Kat Millar

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How I Stay In LOVE With My Business…And How You Can Too

Do you feel like business is draining at times?

There’s sooo much to learn and do … and it can be exhausting.

After being in business for 18 years, I’ve discovered something important that’s stopped me from giving up when it got tough.

I’ve realised that if you want to stay in the game, it’s essential to stay in love with your business.

Would you like to get your joy and inspiration for business back?

I’ve been chatting to people recently who are struggling and finding their business draining. This has inspired me to talk about staying in love with your business.

Business is definitely not easy and it’s not for the faint-hearted. Business is one of those things that can be hugely exhilarating and also massively challenging.

It is so important if you want to stay in the game … that you stay in love with your business.

Think about your business like a relationship. All relationships have ebbs and flows, ups and downs.

What is your relationship with your business like?

When your relationship with your business is good, then often the results of that produce great outcomes for your business.

Like any human relationship, negativity impacts your business and can throw things off.

I like thinking of a business as a pipeline and when things aren’t working, rather than getting super emotional and thinking something is wrong with me, I just look at what’s wrong in the pipeline. I look at where the leakages and holes are that need to be filled.

In my last blog, I spoke quite in-depth about the 3 things that I look for when I’m looking for quality clients, and it’s also the 3 things that I look at whenever I’m struggling in business. You can read it here.

There are 3 areas I recommend you look at if your business is struggling:

1. Attitude

2. Skills

3. Effort

If your attitude towards your business is negative and skeptical, and you’re struggling with your mindset, then that’s going to overflow into your results.

When you’re feeling discouraged and negative … it has a negative flow onto your outcomes.

If you don’t keep up-leveling your skills like – copywriting, sales, presenting, and marketing skills, that will also affect the growth of your business.

If you’re not putting in effort – showing up consistently, that affects your outcomes.

It’s important to take a VERY honest look at these three things and face whatever you’re avoiding in order to spark your joy and passion again.

There are 3 ways I’ve found to stay in love with your business:

1 – Align Your Business With Your Personal Values

The first way to stay in love with your business is to align your business with your personal values.

Are you taking action in your business regularly that is aligned to what is important to you in life?

The way you work out what your values are is to look at your life.

What books are on your bookshelf or in your Audible account? What podcasts do you subscribe to? Look at what’s booked in your diary, what’s pinned up on your walls, and look at how you spend your time. Look at the people in your life you spend time with.

My highest personal value is freedom. That’s why I’m an entrepreneur, because I don’t like working for someone else.

Another personal value for me is growth. So I spend some time every week on growth activities, like reading, researching, or crewing at business events that I’m passionate about. I love educating people also, so this is a high value for me.

I love connecting, supporting, and helping people – one of my top values is connection. I love connecting with people face-to-face, which is why I love doing live events.

I notice the shift in my energy and my joy levels when I’m connecting in person with humans. There’s nothing quite like face-to-face with real-life people and events.

Because of this, I decided to put on an in-person event that is coming up soon. I was inspired to run a live event again because I recently went to an event in Sydney and it was so powerful. And it fired me up and got me passionate again.

Ask yourself what your personal and business values are.

And then align your tasks, actions, and your habits with these values.

If contribution is a high value of yours, and contributing to others is going to keep you fired up, passionate, and feeling alive, then start reaching out and supporting more people.

When I’m finding things challenging and nothing seems to be working, I know if I can get on and help someone, It makes me feel so amazing and uplifted. When I help others,  I end up feeling inspired.

Business always has highs and lows, hills and valleys.

If you’re in a valley right now, I encourage you to keep walking. You will get through it. However, you don’t want to keep doing the same thing and expecting a different result. Einstein calls this insanity.

When things aren’t working you’ve got to look at the pipeline or you’ve got to look at where the gap is because there’s always a way to fix it. There’s always a way to tweak it, as long as your passion is there.

If you’ve fallen out of love with your business because you’re just doing it just for the money, and not for service and contribution, your business becomes soulless and transactional.

Imagine being in a relationship, that the person just wants you on the side to fulfill their needs, then there really isn’t much of a relationship is there? It simply doesn’t work. So if you’re doing business just to make a bit of money, rather than being in love with your business, it’s going to cause you problems and you will feel unfulfilled.

2 – Fall In Love With The Process

There are so many facets to business and you have to fall in love with the process of all areas of the business. If you just love coaching people and don’t want to focus on marketing, sales, or other areas that your business needs focused effort in, then it won’t work.

You need to fall in love with learning how to do Facebook ads or learning how to run events. You don’t have to learn all things at once. Learn one new thing, master that, and then learn another.

These things are a series of micro-changes that you make in your business that can bring you exponential growth. Business is a series of tweaks as you go. If things aren’t working then tweak what you are doing.

If you’re not in love with the process and if you don’t learn to love the process and reframe some of these things that we have to do, like marketing or sales, then you’re probably better off in a day job.

I’m not here to try and convince you to start a new business, but if you want to stay in your business and not give up, then you need to learn marketing, sales, writing, and other skills.

I highly recommend learning these skills before you outsource them. Because you need to know what you are paying for.

I was talking to a lady recently who had paid someone $5000 to do some marketing work for her. She’s finding there’s a lot of communication breakdown and it’s super frustrating for her because she doesn’t know how to do any of it herself and hadn’t learned it.

I always encourage people to take control of their business and learn all the areas themselves. That way you’re not relying on someone else.

When your business is at a great stage, then you can outsource your business. But you can’t just outsource everything just because you want to be a coach.

I didn’t always love marketing. The way I fell in love with marketing is by reframing it. I reframed it by thinking; I love coaching. I love presenting. I love them because I’m helping people. I’m making a big difference to people’s lives and they get their a-ha moments and get valuable education.

I can also get that great feeling through marketing. And so I linked the process of marketing, sales, presenting, copywriting, etc to my highest values.

With marketing I asked myself these questions:

  • How will marketing give me more freedom?
  • How will marketing give me more growth?
  • How will marketing give me more connection?

Ultimately marketing is about helping people. It’s helping people shift their perspectives and have a breakthrough.

It becomes less about the outcome of how many clients are you getting, and it becomes more about who you are helping. This is how you learn to love the process.

3 – Keep Levelling Up

My third way to stay in love with your business is to keep levelling up. It’s important as humans that we grow and progress.  If you keep getting stuck in your business and things are staying the same, it’s easy to fall out of love with your business.

If you’re not growing and consistently investing in skill acquisition, it’s really hard to stay in love and stay passionate about your business. Passion and excitement for your business come when you are investing in your growth.

This is how to keep that fire of passion burning for your business because you’re learning and investing in your growth. This passion and fire keep your relationship with your business strong.

You can’t just passively learn if you want to level up. You need to jump in apply what you learn to your business.

It’s not about perfection. Leveling up is about excellence. It’s about aiming to being excellent and outstanding as a standard.

When you choose to keep levelling up, you choose not to avoid hard things.

You may have been avoiding doing videos, or avoiding looking at your finances, or avoiding learning to do Facebook ads. Levelling up in every area of business means you’re constantly making those little tweaks.

What I love about levelling up, is that it makes your success inevitable.

If you want to level up in your business, particularly if you want to get more clients or sign up the leads that you do have coming in, I have something exciting to share with you!

I’m super excited about a new in-person event that I’m holding with a business strategist and a marketing strategist called Level Up.

It’s a Sydney-based, in-person event where you’ll get to spend the day with us and other like-minded entrepreneurs to renew your passion and love for your business!

I’ve teamed up with Mark Flores who is a brilliant video content strategist and marketer, and Gez Perez who is a productivity, systems, and mindset wiz.

We are sharing how to build a pipeline of ideal clients so you can scale up to $10K months consistently.

So if you are sick of playing small and tired of the overwhelm of marketing, and you want clarity and a step-by-step formula to sign up clients consistently, you can register for just $1! And then, if you enjoy it and get value, it’s just $49.

This is for you if you have a coaching, consulting, or service-based business, and you want to take it to the next level.

This is for you if you want to know how to build a system and have the formula to hit the 10k months and guarantee your success.  This event is designed to take you out of a plateau, and into being a trusted sought-after leader in your industry.

We are not selling anything at this event, it’s pure valuable content!

Check out the Level Up event here

Hope to see you there!

Kat

 

 

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How I Signed Up 4 Clients This Week (And How You Can Too)

This week I signed up 4 dream clients. In this training, I share how you can do it also.

There are 4 main things we need to in order to attract new clients…

1. An Irresistible Offer

In order to sign up new clients, you need an irresistible offer. So it’s important to take the time to build out a no-brainer offer that you cannot wait to share with the world.

It needs to be an offer you’re proud of and excited about because it is filled with so much value.

Your offer needs to be designed very specifically for a clear problem and solution.

Your offer cannot be that you will give someone a dream life as that’s too vague. It’s got to be something specific, and you need to use compelling language.

People don’t want to receive coaching just for coaching’s sake.

They want to work through a process, overcome challenges and receive keys, tools, and resources. People want to work with someone who has overcome the same challenges themselves and organised their knowledge in a way to help them with the same challenges.

There are 3 main components I recommend you have in your irresistible offer:

1 – Curriculum

Your irresistible offer needs a solid step-by-step curriculum in your offer. It needs to have a step-by-step system, like an A to Z process.

It’s not just about having bits and pieces of content. It needs to take people step-by-step to their end goal.

There’s so much free information out there that people get overwhelmed. People want a curriculum of content and you want that to be available for people 24/7.

2 – Coaching 

As well as curriculum, people also need coaching and mentoring as part of your offer in order to implement the learnings.

Research shows that less than 10% of people ever complete an online course on their own.

You have knowledge, wisdom, and experience that other people don’t have and you’ve overcome the problem that you’re helping to solve, so including coaching or mentoring is highly valuable.

This could be done one-on-one or in a group setting.

It could be you delivering it, or one of your team who you’ve trained.

3 – Community

People also want a community. And not just any community, but a quality community.

There are so many Facebook groups out there. Most people are part of so many free communities and often they are getting lost in the crowd.

To accelerate success, we need a smaller quality, intimate community where we are valued, heard, and supported by people on a similar journey.

We need cheerleaders who lift us up, give us feedback, inspire us and help us grow. The best way to do this is in a smaller group.

Curriculum, coaching, and community are just some of the components of building out an irresistible offer.

I’ve got a whole training on how to build out an irresistible offer. Email us if you’d like us to send it to you.

2. Consistent Valuable Content

Every single week you need to give a valuable piece of content to your social communities. You can do this as a Facebook Live, as a blog post, or in lots of smaller social media posts (3-5 per week).

Consistency is the key to social media. The reason I signed up 4 clients this week is that I plant seeds constantly. I plant seeds in my Facebook Lives, blogs, and social posts. I’m constantly throwing seeds into the ground, watering and nurturing them.

The clients I’ve just signed up are from the seeds I planted a long time ago. One lady who signed with me has been following my Facebook Lives for about 6 months and she’s been getting my emails. It’s not about getting instant results. I only want to work with people that are ready.

I never want anyone to feel rushed into something.  I don’t like people to feel like there’s any pressure, so for me, I’m detached from the outcome. I show up. I ask what they need and if I feel that I’m the right fit for them, then I present them with an irresistible offer. But I don’t offer it to everyone.

The cool thing is that because I’m always planting seeds and consistently putting content out there, most people come to the strategy calls ready and committed to themselves.

I don’t ever have to do awkward sales calls because most people who connect with me know they have a problem and I know that I have a solution to help them.

Your content has to be compelling, hook people in, engage people, speak to their fears, to their desires and your content needs to connect with them emotionally.

You need to speak the language of your ideal client and speak directly to the specific problems and needs that they have.

Your content also needs a great call to action. You don’t just need free content, but also a clear lead generation strategy that you focus on. And consistency is the key.

3. Unshakable Confidence

Signing up new clients really comes down to how much you believe in yourself because if you’re not confident, you won’t be able to sell anything and you won’t be able to sign up clients.

Here are 5 things you can do to build unshakable confidence:

1 – Believe In Yourself And Back Your Dreams

Now, this doesn’t mean that every single day you wake up and feel amazing. It’s just a quiet knowing within you, that whatever happens, you will keep going until you make it.

I’ve made a decision a long time ago that I will never give up on my dreams. It doesn’t mean I don’t doubt myself. It doesn’t mean I don’t have fears, worries and doubts come up.

This is where you have to do the work to keep your mindset strong and keep backing yourself and believing in yourself. Even on the days where you struggle, you’ve got to just do it anyway. No one else will believe in you as much as you need to believe in you.

2 – Do The Hard Work

Confidence comes as a by-product of competence, and you get competent, by doing the work and by getting really good at your craft.

I’m good at sales because I’ve done hundreds and hundreds of sales calls. I’m good at presenting because I’ve done hundreds of events. I’m good at coaching because I’ve coached hundreds and hundreds of people.

I started out coaching people for free. That’s how I got all the learnings and figured out what people want and what they need. I’ve done so many strategy sessions where people didn’t sign up, but I’m not focused on the outcome because I know eventually, I am going to succeed.

There’s a lag time between putting the seeds in the ground, watering them and making sure they get the sun and looking after them before they start to grow and produce fruit. Most people don’t keep going and quit before the harvest comes.

Farmers don’t throw the seed in and expect a tree the next day. Farmers consistently show up, water the plants, fertilise the soil and do everything they can to ensure the crop they have planted end up bearing fruit.

3 –  Keep Showing Up Consistently

Keep showing up consistently even if you feel like it or not. You have just got to commit.

If you’re not committed and trustworthy, people aren’t going to trust you. They will just think you are there when you feel like it. People want to see you showing up and taking action consistently.

4 – Spend Time With Visionaries

Spend time with visionaries and people who think beyond just the current day-to-day stresses. You are not going to get unshakable confidence by hanging out with people who think small and focus on really small problems and things that don’t matter.

You need to spend time with people who are visionaries, who think bigger and look to solve bigger problems, instead of just thinking about how they will make their lives more comfortable.

5 – Have A Mentor

We all need mentors to help us develop our skills because confidence comes as a by-product of being really good at what you do.

And one of the fastest ways to get better at what we do is by having a mentor who has ‘been there, done that’.

4. Proven Sales Process

There are 3 main things people get wrong when it comes to the sales process:

1 – Not Having An Automated Booking System

This is so simple to overcome. If you don’t have an automated booking system, you just need to set up a calendar online. You can get one appointment type for free. I use Calendly.

If you want to have multiple calendars it costs $10US a month. I’ve got a calendar for 30-minute bookings,  15 minutes, 45 minutes, 60 minutes, and 90 minutes.

It just takes away so much time and effort that you can waste, going back and forth with people. How many people are just not signing up with you, simply because it’s too hard? You need to have something that people can book 24/7.

I don’t do anything manually for my sales process until I turn up on the call. Everything is automated. People book a session on Calendly. They get a questionnaire to fill out. They receive automatic reminders and all I do is read and take notes from their questionnaire before the strategy session.

2 – Not Preparing For Their Sales Calls

People don’t do well at sales because they fail to prepare. They don’t have a questionnaire, and they don’t have a structure to follow.

Sales calls are very dynamic and can go all over the place, but I have a structure that I’m following and a toolkit of questions. I then devise questions based on the questionnaire that I’ve received.

I always know where I’m at in the process of the sales call, as I follow a structure. I allow myself to flow within that structure though depending on how the call progresses. It’s so important to prepare in advance.

3– Not Leading In Their Sales Calls

You’re the expert. You’re the professional and people want to be led and directed in strategy sessions and sales calls.

In my strategy sessions and sales calls, I have set questions that I ask, but I flow with how the answers are, but I always bring it back within my structure. I lead in my strategy sessions.

I ask the person when I get on the call or Zoom if they are comfortable, have a glass of water, and are ready to start with the strategy session. I then have my questions and structure to follow based on the information I’ve received from their questionnaire.

There’s so much that you can do in your conversation to increase the likelihood that they’re going to say yes to you.

I absolutely love sales conversations, because it’s an opportunity to help someone change their life. I see them as coaching sessions and if we are a match, then I offer them my program.

Getting good at sales is the only way you can stay as an entrepreneur. It’s the only thing that gets money in your bank account, and it gives you freedom.

I could not have built my own business to a 6-figure business on my own. I needed a mentor. Personally, I invest at least $10,000 every year in getting help from mentors and coaches.

Every time my money has been low, I have spent the money and invested in coaching and mentoring, because that’s the way we grow.

Want help to grow your business? 

Do you want help to get more ideal clients, free up more time and create a profitable, lifestyle-friendly business that you love?

I offer a free 45-minute clarity call to see whether my programs are the right fit for you.

Apply for your free clarity session here

To your success,
Kat

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What I Wish I’d Known When I First Started Out In Business

In business, we all make mistakes. I’ve made hundreds… and some were absolute pearlers.

When I first started out in business 18-years ago, I didn’t have any qualifications, business knowledge, or money. I just had a lot of enthusiasm, drive, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to succeed.

I was much younger, more stubborn, and ignorant back then. I look back and see how much faster I could have propelled my growth if only I knew what I know now.

Making mistakes is normal and it’s one of the ways we learn and grow. But there are some mistakes that are unnecessary and waste precious time, money, and energy.

So I’m going to share with you how to avoid some of the mistakes that can trip you up and fail and what to do instead.

Here are the top 5 things I wish I’d know when I first started out in business…

1 – The Value Of Investing In Coaching and Mentoring

A mistake I made when I started out, was that I didn’t value other people’s input who had been in business longer than me.

If someone asks why I’m successful – it’s hard work, a strong work ethic and dedication etc. but the number 1 reason absolutely comes down to investing in coaching and mentoring.

When I was younger,  I was so stubborn and naive.

I started my first job in insurance when I was 17 as an office junior (earning a whopping $17,000 a year)

I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do, I just wanted freedom when I left high school.

When I was 25, I left my office job when I decided to become a personal trainer. I didn’t know anything about sales or marketing.

I could have seeked help from the experienced personal trainers at the gym I worked at. I could have taken them for coffee to ask for their advice. But I didn’t. Maybe I thought I knew everything. ?

I wish I knew the power of mentorship and coaching back then.

One of my favourite mentors says the fastest way to succeed in business is to attach yourself to a fast-moving vehicle, and do what they’re doing. Stand on the shoulders of giants and don’t try and reinvent the wheel.

Once I realised the power that they bring you, I’ve always had multiple coaches and mentors.

Some people say to just have one mentor or one mentor per year. Everyone’s different, it’s totally dependent on your style, personality, and character. I invest in multiple. I’m coach-greedy.

Without mentoring and coaching, I would not be where I am today.

The CEO of Google has a coach. Every great athlete, ca,tor or actress will have people around them that are supporting them and coaching them. If they need coaching and mentoring, then so do we.

2 – The Value Of Networking

When I started out in business I was so such an introvert.  I hid behind my laptop and my phone. In fact, some people that knew me back 10 to 12 years ago, would say they knew a completely different person.

A lot of people who knew me back then have been telling me lately that they have seen my transformation. Anyone can change. Even if you are an introvert, you can get out there and network. I never used to network, in fact, I hated it.

When I moved from New Zealand to London, I realised that I desperately needed to improve my communication skills and my confidence, so I read books on the plane. I bought books on how to become confident. And I learned one very important thing. I learned that you don’t get confident from reading books.

You become confident by getting out there and confronting your fears. Confidence is a by-product of being competent.

When you’re facing the fears of things that challenge you, you’re moving to your next level and outside of your comfort zone. When you do that, confidence comes like a gift and a reward for doing hard things.

Networking for a lot of you is not easy, and you feel like you’re not good at it. I network a lot and some people are really bad at it! They are not present, not listening, and not hearing what you have to say. They are half distracted.

You only get good at networking by doing it. When I started networking, I would hang around the food table because it was my comfort. It was like a blanket. Now, I try and meet as many people as I can.

I don’t give out business cards. That’s one mistake people make. I was at an event recently and I went home with a stack of business cards. I don’t have business cards and haven’t had them for eight years. I don’t have them because I like making contact with the other person.

When I was a personal trainer, I handed out hundreds and hundreds of business cards. Let’s be honest, most business cards end up in the bin. I only keep people’s business cards if I make a connection with the person.

If you’re not putting yourself out there, and networking, now is the time to do it. Because of the pandemic, people are now getting out and the energy is amazing. I can feel my energy has shifted so much since I started going to more live events.

Have a look at Meetup.com or Eventbrite as there are a bunch of events happening. Challenge yourself to get out there and network. The only way you get better is by doing it.

3 – The Value Of Investing

My third mistake was not realising the value of investing in my business. I used to try and hold on to money, whereas I’ve come to the point where I invest, because that’s the way to grow.

I invest in 3 main things – marketing, coaching and education.

You don’t get wealthy by saving money.  You get wealthy by getting your money working for you. And so, I love investing money into marketing, like Facebook ads.

I also love putting money into education. I’ve spent over $130,000 on education, not on formal education, but through learning specific skills.

Back when I started in business, I wish I had known the value of investing in marketing, sales copywriting, and coaching skills. I never used to think of copywriting as an essential business skill. I just thought I could put up a post and people were going to sign up.

Copywriting is one of the most undervalued, underrated skills, but being able to write well is one of the most important skills.

Knowing how to craft your language in a way that is compelling and attracts your right clients is a skill and it’s one that is worth investing in.

In the past, I’ve printed off flyers but now I mostly do all my marketing online because it enables you to track and see the ROI on your marketing dollar and investment.

If you’re starting out in business or you are struggling in business, you always need to be investing.

4 – The Value Of Daily Income Generating Activities

All of us do low-value tasks. We are human. Our brain is wired to take the path of least resistance.

Our brain is wired to keep us safe, so it doesn’t easily accept change. We naturally want to follow the path of least resistance. It’s really natural for us to do the easy things.

You know you need to go to the gym, but you stay watching Netflix. It’s normal so please don’t beat yourself up. This is not about making you feel guilty.

I do want to challenge you and encourage you to spend a good proportion of your time on income-generating activities. Ideally, do them every morning.

Instead of waking up and consuming on social media, create something. Delete apps off your phone if you need to. I have recently deleted the email app off my phone so I don’t waste time on it.

One of the easiest ways to change a habit is to just remove it. I always taught my clients this when I was a weight loss coach. At the time I was helping people change their habits. I would tell them that they needed to remove everything unhealthy from their house, so they didn’t get tempted.

If you’ve got a problem with sugar, don’t put things with sugar into your shopping trolley. Make up healthy packs of veggies or nuts and keep them in your bag. Don’t end up buying crappy food because you’ve gotten stuck out somewhere without being prepared.

It’s the same thing with business. Remove all things that take you away from income-generating activities. Are you tracking your sales conversion rates?  Are you showing up and giving value rather than just consuming?

Entrepreneurs show up and give value and help others solve problems. Entrepreneurs do income-generating activities.

I wish I knew that earlier because I spent way too long faffing about making my PowerPoint slides look amazing.

5 -The Value Of Fast Decision Making

Do you fall into the trap of perfectionism? 

None of us wants to make mistakes in our work. We don’t want to fail.

But overcoming perfectionism is not about doing rushed or sloppy work. There’s a difference between perfectionism and excellence.

Striving for excellence shows you have a good work ethic and strength of character.

Perfectionism is the enemy of progress. And the reality is, nothing is ever perfect. ⠀⠀

Getting something out there, (even if it’s not ‘just right’) is better than it sitting on your laptop or in your head, not helping anyone.⠀ ⠀⠀

I’ve never done a Facebook Live or webinar or an event and been 100% happy with how it’s gone. There are always things to improve.

If we want to grow as entrepreneurs, we need to value speed. Perfectionism can be a handbrake on our success. It keeps us from accelerating. We don’t have time to be afraid of mistakes.

As one of my mentors says, get it out there ‘quick and dirty’ and learn from it.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of delaying our decisions and let things pile up. Then we get overwhelmed by how much we need to do.

I was challenged in an event recently to write down 5 decisions we’ve been putting off, and decide when we’re going to do it.

I calculated that if I live until the average age, I have approximately 2000 weeks left of my life. Only 2000 weeks! I plan on living longer than this, but none of us are promised a set amount of time. So I don’t want to waste a second of the time I have left on the planet.

What have you been putting off? I invite you to write down one thing NOW and make a decision on when you’re going to do it. 

Want help to grow your business? 

Do you need help to get more right-fit clients, free up more time and create a profitable, lifestyle-friendly business that you LOVE?

I offer a free 45-minute business strategy session, where you’ll get personalised guidance, direction, clarity, and a clear action plan.

I’ll walk you through a proven business growth roadmap and personalise it to show you exactly what you need to do to hit your financial and freedom goals. 

I’ve helped people get fully booked with clients, double their income, increase their conversion rates, fill their events, and more. I would love to help you navigate to your next level.

Apply for your free strategy session here

 

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How To Go To Your Next Level In Business

What’s your next level? Is there something you want to do next that you’re not currently doing?

I recently spoke at an event and asked this question to the audience. A lot of people came up to me afterwards saying they haven’t thought about their next level for a while.  It’s something that can slip to the back of our mind as we get caught up in day-to-day life.

Your next level might be running a webinar or an event.

Or maybe it’s writing an online course or a book.

It might be asking for a promotion or a raise.

Or maybe it’s starting a business or a side hustle.

What makes you excited?

Your next level could be something you’ve been thinking about for a while, but you’ve put it off. And it sits in the back of your mind… or in a note in your phone… or in a journal… or maybe you’ve shared it with a friend.

Your next level is usually something you’re a bit scared to do – or you feel like you don’t have time to do.

But if you’re totally real with yourself, you know you want to step up. And there’s often a quiet voice inside us whispering for you to go after it.

Our next level is where our growth is. And growth is ultimately what makes our life fulfilling and meaningful.

Your next level will give you a sense of progress and purpose. And progress and purpose ultimately is what makes us fulfilled and excited and gives our life meaning.

Sometimes we think we have to take a massive leap to change our life, but our next level is just ONE action away to get started

Imagine you’re in a bulls eye in the centre of a target board. The bulls eye represents your comfort zone. Your big picture vision is the very outer ring. And your next level is in the ring right next to you.

Sometimes we think we have to take a maaaassive leap to, but your next level is not miles away. It’s usually just one action away to get started. One decision

The challenge is resistance, like fear or doubt can surround us like an invisible boundary. But often the resistance isn’t real, it’s imagined.

We think we’re staying comfortable, but the truth is, the comfort zone starts to get really uncomfortable.

The comfort zone is the great enemy to success.

 

Over the last 18 years helping people get results and transform their lives, I’ve discovered there are 3 main problems that most people face when it comes to going to their next level.

1 –  Not Having The Right Strategy

The first problem is not having the right strategy – when we don’t know where to start, we don’t know the steps or have a solid plan.

2 – Not Having The Right Structures

The second problem is not having the right structures. High achievers and high performers have intentional structures in their lives that grow them. Structures create outcomes.

Without structures, our brain naturally takes the path of least resistance.

When we study nature, we find the principle of the path of least resistance everywhere. Think about a riverbed. A riverbed is an underlying structure that causes the stream of water to flow the way it does.

And it’s the same for us in our lives.

Our mind is designed to conserve energy – it’s called the law of conservation of energy.

We think we want to go to the gym, but we find ourselves on the lounge watching Netflix.

The cool thing is, we can change our structures.

We can put new structures in – like success habits and consistent appointments and commitments that can change our life.

How we got to where we are today is by following certain structures.

Our future is determined by the structures we put in place in our life today.

3 – Not Having The Right Support

And the third problem I see people face is not having the right support. We become who we hang around.

When we spend time with people who are pessimistic, we can become pessimistic. Have you noticed this?

When we don’t seek out the right mentors and mastermind groups, our lives can stay small and stuck.

When you spend time with people who are supportive and uplift you, then you are more likely to go to that next level.

Not having the right strategy, structures, and support, are three things that can put a handbrake on you going to the next level.

When I realised this, I started putting these three things in place with the help of coaches, and I went from being pretty miserable, to having a life that I love.

And now I’m helping other people because I love it. I’ve helped thousands of people go to the next level of their lives and get the results they want.

The majority of people who have gone to the next level, whether they’re stepping up and running an event or running a webinar, or committing to consistent content or committed to learning new skills, they have said to me that it’s actually easier than they thought it would be. Sometimes we make it so big in our head. A lot of people really over-complicate business, and they make it super complex.

But when you sit down and you take it step-by-step and you follow a proven strategy that’s personalised to you, it’s so much easier to go to the next level than you think.

It All Starts With Your Thoughts

What these 3 things all have in common, is they all start with your thinking.

Think back to a time where you had achieved a successful result. What were you thinking at the time of achieving that successful result?

Now think back to a time where you were struggling. What were your thoughts when you were struggling? Was your thinking different? Usually, when you are struggling it’s negative thoughts you are thinking.

The National Science Foundation published an article that found that the average person thinks about 60,000 thoughts a day and 80%  of the thoughts were negative.

Our brain is wired to look for what’s wrong. It’s a survival mechanism. It’s there to keep us safe. Our brain is designed to find the predator and see the threat. Because our brain is designed to follow this path of least resistance, we need to be really intentional to not allow ourselves to fall into that path.

The path of least resistance and comfort actually becomes really uncomfortable in the end. You don’t drift to success or to your next level. You have to be super intentional and it starts with intentional thinking.

It takes a real focussed decision to change our thinking and to push through that boundary of resistance to the next level. You need to identify the resistance that’s coming up in you.

You need to intentionally look for and focus on the positive. So I’m going to give you a simple model that explains this. I talked about this model last week and it’s my TEAR mode.

The TEAR Model

The TEAR model is super simple, but it’s really powerful if you use it as a model and apply it to your life.

T = Thoughts

E = Emotions

A = Action

R = Results

Your thoughts lead to your emotions. Your emotions, lead to your action and your actions lead to your results.

Looking At Your Current Results Through The TEAR Model

If you look at your current results and if you’re not happy with your current results you want to look at the actions that are leading to those results. On a piece of paper, start with writing down your current results.

The current result could be that you only have 5 clients a week, but you want 10 clients. (Separate emotions from this when you do it and just be factual.)

Then you look at what actions you are taking to get you those current 5 clients (your results.)

What do you spend time doing to get those current results? Do you spend time playing around making something look pretty on Canva when you know you should be making an automation funnel? Or do you know you are meant to step up and do video, but keep putting it off?

Next, you want to look at the emotions that are leading to your actions. Maybe it’s overwhelm, or you’re feeling frustration, confusion or apathy. Take a look at how you are feeling and write it down.

These are the emotions that are leading to the negative thoughts that are stopping you from taking action. You could be thinking thoughts like, “I’m scared of failure” or “People might judge me”.

Often these thoughts are happening at a subconscious level and driving your decisions.

Looking At Your Desired Results Through The TEAR Model

Next, you want to write down your desired result. That could be increasing your clients or the amount you are earning. Then you need to decide the actions you need to take like running a webinar or posting consistent content or reaching out to 10 people a day.

To take those actions, you need to look at your emotions and choose emotions like determination, inspiration, passion.

Finally, we need to look at the thoughts we need to think in order to feel those feelings and take the actions.

They could be thoughts like…

“I’ll find a way. I’ll make a way!”

or “The right people are waiting for me”

or “I will do it, even if I’m scared”

or “I can handle it”

Earl Nightingale said “We become what we think about most of the time”.

So what are you thinking about most of the time? And what do you need to be thinking about in order to get what you want?

People who get what they want think differently to people who don’t get what they want.

How much time each day are you spending thinking about what you do want?

How much time each day are you spending with people who have the results you want?

We become who we hang around. If you’re not hanging around with successful people who have the results you want, then it’s going to be a long road to get to success.

Remember, your next level will give you a sense of progress and purpose and ultimately is what makes life fulfilling, exciting, and meaningful. 

Want help to grow your business? 

Do you want help to attract more aligned clients consistently, so you can grow a profitable, lifestyle-friendly business that you LOVE?

I offer a free 45-minute business strategy session, where you’ll get personalised guidance, direction, clarity, and a clear action plan.

I’ll walk you through a proven business growth roadmap and personalise it to show you exactly what you need to do to hit your financial and freedom goals. 

This is only for people who haven’t had a free strategy session with me yet and are ready and committed to growth.

Apply Now For Your Free Strategy Session With Kat

Looking forward to connecting with you!

Kat

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Are you an introvert or extrovert? What this says about how fast you’ll succeed in business

Have you ever wondered what effect your personality style is having on how fast you’re growing your business?

A lot of people share with me that they struggle to do the things that successful business owners do, like holding an event, doing a Facebook live video, or running a webinar, and put it down to being an introvert.

Other times, extroverts tell me that normally they can talk to anyone – but when it comes to talking to that little lens on their laptop, they get anxious.

Too often, we use our personality type – such as being an introvert to STOP us from doing the very things we KNOW we need to do, so we can see the results we want.

The KEY to getting results quickly in your business is to be able to clearly see what is acting as a handbrake and stopping you from moving forward in your business…

It is always the story we’re telling ourselves. And it all begins with our thoughts.

Being able to identify the thoughts that hinder our actions, and ultimately our results, helps you BREAKTHROUGH your limitations…

…and into the business success you dream of.

The challenge is, most of us have no awareness of the thoughts that are causing the issues because they are happening at the unconscious level.

In this training, I share how being an introvert or extrovert affects how fast you’ll succeed in business…

so you can…

* Use your personality traits to your advantage

* Identify the thoughts and beliefs hindering you from getting results

* Step out of the slow lane and into the results fast lane TODAY

I share my TEAR Model – a success creation formula that enables you to quickly identify what you need to focus on to create success in your business.

Introvert or Extrovert?

Let’s start by thinking about whether you identify as an introvert or an extrovert. I have a lot of people talk to me about this, and they use one or the other, as a way of explaining their results or their actions.

Introverts and extroverts both have traits that can serve them, and traits that can hinder them. There are pros and cons for each. You may identify as an extrovert or an introvert, or you may not identify as either.

Perhaps you identify as an ambivert, which is someone who has qualities of growth. All of us identify with each area in some ways. Sometimes we love hanging out with people because we’re human and we’re social creatures.

An ambivert is not someone who sometimes likes being with people and sometimes doesn’t. How ambiverts are typically described, is that they can slip into either depending on their mood, their context and their goals.

Ambiverts have also been called outgoing introverts. I naturally identify as an introvert because I love spending lots of time by myself, compared to a lot of people.

A lot of people don’t realise that I’m an introvert. They assume because I’m a speaker and I’m constantly showing up on video and running events, that I’m an extrovert. I have high energy when I’m with a group, so people often assume that I’m an extrovert every day.

I’ve also heard it described sometimes as an anti-social extrovert.  Naturally, these people are extroverted,  but they need a lot of time to recharge, before and after socialising.

And then, they really need a lot of time by themselves to draw energy, but they still love connection and being social. It kind of comes down to the amount of time that you really want to be with other people and where you get your energy from.

Beliefs About Introverts And Extroverts

A lot of people tell me that they are introverts and therefore they struggle to put themselves out there on video or running webinars or doing Facebook Lives.

It was Carl Jung who advanced the theory on introverted and extroverted personality types. He defined introversion as inwardly directed psychic energy. We may assume that introverts are shyer and find it harder. We may assume that extroverts are more willing to put themselves out there and present themselves more boldly and confidently.

It used to be that extraversion was a strong predictor of who would become a leader. But this thought has been debunked somewhat.

In my experience, all personality types struggle if they don’t have the right thinking, regardless of whether they identify as an introvert or extrovert.

According to an article on Inc.com, psychologists had discovered that introverts do just as well in leadership roles. A lot of these stereotypes have been challenged in recent times. I’ve read a number of articles on introverts who are really successful leaders and entrepreneurs.

In the past, in Western society extraversion was really celebrated. The outgoing enthusiastic person often is thought to get more things done and may be known as a greater communicator. This is seen as an asset.

However, other articles show that the introvert / extrovert scale only represents about 20% of what they called the Big Five personality traits. And that is a lot more to a person than how much social stimulation they need.

And this is really what I’m wanting to drive through as a point here,  is that your success rate in business has very little to do with whether you identify as an introvert or extrovert.

In my experience, over the last 17 years in business, I’ve met a lot of successful extroverts and a lot of successful introverts.

What is it that is actually determining our rate of success then?

I have created a formula for success. I call it the TEAR Model.

T – Thoughts

E – Emotions

A – Actions

R – Results

The TEAR model explains that our thoughts lead to our emotions. Our emotions lead to our actions. And our actions lead to our results.

This is basic psychology. I didn’t make that up. I just gave it a label.

I just named a concept from everything that I’ve looked at in psychology from NLP to fixed mindsets and growth mindsets and cognitive behaviour therapy.

Our results are based on our actions, our actions are based on our feelings and all of it is coming from our thinking and the stories that we tell ourselves. These stories include how we think about ourselves.

Our self-image is made up of the stories that we tell ourselves. It’s made up of the beliefs, thoughts, and data or proof that we’ve collected over time. This all contributes to our story that we rehearse. But these stories are just thoughts.

So if we want to change our results, we need to look at what thoughts are driving those results. Most people are stuck at the results level, and asking themselves why they can’t get more results.

Everything that has been created has started with a thought.  For example, a bookshelf. Someone had the thought to build a bookshelf. They got a feeling from that thought, whether it was a feeling of motivation creation, innovation, whatever it was. They took action and they created a result, which is the finished bookshelf.

Our thoughts are habits and you can create new thought habits. Instead of saying, “I’m an introvert, so I find it hard.” Choose a more empowering thought.

There are so many successful introverts. If you look at the Top 10 richest people in the world, who are multi-billionaires, like Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett, and Bill Gates – about half the lists are introverts and the other half are extroverts.

These introverts are still putting themselves out there and not letting their introverted natures stop them from succeeding.  Richard Branson is an introvert that sits on a couch and is kind of shy. He looks a little bit awkward. I’ve seen him live. He may be an introvert, but he’s presenting all the time.

Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Wozniak the co-founder of Apple, and Barack Obama, are all people who identify as introverts, and these people still present. A lot of them present regularly, and they don’t let being an introvert stop them.

If you want to succeed in business, your rate of growth is measured by how willing you are to take the right action,  regardless of how you were born and what natural personality type you are.

Reverse Engineering the TEAR Model

When you look at the TEAR Model, and you say you want to get your business going fast, and you want to make money, help people and be creative. Perhaps you want to create an online course or a webinar or a coaching group program.

Grab a piece of paper and write down your page T.E.A.R. Start at the bottom with R.

R – Results

In the R line – put the result you want. Maybe the result is to make $10,000 a month or run a webinar, whatever your result is you are aiming for.

 A – Actions

Then in the A line, you need to write all the different actions you need to take, to get to the result. It could be you need to create a free downloadable recourse or create a landing page and funnel. There are so many different lead generation strategies, and you just need to pick them and go for it for the next 30 days.

E – Emotion

In the E line, you need to write what emotions you need to have to take those actions. So you don’t want to be depressed, anxious, fearful, or stressed. What you want is to be determined and motivated.

You want to have the feeling of energy, that you’re unstoppable. Think about the emotion that’s going to make you want to take those actions and just write all those emotions out.

The emotion could be feeling unstoppable, or feeling passionate or grateful. These are the emotions that will drive you to take action.

T – Thoughts

Finally, what thoughts do you need to think? Thoughts are a little bit sneaky, as it’s harder to catch thoughts. What thoughts do you need to be thinking to get those feelings, take those actions and get that result?

With the thoughts, often you need to write them out or you need to go through them with a coach.  Because for us to change,  we have to change the meaning we put on things.

If we’ve been looking at something the same way the whole time,  it’s really hard for us to see and have a different perspective on that thing. We often need someone else to give us a different perspective.

For example, if I hold up my phone. I’m looking at the Apple logo and you’re looking at the face of my screen. We’re both looking at the same object. But I’m looking at it from a completely different angle to you. I can only see this side of it, and you can only see the other side of it.

It’s the same with a result. We look at it one way. And there could be hundreds, if not thousands of ways to look at it. It’s very hard for us to try and do it in our mind.

We need to externalize it,  and get it down on paper and do some self-coaching on it. This will help us get a little bit further than keeping it in our head.  But ultimately, if you want to see a transformation, you need someone else’s perspective.

You need someone else to see things or draw things out of you, that were previously unconscious. About 90% of our thoughts we think every day are unconscious thoughts, and we are not even aware we are having those thoughts.

Your Thoughts Drive Your Results

It’s those unconscious thoughts that are driving our results. So, we can also sit down and think about the results we want, and what you might need to be thinking to get that.

One thought is: “Whatever it takes, I have everything I need to succeed.” How often are you repeating a thought like that in your mind, if you really want that desired result?

How often are you having these commands that are going to get you that result? “I absolutely can create 10k a month as a business owner, and I will keep going until I find a way.”

If we thought that empowering thought dozens and dozens and dozens of times every day, and we felt the emotion of it, eventually we would start taking the actions and start getting the results.

Most people are focusing on the problems and all the reasons why things won’t work. They are focusing on the things that are going to give them a completely different result.

Using The TEAR Model On Current Results

So let’s look at the other side of it, and look at what your current results are. On the other side of the paper to your TEAR,  write down your current situation. And this is where you can start reverse-engineering the thoughts that are driving your current results. It sounds simple but it is actually not.

It takes thinking and intention to really get to know what those subconscious thoughts are. To do this, look at your results. Let’s say you are only making $1,000 a month. That’s your current result.

Then ask yourself what actions you are taking that are leading you to the $1000 a month.  It could be that you are contacting five people a month. Or you are doing Facebook Live once every three weeks. You may be reaching out to your email list once a month. These are all the actions you are taking to cause your current result.

Then write what feelings are driving these actions. Are you feeling negative about yourself? What do you say to yourself?

Are you saying to yourself, “I don’t really think I know what I’m doing? I’m kind of a bit vague. I don’t really trust myself. I don’t have a specific niche, so I’m coming from a place of doubt. I don’t want to turn up on camera so I’m avoiding running a webinar.”

There are so much fear and negativity attached to these feelings and all of these thoughts are negative, so these are leading to your wishy-washy results. You’re not putting yourself out there and showing yourself boldly.

Footpath Activities Versus Fast Lane Activities

I give an analogy of footpath activities, steady lane activities, medium lane, and fast lane activities.

Negative, pessimistic thoughts zap your energy. There is a flatness that comes with resignation. Instead of working on what you need to work on, you watch Netflix and don’t do what I call ‘fast lane’ activities. Fast Lane activities are what get you in the fast lane and get results fast.

Fast lane activities are: directly contacting people, sales calls, and private messages.

Medium lane activities include: following up leads, creating a webinar, creating a client attraction funnel, creating consistent content.

Steady lane activities include sending a weekly or twice weekly email to your list and updating your Facebook group regularly or posting really valuable content.

Footpath activities include: mucking around on Canva and trying to make things look pretty. Creating things that you don’t really need to create. Consuming a whole heap of content that is not needed but it’s fun.

If you look at your results, and your actions, you will probably find that you’re not getting the results you want, like the 10k a month, then you’re probably doing a lot of these footpath activities.

Think about the feelings, the doubt, the fear, and what thoughts are causing this result? “I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t really know what I’m doing. Nothing works for me. Facebook’s too hard to figure out. I suck at technology.”

These thoughts are keeping you on the footpath and out of the fast lane. The TEAR Model is super easy, but it’s powerful to work out what you need to think, feel and take action on, to create the result you want. I encourage you to do this activity.

Do you need an external perspective on issues you are struggling with in your business? Are you finding it hard to unpack them and need to see your business blind spots?

Please get in touch with me. I give free strategy sessions for people who have not had one before with me.

You can book a strategy session with me here.

See you soon,

Kat

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