Wins and Focus ~ Q2 2024

Starting and running a business is Very Different than being an employee.

This is my first venture into entrepreneurship, and I'm learning A Lot, which may be an understatement.

I started with Mama Mavel in the fall of 2023. I made the website, went to TwitchCon in Las Vegas, came back and dove head first into marketing. Then, my Grandma passed, I lost my momentum for a month, and rebooted in January 2024. I made a new website (the current one), implemented what I'd been learning about marketing, and then had a lovely existential crisis where I completely doubted everything about my ability to affect any change in the world. With the help of some friends and community, I climbed out and am now fairly steady with my attitude.

The first big lesson that I've learned is that Attitude is Key.

When starting a new business, there is Soooo Much to do. There's an infinite amount of things to do. My default programming is to focus on what needs to be done next, and to only see how far I am from where I want to be. This can be very discouraging if that's all that I let myself see, which is part of what led to the existential crisis.

What I learned is that it's way more effective, to focus on Wins. When I look at how far I've come, not just with my business, but also in my life, I feel hope. I see that change can happen, and motivation comes easily.   Thank you, Tosha Schore and Scott Simon, for pointing me in the direction of The Gap and The Gain, which does a great job of teaching WHY you need to focus on Wins.

My new practice is to every night (ok, most nights), write down three wins for the day. This has definitely made a difference in my attitude. I feel more positive, more hopeful and generally happier.

Another book that Tosha recommended was She Builds. The two big take-a-ways for me from this book are to be transparent and work in a way that feels good.

Being transparent has been a value of mine for a long time. It goes well with learning. If I admit that I'm learning, that I don't have everything figured out and am trying new things, then when I mess up, I can own that without shame. It makes it possible to even do the new things! As a recovering perfectionist, this is a big deal.

It's also supportive to share what the wins are and what your focus is on at the moment. Hence, this blog post.

Since I'm so fresh in this business thing, I want to document regularly the process. Hopefully, then, when the next bit of discouragement comes along, I can easily remember how far I've come and what I've learned.

In no particular order, here are my wins so far:

• I have a website that I love.
• I have 60 people on my mailing list. In March, I didn't have any.
• I have a class that I'm proud of and three people have paid me for it.
• I have a welcome email series that I love.
• I have started networking with other parenting coaches and instructors.
• I have my talks planned out for the next four months.
• I have a recording studio set up in my home that makes it easy to record video.
• I have a small entrepreneurs support group that I participate in.
• I've set up livestreaming to both youtube and twitch.
• I've sent out weekly newsletters.
• I've learned Kajabi, and can do advanced template editing.

Here are some lessons so far:

• I've tried doing static social media posts with stock photos and have learned that those aren't very effective.
• I've experimented with AI and have a sense of what it's good for and what it's not very good for.
• I've settled on my website and class platform. There are many options, and the best option is the option that is already working. It's easy to get distracted by fancy new tech, and that's not what builds relationship.

Here's what I'm focusing on through the summer:

Building relationships and talking to people. This is what it's all about. I want to find effective ways to let people get to know me, so that I can give them as much support as they need.   This looks like conversations - talking on podcasts, on panels, in parenting groups, online. My growth edge is participating online in discussion groups. Finding authentic ways to be helpful and positive.