(Warning: This post is a bit longer than my usual posts. If you want to skip directly to all of the amazing bonuses that I’m offering if you enroll in Marie Forleo’s Rich Happy & Hot B-school (RHH B-school for short), scroll to the bottom of this post and make sure to use my affiliate link.)
Do you often wonder what the secret to success is and why some people succeed and why some fail, especially when it comes to being an entrepreneur? I’ve been wondering the same thing for many years now and I heard something from Marie Forleo that really stuck with me and that I wanted to share with you.
She said something along the lines of “Entrepreneurs don’t often give themselves permission to play big. So I’m going to give you that permission now. You can play big if you want to! You have my permission.” That’s not by any means an exact quote, but you get the idea.
This really struck a chord with me because up until that point I was waiting for others to tell me that I can play with the “big guys.” I was waiting for others to tell me that it’s ok to be successful and that it’s ok to dream the biggest dream that you can. I wasn’t doing this consciously, but my unconscious mind was waiting for that permission.
How do I know that? I know it because my business was struggling, I was working day and night and I wasn’t seeing results. While I was “doing all the work” my mindset wasn’t there and wasn’t aligned with my actions. But when I heard Marie say that I thought, “Wow, that makes so much sense. I’m giving myself permission to play big from now on.” I literally said out loud to myself “I give myself permission to dream big and I give myself permission to play big.”
Then I sat down and made a list of everything I wanted to accomplish in my business – get my t-shirts in a major spa, in a certain hotel chain, hire an amazing assistant, double my salary, spend more time with my family instead of working in the weekends (more work doesn’t always mean more income!), get my t-shirts in three magazines with circulation of 100+ million, etc. I dreamed the biggest dream that I could for my business and I made a list of the biggest names that I could think of for my business (and I stopped saying to myself, “thats’ never gonna happen”.
A funny thing happened once I decided to dream big and to play big! My dreams were slowly starting to come true. I was taking action to make them happen, of course, but my mindset and my actions were now aligned. I was starting to see results.
Why am I sharing this with you?
I’m sharing it because if you don’t yet have the business of your dreams it’s not because you’re not working hard enough. It’s not because your website needs a re-design. It’s not because you don’t have the latest project management software to keep track of all your projects. And it’s not because you don’t have a great idea. And most certainly it’s not because “the economy is bad” or because “your business is different and marketing rules don’t apply.”
It’s most likely because your actions and your mindset are not aligned. There’s a discrepancy somewhere that’s causing tension between what you want and what you get. Does that make sense? You can convince yourself that you want to sell 1000 products this month, but if you’re worried that you don’t have the funds to manufacture those products or you’re worried that you can’t invest in inventory because you might not be able to sell it, that’s not in alignment with wanting to sell 1000 products this month.
I want to give you a personal example as well. When I had my t-shirt business I wanted my brand to become a household name. I wanted everyone to wear my t-shirts. I wanted to see them on celebrities and on TV. I wanted yoga teachers all over the world to wear my t-shirts when they taught yoga to their students. But deep down inside I was afraid that the more successful I got, the more I had to work, the more money I had to invest, the more I had to put myself out there and be the face of my brand and the more time I would have to be away from my family.
So I turned down an opportunity to be on Shark Tank (and play with the “big boys”). And I had a great reason (read – excuse), too – my baby was just born a few months earlier and I couldn’t possibly be away for a few days. Even if it meant the biggest opportunity for my business up to that point. Or the time I turned down attending a conference and speaking to potential buyers because “I wasn’t good at public speaking.” Do you see all the ways I sabotaged myself and my success? All the ways that I gave myself permission to stay small?
Now, if someone had told me (or given me permission by saying) “Listen, you’re a great public speaker and these buyers are going to love hearing from you. You got this! You’re a natural. You can be on the same stage as XYZ and you’ll be fine,” I might have been more inclined to consider speaking at that conference. But instead I didn’t give myself permission. I talked myself into continuing to play small. How do I know that? Because the results I was seeing with my business (or, more accurately, the lack of results) were small results.
So how do you know?
You might be wondering – how do you know if you’re playing small or dreaming small or staying small? Here’s how you know – Take a look at the results you’re getting with your business. If it’s not the results you want, it’s time to re-evaluate and give yourself permission to dream big and to play big. Are you barely getting any traffic to your website? Do you have one client here, one client there, but nothing consistent? Have you had your business for four years and have still not been able to pay yourself a living wage?Do you feel that the amount of work you put in is not aligned with the results you’re getting?
These are all indications that you need to give yourself permission to achieve success.
What does this have to do with Marie Forleo’s Rich Happy & Hot (RHH B-school)?
As you know, I’m a big fan of Marie and her programs. I personally attended RHH Live (thanks, Marie, for picking me as a winner to attend for free!) and participated in her RHH B-school (as I was also having a baby, moving cross country and starting a new business – that goes to show you that it can be done! If I can do it, you can do it!) I have learned more from Marie’s courses and programs than from any other course I’ve invested in since I became an entrepreneur.
What I like about B-school is that it’s a combination of life coaching and business coaching. Marie not only gives you permission to play big, but she points out what could be stopping you from achieving your dreams, how you may be sabotaging your own success and steps you can take to get out of your own way. In addition, she provides solid business and marketing advice and how-to’s that have added tens of thousands of dollars to my bottom line (Yes, my investment in b-school more than paid for itself!)
If you are on the fence about whether or not to join B-school this week, here’s a list of top 10 reasons why you should sign up right away (registration closes on March 4th):
- The marketing and business advice is invaluable – when you enroll in B-school, you’ll discover things like the common mistake almost everyone makes that leaves your audience less likely to buy, the secret to picking the best day and time to send out your email newsletter, the exact websites my most lucrative list building traffic comes from, how to tweak your current products and services to instantly ramp up sales, the secret truth of marketing that most women never understand, how to write head turning email subject lines, blog + video post titles, and twitter updates and more!
- You have lifetime access to the course materials, so if you’re having a baby, getting married, moving, working full time at another job or simply don’t have the time to devote to it right now, you can log back in any time and view the videos, download the worksheets and take advantage of all of the amazing information. I’m still going through some of the videos now!
- The entrepreneur support community is beyond generous and amazing! So many entrepreneurs who participate in Marie Forleo’s B-school are so generous with their time and offerings. Here’s just a small example of things I’ve received (for FREE) simply because I was a B-school member: a complete SEO audit for my site from an SEO expert who was also enrolled in B-school, free access (worth $147) to a course on how to get my products in stores from another b-schooler, opportunity to get a free planner for my business, discounts for thousands of dollars worth of products and services, three new clients, opportunity to guest blog on a well known marketing blog, and a lot more! This is in addition to connecting locally with other b-schoolers, sharing resources and cross-promoting each other.
- When you decide to take a big leap and invest in yourself or your business, the universe responds in a big way! This might sound cheesy, but it’s true. If you are thinking that you can’t afford the enrollment fee, what message are you putting out there? You’re saying to the universe that you don’t believe in yourself and that you don’t think you can get a return on your investment. Once I changed my mindset around investing in myself and my business (and gave myself permission to dream big), the universe responded in a big way and I am constantly seeing huge returns on my investments.
- You’ll save money – A LOT – once you enroll in Marie’s B-school, you’ll have access to some amazing bonuses that can save you a lot of money. These include things like graphic design packs, templates, resources, headline swipe files, bonus training on how to go from six to seven figures in your business, how to set up your own website, how to get the press to love you and your products and so much more! Marie’s bonuses are amazing and you’ll see results if you implement them!
- You’ll get to work with me and pick my brain – I specialize in working with entrepreneurs who have a product-based business, but I have also learned a lot from running a coaching business, a blog and a marketing business – all with great success. When you enroll in B-school through my affiliate link, you’ll get to mastermind with me during bi-monthly group calls where you get to ask me anything you need help with or advice on with your business. I charge $150 per 45-minutes and my clients have seen great results. As a B-school member, you’ll have access to at least 4 hours with me directly.
- You’ll get to advertise your product or service on my website, www.launchgrowjoy.com for free for six months! My site gets an average of over 20,000 UNIQUE VISITORS per month! That’s over 120,000 thousands of impressions and potential new clients or customers for your business. I have huge plans for my site in the next few months, so my traffic is only going to increase, which means even more exposure for you!
- You’ll get a personal review of your website, along with at least 20 actions steps and suggestions on what you can do to get more traffic and convert more of that traffic into sales. You’ll only get this if you sign up through my affiliate link.
- Free access for three months to any two of my online courses, including Product Marketing Breakthrough ($997 value!) which is the only course of its kind. You’ll get store lists, written-for-you scripts, a support community and tons of valuable marketing advice to grow your product line. Many entrepreneurs who have gone through this program have said that it’s the best thing they’ve ever done for their business (and it’s yours free!)
- You’ll get the confidence and tools you need to really take your business to the next level. Not many online training programs can guarantee that! Once you become a B-school member, you’ll be inspired to dream big, take action, increase your income and be happy in your business. You’ll not only get the specific how-to’s on how to market your business, but you’ll get so much more!
Are you ready?
If you’re ready to dream big and play big and get big results, there are only a few days left to sign up for B-school. You’ll get my amazing bonuses worth over $3,000 if you sign up directly through my affiliate link.
I am so excited for you and I hope you consider giving yourself permission to dream big starting right now. Click here to get started.
-Andreea
P.S. I don’t normally spend three hours writing a blog post promoting other people’s programs, but words can’t express what Marie’s program will do for you if you implement her strategies. They can apply to any type of business (so if you’re thinking that your business is different and B-school doesn’t apply to you, just contact me and let me know and I’ll tell you at least five things that I’ve learned in B-school that can apply to your business, regardless of whether you are a yoga teacher, an accountant, a jeweler, a designer, a photographer, a cupcake shop owner, a dog trainer, a blogger, an affiliate marketer, etc.) Her marketing strategies WILL apply to you! True, I get a commission for each person who signs up through my affiliate link, but I have talked so highly of her program even without the commission. I really truly believe that there’s nothing out there like it.
P.P.S. If you decide that B-school is not for you right now, that’s ok 
P.P.S. Thanks for reading this long blog post and if you decide to sign up, make sure to use my affiliate link to get all of the bonuses I promised. Registration closes soon at 3PM EST on March 4, 2013, so you have a few days left to decide.
There are over 20,000 wholesalers in the U.S. and less than 3% are at your average trade show. Pretty startling numbers. Thankfully there’s MerchantFuse, an exciting new web platform that takes the travel and time out of attending trade shows and puts your product in front of buyers every day of the year.
