[00:00:00] Kristy: In last week's episode, I spoke about what's available to us has changed and what an exciting time it is to be alive and also to be in business for yourself. We are learning and we are growing at a pace like never before, and so I predict some pretty big shifts and changes in the way that we do business in 2023.

[00:00:22] Stick around right to the end to hear them all. Are you ready? Let's go. Hello boss and welcome back to the Run Your Business Like a Boss podcast. First of all, let me just acknowledge the very raspy voice. I am currently going through Covid number two, and this was obviously recorded back in December.

[00:01:23] I am largely recovered, but obviously my vocal chords are not the best, so please bear with me as we go through today's conversation. Okay. So I am really excited to see what unfolds this year. This is really our true first full year in a post pandemic world, specifically here in Australia. Maybe for the country that you're listening in this as well. But you know, in 2022, we were just opening up here in Australia. Obviously there were significant restrictions and lockdowns and all sorts of things that happened in this country over the course of [00:02:00] the core of the pandemic, and that meant that last year was a bit of a topsy turvy year, if you like, but this year is really our first full year of living with Covid, and there will definitely be still some shockwaves and rippling effects that have come from Covid and just offshoots of that.

[00:02:17] But this is going to be really our first fresh year of not really experiencing covid, you know, in its full throttle, if you like. So with that said, I think that there have been so many lessons that were brought forth or even escalated quicker than maybe what we might have gotten to had we not have had the pandemic.

[00:02:39] And I think we're gonna see a lot of that coming through in this coming year. So in today's conversation, I'm gonna share with you what I think some of the big things will be for you to focus on in your business this year. So the first one is your client experience. There is so much emphasis on sales and selling and conversions.

[00:02:57] And here's a caveat, do you need to sell? Yes, absolutely. Is selling important? Yes, absolutely. But is it the only thing that you need to focus on? No, it's not. And I think now more than ever, we are craving having a really amazing client experience with the people that we're investing with, especially in service-based businesses.

[00:03:19] But this also applies in the e-com or into the retail space as well. And so getting really intentional around creating an amazing client experience for the people who invest in your services is going to be absolutely critical in 2023. Now, you may have already figured this one out, boss, but this is most definitely not a trend.

[00:03:42] In fact, having a good client experience is just good business, but I think the world is finally catching on to just how important this is to your business because as I said, there's been so much focus on simply just the sales and marketing and bringing dollars in the door, and maybe that has [00:04:00] meant that a little bit of that client journey has slipped to the side, and that is having a knock on effect into business and the success of your business. So if you haven't been intentional about designing a client journey, not just with your clients, but also when they're prospects as well. So what does that look like? All the way from they're becoming aware of your brand right through to you off boarding them as a client.

[00:04:23] And this is something that I have been speaking about for many years. In fact, I think my very first video on Instagram, if you dare to go and have a look, is about talking about the client experience. And I unpacked a brand experience that I'd had that weekend. Now , that is a very old video, but the essence of the importance of a client experience is something that I have been championing for many, many years.

[00:04:46] So, no, it's not a trend, but absolutely I believe that everybody is going to be focusing on this in 2023. I absolutely live and breathe the client experience. And this is why I have dedicated an entire module inside of the Run Your Business Like a Boss Academy to help you figure out what is it that you want your clients to experience when it comes to your brand, helping you to map what that client journey is and also how you're going to deliver that via your service delivery.

[00:05:14] So if, if this is something that you don't have nailed and you are wanting to figure out what this looks like for you in 2023. Then maybe the academy might be a good option for you. We are opening the doors in February of this year. The link is down in the show notes. If you're curious to know more, go and check that out.

[00:05:33] Now. The second one is curating your client database. With the online business and small business worlds continuing to grow, now is a fantastic time to zero in on the clients that you actually want to work with. Up until this point, you might have been serving various different types of niches and working with a variety of different clients, and if that's working for you, great.

[00:05:56] Skip to the next one. But if you're thinking that maybe in [00:06:00] 2023, what might be better for you is to really zero in on who it is that you want to work. You do have the ability to do this, but what I am going to say to you, this is so much more than just getting to know who your niche is. Yes, of course, the first thing you need to do is to decide who it is that you want to work with and figure out what that niche looks like.

[00:06:21] But also from there, you need to be solving that person's problems and designing offers, services, programs, and products just for them. So curating your client database is going to be, I think something that many business owners are going to be focusing on in 2023. But believe me when I say it's so much more than getting to know who your ideal client avatar is, there's a whole lot of offshoots that comes from this process.

[00:06:48] And again, this is what we cover inside of the Run Your Business Like a Boss Academy. Okay. Now moving into number three is to design your business to work for your life. Now, I'm not gonna get stuck on this point because I think I've covered this pretty extensively in the previous two episodes, but I think that often we believe that, no, I can't be the person who does that, or no, I can't offer those things, or no, I don't really get to live a life in addition to running my business. I think that it's really clear now that overworking is not working right, and I've been talking about this for many, many years now. In fact, it's something that I begun my business talking about back in 2019. But I think that with so many more people coming into small business over recent years, I think that firsthand you are experiencing this burnout that comes with overworking.

[00:07:45] And the truth is, is that it doesn't need to be this way. And you can be really intentional about building a business model that works for your life. So if you haven't had a chance to listen to the previous two episodes, I definitely encourage you to do [00:08:00] that. It will give you an indication of, first of all, understanding what kind of life it is that you want to live.

[00:08:05] And when you can understand that, then you can start to figure out, well, what do I need to do in my business to make sure that business model supports my life goals. And does that mean that it's going to happen overnight or within a month or within three months or six months or whatnot? No, it doesn't.

[00:08:22] But what it means is that you can start to make plans. You can start to make shifts in your business so that perhaps maybe by 2024, you have made the relevant changes that you need to make in your business model so that you have greater sustainability and be able to have greater flexibility for you to be able to live a life on your terms.

[00:08:42] So my prediction that is that in 2023, we're going to be much more focused on designing a business that works for or supports your lifestyle. Now, again, this is not new conversations but I think that in the recent years of the pandemic and more and more people in the small business scope, I think there are many more people who are in need of paying attention to this message and taking action on making this a reality.

[00:09:12] Okay, so the fourth prediction for 2023 is for you to be visible and for you to develop your thought leadership. Now again, you're probably thinking, hey Kristy, none of this is new but I think these are things that are becoming more important this year. I think in previous years it's been so much focus on sales and six figures, seven figure businesses and you know, webinars and marketing and tactics and all of these things. But I think there are these other really cool aspects that are going to be emerging this year. So whilst they may not be new, they're definitely things that I know you're going to want to be focusing on this coming year.

[00:09:49] Okay. So back to my point, being visible and thought leadership. Last year we started to see a huge growth in the podcasting space. Now, this isn't to say that [00:10:00] podcasting is your only way of being visible or having thought leadership, but what this has meant is that there are more people playing in this space than ever before.

[00:10:10] Now you don't need to have a podcast to have thought leadership. There are many different ways that you can do this. You can do this with PR, you can do this with really awesome articles that you post on LinkedIn or on your website in the form of a blog. There are ways that you can do it in terms of going live or having a YouTube channel or even with reels.

[00:10:31] There are so many ways to get your message out there, but you need to be intentional about being visible. I think sometimes we look at people who are much more established and think, oh, but they're not showing up online on the daily, or they're not showing up on Instagram that much these days. But my guess is that the people who you're looking at have other ways of being visible and having their thought leadership out into the world.

[00:10:56] So thinking about yourself and your business, how are you demonstrating yourself as a leader in your industry. Now, that's not , to say that you are better than others in your industry, but you are standing out as an expert, that you're standing out as a trusted authority in your space and getting your messages out there so that your ideal client is listening to you, that's trusting you, that you're building a relationship with.

[00:11:19] And the reality is, that we are becoming so much more astute than ever before and we are listening for a lot longer before we're making purchase decisions, we are needing to know that this isn't surface level, that a copywriter's not conveying your message, and that there's no substance behind what it is that you are sharing out there in your space.

[00:11:39] So being visible and really developing your thought leadership is going to be absolutely crucial when it comes to growing your business in 2023. Now, one thing that I do want to say in this space is to be really careful not to go in with a me too trend. The key here is to know what you stand for and what you don't [00:12:00] stand for, and don't just latch onto other people who you perceive to be successful or that you enjoy their message.

[00:12:06] Go out there and be yourself. Be authentic to you. And again, this is things that we talk about inside of the academy is knowing what makes you unique and really tapping into and trusting your own voice. And so what's going to be really important for you this year is to understand what makes you unique and tapping back into yourself in order to be able to convey your message authentically. Because here's the thing, if you are saying all these things outside in the world and then your clients get behind the paywall and then they realize that you are nothing like that and that you're simply , using catchphrases that you're seeing elsewhere, then that is going to devalue the amazing work that you're doing at the front end. So do make sure that your thought leadership is your thought leadership, and that you spend time thinking about what does this mean? How do I develop this for myself and how can I link what I offer inside of my products, programs, or services back into my messaging?

[00:13:07] So number four was obviously being visible and thought leadership.

[00:13:12] Number five is predictable and recurring revenue streams. So one of the best ways to build a sustainable business is to have predictable or recurring revenue in your business. Now this means that you have a really great sales engine and that you have frequent clients coming in the door. Or maybe it's that you have a long standing offers that go for an extended period of time. So you're working with a client for three months, or maybe you have a retainer model in your business. There are many different ways that you can have this inside of your business, but the goal here is for you to be able to know how much money your business is generating each month and be able to pay yourself a consistent salary.

[00:13:53] Now, I mentioned at the end of last year that I was taking a holiday for six weeks, and part of the reason why I'm able to do that [00:14:00] is because I've built in enough predictability in my business and I pay myself a salary. So I have a set wage that I'm paying myself each year, and part of that was to accumulate enough money in my business account to be able to continue to pay myself over those six weeks.

[00:14:16] So in order to do that, you have to have a predictable and recurring revenue stream in your business so that you know roughly how much money you're going to be generating each and every month so that you can then pay yourself a certain amount of money. Now it's a little bit more complicated than that, and I am definitely not a finance expert, however.

[00:14:33] This is something that you can really be thinking about when you are looking at your office and your services and your marketing and sales engine for 2023, is to think about how can you build in more predictable and recurring revenue streams into your business. Now, the sixth point that I think is going to be really important for you this year, and this is not something that is new to my platforms.

[00:14:56] I've spoken about this extensively for a long time, well before the podcast started is success on your terms. I think that we are all getting a little bit tired of generic dollar figures as being the claim for success, and I think that there's so much more that comes into building a successful business other than some rhetoric number that the internet tells you, right? Whatever figure you wanna generate in your business, whether that is $550,000, whether that is $55,000, whether that is $25,000, every business needs to generate a different amount of money, and I think that success on your terms is key.

[00:15:33] You can have a successful business, ticking all the boxes financially and still not feel successful because there are things missing inside of your business. So the key here as you are getting ready for the year ahead is to think about what is success for me? What is a successful year look like? Yes, there's going to be a revenue target a hundred percent in there, but that revenue target is your revenue target, not what anyone else tells you you should be having.

[00:15:58] And there's [00:16:00] also going to be other factors in there, like what we were talking about before. Are you working hours that are actually reasonable so that you can enjoy your life? , do you have systems and support and a team to help you? Maybe you don't want those things. Maybe you're wanting to fully automate things.

[00:16:17] Maybe you're ready for working with different clients. There are so many different definitions of success or markers or metrics for success that you can be looking at in your business. And as a leader of your company, you should be thinking about what does that look like for this coming year?

[00:16:33] And what you want for 2023 may not be the same as what you want for 2022. In fact, chances are it's not going to be. So spending time determining what success on your terms means to you and setting goals accordingly. Okay. So number seven is really wrapping up so many of the different points that I spoke about today, and that is to focus on relationships.

[00:17:03] Now, this is two part, right? So relationships inside of your business and relationships outside of your business. So I'm gonna talk about inside your business first, and then I'll talk about outside in a minute. So when it comes to building relationships on the inside of your business, being prepared that a sales journey might take a little bit longer this year.

[00:17:25] I mentioned earlier that it's taking longer for people to build trust and to really know that they're the right type of person that they wanna work with. But you need to be playing the long game. You need to be building relationships regardless of whether or not you think that person will eventually become a client or not.

[00:17:47] As an example, in 2022, I had a number of people who had been in my ecosystem for many years come and work with me. They had. Made that decision to, , work with me up until that point, [00:18:00] but the timing was ready. I had spent a long time nurturing the relationship authentically, and I had no idea whether or not they were going to become a client or not, but I prioritized the relationship over the sale.

[00:18:13] So that's the first part of that when it comes to your inside of your business. The second part is obviously linking back to the client experience and making sure that you have beautiful relationships with your clients. Too often I see online or I hear out there in their ether, people complaining about their clients.

[00:18:31] If you're complaining about your clients, then either you are working with the wrong people, or maybe there needs to be a shift around your mindset, around the importance of who your clients are and the role they play inside of your business.

[00:18:43] And I say that with absolute love, but you want to be enjoying your clients and you don't wanna feel like any client is a burden on you. So relationships are super important. And then the third part when it comes to an inside your business is your relationships with referral partners or strategic partners.

[00:19:02] I talk about this a lot inside of the academy yes, we talk about, more modern ways of marketing, which is obviously on Instagram and email marketing and podcasting and all those things. But don't forget about real life relationships and people who might be complimentary to the industry that you work in . On the personal side of things, do not forget about your relationships with the people who are important to you. I have made no secret of the importance of my relationships with my kids and the importance of how I want to be available to them and how I make that happen inside of my business. But so often I see people getting into their love of their business and getting stuck into their business, and, , heads down, bums up at the sacrifice of spending time with the people that they love. Now, there is such a thing as being addicted to your business.

[00:19:54] Believe me, I know that I've been there and I've done that, and it's not a pretty picture as time [00:20:00] goes on. So if you think that maybe your relationships are suffering as a result of your business, then maybe it's time for a little bit of reflection of what can be done to ensure that that does not happen in 2023.

[00:20:14] So that is it for what I think are the key trends for the upcoming year, although I think you might have noticed they're not really trends, but rather key pillars of what comes into becoming a successful business. I think over recent years, it's been very much about tactics and we're coming back to the nuts and bolts of running a successful business this year.

[00:20:36] So a quick recap of what we cover today. Number one is developing an incredible client experience. Number two is curating your client database. Number three is designing your business to work for your life. Number four is to be visible and develop your thought leadership. Number five is to have predictable and recurring revenue streams in your business.

[00:20:59] Number six is success on your terms. This is not about building a generic dollar figure for your business, but rather building a business that works for you. And number seven is relationships first. You might have noticed that in this conversation, I've been talking less about tactics, which I think is actually what we've been doing in recent years, and more about the nuts and bolts of what makes up a really good business if you are wanting to redesign your business model so that it encompasses all these things and so much more. I cover much of this inside of the Run Your Business Like a Boss Academy. Go and check out the link down in the show notes if you're keen to learn more. I will be opening the doors next month, so be sure to join the wait list so you are the first to hear.

[00:21:46] In the meantime, I hope you got a lot of value from today's conversation and it's given you some food for thought for what you want your 2023 to look like. I'd love to hear your takeouts. And you can share that with me in [00:22:00] two ways. Firstly, you can tag me on your Instagram stories with a screenshot of this episode.

[00:22:07] Or feel free to send me a DM on Instagram. I'd love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Boss, thank you so much for joining me for today's conversation. As always, I look forward to chatting with you next week.