"So How's your little business going?"

Hello, I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset coach, coming to you this evening. It is the 21st of December. I intended to go live every single day this month. Have missed a few days. But I'm sticking with it, people, because sometimes things don't go to plan and you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Okay? If you intended to do something, you stick with it. So here I am today. I want to talk about something that's very topical. Topical to this time of year, because we are spending a ton of time with family members, and if we are starting a business, hello, welcome. We're starting a business. They want to know about it because they love us and they want to be supportive. But sometimes the way they ask us about our businesses can feel really triggering, patronizing, kind of condescending, a little snarky. And this may be on purpose. I don't know your family, but it also might not be intentional. So I want to talk to you about how you can answer those questions without flat out lying. Because let's be real, your business is brand new. It's probably not a major success yet. And that is a. Okay, that is fine. I'm also going to give you some tips. If you have family members in your life who are starting businesses, how can you ask them questions about what they're up to in a way that'll make them feel supported and not put on the spot? Okay, so just a little housekeeping. I am going live to the Facebooks, to LinkedIn, to YouTube, to Twitter, and to Instagram. So again, I'm doing that thing where I balance my phone up against my computer. So if I'm saying hi to someone, you're like, I don't see them in the chat. It's because they're on Instagram or it's because they're on LinkedIn. Anyway, if you have any questions about this or you have something to add to the conversation, I love for this to be interactive. Please put any of your thoughts in the chat. And if I don't call you out and thank you for your contribution, it is not because I'm mad at you. It is just sometimes the technology, especially through Streamyard, just doesn't show me everything. Okay. Okay, so let's set the stage. All right, so it is a holiday party. Maybe it's Christmas Eve. Maybe you're getting together for Hanukkah or any other family gathering that happens around this time. And you get cornered by, let's say, an elderly aunt who doesn't understand the Internet, who doesn't understand your business and kind of in her head thinks you're just kind of doing like a side hustle kind of thing. She comes up to you and she's like, oh, how's your little business going? Oh, hold on, Justin. Liams, welcome. When someone I know is starting a side hustle, I ask them, how can I help? No strings attached and who should I send your way? Yes, we're going to get there. And Justin, that, like, you are the friend of all entrepreneurs everywhere. That's exactly what we need to hear. Love that. So the tendency when aunt Mildred. Let's just call her that, that sounds like such an old world name. And if your name is Mildred, I am not making fun of you. I apologize, but we're just using that. So aunt Mildred comes up and she's like, oh, dear, how's your little business going? And in your mind you're just like, fuck, like, it's not going well. Like, I started it six months ago and I have three clients. Two of them are paying me nothing because I panicked and let them negotiate me down. I'm not making a ton of money from it. It's a lot of work. I'm posting on social media all the time. It just like, I feel like the momentum is building, building, building. But I just like, when's it going to happen for me? And in that moment, it's so natural to feel like you have to justify how much money you're making. You have to justify, like, what you're working on. You have to. Or you have to just straight out lie through your teeth and tell aunt Mildred, oh, it's going amazing. Really excited. The problem with telling aunt Mildred that it's going amazing is she's going to want to know how it's going. Amazing. She's going to want to know, oh, tell me about it. And then you're left with, okay, well, how do I back up? It's going amazing. So here's what you say instead. You say, oh, my gosh. You know, I am really happy I made this decision because you are. Okay, so you're. You're making them aware that you're not questioning yourself even if you are questioning yourself. I'm really happy I made this decision. It's a lot of work. But here's what I'm really excited to be rolling out. Here's what I'm really excited that's coming up. Here's what I'm working on right now that I'm super excited for. Because this gives them a direction to ask questions. So say you are a consultant that works with contractors, all right? And you're, you're building out like a group program to teach them how to be in business. You don't have anyone signed up for it yet, and maybe you have some one on one clients that you're supporting that aren't paying you enough to really be doing any of the work instead of having to justify, like, how great your business is going when it's not. You get to inform her about this new program or this new offering that you've put together and why you're really excited for it and who it's designed for. Right. Because Aunt Mildred is just looking for information so that she can talk about you and, and family. Most family likes to talk about their family members in a good light. And if she can, you know, sit around the canasta table, I'm not. I think that's. I think canasta's played at a table. I don't know. It sounds like something that old people do and brag to her friends that, oh, you know, my nephew just started this business and he's launching this whole program that supports people in who are contractors that they can get up and running and make money. And it's a whole group program and it's. He sounds really excited for it. That's what she wants. She just wants something that she can latch onto and get some information about. All right? So I want you to remember this. No one, not a soul, besides your accountant and anyone who's a partner in your business has the right to ask for your balance sheet. Okay? Not a soul has a right to look at your numbers. And you do not have to show them to anyone. You don't have to talk about them to anyone. You get to be proud of the work that you're doing. And. Hi, David, welcome. You get to be proud of the work that you're doing without justifying it. Because here's the thing, especially when you're in early phases of your business, there's. There's no results to point to, to say, oh, my God, it's going amazing. Yet. Keyword. Yet. Yet. Okay. And also, if you're in my world, just chances are you're an empath. You're sensitive, and lying just does not sit well with you. And you do not want to lie. You don't have to. You get to be genuine about how excited you are for whatever program you're rolling out, whatever you're currently working on. And that tells People so much more than what your bottom line is, Justin. Katie, I wish that every single first time Entrepreneur watched you, your 5 is 100% what they need to wake up the next day and keep going. Oh, my God, Justin, that's the best compliment. Thank so much. I hope all entrepreneurs tune into me every day, too. That would be amazing for my business. Now, I want to jump to the other side of this. If you have a family member, a friend, someone that you're going to be around this holiday season and they're starting a business, here are some things that you can do to amplify what they're up to. You can ask them what their goals are for 2023. Like, what are your business goals? What are you really excited for? Who? And Justin, you said it perfectly. Who can I introduce to you? Who can I send your way? Are there any business partnerships you're looking to make in the community this year? And is there any way that I can help? Only. Only if you have the bandwidth to help. We're not offering to help and then leaving people flat. Right. But really, you want to find, like, the exciting, happy thing that's happening for them in their business. And then if you see them getting cornered by not Mildred, who's jumping in and trying to get some details, you get to jump in and be like, oh, my God, did you hear Jeremy talk about the fact that he's rolling out this program this year? How incredible is that, Mildred? Yeah. Like, I know three people that I want to introduce to him. Do you. Do you know anyone, any of your canasta lady friends, do they have any sons or daughters who are in the construction business who could be introduced? You get to be that little seed planter at the family or friend gathering. And it is so appreciated. It is so appreciated, I can tell you. And really also, if you see someone who is an entrepreneur who you care about and they're getting cornered by someone who isn't just unknowingly being snarky and belittling, then it is your job to jump in and be like, hey, we need you in the kitchen. We need you in the kitchen. The thing, like, we don't. No one knows how to do this. We need you in the kitchen. Even if they have nothing to do with what's happening in the kitchen, you get them out of there. Hey, there's something wrong with my car. Do you mind coming out and just checking it for a second? Justin? Liam's LinkedIn is being glitchy. Only people who've been in the trenches can empathize with this burden during the holidays. Yeah. You know it. And here's the thing. Like, if. If you have entrepreneurs in your family and you didn't know how to do this, or maybe you were asking those questions that maybe put them on the defense and made them feel like they had to justify things to you, I want you to take a deep breath and I want you to forgive yourself. Okay? It's okay. You didn't know any better. Now you know better. Okay? So you're gonna do better. You're gonna be a better support system to them through this holiday time. And if you ever start a business yourself and you find yourself in this position now, you know how to answer these questions. If you find this helpful or if you know someone in your life who could use this advice, then please feel free to share it with them or tag them in the comments here so that they can watching this from Instagram. I will be saving this to my feed, so you should be able to do it that way. I'm going to keep it short tonight because I have my trauma of money course tonight, and I need to kind of get in the mindset for that. And I hope this has been super useful for you all. If you have any questions about how to start your business, how to scale your business, how to set goals for the new year, I want to hear them. Okay. Because my goal is to go live every single day of this month. I need content guys. I need content ideas. I'm not. I'm not above crowdsourcing it. All right? So any questions you have, please send them through. Just DM them to me. Want to send a big thank you to Justin Liams, and I hope I'm pronouncing your last name correctly. Oh, my God, you're so sweet. Yes. Thank you so much for all of your support. And to the Gazelle and to Jonathan Morgan and to DI Klein on Instagram. Thank you for joining. Guys, I'm gonna be going live with you again tomorrow. Friday. We have a storm coming, and I don't know if you're familiar with Cape Cod. The power goes out a lot when there are storms because we're kind of just out there in the ocean. So, you know, your guess is as good as mine if we're gonna have power and Internet. So stay tuned. Maybe I'll go live then. Maybe I won't. Anyway, I will leave you to your night and Hi, Michael Gale. Thank you for joining and listening. Have an amazing night, everyone. I'm Katie McManus, business strategist and money mindset. Coach and I will be live with you again tomorrow. Bye. It's like the awkward bit where I have to end the broadcast.