3 SUPER COUNTERINTUITIVE STRATEGIES THAT TRANSFORMED MY BUSINESS GROWTH THIS YEAR

Going Against The Grain Could Be The Secret To Unlocking Your Next Level Of Success

Welcome to another episode of the Champagne Diaries! In this letter, I will share four counterintuitive strategies that have significantly boosted my business growth and improved my overall joy in the day-to-day running of my business this year.

These unconventional approaches required me to challenge the status quo and trust my own path. As you read through these strategies, remember to apply them to your unique situation and be open to experimentation. Not every approach works for everyone, so find what aligns best with your goals and values, and feel free to disregard the rest.

Grab your cuppa and let’s dig in.

WEANING OFF THE BUSINESS GROWTH CRACK

THE DOPAMINE DILEMMA

You see, the brain releases dopamine (our reward hormone) during certain actions which ultimately support us to form habits out of taking those actions.

The wild thing about dopamine is that it doesn’t care whether or not the action you’re taking is good for you or not. Which is why there are heroin addicts out there.

Another fun fact – learning something new – fires off the same amounts of dopamine as actually taking action toward our goals.

Quick sidebar: Talking about your goals has the same effect.

So when we’re constantly learning something new and novel, we feel great – like we’re making serious progress – when in reality, our brains are simply having a pre-mature party.

Because we’re not necessarily any closer to achieving our goals.

The reality is, that action is the only thing that’s going to move you closer to those big juicy goals.

And learning is an incredible tool – when we’re able to apply what we’re learning.

Beyond that point – the only thing it’s going to give you is a dopamine spike – and a one-way ticket to information overload. At this stage in my journey, I now focus on prioritizing high-level mentorship instead of heaps of information and enrolling in a hundred courses.

I realized that seeking tailored feedback and support from high-level mentorship was more valuable than being constantly bombarded with new information. This shift in mindset not only saved me from information overload but also allowed me to make more progress and achieve faster results.

This shift alone positively impacted my business growth so much that I launched my own high-level mentorship experience to support entrepreneurs who are stuck in information overload and need some clarity to cut through the noise and get back into action to grow their revenue and get their lives back without enrolling in another 20 courses.

If you’re looking for high-proximity support to take your established business to the next level, all you need to do is drop me the word ELEVATE in the chat box below. I’d love to have a conversation with you.

Another Side Bar: There was a point in my journey where information was exactly what I needed to grow. If you’re new on your business journey, working with a mentor who can set you up with tools, strategies, and action plans that align with your unique strengths is going to be essential.

If you’re more established, it becomes less about gathering new strategies – and more about implementing, refining, and repeating to produce the results you’re looking for.

This is why knowing which stage you’re at in your business journey is essential.

And a lot of people get derailed on their success journeys because they’re trying to apply strategies that aren’t a fit for their unique level of business.

You know, kind of like trying to install a Grand Prix Ferrari engine into a Prius.

CHOOSING TO GO SLOW

In the hyperactive online coaching and marketing space, there is immense pressure to produce content continuously and launch your offers to the world as quickly as possible.

The world of business glorifies mantras like “Money loves speed.”

Because you’re going to be irrelevant and the entire world will forget who you are if you forget to post to Facebook for a day. So better get to that as fast as you can…

In a world that tells us that the price for success is 24/7 hustle, I pulled off the ultimate power move – and this year, I decided to slooow down.

I learned the value of consciously slowing down and allowing my ideas to gestate naturally instead of forcing my creative output into stringent arbitrary deadlines. Observing the slowness in nature during the winter season inspired me to adopt a similar approach to my business.

Nature doesn’t hurry – and yet everything is accomplished.

So instead of trying to find ways to ‘hack’ my productivity to produce as much as I possibly could all the time, I started to value the seasons of rest and recovery as much as the seasons where I’m in creative mode and outwardly producing my best work.

I decided to release the pressure around having to get everything done ‘yesterday’ and instead focused on getting really clear on what I wanted to achieve and allowing that creative process to unfold with more ease.

I cut my work hours in half – and aimed to stop working before I experienced my body’s nudge that I was exhausted – or pushing too hard.

This means that there were some days when I desired to spend double the hours working on a project that excited me – but I consciously chose to end my workday and return again tomorrow to preserve my energy.

This took me off the rollercoaster of creating like a manic individual for days on end and then needing a 3-week break just to recover from the exhaustion of it all. (This is a pattern I was stuck in for years while riding the entrepreneurial rollercoaster.)

By giving myself the time to breathe and create with intention, I discovered a new sense of inspiration. My energy levels returned and instead of rushing from one project to another, I allowed my creations to evolve organically, which led me to produce some of my most impactful, deep work yet.

Slowing down and leaving some time to reflect on my actions has also helped me to identify essential projects and avoid the trap of taking on too much. This intentional pace ensured that I had the energy to sustain my work without feeling depleted – and that I was only pouring energy into the projects that would ultimately move me towards the lifestyle I hoped to create.

The result?

Experiencing more consistency in my business (and other areas of my life) than ever before ~ and the cash and happiness perks that come along with that.

My mantra for this year is to honor my body – and my bank balance.

And this means understanding that I’m a human being and I’m not always going to feel like a human ‘doing.’

P.S If you’re wondering how I was able to sustain working less while increasing my revenue ~ I focused on creating gorgeous recurring revenue in my business through my signature offer with leveraged components.

I also ‘duplicated my brain’ by creating standard operating procedures that allowed my team to take over some of the stuff on my plate.

That’s a big topic, and if you’d like to find out how to do this, I teach these strategies inside The Intentional Business Academy. Want the deets? Drop me a message in the chat box on the bottom right.

NEW ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER

In alignment with my desire to go deep instead of wide this year, I focused on making a similar shift in my marketing and client attraction activities.

Rather than solely chasing new leads and constantly creating marketing materials, I chose to invest even more energy in nurturing my existing client base.

One of the key principles that I believe has supported my success immensely is my focus on delighting my client base.

And I wanted to step into this energy in an even bigger way this year.

This meant stepping up to serve my clients on a deeper level, and creating the kind of value adds that would support them to reach their next level with even more ease.

The result of this tiny shift?

Clients dropping me messages wanting to extend their contracts for a year ~ and some indefinitely.

Instead of surface-leveling when it comes to supporting my clients to solve their problems, I went deep.

And as I kept digging I found more and more ways to add value to my existing client base which resulted in gorgeous client retention and bypassing the need for constant lead generation.

This year ~ one of my mantras is “Go deep, not wide.”

While attracting new leads is essential, I am deeply rooted in the energy of cultivating deeper relationships with those who already resonate with my work while focusing on gentle discoverability strategies to support new people to find my work too.

IN SUMMARY

Sometimes magic happens when you have the courage to ask questions like: “What would happen if I did the opposite of what everyone else is doing and what I’m ‘supposed’ to do?” – and then trusting your own intuitive nudges along the journey.

JOURNALING & REFLECTION

Here are some of my favorite reflection questions from today’s topic:

* How has my consumption of business growth content impacted my productivity and focus? Have I found a balance between learning and taking action, or am I stuck in a cycle of information overload? Is my learning supporting immediate action? What action steps could I take to get the clarity and support I need?

* Instead of focusing on learning for the sake of novelty, how can I find novelty in other areas of my life?

* In what ways can I incorporate the power of slowing down into my entrepreneurial journey? How might a more intentional and deliberate approach to my projects lead to deeper and more impactful results? Where could I add intentional space into my calendar for rest and reflection?

* How have I been nurturing my existing client relationships? Have I truly focused on creating a sense of trust and loyalty, or have I been too preoccupied with constantly seeking new leads?