Showing posts with label business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business. Show all posts

Monday, March 16, 2020

IS THIS MISSING FROM YOUR DAILY ROUTINE?

DO YOU INCLUDE A DAILY FAST WRITE AS PART OF YOUR ROUTINE? IF NOT, YOU MIGHT BE MISSING OUT ON SOME BIG WRITING AND BUSINESS BENEFITS. SEE WHAT THEY ARE...

 

Is this Missing From Your Daily Routine?

by: Kel Amstutz
Friday, March 13, 2020

WRITE EVERY DAY. 

How many times have you heard that very advice?

It's important. The more you write, the quicker you will hone in on your skills and improve what you do. And, the better writer that you are, the easier it is to earn the income you want.

When you are new to the game, to make your daily writing habit stick, it is best to put it on your calendar and treat it like a client meeting.

Once you have clients... and projects... and deadlines... writing every day is not a habit. It's a necessity.

If you want to make your clients happy and delivery good work on time, it takes a daily commitment (or, at least, that's always been my experience). So, the writing-every-day advice.. well, it gets heeded without your even thinking about it.

But, whether you are new to writing or you have been at this for a while and you're earning a solid living, there's a type of writing you can do EVERY DAY that will clarify your thinking, uncover new ideas, provide lots of fluff for your own content and marketing materials, and... and improve your writing skill and speed.

This sounds pretty freaking amazing, right?

It's also super simple. Anyone can do it. It doesn't matter what you skills or experience level is... you will get great things out of the exercise.

I know what you are thinking... enough already. What is this simple, powerful writing technique you are teasing me with?

IT'S FAST WRITING.

WHAT THE HECK IS FAST WRITING?

Well, it's not some ground-breaking thing. You probably ALREADY do it from time to time.

You just sit down at your computer - or, if you want to stay old-school, you can use pen and paper. Then you set a timer for 15-minutes. And... you write nonstop and without censoring yourself until that timer runs out.

Hey, I said it was simple. But, it's not as easy as it sounds.

Writing nonstop is hard. You have to LET GO of any notion of being perfect in what you write/type on that page. And, writing nonstop without censoring is even harder, because we want to fix everything we recognize as not being correct... and, we want to fix it RIGHT NOW. (you know it's true!)

By doing a fast write EVERY DAY, either before you begin your work or at the end of the day before you wrap up, you will train yourself to get out of your own way when you are writing.

That alone is reason enough to set aside 15 minutes a day.

When you learn to write without editing as you go, you'll see a big jump in your productivity.

You will also notice yourself starting to have better ideas. That is because the writing process uses the creative side of your brain, and the editing process uses the analytical side of your brain.

If you keep shifting OUT of writing mode into editing mode every two or three minutes, you never really let your creative juices flow freely. You are denying yourself full access to your amazing creative zone.  And that means, even if you do good work, you won't be doing your best work.

But, when you give yourself more time in your creative zone, your writing ideas start to get more interesting, fresher, and more original.

Writing this way has another benefit, too...

It's fun!

As humans, we pretty much live for two things... (okay, there are probably a few more, but there are two for certain.)  We live for connections with others and experiencing the creative flow state of mind... or that mental state where time doesn't seem to exist, you are completely unself-conscious, and everything just seems RIGHT.

The Flow State of Mind can happen in ALL sorts of activities... from hosting dinner parties to playing music or taking a walk in nature.  And of course, writing...

Allowing yourself to write without editing, as the 15-minute fast write trains you to do, will give you readier access to your creative flow state.

But, the benefits of this exercise do not stop there.

CLARIFY YOUR THOUGHTS, AND EVERYTHING GETS EASIER

You can use your fast write time to gain clarity on anything that's giving you trouble or that you're having a hard time expressing.

You know how sometimes you have an idea, but when you try to share it with other people, you have a hard time conveying the weight or importance or beauty of it.  It's a frustrating feeling.

It's so obvious to you that what you're trying to explain can be transformative. But, you just can't make the other people see it.  What's worse is you know it's a weakness in your own communication that's making it so hard to share it in the impactful way you mean to.

When you find yourself in that situation, at the beginning of your daily fast write, think about that problem, topic, or idea for a minute or two.

And then, start your fast write.

Because of the fluid nature of the fast write and because you aren't allowed to stop writing and think about what you're trying to say... you'll find that sometimes your thoughts begin to organize themselves in unexpected ways.

By the end of the session, you may just have the answer you have been looking for... the perfect expression of a big and important idea.


SAY GOOD-BYE TO WRITER'S BLOCK

When you fast write like this every day, another fun things starts to happen. Writing just gets easier. You are so versed in the experience of sitting down in front of a blank page and filling it, that when you sit down to work on a project the words just start coming.

Is it going to be ground-breaking work every time? Of course not.

But almost every time, it will be work that moves you forward, which means you will have an easier time staying in front of your deadlines and you might even find that you start completing some work ahead of schedule. How cool will that be!



FILL YOUR EDITORIAL CALENDAR

The fast write is also a great tool for coming up with ideas for your blog, your marketing materials, or your client's blog or email newsletter.

A blog is a big commitment.  Your readers expect to hear from you on a regular basis, right guys!

That can be daunting. What if you run out of things to say>

The 15-minute fast write can put an end to all that worry. Make one or two of your sessions each week about generating ideas based on recent experiences, conversations, or things you have read recently.

With that in mind, begin your fast write and just start listing ideas... nonstop, of course.

You will be surprised at how many ideas you are able to list off in a 15 minute period, when you put this kind of pressure and constriction on yourself. And, you will be even more surprised by how many of the ideas are useful and fresh. They won't all be, and that is ok. But, if you come away from each fast write session with even just five workable ideas, things will start to accumulate!

Within a few short weeks, you will have a running list of interesting and useful ideas for your calendar... or perhaps for your client's.

Writing every day is a great habit to get into. But, once you are writing every day for clients, make sure you are still spending time each day writing for YOU.

By doing a 15-minute fast write, you will tick that checkbox... and you will come up with more high-quality ideas... and you will improve your writing speed and skill. This is totally worth the short time commitment.

Give it a go for one short week and see what you think. Then... share your experience in the comments below.



Monday, July 10, 2017

How to turn your Purpose into Business (day 5)

By: Kel Amstutz
Keywords: Purpose, Business, Journey of Self Discovery


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Hi Ya'll.  

For some of us, being able to make a living from what we feel called to do is the ultimate dream. Ya'll know that this is true for me, as you have watched and read my articles about living a free life! 


The thing is...this can be hard to know where to even begin...and it often stays just a dream. 


Image result for turn your dream into something real



TO TURN THAT DREAM INTO SOMETHING REAL...YOU NEED TO CONSIDER WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE (your purpose), WHAT YOU CAN EASILY DO (your skills) AND HOW YOU WOULD LIKE TO DO IT (your interests and ideas). 

Image result for make a planI have a little exercise below that will give you a simple and clear PLAN of how you can turn your purpose into a business.  

When you create your PLAN you can either implement it (if it's a low risk and easily validated business), or use this PLAN to carry out further research (if it's a business with a higher risk).  And this plan here is super simple- just four steps. 

So, let's get going! 

1. Write down your purpose

Related imageGrab a sheet of paper or open up a new document, and at the top, write your purpose. We’re assuming you already know what your purpose is, and if you do - perfect. Write it down. If not, you’ll need to spend some time figuring out exactly what it is.


This is a whole other topic, but some quick points to remember: your purpose isn’t a job or an occupation, and it isn’t your passion/s. Your can bring your purpose to life through your job or passion, but they’re not the purpose itself. Your purpose is like your ultimate life goal. It’s what will gently steer the direction of your life, along any path you choose. There is no one way to bring a purpose to life, but a business is a great way to live your purpose on your terms.  

2. List your skills, commitments and interests 

Under your purpose, add three sections: skills, prior commitments and interests 
    Related image
  • Under skills, you’re going to write down every skill you have; the official ones, the life ones, and the secret skills that no one even knows you have. This includes any qualifications, musical or fitness skills, work skills, people skills. Absolutely everything you can think of.  
  • Under prior commitments, list all the bigger commitments and responsibilities you have in your life. This includes your partner, your family, your job, your mortgage, your bills, any roles you hold in your community. This is really important. We all have things in our life that we need to take into account when making big life decisions. And you want to be sure you’re bringing your purpose to life in a way that actually fits where your life is now, so that it doesn’t stay an unattainable dream. Once you have your list, and mark a little cross by any you won’t take into consideration, and a tick by those you will.
  • Finally, list all of your interests. Anything from hobbies to lifelong passions and just things you love. You might have an overlap on your skills list, like graphic design or photography. This is fine.

3. Get Creative

Image result for get creativeBrainstorm everything you can do that takes into account the skills you have (keep in mind you can up-skill or outsource), the prior commitments you want to keep, or the responsibilities you need to take into account, and your interests. Remember there is no one way to bring your purpose to life, so jot down every idea you can think of.

4. Plan and Prioritize

Image result for plan and prioritizeFrom these ideas, create your plan. You’ll decide what you’ll offer, and in what order. You’ll decide how you’ll reach people - online (1:1, private groups or communities or on a completely open platform), in person through a physical space; like a store or a class - or a combination of these.

And that’s it! Simple, right? To make it clearer, let’s look at some examples.

The Breakdown:

Image result for teach

Let’s say your purpose is to teach children about the importance of nutrition and health. Your skills are strongest in teaching, speaking and cooking. Your prior commitments are that you have a home with a mortgage, but you could rent out your house if you wanted to. And your interests are food, health, business, writing and nature.
Here are a few ways you could turn your purpose into a business:


  • Write children’s books
  • Write children’s cookbooks
  • Speak in schools
  • Implement a program around healthy eating in schools
  • Create a kids food and cooking channel on YouTube
  • Run local school holiday programs
  • Host kid friendly cooking/gardening/health lessons
  • Write books aimed at parents, teachers and caregivers
  • Write a blog or create a website to sell your own and affiliate products
Expand on this as much as you can. What else can you offer that people would be happy to pay you for? EBooks? Videos? Classes? Classroom workbooks?

Now you can narrow your list, prioritize ideas and plan how you’re going to reach people. So you might start off with a blog and website, and local school holiday programs. Eventually, you’ll be doing speaking tours in schools and creating a classroom workbook. Then you’ll create your own eBook packages (for parents and kids) to sell on your website.

Let’s try another example.



Image result for yogaMaybe your purpose is to help new MOMS to reconnect, relax and rejuvenate through yoga. Your skills are graphic design, basic web design, and yoga, obviously! Your prior commitments are your partner and two kids, your family home and small portfolio of local websites you update and maintain. Your interests are yoga, spirituality, health, and personal development.

You could turn your purpose into a business by:
  • Hosting local yoga classes
  • Selling yoga videos online
  • Develop a program or class that you license to other yoga instructors
  • Creating an eBook
  • Creating a website and blog to host your products and others to sell
  • Developing a line of products such as clothing, yoga mats and equipment
  • Creating a membership site where people can follow along online - each class is live for 24 hours
  • Create a 1:1 service for new mums that’s part yoga, part health coaching, part meditation
  • Or, offer the same yoga/health coaching/meditation service in small, exclusive groups
So you might decide that you’d prefer to go primarily online, as that would fit around your day-to-day life. Again, you might start off with a website and blog, but your main priorities are to get videos up and an eBook together. 

You might also decide to up-skill by studying as a coach to increase what you can offer to new moms.

And as a final example, let’s say your purpose is a little more open ended.




Maybe your purpose is to bring a little fun, magic and whimsy to people’s lives. 

Image result for bake

How do you make a business out of that?  Again, focus on your skills and interests to come up with potential plans. Let’s say your skills and interests are around food and cooking, everyday magic and making people smile. Maybe you turn your purpose into a beautiful boutique baking business. 


You could build and expand this business by:
  • Baking to order from a commercial kitchen
  • Having a physical bakery
  • Hosting baking classes
  • Making online videos to promote your work
  • Creating a published cookbook
  • Creating a self-published eBook
The priority here is a kitchen - whether you use a private one or open up a physical store. A web presence is always a good idea, but rather than focusing on a blog, you might have a simple website and put your focus toward Instagram and Pinterest.



So after you go through this exercise, you’ll have a clear plan of what you want to do, and how you’re going to do it. It takes into account your prior commitments and responsibilities, and the skills you already have (or are excited to acquire!). And it’s in line with your interests - it’s easier to stay motivated when you’re actually interested in what it is you’re doing.

And this is perfect...From here you can move into the phase of research and putting your plan into action.  


Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Sell Products or Services… Can I Do Both?

Business Support, Digital Products, Packaging Information

by: Kel Amstutz

Image result for digital products


I have attracted a lot of people who are interested in creating digital products.
Image result for digital products


WHY?


Well, simply put- - because they are FRICKIN' AWESOME!!!

I mean, let's think about it...
  • There is no inventory.
  • You can sell digital products all day and ALL night.
  • You can sell digital products in the summer or in the winter months.



Image result for digital products 
Digital products and services can definitely go hand-in-hand. And you can sell BOTH on your website. 



A great example is that you can be a graphic designer, you make your website with your designs and logos, OK. But, you can ALSO sell e-books and/or digital images, designs, etc. AS Digital Products! 
Image result for multiple streams of income



What does this mean... 
WELL, I call it MULTIPLE STREAMS of INCOME
Yes, please!


You have money coming in from your person-to-person services, then you have money coming in from your digital info-products...Your expertise can be sold in many different forms.

If you bundle your info-products into a PDF or perhaps a video (or any file, really) well guess what...YOU CAN SELL IT!   



You just need to find the right target audience and you need to be smart about the way you choose to market your products. It is totally possible!  

You just have to understand that selling services and selling products are pretty different in nature. There are very different beasts and will require different sales processes.
Image result for you can sell it



As  I develop my business, online, it is really funny how I have begun to notice a lot of people who start out with a service or services and then offer Digital Products

I have done the opposite. I began selling my e-book first- pretty much because I did already have the expertise and knowledge to sell it. But, after a while I was looking for that personal interaction that I was not getting from the impersonal e-Book selling methods.  

So, I have decided that it is time for me to start offering my services and expertise in the form of coaching month to month. Now, I know that this is an awesome idea because I absolutely love working with clients and I am very excited to start having multiple income streams through e-books, online courses, workshops and one-on-one with clients. It really sounds like a fun blend and the next step of my journey.


Image result for digital marketing


So, what do you think?  

Do you get excited about selling products?  

Service?  

Or a blend of both of them? 
 


 
Nope! I can't wait to be done with school in two weeks and then off to my dream job! Haters approval not needed! I have found something I love to do! It makes me happy to see I'm such an inspiration to all my haters :):
If you found this post interesting, I bet you’ll love checking out my other most popular posts:

 


 Here is my most popular eBook! 

I strongly recommend my eBook, The Social Media Manager Kit by Kel (w/ bonus) in order to get you started. It will include templates for emailing potential clients or those you landed a completed job with, it will allow you to focus and challenge you to keep moving forward. 

This life, working at home, being financial free and with my family, is something that I used to dream about

Today...
  • I am living it. 
  • I am loving it. 
  • I am making it my life! 

Need More Help?  

Check out my eBook, Make your Dream a Reality in 30 Days or Less! - a jump start guide with templates to get you ready, set and ROCKING this Social Media Manager gig! 




 


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