Episode 126: My 6 life & business lessons learned from 2020

On this episode I'm talking about the six life and business lessons I learned in 2020.

This episode is sponsored by my FREE training: 3 legal & tax mistakes made by creative entrepreneurs & how you can avoid them. Sign up for this free Masterclass here, and get ready to unf*ck your biz.

(1) Life lesson: Minimalism is fantastic

My desire for minimalism stems from my Ennegram 7 and need for control when stressed. Minimalism and cleaning allows you to take control of your space. On this episode I discuss a conversation I recently had with one of my students about the message that minimalism sends, and thoughts that the message of minimalism is one associated with elitism.

I subscribe to the phrase, "Cluttered space, cluttered mind." Minimalism has helped me on the business side of my life to streamline my offers. I've gotten my business down to one funnel (check it out here). It will walk you through the steps to unfuck your biz.

Minimalism has helped to curb my spending, my shopping for items I don't need, and my household cleaning.

(2) Business lesson: Serve, serve, and serve some more

Put out helpful information in the form of content and your audience will come to you (but don't give it all so you still have something to sell). Give yourself the creative time and space in your business to be able to adapt quickly and provide more immediate help to things that are immediately needed. For example, many of my clients are wedding professionals and when COVID hit and events were being postposed, I pivoted my business to focus my content more on contracts so I could help vendors. I worked with other educators to provide contract education, which did lead to an increase in my email list. Keep your eyes and ears open for what can be useful to the people you're serving.

(3) Takeaways from the Black Lives Matter movement

Conversations this year went beyond the political issues at hand and circled back to our lives as a whole and how even if we thought we were on the right side of history, how we were failing in our own lives to improve the systems as a whole. I spoke a lot with friends on lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the online and entrepreneurial space and the differing views on posting the black square on Instagram.

You may need to put a conscious effort into following individuals with my diverse backgrounds and viewpoints than you. Following more Black educators, broadening your network and listening to a more diverse range of individuals. If you are looking for contacts that offer diversity, equity, and inclusion training, reach out. I have some friends that would be happy to speak with you.

(4) I got a lot done this year

I love the quote from Bill Gates, "we often overestimate what we can do in one year and often underestimate what we can do in 10 years." This year I launched Unf*ck Your Biz twice (helping 36 total business owner), launched the alumni membership, created a new course for beginner business owners, and wrote and released a book. Looking back, 2019 was a trial period, creating all the programs I thought I needed to serve and 2020 was the year I realized I missed the mark and began to restructure my programs to meet needs and now I'm ready to scale in 2021. To grow your business in a systemized way, it's important to think about your offers and how you're meeting the needs of the market.

(5) Responses to circumstances that are out of our control vary per person

Don't stress out about how you handled 2020m everyone's reactions are different. I like to keep myself busy (not saying it's healthy) and others not so much. Either way totally ok.

(6) Sometimes things fucking suck, and they don't need a positive spin

Going back to my enneagram 7, I like to put a positive spin on everything. People don't always like that and it's not always helpful when I jump into problem solving mode or try to spin something into a positive. It's a hard lesson for me, but there isn't always a positive to everything and it's okay to give someone space and let them know you hear them without making it into a positive.

Share your life and business takeaways from 2020 in my free Facebook Group, Braden's Besties.