Stephanie Hayes Business Strategist & Coach
  • About
  • Work With Me
  • Podcast
  • Articles
  • Contact
  • BOOK A CALL
Select Page

Don’t Be Satisfied With Stories

by subs@stephaniehayes.biz | Sales and Marketing

Don’t Be Satisfied With Stories Your story gets to be whatever you make it. But you have to make it… don’t let your story happen to you.⠀ Share Tweet Pin Email Don’t be satisified with stories. What’s your business story? How will your great myth...

The #1 Method For Finding New Clients

by subs@stephaniehayes.biz | Sales and Marketing

The #1 Method For Finding New Clients You’re already an expert in your field. You’ve already got oodles of training, years of experience, and lots of things to say. If you’ve chosen to do what you’re really, really good at, then all you have to...

How Much Do You Value What You Do? Your Customers Will Tell You

by subs@stephaniehayes.biz | Sales and Marketing

How Much Do You Value What You Do? Your Customers Will Tell You You are not your client. You will always misunderstand how much someone who is not you will value what you do. Share Tweet Pin Email How much do you value what you do? I bet surprisingly not a lot. This...

Your Customers Want Answers, Not Options

by subs@stephaniehayes.biz | Sales and Marketing

Your Customers Want Answers, Not Options When you are so worried something won’t work, you create a bazillion more options *just in case* one of them is the right one. Except your potential customer can’t see the right one because there are too many places to look....

There’s Nothing Shameful In Selling Something People Need

by subs@stephaniehayes.biz | Sales and Marketing

There’s Nothing Shameful In Selling Something People Need You don’t owe anyone your services for free. They have value just in the fact that you’ve made them specific and available to those who need them. Share Tweet Pin Email There’s nothing shameful in selling...

Never Stop Building Your Brand. Strengthen What You Stand For.

by subs@stephaniehayes.biz | Sales and Marketing

Never Stop Building Your Brand. Strengthen What You Stand For. Every opportunity you can, you need to flex your brand muscle. You need to train and feed that puppy so it stays alive and healthy, and continues to grow. Share Tweet Pin Email Never stop building your...
« Older Entries

Recent Posts

  • Breaking Down the Friction Between “Thinking Work” and “Doing Work”
  • How to Overcome Perfectionism and Procrastination In Your Business
  • Don’t Be Satisfied With Stories
  • Only You Own Your Time
  • You are the centre of everything.

Recent Comments

  1. Sarah on How to Overcome Perfectionism and Procrastination In Your Business
  2. Kristina Pearson on How to Overcome Perfectionism and Procrastination In Your Business
  3. Stephanie Hayes on A Promise I Will Never Make to My Clients
  4. Fancy Ruff-Wagner on A Promise I Will Never Make to My Clients
  5. Stephanie Hayes on If You Do Nothing Else Today, I Want You to Believe in Yourself. ⠀

ABOUT

I am a business strategist and coach that works with service-based businesses who want to move from generating income to building assets, while continuing to do the work they love.

Small wins are a big deal. Making progress on bite Small wins are a big deal. Making progress on bite-sized goals can do so much more for your mental game than striving and striving for that one big holy grail.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ I can tell you about my client who has doubled her YTD revenue already and is not even halfway through the year. Or the one who got 6 new clients in a week after we shifted her strategy. Or the one whose business has more than doubled her expectations last year and this one, and has transformed her industry.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ All great stories. All deserving of praise.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ But so is the one about my client who finally got through her fear of writing and is now showing up regularly for her clients in all her writing channels and actually enjoying it.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Or the one about my client who needed to find her ideal way of working so she could serve her clients without it overwhelming her.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Or the one who was able to finally finish her sales page after working herself into an anxious frenzy when she couldn’t quite figure out who she was serving.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ These aren’t the “big wins” you hear about plastered all over our social channels, but each one was hard won and created a major shift for each client.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Each one was a small battle that they overcame and unstuck their business. ​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ I want the small wins. I want the real, gritty, changemaking baby steps. That’s where the transformation happens - in the mindset shifts, the new habits, the digestible, doable chunks that lead you to the bigger goals.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ What small wins can you set your sights on today? Where will you find baby steps to keep you moving?
Melissa Pennel (@followingfire) is a writer, mothe Melissa Pennel (@followingfire) is a writer, mother, and coach living in Northern California. She is the author of the Questions You’ll Wish You Asked series of keepsake journals, a collection that guides you to ask the important questions of your loved ones. In this episode, Melissa and I talk about transforming grief and pain into a catalyst for change in your business and life, and she takes us through her experience of following your gut, and not the standard business rules, and how that ultimately brought her closer to her heart in her business. Melissa sheds a light on how important telling our story is, not only for others but also for our own transformation. We talk through overcoming our inner critic so we can share our story with the world. And finally, she shares about moving through self doubt and comparison in her business transformation journey and how that’s opened up so many more opportunities for her to grow and thrive. Join me for this inspiring conversation and to learn more about Melissa’s journey. Link in bio to listen or go to podcast.stephaniehayes.biz
I heard something the other day that nearly broke I heard something the other day that nearly broke my heart. I was talking to my client last week about money. She said something that surprised me: “I would never have reached out to you myself because I thought I couldn’t afford to work with you.” Ugh. Part of it was that she didn’t think the numbers could make sense for her but part of it was also the story she told herself that she simply could not make her business work with her constraints and boundaries. While I’m thrilled we made it past that, it really gave me pause for thought because I have strong feelings on accessibility in the coaching industry. The presence of “elite” coaches that charge astronomical rates always rubbed me the wrong way. This often comes along with an exclusionary attitude that draws a hard line. I think that it’s possible to serve both the clients who are further along, when it might make sense to invest in VIP-level services, and those that are still trying to get traction. And I think you can do it in a way that doesn’t leave either party feeling like they were taken advantage of. It's important to me that wherever you are at, there is a way I can serve you. I would much rather work with someone who is genuinely interested in putting in the effort and trying to reach their next level than someone who wants all the answers provided to them on a silver platter. The decades I have invested in building my skills and experience means that even if all you are comfortable investing in right now is an hour of time together, we can make significant progress, even in that hour. In fact, I’ve opened up a special offer for a one-hour strategy session at half the regular price of my 60-minute sessions, just so I can help some of you who are in that same spot as my client was a few months ago. Please, don’t stay another day in ambiguity. It’s no way to live. Link in bio to book a session!
New episode is live on Real People, Real Business New episode is live on Real People, Real Business (follow at @realpeoplerealbusiness)! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Anna Gray is a life coach, nurse, community coach and connector extraordinaire. When we sat down to talk, she was right on the cusp of launching her new business and finally fulfilling her dream of working in a much deeper capacity with her clients. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ In this episode, Anna and I explore how communities are wonderful platforms for building interest and visibility for your business, while allowing you to also create authentic, lasting connections with the people you serve. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Anna runs her own community teaching business owners how to build and nurture communities (how meta!) that are full of your ideal clients, referrers and collaborators. She gives us some great tips for building and participating in communities as a marketing strategy, and how to be successful on a free platform like Facebook without being shackled by the algorithm. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ She also helps us understand how you can create ongoing engagement in your own community and why your members will continue to come back, time and again, if you show up authentically as yourself. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Finally, we discuss monetization and whether you should/how you should/when you should leverage and monetize your community to bring new revenue streams to your business. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If you are someone who is considering a community marketing strategy, this is the episode you want to tune in to and Anna’s your girl! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Find Anna at… Website: https://www.annabgray.com Instagram: @anna.b.gray ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Listen to the episode at podcast.stephaniehayes.biz or link in bio!
You don’t have to do everything you’re told. You don’t have to do everything you’re told. In fact, I think we have to be really careful about creating an environment where there is a “guru” mentality in group scenarios. Sometimes coaches/advisors/mentors get it wrong because (especially in groups) they may not know enough about who they are coaching, and may be encouraging things that are actually harmful. And then the coach/advisor/mentor pushes the coachee to “be accountable” and take action on their advice, when that actually may create serious conflict for them. Please check in with yourself if you feel resistance to what you’ve been asked to do. Is your resistance natural resistance to change, which we all often feel, and a healthy motivator to move forward? Or are you feeling triggered by something that is in direct conflict with your values or belief system? The former can be worked through. The latter should not be. Trust yourself to know what’s right for you. And coaches - watch your language and read the cues. Never pressure a client to do something you’ve advised them to. Ask good questions and check in with how they feel before you tell them they just need to shift their mindset. Remember that you have significant influence over your group. Use it responsibly.
If you do nothing else today, I want you to believ If you do nothing else today, I want you to believe in yourself. ​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Believe there's something you do well.​​​​​​​​ Believe there's something in you that people want.​​​​​​​​ Believe that you're capable.​​​​​​​​ Believe that you're smart.​​​​​​​​ Believe that you're unique and compelling.​​​​​​​​ Believe that you're ready.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Without belief in yourself, you're just strongarming life and business into happening. And that's hard. That's a lot of unnecessary energy spent on opposition.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Here's what I know about belief...​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ If you don't believe something can happen, it won't. Because your mind doesn't allow it. Our brains want to keep us safe and out of a risky place. They are like the overly anxious chaperone at a high school dance. ​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Believing in ourselves requires us to step out into the light and say "OK, let's do this. I may not have all the answers, but I'm sure as heck gonna try!"​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Does that make you feel wobbly? It does for most.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ Guess what we do instead. We become perfectionists, so we always have a reason to resist doing the things we really need to do. Perfectionism is driven from fear of blame and judgment. It is not a good thing, nor does it make your work better. It's keeping you hidden and constrained.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ So when your brain is trying to stop you from believing in yourself, it tells you stories riddled with fear and anxiety. It goes straight to the heart of what you fear the most.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ But remember that your thoughts are your own making and no one else's.​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ So, today? Try it. Believe in yourself. Believe in yourself for the one tiny little first step that you're going to make towards your goal. ​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ And once it becomes habit, you'll be unstoppable and free. Or at least open to joy. ​​​​​​​​ ​​​​​​​​ What's one small way you can believe in yourself today?
Load More... Follow on Instagram

For enquiries:
hello@stephaniehayes.biz

  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn