3 Unconventional Tips to Starting an Online Business
If
I told you that starting to journal about your business, taking yourself more
seriously, and getting out of the Instagram bubble would take your business to
the next level, would you believe me?
Well,
here's the thing...I am telling you.
These are my 3 unconventional tips to starting and propelling your
online business. Read on, implement the
tips, and thank me later ;).
Over
the weekend, I was at a Christian business conference called Business
Boutique. Man, I am on fire. I got to learn from so many incredible people
like Bob Goff, Christy Wright, Dave Ramsey, Jasmine Star, and a bunch of other
incredible people. I was overwhelmed by
how much knowledge everyone had to share and also how rooted everything was in
Christ, which is super refreshing when you're at a business conference.
There
were 3,000 women there - starting businesses, already successfully running
business and dreamers wanting to start businesses out of their hobbies. Everyone had this one thing in common...they
love Jesus. I was just like, oh, my
goodness, this is a breath of fresh air.
It was just so beautiful.
Reflecting
on the conference made me realize that I have managed to build something pretty
darn great with the Chasing Freedom business, and I wanted to give you some
advice based on what worked for me.
Chasing
Freedom is a little over two years old.
I get people coming to me telling me about their hobbies or their
unhappiness in their career path, the potential they see in something, or they
have this huge heart or passion for something, or they feel this strong
conviction that God is calling them into something greater. But they're scared and they don't know what
steps to take. And they have no idea
where to go or what to do. That's why I
wanted to share my tips today - so you can take your dreams into launch mode
and start taking the steps towards where you're looking to go.
To
lead into the first tip, I want to tell you a little story. When I was leaving the conference, I realized
I was on the last page of my journal.
The thought of 'oh, my goodness, I'm going to have to get a new journal'
created way more anxiety in me than you'd expect. Every time I have to get a new journal, these
feelings come up. I have one journal for
literally everything; for all things in that season of my life. This one has been with me since June
2019. Everything from trying to
conceive, traveling for 9 months, moving in with my parents, building a house,
my husband starting a new job, prayers to God that I love to come back to, a
list of people in my life who I'm praying for, and then, of course, everything
business-related. It's like I have this
like separation anxiety...I'm going to have to let this journal go and I'm
going to have to start fresh. This makes
just makes me feel a lot of different ways.
Anyone relate!?
For
years I heard people talk about journaling and I heard them say how much
freedom I brought them and how healing it was and how it helped them to step
into who they were created to be, to understand who they are and who God is
better. I didn't always have a deep
connection with what I was writing. For
me, it used to feel like I was ticking off this list of things to do,
going through the motions because I was told
it was a good thing to do. I either felt
robotic or just super awkward. I didn't
know what to write. I was worryied someone would pick it up and read it and so my writing was somewhat
censored. So now, when I struggle to let
my journal go, I realize just how far I've come.
1. Start journaling about your business
So
yeah, with all that preamble, I bet you're not surprised that my first tip to
really begin propelling your business is to start journaling about it. Get your dreams out on paper and watch your
hand physically write out the things that you desire. It can feel a bit selfish to do this and you
might think 'who am I to dictate what I want when God has already written my
story?' But what I personally realized
is that the dream in my heart to go out and help women can only come from
God. So the dream that you have to use
your gift is God's way of using you to impact this world and even to make his
name known through it.
It
is so crazy what happens when you allow yourself a space to dream, when you
have blank piece of paper to set goals and ask yourself, where you want to be
next week or next month, what you want to accomplish in the next quarter, where
you want to be 1 year from now, and your grand vision. It might feel a bit counterintuitive that
dreaming big can help you make baby steps, but it's about putting your vision
'out there' and then breaking it down.
Having a dream doesn't mean you'll get there tomorrow. It means you have somewhere to go and seeing
those dreams on paper will allow you to apply the baby, faithful steps that you
take day in and day out to get there.
The thing about dreaming is, you're never going to get to the end.
You're never going brush your hands off as a dreamer and entrepreneur and say
you're done.
2. Take yourself more seriously
When
people have hobbies or they realize they're gifted and they want to turn it
into a business, they're often taking a hobby mindset into a business
position. And it's hard to run a
successful business if you don't believe you can be a successful business owner
or entrepreneur.
I'm
all about mindset. When you doubt that
you can actually be in this type of role because of fears and if you don't take
yourself seriously, no one else will either and if you don't believe in
yourself and what you have to offer, no one will want to invest in you or your
product/service.
When
I was starting out, I acted and spoke like I already had an abundance of
clients, like I already had a successful business. Because if I didn't believe in it, how could
I expect people to believe in what I'm offering and invest in the service that
I was providing? They needed to really
believe that I could actually transform their life.
You
need to show up as the leader, as the business owner, as the person who manages
everything. If you don't take yourself
seriously in your role, you won't show up consistently. Plain and simple. And the opposite is true; if you take
yourself seriously and play the role of a successful business owner, you WILL
show up for your people.
Consistency
is the hardest thing when you're getting up and going in a business. It's hard to continue to write the weekly
blog and get on Instagram and show your face every single day. I understand. I do it every day, every week
of the year. I get it. Consistency is
hard. So many problems come from this
lack of consistency, though. That's why
stepping into your role better, you will help you show up more consistently for
the people that you're trying to help.
And in return, your business will start to build traction and momentum.
Schedule
in time for YOUR business. Try not to
say 'yes' to whatever anyone else is asking you to do. Because often these 'yesses' to others scream
'no' to your business. So, schedule it
in, just like you would your full-time career or your workouts or whatever else
you take seriously in your life.
3. Get out of the Instagram bubble
Honestly,
it's such a trap and such an unrealistic expectation to think you're only going
to get clients from one area of social media.
Go out into the world and talk about your business and create true blue
relationships with people!
The
real, intimate conversations I have are the fuel to my business growth, my
social media growth...everything. To be
completely honest, putting myself in spaces where I didn't think I would get
business from, has been exactly where it's flourished. So many of my clients are people who found me
through podcasts I've been on. And my
podcast guests come from meeting other people in real life.
Yes,
showing up on Instagram, Facebook, and your Website and is important, but it's
not the crux of your business. Really
think outside the box. I tell my
business clients to think about who they have access to right now...family,
friends, people at work, old colleagues, people from college, neighbors,
church, etc. And then asking if you're
allowing those relationships to help build up your business? People who genuinely love you for who you
are, want you to succeed. So, invest in
these relationships.
When
I started my business, I put out this video on YouTube even though I had
decided that I was going to run my business mostly from Instagram. But I realized that so many people who know
me, love me and support me were still in the Facebook world. So I created this video.
It was around 20-30 minutes of me telling my story and sharing my idea
of starting my business. I used the
video to help people understand my transition and connect with me. I asked a bunch of people to share my
video on Facebook because I knew Facebook shares were so huge to getting a
video seen. And I tell you what, that's
where so many of my first clients came from!
None of my first clients came from Instagram.
More business stuff
I'm
really curious if this business advice is something you'd like to know more
about - if so, shoot me a message over on Instagram @trainertanner.
Also,
if you feel like maybe you need that little bit of extra support, I have one business coaching spot available. I am a mentor
for women who are building up businesses - it's really important to me that I
get really close and spend lots of time communicating with my clients so I can
offer the best support and advice. For
this reason, the business coaching spots are very limited. It's a 4-month
journey we'll walk together. Once you
apply I can give you all the details about what the mentorship actually looks
like.
If
you've never had a business coach of any sort, let me tell you, it was a game-changer for me! In August 2017, I hired
a business coach right away at the beginning of my business journey. It was the scariest thing I ever did because
it was literally all of my savings.
Every penny down to the dollar of what I had, went to this coach because
I was ALL IN. That was me taking myself
seriously! It was the wisest decision I
have made for my business! And I was
able to make that money back really fast because I was taking very clear steps
and I was attracting the people who needed what I was offering, which was (and
is) so beautiful.
I
am so excited to help one more woman step into success with her business and
truly create the momentum that she's been looking for in this big dream of
hers. Apply here.
You
might've heard me talk about this, but I just can't contain my excitement! I want to help women actually do what they
say they'll do so they can reap the benefits and step into MORE FREEDOM. If you struggle with body image, seeing
yourself as unworthy, lack consistency in either your physical or spiritual
health, or you feel isolated and alone right now in the pursuit to create the
healthiest version of you...this mentorship is screaming your name. BUT spots are limited - secure it by getting
on the waitlist
TODAY! If you're on the waitlist, not
only will you secure a spot in the Freedom Method Mentorship program when it
does officially open up, you'll also get an extra month of coaching support
completely FREE for the month of December!!!
Xo,
Tan
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