You ARE Capable Of Success (And Finally Quitting Your Office Job)

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This is Why You’re Capable of Success (and Finally Quitting Your Office Job)

I struggled and searched for success for 15 years.  Eventually, I had to take a hard look in the mirror and get real with myself about what just wasn’t working! 

I’m gonna talk about finding passion, and to do that I’m gonna tell you about my local Costco Facebook group.  (Yup.  If you ever wanna see how much passion people can have for the most random things, join your local Costco Facebook group.)

There was this lady - let’s call her Jan - who faithfully updated her fellow groupies with a post written in all caps: “POOL AND TOMMY BAHAMA CHAIR UPDATE: Both are in transit…” and she proceeded to give a detailed play-by-play update.  

Jan’s hot tip for her fellow local Costco patrons?  Call Costco every day for delivery updates.

We all have to find our little secret corner of the internet

Our own brand of hardcore Costco fans.

We often underestimate just how passionate people are when it comes to the fitness industry.  We tend to hear “NO” a lot, and it can get disheartening! 

I promise that Jan’s passion for Costco is the same kind of passion that’s inside of you.  

What’s something you feel that strongly about?  A HUGE part of figuring out where we’re gonna feel confident and be successful comes from nailing that down!

So how did I start bringing you Authentic AF Marketing?  

16 years ago, my husband Bill and I started a little business called “Lazy Groceries.”  After building a website and everything we got a grand total of ONE order

(PSA: Don’t build out an entire website before testing your concept first…)

2 years into dating, we vacationed in Vietnam for 3 weeks and liked it so much that we decided to quit our jobs, move there, and open an office. (At the time, I was a general manager of a gym and Bill worked for my parents’ flooring business.)  

We taught English on the side to keep our visas while looking into exporting. Our goal was to create an online business where we could be remote, find suppliers, and sell things online.  

We got into it.  We sold everything from baby bed sheets, to backpacks and art… We weren’t necessarily passionate about any particular items, but more so the process itself.

(Actually, we had some buffalo horn scarf rings that ended up doing well.  They were cheaper models of high end ones. We made $30,000/year and we were stoked on it!)

The Problem

However - every time we’d gain momentum and products were doing well, things tended to taper off because the keyword started getting competition or people would copy us. And since Bill was always the tech side, I was the “face” of the business.  (Doing scarf tutorials felt VERY awkward for me!)

I also kept my fitness industry career.  Eventually I got a job offer that was on the West Coast, and it just made sense for me to take that role. 

Meanwhile, I still knew there was something ELSE out there for me. I didn’t love the idea of not being able to take vacations when I wanted them. 

(The idea of having children also never really entered my mind, because I was working so much that I didn’t see how it would be possible.)


The Solution

Bill and I found ourselves in a very unique situation: I moved to Vancouver Island for the new job, and Bill stayed across the country in Ontario because there were no great jobs for him out west. It just made sense for him to stay.  I had an amazing job, so we did this shuffle where he’d come see me, then return to Ontario every 6 weeks. 

We did that for 2.5 years and it was HARD.  At the same time though, because I was taking that time for myself, my soul FLOURISHED. 

I hired a branding coach.  (Read more about branding here!)  I had no idea what my product was going to be, but I just kept moving in the direction of my passion.  I figured somewhere down the path, I’d eventually find my place and it would work out.


I spent mornings before work testing things out. I connected with old friends and realized there was a gap in the health and fitness market that I might be able to fill.  I’ve always been in the teaching space in health and fitness, so this was natural for me.  

A lot of us are SEARCHING for a SIGN to show us that we are capable, but if we don’t feel motivated, we just haven’t found the right thing yet.

My business coach kept nudging me toward naming my “inner goddess.”  To be honest, I kept thinking “okay what is this…” and he kept asking, “WHAT IS HER PURPOSE?

When I stepped back and figured out what I wanted to do for other people, I had an AH-HA moment. If I could reduce overwhelm and connect dots for people, I would feel UH-MAZING.   

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We ALL have that inner fire and motivation… it just comes when we truly connect with our purpose.  

Maybe you can relate: I don’t thrive in chaos at ALL. I like things to be very simplified, organized, and well put together.  I realized that maybe other people appreciate that too, and they can finally get to the level they’ve really wanted in their business.

This realization turned into my game changer. I’d found something I could spend 2-3 hours working on and it felt like minutes. That’s called a “flow state.” You just know you’re doing the right things in the right space. 

This was a CRUCIAL lesson for me, and something I turned into a free Masterclass to help others duplicate it. Click here to see.

If you sit down to do something and you’re dying inside, watching the clock... it’s a good sign you need to delegate it or it’s not part of that zone of genius where you SHOULD be spending your time!

Maybe you're in the health and fitness space, but there’s a deeper reason or calling that connects you.  

My sweet spot? “selling” through social media. How to MOVE people through the Customer Value Journey.

 

(💜 When you look at your OWN journey, there’s always something you’re more specialized in.  You might think: “I don’t want to limit myself by saying ‘no’ to some people or being TOO specialized,” but that’s a mistake! The more specialized you are, the more that person on the other side realizes you’re talking to THEM.

It’s ok to picture your exact ideal customer on the other side of the keyboard and speak directly to them. Honoring in on that person is the SUPER key to success! 🗝🗝🗝

It’s ok to picture your exact ideal customer on the other side of the keyboard and speak directly to them.  Honing in on that person is the super key to success!

To find out exactly HOW to find your people and hone in, listen to this podcast episode where I talk about the 3 key questions you need to ask yourself when it comes to finding your niche and YOUR peeps!

Then when you’re ready to put the process to work and get engagement from the RIGHT people, download my Ideal Customer Cheatsheet!

Masterclass Training Is Limited, So Register NOW!)

👇👇👇

About the author 

Ashley Shaw

Employee account created by MemberMouse

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