1:54Hello everyone. Hey guys, my name is Nicole Walters of Nicolewalters.com. I'm an entrepreneur, a mother and the CEO and founder of Inherit Learning Company.
2:06Guys, I'm so excited to have this time with Essence today to chat with you about all things monetizing yourself. Now, before I dive in because this is going to be really good stuff,
2:24 I want to remind you that this Friday kicks off the Essence and new voices entrepreneurial venture or virtual Summit.
2:39Now, this virtual Summit is the business. They're going to be bringing you keynotes, master classes, everything you need to know to help small businesses win despite the crazy challenge of COVID-19.
3:10So, I want you to sign up. Just click the link in the caption and make sure you don't miss it. But right now, I want you to grab your pens, grab your paper, and get ready for some notes.
3:28So, we're going to be talking about the power of monetizing yourself from home or anywhere where you might be sheltering in place.
3:42It is possible to still generate revenue no matter what is happening or what is coming your way. So, I love to keep this interactive.
4:02So, feel free to jump into the chat, go ahead and get into the comments and say hello. You can give me a high, you can say what's up, you can say, hey Nicole. I see that we've got Alexis here, and Renee, Vicky's jumped in, Amy Porto here, Joyce is here. Hey guys, thank you so much for joining in.
4:45You know that we're in for some really good stuff.
4:50Now, the first tip I have for anyone looking to monetize themselves is to get clear on their best gifts.
5:05Now, whenever I'm working with my clients, they come to me and often times they lean in to what they already know they're doing in their nine to five.
5:13But your nine to five may be the thing that cut your paycheck and it may have fed your family, but it wasn't the thing that fed your soul.
5:22This a great opportunity for you to find that alignment. What do you do outside of your nine to five?
5:31It's your opportunity to turn that hobby into a business. So, if you find yourself making uh quilts or making jam,
5:44doing hair or or offering recommendations and consulting on how people can build out their businesses,
5:53or or find more success in their parenting.
5:57This is your time to expand that into something more where people are able to access your services from the comfort of their home.
6:05And that it rolls right into our next step.
6:12Now, often times people will start their business by doing what?
6:21Go ahead, type in the comments. Let me know what you guys think. What's the first step that most people engage in whenever they're saying they want to build a business?
6:33They might go on to social media. Michael, what do you think? Jennifer, Cynthia.
6:41Do they go into their social media? Do they spend their time getting a um Instagram account? Maybe they pop up and create a website. Sarah, what's your idea?
6:55Right exactly you guys, people use different methods. So, they have a tendency to just get out there. I want to let you know, coming from a corporate background where I've been doing this for over 10 years for multi-billion dollar corporations,
7:15I want to tell you to slow your roll, right? This challenge of COVID-19 is slowing us all down,
7:24and it provides a great opportunity for you to slow down and really look at your business and say, hey, I need a business plan.
7:42I need to sit here and figure out what steps I'm going to take to make sure that I have success while I'm building a business that I love. Some of those easy steps you can take right now from the comfort of your home,
8:02are things like establishing an LLC.
8:07That's right.
8:09You want to make sure that if you're building a business that's going to make money, that you're setting up and establishing the steps to keep that money. An LLC can be set up through your local state and it's one of the things that when you go in, you do it online.
8:35You fill out that application, you may have to pay a modest fee, but understand that having that LLC permits you to set up that business bank account, file the taxes to get the benefits and perks that are affiliated to a business, and of course, protect yourself.
8:55Because you're now an official business owner and you want to make sure that you're handling and acting like a business.
9:02Because if you act like a business, you can get paid like one too.
9:07Outside of that, I want to let you know that it's mostly about small steps.
9:14I think a lot of us have a tendency to say to ourselves that if I want to start a business, it's got to be this big endeavor. I've got to do something huge. If I don't do it, no one's going to love it.
9:34It's got to be getting out there and getting space, right? Or I want to be a musician, let me go and get studio time. Or, oh my gosh, I want to write a book.
9:51Let me go ahead and shoot a book cover or set up my logo. And we're doing all these things that in reality, starting a business is small steps.
10:05And the first of those small steps is refining your craft.
10:10So, often times we kind of skip past that. We're so excited to get out there and serve people.
10:16Because entrepreneurship is hard work. Am I right?
10:20How many of you guys are like, yeah, entrepreneurship is hard work. It's not fun.
10:28It is, it is diving in and doing the work.
10:32It's hard work. So, since entrepreneurship is so hard, I want to let you know that the best way to stand out in a crowded, noisy, saturated marketplace,
10:45is to be good at what you do.
10:49The person who lasts the longest is not the person who screams the loudest. It's the person who brings services that are sustainable, long-lasting, and actually change people's lives.
11:02So, for you to be able to make sure you get results,
11:07use this time to learn.
11:10I believe that if you want to monetize yourself, all the steps of building a business,
11:20that's the stuff that I do.
11:22I can help you pull it together. I can help you figure out all the different strategies.
11:28But when it comes to your talent, listen.
11:33I can't give talent where it doesn't exist.
11:37And I know that you have those skills.
11:40So, spend time reading up.
11:44Spend time saying, how can I become a better musician? How can I offer even better services in massage?
11:51How can I be a better stylist? Who can I get that mentorship from?
11:57This is an excellent opportunity to access the minds of the grace because guess where they are?
12:05Sitting at home, right? So, tap into them. Go out there and make that big dream,
12:12because you know for a fact that it's going to help you push and propel you so that you can prosper when we enter our new normal.
12:21Another great factor you that I have found to be extremely beneficial when looking to monetize yourself,
12:30is to pitch and pray.
12:33That's right.
12:35Companies are still hiring.
12:39They're still looking for collaborations.
12:41This can still be your winning season.
12:46So, I don't want you to say to yourself that, oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm going to be able to get a deal.
12:54I don't know if I'm going to get a sponsor.
12:58I don't know if the world will see me as an expert.
13:00Look, this is there couldn't be a better time to create content.
13:10There couldn't be a better time to get out there and leverage other platforms.
13:14If you want to monetize yourself, go ahead and follow those small steps. Set up your LLC, build a rock solid website,
13:24build a solid and appropriate payment plan. Do those things.
13:29But I do want you to know that you can also get that visibility by just asking.
13:37Reach out to the person you admire. Make yourself a pitch list.
13:42Talk to the podcast that you never miss an episode of and let them know that you have something of value to offer their audience.
13:47And why do you? Because you are their audience.
13:50No one understands their target demographic better than you do.
13:56Because you are connected to them, because you're part of it.
13:58I would love to know that every single entrepreneur that listens and hears this message makes a list of 10 people that they want to get out to.
