00:00

Welcome to Make More Money without Selling Your Soul with me Polly Lavarello, evergreen marketing expert. This podcast is for you if you are an online entrepreneur who is looking to simplify their business to scale.  On this podcast you can expect to hear regular talk about wealth, about selling and about wellbeing. Because I believe these three core fundamental things are pivotal to your growth moving forward.

00:44

Hello and welcome to make more money without selling your soul with myself Polly Lavarello, evergreen marketing expert and cushy business pioneer.

We’ll be hearing more about that soon. And today I’m talking about the five steps from solopreneur to C. E. O. Why am I talking about this one actually, there’s an evolution going on in my business at the moment, which you will be hearing increasingly more about. But essentially, recently, I got some real strong clarity around my essential business philosophy and what I love inviting people into because while I call myself an evergreen marketing expert, when I do that, I essentially compare myself to every other evergreen marketing expert out there. And there is a difference to how I do things. There’s an underlying philosophy. And essentially, what it’s boiled down to is one of the things I’m going to be talking about today, which is being a CEO. But it’s much more than that, because I started this business as a single mum, because I do have two small children. It’s always been my intention to have almost a very lifestyle led business, working to live and not living to work, which is challenging for someone like me, because I definitely and I’m being cautious with how I phrase this because I’m very conscious that we are what we say we are. And while I recognise I still work with perfectionistic traits, they’re not something I struggle with, as much anymore. And I guess I have more awareness of when that part of me is trying to come out. So essentially, it’s very easy for me in the past, I was very much someone who would give as many hours as a task required, until I started to flip that on its head and recognise that every task only needs to last as long as you allow for it. But anyway, this is all part and parcel of what I’m about to be breaking into. But essentially, my business philosophy is one that I’ve summarised as being I believe we should all have a cushy business. You know that phrase when people go, Oh my god, they’ve got such a cushy job. Yeah, claim it.

Why not have a cushy job, work? hours you want to work? Work the days you want to work, work with clients who totally light you up? Why on earth would you choose to work for yourself to work long hours, long days, weekends, turn down invitations to see friends turn away playdates with your kids, and all of those things. If it weren’t to have some freedom back if it weren’t for you. I say all this while still acknowledging that in the early days, I briefly let that slip from my grasp. And I know that a lot of clients who come to work with me, come to work with me because they similarly have let it slip from their grasp to a lot of them came into working for themselves for various reasons. Some people do it because they become a parent and they need a job that’s more flexible. Some of them have become burnt out or disillusioned by the corporate world. Some are just too creative to be kept inside a box and they just want to do things on their own terms. Some of us have kind of done it accidentally. That was kind of my path. I started off creating an online parenting website and inadvertently becoming an editor in adversity being invited to talk on stages and right magazine columns and appear on TV panels and report on behalf of Gibraltar’s parents to ITV and stuff. And next thing I knew I was like, what is that as well that I’m in? I want to stay here, but I’d like to make some money while I’m doing it, please. So yeah, we all have our own route into these things.

But ultimately, what’s interesting is that because when you work for yourself, there is a never ending list of things that we can be exploring and doing. It’s very easy to burn yourself out. Which is why from very early on in my business, so essentially from the moment I decided not to be a contractor anymore, and to become self employed, it was always on my radar. From the very moment I started to line myself up to be in a position where I was earning regular enough income to hire my VA, and I’d say that was probably step one of me taking action aligned action towards being the CEO rather than the solopreneur. Now, that’s not to say everyone who has a VA is a CEO, but at the same time, it is on that journey towards getting there. Being a CEO is a mentality, it’s an intention, it’s a way of looking at work, recognising that you alone cannot be your business. And I say that with all the love in the world, as a personal brand, if you are a personal brand, and then of course, a lot of your businesses you, however, you cannot be all the things behind the scenes of your business. Otherwise, you know, right now, yesterday, I had the worst sore throat and cough, and I’ve still got it a little bit. But what was really nice was being able to take a day off and spend the whole day watching really, I was about to say what I watched back to back and I’m slightly embarrassed that I’ll go on and it was Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, we’ve all got our weaknesses, okay, but I was watching that back to back really safe and the knowledge that my team had everything handled. And that was such a good feeling. That was not a feeling I had early on in my business days. Now what I will say here, as I’m sharing all of this stuff is for those who are earlier on in their business listening to this podcast, I want you to know that the saying I often share with my clients, as we do any kind of transition, any evolution, all of that kind of stuff, all that good stuff, is that there is the push before the crash.

So I’m not denying that some of those solopreneur activities we do in the early stages of our business, where we do so many things to kind of basic understanding of how business works, those kinds of things are relatively unavoidable. Because I tell you, where people outsource their power really early on and outsource too many things early on, they tend to have a huge lack of understanding around them. So I do believe that it’s relatively challenging to launch a successful online business, without at some stage having a period of push. A lot of people who demonstrate a very cushy CEO lifestyle, did not get there on oxygen, and smiling and looking nice on Instagram, they got there through some grind, okay, so I don’t want you to believe that everything I’m sharing today is a way of kind of saying, if you are pushing at any stage of business, you’re doing the wrong thing. I’m very grateful to the version of myself in 2020, who worked very long hours around being a parent. So there is no shame in that, if that’s what you’re doing right now. Bravo, I salute you just know that ultimately, when you hold it in your intention to be a CEO, and take the aligned steps, they’ll happen for you a lot faster. Okay, because I think the biggest challenge we have around this whole solopreneur to CEO landscape chisel is that a lot of people kind of believe at some point it will be delivered to them on a kind of gold platter from out of the sky, something will come down and say you are now a CEO, you are now worthy, hi, your team, we’re going to suddenly make it that you have lots more money, everything’s gonna be great. And that quite frankly just doesn’t happen. Like anything else in business. If you desire something, it’s holding that intention and taking the aligned action towards it daily, no matter how small, so you get to be channelling your inner CEO today.

Okay, so let’s talk about these five steps, the things that helped me move from one place to the other. So firstly, like I said, there’s the intention piece, it has to be an intention, and you need to clearly write down what the CEO version of you does. This is what I like to refer to as the committing to your crush. And yes, I’m loving it. My own terminology is committing to your crush. What do you want your working week to look like? What do you want to be earning? Who do you want to be working with? And this is so exciting, because this is a process that applies. Regardless of where you’re at in business. This is the kind of work that I still do with my multi six figure clients who have evolved beyond the skin that they were previously and yeah, they’ve done good with that version of themselves. And they’ve made some good money, but there is something new calling them in and they’re ready for the next level. And again, it’s an invitation to recommit to your Kirsch, what do you want it to look like? You probably have already ticked off a number of boxes that are making you feel good, and why not call in some more. Sometimes it’s really easy to get overly comfortable with the first version of coach we committed to and not recognise. Actually, we do get to have more. Okay, so what so maybe now you have like, I don’t know meals are easier for you or getting nicer food delivered. Perhaps you know, maybe you’re eating out more often. Maybe you’re wearing nicer clothes, maybe you’ve got that beautiful Will desk delivered. Maybe you have fresh flowers delivered once a week.

But how do we up the ante even further than that, because this is how it works, right? My friends, when it comes to being a CEO, that’s the kind of stuff people share with me, they’re like, I would really like to not have to cook as much, I would like to hire that cleaner. I’d like to hire that gardener, I would like to not work on a Friday and go for a weekly massage. But there’s a point that we get to where we’re like, I think I’ve ticked all these boxes, there are always more boxes to tick, and I challenge you to tick them because you frickin deserve it. So step one is deciding it is so and committing to your cush. Commit to what it is that you want. And then then I challenge you. And this isn’t really step two, this is part of step one, I challenge you to look for the opportunities in your life, where you can bring some of that in right now.

Because being a CEO isn’t just about the money earning, it’s not just about the days you’re working, it can be about the smaller flourishes, bring in some of those smaller flourishes now start to settle into that identity of being the CEO of your business. Because believe me, it’s not about what you choose to do as a CEO, that makes you a CEO. It’s who you choose to be. The decisions that version of you makes in their business, is how it all works. So it always starts with who you’re being, rather than what it is that you’re doing. Hopefully, you’ll trust me on that one. So the next part is, once you have that awareness, like I said, it’s about taking the aligned action. So step two is I’ve written invest in yourself. And what I’ve written below that is self awareness around the subconscious, and nervous system regulation. These are two areas I’ve invested in heavily, really early on in my business. And the reason why I say all these things, again, is that with that self awareness, we can start to recognise where that inner saboteur is going back, you can’t do that. What take that day off what when all your other friends are working then or what were the mums at the school gate thing, when you tell them you’re going for a weekly massage, none of this stuff matters, really, really doesn’t. But that only comes true, we only recognise who that inner saboteur is inside us, and how to speak to them. By having that self awareness in the first place. And understanding how our subconscious works, understanding upper limiting beliefs, limiting beliefs, I mean, all the things, they’re all there, I couldn’t even cover them all in one podcast episode, there’s so many. So subconscious work is integral to what it is that you’re doing. Because most the limitations you put on yourself will have absolutely nothing to do with what’s possible for you.

And instead rooted in fear around what you fear isn’t possible for you. Okay, so we want to let that go. And then similarly, the nervous system regulation, we can tell ourselves all the good stories about what’s possible for us. But if our body is contracting, if our throat is constricting, if we are almost making ourselves sick with the stress of the pressure we’re putting on ourselves, because we’re so aware of the stories we’re telling ourselves, now we’ve got to make it all better than that’s not going to help you either my friend. So the nervous system regulation piece is again, in my mind integral. So those two pieces because you, my friend, are the pillar, you are the oak tree that holds the leaves that takes the nutrients from the ground. If you don’t take those nutrients from the ground, if you don’t take the sun into those leaves, you will just wither it will be unpleasant, gnarly things will start to eat up your insides. Okay, so it all starts with you.

And yes, you’re hearing this from a strategist, someone who supports people with strategy. It all starts with you, I promise you, I can give you the strategy. But if you are getting in your own way, nobody else can help you with that. We can help you recognise it, we can invite you to kind of ask yourself questions to help you get away from it. But you also need to put yourself in a position where you’re surrounding yourself with people who will ask you those questions. That’s why as a little side note, I’m such a big fan of my group programmes, because that’s exactly what we do in their little sneaky promo. Right? So on a practical level, yes, that’s probably what you’re listening to me for systems. What’s one of the first things that will open up your time. So you get to work increasingly in your zone of genius, the area where you come up with all the big, amazing, unique original ideas, where you’re at your most energetically magnetic systems, okay?

We can be looking for Step five, which is support later on. But we can start with the things that are immediately available to you by automating and Systemising all the things you do in your business, but essentially, things like dubsado things like email, marketing, software and template. I mean, there’s so many different things out there that you can use and it’ll be unique to your own business. One of the easiest things you can do is speak to someone who’s a few steps ahead of you in terms of their business and ask them what it is that they’re using. What I found is that we All work better with different types of software. So for example, I’ve been through about six different types of project management tools. I’m currently in bed with Asana, and rather enjoying it. And I’ve been there for a while, I’d say we’re pretty monogamous by now. So it might be that that’s what works for you. But I tried about five till I got to one that she thought this is actually working for me in my team. So play around, and don’t feel like you have to stick something because someone else says it’s the best thing to use, find the one that works for you. And finally, support Yes, the moment you can look for support in your business, the better just do it just do it. And the easiest way to do this, because you might be going well, it’s all very well probably, I would love to have some support. But I don’t have the revenue to create that support. Well, most people don’t have the revenue, or not as much as they’d like, for it to feel comfortable. However, what you’ll find is that you’ll indefinitely be feeling uncomfortable and unable to hire and the longer you sit in that place, the longer it can last for now, the easiest way to hire in a way that feels good, is doing an audit of your own time, recognising what are the time consuming tasks that you’re doing.

And then really simply looking to see if you can find somebody else who can do those same tasks and less time, and also have a clearer idea of what is the value of your hours. If your hours are worth, let’s say, minimum 150 pounds an hour for a client to work with you. And you’re paying a VA anywhere between, I don’t know 20 To 40 pounds an hour. Recognising if they can do double the work in that time, because it’s their zone of genius, not yours. What does that free up for you? What does that make possible for you? What I really like about hiring is it makes me way more intentional about how I’m using my hours. When I say to a team member, you know, go and do this for me. Please don’t say it that way as nice as it please could you do this? I’m very conscious of the time, it’s been freeing up for me. And when I look at my tasks in the week, I ensure that I’m focusing on the needle moving tasks that only I can do, I free up the rest of my team. Because it makes so much more sense. That’s how I have time to do things like record this podcast, being a CEO is a way of thinking. And it’s a shrewd way of thinking because when your business is only you, it’s hard to switch off. When it’s hard to switch off, you’ll inevitably burn yourself out. And when we’re looking at how to create a sustainable business, being a CEO isn’t just a nice to have, it’s an essential. You know, for me, I’m a massive people person. So working with a team makes my experience of running a business feel far less lonely. So it’s not necessarily for everyone. Some people are happy to keep things as they are. And if you’re happy with things as they are then wonderful.

If you are looking to scale your revenue in a way that isn’t going to burn you out, I really struggled to think of many alternatives that don’t involve having that CEO mentality of being happy to hire a being happy to invest in systems. Because ultimately, like I say, you do have incredible expertise. You shouldn’t be wasting them for hours on building funnels, or figuring out ads or sorting out admin. You just quite frankly don’t need to be doing those things. And it’s incredible how fast your finances scale, once you start taking empowered action aligned to those things. Honestly, if there was one thing I’d invest in sooner in my business, would it be a business coach or a team, a team every time when you know what you need? When you know what your zone of genius is, when you know the things that you can outsource effectively. Go and do it. So there we have it, my friends. Next week, I’m going to be talking about the juiciest of all subjects which landed for me recently and I was like How have I not spoken about this yet. And I’m gonna be talking about how to avoid wasting 1000s of pounds on Facebook ads. And I say this with the experience of being a Facebook ads agency owner having run ads for several years for coaches having supported multi six figure live launches, and seven figure evergreen funnels. So I know a thing or two about this and yet so far I have shared nothing. So next week if you have been thinking about running Facebook ads if you are running Facebook ads, if you are terrified of Facebook ads, I will be sharing some empowering knowledge to help you understand when is the right time for you to run Facebook ads, and how do you avoid wasting a lot of money while doing it. There we go speak to you next week. Thanks for listening