Do you sometimes feel like you’re the best kept secret? Do you want to scream and shout from the rooftops about how amazing your classes are but no one seems to hear you?

The marketplace these days can feel so crowded and it can seem an almost impossible task to be seen and heard above all the noise.

I have worked with so many small business owners over the past couple of years who share this exact frustration.

And when we start to drill into their strategies to work out how we can make things better, one common problem pops up time after time.

They are pouring time, energy and money into trying to find that one magic solution that will fix everything. Often they are attempting what I would classify as “advanced” techniques but none of them are hitting the mark.

Why?

They are running before they can walk. They’re trying to build a house (well, a business) on wobbly foundations. They haven’t completely nailed the basics.

So in today’s podcast episode we are going back to basics.

I am going to walk you through the two most fundamental, but important, marketing questions that you must have complete clarity over before you can add the frills.

And if you’re thinking – I already know the basics – I don’t need to hear this….. then this episode is particularly for you!

Even the strongest of foundations can develop cracks with all the changes that are happening in the world around us but fixing those weaknesses can really help us build an incredible, successful and strong business going forwards. So let’s take the time to get this right. It will pay off in the long run.

When you started running your own business, I’m guessing you had a vision. A vision of the business you were going to create. A vision of what your life would look like as an entrepreneur.

For me, my business was going to give me flexibility and additional time to spend with my very young family – something my corporate job wasn’t able to give me.

But just 2 years into running my own business, the reality was far from my vision.

It slowly dawned on me that I had created a beast of a business that zapped all my time and gave me very little flexibility.

Something had to change.

And it did.

And this is something you can have too. You just need to have the right knowledge and systems in place to make it all happen.

I hope you enjoy this episode and I look forward to connecting with you again next week for some more top tips to help you grow your amazing kids’ activity business.

Bye for now

Claire

In this episode, I share with you the personal journey I went on to create the business I have today. The one that generates six figures and allows me to work just 4 hours a month. The one that aligns almost perfectly to my original dream.

Love it or hate it – social media can be a very powerful tool in your business. If used correctly it can completely transform your chances of not only getting seen by a potential customer but also converting them into actual paying customers.

We’ve all probably been there at some point in our business….. that awful moment when you’ve spent hours carefully scripting a beautiful sales post, sending it out into the world with much hope and excitement, only for it to fall completely flat on its face. Zero engagement. Zero sales.

So what is the best way to use our social media profiles for maximum impact?

In this week’s podcast episode, we dive into the three essential ingredients you need to have in place before trying to sell and explore the five ways you can use social media to convert your followers into happy, paying customers.

Social media really is a golden gift if you know how to use it properly.

Enjoy!

Ouch! That horrible feeling when you receive some negative feedback. It’s not a nice part of running a business. It hurts. It often doesn’t feel fair.

It can stir lots of emotions, sadness, anger, worry, stress, frustration. It can make you doubt yourself. People around you will say “don’t take it personally” but, yes, it can feel very personal when you’ve poured everything you’ve got into your business.

Receiving negative feedback is part of running a business. It’s a fact of business life. Perhaps you’ve already had some negative reviews. Or perhaps you have yet to get one (and if this is the case then I can assure you that you will get one at some point!).

But how should you deal with it? Should you respond? How should you respond? Is the customer always right? Will the feedback damage your reputation?

In this week’s podcast episode, I’ll be sharing with you my top 5 tips for responding to negative feedback the RIGHT way (PLUS I’ve even got an extra bonus tip at the end so stick around as it’s definitely one not to miss!)

Funnels.

Chances are you’ve probably heard about them.

You know they’re a good thing to have in your business BUT you don’t yet have a beautifully well-oiled funnel working in your business right now.

Maybe you’re not exactly sure how to set one up, perhaps the word “funnel” puts you right off because it sounds too technical or perhaps you’ve got one up and running but it’s not quite delivering the way you had hoped.

If this is you, then today’s podcast episode is just for you. We will be exploring all things funnels:

• What is a funnel?
• The two types of funnel every business owner should have
• The four critical steps you need to know when putting together your funnel
• Why funnels are so important to your kids’ activity business

Oh, and we’re going to keep this super simple. Why? Well, this is my motto in business – keep it simple. Funnels can become very complex very quickly but they really don’t need to be.

So grab yourself a very cold drink (or even one of the kids’ lollies - anything to stop melting in this crazy heat!), plug in and take a listen.

If you are anything like me, entering into the world of entrepreneurship was a time of mixed emotions. Excitement, hope, drive and determination but also worry, stress and fear…..

My journey has been, on the whole, a very successful one but it certainly hasn’t been without my fair share of challenges, obstacles and low points.

I have learned SO MUCH from the process and I wanted to share with you today the 10 things I wish I had known at the very start of my journey.

I’ll confess right now that opening up like this does make me feel a little uncomfortable but I hope that it will bring you so much value. Either to help you navigate your own challenges and obstacles or to steer you away from others.

Enjoy!

Taking on a teacher…..

Perhaps your business is up and running and you’re thinking about that next step.

Or maybe you’re not quite there yet but you know you’ll get there someday soon.

Taking on a teacher can feel a bit daunting. A big step. So many questions may be buzzing round your head…..

Where do you find them? What questions should you ask them? How much will you pay them? Will they be any good? How will you train them? How will you stop them stealing your lesson plans and customers?

BUT before you get to all that….. firstly, you need to ensure that you are employing them LEGALLY.

You may or may not know that how you employ them (self-employed vs employee) isn’t actually your choice. There are a set of rules to follow and the outcome of these rules will determine their correct employment status.

Get it wrong and this could be VERY costly in the longer term.

So this week, I’ll be running through how to determine the correct employment status of your teachers to ensure you stay on the right side of the law.

Life’s not fair. We all know it.

It’s all too easy to concentrate and focus on what others have that you don’t. Ways that your competitor can easily excel past you that just doesn’t feel fair.

However, have you ever turned this thinking around? What do you have going for YOU that isn’t “fair”? Ways that you can naturally or easily get ahead? Things that will leave your competitor thinking, “Well that just isn’t fair”.

This week, I’ll be sharing the seven main categories that you can use to identify your unfair advantages and use them to go leapfrogging past your competitor (nicely) with ease.

Enjoy – and see you next week for some more juicy top tips.