Hey friends! At the beginning of each month, I share in-depth look at my blogging and business goals for the month ahead. I find that crafting goals at the start of the month is a great way to align my work with the intentions that matter to me most. It’s also a way to keep me focused and dreaming big. Not to mention, sharing these goals for everyone to see makes me even more motivated to complete them. 😉 Today, I’m sharing how I did in August, as well as some big goals I’m striving toward this September.
I lit-rally (Chris Traeger voice) can’t believe that August was only…one month long. For as long as it felt, you could’ve tricked me into thinking it was three. I don’t really mean that in a bad way though. It felt long — not because it was bad by any means — but because SO MUCH happened. The biggest being that I officially stopped taking one-on-one clients and also launched my first e-course, Pinfinite Growth. I’m working on a crazy in-depth post (and maybe a workshop — you down?) about the launch of my course, so stay tuned for that!
Now, let’s dive into my goals — how I did in August and what I’m working on this September.
How I did on my August goals:
1. Host a mini series on Periscope.
Yup, yup! Early on in August, I hosted a daily Periscope series, #BeFound, which shared different strategies to stand out online and be found by more of the right people. The series lasted for five days and I got a really positive response from the people who attended. Woo!
…It was also the last time I used Periscope! I used to use Periscope pretty frequently — at least every couple days. But after that series, the launch of my e-course started and I pretty much fell off the face of the earth. Ha! I definitely do want to get back into using Periscope though, now that the launch (aka my to do list) has settled down. I think Periscope is SO worth using, but also a lot of work. I don’t really like listening to random babbling on Periscope, so I tend to plan out each Periscope’s content ahead of time to make sure I’m providing valuable content to my followers and staying on track with specific points. In some cases it can be almost as much work as crafting a new blog post (not to mention, my Periscopes tend to last 30-60 minutes), so it can definitely take up a lot of time.
Anyways, I’m really happy with how the #BeFound series went on Periscope and I plan to get back into it sometime soon.
2. Launch my new e-course
Holy cow…yes! I’ve been wanting to release an e-course for over a year, but with running my full-time design business and this blog, it just wasn’t happenin’. I honestly am glad that I decided to stop taking clients in order to create and launch the course. It was a little nerve-wracking not knowing if I’d bring in much revenue from Pinfinite Growth, but August ended up being my most profitable month (ever!), which gives me so much hope for this new business model. It was also one of the most FUN months and I truly enjoyed seeing people interact with the course material.
It’s also been exciting for me to hear from some students who are already seeing massive results…only one week after the course officially started. One member of our Facebook group shared this image yesterday, which totally elated me:
She also said, “So I’m on the final module and I’m starting to look at my stats. I’ve looked at them before, but when I opened them this morning while watching the module, I almost started to cry. LOOK AT THAT SPIKE!”
Another student said, “Just gotta say… I spent nearly the whole day yesterday listening to the first four modules and working on my boards, and I woke up with 55 more followers! I have a small account so that’s a HUGE deal for me. Just wanted to share a little win & some thanks to this group for the inspiration!”
Launching the course was one of the most intense things I’ve done as a business owner, but it was even more nerve wracking to deliver it to the students, wondering if they’d actually find the material useful. It’s humbling and exciting to see that people really do dig it, and that it’s helping them grow their tribes. So rad. You can learn more about it here, if you’re interested.
3. Host my first webinar
I sure did! Funny story? I was up late the night before my webinar, trying to simultaneously figure out the tech components, polish up my slides, and get some practice in. When I woke up the next morning, I felt horrible. The only thing I can compare it to is a bad hangover. I don’t think my body is used to that much abuse (and caffeine)! I made a smoothie for breakfast and then promptly threw it up, less than an hour before my webinar was set to air. I honestly contemplated just throwing in the towel and telling everyone, “I’m sorry, the webinar will not be happening today as planned because Melyssa is dead.”
Luckily, the moment the class began, I got my mojo back. There is nothing that can cure a business hangover faster than speaking to hundreds of your people at once. 🙂 Over 1,000 people ended up watching the live class and recording, and I got more emails and tweets than I could count, from people who thoroughly enjoyed it. That webinar was one of my favorite biz moments so far and I can’t wait to do more of them. Psst I’m announcing my next one soon! Make sure you sign up here so you find out about it. 🙂
4. Take new photos/headshots for my website
Working on it! I did book a photographer, so hopefully by the end of September, I’ll have some more professional photos to share with you. 🙂
5. Host an “international” #NectarChat.
Crap! Craaaaaap. This one didn’t happen, likely because most of my non-ecourse-related goals fell by the wayside. SEPTEMBER. It’s happening, y’all.
Sidenote: When I hosted my first webinar, I asked people to share where they were tuning in from and SO many people lived in European and other non-US countries. I *love* the international TNC crowd, so it was a reminder that I need to take care of my peeps, no matter where they live.
6. Start implementing The Miracle Morning.
I finished reading The Miracle Morning — which is a book about how to create a morning routine that breeds a more intentional and productive day — but haven’t added it to my day yet. I need to get on this! Everyone I talk to who has done it says it’s life changing.
7. Work on my relationships more.
Well, there’s still work to be done (always, right?), but I did make more of an effort to be a good partner to my boyfriend, Paul, and a good friend to the people in my life. This needs to be a daily goal.
Also? A little thing that helped me, as ridiculous as it sounds, was turning on the “read receipts” on my iPhone. “Read receipts” basically show people when you have actually opened their text messages. I have a bad habit of reading text messages, responding in my head, and then forgetting to actually respond for like, a week. Horrible! Turning on the “read receipts” was a way to hold myself accountable. If I ever exited out of a text without responding, I was immediately reminded that my friend could see that I just unintentionally ignored them, and I promptly texted them back. I feel a little embarrassed admitting that, but it really has helped me.
My Goals for September 2015:
1. Plan out the rest of my year.
I’m really enjoying the freedom and imagination involved in creating digital products, but I also want to make sure that I’m intentional about the things I create. I’d love to spend a day planning out the rest of 2015 — including blog post ideas, product offerings, Periscope topics, newsletters, etc. Idea-making and planning has always been a favorite of mine, so I’m really looking forward to this.
2. Travel to Seattle.
This one isn’t business related, but Paul and I will be traveling to Seattle for a few days this month and I’m actually pretty excited to not feel pressured to work on my business during that time. There’s also a rainforest not far from Seattle?!?! So stoked about that. Though, I had a dream recently that an angry bear was chasing me, which was kind of terrifying. Sometimes my imagination is a real jerk, man.
3. Hire an assistant
This has been on my mind for awhile. I know I could really use one, but it’s hard for me to come to terms with the expense for some reason, even when it’s in my budget. Deep down, I know that I’m doing a disservice to my business by not outsourcing some of the things I do. The funny thing is, I’m probably making less money by not having an assistant because it means I spend a lot of time doing little tasks instead of big picture planning and creating.
Any online assistants you particularly love?
4. Get back into a healthy diet.
I really believe that a healthy lifestyle affects every other aspect of your life, including your business. For awhile I was a health NUT. My meals were basically paleo: organic, gluten-free, non-GMO, and dairy-free, with minimal sugar. All of a sudden, my health goals have completely fallen by the wayside. The tough thing for me is how long cooking takes in general. I love cooking, but it can become pretty time consuming. I tried meal prepping and will probably do it again, but got pretty sick of eating similar things everyday. I think what I really need are just some new ideas of healthy and quick things I can make/eat. I keep cycling through the same types of recipes.
On the plus side, I had a kale salad for breakfast. So, progress, or something. 😉
5. Launch an e-book and at least one workshop.
At the moment, I’m working on an ebook and some workshops. Once I nail down my schedule for the rest of the year, I’ll have a better idea of what will come next. I have too many ideas swimming around, which is both exciting and overwhelming.
6. Add more of a community to TNC.
I’ve got some ideas for this. One being, simply, to create a Facebook group for all our hustlers. After seeing people interact in Pinfinite Growth’s private Facebook group, I’m really looking forward to this. Community is everything to me.
7. Form a mastermind group.
Lastly, I’d like to form a mastermind group that meets consistently each week. I was part of a mastermind before, but it has pretty much dissolved, so I’m planning to form a new one. 🙂
Mastermind groups are basically small groups (3-4) of people in similar levels of business and usually with an understanding of each other’s industries. Typically, they meet either weekly or biweekly and each member can share what they’re working on and any ideas they have in order to get feedback. They’re also just a fun way to connect with other business owners who “get it.” 🙂
