WEBVTT - BA Q&A: Shift Your Side Hustle 0:00:06.200 --> 0:00:10.560 Hey, BA fam, It's time for the va qa A 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:14.040 the v a qa which say the va qa with 0:00:14.120 --> 0:00:21.320 manday the va qa without Tiffany A. Hey, y'all welcome. 0:00:21.560 --> 0:00:24.400 I am writing solo. Isn't it beautiful? How tiff and 0:00:24.480 --> 0:00:26.280 I have just been there for each other this summer 0:00:26.680 --> 0:00:28.920 I had a baby. She was like, I got you 0:00:29.360 --> 0:00:31.960 go do that thing. And now Tiffany's taking a month off. 0:00:31.960 --> 0:00:35.559 She's taking a supergirl to Paris, She's taking her to London, 0:00:35.960 --> 0:00:37.680 and I'm not going to tell you everywhere they're going, y'all, 0:00:37.680 --> 0:00:39.600 don't go try to find them, Okay, let them enjoy 0:00:39.640 --> 0:00:41.519 their time in Europe, all right? I see how you 0:00:41.560 --> 0:00:44.480 treat how you treat miss Tiffany at a Beyonce show, 0:00:44.720 --> 0:00:46.800 Try and talk about your credit score on the floor 0:00:47.080 --> 0:00:50.159 when Queen bees fan is blowing in the background. No no, no, 0:00:50.159 --> 0:00:52.839 no no. I will not give her location away. But 0:00:53.479 --> 0:00:56.160 I am happy to be here as always with our 0:00:56.240 --> 0:00:59.600 BA fam. And I got y'all, I got your career questions. 0:00:59.600 --> 0:01:02.480 I'm even I'm gonna sneak a little business advice in 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:05.440 today because you know, I know some things now, tiffank 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:08.080 the only one, although if you haven't checked out her 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:10.720 mentorship program. What the hell are you waiting for? Go 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:13.920 to mymentor Tiffany dot com for twenty bucks a month 0:01:14.000 --> 0:01:15.920 or something like that, and you can join her Patreon 0:01:15.959 --> 0:01:18.560 and she gives just like endless business advice and it's 0:01:18.959 --> 0:01:22.280 a really amazing community that only Tiffany could create. As always, 0:01:22.319 --> 0:01:25.680 so I'm very excited about that for her. On today's 0:01:25.800 --> 0:01:28.480 episode with Just Me, I'm going to be answering a 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:31.560 couple questions, like I said, tiptoeing into how you can 0:01:31.600 --> 0:01:35.319 make your online business as a side hustle start thriving 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:37.399 so you can sort of move from side hustle to 0:01:37.680 --> 0:01:40.720 full time hustle. Is that a thing? And then we've 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:43.520 got a really juicy question that I still haven't figured out. 0:01:43.520 --> 0:01:45.880 How the hell I'm going to answer about a young 0:01:45.920 --> 0:01:48.120 woman who is new at a job and wants to 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:51.480 quit after just two months, just two months on the job, 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:55.920 but could potentially make a huge raise if she does it. 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:59.400 So let's get into it, y'all. I'm Mandy woodrif Santo's 0:01:59.480 --> 0:02:01.640 aka Mandy Money. Y'all know I am a career and 0:02:01.720 --> 0:02:05.160 negotiation expert. I have my own business called the Mandy 0:02:05.200 --> 0:02:08.160 Money Makers, which is an online community for women of 0:02:08.200 --> 0:02:10.960 color specifically, but you know we have other We have 0:02:11.080 --> 0:02:13.760 all kinds of women in the group. And I help 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.280 y'all master your careers. I help you learn how to 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:20.160 negotiate and to turbo charge your career so that finally 0:02:20.240 --> 0:02:22.800 it's a wealth building engine and not just a job 0:02:23.160 --> 0:02:26.400 from job to job. Right. So that's who you've got 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:28.880 talking to you today. I'm going to jump on into 0:02:28.919 --> 0:02:31.480 the questions. Before I do, let me remind you how 0:02:31.520 --> 0:02:33.799 you can get on the baq and A. You can 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.880 slide into our DMS on IG. By the way, holy crap, 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:41.480 we got twenty k, twenty thousand followers on ig. We 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.520 just passed that mark this past week. So thank y'all 0:02:44.560 --> 0:02:47.120 so much. That is incredible. And hey, shout out to 0:02:47.160 --> 0:02:50.720 our amazing social media manager Amber and to the team 0:02:50.880 --> 0:02:54.120 at Cumulus looking at you, Imani and Dennis for cutting 0:02:54.120 --> 0:02:56.720 those clips for us for our reels. Could not have 0:02:56.760 --> 0:02:59.160 done it without y'all, So we're just very excited about that. 0:02:59.760 --> 0:03:02.960 While you're there becoming our twenty thousand and one, two 0:03:03.000 --> 0:03:06.760 three and beyond follower, slide into our DMS with your question. 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.400 We'd love to hear from you. Ask us anything about career, 0:03:10.120 --> 0:03:15.239 money management, credit, relationship advice, why not business advice. We 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:18.000 got it all for you. You can also email us directly 0:03:18.080 --> 0:03:21.200 brond Ambition Podcast at gmail dot com or check out 0:03:21.200 --> 0:03:25.360 our website bronambitionpodcast dot com. Contact us. Also, stick around 0:03:25.360 --> 0:03:28.799 and look at episodes of previous shows. There's so much there. 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:33.400 Join our newsletter, just join the BA fam. Okay, all right, 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:36.320 let's get into today's question. I am going to start 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:40.160 with listeners. Sarah, who slid into my DMS at Mandy 0:03:40.200 --> 0:03:43.640 Money on ig and has a really juicy question. She's 0:03:43.680 --> 0:03:46.000 also from London, so that means I get to use 0:03:46.040 --> 0:03:48.960 my Love Island accent and no one's here to tell 0:03:48.960 --> 0:03:51.000 me to stop. So I'll just keep doing it. And 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.240 you know, hopefully you won't stop listening in your cars 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:59.000 or on your walks or wherever you are. All right, Sarah, 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:01.800 Hey Mandy, she'sa I love you in Tiffany. I listen 0:04:01.880 --> 0:04:05.200 every week. I'm from London and although the finance systems 0:04:05.240 --> 0:04:08.040 may be different, I was hoping to get some finance 0:04:08.080 --> 0:04:11.080 and career advice from you. I called you, queen, caught you. 0:04:11.880 --> 0:04:14.480 I'm a new mom. Oh she spells it. Mom, that's 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:16.719 so cute. Well, okay, I'll stop, it's too much. I 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:18.840 went back to work three months ago. My baby is 0:04:18.880 --> 0:04:22.200 now ten months old. Congrats, lady. I am married. My 0:04:22.279 --> 0:04:25.920 husband's currently working but doesn't have a permanent role, so 0:04:25.960 --> 0:04:28.919 he's looking but hopefully we'll find something soon. I'm a teacher. 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:31.839 I also do wedding planning as a side hustle, but 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:34.640 I stopped for two years and I've recently started again. 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:37.920 Financially I should be a lot more secure, but due 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:40.440 to getting married two years ago and having a baby, yeah, 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:43.680 that'll do it. I don't have any savings. I have 0:04:43.760 --> 0:04:45.839 a loan from the bank, which I will finish paying 0:04:45.839 --> 0:04:48.880 off in March next year. We want to do things 0:04:48.880 --> 0:04:52.159 like buy a home, but we're a long way away 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:55.120 from doing that, and as it happens, I am paying 0:04:55.320 --> 0:04:57.400 for most of the expenses in her home Right now, 0:04:58.080 --> 0:04:59.960 I think I need to focus on getting my business 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:02.200 off the ground. Please can you give me some tips 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.160 on how I might be able to do this. I 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:06.960 currently get business from word of mouth, but I'd like 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:10.000 to create a better online presence and hopefully get business 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:13.599 like that too. I have coordinated two weddings so far 0:05:13.680 --> 0:05:16.760 this year. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you 0:05:16.880 --> 0:05:21.400 so much, Sarah. Okay, Sarah, I got you, and it 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:23.599 just sounds for you like there's a lot of life 0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:27.279 happening right now, which is all beautiful. Congratulations on your baby, 0:05:27.440 --> 0:05:31.839 Congratulations on your marriage. I know from experience, those are 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:36.200 two very expensive things. I spaced mine married in twenty seventeen, 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.200 first kid in twenty nineteen, a couple years apart, so, 0:05:39.279 --> 0:05:42.000 you know what, not that far apart from you. It 0:05:42.040 --> 0:05:46.159 is challenging, especially if the wedding itself, you know, was 0:05:46.200 --> 0:05:48.960 expensive enough to deplete your savings and then you, you know, 0:05:49.000 --> 0:05:51.599 turn around have the kid. I'm not going to spend 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:53.760 time because Sarah. Of course, if you went back in time, 0:05:53.800 --> 0:05:55.600 I'm sure you'd be like, maybe we should save more 0:05:55.640 --> 0:05:57.640 for the wedding and set aside extra on the side. 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:00.560 But we all don't have that luxury, right. Can't just 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:03.400 not let life happen while we're waiting to have the 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:06.800 perfect amount of you know, savings in the bank. You 0:06:06.839 --> 0:06:09.400 guys sound young. You did your thing, you got married, 0:06:09.440 --> 0:06:11.880 you had a hope, it was a beautiful wedding, and 0:06:11.920 --> 0:06:14.000 now you have a baby and you are where you are. 0:06:14.520 --> 0:06:17.000 What's exciting about you and why am I really excited 0:06:17.000 --> 0:06:19.680 that you've reached out is because you have so much potential. 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.200 You are working full time as a teacher, and believe me, 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:25.840 I know what it's like to be the bread winner 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:28.800 and the pressure that that entails, whether it's you or 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:31.800 your partner. But for it to be on your shoulders 0:06:31.920 --> 0:06:35.960 while you're also in your first year of motherhood, oh girl, 0:06:36.240 --> 0:06:40.520 I know exactly what you misbe feeling. And then on 0:06:40.600 --> 0:06:43.240 top of that, you're going to want your thinking about 0:06:43.240 --> 0:06:45.560 what more you can add to your plate. Like it's 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:48.240 not enough to be a new mom and to be 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:52.000 you know, covering the household bills and to have like 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:54.400 a side hustle. It's like, okay, well, let's you know, 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.000 ramp this up even more. So, first, I just want 0:06:57.000 --> 0:06:59.200 to honor the fact that you have a lot on 0:06:59.240 --> 0:07:03.400 your plate and you're incredible, Like all mothers are. We 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:07.440 will be striving to continue leveling up. And just because 0:07:07.440 --> 0:07:09.279 you become a mom, it doesn't mean that you stop 0:07:09.320 --> 0:07:12.880 having ambitions of your own. And you're finding out the 0:07:12.880 --> 0:07:15.200 same thing that I found out about entrepreneurship, which is 0:07:15.240 --> 0:07:18.760 like it's pretty great for moms. It's pretty great to 0:07:18.880 --> 0:07:21.040 be able to work from home and make her own 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:24.920 hours and have flexibility. Like when I tell you when 0:07:24.960 --> 0:07:28.720 I found out that the Universal pre K that we 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:30.760 were supposed to be so, I mean, I am excited 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:32.720 that we got through the lottery in our town to 0:07:32.720 --> 0:07:36.080 get my kid into Universal pre K is only from 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:40.120 nine am to two pm. I'm sorry Universal for who 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:43.520 if you're working like part time at Target or something like, 0:07:44.000 --> 0:07:47.000 do you understand even to pay, like you have to 0:07:47.080 --> 0:07:49.600 pay to have extra care if you want to leave 0:07:49.640 --> 0:07:52.000 your kid there past two pm and drop them off 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:55.560 before nine am. Like when the mom in the open 0:07:55.600 --> 0:07:58.400 house at the pre k that I went to for 0:07:58.560 --> 0:08:00.440 my son, when she raised her hand and was like, 0:08:00.480 --> 0:08:04.320 excuse me, I live in Manhattan. That's about an hour 0:08:04.360 --> 0:08:06.400 and a half commute. How and you don't let me 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:08.560 drop my kid off earlier than seven thirty? How Am 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.080 I supposed to be in my seat at work at 0:08:11.120 --> 0:08:13.560 eight thirty or nine like I need to be. It's 0:08:13.600 --> 0:08:15.880 insane what they ask us to do as parents, right, 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:19.800 So being an entrepreneur, like as you're probably thinking of, 0:08:19.880 --> 0:08:22.920 and as I can attest to, it is so great 0:08:23.120 --> 0:08:25.680 for moms, like for working moms, and I know so 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:32.160 many moms who choose to pursue entrepreneurship, myself included, you know, 0:08:32.240 --> 0:08:34.880 after having a successful sort of nine to five career, 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:36.840 not because you don't love what you were doing anymore, 0:08:36.880 --> 0:08:39.800 but because life is changing and you need to change 0:08:39.800 --> 0:08:42.800 along with it. All right, So I'll put that spiel aside, 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:44.959 but I just wanted to like acknowledge where you are, Sarah, 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:48.080 and let you know I see you. I deeply see you, 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:50.800 even in this message, Okay. And I'm really really proud 0:08:50.880 --> 0:08:53.679 and just excited for you in general as far as 0:08:53.679 --> 0:08:56.920 your wedding planning business. Okay, I love that for you. 0:08:57.120 --> 0:09:01.840 I love and the fact that you know it seems 0:09:01.920 --> 0:09:04.000 like my dad always makes us joke about if you 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:06.280 want a recession proof business just by a liquor store. 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:08.199 He's like, it's always going to be liquor people always 0:09:08.200 --> 0:09:11.000 going to want their alcohol. Okay. I don't know if 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:13.199 that's true or not, but it seems right. I feel 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:16.400 like weddings are an industry that is only going to 0:09:16.440 --> 0:09:19.080 continue booming and booming and booming. A lot has changed 0:09:19.120 --> 0:09:21.880 in our society, but we still love a party when 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:25.440 it comes to celebrating love. So I feel like, you know, 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:29.800 it's definitely ripe for you know, new businesses to come. 0:09:30.160 --> 0:09:32.679 And as an entrepreneur, it's perfect because like you can 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:35.440 take on one client, or two clients or three clients. 0:09:35.960 --> 0:09:38.640 Now at this point you have been getting, like you said, 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:41.520 word of mouth recommendations, which is amazing. What I love 0:09:41.559 --> 0:09:43.600 about that. And it's similar to how I approached my 0:09:43.679 --> 0:09:46.760 business as a career coach. Was I started out by 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.240 giving you know, a lot of free sessions because I 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.120 wanted to build once one. There's a thing when you're 0:09:53.160 --> 0:09:56.000 new at something, they can't complain if you're doing it 0:09:56.000 --> 0:10:01.120 every right kind of but you feel less pressure because 0:10:01.160 --> 0:10:03.720 you're going to be figuring out your approach. You're figuring 0:10:03.760 --> 0:10:05.480 out what works for you. You're going to be figuring 0:10:05.520 --> 0:10:08.560 out what systems and tools and processes make your planning easier, 0:10:08.840 --> 0:10:12.360 what vendors you like and don't like, what you understand 0:10:12.440 --> 0:10:15.600 about scheduling, how do you deal with you know, personality 0:10:15.640 --> 0:10:18.040 differences from the bride side or the groom side, or 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:20.760 the grooms and the groom side, you know, and you're 0:10:20.800 --> 0:10:22.720 going to be fine tuning your skill set as a 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:26.160 wedding planner with your first clients. Right, So it's great 0:10:26.160 --> 0:10:28.160 that you're getting word of mouth, but as you build 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.959 up that confidence, as you get those testimonials from your 0:10:32.000 --> 0:10:35.280 clients saying how incredible you are, that's when you want 0:10:35.280 --> 0:10:38.160 to start thinking about marketing it out. In my experience, 0:10:38.240 --> 0:10:41.120 so when you so, for example, right now, what I 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:44.000 would say is if you're thinking about, like, okay, I 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:47.120 should be finding new clients on Instagram and social media. 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:50.120 I think that's a lot of people's first thoughts as entrepreneurs. 0:10:50.480 --> 0:10:53.520 But as a wedding planner, think about where your perfect 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.520 customer is. Are you trying to plan weddings for people 0:10:56.559 --> 0:10:59.760 around the UK? Are you trying to plan weddings for 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:02.760 people where you're going to be physically present, like need 0:11:02.800 --> 0:11:05.880 to travel to wherever they're going to be getting married, Like, 0:11:05.920 --> 0:11:08.120 you want to think about where your customer lives, and 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:09.880 then you want to think about where you're going to 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:13.600 reach them. Of course, Instagram is great for attracting an 0:11:13.640 --> 0:11:16.800 audience and gaining followers, and you could totally start making 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.000 reels today about what all goes into planning a wedding 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:21.599 and I would gobble that shit up. And so with 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:23.920 a lot of people, but I'm here in the US, 0:11:24.080 --> 0:11:27.480 I'm already married. I'm not your perfect customer, am I. 0:11:27.559 --> 0:11:29.600 You want to figure out how to find people who 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:34.160 are engaged, about to be engaged, thinking about being engaged, 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.160 or getting remarried or whatever. You're going to want to 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:39.880 find them where they are and be sure that when 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:42.440 you do find them, they have the potential to actually 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:45.680 use your services. Right. So that's why I'm saying, just 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:48.160 think a little deeper about the whole social media thing. 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:50.200 I do think it can be an incredible tool to 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:53.199 gain notoriety and to gain a following, But at the 0:11:53.280 --> 0:11:55.280 end of the day, you got to think about one 0:11:55.440 --> 0:11:59.560 word conversions. How are you going to convert the person 0:11:59.559 --> 0:12:03.280 who CLI follow on ig or TikTok into a customer. 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.680 I'm thinking about that every day, Sarah. This week I 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:10.920 went viral on Instagram and I gained two thousand plus 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.800 followers in forty eight hours. But do you know how 0:12:13.840 --> 0:12:17.559 many actually went through my forms to join my email list? 0:12:17.920 --> 0:12:21.360 Like two hundred And I'm sitting here like, holy crap. 0:12:21.480 --> 0:12:25.439 Two thousand Instagram followers is cute, but email is even 0:12:25.520 --> 0:12:28.000 more powerful, And I need to figure out what is 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.560 broken in my funnel, Like that's what we call it 0:12:31.600 --> 0:12:33.559 a little funnel because I brought them through the top 0:12:33.600 --> 0:12:36.440 of the funnel. That's Instagram. Right. Why aren't they getting 0:12:36.440 --> 0:12:38.440 to my email list? And what is it about my 0:12:39.160 --> 0:12:43.160 sales my marketing that is not converting people to my 0:12:43.240 --> 0:12:45.760 email Because when you convert them to your email, you're 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:48.160 much more likely to be able to sell your services 0:12:48.200 --> 0:12:51.160 to them, because then you're going to get more intimate 0:12:51.240 --> 0:12:54.400 with them. You're going to you know, cuddle up with 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.080 me in my email inbox. Okay, I'm going to move 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:58.920 you to the primary section. No more updates are social. 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:00.920 You're going to be in the primary section. Okay. Gets 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:05.000 a real intimate okay, and you can actually engage with them. 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.160 You can you can put them into what I have. 0:13:07.280 --> 0:13:09.679 For example, you join my email list and I start 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:12.880 sending you not every day. I'm not trying to spam, 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:17.000 but sending you like helpful content, valuable content. I'm nurturing 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:19.680 our relationship together. I'm trying to show you who I 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.800 am so you can get to know me, start to 0:13:21.880 --> 0:13:25.079 engage even more with my content, and then maybe a 0:13:25.160 --> 0:13:27.720 few months down the line, when I'm hosting when I'm 0:13:27.760 --> 0:13:31.480 opening enrollment for the Mandy money Makers as I do periodically. 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:34.120 You're really excited by that point and you want to join, 0:13:34.679 --> 0:13:37.640 or for example, for you, you want to be nurturing 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:40.720 that relationship so that when they get engaged, or if 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:43.760 they're engaged now, when they actually get serious about planning, 0:13:44.160 --> 0:13:47.120 they think, I saw I remember that, like Sarah, that 0:13:47.240 --> 0:13:49.880 wedding planner I just followed on Instagram, like last year, 0:13:49.920 --> 0:13:52.280 I remember her. Let me go to my email and see, 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:54.160 you know what her website was. They're going to be 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:55.880 able to find you. So you're going to stick in 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:59.520 their mind, and that is why that relationship is so 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:02.760 important to nurture. So don't just think about social media. 0:14:02.960 --> 0:14:04.800 Then how are you going to get them into your 0:14:04.840 --> 0:14:08.040 world for real? Through email? Now, I have just shown 0:14:08.080 --> 0:14:10.200 you that even I haven't mastered that. Some things I 0:14:10.240 --> 0:14:12.640 do I get hundreds of email subscribers. Some things I 0:14:12.720 --> 0:14:16.320 do I get, like I said, two hundred out of 0:14:16.320 --> 0:14:18.760 two thousand new follows, Like damn, I feel like I 0:14:18.800 --> 0:14:22.200 should do better than that, right, So what I will 0:14:22.200 --> 0:14:26.000 say is to start building your email list. You want 0:14:26.000 --> 0:14:29.400 to find people who are going to be your perfect customer. 0:14:29.440 --> 0:14:31.440 Think about how old, are they where do they live? 0:14:32.480 --> 0:14:35.960 Are you going to have any particular niche like, for example, 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:38.840 my niches I really focus on women of color. So 0:14:38.920 --> 0:14:41.960 I understand that I'm going to be turning away some 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:45.720 people who don't feel included in that, And that's okay 0:14:45.760 --> 0:14:47.560 for me because I just want to be laser focused 0:14:47.560 --> 0:14:49.280 because I know my message is going to appeal to 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:51.360 a woman of color between the ages of twenty five 0:14:51.400 --> 0:14:55.000 to thirty five. Okay, so who is that person for you? 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:57.760 Are you going to specialize in elopements? Are you going 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:01.160 to do destination weddings? Are you going to do weddings 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:04.080 just in London and become the master planner for London 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:08.120 or you know, wherever in the UK you choose, think 0:15:08.120 --> 0:15:12.720 about what makes you unique and then start to think 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:15.120 about how to tell that story to your you know, 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:18.880 your favorite customer. So then we've talked about social media. 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:21.280 I think that that's fine. I think you debt. Like 0:15:21.320 --> 0:15:23.760 I said, you can definitely have it, but before you 0:15:23.800 --> 0:15:26.960 go viral, you want to have the infrastructure to convert 0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:34.200 those followers into customers. Okay, convert, convert, convert, How can 0:15:34.240 --> 0:15:37.960 we talk about converting? So having a lead magnet is great. 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.040 So like, what if you create a document that is 0:15:41.200 --> 0:15:43.480 just you know, you can do it in Canva, but 0:15:43.720 --> 0:15:46.600 you aren't. You know, you're an expert at wedding planning 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:49.400 right now where you're becoming one. Maybe it's top ten 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:52.240 mistakes or the top you know, top ten wedding mistakes 0:15:52.320 --> 0:15:55.000 you don't want to make, or it's five ways to 0:15:55.080 --> 0:15:57.520 save money on your wedding you have to get this guide, 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:00.000 or you know, there's different ways you can entice people, 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:03.640 give them something valuable for free. For me, I have 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:05.960 four free scripts you can use to ask for a 0:16:06.040 --> 0:16:09.400 raise at work right now, at work, right now, right 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:13.160 So that appeals to my favorite customer. She's someone who's 0:16:13.200 --> 0:16:15.680 ambitious and wants to advance in her career but doesn't 0:16:15.680 --> 0:16:18.720 have the language. I'm giving it to her and all 0:16:18.760 --> 0:16:21.240 my colors. My branding is going to appeal to that 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:24.440 kind of person. So anyway, so think of something that 0:16:24.480 --> 0:16:26.600 they really want, and you know how the best way 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.760 to get understanding of what they want is to really 0:16:29.800 --> 0:16:32.560 survey the people that you're working with now, the people 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:35.440 that you are providing services for as a wedding planner. Now, 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:37.560 ask them what do you wish you would have had 0:16:37.600 --> 0:16:39.520 starting out, what do you wish you would have known? 0:16:39.600 --> 0:16:41.440 What could be helpful? Or here I made this thing 0:16:41.480 --> 0:16:43.920 because you look it over, does it feel useful to you? 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:48.840 And then you create that download you create, you can go. 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:52.520 You can create a Squarespace website or very simply, I 0:16:52.520 --> 0:16:55.120 mean shout out to Squarespace. They are a sponsor. Okay, 0:16:55.640 --> 0:16:57.760 but there's other websites you can also do. But just 0:16:57.760 --> 0:17:01.000 find the simplest way to get that form up so 0:17:01.040 --> 0:17:03.520 you can link to it on your Instagram so when 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:05.840 they follow you, they can also go to your link 0:17:06.160 --> 0:17:08.640 and join and get that freebie, and you can say, 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:11.240 you know, get on the wait list. Here's a freebee. 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:13.440 In the meantime, I'll let you know when I have 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:16.600 more wedding tips to share. And then you start to 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.600 build your email list at the same time while you're growing. Okay, 0:17:20.000 --> 0:17:22.440 and even then, just like me, you'll tinker with it, right, 0:17:22.480 --> 0:17:24.960 you'll kind of tinker and say, okay, well, this lead 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:27.680 magnet didn't really convert that much to like people sending 0:17:27.720 --> 0:17:30.879 their emails, or maybe I need to have this or that. 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:35.040 Like you'll you'll learn some things. Okay. I could go 0:17:35.119 --> 0:17:37.000 on and on and on about this, But like, what 0:17:37.080 --> 0:17:40.000 else could I say about, you know, shifting your side 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.520 hustle into a full into full time work as a teacher. 0:17:43.720 --> 0:17:47.199 You have summers. I'm going to assume that you have 0:17:47.400 --> 0:17:50.399 off or at least that's kind of perfect for you 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:53.480 as a wedding planner. So I feel like you're fine 0:17:53.520 --> 0:17:57.280 to continue teaching while sort of treating your wedding planning 0:17:57.320 --> 0:17:58.960 as a side hustle. I think that kind of works 0:17:58.960 --> 0:18:02.480 in your favor. But think about the timelines of when 0:18:02.520 --> 0:18:05.639 people get engaged. They're getting married in the summer, but 0:18:05.680 --> 0:18:08.360 they're getting engaged around the holidays, right, think that's still 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:11.480 the most common time to get engaged. So you want 0:18:11.520 --> 0:18:15.760 to think about starting this lead magnet, getting your email 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:18.439 lists built up like right now, heading into the fall, 0:18:18.600 --> 0:18:21.919 because if you start getting people's attention now and then 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.800 you start building on that while they get engaged over 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.480 the holidays and they start googling for wedding planning in 0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:31.160 the UK, they'll find you, my dear. Okay, so think 0:18:31.200 --> 0:18:34.919 about that. It can feel really overwhelming to be starting 0:18:34.920 --> 0:18:37.320 a business while also being a mom and a bread 0:18:37.400 --> 0:18:40.640 winner at that, but don't let that sort of weigh 0:18:40.680 --> 0:18:45.160 you down, think about what your ultimate goal is. It 0:18:45.200 --> 0:18:47.480 is to be able to provide for your family, to 0:18:47.560 --> 0:18:50.080 have the flexibility that you need in your schedule, and 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:52.800 to build something of your very own and that I 0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:56.439 think is worth fighting for. I'm real excited for you. 0:18:56.600 --> 0:18:59.359 I will say it takes time. It's going to take 0:18:59.440 --> 0:19:01.240 time to build an audience. It's going to take time 0:19:01.280 --> 0:19:05.040 to find your perfect customer. You're going to need support. 0:19:05.400 --> 0:19:08.919 I need you to find two to three other wedding 0:19:09.000 --> 0:19:11.720 industry people doing the kind of business that you want 0:19:11.720 --> 0:19:14.000 to be doing. Go find them and start following them 0:19:14.040 --> 0:19:16.639 and engage with them right now. Figure out where they 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:19.240 hang out. Figure out if there's a conference, if there's 0:19:19.320 --> 0:19:22.119 like a mastermind group or something like that where you 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:24.840 can engage with people who are doing similar work to you. 0:19:25.440 --> 0:19:28.480 Why because not to copy what they're doing. There's plenty 0:19:28.480 --> 0:19:30.520 of space for all, y'all. Okay, there's plenty of room. 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:34.040 It's about finding that community and that support and the 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:37.119 people you can go to every day when you have 0:19:37.160 --> 0:19:39.439 a question, you know, have you tried this vendor? Have 0:19:39.480 --> 0:19:42.000 you thought about this? Have you you know, what about 0:19:42.040 --> 0:19:44.600 the what about could I hologram the groom in because 0:19:44.640 --> 0:19:46.920 he's trapped, you know, his flight, he didn't make his flight. 0:19:47.160 --> 0:19:49.840 Those types of questions you can ask from your tribe, 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:51.760 you know, from the people that in your community that 0:19:51.800 --> 0:19:54.240 you're going to build. And I think that that was 0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.119 one of the smartest things that I did early as 0:19:56.119 --> 0:19:58.879 an entrepreneur, was really put time and effort into building 0:19:58.920 --> 0:20:03.640 those relationships with new peers so that I could feel supported. Okay, 0:20:04.800 --> 0:20:06.399 I will leave it there. I really hope that that 0:20:06.480 --> 0:20:08.639 was Those were some tidbits for you, for you that 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:11.920