How to Grow a Business When You’re Short On Time

Marie Forleo: Hey, it’s Marie Forleo and you are watching MarieTV, the place to be to create a business and life you love. This is my friend Gregory Patterson.

Gregory P.: Well hello there.

Marie Forleo: We are here to answer some questions. So we’re going to have some live callers. We’re going to offer some insight and guidance. Let’s have some fun and get to it.

Ewa: Hello.

Marie Forleo: Hello. This is Marie. Who is this?

Ewa: This is Ewa.

Marie Forleo: Hi Ewa. Welcome to the show. You’re here with Gregory and Team Forleo. We’re so excited to talk with you today. What’s your question and how can we help?

Ewa: First of all, thank you so much for taking my question, Marie. Thank you. I am a big fan of yours since ages. I love you and thank you so much for your great work.

Marie Forleo: Thank you, darling.

Ewa: So well, recently I went through two cancers. I’m healed now, so it’s okay. I would like to reboot my business coaching because it took some time and I stopped everything for more than one year. But I’m afraid that I can only work now few hours for at least a year or more. In wherever I look, everyone says, “Oh, you have to work for your success 24/7.” I’m simply afraid that I will not make it because I have to really be strict and not work too much.

Marie Forleo: Yes. So first of all, I just want to congratulate you on your recovery and your healing journey. I love the enthusiasm that you have for this next chapter in your life. I want to first start off with telling you something. The number one tip I have for where you are right now in life, based on what you’re about to embrace, I really do actually want you to embrace the fact that you’re in this situation.

I’ve done a lot of research on this topic and most studies show that people don’t even work a full eight hours a day. If you really break it down and pay attention, most people are only productive for a max two hours a day. Then the other six hours, we’re distracted. We’re on social media, we’re looking at email, we’re doing all kinds of things except being productive. So what you have in front of you is this beautiful gift where you get to focus your time and your energy on what matters most.

The second thing I want to say, all the messages that you hear that you have to work and hustle 24/7, I think that’s bullshit. Really. I embrace hard work. I certainly work hard myself. But I don’t work 24/7 and I’ve been building my business for 20 years. I think a big fact, the reason that I am still around is because I don’t work 24/7, because I’m not burnt out, because I’ve built these structures into my life so that I can rest and rejuvenate and have joy and have time and space away from my work, so I have something to bring back to it. The whole culture of working nonstop, personally, I believe it’s toxic. I believe it’s counterproductive. I don’t believe it’s the way of the future.

So you have this opportunity right now to really work smarter and not harder. You have to detoxify yourself from all of those ideas about working nonstop, because you don’t have to. I think the most important thing for you to do is to really decide for you what’s most important. When it comes to those hours that you have, whether it’s per day or per week, to start building back up your coaching practice. It’s going take a little bit of self-awareness and introspection. Is it writing your email newsletter? Is it reaching back out to clients? Is it being on podcasts? Is it creating content?

There are certain things that I’m sure you did in the previous era of your business that helped you to be successful. If you can drill down to exactly what those things are and choose what you feel is going to be the best use of your time and energy, that’s what’s going to help you build back this business. In a way that’s going to be sustainable and honor your health.

Ewa: Yes. Just a small comment on the last part, but why I am also a little bit afraid of, because what in the past brought my success was, yes, I was working like crazy and because I love it. That was also the thing. Yeah, one of the things I have to now figure out is how to honor my health more and not to go crazy with the work. So yeah. I really appreciate that you said that for yourself, you also have something that you nourish yourself in order to bring that back to your work. If I understood well.

Marie Forleo: You did, you understood perfectly. That comes back to what I call non-negotiable time. Right? We talked about this on some MarieTV episodes before, where you have certain practices, certain rituals, certain things that are non-negotiable in your day and in your week that are prioritized around your own self-care. Some of mine have to do with meditation. It has to do with movement. There’s like a little green drink that I have every day that is filled with vitamins and nutrients. It just helps me make sure that I’m getting the nutrition I need.

So it doesn’t have to be complex. It doesn’t have to take tons of time. But for you to establish those non-negotiable rituals and that non-negotiable time around your health and wellbeing, put that first. Then you can really plan out and schedule out what is going to get you the most bang for the buck in those hours that you are working on your business. So much of this is an internal game, right? Not comparing yourself to other people, not consuming other people’s media that tells you that you should be working 24/7. It’s not healthy and it’s not sustainable. So this whole journey for you, you’re going to have to master your internal game to really master creating results on the external game. Does that make sense?

Ewa: Very much. Really.

Marie Forleo: Yeah. I’m excited for you. The other thing I wanted to let you know too, you should look up, we did a great MarieTV about the most important four minutes of your day. This is something that helps me, especially when I’m tight on time. I don’t close up shop for the day unless I’ve spent four minutes looking at my calendar and then outlining what are the most important things that I need to get done the next day. This way when I wake up and I start work, I’m not looking at my email, I’m not scanning social media. I’m looking precisely at my list of what I’ve deemed is most important and hitting that first. This way, as the day goes on, if someone calls or there’s a fire I need to put out or something unexpected happens, like my dog starts throwing up on the floor, that I can actually go handle those things and I know I’ve taken care of what’s most important first.

Ewa: Yeah, that’s true. Very good tip. Yeah.

Marie Forleo: Yeah, so Greg, anything that you want to share with our lovely friend?

Gregory P.: Mine is more of a question to you because I can really relate to that. Do you think that people trying to start a business or run their business that are just grinding 24/7, the big word fear jumps out as well. Do you think the fear comes just from simple burnout? Not being able to follow through because of health because of… you know what I mean?

Marie Forleo: Well, I think part of it too, all of us need to have a strategy that we’re working and feel confident in it. I think a lot of fear comes up for many of us, if we don’t feel confident in the strategy that we’re using to grow our business and if we haven’t established metrics that matter.

What do I mean by that? A lot of people are chasing numbers like Instagram followers or views on YouTube or views on Facebook or whatever it is, right? So they’re chasing these vanity metrics rather than paying attention to, well, how many clients did I book this week? How many people’s lives did I change? What are my profit margins? What’s my revenue? These different metrics that can matter way more than things that are kind of shiny on the surface that don’t really equal anything that’s satisfying or that’s going to give you a return in the long run.

So for me, money is a metrics that matter in terms of a business, because it’s a business, right? What’s the revenue? What’s the profit? What’s that looking like on a weekly, monthly, yearly basis? Those numbers are way more important to me than how many likes I get on any post. So when you establish your own metrics that matter for you in this particular stage in your business, you’re able to be a lot more intentional about that time that you do have. It’ll prevent you from getting sucked off into these little cesspools of just, “Aaah!” where you just feel like you’re spinning your wheels, but you’re not accomplishing anything that really is important.

So there’s one other phrase that I like to say that I’ll remind you of now: If you want to be responsible, keep your promises to others. But if you want to be successful, keep your promises to yourself, especially in the stage that you’re at right now. When you set up your daily plan of what you’re going to focus on and what you’re going to do, you have to honor that with your full integrity. Just like if someone else, a doctor, was telling you this is the protocol that you must follow in order to continue to heal, you have to honor your own word with you at that high level. That’s what’s going to help you build this business back up and do so in a way that is sustainable.

Ewa: Yeah. That really is a lot of sense. I really love that phrase that you just mentioned, to keeping the promise to yourself to be successful and healthy and alive.

Marie Forleo: That’s right. That’s right. Remember, too, I want to mention one more thing about work. When it’s really joyful, when it’s truly joyful and you’re having a really good time and you’re lit up by it, you can actually go much longer and there’s much less stress that comes along with it. But when you’re pushing, right? And you’re grinding and you’re forcing yourself to do things… By the way, all of those energies are completely within your control to decide how you’re approaching or engaging in something. But when you put all that force behind it and you’re gritting your teeth and getting through it, that’s what creates a lot of stress in the body. That’s what gets you exhausted and tired.

But when you create joyfully and you’re having a good time, and you’re treating it like something that you actually want to do, and you’re making it a bit of fun and it’s play, and you’re letting yourself be creative, listen to music, dance around, whatever you do, you actually can be a lot more productive for longer because there’s not that resistance. Does that make sense?

Ewa: A lot. A lot. Yeah.

Marie Forleo: Yeah.

Ewa: Yeah, definitely.

Marie Forleo: So hopefully this is helpful to you, my love. Thank you so much for your question and keep us posted on how it goes. I absolutely know you can do this. Again, you do not have to prescribe to the work 24/7/365, all the time until you’re basically done.

Ewa: Thank you so much. You really calmed me down or with your answers, because it’s now looks like I can do it. Yes?

Marie Forleo: You absolutely can do it. We believe in you and you are your most important asset in this life, my love. You must take care of you first. It’s that tired, but true old metaphor about when you’re on an airplane, right? That oxygen mask drops down. We’ve heard it a million times, but it really is the truth. You have to put it on first before you can take care of others, including your beautiful family, your clients, and anyone else in your life.

Ewa: Yes. Thank you so much.

Marie Forleo: You’re so welcome. Thank you. Keep us posted and we love you, girl.

Ewa: I love you too. Bye-bye.

Marie Forleo: Bye.

Alex: Hello.

Marie Forleo: Hi, is this Alex?

Alex: This is Alex.

Marie Forleo: Hey, it’s Marie. You’re on the MarieTV Live Call-In Show. How are you darling?

Alex: I’m good. How are you?

Marie Forleo: So good. You’re here with Gregory and all of Team Forleo. We are really excited to talk with you. So let us know your question and we will do our best to help you out.

Alex: Okay. My question will probably become a story, but I left my 10-year long career as a makeup artist in January to pursue a career in freelance illustration from my social media page. I’ve been managing to stay afloat because I’m kind of a multi-passionate human. I’ve got a bunch of things going on. So for the past four months, I’ve been doing okay. I’m having one of those slow weeks, though. It kind of comes in waves. I was just kind of wondering how do you stay focused and optimistic during those lower times in your new business? Because I tend to kind of be like, “Oh, I got to go apply for my old job back” and run away whenever it gets quiet.

Marie Forleo: Yeah.

Alex: I want to keep the self doubt from taking over.

Marie Forleo: Absolutely. This is a great question. It’s something I think many of us have experienced and will experience again anytime we enter a new chapter in our lives. We’re starting a new career, we’re starting a new business. We’re entering a new phase where things are unknown and we’re not as established as we once were. So normal.

I also want to congratulate you for following your heart and doing something new that takes a lot of courage.

Alex: It’s so scary.

Marie Forleo: It is so scary, but that’s amazing. You’re actually doing it. I’ve talked to so many people on this show and have worked with so many folks who get paralyzed in that fear position and never actually move. So give yourself credit.

Alex: Oh, it’s real.

Marie Forleo: Yeah. For actually doing it. So one thing that I want to tell you, no one, and I know you know this, but sometimes it’s helpful to hear a reminder, no one is an overnight success, especially when they’re starting something new. So you have to cultivate that patience muscle inside of you. Yes, there will be those highs and lows, right? There will be those peaks where you’re busy and some of those valleys. I know the valleys are what we’re talking about.

One thing that really helped me when I was starting my business was a little thing I like to call it ABM: always be marketing. You know I’m a big fan, passionate advocate of marketing, especially for small business owners, because what it does is it gets you in the habit of sharing value and also gets you practice at reaching out to folks who could hire you or who could be a source of income or jobs or connections. So if you don’t have a little ritual set up for yourself, whether it’s daily or maybe two or three times a week, but at least weekly, where you are proactively doing whatever is appropriate for your business in order to drum up more business, you’ve got to put that habit in place.

It could be making phone calls, sending emails, asking for testimonials, reaching out, right? Anything that you’ve been doing in your business so far that’s been working, we want to do more of that. If there’s some ideas that you’ve had about how to expand your business, let’s try some of those ideas out too.

I’m assuming, my love, you’re not a B-Schooler yet, right?

Alex: I’m not.

Marie Forleo: Okay, well, I’m going to put out a little hope for you that you will join us at some point in the future, because it’s one of the things I’m most passionate about teaching. That’s kind of what we go deep into there, but the point is still valid: always be marketing. So develop that habit with yourself. What that does is whenever your mind starts to go to, “Well wait, ain’t nothing happening. It’s all slow. Did I make a mistake?” Which again, that’s a natural place any mind would go to. If you’ve got this beautiful list of things that you could do, proactive steps you could take, making that call, sending that email, putting up another post, requesting a testimonial, and you dive into action. You’re going to train yourself to just kind of slide right through that self-doubt and get into that always be marketing place, which does drum up more business.

The other thing I want to say to you is this. You know, in my own journey took me over seven years before I was able to provide for myself and for my family, at that time, solely from my coaching income. So I had side gigs. So let’s say you find yourself at a makeup counter again, that’s fine. That doesn’t mean you failed. Whatever you need to do to keep the lights on and to have food on your table while you continue to build this new chapter in your life. There ain’t no shame in that game, honey, right? Honest work is honest work.

The other thing I want to tell you, and this is kind of a layer underneath it. This is something that I recommend to everyone because I just don’t think we talk about it enough, is to handle your money. What do I mean by that? I don’t know how much work you’ve done on your own personal financial wellbeing in terms of understanding money in your own life. Do you have savings? Do you have any debt? Do you have a plan to pay that down? Are you investing for your future? Just really diving into the topic of money. We of course have many MarieTVs that can get you started on this topic because again, I love it so much.

But separately, investing in your own financial wellbeing as you’re building out this new career is a really important thing to do. You can’t just stick your head in the sand. I’m not saying that you’re doing that. We’ll find out in a minute. But what sometimes people do is they scramble, scramble, scramble about their business or their new creative project, but they spend zero time looking at personal finance on a big global level. It does them a disservice. Because chances are when you’re multi-passionate, your career is going to have several evolutions, several more. So you can look forward to chapters like this again and again. When your financial house is really solid underneath you, it allows you to make wise decisions about your pricing, about what jobs to say yes to about maybe saying yes to working at a makeup counter again because you’re like, “You know what? This is going to be my little savings account. I’m going to do that and I’m going to bless those jobs and that time that I’m there. Not that I’m a failure, but because I’m building my financial wealth slowly over time while I continue to build this new illustration business.” Does that make sense?

Alex: That makes sense. Absolutely.

Marie Forleo: Yeah. It gives your entire career landscape a whole fresh lens. This way, when you say yes to something, you know why you’re doing it. It’s for a higher, greater, deeper purpose that’s serving you over the long run, not just about the short term win or the ego thing about, “Oh, I can’t make it,” or, “Oh, I’m not doing good enough right now.” Screw all that bullshit. That’ll screw you up. Nobody needs that.

Alex: Such bullshit.

Marie Forleo: When you take that. That’s right. You want to take that long view. Then you really make wise, intelligent, long term decisions that allow you to weather these little valleys when they come up, because that really is the nature of life. Think about the four seasons. There’s winter, there’s spring, there’s summer and there’s fall. It’s impossible for any of us to be in the stage of spring incessantly where things are just bursting and growing and they’re popping up. That’s just not nature. It’s not reality. So that’s why I’m such a huge fan of handling the personal financial piece, because it allows you to weather the natural seasons of life without so much panic. You can make wiser, more heart-centered decisions without going into a place of lack.

Alex: Yeah, that’s true.

Marie Forleo: Greg’s here. Well, first of all, let me ask you, how does this resonate for you? Is this working for you, love?

Alex: Yeah, it’s working. It’s making sense. I’m from Montreal, I’m living in Montreal. We know about winter here. It’s a lesson in itself. So yeah, and I’m working through understanding more about financial beliefs, because I noticed that when I left my job and went completely freelance, my income has stayed identical to what it was when I was working at my job. I think I might have some limiting beliefs around what I need to earn each week.

Marie Forleo: Yeah. Well, here’s what’s exciting about what you’re sharing with us right now. Just the fact that you’re asking these questions and you’re willing to take an objective look and you’re looking at the numbers and you’re kind of bouncing that against what you might believe about money, what you might believe that you can earn, what you deserve, what you’re capable of. This awareness piece is the beginning of it all shifting. So I’m really, really excited for you.

I also want to mention we have a vintage MarieTV episode. If you search Marie Forleo, How to Prevent a Business Dry Spell. It’s one that I did all the way back in 2011. Ideas, still valid. Search that one up. I think it will really support you in addition to this, but diving in, investing in your financial wellbeing, including the beliefs that you have about money. This is perfect for where you’re at right now. Super, super perfect. I’m tossing it over to Greg to see if you have anything you’d like to share.

Gregory P.: Yes. First of all, I’m a hairstylist, so girl, I get you. Right? One super cool thing that we have is we have a recession-proof gift that we get to always share and always make money wherever we go. If I have a dry spell in my business, which I absolutely do, I can always do a blowout. I can always go to somebody’s house to style them for an occasion or something. I just need to reach out to them. So the beautiful thing about us is we always have a recession-proof gift, a trade, that we can take wherever we go. So we don’t need an office, we don’t need a space. You have those gifted little hands, brushes and some pigment. You could paint the world wherever you go, if you need to.

Alex: Yeah, it’s true. I traveled the world for seven years and I worked as a makeup artist all over it. It’s very true. It’s a good thing to have in your back pocket.

Gregory P.: Absolutely.

Marie Forleo: That’s right. Your artistry is coming with you everywhere.

Gregory P.: It lets go of a lot of that fear. It kind of lets you sit back and be like, “Okay, well maybe I can take on two more clients to do the wedding coming down the road.” Then you could take the week off to focus on your business. I don’t know.

Alex: Yeah. You’re right. That’s true.

Marie Forleo: Love it.

Alex: I should use it.

Marie Forleo: Well, we’re really excited for you. Hopefully this was helpful. Please keep us posted because we want to hear how it goes.

Ewa: Of course. I will. Thank you guys so much for having me on.

Marie Forleo: Absolutely. Thank you.

Ewa: Okay.

Marie Forleo: Bye.

Geraldine: Hello.

Marie Forleo: Hi, this is Marie Forleo. Tell us your name and where you’re from.

Geraldine: Hi Marie. I’m Geraldine.

Marie Forleo: Beautiful. Where are you calling from today?

Geraldine: I’m from Santiago, Chile.

Marie Forleo: Beautiful. Yay. Well, what’s your question, my love. We want to do our best to help you out.

Geraldine: Okay, thank you. Well, is it possible that I have too many offers going on and they compete with themselves? You see, I’m a mechanical artist and I do university courses, online courses. I’m creating my school now. Also, I offer in-person workshops that aren’t going very well and I’m feeling I’m doing too much. My competition is getting fiercer every time. They are charging less and less every day. So I’d love to stay only with the university and online courses, but I don’t dare really much. I know the economy is kind of tough. So I would like to paint more also, because I’m teaching all the time, so I just can’t do my art anymore. So that’s about my question.

Marie Forleo: Okay. My love, clarify for me. Have you done B-School yet or no?

Geraldine: I’m in B-School now.

Marie Forleo: Yay! Okay, awesome. You just got some confetti. This is great. The reason why I wanted to ask that is so that I can redirect you to some resources that are at your fingertips that can really help you, because this is a great question. So top line, I believe yes, that it is too possible for us to have too many things going at once. I’m not saying that you do. But just generally speaking, I’ve seen a lot of us make a mistake of trying to spin too many plates in the air, have too many projects, too many revenue streams. We feel scattered and we don’t feel like we’re getting the results that are really possible and we feel stretched and over-committed. Then our bank account isn’t really reflecting how hard we’re working. So yes, it is possible to do too many things at once.

I want to encourage you to consider a philosophy of less is more, simplify to amplify. It is a mantra that has served me so well over the two decades of my business, where what I strive to do is a few things really, really well and then kind of let all the static and the noise go away. In B-School, since you have access to this, I want to encourage you to revisit profit clarity, module number one and to take just a fresh look at all of your different revenue streams, what you’re doing, how much is coming in, what’s the profit margin. But also, most importantly, how you feel about it.

So is that particular revenue stream, on a scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is like, “Oh,” you want to stick a fork in your eye and 1’s like, “Oh that’s pretty good. I love it.” Rate them so that you know what’s super stressful and what’s really a joy, so that you can get a better, fresher perspective on what’s really making you money and what’s not. That would be a diagnostic tool for anybody to go through when you feel like you’re all over the place so you can do more of what works and less of what hasn’t.

I have done this several times in my business. It’s always so eye-opening. Whenever we’ve taken a fresh look at our revenue streams, whenever I’ve felt too over-committed and I feel like I’m doing too much, I put it all down on a piece of paper. I attach numbers to it. I rate it in terms of it’s joy, it’s stress. Then it always gives me insight about where I can cut back, where I can let things go. Is it scary to do that sometimes? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Yes. So that’s tip number one, just to give yourself that opportunity.

The second thing I want to talk to you about, and this is what most people don’t realize, don’t worry about what a lot of the competition is doing. I’ve been around long enough to know this. There is always a segment of every market who is happy to pay more when you deliver more value and have better customer service. So even if your competitors are continuing to cut their rates, that’s fine. There’s more than enough to go round. But if you position yourself as a premium brand and you over deliver on that, meaning that you’re delivering tons more value, the customer experience is extraordinary, you’re doing things that no one else is doing in a way that could only come from your soul. People will line up to pay those prices. It’s a race to the bottom when you compete on price.

Geraldine: Yeah. I see. That makes sense, yeah.

Marie Forleo: Yeah. So there is an advantage to being ExpensiveButWorthIt.Com. There really, really is. It’s not the right philosophy for everyone. Some people like to be in the low price business, God bless. That’s awesome. Knowing that you’re a B-Schooler though, you have all of the tools at your fingertips to be able to re-look at your offerings and say, “I’m really going to focus on one or two, I’m not just gonna make them good. I’m not just going to make them excellent. I’m going to make them fricking outstanding. So that when you put me in context with the competition, it’s just like, ‘Whoa, here’s a five-star hotel version, and here’s a hostel.'” Does that make sense?

Geraldine: Yeah, it does. It does. Yes. I love it. Thank you.

Marie Forleo: Absolutely. You have that capability within you. I know you can do this. So dip back into some of that B-School magic, get connected to the community, take a fresh look at everything. And stand and be really proud to be ExpensiveButWorthIt.com

Ewa: Yeah, I love that. I love to be expensive.com.

Marie Forleo: Yeah. Expensive, but worth it, baby. Thank you so much. Gregory, do you have anything to share before we let our dear friend go?

Gregory P.: I’m taking a look at my finances, too. I want to be expensive.com ButWorthIt/edu, too.

Geraldine: Great.

Marie Forleo: Awesome.

Geraldine: Thank you so much, Marie. I really love your work.

Marie Forleo: We love you too. Thank you, darling. Well, there you have it. We’ve had some amazing callers. So I’m curious, what is the insight that you’re taking away. You can have more than one. Leave a comment below and let us know now. As always, the best conversations really do happen over at the magical land of marieforleo.com. So head on over there and leave a comment now.

Now while you’re there, if you’re not yet already, be sure to subscribe to our email list and become an MF Insider. You’re going to get instant access to an audio I created called How to Get Anything You Want. It’s really damn good. You’re also going to get some exclusive content, special giveaways, and some personal updates from me that I don’t share anywhere else except maybe for Greg.

Gregory P.: Only through text.

Marie Forleo: Yes.

Gregory P.: And emojis.

Marie Forleo: Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams, because the world really does need that special gift that only you have. Thank you so much for watching. We’ll catch you next time on MarieTV.

Hey, you having trouble bringing your dreams to life? Well, guess what. The problem isn’t you. It’s not that you’re not hard working or intelligent or deserving. It’s that you haven’t yet installed the one key belief that will change it all: Everything is Figureoutable. It’s my new book and you can order it now at everythingisfigureoutable.com.

Opener. Are you ready for the opener? Say it.

Gregory P.: I’m ready for the opener.

Marie Forleo: Everyone. This is Peggy, also known as Gregory Patterson.

Gregory P.: Greggy. Oh yeah.