E38: The Aligned Way

I’m often asked what the exact steps are to grow a business and today I want to explore why I simply cannot give you this...

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Transcript

Hello & welcome to Dream Business Dream Life, helping ambitious people, like you, to grow a business they love.

 I’m Emma Hine and I’m on a mission to show you that it is possible to grow a business without sacrificing your life.

 Having experienced the rollercoaster of making millions of pounds, but feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and totally unsuccessful, I know first-hand the importance of growing a business on your terms.

 On this podcast I'm going to share with you lots of tips and advice that will enable you to grow a business that gives you the financial freedom to live the life of your dreams while sharing with you some inspirational growth stories from other fabulous business owners.

 Ready to live the dream? Then let’s get stuck in…

Hello & Welcome to today’s episode of Dream Business Dream Life.

 I’m often asked what the exact steps are to grow a business, and the honest answer is there are things you need to but there isn’t a set in stone roadmap that will get you there.

 I bet others have told you the same…it’s frustrating right? as you just want to know what you need to do and when you need to do it.

 I bet you’ve also been told that you have to follow someone’s exact steps to get there; you have followed them, and it hasn’t worked. Even more frustrating as you have seen it work for others.

I get it…when I launched this business, I desperately wanted that too but every time someone gave me a roadmap I froze, I found myself just not doing the things I knew I needed to do; the things I had seen others do and the things I had seen work.

 And if I did push myself to try it failed…over and over again.

 I was out there telling people that growing a business isn’t a cookie cutter thing, it is something that needs to be aligned to who you are are, your values, your preferred way of doing business and of course your life too.

 Yet here I was trying to shoehorn myself into a roadmap. The one thing I knew was not going to work for me this time round as there was no way I was growing another business that led to burn out and a miserable existence, even if it made me a shit tonne of money.

 Now…I want to be 100% clear here…there are things you have to I order to build a business that is long term sustainable, a business that actually makes you money but there are a million ways you can implement them.

 So today I want to go back to an analogy that I have spoken about many, many times as I think it will help me to highlight the reason a roadmap is not something that is set in stone.

And timing wise this analogy could not be more perfect as I’m currently planning a very exciting road trip.

Yep…I am back to the sat nav analogy but with a little twist as this time we have actually set the sat nav but…

Have you ever been on a road trip where someone else has set the sat nav for you; they have chosen which route you take and where you stop.

It was ok but there are places you wanted to see and some of the places you did see just weren’t really your kind of place…maybe you did not get to visit that yummy Italian restaurant you had seen as you went in the opposite direction.

Well business growth can feel the same if the path you are following is not your own.

Today I am not going to talk about this in detail but don’t forget that you should be setting your sat nav to your chosen destination…the dream business and dream life that you want. That is your starting point.

So the destination is set…the roadmap exists, of course it does as I have already said there are things you have to do to get you to that destination but you are in the driving seat and you can to choose which way the sat nav takes you…you want pizza from that Italian restaurant then you can have it!

You want the scenic route…you can take it!

You want the fastest route…jump on that motorway; it is there and waiting for you.

If you get it wrong and realise you should have chosen a slightly different route that is absolutely ok too as remember when setting your sat nav yes it starts with your destination but you are choosing the route so you can take detours and you can take wrong turns.

Some of my biggest learnings have come from the wrong turns I have made in life and in business so never be afraid of getting it wrong.

A long as you learn from your mistakes you will get growth on the back on them…even if it feels awful at the time.

If you are not aligned with your business then you are far less likely to stick with it, remember me saying I tried to follow a roadmap to the letter and froze, well that is because I was trying to do something that was not aligned to me, not wrong, just not aligned.

I know that I’m in my happy place when I am working really closely with my clients, when I get to know who they are, what they like for dinner and what makes them happy so large group programs are something I just do not enjoy running so I don’t.

Group programs absolutely work…but they don’t work for me.

You need offers but you need the right offers, offers that are aligned to your dream life and business. Offers that you love and you are passionate about. Offers that do not consume you or fill you with dread every time you sell them.

If you are not selling something, then maybe it is time to look at why…maybe the issue is the fact that the offer is not in alignment with you.

You see if you do not enjoy something you are far less likely to stick at it.

Passion drives consistency

Consistency drives growth

If you do something that is not aligned with your dream then the chances are you will not get to your dream, you will get somewhere but it may be where you want to be.

So, focus on that dream and think about what feels natural and enjoyable for you in terms of every aspect of your business.

Who do you want to work with…yes you get to choose your clients.

How do you like to do your marketing…if you get overwhelmed with multiple social media channels pick the one or two you enjoy and focus on those. If you hate cold selling don’t try it; if you love in person connection, then make sure you go to events as part of your marketing. If you love to talk and hate to write, then look at video, speaking and podcasting over and above blogging and written content.

What rooms do you want to be in? You do not have to be everywhere and you certainly do not have to be in certain rooms…you can choose your rooms.

How do you like to interact with your clients…if you like intimate spaces, create them, if you thrive off big groups create them. If you hate 1-2-1 don’t do them, if you love 1-2-1’d do them!

How do you like to sell your offers…if launches exhaust you then look at other ways to sell your offers…there are so many ways to sell.

If you work better alone…work alone, if you work better in a team, build a team and until you are ready to do that then build a community around you or maybe consider a business partner.

If you want to earn £2k, £10k or £100k months then own that…you do not have to hit a certain amount of money to be a successful business owner.

Look at everything in your business and make sure you are doing it in a way that feels aligned; if it’s not it will be slowing you down or stalling you completely.

If you are new to business or not sure what you enjoy then experiment, try new things and see what it feels like…if you love it find a way to build it into your business, if you don’t enjoy it then move n and try something else.

My business is so aligned to me right now and that is because I have tried things, boy I have probably tried everything and yes it meant my growth was slower at first, but you know what they say once something clicks…it clicks and then the snowball starts rolling. My snowball is rolling, and I am loving it too.

The biggest learning for me when doing this work has been to trust my gut…it is rarely wrong!

So, taking this right back to that roadmap, yes there are things you need to do but the way you do it has to be aligned with you, your dream and your values.

You need to love every stage of your journey even when it feels tough and uncomfortable.

Following a roadmap to the letter is not going to give you that joy as we are all very different, we have different styles, values and different things light us up so yes follow a roadmap but make sure you have chosen the path you are following.

Make sure that your sat nav is taking you to where you want to go and make sure you are doing all the key things enroute but do them your way…the aligned way!

Thank you for listening; see you next time…

You have been listening to Dream Business Dream Life with Emma Hine. If you want to know more about how I can help you to build your dream business and your dream life, then visit my website