We recently connected with Allison Anna and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Allison, thanks for joining us today. Being a business owner can be really hard sometimes. It’s rewarding, but most business owners we’ve spoken sometimes think about what it would have been like to have had a regular job instead. Have you ever wondered that yourself? Maybe you can talk to us about a time when you felt this way?
I have had those turn-back moments where I thought about what it would be like to go back to a regular job. I think every entrepreneur has these thoughts a time or two (or many times). For me, it’s been when things get really stressful or heavy in my business or I haven’t built in enough time off. In hindsight, these have been the biggest times of growth on my entrepreneurial journey. Once you get through enough challenges as an entrepreneur and continue to come out on the other side, you start to understand that even the hardest parts of being an entrepreneur are worth it. Massive growth takes place when we work through difficult challenges and learn from them.
I had one of these turnback moments last year when I shifted my Digital Marketing Agency to focus on web development more. I started taking on massive web development projects while managing our other lines of business. I was in the beginning stages of hiring employees to help take the load off of myself and planning for a second business I wanted to start. I remember weeks and months where it was difficult to get up and work on my business because things felt so heavy, and I was bogged down with so many tasks. I was working day and night, and I began to feel like a slave to my own business. During this time, I also had my first month where I made over 10K in income for myself. I was so tired and stressed that I didn’t even have time to celebrate this huge milestone I worked toward for almost 2 years. I had a lot of things going right and a lot of things going wrong at the same time. At this point, I felt like the purpose of starting my business, to have more time freedom, was not there. I was massively misaligned.
There were multiple days I thought about throwing in the towel and using my college degree to go get a good paying job. I always compare these turn-back moments to the moment in the matrix where Morpheus offers Neo the red or the blue pill. The truth is, I will ALWAYS choose to be an entrepreneur because it gives me the most time and financial freedom at the end of the day. The result of this big challenge I went through was a necessary and beautiful one in my business. I started to take note of all the tasks I wanted to hire out in my business, so I wasn’t wearing all the hats. I hired a copywriter and a web designer to help with web development projects. I hired an admin assistant and trained her to manage an entire line of business so it’s completely passive for me. I revised my contracts and wrote out process docs to get projects done more quickly. I made adjustments so I could focus on the parts of my business that moved the needle forward in our growth the most. Eventually, I saw our revenues start to increase and the hours I put in start to decrease consistently month over month. It was rocky for a bit, but I am so glad I went through that challenging time and didn’t give up! It felt so rewarding to solve a massive problem and to get back to enjoying my business (and my life) again.
If you do not enjoy solving problems, being an entrepreneur may not be the best career for you long-term (although you can hire that part out too). I always enjoyed solving challenging problems growing up, and I always dreamt of being an entrepreneur. I believe challenges come in business and in life to teach us something and to help us optimize our happiness. Sometimes we are pushed to the edge and put under pressure, so we are forced to make a change for the better. If you are stubborn or afraid of change, this might have to happen for you to see that you need to make a change in your life or your business. Listen to what your challenges are trying to tell you. Throw ideas out the window, try new ideas, and always keep optimizing your life and business until you are happy and at ease. You WILL get there if you keep trying new ways of doing things. Never be afraid of change. Change is the catalyst to the life you want and don’t have yet!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Sure! I’m Allison Anna – Entrepreneur, Bestselling Author, and Emotional Intelligence Expert. I Own Awakened Marketing and Awake with Allison Anna. Awakened Marketing helps holistic and conscious businesses grow their revenues using strategies that are alignment with their values and purpose (no sleazy marketing tactics)! Who are holistic and conscious businesses? These businesses help people by selling holistic products or healing services. We offer Facebook ads, Google Ads, Google SEO, Web Development, Email Marketing, Copywriting, Branding, and more! If you or your business helps people live a happier, healthier, more awakened life, we want to help you grow your business!
Learn more about this business at:
www.awakenedmarketing.com
https://www.facebook.com/awakenedmarketing111
https://www.instagram.com/awakenedmarketing111/
Awake with Allison Anna is a new business in the pre-launch stage. This business will be centered around helping people overcome depression and/or anxiety by using mindfulness techniques to shift their mindset. I’ve pooled together all of my knowledge gained through 15 years of overcoming anxiety and depression myself. I will be sharing everything I’ve learned from years of counseling and holistic treatments such as hypnosis, meditation, and mindfulness techniques that can shift your mindset instantly. Be on the lookout for digital publications coming out soon!
Learn more about this business by following my personal page on social media or checking our domain frequently for the launch of our new website coming soon!
https://www.allisonanna.com/
https://www.facebook.com/officialallisonanna/
https://www.instagram.com/officialallisonanna/
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The biggest lesson I had to unlearn was not to follow the path others laid out for me. I had to unlearn following the status quo and submitting to what other people’s idea of success looked like. Once I unlearned this lesson, I was able to step into my own purpose and achieve a version of success that fulfills me the most. As a straight A student in school growing up, I always listened and conformed to what I was being taught. This was a wonderful trait to have except when it came it to the biggest flaw I experienced in the public school system – they teach you WHAT to think, not HOW to think for yourself. I lost count of the number of times I was told by an adult at school to “get good grades, go to college, and get a good job”. Eventually, I realized that staying on that path for the rest of my life was like selling my time and knowledge for someone else’s dream.
I was so miserable working 8 hours a day at a “good job”, clocking in and out every day just to make the same amount of money every week and get a set amount of vacation days that I had to get permission to use. After 8 years of working in corporate America, I started to become burnt out and depressed with my life. I was underpaid and underappreciated for my skillset, and I knew there was something more out there for me. God was telling me there was something more out there for me…but I was following the route everyone else told me to take in life. When I finally took the leap of faith and quit my corporate job to start a business, I didn’t tell many people about it. I didn’t have any Business Owners or Entrepreneurs in my family or friend circle. To everyone around me, it probably looked like I had gone nuts. I quit a good-paying job at a Fortune 100 company where I was primed to be a corporate executive one day. But for me, that “one day” would take way too long and consume way too much of my life. I did not accept.
Fast forward 3 years later, I am sitting here in the comfort of my living room, taking some time off to share this knowledge that I am so passionate about. I’ve worked part-time in my business for the last few months and have made more income than I did working at my previous full-time job. I take a couple afternoons off with my kids weekly during the summer and their sick days no longer cut into mine. I took a vacation and several days off in the last few months, and I have 5 more vacations booked over the next 2 months, while my business continues to run and make me money. Is it easy? Heck no! Everything comes with its challenges and this life sure throws me many…but there is WAY more out there than what we are taught when we follow societal norms. Don’t let someone else who isn’t living your life tell you how to live your life and go write your own story! Don’t know where to start? Learn from someone who already has a life similar to what you want.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
2 things have helped us build a reputation in our market – word of mouth and social proof. When I started my business, the one thing I wanted to be known for that I knew would never fail me is giving more than I take. Business can be a selfish game for many, and I wanted to be different in this respect. I built my business to be an honest business that always provided MORE than we promised. This not only set us apart, but it created happy customers who referred others to us. A personal recommendation goes much farther than a Google search or a Facebook ad, and customers who come in on a referral to us are almost always sold at the door because of the way our previous customers talk about us. I also like to offer our current clients extra services along the way to foster customer loyalty. Happy customers talk – period.
Social proof is extremely important to gather when you are just starting out. What is social proof? Think written and video testimonials out there in the digital “public”. Google reviews or written testimonials on your website are great examples of social proof. In the beginning, when we delivered amazing results for those first few clients, I made sure to personally ask them to write us a review or record a video testimonial. Everyone is busy, so what you are really asking them for is their time to go and do this for you (or overcoming their fear of getting on video). I have done some really fun promos to gather social proof, like giving away $10 amazon gift cards in exchange for them creating an honest video testimonial. When your ideal clients see real people talking about real results, they get interested!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.awakenedmarketing.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/awakenedmarketing111/ and https://www.instagram.com/officialallisonanna/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/awakenedmarketing111 and https://www.facebook.com/officialallisonanna/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-anna/
Image Credits
Lorrie Ann Photography
Kindred Spirit Photo & Co.