113 | Why you can’t rely solely on social media for sales with Nicole Walters, The Monetized Life

Have you ever come home from a long day at your corporate job and realized like, “Okay, so my job is feeding my family, but definitely not my soul.” What do you do? Well, today's Proof to Product guest is telling us how she figured it out. By age 28, Nicole Walters was a highly-paid executive at a Fortune 500 company, managing multibillion dollar accounts, but something wasn’t right. So Nicole quit her corporate job, and she made waves when she quit in front of 10,000 people while live streaming on Periscope. She went on to open her own private business and product development consulting firm, The Monetized Life.

As Nicole’s audience ramped up so did her revenue—she made $11,000 in the first three weeks of working with small business clients full time. Now, when she’s not hanging out with her husband and their three foster kids, she shares her secrets to earning “passive income” with other entrepreneurs through her wildly popular online course, 1K1Day. “I teach people how to add commas to their bank accounts,” says Nicole. “They learn that they don’t have to trade time for money.”

On today's episode, Nicole and I sit down to talk about common mistakes she sees eager entrepreneurs making and why old school sales strategies still work. We also talk about why you can't rely solely on social media for sales, the importance of having multiple revenue streams and why you need to treat your business like a business from day one.

ON TODAY’S EPISODE:

Common mistakes Nicole sees eager entrepreneurs making
Tips on where to focus your marketing time and money
The problem of relying on social media platforms
Benefits of sticking with the old school methods
What really gets customers in the door
How to make a 40-50 hour work week feel like 4 hours
The lessons Nicole took from corporate life and applied as an entrepreneur
Her strongest marketing tool today
Nicole’s favorite success stories
How saying no is a form of self care
Advice for brand new business owners and entrepreneurs experiencing growing pains
The importance of acting like a business from the get-go
What success looks like for Nicole today

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KEY TAKE AWAYS

“If the only place that you're selling is on your social media platform, well guess what? It's not yours. You don't own it.” - Nicole Walters

“Word of mouth is still good. So all that matters that you're actually able to get to people who have mouths and are able to spread the word. Old School still works.” - Nicole Walters

“Make sure that you're telling your story authentically and being honest about who you are. Because if you do that, if you tell your true story, well guess what? You'll never get it wrong.” - Nicole Walters

“Wear your heart on your sleeve, because it's that same heart that'll put cash in your pocket.” - Nicole Walters

“It was time for me to quit and I decided to do in grand fashion. I decided that I wasn't just going to burn the bridge behind me. I was going to singe it and blow away the ashes.” - Nicole Walters

“I was ready to become an entrepreneur. So instead of taking those tools to fat cats at multi-billion dollar companies, I'm taking them to everyday entrepreneurs who are using them to feed their families and their souls.” - Nicole Walters

“I get to see the change and the transition and the transformation in people's families and livelihoods. Being able to really put money into people's pockets instead of watching it go to a new Gulfstream jet or a new golf membership at a country club, you know, it's really, really rewarding. And I love it.” - Nicole Walters

“I’ll be the first one to tell you if I'm doing my job well, guess what? We shouldn't work together forever.” - Nicole Walters

“Look at the quarterlies, look at your revenue and your expenses, all of it. There might be certain quarters that are slow, but if you can plan for that and know about that in advance, it just sets you up for the longterm.“ - Katie Hunt

“I'm a mom and I'm married and the other side of it is honestly, I couldn't keep up with my business if I didn't get healthy. That's the reality of it.” - Nicole Walters

“There's this misconception of self care, that it’s going and getting a manicure and/or like, you know, or going to get coffee or whatever and it's like self care comes in so many different forms.” - Katie Hunt

“I'm allowed to say no to things that don't serve me because if I say no, then I'm taking care of the things that do serve me. And that is a form of self care.” - Nicole Walters

“You want to seize opportunities, but at the same time you need to protect your time and your sanity.” - Katie Hunt

“Act like a business if you want to get paid like one, get out there and get your legal stuff in order. Make sure that you understand the importance of finances, quick books, getting all that stuff done and I know it's big and scary.” - Nicole Walters

“The minute you take a dollar, you are acting like a business and you need to get paid like one.” - Nicole Walters

“Sometimes we get in our own way, we overthink things or we don't relinquish control when we need to or we're afraid to bring on more team members to handle things because we think nobody can do it the way we can.” - Katie Hunt

CONNECT WITH NICOLE WALTERS

Connect with Katie Hunt

Katie Hunt is a business strategist, podcaster, mentor and mama to four. She helps product based businesses build profitable, sustainable companies through her conferences, courses and coaching programs.

Website: prooftoproduct.com | Instagram: @prooftoproduct