4 Rookie Launching Mistakes
If you have been following me a wee bit, you know "launching" is my super strength... especially launching without the hustle, when short on time, when trying to balance life and mama-hood. It wasn't always like that though, so let's get some context first.
Back in 2008, yours truly graduated from veterinary medical school with a doctorate and embarked on an emergency/critical care veterinarian career which took me to: South Africa, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, etc.
However, my entrepreneurial journey began after our twins were born... and my heart needed me to be more present within the home and less on the ER floor. Like most folks, I started in a MLM which lead me to want to start my own business and invest in coaching, memberships and masterminds.
With all the twists and turns, I landed coaching within an entrepreneurial community for an 8-figure company which serves entrepreneurs to create an irresistible offer, nail their niche and launch on their own terms. And I fell in love... with the launching process.
Why? Well, here's what I saw happen and tell me if this applies to you as well:
- You launched once or twice, but the entire process left you overwhelmed and burned out. So, you continue to hide behind your offer never really launching again because you do not want to be exhausted like that again.
- You keep pushing back your launch date and have not FULLY launched because of various reasons such as: small email list, it's not quite right or the timing is just off.
- You are so busy shuffling kiddos from one activity to another, you have absolutely no energy to pour into your own business. So, you post once or twice about your offer hoping the algorithm gods are in your favor and someone sees how you can help them.
And here's the thing, love. I truly hope you hear me loud and clear: launching isn't about hustling. It's not about exhausting yourself to the bone. Launching can and SHOULD be fun, exciting and energize you. Launching is simply a way for YOU to share with others how YOU can HELP them. Plain and simple.
With this quick read, I figured it's time to share with you some mistakes I have seen or, ahem, done myself.
But here's the thing: IF you need someone to guide you + breakdown your launch steps into bite-size pieces based on YOUR strengths + life schedule then reach out to me! [ HELP ME LAUNCH, AMBER ] I'd love to help YOU get your offer into the world (without having you burned out or skimping on showers).
MISTAKE #1: THINKING YOUR NUMBERS ARE TOO SMALL FOR A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH
At a recent Mastermind retreat, their guest expert was an FBI expert who deciphered folks' personalities and behaviors based simply on their body language. It was completely fascinating to watch her in action... but the MAIN thing I took away from her talk was this, "Your greatest weakness can be your greatest superpower."
She took the next half hour explaining exactly what she meant and how she used her own weakness as her superpower in order to be where she is today. Yet, the same applies in YOUR business. Yes, you have small numbers; however, how can we flip this perspective and use it to your advantage?
Just take a moment to think about these two options:
- Option A: You have a tickets to see your favorite artist play in concert; however, you are in a crowd auditorium sitting in the nosebleed seats and catching glimpses of this artist singing on the jumbotron.
- Option B: You magically scored limited seating tickets to a closed concert where your favorite artist is sitting directly in front of the crowd of 20 folks while playing your favorite songs.
Soak in those two options and let me know which one YOU would rather attend? Um, it's a no-brainer for most folks, option B. And your client feels the same way about you and your offer. You have this amazing opportunity to speak directly to them and serve them in an intimate way... why rob yourself or them of that experience?
MISTAKE #2: CREATING MORE CONTENT VS. REPURPOSING LIKE A BOSS
There are two sources of currency we all have: time and energy. The latter we can generate through nutrition, biohacks, sleep, lighting and so on. Yet, we all know we can not generate more time; however, we can use it to the BEST of our ability!
This applies to all areas... for me, these areas include: homeschooling, endurance training, coaching and even creating content for various social platforms.
In all honesty, social media is not my favorite thing on the planet. [Enter huge but!] BUT, I understand the importance for me to create content and serve my audience which may include posting content on various platforms.
And each platform has it's own special set of rules as well as things it likes to help promote your content. Fabulous. *sarcasm*
As a homeschooling twin mom who coaches within the Business By Design community as a head coach AND coaches her own clients either in our membership or in a closer capacity, it's all about working smarter and not harder.
You can snag my repurposing guide here >> REPURPOSING GUIDE <<
Let's break it down a wee bit for you how to do just that- work smarter not harder. First, take your baseline platform content (for me it's the blog, others may be a podcast/youtube/SM caption/email) and repurpose it on various platforms.
Now, before you get overwhelmed. I am not saying you need to post on ALL the platforms. Heck no, I don't do that nor will I tell you to do that at this time.
What I am saying is be consistent with where you want to repurpose your content. There's a slew of platforms show figure out what best suits YOU and your audience.
Good place to start is WHERE is your audience searching for content?
Are they on:
- YouTube
- Podcast Apps
- Clubhouse
The list goes on and on... and as time clicks on, I'm pretty sure there will be even more platforms.
So, choose where you would like to be consistent YET do not need to jump on every new platform ASAP. Take your time, explore and do what's best for you.
Be aware of what types of content the platform you are posting LIKES to share... at the time of this blog post, Instagram, for instance, is favoring reels. So, guess what buttercup - mama is making reels.
And no, I'm staying away (as long as possible) from the dancing and pointing; although, I am showing up and serving as best I can. Could my reels be better? Definitely! Does it bother me? Not in the least. You can check out some reels HERE!
I'd rather have imperfect action > perfect inaction any day of the week.
MISTAKE #3: FOLLOWING YOUR COACH'S GUIDE TO A SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH
Mimicking my schedule to what other "successful" coaches, mentors or fellow entrepreneurs were doing (or saying on social media they were doing!) was one of my biggest mistakes as a fresh entrepreneur.
It's true what they say, "success leaves clues", but one thing I realized was that not everyone has the same daily obstacles as I do (nor do I have theirs!).
Were these coaches homeschooling their twins? Nope. Were these mentors puppy training two new puppies? Nope. Were these fellow entrepreneurs doing x, y or z? Nope, they had q, r and s!
Not everyone has MY life schedule or obligations nor does everyone have YOURS... so it makes sense that my (or your) schedule for work and/or homeschool will not look like someone else's. So, why was I spending so much time and energy trying to mimic what they were doing in THEIR BUSINESS!
If we don't have the same life schedule... the same obligations... we certainly were not going to have the same BUSINESS or even strengths/weaknesses in business.
Now. This doesn't mean either one of us is wrong... it's just what it is. And it doesn't mean that YOU, he, she or me will not be successful... it just means our day, our launch strategy will look different than the next successful person.
And that is MORE than okay!
The key is to figure out the following:
- YOUR strengths (and weaknesses) and how can you apply them to your launch
- Identify your launch goals as well as boundaries you want to set (ie. no work after 3pm so you can be fully present for your kids)
- Set your timeline and map out your priorities (for work, life, personal goals, etc).
- Do not waver on your goals... but we okay to adjust the timeline out of integrity (never fear)
MISTAKE #4: FORGETTING TO THINK OF YOUR CLIENT'S JOURNEY
When working with clients, one of the things majority of them grumble about is slowing down to actually THINK about where their ideal customer is in her journey.
Seriously. Grumble-topolis.
Clients typically just want to build the sales page, write the emails, get their social media content and make the sales.
But if we don't take time to actually slow down to figure out where our clients are in their journey, then we will be as folks say "throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what sticks".
Breaking down where folks are in their journey helps with the following:
- Knowing what pain points to talk about in your weekly content
- Knowing what they are saying to themselves
- Knowing what objections they might have
- Knowing what they actually NEED YOU to share with THEM to best SERVE them
- And so much more
Here's one way to think of it.
Imagine. You are going on an epic road trip with your ideal client! You know where you are starting together (POINT A) as well as the destination (POINT B). However, ALL the other details such as the roads you will take, airbnbs you'll be crashing, rest stops and diners are all the details you need to figure out! Plus, I didn't even mention the playlist or podcasts, your client may want to listen to... can you picture it?
Your client also has a POINT A (where she is now before working with you/your product) and POINT B (the transformation your offer/service provided).
It's now about discovering ALL the details in between.
- What is her current struggle? What is her "pain point"?
- What ways can I help her with this pain point? What's the solution I have found which might help?
- What is an objection she might have to not wanting to invest in my offer?
- What is a limiting belief she might be holding onto?
By doing THIS you will actually be shaving time off because you'll have a blueprint or a map of the journey your client is taking WITH YOU.
With these 4 mistakes in the rearview, you’re going to be launching like a boss in no time! Plus, you'll save yourself energy and the risk of burnout that some people face when in launch mode. I can’t wait to hear from you in my DMs saying, "This was my best launch YET!!!".
But, if you still feel like you might need someone to break your launch down for you in bite size pieces... help you navigate your messaging... and even help you identify your launching superpowers - reach out, my LAUNCH ON YOUR TERMS Strategy Session lets you walk away with your customized launch plan (along with weekly homework assignments and messaging strategy) in just 5 hours + support each step of your launch!
Grit + Gumption,
ALG
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