Business Increase Strategy: Make Space For Your Business Growth

Business Increase

In today’s episode on business increase strategies, we’re talking about making space for your business to grow.

Have you ever had a plant that was in a small container, that seemed to be just scraping by or even going downhill? But as soon as you moved this plant to a bigger pot, it started to thrive and bloom again?

This can happen in your business, too! Except that we’re not always aware of the different ways that we’re keeping our business in a small container.

Watch this week’s Off The Charts episode to see what I mean.

Business Increase: Increase The Size Of Your Business Container

List Building & Business Increase Sabotages

Here’s an example of one way that I was keeping my business small.

I’m constantly working on growing my email list, but for a period of a few months I realized that my email list was stagnant.

I’d get new subscribers, but I’d also get unsubscribes.

There was something else happening though. You see, I was about to reach the upper limit of my email management provider… and if my list grew any more, I’d be paying a few extra hundred dollars per month.

So I’d go into my email system, prune people who had opted out, clean out duplicate emails, and essentially pinch my way into that lower bracket of email subscribers.

Finally, I decided that I had pinched enough and it was just time to increase my limit and bite the bullet.

I shelled out the extra few hundred dollars a month to my email management company, and low and behold my email list started to grow like crazy.

I was adding thousands of subscribers to my list, and my unsubscribes became less frequent too. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

How Upgrading To a Bigger Container Helped My Business Grow

It was all about me upgrading to that bigger container, and allowing what was naturally going to happen to take place without any restraints on it.

Instead of focusing on how to keep my list under the limit, I was able to go out and schedule list building activities like webinars, guest posts, and so on – without holding back!

And by the way, with this slew of new subscribers, I’ve more than made up for the cost of the email service in new sales. I’m just kicking myself that I didn’t make this upgrade sooner!

I’ve also seen similar results from people joining mastermind groups or other “containers” that gave them the space to grow like nobody’s business!

In fact, this is the reason why I’m putting together the Daring Business Cultivator program. It’s the bigger container that you and your business have been waiting for, and it’s going to be like miracle grow.

Take a look at ways that you might be unconsciously doing to keep your business small and watch how easy a business increase can be once you increase your container. It’s time for your business to bloom, baby!

Got Examples of This Container Theory?

I’d love to read your stories, leave a comment below about your business increase strategies so we can all learn from each other’s lessons!

Who Is On Your Success Team? And What Is a Mastermind?

What Is a Mastermind?

Today I have a question to ask you about your Off The Charts Success Team… what the heck is that, you ask? It’s my version of a mastermind, but now you might be asking yourself what is a mastermind…

I’m glad you asked! The definition of a mastermind is: bringing together a group of like-minded individuals and meeting regularly to support one another’s progress toward similar intentions and goals.

I think that’s awesome, but as usual I like to put my own twist on things, and also take a look at where things come from.

The book “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill is responsible for popularizing the concept of the mastermind. The book describes the power of a mastermind as:

“The coordination of knowledge and effort of two or more people, who work toward a definite purpose, in the spirit of harmony.”

Now before we dive deeper into the different components of masterminds, and why they work so well… let’s see who is on your team right now.

What Is a Mastermind & Why Do You Need The 3 C’s On Your Success Team?

Click here to check out The Daring Business Cultivator.

A Skeptic’s Look At Masterminds and Teamwork

When I first heard this quote it sounded cliche: “It takes teamwork to make the dreamwork.”

But now that I’ve seen what can happen when you’re surrounded the right team of supporters, I believe it.

So what kind of team do you need exactly? I like to think of it as an Off The Charts success team, because this team will help you move forward in your life and business like nothing else.

In this team, I’m not referring to employees, though they are absolutely important, too.

I’m talking about the 3 “C”‘s that you need to have as part of your team or mastermind.

Your Success Team Needs Customers & Clients

When most people think of a mastermind, this typically does not include customers or clients… but to me, every mastermind has a mix of different business relationships and it includes client relationships too.

In order to have a successful business, you need customers and clients. That’s plain to see, and it’s usually the first place we look when something isn’t working in a business.

Do you have enough clients and customers raising your business?

If not, these next two “C”‘s on your team might be able to help with that.

Colleagues Are Often The Missing Piece

Your peers are those people in business who are at roughly your level of expertise and influence.

Your peers can be colleagues, they can be competition, they could be different people in different industries who just so happen to hang out in the same circles that you do.

Your colleagues are crucial because they can both inspire you, motivate you, and keep you accountable.

Your peers are like your best buddies swimming alongside you to get to the other side of the river. If either one of you were to get a cramp, the others would stop swimming and help you out immediately.

This is the missing piece for many start-up business owners: they’ve got some customers, and maybe a coach, but no one swimming alongside them.

An often overlooked bonus to having a mastermind group with your peers, is that they can also help promote you, and help you find more of your ideal customers and clients.

Without colleagues, you’re dead in the water.

What Is a Mastermind Without a Leading Coach or Consultant?

At first, I didn’t want to believe it to be true, but I’ve found that having a coach makes a huge difference as to how fast and far you go.

When I was an active student in Tae Kwon Do, my instructor saw things that were possible for me that I had no way of seeing for myself. She pushed me, guided me, and corrected me along the way.

Without her as a coach and mentor, I wouldn’t be the woman that I am today, and I probably wouldn’t have started a business of my own either.

The same has proven to be true in business too. My mentor Marie Forleo helped me to see beyond my immediate issues toward the bigger picture, and the steps needed to build my ideal business.

A coach in business is important even if you happen to be really smart and good at business yourself.

If you’re a hair dresser, you can’t give yourself a good haircut.

Combine All Three “C”‘s and You’ve Got a Mastermind…

The one thing that brings all three of these “Off The Charts Team” elements into one place is a mastermind group led by a coach.

There’s something powerful about being connected to other business owners who are up to big things, and having a leader who can see things that you can’t see for yourself.

Each colleague of yours in a mastermind group will be able to contribute their own resources, distinct perspectives, and original insights to your company and your issues.

You’ll also often find ideal clients and customers within a mastermind group, not to mention tons of potential collaborative partners.

So the next time you feel alone while you’re building your business, take a look at which “C” you are lacking.

I’m currently accepting applications for my mastermind program: The Daring Business Cultivator. It encompasses all three, check it out.

How To Get More Done In a Day

How To Get More Done In a Day

This week-end was the inaugural Off The Charts Live conference, and I’m still floating from pulling off my first big live event!

As promised, the women (and men!) who attended the event were Off The Charts: smart, supportive, and up to great things in the world.

I’m still floored that we were able to put this event together in just 3 months while keeping the Nathalie Lussier Media ship running, so today’s topic is definitely something I can speak on.

How To Get More Done In a Day Without Overwhelm

My 7 Tips For How To Get More Done In a Day

I’m going to share with you the simple steps that I take to get more stuff done without feeling overwhelmed.

1. Write down your 3 most important things for the day. Bonus points if you’re using a beautiful Whitney English strategic day planner. Whitney sent some of these beauties to us for our sponsored gifts at Off The Charts, and I loved them so much I ordered one for myself.

How to get more done in a day

2. Do one of those things at a time and reduce distractions. Multi-tasking is not all it’s cracked up to be, it just slows you down. If you need a break, don’t surf social media – instead take a walk, a nap, or stretch.

3. Break big projects down into do-able bite sized chunks. There’s nothing like looking at a huge mountain you need to climb to make you want to turn around… instead, focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

4. Close the loops: if there’s something on your mind, write it down and get back to it later, or if it’s quick handle it now. If you get a new idea for a blog post, write it down in your Life Is Messy planner. Did I mention that the lovely Mayi Carles sent some goodies to give away at our event too? Incredibly useful, adorable, and so smart!

how-to-get-more-done-planner

5. Consider your bandwidth – you can get a lot more done if you’re doing less.

This may seem counter-intuitive at first, but focusing on one project at a time will absolutely help you get more done in a day. Having too many projects going on at once can reduce your capacity to get work done.

Think of a highway: it’s fine when there are just a few cars, but once you had a bunch of cars, things really slow down.

It’s the same for projects and todo items, even if you’re not working on them concurrently you’re still thinking about them.

That’s why I love my big wall calendars, because I can dedicate months out of my year to certain projects and keep others open.

6. Leave breadcrumbs for yourself. Sometimes you need to do research to figure out how to do something, or you end up getting sidetracked on a project.

Write down what you were originally going to do before you dive into these sub-tasks. These breadcrumbs will guide you back to your original purpose, without making you feel disoriented and confused. You can then get back into the groove that much faster, and get it crossed off your to-do list!

7. Take time away from it all to decompress and rest. A little R&R goes a long way toward helping you achieve your goals and stay productive.

I recently read an article about the so-called benefits of being a workaholic… but I have to say that I wouldn’t be proud of working 70+ hours per week, because that pace is not sustainable or healthy. Stick to a more balanced approach to work, and you’ll feel much better and have more energy to contribute to your business, too.

When you ask yourself how to get more done in a day… what’s your best strategy?

I’d love to hear about your experience with getting more done without getting overwhelmed. Leave a comment below, I love hearing from you!

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