the bossbabe podcast - 293. 2-3x Your Business This Year With This ONE Question

Episode Date: June 1, 2023

If you could 2 to 3x your business this year by answering one question, would you do it? It may sound too good to be true, but my life changed and I started getting the most incredible results once I answered it honestly, no matter how big or scary the answer seemed. I’ve gone from burnout to falling back in love with my business. I’m more profitable with less on my calendar and I’m pulling back the curtain to share exactly how I did it.  When I came back to work after maternity leave I was trying to hold it all together as I was battling burnout and the business wasn’t in the same place as it was before I left. I knew I couldn’t keep up and keep my happiness. Seeing other entrepreneurs that were doing business differently made me take a serious look at my role, let go of a lot of the things I was holding, and even made the difficult decision to let go of some of my team. In this episode, I’m sharing what has happened in my life and business since focusing on only the few things that are moving the needle forward + allowing me to be more profitable with less on my calendar. You don’t need to have millions of followers, a full team, or a crisis like I did to change your business. It all comes down to building a life with a business machine behind it, and the “machine” is so simple. HIGHLIGHTS How to get clear on the ONE THING you need to focus on to 2 to 3x your business. The 5 gears you need to have in place to build a business machine (and it’s so simple!). It’s possible to fall back in love with your business after burnout - I’m sharing exactly how I did it. The LIE about what it takes to make more + how to build a massively successful business. LINKS Save your seat for James Wedmore’s totally free, 3 day Rise Of The Digital CEO Training at http://www.bossbabe.com/rise  FOLLOW bossbabe: @bossbabe.inc Natalie Ellis: @iamnatalie YouTube Channel: @bossbabetv

A boss babe is unapologetically ambitious and paves the way for herself and other women to rise, keep going and fighting on. She is on a mission to be her best self in all areas. It's just believing in yourself. Confidently stepping outside her comfort zone to create her own vision of success. Welcome back to the Boss Babe podcast. I've got to say, I am loving creating more podcast episodes. I think of all content I create, this is by far my favorite. I am back at work this week. I took the whole of last week off because my family was out to visit, which was incredible. I haven't seen my mom since Noemi was six weeks old and she just turned one. I'm like, how do I have a one-year-old? This is insane to me, but it was just amazing. I just took the whole week off, which is also crazy considering we're in a launch right now.

Like if I told myself a couple of years ago, I'd be doing that. I'd be like, you're crazy, but it's so possible. And I also didn't know that I was going to take the whole week off. I knew I would want to spend time with them, but when they came out, I was just really feeling like I want to be super present. I don't think I did anything on my phone and it felt really, really good. We celebrated Noemi. We just dropped in together. We actually did a plant medicine journey together. Happy to talk more on that if any of you are interested. It was incredible. So we had my mom out, her partner, Stephen's mom, and my sister-in-law was actually out with us for a month, which is so amazing. So yeah, it was incredible.

And so, okay, I want to dive into this episode. It's going to be a good one and maybe one that's going to call you forward because it definitely called me forward. And what I want to talk about is there's one question. You could two to three times your business with this one question this year alone. It is a big question. And so I want to share it with you

because when it was asked to me, it really called me forward to answer in a way that meant I had to take action. I couldn't say the answer and then not do anything about it. So I'm going to share that with you and hopefully it really supports you in being able to make some big changes this year. Before we dive in, I want to make sure you are registered for Rise of the Digital CEO. It is a free three-day event that James Wedmore is running. I know you know who he is now after those incredible podcast episodes we did together. This event honestly is better than a lot of the paid courses out there. It is absolutely incredible and it's going to really teach you first the mindset you need to step into if you're

wanting to be a digital CEO or you're wanting to scale up your business. It's also going to dive into what it looks like to build a real business machine. So the five gears that you need to put into place to build a real business machine. So having an offer that sells when you put it in front of the right people, finding the right people so you can actually grow your audience with them and making money on demand. A lot of people think that when you say making money on demand, it's a bit of a pie in the sky thing. Oh, it's not really possible. It is possible. If you ask successful entrepreneurs, Hey, what would you do to double your sales today? Most people will tell you exactly what that would look like. And there might be reasons they're not

doing it, but they could tell you. And if you're not in that place yet, then I don't think you can afford to miss this. I really, really want to see you there. Just go to bossbabe.com forward slash rise to sign up, or you can go on any of our social media accounts, click on the bio. The link is there, bossbabe.com forward slash rise. Okay. The question, let's get into it. So full transparency. I actually heard this question from James Wedmore and it completely rocked my world. We often think and that, you know, we're taught that we need to make tons of changes or pull multiple levers to finally have a breakthrough in our business. But let me tell you, this is simply not the case. It really isn't. Sometimes it's just the tiniest tweak that can make the biggest difference. When you start changing a

bunch of different things, it can actually leave you feeling more confused, more overwhelmed, pulled in a thousand different directions without actually moving the needle for your business in a meaningful way. And I'm saying that because I've been there before trying to do all the things, chasing the shiny objects, allowing myself to get pulled off course really easily. But I'm here to tell you what actually is going to grow your business

is quite different. It's quite opposite, in fact. So the truth is, there's probably just one or two things you need to do to grow your business 2 to 3x, right? 2 to 3 times the size of what it is. And that's what this is about. So if you're ready for the question, here it is. If you wanted to 2 to 3x your business this year, what's one of the scariest or biggest things you would have to do to make it happen? Before I help you answer this for yourself, I want to rewind and just share my own personal story about really leaning into and practicing this concept in my own business. So rewind, let's say six months ago, I think it was. Picture me,

you know, I'm still very new into motherhood, very sleep deprived, exhausted, overwhelmed, definitely going through some postpartum depression, anxiety, all the highs and lows that motherhood can bring, all while trying to convince myself that I could still go back to work just like my old self would and fit into the box and the role that I used to fill. And if you've been following me for the past few months, you know how that turned out. It did not. I literally hit a point where I needed to take a step back to reset, regroup, and really rediscover who I was now in this whole new phase of life. And I wasn't sure how or if I was going to be able to continue being the CEO of Boss Babe, how I'd be able to

show up for my team, my family, myself. And that was really scary to admit as someone that, you know, always tries to have it all together and hold it all together. And it's just like, I'll find more time. I'll dig deeper. I'll get more capacity. That was really scary to just break down and be like, I don't know that I can continue doing all of these things in the way I am now and still, you know, keep my sanity and happiness. And I know that so many of you listening could probably relate to this, whether you're a mom or not, whether you're feeling completely burned out on your business, you know, that feeling of doubt that creeps in when you're asking yourself, can I do this? Can I keep going? Is it worth it? Is this for me anymore?

I can really, really relate to that. And I've learned so much about how to approach life changes and transitions from a place of compassion and grace versus judgment and pushing. So if you're in that place right now, and this is hitting really deep, take a deep breath and know you're not alone. There is something beautiful on the other side of this. You've just got to gift yourself the spaciousness to lean in and really welcome the change. I was driving with my sister-in-law yesterday. We spent the whole day at the pool, which was freaking amazing. And on the way back, she was telling me she got a breakthrough on the plane as she was flying here.

She was like, Natalie, I don't know what it was, but I was just sitting staring out the window, kind of daydreaming. And we were really high above the clouds and I could see all of the clouds. I could see where the cloud begins and where the cloud ends. And a little bit later into the flight, we go into the clouds and we hit some turbulence. And I realized, I didn't know how long this turbulence was going to last for, which is really interesting being in the clouds. You can't see anything. You can't see the beginning. You can't see the end. Whereas when I was above the clouds, I could see there was very clearly an end to this rainstorm, this big, you know, dark cloud. I could see there was an end, but being in it, I had no idea when that end was

coming. I had no idea how long it was going to take me to get from where I am now to the end of this storm and sitting in that turbulence was really uncomfortable. And when she said that, I just had this huge breakthrough moment of so many of us when we're in transition are in that turbulence and we'd love to know when it's going to end. Like if you can just tell me how much longer I've got to buckle up for so I know that we would love to know when it's going to end, but we don't. We can't always really pull ourselves out and give ourselves that 30 foot view to look over the clouds. But in the moment we can tell ourselves it will come to an end and you just have to give yourself

that spaciousness and that presence to be where you're at knowing that there is an end in sight for a new beginning for a different way of doing things so here I was you know not knowing what I needed to change but knowing that something if not everything didn'd need to change. Let's take a quick pause to talk about my new favorite all-in-one platform Kajabi. You know I've been singing their praises lately because they have helped our business run so much smoother and with way less complexity which I love. Not to mention our team couldn't be happier because now everything is in one place so it makes collecting data, creating pages, collecting payment, all the things so much simpler. One of our mottos at Boss Babe is simplify to amplify and Kajabi has really helped us do that

this year. So of course I needed to share it here with you. It's the perfect time of year to do a bit of spring cleaning in your business, you know, get rid of the complexity and instead really focus on getting organized and making things as smooth as possible i definitely recommend kajabi to all of my clients and students so if you're listening and haven't checked out kajabi yet now is the perfect time to do so because they are offering boss babe listeners a 30-day free trial go to kajabi.com slash boss babe to claim your 30-day free trial that's kajabi.com slash boss Babe to claim your 30-day free trial. That's Kajabi.com slash Boss Babe. I remember crying to my coach just saying, I don't know how people do this. I don't know how I'm going to get through this.

And what I realize now, I was in such a state of depletion, you know, not to mention all the post-palm stuff going on, but we found out we had mold in the house and there was mold in our systems and we weren't sleeping. And it was really like, there were so many things just depleting me from every angle. I just felt like I was pouring from an empty cup and I had nothing to give anyone. And it's okay not to know. And it's okay to sit in the discomfort of that. Some of our biggest growth happens here. And that continues to be true time and time and time again, even though when you're in it, you're like, can I just grow without the shit? Can I grow without

needing to be in this turbulence right now? Can you just like, give me the lesson? It's kind of what I was, I was like, I don't want to keep going through this. I want to get on the other side of it. Like I don't have anything left to give. I cannot keep going. And I knew something needed to change. I trusted that. I surrendered to it and I allowed myself to create space knowing in my gut that so much growth personally and professionally was on the other side of that. And so I answered that question that James asked and I created the most incredible results from that question. So here I am in the midst of all this change and transition and transformation. And I asked myself this question, what is the scariest or biggest thing I'd have to do to two to three X the business this year?

And the answer hit me really clearly. And what's interesting is while I was asking that question, it's not necessarily, you know, two to three X the revenue, but it could be two to three X the bottom line, two to three X the impact. For me, it was the bottom line because the business just wasn't as profitable as it had been since I stepped out from maternity leave. I came back and it wasn't as profitable and it wasn't necessarily in the same place. And so when I was asking myself that question, I was really thinking about the bottom line because I wanted to be able to do less and still make more, make what felt would feel really abundant for me and my family and my community, my clients. I wanted to still be able to show up and still show up in that abundance. I really want to continue working towards how can I continue making more while

working less? How can I continue to have a bigger impact without working more? How can I keep replicating myself and making my content reach even further? So that question, it doesn't always mean, you know, top line revenue, but it means different things to different people. And for me, I had to completely change my role as CEO and fully step into this new phase of life unapologetically on top of making some restructuring decisions in the company. And that was really scary. It was scary on a couple of fronts. First, letting go of a lot of the things I was holding and trusting that my team

could handle it or I would build a fine team that could. And restructuring meant letting go of some team members, which also was one of the worst things I could imagine doing in the business. I really did not like the idea of doing that. And I found that really, really hard. And to be honest, I put that decision off way longer than I should have. But the truth was the business model was changing and the business's needs were changing. And so that needed to happen, but I did put it off for a while until I started asking myself this question and I realized it's not serving me. It's not serving my team. And it's certainly not serving our community and clients when I'm not making this decision. And so I needed to make that decision for the business.

And then on a micro level, what did it look like? I canceled all my weekly meetings. I stopped doing Slack and emails. I started focusing on the few things that I love and I'm really, really good at. And I let go of the reins when it came to delegation. And I trusted that the right team members would be able to step up into that and really deliver on those things that were being delegated to them. It was an opportunity for them to step up and step into that and expand what they were working on. And I had to really surrender and trust into that. And I did it. And it actually changed things a lot faster than I thought it would. I mean, it changed the bottom line significantly because when I was able to work on the things that

freed me up, I was generating so much more money for the company. I was also feeling a lot less stretched and a lot more creative. Then we didn't have as many expenses going out the door. And so it didn't feel like I was having to constantly, you know, make more in order to support a team. It felt like things were back in flow again, which was really great. And I was really clear that not only would this exponentially grow the business's bottom line, but it would allow me to step into my best entrepreneurial self and finally fall back in love with my business, which was really important because I can't have the impact I want to have if I'm not in love with my business. And I certainly don't show up as the wife and the mom, the friend, the self that I want to be when I'm not in love

with my business. I don't like who I am when I'm absolutely exhausted and depleted and feeling stretched and not lit up by what I'm doing. And it was such a breath of fresh air. It was a reset, a fresh slate. And I want to share that it's really possible for you as well. You can do this at any level, any stage of business. You don't have to have millions of followers, a full team, a crisis moment like I did, to ask yourself this question and take action on the answer that comes to you. You know, you get to be proactive, you get to be in charge and set the tone. And the thing is, most people aren't fully owning their power. They aren't taking control. They aren't holding the reins of their own life. They're waiting for someone else to tell them

they have to, or for something to go wrong, to feel like it's the right time which we all know is total bullshit and I have to tell you this is the exact recipe for staying stuck and I get it it is really freaking scary to ask yourself this kind of question and maybe you don't even know the answer yet but if you do sit with it long enough and really trust your gut you will will know what to do next. Doing more doesn't mean you're going to make more. Being more busy doesn't mean you're being more effective. Trusting everyone else to tell you what to do, but not listening to your own intuition is going to leave you feeling lost every single time. You can do those scary things. And now it's your turn. have the answer I know you do even

if you know you're gonna have to turn this podcast off for a little bit and go for a walk and and be in some silence and allow the answer to come to you I want you to be able to tap into it I actually worked with a friend on this exact thing and the way in which we approached this was I was asking her this question and she was saying you you know, I have no idea. I'm not sure what the scary thing is. And what I got her to do was go on a vision walk. I was like, go on a walk and I want you to really envision what the best possible outcome could be for you in 12 months time.

You know, not just your business, but holistically your life. If you were to design your life and business together. So she went on a vision walk and she came back and she was dropping in and letting me know. And I said to her, okay, let's build a bridge from where you are now to that vision. What's that gate that's going to stop you from being able to open and cross that bridge? What's that thing? And by doing that, she was able to see really clearly where she was keeping herself stuck. And I get it. It can be hard even just asking yourself this question because all of the imposter syndrome pops up. I don't know the answer. I need a mentor. I need someone to tell me what to do. Who am I to think

I could grow that much in one year? The list goes on. I feel it. I totally, totally understand it. But the truth is, if you don't let that self-doubt go and you don't listen to your intuition, you'll never feel fully confident in yourself or your path forward. You'll keep looking for outside validation, keep looking for answers, feeling confused, even when you know what your next steps are. And it could be things like going all in on one platform versus trying to be everywhere for everyone. It could be killing off 90% of your products so you can focus on making

one product really successful. It could be getting an office in real life and bringing your team together to be more collaborative. It could be stopping your Facebook ads because they're not scaling and go all in on organic. It could be train someone else to run your program or share your content in the world to reach more people, right? There's so many different decisions you can make that could change everything. There is a whole new level of freedom on the other side of this question for you. Inner freedom, time freedom, money freedom, all the things. You've just got to be willing to do the things that most people aren't to get those results. And you definitely don't have to do it alone because there's so much support

along the way, whether it's from us at Boss Babe, whether it's from your friends, whether it's from, you know, groups that you're in, your partner, there are so many places you can turn to for support when you're making these challenging decisions. And I want you to know that. So as we wrap this up, I also just want to remind you, a huge thing could be attending this Rise of Digital CEO training. Like I said, it's completely free. You don't need to join any programs afterwards if things aren't feeling aligned, but you could show up for those three days and you could implement what you learn and you could 2 to 3x your business from that. It's the best training I think you'll ever attend this year without paying for it. It's going to be a

full reset for you. It's going to help you feel energized, clear, ready to go all in on your business growth. Like I said, it happens once a year. So if you don't sign up, you're going to miss out for a whole year. So just go to bossy.com forward slash rise to really claim that this is your year and that you want to finally go in a different direction. You want to make some different decisions and experience those results. So bossway.com forward slash rise. And what I want you to take away from this episode is that one question could literally change everything from you. Even if you're like, okay, I'm not ready for an event. I'm not ready for anything else. Just go ask yourself that question and sit with the answer. And if you do get some kind of indication that there's a scary decision waiting to be made, what's stopping you from making it? What's the

worst that can happen? Or what's the thing that could happen if you don't make that decision? You know, is making that decision worse than what's going to happen if you don't? I want you to really sit with that. So if you're on out on a walk right now or you're driving, however you're listening to this, maybe just tune out for the next five, 10 minutes in silence and just ask yourself that question. If you were to 2 to 3x your business this year, what's one of the scariest or biggest things you could do to make it happen. Okay, you know me, I am the biggest believer in investing in my education and growth as a business owner. And since you're listening to the podcast,

I know you're the same. So I need to tell you about a brand new, totally free training that James Wedmore is hosting. It's called Rise of the Digital CEO and it's a live three-day digital workshop designed to show you exactly how to create a successful, scalable, and highly aligned business in 2023. The entire Boss Babe team is attending, and we're going to be learning the cutting-edge strategies, processes, and tactics to double down on our growth this year. And I would really love to

have you there with us. It's going to be an absolute game changer. So if you are ready to take your business to a whole new level, reserve your spot by sending me at IamNatalie a DM on Instagram with the word CEO and I'll send you all the information you need. That's at IamNatalie, DM me the word CEO and I'll send you all the information that you need.