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Welcome to the Book Business Boss Show with your host, Dr. Julia Royston, helping you get your message to the masses, turn your words into wealth, and be a book business boss.

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Well, hello, I'm Dr. Julia Royston. Welcome to another uh episode of the Book Business Boss Show, where I'm always seeking to help you get your message to the masses, turn your words into wealth, and be a book business boss. Okay, so the last time we met, we were talking about taking a pause and making sure that what you're selling is really what you're selling. And uh what you're conveying really is what you're conveying. And um, because being in business is um this episode, what I want to say, it's a business avenue, it's a lane, it's a road. You got to keep it moving, but it's not the Audubon. It's a journey. It's not, oh, I'm gonna jump on, make this quick money and get out. For the long-term business avenues, it's a journey, it's not a sprint, it's not the Audubon when you can go fast as you want to and and uh be profitable because it's a journey. You're gonna stop and um run into. Wait a minute, who moved my cheese? It didn't work that time. Um, I knew what the event was, I knew where the event uh was happening, when I showed up on time, I had my setup there, I had my um information was there. Nope, I didn't leave my business cards. Nope, I had all my books, I had my um table cover, I had my sign, which didn't have enough space even for the uh event where I was, but I showed up, I was dressed appropriately, um, I was ready for the event that I thought I was ready for, or I was ready for the situation that I thought I was ready for. And this is the things that you know that really cannot, those magical formulas, and I can teach you how to do whatever. This is the parts of business that people don't talk about. And this is the parts of business that people don't want to talk about because these are the bumps in a row, these are the uh times when you're like, wait a minute, what happened? You know, what what was the what did I do wrong? Uh what did I not prepare for for the event for? And so that's the reason why I say it's an avenue, it's a um a journey, it's a lane, it's a road, it's not the Audubon. You know, there's no fast way to do it. Now, there may be other people who claim that. I don't claim that. I don't claim to uh because I've always had to go the long way, the journey, um, step by step by step. That's the reason why I'm able to have enough for five seasons to talk about because I've been doing this for 18 years. Now, I'm not saying I'm the best, but I am pretty experienced at 18 years. Um, good, bad, ugly, that's what I'm conveying here. This is my portfolio, this is my um part of my memoir, uh, this is a part of my legacy to the next generation of publishers, authors, business owners. This is this is a part of that. So I thank you for being here. But this is the part where people don't tell you. Um, they give you the strategy, they give you the method, but um what if that strategy or that method doesn't work? Oh, yeah, I know that's that's that's not what people want to hear. They want to, oh no, and you're gonna sell 500 books the first 90 days, and you're gonna, well, you can, and it can happen. I've seen it done. I've seen it for some people, I've seen it for a lot of people who set it up and prepare, but it does not necessarily happen for everyone. It's a journey. And what you feel like is gonna happen, and what you think people are gonna do, and what you I mean, all the research in the world, all the help in the world, and you should, you should do your homework, you should do your research. I recently was at an event, and I had in my mind where I was going. I had in my mind an avatar for the people that would be there. And when they showed up, I looked at them and they were there, but they did not respond to what I had to offer like I thought. Because one, I had books, two, I'm a publisher. Three, yeah. And so what the what I had all the things, I had all of the products, services, is what I do. I do this, I do this, I do that. And they did not respond like I thought. Okay, so therefore, what do you do when people don't respond like you think? You were not a failure. The event was not an a failure, the situation was not a failure, the call wasn't a failure because you had what you were supposed to have for the event, for the situation, for the conversation. They said no. So, as much as we want the yes, if they said no, then we move along. Now we can try to uh keep in communication with them with the newsletter of what I have to offer. Hopefully, when their yes will come around, but it will not always be a yes. There are some people who will say no, who will go another avenue, who now have information from you that says, I don't want it from them, or I don't want to go in that direction. And that's okay. No, it's not okay for your bank account. You're right. It's not okay for your ego. You know, we love the wins. Everybody wants a win. Everybody wants, yay, I'm buying, I'm pushing the buy button on the bottom line. Yep, I'm count me in. I'm all in. I'm here for it. Yeah, Julia Royston, PK Royston Publishing. We love that, but it's not always a yes, it's not always a win immediate because we want immediate gratification. We love that exchange. Here's a book, here's several books, here's your credit card, Cash App, Vinmail, Zale, whatever, payment method. We love that, but sometimes it's a no. And I know why I have the pause, I you know, I wanted to do snap that snap in the middle of the the season to let you know that sometimes it'll be a no. Sometimes they're not gonna want what you have. But what do you do when that happens? You gotta be okay with the no one. You gotta be okay with it. You can't fight the people and make them do it. No, it doesn't work like that. Not a professional situation. You can't just go, ah, no. It was a no, fine. They have your business card, maybe they took it, maybe they didn't, maybe they have your brochure. You had all the things, and maybe it'll happen later. And it's happened to me many times where they said no this year, but five years, ten years down the road, they came back around and said, Okay, um, my mother say you knocked your head and you fell down and you hurt your knee and you realize that wasn't avenue, but it was your decision. They're an adult. They make the decision, they decide which avenue they're going in. They decide who they work with and who they don't. Now, you got your back end going, you got your systems in place, you got how they can call you, you got a website, you got a landing page, um, they can buy your book online, they can schedule a conversation with you online, but it still may be a known because it's a journey. You have all the business avenues, the roads, the access points that people can make a connection with you and work with you and contact you. Yeah, you check your email all day long, or at least once a day. I check it all day long. It comes on my phone, it comes on my watch. It but I still when people don't hit the buy button, they don't hit the link, they don't put the card in, they don't pay, send me a cash app. I gotta keep moving. I gotta keep going. I've got to pause and realize, okay, that audience, that time, wasn't for me. Recently I was at an event, it was um multiple authors there, multiple books, multiple, multiple opportunities. Um, they had paid a high-ticket item to be there. Uh, it was $100 to get in. So, therefore, with the price point being that high, I knew that if they were gonna buy anything, there would be probably one that they would buy from because there was 10 of us, 10 opportunities, all kinds of books, but 10. And so one person went and bought from every one of us. That was just one. And then other people decided they wanted to purchase from other people. Now, me being a publisher, I'm like, yay, we're selling books here. And yes, I did not come away with uh, as they say, zero, a goose egg, selling nothing. But I'm like, I have the most books here, and I probably sold the least. At least most people have sold at least two. I've only sold one, so it was a crush to my ego. That's it, bottom line. You know, because I want I wanted that immediate gratification, right? I wanted that immediate, yeah, yay. But it was a no. Now, several people took my cards, several took uh people took my brochures, they uh got on my email list, whatever. But no, I wanted immediate gratification. But now they have access points. I have ways to communicate with them back and forth from my newsletter, and maybe that was a no that night because they had paid $100 to get in. Um, some of them walked out early and didn't even go by the table and pay at all from any of the 10 authors that were there. So, you know, I had to take that in consideration too. But I like that immediate gratification. We all do. We want to win. We want to win. We, you know, we we have to pause and realize the economy is what it is. Um, people, you know, at the place that they're in, um, for a reason, you know, they've made some decisions and they're not prepared for that right now. They're not moving in that direction right now. But this is a cycle. This is a business moving, breathing um system. It's a cycle. It goes round and around and around. Maybe not in that same place, but one, we always have to know what we have, inventory. We have to pause, make sure that we know what we're selling, know where we're going, uh, know who we're getting in front of. It's that's a constant thing. 18 years, and I'm still doing it. And I will always do it until I either stop doing it, I will always do it, even if I'm teaching other people to do it. It's just a if you're in business, if you're a non-entrepreneur, if you don't even want to say the words, girl, I just gotta hustle. Okay, baby, you just gotta hustle. Whatever that looks like. I just do this on the side. I sell books when I need gas money, whatever that looks like. And the gas prices are high in the US. But whatever that looks like, you got to know that it's it's a constant. And this day, you'll get that gas money. Tomorrow, you only will sell one book. The next day, somebody will do an order for a hundred. Somebody else will say, I'm I'm buying your whole table. It is a cycle, it's a journey. You've got to keep moving. We're gonna take a break right here, but we'll be back with more. Fatherhood is a journey marked by strength, sacrifice, and the quiet determination to give the best one can. This heartfelt tribute honors the men who showed up with love, effort, and imperfect courage. Whether your relationship with your father is cherished, complicated, or still taking shape. This book invites you to explore the lessons, memories, and legacy that shape us all. Our fathers love life legacy, a 15-author anthology available now at Royston Royal Bookstore.com, the Royston Royal Bookstore.com. And we're back. So I'm not really trying to scare you about turning your book into a business. And oh, by the way, you're listening to the Book Business Mall Show. I'm Dr. Julia Royston, your host. And we're talking about uh last week we talked about pause. This week we gotta understand there is a no. People may say no and realize that this is a journey. So I'm halfway through the season, so I want to encourage you to just keep going and keep um uh keep moving. It's a journey, not a sprint. It is uh it's an avenue to keep moving forward because you just never know. Okay, so the event that I was referring to probably had, I don't know, 75 to 100 people there. And for me to sell only one book, I was disappointed. I told you, I'm honest with you. I told you I was my little ego was bruised. Well, maybe it's a big ego, but anyway, I digress, uh, was bruised and you know, got my feelings hurt, but you know, I packed up my books and moved on. Then I had another event, probably three days later, at another place. There was only uh, I guess me made 10. 10 people in the whole room. I was the, you know, period. And I was invited to speak to this group, and you know, eight to ten people, one lady came in late, so that I guess that made the ten. Yeah, eight to ten. And then there were two people there that were a guest of the group, and they weren't even really a part of the group, they were just a guest beating there. And so when it ended, remember I said it was nine other people besides me. So when I left, they paid me an honorarium and I sold 11 books. So that meant somebody bought more than one. Okay, they supported what I did. So this event, even though it was much smaller, um, I so I I've learned a long time ago, oh, good, this is an opportunity when there's a lot more people. But sometimes the opportunity is getting in front of the right audience, the audience who has a heart to support what you have. Now it was a different set, you know, and I was told by the person who invited me, be sure and bring books with you, be sure and bring your contact information. I had templates, I had handouts, I had all of that. But when I left, yeah, I had more than just, you know, and they had paid me um something on top to be there. So I I walked out really good. But that was a yes, it was not a no for me. Because the people who were just meeting me, and a lot of them were, but were just meeting me, so oh no, I want to support. Oh, I want to buy what she's got. So therefore, if I had said, uh, them people with a hundred in the room didn't buy but one book. I'm not gonna fool with, and this is something else you gotta understand. I'm not gonna fool with this is something I've learned. I'm not gonna fool with that event. They ain't got about eight, ten people. I'm not going there, I'm not setting up, I'm not uh taking books, I'm not taking brochures, I'm not taking um business cards, I'm not, I'm not going there, I'm not putting gas in my car, I'm not uh changing clothes, I'm not, and I would have missed out because I'm trying to add up numbers. I'm trying to, I'm looking at the audience, and I knew somebody could, but I didn't know. And most of the time we're looking at numbers and knowing that only a percentage. And actually, with the one person purchasing, they didn't even stay. They didn't even eat at the event that I was with the hundred people. They were walking through. And, you know, they were just, you know, walking through and walking on out, took their bags and walked out the door. They was in the neighborhood, dropped by, and they kept on going. So honestly, of the people who actually attended the event, I was a total goose egg, 100%. Totally. Now, leads and and people getting my information and what I had to offer, yeah, that was good. That was great. And they may contact me later, they may share what I have. Girl, I met this chick and she was saying this and whatever. She had this and she does this. Try her out, give her a call, check in with her, whatever. But then, if I had based on just numbers, I wouldn't have gone to the place with the 10 people or the nine other people besides myself. No, because the numbers don't number. Now, this is I don't know where your faith is, where your belief system is. Uh, we serve God over here, Jehovah. And we believe God that you know there's gonna be doors that's gonna be open, there's gonna be doors that's gonna be shut. There's gonna be opportunities that it it'll be a blessing, and a lot of things will happen. And then there'll be opportunities that are delayed blessings, they won't happen until later on because the price point is different. Publishing is different than a $10 to $15 book. Coaching is different than a $10 to $15 book. Um, you know, therapy and speaking at an event, that's a totally different price point, and it moves totally different. Remember, this is a road, a journey, not the Audubon, not a sprint, not the fastest you want to go, and you just collecting all of no. There's gonna be sometimes it's gonna be a no. There's gonna be sometimes it's gonna be a yes, and we love yeses. But so therefore, you can't always look at the numbers. Yeah, you need to do your homework. Yeah, you need to know what type of event and have that option there. If I'm going to a faith-based event, the books look different. If I'm going to a festival outside, where there's going to be all kinds of people, creeds, cultures, backgrounds, um, faiths, um, you know, all of that, the books look different. There's more options, more opportunities. Um, it doesn't mean that you know what I have is just so horrible. I just, I'm a curator. I'm striving to bring things that I think the audience is gonna want. And sometimes they, as they say, old folks say they fool me, and but I always have a container of some books that I didn't necessarily put on the table for them to see. I always have the brochure and the business card so they can connect with me later and reach out to me later. So therefore, just just just a reminder keep moving, keep going. Don't stop with the first no. Don't stop. That that's usually in your faith-based um faith, and your faith walk is a walk, not a run, not a jog, it's a walk. That this is the test. How serious are you? How much are you willing to invest in this long term? And let me just tell you, books and literary and literacy and all that, that's a long-term thing. You know, I I've known people who really, oh, I only sold a hundred books. I'm like, a hundred books in the first month? You didn't think that was successful? Well, but you got to keep going. Oh no, it's too hard, it's it's too much work. I don't want to fool with it. Some people do that with with businesses, you know, when you when you're moving not only your book but into a business offering things for people to uh services and other products. If if I stopped with not selling a whole lot in the first 90 days, I would have shut down my business a long time ago. Because even though I was bruised and my ego was adjusted with one book sale, I've gone and sold nothing. No one came by the table, they weighed, enjoyed you, and kept on going, love. Bought nothing. So therefore, if I if I based my business and and movement on that, I'd have shut down a long time ago. So I don't have an attitude. I smile when I go to events, whether I sell 100, I sell one, or I sell none. I'm nice to everybody because sometimes your attitude will get, you know, I really liked your spirit. I didn't have any money that day, or I hadn't got paid yet. It's all kinds of things that I've heard over the years. But keep moving, keep going, keep moving, keep going. You never know where your next will be. You never know what door God is gonna open. You never know what opportunity is gonna come next. And if you do not keep a good attitude, that a lot of that is is uh associated with attitude. We'll talk about that another time. But your personality and your attitude, when you wake up, God, what do you want me to do? What door are you gonna open? What opportunity are you gonna bring? Help me to make wise decisions, help me to not waste time, help me to not uh be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Real quick before I go, so the event that I was at um with a hundred people and sold the one book, I was really supposed to be at another outside event. And I made the what I felt like was the hard decision to forfeit my um registration or vendor fee for to go to this other event, which I paid for both, and they switched the date, and you know how that goes. And but fortunately it was a three-day event, but two of those days was torrential rain. Now, love, water, paper, and books don't match. They don't mix. And being outside and being cold and wet and rainy and windy, and they had a severe thunderstorm, I made the right decision. Yeah, I lost my vending fee. But as a business owner, that's a business expense I just have to take a loss for. Because it would have been horrible to have been outside for two days in the rain and the cold. So sometimes, you know, a win is a win, sometimes a loss is a loss, and you gotta take it. And Lord knows a lesson is a lesson. I'm gonna stop right here. I'm Dr. Julia Royston. Trust that something I said helped you. You be blessed in all that you say and do. Keep moving, turning your book into a business. Until next time, bye-bye.

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You have been listening to the Book Business Boss Show with your host, Dr. Julia Royston. For more information, visit www.bookbusinessboss.com. That's bookbusinessboss.com. So you can get your message to the masses, turn your words into wealth, and be a book business boss.