#006 How I Reached 6 Figures In Under One Year

Hi, it's Cheryl. So I am— yeah, just got to turn off the TV and it's actually really— it's almost eerily quiet in here right now. So welcome to Personal Brand Breakthrough. We're going to get started. I'm just going to give it about a minute. I think I've jumped on just a tad early and we'll wait for some people to come on. Let me just check, make sure I've got everything kind of set up and I'm really excited that you're here today because I I really want this to be an open Q&A, an opportunity for you to be able to ask me questions. If you are building a business and you're frustrated with some of the steps, I'm actually going to share with you some of the steps that I have gone through myself in the process of creating this business, this video marketing business that I've done, and I think there's going to be some lessons that you can learn as a result as well. So let's get started. Alright, so what I really wanted to do was, and what I'm going to do is actually just take a look. I'm going to bring my laptop a little bit closer to my lap here so that I can check when you are asking questions, if you have any questions. And if you don't, that's okay, you can just watch. But I'm going to share with you also some, some 3 essential, well, 3 essential things that I have done in my business that have helped me to reach 6 figures in under a year. So let me just go in and make sure that this is all working. I'm using a lav mic today, so I just want to make sure that everything technically is good before we kind of get started. Let me just go in here and take a look, take a sip of my water. Maybe you guys want to grab a tea or coffee as well and kind of settle in. All right, so there I am. Mohammed, hi, how are you? Okay, great. So if you have any questions, please just write them in the comments. I can see them now, and I'll be checking this occasionally as we go through the conversation today so that I can help you. That's the whole point. This is Personal Brand Breakthrough, and you may be saying to yourself, okay, so what, you know, what's the connection to personal brand? Building a personal brand is actually the foundation of being able to really build a business that you love. And in my case, it's been video marketing and now business coaching as well. But also, you know, like if you're in network marketing as an example, it's a really good example. Network marketing, there are a lot of consultants out there in whatever business that you're in. How do you differentiate yourself amongst all of the other thousands of people who are doing exactly what you're doing? You have to build your personal brand. You've got to do some steps which I'm going to get to in the show today some steps in order to build your brand so that you can have that successful business. I'm thinking too, you know, real estate professionals is a good example because real estate professionals, there are lots of them out there. You have to— hi Carol, ah, nice to see you, how are you? Darren's here too, great. My day is going great so far, thank you. That there are certain steps that you have to take in order to build your brand so that people know, like, and trust you. That's the foundation. You really— I mean, you can sell— yeah, you can definitely sell some products here and there, but I'm talking about a business that you love, something that you can be proud of. It's not just going, you know, not trying to do like a get-rich-quick thing on the internet. That's not really what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is for purpose-driven entrepreneurs, people who care about other people, want to build a business that they can be proud of, and that sustains their family, allows them to travel if they want to and have financial freedom and all of the benefits that come from, you know, having a successful business. Now for me, what I really wanted was to be able to work from home. And I'm fortunate now to be able to do that, but that wasn't always the case. So we're gonna get into that in a bit. So if you have questions, please feel free to comment. And also, could you please right now share this out? So if you are, again, able to share this out with your network on Facebook, that would be fantastic. I do broadcast the show live on Facebook, and then later in the day what I do is I also publish it to my YouTube channel. So you can also go there and subscribe to my YouTube channel and hit the little bell notification so that you're notified when I do another episode, or any video for that matter. Could be Personal Brand Breakthrough or any video that I produce, and you'll get a notification. So appreciate that if you will share this out to your network. And for those of you who are new to me, my name is Sheryl Plouffe. I'm a video marketing strategist and I used to be a national broadcaster. So I used to go, you know, on TV in front of thousands, if not over time really millions of people to deliver news and information. And for a short time, I was also the news manager at my previous employment. So I have a long history of broadcasting. And so when I first started out— let me just go back here, just wanna make sure I'm not missing any questions. Okay, good. When I was starting out in what I'm doing now, video marketing— so let me just backtrack a little bit and give you a bit of the backstory of how this came to be, just so that it all kind of makes sense. I was a successful broadcaster. I had moved up the ranks of my company to become the news manager of my department. I did that for 3 years, and while difficult, and while I was attached to my phone 24/7, and it was really, you know, the news never stops, as you always hear, right? I was working a lot. I was pretty stressed out. When I look back on it now, I realize that I was, you know, doing a lot more than I was getting paid for, frankly. But it was a great job in the sense that it was very fulfilling from certain aspects. Such as coaching, such as, you know, mentoring, such as, you know, helping lead the team. Those were the aspects of it that I really, really enjoyed. Well, that job actually at one point, and this would have been in 2013, came to an end. They eliminated that position. So it was like, ah, crap, I've got a, you know, a choice. But I went back to being on TV, which is what I had been doing previously, which is fine except accept that, in that 3-year period where I was in boardrooms all the time and in my office, things had changed radically. And so my experience going back onto TV after that stint rather than before was completely different. And it was what was the impetus for me to look at, hey, is there something else I can do? Is there something else I might want to do rather than this? Is there a way to parlay this experience into something else? And that's what kind of got me started. So this was back in 2013. So what, 5 years ago? And what really began as, you know, a thought led into a desire, and that desire led into a passion, and that passion led into a determination. And that was really the progression of how I got to where I am right now talking to you about this. Where I'm able to say that I've reached 6 figures. But here's the thing and here's the catch. Even though from a bookkeeping standpoint, I've reached 6 figures in less than a year, which is great and that's fantastic. It wasn't just this last year that led to this, right? And that's the point I really want to make for you guys today. It's a long game. And that this really began with a planting of a seed in my mind 5 years ago. And it's the planting of the seed that, like I said, led to, you know, the seed led to a desire, to a passion, to a determination. And it was the progression of all of that together that led me to where I am. Who can relate to those steps that I just mentioned? Hi, Carrie, nice to see you. I hope you had a great skiing trip. I saw some of your pictures that look good. So, um, that's been the progression for me. So while from a financial standpoint much of what I've been talking about has happened in a short period of time, it didn't just fall out of the sky. It didn't happen just like that. It happened because I was doing certain things for quite a long time leading up to this. So if you're an entrepreneur, you're watching this right now, and you're frustrated because you're, you know, you feel like nothing's happening, there's no movement, nothing, you know, people, your following is not growing, you're not making the money that you want to make. All of those things are common, very common challenges and frustrations that we all face. I face them too. But I'm here to tell you that when you dig in, and here's where I'm going to get into the 3 essential steps, when you start to really dig in and commit, that's when things start to happen in time, and it isn't an overnight thing. So I'm just going to leave my computer there so I can— hi Christine! Okay, and James is here too, cool! Or Jim, Jim. Okay, so let me get into this now. So 3— here, this is what we're going to talk about: how I reached 6 figures in under a year. The secret is that it didn't take just a year. The secret is that it took multiple years. But here are the 3 essential things that I did that I believe really contributed greatly to being able to be at this stage and to be able to tell you about it. So step number 1 is that I never gave up on myself. I worked through the pain because there is pain, but I never gave up on myself. And it's so interesting because I think a lot of us have this experience where we know— it's hard to explain— but we know in our hearts and in our soul and in our spirit that we're meant for something more. And you only know it when you've been through it. Most of us go through our professional career working for someone else, as did I. We work for someone else, and it gets to a point where you're just— you've had enough, and you know that you're meant to do something more. I have a feeling that it happens mostly around midlife. Right? Because, you know, in your 30s, it's— I don't know, you're still in career-building mode. Something about in the 40s, at least for me in my mid-40s, was when it started to click for me. It was, well, I guess early 40s really started to click for me, and it had me kind of re-examine my situation and go, well, I'm not— am I stuck here, or is there something more? And I knew in my heart that I was capable and that I had a lot to offer, that I was being drawn to do something more. I didn't at that time know what it was. I really didn't have a clue what it was, but I knew I was meant for something more. And I think that when those voices start to talk to you— in my— this is just my own opinion, but I believe that it's God or the Creator who's speaking to us through our soul to have us come to realize that that's there's a reason why those feelings are there. And I think that when we listen to those feelings and act upon them, it can open new doors for us and new opportunities. But you have to listen and you have to act on it even though you're scared, even though you're afraid, even though you're uncertain, even though you don't have no— you have no idea what you're going to do. But there's a calling and there's a sense in your heart that there's more to do. So I knew that, and I knew I was capable, and a lot of it stemmed from when I was a teenager. That this journey for me really began when I was a teenager, and I started to do things that really weren't things that were expected of me or that people thought I was capable of doing at such a young age, you know, such as winning, you know, pageants and I don't know, just being on TV and hosting a show while I was still in high school, and, you know, various different things. So I realized that if I'm capable— if I was capable to do it when I was 17 and 19 and 25, there's a pattern there. And this was just another example of that and how I was being called to do the next step. Okay, Bruce says hi. Doug Oh, thank you. You know what, I miss my friends at the Weather Network, I really do. James, Christine, you can relate. Okay, so I went into it never giving up. Like, I actually convinced myself early on, once I started kind of really getting clear about what my vision and what I wanted to do, I didn't give myself permission to give up on that dream. It was like I was gonna go all in or not at all. And never— I never gave up on myself, and it got tough, trust me. I cried, cried many, many times over the last few years over a variety of different things, you know, some emotional things, financial things, variety of different things that I would cry over and then pick myself back up and go, okay, all right, I'm done, done crying. What am I doing next? Boom. And it's that resolve, and I think that, that, that muscle, right, that we have to exercise that helps us to and drives us to get to the place that we go to because we will never give up. If you draw a line in the sand and say, I am not going to give up on this, this is going to happen, I am successful, I am capable, I am destined for for this, then there is no other option then. But if you leave that door open where there's a little crack of uncertainty and, well, there's a— there's still a little out there, the door will widen and you're gonna have— for example, some people— give an example of someone who says, okay, I'm gonna try it, I'm gonna try it, and if it's not successful, then I can just go and get a job again. Well, I guarantee that you're gonna be finding yourself getting another job because you left the door open and there's a crack there, right? So you see what I mean? As opposed to someone who says, I'm going to make this happen no matter what, I'm gonna be resourceful, I'm gonna find the money, I'm going to do anything and everything I have to do, I'm gonna sacrifice, I'm gonna dedicate, I'm gonna commit, and there is no other option than to succeed at the thing that I want to do, i.e., build a business. There's no crack in that door. The door is— it's shut, painted shut. The door's not opening. There's no other option. What happens is it forces you to become, as Tony Robbins likes to say, you know, your own resourcefulness is the key to your success. And it forces you to think creatively and think out of the box and look for solutions. But when the door is cracked open a little bit, it's like, that's the the path of least resistance and you're gonna take it. So step number 1 in what I believe is the result of why I'm here is because I never gave up. I worked through the pain. I would, you know, I often would cry in the car on my way back and forth to work and then I would wipe the tears away and be back at it. You know, I'd get up at 3 o'clock in the morning and work on a landing page before I went to work at 6 and worked all day and then I'd come back and I would be doing strategy calls in the car on the side of the road pulled over at the gas station on my way home. Then I'd pick up my son and it's time for dinner and baseball and hockey and all these things, and I'd be back on the computer at 11 o'clock at night, get up at 4 again. Like, it just went on and on and on, but those were the sacrifices that I was willing to make to make my dream come true. So I worked through the pain, and I'm also— was— okay, sorry, Claire just writes here, currently reading an amazing book called Attitude Is Everything by Jeff Keller, which is bang on to what you're saying. Thank you, Claire, for sharing that. I appreciate that. Christine says, believe it's already happening. Yes, Christine, you know what I'm talking about, right? You have to— it's like Dr. Dyer talks about this, where you know where you want to go, and it's— you have to assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled. So that you believe that you're where you need to be. All that's happening now is that life is filling in the gaps to get there. Right? So, Claire, I'm interested to see that book by Jeff Keller because I really truly— I'm proof of it. Like, I'm a proof of it. And it's not just in this area of my life. I've been doing this since I was 17 in various smaller steps and smaller goals, if you will. So I know it works. And I'm also a product of the product. This is something that you hear a lot in network marketing. You know, when you sign up for— to represent a company and their products, they'll say, you use the— use our products so that you can be a product of the product and show people that you use our face cream, our nutritional supplement, whatever. In my case, for video marketing, I really demonstrated that I was a I wanted to be a product of the product, so I used a lot of video in the content that I was creating because I'm a video marketing strategist. So it's my version of being a product of the product. And pardon me, so I think that that ties into it, right? Because when I first started out, my videos were less than great. Actually, let me show you. This will actually be kind of funny. Do you want to see some of my earlier— I mean, you can go and see these on my YouTube channel, but I think it would be fun for me to show you right now some of my early videos. This is like 3 years ago when, again, when I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I just knew I wanted to do something. I wasn't going to give up. I was going to persevere and experiment and all of that. Let me show you what— and this was kind of fun. So I went back into my YouTube channel. This is now like, you know, 3 years ago and some when I was a health coach, because I started off with Beachbody, as in network marketing with Beachbody. I'd signed up with them. I didn't really know what I was doing. Eventually that led into a desire to want to start really creating videos and helping other health coaches to improve their businesses. So you can see that there was an evolution that was going on there. I wasn't so much as much interested in building a network marketing business as I wanted to be a, uh, someone who could coach network marketers to improve their content creation from a video standpoint and contribute in that way. So, um, so these videos, again, 3 years ago, that's where we were. But notice these. In fact, if I just click on this, I think the volume's down. You'll see here. Oh, this is an intro that I created a long time ago too. Okay, but let's just go forward. Like, look at this. Okay, so now I cringe because this video is completely washed out. I was using my Canon camera at the time, and that video's had 470 views, but that's taken over 3 years. It is less than perfect. Let's just be honest about that. It's really less than perfect. I'm completely washed out. I look white, blue. I mean, at the time I probably thought that looked okay, but again, it's because I— well, actually, maybe I didn't know, I didn't think it looked okay, but I was using my Canon camera. And the thing is, is I'm not a photographer, so I don't really know how to use the camera, right? Which is pretty evident when you see this. Um, I didn't really know how to use the camera. So again, talking about never giving up, I did it anyway even though it sucked. I made these videos anyway, and there's a, there's a whole bunch of them, right? So there's that one. Um, let's see here if I go back, you know, let's just take a look at some of these. Um, let's just see if I can just find where I am on screen. Oh, maybe I'm not. Oh, there's, there's a good— there we go. So like, come on, Cheryl. But again, less than perfect, but I did it anyway. And in fact, I do remember someone commenting and saying, your videos look terrible. And I'm like, thanks. Well, I kept trying, right? And I kept improving, and I did it anyway, despite some negative comments, which honestly, when I look back on it, were warranted. But the point being is that you never give up and work through the pain even though you don't know what you're doing, do it anyway. Let me just go back to— let's see, what a difference time makes. Yeah, no doubt, Carol. Carrie says, ski trip was great. Awesome, good. So, so point number 1, again, never give up. Work through the pain. And again, in my case, I didn't know how to use my camera. I did it anyway, experimented and did some stuff. Okay, so all of those things that I did have led me to where I am now. Step number 2 is— or yeah, step number 2, things that I did to help me get to, to this point: stay in integrity. And what I mean by that— and let me know if that's confusing to you, if you have want some clarification around this. I'm watching my, my messages on Facebook. Stay in integrity means work from your existing skill set, work from your strengths. Don't try to be something you're not. Do not, um, work with what you know. Do what you know. Here's an example, right? So now I'm at a point where I can teach business because I've created my own business, but that wasn't the case 3 years ago. If 3 years ago I had set out to help people with their businesses, it would have been out of integrity, it would have been not aligned and out, not within integrity, not in integrity. Is that how I would say it? Yeah, not in integrity because I hadn't done it myself at that point. This is something I see a lot of people doing. They have this vision, they're like, I want— and it's particularly rampant for women, I don't know why, life coaching and that sort of thing. But as an example, you know, you'll see someone who's like, I want to teach other women to be successful business owners and again reach 7 figures, whatever the case may be. But then they've never done it themselves. So it's not really— it's disingenuous, I believe, to say that you're going to go out there and teach something that you've never ever really done yourself. Does that make sense? So I would have loved 3 years ago to say, "Yeah, you know what? I'm going to go out and I'm going to teach women how to build a business even though I've never created one myself and I haven't got a clue how to do it." But I didn't because it wasn't in integrity. Right? But what was in integrity was for me to say, I'm gonna start by teaching people how to do video and how to communicate better on camera. That I know. I built a career on it, so I know that. What I didn't know as much was how to make videos. So I had to go through some painful processes to learn how to actually create videos and to edit. I'm completely self-taught. I mean, I've edited a little bit way back in the '90s, but it's a different totally different system, digital editing, um, you know, video production, uh, that kind of thing was all new to me. I've completely self-taught in that area. But what I was really good at and am good at is communication, speaking authentically and naturally to the camera, and being able to just express an idea and think on my feet. So I built my business around that because that's my strength. Right? Makes sense. So stay in integrity. If you're not at the stage that you aspire to be in, you know, 5 years from now, that's okay. Stick with what you know for now, and then when you get there, then you can start branching out. Then you can start, because it will be in integrity at that point. It may not be there now, but it will be if you do the things that I'm talking about, which is again never giving up, being a product of the product, working through the pain, and staying in integrity. Doug says, technology has changed so much in a short period of time. True. And even though the video quality may not be there, the content is important. Absolutely. And I think, Doug, that's what really kind of kept things rolling for me, was the message that I was sharing was still on point. So people were, you know, maybe at the beginning kind of looking past the technical things that were not great, but but really hearing what I was saying. And then in time, things evolved and it got better. What really ended up making my videos much better was when I started using my phone, because then I didn't have to worry about being a photographer and knowing all the bells and whistles of my Canon camera, because I'm not a photographer and I don't understand all the features of those, of those cameras because they're very complex. And that's when things started to take off for me, was when I really started to simplify. But I had to go through the pain of using my Canon camera to get to the point where I recognized that this was a much better way for me, which was part of my story. Right? So, so point number 2, again, stay in integrity. Do what you know. If you're not where you need to be yet, you'll get there in time. Don't start teaching things or aim to go out teaching things that you don't know about yet and haven't experienced. Stick with what you know. Stick with your strengths. Step number 3 for me is I invested in myself, and I invested in myself at times that I couldn't afford it. This is gonna be hard for you to hear, but if you want to grow, you cannot do it in isolation. You cannot do it alone, nor should you do it alone, because you need to have a sounding board. You need to have direction. You need to have a a third-party set of eyes who can look at your situation objectively and say, "Eh, no. Try this. Do this." Like, here's— guide you down the path because we're too close to what we do and we don't see the grand picture. We don't see it from a 30,000-foot view because we're mired in the details of our business. It's really important to get support. It's important to get mentorship. It's important to have peers. You know, never be the smartest person in a room. And Tyra Banks talks about this, right? She teaches personal branding at NYU, I think it is. And she talks about, you know, even now she's very successful, but she will— she likes to surround herself with people who are— she doesn't want to be the smartest person in the room or the most accomplished person in the room because that's not where you learn. So what happens when you invest in yourself, even when you can't afford it, is that you start really digging deep and doing the work. Because now you're on the line. Now there's skin in the game. And for me, that has worked tremendously well. And I did it at a time, like I said, I couldn't afford it. I found a way, put it on most of the, most of the time on a credit card. But I knew that began back to number 1, never giving up and believing in myself. I knew I was going to do it. I'm willing to do the work. All I needed was the system to follow and it will happen. And so lo and behold, after all of those scary moments, it came around. It came around because I never gave up and because I was in integrity. I invested in myself, and lo and behold, the success came. And it's not over yet. I mean, now that I've reached this milestone, I have my sights set on the next milestone. And so now there's different things that I'm doing so that I can get to that next level, and, and on and on. But it has to start somewhere, and sometimes it can be difficult. I talk to people all the time, you know, and talk about, you know, investing in themselves at certain levels, and even at some, some smaller levels, let's say something like under $500, let's say as an example. And there are a lot of people who struggle with that and just don't have $500 to invest in themselves. And to me, to my way of thinking at least, that— those are the people who need it more than anyone. Because if you can't— if you don't have $500 or less to your name to be able to invest in yourself, you have more problems than you know. And you need to probably invest more than the average person, right? So What I'm saying is that we're— we've all been there, everyone's been there, investing in themselves at times that they didn't think that they could afford it. But it really has to do with priority, and it has to do with saying, okay, well, maybe there's something I can sell. Is there something in my garage I can sell? Is there something that I can sell on eBay? Is there a way to increase my credit line or my credit card limit? Or is there money I can borrow from a family member? When you really want something bad, you find a way. But when it's something kind of like, eh, kind of on the fence, you kind of start to make excuses for why you can't find the money, right? So I think we've all been there, and it's important, I think, as an entrepreneur to make decisions about how you're gonna spend your money, but you do need to spend some money in order to get the results that you need and want. And surround yourself with the right people so that you can get there faster, but also to get there again without, you know, without— how do I say this— to get there and build the business that you dream of and not getting caught in some parts of it that are otherwise avoidable, I think is what I'm trying to say. All right. So let me just check here. Any other questions? Okay, good. Cool. So that's basically it, guys. I mean, you know, when you are— again, you know, it sounds great on the surface to say I made 6 figures. And actually, it's interesting because I actually accomplished 6 figures, more than 6 figures, in less than 60 days, actually. But those 60 days would not have been possible had I not gone through the 3 years leading up to it. So it's great and it is wonderful, but it was, you know, there are steps that have to happen, long game steps that have to happen in order to get to that 60-day period or to that whatever period of time that is to whatever financial goal you set for yourself. But it doesn't happen overnight and it is a long game and you do have to, again, never give up, Stay in integrity and invest in yourself when you think you can't afford it. And those are the 3 things that I believe have led me to where I am today. So having said that, let's just keep it open to, uh, let's see, we're just over 30 minutes. So are there any questions I'm happy to answer? And just a reminder that I go live every Thursday at 2 PM Eastern time right here on my Facebook page. And I also then publish this show to my YouTube channel later in the day, which you can subscribe to and hit the notifications bell so that you see when I upload content to my YouTube channel. All right, let's go back here. Pardon me, I'm just gonna drink. Oh, let's see. I don't see any questions, so I think we are good. Okay, happy to answer anything. And if you think of something after the broadcast is over. And also comment, love to know where you're watching from as well. Just put in the comments, you know, you're watching from, you know, Kitchener or Arizona or California or wherever. Just put that in the comments. Always like to go back and take a look. If something occurs to you after this broadcast is over, feel free to put them in the comments. I get notified when new comments are made. I love to go in and be able to, to really help you through the challenges that you're facing. So interesting, yesterday I was at a CEO sort of networking event that I'm a part of, like part of a group, and it's interesting because you're around the table with other people who you think are— have got it all together, who've got it all pulled together, and you realize, no, everyone doesn't have it all pulled together. We're all in the same boat. Everyone is striving to, to build that, that dream scenario that they want for themselves and their families. And we're not alone, right? So it's, it's important to know that because sometimes it's really easy to feel alone when you're building a business and everything's not going as planned. But know that if you never give up, it will happen. It will happen. But you've got to Have the right mindset in order to do it. Here's a book I'm going to leave you with that you may want to— this is a book called Do the Work by Steven Pressfield. And I would recommend this book if you are struggling in this area where you're really feeling like, I don't know, just uninspired or questioning what you're doing. Do the Work is a really— he has his other book, The War of Art, is also amazing. But Do the Work is a really great book and would highly recommend it. I listen to my books on Audible, but you can of course just go to the good old-fashioned bookstore and get it there. It's a really fantastic one. And I will leave you with this: if you are liking the, the, the subject of today's show and you want to connect with me and serious about moving your business forward and you want to talk to me about an action plan to how to do it, when you can do so. calendly.com/cherylplouffe is an opportunity for you to book a free 30-minute strategy session with me where we jump on and I look at ways to help move your business forward. So if you're interested in that, more than— you're more than welcome to look at booking that and applying for that call. Okay, thank you so much for being here. It's a bit longer today, but a really important message for you to know that you're on the right track. So never give up, stay in integrity, and invest in yourself even though you may not think you can afford it. You can't— you can't afford not to, is my point, and I'm living proof of it. So have a great day, you guys. Talk to you soon. Bye.