STRATEGY SYSTEMS STRUCTURE

I am sure you have seen the increase in the price of milk, gas, and pretty much everything in between. And if you are a bit like me and look at your online portfolio with one eye open, you are not alone. 

I also know you are an intelligent human and because of that, intuitively, you know that everything is cyclical. Your portfolio will go back up, you will find a new strategy in how you cook and buy your groceries.  You may even organize your errands and driving to help make your gas tank last a little bit longer.

Just the other day a new client asked me to help her get creative on how to offset some of these price increases. Although she has her bottom line covered, she wanted my help in finding creative ways to develop possible side hustles without creating anything new. 

Did you know that 1 in 3 Americans are planning on starting a side hustle this year? 

That is on top of the 40% of Americans who already have a little...

Have you been stuck in a bubble?

I know the answer to that. Covid, quarantine, the political climate, and now with the world literally burning to the ground, there’s very little energy to even want to go out and create connection and conversation. 

Lately, the million-dollar question in all the Zoom groups that I either lead or partake in, is “will we ever feel normal again?”

That’s a loaded question.

Because at the end of the day, what is normal?

Normal is whatever feels good to you. 

And even though I am a homebody, I know it’s time to start connecting in a different way. One can only hide behind their device screens for so long before one starts to feel invisible. 

So, a few weeks ago, I challenged those around me to find one or two ways to step outside of the comfort of familiarity and start to engage and connect with a new group of people. 

Most of these meetings are still via...

The other day I was working with a client on her messaging. She is rebooting her career after a little hiatus and I asked her a super simple question;

“What do you want?”

Simple right?

By the end of the conversation, she understood the importance of sharing with the world who she is, what she does, and her basic desire as a creative, career-driven business builder. 

But how do you do that without showing up on social media pointing ridiculously in the air while trying to get your message across?

I hate that shit and if you are in my sphere, this is not the first time you have heard me express my disdain for those obnoxious posts. 

There are lots of ways to highlight your value but at the end of the day, most of us(you) maybe feel a bit invisible. 

You already know that you are good at your craft. The challenge lies in letting others in on that fabulous secret.

So, in helping her, I was curious and...

If you have been hanging out with me for a while you probably know by now, that I am a certifiable, obsessed systems girl.

 I have systems to:

run my business

keep my family nourished and fed

help others create the life they desire

prioritize and organize with a solid strategy

Let me ask you something. Do you feel distracted, pulled in a million directions, or frustrated? Only asking because I have been there. Until I developed really good systems as well as habits and rituals around those systems, I was saying YES to everyone around me. In realizing that by saying yes to them, I was in fact saying NO to myself. That was the ah-ha I needed so that I could stop whining and close the gap on who and where I wanted to be. 

I didn’t completely say F-You to everyone around me. That would have served no one. Instead, I carved out time in my calendar for myself, like actual real-time and commitments. And no matter how sexy the offer was to cancel on...

Can you believe that we are officially at the halfway point in 2022?

And if you feel as though you may have lost your way between January and now, I get it.

Why I know this about you is because I talk to a lot of people and the one common denominator is time. Or the excuses of time.

"I am too busy"

"There are not enough hours in the day"

"Everyone demands my attention"

Blah, blah, blah.

But the truth is, you do have enough time, you are just not prioritizing it in a way that is allowing you to make the time. And I am here to help you not only realize it but offer you a few guidelines to help you create it.

Today's three tips might be just the thing you need to get back on track!

Tip #1

Create your action plan. Your action plan is what you want to do and accomplish by the end of the year. The key to getting there is thinking and planning big. You will see what is possible as you progress through your milestones and tasks.

...

Are you showing us all of you?

I don’t mean like ALL of you, mostly, what you show us in that 600 x 600-pixel image.

The ones that might be seen on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. 

The pictures I see, the events you’re sharing, the pie you’re eating…you can’t sit here and tell me you are that happy all the time?

Being someone who had to:

Overcome cancer - not once but three times

While at the same time suffering from a torn ligament and cyst on their left hip (4 weeks away from hip replacement surgery)

Pivot financially, psychologically, and geographically - circumstances were just not on our side

Be the sole caretaker of one 89-year-old mother

I have not had many “Instagramable” smiley moments to share. Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been all doom and gloom. I truly learned who my people are. Those that showed up did so in a HUGE way and because of that, I have gotten more honest with...

Do you define yourself by the number of friends you have or likes you get on social media?

It used to really drive my train. Until I started studying other people’s metrics and saw that even though those that I have been working with have 60k + “followers”, that number had no bearing on how many thumbs up they got or the amount of engagement they received.

When I had that ah-ha, I started looking at my “relationships” on social media in a completely different way.

And just the other day I received even more validation when I got the following DM from a stranger;

“Hey, Susan, I see that we got things in common and thought that would be a good excuse to connect.

I wasn’t sure whether or not you’d appreciate me sending you a friend request or not, so thought I’d leave it in your hands if you felt so inclined, and of course, I would gladly accept.”

I took some to marinate how I felt...

Social media is the bain of my existence. 

Do you feel the same way?

I used to like it. It was fun to make new friends, create a community, and find good products.

But lately, I just feel like it’s one big infomercial. Every other post is “sponsored” and the “suggested” follows is annoying. I am specifically talking about Instagram here. I gave up on Facebook a long time ago. 

I do go through phases and right now, after a three-month hiatus, I am posting. My strategic graphic designer (she’s awesome) created some new templates for me and it is inspiring my creative side.

In addition, I have a few new digital product launches on the horizon, so I feel sort of obligated‍.

The other day, I posted about the guru “hard sell” and the amount of engagement I got was off the charts.

It makes me realize that many others are feeling the same way as me about the digital hustle (or what I like to call the “digital con”)...

I wish I was talking about "rest + relaxation", but I am not.

With the great resignation of 2021 and now an impending recession on the horizon many are rethinking their life, their worth, and their value. 

Just the other day I got this email from Lydia, a total stranger,

“Hi Susan, very intrigued with your website and coaching! I “retired” recently, launched a pandemic business, and had some success, but now need to pivot! Feeling a little like I need to start but need a little push! I am going to check out your website. Can I set up a consult with you?”

Lydia sounds like a lot of people I talk to and I have a feeling this message is going to get louder.

Starting is always the hard part. Especially for women like you who have so much good stuff inside of you but because it was never valued as it should have been it was never given the praise that it deserved. And because of that, you don’t see how much that could...

Today, many of you may be celebrating Memorial Day and the kick-off of summer with a traditional backyard party, surrounded by friends, the smell of coals burning on the BBQ, and a seasonal fruit tart.

But for others, myself included, you might be recovering from this past week with a bit of sadness, grief, and hopelessness. It’s hard to celebrate the future when the present feels so bleak.

Picking yourself up to tackle your to-do list and go on with your day can be challenging. And I know for myself and those that I surround myself with, overcoming those challenges seems to be getting harder and harder.

If it weren’t for my small but powerful community, I am not really sure that I could have gotten through this past week. Our weekly zoom calls might seem trivial with what has transpired over the past several months(Ukraine, women’s rights, Buffalo, Texas, etc.), but not feeling so alone in our feelings has become a comfort that I look forward to and quite frankly...