Thriving Through Business Cycles: Strategies for Sustainable Growth and Social Media Success

Ready to weather the stormy winters of business and bloom in the spring? This episode of Laundry Room Diaries equips you with strategies to identify income-producing activities and overcome limiting beliefs around social media influence. We'll take you along my personal journey of pivoting after a decade-long venture, presenting actionable insights on how to leverage the right products, opportunities, and support systems to foster significant business growth. Discover the transformative shift from merely presenting products to providing true value and benefits to your customers.

Explore the critical importance of diversification and the dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket. Hear firsthand how embracing affiliate marketing alongside network marketing became my growth catalyst. Learn why a clear vision, multiple streams of income, and a consistent social media presence are non-negotiables for sustainable success. With a focus on mindset, consistent income-generating activities, and nurturing your business through its cyclical seasons, this episode is packed with advice to help you thrive even in challenging times. Don't forget to join the Social Impactor Society for more hands-on strategies to elevate your brand!

Chapters

• 1:31 Navigating Seasons of Business Growth
• 10:29 Strategies for Business Growth

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:31

Hey friends, welcome back to the Laundry Room Diaries podcast. This is Angela McKay, and today we're talking about a season of winter in business, and if you've been in business a while, I am sure you've experienced this. And if you're brand new to business, I'm just going to be honest. There are seasons of winter that will come your way, but today's episode I'm going to talk about what that season is. More importantly, how to get ready for spring, because it's always coming and, like I always say, god planted seasons like spring after seasons of winter because he knew we needed that kind of growth, and it really is applicable to your business. So grab a pen, grab a piece of paper, don't leave your fortune to your memory, because I'm going to drop some goodness here that's hopefully going to inspire you today, help you strategize and get into that growth season of spring in your business. So all right, gang, let's dive in to this topic. I love talking about seasons of winter because oftentimes in podcasts we get the peaks, we get all the perks, we get all the excitement, all the highlight reels, and it doesn't really set you up for what's real in business. And what I know is real is that it's hard. Sometimes there's seasons that you pivot and change. I know I just went through that season here recently, after leaving a company that I launched for 10 years and I had to go through a pivot and hit the restart button. And so, yes, I am in a season of winter Now. Winter doesn't mean it's stagnant, but sometimes it means there is new growth to be made and so if you're in a change, you're probably entering a season of winter. If you've been stuck in your business and things haven't been growing, you aren't seeing sales scale, you're not seeing new team members join. If you're in network marketing, you're starting to feel a stagnation. And I always say your business is either growing or it's dying, and that's why you want to really be planting those seeds of opportunity and flexing your daily activity that produces income. And, and you know, for a lot of people the question is what are those things to do in your daily operations that really create those income goals that you're needing? And I coach a lot of people and a lot of times they're saying but Angela, I'm doing this, I'm showing up on social, and I'll say, friend, that does not mean that that's actually income producing activity. And I'll say friend, that does not mean that that's actually income producing activity and you might be feeling a season of winter because you've been doing activity, but it hasn't been the right activity to grow your business. So today I want to talk to you a little bit, first about, yeah, you know, like, how to start and accept that seasons of winter come Now.

Speaker 1: 4:33

I know when I was in launch phase 10 years ago and if you know my story, you know I was the second to join a company. It was in prelaunch I got in and and just went, you know, all in Didn't really know what I was doing. I didn't have a podcast. I Instagram wasn't even a thing yet. It was still a photo app editing space, not even probably, but my friends and family on Facebook where I grew most of my business for the first three to four years, and nothing that everyone says you have to have or thinks that they have to have to grow a business.

Speaker 1: 5:08

And what happened was within 60 days I was making five figures a month and I didn't have all the things that today people say you have to have. The reality, friend, is you have to have value, you have to have a brand, you have to have a vision and you have to show up and work every day. That's what you have to have, and those aren't fancy things, those aren't algorithm needed things, those are not followers and influence on a social media platform. Those parts of the business can help compliment, but they aren't the have tos of your business. And so I say that so that you can kind of set any kind of limiting beliefs you've had in your head about I need to show up a certain way on social media and I need need to have this many followers and I need to be a huge influencer. I want you to take that limiting belief right now and I want you to put it on a shelf because it no longer serves you, because you're in a season of winter, possibly because your focus has been on things that can't grow in your space. You're holding yourself back, you're not able to focus forward and start doing those planting activities in your business, and so what I always love to say to anyone I coach is that you know you're really in the perfect season for your business If you have the right products, if you have the right products, if you have the right opportunity, if you have the right support, if you have the right comp plan, if you have the right systems, if you have the brand identity and if you have the purpose. If you have those and a lot of those things come by way of affiliate marketing or network marketing Some are small business owners, but if you have those ingredients in your space right now, you can get out of winter and start to find yourself in spring, blooming and growing and really reaping the benefits of a business entrepreneur.

Speaker 1: 7:10

Now, a lot of people misunderstand what it is that their customer needs, and when they position marketing out there and they're talking and they're prospecting or trying to sell their products or services, they're leading with those things. They're leading with the facts of the products, they're leading with the facts of the service, they're leading with details and they're not leading with benefits. Okay, and so when you're looking at your business and you're looking at the products that you're offering or the service that you're offering, you know what it is. Your audience does not, and if you can gain value and give them value, saying this product can help you do this, they see value in it. This service can help you do this or achieve this, they see value in it. That's when people start to raise their hand, and so my question to you is is how often are you planting value in your spaces, every single day, with people that you're talking to? How often are you leading with value and just giving them the benefits, giving them something of value to help them dial forward and get a result that they're looking for?

Speaker 1: 8:32

And some of you might be like I don't even know what my customer wants, and that's a big deal. That's why branding is so key and essential. That's why I lead with branding, because you have to know one, who you are, two, who you serve, three, what you offer. And then four comes the marketing. And if you don't have those first three and you jump right into marketing, you're probably in winter, you might feel stagnant, you're probably starting to feel a little burnout because you see the products and the details, you've tried the products and you know, but you're leading with the stuff that doesn't connect emotion, doesn't serve and give value to your customers. So let's talk about that. Let's talk about how can you refine your offer today so that you can start planting to get into spring, get into the spring season where sales grow, teams grow, checks grow, vision grows, you're in a flourishing state in your business.

Speaker 1: 9:39

Well, first of all, you have to do some homework, you have to take some time to identify what it is you're actually showing up for every single day and it's not just to sell a product. And if it is, that's a short-term business. There has to be purpose layered in that foundation. Why are you showing up every day? You know, for me, as a mom of seven, I was showing up because I wanted to have the ability to control my schedule. I wanted flexibility, I wanted the ability to control what I made, and so I wanted to know like I called the shots in my business right? I'm an independent contractor in network marketing and I also have a digital affiliate business and you know other hats that I wear and I wanted to have control in all those elements.

Speaker 1: 10:29

I didn't want to put all my eggs in one basket, especially after what I experienced in my last opportunity. I was all in for 10 years in one lane, put all my eggs in one basket, and then, when I had to make a hard choice and resign, I had to start over. I had no diversification and let me tell you, friend, we're seeing a market shift of that right now where people understand and yet we teach, have a plan B. But oftentimes, as network marketers, we stick to one company and one lane and we don't diversify. And although there's rules about how many MLMs or whatever, that's why I love affiliate marketing. I love that I can diversify in an affiliate space that pays me a really good amount of commission and it doesn't take away from what my passion is in network marketing.

Speaker 1: 11:25

And so you have to ask yourself one what does the vision of your business look like in the season of winter? What do you want it to look like when it's flourishing? How many streams of income do you want to have coming in? What type of impact do you want to have in your market? And, more importantly, why are you going to show up every single day? Because at the end of the day, the algorithm really just cares about consistency. And oftentimes when I'm coaching someone, I say if you can't show up, you know, a few times a day and prime that algorithm, that's okay, but if you can show up three times a week and prime that algorithm, that's better served than trying to do something that you're going to fall off and not complete.

Speaker 1: 12:08

The basics of social media is that they want consistency. That's what the algorithm reads and that's what I'm teaching, really in my inner circle is how to prime the algorithm and really get into a niche with your brand and your market. And so if you're excited and you want to learn more about that, guys, I encourage you to come into my free membership. It's called the Social Impactor Society. You literally can find it down in the show notes, and that's where I get a little bit more tactical and that's where I get to show you some of the things that I do in my business. That helps me get into those spaces where I'm planting, I'm nurturing, I'm watering, and you know what I always say add a little sunshine on there, because you want everything to feel good. And guess what? It starts to grow.

Speaker 1: 12:58

And so what does that look like when you're starting over? It looks like you have to have a vision and a plan. You have to find a company or a place with the right products, the right opportunity, you know the right support, the right systems, and then you have to be in the right mindset to go. That's what it's like when you hit the restart button, and launching is exactly the same as being in business for 10 years, because every single day you launch your business, every single month you launch your business every single day should be met with the same urgency as you did when you started. And I know that sounds really like rainbows and butterflies, but the reality is, if you're not excited, people feel your mindset. If you're not getting new people into your business, if you're not growing, it might be coming from you.

Speaker 1: 13:51

And so you've got to think what was it like when I started? When I started, I knew I had the right product, the right opportunity. I saw the right you know comp, plan, the right systems, all the all the boxes were checked and you were like gung ho. You know, you were like winter to spring so fast because you sprinted in your business and you can sprint to spring. But how do you sprint to spring? You've got to have the mindset to get there. You have to have the mindset and vision of what you want to achieve, and that's what I love about this. It's literally a decision of where you want to plant and what season.

Speaker 1: 14:26

So if you feel like right now you're in a winter space, the encouragement is spring is coming, friend, spring is coming. And how do you do that? You nurture with your income producing activities the to-dos in your business that put dollars into either your paycheck or your team's paycheck. That is what you want to focus on. What is moving that dial forward so that you're transactional? You're getting a sale, you're getting a sign up. You know you're in those lanes because if you're just posting and you're doing all the reels and you're doing all the things but you're not getting transactional results, you're headed towards winter.

Speaker 1: 15:12

You might be in winter and the only way to get out is to get very clear and focused on your branding, who you serve, why you serve and, more importantly, getting into that planting season of making a difference in other people's lives. And so, guys, I hope this found you in a season where you're either like celebrating the spring in your business and you're just gonna keep doing what you're doing and growing more and more and it's going to thrive, and there might be a season down the road where winter comes. Just know it's not a season of forever. But how you change and how you move out of that season is up to you. It's up to the mindset that you hold, it's up to your willingness to show up every day and be consistent and really work on the things that matter in your business. We got to kind of cut out the fluff or the distractions, or even the height metrics that a lot of things focus on, and let's get back to those things that really singular matter in your business, which is you, your purpose, your brand and who you serve and the value you give. So, guys, I hope that this served you.

Speaker 1: 16:25

Thank you for being a part of this podcast. If you like this, leave a review. I love seeing reviews and I'll give you a shout out on social and, as always, I hope to see you inside my SIS club, the Social Impactor Society, free business membership. It's really where you're going to be able to deep dive with me, learn more tactical trainings on strategy, productivity, how to position yourself with authority and with a brand, and I also throw in a lot of fun digital freebies in there. So if you're looking to grow and you want a safe place to get around like-minded people, get down on the link below in the show notes and I'll see you inside my membership, where we go even further in education so that you can grow your business and get to the next level. Until next time, guys, keep dancing through life and celebrate your wins, god bless.