Sometime between millennials being labeled "lazy" and "entitled," and the growing trend of entrepreneurship, rest was out and hustle was in. Then, unsurprisingly, came the burnout epidemic. 

I saw a quote on Twitter the other day that said "Rest is not a reward. You don't have to earn rest. You need rest. You deserve rest. You are worthy of rest simply because you are a living being. And don't ever feel guilty for taking time to rest." As a millennial myself, and one that despises the lazy title, I found myself working until 2 or 3 am every night. I say "found" like it's past tense, and I have gotten better, but I'm still guilty of overworking myself pretty frequently. So this blog is as much for me as it is for you. 

But the truth is, you can't pour from an empty cup. We'll actually get more done if we let ourselves rest properly vs. trying to work incessantly without a break. Research has shown that with regular breaks, productivity actually increases and more is accomplished. 

Re...

Let's chat freebies. Do you have one? How many? Are they working for you?

A freebie may not make you money directly, but it will be the most important resource you create in your business because this is what will "hook" people and get them interested in what actually does make you money. Freebies are also known as list builders or lead magnets. 

You want your lead magnet to be straightforward and simple, something that can provide your audience a quick, immediate win. Freebies commonly take on the form of checklists, templates, or worksheets. Quizzes are another direction you can pursue to obtain leads. They don't offer the value that the other freebies might, but for some reason, everyone loves a good quiz and they typically work extremely well. 

My best performing lead magnet to date has been a free welcome email template. I've also had a lot of success with an entrepreneur-related Harry Potter quiz (yes, I'm a huge HP nerd).

Now, my Harry Potter quiz was extremely successful, b...

Environment is everything. It impacts how we feel, the way we work, and even how productive we are. I've learned this the hard way: from a series of less than ideal living situations that negatively affected me in many ways, only to make me appreciate my current environment that much more. 

Let me take you back. After graduating from high school, I moved to the Twin Cities to attend a private college. Even though my roommates were amazing, living in such close quarters with 3 other girls in a big city, which has never been my thing anyway, was pretty terrible. Then I transferred schools and moved in with my boyfriend and his parents. He traveled most of the year, so at the time, it didn't make sense to pay on his own place when he was hardly there. Again, his parents were great, but that's no one's ideal situation. Next came a rental that was always meant to be short-term, even though it ended up being longer-term than we had planned. The common denominator with all these places? I co...

Do you feel like you're marketing to crickets? You're putting out content consistently but it just doesn't seem like it's resonating with your audience? I know how discouraging it is. Try my simple approach that will prevent this from ever happening again. 

First, you'll need to decide which search engine will better serve you in this exercise. The options are Pinterest or Google. The way you'll choose which search engine to use is by identifying where your ICA (ideal customer avatar) is hanging out. Are they present on Pinterest or would they visit Google to answer their questions? Whatever your answer is, use that.

Second, type in key words related to your industry/business. These search engines will auto-populate what people are searching for most in relation to those key words. For instance, when I type in marketing, the results I get are: 

1. marketing ideas

2. marketing strategy

3. marketing strategy social media

4. marketing quotes

5. marketing plan 

6. marketing tips

S...

There's a very common misconception out there among business owners that you need thousands of followers in order to be successful. I often hear "When I have tons of followers like __________, then I'll be making sales left and right." It's like they're waiting for followers to "happen" to them. You think you know what's coming right, what I'm going to advise you to do? I'm not going to suggest the solution is to go out and make a bunch of followers happen, that "you're in control of your destiny" kinda thing. Nope.  

Here's the deal: a small targeted niche audience gives you an advantage over those with tons of followers. Why? Two words. Customer experience. Even if they're not your customers yet, you can give your followers more of a personalized experience that just isn't possible when you have thousands upon thousands of followers. Use this to your advantage! Here are some ideas you can implement into your follower experience when you're "small:"

1. Start genuinely thoughtful con...

You've heard the old song and dance over and over, serve your audience. But the people you hear it from aren't just saying it. Listen up.

I teach this concept in my course, the Digital Marketing Guide to Profits. Serve, add value, blah blah blah, right? But think about it this way: if you're hearing it over and over again from experts in the marketing industry, it must have some merit.

If you serve your audience 3 times more than you sell to them, you'll do 3 times the sales once you do sell. Read that again. You're going to triple the sales you would otherwise if you serve your audience by being attentive to their needs and adding value for free the majority of the time. That means: not selling their ears off. No one wants to be sold to. That's the plain and simple truth. I don't know about you, but I have never heard anyone say, "gosh I so enjoyed the experience of this person pressuring me into buying this thing."

Ok so now you know you need to serve your audience, but maybe you ...