Below are the show notes/summary for this episode. Please listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify for the full show! Xo, Alex

 

 

Today we’re going to talk about something exciting because I think all of you guys deserve this. It is how to make six figures, something that everybody wants when it comes to business. Last year, I think I hit like 85 K, and that was my first year in business. This year it’s May, and I’ve hit over six figures already. My goal is 500 K, which is a lofty goal, but I like a good challenge, so we’ll see how that goes. But I want to talk to you guys about making your first six figures because I did it in less than six months.

 

Tip #1: Always working on bettering your craft.

 

If you don’t get better at what you do, you can’t make more money. You, as an entrepreneur, always need to be focused on bettering whatever you do. For me, for branding and website design, every single client project that I work on, I’ve pushed myself so damn hard to make sure that the next project that I do is better than the one that I did previously. 

 

I always want to get better and better and better and better and because that’s my job as an entrepreneur. You have to do the same. Always be better and always continue your education and always push yourself. If you’re not pushing yourself, you’re not going to get more dream clients. You’re not going to get them because if your work is not getting better, nobody’s going to care about the stuff that you’re doing. I hate to say it. So, number one, always focus on bettering your craft. 

 

Tip #2: Become a leader in your industry. 

 

How do you do that? First off, you have to be super confident in your skills. I am a very truthful individual, so I don’t have confidence in my skills if I don’t actually have those skills. Some people like are into the fake it ’till you make it type of thing. That is not something that I can personally do. And I’m not saying that it’s bad. I think that’s a great tactic if you can actually do it because eventually, you’ll get to a point where you’re actually truthful about what you say. I’m not telling you to lie here. I had to create a skillset that was far better than most people in the market for myself to become confident in my skillset. I did my research. I found all of my competition in this small business world with brand and website design. I always analyze trends.

 

I always stay up with the trends. I have a master’s degree. I’ve worked with super high-profile clients when I was in the ad industry. I’ve also worked with some bomb ass individuals that are technically small business owners, but they’re kicking ass out. I have confidence in myself because I know that I have the skills, and I have years and years of experience. I have many, many, many degrees, and I’ve just pushed myself. I have to learn to become confident in my skill set. If you’re not confident in your skills, keep learning, and keep pushing yourself to learn more, you will become confident. Just do as much work as fucking possible, and continuously analyze trends, analyze the market and educate yourself. You’ll become more confident in yourself. 

 

So that’s one part of becoming a leader in your industry. The other part is being an authority figure. So how do you stand out as an authority figure? You teach other people things. If you’re not expressing that you are a leader by teaching, people don’t know that you’re a leader. People don’t know what you know. If you’re actually teaching things, they know that you know shit because you’re teaching it. You look up to teachers as people that are going to teach you things. So, if you’re trying to be a leader, you need to teach.

 

You don’t need to become a coach. You don’t need to become anything special, just share your knowledge with the world. Give free value and become an authority. That helps you be a leader in your industry. 

 

 

 

Tip #3: Focus on how you can solve problems for your clients.

 

This is key. I come from the ad industry, so it comes naturally to me because all advertising is problem-solving. You find a problem, you figure out some insight, and you come up with a solution. That’s what I grew up on, that’s what I’m educated in. I’m taking that and bringing it into the entrepreneurial world. And I think that this is something that a lot of people don’t focus on.

 

I feel like if more people focused on this, they would make six figures a lot faster because it’s fundamental when it comes to business and when it comes to relationships with your clients. Why do I focus on the problems with my people, and how can I fix them? Because if you can fix people’s problems, they will pay you to do it. Then you’re going to make six figures. 

 

Originally, I would say the two things that really pushed my business to hit six figures this year. Number one was switching over to payment plans of only $500 a month. I noticed that $500 a month is a lot easier to swallow than $10,000 for a project right upfront. So, moving into $500 payments per month, it was easier for my clients to say, “yes, I want to do this with you, Alex.” So, the payment plan thing made my business skyrocket, and that was me pivoting and accepting the fact that we are now in a subscription culture and trying to figure out how I could implement that in my business. So, I think if you have the opportunity, you should implement payment plans in your business. Because I saw how much it affected mine, and I know that it can affect yours as well. So that’s number one. 

 

Number two was how I took COVID 19 and used it to my advantage. I used it to my advantage and my client’s advantage because I’m not just doing this for me, I’m actually solving my client’s problems. A lot of people didn’t have the money to do custom design, but they had a shit ton of time on their hands. So, I introduced branding & website design training, The Dreamer Club. I show my clients how to build their own brand and their own website in three weeks while they’re sitting your home bored, so you have the opportunity to take control of your visuals and your business.

 

Focus on the problems that your clients have and figure out solutions for them, and you will make six figures.

 

Tip #4: Always give more.

 

This is something that I pride myself on in my business. I always overvalue, and I tell that to people. You have to go above and beyond for your clients, for anybody that enters your space in business. You under price and overvalue, and the money will come back if you were actually trying to help people. So always, always, always give more. Don’t be cheap, just give more. You don’t have to nickel and dime every single person. It depends on the client. I have to say that upfront, some clients are a lot more work than others, and there are clients that you’re going to like to work with compared to others. 

 

So, pick and choose your battles, but overall, always give more overvalue. And also, when it comes overvaluing, give value for free. Do things for free because the minute somebody sees that you’re doing something for free and that you’re giving all this value for free, and they say, “Oh my God, this free shit that this girl just gave me has affected my business this much. Now I’m more willing to pay for whatever she’s coming out with next.”

 

#5: Humanize your business. 

 

You need to show up. People need to know you. People need to get to know you and be the real you! Don’t be a fake. My favorite reviews are the ones that say, “I feel like she’s just talking to me like a friend.” That is exactly my goal with this podcast. 

 

I am just a regular girl who’s here trying to talk about business. I am not above you. I’m not better than you. I am just here to chat. This is me, and you guys know that this is me from my stories from my Instagram. I’m always just trying to be as authentic as possible, and I don’t really care if somebody doesn’t like me. It’s okay because I’m actually being myself and they don’t like who I am, that’s fine. Because there are so many other people out there who do vibe with my energy and do appreciate my energy. It’s just so much easier to be yourself anyway.

 

You have to humanize your business, and you have to make it seem like you because if you’re being fake and you’re not being truly who you are, people will smell it. It’s so easy to smell inauthenticity. You need to show up on social. You need to share about yourself because if people look at your business and it’s just a business, it’s not as enticing. People are hiring you. They’re not just hiring your services, or they’re not just buying your product. They’re doing it for you as an individual because they like you. So, share yourself as a business. 

 

Tip #6: Have multiple income streams. 

 

This is huge. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket. Do you know the amount of income streams I have? I have custom branding and website design. Those are two separate income streams. Technically most people get both, but some people don’t. Then I have my training, my Dreamer Club. It’s all about upselling within the Dreamer Club, and it’s not because I’m trying to just continuously take people’s money. It is a business plan, of course, but I’m helping people. So, within the Dreamer Club, I have the opportunity for people to book an hour-long call with me to get my touch on their website for an hour basically. It’s a zoom call, and it’s all live. I do it directly with them, or we chat, and they watch every single little thing that I’m doing, and I teach them as I go. Then after that, I have the Dream Further program. I’m consistently upselling, and then I have my mini trainings, like the Dubsado training. You have to break down your multiple income streams and figure out how you can hit that six figures. 

 

 

Tip #7: Consistently launch new things.

 

This is huge, and this is something that I did not understand when I started my business. You have to talk your shit up. I barely make money on things when I’m not in the middle of a launch. It is a drastic difference between when I’m actually launching something or talking about something compared to when I’m silent about it. So, you need to launch things. You constantly have to come up with new products and new services. If you don’t, you’re not going to make six figures. You’ve got to move forward. You’ve got to hustle. 

 

Tip #8: You need to have strategic campaigns. 

 

By strategic campaigns, I mean, be smart. Do giveaways but do giveaways with people and things that you know are actually going to bring you, followers. I have crazy sales funnels in my business. This podcast that you’re listening to right now is a sales funnel. People will find my podcast, they will hear High Moon Studio, they will follow my account, they’ll know the value that I’m giving through this podcast, and then they’ll want to hire me, or they’ll want to join my training cause they know that the value that I’m giving.

 

So, you have to be strategic with your campaigns. Every photoshoot that I do, anything that I invest in my business, is all strategic. I don’t do it just to do a photo shoot. No, I don’t invest that much money into something and put that much effort and energy into something for nothing. It’s all for a specific reason. I think about it all. Be smart—dream smarter guys. Dream smarter, not harder. It’s the whole title of this entire podcast. It’s so important. 

 

Tip #9: Embrace the snowball effect.

 

I’ve already kind of talked about this, but once you get moving, don’t stop. Don’t stop. You don’t have the luxury of stopping. You’re already moving. Once you start, it’s everything in business. Once you get one referral, you’ll get two referrals and three referrals, and then you’re booked up the entire year.

 

Once your business starts growing and you put the effort back into it, it’s going to start growing. It’s just going to grow faster and faster and faster and faster and faster. So, you need to keep moving. Don’t stop. Put in the work. Don’t stop. 

 

Tip #10: Always move forward. 

 

You deserve it. You deserve to keep moving forward. You don’t need to move backward. If you’re moving backward in your business, you’re doing something wrong. And I understand life is a roller coaster; so is business. At the same time, you can always move forward. You can always be strategic and smart and push your business along in some sort of way. Don’t get down on yourself as long as you’re working. And working doesn’t always mean sitting at my computer and working. Working is the mind. Working is like finding a routine. Working is all of these things that you can’t even see. So, don’t get down on yourself like as long as you’re pushing yourself forward, and you know that you’re putting in work in some sort of way in your life and business. 

 

 

Please let me know if any of these tips helped you. And if you hit six figures, I, really, really need you to message me and tell me because I’m going to have a glass of wine for you and I’m going to celebrate with you and I’m going to send you a voice message or a video or something super exciting and get all pumped up for your success because that’s incredible. It’s a huge milestone, and I’m so excited to hear about all of your guys’ successes coming forward within the next year. Let’s see. Let’s see what you guys can do. What can you do? What are you willing to accomplish in your business? I believe in you. You believe in yourself, and you can do it. I promise you can do it. If I can do it, you can do it. 

 

 

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