Building a lifestyle business is the best way to leverage your time and income. Imagine having more income, while at the same time,
Having the freedom to be at home and spend more time with your children…
or
Having the freedom to be location independent, and travel the world while making an impact…
or
Having the freedom to work part time hours so you can pursue a lifelong dream of becoming a tri-athlete…
or
Anything else that you dream of doing in this lifetime that you can’t currently do because you’re tied to your job or don’t have the money…
Even though your head says it’s not possible to create a business with this type of freedom, it totally is!
Does having a lifestyle business mean that you can sit on the beach sipping cocktails every single day? No, it doesn’t. There is still work involved, as you need to deliver your product and project manage your team.
But it does allow you the freedom to choose when and where you work.
I’ve been in business for 25 years now, and the first 18 of those years was in location dependent businesses. I turned up to deliver a product or service to my clients and customers, they paid me, and then I went home. But in 2010, due to a divorce which completely changed my life, I started exploring different options, and after reading The 4 Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris, I was excited at the possibilities.
It took me quite a few years, and a very steep learning curve to be where I am today, and I couldn’t be happier. Apart from seeing my Black Diamond Inner Circle clients in person four times a year, I am able to run my business anywhere I can get an internet connection. Over the last few years I’ve run my business while travelling, but not limited to, Bali, Fiji, Hawaii, Europe, the South Pacific, mainland USA, road-tripping around Australia, and most recently while cruising around Alaska.
So if you’re trading time for money, and seeing your clients 1:1, I thoroughly recommend exploring how creating a lifestyle business or product could help you to have more income, more freedom and more global impact.
Like anything, it can be extremely challenging if you don’t know where to start, and I’ve seen many people struggle in getting their lifestyle business off the ground, just like I did for the first few years.
Here are the three essential ingredients you need to consider right from the very beginning to give you the best chance of success.
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Have a passion for what you do
You will need more than passion alone, as it’s pretty hard to make money from hanging out at the pub with friends on Friday nights, however, passion is a key element.
I started my first business, a dance studio in the early 90’s. I feel like dance is in my blood, and I’ll be dancing right up until the day I die. However, running a dance studio and dealing with stage mom’s, was something that wore thin on many occasions. If I didn’t have a passion for both dancing and teaching children, it would have been extremely exhausting and draining to continue showing up week after week.
It’s easy to “show up” in the good times, but passion will enable us to show up in the “not so good” times, and will push us to be constantly striving for mastery.
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Skills & Talents
What is your zone of genius? What are your unique and specific skills and experiences that people will pay you money to have access to?
I’ve seen time and time again, people try to set up a lifestyle business in a niche where they believe the money is, without having any skills or experience in that industry.
There is a much better way…
Make a list of the skills that you’ve been taught, your unique talents (things that you love to do and which come easily to you), and your personal life experiences which can help you relate to your ideal client.
When you get the unique mix of these three areas, because you’re positioning yourself in a unique place, it will be easier to charge a higher fee as you won’t be compared to others in your industry. You can’t compare apples & oranges.
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Market Demand
Are you marketing to the people who can afford invest with you?
You may have a product that is able to help business owners generate more revenue. Even though your product could help business owners who are not making any money, you’ll have more success if you market that same product to business owners who are already making a comfortable income but want to go to the next level.
Sometimes a pivot in your marketing is all you need to get your business moving in the right direction, so think about the types of people your business can help, and position yourself as the expert in that demographic.
Is running a lifestyle business all lollipops and rainbows? No way. There are challenging and lonely times, just like in any other type of business.
However, I’m so grateful to be able to spend my time travelling the world, connecting with like-minded people and collecting experiences.
Is building a lifestyle business something that interests you too? If the answer is yes, then I’d love to help you.
It’s almost time for us to re-open the doors to Business Success Academy, and if you’d like to join the waitlist to learn more, just visit https://samanthariley.global/success or DM me on Instagram @TheSamRiley
