1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,399 Huge hack. If you are struggling to stand out online, find out what 2 00:00:03,439 --> 00:00:08,000 your ideal client is struggling with. Find out what words they use to describe 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:09,919 it, not the words you think that they used to describe it, the 4 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:13,599 words that they are actually using to describe it, and then create content that 5 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:17,079 speaks to this. If you are struggling to stand out, it's either that 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,760 you haven't defined your ideal client well enough, you don't know them well enough, 7 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:25,839 or you're not communicating with them in a way that resonates. Welcome to 8 00:00:25,879 --> 00:00:29,800 Imperfect Action. I'm Steph Taylor. For years, I read all the books, 9 00:00:29,960 --> 00:00:34,079 downloaded all the freebies, and did all the courses, but it wasn't 10 00:00:34,119 --> 00:00:38,679 until I started taking imperfect action that my business had its first million dollar year. 11 00:00:40,039 --> 00:00:45,840 Imperfect action is about doing things before you're ready, prioritizing consistent action over 12 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:50,320 perfect action, and moving forward even when you're not sure you're doing it right. 13 00:00:51,359 --> 00:00:54,920 On this show, you can expect mindset advice, actionable marketing tips, 14 00:00:55,200 --> 00:00:59,240 and strategies to build a business that brings you more profit, more freedom, 15 00:00:59,399 --> 00:01:03,799 and even more joy. You want the list to get my daily businesses. 16 00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:07,519 Every day, I'll send you a bite sized prompt designed to help you grow 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,599 your business in a more intentional way. Sign up at Steph Taylor dot co, 18 00:01:11,879 --> 00:01:19,359 forward slash DBB, or at the link in the show notes. Hey, 19 00:01:19,439 --> 00:01:22,680 welcome back to In Perfect Action. This is episode seven hundred and seventy 20 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:29,640 nine. Today I'm sharing six the essential steps that a lot of people consider 21 00:01:29,719 --> 00:01:34,719 to be a little bit too beginner, too basic, but that are really 22 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,840 important for success in your business. Now, the beginner stuff, the basics, 23 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:44,959 the first steps that everyone teaches you in courses in starting a business. 24 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,319 When you google how do I Start a business? There's a reason those things 25 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:52,000 come up over and over again. They are important for a reason. And 26 00:01:52,599 --> 00:01:57,799 over my last like seven or eight years working with other businesses, I've noticed 27 00:01:57,799 --> 00:02:01,000 that the businesses that end up being the most successful are the ones that do 28 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:06,640 the basics really well. And I see this with courses as well, Like 29 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:08,479 when people are investing in a course. When business owns invest in a course, 30 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,960 they want to skip to module six because they assume that modules one to 31 00:02:13,039 --> 00:02:17,039 five are the basics. They're two beginner and they have convinced themselves that the 32 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:22,599 secret to success lies in the more advanced modules. There's some kind of magic 33 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:27,759 pill that's in the really far along modules that they haven't heard somewhere else. 34 00:02:28,240 --> 00:02:30,680 But then they don't end up getting the results from that particular course, or 35 00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:35,240 even particularly even working with a coach and the coach tells them the foundational steps, 36 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:38,800 they don't see the results because they are too busy trying to find that 37 00:02:38,919 --> 00:02:43,479 magic pill that they think exists, and they're skipping over the beginner steps, 38 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:46,759 the stuff that's actually going to make the difference. If you can't do the 39 00:02:46,759 --> 00:02:51,240 basics, well, then the advanced stuff isn't going to make any kind of 40 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,280 difference in your business. Now, I survey my email list twice a year, 41 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:58,520 and from the questions that they are asking, I can tell that the 42 00:02:58,560 --> 00:03:00,759 reason many of them are struggling in bit business is because they are focusing on 43 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:05,439 the wrong things. They are asking questions like how can I create a good 44 00:03:05,479 --> 00:03:07,240 website? How can I make my Instagram feed look pretty? And how can 45 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,319 I get followers? How can I get reels that get more views? Should 46 00:03:10,360 --> 00:03:15,120 I be on TikTok or LinkedIn or Instagram? How do I develop a catchy 47 00:03:15,199 --> 00:03:17,639 name and tagline for my business? Should I create a low ticket or high 48 00:03:17,639 --> 00:03:21,960 ticket offer? First? And from these kinds of questions, I can tell 49 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,759 that they are focusing on the wrong things. They are looking for some kind 50 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:30,000 of magic pill, some kind of right answer, when they should be spending 51 00:03:30,039 --> 00:03:34,159 a bit more time on the basics, the foundations, the boring parts of 52 00:03:34,319 --> 00:03:38,080 business that if they can do really well, that's what's going to amplify their 53 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:42,319 results from everything else that they do in their business. You know, the 54 00:03:42,319 --> 00:03:45,919 stuff that they have probably labeled as a little bit too beginner for them. 55 00:03:46,039 --> 00:03:47,560 They're like, oh, yes, like I've done this before, but they 56 00:03:47,599 --> 00:03:53,039 actually haven't really done that. That's the stuff that is worth doing. So 57 00:03:53,639 --> 00:03:58,000 I'm going to share a couple of those things in today's episode. And look, 58 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:00,479 I was guilty of doing this as well. At the start. I 59 00:04:00,520 --> 00:04:04,280 was constantly looking for the one answer, like the one reason why I hadn't 60 00:04:04,319 --> 00:04:09,039 been able to grow my business. And it wasn't until I actually stepped back 61 00:04:09,479 --> 00:04:13,520 and went through a process from start to finish. If it wasn't until I 62 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:18,519 actually followed those steps in order that I started to see the shift. Okay, 63 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:23,319 so the very first step was defining your ideal client. And this is 64 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,839 probably like you're gonna be rolling your eyes at this I know, like how 65 00:04:26,879 --> 00:04:29,439 boring, right, I did this way back at the start of my business. 66 00:04:29,519 --> 00:04:31,360 Guess what, I still do this every time I launch a new offer, 67 00:04:31,759 --> 00:04:35,120 every time I relaunch an existing offer, So like multiple times a year, 68 00:04:35,160 --> 00:04:39,959 I'm going back and I am revising who is our ideal client for this 69 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:45,199 particular offer and for this business. And it sounds really boring, but it 70 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:48,480 makes life so much easier because if I know who I'm talking to, then 71 00:04:48,759 --> 00:04:53,759 the content I create can resonate a lot better. The messaging that I used 72 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:57,560 to communicate my offers and my business is going to land a lot better. 73 00:04:58,199 --> 00:05:00,879 Okay. And when I talk about your ideal client, I don't mean your 74 00:05:00,920 --> 00:05:05,720 target audience. I don't mean the woman aged thirty five to forty five who 75 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:10,399 lives in Australia and runs a business that's a target audience. That's not an 76 00:05:10,439 --> 00:05:13,879 ideal client. I mean the one ideal client. And I don't mean your 77 00:05:13,959 --> 00:05:16,199 niche either. Now, if you if you're not really sure what the difference 78 00:05:16,279 --> 00:05:19,399 is between those, go back to episode seven hundred and thirty six where I 79 00:05:19,439 --> 00:05:23,560 talked about the difference between your ideal client, your target audience, and your 80 00:05:23,639 --> 00:05:26,759 niche and whether you really do need to niche or not. So if you 81 00:05:26,800 --> 00:05:30,199 want a link to listen to that episode, send me a DM on Instagram. 82 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:31,879 I'm there at Steph Taylor dot co. Send me the number seven hundred 83 00:05:31,879 --> 00:05:35,560 and thirty six to seven three six and I will send you a direct link 84 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:41,720 to that episode. All right. The second thing, the second step audience 85 00:05:41,759 --> 00:05:45,600 research. Now, I don't care how well you think you know your audience, 86 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,680 how well you think you know your ideal client. You don't know them 87 00:05:47,759 --> 00:05:54,000 enough until you've spoken to them one on one and until you've asked them questions 88 00:05:54,319 --> 00:05:59,199 about the things that they're struggling with and really uncovered what's going on between their 89 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:01,959 ears, what are they say thinking, what are they telling themselves? Surveys 90 00:06:02,319 --> 00:06:06,680 are great, but on their own they're not enough. Now, I love 91 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:12,439 surveys for content ideas, but when it comes to messaging for offers, you 92 00:06:12,519 --> 00:06:14,519 need to know a little bit more. You need to go a little bit 93 00:06:14,600 --> 00:06:19,800 deeper and asking your existing clients questions can be effective, but you're probably missing 94 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:24,199 out then on insights from the people who didn't buy, and the people who 95 00:06:24,199 --> 00:06:27,720 didn't buy from you their intel. Their insights are going to help you to 96 00:06:27,759 --> 00:06:32,040 make your messaging and your offers more compelling because you'll understand what stopped somebody from 97 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:35,079 buying, so you can address that before it stopped somebody else from buying. 98 00:06:35,519 --> 00:06:40,360 Now huge hack if you are struggling to stand out online, find out what 99 00:06:40,399 --> 00:06:45,000 your ideal client is struggling with. Find out what words they use to describe 100 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,920 it, Not the words you think that they used to describe it, the 101 00:06:46,920 --> 00:06:49,600 words that they are actually using to describe it, and then create content that 102 00:06:49,639 --> 00:06:54,199 speaks to this. If you're struggling to stand out, it's either that you 103 00:06:54,240 --> 00:06:57,720 haven't defined your ideal client well enough, you don't know them well enough, 104 00:06:57,879 --> 00:07:01,439 or you're not communicating with them in a way that resonates. Okay, number 105 00:07:01,439 --> 00:07:06,759 three articulating exactly what problem your offer solves for your ideal client, or what 106 00:07:06,879 --> 00:07:11,279 task it takes off their to do list, or what transformation it delivers for 107 00:07:11,399 --> 00:07:15,120 them, and being able to do this in really specific terms, like I 108 00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:19,800 see too many businesses with really vague messaging. It gives them clarity on their 109 00:07:19,879 --> 00:07:24,040 vision. Great, that's great, but what does that actually mean for them? 110 00:07:24,199 --> 00:07:26,399 Right? What does that mean for their ideal client for their life? 111 00:07:26,959 --> 00:07:29,839 A better version would be clarity on their long term vision, so they know 112 00:07:29,879 --> 00:07:31,879 exactly what tasks to focus on in their business this week, this day, 113 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:38,279 this minute. That's a tangible, specific outcome. Right, tangible problem is 114 00:07:38,319 --> 00:07:41,720 being solved because they don't know what to focus on. Now, force yourself 115 00:07:41,759 --> 00:07:45,439 when you are identifying this, force yourself to write it out. Don't just 116 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:47,519 think it. It's really easy to tell yourself yeah, I know that, 117 00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:51,319 But then when you're forced to put pen to paper and actually articulate it, 118 00:07:51,399 --> 00:07:55,120 you might realize that you don't know it as well as you think you do. 119 00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,439 And if you aren't clear on what your offer does, if you can't 120 00:07:58,600 --> 00:08:03,000 clearly communicate what your offer does, your ideal client isn't going to know what 121 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,240 it's about, okay. And if they don't know what it's about, they're 122 00:08:05,240 --> 00:08:09,680 not going to spend money on it, okay. Number four, Getting clear 123 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:13,040 on the long term vision and building out a priority plan to get there. 124 00:08:13,040 --> 00:08:16,879 I know that when you are just starting out in business, and even a 125 00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:18,639 couple of years in, it can feel like you are just surviving one day 126 00:08:18,639 --> 00:08:22,439 at a time. But this short term survival mindset can be the thing that 127 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:28,000 keeps you stuck where you are rather than building something that you really intentionally want 128 00:08:28,160 --> 00:08:31,879 in the long term, and having that short term mindset can keep you stuck 129 00:08:31,919 --> 00:08:35,960 on focusing on the wrong things, prioritizing the wrong things. So instead of 130 00:08:37,039 --> 00:08:39,879 having a vague idea of what you are trying to build, what exactly do 131 00:08:39,879 --> 00:08:43,039 you want your business to look like five years from and what needs to happen, 132 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,840 what practical actions need to happen to get there, and then how can 133 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:50,919 you break that down into tasks that you're going to do over the next years, 134 00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:54,639 months, weeks, and days. Because otherwise, if you don't really 135 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:56,840 know where you're going and you don't know what needs to be done to get 136 00:08:56,879 --> 00:09:00,840 there, you're going to end up focusing on the wrong thing. Whereas when 137 00:09:00,879 --> 00:09:03,360 you know what to focus on to get you there, then you can make 138 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:07,759 you can take those intentional actions rather than sitting down at your desk and being 139 00:09:07,799 --> 00:09:09,000 like, well, what do I feel like working on today? Because that's 140 00:09:09,039 --> 00:09:13,080 not going to move you any It's my movie a little bit further forward, 141 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,080 but it's probably not going to be the quickest way to get that. Okay, 142 00:09:16,159 --> 00:09:20,440 Number five creating a budget, right, So when you've got a budget, 143 00:09:20,440 --> 00:09:24,200 that means that you can make decisions based on what is in the budget, 144 00:09:24,279 --> 00:09:26,720 not based on your gut feel, because you know, maybe you don't 145 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:31,240 want to miss out. Somebody's got a great course that's launching with awesome bonuses, 146 00:09:31,279 --> 00:09:33,799 and you don't want to miss out on that. And I know that 147 00:09:33,919 --> 00:09:35,600 finances can feel a little bit icky and they can be a little bit challenging 148 00:09:35,639 --> 00:09:39,600 if you're more creatively minded, but it's important to stay on top of them. 149 00:09:39,639 --> 00:09:45,799 And budgeting means estimating your income and estimating your expenses and then using that 150 00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:50,440 to make better decisions. For example, December is always a pretty quiet month 151 00:09:50,519 --> 00:09:54,399 in this business, and you know, especially because I was mostly offline, 152 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:58,000 my team was mostly offline. But as my accountant said, when I pointed 153 00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:01,000 this out to her, she was like, well, well, you budgeted 154 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:03,399 for that. It would have been really different if you had a bad month 155 00:10:03,399 --> 00:10:07,120 that you didn't budget for. So there was no need to feel bad or 156 00:10:07,159 --> 00:10:09,919 feel stressed out about the fact that it was quieter because we actually had a 157 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:11,759 plan for it. We knew what was going to happen. We had a 158 00:10:11,799 --> 00:10:13,440 launch plan for January. We knew that would be fine, like it would 159 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:18,200 all be fine because we had budgeted for it. But if I hadn't. 160 00:10:18,399 --> 00:10:20,559 If I didn't have that kind of forward thinking budget, then it would have 161 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:26,039 been really easy to go into panic mode of like what now, Like where 162 00:10:26,039 --> 00:10:28,879 do we bring sales in? How have we cut? Like what negs? 163 00:10:28,879 --> 00:10:33,720 And just freaking out rather than actually having a logical plan and actions to take 164 00:10:33,480 --> 00:10:39,840 Number six, intentionally designing your office suite to maximize your sales and create consistent 165 00:10:41,039 --> 00:10:46,960 cash flows. So rather than just haphazardly creating offers without thinking about where they 166 00:10:46,039 --> 00:10:50,639 fit in or why are you doing them and how they're taking your clients on 167 00:10:50,679 --> 00:10:54,080 a journey over time, if you can design your office suite so that it 168 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,200 helps the same ideal client again and again and again, then you don't need 169 00:10:56,200 --> 00:11:00,919 to spend as much time marketing a business because instead of having to always try 170 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,200 and find new people, you can keep helping the same person in a deeper 171 00:11:03,320 --> 00:11:09,000 way. And it's not about, you know, not delivering the entire solution 172 00:11:09,200 --> 00:11:11,840 in your off It's not about leaving them wanting more and like not actually giving 173 00:11:11,879 --> 00:11:16,279 them the solution to their problem, but instead it's about uncovering the different ways 174 00:11:16,279 --> 00:11:20,759 that you can serve them at different stages of their journey, so they might 175 00:11:20,919 --> 00:11:24,440 have one problem at the start, and then once they've solved that problem, 176 00:11:24,480 --> 00:11:28,480 then there might be another problem that's now their main focus, and you can 177 00:11:28,519 --> 00:11:33,799 help them to solve that one, and it becomes this beautiful little journey of 178 00:11:33,799 --> 00:11:37,879 how you can help them over time, rather than trying to help so many 179 00:11:37,879 --> 00:11:41,000 different people. And I know it's really difficult because, especially if you have 180 00:11:41,080 --> 00:11:45,480 a skill or your expertise is something that could help a wide range of people, 181 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:48,960 it's so hard to narrow it down to one ideal client when you could 182 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:54,039 do all of the different things. But trust me that it's much easier marketing 183 00:11:54,039 --> 00:11:58,080 your business when you do that. Now, your office suite is the one 184 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:03,759 thing that will determine whether your business is a little bit consistent or all over 185 00:12:03,799 --> 00:12:05,480 the place. It's going to be the one thing that determines how much freedom 186 00:12:05,519 --> 00:12:09,240 you have in your business. Like if that's if your office suite is not 187 00:12:09,279 --> 00:12:13,480 if your office suite is not structured in a way to intentionally create freedom, 188 00:12:13,879 --> 00:12:20,519 then no amount of growth audience revenue is going to fix any of that. 189 00:12:20,240 --> 00:12:24,159 Okay, And I cover this in a mini course. I have a self 190 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:28,159 paced course and workbook to help you strategically design and refine your office suite to 191 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:33,240 make more sales, help more people, and step off the all or nothing 192 00:12:33,360 --> 00:12:37,240 revenue roller coaster. You can find offer less sell more at stephtaylor dot co 193 00:12:37,360 --> 00:12:39,519 slash OLSM. I'll pop the link in the show notes, or if you'd 194 00:12:39,519 --> 00:12:43,360 prefer, you can send me a DM on Instagram, send me the word 195 00:12:43,399 --> 00:12:48,159 OLSM to stephtaylor dot co on Instagram, and I'll send you the link to 196 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:50,679 find that one there as well. All Right, that is it for today's 197 00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:54,240 episode. Thank you so much for listening. Catch you next time.