This year many people have found themselves overwhelmed with self doubt and some will even stay paralyzed with doubt, unable to get through it. It’s not uncommon to have self doubt and everyone goes through it in some stage of their life. What’s important to keep in mind is that sharing your own experiences can lead to helping others.
Episode 121 : Business Coaching for Entrepreneurs with Jenny Melrose
Get To Know Jenny
She started off as a former inner city school district teacher. She welcomes any and all questions because she’s used to working in high intensity situation like dodging chairs thrown at her! While she was a reading specialist from ages five to eleven, she started her lifestyle site The Melrose Family that was heavy on the food side of things. The blog advertised quick and easy food recipes and ideas for busy parents. This stemmed from her having her first daughter and feeling like she had lost herself in her journey as a new mother. Jenny felt like she was consumed with taking care of her baby and that she didn’t have time for herself.
As she dove in and connected more with bloggers and influencers she started to understand how to monetize her blog. SheI had the background as a writer as her double major in college dealt with Creative Writing and it let her have a passion and get excited about something. She kept up with the blog while she taught but was able to retire from teaching at 35 when her blog income surpassed her teaching income two times over.
She left New York for Charlotte, North Caroline where she found things to be happier, less expensive and enjoyed the milder weather. After moving she was able to sell her website and started her business coaching website centered around teaching people how she replaced her teaching salary with a six figure blog. She leaned into her teaching background by creating a step by step course that people can take at their own pace.
I can personally attest that Jenny is amazing with one on one coaching as I was someone who needed the “hand holding” side of things as I got my blog and business running.
Teacher Turned Entrepreneur
Jenny came from a very small town where she mentions most of the jobs she saw women holding were the traditional housewife roles. Men held blue collar positions. She grew up not really seeing the “own your own business” options and she didn’t understand that it was an option for her future. Even though she went into teaching she always felt like teaching wasn’t challenging enough. She recalls, “I always thought that I would get fired during my last year of teaching because I am someone who states their own opinion and will stand up for myself and others when I disagree with things. I had a roster of 250 kids who were multiple grade levels behind in reading and I wasn’t getting the support I needed from administration. I’m always someone who states what they’re thinking and believes in integrity. It’s a large part of who I am and what I hope people see that I bring to the world.” After leaving teaching she realized that her lifestyle site allowed her to help women instead of feeling like trying to fix a system that is broken, because that’s what education has come to these days.
Her blog was started eleven years ago when Pinterest was just taking off and Instagram didn’t even exist yet. Back then, blogging had a negative connotation attached to it where people assumed all you did was post your journal for everyone to see. She started attending conferences with powerful women that understood that you are there to solve a problem and to create content that solves that problem. Once you can do that, you can create products and services that continue to solve problems for your audience.
Influencer Entrepreneurs
Jenny launched her very first book virtually in the midst of a pandemic, which was not the original plan. She was about to hold her second annual conference in Charlotte and had to cancel the event two weeks prior due to the pandemic. She says that the book was something she thought about for a long time and decided last Fall of 2019 that it needed to get written. The book is a four-step framework that walks you through how to grow your audience and make more money online. The book walks you through the “PACK” framework:
P- positioning
A- authenticity
C- confidence
K- kindness
These are the 4 pieces to take your business to the next level.
She says, “Treat things like a business in order for it to become a business.”
How To Get There
Without having tens of thousands of followers or page views Jenny was working with brands like Neutrogena, Smuckers and Marie Calendar. She attributes this to being good at engaging with her audience and telling a story that would go out of the normal way about talking about a product. Her “formula” comes from a story about working as a door to door salesperson in between her undergraduate and master’s degree.
“When I was in between grad school I took a year off and answered a newspaper ad for an advertising company. What they really were was a door to door sales company where we had to promote a certificate with deals that people could buy. Every one you sold you got then dollars. I could walk home with $100 in cash. I did this for a year in Rochester, NY which is the snow belt. Because of that I learned how to connect with people. It was the best teaching experience that helped me to be comfortable and not get bothered by people saying no. It improved my ability to sell and not get kicked down. I got back up and continued every day. That set me up for this journey.”
Working With Brands
Jenny says that the best way to work with a brand is to start a relationship with them on Instagram and to understand what they’re all about. Get their email and send them a pitch. She even has a pitch guide that will walk you through what should go into that.
“When pitching to brands, it’s important to focus on your audience. Talk about how you are the right fit for their brand. A large part is a follow up process. Everyone has tons of emails. Continue to follow up. A ‘no’ is part of it. I learned from that sales job that 1/10 people are going to say yes. You have to get through all of those no’s in order to get to those yes’. My goal working sales was to talk to one hundred people. It’s the same with pitching brands. The no’s are there for a reason.”
“If you’re getting asked the same question over and over again that’s a product. That’s how my course was developed. Tons of people were asking me questions about how to pitch. I realized that was a course. I have a teaching advantage as a business owner. Being able to hone in on the problem you’re solving. Talk to people and understand the wording that’s used and the way people talk about things.”
How to Attract Your Ideal Audience
“Attracting an audience starts with your positioning, then authenticity. It’s about shining the light about who you are so that people can decide if they like, know and trust you. If you don’t give them the opportunity to show yourself, you’re never giving them an opportunity to buy. You will attract and repel people. Worry about who you want to attract.”
Mike Michalowicz’ “The Pumpkin Plan” talks about trying to grow giant pumpkins. When you are clear on what the ideal giant pumpkin should look like, it will make all the rest. This is the goal with your audience. Have an avatar of one person who is your ideal person. Jenny says that your avatar should be you from five years ago combined with your best friend.
“All you need to be is a little ahead of yourself. If you’re a couple steps ahead of someone else, then you’re able to help them.”
Confidence in the Business
Ask your friends and family on facebook what one word is that comes to mind when they think of you. Then, see how you can pull that word into your business. What are things you can do or products that you can create? Make it part of your brand.
What do you do when you don’t feel confident in an area of business?
“I always felt confidence was something I wasn’t born with. It’s a muscle that you have to work with and practice. You gain confidence by doing things over and over. You have to practice and grow by doing things that make you uncomfortable. Don’t be afraid to fall on your face. Dust yourself off and think about what you can do differently in order to move forward. My high school senior quote was, “I’ll always look behind me and smile.” I truly believe that everything has happened for a reason, whether it’s heartbreaking or glorious because it makes you into the person you are today.”
Strengths and weaknesses in your business?
“I can see where other people need to move forward. It’s like a spider sense. I will get goosebumps off of people’s ideas to move forward whereas they’re questioning it. I’m also definitely a good teacher. I’m not one to brag but being an educator, I understand how to teach a strategic process without skipping steps. Weakness wise, my introverted nature can cause me to not reach out and collaborate as often as I could. I question reaching out to people if it’s a right fit. I hit phases of my journey where I don’t know where to go next. “Am I on the right path?” That’s when you have to knock things out and move forward.”
Key confidants in your business?
“I’m blessed with a project manager that was someone in my audience. I was going on vacation and she started answering questions in my Facebook group for me and I realized that she was answering exactly like I would. I hired her and she absolutely has been a lifesaver in my business. I’m a creative and can see what avenues can take but don’t always do the steps to get me there. She sets up systems to be more successful working on my business vs. in it.
Secondly, my husband. He is the complete opposite of me. He doesn’t have an entrepreneurial bone in his body. When I doubt myself or am struggling he is always supportive. He’s logical about things because this business isn’t his baby.”
Jenny’s Upcoming Courses & Coaching
Revenue Planning Workshop
“This is something that’s easy for people to go through. It’s something that has a workbook to get things on paper and stop and come back to it at any time you need. You can access it almost a full year to revisit your goals and continue to plan. You can process and digest it at your own pace. It’s not a group thing, you get the video and workbook to do on your own.”
Mastermind
“A paid mastermind program where six women from different niches work together for six months in order to scale their business. Not only am I facilitating it but you get people from different nieces who do things differently. You can overlap and pick up new techniques from others.”
Coaching
“The strategies are the same for all businesses. It’s not about your niche, it’s about understanding online services and programs. A lot of people can talk the talk, but have they done it? Do they have successful online businesses? I am the person to teach you how to grow your online presence. People invest with coaching and understand things that make your business grow quicker. If you have money to invest to help you get there faster, it will.”
What gives you confidence?
“Hard question! A success. Seeing someone be able to confidently put out content and sell their products. Not just my successes but my clients’!”
What book(s) changed your life?
The One Thing – Gary Keller
“It shifted my focus to understanding how to do a project that was in line with a goal.”
The Joy of Missing Out – Tonya Dalton
“This book was huge as a mom struggling with feeling often that you can’t do it all.”
Becoming Superwoman – Nicole Lapin
“I first felt like I wouldn’t read it because I wasn’t interested in being a superwoman and then I read it and connected with what she shared and the mindset stuff she dealt with. Her whole message was that it wasn’t a possibility to be a superwoman.”
Dream vacation?
“Sitting on a beach somewhere that’s not in the US. My husband isn’t a traveler and he would rather stay here but I’d love to enjoy different beaches around the world, and I dream to see Ireland and Italy.”
