Episode 48: The Myth of the One-Size-Fits-All Golden Ticket

Get ready because everything is about to change. There's a new way of living life and doing business that will blow your mind. This is a podcast all about the timing of life and the timing of success. It's what we call the Right on Time Life. And you are listening to the Right on Time podcast with Amber McHugh. Hello. Hello. Welcome to the Right on Time podcast. I'm your host, Amber McHugh. I am so thrilled to be back with you here today. It's been a minute. It has been a minute and there bet you know a few things going on and today I wanted to catch up and share with you some of the things that I learned about how people are feeling right now. And I wonder if you are feeling this way too and how we're going to move you from where you are to where you want to be. Right on time. Of course, right on time. So, catching up a little bit, I have a fun announcement to share. While you may know me as a business consultant at Amber McHugh and Company, you may not know that I'm also the CEO of another business. My business partner has been on the podcast here with us, so you may recall that. And over the last few years I've been. The last few years, oh my goodness. Over the last 10 or so years I've been building a photography business alongside the business consulting company. The photography business is three boudoir and we do business a little bit differently as you might imagine that our photography company than many other photographers that you may want work with at any given time. We've seen a lot of growth in our photography business over the years and I we shared some of that in the more recent podcast episode with my business partner. We grew from our first city to six cities and then last year in 2020 we expanded into 10 more cities and added another city this year. So we are now operating in 617 cities with an incredible team of more than 40 team members. And so what started as a side hustle, what started as me and my business partner working full time jobs and doing this in between all the things. There were a lot of nights and weekends as we were building that, but we had momentum and we had energy because we are so passionate about what we are doing. Maybe you can relate to that too. That side hustle that grew as a side hustle from 0 to 80k in revenue after 3 years. Still a side hustle, it is now a multi seven figure business. And I'm sharing some of this because a lot of this happened in the last year A lot of this happened in the last year. And I'm also here with some inspiring news. Today we were informed that three Boudoir has received the honor of being listed on the Forbes next 1000. I. I take celebration in stride. I shared with my clients. I recently had conversations with clients who said, you know, I don't really celebrate. I just keep going. I just step in and I keep going. So if that's you, if you are not one to celebrate, I get it. My biggest celebration is, woo, I need a nap now. And I try to get myself a nap after big events and after big moments. But we are celebrating this award from the Forbes Next 1000 because it is an honor and it's Forbes recognizing that despite everything that has happened in the last year, there are still businesses who are showing resilience, that are vibrant, and it's showing that small business is still very much alive. This is a big piece of my mission and of my heart. I am a big fan of small business. I'm actually a big fan of businesses in general that seek to do something different and seek to stand out and seek to make improvements, to create something, something better. And despite everything that's been going on in the last year, we've grown our photography business under wild conditions. And I look at it a little bit differently than my online consulting business because we can continue to do online business anywhere. This is one of those perks. If you are also running an online business, we can do this anywhere. We can do this in many different ways. But our photography business, we certainly had to meet people in person. So we were shut down for four months. And still we used that time in between to make a decision about how we were going to grow and how we were going to come out of that shutdown stronger. It was a little bit scary. We were taking some risks every day. We were moving through something to make that happen. And so I'm so grateful that Forbes has recognized us and other small businesses. You should really check this out. The Forbes Next 1000 list, they are going to be accepting additional nominations and looking at other people to include in the Forbes next 1000. So if this is you, if this sounds like you, if you are resilient, if you're doing something different, if you've got vibrancy, if you can show that this dream of small business is very much still alive, you may also want to check this out because like I said, they're going to be opening for more nominations and I would love to celebrate your success as well. In addition to Being thrilled about this award and what it means for our company that they're recognizing the success of our team. I'm equally excited about this newfound inspiration that it has given me. And for stepping out and recognizing small business being alive, I want to support you as a small business owner, remind you that we are in this together. In fact, as a part of this, a few days ago, I sent out a survey to our community to check in. How are you doing? What do you need right now? What are you over? What do you not want to hear about anymore? And I wanted to see where modern CEOs and entrepreneurs are. What are you feeling? What do you need? And I was blown away by the responses. They came in fast and they came in clear. The same themes came up over and over again. And I could relate to this. I could very much relate to this. The overarching theme in the feedback that we received is that we are tired. It's been a long year. On top of the energy and the effort that we put into our growing our businesses and serving our communities, there's been a lot going on. We are feeling stuck. We're feeling stuck. This feeling of, I'm hearing all this advice. I. I'm hearing all of this feedback, but what's really going to get me there, right? I'm still stuck in the muck. We want to reach that next stage in our business. We want to reach that next stage in our business was another overarching theme. And another theme building from this is you want a business that feels solid. That next stage, you want it to feel solid, strong, like we're actually growing, we're actually getting ahead. We're. We're moving the needle forward on where we want to be closer to our goals. And the other key theme that we realized is that we are tired of hearing the same advice over and over again with different wrapping paper, same thing over and over. And there are some things that we can read from this, right? And there are some things that we know to be true, like business is business. And there are some things that don't change. For example, in the last year, I've talked to several business owners, hundreds of business owners, more than several. And one of the key themes that I found in those businesses who have been sustaining over the last year is that they have a strong foundation. We've got. We understand business. We understand the elements of business. We need to get in place so that we can continue to grow no matter what the circumstances. So you've been searching for that one thing that will just Bring it all together. There's so many opportunities for education and there are so many opportunities for different elements of training, thinking. If I just do this one thing, everything will change. And so often what I find in business is it's not just one thing. It is the things coming together. It's understanding the elements of business. So you can almost predict that if I do this, this is what may happen. If I do this, this is what may happen. Here's the impact that these behaviors that and these actions that I take in my business will have on the other parts of business and that will have on my life. So it's really looking at how all of these things come together versus looking at any one thing as the end all, be all, fix that will change everything. If I just do this one thing, everything will be easy again. In fact, I have been on operation streamline since December 2020. I made it through the year, but I realized when I got to the year and I had my year end of reflection, I was also tired. This is why I'm using the words we. And I went on four months with my team of operations. Streamline. How are we going to streamline things? How are we going to shift things so that we can maintain streamlined and after a year of working hard, right, working hard with our clients to help them navigate 2020 and after a year of working hard in the photography business to identify how we're going to use this opportunity to grow. After four months of shutdown, I realized I also need to streamline because I could keep going at a very aggressive pace. That's not why I started my business. That's not why I want to be in this game. I am not going to build, right, a billion dollar platform, right. I am going for something else and maybe you are going for that and that's okay. Fundamental foundational elements that you need in your business still apply. No matter what level of growth that we're going for, the faster we get attuned to what are those foundational elements. My looking at my business holistically, the faster that you will build growth, the faster that you will have ease. The faster you will understand when I do this in my business, here's what the impact is. So that foundation is key and seeing, okay, if I move these parts, this is what the impact is going to be. If I shift this, this is where it could could impact. So we've been doing those assessments for the last 4/almost 5 now months looking at where do we need to streamline, what do we want to be Doing and how can we better serve our community as we shift yet again out of the year? That was 2020, and I'm not going to lie, at the beginning of this year was like, oh boy, this is still feeling a lot like 2020. Because we know the new year doesn't mean everything changes. You can decide to have a fresh start whenever you want. I was like, you bring on that fresh start, baby. I need for things to feel different, but to for things to feel different, for things to be different. I had to think about things differently in my business and in the way that I was showing up in my life. So I had to do a lot of work with my team, within myself, even conversations with my family, my business partner, and the photography side. Right. I need to make some shifts. So we're in those conversations together. Yes, we are. And so the dream is with just one simple trick, with one simple thing, everything will change. If I make this one change, I'll hit those financial goals instead of hovering around the same number every year. Right. I'll finally get out from under my business and stop doing absolutely everything. Is your name in all of the roles in your. In your org chart right now? And if you don't have an org chart, stay tuned. This is something we're going to be talking about in the very near future to help you do an assessment of where you may need to be spending your time to help you get ahead. You might have a business with structure that feels real versus the chaos you might be feeling in your business right now if you just do this one thing. And as you may have noticed from what you've experienced in your business and from what I shared about my business, it's not. Not just one thing, it's not quite that clear cut. Because building a business isn't as straightforward as we often imagine. And I know how frustrating that could be. Right? We can clear the clutter. We can make things more streamlined by focusing on one thing at a time. However, you will be able to elevate in your role as business owner again, if you are able to have that holistic perspective. This is not as comp. This is not a simple topic I'm talking through right now. This is complex. There are layers to this. So if you're thinking, oh, what, what do I need to do? I haven't shared what you need to do yet. I am laying a foundation for how we need to start showing up differently in our business as business owners, as modern CEOs who are doing business different. We're doing business from everywhere. We are setting the rules in a way that operates and aligns with our values, our morals, our ethics, how we want to be in our life with our friends, with our family, what causes we want to support. All of these things are intertwined and it can get a little bit confusing because everyone's got a system. This system will be the answer. And in reality, business is not one size fits all. There's no single best answer that someone will tee up for you on how to make your business successful. And I believe this is something that is missing in the market as a whole. What's missing is how we connect and how we tap in as leaders on how to run a business. There's a huge reason why a lot of businesses don't last. We don't know how to run businesses. How are we supposed to run a business if we've never ran a business before and we're not learning how to run a business and then applying those principles every single day? Every single day, no matter what we're feeling. When you know how to run your business well, you can move things around in a way that helps you get ahead. Even when you wake up having raging anxiety like I did today, I don't experience that very often. And when I do, I'm like, oh my gosh, what is happening? What am I going to do? What can I move? What are my priorities? What will impact the various elements in my business so that I can address and engage and process? Yes, the anxiety. Just a couple times a year right now. I've been experiencing this even in the last year, right? A couple of times in the last year. Sometimes, sometimes it's weather, sometimes there's something on my mind. Sometimes I'm feeling behind. But I can look at the business overall. I can tap into how I am leading and how I will lead and identify how I am going to shift from anxiety and how I am going to shift into focusing on the right things to move this day forward and to move my business forward. There are so many tips and tricks out there. There are so many strategies that help you identify what needs to change in this one area of your business. But it's time as a business owner and a modern CEO, we start looking at the business as a whole. Everyone has unique strategies and methods to share. And yes, many of them work. I am here to tell you I've tried many unique methods, strategies that I've learned from mentors over the last 10 plus years of running my two businesses. And yes, many of them work. But the reality is we need to look at our business as a whole. There are many different things that we need to be doing as business owners, entrepreneurs, leaders of businesses, right? That will help you understand what you actually need to do to grow. When you hit every inflection point in every pivot point in your business, when you look at your business as a whole, you'll be able to identify, is that method, strategy, system the right one for me? And you'll be able to understand how it weaves into your business strategy and your growth goals. I personally, as I look at my renewed focus and I look and I shift and do a lot of reflection based on what has happened in the last year, where we've been, where we have arrived and where we are still going. Because this journey is not over. But I don't want to teach you exactly what works. I don't want to say, oh, this is it. This is the golden ticket, baby. No, I want to teach you how to run a business that lasts. A business that endures despite all of the things that are happening out there, right? AKA life. Life is going to happen. Are we designing in our businesses in a way that can sustain no matter what's happening out there in life? It's not going to be about being. Running a successful business isn't about being like me. It's not about being like. Insert name of mentor, coach, expert that we have learned from over the years because we aren't like them. I'm not like you, you're not like me. We have unique differences that we bring to play and that is what sets your business apart. The differences make us better. The differences help people understand our unique value. So what I want to work with and collaborate with you on is how are you unique? What is that uniqueness that you are bringing to your model, to your business? And when you look at that, what do you need to do differently as you look at the running of the business activities, to differentiate, to get ahead, to personalize your growth plan. Because I said it earlier in the episode, I'm saying it again, you are not one size fits all when it comes to running this business. Growing and running a business is not one size fits all. It doesn't work that way. Right? And this is where we have to reflect. We have to process. We learn how to run a business. We learn the elements of a business. We pull in unique strategies and we make them our own. We make them our own. So let's start there. Let's start there. What is it that you want to create in your business? How do you want it to feel? How do you want it to work? Maybe you want a team. Maybe everybody's been telling you solopreneur is the way to go, you don't want a team. Or maybe everybody is telling you you gotta have a team to execute on these things. I'm a big fan of team, but there is a right time and a right place for you to bring on your team based on where you are in business. This is about personalization. This is about how you want to operate your business and how you want to serve your clients in a unique and personalized way. And if you think I can't personalize things, I'm going for scale. That is wrong. The biggest businesses are personalizing in unbelievable ways because this is where we are as a market, this is where we are as a buying society, as consumers. This is where we are. And this is what we need right now as business owners has to be personalized for ourselves, for our customers, no matter what stage of business we are at. And I mentioned big businesses are absolutely personalizing at scale. And small businesses, small business owners, we have an opportunity to do things different and to personalize and leverage our nimbleness, leverage that small business strength, that we can adapt and we can get ahead and we can personalize solutions for our clients based on what is needed right now, right on time. So with this, this is a little bit of a catch up, this is a little bit of a level setting to start to wrap our minds around how you may want to start thinking about your business holistically, how you may want to start thinking about your business differently so that you can stand out in the market and so that you can build the lifestyle that you wanted when you started this thing. It's not going to come from cookie cutter strategies. So what do you want? How do you want it to feel? How do you want it to work? How do you want your clients to feel? How do you want to show up for them? What results do you want them to achieve? Because you can solve that problem that they've been speaking about. Over the next few weeks, I'll be talking about many more of the reasons that we may be feeling stuck and why. Some of the advice on running our business may be it may be time to change and shift how we are receiving that advice and how we're putting that advice and guidance into our our own business model. And we're going to talk about some of the things around running a business that you may not have heard before. And it's time for some change. It's time for some personalization and it's time to make it real for you. If you are game for continuing this conversation, definitely like and subscribe Follow this podcast I would love a review from you if any of this was resonating or if you felt some of the things that people have shared with us in the survey that we did. In addition, you are invited to join us in our Facebook group over@ambermchugh.com group. It will take you right there. This is where we are having ongoing conversations about your business goals, your business strategies, and we would love to continue the dialogue and say support you as you bring your business dreams and your goals to life. Remember, it is all right on time and that is not an excuse for taking our time to get where we want to go. Right on time is about listening to the signs, listening to the next steps that you are hearing and wondering if you should pursue and taking taking the plunge. And sometimes it does indeed feel like a plunge because you are brilliant. You have a vision and let's bring that vision to life every step of the way. Right on time Stepping into action More and more to talk about this, more to talk about your action steps, meet us@ambermcugh.com group remember, being right on time does not mean we sit back and wait for solutions to come to us. It does not mean that we sit back and wait to take action. Being right on time is exactly the opposite. When a solution is presented to you because you are asking good questions, because you are open to getting answers. That is exactly when we step forward and we take action. Sometimes the taking action is simply getting in community and asking questions. Sometimes the taking action is implementing that strategy that you've learned that weaves into your overall business, business plan and business structure. Right on time is about listening to the nudges that you are hearing, the nudges that you have to do something different and stepping forward into action. Because without that we're gonna keep running in circles and I don't want that for you. So let's go and get it. You're right. Right on time.