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Grow Your Local Business
When You’re the First to Do Something New In Your City (And It Feels Kinda Scary)
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Hey, really quick, have you been thinking about joining the LocalPreneur Academy? But you want to know exactly what we would do inside to grow your business and how it would work? Click the link in the show notes to book your consult. Call with me and we'll talk one on one just about your business. We'll talk about what's working and the exact things we'll implement to help you stand out locally, reach more people in your city and bring in more clients. Pick the date and time that works for you and I'll see you there.
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You are listening to the Grow youw Local Business Podcast where local marketing expert and life coach Leslie Presnell shares the strategies and the mindset to help you reach more people in your city and bring in a steady stream of clients. All right, let's dive in.
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Hey, welcome back to another episode of the Grow youw Local Business Podcast. Today we're going to talk about the pros and cons to being the first person in your area to do something different and really what to do about those cons so they turn into pros. So I teach a very specific local go to framework inside the LocalPreneur Academy to help you stand out locally as that top choice and as that go to person. And part of that framework is really defining what makes you unique and how you bring something totally new and and never before seen to your city. So for some of you, what you offer is really unique. Like some of you, your services or products is the really unique and different thing. Some of you may be in a unique industry or have a unique niche or angle in that industry and that may be a whole new, brand new thing that you're offering to your city. So some of you are doing things and you really have no competition for and you're just doing something really unheard of. And right now you're just in this untapped market. And then some of you have really unique approaches or parts of your process that are totally different. And this is what sets you apart. And you just have different ways of doing something or a different way to get your clients results and this is why they would choose to work with you. And then some of you may market in really unique ways. You host really unique events or you have different parts of your customer customer journey that may be different or unique. So it's really any part of what you do or offer where you can look around and say no one else is doing this or no one else is doing this in this way. Like this is the goal. So I work with my clients to uncover as many of these things as possible. And then we layer them into their messaging and marketing. We get them woven into their social media, their emails, their websites, and even when they're talking to people so their audience and potential clients can really start to see them as that local go to top choice. That's the goal. However, I find that sometimes, even though we have these really unique things about us or the way we do things or the way we offer things, or even if our entire business model or industry or niche is or our service is totally unique and unheard of, or we really are doing something different and new, sometimes we have some doubt creep in. Because what I've seen happen is when we are the first one in our city to offer something or to do something in a unique or a new different way, our brain goes straight to but will people want this? Will people actually pay me for this? Will people even understand this? Will people get it? Will they like it this way or will they prefer it the regular way? They see everyone else doing it. Will they think this is silly? Will they even understand this? Our brain just starts offering us a lot of doubt or discouragement, especially if we're not instantly validated by our new ideas. We may feel misunderstood or if we put something out there and don't get a response initially, or if we put something out there and maybe we get a no, that's when we feel misunderstood or like no one gets us or like we have a lot of work to do to make people understand the value or to make people want this and we think that they just don't really get it or they don't get it yet. And that can just lead us to feel a lot of fear and it can make us second guess ourselves. And then we're like, well, did I do the right thing? Like, I'm really trying to stand out as this local go to person and offer something really unique and really different and do it this way. I'm trying to do it my way, but I don't know if people really get it or if they want it like this or if they want it this way or if they want this at all. So I want to offer you this reframe. You are a pioneer. This is what industry leaders do. They go first, they have and offer new ideas. They innovate, they go first, they lay the groundwork, they are actually ahead of everyone else. And then you get to work with your messaging and marketing to show everyone else why this is the best thing for them, why this is the best way, why this works better, why this will get them results faster or better why this will get them a faster transformation. So sometimes when we are the first to do something and we don't get the result we want, or we. People look at us like we have three heads, or they say, well, that's not how so and so does it down the street. I know it can be easy to think I did it wrong or I should do it this other way or I should offer this instead. But that's why I want you to remember this is what industry leaders do. I am innovating. I am going first. I'm laying the groundwork. I'm just ahead. And now I'm going to do the work in my marketing to show them why this is the best way and why this is the best way for them and how they're going to get the results they ultimately want from this way. I remember one of my clients, she lived in a really small bayou town in South Louisiana, and she was a pelvic floor therapist. And she didn't accept insurance in her business model. And so at first, people in that community were kind of shocked by this. Like, what do you mean? You're a doctor's office. You're supposed to accept insurance. Like, that's just what you do. Like, that is. That's the mentality they had. That's just what they believed. But she was a pioneer, an innovator, and very determined, and she just got to work in her messaging and in her marketing to show why her model of not accepting insurance was actually so much better for the client, even though the client would be paying more money out of pocket in the end. But she had to dig into the value of that. Like, they got the full hour together, There was more they could do together, even though her brain wanted to offer, you know, did I. Did I do this wrong with going with the no insurance model? Like, they're going to be a really hard sell. They're not going to get it. They already don't really get what I do. But she had to keep just laying the groundwork for her people. And this means by continuing also to sell herself on her offer and why it is the way it is and why it's the best way for her people. So if you're the only one in your city offering what you do in the way you do it, keep going like you are laying the bricks for the road that you will walk for the way your people will get results for years to come. So another thing I like to Think about when you're the first person in your city doing something different. It means you get to define the standard and let that fuel you. Like I get to define the standard. That's such a powerful thought. I had that belief when I came out as a local marketing coach. I was like, there's no one else doing what I do yet in this way I, I get to define the standard. And just a quick little background story for me, for those of you who, who don't know, I, I know I've told this story somewhere, but I discovered life coaching maybe around 2016, 2017, not even sure now, years ago. But when I became a coach, a marketing coach, and I was giving my clients all the step by step strategy of what to do on how to grow their audience, how to bring in clients, I gave them all the how to like, exactly what to do. I was like, do this, do this, say this, post this, do this. But I noticed that people got stuck at different places and it wasn't because they didn't know what to do or they didn't know how to do it because I had literally just taught them. But it was because they had thoughts about what they were doing, they had negative emotions, they had fear, they had imposter syndrome, they just had mental blocks stopping them from taking action at different parts along, along the way, which is totally normal by the way. So in 2021, I believe I decided since I had completely changed my life in the five years prior with life coaching myself and with the tools and with getting coaching, that I wanted to be able to do the same thing for my clients. So I got certified as a life coach through the life coach school just so I would now have those same mindset tools and I could really use them properly, not just through my own experience, through getting coaching. So I got certified as, as a life coach school and really started bringing in the mindset work into my program and with working with my clients and their results blew up like that really was the missing piece, the mindset. They knew what to do, but they needed the right belief system and the thought so they could take action. However, early on, around this time when I years ago when I was marketing the localpreneur academy, I had the limiting belief, ironically, that people don't want the mindset work. I was like, you know, people really just want the strategy. They don't want to hear all about the mindset stuff. They just want to know what to do. They, they don't want to think about their thoughts and feelings or why they aren't taking action. They really just want me to tell them what to do. So I was kind of spinning in action again. I know the irony. Thank goodness for coaching. But this is where I realized, or I had to remind myself of the same thing I'm telling you here. Oh, like I'm a pioneer. I'm trailblazing here. I am the first person to get to do this. I get to define the industry standard here. It may not be normal yet, but it will be. They don't get it yet because they haven't seen it done like this before, but they will. Like I get to be the person who starts normalizing, having the strategy with the mindset for local business owners. So I started recording podcasts, sending emails, posting on social media about the strategy, like all the how to grow your business, but also layering in that mindset piece. And do you know what people come to me the most now on consults for or what they bring up the most is the mindset piece. They will come to me and they'll reference something on a podcast or literally quote me. And 99% of the time, it has to do with a mindset shift I gave them. Not something that I taught them how to do, not a strategy I gave them, but an actual breakthrough I gave them or a time that I taught them how to think differently or when I gave them a perspective shift or a shift in their mindset when I taught them how to think differently. But I had to be willing to go first. I had to say, no one else is doing this, but I am. I'm going to be the person who brings in the mindset and the strategy. Like there are life coaches and there are business coaches. I'm going to be both. They might not get it yet. They might think they have to go over here for that one and over here for that one. So they might not fully understand, but they will. And here's also why. It's going to be the best thing for them. Here's why. They're going to get results even faster in their business. So a great thought for you to have in your business is when you do something new and different, you get to be the one who normalizes it for your people. You set the standard, you become the go to for it. You get to be the one who introduces it to your people. And that's what they're going to forever remember you for. They're going to associate that with you. Okay, so let's wrap up. Your goal is to bring something new, as many new things as possible. If you come to work with me inside the LocalPreneur Academy, we're always finding unique ways for you to do anything at for you to add things, for you to set yourself apart in all parts of your in all parts of your customer journey and within what you offer. Sometimes you will just rock and roll with it and love it and feel so good about it and just start shouting it from the rooftops. And this will instantly start building up that credibility for you as that top choice. And you'll, you know, you'll start bringing in clients from that. However, sometimes I know when we do something new or different, it can also bring up some of this doubt or this fear that people won't get it, they won't understand it, or they won't like it. This is where building your belief comes in and your job also becomes showing through your clear messaging why your new way, your different way is the best way way. Which is what I would love to help you with. So if you haven't already, come check out the LocalPreneur Academy. I'm going to link it up in the show notes and I hope I see you inside. Hey, if you enjoyed today's episode, I want to invite you to check out my program, the LocalPreneur Academy. This is the only program for small business owners who want to become the local go to in their industry with a steady stream of clients. You can find more information@lesleypressnel.com and I'll see you inside. It.