The first event/book I ever wrote (and self-published using a local printer and those plastic rings you can make books with and sold ONLY at my “events” by the same name) was:

Work Your Own Way.

That was my message.
The title of my book.
The name of my event.
And my tagline.

I wanted to empower women who SAID they wanted to make a living WHILE raising their children. I wanted to show them how they could do it. I wanted to shout from the rooftops about how POSSIBLE it was to work your own way while being the primary caregiver to your kids…

In this book/event/business, I began with looking at how much work could cost you, once you factored in childcare, etc. I covered work-from-home proposals and also straight up entrepreneurial basics in the event that your boss said NO to your pitch. I covered office basics, including TOTALLY BRILLIANT HACKS regarding how to work with kids underfoot and how to take phone calls during NON-nap times.

I’d done it.
I’d lived it.
I was a “success” story.
I’d replaced my full-time income, while working from home, around my kids’ schedules.

Work Your Own Way, I shouted.

It took me a while to realize that while nearly EVERY woman said they “WISHED” they could do what I was doing….

it was a VERY RARE woman indeed who actually MEANT it.

Not having to take their kid to child care sounded GREAT, but they wanted to do it without giving up their uninterrupted lunch breaks, their manicures, sacrificing office relationships. They feared losing ground at work and/or losing their identities.

I get it.
Totally.
I gave up EVERYTHING
to pursue this life I have.
I burned ALL ships.
Abandoned any potential plan B.

To “work my own way.”

To make this a reality,
I worked harder than ever before.
I slept less than ever before.
And I fretted, a lot.
About money.
About time.
About the future.
Manicures happened on my birthday.
Christmas gifts were business books and office supplies.

Here’s the HORRIBLE part of the story.. of MY story.

It didn’t have to be this way.

But, back then “work your own way” meant only ONE thing to me: Make money without needing childcare. Replace my income without leaving the house.

NO WONDER MY SHOUTS WERE LANDING ON DEAF EARS.

While I LOVED my life,
my kids,
the tender moments I was able to embrace,
instead of a babysitter telling me about it later,
the long hours of just “being a mom,”
I was also exhausted.
And stressed.

I should have been more specific in my “dreaming.” I shouldn’t have SETTLED for “only” replacing my income while working from home. I could have put up MORE parameters for my success…. like,

Replacing my income while doing work that I loved and easily navigating wife-dom and mommy-hood and work.

That would have been a great start.

BUT, HERE’S THE THING.
MY OWN “WORK YOUR OWN WAY” MESSAGE WAS FALLING ON DEAF EARS BECAUSE I WAS BEING TOO HONEST.

I was actually telling people what it “cost” me.
{I always prefer honesty to B.S.)
No wonder they thought,
“Nah… I’ll just stay put.” lol…

Unfortunately, a whole lot of budding entrepreneurs are SEDUCED into self-bossing with phrases like, “WORK YOUR OWN WAY.” or “THE 4-HOUR WEEK” or “FREEDOM.”

This version of the entrepreneurial story is a seductive beast, indeed.

The bait & switch, however, is felt EARLY.
The standard “Work your own way” message is chanted only long enough for many to leave their day jobs.

Then… the same person who told you
— in that inspiring book you read —
that you could have it YOUR way,
will coach you on EXACTLY how to do it THEIR way…
for a fee.

And so it seems we’re pulled out of the corporate cubicle and then encouraged to follow another set of step-by-step instructions that lands us right back into another box….

following directions,
checking off a to-do list,
plowing through our days.

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY.

In fact, doing what every other entrepreneur in your industry is doing makes for a really LONG and ARDUOUS road to success.

Doing it YOUR way.
Letting YOUR own UNIQUE sliver of genius shine,
Showing up ruthlessly and unapologetically YOU…

allows you to show up as NO OTHER,
make offers that can’t EASILY be price shopped,
reach people who KNOW that you’re their “go-to person.”

So, to you today I say,
You escaped the cubicle
RESIST THE BOX.

Today, I guess I’m still shouting,
DO IT YOUR WAY.

Don’t acquiesce
or compromise
or settle.

If you EVER want my help…
not for a “paint by numbers” template,
but to help YOU connect your OWN dots,
you can schedule time with me here: http://www.bmichellepippin.com/private-strategy-session/

Want to keep up with my daily posts and videos? Join my Facebook group!

The post Exposing The Ultimate Bait & Switch For Entrepreneurs appeared first on b. michelle pippin.

This is for those with huge dreams.
Those that dare aim for the “impossible.”
Those who may be called “dreamers” by their families (and friends).

This is for those women — like me — who demonstrate the sheer AUDACITY of believing and betting (always) on themselves.

This is for those who have (perhaps in the past) dreamt big… and failed, for those who leaped for the moon and landed… on their face. This is for those who MAY be starting to doubt. Even just a little bit.

This is for those who refuse to be dulled,
refuse to be ruled,
refused to dumb down their goals to meet what the world thinks is “do-able” or “reasonable” or “realistic.”

This is for us… the seriously driven women entrepreneurs of the world who know that — for us — “playing small” is just another way to die slowly each day.

I believe this analogy will change everything for you.
It may reignite your dream.
It may rekindle your determination.
In short, it will show you just how reasonable your BIGGEST dreams are.

Let’s go.

I travel a familiar road several times a year… typically en route to one of Shelbey’s softball tournaments. Each time I pass by this farm, brilliantly named, “BLACK GOLD FARMS.” Now, I don’t know the story behind this farm, but I do know that this is how farmers tend to see their land.

They can look out over acres of dirt,
and see a great harvest.
And YET, no one calls them dreamers.
No one accuses the farmer of being too ambitious.
No one thinks the farmer silly or foolish or gullible when he looks over an expanse of NOTHING SPECIAL and believes for something abundant.

No one pities the farmer who looks over acres of dirt and sees BLACK GOLD, thinking, “Awww… poor guy, he really thinks he sees something there.”

No one wonders when he’ll “get a real job.” No one questions his sanity — or his judgment — when he sets out EVERY MORNING before the sun and goes to that empty field of dirt and works it…. until sundown.

WHY?
WHY can the farmers see black gold and no one bats an eye… yet when we share what WE see in terms of our own harvest, people “don’t get it.”
And WHAT DOES IT MATTER?

Here’s what DOESN’T matter: what THEY think of your own version of black gold. Their pity, that “dreamer” label they may have put on you, their disbelief in what may be possible for you.

NONE of that matters.
Screw ’em.
But also…
Also — SHOW ‘EM.

Here’s the deal with the farmers.
THEY see the black gold.
THEY see the potential.
And then they WORK towards the harvest.

They plow.
They plant.
They water.
They protect.
And they nurture.

They do all of this DAILY — before they ever see the first little green sprout. And they KEEP doing it DAILY until the day of the harvest.

Why?
Because of what THEY see.

Now, let’s bring this home.
We know that farmers take an empty field, plant seeds and grow a harvest. We’ve seen it.

But DO NOT FORGET:
we’ve also seen some version of what we want, too.
We’ve seen it in real life. MAYBE in the life of someone who is now a celebrity or now a “big time” whatever, but they were ALSO once “dreamers.”

The beginning, friend… is VISION.
Being able to see what’s not there.
But the KEY… is ACTION.
Taking daily action towards your dream.

You see, part of the reason we don’t think a farmer “foolish” for seeing what’s NOT THERE, is that he works the land DAILY. We see him creating his own harvest. We see him show up, and we have NO DOUBT that he should expect an abundant crop.

We BELIEVE in his field of “black gold,” because his actions say he’s SOLD OUT to his end result.

I want you to SELL OUT to your dream business too. That’s why I’m hosting a 6 week INTENSIVE on this topic. 6 weeks to experience shifts that go so DEEP within us, they will create aftershocks that propel our business well beyond any place it’s been before.

6 weeks of selling out to YOUR ultimate vision.
6 weeks of carving out any root of disbelief.
6 weeks to eradicate the disease of playing small.
6 weeks to get so clear on your own version of “black gold” that you can look out, see the abundant harvest and IMMEDIATELY know your next best steps to take.
6 weeks that will change EVERYTHING and have you poised to take new ground at a record-setting pace.

Will you give me six weeks to SELL OUT?

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The story about my own business, of my OWN selling out that I don’t tell often because I don’t want to be sued… but it is a HUGE key to my success.
• Your history of selling out, to build your confidence. (This is where you ALWAYS do your best work.)
• What would be WORTH you selling out for? Laying it all on the line for? Defining your own BLACK GOLD vision in a new way that makes a “whatever it takes” commitment seem like the only reasonable commitment to make.
• What selling out really looks like, daily, in your CURRENT life. (P.S. I won’t ask you to shave your head, sell everything and move across the world… as was my fear years ago regarding selling out.)
• Defining and then defying the irrational fears of selling out.
• Step by step “selling out to your dream business” planning.

And so much more! Women Who WOW members, you’re already in. You don’t need to do anything. Week one will start on Monday, October 23rd.

But, if you are NOT a member of Women Who WOW… you can join us. Doors are OPEN and you can get in on this 6-week intensive for as little as $97 per month. I could sell this training for $497 and fill it in less than a day. But, WomenWhoWOW members get THIS and a full library of other training — not to mention a loyal, active, accomplished community of other women entrepreneurs at their back — and PRIVATE time with me…

for $97 per month.

Don’t miss out, join us now at WomenWhoWOW.com. Don’t forget to check out my Facebook page for daily videos and to stay up to date on future posts!

The post Black Gold: Women Entrepreneurs Who See What’s Not There appeared first on b. michelle pippin.

Yesterday, I scrolled through Facebook, peeking in on my members (and those who should be members) and seeing what they’re up to… personally, professionally. I loved it. I loved a LOT of it. I saw confidence. Boldness. Authenticity. Success.

But I also noticed a very familiar tone amongst women entrepreneurs… a sort of desperate push, frantic (feigned?) excitement, a harried pace.

New Launches.
A new name for their Facebook groups or pages.
BUY NOW (RIGHT NOW!) stuff…
A sort of “wake up and throw something NEW at the internet to see what sticks” sort of thing.
A familiar, “they didn’t like that other thing, so let me try this” approach.

Familiar, of course, because I’ve been there.
Familiar because I can almost FEEL the adrenaline in their push… I can nearly absorb it through the computer and it all comes back to me.

The adrenaline rushes.
The flight or flight “LAUNCHES” because — let’s face facts — bills had to be paid. Payroll had to be met. I’d promised the kids (or Chris) a trip or something special.

Of course, the adrenaline was sometimes about more than the money. There was the push for actually get a response. To —after screaming into the marketplace — have someone respond… to hear something more than an echo.

Don’t get me wrong.
I’m ALL about the hustle.
The daily WORK.
The push, even.

I embrace these things…
dare I say, even EMBODY them.

But I am NOT an adrenaline junkie.
And neither are you.
You are RIGHT in your frustration….
You KNOW you have the expertise.
And the work ethic.
The proverbial line of clients SHOULD be at your door.
It SHOULD (and it COULD) be easier.

Less uncertain.
More confident.
More sure.
More bold.
Less frazzled.

This is NOT about slowing down. I see that as different. What I’m getting ready to advise is a DIFFERENT way to hustle.

Commercial Break: If you have EVER considered creating a membership program, you MUST join Membership Miracle. it will change your life forever. Don’t put it off for a better time. Timing is B.S. And you’ve put it off for how long now? One Women Who WOW member — an attorney — mentioned that she’s put the breaks on her membership program for NINE YEARS. I’ll be frank: Membership programs aren’t getting any EASIER to launch. Your success at this isn’t about luck or timing. It’s NOT getting easier, but memberships (done authentically and relationally) ARE becoming more POWERFUL, and more profitable. Don’t miss this wave, friend. Memberships are a game changer. Register now: bmichellepippin.com/the-membership-miracle.

Back to hustling DIFFERENTLY.
NO, it’s not about smelling the roses…
It’s CERTAINLY not about escaping work.

It’s about DESIGNING your work, your DAILY work to be something you don’t need to escape from. At the risk of sounding like I’m selling you a unicorn farm, I’ll take it a step further….

It’s about designing your work to be something you ESCAPE TO.

Those who know me more intimately have seen this evolution in me. My core (initial, inaugural) members, my friends, my family. I wake up EXCITED to do this work…. IRRITATED when anything threatens to delay me showing up and doing EXACTLY what I’ve learned not only FEEDS MY SOUL but also…

Also…

DEEPENS my relationships,
GROWS my confidence,
and — of course —
Builds my bottom line.

it’s about taking a NEW look at the part of your business that you LOVE …

and then finding a way to make THAT the marketing and selling engine in your business.

Do this and things start falling into place.
It happens quickly, and also… almost imperceptibly.
It seems MIRACULOUS.

But it’s also measurable.
In money.
In energy.
In PEACE.
In a shift AWAY from that adrenaline-based, “God PLEASE let this work” approach.

If this is what you want, join me in creating your OWN membership miracle…. which can work in ANY industry. bmichellepippin.com/the-membership-miracle

Onward!

In case you missed it, you can visit my Facebook page and read my article 6 STEPS to WEATHERING THE STORMS IN YOUR BUSINESS.

The post Adrenaline and the Woman Entrepreneur appeared first on b. michelle pippin.

MAKE MORE MONEY THAN EVER… EVEN WITH A SMALL LIST.

Let me begin by saying that I don’t buy into — nor pedal — irrational, magical thinking. While I admit it’s growing in popularity, It’s not my thing. What I’m getting ready to detail in this post is possible — even probable — but only if you’re willing to put in the work to make it happen.

I created my first membership option back in 2008. No membership site. No Facebook group. No mentor. No blueprint. And a list of fewer than 1,000 people.

Back then, my simple little membership (with only TWO membership benefits) allowed me to create my first 5-figure month as an entrepreneur.

It created a sustainable spike in income.
And it simplified my life, immensely.
It made everything I was selling (3-day intensives, digital information products, 2-day live events, private coaching, VIP Days) infinitely easier to sell.
It created a community, a sisterhood, of like minded women, MOST of which are still part of Women Who WOW to this day.

To my own shame, I let that membership, called simply, “The Coaching Gym” go… allowed it to die through attrition because I got caught up in a shinier object that turned out to be little more than a pile of manure — convincingly disguised with a heavy dusting of glitter.

Of course, I should have known better.
And maybe I did… and just ignored it.

The bottom line is that “The Coaching Gym” gave me — even back then— exactly what I always wanted in business. Six-figures+ in income, and a simple life style. EVERY penny I made was made on my terms.

I used two “high tech” tools.
Email.
And a phone.

Consistent money.
Simple business. (Just me and one very part time virtual assistant.)
And a very (very) small list.

But that’s not the best part…

There were no emergencies.
No needy or demanding clients.
No need to travel.
No REAL need even to SCHEDULE my work, with the exception of 6 days per month.

Today, the marketplace for memberships is far more crowded. The technology to RUN a membership is a bit more daunting. (Or at least what “they” SAY you need to run a membership is a bit more daunting. I opt out of anything high-tech, myself.) Today, memberships are popping up all over the place. (And they are disappearing nearly as fast as they are being created.)

Why?

Here’s the long and short of it. Membership programs or options are popping up EVERYWHERE because they are AMAZING. They create an authentic loyal connection with your market. They create cash spikes that are also sustainable. They creating community and they SiMPLIFY YOUR LIFE.

Memberships allow you to show up every single day, pour your heart into ONE specific group of people and profit WILDLY… largely from being yourself. Membership options allow you to benefit from the simplicity of the singular:

ONE (main) thing to sell.
ONE (main) group to serve.
ONE (primary) place to show up.

Truly, when done RIGHT, your membership needs only to launch once… and it will continue to grow through YOU showing up and serving… by YOU connecting deeply with your market, daily.. by you engaging authentically, and helping your chosen tribe take consistent steps towards their preferred future.

Will you CHOOSE to do a push for new members from time to time? Of course, as you should…. because with a membership, once it’s up and running, you can impact an infinite number of people… so why wouldn’t you?

So, memberships dramatically simplify your business — and your life — by eliminating things like the UBER-stressful financial “feast or famine” cycles… by eliminating the need for large scale launches… by deleting any hint of dependence on affiliate or JV relationships…. by forever removing the pressure to create something new or different to sell.

And, memberships — when done right — can dramatically increase your income. Creating a simple and sustainable multi- six-figure income based on your membership program is VERY do-able. (Even for the technically challenged, like me.)

So, it’s no wonder why so many people are considering the membership option. It makes SO MUCH SENSE.

BUT…
While it is SIMPLE, creating a membership that will not only BEGIN — but also GROW and BECOME something phenomenal — is a very nuanced beast, indeed.

it requires FAR MORE than a need for a high tech digital home. In fact, it doesn’t require that at all.

I get asked about membership options ALL THE TIME, but — if I can be frank — people are asking the WRONG questions. They’re asking about technology… or JV opportunities… or can I help them promote it?

They’re asking how to PROMOTE it or how to make it SCALABLE when they don’t yet have the FIRST paying member. The KEY to the simplified life and increased income of “the membership miracle” is in the planning…. in the connection… in the HEART and HEAD of your membership offer itself.

Seriously, it all just flows from there.
Easily.
Gaining steam as it goes and grows.

IF you’d like to get my (free) BLUEPRINT for an immediately profitable Membership program of your own, just comment “MEMBER” below or PM me on Facebook and I’ll get it to you as soon as the ink dries.

The post How Membership Programs Simplify Your Life appeared first on b. michelle pippin.

There’s a lot of benefit to creating a membership program for your business.   (And NEARLY every business can and should do it.  (Examples can be found HERE.)  The benefits include:

• financial growth and leverage (do something once, get paid many times over.)
• high-profit margins
• flexibility and portability  (work when and how you want)
• a deeper connection with your market
• an ability to live and work on your own terms, without compromising your own values and priorities.

It also — as I’ve said before — can streamline and simplify your current business… bringing everyone under one umbrella and serving them from there.   You can read more about the incredible BENEFITS of a membership HERE. 

BUT, here’s the thing: A LOT of people fail at FILLING group programs or membership… and here is what they all have in common:

They FIRST fail to sell their “other” product or service to private, individual clients… and so they approach a group program as a way to offer people a group rate and hope to get a lot more YESes. 

Wrong move.

First, this applies a PRICE solution to a NON-price problem.  Do not assume that because people didn’t buy, it was because your pricing was too high.  Price is just ONE factor of your offer.  If you fear your private fees are “too high,” first consider further building out what you offer…. upping the perceived (and real) value of what the offer includes.

Second, offering a group program when you haven’t yet figured out the “private client thing” — i.e. how to sell 1:1 — actually COMPLICATES the sales process for you.  Not ONLY do you still have to learn how to package your offers so they are a HELL YES (as you do when selling a private 1:1 service) you must also clear the hurdles inherent in group programs:

• a group dynamic
• how much individual attention will people receive
• how effective will a group program be, and possibly
• a DATE / LOCATION hurdle if your offer includes anything LIVE.

No matter where you are in your business, you CAN and SHOULD consider expanding into group, digital and/or membership programs. It’s just smart business, a savvy time leverage and an unparalleled income multiplier.   BUT….

But,
But,
But….

It MUST be about them. The group offer MUST be BETTER because it’s NOT private.  It must make SENSE.  You must build out the group offer — NOT simply as some “discount group rate,” — but ALSO as something that offers your market something DIFFERENT, something with more layers, something more dynamic than private work alone.

If you’d like MY PERSONAL help building out YOUR leveraged income, PLEASE check out The Membership Miracle and join our BETA group of 20 do-ers, with incredible bonuses.

The post The #1 Way To FAIL At Creating A Group Program Or Membership Offer appeared first on b. michelle pippin.