctor’s appointments, became acquainted with hospitals, and overcame my fear of needles with constant lab testing, alternative therapies, and infusions.
During this time of rest and healing, I made two promises to myself and God if I would be so lucky to have a second chance at “regular life”:
- I would never go back to the hustle lifestyle of pre-Covid.
- I would share with other speakers, coaches and purpose-driven entrepreneurs how to replicate what I learned in the depths of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual challenges, so they too could scale up and slow down… without going through a horrific experience.
Here are my top 5 ways to work smarter, not harder, so you can scale up and slow down:
1. Automate Proposals and the Initial Contact System
Manually creating and sending proposals takes way too much time for both you and the client. When I learned there was a program that created electronic brochures showcasing what a company does, pictures and videos about their services, and an automatic scheduler embedded right in the brochures, I was sold!
Goodbye Canva PDFs, Calendly schedulers, and Excel to manage all of my clients… and hello, Honeybook, the best client management program out there for speakers, coaches, and consultants (in my humble opinion).
And guess what? There’s even more than just fancy brochures and proposals!
So, imagine you’re out and about and you meet someone who’s interested in receiving your coaching services. What do you usually do? If the answer is, exchange business cards or write down their email, there’s definitely an opportunity for growth here.
Why not send them to a form on your website where they fill out their name, email, what they’re looking for, and whatever other questions you need answered. Then, an automated email will be sent to them with your customized brochure mentioned above.
Just like that, you eliminate extra work, provide instant information and a way for the potential client to connect with you immediately, and organize the potential client into your CRM thanks to Honeybook automation, which drastically increases your chance of working together. I mean doesn’t this sound dreamy?? Honeybook is such an amazing program and I highly recommend taking a look at everything they offer!
2. Automate Invoicing with Guaranteed Upfront Payment:
Getting paid for your gifts is necessary and the best way to guarantee prompt payment is to make it simple!
From the client's standpoint, they don’t have time to snail mail you a check or send a contract by downloading it, printing it, filling it out, scanning it, and sending it back. I mean that’s like dinosaur times, right?
From the business-owners standpoint, writing invoices, contracts, and proposal emails takes precious time. Not only that, but for many of us, the tedious nature of these tasks zap the creative energy right out of our soul!
So, here’s how simple the payment process is with Honeybook… Once the potential client decides they would like to work with us, my team goes to their project that was created by step 1 above and customizes the invoice, contract, and email using our pre-made templates, which saves hours of time. Once the payment is received and the contract is signed, we begin working together.
This system allows me (and you) to focus on our zone of genius and gifts, rather than chasing payments. Are you interested in pre-made templates that you can start editing now? Check out the Get Paid Training here.
3. Online Courses, eBooks, Memberships:
Offering online courses, eBooks, and memberships is a fantastic way to provide value without physically showing up. When you're sick (personal story above), it’s really hard to get out of bed, let alone show up and serve fully. Digital products are available 24/7 and generate income while you’re not actively working. They are an essential part of my business model, allowing me to reach a broader audience than my pre-Covid life of flying around the world to various speaking events.
I believe every speaker or coach needs some type of passive income because it’s not sustainable to always show up and serve. If you’d like to read my full story featured in MSN about how online courses saved my businesses while healing from Covid, click here.
I use a program called Kajabi to house my website, blog, online courses, online memberships, and my digital store. Kajabi is the best online course platform out there because they are an all-in-one program versus switching between various programs that need to link and sync together. I’m able to use Kajabi for all three of my businesses under one account for each website, online products, email marketing, affiliate marketing, and so much more!
4. Automated Email Sequences:
Nurturing relationships in the online space is just as important as it is when providing live services.
First, when an online product is purchased, it’s important for the customer to know exactly what to do next, how to login, and how to continue working with you.
Also, developing complete pipelines with automated emails that give tips on how the resource can help them, how the participant can login and access the resources, and celebratory emails when the customer consumes a certain amount of modules or completes a certain number of activities is key, otherwise the product is easily forgotten about.
To achieve this, I've implemented automated email sequences by using Kajabi, the all-in-one program mentioned above. These email sequences provide instant directions that make it easy to get started right away, remind clients to view the online products they’ve purchased, continuously highlight resources within the product, auto-renew clients into their new memberships, and encourage repeat purchases. It's like having a personal assistant managing customer relationships around the clock, but it’s all automated.
Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate marketing has been a game-changer in my business strategy, gifting me so much more time and less hassle with social media marketing (deleted my business accounts in 2021) and other strategies that weren’t aligned.
What is affiliate marketing? It’s a win-win opportunity for past clients, the people they know, and the business owner. Here’s how it works… individuals and/or organizations share about a service or product in return for a percentage of gross sales.
By handing off the marketing to past customers or organizations who believe in our work, I can focus on what I do best – creating new products and innovating existing material.
Would you like to learn how to create an affiliate program for individuals and organizations to share your products and services? Click Here.
Conclusion:
In today's fast-paced entrepreneurial landscape, the idea of running not one, but three businesses while working just 20 hours per week may seem out of reach. I used to have absolutely zero belief in this idea, until I was forced to operate differently.
My intention of detailing the shifts needed to work smarter, not harder is the fact that I want you to experience a life of impact without burning out. By leveraging automation, creating online products, and hiring a support team, you too can scale up, while slowing down. May you choose balance over burnout, innovation over the way we've always done it, and support over self-sabotage.
