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Hey there, it's Steph Crowder. Are you sick of the sales roller coaster I got you? Join me March 16th through the 20th at 2pm Eastern Time every day that week for the Sold Out Sales System Summit. This is a totally free 5 day live training that will get you fully booked and launch your groups repeatedly, consistently and with ease. You're going to learn how to build a predictable plan, create content that actually converts, growing, grow an audience that buys with you, and launch repeatedly without the panic. You can register right now@stephcrowder.com summit. Welcome to the Courage and Clarity podcast. I'm your host, Steph Crowder. I'm a former sales training director who's helped thousands of entrepreneurs earn a living doing something they love over the past 10 years. On your journey, you'll need the courage to be bold, to, to take risks and to do what looks crazy on paper. You'll also need the clarity, the brass tacks, simple strategies that actually work. And on this podcast, we deliver both in equal measure. Oh, and by the way, we've got absolutely no time for bs, gross marketing tactics or get rich quick schemes. Just sustainable business strategies for good humans with big dreams. If that sounds like you, you're in the right place. Let's go. Hello my friends. Hello. Hello. Oh my goodness. I am so excited to be announcing and talking to you about this upcoming event that I've been putting together with so much anticipation and excitement. Let's talk about my first ever five day summit. I am hosting a five day live training called the Sold Out Summer Sales System Summit. Say that five times fast. The Sold Out Sales System Summit. This is going to be my totally free 5 day live training that's going to get you fully booked and launch your groups repeatedly, consistently and with ease. And it is going to be so good. We're doing it on Monday, March 16 through Friday, March 20. So we're going to get together at every day of that week at 2 o' clock Eastern Time in the afternoon at least. Yeah. Again Eastern time. And you can go to stephcrowder.comsummit to get all signed up. I have, like I said, not done this format before. Back in the day I would do a lot of five day challenges, but I'm seeing this as quite different. It's going to be more interactive. You're going to hear me talking about that in this episode as well as I'm doing a bit of a series here highlighting each day of the summit for the next five weeks. We have at the time of me recording this we have five weeks until the summit and there are of course five days of the summit. So I'm gonna do five episodes. Just kind of deep diving into what we're gonna do each day so you can get a better sense and start to even do a little bit of pre work to really get you ready. Because not only is it going to be super insightful, but I really want to do a fair amount of live auditing. So I'll ask for volunteers specific to the topic day to really drive home the point and help you get some direct feedback on the topic so that you can go and implement that in your life and in your business. So very exciting. Let's talk about the first day, a little bit of the first day of the training and that really ties to today's topic. So let me back up for just a second. In the the summit, what we're going to be doing is the theme. If you look at the page, you'll probably be able to spot the theme. We're really going to be talking about making your business more predictable. So we're talking about predictable plan, predictable content, predictable launches, predictable audience growth and having a predictable sales system. And of course, the reason that this feels so important and you're going to hear me talking about about it a lot more is because I talk to so many entrepreneurs who really feel like they're riding that roller coaster of when you're up, you're up, when you're down, you're down and you really never know what you're going to get. And I know so many of you are craving consistency and craving sustainability and steadiness and overall just kind of feeling like you want to have a business you can rely on and that you can trust to like, sustain you. Right. To fuel your lifestyle, to give you what you want to do in this life and beyond. Right. I know I talk to so many people who are like, is this actually scalable? Am I going to be able to keep this up? Can I really trust it? Is this going to take me into the future? And that's what I really want to focus on with this summit, is just going step by step to help you. The answer to that question absolutely can be yes. But we also have to figure out how do we bake predictability into the fabric of your business? Now, I don't have a crystal ball. Right. And I can't tell you everything that's going to happen and we can't. When I say predictable, that doesn't mean we can predict the future, not by any stretch. But there are a number of things that we can do to create consistency, right? Like there are so many patterns in business. I've been doing this for, I guess, 11 years now. And when you've been at it as long as I have, it's so interesting. I've told friends this to friends, like, everything comes back around. Like things are cool and then things are not cool. And they always come back. And beyond that, if you watch your business for long enough, you will start to understand that none of this is random. It often feels like everything is happening randomly, but it isn't. There are very predictable patterns that we can rely on to be consistent. It's just a matter of understanding them, tapping into them, and then using them to create a model that can sustain you. So I have much, much more to say about all of that. And that's really what the summit is going to be for. So make sure you go to stephcrowder.comsummit to get signed up. So let's get into today's episode. So we're going to talk about why hustle and the feeling of hustle and the feeling of being busy will fill up your calendar, but not necessarily your bank account. Who can relate to that, right? You feel busy, you feel full, you feel maybe even like every moment is accounted for. Like you're not wasting any time. And yet you don't necessarily have a bank account to match your calendar, right? So the problem here is you just have this feeling that you're working, working, working, and yet maybe your sales feel flat or your sales are even decreasing, or your sales are up and down, okay? And they're anything but predictable, anything but reliable. And the problem that I often see when I talk to people is they're like, I don't understand how I'm possibly going to scale this business when I'm so busy. Like, I'm maxed out. I'm talking especially to my parents out there. Y' all know, I'm a parent myself. Like, I have run into this wall many, many times. Even if you're not a parent, you have a busy life for whatever reason, maybe you still have a full time job and you're building your business in the margins. Like you got a lot going on. It's just fair to say that you've got a lot going on. And so when you think about like, let's say for example, you want to double your income, you want to double your revenue, you're like, I don't like that. That equation does not work. Right. I remember having a Moment like this where it occurred to me, this was maybe a year or two ago, where I literally said to one of my coaches, I want to double my business, but I absolutely cannot double my effort. It's not going to be possible, Right? Like, you will reach a point in business if you're not already there, where you feel like you've maxed out on your effort. So how are you going to increase your results when it's not your effort that can move the needle? Now, some of you listening to this are like, let me be real with myself. I. I could give it more effort, right? Like, maybe I'm not. Maybe I'm not fully maxing out. Like, maybe I have room to push myself a little bit harder. Okay, cool. It's great for you to know that. But a lot of the entrepreneurs that I talk to, that isn't their issue. They're working as hard as they possibly can, and it can be really demoralizing and sobering to be like, I don't see how this. How I can possibly give more. So how am I going to. How am I going to get the result that I actually want? So it's going to feel to you like time is your issue. And a lot of you are. If you're anything like where I was at with this a year or two ago, you are maybe going to dig your claws into that story the way that I was and think this girl is not about to tell me that my problem isn't actually time. But actually, that is what I'm going to tell you. But hear me out, okay? Hear me out. The truth is, it feels like all of your time is being used when the reality is, even though it feels like that, and perhaps that's even true. Okay, I'll let you have that thought. That's not the actual issue. The issue is that you are doing a lot of random activities, okay? You're doing a lot of stuff. And the stuff that you are doing is not necessarily going to be the stuff that moves the needle. Okay? This is also what I lovingly refer to as the busy but broke syndrome. Okay? Maybe you're not broke. Maybe you're busy but doing okay. But if you want to be, you know, blasting through the ceiling of what you thought was possible and you really want to get to the next level, you have to address the reality that you're probably doing a lot of stuff randomly, okay? And not necessarily bringing the level of strategy and intention into how you are laying out your time so that you are prioritizing what I call money making activities, MMAs. So like I said, I can totally relate to this. This was my story for a long time. I think I've shared that on the podcast before. That was like my number one, like wubby nubby story. Like if I were a kid with a special blanket, like, that was my story. That felt very true to me and was very real at the time. I have you two young kids, lots of nuanced issues happening with those kids, not a lot of working time. And I felt busy all the time. Okay. I felt like I had not one minute to spare and I truly did. Like I said, I wondered how I would ever be able to scale this business when there just wasn't enough time to do it. And that was, like I said, it was deflating. It was sort of like, gosh, how, how am I going to figure this out? And when I would be launching, I would wake up each day thinking, okay, like what am I doing today? Like pop out of bed. Okay, I've got, you know, a couple hours, let's go, go, go, go, go. And I would go and I would do those things, but I would kind of wake up and, and just like be making it up as I went along and I would get results. I know I've shared in some previous episodes. Like my last, at least half dozen of my launches have all been six figure launches. So it's not that they weren't successful, but A, I was maxed out and B, let's not even touch the fact of like how much more exhausted I was by doing things randomly. And C, probably the worst of all is that every single launch that I would do would feel like starting from scratch. It would feel like a boulder was sitting at the bottom of a new mountain and it was like, okay, oh my God, like I just got a boulder to the top of a mountain. Now you're telling me that like I'm Sisyphus, right? Like the story of the boulder just rolling back down the hill. When you have a predictable plan, whether you have a business that is a launch based business or, or you're filling your one on one practice, or you're a service based business or a coach who works with people one on one, you won't wonder what activities lead to sales. Okay? You won't be making it up as you go along. You will know what to do. You will have a plan to rely on and it'll be a plan that you've proven with your results in the past. As I was talking about with patterns, you'll see the pattern and you'll be able to replicate it. This comes in extra handy when, for example, your kids are sick. You cannot make this stuff up. I have a kid homesick today. And, you know, I've been sharing here on the podcast past few weeks, we've had a lot of school canceled for snow. We truly, literally have been out more than we've been in between my two kids. And whether that's your story or you have life throwing you other curveballs, it's going to happen. And what I notice is for a lot of us in those oh, crap moments, we tend to throw the plan away. We're like, plan? Forget that. Like, I'm fighting for my life here. I'm just going to get done what I can. But that's the tragic mistake that is the, like, that's the kiss of death right there. A plan actually comes in handy the most in those moments that is not the moment when you want to be flying by the seat of your pants. Right? That's when you want to know, okay, I don't need to use my precious brain power to like, you don't want to be using your strategic brain and your execution brain at the exact same time. When you have difficult stuff happening in your life and you're time constrained, you want to be able to focus on executing your plan. You already have the strategy because you have a predictable plan that you can count on, right? So that's the difference. And if you feel that maxed out feeling, if you feel like your calendar is full but you don't like where your bank account is at, you have to. We have to take a hard look at your time. We have to take a hard look at your time and how you're spending your time. Now, my clients know this. My clients in the sold out group programs mastermind because I often ask them to audit their time to see where it's actually going. So I would love for you all if you would accept my challenge. Especially if you're coming to the summit. I want you to do this exercise and if you can, bonus bonus points. If you can do this and bring it with you, maybe we can do some live audits for those of you who are prepared. Okay, so what I tell my clients to do is use a time tracker tracking tool. My favorite is Toggle T o G G L and you can use it for free. I believe I, I pay for a plan because I have team members, but I believe there's a free option. And what I really love about Toggl is it takes all of the mental drama about your stories, about time and how busy you feel. It takes all of that out, and it's just going to give you the facts. Now, it's very simple. They have a chrome extension. So mine just sits in my toolbar on my computer. I'm looking at it right now. It's actually my timer's running right now because I track my time. And what I will do is every single time I sit at the computer and do something, I just press one button to start the timer. And then when I. Before I stand up, I will press the timer again to stop my time. Okay? And I just make a note. Make a note about what you did during that time. And then what will happen is when you get to the end of your week, when you go back, you're going to look at it and evaluate it, and I promise you, you will. There will be something in there that surprises you. I know for me, the first time I did this, I have. Typically, I have. Well, it depends if my kids are actually in school. I typically have something like 25 to 30 workable hours at this point in my life. And I was really, really convinced that I was using all my time because I'm busy the entire time my kids are at school. Like, I'm. I'm busy, right? Well, I remember the first time I tracked, and I think I worked 15 hours, right? And it's like I had been telling myself this story. Like, I don't have any extra time. Like, where is my time going? And it's like, girl, be so for real. There's 10 hours that are going God knows where. I mean, some of it would be like, if I'm truly honest, sometimes my workouts were going in that time. Sometimes I would be scrolling. Sometimes I would talk to a friend on Voxer. Sometimes I would fall down a rabbit hole where I wasn't actually working. And some of you are like, there's no way that's my reality. Well, I need you to track it to val that. Right? Because our emotions get really tangled up with our circumstances, and we forget that. Like, this will just help you completely separate fact from feeling. And I don't want you to feel bad about this when you do it. For me, I actually chose to see it in a hopeful light. I was like, oh, my God. Many of you tell me, I just wish I had more time. If I could create more time, all my problems would be solved. I just created more time. Do you see that? Like, I thought I had 25 hours. I thought I was using 25 hours. I was using 15. It's like, oh, my God, my dreams are coming true. I have 10 hours that I didn't know I had. Now, is it realistic that we can actually leverage butt in seat every single minute of those 25 to 30 hours? Probably not. Like, it's generally advised that you should eat some lunch, maybe go touch some grass, but it's still like, even if I just were to take back five of those hours, imagine putting five hours back into your life. And this is just an example. So for your assignment, I would like for you to honestly and thoroughly track your time for a week. Okay? For a week. And what I want you to do is, like, don't even try to shift it yet. Don't even try to make any changes. Don't be like, oh, my God, I know what. Don't even worry about that, okay? Just observe, be curious, be interested. Act like you're looking at a friend's calendar or a client's calendar, right? Like, what observations would you have? Not as a critical parent or something, but just as a friend. What would you. What would you see? I'm telling you, just the act of looking at your calendar and being fully honest with yourself will start to shift your relationship to time. I rarely have thoughts anymore about not having enough time. And for me to say that is actually insane. Just ask my friends. They were like, this girl and her time stories. But, like, for example, I've already made an Instagram reel today. I've planned my whole week, and I'm recording a podcast for you all. Now I'm launching a summit, and I have a kid at home sick. Guess what? That same kid has a midwinter break starting on Wednesday that I didn't even know existed. And it's inconvenient. I'm not gonna lie. I would prefer to have a normal schedule. But last week, when my son didn't go to school all week long, I found myself just getting stuff done in the cracks and crevices instead of just chucking the whole thing and being like, well, there goes all my time. Right? So when you can start to shift your relationship with time, when you start to understand your predictable plan, all you have to do is look at your plan and be like, okay, let me just figure out how to actually execute. You can even turn your brain off and go into execution mode. That's really where I feel like I am this week, because I have a predictable plan. Like I said, I am now in a launch period with my clients. We call this Buzz Blitz. Buzz Blitz is the name of like my launching process. But, and I have five weeks until, until my summit. I'm not making up what, what's on my schedule. I'm not like, you know, creating from scratch. I know what I need to do. I have a game plan. I change my game game plan for every launch. But the bones stay the same. And that is the value of having a predictable plan and understanding how I can work with my time constraints instead of constantly being at war with them. So what we are going to do at the Summit is on March 16, we will diagnose your biggest blind spot live, should you accept my challenge. Okay. I'm gonna show you where your, where your time is bleeding. Okay. And how a predictable plan is going to fix that. So come ready to see your hidden gaps in real time. You don't have to get called out if you don't want to get called out. I'm just going to teach to everybody and then I'll take some hand raisers to do some audits and we'll have some conversations just sort of popcorn style. But even if you want to lurk, that's fine. You will still come ready to diagnose and figure out what is going on with your weekly schedule and how can you put more time back into your calendar? How can you arrange your schedule in a way that is actually going to get your needle moving activities done so you can stop showing up randomly, stop doing random things and prioritize the things that are going to make the difference in terms of your results. Thanks for listening to today's episode. Are you ready to get fully booked and fill up your group program? Join the sold out sales system summit March 16th through the 20th at 2pm Eastern. It's a free five day live training and I cannot wait to see you there. StephCrowder.com summit get all signed up and I'll talk to you soon.