It’s not a business you just go into without good reasons and good experience!

Here are some questions to ask when considering starting a coaching business:

Why do you want to start a coaching business?

If someone just told you that you can make a lot of money coaching – that’s the wrong reason.

If you think you can start a coaching business with little to no experience – that’s wrong and also the wrong reason.

Well you COULD start a coaching business with no experience but that wouldn’t be providing a quality service and many would not consider it ethical (myself included).

If you truly want to help others and really enjoy working one on one with clients you’re more likely to be on the right track with this decision.

Questions to Ask Yourself When Starting a Coaching Business:

• Have you developed the skills in the area you want to coach?
• Have you proven that your methods work, on yourself and others?
• How will you coach your clients? On the phone? Via Voxer? Via Email? On webinars? Other?
• Are you patient?
• Can you explain clearly your concepts, frameworks and strategies to your clients?
• How long are you willing to support your coaching clients for? Will you offer long-term coaching or short sprints?
• Would your help be better as a one-on-one offer or as a group coaching offer?

How to Start a Coaching Business for Introverts

Traditional coaching format includes some kind of live call where the coach and client get together and discuss goals or work out strategy/steps, etc.

For introverts who would also like to be coaches this is an issue.

You don’t want to book your calendar up with calls!

I hear you. This is the same issue I had and instead of fitting into the norm I just decided to create my own.

My high ticket coaching offer became call-free. People told me that wouldn’t work and it wouldn’t be seen as high value if there wasn’t the “live” component but that’s just not true.

When I do my “coaching without calls” I include many high-value elements. One such is the ability to email an unlimited amount of times. This allows my clients to get help when they need it and move forward fast. This adds MORE value, not less!

Checklist for Starting a Coaching Business

You can find this full checklist in PDF form and with more details in this blog post: coaching business checklist PDF

• Confirm you have real value, experience, and results to teach
• Develop core coaching qualities: listening, communication, resourcefulness, empathy, motivation
• Register your business and obtain necessary licenses/permits
• Decide on your coaching business model (calls, no-calls, group, hybrid, etc.)
• Set up your coaching website and email list
• Create a sales page for your coaching offer
• Design your client intake process (welcome, questionnaire, onboarding system)
• Prepare systems for client communication and resource sharing
• Start selling your coaching offer (ongoing process, not one-time)
• Market your coaching business through authentic outreach and connections
• Build and nurture a community of people who know, like, and trust you
• Avoid high-pressure tactics (e.g., discovery calls if they don’t fit your model)
• Continue improving your skills and refining your coaching approach over time

Do You Need a Coaching Certification to Start a Coaching Business?

No, you do not need certification.

The business coaching industry is highly unregulated. This is why you’ll find coaches in all kinds of price ranges and marketing and ethics.

It’s the wild west out there, still!

Be careful in looking for a coach yourself and be aware that you can start without certification.

You’re starting a business like any other that you can do without prerequisite or credentials.

If you DO decide to get a coaching certification beware! There are many people who just throw up a course and a certification. It doesn’t MEAN anything, other than they have a business with a course and they give you a certificate. It definitely doesn’t guarantee quality and qualifications.

So you want to take a step back and think about what you really need and how it will help you create the coaching business of your dreams.

A business that helps your coaching clients achieve great success!

No Shortcut to Starting a Coaching Business

Like every other business there is a whole series of activities you and/or your team will need to work through to get this business up and running.

I’ve always said it’s great to “earn while you learn” and if you want to get started quickly then I would put up a simple offer, have a simple onboarding process and find yourself your first clients.

Build your feedback, your referrals, your systems and grow from there.

I hope this has helped you be confident in your abilities to start and grow your own coaching business.

Wishing you all the best!

The post How to Start a Coaching Business appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

Let’s jump right in with a quick start list and then I’ll share more details with you:

Quick Start List to Start Freelancing

• Step 1. Decide what services you’ll provide and who you’ll serve (targeting).
• Step 2. Start networking with anyone and everyone you know. Tell them what you’re about to do.
• Step 3. Gather examples and experience that you can share with others.
• Step 4. Create a web presence that explains your offers.
• Step 5. Hustle for those clients! Tap your connections, make new connections, go to job boards, linked in, etc.

Ok so let’s take this one step at a time.

What Does it Mean to be a Freelancer?

One quick note before we get into the steps of how to start freelancing:

Let’s make sure we’re clear on what it means to be a freelancer.

A freelancer is someone who is self-employed. To start freelancing means you are starting your own business and becoming your own boss.

You’ll be hired by companies on a temporary or potentially longer term contract basis. You will not be an employee.

This gives you total freedom to choose your projects but it also means you are responsible for drumming up all your own business.

Whether you work from your kitchen table, a local coffee shop or an office space freelancing is about doing the work and running a business on your terms!

So let’s dive into the steps to starting a freelancing business.

Steps to Starting a Freelancing Business

Step 1. Decide what freelancer services you will offer

There are plenty of companies out there that need help and will be looking to work with an experienced freelancer.

While you may not have any clients yet you can still relay your experience from the work you’ve done in your job or in your own business, etc.

If you have zero experience in something then step 0 will be to get some. Work on projects for free or for yourself. Study up, practice and have something to show before looking for clients.

Now, once you know you have something to offer as a freelancer you’ll want to make sure it’s something people are paying for.

Here are some common freelancing job categories:

• Writer (article, blogs, emails, website, etc)
• Website designers
• Social media marketers
• Graphics designer
• Photography & Videography
• Editing (content, videos, audios)
• Bookkeeping
• Virtual Assistants
• Ads
• More

The list of potential freelance jobs is pretty endless.

Find something that people need, are willing to pay for and that you are great at doing! Then you’ll have a great start to becoming a freelancer.

Step 2. Start Networking

I’ve personally launched a freelance agency building websites and doing email marketing for local business owners.

After I made this decision I immediately set to connecting with a couple of friends who I knew would support me.

Turns out not only did they think it was a great idea, they wanted to promote me to their audiences, which were a great fit for my services.

Don’t negate the value of person to person connection! It’s very powerful.

While the internet is a great place for “self-serve” some things still need that personal touch! When you are offering a service one of the absolute best ways to get new clients has been and remains word of mouth.

How do you have word of mouth when you are brand new?

Talk… you gotta do the talking. Build on any reputation you already have. Share the value you bring. And maybe sooner than later a friend of a friend may need exactly what you have to offer.

How to start freelancing by networking. Ideas:

• Email people who may know someone who needs your services.
• Talk to your in-person friends and colleagues, and hand out business cards.
• Get on Linked-In and network.
• Create profiles on freelancing sites such as Freelancer and Upwork.
• Go to industry events, meetings and meetups and get to know people – make sure they get to know you, too, and what you do.

Step 3. Gather Examples and Experience You Can Share With Others – Your Portfolio

If you don’t have a customer portfolio then offer to do some work for free for someone you know could use it.

Or just create your own examples for a “pretend” client that you can showcase.

When I decided to offer website services for local small business owners I didn’t have any specific examples so I decided to create sites of the ideal clients.

If you’ve already got examples and results, great! Then move on to Step 4

Step 4. Create a Web Presence that Explains Your Offers

Now some people start freelancing and get booked up with clients so fast that they don’t even have time to work on their website.

This is a good AND possibly a not so good thing.

While you may get a rush of clients when you open shop there are likely to be times when your freelance business falls into a lull.

It’s a good idea to take the time from the start to get your marketing, AKA in this case your website, set up and ready to work for you when you need it.

If you need help building a website you can see this course on how to build a site in WordPress (by yours truly).

What to put on your freelancer website:

• Home Page – Introduce yourself and your business, highlight your offers and why they should hire you.
• About Page – Tell people about YOU, your experience, what you can do and don’t forget WHY. People are drawn to stories and someone who’s truly passionate about what they do.
• Services Page – On this page you can detail your services.
• Contact Page – How to get in contact with you so they can request a call or hire you.
• Blog Page – If you want to use content marketing as a long-term strategy a blog is a great choice!

Step 5. Hustle for Clients and Tap Your Connections

Bonus Step. KEEP Marketing

Even after you’ve gained clients do not stop marketing. It could be that blog for content marketing, social media marketing or maybe email marketing.

Whatever you choose to do build it into your business because you never know when you might lose a big client and need to quickly find another.

If you keep up on your marketing this is going to be a significantly easier task.

I once worked in a coworking space with a freelance virtual assistant who had three clients. Within the space of a couple of months she lost all three clients and did not have any other income streams or marketing in place. This is risky business!

Keep marketing and, when you can find space, build in other income streams. For freelancers offering courses is a natural fit, because you already have experience in something you know is in demand as people are already paying you for it.

You could turn those skills into a course so that those who can’t hire a freelancer yet can DIY. This won’t take away from your own potential clients. I’ve actually found that when I sell a course on the service I offer I get MORE clients. After people take the DIY they realize it’s too much work to do themselves and then they hire me to do it instead!

I hope this helps you understand how to start freelancing and be your own boss.

This is an exciting time. In case you have other concerns I thought of a couple more questions you might want answered…

Can you Create Lifestyle Freedom as a Freelancer?

I personally define lifestyle freedom as being able to work when you want, where you want, with who you want and how you want.

This fits the freelancer profile!

You can absolutely have lifestyle freedom as a freelancer if you choose your clients wisely and only work on the projects that light you up.

Lifestyle Freedom for me is ALSO about leverage and time-freedom.

So if you’re working 60 hours a week, feeling completely burnt out and not enjoying life then, no, that’s not lifestyle freedom.

Be very purposeful about what you build and you can create the freedom you crave while working on the projects that light you up.

Conclusion on How to Start Freelancing

Your most important activity is going to be telling everyone you know, constantly, what you’re offering.

This word of mouth is crucial to your success as a freelancer.

Wishing you all the very best as you create your lifestyle freedom as a freelance professional!

The post How to Start Freelancing appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

What is a lifestyle business?

It’s a business that allows you to:

• Work the hours you want to work
• Work on the projects you want to work on
• Work with the people you want to work with
• Work from the places you want to work with

A Lifestyle Entrepreneur puts LIFE FIRST, then the business.

This means you have to build your business by design. You have to think about what you want from that business in terms of your LIFE.

This is not something that ambitious entrepreneurs always do. They think that the business HAS to consume them and their life.

Hey – I love that for you if that’s what you want. But if it’s not, then becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur might be right for you.

As a mom to two amazing kids for the last 23 years I did NOT want to have a business that consumed all my time.

I purposefully built a business and a life that allowed me to drop everything and be there for my kids. That’s what I wanted. That’s why I started my business in the first place!

I’ll be honest with you here – as a mom it was HARD. The years were not flush with cash. While I was changing diapers and waking up late nights I had little time for my business. YET – I found ways to earn a full time income on part time hours.

To me this is the true spirit of a lifestyle entrepreneur!

You can make it work AROUND your life.

You might not always rake in the dough but your priorities could also be elsewhere, consuming your life, while the business pays the bills.

NOW that my kids are older my goals as a lifestyle entrepreneur are to take my lifestyle business to the next level. Doubling or tripling my income in the next few years!

You can see my 21 year online business income report here.

Peek Into the Life of a Lifestyle Entrepreneur:

Running an online business is all the good things you hear:

• Make money while you sleep.
• Generate passive income (work once, get paid more than once).
• Create leverage by selling something once and getting paid over and over.

As far as LIFE and how that looks, it’s all those things, too:

• Pick up your kids from school anytime you want.
• Work the hours you want, day or night, flexible or scheduled.
• Freely choose what you want to work on because YOU want to work on it.
• Create the business you want that reflects the life you want to live and live it!
• Take time off with automation and/or scheduling options of tools you use.

It’s also the things we don’t love:

• Figuring things out yourself – sink or swim.
• Dealing through times when NOTHING seems to work.
• Feel lonely because you work alone.

I was watching a video from someone who’d transitioned from a corporate job to running a “digital business”.

She said she didn’t really believe it was true.

She didn’t think you could REALLY just put stuff out on the internet and make a living doing so.

It IS true. You CAN do that. You can create your own Lifestyle Business!

How to Start a Lifestyle Business

Step 1: Find something you are VERY passionate about.

It’s not going to be easy so you need to decide on something that is going to excite you long term.

Step 2: Start creating a community of followers.

A lot of people go to social media for this. Sure, it’s easy to start but I personally think it’s a HAMSTER WHEEL of work… you can’t stop, you can’t get off. Instead – EMAIL. Email marketing is my jam. Always been and always will be! If you want to do like I did – build the email list ASAP. I’ve got classes on how to do that here.

Step 3: Get offers.

You could do affiliate marketing. You could create your own courses. You could offer coaching (like coaching without calls). You could start a membership. Whatever you do you need something to sell. This is how you make the money that lets you create the lifestyle and it’s what makes up a business so don’t skip this step!

Step 4: Optimize, Automate, Delegate and Scale.

When you have build a following (that you KEEP building) you will then need to think about how to scale. As a busy mom it took me about 17 YEARS to get to this step. The cool thing is, though, that I could take it at my pace. Now as my last child gets older and more independent I start to focus more and more on scaling my business.

Whatever you decide to do remember this:

Everything is made up. You can make your own rules, do your own thing and create the exact right lifestyle freedom business you want to! It’s so exciting to decide and declare to be a lifestyle entrepreneur. I wish you nothing but the best with it and to enjoy the ride!

Create Your Own Lifestyle Freedom Business!

If you’re tired of letting your business run you and you’re ready to create a true freedom business then this is for you, and it’s free. I’ve created a course called Lifestyle Freedom Business and it’s normally priced at $175 but you can register now for free. Just click the button below to get hooked up.

Click here to get Lifestyle Freedom Business FREE

The post What is a Lifestyle Entrepreneur & How to Become One! appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

A few years ago I wrote this blog post on getting out more often for Eventbrite. I thought I’d revive it now and share my own bucket list of business and personal things I plan on making happen this year (warning this list might grow and grow because it’s been too much fun thinking on great experiences I want in my life).

I was immediately interested in this topic because I need more experiences in my life. I don’t tend to be a collector of things and don’t like clutter I still seem to gather a good bit of “stuff”. Also, as an entrepreneur, I have to make a VERY concentrated effort to get out more often, be more social and basically not be a hermit who never leaves the house. You feel me?

So… I’m definitely making a pledge to get out more often this year and make more contact with the human world, not just the digital one ;).

Here are some of the ideas I came up with. Basically this is my “bucket list of things to do in 2025” to create more experiences and to avoid more things.

Coffee With Friends

This is so simple, yet so great. I love meeting up with my local friends for a chat and a coffee, or a walk through the mall. I intend to make it a point to find a friend to connect with at least once a month.

As I write this I literally have a coffee date planned with a friend tomorrow, so I must be ahead of the game!

Go to the Beach

We have a BEAUTIFUL local park that includes a beach, splash pad, full playground area and even an outdoor gym. It’s a really cool place and less than 10 minutes or so from there. As soon as the weather warms up this is a family destination, for sure.

This year I am going to see if I can make a business photoshoot (at that same beach) happen. I have a friend who’s a photographer and I’m wondering if she can grab her camera to do some on-location pics for me. Not sure if I can talk her into that or not but we’ll see.

Go to the Theatre

My son and I took the train to Toronto many years ago to see Phantom of the Opera. It was a really awesome thing to do with my teen son, who I really it’s not easy to find things to do together that we’d both like.

So… he’s all grown and left home now but I’m thinking a trip with both my kids to a production they’ll both like would be an awesome family outing.

Go to the Spa

There’s a beauty spa here in town that I haven’t even been to yet. This is the year… I’m thinking someone needs to gift me this for my birthday in January!

A friend of mine was talking about planning a spa day in Toronto, and I REALLY like that idea, too! I said “oh sure” when she mentioned it but we never set a date. After this blog post, I’m on it.

Girl time. Me time. Relaxing time.

Go to a Conference

I’ve been to a good few conferences over the years but since my little one was born they have been VERY few and far between. Matter of fact the last one I went to was almost 10 years ago! FAR too long!

It’s high time to change that. I LOVE business conferences and connecting with new people in that way. I met my friend Jen sitting in a presentation and chatting in between speakers and now we live 10 minutes away and meet regularly for coffee. Plus we’ve promoted and hired each other, too!

Attend Local Networking

Since the pandemic I haven’t been out to much locally at all and I really want to change that! It’s high time to connect with other, local business owners.

Go to the Movies

Movies are a great way to get out. We recently saw Moana 2 and loved it.

Go to Festivals

Festivals can definitely be a fun, affordable way to get out. There’s no time like NOW to start going to Google and Facebook and maybe, Eventbrite(?) to see what festivals are on the go.

Take a Vacation

When I wrote this back in 2017 we had a goal to take our daughter to Walt Disney World. We achieved that last year (2023), went again this year and are going back AGAIN next year, with friends! Goal accomplished!

I’m also a Disney specializing travel agent. I also book cruises, too. So travel is on the list for 2025 for sure!

Have a Backyard Party

Ok so weird and random: I have this pineapple tool that cuts the pineapple out in rings, leaving a full pineapple shell you could drink out of. Every time I use it Matt says we should have a party and use the hollowed out pineapples as drink cups. I agree. It’s the little things, lol.

This summer right before school our daughter threw a “pool party” for her friends. We rented a blow up slide, had a nice size blow up pool and a slip and slide and the girls had a blast.

So… this year we WILL have a backyard BBQ and we WILL be drinking out of cups made from real pineapples. Sounds fun, right?

Winter Festivities

There are so many great things, paid and free, you can do in the winter. Many places have free ice skating (I think?). Or you could drive around to look at the Christmas lights – some towns have amazing displays.

Another idea I heard was go to the small towns with the “hallmark” feel to them and grab a coffee or hot chocolate and pretend you’re in a hallmark movie. How fun does that sound!

I hope this inspires you to create your own bucket list of experiences to create this year. Winter is here, spring will arrive soon and there are things you can get out and do ALL YEAR LONG!

The post Fill your life with experiences, not things! appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

• Attracts LOYAL customers. When you speak to the values you attract people with the same values. When you attract people with the same values they because VERY loyal customers! They’re drawn to you for a very personal reason and not just because they want “an email marketing course” – so they’re going to stick around.
  
• Doesn’t get boring! I don’t know about you but if I have to talk about the exact same topic for another 5 years I’m gonna DIE of boredom. LOL. I know, dramatic. But seriously I can’t handle the same topic over and over and over again! There is so much variety that allows for when you use core message marketing.
  
• Allows for pivoting. If you’re locked into a niche it’s hard to pivot your whole business. Instead you’ll probably need to start over from scratch. When you build a brand around values then you can keep sharing those values in relation to the new direction and people are generally very accepting of that.

Core Message Marketing is a powerful way to build a business. If you’d like to dig further into this idea I suggest you check out this course: Core Message Marketing

The post Do this instead of picking a business niche… appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

I was fascinated!

I really struggle to get fitness in and this was a way to combine exercise with something I EASILY love to do – my work.

Under Desk Treadmill & Standing Desks for Wellness

Some people think you gotta get a huge sweat or do something massive to lose weight and one friend even said to me “walking doesn’t count”. I don’t believe that! I’ve lost weight going on one hour walks once a day… nothing else. It worked for me.

But more than that… I’m looking for health and wellness. And I’m looking to keep up with my family at Disney in October!

I’ve been neglecting my standing desk and under desk treadmill. It’s time to change that! Here’s my treadmill:

You’ll notice there IS a chair off to the side that I can use when I want to sit down.

The biggest question people ask is if it’s hard to type and walk. Yes, it is. So if I want to type I go at the slowest speed and then it just takes a little practice and you’re good to go!

I find it super easy to walk and talk, though. So if I’m on a call I just hop on the treadmill OR I watch a training or listen to an audiobook while walking. This makes time go so much faster.

Here’s my under desk treadmill review:

• Space – As far as fitting exercise equipment into your life the under desk treadmill is a space saver! You’re going to need the same space for a chair anyway so why not put something there to help you move. I do ALSO have a chair so if you do that you’ll need a bit more space as I don’t like to try to balance the chair on the treadmill. But I actually HAVE put a workout ball on top to balance on that.
  
• Ease of Use – VERY easy to use. I have an app on my phone with the treadmill and I just turn it on and go. I’m used to walking and typing and it’s not that hard at all, especially if you walk at a slow pace.
  
• Cost – You can buy some budget under desk treadmills now for less than $200! That’s a great deal. I paid almost $500 CAD for mine back when I bought it a few years ago. At the time I could find many options on Amazon at all so I had to look locally.
  
• Satisfaction – I’m so freaking happy to have bought this setup. Even if there are times when I don’t use it I know I have the potential to move my body for hours a day without having to find much motivation. My drive to work on my business is insane so it’s just smart to use that force to trick my busy self into movement, too!

Where to Buy Standing Desks & Under Desk Treadmills

I bought my standing desk at Costco and my walking pad treadmill at a local electronics store but I see similar ones on Amazon. With it being Prime Days today and tomorrow if you were interested now is a good time to snap up a deal on them.

Please do your own research but here are some I found that look good:

US Standing Desks & Treadmill:

• Treadmill > ​Sperax Walking Pad​ USD $169 – Best Seller
• Standing Desk > ​ErGear Standing Desk​ USD $183 – Amazon’s Choice

CAD Standing Desks & Treadmill:

• Treadmill > ​Sperax Walking Pad​ CAD $246
• Standing Desk > ​ErGear Standing Desk​ CAD $161

The walking pad I have is a foldable one with the handle like the one I’ve linked you to. Mine also can be controlled by an app on my phone which is what I would recommend (I never use the remote that came with it nor do I know where it is anymore).

When I bought mine a few years ago it cost me almost $500 CAD for my walking pad and then another $300 or so for the desk. So the price is good for both! Just make sure you read the reviews, check out the features and decide for yourself as I haven’t used either of these.

Those ARE my amazon affiliate links which brings me to affiliate marketing – did you know that Amazon now allows affiliate links in emails?!

This is shocking news to me because for the entirety of my career online I’ve always known that Amazon didn’t allow links in emails. I could not understand WHY.

But now Amazon is allowing links in emails and that means with Prime Day being today and tomorrow now is a better time than ever to send those emails about products you buy from Amazon that your community would love to hear about!

Treadmill Desk for Health & Wellness

Today marks 100 Days until we head back to Disney as a family and so I’m starting a step goal of 600,000 steps (that’s 6k per day) from now until I hop on the plane to Disney. I have to train! Disney is amazing and fun and awesome and A LOT OF WALKING! This is where my walking pad is going to come in. Today it’s pouring rain and that doesn’t mean I can’t get my steps in!

If you decide to buy a walking pad and a standing desk I’d love to hear your goals, too!

Either way I hope you have a highly productive day today!

The post Under Desk Treadmill Review appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

In this post I’ll share with you what I’ve learned with blogging on WordPress for business since 2005.

#1: Adding too many plugins

WordPress has an impressive amount of plugins available for free.

Plugins add functionality to your site but they can also bog it down, cause conflicts and create potential critical weaknesses on your site that can make it easier to attack (hack).

So best to use only the plugins you need. Keep them clean and updated. Trust only reputable plugin developers and go on your merry way!

#2: Writing like it’s a journal

When I first got to blogging in 2005 I took it to be an online journal and I just wrote out my thoughts.

I had no clear message, no direction and no goals with my blog writing.

While that might feel good and fun and help your mental health a bit it’s not going to get you to a profitable blog.

Your blog should be written for readers and what THEY need.

Be clear and to the point. Don’t have too many points, either, or you’ll likely lose your readers.

#3: Loading your blog with ads

Before we go too far please note that I write this with the highest respect for the work and art that goes into writing. This post is meant to present an opinion from the view of a reader, a blogger and a marketer.

I totally get it that you have to earn a living for your work.

My opinion really is biased because I am an email marketer. I sell digital products to email lists and I never use ads. If I did, however, I wouldn’t want those ads to interfere with the quality of my content OR the relationship that content builds with my reader.

As a reader of many blogs, especially the ones I’ve found on Pinterest, I NEVER return to the blogs loaded with so many ads that they interrupt the flow of my reading and confuse me about whether I’m looking at the content or an ad. It’s just too interruptive to my goal of finding out the info I came for.

If you are going to put ads on your site please consider the reader. That way you won’t sacrifice the immediate ad income for the long-term value of a returning reader.

#4: Not focusing on SEO

I can say this is the biggest of the amateur blogging mistakes I made.

It was more than 20 YEARS before I finally learned SEO. Unfortunately I found it boring and I thought that SEO would totally disrupt the process of writing so I wasn’t willing to do it.

Now that I AM focused on SEO I actually think it has greatly IMPROVED my writing!

I love Yoast SEO plugin and it’s little happy smiley green guy. When you use this plugin your smiley guy goes from red to green like this:

It’s such a simple thing but those happy green faces are very motivating! And these are the guys you don’t want to see:

As I said it was 20 YEARS before I took blogging seriously and I really think it was because of Aisha Preece of OutandBeyond.com. You can follow Aisha on Instagram here for some incredible tips on SEO Blogging.

I learned the SEO I’m using from Aisha’s course on SEO Blogging here.

I’m sharing these links so enthusiastically because I am so incredibly grateful that I was finally able to get SEO! I know so many others don’t even bother to try because it seems too complicated. Another reason I didn’t was because I didn’t want to play “the game” with Google.

I’ve learned, through Aisha’s teachings, that you can still be incredibly authentic to yourself, focus on simple yet effective SEO without chasing Google’s algorithm’s all over town. Now do blogs lose traffic? Yes… but also as an email marketer I intend to build an audience from that traffic and provide a safeguard to that as well.

That brings me to the next BIG mistake I see bloggers making, amateur and even experienced…

#5: No email list

I’ve seen blogs for sale with tens of thousands of visitors per month and no email list to speak of.

Traffic to your website can become subscribers to your list who in the very least can be return visitors to your site and at the most can be long-term customers. By long-term customers I mean they will buy from you for years and years!

I created a video training specifically about this topic called Turn Traffic Into Email Subscribers (use this link to get it for only $10).

Building your list from the start as a blogging is building in security. Your list can’t disappear like Google traffic could if there’s a change and your site loses ranking or has any other issues.

It’s just a great idea to start connecting with the people who’ve shown an interest in learning more about your blog, your topic and you! The relationships that can be built by reaching out and telling those people “I’m here” is powerful… and can grow your business.

#6: Poor Writing

I am sometimes a fan of the ramble-on email to a friend and sometimes I even send the occasional rambling email to my email list.

When it comes to blogging good writing is important.

That doesn’t mean you should write as if you’re a college professor. Good writing is easy to read, has a specific point or goal, engages the reader and leaves them satisfied they got what they came for.

Good blog writing also includes SEO keywords, elements to capture the “skimmers” attention and includes relevant links to other blog posts and websites to help your reader in the best possible way.

Learn and study good blog writing.

Those tips will get you started into the world of blogging. If you’re looking for more blogging help I highly recommend this course on how to make money blogging so you start off with profit in mind!

You might like these other blog posts about blogging:

Minimalistic blogging

This blog is mostly unedited

Ang

Updated Aug. 22, 2023

The post I Won’t Read Your Ad Filled Posts & Other Amateur Blogging Mistakes appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

It could take you one week, one year or one decade.

I know… not the answer you wanted to hear! But the amount of variables required to answer that question and the future-telling needed to know how you’d do would be impossible to give you a “GOOD” answer.

If you know your exact business model, your prices on products, your traffic flow then sure you can do a decent prediction but most people are asking this question with none of those things.

In this article, however, I invite you to consider another idea… that a Six Figure Business is not really the goal, anyway, and how it’s not the big celebratory moment that you might think!

Is a Six Figure Business Really the Goal?

In 2018 I hit my first year of running what is commonly called a “six figure business”.

It was a goal I had been searching for for YEARS and YEARS.

It felt like a dream, like I might never get there.

As a single mom of one when I set the goal I really believe that a six figure business would change my life, would solve all my problems and would make me a money-smart person.

This is me, off to work on my six figure business dreams in 2017 (no longer a single mom and now with my second kid). I enjoyed working on my laptop at the library or coffee shop – need to start doing that again:

It seemed like a dream so far away. That it wasn’t in reach but I kept trying, kept believing anyway that if I worked and worked towards that goal, I’d get there.

And then one day I did.

And nothing changed.

WAh wah…

No parties in the street.
No parades to celebrate my six figures.
Nothing.

Everyone seemed to just carry on with life, and why wouldn’t they?

Business income goals – Maybe rethink that?

Before I got to that point I really thought that everything would be better when I hit that range.

I thought all my money issues would clear up.
That I’d have more than enough money.
I thought I’d go up and up and up from there.

But that wasn’t the reality.

What I didn’t realize what I HAD the dream all along.

I had the most invaluable success of all – a lifestyle freedom business.

THAT was the perspective I didn’t see until later, perhaps even until now.

So instead of asking how quickly you can get to your first six figures in business maybe it’s better to ask what you want your LIFE to look like and if you can make that happen now, or in short order?

I made a video with more thoughts on this, if you like. Or skip past it for my suggestion on what to do INSTEAD of obsessing over the money part, now that I’m on the other side or hitting that goal.

Here’s the video:

What does it mean to run a six figure business?

It’s hard to know what someone means when they say they run a six figure business.

It could mean that they earn GROSS six figures – before expenses and taking a salary and paying taxes.

If could mean that they earn six figures PROFIT – that’s after expenses but before salary and personal taxes.

It could mean they earn six figures INCOME – that’s personal income as a salary.

Or It could mean nothing. It could also mean big things.

It has a lot to do with how profitable a business is. If you earn seven figures but your business profit is only 10% and you only take 5% of that as personal salary then you are making only $50,000 a year.

Your six figure business could be 90% profitable and you take 90% of that and grow the business using zero-cost methods and you’d be earning $90,000 a year.

So people THINK they want the million dollar a year business when in reality you’d take home more money with the $100k a year business.

Six Figure Business GOALS Are Not a Great Idea

This is why it’s SO tricky to think about a six figure business as an income goal.

I think a MUCH better plan is to think about what you want out of your life and go after that as a business and life goal!

Even though my income has fluctuated year over year I have consistently, every year, had lifestyle freedom – and THAT is what I started my business for.

I love to teach others how to build lifestyle freedom and aim for the BEST income goals for them. My favorite training I have for working on your goals is called Outrageous Goalsetting and you can find it here on my offers page: online business courses

I know it’s super boring but if you want to not end up with a huge tax bill at the end of the years you DO generate profit make sure you know how to manage your taxes and pay them properly. There’s an article on Forbes I found about that you might like here: Understanding taxes for your small business.

Wishing you all the very best as you grow the business that gives you the monetary AND lifestyle rewards that are important to you!

The post How Fast Can I Get to Six Figures? appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

This checklist won’t include legal advice or suggestions like “research and write a 90-page business plan” that you’d find for typical business advice. 

It’s not for start-ups that want to scale to multi-million dollar corporations. 

Also there’s no legal advice in this starting an online business checklists. For that you’ll want to consult with a lawyer on how to register, rules for your state or province, etc. 

Starting an Online Business – Lifestyle Business

In this post we get to the fun stuff – we’re talking about starting a Lifestyle Business here!

A lifestyle business is built on a personal brand where you serve a community of people who get to know, like, trust and love you! If you’d like more info on what a lifestyle business is, Shopify has a good post on it here.

This is me, with my son, in 2006 when I was starting my own online business and working it all out!

I hope you find this starting an online business checklist for lifestyle business hopefuls very helpful in deciding what to do to create your lifestyle freedom and in what order! 

1. Starting With Your Core Messaging

This is the part where most people tell you to choose a target market. 

I approach this differently. 

It’s my opinion that if you choose your Core Messaging instead of a target market you will attract what I call “forever customers”. 

With Core Messaging people are drawn to you based on your Core Values instead of what you sell. 

So when you niche to a market like, say, Copywriting for Coaches, and your build your entire business and marketing around that niche then that’s what people are there for. 

If you ever need or want to pivot you will lose your audience because they have no other connection to you. 

Starting an Online Business – Checklist on Values

However, let’s say you use Core Messaging. This means you attract people with messages based on what you value. You talk about honesty and integrity in coaching and how to be a coach who gets real results. You talk about how to convey that through copywriting. 

In the second case you will attract coaches who need copywriting but ALSO have the same values as you do. 

Then you also talk about other life things you value – like relationships, family, fun, etc. This endears people to you more. 

So think about this. You can Google Core Values or take a test. Decide your Core Values and then create Core Messaging around that. If you need help I have a class on this here (use the link to save big time on it). 

Create a checklist of your core values and then a list of your core messages. Put those somewhere where you can see them often (I like my computer sticky notes app).

Here’s my list of core values. I pop this up often to keep me on track with my content and connections:

2. Choose a Business Model & What You’ll Offer

Every business needs something to sell. This is business 101. 

Yet when people go online they sometimes forget the simple act of choosing their business model and offers!

As you work through this start an online business checklist you will realize there are so many options, so many ways to create a business online and so many business models. 

And it’s so easy to switch models OR run multiple models at once! 

So what can you do? 

YOU must choose. 

You have to start somewhere. 

My first online business was selling physical products.
Next, I moved on to teaching others how to make those products.
Then, I moved on to Virtual Assistance.
Later, I moved on to selling digital products. 

The thing is one thing leads to another. 

You don’t usually end up where you start. 

So choose a business model and hit the ground running with that. 

Examples of business models to start online:

• Services Business (Virtual Assistant, Graphic Designer, Website Designer, Writer)
• Digital Downloads (Ebooks, Printables, Workbooks, Planners)
• Courses (Video, Group Coaching)
• Affiliate Marketing (Sell other people’s programs and products)

Next, you’ll need to start with an offer. 

What Will You Sell in Your Online Business?

Decide what you will sell. Will it be a course? Coaching? An eBook? A Membership? A Group Coaching Program? Plannings? Articles? 

Whatever you decide, remember it doesn’t have to be locked in forever. 

I think people struggle to create an offer because they think they can’t change their minds. This isn’t true! Your offers will surely evolve over time. 

Do decide what you will offer. 

Choose something you have enough true experience and results to help people with and move along to the next step. 

After you’ve done this step you’ll want to move to your offer formats and deciding what will serve your people best.

3. Decide Your Offer Formats

Formatting your offers can get complicated fast. 

Take a membership for example. 

You could start a SIMPLE membership with one product a month delivered and a Facebook group (I call this the Class-Based Membership). 

OR you could go all out with all the bells and whistles with a new membership: Monthly challenges, weekly membership calls, Facebook group, digital downloads, Q&As and more. 

It’s not a great idea to overcomplicate your plans. 

Start simple with your offer formats. You can always add more later. 

Offer format examples:

• Video course
• Mixed-media course
• Membership with group
• Membership with monthly classes 
• Monthly coaching calls
• Voxer coaching
• Email coaching
• eBook
• Hourly consulting
• Virtual event host
• Workshops

Don’t get caught up in your options. 

What’s great is you can always adapt as you go. 

Your customers will almost always help you, too, by asking what’s included or telling you what they need. Then you can add to your product or make others to fill those needs. 

You’ll want to think about your own skillsets, your desire to help others and the format you think will best deliver your message. 

Then go for it. 

Brainstorming offers is our next point on the checklist, below.

4. Brainstorm Offers

Flying by the seat of your pants is not a great way to create an offer so it’s best to brainstorm and outline the offer. 

My offers are outlined in mindmaps. I find them really helpful to see both big picture and small picture. It’s a myth that mindmaps are for non-linear thinkers. It’s true that they’re great for non-linear thinking but it’s true that they allow for very linear planning and processes! 

I teach this in Mindmap Everything and if you want to learn more you can opt-in on this page (learn mindmaps) to get email tips and info on the lessons. 

No matter HOW you brainstorm it’s so important to create that outline and plan so that you can go forward with confidence and take purposeful action. 

And remember, this is a checklist for starting an online business is about lifestyle business… so keep that in mind every step of the way.

My business provides me the lifestyle I want and love so I can have time with my family and enjoy that lifestyle freedom:

Now let’s move on to a very practice step in the checklist – building your website!

5. Starting an Online Business Website, Checklist

This next step in your starting an online business checklist can get BIG and SCARY so I’m going to give you the basics.

The best way I know to build a website you fully own, so it’s a business asset, is to get hosting and install WordPress. 

What I recommend for this phase, the starting your online business phase, is to get up a very SIMPLE website. 

Here’s your simple checklist. You want at most a:

• Homepage – This is where you welcome people and tell them what your business is about. 
• About Page – This is where people find out about you and it’s the second most popular page on most sites (after the homepage). 
• Contact Page – Where people can connect with you. 
• Offers Page – Where you tell people what you sell. 
• Blog – Where you add ongoing content to attract your people! 

This isn’t an article on how to build a website so for now I’ll refer you to my course : Make Websites from Scratch

When your website is built it’s now the perfect time to start creating an email list. Let’s learn that next.

6. Starting Your Email List

One of the most overlooked, effective and underused business marketing strategies is the email list. 

So while I will encourage you here to start your email list I also want to encourage you to actually EMAIL that list. 

Build the relationship. Get to know them. Let them get to know, like, trust and LOVE you! 

I’ve written some articles about emails lists that you’ll find useful for this step:

• Build an Email List without Traffic
• Email Marketing Platforms Free vs Paid
• Email Marketing is a Practice

Personally I’ve found email marketing to be one of the absolute BEST ways to build my business. 

In the 20 years I’ve been raising a business while raising a family I have spent at least 10+ years consistently emailing my list daily. Yes, daily. A quick message from me to keep in contact and build an incredible relationship. 

It’s the kind of relationship where I have had customers for over 10 YEARS still buying from me. I’ve sold over $1 Million Dollars through email marketing in that time. 

When I say build your email list I can’t understate this. It’s an incredibly effective marketing method not to be missed. 

Next let’s talk about generating traffic to that list…

7. Generate Traffic

No matter how you slice it you can’t get away from the fact that you need eyeballs on your offers. 

That’s commonly known as “traffic”. 

As with much of your business there are many options for you. This can be a good thing and a bad thing. 

You could feel overwhelmed with the options or you could see the abundance of choices as a blessing that allows you to pick one just perfect for you! 

I recommend seeing it as a blessing and choose a traffic method that works for you. 

Some of my favorite traffic getting methods are:

• Collaborations such as bundle events. 
• Affiliate partners who often send me traffic AND sales. 
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which is one I’m still learning and super excited about! 

Again, many options are available to you. I won’t list them all but I will say you want to get in front of your audience where they are. 

This could be on podcasts, social media, YouTube, through partnerships, affiliates and more. 

If you need more help on this I share all the methods that are working for me with the most up to date info via my email list. You can sign up here if you’d like the scoop! 

Social media is next.

8. Add in Social Media & Other Methods

I have a number of posts on this blog about how I quit social media for a year or so. 

With that in mind you’ll know I’m not one to put a lot of stock or focus into social media but I do see it as a valuable tool. 

Social media gives you bonus touch points for those who are on your list.

My first priority would be to build my list (and it is) and THEN get those subscribers onto your social platforms so they see you more often, are reminded of your offers and go back to email to buy from you! 

That’s all I’ll say on social for now. I’m testing out some strategies and I share the kind of things I’m working on to my email list if you’d like to join  

9. Systemize & Improve Your Business

Once something is working in your business it’s not time to move along. 

It’s time to MAXIMIZE on that baby. 

So when I have my email list growing and making sales I don’t move to Pinterest. 

No I keep working to max out my results with email. 

To do that I keep looking for ways to improve what’s working and to make my current tasks easy and repeatable. 

My daily email task is a habit, it’s a system. I know when I’m writing, approximately how much I’m writing, what I’m writing about and I get it done – day after day. A system. 

Look for patterns and use those to be efficient and effective in your business. 

This is including in the starting an online business checklist because if you think about this from the start you’ll have such a leg up by the time your systems start to emerge. 

10. Innovate & Scale – Final Starting an Online Business Checklist Item

This final step of your starting an online business checklist is similar to the last.

The main difference is just the realization that sometimes systems need to be reinvented and sometimes they need your hustle to scale. 

Knowing when to scale and when to rework a plan is key. 

The best and really only way to know this is to know your metrics. 

Metrics are data points like your website traffic, your number of subscribers, your conversions, your daily sales, your best selling products – etc. 

You need to figure out which metrics are important to you and you business growth, watch them like a hawk and make smart decisions on what business moves to make. 

Best of luck to you as you are starting an online business and I hope this checklist helps you along that path. 

The post Growing & Starting an Online Business – Checklist & Steps appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.

A lifestyle business is a business that can be built AROUND your life.

Traditional business such as start-ups and corporations take ZERO consideration into how the people running the business can live their lives. It’s all about the profits and the business growth.

A lifestyle business is about profits and growth, too, but NEVER at the expense of the person running the business.

Lifestyle businesses are often, but not always, run by a solopreneur. This is someone working alone to create, grow and run the business. This business model works really well for moms and people who want to be digital nomads because we can work around what is most important to us, respectively!

What Is a Lifestyle Business – Ideas

If you need ideas on what kinds of businesses can be considered lifestyle businesses I have a list for you below.

The main thing that allows for a lifestyle business to thrive is FREEDOM. Are you free to work where you want, with who you want, work how you want and when you want? If so you’re likely running a lifestyle business. If not you may want to consider another path or start pivoting your business to fit more into a life you want to live.

Lifestyle Business Ideas:

• Blogger – Blog around your life OR blog your life. I have a friend blogger who calls herself a “walking tax deduction”. Love this!
  
• Email Marketer – You can send emails any time from any where. It’s a great way to have lifestyle freedom.
  
• Freelancers – While freelancers do have clients if they’re smart about their projects and clients then they can live quite freely and build a life first, then business.
  
• Digital Product Seller – You could sell on Etsy or on your own website and create either a manual or automated sales process. Selling digital products is a very scalable and very flexible business.
  
• Affiliate Marketer – We love affiliate marketing for the things it frees us from doing – no customer service, no product creation, no dealing with refunds. Affiliate marketing is pure profit and you do it entirely on your terms.
  

Examples of Lifestyle Business

Here are some real-life examples of lifestyle business people I know. These are friends of mine or people I’ve purchased products from and I love what they do!

Example of Lifestyle Business: Chalene Johnson

Chalene has recently talked about how she traveled the world for over six months while her businesses run. She has six business and a team. So she doesn’t fit the description of entrepreneur but she certainly has created an incredible lifestyle freedom business. I recommend you check out her Instagram if you’re looking for lifestyle business inspiration!

Example of Lifestyle Business: Aisha Preece

Aisha is a blogger who has been teaching everything I know so far about SEO blogging and getting traffic. She runs six blogs and shares on her Instagram channel inspiring posts about how she’s living her lifestyle. I love watching her posts! I think you’ll enjoy them, too, here. Her main site is OutandBeyond.com

Example of Lifestyle Business: Angela Wills

I’m giving myself as an example because I’m a mom of two who’s been raising my kids for 21 years while working online. I live first and I run my business second. I’ve proudly created a business that allows me all the freedom I want to raise my children. Business was never first priority but it served my life as a mom very well so far! I teach others what I know about this and invite them to build lifestyle businesses, too. You can see my instagram on lifestyle business freedom here.

How to Start a Lifestyle Business

After you’ve

• Asked and -answered the question of what is a lifestyle business
• Looked for some examples of lifestyle businesses to see if it’s truly for you and then
• Moved on to being ready…

Here’s what I suggest:

Find someone with the same personal values as you, who’s living a lifestyle like the one you want to live and see what business model they are following. See if this fits for you.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do you think you could do it? (If you think you can’t before you start, you’re done for)
• Do you WANT to do it?
• Will it fit into the life you want to live?
• Will it get you to the goals you want to achieve in life and business?
• Does it match with your personality (if the person is an extovert doing things you never want to do – it’s not a match).

Find a good match and a good model and learn from them! I have found the very BEST things are learned through doing. So find someone who has a business model you can model and get to it! Get out there. Start selling, start building your community and working towards something.

If you need more help with starting an online business in general you’ll like this post:
Growing and Starting an Online Business – Checklist & Steps

If you already know your Lifestyle Business is found by starting a membership then you’ll like this post:
Should You Start a Membership Site? Ideas for Membership Sites

And if you just want some daily guidance and inspiration to build YOUR lifestyle business I’d love to be that one person you relate to and model. If it fits for you then feel free to get on my Letters from Angela email list by signing up below!

The post Life First, Then Business: What is a Lifestyle Business? appeared first on Living Lifestyle Freedom with Angela Wills.