Become a Better Problem Solver, Make More Money Effortlessly

In this episode, I share a few stories that reflect the power of auditing your self-growth. The more complex problems that you can solve, the more that you can charge. So the question should not be, "How can I make more money?" The question really is, "what skills do I need to learn or improve to solve more complex problems?" Because by solving more complex problems, making more money becomes inevitable.

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Transcript

Growth is becoming a better problem solver

[00:00:00] You know, you've grown when you're the person that people call to solve a problem. Looking at my growth over the last almost four years, I really look at what has changed. And it's really my ability to solve problems and the complexity of the problem that I can solve in the amount of time that I could solve it.

But also one other thing with the type of energy that I could solve. And one of the things that I remember very early on when I was still just kind of like a freelancer and I was kind of transitioning into be like going from freelancer to then becoming like a full-blown marketing agency, which really only happened due to demand.

I remember going into a meeting with a friend. My mentor, it was a prospect, right? But the introduction was through my mentor. And so I got on the [00:01:00] phone and I falsely expected it to be easy just because of the intro. Uh, it was with two people, the owner of the business, and then the c e o of the business.

And I was really naive at the time, so I didn't realize. It was the CEO's job to push back to ask, you know, questions, to find the gaps in what I was presenting and everything. And I went back to my mentor and I was just heated. Like I, I took it. I, I personally, I took it personally and I was kind of emotional about it.

And I'll never forget what he said. He said if you can't handle this, how can you handle real bus business? Right? If you've gotta be able to handle more pressure. And then he explained to me like, you've gotta understand that the c e O is getting a salary from my connection, the owner. He has to prove himself, right?

He has to be the [00:02:00] advocate for that business. And so he was just doing. What he should do in that presentation? And it's actually good that they did that, that they pushed back and that they didn't treat you differently just because you were kind of a referral. And I'll never forget that because that was something so small that sparked a lot.

And this week, two people.

You know, now that I've grown, and I really think that as an entrepreneur, like every year you should, every quarter really, you should self-reflect. And if you're not able to withstand more pressure, if you're not able to solve bigger, more complex problems in a shorter amount of time with more even emotional, uh, approach.

With a more even approach then it's very, very difficult to say that you've grown. I, I would say that you haven't. And so this week I had two clients that kind of [00:03:00] had, uh, I would say like mini heart attacks, metaphorically, right? Not actual heart attacks, but they had, um, things happen in, in their businesses where it was just thing happen, emotional trigger.

Run to Shana, which is a great thing, right? Because people obviously four years ago did not run to me to solve their problems because they didn't think that I was capable of solving a problem. And when you look at a problem, a problem really only exists because the person doesn't. The experience. So they don't know how to solve it.

They don't know what levers to kind of pull on, to push on, to remove this barricade or to just get rid of it completely. They don't know who to reach out to. Uh, and so when they reach out to you to solve a problem, it shows that they trust in [00:04:00] your skills, in your ability, in your network, and just maybe in.

Emotional kind of energy and resilience to give them a better perspective and approach. So one client, so one of the clients had one of his social media accounts, uh, suspended out of nowhere, and I get the email and I'm just like, let's just take a breath. Right. This is not the end of the world. Let's think about.

And my approach was not emotional, right? Like I knew from the point that I got the email that I could resolve this, right? That we could reach out to customer service, that this was probably a mistake because he does not post anything that it was maybe just some bots mass reporting or something like that.

But of course, if you. [00:05:00] On social media for your business and your, and your major channel says like, Hey, you're not gonna be able to log in for five days. It's like this emotional storm immediately. And so, uh, you know, I was like, just give me a moment, right? Let's think about this. Let me reach out to customer service.

I don't think it will take the five days. Let's be even headed about this. And he was up and running again within two hours. And he was even emotional about it after that. But it really, and I was just like the, and I kind of pushed back a little bit. I was like, let's look at the positive. Right? We still don't know exactly why it happened, but you're back and running.

Right. And that was something that I, I like reflected. I'm like, oh, you know, I'm proud of myself. I'm the kind of person that people run to when, when there's chaos, right? It's like a chaos [00:06:00] fixer, a problem solver. And I think that that's the, the real type of person and spirit that you embody and become when you are growing in your business.

Because what business really is, is you're solving problems all day. Um, and so, uh, another example, A client sends me a link of, I guess a new person entering the space that is a direct competitor. And I was like, okay, . Like I didn't really, this person already existed, but they really spent time on another social media platform.

And I guess now they're entering one of, uh, the platforms where he spends more time on. And I was like, okay. I was like, why are you so, because he was really, really upset that this person was entering, uh, getting more engagement and stuff like that. And I was like, I don't even see you both like as, like from a bird's eye view, number one, I think that you [00:07:00] serve completely different markets, like just from afar.

He attracts a completely different type of person and he's focused on a, on more of a different type of software. So, I couldn't really see how he was taking a, i I could see it, right? Like I've been there before. But it's interesting to me again, when someone reacts that way, and you would've reacted that way two and a half years ago, you really realize what those two and a half years have compounded in, in the way that you react to situations, right?

So I was like, let. I was like, my, my ultimate message to him was, Let's reflect on the past three to five days. You know, how many hours and how much anxiety and stress have you poured into the fact that this person is now posting on the platform that you spend the most time on? Okay. [00:08:00] Uh, they don't really serve the same market as you.

I know for a fact they don't attract the same people as you. And on top of. He is marketing through very different mediums. So there are still so many ways to differentiate. And again, I just think even if they were doing the same exact thing, you're really underestimating your uniqueness and you will naturally attract a different market just because of your experiences, your delivery.

It's extremely different and that's where people really under. How personal brand can really differentiate them. Even if there's competitors, like in your market, you can still become a market of one through people aligning with the values that you have, the characteristics that you reveal in your videos, your personality.

Maybe they just gravitate towards you a little more. Your teaching style, your energy, your voice, your tonality, [00:09:00] how often you show up the mediums through which you show up, the platforms through which you show up. But at the end of the day, like you are, your uniqueness is your ultimate advantage when it comes to personal brands.

So the teaching for me is kind of, I see it as a commodity that could be replicated, but the teacher, the qualities of the teacher are the ultimate differentiator. And so I told him I was. I want you to take all of this energy that you've kind of, you know, I would say it's a loss, right? But you've kind of invested into like this emotional storm, and I want you to put it into your business, put it into your marketing campaign, put it into your efforts.

And I think that's the one thing that I've really done well along the way. It's like you could spend all the time in the world focusing on what other people are. But you could also use that time and energy and just focus on your goals, your community, your products. And there's not even enough time [00:10:00] for that at this rate, right?

So why would you waste that precious time on something else? And I totally understand it's an emotional reaction, but it's something within our, within our entrepreneurial journey that we just have to be cognizant of. We have to emotions destroy entrepreneurs like that one. Probably deterred his entire day of productivity, maybe his entire week.

And it, we look back on it six months from that point, we think it's silly, but in the moment, like learning to control your emotions, that emotional regulation, being very cognizant of how you react and how it can destroy your goals is very, very important. And how can it, how can. How it can destroy your productivity for the day or the week for the month is very, very important.

Because if that happens, it, it's inevitable that you're gonna have days like that. It's inevitable that those [00:11:00] things are gonna happen. So if every single time one thing like that happens and you get triggered, you just lost a day, you just lost a week. If that happens three days outta the month, right?

That's 36 days out of the. That is over a month that you have lost. And a lot of people don't realize that that happens six days outta the out of the month. That's over two months that you have lost. And all of that compounds, especially if you, if you're in a market where someone else is just focused.

Right. Imagine over six years if you're losing two months outta the year just because of emotional triggers and reactions. Someone else just gained a year on you, right? And some, because they gained 12 months, two months per year and six years, and a lot can happen in a year. So it, it looks small in the micro, but like all of that compounds in the macro.[00:12:00]

And I say all this to really say, Do what you can to try to control your emotions a little better. I think that it's a superpower to have someone to reach out to because had these two situations not had someone like me to reach out to, they would've the time, the energy, the torture, the emotional stuff that they would've.

Put themselves through in that situation, probably would have 10 x. So I think that ha, knowing where you are in your journey, number one, where it's like, I know that I still get triggered by these things happening when problems arise in my business or my journey and I need someone to be able to reach out to, to just give me that level head to talk to and to, to sometimes just like.

Lean for advice on. Right, and I think knowing where you are in your [00:13:00] journey is important. Having someone in your corner to advise you in those moments is important. Maybe even. , maybe even more than one person, right? So you may have one person that you reach out to in those moments that's more analytical or more pessimistic, and then you have one that's maybe, uh, more of a realist, and then you have one that's maybe more optimistic.

But I think that you do need people in your corner that are. But I think that you do need people in your corner that are, are at least a few years ahead of you in terms of that type of emotional control within business type situations. And, uh, the third thing is to really be cognizant and intentional about when, when, why that bothered you so much, right?

So in the situation, And, and to think like, what's the absolute worst thing that can happen and how can you be prepared for [00:14:00] that next time? So in the situation where the account was suspended, it's like, okay, what happened? And we kind of found, we kind of found out what had happened. So then, uh, measures were put into place so that that does, doesn't happen again.

But now what else could be put into place? Right? So now, uh, my client's very cognizant of the fact that, okay, if this were ever to get completely removed from me, the email list is very, very important. So now let's double down on growing an email list. Right? Let's double down on. Being prepared. And I think that, um, I heard a quote once that, you know, entrepreneurs and, and in business especially, are paranoid optimists, so, They, they always, and I have seen this with the most successful people that I've always been around, they're extremely optimistic.

They think that the future is positive. [00:15:00] They are, uh, the type of person that infuse positivity in other people when they're around them. But they are also very self-aware of what could go wrong in every single type of situation. And they are quick to adapt when those things do happen. So we can't get, we can't be naive.

We have to be that paranoid type of optimist, but you have to have people in your corner that have worked that muscle out a little bit. . And then I think the other kind of takeaway here is that when you've grown. Is that, you know, when you've grown, when you're the person that people call for every single problem that comes their way, and I think that you should take that as a compliment, whether you realize it or not in the moment, it really shows that they trust you, that you're reliable.

That they depend on you, and that ultimately they do trust in your [00:16:00] ability to help them solve the problem. And in business and in entrepreneurship, the most successful are just the ones that solve the biggest problems in the shortest amount of time and know who to reach out to, what teams to put together to help them do so.

So I think that, uh, that's my message for you today. Those solve more problems. Try to be less of an emotional tornado when you're solving them and have people in your corner that can help you and that you can call when problems do arise. And that's my message. Ciao.