Beyond The Status Quo Podcast | Entrepreneurship | Career | Finances | Motivation | Personal Development | Relationships

In 2018, I remember planning my wedding very vividly, and looking at my wedding and my honeymoon and feeling stressed out about how I was going to make two weeks off happen. Just two weeks. I didn’t know how that was going to happen without my business crumbling. Because, at that point, I had never taken a full week off. In 2019, I took seven weeks off and at least four of them were completely unplugged. At the end of the day, we left our jobs to be able to live our dream lives, to be able to do whatever you wanted, to take time off whenever we wanted. We didn’t sign up to work our butts off all the time for no break or reward. So today, I’m going to share with you how I managed to take so much time off in 2019, and still make money in my business. “I think our business needs to be scalable. A business needs to be something that can run on its own if something happens or if we need to take a vacation because we’re human. We need rest. And I’m really passionate about this and passionate about enabling you to

Our brain is an amazing organ and everything in your life, whether it’s business or relationships, should start in your brain. Today, I talk about NLP and LP (neuro linguistic programming) and how we use the basic language of the mind to consistently achieve the results we want in life. I like to call it the “lost user manual to the human brain”, because many of us don’t realize how powerful our brains are and how amazingly they can work. I picked up these three brain hacks at my NLP training and I wanted to share them with you. Be prepared to hack your brain! “Our mind is a meaning-making machine. We’re always trying to put things into a neat puzzle. We’re trying to fold it away and make it fit in our mental model of the world. And sometimes we take things and we blow them out of proportion.” In this episode Avani talks about: Why she went to get her Magnetic Coach Certification What NLP is and how you can use it to your advantage Her personal tips and tricks for getting the most out of brain hacks A

Today’s guest is content creator all-star Nicholas Cole. Nicolas (aka Cole) is cofounder of Digital Press — a business that helps companies position their founders and CEOs as thought leaders through written content. Cole’s background is a bit unusual. As a teenager, he was a top-ranked “World of Warcraft” player. As he got older, he moved into body building before finally landing in his career as a writer. Through his growth as a writer, he launched Digital Press. Today, Digital Press has an entire staff of copywriters and editors working to present CEOs and Founders as thought leaders in their given niches. In this episode, Cole gives us some tips on content creation, finding your voice, and building loyalty for your content. “I treat content the same way that I would approach investing: it’s not the day trade method, it’s the Warren Buffett method. Invest in something that’s going to be sustainable over the long term.” In this episode Nicolas talks about: How to make content that engages with your

In today’s episode, I talk with Giselle Field. Giselle is a one-woman branding and design company. She loves to travel, and uses her travels as inspiration for her work. Giselle started college as an art major, but realized it wasn’t for her. She quickly stumbled upon a graphic design class and has never looked back. After college, she had a hard time finding full-time design work, and this pushed her to pursue freelancing and build her skills as an entrepreneur. Overcoming fear and getting out of her comfort zone were crucial in getting Giselle to where she is today. Diving into freelancing full-time can be a scary scenario, especially if it’s not something you’re choosing. But Giselle realized she had to find ways to move out of her comfort zone in order to move forward personally and professionally. Along the way, her now husband introduced her to rock climbing, which was helped her carry her confidence into the business world. The sport has taught her a lot about fear and perseverance, and has helped

Today’s guest is Elley Charles. She is a business and mindset coach for female entrepreneurs who have a side hustle and are ready to transition into a full-time business. She is constantly thinking of ways to help entrepreneurs who are ready to live their fullest life and add more impact to the world. Elley is obsessed with personal development and takes pride in constantly working to become a better version of herself. Keeping her commitment to that personal development is what helps her keep her energy high. Reading personal development books is one of the ways she enjoys working on herself. Having the drive for personal growth and development is also what makes her feel most fulfilled, and she loves passing that feeling on to other entrepreneurs. She keeps a happiness list that reminds her to make the most of each day and to appreciate all of the small things in life, which is a big part of her consistently high energy. This high energy is one of my favorite things about Elley. I’ve always wondered abou

This episode was inspired by a conversation I was having with one of my friends. She is brilliant and she has an amazing business. We were talking about how to plan her exit from her 9-5 jobs so that she could go full-time in her business. This got me thinking about the time in my life when I was going through the exact same things, and having the same questions that I’m sure most of you have as well. Today’s episode goes into my six-step checklist to ditch your job and go full-time in your freelance business. If you’re thinking about a transition, then this is an episode you can’t afford to miss. “When you’re a lifelong learner, there is nothing that can stop you. There’s no ceiling, there’s no limit. You can do anything and everything that you set your mind to.” In this episode Avani talks about: The fears she had around leaving her full-time job and going full-time freelance. How she developed her six steps to going full-time. Advice around structuring your finances so that you’re set to succeed.

Today’s episode focuses on analytics in your freelance business. I’ve been taking a deep dive into my analytics recently because we’re looking to evaluate how the last few years have gone. We’re looking at the clients, the revenue, and the team to figure out where we are now and where we want to go next. Analytics are a good thing to look at when you’re trying to make a decision on where to go next in your business. When looking at analytics, you certainly don’t have to be a “math person” to get on board. Some simple strategies will help you track your data and hopefully give you insight into the future of your business. "Looking at analytics is a way to look at the past and predict and prepare for the future. It’s really simple, but if you’re just able to write these down and look at trends in your own business you’ll see what you can do for being proactive in your business. " In this episode Avani talks about: Why analytics are important to every successful business. What types of analytics you shoul

I’m an achiever, a go-getter. I want to know what’s next and I love to be growing and moving forward. That’s really what drives me. But at some point with my business I had to ask: where do I take this? Where do I go from here? It’s such a weird place to be and I realize I had forgotten why I was doing this in the first place. I had a grand vision, and a big “why” when I left my job a few years ago, and that was to build my dream life. That was my vision. In this episode I talk about how you can get stuck growing for growth’s sake, and why that’s unsustainable. It’s important to understand that growth isn’t always what you’re looking for. “I want to live a life where I can wake up whenever I want. I want to take naps when I want to. I want to be able to give myself a raise and not have to ask someone else whether or not I can have it. I wanted to be able to have that empowered feeling in my every day and I wanted to be the person in control.” In this episode Avani talks about: Why she recently was feeling

There are two main seasons of business: bulking and cutting. I know that I’m borrowing from the fitness industry, but it’s a great parallel for our lives as freelancers. Preparing to grow falls into the cutting category. In today’s episode, we’re talking about the cutting season, what it is, and how to use it to your advantage. We all know there’s fat around the edges that we could get rid of, so this episode will show you how to do that the right way and make your business more lean. “Ask yourself, do you need to be doing what you’re doing? Is it producing what you want, the impact that you want? If not, maybe you don’t need to do it right now.” In this episode Avani talks about: What a cutting season is. How to use a cutting season to the advantage of your business. How she has used cutting in her own business to grow. 1. Your systems Take a look at the systems you are using right now. Evaluate them and ask yourself, what systems in my business are working really well, what systems are not working

Over the last few years, I’ve realized it’s not as easy as it seems to be profitable. Profitability doesn’t happen by accident. It doesn’t just fall into your lap. Profitability, in fact, is a very, very purposeful thing that all of us need to do in our businesses in order to see that profit come in. Here are some tips that have helped me in my journey to profitability. “I know where the money is going, I know what the expenses are going to be. I’m already aware of how it’s going to look and that feels really good to me because it’s not a surprise.” In this episode Avani talks about: Her first experience with profitability as a freelancer. How the numbers of her first year took her by surprise. Her strategies to make 2019 and 2020 more profitable. 1. Use the “profit first” methodology “Profit First” is a ladder where you put aside what you need first before using your money for expenses. Traditionally, you’re using your business money to pay for expenses first, and then pay yourself whatever is left.

Today I am excited to talk with Bree Webber, someone who is truly a fountain of knowledge. When it comes to communication and writing, no one knows better than she does. Bree is a copywriter and runs her own business at Copy Bree where she helps entrepreneurs by writing copy for their businesses, helping them convert like crazy, and creating really juicy content for their audiences. I learned so much from our conversation today, and it really inspired me to get down to writing for my own business. She shares so many great tips and tricks that I know you guys will walk away feeling the same way I did. When Bree was younger, she always enjoyed reading and writing, but she took a bit of an usual path to becoming a copywriter. Out of college she worked for a book publisher and though she loved her job, she wanted to start a new life with her boyfriend, so she pitched her employer on working remotely. They agreed, with the caveat that she had to work as an independent contractor, and so her business was born. She

Today’s episode is about radical responsibility. It’s a concept that I’ve been thinking about for a little while now. The results you see in your life, the results that have arrived or shown up in your life because of what you’ve done, that’s on you. You gave the cause and the effect showed up, and you need to own those actions. That is what radical responsibility is. It puts you in the driver’s seat and says you’re the one in charge. This is empowering. It says that you have the power to influence and attract and bring about results in your life. Let’s explores the areas where you can take radical responsibility in your life. “Be solution oriented. Leave the past in the past and just move on. Let’s figure out how to fix this. Move on and learn from our mistakes. Take that radical responsibility and move forward.” In this episode Avani talks about: Where she found out about radical responsibility and why she’s been thinking about it. How you can use radical responsibility to your advantage. How you can

Sometimes we can get too much on our plates. Most of us have been in this situation more than once. Today, I'm going to share some tips and tricks on how to get through the overwhelming to-do lists in your freelance business. As business owners, we take radical responsibility for everything happening in our business. And this can lead to overwhelm and a seemingly never-ending to-do list. Whether it’s someone dropping the ball, or someone leaving our team, or a needy client wanting tons of attention, all of it essentially falls on us at the end of the day. And that can be a lot of pressure. Let’s explore some tried and true tips on how to handle all this “stuff” that we have to deal with. “There’s a cognitive load from these things in our brain and we can’t just ignore that. We can’t just minimize that they’re taking up space.” In this episode Avani talks about: How having too much to do can sneak up on us. Why you need to have a plan in place to deal with all your tasks. How you can organize and stra

Today we’re talking about a topic that’s a lot of fun. In fact, we’re talking about fun itself and how we should be having fun in our businesses. You should be thrilled and excited to show up and do your job. And if you’re not, then it’s time to change that. Let’s dives into tips on how you can inject some fun into your job, and make sure you’re experiencing everything your business has to offer. “It’s exciting for me. Every single day I am happy and having fun. Every client meeting that I have, every team meeting that I have, is infused with fun and we laugh so much together while adding massive value to the world.” In this episode Avani talks about: Why it’s important to have fun at work. What she does to make her workdays more fun. Why having fun at work should be a priority for you. 1. Affirmations I know I talk about this a lot, but it’s because it’s important. Write down your affirmations that express how much fun your business is. You will prime your brain to find that fun and soon enough you’

Just like your home, it’s a good idea to pay attention to the hygiene, cleanliness, and organization of your business. We have all of these things we use to run our businesses like systems, tools, apps, project management software, automations, and it’s important to check in on these things to make sure everything is running smoothly. In this episode I share my four tips for how I keep everything clean and organized in my business. “Housekeeping can be sometimes boring or blah, but it’s important because it is essential to the health of your business. This is what keeps things going and what makes things easier for you.” In this episode Avani talks about: Why housekeeping is important to her business. The reasons she keeps such close tabs on her financial housekeeping. How she keeps on top of housekeeping and makes it a priority amidst everything going on. 1. Finances and accounting If you keep track of your dollars, or if you look into your bank account regularly, you’re going to accomplish two thin

Business, just like the weather, has seasons. Some seasons in business are for sustaining or re-balancing, some are for focusing on your personal life, and some are for focusing on your business and putting the pedal to the metal. These seasons are going to ebb and flow as you and your business change. Our businesses are like people — dynamic, living and breathing beings. Because of that, it’s naïve for us to think that every season in our business is going to be the same. Your life is changing, the industry is changing, the economy is changing, and therefore, your business will change. So what are those seasons? And what you can do to stay ahead of the game, regardless of which season you’re in? “We need to be really excited to have fun, to grow our business, grow our team, and grow our clients. If it’s not fun, if we’re not loving it, what are we doing? What are we doing with our lives?” In this episode Avani talks about: What season of business she is in right now. How she’s handling her season and

As is evident from my last episode, I’ve been a hot mess as of late. This has been true in both my business and my personal life. And that’s ok - it’s ok to be a hot mess every now and then. In today’s episode, I talk about why it’s ok. I have been feeling a little frazzled lately and I wanted to share with you the tricks I use to get out of my hot mess and back on track to being me. “I’m doing this for my future family. I’m doing this for my husband. I want to be a good example for these people that I love and am going to love so much. I’m doing this because I want to create a legacy and an asset and I want to grow this company into something that produces money and supports the lifestyle that I want to live.” In this episode Avani talks about: Why she’s been feeling frazzled and frustrated lately. How she got back on track and learned that it’s ok to feel like a hot mess sometimes. What her “why” is, and why it’s so important. Main Takeaways Lean into the things that help you feel like you. This w

We all need clients, right? What if you didn’t have to put so much energy into getting new clients, and they just came to you automatically? Today we’re talking about some of the secrets I’ve developed that allow me to put my client attraction on autopilot. I’ve got five tips I want to share with you. I’ve used these plenty of times to get me to where I am today, so I hope you are able to put them to use too! “People are going to come to you, people are going to recommend you, they’re going to talk about you because you’re great at what you do.” In this episode Avani talks about: How to effectively reach out to people and get into a pattern of consistent outreach. Why you should cast a wide net for potential clients. Tips on sharing your expertise for free to attract more potential clients. 1. Send two messages a day I’m sending out emails, reaching out to people online and in-person. I’m always adding people to my list so I can grow the leads that will then turn into clients in my freelance busine

Matt Baker is a money strategist and business coach. He’s passionate about helping entrepreneurs solve their most challenging problems. And as a VP at Freshbooks, he helps millions of self-employed professionals grow their businesses and get paid faster. Matt grew up in suburban Michigan around lots of industrial and manufacturing jobs. With this kind of work, the amount of money you can make correlates directly to the number of hours you work (overtime, etc.). This mindset was ingrained in Matt early on, as it is with many people. But Matt realized that the same is true of entrepreneurship. Many people decide to go out on their own, because they want control over their careers and more freedom, but end up just as enslaved and overwhelmed as they were before. Matt believes the key to breaking out of that mindset is pricing your services effectively. In this episode, Matt and I talk about value-based pricing, and how it can help break out of trading time for dollars. We also cover how to strategize and be more

I know it sounds crazy. Why would anyone cancel a trip to Bali? Sometimes trusting your intuition can seem crazy to others, but it’s an important skill to cultivate. A bit of backstory… I was planning to go to Bali on a retreat with my friend about 12 days after my wedding. We were going to surf, do yoga, meditate, and, of course, eat good food. Sounds pretty amazing, right? The trip was scheduled for right after my wedding and it seemed like a great idea when I booked it. It would be a great way to unplug and unwind after hectic wedding events. However, less than a week before I was going to leave, I decided to cancel it. In this episode, we’re going to talk about exactly why I canceled the trip, and what I learned from the experience. “If you’re feeling like a decision that you’re making is feeling weird or wrong or you’re hesitant, ask yourself why. What part of you wants to go on this trip or do this thing or buy that thing? and are there blockages in other areas of your life that might be related to th