How To Start A Social Media Agency: And Make Money In 30 Days Or Less

Social Media Agency

If you’ve been considering starting a business that you can work from anywhere, getting into social media marketing makes total sense.

In this article, I will give you an overview of why I think starting a social media marketing today is a great idea and how you can make money in 30 days or less.

Let’s roll.

Social Media Management Market Size

While social media marketing is not a new business idea, the market forecast presents a bright future for anyone with online marketing skills who loves social media and is open to doing the work it takes to provide excellent service.

The global social media management market size will grow to USD 17.7 billion by 2023. Source. Market size matters when it comes to starting a new business. However, market size isn’t the only factor. You also need to consider the market needs.

Social Media Management Market Size

Forbes reported that 60% of small business owners say they haven’t seen any return on investment from their social media efforts.

Challenges Small Business Owners Face On Social Media

If you Google the top challenges that small business owners face when it comes to their social media marketing, you’ll find this list of social media challenges:

Challenge 1: So many platforms to choose from and not knowing where to focus.

Challenge 2: Lack of resources to meet the users’ expectations.

Challenge 3: It’s difficult to measure conversions.

Challenge 4: There aren’t enough hours in a workweek.

Challenge 5: Not knowing how to set up the right goals.

According to Forbes, it takes 32 hours a month to manage a single social media platform correctly, that’s roughly 6-8 hours per week. Only 25% of small business owners spend 6-10 hours per week on social media. This isn’t because they underestimate the value; they just don’t have the time.  

What Pains A Social Media Marketer Solve?

Social media management helps users with a wide variety of tasks to develop their social channels and effectively gain visibility amongst social media users. 

A key factor to generate clients as soon as possible is your unique value proposition. All you need is to describe the pain that you’re trying to solve with your services, for a specific market.

A very simple way to craft your UVP is taking the 5 challenges listed above and turn one or two into your UVP.

Example of how to present your unique social media marketing value proposition: 

I do social media marketing for business owners who want to turn social media accounts into income-generating channels and have no time to lose.

In this example, you’re solving 2 pains for small business owners, so they will see 2 benefits:

  1. Save time
  2. Make more money

Now that you have your UVP, your next step is your business identity. 

To make things very simple, start with your name. Buy a couple of domain names (including yours if it’s available) in GoDaddy.com

Make sure your online first impression is polished. What do I mean with this?

  1. You have a professional Facebook profile and a business page
  2. Your Instagram is a business profile
  3. Your LinkedIn BIO is updated
  4. Your business is listed in Google (this is free) 

Crafting Your Elevator Speech As A New Social Media Management Agency

When you’re about to start and want to bring clients as quick as possible, it’s perfectly ok to pitch small business owners with the following message:

Hello, I’m ______. I’m about to launch my social media marketing agency. I would love to partner with small business owners who see the value in having a personalized and reliable social media specialist who can do the heavy lifting while generating conversions. Since I am starting and want to build a portfolio, the first 10 clients will have a special rate.

Share this message with everyone you know. 

Try to come up with a list of at least 100 names so you can get to those 10 new clients as soon as possible. 

Facebook Groups are a great resource to find business owners who want to collaborate with emerging marketers. In case you’re interested, I lead 2 Facebook Groups and can connect you with some opportunities. Click here to join my Marketing for Greatness Network. 

Now that you have the tools you need to prospect, let’s discuss pricing.

How Much To Charge For Social Media Marketing?

Watch out for platforms like Fiverr.com, Upwork.com, and Freelancer.com. They have freelancers who are willing to offer social media management services at very low rates. I want to give you the heads up on how to handle those business owners who think that social media management is going to cost them $5 per hour.

How Much To Charge For Social Media Marketing?

Stay away from business owners who want premium services paying $5 per hour rate.

Set up your minimum hourly rate (even if you don’t disclose this with your future client). If you’re not confident about charging these prices, getting certified in social media marketing will help.

Social Media Marketing Pricing Plans

Social media beginner level: $15- $20 per hour. Expect to work about 10 hours a week between your work and research. Total of hours per month: 45. Average monthly fees: $750. 

You could consider discounting your learning time, so your rate could be $600 per month. 

Social media intermediate level: $30- $50 per hour. Factor your time spent on strategy and a fee from a social media manager, beginner level, so you can get more clients. 25 hours per month at $50 is $1,250. Expect to pay your manager by tasks, about $200 per account, so you have a net of $1,000.

You could get paid $2,000-$5,000 a month if you add other projects into the mix and create social media marketing packages, with add-ons such as:

  1. Copywriting for website
  2. Lead pages
  3. Email marketing management
  4. Additional platforms such as Youtube, Pinterest, Houzz, Etsy, etc.

How To Find Social Media Marketing Clients

I hope you’re excited about the possibility of owning a social media marketing agency. Hey! Imagine if you get 5 clients at $600 that’s $3,000 per month while working from home in your PJs! 

Finding clients is all about leads! 

Memorize this: leads are the heart of your business.

Just one thing, please! A lead is not a lead until it shows an interest in your offer. When you create your list of 100’s of names, those are NOT leads. Those are suspects. Once you pitch them and they want more information, they are prospects. And once they actually accept a meeting with you, they are leads.

How To Find Social Media Marketing Clients

So, how can you find leads then?

My Top 3 Lead Generation Activities

You will be surprised here! I’ve built 4 businesses: a law firm, 2 e-commerce businesses, and a marketing firm, without ANY advertising. 

My top 3 lead generation activities have been:

  1. Word of mouth
  2. Organic marketing online 
  3. Networking events

Why should Marketers care about WOMM?

If you could master what has been identified as the most valuable form of marketing—the one that consumers trust above all others and the one that is most likely to drive sales for your company — would you instead choose to ignore it or leave it to chance?

Seriously! Start with WOMM. Work with that list and pitch your suspects without any hesitation. If you think you need help with prospecting skills, take a few hours a week to learn how to prospect. And remember, practice makes perfect.

Learn about Success Club- $10 a month will give you access to members-only content, marketing tools, and more!
Learn about Success Club- $10 a month will give you access to members-only content, marketing tools, and more!

Partnership marketing will be your next step.

8 Effective Partnership Marketing Examples

A great way to get clients faster is through partnerships. I’m not talking about partners who share equity. I’m referring to marketing partners who can generate win-win opportunities.

Some of the most effective marketing partnerships to consider:

  1. Affiliation: Known as affiliate marketing. It’s a collaborative effort where the primary brand offers a product or service and the secondary brand benefits from commissions earned per lead or sale. 
  1. Content: Content partnerships can happen when brands collaborate to either a) produce content or b) share links. Link sharing means linking to the partner’s content from their own site. This provides exposure, aligns both brands together, and advances SEO.
  1. Distribution: Where one partner agrees to cross-market or bundle another partner’s product or services into their own distribution channels to target the agreed customer base. This can happen by cross-marketing and/or creating bundles. 
  1. Charitable: A primary brand sponsors or markets itself with a charitable organization or cause. You can promote their cause and they promote your event. This helps with brand awareness and cultural influence.
  1. Joint products or services: For example, you offer social media management and our firm offers SEO. The key here is that the service is an amalgamation of both products aiming at mutual target audiences. Example: white label products.
  1. Licensing: Licensing is a business arrangement in which one company gives another company permission to manufacture its product using its brand image for an agreed payment or partnership.
  1. Loyalty: Loyalty program or ambassador program. A retention marketing technique that offers consumers a reward in return for increased usage. Have you heard about Instagram ambassadors? That’s what this is about!
  1. Sponsorship: The marketing tactic of placing a brand alongside a particular event, displaying itself as a partner or supporter, with the objective to increase brand recognition and reputation.

Consider Niche Marketing: Facebook Marketing Agency Or Instagram Marketing Agency

There’s a good chance that you meet an established marketing agency who is serving accounts with bigger budgets and need a platform-specific service. 

You could market particular social media services such as:

  1. Facebook community management and Facebook Groups admin
  2. Instagram marketing, Instagram outreach 
  3. Facebook chat management
  4. Customer service chat
  5. Appointments management
  6. Instagram stories
  7. Instant posts 
  8. Facebook live coordinator
  9. CRM integration
  10. Shopping cart management

Just to name a few.

Social Media Marketing Tools

I’ve constructed this guide to help entrepreneurs and small business owners without unlimited marketing budgets understand the erratic world of social media. 

This ultimate guide gives you my favorite social media marketing tools that you can use to boost your social media without breaking your bank account.

I’m here to simplify your game by telling you exactly which tools I use as a small business owner and strategist with over 10 years in digital marketing.  

My Go-To Social Media Scheduling Tools

I will recommend you tools that will help you plan and schedule posts a month ahead.

Scheduling Tool #1: Social Media Marketing Planner

You’ve probably seen fancy calendars and planners. I’m actually not a big fan of those scrapbooking style tools.

I rather get things done. I guess it comes with having a strict agenda and plenty of things to do.

So, for simplicity, your calendar can be just a Word Doc or Google Doc. 

Here’s the format I use to plan my social media marketing every month:

Just think about this, on a Google document, super simple.

Part 1: Theme of the month:  Growth. We want to share content that inspires, educates, and invites people to consider us for their business growth needs. 

Part 2: Target audience: small business owners in their first 3 years of their business. 

Part 3: Events of the month: Webinar week 2 and Networking event, week 4. 

Part 4: Blogs to publish during the month:  Ultimate guide of social media and Instagram tutorial

Part 5: Marketing Campaigns:  #MembersMonday #SummerSocial

Scheduling Tool #2: Facebook Creator Studio

Your Facebook Business Page comes with the option to schedule posts in the future. Now with Creator Studio, if you have multiple pages, you can post and schedule multiple pages, all from the same dashboard. 

Scheduling Tool #2: Facebook Creator Studio

Creator Studio integrates Instagram as well. You are able to see Instagram’s content library from Facebook. We still can’t post to Instagram from Creator Studio, but I won’t be surprised if that will come soon.

Scheduling Tool #3: Facebook Group Scheduler

Facebook Groups are a great way to grow your audience on social media. It’s by far one of my favorite social media tools. 

Scheduling Tool #3: Facebook Group Scheduler

Scheduling Tool #4: Hootsuite | Buffer | MeetEdgar

In full transparency, I use Hootsuite for my agency.  I like how authenticates and I can just add team members and assign accounts. So, for agencies, I believe they are staying competitive. 

For solopreneurs, Hootsuite’s new pricing model might not make sense. 

You only need a scheduler like Hootsuite for your Twitter and LinkedIn, since Facebook has its own scheduler.  Buffer is a good alternative.

For those of you looking for more robust social media management tools that can offer curation and content suggestions, MeetEdgar is a great option.

Scheduling Tool #5: Later | Planoly

For those of you who are 100% Instagram marketing, you then need a social media management tool that specializes in the platform.

My research narrowed to 2 options and I chose Later.com. I liked their ability to add teams so I can get my team working on our clients while still having access to the accounts. Some of my clients use Planoly.com and are very happy too.

Later and Planoly also work on Pinterest.

Scheduling Tool #6: Sprout Social

Sprout Social does what Buffer and Hootsuite do but in a more complex way, but this platform is best for small-large agencies as their analytics feature beats Hootsuite and Buffer hands down. They provide full reporting details for their premium members, breaking down each account in bits. You can even compare your competitor’s figure and see where they are and how best to tackle them. It’s that deep.

The downside with Sprout Social is the fact that it is far more expensive than Buffer and Hootsuite put together and they have no free plan, just a 30-day trial. Sprout Social works with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Read my Ultimate Guide on Social Media Marketing Tools 2020 Edition.

Marketing For Greatness – Marketing Partnerships

We love to partner with social media managers who are looking to get more clients and want to learn best practices, strategies, and advice from marketing & sales experts. 

We provide resources, templates, scripts, training, and certification, and powerful connections to help you thrive.

Let’s make it happen!

Schedule a virtual coffee where we can discuss how to collaborate.

Girl, Wash Your Dirty Laundry (How To Get Rid Of Anxiety In 6 Steps)

Ladies, it’s time to have a real talk and touch on a very sensitive topic: how to get rid of anxiety. As a mentor, I get to work with many entrepreneurs who constantly tell me “I’m overwhelmed,” “I’m anxious about my cash flow”, “I can’t focus on my business with so many things going on”. Very often, their levels of anxiety and depression blur their vision, and that’s when a marketing and sales strategist comes in handy!  

The struggle to keep yourself motivated, focused, and happy is real–especially when you’re a new entrepreneur. 

I’m glad you’re reading this article today because it’s filled with resources for people just like you. Keeping things real is one of my biggest goals with you. 

I’m sure you have read the book Girl, Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis. So I wanted to add my own secret sauce to get rid of anxiety by “washing your dirty laundry” (negative thoughts).

Disclaimer —-  I’m not a therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist. If you are experiencing sudden changes in your mood, please consult a doctor. 

Have You Ever Felt Like Your Passion And Hustle Are In Jeopardy Because Of Your Own Thoughts? 

I get it. This thing called entrepreneurship is like riding a rollercoaster, each and every day. 

Sometimes, you’re up and sometimes you’re down. And when you’re feeling down, anxious, or unhappy, it’s as if nothing can bring you back up again. 

I don’t want you to think that I’m a woman full of positive thoughts because my life is so simple. 

Girl, I’ve been through a lot. Raised in poverty, surrounded by alcoholism, suicide, family members in jail, and drug abuse. I went to an accelerated high school program so I could start college at age 15. You might say, “Wow!” 

I say, “Why not?!”  

I became an accountant (100% free because I received a scholarship from being Magna Cum Laude). Then I went to law school (not free, but graduated Magna Cum Laude). I thought that being a good person and having good grades was all you needed to make it in life. And just when I thought I was done with my struggle, my next season of struggles started. Divorce, major financial losses, car repo, house foreclosure, business losses … more than I can even write in this short article. 

Therapy and coaching weren’t as accessible as they are today. As a young girl dealing with adult problems, I had to endure and mature pretty quickly in life. And because of everything I have experienced and overcome, I’m writing a book about my systems to punch adversity in the face! 

So trust me here, when I tell you I know how it feels when life doesn’t give you too many breaks, I mean it. The Jessica you see today is a product of many hours of healing sessions and a lot of inner work. I’m happily married for 12 years now and have 4 children — ages 19, 10, 8, and 5.

When You’re Living An Unhappy Life 

According to MindBodyGreen, here are a few symptoms of unhappiness:

  • Feeling like a victim of your circumstances 
  • Feeling helpless, hopeless, or pessimistic
  • Comparing yourself to other people and never feeling good enough
  • Feeling depressed, anxious, or chronically worried

If you can relate to any of this, then it’s time to be honest with yourself and how you’re really feeling.  According to American psychologist Albert Ellis, it’s never about the actual thing or event that makes us upset, it’s how we interpret and perceive it. 

As entrepreneurs, our business empowers our lives. I’m sure you have big dreams for your business, so you can have a better life as well. 

It’s very important to keep our mental health in check. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 1 in 5 US adults–43.8 million, or 18.5 percent–experience mental illness in a given year. Entrepreneurs are at an ever higher risk than the average American to experience depression, anxiety and ADHD–only the top three of an extensive list.  

If all of this is a bit heavy to digest, here’s another way of looking at it. I invite you to think of your anxiety or depression as negative thoughts. Your negative thoughts are just like your dirty laundry. 

When you have dirty laundry, what do you do with them? Do you wear them or do you throw it in the wash so you have a fresh set of clothes? I’m going to assume that you picked the latter option. Your negative thoughts are the dirty laundry that needs to go through the wash cycle.

Change your thoughts and watch yourself shift from unhappy to happy. If you find yourself going down the rabbit hole of negative thoughts, you have to stop yourself immediately. The sooner you stop your pattern of negative thinking, the quicker you can begin to work towards a positive state of mind.  

Sounds easy, right? It’s not. And you will agree with me on this. Sometimes you can’t help it.

It’s very hard to break the habit of listening to our negative inner dialogue. We are conditioned to do the same thing over and over again. But why would we allow ourselves to continue to feel unhappy? Because we never truly attack the negative thoughts from another level of consciousness. 

Here’s my recipe to get rid of those negative thoughts in six simple steps. 

Let’s Wash That Dirty Laundry 

First Step: Mental Cleansing

Second Step: Name That Emotion

Third Step: Environment

Fourth Step: Focus On The Solution, Not In The Problem

Fifth Step: Your Best State of Vibration

First Step: Mental Cleansing

Sixth Step: Write A New Life Contract Where You Accept 100% Responsibility

These days, people do juice cleanses, and liquid detoxes to cleanse the body. Why don’t we do the same thing for our minds and our emotional baggage? 

The first step is to release and cleanse your mind of resentment, anger, and clutter that is keeping you from your happiness. Holding on to grudges and events from your past, make it that much harder to live in the moment. 

So how does mental cleansing work? First, take stock of all the things that are cluttering your mind. Ask yourself, “What is bothering me right now?” Identifying your “what” is crucial in changing the story that you’re telling yourself. 

When you know what’s upsetting you, or making you frustrated or sad, you can then bring it out from the darkness into the light. Awareness is key here. 

This is your opportunity to let it all out. Don’t hold your emotions back. Don’t filter yourself. In order to move forward from whatever baggage you’re holding on to, you have to get clear on what you haven’t let go of. You can practice this by writing it out in your journal, by yourself, or with a trusted friend. 

Some key thoughts to ponder:

  • ✔️Be sincere with what happened
  • ✔️Write down “the what” 
  • ✔️Read and reflect 
  • ✔️Has this happened before? Is there a pattern? 
  • ✔️Are you reacting by default? 

Second Step: Name That Emotion

Putting a name to your emotions bridges the gap between your thoughts and feelings. Being honest with yourself about how you feel, rather than saying, “I’m fine, no big deal,” will allow you to gain self-awareness and a better understanding of the root cause.  

While naming your emotions isn’t the end goal, it does open up the door to calm your emotions down. If you want to reduce anxiety, for example, instead of saying I’m anxious, I’m afraid, you can say I’m concerned about ___. 

Another word that is overused is overwhelmed. It means defeat completely. Do you really feel like that? Let’s find another word to describe that emotion. Be specific. You can say I’m overbooked or overworked and need a break. Or as simple as I’m feeling tired. Notice how just by renaming the emotions you feel different?

Giving a name to your emotion also allows you to identify your triggers. According to Psychology Today, when you can identify what is triggering your emotional reactions, you give yourself the chance to feel differently (if you choose to do so). 

We are washing our dirty laundry. We better be transparent here or else we won’t get what we want. It’s like washing your laundry with softener instead with detergent. You will think your clothes are ok but they are never fully washed and clean. 

Some key thoughts to ponder:

  • ✔️Am I offended? If yes, why?
  • ✔️What were my expectations?
  • ✔️Is my ego in the middle of my emotions?
  • ✔️Is there a way I can take a look at this situation by putting myself in the other’s shoes?

Third Step: Environment

Take a look around you. Is your environment clean, or filled with clutter? Do you have people in your life that uplift you, or bring you down with their drama and toxicity? Are you getting enough sleep for you to wake up energized? Do you feel like you’re being productive, or dragging throughout the day? We spend most of our day working so it would make sense that we enjoy and find meaning in what we do. 

The state of our mental and physical state has a direct effect on our emotional state. 

There are many things we can’t control. When it comes to a few things in our mental and physical state, we 100% have control over it. 

Consider these small subtle shifts:

  • ✔️Finding a new group of friends or connecting with good old ones
  • ✔️Joining a gym
  • ✔️Decluttering your drawers
  • ✔️Cleaning your car out
  • ✔️Getting to bed early
  • ✔️Staying hydrated throughout the day
  • ✔️Trying something new and fun

I’ve been told that the 4th step is where the real transformation happens! So get ready!

Fourth Step: Focus On The Solution, Not In The Problem

It can feel difficult to move forward and focus on a viable solution when you’re feeling unhappy. In particular, when you are going through the pain. 

Think about the results that you want. Anxiety means a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. You want to create the outcome you want with your thoughts. Yes, you have the power to do so! 

In my opinion, many people confuse the Law of Attraction and start writing affirmations, while missing a very important element: The Law of Vibration. When I understood this Universal Law, everything made total sense! 

Bob Proctor states that attraction is a law, but it is a secondary law. The primary law is the Law of Vibration. It is the basic law which states that everything in the Universe is moving. In Bob’s own words, “The law of vibration is one of the basic laws of the universe. It decrees that everything moves, nothing rests, and we literally live in an ocean of motion.” This is because everything is made of energy. Your body is made of cells, and cells are composed of molecules and atoms. What created atoms and molecules are the energies vibrating at different frequencies.

You activate your brain cells, and you set up a vibration in your body. When you move your eyes to read this sentence, you activate your brain cells to do it. This also means to say that the vibration you are in, will dictate what you attract into your life.

If you are constantly worried and troubled, you will attract a lot of negative energy. And what you fear will come to you. This is why people often say, “You will become what you think about most of the time.

If we apply this concept to our dirty laundry, taking the time to think about the results you want is like using your favorite laundry detergent. You want a certain fragrance, don’t you? You can take your mind to think about that outcome. The same thing happens in real life!  

Some key thoughts to ponder:

  • ✔️What do I really want to happen?
  • ✔️How will my life change once this problem is solved?
  • ✔️If it’s about cash, how much exactly do you need?
  • ✔️Is there a conversation you need to have? 
  • ✔️What are the resources that you need to get what you want? 

Fifth Step: Your Best State of Vibration

Ultimately, you want to make sure that after the mental cleansing, naming your emotions (which can feel draining), and focusing on solutions, you replenish yourself with plenty of self-care. Your goal is to get rid of that brain fog by self-inducing joy! 

Maybe for you, joy means to take a warm bath. For someone else, it could be to go on a long walk.  For me, it’s about playing a song I love and singing and dancing! Self-care allows you to fill up your cup before you can pour into others. Do what sparks your joy! Your happiness starts today by smiling and visualizing you rising all the way to the top.

Once you find yourself in a better vibration, you might want to check in with your vision board! Don’t have one? Make one! Here’s a video when I’m explaining vision boards:

Some key thoughts to ponder:

  • ✔️Is there a way you can do a rehearsal of you- being that NEW person? 
  • ✔️Do you need to remove yourself from places or people?
  • ✔️Givers gain! How can you put yourself in a position to give so you shift some of the energy that is keeping you from joy? 

Sixth Step: Write A New Life Contract Where You Accept 100% Responsibility

At this point in the cycle, you have identified your emotions, identified what is the solution you want, and have a vision of the life you want to live. The last step is as important as the very first one. It’s about your life contract.

You can’t change what happened to you, but you can change how you respond to it.  

If you haven’t, I recommend you reading Don Miguel Ruiz’s The 4 Agreements

The 4 Agreements is a great formula to live by. Honestly, every time I feel offended, betrayed, or let down in any way, I review these agreements and always find one where I could have practiced a bit more. This helps me to take 100% responsibility for the situation and move forward with a new life lesson.  

My Puppy Summer Died From A Heat Stroke 

In case you missed this update, my puppy Summer died a few months ago. I was devastated. The process, from the time we took her to the ER to her very last breath, felt like a knife was inserted in my chest, and the doctors kept stabbing me deeper and deeper.  

I needed to put my pain through this cycle that I’m sharing with you. I was feeling guilty, depressed, and thinking about what I could have or should have done. I needed to call her doctor and requested a scientific explanation of a heat stroke. This helped me to accept the facts and getting conscious about our loss. I needed to take some time to internalize it, forgive myself, and make an agreement of what happened. 

My version of the story before this cycle: My puppy died apparently of a heat stroke, but everything was so fast that I’m not even sure what happened. I think I should have told the vets to go all in and treat her and maybe she would be alive today.  

My version of the story today: My puppy Summer died from a heat stroke. I wasn’t aware of how dangerous the heat was until this happened. Sometimes you get to learn lessons in a painful way, but at least I have Leo (our other dog) and for sure this won’t ever happen again! I am enjoying Leo, playing with him out of Texas’ heat!

Picture of Summer (and I’m full of tears writing this)

If you notice in this example above, I needed to come into a new agreement with myself and rewrite my story. Notice how the new version of my story has eliminates the references to resentment. That was the emotion I needed to clear. By switching from a resentment state of mind to a forgiveness and acceptance state of mind, I am able to heal faster. 

I did the same exercise with my feelings towards my failed marriage. It helped me rewrite my story in a way that I don’t feel like a failure or a victim of infidelity. I invite you to use this process with every situation that is hurting you so you can experience some healing.

Some key thoughts to ponder:

  • ✔️Can you say what lesson you learned from your situation?
  • ✔️Can you identify where you may have breached any of the 4 agreements?
  • ✔️Moving forward, how will you interpret and share this story?

Closing Thoughts

Our mind is a magnet and attracts more of what we’re thinking about. We all have those days when we wake up and don’t feel our best. 

Try to go through these steps as soon as possible. Your business needs YOU! Your calling and life purpose NEED you. Not being present, happy, uplifted, and full of joy is a disservice to your gifts! 

I’m not a life coach, but I am a heck of an activator. If you ever need to speak with someone who is in a happy mode, I’m here my friend! My promise: serve you as an inspiration while being real and raw! 

The steps above will help shift your mindset and mood. The next time you feel unhappy, remember that when you consciously aim to change your perspective, you will be happier. 

 

4 Ways To Stay Motivated To Build Your Business

Getting and staying motivated is vital, whether you’re striving to reach a business goal, starting a new venture, or managing the day-to-day operations of your business. Loss of motivation can chip away at your confidence and hurt your potential for success. The more motivated you are, the more forward-moving momentum you will create and the easier it will be to tackle ambitious goals and reach higher levels of success in your business.

Follow these tips to get motivated, climb out of the slump, and position yourself so you can reach each and every one of your targets.

1) Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

They say don’t compare your first chapter with somebody else’s 15th chapter. It’s impossible not to compare yourself to others. Even if you feel like a million bucks.

It will happen.

One day, you will be feeling like a rockstar and you get plenty done, and then bam, you get an email or hear a comment that destroys your self-confidence. Your mind goes into fear, guilt, resentment. You feel anxious. You convince yourself that you’re not good enough and nobody believes you. And you behave like you don’t deserve anything. You can’t stay motivated.

When you start comparing yourself to others, your mind goes to a dark zone, like a hidden cave and it gets lost. It’s a labyrinth and you have no idea how to get out. That’s a problem.

What you don’t realize when you’re comparing yourself to others is that you are not on the same chapter as them. Of course, there are people better than you and they are doing all those incredible things. We can’t hide that.  But even those people who are better than you, they’ve had tons of downsides and rejections and lessons learned from the past 14 chapters.

You are just starting your story. You don’t have the same experiences as them. That doesn’t mean that you’re less amazing as them! It’s just that you are only starting so you shouldn’t expect all the things that are happening to them to just happen to you overnight.

You are amazing. Please say and write, “I am amazing”. There is a reason why you were born, the date you were born, the place where you were born, from the mother and father you were born. Claim your uniqueness and recognize your progress, removing all kinds of references of where you are supposed to be. That doesn’t exist. Everyone has their own journey.

2) Get Used To Feeling Uncomfortable

Finding your way to claim your success story feels scary since there is no written path that guarantees you’ll pass this class.  Some days you feel like a rockstar and other days you feel like you’re at rock bottom.

I have good news and bad news for you. Which one do you want first?

I will start with the good news.  The good news! You are not in school anymore. Big news! There’s no class you need to pass. You see? The adulting thing … remember when you were in high school and you wanted to turn 18 so badly to do whatever you want? Aha? That also included paying bills and you were SOOOO NOT ready! I wish I could turn the clock for you but we can’t. So we have to get used to certain things, even when they feel uncomfortable.

If you want to achieve success, you will have to take on greater than normal risks. This is why it feels scary; because it should be scary.

I personally think so many entrepreneurs lack planning for their long term goals. They are good at thinking about the short term. They set up themselves for disappointment because they simply have the wrong expectations. They mostly assume that things will go smooth and easy and when obstacles hit, they are not equipped adequately. They struggle with staying motivated.

If you find yourself with lack of motivation especially during difficult times, rather, learn to live with the anxiety that comes along with starting something new or the fear that will always be there when you are pushing out of your comfort zone. Feel those feelings but do it anyway.

Afraid to speak in public? Do it anyway. Afraid to get rejected? Ask anyway. Afraid to look terrible on camera? Do it anyway! What you’re not realizing is that- all those stories that you tell yourself- are only on your head. Nobody is thinking about that. This sounds terrible, but most people are just pursuing their own agenda. They are not thinking about you! So you just do the thing that scares you, even when you’re afraid and you will quickly realize “you’re not that bad”.

3) Stay Motivated Daily

I’m assuming you want to live a life full of joy. No boss. No limits. You control your schedule, the people you work for, and your financial goals are endless. Am I right? Maybe, maybe not. The answer will depend on what motivates YOU. If there is something we need to figure out is your desire.

Desire is a strong wish to do or have something.

It’s impossible to stay motivated as an entrepreneur if you don’t understand your desire. What takes you out of bed or turns on the fire alarm so you become unstoppable? What makes you work the extra mile?

And we aren’t talking about the desire to make money – everyone wants to be wealthy. What is your true desire? It could be the desire to give your kids a better life than you had, or to buy your parents a home. Maybe it’s the desire to travel the world and not worry about the cost. Perhaps you want to retire at 40 so that you can coach your kids in sports.

Motivation without desire is hollow. You might think you’re motivated, but you’re faking it. Once you discover your desire, you won’t have any trouble moving forward – even during rough patches.

How bad do you really want it? Motivate yourself every day. It is important to read, listen and watch motivational material. Feed your brain with stuff that inspires you. Surround yourself with anything that reminds you of why you have to keep trying.

A few things that help me:

  • Making my bed as soon as I wake up. Makes me feel accomplished.
  • Going to the gym before starting my work agenda. Makes me start with a fresh mindset.
  • Take more breaks and naps during the day. Don’t miss to take your personal time.
  • Keep my space organized. It helps me stay focused.
  • Do a list of 6 things to complete each day. I love when it’s 1 pm and I’m almost done.
  • Plan my days considering my energy budget.
  • Soround myself with like minded people.

4) Adopt A Non-Quitting Strategy

More than intelligence or wealth, what separates the truly successful entrepreneurs from the rest is the fact that they never give up. They never give up no matter how they started or how many times they have failed in the past. We would not be enjoying Harry Potter, Disneyland or even Windows today if the founders decided to quit early on.

“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” – Vince Lombardi

Never giving up sounds so cliché, but the repetition is justified because it’s the only choice you have if you want to get ahead. To master this art, you have to form habits which will become a lifestyle.

People quit more often than they have to because they fail to be honest with themselves and everyone around them. Dishonesty builds walls around individuals and opportunities. Be honest with who you are, what you want and how you feel. If you need help, ask!

Do you really like the way your business is doing right now? Or do you pretend you like it because of what everyone around you expects? If you don’t, don’t be surprised when you find yourself exhausted and wanting to give up most of the time.

Every time you fail in doing something, remember that only your actions failed but you are not a failure. Be objective, examine why it didn’t work and find a way to make it better. As long as your heart is beating, there is always a chance to try one more time. Don’t take failure personally. You’re here for the long term and you have a big-picture mindset. You fall, you stand up.

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 24 years old. Never looked back. I’ve seen it all: the good, the bad, and the ugly. One thing that has kept me going when things get sour is the mindset. You gotta learn how to shift your mindset. Winners win; never quit.

If these ideas don’t successfully help you get you motivated, spend some time exploring what gets you excited and ready to get the work done. Everyone has a trigger that will push them into productive mode. It may take a little trial and error to find, but it is there if you take the time to look.

Find me on Instagram! If you’re in Austin, check my upcoming events. 

Jessica Campos, BBA, JD

Jessica Campos Social Media Marketing trainer, author, recovered attorney passionate about Forensic Marketing and Social Media Marketing. Jessica is known for breaking the record as the first Hispanic woman reaching the highest rank with Beachbody and helping thousands of individuals achieving physical and financial success. Her success systems took her to start her own Marketing Agency and her own Tribe of Professionals & Entrepreneurs. Austin’s #1 Networking Happy Hour.