Part 1 – I'm Meeting Pat Flynn!
Let Go Video Contest
In August of 2017, Pat was releasing the updated version of Let Go a book I had read about 3 years ago. I was excited to see that he had expanded it to include the transformation of being a solo-preneur to the CEO of his company. This intrigued me as I was thinking about this transition myself.
He sent an email and I happened to open it to see a video contest to share how letting go of fears has helped you in your business. The winner gets to spend the day with Pat Flynn in San Diego.
I was super curious now.
My Submission to the Let Go Video Contest
Here's what I shared in the comments of the post:
For those of you that don't want to take the 3:32 min to watch, basically–I've learned that letting go is the best thing you can do and is a pattern you will see over and over again on this path to success. Thanks for teaching me this back in 2014 Pat.
And for a real example of letting go recently, check out my latest email to other business owners like me: https://ckarchive.com/b/5qu…
No joke, it was a moment of panic that turned into an amazing summer of fun and friendship.
10 Lessons I've Implemented that Pat Flynn Taught Me
1 – SPI 085: How To Finally Take Action—Even If You’re Lost, Overwhelmed, or Don’t Know Where to Start with Dane Maxwell
This was the episode that prompted me to email Pat back in 2013! I was working online, tutoring part-time, and also working as a virtual assistant. To my surprise, I was totally touched by this episode which caused me to take a hard look at myself and admit I had too many safety nets. It was time to cut myself free and take some risks.
I took action and quit doing virtual assistant work. I felt vulnerable and scared. I wasn't sure what the next steps were.
2 – SPI 042: Killer Kindle Publishing Tips with Jonny Andrews
I decided to go back into the archives and find a way to monetize what I knew how to do, which was start a tutoring business. This podcast episode really helped me wrap my head around how to write the book and publish it on Amazon.
I wrote the first version of The Novice Tutor: Answers to Your Questions About Starting a Tutor Business and it was available on my website and Teachers Pay Teachers for a long time, then I took the next step and added it to Amazon.
Read my book: The Novice Tutor: Answers to Your Questions About Starting a Tutor Business
The second version was expanded as my knowledge increased and as other tutors shared their experiences of starting a business with me as well. I LOVE the second version and look forward to adding more information again in 2019 as things are changing once again for me.
3 – SPI 098: Millionaires and Mastermind Groups
Game changer right here. Shortly after I heard this one, I reached out to a large Facebook group full of teachers selling resources online to see if anyone was interested in starting a mastermind. A bunch of interest was shown and groups were formed based on availability.
My first mastermind consisted of:
- April McNair of A Modern Teacher
- Erin Wing of ErinWing.com
- Jenny Douglas of Primary Prism
Our mastermind is more relaxed, but we check in each week with our goals for the week. These ladies have taught me SO much! April has helped me to stay focused on what I do best and stay true to myself. Erin is the queen of all things Pinterest…she helped me see the light that it is indeed, worth my effort. Jenny has taught me very cool tricks inside of Adobe InDesign which I used to make premium tutoring policies with fillable fields and logo upload spots that tutors can purchase.
I'm still part of this mastermind and we meet up once a year in the fall to have a work weekend together and yearly report on the status of our businesses. Mega helpful!
I've also created other mastermind groups and actively participate in three others with varying focuses.
I won't list all of the influential people in those groups as that could be another giant post in and of itself! But you know who you are…I value you so much! Thank you for pushing me to do my best.
4 – SPI 75: Six-Figure Earnings (Not on Amazon) and a Pricing Structure that Works
This episode helped me to look at how I was selling my book and start packaging it up with various items instead of having customers buy everything individually. I also learned about Gumroad and starting using them exclusively.
Here's my current bundle of items for tutors: The Profitable Tutor Framework
5 – SPI 095: The DOs and DON’Ts of Online Video with Caleb Wojcik
Little did I know that I would fall in LOVE with video. I have a long way to go in my skills, but I try not to let my amateur status hold me back from making videos and sharing them with the tutors here and also on Math for Middles (my online math tutoring site).
I still follow Caleb to this day and seek his advice on equipment when I am looking to make a small investment in video. Between Caleb's help, Wistia's Learning Library/Forum, and the book How to Shoot Video that Doesn't Suck…I became hooked. Video is so much fun!
6 – SPI 146: Product Validation and Pre-Selling—A Real Life Example with Jarrod Robinson
This episode got me super excited. I followed the steps to validate an idea I had to create an invoicing app for tutors. I recruited my brother-in-law to help me build an iOS app and a group of tutors to help formulate features and test it. It was a TON of work! But I am so proud of the final product:
All went really well except for one thing. I didn't think about the fact that MOST tutors are running their lives on Android and not iPhone. My brother-in-law isn't interested in building it for Android and I still get emails from tutors asking me to launch it on android. Sadly, the sales for Tutor Tracker are underwhelming. Not enough to justify hiring a developer to make the app for Android. I've priced it out a few times and there is no way I'd recoup the money.
7 – SPI 115: 9000 Unread Emails to Inbox Zero: My Executive Assistant Shares How We Did It (and How You Can Too!)
By following Pat's advice to engage on a personal level with your audience, I had a very busy inbox. It overwhelmed me so much. This episode has completely changed my life. It took some time to set up, but once I did and started using it—I was saving so much time!
Plus I found that I had a reliable system to go back and pull out conversations that needed my attention. In fact, I still have the email and reply Pat sent to me back in 2013 in my email. He has his very own folder called Pat's W of W (words of wisdom). I save those special messages there plus emails that were really helpful.
8 – Will It Fly?
I cannot say enough good things about this book, but don't let the price deceive you! I was thinking at first it would be this overview of the validation process, but it was deep work. You really have a super clear picture if your idea for a business will work.
I still refer to the work I did inside of this book. If you have an idea you'd like to launch for a business, start with this book. You'll thank me later.
My online math tutoring business is here because of this book. I used it to help me validate my idea and make sure that I was on the right track. My idea was to make videos using a technique called multisensory math to help struggling math students get instruction at the level they needed.
Math is a giant field but my niche is largely open right now. You can see the website here: mathformiddles.com
9 – SPI 200: How Deleting a Third of Your Content Can Triple Your Traffic—How to Do a Content Audit with Todd Tresidder
At the time of listening to this podcast episode, I knew that I wanted to rebrand The Tutor House to the Tutor Coach. I wanted to get really clear about what I do here. I coach tutors!
Since being online since 2011, my archives were a mess. I wasn't sure what to do or where to start. This episode helped me to figure out a clear path and also find a way to automate as much of the Tutor Coach as possible so that I could act on Math for Middles.
This was NOT easy. In hindsight, I should have hired someone to handle the migration part because I am pretty certain I screwed it up. My SEO did not go up, but took a ding. I am just now starting to recover from this move to a new domain and getting the same traffic I had before.
I admit, that I lost steam on doing the rebranding and fixing all of the broken links and redirection of different items. This is on my list to finish completely by the end of 2nd quarter of 2018.
10 – SPI 283: Six-Figures in an Obscure Niche with Cassidy Tuttle
I listened to this episode twice on my way to my annual mastermind meetup this past fall. It truly inspired me. Six-figures talking about…succulents?! Yes, those cute little trendy desert plants that seem to be everywhere.
It caused me to wonder, could my own class about fractions be my own “succulents”?
I am passionate about fractions. I completely nerd out on them because they are everywhere in math. And when my students completely understand fractions, math seems much easier. It's magical and I LOVE fractions.
Part 2: My Big Day with Pat is Here!
The wait has been worth it! Got on a plane this last weekend to meet up with Pat in San Diego…only I didn't stay there long!
Pat had a slight change of plans –
He wanted me to join him at Marketing Impact Academy Live with Chalene Johnson.
The event was great, but for obvious reasons hanging with Pat was just the best.
He's the real deal and so genuine! I'll never forget how he gave me a big hug and put me at ease immediately. We spent 6 hours together chatting life and business strategy.
A day never to forget!
Part 3 – 5 Tips from My Day with Pat Flynn
Pat had mountains of great info to share with me. It was mega helpful to have him spend hours picking apart my business and sharing tips that I can start applying immediately. By the end of the evening, I walked away with a five-step plan to get me even closer to my goal which is to fill up my fractions class every month on Math for Middles.
This video, however, helped me to reflect on 5 big ideas that I gleaned from Pat. I wanted to share them with you because I knew that you may be struggling with these as well.
Comment below and share with me your thoughts! How close have you been to giving up on your business? Can I help you keep going?
An open letter to Pat Flynn-
Your generosity drives me to do better than before. Thank you for giving me permission to be my nerdy self and embrace my strengths. Somehow you've always been there each time I wanted to throw the towel in.
Your podcasts have been a powerful catalyst to keep going.
This day with you is my jet fuel as I shoot for the moon.
Thanks for the boost,
Adrianne
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