I had a terrible day yesterday. One of those days where nothing, absolutely nothing goes right. I woke up late, my kids were cranky, the coffee took too long to brew, I was unfocused and my workout wore me out. All before 8am.

Here’s the thing: as an entrepreneur you battle the urge to quit almost every single day. Actually, speaking for myself, I battle the urge to quit every single day, not almost every single day. Even on the great days when I’m making sales the thought of “let’s quit while we’re ahead” is always there.

Business is hard. Being an entrepreneur is even harder. Quitting would be so easy and so freeing…but then it wouldn’t.

Last night, after my latest attempt at quitting, I was reflecting about what it takes to persevere. How and why do I quit but not quit on a routine basis? [Read more…] about Quitting Business – My Daily Routine

I consider myself to be a fairly savvy business woman. I started a fitness business in my mind, trialed it by running classes in my garage and in the two years since I decided to franchise Hot Mama Health & Fitness, we have sold 25 Canadian Franchises. I have worked tirelessly and driven myself and my business beyond my own expectations and, honestly, beyond most sane boundaries. As an entrepreneur, well, that’s just my norm.

As I’ve grown Hot Mama over the years I have been repeatedly told that “I’m the brand”, that “I need to be the face of Hot Mama” and that I “could be a major influencer to the Hot Mama community”. In a world where I have been so focused on growing a franchise company, I spent little time analyzing what those words actually meant and to be honest, I really didn’t have the energy to do so, so I did not care to analyze or move on this idea at all.

Until…I was forced to.

Our social media consultant has been trying to drill it into my head the importance of being an influencer for the Hot Mamas in our community. With a solid foundation of over 10,000 Canadian Mamas it finally sunk in that I should be helping them find items, tools, products, services, etc. that would help them in their journey to being active, healthy role models.

This past week I have been participating in the Mom 2.016 Summit in Laguna Beach, California. This has been an event I will never forget simply for the fact that I had NO IDEA that writing or blogging was such a massive business. I thought bloggers blogged, writers wrote and sponsors sponsored. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever realize that writing was a business. No, that’s not right…writing…it’s an empire all in itself.

So, for the newbie writers/bloggers out there, here are the top five things I have learned in the past 2 days while surrounded by incredibly successful bloggers, writers, business women, or whatever you want to call them:

1. Writing is a business. Treat it like one. Spend time, energy and money on your website and start generating content that you love to write and that you’re passionate about. Your website can be a serious source of revenue for you, so work at it, put the time in and only write about what lights you up. Otherwise you’re just writing to write and no one will read it.

2. Writers don’t like to be called bloggers and bloggers are really writers. I know, I find it confusing too. However, I’ve found over that past few days that many bloggers don’t like to be called bloggers. They are writers. So, I think from now on I will call anyone who publishes online a writer…just so I don’t anger any of the bloggers…er…writers…er…yeah writers. I find this confusing, Also…don’t call them Mommy Bloggers…for the love of all things sacred and beautiful, do not call them Mommy Bloggers. They are writers. End of story.

3. There is serious money in writing. You can make a lot of money writing sponsored posts and stories and articles, but you have to make sure that you remain authentic and true to who you are and who your readers are. That may seem pretty apparent, but again, over the past few days I’ve heard a lot of stories from writers who wrote for a cheque and didn’t get picked up again because engagement was low. The only way you can help sell a product is if you truly believe in it. Again, just my observations from two days of watching, listening and observing.

4. Business can be cutthroat and writing is business, so prepare yourself. It doesn’t matter that the event I was at was 99.2% female, writing is a business and business is hard. Male or female, this writing business is a seriously competitive. Get a thick skin, support everyone as much as you can, be positive, but remember…this is business. The cool thing? You’ll find your tribe. You’ll find the writers who believe in you and who you want to support. So, as competitive as this business is, there are also people rooting for you, cheering you on and who are genuinely pleased when you do great things or land a big sponsor. I like that. There will also be haters, but I choose to focus on the fact that you can find a new and different tribe to belong to.

5. Pitch, pitch, pitch. You may be new and you may have 200 followers on all of your social media platforms combined, but pitch yourself, your business and some of your amazing ideas. Talk. Pitch. Pitch. Talk. I’ve realized that most writers and brands understand that everyone starts somewhere and most everyone is willing to talk to you if you’re interesting enough. They may not pay you, but that’s okay (for now). Be smart. Be prepared. Know your product. Know your website. Know the brand you’re pitching to and just pitch. Become the expert in your field and start talking. Don’t be shy. Don’t worry about the numbers. Practice. No, you won’t land the big sponsors. But, you’ll practice. And when you’re not such a new writer (notice I didn’t say blogger?!), you’ll have practiced your pitch when you’ve felt most vulnerable and undeserving. So…pitch. Pitch the heck out of yourself.

There are so many more things I could write about and I probably will. But for now, as I sit alone in my hotel room and introvert the heck out of myself, those are the five biggest takeaways I have for this new empire I will build. I need to write. I need to believe. I need to grow. And finally, I need to pitch.

And hey you…new blogger/writer/whateveryouwnattocallyourself…you got this. Write, pitch, practice, repeat. Someday you and I will be on the main stage. Someday you and I will be educating. Mark my words. We got this.

 

 

 

Over the past few days I’ve had numerous disappointing things happen to me. As an entrepreneur for four years now (yup, still a newbie, still learning), I know this is to be expected. The valleys and peaks of owning a business are ridiculous and can often leave you feeling exhausted, disheartened, elated and ecstatic (all within a few minutes of one another).

This entrepreneurial roller coaster is not for the queasy or faint of heart.

The past few days have been extremely…trying. Lawyers, finances (or lack thereof), demands, questions, more demands and yes, even more demands can leave you feeling drained, unappreciated and exhausted. I think people often forget that behind every company is a Founder who is just trying to make a go of it. [Read more…] about The Good Thing About Bad Days

I’m in year four of my business with Hot Mama Health & Fitness and over the past four years I have slept little, stressed much, driven hard and pushed my limits. I have cried, laughed, screamed, cheered and cried some more. I have been in a state of “uncomfortable” and growth for these four years and my attempts to set boundaries for myself, my work, my family have been met with failure after 10 minutes every single time.

I have learned a great deal over the past four years. I’ve grown a thicker skin. I’ve exceeded my goals. I’ve failed. I’ve learned how to market, program, bookkeep (although that I didn’t do very well), manage clients, franchise, learn legal, learn strategy…I’ve learned to be a business woman. With zero business education, the learning curve was incredibly steep.

I was a team of one for a very long time and that was a lonely, hard-working, driven little team. Boundaries on time during a period like this are close to impossible and the pressure, imposed by others, to set them was immense.

As I reflect on the advice I’ve received over the years, the one commonality is the need to set boundaries between work and family life. I was told by mentors, advisors, business associates, family and friends to set boundaries daily. And, to be honest, this common thread is the one that frayed. It was a constant reminder that I was failing. I was failing to set boundaries and that failure created a lot of unnecessary stress.

I’ve decided boundaries between work, life and family will happen when they need to happen. Until then, I’m going to work and I’m going to work hard. I realize I’m going against all advice, all research, all everything…but for once, I’m claiming boundaries off limits for people to talk to me about.

News flash: we all KNOW we should set boundaries. This is not news to us entrepreneurs. But  back off the young entrepreneurs in start-up mode and let us work. Trust me, we know when to to turn our phones off. We know when it is inappropriate to respond to messages. We’re pretty smart people, we can handle managing our boundaries.

Want my advice? Sure you do!

Work when you need to work, don’t work when you don’t need to.

I’d like to give you permission to not feel bad for the days you’re checking your phone and responding to emails while your kids are on the swing. I’d like you to know that it’s okay to post to your social media accounts while your kids are doing their homework. I want you to know that when you’re in start-up mode…anything is okay.

Even time off. Time off is also okay. Turning your phone off is okay. But, so is keeping it on.

Set boundaries for the important things, but give yourself permission to work when you can, how you can, wherever you can.

Get by. Push your business. Don’t forget your family. Give yourself a break and don’t let the boundaries people insist are important to your success stress you out. You know your limits. And if you don’t, you’ll certainly find them.

Know this…when I see you working long hours, forgetting to eat, unable to sleep…but still managing to grow your business and have a personal life, I’m going to high five you, smack you on the butt and wish you well. I’m going to stomp on the boundaries between work and play and insist that they can be blurred.

I’m giving you permission, for this short period of time, to set your own boundaries or set none. Take any and all pressure to do so off of you and know that you’re doing your best.

And hey, maybe once I’m out of start-up mode I’ll be able to set my own boundaries. But, I have a feeling that those boundaries will already be defined by the new stage my business will be in. Those boundaries will occur naturally and I won’t need to force them. They won’t stress me out.

I look forward to that moment. Until then, I’m giving you and myself permission to work and to play, and dare I say it, I’m going to celebrate my non-boundary living.

Mama. Entrepreneur. Dreamer. Founder of Hot Mama. Those are my titles. I started Hot Mama out of my garage and it’s now grown to 20 family fitness franchises, online programming and many, many more exciting things in the works. We’re in start-up mode still so it’s long hours, lots of pressure, no sleep and little money. Living the dream.   [Read more…] about The Give and Give of Business