30 insights on how I run my online business
I recently Insta'd a collection of insights into how I run my online business, manage my time & work from home. It received quite a buzz, so I thought I'd collate them all here, plus add a few more for good measure.
Because who doesn't love some behind-the-scenes business tips every now and again?-
I do my schedule on Fridays for the following week. Everything goes in it, including clients, exercise, yoga classes, social stuff, self-care, dates, daily and weekly to do's etc.-
I work 4 days a week. Tuesdays - Fridays. Sometimes this doesn't happen, but I'm really trying to stick to this.-
I see a maximum of 12 clients per month, I coach every second week, and my weeks off clients are for content creation such as writing and developing online courses, eBooks, blog posts, newsletters, copy, and good ol' admin.-
In my late-Autumn and Winter I use audio for coaching calls and video in my late-Spring and Summer.-
I'm not strict on start / end times, but my working day begins and finishes much later here in London than it did in Aus. Around about 10am - 6pm, give or take a few hours here and there.-
I need a great deal of time to myself before starting work. I use to do early morning client calls, but they just don't feel right to me anymore.-
My morning routine isn't so much a routine, more like a set of things I tend to do everyday to feel good: scrape my tongue, water with lemon, movement, journaling, shower, breakfast and tea or coffee, clothes / hair / makeup... then I'm good to go! I recently heard Ru Paul say it takes him at least 90-minutes to get into drag, not just the hair and makeup, but also to get into the mindset that it takes to be a Queen. I liked this. This time is about getting into the energy of how we want the day to FEEL, so I've been giving myself a full 90-minutes of late. Thanks Ru!-
I love my MacBook Air, swear by the Roost laptop stand and my iPhone tripod gets a workout too. Bose for home speakers, which go on every morning at breakfast time.-
I work in my kitchen, on my couch, on the living room floor, in cafés (normally one day a week) or sometimes, in bed!-
I make all of my money from coaching, eBooks, workshops and online courses.-
I have an accountant, an admin assistant & graphic designer on my 'team'. Everything else is 'me' :) (I also recently saw a Shaman for a reading and received some excellent business advice... I can see this becoming a 'thing.')-
I swear by Satori for coaching admin and Skype for calls, PayPal for receiving income, Send Owl for digital product delivery (I've recently switched from eJunkie), Adobe Creative Cloud for access to their design and photography software, I'm currently exploring Slack for team communication, and love the good ol' Notes app for shifting copy and ideas between my iPhone and laptop—great for pre-writing Instagram captions on my computer! I use Wordpress as a website platform, but to be honest, I'd use Squarespace if I was starting a blog or website today.-
For scheduling, I use both iCal and my Emma Kate Co. planner — I don't mind doubling up.--
I don't work the last day of my cycle, or the first couple, but I do a lot of pen to paper writing then, which is often, but not always, shaped into something "useful" in my Spring and Summer.-
I listen to music all day. Here are my current fave tunes.-
I'm pretty shit at replying to emails, but I'm okay with this. I get there. Friday is organically becoming 'email day'.-
I burn sage, palo santo, incense and candles all day.-
I don't spend a lot of money on my business.-
I give a portion of profits from specific products to One Girl, and I'm currently looking at ways to solidify and expand this practice for myself, so that my business can provide more financial support to charities and initiatives I believe in.-
I'm irked out by the idea of 're-branding', or at least by the amount of time, money, and energy we spend on crafting a new image for ourselves; I feel like 'online transformations' can be slower, more organic and intuitive evolutions. Too often I see timely 'rebrands' used as excuses not to move forward.-
I DANCE between client calls and 90-minute writing blocks.-
I listen to my intuition on all business decisions. I've definitely screwed this up in the past, and may very well again. :)-
I eat a lot of chocolate and drink a lot of herbal tea.-
I use a lot of Post It's.-
I don't have a whiteboard. Or a desk.-
I sometimes struggle with social media. It can be draining. I realise that this 'online world' has brought with it a very new way of living — we're ALL still figuring it out — and so I'm acutely aware that my boundaries with tech use have to be consistently revisited and redefined.-
But I love social media! It's such a creative, FREE, fun, accessible way to connect with my peeps. Instagram for stories, cycle updates and sharing beautiful photos. Facebook for my groups (Book Club, Adore Your Cycle group, and for each of the courses I teach) and I've recently been playing with Twitter again; I like the news, politics and edginess of Twitter. Saying all of that, one of my favourite ways to connect is writing a lovely email to my community twice a month. I genuinely really enjoy this part of my business. If you don't already get my emails, here's how you can!-
Sometimes I work weekends, late nights and while I'm on holidays. It's been two years since I took an extended holiday (3 weeks) without my laptop, and I'm DUE. That's sort of how it is for a lot of us though these days, self-employed or not, isn't it? I'm currently visioning out how I want my yearly structure to look, so I have a full two months OFF every year. Working towards this!-
My current goals for my business include having my first book published, running a weekend cycle retreat, and creating another cycle-related online course before the end of 2017.-
One of my clients asked me recently, "if you could be doing anything else for work right now, would you do it? Or would you choose this work?" and after sitting with this excellent question for a moment, my honest response was, "I'd choose this. I know it'll look different in the future, and I can already feel these changes coming, but even for all the sacrifices and compromises I've made the past 4.5 years of doing this, all of the fear and uncertainty and doubts and mistakes... for all the frustration with technology and things I've 'missed out' on... I would choose it over and over and over again. I love it. The freedom to work in a way that is aligned with WHO I AM, and do work that is meaningful to me, with wonderful people... what a privilege it truly is!"-
-Want more juicy business chats with like-minded humans? My friend Vienda Maria and I have co-created a two-day online workshop (with lifetime access and a supportive community) called The Heartful Biz. This workshop is unique and useful, with both of us dedicated to pulling back the curtains on our business journeys and giving you the tools and encouragement to build your own Heartful Biz. We both value self-care and honour our natural rhythms and the cycles around us, knowing how critical — and potent — this sustainable approach to business truly is.
Lessons include authenticity in business, social media and marketing, using astrology in your business, working with your menstrual cycle, list building, self-care being self-employed... and sooo much more. This is a course we're committed to keeping it real with new content added regularly, and we're both VERY present in our buzzing Facebook group. True support! Find out more and join us HERE.
And now, tell me in the comments, did any of these insights resonate with you? Something you might like to try? Please feel free to share this post where you think it'll be appreciated. Here's to the weird and wonderful world of online businesses!
Claire x