Success Hacks for Long Term Growth

Everyone wants to know the secret to business success.

The perfect strategy.
The magic marketing trick.
The one perfect price...

But after years of building businesses, mentoring business owners, and surrounding myself with ambitious people, I've noticed something interesting...

The biggest drivers of success are rarely the things people talk about.

In this episode, we're diving into the unspoken hacks that create extraordinary results. The habits and behaviours that successful people practice behind the scenes.

If you've ever wondered what separates the people who consistently move forward, who stay in the game for the long-term from those who stay stuck and spinning their wheels, this episode is for you.

Success isn't built through one key action.

It's built through the decisions that nobody sees, but make the biggest impact.

Let's get into it!

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everyone, welcome back to episode 5. This week's episode is something that has been brewing for a very long time. It's a topic that I've wanted to talk about because lots of people think that the success of their business comes down really to two main things pricing and marketing. And while those two things are important, in today's episode I really want to share with you some success hacks, some things that the successful people do in order to grow their businesses that have absolutely nothing to do with their product, has nothing to do with their pricing, it has nothing to do with their marketing, but it makes such a big difference to the way that they show up, to the way that they run their businesses, to the decisions that they make, and ultimately to their growth and success. So listen in, I hope you love this episode. These are my top five success hacks for business growth that don't include things like another strategy or another tactic. Are you ready? Let's go. So number one, the first thing that successful people do as a success hack is actually make time for themselves. I don't know about you, but I remember in my first business that was successful, but it burned me out. I was literally working 20 hour days, seven days a week, and at the same time I was a bridesmaid in five weddings. It was hectic. I was missing out on so many things, and I know that, especially seven years in. I know that I started making poor decisions in my business just because I was so tired. When I started Adelaide Bakes 10 years ago, I made that decision that I am something you need to know about me is that I'm ambitious, very ambitious, but I'm not competitive in that I'm not going to give everything at the expense of my life or my family or my health or my well-being. And I'll definitely never allow myself to hit burnout the way I did before ever again. So when I started Adelaide Bakes, I made it very clear in my own terms that I would not work to the point of burnout. And I intentionally built the business around my family, around my own schedule, around my own energy levels. And from day one, I have worked four days a week. The majority of the time is just four days a week. And I, you know, except for maybe busy promotional periods where I'll go all in, but I never confuse what I do in the business some of the time to what I do the majority of the time. So sometimes, just like in any in any season, we might have a busy time, but then it goes back to normal. And I've always prioritized time for myself within the week. That can include time to go for a walk, that can include for me time to go horse riding, that can include time to have lunch with my friends, uh, other business owners, that can include time to go for a massage. So I want you to think about and I want you to know that one of the ways that successful people stay successful in the long term is that they know they can't give everything all the time. You have to prioritize time for yourself and you have to prioritize filling up your own cup because a burned-out business owner is no good for anyone. A business owner that actually takes care and time for themselves, that prioritizes and actually schedules in time for themselves, is one that can actually maintain their energy over a long period of time, and that's how you're going to stay in business longer. You're going to have that endurance to cope with what business and life throws at you over the course of time. And that's one of the biggest things that uh one of the biggest lessons that I learned from my first business that I applied from day one. It's not something you work towards, it's not something that you know wait till you're deserving of. You just build your business that way so that you actually have time for you, for yourself. So prioritizing and making time for yourself is hack number one. Success hack number two is similar but a little bit different, in that successful people, people who grow their businesses and who reach those higher levels in business, they actually curate who they spend time with. So they protect their energy, they know that they need to be around and get into rooms with other people who are doing the same things that they're doing. Unfortunately, by default, lots of people, especially ambitious business owners, maybe if you haven't made your first investment into a group of ambitious people and into a group program, especially a good one where you can actually meet people who are on the same level as you. If you haven't done that yet, it's going to be my first hack for you. My second hack for you after taking time for yourself. Second thing is get yourself in the room with people doing big things. They will normalize this for you. They will normalize striving, they will normalize the big things that we do, they will normalize taking care of yourself, they will normalize, you know, the effort that it takes. They will actually normalize striving for success. So pay attention to who you are around, pay attention to the energy that you actually allow into your life. There are people who are more aligned to helping you achieve your dreams just because of the energy that they bring into your life, and there are people that can have that wet blanket energy. You like do a little audit and really audit who you spend time around while you're growing your business and also who you talk to about business growth because the wrong person, it sounds, you know, it doesn't sound great, but honestly, when you share, some people like to pick apart all the different ideas that you might have, and especially when an idea is new and it's like a seedling, it's so fragile and it needs like really fertile soil. If you accidentally share that idea too early, maybe with someone who has their your best intentions at heart and they start picking it apart for you, they're going to change your view, your perspective, and almost extinguish that little flame that was there right there inside of you. So curate your rooms. Get yourself into a room where people think bigger, where they take bigger actions, where they strategize, where they ask, how can I, rather than finding all the ways that you can't do something. And watch how you naturally think differently, act differently in your business just because of the energy that you are around. Success hack number three is paying for speed. Trust me, there are so many people in this world who have already achieved the things that you want to achieve. There are knowledge gaps that we have, especially when we're new in business. A lot of people think all they need to do is price their products properly and then market them. But in amongst that, even though that is true, in amongst that, there is so much more strategy that you can bring to your business and especially to your business growth. I love learning. Be a lifelong learner, especially as a business owner, as things change, as things improve, as new um, as new things come in. I know that one of the best things that I ever did, and when I think about what was the big difference between the business at, you know, when I hit my first hundred thousand in income in Adelaide Bakes, and when I more than doubled that the second year, and then continued to grow, I know that it was investing in my growth, in filling knowledge gaps, and in paying to learn things that I didn't know that allowed me to grow so fast. And paying for speed is one of those things that can you work it all out by yourself for yourself in your own terms? Probably. It might take twice as long, it might you might get there eventually, it might take loads of trial and error, but why wouldn't you invest in knowledge, in someone else's guidance, in having someone there with you while you take those first steps and in moving through results faster? Now I have a hack within a hack here for you because yes, I pay for speed, I absolutely invest in courses, and I love investing in courses and filling knowledge gaps all the time. It's one of the things that I actually need to stop myself from doing because there's so many amazing, interesting people out in the world that do incredible things, and I want to learn from all of them. Um, but one of my hacks that I have, which I've always had from the moment I started investing in my own knowledge, and I'll tell you about that time if you're interested. I was so scared because my first mentor in Adelaide Bakes was a woman in the UK, and her mentoring was £198 per month, the program that I joined, which ended up being something like 380 Australian dollars per month. And Adelaide Bakes, I hadn't, I think I was three years in, and I remember my heart pounding making that decision to go all in. Um, and that was honestly one of the key decisions that I've made that, and uh, this mentor knows that she was just amazing in changing my life and the skills that I learned from her that I apply to this day. And it's that investment in closing a knowledge gap, learning how someone else does it, implementing, getting the result, finding my own way to do it. Like all of this is the most amazing thing that happens after you make the investment. And now, a bonus hack for you here is whenever I make an investment into my own knowledge, into a skill set gap or a knowledge gap, I always ask myself, because in business we make investments to make money back, you know, these are all investments in our growth, they're not investments for the sake of it. So I always ask myself as an ambitious business owner, how quickly can I make that investment back? And some of the investments that I've made have moved gone into the tens of thousands of dollars all at once because I love learning from other people. But the question I always ask myself if I'm investing in my knowledge and business growth strategy is how quickly can I make this investment back? And I've done this with hundred dollar programs, I've done this with programs worth a few thousand, I've even done this with programs that were worth tens of thousands of dollars. So do it. It's amazing investing in your knowledge, investing in knowledge, applying that knowledge, getting that return on investment. Honestly, once you learn these skill sets and you apply them in your own business, these are skill sets that will grow your business for life. I am a just the biggest advocate in paying for speed, in investing in yourself, in learning all the different strategies. And honestly, you have to, you can't just learn the one. There's never just like one, the one strategy that's going to be responsible for your business blowing up. It's going to be learning all different ways of doing the same thing until you find the way that you love to do it, and then you can find your own unique style. But it will come from learning from a few different people their ways of doing very similar things, and then finding through the trial and error of applying it yourself, you'll find your own way and the way that you love to do it. So you'll find your own unique style through that, right? A lot of business owners love learning new technical skill sets. So if you're a cake decorator learning new cake decorating techniques, if you're a cookie decorator learning new cookie decorating techniques, if you're a macaron maker, all of those things. But what I'm going to inspire you, hopefully, in is investing in speed, in learning business building techniques and strategies and applying them into your business the same way that you would with a cake decorating technique. So honestly, all successful business owners will pay for speed. They know that there's someone out there who's achieved what they wanted to achieve before that either has a mentoring program or a course that they can buy, they learn and they implement quickly to get that return on investment. Success hack number four is that they get support. Honestly, I do not subscribe to the thought or the notion that we need to do everything for ourselves. So when I see business owners complaining online about having to be everything to everyone, I just shake my head because I think we do it to ourselves, and sometimes that thought pattern is actually perpetuated online where we see others saying, I can't do it all, I don't know how I'm meant to do this. The thing is, we're not actually meant to do it all ourselves. What you need to get really good at is asking for the support that you need. The longer that you try to do it all by yourself, the sooner you will hit that point of burnout. So this is going to be my encouragement to you to think about how do I scaffold myself so that I have the energy and the support that I need to build my business. I'll give you an idea of some of the supports that we have in our lives. And we did this from the start because I know that when I'm well supported, I have the energy to build my business and to do the business tasks. When I'm well supported, I also have the energy to give back to my family. I know that I'm not going to burn out. And again, these are success hacks that are going to keep you being able to be in business for longer. You know, business is a marathon, it's not a sprint. There really is no finish line. I want you in business for a long time. I want you running profitable business at businesses. And the only way you're really going to be able to do that is if you're well supported. Again, a burnt-out business owner is no good for anyone. So look at your life. Ask yourself, what sort of support do I need? And how can I ask for that support in a way that shows, you know, sometimes we wait until we're burnt out before we collapse, you know, before we lose it. And we're like, don't you know I need more support? I can't do this on my own. Thing is, it doesn't need to get there. Ask yourself today, what would it look like if I was well supported? So we don't have weekly um family support, but we have the kids in OSH two days a week. Uh, we use daycare for three days a week when the kids were younger. Um, now that they're both at school, we send them to Osh two days a week. We have a cleaner who comes to support us in the house once a week in busy seasons. I either ask Kyle if he can take time off or work from home, like he's got some flexibility in his days, so we can make things work there. I I specifically ask for, especially in busy seasons, I specifically ask for more flexibility in the house. We make things as easy as possible in the home, including meal planning, meal prepping. Um, from time to time we'll use food delivery services like HelloFresh. What else? You know, we just try to, especially in busy periods, we'll try to minimize where I am needed so that I can focus on the business. So ask yourself, you know, support. Oh, I've got support in the inbox. Beautiful Vivi helps with taking care of the customer experience on the back end so that I can deliver as much as I can and bring all of my best energy to supporting my customers and to delivering the things that I deliver. So ask yourself in your business where you are right now, even if it's just one thing, even if it's just once a month or once a fortnight, where is that space that you could use some support? Because when you don't have to do that, it gives you energy to do the business building activities or to be there with your family more. So, again, these are success hacks to keep you in business for longer. People that are successful and successful over a period of time do not do it all themselves, they have support. And in this day and age, support is easier to get than it ever has been before. The other things that I'm really going to encourage you to look at is is there admin to admin support that you could use? Is there household support that you could use? Is there just a little bit more time, you know, kids using OSH or that kind of service? Is there are you systemizing everything? Are you delegating where you can? Are you maximizing the use of automations? You know, we've got so many tools are available to us that can actually help us get our time back. So take some time today during this episode or just afterwards and ask yourself, how can I get some time back? Where are my energy leaks right now? How can I, what do I need to put in place in my life and in my business so that I feel supported? And for a lot of people that might be support in the home. For me, it looks like a lot more support in the home. Um, but for some people it's support in the business, even if it's just one person that comes into the business for three hours a week, that extra hundred dollars or $120 that you pay for that one person uh to come and support you, if that means that you don't burn out, and if that means that you have more energy, and if that means that you could take on extra work, or if that means that you can finish earlier, all of those things are huge benefits to your energy levels, to your mental health, to your ability to cope. And they're the things that are actually going to allow you to grow your business over the long term. So successful business owners get support, they don't do it alone. Finally, success habit number five. Success habit number five is that they avoid complainers and blamers and people who think small. This has been one of my biggest success hacks because when you have a dream or an ambition, having someone who, you know, it sort of goes hand in hand with what I spoke about earlier about curating the room that you are in, spending less time with people who complain and blame is so important because even though it might seem like their complaining and blaming isn't rubbing off on you, it absolutely does. Even for the smallest period of time, if you if you allow that to change your mindset and you start minimizing your goals, or you start taking on that mindset of who am I to chase this dream, or you start picking apart your own version of success, or it even causes you to think, why would I go for this? No one's ever done that before. You if it ever in any small way changes how big your dreams are, it's going to have a real cost on you actually being able to achieve those dreams. So, success hack number five is avoid complainers, pee that extinguisher energy, people that even honestly, even people in business who complain about being in business. Honestly, look for people who think big. Look for people who ask, how can I, rather than I bet I can't energy. Surround yourself with people who ask you, you know, well, if it was easy, what would it look like? If it was simple, if it was fun, how can I try again? Right? As soon as you surround yourself with that extinguisher energy, this is hard, this is heavy, it shouldn't be this hard. We've tried this before, it didn't work. There's no way it's going to work this time, right? That type of energy is a sure fire way to extinguish your flame. So there you have it, guys. My top five success hacks for long-term success in your business, for growth. Go out there, be amazing. Remember to prioritize time for you. Go for a walk, get some fresh air, breathe in deep, do some stretches, get a massage, go and dip your feet in the ocean, go and have a coffee by yourself. Spend that time just with yourself. Protect your energy, get yourself in the room with people who are achieving, who are going for growth, who think big, successful mindsets are contagious. You will absolutely normalize, it will normalize what it takes to grow. Pay for speed. Yes, you probably can work it out eventually by yourself, but why would you? Pay for speed, find someone that's achieved what you want to achieve, pay for their mentorship, and ask yourself that question because an investment into your business will have a return if you apply it. How can I get my how quickly can I make this investment back? And remember those skill sets are yours for life. Once you've learned them, you don't unlearn them, you can apply them at any time. So keep applying. Get support. Sorry, yeah, get support. Don't try to do it all yourself. There is no point to burn out. If you burn out, you're no good for anyone. So ask yourself, do I need support in my home? Do I need support in my business? Where is where is the space where I need that support? And what would that look like? What would it look like in the smallest way? And build up, make sure you're making use of systems, of automations, of all the free and cheap tools that we have available to us to get your time back and finally avoid complainers. They will extinguish your flame faster than ever in this day and age. I hope you've loved this episode. I hope you're so inspired. Do a mini biz a biz order. Ask yourself, am I setting myself up for success? Um, because trust me, when you do these things, you are more likely to stay in business for longer, grow much bigger, and do the things. Become the person that it requires you to become. All right, until next week, guys, have a fantastic week and I'll bring you another episode soon. Bye.