I’m going to say something wildly controversial – having a business coach or mentor is NOT a requirement or necessity to run or create a wildly successful online business. In fact,  I believe that you are divinely capable of creating the business you dream of using all the skills, experience, and gifts that you’ve cultivated throughout your life. The honest to Goddess truth is that there are free resources out the wazoo (thanks Google!) that you can  leverage to get your business off the ground and if bootstrapping your business is your best or only option at this point then more power to you because at some point – we’ve all done it and it does actually work! 

So if it’s not a requirement then why is having a business mentor a thing that a lot of people seem to invest in? Simply put – while not a requirement in my experience it makes the process of building your online business easier, more seamless, and in my humble opinion MORE FUN! Who doesn’t wanna talk about their business with someone who gets it and totally understands the dream!?

So whether you’ve begun to think about investing in a business mentor or you’re trying to be strategic in when to invest, on today’s blog I’m sharing 3 Crucial Moments You Should Consider Hiring a Business Coach:

1. If you’re continuously spinning out in the beginning phases of building your business – I’m talking you start and stop and start again and it’s affecting your ability to get your first few clients. We’ve all been there – you’re sitting at your computer, almost in tears because you did all the things based on the Google checklist you found (niche, logo, website, business cards) but you’re stuck because you STILL don’t know how to go out and get your first client. You freeze at the very thought of trying to sell and your results are showing it.  A business mentor or coach has a tried and tested strategy that has worked for them and their clients so you don’t have to guess on what to do or how to do it! They simply teach you their strategy and coach you through implementing it into your business including all the ups, downs, and sticky points! This is why it’s majorly important to make sure your business coach is an expert in the space you desire to be successful (more on that in a different blog post). 
2. If you’ve mastered the basics in your business but feel stuck in terms of growth or your ability to scale. Your business mentor will be able to help assess your goals and your current product/service offering to help you identify ways that you might be able to grow and scale your business in a profitable way. In working with my clients, scaling is usually done by bringing on new team members, launching new courses or offers, and having already mastered the basics of your business. A business mentor can help you with understanding what questions to ask your potential team members, how to position your new course thoughtfully, and how to scale the information you’ve already gathered from the basics to serve a bigger audience in less time. 
3. If your results are hit & miss. As a business mentor, when I see my clients are getting inconsistent results, it’s my job to help them figure out why and then help them triage the situation. I help my clients pin point where the inconsistency of their results are stemming from and we work to co-create a plan to resolve it. Sometimes this means we turn up the heat on their launches and sometimes this means we go deep on mindset blocks. Whatever the case,  it’s so easy to overthink and overanalyze every piece of your business so having a second set of experienced eyes to come in and objectively look at your business is all it takes to move through the inconsistency – and that my love – is hard to Google.

So no matter where you are in the process of building your online business, I hope this blog post helps you to pinpoint whether or not having a business mentor is right for you! Regardless of where you’ve landed on the decision – my invitation is to first trust your gut instinct and ask yourself – “If my success was inevitable, would I want support in this process or nah?”

If you’re really into bootstrapping your business right now – I invite you to check out my upcoming free workshop: Content Strategy Bootcamp! We are live on Friday, July 9 at 1:00p CST so head on over to this link to learn more about how to talk to your ideal customers through your content strategy.

For the past 3 weeks, I have been working my launch process for Unbound like a mother f*cker. I have been GIVING everything I have into my mindset, my content, my current clients, all while trying to keep my nervous system regulated while I sell the final few spots.

Last week I was exchanging DM’s on Facebook with two potential clients when the thing that most of us fear happening happened…I was hit with objections and the reasons why these two people were on the fence about joining Unbound. 3 years ago I would have went deep into stories that said I’m not good at sales, sales feels shity, and that I have to convince everyone to buy but instead I dropped into my body and noticed two distinct energies coming through between handling the objections of the two potential clients. One energy felt expansive and exciting because it was a good fit and the other felt constrictive and icky because the program wasn’t a good fit for her. Let me explain: one person was on the fence because she wasn’t convinced my mastermind was right for her and the other was fully bought into Unbound but on the fence because she was scared to invest before she had clients. Notice the difference? Trying to convince someone to buy something they don’t feel is right for them is straight up bro sales and tbh in my experience no amount of objection handling can overcome a prospect not being bought into your offer. The other potential client was fully bought in, loving my content (yes this is where content strategy plays a major role in our business), at the perfect place in her business to invest and succeed but just needed me to alleviate her concerns so she felt empowered to say yes. BIG DIFFERENCE MY PALS.

You are not here to CONVINCE people to hire you.

So how do you know if someone is bought into your offer? In my experience, the best way to determine the level of buy-in is simply to get curious pre call and during the call if they throw out an objection. This looks like having them fill out a pre-call form before you get on the call or by asking them more about their objection by saying “if this issue was resolved would you be a full on yes to this service?” If they say yes – then they are likely bought in – but if they say no, they may not be bought in and you might need to ask a few more questions to understand where the breakdown is for them.

Sales and objection handling is a natural part of owning an online business and if you want to make sales feel easier and less invasive, notice which of these two energies feels most present in your sales conversations and act accordingly.

Have questions on objection handling? Head on over to my free Facebook Community and post your question to the discussion wall.

Staying in your leadership as the CEO of your business is HARD AF when you’re exhausted – both physically and emotionally. But don’t ignore the exhaustion! Rest is in order if you want to continue leading with impact.

It’s a fine line between taking care of yourself and maintaining momentum in your business, so here are three tips to finding the middle ground:

• Tune into your body – what does it really need right now? Take five minutes to close your eyes and ask for some guidance on how to recover.
• Give yourself a specific time frame to rest – shut down from all responsibilities, even if it’s just for two hours.
• Give yourself permission to make rest a priority – remind yourself that resting is necessary for growth and that it’s safe (and smart) to take some time away from the hustle.

Don’t give up on self-care just because life is busy – rest is essential if you want to reach peak performance! xoxo, Ashley Kruse

I know you’ve created a stellar signature offer and methodology that is sure to get your clients results but every time you launch, you feel like the offer just seems to fall on deaf ears! No matter how many times you launch or how seasoned of an entrepreneur you are, you feel like it’s a drawn out game of “guess-who” or “cat & mouse”. Fear not my friend because today that’s changing as I share the 4 questions you should be asking yourself when it comes to getting ideal clients through your sales pipeline through this cute little thang I call Breadcrumbing.

What is Breadcrumbing? Instead of going through the same anxiety-inducing process every time you want to increase your revenue, Breadcrumbing allows you to become super clear on when someone is ready to buy while avoiding guessing games. It’s like laying out breadcrumbs that lead right into a zinger and the thing that your ideal client has been looking for– i.e. your amazing offer!

BREADCRUMB to guide your loyal customers back to the table with a delicious breadcrumb trail that keeps them coming back for seconds without feeling like you have to hunt them down. 

BREADCRUMB so that you can break away from the constant launch cycle you’ve committed to in the name of your 6-figure business dreams.

BREADCRUMB so that you are crystal clear on what your clients need and want from you so that when doors open on your newest offer – you’ve got payment notifications blasting your inbox. 

BREADCRUMB so you can more easily identify who is prepared and ready for your offer instead of nervously testing their interest with a DM.

By breadcrumbing your ideal clients, you can outsmart your business like Tom does Jerry! Instead of playing hide and seek with sales prospects, why not build an experience that will make it easier for your clients to say yes to your offers and for you to close clients quicker. 

 Let’s get the cheese ready — buh-bye old fashioned way of selling/marketing; hello modern approach to the results you want.

Take a moment to go question by question and answer these questions honestly and as objectively possible. Then make a list of any weaknesses in your process – and finally get to testing and tweaking (but one thing at a time so you know exactly which thing shifted your results)!

1. Are you fully invested in your offer and do potential clients see that enthusiasm coming through?
2. Does your audience see YOU as someone who can help them solve their problems?
3. Is your audience clear on how your OFFER can help them solve their problems? Meaning – are they clicking through to download your free stuff? Are you getting discovery calls booked?
4. Is your audience or ideal client converting into dolla dolla bills? If not, what are you doing to help them mitigate their fear or perceived risk of investment?

Baddie don’t hit the panic button yet! Juggling a business, launching and keeping your sanity can be tricky – but have no fear. The Breadcrumb That B*tch Intensive is here to make it easier for you. This isn’t like doing math homework; companies invest millions in marketing research so there’s nothing wrong with feeling stuck or overwhelmed if thats where you are right now. Claim your spot before they’re all gone—and let’s get you clear on exactly where your breadcrumbs are amiss! Click here to claim your spot!

xoxo,

Ashley Kruse

P.S. Not quite ready to invest in personalized support for your breadcrumbs but still want to learn how to DIY it? I got you – mark your calendars for April 19th between 3:30-4:45 for the FREE Breadcrumb That B*tch Masterclass! Registration details will be released soon!

I hope you are starting the week off on 🔥 for your 2023 goals but if not – that’s totally okay too. Some of us are slow burners and there’s absolutely NOTHING wrong with that if that’s where you’re at!

This past week has been extremely reflective for me and as I worked through intention setting and vision boarding (the first of 3 times I’ll do this over the next few weeks) for 2023 – I had to pause for a moment and reflect on one question – and that question was – what had the biggest impact on my business this last year?

Why is that question so important? Well for starters – I had a pretty bang out year financially speaking. And don’t get me wrong high cash years are cool but as someone that cares more about building my business sustainably – what I really wanted to know is what specifically impacted my other numbers like profit margin, my average monthly recurring revenue, the amount of time my clients stick around once they hire me, and where those sales actually came from. And if I think about the ONE thing that helped me hit these results it was:

Learning how to lead my business from a responsive place vs. a reactive place.

Being a CEO that leads from responsive place instead of a reactive place helped me to:

• Stay detached from my big goals so that rather than spin out in self-doubt and fear when sales were off trend in Q2 and Q3, I was able to stay focused on small things that would get me one step closer to my desired results every single day and make up for it in Q4
• Look at my business from the macro or high level perspective using data instead of my emotions to tweak wasn’t working in my annual business plan
• Become more adaptable as an entrepreneur especially amidst looming economic concerns, changes in the coaching industry, and with even bigger goals for 2023 and beyond

The most effective leaders of any company you see thriving are the leaders that focus on solving problems from a regulated place, responsive place vs. a panicked reactive place.

There is a MAJOR difference in how this looks so let me give you an example.

Fear Based Reactive Thoughts: The economy is changing and it could impact my business

Responsive Truths: The economy ALWAYS changes and these changes can and will always impact businesses.

Responsive Leadership Approach: See’s the news about the dreaded “R” word and thinks – hmmm – isn’t that interesting? How can I adapt to this changing financial climate? Then creates a plan to speak to and position the business for long term success and growth (i.e. speaks to why now isn’t the time to stop investing in coaching or DFY services, create an intentional lower cost bridge offer to help build trust with consumers that feel shy about investing but that ultimately leads them into your next package or high ticket offering – I call this Breadcrumbing That B*tch).

Reactive Leadership Approach: Sees the news about the dreaded “R” word – makes decisions based in scarcity and fear – fires team to immediately cut costs, creates 2-3 new offers to see what sticks or lowers all price points to stay “competitive”.

See the difference? Major energetic differences and vastly impacts your ability to create a business that is secure! As you head into 2023, practice noticing the difference between how these two leadership approaches pop up and take notice if there are patterns!

P.s. Want to learn how to be a responsive leader when it comes to selling your coaching or DFY services? Check out the Sales Baddie Playbook now!