Kathy Stowell - Following the Fun for More Funds

00:02  Hey, hey, rule Breakers, welcome to my presentation on a really fun topic. And I think the whole summit theme is super fun because you know, once you get to know the rules, you can break them so let's break this one rule. And that is very near and dear to my heart so I'm going to open up the slides so we can get started right now all right, so following the fun for more funds. This is a little bit of a personal story, but I'm also going to be offering lots of tangible takeaways to swim in this phenomena.    

00:48  That is, once you find the fun, there is no going back and not only that, your business is going to be profitable as well. So really quick about me, my name is Kathy Stowell i am the founder of Bliss Beyond Nap Time where I am a business coach for moms who offer coaching services. I've helped over the years over 200 moms start and grow their coaching businesses from scratch, meaning I also offer coaching training.    

01:19  And I've also had more seasoned coaches come to my world because they really like my style, which is a emphasis on simplicity and what I call bliss, which is a cinnamon for fun. I'm also coming to you with over 12 years selling online, maybe even more so if you include having an Etsy shop where I used to sell handmade hemp soap and clothes and yarn. But I landed on supporting mums to prioritize chasing their creative and bliss urges and that's what led me to become a coach.    

01:58  And this is after I spent five years in corporate advertising before we moved to the sticks. And since then I started collecting Wiener dogs. I have recently ish taken up pickleball, which is going to play a huge part of this presentation. And what inspired me to be like, I can make up the rules and break some as I go along and make more money and living, what I like to say a retiree type lifestyle. More on that in a minute. But first, yeah, I'm a bit of a hedonist and I think I have been one ever since I was a teeny weeny Kathy Sita, my mom, she would always just call me the funniest names she's from Peru so she has this all these like nicknames that kind of lose themselves in translation.    

02:49  But mostly she would say, I Gotti always does what Gotti wants to do, Meaning I think I was always 1:00. Not that I was lazy, but I always was chasing the fund and I was very creative in bending the rules in order for me to get it, put it that way so I am a hedonist, always like to tap into what I'm craving, what is missing, and I like to go for it i'm going to share with you today how to do that.    


03:17  Ok, so this is me in my bliss, which is pickleball again. This is how I discovered it so three years ago, I made the conscious shift to start prioritizing fun of my life for many reasons, but it kicked off with a human design reading i wanted to work with a coach that I thought was pretty cool and she was also an expert in human design. She did a bit of a reading on me and what I learned from that is that, well, I learned many things but the fun bit was my authority is the sacral authority, meaning I really need to exercise my gut check when it comes to making decisions in my life and to only say yes to things that lit me up and I was, OK, now you're speaking my language.    

04:15  And it was really cool because we put it into practice immediately. And so she gave me little tips, you know, putting my hands on my abdomen and just doing a quick, you know, do you want to do this or that? And if it's a yes, like you could feel like an instant woo, I feel like that energy pick up a little bit, then go for it.    

04:35  And if it's more of a repulsion, that's it, No. And I noticed that this is a theme not only in my life, but a theme of things in my life that have inspired my business. So if you go back into my archives, I again, I've been in business for a long time. I am on episode 300 and something, something on my podcast. I if you check out any of my social media and training, I use a lot of birthing analogies because that was like the game changer and how I approached decisions and also, you know what I wanted my days to be like.    

05:19  And I always say that it began with conception and I am recording this on Valentine's Day this might be TMI, but my husband and I traditionally conceive conceived children on Valentine's Day both my kids, their birthdays are in mid November. Do the math. But the gift of becoming pregnant for me was the cravings and I loved it i felt that my you know, I got a hand cream for this was heightened 100 times and so I thought that was cool as part of pregnancy.    

05:56  But also I noticed what was really was a hard no for me and often it wasn't logical so what I learned from human design is I personally and design to not be so logical, which is perfect because I don't never really owned the logical component of me. But being a hardcore entrepreneur, ever since I was that little Kathy Sita, I loved combining both the brain and the heart and the gut. And so the human design just reading just reinforced that so another task learning this was to really check in with what lights me up.    

06:39  So I sat with again, going back to my mom like being inspired of what she was up to when she was my age. I remember she played a lot of tennis i started researching that and I decided I'm going to take some pick up ball lessons. The first day I was like, this is actually kind of fun. Day 2 I'm like, I think I'm going to buy like a nice paddle. Day three, I came home i'm like family announcement.    

07:03  I ain't going to be sponsored by Nike in the next three years. It just it was anyways, I love it you can't keep me off the court. So I am playing so much that my pickleball buddies, a lot of them are retired they're like, you seem a little young to be retired i'm like, well, thank you. No, but I work and what I've been able to do is arrange my work hours so I can go to prime pickleball time, which is typically ten to noon right? So and then I was like, you know what's really odd? I felt like it forced me to condense my work hours to even less than my typical 20 hours a week, maybe about 15 hours a week, but no more than 20 for sure.    

07:51  And I noticed that my income started rising. People were reaching out to me it was almost like there was like a mini drought right before all this and it's like when your pipes got frozen again. Coming at you February fourteenth twenty, five there's a deep freeze here. And I have a lot of friends who are still living in the rural area not far from here where we spent eight years on a hobby farm. Everyone's pipes are frozen and I remember our pipes are frozen for a season, like a whole month. And my friend came over and she's like, I'm going to blast your pipes and so she came in with the tire, torch thawed the ice that was clogging our pipes and the water just gushed forward so I like to think this is what happens with you Infuse more fun into your business is whatever is clogging up your income or your ability to reach your revenue goals.    

08:49  The fun just kind of melts any stagnant energy And it just people here, I'm going to get into this the next slide talks about more. We'll get into the how. So logically you think you need to work longer hours, you need to work harder, you need to get more serious to make more money. But what if fun was actually the missing ingredient what if it's actually the stuck melter? So what happens when you start focusing on fun is you start showing up and I wrote here more authentic like because authentically wouldn't spit in that little graphic.    

09:33  So I showed up more as my genuine self i started talking like I how I talked to my buddies, right? I started just coming like really just with all the layers of like resentment, like Ugg peeled off and just like relax. So here's the thing I wrote here everyone's idea of fun is different. My husband, I, when I started pick up on like, come on, start playing pickleball with me, you know, 'cause I see all these like cute old couples playing and I, you know, going to Mexico play, He will not have it he's like, no, I have enough hobbies we have vastly different ideas of fun.    

10:14  So this reminds you of owning what makes you you without, you know, feeling shy about it or guilty, right like the guilty pleasure thing. What my mom another going back to my mom. You know what's funny I was driving my son today and I was getting a little misty eyed cuz I'm like, Oh my God, this is the greyhound drop off or he used to pick up grandma and I started crying. He's like what's your problem and I'm like, I always miss my mom this time of year. So she's still alive and well she just lives in Peru half the time but anyways, she's have a nickname for me calling growing up.    

10:53  Seen Brewenza and I always thought it was cute little munchkin, but really watching a movie with Spanish, a Spanish movie with English subtitles, it brought into question the meaning so I had to Google. The translation is without shame and I think it tied into, you know, Kathy always does what Kathy wants. Just going for what you lights you up without shame, just for you, just for your own kind of exploration. So you show up authentically so that trickles into your business when you consciously choose having more fun. And this is where the cool metaphors are born. When I was like going through my birthing is fun phase, I had so many metaphors in my trainings around that and so, you know, like my famous sales uterus funnel, right it's like a sales funnel but I called it the sales uterus just because I talk a lot about birthing your ideal client.    

11:50  I am the chief midwife for your mom coaching dreams. So this helps you stand out so there is no new idea under the sun when it comes to your particular niche of business, right you're not going to like have this crazy download from up above. You are going to be rehashing trainings you took you're going to be inspired either consciously or unconsciously from by other experts. But if you start blending in your perspective, once you engage in more fun, then you're they're going to really stand out so when I pitch like guest expert trainings like this, for instance, it's always because I get this epiphany when I'm out and about taking the painting class or, you know, pickleball, pickleball, pickleball, I keep going back to the pickleball that's like my greatest fun example these days.    

12:45  So it will make you stand out and when you start prioritizing, fun you're going to be more focused because you're going to have like less time in your work so my daughter is going to go to university next year and I was talking about taking a full course load compared to a lighter course load because I've done both when I went to university and full means 5 courses back then, three like galore i took three at a time and I did better when I had five courses, so I found it fun because it forced me to be organized you have less time, so not only are you more focused, but you're also are inspired to simplify your business more so you'll just get smarter when you do have find the time to work when you do sit down to work and physically, biologically, physiologically, you're gonna be less stressed, right? I could say studies show but you know, when you're have fun, you know, you're in that sweet time kind of parallel universe where time is simultaneously going by fast but also standing still like this is where your body can relax, your body releases endorphins, all those feel good chemicals, right? There's the dopamine hit when you're doing something, but so many chemicals at play.    

14:17  So this is going to keep you healthier this is going to keep you more productive in the long run and help prevent burnout, which is not going to be good for business at all. So, and here's how to do it. Here's how to have more fun in your biz checking the time. Ok, I wrote here coach yourself O again, my area of expertise is I work with moms who coach. But even if you aren't a coach, you have a process that you help your clients get result, no matter what industry you're in. So whatever the process is that you use to get your clients from point A to point B, see if you could have fun and get creative and see how could I apply that process to me to my situation where I want to get creative and find ways to have more fun.    

15:06  If you've hired a coach in the past, notice what tools were really cool, right like when I work with my clients, we do a human design reading when I worked with coaches in the past, you know, they would offer all these strength Finder type test, you know, so whatever turns your crank enneagram like just to get some more self-awareness spend some time journaling and treat yourself like your number one client because you are solving the problem of how can I get more fun in my business.    

15:40  And then you are going to like stir things up and I mean this almost like physically. So get find that in between of having hard and soft in your business, meaning having a nice strong rhythm of when you work, having that self-awareness of when you are feeling more energized do certain tasks over others, but also like being in the moment so when I learned about my sacral authority, what my coach advised me was, you know, check in like I used to be so like regimented like when my kids were younger, I would drive my son to school on the way home, You know, my still, my slogan is, you know, the hours between drop off and pick up and I would come straight home and I would work, you know, and then I would take the dogs or walk at lunch hour, blah, blah, blah.    

16:36  But she's like check in and ask yourself, would it be fun maybe to go to a coffee shop right now, have a coffee and do some work there, right so play with the location of where you're actually doing your work, like maybe even like work from different parts of your house and also, you know, maybe a Co working space and your work hours forever i used to like wake up like way before my kids and then I started noticing and I loved it right when my kids were younger, I felt was my only opportunity to not be on as a mom or just kind of like babysitting.    

17:13  But then I noticed it wasn't fun anymore because I was tired so now I sleep in a little bit and like me sleeping in is six forty five in the morning, but that's better i used to wake up at five in the morning you guys so notice like what hours you can work like I mentioned before now I I take my prime brain hours, ten fifteen to twelve fifteen like on Mondays and Wednesdays and Fridays and I go play pickleball but now I just am laser focused between 8:00 and 10:00 right? And then when I come back, I'm like energized i take a shower and I feel really cool and I got all these like juicy metaphors and epiphanies about my business so stay flexible yet stay consistent and what will also help you stay consistent is your messaging.    

18:06  And I call this your niche and any of my trainings goes really deep into the niche factor. But the short and long of it is you want to home in on who you help and what tangible results you deliver as an expert. Because if you keep coming back to this over and over again, you are going to become an expert if you are determined and you have fun with it.    

18:31  And the self-confidence you built from that allows you that license to have more fun because you can just own it. It's a mindset thing, but also it's a practicality thing. And finally get a hobby forever working with my clients. And when I teach them, you know, my clients to coach, I call it the four pillars of Mama bliss. So starting with self-care and then making sure you're having like creative play every day and the third pillar was celebrating your values and the fourth pillow pillar is simplicity so that you can protect your values and this value we're protecting today is brought to you by the letter fund oK, so one of the exercises is each quarter, or as I like to call it in my world, a bliss chunk, you're going to choose a new hobby or creative outlet and just put it front and center to, remind yourself OK, we're here mid February until March, April, May, mid-May Well, let's say Mother's Day, you're going to go all in on this new hobby and or creative outlet and that can look like taking a lesson in a big way or teeny tiny ways i'm going to doodle like right before I start work, I'm going to create a little ritual.    

19:53  What have you. Think of it as a business investment and then keep the ones you love and again, without shame i remember. Let's go back to my mom. Oh dear mumsy. She came out for her yearly visit once and I was doing this and one hobby I revisited from my childhood. It was horseback riding. And she was just so flabbergasted she's like, why are you taking horseback riding lessons? That makes no sense. Like, she's always perplexed. I went another time i chose like, creative writing, and I went on a riding retreat across the country i flew out to Ottawa and again, my mom was just like, what are you doing right? And no regrets.    

20:36  It was an investment. But when I went out there again, I had devoted time to journal on my business, get some clarity and even write some copy that really made a mega shift in my business so this is an investment. Invest in yourself and just just go with your gut, even if it makes no sense, like horseback riding. But I had to tell you I was horse crazy when I was little and I still I think they're one of my favorite animals other than sausage dogs.    

21:05  Ok, so how to let fun lead to more funds on a more practical level is what I call, I normally call this the four by one marketing plan, but I was having fun and I decided to call it today the four by fun. So this is my bare bones marketing strategy i get started all my clients in and basically most of my trainings lean on this.    

21:31  It is the most simple way to grow your business and to laser focus on one area that you're are going to provide support and results to your clients and so we begin with that. What's that one offer that's going to deliver results to your niche? And the more aligned, the more fun it is meaning the more aligned the offer is to your niche, the more fun you can have of it 'cause you only have this one, like Mission, right? I love when I say Mission i always hear the theme song to Mission Impossible in my head.    

22:05  But that's what we're doing it's like Dun Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun, Dun Dun. And then we're getting more creative with how we're going to, you know, like Tom Cruise dropping down, like with those suspenders, like hovering over the floor. That's often mocked but it's just kind of like if you could choose one offer and you're like that ninja E with it, how fun is it when you can think of other kind of like MacGyver ways that you can get in there and solve that problem for your ideal client? Choose one social media platform and choose one that you've always been curious about or you just love hanging out on.    

22:44  Don't get too caught up on where your ideal client is hanging out. Just go to the one that you love and you think you would have the most fun and get really good at it because if you feel comfortable in expressing yourself there, then you can kind of relax more and then get creative on how you spread that messaging. Create one weekly piece of content and it's something again that you're have fun looking at my human design.     23:07  You know, I have like my throat energy center is activated so I got to talk. I am a chatty Kathy, so I love having my podcast maybe like writing you do a blog or appearing on video you can get creative if that's your style and that feels fun to you. And then finally, one weekly email, write that love letter and how I make this fun i have a very simple trick.    

23:33  Once a week I sit down and I just say in my head, Oh my God, guys, you're never going to believe what happened this week. And because I'm prioritizing, fun something fun that always happens, right in pickleball, right? Funniest thing happened, I won't get into it, but there's always really funny stories that happened at pickleball, right? Or when I leave pickleball, I go to the grocery store and because I'm activated with fun, I have the funnest conversations with people, with the cashier, right? It just has that ripple effect. So start your weekly email, like oh my, god in your head, you'll never guess what happened this week. And then share a little component of that day, you know, You know what I've learnt, had a fun conversation with blah, blah, blah.    

24:22  And then tied in with either that one weekly piece of content or that one social media platform like, you know, some real that you want them to check it out or just simply talk about that signature offer that is going to help them get results so you're writing this, you are reminded of how much fun your days are filled with. You're sharing that fun and you have more access to that genius that is you in your element.    

24:53  Ok, then you're going to throw all this in the Bliss blender and ask yourself, how can I make each aspect of the four by One fun plan even 5 % more fun? So again, that Mission Impossible soundtrack in your head that I hear right now 'cause I see we're at 25 minutes and I want to keep this to 30. Give yourself a time limit. It makes it fun, right? Put on a soundtrack to ATV show you love again i love Game of Thrones. I don't know why it feels kind of dark but I love it and I don't know why my daughter has a theory but anyways. So I listen to the Game of Thrones soundtrack on sound Spotify or even on YouTube and I just listen to it and I feel again, I'm on a mission to save like the world from the night walkers, right? You can gamify your goals with stickers or I love those drafts you know, either of when I'm doing a launch and I'm going to get some new members into Mom Coach Club or you know, I want to get like 3 new clients this month.    

25:55  I'll often have a big piece of paper and then I'll draw like hearts or stars. And then when these people sign up, I'll just like listen to like my favorite song color in star, put that person's name there and it's fun and you see the actual progression and then you look at it and you're like only two more stars to color in right? Add in your recently revealed gifts, right so look into those personality tests or your human design and then get creative like how can I tie this in? So an example, when I learned about human design, I had this like this gate that was artistic, creative and I was told it was very rare, right so I'm like, I am going to apply this superpower to my Instagram reels.    

26:41  So I had so much fun starting off the day with a more more produced reel than usual it's just for me, it's so fun and then it sets the tone for the rest of the day. Keep a celebrations list handy and dip into it celebrate all the little wins in your business. Create rituals to start and end your business day like light a candle. I forgot to light my candle but I have this one here. It smells like vanilla it is my favorite smell in the world. So I like that and I make sure to blow it out the end of the day and notice how fun it feels when you actually do parts of the four by one.    

27:20  And then what I turn up, what I call the bliss style. It's like, feel that fun, right? You hit publish or send on an email and then notice like, what is that sense of accomplishment like that was actually pretty fun. Take a moment, drink that in, see if you can like breathe into that feeling of fun or whatever other words you want to use pride and stoke that fire and feel it permeate throughout your whole being and that's just a reminder i'm always like, it's going to feel so good once I hit publish, right? And then take fun breaks for me it's but it's also jigsaw puzzles.    

27:54  If I duck, oh, you can't see it here. If I duck, you can see I got one right behind me and that little picture is what I'm working on right now it is my favorite thing to do so I do that while I listen maybe to a training and then I just why dude i get all these like brain snaps it's just do something fun, take a little fun breaks, and then you come back with fresh new ideas. All right, thank you for joining me today and I'm trying to move this. Thanks for joining me today.    

28:25  We are we've got 2 minutes left, so I feel pretty cool. So my swag bag gift for the rule Breakers out there. This is gonna help you find your fun factor like technically called, you know, officially called find your life purpose as a Mom coach but I think it will help all of you out there in the audience because there is just some other tricks and tips for you to tap into. You know how you can show up more authentically and direct all that beautiful, gorgeous energy into making an impact in the world with your entrepreneurial gifts.     29:03  And it includes in there even a human design mini training that might be really helpful for you to explore how to use those superpowers into your venture here. So thanks for watching again, my name is Kathy Stowell and thanks for being a part of the summit i'm having so much fun contributing and I will see you next time bye.