So I’ve been running this marathon (also known as my side-hustle) for about three years now, and what’s interesting as I write the last post in this series, “The RACE Strategy for Building an Audience Without Spending Any Money” is that I realized that I’ve cycled through these steps a few times since I started my business.
It’s like I’m running this race on an oval track, and each time I cross the start/finish line I know more about the track than I did the last time I went around.
I know where that crack is that tripped me up in the first lap. I know that I start to get tired in turn three so I can pace myself better. I can try a new line through the first turn to see if I’ll go faster than I did the time before when I took a different line.
That feels very, very different than my day job.
I often feel like I’m on a giant hamster wheel where there aren’t any new revelations with each new revolution.
I had this realization after listening to a podcast… (I feel like every blog post I write starts like that, but I can’t help it, it’s true!!) For the past three years I have consumed every piece of content I could get my hands on about how to build a business online, and podcasts are my drug of choice.
Why? Because I can listen to a podcast while doing other things.
I can’t watch a video or read a blog post while driving, but I can listen to a podcast via Bluetooth. I can’t surf the internet all day at work and get my job done, but I can listen to podcasts. I can’t read emails and walk my dog at the same time (I’ve tried, ask the Apple Store how that turned out…), but I can pop my earbuds in and listen to a podcast.
I’ve listened to literally hundreds of hours of podcasts in the past three years, and with the exception of Serial and Undisclosed, they have all been about online business.
One morning, I’m walking my dog Scarlett, and my podcast app just abruptly cuts to an old episode of Smart Passive Income that I must not have finished, and I hear Pat say that the episode was from a trip he took to my hometown, Columbus, Ohio, in late 2014.
So I’m like, “Oh, I’ve heard this one, but since one hand is holding a leash with a really excited one-year old lab puppy and the other is carrying a bag full of dog poop, I’m not gonna pull my phone out right now and change it because I really don’t want to buy another new screen…”
So I listened to the rest of that episode, and then the next one came on. And then the next one. And before I knew it a week had passed and I found myself halfway through 2015 of the SPI podcast – episodes I had already listened to when they were brand new!
But here’s what was different this time around the track:
My perspective had totally shifted since I first listened in 2015. No longer did the successes and possibilities shared by Pat’s guests feel like they were too far away, or like they were for someone else.
Pat’s episode hadn’t magically changed. I had evolved.
The ideas Pat’s guests shared landed in my ears in a totally different way. They inspired me in a totally different way than they had when I first listened to them, gave me new ideas and solidified my belief that I’m making the right move in taking this side hustle full time.
The first time you do something is not going to be the only way you ever that you do that thing because as you grow your perspective will change.
So if something doesn’t work the way you expected it to the first time, that doesn’t mean that it didn’t work.
It doesn’t mean that you failed, but it does mean that you may want to try a different approach.
And that’s Evolution.
Relationships
Amplify
Consistency
Evolve
So how do we Evolve?
First we have to set the expectation for an outcome. We have to know where we’re going to know if we got there, right??
Then we decide what steps we’re going to take.
Next, we take the steps.
Finally, we see if we reached the desired outcome.
That’s one lap around the track.
If we didn’t get the outcome we expected, we can either change the outcome (because maybe we set the bar way too high for the steps we were willing or able to take), or change the steps (because we need to take some different steps to get to the outcome).
So the next you go around the track, it’s like a new track, and you can try a new approach.
Tell me in the comments below – as you start to implement the RACE Strategy in your business, what is your expected outcome?
Mine is to grow my email list from 5000 to 10000 subscribers in the next 6 months.
And then, as you implement, every time you make a lap around the track, as yourself the following questions:
- What steps worked for you really well when you were working on building Relationships? What didn’t work so well? What can you do differently?
- What tactics to amplify your message fell short? What can you try differently next time?
- Did you nail your schedule the first time you set it, or do you have to make some adjustments in order to get some consistency?
The bottom line is that we have to be okay with changing the way we’re doing things, and there’s more than one way! We aren’t going to nail it the first time. Ever!
Say your outcome is to get your first 25 subscribers. You created a freebie, you posted it to your Facebook page and and you’re some getting traffic to your website, but you’ve only gotten 5 subscribers.
Does that mean your freebie sucks and your business is doomed and you should just give up your dreams?
No! What can you change?
Adjust the freebie name, promote, compare your results. Adjust the location of your optin, promote, compare your results. Promote on a different social media platform, compare your results.
Are you trying to do this all on your own without spending and money or asking for help? What can you change? What can you do differently the next time you try to get different results?
Here’s what Evolve looks like for me in my business right now:
Aside from the obvious evolution of leaving my day job, for about the last year, there have been a few things in my business that just weren’t WORKING. They haven’t turned out as I expected, and I’ve felt really stuck…
So I’ve kinda been ignoring these problems, and putting my time into shoring up the other parts of my business so that I’ve got a solid foundation in place for the growth I expect in the next 6 months. But it got to a point where I couldn’t ignore the problem any longer. In order to move forward with everything else I needed to do, I had to figure this one part out once and for all!!
And you know where I found the answers? No, not in a podcast… not this time…
I found them in some courses that I purchased a few years ago. I opened Becca Tracey’s “Hey Nice Package!” up and started from the beginning like I did when I was just starting out. I pulled out Ash Ambirge’s Brandgasm 101, which was the catalyst for coming up with the name for my business.
This time, I was able to get something completely different out of that information because I’m coming to it with a perspective that has evolved. A belief in myself that’s evolved, and a belief in what’s possible for me that has evolved.
So if it feels tough, if you feel stuck, just take a deep breath.
Trust that you have access to the answers (if they’re not already inside of you), and by taking action you can find them. You really can’t go wrong.
Every outcome you set, every step you take, every unmet expectation and exceeded expectation – it all happens to shape your perspective and help you evolve for the next time you go around the track.
I can’t wait to hear how you implement the RACE Strategy in your business! And I’ll keep you posted on my results as I continue to build Relationships, Amplify my message, create Consistency and Evolve!
