how to start an online store

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enSeptember 01, 2020

Under The Hood. Recap Of Because I CAN LIFE

How do you connect with your audience with everything that is going on currently? How do you show them love and serve them at a higher level? With everything getting canceled due to the virus, it may seem difficult to connect with everything on the world pivoting to online.

Our successful virtual conference was so enlightening. We got to see how you can connect with your audience virtually. I go through all the steps we took to prepare for the conference and how we made it a good experience for everybody attending from their homes. A lot of thought went into planning to deliver this amazing experience.

I was nervous and uncomfortable at first being something new. It is normal to have these thoughts when trying out something you have never done before. It doesn’t mean you stop or quit. It means you are growing and learning the process. You grow when you are uncomfortable. That’s when you make things happen.

Tune in to this episode and hear how we pulled the virtual conference off and all the good things and lessons that came out of it.

Key Takeaways

How do you connect with your audience with the world pivoting to online (02:29)
Background to the planning of the 2020 conference (04:28)
It is normal to be nervous and uncomfortable when trying something new (09:28)
Creating a memorable experience for the virtual conference attendees at home (12:19)
Finding someone to hold you and help you get though when you feel you can’t (15:01)
How I chose speakers for the virtual conference (30:24)
The bad from the virtual conference (32:25)
The good things that came out of the conference (36:40)
Some of my favorite quotes from the event (40:31)
Top takeaways from the conference (42:23)

Additional Resources

https://alisonjprince.clickfunnels.com/next-level-apply

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enAugust 25, 2020

Business partner? 5% or 95%

Shelley, Missy and I are business partners in the How Does She business. Shelley has the superhero power of making business relationships work. She also does a good job working with influencers for the business. She helps us understand some of the things you can do to make business relationships last. She also shares how to work with influencers.

Shelley shares how we started our blog business back then with just a small amount of money we had. It took more than three months to make $1000. We saved this money in our nest egg which was a smart move. Our business has grown ever since.

Having been business partners for more than 10 years, we have seen the best and worst of each other. The key to our relationship has been Shelley. She explains how she uses her personality as a peacemaker to solve disagreements that will always arise in business and in life. As business partners, you should focus on the 95% of someone that is good, not on the 5% that is difficult.

Influencers are a great way to sell your product. They are so powerful, you have to use them appropriately and sincerely. They have taken time to build their audience so love them and listen to them. Having a good product, getting it in their hands, telling them the earning potential from the product, and appreciating them are some of the ways you can build a winning relationship.

Key Takeaways

You can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar (11:05)
Everyone’s perspective is valid; you are not always right (12:21)
Speak 9 positives about a person before speaking a negative (12:49)
5% of everyone is difficult, focus on the 95% goodness (15:00
Make your email and direct message titles to influencers personal (17:49)
Tell the influencer their earning potential based on previous sales (19:57)
Tell your influencer why your product is a good fit for them and their audience (23:41)
Get your products into the hands of the influencers (24:26))
Follow up and then your influencer and appreciate them (25:38)
Have a good product, not junk (26:51)
Find an influencer who is honest and speaks the truth (28:18)

Additional Resources

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enAugust 18, 2020

business relationships

business partners

How One Product Can Pull In $20K

After trying deal sites and Shopify store, Vina settled for Etsy to sell her product. In Etsy, just like other platforms, you have to make sure your listing has a good title, has good pictures and you are offering your customers what they are looking for. Vina did this by learning what people were searching for and optimized her listing using keywords. This led her to make $20k from one shirt.

Having that many orders, Vina had to deal with the fulfillment part to get the orders to her customers. She used her Shipstation account and also Etsy shipping to deliver all these orders. Etsy shipping helped her manage her orders in the click of a button with the same price as ShipStation. She breaks down the numbers involved when selling on Etsy for us.

She advises us that you should look at Etsy as a deal site where you can build your brand. It’s a great place for someone who is starting out because you don’t have to build the perfect store. You can test your product here to see if it is a viable product and if anyone likes it, then move on as you build your brand.

Key Takeaways

Making it easy for your customers to find what they are looking for (05:25)
How one shirt made $20,000 in one month (08:50)
Using resources on your current platform to make better decisions for your product (10:08)
Titles are important on Etsy, make them relevant and easy for your customers (11:14)
Letting go of the product you think will sell and sell what your customers are asking for (14:17)
Start small so that you are not overwhelmed by the orders (15:18)
Why you need to replicate your listings on Etsy using keywords (17:04)
How upselling on Etsy helps push customers to add your other products to their order (18:12)
Fulfilling a large number of orders in the middle of a pandemic (25:30)
Why Etsy is a good place to start while testing if you have a viable product (28:15)
Three tips for having a successful listing on Etsy (32:04)

Additional Resources

Vina Howell's Store

https://unleashedpen.com/

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enAugust 11, 2020

Four Steps Away

Have you ever thought about a situation and let your thoughts spiral downwards very fast to the worst-case scenario that can happen? Learning how not to let your thoughts go to the worst-case scenario is a learned skill. Learning to sit, enjoy, and rejoice is important. Enjoying that money you just made, that email list you just built, and other wins are things we should rejoice about.

Learning to recognize and correct the spiral is what I call the journey of the four steps away. To understand the four steps away, picture a ladder. Now, you are in the middle rung of the ladder and there are four steps above and four steps below.

The middle step is a situation that has no emotions to it yet. You can choose to go up or down the ladder. You can spiral down by thinking about the worst-case scenario or go up the ladder. If you spiral downwards you’ll go through the steps of annoyance, worry, anger then victimization. You can choose to go upwards through the steps of spark, excitement, belief then empowerment. You chose which four steps you are going to take with every situation.

Listen in on specific examples of how to apply the four steps away when it comes to business.

Key Takeaways

How a business coach helps you get to your goals faster by avoiding crawling and going on the business jet (04:30)
The next level program is open for applications for people who are a good fit (05:33)
Joy can be our greatest theft of happiness (11:21)
Being able to sit and enjoy and rejoice is a learned skill (12:38)
learning how to not go to the worst-case scenario is a skill that has to be learned (13:17)
The journey of the four steps away (14:06)
How to apply the four steps away in business (16:06)
The secrets of going faster up the ladder (21:00)

Additional Resources

http://becauseicanlife.com/nextlevel

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enAugust 04, 2020

Ever Felt Stuck?

Entrepreneurs often get stuck in their thoughts. This holds them back and prevents them from going to the next level. I experienced this early on and was helped by a performance coach to overcome the nervousness I had. The next level program is designed to help entrepreneurs push through when they feel stuck. The coaches help them back to the right lane so that they can run their best race.

Tune in and hear our momentum coaches share amazing stories of how our students have been able to push through their limiting beliefs that they thought were facts. Our coaches know how to ask the right questions to understand why you are getting stuck.

First off, momentum Tonya shares with us some reasons people get stuck and some examples of how they push through. She takes us through the magic of not knowing and believing. Momentum coach Melisa walks us through the process of testing our thoughts to find out which serves us best. She advises that managing our thoughts will directly affect our results and empowering emotions helps us gain momentum. Misty shares how working with momentum coaches can be helpful. She also shares some amazing stories about some students that have gone through the program.

Key Takeaways

Why it is essential to have a performance coach when you are running a business (00:15)
How our minds keep us from dreaming to protect us from disappointment (09:23)
Not knowing about the how, the magic is in not knowing (10:28)
Pushing through doubts and feelings of inadequacy (14:17)
Testing our thoughts to find the ones that serve us best (17:32)
Knowledge is not enough, but it is nothing without action (20:55)
Willing to learn, being okay with the uncomfortable unknown and taking time to shift your mindset are desirable traits for an entrepreneur (24:37)
How a coach helps you remain focused and plan and prioritize your next moves (27:04)
Reframing the idea of failure and turning it into learning (27:53)
How the challenging times and discomfort make the good times sweeter (28:32)

Additional Resources

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enJuly 28, 2020

Is This The Life You Wanted?

Julie begins her presentation by sharing how she struggled initially with an identity crisis. Her story is incredible. She shows us that you can be whatever you want to be. You have all you need within yourself to reach your goals no matter how many mistakes you make along the way.

She takes us through the skills you need to be successful as an online entrepreneur. Once you learn the skills of getting people to buy online, you never have to worry about your financial future again. One of the skills that you're going to need to be successful in business is you have to listen to your gut.

The written word is the most powerful piece of your brand. As an entrepreneur, you should learn how to write or at least hire a writer in your team. You’ll need the written word for your ads, your copy, your funnel. Talking of sales funnel, this is another skill you need to work on. The third one is finding your traffic and where they congregate. This will help you serve them.

Tune in to this amazing episode and learn more about other skills that you need to be successful in your online business.

Key Takeaways

You don’t have to have techie skills to be successful with an online business (04:11)
Learn the skills of getting people to buy online and you never have to worry about your financial future again (17:46)
Learn how to write. The written word is the most powerful piece of your brand (18:56)
Write about hooks stories and copy to make your business blow up (19:34)
Sales funnels are the way to capture a new customer (20:23)
Traffic is people: Find the traffic of people whose problems you can solve (23:17)
In the depths of Julie's despair, she learned the keys to put in her pocket, so that she can launch anything online that she ever wants to sell (24:36)
Build strategic relationships with other business owners (27:59)
It is not enough to have skills; you have to find a network (30:40)
The identity that you can keep working on is that you are allowed to make mistakes, and you can forgive yourself (33:39)

Additional Resources

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enJuly 21, 2020

Have You Hit Your Dead-end?

Driven by the goal to pay off her huge amount of student loans, Ronisa decided that entrepreneurship was more logical rather than taking a second job. That’s how her journey began. Initially, she easily got distracted by taking in lots of information and trying out different products. She describes herself as an information junkie.

However, in 2019, she decided to focus and did a launch. She went for Facebook groups and influencers. She also became more consistent with her products. She saw immediate success with the Facebook groups. She also learned that influencers can craft a story for your products that you haven’t been able to tell yet.

Throughout her entrepreneurship journey, she has taken the mindset of seeing any setback as a good learning experience. It is a stepping stone to where you want to be. It is not a failure. Her husband has been her biggest cheerleader and supporter. It is very important for entrepreneurs to have that one person who is by their side always.

She advises newbie entrepreneurs to always take any information they find online with a grain of salt. There is much more to the process than what you can find in the YouTube videos. There is so much to learn and many different pieces to put together to be successful. All this requires patience. The whole goal of entrepreneurship is not to make that quick dollar but to serve your customers.

Key Takeaways

Ronisa’s journey and how she decided to start an online business was more logical than getting a second job (06:37)
Getting off the rollercoaster of distraction (07:36)
Putting out offers to her customers (10:34)
Her husband being her biggest cheerleader and supporter (12:52)
Selling other stuff before deciding she wanted to sell and get behind (15:55)
Getting to a dead-end, embracing it and learning from it (18:00)
Learning about providing value to your customers and pricing strategy (23:15)
Balancing working a full-time job, running a business and a family (29:31)
Newbie entrepreneurs should be patient and learn that entrepreneurship is all about serving (37:46)

Additional Resources

Connect with Alison:

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