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5 Reasons to Teach Your Skills Online

5 Reasons to Teach Your Skills Online

As a creative, you’ve likely gained skills throughout your life that other people would also love to learn. These skills…
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Become a Teacher On Skillshare

Become a Teacher On Skillshare

When I initially received an email from Skillshare back in 2017 saying that I would make a good teacher, I…
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Instagram post 2228515962508624028_254453612 Over the past month, I’ve had several 1:1 calls with clients to help them plan out their 2020. And one of the biggest things that I’ve noticed is that my clients had lots of things on their daily to-dos that were there only because they thought they had to be there.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 👂 Listen, every single business is unique. And there’s no one set way to do things. I’ve seen people run a successful business without using Instagram. I’ve seen successful businesses that didn’t have much of a website (maybe just a one-page landing page, and that’s it). I’ve seen people never, ever use the telephone with a locally run service-based biz. And so on, and so on. Breaking the rules didn't lead to failure. They still have successful businesses, despite doing things their way.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ People break the “rules” and doing it successfully every single day. 💪⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Don’t forget, my friend, that you are the CEO of your business. No one else gets to tell you what to do. If there’s something on your to-do list and it’s causing you anxiety and guilt, but nothing more… get rid of it! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Focus on the things that move your business forward and on the things that light you up. That’s what will help you to craft a business you love. 💖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Have a friend who needs to hear this today? Tag them in the comments! 👇
Instagram post 2227132914421202353_254453612 One thing that can change your mindset and your business more than anything else is gratitude. 🙏 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In life, I am a positive kinda gal. It’s in my DNA (maybe) to see the sunny side of things. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m not sure why that is, but what I do know is that I don’t like to feel down if I can help it. And while business has a LOT of advantages, it can also get me (and probably you) down. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You might look at your growth and feel like things aren’t going at the pace you’d like. Or you might look at someone else and wonder why you’re not as far along as they are. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Lots of little things can get your mind in that downward spiral.🤪 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But one of the best things to get you back out...is to practice gratitude. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Taking a step back to look at the present instead of the future. Being thankful for the small things that happen that add up to big things over time. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I promise that if you’re having a bad day in biz, taking the time to look at what you can be grateful for can go a really long way. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Do you have a gratitude practice? Let us know about it in the comments!👇
Instagram post 2226337913776355843_254453612 Are you filling your days with busywork? With things that really don’t need to be done but that you’re feeling guilty over simply because they’re on your to-do list?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Any to-do list can quickly become filled up with tasks of should-dos. But then you might start putting pressure on yourself to do all of the should-dos instead of prioritizing what things really need to be done.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Look at your list, re-evaluate what’s important and what’s going to move your business forward. Don’t keep adding the things that you feel like you should do, because then your days will be filled with mere busywork.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Instead, focus on what will move the needle and eliminate anything that you don’t HAVE to do right now.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Honestly, I’ve left my to-do list behind. I’m operating from my daily intentions list and my project lists instead. I have time set aside for those should or oughtta-dos, but they aren’t my primary focus each day.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Instead, I focus on my intentions, my deadlines for client work, and then I move to my project lists. Later, when I’ve made progress on my intentions and project lists, then I can start doing those to-dos that aren’t really as important.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sidenote: Eventually, when my work is batched far enough in advance, I’d like to work on one particular project per week. So, I’d focus on batching one big project during the week and that’s it. That’s what I’m aiming for.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ How do you deal with the busywork? Are you up to your eyeballs in should-dos?
Instagram post 2223625537088479310_254453612 No one told me when I started a business 10 years ago that I’d need to work on my mindset. Honestly, I spent the first few years in business chugging along paying no attention to my growth (inner growth or growth in my biz). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’d watched my dad run a business when I was a teen, and one day I said to myself if my dad can run a business then so can I. What I failed to see were the days of self-doubt that would come. The days where I’d feel lonely because I worked from home. Alone. (That was hard even for this introvert, at first, because I was so used to being surrounded by hundreds of children as an art teacher.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I didn’t anticipate all the ups and downs that came along with entrepreneurship until they were upon me. Then it would take me a while to get out of the mire that I found myself in. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now, I focus heavily on my mindset. It still can be a struggle for me, but I know it’s the important work that needs to be done if I want to be successful. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This inner work might just be what you need to focus on too, in order to create the business that you love. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Personally, I spend a bit of time each day on self-development. I also take a lot of time to reflect and plan for the days and weeks ahead. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What are some of the things that you do to keep your mindset straight? Tell me in the comments below! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📸: @sheilajoyphoto
Instagram post 2222860910729826475_254453612 Let's talk about the to-do items that you have on your list that are looming over your head that you need to get done. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The things that you keep adding to your list over and over and over again. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When this happens, the things on your to-do list need to be broken down into smaller, actionable steps. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Maybe you've written something down that's too vague or too big to accomplish in one go. If it keeps coming up on your to-do list, it's probably because you haven't broken it down enough. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What you'll want to do is reverse engineer what you need to do and break it down to the smallest bits. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ For example, if we write "Email" on our list when what we actually want to do is 1) Respond to client emails, 2) Delete anything that's spam, 3) File away any email receipts, and 4) Unsubscribe from lists that we don't want to follow anymore, we're being too vague with the task. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ By breaking "Email" down into the smallest subtasks, you can see that there are several things to complete. And we may not be able to tackle all of those things at once. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Then those things stay on our to-do list longer than they need to be. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Our brains are cool 🧠 and can do a lot of cool things. But when we aren't specific, and our minds are being pulled in too many directions..., or we can't remember what we need to do, or we just don't have enough willpower to do the thing that we need to do..., or it feels too big to accomplish in the time that we've set to finish it in, 😵 then our brains decide to do none of the things. It's safer to hide or put things off until tomorrow. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But by breaking things down into smaller steps, we can finally charge through and get those things checked off. Little by little! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ What do you do when you're adding something to your to-do list over and over again?
Instagram post 2221447554013844447_254453612 Life can quickly become overwhelming with all the things we add to our days and weeks. As a business owner, we add stuff to our to-do list until we have no clue what we need to work on. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ After a while, we have a long list and no time to juggle all the things we have going. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Truthfully, there's more than one issue at play here, but let's first focus on adding margin into your days and weeks. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Margin is something I first heard about from Lisa Jacobs in her YBYY planning workbooks. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's an extra cushion of time that you add between your tasks, where you have nothing planned. At all. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This cushion makes life a whole lot easier. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Plus, in all my years as a business owner, I've learned EVERYthing takes more time than you first thought it would take. And things can come up during the day that will make a task take even longer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ So, the idea is to create some extra pockets of time throughout your day and week to allow for the overflow. If you fill your weeks too much, where will the excess go? How will you feel when you are scurrying from one task to the next? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Instead of creating a business where you feel like you never have room to function, let alone get things done, focus instead on creating a biz that has pockets of time for you to get caught up and catch your breath. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Creating margin is one of the many habits that I believe will help you to create a business you love because it gives you back the control of your time. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Do you add margin in your day? Let me know in the comments! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀📸: @sheilajoyphoto
Instagram post 2211907387276079459_254453612 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝟯 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗶𝘇 𝗶𝗻 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📍 Mindset Shift 1: ✖ From: I need x,y, and z to be successful. 👍 To: I have everything I need to reach my goals. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sometimes we search for a magic bullet, thinking "if only." If only I took this other course. If only I had a website designed by a professional. If only I had money to spend on ads. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Nothing is going to take the place of action. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sure, we may need to learn something new or to refresh our website (or whatever), but if you use those things as a distraction and procrastination tactic, then you're going to keep searching for that magic thing to get you where you want to go. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You already have everything you need and if you don't, to quote @marieforleo, "Everything is figureoutable." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Which leads me to... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📍 Mindset Shift 2: ✖ From: I don't have enough time. My to-do list is a mile long. 👍 To: Small, consistent, messy actions will lead me to success. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When you start taking daily action, you'll start seeing results. You may not see it at first because you need time to see real results. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Keep taking those daily actions, and over time, they will compound into what you want. (Read the book The Compound Effect because it's good at explaining this concept.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ And finally... ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 📍 Mindset Shift 3: ✖ From: I'm overwhelmed because my goals are so big and ambitious, and I don't even know where to start. 👍 To: I'm making changes today for a better tomorrow. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Instead of looking at the finish line (aka- December 31 of 2020), think about what you can do today to make tomorrow better. I love thinking about my future, but sometimes that gets too big, so instead, I think one day ahead. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Ex: If I get this annoying task that needs to be finished done today, then tomorrow, I can enjoy the time that I've scheduled off to be with my family instead of feeling guilty for not doing said task. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Which of these three mindsets will you focus on shifting in 2020?
Instagram post 2185217689963124194_254453612 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙨. 😍 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Everyone has a problem that they're trying to solve, and business owners solve those problems. It might be through your service, digital offer, or physical product. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It doesn't matter what you sell. You're a problem solver, and it's your job to figure out what your customers need from you. (Even if it's what am I going to hang on the empty walls of my home.) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It's also not a complicated process. Here are a few things you can do: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1) Learn more about your ideal customers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’ve been able to do this well through Instagram, alone. When I connect with someone on IG, I'll watch their stories or read their posts with genuine interest. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I learn a lot about people this way, and you'll be able to do the same. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2) Create content that shares your unique point-of-view or position, then see how your existing audience responds. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Think about your products and offers, then create content relevant to those offers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ When people see what you're putting out into the world, they will have questions or thoughts about what you're sharing. They’ll let you know by commenting, sending you a DM, or responding to your polls. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Always use your content as an opportunity to gather feedback about your ideal customer. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 3) As you receive questions and feedback, keep a Google Doc or a journal of sorts about what you’re learning about your dream customers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Then you can write out ideas for new content that will help them based on the feedback you receive. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 4) Follow up with people, don’t wait for them to come to you. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ People can be shy on the internet. They may stalk your content but never post a reply. Take some time to engage with them first (in a genuine way), and they'll be much more likely to reply in return. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Still not sure what to say or how to serve your peeps? I have a new freebie (link in bio) with some ideas for you. It's geared towards IG Stories but can work for anything. 📸: @sheilajoyphoto #bossbabetribe #creativebusinessowner
Instagram post 2180077036668999421_254453612 🙈🙈🙈 𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩. 𝙈𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩. 𝙄𝙣 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙩, 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩, 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Wrong! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ We're all a mess, sis! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ People often show you their highlight reel on Instagram. Not the true behind the scenes of their life. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I'll be the first to tell you that I'm far from perfect. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here's a little bit of proof: 👖 I don’t put on pants until I HAVE to. 🏚️ My house is always a mess, even though I really do feel a bit OCD in my head. 🏀 I yell at my husband when he leaves fingerprints on the ceiling because he’s making too many imaginary jump shots...because he’s always pretending like he’s a basketball star. 🧟‍♀️ I stay up too late. 🍩 AND I eat gluten even though it makes my face breakout. 📱Oh, and on the days I don’t show my face on Instagram, it’s usually because my face broke out that day (because I ate a donut) and I’m embarrassed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🤷 This is me. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Let's embrace the fact that we're not perfect and show up as who we are anyway. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Are you in?
Instagram post 2175642193587859802_254453612 😲 𝙃𝙖𝙨𝙝𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙨 𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Now before you go throwing rotten tomatoes at me, hear me out. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You can't simply add a list of 30 hashtags on the newest photo in your feed and expect people to follow you on IG. As if hashtags are the magical holy grail... if only you choose the right ones. 😰 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ You'll find yourself giving up quickly with that strategy. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Because it takes more than that. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Here are a few things to consider when trying to grow your IG following: ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 1) You get what you give. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you're opening up the Instagram app, throwing up a photo with hashtags, and then closing it down and hiding for the rest of the day 🙈, you're not going to see any substantial results from your actions. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Sure, you might get some likes, and you may even get a few follows, but you won't create a lasting connection. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The best strategy that I've found on Instagram is to give. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ More than you get. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Don't show up only when people are responding in the way that you want them to.Growing a community of followers requires a two-way street. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Show up because you have something to say. Show up because what you create or teach is what other people need. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2) Grow a community regardless of the numbers. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Community is what matters most on social media. Sure, you can try to attract a large following, but are they going to be a bunch of people who don't need what you have to offer? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Do you want to attract a bunch of strangers who will never care, or would you rather attract the people who NEED what you have to give to the world? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Building a community means that you have to attract some people and repel others. It doesn't mean having a huge following of people who couldn't care less about what you have to say one way or another. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you're wanting to grow your Instagram from a place that focuses on quality over quantity, join my free 5-day challenge. We start on Nov. 18th. Link in my bio. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #creativebusinessowner #savvybusinessowners #smallbizsquad

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