This week on the podcast~

Oops, I did it again. Don't mind me, I'm just getting back in the saddle.

It's time for the becoming a profitable CEO podcast, and it's all about providing you with the tools to succeed on this ever-evolving business building journey. My mission is to make sure, you know, you are not alone, that it is possible and that you, yes, YOU can do this. You matter. The world is a better place for having you in it and your voice is needed.

I'm Teresa Cleveland, and I believe that we can all make a difference and that having a successful online business is one of the best ways to do that. Let's get to it.

Hey, hey, thanks so much for showing up today. I'm Teresa "can't carry a tune in a bucket" Cleveland and I'm your host here on the Becoming a Profitable CEO podcast. I am so excited that you're here today.

First up, let's talk about the fact that it is week 22 of 2021. I had to step back and say, like, hold on a minute. I looked at the calendar and I don't mean to freak anybody out or anything, but we are like four weeks away from the halfway mark of the year. Does it surprise you that we're that close or are you on top of it? And, you know, like, of course, it's four weeks away now.

I want to remind you to check in on your goals, and this is the perfect time to do it. Make sure you're on track. Are you off track? It's the perfect time because it's the end of May, beginning of June.

If you haven't already started implementing CEO days in your business, you want to go back and listen to Episode 24. That's where I go into all of the things that you'll want to look at so that you can check in on your business, know exactly what's going on, document it. When the month is over you're able to jump in and start doing that analysis so you'll know, am I on track, off track, what do I need to adjust or what do I need to do more of.

So that would probably be a really useful episode to listen to if you're ready to really stay on top of things and start tracking your business and where you're succeeding and where you could use a little help if you get stuck. If you have any questions, need any help, feel free to reach out. You can always find me over in our Facebook community. You can get there by going to ThePurposefulCEO.com/Facebook.

All right. Let's jump into the heart of today's episode.

The first thing I want to say is I feel that I owe you an apology. I have absolutely broken trust with you. You have not been able to depend on me to have these podcast episodes up on Monday and Thursday. And for that, I am truly sorry.

And while I had the issue going on with my medication, after that, I felt like, oh my gosh, I'm back. It's all great. And then I kept putting it off. I think I recorded an episode or two and then it just became really, really difficult. And if you've listened to Episode 19, then you know that I truly believe that trust and consistency go hand-in-hand.

I'm here today to confirm that I am absolutely human and to let you know that there is no difference between you and I. We come up against the same roadblocks and sometimes they come up time after time.

One of the things that I shared, in Episode 19, was, you know, we looked at a couple of reasons that were not consistent. Right? We can feel stuck, overwhelmed, overcommitted, doubt our abilities. There's a lot of things that, you know, will put us in that space, in that frame of mind. And I had shared that, you know, sometimes if we're feeling over-committed or doubting our abilities, we feel stuck is just because we have a lack of clarity. Lack of clarity about our audience, our offer, the direction we're going in, the results we provide.

So I had to do exactly what I advise my clients and people in my community to do. I had to step back and I had to ask myself some questions. Right? Like Teresa, why is this so hard? You love what you do. Why is this so hard for you to show up on the podcast and elsewhere?

So being a seven, for those of you who know the Kolbe, I'm a seven in fact, finder. So of course I wanted to know why and I didn't want just some bullshit answer. Like, I wanted to know the real reason because, good God, I do love what I do.

So I was digging deep and doing some research and then I revisited some things as well. One of the things that came to mind is that I had gotten caught up in the shoulds. I should talk about this. I should do this. I should do that. And for me, when I'm in that place, I can lose touch with my passion and my purpose and all the things, why I do what I do.

So what I did is I went back to some work that I had done as I was making the shift in the business from The Entrepreneur's Toolbox to The Purposeful CEO. Back then I had to revisit my mission, my vision, my values, because obviously things were changing. There was a huge shift going on in our business. Right?

So I had to ask myself, who am I? What do I stand for? Those are some big questions. As I was delving into that work, I signed up for Rebecca Tracy's, Untame Your Business course.

A side note here. I tell clients all the time and people in our community know why you're taking a course. Be very clear as to why you're taking a course. When I looked at her course, I knew that I didn't need the whole course. I wasn't going to utilize the whole course. But that first part of it about your message and all of that really spoke to me. So I went ahead and signed up for that. I knew that I needed the first part of that course because I needed to find or rediscover my voice to be able to fully tap into why I was drawn to making that shift in my business.

It ended up being so powerful, it was just what I needed and actually, that's where what you hear in the intro of this podcast came from. The part where I say "I'm Teresa Cleveland and I believe we can all make a difference and one of the best ways to do that is to have a successful online business."

I truly believe that at my core. Does that mean that I believe everybody should have an online business? Heck no! Just like I don't believe that everyone has a course inside of them that needs to be built and that we should all be writing our own copy or creating our own ads or graphics, among many other things.

What I do believe is that having a successful online business is an incredible way for many of us to make a difference. In our families, in our communities, in the world at large.

Starting at the core, it's for us to be able to do work that fulfills us and do it on our own terms. Right? And the freedom to be there when our family or friends need us. And I'm not saying you drop everything, don't go to work because, you know, we've got to go to the movies. But I'm talking about, you know, you've heard many stories, as have I, about people who have been able to work their business and be there for a family member who is sick or who needs help. There are just so many freedoms to being able to do what we do.

It affects our family and we're able to create an income that affects our quality of life and the lives of others through the work that we do.

As our businesses become successful, we're able to create an avenue of income for those who support our businesses. Be it VAs, OBMs, DOOs, copywriters, graphic designers, coaches, consultants, all of the different people who can help support our businesses. They are now able to make an income because they're supporting us.

Like really stop and think about that. Each person that is affected by our business - ourselves, our friends, our family, our support team, our clients, our communities, they're able to make a difference with their friends, family, community and on and on. And THAT is a ripple effect, I want to be part of. THAT is what lights me up. I'm honored to contribute what I can to this ripple.

Like I said, it was extremely powerful work for me and I'm so happy that I could reconnect with it. Now, a lot of other truths came up for me as I was working through the course and I'm so glad that I did it.

So let me share another one of my assignments. When I was doing the course, it was to write a rant about something in my industry that I felt very strongly about. So great! It popped up immediately. I knew what I wanted to write about, did it, and the next step was to post it. I'm all like, Yeah, I'm going to post this. And I copied and pasted it into a post on my personal profile.

Then I sat there for a minute and I thought, Oh my goodness, because I don't really think I care what people think. And all of a sudden I realized I did care a little more than I thought I did. And I re-read it and I thought, you know what? This is truly how I feel and I'm just going to hit post and let it do what it does. Of course, then I closed Facebook because I didn't want to see right then and there.

When I did check in later, I saw that there were some comments and that there were some reactions. The very first comment said something to the effect of thanks so much, this is exactly what I needed to hear right now. It felt good that it was useful to someone who had read it, in addition to the fact that I was just telling my truth.

So here, I'm going to share it now and then I'll go in a little bit deeper afterwards.

One of the most frustrating things I see in the online business world are good people with great ideas and products or services that are struggling in their business, staying stuck for far too long and or eventually throwing in the towel.

Having heard some of the horror stories from my clients, I wish our industry had a bullshit-ometer. I see online business owners get burned by people over-promising and under-delivering, not to mention the ones that don't deliver at all. Many times the unsuspecting business owner doesn't yet have the discernment to know that it's the program, not them. They take it personally and they think their idea was bad, that they're not good enough, etc.

Many of those that do understand that aspect become gunshy and end up suffering along in their businesses, trying to figure it out all on their own before they end up burnt out and giving up on their dream.

Meanwhile, Esmeralda in Montana will never hear the words that would have dramatically changed her life because that business owners voice has gone silent.

If you're feeling the weight of your online business and you're wondering if it's time to call it a wrap, I want to encourage you to take a breath. Reconnect with your vision, your mission, your values.

Know that there are far more ethical people online than those who are not people who can genuinely support you as you grow.

Remember, there's someone out there waiting to hear what you have to say and only the way that you can say it.

Let me know what you need. I may know someone that can help.

And of course, that was all from the heart. Even the part about I may know someone that can help. Obviously, I can't do everything but I do have an incredible network of people who can help in a variety of different ways.

So here's the deal.

You matter, your voice matters, and there are people out there waiting to hear it the way that only you can say it. That is so, so true. You and I can say the same thing, but we're going to add our own perspective and our own flavor to it. Right? Our own special sauce.

So some people, let's say Esmerelda in Montana, for instance. She won't be able to hear it from me, but from you, it truly could be life-changing. And that's not just, you know, people telling how to build a business. It could be somebody who's helping with parenting or someone suffering from ADHD or someone who is looking for a new job. You know, we all have so many different businesses that we have a myriad of ways that we can help people.

So, again, they may be able to hear it from you, whereas for me, they're just like no, that that chick's not my cup of tea. And that's OK, because thank God you're out there and you can help.

Now, that doesn't mean that I shouldn't say it too, right? Because the way that I say it is going to totally resonate with, say, Sabrina.

So, yes, it's important for us to keep showing up, to keep using our voices, to keep sharing our messages. And, yes, if what I do helps you get your message out. I am thrilled and honored to share this ripple with you and be part of that change that is happening.

So for me, reconnecting with this work that I've done and reconnecting with the heartbeat of my business has been incredibly liberating. And I have a deeper clarity of who I am, what I stand for, the things that I do what I want to share with you, and that it doesn't all have to be shouldst. I have jumped in knee-deep doing some research on some things that are coming up. We're going to talk about a variety of things in our businesses and not just the how-tos.

Now I'm not going to promise that I'm going to be here every Monday and Thursday for the rest of the year, because as we've seen, shit can happen. Right? What I do promise you is that I will do my very best to be here and share all the ups and downs of this online business world. And if I fall down, I promise to get back up, brush my knees off and come tell you all about it.

This week, if you've been feeling disconnected or out of touch or, you know, just kind of stuck, I invite you to do the work as well. Dive deep. Ask yourself, who am I? What do I stand for? I hope you receive the same level of clarity that I have. Reach out. Let me know how it goes. I'd love to hear.

On another note, I want to clarify that I don't think that all programs or courses are the spawn of the devil, okay? Sometimes we just get sold on things that we're just not ready for. Right? And that can be attributed to a number of things.

It may honestly sound like the answer to whatever issue we're having, but we just don't realize that we're missing some foundational pieces that would make that program or course work for us. It's not actually the course, it may be a great course. It's just that we need to put a few pieces in place before we're actually ready for it.

I remember years ago I had a client who was making maybe fifteen hundred dollars a month and she showed up on one of our calls and she said, Oh my gosh, I saw this course and I want to sign up for it. It's how to make a million dollars in a year.

Of course, we talked about a variety of things on that call and about the steps and the things that it would take in order for her to be ready to make that million dollars in a year. Can it happen? Absolutely. There's just a lot of foundation that you have to have in place to be prepared for that.

And we can't deny that many times when it comes to these courses and programs, it's the hype and the marketing. Right? It's so easy to get pulled into that.

But that's a topic for another day - like next Monday. I can't wait to share it with you.

In the meantime, be sure to tune in this Thursdaymy when my guest is Leeann Forbes. She's sharing a pivotal moment in her business as well as talking about repurposing your content.

Until then, let's go make a difference. Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Becoming a Profitable CEO.

I'll be back next week. But in the meantime, let's continue the conversation. Head on over to our Facebook group at ThePurposefulCEO.com/Facebook, and share your take on today's episode.