I totally messed up

Whoopsie! Ok, so I know what you're thinking... "What is this random email in my inbox from this girl I don't remember who hasn't emailed me in a while... I bet she's trying to pitch me something!"

I totally messed up and I'm holding my hands up sheepishly waving *😳*

To be honest, I did something crazy a few months ago and I've been feeling totally weird about telling you... but at the same time, I've been having the BEST TIME of my life!!

For the first time in a LONG time, I've been able to incorporate more fun, more #girlpower, and more freedom into my business with... {I can't believe im saying this} a network marketing company!

{I know... you just rolled your eyes... And to be honest with you -- I did at first, too!}

That's why I kept hesitating to email you! Because I didn't know how you'd react. 

Would you look down on me? 
Would you stop taking me seriously?
Would you think I'd gone bankrupt?
That I was desperate for cash?
Maybe you'd think I've gone crazy... or even worse... that I've sold out!

All these thoughts and fears and ideas kept circling around.... and none of them were actually true!

Crazy, right?

Well today I've got on my "big girl" pants and I'm doing that thing called "practicing what I preach". 

I'm here to own this -- I'm "coming out of the closet" -- and while I don't expect you to jump up and down, I do know that now that it's out there in the open, I feel FREE!

Now I'm guessing the next question you might be asking... 

DON'T WORRY!

The agency isn't going anywhere!
The quality content you're used to seeing from me isn't changing!
I won't stop sharing valuable tips about all things launching, ads, and business strategy. 
And I'm certainly not going to spam your inbox with icky messaging or carbon copy branding!

Maybe you're also asking yourself "Why, Rachel, why?"... if everything is so great... why add something new?"

{I totally get it -- I would be just as floored as you!}

Here's the thing -- when I was presented with this new revenue stream, at first I rejected it, too! I turned my nose up at it and said "No way -- Not me!"

But I was curious enough to keep watching. 

I started noticing these savvy business women just like me having so much fun! And their marketing strategies were actually great -- not like those other companies that try to spam us! This was a different type of network marketing. 

These women were different! 

Their businesses were thriving! They were traveling together and laughing together and supporting each other -- it was a community like nothing I'd ever seen! No competition!

So I dug a little bit deeper. 

I called up a girlfriend who was already in it who I really really trusted, and she said "Give me one hour of your time, no strings attached, and your life could change forever." 

I'd known her for a while and I knew she was legit -- a total woman of integrity -- I knew she would never say that if it wasn't true. So I jumped on that one-hour call with her. 

Thank goodness I did -- because if I never could have imagined in the last 3 months that:

🎉 I would be leading a team of more than 800 ladies {& gentlemen},
😱 These incredible rockstars would generate over $150K in sales,
💰This business would be a significant income stream,
🚘 By the end of this month, I'll have fully qualified for my totally paid-for Cadillac,
💎 I‘d be running a revenue stream with a 100% profit margin,
🎁 My family would be able to give generously to a cause that means SO much to us and bless others the same way we’ve been blessed,
...and I've got some seriously amazing #fiveminutehair 😍.

Today is that same opportunity for you! 

I would love to invite you to that same one-hour presentation. No strings attached. No spammy sales pitches. Just sharing. 

You've got nothing to lose... 

Either way, you'll learn how this movement has grown so fast and you'll be able to take away some of these strategies for your own business. It'll be a win-win!

Don't make the same mistake I did -- waiting on the sidelines for so long! Click here to register for the call!

XOXO,
Rachel



P.S. Haha - I know you scrolled all the way to the bottom {I do the SAME THING!} -- here's the summary: I came out of hiding and shared exactly what I've been doing the past few months -- and the incredible freedom and fun it's infused into my biz! Now, it's your turn! Let me show you why this time, it's different!

3 Big Lessons From Black Friday and The One Mistake I'm Never Making Again

Black Friday -- did you CRUSH it or let it slip by?

I’m almost embarrassed to say I’ve always avoided Black Friday and Cyber Monday in my biz -- I thought they were over-hyped and I wasn’t confident I could really break through all the white noise! But this year, something changed!!

I decided to jump in and go for it. And it was AMAZING!!!

So I knew that with my products-based business that they were going to be having a Black Friday sale, and that I was commited!

But I decided last minute (like the night before!) that I would also have a Black Friday flash sale for FB Ads Academy (my self-study course). I had been getting a lot of questions about the live version, which I originally planned to launch in Q4... but I decided to push back for next year.

So I decided to put the self-study course at a mega discount - 70% off for 24 hours only -- and just see how it went. (I’ve never had a deeply discounted sale like that before and probably won’t have another one again!)

But y’all … it blew my expectations… and did WAY BETTER than what I even thought was possible!

But amidst all the wins were #ALLtheMistakes too… So let me break down for you all the good, the bad, and the one mistake I won’t be making again….EVER!

#1 Preparation is critical

With the products biz -- I was prepared. I was ready to go and The Dream Team was pumped. We knew what needed to be done, we had a plan, and we were ready to execute.

I had written emails.

I had created the landing pages.

I was excited, eager, and ready to go.

Or so I thought.

But there were some unanticipated questions and conversations that came up along the way. There were SO MANY emails and responses I could have automated… but I didn’t. I could have been WAY more prepared!

And then there was FB Ads Academy… Since I decided the night before to have the sale, I was up all night editing the sales page, changing the pricing, getting the emails ready to send.

Preparing in advance would have helped me avoid all the stress and anxiety that I had to go through to get the Black Friday sale ready.

If I had to do it again I’d totally plan more, have my incredible agency team create all the things in advance, and would go to bed early the night before! Which leads me to my next point….

#2 Communicate with your team

It’s important to communicate with your team not just during events, sales, and launches, but in everything that’s going on in your business. And you have to do it ahead of time.

I made this mistake with the FB Ads Academy sale -- because I decided last minute that we were going to have a sale (and had given the agency team the holiday off), I was on my own. Yes, it went extremely well, but if I had it to do over, I would have had my team with me before the holiday!

On the other hand, in my direct sales business, The Dream Team knew what was going to happen. It’s going to be a big day and we’re going to have an AMAZING time.

We got on Voxer, we had our coffee ready, and we were SO excited about the sale. We started posting our posts, implementing our social media strategies, etc.

We knew our goals, where we were headed, and we executed! And what I didn’t expect was it was SO MUCH FUN because we were in it together.

I’ve never had that much fun on a launch! I spent the day with the Dream Team... planning, strategizing, and celebrating along the way. I didn't realize how much I needed this community of women who were pushing after the same goal until we were in it together. And we had a blast!

# 3 Momentum is Magical

I didn't realize how much momentum was going to come from Black Friday! I had no idea that there would be an echo -- a ripple effect of momentum that would generate even more business for weeks!

I know about the launch echo and we teach about that in our Launch It course. But what I didn't know about was the Black Friday echo.

The Dream Team put ourselves out there. We shared. We communicated. We sent out those emails. And what I didn't expect was what happened on Saturday and Sunday and the days after that. I didn't expect to keep making sales afterwards.

I didn't expect to keep getting the opportunity to serve people even after the sale had ended. The momentum that it would bring into my business, into my life, and into my team.

I am pumped. I've never been more excited about some of the things that I've got coming down the line for you ladies because now that I see what's possible now that it's happened, I know where we can move on from here.

Ladies, Black Friday was amazing and if you prepare, if you communicate your expectations, you will see that momentum.

Now I want to hear from you: Have you ever done a Black Friday sale or do you always try to stay out of it and why? Let me know in the comments.

Also if you found this very helpful I’d appreciate it if you share this to someone who’s planning a launch or a sale of their own. It’s always better when we help each other out.

So excited for all that's to come in your life and in your business!

Are You Jumping on The Roller Coaster or Too Scared to Even Get In Line?

Starting a new adventure is scary!

When we start our business, there’s going to be a lot of fear around “things”. It’s inevitable.

We’re constantly learning, pushing, striving, and growing.

It’s like a roller coaster.

Remember that first time you rode a roller coaster?

Maybe you weren’t even sure you wanted to get in line.

Maybe you spent the whole time terrified and nervous… until that bar swung open and it was your turn to get in the cart.

You fastened your safety belt, put the bar down, and your fingers gripped the bar tight… up, up, up… that first hill seemed to take FOREVER to get to the top. And then…

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! OH MY GOODNESS……. It was SO MUCH FUN!!!!

You finish the ride (like 2.3 seconds later) and what’s the first thing you say when you hop off?

“Let’s do it again”

The same is true in business!

That first email -- scary! That first Facebook Live -- super scary!

But once we send the email -- not so scary. Once we do the live -- not so scary.

The first time comes with fear but the second time comes with excitement and with knowledge of what to do better.

So use that.

What’s one “roller coaster” you’ve been afraid to get in line for? I want you to take action on it today!! Comment below and let me know what you did!

Are You Making This Mistake With Your Ads?

Have you ever run a Facebook Ad with high expectations, only to find it tanking? Now you realized you’ve spent your hard-earned money on something that hasn’t benefited your business the slightest?

You’re not alone. Every day I hear from women in business that Facebook Ads never seem to do what they expect it to do, so they immediately dismiss it as a waste of money and time.

But sometimes, the ad isn’t the problem. 

So how will you know when it is? 

This post addresses the number one mistake that I see many make in this industry when it comes to Facebook Ads. 

It’s something a lot of you are probably doing, or don’t know that you’re doing and it’s this:

Trusting your intuition. 

How is that bad when it comes to running Facebook ads when it seems to be the best possible advice in most other situations? Let me explain:

People don’t want to test their ads, and so when something is not working they rely on intuition to decide the reason why. 

So often I’ll have clients who come to me for an ads consult and I’ll say “OK, what’s wrong with your ads?” 

We’ll start looking at them, and here’s what I’ve observed: they’ve run one ad set to one audience with one copy and one image. 

And they say: “My ads aren’t working and I keep changing my copy and it’s not getting any better.”

But let’s stop and think for a moment... is it the copy that needs changing? 

See, when we trust our intuition, there is a chance that we get it wrong. We don't always know exactly what it is that's bothering our ideal clients when it comes to our ads. 

While we may not know exactly what it is that isn't working the data never lies. The data ALWAYS tells me what's working and what's not working.

So we'll dive in, we'll look. "OK, I've got something to work with, I've got some data here... so let's look at the data!”

When I'm looking at your ads, and I'm trying to decide, why are they are or aren’t working, I’m ALWAYS looking at the data first!

I am looking at your click-through rate. I want to know what percent of people who saw your ad clicked on it. Is your ad even doing the job of getting the clicks?

If it's not getting the clicks, it's not doing what you wanted it to do. So you do have a problem with your image or your copy.

But sometimes that's not the issue!

Sometimes the issue is your landing page isn't converting. See, your ad is getting tons and tons of clicks. You're sending all kinds of traffic over to your landing page, but then when we pop over to your landing page, it's converting at like 5%.

And so you thought you had an ad problem, but you actually have a landing page problem.

THAT is the biggest issue that I see. I see people who trust their intuition over trusting the data. 

And so if you're running ads for your business, I want to encourage you to get super familiar with the data. Get an understanding of the data, because the data won't lie to you. 

The data doesn't need intuition. The data is going to always tell you what's right or what's wrong.

Did you find this article helpful?

Make sure to share this post to anyone that you know that's running Facebook ads that may have been trusting their intuition over trusting the data. 

Until next time, hope you have a wonderful week!
 

Xoxo,

Rachel

Be Stubbornly Glad!

It's THANKSGIVING and I just wanted to pause for a moment and tell you that I am thankful for YOU!!!

I heard a great quote yesterday that I can't take credit for but just had to share:

"Be stubbornly glad"

I'm grateful for a day that we set aside simply to be glad – to be thankful and grateful for all the things. Y'all, I get it! It's easy to look around and be depressed... the economy, the weather, and all the disfunction around us can make it hard to feel blessed. But we have a choice – and we can always choose the silver lining.

And on this Thanksgiving 2017, where we're celebrating all that we are thankful for this year, I choose to be stubbornly glad!

I'm so glad {and thankful and grateful} for…

My Husband -- who has supported me for the past five years – in life, in love, and on this crazy entrepreneurship adventure!

 My Daughter -- who keeps me humble, is a mirror into all of the good and all of not-so-good, and who has taught me more about patience and energy than I ever knew was possible!

Team Rachel -- they are the glue that holds this agency and business together! I couldn't do it without my incredible team, and I'm grateful to be able to thank them by giving them the rest of the week off to spend with their families!

My Biz Besties -- you ladies are always there for me -- my shoulders to cry on, my sisters who bring a smile to my face every time we speak in person -- my friends who totally get me... and who will make each other laugh until we can't hardly breathe!

YOU -- yes, you, . I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you and your support. I do this for you… because at this agency and in this company, our mission is to help women like you get your message to the world. I only win when I'm helping you gain more influence, impact, and income. And I'm grateful for you and for the opportunity that I have to serve you and to help you spread your unique message to the world.

THANK YOU, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

XOXO, 
Rachel