#FtheHustle ~ 020 – Ready, Fire, Aim

Are you up for a little “woowoo” today?

Buckle up, because I’m not exactly sure where this is going, but I feel compelled to share it with you.

One thing most people who know me would agree with is that I’m pretty decisive.

Sometimes that backfires (ready, fire, aim), but most of the time, I make decisions from my gut and it works out.

One of those decisions was 4 years ago when I decided to “draw a line in the sand” so-to-speak and stop doing any type of website work and completely walk away from the outsourcing company I had created (which was kind of accidental to be honest… and never something I wanted to build).

I knew the only way I was going to get out of doing that work was to simply stop doing it.

There wasn’t going to be a slow transition while I let if fade away in the background.

I let my clients and team know. Because I appreciated them all, I connected them all directly with one another and let them take it from there.

I had one website project that was wrapping up and that was it!

That was, without a doubt, one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself in my business.

Getting into web development was never something I set out to do, it just sort of happened.

I’m grateful for it all, but I knew in my heart that is was not what I was put on this earth to do (and a hat tip to all of you who do it so well).

I started my business so I could own my time and have more freedom.

I’m a creator at heart and I felt like I was spending all my time working on other people’s businesses as opposed to growing my own (it’s a catch-22 for sure).

I’m sure you’ve heard Parkinson’s Law: “Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”

I think the same is true of life in general.

Time is fickle thing…

When I feel like I’m doing the work I’m put here to do? I can easily spend 4 or 5 hours creating something and still feel like I have the entire day ahead of me.

It was only 3 weeks ago when I said there was no way I could move out of Boise in 5 weeks, so I thought I’d renew my lease and then break it.

Literally a week later I made the decision, signed a contract, and am leaving Boise on the 31st.

YOU get to decide how you spend your time (it’s amazing how much I’m getting done because I want to).

It might feel scary at times, but sometimes you need to take a leap of faith and #JustShowUP.

Start small with little things you want to do but haven’t (trust me, it took me almost 10 years to get really clear that I did in fact want to move out of the country).

Let go of expectations and have fun with it.

Have you taken a leap of faith recently? If there’s something you’ve jumped into, I’d love to hear from you. Hit reply and tell me about it!

You’ve got this!

​

A Little Brainpower 🧠

This article from Ryan Holiday is a must-read on why you should focus on growing your email list (as well as being closer to your customers). I totally resonate with what he spells as success to him: “a-u-t-o-n-o-m-y.” That speaks to my soul! Read “This is the Secret to Business and Artistic Success” here.​

Related: The Obstacle is the Way, by Ryan Holiday (LOVE this book).

​

I wish I could say I did this strategically, but the truth is it’s the only way I know how to create: “You want your customers to read something you’ve written or shared and know it could have only come from you” – Felicia Sullivan. In this article Felicia shares 6 ways you can get clear on your voice in “Create a Voice That Puts Their Heart on Pause.”​

Related: “What it Means to #JustShowUP KDS: 053” (it’s not about being ‘seen’ everywhere).

Tool Time  🛠

Yes, I’m still obsessed with Conversion.ai. I think I’m going to do a live stream next week in Content Creators to show how I’m using this. Yesterday they released 3 more new templates: Feature to Benefit, Before-After-Bridge framework, and the Unique Value Proposition. I’ve already tested the BAB framework (AH-MAZING). Today is the UVP.
Sign up for a free trial here.

• Video: Even if it means I have to “get ready” more often, I definitely want to step up my video game. VideoAsk is a new tool (from TypeForm) that allows you to video chat with your audience on your site. Try VideoAsk here.​
  ​
• WordPress: Want to do a quick install and test a few things before going live? Or duplicate your site? TasteWP is a great new option for duplicating your site and testing plugins and themes. Try TasteWP for free here.​​
  ​
• App: I haven’t tried Sticker Cards yet, but this looks like a fun way to create content from notes and tweets to share socially. Not sure if it’s available for Android. Checkout Sticker Cards here.​
  ​
• Publishing: I remember when Ghost first came out (quite a few years ago). I liked how it looked but knew I’d stay with WordPress. Well, Ghost 4.0 is out and it looks pretty powerful. If you’re looking for a WordPress alternative, checkout Ghost here.

Newsletters I’m Loving 🤓

Anyone remember (or know), Glen Allsop of Viperchill? While he doesn’t blog on Viperchill anymore, he can still be found online (thankfully, he’s a gem). I just discovered his newsletter, Gaps, last week. He is all things digital marketing, SEO, online business, and he literally tells you HOW to do it. Warning: it can be a bit of a rabbit hole! Subscribe to Gaps here.​

​For all my SEO friends… (something I know is vitally important but probably one of my least favorite things to do). I found The SEO Letter last week! It’s a weekly newsletter with SEO tips and stories (and super easy to digest). Subscribe to The SEO Letter here.

And this my friends, is why we proofread…🤣

…ribbit…ribbit… 🐸

A HUGE Thank You to Cathy Rodriguez for sending me this lovely email…

It is ALWAYS worth it to tell someone how you feel. And the flip side of that is that yes, you should simply be YOU… it is the fastest path to connection and growth.

On that note, have a fantastic day my friends!

Kim