Lately, I’ve been getting many questions from my community about sharing an updated home office tour. Although I do have this video on my “to film” list, to be completely transparent, the reason I have NOT filmed that video yet is because I’m not happy with my set up right now. Since my move last summer, I’ve been managing in my new larger home office with the furniture I had previously used, but I really want to upgrade a few things to make up for the increase in space. The image above is essentially my office- or at least half of it. The other half is pretty much empty except for a vintage storage unit that I refinished a few weeks back.
Remember, my home office went from about 70 square feet to 200 square feet, and the orientation of the room has also changed, but for now I am making due with what I have. I know I need a larger desk, for example because my current desk, while very pretty, is just too small for the room and for my needs. I have my feelers out for a larger, more antique or vintage style piece that would be more of a focal point in the room. I would love to buy something second hand and refinish it as I did the hutch unit, but, as with vintage pieces, nothing happens overnight.
Now, I do still get quite a few questions about my existing furniture, so I am going to link down below my last home office tour. Pretty much everything I use is the same from this last video so if you are looking for my desk or my credenza- this video will show you a closer look and give you some details where you can find them!
I hope that this helps those of you looking for answers, for now! I do intend to one day film a full office tour, but not until I feel pleased with the room, which I am sure you can all understand!
Welcome to Empire Building, a Modern Approach to Building a Successful Online Business, created by me, Alexis Giostra. Empire Building is a self-paced online business course that teaches my 5 Pillar Method for Building a Business Online using tried and true methods and principles that I have learned as I have built my own media business over the past 8 years. Whether you are looking to start a Blog or YouTube channel to earn an extra income, or want to start your own Online Shop that gives you the flexibility of working from home, Empire Building is your guide to setting up and maintaining a successful business online!
At the Core of Empire Building is a lesson plan of 6 Video Lecture Modules that include guided workbooks with numerous activities and worksheets to help you apply the lessons of the course to your business. The first five modules of the program cover each of the 5 Key Pillars to Online Business Success, and the sixth module, Business Administration, will cover key topics aspiring business owners and entrepreneurs should know in order to manage their business successfully.
The 5 Pillars of Empire Building
The Empire Building Model is a structured blueprint for building and marketing your online business from the ground up. The model begins with Branding, the foundation of a good business and is crowned with Income, diversifying monetization so you can earn more while working less.
Within each module is a wealth of information, tips, tricks and a series of worksheets designed to help you make the most of the content while creating the foundation of your own business. These worksheets aren’t just learning activities, but powerful tools that will help you build your business as you work through them.
Bonus Upgrades
Empire Building now includes 4 NEW Upgrade Blueprints to cover some specific topics in depth outside of the individual Blueprints, as well as a few Video Master Classes on dedicated topics.
The 4 Upgrade Blueprints Include:
Writing Your Business Plan
Creating Click-Worthy Headlines & Content
Pricing Strategies
Email List Building
Bonus Master Classes:
Blogging Master Class
New Year Business Planning Session
Planning for a Successful Holiday Promotion
New Content & Updates
Because the climate for online business and digital marketing is always changing, as a member of Empire Building you will automatically receive all future content and updates to the program. Although I have some amazing bonus content already created, I am always planning more and new content and resources are added to the course multiple times a year!
Mentorship & Business Consulting
But great content, bonus’ and continuous updates are just the beginning! Empire Building is also meant as a mentorship opportunity where you can get my help and advice while you are creating your own business, piece by piece!
Private Facebook Group
As a member of Empire Building you will be given access to a dedicated member’s only Facebook community where you can interact and network with the other students within the course. Empire Building boasts a roster of many excellent online business owners and entrepreneurs with a variety of business’ and experience. Here is a sampling of the types of business you can network with inside the Facebook group:
BUSINESS SERVICES: Business Coaches, VA’s, Editors
HEALTH & WELLNESS: Wellness Coaches, Nutritionists, Trainers, NPO, Women’s Wellness
ARTS/CRAFTS: Writers, Novelists, Hand Crafters, Musicians, Actors, Fine Artists, Makeup Artists, Photographers
AND MORE!
Mentorship with Alexis
An additional bonus of Empire Building is that you have access to Alexis as your personal business mentor. This means that any questions or concerns you have about your situation can be brought directly to her and she will work with you to ensure you are getting the answers, support and resources you need. Empire Building is truly a unique program, because as a member you are given direct one-on-one access to the creator and Alexis will give you her best advice to help you advance in your situation!
Optional Consulting Path
Empire Building also includes an optional consulting path where you can upgrade to receive one-on-one calls with Alexis to help you apply the lessons in the course to your business and get you moving forward with a personalized plan for your year. You can choose to purchase this path of the program outright OR you can start with the basic Blueprint Path that gives you access to everything mentioned previously, and then upgrade to consulting by simply paying the difference between your initial investment in the program and the current price of the consulting option.
The consulting option is called Architect Path and it includes:
EVERYTHING ALREADY OUTLINED ABOVE
ONE (1) 60-MINUTE QUICKSTART CALL OR SKYPE SESSION WITH ALEXIS TO HELP YOU IDENTIFY THE IMMEDIATE STEPS TO TAKE TO BUILD YOUR BUSINESS AND BRAND
ONE (1) 90-MINUTE BUSINESS PLANNING SESSION WHERE ALEXIS WILL HELP YOU MAP OUT PLANS FOR PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT, CONTENT AND BUSINESS PROJECTS FOR THE NEXT YEAR
Deciding Your Path
To recap, let’s cover the options you have to join Empire Building and work with Alexis to build your online brand and business moving forward!
Blueprint Path
Blueprint Path is a full membership level of Empire Building that includes the following:
Full Membership into the Empire Building Course Website
6 Video Modules and coordinating Blueprint Workbooks and additional resources
4 Bonus Upgrade Blueprints & 3 Bonus Video Master Classes
Access to the Private Facebook Community
Unlimited Q&A Mentorship with Alexis
All future updates and upgrades to the program
Architect Path
Architect Path is a full membership level of Empire Building that includes the following:
EVERYTHING listed above in Blueprint Path
One (1) 60-Minute Quickstart Consulting Call with Alexis
One (1) 90-Minute Business Planning Call with Alexis
So, are you ready to get started building your own online business with me? Great! I’m so excited for the chance to work with you, but you will need to act fast to secure your spot in my consulting path. I only open limited for the Architect Level Path at a time, so if you want in on serious one-to-one consulting with me, you need to act fast!
The internet is a wonderful, terrible place! Filled with information, content, opinions, many of us turn to the web to find answers, solve problems and get information, but I think it’s resulted in a gradual and general lessening of our own critical thinking skills. In this day and age, with so much information, content and advertising being thrown at us from every angle, I think it’s more important than ever that we be able to discern what information is real and what information actually matters to us and our lives. That last part is interesting, isn’t it? You’d think that we know what information pertains to us that we need to pay attention to, but actually, I find that many people spend and waste time on information that is of no essential use to them and ultimately allows it to detract from key information they may critically need. From a productivity standpoint, I find that talking and working with my students on overcoming issues of prioritization and task management ultimately leads to the solution of needing better critical thinking skills to better filter out relevant work from busy-work. The distinction between which makes the difference between a successful worker and an overwhelmed one! So let’s discuss critical thinking skills now and uncover some ways to improve them.
What are Critical Thinking Skills?
In order to improve on your critical thinking skills, I think it’s first important that you understand what critical thinking skills actually are! Critical thinking is defined as “the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.” (Via CriticalThinking.org) Essentially, critical thinking skills are the ability to process information accurately so that you can then act on that information correctly.
Why are Critical Thinking Skills Important?
I’ve already given you some food for thought in the introduction of this post as to why critical thinking skills might be important to you, however, there are many more key applications and reasons why you would want to pay attention to how developed your critical thinking skills are and even make an effort towards improving them. On a very basic level, everyone has some critical thinking skills, as all of us think and use the information that we receive to do everything from basic mundane tasks to complicated projects and problem solving. All of us are wired within our brains to use the information around us in order to keep ourselves alive- this is basic human instinct, and because of this our default state is to use information selfishly to our own gain. Ever talk to someone who could take anything you said and find a reasoning why they are right and you are wrong? That’s the self preservation bias of our brains at work manipulating reasoning to make an argument that supports our own personal world view. The problem is, with something like 7 billion people on the planet, most people have completely unique world views and experiences. Yes, there may be areas of overlap, but no two people have the same life so no two people have the same world view. Which means that when we have to interact with others, which is quite often, in order to manage our lives to the best of our ability and move ourselves forward, we need to have more advanced critical thinking skills so we can solve problems.
How can We Improve Our Critical Thinking Skills?
As I mentioned earlier in the definition of critical thinking, these skills are a discipline, which means that you can develop them or you can loose them if you don’t actively use them. Think of your critical thinking skills like a muscle, the more you use it, the stronger it gets, but the more you ignore it, the weaker it gets. So, if you want to grow your skills, you will need to take a disciplined approach to exercising them. So here are three strategies I recommend making a regular part of your day if you want to see an improvement in your critical thinking skills.
#1. Question Everything
Most of us receive information and we just accept it. No questions asked, someone online states a fact and we believe them! Doesn’t matter if it is right or wrong, we blindly accept what we are being told. Now, I blame part of this on our educational upbringings that have conditioned us to accept the ideas and information of those in a position of power (even if that position is purely imagined) and society generally rewards people for not asking questions and just accepting things at face value. Accepting what we are told is easy- that’s for sure, but putting your brain on autopilot will not improve your critical thinking skills. So, when you are given information, any information, get into the habit of questioning it. Ask yourself “why” something is happening or whether or not something is true or false. Evaluate the information and think about it before just passively accepting it. Now, this does NOT mean you need to voice your questioning to others publicly. If your boss gives you an assignment, you don’t need to ask them “why” they are assigning it or what the purpose is if you don’t already know, but on your own time, think about why and question what you are being asked to do. It is only once you have formed a clear opinion or come to a reasonable conclusion that some task might be unnecessary or that certain information you received may be erroneous that you can bring it to the attention of others. Critical thinking is not about speaking before you know, its about thinking before you act.
#2. Face Problems Head On
It seems quite clear that the default mode for human behavior is to avoid problems and conflicts. This isn’t true of everyone, those who enjoy drama and manipulation due to an overactive need for self preservation love to exploit conflict, but most people avoid it if they can. People even go as far out of their way as possible NOT to solve a problem, mostly because they are afraid they won’t be able to solve it, which would conflict with our sense of self preservation that often tells us not to do something we can’t do in case it makes us look bad. No wonder the world has a disproportionate problem to problem solver ratio! Well, if you want to develop your own critical thinking skills, you need to break the cycle and face problems head on. Don’t avoid them, address them as soon as you are made aware of them, and begin using your reasoning to question and understand the situation and ways you can solve it. You will not be able to solve 100% of the problems that you face, but you will fail to solve 100% of those you choose to ignore.
#3. Understand and Overcome Your Perspective
As mentioned earlier, each of us has a world view or perspective that is unique to our personal experience in life, the preservation of which is a primary function of our egos. We’ve all heard anecdotes about how letting our egos get in the way can stop us from solving problems and making progress, and it really is true, when we rely too heavily on our own perspective and fail to understand the perspectives of others, conflict ultimately arrises. Now, I’m not suggesting that you make it your mission to understand the perspectives of everyone else in the world- that’s an impossible task and one that really won’t help you improve your critical thinking skills in the near future. Instead, what you can do is to seek to understand your own world view, personal biases and perspective so that you can consciously overcome your ego during moments of potential conflict. So, how do we seek to understand our world view? Again, ask yourself some questions, especially around your values and beliefs. If you struggle to identify what your values and beliefs are, you need only to turn on some 24 hour news coverage to hear the stories of the day and pay attention to your opinions on issues. Many people find that when it comes to their personal values or beliefs they “tow a line” for some prescribed ideology or another, without truly understanding or even caring about the issues at hand. Again, the default for human beings is not to question, to avoid problems and to protect ourselves in a conflict, but when you force your attention on your values and seek to understand why you are partial to one thing over another, you may find that long held beliefs seem irrational to you or things you thought were important to you really don’t matter much. Understanding your world view isn’t something you will be able to achieve overnight, and like the previous two strategies, it requires a discipline to execute in order to improve your critical thinking skills overall.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this post and the concept of improving your critical thinking skills. I’d love to know what you thought of this topic and any specific areas you may be interested in having me explore in a future post to round out this conversation and provide additional detail or insight. Leave me a comment or question below!
My Entrepreneur Spring Break Playlist {March 2017 Productivity Playlist}
I don’t think I mentioned this, but yesterday was my birthday (yay for me!) and I’ve decided that I am taking the rest of March as my own personal business Spring Break! I always remember in college that my spring break fell around my birthday which was awesome, but ever since then, I’ve failed to really take time off to rest and relax during this pivotal time of year for myself. Well, now that the launch of Empire Building is done, I’ve cleared my schedule and plan to spend a dedicated amount of time focusing on myself and my personal interests. I’m not going to pull back 100% from my business, but I do want to devote most of the hours of the day to doing my own thing. I’m not entirely sure how my days will be spent, but I can say that I really want to focus on meditation, physical activity and reading. I also have some personal home projects I want to accomplish, like organizing and decluttering some spaces that have been neglected. I’m thinking a life purge is in order and I’m looking forward to doing some spring cleaning and letting go of the old to make room for the new!
Of course, I’ll need some great tunes to listen to while I work on these projects, so today I’m sharing my Entrepreneur Spring Break Playlist with some of the songs I’ve been loving lately that seem to always empower me to get up and moving!
I hope you have a wonderful week and enjoy this playlist! Even though you may not be able to take a Spring Break, I’d love to know how you’d spend some extra personal time and maybe even how you can incorporate some simple activities into your days this week to take advantage of the Spring Break energy in the air! Let me know in the comments!
In case you missed it, yesterday I posted my latest Work Week Vlog to my YouTube Channel! This vlog is another week in my life episode that shows you the behind the scenes of my life and business from Monday to Friday. In this episode, I am focused on the successful completion of my launch for the upgrade of Empire Building, I unbox and haul a few different fashion and beauty related purchases, share the birthday presents I’ve purchased myself and meal prep!
As you may already know, I work for myself full time as an online entrepreneur. I create and sell digital productivity tools, including digital courses, info products, printable productivity inserts, and ebooks. The best part about my business, to me, is that my income is mostly passive- meaning, when I make sales, I don’t necessarily need to do anything in order to process orders. I have intentionally built my shop as a self-serve area where orders are automatically processed and customers have immediate access to their purchases. Of course, this type of business means I have a very flexible schedule, however, I do tend to keep pretty regular business hours, as I do usually have a steady stream of work associated with the content creation and digital marketing I do to keep my business growing.
These vlogs are my attempt to share a deeper look into my business and the way I live so that any aspiring entrepreneurs or business owners can see how I spend my time, how I plan out my work, and how productive I really am! Of course, I do like to share fun lifestyle goodies as well. As they say “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!”
3 Life Saving Productivity Tips You Can Learn from SCRUM
As some of you may already know, I recently read the book SCRUM: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time by Jeff Sutherland and JJ Sutherland! Now, this is a productivity book that has been suggested to me many many times, and I’m glad I was finally able to fit it in because it really is quite a gem of a book. In my mind, SCRUM picks up where my perennial favorite Getting Things Done by David Allen leaves off. Where GTD is all about organizing tasks and being efficient, SCRUM focuses on teamwork and project management. Now, while not everyone works as part of a team (myself included) their are a few strategies found in SCRUM that I think should be used by EVERYONE who is trying to move projects and goals forward- no matter what type of work you do. Let’s review:
Concept #1: Inspect & Adapt
In scrum, the concept of Inspect & Adapt is used almost like a mantra for checking your work. In the book, the author describes previous methods of project management used within the technology sector that essentially ignored the concept and led to project management disaster. When you check your work as you go, insuring that what you are working on it is functioning and still part of the goals of your project plan, you know you are moving forward and have little to tweak or go back to once you reach the end of the project. No matter what work you do, this concept applies because we should always make sure that what we are working on is actually functional and still necessary so we don’t waste our time on tasks that don’t matter or don’t work! Every time you complete a task, make sure the next item on your list is still relevant as well and you will avoid doing more work than necessary.
Concept #2: 80/20 Rule
The 80/20 rule is a concept that I’ve relied on for a long time and it’s an essential rule for various businesses and situations. The 80/20 rule means that 20% of your effort will end up producing 80% of your real results. It’s interesting to think about, isn’t it and almost unbelievable but true! When I worked in sales and marketing we learned that 20% of our products drove 80% of our sales, and 20% of our customers did 80% of our total business. So it makes sense that most of what we do to achieve a project or goal really doesn’t have a heavy weight on the outcome. Instead, it’s the essential 20% of tasks that really achieve our ends for us. Now, this is something that fascinates me personally because I am always striving to understand what exactly the 20% is in my business so I can cut out the excess fat of the other 80% of my work that is really either a waste of time OR just minimally moving the needle. In order to evaluate this for yourself, when you start off with a project plan, I suggest identifying the key tasks that need to be completed in order for your project to come to a minimal form of completion that fulfills the basic goals of your project. Then make a weighted list of other tasks that would be nice to complete if you have time once the minimal work is complete. That way you focus your time and energy on the essential parts of your project and set aside tasks that you would like to do if time permits!
Concept #3: Impediment Removal
The final concept of SCRUM that I think is essential for anyone to use in their own work is impediment removal. Meaning that as soon as you see or experience a roadblock to your work, an issue, a setback, that you deal with it as soon as possible. In the SCRUM framework, the manager has the responsibility to remove this impediments, so if you do work for someone else, make them aware of issues immediately. But, if you work for yourself, you are going to have to get your hands dirty and deal with the problem. That doesn’t always mean that you will have a perfect solution for it- I think it’s reasonable to evaluate your situation and decide to sidestep the issue completely if it doesn’t have any bearing on your project (sometimes issues come to us as distractions, not actual problems), but taking action immediately means you can move quickly through your tasks without having this issue hanging over your head or having to make accommodations for it.
I hope you found these tips insightful for your productivity! If you haven’t read SCRUM yet, I would recommend checking it out, here is a link where you can get it online and if you want to get it as a free book on tape from Audible,here is that special link I used to get 2 FREE audio books instead of their normal offer of one! Let me know what you thought of the book and these tips down in the comments.
Tonight at midnight eastern, my sale on the new and improved Empire Building eCourse comes to a close. So, I thought it might be helpful for any of you still on the fence about joining the program, if I did a little Q&A covering some of the most frequently asked questions I receive about the program.
Q: How long do I have access to EMPIRE BUILDING?
A: You have lifetime access to the program. This means that for as long as the course is available you can access it and you will get course updates, like the major upgrade I just completed, as well as the forthcoming additional master classes and educational webinars I have planned for 2017 and beyond!
Q: Can I buy now and get in on the sale price but then start when I’m ready?
A: Yes! Empire Building is intended to be completed at your own pace. You get all the information and materials upfront and can follow along with the courses as structured or you can jump around to the workbooks and modules that you need the most.
Q: If I have a question about the course materials or applying different aspects of it to my business, who do I go to for support?
A: Me, of course! As a member of Empire Building you get direct support from me via email and inside the community on Facebook. Remember, part of Empire Building is that I am your personal mentor here to guide you, answer your questions and provide additional resources as needed- so you aren’t alone on this journey.
Q: What types of businesses are already inside the program?
A: I am very pleased and honored to work with a variety of different businesses within my program and have students from a variety of online business fields and backgrounds. Students and businesses inside the online community include:
Business Services (Coaches, VA’s, Editors); Health & Wellness (Health Coaches, Nutritionists, Trainers, NPO, Women’s Wellness);
Finance (Accounting, Investment, Bookkeeping); IT/Web (Designers, Bloggers, YouTubers, Social Media Pros); Spiritual (Reiki, Tarot, Astrology, Ministry); Arts/Crafts (Writers/Novelists, Hand Crafters, Musicians, Actors, Fine Artists, Makeup Artists, Photographers)
And more!
Q: Do I need an existing business or idea to get started?
A: You don’t need an existing business BUT, I do think you’d get more out of the program if you have an idea of what you’d like to do getting started. Going through the program will certainly present you with different business opportunities online and different ways to make money. I do encourage you to consider different options to add to an existing business or idea in order to maximize your revenue online but I always think having your own idea first is best. I’ve had many students join Empire Building with an initial idea and then working through the course they figured out what they really wanted to do and were able to become successful at it in a short period of time. I’ve also had students come in with a general idea of want to start a blog or youtube channel and then come up with a complete business plan to execute with multiple streams of income. It’s all up to you and how diligently you work to apply the lessons of the program to your situation.
Q: Will this course teach me how to set up my website and/or online shop?
A: Yes, within the course I provide resources including step by step video tutorials for how to set up your website, blog or online shop.
Q: I need a community where I can get feedback, is that available?
A: Yes! That is included in Empire Building. You will get access to the private Facebook community for Empire Building where you can connect with my other students as well as me for additional support and feedback. But, the community is not available separately.
Q: My business (or idea) includes lots of different income sources and elements, will I have to streamline down or apply your program to each of those individual elements?
A: No, you do not have to cut out elements of your business unless you choose to do that on your own, but you may find that you’d like to apply the program to certain elements separately. I am a firm believer that a multifaceted business is the best type of online business because you are maximizing revenue with different streams of income, and within my program I teach that as long as the different streams fall under the same overall brand, there is no need to treat them like separate entities. However, sometimes the streams do fall under distinct brands and it’s best to keep them separate so they are more effective. If you have questions, this is definitely something I can help you address.
Q: Do I have to sell my own products or services to make money online with your program?
A: Nope! I’m going to teach you how you can make money without having to start a product line or building services. I know it sounds a little too good to be true but it’s not!
Q: Does the program apply if I’m planing to create a YouTube channel to make money?
A: Yes! It applies to starting a YouTube channel to earn money, a blog, or any social media platform really!
Q: Do you offer a payment plan?
A: Yes! I Do! However, it is ONLY available during this sale period, so click here to access the first installment of the 3 Payment Plan before the offer expires at midnight tonight! Payment plan is 3 payments of $100, each paid once per month over a 3 month period and your content is dripped to you within the course website.
Q: What is your refund policy?
A: Due to the digital nature of my programs and course materials, I do not offer refunds. So, it’s important to read through my program descriptions and ask me any questions you have before you purchase. I am committed to ensuring complete satisfaction from my students and if you do experience any unforeseen issues with the program, let me know immediately and I will address it with you quickly and find a solution we are both happy with!
I hope this Q&A has been helpful to you if you are still on the fence about joining Empire Building! Remember, the sale ends tonight at midnight eastern, so let me know if you have questions- you can email me here!
Mastering Project Management | 3 Tools & Tips to take an Idea from Concept to Completion
Yesterday on my YouTube Channel I shared a fresh installment of my 3’s a Charm series that I think you are going to love! In case you don’t recall, 3’s a Charm is my new series where I will take a specific productivity concept or situation and provide three different tools, tips or resources to help you work smarter, not harder! In this installment, I am talking about Mastering Project Management and sharing three tools and tips on how to complete your projects, even big time consuming ones. Definitely check the video out when you have a moment and let me know what you think!
I hope you enjoy this video and I’d love for you to share your personal insight into some tools, tips and resources you use for project management in the comments below! Of course, if you have any questions or need additional insight, leave me a question and I’ll see how I can help!
How to Complete Personal Tasks and Goals if You Struggle with Competing Priorities
This week on my YouTube Channel, I started a new Q&A series to address the productivity issues experienced by my community. This is not a traditional Q&A series where I might take questions from a variety of individuals and answer them in one video, instead I’m taking one reader submitted email and breaking down their situation and how I would approach fixing the problem via a video response.
Dear Alexis,
I am struggling with finding time to do PERSONAL tasks during the week. I work from home as part of a team, I have goals and productivity standards to meet, and also a baby! So, I tend to accumulate personal tasks to do for myself on the weekend, but most of the time I end up accomplishing only a few of them. I would also like to blog more during the week, and not only on the weekend when I just want to switch off and spend time with my family. I noticed that in the past months I focused my attention on being productive at work, but I have to be productive with myself too. An example of my focus on work only: I call the baby sitter only to dedicate myself to work. Not for doing something personal. I feel like I am wasting money and time when I do not use for work the hours when the baby is not with me. This is not good, not only for self care but also for being productive at work as well.
Thank you so much for your work and help.
Cle
The Issues at Hand
Lack of Prioritization
Lack of Focus
Too Many Tasks
Now if this situation ressonates with you and you find yourself constantly pushing off personal tasks because of competing priorities, definitely check out my response in the Q&A video!
I would also highly suggest checking out my Planning for Success Master Class. The video master class is info packed and walks you through my process for setting priorities, goal setting, managing tasks and creating routines to support your time management. It also includes many other productivity tools and strategies to ensure your life is running smoothly and successfully. If you’re interested in the class, I’ll go ahead and leave a link down below in the description box for where you can find it on the charmed shop.com.
Thanks so much to Cle for submitting this great question to me as part of the video Q&A! If you have a productivity related question or issue that you’d like me to answer in a future Q&A video, feel free to email me and it may be featured in an upcoming video!
If you recall from reading last month’s installment of my entrepreneurial series, you know that I got something of a slow start to the year. Thankfully, however, February was a much more productive month for me in many ways. I would say possibly transformative, but it’s honestly too soon to say. What I can say for sure, however, is that I spent much of February laying a solid foundation for the future of my life and business. I was recently talking to a member of my community about Empire Building and entrepreneurship and how I really believe that what makes an entrepreneur successful is their devotion to the idea that they need to live their life in a particular way so their routines and days set them up for success. In many ways, I feel like I took a step up on my execution of this idea and it certainly had positive affects on my success this month. So let’s get into what I did this month to make it all happen.
What I Didn’t Do
1. Overwork: Perhaps it was a left over from January, but I made sure I didn’t overwork myself this month. Did I get everything done? Of course! But I didn’t push myself to work just for works sake, and I made a lot of time for myself, rest and self care.
2. Switch my focus between multiple priorities: I had a pretty single focus this month, which was the upgrade launch of Empire Building. Nearly everything I worked on in February was related to the launch or supported it. I really liked this approach because I feel like everything I did was moving that project forward and I was able to dive deeper into the topics of my launch because I had spent so much time thinking about it and working on it without switching to a different priority or focus.
3. Pressure myself to execute new habits: I know building my magnificent seven habits was a goal for myself this year, but I didn’t worry about those too much this month. Some items, like self care, where done daily, but others like journaling were pushed to the side. I’m okay with this because I know that had I forced myself to check a box
What I Did do
1. Hosted a webinar: It’s been a few months since my last webinar and I have to admit, I was a little nervous about how it would all turn out. Luckily, everything ran smoothly the day of the event and because I was keeping a single focus on the launch this month, I was able to spend a good amount of time creating key marketing materials around the replay!
2. Launched an upgrade: Like I already mentioned, my Empire Building Upgrade Launch was my primary focus this month. This was the biggest upgrade to Empire Building so far and transformed the program from a workbook based course to a video module based course. With the addition of a new 6th module on Business Administration, I know Empire Building is now an even stronger and info packed program!
3. Talked one to one with my community and customers: Again, having that single focus this month gave me a lot of time to get creative with marketing and promotion. One of the things I was happy I had a chance to do this month was actually schedule some one-on-one chats with potential Empire Building students in order to help them decide if the program was right for them. It’s very important to me that I get the right people into the course
What I Learned
1. Single focus is a magical state: Because I was able to keep a single focus on an important project this month, I was really able to find success with my new launch and lay the ground work for long term business success through different marketing collateral and assets I built up. Purposely making sure you have less items or priorities on your plate so you can spend dedicated time on a key priority really makes a difference in quality of output!
2. To keep it simple: In order to ensure I had the time to dedicate to my single priority this month, I also made sure to keep everything else about my life and days as simple as possible. I meal planned all month, making bulk meals for lunch and dinner to make sure I had my food situation in order, and I kept my other obligations to a minimum.
3. A well laid plan is the key to success: As much as I am all about planning as a time management and success tool, I often get into ruts or states of mind where I don’t believe the plan will work. It’s like, because I can’t see the outcome, I begin to fear failure. This happened to me once again this month with the launch of my upgrade. I began to worry that things weren’t going to work out, but instead of panicking and changing the plan mid-stream, I told myself that I had to stick it out and if I failed, I failed and it would be a lesson. Of course, I was proven wrong in the end. The plan did pan out, and by sticking to it, even in those tough moments, I was able to ensure I stayed on the path I had so intentionally laid out before my journey began.
Again, I hope you have found this post insightful and if anything in particular stood out to you, feel free to tell me about it in the comments. I’d so love to know how your month has progressed, so feel free to share some details as well!
