Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Don't be a Dinosaur: Navigating Change for Business Success
121 Plays1 year ago
In this episode, we're breaking barriers and navigating change in the business world. Tune in for an inspiring & thought-provoking episode that will reshape your mindset and elevate your game as a business owner. Don't miss out—your next evolution is calling!
We chat:
- Giving yourself permission to evolve and change
- What is "Sunk Cost" and how does it relate to you & your business
- How to notice the signs of evolution & when to pivot
- 3 questions to determine if it’s time to evolve
- Overcoming the fear of the unknown
Recommended
Transcript
Running a Traditional Agency Model
00:00:00
Speaker
There was a time in my life when I ran a more straightforward agency model. I had a PR and branding company, and I had a team who came into our office Monday through Friday. And on paper, it looked really great, right? We were signing big clients like Live Nation and Grandmaster Flash.
00:00:18
Speaker
I remember making good money and the team was solid. I really loved that team. We were creating really beautiful, brilliant ideas and growing brands and working with all these really fun, entertainment-related businesses and individuals. As an overachiever, I found myself often being the first to the office and the last to leave.
00:00:37
Speaker
Really carrying this guilt that I wanted to set a good example and then I didn't want them to think I wasn't working as hard as they were working. It was not the healthiest of mindsets.
Shifting to Contractor-Only Model
00:00:46
Speaker
But what happened was there became a season. I remember sitting down with my business coach back in the day and there was a season where I was like, this is no longer what I envisioned for my life.
00:00:57
Speaker
I started this company because I wanted time freedom and, you know, location flexibility. And I've basically put myself right back into that thing that I hated so much, that nine to five grind. So I burned it to the ground. I let everyone go. I sold all of the office belongings, all of the desks and chairs and rugs and paintings and all of the things and rebuilt the agency under a contractor only model.
00:01:28
Speaker
And I gave myself permission to evolve, to change.
Encouraging Change for Growth
00:01:34
Speaker
This is a big part of what we're talking about today. So if you're sitting there running a business and there's a part of it that just doesn't feel good to you anymore, there's a part of it that feels like, oh, this is exactly what I thought I wasn't putting on my plate. This is exactly what I thought I didn't want. Listen up, okay? Turn up the volume. This episode is for you.
00:01:58
Speaker
Welcome to This or More, a wild entrepreneurial podcast adventure for bold and brave creatives like you. I'm Tiffany Napper, your host, holistic business coach, corporate music industry dropout, a seasoned five-time multi-six figure entrepreneur, yoga instructor, and your go-to gal for heart-to-heart coffee chats.
00:02:18
Speaker
On this show, we're not just here to share stories. We're here to ignite a fire within you and make you realize that the reality you envision is just the tip of the iceberg. You're wildly capable of achieving that reality and so much more. So my friends, grab your cup of inspiration, settle in, and let's dive into another inspiring episode of This or More.
Success with New Business Model
00:02:41
Speaker
So here's the beautiful news. What happened after I burned the boat, after I changed everything and went to a contractor only model, I signed even bigger clients. I started signing multi six figure deals and I went to Bali for a month and I went to Paris for a weekend. I got myself back into a position that felt liberating and free for me.
00:03:04
Speaker
and the business responded accordingly. So today I wanna chat with you about the C word change and how important it is that you are willing to evolve and change your offers and your business as you yourself evolve and change and as the world around us evolves and changes. There's this nasty little phrase that creeps up every time I talk to a business owner who is resistant to change.
00:03:32
Speaker
And that phrase is sunk costs. Sunk costs. If you're not familiar, in the context of economics and business decision-making, it refers to the expenditures that have already been made and cannot be recovered or recouped, right? So for example, perhaps you invested in some copywriting or branding or a sales page.
00:03:53
Speaker
Perhaps you started a podcast and so you invested in a podcast mic, right? Perhaps you invested in an office space like I did. As entrepreneurs, our time is a very real and tangible sunk cost. The amount of time and effort you spent into spreading the word or building a course or whatever it might be.
00:04:13
Speaker
is one of your potential sunk costs. And I understand not wanting to waste investments or
Learning from Sunk Costs
00:04:20
Speaker
time. Trust me, I do. I used to joke that my middle name was efficiency. But here's the thing. You're allowed to collect data. You're allowed to make choices and see how they feel without feeling beholden to them. I know it's wild.
00:04:37
Speaker
With each decision you make, you get to check in and say, does that feel good? Did that feel fun? Was that successful? My definition of success. With each investment of time or money or energy, you get to say, did I learn something here? And is that valuable? Is that more valuable than the sunk costs that are currently holding me back? Is that data valuable for my future decisions, from where I want to go?
00:05:07
Speaker
So don't make decisions based on your past or your sunk costs. Do what's best for you moving forward. If it's weighing you down, let the sunk costs sink. I had a similar sunk cost experience in 2021 when I was coming off of the fourth round of my group coaching program. It was called Let's Up Level Your Business and I ran it four times in a row. So once per quarter for a full year.
00:05:34
Speaker
And I had invested a significant amount of time, money, resources, energy into copy, sales page, email launch sequences, videos that I had recorded for the self-led part of the program, countless sales calls, countless tweaking of the language, narrowing in on my audience, narrowing in on my target woman, right? But at the end of that fourth round,
00:05:59
Speaker
It no longer brought me joy. I didn't feel that euphoric high that I was used to feeling in the previous rounds. I felt a lot of friction. I felt a lot of resistance. And I knew I couldn't in good faith do that again for me or for the women who would potentially say, yes, that didn't feel good to me. That didn't feel right to me. So I had to look at those sunk costs and say, that's OK. It's OK.
00:06:24
Speaker
for me to let those go. It's okay for me to make a different decision. Look at all that data I just collected. Look at all these assets that don't just poof go away. They still live in a Google Drive. I can reinvent them if I want when the time is right. But I decided to burn the boats. I decided to let the sunk cost sink.
00:06:45
Speaker
And I decided to go all in on one-on-one because that's what felt fun and exciting to me. I was ready to give my all to individuals on a one-on-one basis and really create the transformation that I knew was at the heart of my mission and vision.
Refocusing Business Strategy
00:07:00
Speaker
At the heart of my mission and vision was to help a woman take her business with it. We had this brilliant idea behind it and served a brilliant capacity in the world and make more money doing it without having to sacrifice.
00:07:12
Speaker
her health, her well-being, her relationships. I wanted to help that woman get out of the trenches and make a bigger impact and make more money while bringing more joy into her life. That was at the heart of my mission and I knew I could do that through one-on-ones.
00:07:28
Speaker
So I went all in on my one-on-one offers knowing that I could go back to group coaching at any point in time. And if you're listening to this recording at the time of this, it's November, 2023. Here's a little, a little secret for you. I'm bringing group coaching back in 2024. New name, new program, new and improved, all of the things.
00:07:49
Speaker
But it's time. I finally feel ready. I finally feel excited and energized and like I have a clear focus on where that's going to go. And I want to be a little bit like Taylor Swift for a second and drop a little nugget for you to pick up if you want and just say that I hope I've sparked your interest. Okay. Not going to share the name or any of those details just yet, but I hope I've sparked your interest. But guess what happened since I walked away from my sunk costs of that group program in 2021.
00:08:14
Speaker
I've helped countless women make a crap ton more money. I've helped countless women go from being party of one to party of three, four, five, go from making, oh, just shy of six figures to making multi six figures to, you know, working 24 seven or sun up to sun down to suddenly being able to travel the world, take a maternity leave, have a baby,
00:08:41
Speaker
take sunrise yoga, go on coffee dates every morning with our partner, all of these beautiful, meaningful, transformative things because I burned the boats, because I evolved, I allowed myself and my offers to change. That's what I want for you too. Even if maybe what you're doing right now is perfect. I want you to take this little nugget with you into the future that one day, if you get the angling that it's time to evolve, permission granted.
Importance of Change and Evolution
00:09:11
Speaker
Change it up. Shake it up. Do what feels good. Okay. Now I'm going to give you a little equation to a relationship. Let's pretend. Okay. Let's pretend like you're in a toxic relationship. Now, obviously you didn't know that when you got into it, you fell in love. Everything was great. And then all of a sudden you start to see these like classic narcissist red flags. Some gas lighting, perhaps. Right. Some word salad, perhaps.
00:09:39
Speaker
some lack of empathy, perhaps. And you've already invested months into this relationship, right? You've maybe you've even already gone on a trip together. So you've invested a little money into it. Maybe you bought them a present. Maybe you've met their friends and family, right?
00:09:54
Speaker
But you're seeing these red flags and you're no longer feeling fulfilled and you're like, oh gosh, this is not the partner I thought I was getting and this doesn't feel right to me anymore. Are you going to keep dating that person? Are you going to marry that person? Are you going to continue to go on and on and on in this relationship with that person? Just because of the couple of months you've already invested into that relationship, I sure as hell hope the answer is no. I hope you're going to jump ship. John D. Rockefeller said, don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.
00:10:24
Speaker
Okay. So your sunk costs should not influence your current or your future choices. The money or the time you spent on them, it's gone. It can't be reclaimed. We can't go back in time. Okay. But you can learn from it.
00:10:39
Speaker
You can grow from it and you can exit that relationship with an open heart and open mind knowing that you're ready for the perfect partner to come along. So when we're talking about your business, keep in mind that the right time to jump ship isn't when you're going down with the boat. The right time to jump is as soon as you see a better boat.
00:11:02
Speaker
I know this can be hard. I know as an entrepreneur you might be thinking, but maybe next month it's going to all that up, Tiffany. I don't want to have shiny object syndrome, right? I don't want to give up too soon. I hear that a lot and I understand. I've been there, okay? Maybe I need to be patient. Maybe it's a compounding effect. Maybe, you know, it takes time for someone to go from cold to warm to hot lead. So maybe I just haven't given them enough time yet to convert. Maybe I haven't sold it good enough just yet.
00:11:28
Speaker
So let's talk about how to know when it's time to jump ship or evolve or change and how to know when it's time to maybe just keep your head down. Okay. So three essential questions I want you to ask yourself to determine if it's time to evolve or change your offer. Question number one, is my current strategy or direction aligned with my long-term goals?
00:11:53
Speaker
Now, this means you've gotta get clear on those long-term goals, okay? If you don't have clarity on that, we're gonna have to back up a step and get some clarity there. I'll use myself as an example. When I decided that the agency and the way that I was running it was no longer fulfilling for me, my long-term goal, that vision I had for myself, was the time freedom, the travel, the location flexibility. So it was very clear to me that what I was doing was no longer aligned with those goals, right?
00:12:21
Speaker
Even with the group coaching program, I said to you already, I knew what I wanted. I knew what my mission was. And it was to help these women make significant changes in their business, significant changes in their lives. And I wasn't sensing that that was happening in that last round of that group coaching program. I was sensing a lot of resistance from them and from me. So I knew that was a green light, that it was time for me to evolve or change. So that's question number one.
00:12:49
Speaker
Is my current offer strategy direction aligned with my long-term goals? And if it's not, it might be time to change. Question number two, am I continuously learning and adapting to market changes and trends? This one feels very relevant in the face of the last three plus years between COVID, pandemic, lockdown, Zoom, the rise of work from home or
00:13:14
Speaker
virtual co-working opportunities, all of these things, being able to serve people around the globe now because we're all doing it online, Instagram, TikTok, chat, GPT, AI, tech, all of the changes we've witnessed as a society. Don't even get me started, there's more, okay? But if we are looking at our offer and it hasn't evolved and changed accordingly, you're going to find yourself
00:13:43
Speaker
A dinosaur. And guess what happens to dinosaurs? They become extinct. So ask yourself, am I continuously learning and adapting to market changes? Because as we know, people are only going to buy something if it feels relevant and it serves them. Make sure your offer is still doing that. If not, it's time to evolve or change. Question number three.
Passion and Joy in Work
00:14:05
Speaker
Am I passionate about my current business path? Does it bring me joy? Does it make me happy? Does it feel, my favorite word, fun? I can't stress this enough. Your energy is contagious. Your energy will affect your bottom line. If your current offer or strategy or whatever it is no longer brings you joy,
00:14:30
Speaker
It's gonna translate. It's gonna translate, okay? It's going to impact the amount of money you bring in. It's going to impact the amount of impact you can make. So does it feel fun? And if the answer is no, it's time to shake it up a little bit. It's time to have a little bit more fun. I want you to start with those three questions. And if you find yourself saying no to any of them, it's time to start looking for a better boat. Let the sunk costs sink.
00:14:59
Speaker
You are fully capable of reiterating, of pivoting, of changing, of evolving. You're a human being. It's only natural. Okay. So let's go back to that C word change because I understand cognitively.
00:15:15
Speaker
that people have a resistance towards change, okay? Change often involves stepping into the unknown, and as humans, we tend to fear what we don't fully understand, what we don't know, what we haven't yet experienced. The beautiful thing here is, as soon as you experience it, you no longer fear it, okay? So, we get comfortable with the familiar, even if it's not ideal. I'm gonna say that again.
00:15:41
Speaker
We get comfortable with the familiar even when we know it's not ideal. Your only direction, your only thing you need to do next is look yourself in the mirror and say, can I change?
00:15:56
Speaker
Can I look fear in the face? No fear. Hashtag no fear. Can I look fear in the face and make a change? The answer is yes. You've proven that to yourself over and over and over again. So maybe that's a side note conversation. Little exercise for you in your journal today. Write down, where is an example in my life and which I embraced change?
00:16:20
Speaker
What did that look like? What did that involve? And what were the results? What happened? At the end of it all, what happened? Because sometimes we just need to look at the proof in the pudding, right? I've done this before. I can do it again. I've changed before. I can change again. I've evolved already. I can evolve again, okay?
Embracing Risk and Growth
00:16:40
Speaker
So I've personally just never let my comfort zone be my final destination. And I've never been one to settle. It's just not in my bones. It's not in the nature of who I am. Blame the Enneagram for in me. I don't know the individualist. I've just, I've just never been okay with my comfort zone as my final destination. So if I want something and I see that it's a possibility for me to have that something better, I'm going to go for it. I'm not going to settle.
00:17:08
Speaker
This life is too beautiful and too big and too, gosh, just abundant, all of the things. We don't have to settle, okay? And I'm willing to jump ship. And I remember back in the day when people used to ask me, what gave you the courage to start your own business, your PR agency? Because I remember I started that in 2011. I used to say, as kind of a bit of a joke, but I was like, oh, I don't know, I'm like a cat. I know I'll always land on my feet.
00:17:34
Speaker
And in hindsight, as I kind of think back on that response and dissect it a little bit deeper, I can see that the underlying notion there was that I was never afraid of jumping ship. I was never worried that I would drown. I was never worried that I wouldn't find the better boat. I knew I'd always land on my feet.
00:17:57
Speaker
And I share that with you because I'm not special. I'm not unique. I'm not gifted. I wasn't even selected to be in gifted and talented classes when I was in school and it really hurt my feelings. It's possible. I've just done it more so my muscles are a little bit more used to the exercise.
00:18:18
Speaker
I'm not special. If I can do it, you can do it too. I might be quirky, but I'm not special. So anyone, anyone, I believe anyone can cultivate the skills to embrace change, to evolve. Anyone can do it. And here's the thing, you are a human being in an ever changing world.
00:18:42
Speaker
You're growing and learning every single day. So of course your offers will change. Of course your business will change. Of course. Of course. Of course. If it didn't, you could find yourself 10 years down the road running a business that no longer reflects the heart of who you are.
00:19:03
Speaker
And we all know that people buy from people, so if your business is no longer aligned with who you are, guess what's gonna happen? No one's gonna buy from you anymore, right? You're going to see that monetary decline if you no longer align with what your business is and what you're selling and what you believe. You're getting smarter every second of every day. So if you think that your business shouldn't evolve and change and get smarter too, well, I just don't know what to tell you, because that's silly. That's just silly.
00:19:31
Speaker
If you refuse to change and evolve with your business, you're going to start to feel disconnected. These are the signs. You're going to start to feel disconnected. You're going to start to sense resistance, and that resistance is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. Change is a necessary and positive aspect of entrepreneurship and personal growth.
Insights on Change and Improvement
00:19:50
Speaker
I'm going to share with you a quote from Winston Churchill, and he said this, to improve is to change.
00:19:56
Speaker
To be perfect is to change often. I'm going to say that again. To improve is to change. We want to get better, right? To be perfect, who doesn't want to be the best?
00:20:09
Speaker
is to change often. If you're finding it hard to evolve, hard to swallow this change pill, or if you're just not sure if it's time to evolve or how to evolve your current business beyond whatever it is today, it might be time to ask for an outsider's perspective. This is where a mentor or a coach can come in clutch because guess what? I see things you don't.
00:20:34
Speaker
I don't have an emotional connection to your sunk costs. It wasn't my time, my money, my energy. So guess what? I see that bigger, better boat and all I'm there to do is point it out to you and help you plot your path to it.
00:20:47
Speaker
That's what I do as a coach. So if you are struggling to identify the bigger, better boat, it might be time to ask for reinforcement. I'd love, love, love for you, of course, to leave a review of this episode on change and evolving struck a chord with you. But more than that, I would love for you to share a story about how you embraced change and the positive impacts it brought on your business.
00:21:12
Speaker
Did it catapult you to the next level in your income? Did it open new doors for you? Did it reignite a fire in you? Did it bring the joy back into your daily life? Tell me how you've changed and the positive impact it's made. It might even unlock a new idea for you as you sit and reflect on a previous time in which you've changed and evolved, okay? I often find that when we are open and vulnerable,
00:21:38
Speaker
We become the catalyst for someone else's transformation, so let's also pay it forward in the comments down below. Leave me a review, share your story. Until next time, remember that your journey is ever evolving and ever changing, so your business should be too. No matter where you are or what you've accomplished to date, this or more awaits in your future. I'll see you next time.