The Business Advice I’m Actively Ignoring Right Now
Episode 944: Show Notes
There’s no shortage of business advice out there, but let’s be real, some of it just doesn’t work for me. And I’m guessing it’s not all going to work for you either!
I’ve learned the hard way that not all advice is created equal. In today’s episode, I’m sharing where I’m intentionally being a rebel; where I’m choosing what actually aligns with my values and giving myself permission to evolve. I hope this episode gives you the spark to do the same. We’re going to tackle these, one piece of bad advice at a time, and I’ll break down exactly why I’m not following it.
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Why You Shouldn’t Do Less to Make More
I hate this one! This advice can feel so toxic and premature, especially when you’re still building your business. It might even make you feel like what you are doing is ineffective because you’re not getting to your goal fast enough and you think you should be doing less.
That’s just not how business works! You’re not going to know what works until you put in the reps. You need quantity to learn! You can do more of what’s working and ultimately do less, but that takes time.
You Don’t Need a Huge Audience to Make Real Money
An audience doesn’t necessarily help you make more money. They have to be engaged, and they have to be an ideal fit for what you’re selling. I have a large audience, an email list, and a decent-sized social media following, but I recently started something new, Creator Diary, and I’ve put it on a totally different URL, email, and social media. That’s because Creator Diary has a totally different focus to Boss Project! If your followers are not actively engaged with what you’re doing, it isn’t moving your business forward.
What You Should Actually Focus On & Why it Isn’t Growing Your Team
The most important thing you can do is provide the right solution for the right people. You could have a small but mighty list. The audience is a “nice to have,” not a necessity. What matters most is reaching the right people. I used to believe that scaling meant growing my team. But the bigger the team, the bigger the costs and the more emotionally involved everything gets. I’ve seen people take home more with a $250,000 cash flow than entrepreneurs making $3 million. Simplicity can work. You don’t need a bigger team to scale.
How to Stop Glorifying Burnout & Making Ease Seem Like a Failure
It doesn’t have to be hard! You can aim for simple, sustainable, and aligned. That’s my goal every single day. I want a flow. I want it to be easy. If I’m in a hard season that doesn’t end, my body will pay for it. Life is hard enough all on its own. We don’t need business to be hard too! Is it still work sometimes? Yes, of course! Is it still going to be hard sometimes? Yes! But it’s not wrong if it’s not hard.
Fight Me on This: You Don’t Need a Niche!
Does niching help? 100%. A focus of any kind is going to help you to grow faster. But most entrepreneurs I know are multi-passionate, and if they’re constantly being boxed in creatively, they’re going to get really stuck, really fast. Myself included! You have to be willing to listen to those nudges, even if they feel like a sideline. What I do instead is niche my messaging. When I talk about something specific, I speak directly to that person. Outside of that, I give myself the freedom to evolve and explore.
My Perspective on Where to Place Your Pricing
I very intentionally sell low-cost digital products through a reasonably priced, accessible membership. I’ve sold products from $11,000 to $45,000 and everything in between. I’m not scared of selling high ticket, but it’s just not how I want to show up in this season. That said, for most small businesses, having something on the higher end can be important. Your audience might not be big enough to sustain your life on low-ticket sales alone. Think of high ticket as simply another way to create profit. It’s not better or worse, just a different path.
How to Win with Just One Offer & One Thing You Shouldn't Fear Monetizing
If you don’t have a bigger audience to sustain one offer, this can get really challenging. But that doesn’t mean it can’t work! I’ve seen plenty of people do this successfully. You just have to grow your audience consistently in order to succeed. Having something in your back pocket that offers more flexibility is definitely going to make things easier. Here’s another bit of advice I don’t listen to: “Don’t monetize your passion projects.” When you see it as a way to fund something you actually want to pursue, everything shifts. Some things deserve the limelight!
The Permission You Might Not Know You Need
You are allowed to outgrow advice. Maybe it’s something you heard today that you used to subscribe to and you don’t believe anymore. Maybe there’s something else on your mind and you’re not so sure if it works for you anymore. You’re growing, you’re evolving, and you’re aging. You’re at a different point in life than you were two years ago. Think about how different your life was then!
You don’t have to follow rules that don’t make sense to you. The only rules in life are the ones that you subscribe to. You have one life, and you’re not obligated to anyone but yourself! I’d love to hear about a piece of advice that you ditched recently or something about this episode that hit home for you.
Send me a DM on Instagram @abagailsays and tell me: What are you no longer subscribing to?
Quote This
You can aim for simple, sustainable, and aligned. That’s my goal every single day.
Highlights
Why You Shouldn’t Do Less to Make More [0:01:05]
You Don’t Need a Huge Audience to Make Real Money [0:03:10]
What You Should Actually Focus On & Why it Isn’t Growing Your Team [0:06:17]
How to Stop Glorifying Burnout & Making Ease Seem Like a Failure [0:14:54]
Fight Me on This: You Don’t Need a Niche! [0:17:04]
My Perspective on Where to Place Your Pricing [0:20:41]
How to Win with Just One Offer & One Thing You Shouldn't Fear Monetizing [0:25:26]
The Permission You Might Not Know You Need [0:32:45]
Key Topics:
Business Advice, Strategy, Audiences, Teams
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