We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Desha Peacock a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Desha, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I feel like as a business owner you’re taking a risk just by opening the doors!

Beyond that risk, I’ve taken so many in my business. One was when I decided to shift into offering international luxury retreats. I fell in love with a beautiful upscale house in San Miguel de Allende. MX. It had five bedrooms, pool. jacuzzi, and came with a staff to help with meals. The home wasn’t for rent at the time, but I had an intuitive hit that I should hold a retreat there. Within the year the owner of the house contacted me to let me know they were traveling around the world and that I could indeed rent her home for my lux retreat. I had to double my prices in order to cover the expenses which made me nervous. I filled the retreat easily but right before I left, I called my mom in tears, “What if my clients don’t like the retreat??? What if they don’t love it as much as I do???”

My mom had the best advice, she said, “Just be yourself. They signed up to join you, so be yourself and you’ll meet their expectations.”

I’ve led nine retreats now, and I’m so glad that I took that risk!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a multi-passionate entrepreneur with a few titles. I’m an author, retreat leader and lifeSTYLE / small biz coach. I pull it all together in my brand “Sweet Spot Style”. My definition of the sweet spot is making money doing work you love. That’s been my greatest ambition and that’s what I help my clients do.

I literally invented this career for myself based on what I call a “LifeSTYLE Intention”, which is basically your core desires in life. One of my core desires is freedom. Another is travel. Another is being surrounded by beauty. So I invented a career that would lend itself to these core desires.

What sets me apart as a small business coach is that I offer a mix of spiritual + practical guidance. I help my clients tap into what lights them up. I help them see the big picture and prioritize what’s important. I use intention and magnetic marketing infused with business strategy to help my clients move forward more quickly than they would on their own.

One of the things I’m most proud of is that I figured out how to create a gorgeous life and business that aligns with my greatest gift and now I’m able to share that with others.

If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?

I have several revenue streams in my business. I’ve always thought it important to diversity my offerings, but especially realized it during the pandemic. I lost 40% of my income when I had to stop leading retreats. However, I increased my 1-1 clients and ended up making more money in 2020 than in previous years. Even if I could make more money doing one thing, I think I’ll always have more than one thing. It feels safer and I’m inherently multi-passionate- it’s just who I am.

Streams of revenue:
1. I wrote home decor books. The most recent one, Your Creative Work Space, got picked up by Target. Happy about that!
2. I offer 1-1 small business coaching.
3. I offer small business retreats.
4. I collaborate with brands to help promote the ones that align with my aesthetic and values. For example, I’m currently creating content for airbnb’s that I love and recommend.
5. I also offer digital courses, like my List From Scratch Email List Building Course.
6. I occasionally speak at events, conferences, in summits, or in memberships.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

A few years ago I nailed Instagram. I was gaining 1000-2000 followers a month. I was certain that I would keep going and reach 100k.

However, trends changed and the way I was posting wasn’t pushed by the famous algorithm. My reach was effected and I stopped gaining followers. Luckily, I had been converting those followers to my email list, so I didn’t lose my business. I’m so grateful for that. It’s a HUGE lesson I share with all of my clients- never put all your eggs into one basket, especially if you don’t own that basket.

Take Instagram for example, most small biz owners spend more time building and engaging with their followers there (as a posed to building their email list). Yet, we know from my example that that can all change. Furthermore, your account can be hacked and IG isn’t well known for their customer service.

Even more compelling are the stats. Research shows that only 1.6% of your followers will actually see your content on IG, whereas an average open rate for email is 20%. That means your subscribers are nearly 20x more likely to see your email than your post.

So, it’s my mission to help small businesses understand the power of the email list!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sweetspotstyle.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deshapeacock/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SweetSpotStyleFanPage

Image Credits
Jo Chattman Tara Whitney