What I’ve Learned After 2 Months of Business Mentoring

It’s been 2 months since I started getting business mentoring and here’s what’s I’ve learned...

But before I get to that, I’ll fill you in on what's happened in the past 8 weeks:

1. I was advised that if I want to actually make a sustainable income from my business I needed to raise my prices - and I did! 🫣

2. I successfully launched the Mix Match Move collection 🥳

3. I MOVED STUDIOS 😮💨

4. I ditched the Facebook ads and began creating a whole bunch more organic socials and emails which increased my online visibility massively *cringe* 😣

All of these things have been scary for me, like waves of nausea kind of scary. As a solo small business owner I can easily get stuck in my own head with the same arguments repeating endlessly. Often talking myself out of change. 

At some point this year I realised the arguments have been the same for the past 5 years and I recognised I probably needed to get out of my own head and get some expert industry advice.

It’s not free. That was part of the barrier. I’m paying a chunky amount per month for mentoring. 

But I’m so glad I took the leap. 

I’m so glad I decided to invest in myself. 

Because as scary as all of this has been, it’s already working. 

With the price rise, my own perception of what I offer has changed. As soon as I saw that $229 figure next to the Sidewalk Pants I was like “oh, yeah, this feels right. These are TOTALLY worth it.” 

 It is absolutely stunning to me how much the fast fashion industry has impacted my perception of the value of clothing…even someone who sews, regularly purchases fabric and knows intimately just how much goes into running a business!!

 It’s really nice to feel back in alignment on that front.

Every single sale since the price rise has felt AMAZING. Not in a “I’m running away to my own private island” kind of amazing. More like, I feel that the exchange is in balance now. You’re getting something great and now I’m also getting something great.

My gratitude has been off the charts every time I see an order pop up on my website.

There’s been many thank you dances happening in the past two weeks 👯

And it's for multiple reasons. 

1. That you're still buying my stuff! omg phew 😮💨 without that, well... 
2. Each order comes with a bit of fat now. A bit of fat on top I can use to get advice. To repay my business loans. One day to expand my offerings. But right now, the thing that feels the best is, a bit of ease in the pressure of making constant sales in order to get by. As in, slow sales day = panic. I'm looking forward to leaving those days behind.

Launching the Mix Match Move collection has been both challenging and rewarding. You may have noticed just how much more ‘out there’ I was. Posting everyday, emails multiple times a week, constantly on stories…

This was also on the advice of my mentor. She suggested that this style of content could replace paying for ads, which I have leaned heavily on in the past. 

And you know what? She was right! Yes it took me a lot more time and effort but it was free. And hopefully it meant you guys didn’t get bored seeing the same reel over and over.

Even better,  making all that content got me thinking creatively about what I do and what I offer and now I’m feeling heaps more in touch with the value of what I bring to the world. Yay 💪

Mostly yay. I do still feel a bit squeamish about it. You probably don’t know, I’m actually waaaay more introverted than I am extroverted. I’m sure I don’t come across that way, but actually, showing up on the internet day after day is definitely outside my comfort zone. I’ve just been practising and practising and practising - for years.

And it’s gotten a helluva lot easier, but still… sometimes I give myself the ick

Sometimes I feel 'too much'

And I think that is super cool. It means I’m growing, it means I’m getting outside my comfort zone and it means I’m learning. 

If there’s anything that I don’t tolerate well, it’s staying stuck in the same place for too long. So while it’s all very uncomfortable stuff, I’m loving it. 

Truth be told, I’m tired. All this growth doesn’t come without energy consumption. So this week I’m going 1/2 speed. Only doing what’s essential and otherwise giving myself some breathing room to integrate all this growth.

Off camping later in the week to soak up the winter sun, stretch my legs and have some laughs with my Homie. 

I thought some of you might be interested to know a bit more deeply about how it’s all going.

And maybe some of you have been doing some uncomfortable growing lately too? I’d love to hear about it if you have. 

Lots of love and thanks for being here,

Clare xox