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Podcast

The Difference In Your Next 12 Months With Lisa Sasso – PTC 323

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Where do you want to go in the next 12 months? If we are a year from today and we are looking back over the past year, what would need to happen for you to be happy with your results? This is where your goals begin.

CREATE SPECIFIC GOALS

Be specific as you set your goals. How many downloads would be a success? If you have a goal to make money with your podcast, how much? What is the timeframe?

When you are specific with your goals, you are able to visualize that victory.

What are you selling? Do the math. How much do you need to sell to reach your specific goal?

As the old saying goes, when you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there. Let’s not wander through the next year. Set specific goals. Then, take specific action to reach those goals.

Let’s say you have a goal to lose weight. At the end of the year, your weight has gone from 234 pounds to 232 pounds, did you reach your goal? You lost two pounds. You lost weight. Is that a success? Possibly. But probably not quite what you were expecting.

Without a specific goal, you will not be able to make a big difference in your journey.

CRUNCH THE NUMBERS

Do you want to grow your downloads? What is that number? What does growth look like?

Do you want to make money with your podcast? How much? How will you do that?

You need to crunch the numbers to define your actions. If you haven’t clearly defined your goal, you can’t make the numbers work. You haven’t determined the sum of the actions yet.

If you want to grow your listeners, pick a number. Let’s suppose you want to grow your downloads by an average of 50 downloads per episode. How many subscribers do you need to attract to your podcast each week? About 12. 50 downloads divided by 4 weeks is a touch over 12. About two a day.

Now that we have worked the numbers, we can figure out the actions that will help us attract two subscribers a day.

How much money do you want to make with your podcast? Do the math and figure out what that would equal per week. Then, find something to sell that could bring in that income. Just crunch the numbers. Break it down.

Once you break it down, determine the steps you need to take to help you reach those goals.

FREE TRAINING

I can help you put all of this together. Join me for a free training on Tuesday called “6 Ways To Make Money With Your Podcast”. In this workshop, I will walk you through the process of creating your strategy. And, it’s free.

Sign up at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/growth.

If you haven’t set your goals, you will get the same thing in 2021 that you’ve been getting for the last few years. No specific results. Very little progress toward your dreams. More frustration.

Spend an hour with me and let me help you lay it out. Sign up at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/growth.

GOALS WITH LISA SASSO

Today, I’ve invited Lisa Sasso to join us to help us clarify our goals. She is a goal-setting expert.

Lisa Sasso has an MBA from Bentley University and is a Certified Executive Coach. She is a Certified Professional Coactive Coach, certified by the Coaches Training Institute. She is also a Professional Certified Coach from the International Coach Federation.

Lisa empowers professionals to achieve their personal and professional goals with accountability, balance and gratitude to reach their greatest potential.

Find Lisa at www.LisaSasso.com.

Start setting your goals today. As Lisa suggests, use SMART ART goals to be specific and visualize your destination.

If you want the same as you’ve always been getting, keep doing the same thing. If you want different results, take action. Define your goals. Develop your strategy. Then, take action.

Your journey starts today. Enjoy the ride.

Do you need help with your podcast? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s see what we can do.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

Know Your Numbers With Millen Livis – PTC 317

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As we move into a new year, you are probably setting some new goals. If you want to reach those goals over the next 12 months, you need to know your numbers.

You can use your podcast to grow your business and make some money. In order to do that, you need to set specific goals with specific targets. That includes knowing exactly what you want to achieve.

BE SPECIFIC

Let’s say you want to grow your downloads. That goal isn’t specific enough. It is like losing weight. You will never lose weight unless you are specific about the amount of weight you want to lose.

When you state that you want to lose 30 pounds by May 1st, you can measure your progress and determine if you reach your goal. When you say, “I want to lose weight”, you can’t tell if and when you’ve reached that goal.

Over the next 12 months, how much would you like to grow your podcast downloads? Be specific.

This past summer, I was able to double my monthly downloads by knowing my numbers. I set the goal and took specific action to hit those numbers. Doubling my downloads wouldn’t have been possible without knowing exactly what I wanted to happen.

DOUBLE YOUR DOWNLOADS

What would it take to double your downloads over the next 12 months?

If you want to grow your downloads by 1,200 over the next year, you will need to grow your downloads by 100 each month.

In order to grow by 100 downloads per month, you will need to get about 3.3 new listeners each day. What can you do everyday to get in front of new listeners and encourage 3 to 5 new people to listen each day?

By breaking down your numbers in this way, reaching your goal becomes much easier. Attracting 5 new listeners consistently is much easier than finding 1,200 people.

MAKING MONEY

How much money would you like to generate with your podcast this year? Revenue potential depends on the viability of your niche and the work you dedicate toward the effort.

For example purposes, let’s say you’d like to generate $60,000 over the next twelve months. How can we break that down to small steps and benchmarks?

$60k over 12 months would mean generating $5,000 each month. If we assume 4 weeks a month, you would need to create $1,250 each week. Working five days a week, you would need $250 each day.

What could you create that could generate $250/day or $5,000/month? You could sell one course a day at $250. You could also create a membership that is $50/month. If you enroll 100 people, that would be $5,000/month.

You need to know your numbers in order to reach your goals.

FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE

On the episode today, we talk with Millen Livis. She is a financial independence mentor, best-selling author, investor and entrepreneur.

Millen combines her traditional and holistic education to help professional women become financially independent and retire early, so that they enjoy more choices and more freedom, without having to worry about money.

Most people feel financial independence is just a pipe dream. Millen tells us how to break that mindset and jumpstart your pathway from the pipe dream to financial freedom.

With the pandemic, financial education is more vital now than ever before. Job security is no longer a guarantee. Millen shows us how to begin our journey to financial freedom.

You can reach out to Millen for your own consultation. Visit https://speakwithmillen.com.

Do you need help with your podcast? Visit PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching. Let’s see what we can do.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

Your 2021 Podcast Roadmap – PTC 312

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When podcasters come to me for guidance, we start with a free strategy session to see if and how I can be of help. During this session, we develop a roadmap for the next 12 months. If it then makes sense to work together, we discuss what that could look like.

Today, I want to help you create your 2021 roadmap. This roadmap will be a fill-in-the-blank roadmap, because you and I aren’t sitting down to discuss your specific show and goals. You’ll need to do a lot of the work on your own.

YOUR STRATEGY SESSION

If you have created at least 25 episodes and would like to apply for a free strategy session with me, visit www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching. You can apply right there.

If you are disappointed with all of the work you’ve been putting into your show but seeing very little ROI, and you would like 2021 to be different – the year you begin making money with your podcast – apply for your strategy session. We’ll see what is possible.

This could be your opportunity. I’ll show you how you can get more reach and visibility. Plus, I’ll show you how to leverage the work you’ve already done to grow a business around your show.

www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching.

Let’s talk about your roadmap. Get a sheet of paper and a pen.

Yes, go old school. The physical act of writing does something to the brain as you are creating. It activates the brain in a way that typing does not.

FOUR STEPS ROADMAP

There are four steps to create your roadmap. We will go through each.

On your paper, draw a line straight down the middle of the paper from top to bottom. Now, draw a line right across the middle of the paper from side to side.

You should now have four quadrants on the page. We will fill each of the four quadrants with different ideas and evaluations for your roadmap.

TOPIC

In the upper left corner, write topic. This is the first step.

To be a podcast success, you need to create your show around a topic that you love. This needs to be something you can talk about for days and never get tired.

I know. You’re saying, “Erik, of course this is my favorite topic. Why else would I be doing the show?”

Well, maybe. I’m not talking about a topic you think is cool. This needs to be a topic that really gets you excited. People should be saying, “Enough already – can’t you talk about something else?”

You talk about this all the time. You eat, drink and sleep this topic.

Here is how we find out. Set a timer for 10 minutes. In the topic quadrant, write as many show topic ideas as you can. Don’t evaluate the topics. Just write as many ideas as you can in 10 minutes.

Pause the episode, set the timer and write. Then come back and push play.

HOW MANY TOPICS?

Ok, count the number of topic ideas you’ve created. If you wrote down over 50 ideas, you are on the right track. This topic comes easy to you.

If you created between 35 and 50 topics, there is a good chance you have a topic you love. Your creativity or self evaluation might be holding back the ideas. Still, 35 is pretty good.

If you were able to only come up with 20 to 35 topic ideas, you may want to try this exercise again. You are walking on thin ice. Struggling to come up with topic ideas will create what appears to be writer’s block.

Passion kills writer’s block. If you love the topic, you have no issues creating topic ideas.

Think about what new people in this niche need to know. Discuss terms, resources, thought leaders, how to get started, where to find the best tools and other similar topic ideas. Now, try the exercise again and see what happens. If you still struggle, you should consider a different topic.

Now if you came up with fewer than 20 topic ideas, you are in the wrong niche. I don’t want to be the one to call your baby ugly. However, you are going to struggle every week trying to create your show.

If you have trouble deciding were to start, you won’t start. Your podcast will fade away quickly. Then you are going to proclaim podcasting doesn’t work. No, your topic didn’t work for you. Don’t start down a path that you don’t love. It is too much work.

BUILD THE AUDIENCE

In the upper right quadrant, write audience. Once you have a topic, you need to build an audience.

When I have a strategy session with a podcaster, we talk about goals. Most of the time the goals will always include “grow my audience”.

You need to understand that size is relative. It is more important to have a passionate audience who wants what you have to offer rather than a big yet passive audience.

People search out the Apple store. Those fans are passionate. Many more people shop at WalMart. However, very few people have a WalMart sticker on the back window of their car or on their laptop.

You want to create fans who will become clients. Lots of listeners are great. Lots of listeners who will buy your stuff is even better.

According to Canalys Worldwide PC Analysis in October 2019, Apple ranked 4th with 7.8% of the world computer market behind Lenovo, HP and Dell. Apple was almost 10% behind number 3 Dell.

When was the last time you saw anyone lining up outside a store waiting for the new HP to be released?

Dell Technologies has a market cap of $52 billion. Apple’s market cap is almost $2 trillion. Now, Apple phones drive that cap. But it is four times bigger.

FIND YOUR IDEAL CLIENTS

You want to find people who want everything you have. In that upper right quadrant, start listing people who are already talking to your ideal clients. This could be podcasters, bloggers, YouTube creators, event coordinators, associations, manufacturers, magazines, radio shows, people with big e-mail lists and anyone else talking to your potential customers.

Where can you find these people? Where do they hang out online? How can you get in front of your ideal clients?

In order to build your audience, you need to find people who aren’t aware of you and your show. Then, invite them to come listen.

SOLVE A PROBLEM

After you have built the audience, you need to create something of value for them so they can give you money. Both of you need to win here.

The best way to offer value to your audience is to help them solve a problem. What are their struggles? What hurdles are they trying to overcome?

When you have a topic that you love, finding their problems shouldn’t be too difficult. You’ve been there. You have been through the struggles.

Determine how you can help your tribe overcome those struggles. Then, create something to sell around your solution.

Solve one specific problem for your listener.

If you know exactly who you help and what you help them do, your single solution should be clear. You can now find those people and offer to help.

In the lower left quadrant, write problems. Now list all of the problems that exist for your ideal customer. Remember, you only need to solve one. Let’s find the right one. The one most would be willing to pay money to solve.

As you brainstorm problems, think of the things people always ask you about. How do you do this or how do you fix that? Where are they struggling?

What questions do you see most often in Facebook groups or online forums? What problems are people in your niche complaining about most often?

These are all signs of problems that need to be solved, and you’re just the person to do it. Find your solution.

SELL IT

Your final step is to get people to buy your solution. In the lower right quadrant, write system.

There are three parts to your system. How can you promote your solution? Where will you sell it? How will you deliver it?

Those are the three things you need to determine. Create a system to promote, sell and delivering your solution.

If you are selling a physical product, many Amazon is right for you. Maybe you’ve created a course and something like Teachable is your delivery.

In this quadrant, write your solution to these three parts. You need ways to promote your solution. You will definitely mention it on the podcast. Where else can you promote it? What affiliate partners might be able to promote it for you? List all of your ideas.

Write down how you will sell your solution. Is there anything you need to learn to do this? Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Finally, how will you deliver your solution?

Stay focused on one problem and one solution to that problem. You can’t create multiple streams of income until you have the first one flowing first.

START YOUR ROADMAP

Those are your four steps to your 2021 podcast roadmap. Get started today. If you want different results in the next 12 months, you need to start doing different things. Now is your time.

If you would like some help creating your specific plan, let’s talk.

If you have created at least 25 episodes and would like to apply for a free strategy session with me, visit www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching. You can apply right there.

This could be your opportunity. I’ll show you how you can get more reach and visibility. Plus, I’ll show you how to leverage the work you’ve already done to grow a business around your show.

www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

Overcoming Your Challenges With Mindset – PTC 295

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Webinar: https://awakecommunication.mykajabi.com/a/31490/rnQoqfQC

With the pandemic, this year has been quite challenging. We set goals at the beginning of the year. By the middle of March, our mindset was completely derailed. Now that we are half way through the year, how are you overcoming your challenges to get back on track?

MINDSET IS POWER

Our mindset is a powerful tool. Finding the right mindset to achieve your goals is important as you continue on your journey. But when there is so much uncertainty in the world, how do we get in that right mindset?

It is understandable that you aren’t sure where to turn. What is appropriate in this time of life. Is it appropriate to sell you services? When will it be appropriate to reach out with an interview request?

The problem we have right now is that everyone is in a different situation. People in one city may be in near lockdown trying to avoid the pandemic. Others may be nearly life as normal. The challenge is finding the acceptable path.

Getting in the right mindset will help you on your journey. Find the confidence to start. Then, move on from there.

The situation is different from one person to another. Where one might be open to a conversation, another may be completely concerned with just getting through the day. You need to start with the conversation to determine where they are and what they need. Just reach out to help.

With the unknown, it is easy to get stuck. It is easy to get paralyzed by fear, frustration and overwhelm. You need to find ways to overcome the challenges.

This is true if you are launching a podcast, reaching out for interviews, starting a business or moving your business to new heights. Get in the right mindset to move past those challenges.

MINDSET MENTOR

Do you want to learn how to find that mindset? Today we are talking with Evakarin Wallin. She is a professional mindset mentor and coach who can guide you to conquer your fears, frustrations and overwhelm. She helps you find the obstacles that stand in the way of creating the life and business you desire.

With close to 20 years of experience working with amazing clients, she has guided clients to achieve remarkable success.

You will learn how to use her expansion method to overcome your challenges and get in the right mindset to get back on track this year.

THE WEBINAR

You can find her at EvakarinWallin.com. She also has a webinar coming up Aug. 4th and 5th.

Let’s get you back on track.

One thing she mentioned that I love is that we are all different. What it takes me to get into the right mindset will be different for you. Find what works.

Pay attention to the mind and body. Don’t hold all of your stress and worry in your shoulders or stomach. Release it, so you can create great things through the remainder of the year.

You can find that webinar info at PodcastTalentCoach.com/mindset.

Thanks for being here. We’ll connect again next week.

You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

Start Now – PTC266

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What does success look like for you over the next 12 months? Have you broken your goals down to specific steps? Start to take steps toward reaching your goals.

Now, this episode isn’t all about setting goals. We are not going to talk about SMART goals and the five goal-setting steps. You know your goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time bound. It is also wise to write them down and create an action plan. You can find that information anywhere.

GOALS

What I want to talk about today are the specific actions you can start to take that will get you to your goals.

I was in a coaching session with my business coach the other day. We were talking about where I want the business to go. We were discussing my goals for the next year.

As we talked about my goals for 2020, I realized I don’t need as many coaching clients as I thought. As we worked out the numbers and the structure of the business and what I can offer, I really only need a few great clients to reach my goals.

I can continue to help as many podcasters as possible with my podcast and free worksheets. I can continue to offer my Dollars and Downloads course for those not yet ready for coaching. A few of the right clients will help me reach my goals for 2020.

At that point, my coach and I broke down the year in terms of the number of new clients I would need to find, how many products I would need to sell and what I would need to create to reach the goal.

Have you translated your financial goals into number of business transactions that would need to happen this year. You cannot possibly begin taking steps toward your financial goals without defining those steps.

My coach and I worked together to put the money on paper in terms of business action steps and clients.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

When I was getting my MBA, we learned a lot about the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that drive businesses. There are a few indicators that will help you determine exactly what will drive your business.

A KPI is defined as a quantifiable measure used to evaluate the success of an organization, employee, etc. in meeting objectives for performance.

They are the quantifiable, outcome-based statements you’ll use to measure if you’re on track to meet your goals or objectives.

KPIs are not the overall goal of earning a specific amount of money. They are the steps you can control to help you reach those goals.

For instance, I know that 2 out of every 3 people I help during a free podcast strategy call will turn into a client. They recognize the value of the help I provide and they are at a point in their journey where coaching makes sense.

Therefore, if I know how many active clients I need each month, I can then determine how many free strategy calls I need to complete each month as well.

To gain strategy calls, I need to connect with people. If I can determine which actions attract strategy calls, I can then determine how much action I need to take.

Let’s say I average two strategy calls every time I am a guest on a podcast. I can then work back to figure out how many podcasts appearances I need to make in order to get hit my number.

Those are key performance indicators. It is all about taking the right action. Start using them to reach your goals.

IDEAL CLIENTS

My coach and I determined how many free strategy sessions I need to conduct to find the ideal clients that get the most benefit from my coaching.

Ideal clients are key. Not every podcaster is the right fit for my coaching. There are specific podcasters that can truly use my coaching to really improve their podcast and business.

There are some podcasters that benefit greatly from my coaching. They have a fantastic business helping their clients. They use their podcast to attract new clients and build their authority in the space.

On the other side, there are many podcasters I help with my free strategy session that are not a great fit for my coaching program. Those podcasters get a great deal of benefit from the session by defining their strategy and improving their show. Their show simply isn’t at the level where it can support coaching.

It is just fine that these podcasters aren’t ready. They will eventually be in a place where they are ready to start. We just work together to figure out where they are today.

PARTNER

That is the benefit of having a coach or accountability partner. An outside perspective can ask the questions you don’t see, because you are too close to the situation.

If you would like to see where you are, check out my free strategy session online at PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching. You can get the details and schedule your free session right there.

You need to take time this week to not only set your goals, but truly define the areas that will really move the needle for you. Define the Key Performance Indicators that will move your podcast and business toward your goals.

Looking back at my process, the most productive week I ever had occurred when I was specific about the very next steps I needed to take. Then I put them in writing to help me start.

That week, I accomplished more than I had in the previous 2 months. It was all because I determined what actions would make a difference, I wrote them down, and then did the very next thing on the list. Focus and start.

YOUR KPIs

As you develop your KPIs, you should have around six. That number will vary depending on the size and scope of your business.

There are four characteristics of every key performance indicator. The should be

  • Measurable
  • with a target
  • from a source
  • and a reporting frequency

Your KPI must be able to be measured. “Be better at returning calls” isn’t specifically measurable. 10 clients is measurable.

It should have a target. 10 calls each week has a target with respect to number and time.

A good KPI has a source. You know exactly where they data will come from and how it is measure. “Connect with 10 clients each week” doesn’t have a clear source. You don’t really know what that means.

When your KPI is “10 face-to-face meetings with clients each week”, you know exactly how to measure that KPI. You know the source of the data.

Finally, you need a reporting frequency. It does you no good to set a KPI if you don’t plan to review your progress on a weekly or monthly basis. Inspect what you expect.

EXAMPLES

There are various examples of strong KPIs.

With regard to sales, you might measure the number of qualified leads in your sales funnel.

A customer KPI could be the number of clients that renew each month.

Marketing KPIs could be monthly website visits or Facebook posts each week.

You need to track these KPIs over months. As you start, these will adjust quite a bit. You won’t know what has impact on the results until you track it.

I know that 2 out of every 3 calls result in a client, because I tracked it over time. The results of a few months gave me an indication of that cause and effect.

Take time to begin tracking your results. If you post a call-to-action on Facebook once a day, what does that do for your results? When you bump it up to twice a day, is there any effect on the results?

Determine what your next steps need to be. Then, start by working backwards.

START WITH FIVE YEAR GOALS

Where do you want to be in five years? Define your long-term goals first.

Use the SMART method to get clear. You might consider creating realistic goals along with some stretch goals.

Five years is a long time. You can get a lot done in 1,825 days.

Many of us overestimate what we can do in one year, but underestimate what we can do in five. Think big.

How much do you want to be earning? What do you want your work life to look like? What does your family look like? How does your health look? Where are you in your spiritual walk?

GOALS NEXT YEAR

Next, where do you want to be next year? Be clear on the goals and lay in some stretch goals.

If you want to make $24k over the next year, $2,000 a month could be realistic. Maybe $8,000 a month is possible if a few key things happen. That would take you to $100k next year. That would be a nice stretch goal.

Just like the saying says, “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” It has been credited to Norman Vincent Peale. I’ve heard the great Les Brown say it. Regardless of where it originated, there is truth in it.

Shoot for your stretch goal. You may just outperform your realistic number.

QUARTERLY GOALS

Now, let’s break the yearly goal into four parts. What do you need to accomplish in each quarter of the next 12 months to get you to your yearly goal?

You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Break your yearly goal into quarterly milestones. Be clear and specific. “Get more clients” is not a goal. How many do you need. If you need 24 over the year, can you land 6 per quarter or one every other week?

As you break your goal into smaller steps, you will see if your goals are feasible with the tools and time you currently have. You may find that you need to add help or give up something in order to make the goals happen.

WEEKLY GOALS

Next, we take the quarterly goals and break those into week-by-week goals. You have 13 weeks in the quarter. What needs to happen every week to make the goals a reality?

Be sure to build in some “catch up” time. Again, we overestimate what we can accomplish in a short time. The shorter the time, the more we miss the estimate. Build in time to catch up each week.

THIS WEEK

Now that you have your weekly goals, what are the things that need to be completed this week? Create the task list and start.

TODAY

Take a look at this week. What are your objectives today? What is the next most important step? Start there.

REVIEW

Review each step of the way. Are your goals realistic? Can you really put in that much time everyday, every week and every month to make your goals happen?

Review your KPIs on a regular basis and adjust where needed. Make sure the key performance indicators are truly indicators. If you adjust them, ensure there is an effect on your results.

CONSISTENT ACTION

Finally, stick with it. Focus. The only way you will achieve your goals is with consistent action. Take steps forward every day.

To help you take those steps, find an accountability partner. Maybe join a mastermind. Hire a coach. Enlist a partner. Whatever it takes to keep you moving forward toward your goals.

Setting goals and writing them down won’t be enough. Focused action on the next step is the key to making your goals a reality. Start and then stay accountable to action.

I’d love to help you. Check out my Free Strategy Session where you and I will sit down for 30 minutes to lay out an action plan for your show and business. Get the details at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com/coaching.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.

Podcast

Do You Know Where You Are Going [Setting Goals] – Episode 174

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Do You Know Where You Are Going [Setting Goals] – Episode 174

Setting Goals
Setting goals in 7 areas of your life

Do you know where you are going? Have you set goals?

Without a road map, you will never get anywhere.

LACK OF GOALS

We just lost a guy from our mastermind, because his goals were not clear. He let that get in his way.

The mastermind started back in February. We had intended to take it to three months and then evaluate the progress. We made it to six.

When the group began, we all described where we were in our business journey and where we wanted to go. We talked about our hopes and dreams. We started holding each other accountable each week to make progress on our dreams.

Each week, we would talk about our progress and accomplishments. We would help one member with their struggles. At the end, we would establish the steps we planned to take in the upcoming week to make further progress.

That is how you achieve your goals. You define your dreams. You put a deadline on those dreams. Then, you take baby steps each week toward those goals.

It sounds like an easy process. It is simple, but far from easy.

When we began, our guy talked about his dreams just like the rest of us. He had great goals of launching a business creating masterminds. He had been in quite a few over the last six years and was great at running them.

Our guy joined the group to have someone hold him accountable. He is a self-described “shiny object person”. Masterminds would be his side hustle, because he has a full-time job.

By the second meeting, we had helped our guy flush out his desires, strengths and path. He pivoted a little from group masterminds to a personal accountability coach.

On the third call, he reported he had launched a coaching website, but also had a few people interested in a paid mastermind. I thought, “At least he is making progress toward revenue.”

The next week he reported that he made no progress. He was working on a video for his coaching and still trying to launch the in-person mastermind.

By June, our guy had a few free mastermind meetings with friends, but was struggling to convert it to revenue. He was looking to pivot. He just wasn’t sure he was headed down the right path.

When July rolled around, he was exploring new aspects for his business and possibly a new niche. This is when he decided to start a blog for his content. The very next week he was interviewing people for a podcast he was planning to launch.

As we neared the end of July, our guy was back talking about the mastermind niche and how he could create a live workshop to help businesses launch a mastermind.

His distractions finally got the best of him. As we rolled into August, our guy decided he needed to get out of the group. After six months, he really spent most of the time battling the impostor syndrome. He let it prevent him from taking meaningful steps toward his goal.

LITTLE, CONSISTENT STEPS

If you want to reach your goals, you need to find ways to take little steps each week. Determine the next logical step in your journey and take it. Don’t worry about six months down the road. Worry about today.

What can you do today to simply make progress?

This is one of the benefits of having a coach. If you find the right person to coach you, they can hold you accountable to your progress. Then can give you a little push when you need it. Maybe help you create deadlines.

I do this quite often with my coaching clients. Sure, I help my clients shape their contents to be more engaging. They learn to be better interviewers. We work together to create a workflow that is more efficient.

But most importantly, I help podcasters stay accountable. Each week, we set little baby goals for the week that build on each other to reach the big goal.

Could you use a coach to help you stay accountable to your goals? Do you need that little nudge every once in awhile? I can do that for you. Check out the coaching tab online at PodcastTalentCoach.com.

The first session is free. We use that to set some goals and get to know each other. We see if we work well together. If we are both comfortable with it, we go from there.

I would love to help you reach your goals.

GOALS IN 7 AREAS AND 5 YEARS

So, let’s talk about goal setting. What can you do this week.

Grab a sheet of paper. Spend 5 minutes writing down your dreams. What do you hope to accomplish over the next five years. Big goals. Big things won’t happen unless you dream big.

Over the next five years, what does your podcast look like? What does your life look like?

Break these big dreams into seven areas of your life. Your long-term goals should include career, money, self-improvement, family, social, spiritual, and health.

Define your career. How are you employed? How many hours a week do you work? What does your work life look like five years from now?

With regard to money, how much do you have? How much are you earning per year in five years? What are you doing with your money?

As you begin to describe your self-improvement five years from now, consider things like your education, knowledge and the overall person you have become. What do you need to be a better person five years from today?

Family is a piece many people forget when they are goal setting. Money and career are easy. What about your family? What does your family look like in five years? How much time are you spending with them? What are you doing with that time?

Your social goals should include your friends and acquaintences. It is often said that you will become the average of the five people you spend the most time with. Who are those people five years from now? Be intentional with your friendships. Set specific goals in this area.

How is your spiritual life? How would you like that to look in five years? If you feel it could be stronger, let’s set some goals to make that happen.

Your health doesn’t improve because you hope it will. Goals will help you become healthier if you make it a priority. Set big goals in health that you can work toward five years from today.

GOALS FOR THIS YEAR

Now that you have big goals set, let’s figure out what you can do in the next year to work toward those goals. Sure, you have five years to accomplish them. That means we need to make progress each year over the next five to get there.

Big goals won’t happen overnight. It takes consistent effort. Break your five-year goals into smaller steps that you can accomplish over the years.

How far along will you be toward each goal twelve months from now?

MONTHLY GOALS

After you have determined your one-year goals, break those into twelve steps. This will be one step for each month. What do you need to accomplish each month in order to hit your annual goal?

Be realistic with your progress. This will be a snowball. It will get much bigger each time it rolls over. Very similar to compound interest. It doesn’t grow in a straight line. The line curves upward. Your progress will do the same.

Think of revenue for a business. Revenue doesn’t typically grow in a straight line, like 100 this year, 200 in year 2, 300 in year 3, and 400 in year 4. Revenue growth is typically 100 in year 1, 150 in year 2, 300 in year 3, 550 in year 4. The amount of growth increases each year. You build momentum.

WEEKLY GOALS

Now that you have monthly goals, break those into weekly goals. These are your baby steps. Little steps each week will help you reach your monthly goals.

Stack your monthly goals on top of each other and before you know it, you’ll reach your yearly goals. Your five-year goals are reach by taking little steps each week. Eat that elephant one bit at a time.

MAKE UP WEEK

I would suggest you build in a “make up” week every six to eight weeks. These are the weeks that will help you catch up. When you miss the goal, because it was a bit out of reach, these make up weeks will help you get on track.

It would be very easy to give up after you miss a couple weeks of goals. A make up week could be very beneficial to keeping you energized.

Keep your success front and center. You may not hit the goal exactly, but you will still be making progress. If your goal was 200 and you only hit 175, you are still better off than where you started. Keep your eye on the prize.

ACCOUNTABILITY

Would you like me to help you structure your goals and hold you accountable? Let’s talk about my coaching. I’d love to give you a hand.

I work with my clients on a weekly basis. We do a 30 to 45 minute call each week to review your goals, intentions and progress. I also listen to an episode before each call to help you improve. We discuss any struggles you are facing and how you can overcome those issues.

After our call, I send you a written recap of the podcast review and our call. That allows you to listen and ask questions rather than taking notes the entire time. I want the call to be packed full of information for you. I’m also available to you via e-mail anytime you would like.

Get my coaching info under the coaching tab online at podcasttalentcoach.com.

This week, take time to set goals. You cannot reach your destination until you have defined where you are going and how you plan to get there.

 

Do you need help with your podcast? E-mail me any time at Coach@PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s see what we can do.

You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com.

Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.