The SPARK ~ 143 Yes, I Was "that Kid"

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When I was a child, my Mom got me into music pretty early.

I played the piano for almost 10 years, was in a children’s choir, and even rang handbells one year! (My Mom was a music major, played piano, and the flute, and rang handbells in a woman’s group, hence the variety here).

I had some natural ability and enjoyed it, but I didn’t have any grand plans of being a musician.

But that didn’t stop me from putting on “shows” for the neighbors. 😂

Yes, I was that kid.

I’d gather a few friends; we’d create some music routines and then charge neighbors a quarter to come sit on the lawn and watch us.

I love everything about this.

Clearly, I had an entrepreneurial bent at a young age, but more than that, I love the lack of inhibitions.

Not worrying about what anyone would think or whether or not I was good enough.

The ability to be present, in the moment, and go for it…

This is the magic of childhood.

Lately, I’ve been reminded via Facebook of memories of the time in my business when I had those same inhibitions.

I see these memories pop up from the first few years of my business (2008 -2014) and I had no reservations about sharing and promoting things.

There was always value for my audience – and it wasn’t just sharing my own stuff. I was consistently sharing what I thought would help my audience.

Ignorance was bliss. 😉

When I was sharing this with a friend recently, she also reminded me that social media was a lot more fun in those early days.

The novelty and newness of it all were exciting.

It also felt less like a ‘chore’… especially when organic reach on social returned great results.

What hit me like a ton of bricks, though, was how over the years, I slowly started reigning it in.

There’s probably a little bit of knowledge bias here, which, if you’re unfamiliar with it, is “cognitive bias that occurs when an individual, communicating with other individuals, unknowingly assumes that the others have the background to understand.”

I can’t quite put my finger on exactly why I started pulling back, but if I were to guess, I’d say it’s a combination of:

Trolls (I’ve had my fair share)
Being busy “doing the work”
Life challenges
Feeling stuck
Influence from other people
Not wanting to contribute to the noise

When it comes to your business, you really have to put blinders on.

You have to ignore what other people are doing and saying because, at the end of the day, what they’re expressing is about them.

Some people love social, and some people hate it.

If you’ve been in your service business for a long time, have a steady stream of referrals, and like the status quo… how you market yourself is going to look very different than someone who wants to scale their courses.

It’s time to be more selective about who and what you allow to influence what you do and how you show up.

Regardless of any “FOMO” you might feel in the moment.

And if you do want more or different for yourself, you’re going to have to do things differently.

Every online business needs:

Leads
Traffic
Sales

What you do to gather leads and generate traffic must fit you and your lifestyle.

I love creating content, but I loathe repurposing it and posting to social (how’s that for honesty?). So I need to find someone to do that for me.

As much as I don’t enjoy managing paid traffic, I LOVE the results from paid traffic when it works.

So I’ve told myself to “suck it up, buttercup” and master it.

Whatever methods you decide to commit to, go all in.

Ignore what everyone else is saying or doing, and be your own best advocate.

Promote and share your work; the world needs you.

SPARK Spotlight

The place to discover new and useful WordPress plugins for professionals and agency owners building WordPress websites. Fresh, handpicked, and curated by… Davinder Singh Kainth.

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Featured Articles

ConvertKit is stepping things up a notch for WordPress users. Here’s ”How to customize your ConvertKit subscribers’ experience on your WordPress website.”

If getting better at copywriting is something you desire, read ”3 Pieces of Popular Copywriting Advice You Should Avoid.”

Latest Podcast Episode

I had a ton of fun with this week’s episode… all inspired when I heard one question on a YouTube video.

Listen to “The ONE Question to Ask Yourself KDS: 111” here.

Tool Time

I’m testing out a couple more tools for converting long-form videos to shorts, and as much as I love Opus.pro, it looks like GetMunch (Munch) has more options as well as the ability to post directly to the platforms :

Munch dashboard

Another option showed up this week (below); I’ll test it out and let you know what I think next week.

Video repurposing: This is the newest tool I’ve found for repurposing long-form videos. Check out Vizard here.
Banking for Small Businesses: Banking, taxes, bookkeeping, and invoicing. I love that there are alternatives to the big banks. Check out Found here.
AI Doc Editor: A doc editor that makes diagramming, sketching, and illustrating as simple as typing. Get Napkin AI free here.
Links: Easily add internal links to your content with this WordPress plugin. Check out Link Whisper here.

Funny and probably true

From Oppenheimer: Einstein & Oppenheimer

(great movie, btw)

As we start winding down summer (), it feels like I’m about to enter a “busy season” in my business.

Not just because of the holidays at the end of the year but with the direction I’m heading. Even though I’m simplifying things, there’s going to be some heavy lifting upfront.

And that’s OK.

Knowing this now allows me to plan for the necessary downtime and white space I need to bring these plans to fruition.

One of the ways I’m doing that is by adding extra time in Costa Rica before and after the IGNITE Mastermind this October.

Speaking of IGNITE…

We’re down to only four remaining spots, so if you’ve been thinking about joining us, click here to read more about the IGNITE Mastermind Women’s Business Retreat in Costa Rica this October.

If you have any questions about the event, don’t hesitate to reply to this or email me directly.

Have a wonderful day,

Kim