But, let me tell you, it’s far from easy. When I started my business, Live Your Message, I made plenty of mistakes. Mistakes that cost me time, money and sometimes even my sanity.

The good news is you don’t have to make the same mistakes I did. I’m about to share the seven biggest missteps I made so you can avoid them. These are the hard lessons I learned, and they’re the same lessons that helped me build a successful business that’s now empowered over 12,000 students.

Let’s dive in.

1. Launching Without Hands-On Experience

When I started my online business, I was pumped. I had devoured courses, webinars and articles about running an online business. I had all the theoretical knowledge but none of the practical experience. And that was a big mistake.

I thought I could bypass the learning curve by consuming more information, but the truth is, nothing compares to real-world experience. When I launched my first course, Build Your Site, Launch Your Business, I realized quickly that knowing how to do something on paper doesn’t translate to real success.

What you can do instead: Start small and start now. Don’t wait until you think you know everything or feel “ready.” Launch a beta version of your product or service, get feedback and improve as you go. Your first try won’t be perfect and that’s okay. The key is learning as you do.

2. Letting Imposter Syndrome Take Hold

I can’t tell you how many times I felt like an imposter in the early stages of my business. Even after investing heavily in online business training from top gurus like Brendon Burchard and Jeff Walker, I questioned whether I had what it took to succeed. I was always comparing myself to others, thinking, “They know more than I do,” or “Who am I to charge for this?”

This kind of thinking slowed me down and kept me from taking bold actions. Every time I was about to step outside my comfort zone, imposter syndrome reared its ugly head.

What you can do instead: Imposter syndrome is something most entrepreneurs face, but don’t let it paralyze you. Recognize it for what it is — a sign you’re pushing boundaries and growing. Focus on serving your audience and delivering value. The more you focus on them, the less you’ll focus on your own insecurities.

3. Creating a Business I Wasn’t Passionate About

One of my biggest mistakes in the early days was starting a business just because I thought it was practical. I offered web design services because I knew there was demand and I thought it was a logical step. But the problem was, I didn’t love web design. I was doing it to pay the bills, not because I was excited about it.

As a result, I found myself burnt out and disillusioned within months. I was stuck doing something I didn’t enjoy and it wasn’t the dream I had imagined. That’s when I decided to pivot. I needed a business that was aligned with my passion for helping others succeed.

What you can do instead: Don’t chase the money. Focus on what lights you up. If you’re passionate about your business, you’ll bring more energy, creativity and resilience to the table, and that will translate into better results for your clients. Choose a business that aligns with your strengths, values and long-term vision.

4. Spending Too Much Time Outside of My Zone of Genius

Like many entrepreneurs, I thought I had to do everything myself. I was designing websites, handling customer support, writing blog posts, creating courses — basically, I was trying to wear all the hats. And it was exhausting. Not to mention, I wasn’t great at everything. The tasks outside my “zone of genius” (where I could really add value) were draining my time and energy.

For example, spending hours troubleshooting website issues meant I wasn’t focused on creating new content or growing my business. In the end, it wasn’t just my energy that took a hit — so did my results.

What you can do instead: Delegate or outsource tasks that don’t align with your strengths. Focus on what you’re truly great at — your zone of genius — and let others handle the rest. Yes, it costs money, but the time and energy you’ll save is invaluable, and it will allow you to focus on what will really move the needle in your business.

5. Thinking My First Course Was the End-All, Be-All

When I launched my first course, Build Your Site, Launch Your Business, I thought I had created my masterpiece. I expected it to be my golden ticket to success. But guess what? It wasn’t.

The course made some sales, but it wasn’t the runaway hit I envisioned. I spent a lot of time refining and improving it, thinking it just needed that one extra tweak. What I didn’t realize was that it wasn’t about making one perfect product — it was about continually creating and improving new offers.

What you can do instead: Don’t expect your first product to be the one that defines your business. It’s just the beginning. Keep learning, creating and adapting. Each product you launch will give you more insights and help you get closer to that “blockbuster” offering. The key is to stay flexible and open to new ideas.

6. Playing It Too Small

I used to downplay my value. I’d offer my services at a discount, thinking I wasn’t experienced enough to charge premium prices. I was so worried about losing customers that I underpriced myself and didn’t set clear boundaries. This led to clients who didn’t respect my work and projects that weren’t profitable.

It wasn’t until I started charging what I was truly worth that my business grew. The right clients showed up, and I felt more confident in my work.

What you can do instead: Don’t be afraid to charge what you’re worth. Set clear boundaries from the beginning and don’t undervalue your expertise. If you don’t believe in the value you provide, neither will your clients. When you price yourself appropriately, you attract clients who are serious and ready to invest in their own success.

7. Not Nurturing My Audience Enough

In the early days of my business, I focused almost entirely on product creation and sales. I was so busy creating new courses that I neglected the most important part of my business — building and nurturing relationships with my audience.

I thought that once I had the perfect product, people would just buy it. But I quickly learned that it doesn’t work like that. People need to know, like, and trust you before they’ll buy from you. Building those relationships takes time and effort, but it’s worth it.

What you can do instead: Start nurturing your audience now. Whether through regular emails, social media or other content, find ways to engage with your audience consistently. Offer value, listen to their needs and build genuine relationships. The more connected your audience feels to you, the more likely they are to become loyal customers.

Learn From My Mistakes to Build Your Success!

Building an online business is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ll make mistakes along the way, but each one is an opportunity to learn and grow. The seven mistakes I made were hard lessons, but they ultimately shaped my success.

By focusing on gaining real-world experience, overcoming imposter syndrome, aligning with your passion, staying in your zone of genius, creating multiple products, charging your worth and nurturing your audience, you’ll be miles ahead of where I was when I started.

Remember, success isn’t about never making mistakes — it’s about how quickly you can learn from them and keep moving forward!

if you want to build a long-lasting and fulfilling business… I’ve got something just for you… 

I’m talking about our program, Success School. 

Our goal at Success School is simple: 

To help people like YOU learn, practice and master the Essential Skills for Business Success in a fun, safe and supportive environment….

So you can FINALLY build the business of your dreams…

Click here for all the details about Success School and how it works…

Then, go out there and Live Your Message!

The post 7 Mistakes I Made When Just Starting Out & How You Can Avoid Them appeared first on Live Your Message.

As someone who’s always looking to elevate the experience… 

I’ve kept iterating and iterating and iterating our signature program — the Experience Product Masterclass — to awesome, including refilming the entire program direct-to-camera in 2022 (over 60 hours of filming!) and creating Ainslee.ai, our proprietary AI tool that helps our students overcome common stuck points and get results even FASTER…

So, in addition to consistently delivering on the promise of EPM — a proven 12-week program to validate, create, launch and successfully sell your very own Experience Product…

The new kind of “high profit” course taking the world by storm…

I’m always looking for ways to improve the experience for our launch audience and our students. 

In 2022, I knew there was room for improvement in how we communicated with our audience during the annual live cohort launch of EPM. That’s when I realized we needed something — or someone — to guide our participants through the journey. Enter Rosey, our interactive chatbot built by my friend Matt Leitz and the incredible team at BotBuilders (FYI — Matt has a FREE Masterclass for non-techies on how to create income with artificial intelligence… even if you don’t have a business or product yet).

Rosey isn’t just any chatbot. She’s like a “choose your own adventure” guide, tailored to keep our audience engaged, informed and motivated every step of the way. From timely reminders to personalized interactions, Rosey has been a game-changer in how we connect with our audience during our live launches.

In this case study, I’ll share how Rosey has transformed our launch process, the tangible results we’ve seen and why you might want to consider adding a chatbot like Rosey to your own business strategy.

The Challenge: Engagement and Communication in a Complex Launch

Launching a program like EPM isn’t a one-and-done deal. It’s a multi-stage process that involves engaging our audience over several weeks, sometimes even months. We start with our live 5-Day Crack Your Course Idea Challenge, followed by a series of live Workshops, Webinars and an all-day Livestream. And that’s just the lead-up to the main event: the launch of the Experience Product Masterclass.

Here’s where it gets tricky: how do you keep thousands of participants engaged throughout this entire process? How do you ensure they know what’s happening when it’s happening and why they should care?

In the past, we relied heavily on emails and text messages, but we quickly realized that this wasn’t enough. People would miss crucial updates, forget about live events or simply lose interest over time. We needed a solution that would keep our audience informed and excited without overwhelming them.

The Solution: Meet Rosey, Our Interactive Chatbot

That’s where Rosey comes in…

Designed and built by our friends at BotBuilders, Rosey is much more than just a chatbot — she’s an interactive guide that helps our audience navigate the entire launch process with ease. Here’s how she does it:

1. Engaging Copy and GIFs: Rosey’s messages aren’t just informative; they’re fun! Using engaging copy and GIFs, she keeps the conversation light and entertaining, making sure our audience stays excited about what’s coming next.
   
   

2. Timely Messaging: Rosey sends out daily broadcasts to remind participants about upcoming events, deadlines, special offers and resources. Whether it’s a heads-up about our next live Workshop or a highly relevant download, Rosey ensures that no one misses out on anything important.

3. Personalized Interactions: One of the things that makes Rosey so effective is her ability to tailor messages based on the options participants choose. It’s like having a personal assistant who knows exactly what you need and when you need it.

4. Free Gifts and Incentives: Who doesn’t love a good freebie? Rosey occasionally surprises our audience with free gifts, from downloadable resources to exclusive offers, which keeps them engaged and coming back for more. During the EPM launch, we give out our Online Course Creators Swipe File as a free gift!
   
   

5. Seamless Integration: Rosey isn’t just a one-off tool we use during launches. She’s integrated into our paid programs as well, keeping our students on track with important updates, opt-ins for coaching calls and reminders about deadlines.

The Numbers Don’t Lie: Key Metrics and Results

Now, let’s talk numbers. Over the past two years, Rosey has been instrumental in driving engagement and conversions during our EPM launches. Here’s a look at the key metrics from our last two launches:

2022 EPM Stats:

• Total Users Engaged: 3,720
• Emails Collected: 1,517 (40.7%)
• Messenger List Opt-Ins Collected: 3,380 (91.0%)
• Total CTA Clicks: 427

2023 EPM Stats:

• Total Users Engaged: 3,861
• Emails Collected: 2,655 (68%)
• Messenger List Opt-Ins Collected: 3,514 (91.7%)
• Total CTA Clicks: 375

Total Clicks to Website (2022 & 2023): 1,459

Analysis: What the Numbers Tell Us

Successes:

• Increased Engagement: From 2022 to 2023, the number of users engaged grew from 3,720 to 3,861, showing that Rosey’s approach is resonating with our audience.
• Significant Boost in Email Collection: We saw a dramatic increase in the percentage of emails collected, jumping from 40.7% in 2022 to 68% in 2023. This indicates that Rosey’s messaging is effectively driving participants to take action.
• Consistent Opt-In Rates: The opt-in rates for our Messenger list remained impressively high, with 91.0% in 2022 and 91.7% in 2023. This consistency is crucial for maintaining ongoing communication with our audience.

Areas for Improvement:

• CTA Clicks: While overall engagement improved, the total number of CTA clicks decreased slightly from 427 in 2022 to 375 in 2023. This suggests that we might need to fine-tune our calls to action to make them more compelling or better aligned with our audience’s interests.
• Website Traffic: Although the total clicks to our website were solid, there’s room for growth. We plan to explore new strategies for encouraging more of Rosey’s users to visit our website for additional resources and information.
  

The Bottom Line: Rosey’s Impact and What’s Next

Rosey has been an absolute game-changer for our launches, helping us create a more engaging, personalized and effective communication strategy. By guiding our audience through each stage of the launch process, Rosey ensures that no one gets left behind and everyone stays excited about what’s coming next.

But we’re not stopping here. We’re constantly looking for ways to improve Rosey’s capabilities and enhance our launch process. With the upcoming Crack Your Course Idea Challenge happening September 30th-October 4th, we’re excited to see how Rosey will continue to drive engagement and results for our audience. We hope you’ll join us for the Challenge and all of our live sessions that’ll help you create a successful online course that stands out in our ultra-crowded online world. 

FREE Masterclass — Leveraging AI & Chatbots 

Ready to see AI and chatbots in action? Don’t miss this chance to learn from a true expert. Join Matt Leitz’s FREE Masterclass, How to Create Income With Artificial Intelligence… Even if You Don’t Have a Business or Product Yet!

Click the link to secure your spot and start leveraging AI for real results

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post Transforming Live Launches With Rosey: A Case Study on Chatbot Success appeared first on Live Your Message.

In this post, I’ll explain how to use AI to scale your business. Because if you want to keep leveling up, you can’t ignore what’s already here. 

Ready? Let’s do this!

AI-Enhanced Customer Support

Picture this. You’ve just launched your first online course, but there’s a hiccup. A student, let’s call him Tom, is super excited to dive in, but he hits a snag trying to access the course material. Frustrated, he reaches out to your customer support for help. Here’s where the magic happens.

Tom’s greeted not by a standard impersonal automated response but by an AI chatbot that feels like he’s talking with a real-life empathetic support team member. This AI isn’t your run-of-the-mill robotic assistant. It’s trained to understand not just what Tom is asking but how he’s feeling. The AI chatbot asks Tom to share a screenshot of his issue. In real-time, it analyzes the process and recognizes that Tom simply missed the “start here” button. It guides him with clear, easy-to-follow instructions sprinkled with a little bit of humor to lighten the mood.

Tom’s problem is solved. Easy peasy. No back and forth for hours or even days. No angry follow-up emails. This kind of interaction will soon be routine. While AI handles straightforward questions, your human support team can take on more complex issues, elevating the overall quality of your course and your student experience.

Want to give AI-enhanced customer support a try? Check out Zendesk Answer Bot, Intercom, Freshdesk’s Freddie AI, Drift or LivePerson.

(FYI, I’ve got all the tools I share in this post here. I don’t earn any type of commission or anything — I just thought this would be helpful!)

AI-Powered Personalization

Imagine having a secret weapon that knows your audience better than they know themselves. That’s the power of AI. It’s like having a marketing guru on your team working 24-7 to craft hyper-personalized messages that resonate with each individual on your list.

Take Sarah, an aspiring digital artist who visits your website looking for online courses to hone her skills. She browses a couple of pages but leaves without enrolling. However, she signs up for your emails. Thanks to AI, this isn’t the end of the road; it’s just the beginning.

The AI has been quietly observing, noting Sarah’s interest in digital painting and her tendency to visit in the evenings. It sends her a personalized email sequence. The first email lands in her inbox at 7 p.m. the next day, featuring a blog post on transforming digital art with advanced techniques. This isn’t just any email; it’s tailored to Sarah’s interests and timed perfectly.

AI-powered personalization is already used by big players like Netflix and Amazon to suggest shows, movies, and products. Smaller online companies are leveraging it too. Birchbox, for instance, uses AI to personalize the products in each box based on the customer’s beauty profile and feedback on previous boxes.

Curious? Check out Drift, Segment, Optimizely and HubSpot Marketing Hub.

AI-Driven Sales Predictions and Lead Qualification

Imagine having a crystal ball that not only predicts your future sales trends but also tells you exactly which leads are ready to say, “Take my money!” Think of AI as your very own sales guru who never sleeps.

These tools can forecast sales trends, giving you a sneak peek into what’s hot and what’s not. This way, you’re always one step ahead, ready to pivot or double down on what works. But wait, there’s more. AI doesn’t just stop at predictions; it helps you qualify your leads, ensuring no more wasted efforts on leads that go nowhere.

For example, let’s say you run Design Your Dreams, an online platform offering interior design courses. Traditionally, you’d spend hours analyzing which prospects might be interested in your advanced courses. But with AI, you implement a tool that tracks user interactions — what they click, watch, engage with and what they don’t. This allows you to focus your efforts, sending personalized communication to those most likely to convert.

Intrigued? Take a look at Leadfeeder, Intercom, Pipedrive, Outreach, Drift, Conversica and Exceed.ai.

AI for Market Research and Customer Insights

Imagine AI as an ultra-smart, always-on researcher who can sift through mountains of data about your customers’ behaviors, preferences and feedback. Traditionally, understanding what your students really wanted involved heaps of surveys and guesswork. With AI, you can go deeper.

By analyzing data from various touchpoints — like website interactions, course completion rates, feedback forms and even social media comments — AI can show you patterns you might have missed. This helps you create tailored courses and content that keep students engaged and progressing.

Check out tools like Google Analytics Intelligence, Tableau, Optimizely, MonkeyLearn and BuzzSumo for data-driven insights.

AI-Powered Content Creation

The content creation treadmill can be exhausting — coming up with blog post ideas, crafting engaging video scripts and making sure everything is SEO-friendly. But what if I told you there’s a way to excel without burning out or breaking the bank? Enter AI-powered content tools.

These platforms learn your style, understand your audience and even keep up with SEO trends to ensure your content ranks high and reaches far. For example, if you run The Green Smoothie Haven, a blog and online course hub for health and wellness, AI can help you brainstorm blog topics, write posts and optimize for SEO — all in a fraction of the time.

Let’s not forget about video content. Producing video scripts can feel like scripting a blockbuster movie every single week. With AI, you can cut scripting time in half! Train AI to write in your voice, input a topic and get a draft that’s a great jumping-off point for your list.

Curious about AI tools that can uplevel your content game? Take a look at Jasper, ChatGPT, Shortly AI, Lately, Copy.AI and Poe.

AI for Enhanced Customer Experience

Let’s crack the code on something groundbreaking for online entrepreneurs: AI-powered tools that turbo-charge customer experience. Think personalized dashboards, predictive search and automated recommendations that make your customers feel like you’re reading their minds.

Duolingo uses AI to offer personalized learning experiences, adjusting lessons based on your progress. Spotify crafts the soundtrack to your life by predicting the exact tunes you’re in the mood to hear, even before you hit play.

At Live Your Message, we’ve built a custom AI-powered tool called Ainslee.ai that does a lot of the heavy lifting for our students, helping them fast-track their success. We’ve created dozens of integrated AI generators to help them define their niche, generate profitable product ideas, design marketing campaigns and much more. 

For customer experience tools, check out Help Scout, Churn 360, Intercom, Zendesk, Drift, Algolia, Pendo and of course Ainslee.ai — our proprietary tool available inside our Live Your Message programs.

How Will You Use AI to Explode Your Growth?

I hope this post gave you a glimpse into how you can start using AI right now to explode your growth and reach seven figures and beyond. 

First, think about where you’re struggling the most in your business. What areas are you spending too much time and energy on that aren’t yielding the results you need? Start with what I shared in this post and the tools listed (I’ve got them all for you here), and do some research to figure out what’ll work best for your business and your price point.

Scaling to seven figures and beyond means embracing these technologies now, not only to automate mundane tasks but also to provide deep insights, enhance customer experience and open new avenues for engagement and growth. AI can be intimidating, but it’s the future. And guess what? The future is now, so don’t put it off any longer.

You’ve got this.

Drop me a comment with what you’re focusing on first in your business… and then go out there and Live Your Message!

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post Using AI to Scale to 7 Figures appeared first on Live Your Message.

Yup, no more getting halfway through a book and then putting it back on your shelf to get back to later or pretending you’ve read it in conversations with your entrepreneur friends… lol, I see you! Every single one of these is super actionable and can be finished in one afternoon or even quicker if you’re an audiobook kind of person. 

Intrigued? Let’s get to it! Watch the video or keep reading below…

1. The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

First up, clocking in at 190 pages, just under our 200-page limit, is Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art. I recommend this one for anyone who thinks for a living, meaning you. This book teaches you a truth that you’d otherwise be blind to: we are at war, a war that many of us are losing, the war against resistance.

Resistance is the evil force that holds every creative endeavor back from reaching its full potential. It’s the silent enemy that prevents you from creating the timeless masterpieces you were put on this earth to create. It’s what makes you afraid and anxious and causes you to sabotage your best work.

Many entrepreneurs think resistance is nothing more than laziness, but this book shows that resistance is something far more personal and vindictive. So if you want to win this battle, overcoming resistance with a capital R, you need to acknowledge the battle and your part in it. And this book can help.

2. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson

Next, let’s talk about cute mice. Yep, just like this one. Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson is a tiny book at 98 pages with a deceptively simple story that’s a powerhouse of insights on change, adaptability and the pursuit of success in our ever-evolving business landscape.

The story features two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two little people, Hem and Haw, living in a maze. They all love cheese, and when the cheese disappears, their reactions vary wildly. The mice quickly move on to search for new cheese, but Hem and Haw learn their lessons in very human-like ways.

On our entrepreneurial journey, the cheese represents what we want to achieve, like success, fulfillment and innovation. The maze is the environment we navigate — market, technology, customer behavior — which is constantly shifting around us. Change is inevitable. Like the cheese, your market can shift, your products might need to evolve or new competition can emerge overnight.

So, be like Sniff and Scurry, keep your eyes peeled for signs of change in your industry, and be ready to act swiftly rather than being caught off guard.

3. Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

Quick fun fact: Austin Kleon and I both live in Austin, Texas. His 160-page book, Steal Like an Artist, is critical if you feel like you’re not good enough or have no new ideas. Here’s the thing: nothing is truly original. You need to embrace influence.

Instead of trying to create something out of thin air, Kleon encourages us to collect ideas, mix them with our personal experiences and create something new. It’s about seeing the value in everything and finding your voice through the synthesis of those influences.

Look around, be curious, and find inspiration in the everyday. As Gustave Flaubert said, “Be regular and orderly in your life so that you may be violent and original in your work.” 

Use Steal Like an Artist as your permission slip to stop waiting for inspiration to strike and start finding it everywhere you look.

4. Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur by Derek Sivers

This one’s a lean, mean read at just 96 pages. Derek Sivers reflects on his journey building CD Baby, the largest online distributor of independent music, and shares 40 incredible lessons that redefine what it means to be an entrepreneur.

This isn’t your typical business book; it’s a manifesto for doing business your way. It focuses on happiness and the real reasons we’ve chosen entrepreneurship. Success comes from adaptability, not sticking rigidly to a plan. It’s about making constant adjustments based on real-world feedback.

5. The Dip by Seth Godin

The Dip isn’t just a phase to endure; it’s a test to pass. It separates the hobbyists from the professionals, the dabblers from the committed. Understanding that the dip is inevitable is crucial because it means you’re not failing, you’re just in the thick of it. And that’s exactly where you need to be to push through to greatness.

One of The Dip‘s most powerful lessons is learning to identify which dips are worth pushing through and which dead ends are worth quitting. Not all dips lead to success, and Godin provides a framework to help us decide when to hold on and when to let go.

6. Girlboss by Sophia Amoruso

At 256 pages, I’m cheating a bit, but it’s too good not to include. Girlboss is a coming-of-age narrative that tells the story of Sophia Amoruso going from broke and homeless to frugally hustling her way to build Nasty Gal, an e-commerce darling that eventually went bankrupt. But she didn’t let that stop her; she built an empire helping other entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams.

Girlboss is about starting where you are with what you have and scaling with intention. It shows that your unconventional traits aren’t liabilities but assets.

Which One Will You Read First?

There you have it — six business game changers under 200 pages and one that’s just a hair longer:

1. The War of Art
2. Who Moved My Cheese
3. Steal Like an Artist
4. Anything You Want: 40 Lessons for a New Kind of Entrepreneur
5. The Dip
6. Girlboss

Drop me a comment below with the one that you’re reading first and share a small yet mighty recommendation of your own!

Now, go out there and Live Your Message!

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post Quick Reads Entrepreneurs Can Devour in One Day appeared first on Live Your Message.

A lie that’s prevented you from achieving the success and fulfillment you desire. What lie am I talking about? The lie that starting an online business is risky, complicated and dangerous. In other words, starting your own business isn’t worth it. But I’m here to call BS on that because the reality is, with the right business model, starting a business can be safe, fulfilling, and even wildly profitable, especially right now.

In this post, I’m diving into nine of the hottest markets to build your own thriving and long-lasting online business. I’ll even share the pros and cons for each, so you can go into your new business venture fully prepared for the road ahead. 

If you’re ready to finally start your online business today, let’s do this thing!

Hot Market #1: Coaching Business

If you dream of a life-filled business with flexibility, freedom, impact and a hefty dose of income, then starting a coaching business might be for you. Why coaching? Imagine having the power to guide someone to their ultimate goals, combining your expertise with the personal touch that helps them discover their own path.

Pros:

• Immediate Start: You can start right away with the knowledge and skills you already have.
• High-Profit Potential: Personalized coaching can command top dollar.
• Growth Opportunities: Expand from one-on-one clients to online courses, group coaching programs, and digital products.

Cons:

• Scalability Issues: You’ll hit a wall coaching clients by yourself. To grow, you’ll need to hire and train additional coaches.
• Demanding Commitment: It’s something you live and breathe, not just a job.

Hot Market #2: Consulting Business

If you’ve built up a wealth of expertise and are wondering how to turn it into a thriving business, consulting might be your next big move. Consulting involves assessing needs and providing solutions, often for businesses looking for fast answers.

Pros:

• Low Upfront Costs: You can start with minimal investment.
• Immediate Start: Use your existing knowledge to begin immediately.

Cons:

• Scalability Issues: Like coaching, scaling a one-on-one model is tough.
• Heavy Competition: You’ll need to differentiate your offers to stand out.

Hot Market #3: Online Courses

The online course market is booming, and anyone can create a course using the knowledge they already have. It’s a market that’s expected to skyrocket to a trillion dollars within a decade.

Pros:

• Scalability: Once created, you can sell the same course repeatedly.
• Ongoing Income: Courses can generate income for years with periodic updates.
• Flexibility: Work from anywhere, at any time.

Cons:

• Market Saturation: Certain topics can be highly competitive.
• Marketing Required: Effective marketing is essential to attract and retain students.

Hot Market #4: Freelance Business

If you love writing copy, designing logos or taking photos, then a freelance business might be right for you. Freelancing allows you to use your existing skills to get started with low upfront costs.

Pros:

• Flexibility: Work on projects you’re passionate about on your own schedule.
• Low Upfront Costs: Start with your existing skillset and a laptop.

Cons:

• Scalability Issues: You’re trading time for money, which limits earning potential.
• Inconsistent Income: Without long-term clients, income can be unpredictable.

Hot Market #5: Software Business

Launching a successful software venture can transform the way people work like Zoom revolutionized communication. However, it requires a blend of creativity, technical know-how and relentless determination.

Pros:

• High-Profit Potential: Successful software can scale rapidly.
• Acquisition Opportunities: Innovative solutions can attract acquisition by larger companies.

Cons:

• Technical Requirements: You’ll need technical skills or a co-founder with them.
• Continuous Effort: It’s not a set-it-and-forget-it business; continuous improvement is needed.

Hot Market #6: Agency Business

Starting an agency involves leading a team to tackle client challenges. It’s about more than just working on projects; it’s about building authority and a strong reputation in your industry.

Pros:

• High Earning Potential: More clients and projects mean more revenue.
• Industry Authority: Build a strong reputation as your agency shines.

Cons:

• Long Build Time: You’ll often start solo, building a client base before you can scale.
• Management Responsibilities: Leading a team comes with many responsibilities and late nights.

Hot Market #7: Creator Business

A creator business is where you make money from creating content through social media platforms, sponsorships and subscriptions. It’s about leveraging your unique personality and knowledge to draw in an audience.

Pros:

• Authenticity: Earn money from your personality and knowledge.
• Sponsorships: Highly profitable once you build a dedicated audience.

Cons:

• Time-Consuming: Building an audience takes months or even years.
• Highly Competitive: Standing out requires constant innovation and content refinement.

Hot Market #8: Membership or Subscription Business

Providing ongoing services for a monthly fee can be incredibly profitable. This model includes both physical and digital subscription services.

Pros:

• Recurring Revenue: Stable, predictable income.
• Scalability: Memberships can grow significantly with the right strategy.

Cons:

• Audience Requirement: Hard to start without an existing audience.
• Continuous Effort: Keeping it fresh and relevant to retain members.

Hot Market #9: Affiliate Marketing Business

Affiliate marketing involves recommending products and earning commissions from sales. It’s often done through niche blogs or social media platforms.

Pros:

• Passive Income Potential: Set up links and watch commissions roll in.
• Low Barrier to Entry: Start with minimal investment.

Cons:

• High Competition: Stand out with unique angles or underserved markets.
• SEO Knowledge: Essential for driving traffic and making sales.

Conclusion

There you have it: nine of the hottest markets to start your thriving online business. Whether it’s coaching, consulting, creating courses, freelancing, launching software, starting an agency, becoming a creator, offering memberships or diving into affiliate marketing, there’s a path for everyone. 

Here’s the thing — if you’ve been on the planet for at least 15 years, you have the knowledge, skills, and expertise to start your own online business. 

So, what are you waiting for?

If you need that extra push to build your online business, join us in Success School. You’ll get the coaching, training, resources and community you need to become a successful business owner! 

Learn more here and then go out there and Live Your Message!

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post Hot Markets: Spotlight on Today’s Thriving Online Businesses appeared first on Live Your Message.

You can save hours of planning, creating and scheduling content. Hours crafting, executing, monitoring and tweaking your marketing campaign. Hours reading and responding to Facebook group comments, page comments, messages and reviews.

But how do you choose the right Facebook tool or tools for your business?

I’ve done the research for you.

Read on for 11 Facebook tools that are worth knowing for business owners and entrepreneurs. After reading, you can explore the ones you think will best serve your needs and budget.

Ready?

Here’s the list (in alphabetical order)…

1. Agorapulse

Agorapulse is an all-in-one social media management tool. You’ll find just about everything you need to manage your Facebook account efficiently.  

Simplify your content strategy with the following features:

• Plan, collaborate and schedule content across all your platforms
• Queue content by categories
• Recycle well-performing content
• Keep all your digital media in the Asset Library
• Upload and schedule in bulk
• Collaborate with your team in the shared content calendar

Social Media Inbox gathers all messages, comments and reviews into one inbox. Other perks to this inbox include:

• Message filtering and labeling 
• Saved replies
• Automated Inbox Assistant
• Real-time collaboration with teams
• Both Marketing API and Graph API

Agorapulse also offers social listening and monitoring, content recommendations, analytics and reports. 

Download CSV reports or schedule reports to automatically forward to your inbox. Advanced plans include competitor analysis reports and Power Reports.

Pricing starts at $49 per month and you can try it out free for 30 days, no credit card required. 

2. Buffer

Buffer also aims to be your go-to for social media management. 

Plan, schedule and publish content to different social media platforms from one dashboard. You can even tailor your post to each social network.

Buffer also consolidates all engagements onto one filterable dashboard. View all your unanswered comments first and address them right away. Create flags for any important questions, comments or negative sentiments within comment feeds.

Paid plans include a dashboard for tracking, analytics and reporting across platforms. Paid users can also integrate their accounts to Google Analytics.  

Buffer’s mobile app and Chrome Extension allow for Facebook management from anywhere. 

Buffer plays nice with others, too, integrating with dozens of different third-party tools. Zapier and Automate.io can integrate your Buffer account with thousands of web apps.

Try Buffer’s free plan, or test-drive a paid plan free for 14 days, with no credit card required. Paid plans start at $5 per month per channel, billed annually.

3. Canva

Canva is a popular graphics design tool that helps you create visuals for any occasion. Design stunning cover photos, ads, Stories, event covers or post templates. It’s our favorite here at Live Your Message!

Canva boasts quite a few design features:

• Thousands of templates, graphics and fonts
• PDF, JPG, PNG, animated GIF and MP4 video export formats
• Photo, video and PDF editing tools
• Text design tools
• Library of royalty-free stock images and videos
• Premium image library (Enterprise users only)

You can also upload and edit your own design templates as well as using Canva’s wide array of resources. Download Canva’s mobile app for design on the go.

Teams can collaborate on the same designs using Canva’s team features:

• Invite team members and choose access permissions
• Collaborate in real-time
• Post comments
• Share design elements and templates 
• Save assets and projects with Canva Folders

Canva’s free plan offers plenty of great features. For those ready to scale, paid plans start at $15 per month/per person ($120 if billing annually). Try out Canva Pro for free for 30 days (credit card is required).

4. Capcut

Capcut is a powerful and user-friendly video editing tool. It offers everything you need to create stunning videos quickly and easily.

Simplify your video creation with these features:

• Easily trim, cut, and split your video clips
• Add transitions, filters and effects to enhance your videos
• Insert text, stickers and emojis to make your videos engaging
• Choose from a library of music and sound effects or add your own
• Adjust the speed of your clips for slow-motion or fast-paced effects

Capcut’s advanced editing features include:

• Combine multiple video clips, images and audio tracks.
• Use green screen effects to change your video backgrounds
• Add smooth animations to your video elements
• Fine-tune the colors in your videos for a professional look
• Record and add voiceovers directly within the app

Capcut also offers convenient export options:

• Export your videos in high definition up to 4K.
• Adjust resolution, frame rate and other settings to fit your needs.
• Share your videos directly to Facebook and other social media platforms including Instagram and TikTok

Capcut is free to use with all its features. Download it and start creating amazing videos today!

5. Heyo

Heyo helps increase your engagement and grow your email marketing through fun campaigns. 

Use Heyo to create Facebook contests, sweepstakes, promotions, giveaways and coupons. You can also run user-guided content campaigns and refer-a-friend promotions. 

Run your next campaign on your Facebook page, across other social media platforms or on your web page. Thanks to mobile-friendly templates, you can run them on mobile too. 

Your promotional campaigns will help you grow your email list. Third-party email integrations will allow you to manage your email marketing further. 

Free live training is included with all plans. This ensures you get the most out of this Facebook marketing tool.

Pricing starts at $25 per month, billed annually. This Basic plan includes 3 campaigns and 3 brand pages. You can also sign up for their 7-day free trial with no credit card required.

6. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is another powerful, well-known social media management tool.

Create, schedule and publish each Facebook post directly from Hootsuite’s interface. Communicate from one inbox that combines all conversations into one thread. 

Use AI to help create engaging content:

• OwlyWriter AI makes posting on social media quick and easy
• Instantly generate captions and get winning post ideas for every network

Try out the #1 employee advocacy platform:

•  Amplify makes it easy for your employees to share your content, massively extending your social reach.

Prove your social media ROI with deeper insights:

• Shows insights from all paid and organic campaigns
• Integrates Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics to track audience engagement
• Contains customized dashboards that help measure and prove ROI

Easily manage your social media advertising:

• Plan and publish paid and organic ads
• Review in-depth reports and analytics
• Customize filters
• Receive a monthly performance analysis
• View recommendations

HootSuite’s paid plans start at $99 per month. Try the Professional or Team plans free for 30 days. A credit card is required for free trials. You do get 20% off if you skip the free trial. 

7. Manychat

Manychat is a versatile tool for automating your social media messaging. It’s designed to help you engage with your audience more effectively. We use Manychat for our fun and helpful chatbot, Rosie! We also use the comment-to-Manychat feature regularly to easily get our best content into the hands of our audience.

Here’s what Manychat offers:

• Create automated chat flows for Facebook Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp
• Use visual drag-and-drop builder to design your chatbot
• Segment your audience for targeted messaging
• Set up drip campaigns to nurture leads
• Integrate with other marketing tools and platforms

Manychat’s growth tools help you expand your reach:

• Use widgets and pop-ups to capture leads on your website
• Create QR codes to link offline marketing with your chatbots
• Leverage click-to-Messenger ads to drive traffic

Analytics and insights features include:

• Track open rates, click-through rates and conversions
• A/B test different messages and flows
• Generate detailed reports to measure performance

Other key features:

• Send broadcasts to engage your audience with updates and promotions
• Use templates to get started quickly
• Collaborate with your team in managing chat flows

Manychat offers a free plan with basic features and paid plans starting at $15 per month. I highly, highly recommend this one!

8. Metricool

Metricool is currently all the rage for online business coaches and agencies!

It’s a powerful tool for managing all your social media accounts in one place. It’s designed to help streamline your social media strategy with ease.

Here’s what you can do with Metricool:

• Plan, create and schedule content across multiple platforms
• Automate your posting to save time
• Organize your content with categories and tags
• Access a Media Library to store and manage your assets
• Collaborate with your team using the shared calendar

Metricool’s Analytics feature lets you track performance and gain insights:

• Monitor key metrics across your social media accounts
• Generate detailed reports to understand your audience better
• Compare your performance with competitors
• Download and share reports with your team

Other key features include:

• Social Media Inbox for managing messages and comments in one place
• Track and manage your ads with ease
• Utilize the heatmap to identify the best times to post

Metricool offers a free plan with basic features and paid plans starting at $18 per month. So, it’s a great cheaper option!

9. Post Planner

Post Planner focuses on simplifying the entire content journey. It features cross-channel post creation, scheduling and planning tools:

• An automated post calendar 
• Bulk uploads capability 
• Automatic recycling of evergreen posts
• Media Library for all your digital assets
• Curated content from all over the web
• Live post previews to see how your content looks on your Facebook page before you publish

Monitor your content’s performance with Post Planner’s analytics dashboard. Brand mention notifications will alert you anytime your brand pops up in conversation.

There is a free plan. Paid plans start at $7 per month (billed annually). So, if you’re looking for a less expensive social media planning and scheduling tool, Post Planner might be the one for you!

10. ShortStack

Another marketing tool for creating Facebook promotions is ShortStack. You can build promotions to run on mobile apps, web pages, microsites and landing pages. 

Build and publish campaigns using custom templates and form builders. Select from a wide variety of campaigns:

• Photo contests
• Video contests
• Sweepstakes 
• Quizzes
• Instant Win 
• Comment-to-Enter
• Refer-a-Friend

Define entry criteria and the number of allowed votes or entries for a given period. You can also program a random winner selection. 

Track and manage campaigns using real-time analytics:

• See who’s viewing each campaign vs who’s participating
• See demographics info on participants
• See which devices participants use most to engage with your campaigns 

Email features include:

• Scheduled emails
• Auto responses
• Recipient filtering
• Unified dashboard for contest entries and emails
• Analytics

ShortStack integrates with a host of other tools. Connect email tools, CRM solutions, automation tools and video and audio widgets. 

You can try the Business plan for free, with no credit card required. Plans start at $99 per month, with savings of 20% if you choose annual billing.

11. Sprout Social

Our last Facebook tool is Sprout Social… another major cross-channel social media management solution. 

It offers a slew of content planning, creation and publishing tools: 

• Post scheduling
• Asset library
• Content suggestions
• Built-in approval workflows
• Team collaboration features

Sprout’s Facebook analytics tools track the performance of each paid and organic campaign. Customize reports and export as PDFs or in CSV format.

Manage all your Facebook communications from one unified inbox called Smart Inbox. Respond to all your reviews, comments and messages from one dashboard. 

Premium solutions are available as paid add-ons to any plan:

• Social Listening: audience analysis, consumer research, influencer recognition, sentiment research trend identification
• Premium Analytics: performance reports on profile, posts, tags, competitors, teams and paid campaigns
• Employee Advocacy: customizable curated content feed, performance analytics and insights (available with an Enterprise Account)

Sprout also integrates with a variety of third-party business solutions. And like many of the tools on this list, it has a mobile app.

Plans start at $199 per month per user, billed annually. You can try it out for free for 30 days, no credit card required. 

Which Facebook Tools Will Be Your New Best Friends?

There you have it… my list of 11 Facebook tools that should make your job (and life) easier. Hopefully, it gives you a solid jumping-off point to start narrowing down your options. 

Always keep in mind that tools will only get you so far… you need a solid strategy to really have a positive impact on your business.

Let us know once you’re in test-drive mode with the remaining contenders (a lot of these tools offer free trials). And drop a comment with which tool(s) you chose and why.

And if you’ve been thinking of potentially leaving Facebook, I’ve got 7 solid alternatives for you to peruse.

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post 11 Facebook Tools Every Business (& Entrepreneur) Should Know (2024) appeared first on Live Your Message.

Maybe some motivation, encouragement, or a gentle kick in the rear to get you going?

You’ve come to the right place!

In this post, I’ve compiled a list of inspirational work quotes that have been shared with the world by entrepreneurs, public figures, authors, athletes, and thought leaders.

Let’s jump right in.

1. “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” — Abraham Lincoln
2. “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” — Steve Jobs
3. “No work is insignificant. All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
4. “We can do anything we want to do if we stick to it long enough.” — Helen Keller
5. “We fear the future because we are wasting today.” — Mother Teresa
6. “One must work and dare if one really wants to live.” — Vincent Van Gogh
7. “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” — Albert Einstein
8. “Never allow a person to tell you ‘no’ who doesn’t have the power to say ‘yes.’” — Eleanor Roosevelt
9. “Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.” — Mark Twain
10. “Someday is not a day of the week.” — Janet Dailey

    

11. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” — Walt Disney
12. “Success in never final; failure is never fatal.” — Conrad Hilton
13. “Once you agree upon the price you and your family must pay for success, it enables you to ignore the minor hurts, the opponent’s pressure, and the temporary failures.” — Vince Lombardi
14. “Failure is not the opposite of success: it’s part of success.” — Arianna Huffington
15. “Employees, especially young people, want more than a paycheck.” — Marissa Mayer
16. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” — H. Jackson Brown Jr.
17. “Either you run the day or the day runs you.” — Jim Rohn
18. “Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile.” — Gary Ryan Blair
19. “I learned this, at least, by my experiment; that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” — Henry David Thoreau
20. “Progress has little to do with speed, but much to do with direction.” — Unknown

    

21. “If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.” — Dalai Lama
22. “Don’t wish it were easier. Wish you were better.” — Jim Rohn
23. “My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.” — Michael Jordan
24. “It has been my observation that most people get ahead during the time that others waste.” — Henry Ford
25. “I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” — Stephen Covey
26. “Build your own dreams or someone else will hire you to build theirs.” — Farrah Gray
27. “Developing a good work ethic is key. Apply yourself at whatever you do, whether you’re a janitor or taking your first summer job because that work ethic will be reflected in everything you do in life.” — Tyler Perry
28. “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” — Dale Carnegie
29. “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” — Woody Allen
30. “Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work in hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.“ — Alexander Graham Bell

    

31. “Don’t be afraid to give your best to what seemingly are small jobs. Every time you conquer one it makes you that much stronger. If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.” — William Patten
32. “Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.” — William Feather
33. “Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.” — Albert Einstein
34. “The best way out is always through.” — Robert Frost
35. “A creative man is motivated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others.” — Ayn Rand
36. “The best way to predict your future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln
37. “You always have two choices — your commitment versus your fear.” — Sammy Davis Jr.
38. “Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th.” — Julie Andrews
39. “A year from now you may wish you had started today.” — Karen Lamb
40. “If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” — Steve Jobs

    
    

41. “Nothing succeeds like success. Get a little success, and then just get a little more.” — Maya Angelou
42. “Your talent determines what you can do. Your motivation determines how much you’re willing to do. Your attitude determines how well you do it.” — Lou Holtz
43. “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” — Amelia Earhart
44. “You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.” — Jim Rohn
45. “Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”  — George Bernard Shaw
46. “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work, one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it.“ — Ralph Waldo Emerson
47. “We will either find a way or make one.” — Hannibal
48. “Light tomorrow with today.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning
49. “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal. Nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong attitude.” — Thomas Jefferson
50. “Go as far as you can see; when you get there, you’ll be able to see further.” — Thomas Carlyle

    

51. “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire, the size of your dream, and how you handle disappointment along the way.” — Robert Kiyosaki
52. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier
    
53. “Try not. Do, or do not. There is no try.” — Yoda
54. “Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.” — Warren Buffett
55. “Work hard and be kind and amazing things will happen.” — Conan O’Brien
56. “Don’t count the days, make the days count.” — Muhammad Ali
57. “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing; that’s why we recommend it daily.” — Zig Ziglar
58. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” — Colin Powell
59. “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” — Mario Andretti

    

60. “The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
61. “The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems.” — Mahatma Gandhi
62. “Not knowing you can’t do something is sometimes all it takes to do it.” — Ally Carter
63. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act. But a habit.” — Aristotle
64. “Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald
65. “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” — Henry David Thoraeu
66. “If you are not where you want to be, do not quit. Instead reinvent yourself and change your habits.” — Eric Thomas
67. “Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” — Anne Sweeney
68. “Time is an equal opportunity employer. Each human being has exactly the same number of hours and minutes every day. Rich people can’t buy more hours. Scientists can’t invent new minutes. And you can’t save time to spend it on another day. Even so, time is amazingly fair and forgiving. No matter how much time you’ve wasted in the past, you still have an entire tomorrow.” — Denis Waitley
69. “The best revenge is massive success.” — Frank Sinatra

    

70. “When someone tells me ‘no,’ it doesn’t mean I can’t do it, it simply means I can’t do it with them.” — Karen E. Quinones Miller
71. “Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it.” — Chinese Proverb
72. “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” — Nelson Henderson
73. “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” — Confucius
74. “I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” — Emile Zola
75. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” — Robert Louis Stevenson
76. “Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” — Henry Ford
77. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” — Thomas Edison
78. “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” — Thomas Edison
79. “People who wonder if the glass is half empty or half full miss the point. The glass is refillable.” — Unknown

    

80. “When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” — Paulo Coelho
81. “The individual who says it is not possible should move out of the way of those doing it.” — Tricia Cunningham
82. “Start by doing what’s necessary, then what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.” — Saint Francis
83. “Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.” — Lou Holtz
84. “You can do anything, but not everything. Prioritize better.” — Unknown
85. “Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.” — John F. Kennedy
86. “Abandon anything about your life and habits that might be holding you back. Learn to create your own opportunities.” — Sophia Amoruso
87. “The more I want to get something done the less I call it work.” — Richard Bach
88. “Failure defeats losers, but it inspires winners.” — Robert Kiyosaki
89. “Your goal should be just out of reach. But not out of sight.” — Remi Witt

    

90. “If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan and guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” — Jim Rohn
91. “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” — Ella Fitzgerald
92. “If your dreams don’t scare you, they are too small.” — Richard Branson
93. “Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did.” — Newt Gingrich
94. “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela
95. “The future depends on what you do today.” — Mahatma Gandhi
96. “First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win.” — Mahatma Gandhi
97. “Talent means nothing, while experience, acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.” — Patrick Suskind
98. “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” — Pelé
99. “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” — Wayne Gretzky

    

100. “Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into visible.” — Tony Robbins
101. “You must want to be a butterfly so badly, you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.“ — Trina Paulus
102. “If you get tired, learn to rest, not to quit.” — Banksy
103. “You are not your resume, you are your work.” — Seth Godin
104. “Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all.” — Sam Ewing
105. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” — Lao Tzu
106. “What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
107. “Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort.” — Franklin D. Roosevelt
108. “How wonderful is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.“ — Anne Frank
109. “Make each day your masterpiece.” — John Wooden

     

110. “Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” — Zig Ziglar
111. “If a mind thinks with a believing attitude, one can do amazing things.” — Norman Vincent Peale
112. “To think too long about doing a thing often becomes its undoing.” — Eva Young
113. “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.” — Steve Jobs
114. “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” — Meister Eckhart
115. “You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” — John C. Maxwell
116. “Victory is always possible for the person who refuses to stop fighting.” — Napoleon Hill
117. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” — Tim Notke
118. “Through perseverance, many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.” — Benjamin Disraeli
119. “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” — Albert Einstein

     

120. “With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.” — Thomas Fowell Buxton
121. “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” — Jimmy Johnson
122. “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” — Will Rogers
123. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you’re right.” — Henry Ford
124. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” — Confucius
125. “Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” — Earl Nightingale
126. “A river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but its persistence.” — Jim Watkins
127. “I’m a greater believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.” — Thomas Jefferson
128. “You’ve got to get up every morning with determination if you’re going to go to bed with satisfaction.” — George Lorimer
129. “Do the hard jobs first. The easy jobs will take care of themselves.” — Dale Carnegie

     

130. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe
131. “Believe you can and you’re halfway there.” — Theodore Roosevelt
132. “Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.” — Dalai Lama
133. “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” — Alice Walker
134. Think of many things, do one.” — Portuguese Proverb
135. “One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was from a horse master. He told me to go slow to go fast. I think that applies to everything in life. We live as though there aren’t enough hours in the day but if we do each thing calmly and carefully we will get it done quicker and with much less stress.” — Viggo Mortensen
136. “Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.” — Dwayne Johnson
137. “You get to decide where your time goes. You can either spend it moving forward, or you can spend it putting out fires. You decide. And if you don’t decide, others will decide for you.” — Tony Morgan
138. People who succeed have momentum. The more they succeed, the more they want to succeed and the more they find a way to succeed. Similarly, when someone is failing, the tendency is to get on a downward spiral that can even become a self-fulfilling prophecy.” — Tony Robbins
139. “Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.” — Thomas J. Watson
140. “The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.” — Colin R. Davis

     

141. “Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” — Jack Canfield
142. “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” — Leonardo Da Vinci
143. “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” — Brian Tracy
144. “What you lack in talent can be made up with desire, hustle and giving 110% all the time.” — Don Zimmer
145. “I attribute my success to this: I never gave or took any excuse.” — Florence Nightingale
146. “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” — Amelia Earhart
147. “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is.” — Vince Lombardi
148. “Never confuse movement with action.” — Ernest Hemingway
149. “The only thing worse than starting something and failing is not starting something.” —Seth Godin

150. “I don’t look to jump over 7-foot bars — I look for 1-foot bars that I can step over.” — Warren Buffett

151. “Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” — Alexander Graham Bell

152. “Stay afraid, but do it anyway. What’s important is the action. You don’t have to wait to be confident. Just do it and eventually the confidence will follow.” — Carrie Fisher

153. “The key to success is to start before you are ready.” — Marie Forleo

154. “A focused fool can accomplish more than a distracted genius.” — Alex Hormozi

155. “Some of life’s greatest opportunities are in the detours.” — Kevin J. Duncan

156. “Every time I do something that expands my personal comfort boundaries, I discover some strength I didn’t know I had.” — Pamela Wilson

157. “Everything is practice. Every word you write and action you take is a chance to get better.” — Jeff Goins

158. “Learn from your mistakes. The number one reason I see entrepreneurs failing isn’t because they make mistakes, but they keep on making the same ones over and over again. Learn from them and avoid making the same ones over again.” — Neil Patel

159. “Often people focus on their weakness and spend most of their time trying to get better. In my case, I do the opposite. I try to focus on my strengths and see how I can get even better.” — Syed Balkhi

160. “At some point or another, life punches everyone in the face. The punch may be hard, or it may be soft, but it’s definitely coming, and your success or failure is largely determined by the answer to a single question: how well can you take the punch?” — Jon Morrow

161. “We don’t know what we’re capable of until we’re challenged.” — Adam Connell

162. “No true growth comes without opposition. Sadly, humans desperately try to avoid what’s uncomfortable. But what would you do if you knew you could not fail?” — Jaime Buckley

163. “Rather than picking up your next book, take action on your last book.” — Alex Hormozi

164. “When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor.” — Elon Musk

What are Your Favorite Inspirational Quotes For Work?

Let me know in a comment below!

And don’t forget to bookmark this post before you go. If you ever need words of wisdom or encouragement, these quotes will be standing by to help you.

Have a hankering for more quotes? Check out 267 business quotes that’ll wow and inspire you!

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post 160+ Inspirational Quotes for Work in 2024 (& Beyond) appeared first on Live Your Message.

Those who leverage AI to scale… and those who hope the robots will just go away.

Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the BEST AI tools to scale your business…

I definitely recommend you watch my video where I’ll walk you through how to use AI to scale!

Let’s do this!

AI-Enhanced Customer Support Tools

Zendesk Answer Bot: This tool automatically resolves customer queries with the help of AI, providing instant responses and freeing up your team to handle more complex issues. It learns from each interaction to improve its accuracy and efficiency over time.

Intercom: Intercom uses AI to provide personalized communication at scale, enabling you to engage customers through targeted messaging and automated responses. This enhances user experience and increases conversion rates by delivering the right message at the right time.

Freshdesk’s Freddy AI: Freddy AI from Freshdesk uses machine learning to predict customer intent and provide automated solutions, significantly reducing response times. It helps agents by suggesting solutions, managing repetitive tasks and analyzing customer sentiment.

Drift: Drift employs AI-powered chatbots to engage visitors in real-time, qualify leads and book meetings, transforming how businesses interact with potential customers. Its conversational marketing platform personalizes interactions and boosts the efficiency of sales teams.

LivePerson: LivePerson leverages AI to power its messaging tools, enabling businesses to connect with customers through their preferred channels. It offers real-time insights and analytics to optimize interactions, improve customer satisfaction and drive sales.

AI-Powered Marketing Tools

Drift: Drift’s AI-powered platform excels at conversational marketing and sales, enabling businesses to engage with website visitors in real-time. The tool automates lead qualification and scheduling, enhancing the user experience and increasing conversion rates through personalized interactions.

Segment: Segment offers a customer data platform that collects, stores and routes your data to hundreds of tools at the flick of a switch. By unifying data from multiple sources, Segment provides a comprehensive view of the customer journey, enabling precise targeting and personalized customer experiences.

Optimizely: Optimizely focuses on digital experience optimization, allowing users to conduct A/B testing, multivariate testing and personalization. Its AI capabilities help predict the best experiences for different audiences, thereby improving engagement rates and conversion through data-driven decisions.

HubSpot Marketing Hub: This all-in-one marketing platform uses AI to streamline marketing efforts across email, social media and web channels. HubSpot’s tools help attract new visitors, convert leads and demonstrate ROI with integrated analytics, enhancing overall marketing effectiveness.

AI-Enhanced Sales Tools

Leadfeeder: Leadfeeder uses AI to identify companies visiting your website, even if they don’t fill out a form. By tracking this anonymous traffic and providing detailed insights about visitors, it enables sales teams to discover new leads and understand customer intent for more targeted follow-ups.

Intercom: Intercom enhances sales processes by using AI to automate lead qualification and personalized customer interactions at scale. This tool helps sales teams engage effectively with prospects through targeted messaging and automated workflows, increasing conversion rates and sales velocity.

Pipedrive: Pipedrive is a sales management tool designed to help small sales teams manage intricate or lengthy sales processes. Backed by AI, it offers predictive analytics to guide sales efforts, automate repetitive tasks and keep sales funnels flowing smoothly.

Outreach: Outreach empowers sales teams to engage with potential customers more effectively through intelligent sales engagement. Its AI features automate repetitive tasks, optimize email sequences and provide actionable insights, helping teams close deals faster.

Drift: Drift’s AI-powered conversational platform enhances sales by allowing real-time engagement with potential customers directly on your website. It automates lead qualification, schedules meetings and personalizes interactions, helping sales teams connect with prospects at the right moment.

Conversica: Conversica provides an AI-driven sales assistant that automates the lead contact and follow-up processes. This virtual assistant engages leads in natural, two-way conversations, ensuring no lead is left behind and improving the efficiency of sales teams.

Exceed.ai: Exceed.ai automates lead qualification and follow-up using AI-powered virtual assistants that engage prospects with human-like conversations. This tool helps scale the pre-sales process, allowing human reps to focus on closing deals rather than managing initial interactions.

AI-Powered Data-Driven Insights

Google Analytics Intelligence: Google Analytics Intelligence enhances data analysis with machine learning, helping users uncover insights from website traffic data automatically. It allows users to ask questions in natural language and provides actionable insights, which helps in optimizing marketing strategies and improving website performance.

Tableau: Tableau is a powerful data visualization tool that integrates AI and machine learning to help make data-driven decisions more accessible across an organization. It enables users to see and understand data, providing intuitive analytics that can predict trends and uncover hidden insights.

Optimizely: Optimizely uses AI to streamline the experimentation process, allowing businesses to test different strategies on their digital platforms. Its robust A/B testing and personalization capabilities help businesses optimize user experiences based on real-time data insights, enhancing customer satisfaction and conversion rates.

MonkeyLearn: MonkeyLearn specializes in AI-driven text analysis, utilizing machine learning to automatically extract and classify information from texts such as customer feedback, support tickets and social media mentions. This tool enables businesses to gain deeper insights into customer sentiments and trends, improving decision-making and strategy development.

BuzzSumo: BuzzSumo employs AI to analyze content across the web, providing insights on what content performs best for any topic or competitor. It helps content marketers and strategists discover trending topics, monitor brand mentions and identify influential content creators, enabling more effective content strategies and engagement.

AI-Powered Content Creation Tools

Jasper: Jasper is an AI-powered content generation tool designed to help writers create high-quality content quickly. It supports a wide range of formats, from blog posts to ads, using advanced language models to generate engaging and contextually relevant text, streamlining the content creation process.

ChatGPT: Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT is an advanced conversational AI that can generate human-like text based on the input it receives. It’s used for a variety of applications, including customer service, content creation and interactive experiences, helping to reduce workload and enhance communication.

ShortlyAI: ShortlyAI is focused on helping writers break through writer’s block and create content efficiently. Using AI, it extends initial ideas into full-fledged articles or stories, providing a seamless flow of content that maintains the user’s original tone and style.

Lately: Lately uses AI to automatically transform long-form content into dozens of smart social posts, helping to amplify the reach of marketing campaigns. It analyzes past posts to determine what will generate the most engagement, optimizing content distribution across social platforms.

Copy.ai: Copy.ai is an AI tool that specializes in creating marketing copy instantly. From email marketing to product descriptions, it provides templates and suggestions that help marketers generate creative and compelling text, reducing the time and effort needed to produce content.

Poe: Poe is an AI chat platform that connects users with different AI personalities and models for a variety of use cases, including content creation. It provides a space for experimenting with different styles and approaches in writing, offering a unique blend of creativity and technology for generating text.

AI-Powered Customer Experience Tools

Help Scout: Help Scout provides an AI-powered customer support platform that enhances the customer service experience by automating common queries and organizing customer conversations efficiently. It helps support teams manage multiple requests with ease, ensuring customers receive timely and personalized assistance.

Churn360: Churn360 is specifically designed to identify at-risk customers and improve customer retention rates using AI. It analyzes customer behavior and engagement to predict churn risk, enabling businesses to proactively address concerns and tailor their outreach to keep customers satisfied and engaged.

Intercom: Intercom uses AI to automate customer communications across various channels, providing personalized and scalable support. It enhances customer engagement through targeted messaging and automated workflows, leading to faster resolutions and improved customer satisfaction.

Zendesk: Zendesk integrates AI across its customer service platform to offer more efficient ticket management and self-service options. AI-driven insights help agents resolve issues faster and more accurately, while predictive analytics improve the overall management of customer interactions.

Drift: Drift utilizes AI-powered chatbots to facilitate real-time conversations on websites, helping businesses qualify leads and provide instant support. Its conversational AI can schedule meetings, provide product information and personalize interactions, enhancing the customer experience and boosting conversion rates.

Algolia: Algolia leverages AI to power its search and discovery features, making it easier for users to find relevant products and information quickly. Its AI algorithms optimize search results and recommendations, improving usability and customer satisfaction on e-commerce sites and digital platforms.

Pendo: Pendo uses AI to provide insights into user behavior and application usage, enabling companies to deliver more personalized experiences. It guides users through features and updates with in-app messages and walkthroughs, helping to increase engagement and reduce churn.

Ainslee.ai: Ainslee is our proprietary AI platform that acts as a marketing assistant for our students. We’ve created dozens of integrated AI Generators to help our students define their niche, generate their profitable product ideas, come up with winning offers, design marketing campaigns and so much more. Ainslee is only available in our programs

Just getting your business off the ground? Join us in Success School, our program that will transform you into an “Expert Entrepreneur” in just 20 minutes a day.

Already have a successful business you’re looking to scale? Check out our yearlong business coaching accelerator, Momentum. I call it a “Best of All Worlds” program! Schedule a 25-minute call to learn more

AI-Powered Personalized Experiences

Recombee: Recombee utilizes AI to offer real-time personalized recommendations and content customization across various digital platforms. It integrates seamlessly with websites, apps and even email marketing, using user data to tailor recommendations that enhance engagement and increase conversion rates.

AdRoll: AdRoll leverages AI to streamline ad campaigns across different platforms, providing a unified approach to digital advertising. Its machine learning algorithms optimize ad placements and targeting, improving the relevance of ads shown to each user, which boosts click-through rates and sales.

Algolia: Algolia employs AI to enhance search functionalities on websites and mobile apps. Its sophisticated algorithms predict and deliver the most relevant search results instantly, providing users with a seamless and efficient search experience that drives engagement and satisfaction.

Optimizely: Optimizely integrates AI into its experimentation platform to facilitate more effective A/B testing and personalization strategies. It helps businesses understand customer preferences and behaviors, enabling them to deliver optimized and personalized experiences that lead to higher conversion rates.

Personyze: Personyze is a comprehensive AI-powered personalization engine that allows for deep customization of website content, emails and advertisements based on visitor behavior and data. It can segment audiences and tailor experiences across platforms, enhancing user engagement and increasing loyalty and sales conversions.

There you have it — a breakdown of some of the BEST tools to use AI to scale your business!

Now, you might be wondering — Marisa, where do I even begin?

First, you want to think about where you’re struggling the most in your business — what are the areas that you’re spending way too much time and energy on that aren’t yielding the results you need? 

Maybe it’s content creation?

Or perhaps it’s keeping customers with you for the long haul?

Whatever those areas are — start with the tools I shared and my video tutorial — and do some research of your own to figure out what’ll work best for your business and your price point! 

I truly believe that scaling to seven figures — and beyond — means embracing these technologies NOW… not only to automate those mundane, day-to-day tasks but also to provide deep insights, enhance customer experience and open new avenues for engagement and growth. 

I know AI can be intimidating… but it’s the future and guess what? The future is NOW…

So, don’t put it off any longer… you’ve got this!

Let me know in a comment the area you’re tackling first with AI-enhanced tools

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post AI Tools to Scale Your Business to 7-Figures (and Beyond) appeared first on Live Your Message.

Over my many years in business, I’ve read A LOT of books.

Personal growth books, productivity books, business strategy books, historical books, innovative marketing books, books about finance, books from the biggest titans in our industry…

I’ve learned A LOT about starting, building and scaling a business from books! 

And 99% of the books I’ve read have NOT had the impact that these 5 underrated books have.

For each book I share, I’ll give you actionable takeaways you can use to grow your business…

So, let’s get to it!

The E-Myth Revisited

First, we have The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber. 

This one’s a classic.

It had a major resurgence during the Pandemic when many people chose to leave their 9-to-5 life to strike out on their own.

The journey into entrepreneurship often starts with what Gerber calls an “entrepreneurial seizure.” It’s that moment when a Technician — someone skilled in a particular craft — decides they no longer want to work for someone else. 

But here’s the twist: 

This desire to ditch the 9-to-5, while powerful, often overlooks the complexities of running a business. 

It’s not just about being great at your craft — it’s about understanding and managing the entire business system.

This leads to what Gerber terms the “fatal assumption” — the belief that if you know how to do the technical work of your business, you’ll understand a business that does that technical work. 

In other words, because you’ve mastered your craft, you’ll naturally succeed in business…

When real business success comes down to a mindset shift — from a Technician to an Entrepreneur.

Because business success requires a different set of skills — like leadership, marketing, sales and finance… and the fatal assumption that once you’ve mastered the technical side of your business — you’ll automatically succeed — is why many businesses struggle or fail, especially in the first five years.

You need to build systems and processes that reflect your values and standards and produce consistent results. 

As an entrepreneur, you work ON your business, not just in it. 

This shift allows you to focus on growth, strategy and innovation rather than getting bogged down in day-to-day tasks.

You see, going into business isn’t just about doing what you love… it’s about creating a structure that allows your business to grow and thrive — WITHOUT being solely dependent on you…

This is why The E-Myth Revisited is a book you NEED on your shelf.

Deep Work

Next up, we have this absolute game-changer, Deep Work by Cal Newport…

I first read this one in April 2022 at one of the lowest points in my business. 

My attention was being splintered in a thousand different directions — constant pings and dings from this guy — Slack, social media, email, you name it…

I wasn’t able to get in and stay in my zone of genius…  

And I had had enough!

I even considered an offer to buy my company, Live Your Message…

But then something amazing happened…

I picked up Deep Work.

And since reading it, I’ve reclaimed my ability to experience levels of concentration SO DEEP that I’m able to create the work I’m meant to share with the world — ON DEMAND…

And I want that for you too!

What I love about Newport is he doesn’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach. 

In Deep Work, he outlines four strategies for diving deep:

The Monastic Approach: Think of monks in a monastery. It’s about isolating yourself completely to focus… 

Imagine retreating to a cabin in the woods to write that novel without any distractions whatsoever.

Now the next Deep Work Strategy is the Bimodal Approach: This is where you split your schedule according to the depth of work.

This is where you plan large, uninterrupted blocks of deep work time — where you work in a monastic style. Then, when you’re done, you move on to more shallow work. 

To make this approach work, you have to dedicate enough time to reach maximum cognitive intensity so you can really go deep. 

Newport recommends allocating AT LEAST one full day each week for the Bimodal Approach to really work. 

Now, the third Deep Work Strategy is the Rhythmic Approach. This is what I primarily practice and the easiest way to start dropping into deep work sessions. 

Consistency is key here. 

You want to schedule daily 3-4 hour deep work sessions and get them on the calendar. I don’t take meetings before 1pm so every morning is dedicated to deep work. 

And, lastly, there’s the Journalistic Approach. This is perfect for those with busy schedules.

It’s about seizing any unexpected free time and dedicating it to deep work. This strategy requires you to change from low-intensity tasks to Deep Work on a dime.

Don’t be afraid to mix approaches! 

The key is to be intentional and track your habits to find what works best FOR YOU.

She Means Business

Next up, we have a book for EVERY entrepreneur who’s let fears and doubt hold them back — which is all of us, to be honest!

In She Means Business: Turn Your Ideas Into Reality and Become a Wildly Successful Entrepreneur, Carrie Green really pulls back the curtain to show just how much fear and vulnerability even the most successful small business owners carry.

No matter where you are on your entrepreneurial journey, we all carry our inadequacies and worries with us…

We’re afraid we’re not good enough or that we’ll disappoint people. 

We’re terrified we’ll fail and waste the time and money we’ve poured into our business.

One of the biggest takeaways from She Means Business is Green’s focus on overcoming this fear and self-doubt. She shares her own struggles and how she pushed past them. 

The key? 

Embrace your fears, acknowledge them, and then take action DESPITE THEM. 

Courage ISN’T the absence of fear but the decision to move forward even when you’re scared…

Because that great idea living in your head… is meaningless if you don’t take action on it!

So, break your goals into small, manageable steps and start tackling them — one by one — it’s these consistent actions that build momentum and lead to success.

The Lean Startup

Knowing you want to grow your business is one thing, but knowing HOW to keep it manageable is another… which leads me to my 4th book… and this one’s a classic!

The Lean Startup is the ultimate rule book on HOW to grow your business steadily and manageably.

This book has stood the test of time as one of THE definitive pieces on trimming the excess weight off a business.

At its core, the Lean Startup methodology advocates for a systematic, scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups. Ries’s perspective is that startups should focus on learning WHAT their customers really want and then iterate their product quickly based on feedback… rather than spending years perfecting a product without understanding market needs.

The Lean Startup approach has been a game-changer for us at Live Your Message!

The Psychology of Money

Quick riddle for you:

This is something EVERY business needs to survive and thrive, but for many entrepreneurs, even the mere mention of it causes anxiety…

Or simply ISN’T motivating. 

If you said: MONEY… you’re spot on…

Here’s the thing…

According to Noam Wasserman, there are 13 specific motivations that drive us in our businesses… Altruism, Autonomy, Financial Gain, Lifestyle, Managing People, Positioning, Prestige, Recognition, Security, Variety, Power & Influence, Intellectual Challenge and Affiliation…

And understanding your hidden motivations or WHY you do what you do makes growing your business SO much easier…

Now, financial gain ISN’T one of the top motivations for many entrepreneurs — I know it’s not for me — but money IS vital to growing your business. 

Because INCOME FUELS IMPACT.

But so many entrepreneurs are completely turned off OR overwhelmed when the topic of money comes up.

It doesn’t help that financial advice is often very technical. So it seems like money is ALL about spreadsheets and numbers…

We know we should be saving in case an emergency comes up…

We know we should have a retirement fund… 

And yadda yadda yadda…

So, what IF there were a BETTER way to look at money and finances? 

There is!

In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel points out that financial decisions can’t always be made with calculators, spreadsheets, and graphs…

We make decisions with our heads.

But you could know ALL the tips and tricks to become financially successful… but if your behavior doesn’t gel with what you know, you’ll NEVER succeed.

This isn’t just true when it comes to your finances… it’s true in EVERY aspect of your business.

As our income increases, we have this amazing ability to allow our expenses to increase — right along with them… am I right?

And I’m not just talking about business expenses here… 

As we start making money… we’re tempted to try to “keep up with the Joneses” — meaning bigger houses, better cars and “first-class” vacations…

And, before you realize it, you’re on this hamster wheel of more money and more stuff…

But, somewhere along the way, most entrepreneurs realize that their happiness is NOT tied to the accumulation of MORE…

It’s tied to making a real impact on this world! 

So, if you want money to fuel the impact you want to make, you can’t miss The Psychology of Money.

There you have it — the 5 underrated books that’ll make a REAL, LEGIT impact on your business…

• The E-Myth Revisited
• Deep Work
• She Means Business
• The Lean Startup 
• And The Psychology of Money

Go ahead and drop me a comment with 2 things — which of these 5 books you’re reading FIRST AND an underrated read you recommend…

Before you go…

Get Instant Access to my FREE Dopamine Button Guide!

Inside, you’ll discover 3 little-known brain hacks that skyrocket your course engagement & sales…

Here’s the thing: the “old way” of designing and launching courses just isn’t cutting it anymore.

If you want to attract students who buy and keep buying (not to mention send referrals your way!)…

You need to do things differently.

Enter the Dopamine Button — the super-secret button in your students’ brains that you can leverage to create incredible results for them AND repeat sales for you.

Download your copy today! 

The post Top 5 Underrated Books Every Entrepreneur Should Check Out? appeared first on Live Your Message.

Entrepreneurs – even the most successful ones – can fall victim to financial mistakes. 

Take filmmaker George Lucas of Star Wars fame…

In the mid-’80s, he was having cash flow issues.

He had invested heavily in new technology that hadn’t quite taken off while his returns from Star Wars were starting to dwindle. 

So he decided to sell a small animation division of his company, Lucasfilm, to Steve Jobs for just $5 million bucks in cash.

That little division he sold for $5M? 

It was a little division called Pixar…  

AND NOW? 

Pixar is worth over 7 billion dollars!

So, even though George Lucas’ net worth today is still over 5 billion dollars… it would have been at least twice that if he hadn’t gotten into the cash flow crunch that resulted in selling Pixar for just pennies on the dollar!  

In case you’re tuning into my channel for the first time, hi there! I’m Marisa Murgatroyd. I’ve coached and supported tens of thousands of entrepreneurs — from side hustlers to 7-figure empires — on how to grow their online businesses… 

And I’ve seen pretty much every financial mistake and made some myself… which is why I wanted to share 5 of the most common money mistakes and what to do instead so you can grow and scale your business… 

Mistake #1: Ignoring Your Cash Flow

You might be shocked to discover just how many small businesses find themselves sinking into the abyss, not because they aren’t making sales but because they’re running out of cash. 

Let me give you a scenario… 

Let’s say there’s a blossoming online business called “Digital Dynamo Academy” that specializes in creating impactful online courses and group coaching programs for aspiring digital entrepreneurs. 

On the surface, Digital Dynamo Academy is a success story in the making, with enrollments climbing each and every month — and glowing testimonials flooding in.

But, beneath the surface, a storm is brewing — a cash flow crisis that threatens to capsize the entire operation.

Here’s where things went awry…

The founder, let’s call him Alex, focused on scaling the business, investing heavily in marketing campaigns, sophisticated course creation software, hiring a small team of experts and bringing in high-profile guest instructors. 

Sales were booming — or so it seemed. 

Much of the Academy’s revenue was tied up in receivables, spread out over the coming months, while the costs of running the business and the new investments were immediate — and unforgiving.

The cash flow problem hit a critical point when Alex had to dip into personal savings to keep the business afloat.

This is why it’s critical to know EXACTLY how much cash flow you have, so you can prepare and adhere to a budget. 

Without this knowledge, one mistake can quickly cascade into a disaster! 

This leads me to…

Mistake #2: Poor budgeting 

A lot of entrepreneurs think that if they’re good with money in other areas of their lives… they’ll be good with money in their business.

That is not the case! 

Starting a growing a business takes A LOT of multi-tasking so it’s easy to overlook things like money. 

That’s why setting a budget and keeping it top of mind by regularly reviewing and refining it is critical! This will help you prevent overspending and make sure you’re not spending money somewhere you don’t need to be. 

Take a look at where your money is going each month. A good rule of thumb is to start by evaluating the previous year.

Ask yourself: Is this how much I thought I’d spend each month? Are there things I don’t need to spend money on that I can cancel right now? 

Do I have the support I need? Are there blind spots that I SHOULD be spending money on? 

You may be able to make a few cuts right away — such as that monthly Hulu subscription you forgot about…

To free up cash for things that really matter…

The most critical thing when reworking your budget is to make sure your business goals are top of mind when determining your budget… 

Let’s say you’re looking to increase sales. 

If so, by how much? What expenses are necessary to accomplish that increase in sales? What possible cuts do you need to make so you can better allocate your budget? 

Or maybe your number one goal is to improve your product or service line… 

What improvements will you make? What impact will they have? How much will it cost? Do you need to hire new employees, coaches or freelancers to make it happen? 

Recently, I decided to uplevel our signature product — the Experience Product Masterclass — by incorporating something literally EVERYONE was talking about online… AI! 

Enter Ainslee.ai.

Ainslee.ai is our proprietary AI tool that helps our students overcome common stuck points and get results even FASTER.

We’ve created dozens of integrated AI Generators to make it easy for our students to define their niche, generate their profitable product ideas, come up with winning offers, design marketing campaigns and so much more.

Since this was a top priority for the year, I made sure to allocate a big chunk of our budget to this project… because I knew it would pay off — and it has! 

Much like a meteorologist, you want to forecast your sales for the year.

Take a look at what’s going on in your industry — the trends and predictions — and combine this with your own year-over-year sales to make as accurate of a forecast as you can — then from there figure out what investments you need to make to turn those goals into a reality. 

Because having a budget isn’t just about saving; it’s about spending strategically to invest in your business’s success…

Now, if you’ve been in my world for a while, you know I like to say: Before you can make money while you sleep, you first have to make money while you’re awake.

Yet, many internet marketing gurus have shouted the promise of passive income from the rooftops…

So, you go all-in, creating an offer that you think is a surefire winner… investing a ton of time, brainpower and money into it right away — only to watch it crash and burn… 

All that money going up in smoke… leaving you exhausted and discouraged… 

Mistake #3: Investing Too Much Into an Offer BEFORE You’ve Proven It

This mistake — investing too much into an offer before you’ve proven it’s going to work — has happened to the best of us!

Years ago, I flew to Hawaii to speak at my friend Peri Enkin’s event. 

At the time, monthly recurring income was considered the holy grail of online business, so I thought I’d give it a try.

I had what I thought was a brilliant idea: a 30-day Challenge Series designed to catapult people into action, focusing on one crucial area of their business each month. The first month was all about crafting and polishing your personal story into a compelling message. 

Sounds perfect, right?

Wrong! In my rush to launch this Challenge Series, I overlooked a critical step — proving the concept first. 

I poured time, energy and money into this project. My partner Murray even built a homemade teleprompter from cardboard and spare parts, dedicating a whole day to this labor of love.

And the grand total result? Drumroll, please… 

A staggering three sales… all that effort for a whopping $291 a month! 

The lesson is simple: Don’t invest too much time and money into an offer before you prove it. 

That’s why I recommend testing what I call the paper-plane version of your product…

This is a great way to test the simplest version of your product while STILL getting paid. 

You’re able to quickly gather feedback and make sure there’s a clear, visible value that your audience can see and understand. 

Then, once you’ve proven it sells… you can invest more time and money into optimizing your product and marketing… 

Bringing more money and customers into your business… so you can grow your business — without the risk!

Okay, ready for some real talk?

You’re focusing on the WRONG thing when pricing your offers…

Mistake #4: Focusing on the Wrong Thing When Pricing Your Offers

Understanding the true cost of your offers and mastering the art of pricing for transformation is critical to your success. This isn’t about slapping on the same price tag everyone else is using; it’s about understanding — and charging for the real, life-changing value you deliver.

Let’s start with the basics: Knowing how much your offers cost to deliver is crucial. But here’s where many entrepreneurs miss the mark — you shouldn’t just cover your costs — you want to charge AT LEAST 20% more for your offers than what it costs you to deliver. 

Why? Because your business isn’t a hobby. It’s a vehicle for creating impact and income. And having this margin is essential for sustainable growth…

Imagine “Jenny,” who creates an online course teaching photographers how to book more clients. 

She could charge for the hours of video content, the downloadable PDFs and a few live Q&A calls — the features. But what her students are really paying for is the transformation: going from struggling to book a single client to having a waitlist of clients eager to work with them. 

Jenny’s course offers a clear path to a thriving photography business. So, when she prices her course, it’s important that she’s not just covering the cost of hosting her videos or her time spent on live calls — but pricing for the value of turning someone’s passion into a profitable business. And that’s something that will pay off for years to come! 

Now, consider “Mark,” a health coach specializing in helping clients achieve their weight loss goals. Mark’s program includes personalized meal plans, workout routines and weekly coaching calls. 

If Mark were to charge just for these features, he might make a modest income. However, the real value of his program lies in the transformation his clients’ experience: gaining confidence, improving health and changing their lifestyle for the better. 

By focusing on the outcome and pricing for the life-changing transformation his clients achieve, Mark can command a premium for his services. 

Jenny and Mark AREN’T selling mere commodities — they’re offering transformative experiences. 

This is the essence of value versus commodity pricing. When you understand and can clearly and specifically communicate the exact transformation your students, clients or customers will experience, you no longer need to compete on price alone — because you’re offering something WAY more valuable than money…

So, as you design your next offer, ask yourself: What’s the transformation my clients seek, and how can I clearly communicate and deliver this in my offer?

Remember, your clients aren’t just buying a product or a service; they’re investing in a better version of themselves…

Make sense? 

If you’re like me, your passion lies in helping people. So, it can be tempting to put every single cent back into your business…

Mistake #5: Neglecting Your Personal Finances

Because — to have the impact and income you desire — you can’t neglect your personal finances.

You never know when the unexpected will happen — such as a medical or family emergency…

And if you don’t have the funds, you run the risk of putting yourself under unnecessary stress which could affect your ability to run your business. 

So, make sure you pay yourself!

Go back to the budget we talked about earlier and bake YOUR own pay into your business finances… so you aren’t caught off guard when the unexpected inevitably comes up. 

PLUS, you deserve to take a real vacation or two or three — EVERY SINGLE YEAR! 

So, there you have it — 5 common money mistakes and the smart moves to make instead!

1. Don’t let cash flow problems derail you… 
2. Set a budget that fits with your top business goals… and revisit and refine it often…
3. Don’t invest too much into your offer BEFORE you’ve proven it…
4. Charge for the transformation you provide NOT just the features you offer…
5. And, finally, pay yourself FIRST!

Do you have a money mistake and a smart money move to add? Drop me a comment!

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