by Melissa | Mar 28, 2018 | direct sales
Are you working a direct sales business or a hobby? First, let’s figure out the difference. Christy Wright from The Business Boutique says in in her blog post, The First Step to Turning Your Hobby Into a Business, “The first step to turning your hobby into a business is this: Treat it as a business…This will be easier to do if you understand the difference between a hobby and a business. A business makes you money. A hobby costs you money.” Hmm. Is your business costing you money, or is it making you money? If you aren’t able to say that you are making money with your business, let’s see what we can do to change that for you. 
Is Making Money Possible?
First, let’s answer this question. Is it even possible to make money in direct sales? Some people don’t believe it is. But that is entirely not true. No, it may not be easy and it takes hard work and dedication, but it is totally possible to have a direct sales business that makes money! There are people in direct sales or network marketing businesses making anywhere from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars each month. I am one of them. And I personally know many others. But none of us got there overnight. None of us sat back, posted sale posts to our personal profile every day, and got rich. We all put in the work. We learned how to effectively market our business. We figured out how to build relationships with our customers. We took courses and learned from industry leaders. We put in the time, energy, and effort that it takes to be successful and it paid off.
Read 7 Direct Sales Myths Busted
When your business is a hobby
See if this sounds at all familiar. When your business is a hobby, you are very likely just making the minimums that your company requires each month, if even that. You may get an order here or an order there. You have a party or maybe two a month. You are posting on your personal profile about your business every day and begging people to book parties with you. Does any of this sound familiar? Why is it not working? Why aren’t you making any money or getting customers, hosts, or recruits? Why isn’t it working for you? Simply put, you’re not doing the work. You’re not treating your business like a business. You need to learn how to effectively market your business on social media (business page anyone?), how to build relationships with your customers, know your target audience, and keep a consistent party calendar. It’s not enough to just do a little bit here and there or halfway try. You have to be all in, determined to make it work. You should be focused on creating customers, following up with past customers, booking parties, hostess coaching, and recruiting. Every week.
Read How to Sell as a Direct Seller
When your business is a business
When you treat your business as a business, you are going above and beyond the minimums each month. Just hitting the minimums is not an option in your mind. You frequently follow up with past customers, stay in touch, and get reorders from them often. You party weekly, usually twice, maybe even three times, a week. You swear by Shari McAllister’s 10-8-2 formula, booking 10 parties every month, holding at least 8, and recruiting an average of two people a month. You rarely post on your personal profile, only just enough to intrigue people and let them know you’re still in business. You utilize your business page and post purposeful and relate-able content on there. You take courses on how to market on social media. You know your target audience and build relationships with them. You are consistent in your business. You show up every day and do the work that it takes to succeed. One more thing….if you signed up for your company just to have a hobby and you are happy with where you are at with it, that is completely ok! You don’t have to do more with it if you don’t want to! There is nothing wrong with having a hobby business. This blog post is directed towards those who want to build a bigger business, but are still treating it as a hobby. 😉 Tell me… does any of this resonate with you? How are you working your business? Is it a business or just a hobby?
by Melissa | Sep 4, 2017 | business tools
Here is a list of my favorite business tools that I use and I couldn’t do business without. I wanted to share them with you because I love them and they may be beneficial for you in your business, as well! If you have any favorite business tools that you love that I didn’t mention, be sure to leave me a comment and tell me about it! (And just so you know, this post does include some affiliate links. But I only share things that I use and love!)
My Favorite Business Tools
- Planoly – I absolutely LOVE using Planoly for Instagram! I batch my graphics every week, then upload them all to Planoly to schedule throughout the week. While IG doesn’t allow a third party app to actually post for you, it does make it super easy to post when it is time. One of the things I love most about Planoly is the ability to rearrange my scheduled posts on my feed and make it look “pretty” before actually posting. This is a great way to do it if you have a grid and want to keep it looking a certain way! Try it and let me know what you think!
- Tailwind – Tailwind is a site/app that I use for Pinterest. I know that I am not using it to it’s full potential, as I am still getting it all figured out, but I love the ability to schedule posts on Pinterest! I don’t always remember to get on and pin consistently, so Tailwind helps do that for me, once I load up the queue. You can also join Tailwind tribes in your niche and share your content there to be shared by others!
Read Three Simple Ways To Be More Productive
- Gsuite – Gsuite is great for email, docs, google drive, calendar, and more. I even have my gmail set up with my domain, so my email address is myname@mydomain.net. And I love Google drive for creating, storing, and sharing documents. It’s a great way to save things that I want to be able to access from any computer or device. It’s also great for being able to share things between my clients and myself when I am working with them on web design or branding.
- Acuity Scheduling – This is an awesome tool for allowing clients to schedule appointments with me, whether it is a free 15 minute clarity call, or my 45 minute paid brand strategy sessions. I can create my calendar based on my schedule and they can choose a time that works for them. I can also ask them to answer some questions when they book to help me know what they are wanting out of the call, and they pay right when they schedule the appointment. And I love that it emails both them and me a reminder the day before!
- Zoom – Zoom is a fantastic tool for video conferencing. I often use it when I want to “meet” with a client online and want to be able to see each other and record the video content. You can use it with groups of people as well, and can see each person who is part of the meeting. Being on video is not a requirement, though, for someone who would rather not. You can also mute people other than the speaker so you cut down on background noise and other distractions. It is also free for up to 40 minutes of screen time (I believe).
Read How Branding Your Direct Sales Business Can Grow Your Business
- Canva – This is a website that I use pretty much every day! I most definitely could not do business without it, because it is how I create all of my graphics! A lot of people use PicMonkey as well, but I prefer Canva for most things. And I love paying for Canva for Business so that I can save my brand colors and fonts. It makes it super easy and quick to create branded graphics for my business! If you need any assistance learning how to use it, just reach out!
- Trello – Trello is an awesome tool for all kinds of things, to do lists, content management, project management, and more! I use it for all of the above. You can create boards privately and use them yourself, or you can add others and have team boards. In each board you can add lists and cards and move the cards around. In the cards you can add comments, checklists, upload files, colored labels, due dates, etc. It’s pretty fantastic!
- Stock Photos – There are several stock photo sites I like to use, such as Pixabay and Unsplash, but one of my favorites is a monthly subscription one with “girl boss” type photos. Each month I have received 25-50 photos and they are fantastic! Many of the “girl boss business” type photos I use on my blog and social media come from this service. I highly recommend it!
- Siteground Hosting and the Divi Theme – As a web designer, these are two of my favorites! Siteground is my favorite site for hosting your website and Divi is my all-time favorite theme! I love how customizable Divi is. I can create all kinds of very different websites!
Read Six Easy Steps To Start a Blog
What are your favorite business tools to use? Leave a comment and let me know!
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by Melissa | May 15, 2017 | mindset
Why and How To Get Over Comparison Syndrome in Your Business
Do you ever see someone else running their business successfully and think, “Why can’t I do that?” I think we all have this “comparison syndrome” at times. It may seem like running a successful business comes so easy for those people, but it so hard for us. Why is that? Let me tell you a little secret. You can do it, too! Really. You are just seeing the tip of the iceberg when you are looking at someone else’s business. If you were to talk to them and have them answer you honestly, they would probably tell you that it took a ton of time, energy, and effort to get where they are at. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work that you are not seeing. Comparing yourself to someone else is NOT helping your business. It is hurting it.
Comparison holds you back.
When you compare yourself or your business to someone else, chances are you aren’t working your business to the best of your ability because you are too concerned with what someone else is doing. You’re only holding yourself back and not living up to your full potential. As my friend Kelly Paull from Directly Successful would say, “Stay in your own lane!” Don’t worry about what someone else is doing. If you are going to get to where they are at, you are going to have to do the work to get there. So pay attention to your own business and get moving!
Mindset Matters
Your mindset and beliefs are one of the biggest contributing factors to your business! What you believe about yourself makes a big impact on your business. You may not say anything negative to your customers/clients/followers, but if you are comparing yourself to others and doubting yourself, that is going to come across to them negatively. It will impact how you portray yourself to others and how others perceive you.
Come up with a couple positive affirmations and mantras for yourself that you can repeat any time you feel yourself starting to doubt yourself or compare yourself to someone else. Write them down, post them where you can see them every day, and say them often. Remember to think positive!
Want more mindset tips? Follow Inspired Ivy on Facebook!
Comparison robs you of joy
When you are constantly focused on what someone is doing and where you are falling short (whether it is the truth or not), you are not going to truly be happy in your business or life. You are focusing on the negative and missing out on all kinds of positive things happening around you. Chances are, there are lots of amazing things that you are doing or could be doing in your business, but if you are too focused on someone else’s business, you are not seeing those things. Girl, get back in your own lane and start enjoying what is happening in your business!
Focus on improving yourself
Instead of focusing on what someone else is doing in their business, focus on what you are doing and what you can do to improve. Instead of comparing yourself to someone else, compare yourself to where you were yesterday, last week, last month, last year. What have you done to grow your business? Look at how far you have come since you first started! What amazing things are you doing in your business? Write them down! Look at them often and remind yourself how amazing you are. What can you do to make your business better? Make a plan and get moving!
Do you.
Be you. Do you. People want to do business with you because you are you! Stand out from the crowd, brand yourself, and own who you are. As Dr. Seuss said, “Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive that is youer than you.” People will see your authenticity and confidence when you stay true to who you are. You will shine in your business when you stop comparing yourself to others and stay focused on who you are and what you do. You will grow and reach your full potential when you are working your business and not looking around.
Are there social media accounts you need to unfollow? Emails you need to unsubscribe from? Mantras you need to write and post? Whatever you need to do in order to keep the comparison syndrome at bay, do it!
Read 7 Things I Stopped Doing In Order To Grow My Business
Leave a comment and tell me…. do you struggle with comparison syndrome? What have you done to help with the comparison problem? What are you going to start doing today?
by Melissa | Apr 27, 2017 | web design, website
Chandi Nunley, Plunder Designs Supreme Team Leader
When I create a website for someone, I love to show it off! Chandi Nunley, with Plunder Designs, was my very first web design client. She is a super sweet lady with lots of Southern charm! She was a delight to work with and I am certain her customers, hostesses, and team just love her.
Chandi is a 4 Star Peep Leader and stylist with Plunder Design and was one of the first 4 to reach the top rank of the company, doing so in less than a year. She says, “Even as a young kid I remember wanting to own my own business. I would make friendship bracelets in middle school and sell them to my friends. I’d head to school with my Ziploc bag full of string and a paper and pencil for orders and had my own little side hustle at a very young age. I have always loved connecting with people, crafting, jewelry, and making extra cash!” So having a Plunder Design business is the perfect fit!
Now with over 1200 team members, a 6 figure yearly income, and endless friendships made, she works hard to make sure the women who are a part of her team have all the tools, help, and guidance they need to make their Plunder business exactly what they want. She loves “being able to help these ladies reach new goals, promote new ranks, and earn the incomes they have always dreamed.”
Take a look at her site! I love how it turned out. Leopard print is a huge part of her brand (right down to the tattoo on her shoulder), so we included it in her design. Super cute! Take a look!
Chandi Nunley, Supreme Team Bling Website
Want to know how you can create a website for your business? Check out my post Six Easy Steps to Start a Blog! Or check out the web design services I offer. I know how easy it can be to get lost in the virtual sea of consultants. I want to help you grow your business and take it to the next level by creating a website and blog for your business! Not sure if you’re ready? Read my post When should a direct seller start a blog to find out! Not sure why you need a blog as a direct seller? Read my post Five reasons to blog as a direct seller.
I love helping women like you SHINE and stand out from the competition by creating a website that you love and that will attract your perfect customer. Book a discovery call today and see how I can help you!
Stay tuned as I share more posts about other websites I have created and want to show off!
by Melissa | Apr 7, 2017 | Blogging, website
Are you ready to start a blog but are not sure exactly what to do or how to do it? Here are six easy steps to help you get started. (This blog post has some affiliate links of some of my favorite things!)
Get hosting
Hosting is the space where your website is at online. It’s kind of like the land that your house is built on. There are lots of hosting sites, like Go Daddy, Bluehost, etc, but my favorite site is SiteGround. SiteGround has a quality service, affordable prices, excellent customer service, free domain, an easy 1-click WordPress install, 30 day money back guarantee, free SSL certificate, and more! SiteGround is also super affordable, which we all love, right?
There are other free or cheap website options available, such as WordPress.com, Wix, Blogspot, etc, but I always suggest going self-hosted. This way you actually own your content and you’re not relying on someone else. It is also the best for SEO and monetizing your blog if that’s your goal.
To get started on SiteGround, you can click on my link and choose a plan. The StartUp plan is probably good enough for now if you’re only going to have one blog, but you can always go bigger if you choose. You will click on “Get Started” then it will take you to register your domain name.
Choose and register a domain name
Your domain name is your url, or site address. It is what you type in the address bar of your browser to get to your site. You can register a domain name very easily with SiteGround when you are setting up your hosting account.
I would definitely do a search for your domain name and similar ones like it first, to see what else is out there. You don’t want to choose something that will get confused with someone else’s or something that is going to go to a questionable site if someone accidentally types it wrong. Getting a .com url is usually best, but you can always get a .net or something else if you need to, like I did.
On the next page you will enter your account, client, payment, and purchase information. For the data center you will choose which ever one is closest to where most of your readers will be coming from. So since I am in the USA, as are most of my readers, I chose Chicago. You don’t necessarily need the extra services, unless you want to get them. I did not get the Site Scanner because I use a free plugin (WordFence) on my site in place of that.
Install WordPress
Next, you will need to install WordPress on your site. After clicking Pay Now and finishing your purchase, you should get a page that says Proceed to Customer Area. When you click on that, you may get a pop up that asks if you want to install WordPress. Otherwise, you can go to your account, the CPanel, then click on WordPress under the pre-installers category.
After you install WordPress, you can access the back end of your website, which is your WordPress admin dashboard. To access it, you will go to www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin, replacing “yourdomain” with your domain.
Install a theme
After you have installed WordPress and have logged into your dashboard, it is time to choose a theme for your blog. There are free WordPress themes that you can choose from or you can pay for one. While there is nothing really wrong with choosing a free one, at least to start with, they are not as customizable as others. My recommendation, and what I use, is the Divi theme from Elegant Themes. I love how customizable it is and it is pretty easy to use once you get the hang of it. If you choose to use Divi and want some tips for using it, just schedule a call with me and I will go over it with you!
To install Divi, you will go to the Elegant themes website and click on Join to Download up at the top right. Then you will choose either the Yearly Access or Lifetime Access. You will fill out the information and complete your registration. Then you will go to the members area (I get there by clicking on Login after I am already logged in and it takes me there) and click Download on the Divi Theme. You will need to make sure you download it as a zip file.
Then you will go back to the admin dashboard of your site, and go to Appearance and then Themes. From there you can click Add New, then Upload Theme and upload the zip file of the Divi theme. After it installs, you will click Activate Theme to activate it on your site. And now you are ready to move on to the fun part!
Customize and add content to your site.
After you choose and install your theme, you will need to customize it and add your content to it. Customizing your website the way you want it and in a way that reflects your brand can take time to do. If you are up for it and want to do it, go for it! The Elegant Themes website has a blog where they have lots of articles with tips that you can look through for assistance if you need it. But if you want to spend your time running and growing your business and let someone else create your website for you (like me!) then I would love to chat with you about that! It’s what I love to do! 😉
Want to know more about visual branding? Check out this post!
Write your first blog post.
Now you are ready to write and publish your first blog post! Don’t wait too long for this step. If you keep messing around with the customization of your site until it is absolutely perfect, you may never get around to actually blogging! So be sure you start blogging as soon as you can. You can always work on making your site better as you go.
I hope these steps help you get started! Want some more help with your website or branding? I’d love to chat! Schedule your free 15 minute discovery call with me here!
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