Being Called to Step Outside My Comfort Zone FTH: 094

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this much excitement and nervousness about my business.

It’s time to step outside of my comfort zone.

This has been a LONG time coming… in fact, I’d go so far as to say this is what I was put on this planet to do.

As nervous as I am, I know I’m going to do it.

I recently shared in the FtheHUSTLE newsletter that I was going to be sharing more about mindset, psychology, and life in Costa Rica through the newsletter.

What this really means is that I’m going to go ALL in with FtheHUSTLE on KimDoyal.com.

I’m not going to stop talking about digital marketing, because it’s what I do and is what ‘birthed’ FtheHUSTLE to begin with.

But there’s a bigger message with FtheHUSTLE that goes far deeper than being “anti-hustle and doing the work.”

It’s about what you want your life to look like.

I’ve shared a lot on the podcast throughout the years about my beliefs, mindset, spirituality, self-help, therapy… you name it.

But I’ve held back.

I’ve held back mainly because I was afraid of how it would be taken and I didn’t know how to merge that side of me with the business side.

I see a path now… and I’m freaking THRILLED.

I’m going to share this (process this?) with you like this:

• What led me to this decision
• What that means for my business
• How I’m going to do this

I’m also going to share the fears, the doubts, and how I’m working on managing my thoughts in order to achieve what I want.

What led me to this decision 

I’ve been very transparent about the transitions in my business. I’ve never really thought twice about it because everything fell under the “digital marketing” umbrella.

I went from The WordPress Chick 

 outsourcing company 

 coaching 

 done-for-you podcast services 

 attempt at a SaaS 

 pivot to my personal brand 

 launched the Content Creators Planner 

 focus on Email & Newsletters (under the personal brand).

Whew…

Here’s the interesting thing.

As I was living this, it all felt like a natural transition.

I would get super bored if I had been doing ONE thing for 14 years. I know this about myself. Even when I worked in retail management – I took every opportunity to open a new store, get promoted, or take on a new challenge.

In the entrepreneurial space, you’re supposed to niche down. Pick ONE thing and focus on it. Which I did, but nothing grabbed me enough to want to do it long-term. Something about that made me feel stuck.

I think this is also why I love this space.

Tech and the web move SO fast.

As much as it can be challenging (you master one thing and need to learn something else), I find it exciting. I love how new opportunities present themselves ALL the time.

The trick is mastering the fundamentals so you can apply them to new opportunities.

I don’t feel I’ve mastered the fundamentals, but I am always practicing them (i.e., working on mastery).

Those fundamentals for me are writing (specifically for the web), publishing, sales, traffic, and lead generation.

The fundamentals of each of those are study and practice. Boring, I know. But hot damn if they don’t work.

I shared in the last episode that a recent launch didn’t go the way I wanted (When Disappointment Leads to Clarity and Ultimately Freedom).

That was a little painful to share, but I KNEW that in order to make the transition I’m making I had to get the ball rolling.

Let’s back it up a little further…

This probably won’t come as much of a surprise, but I was one of those kids that would put on “shows” in the neighborhood. My friends and I would sing and dance and charge a quarter for people to sit on the lawn and watch (I’m cracking up writing this… I love the pure abandonment children have).

If I were in California I think I’d try to dig up a picture of my cousin, brother, and me performing a routine to “Greased Lightning” for the family (how the hell I got my brother to do that is beyond me 

).

As a kid, my hobbies were music, art, and just hanging with my friends. I played some sports (mainly the swim team for about 10 years), but everything I did came back to creative pursuits.

I always had some sort of activity that I was in (girl scouts, leadership, etc.), but I always had time to just be a kid. I’d spend hours drawing and creating things in my room (I won’t go sideways with my distaste of how over-scheduled today’s kids are… it makes me sad that kids have so little time to just play).

I gave a speech at my high school graduation and was hooked.

Instantly.

I KNEW I had a skill and that how I delivered it resonated with people. I even went on to be a speech major in college for a hot minute (I changed majors a few times – started as an art major, switched to speech, and then finally graduated with a psychology degree).

When I discovered self-help in my early 20s, it was like this massive knowing within me woke up.

I felt like YES! THIS is it! I KNEW there had to be another way to live, to think, to be…

A way that wasn’t dictated by societal norms.

This was back in the early 90s, so remember that the ‘creator economy’ didn’t exist like it does today.

Even though I knew I was supposed to own my own business and felt a strong pull toward entrepreneurship, I still worked hard at every job I ever had as though I was building a career with that company.

My parents were super hard workers and my brother, sister, and I all ended up with their work ethic (which has certainly helped me as an entrepreneur) – but NO one I knew was doing anything outside of the traditional path.

What ALWAYS kept me going were the other dreamers.

I read and listened to everything I could get my hands on from people who were living “outside the box” so to speak.

That was how I found Internet Marketing (a Mark Victor Hansen audio program ‘Build Your Mega Speaking Empire’).

I’ve shared that story plenty of times, but it was like (cue Aladdin & Jasmine), a “whole new world” opened up.

The first site I started was “The Self-Help Chick.”

The issue with that brand was that I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to stake my claim in a space with so many voices, experts, authors, etc.

For that, I’m truly grateful.

14 years later and with a lot more life experience I’m ready.

I’m ready to be a voice and make my mark.

Naturally, ALL the fears and doubts are popping up.

“Am I a jack of all trades, and master of none?”

I said this to my therapist yesterday in a session (she’s helping me step into this) and the first thought that popped into my head was Benjamin Franklin… who was also a Jack of All Trades.

I’d say he did O.K.

A few other unhelpful thoughts:

• who am I to do this?
• what have I accomplished?
• what about “x” failures & mistakes I’ve made?
• how will I earn a living doing this?
• will people dismiss it as simply another ‘pivot’ on my path?

See what I mean?

All unhelpful.

Let’s rephrase those (and remember, I mentioned that I’m processing this as I share it with you):

• Who am I to do this becomes “Who am I NOT to do this? Why NOT you?”
• What have I accomplished becomes “Look at everything you’ve accomplished” (I’m going to make a list)
• What about “X” failures and mistakes I’ve made become “That’s how you’ve learned. ALL of those things brought you here. You’re ready.”
• How will I earn a living doing this becomes “You don’t need to know that today, you can continue to earn with other things while you give yourself the grace to figure this out.”
• Will people dismiss this as simply another ‘pivot’ on my path becomes “This will resonate with the right people. Show up, serve, and engage. You don’t need to be for everybody.”

Well damn.

That was pretty helpful if I do say so myself. 

What this means for my business…

It’s time to clearly differentiate things.

I’m launching a new site & brand for email marketing, newsletters, and copy services.

If you had asked me a year ago if I was interested in doing service work again I would have thought you were nuts.

This, however, was a complete no-brainer for me.

By the end of this week, the new site will be up (Inked Email) and we’ll be open for business. I’m going to share this with my audience & lists first (they all start with a free call with me) and then we’ll put the marketing strategy in place.

My daughter is officially joining me on this venture (as a partner). With a screenwriting degree under her belt and the fact that she’s worked with me for years now (she started in high school putting content into WordPress sites for me), the timing is perfect.

The plan is to hire another writer and VA by the end of the summer (when we have our processes in place).

We’re going to offer:

• Ongoing email marketing (writing – if you don’t want to implement it in your ESP I can refer partners to you for that)
• Email sequences (think follow-up sequences, sales sequences, launch sequences, etc.)
• Newsletters
• Website copy
• Sales copy

Everyone we work with will start with a brand session. We’re using the StoryBrand Brandscript, then we’ll use 3 copy frameworks to create a foundation for the client’s brand voice and provide the foundation in a custom report.

The custom report will be given to the client to keep to use for other elements in their business.

At some point, I think I’d like to productize this service (much like some of the graphics companies: Design Pickle, Deer Designer, etc)) where you pay ‘x’ amount per month for ‘x’ amount of written content.

Right now I don’t want to offer blog posts and content writing.

I can see offering some sort of ‘repurposing’ (turning story-style emails into social posts, etc.), but for now, this is what we’re starting with.

What this means for KimDoyal.com

Holy moly… here come the nerves.

It’s going to be a process.

You’ll see the content start changing a bit (and again, I’m a digital marketer, I’m certainly not going to stop talking about this stuff).

I’ll probably start with a new segment in the newsletter (title TBD), and some sort of FtheHUSTLE workshop.

And here’s the BIG announcement… drumroll, please 

…

FtheHUSTLE LIVE in Costa Rica is coming! 

I’ve wanted to do a live event for as long as I can remember.

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, last year started talking about doing this with someone I met down here… and it started becoming something I had no interest in doing (in other words, it didn’t feel like “mine” anymore).

FtheHUSTLE is mine.

And I’m owning it all.

The event is going to be small (I’m thinking 5-10 people). It will be a 3-day event, maybe ONE excursion ( I do love doing the sunset catamaran cruises here), a couple of dinners, and a deep dive into creating the life YOU want to live.

Ideally, you’ll then extend your stay and hang out in beautiful Costa Rica for a few more days (which of course, you can write off).

The event isn’t fully formed yet, but it will be a combination of mindset, business, and doing the work.

SO… to start with, I’m gauging interest.

I don’t have any idea about the price point yet (there will be payment plans).

I’m going to look into both a private home to rent (something where everyone can have their own room) as well as a hotel (just depends on when the event is… a private residence might be easier to find as I’ve already started looking at hotels. The high season is Nov. – March here).

I’d like to host the event THIS year, but it may be in January or February of 2023.

SO… to get the ball rolling, email me, message me, or simply go to kimdoyal.com/fthlive and let me know you’re interested.

How I’m Going to Do This…

That’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it? 

There are three ways I’m going to break this down:

1. Planning
2. Creating
3. Implementing

I see all three of these as ongoing processes.

I’m currently in the planning stage, but I’m also creating (and implementing the new email services brand).

The planning is two-fold:

• Actually doing the planning and mapping (you know me, doing a visual map is going to help me get crystal clear as I create)
• Mindset: I have a feeling this is going to be as important (if not more), that the tactical work. Fortunately, Susan is down in Costa Rica right now (for a few months) but even when she heads back to the states we’ll keep our calls going. That being said, she’s a guide (albeit an amazing guide). No amount of guidance replaces me doing the work and “JustShowingUP!”

The Creating is going to take on a life of its own.

It will have to evolve organically while I do the work.

Meaning, that I’m going to start putting out more of this type of content (this entire episode is a great example of what I’m talking about).

I have a couple of new-to-me content channels I’m going to step into (back into YouTube – look for FtheHUSTLE TV) and TikTok.

I’m committed to sharing more of my day-to-day life in Costa Rica and what it means to pick up and move to another country… which was part of my journey to FtheHUSTLE (side note: you do NOT need to move countries to FtheHUSTLE).

Some days it might seem a little boring, but even on a boring day… I can still see the ocean, so there’s that.

My day-to-day, when I don’t have guests, is pretty routine, which I love.

I’m thinking of doing things like a video tour of my place (I’ll have to share the before pics with you… because it’s come a long way), behind-the-scenes of running errands (such as driving through a river), and many of the places that have become my ‘go-to’s’ (food and the beach haha… although my body really needs a break from eating out so much with guests).

Sharing the implementation is going to be easy.

Remember… #EverythingIsContent.

I’ll share the tactical things I’m doing (like Jason and I do with Deliverit) as well as the personal work I’m doing with Susan, on my own, and with trusted friends.

I’m using time-blocking to keep things on track.

Meditation and regular walks are going to be vitally important to stay out of my head and focused. I’m also going to take as many breaks and as much rest as I need when I hit the proverbial wall – because that’s all part of the process too.

What I need from you…

Your feedback, your engagement, and probably most of all, your patience as I “build this in public.”

AND…

If you’re interested in attending FtheHUSTLE LIVE in Costa Rica with me, let me know.

Come hang out with me for a few days in paradise while we map out what you REALLY want your life to look like.

Until next week my friends, Pura Vida!