Have you ever wished you could attend the BEST business conferences around the world, and learn from some of the brightest leaders in Marketing, Productivity, Money Mindset, Financial Health, and Feminine Entrepreneurship?
Well, you’re in luck!
At the start of the month — just before jetting off to America — I was a Keynote Speaker at the ‘Heart-Centred Business Conference’ in Queensland, Australia.
There, I presented alongside some INCREDIBLE business coaches and entrepreneurs…
Tash Corbin (who hosted the conference), Denise Duffield Thomas, Jo Bendle, Zach Spuckler, Mike Michalowicz, Karen Gunton, Sylvia Chierchia and Patricia Lohan.
I gave my signature presentation on how to scale your business (and create impact + income) with courses and launches…
But I also picked up some powerful lessons from the other speakers while I was there, which I am going to share with you today!
Let’s dive right in.
Lesson 1: There are Four Stages of Business — And Community-Building is KEY at Each Stage
Tash Corbin kicked off the ‘Heart-Centred Business Conference’ with a deep dive into the importance of the FOUR growth stages in our business.
Those are, in order:
DIRECT SELLING
(In this first stage, the in-person client-attraction strategies work best — and this is EXACTLY what I teach in the UPswing Mastermind. The online pieces take time to build, which is why they are stage TWO — not ONE.)LIST GROWTH
LAUNCHES
SYSTEMATISING YOUR BIZ
My biggest takeaway here is to be sure that you’re not trying to skip a stage — each stage is necessary and foundational. So, understand which stage you are in, and keep laser-focused on what you need to be doing in THAT stage.
And it is essential that through all 4 stages in your business, you focus on community-building. Because without a community of clients and potential clients, you do not have a business, and it will not grow.
Lesson 2: Be Of SERVICE Above All Else
Another gem from Tash that will be very useful in terms of community-building was to be of SERVICE above all else.
There are 3 key things in business we focus on in business — being of service, being a brand, and having a mission.
The problem is, a lot of us get the order and balance of these 3 things mixed up! Often when we’re building a business, we focus so much on building a BRAND or sharing our mission, that we COMPLETELY forget about being of service.
Yes, you have all 3 in your business at all times, but you need to be of service first and foremost.
Tash also explained how we are moving away from the masculine way of doing business — to the new feminine way of business, and this extends to our marketing too.
The old, masculine “Know, Like, Trust and ADMIRE” model has shifted to a more feminine model of “Know, Like, Trust and CONNECT.”
There is a deeper sense of purpose at the heart of online business and marketing now which is, in my eyes: “Let’s truly connect and make a difference”.
Lesson 3: Know Your Financial Funnel — Because Business Is A Numbers Game!
Know your financial funnel, ladies, it is essential!
As Mike Michalowicz explained in his genius presentation — everything in business is a numbers game. So you need to get crystal clear on your “financial funnel”. (This is a similar process to the $5K Per Month Business Plan I teach in the UPswing Mastermind.)
So, if you want to make $XX per month in your business - you must map out your financial funnel to get you there.
>> How many clients do you need each month, at what price point?
>> What’s your conversion rate for your discovery sessions?
>> How many discovery sessions do you need to host to get that number of clients?
>> How many people do you need to be seen by to get that number of Discovery Sessions booked in?
And you need to get clarity around your numbers and goals for: Traffic, leads, conversions, clients, average sales value, and revenue.
Lesson 4: Protect Your Energy.
Patricia Lohan gave a beautiful presentation on ‘Energy Foundations’ that really struck a chord with me — and my main takeaway was that we really must value our energy (aka our diamond… our most precious stone) and become very aware of where and when we’re giving that away.
We need to ask ourselves, ‘Where am I allowing other people to take away my energy and zap or tarnish my diamond?”
People can be energy vampires without meaning to, so it is up to us to protect ourselves and set boundaries.
As your business grows, so will your responsibilities, your clients, and even your team members, and the demands on you will only increase — so you really do have to treat your energy as if it is the most precious asset, or else you WILL lose it.
Lesson 5: Get Honest About What’s Holding You Back — And Leave Your Comfort Zone For Bigger Results!
One of my big ‘aha’s from Zach Spuckler — who gave an epic presentation on using 5-Day Challenges in your business — was around the importance of putting challenges on your PUBLIC business page, not just to a small group.
I’ve heard this before, but something about hearing it THIS time made me see that I felt really resistant to putting my 5 Day Challenges on my public business page. My public business page, which friends and family can all see.
(And doing that is actually important for SO many reasons - including the fact that you can re-target with ads, and get a much wider reach for your content).
But I realised that there is a much larger level of vulnerability putting yourself ‘out there’ than there is ‘hiding’ in a small group… and THIS is what was holding me back.
Is there any space in your business where you hold back?
Sometimes you KNOW what to do… but you’re not doing it. So I would ask you — can you get really honest about what is really holding you back — and are you willing to leave your comfort zone for bigger results?
Lesson 6: People Don’t Want Education, They Want Results
One more powerful lesson from Zach Spuckler was that ‘People don’t want education, they want results!’
So you want to make challenges or free trainings that are EASY for them to finish — because we want to keep people engaged, and give them a sense of COMPLETION and satisfaction.
My takeaway? Make your FB Lives shorter; your challenges smaller and more simple, and only give workbooks when they’re really needed. Not just for the sake of it.
Lesson 7: If You Can’t Do A Survey — Just Check Out Amazon Reviews!
Want to know what your audience is struggling with or talking about, but can’t do a survey?
(So many clients in the UPswing Mastermind find themselves in this position.)
No problem! Try this instead — go to a similar category to what you coach on over at Amazon.com, and look for a 3-star review.
You will get some great insights into what people loved and what they hated (aka What they are struggling with), which is some of the most valuable information you can get about your ideal clients.
(Thank you for this useful research + content creation tip Zach!) ;-)
Lesson 8: Make It A Ritual To Review Your Goals Each Week.
I was SO excited to watch Jo Bendle’s presentation on productivity because she is a graduate of the UPswing Mastermind! #proud
I picked up two powerful business lessons from her presentation that I am going to share with you.
Firstly, there tend to be 4 key productivity frustrations:
PERFECTIONISM — Wanting something to be perfect so not getting it finished
PROCRASTINATION — Being very easily distracted
I’M NOT GOOD ENOUGH, I DON’T KNOW ENOUGH — Getting in your own way by doubting every step
BRIGHT SHINY OBJECT SYNDROME — You want to do everything now, and then you get overwhelmed!
Which one do you fall into?
Knowledge is power and recognising your productivity frustration is key to moving past it.
And secondly, Jo recommended doing a *CEO* day (or morning/afternoon/evening) each week and really making it PLEASURABLE. (I loved this).
Do it in a beautiful place — pour yourself a glass of wine, or buy your favourite green juice — and make it a ritual to review your goals every week, then schedule in 90-minute blocks of focused action for the following week towards them. (She calls these the “Mighty Ninety”!!)
As you can see, a theme throughout the conference was the importance of masculine structure in business, with this beautiful quote at one stage: “There’s no better self-care than structure”.
Lesson 9: You Cannot Grow Your Business Without Trust…and Training.
As your income grows, and your business grows, your trust in others needs to grow too. Because you can only grow your business if you grow a team with it.
Your first team member will probably be a VA, but the truth is but you can’t just hire a team member or take on a VA, and expect THEM to make your business great. You need to take the time to train someone, too…
(If you want my step-by-step system for working with a VA you can get that HERE.)
This is all about systematising your business for more ease as you grow.
Lesson 10: Rich Women Can Change The World.
Last but not least comes my lesson from Denise Duffield-Thomas, who taught the crowd that ‘Rich Women Can Change The World’ — and in ORDER to do so, it is our job to free ourselves of our money stories. No-one else can do this for us.
Some of these limiting beliefs and stories include: “It’s only money, honey… There are easier ways to make money… There is always more money… Who am I to make money… ”
We are not born with these money beliefs — we pick them up over the years — they develop over the course of our lives — and it’s up to us to keep ‘cleaning up’ our wealth consciousness and money mindset.
Because when we do so, we can step into a life of richness in every aspect — and not just for us, but for the change we can create in the world and in other’s lives as a result.
Love,
Amanda xx
PS. I’ve created a FREE playbook for you all about how to attract dream clients in your business. Click the button below to grab it now!
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