Episode 100: The mindset taking you from hands-on to online

Your online business success is my goal and focus. Tech of Business is what I do, but your desire to Expand Online is what brought you to this podcast, right? You are a professional with an offline hands-on business and are super excited about the idea of adding supplemental or replacement income through an online product. An online product: online courses membership sites group programs distance teaching that meet via Zoom video conferencing (with or without material provided online) physical or downloadable products with online marketplaces There are several phases of online product development and my sweet spot is in the tech… but there is so much more than the tech that goes into successful online products. This episode focuses on the mindset that is needed to venture online when you already have offline successes. Regardless of the reason for wanting to create an online product, work in the online space takes a different mindset than in person work. There are probably a stack of questions swirling around in your head: Do I know enough to create this online product? Do people want to engage with me in this way? How am I going to get this product created? Is my business taking over my life? Can I really do something online? I’m starting from nothing, how do I start to get traction? And the list goes on -- if you have other mindset questions, post them over in the Expand Online Facebook group which you can access here. The bigger question isn’t what questions are swirling around in your head, but what to do to get through these thoughts so that you can expand online and fulfill this desire. Our brains play tricks on us, big time, to keep us in our safe zone. It’s easy to stay where we are, but our hearts itch for expansion and growth. People, especially entrepreneurs, do not do a good job sitting sit and stagnating. So, we need to equip ourselves with the tools to conquer the naysayer in our minds. You have enough knowledge to expand online. You are worthy of having people pay to learn and be inspired by you. You can do this. You can expand online and maintain a sense of self. You have insight and knowledge and passion to attract followers, subscribers and customers. You will feel empowered by creating something from nothing. I’m extremely analytical and it took me a long time to realize that these are affirmations. All an affirmation is, is to state that something is true and real. I can get behind that… just as art is in the eye of the beholder, affirmations are also real and true when you’re willing to let them be real and true. Some of the affirmations that I say on a regular basis are: My ideas are worth exploring. There are people who need to hear my message. I am creative and can create beautiful things. I will guide, support and assist 100 artists in 2020 bring their online product to market. That last one is critical -- telling myself on a daily basis that my work and effort has a tangible result this year will make it so. Expanding your business online doesn’t have to be monumental… it can be a slow start and build over time. It’s all about putting one foot in front of the other and taking the journey. And it’s far easier to tackle little mindset road bumps than it is to put all the roadblocks in place before identifying the start line. Our paths always twist and turn and often take unexpected detours. Which is part of the fun -- with an online product we can do more experimentation too! Other than affirmations and mantras, another great way to set your mindset right is to plan in reflection points. Let me explain… If you know that every Friday afternoon you have set aside 20 - 30 minutes to reflect on the progress you’ve made that week, you’ll add tangibility and that in turn helps you stay in the right mindset. Let’s say we’re creating an online course and are growing our Instagram following so that when the course is ready for market (or pre-launch) we have a pathway to go down. Then our weekly reflection point will include taking a look at both the course creation process as well as the Instagram growth and engagement. Tracking makes me feel successful. I used to just fly by the seat of my pants when it came to Instagram but once I setup a plan to truly watch what I’m doing on Instagram, it became so much more apparent that my efforts there are being validated. And the same goes for reflecting on the development of the online course -- there are times when course creation puts us in the weeds, reflecting on how far we’ve come is a great way to pull us out. I have struggled with wanting to put too much into my courses and needing to pull back… in fact, I have a course that is called Guided Tech Setup that is in soft-launch right now and in that course, I considered throwing in the towel several times. I knew what I wanted to create and why and for whom. But getting off the start line and outlining it took me a while. I kept letting my monkey brain tell me that my clients would rather just hire me to do this work and what’s the point. But when I got to my Friday reflection period and saw that I pushed through and created an outline, it became easier to see the course being complete. Then I began writing scripts and lessons and downloadable material. And suddenly, a large part of me just wanted to wing it! It took me a bit to realize that was my brain trying to keep me safe -- it was saying, if you wing it, you will get this done faster. But faster wasn’t my goal, quality was my goal. Giving my customers a quality product that would help them with their online program was my goal. And that couldn’t be rushed. I had to change from “this is hard” to “this is worth the effort.” And the same goes for each new online product that I create. And the same goes for each new online product that you create. It cannot be created in a vacuum. The right mindset and opportunities to correct course helps us to create the best possible product for our customers every step of the way. My mentors and coaches have told me that even if you get through this mindset piece for this project, it’s going to come back in another form for the next project. Pushing through and being objective are my natural defences against mindset woes. I am getting better at repeating affirmations and making them visible. It’s January 1st and if you’re anything like me, you’re getting inundated with noisy messages about starting this year on the right foot and planning and productivity and streamlining and setting goals and a whole lot of messages that can wear down your defences. I want you to know that you can do this. You can expand your business online in 2020. You have something that your future customers are craving. Expanding online is the next logical step for you -- and I am thrilled to be part of your support system to make this a reality. Let’s do this together! Join me in the Expand Online: Strategy, Support and Tech Facebook group today!