Women's Business Workshop Podcast

Join Business Consultant Robin Walker, for a mini workshop on moving through burnout to find your energy again in your business.

Grab the workshop printable by joining the podcast club email list here.

Need some coaching and community for 2022? Find your tribe and support in the The Impact Business Circle. It is open for new members to the Hub only ($27/month) or for mastermind groups ($79/month). Learn more here.

Burnout can happen to anyone, regardless of how successful your business is.

It isn’t just you.

I have had many conversations with business owners that are tired and mentally spent after 2021. The unpredictability and stress of new limitations has been a burden for many of you this year. What has worked reliably in the past may no longer working the same way. Some of you had just figured out what works for you and your clients. Recreating your strategy can be exhausting after being in business for many years. Some of you with newer businesses have been able to craft your strategy with all the recent hurdles and design it as you go. But nothing has been the status quo and adaptation has been the name of the game. It isn’t just you.

1. Fill Your Tank

Check in with yourself. What are you depleted in? What has been getting the shaft? Sleep, exercise, friends?

If you can, take a break from the business- for as long as you can while staying in business. Sleep all day if you can. Don’t feel guilty. Eat some healthy foods, take your vitamins, get some fresh air, arrange a friends night out. Fill in the gaps of where you are running empty.

2. What is true?

It is easy to blame your environment, a saturated industry, under-performing facebook ads, or a pandemic. Most likely those are are influencing your current state of business. BUT I want you to figure out what is true. What is the track in your head telling you, and what is actually true?

For example, I had a client frustrated over sales feeling low and difficult. When she went back and entered her financials, she realized she had actually exceeded her goal for the quarter. It is easy to get stuck and look for what’s wrong. It is natural when we are tired and overwhelmed.

[Listen in to episode 68 for doing a brain dump to determine what may be draining you]

3. Non-negotiables

When I do yearly planning with clients, I always ask what their non-negotiables are. What happened this year that needs to go on that list? It may be something you wrote down in the last step. It is important to build your business so it fits you and your family’s needs.

Boundaries are a good thing.

Some examples I have seen go on the non-negotiables list:

• No more discounts unless they are strategic
• 48 hour consideration window before saying yes
• No more evening coaching sessions
• Removing a draining offer from your offer suite

So what will it be for you?

4. What support are you missing?

What gap is missing for you when it comes to business support? Do you have a tribe of other business owners you can check in with? It is really healthy to have a space to go where people understand your struggles and can give you support that actually helps. Not a pat on the head, or well meaning advice from a family member that has never run a business.

Someone justifying your feelings can be a godsend, but we also want to surround ourselves with the people that can help us out of the rut and back into action. Understanding and encouraging is a great mix.

Something we offer in the Impact Business Hub is a daily pep talk podcast. They are only about a minute long- just an encouraging word to keep you on track and feeling empowered.

5. Make things easier

When you were thinking about what has been draining you, assuming you can’t remove the thing how can you make it easier on yourself? Can you simplify a process, take a training, hire a coach?

Make a list of what you can make easier in your business- even if you aren’t sure how (yet).

A last little note:

I want you to know that you can get out of this funk and there are brighter business days are ahead.

Put your shoulders back, fake a big smile, and put your chin up.

You’ve got this.

I am here for you whether you are burnt out or on fire for your business- or that a weird combination of the two. Get in touch anytime.

This episode I am not going to going to tell you to go get back to work. Instead maybe you need to go back to bed. Big hugs friend. Yo...

We can learn a lot from the stories small businesses have to share from the last year. What helped some businesses make it through and come out stronger on the other side? What changes will they continue into the future?

Robin Walker, small business consultant, talks with Elyse Bullard, a photographer from Walworth County, in SE Wisconsin, about the evolution of her business over the last year. Photography is an in-person industry that came to a hault in 2020. Elyse had to get creative, pivot her offers, and set up new ways of serving her customers. Ultimately, she came out with a stronger, thriving business.

More details and registration here.

Elyse is usually busy throughout the wedding season with photography bookings. In early 2020, she attended (and photographed) the Plan Your Year Workshop held by Robin. At that event, she planned her business year for 20 weddings. Luckily for her, this left room in her calendar for fall 2020. When weddings began to cancel due to the pandemic, she had room to reschedule them for later in the year. Planning ahead gave her calendar intention and in the end, was a saving grace.

Elyse also specializes in equine photography. She is experienced in the skilled art of photographing horses with their owners. Her family fostered (and later adopted) a unique pandemic pet- a miniature horse! This horse has become the star of her new minisessions, as a whimsical unicorn. Who could have predicted that?

Elyse has found an appreciation for the inclusion of mini photography sessions in her business model. They are short sessions, stacked one after another, on designated days. Young children (and teens probably too) respond better to shorter, less pressured sessions, and Elyse can maximize her time by stacking appointments in one location.

Another business pivot for Elyse was moving from in person consultations to virtual. As much as we are all zoomed out, there is a benefit to virtual meetings. Holding most of these appointments virtually, makes finding a meeting time easier for both parties, eliminates travel time, and as a result, requires less outside childcare. Moving forward, these will have a place in her business when appropriate.

Looking for a photographer in the SE Wisconsin area?

Connect with Elyse Bullard:

Website: https://www.elysebullardphotography.com/ facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elysebullardphotography

Headshot Minisessions available July 10, 2021 in Walworth County, WI. Contact Elyse for more information. info@elysebullardphotography

Mentioned in this episode:

https://womensbusinessworkshop.lpages.co/summerworkshop/

Ways to connect and get support:

IMPACT Business Circle (+Mastermind): Forming groups now for next quarter! https://www.womensbusinessworkshop.com/impact/

Set up a strategy session with Robin: https://www.womensbusinessworkshop.com/coaching/

Book Robin to speak to your group or audience on goal setting or how to attract more clients: https://www.womensbusinessworkshop.com/media

Are you a business owner in the SE Wisconsin or Northern IL area? Want to share your small business story? Apply to be on the podcast here: https://forms.gle/etY9LZfNa2xt2UgN9

If you loved this episode and are feeling generous, would you mind leaving a review on iTunes or sharing with a business friend? (Select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”.) Thank you!

The post 59: [Small Business Stories] Elyse Bullard Photography – Wisconsin appeared first on Women's Business Workshop Robin Walker.

In this episode, business coach Robin Walker shares what business owners have learned through the pandemic of 2020, and how you can use those lessons to better prepare for 2021.

I have yet to find anyone that had their business and home life sail through 2020 without any changes. We have all had to stop and re-evaluate, adjust, or pivot. No one was immune, whether it means it was your best sales year ever, or the worst.

We are aware of the big things- the revenue changes, changes in in-person scenarios, customer spending habit changes...but have you looked deeper into why those changes affected you so much? Or why one part of your business really shined during the hard times?

What 2020 taught me about business

I coach female business owners. I do this through one on one, and in the Impact Business Circle group. I also host multiple in-person business events throughout the year, as well as speak at events.

In early March of 2020, my 2 day conference, the Lakeside Conference, made it live just under the wire. We got to meet in person the beginning of March, and it felt like the next week, the world turned upside down. The idea that a year of work planning and thousands of dollars in venue costs could have been lost had it been a week later was a very scary feeling. I realized how much of my business year was spent on this one 2 day event. Because so much of my heart went into this event, I had less to give elsewhere- to my family, and to the rest of my business for a good chunk of time.

2020 gave me the opportunity to take a fresh look at the event and how it can better serve the women that attend and feel more aligned with my business.

Mourning in-person events

I did have to pass on creating any other in-person events. My mom always says- this too shall pass. I know those events will happen again- just not today. In the meantime, I have embraced online events.

Online and an in person events are not the same, so stop trying to compare them.

It is true- they aren’t. Each has its own pros and cons. I started attending online networking groups that were over an hour from my home. It would have cost me half a day at least to attend these in the past. Now I can log on, leave the heels in the closet, and then afterwards get back to work. I have found speaking events online that don’t require travel, and I have still attracted new clients and followers through those events. Have you embraced online events? Whether you are zoomed out or not, they are here to stay and you might as well take advantage of them in 2021.

What worked in the past is no longer working

It wasn’t just me that had my world turn upside down- it was my clients too. I had to keep showing up and finding out what they needed. I kept asking, kept trying new things, kept going live, kept listening. As their needs changed, so did how I showed up. I couldn’t just rely on what worked in the past. I had to stay one step ahead of my clients so I could offer what they needed. In 2021, be sure to build in activities that keep you in touch with what your clients need.

What I saw behind the scenes

Of the businesses that I have been close to throughout the pandemic, those that used group planning as part of their business weathered the storm the best. I witnessed women who weren’t sure what to do next, show up for mastermind meetings and find support and encouragement to keep moving forward and serving any way they could. They laughed together, shared their tears, and just as importantly, kick their butts back to getting on track.

These women had yearly goals and a year end vision. They knew the path would have to change a bit, but they knew where they were headed. The finish line didn’t change, the race just had more hurdles.

Do you have an end vision for 2021? Where do you want to end up?

If you want this kind of planning and implementation support, hop into the Impact Mastermind Group before Dec 31, and you can get the Plan Your Year Group Intensive for FREE as a member...and you get the support and follow up all year long. Find your tribe for 2021!

Mentioned in this episode:

Join us for a one day intensive to get your 2021 goal set, strategic plan in place, and the accountability to get it implemented. PLAN YOUR YEAR Group Intensive for business owners (womensbusinessworkshop.com)

Early Bird ends November 30th.

Missed the Early Bird? Join the Impact Business Circle and get the workshop for free! IMPACT Mastermind for female entrepreneurs (womensbusinessworkshop.com)

To celebrate the one year anniversary of the Women’s Business Workshop Podcast, we are going behind the scenes of our annual two day conference.

The Lakeside Conference will be celebrating it’s fourth year in March of 2020. Each year, the event takes on a little different personality as it brings on new speakers and new topics.

In this episode we discuss:

• Why did I decide to host a large event for my business?
• How did I know when it was the right time?
• How does a promoter choose topics and speakers for an event like this?
• What are some things that you don’t expect to happen?

If you are contemplating hosting an event in the near future for your business, take a listen and see what you can learn from our experience.

Missed the Lakeside Conference? No problem! Grab the 2021 replay for only $27.

Each speaker at the 2020 conference has shared their expertise on an episode of the Women’s Business Workshop Podcast over the last year. See all of the previous episodes here, or on your favorite podcast player, and get caught up.

The post 26: Behind the Scenes of the Lakeside Conference Anniversary Episode appeared first on Women's Business Workshop Robin Walker.

[Series Two: Lakeside Conference Speakers] In Episode 25, hear from Sue Monhait of Gift Biz Unwrapped, as we talk about product based businesses, trends toward in-person sales and marketing, and how to help your business stand out.

Listen in to hear tips on selling at craft fairs and live events. What can you do to make more sales and attract more people to your booth? What can you learn from selling in fairs and expos? We also talk about how any business can stand out in a saturated market or crowded marketplace.

Sue Monhait is a business owner, podcast host, speaker, educator and best-selling author for the community she’s lovingly named, “Gifters-Bakers-Crafters-Makers” – people who create beautiful and/or delicious products that they want to share with the world.

Sue owns two businesses serving this audience. The Ribbon Print Company offers custom ribbon printing systems creating the ability to produce on-site personalization and branding of products. Gift Biz Unwrapped provides free and paid business development and growth direction through a weekly podcast and her signature program, Makers MBA.

If you loved this episode and are feeling generous, would you mind leaving a review on iTunes or sharing with a business friend or fellow entrepreneur? (Select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review”.) Thank you!

Mentioned in this episode:

Missed the Lakeside Conference? No problem! Grab the 2021 replay for only $27.

Your Action Step: Be Yourself and show yourself to the world. Adjust your About Me page (why you started your business, why you have the passion you do), and show more of your personal side on social media.

Find Sue here:

• Facebook: Facebook.com/groups/GiftBizBreeze
• Website: GiftBizUnwrapped.com

The post 25: Product Business: Stand Out and Attract Sales with Sue Monhait appeared first on Women's Business Workshop Robin Walker.