The Inclusive Networker
The Inclusive Networker is a podcast dedicated to helping small business owners, solopreneurs, and network marketers develop inclusive marketing and sales processes that help them authentically reach diverse audiences and subsequently grow large, diverse networks of customers, business partners, or team members.
The Inclusive Networker
"Be" a Business Owner
In a world where the entrepreneurial playing field is far from level, I bring you vital insights to not just level it but to create your own game. Let's shine a light on the power of a growth mindset for women and minority business owners, challenging the scarcity mentality that often holds us back. Discover how to take charge of your emotions and step into any role needed within your business, ensuring that every decision is rooted in strategy, not sentiment.
This episode is a goldmine for those ready to fortify their business foundations and soar to new heights. Learn how to set clear boundaries and identify the clients who truly align with your vision. Strap in for an episode that promises to be a game-changer in your entrepreneurial journey.
In this episode, you'll learn the following:
1. The importance of adopting an investment mindset and emotional discipline as a business owner.
2. The significance of setting boundaries as a business owner.
3. The significance of strategic planning and implementing professional systems in business.
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Thank you for listening!
~Dr. Raymona
Hey, hey, hey and welcome, welcome.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the Inclusive Networker Podcast. This podcast is the SOS. That's all the inside scoop on systems operations and the support for women and minority-owned businesses. We help small business owners and solo-preneurs become aware of gaps in knowledge or awareness that could be keeping their networks and businesses small. We help women and minority-owned businesses to support women and minority-owned businesses. So if that's you, or you want to authentically support women and minority-owned businesses, you are in the right place. But be warned you will be challenged. But here's the thing you won't be judged. I'm your host, dr Ramona. I'm the owner of the fabulous software as a service that's SaaS agency called I Engage you. I'm a speaker, coach, consultant, public health professor, wife, mom and a fierce challenger of broken systems that keep people from reaching their highest potential. I am so excited to be with you on your journey to becoming an Inclusive Networker. Let's jump right in. Hey, hey, hey and welcome, welcome.
Speaker 1:Welcome to this week's episode of the Inclusive Networker podcast. I'm your host, dr Ramona, and I am doing another solo episode today. I am so excited to come to you with this one because it is really on my heart. I am going to give you five things today that you can use, and so this episode is who wants to be a business owner? And so a lot of times we say that we want to be a business owner, but we don't want to be a business owner, and so being something is very different than just saying that we are something right. And so what happens with a lot of the women and minority business owners that I have seen is that we don't do the things that really give us that personal growth that we need to succeed in business. So you know, I have said so many times that I am all about opening doors for women and minority business owners. I want to be sure that they are getting the things that they need out in the marketplace. I want to look at the issues of inclusion and diversity and equity and inclusion, but if you don't have the things that you need to be an effective business owners, nobody is going to do business with you. You have to have certain things in place, and we're not opening doors if you're not going to be able to walk in them. So this is the thing. So we've got to really start to think about what is it that is our mindset, what is it that is the systems. What is it that is in the way we interact with people, our emotional intelligence, all of those things. What is it that we need to actually become who we need to be to thrive in business? So I'm going to hop into the five things because I think they are so important and we need to really, really hone in on these things.
Speaker 1:So, number one Business owners. When we are being a business owner, business owners don't try to get everything for free. Business is an investment. So if you are trying to get everything for free, never have to invest in your business, complaining about every app that you have to buy, not wanting to get help, not wanting to collaborate with people who you might have to pay to do something. I saw the other day where somebody posted that a Facebook group now says that they need to pay if they want to post or put information in there for other people, and this person said, well, I'm going to leave. They made this whole post about it and it's like it has to be an exchange.
Speaker 1:If you want to have people to pay and buy from you, you also have to invest and invest things in your business, and so often, as business owners, we want to make all the money and then we don't want to invest anything. That is not the way that it works. If you are in business, yes, you might have to pay for advertising. We often look at the idea of organic marketing and how we just do things on Facebook, how we get our message out there without having to pay anything. But you may have to pay something to advertise in a group All of the big marketers. They're doing things like commercials and the things on Facebook where they run Facebook ads or Google ads or Instagram or YouTube. When you see those things, those people are more visible because they are willing to pay, and so maybe you're not at the point where you can run an ad or do anything like that in your business, no worries.
Speaker 1:But there are things that you have to pay for. There are people that you need their assistance and you're going to have to pay them. So that is number one. I am so tired of hearing people say that they don't want to pay $49 for something or $97 for something. That is not how businesses work. If you do not want to invest in your business, don't open one, don't run a business. You have to pay to play. So there are some things that you are going to have to invest in. So that is number one Business owners, when we are being a business owner, we are not always thinking about how we can get something for free, how we can get over.
Speaker 1:Know. That mindset is a poverty mindset and it is time out for it. You are going to have to invest something. So, number two a business owner does not operate on how they feel. They do not operate on just emotion. Now, I always tell people you have got to determine when there is a push and when there is a pause. There are times in your life when we're not trying to just be the strong woman.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is not what I'm talking about. I am talking about the fact that business owners sometimes have to work, wake up early, stay up late. If your team member is not there, you cannot deliver for a customer. You are going to be the one that has to do it sometimes. So a lot of times people think in business, when I open a business, I'm going to be the boss, I get to have my own freedom, I don't have to listen to those other people again. Well, that is not true in real business. In real business, until you get just so big that there are many, many people to take care of things.
Speaker 1:You cannot operate on how you feel. You cannot wake up and say I don't feel like it today, I'm not doing the things that I need to do for my customers. Now, I recently had major surgery. I took time off. This is again not what I am talking about. I am talking about the fact that when we run a business, it is not like, oh, it's not working today. Oh, wow, wow, wow, it's not going to work for me. I just don't want to do it. I just want to lay on the couch. That is a different story than having an emergency in your family, having a surgery, having some type of issue that you need to take a break from. Having people get on your nerves and they just you just don't feel like dealing with them. No, that is not how we run business.
Speaker 1:Okay so, number two when you are being not just saying that you want to be a business owner, but when you are actually being a business owner, you move beyond emotions and you actually just say I need to get this done and you do it because you said you would. Okay, so that is number two a business owner does not operate on feelings. Okay, number three a business owner has boundaries. If you don't have any boundaries about who you work with, about who has access to you, about the different things that you do with your time, then you are not being a business owner. You are doing things, and a lot of times I can tell when you're doing this because your business looks like a hobby. It means that you're spending way more money than you're taking in. You do it sometimes, not all the time. You lost that loving feeling a long time ago and you are no longer being consistent in your business, and so if you don't have boundaries, then you are not being a business owner. So what is boundaries? There are a certain amount of hours and amount of time that your clients can contact you. They cannot contact you all morning, all night, even when you say you're going on vacation. You have to have that boundary.
Speaker 1:The second thing is that you have boundaries about who you work with. If you just say I'm going to work with anybody, regardless of who they are, it doesn't matter, just if they have the money, come what may, you are not being a business owner, because a business owner knows who they really serve. And so if you don't have the capability to serve that particular individual, or they are not best suited to work with you, don't take them on. Don't scrap and say I've got to take everybody that comes near me because I just need every dollar. You are going to be burnt out, frustrated. You will not succeed that way. And so who do you really work with? What are your boundaries? When do people work with you? Who has access to you? You are worthy. You don't have to take every and anything. So that is number three.
Speaker 1:A business owner has boundaries. Number four the business owner does not plan for launches, content, et cetera, day by day. So if you are now, I like to sometimes get up and write emails and write them daily when I'm doing a broadcast or something like that. And so if something happens in my life and I want to write an email about that, then yes, I will do that. But when you want to launch something big in your business and you have not planned for it and the launch is in a week and you wonder why it's not going over, it's because you have not planned. Now, when we think about what's coming up the Super Bowl. So I know I like football and so we're going to use the Super Bowl as an example. The Super Bowl is not planned when they get to the stage of the playoffs. It is planned a year, two, probably three years before, because they need to start advertising, they need to start pulling people in, there's contracts to be signed, there are a lot of things that need to be done, and so in order for that event to really kick off, it has to be planned in advance.
Speaker 1:So here's what's happening with a lot of your businesses. You say I want to do this challenge, I want to do this launch of this product, I want to do whatever it is that's going to make money, and then you don't plan for it. So if you're not advertising at least three to four weeks before and you're not being consistent with that marketing, then you will not have a good launch. So there are things that you have to plan Content. Your launches, the things that you want to do, should be planned out for the year already.
Speaker 1:You're not thinking about things as you go along the way and then figuring it out and figuring out what you need to post on your social media. Thinking about that day by day. That is absolutely not being a business owner. You have to know how the income is coming in, what is the flow of traffic, which means people that you don't know, to people that now kind of like you, to people that are going to get on your email list to eventually convert into those offerings that you have A business owner. When you are being a business owner, you do not plan launches, business events, content day by day. That is absolutely not the way that you are going to have a sustainable business. That is number four. Last but not least, the business owner when you are being not just saying you're going to be a business owner, when you are actually being a business owner.
Speaker 1:A business owner has professional systems in place. If you own a business, you should have some type of what we call a customer relationship management systems, that is, crm, customer relationship management system. That means it is something that sends emails. It is something that sends texts. It is something that keeps up with the individuals who you have been in contact with. Are you just around, forgetting everybody, not doing follow up, wondering who you talked to three weeks ago? No, everybody should be in a CRM. You should be able to tag them, send them a message, know where they are. Have a proposal that automatically comes to them after you talk to them. Have some type of invoice that automatically generates so you don't have to do that every single time. Now, you might have to edit it, you might have to put things into it, but you need a CRM. If you are a business owner, if you want to go to the bank certainly if you want to ever quit your job you need data about your business. You need to be looking at key performance indicators, which means things that really make a difference in your business, not likes on social media. You've got to know what the data is with how people are converting, who is buying your product. All of these types of things are important. This is something that you need a CRM, which is a professional back end of your business.
Speaker 1:Another thing you should have a domain. If you have a Gmail account, a Yahoo account, any kind of account that is just everybody and anybody can use. It doesn't have your name. It doesn't have your business information. I don't care if it's your business. At gmailcom, you do not look like a professional business owner. You are not being Okay, a professional business owner. So if you want to be professional. Do not use Gmail, do not use Yahoo, do not use Hotmail.
Speaker 1:Get a domain that has your name or your business, because people look at you when you send them something from Gmail, from your business, and they say this person is not serious and that is not what you want. What is another reason? Everybody is using that server Any and everybody can get on to a Gmail account. What is the issue with that? A lot of people have bad, bad email behavior. They are spamming, they are doing all kinds of things. So look at your email. Is it going into the junk mail or the spam folder every time? This is why you're saying email marketing doesn't work, because your email always just goes into spam. So you don't want to do that. You need something at yourdomaincom. So I have different domains. I have Dr Ramona at IengageU, which is my SaaS. My software is a system service. That is one of my emails. Another one is drramonaetdrramonacom. There's ramonaetdrramonahlaunchcom. So I use those emails for different things. So when you are sending your information out to professional companies, to professional businesses, to banks, you need your own domain, one so that you look professional, but two so that your emails are actually being delivered, because you are using the same server as millions of other people.
Speaker 1:If you're using something like Gmail or anything like that, there is also something that you need to do with text messaging. So if you text a lot of people, you need to have a phone number. That's a smart number. It is automated inside of a CRM. And so why do we want this? Because there are laws. You can't just text people in bulk anymore. You have to make sure that your business is compliant. So there's things like A2P, all these kinds of terms that you need to know, because this is what we have to do for compliance when we are being a business owner.
Speaker 1:Now, if you are just having a hobby and you want to send out text messages here and there, then fine, but you need a system that is compliant with laws because, again, the laws are strict in this country. You have to be compliant. Your phone number has to be registered as a business with your EIN or your tax identifier. If you have one, it has to have a proper address and they have to know that you are running a business. If you don't have that, then you are not being a business owner. You are just texting from your personal number. That is not the way to go, so you have to be compliant. Also, if you have your text message and your phone number in a CRM, then that message, that phone number, can be in automations. You can text people and it can automatically go to them without you having to do everything. Here you go, you can be in and pasting another message, putting it in the phone, sending it off to somebody. The things you could have automated a long time ago are now something that you're doing manually, wasting time from what you really should be doing in your business. So these are the five things. I'm going to run through them again.
Speaker 1:Number one when you are being a business owner, you have the mindset that you are not going to get everything for free. You are willing to invest and you know that there is an exchange that happens, so you are not expecting that people are just going to give you tons of money when you don't have to give anything to them. That is number one. You don't think that you're getting everything for free. Number two you don't operate on how you feel.
Speaker 1:When you are being a business owner, you are going to make sure that you do things regardless of emotion. You don't get hyped up about everything a customer says. You're calm and you make it happen within proper limits. I'm not saying let anybody abuse you in your business or anything like that, but you all know what I mean. You're not dealing with emotion and saying I'm tired today, I just don't feel like it, I'm not doing it. Make sure that you follow through. That is so, so important. Number three you have boundaries. You know who you work with, who you don't want to work with. You don't let people contact you 24. Seven. That is not being a business owner. Number four you don't plan your launches, your events, day by day. No, if you are being a business owner, you have a plan for your business. Not that that plan never changes it does, obviously but we're not waiting day by day and saying I'll see what happens. I've got plan B If it doesn't happen. That is not being a business owner. Let's just saying that you want to run a business. If you are planning your launches, your content, day by day. Here is number five If you are being a business owner, you have professional services in place. You are not using your Gmail as your professional business email. You have a customer relationship management tool, a CRM. Then you also have things like your phone and your text that are A2P compliant. You are not just sending out messages in bulk from your cell phone and making it look like you're doing real business.
Speaker 1:I hope that you all have enjoyed this week's episode of the Inclusive Networker podcast. Here are five things. I really want you all to concentrate this year on being a business owner and not just saying that you want to do business. Actually get in there and be a business owner, share this with somebody else that you know wants to be a business owner and who needs these tips, and I will see you on the next episode of the Inclusive Networker podcast. And that wraps up another episode of the Inclusive Networker podcast.
Speaker 1:I want to express my sincere gratitude to you, our listeners, for joining us on this journey of learning and growth. Your support and engagement are truly, truly appreciated. But before we go, I have something special for our business owners out there. If you're looking to take your business to new heights, I've created a game changer just for you. Introducing I engage you. It is the SOS, that is, the systems, operations and support for your business. It is the all-in-one platform designed to ignite explosive growth for women and minority-owned businesses.
Speaker 1:Imagine a world where your business runs seamlessly, where overwhelm becomes a thing of the past and you finally have both a thriving business and a life you love. With I Engage you, you can conversationally convert leads from your pocket. You can generate sales with the push of a button and effortlessly scale your online reputation. And here's the best part you can experience the power of I Engage you with a 14 day free trial. It's time to increase your business efficiency, reduce overwhelm and step into a future of success. So head over to IEngageYoucom to start your 14 day free trial today, thank you. Thank you again for being part of the inclusive network community. Until next time, keep networking inclusively and thriving in your journey of success. Take care and we'll catch you in the next episode.