AMY PORTERFIELD: “The whole goal of this Shorty episode is that I hope you get fired up or inspired to act on something that might be intimidating you as well. This episode is not about getting you on Tik-Tok, so if you're, like, rolling your eyes right now, that's not what it's about, my friend, so stay with me. It's about you doing something that is intimidating you right now, and you haven't actually taken the leap.”
INTRO: I’m Amy Porterfield, ex-corporate girl turned CEO of a multi-seven-figure business. But it wasn't all that long ago that I lacked the confidence, the budget, and the time to focus on growing my small-but-mighty business. Fast forward past many failed attempts and lessons learned, and you'll see the business I have today, one that changes lives and gives me more freedom than I ever thought possible, one that used to only exist as a daydream. I created the Online Marketing Made Easy podcast to give you simple, actionable, step-by-step strategies to help you do the same. If you're an ambitious entrepreneur, or one in the making, who's looking to create a business that makes an impact and a life you love, you're in the right place, friend. Let's get started.
AMY: Real quick, I want to tell you about a podcast called No Straight Path. It's hosted by Ashley Menzies Babatunde, and she sheds light on the stories behind shiny resumes, social-media highlights, job titles, and she aims to humanize success. Featuring guests from all walks of life, No Straight Path inspires conversations around the nuanced perspective of success. Start by checking out her episode titled “Success is Maximizing Happiness,” where she talks about defining yourself by the positive impact that you can make versus your profession.
Listen to No Straight Path wherever you get your podcasts.
Well, hey, there. Welcome back to Online Marketing Made Easy.
Today we are going to talk about something we all come up against at least once, if not a million times, as entrepreneurs. This is a doozy. We got to talk about it.
But before we do, have you heard of the new Apple AirPods Max? They are these really cool AirPods, but they're the kind that go over your head, not just ear buds, and they are so cool. I got some that are green, and I love them. They're wireless. And they're really durable; they're pretty sturdy. And the sound is amazing.
Anyway, I love them so much, and I thought, I want to do a giveaway. These are so cool. I want someone in my audience to get a chance to win these as well. So stay with me to the end. This is a Shorty episode; we'll get to the end really quickly. And I'm going to tell you how to enter for a chance to win these Apple AirPods Max, that you're going to absolutely love. You can listen to Online Marketing Made Easy and look cool while you're doing it. So stay with me.
Okay. So let's get back to that thing that we all come up against as an entrepreneur one or a million times—for me it might be a million—and that is getting started on something that intimidates you. And I'm going to get personal here because this is something that I have been struggling with for a while. And what intimidates me—don't laugh at me. No judging here—what has been intimidating me is that damn TikTok. TikTok intimidates me. And the thing is, I have been on TikTok for, I don't know, over a year or two, and I love it.
I love watching TikTok. Hobie hates it. He hates when I am watching TikTok because I laugh the whole time. I think some of them are hilarious. And he's like, “What are you looking at?” I'm like, “Oh my gosh, you got to come watch this video.” He never thinks it is as funny as I do, so he just doesn't get it.
But anyway, TikTok has been intimidating me. Obviously, not watching TikTok. It's me being on TikTok, me making my videos, me putting myself out there, because TikTok is very different than anything that I do. And I just want to share a few reasons why I'm actually prioritizing it in my business, why I've made it a strategy in my business, and what it's teaching me.
And the whole goal of this Shorty episode is that I hope you get fired up or inspired to act on something that might be intimidating you as well. This episode is not about getting you on TikTok, so if you're, like, rolling your eyes right now, that's not what it's about, my friend, so stay with me. It's about you doing something that is intimidating you right now, and you haven't actually taken the leap.
So, let me just tell you about my TikTok journey. First of all, back in 2020, I actually had on Elise Darma—love her—and she was on my podcast, and she talked about how we all could use TikTok to grow our business. It's episode 315, “Five Ways to Use TikTok to Reach More Customers (No Dancing Required). And that episode was actually a huge hit. You all loved it. If you listened to it, I think you loved it, because we had tons of downloads.
And there's a part of me that, of course, wishes I just started then. Why didn't I just get on TikTok? Well, technically I did, because in the episode, I promised that I would do two videos, and so I had to hold myself accountable. So she actually offered some cool videos that you can do, and I did two of them, and I posted them. And then that's all you will find on my TikTok for over two years-ish. So that's all that there was.
So I had good intentions, but in hindsight, I just wasn't in the right place in my mind or my business to actually just go for it. It really was, like, the mental space. I didn't have the bandwidth. It didn't sound very exciting to me. I just wasn't ready. And I've got to just accept that. Yeah, I wish I would have started TikTok sooner, and I wasn't ready. So end of story. There's no need to beat myself up, right?
So why am I committing to TikTok now? Well, as many of you know, I wrote a book called Two Weeks’ Notice, and I'll be launching it in 2023. I'm very excited about it. So I've got this new, really important why in front of me, like, why I'm doing what I'm doing. And this book is going to change lives. I have no doubt about it. It's all about leaving your nine-to-five job to step into an online business—not a digital course, not anything specific like that, just an online business that will light you up. And really, the essence of the book is about leaving behind what is no longer serving you and moving toward what you really want, okay? So that's what the book's about.
And I believe that TikTok can serve in a way that will attract a new audience. I want this book to find people in my audience now who need it the most, and people who have no idea or don't care who I am, but they need this message. And I believe many of them are on TikTok. I think there are a lot of people out there that are in jobs that they hate and that they have bigger dreams for themselves.
And so I also know that if you have a really strong TikTok strategy, it will help you to increase your brand awareness, build an engaged community, create hype around a movement, and I know TikTok can sell books. Believe me, I have purchased many books from recommendations I got on TikTok. So I decided to do the thing, and I got myself on TikTok.
Do I know if it will work? Absolutely not. Am I afraid that maybe I'm not a good fit for TikTok because I'm not going to dance on TikTok, I'm not overly silly on video? You know, I don't know if it will work, but I'm willing to give it a try, because just because it intimidates me doesn't mean it's not for me. And that's really the message I wanted you to hear.
Now, when I decided to get on TikTok, I had to set some boundaries. So the biggest boundary and commitment is that I have to do it my way. That means, again—I've said this a million times—you're not going to see me dancing. But you will see me trying some new things, like some trends that I'm seeing are working. Also, I want to be more casual, so you'll see me a lot without my hair and makeup done. I'll be on a walk with Scout. I’ll be in the kitchen doing something. I'll be sitting with Hobie or whatever. But I'm definitely—not in every video, but in a lot of videos—just more casual, which, if you know me, you know that's not the easiest thing I've ever done. I'm definitely a little bit more professional and polished. That's just who I am at my core. But at the same time—I shouldn't say that. That's not who I am at my core. That's who I'm most comfortable being—but at the same time, you know, when you're just at my house in Nashville, and it's just Hobie and I hanging out, you can bet I'm way more casual. So that's the side that I wanted to bring, just the side of me that I don't show a lot.
Anyway, it's a DSD for me. If you listened to my Shorty episode from last Tuesday, it's the thing that I'm going to do something different. And that was me getting on TikTok.
And I also have been around for a while. And as you are around for a while, because you're in this for the long haul, what we can't do is we can't just continue to do the same thing over and over again and not come out of our comfort zone, because we will get bored with our businesses. And oh my gosh, the online landscape changes so much, and I only teach what I know. I only teach what I do. So I've got to do different things, I've got to experiment, so I'm always able to teach new things that excite you. So I got to get in the game, and here I am.
I love this piece of advice from my social-media manager. She told me, “Amy, when it comes to TikTok, instead of feeling like you're teaching thousands of students, think of TikTok as you giving advice and having just a casual conversation with, like, a bestie or a peer that you're working with, or whatever.” And I thought, “Okay. I can do that, for sure.” So every time I go to record my TikTok videos, I remind myself, I'm just talking to a good friend, and I'm just sharing with them something that I've learned or something that have helped me along the way. No pressure. Super casual. Just have fun. And I tell myself that every single time.
So yes, this is something new to me, and I'm definitely intimidated by it. And I'm humbled by it. Like, you know, I have tons of followers on Instagram. I have a big email list. I don't have tons of followers yet on TikTok. So I put my ego aside, and I say, “You know what? If I could just reach one person every single day, I am doing really good.” And that is my mission: one person every single day that I'm going to wow with my message. It's going to hit them in the heart. It's exactly what they needed to hear. That's what I'm focused on.
And, you know, I try to think back about when I tried new things in my business years ago. I remember like it was yesterday getting on Facebook Live. I was in my house in Carlsbad, California. I was in the room that if you are O.G. you’ll remember this: I used to have a pool table in my dining room because we didn't have a fine-dining area; we had this really cool pool table. And the pool table is behind me, I was in front of a window for natural light, and I went live on Facebook for the first time. Facebook Live was brand new. And I remember how nervous I was, and I couldn't wait till that video was over.
I also vividly remember going live for the first time on Periscope, which isn't even around anymore, and I remember how nerve wracking that was as well.
So when you're thinking about shaking things up and doing something that intimidates you, remember all the other times you've done that. Like, we've all done stuff that intimidates us. We just likely don't do it enough in our business. So I want you to think about the times that you have done it, whether in your personal life or business, and remind yourself that you can continue to do it.
So here's what I want you to walk away with. When you think about doing something new or adding something new to your business, just make sure it's something that feels exciting to you. So I hope that TikTok eventually feels fun and easy for me. It doesn't yet, but as long as it excites me, I'm good with it.
And also, you just don't choose anything that's going to feel like a grind. Like, you don't want to hate it. You don't want to be miserable. There's a difference between feeling miserable with a decision you make in your business and feeling nervous or kind of scared but excited at the same time. You know those are different, right? So do what feels good to you, even if it scares you.
All right. So I want to wrap this up, but I wanted to make sure that I was encouraging you to do something that intimidates you, because I'm doing that, and I really do believe it's good for us. I know. I know. Not the most, like, sexiest thing you could think about, but at the same time, I think it's very necessary.
So I wanted to jump on here and share that with you and then tell you I'm doing it too. I’m not telling you to do things that I won't do. So I'm doing it too.
And go find me on TikTok. I am at amy.porterfield. I couldn't get Amy Porterfield. So it's amy.porterfield.
But let's talk about those Apple AirPods Maxs that I want you to get. So I'm doing a giveaway. It runs from the day this episode goes live, which is September 20, until Friday, September 23. So you have a very small window, September 20 to September 23. So all you need to do is go to my TikTok channel, and you can enter right now.
And here's how you enter. So download the TikTok app if you don't already have it. Find me on TikTok, and all you need to do is follow me. And then like, save, and comment on my latest video. So like, save, and comment on my latest video. And by comment, you can put whatever you want—your biggest takeaway, what you loved about it, an emoji, whatever you want. So follow me on TikTok; like the latest video; save the latest video; and comment on the latest video. All of this will take you all of one minute, just for the record.
And then we're going to announce the winner on September 29, Monday, September 29. You're going to want these AirPods. I promise you, they are so worth it.
All right, my sweet friends. Thank you so much for tuning in. And I thought a little fun contest would be fun and to get you over to TikTok to see what I'm doing and see if it's something you're interested in. But more importantly, maybe you want to start your TikTok. Maybe that's the thing that's going to kind of move you forward in doing something that intimidates you. But it could be something so different. It doesn't matter. Just get into action.
Thanks so much for tuning in. Remember, every Wednesday we got the Wednesday Wisdom—oh my gosh, I say it backwards every time—Wisdom Wednesdays, and then Thursday for more entrepreneurial goodness, so I'll see you there. Bye for now.
We've seen monumental shifts in the ways we do business over the past few years. I know I've personally had to pivot more times than I would like to admit. And while we celebrate the death of the daily commute and conference-room mix-ups and endless interruptions while at the office, the new challenge is that businesses are struggling to find ways to really stay connected to their teams and their customers.
With the HubSpot CRM platform, you have a single source of truth for all of your marketing and sales and opt-in tools, meaning your teams and customers can stay seamlessly connected. With a powerful all-in-one platform like HubSpot, there's no more bouncing between systems and tabs and consultants, so your team has more time to focus on building connections with your customers, not on connecting your software. So learn how HubSpot can help your business grow better, at hubspot.com.
