Tell us how you created this brand and what was the sole idea behind it.

When I started The Sweetest Little Life it was to teach mama’s how to create a successful Etsy business. After I had my daughter in 2015 I realized I wanted to stay home with her and shut down my salons which were the typical 9-5. I was missing so much and I no longer wanted to miss a moment with my littles. After being a stay at home mom for a few months I kept having this urge of now what? I knew I was meant for more. I was crafty and heard about Etsy through a friend, at first it was just to kill time when my husband was at work and then within my first year I brought in $60,000 and I felt like I had hit a gold mine. I had to share with the world my research on how I accomplished this. So…I did just that. I created a course and began posting tips and tricks to my Instagram. Within a year my page grew from 200 people to 10,000. I slowly started getting the opportunity to do influencer jobs and loved the freedom it gave me. I was getting paid to take pictures of my littles all dressed up, of home decor, but rarely of myself. 

I slowly began the transition to mama blogger and in 2018 wrote my first book “The Sweetest Little Life – A Mompreneurs Guide to Success” I was always getting asked how I juggle everything and still run a household and so I decided to spill all my secrets of work-life balance and my journey in this book.  For three years I ran my Etsy and focused on all things, mommy. During this time I became pregnant with my third child. I was sick my entire pregnancy and had severe postpartum that almost took my life. I was lost and felt like everything I knew was swept out from under me. I didn’t have a fluid brand anymore, I was saying yes to everything, and had become so blurred in what I wanted for myself, for my brand, and my business. I began to spiral during my postpartum and started to lose everything little by little. I wasn’t consistent, I felt no drive, and I wasn’t being authentic to the purpose that I was made for.

It took six months to halt it all. I needed to be still and ground in what I wanted for my life. During this time I finished my reiki master, NLP, yoga & hypnotherapy licensing and I became crystal clear on who I was and what I was supposed to do in my life. My soul lit on FIRE, I had this crazy stirring energy to help women heal, to help them feel whole, and to guide them into feeling love and passion for life itself. In 2020 I rebranded the entire esthetic, mission, and niche of The Sweetest Little Life to empower women to heal and find purpose. When I rebranded I wanted it to stand out to my target audience and to do this, I had to get very clear about who my target audience was. I also wanted to make sure to incorporate my style and feel with the brand. With a little bit of spice, it came out just as I envisioned. 

I use PLANN to content batch and make sure everything flows seamlessly on all of my social media platforms and I repurpose content from vlogs, blogs, youtube, keynote events, TikTok, reels, and my podcast to constantly be delivering the same message of my brand but mixing it up in creative ways so I am not always staring at a screen or trying to create new content. It’s also super important when building your brand that everything is like eye candy, visuals are so important. A huge trick to keep it consistent is picking lightroom preset you love and that matches the esthetic and use that for all of your content. I’m a firm believer in working smarter not harder and batch scheduling is a beautiful way to do just this. 

Explain the challenges you went through while you were working on brand creation. What are the challenges you go through on an everyday basis?

One of the biggest challenges in my opinion is imposter syndrome. It sneaks up on the best of us as we are researching to get into for our brand and content so I can’t urge you enough to not fall into the comparison game, there is room for everyone and there is only one of you on this planet which makes your brand and your dream that much more unique and one of a kind. It’s also so important when building a brand and making a mark in whatever niche you choose that you are paying attention to all the free resources available at your fingertips when it comes to numbers. When is your ideal time to post? When is your audience engaging the most? How many visitors are going to your site? All the details matter. Find out what’s working and do more of that. For finances, I have used quick books since my Etsy days. I have the app on my phone which is linked to my bank account and makes it super simple to swipe all of my business expenses and income for a profit and loss at the end of the year. I have personally never received financing and have built my brand from the ground up. There have been years of loss financially but the silver lining is I gained knowledge in experience worth more than gold and I kept going even on the days I wanted to quit. Each year my personal goal is to at least double what I made in the previous year, not only in income but also in numbers. I am now close to 70,000 followers on the gram and building my team to expand in 2021. Outsourcing is so important to avoid a crash and burn. Sometimes as business owners it can be hard to let go of the reins but when we develop a team it is so powerful with what can be accomplished in our goals. When starting Upwork is a great site to find help per project. I also take part in my income and invest it back into myself. Every niche is constantly growing and changing with the world evolving right before our very eyes and I learned the hard way that we have two options as entrepreneurs. 1. To beat our heads against a wall until we figure it out and walk away exhausted and bruised. 2. Learn from experts in our field who are where our goal is to be. One of my all-time favorite Tony Robbins quotes is “If you want to be successful, find someone who has achieved the results you want and copy what they do and you’ll achieve the same results.” When you invest in yourself you are investing in your brand’s future and it is empowering to step into the knowledge of so many great teachers around us. 

Tell us your future vision about the brand. How far do you want to take it? What is your dream about taking it to the next level?

In 2021 my vision for The Sweetest Little Life is to do more speaking events, have my podcast thesweetestlittlelife.com/contact in the top 10, and grow my coaching business to seven figures. I want to inspire women to know their worth and know that the only thing standing in their way is themselves. You are capable of absolutely anything you put your mind to with the right tools in your belt and a clear vision of exactly what you want. If you are taking the leap of entrepreneurship this year my biggest piece of advice to you is to just do it. Stop waiting on the sidelines for the perfect situation to align, step out of fear, and step into knowing your worth and that you have something valuable to offer your target audience. Rejection and speed bumps are just a part of the journey and sometimes it’s just the universe telling you there is something better on the horizon. If your heart is feeling called to step into a different direction or go full-time in your brand there is no better time than right now. Our entire world is pivoting with covid and online businesses are thriving. I would love to personally chat with you and guide you with a free 30-minute consult for The Entrepreneurs audience. calendly.com/thesweetestlittlelife/30-minute-coaching-call if you resonate with this article or feel just plowed in your business let’s chat! 

The Sweetest Little Life

For more information visit:

Website: www.thesweetestlittlelife.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/thesweetestlittlelife

The post Courtney Hanson on Creating a Brand that Lasts appeared first on CEO Medium.

Laura is a certified coach as well as an accountant and before operating her own business, worked in a top-tier management consulting firm so brings a unique blend of coaching alongside a 10-year career in business advisory, strategic business development, and performance improvement. As a mother of two children 5 and under, Laura has created a 6 figure business in 18 months working an average of 25 hours a week. 

Laura believes that success in business does not have to come at the cost of other important aspects of life which is so often showcased in the entrepreneurial world. She believes that business is about not just business but the life it makes possible. Having grown her business consistently and on limited time she has direct experience as a mum of 2 young kids growing a thriving online service-based business. 

Tell us about who you are and what you do.

I’m a Mindset Coach + Business Strategist, the CEO of my 6 figure business as well as a mother to two kids. I work with female coaches who have a passion for helping people and don’t necessarily feel confident about the business and online side of starting or growing a business. 

I see myself as someone who supports my clients go from the person in the business – that is the coach, the personal trainer, the Pilates instructor – to becoming a confident CEO. This is done through a blend of mentoring, mindset coaching, and advisory and support with business strategy. 

What was the vision behind starting this business?

After I had my daughter I knew I wanted to continue working and make an impact in the world, however, I realized the corporate environment I’d worked the previous 10 years in no longer suited me. I wanted flexibility and if I’m honest, the work just didn’t feel like it was having a direct impact on people’s lives.

I had a decade of business experience, insight, knowledge, and advisory skills coupled with a love for personal development so the idea was born to bring that expertise to smaller business owners – women like me who wanted more impact, more time, and flexibility without sacrificing on the income – to grow their business. I had a vision of a ripple effect, more money in the hands of women, and the multiplier effect this has in communities, families, and small businesses as well as the effect of more women running successful businesses as coaches. I fundamentally believe that more people out in the world improving their lives and working with coaches and kicking goals in their health, finances, mental health, their businesses has such a compounding effect and leaves the world a better place. 

What makes you unique in this industry?

As a mum of two kids 5 and under, I’ve been able to create a 6 figure business in 18 months working an average of 25 hours a week… I attract a lot of mums as clients as well as women who are limited on time and want to grow their business.

I get what it’s like to grow a business while having a full life and limited hours. When people come to me, they’re often overwhelmed, time-poor, and unclear on their strategy, time management, and their productivity. Often without knowing it too, they have mindset blocks around success, their identity, money, and becoming the owner of a thriving business. They want to find the blend between growing a business, the responsibilities of life all the while shifting who they see themselves as to become the CEO that matches the vision they hold for their business. What sets me apart? I’ve had the same or similar struggles. There was no overnight success or a single thing that exploded my business, it was proven strategy, consistent action, and working it at and 19 months later I have a business that has more than replaced my full-time salary as a Corporate Accountant. 

Explain the challenges you went through while you were growing your business. What are the challenges you go through on an everyday basis?

The challenges I faced in the early days of growing my business were a lot to do with time and balancing the vision I had for my business with the day to day of young children. For me as well, there was such a big mindset component. When you’re in that startup phase there is no evidence to show you that the vision you have is possible or even whether the steps you’re taking day to day are working. One of the biggest pieces of work for me was consistently working on my belief and mindset to ensure I wasn’t making decisions in my business from fear or self-doubt but rather strategically and intentionally and focused on long term sustainable business. 

Now the everyday challenges in the business are different than they were in that early stage and one of the most helpful things I’ve come to realize is that business is always presenting new problems. Growth means new challenges to face and problem-solving is just part of being in business. These new challenges or problems though are a reminder that business is growing. If you’re not solving new problems you or the business are likely stagnating. 

One of the challenges I’m currently working through as a service provider operating a fully booked business is the demand the business has on me and the tension this can cause when you wear multiple hats in your business. As a team, we are currently focusing on things like standard processes and automation so that not only can I work with my clients and give them an exceptional experience but also have the time and whitespace to put that CEO hat on and drive the vision for my company. One of the challenges I’ve been working through in the second half of 2020 is carving out that time to think strategically and ensure the business is adapting and innovating. 

Tell us your future vision about the brand. How far do you want to take it? What is your dream about taking it to the next level?

2021 has some serious growth plans in place! We are currently ensuring the current operations of the business are solid so that we can bring in new offers and ways of working with clients in the next 12 months. I can’t say too much just yet but the aim is to be able to support female service-based business owners grow their businesses in new ways. Maintaining the excellence in which I work with my clients while allowing the impact to amplifying. After the year that was 2020, so many of us are craving a deeper connection. The power of being in containers with other people in the same stage of business as you (which often we don’t have in our day to day lives) where they’re lifting, inspiring, and witnessing each other is incredible. I am excited to bring some new ways of creating that ripple effect of impact and income into the business.

I see myself as an everyday, ordinary woman with two young children and a passion for business. I want to be an example of what is possible. I’m on a mission to showcase that it’s possible to run a thriving business, do impactful work and make a difference in the lives of others without having to compromise on the income or the life you want, so my vision is to grow the business and to continue to be an example of that to the women in my community.

What message would you like to give to anybody who has a plan of creating something of their own and making a living through it?

You can do it! Growing my own business and my work with my clients the biggest thing that I continually see gets in the way is self-doubt and questioning of whether we can do it. So often I see how this pulls us away from the consistent daily actions we need to take. Decide you are the kind of person who runs a thriving business and take action like it, from there you won’t look back!

Website: www.laurajohagan.com 

Follow Laura on Instagram: @laurajohagan

The post Laura O’Hagan helps coaches make an impact and income using her signature framework: Mindset, Marketing and Money Mastery appeared first on CEO Medium.