Welcome to The Rachel Kurzyp Show.

Today I want to share with you a little bit more about my own business journey.

Many of you may not know this but when I first started my business nearly 11 years ago now, I didn’t have any content strategy or business plan.

I was legit winging it. And I did this for the first 3-4 years. I had built what I like to call a bridging job where I was serving clients in the same capacity as I would in my 9-5 but now I was a contractor and worked project to project. 

So at the time most of my clients were coming through referrals, word-of-mouth and my visibility strategy – it was loosely a strategy centred around me speaking at industry events and being published in industry publications. However, I didn’t always pitch them. Most were offered to me. 

And this worked really well for me and is a pathway I support and recommend my clients take. However, in 2019 when I wanted to transition my business to online and support small businesses through online courses and programs, I realised pretty quickly that I needed a content strategy.

1. I didn’t know any of my dream clients and I wasn’t hanging out where they were at. I knew they were on Instagram but I was resisting the platform hard because I didn’t want to show my face. It felt like a huge thing at the time, now I show up with unwashed hair in my PJs and teach.
2. Because I hadn’t had any interactions with my dream clients, I had no idea what they needed, if they even needed my support and how to capture their interest. So the services I was offering at the time – website copy and CV writing really didn’t hit the mark and got little interest.
3. No one knew who I was! And I definitely wasn’t seen as an expert in the online space despite my businesses success in the offline world. I didn’t even know what to put in my IG bio. I was like, do I call myself a copywriter or a marketing consultant? I had never known what to call myself in the offline business world either. Titles were the least of my concern.
4. I was a pro at briefs and pitches but when it came to writing online content for my business, I had no idea. I’d either develop the worst creative block and end up writing a post about my morning coffee OR I’d share a personal experience and spend the rest of the day imagining all the terrible things people were saying about me.

So you know what I did? Nothing really. 

I had a couple of ideas but I didn’t even write them down. I spent most of the day engaging with other people’s content but not creating my own and I Googled a lot of questions but didn’t apply what I learned to my business. I was getting some engagement from my peers and a few clients here and there but nothing consistently and no predictable income. 

It wasn’t until a couple of my corporate projects finished up that I started to think, oh shit I better make this online business thing happen.

I still remember the morning that everything came together for me. I was telling my partner that things weren’t progressing like I thought they should. And he replied, “what would you do if you were the client.” 

I realised that I hadn’t been treating my online business like a business, I had been treating it like a job. I was waiting to be given the answers and a direction to follow. Thinking back now, it seems so obvious but I was truly standing in my own way.  And there I was telling corporates and small businesses to have a content plan but I didn’t have one for myself.

I’m sharing this with you because I totally understand where you’re at right now. You know you need a content plan if you’re ever going to attract your dream clients and gain financial security BUT something is stopping you.

Maybe it’s that you’re afraid to commit to your business for the long-term because you’re not convinced you can make it work or have the success you desire. If this is you, know that you are worthy right now and don’t need to prove anything and you already have everything you need to make it work.

Or maybe you’re afraid to show who you really are because you’ve been conditioned to believe you need to act, be or look a certain way to be seen as professional. If this is you, know that you get to define what being professional looks like in your business. And if you’re a kind, accepting and compassionate person, then you’re a professional.

Or maybe you’ve been taught that selling, sales and money is gross and spammy and only works if you pressure someone into saying yes. If this is you, know that selling is about being of service to your clients and community. And when you’ve built a relationship with them, you won’t have to push. In fact, it will feel like a joyful and easeful conversation. 

When I dug deeper into why I wasn’t taking action, I realized that all three of the reasons I just mentioned were stopping me from doing what I knew I needed to do. And it wasn’t until I addressed this and then removed myself from the equation that I was able to do what was best for my business. And that was creating a content plan. 

This meant getting my business goals out of my head and onto paper. Speaking with my community so I could understand where they were at. Creating services that supported my dream clients to get what they ultimately want. Creating content that lets everyone know who I am and how I help. And finally embracing all of me so I could show up online as I am -imperfections and all.

Now 10 years in, I’m working with my dream clients, my client roster is booked months in advance, I know what content I’m sharing each day thanks to my 90-day content plan, and people are sharing, liking and commenting on my content on the daily. It still amazes me that I can share one Instagram post and receive five sales enquiries and email newsletter signups in the double digits.

But this only became possible because I made time to get clear on what I wanted my brand to stand for, learned what content resonated with my dream clients, and embraced my natural authority and expertise.

Whether your biggest struggle right now is showing up, knowing what content your clients are craving, finding time to create content, or not feeling comfortable to invite clients to work with you, you need a content plan.

You can’t run a successful online business without it. It acts as a compass and blueprint for everything you do. 

For example, not sure if you should share your opinions on getting vaccinated? Creating your brand values is part of your content plan and they will help you make this decision.

Can’t decide if you should ask clients to complete an application form or DM you if they are enquiring about your services? Understanding your sales journey is part of your content plan because your plan supports your business goals. 

Resistant to sharing information about your private life? Knowing what content you need to share to build the know, like and trust factor is a core part of your content plan because you only need to share content that is relevant to your community.

So if you’re in your business for the long haul and have been holding off on creating a content plan, then I’d really encourage you to create one whether it’s alongside me in the Create Content with Confidence or on your own.

Of course, I’d love to support you but it’s more important to me that you have one, use it, and gain the financial security you want in your business.

If you want my step-by-step process for showing up with confidence, posting scroll-stopping content consistently and building a memorable brand online then I’d love to support you inside Create Content with Confidence. 

Having a content plan you’ll actually use is what’s going to get your client roster filled months in advance. 

Doors close tomorrow and this is your last chance to do the course. I’m not saying this as a marketing tactic. It’s the truth. I’ve been making some changes behind the scenes and I’ve decided that I won’t be running the course again in the foreseeable future.

So if you’ve been telling yourself that you’ll do the course later, don’t wait. Head to rachelkurzyp.com.au/ccwc to learn more and enrol.

Thanks so much for tuning into today’s episode.

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