I recently made a video and it was called stop watching YouTube videos, and check that
out right here and a lot of you loved it, and thank you because it really was a topic
that was close to my heart and something that I felt the need to talk about.
Now some of you hated it.
And I think maybe hate me a little bit, but I'm cool with it because one of the things
that I stopped doing in 2019 was caring so much about people who were mean or said nasty
things.
So all the power to you.
And I would assume that the people who really hated it or really hated me, I think one comment
actually told me to put a bag over my head, so thank you ma'am.
That was really sweet of you.
Assume the reason that you hated it, or you were triggered by it is because maybe it hit
too close to home.
So the thing is when I realized how much of a response that it got, I kind of knew that
I was onto something because I think we're all looking for permission to stop doing things
instead of getting told we need to do all of the things because there is a lot information
out there.
I talked about that a lot and then in that video.
I wanted to kind of add on to that video of all of the things that you can stop doing
and the things that really won't make a difference in growing a successful business or being
a successful entrepreneur and particularly building a really successful online business,
YouTube channel, etc.
So we're going to dive into that list of the stop doing items today in this video, and
I'm so excited to share this.
So give this video a like if you're excited to hear all of the things that you can stop
doing ASAP.
Also make sure you hit that subscribe button and hit the bell to get notified every single
time that I post a new video.
The other thing I wanted to mention before I dive into this list is that I'm speaking
from so much experience on this because I personally have wasted a lot of money on the
wrong things, and I got into a place where I was just listening to everyone and doing
all the things that I should do based on everyone else's information and guidance.
That's a really dangerous place to be because people are going to tell you what you should
do, but you have to figure it out for yourself if it's actually entirely necessary.
So I really am passionate about sharing the stop doing list because you have a lot of
things in your life and your business that you can free up so you can actually focus
on the things that you really want to achieve.
And again, I'm saying this from a lot of pain, a lot of experience, and building my business
over the last, well I started in my entrepreneurial journey 11 years ago, but this particular
online business I started four years ago, and again, I've learned so much, I've wasted
a lot of money and I don't want you to have to go through the same thing, and I've also
wasted so much time and those are the most valuable currencies that we have.
So let's get right into the stop doing list.
So things that I don't think you need to be doing to grow a successful online business,
and this can apply to really any business, is you don't need to be posting every day.
It's not helpful to anyone.
And a big part of my strategy over the last year is that I started really focusing on
intentional content and posting content that actually was going to make a difference in
some kind of way as opposed to trying to just fill the calendar and being like, "Oh, I didn't
post today.
I better to post something to Instagram."
Or, "I better publish a video."
I got real intentional with my content and it wasn't that surprising to me that all of
my platforms grew exponentially.
So post less, reach more, post less, impact more is the mentality that you can adopt if
you want to free up that mental space.
Because posting everyday when you don't know why you're posting is keeping you stuck and
it's keeping you on the treadmill of just trying to keep up, but you don't even know
what you're really trying to keep up with.
So that's the first thing you do not have to be posting every single day in order to
be successful.
You got to be intentional with your posts.
The next thing is, I stopped following everyone.
I had this sort of nice girl mentality where I felt the need to follow every single person
on every single platform.
But the reality is once I started paying attention to who is showing up in my feed, no matter
what platform it was, I really paid attention to how it made me feel, and if anything came
up that made me feel less than, made me feel crappy about myself, made me feel kind of
icky or yucky, or like it wasn't aligned with my morals or values, I just hit the unfollow
button.
It takes all of two seconds and that allows you to clear Headspace as well for the things
that you actually want to bring in, the things that you actually want to attract and the
things that are actually going to help you because when you have so much clutter in your
feed and in your brain, how are you supposed to get things done that you actually want
to get done?
Next on the list.
Spending time and money on brand photo shoots.
Now this list was inspired by a list that I shared on my Instagram story not too long
ago and people went crazy over it because I think a lot of it is counterintuitive to
maybe some of the advice that you've heard, and I have done this.
I used to do all these really fancy pants, brand photo shoots and I'd spend money and
time curating everything that was going to go on in them and all the photos that I wanted.
And at the end of the day, the photos that are most raw, and natural, and real are the
things that make the biggest impact because we're moving into this space that I've found,
at least for myself, and again, you've got to test this for yourself, but I have found
that photos that are perfectly curated and look like they're out of a magazine, they're
unrelatable and people want people they can relate to.
And so the more relatable your photos are and the more people are like, I can see myself
in her or in him and that's the person that I want to work with.
People can see through fake, real easy at this point.
So spending money and time on brand photo shoots, that's not going to make you money.
That's not going to build your business for certain things.
Sure.
Like a website maybe, etc.
But like to be just doing it for Instagram, especially if you aren't making any money.
Why?
Why are we doing brand photo shoots?
And I was one of those people.
I also know that that woman who told me to put a bag over my head is real close to posting
the same comment right now.
So ma'am, if you just want to get it over with, go right ahead.
Taking advice from people who have never built the type of business that you want or have
the life that you want.
Holy smokes, because there's so much information out there, sometimes we fall vulnerable to
just listening to everybody and thinking that people are on a pedestal when they don't know
what the hell they're doing.
There are so many people and I get the behind the scenes.
So there are so many people that look like they have it all together and they don't,
myself included.
I mean I'm very honest about my journey and I figured a lot of things out, but I'm not
perfect, so don't put me on a pedestal and don't take advice from me if I'm not doing
things that you really want to be doing.
If you really want to grow a successful online business, I am not your girl because that's
what I'm going to talk to you about.
I'm going to talk to you about how to achieve your dreams, but if you want to have a farm,
I don't know, random example, if you want to have a farm and that's your goal, follow
them and follow the people who are actually doing the things.
So don't feel the need to follow everybody because again, it's just cluttering your brain
space and also be really, really discerning with who you do follow.
Are they actually walking the walk?
Are they actually talking the talk?
Because there are a lot of people who try to position themselves as experts on things
that they've never done themselves.
And you will figure it out real quick if they haven't just by asking a couple questions,
but just be weary of that because just because someone has more followers than you does not
mean that they're an expert or any better than you.
The next thing on the list, super important and kind of relates to something I already
said, but posting random content on social media that has nothing to do with what you
ultimately want to build a business around is the greatest waste of your time and energy,
and it's an actual tragedy.
So don't just post a post, as I mentioned earlier, but when you are posting, think about
who is the ideal client customer audience that you're trying to attract, and what would
they care about because it has nothing to do with you.
And I always say random content equals random clients, and we do not want random clients
in our business because they are a freaking nightmare.
So you want people who are actually attracted to you because you're giving them what they
need and what they want.
You're solving a problem, you're answering your question, you're inspiring them, you're
educating them, you're entertaining them, whatever it might be.
Be intentional about who you're trying to attract with your content because the more
you are, the more you become a magnet and you actually build an audience who's super
invested in you and also what you're able to sell to them so you can actually build
a successful business.
Random content, random clients.
Just keep that in your mind.
Oh, the next one, and I know this is not going to be popular opinion, but again, I did this
so I'm only able to say this because I did this and it's something that I wish I had
known before I did this, because I spent thousands of dollars building a pretty websites and
I at the time didn't even really know why I was building it.
I just felt like I should build a website cause everyone was like, "You got to have
a website if you have a business."
Welcome to a 2005, because it is now 2019 and you may be watching this in 2020 and at
the end of the day there are so many tools now that you can use to whip up a website
so quickly, and you also don't necessarily need a full blown website.
I started my business before I had a website with just the landing page, and that landing
page built up my email list, it told people what I was all about, and it took me all of
five minutes to build.
So building a perfect pretty beautiful website without knowing why you're building it, or
what you're actually trying to achieve with it, or who you're trying to attract, or what
you're trying to sell, is such a big waste of time and money.
And again, I did it.
So please let me save you from that mistake.
Invest that money into actually investing in the right mentors, and the right resources,
and the right courses, and the right programs, and the right education, so you can actually
build something that you can sell and then create a website for that.
So really, really important on that note, and again speaking from experience.
Kind of on that same note, the biggest hurdle that I see, and again kept me stuck for quite
a while, was spending time trying to figure out complicated tech and doing things that
are so outside of your comfort zone, which I think is a good thing in some realms, but
if it's not necessary, you don't need to be doing it.
So, you can start selling your products and services.
You can start getting income in the door without having a funnel in place without having technology
set up.
Just because one person tells you that you have to have funnels in your business does
not make it true.
So what we work with on our clients is you can start selling right now, even if you don't
have an audience, even if you don't have a funnel, there are options for you to go brass
roots and start selling.
When I first started my business, I literally was walking door to door and I know that doesn't
sound cute nowadays, but, and I haven't done it in awhile.
But to start my business, I needed to go guerrilla style.
I needed to get scrappy, I needed to be hungry and I needed to just go get clients at all
costs.
And so that's what I did.
You do not need the tech.
The tech will keep you stuck cause it's complicated sometimes.
Sometimes it's easy depending on who you are, but you don't need those things and you can
stop doing them if you think that's what's going to get you your first clients, because
it's not, you can take it from me.
Oh the next one is, you do not need to spend money on ads, Facebook ads, Instagram ads,
Snapchat ads, YouTube ads.
If you don't have an offer that's actually proven and you don't need to be spending money
on ads if you haven't already built an audience of some kind organically.
Because doing that is basically, I call it a dumpster fire cause you're just throwing
money into the fire without knowing if it's actually going to work or get you money back.
It actually hurts my heart to hear the amount of people who have been told, "Oh, you should
just set up a funnel and have some Facebook ads and sell a product about X, Y, and Z."
What you're just going to spend money on something that you don't even know works, or if anybody
actually wants to buy it so you're not going to get any return on your investment?
That's crazy talk.
So you don't need ads to start a business.
You don't need ads to get your business off the ground.
What I find to be the most effective method and what we work with with our clients and
what I did in my business is I started by proving my methodology, and proving my offer,
and proving that what I had worked and getting really good testimonials totally organically
at first.
And that's why YouTube is an amazing platform because it brings people into your realm all
the time without having to pay for it.
And then once you have that security blanket and you got some cash in the bank, then you
can start investing in ads to grow further and faster and really start scaling your business,
but you do not need, you can stop with the paid ads if you don't have an offer that's
proven, and if you don't have an organic audience built right now because you're just going
to attract randoms who aren't bought into you and are going to be really hard to convert
into customers.
Whereas people who actively choose to follow you, subscribe to et cetera, they're super
bought in and they're going to become the people who are going to invest in you.
The next thing is building a course when you don't have an audience to buy it, or you haven't
actually tested what's in the course to know that it works.
And again, I did this with one of the very first things that I ever built.
I put together a course because everybody said I should be doing it, and the course
didn't do so hot because I didn't test it.
I didn't make sure that it actually worked before I put it into the marketplace.
So I always say test your offer with people one to one because you'll never learn your
ideal client better than working with them in a one to one situation.
You can also charge higher rates if you worked with people one to one.
And then from there you're allowed to create your prototype formula so that you can actually
build an online course based off of working with real people.
Also building a course when you don't have an audience, how are you going to sell it?
How are you going to sell that course?
And again, this is coming from such a place of love and compassion, but I've listened
to so many people and I've talked to so many people, thousands of people over the years,
and the amount of people who tell me, "Oh yeah, I built a course, I'm just going to
go ahead and sell it."
And I'll say, "Okay, how are you going to sell it?"
And they said, "Oh, I'm going to do a webinar.", "Well how are you going to get people to your
webinar?", "Well, I don't know.
I have a couple of hundred Instagram followers.
I figured they'll just want to come."
I hate to burst your bubble, but that doesn't work.
You may get a few people there, you may get a few buyers, but to really sell a product,
you need to figure out how you're going to market it, and you need to have an audience
for it, and you need to know you have an audience that's actually targeted.
Because if you just have friends, family, and randoms on your Instagram account, why
would they want to buy your product?
So you've got to prove your offer before you try and sell it, and you got to prove your
offer works and you actually have an audience for it before you try to sell it please.
There's very easy ways to do that and very easy ways to figure that out.
I'll put links to some resources in the description.
I do a live webinar every week.
You can check out on Wednesdays and I walk you through that process of building your
own audience so that you actually have people you can sell to.
We've had clients do 40K in an hour following this methodology, $200,000 in their very first
launch by building their own audience before launching anything.
So it works, and you can do this, but you don't want to launch a course and you want
to stop creating your course if you don't have anybody to sell it to.
The next thing is buying every course but never executing.
Here's the thing, the online information space, the online business space, I talked about
this when I did my livestream around the best business to start in 2020 it is going to be
$1 billion a day industry by 2025 that's massive.
So there's a huge opportunity at your finger tips, and there is an opportunity for you
to have a highly successful course, but you got to learn what you need to do before you
actually get there.
You got to walk before you run.
And in order to do that, you actually have to learn from the people that are doing the
things you want to do.
Which ,,brings me back to that point that I mentioned right at the beginning of the
video.
You needed to learn the process that actually works before you implement any kind of process
because trying to figure it out on your own is the most painful way to do it.
But the other thing is people are so prone to just buying courses because it looks like
a magic pill, and it looks like this thing that's instantly going to fix your problem
because that's how people market it.
It's a solution to a problem, but the only way it works is if you actually do it.
If you just buy a course but you never do it, it's not going to do much for you.
So you have to actually execute on the information in order for it to work, and you want to do
the programs where you've seen proven case studies and proven testimonials that it actually
works and that the methodology works.
So don't buy another course if you're not going to really do it because that money and
that time could be invested into figuring out your plan for actually building your profitable
business or actually spending the time focusing on the courses that you've already invested
in and the people that you've already invested in.
So I know that this stop doing list is a little different maybe than what I usually talk about
or what you've heard in the past, but if you enjoy this, hit that like button subscribe
and hit the bell to be notified every single time I post new videos and if you want more
doses of actual honesty, because I just can't help myself, and I think it's really important
and more than anything I would rather you get results then feel the need to be the nice
girl all the time.
One of the things that I stopped doing in 2019 was trying to appease everybody and trying
to please everybody because doing that is only hurting myself and hurting you by not
giving you the real advice and real insight that you need to be successful because nothing
in the world makes me happier than seeing your success stories.
So take this to heart, even if you're like, "Matt, shh you don't know what you're talking
about."
Take a second, take some time to breather on it and tell me in the comments, let me
know like what resonated with you and what did you feel was really close to home or truthful
for you, and how did this make you feel?
Now, if you enjoy this, as I said, give it a like and make sure you check out these videos
on how to really start building that successful business and what kind of business you want
to start in 2020 and I'll see you in the next episode.
Thank you for watching.