Ep 233 – Getting Our Foundation Right

Episode Introduction: Going Back to Basics

Hello everyone, and welcome to “Mentoring with Geraldine, and the Bite-Sized Podcast”  How the devil are you? 

So today, well, all this week, and all last week, I have been really working on my foundations – on the basics of my business, because it’s the beginning of the year, isn’t it? 

And at the beginning of the year, we really need to take stock.

We need to take stock coming up to the end of the 4th quarter, so we’re ready for the new year. I also think things change over the summertime (or wintertime, wherever you happen to, wherever you are). 

How much money comes in for me is always lower over the summertime.

I budget for that towards the end of the year because I’m getting ready for my slower time. But things change as well. 

My mindset changes. 

I get ideas over the summer when I think:

“ Oh, I could be doing that …”

At the moment I’m in a really explosive phase of ideas for The Academy and so I’ve really gone back to basics.

So what I want to talk to you about is: going back to basics, to your foundations. 

When we think about our foundations, we think about all sorts of different things, don’t we? 

We’ve been doing some building work, so the word foundation jumped straight to mind, as the foundations of a building.

When we think of those foundations, we think of them as the base – it is what is holding up the building.

• What is holding up your business? 
  • Is it your passion? 
  • Is it your insight? 
  • Is it your skillset? 

• What is holding up your foundations? 
  • Is it that you’re chasing your tail? 
  • Is it that you don’t really know where you are going or what you’re doing?
  • You feel a little bit out of sorts
  • You’re a bit worried

So at the beginning of every year, I look at my foundations.

I look at my budget.

I look at my Google My Business.

I look at my website. 

I’m actually changing the platform that I’m using. 

I’m moving from Podia to Simplero, because I’m trying to streamline everything into one system that works that bit better for me.

So here I am streamlining. 

I’m having to do quite a bit more work at the moment because I’m moving everything over, but at the same time, that is giving me my mojo back.

It’s rejuvenating me. 

It’s making me think:

“How can I run things?” 

“How can I do things to support my mentees even more, especially those in The Academy?”

Self Assessment (or Get Help Through The Academy)

So we want to make sure that right at the beginning, we are thinking about our foundations. 

• So what is your budget doing? 
• How are people finding you?
• When they find you, how do they see you? 
• What are they seeing when they see you? 

We do website checks in The Academy, so we look at everybody’s websites. 

We go through and talk about them.

• What is your visibility like for people that do find you? 

So it might be that you are really small – you’ve only just started out. 

No one’s really finding you as yet. 

So we make sure that you are in all the places in The Academy. 

That’s part of the foundations. 

It’s part of working together to create that foundation, so that then we can move from that foundation into the next stage.

What does the Next Stage Look Like?:

So when we think about what’s going on in the next stage:

• What about our branding? 
• Our backstory? 

All of the things that build our business, but we need to do it in a systematised way, so we’re not just flitting from one bright shiny object to another, as people say. 

We’ve got to know that we’re building up this business

but at the same time

we are learning how to look after our clients

how to communicate and connect with our clients

So in April in The Academy:

• We’re going to be having more time spent on scripting
• and how we talk to the clients 
• and following up with the clients 
• and all of that paperwork stuff that’s involved with the clients

I know people are on holiday, right? 

It’s April, it’s Easter.

We have a private podcast in The Academy as well.

So a lot of that content is going to be recorded, audible.

So even when you’re on holiday, you listen to podcasts. 

When you’re on holiday, you listen to things, so there’s going to be more voice recording so that people can be listening to it at random times.

When we’re talking to our clients and we’re motivating our clients, there’s a lot of language in there that we learn through audible messages from others.
These are the things we are taking on. 

So I’m going to be using a different education system in April so that people who are on their holidays don’t feel pressured to be at work, but are still learning via osmosis.

Along with those scripts, we’re going to be talking about:

•  letters and templates 
• and packaging and pricing. 

I say to people:

“Do you do part payments for your clients?”

This is jumping ahead, totally changing tact – but at the same time, it’s learning by osmosis. This is where I was listening to a podcast. 

I was listening to Steph Taylor’s podcast, and she was saying, with packaging, you put the price up for a longer package, if someone is paying over time.

You look at it and you think:

“Oh, why is it so much more?”

I always think to myself:

“It’s all to do with the fact that if somebody defaults on their payment, you’ve got to chase them up – it’s your time that’s being used”. 

But she also said:

“You know what? If somebody put it on their credit card, they wouldn’t even bat an eyelid that they’re paying interest on that, to be able to get that item now, rather than waiting for it”

So when we think about our foundations and how we set things up, we can also consider:

“How do banks do it?” 

“How does big business do it?” 

I get my electricity bill and it says:

“If you don’t pay on time, you go to 10% on top”

So we’ve got to have our foundations really sorted

as well as the way we speak to our clients

and as well as what they see when they’re coming in

and what they understand by what they’re seeing

and whether they connect with it

Because there’s often this misconnection.

* Understanding The Academy:

So my websites currently – I think they’re great …

… but they don’t connect as well as they should

… they don’t really explain The Academy very well 

Verbally, I explain The Academy very well, but in the written word, I don’t explain it as well. 

• So when people ring me and have a focus call
• I get them to understand The Academy:
  • Is about co-working together
  • It’s about checking on your systems
  • It’s about making sure that you have the community
  • We’re able to all get together and help you and support you create that business, 
  • because (also) you get one-to-ones with me

• Now we are re-introducing Mastermind Days – they’re absolutely amazing 
  • because I feel that people need this mojo boost
  • this real connection and time with me
  • and I’m making sure that these foundations are in place

For instance, rather than using my Acuity calendar for everyone, I’m going over to Zoom calendar.

So everybody can download them – they can register for them.  

Then it comes up on their calendar for them – it’s going to be much easier 

So hopefully with some of these changes in my foundations, I’m going to make it easier f 

• or the people in my groups:
  • in my Academy
  • in my Graduate Mastery program and 
  • in my Next Level Clinical Mondays

* Understanding the Next Level Group (Clinical Mondays):

The Clinical Mondays – they are Masterminds. 

Pretty much everybody’s masterminding their clients on the clinical Mondays.

There are all sorts of things that get talked about on clinical Monday. 

They’ve all got access to The Academy, so they’ve all got access to those foundations. They’re all working on their foundations, as well as talking about their clients, because they’ve got clients – enough clients to want to talk about them.

I have all of these ways of working with me, but it’s hard for people to understand the best way to work with me. 

So that’s why we built the focus call. 

However that’s why I have to get my foundations sorted out, again.

I’ve got to get my foundations working so that they are what everybody needs.

So that my foundations are supportive of you – of the mentee – because if my foundations are there able to support you, and myself, then we’re both on a win-win.

Your Challenge:

So today’s task, should you choose to accept it … (this recording will not self-destruct in 20 seconds, or whatever it was in Mission Impossible). 

Your challenge should you choose to accept it, is:

1. a) join The Academy. That’s a no-brainer. 

But if you choose not to join the academy ..

1. b) to go and check your foundations – go and have a look at the baseline stuff.

What does the website look like to somebody else? 

I always talk about coming into your office, and sitting in your client’s seat, to look and see what they see. 

The same thing is with your foundations. 

Look at it with fresh eyes. 

Look at it on someone else’s computer. 

If you work online, what do they see behind you at the moment?

Off to my right, you know, there’s my drink bottle, and my phone is edging into view. Normally I’ve cleared these things away.

What are people seeing? 

Are they seeing your mess when they sit down in that seat opposite you? 

Or on that other side of the computer?

Is there a light behind you? 

A window that is really annoying for them to look at (because they can’t see your face)? 

These are our foundations and I really want you to really look at those foundations. 

There are budget spreadsheets and everything in The Academy. 

There’s all of our paperwork in there. 

There’s everything, and there’s me in there a lot.

There are now mastermind days as well, and proper calendars. 

So lots in there. 

Wrapping Up:

So I’m going to leave it there today because of course it is “The Bite Sized Podcast”, so it’s got to be a little bit “bite sized”, doesn’t it?

I do hope you’re having a really good day, and I really want you to think:

“What are my foundations?”

“How can I improve my foundations?”

“How can Geraldine help me improve my foundations?” 

Signing Off:

So I hope you have a good one, and I look forward to catching up with you on the next one. See you soon. 

Thanks so much for joining me today. Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast, for the weekly episodes. If you’d like even more support and learning, then The Academy is for you. Here, you’ll find part 2 of the herbal discussions, more clinical learning, and case studies, to support your clients in practice. 

Bye for now.