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Welcome back to the Brand Builders Lab Podcast. We are on episode 88! This is the last episode for 2019 and have I got something special for you!
I'm super excited for this episode because I have got a group of killer women in business telling you and sharing with the their lessons for 2019!
I'm going to be sharing my lessons as well – this is a compilation of 2019 lessons from the women in business that I love. For those of you who follow me on Insta, you may know my word for 2020 is global. So I am going so much bigger. I am playing bigger, I am branding bolder and I am wanting to grow my international audience. So if you're outside of Australia, I would love you to share anything of mine – whether it's my book, whether it's the podcast etc.
Erica Kramer – The Queen of Confidence
My first guest came into my business life this year, like a ball of fire. I love her dearly – she has challenged my thinking and I just get so excited when I get to spend time with her and we have these crazy amazing business conversations. Erica Kramer is the queen of confidence. This year I was lucky enough to work really closely with her. We, we ran two events, which kind of blew my mind. What has come out of those events has been really life and business changing. I feel really blessed to be on this journey with her and excited for what both of us are going to be doing in 2020. But I asked her what her biggest lesson has been for 2019 and this is what she said:
I would have to say that although this was my first year in business and although I did so much, I think my biggest lesson was really to stay in my lane and own my area of expertise. I got quite a few opportunities and offers to veer off and do many things and as exciting as those things were, I really got to check in and see that I really needed to go deep into what I do and master what I do and master the service that I provide. And I think that's super important because if you are trying to do 50 million things in your business, especially if you're starting out, you need to own mastering one major area.
So I think this year was my year of really going deep into what it is that I'm offering, what I'm doing, saying no to the things that don't align as I know Suze loves talking about that and I'm so with you girlfriend.
It's so important to really stay in your lane and align with the things that aligned for you and get your shit sorted, especially your business shit sorted, if you're really trying to make massive change and trying to take over the world. So that has been my biggest lesson for 2019.
Thanks Erica. Now one thing I do want to say is that Erica did say to me, “Suze, if you want me to rerecord that, I will.” And she obviously recorded that in her car, but you know something, I love the fact that she did that. And I'll tell you why. Because she has had over 200,000 downloads of her podcasts that she started in her car. And so many of us decide not to do things because it's not perfect. It's not exactly the way that you want it to be. And can I just tell you that when you take imperfect action, that is when you start to win and grow and your business starts to do amazing things. Imperfect action is where the gold is. And so I love the fact that even though she is now recording her podcast and being more professional with the sound, I'm so glad that she recorded that in her car because I want you to know that one of your biggest lessons needs to be take imperfect action and just do it.
Connect with Erika:
Jessica Ruhfus – Collabosaurus
My next guest is my good friend Jess Collabosaurus. Jess and I have spent many an evening over a bottle of champagne talking about business; things that have worked, things that have failed, things that we're thinking of doing; things that we're testing and trying. And I have absolutely loved watching her business grow and succeed. This is Jessica's lesson for 2019:
I'm Jess from Collabosaurus and my biggest lessons from 2019 is two-fold. The first one is – nothing changes if nothing changes. I absolutely love this quote and it's been so true of the last six months of 2019. I've made a bit of an investment when it came to sort of people and outsourcing things I've been doing for years and years, as well as expanding overseas and taking a little bit of a risk there. I've done this before and it hasn't paid off, but 2019 has really felt like we've hit our stride and shaking things up has been a fabulous decision. So yes, nothing changes if nothing dangerous.
The second one is tapping back into confidence in myself and in the business. And I say this because 2018 was a big year of rejection – I spent pretty much all of 2018 trying to raise capital and it was just rejection after rejection after rejection. It was a lot of hard work in San Francisco for three months working day and night. And emotionally it just took a huge toll. So 2019 was all about clawing back confidence because it had taken such a hit. And it's something that I still need to really work on going into 2020 that – that confidence and shaking things up with all of the lessons that we've learned previously.
Thanks Jess. Loved those lessons. I have to be honest, business owners who have been in business for a while, we have our ups and downs. Like sometimes we're flying and things are amazing and other times you try things and they don't quite work and you do question yourself. But I just think that one of the biggest things as a business owner you need to learn is resilience and realising that some things are gonna work and some things are not, and you've just got to keep building your confidence and keep moving forward. And I have been so excited to see just success with the new things that she's been implementing and the incredible brands that are on Collabosaurus. So make sure you go check her out, say hi and see if collaboration marketing is a great strategy for you in 2020.
Connect with Jessica
Angela Henderson
My next guest is the amazing Angela Henderson from Angela Henderson Consulting.
Angela and I connected at the end of 2018 at a retreat. The retreat was run in spectacular fashion and Angela has been somebody who is constantly just like, “Suze, is there anything I can do to help you? Is there any information that you need? Is there anything I can share with you?” She's so giving. It's been amazing to connect with her this year and I love the lesson that she's sharing of what she learned in 2019:
My lesson was fail fast, fire fast. Now obviously I didn't do this at the beginning of 2019 and I paid copious amounts of money to a variety of individuals. And when I say variety, three different individuals, some of them kinda did what they needed to do. Others, I kind of just didn't want to have friction with people. And so I just kinda kept paying them. And what I realised, I was like, you know, beat this. I am a woman and I'm a woman in business who needs to make decisions. I need to take action. And in order for me to do that, I should have learned to fail fast and fire even faster.
And so I've been able to reflect on what I did earlier this year and none of that is anyone else's problem but my own. So I'm taking full responsibility for what happened earlier in the year and hiring these particular individuals to do jobs that I thought they were going to do. But what I didn't do was I didn't fire fast enough. And so for 2020 what I've been doing is, is I'm hiring people. I'm giving them a Tesco. If they don't do what they're doing, I just let them go right away because I really need, as I start to grow my team and start to grow my business both here in Australia and internationally for 2020 I need to be able to make sure that I've got the right people in the right seats and if I don't, I need to make sure that again I fail fast and I fire even faster.
An amazing lesson. I so many of us are so scared to like offend people or communicate what we really want when things aren't quite going to plan. And I think the quicker we make change, the less painful it is both for you and for them. So I love this lesson and obviously hiring for the things that you're not great at or the things that you shouldn't be doing is definitely something you should be doing in 2020 if you're not doing it already.
Connect with Angela
Cherie Clonan – The Digital Picnic
My next guest is somebody that is no stranger to you. It's Cherie from the Digital Picnic. I have so much respect for this lady and I love watching her business grow. I love her honesty online and her storytelling and her brand voice is so unique and quirky. This year at Angela Henderson's retreat, I actually got to sit down with her and a few other amazing women in business and have like three hour conversations on the beach over pizza. And I think that when you can go deeper with people and have really amazing conversations, that is where the amazingness is of the relationships that we build in these businesses and the communities that we create and have around us. So this is Cherie lesson for 2019:
I want to share the biggest takeaway for 2019 in regards to what I learned. I would say that, and this is probably sounding cliche, but honestly it was just so true for this year – it would be that I'm more capable than I honestly thought I was. And I think women, especially everywhere, we just need to back ourselves a lot more than we do.
Thanks Sheree. So my question is, are you backing yourself? Are you going into 2020 knowing that you are fully capable of doing the big things that you want? And if you're not, then what are you going to do to start to gain that confidence and belief in yourself?
Connect with Cherie
Anita Siek – Wordfetti & Brandfetti
My next guest, will hopefully be no stranger to you. She is the founder of Wordfetti which is an amazing copywriting and branding agency up in Queensland and she's also the host of the extremely popular Brandfetti Podcast. I got to spend some time with her at a retreat on the Gold Coast earlier this year and she is fabulous, funny and she is definitely a pink flamingo. Now if you haven't had a chance, she was on the podcast just a few episodes ago at episode 83 talking about how you can become the pink flamingo in your industry and I'm super grateful that she was able to share her biggest lesson for 2019 with you today:
The biggest lesson I have learned this year, is the magic of the pause now. I am someone who loves travelling at a million miles per hour. My brain is always ready to have a party at 2am. However, this year I've definitely found that there is a difference between being on fire and burning out and if you do not take the time to actually recharge, pause and stop for a moment whether or not it's going for that walk, whether or not it is treating herself for that massage, whether or not it is simply on weekends, just put down your phone or put down your laptop and just enjoy and be, and be present.
It's moments like that that you actually get a chance to recharge, think of things differently and it's also a chance for you to instead of always thinking head actually reflect and see what worked, what didn't. It's the magic of the pause. That has probably been the biggest lesson for me this year.
Thanks Anita! Slowing down and really taking time to assess what's happening and reflect and really go forward with clarity and knowing that you are absolutely doing the things that are going to take your business forward I think is so important. I think busy is so glorified these days that we need to make, taking time to plan and reflect and chill and just kind of not do all the things we need to make that call again. So I am suggesting that we bring, you know, the chill back and make that call.
Connect with Anita
AMY CHARLES
My next guess is, ah, just the amazing Amy from confetti rebels. I discovered Amy, I feel like I discovered her in 2019 maybe when I randomly came across her Friday dancing videos, which seriously bring such a huge smile to my face. And I just see her as these incredible vivacious, super honest down to earth and fun loving woman that she just, I just love following her. So I asked her to share her lesson and she has shared it and I just want to fist bump her and say, lady, you are so my kind of woman.
Hi there, Amy from confetti rebels here. I'd have to say the biggest lesson that I learned in 2019 would be to take risks, risks, not stupid risks, smart risks. So if you want to take that plunge and contact that person that you've always wanted to contact or put that money that you've been saving towards a small business plan, or you just do something that ventures outside of that comfortable box that you have been living in, take that risk because you never know where it's going to end up. It could belly up and go bottoms up and flop. And that's okay. What's the worst that you've lost? The only thing that you've lost is possibly, you know you're done, but there's always that chance that you will succeed. And also it's very important to see the glass as half full rather than half empty. So that is something that I learned in 2019 anyway, have a lovely Christmas. Stay safe and take that plunge. Take that risk because I promise you it will be all worth it. Bye.
Thanks, Amy. If you do not follow Amy at confetti rebels, you have to go and check her out. All of our guests and contributors details are all going to be in the show notes. Um, I'd love you to check them out, but I just, she just makes my heart happy.
Connect with Amy
Tina Towers
My next guest is the ever and always effervescent Tina Towers. This year I have connected with this woman and she's been amazing. I actually was in a group asking about Kajabi and she was like, “I can help you. Do you want me to do a screen share? Is that there's anything you want to know?” There's so many people out there that are just so willing to help, which is amazing. So obviously I had to ask Tina because she also referred Linda Diggle who was my book consultant to me this year to help me make my book a reality. So Tina, I love you and thanks so much for sharing your lesson with us:
Hello, I'm Tina Towers. I am an empire builder and author of OneLife and my biggest lesson for this year was that there is time for everything. I have always been in such a hurry to do all the things, but I'm starting to slow down a little and not be so desperate for everything to happen right now. When I made the decision to take nine months off last year and travel the world, I thought I was saying goodbye to so many opportunities and would have to start from scratch. I even had three months completely off-grid with no social media and I wondered how I was ever going to come back from that, but of course I came back and nothing had changed. It was still all waiting for me and it really showed me that we can take time to take risks and try the things that we really want to and if we want to go back to the old path, it's always going to be there. There's enough time to try all the things and everything we dream of will come. It's just a matter of when.
Thanks Tina. I feel like there is a bit of a theme between Anita and Tania – it's time to just kind of relax and assess what's going on. The other thing is is something that I've started to do a bit more lately is find my creative juices again and just step away from the business to rest my brain and just find the space to use a different part. You know, and I think that it is so good to take time out.
Connect with Tina
Tracy Harris – Mums With Hustle
My next guest is the amazing Tracy Harris from Mums with Hustle and I cannot wait to share her lesson with you now:
My name is Tracy Harris. I'm the founder and CEO of Mums with Hustle where I teach women how to start, grow and scale amazing purposeful businesses using the power of Instagram marketing. Now I've had quite an amazing year, a very full year of travelling with my family, which I absolutely love, and a big year in terms of personal and business growth as well and just leaning more into who I am as a leader. So my biggest lesson learned definitely comes down to myself and my own leadership. No one is going to take responsibility for my business about me. That's my job. So that means I need to get comfortable being uncomfortable, making some tough calls. Sometimes in my business because I'm leading the ship, I'm the captain of this where I say we steer. I need to be making great calls for the benefit of my team and sometimes those calls are a bit tough and they can be a bit uncomfortable, but that's my job.
People are looking to me to make the best decision at the end of the day. That means sometimes saying no to things actually probably saying no to more things. Then you say yes and that means putting in place boundaries for myself and sticking to those, not just for myself but because I'm very aware that I have hundreds of women who I mentor that are looking up to me as their example. And if I'm not walking the talk, then how on earth can I expect those women to be doing that and living that when they're growing their beautiful businesses and trying to be present for their families as well.
One of the biggest growth exercises for me in 2019 is not being afraid to occupy this space that I am supposed to take up in this world because you're my friend. Like if you're listening chances are you leading your business with love from the heart space. You've been called to do what you do for a reason. You're here to make an impact, not just an income. And so you need to take that space, my friend. And that has been a big learning curve for me in 2019 to feel okay and actually feel good and energised by that.
It helps my team and it helps the women in my community. Can I just say amen! Like I could not agree more. Tracy, I absolutely love this. This has been something that I've been talking about a lot this year is stepping up as the CEO in your business. I talk about it in Play Big Brand Bold as well. It's owning who you are, what you're here to do, not letting anybody affect that and you knowing that you can make those decisions to take your business where you want it to go is so important. So my big challenge to you for 2020 is are you stepping up? Are you being the leader in your business, even if it's just you and you don't have a team, are you leading from the front? Are you making that decision? So Tracy, I absolutely love it. Thank you so much for sharing. It was such a good one. So, so good.
Connect with Tracy
Lauren Oliver – Mums Who Wine
My next guest is the big hearted Lauren Oliver from Mums Who Wine. I interviewed Lauren earlier this year on the podcast. Now I don't normally do interviews with just stories – I do like to have actionable lessons – but I was so taken with Lauren's story of how she was a lawyer who then started Mums Who Wine. And so I absolutely love her and have been a Mum Who Wine member since that time. And I am so excited to have her on the podcast today sharing her lesson with you:
So the biggest lesson that I've learned in 2019 is that it is okay to really stand up and own and be super proud of your achievements. I have spent the majority of my life in corporate – that's driven by status and notoriety and title. So I made a declaration few years ago that I wanted to be someone of stature and not status. So I worked really hard on really almost fighting that and not wanting to really live based on my title and who I was. So then I stepped out and have spent the past couple of years building this national business, which is going incredibly. I have probably not really stepped up and owned the impact. I haven't owned the success as much as I really should have because I was so worried about being that person of status when really it is okay when you're working your butt off and it is okay when you are having an impact and to really own that and be proud of that.
And that doesn't make you cocky. That just makes you proud and it is okay to be proud of your achievements. One of my girlfriends said that I've been playing too small and haven't been owning it. I think I've almost been deflecting it. I try and talk it down and play it down. And that's just my fear that I'm going to be overtaken by status and I never want to be that person. So it is that grey line? I know that in 2020 as I continue to build this and through its successes and its highs and its lows, that I'm going to own it and I'm going to step up and be that later and be that person. And that's not going to make me arrogant. That's just going to make me proud of the work that I've done. And as a business woman, and especially when you're running your own business, it can be quite lonely and you're forever in your own head. So to actually give yourself a pat on the back, take the compliments of others and it doesn't need to go to your head, but you can still be proud of what you've achieved.
Thanks Lauren. So my question to you is, what are you proud of in 2019? I would love you to share it with me along with your biggest lesson.
Connect with Lauren
Lyndal Harris – The Podcast VA
My next guest is Lyndal Harris from The Podcast VA. I have said before that Lyndal was the one that got me all set up on the podcast. She's amazing. I got to spend some time with her this year as well at Angela Henderson's Retreat and I consider Lyndal a friend. She is so thoughtful and just amazing at what she does and her lesson, that's what it's all about:
Hi, I'm Lyndal Harris from The Podcast VA, where we make the podcasting journey easier. My biggest learning from 2019 is learning to say no, particularly to potential clients or people that I speak to if they're not the right fit. This year in particular, I've had a couple of occasions where I didn't listen to my gut. I didn't trust my gut instinct and I felt bad saying no, so I went ahead with certain jobs and we just didn't get the desired outcome from both the client's perspective and from a us working with the client. And so that has been a really big learning for me that I am going to take forward in my business.
Just really listening to your gut and understanding that not everybody is the right fit and that's okay. You don't have to feel bad about it. You don't have to feel guilty. You just need to be honest with yourself. Trust that gut instinct. And if you need to say no – and you always can; whether it's referring people to somebody else or refer people to another group to try and find some assistance. So that's my biggest learning and what I'm taking into 2020 – it's something that I'm really going to have to work on because my by nature I don't like to say no. I know that I'm going to have to dig deep if I really feel that it's not a good fit. But I also feel that the energy that that occurs when you go into an arrangement that's not a good fit is really depleting and it's not a great feeling. So that's my lesson that I'm taking into the new decade.
Thanks Lyndal. You know that I'm all about when you say no to others that are not right for you, you are saying yes to yourself. So this is a big lesson that I think is important for all business owners to learn that it is okay to say no.
Connect with Lyndal
Emily Osmond
My next guest is the amazing Emily Osmond. Emily is the creator of the Modern Marketing Collective. We have done quite a few things this year, which has been fantastic. She ran a Instagram Masterclass in the Brand Builders Academy and I worked with her students in the Modern Marketing Collective. It's been awesome to get to know her and I'm excited to have her sharing with you her biggest lesson from 2019:
My name's Emily Osmond and I help women market themselves online. One of the things that I learnt this year was the idea of permission and the fact that no one else is going to come and tell us that you're ready and it's your time. So what I did this year was thinking about what I'd really like to create. And for many of us, I think it's letting go of the judgement of ourselves or judgement from others. And the idea that if it seems too much fun, it can't be real work or that we're not good enough. But like I said, no one's going to come and tap us on the shoulder and say, “Hey, go and do this.” So we need to put ourselves forward for opportunities.
So for me, this looked like launching a podcast and running a retreat and putting myself forward to speak at some events. For me, what I was doing was thinking about where do I want to get and what do I want to create? And then stop waiting for it and think about the steps to take so that I can start creating that now. And so for others listening, if there's something that you want to do, I would say don't wait for it. Start putting those steps down to make it happen and just do it and forget about what other people might think this is your business. And also treat everything as an experiment and see how much fun you can have with it. So let go of waiting for permission. Create what you wish you could in your business and have fun and you'll have an incredible year in 2020.
Thanks Em. So my question is, what are you waiting for permission to do? Are you waiting for somebody else to tell you that you're ready? Emily, it has been amazing to watch your journey this year and I've been so excited to have you as part of my journey this year as well and have done so many collaborations together. So here's your big 2020 lady.
Connect with Emily
Jessica Roberts – The Who Photography & Design
Now, my last guest on the podcast today is the gorgeous Jessica Roberts from The Who Photography and Design. It's been amazing to get to know Jess and Crystal from Who – they did my visual rebrand this year, which can I just say was not handed over lightly. And so I needed to make sure that the people that I was handing that over to, I had complete faith in. It's been exciting to work with them and I absolutely loved what they did for me. So I said to Jess, I would love to know what your lessons for 2019 have been – and here's what she said:
Hi, I'm Jessica Roberts and I run The Who Photography and Design with Crystal Oliver. 2019 has been massive for us. It's been our first full year of operation and we have worked with some amazing people. What has that been our biggest lesson? I think realising our potential and realising that we have what it takes to create a business which is going to be really successful and for us to do the things that we want to do and work with the people we want to. We also have realised that time management is super important and we've been working a lot with time blocking and that's been really helpful as well.
Thanks Jess!
Connect with Jessica
Well that is it for this week's podcast and our 2019 lessons extravaganza. I hope that you took something away from each of my amazing guests. Just to finish off, I wanted to share with you my biggest lesson in 2019 and if you have followed me for a while then this may not sound new to you, but it is something that I am still kind of reeling a little bit at that I did not do this sooner and that is just focused on the one thing – the one big thing. I say to my clients all the time, what do you want to be known for? And I have absolutely built my brand around bold branding and supporting women to have bold voices in their market and take up the space that they should be taking up and claiming – the space that they need to when it comes to their business, their message, and what they're here to do.
So really focusing in on the one thing which has been Brand Builders Academy this year has made me feel free. It's made me feel like I have the time to invest in my students and clients that I'm working with in a much deeper and bigger way. And it has brought so much satisfaction and joy to my business that I can't even begin to tell you. I have to say that probably at the beginning of the year, I was struggling to work out how I was going to do all the things all of the time. And it really did weigh on me and it weighed on my enjoyment. It weighed on how I was showing up. It weighed on what I was able to give and do. And so when I made that big decision after one of my guests, Jamie from Outlier Marketing Group was on the podcast and I made the decision to pretty much cut most things in my business apart from my strategy sessions, my speaker coaching and then BBA.
Can I just tell you the weight that lifted off my shoulders not doing all the things! So my question to you is, what have you got in your business that is not serving you anymore? That may be great and maybe something that you enjoy but it's actually not allowing you to show up as your full self and it's not allowing you the time to really go big. And so this is something I am beyond excited about for 2020 is just focusing on the one thing. I'm already planning a retreat for my Brand Builders Academy students in June of 2020 and really focusing in on how do I take my clients in that particular program further – how do I help them to play bigger and brand bolder? How do I support them to do more in their business that is serving them and their families and what it is that they want to be doing and how they want to be showing up and being able to just to focus on that has been incredible.
And I am having fun and I'm enjoying it and I'm really seeing my students do big things and watching their businesses grow, which is so freaking exciting. So that was my big lesson for 2019 is the one thing go deeper and focus on growing that in a huge, huge way. So it's been super exciting, but that is our final podcast for this year. 2019. Thank you so much for joining me. I really want to thank you again for all of your support over the last year. Whether you've been, you know, a new listener or you've been with me since the beginning, I really do value the fact that you choose to spend time with me because I know that there are a million, millions and millions of podcasts out there.
And I'm excited to watch your business grow and keep sharing. Keep sharing your successes with me. Keep sharing the action that you're taking because I love seeing every single one of those DMS and emails and website messages that you send me. It means the world and I cannot wait to support you to play bigger and brand bolder in 2020. I hope that you get time to spend with your loved ones, whether you're working or not working. I hope that you take this time to really celebrate your successes from the year that has been, and take time to really think about what you truly want in your life and business for 2020 have an amazing break and I will see you when we return in January.
Connect with Suz
PODCAST EPISODE #88 – 2019 Lessons in business from women I love!
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