More time is on it's way

More time on the way

This post is part of my year of alchemy, you can find the whole series here or subscribe for future updates here.

Ah September. What did you do to me.

This past month has been a challenging one for me, I’ve had lots of tests this month. I feel a little broken.

On one part I got a lot of stuff done but on the other hand I’ve done a lot of soul searching and questioning everything. You know when you start scanning job ads things are a little up in the air.

I’ve been jumping back into doing more web work for some people I love, and I’ve closed a few doors to that side of my business which has been a little bit like grieving. I can’t even explain it better than that but it feels like I am shedding an old skin but in a messy painful way. I’ll probably write more on this later but not until I am out of the trenches.

And on a totally different tangent, I’ve also been lying awake at night thinking about climate change. Two wakeful kids and planning to retreat to the mountains to live off grid means a whole new level of sleep deprivation that I didn’t even know existed. It’s also made me not the most pleasant person to be around. Sorry hubby.

So aside from preparing in my mind for the apocalypse, what alchemy have I been up to this month? 

Just content creation really

Because I have stepped back into doing a bit more web work it has put a lot of big vision plans on hold. But I am still pumping out my weekly podcast, 2 Weekly emails and new weekly content for my membership which has been weekly videos, worksheets and audios. Plus staying active on social. All in around 2 hours a week.

When I am doing it it doesn’t feel like I am achieving much as my list of things I want to do is super long, but when I write it out like that it does feel like I am kicking goals with the resources I have. 

The new course 

I am halfway through creating an alpha version of my course. I soft launched it to my list with 0 take up. I wouldn’t even call it a launch. More of a very mediocre mention in my email.

I am treating this course as really rough and ready so something is put out to the world and I am totally going to circle back around and perfect it over the summer months. I think the biggest learning this year has been it needs to be done, not perfect. Things are always evolving and shifting and I’ve found that I am producing a far better product because of the small iterations I can do.

More time is on its way

So next month will be all about planning a proper launch for this new baby because DAYCARE is locked in. Hooray! A whole day to get stuff done! As opposed to 2 hours a week and a couple of nap times (if I am lucky). 

I am pretty excited but also acutely aware that it’s going to be a transition time as the kids adjust. Running a business with two kids very close together has been probably one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Mostly from a mindset perspective than anything else.

First refund

So last month I mentioned I added into my sales page a refund policy. I got one. It was because she was in the USA and a lot of the content she didn’t find relevant, which is totally understandable. She didn’t actually ask for a refund, just wanted to cancel, but because it was within the 14 days I felt she should get the refund. Cost me the payment fees but that’s part of business.

Evergreen membership update

I took it off the secrete entrance via nurture sequence off for now while I focus on getting people into my course instead. I think the course will be an ever green, I haven’t locked that in yet so we’ll see.

Podcast, Insta and Pinterest

I finally figured out how to check my stats on the podcast. I am averaging about 50 listens a week but I have a couple of episodes that have gotten over 500 listens. The difference is two fold – those 500 listens are linked to videos that I’ve loaded onto Pinterest. But I also think the topic was on point for a lot of people. Whether they are my demographic or not, that remains to be seen.

Instagram is still ticking along, I am not seeing the huge growth I was a few months back but I think it could be because I didn’t post as often as I went through the seasonal transition period. I am seeking that 10k, not for the vanity, but so I can start putting links direct in my stories.

To be honest a lot of the people on insta are from the USA, same with Pinterest, so that leads me to my next dilemma

Niching down or out 

My topic area is particularly niched down to not only a topic but also a geographical location on an equatorial line. I know that doesn’t make sense without context but essentially my niche is climate related. Now my dilemma is do I stick with my niche but broaden to both the mirror of both southern and northern hemispheres to take advantage of those USA numbers. Or do I drop this specific niche all together to play the numbers game and pick something else to niche down into. Something to ponder for the month anyway. 

We’re on the home stretch guys… only 3 months to go until this year of alchemy is over and I decide if I step up or step down.

September STATS

Members – 20 (-1)

MARKETING

  • Email subscribers – 652 (+41)
  • Instagram followers –8983 (+378)
  • Facebook followers – 823(+36)
  • Average Monthly website hits – 3431 (-32%)

DOLLARS

  • Money earned – $264
  • Money spent: $85.80
  • Hosting $22.50
  • Payment Fees $12
  • Vimeo (video storage) $13.20
  • Jetpack (spam/backup/security) $13.20
  • Podcast Hosting $17.90
  • Advertising $0
  • Total profit this month: $178.20
  • Total carried forward: profit of $363.55*

*Not paying myself 

TIME

Hours spent on the project : Approx 10

MY COMMITMENT FOR OCTOBER

Launch the course properly

NOVEMBER SNAPSHOT

Planning for 2020.

Until next month, if you’re not on the list to get my regular updates on this project and are wanting to follow along you can sign up here.