by Erica | Dec 6, 2013 | Copylicious
Okay guys, it’s confession time.
I’m quitting Namestorm-ing.
If you’ve been ’round these parts awhile, you may recall that a few months back, I launched my first ever BETA service to help entrepreneurs with something I see them struggling with all the time: coming up with fierce, fabulous & on-brand names & taglines for their products & services.
UGH. I swear I can hear the collective groan at the mere mention of this often-tedious task.
Anywho – it was honestly a great offering, and a total steal at its price point.
And you guys knew it, too. In fact…
I cooked up over 300 names & taglines in a little under 30 days.
THREE FREAKING HUNDRED.
So you might ask why I’ve taken Namestorm off the menu and plan to keep it that way for 2014.
Let me pull back the curtain & give a little peek into my process:
1. I created it because I wanted to get better – not because I loved doing it.
Now, I’m not saying I don’t enjoy coming up with names for clients. I do like naming things, and I have a particular panache for taglines, if I do say so myself.
The only problem? Naming aint easy. However, I knew it was a pain point for many of my clients, and the lil’ perfectionist in me wanted to be great, not good.
As it turns out, I need to know a lot more about a person’s brand + biz (+ personality) than I thought to provide them with a name we both can be proud of! Namestorms were an awesome way to get to know a few super cool clients, but I normally ended up spending wayyyy more time getting to know their brands (& them) than I planned because my initial intake form just wasn’t cuttin’ it.
I had to “just ship” quite a few Namestorms, and I honestly didn’t feel good about it. But I knew I couldn’t dwell on it forever.
Still, I’m NOT okay with putting subpar work out into the world. Just not.
Boo on that, kids.
2. Nobody needs 10 stinkin’ name ideas.
In hindsight, I realize that not only did it take forever to create said 10 name & tagline ideas, it also didn’t quite make sense given the context of the offer. Most people were coming to me because they already had ideas but couldn’t make up their minds or commit. Giving them 10 more ideas to mull over? Not exactly the best game plan. Oops!
3. Even though it was a beta test, I was extremely undercharging.
Holy hell, did I pour my wittle heart into every single Namestorm. I also spent about 3 hours on each one – sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. Yep! I didn’t leave the house (or my pajamas) for two whole weekends. And I still couldn’t deliver ’em on time!
However, there was a silver lining to this: I got really good at having to hit the “Send” button before I was “ready.” I think this is a skill that will serve me well.
3. I jumped on an opportunity without thinking about my own needs.
Basically, I noticed a gap in the marketplace and just went for it. ‘Cause, that’s the game is played, right? Well, maybe. Naming is a serious hot button issue for lots of biz owners, so I couldn’t help but think, “Here’s my chance! Something people want and are totally willing to pay for ’cause it’s so damn annoying.”
Alas. Just because it’s something people will pay for and something I can do well, doesn’t mean that it’s the right thing for me to offer. It just doesn’t. Maybe it’s just not the right time for you. And that’s okay! Remember that, ladies.
In my ideal world, I would have gotten to know each & every Namestorm client personally with a consultation and lots of back & forth emailing. Such was not the case, and I was left feeling a little like…”that’s it?!” after work was done. *insert sad face*
So why not create my ideal world? We’re all adults here. No sense in doing something that’s making me feel less-than-stoked. What’s the saying? If it isn’t a HELL YES! it’s a HELL NO, right?
Now, don’t get me wrong. A hot name & tagline is priceless….but it’s only one piece of the puzzle. Before I’ll even touch naming your biz, I want to know the basics first, like your core message, your big vision/why & of course, a lot about you & how you operate.
BUT WAIT! I’m not actually giving up naming for good.
In case ya haven’t heard: All of my services are getting serious facelifts for 2014 (and so is this website – yay!) and they’re coming back fiercer than evah.
And when my sexy new services debut on January 1, 2014 (give or take), they’ll all include the option to “add-on” a Namestorm session for a set price (TBD).
I won’t be doing single serve Namestorms as a regular ‘thing’ anymore. As of January 1, the only way to have me create a clever tagline and/or name for your business baby is to become a regular client so I can truly get to know you & your business.
It’s important to me that my clients walk away with killer names & uber-clever taglines, but it’s even more important to me that I know their brand inside & out before offering my hand to help.
Wanna know all about the new services when they hit the Interwebz?
Jump on my list over there to the right to get VIP access to my services before they launch publicly, plus other fun goodies to boot.
Finally, to all of you who were involved in the Namestorm-frenzy: I appreciate you! Now go out there & do some business, babe.
What Should You Do Now?
1. Take inventory of your own services. List ’em all out. Recognize how you feel when you think about each individual service. Is there one that makes you cringe?
2. Decide whether to switch it or ditch it. Not every service that shows up on your cringe-o-meter needs to hit the trash bin. Sometimes it just needs a little facelift. Consider reducing the amount of work you provide (have 4 coaching calls a month? try taking it down to 2!) or raising the price to compensate. Maybe you need to re-work it to include different elements (like a group coaching call or a pre-recorded audio lesson instead of a live, personalized call).
3. Repeat every 3 months.
Your Turn! //
How do you know when it’s time to say goodbye to a product or offering? Is it an intuitive process, or are you more about analytics? Spill!
by Erica | Nov 18, 2013 | Business Design, Copylicious, Inspiration, MoneyMoneyMoney
I wasn’t going to publish this today. I actually had another entire post (almost) ready to go. But then I started asking myself what it is YOU guys really want to know.
And I was reminded of the answers on a survey I sent out into the universe a few months back that was all about your copy woes.
There were definitely some interesting results. But by far the most eyebrow-raising were the answers to the question about YOUR BIGGEST COPYWRITING FEAR.
Wanna know what it was?
Your #1 copywriting fear was sounding SLEAZY to your potential customers.
Yup.
Not totally missing the mark & launching to crickets. (Though that was a fear.) Not sounding like somebody else (That was, too).
You just really didn’t want your customers to think you were a slimy marketer!
Now. Don’t get me wrong: I get it. I work with so many just insanely talented lady entrepreneurs who are seriously repelled by the thought of marketing – and terrified to promote themselves in any way, shape or form.
No heart-centered entrepreneur wants to feel like a money-grubbing loser out to steal from people.
Well let me first address that by saying:
You are clearly NOT a money-grubbing loser out to steal people’s money so you can knock that off right now, young lady.
I (and you) both know you’re only selling to better the freaking world (and because ya gotta eat, and y’know, maybe take a vacation or ten).
Now, moving on. Today I want to challenge you to think about this marketing schtick a little differently. (You are an outside-the-box thinker, after all, aren’t you?)
Wanna know why there are hundreds of books out there on copywriting principles? List & lists of done-for-you headlines guaranteed to make customers click? And oodles of step-by-step instructions for writing sales letters that rake in the dough?
Because there are certain marketing principles that JUST WORK.
Humans (and our big ol’ brains) operate in pretty predictable ways, and the copywriting greats have discovered exactly what motivates people to buy – time & time again. Simple as that.
I know what you may be thinking. Well, I’m not a sucker for all that hype-y, sales-y, over-the-top market-y stuff – and neither are my customers.
And to that I say: Girl, I know you can’t tell me you’ve never wanted to buy something off an infomercial! *insert wink face here and actually I love my Nina blender, thank-you-very-much*
No but seriously. Just for a second I want you to reconsider the way you feel about using “generic” or “proven” marketing tactics in your copy.
What if you reframed it like this?
The marketing tactics grab their attention. But the value of your (heart-centered/world-changing/life-revamping) offering keeps it there.
I wholeheartedly believe that there are certain tactics that effortlessly turn words into dollars. In fact, I know there are.
So let me ask you: Does it make me a money-grubbing loser out to steal people’s money if I use said “tactics” in my copy – especially when my offering is something I find truly valuable & helpful to others?
Maybe you think it does. And that’s your prerogative. (Cue 80s song here & hat tip to Bobby Brown.)
I, for one, think there’s no way that spreading positivity, no matter how you do it, could be wrong.
‘Cause yanno what using proven, old school marketing tactics really means?
It means more eyes on your stuff.
Which means more money in your pocket, sure.
But the biggest benefit? It means you’re being helpful to a helluva lot more people
So my advice? Use all the tactics & templates & ‘tricks’ you want – because they work and no entrepreneur should have to reinvent the wheel every time they sit down to write sales copy. (I’m fairly sure nobody should ever have to reinvent the wheel. That’s some serious mind-bending shizz right there.)
Use them in a way that focuses on pleasure instead of pain.
Use them in a way that conveys that you’re adding value to the world, not taking it from other people.
But more importantly use them because the world needs what you got, girl. And the more attention you garner with your irresistible headlines and hypnotic writing? The better chance you have at reaching someone who can benefit from what you’re putting out there. #troof
P.S. If this all sounds like gibberish to you, I have two copywriting spots open for the rest of 2013. Let me take this off your plate & just do it for you. Sound like a plan, girlfran?
Your Turn! ♥
How do you feel about implementing proven marketing tactics into your copy? Are you terrified to use what you know about consumer psychology to spice up your sales pages, or are you totally down with peppering your prose with whatever works to make the sale because your offer is just that KICK ASS?
Tell us in the comments!
by Erica | Nov 7, 2013 | Business Design, Copylicious, Inspiration, Mind
Lately, a lot of people have been asking me how I do it.
And by it, they don’t mean..like, IT. (Cause that would be rude. And weird. And probably result in me filing a restraining order.) They mean how I run my business.
And honestly? It kinda sorta trips me out. People are asking little old me for advice on running a business? At first I think, “What the hell do I know?” and then I take a moment. And I realize…Wow. I may not know everything, but I know a helluva lot more today than I did a year ago, or even 3 months ago.
What’s even crazier is that not only do I know business a lot better than I did a year ago, I know myself a lot more today than I did a year ago.
Honestly when I first started copywriting, I was doing two things:
1. Trying to be like everybody else
2. Trying NOT to be like me
Okay, it’s not like I was actively trying NOT to be myself. But I definitely wasn’t looking inward for answers (like I suggested you do through meditation right over hurr).
At the beginning, I think I truly believed that somebody else had some super-sweet secret that would immediately make my business blow up like a sorority girl after the holidays.
I think a lot of us feel that way at first, when encountering new things with fresh eyes for the very first time. (Anybody else totally have a Madonna moment? Ahem. Anyway…)
It seems like everybody has it together & you’re just kinda making it up as you go along & praying the whole operation doesn’t fall apart.
Newsflash: We’re all making it up as we go along.
(But that’s another post for another day.)
So first, I realize that nobody really knows much more than I do. AND THEN I realize that by being me & bringing what I do know to the table, I’m actually doing oodles more good than I ever could hiding behind my MacBook never making a peep.
SO. I took my own advice, and tuned inward to try to ferret out what makes so me uniquely Erica Lee.
And a funny thing happened: I realized that a lot of the things that make me different and awesome at what I do are things I used to dislike about myself.
Ouch, right?
Well let me further explain. Below are a few things I used to loathe about myself, and how they actually make me da bomb at what I do now.
1. Being “overly sensitive” (& crying a lot) seemed dorky & got me picked on a ton.
Now it helps me connect with healers, coaches & therapists & truly understand where their market is coming from because I feel for other people and I’m not without my own problems.
2. Being so in tune with others’ emotions whenever I was in a room with them made me feel like a weirdo, and a people-pleaser (always trying to make the other person feel at ease, although that’s not my job).
Now it helps me read a potential clients’ energy so I can easily decide 1. If we’re a right fit and 2. How committed they are to moving their business forward. (Because you gotta be committed ya’ll. Again, another post for another day.)
3. Feeling – like really, truly, deeply – for other human beings & my freakish ability to slip into their (metaphorical) stilettos (and/or TOMS, if that’s more their thing) made me feel emotionally heavy allllll the time.
Now it’s such an asset to be able to truly connect with business owners and feel the passion for what they do. SUCH. An. Asset.
4. Desperately wishing to be “like other people,” stalking the Instagrams and Tumblrs of gorgeous girls who seemingly had it all (natural beachy blonde waves and a wardrobe Rachel Zoe would envy? Life is so unfair!) & studying them like crazy used to make me feel insecure & different.
Now, I realize my fascination with pretty things and pretty people is based mostly on my desire to know what makes us all tick. And now this deep psychological desire to truly know what determines human behavior helps me do stuff like figure out makes Suzy Q’s coaching business (and sassy lil’ Suzy Q herself) radically different than Suzy A’s coaching business. I’m able to easily see the differences in people & what makes them so darn amaze. And I think I help boost my clients confidence as a result (and rightfully so!) I’ve had many-a-client tell me that after I wrote their bio pages, they totally wanted to befriend themselves. (And not just befriend, but BF-Friend.) Talk about a compliment!
All of this has opened my eyes so much.
In fact, I’ve embraced the idea so wholeheartedly that I’ve decided loving (+ capitalizing on) that thing that makes you a weirdo is a part of my core message.
(And I gotta say, it’s been sooooo much fun helping others discover that “thing” with my Mini Message Sessions which I’ll be offering again soon!)
Now, since you’ve made it this far, I’m gonna go ahead & assume the idea intrigues you. SO. I want you to take a moment today to sit, center yourself + take a few deep breaths. (No, really. Don’t just think about it. Do it, lady!) And then, repeat the following:
I am okay just the way I am.
I can become successful just by being me.
Nothing about me needs to change for me to have a thriving business. NOTHING.
Don’t you feel better already? I thought so!
Your Turn! //
I’d love to know what it is about you that makes you so damn weird – and how you can use that in your business. I challenge you to brainstorm at least one way to totally rock your individuality in your biz. Share it with us in the comments!
I’m Erica Lee Strauss, pixie-sized copywriter, word weaver & marketing maven. I help women entrepreneurs craft conversational copy that sells. I want to live in a world where women rule, people aren’t afraid to say “I love you” and sequins can be worn year-round, without question.
When I’m not working out, downward dogging on my yoga mat and tinkering away on my MacBook, you can find me laughing with friends in the sunshine, sipping chai tea or ferociously writing in my journal. Or shopping.
Keep up with me on twitter @ericaleexo or come hang out over on the Facebook page.
by Erica | Sep 23, 2013 | Business Design, Copylicious, MoneyMoneyMoney
[Over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of my insider intel with a little series I like to call, “The 4 C’s of Crushworthy Copy.” (Yes, I realize crushworthy is not actually a word. No, I don’t care. Yes, I’ll eventually tell you why.) Today we are covering the first (and arguably most important) C: Clarity. Dig on in, sisters!]
I know you’ve heard it before and you’ll hear it again:
If you want to sell something, you need CLARITY.
It’s become a total buzzword in the online community and honestly – it should be. But like, WTF is it really? What does it mean to have clarity around your business, your brand, your offerings, your target market? Fear not, sisterfriends. Check out my handy-dandy guide to copy clarity below.
Clarity is knowing WHAT YOU SELL, WHO YOU SELL IT TO and (here’s the biggie!) WHY THE EFF YOU’RE SELLING IT.
…But how the hell do you figure this stuff out, you ask? Especially if you’re a total noob?
Here’s a quick look at how you can figure all this totes essential business groundwork stuff out:
Your What.
What it means:
♥ Knowing the features and benefits of your product/service (and the difference between the two)
FEATURES: A feature is a tangible. It’s like saying, “When you purchase my Overnight Celebrity copywriting package, you get one sexy sales page…” The sexy sales page is a feature.
BENEFITS: On the other hand, a benefit is what the sexy sales page is really doing for you. When you think about what you’re selling, you gotta take a step back and look at things a little more objectively. You’re not just selling life coaching to women going through a career change. You’re selling confidence. I’m not just selling words on a page. I’m selling you time. I’m selling you peace of mind. I’m selling you the ability to make more money. You see?
A QUICK GUIDE TO FINDING & COMMUNICATING YOUR BENEFITS:
// Ask yourself What kind of experience your clients will have while working with you. What feelings will you give them during your time together?
// Ask yourself what your client’s life will look like AFTER working with you. How will they be changed? Will they be closer to their ideal lifestyle?
// Include the answers to above questions on your sales page. Paint a picture with words about how amazing, fabulous & transformed your clients will be after they work with you. (Because, obvs, they will be.)
Your Who.
(and I don’t mean the band, although they kinda rock, too.)
What it means:
♥ Knowing YOUR IDEAL CLIENT. Here’s a quick way to nail down your target market. You really only need to ask yourself two questions:
Sunday afternoon: Is she sipping chai tea lazily at the kitchen table? Is she out carpeing her diem hiking a mountain somewhere? Is she making PB&J sandwiches (and cutting off the crusts) for two kids, in between fixing herself a delicious (mostly) organic salad?
And what about Monday morning? Is she curling her hair while checking her e-mail on her iPhone, prepping to hop in her silver BMW and drive across town? Is she doing yoga to the sunrise? Is she dead asleep until at least noon?
It’s crazy how much this stuff tells us about people, right?
ACTION STEP: If you’ve never done this exercise before – DO IT. Seriously. In a notebook. NOW. 🙂
and finally…Your Why.
What it means:
♥ Knowing YOURSELF & WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO DO WHAT YOU DO. This should actually probably be first, because without a “why” – you really don’t have a business.
Your why is simply the big reason – the true motivation – behind all that you do in your business. If you’re not 100% on your why, it’s likely nothing in your business feels right.
A QUICK GUIDE TO DISCOVERING YOUR WHY:
// Ask yourself what LIGHTS YOU UP about the work you do.
// Ask yourself what your TRUE MISSION is.
// Make your “remember this shit when I wanna quit list” (I got so much clarity from this!)
// Ask yourself what you want people to say about you at your funeral. (Morbid, but useful.)
// Put it all together & voila!
BUT PLEASE. IF YOU READ ONE THING OFF THIS LIST & ACTUALLY TAKE IT TO HEART, REMEMBER THIS ::
Clarity does NOT come from a drawing board. It comes from experience.
Clarity comes from just going out there & doin’ the damn thing.
Over & over & over.
You can start at the drawing board and you should. But your path to clarity should NOT stop there. And believe it or not, this is good news! It frees you up to just DO things, and not worry about whether they’re perfect.
So if you’re hung up on the one of the above areas? The best advice I can give you is to put down the MacBook, switch off the iPhone & just DO SOMETHING.
Launch the program. Publish the e-book. Shoot off the pitch letter.
Taking consistent action – even when you feel like you have no fucking clue what you’re doing – is the only way you’ll ever reach that beautiful place known as…CLARITY. (Cue angels singing.)
Check back next week to find out about the next “C” of Crushworthy Copy! And in the meantime, why not sign up for my list over there to the right (and grab my NEW, FREE MANIFESTO!) so you never miss a beat? (Or, you know, a blog post.)
by Erica | Sep 10, 2013 | Business Design, Copylicious, MoneyMoneyMoney
1. CLEAR trumps CLEVER. Always & forever, amen.
2. SHOW, don’t TELL.
Painting a picture with words (and specifics) is far more compelling. But only do it if you can do it in a way that’s CLEAR. (See #1)
3. VERBS are where it’s at.
If a sentence is boring your pants off, change the verb. (Example: If a sentence is boring your pants off, DITCH the verb. Case closed.)
4. Idioms.
There’s an entire online dictionary dedicated to them. Use ’em.
5. The people on the other side of your sales pages are ACTUAL PEOPLE.
6. …But that doesn’t make them immune to basic marketing & sales psychology.
(See: Influence – the only book I actually read in grad school)
7. The P.S. is the most read part of any sales letter/page.
8. People want TANGIBLES.
Even if your service involves something people can’t SEE (like a chakra cleanse or a coaching session that teaches how to amp up your libido), you’ve gotta somehow tell your readers EXACTLY what they’re getting – both logistically (a 90-minute coaching session) and as a result (a higher sex drive, more energy in the bedroom, and a bonus pair of peek-a-boo panties [or whatever])
9. Your brand voice and your voice voice DON’T have to be the same.
But they should be similar. I’m pretty much an open book (see: my previous post) but I also have a slightly different style depending on who I’m writing for and in which medium.
10. It’s NOT that serious.
In fact, most people like to laugh. I absolutely agree that your sales page’s main purpose is TO SELL, not ENTERTAIN. But I also know that I am FAR MORE LIKELY to remember a FUNNY person than a SERIOUS one. Chew on that.
by Erica | Sep 7, 2013 | Business Design, Copylicious
Truth: I’m an adult child of an alcoholic.
A grandchild of an alcoholic.
I’m also an ex-girlfriend, ex-fiance & ex-BFF of alcoholics.
Needless to say, I know a lot about codependency. Clearly it runs pretty deep in my blood. I spent a lot of years just thinking I was a bat shit crazy, overly emotional lunatic (and well, part of that may still be true). Honestly, I had no clue that my life & family were dysfunctional. But when I started to learn about codependency, wow. It was like all my issues finally made sense.
I wasn’t crazy. I was codependent.
Since codependents grow up in dysfunction, they (like all good, adaptable humans) develop habits that allow them to survive (read: stay sane) in an otherwise insane environment. It becomes a style of relating to oneself, and to others.
Codependents become caretakers; people who get a buzz from helping others – to the point of detriment to themselves.
Codependents find it hard to have real, true intimate relationships. Truth be told, we’re terrified of intimacy, but we’ll do anything we can to stay in relationships, even if they’re terrible for us. (Case in point: I once stayed the night with a semi-boyfriend after he told me I had a face only a mother could love, and suggested I wear a paper bag over my head next time we did it. I kid you not. In retrospect it both makes me laugh hysterically & want to puke at the same time.)
Codependents get their sense of self worth from the outside. From praise. From being “needed.” From helping. From being the one who is always there, always available. The one who will do anything for you at the drop of a fedora.
That stuff makes us feel important. Treasured. Alive.
Sadly though, outside of others, most codependents have no clue who they are. And we know it, too. We feel it at our core. When you’re deep in the throes of codependency, there’s an air of emptiness in your heart that nobody who hasn’t experienced it can truly fathom.
Codependents literally feel worthless & invisible if we don’t have someone to be codependent on, or the person we are codependent on moves on. I’d equate the feeling to losing a limb, or maybe worse. (I wouldn’t know. At the time of this post, I still currently have all of my appendages.)
By now you’re probably wondering WTF this has to do with business.
Well, my theory is that it’s not only possible to be codependent in our personal lives. Codependency can easily creep into our work as well.
….Especially if the work we do involves helping others (and whose work doesn’t?)
It’s not just crazy codependents like me who can find themselves tied up in codependent business relationships, or behaving in codependent ways.
For example:
+ Do you ever feel like you’re working IN your business ALL THE TIME, neglecting working ON your business? (Translation: You’re spending more time on clients projects – making their dreams come true – than on your own)
+ Are you addicted to praise? Do you feel high-as-a-kite if your blog post is well-received, and down in the dumps if you’re criticized (even if it’s constructive)?
+ Do you get a rush when you’re helping clients, but quickly forget as soon as the moment passes, searching listlessly for someone else who you can help? Like, can you seriously NOT HANDLE BEING WITHOUT CLIENTS for a day, or a week? Does it make you freak out if there’s not a constant stream of prospects flowing through your inbox?
+ And perhaps most importantly: Are you pouring way more love (not to mention time & money) into your mutual projects than your clients are? And is it making you resentful?
While it’s important to always strive to do your best – it is NOT your responsibility to help people who don’t truly want help. (Thank you for that one, Al-Anon.)
We can’t blame other people if WE’RE showing up more than they are. Sometimes other people think they’re ready to make changes, or get clear on things, or move forward…but when push comes to shove, they’re just NOT.
YOU can’t do anything about it.
The only thing you CAN – and SHOULD – do, is TAKE CARE OF YOUR BUSINESS FIRST.
(And I mean that on both a personal and profesh level.)
Now.
I only share because I don’t think you have to be a tried-and-true, life long codependent like me to have some of these issues crop up.
What works in real relationships AND IN BUSINESS is INTERDEPENDENT relationships. Interdependence is, simply, reciprocity. It means there’s a natural flow and balance to the relationship in question. It means everybody holds up their end of the bargain. It means both partners keep their side of the street clean – deal with their own ish, on their own time – so they can come together & create beautiful things together.
Or, in relation to business, healthy interdependence means you’re NOT lavishing on everybody else and neglecting yourself.
I know better than most that if you keep tending to everybody else’s garden & ignore your own, you’ll NEVER feel like you’re “doing it right,” no matter HOW many others you’re helping on the daily.
You need to feed, water & occasionally send your biz to the beauty shop BEFORE you can even think about supporting someone else. Putting your own biz at the bottom of your To-Do list is a recipe for disaster. (And word on the street is, that ish is NOT very palatable.)
You know how airline stewardesses tell you you MUST (in very serious voices) secure your own oxygen mask BEFORE helping others? Yes. It’s like that. You’re NOT gonna function at your best in your biz if you’re gasping for air all the time.
Next time you’re feeling burnt out, realize you haven’t showered in three days or simply feel like something is “BLAH” – I encourage you to take a step back & examine your OWN business.
Be honest.
Have you been tending to it?
If not, no biggie.
“Recovering” from relationship codependency is just a matter of learning to love & accept ourselves, no matter what. It also means investigating our dark spots & illuminating ’em.
….And usually it includes lots of mani-pedis, Swedish massages & totally frivolous trips to Forever 21.
Believe it or not, recovery from business codependency can be fun. (And it’s definitely cathartic.) Because it’s all about returning your attention to yourself.
Here are a few things you can do to “recover” from business codependency:
1. Take a freakin’ break.
Sometimes that’s all we really need. Codependency in business is surely linked to at least a little bit of codependency/self-care issues IRL. So please. Stop. Get up. Back away from the Internet. Go climb a mountain or see a friend or do absolutely nothing but watch trashy reality TV. Do whatever it is that makes you feel good, and replenishes your soul.
2. Update your website & social media to keep your branding cohesive across all channels.
Believe it or not, I’ve learned it’s not the big things that make us feel awesome. It’s the details that make us feel polished & put-together. I know you’ve been planning to link your Twitter & Facebook updates for weeks, so DO IT. Seriously. Now.
3. Post some of your own, unique content to your blog or Facebook page.
Your content is important. Just as important as the stuff you create for clients.
4. Clean up your systems.
Take 15 minutes to do the pesky back-ends things have been piling up all week/month/year. Getting them off your plate will feel amazing, and free up lots of space in your already cramped brain.
I’ll review a page of your copy for FREE. You know, the one you’ve been afraid to look at or really dig into because you know it’s just all over the freakin’ place.
6. Re-evaluate how you spend your time – and who you spend it with.
A huge part of recovering from codependency is learning to squeeze in time for ourselves. Actually, it’s more about making time for ourselves the non-negotiable, and “time for other people” worked in AROUND that. We’re also encouraged to weed out the negative, energy-suckers – both activities AND people. In biz terms, this means taking a SERIOUS look at how you spend your days, and structuring them around YOUR BUSINESS first. Not client work. Not tinkering away on Facebook. NOPE. Work on the stuff that’s gonna bring in the bacon first – your OWN business.
7. Create boundaries.
Boundaries are another MAJOR area most codependents struggle with. You need ’em in your business, too. Decide exactly what you will and won’t tolerate. Decide exactly when you will and won’t respond to client emails. Then, let people know – and stick to them. That last part is key. Boundaries aren’t real unless they’re enforced.
Can you think of any other ways to quit the codependency habit in your business? Share them in the comments!
Here’s to taking care of business (better)!
copywriter for lady rebelles, trendy tastemakers + spiritual sellers.
