Hey, hey, hey. Oh goodness. It is another week. Can you guys believe it? I was just telling somebody that holidays are gonna be here before we know it, and I don't know that I am ready for that . I'm like, Wait, school just started. And I am thinking about once my Halloween decorations go up, it is, I mean, it's a downward slide into Christmas and I'm just so excited for.
Cooler weather. Anybody else? Anybody else? And just the ability. To have a cup of coffee on my patio with a sweatshirt on that's legit, and not just because I wanna wear a cozy sweatshirt, , It's actually cuz I need it, cuz it is gold and I am just excited for that. I am coming to you today. With a question about you and your business, and I hope it makes you think, I hope it makes you try something new.
I hope that you get something from this because I want you to grow in your business and enjoy the business that God's given you and where he is. Got you. My question for you today is, does your business exist off of social media? And I'm not even talking about websites. Don't count. I'm talking like, is your business off of.
Technology. So what do you mean, Tori? I mean, face to face. What does your business look like? Have you thought about it that way? I mean, it's so easy for us to get into the mindset of, I'm posting, I'm engaging, I'm in this Facebook group and I've gotta do these things. I've got made comments on this. I'm following this hashtag so I can get people, hopefully some followers.
Follow me. Gotta make a real, gotta make a video for Facebook. Gotta put up all of this to YouTube. But does your business exist outside of all of that? Do y'all remember? Probably about six months ago, when I say the world shut down, I'm not talking about when Covid hit, but I'm talking about when the day that Instagram and Facebook went down.
And everybody was like, Whoa, what happened? What happened? And I mean, it was weird because it was like, wait, But we used Messenger to connect with people and we used the dms on Instagram to connect with other like, and, well, how do I take a picture and with a filter? Do I, can I do that on? Because we couldn't, and all the things, and it was, it was 24 hours.
Silly and stupid how much we all depended on it for our businesses and what that looked like, and we're like, Oh my gosh. Anybody in network marketing? I don't think it was near the end of the month, honestly, I don't remember. But if it was last day of the month, anybody in network marketing would've lost their ever loving minds.
On the last day of the month because they couldn't send out that I need four more friends and da da da. And yeah, for that last whew, end of the month push. Right? So where can and exist if it's not on social media? I want you to think about face to face interactions that you have with people. The first thing that I want you to think of is how when you meet somebody new and they ask, Oh, what do you do?
A lot of time, our inclination is to say, Oh, well I'm a stay-at-home mom, or I'm a mom of three girls, or whatever your family looks like, cuz we think of our businesses as a side hustle. But what if you answered that in a way that doesn't feel slimy, doesn't feel like you're trying to, other than, but a way that you could be proud of.
So, For example, let's say you are working with a skincare company. You can say something back at you guys with the real life, got a old man cat who's gonna put in his 2 cents every now and then. So I'm just keeping it real. This is how it works. The skincare company, what would you say that you do? You know, I help women have flawless looks as they age.
Or health and wellness. I help people, you know, have the best health of their lives, you know, by just a couple. Adding a couple things a day, I don't know. You have to come up with what your mission is for that and come up with something that's you and that excites you and that's your ma. You're what you are desiring.
Now, it's not gonna take away anything about, well, I have two kids and da. That's not taking away. But when somebody asks you like, Oh, what do you do? You can say, you have your, just your one statement. Don't mention your company. Generalize it because then that gets people they don't feel automatically like they're being sold to because there is definitely a visceral reaction when all of a sudden you say a direct sales company name, like you can see the look in their face where they like go, Whoa, no, she's going to drop me and.
We absolutely, It's like, it almost like shuts down people. So I would just, I would xna the company name and just create a statement of way you can introduce yourself next. Have you ever done a networking event? Now is kind of scary. And I say that. I won't say scary. I'll say this can kind of make you nervous if you've never done it before, but the more often you do it, the more confident you become.
So, I have found like meetup.com or I have Googled networking in Kansas City, networking in wherever city you live in. Um, and I have found different networking events to go to where I can introduce myself and my business and. It's can be something as easy as meeting up for lunch at a restaurant where you all exchange business cards.
You give your elevator pitch, you know, 30 seconds to a minute of what you do and the type of client that you're looking for, and then everybody goes around and does that, and then you have mingle time. And you can, you know, go and meet other people and, and introduce yourselves and have little conversations.
Those have been like life giving to my business because one, it helps me see myself as a business person. It almost gives me more of a confidence that I see myself as a business person. But it's great for learning how. Have conversations with people. You learn an elevator pitch, what works, what doesn't work, what you like, what you don't like, and it gives you a room full of people that are there to learn about you because they want you to learn about them.
And that's the amazing part. So I would highly suggest just checking out a networking event. meetup.com, I think is where a couple are now. There are gonna be some that cost money. You do not have to get into those. There's so much more networking that you can do that doesn't cost you anything. Now, if you want those networking types of groups, You have to give certain amount of referrals, but you might get referrals too.
So just ways the pros and cons. But if you are doing this as a supplemental income and not your full-time income, I suggest just staying away from those and just making it a point to do one to two networking events a month. So networking events are fabulous. What about your neighborhood? When you are at neighborhood events, you're talking to the neighbors.
Do they know what you do? It's kind of weird cuz most of the time we don't. But they're the people that live the closest to us, right? Like and if, uh, what I have found in the Midwest, like you see your neighbors all the time. Which is so weird in Texas. That was not the case in my part of Texas. But you build relationship with these families that are around you, and it is something that they absolutely, you know, should know what you do because you work here from your house, right?
And am not saying you don. Don't sell them something, don't offer them, you know, Oh, hey, I wanted to give you a free sample of this stuff that I, No, no, no, no, no, no. You can just inform them and just say, You know, I'm working for my house lately, or I've got this new home based business. And if you know anybody that is looking to try to upgrade their supplements, Would you give 'em a shout for me?
Because it would definitely help me out. That's easy. And then they're thinking about other people and not themselves, and you're not trying to sell them. You're talking to them about somebody else, and that feels so much less pressure, less salesy. But you're also offering people in their world, and at least they know what you do.
Because I'll tell you what, when you talk about what you do, they may not buy from you today. They may not buy from you six months from today, but I literally, I had somebody call me and it had probably been two years, at least two years since we had chatted and she goes, Yeah, somebody mentioned, you know, your supplements.
And I immediately thought of you could, you had told me about your company way back when. And she came back to me because I'm in her neighborhood. Cause there's almost like a, it's a community feel. Well, I was, she was gonna go to her other friend. She's like, But you, you're here. And you talked to me first about it.
So I just went to, I'm coming to you. That is little stuff, but that comes up. I wasn't again, You can have conversations without selling people on everything. Have you also learned that , you can't sell to people who you already are in business with ? Have you thought about this? Who do you hang out with on a regular basis?
Think about it. Let's see. Who do you see the most? Are they people in your company as well, or are they people that have other direct sell businesses or outside of yours? Or are they people that aren't? Because if you're only hanging out with people that are already in your business, you're really never gonna meet anybody.
So my Bible study where last year we would meet weekly, but all of us are in the same company. It is an absolute blessing that I have had the privilege of meeting them and getting to know them and having that support system. And it's awesome that we can. Talk business if we want, but most of the time we just talk about our biblical values and where, you know, support for each other.
But if they were the regular people I saw every single week for Bible study, and if I didn't make a point to go hang out with somebody else or go to the mom event at school or. Whatever little opportunities go to the sports game, the practice, I meet other parents. If I was not intentional about going this place, I'm never gonna meet anybody outside of my own company.
So who are you hanging out with the most? You can absolutely have those friends, but they're working the business too. So any, they're not, We're gonna refer anybody to you. So just kind of remember that on who are you hanging out with, because then it kind of gets you thinking. I'm also, I'm greatly opposed to the, everyone is a customer.
No, everyone is not a customer. You want to pre-qualify people. Not everybody is a customer. Not everybody with a gut is a customer. Not everybody with skin is a customer. Not everybody, you know. Not every woman who puts makeup on is a customer. That's not the case. You have to get clear on who specifically?
Niche down. Niche down, Niche down that you are trying to help. Like skincare, you wanna help teenagers who are going through those awkward, they were using bar soap, they weren't washing their face, they weren't doing anything. Whatever. And you want, you want to love on those kids because they need. Your skincare products and that.
So when you have a specific thing, then you focus on that versus not everybody's a customer. Same thing with supplements. You know, if you are looking for athletes who are ready to up their game and feel less sore after workouts, or mamas who work out and early morning before they get off kids and they need the energy and the protein to get them going fast and easy.
Those are your customers. The other ones are gonna come to you randomly or, Oh, hey, don't you also have the, Yes, you're also gonna get those. But when you focus on who your customer is and you're letting other people know that, Hey, you know, like my business is, I really love to serve mamas who work out in the morning and that need more energy and protein on the go.
they're gonna think of somebody specific versus, Well, I just wanna help everybody have good gut health. You've gotta think about it that way, but I want you to learn how to work a business off of social media, because how much time do we waste scrolling or trying to figure out the perfect post or finding the perfect picture or whatever?
And sometimes it's just like five people see that post. You don't even know how many people see that post. Now, granted, God is going to show that post to whoever he wants to see that post. So one of those five people could be exactly who needs it. However, if you learn how to integrate and learn outside things for working your business, and it's like at the end of the day, you feel so much more productive, I, oh, maybe not productive, but like it, there's just a different feeling to it than what I'm posting and commenting on social media, like, All right.
Check mark, but like when you've had good conversations with people in person and, and whether they were about your business or how, you know, or, or just loving on them in a different way like that, that gives me joy. That fills my cup, is having those conversations. The other thing that I want to encourage you to do, if you have not already, Is start an email list.
You are borrowing real estate when you post your business on social media. Any one of 'em, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, any one of them, you are borrowing real estate. At any time, you could post something that they disagree with and they could yank you off. You are borrowing real estate. You need to get people's contact whether you want to start a phone number communication list.
You know those texts that are super easy. I highly recommend project broadcast. I currently use that for my business. I'll put a link in the show notes for you if you wanna check that one out. It is cost effective and having a way to contact people via a quick text and schedule it once a week is amazing, and an email list.
I'm going backwards because I'm just now getting my cellphone on email or gathering my, my customers and my potentials on an email list, and it doesn't have to be much. You don't have to send out every single week. Maybe just in the beginning you offer. A freebie, some kind of freebie that you can create off a Canva and then you get their email and then you just hold onto it.
You don't have, you might not be in a position to create a weekly newsletter, but maybe you can send 'em once, like once a month. Just, Hey, just wanted to reach out. If nobody's told you, you are awesome. You are rocking it, You. Have a great weekend. That can be one email that you send them. I don't really think anybody would unsubscribe from a positive email telling how awesome they are, but so figure out.
Maybe text messaging is better, that kind of format, you think that that would be a better format for your people or email marketing, or you can do a combination of both. Start small. You don't have to do everything. I'm actually talking to myself here. You can do one thing at a time. One small step is better than no steps.
And the last thing I want you to do is feel that overwhelm or anything like that, but I want you to be able to protect your business. In the event that the world stops on social media, or God forbid, a social media platform disagrees with you on something and they cut you off completely, because that is absolutely the world that we live in now.
They have full control of who posts and what posts people. Them to see the algorithm. There's a fun, funny little thing about that too, right? So I wanna help you prepare your business in the event that social media's not an option anymore. I'm not saying it's it's out there, but. Just something to think about on how are you gonna contact the following that you already have on social media?
How can you also reach those people off of social media? So that's what I want you to think about as we close today's session. I want to encourage you, if you haven't already, to join the Girl Boss Rehab podcast Facebook group. Search That Girl Boss Rehab Podcast community in groups, and you will find our fun little group.