The biggest element missing in all the business hacks, marketing tips, methods, sales funnels and strategy plan is…
The Strategy for your own growth.
How do we keep the entrepreneur up to par to physically, mentally and emotionally manage and implement all these great ideas, systems and processes?
The truth is, We will never fully master our business until we learn to master ourselves.
There’s a reason all the top CEO’s, elite athletes, and performers attribute their success to much more than their innovation.
Use this as an action guide rather than an article.
Implement a new step each day.
In the end, keep the tools that create transformation for you.
You can also download this article as a workbook HERE
Always Be Learning
There’s always something to learn.
An expert is only called so by others.
The expert is just a person that never gave up the search to know more.
Take courses, hire a coach, find a mentor, read books.
Stay a student of life and never be above learning.
Invest In Yourself
“Wanna triple your income? Double your investment” ~ Darren Hardy.
Whether it’s an investment of time, money, or effort, nothing solidifies a commitment like an investment.
Action follows commitment and motivation follows action. Now you have momentum and you’re on the path to growth.
There are no shortcuts to success. If you recoil at spending $200 to get your business going, or spending 12 hours learning how to do something then you’re signing up to be part of the 97% that don’t make it.
Decide what you’re willing to put into the process in bringing success to your life.
Create a Vision
Map out the bigger picture before you get bogged down with which shade of purple is best for your logo.
Having a crystal clear vision of the goal keeps us on track and allows us to put on blinders to the less essential.
You know, the things that don’t contribute to the bottom line.
Know where you’re headed first, the path will follow.
Make a Subconscious Request
“Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious”~Thomas Edison.
The subconscious mind doesn’t rest. It continually works even at sleep.
Making request to the subconscious mind is done by affirming the things you want to figure out, achieve or have. Your goal is to direct your subconscious to create the outcomes you seek.
Ask yourself some specific questions before going to sleep and let your mind get to work on them while you rest. Tell your brain what you’re looking for.
Then, when you wake up, drop that cell phone and grab that journal and see what your mind has to say.
You don’t have to believe me, ask Mr. Edison, Mr. Hill, & Josh Waitzkin if it works.
Be Authentic
Want to grow your business? Be authentically you!
People buy from people they Know, Like and Trust.
Your job isn’t to be liked by everyone. It’s to gather your tribe.
No Marketing hack or guru method will substitute for staying true to who you are, what you do and who you serve.
Be real. Share your mistakes, wins, shortcomings and strengths.
My dear friend and professional photographer, Joel Austell, said something absolutely ridiculous during this shoot and I couldn’t hold back this laugh. That’s me. My real smile, my real moment. Be genuine and trustworthy and you will rise above in life and elevate your business in the meantime.
Follow Your Own Way
When they zig, you zag.
Want to see your business grow?
Do YOU! When we keep comparing ourselves to others we also get stunted in learning ways to build, grow and develop our business.
Instead of searching the latest tips, tricks and hacks, check in with yourself and your audience.
Then take your community on a walk down your own path.
Know Your Noble Cause
Your community is standing in front of you…What is your battle cry?
What are you fed up with, won’t stand for, and compels you to offer what you offer?
There is a noble cause under every product and service. There’s a pain we can no longer bare to see others suffer.
From making it easier to cook food to impacting world crisis.
When you have this to cling to everything else unfolds.
You know what to post, you know what to say in your email, you know what’s essential.
Your audience naturally gathers because it matters to them too.
We do this exercise in our brand identity workshop and it brings clarity every time.
Connect with this and let it guide you to success.
Find Passion in Action
Give up the search.
Passion is a feeling and feelings are fleeting.
There’s no secret mission you were born with that you are somehow unaware of.
Passion follows action.
Stop second guessing yourself, stop waiting for the right answer.
YOU are the right answer.
Start leaping, doing and repeating.
Pursue those sparks of inspiration and passion will follow.
Ditch The Bad Habits
Overloading your to-do list and underestimating your tasks?
Constantly checking social media?
Obsessively looking back at email?
Sacrificing sleep?
NO, this does not have to be part of the journey.
And truth be told, it’s holding you back.
Ditch the bad habits.
Focus on deep work.
Pay attention to the essential 20% of the effort that brings 80% of the results and forget the rest.
Want to be a successful CEO?
Forget the hacks and focus on how you live.
Master yourself and you’ll master your business.
Let Them Unsubscribe
It’s hard not to feel a little sting when you see those unsubscribe numbers.
But instead, congratulations are in order.
You are another step closer to gathering your true fans. And good on the unsubscriber for realizing “you know what? I don’t belong here”
Let them find their home while you focus on your tribe.
It doesn’t matter how high you climb on the ladder if it’s leaning against the wrong building.
So let them go, be grateful, note your analytics and move on to focusing on what matters – delivering value to your people.
Be Reliable
I worked with this brilliant woman, she had a wealth of knowledge that could change the world.
And her clients were committed to her.
The only problem? She was unreliable.
Late to meetings, forgot appointments, couldn’t find files. Her clients that already knew her ability just put up with it, but she failed to grow.
She had all the talent, wisdom and know-how to help so many.
She was kept from a well deserved empire because of these poor habits.
And a world missed out from experiencing the life-changing knowledge she could offer because of it.
You may have “understanding” clients, but if you want to grow, it’s time to step it up and reach the new level of you-for your next level of success.
Stop Procrastinating
Science says “Procrastination is a complicated failure at self regulation”
Defined as a voluntary delay of an important task we intend to do. It’s often coupled with a poor concept of time and ability to manage emotions.
Holy crap!
This is much more than “uggh, I don’t feel like it” and it’s time to make a change.
We need to get to root cause and reclaim our productivity.
Fear, confusion, worry?
Figure it out, address it head on, and push through to the business and life you dreamed of.
This is the power of self knowledge for business.
Create Powerful Habits
Skipping out on sleep.
Eating like crap.
Triple booking yourself.
These are not the actions that bring you to success.
This is a path to scatterbrain & burnout.
Want a strong business?
Create powerful habits.
Actions that build you up, staying healthy, high energy, that streamline your processes, allow for deep work and keep you focused on the essentials.
Check in with yourself daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly to see if your habits are in line with your goals.
I use my daily goal tracker to measure my habits every single day.
Failure and success are not made overnight.
It’s made it in tiny micro decisions that compound to a result.
Be a Leader
Anyone can be a leader, even if you only lead yourself. But you are not a leader just because you say you’re one. It’s a skill that you learn and a skill that you practice.
Have a vision, share your vision, take charge, inspire through example and your tribe will gather.
Don’t Focus On Numbers
Stop looking at numbers and focus on connections.
One of my first launches was to a list of 36 people.
THIRTY SIX!
You know what we sold?
SIXTEEN
Because I had invested in connection.
I invested in them and in turn they invested in me.
Stop worrying about the swipe up and get down with your tribe.
I’m not saying numbers don’t matter, but we need to reconsider our value in them.
We need to rethink our belief the width of our message is more important than the depth.
Your audience is a long term commitment.
Connect with them, be with them, support them, lead them and bring them value every damn day!
Be Polarizing
If you try to please everyone with fire, you end up with ashes.
Your job isn’t to be liked or to avoid criticism, it’s to start a movement.
It’s to say “I’m doing this and I’m going here” and let the group divide to “Hell yeah, let’s go” and “No way, I’m staying here”.
When you try to be everything to everyone you end up with no one.
If you want to be heard, you must take a stand.
Make it crystal clear who you are here for and embrace the sting of the unsubscribe.
There is no money in the “maybes”, make it easy for people to decide if it’s a definite “yes” or a definite “no” and watch your business grow.
Mastermind With Those Ahead of You
If you’re looking to grow your business, take some time to be in a room of peers and mentors.
Soak up and contribute to all the knowledge around you. Learn to solve problems, keep accountable and motivate yourself to push beyond.
There’s no such thing as self made.
Our success is the sum of people that have invested, encouraged, and helped develop our character and thoughts.
Make the choice to regularly encounter those that will build you up and help you grow.
Be Consistent
80% of your business success is just showing up.
How many times have you stopped at a donut shop because it was there?
How much more likely are you to get a workout in if you’ve already showed up a the gym? (you know, after that donut)
Now what happens when you keep doing it? MAGIC!
Be consistent in showing up, in your message, in your support and your business will grow.
Stop Trying To Be An Expert
They don’t care how much you know, they care if you can teach them- If they can learn what you can help them do.
Just because you’re an expert nuclear physicist does not convince me you can teach me – let’s be honest, it sounds hella confusing.
I don’t care what you know, I care what I can learn.
Focus on building trust and delivering value.
That is how your audience finds out that you can truly help them.
Be Practical
Forget all the blueprints, methods and hacks. What is effective? What is actually giving results. You don’t need to do it all, you need to focus on the 20% that brings 80% of the results.
Forget all the blueprints, methods and hacks.
What is effective?
What is actually moving the needle forward?
You don’t need to do it all, you need to focus on the 20% that brings 80% of the results.
Doing “all the things” isn’t the answer. Doing the most important things really well will bring your further along than anything else.
Do you see someone success that you admire or want to emulate?
Don’t look at what they’re doing now, look at what they did to get there.
Let Go for Material Pursuits (for now)
My friend and fellow entrepreneur said the most powerful thing “I shifted my focus from ‘I need to make a million dollars’ to ‘I need to make my client’s a million dollars’ and it changed my life”.
If you lose sight of bringing value to others, money will lose sight of your wallet. Switch from the outcome to the system. How well are you supporting others? How can you better serve your audience? Once you put your focus there, you will see it all change.
Zig Ziglar so famously said “You can have everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want”
Keep your eye on giving value and the prize will find you.
Don’t Try to Impress
Gone are the days when standing in front of a rented Lamborghini will make us believe in your success.
Talk to people with respect, don’t advertise to them. Consumers know the game, they caught on to the catch, they know the lunch isn’t free.
So cut the bull.
Have a conversation, connect and be honest about what you can do for them. And be proud of what you can’t do for them.
The people out there that need exactly what you offer and they need it specifically from you. Don’t hide who you really are.
Be Vulnerable
Transparency is your only option, because the group will smell artifice. This doesn’t mean sharing your dirty laundry. Being vulnerable means showing up in uncertainty.
- Putting out that post without the guarantee that your audience will respond.
- Pitching that product not knowing if someone will buy.
- Telling them who you are when you’re not sure anyone cares.
Being vulnerable is being courageous.
“Vulnerability is not winning or losing, it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome”
-Brene Brown
Engage With Your Audience
Do not keep a velvet rope between you and your audience.
We don’t need people to look up to, we need people to get down in the trenches and guide us through.
Be part of the conversation.
Let them know you hear them.
Let them know you’ve been there.
Don’t just bark your wisdom & quotes each day.
There is no room for pedestals on the way to success.
Be Honest
Who do you want advice from?
There are two guys.
One has always had money, never had a financial worry, started investing at age 10, started a business with his equally privileged ivy league friends and now has millions of dollars and wants to show you the perfect way to do what he did.
The other guy had nothing, worked his way up, learned the hard way by gaining money, losing it, and gaining it all back. He’s now a millionaire and created a system to help you avoid the same mistakes and create your own wealth.
Who do you trust to help you?
Your mess is your message.
We don’t need your pristine perfection. We need to believe you understand us. We need to be able to see ourselves in you and believe we can do it too.
Be honest with your struggles. Be honest with your knowledge. Be honest with your audience.
Schedule Your Priorities
How is it that we can “find time” for the dentist but not for our self care. We sit with regret from missing out with our family but we make sure to do the dishes. What really matters to you? What are your true priorities?
Stop prioritizing your schedule and schedule your priorities.
Write it down like an appointment. Give it a specific beginning and end time. Give it the same respect you would give a client meeting. 4pm-7pm Family Time, Tuesday 1pm-1:30pm Read Book, Thursday 8pm Catch up with Mina.
You are the architect of your life and the job starts now.
Want to keep this handy?
Download as a Workbook HERE
Want to build a thriving business while enjoying life at the same time?
Inspiration won’t do it for you.
And action without a clear plan will flop.
Let’s chat for 15 minutes and clarify the most important next steps to take in your life and business now.
No Sales Pitch, No Gimmick, No Nonsense.
Book Your Instant Strategy Call HERE
See what the ladies from Bare Slate had to say about their call HERE
Who the heck am I?
My name is Tanya Marie Figueras Kraisingr, and because that is crazy long to say and pronounce, I go by Tanya MFK.
I am European Based Global Business Strategy Consultant for motivated and action focused Entrepreneurs & Business Owners.
I have a degree in Applied Neuroscience and have been in professional marketing and business development for over 18 years including at the corporate level with fortune 500 companies like Nestle and Whole Foods.
I was always very future minded but at 25 years old I became a widow to cancer and learned the hard way to make work/life balance a priority. I now focus on guiding new entrepreneurs to create very clear and specific strategies that create profit while making daily choices to support their dreams and joys now.