You are listening to My Freedom Grove podcast with Gretchen Hernandez, episode 157.

Welcome to My Freedom Grove Podcast, your calm space for practical help to get your dream business up and running while being authentically you and taking care of your mental health. I'm your host, Gretchen Hernandez. I'm so glad you're here!

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Hi My Strong Friends, we are at the end of March.  We’ve completed the first quarter of 2023.  First, I want to congratulate you on the achievements and progress you’ve made so far.  When you look back to the end of Quarter one of last year, 2022, do you see a difference to where you are now?

It could be a very valuable exercise to write down the difference. You’ll amaze yourself.

Having a yearly benchmark comes in handy.  Businesses are just like kids, especially kids in the 6-10 year old range.  If you live with them everyday, you don’t notice their growth as much.  But, if those kids live with someone else, you might just see them once per year.  Consider nieces, nephews and your friend’s kids.  In your memory they are the size you saw them as last year.  Then when you see them today, your mind is blown.  How often do you find yourself saying “You’ve grown so much!”

The point is, you can’t see your business growth when you live with it everyday.  The same is true of your own personal journey.  It’s hard to see how far you’ve evolved because you live with yourself every day.

That’s one of the reasons I love the Evolve - Emerge Business and Wellness Retreat so much.  It creates a snapshot in time.  This is the first year I’m offering it.  We’ll take some time to reflect on how far we’ve evolved, but we’ll base it mostly on memory.  But, we are also documenting where you are now and where you want to be a year from now and beyond.  Then, year after year when we come back together, you’ll have concrete evidence to see your Evolution.

Growth in kids is often measured with height tick marks on door frames.  You can see the growth of a redwood tree by looking at it’s growth rings.  There is a ring for every single year.  You can learn a lot about the environment by looking at those rings.  Some are very faint and others are really wide and vibrant.  What’s fascinating is that there is no set pattern to the rings.  Each tree has a variety of good years, bad years and everything in between.  The most important thing is that the tree is thriving no matter what.  It grows hundreds of feet tall and lasts hundreds and even thousands of years.

Your business will do that too, as long as you don’t give up.

Last week I hosted a great webinar where we looked at the 3 essential things to get clarity and confidence in your business.

I asked my student what is the #1 thing entrepreneurs want.  The majority of the time, my clients tell me they want Confidence more than anything.

This time I had someone share they wanted Faster Results.  Which, as you can tell, inspired this week’s episode.

I went through a class with my coach Brooke over 2.5 years ago that had a similar theme.  I want to share my experience with that and the thing that finally got me Faster Results in my business.

DOUBLE YOUR BUSINESS IN 90 DAYS

Brooke’s class was Double Your Business in 90 days.  Specifically, she was referring to doubling revenue.

This was September of 2020.  At the time, I not only wanted to quadruple my revenue, I wanted to do it in a month.  I was a bit impatient.  But, I had a significant financial need.  I wasn’t making my minimum math number in my business yet.

Two things she taught in that class stuck with me.  These are the 2 things I’m going to share with you today.

The 7 Word Sentence That Changes Everything

Sell water to thirsty people with money

With that one statement alone, you could double your business.  It sounds simple.  In fact, the simplicity of that statement can be a bit frustrating.  I can’t tell you how many hours I spent rolling that statement around in my head.

7 words.  It can make a huge difference.

Sell water to thirsty people with money.

3 key things stood out to me:

Water

Thirsty people

Money

My first focus went to thirsty people.  Were they people I was marketing to “Thirsty People”?

At the time I was marketing to people that were expressing a lot of pain.  But, I realized, that doesn’t make them thirsty.

Let’s think about this.  Consider people with a bad cough.  Their throat hurts from all the coughing.  They may even have a headache.  They cough and then complain about the coughing.  They even say “I wish I could stop coughing”.

There’s cough syrup available.

Are these people thirsty for the cough medicine?  Or do they think they can just push through the coughing and allow their immune system to take care of it?

Those warriors are not your customers.

In fact, even if you offered them cough syrup for free, they will turn you down.

They are not thirsty. Period.

Now consider the people that you are marketing to.  Are they thirsty?  I mean really thirsty?  Are they out there looking for something because they are so thirsty?

Now, let’s talk about the Water.

Sell water to thirsty people with money.

People can be thirsty.  What specifically are they thirsty for?

If you are around people that are thirsty for soda, they probably won’t be excited about your offer for water.  They may just be kinda thirsty.  Or they are just interested in drinking for the pure pleasure of drinking.

THIRSTY is something more intense.  When you are thirsty you can barely think about something else.  You want water and you want it now.  In fact, it doesn’t matter how much the water costs, you want water now.  You have to have it.

Now, think about your product/service.  Who is thirsty for it?  Who is so thirsty, they are already searching for your product/service?  Where are they searching?

Sell water to thirsty people with money.

We talked about the thirsty people.  We talked about the water.  Now, let’s talk about the money.

You are in business to earn revenue.  If you really could care less if you make money, you are in a hobby.  That might sound harsh, but the IRS agrees with me.  The first year I filed business taxes, I had a net loss.  No big deal.  That’s pretty standard for new businesses.  The IRS had no problem with that.  The second year I filed business taxes, I had a net gain, but it wasn’t very substantial.  Part of that was because I made a large investment in my coach certification that year.  The IRS gave me a warning.  I had to have a bigger profit margin or they would classify my business as a hobby.  You can’t take deductions for a hobby.  If you want to take business expense deductions, you have to make revenue.

This brings us back to selling water to thirsty people with money.

Entrepreneurship makes you face your bleeding heart.  Many of us care a lot about our fellow humans.  We would do anything for them, including giving them the shirt off our backs so they don’t have to suffer or go without.

At some point you may experience that you gave too much in your business.  If all of your marketing is attracting people without money, your heart can get you in trouble quickly.  It feels good to give and help.  And the people are showing up thirsty for your water.

But, the IRS requires you to make money to be considered a business.  And your landlord or mortgage company isn’t going to give you a free pass because you’re helping so many people for free.  Homes are a business for someone too.  Money has to come in so it can flow out.

As painful as it may be, you need to adjust your marketing to attract the thirsty people that have money.  Shortly after Brooke’s class, I hired a grief coach for a session.  I had to grieve letting go of the people that didn’t have money.  She helped me by reminding me that not only did I still offer a free podcast and workshops, there are plenty of other business and government offices that also offer some services for free. 

So, if you want to Double your Business in 90 days —-

Sell water to thirsty people with money.

The Wakeup Call Equation

I lovingly call this the “Duh” equation.  There is a simple equation that tells you everything you need to know to Double Your Business in 90 days.  The equation makes a ton of sense.  It’s another example of something so simple is can be frustrating.

Ready for it?  Here it Goes.

#Offer - #No’s = #Yeses

So, let say over the past 90 days your equation looked like this:

6 Offers - 4 No’s = 2 Yeses

If you want to double that, work backward

4 Yeses = 12 Offers - 8 No’s

Do to double your business, you have to make 12 offers, expect 8 No’s, so you can get the 4 Yeses you want.

Do you feel frustrated by this equation?  Do you want to run out into the world and get 8 No’s?  Lol   Probably not.  I hear so many people say they don’t want to waste their time, money and effort to get No results.

But, you’d get 4 Yeses if you put out the 12 offers, right?  And you want the 4 Yeses?

You have to do some Mindset work to make you excited about the 12 offers, including the 8 No’s, I bet.

What are some reasons you could be excited about getting a No?

Please don’t include “relief that you don’t have to do the work”.  Although, that might be true, it’s not going to serve you in the long run.

Here are some reasons I’m excited to go Nos:

1.  I get to collect data on why they say No.  This data will help me improve my marketing & website copy, webinar information, emails and possibly my product/service.

2. I get to learn what else they want to try instead.  This might be a direct competitor or something completely different.  They may want a DIY or Done for You service, where I offer a Done With You Service.  It could be a different modality.  For both of these, I agree, of course I would be a No.  I don’t offer what they want.  But, if they chose a direct competitor, I’d love to learn what is different between us.  They may prefer the other person’s personality over mine.  I’m ok with that.  I prefer to be authentic and for everybody to have a good fit.  I wouldn’t change a thing in that instance.  But, if they share that my competitor offer the same service, but it was on a Saturday, I have some food for thought.  If enough people say No because they want a Saturday service, it might be time for me to pivot.  They are most thirsty on a Saturday.  My business can double, or more, if I pivot to a different time.

3. I get to establish a Check - In Relationship - If they choose to try a different modality or service model, I’ll ask if I can check in with them in a month or so.  Usually, they appreciate that I’m so interested in their success.  When I talk with them in a month, they get to report back if their experiment worked or not.  If it didn’t, I have the opportunity to re-present my offer.

4. They may provide Referrals - Just because my product/service wasn’t a good fit for them at that moment, doesn’t mean it isn’t a good fit for someone they know.  The more people I can network with, the higher my chances of getting referrals.  Several of my paid clients came as a referral by someone who said No to me in a consultation.

The equation again

#Offers - #Nos = #Yeses

It’s a good wake up call.  How many offers did you extend this month?  OOoo…that might sting for some of my listeners.

I’ve been stung with that question too.  The funny thing is, that question is neutral.  It only stings when we have a thought about the question.  Or a thought about our answer to that question.

If you’ve only extended 2 offers, how can you expect to have 4 paying clients or more?

You have to extend offers.

The last important point I want to make here—There is more than one kind of offer.

There are multiple offers to get a potential customer all the way through the phases to become a paid customer.

Here are the offers:

1. Will you notice me?
2. Will you pay attention to me?
3. Will you engage with me?

4. Are you interested in exploring working together?

5. Will you purchase my product/service?

You have to make offers at every stage.  #1 about getting noticed is often a hurdle for new entrepreneurs.  You have to get visible to be noticed.  Being visible 1x/month is not creating enough offers to create enough Yeses.  And that Yes is just to notice you. 

To get a Yes at Offer #5, you have to get a Yes from them at offers 1-4 first.

Using metrics can keep you aware of this formula.  Make it easy.  Write the number of post it notes.  Use Hash marks if you need to.

How many offers do you need to make to get the number of Yeses you want?  How many offers have you made so far?  How many do you need to make now.

THE THING THAT FINALLY QUADRUPLED MY BUSINESS

Brooke’s sentence and equation were substantial, but something was still missing.  The fire.  Now, I had the motivational fire to make money, because I needed it, but I actually had money in the bank.  The fire wasn’t immediate.

My fire got ignited from a Business Workshop I wanted to attend.  It was a 4 day Business workshop in another state.  It was going to require airfare, hotel plus the $4,000 price tag.  The workshop included lunch, but not breakfast and dinner.  So I had to pay $4,000 plus airfare, hotel and breakfast & dinner for the whole trip.  I really wanted to go.  I believed it would help my business.  Not only for the knowledge I would get, but because I would get to be around other value aligned entrepreneurs.  I could make friends, meet collaborators, and learn from them.   What had they tried?  What had worked for them?  What didn’t work for them?

So, I made a decision.  I was going to make my money back before the Workshop started.  Afterall, I needed that money to support myself and my family.

I also decided to allow myself to learn from another coach.  I had already invested in her program.  Yet, she was teaching how to make sales differently than what I wanted to do.  But, reality was, my way wasn’t working. 

So, 2 decisions.  Make my money back before the workshop and allow myself to learn and try a different way.

The result?  I became fully booked with 1:1s in 6 weeks!  Between my 1:1s and my membership, I made $16,000 in 6 weeks.  Whoa!  I had not made that kind of money in my business at that point.  I more than quadrupled my business in 6 weeks.

Those kind of results can happen for you too, my friend. 

Can the Clarity Steps Help you Get Faster Results?

Short answer - Yes

The Clarity Steps is my 7 step process to achieve any goal without jeopardizing your Mental Health.

Why can it help?

The Clarity Steps helps you identify and resolve the obstacles getting in the way.

For example, if your Formula tells you to go extend 30 offers this month, is it easy?

If you already resolved all of your obstacles, 30 offers could not only be easy, they can be extended in 1 day.

But, you can’t have a clear path if you don’t acknowledge your obstacles and experiment to resolve them.

All obstacles are either a Mindset or a Process obstacle.  Some of those obstacles can get resolved in 15 minutes or less.  But, that can’t happen if you don’t acknowledge them first.

HOW WILL YOU GET RESULTS FASTER?

Are you ready to listen and act on the advice of the equation?

# Offers - # Nos = # Yeses

Do you need to reevaluate things based on the sentence

Sell Water to Thirsty People with Water

Or, will you acknowledge your other obstacles so you can experiment to resolve them permanently?

The great news…all 3 will work.

FINAL WAY TO GET RESULTS FASTER

Condense the amount of time it takes to do your business tasks by attending the EVOLVE - EMERGE Business & Wellness Retreat.

There are certain business tasks, that once done, will catapult your success.  You can do these on your own, but you may find yourself getting triggered, overwhelmed and taking months upon months to get your stuff done.

We designed this retreat especially for you.  I invited guest coach Sarah Grace Powers to help calm your nervous system as we do the business activities.

You know I always put your Mental Health first.  There will be many soul nourishing activities that take care of you.  Plus, at the end of the weekend, you’ll have all of your business pieces organized and planned for growth and have documented, well working processes to help you convert more Nos to Yeses and have all of your products/services streamlined.

The EVOLVE - EMERGE Business & Wellness Retreat happens May 5-8th.  That a Friday night starting at 5pm and going through Monday morning breakfast.

This retreat is being offered at the beautiful Elk Cove Inn & Spa.  It’s located along Highway 1 and the Pacific Ocean about 3 hours north of San Francisco.

This is an all inclusive retreat with luxurious Ocean Front rooms and gourmet meals.  Reservations are required by April 5th.  Make sure you don’t miss out.

Just a reminder, this will be an annual retreat.  This is your benchmark of you and your business in 2023.  Year after year, you’ll be able to see your phenomenal business growth and reunite with all of the other amazing entrepreneurs you bond with.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there were a bunch of high value collaborations created over our nightly fireside chats.  Imagine sitting under the stars, listening to the ocean, getting warmed by embers while laughing and innovating into the night.

I can’t wait.  Remember, reserve your spot no later than April 5th.  Go to my website at www.myfreedomgrove.com to learn more.  You’ll see a big Retreat display on the home page.

My friends, have a great week!  Go get your fast results!  I’ll see you soon.  Bye Bye.

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Thank you for listening to My Freedom Grove Podcast. When you are ready to make your dream business a reality and take care of your mental health, I invite you to join the Unshakable Business Co-Lab. This is the mastermind membership you've been waiting for. There's no limits on your imagination, nor your timeline. We're with you every step of the way. To learn more, please visit www.myfreedomgrove.com/join. I'll see you there!