Usually when I talk about goals, I’m talking about launching a podcast or writing a book.
This time, my goal for this summer is take a bunch of time off.
via Alaska Airlines on GIPHY
You know me, I hate the cold weather. So winter is the perfect time for me to hunker down and get work done. Now that it’s warming up and we’re heading into summer, I’m definitely in more of a vacation mindset.
What about you? What’s summer going to look like for you? Will your kids be in an extended school year online? Are you planning a getaway? Or thinking about how to manage childcare so that you can keep up with your clients, you know, a freelancer summer?
The thing is, if you don’t spend a little bit of time now to plan your summer, it’s still going to happen — it’s just going to sneak up and you and force you to conform to whatever is going on in the moment.
If you take the time now to plan what you WANT your summer to look like, you have a much better chance of living that reality — whether it’s margaritas on the beach (you’ll call me, right?) or quiet mornings working while your kids are at camp.
What I didn’t tell you is that the person on the other end of that click was Mia. Mia was the very first mama who joined the Movement. Less than a year later, I hired her — at first to manage my Instagram account. Over time, Mia took on more and more responsibilities. She’s a key member of Team Mama. She owns our social media strategy. She coaches in the Free Mama Squad.
And she’s leaving me. She’s leaving Team Mama. It’s truly the end of an era.
via Friends on GIPHY
It’s all okay, though. In fact, it’s better than okay. Because yes, Mia is leaving Team Mama, so that she can step into the next version of herself.
As a human, I’d never want to be a person who holds someone back. I’d love nothing more than to have Mia here in the fold forever — but that would be wildly unfair to Mia. It would be selfish.
Of course, the last few weeks have been full of reminiscing. Mia told me about the day she first saw my webinar — how she couldn’t put down her phone, even at the chiropractor while getting adjusted.
She told me what it felt like to stand in her bedroom, biting her lip as she worried over whether this investment would pay off, her finger hovering over the button.
(She pressed it, in the end, in case you were wondering.)
And she told me what it was like for her when I hired her. How she thought, MY DREAM CAME TRUE and also HOLY FORKING SHIRT.
via The Good Place on GIPHY
It really is the end of an era for us — and the beginning of something new and wonderful, too.
Mia, I love you. We love you, and you will always have the honor of being the FIRST mama to join the Movement.
I’m in Kansas City, hanging out with my parents, when my phone pings.
I glance at it, and I freeze for a second, and then I grab it and look again, because I’ve imagined this moment so many times, and it’s actually happening.
SOMEONE BOUGHT MY COURSE.
I know people were still talking in the room around me, but all I could focus on was this notification in my email.
You’ve made a sale!
I’d spent easily three months (proceeded by three years!) building up to this moment, and suddenly it was here and real, and I was simultaneously OVERJOYED because IT WORKED and also, I was like, ”Um, I need to go back home to Houston and build out the rest of my program for this amazing human who just took a leap of faith and invested in me!”
Back then, The Free Mama Movement was dripped out daily, and there was no Fast Track option for a VERY simple reason: I hadn’t finished building out the course. I had built out the first week, so I had a bit of grace, but my coach and my husband and my friends would constantly ask me, “Are you still a day ahead of your students?”
Honestly, it’s a blur when I look back.
via Team Coco on GIPHY
I was still actively serving multiple clients as a virtual assistant. I was building the Free Mama Movement out, and I was still doing live weekly trainings to help bring more mamas into the Movement.
Because YOU can have this same moment a few months from now. YOU can be the person who gets that sale notification and just feels everything in your whole life change.
If you’re living your best life with freelancing, that’s AWESOME.
I LOVE freelancing. Freelancing changed my life. I wouldn’t have left my job without freelancing, and the time I spent working for clients gave me the skills I needed to feel more confident and taught me what I needed to go on to the next part of my journey. You might still be in the I HEART FREELANCING WE R BFFS 4EVER phase, which is FANTASTIC.
But.
If you want more, or different… If you have life or business experience that you’re ready to package up,if you want to do what I do and create an online course, then I have to tell you, you NEED to be in this challenge.
Heyyyyyyyy there mama! It’s my BIRTHDAY, and as you may have guessed, birthdays are a BIG DEAL to me.
YOU are ALSO a big deal to me, so when I celebrate, I’m all about finding ways to include you.
Which is why I’m insanely excited about what I get to share with you today on FreeMamaTV. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Gif by GIPHY
So let’s take a step back and start with…
APPETIZERS
Start with something new and exciting!
Yesterday — also known as the day after Mother’s Day and the day before my birthday — I was live in the Free Mama Facebook group to talk about [thing]. Specifically, how you can get out of your own way and develop a growth mindset. And if you didn’t catch it live, you should go and #replay that pronto.
A few weeks ago, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting and chatting with Dean Graziosi, who I’ve been semi cyber-stalking after seeing him speak at Funnel Hacking Live. You might have caught him on the podcast the other week — and you’ve heard me talking about his upcoming challenge with Tony Robbins. Well, today I’ve got Dean on FreeMamaTV, and we’re doing a deep dive on self-education.
How much do you know about chatbots? Running an agency? Making money from a business that you LOVE? Well, you’re going to want to tune into today’s episode of Free Mama Radio for my conversation with Free Mama Tracey Matney who has scaled her business and is living her best life.
Do you know anyone who gets exciting about networking, mama?
I know. But that’s because most people — probably including you — are doing it ALL WRONG.
The good news is that after today, you’ll have a MUCH better understanding of networking — and you’ll know how to actually make it work for you!
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APPETIZERS
Start with Something New and Exciting!
Yesterday, I covered week 3 of our weekly series on how to start making money from home and connecting the dots on how to connect what you are capable of offering with who needs what you have to offer!
I shared three things that will help you to connect the dots between the two!
Chef’s Special So, today on FreeMamaTV, I’m breaking down the dreaded elevator pitch, and showing you the much better power pitch. You’ll see EXACTLY how to create yours, and you’ll get a COMPLETELY different understanding of what networking is all about. It will change the way you interact with people completely.
Dish of the Day
This week on Free Mama Radio, I get the chance to talk to the amazing Dean Graziosi. If you heard me mention his challenge last week, you already know how highly I think of this guy, and this is your chance to hear it firsthand for yourself.
You have thought about a digital product or passive income using what you know to help others… but you have NO CLUE where to start.
Enter… FREEDOM WEEK!
(More on that in a sec…)
The truth is, freelancing absolutely changed my life and allowed me to quit my job and work from home with my little babies… it was my gateway to entrepreneurship!
But a few years later, it was my course that allowed me extra breathing room, another source of income, and a new way to make a big impact!
You have knowledge, interests and passions, and experience that other people are willing to pay for!
And in just 5 days, you will learn for FREE how to discover a new path for success…And I want YOU to be there!! (I’m going, too)
During the first-ever Own Your Future Challenge, 17 world leaders including Tony Robbins, Dean Graziosi, Jenna Kutcher and Russell Brunson are teaching nearly 1 million people about the industry that allowed them (and me!) to take back control of our lives, careers, time and decisions…
This event will change thousands of lives… and missing out on something like this can sting because it only happens once.
I really really really want you to get the maximum benefit if you sign up, so I’m calling the whole week of May 9 FREEDOM WEEK at the Free Mama.
Plus…. it’s the week you’ll learn how to dive head first into the self education space and I’m hosting a private pop up community so that I can hold your hand through the entire event!
Take back your future during Freedom Week, May 11-15! Click here to RSVP now: ownit47.com
By doing this one thing can help your business get the best results, and maintain the stamina to keep your business going! Let me tell you how I learned this very lesson.
Did you ever just listen to someone speak and feel yourself changing as you heard their words? I mean, actually feel yourself go through a metamorphosis on the spot?
The year was 2019. The Before Times.
Its Been A Long Time Waiting via GIPHY
I was at Funnel Hacking Live, in a room full of people. None of us wore masks. We hugged each other when we had JUST MET.
And some guy I’d never heard of got up on stage to speak. I was listening, but I was also multitasking — until I wasn’t. Until the story grabbed me.
He talked about a book he’d written that had sold — and I don’t remember the actual numbers, so let’s just say, it had sold 50,000 copies.
Pretty good, by anyone’s definition. And his team told him that the book had run its course, and it was time to think about the next one.
“No,” he told them. “We’re not done with this one yet.”
The team pushed back: marketing costs were higher, the return on investment was lower. The book was done. The audience wanted something new.
“No,” he told them again. ”We need to do something different. We need to try something more strategic, or shift the way that we’re looking at it. We’re not done with this book yet.”
So, the team tweaked and worked and strategized, and they sold more books. Like, A LOT more books.
And then they came back and said, “Okay, great! Next book, please!”
To which this guy said, “No. I’m not done with this book. We need to help more people with this book before we move on to something else.”
“The guy” was Dean Grasiozi. And if you’ve never heard of him, that’s okay. (Of course, now that you’ve read this, you can expect to see him ALL OVER your Facebook feed.)
Anyway, Dean talked about STAMINA.
So many business owners do not have the stamina to market ONE thing, and to go back again and again and test and tweak and optimize that ONE thing to make the biggest impact.
Instead, they keep jumping from one thing to the next.
They’re working hard, but they’re working hard on the wrong things.
Think about it. When you spend all your time jumping from one platform to another, going after this niche, then that one, then maybe you’ll do this other thing, and then what about the squirrel over here? When you do all that…
… do you make progress?
No. The answer is NO, YOU DON’T. You’re working HARD. You’re putting in the HOURS. But you’re not getting the RESULTS you want, because you don’t have the STAMINA to market ONE THING.
One of the questions I get asked daily is, “What’s the BEST niche to choose for my freelance business?”
Well, no one ever wants to hear this, but there really is no good way to answer that question.
Via Good Girls on GIPHY
And it’s NOT because I’m mean or I just don’t want to. It’s because the BEST niche for you is the one that LIGHTS YOU UP. That’s different for each of us. You might be all about the spreadsheets, OR you might be into design OR you might love to work with words. ALL of these skills can lead to GREAT niches and highly profitable businesses.
That said, I doooooo have a few things to say about the most in-demand freelance skills RIGHT NOW, so keep reading.
APPETIZERS
Start with something new and exciting!
Did you know that I go live every single Monday inside our Facebook group? It’s true, and yesterday was no exception. Yesterday I continued with part two of our tangible tips series on how to make money with your own experiences, and I let the cat out of the bag about that challenge happening during Freedom Week in TFMM. You can watch it right here.
Fan Favorites
If you only have ten minutes today, might I suggest that you check out this video where I rant about my pet peeve — and spill the tea on a SURE way to lose clients. Watch it here!
MAIN DISHES
Chef’s special
It’s true that there’s no one BEST niche to choose as a freelancer. You can build a business around just about anything. AND ALSO, right now, there are some skills that clients go gaga for. I’ve got the details for you in this week’s episode of FreeMamaTV, so if you’re curious, head on over and check it out. This week’s episode of FreeMamaTV.
Dish of the day
You all know how I love goals — and tools. And today on Free Mama Radio, I’m bringing those two things together to show you the ONE tool you need by your side in order to set — and slay — your business goals for this year. Give it a listen!
I started to think, what’s a really good day for me? The common threads were:
Celebrate. Taking the time to acknowledge what I’ve achieved. Or having fun. Jillian is big on having fun intentionally.
Meditate. Sitting still and being quiet is wicked painful for me, so meditation looks more like stretching or doing yoga, or taking my time in the shower while listening to an audiobook (the acoustics in our bathroom are perfect for this!). Yes, Audrey still walks in half the time. But that’s the joy of being a mom, right? You have to carve out time for yourself.
Educate. This could be listening to a podcast or an audiobook, meeting with a coach or mentor, watching a YouTube video, or consuming course content. As long as it pours knowledge into my brain, I’m good with it.
Communicate. I’m a raging extrovert, so connection is super important to me. It could be getting on a call with a team member, doing a Facebook Live, leading a coaching call, or doing a podcast interview. COVID has definitely shown me how vital it is for me to touch base every day with the outside world.
Activate. This is about my physical health. Did I move my body? If I didn’t get to the gym, could I have a dance party in the living room? What was my nutrition like today? Did I eat vegetables? (For the record, I have the worst sweet tooth ever and eat waaaaay too many treats.) But did I balance it with good things? Did I drink enough water?
When I do these things, I feel good. I yell at my kids less, I’m less stressed out about money, and what’s going on in the world. I can breathe.
This is my version of journaling. Every day, I track these five areas. I check in with myself. Did I do these things? How do I feel? If I don’t feel good, is there a reason? Is something getting in the way of taking care of myself?
A few weeks ago, I had a bad night. I got up at 2:30 am to let the dog out. Then Henry woke up. Then Audrey woke up. Then the dog had to come back in. Then Audrey came to our bed, so I went to hers to try to get some sleep — and failed.
The next day, I hated everyone.
So I asked myself, ”What’s my trigger?” I didn’t get enough sleep. “What am I going to do about it?” Well, I know I’m a light sleeper, I complain about it all the time. But what have I actually done about it? Not a ton. And so I bought an amazing sleep mask, and it’s been super helpful.
For someone who’s never been into journaling and meditation, this approach is really working for me.
I guess I’m finally listening to my own advice.
I felt like meditation wouldn’t work for me, but I wanted the stillness. I wanted that outcome. So I found another way to get it.
What if the thing you don’t want to do is the thing that would help you the most?
Mama, it’s time to try.
P.S. Need a good read? Might I recommend that you check out my book?
Would you like to know what I wish I knew before I started my virtual assistant business? Keep reading and I will tell you!
Have you ever had a tough teacher?
I have. Her name is Experience, and she is… REALLY tough.
She gives tests BEFORE she teaches the lesson. “Learn by doing,” she says.
Via Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making The Team on GIPHY
The upside? You get to learn from my time in that classroom. Today, I’ll be sharing a whole bunch of things I wish I’d known back when I started my freelancing business.
But first…
APPETIZERS
Start with something new and exciting!
Yesterday, I kicked off a 3 part ULA series where I will be giving you tangible tips to help you start making some money! I also reminded everyone that the deadline to apply for The Free Mama Scholarship ends this Friday, don’t miss out on your chance to work with Team Mama and gain access to the program! Here’s the replay, don’t miss it!
Fan Favorites
It’s funny — when you’re in the middle of stuff, it takes all your energy, but when you look back, at times you can hardly remember being there. This video is a pep talk I recorded on being BUSY v. being PRODUCTIVE. I filmed it right after my kids and I were down for the count with the flu. I KNOW that flu was a big deal at the time, but clearly, we survived.
MAIN DISHES
Chef’s special
So, there are some lessons you almost HAVE to learn by doing. UNLESS someone ELSE can learn those lessons FOR you. Well, that’s what I’ve done in this week’s episode of FreeMamaTV. I’m sharing the things I WISH I’d known back when I started my business. Basically, I learned these things the hard way so that you can watch a video and NOT have to learn them. So, here is what I wish I knew before I started my virtual assistant business
Hey there, Do you have a hard time taking a compliment and getting a referral or testimonial? Keep reading and I will tell you how you can master both, at the same time.
You look fantastic!
What’s your immediate response when someone says that to you?
Do you brush it off? Oh, thanks, I’m exhausted.
Do you turn it around? Wow, YOU look amazing! Did you lose weight?
Maybe you’ve mastered accepting that kind of compliment — or maybe you still have some work to do.
But what if a client says to you, Oh my GOSH, you’re INCREDIBLE. This is FABULOUS. I can’t believe what an incredible job you’ve done here!
What’s your reply?
Do you brush that off? Oh, well, you gave me such great material to work with.
Or just keep things “professional” with a Thanks!
Have you ever stopped to think that when your clients tell you You’re amazing, that’s the best opportunity to ask for a referral or a testimonial?
via Red Table on GIFY
It’s true. At that moment, you have SOLID PROOF that they’re happy, and an extremely natural follow up is to AT MINIMUM ask if you can quote them on that.
Literally, just say, “Thank you so much! Can I use that as a testimonial?”
Unless you have really weird clients, they’re probably going to say yes.
And then, you can ALSO follow up and say, “I really love [delivering this outcome] for you. In fact, I’m actually looking to fill another slot in my schedule, so if you know anyone who also needs [the service you provide], I’d absolutely love an introduction.”
Now, if you just read that, and you’re like, “Yeah, Lauren, I’m not doing that,” then we need to have some words.
Because if you’re reluctant to take a complement and get a referral or testimonial, you’re probably ALSO having some difficulty accepting your wins.
Truly, nothing makes me crazier than when I see Free Mamas do this:
Oh my gosh, I just got my first client!I mean, it’s like a really super small one-off project. It’s, like, not that big of a deal.
WHAT IS THAT?
You’re not actually celebrating your wins. You’re actually hurting yourself. Because in the same breath of air as you acknowledged your accomplishments, you actually deflated them. And that’s what your brain is left with. That’s the part you remember.
It was good. But it wasn’t good enough.
JUST NO.
Unacceptable.
TAKE THE WIN.
Celebrate the win.
And learn to take a compliment, because you’re awesome!
