Blog Fuel: Education & Encouragement for Goal-Gett

This episode ties in with last week’s episode where we discuss habits that make business easier. Social media habits deserver their own episode, so here we are, and there you go. Social media has been proven to be detrimental to your health, but as business owners, we kinda need to participate in social media. We want to talk about how to do it in a way that is both healthy and authentic. Debunk the social media image: - Think about the things you do in order to get the “perfect” photo, and remember that other people posting on social media are doing the same thing. - Stylized lifestyle photos are meant to inspire “FOMO” - fear of missing out - and is a marketing strategy. Beware of accounts that only post the stylized stuff and never share anything real and raw. Unfollow accounts that make you feel gross. They’ll be there when you’re ready to come back, if ever, but you shouldn’t feel bad about yourself every time you hop on social media. Stop the mindless scroll. Do what you need to do and get back to work. Make sure you keep the “social” in social media and talk to people. Leave genuine comments, reply to Instagram Stories, and use social media to network with other people. Don’t use autoresponders on Instagram, and stop obsessing with numbers because they genuinely don’t matter. If you are genuine online, you don’t have to freak out every time the algorithm changes. Turn off notifications.

The end of the year is an opportune time to assess your processes and workflows and determine where you can make changes for the better. Start the new year off with positive habits to make your business easier to manage. #1 - Keep a calendar/planner and USE IT #2 - Keep an organized inbox. >> REFERENCE: Manage Your Inbox in 10 Minutes a Day with Jordan Gill - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Dae1UO_Vw&t=1s #3 - Create office hours and honor them. #4 - Have well-established workflows for everything. #5 - Batch your content and your work. #6 - Keep important information in one place that is easy to reference. The Spreadsheet Shop: https://www.withwitandwisdom.co/the-spreadsheet-shop #7 - Review the tools you use and trim the fat #8 - Have a bedtime and wake-up time and stick to it. BIG TAKEAWAY: Set boundaries and stick to them.

We grow up hearing, “If you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.” That’s only half true. While it’s fine to turn a hobby into a business, there should be a separation between your true hobbies - those things you do for fun that are just for you - and your true business - that thing that brings you an income. If you’re used to running a business, it can be difficult to restrain yourself from turning hobbies into yet another business “thing”. Hobbies are things you do because you love them, but you don’t feel obligated to do it all the time, even when you don’t really feel like it. A business, on the other hand, is something you do even on the days when it’s hard, because that’s your money maker. Enjoying your hobbies while running a business sometimes takes a mindset shift. There may be a time when you feel like taking the time to enjoy your hobbies means taking time away from your business, but you are a better business owner if you allow yourself a creative outlet not tied to your business. Some people make the mistake of turning a hobby into a business when they really don’t know enough to be able to carry on an intelligent conversation about the details of what you do. Many hobbyists will start charging for their products or services, but won’t treat it like a business legally. For example, business owners must register their business, pay taxes, and have an actual business account (not just PayPal).

Whether you're overwhelmed by an ever-expanding to-do list or a wealth of ideas with no idea where to start, you're in the right place! We're diving into all of it, talking about admin days, prioritizing, and choosing which projects to pursue!

We're celebrating our 100th episode with a community Q&A episode! We asked our community to submit questions and/or feedback and we responded on the podcast! We talk about everything from dealing with overwhelm and imposter syndrome to our takeaways from 100 episodes of podcasting to our best business investment, and other fun stuff! Join the Facebook group to get involved: https://www.facebook.com/groups/witandwisdom/

This is the time of year when we start hearing people talk about if blogging is “dead”. With the rise of video and audio content, is blogging really necessary? We say a resounding YES, and we’ll be happy to tell you why. Gone are the days when blog posts need to exclusively be traditional blog posts with hundreds of words and pictures and headings. Here on Wit + Wisdom, our blog posts are the show notes of our podcasts with the audio embedded. Here’s the thing: Google can’t listen to podcasts or watch video. You have to give search bots something to READ and do it consistently. You can have captions on your video that Google can read + the video description, and when you embed that into a blog post with written words, this greatly improves your SEO. You are serving your audience by giving them a way to reference your content in an easily navigable way, which means a well-organized blog. Service-based business owners often fear that they are giving away all of their knowledge for free and this may hurt their business. However, blog posts are broad overviews of the things you know, whereas the work you do with a client is a personalized experience that they are paying for. Sharing your knowledge helps people realize how much you know and helps people trust you. Repurpose your content - add your videos to your blog posts, break them down into smaller videos to use on social media, etc.

We’re gearing up for the 2019 launch of PowerSheets by Cultivate What Matters, and we are passionate users of the PowerSheets and goal-setting in general. We’ve had a lot of questions about our PowerSheets so we’re here to tell you more about them - what they are, why we love them, how we use them. LINKS TO THINGS WE MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Erin’s reptile rescue, Femenagerie Kirsten’s planner videos on YouTube Our 2018 PowerSheets walk-through on Facebook PowerSheets on Cultivate What Matters (affiliate link)

Here’s a fun exercise to kick off this episode: head over to Instagram and search a specific hashtag in your industry. Do all of the posts look the same? And listen to the end because we have a personal challenge for you! JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/witandwisdom/

Channel your inner Ross from Friends, grab your huge sofa, and let's tackle that staircase! How do you know when to PIVOT! We've got you, girlfriend.  In this week's episode, we talk about when NOT to pivot, when to pivot, and even talk about acknowledging when God or the universe is trying to tell you something. Tune in. It's a good one. CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION IN THE FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/witandwisdom/

Here’s the problem: sometimes we let our goals go and we feel guilty about it, but the truth is, it’s OK to let our goals go when we outgrow them. Our goals grow and evolve as we go through different seasons in our lives. When our kids are little, we focus more on goals that benefit them as much as they benefit us. When they become more independent, we’re able to set goals that are more self-satisfying. Most of us don’t even realize what’s possible so we don’t realize how big we can go with our goals. Too often we are fed what our end goal SHOULD look like. But our goals are not the same as other people’s goals. And we shouldn’t define our success based on whether or not we are achieving someone else’s goals. Our end goals don’t always have to be monumental and huge. That’s the beauty of YOUR goals - they are yours and they can be whatever you want them to be! Your end goal will become more focused on the legacy you want to leave behind. The daily tasks don’t matter as much as the heart behind them.

We've  been asked a lot in the past several months what it's really like going from running a business solo to running a business as a partnership, so this week we're getting really honest and sharing the highs and lows and everything in between!

Whether you're dealing with mental health issues like depression or anxiety, or you're grieving the loss of a loved one, sometimes things happen that are difficult to deal with, especially as a business owner. How do you run a business when life is just hard? You might feel like quitting, or maybe you feel like you're feelings aren't valid. In this episode, we talk about dealing with the hard stuff, allowing yourself to have real and raw emotions, and how to handle your business when things go terribly wrong. Have a friend who needs to hear this message? Share this episode with them! Remember to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, & REVIEW! Join the Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/witandwisdom/

We're back from our own summer break to kick off Season 5 of the podcast! Breaks are important, whether for a couple days or for two months like we just had. In this episode, we give you guidelines to help you PLAN for a break, then offer advice for COMING BACK after a break so you don't come back to chaos! Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE, RATE, & REVIEW, and share this episode with a friend! JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/witandwisdom/

Season 4 of the podcast was EPIC! We introduced the new brand and business, launched Facebook Live 101 and Podcasting 101, as well as DollarBossClub.com, we hit several big milestones, hosted a retreat, and had a few amazing guests!

Hey. Guess what? That hobby you have that you love? It' doesn't need to be a business. And that's what this week's minisode is all about. Join Erin as she digs into that impulsive feeling we sometimes get as entrepreneurs and why we need to reign it in for our mental health and for the health of our business!

It's summer, which usually means taking a break from work. We share tips for keeping your business running smoothly when you are taking time off.

This is a follow-up minisode to episode 084 about Time Management. We talked about administrative and big picture tasks in episode 084 and today we'll talk about creating documented processes & systems to streamline your business, as well as how to repurpose content to help you reach your goals.

People want to be accepted in the online world, but you shouldn’t compromise your morals and values in the process. Also, don’t hold parts of your personality back b/c you are afraid of judgment. There will always be judgment but that just means those aren’t your people.

This week's minisode isn't so mini! Erin is kicking it old school with an episode from her since ended podcast, Life Made Lovely. This week, we're digging into balancing relationships as an entrepreneur. And not just balance them but how to see that they survive and thrive. But it isn't fair to talk about it from one side. We're sitting down with Erin's husband, Jon, to hear his side of the story too! Let's dig in!

Life is kinda busy and chaotic right now as Kirsten preps for a big move and Erin wraps up the school year, so we're doing a throwback this week! Enjoy!