Coffee Social | Social Media Marketing, Content Creation, & Entrepreneurship
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Coffee Social | Social Media Marketing, Content Creation, & Entrepreneurship
How to Gain Clarity in Your Business and Turn Ideas Into Action | S2 Ep16
Answer this week's question...
EPISODE QUESTION TO ANSWER:
Are you TEAM Test the Waters or TEAM I’m all in!
Feeling stuck on your business idea? Maybe you’re wondering if your idea is a brilliant lightbulb moment or just a passing thought? Let’s figure it out!
In this episode of Coffee Social, we’re breaking down the steps to gain real clarity—from brain-dumping all your ideas to refining your messaging, knowing your customer, and even testing things out with a beta version.
If it doesn’t serve your audience, why do it? Let’s talk about that. Let’s talk about all of it!
Grab a cup and enjoy!
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This would go much smoother if Mimi had put her headphones in before, but that's okay, go ahead, Mimi Always complaining. Yep, I am, that's my job.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone.
Speaker 1:I'm good at it. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 2:It's.
Speaker 1:Coffee Social the podcast all about social media and business. And now here are your hosts, jonathan Howard and Mimi Langley.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone. Hi Jonathan Howard, hello Mimi Langley, you sound really happy today.
Speaker 1:Cheers, it's just my espresso.
Speaker 2:Espresso, don't you say. I feel like you sound like you're saying espresso, it's espresso.
Speaker 1:Es Es Espresso, espresso.
Speaker 2:Espresso, don't you say you're. I feel like you sound like you're saying espresso. It's espresso. Yes es espresso, espresso.
Speaker 1:We had this conversation before I know, I think we had it on one of these episodes recently.
Speaker 2:So I was telling jonathan like I'm hungry, I'm really hungry. I mean I know we have to like record today, but we're recording at a weird time for us.
Speaker 1:That's why I'm having an espresso. I see Now Mimi's making me say expresso.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you are saying no, you've been saying expresso the whole time.
Speaker 1:I just did, but yeah, so we're recording in a weird time today and it's throwing us off.
Speaker 2:Yeah, my stomach's growling.
Speaker 1:I'm super high on caffeine.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, it's a good combination. I mean, it's going to get us through this episode, you guys. So, jonathan, we planned this episode to be a micro one, so under 10 minutes, but we'll see how it goes. There's a lot to talk about when it comes to gaining clarity with your business ideas.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there is.
Speaker 2:I'm here to learn too, because I always want to. You know, it's like every entrepreneur has their own process to get that clarity.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean you go about things totally differently than I do, which is the wrong way, but that's okay.
Speaker 2:I do it my own damn way, Jonathan Howard.
Speaker 1:That's right and that's what I believe is. You need to do it because there is no set in stone. Why is my house shaking again? Is it shaking? Anyway, yes, everybody has their own way of doing things and I think it's really important that we go with the way that works best for us.
Speaker 2:I love that and I love that you always preach that. So anytime he always goes against what I'm saying, I'm like I do it my own damn way, just to kind of throw it in his face a little bit.
Speaker 1:She does.
Speaker 2:But we can do that right, like we're at that level of friendship, okay.
Speaker 1:This isn't going to be a five minute episode, okay.
Speaker 2:Well, real quick. Why don't you tell people who you are, just in case it's their first time at Coffee Social?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. My name is Jonathan Howard. I'm the owner of Success on Social and I help successful female coaches reach their ideal clients by developing their signature style so they can actually get out there, tell their story and no longer be the best kept secret in their niche. Over to you, mimi. Ooh, you changed that up. I did, I like that.
Speaker 2:Ooh Well, hi everyone. I'm Mimi Langley. I teach women in business how to host, how to moderate on social audio, aka audio marketing for your business. It's really a great way to stand out from the same old, same old content that people are so easy to scroll through. So think about social audio. We'll have our resources below for you guys. But, jonathan, let's start this conversation off with why I mean I know we talk about you have to have clarity when you're putting together your business idea, whether it's a course or whatever you're trying to do with your business. But why is that important? Why should that be like a focus of ours? Clarity.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean because if we don't know what we're doing and what we're driving for, then we're just throwing things at the wall with no end in sight because we don't know what we want. So, without having any clarity about what we want, we're just going to constantly be on a hamster wheel of content and launches and all those things. You have to set a goal and know what you're going for, and that requires clarity.
Speaker 2:It does, and you're right, though, I think, gosh, when you said hamster wheel, like I visualized that right away, because sometimes, if you don't just pause for a second and gain actual clarity, like it does feel like you're on a hamster wheel sometimes and you're like what am I doing?
Speaker 1:Okay, let's dive.
Speaker 2:Why, exactly? That's important, but you wanted us to kick this off, and I think that you're absolutely in the right. By the way, do you want to tell everybody the first way, to kind of gain clarity?
Speaker 1:Yeah, the first way to gain clarity is to ask your audience what they need, what they want, what their desire from you is, because you can come up with all the ideas in the world, but if your audience doesn't want it, it's not going to sell. So you have to know what your audience wants. In order to create and offer a course, even if it's just the next thing you want to teach, you have to know what your audience wants. That's the biggest so true.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's the truth, but it's like, I think a lot of people especially if you're just really getting started I think a lot of people this is like a a setback for them, because they feel like they have not yet reached that level of where they can actually ask their community or their followers Like, hey, you know, so do you have any? There's a fly? There's a fly, jonathan. There's a fly.
Speaker 1:Someone get the fly off the set please, as I imagine a random person running in and get it with a fly swatter, Like anyway.
Speaker 2:How do you get that? How do you get the feedback?
Speaker 1:Yeah, here's the thing Go into your social audio. So, if you have something that you, something that is covered on social audio, go into other people's rooms. Listen to what the audience there is saying, listen to the questions that they're asking, because that's a great way to do market research and find out what your audience will need. Look in your competitors' comments on Instagram. That is gold. In their comments on Instagram, people are going to be asking but what about this and that, what about this is a question that you can answer. That's a problem you can solve. So looking and doing that research, that market research, that's going to help you gain clarity. You don't need a lot of people to do that.
Speaker 2:Like right there. I mean literally, you don't even have to start, although I encourage you to get on social audio and start a room and have conversations with your people. I love that you went right like you can literally go on to Reddit or you know any of these kinds of websites. You know what is it? What's another good one Answer the Public Is that one.
Speaker 1:Answer. The Public is a great place that, yeah where you can get questions, what questions the public is asking. Type into a Google search what is? And then whatever your keyword is and see what pops up and those are the questions that people are typing. Literally typing into Google and this is how we type typing into Google and seeing what the answer is. And those are the questions you can answer.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's great. I mean, anybody can start there Literally anybody, so I love that a lot. That's really good. I was also thinking, you know, when we're talking about kind of getting feedback and talk to your people, your audience, your community, whatnot like, you can even do what you're thinking of creating. You could do it as a beta, a beta version of it. That's real-time feedback. They already know that they're signing up for the beta because they know that they're expected to tell you how the program went and all that. What do you think about that?
Speaker 1:Absolutely. I think a beta program is great and I think the best thing about beta is you can build as you go. So literally from week to week, you can build out the program as you're going Nobody expects you to have it finished and you can then adapt as you go. So by the end of your beta it's better already and you just have to go back and figure out the beginning.
Speaker 2:It's like one of my favorite things.
Speaker 1:I launched my first course on beta Absolutely Best thing I could have ever done.
Speaker 2:Best thing, right Like? I feel like not a lot of people talk about it, but we should probably do a whole episode on beta, never launched it out of beta. Yeah, I mean, but still like it's just wild how much you think you know what your people need and want and then you open something like that up and they really you know it's things that you would have never thought of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, right, and it needed to be a longer thing and all those things, and I ended up just I use all of that course now for all my mini courses and my lessons and my all that. So that entire big course is what I use for a lot of my teachings.
Speaker 2:That's so great. I didn't know that. Okay, well, that's cool, so it wasn't time wasted.
Speaker 1:It wasn't time wasted. I launched it three times in beta and made good money on it, so Exactly, I mean as long.
Speaker 2:I mean you guys you know beta doesn't have to be. Here's a free ticket. Beta costs money, so, okay, Awesome. Anything else you want to say about that? Before we go on to another point on gaining?
Speaker 1:clarity. Let's go on to another point in gaining clarity. Okay, nine minutes, nine minutes, nine minutes.
Speaker 2:Okay, so I I love this one because I do this all the time. I talk about it all the time Brain dumping like literally sit with yourself and just brain dump everything you can think about when it comes to you and what you're trying to create, Whether it's your customer avatar, how you're going to market it, what problems are you solving, Because it could be more than one problem. You know different angles of how you want to hit marketing and messaging, and all that Do you like to brain dump? Yes, I do. Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, Did you?
Speaker 2:turn into a robot, or what? Is there a button on your?
Speaker 1:thing that says robot, I turned into a robot. Yes, I have a button that says robot I love that.
Speaker 2:Shout out to Rode Rodecaster. Yeah, so I can imagine you being a brain dumper, but then I also feel like you're not a brain dumper.
Speaker 1:I'm a brain dumper because I love to get things down on paper pen to paper and that's how I think out things, and whether it's mind mapping or whatever I do, it's pen to paper.
Speaker 2:I'm that way too. I know we've talked about this. You are a pen to paper and you have, like a huge piece of paper that you love to work off, I do I do One of the days you're going to have to show the people.
Speaker 1:I don't know if you have shown it on a YouTube video for the podcast. I haven't shown. No, I'm not on a YouTube video. One day.
Speaker 2:Well, honestly, you guys like brain dumping again. It doesn't have to be pen to paper, however. You want to operate right, but that could be a place where you could put your keywords I mean literally anything that you want to put down about this idea. Just put it on there, because you never know when you have to revisit it or pull it apart and all that. So, okay, the next thing I was going to you know I have here is like just take a second to check in with yourself, you know and think about, because I don't know if this happens to you, but sometimes I sit here and I have like 20 ideas that I can run with. So we have to stand back for a second and really ask the question is this serving my big goal, my overall goal? Do you ever do that?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, absolutely so here's the thing Is it serving your overall goal? And also, so here's the thing Is it serving your overall goal? And also this is one thing that I've learned from my current coach Does it suit what you actually like to do? Because if you don't like like I don't like to give deliverables, why am I creating programs where I need to give deliverables every week? That doesn't make sense. I need to create a program where there aren't deliverables. I need to create a program where I get to do the things that I like to do more and they serve my people still. So, yeah, taking that step back, whether it's too many ideas or too much stuff, or goodness knows any of the other things that come up.
Speaker 2:I love that. Actually. I mean, now I'm going to be thinking. I mean I always try to go with my heart and, like you know, am I having fun? Is this going to be fun? Is this going to? Because if it's not, it's not going to last very long. You're going to. You're going to hate yourself if you get yourself stuck in a situation where you're like I do not like this. So what are you talking?
Speaker 1:about. I've been an entrepreneur eight years entrepreneur eight years.
Speaker 2:Someone get the fly off the set, please. Other things that you can think about, too, is maybe the goal you want to have 20K months.
Speaker 2:I'm just saying is this going to help you get there? And most of the time it will, but it's good to check in on those things. Maybe you want to travel the world with your business and so you have to figure out is this something where I can? It's flexible and I can travel still and do those things. So there's just like a list that you could put together for yourself. I'm sure there's something on Google. You don't have a list, do you Jonathan?
Speaker 1:I don't have a list, but just I mean, honestly, if you want to gain clarity on your business, start writing everything down and then making that plan. And here's what I would I know we've talked about this in other episodes but make that plan and then break it down into actionable things and set those real goals that have action behind them, so that because what do they say A goal without action is just a dream Something along those lines.
Speaker 2:I don't like that line.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's true, if you're not taking action, you're just dreaming about it. You're just like, ooh, I hope this happens Yay.
Speaker 2:Well, what?
Speaker 1:if it does, shit ain't gonna happen.
Speaker 2:If you're not working. What if I just like wake up one morning and it doesn't work like that.
Speaker 1:She ain't going to happen if you're not working.
Speaker 2:You're stomping on our dreams right now, Jonathan. No, no, you're right. You do have to have. You do have to take action. That's 1000% the truth. Okay, last thing on the agenda for today's episode. I don't know if you agree with this, but let me know if you do. As far as getting clarity, do you feel like you should ask yourself why your business idea? I have it written down. What sets you apart from the rest? Do you think you should answer that question?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I mean me being a big believer in the signature style. Yes, absolutely, because that thing that sets you apart from everybody else is your key to marketing. It should align with all the other things that you have out there. So if you're going to make a big change in your business and switch things up and you want to have this unique thing that you're doing, it has to align with all the other unique things that you're doing. So you have to really bring your marketing in line. Your signature style has to be in line and it can't be too far off from what you're doing, because you're going to confuse people, and a confused mind never buys. But yes, you should absolutely look and see what it is that you do you're doing differently, because if it's just the same old, same old, if you're just selling the same packet of you know reports or templates or whatever, nobody's gonna buy it from you.
Speaker 2:You're not. Jonathan loves templates. I love templates. I don't know what, what's anyways, um, shout out to anyone who makes and sells templates. No, but I love that. Now I was while, when we were talking about like, when you were saying what you were just saying, like I was thinking about Starbucks and I'm like I wonder if Starbucks ever answered this question. I'm sure they have Like do you feel like? Yeah, because they sell coffee. I mean, everybody sells coffee.
Speaker 1:So it's like what makes you different? Yeah, they don't sell coffee.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, what do they sell? The experience, that's okay. Okay, I'm so happy, we just talked about that. Wow, okay, it's the same thing with apple, with the I, uh, like the first ipod or whatever and it was like we don't sell. I forgot what they said, but it's like we sell thousand hour hours of music or something I don't they don't know.
Speaker 1:They don't sell music, they don't sell computers. They sell tools for people to change the world.
Speaker 2:Oh, my gosh Jonathan's just schooling me right now. Shout out to.
Speaker 1:Apple. I mean you have to look at things from what experience you're delivering what emotion are you making them feel?
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, that is the golden nugget. I hope that you guys made it this far in the episode. Kudos to you, if you have, because that right there put that on a post-it note. Okay, all right, jonathan, let's go ahead. We'll wind down. Do you want to do your thing over the mic?
Speaker 1:Thank you all for listening to our 20-minute episode and I am going to remind you if you're enjoying what you're hearing, please do us a favor and give us five stars, because Mimi cries a lot like a baby when she doesn't get five stars. And we don't like Mimi to cry because, well, I need her to be able to talk in complete sentences when we're on the podcast. So give her five stars anywhere that you listen to your podcast and make sure that you also check us out on social media YouTube, instagram, all the places OnlyFans I keep saying OnlyFans, and she's going to kill me.
Speaker 2:I feel like you're manifesting that for us, but you know.
Speaker 1:It's all good, mimi, over to you. What's our question?
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm going to stump you. Are you ready for it? Yeah, did you see it or you didn't see it?
Speaker 1:I don't remember it.
Speaker 2:Okay, this is where you guys we're going to ask the most important question of them all, and we want you to vote. We want you to tell us which team you're on. Let us know in the comments on the YouTube video, or let us know in the comments on Instagram or DM us. We just want to hear from you guys. All right, so are you team test the waters or team?
Speaker 1:I'm all in. Can I be in the middle?
Speaker 2:No, damn it.
Speaker 1:I am, it's a tricky one.
Speaker 2:It's a tricky one.
Speaker 1:Cause I think it just depends on what. What you're doing. Which are you, yeah, which are you?
Speaker 2:Well, the for the podcast. I was all in.
Speaker 1:I was test the waters. Yes, you were.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so usually I'm all in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, who knows We'll figure that out, you guys, let us know.
Speaker 2:All right, you guys. Thank you so much for listening and watching, and we will see you in the next episode. Make sure to check out all the other episodes that we have. If you enjoyed yourself, you're going to enjoy those as well. Bye everyone, bye Jonathan Howard, bye Mimi Langley, let's get this fly out of here.
Speaker 1:Hold, please. No, we don't, Not you. We need to hire a PA, a production assistant.
Speaker 2:That's what we need To get rid of the flies in your yeah and to like, refresh the coffee. I mean, I used to be a PA, so I can say that.
