Ep. 086: Reflections on 2020 & Looking Ahead

I feel like for the rest of our lives the sheer mention of 2020 will have people shaking their heads in dismay. To say it's been a challenging year is an understatement. But also a lot of what happened was out of our control, and that's a lesson in itself. So instead of being mad about all of the cool and exciting things I wanted to do but couldn't, I'm reflecting on what I learned from 2020, how it made me stronger, and what it's pushed me to focus on in 2021.

LINKS & RESOURCES MENTIONED TODAY:

• Your Next Big Thing Intensive: http://bit.ly/nbt-intensive

• Want to read a transcript of this episode? Click here!

  Grow marketing culture and sketchy MLMs have given modern business a bad reputation. It feels harder than ever to succeed as an entrepreneur, even though we've got an abundance of info and tech, right at our fingertips. If you feel frustrated, running your business, stress over your sales schools or are baffled by marketing strategies, you've come to the right place.

  You deserve to run a successful sustainable business without spamming all of your friends or wasting time and money on marketing gimmicks. This is the sell it sister podcast, and you're going to learn how to make more money without complex systems or sleazy sales tactics. I'm Erica turbans and I teach highly motivated female and gender expansive entrepreneurs that selling doesn't have to suck.

  I've been running successful businesses and teaching others how to sell smarter, earn more and create raving fans for over 15 years. And I'm excited to share what I've learned with you. If you want success without truly serving your clients profits without any passion or the next get rich quick scheme, I'm not your gal, but if you're all in as an operator, preneur wants to make a difference with your work and are ready to run a business.

  You're proud of think, get ready to sell it. Sister. I know you want to grow your business because let's be real who doesn't. But the reality is is that if you don't know your business persona and you don't fully know the stage of business growth that you're in, you might accidentally waste a lot of time, money and energy focusing on the wrong things in order to get your business from where it is to where you want to be.

  And if you know anything about me, you know, I am obsessed with the show, parks and rec, which is why I created a really fun and free quiz to help you figure out your parks and rec biz persona, which will help show you exactly what you should focus on for your next steps of business growth. So to take the quiz, you can head right on over to bit dot L Y.

  Forward slash biz growth quiz to find out your parks and rec biz persona, and then get custom advice from me based on that with what you should focus on next for your success. Wow. It feels absolutely surreal to be recording the final podcast episode of 2020 right now. Uh, I'm actually recording this. In November, um, the week before American Thanksgiving, because, you know, as you know, if you're a longtime listener, I love to batch.

  I love to work ahead. I love to be super intentional and mindful of my work time. And I want to be able to enjoy as much of December as possible without feeling. Really rushed or anything. So this will be it. And, uh, there will also not be episodes the next couple of weeks because it butts up against, uh, the holidays and then, um, like new year's Eve time.

  And honestly, I just feel like. We have all felt so collectively overwhelmed, uh, this year that you don't need a bunch more information, um, from me, especially if you are a newer listener and there are older episodes, there's so much good stuff you could. Take time to go back to listen instead. And I know sometimes for me, I just need some time to get caught on podcasts.

  So if you are a regular listener, I super appreciate you so, so much feel free to use the next couple of weeks to catch up on any episodes you may have missed or want to. Revisit. If you're a new listener, thank you for being here. You can also use the time to check out other episodes. And I'm really excited because I I'm planning right now, at least to focus in January on setting yourself up for success in 21, no matter what the hell the universe sends our way.

  Cause God knows the beginning of 2020, we were all like, this is it. It's going to be my year. And then three months in COVID happens. So. Uh, so yeah, so stay tuned for that. So it's going to be some planning, some goal setting, some things like that that are really gonna serve you. Um, you know, kind of no matter, no matter what, but thank you, thank you for a full year.

  And I want to, to, uh, really just share some, some things about, uh, this year, uh, recapping. What really went well, you know, a little bit what didn't and what I want to focus on moving forward into, to next year. So first up, uh, I will say that the biggest lesson, honestly, of 2020 has been, uh, to be flexible, right?

  Like who, who would argue with that? Right. Being flexible has been crucial. And as somebody who. Geeks out on strategy and planning and all of that. I love it so, so much. Uh, this was a really hard year because normally what I do is I, I do quarterly planning and I love it. And I have a system that works beautifully for me, and I've used it with clients in the past and it's just so good.

  And it, it was not, it was not working for me this year. Um, because I felt like. Normally, I anchor a lot of it around external things that are happening. Like, am I going on this, you know, to this conference, am I going to this retreat? Am I taking just this regular vacation? And I sort of anchor all of my work around those things and those things were not, they didn't happen.

  Right. So, uh, I actually, at the end of September, I ended up doing, um, Carmen span. ULAs. Intuitive planning retreat. It was a one day retreat treat, um, about four or five hours of workshops. And it was a totally, a really different way of, of planning than I am used to. And it was wonderful. It just felt like softer, I guess, is the way I can describe it.

  And, um, it was really, really nice and it felt like it felt like what I needed to. Go forth and, and end the year strong, but also in a way that felt really aligned and, um, and really doable. So that was, that was really wonderful. And I feel like I want it to inform how I look forward into planning next year as well.

  Uh, so I would say, you know, strategy and planning, they are good. Like they're still good. There's still a place for them. They are still important. But it's crucial to not be rigid, right? They, they need to be a bit more loose. Uh, they need to be less strict. They need to be more agile, all of those things.

  So that is definitely something I want to, um, touch on in next month's podcast. But. I would just encourage you, you know, don't feel like if you're, if you're using some time in December at the end of the month, um, to do some planning and or some, you know, future visioning or anything like that, don't feel like you need to get down into the super, super, super minutia of like, What am I, you know, I'm going to plan out like every day in January or, uh, you know, week to week, whatever, I would say, just be a bit more high level.

  Um, and you can still plan key things, but just sort of, sort of bake some flexibility into the, into the plan. I would also say, you know, if pivots are necessary, give yourself some time. Right. It's very easy, especially for us high achievers to be very reactionary and feel like I need to have an answer right now.

  I need to have it all figured out right now. I need to change right now. And sometimes that is just not the best solution. Right. And I know this year was especially hard for people who have businesses that rely on. Face-to-face stuff. Right. I have several clients who are in industries, like photography, weddings, things like that, where, you know, like what, what are you going to do when you literally physically cannot do your job?

  What are you going to do? Right. And as hard as it is to want to feel like, you know, I want answers, I want to plan. I want to know what I'm doing. Sometimes the best thing you can do is just. Pause and reflect and, and think on something and, you know, maybe talk it out with somebody, some friends, peers, a coach, anything like that.

  And. And then decide how you're going to move forward. Um, because you know, it's, when you can do something with intention, like in the, and this isn't to say, I'll, I'll just back up quick and say this isn't to say don't experiment with things or that you have to be totally stagnant or completely frozen.

  That's not it at all, but I know that for a lot of people. There was this very understandable, instant panic feeling of like, I need to have a new offer. I need it ASAP. I need it. You know, by next week I got to figure this out when really, you know, the beginning of COVID especially was just very traumatic and a lot of ways, especially, you know, if you had people who were high risk or you had school aged kids now had to be home with you, like.

  That's a lot. It's a lot for our human bodies and minds and nervous systems to process. So it's understandable that you wouldn't have a perfect solution right away. And that leads me to my next point. Uh, hopefully the cheer has taught us that it is crucial to have a financial cushion in our businesses.

  I know that this is very hard if you're like, I feel like I'm not even making enough to pay myself. Right. But if you do have revenue coming in, even if it's a small amount, try to get in the habit. Of allocating some of that to savings and to, you know, preparing to weather these storms. And I will use a very real example of, you know, in, in the world of corporate retail.

  Obviously Q4 is huge. It's prime time, it's prime moneymaking. And, uh, you know, you just, you kind of just count on that, right? And actually January happens to be fairly busy as well because, um, people have returns and exchanges. Usually when people come to do returns, they often will buy something else and do an exchange.

  Instead, people have money, people have gift cards. People are still actually spending in January, February though is a fricking killer. It has fewer days. Like if you're doing your month projections and everything, it literally has fewer days for people to come through your doors to shop in it. It's uh, generally speaking the coldest month of the year.

  So a lot of people are just hunkered down at home. People are exhausted from all the franticness of everything and. They just, they they're not shopping. Right. So we would always eat no, the company that I work for, even though, um, like Phillips span, Heusen, Inc, which owns Calvin Klein would do the actual projections.

  We would then get those projections as store managers and we would see them and, and how it would impact us. Right. So we would have fewer. Um, hours that we could schedule people. So our, our payroll numbers would be, um, lower, we'd have left less budget to spend there. Uh, we would need fewer people anyways, just because it was super, super slow.

  So usually there'd be less coverage on a sales floor. Um, we could kind of focus on different projects, more, uh, that you know, where we wouldn't be getting interrupted. By people coming in and shopping. So we would try to like play a little catch up there. And, uh, we just knew, like we knew that the store was not going to make as much money, but at the corporate level, they plan for that.

  Right. They, they are not, uh, spending every month. Exactly the same amount that they are bringing in. Some of that is put aside as a stop gap for months that they just know are going to be. Slower. So it's, you know, there's nothing, uh, you know, in the, in the online world, it doesn't necessarily mean that your February is going to be slow, but there's nothing that says other than like harmful capitalistic beliefs that, you know, every month should be a growth month.

  Right. Even in nature, like it's corny, but I used to farm, like there, there is a season for everything, right. There is a season to plant. There is a season for growth. There is a season for harvest and there is a season of rest. So we need to stop assuming that every month should be automatically better than the month before it.

  And if it's not, we're terrible, horrible entrepreneurs. That is not the case. So instead like it's great to have goals. It's great to have ambitions. It's great to have all of that. However, hopefully we can all see the need for creating buffers for ourselves, that we have something to fall back on when shit hits the fan in a major way.

  And we maybe are not able to work in the way that we had been. Uh, so yeah, definitely. I, you know, obviously I'm not a financial advisor. I strongly suggest checking out the episode where I interviewed kina Newell. That's a great one. All about, uh, finances and business, finances and budgeting. So definitely give that episode a listen, if you need help in this area.

  Uh, the second lesson is be intentional. So thinking about, uh, what really matters to move your business forward. So this is something I preach all the time, even in non COVID times, but my, my word for 2020 was intention or intentional. And it really, really tested me in that area. I really had to look at like, what, what is it that moves my business forward?

  What can I do? Because, um, one of the things that really, really, really moves my business forward. Is in-person stuff. So when I do in-person networking, if I teach, uh, in-person workshops, if I'm traveling to conferences or retreats, and I'm making new connections with people, those are marketing channels.

  For me, those are revenue drivers. So I had to be really intentional and look at, yeah. What am I going to do instead to bring new business in? Where am I going to spend my time money, my energy, my attention, all of that. I really had to go back to the drawing board of what I do with my clients and do it for myself.

  And part of that was giving myself permission to really only focus on one, um, social channel, uh, in terms of like outbound marketing content. And that was Instagram. So, you know, if you follow me, uh, you know, you, you see me over there, you see me in stories, you see me in the feed regularly. If you don't follow me, I'm an consulting.

  And I really, um, I really doubled down on that and I let other stuff go. I gave myself permission to not be on LinkedIn. I kept trying at the beginning of the year and. I just, I didn't love it. So I gave him, I gave myself permission to, to not focus on, on that. And, uh, and also, you know, thinking about what supports I needed.

  This is a really important question to ask yourself, like, what support do you need? Is it better tools? Is it better systems? Is it, um, hiring different people, outsourcing different things, uh, working with people to help you get to where you want to be. Um, Know, being in communities that will support you, uh, community is my next invite, the three big lessons, but you know, really being clear and, and that can also be too, like, what support do you need at home now?

  Right? Do you get a, uh, you know, meal, subscription service, like hello, fresh or blue apron. I've known several people this year and I even looked into it myself. I haven't. Done it yet. But looking into personal chefs in your area, I was shocked to realize this is not as costly as I assumed. It would be people who are prepping, you know, a heat and eat meals, really healthy, really delicious meals.

  And I'm like, wow, that's incredible. You know, house cleaners, um, hiring out laundry, uh, lawn service, any of those things, like if you're just like, well, Everything is on a compressed schedule now. And, you know, I still want to make forward progress. Like what other supports do you need to bring in and just not feeling guilty about that is really important.

  And also what can you release? What can you let go of? Um, like I already said, LinkedIn was a big one for me and there's other stuff. There's stuff I will not be taking with me into 2021. I, I was just journaling on this this morning. My Facebook group, I had closed one. Uh, I believe it was the end of last year or maybe the beginning of this year.

  And then I started a different one. You know what I wasn't, I just, I didn't have the like joy or the gumption to nurture it and grow it. And I've checked in with myself and I S I still don't have it. I just, I don't, it's not where I want to spend my energy. Right. So I'm letting it go. I'm giving myself permission to let it go.

  I also spent like so much time, money and energy, me and my VA making the amazing, um, parks and rec business growth quiz. Like I love it. So proud of it. I love the email sequence. Like it might still be up by the time this this goes live. I think I'll cancel it the end of December. It's so good. It's so fun.

  It's so me. But I it's, it's not, it doesn't actually do anything for my business. Right? Like, yes. It gets people on my email list. Yes. It's entertaining. Yes. If you read all the emails, it's super valuable, but like I'm not, I'm just not promoting it enough. It's not enticing enough. Like from, from a literal business standpoint, like it's not interesting enough as a freebie to be an actual revenue driver for me, for people.

  Right. It's not solving an urgent enough. Problem. It's not like it's, it's just not doing anything for me business wise. So like, why am I paying the money to have that be the platform that it's on, if I'm not actually doing anything with it. Right. So. I'm going to let it go. It was fun. I don't have any regrets, but it's, it's time to let it go.

  So I'm gonna let it go. And that's okay. Um, and then also, you know, being intentional about what you can improve, what can you improve? You know, once you've looked at what's working and you're going to double down on that, once you look at what you can release, then really looking at like, you know, is it a systems thing?

  Is it a marketing thing? Is it a sales thing? Is it a. Like workflow thing or, you know, even, is it a values thing, right? Like what can you do to improve your, your content, your, your outward, um, you know, the outward parts of your brand, how you're showing up, are you showing up? In alignment with your values, are you showing up with authenticity?

  Um, and you know, all of, all of that good stuff that is magnetic for your ideal clients. And one of the ways that I have really committed to this, um, myself this year was joining, uh, Trudy LeBron's amplified impact mastermind. I joined in the summer. Um, as of the time that this airs, we will be wrapping up, we, uh, get moved into her, uh, equity centered.

  Um, leadership membership, which is awesome and it's only $97 a month. So I highly encourage people to go check that out, but you know, it was my, it was not something at the beginning of the year that I was like, Oh, I'm going to put a big focus on like, uh, you know, our big, uh, big, like purposeful, conscientious focus on diversity equity inclusion.

  And anti-racism now I feel like at my core of who I am. Those are things that I have am always trying to be mindful of, but I never intended to be like, Oh, I'm going to, I'm going to actually spend money. I'm going to hire somebody. I'm gonna work through this very purposefully. But I realized that, you know, this year has shown us.

  Both with, uh, the movement for black lives and also, you know, with the election and everything, it has shown a lot of people's true colors and it has shown it has really shown a light. Um, more broadly onto some really dark aspects of the online business industry. Now I will fully say that, um, BiPAP, uh, entrepreneurs have been calling this stuff out for forever.

  But it took a lot more for your average white online entrepreneur to notice and pay attention and to really realize, and it has, especially, even in the last few weeks, a lot of major players in the online industry have been directly calling out really alarming stuff about other major, major players in the industry, like being heavily involved with like, You know, the con some of the conspiracy stuff, the Q Anon stuff, like just all of that.

  And, uh, I really wanted to be intentional about not causing harm with my business and not perpetuating harmful systems or practices that maybe I was not even aware of in my business. And. It is something really important to focus on. It should not be an afterthought. Like I hope that this year has made it abundantly clear that that stuff should not be an afterthought, that it should not be controversial as a brand to say, uh, yeah.

  Black lives matter. Right. And really mean it and really put your. Like really put your, some skin in the game with that, right? Not just like, put it in your bio so that you can look like woke or whatever, but like really, really, really make sure that your business is having a positive and not a negative.

  Impact whether whether the intent is there or not. Right. Cause the, it doesn't honestly, it doesn't really matter the intention if the impact is there and it's negative, then it needs to be, it needs to be looked at and things need to be changed. So, um, I hope that if that was something that you, uh, hadn't looked at this year, that it, you know, it becomes part of your mission next year.

  And I, and I will say in that, you know, I'm mostly. In that realm. I'm mostly speaking to, to my white audience in, in that regard. Um, because I know it can be easy when something is not directly impacting you to be like, well, I'll just, I'll read some books and I'll get around to it, but like, we need to do better.

  We need to, we need to do more truthfully. Um, and truly, and my last big takeaway from the year, um, is be in community. So whether that is free community or paid community, I honestly don't know what I wouldn't what I would have done this year. If it were not for the various, um, free and paid communities that I'm in, I have all sorts of, uh, you know, different masterminds group chats, um, like paid thing, like just all sorts of stuff.

  And each of those has served me in a different way, but they have all been. Crucial because it's really, really, really important to be able to be in community with other people who understand you, who will not judge you, who know what you're going through, where you can just come to the group chat thread and be like, I am really having a tough time right now.

  Right? Like, Hey, I am very unmotivated to do work, but I have to do these projects or I have to fire these people and I am really like sweating it, or I'm really struggling to get leads. Or can you give this thing a signal boost? Right? Like. It is really, really important because it can be hard. It can be hard when you're like, I want to show up, I want to look professional.

  I want to, you know, be doing all the things I'm supposed to be doing that are outward facing, but inside you're like, Uh, yeah, things, things are really difficult or maybe businesses great, but family stuff is a total nightmare, right? Like it's good to have places where you can just be your whole self and be transparent and be loved and be supported.

  Um, and I know it's not always easy to find. Those like those groups, right? Like it's, I would say if you, if you can't find one, if there's not one, like, see if you can make your own, right. See if you have enough people who are also entrepreneurs, who also are hungry for community, see about starting your own, or find ones that even if it's a paid membership with other peers that, you know, is.

  I'm not talking like necessarily high level mastermind, like 20 to $30,000 a year. Like you could certainly do that. But I just mean, you know, there are some that are a hundred dollars or less, like I just mentioned, you know, Trudy's right. There are some that are a few hundred dollars a month go in and use those, not just as a learning space, but as a community.

  Uh, building space for yourself as well. It is so, so important. We are not meant to do this alone nor, nor should we. Um, and yeah, I think so too, to recap, be flexible, be intentional, um, and be, be in community. And like I said, you know, there, there are things that will not come with me into 2021, my regular, um, More like, I won't say my planning system was never rigid cause I'm not a rigid person.

  And actually I tend to rebel against very religious, very, not religious, very, um, rigid and rigorous schedules. Um, but. You know, I feel like being even more loose in my planning, uh, going into next year will be crucial. Uh, folk really like narrowing my focus even more about what I want to talk about, who I want to serve the offers that I want to have, um, not necessarily creating a ton of new stuff, but just doubling down again, doubling down on what is working and, um, And also just continuing to nurture relationships, um, continue with my own growth and my own learning and figuring out new and better ways to be, um, you know, just an equitable and inclusive in my own business there.

  So there there'll be some things changing too. You will hear in the new year, um, there. Is going to be a new part of my intro, where I want to be very explicit about the lens, uh, that all of my content is, is put through based on who I am and, and my personal intersections. And. On the flip side, like there's also going to be some rebranding or, um, revisioning of the graphics that go along with podcasts, like my VA and I are going to make a new like podcast cover and stuff.

  Right. So there's some link, like sort of surface level things and some deeper level things. Um, That I will be, I will be implementing next year and things that I want to do more of and thinks that things that I want to do less of and ways that I want to be supported even more. And I'm allowing myself to be supported even more and things that I'm saying no to like, uh, I just said no to.

  A summit opportunity that would've gotten me in front of a lot of people, but they're not my ideal audience, even though it's a dear friend and colleague and like a partial business partner of mine who extended the offer. And I felt like a real, like a real bitch thinking about like, who am I to turn this down?

  And, and all of that, like the stuff that we, that we all think about, right. And. I, I just, I S I had to sit with it and be like, it doesn't make sense. And it's going to make me more busy and I can't control what other people think. And like, he might be mad. He might be disappointed. I don't know. But like, what is right for me, what is right for me to serve the most of my perfect people.

  And it's not spreading myself thin on summits that are not serving my perfect people. Right. Even though I want those people to have information and be helped too. Right. But we can't, we can't be helpers for all people. You can only be helpers for our perfect people. We can only be helpers for ourselves for our.

  Loved ones, our close friends, our communities, all of that. So I hope this was helpful. I hope that you've got a ton of value out of this podcast. Um, over the course of the year, I hope you stay tuned for a new year of episodes, um, with me and with some great interviews that will be coming up as well. Uh, again, hang with me on Instagram.

  It's where I am. Erica Dobbins consulting. I love hearing from my listeners. I truly do. Uh, and yeah, like this, this podcast is my, it is my true labor of love in this business. And I would just say too, if I can have a simple ask is if you have found. Value. If you have been served well by this podcast and have learned really helpful stuff, if you could share it with somebody who, you know, is a friend from business, if you could share it with your, um, little micro-communities or even just one other person, I would.

  Love that because it is a free resource. And I do hear from people all the time about how much it has helped them. So I know I say it in the outro, but you know, sharing is caring. I always really, uh, nothing, nothing is more, um, heartwarming to me. Then somebody sharing me with somebody else and extending, um, you know, that trust that you have in me, uh, Out into the world.

  So thank you. I hope that you have happy holidays, whatever holiday you celebrate, or if you celebrate none. I just wish you the best end to a really challenging year and nothing but awesomeness and 2021 because wow. We, we freaking deserve it. Right. And as always happy selling. Thanks so much for tuning in to this episode of the, sell it sister podcast.

  If you loved it and you want more, be sure to submit scribe so that you never miss an episode and then head on over to sell it. sisterhood.com to join my free Facebook community group. And as your mama said, sharing is caring. So if you got a lot of value out of this episode, be sure to share it with your biz besties too.

  Okay. Now get out there and sell it, sister.