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Interested in  Clarity Coaching? Contact Jamie directly on Instagram @JamieMSwanson Sign up for podcast email reminders here  >>> http://brightentrepreneurpodcast.com/email Transcript: Over the last four months as I've been starting a brand new online business, working with entrepreneurs. The question that has been at the top of my mind is am I designing a business that fits the lifestyle that I really. Want to have, because I've been doing this about 10 years now, full time, and I've learned that there's a no magical point later on in your business where things suddenly get easier, where you suddenly have all of this extra time. Sure. Your income is going to continue to grow, but it's so easy for complexity to come in and droves, like as your income grows, your complexity grows. And you get stuck in this messy middle part. And so you have to be so intentional at every stage of your business, whether you're at the beginning in the middle or further along to make a simple business that fits your lifestyle and that doesn't consume everything you have. And so I want to talk today a little bit about my journey in that and what I'm doing to help keep things simple, sustainable. and how I'm building a business that is designed around the exact kind of life that I want to have, even from the very start ?   I think there's this myth out there that when you start a new business, you've just got to hustle, hustle, hustle for a few years before you really start getting the momentum that you want and can step back a little bit. And while yes. It is easier to hire a team when you have more income coming in the door, which allows you to scale faster and do less work yourself. You don't have to wait until you can afford to hire a team to create a business. That's really perfect. The lifestyle that you want to have. I actually have found that the simpler, you keep things the faster you are able to grow. And that one of the biggest challenges we have as entrepreneurs is to avoid complexity as much as possible. And it's really easy for complexity to creep in little by little, we started doing one more thing and then one more thing. And then, you know, the next thing we know we've got all of these systems and products and marketing plans and opt-ins, and it's messy. It's messy. That's why we call it the messy middle. And it makes sense, right? Because when we're starting out, we're trying to figure out what exactly do we want to be known for what messaging really sells? What platform is the best platform for us to be on. And we have all these questions in our mind as we are building this new business. And that's not a bad thing. You do have to play at the beginning. You do have to try a bunch of different things and learn from them. But the hard part is that most people don't let go of the things that aren't working fast enough, they build all of this stuff. They create a hundred different opt-ins okay. Maybe not a hundred, but let's say, you know, half a dozen or more opt-ins. I mean, I know some people who had a different often for every single. Podcast episode they've ever created. And while I fully believe in using your podcast and, whatever platform you're on to get leads, I definitely would never recommend that you try a different lead for every single piece of content that you're doing. I mean, it made sense content upgrades is what people would call them, but in the, and what happens is you get this very crazy, messy business and not all of the things that you create. Are really created to help move people into that next level, to turn them from, you know, your free follower into a buyer who actually buys the stuff that you're offering. Some. Opt-ins are going to lead to that more naturally than others. So without going into all the business strategy stuff, my goal has been, as I've been growing this new business, working with bright entrepreneurs is to figure out what is the one thing. That I really want to be known for. And how can I go deep with that? How can I create a business that is so aligned with who I am and my zone of genius. And that is just so easy for me to run and so clear for me to market that that's all I have to do to get up to seven figures and beyond that's really my goal. So I have been using these first few months to play. I spent some time trying to figure out what could I teach entrepreneurs? And I created my bright future method workshop, which has been amazing. I have absolutely loved seeing the transformation that's happening with my students. But it's also really big because it's a high level strategy. There's a lot of work that goes into it. And I've found that that level of strategy really requires mirrors. And what I mean by that is that you need people around you working with you, that you can bounce your ideas off and get feedback from. They can be a mirror to you as you're creating. And you're going through the deep work of strategizing how to run your business effectively with intention and purpose. Now it's been super rewarding. But what I found was that my favorite part was not teaching the course or answering those questions in a Facebook group. My favorite part has been. Working with students directly in our group coaching calls, which I do once a week. And that showed me, the part that really lights me up is working with people on a deeper level, more personally. So it was great because I got more information. I said, wonderful. So what do I do with that? What kind of business models can I do that will make me the money that I need to make, to have the lifestyle that I want to have. And that allows me to work more personally with people and go deep. And if you've been listening to the podcast for a while, you know that I decided to launch a mastermind, the brighter together mastermind. Yeah. And I launched that we are starting actually next week. I'm really excited. We have our first group of people and it's going to be absolutely amazing. I'm so excited about that, but it just is an example of how you have to kind of try stuff and see what you like. And really be very honest with yourself and reflect very honestly with. What is it that you really resonate with? What makes you come alive? And so I've been thinking about all of that. And now here I am just going to share some insight on where I'm at. This is how I'm different from when I first started out, when I first started out, I would have been like, okay, we're going to do that. And we're going to run the course and we're gonna do all these things. And I would just keep adding to it and keep promoting all the things. And I would spread my focus far too thin. So right now, as I'm sitting here saying, okay, we have one more, one and a half more weeks left of going through the bright future method workshop with students. Cause I launched that six and a half weeks ago and it's been awesome. But I don't know when I'm going to launch that again. In fact, I don't know if I'm going to launch that again in the same format. maybe I'll just use that information with the people in the masterminds. Honestly, I'm not sure right now, but what I do know is that I don't want to get crazy, messy, complicated, and I want to focus on one single thing because. It's so much easier to grow when you're focuses on a single thing. Then when you've got even three different things to promote or six different things to promote or whatever it is, even two, even two is a lot. Now it's a little different scenario if one naturally leads to the next. So I absolutely could only. Open up my mastermind to people who've been through my bright future method workshop. And I could use that as my funnel, because then I would promote my bright future method workshop. And then when that was done, it would be a natural time to invite them into my mastermind, which is a higher level group. Now that's great, but I don't want to limit the number of people who may join my mastermind to people who've gone through my course, because you don't have to have gone through the bright future method workshop to really be a good fit for the mastermind. And so, yeah, I'm just, I hope you guys are enjoying me taking you behind the scenes on my thought process, but I want to share because it's so helpful to have these. Thoughts and to really get intentional about what you're doing. And it's so easy to see all of it and just do it because that's what you've already done. It's that consistency principle that, you know, you've set this precedent. So you might as well do it again, but I'm really open to considering not doing it again, even though it's crazy valuable, even though the people in it have been asking me for links and telling me they want to promote it next time I do it. So I haven't, I haven't given it up altogether. Just. Straight honesty. And I debated even sharing this with you because I didn't want you to say, Oh no, it's going to be gone forever. And I didn't get in. And I wanted to, or whatever, I'm not trying to incite panic, but just because it's helpful, doesn't mean. I have to go down that route and we have freedom. And it's the same for you just because you've created these things and you sell these things and they may even be making you money. Doesn't mean you have to continue selling them and promoting them. If it's not the main thing that you want to be doing and focused on. So I've really been trying to be very honest with myself and hold loosely. To all the things that I'm doing, it's never too late for a plot twist in your business. And this very beginning part is lovely because it's allowing me to play and make money while I play and figure out exactly what it is that lights me up the most, because I know. That if I can stay focused and I can find the model that's most aligned with who I am and I'm very relational. I love to help people. I'm one of those social people who ends up sitting on social media accounts, engaging with my friends and helping them. And yeah. Chattering. And I do it naturally while also getting all my work done and it's not heavy for me. It's actually something that gives me life. I need that connection. I love that connection and it lights me up to be able to help others make progress and step forward in their business. If I can bring them a moment of clarity, man, I feel so thrilled and it gives me energy to do the stuff that I'm working on. It really drives me. And so that's why I want to focus on the mastermind model so. As I'm sitting here again, taking you back behind the scenes of my brain, what's going on in there. And I'm thinking about how to keep this simple, because honestly I have six kids. I homeschool, I fully support our family with my business. There's just a lot of, lot of pressure on me. And so I have to keep it simple. I don't want to be working 40 to 60 hours a week to get something going. I ideally would love to be working 20 to 30 hours a week at most, and then be able to spend the rest of that time with my family or out on the trails running or whatever it is. I feel like doing with my friends when we can do that again, more consistently I'd love to do more travel. And so even from the very beginning, I have been doing my best to build a sustainable business and focus only on the actions that really help you get clients. I've been doing a lot of selling, which sounds funny, but you've got to do that at the beginning because that's where you learn your messaging. That's the yeah. Moment of truth. You can talk to people all day long about what they'd like or not like, but you don't get their real objections and the real truth until you ask them to actually pay for something. That's when you get the real objections before then when it's just all conjecture it's I go, yeah, that sounds amazing. I'd love this. I'd love that. But when you ask them to pay, it's like, Oh, But, and then you get the objections and the hesitation, and that's where you learn your messaging. That's where you can really craft your offer and refine it and grow. And so I have been talking with as many people as possible, and you'll hear in the next episode, how I've been getting really personal with people to help grow my business faster. So that's coming, it's really fun, but I've been really focused on what can I do? To sell more effectively to help people more effectively and do it in a way that's aligned with who I am. That's simple. And that's basically, I want one funnel. So all right. Back to my brain, I know I keep going in circles a little bit here, but it's all, so this stuff, this stuff is really close to my heart because a lot of people speak to it, but very few people actually do it. Even a lot of the people who say they do. Find themselves working long hours, much of the time and side note, it's okay to hustle once in a while, as long as you know, that it is a season with a very defined end and that it's a choice you're making in that time. This week, for example, I've been hustling to get an evergreen funnel out for my photography business that I want to try and. You know, I've been putting in long hours because I feel like there's an opportunity for me to make this happen fast and that the timing is perfect for it. I'm not going to go into details on that now, but. I've been hustling because of it. And it was a choice that I made. I said, okay, I will do this. If I can get it done by a certain date. So I'll hustle between now and then, but then when it's done, I can go back to the pace of business that I want to go back to. And so it's only a couple of days and it's a choice, so there's nothing wrong with that. But the beautiful thing is I'm not stuck in that. My business is not holding me hostage. And if that's where you're at. Here's what I've been thinking about and what you can be thinking about in your business so that you can hopefully move beyond this messy middle and get into a much simpler, scalable business model. That's going to be awesome for you and create the life that you really want. So for me, I'm thinking about what's the easiest possible way. For me to get people into my mastermind. What's the shortest route. That's going to take the least amount of time. And my big things right now is that I need to grow my list and I need consistent cashflow. Those are my biggest two things that I'm focusing on. So instead of running my course again, which is very time intensive and only allows me to make a bunch of money in one week, that's a one-time purchase. And I really want this recurring revenue, which I do have in my masterminds if people pick a payment plan so I can get that recurring revenue. Month after month, which is fantastic. That's what I, I really want to have because it's way easier to operate when you have steady cashflow coming in, that you can count on. instead of doing my course, I've been thinking about doing a smaller mini course or a mini workshop, whatever you want to call it, that comes on the front end of everything. Instead of doing a free opt-in, which you can listen to my podcast for free. I'm so glad you're here. I am going to sell a tiny course. That is a no brainer price. It's a impulse buy for the middle-market clients that I want to be working with. I'm going to be selling this how to start your first mastermind course, because as I was launching my mastermind. Okay. I would say, gosh, at least half of the people I talked to, maybe more chin, how they'd been thinking about starting their own mastermind, or they just started their own mastermind and they don't know what they don't know or whatever else. And I realized that, you know, if I was talking to my ideal clients and many of these people were absolutely my ideal clients that have half of them or more were already thinking about doing a mastermind or running one of their own, that this would be the perfect. Front end product to help them get interested in what I'm offering to show them my expertise and hopefully to invite the, the ones who really are a good fit to join my mastermind. And that, that would seem like a no-brainer for them. That's a much quicker, easier path than going through, uh, a whole eight week course first and, you know, having to launch the whole thing and whatever. And the beautiful thing is because I want to do it as a paid workshop and it's going to be pretty in gut though. The goal is to have as much done for you stuff as possible so that somebody can get this. They can. You know, learn the sales messaging that they need to have, and they can figure out what, how they want to structure it and how they want to price it and how to find the right people and just have as much of that all laid out for them as possible. So that within an hour or two, they can go through it, grab my stuff, you know, the swipe files, everything and set something up and really. Get it out there and going, cause it's not that difficult. If you have everything ready to go for you to get this going. And if they do launch it and are making money and then want to be in a mastermind that really is there to support them, that they aren't leading because it's totally different dynamic. When you're the leader, then mine's available. It's right there and they'll have the money. They need to do it. Super simple. That's kind of the goal it's to help find more of the right people. It's not something I'm going to invite everybody to join, because I really am particular about the people that I want to have in my mastermind. I want to make sure that it's a really high caliber level of entrepreneurs who are taking action, who have a high level of ethics who really are committed to growing together. And I just. I just feel like it's such a great fit and so much easier than the bright future method workshop. So I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the bright future method workshop right now. My, my inclination is simply to give all of the content to anybody who joins my mastermind as part of the fee. But I am thinking very clearly about. This model and I'm putting together, I'm in the process of putting together this workshop on how to launch your first mastermind. And I'm hoping to have it ready to go in the next few weeks. But if this works one, it'll supply the income. I need to grow my list because I'll be building a list of buyers. And by the way, shout out to Justin dimmers has been doing a lot of these paid mini workshops on the front end, that lead into higher ticket items on the backend. And it's something I've been wanting to try. And his, his workshop was great. So I took that and that's kind of what I'm inspired by. So I'm going to give that a try it. Hopefully it will allow me to grow my list of very. Qualified filtered leads that are actually buyers, which is great. And if they're buying that should cover the ad spend, my goal is not to make money with this workshop. My goal is just to break even with ads or better. I mean, it'd be great if I made a profit from it, but. Truly, truly the front end is just to build my list for free and to build a list of highly targeted qualified leads for my mastermind, because then if I can continue bringing in people who are a good fit for my mastermind and filter through those, then I should be able to grow my mastermind, which is where I really make my revenue. That's a high ticket item. It's the level of conversation I want to be having. It's the kind of thing that lights me up and brings me energy and that I want to be focused on completely. Right. And so if that works, that might be the only thing I do with my business. I might podcast sell this mini course and run masterminds. Is that not like the simplest thing you've ever heard of? It feels so simple and light and beautiful to me. I mean, yes, there'll be Facebook ads to run and yes, I'll have to podcast, which I love podcasting. So that's not a problem. And yes, I'm going to have to show up and run masterminds, but that just like, that's what I'm made to do. That's like what I do for fun. And it just sounds so much easier and lighter and doesn't require me to work 40 hours a week, week in, week out. It's simple. And lightweight, and it's something very specific that I can become known for. I can become known for helping people launch masterminds and for running the best thinking mastermind in the industry. And I just want to crush it. And that if I just do that, if that's all I do, I will have a seven figure, possibly multi seven figure business the way I want to do it. that's going to be incredibly sustainable. That is going to be. So light and easy for me to run and is absolutely going to give me the lifestyle that I want. So here's my question to you right now. Are you building a business that is so simple. That it's easy for you to think about running. It doesn't feel heavy and that it provides you the time and the income that you want to have the life that you want. I know a lot of people when they're starting out, like I said, it gets really complicated. They get into the middle and they don't say no. To the stuff that's heavy to them. And so when you get into that messy middle, which, you know, you say yes, a lot to figure out what it is you really want to do, but then you've got to figure out what it is you really want to do and focus in and go deep with that and start saying no. To the other stuff. And I have a podcast episode, not that far back, just a couple episodes back that, talk about that shift from saying yes, in your business to saying no in your business and how that can help you get out of the messy middle and scale. So that's what I'm trying to do because it's so easy to just keep saying yes to stuff. And if you have, if you're sitting there listening right now and you're realizing that you're. I mean, barely have time to listen to this podcast, let alone do anything else in your life that you want to do. Maybe the only reason you're listening to this is because you're currently driving or working out or folding laundry or whatever it is, and you're sneaking it in, in those spare moments of time that you have while also doing something else. And you just haven't had any time to breathe in ages. If you haven't had any self care there or space, because. Life is so consuming right now, your business is so consuming. It's big and it's messy and it's just heavy. And you know, it has so much more potential than it has, but it just feels really complicated. And you yearn for that simplicity. You want it to be a business that is light and easy and incredibly profitable. And if you would want somebody to help you figure out how to make that happen, I would love to help you. And I do have a few clarity coaching days available between now and the end of the year. So if you would like to book one of those days, you can reach out to me. My information is in the show notes of this episode, you can also reach me on Instagram at Jamie M Swanson, but I'd love to sit down with you and just basically. Let you lay everything out on the table and show me what's there in your business. Like let's unpack it. And then let's talk about each of the things and create a clear, lightweight, and simple strategy for moving forward. In a way that's aligned with who you are and helps you build the lifestyle that you really want to have both from income, both with time away from the business, the freedom, flexibility, all those things that you were dreaming of when you started your business, that somewhere along the way, got lost in all the complexity. when we simplify and we're just focused on growing one thing and put all of our efforts and thought on that one thing, it grows so much faster and so much more effectively. And frankly, easily than when we were trying to do all the things in our attention is divided. So reach out to me. If you're interested in that, we'll do a free 30 minute. Clarity consultation just to make sure it's a good fit and that I really can help you. And that you like some of the ideas that I have for moving forward. And then if that's a good fit for you, we will take care of all the payment details and whatever else and schedule a day to do clarity coaching. And, you know, I do some half-day clarity coaching as well. So if it feels like it's a. You're not going to take us a whole day to figure all of that out. I'll let you know that during the clarity consult as well. So don't hesitate to reach out. I only have a few spots between now and the end of the year, but I would love to work with you if you find that your business is overwhelming and that you barely, I mean, even if you're looking at this. Upcoming holiday seasoning and saying, how am I even going to fit the holidays in? And there's all this stuff and it's just, it's been overwhelming. So I'd love to help you simplify your business so it can be more profitable and just more simple and lightweight to give you the freedom and the life that you really want. So that is my invitation to you Okay, my friend, in the next episode, we are going to be talking about how to get personal with your people and how that can help you grow your business in a big way. And I'm going to share three specific ways that I'm doing that in my own business, as well as the specific tools that I'm using to make it super easy. So it doesn't consume. All of my time and energy. So I would love to see you there. If you haven't yet subscribed via email to my podcast, please do that@brightentrepreneurpodcast.com slash email, the link is in the show notes. You'll actually get a taste of the personalization that I'm going to share with you in the next episode. But also if you're listening to this and saying, man, I kind of want to run a mastermind or you find yourself saying. Hm. I'd love to be in one. Go ahead and sign up for your email as well, because that is where you will get notified when I have these available. So when I have the, how to launch your first mastermind workshop, ready to go, which I hope will be ready in the next few weeks. Um, you will get the first chance to get your hands on that. By signing up via email. I'll definitely put it there first. And if you're interested in being a part of the brighter together, masterminds and really spending 12 months or more with a small intimate group of people, as we move forward, building your business, simplifying it. It really making it fit your lifestyle. if this is interesting to you and something you want to hear about, sign up as well, because you will be the first to know when I am opening those up again. So with that, my friends, please remember that we are brighter together and that the world needs us. So let's go out and make it ? brighter.