Who’s holding you accountable?

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks as I reached my “launch” of my group training program…..almost by accident! 

Having only started in business in September, I feel I’m still evolving what I offer but really had in mind that I wanted to offer a training program of some kind. I had been dabbling with it but not focusing on it in the way that I should to make it successful. Then one day I attended a networking event and we were asked a question to answer in the chat box surrounding significant goals that we wanted to achieve. I had typed in filming a digital course and someone else on the call spotted it, contacted me afterwards and from that day forward we became accountability partners. She is an accountant and has several courses based around Knowing Your Numbers (one of which I’m currently doing and is super effective - it’s given me amazing clarity in my business already!) so with me being more focused on the copy, we complement each other really well.

So in the last few months, we’ve had a focused catch up call every 2 weeks, with markers that we each needed to achieve by that date and it not only kept me on track but pushed me to do more in the lead up.

With a month to go, Aleksandra said to me, “so when are you doing your webinar?” I had secretly been hoping she might not mention that as I wasn’t sure whether that was the right move for me, but she pushed me to do it and I’m so glad she did! 

I then had some lovely, supportive friends who sat through a “run-through” and were happy to critique and give me some suggestions of what I could improve on. I am so grateful for their support, and for yours as I had so many turn up for the webinar and have subsequently had 51 people watch it on replay! 

If I have helped a few business owners get to grips with Instagram I’m so happy, as I really feel it has a lot to offer in terms of reach and being visible, particularly in a time when so few of us can actually get out and physically see what businesses are offering.

So I’m delighted to say I have welcomed in 11 business owners into my training program and I love the sense of community that we’re building already. I’ve always known we learn more as a group, but to actually see that creation happen in front of you and know that you have brought this group of people together is an amazing feeling. I’m trying not to feel too overwhelmed and I’m so grateful that they’ve chosen to work with me.

Week 1 under the belt and into Week 2, so it was time to turn my attention back to the blog. If you’re busy creating a business and some of this resonates with you, I’d love to know some of the breakthroughs you’ve had along the way. We can all learn so much from each other, avoiding costly mistakes and picking up top tips that can save us so much time, money and anxiety.

My aim now is to make this group training the best I can and my first cohort will always be my most special as I feel like I’ve found my feet (at last!).

As you may know, the first five business owners to sign up will get a 1-2-1 strategy session, so I’m excited to offer those in a couple of weeks, once I get to know a bit more about them and can offer some bespoke suggestions to make Instagram work for their businesses.

With a wide range of businesses being represented - fleet truck sales, hypnotherapy, photography, cafes, event planner, video trainers and health & safety to name a few, it’s exciting to see what kind of collaborations may also come of being in this group….watch this space!

The course is on track and I’m developing a better understanding of all the tech involved and also looking at new software to improve the video quality. I’ve been asked to supply a recorded training for a client and Zoom is great and so easy for sharing after the event, however I hadn’t realised the resolution would look so poor. I had thought I’d switch to loom, but it looks like that has a similar issue - the benefits of cloud recording! It may be time for me to investigate YouTube…...I feel I have been avoiding that one! I’d love to know which software you use for recording in your business - I’m leaning towards EcammLive at this point and once I’ve tried it I’ll report back and let you know whether that was a good option.

It’s hard to believe that all of this has developed from wanting to leave work to offer social media to small businesses! Sometimes I have to pinch myself that so many opportunities have come my way and I am truly grateful for those. What opportunities have come your way in these last few months? 

I don’t like to look back with regret because it’s not a good use of energy, but I can’t help but wish I’d been brave enough to leave paid employment sooner. Perhaps it was because I hadn’t absorbed enough business knowledge to set me on my way? Everything happens for a reason as they say, so I’m determined to make the best of any opportunity that comes my way going forward. 

Which tech challenges have you overcome? There seems to always be something new to learn and I feel like I’m absorbing new information at an alarming rate - and how empowering that is! Who knew it would feel so amazing to really work on the things that light you up.

So my top takeaways this week are to really focus on the elements of your business you’d like to invest in or improve on. Moving forward requires you to take action, even small action steps will get you closer to reaching your goals.

Wish me luck with understanding Ecamm Live and I hope I won’t have pulled all my hair out by the end of this week!!

Which action steps are you taking in your business to help you reach your goals? Do let me know in the comments as I love hearing about your challenges and how you overcome them.