Have you ever wondered why it is so hard to implement new information that you’re learning and take action?

Why it’s so much easier to learn the information, but you just are always wondering why putting that new information into action is a challenge?

Today, I really want to chat with you about being ready for growth. Being willing to implement change in your business, and give you five simple ways that we can do this effortlessly. By the end of this blog, I want you to feel so confident to take action. And no longer be just a consumer of information, but an action taker, and someone who is ready to make massive leaps in their business.

As we’re going through today’s blog, I really want you to keep this idea in your mind:

Business is a marathon, it’s not a sprint.

You know that, but do you really embrace that? Because I truly believe that as business owners, we’re always secretly hoping that there is a faster way to get where we want to go. But I truly don’t believe that there is a one size fits all fast track for everyone because every entrepreneur has a different capacity level, commitment level and a different determination level. So it really takes a specific type of person who is ready for the fast track. Who is willing to do the work and to endure the difficult times to keep going with determination and grit, and continue the growth journey.

A lot of entrepreneurs who start a business end up quitting when things get hard. So today is going to help you determine if you are ready for growth and if you are ready to implement change in your business. So as we continue, I want you to reflect on the question of the episode which is:

Am I ready to go all in to implement change in my business?

Why is it that so many people want to grow but they don’t?

Why is it that so many of us consume information but we don’t take action?

Why is growth so hard?

I think the number one reason why growth is so hard is because it’s slow. We get impatient because we want to grow overnight.. We try one strategy and we just move from strategy to strategy to strategy. We are never sticking with something long enough for it to actually maybe possibly work. We want fast growth and that instant gratification, but again, business growth is a marathon, not a sprint. A lot of sustainability when it comes to your photography business comes from slow growth. It comes from doing tactics and strategies that are going to take longer, but also will last longer.

The second big issue, I think with the implementation of change in our business, is the mentality that we have to be doing everything. That hustle culture of I have to be everywhere and be on all the platforms.

“I have to do all these different strategies in order to be successful.”

What tends to happen is we burn out. We’ve been doing all the things, nothing seems to be working. Because our attention is just spread in so many different directions, that we just get overwhelmed and then we quit doing everything.

The Soccer Ball Analogy

I went to a business conference, the Rachel Hollis Conference a couple of years ago. She used a soccer ball analogy, which has totally stuck with me up to this day. So she talks about having soccer balls on a field and walking up to each of the soccer balls. And you kick each ball as hard as you can. Then moving down the line to the next one, and the next one and the next one and then jumping back over to the first one and kicking that down the field and the process continues.

So her idea was that if you just picked one soccer ball, kick that down the field as hard and as far as you can, until you master whatever it is that you’re working on, then you can start a new soccer ball. I loved that analogy because in business, it seems like we are juggling so many things, kicking so many soccer balls and we are not seeing the progress as there are so many soccer balls on the field. So think about what soccer balls are on the field for you. This could be applied to your personal life as well. What personal soccer balls do you have on your field and which one should you be focusing on the most when it comes to implementing change?

So here are five steps that I want to give you to really make sure that you are implementing change in your business.

Step # 1: Choose Your Biggest Problem Area

So I want you to think about your business, and again, if you’re doing personal life, you can think about that too, but right now, our focus is about business. So choose the biggest problem area in your business where you want to see change. By starting with the biggest problem area, you’re going to see the biggest return.

Step # 2: Identify Your Why

Then the next step is going to be identify your Why. Why do you want to make a change in this area? It needs to be very specific and a step further than the very surface level. So you could say, I need more clients because I need more money. But why do you need more money? Well, I need more money to provide XYZ. Go deeper, and keep going deeper and deeper and deeper. So why do I want more money? Let’s say I need more clients, so I can make more money and I can pay for my child’s preschool. Why is that important to you? I want to make sure that my child is being taken care of.

Just keep taking it deeper and deeper till you find that reason why, that deeper reason why. Identify your why and post that why somewhere, so that you are constantly reminded every morning when you wake up. You’re not just saying  I need more clients so I can pay the bills, you’re saying  I want more clients, so I can create future generational wealth for my family. So whatever that why is, it’s very important.

Step # 3: Simplify

Going back to step one, choose the biggest problem area and just choose one. Because if you try to change everything at once, or more than one thing at once, you’re going to be kicking too many soccer balls. You’ll feel flustered and you’re not going to be focused.

The most important thing, as a business owner, when you are implementing change and you’re trying something new in your business is to be focused.

If you’re not, this will lead to that overwhelm, which eventually is going to lead to burnout. So start small and simplify.

This could mean tweaking a strategy that you already have in place. Maybe just changing up how you’re doing things. So in our example of getting more clients, maybe we take our social media strategy and instead of just posting a bunch of reels or pretty carousel posts, we’re now going to limit how many of those we’re doing per week. We’re going to shift our focus and attention on engaging with those people who are liking or commenting on those reels. Go back to past reels or posts and engage with those people.

So how can we simplify our strategy to make sure that we are still staying true to who we are? That we are still being authentic in our own unique way, but so that it fits into our business model. I know that there are some people who love being on Instagram and Facebook. That is a perfect strategy for them. But if that’s not working for you, then find a different way. Be confident in yourself that you can find a different way.

Step # 4: Create a Plan to Follow

Now that you have chosen the biggest problem, you’ve identified why you want to implement change, why you want to fix that problem. You’re going to simplify it. Be really crystal clear about how you can make it as simple as possible and step four is going to be creating a plan to follow. This plan needs to be simple. Go back to that simplicity and try something also for at least three months before you decide that it’s not working. I really encourage you to keep tweaking that one strategy before you completely give up on it.

So pick that one thing, that one strategy to focus on implementing, and continue to tweak it just a little bit. Make it a little bit more simple and a little bit more fun for you so that you actually want to do it. That plan that you create needs to have checkboxes.

Step #5: Check in On How You’re Doing

Lastly, the fifth step is to regularly check in on how you’re doing. This is going to be the most important way to gauge your progress. Make sure that the habit of this new strategy or whatever it is that you’re trying to change or implement, actually becomes a regular routine in your schedule. Most of you have probably heard of the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. The book talks about how creating a habit is something that you need to make extremely easy, or you won’t do it. It needs to be extremely visible. If your new habit is visible and available every single day, you’re going to be more likely to do it. So if this means putting Post It notes around your house or on your computer, setting timers or alarms, or habit stacking where you are stacking these habits on top of one another, then do it.

Action Steps

1. Choose the biggest problem area to start with, where you want to implement change in your business.
2. Identify that why.
3. Simplify, make it fun.
4. Create a checkoffable plan to follow.
5. Regularly check in and make sure that you are staying on track.

How are you guys feeling about this? Do you feel like you want to stop and just create this plan? Walk through steps one to five, and actually begin to take action on this? I really hope that you are pumped up and motivated. That you are embracing this idea that business is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. You have to take one thing at a time. Implement a new strategy in your business long enough to see if it actually works. For all the rest of the strategies and the rest of the things that you want to get into, put it on a shiny object list or on a future to do list. Work on one thing at a time until you’ve created this new habit, so that you can move into the next one.

Promise me, you’re not going to try to do all the things at once.

Because I’m telling you, I’ve been there, I’ve done that. That’s why you have your business besties. If you don’t have a business bestie you need to get a business bestie. We have a free Facebook group called The Purpose Gathering Mamas, where you can go in there and find a business bestie. Find someone who’s going to call you out when you’re pulling shiny objects off your list that you should not be touching. I want you to find success in your business. Sometimes it’s going to feel hard and it will stretch you outside of your comfort zone.

But I want you to be open to possibilities and be open to trying new things.

Keep going when things feel like they’re not working.

Because sometimes on the other side of that struggle you’re going to find that clarity. Remember, it’s okay if your priorities shift for a little while, when you are kicking this strategy down the field and you are testing it out, and you are making simple adjustments. I get that it can feel hard. Our brains they try to protect us when things get a little bit hard or there’s some resistance against something. We just want to give up, but lean into the why do you want to give up.

Join the Passion to Profit Challenge

Maybe right now you’re feeling a little bit confused and there’s so many things that need to change in your business that you don’t even know where to start. I would love to invite you to join us for our next Free 5-day Passion to Profit Challenge. This challenge will jumpstart your journey from photography passion to profit. You’ll learn how to structure your business to operate like a successful company. Create a big picture plan and map out how you’ll get there over the next 12 months. You’ll see how to price your sessions profitably, so you’re making more than minimum wage. Then you’ll learn why more clients isn’t always the answer, but what kind of marketing you should be focusing on to naturally attract more ideal clients.  Lastly, you’ll learn the most important time management strategy to balance both motherhood and business. To grab your free seat, head on over to thepurposegathering.com/challenge.

I hope that you have enjoyed today’s episode and that you are ready to take action and implementing change in your business, using the five step system that I just shared with you. I would love for you to take a screenshot of this episode and share it out on Instagram, tag me @thepurposegathering so that more mamas, just like you can find out about this show. Your sharing is literally the best compliment and thank you that you could give me as a listener.

As always Mama I am here rooting for you and you are not alone on this journey.

Resources

• The Purpose Gathering Side Hustler to CEO Group Coaching Program
• Passion to Profit Challenge!
• Find me on Instagram: @thepurposegathering