Service Based Business Society Podcast

Season: 2
Episode - 12
Title: All the Lists
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Hello, and welcome to the service based business society podcast. I'm your host, Tiffany-Ann-Bottcher, our weekly episodes, we will dive into everything you need to know about scaling your service based business without losing sleep. With my experience, including over seven figures per month, and a passion for marketing, finance, and automation, this show will provide tangible tips and techniques for scaling your business. Let's get started.

Hello, everybody, and welcome back to the final episode of 2022. I cannot believe what a wild journey it's been. So I was just just before I hit the record button, I was looking at some data and whatnot. And yes, I know. And I think me looking at the data, you know, the podcast launch, mid April of 2022. And we have officially reached 25 countries. If you asked me to name 25 countries, I'm not even trying to do it. So if you are tuning in, I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, it has been such a journey, and really just chatting with some incredible people along the way, digging into everything service based business, all that jazz, you know, it's been just an enjoyable ride. And so thank you again. And if you could do me one amazing favor and head on over to wherever you listen to us and leave us a written review. Let me know where you're tuning in from. And I would love to connect with you and say thank you. Or if you want to leave an anonymous review, if that is fine, too. I love connecting with our listeners, I often get messages on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, just chatting about specific episodes, what someone's learned. And I love it, I absolutely love it. So please feel free if you're listening to this episode to reach out and connect, you know, have a little chat bringing in the new year because 2023 is almost here. And that alone King.

So you know I've mentioned for the last few episodes that the podcast will be on a holiday hiatus into 2023, turning back in early January on the fourth. And so this is our episode to really kind of wrap up chat a little bit about you know, going into the holiday season, a few last minute reminders about the holiday, I was just creating some content today about updating your business hours on your Google business profile. So it used to be called Google My Business now called the Google business profile. And it's super important that we're keeping that updated. Think of Google as a teammate, think of getting them all of the information that they need, so that they can do their job for you in your business. So how is that relevant today? While we need to make sure that we are updating our business hours so that if we're closed, that it reflects that on our Google business profile, if you've ever been looking for something online before and looking and come across somebody else's Google business profile, and it's you know, at some kind of holiday day, and it says, you know, the holiday may affect these hours, you know, we want to avoid things like that we want to show Google that we're taking that initiative that we're updating the hours so that they you know, if someone is looking to get a hold of you, they have all of that up to date information. Some entrepreneurs say well, I just want to just keep the calls, I don't want to be closed now is the time to be with family and or friends enjoying some much needed downtime. Even if you say hey, I don't want to be with any of the people and I want to just keep working, really take the time then and focus on setting some objectives for next year. You know, take some time away from the day to day the nuts and bolts of your business and work on some of the bigger, more strategic things. It's a reflective time of year. We want to make sure we're using it to the best advantage that we can moving into 2023.

The other thing about updating the Google business profile is it helps you get a little more well versed with the new interface. You may have noticed that there was a Google update a little while ago. And so some things are not where they were before. And so it can be a little bit confusing. If you are used to managing your Google business profile through, you know, there used to be a little Google Business Profile button, the easiest way to do it now is to actually just be logged into Google through whatever your administrator email is. So like login to Gmail through that admin email, so that up in the top right corner, it has that initial in the corner, if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'm happy to go over it inside the Facebook community if you're stuck on this, but if you basically are logged in to your email, that is the administrator email for your Google business profile, and then you just go to Google and you type in your business name, not your website, but like search for your business on Google up will pop these, this collection of blue logo buttons that are for the Google My Business or Google Business Profile Management.

So it's actually super simple once you know where to look. But if it's the first time that you're making some changes, since the update, you know, I understand that finding the right spot can be a little bit more complicated. However, if you follow those super basic steps searching for your business on Google while you're logged in, it actually will prompt you with a big button that will say confirm your holiday hours. So if you have any questions, don't ever hesitate to reach out inside our Facebook community, you can go to Facebook and type in service based business society. Now keep in mind, you'll want to do that before our holiday hiatus because just like I'm recommending to everyone else, I will be taking some downtime with my family. We have an exciting twenty four people coming for Christmas dinner this year, the biggest one ever. And so I will be you know, neck deep in preparing dinner, planning meals, setting the table, all of that jazz, there's something about this time of year that I really switch into this domestic which I'm not typically person who enjoys baking cookies and planning how the table is going to look and the meal and all of those things. And I think that those traditions are different for everyone. And as we grow up, where, you know, I say, as we grew up, I was recently informed that I'm almost 40. And I was like, No, I really, I'm still in my mid 30s. Thank you for that. But you know, I say as we grow up, but as life continues to evolve, and as we mature and whatnot, we create these new traditions and new things in our lives. And we sometimes have to say goodbye to old traditions and things, you know, with that in mind thinking about, you know, what new traditions you can be creating, not necessarily just around the holidays, but also around the end of the year. You know, I much like everybody else really goes into this kind of health kick in January. And you know, I often think why? Well, I can tell you that for many years, I started my health kick, if you will, early on in the year. And I missed out on all of the Christmas goodies. Because I was like, no, no, I'm sticking to it, I'm sticking to it. And then you know, I just really felt like I was missing out. And so I think you know, my new traditions and what you know, new way of life is truly just enjoying life for what it is as it comes along. And I do look forward to getting into like January routines with a little more meal planning and a little more, a little less, you know, coffee on the fly. But on the whole, I think it's really just about enjoying where you are and embracing the fact that this is kind of a messy time of year. I don't know about you, but I keep running into some people are already on holidays, or you know, lots of people are looking and pushing to get a few last minute things wrapped up before they go on holidays or there's new, more pressing deadlines or anything like that. And you kind of just have to embrace that it's the time of year.

So it's hard to believe that we're already on episode 12 of season two. And you know, as a quick summary of the season, we have edible people and really, you know, leaned into things that are new and different. And you know if I even reflect back on last week's episode looking at numerology and how it ties in and a different perspective. One of the things that talking to so many different entrepreneurs, whether it be you know, through networking events or interviews on podcast, or online or anyplace really is that there are some incredible people doing some things that I would never have thought of, and it just goes to show you know, people are super successful doing all sorts of things. And so if you have a crazy idea, thank you sounds so crazy. You know, maybe if you have this like, you're like, Oh, I've always wanted to look more into, or had this idea about why and you know, all these different options, I want you to really think about how in 2023, you can even take the steps to explore, I want to challenge you to explore something that you have had in the back of your mind, for way too long, it is the time to really rise to the occasion, and start clearing out your task lists your idea list.

You know, I have often talked about the long term list. So when it comes to managing tasks, I have my daily dues. So these are the items that I do every day. So think about, you know, checking your email, well, that's a daily do, you know, checking your social media messaging, okay, that's something I do every day, those are my daily dues, then you have like your short term, this is the stuff that you need to get done. Whether that be today, this week, however you manage that kind of more immediate task, then you have your long term list. And this is where your ideas go, that you don't want to forget about but that you know, you can't lean into right now we all have them, we all have these things where it's like, oh, maybe one day or, you know, this could be a cool opportunity. And now is the time to get out that long term list, because some of the items on the long term list will no longer interest you it will be something that came and went or it was an idea that was really just you know, a short term, possibility and you've moved on, or you've already implemented it in a different way or, or whatnot. But that long term list can often be an incredible source of opportunities and Goldmine, take a little time and stop dealing with only the daily dues. If you are only dealing with the daily dues, no one is actually driving, I often talk about a business as a ship. And so if you are just dealing with the daily dues, you know, down in the weeds of your business, some people call it or the nuts and the bolts, you know, if this is you really, you're kind of head down, not looking where you're going, it's taking the time, every once in a while to look up, look where you're going and make sure you're still on course. And that is, you know, looking at the long term list reflecting on some of the data points, seeing where things are going in your business, how are they going, what's going on, it's so easy when it gets busy and hectic and you've got lots going on to put your head down and just work if you come from a long term working situation, or that's your tendency is to just put your head down and try and work out of a problem really easy to get pulled into that mentality. Even as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, if you're not looking, no one else is looking while you're going. And so super, super key. Like if I cannot emphasize enough to take those moments and look up, make sure you're still on track. Are you going, you know, where do you want it to go? Are you getting there at a pace that is appropriate? Is there anything coming up for you that you know, you need to evaluate overall, really make sure that you're driving, not backseat driving, not passengers, the driving, not just head down, working away, but actually driving your business super, super essential.

So you know, each of these lists in your business, whether that be the you know, the daily dues, your task lists, or your long term list, they all serve their purpose, it's, it's key to have a place to put things and no, I don't mean like random clutter. I mean, your ideas, your tasks. So often I pack a notebook with me, and I often get the like, what's going on, you know, my husband will be like, are you bringing a notebook to bed or I'll be sitting, you know, at one of my kids practices, and we'll just have a notebook, not because I'm planning on like furiously writing a whole bunch of stuff down, but because I feel at peace, when I can just take a moment and just jot it down on one of my list so that I know, I won't forget, you know, it's that same thing when when they talk well, I think there was like a friend's episode years and years ago where they were talking about, you know, like writing down notes in the middle of the night so that you could just go back to sleep and be at peace. It's the same thing that I do with my notebook when I'm at a sports practice, or, you know, having a little downtime watching it, you know, TV show with my husband, before we go to bed, something like that. It's the ability to just take it take whatever is, you know, circling around in your brain, just jot it down on the appropriate list, you know, is it a daily do chances are I'm not writing daily dues while I'm at one of these items, because I already, you know, I might make adjustments to my daily to do list, but that's not something I usually do on the fly. So something is usually going on that main task list, or the long term lists.

My long term list. If I had endless time and money, I could implement some incredible ideas, but sometimes we have to prioritize and we have to refocus. We have to do all these different things, but just to taking it out of your brain and putting it on the list so that you know you don't forget so that you know that it will you, you are giving it almost the respect to know you're going to come back and reevaluate, can't say enough about it. And so, you know, reflecting on what you have got for next year is a great way to really close out the gear with almost a little bit of a, you know, unwind, looking at the list, making sure that you are closing things out and getting started on the right step.

So, you know, we touched briefly on updating your holiday hours on your Google business profile. Another question I get is, what else should I be doing at this time of year. So you know, if you want to go back to our holiday preparation for your business, this season two, episode eight, that is packed full of all sorts of goodies in terms of what you can be doing to prepare for your business. But just a few quick things to think about if you don't necessarily have the time to go all the way back to that episode, and listen to it in its entirety, or if you already listened to it. And you've implemented those recommendations already. Couple of other things to think about at this time of year. Number one, if you have any kind of, you know, auto responding messages, obviously, we recommend all sorts of automation using the l&r platform. So if you have messages that are going out to clients, or prospective clients, now's the time to just have a look and make sure that those are still reflective of the season.

We don't want to be considered tone deaf, especially when we're using automation. So we want to make sure that any messaging that's going out is in line. So if you have messages that are like, Hey, thanks for calling, I'm just on the other line, I will be giving you a call back in the next 20 minutes. I look forward to talking to you soon, just as an example. Okay, well, there's that if that person is getting that message on Christmas Day, that's not super, you know, reflective of what should be going out. So taking a look at any automated messaging that you have going out and making sure that it is in line with your holiday hours. You know, same goes for any social media scheduling, any email marketing scheduling, if there was anything that could potentially be going out on one of the holiday days, making it look and making sure that it is in line with what you would want to be going out is super key. When it comes to social media and scheduling all of these types of things. You know, if you like to be the business owner that sends out the Merry Christmas post, Boxing Day put, you know, Christmas Eve, whatever that is, take the time now and just schedule those posts out so that you don't have to be worrying about it when you have your family over when you're dealing with gifts, making a meal, whatever that is, but truly allow yourself the downtime.

If you can take just even 45 minutes, make sure your messaging is good. Update your hours and update any email autoresponders be sure that anyone you should that anyone that is a part of your team that is on holidays has on the appropriate vacation, auto responders, on their email, all of these things that you're doing are really just making sure that your customer experience is still very positive, even if you are taking some time off. So guys, those are the top three recommendations to make sure you're prepared for the holidays for your service based business. Just remember, you know, this is a strange time of year when it comes to booking any kind of service based business. If you do anything at home, nobody wants you in their house. You know, I mean, unless you're a plumber and they have a plumbing emergency. Well, people definitely want to see you, preferably before their guests arrive. But if you're a painter or home decorator, anything like that, I mean nobody wants their house all you know smelling like paint or everything moved around those you know, mid holidays. So just accept that this is a bit of a quieter time for you know, accept that there's going to be a big rush leading up to the last couple days before Christmas. And then there won't be much between Christmas and New Year's.

So often we see business owners like oh my goodness, my numbers are a mess. You know, look at that my leads are way down. My sales are way down. Oh my goodness, what are we gonna do? We're gonna wait, we're not going to do anything. We're going to wait until January because a lot of people aren't thinking about their day to day life right now. They're busy, they're on holidays, they're doing things so don't start making decisions based on exactly what's going on in your business. You know from now until January 4, don't allow yourself to start stressing or worrying about what is going on. It really is you know the action plan for any of these, you know, strange kind of, you know, discrepancies or differences in incoming leads, calls traffic, any of this the action is do nothing, just do nothing. Just wait. Just wait until you're back to January back to regular time and lean in at that time. Don't Don't stress or worry about it at this point. So we're going to finish out the episode with Jeff Just a quick summary of some of what we have covered so far on season two. And so I just wanted to highlight some of the, you know, most amazing episodes or most downloaded episodes of season two.

So we talked several weeks ago when boundaries, a bar was back on the podcast that her episode was the number one download from season one. While it is not currently the number one download for season two, it is right up there. Our current number one downloaded guest episode from season two is our episode number seven money mindset.
So this is with Bristal Daro, and if you have not had a chance to listen to it yet, it is an incredible episode filled with all sorts of amazing value. So if you haven't heard back, listen, season two, Episode Seven, it is called money mindset. And it is our number one downloaded episode guest of this season. So before we wrap up with this week's episode, and well, you know, 2022, I wanted to highlight just a quick note on our most downloaded episode for season two so far, and that is our money and mindset episode.

So this was with guests, special guests, Bristal Daro, she offered so much incredible value. And if you have not had a chance to listen to that episode, yet, I highly recommend you go back a few weeks and listen to it. I mean, truly, this season has been filled with all sorts of value, all sorts of incredible entrepreneurs and business owners, coaches. But I highly recommend that if you have not had a chance to go back and listen to our money mindset episode, it is the time of year to really be thinking about these kinds of things. It's, you know, going into January, it's all about planning objectives, money budgeting, how, you know, there's always kind of these specific themes for January, just in life in general. So, you know, a quick plug for that incredible episode. I loved recording it. I thought it was fantastic. Well, it has been an absolute pleasure to record our service based business society podcast throughout 2022.

So wishing all of our listeners an incredible holiday season. And some you know, free time to set some objectives and really hone in on what the plan for your business is, as I asked earlier, if you could do one amazing favor for us that would be to go and leave a five star and written review. Wherever you listen to podcasts. It really does help the show. It helps our podcast get more listeners to more countries, I mean 25 countries in 2022.

Thank you so much to all of our listeners who tune in every single week. I appreciate every single one of you. So again, if you'd like to connect chat about these Google Business holiday updates or anything else pop on into the Facebook group, it is service based business society and that's all for today.

Well, we are all out of time for today. If you guys have not joined the service based business society Facebook community, make sure you head on over to Facebook and we can continue the conversation. Be sure to also follow the show by going to any podcast app and searching surface based business society. Click subscribe, click the fifth star and leave us a written review. Have a great week and we will see you soon