AMY PORTERFIELD: “Sure, you could read a book a week about whatever topic you're interested in as it pertains to your business, but if you don't actually do something, you're never going to see change. Like, you've got to implement what you learn. And we're constantly consuming information, and then we don't do anything with it. It's what we do with that information that makes the difference between a successful business and one that never quite gets off the ground. So ask yourself, ‘When was the last time I took massive action? When was the last time I turned the digital course off, put down my book, stopped listening to the podcasts, and I did it; even if it was imperfect action; I didn't have all the answers, but I did it?’ That's what I want from you.”
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: I've got a podcast recommendation for you, I mean beyond Online Marketing Made Easy. If you love this podcast, you're going to love the podcast by Scott D. Clary. It's called Success Story, and it's brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network and features Q&A sessions with successful business leaders and keynote presentations and conversations on sales and marketing and business and startups and entrepreneurship, all the stuff we love, right? And you can hear episodes like “Unleashing Your True Potential: A Practical Guide to Boosting Self-worth and Wealth through Authenticity” and another episode, “How to do Content Marketing Properly.” So listen to your Success Story wherever you get your podcasts.
Hey, there. Amy, here. Welcome back to Online Marketing Made Easy.
I wanted to check in. How are you feeling? How's it going over there? This is totally unrelated to this podcast episode, but my son is twenty years old, he's at UC Davis, and he is trying to get an internship. And it has been rough. Like, he's in the engineering field, and it's incredibly competitive. And I just got some great news. So, Cade’s mom—remember, I'm mom number two. I'm the step mom—Cade’s mom is in H.R. I met her while we were both working for Tony Robbins, and she was the VP of H.R. And she's since left, and she now does recruiting and, also, matchmaking. She has two amazing businesses: matchmaking—and you all know she set me up with her ex-husband, and I married him. If you don't know that story, it's on another podcast—but also, she does a lot of recruiting, but she's head of H.R.—or she's an expert in H.R.
So anyway, we just got news that we think Cade landed this intern that was super competitive, and it’s because Tracy’s been in his ear the whole time, literally coaching him on what to write to follow up, what to say in the resumé, how to communicate via email to make sure they know he's still interested. And it was really fun to watch Tracy guide him through this whole thing. And it had me thinking how cool it is when our expertise gets to be applied to what our kids are doing. And I think that's really fun. Like, watching Tracy guide Cade through this whole process, and everything she knows as an entrepreneur, she's been able to help Cabe navigate this. I don't know. I think that's cool. So it got me thinking how cool it is that our kids get to see us slay. Our kids get to see us be amazing entrepreneurs and do really cool things in this world. And sometimes it could totally benefit them and help them do whatever they want. I want more of that.
So make sure you include your kids. Let them see you kicking butt. Let them see you navigate as an entrepreneur because you never know where it really might click for them. And I've always wanted more than anything for Cade to be an entrepreneur. We'll see. I don't know if it's going to happen. But I love that he gets to see his mom kind of navigate through all that. So just a little thought, a little behind the scenes of what's going on in my world. But it was really fun to watch.
Okay. So let's talk about today's episode, which is pieces of advice I'm kind of sick of hearing. So as an entrepreneur, especially if you're a new one, you've probably gotten a lot of advice about how to grow a successful business. I know that I've given a lot of advice about how to grow your business, and I've also received a lot of advice. Like, over the years, I've received tons of advice. But with all the good advice that's out there, also comes the bad advice, the kind of stuff that makes you think, “Wait. Wait, really?” And that's what I'm sharing in today's episode, the four pieces of “popular” advice that I'm absolutely sick and tired of hearing.
Now, keep in mind that this is totally subjective, and what leaves a salty taste in my mouth might not be something that bothers you in the slightest. But it's my hope that if you have heard this advice before and it's rubbed you the wrong way or if it doesn't sit well with you or if it's created extra overwhelm and stress for you, my hope is that you can just ignore it, that I'm going to give you permission today, if you need it, to be like, “You know what? I have heard that a lot. It has created some angst in me. It doesn't serve me, and I'm moving on.” So that's what I want for you.
Before we get started, I want to ask, have you ever shared this podcast with a friend? Maybe you have a new entrepreneurial friend or a friend that's just starting to think about getting into this world. Maybe this podcast could really be that catalyst to get them moving in the right direction. I'd be so grateful if you just grabbed the link to this, texted them, and said, “Hey, this might be a podcast you might love.” So I would so appreciate it.
Okay. So this is a Shorty episode. I'm going to go quickly through it, but I think it's really going to add some value to your life today because it's going to allow you to kind of take a big sigh of relief and take away some of the stress.
So the first piece of advice that I'm sick of hearing is this: follow your passion. This advice is doled out a lot in our society, and I honestly think it does more harm than good. Now, if you have something that you're incredibly passionate about, then that's awesome. I would 100 percent encourage you to follow that passion and potentially use it as a business idea. But for most of us, including myself, following your passion, having that one thing that really fires you up and claims your heart and soul, it's just not reality.
So when it comes to starting a business or continuing on in one that you've already started, you might be discouraged by hearing something like this. It might make you feel like you don't have anything to offer the world. And let me tell you, my sweet friend. You absolutely do.
I'm a prime example of this. When I first left my nine-to-five job and went out on my own, I wasn't passionate about what I was doing. I did what I was good at, which was social media. So I was working for a handful of clients and managing their accounts. And let me tell you, I did not love it. It was just something I needed to do to get me out on my own. It was my starter idea.
And that is the key here. I wasn't passionate about social media then, and I'm still not, but my business has evolved. I found what's clicked, and I've also discovered my passion in the process, which is teaching people how to succeed in business. My passion is showing you that there's a whole other world waiting for you out there in terms of entrepreneurship and owning your own business, and I want to introduce you to that world. I'm very passionate about that. But I didn't know I was passionate about that until I had my starter idea and I got out into this world and I started experimenting and learning what I loved and didn't love. But if I waited for my passion to make itself known, I would absolutely still be in a nine-to-five job.
So if you don't have a burning passion for something, don't let that stop you from becoming an entrepreneur. Instead, look at what your skill set is and hone in on that. Maybe it's not something you love, but it might make you money right now, help you to achieve that freedom you're looking for, and eventually lead you to something that fires you up. I've actually recorded a podcast about this topic that I'm really excited to share. It airs in a couple weeks, so stay tuned for that.
Okay. The second piece of advice that I'm sick of hearing is if you want to be successful, you've got to constantly be learning. Okay. Hear me out on this one, because this one might seem a little weird coming from me. I teach people all day long, so I want you to want to learn. But hear me out. I wholeheartedly believe that feeding your mind is an essential part of growth. After all, I create digital courses, so you know I'm a proponent of education. But the thing is, consuming a ton of content without taking dedicated action is not going to get you anywhere. Sure, you could read a book a week about whatever topic you're interested in as it pertains to your business, but if you don't actually do something, you're never going to see change. Like, you've got to implement what you learn. And we're constantly consuming information, and then we don't do anything with it. It's what we do with that information that makes the difference between a successful business and one that never quite gets off the ground. So ask yourself, “When was the last time I took massive action? When was the last time I turned the digital course off, put down my book, stopped listening to the podcasts, and I did it; even if it was imperfect action; I didn't have all the answers, but I did it?” That's what I want from you.
I just recorded a podcast about how to get started when you have no idea how to get started. That's the kind of action I'm talking about. I think that was last week's episode, so you can go check it out.
Okay. Let's go to the next one, number three: in order to succeed, you've got to hustle. Now, I'll be honest about this one. I do think that in the first couple of years, you've got to turn up that dial a bit to gain some traction. There is some hustle in the beginning years. It doesn't have to be that way. But I don't know if there's a way to not hustle at all in the beginning: saying yes to things you're not sure if you want to say yes to; you’ve got to figure it out; burning that midnight oil sometimes; doing your first launch, having no idea how to do it, so it's going to take a lot of time and effort. Like, that happens. You've got to play around and experiment with what's going to work to make money and an impact. That might mean pulling a couple of late nights or missing out on, like, a girls’ weekend that's during your first launch or whatever.
But turning up the dial doesn't mean devoting your whole life to your business or completely sacrificing other things that are important to you. This, my friend, is a recipe for burnout and resentment. I have been there. And here's the thing. Once you start to figure out what works in your business, you can double down on those things and create some serious boundaries when it comes to your time.
Like, for instance, these days, my team and I work a four-day workweek, and I can count on one hand the number of times I've stayed up working past 8:00 p.m. over, like, the last year—really like 6:00 p.m. Like, I definitely end work early. That hasn't always been the case, but I have finally gotten there, and I could have gotten there sooner if I stopped valuing hustle, if I stopped finding my pride in how hard or long that I work. So this is something that we have to think about.
And I want to put this into context. I have an eight-figure business, a team of eighteen to twenty people—we're hiring two people right now—and it continues to grow. And I'm able to draw a line in the sand because I know what works and I have systems in place that help my team and me be incredibly efficient. As they say, it's all about working smarter, not harder. And that's a piece of advice I can absolutely get behind. So I'll talk more and more about that on the podcast, how you work smarter, not harder.
But also, I have this good friend today—and I happen to be recording this podcast on the day that one of my friends passed away—and we were texting each other about how devastated we were. And she said, “You know, I quit my nine-to-five job and started my business because I wanted to make room for people.” I was like, “Whoa, I've never heard that before, ‘make room for people,’” because we were talking about how important relationships are and loving those around us. And when she said, “Make room for people,” I thought, “Yeah, that's beautiful if you're not hustling, if you're not devoting every minute to your business as an entrepreneur.”
So remember why you started this business in the first place, and I bet it was to make room for people, to have more time with the ones you love the most, and to be there for those that you love. And so don't create a business where all you do is hustle and work and you forget that the people in your life matter and you've neglected them. So yes, I understand the hustle in the beginning, but do not continue it long term. Really check yourself. I had to check myself, and you might need to as well.
Okay. So we're on to the fourth and final piece of advice that I'm sick and tired of hearing, which is: to be fearless. You got to be fearless to grow your own business. You got to be fearless to be an entrepreneur. That is B.S. Fear is a part of being human, and it's wired into our brains to help us survive. Sure, we all have irrational fears—I'm literally raising my hand—that Hobie sometimes—or I remember even Jenna Kutcher one time said, like, “This is a very irrational thought. This is not real.” She called me out on it. Hobie calls me out on it a lot. So, like, yeah, there's a place for irrational fears that we need to, again, check ourselves.
But we also have rational fears that we absolutely should listen to. For instance, say you're hesitant to quit your full-time job to start your own business because you're afraid you won't be able to pay the bills. That is very rational, my friend. Unfortunately, popular culture often tells us to just jump in and be fearless, without thinking about repercussions. And I'm not all about that. I'm about action. And yes, I'm all about believing in yourself and taking action, but I'm also about calculated decision making and taking confident action.
So that's all to say, when you hear that little voice in your head that you're fearful, pay attention to it because it might end up saving you in the long run. Putting together a plan, slowing down just a little bit; I'm all for that.
And by the way, if you do have dreams of leaving your nine-to-five job, you know I got a book for that, right? Two Weeks Notice. Go check it out. Twoweeksnoticebook.com, all the details are there. You can buy it wherever you buy books. But if that's your dream, I'm all for it. But I also give you your plan, your runway, in Two Weeks Notice so you do it in a way that you don't have to be afraid of being able to pay the bills. So there you go.
All right, my sweet friend. Hobie Porterfield is downstairs right now with Chick-fil-A. I ordered some grilled nuggets. I tend to not love the grilled nuggets, but I really believe that that's the healthier option for tonight. So I've got grilled nuggets. And have you ever had Chick-fil-A's chicken noodle soup? It is really good. So that is waiting for me downstairs. I'm going to wrap this up right now. It's six o’clock, which is when I end work most days, so here we go.
We've reached the end of the episode, and all this talk about advice that I'm sick of hearing has me really curious to hear the advice that you are sick of hearing. So I thought this might be fun. DM me. Say, “Amy, the advice I'm sick of hearing is this.” Let's talk about it. So I'm just @amyporterfield on Instagram. Send me a DM. I would love to hear what you're thinking.
I hope you loved this Shorty episode and found it valuable. Thanks for hanging out with me here today. If you've never left a review for Online Marketing Made Easy, would you be so kind to do so? I read every single one of them, and I'm forever grateful.
And I hope you have a wonderful day. And I'll see you on Thursday for more entrepreneurial goodness, same time, same place. Bye for now.
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