Create It – The Content Planner is LIVE!BUT… before we get into that, it’s been a hot minute since I posted a podcast episode, and I want to share some updates with you.I have a couple of interviews in the can and another solo show to wrap up, but this had to come first.I had my back surgery on October 1st (in Costa Rica), and my dog, who had a second surgery on one of her legs, came home the week before my surgery (after being at the vet for 5 weeks!).Having surgery in another country was an interesting experience, to say the least. I’m thinking of writing an article on Medium about the experience, but we’ll see if I get around to that. I trusted the neurosurgeon completely and have no doubt the surgery was done well.The hospital stay (only one night) was another experience altogether. Not to mention there were more or less zero postop instructions or guidelines unless I asked.Fortunately, someone on my list, shoutout to Alex Smith of Fluid Junction, who had a similar surgery and became my go-to with questions and postop care. One of my neighbors is also a nurse who worked for a neurosurgeon for years in the states, so she’s been a godsend too.All that being said, I’m on the road to recovery.Everything I read said about six weeks. You’d start to feel better (closer to normal), which was also true for me. I still limp a bit later in the day, my back gets sore, and I can feel pretty tired by late afternoon, but I’ll take it. I’m not in any pain, and things are progressing nicely.The bonus to all of this was that my daughter came down for the week after my surgery to help out, so I got some extra time with her (and didn’t have to wait until Christmas to see her).I’ve more or less been hanging out in my place, working, resting, and recuperating for the last 6 weeks. I go out to get groceries and a meal with friends here and there, but it’s actually been pretty lovely being able to focus (not to mention it’s been raining most of the last 6 weeks).Now that that’s out of the way let’s jump into Create it – The Content Planner.If you haven’t heard, Jodi and I shut down the Content Creators Planner a couple of months ago. I shared a podcast episode about our decision to do so. You can listen to “Time for A New Chapter” here.It was during the closing of that business that I started to feel the pull to give it another go.We didn’t shut it down because it wasn’t a good business, but we didn’t have the time for it as a team. Jodi has a successful full-time agency and is the primary person responsible for her aging parents. She has a lot on her plate.Initially, I thought I would move on and focus on #FtheHUSTLE. Not just the newsletter but the business and life framework.But that niggly feeling of “what if” wouldn’t go away.What if I did a new planner?Started a new company?And did more with than one type of planner?The wheels started turning, and I knew that this was what I was supposed to do.Having successfully done this once, albeit, with a business partner, I knew I could do this again, but I had that much more knowledge and understanding of running an e-commerce business.I could take all the lessons, mistakes, challenges, and wins and do things differently.The one thing I knew had to be different this time was that I had to have a team.It can be challenging when you can do just about everything you need in your business. Between the two of us, Jodi and I had everything covered. After months of doing it on our own, the only thing we hired out was Facebook ads.I also learned a lot from that experience, and as soon as we start running paid traffic (which will be after presales), we’re keeping it in-house. I have a dear friend who is great with paid media, and I’ve already asked her if we can be her “only client.”If at some point she doesn’t want to continue doing it for us, then I’ll we’ll hire someone specifically for that role as an employee or contractor. I don’t want to hire a big agency where we get lost in the shuffle.As of now, my “tiny effective team” (I talked about this in a previous episode also, but that’s from Jenny Blake’s book “free time”) is:myselfmy daughtera designera developerI have the accountant in place (my childhood best friend is a CPA and her firm did our accounting for Content Creators Planner, so we’ll retain them asap), and the role we’ll be hiring as soon as possible is for social media.I already have someone in mind for this position and hope that works out (someone I know personally is looking for a remote job where she can grow).I have two writers, one who has a strong understanding of SEO, which will help with writing content for the site (again, there’s no way I can scale this if only a couple of us are writing. And I’d love to open up guest posting as well).I have no doubt there will be other positions we hire for down the road (like a VA or personal assistant), but that’s where we’re at.My daughter has been working with me on and off for the past 10 years. With a degree in screenwriting, she’s a natural for writing (and is taking over the responsibility for the newsletter we’re launching, called Creators Weekly). Not to mention all the other things she’s learned along the way with me.What Makes Create It – The Content Planner differentAt the time of this recording, we’re watching social media platforms try to figure out how to pivot with the ever-changing landscape.Elon just bought Twitter (I’d be more than happy never to hear his name again), TikTok is still going and growing strong, Facebook feels like a ghost town, and Instagram has introduced subscriptions… it’s exhausting.You have to think about content contextually.What you post and where you’re posting it. What works on Facebook won’t work on Twitter. You can’t simply resize images and push your content everywhere (guilty as charged).Trying to do this can also be incredibly overwhelming when you have a business to run.Not every online business owner considers themselves a “creator” or has any desire to become one. They simply know they need to create content to drive traffic, leads, and sales in their business.But where to start? The first thing I’m going to tell you about “Create It – The Content Planner” – is that we want you to think of your content strategy and business fitting into your life, not the other way around.Here’s a visual of the strategy and what we call “The Planner Map.”There are 9 steps in total.I will walk you through each step and explain how it works (and how the correlating pages in the planner are structured).Step 1: Plan your 90-day GoalsI won’t go into all the basics of goal setting here. There’s enough data online about all of this and articles you can dig into. The one additional thing I want people to think about is what is happening in their lives.Set your goals along with your intentions. Meaning do you want to spend more time with family and friends or have one-to-one conversations with new people? Don’t limit yourself to content tasks.Remember, your content strategy has to fit how you want to live your life.The planner is an undated 90-day planner. Unless it’s a specific marketing campaign (like the upcoming Black Friday Cyber Monday weekend in the US), planning your content out beyond 90-days can be challenging (unless you’re planning out evergreen content).There’s a page for the high-level goals, and then there’s a page for each month where you can go deeper with your high-level goals.Step 2: Define Your AudienceWe’re taking this further and maybe a little outside the box.Naturally, we want you to think about and define the two primary factors of defining your audience:DemographicsPsychographicsIn addition to those two factors, we want you to define how your audience will feel when they consume your content.You are the biggest differentiator from your competitors.We’ve all the term “there’s no such thing as a new idea” – and if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend Austin Kleon’s “Steal Like An Artist” book.You don’t have to redesign the wheel. You need to put your spin on it. Deciding how you want people to feel when they consume your content is the easiest place to start. And you don’t need to overthink this.Remember, your audience is made up of people.Step 3: Plan Your Evergreen ContentMost of us hit a wall every now and then and feel overwhelmed with the need to produce more content constantly.Create It will guide you in creating evergreen content that you can get more leverage out of, is search-optimized, and pulls you off the hamster wheel.The planner teaches you how to define your evergreen categories and what type of content you’ll create, and then we’ve provided a checklist to ensure it has evergreen qualities (or what to add if you’re missing some).Your evergreen content should be easy to repurpose, relevant a few years from now, and have clear calls to action.Step 4: Create Your Platform PlanGone are the days of pushing content to all the platforms with the same content and just resizing images (those were “kinda” the good ol’ days).The benefit of how things are now is that the people who don’t want to work will quit sooner rather than later.Creating a Platform Plan starts with deciding which platforms you will post valuable content on consistently and how frequently.Our suggestion is to start with TWO platforms. Even if you’re on all the platforms, start by picking two you will do a deep dive on and master.Sidenote: mastery isn’t about knowing all there is to know about a platform. It’s about learning best practices, applying what you’ve learned, and working on constantly improving it.Back to the Platform Plan.We’ve included platform best practices for you (including your website, newsletter, and the platforms we’ve listed) to help guide you. We will update periodically via email, content, and possibly individual PDFs for download.With the platform plan, you’ll define:which platform you’re referring toyour goals for that platformthe type of content you’ll share therewhat you want to measureand a section for notesStep 5: Define and Plan Your Focus ContentFocus content is a term we’ve created for the planner, and on the one hand, it’s self-explanatory, but there are three main buckets that your Focus Content will fall under:Evergreen content (which we explained above)Topical contentConnection contentI will focus on Topical Content and Connection Content (since we’ve already explained evergreen content).Topical Content: This is relevant to what is currently happening in your industry. For example, if your business is about social media marketing, you’d probably be talking a little about the changes to Twitter with the recent acquisition by you-know-who.This is more news-style content that will more than likely be outdated at a certain point (how quickly will depend on the industry).Connection Content: This might seem a little more ambiguous, but this is the content that connects at a deeper level with your audience. It might be something somewhat personal. It could be a behind-the-scenes case study and lessons learned, challenges faced in your business, or even systems and processes (depending on how you frame it because that could also be considered evergreen content).I have something I call my “core content values.”My core content value is that I want people to feel better for consuming my content.They will be entertained, learn something, or connect with me at a heart/soul level.When I create from that place, delivering value is incredibly easy because my intention is in the right place.Step 6: Create Your Content Batching PlanThis is something I have put off for WAY too long.I’ve had to rethink how I approach my content creation to be more efficient.As much as I love creating content when the inspiration strikes, that can cause a crux in things when life happens (like needing back surgery when you’re living out of the country), and your production comes to a screeching halt (systems, anyone?).For years I resisted content batching because, well, I just did. The stubborn streak in me didn’t want to have so many things that I felt I “had” to do. Most of this stems from my days of client work and feeling like I had created a job for myself.As I’ve gotten wiser and a little, ahem, more mature… I know that true freedom happens when I have the right systems in place and do my best to avoid deviating from that schedule and process.Your content batching will be easier to plan because you’ve already done most of the hard work. The hard part is the ideation and defining of what you’re going to create. Content batching is where you start creating your structure and schedule.Step 7: Plan Your MonthIt wouldn’t be much of a planner if we didn’t have calendars, right? We have a monthly calendar and a weekly calendar (we’ll talk about the weekly calendar in Step 8).The monthly calendar is where you’re going to include goals, marketing campaigns, life events, and wins! Yes, we want you to celebrate what’s working.For example, at the time of this writing and recording, we’re only a couple of weeks away from Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The monthly calendar is where you could start planning out due dates, when the emails start, social media, etc.Your monthly calendar is the bigger picture of what you’re doing.It’s also a great place to add to what’s happening in your life – so you don’t put too much on your plate and end up feeling disappointed because you didn’t accomplish as much as you hoped.Step 8: Plan Your WeekThe weekly calendar pages can be used for content only or, ideally, you’re planning your work week with them.Personally, every Sunday, I write out my week with colored pens on dot grid paper.I literally pull this from my Google calendar (which is where the bookings and reminders happen). The process of writing this before my week begins anchors in what needs to happen and when. I also include personal appointments and helpful reminders (rest, meditation, etc.).We specifically didn’t include the micro-content for your weekly calendar because it felt redundant.Most people use an online scheduling tool, and writing it twice felt like overkill.We want to be your partner in creating your strategy and planning out what you’ll be creating. The publishing and scheduling should happen within your tool of choice.Step 9: Review What WorkedPretty self-explanatory, but unfortunately, most people won’t take the time to sit down and review how their month went.This can be from a content perspective, a business perspective, a life perspective, or whatever type of review works best for you.And of course, we’d love for you to share what worked with us so we can celebrate with you.These are blank dot grid pages where you can write, doodle, or even sketchnotes. Do whatever works for you.Whew!There you have it.Create It – The Content Planner is truly your guide to creating a content strategy that supports your business goals, how your business supports your life, and getting more leverage out of what you create.The better you get at content marketing, the more likely it is that your ideal customers will find you and, most importantly, stick around.Remember that if your content marketing doesn’t work for you first (meaning you enjoy creating it), it’s much less likely to connect with your audience.

In this episode, I want to challenge you to start thinking about More Creating, Less Producing.Let me back up a little bit and explain where this came from (and yes, I’ll probably be creating a framework for this).I came up with the term #FtheHUSTLE over six years ago.At the time there were so many people preaching about hustle and grind it started getting on my nerves. It made me feel like no matter what I did, it wasn’t enough.And I’m a doer.I take action, I like being productive and seeing results from my efforts.All that being said, I didn’t need to be bombarded with the message that I needed to do MORE or that I wasn’t serious about my business because I wasn’t working 24/7.And can we just zip it about binge-watching TV already?Do whatever works for you to refuel and recharge.I didn’t do anything with #FtheHUSTLE until almost two years ago when I saw the logo in a dropbox folder and knew instantly that it was going to be the name of the newsletter (I had no idea at the time I would use it for my podcast as well).Fast forward to today, and I’m much clearer on what #FtheHUSTLE is (more on that later…and surprise, I’ve met with a book coach to start outlining an #FtheHUSTLE book! I started doing it with AI last year, and it didn’t feel right. I want to write every word of this book).#FtheHUSTLE is subjective.Meaning it gets to be whatever it needs to be for YOU.Whether it’s a shorter work week, limiting calls, more vacation time, not selling a product or service the way everyone else is telling you it needs to be done, choosing not to use social media or hiring someone to clean your house.It can be business or personal, or better yet both.It’s about creating a life that allows you to be and do whatever it is you want.This brings me to more creating, less producing.I’m going to back into this because it will be helpful to hear how I’m focused on creating in a way that isn’t necessarily obvious.Align, Design, AssignFirst off, Align, Design, Assign is from an amazing book I’m reading called “free time” by Jenny Blake.HOLY MOLY, I love this book.Recently I shared that I got the updated version of Mike Michalowicz’s “Clockwork” because I want to remove myself from the aspects of my business that aren’t the best use of my time.I’m also launching a new company (you’ll hear about that in the next month, I promise) and want to make sure it’s set up in a way that isn’t reliant on me as the brand’s voice.I will 100% be part of the brand in terms of part of the company (and obviously, using what I’ve created to support the launch), but I will not be the primary content creator. In fact, I’m hoping that within the first 6 months, we have a tiny, effective team (also from free time).Back to Assign, Design, Align.What hit me with both of these books and the work I’m doing behind the scenes for the new company (the naming took a lot of work, now I’ve moved on to the messaging and voice of the brand while having hired a graphic design company to work on the logo) is how I’ve had to slow down to be able to build something phenomenal.I’m going to share a few bullet points from the “Align” part of the book that resonated so deeply within me.Align is all about: Your values, your energy, your strengthsGet quite enough to let the ideas bubble upSet purposeful intentionsThere’s a difference between lower case hard work and upper case HARD WORK (big difference in how you feel just reading that, right?)How you build is as important as what you createThat last one is EVERYTHING. “How you build is as important as what you create.”Circling back to the #FtheHUSTLE book for a moment (I promise it will make sense).As I was working with the book coach (Christine Sheehy btw if you’re looking for someone brilliant), she asked me what the core principles of #FtheHUSTLE were.I told her I felt like I’d always had a hard time defining it.All of that changed with her help.On that call, I literally said, “More creating, less producing,” when we were discussing one of the principles.What happened to enjoying the work we do?Why does every freaking thing we create have to be done in a set period?!?!Look, I completely understand the need to “ship it” and get the thing out the door.But there is a HUGE difference between being lit up about something and getting it out there and “I need to generate revenue, so I need to get this out there.”I commend anyone who pulls the trigger and tries things.That’s how we learn.Some things are going to hit, some aren’t… and that’s O.K.What’s not O.K. is forgetting why you’re doing what you do and deciding that the only thing that defines your success and value as an entrepreneur is how much you produce and how quickly you produce it.The problem with this kind of production is you’re going so fast that the message starts falling flat.You’re on such a mission to make MORE that you don’t even see that what you’re making isn’t working.I need to say that louder for the people in the back.Naturally, this all inspired a doodle:For those of you listening, the doodle is “Producing vs. Creating” and has two panes. On the left, we have producing, which shows someone on a hamster wheel, running, with a weary expression on their face.On the right, we have creating, which shows a very happy person jumping with crayons in their hand, a light bulb above their head, and a little heart off to the left.This is more about the approach you take to what you’re creating rather than producing content.I’m all for systems, processes, and schedules that help with automation, repurposing, and creating a team to help you grow.But this is about YOUR zone of genius.And how you come across to your subscribers, customers, and potential subscribers.How to know if you’re producing instead of creatingHow does your content sound?Can you differentiate one email/tweet/post from the last?Things are very different from how they were a few years ago. People want to feel a connection to you. Think about who you always open emails from.People you know, like & trust, right? (yes, I know that saying is a little overused, but it is what it is).I have a handful of emails I subscribe to that 95% of the time I end up deleting without reading. A few are friends (I know, it’s O.K. to unsubscribe from friends), but more often than not, it’s people I don’t remember subscribing to or haven’t heard from in ages.Creating shouldn’t be about “just getting it out there, “… at least not most of the time. We all have those days, moments, or weeks when we aren’t feeling it, but we get it done anyway.What you don’t realize is how much this hurts your business.Every time you push something out there because you need to be doing more, your audience will feel it.There’s a feeling of desperation to it.Every time you push something out there because you need to be doing more, your audience will feel it. There’s a feeling of desperation to it.Click to TweetAnd your audience will know.Take the time to enjoy the processI had a ridiculous amount of fun working this past weekend.It’s been gray and rainy in Costa Rica for a while now (it actually feels like fall here, albeit not really cold. It is cooler than I’ve experienced here), and I’m not doing much with my back anyway, so the quiet weekends working feel like bliss.I spent part of Saturday morning helping a friend with her messaging and audience and working on a name for her newsletter (I swear if someone had told me five years ago, I would love doing this stuff, I would have thought they had lost their minds).Then I ran out to get a friend here some meds (COVID and a sinus infection!), and just as I got home, it started pouring rain, which was perfect for jumping into Justin Welsh’s “Content OS” (also more on that later because hot damn it’s brilliant!).On Sunday, I planned to work on a sales page for a small course I’m doing called “Create an Email Experience,” – which I’m so excited about (I’ll do an entire episode on what that is), and was struck with this overwhelming feeling that I didn’t have to do that day.Which, in and of itself, felt a little delicious.Even though it was a self-imposed task, I wasn’t feeling it, but I still wanted to work.Here’s where the podcast comes full circle, back to “free time” by Jenny Blake.I think I came across her book as a suggestion on Amazon, so I clicked through and listened to the Audible sample.I was hooked instantly.I didn’t know how deeply this book would resonate with me.I tend to listen to audiobooks when I’m driving or walking, rarely do I sit and listen to books at home or while I’m working.Not this bookI spent most of Sunday listening to this book, taking notes, and getting clearer on creating and setting up the right systems in my businesses.Here’s the magic that happened also…During my call with Christine about the #FtheHUSTLE book, I told her I had hesitated to use certain words or language in my content, copy, and marketing. I used them from time to time but not in a deeper, spiritual, and energetic way related to business.Words like align, energy, magic, trust, etc.Then I get this book, and that’s how she’s built and scaled her business.Connecting the intangible with the tangible, and most importantly, not explaining or justifying it.Another phrase from the book: Marketing with magic and serendipity.Love. All of the work I did over the last few days (my call with Christine, helping a friend on Saturday, taking the time to learn from Justin Welsh, and devouring as much of this book and her work as I could) was part of the creating process.We must take the time to “get quite enough to let the ideas bubble up.”We don’t give ourselves enough credit for the inner work that gives us what we need to do the outer work.Another phrase from the book I love is NLBs or non-linear breakthroughs.Here’s an example.I’ve shared that I’m launching something new.Recently I talked with a friend about this, and he suggested being a strategic partner. In fact, I had another call with someone who also suggested a strategic partner.Initially, I thought that it would be super helpful to have someone manage a particular piece of the business in exchange for a revenue share and possible equity.We’ve been meeting weekly to discuss this.On our call last week, when we started discussing an operating agreement, I was hit with an overwhelming “No.”And I knew with every ounce of my being that I wasn’t giving any of this company away.I’ve done far too many collaborations and partnerships, and I’m done. Not that they’ve been negative experiences (working with Jodi on the Content Creators Planner was great), but because it’s time for me to do this alone.I’m also building a tiny, effective team, and that’s enough.My creativity and confidence have gone through the roof because of this decision.This is what I would call a non-linear breakthrough.And it’s worth celebrating.I want to wrap this up with a little summary:Creating better quality that you enjoy creating and can repurpose will outperform all day longDon’t lose sight of why you’re doing what you doIt’s not only O.K. to listen to that inner knowing, it’s imperative for your successDoing the work doesn’t have to be “HARD” (I LOVE her lower case & upper case example). You just need to do itStart saying what you want to say in the way you want to say it. That’s how you attract the right peopleAnd if you’re looking to create solid systems and processes in your business, I highly recommend free time by Jenny Blake and Clockwork by Mike Michalowicz.

I am all kinds of excited today.It’s been a challenging few weeks with everything going on with my back (and if you missed that, you can read/listen to what’s going on in the last podcast episode).I did my border run to Nicaragua, which went really smoothly, but man was I exhausted afterward.Fortunately, I was smart and planned to take care of myself the day after. I didn’t have any calls and allowed myself to go with the flow. Which pretty much meant working at my desk as long as possible and then moving to my bed- regardless of the time of day.I brought a cooler with my ice packs for the journey, which made all the difference in the world.Now I’m set for another 90-days. Which is so close to Christmas, but I’ll still have to do one more border run before I go to California in early December. I will apply for Costa Rica’s digital nomad visa after the holidays.The digital nomad visa will allow me to stay in the country for a year without border runs, open a bank account here (bye-bye international fees!), get a driver’s license, and be a part of the national health care system here (called Caja).I’ll pay into Caja, but I’m happy to do so.Now that all that is out of the way, I can focus on business again.I have 3 weeks until my back surgery, and it’s game on! There’s something about knowing you have a ‘sprint’ ahead of you with an end date (even if it’s just for a week) that makes it much more manageable to stay focused.Now that you’re all caught up let’s get into Shutting the Door on Self-Doubt.Shutting the door on self-doubt came up on a call with my therapist this morning (I’ve jokingly said that I will have to pay her royalties at some point ).We were talking about a new project I’m working on, and I was sharing my challenges with naming it. If you’ve ever been stuck on naming something, you know what I mean (and if you haven’t been stuck, can you share your secret with me?).I had picked a name (or so I thought) for my new project, and two of my dear friends in this space whom I completely trust asked me if that name was right. The whole thing came about because I had hired a couple of people to have logos made.Nothing felt right.It’s time to #FtheHUSTLE! Sign up here!Instead of trying to figure it out with the existing name, my friends asked if I could use a different name.Holy lightbulb moment!!! I solved this (and will share the name and what it is) within the next month, but I returned to a book I read years ago when I wanted to name something else.The book is called “Hello, My Name is Awesome” by Alexandra Watkins.Side note: Go to her website for some before and after name makeovers her company has done. Her website is “Eat My Words,” and I LOVE the tagline on her site: “Your brand name shouldn’t look like someone got drunk and played Scrabble.” I highly recommend the book.It’s pretty short (about 128 pages). She gives many examples of companies she’s worked with, brands needing help, and then very specific exercises for coming up with your name. And yes, she “names names.”She has something she calls the ‘Smile & Scratch’ test.I’m going to share those here with you (in hopes that it inspires you to get the book for yourself and do the exercises).Ready?The “Smile & Scratch” test by Alexandra Watkins:Here are the 5 qualities of a super sticky name (this is the smile test):Suggestive: it evokes something about your brand.Memorable: Makes an association with the familiar.Imagery: Aids memory through evocative visuals.Legs: lends itself to a theme for extended mileage.Emotional: it moves people.Now let’s look at the 7 deal breakers (this is the ‘scratch test):Spelling challenged: It looks like a typo.Copycat: Resembles a competitor’s name.Restrictive: Limits future growth.Annoying: It seems forced.Tame: Feels flat, descriptive, uninspired.Curse of knowledge: Speaks only to insiders.Hard to pronounce: Confuses and distances customers.I went through all of this and all the exercises in a book (it’s a bit of a process, but so worth the time to do it right).What does this have to do with self-doubt?Everything.My friends had suggested I needed to bring more of “me” into the name.The thing with this brand is that while I will have my name on it, I want it to feel more like a company brand and not a personal brand.The only way I can grow this the way I want is through hiring the right people and removing myself from being the only voice of the brand.I’ve watched countless others do this over the past few years (removing themselves as the only voice of the brand), making a ton of sense. I want to keep KimDoyal.com going and growing, so starting with a team is imperative.This is why I was hesitant to bring more of myself into it.Well, that and the fact that I was scared.It might not seem like it, but I hold myself back in many ways with my business. I don’t want to offend anyone, so I play it safe.I share my opinions about things when it’s safe (or soft), and my time has come.Let me give you a few examples:It’s time to #FtheHUSTLE! Sign up here!Targeting:Since I started my business, my audience has been split pretty 50/50 in terms of males and females. However, my customers are primarily women. With the direction I’m heading with Kim Doyal, I feel very strongly that my audience is females over 40. There’s a lot more to them than that, but I’ll keep it at that for the podcast’s sake.I’m fearful that if I start using that language, speaking directly to women, or claiming that, I will lose a bunch of subscribers, customers, listeners, etc.*Here’s the thing about this: If men aren’t buying anyway, does it matter?*There are plenty of men on my list who are probably subscribers simply because they resonate with me. They like what I create, what I share, and how I share it.The few things that will change as I do this (because, yes, it’s time to let go of the self-doubt and do this) are the tagline on my site and some of my language.Social sharing:As I promote myself more (another commitment I’ve made), I will start talking more directly to women. I’m not exactly sure what that looks like, but it might be that what I’m sharing is only relevant to women.*My gut says the men who are part of my audience or have been for a long time will stick around. There’s massive value for them if they choose to stay (especially if they’re marketing to women).Taking a stronger stance on the toxicity of hustle culture: Obviously, with a newsletter titled #FtheHUSTLE, it’s no surprise that I’m against the hustle and grind mentality.I think it’s toxic for most people and sets them up for failure.As much as I believe in systems and processes, I also think they can be a massive distraction, and your weekly to-do list shouldn’t feel like a part-time job.This idea that we’re all supposed to work a certain way (or we’re not committed enough… fuck off with that nonsense) is horseshit.There is far too much data on learning out there for this to hold any weight.Our public school system (in the U.S.) is a perfect example of how one learning mode sets people up for failure.It’s like saying we should all have the same sleep patterns.If we accept that we have different tastes in food, music, movies, interests, and people… doesn’t it make sense that we would also have our unique work styles?That there’s more than one path to success?You get my point.I think there’s PLENTY of content I can create around this that will resonate with my ideal customer (or, as Mariah Coz says, my champagne client).It’s time to #FtheHUSTLE! Sign up here!A Framework for GrowthTalk about a rabbit hole.Every time I get into creating some sort of doodle or sketch (I’m still working on using the iPad & Procreate with the pencil), I have no idea how much time has passed.Next thing I know, I look up, and hours have gone by, which is what happened with this.This framework came about on the call with Susan (therapist), and she asked how I could start showing up like this. She asked me what I was going to do, when I was going to do it, and to let her know how it went.After I had done she wanted to know:How did it feel?How did it land (in terms of putting it out there and what the feedback was)Did I do it without prequalifying (I’ll be editing this post before I record it)Did I hedge at all (a little bit in writing this)The value and importance of doing this are that to serve the women I want to serve, I need to own what I know. And (Susan’s words), “this gives me the territory to practice that.”Nothing like a reminder to “practice what you preach.”And I genuinely mean that.This is why it’s so important to have people you trust who can guide, support, and be honest with you.The first place I start when thinking about any framework is what happens first.In this case, here’s my process:Once I’ve gone through this little dance (for lack of a better explanation), I can get to work.That’s when the self-doubt starts kicking in.I start thinking things like…What if this fails?Should I ask someone else about “X” (crowdsourcing too many opinions will get you nowhere fast)?Does this offend?Am I too full of myself?Maybe I should hire someone to do this?Am I charging too much?Maybe I should do “this” first?Talk about noise.Even though my logical brain knows one thing, this niggly little voice inside of me pokes at me.At least it did.I have no doubt the voice will continue to be there, but it will get a pretty big EFF OFF from me until it learns to zip it.The other thing that creeps in when I doubt myself is other people’s voices.I was jokingly saying I need to wear Magneto’s helmet when listening to other people’s opinions about marketing.The only people I’m going to pay attention to are the ones who are already where I want to be and have achieved more than me.There is a small group of people I trust that I’ll run things by, but ultimately?I have to trust myself.Here’s the 5-Step framework I created to anchor in my own beliefs and shut the door on self-doubt.Define Your Values:What are my values for my life & business?What are my values for my brand?How do I want people to feel about my products/services?Your Who:Who are you serving? (be specific!)Why do they need what you offer?What’s their outcome? (from using your products/services?)Dig Deep:What’s stopping you?How can you reframe that?How will you show up now? (and where will you show up?)Taking Action:What are three things you can do consistently that will shift this?When will you do them?What were the results?Next Steps:How are you feeling about yourself for taking action?In what way did you have your own back?What’s next?This is the mindset work we often skip when it comes to business (well, we skip it until we don’t because we’re not where we want to be, and we know something has to change).As someone who devours anything I can get my hands on when it comes to self-help, mindset, spirituality, and personal development, it’s time to claim those beliefs and share them with my audience in a way that I think will best serve them.The first thing I’m going to do is a live workshop with me that’s unlike anything else I’ve ever done. EEEK!It’s going to be all about mindset, beliefs, and how you can reframe those thoughts so you can have the business & lifestyle you love.That works for who YOU are.Not who you think you need to be to succeed.

100 Episodes!Technically, it’s 277 episodes if we count the 177 episodes as The WordPress Chick.I thought it was a lot more, but there have been some times over the year when the podcast went on sabbatical, and that’s O.K.What matters is that I get back to it.So here we are, officially at episode 100, and it’s GAME ON!Before I get into what’s coming and my new non-negotiables, I need to bring you up to speed with the last few weeks.Life was a little bit of a shit showOne of my dogs needed knee surgery (on both back knees), so I had that done the first week in July. She didn’t heal correctly because she pulled something out that they had done, probably just from moving incorrectly or getting off the couch (I was trying to lift her everywhere also).So, after taking her back to the vet twice (they didn’t do x-rays the first time), it was determined that she’d need surgery again on one knee.Fortunately, they didn’t charge me for the second surgery but wanted to keep her at the vet (she’s still there at the time of this writing, which is 2.5 weeks later) so they could do physiotherapy with her to make sure she healed.I’ve messaged them and am waiting for them to get back to me.The day I dropped her off in Liberia (about an hour away), I started feeling like I was getting sick. Sure enough, I had a heavy summer cold, congestion, cough, and fever (tested negative for Covid twice).I had a close friend’s niece come to stay with me a during that time (I said it was fine as long as she did her own thing and didn’t mind being here while I was sick), which turned out to be great because she made a couple of pharmacy runs for me.The day I was taking her back to the airport, I went to get in my car and could barely walk.How I managed to drive her, there is beyond me. I was in excruciating pain (I’ve had two kids and would take childbirth over that pain all day long). I had to stop my car 4 times on the way home to lay down in the back seat to get some reprieve.I got a hold of a great massage therapist and asked if she had any time that day because I thought it was sciatica.In the meantime, a friend brought me a muscle relaxant and some pain meds from the pharmacy during my massage (she knows the massage therapist too). I was sobbing I was in so much pain during the massage. I took the pain meds immediately, which did nothing.I called my friend and said I needed to go to the doctor, so she & another friend’s husband took me directly to the emergency in Liberia. After a CT scan and a couple more rounds of pain meds (it took forever to get some relief), it turns out I have a herniated disc pressing against my spine, compressing the nerves.Last week my same friend (who truly is an angel) took me to San Jose (my first trip there – it’s over 4 hours away) for an MRI. We stayed overnight (which was fun. We found an Outback Steakhouse – an American chain – and even a Starbucks! I got a Starbucks on the way out, but actually prefer Costa Rican coffee!).We left San Jose the next day and went straight to Liberia to consult with the neurosurgeon for the results of the MRI.He said I absolutely need surgery.I had been doing a bit of research and reading before my MRI (which, holy hell, I’m way more claustrophobic than I thought!) and was determined to heal myself naturally.Until I saw the MRI image.I haven’t decided yet, but I am leaning towards having the surgery.The next big decision is whether to have the surgery here or back in the states. I don’t have insurance here (and if I sign up now it won’t be covered because this is a pre-existing condition), or to sign up for medical back in the states and get the surgery later.It really just depends on whether or not I can deal with how I feel right now for a couple more months (insurance in the states won’t go into effect until Nov. if I sign up now.It’s $16k cash if I do it in Costa Rica.So, right now I’m in the ‘research’ phase of things.Fortunately, I’m out of pain (I have a heavy-duty medication I take at night blocking the nerves) and pain meds during the day. The one thing that is a little concerning for me is that my right leg feels really heavy, which is caused by the issue with the nerves.I feel like I’m walking like Igor from Frankenstein (dragging my right leg), but it doesn’t hurt, so that’s good.So here I am today, on a rainy Saturday, able to sit at my desk again, coffee in hand, and jumping back into things.What’s ComingAs we head into the last 4 months of the year, I have some very specific things that I want to accomplish.I’ve already shared that I’m hoping to move everything over to ClickFunnels 2.0 when it launches on October 3rd. I don’t think that will be something that happens overnight, but ideally, I get all my funnels and products into the platform first.The process of getting my blog and podcast into ClickFunnels will take a while (I’m giving myself until the end of the year), but truthfully, it depends on how much I like the blog platform. As long as I have the flexibility to format my content the way I want and add an opt-in box with ConvertBox I can’t imagine why I wouldn’t (other than it is tedious).The PodcastI’ve been thinking a lot about how I do the podcast.After doing it for so many years, I want to change it up a bit. My initial thought was to do seasons or themes, but neither resonates with me (but don’t quote me on that because if I can’t find a better name, it might just be one of those).I’ll continue doing solo shows, but I want to bring more interviews back. I have clarity over the type of guests I want and the topics I want to discuss.I get pitched quite a bit to have someone on the show (and I’ve committed to some of those interviews already and will honor those commitments). Still, if it doesn’t feel right with the season, session or theme I’m in (I’m ALL ears if anyone has any suggestions as to what to call this), then I’ll tell them to come back later and see if it’s a good fit.Content DistributionThis is a big one.My biggest opportunity is to create a solid distribution and promotion schedule. The one thing that has probably impeded my growth more than anything else is not promoting myself enough.That ends now.Over the last week, I hired 3 writers through Upwork to take the content I’ve already created and create a Twitter thread, 10-15 tweets, and a Linkedin Post.I’ve got two back already and am pleased with both results.Both are affordable, and I’d like to work long-term with them.I’m still waiting to get the work back from the 3rd writer, so we’ll see how that goes. One has more experience writing SEO-rich blog posts, so I may also enlist help on that front. It may take me longer to edit those into my voice than to write them, but I highly doubt it.I am on a MISSION to turn this into a system that works with the growth I want to achieve and the direction I’m heading.Content marketing is simply marketing.I’ve worked at reframing, creating content, repurposing it, marketing myself, etc. It’s ALL simply traffic. You need the traffic to serve the people you want to serve and grow and scale your business.We’re entering the next phase of social media. Gone are the days of it being a novelty or something you can choose to do or not do (and yes if you’ve been in a service business for a long time and have plenty of referrals, have it, skip the social. But if you want leverage and other opportunities, it’s part of how business is done today).After realizing missed opportunities with the Content Creators Planner, I’m doubling down on creating a small and extremely efficient team.I refuse to be stuck or limited by time, and I have zero desire to try and do everything myself anymore (or with one key person).There is NOTHING “FtheHUSTLE” about that.In a recent call with my partner on Deliverit, Jason Resnick, we discussed the idea of “sprints.”Which I love.It’s much easier to put in extra time when you know it’s not the standard way of doing business. Sprinting for a set period with an end goal is doable.That’s how I’m approaching each of these pieces of my business that are changing and part of the new foundation.My New Non-Negotiables Whenever I think of the phrase “non-negotiable,” it first brings up thoughts of working with clients (scope creep, anyone?), which I don’t do anymore or personal boundaries.My new non-negotiables are different.They’re internal non-negotiables that are directed at me… from myself.Here is my list of my new non-negotiables:No more playing smallNo more doubting myself when something feels right in my gut, regardless of what anyone else says.I will promote myself, consistently and unapologetically, with the right intentions.My intentions and soul purpose will drive everything I doHow other people respond is not my responsibilityI refuse to apologize for wanting what I wantI won’t explain myself. To anyone.My gut tells me this list will grow, which is pretty freaking fantastic.This is something I’m going to rewrite on paper and put next to my desk.Products, Funnels, and AutomationsI’ve spent way too much time not putting the right automations in place.Even though I don’t want to admit it, I’ve probably also lost thousands and thousands of dollars not making sure my product suite is up and available for sale (with the right funnels, follow-ups, and upsells).That’s all going to change.My products are going to focus on three things:emailnewslettersFtheHUSTLE: Creating a business that supports the lifestyle you wantI wrapped up a great first cohort of HitSend (well, I have one more live stream to do that was canceled because of my dog’s surgery) and will be running that multiple times a year (I’ll probably do the next one at the end of October or beginning of November).I’m about to pre-sell my new course, Launch & Grow a Newsletter, for 50% off (the course will open on October 1st). This is a self-paced course with two live calls. Once the course goes on evergreen I’ll remove the live calls, but I love getting the feedback and the interaction with my students. I intend to have my back surgery in early October so will time those calls around that.The Launch & Grow a Newsletter course will be part of an evergreen funnel and value ladder. I have a few more email marketing products that will go into my product suite.There will be one high-ticket coaching program called “FtheHUSTLE Insiders.”And that’s it.Plus a new secret project, I’m working on and will announce in a month or so.Life StuffIt has been a busy-ass year!I’ve had visitors 8 months out of the past 9!My plan is no more guests until 2023. I have absolutely loved having everyone here, but it does throw a monkey wrench into my schedule a bit.I’ll be heading to California for Christmas and looking at making it a longer trip (10 days to 2 weeks, so I can see everybody as well as have some downtime). I’ve got a wedding to go to in Chicago in March and would like to take a couple of other trips next year besides up to California (even though I miss everyone it’s not really a ‘vacation’ for me).My priority right now is to get my back fixed so I can get back to business. It’s not slowing me down too much, but this is pretty uncomfortable and I’d like to get off of these meds. I’m a higher energy person and these make me pretty sleepy.I’m still quite happy in Costa Rica and don’t have any immediate plans to leave. Ultimately, I want a place in the states and one here. I may wait until my kids settle down somewhere in the states so I can be closer to them (and future grandchildren… that is so weird to write and neither of my kids is anywhere near that yet).Overall, life is really, really good.I’m excited to see what the next 4 months bring me.

Kim Doyal 0:01 Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome to another episode of F hustle with Kim Doyal. I, of course, I'm your host Doyal. And I'm just doing a little preview clip for today's show because I jumped right into it saying, We haven't you know, we haven't done anything in a long time. And it was specifically referring to today's episode, which was a conversation plan conversation between myself and Joe Hirsch, my co founder of the content creators plan. So I thought I would just do a little preview clip here. So it makes a little bit more sense. When you listen to this. We did record this on video, which will be up on YouTube. And we'll be sharing in the content creators, Facebook group, and anywhere else, that seems like a great place to share it. So that being said, kind of big announcement to make. So enjoy the episode. Welcome to F the hustle. I'm your host, Kim Doyal. You want a life that is meaningful and exciting. In this podcast, we're going to talk about launching and growing an online business that meets your lifestyle. F the hustle is all about doing good work, building real relationships, and most importantly, creating a business that supports how you want to live your life. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of your life today to create something that sets your soul on fire. And yes, that includes making a lot of money. So we'll be talking about selling, charging, what you're worth, and help earning more means helping more people. My goal is to help you find freedom and create a business on your terms. Hey, what's going on? Everybody? Long time, no talk? No, see, we haven't done anything in video in a long time. So we've got a big announcement today. Of course, we are the founders of the content creators planner. I'm Kim Doyal. And of course, my cohort is God earth. Well played not passed off very well. But we're, we're excited we do have a big announcement. And I'm going to kind of pass this over to Jodi to start with the announcement. And we've got a lot to share with you. So stay for the whole video. But we do have an announcement toJodi Hersh 2:06 make. Yeah, so the big exciting announcement is that, like all good things, CCP is coming to an end CCP being content creators planner. It's a mouthful for us. So we always call it CCP. And while we love the product, and we have loved working with everybody and helping everybody with through content creators planner, we're finding that we're both just way more focused on and excited about other things. And we're really doing a disservice to CCP, and to our audience. So we thought that we'd share a little bit with you about kind of how we got here, some of our favorite moments and highlights and things that we've learned along the way. And a little bit about what we're each going to be doing moving forward and what all of this means for you guys than our customers.Kim Doyal 3:06 And first and foremost, of course, we want to thank you all for being on this journey with us. And just so you guys know, Jodi and I love each other life is good. This is not some weird, like, oh, you know, but we're not breaking up. We're still we're still very good friends. And, you know, confidants and counsel to each other about business. So I want to do that. But a huge thank you. It's been such a fun, amazing journey. No regrets. It's, it's been wild, you know, starting something and launching something here before the world went upside down. But let's go God has prepared some really great kind of questions and take away so we're gonna jump in and say that, but again, thank you so much for being on this journey with us. So let's, let's get into your little structured thing you got to do there. I love it.Jodi Hersh 3:57 Well, why don't we do like a quick sort of like, timeline of what what brought us to here. So back in the summer of 2018 It's crazy. I was literally on a cruise. I've been on one cruise in my entire life. And I was on the cruise floating around somewhere in the middle of the British Isles. And Kim sent me a message. Did you send me a LinkedIn message? Or didKim Doyal 4:29 you know it was Facebook Messenger Facebook, okay. Yeah.Jodi Hersh 4:34 She asked me if I if I knew InDesign, I'm like, Yeah, sure. I use it all the time. What do you need? I figured i'd make a video and show her how to do something. But she was interested in getting some help to produce this printed book that she she had thought of whichKim Doyal 4:51 I'm gonna interject because this was the funniest answer. They literally said can I a hire you to do this? Or B Do you want to do this with me and her The answer was yes. It was like it was awesome.Jodi Hersh 5:08 I do remember that. So the answer was, yes, I'll partner with you. And that was I got back to the state. I got back home sometime in August, I think like, mid to late August of 2018. And we started work on it immediately. And then we decided that a Kickstarter was a good idea.Kim Doyal 5:31 At the beginning of December, no less. I don't know why I had that. I had to do that. But moving on.Jodi Hersh 5:38 You know, the funny thing about all these missteps are you learn so much more from the mistakes than you know, from the things that actually worked? Well, maybe, maybe it's equal, maybe you learn equally from both, but the mistakes are just, there's just so funny.Kim Doyal 5:55 They are. Right. And the nice thing is, it's like, you don't know what to mistakes that you make it right, like, stop to think about I mean, originally, we had even thought we should get imprinted overseas, all the books we had tested and stuff. And each thing led us to where we were, but it's it's, I don't know, I always say like, if you knew now what you know, if you knew then what you know, now, would you have done it? My answer is still yes. ButJodi Hersh 6:19 yeah, definitely. No, I might have done some things differently, knowing what we're doing now.Kim Doyal 6:23 Yeah, that's true. Yeah.Jodi Hersh 6:26 But so we have a famously failed to Kickstarter. But fortunately, we also had Kim's email list that she had been growing for years. And we had everybody in Kickstarter. You you can't export them at a Kickstarter for you can certainly one by one, send them a message. So that's what we did. And in our case, you know, I'm a web designer. So I whipped up a WooCommerce site, basically, over New Years, and we started selling, pre selling on our own. And we were able to raise enough funds through the pre sale to be able to pay for the first batch that printed books, which I we sourced locally here in Atlanta with a company that I knew. So if anybody wants that information, is called Book logics. And they're in Alpharetta, Georgia.Kim Doyal 7:19 And they're phenomenal, amazing service, highest quality, best price, lowest minimum. So it was like, how do you beat this? Yeah,Jodi Hersh 7:27 yeah, it's all it's basically print on demand. So they're set up to do short run, printing. So quantity, I think our smallest quantity in bulk was is 250. But the price gets much better as quantity goes up. So we had a successful launch. We were I think we were still designing the book while we were pre selling. I don't remember the details of this. But one of my funniest memory is that Kim and I had known each other for about seven years, five months, or something like that. Yeah. Online. We had zoomed were we knew each other. Were so old. We had Skyped. Okay. We chatted a few times. And we were online friends, but we had never met in person. And we were scheduled to meet in St. Louis for a mastermind event that Kim was invited to and I was her plus one. And the books. I might be mixing up like two different stories, but I remember like the books had like, just come in, and we were like finally shipping them and I'm like racing to deliver hundreds and actually I had to pack them into the bubble mailers and carry hundreds of books to the post office. As I'm trying to fly to St. Louis. It was all like one crazy 24 hour andKim Doyal 8:50 you brought me a chunk of books. Remember, you also brought me a ton so you had your own stuff, plus a whole ton of books for me to take home to California.Jodi Hersh 9:03 Oh yeah, I think they charged me extra for my luggage. But so we met for the first time in baggage claim.Kim Doyal 9:12 Yep. We absolutely did. You know thinking to something else we did in between you remember we did for I don't know why we limited this to four days ding dongs but Black Friday, Cyber Monday before the Kickstarter, we ran a giveaway. And we got 500 subscribers, people signed up for the giveaway and it was to win like an annual subscription with four planners and a hoodie and you know all of those things, but it was fun to test that and I'm like, You should have ran that for like two weeks. I was just I don't know, you know, so hindsight like I was thinking Black Friday Cyber Monday for days, but so just so I think to share the piece that we were talking about this and marketing it constantly the second we came up with the idea, we started throwing it in the con 10th graders Facebook group. Jody, would we do a zoom call? And she showed me a design and I'd screenshot it and share it in the group. She's like, Oh, you know, it would have a read notes and stuff on it. But it was yeah, that was that was an intense five, six months in remember, you got sick at Christmas time? You were sick for a few weeks. That was not I know.Jodi Hersh 10:24 I feel like I was patient zero. Yeah. But that was like a year in advance of the pandemic, though. Yeah. Yeah, I was sick. My boss for the holidays. That year. When I recorded the original walkthrough video, I have this really deep voice. And I had to keep pausing the recording to call for like 20 minutes, and then come back. But I don't know if that's still the audio track that's out there floating around on YouTube.Kim Doyal 10:54 I'm sure it is.Jodi Hersh 10:55 I'm sure it is. It's like two octaves lower than my normal speech. Yeah.Kim Doyal 11:00 Yeah, that was wild. And when we shifted, we didn't have what we're we're using girl originally, maybe it was when we started the ads. But we didn't launch with the masterclass, but pretty close. Or we did pretty close. We wanted to make sure we had one upsell during that process, because we had the physical digital and the masterclass, right.Jodi Hersh 11:22 The original upsell was a really annoying pop up with the digital planner.Kim Doyal 11:29 That's right. We didn't do the math in class till we Yeah.Jodi Hersh 11:33 And then we started running our own Facebook ads using ad espresso we started with because we didn't like the native interface. And once we had an ad that was performing well, I know it was made because I remember the name of the totally bogus still may something once we have a successful ad, and it was time to scale it up. That was when we started looking for help. And we found an agency that helped us scale up our ads. And that's when it got really interesting. I never thought I'd be the person that would say I was spending $1,000 a day on Facebook ads. But we had scaled up to where we were profitable at $1,000 a day because we were getting a return. So more we put in the more we got out. And during that time we had our one of our best highlights was our biggest month. I think our gross sales that month were like 67,000 Yeah, yep. And that may have no that was January, like January of 2020. Yeah.Kim Doyal 12:45 Now, I just want to throw in, and not to be a Debbie Downer. But that year was a shit show to night. 2019 I lost my mom, Jodi had some health issues. I moved, and almost twice in like six, seven months. And so just for I and I want to share that only because, you know, life doesn't stop happening to us as we're as we're creating and growing and scaling or whatever we're doing.Jodi Hersh 13:11 And we were running other businesses at the same time. Absolutely. IKim Doyal 13:15 mean, my life shut down for a while it was I was devastated. But it was still like, I don't know, finding that balance. Because we knew what we had created and what we believed in and we're like, well, we're gonna keep going people like these, you know? And do you remember it was so fun. Even before we turn the ads on, it was like, we would text each other's sales and updates. And you know, it was, it was really fun, then as we started scaling, to be able to kind of run with that. And it was it was wild. There was a there was a really, there was a great energy about seeing it working and scaling and working and scaling. And it was just, it was a blurry wild talk.Jodi Hersh 13:57 Yeah, I mean, it was it was definitely fun. And it was intense. And I mean, some of the best parts were hearing from people how much they loved the planner, and you know, how they were using it. And, you know, in hindsight, I think maybe one of the, one of the many mistakes was trying to maybe do too much, which is kind of ties in with what we how we both are focused and what we're doing moving forward. It's, it's very tempting to try to do everything that I think have to do all the things. And, you know, as content creators, we, you know, we're just kind of wired to make stuff. And we definitely were doing too much. And I must say that it's challenging to create content about creating content on a continual basis, such as what we were doing. It's kind of like the snake eating its own tail. I mean, it was yeah, that was Was it was challenging and it wasKim Doyal 15:03 challenging. excited about it. Honestly. Yeah. You know, it's like I love the planner. And I love creating content, but creating content about content. But But I think we have that conversation in terms of what we're content planners, shouldn't we create content, it felt like, oh, boy, like, it was a little tricky to feel like we didn't, we were tired of content, I think at a certain point, but we wereJodi Hersh 15:29 and, and even with two of us switching off, I think Kim did probably create more content than I did. ButKim Doyal 15:34 God gave me everything behind the scenes that kept the machine running. Let me just tell you that right now.Jodi Hersh 15:42 It was still like the most amount of content that I authored myself, though, for any of my projects. And while it was really challenging, it was something good that came out of it is that it really has forced me to become a consistent content creator. And you know, as a result, I'm now publishing. A weekday, daily weekday email called Fresh squeezed, you can find that on my web or in store.com/fresh.Kim Doyal 16:14 All the links for everything we mentioned will be below this video, by the way.Jodi Hersh 16:19 I never in a million years thought that I would do a daily email, I would have said, You're, you're nuts. I don't have that kind of time. But they're really short. I'm saying that they're short, sweet and nutritious, fresh ways. And it's actually really fun. And I would not have come to that, if it hadn't been for content creators, planner. And yeah, the commitment that we made to each other to stick with it, because I think it is on my own, I would have petered out. About you.Kim Doyal 16:50 Yeah, for sure. For sure. Especially because I mean, I've created content for a long time on Kim Doyal, Wordpress, check, whatever. But there is a difference when you've got an accountability to somebody better responsibility to someone else. And like creativity published was the first newsletter I had published, which got me so excited about f the hustle. But it was, it was fun to see the the responses to that it was fun to do that. But again, it was the same thing of creating content about content. You know, I enjoyed doing the newsletter, but then it just started feeling the snake eating the snake to your point, you know. And I think the other tricky thing with that is, first of all, let's not forget our six hour famous zoom call where your ears are about ready to fall off. We spent six hours together on a zoom call, really defining the brand story for content creators planner, which is why I think our ad hit right out of the gate, our site resonated with people we did that's I always call that the intangible work that people can't see. And it's really taking that time to get clear on your message, who you serve the problem you're solving. And we did that we did that really well. And so, but then we also have two very distinct voices and personalities. So it was, you know, nurturing that into the brand. But yeah, the newsletter was phenomenal, too, though. I mean, I fell in love with newsletters, before we even started it, and it got me really excited about the possibility of them.Jodi Hersh 18:20 Yeah, I think, you know, on my side of things, too. It just all of CCP and its needs really forced me to tackle some technologies that I had dabbled with but not like really mastered. So not only do we use WooCommerce, which I was already pretty adept at but I boy I definitely know my way around WooCommerce really well. Yeah, like every add on imaginable in there to make it do everything. But I installed and set up every single LMS system.Kim Doyal 18:59 We have because we moved off of Thinkific so a couple things everybody. I think we started with Kajabi right that was before we startedJodi Hersh 19:07 with Kajabi and then we went to Podio odia. And then we went to think if IK and then we decided to bring it inside WordPress, it was getting really expensive on Thinkific which was driving that because it worked great. It was just getting very expensive. And we tried, you had the Thrive. What is the Thrive one called apprentice Thrive Thrive apprentice. We tried that and it was having an issue conflicting with I don't remember what one of our other plugins that that we couldn't turn off so we were having an issue with that. And then we tried. I had a copy member press so we tried member press courses and that looked fine. And we also decided to try LearnDash And when I say try, I mean like, really set them up and yeah. And LearnDash. Just, it's been great. So yeah, got that all set up. And we've not had any issues with that. But also early on, we got cart flows, and started experimenting with our funnels. And we haven't to date taken full advantage of all the latest features, which is one of the reasons why we've decided to move on, from CCP is we just, we've there's not enough time, effort, energy to put into it with our other things at this time. But I'm actually really excited about some of the new features of CART flows, which I'm going to be experimenting with very soon. Very wine thing as we wind things down, because I don't know if we should save it to the end, or to tell everybody what we're doing yet. ButKim Doyal 20:59 let's let's do it right, now's a good time, is it?Jodi Hersh 21:03 Okay. Um, so we...

Kim Doyal 0:01 Welcome to F the hustle. I'm your host, Kim Doyal. You want a life that is meaningful and exciting. In this podcast, we're going to talk about launching and growing an online business that fits your lifestyle. F the hustle is all about doing good work, building real relationships, and most importantly, creating a business that supports how you want to live your life. You don't have to sacrifice the quality of your life today to create something that sets your soul on fire. And yes, that includes making a lot of money. So we'll be talking about selling, charging, what you're worth, and how earning more means helping more people. My goal is to help you find freedom and create a business on your terms. Hey, what's going on everybody? Welcome back to another episode of EFF the hustle with Kim Doyal. I am your host, Kim Doyal. I'm really excited today because I swear to God, come on. I feel like my good friend come on. And we've known each other like two months or something. But this I feel like it's been a long time coming, but it hasn't we met a few months ago. My guest is C'mon Chung. Did I say your name correctly?Unknown Speaker 1:04 That's correct. Very good.Kim Doyal 1:06 Okay, I was like, you know, it's funny, I have a tent, I do this. And I'm like, Kim, you need to clarify this before you actually get on the interview. But anyway, Kibana and I connected through Twitter. And I just kind of fell in love with his content and what he was doing. I signed up for his free email course, which he's going to talk about everything he's doing. And one of the best things that I just love this is in his follow up sequence. He said, hit reply, and tell me, he said I reply to every email. And he did. And I just thought, this is friggin brilliant. I shared what he was doing. It was it was just a real fun engagement. And so come on. Thank you for being here today.Unknown Speaker 1:45 Yeah, thank you, Kim, for having me here. Seriously, I reply to 100% of my email. But sometimes like seven days, late 14 days late, like today, I was replying emails 14 days late. But late is better than never showing up. Right. So that's my, that's my way of doing things.Kim Doyal 2:04 Oh, absolutely. And you know, it's funny simply, I obviously love email. I do so much with email. I still it's kind of my almost a preferred choice of communication. But I like to get into conversations with people. I think it's, it's fantastic. So all right. We're gonna talk about everything. I love starting with the backstory. And you do this full time now you're a full time creator, and I should we should clarify for people. So our time zones are a little bit off. It's eight o'clock in Costa Rica. Where are you? And what time is it for you right now?Unknown Speaker 2:33 Well, I am based in Hong Kong is 10pm over here. But if you ask me, I am living in my computer right now. Because most of my friends are actually online, I just feel more connected to people like you, who were doing similar things where we're passionate about what we do, and it's hard to find it locally, honestly.Kim Doyal 2:56 Oh, you know, it's crazy. I was I'm from Northern California, San Francisco Bay Area, and I was out in the suburbs. So it was very, it felt very difficult for a long time. Like nobody gets what I do. Nobody understands.Unknown Speaker 3:09 I guess I feel the same way.Kim Doyal 3:12 Yeah, absolutely. And I'm a big believer online friends are friends. So how long? I'd love to hear your backstory, like I said, what got you into doing this? You know, a lot of people, you know, maybe it's just a desire or quit a job, whatever. But how did you start your online journey? What were you doing before?Unknown Speaker 3:30 So you know, the kind of life changing point for that is 20 months ago, I felt like a nobody. And I will tell you why. Because I have been in startups all my career for nine years before 2020. So I worked so hard for the startups I work in or the startups i co created. So the last one, I was the CEO and co founder. But then for some reason, like the growth is not there. And I feel like I shouldn't burn more of my investor money. So at the end of 2020, I walked away. And then suddenly, I was like, Oh, my God, what should I do next? I felt like a nobody, because I pour everything into the company. And if you Google volunteering, there's nothing. So I felt pretty bad about that. And then I was like, hmm, this time around. I think I failed enough. And maybe it's time to do something under my name. And then I got to know about creating online writing online. And then my journey started there. So it was pretty wild.Kim Doyal 4:35 Well, it is. So let me tell you with the startups. Do you want to talk about that? Was it in like a technology software company? What were you what were your started? TheUnknown Speaker 4:44 last one was the SAS company. Yeah. But I worked on it for about 18 months. But you know, I came back to thing that the biggest problem is that I never understood the customers because I was always in a rush and I'll tell the people who are listening to this, I had a bunch of funding. And I think that really spoiled me because I just have a huge team that I need to manage. And then we also spend on marketing. So we're not really understanding what we're doing, but we just starting to do it. And that was not good. So I decided to put a plug.Kim Doyal 5:25 Yeah, well, good for you. I mean, that's that had to have been a big decision to after getting funding and hiring people, I can't imagine that that was an easy decision to make.Unknown Speaker 5:35 It is, it is not easy at all. But I know, as an entrepreneur, right, you just have to do things like that. Because there's opportunity costs, the more you go on, the more money you're burning, and it's not good for anyone. So I don't know, I'm just kind of, I didn't overthink it, I just put a plug, basically.Kim Doyal 5:59 That's awesome. You know, I that's kind of how I operate too. I tend to be like, just No, I make a decision, and I move forward. And I'm like, let's just do this, and especially when it's time for something to end and something else to begin. It's like, why, why drag that out? And not everyone has a comfort level with making decisions. But I'm definitely like, you know, burn the boats, like, oh, yeah, I'm, you know, I mean, I moved to Costa Rica, I'd never been here, I was like, I'm gonna do it. Let's go.Unknown Speaker 6:26 You know, you know what, I did that to my relationships, too. If you've, I've sensed that it's not working out, or we don't have a future. She's not gonna be my wife. I just, you know, and it there. And then, you know, I met my wife, like, six months after I ended the last one. And then I fell in love with her right away. And the second, I think it was the second day, I knew she's going to be my wife. So if you don't end stuff, new stuff is not going to happen. That's my belief.Kim Doyal 6:57 It totally is. And it's trusting that process, right? Okay, so you make this decision, you pull the plug on the SAS? What did you jump right into the sort of creator world? Or did you start? I don't know, you know, maybe digging around and looking at it, and how did you fall into this space?Unknown Speaker 7:19 Okay, so I didn't know such thing as creator, you know, I was taking a break, I was like, Oh, my daughter is arriving in two months at that point. So it's my first child. So maybe I should take a break and be with my wife a little bit more.Kim Doyal 7:37 And the way your daughter is Darling,Unknown Speaker 7:40 thank you. Thank you. I think I talk about her too much online. Now, some people might be turned off by that. But anyway, I was just like, exploring new territory. And I'm the type that when I take breaks, it's not really break. I'm like, learning and figuring things out. So at that point, I knew that people talk about online writing, like I saw some blogs, people say, they write openly about their journey. And then they started creating courses. And then they work on a company, they got funding, like all kinds of stuff started to happen when you start writing and put yourself out there. So I was intrigued by that. And I just told myself, hey, for the next eight weeks, let me just write one article on my personal blog that no one ever visits. But let me also try my best to distribute it. In forums, I have a Twitter account with like, no followers, but let me start making some Twitter friends. And I did that for eight weeks. So it was just an exploration stage. I didn't know I would be going in this full time. But you know, things start to happen, like, people start to get around me, I'm starting to making friends. And I think the biggest turning point was that I decided individual blog posts is not going to cut it, like 30 readers for each blog post is not going to build a business. So at that point, I was like, Come on, start writing individual blog posts about random topics. Let's create a killer piece of content that people love it and they will share it for you. So that was my first project online, which is the building public guide, free nine chapters. And it took me two months to write it. But once I launch it, 2000 people read it in the first three days. And the rest is history. I just basically follow these people who get around me, and I just solve problems for them. So that was this was crazy. I was a little lucky to to have that kind of outcome.Kim Doyal 9:48 Yeah, but at the same time with the amount of work you put into it, I you know, it's funny, a lot of people will say, Well, how long does it take you to do a podcast and like I can spend a whole day writing and recording like a solo show. I'm about to take two plus months to write that type of how many words is your building public post?Unknown Speaker 10:09 Okay, funny thing is just 10,000 words, it's not even long. But the thing is, is my first time writing, like a long form thing, is my first time thinking about how to distribute or do everything by myself. And I was talking about building in public, right? So I feel like I just had to build this project in public. Otherwise, why would people trust me for that topic? So I took my time, and I, you know, I keep sharing the updates. And in that two months, I get or people around me and say, Oh, this is exciting. I want to follow you for the journey. And I also did two rounds of beta reading, where I asked, Hey, by the way, part one is done is anyone interested in reading, and I was like, expecting nothing, because I only have such a small following. But suddenly, like eight or nine people would raise their hand each round, and they actually read the whole thing, spending like 30 to 60 minutes, and giving me really good feedback. So I, I actually understand to take it slow. It actually create more trust with the people around you. And then when I launch it, guess what, I just reach out to these people who helped me along the way and say, Hey, I launch it, by the way, would you like to help me reshare it? So because they see that I'm very committed and serious, because I keep sharing the process, they are so willing to help. And that was the reason why it blew up. It didn't blow up because I was a genius or anything. It was just like slow and committed work.Kim Doyal 11:50 Well, and you built, you had sort of this pre launch team, right, essentially, because of how you're building it in public and the trust you established. And I think there's a piece there. Are you familiar with roommates, SETI?Unknown Speaker 12:04 Not really, you can tell me about it.Kim Doyal 12:06 Okay, well, I'll be I'll be quick. He's a big blog, he wrote the book, I Will Teach You To Be Rich, which is really a finance book, but he's got a huge company, digital marketing products and whatnot. And so I'm on his list, he, he's great. He's worth following. And they had sent out an email once about launches. And I've probably told the story in the podcast before, but it bears repeating. And so they said, What do you like, What do you dislike about the launches in the internet marketing space? And so I replied, and I just sort of said, you know, I said, I'm, they feel tired. I understand that for people who are not in this space. It might seem like a new process, but I can see a launch coming 10 ways sideways now. And so I said, it just feels tired. I think there's got to be a better way to do this. And they emailed me back, and they said, We're building a launch course, would you be interested in giving us feedback, we'll send you a module. And so I did that for like the first module that was Google Doc. And I just, I kind of went through it. But let me say that then a year plus later, when they launched breakthrough launch, I bought it because I knew, Oh, my gosh, they've been working on this for a year and a half. And they've done this, this deep dive and they're talking to customers, and they're really analyzing the content. And they're, they're figuring this out. So and I didn't even need it at the time. But I'm like, I'm gonna buy this right now. And I'll have it when I'm ready, which I did. It's I love he's really big into psychological triggers and stuff behind writing. But that's exactly what you're saying, right? So people see and witness the effort and the energy that goes into what you're creating. And then it's like, they're championing you to win with it.Unknown Speaker 13:39 Oh, totally. Just Just today, someone said to me, Hey, Yvonne, I bought your book, The e book, my new book, find joy and chaos, which is all about Twitter presence. And then I was like, by the way, do you read physical book, like the paperback is coming? What do you think? And then he was like, I actually only read physical book, and I bought the evil just to support you. I'm like, wow.Kim Doyal 14:07 Well, I have to tell you, I saw because I think I saw a tweet where you file for your ISBN number. Yeah. For the book. Yeah. Okay. And so I was like, Well, I gotta get the physical book, which it'll get shipped to like my daughter's house in the States. But because I want to support you, same thing, right. And that way, I'm a verified purchase on Amazon and can leave you a review. So that that's how this works. And that's, that's what I love about it. So you know, okay, so you'reUnknown Speaker 14:30 thinking, I want to share one like, funny story. Yeah, the first six months in my creative journey, I didn't make $1 Because I was quite intentional about my approach. I knew the internet is about credibility. And it's about, you know, just just get more and more and then monetize. So I didn't even cross my mind until six months later. But when I launched my first pay community, it was just five bucks per month. And then people would sign up and pay me five bucks just to support me? I feel really bad. I feel like a robber or something taking money for no reason, because I have this value exchange in my mind that I'm an entrepreneur, like, if you pay me five bucks, I need to deliver something. And that didn't feel good. But now, like 20 months in, I'm like, totally okay, people supporting me.Kim Doyal 15:27 Well, but that's, don't you think that is sort of? I mean, obviously, Eastern culture is a little different than Western culture. But there is still, I mean, across the board, when you have a job, you have to do work to get money. You know, it's it's such a different mentality to shift into, although as a startup founder entrepreneurial mode, where there's a lot of reframing of thoughts and behaviors that have to happen in order to grow and succeed online, don't you think?Unknown Speaker 15:54 I think so. And I think the supportive culture is especially obvious in creators economy. I don't know why maybe because the price point of the products are lower. And also because you know, we need each other to grow together. So it's just more obvious. But in reality, you don't see someone buying a banana for the person lining up behind them. Right. So yeah, let's just leave it that way.Kim Doyal 16:23 Well know what I just I just think it is my point was in getting comfortable with people supporting and buying it's, it's a different level of exchange of the value exchange and versus doing work and getting a paycheck.Unknown Speaker 16:40 I think we all have to take time to learn that.Kim Doyal 16:44 We have to unlearn that, too. Yeah. Okay. So your first your post, I love that. I love that your actual because now you've got a cohort, which we'll talk about the building public cohort. But I love that it all stemmed from an original blog post. And you know, a lot of marketers that I really like and follow, they always talk about that, you know, so you got massive validation for this idea. You demonstrated it, and then you can go deeper with it as you go on. But what you're so what brought me into your world was your lead magnet, and why don't I have the name in front of me, but so it's your free? Make Twitter friends? That's right, and Twitter friends, I was like, Wow, way to be a good interview. Okay. So making Twitter friends, when did that come along for you in this process? SoUnknown Speaker 17:29 that was my second project. So you know, my first project was a nine chapter guide, on the website. So it was good for SEO, I want to make it public, no, no email that you need to put in, because it's my first piece of work, I don't want to block people from getting it. So but that was assessed, and I started thinking, okay, now I really need to get some emails, because that that's the only way to keep the communication going with these people. So I was just looking around me about my own Twitter approach. And it's quite different from other gurus out there who's like, do this and do that. I just don't like it. So it was a pretty simple concept. I just want to summarize what I know. And put it together as a free email course. And also give it to people for free. But this time, take their emails. And that was a huge success as well, like, people keep recommending it to their friends. And then I got 2000 students in the first year without doing active marketing. But yeah, these two products really helped me kind of put myself out there, get my name hurt a little bit more than just a nobody. But yeah.Kim Doyal 18:49 Well, I love that you did that. And there was, I'm going to point something out here. So I'm glad you had probably, I'm guessing, a little bit of a cushion. So you had the space to financially give yourself and say I'm gonna give myself time to do this and figure out right, what would you recommend maybe to somebody who is still in the nine to five, or doesn't have a runway necessarily, to and I'm just guessing because you when you left the startup, you didn't go get a job in between or anything right. You know, and so, but any advice or recommendations to somebody who is hearing this because I'll tell you come on, like I've been doing this like 14 and a half years. It was a very different space...

I first came up with the hashtag #JustShowUP about ten years ago.Learning what Just ShowUP means at each stage of your journey will look different.I know mine has. My ego tells me it’s taken too long, my higher self tells me it’s taken exactly as long as it’s supposed to take.Talk about freedom.Years ago, when I was in a mastermind, a woman was just about done writing a book when her computer crashed. She didn’t have a backup of her book.Her response?“It was supposed to happen. How do I know it was supposed to happen? Because it did.”HOLY MOLY.That’s a level of zen I hope to achieve (but I can guarantee you my initial reaction would have been as far from zen as you could imagine… and hopefully, I will always have a backup).I’m a little in awe that after all this time doing this. I’ve stepped into something that has me as nervous and excited as I was the day I started.Don’t get me wrong, plenty of projects over the last 14+ years have kept me excited and motivated, but this is more than a project.It’s a calling.A calling to Just ShowUP in a WHOLE new way.Creating a MovementWhen I first came up with FtheHUSTLE, it was out of frustration.Now it’s a passion and an obsession.Hustle and grind were being glorified by every male entrepreneur I was following. At the time, I felt like this was how I was supposed to build a business.Then it hit me…Most of the men preaching this had partners at home taking care of everything else in their life, or they were twenty-somethings with no responsibility to anyone but themselves.Piss off.At the time, I felt super defensive. I was a widowed mother with two young kids at home. I literally could not work harder than I was working.I was constantly feeling like I had to justify what I was or wasn’t doing.It was exhausting.Not to mention, I wanted a quality of life too.I’m all about doing the work. Focusing on mastery, shipping, hitting publish, and showing up. But fuck me if I’m going to do it the way anyone else preaches or expects anymore.In many ways, the toxic mentality of hustle and grind has become a new version of bullshit corporate America expects from you. But guess what?This is worse.Because YOU’VE created it.You set out to create something you love that would give you freedom and quality of life. But instead, you’ve created something that makes you question what you’re doing.At the same time, realizing that you’ve created this is also the moment you gain freedom.Because if you’ve created THIS… you can create something different.Enjoying your life today does NOT mean you don’t want it bad enough.It doesn’t mean you’re not committed or hungry enough.No one gets to decide what matters to you except YOU.<END RANT>As much as #FtheHUSTLE is a clear statement, it’s not really about being ‘against’ the hustle as much as it’s FOR what works for you.What YOU want.How I’m creating my movementAt the risk of sounding trite, I’m creating it one step at a time.The first step is showing up fully with this message. I’ve been using #FtheHUSTLE for a while now (the newsletter is almost two years old, woohoo!), but it was more a part of my business than the business model.I’m figuring out the frameworks for using #FtheHUSTLE to create and grow a business you love while enjoying every freaking moment of your life.It’s time to challenge the narrative.I swear I feel like I’ve “woken up” to this idea over this past year.I started looking at all the models in business, society, and government, and it finally hit me that they’ve all been created by one group of people.Men.Don’t get me wrong; I’m not here to bash men (I love men), but it’s a piss poor representation of how things should be.We have data and facts on things that work because that’s what’s been studied.Take Brené Brown as an example (I adore her).Why do you think her very first TED talk on vulnerability blew up?It was a NEW message. A message people were ready to hear.Suffice it to say, she’s done O.K., wouldn’t you say?What Showing Up here looks likeLet’s get into the tangible of what this looks like.I shared in my last podcast episode that I plan to move everything I do online into ClickFunnels 2.0 when it’s released in October (Oct. 4th, to be exact).This is no small undertaking, and I expect it to be a process that takes me through the end of the year.I have plenty of work to prepare for that move and went into much more detail in the last episode.While preparing to make that move, my main priority is creation.I had my first call with my TikTok coach last week and have a beginning plan for growing that channel. I’ve also hired someone to pull video clips from podcast interviews that support this message that I can repurpose on TikTok.Showing up on TikTok (which I’ll repurpose for shorts and reels) was a conscious decision. My initial interest was because of how well it’s working (I know, duh).However, that’s not the only reason.When I look back at times, I’ve shown up in business, and what worked was always when I put more of myself out there.Launching my podcast was the first game changer because I showed up genuinely and authentically as myself. The people that resonated with the podcast are my ideal clients and customers.Showing up, connecting, and engaging is who I am.It suits my personality.It fuels me.I realized it was time to stop listening to anyone who had an opinion about not doing another thing.I LOVE DOING ALL THE THINGS!O.K., that’s not totally true (hence hiring people to help with a LOT of the things).What if we also looked at what brings us joy as marketing?In a session with my therapist yesterday, I realized I have this way of disempowering myself when I talk about my strengths.I have no doubt much of this comes from societal programming and being raised Catholic (#sorrynotsorry).We’re supposed to be modest, humble, and not brag.Again… fuck that.I know who I am and what my intentions are. It’s time to claim it.Let’s get back to the creation part I mentioned earlier.#FtheHUSTLE ContentThe #FtheHUSTLE content consists of content on the site, social, and programs.Here’s where I’m at right now:NewsletterPodcastSocial profiles (making sure banners & messaging match)Here’s what I’m working on:New opt-in: an email course that is an experience (more on that later)Initial group coaching (starting in September)VIDEO! Creating video content that supports this message and drives trafficHiring helpThroughout the years, I’ve worked with plenty of contractors. It’s been a long time since I’ve had people that were part of my day-to-day operations.There’s no way I can grow this by myself, at least not the way I want to.My daughter is my partner on INKED Email (which you can check out here if you need some help with writing) and will also work with me on #FtheHUSTLE. She’s kind of wearing many hats right now, and we need to clarify what that looks like for both of us (we’re getting there).The other positions are:Video EditorWriter (repurpose my content into Twitter threads, Linkedin Posts, tweets)VAGraphics (probably after the first of the year)I’ve already started working with a video editor and writer.My sweet spot with content is long-form content and showing up as myself (podcast, video). I’d much rather have someone take what I’ve already created and pull short-form content that I can then go and schedule for social platforms.Creating the Frameworks for #FtheHUSTLELast fall, when I was working with a coach (the brilliant Maritza Parra), I created an entire model for #FtheHUSTLE that would be in a monthly membership.The closer I got to launch the monthly membership, the more I realized I didn’t want to do a monthly membership.My friends tell me that I tend to be too generous with my time and energy when teaching, doing group programs, etc. I’m still working on what those boundaries look like and felt in my gut that the time involved was not worth the ROI.I have everything I worked on last summer with Maritza and will use it moving forward.So even though I didn’t launch the membership, the work I did with her was invaluable.The M.I.S.S. methodThis came to me last week when I was listening to an audiobook.I loved that the letters represent my method. Still, at first, I wasn’t digging that it spelled “MISS”… however, there’s going to be a little copy magic that happens as I dig into this and remind people that building a business that supports what THEY want prevents them from “missing” out on the moments that matter (see what I did there? Bear with me, it’s a work in progress. ).Here’s what the M.I.S.S. method is:Mindset: EVERYTHING starts here. Learning to manage your thoughts, create new beliefs, and implement a practice for mindset is required to create what you want.Intention: I’m doubling down on this one. Setting intentions and following the inspiration (with some structure) is at the core of #FtheHUSTLE. It’s about becoming.Strategy: Working from inspiration and intention doesn’t mean you work without a plan. It simply means you’re in charge of the plan. Creating a strategy for what you want is your map.Systems: This is also a position I’ll be hiring for. If you’ve ever done the DISC personality test, this is where I score the lowest. Creating and managing systems isn’t my strength. Sticking with a routine and paying attention is doable (and exciting). You can’t grow if you don’t know what’s working.This is one framework for #FtheHUSTLE.I have an entire “Hero’s Journey” and success stages mapped out that will be the basis for creating or growing a business based on #FtheHUSTLE.And this is only the beginning.What’s ComingI mentioned a while ago that I will host my first #FtheHUSTLE LIVE event in Costa Rica during the first quarter of 2023.That will be the first of many. I’ve also reached out to a friend who is a book coach to help me write my first book (which, of course, will be called #FtheHUSTLE. No idea on the tagline yet, but the book won’t be traditional. You can expect doodles, drawings, business, life stories, and whatever else shows itself).Like, I said, I’m creating a movement.I’m on a mission to create more joy, ease, and abundance on the planet. I’m completely open to how this all unfolds.Am I nervous? Abso-freaking-lutely.Part of the homework I had to do for TikTok (my coach has a course) was to research competitors. As I was doing this, I had two thoughts:If they can do this, I can do thisYea but… hasn’t everything already been said?This led to a conversation with my therapist, who helped me reframe everything (I think we may have to have a conversation on the podcast if she’s up for it).Am I comfortable with the reframe? Sorta kinda.But I know the more I do it, the more comfortable it will become.Here’s my challenge to you:Think of 5 people you would consider competition or someone doing something similar to what you want to do.Then really take a step back, put your best Spock hat on (as in Spock from Star Trek, who only looked at the facts, no emotions) and look at what they’re doing.At one time, they were just starting.Do they have a proprietary system, process, framework, or ‘thing’ that they’ve created? If so, what qualified them to do it?Do they have special qualifications that make them the only person capable of what they’ve done?It hit me like a ton of bricks as I listened to that audiobook that she was no more qualified than I am.She simply chose to show up.Be uniquely who she is, share her message with the world, and serve as many people as possible.That’s what I’m going to do.And I hope you join me on this journey.Let’s do this.

I’m just back after having my last visitors for a while (my sister & niece were here for 10 days, it was fantastic!) and after a couple of nights of good sleep, I feel ridiculously excited about everything that’s going on in my business.My first official day back to work was yesterday (July 7th), and I didn’t schedule much other than a couple of calls (I did a little work while my family was here but not much).The only reason I kept the calls scheduled was because they fill me up: a mastermind call I have with two dear friends and my call with Jason Resnick (my partner with Deliverit). Jason and I hadn’t talked in a couple of weeks because of my schedule so we had a lot to catch up on.If I hadn’t had a massage scheduled we probably could have talked longer (we schedule an hour but went about 90-minutes). It was my call with Jason that inspired this episode, so thanks, Jason!The idea for this 90-day plan was Jason’s idea based on something he’s doing for himself, and there’s something about setting up accountability for me that just works. SO.. here we go!What inspired this 90-day sprintPlanning and doing things in 90-day blocks isn’t something new, I’ve done it plenty of times. The difference with this was instead of deciding to plan for 90-days a specific goal inspired this 90-day sprint.I’ve been anxiously waiting for ClickFunnels 2.0 to come out ever since I saw the preview video from Funnel Hacking Live last fall. It was supposed to be released in March of this year (2022) but didn’t quite make it. They finally announced that it will be available on October 4th (which falls in line with the 90-days quite nicely. thank you Jason ).Initially, I thought I’d just use it for funnels and products… but right now I think I’m going to move my ENTIRE business to ClickFunnels.WHAAAAT?!?!I know, I know… I haven’t even used the new platform yet, so let me explain where this is coming from.I moved my brand from The WPChick to Kim Doyal in 2018. Ever since I made that pivot I’ve gone much deeper into everything I do. This includes:Marketing (general)CopywritingEmail marketingNewslettersSalesFunnelsContent (what I enjoy creating)TrafficIt’s not that I wasn’t doing these things before, but so much of what I did had to have a connection or tie to WordPress that I felt limited.I felt massive freedom when I pivoted to my personal brand.As much as I love tech and tools (I’ll continue to share them in the newsletter), my heart is in entrepreneurship and growing something that makes an impact.The deeper I got into these things (more writing, creating different products, etc.), the less time I had for playing with tech. I’m grateful for everything I’ve learned and feel like I’ve got a very solid foundation when I need to do something (i.e., can’t hire someone), but at the end of the day?I can’t be bothered.I’ve never been a ClickFunnels hater. Ever.In fact, I was an early adopter of ClickFunnels (and have used it on and off over the last 7+ years) and shared it with a friend (who went on to make millions in e-commerce with the platform).When ClickFunnels came out the only other tool for creating anything similar (that wasn’t WordPress), was LeadPages. And still… they didn’t have the entire ‘funnel’ piece in place.There were a handful of WordPress tools at the time (OptimizePress) and I don’t remember what else, but it all felt like a pain in the ass.There was a time when certain tools triumphed over others and there were clear choices… but not anymore. The best tool to use for anything is the one you’re going to USE!Whichever tool you feel most comfortable using and gets the job done is what’s most important.Then there are all the people who hate on Russell Brunson.Say what you will… I think he’s brilliant at what he does and is a really good human being. I’ve met him briefly a couple of times (and did the obligatory photo with him) – but I hardly know him personally.He’s been very public about his mistakes in growing a business (much more about how he did business pre-ClickFunnels) which I appreciate. I also know how much he LOVES what he does.I have a hard time finding fault with anyone who takes responsibility for their actions.Obviously, I have a 30,000 ft. view of Russell, but he seems like a loving husband & father, is committed to his faith (not an easy thing to be public about), has donated millions of dollars to Operation Underground Railroad and Stu McClaren’s charity (building schools in Africa) and is always working on becoming the best version of himself.Jason and I were discussing other tech companies and different founders. Many seem a little ‘detached’ from their audience and are focusing on scaling a business to sell it. Fair enough, to each their own.I absolutely love the fact that Russell Brunson & his partner Todd Dickerson were offered more than a billion dollars (the actual offer isn’t public knowledge) and turned it down because they love what they’ve created so much and instead…… decided to make it BETTER.Enter ClickFunnels 2.0.Before this goes too sideways and people think I’m just fangirling over Russell Brunson or trying to start a completely new side hustle as an affiliate for ClickFunnels (which I am, but that’s not my business model), I really love what he stands for.A few years back someone else I know in the online marketing space took a very public jab at Russell for his “One Funnel Away” slogan. I don’t remember the exact details (I didn’t engage in any of the dialogue), but I think it got a lot of attention (clickbait?).I realize I am going a little sideways here, but what “One Funnel Away” actually represents is hope.There are zero promises in that tagline.The point of One Funnel Away was that it only takes one funnel to make a difference. It may take you 50 tries to get there, but you only need one to be a success.Moving on…I love what Russell Brunson & the team at ClickFunnels have created. I don’t really identify as a funnel hacker and Funnel Hacking Live has gotten a little too big for my taste (not that I wouldn’t go again, but I have zero desire to trek to Orlando. Maybe if they pick a different location next year).Back to the platform…I have zero desire to continue piecing pieces of technology together at this stage in my business.Here’s the video to the preview of ClickFunnels 2.0 that was teased at last year’s Funnel Hacking Live.I probably won’t do it justice, but here is a list of what is included in ClickFunnels 2.0:Funnel HubBlog / SEOFunnelsCRMShopping CartShop (competes with Shopify)Email marketingAffiliate programMembershipsCourses / digital productsCoachingSPEED! They’ve speed tested against multiple platformsReal-time data, split testing, analyticsVisual flows for funnels, offers, emailCustomer centerGlobal features (update once, appears everywhere)Multiple sites in one account (and can transfer)I don’t have any idea what ClickFunnels 2.0 is going to cost, but even if the base account is $197 or $297, I’ll be ahead of the game with the different things I pay for outside of WordPress and hosting.Jason and I are going to host a Twitter space (coming SOON) where we talk about “The Elimination Game”… meaning, what are the things we want to eliminate in our business that will streamline things and make create a better flow?I want to focus on creating, selling, and serving.Spending time on tech isn’t the best use of my time (which ties directly in with knowing I’m going to be hiring some help in the fall, so this is all leading up to that as well).Now let’s break down the 90-days and what this looks like (keeping in mind that this is a starting point and plan. I have no doubt this will evolve and change over time).The First 30 DaysThe first 30 days are going to be all about elimination.Eliminating tools, subscriptions, and things that aren’t in alignment with where I’m going. I tend to leap before I look and I’m sure I’m paying for things I haven’t used in months (seriously, it’s a little ridiculous).I absolutely love getting rid of things, so I’ll do a clean sweep of things on my computers (I do this pretty regularly), and phone, and I’ll probably mirror that in my personal life too (I have a couple of piles of clothes that need to be donated. I won’t ever wear them here and most are too big now).This also means cleaning up my email lists, tags, and segments too (which I also do pretty regularly). I have another announcement next week that I’ll be making that ties directly into eliminating things that no longer serve me.I have no doubt I’ll be doing some reflecting on things as I do this so there are really two buckets here: tangible and intangible.I’m not exactly sure what the intangible will be but I have no doubt it will present itself as I start this process.The Second 30 DaysThe second 30-days will be partly dictated by how the first 30-days go and what I’ve planned for this chunk of time.I see the middle piece of this sprint is about making sure everything is organized and ready to move.Here’s what I mean:Are all my products/courses backed up and easily organized in Dropbox (or Google Drive)?Do I have all my email sequences for each product or offer backed up on a Google doc?Have I checked all my licenses and renewals for WordPress? (I have a lot of lifetime licenses or developer licenses, many that won’t need renewal)Has ALL of my business been moved into Notion? (I’m talking to you Sandi Eveleth!  )My gut tells me that even though ClickFunnels 2.0 will be available on October 4th, 2022, I’ll use the remainder of the year with both platforms (WordPress & CF).It’s going to take a decent amount of time to move all my content from WordPress (I’ll pay someone else to do this), but I’ll probably do a lot of the blog formatting and will have to SEO every single post and page).It would be fantastic if there was a way to import it, but I won’t hold my breath on that one.I can begin by putting my products and email into ClickFunnels while someone else is copying & pasting my content.I’m *thinking* about moving my #FtheHUSTLE newsletter to beehiiv.I’ll move all my other email marketing into ClickFunnels, so in this case, I’ll be paying for another platform (the option with beehiiv that I’m looking at is $99 a month for 3 newsletters, a referral program, options to monetize, and more. I’m going to start offering sponsorships and classifieds in #FtheHUSTLE, so this will easily pay for itself).Beehiiv is created by some of the guys behind “The Morning Brew” and I’ve been super impressed with what they’ve done with the platform in such a short period of time. My gut tells me they’ll incorporate a way to sell advertising as well… I haven’t heard anything about that but that’s what I’m thinking.The Last 30 DaysThis is where the rubber meets the road so-to-speak.If the first 60-days have gone according to plan, this is all about launching.There will be an #FtheHUSTLE group coaching program with me, more products that support that message (along with email & newsletter products because they’re a HUGE part of #FtheHUSTLE), and more content that is in alignment with #FtheHUSTLE as well.I have a feeling these last 30-days may include tying up loose ends from the first 60-days (I’ve finally accepted that most things take longer than I think they will and there are always unexpected things that show up).I’ve also got INKED Email that is launching (we’re starting to talk to potential clients – you can go to InkedEmail.com to check that out). INKED will also be moved to ClickFunnels so I’m pretty tempted to not put any content on the site until then.Through referrals and my personal brand, I think we’ll have plenty of work, so I don’t think we need to jump too heavily into that.INKED may also simply be a service extension of KimDoyal.com.I like the idea of it being a separate brand because it allows much more flexibility as it grows and everything under #FtheHUSTLE takes off.Either way, it’s moving to ClickFunnels 2.0 also.I’m sure this rough estimate of the next 90-days will evolve. I’m definitely going to have to schedule time every week to make sure I’m progressing on all of this and hitting milestones. I’ve started working on some calendars (I felt like doodling), but I also don’t need to create extra work. SO… it’s probably all just going to go into Notion.I’ll admit it, I’m a little sad to be saying Goodbye to WordPressBut I think it’s time.I’ve watched friends who built their businesses based on WordPress leave and thrive (hat tip to you Dave Foy) and of course, I still have plenty of friends who have thriving businesses because of WordPress.There are so many options for building something online these days, it has to be about what works for you.I’ve logged into both Wix and Squarespace and can’t wrap my head around them , but I have friends who have always felt that way about WordPress.I will forever be grateful to WordPress and the community (well, those who supported me, because there were a handful of developer trolls who took every opportunity to remind me I wasn’t a developer) for helping me really find my footing and voice online.I never intended to build websites.And I feel like I’ve finally found my way to what I was meant to do all along.I’ve done a Twitter thread that goes into each piece of this… you can read that here.It’s been an amazing journey so far, and I’m just getting started.It certainly hasn’t been a straight path (it never is, is it?), and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.I’m excited about the next 90-days (less now since I’ve started this process) and this new chapter in my business.Here we go!

Courage shows up in many ways.There is nothing like sharing something publicly that makes it feel that much more REAL.I’ve known for a long time that accountability works for me, but instead of making myself accountable to other people (meaning someone specific), I share things as a way of being accountable to myself.Being accountable to myself means putting it out into the world.Most of the time the things I publicly share get done (although not always in the time frame I hoped), but sometimes they don’t.No one is knocking at my door asking me where the “thing” is that I said I was going to do.I let go of what that looked like a long time ago. The truth is that most people are too busy thinking about themselves to worry about what you said you were going to do.And the bottom line is, it’s your life.This episode is going to be another ‘processing’ episode in that writing and recording this is helping me get clearer on what I’m doing and where I’m going.My intention is that there’s value for you as I share this process. As much as I need it, I know someone else out there needs to hear this too.This is Who I’ve Always BeenI’ve always had an optimistic, and positive disposition.My Mom used to tell me that even as a little kid I treated everything as an adventure.I was naturally drawn to the things that made me feel good and intentionally chose not to engage with things that felt heavy or dark. I didn’t know it at the time, but this is what I was doing (it didn’t take many horror movies for me to realize “why the HELL would I watch something that scares the bejeezus out of me?”).I know this might sound obvious and I believe that a lot of kids are hard-wired to be optimistic – then the longer we’re in school our optimistic, cheerful, and dreamer attitude is taught “out of” us (and I’m not negating that there are plenty of children that have hard childhoods and deal with trauma, that’s not what I’m talking about here).When I look back I realize how many times I made decisions based on the approval of other people (mainly my parents, who, as much as they always believed in me and supported me, brought their own “stuff” to the table).The more I stepped into things that made me feel good, the more I was criticized (not at home). The criticism went two ways: it was either “you can’t do that” or “who does she think she is.”I did a great visualization with my therapist last week and I had two very distinct memories show up: both were times when I was feeling really good about myself and someone (an authority figure /adult) felt the need to “put me in my place.”The thought that comes to mind with this is “jealousy is an ugly emotion.”We’ve all had those moments where we get a sideways comment from someone that has nothing to do with us and is completely about their own shit.Here are a couple of examples (and I’m going to bullet list them here but there’s a story attached to each that I will share in more depth in the podcast):Answering the phone too happily at a business I owned (my business partner leaned towards the negative side)Having a boss say “can someone else besides Kim answer”… at a work meeting (my boss wasn’t being negative, but everyone else was sitting there like a bump on a log)Collaborating with a woman online years ago who made a snide comment that “everyone wants to talk to the WP Chick”Internet trolls. #nuffsaidHaving a college professor make a snide remark after I gave a motivational speech (it was based on a Zig Ziglar article or phrase) that she was “ready to get her credit card out”I’m DONE playing small.Someone else’s lack of ability to show up in their own life is not my responsibilityEnter the pendulum swinging…If you’re listening, the image that I’ve included in the written post is a pendulum with three ‘swings’ so-to-speak.In the middle is my goal, which is being content with my decision.And it’s probably more than contentment, it’s a knowing. I’m doing the work, stepping into this fully, and have done most of the processing (well, until the next thing shows up and I have something else to process).The swing on the far right is the “excited” swing. Which is where I’ve been for the last couple of weeks.The swing on the far left is the “pissed” swing (this is probably much more about processing than the excited side. Think of the ‘excited’ side as the enthusiastic child whereas the ‘pissed off’ swing is the adult who has become aware).Sharing some of these stories and examples is 100% the pissed-off swing.The beauty and magic happen here when I allow myself both sides of the emotional pendulum. I’m not making either side right or wrong – they simply are.I know that by allowing myself to fully feel and experience both I’ll find that middle ground where the pendulum rests (knowing full well that it may swing to either side from time to time).The two primary things that have gotten in my way:FearMy lightMarianne Williamson said this perfectly:“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”We do not need anyone else’s permission to be who we want to be and do what we want to do.Of course, there are people who will tell you they don’t care what other people think and do whatever they want anyway. I call bullshit.Not because I need to be right, but if the Dalai Lama has fears and doubts I think it’s probably safe to say it’s simply part of the human experience.It ALWAYS comes back to what we do with it.The Ultimate Key to Freedom is Complete and Total Self-ResponsibilityFor the longest time, I had a weird idea about what self-responsibility meant.I basically interpreted it as meaning “taking responsibility when I make mistakes or mess up” (how depressing is that?!).That’s only ONE piece of the pie.Introducing the Self-Responsibility Pie (this is MINE, yours will look different):You can see that self-responsibility is SO much more than just taking responsibility for the things we mess up.It’s taking responsibility for EVERYTHING in our lives.We can’t always choose what happens to us, but we get to choose how we respond and how we move through what happens to us.How this Translates Into BusinessThat’s the million-dollar question, isn’t it?I’ve done a few tangible things for myself this past week that have helped me come to a starting point.Where I’ve stopped myself in the past with this is getting into fear of judgment.I know that the more I step into this (and face those fears head-on), the easier it’s going to get. After listening to a great talk from Brene’ Brown earlier (that I then shared in an email… remember, #EverythingIsContent), she shared something that struck a nerve.The things in her life that have become something bigger than she could have imagined are because she stepped into something that was uncomfortable. She felt the fear and did it anyway (I’m paraphrasing here, but if you didn’t get that email you can watch the video below).So here we go…Here’s what I’m starting with for the future of my business and what #FtheHUSTLE looks like. This will continue to unfold and evolve, but I’m LOVING where this is heading.The 4-part framework for living the #FtheHUSTLE way:MindsetMeaningMarketingMoneyHere’s another doodle for you (I’m having a blast!)Now let’s go a little deeper with each.MindsetI’m going to work on creating a definition and image of mindset that represents what it means to me. I never thought I needed mindset work (until therapy) because I was always putting something positive into my head.All the audiobooks and programs I consumed in my 20s were about goals, achievement, accomplishment, and creating the life you wanted.I’ve shared this before, and it’s not a dig, but there were all written from one perspective: a male in business.It wasn’t until I found Dr. Wayne Dyer that I felt like I had “come home.”There was an ease about his approach to things that felt like a comforting blanket that allowed me the rest I needed.It was the first time I connected the dots that it’s not solely about action (and I am a hard-core DO-ER). It was about intention, how things make us feel, and the energy behind everything we do.Here’s the kicker when it comes to mindset advice: We all bring our own unique experiences and circumstances to the table. What works for one person may not work for someone else in the same way. This is where #FtheHUSTLE was born.The “mantra” of the internet marketer (bro marketer) was hustle, grind, do more… blah, blah, blah.I was sick and tired of hearing single, young, white males tell me to work harder. I don’t want to go sideways with this, but holy hell I was already tired.I was raising my kids by myself and didn’t see how I was going to “work harder.” SHUT UP already.Here’s the thing though… that was 100% absolutely THEIR reality.And I wasn’t their audience.Nothing in me thinks this very over-generalized group of men was there to tell me I was doing something wrong.Yet somehow I kept going back to the same dry well for water (it takes what it takes, though).It’s not like there weren’t other people to follow, read, listen to, etc.This was simply part of my path.MeaningIs what you’re doing in alignment with your bigger WHY?When I started my business my primary goal was FREEDOM. My therapist reminded me the other day that I’ve achieved this… regardless of what my income situation was like. I have massive freedom in my life – which is because of a combination of mindset and “doing the work.”What brings YOU meaning doesn’t need to make sense to any other person on the planet.I need to have fun, I need to feel creative, and I love to inspire and connect with people.It was vitally important for me to show my kids that there was another way to live their lives – outside of societal expectations. The best way t do that was to show them, as challenging as it was at times.Does the work you’re doing support how you want to live your life?Living in Costa Rica is ALL ABOUT #FtheHUSTLE.MarketingI shared recently that an offer I launched didn’t go the way I had hoped.No regrets, it brought me here.In a way, I set myself for the results I got because I promised myself that I was going to do exactly what they told me to do in the program (and how to do it).As an example: the program I’m in suggests doing an “application” to attend a free training. There is NOTHING in me that liked how that felt.However, they had plenty of data that showed it worked.They also had data showing it worked without… but I decided that I was going to be a good student and do it the way they did.I have no doubt the process turned people off (and maybe I could have phrased things a little differently) – but more than that was my energy around the entire thing.I’m not worried about who signs up for things or when they sign up. I truly believe if I’ve gotten clear about how what I’m doing is going to help people, the right people will buy.And yes, that means I have to market and promote it also, but it has to be in a way that feels right to me.MoneyI’d love to know when it became so horrible to want to earn a good living.Here’s the crazy thing… we live in a culture (Western culture) that won’t talk about money, you’re greedy if you want a lot of money, yet we idolize people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and athletes, influencers, etc. (and I know, I’m being super general here again, take a lot of this with a grain of salt. It’s to make a point).If I never heard another thing about Elon Musk it would be too soon.I’m not negating what he’s accomplished, I just don’t need to hear about him anymore.The ironic thing is that people who judge you for wanting a lot of money, to earn a good living, or God forbid want “stuff” are being hypocritical.Who am I to say what someone should or shouldn’t want?Ride a bike or drive a Ferrari, I don’t care. Just be a decent human being.And a simple reminder: we get to curate the things we consume.I don’t follow or pay attention to people that rub me the wrong way.I stopped watching mainstream news probably 15+ years ago.If how I live my life doesn’t work for someone else that’s perfectly fine, I simply ask that you change the channel.Whew…That got a little ranty. I don’t think much of that explained a whole lot about how this translates into business, but here are few things I’m doing:A NEW site (of course). But I’m going to be patient about it (with somewhat of a deadline). I’m going to have photos taken in Costa Rica (now on the hunt to find a photographer down here), work on the messaging, and get clear on who I’m serving. I have a feeling this might challenge me a bit but that’s O.K., I’m ready.Content: I have to really step back and do my due diligence with the existing content on my site, SEO for where I’m headed, what should remain on my KD site, and what will move to the site of the new service (Inked Email). I’m going to enlist (hire) friends who are savvier with SEO than I am to help me craft a plan.Offers: Oh boy. This is a WHOLE can of worms… but I have an idea already, so as that gets clearer I’ll share what that is. I’ll start with a new email course as my opt-in (along with the #FtheHUSTLE newsletter – which needs an updated follow-up sequence).Coaching and events: #FtheHUSTLE is RIPE for this. I’m working on a new group coaching program and have already mentioned I’ll be hosting the first #FtheHUSTLE live event in Costa Rica (ideally later this year, but by Feb. of 2023 at the latest… because what the bucket, July is right around the corner).Traffic: In addition to organic (content & social), I’m going to be more deliberate about who I have on the podcast, will be launching #FtheHUSTLE TV, and investing in paid traffic. I have a couple of ideas in mind but the paid channels will happen after the new site is done (and the message is crystal clear).Relationships: I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been connecting a lot more on Twitter (of all the social platforms it’s definitely where I get the most traffic). The amazing thing is that I’m truly connecting with people and developing new friendships/relationships. I’ll be having some of these people on my podcast in the future (or #FtheHUSTLE TV) and I’m excited to see where this takes me.O.K.Let’s wind this down (this post is a doozy).Final thoughts…This is going to be a fun ride and I’m just getting started.The biggest opportunity is to not personalize who chooses to join me on the journey. I’m sure there are plenty of you who will stick around but I know as I change gears it won’t be for everyone.And that’s O.K. too.This is what I’m meant to do.Here we go.

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 decisionWhat that means for my businessHow I’m going to do thisI’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.)NewslettersWebsite copySales copyEveryone 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.comHoly 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:PlanningCreatingImplementingI 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!