The Framework for a Morning Routine You’ll Actually Stick To

The Framework for a Morning Routine You’ll Actually Stick To

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

To be honest I had a little resistance in writing this blog because I have a whole beef about morning routines. 

Then I thought, you probably have the same beef when you hear the term morning routines. You want one, but the information is just too much. 

I know the whole concept of morning routines can be very fluffy. If you've ever worked with me in my coaching, I don't do fluffy. I like action. I like actionable, deep work. So let's do a new spin on the morning routine. Shall we?

Let's start with the beef. When I first started my business, Brandmerry.com in 2016 I was just one month postpartum. So there already wasn't much of a morning routine happening at that point because we were just surviving. 

However, at the same time of going through this postpartum period, I also started building my business and exploring this whole idea of entrepreneurship.

Shortly into doing that, I felt like I was bombarded with information on coming up with a morning routine. This isn't new, right? People have been talking about this forever, but to me, it was this new concept because I used to just, get up, brush my teeth and go to work. There was no morning routine happening. 

I was looking for stability at that time because I was in the midst of being a new mother and that incredible fog and uncertainty, so I started consuming all the content about morning routines. 

Fast forward to September of that same year and I was leaving my nine to five to pursue my business full time.

I remember saying, “Okay, I'm about to work from home. I'm about to change my whole entire schedule with my kiddo.” So I started seeking out support inside of Facebook Groups on how to juggle the work from home life.

I asked them, “What do you recommend doing as you transition from working a nine to five then switching to running a business at home with a kiddo?” Everyone was like, “You must have your morning routine!”

Everyone was giving me all of this feedback on the morning routine:

“I meditate for 45 minutes.”
“I like to go for a 30-minute walk and go to the coffee shop.” 
“I have a 20-minute skincare routine.”

And I remember thinking that this must be the secret sauce, so I dove headfirst into creating a morning routine that looked like everyone else.

And I failed miserably.

I realize now that I wasn't actually failing. I had set crazy unrealistic expectations for what was happening in my life.

I was letting someone else tell me how my morning routine should go and what I should do. And then thinking that I would just mirror that and suddenly it would be all great.

THE TRUTH ABOUT MORNING ROUTINES

Morning routines aren’t the end all be all and they won’t make or break your success, but here is the thing that I later learned: Having that morning routine sets you up for success. 

It gets you in the mindset, the focus and grounded so that you can then take on all of the things that come your way throughout the day. There's always a rollercoaster ride of things throughout the day and being prepared (aka starting off on the right foot) is essential when handling them.

But the trouble with morning routines is when we hear other people talk about their morning routines, we try to parallel them. 

Rather than asking ourselves, “What do I need?” We assume if it worked for her, it will work for me and that's doing a disservice to your life, your season and your expectations. 

So rather than looking on Pinterest or another podcast, that tells you to do these five things every single day and then setting yourself up for something that might not work with your life, it’s important to have a framework, not an end all be all rule book.

MORNING ROUTINES ARE SELF CARE

Actively choosing your morning routine is just another opportunity for you to make choices for yourself and do things that serve you and your family at the highest level. 

Doing things that serve you and the life that you are building and making choices that are aligned with your goals.

Making those decisions first and foremost is important. And then taking action and creating habits around them and doing them in the morning so that you're setting yourself up; that's the whole point of the morning routine. 

There's no secret. 

It's this trifecta of choosing the things that are going to serve you, committing to them and making them a habit, which is one of my favorite things to talk about. 

On my podcast, The Beautiful Climb, episode 14 dives into the importance of habits, not just in a morning routine, but throughout the day as well.

YOUR ROUTINE SHOULD EVOLVE

There’s absolutely no shame in having a routine that evolves.

You are a human. You are evolving every single day. You're learning new things about yourself. The outside world is changing and impacting what you can and can't do. 

Your routines, including the ones you do in the morning, should mirror that.

I have learned rather than to be rigid with exactly what I'm doing, that every time I feel like something's off, or I need something new, I go back to the framework I’m about to share with you.

I like to ask myself and encourage you to do the same...

• What do I need during this time?

• What would support me most during this season of life?

• What are the pieces that I'm committing to doing daily? 

And then implementing them.

It's all in the habits. 

It's not in the specific thing that you do. 

It's in the fact that you are making it a recurring routine that you are committing to first thing in the morning to set yourself up for success and alignment throughout the day.

My morning routine has changed so much over the years as a mother, wife, entrepreneur, woman, daughter, etc...Every season demands something new from me and I must be willing to adapt to that while still honoring my habits and boundaries.

If you want to head my entire journey with morning routines, including what I’ve done and what I do today, head over to Episode 34 of The Beautiful Climb podcast and have a listen.

THE FRAMEWORK FOR A MORNING ROUTINE YOU’LL STICK TO

What I have found through my journey, working with my clients and chatting with my friends is that people really struggle with, “but what do I do?” 

And it’s because they're not asking themselves, “What do I need?” And then creating a routine that best supports that need. 

So the framework I’m about to share with you is just that, a framework. I encourage you to explore and fill in with the things that you personally need.

Today my morning routine is so different, then when I first started. My life has changed. My son has gone from crawling to walking to being more self-sufficient. My business has grown. My husband has retired and in each of those seasons I was forced to ask myself, “What do I need right now?” 

You can absolutely make your morning routine your own and one that serves you at the highest level.

For the framework, I recommend focusing on the big three. Choosing three main areas to focus on every morning. This typically looks like Mind, Body and Soul, but can be any combination you need most.

At this stage of my life, it's a focus on my fitness with high-intensity workouts, followed by getting myself ready mentally and then nourishing my soul. This looks like a 20-30 minute workout or rides on my Peloton, getting dressed in pants that button (no yoga pants here) and then making myself a healthy breakfast to start my day. 

I used to journal for 30 minutes, I’ve meditated for 10, I used to not work out daily, and that’s the point I want to make; your routine will change, but if you focus on the big three you’ll find you’re always giving yourself a well-rounded start to the day.

What I encourage you to do is think about three things that you could do every morning that maybe take 15 minutes. 

If you’ve got more time, then great!
Maybe you need to wake up a bit earlier (no 5 a.m.’s necessary) to give yourself a full 30 minutes.
Maybe you've got even more time and can take it nice and slow. Every season will be different!

Focus on the three core things you need most in this season, fitting them into a time frame that works for you and I promise it will be so empowering. 

And that's what I want you to remember. It's about listening to yourself, identifying what you need, making a plan for that, creating a habit and then taking action.

Rinse and repeat.

A SUCCESSFUL MORNING ROUTINE IS IN THE HABIT

The last thing that I'll share about setting up a morning routine is that it's all in the habits. 

If you haven't read Atomic Habits yet, it's one of my favorite books and there is a quote in there that says, “You do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” 

And that's why having systems for how you’re going to achieve something and taking daily action is so important.

Setting the intention is amazing; it’s the first step, but then you have to look and say “Well, what am I going to do to get there?” 

And then you have to honor that. 

You deserve healthy habits in your life, and they are the secret to getting to your goals, and an excellent place to start is with your morning routine.

I know the days when I fall off track, there will be days when nothing seems to be going right. You just want to sleep in. 
And you're thinking about how your legs hurt so maybe you’ll skip moving your body and just shower.
Or, maybe I’ll just get to work and check those emails to save some time.

But, I’ve noticed on those days it’s more important than ever to honor myself and start the day on the right foot and this includes setting boundaries not only with yourself but also with others.

You need to set boundaries. If you are thinking, “I don't have time in the morning, Michelle, to have a morning routine,” I need you to create time. 

And one of the ways that you can create time without waking up at the butt crack of dawn is to have conversations with people in your life and get support. 

If you find that when you try to work out at home, everybody is in your business and won't leave you alone, then you need to get out of the house and figure out how you can do that. 

If you’ve got a kid, bring them with you. Go for a walk or just have a conversation with them and say, this is what I need to do. Invite them to join you as you workout and set the tone with them that this time is sacred.

Get them in the habit of creating morning routines as well. I love that my son Cal has his morning routine. This kid has created almost his own morning routine on accident because I have created mine and he's watched that happen. 

Talk with your spouse, your kids, your roommate and let them know what you need to make this happen! And honor your boundaries with yourself by scheduling your morning routine, honoring your commitments and taking action.

You deserve it!

Set yourself up for success.

Get your systems in place.

Honor yourself.

Check-in with yourself and rock your morning.

P.S. Have you tuned in to The Beautiful Climb podcast? I release new episodes every other Friday on topics around productivity, motherhood, habits, goals and going after the life of your dreams! Check out past episodes and be sure to subscribe at thebeautifulclimb.com

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

How to Pivot Your Business Without Losing Momentum

How to Pivot Your Business
Without Losing Momentum

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

If you prefer to watch a video version of this post, which is highly recommended, you can do so below.

Last week on the blog, I did a special post on Branding and Messaging Your Business During a Crisis, you can check it out here.

And so many community members asked about a very specific part of that post and video, which was all about pivoting your business.

It makes so much sense that this would be a concern right now as we navigate this Global Pandemic (also known as Coronavirus). It’s got so many businesses thinking, “How do we make money during this time?”

But, to be honest, this isn’t something we should just be prepared for as it applies to a pandemic like this, many business owners might need to pivot their offer, messaging or business due to life changes.

Maybe you’re wondering…
...if now is the right time to sell anything.
...how you should be supporting people.
...what to offer since what you typically do is not possible.
...if your offers or services need to change.
...what you should be charging.

And, that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg with questions running through your head.

I highly suggest writing these prompts and questions down to dive into on your own. Carve out 15 minutes a day to answering these questions to gain clarity on your next steps. 

PHASE ONE: DETERMINE WHAT STAGE YOU ARE IN

The first step is to figure out what stage you are in because every single business is going to be at a different stage, which is going to mean that your pivot is going to look different. 

Nobody's pivot is going to look the same.

Because of this, it can be really easy to get overwhelmed when pivoting because we’ll see other business owners doing something in our niche or similar and we think to ourselves, “I should be doing that! Or should I be doing something different?”

But, we don’t know their story - we might think we know where they are at in their business, but the reality is we probably have no clue.

It’s times like these we need to go inward, worry about our own business, our own progress and our own current stage.

STAGE ONE: YOUR BUSINESS HAS TAKEN A MAJOR HIT

If you’re in this stage, you’re most likely struggling a lot. If you’re a photographer during this particular season of the Coronavirus you’ve had to cancel a lot of your business.

A sign that you are in this stage could be that you’ve taken a major hit financially.

POSSIBILITIES: You can drive more online traffic. You’re going to want to put more time and energy into building an online presence and offering incentives. While you might not be able to physically do your job if you’re a photographer, you could offer gift certificates or coupons if they book now. Think of restaurants around the holidays when they sell a $50 gift card and give you $15 to use on your next visit - same principle.

You might also consider offering something new, I’ve got questions below to support you.

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STAGE TWO: YOUR BUSINESS IS CLOSED

If you’re in this stage, you might have a physical business that is now closed, so your options are to close or move online.

POSSIBILITIES: Move your business online so you can continue to sell. Think about what technology systems you need and how to manage the ins and outs. Every business needs an online presence and you have a chance to build that now. Think of ways to sell gift cards even if it’s not physical products right now. Incorporate incentives as I mentioned above. 

Also, this is a great time to build brand awareness and educate your audience on your product so they can purchase at a later date. Use different tools and resources to drive traffic to your new site like Search Engine Optimization and Pinterest.

This might also be a good time to consider a new offer, I’ve got questions below to support you.

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STAGE THREE: YOUR BUSINESS HAS BEEN FORCED TO SHIFT

This stage could look like a lot of different things. Maybe you’ve experienced a hit, but you have money in savings so you don’t have to actively sell right now. It might also mean that what you sell doesn’t feel good and you want to make some adjustments to your offer or how you message it.

The majority of online businesses typically find themselves in this stage.

POSSIBILITIES: If you’re in this stage it’s about heightening your brand awareness. If what you sell or offer is still valid it’s less about what you offer and how you’re offering it. A big shift during this stage might be a pivot or adjustment in your messaging, along with adjusting the price of your offer.

During this brand awareness phase, it’s also important to explore other avenues. For instance, during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a drop in people spending their money on marketing. That means ad costs have gone down drastically, so if it’s available to you investing in this aspect now can really pay off in the long run.

SPEAKING OF LONG RUN

When pivoting, or navigating a time of great change, it’s so important to focus on the long game. I hate to be the one to say, but even if you're not making money right now, which is scary, you can set yourself up for massive growth later on.

How can you set yourself up so that you can sell later in the year or next year really, really strong? 

Those are the things that we need to consider because that is the reality. So how do we do that? Let's talk about some questions that I want you to think about around pivoting your offer. 

PHASE TWO: PIVOTING YOUR OFFER OR SERVICE

Let's say that you have an existing offer that's not working, or you have an existing offer that you want to modify. Here are some questions to consider.

What does your audience need right now?

I’m a big fan of market research because I know it changes the game of how we show up, run our businesses and ultimately make sales. If you show up and you ask your audience in this time where they're needing support, they will most likely tell you.

If you don't have an audience already look at other people's threads in your industry, look at what people are Googling, or look and see what people are asking in Facebook groups or threads.

What are people needing right now? 

Let me make this clear, I do not mean everyone. I specifically mean what does your target market need and what would support them in this season of life?

How can you show up and give that to them in a way that is an extension of your brand? 

Is this something existing? Or do you need to create something new? 

For many of you, you are going to have to create something new. You've probably had ideas for things that you can launch or build in the background, but maybe life was too busy so I'm going to challenge you to look back at those ideas that have maybe been sitting on the back burner, on a post-it note on your desk, and start to think, “Is that something that I could create now?”

FEELING STUCK? A NOTE ABOUT BRAND CONTAINERS

Brand Containers are a concept that I teach to all of my clients on the idea that what you sell cannot be your business and brand. If it is you are probably running into a problem right now. 

It’s not about having 75 different offers, it’s about having a brand and having variety, allowing for more flexibility, creation and community building.

When you create a business around a single offer and then want to pivot, it will feel like starting over, but when you create a brand first and foremost it’s much easier.

Imagine 5-7 brand containers of things you love talking about. For my business branding, business coaching and marketing are definitely the main ones, but I also love to talk about travel and could offer a blog or course on how to travel full time.

If you’re interested in learning more about Brand Containers and my branding process, check out youbrandedcourse.com.

The key here is you want to first look for a pivot that is of value to your audience and already connected to your brand as a whole, your Brand Containers can help with this. 

When it comes to pivoting the hardest thing you can do is burn it all down in the hopes to build something new. I encourage you to look more for opportunities or gaps in which you can make small adjustments.

Ask yourself: How can I show up, that's going to be a value to my audience and is already connected to my brand as a whole?

Then it will feel more of like a shift or extension than it does a complete starting over from scratch. 

Pricing Your Offer

If you don’t feel like you need to create something new, just adjust something existing, it’s time to think about how to shift it.

Is there a new pricing structure? 
How can you modify an existing offer to launch something smaller?
Can you take a bigger program or something that you've created and sell it separately as a lower-priced offer? 
How can you repurpose some of the things that you've talked about in the past? 

Think of how you can get creative with what you have. For instance, if you’re a photographer and can’t photograph clients, you don’t necessarily have to declare you’re no longer a photographer. You might be able to adjust your offer to something along the lines of selling a style guide on how to prepare for brand photoshoots or teaching other photographers how to edit their pics.

TO RECAP

What does your audience need?
What can you support them with?
Is there something that you can create that as an extension of your existing brand, think about your brand containers, rather than starting completely over? 
And if you have an existing offer that works, how can you modify it or change the pricing structure? 

PHASE THREE: AWARENESS AND EDUCATION

Phase three is what every single business should still remain focused on during a pivot or crisis. 

The brands and businesses that continue to persevere are the ones that continue to show up, build trust and community. These are the businesses that will experience sales later.  

Pivoting isn’t just about the offer it’s also in your messaging and how you show up.

How can you build brand awareness?
How can you create educational components for your audience?
What does this look like for you? 

Get ready for the questions because here they come. Some things to consider are:

Does your content need to shift during this transition? 
How is your overall brand messaging, is it in alignment with your new direction
Do you need to adjust the platform you are showing up on and reaching your target audience? Do you have SEO on your website? Are you using Pinterest to drive traffic? 
Can you start reaching your new target market with advertisements? 
Do you have a sales funnel set up for onboarding new community members and leading them to a sale on evergreen?

When you’re pivoting it can be really easy to not show up, to not build an audience because you feel like you don’t have it all figured out. Take some time to get clear on your pivot offer and audience and keep showing up. 

People are waiting for your message, even when you’re “figuring it out” keep showing up and building trust.

MISSION-DRIVEN BUSINESS GOALS

When you’re going through a pivot or transition it might feel like you need to create something RIGHT NOW. You might think, “I’m just going to put this out there!”

I'm going to encourage you to slow down just a minute to ask yourself this overarching brand question…

“What’s the purpose behind your business? Why are you doing this in the first place?”

Because the reality is if you run your business just for money, you will run into problems. It has to be more fulfilling. What do you do, when in one season of life you don’t have the money coming in? What continues to drive you?

Questions to consider.

What is your purpose behind your business? 
What is your mission? 
How can you create content and offers and all those things that are in alignment with that? 

And if you don't know this, it’s time to dive deep into your brand.

CONCLUSION + PLANNING

MAKING PLANS

With the info that you have collected from above, I want you to start mapping out and planning your next steps.

I know in times of uncertainty and change, there is power in knowing what direction you're going.

Think of where you are headed, there’s that purpose, mission and long-term thinking again, so you can start taking small steps every single day. Start mapping out what that looks like, but be open to adjusting.

Think about…
How does your content look with these new plans?
What offers are you going to put out there? 
What do you need to create?
How can you start rolling out these changes?

Having a plan is really powerful, even if it needs to change and adjust at least you know which direction you’re headed.

If after you dive into these questions you still feel lost and a little overwhelmed. I always encourage people to get a step-by-step plan. My course You! Branded gives you the pieces to finalize your purpose, mission and so much more to build a strong brand and business upon.

You can learn more about You! Branded and the work we do around niching down, ideal client, messaging, offers and emotional branding at youbrandedcourse.com

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- FREE GIFTS YOU'LL LOVE -

DISCOVER YOUR BRAND STORY IN UNDER 5 MINUTES

START HERE ↠

LEARN HOW TO WRITE AN ‘ABOUT ME’ PAGE THAT CONVERTS

START HERE ↠

MAP OUT 30 DAYS OF CONTENT IN UNDER AN HOUR

START HERE ↠

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- READ THE LATEST POSTS -

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

My 2019 Summer Reads for Life and Business

My 2019 Summer Reads for Life and Business

June 21, 2019

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Last year I shared a blog on The Top 7 Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read and you loved it. I followed it up with Must-Read Personal and Professional Books for 2019.

I know that books (and audio) are some of the best ways to advance your personal and professional development.

And, as I’ve admitted before, reading is not something that just comes “natural” to me. In fact, I have to create a habit around taking the time to silence my mind and dive into a great read.

What I’ve found over the past three years of running my business is that I gain so much clarity around my next steps and content and resources to share with you when I immerse myself in a book written for personal development.

So, today I’m sharing four of my favorite reads for Summer 2019 (some of which I’ve already read and a few I’m diving into soon) so you can run to your favorite book store and grab a copy.

P.S. If you’re looking for inspiration in your biz and feeling a little lost or uninspired, reading is my secret weapon and always gets my energy and thoughts in alignment to share content.

SUMMER READ #1
OWN YOUR EVERYDAY BY JORDAN LEE DOOLEY

I gave this book a shout out on Instagram Stories while reading it on the beach in Florida and had to include it in this list. If you’re not already a fan of Jordan, I fully believe you need to follow her. I was inspired by her story while attending the Kajabi Summit in March and started following her on social.

I had no idea she was releasing a book at the time, but when I learned more about her work I wanted to dive in. Her ability to merge personal story with life lessons is amazing and one of my favorite parts about her book.

The tagline for Own Your Everyday is Overcome the Pressure to Prove and Show Up for What You Were Made to Do and it’s such an amazing book for the everyday woman (that’s you and I btw). She talks about our need to be perfect, to have it all figured out and bring such light and grace to the personal development space. Check it out here.

SUMMER READ #2
GIRL STOP APOLOGIZING BY RACHEL HOLLIS

I’ve talked about Rachel’s books before and if you don’t know who she is, I’m afraid you might be living under a rock at this point. Rachel has taken the personal development world by storm and is such an amazing brand to watch and study (hello, I’m a branding nerd).

This is the second book, following Girl, Wash Your Face, and I was so fortunate to receive an advance copy. I highly recommend checking out this book as a summer read, especially if you carry shame in asking for and reaching for your goals. Buy it here.

SUMMER READ #3
JUDGEMENT DETOX BY GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN

I’m a little late to the party here, but I’m such a fan of Gabby’s and the way her book The Universe Has Your Back transformed my belief around money and releasing the HOW.

I think one of the best things we can do as business women is to release the past stories we carry that affect where we want to go. If you’ve got big, audacious goals (and I know you do) then it’s time to go the past story work. I’m excited to read Gabby’s book and dive into the 6-step process she presents in the book. Buy it here.

SUMMER READ #4
HIGH-PERFORMING HABITS BY BRENDON BURCHARD

If you’re a friend of mine you know my obsession with Brendon Burchard and the work he is doing in the world. Another amazing speaker I met at the Kajabi Summit and was brought to church by his words.

When I finally dove into High-Performing Habits I felt like he was speaking directly to me. I’ve only felt this way one other time and that was reading Daring Greatly by Brene Brown! This book made me laugh and cry and understand my high-performance habits better than before.

I love Brendon’s work because it’s so deeply rooted in research, so if you’re a nerd like me I highly suggest grabbing this book this Summer. Buy it here.

Do you have a favorite book you’ve read or are excited to dive into this Summer? Let me know in the comments below!

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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5 Things to Know About Your First Year as an Entrepreneur

5 Things to Know About Your First Year
as an Entrepreneur

BY MICHELLE KNIGHT

Look, I’m going to go against the grain here and say starting a business and becoming an entrepreneur takes work.

Insert Rihana singing “work work work work work”

The reality is this is not for the faint of heart, which is ironic because what you need to make this thing work is a whole lot of heart.

In addition to having the belief, mindset and deep desire to make this thing work there are 5 things you need to know in your first year as an entrepreneur.

The first year of my business it took months, I’m talking 8 months for me to truly figure out what I was doing.

I took action, continuous action and was busy working on building this dream, but I had little to show for it.

So, I consider myself a freaking expert in helping women who struggle to get going because I’ve lived through it.

After 8 months of pushing uphill things started to shift for me and within three months I was making enough monthly income to replace my 9 to 5 and in a year I had made 6-figures cash in my business.

Do I think I could have hit those goals faster if I’d had known these things? YES

But, then I wouldn’t be able to share this with you today #lessons.

So here we go - 5 Things to Know About Your First Year as an Entrepreneur (what I wish I’d known).

1. YOUR WEBSITE

How do I say this in a way that doesn’t come across as a total butthead - no one is searching for your website.

Oh, I know you want it to be the case, but in the beginning, people don’t know you, yet so many entrepreneurs spend so much time on building their website right out of the gate when they should be focused on building brand awareness.

Your website is needed and will be one of the most valuable tools in your business, but spending months and months and sometimes thousands of dollars to build your website is a waste at the beginning.

Take the time to identify your niche, who you want to attract and your brand messages BEFORE building your website and be sure to have a marketing plan to actually drum up enough interest that has people visiting your website.

2. YOUR BRAND

Another one that takes so much time and so much money - yep, it’s branding.

I love branding, it is my jam, but so many entrepreneurs do it wrong the first year. They jump right into finding their colors, fonts and designing their logo BEFORE understanding their brand foundations. Yep, you guessed it - your niche, your audience and your brand messages.

PLUS, they overlook the power of emotional branding (more on that here) which at its core is WHY people buy. So rather than diving right into the visual branding what we should be focused on is what branding truly is - the deeper connection to your audience.

One of the best things you can do is create content for your audience to build brand awareness (yes, this is part of branding) and watch as your visuals fall into place.

3. POWER OF STORY

You’ve got one thing when you start and that’s your story! It’s also the one thing you have that will help you stand out from the crowd and competition.

You need to spend time uncovering your story and setting a strong foundation for story in your business.

Your audience is 22x more likely to remember story, which means it goes beyond just your brand story and also includes authentically tying story into every piece of content and marketing material you make.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA I CONFUSING

Yep, that’s right social media is a lot of information. It can be one of the coolest tools you use in the online space OR it can literally drive you crazy.

In the beginning, you want to be everywhere because that’s what you’re told right? Well, not really the best move when you’re just starting out.

Instead, I suggest you focus on one social media platform to start and get really good at that. In order to do this think of two things. #1 Where do you like to hang out and #2 Where is your audience spending time.

Boom - start there and stop overwhelming yourself trying to be everywhere!

5. MESSAGING IS MAGIC

If there is one thing I’ve learned as an entrepreneur and especially my first year in business is that messaging can make or break your success.

This goes back decades and is the foundation of successful advertising. You need to be crystal clear, do everything in your power to not confuse your audience and clearly communicate how it benefits your audience.

If there is one thing you set up at the start of your business it should be your brand messaging. What do you provide and how does it benefit your audience?

That’s the secret - making sure you’re clearly sharing how it benefits your audience.

If you’re always focused on this, it’s freaking magic.

I hope you take these five essential pieces and put them into action.

They can completely change the course of your business and your ability to reach profitability faster.

If you need support along the way, that’s where I come in.

My program Roadmap to Freedom is opening soon and it’s better than ever. This live 90-day program is for the new and aspiring female entrepreneur ready to simplify the process of building an online business that allows her to make money on her terms and create a life of abundant experiences and impact.

You can learn more at brandmerry.com/freedom.

P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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MEET MICHELLE

Hey there, I'm Michelle Knight and I an online branding and marketing consultant for female entrepreneurs.

I believe in the power of storytelling and using that superpower to brand and market yourself online...oh and to set yourself free.

I'm obsessed with living a life of freedom, so much so, that my family and I now travel full-time while running my business from the road.

This blog serves as a home base for all things branding, marketing, content creation and more.

Why perfectionism is bad for business (entrepreneur edition)

Why perfectionism is bad for business (entrepreneur edition)

April 25, 2019

PREFER TO WATCH, INSTEAD OF READ? I’VE GOT YOU BOO. SCROLL DOWN TO WATCH A QUICK 6 MINUTE VIDEO!

It's a trap. I'm talking about perfectionism, more specifically, perfectionism in business.

I know it's really easy when you dive into this whole entrepreneur thing that you want every single thing to be perfect.

So I have to know, do you struggle with perfectionism and more specifically, did you feel that heightened when you became an entrepreneur when you started diving into the world of entrepreneurism?

I know I did, and you and I are not alone. There are so many women who struggle with this. Today, I want to talk to you about what perfectionism means for your business and how you can start to escape it.

Real talk. I have struggled with perfectionism my entire life, and I'm not talking about that one time in college when that one paper had to be perfect.

I'm talking about perfectionism on an emotional, mental, and physical level really impacting me for years and years. And so when I tell you I get you, I am not freaking lying.

That feeling of almost being paralyzed to do anything in your business, redoing and redoing an email and a website, trying to get it absolutely perfect to the point that you feel exhausted and slightly overwhelmed and comparing yourself to other people in the online space because let's just admit it right now, comparisonitis plagues perfectionists so much.

I get it - all right. Maybe you're not that far gone, and to that, I say bless you, but perhaps you are, and you need to hear exactly what I'm telling you today.

Throughout my entrepreneur journey, I had to come face to face with my struggle around perfectionism. And today I have some harsh truths for you; perfectionism is keeping you stuck. I know, I get it.

When I first heard it, I was like, who do you think you are? But it's true and after three years of really making this a focus, to dive into how perfectionism was keeping me stuck, how it was keeping me in a safe space, I have come to learn that it is an excuse that so many entrepreneurs use, and it's probably an excuse that you're using today.

It's a belief that you have held onto for so long that it's ultimately keeping you stuck.

It is keeping you in a safe bubble where you are not taking risks and big, bold chances. And I have to tell you; it is those risks and big, bold chances that make you a better entrepreneur and more importantly, a better version of yourself.

And so with everything, I genuinely believe that you have a choice and you might be thinking to yourself, I know that and I believe that, and maybe you know that on a surface level, but have you actually thought about that today?

Have you thought about the fact that you can live with something forever and ever and you can wake up one day and have a choice to no longer let that be your truth?

You have a choice right now.

You can choose to stay safe in this perfectionist bubble, redoing things over and over again, not putting your voice out into the world, or you can choose to take action, and you can choose to get super uncomfortable, and I have to tell you, that's where growth comes from. It comes from doing uncomfortable things.

Also, side note, if the fear of failure is like going off in your head right now, watch my video from last week because we talked about the fear of failure and what it truly means.

But I have a question for you. Does everyone who struggles with perfectionism stay hidden? The answer is no. Obviously, because there are big important people in this world who are out there sharing their message that struggle with this same thing that you and I struggle with and I know that was a huge part for me.

When I realized that these people out there every single day are doing it even though they might be a little fearful that they might fail or that it won't be perfect. They're still doing it. I'm standing in front of you today to tell you that you have a choice.

You deserve to show up, and you deserve to be seen just as you are in this moment, even if it doesn't feel perfect, it's your job to decide not to let this label keep you from achieving greatness.

My first live stream was horrible. My first webinar blew up in my face, my first launch. It did not go as planned, and the only way that I grew was by putting it out there and continuing to take action over and over again.

So how can you ever perfect something if you're not willing to put it out into the world? If you are afraid of what people are going to say, I have to tell you there will always be people who love you and there will always be people who want to bring you down.

You have to focus on the people who love you, and you have to put your stuff out there and to be your true authentic self anyway.

So how are you going to show up and take action and take risks even though it is scary, even though you want it to be perfect and it's not there yet because I am telling you your business, your life of freedom, it all comes back to you and the choices that you will make today.

If for you, that action means finally getting started, your thriving online business. If that means for you saying yes to the dream that you've had forever playing over and over in your head, but you're afraid to do it because guess what? It's not perfect yet.

I want to invite you to my upcoming masterclass where you'll hear from someone who has been where you are struggling with perfectionism, and we're going to talk about exactly what you need to create a thriving online business that doesn't waste time, energy, or resources, and get you to profitability faster. You can go to brandmerry.com/masterclass.

Please share your biggest takeaways from this blog post and how you’re going to implement this information in your own business!

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P.S. Are we connected on Instagram? No? Well lady what’s happening here we’ve got to fix that. Come hang out with me on my favorite social media platform. Follow for inspiration and send me a DM to know we’re connected.

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