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When I made the decision and signed the contract to sell my previous business at the end of 2020, I realized that I wanted to create what I had needed for so long as a business owner, a space where Regional Business Women could easily access world class training, and to learn the business and mindset skills needed without traveling hundreds of kilometers and without spending loads of money to access it. And I also wanted to create a safe space, a warm, supportive, judgment free network, to feel seen, heard and celebrated, for being ambitious and celebrated for wanting to reach those big goals. And part of that vision was creating the Regional Business Women's membership, which happened a little over 12 months ago. And since then, I've welcomed some incredible women into the program. I have two of our founding members on the show here for you today. And they are here to share with you their business journey thus far, why they started their business. They share the inner struggle that all business owners feel but seldom talk about, and they also share what has happened and helped them to grow their business. This is the shiz in business podcast, where every week I'll explore topics and have real conversations around what it's like to run a regional business, the advantages and the unique challenges. I'm Donna Han, a seasoned regional business owner, and certified high performance business coach. I'm here to make training and professional development easily accessible for regional business women everywhere. So join me and guest experts as we share tools and insights to elevate your business, boost your mindset, and ensure that you never feel alone on this journey. No matter where you live. I'm fired up and I'm here to educate you on what it truly takes to grow your business and your mindset beyond what you thought possible. Welcome to Episode 116 of the shoes in business podcast. Thanks again for joining me here. This week's a really exciting week because for the next 10 days a little more than a week, I guess. Over the next 10 days, I'm offering lots of free training and daily live coaching. In promotion of the last time you can join the Regional Business Women's membership as a founding member. There are some extra bonuses on offer for you to over the next 10 days if you choose to back yourself and to join the Regional Business Women's membership. Now when I started the membership a little over 12 months ago, I set the prices pretty low, to launch it out into the world and to welcome in some founding members, the OGS if you will, and the next 10 days is the last opportunity that you will have to join as a founding member at that low price. Now here's what you get when you join a monthly online masterclass, presented by me, a monthly online masterclass presented by guest expert, a monthly online networking session, a monthly online group coaching session. And we also do a quarterly 90 Day planning session together as well. Now you can show up live. Or you can watch the recordings because everything gets recorded and saved in a Netflix style library that you can access from anywhere at any time. Plus, there's a exclusive Facebook group to connect you and to get that ongoing support that you need. And there's so much more, it is jam packed with value. And it's time that we put our prices up. So as of the 23rd of March 2024, the founding members rate will end and prices will be going up. So when you join as a founding member, the low price is set at that price for the entire time that you stay a member, it will never go up for you even when I put the prices up in the future, right. So when you sign up as an annual member, if you choose to do that you can either sign up as a monthly member or an annual member. When you sign up as an annual member, you'll also get one month free. So in addition to all the extra bonuses, which you can check out on my website, it is the best time to join before prices go up on the 23rd of March 2024. Go to donor hand.com forward slash success. That is where you'll find all of the information. And that is where you can sign up. Now my favorite part of the Regional Business Women's membership are the members and to share their business stories and to inspire you to chase after your dreams. I have two founding members of the Regional Business Women's membership on the show today to chat with you. And both of these women have huge hearts. They're super passionate about what they do. And they keep it real, which is how we roll in the Regional Business Women's membership. So I can't wait to have this conversation with you. I am going to welcome to the show Louise Parker from CBS by Louise and Belinda Moss from rightio. And so that we don't talk over each other, although we know that's going to happen at some point in time, because we are all chatterboxes. I'm going to start with you first. Louise, welcome to the show. Thanks, Donna. Thank you. Could you start perhaps by introducing yourself and your business? Yes.
5:20
Okay, so I'm Louise, I'm based here in Tannum. Sands, and I run CVS by the leaves. Although it's becoming a bit more of a niche market, because of where I live, I service all types of industries. I'm writing resumes every week for nurses and project managers, police officers, administrators, teachers, I get a lot of the teachers. A lot of military ex military, and definitely my bread and butter is construction FIFO and mining officers and crates, people. That's what I do every week. And I love it. What
5:55
a range of different walks of life that you won't work with. That's incredible. Yes,
6:01
yeah. And I make it a point every week, or every time I come across a new client, I make it a point to ask one personal type slash nosy question, because I just want to know more about you know, what they do. And it's really exciting. This, I'm learning so many different things from different people, you know, like, I have a client at the moment who operates machinery in Brisbane, but the machinery is out at a mine site in Mara. And to me, that just blows my
6:26
mind. Wow, that is pretty crazy. Hey, so he likens
6:30
it to you know, doing a video game, but it's real life. And I've gotten him to draw it and show me how he does it. And he went so far to even send me videos from his control handles and it was just, it's wonderful. I'm getting to know these people. Yeah.
6:43
And how long have you had your business Luis
6:48
won't age myself but probably about 22 years. So I was in my late 20s. In my late teens, when I started writing resumes. I was sitting in Dublin. And I was in my late teens. And I realized that some actually really liked doing it. I really liked doing it. But it wasn't until I got into my 30s that I started taking it seriously. And I employed somebody to do a website and some logo and stuff like that. And I really started taking myself seriously and got an accountant. And I'm glad I did. I'm here right? Yeah.
7:19
Thank you for sharing. Belinda. How about you your turn? Would you like to introduce yourself and your business? Tell us a little bit about why you got into it and who you serve?
7:30
Sure. Firstly, thank you for having me. I I am a calligraphy and hand lettering artist and graphic designer. My business is fairly new. I only started in July last year. So I'm about what eight months in and signed up with you pretty much at the start because I knew I needed help getting things going. I had no idea about running calligraphy business. Yeah, so I do calligraphy for all kinds of things. I do place cards, which is kind of what people first thing called weddings, place cards, invitations, things like that. I also do hand lettering for signage, I do window signs for shops, where I draw on their windows. Yeah, all by hand. I do it all by hand. So lots of people say to me, why don't you do it by hand? Why don't you just print it or, you know, get DECOs printed or whatever. But I just love the art of actually hand drawing and handwriting things. And it gives my customers something that is truly unique. I could write five different place cards that say donor but they'll all be different in in the slightest way. But still, whatever which one you get is yours and no one else's. And I really love that side of it. So yeah,
8:48
and I think it becomes a bit of a treasure to write. Like, it's not just something that gets thrown in the bin at the end of the event. Like it's something that you actually keep and retain. It's part of it's part of that memory that all goes together beautifully. And you also do engraving they do
9:03
as well. Yeah, so there's not much that I won't or can't write on I usually find a way so things like drink bottles, perfume bottles, glassware, wine bottles, things like that. I do have permanent markers and permanent inks that work on those but if people want something that's a bit more robust and will never come off, I can engrave it and and then that's there forever. Also, I do foiling so I can do hot foiling on leather and fabrics on paper on all sorts of things. So random requests, and
9:37
I'm so creative. You're so creative. I didn't actually put this together until this very moment but you both work with words right Louise you're creating CVS, excuse me. And putting those words together so beautifully word smithing. And Belinda you're creating like you know beautiful calligraphy using words amazing you Yeah, that's true. So you're both at very different stages of business, Louise, you've been in business for years. And Belinda urine, your first eight months of business. share with me what led you to start your own business and what you love most as a business owner.
10:20
Think being, you know, back in my late teens and early 20s, at that time that was purely drinking money. You know, at that back then it was I would have my friends pay me $25 to do up their resume. And I'm sure you remember girls, but that would have bought you quite a few vodka cruisers back in the day. And that was just that was good enough for me. But nowadays, if I flip the script, I would say that the reason that I'm doing it now is because it does give me my nice supplementary income to put into the family. And, you know, with so many different avenues and streams of income and opportunities, it's almost matching my husband's wage, which is excellent. That's amazing.
11:06
Congratulations. It's so good to hear that that's happening for you. Amazing. How about you, Belinda?
11:14
Well, I can only dream to match my husband to age. But you never know, hopefully, one day.
11:22
Me or Linda, let's go there.
11:23
Why not? I have had quite a, an interesting background, I guess. Career wise, I was a graphic designer. And I worked in graphic design for about 10 years. Before moving into hospitality, trying a few different things. Didn't really stay there all that long. I studied a degree in Health Science and became a clinical nutritionist. didn't love that either. And then when I when I decided to go back to doing something creative. I just knew I love calligraphy, I've done it as a hobby and and just automatically pick up a pen and write something that looks pretty since I was a kid. And my mum and dad gave me a calligraphy pen kit when I was a teenager. And I just wrote and wrote and wrote with that thing. And we would have ink spills all over the house. It was everywhere. But it's just something I've always come back to and come back to come back to and then we had a few big life changes last year in our family, and I decided now's the time that I've got this opportunity to share what I do with the work world and people want to pay me to do that. That's amazing.
12:43
Amazing. Yeah, absolutely. Um, let's just talk about that for a second in regards to like choosing to back yourself and going you know what, this is my time. I've been thinking about doing it for ages, I've been arming an earring or you know, maybe you've been dabbling in it for a while, like Louise, you explained like a bit here and a bit there. But then you also said in your 30s, you're like, No, I'm going in for this, like, this is my thing. Talk to me about the mindset around that, like what was this? I mean, Belinda, you said there was kind of like a bit of a life changing moment. That doesn't always have to be but often it is that. But talk to me about Louise, share with me how, from your mindset point of view, you are like, Yes, I'm ready to take my business to the next level. And I'm gonna do what I need to do in order to make that happen.
13:32
For me, it was very, very clear, it was a very clear line, it was around the time my firstborn was, was born, I guess. And I realized that I actually didn't want to be an employee. With my daughter being so sickly in her first year, I was the most unreliable employee ever. And I worked for local council and it just whilst they were being, so understanding, it just didn't sit right with me. I didn't like it at all. That the letting of people down and I guess in the mornings feeling very rushed. And then when I sat down, I priced it out, I realized that I could probably make the same amount of money, but working from home. And that's when I put it through and we talk a lot in our monthly sessions about impostor syndrome, and I will often stand at the kitchen sink and I'll say to my husband, not even not realizing I'm talking out loud. Maybe I should get a job. And he'll say to me, you have a job.
14:29
And so do you think like the like those thoughts that come up which I think every a lot of business women have, myself included? There's been times where I've gone you know what, maybe it would be easier to go and get a job. Maybe I need to get myself set up. I need to make sure I've got a CV which you are my person right for that to go. Um, you know, I'm going to put myself out there and get a job because probably you know, I might make more money I'll be less stressed. I'm not going to be thinking all the time because you know the mind of an entrepreneur, you guys have the same mind as me. It's always sticking over. There's always new ideas coming in, you're thinking about this year, you know? And sometimes it can be like, well, maybe I should just go get a job. For me, though, in those moments that I have had. It's like, but I don't, I won't have the flexibility, I won't be able to say yes and no to the things that I want to do, I won't be able to be there for my kids necessarily at the drop of a hat, school holidays, what do I do with them, then when I've got a full time job, you know, and working around my husband's roster, which, you know, he has a shift working, he's a shift worker. So, you know, no, two weeks are ever really the same. As far as like, I could say, oh, I could work like Wednesday to Friday, because his roster doesn't flow in that same nature. So it just wouldn't work for us. But also, I think, from a self belief perspective, when you have that creative mind, and you have a passion and a drive, and you know that you're made for more by aligning with working for somebody else. It kind of like overtime slowly kills your spirit, like, you know, and it's just not for me, I'm like, hell no, I'm here on this earth for a short period of time. Life is both too long and too short not to do what you love. So I'm going in, I'm doing this and like, you're both nodding at me as we're talking here. Belinda, I know that your story behind this is quite like powerful in that you started your business. On the side of having a job. We in the regional business, women's membership, we're having a chat, and you're like, Ah, I just feel like maybe I want to quit my job. Should I do it yet? I'm only so early into the business. What do you guys think? And everyone kind of gave their two cents and their advice, which I love, right? And then the next time I spoke to you, you were like, Yep, I quit that day. I was like,
17:01
and I think I actually said those words to you. It's killing my spirit. And it was it was a job. It was a good job. But it wasn't for me, it just wasn't an everyday I had to force myself to go, knowing there was so much I wanted to be doing in my business or in my home for my family. And I was there earning this lovely wage that came in every week. And I really liked that bit. But it just, it was sparking absolutely no joy for me. And I remember thinking what made me joy is in previous jobs, and kind of what prompted me to have the confidence I guess, to do what I'm doing now, on a public level, rather than just at home not sharing with anyone was that I had a job a couple of years ago in retail. And the business owner said, How are you at writing on the chalkboard? Can you do us a new chalkboard? Because we had a chalkboard door in the in the shop? Oh, I love that. Um, you know, I love writing. I love calligraphy, I can do that. And I started doing chalkboards for her and window signage when she saw that I could actually do an every single thing I did, she got so excited. She was like my biggest fan. And I did recently visit her to thank her because that just gave me that confidence that hey, other people actually like what I do and value it and maybe it is good enough. Maybe it is good enough for people to get excited about it.
18:33
Let's talk about being good enough.
18:40
Yeah, let's talk about being good enough. It's still, I think it's still an ongoing battle, it might be an ongoing battle for quite a while, which is one of those many lots, one of the biggest benefits I have with being in the membership is that I will come along every month, sort of almost feeling like I need to recharge. I've maybe had a bad client and there's not many of them. I need a boost of confidence. And I leave you know, feeling like I'm 10 foot tall and bulletproof and suave and sexy and confident. And oh, I do tonight a bit more than my competitors, but so on. Yeah, so being good enough, I think because I do get quite a lot of feedback from my clients. But because Job Hunting is such a private and emotional situation. I try not to pester them too much, because a lot of my clients obviously don't want people to know they're looking for other work. But on the occasions when I get people calling back and saying hey, I got the job at council or Hey, GPC called me or I got that job at the zoo. That that's that's puts me on a high for a week. And I think well Something must be going right here because people are getting the interviews. This is great. Yeah. I love to Okay, I'll keep going for as long as they keep getting the interview. I
20:02
think you're right. It is a continual work in progress, you know that there's always a new level a new level, as we grow our business as our business becomes more profitable as new opportunities come our way, you know, and you're both getting so many new opportunities coming your way that it's like, you know, oh, gosh, how do I charge for this? And how do I package that up? And what could that look like for me? And could this be more like, you know, could could this be a revenue stream that I should develop from this one opportunity that has now sparked this idea. And I think, with all of that, which is great, like, that's what we want within our business, but that little, sometimes that voice can become quite loud, that negative voice that you know, we all have, so to your point, Louise of having a space where you can come and share, like, really transparently, like I said, at the beginning, we keep things real, you know, you can come into our sessions and be like, Hey, guys, this is happening, you don't have to have a front. I think that's the other challenging thing of being a business owner, particularly as well, in a regional area where everybody knows everybody, it's almost like, sometimes you feel you have to keep a face on, you know, this really professional face that you don't want to share and let people know what's going on on the inside. But oh, my goodness, so hard to, to keep all of that inside. It's really unhealthy. And I think it sends you further into that spiral of self doubt and lack of motivation. And you know, you lose your direction. And so that's so powerful in that you can come into the space and share openly, honestly ask for feedback, be real, and know that it goes nowhere else. And
21:44
I think that's lovely. You know, as you ladies would know, my lovely friend, Lisa Teva from well, basically my competitor here in town with resume writing. I think the maturity that's come from growing the business as well is the maturity of saying, well, obviously, I'm going to have competitors and good for them. And having that friendship now with Lisa and sitting in on these monthly regional business meetings. And looking around the room, and it sometimes strikes me is so good that there might be two accountants there or three photographers, but no one's in competition. We're all learning from each other. I'll lean across and say the least a bit of a plain writing this one yesterday, and she'll give me some tips and vice versa. And that's it. There's, it's just great. We're all in it together.
22:27
Yeah. Yeah. 100%. I love that. I'm interested to know also being in a regional area, are there some things that you have found limiting about being in a regional area as a business owner? Belinda, you're nodding, pretty struggling pitch Do you want to go?
22:47
Um, yes. Well, I mean, to me, as far as I know, I'm the only person he that does what I do, I haven't, I haven't come across anyone else doing it. So that's, well, it's beneficial. I don't have competition here. Not directly. It's hard to because I can't look at, you know, structuring my pricing to match somebody else's. Or if there's no preset accepted, this is what this should cost. Because that's what everyone else's charging, it's different here to what people are charging in the cities and what people are prepared to do. And so I find that quite difficult and also sourcing materials. Waiting for the post, especially if I've got a client that's like, I need this ASAP. Let's Can we do a rush job. And I'm like, Well, I've got to order some stuff. And it's gonna take a couple of weeks to get here. So that bit I find really tricky. And I'm working on that I'd love to source as much as I can locally. And I am reaching out to other local businesses that might be able to help me with that. But I am finding that sometimes
23:57
those specialty things you just can't get regionally and then the freight right. Yeah, the freight can also be so so much. And then you've got to work that into your pricing. And you know, yeah, that's a big challenge. I think that a lot of business owners face when we are a little bit further out of town. For us, like, you know, it's a fair way out of the nearest city. So, yeah, but what about the other side? Like what have you found is really helpful being in a regional area running your business?
24:26
For me, it's people like the word most of my work has come from word of mouth and somebody knowing somebody and within our membership, I've had clients who, even just yesterday in our, our networking event, that people say, Oh, blender, I've been meaning to talk to you. I'd like to get this done, which is awesome. But also even for you, you're about to, to do an event. And I said to you, who's who can I contact to get in on that? Yeah, and you gave me some contact info and I've contacted them and now I'm going to write the place cards for you. The event. So I love that there's such a community and lots of people know lots of people. And that just helps spread the word when, you know, I feel like if I was in a city, I'll just be another number lost in all those numbers. So I do like that. And just the connection and the fact that I can go and walk up my main street and see my artwork on a shop window or a blackboard out the front. I just love that. What a kick. So
25:28
good, so good. How about you, Louise?
25:30
Well, definitely the positives for me is the same as you to Linda, I feel like living in Tannum sands. Even though it's been nine years or so I still feel like I'm on holidays. And it must be the surrounding area. But it's just so beautiful and small. For me. The positives is definitely the word of mouth. And it's always a six degrees of separation. All Yes, you did my, my brothers sisters resume, and she got the job. So I'm going to give you a call, that's wonderful. But then that can also be my my drawback as well is that I love every client, because of different reasons of what they need or want for me. And I also I always want to do the best job for them. And I'm always petrified of running into them and thinking, Did you get the job? Did you know you didn't know? Let me know should I ask. But I do prefer, as Linda said, I prefer being in this small town and having so many different connections. It's really great. And just when I think you know, business is going to dry up, and I've written all the resumes that I can for Gladstone. Well, you know, along come 500 NEW NEW 12 students or a new mining project or something? Yeah. Yeah,
26:42
there's always work. Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, it's that beautiful, opportunistic mindset that, you know, all of our members have that go, you know, what I'm this might be happening, or this might be happening, but I'm going to find my way to work through it. And that's, that's really great. Love, and our community is amazing in helping each other, you know, sharing ideas, sharing contacts, you know, doing all of that to support each other. Like that is a major part of what the membership is about. And yeah, I love it too. So good. Yeah. So, also, I'm interested to know what you have done, what do you would think, like, what would be the thing that you would say, this is the best thing I've done to grow my business? And I know, Belinda, you're in the very early stages. So you know, but it's still, I think, very relevant, because people who are listening are at all different stages of being in business, whether it be at the start, or they've been in business a long time, whether they have started something small, and it's been on the side, and they're ready to dive in and go bigger with it, you know, so I think it's always good to share all of the aspects, the good, the bad, but also like, you know, I'm always inquisitive. I'm always asking people, how did you grow your business? What did you do differently? You know, because we learn from each other. So I would love to hear your thoughts on that.
28:05
So I feel like when I decided to start my business, it would have been really easy to start my Instagram, maybe make a website and sit and wait for people to find me. But I know that that wouldn't have worked. So the best thing I did was just get out and talk to people. And it was so scary. And so nerve wracking, even though you would think just talking about writing pretty words isn't really a scary thing. And it comes down to confidence again, am I good enough? And am I really telling people, I can actually do this. But just going and chatting to people is what has led to getting customers getting repeat customers getting referrals, all that kind of stuff. And it just got better, the more I did it, and and it's still something that I need to keep working on. Because there's still people that haven't heard of me because I am fairly new. And I know there's lots of opportunities that I can go after. But yeah, that was probably the biggest thing. Tell people what I do. Yes.
29:07
Because you don't want to be the world's best kept secret, right. And I think that's a mistake that lots of business owners make. As they go, Oh, I'll have my Instagram and I'll post all the time and I'll make the website and I've got all the things I need. I'm ready and then sit back and the customers will come to me well that doesn't happen right? We have to we have to market our business and marketing isn't just creating a Facebook and Instagram a website like marketing is actively getting out there in the community telling people what you do introducing yourself building relationships and connections. So so so important to grow your business. Love that. What a great tip. Yes. How about you Louise?
29:48
I think it was backing myself in regards to my pricing. Hmm. So sometimes I get pricing mixed up. I will sometimes say to myself How much do I want to earn a week? Or how much would I like to earn an hour? Or what is this worth and that worth, and that's still a bit of a work in progress. But putting my prices up and not doing it too often, but keeping it steady, that's really helped grow the business, focusing a lot on the packages that people are consistently coming backwards. And buying consistently, are really putting a lot of energy into those packages. And yet the same talking to people like last year, I've reached out to not only individuals, but I've been reaching out to so many big organizations, corporations, not for profits. And yet this has opened so many jobs. It's been wonderful that I feel that this year, even with the break that I'm about to take, I feel that this is going to be a pretty big year for me.
30:44
Yes, you got healing?
30:46
I do. It's very exciting, very exciting. And I feel lucky that I can do most of my work, you know, recovering and sitting in a lounge chair if I want to, like it doesn't have to stop me.
30:58
Yep. 100%. Yeah, sure. I do feel that this year 2024 has a different energy about it. I do and I feel like I mean, they are talking about it being the year of abundance and all of that kind of stuff, which is definitely what we're all leaning into. I know in that in the membership, we talk about that a lot. But I do feel like it's got a different energy this year, which is so exciting. Yes.
31:24
The why not? Yeah, I'm gonna lean into it right
31:27
now. And until the 22nd of March 2024, I'm running a special promotion for the Regional Business Women's membership, I'm offering a stack of extra bonuses when you join between now, and 5pm. On the 22nd of March, you'll get a bonus group coaching session with me, plus bonus access to my signature course ready to rise, and then make more money mini course, all of which equates to over $1,500 worth of extra bonuses. Plus, the other reason you want to join before 5pm On Friday, the 22nd of March is this is the last time I am offering the founding members rate. So as of the 23rd of March prices are going up. And the founding members rate is $97 a month, that's like 25 bucks a week. And that price will remain fixed for you for the lifetime of the membership. So effectively. If you joined before 5pm On Friday, the 22nd of March, you get in at the lowest price, and it will never change for you. Even when I put the prices up in the future, there will never be a better time to join the Regional Business Women's membership than right now. So don't miss out on the extra bonuses. And don't miss out on the founding members, right? Go to donor hand.com forward slash success to join. I will link it in the show notes. And I look forward to seeing your gorgeous face inside of our membership. So I think you've shared so many valuable things that are going to be helpful to business owners who are maybe listening along. If we can talk a minute specifically about your experience of being in the regional business, women's membership. We kind of touched on it here and there. But I'd love to know from both of you why you joined like what was the reason that you were like yes, this is for me, I want to be in this membership.
33:20
I I went along to one of our in person meetups, monthly meetups that Donna hosts and the energy in the room. I was just like I want to be part of this all the time. And then the the info that was shared at that, that group meetup I was like, there's so much that I didn't know I need to know. So I need to make sure I'm all over that. More and more of it. And I could just see the value, I could see that investing in dollars program would help me get my business up and running the best way it could, without me fumbling around. And like I said, making an Instagram page and hoping people find me. One of our monthly meetups that we did, Donna said write down something that has resonated today and during that talk that Donna presented. Donna, you had said add a dash of courage. And I came home and I wrote it in calligraphy and it's framed up on my wall right next to my desk. And I look at that all the time. And I reflect on that all the time because you inspired me to add the dash of courage to get out and talk to people and get confident saying I'm a calligraphy artist. Because that's kind of how I used to say it. I write stuff and and just the support and the confidence stack comes from such an amazing group of women, I knew I needed that and would continue to need that to push through when it does feel a little bit hard or when the indecision kicks in because I'm the world's worst decision maker. So when I've got something I'm trying to decide on, I know full well, I can jump in at any time in the Facebook group and say, hey, help me, help me decide, should I do this? Or should I or you know, in our life meetups that we do, and the networking events and things like that, I can always ask, and people will be so forthcoming with their advice. Sometimes it's good for me, sometimes it's not what's going to work for me. And that's okay, too. And that will probably be another tip that I would like to give people is that you don't have to do what everybody tells you. Because lots of people will give advice that maybe doesn't quite fit. Yeah. And I have found that too, that I was kind of going, Oh, well, one person said I should do this. And someone else says I should do this. And I don't really know. And then I've had to figure out what's going to work best for me. Because that's what feels good. Yeah. So I hope I answered that,
36:05
that just Yeah. That's a great reason to have joined. What about you, Louise? Why did you join
36:13
sort of on a mini tangent with Belinda, I feel that I came to so many of the monthly meetings that I really wanted to be part of the cool club. And you have this special offer? And I thought, well, what if not now when. And I realized that the monthly meetings, I, I would leave a monthly meeting. And within the hour, I would book my ticket for the next monthly meeting. And I put it in my diary, and that was that. And I realized, Oh, well, I would actually like a bit more of this material. So that's why I signed up because I knew that we were doing things, you know, each and every week, we were talking constantly. And I'm so glad that I have because you know, I don't think I would have reached out to these organizations and corporations and put myself more onto Facebook marketplace, for example, if I hadn't. And I do appreciate the fact that sometimes we don't just talk about business, we do talk about our personal lives. And we are quite crass and very real. And I really appreciate that it's one of the highlights of my month to be honest. Yeah.
37:24
Yeah, and I think that is a really valuable part. And, you know, for context for people listening, like the monthly meetups that Louise and Linda are talking about is the Regional Business Women Connect event. So it's an in person event that, you know, I gather women together, and we have a little mini business session, we do some networking, we have some morning tea, and it's a really beautiful, really great event that we do on a regular basis. And it's great that you guys kind of discovered me through that and felt the energy. And that's the same energy that is in the membership as well. Obviously, it's online, but it's still there. But in addition to the networking, and you know, the sharing and the support that happens in that space, in the membership, we also have guest experts that come in and they present on particular topics, whether it be you know, finance for your business, you know how to budget for your business, and profit ties, marketing, you know, I'm just trying to think off the top of my head, I really shouldn't have my list down in front of me. But you know, strategy and how to be more productive and all of the different elements that come into running business. So we have those monthly master classes presented by a guest expert. I also do a monthly masterclass as well on a chosen topic. And then we have our group coaching as well as our online networking. So there's like one activity every week that you can jump into. You don't have to attend live because everything goes into the recording. Of course, it's great if you do because you have the opportunity then to ask questions and be part of the conversation. But everything goes into the library, and then you can watch it again. Or you can watch it if you weren't there live. And it's a great resource also that you can share with your team as well. If you have team members, and you're like, can you go watch this one, where they talked about how to optimize your Instagram account and just follow the steps that they said, Can you do that for me like so it's, it's there as a resource? I think I know the answer to this because you've talked about it so much. But what would be your favorite part of the membership? If you could
39:25
choose one, it's got to be for me, it's got to be the sort of things that we have yesterday, for example, where we all get together and we we catch up with each other. We talk about the highs and the lows every month. And we also ask some questions because I'm a huge advocate of asking a question in a public setting because someone will always have an idea. Always, but that would be my favorite thing. And I've touched on this before and I'll touch on it again because it's still impacting my life. The masterclass that you do to that was called my net profit first month. Yep, yeah, well, that still I'm still doing that even today. Yes, I have a reminder. Yeah, I have a reminder in my diary to do it. Well, I have a reminder in my diary every Friday at seven o'clock to divert funds around. So, you know, Belinda, if you pay me, for example, $100, on every Friday, I will then give myself that into my profit account, I'll give myself $30 for expenses, and I'll give my family the remainder of the 40. Now, that's just a ballpark figure. But you know, that's obviously been so good for me, because I'm not dipping into the family finances at all while I go overseas. In fact, it's really no one's business what I'm spending the money on at all. And it's been because I've followed this profit first thing, the method and yeah, and the second thing is, I can look at the profit first. And even though I'm not an accountant, it does give me an idea of the fact that if that's quite a high amount, then obviously, you know, the works been ticking. And that's been great.
40:55
Yeah, yeah. Yeah. A lot of business owners will stick their head in the sand when it comes to business finance, because they're like, Oh, that's too hard. I don't really know what I'm doing. I'm just, I just love what I do. And I just want to make some money doing it. But that masterclass, was presented by Laura Elka Selassie, and she is the the person who really brought has Profit First, the Profit First methodology for Australia, New Zealand. So she's kind of like the head of that she came in and facilitated that masterclass. And both you and a number of different businesses who were in the membership, have said, that was a game changer for me, because I now understand what I'm supposed to do with my money. And I now have more profit coming into my business, not just revenue, but actual profit, like when everything else is paid for, I've actually got money in my account now. And I'm building that up, that's built my confidence. I feel good about myself, I feel good about my business. And I feel stronger that I can now go bigger, with with my business and follow my dreams, because it does give you that control and that power back.
42:02
And it's given me guidelines in regards to Well, I have this much money free. I mean, maybe I can go and do XYZ this week without having to think about it. Yeah. Yeah. That's been good. That's
42:13
amazing. What about you, Belinda? What's the most valuable part of the membership for you that's really helped your business. How's that helped you? Can I say to, you can say to
42:23
I love the 90 day planning, because it really helps me just solidify, clarify, get some solid goals, some actions that I need to actually take to do stuff. I mean, my plans aren't massive at the moment, I'm still building still growing. Let's try and you know, I'll have a go at this and see how we go sort of thing. But that just really helps me plan it out and go, Okay, this month, this is my goal to get this many clients or to get this type of client because I do offer a lot of different things at the moment. So that's been super helpful. But also the library with the master classes, masterclasses and this one was really helpful for me recently, when I created my website, and I launched my website, and I went searching on Google, and I didn't find it. Oh, no, what have I done. But then, of course, I watched the SEO masterclass. And it takes time for Google to find you and you need to go back and make it it's an all that stuff was so helpful. Just to help me understand why it didn't find me straightaway, for starters, but also the things I can do to make sure that as time goes on, I will be at the top of the Google search and what I need to do to make sure that I stay there and honestly, if I hadn't watched that masterclass, I probably would be wasting money paying somebody to do that for me, without actually understanding any of the reasons why it does what it does, and it takes as long as it takes. So that's been awesome for me, and
43:56
there can be a lot of smoke and mirrors in the SEO world as well. I think so like finding somebody that actually knows what to do to help you and is doing the right thing by you. Yes, yes. I'm glad that that basically that masterclass really your membership paid for itself on that one? Well,
44:11
I think, yeah, definitely. I mean, all the master classes I've attended, even I attend some when I go to know if this is really going to be relevant for me, but I'll jump in and we'll see. I always get something out of it. Even if it's only small. I always get something and it's always enjoyable anyway, just to watch people do what they do. But yeah, I've really enjoyed every week, I try and turn up to whatever's going on. Yeah,
44:36
you're gonna love it. And I do love that, you know, to get the value out of it. You've got to show up and be there and you've got to put the work in you know, follow the steps that are provided to you to move your business forward and to take those big leaps. Um, do you guys feel that it is worth the investment man, you guys joined us founding members, and for the next 10 days from the real As of this podcast, you can still join as a founding member. And then as of the 23rd of March 2024, prices are going up. So you guys are founding members. Tell me about the investment. I mean, you know, if you feel comfortable, is it, is it worth it for you? Are you finding that? It's a business investment, obviously tax deductible, but like, are you finding it worth the money that you're paying? Yes, it absolutely is. Yes.
45:28
You know, I've said to you before in the past with other meetings as well, that I would have paid more for those sorts of pieces of information and that ability to socialize, I guess, with the people that are in the same area that I'm in. And it's been quite nice as well, because I have formed these wonderful friendships. So yes, it's very worth it to me to, to almost have this membership where I think they have to turn up every month and see me and I get to see them. Yeah. Love
45:59
that. Belinda. Yes, I'm definitely worth it. Like I said, I probably would be wasting money on trying to learn SEO or paying somebody to do it for me, or a myriad of other courses I might have jumped on or online tutorials or whatever I possibly would have been paying for them to try and get better at doing the business stuff, or paying somebody else to do it. Whereas I pay for my membership. And like Louise said, it's like rent a friend. I've got all these new friends. Yeah. But it's led to so many opportunities for me to like I said before, there's there's people within our membership that have been my clients, which is amazing. And I've become their clients, and we've helped each other and even just that in itself, as is, I think worth the investment, let alone all the knowledge and the connection that we get from it. I think it's a no brainer. It was a no brainer for me when I signed up. I was like, Yes, take my money and go.
47:06
I need that on a bumper sticker.
47:12
Amazing. Well, I would love for you guys to share your contact details. Where can people find you? Louise? Do you have a website social media handle that you'd like to share? Yeah,
47:24
so the website is the best option because I am very transparent with all of my pricing. So it is CVS by the ways.com.au. And you can also find me on Facebook, and Instagram under simply DVS which is CBS by Louise. Great.
47:42
How about you, Belinda?
47:43
Well, likewise, my website's got lots of info, there's pricing guides, although I do quote for every job anyway, just because everything's a little bit unique people have different needs. But that's right, yo.com.au. And it's spelt, I have to spell it out because we're funny. W R I T E, y, O H. So rightio.com.au are some also on Instagram and Facebook. Again, if you search radio, you'll find me because there's no one else called.
48:17
Thank you so much for being on the show today. Thank you for sharing so transparently. Like we said, we keep it real. And you guys do that every time which I love. And, you know, listening to, you know, your journey and the things that we go through both internally, you know, the thoughts that we have the feelings, we have the emotions, right, because it's convenient emotional rollercoaster, as a business owner. And it's not the only thing we do. We're also juggling things outside of our business too, right. So that all adds up. And then you know, from the external or, you know, the business skills that you guys are developing and the things that you shared today that have really helped. Thank you so much for sharing so openly and transparently. Because I think the more that we do that, the more I know, just the more as business women we can unite together and share and support one another and help each other to rise because for me, that's what it's all about. It's collaboration over competition. It's like yeah, here, get under my wing. Let's do this together. And you guys do exactly the same as that. That's why you're in my membership. Because, you know, I'm a bit of a gatekeeper on that making sure that we have the right people in this space. So thank you very much.
49:31
Thanks, Donna. Thank you.
49:33
Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of The shiz in business podcast. Make sure you hit follow so that you are the first to know as soon as a new episode drops. And if you really want to deliver me smiles send me a DM find me on Instagram at Donna Han underscore coach and tell me what you loved most about this episode. Also, feel free to let me know what topics you need to learn more about. If you are regional businesswoman ready to rise and soar towards success I'll see you back here next week for another episode
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
