Earlier this month, over 50 women entrepreneurs packed the room in Boulder, CO at my live training, "How to Plan Your Most profitable Year Yet". 

At the beginning, I warned attendees that they may not hear what they expected (or even wanted) to hear from me. 

But by the end, the information they'd receive would save them countless hours and dollars pursuing doomed projects that were unsuited for where they were in their business.

If you weren't able to attend my training, I don't want you to miss out. 

So this post includes the training highlights, as well as the "Brand Cycle Assessment" that the entrepreneurs at my training took to understand where to focus their time, energy and money in their business this year.  

But beware that this information may change your plans, so just be open. Ok? 

As one attendee said after the training: 

"Holy moly what a wake up call. I decided to go back to my roots and go with what I am actually pretty darn good at. I got so much value and inspiration out of your workshop (and how effectively you ran it) and wanted to say THANK YOU!"

How to Plan Your Most Profitable Year Yet: Highlights

Most entrepreneurs go about planning their most profitable year backwards. You know what I’m talking about because maybe you’ve done it, or you see other people doing it: 

They try to build a website before their messaging is clear or try to create a home study product when they don’t have anyone to sell it to.

And it's not just new business owners who fall into this trap, it can happen to seasoned business owners too. They can hit a plateau because as their business has evolved over the years, their core messaging, programs and visuals haven’t kept up. 

This results in an outward appearance that doesn’t match where their business is today or where it’s headed, so they feel stagnant and out of alignment. And they're struggling to attract the right clients or sell their programs. It's time to go back to the roots and breathe new life into their business. 

This is important, because it's difficult, if not impossible, to attract clients and generate profit from a business that is stagnant and out of alignment.

So what do I mean by "go back to the roots"?

Imagine a tree...

This tree represents the cycles your business goes through from a branding and marketing perspective. 

The Roots - represent YOU

Your..

• Values
• Beliefs
• Passions
• Quirks
• Personality
• Interests
• and MORE

As an inspirational, heart-led business owner, YOU are the face of your brand, so your brand must be a reflection of your unique essence. If it's not, you won't be able to create the connection and trust needed for your tribe to want to follow you and your potential clients to want to work with you.

The Trunk - represents your BRAND

Your brand is the experience that your clients and tribe have any time they interact with you and your business. Your brand is experienced through the senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. 

For you, sight and sound (brand visuals and messaging) will probably be the most important brand experiences to focus on. 

The Trunk (your brand) includes things like your: 

• Colors
• Archetypes
• Images
• Fonts
• Messaging
• Symbols
• and MORE

When your brand is built upon a strong root system, it becomes powerful, recognizable and memorable.

The Branches - represent your TOUCH POINTS

Touch points are any place your brand comes in contact with the world. Often, this happens through marketing activities. 

The Branches (your touch points) include things like your: 

• Website
• Instagram
• Networking
• Marketing Materials
• YouTube
• Webinars
• and MORE

You might be tempted to focus your time, energy and money straight away on the Branches. But that won't serve you, otherwise the past few years would have been as profitable as you want. 

I get it - the Branches are super tempting because this is what many business coaches teach, and it's where you think the money is.

And it is where the money is, but only if you establish solid Roots and Trunk first! 

Download the full tree diagram here. It's on page 4.

Getting visible in the Branches at the wrong time can hurt your profit:

We want to get visible in the branches because we've been taught that it's a numbers game: the more people we get in front of, the more money we'll make.

But times have changed and the market is crowded with many distractions. It's no longer about the number of people who see you. 

It's about having the right people see you and getting them to stay on your stuff (website, blog post, webinar, Facebook Live, etc.) for more than 5 minutes.

The only way the right people will find and stay with you is if you send a clear and compelling signal that draws them in and creates an emotional connection (solid Roots and Trunk).

When you get visible in the branches too soon, it can actually hurt your profit because you risk coming across as insecure, confusing, disorganized and unprofessional. And no one wants to follow or hire someone like that.

If you want to attract a large following and high-end clients, you have to look (and sound) the part.

Let's discover where you are in your brand cycle!  

Ok, ready to discover where you're at in your brand cycle so you can move forward confidently knowing that you're investing your time, money and energy into the right projects to quickly propel your business into profit?

Take the Brand Cycle Assessment Now

(You'll want to download it to your computer and print it out.)

Warning: Don't get trapped in these profit pitfalls... 

Reading this post and taking the Brand Cycle Assessment is a start, but be careful not to fall into these profit pitfalls.

Pitfall #1: Lack of CLARITY and second guessing 

You've read this blog and taken the Brand Cycle Assessment, but you still feel confused about how it all applies to your business. Because of this, you'll stay focused on the wrong projects that will slow your profit over time.

Pitfall #2: You THINK your Roots and Trunk are good enough

Thinking that you don't have any more work to do on your Roots and Trunk, you'll move on to focus your attention on your branches. But unbeknown to you, there are some holes in your Roots and Trunk that you don’t realize, so when you try to move forward with your Branches you keep seeing less than profitable results.

Pitfall #3: Non-stick visibility 

You think, "yeah there might be something to what Jessie May is saying, but really, the most important thing is that I get in front of more eyeballs." That’s how I'll really be profitable. So you scrap what I’m telling you and climb up to the branches. But more eyeballs doesn’t equal more profit. You need to get in front of the right eyeballs and have those eyeballs STAY with you for more than 5 minutes (we talked about this above).

Pitfall #4: Investing in the WRONG support 

If you've been in business for over a year, you've probably learned that you need to invest in your business to see profit. 

I agree, but it's possible to invest in the wrong support which can end up costing you a lot of heartache and money down the road.

You need to make sure that any coach you hire is someone who can help you solve the right problem for your business now. For example, there are many coaches out there who can help you with your Branches, and they may (quite convincingly) lead you to believe that their support is what you need...

But if you invest in support for your Branches when you don’t have any clue about your Roots or Trunk, I can promise that you'll have to go back and fix mistakes later, if not redo everything you created (ughhh!)

Make sure you invest in the RIGHT support for your business.

Speaking of support...

You can read all the blogs, take all the assessments and spend time on all the freebies you can get your hands on... but you still can't see what you can't see. 

If you take the Brand Cycle Assessment and discover that this is your year to revamp your brand and maybe website too, then I'd love to support you! Get in contact with me at this link and we'll set up a time to talk details.