WPCP: 004 What I'd Do Different If I Were Starting My Business Today

What-I'd-do-Different

LOTS happening in today’s episode!

I recently started private coaching with a new client (I’m coaching her) and had decided I would write up “What I’d Do Different if I Were Starting My Business Today” for her, then realized it would make a great topic for the next podcast episode and post. So here we are! 😉

I’m writing the post show notes before I actually record the podcast, which may sound a little backwards, but going back to do show notes after I record doesn’t always happen as quickly as I’d like and then it becomes a much more tedious process, whereas doing it this way I work from my hand written outline and my show should have a nice flow (like how I threw in that little disclaimer *should*  have a nice flow?). I’m looking at my hand written notes and really hoping I can keep this to an hour… yea, I get a little chatty. 😉

Shout out

Shout Out

I’m taking this idea directly from ThePodcastAnswerMan (Cliff Ravenscraft) who does a weekly personal plug on his show. I love that he shares other peoples content and highlights what they’re doing (oh how I wish some old school marketers would grasp this). So this week’s shout out goes to Ben Boykin of EmergentInteractive.com. If it weren’t for Ben reaching out to me on twitter about Flyhweel hosting I would probably be pulling my hair out right now. Ben put me in touch directly with the team at Flywheel and within a week and a half I was migrated over and pulled the trigger last Friday! I’ve since engaged more with Ben on twitter & Google+ and he’s just a great guy (who also creates awesome Genesis WordPress sites).  So thanks again Ben!

flywheel

You’ll hear more about Flywheel in an upcoming episode and post, so stay tuned for that. I want to get the guys from Flywheel on so you can hear about their company, what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, etc. directly from them. Not only is my site WAY faster, but their support is FANTASTIC! While away at a conference they still took the time to get back to me, answer my questions and make sure everything was working. Nice!

In this episode I share a little bit of my story with you (why I didn’t do this in the first episode, I’m not sure. 😉 ) and how I got to where I am today. I’m sharing this with the hopes of inspiring you and showing you that no matter what you’ve been through, you CAN do this. It’s been a long and very difficult road at times, but I am in such a wonderful place in my life now and am truly grateful for everything.

The evolution of The WordPress Chick has also been an interesting road (and one I had no idea existed when I started my business). My business and brand has evolved quite a bit over the last five years (and will probably look very different five years from now).  I couldn’t  have imagined this when I started, but I stayed open to what showed up and have learned to trust my gut which is paying off more than I thought possible now.

The 7 Things I’d Do Different

There are probably more than 7 things I’d do different if I were starting my business today, but these are the primary things that I would recommend to ANYONE who is starting an online business today or is ready to shift what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. I go into much more detail in the podcast, but here are the 7 things:

1) Focus on my content/my business first

2) Build my list strategically and measure what’s working

3) Have something to SELL as soon as possible (and no, I don’t mean throw up junk. Something of value)

4) Trust my gut & simply be myself

5) Focus on relationships, connections and how I can support other people

6) Be as absolutely transparent as possible (the more you do this the easier it gets)

7) Treat my business like a business

The last point I made in the show, which really ties in with the first item on this list, is that you have to find a way to manage doing the things that will pay off in the long run WHILE you do the things that will pay the bills now. Creating valuable content has to happen consistently and you have to be willing to keep on creating even when it’s not bringing in income. I just read something this morning that you might want to remind yourself of when you feel like it’s taking FOREVER to grow your business: Walt Disney was turned down 500... yes, that’s FIVE HUNDRED times for financing for Disneyland. And don’t give me a “Yea, but that was Disney!”. Stick with it. It will pay off.

Links from this episode

EmergentInteractive.com  / Ben Boykin (twitter link)

Flywheel Hosting 
You can also email them directly at wpchick@getflywheel.com (how cool is THAT? 😉 )

I couldn’t find the article on WP Beginner that I mentioned, but here’s a post that explains this discussion in detail and they clearly state that it’s not having too many plugins that slow your site down, it’s having poorly coded plugins that are slowing your site down.
How Many WordPress Plugins You Should Install On Your Site

Udemy

The Self Help Chick
(remember, I have NOT written on this site in over 4 years!)

I’d love your feedback, comments and iTunes review too! 😉 Just click the button below to subscribe in iTunes.

subsribe-in-itunes-wpchick

Similar Posts

16 Comments

  1. Great job Kim. Very refreshing to know that I’m not the only one with some of these feelings and angsts regarding my business. Sometimes I want to put myself out there and and other times I want to hide in the shadows. Sometimes I feel I have it all figured out and at other times I’m questioning myself.
    Added to that, working in this online space can be so conflicting at times especially when you see others looking like they have it made, all is well, they only have great clients and bad days are non-existent. I have days that just suck, where I want nothing more than to just go back to bed. I have clients that suck, thankfully, I’m finding ways to not work with them anymore yet not burn bridges. I’m still trying to figure things out in my business, despite doing this since 2006/7. But do I share that or keep it to myself? Maybe I should not because everyone else seems to have it all together?
    This sort of lack of realness and willingness to share struggles I feel makes other still struggling question themselves in unhealthy ways, so you being so candid and real about your journey is quite refreshing. I hope that in the future other online business owners (myself included) can just level with their peers and followers and let us know every day aint’ peachy, because I feel that giving the impression that it is always so great paints unreasonable expectation about the virtual industry for others wanting to work online and sets a lot of people up for failure. Anyways, I’ll get off the soapbox now. I always go off on a tangent when discussing this sort of topic.

    1. Thanks Carlana,

      I’m with you on the soapbox… hence the podcast episode! 😉
      Obviously I’m a fan of being open about the struggles, but I wasn’t always like that. I can tell you that it is absolutely FREEING to share the good with the bad. Somehow it takes away the shame /taboo of it all.
      Have you read Brene’ Brown? Her latest book is called “Daring Greatly” which she got from Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man In The Arena”:

      It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

      I think you’d be surprised at how people step up and relate to you when you share the entire journey (I’m constantly surprised). Just take it one step at a time (there is no way I would have shared the story about getting fired a few years ago).
      Looking forward to connecting with you later this month! 😉
      Kim

      1. I could not have said it better Carlana. It’s like you read my mind. I have been in business since 2000 and sometime I think I am killing it and sometimes I think it is killing me.

        1. Thanks for sharing Tammie!
          Hopefully the ‘killing it’ days outweigh the ‘it’s killing you’. If you’ve been at this for 13 years my guess is you’re good at what you do. 😉 Let me know if there’s anything I can do to support you.
          Kim

    1. Haha… if only with the redial button, right? No regrets though, it’s all a learning process and hopefully I can help other people shorten their learning curve.
      Thanks Eleanor- I really appreciate all your support!

  2. Kim!
    This was an amazing podcast! I FINALLY was able to take some time to listen to it all the way through and this truly was very valuable. Thank you so much for sharing your story too. Your transparency says a lot about you and I truly appreciate your willingness to help others. Not many people that have gotten to where you are, are willing to look back and give a hand to those behind them. But I get why you do it: building a community and relationships only helps everyone involved.
    Lesson #7 was the best one 😉
    Thank you for all you do.
    Marianne

    1. Thanks so much Marianne!
      It’s taken a while to get to the place where I’m comfortable with the transparency, but it’s been worth it. It’s pretty freeing actually.
      Thanks also for your point about building a community and relationships. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’ve been, we all need support and it’s simply a win/win.
      Lesson #7 took me a while to grasp… what can I say, sometimes it takes a brick upside the head! 😉
      Looking forward to your site launching.
      Thanks again for listening.
      Kim

  3. Bummer, I tried to type in a comment the other day, but I think it disappeared on me.
    Anyways, i loved this podcast. Finally took some time to listen to it all the way through. Thank you for being so transparent and telling us your story Kim. You’ve come a long way and it’s inspiring!

    By the way, loved #7 😉 Thanks again.

    1. Hi again,
      No, it wasn’t you. I had to approve it and was SLOW…. I need to check my comment luv settings- for some reason all my comments go into spam first so the notification isn’t as obvious when I log in.
      And so I learn some more. 😉
      (thanks for coming back to check too! ;-))

      1. haha no worries 🙂 i know how that goes.
        almost ready…. design’s all set, just filling in some content and a NEW offer per your suggestion!

  4. Hi Kim:
    I recently discovered you had a podcast and I’ve been listening to the archives. This episode really struck me. I had a very parallel path to WordPress development. I worked in retail for many years, and experienced many of the same exact same things. When you’re in that spot, with a child, you do what you feel you have to do to.
    It would have been impossible at the time for me to see myself where I’m at now. After parting ways with my original company, I eventually ended up working in a factory and taking classes online for web design in my spare time.
    I started building sites, and eventually was able to start working for myself when that company went out of business.
    Web design and WordPress literally saved my life. I don’t know what I’d be doing now if life hadn’t put me through all the trials, but I have never been more alive than I am right now.

    Keep putting out your amazing podcast.

    1. Thank you soooo much John for the wonderful comment.
      And for sharing your story! In doing the podcast I’ve found that the story is SO important! Sharing it in a way that feels right for you yet is still somewhat vulnerable makes the connection to the audience that much more real.
      Congratulations on all that you’ve accomplished. Here’s to much continued success. 🙂
      Have a great weekend,
      Kim

  5. Wow… great podcast Kim… so much of what you shared in your back story reminds me of some of my challenges and situation. It was very encouraging. Glad I found this podcast.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.