Jul 11, 2016
Amanda Cook is a digital marketing expert and certified holistic health coach. Amanda had been working in a corporate environment for 12 years before deciding that she had enough. She talks to me about struggling to quit her job. Somehow, she kept finding new excuses as to why she couldn't quit, until one day she realized it was just because she was absolutely terrified of the unknown. Fast forward to today, Amanda is so glad she pulled the plug to start her own business, and has been out of the corporate world for the last three years.
Key Insights & Aha Moments:
*Amanda started her health journey when she was in the corporate world.
*Thank you for celebrating with me last week!
*Join us on the Biz Maven Facebook group!
*Amanda admits she had no idea what she was doing in the beginning.
*It took a couple of years for Amanda to understand the direction she wanted for her blog, Vintage Amanda.
*Amanda kept making excuses/new goals as to why she couldn't quit her job *right now*.
*When Amanda left her job, she did have a financial cushion, but she found out she burned through it very quickly. She just wasn't making wise financial decisions.
*Be prepared for your friends and family to not understand why you're making this sudden shift or leap in your career.
*Amanda's co-workers didn't believe she could earn money on her own.
*Amanda has been out of the corporate world for the last 3 years.
*It sounds woo-hoo, but Amanda got career advice in a dream.
*It shouldn't be hard or a struggle, but keep in mind there's a ton of work involved.
*Produce content that's natural to you.
*What has Amanda done that has made her so successful? She built her email list really early.
*Your customers just want solutions. They want to know if and how fast you can get them results.
*Not everybody is ready to tackle what 'emotional eating' is about. It's not a sexy way to sell your services. Selling a weight-loss program or service is much more marketable and gives them a comfortable gateway to understand what emotional eating and other weight-issues really are.
*What kind of challenges has Amanda faced?
*Amanda realized this year that one of her services isn't scalable.
*Don't be in a scarcity mindset. When Amanda killed her successful, but not-scalable program, it opened her up to more money-making opportunities.
*By starting a business, Amanda has become much more clear and confident about what she wants.
Maven Moment:
I'm so glad that Amanda pointed this out on the show. When you're starting your own business, it can be tempting to push your credentials down your customers’ throats. But the reality is, they don't particularly care how you're doing the job, most clients just want to know if you can get them results. Of course, it's important to educate your customers, but you can't do that if they don't really understand what it is that you really -do-.
For example, it's easier to sell a weight-loss program and then slowly transition your customers into other aspects of your service, than it is to try to sell someone on an emotional eating program. Those words, unfortunately, aren't sexy and not everyone will be ready to tackle that particular problem. Amanda says it’s important to find a balance between language your clients understand vs. what will actually help them.
Mentioned in This Episode:
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