It's Time to Talk about This (Finally!) ? Marketing Innovations | Small ...

Most weeks this blog has advice about growing your business with less struggle, more joy and NO compromise.

But ? today is a bit different.

I want to share with you something that is revolutionizing the way we do business, and I need your help with it. But first a little background.

They Said This Wouldn?t Hurt a Bit (Yeah, Right!)

Last week Andy ? whose title is ?Director of Marketing? but is actually my COO and right-hand man ? left on vacation for a week. Meanwhile, I was busy with one of my biggest platinum clients EVER in addition to my regular workload.

Who would coordinate the team, help coach clients, schedule and track our marketing campaigns and write copy (among other things), you may wonder (as did I)? Could this possibly go well?

Years ago a local mastermind buddy of mine, Neil, warned me it wouldn?t be easy, based on how crushing it was for him when his two businesses started to double in size.

The BIG Test ? and the Turning Point?

How would it all go? Would I be able to stay in my joy and genius zone, or would I get sucked into a quagmire of tech details? Would Andy return refreshed from the beach, only to find me and our team frazzled and exhausted?

When Conventional Wisdom Is Completely Wrong

Now, I know how it went (more on that later), but first:

They say ?all good things must come to an end.?

Really?

You may have heard we?re having a breakthrough year here at Enlightened Marketing. I?ve mentioned that our business has doubled (actually more than doubling at last count), which has caused a lot of things to change, leading up to the fateful vacation week.

I?ve been on a roll this month achieving my goals. Almost eerily, they are to-the-letter, down-to-the-paint-color specific. There are obvious goals, like stuff I wanted and new clients (yay!), but also more amorphous things like energy states. You know, like feeling ?grace, ease and flow.? Like team members doing an amazing job of their own initiative. It?s awesome.

And it?s just capping off a long string of these milestones such as:

• Being invited to join an elite JV / mastermind group by my own mentor. It?s so fun to be in a peer group with several people whose ezines you receive and products you own!
• Getting hired by a few solopreneurs who are earning in the mid to high 6 figures. As a consultant who also helps $1-10M offline services businesses, this is an overlap I never expected. It may be odd to think of them as solpros now, since they all have teams; but they all started as one-person businesses just like you and me.
• Welcoming more people to the Enlightened Marketing community in the last 3 weeks than in the first 3 years of business, and ?
• Receiving my first invoice for exceeding 10,000 ?leads? from my email service. For someone who started with 49 people on my list, I had quite a party when I got that bill!

The Turning Point: Punching the Gas Pedal!

I remember the days when, if I didn?t do it, it didn?t happen. What happened last week without my right-hand man? I attracted another $60,000 project, several new program members and the team resolved a major tech issue (or two) before I even knew about it.

To me, that was the final manifestation of a huge shift. Something fundamentally changed for us ? actually, a year ago this month: we hit The Turning Point.

Getting Personal ? What Doubling the Business Has Actually Felt Like

So, a lot of this shift has felt easy; just a steady flow of perfect clients, a growing community and swift manifestation of clear goals.

What?s actually hard is letting go of aspects of my work that I love so I can transition into a business that will serve more people. Metaphorically speaking, it?s sad to leave your cozy starter home that?s filled with sweet memories, even if it?s for the dream home you always wanted.

Not to sound ungrateful for the blessing, but ? I really love working one-on-one with solopreneurs who are as eager yet unaware as I was when I started. It?s a mixed blessing to need to put more ?leverage? into the business, and to raise prices for our services. To stop lollygagging with my clients on long coaching calls.

Also, it?s always been important to me to read and reply to ALL my emails; to mouse around the websites and Facebook pages of our clients and program members. I?ve had a leisurely attitude about it, but in this area,?I?ve?been forced to take my own advice and get better with time boundaries.

And that?s a bummer because I really did feel joy as it was.

And I know to answer the call I can?t keep doing it that way.

There Are a Million People Who Need to Hear this NOW

Yesterday I got an email about a study showing that one million more people joined the ranks of ?independent workers? (aka solopreneurs) in 2011. The trend is just accelerating, with an additional 6 million expected over the next five years.

There is a revolution brewing in self-employment. More people than ever are striking out as solopreneurs ? at ever younger ages. The frightening truth is that most of them will NEVER reach the Turning Point.

Why I?m Telling You This

Things here are changing.

They have to, because I?m changing. And you?re changing. And there are a million people each year embarking on this journey ? a journey that for most of them will be scarred by struggle, stress and compromise. Sadly, many will never make it.

It?s always been my mission to test-pilot things for you, so you don?t have to experience entrepreneurship the hard way.

And I?ve had some MAJOR aha?s about this ? HUGE insights about what keeps solopreneurs in perpetual struggle versus what gets them to this Turning Point, the high six figures my latest solopro clients are generating.

How I?m Rising to the Challenge

We?ve made some big, tough decisions about where to take our business next. For now, suffice it to say: some things are ending ? possibly forever. I?m releasing parts of the business that no longer represent the brand, and I?m starting something completely new.

I?ve observed three things that keep solopreneurs in perpetual struggle - just three things that a select few use to blast to the Turning Point and into mid six figures.

Those three components are ? (stay tuned until next time).

To your abundant success,

Samantha

P.S. What?s the most amazing thing that?s happened to you over the last few months? I love to pass along ideas and inspiration, so share your news in the comments and I might have a new Kindle with your name on it ;)

Photo by J.J. Verhoef

Source: http://www.enlightenedmarketing.com/2012/09/its-time-to-talk-about-this-finally/

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