Suzanne Chadwick 0:00
Welcome back to the brand builders Lab podcast. Amazing to have you here. We are talking about reinventing yourself and your business today. And the reason that I wanted to talk about this is because I am working with so many clients who have been in business for 710 20 years. Yeah, so I think that when you've been in business for a really long time, one of the things that can be an issue or that you can deal with is the fact that you've almost built a titanic for yourself, I kind of think about businesses that have been in business in the online space for seven plus years. And I think back to my corporate days, when we used to think about the fact that corporate businesses would take a really long time to shift with the market for businesses would take a really long time to implement changes. And when you've been in business for a long time in the online space, I think that that can happen as well. So just to give you an example, for myself, I've had my products for a really long time, we have to make sure that we're continuously updating them, we've just done a really big tech change, which has taken us six months to do because we were on one particular system Kajabi. And we moved everything over to a new system. And we've moved our emails over to a new system as well, that has taken us a really long time to do. And so when you've been in business for a while, trying to shift in move can feel really tiring, because you've built so much even my website as like 100 pages. So the thought of rebranding or building new websites is just not something that I really want to do. And I think that that can sometimes stop you from making your business better when you've built a business that is big, and that has a lot in it. And it's not really lean and clean, which is obviously something that you know I love talking about is building a lean and clean business. So when you've been in business for a long time, and you want to reinvent yourself and your business, then these are some things that I wanted to share with you today. And I think that with smaller businesses nowadays, they've just got less, yeah, they've just got less to deal with. And so they can be more agile. And I feel like a lot of new businesses coming into the market have kind of got that ball mentality, which is going big, being visible all the time testing and trying new things, like being really active. And for people who've been in business for a long time, that can feel really exhausted, like oh my gosh, like I've got to change the way in which I'm showing up, I've got to change the way in which I'm doing things compared to what I've been doing for the last five or seven or 10 years, which felt a lot easier. And so I totally get that if you've been in business for a long time, you can kind of be rolling your eyes and being like, do I need to reinvent myself suits? Do I really need to be thinking about these things? So you know that I always like breaking things down in threes. But today we are going to do that we're going to be talking about the three stages of business growth. But when it comes to reinvention, yeah, so the reinvention version. And so when I talk about the three stages of business, and I've talked about it on the podcast before, I've talked about the fact that you build and test when you're first starting you then number two is you assess and consolidate. And number three is your you have your asset optimization, and evolution, yeah, or elevation. And so if you are wanting to reinvent yourself and your business, I think the first step is to actually just sit back and reimagine. So when you think about the next five to 10 years in your business, what do you think you want more of and where do you think the market is going, when it comes to what it is that you do? So I was working with a client the other day, she has been in business for like 20 years, and she has been doing certain things. And that is what she's known for. That's what she's been doing. But it's not what she wants to continue to be known for. And it's not what she wants to keep doing. And so really thinking about things like where is your life right now? And where is it going? You might be at different stages of your life now than when then you actually started your business. So when I started my business, my kids were three and five, I was in a corporate job. And so it's very different to where I am now. I've got like tweens and teens and a lot more freedom to be able to go and do things. So you know, do you want to be physically doing more in your business or less? Do you want to do more online do you want to do more in person, what do you want your life to look like? And how do you want your business in the future to align with what it is that you want to create when you are thinking about reinvention. So I want you to reimagine it. And also just take a look at all the things that you have now, what's working and what's not, which goes into step two, of assessing and consolidating. So we're going back into that cycle. I feel like people sometimes look for the silver bullet when it comes to business. And I actually think that there are solid and foundational business elements that you just cycle through. And you do it again and again, but you do it at different levels, which is one of the things I talk about in VBA. So for VBA, the process that we go through, I just go through it every year, I went through it when I was at $50,000, I went through it when I was at $500,000, I went through it when I was at a million dollars, like it was the same foundations, but I just kept going through the cycle of the things that you need to constantly be doing in business as well. So I just want you to think about if you have a business that you've had for a while, really assessing what's working and what's not for where you are right now. And also what you want to create, I think is really important to do. And I want you to be a non business hoarder. Like Don't hoard things in your business yet. I want you to declutter. And so when you're in this reinvention stage, really look at your business with, like critical eyes. And I mean that in a positive way. But what is not working? What are the things that you need to get rid of? What are the things that you don't need anymore? That are not serving you? And how can you declutter that I always say to my kids, if there's a jumper or something that you've got that you no longer want, there's a garbage bag at the front door, go put it in there. And then every one or two months, I take that and I get rid of it, I put it out the house. So I want you to think about in your business right now, are there things that are there that are taking up mental space, that are not serving you not helping you show up not helping you to earn more, do more, create more, but they're just there, and they're constantly in your, your digital peripheral vision. So I'll give you an example, I have to clean up my Dropbox, at some point, I'm going to clean up my Dropbox. And that is clutter that I know I've got to fix. So that's something that I'm looking at doing in my business. And so I want you to really think about when you're in this reinvention, and you're assessing, and you're consolidating, like lay it all out on the table, you know, when you watch those water shows, and they take everything out of the house, and they lay it all on the table so that the owners can see what everything is. And I think we need to do that in our businesses as well, where we lay it all out on the table, and we're like, I don't need that, I don't need that, yes, I'm gonna keep that so that you can really go through it in a thorough way. And I feel like we've done that this year with our courses and our systems. And we did a massive, we deleted like 2000 3000 people from our email list that were not engaged that we were paying for. So even things like that, where you're like, I'm not going to I'm not going to hold on to things. And I think this is a really interesting one as well. Because when you're in the assess stage of reinventing your business, one thing I had to let go of was ego. And I'll tell you, what I mean by that is that every time I logged into Kajabi, every morning, and I'd been on Kajabi for years, like seven plus years, I see $1 amount. And so that dollar amount was something that made me feel great. And so that was a feel good thing. All of my Facebook groups have got I've hundreds of clients in it. So when we move systems, I had to let go of all of that I had to let go of seeing the amount of money I've earned. In the last however many years, I had to let go of the clients that had maybe been with me for a long time who were who had either moved on etc. But seeing that number, obviously felt really good. And so in your business, there might be things that you're holding on to because it feels good. It's driven by ego. It's like, well, that kind of says who I am and it gives me kudos. But the question is, is that do you need to almost start from zero with some things in order to reinvent yourself and move forward? And I think that's a really interesting thing. Because when I'm working with clients, like I said, Who are 1020 years in business now, that is actually a huge thing for them, is to let go of the ego of what they've done in the past, to be able to kind of envisage and reinvent what is possible for them selves in the future as well. So that is your assess and consolidate stage when you're reinventing yourself and the third step When you're reinventing yourself is the asset optimization and expansion, which I talked about when you're at any stage of business as well. And so I was sharing on my IG stories yesterday that I'm updating parts of my programmes. So parts of my courses, so that they're up to date I'm making, the better, they're more aligned with where I am them are aligned with my branding, I make sure that I love them. And I feel proud of them. Because at the end of the day, if you're not optimising your products and services, you're going to not be in love with them that much, you're gonna be like, Oh, I don't know, are they still good, you're gonna potentially doubt what it is that you're selling. And so you have to know that what you're creating is the best that you can create, you've got to know that what you're creating is like what you've learned up until now. And so I just want you to really think about when you are reinventing, and taking what you've got, whatever it is, you're taking forward, I want you to look at it with fresh eyes and say, where I am now in my business journey. And what I actually helped my clients to do is this, the best that I have is this, like, I'm like, This is amazing, I love it, I'm gonna sell it. Because only if you love what you have, this is my belief. And you can tell me if you think differently. But unless you really love what you have, and you actually think it helps your clients, and you think that it's going to give them the transformation that they want, I don't think you're going to sell it. And that's just been from being a coach now for over 10 years. That is what I've found with a lot of people that I've worked with where I'm like, Okay, so you've got this opt in, but you don't talk about it, and they're like, Well, I don't know if it's like great. And so the doubt means that you don't you don't share your opt in, you don't share your lead magnet, I think the same goes with your products and services. Like unless you're like, I know what this product is, I know who it's for, I know why it's amazing, I know it gets my clients to transformation, you're not going to fully step into selling it. So when you're looking to reinvent yourself and your business, I want you to really look at your products and services with that filter on do I think this is the best that I can deliver at this point in time in my business and in whatever work it is that that I'm doing. So that is a big part of that assessment. And I think it's a big part of optimising and your own expansion. And the last thing, which is obviously by no means least, is really upgrading your mindset, when you want to reinvent yourself, you've actually got to let go of the identity that you've had for the last however many years that you've been in business, because we see ourselves in a certain way. And it goes back to ego, what I was talking about before we see ourselves in a certain way, we want to talk about the things that we've done over the last 710 20 years. But you've now got to step into a new identity in order to reinvent yourself. And you've now got to see yourself as who you want to be what you want to be selling what you want to be doing what you want to be creating. And that takes work. Letting go of the old and embracing the new takes work. And so I think you've also got to really have a think about okay, based on what it is that I want to now do moving forward, which could be different to what I've been doing in the last however many years, who do I need to be in that? What kind of mindset do I need to have? What do I need to believe that is going to help me to achieve that outcome and

that goal. And so those are some of the things that I think because I'm working with so many clients who have been in business for a long time. And if you've been in business for, you know, five, 710 years, I feel like in the online space, it's like Doug, it feels so much longer. But I want you to really think about all of the things that I've shared with you today, around a reimagining what is possible for you and where your life is and where you want it to be really taking a look at assessing and consolidating what you have now do not be a business hoarder, we are all about leaning clean businesses here. And then taking a look at do I love what I have Am I like fully aligned to it am I like I want to talk about it all the time. And so that's around your asset optimization and expansion in this new world that you're going to be in as well. And then upgrading your mindset to make sure that your identity for the reinvention and who you want to be is in the right place. So those are my thoughts on what you need to think about if you are wanting to reinvent yourself and your business, but I love this conversation that I'm having with so many of my clients and really helping them to I love the analogy of wiping the I'm bored, clean, and really looking at what is it that I want to create moving forward? And I think whilst it's scary, it's really empowering as well. I think it's really exciting to be like, I think that moving forward based on everything I know about where the market is right now, for my clients, I know that like, this is the direction I want to go in. And I think having that certainty, having that thought, I think is a really amazing place to be and it's an exciting place to be because you're taking control of your future. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for joining me live on Instagram as well and I will see you very soon.