Val Selby [00:00:06]: Hey, this is Val Selby and after over 20 years online, I can track where my mindset has blocked me. If procrastination, impostor syndrome and a lack of focus have been blocking your biz, then Val Full Volume is here to help you see choices you are making. Get ready to use your expertise to collaborate like a pro as you create the business of your dreams. Now is the time to make changes and live your best life. Let's get to it! Val Selby [00:00:37]: Hello, everyone. You could probably already hear. I'm already laughing. I knew this would be a fun conversation. Feels like a while that we've been putting this off, thanks to, I think, me. Scheduling weirdness. But I am excited to have Miss Kemya here. And, yes, I do always call you Miss Kemya because that's what you put yourself out there as, and I love it. And we're gonna talk marketing today. Who knows where this is gonna lead, but we are talking marketing. And I would love it if you'd tell my listeners what you want them to know about you. Kemya Scott [00:01:12]: Yes. Wonderful. So thank you for having me. So excited to be here. Yes. We have already been laughing. Val Selby [00:01:19]: There's gonna be a lot of that, people. Kemya Scott [00:01:22]: Yes. We do a lot of laughing as we work. But, yes, I am Miss Kemya, Digital Marketing Strategist, the solopreneurs, and small business owners who don't have in house marketing staff or support. So you need marketing help and you are tired of winging it and duct taping your systems together, you call me to create an integrated approach to your marketing so that you can stop waking up scrambling every day trying to figure out what to post on social media, and you actually have a plan to market your business. Val Selby [00:01:50]: Is it called winging it when you do, okay, let's do 3 months and be really on it, and then you disappear for 2 months? Is that winging it or is that something else? Kemya Scott [00:02:02]: Yes. That's called winging it, being a business owner. That's just normal. Sometimes and we all are guilty of that, myself included. When you stray away from the systems that work, that's what happens. Val Selby [00:02:14]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:02:14]: And we all do it. We don't do it on purpose. Yep. Just life happens, and sometimes that happens. So, yeah, that is part of winging it. Yes. Val Selby [00:02:23]: Yeah. You know, systems I've always told myself it's because I'm a creative, and I don't like to be structured and blah blah blah bullshit that I have told myself over the years so that I could continue to be a procrastinator. And I know lately I've been a little out of my systems. Kemya Scott [00:02:39]: Mhmm. Val Selby [00:02:40]: And I am just like it's anxiety ridden because I'm not in my system. Kemya Scott [00:02:47]: Yes. You're panicking. You literally wake up every day. How am I gonna market my business? How am I gonna meet new people? That's where the anxiety comes from is because you you get away from your systems. And I do it myself. I tell people I am a client. Yep. Like, I do. Kemya Scott [00:03:01]: I get it. Yeah. I'm still a business owner even though marketing is my forte. Yes. Clients look great, but when it comes to your own business, and a lot of us we can tell other people what to do, but what we do with ourselves is completely different. Val Selby [00:03:15]: Absolutely. Kemya Scott [00:03:16]: I am no different. Val Selby [00:03:20]: Yep. Yep. Yep. No. I have my accountability buddy. We go through each other's stuff constantly. She's a copywriter. Yes. Val Selby [00:03:27]: And she will do her own stuff, and she's just totally stuck because it's so personal. It's hers. And having the outside eyes coming in and doing your social media, it's so different than anything I would ever post myself. Kemya Scott [00:03:44]: Yes. Yes. Val Selby [00:03:45]: In a beautiful way. In a beautiful way. Kemya Scott [00:03:49]: Yeah. Absolutely. Val Selby [00:03:51]: And intentional. Kemya Scott [00:03:53]: Yes. It serves a purpose. It's not just a random post here and there, but that really is it. It's always different than what you would have posted. And that's when I even show people, like, before and after is when they go to hire me for social media management. I literally take one of their posts and show them what I would have done different. Val Selby [00:04:12]: Oh, nice. Kemya Scott [00:04:13]: And it's night and day. Yeah. So that they can see there is a difference. I'm not just repeating what you're doing because it's like you said, it's personal to you, and that's not necessarily what you like to do, what you wanna do. Yes. When you have fresh eyes looking at it, it's a completely different approach. Kemya Scott [00:04:30]: And that goes for so much of your marketing. Val Selby [00:04:33]: Yeah. So What other kind of marketing do you like? Or do you stick to social media? I mean, marketing is such a broad word. Kemya Scott [00:04:40]: Yes. It's broad. And, actually, I don't stick to social media because I've been doing marketing before social media. So social media is just a piece of marketing. Val Selby [00:04:50]: Mhmm. Kemya Scott [00:04:51]: I love doing things like this, podcast interviews. I love writing blog posts. I love speaking. I love creating content for people to consume is so many things that you can do related to marketing. And that's what I tell people. Social media is not a synonym for marketing. It's not the same thing. Kemya Scott [00:05:12]: So if all you're doing is social media, you are probably missing the boat because even social media takes other things to make it work. Val Selby [00:05:22]: That is refreshing to hear from a social media manager. Kemya Scott [00:05:28]: Yes. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, I can tell you, it's like it's my job, but it has to be other things. And that's, when I actually onboard clients, my question is, okay, what else are you doing? I got the social media. What else are you doing? Because if you're not doing something else, we got a bigger situation here. Val Selby [00:05:45]: Well, because what are you gonna post about if they're not doing anything else? Kemya Scott [00:05:48]: Exactly. Val Selby [00:05:49]: You have to be pulling - you'll be spaghetti at the wall just like they could be. Kemya Scott [00:05:56]: Yes. Exactly. You gotta be doing some other stuff that's not social media to fuel your social media. Val Selby [00:06:03]: Nice. So do you help your clients in that way at times? Kemya Scott [00:06:10]: Yes. Absolutely. So I'm a Marketing Strategist first and foremost, and social media management is just one of the done-for-you services I offer. Well, I really look at your marketing for your business in a holistic way. So I'm asking what else are you doing? What's your website going? What are your opt ins? What's your email? Where are you going if you're a solopreneur? Where are you speaking at? Who are you connecting with? Who are you networking with? How do you get leads? All of that matters. And if you don't have answers for any of those things, then we start there before we get to the social media because if all of your marketing and I've had this experience. Kemya Scott [00:06:48]: If all of your marketing is related to what I post, what I post really can't build your business the way you want it to because you don't have the other pieces in place. And some people, all their marketing plan is posted on Instagram. Like, that's it. Val Selby [00:07:04]: Oh, gosh. I can't even imagine. Kemya Scott [00:07:07]: And there are people that are like that, and then my question is, okay, you get fans and followers. Now what? Okay. What's your email system? How are you gonna engage with them? If they start sending you DMs, what's your follow-up sequences? Is it automated? Is it manual? Like, all of that matters. So social media, it really supports the stuff that you do. Kemya Scott [00:07:27]: It's not THE thing that you do. Val Selby [00:07:30]: Yeah. That's how I feel about the podcast. I was just on a summit talking about it. I go, I don't no. Because there's a podcasting summit. I go, I don't know. My opinion is that I'm backwards for most podcasters because I didn't start a podcast. I did the podcast as a marketing avenue. Kemya Scott [00:07:46]: Yes. Val Selby [00:07:47]: Because I know the value in it. Kemya Scott [00:07:52]: Yes. It's a great platform from a marketing standpoint. Oh, I tell people to start podcasts all the time. Val Selby [00:07:58]: Especially those of us that are talkers. It's like, you're gonna be talking anyways. You may as well just throw it out there and make people listen. Kemya Scott [00:08:04]: Exactly. Just record it. I mean- Val Selby [00:08:07]: Lord knows I have enough opinions. Kemya Scott [00:08:09]: Yes. That's right. I'm with you. I think it's such a fantastic marketing platform. I had a podcast a few years ago, and it was an audio version of my blog. And I stopped it because life but it was so good, and it's a great marketing vehicle. So I'd definitely consider starting a podcast. Val Selby [00:08:27]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:08:28]: Great way to get visibility, to meet some new folks, to position yourself as credible. Yeah, heck yeah. It's a network. Oh, it serves all those purposes. Val Selby [00:08:36]: And for me, I mean, my favorite thing definitely is to bring people like you on that you're gonna have a different view. Kemya Scott [00:08:42]: Yes. Val Selby [00:08:42]: You're gonna have a different opinion. You've got different experiences. You've been in the business for a really long time as well, so I'm not sure. You don't have your own podcast yet, do you? In your spare time. Right? Kemya Scott [00:08:53]: Right. I'm thinking about bringing it back. I am thinking about bringing it back. Val Selby [00:08:58]: Yeah, it has to be strategic. Kemya Scott [00:09:00]: It does. Val Selby [00:09:01]: Because just like the rest of your stuff, you can't add more to your plate. Right? Kemya Scott [00:09:06]: Yes. Without knowing what the return is gonna be, how you're gonna do it, and how you're gonna do it and continue to do it. So many people, for example, start podcasts and they get through a few episodes and then you never hear from them again because they didn't realize that it's an investment. It's work. Val Selby [00:09:23]: Yeah. There's time involved. Even when you hire out, there's time involved. Kemya Scott [00:09:27]: There's little time involved. Val Selby [00:09:28]: Okay. So I do have quite a few of newer people in my community. What would you tell somebody that is a little bit newer, not brand new, like, I want them to have a website already kinda thing? Where would you like them to start so that they're not so overwhelmed with marketing? I mean, I even get overwhelmed with marketing sometimes. Kemya Scott [00:09:50]: We all do. Guilty. It's my job. Again, I'm the client. I totally get it. I'm a marketer by trade, so I understand how overwhelming it could be in all of the pieces. What I will probably tell a new-ish person who already has a website who may not have a full comprehensive marketing strategy. What I would do is figure out where your clients are coming from now because it's very easy to get busy doing a bunch of nothing that's not bringing you an ROI. Kemya Scott [00:10:26]: So look at where your clients are coming from now and do more of that first. That's the first part of marketing. Go wherever your needs are coming from, wherever your clients are coming from, focus on that channel, that's the basis of your marketing strategy, and then add on to it. So if you're an offline business, there's direct mail work. Or if you're an online business, naturally, social media is gonna be it. So one, look at where your clients are coming from now, then look at what the next best channel is. Is it gonna be social media? Is it gonna be direct mail? If you don't have an email marketing system in place, definitely do that before you do any of that other stuff. Kemya Scott [00:11:10]: Because you wanna be able to capture your leads. So focus on where your revenue's coming from now, and then put together your email marketing system. If you don't have it, that's like a 1A. And then number 2 is pick the platform where your prospective clients are already looking for the products and services you offer. Notice I didn't say where your prospective clients are because they could be anywhere, but where are they looking for products and services that you offer and do that thing. Val Selby [00:11:43]: And listeners, number 1, the only way you can know what's working is if you're tracking your stats. All the time, and they're not boring. Stats are not boring. I - that was another thing I had to retrain myself. I was like, okay, you know what? It's not boring when you're tracking your stats to see the positive. Kemya Scott [00:12:04]: Yeah. Val Selby [00:12:04]: And then you can build. It's so much easier to build on the positive than to rebuild other things to start. Kemya Scott [00:12:10]: A lot of times, what we think is happening is not what's actually happening. Val Selby [00:12:15]: Oh, yeah. Kemya Scott [00:12:16]: Data and numbers don't lie because you may think, for example, your clients are coming from Instagram, but in fact, they're coming from those guest blogs you wrote, or they're coming from the interview you did on LinkedIn Live. But because you're focusing on Instagram, you think they're coming from Instagram. If you think of stats as a way to make money, they're not boring anymore. Data fuels your revenue. So if you just think about every time you gotta look at stats you don't wanna be bothered looking at, think of that stat as funding your business. You look at that data very different, but you have to know your numbers, whatever they are, because that's the only way you'll know what's actually working from what you are guessing what's working? And that's always two different things. Val Selby [00:13:03]: Oh, yeah. Definitely. Definitely. I know I did back on a previous website, I did some Pinterest, and I really got into that. Well, then everybody was, well, you've gotta do Instagram. That's everybody's on Instagram. So I was trying to do that, figuring, okay, well, that's where traffic is driving. And then I'd look at my analytics every month, and it's like, that was a hell of a lot of work to get two people over to my website. Val Selby [00:13:30]: Two people. Kemya Scott [00:13:33]: Exactly. I'm so glad you said that because that is exactly it. If you look at what happens, particularly and, again, I'm a social media manager, so I can say this. When you look at your stats and the traffic going to your website or even your DMs, social media is likely the smallest traffic driver. Because social media, you're rewarded on social media when you keep people on the platform. Social media is not designed to send people somewhere else. So if you think about it in that way, you have to have a social media system that keeps people on a platform. Kemya Scott [00:14:14]: That means you're posting on a platform, you're engaging on a platform, your DMing on a platform, you might have your chatbot set up with your keywords, but you're keeping them on that platform. That's what it's designed for. It's gone on the days of yesteryear where you could post and say click the link in my bio, and they actually do it. Now you're penalized for saying click the link in my bio. Val Selby [00:14:37]: Right. Kemya Scott [00:14:38]: Penalized for driving people away from the platform. It doesn't work that way anymore. Val Selby [00:14:42]: Yep. Kemya Scott [00:14:42]: So like you said, you do a lot of work to drive how many people to your website. So definitely look at that direct traffic, and you'll see what percentage of people are coming from a social media platform versus organic traffic or direct traffic or some other links and stuff that you have. It is a big difference. Again, like you said, it's the stats. You got to know your data. You got to look at the numbers. Val Selby [00:15:07]: And work the algorithm. That's why it's so much easier to work with somebody who works within the algorithm. Than trying to figure it out yourself. I mean, we're business owners. We do not have time. That's why there's experts like you out there to pass stuff on to. Instead of taking the time, which is money and learning a portion of it. Val Selby [00:15:35]: Probably learn a portion of it to where I'm annoyed because I know I should be doing more. Because as soon as you start saying all that stuff, my brain's going, uhh. Kemya Scott [00:14:44]: That's exactly it. Val Selby [00:15:45]: You know, the chat bots and everything. It's like, I do know that stuff works and I know it works because it works on me. Kemya Scott [00:15:53]: Yes. We're consumers. Val Selby [00:15:54]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:15:55]: We consume it. This is what we respond to, so we know it works. But you gotta set it up for your own business. Val Selby [00:16:01]: Yep. I mean, I know previously when chatbots were still kinda coming out, they were pretty annoying. I tried to get into that a little bit, but exactly what I said. It was just like, I did not want to fully dive into it and learn it. And now I've got some people, and their chatbots are so good. They're so good. Val Selby [00:16:20]: Their chatbots make me buy. Kemya Scott [00:16:22]: Yes. Val Selby [00:16:22]: And I know I'm talking to a chatbot. I mean, I'm- Kemya Scott [00:16:26]: Mhmm. Val Selby [00:16:26]: I realize that I'm talking to a bot and all of a sudden I'm like, oh my gosh, this is like so perfectly talking and leading me through exactly what it knows. Kemya Scott [00:16:40]: Yes. And it's - I'm so glad you said that because when people ask me what to do and how to set things up, I tell them exactly what you just said. You're a consumer. What do you gravitate towards? What copy resonated with you? Save that and model that. For example, the last thing I bought, I was like, oh, this email is nice. It got me clicking. I save it. I literally have swipe files of things that I personally respond to. Kemya Scott [00:17:09]: So when somebody gets me to buy, I save their sales page. When they get me to buy, I save that email. Like you said, with the chatbot, when they get you to buy, look at the sequence. Look at how it went because you know what you respond to. Take elements of that and study it. That's your homework. Study what made you buy, what piece of that copy hooked you, or what was it that was about it that was so smooth? Was it the flow? Was it the copy? Was it the ease of use? If you knew exactly what to do, all of that matter. Val Selby [00:17:42]: Yep. I have a swipe file. I don't know how often I open it, but- Kemya Scott [00:17:46]: But we have it. Val Selby [00:17:48]: I have a swipe file in my email folders for sure that I feel like right now I should probably go and I, yes, I used the word should. I feel the urge to go and open instead of recreating. Kemya Scott [00:18:05]: Recreating the wheel. Because if you know what you respond to, you know what you look like, then how can you tweak that for your audience? But like you said, oh my gosh. This was so easy. I remember that, oh, I want my stuff to be this easy. Val Selby [00:18:17]: Yes. Kemya Scott [00:18:19]: I mean, honestly, that's how you figure it out. Val Selby [00:18:22]: Yeah. We want no brainers. Right? We want the smooth process where they're getting to the end and they're going, well, of course, I need to buy. Throwing the credit card at you. Kemya Scott [00:18:31]: Exactly. That's how we learn. Learn what you like. I mean, it's out there for you. That's the research. Instead of googling random articles, look at what you buy. Look at what you respond to. What colors, what types of imagery, what language, what processes. Kemya Scott [00:18:49]: Heck, what upsell? What downsell? What funnels? Look at what you like. That's where you start when you try to figure out what to do with your own marketing. Val Selby [00:18:57]: Oh, man. Yeah. I'm shilling that right now. It's been a year. It's just been an odd year. And like I like we started off, I'm not in my systems right now. Val Selby [00:19:11]: And that's frustrating to me because, as you said, I know that my system really does help me, and, obviously, I know now it keeps me a little bit more sane. So I'm feeling the urge to go reprint my 90 day planner out right now and sit with it. Kemya Scott [00:19:32]: Yes. I have been doing that. It's like you said, and certain times of year make me reprint. Certain times of year, I don't, but what like you said, when you feel like you're a little bit off kilter or something's not right, it's usually because we've gotten away from that which works. And I'm speaking to myself. If it resonates with you, give me a shout. But you didn't? Val Selby [00:19:54]: Uh-huh. I'm always. Yep. Kemya Scott [00:20:00]: We all go through it as business owners because there's so much to do, and things happen. And next thing we know, we didn't forgot the whole plan. We didn't threw the process and the plan out the window. We just out here winging it by accident, but that's what happens and like you said, when we start feeling frustrated or that anxieties, wait a minute. Where is that plan? Dust it off. Where did it go? I don't even know where it is. Val Selby [00:20:26]: Yeah. Dust it off. It's right. Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:20:31]: I'm just way off base here, but we all go through that. I go through that a couple times a year. I mean, this in all transparency, because like my new saying is life be lifin', so life be lifin'. And when life gets in the way of the best well laid plans. And so some you have to remember that, hey, you're stealing left. You gotta pull that plan out, reprint it, get a new color pen. Kemya Scott [00:20:57]: Start highlighting or something because, like you said, you get frustrated and that anxiety is because we moved too far away from our system, so then we're just winging it, and winging it breeds anxiety. It does. I know for me, it does. Val Selby [00:21:10]: Oh, yeah. I was talking to my masterminders about it. I'm like, I'm in freaking Groundhog's Day. Like, it's like every day I just log on and I do admin stuff. Kemya Scott [00:21:20]: Yes. Val Selby [00:21:20]: Just all admin stuff. Needs to get done. Yes. But is that what I wanna be doing all day long? Kemya Scott [00:21:27]: Exactly. And this admin doesn't generate revenue. Admin is just admin. So my joke is always, is this a revenue generating activity? Probably not, so let's move that to the side and let's go do something that generates money. And the stuff will be there. Val Selby [00:21:44]: I do best if I start with some kind of money making activity of some sorts. I think it fuels my brain as well as, okay, we're gonna make money today. Kemya Scott [00:21:55]: Because otherwise you get bogged down in admin. It's so easy. It's the busy but not productive syndrome, and it's so easy to get bogged down in admin. And admin is always gonna be there. It just is. An admin will pile up, and you will get through it, and then there's another pile of admin that I mean, it's just the way it is. So having admin hours or admin days, like you said, the money making activities that only you can do generate the revenue. That's what we really should be focusing on. Kemya Scott [00:22:27]: Yeah. You can even hire out for admin or just set aside time. This is an admin day, and do the admin in one take. Val Selby [00:22:35]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:22:36]: But really, we need to be as business owners, we need to be focused on generating revenue and not busy work. Val Selby [00:22:41]: Yeah. And doing our creative stuff when our brain is in full powered, not all of a sudden, I really try hard to get off my computer around four or five at the latest, and there's nothing worse than when it's 4 o'clock and I need to write an email and my brain's dead. Kemya Scott [00:22:59]: Oh my gosh. Yes. Val Selby [00:23:01]: Because I'm like, okay, I still have to get it out. I decided I'm gonna get it out and I'm like, but it's gonna be crap. Kemya Scott [00:23:10]: And it takes so long. Val Selby [00:23:13]: Yes. Kemya Scott [00:23:14]: It takes so long to get it out when you don't do it at the right time, when your brain is not at that capacity, I mean, I don't know about you. Have you had those times, like you said, you gotta get an email a half hour late, you still have not gotten that thing out yet. You're like, why am I still looking at this thing? Val Selby [00:23:33]: Yeah. And, yeah, and my desk is now clean and I still can't come up with 1 idea. Kemya Scott [00:23:42]: Yes. And it's like, okay, I have sat with this for a half hour. Okay? And the screen's still looking back at me like, what we're doing here. I don't know what we're doing. But that's that anxiety because we aren't planning. Val Selby [00:23:54]: Yep. Kemya Scott [00:23:55]: And we aren't doing things when our brain is ready for. So like you said, so when it's one of those things, oh, I gotta get it done, but that creative juice is gone. Oh my gosh. Things that should take you 10, 15 minutes wound up taking an hour. Val Selby [00:24:09]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:24:09]: 2 hours, it's just you look up, and you're like, what just happened? I don't know. Because your brain has already shut down, but you're telling us, I gotta get this thing done. It happens to me all the time. I'll look up an hour later like, I don't know what just happened. Val Selby [00:24:25]: Right. Right. I have lost an hour of my life, damn it. Kemya Scott [00:24:30]: Yeah. Exactly. And I didn't do what I needed to do. That's because I didn't do it at the right time. Like you said, your brain starts shutting down in certain places. You know you have to do the things that require brainwork or as my joke is, "no, I gotta work, but this is not brain work." Kemya Scott [00:24:46]: Like, I'd make distinctions between, no, this isn't generating revenue or it is, oh, this is brain work or no, it's not brain work. I have to make those distinctions so that I know I can do the non when I'm kinda tired. But I still gotta do I still have to work. I save that kind of stuff, the no-brain work as I called it, like, the admin, renaming files and organizing. Kemya Scott [00:25:11]: That's not the brain work for me. So I say that when I'm tired, but I know I still gotta continue working. Yeah. That's when that stuff gets done. If I'm full throttle, I should not be sitting here renaming files. If my brain is on fire, I should not be doing any admin. Kemya Scott [00:25:28]: I need to be making revenue, generating revenue, networking, connecting when my brain is at full capacity. So you're absolutely right. Val Selby [00:25:38]: And I do have to say one really great thing when I've worked with social media managers is it forced me to look ahead. Because, of course, we had to look ahead so that she could do the work for me. Kemya Scott [00:25:53]: Mhmm. Val Selby [00:25:54]: Which made me plan stuff out, which at first made me do the whole creative thing. I can't do what I want when I can. Yes. You still can. But I actually ended up being a little bit more creative because all of a sudden, I was just like, okay, I'm coming up with this stuff of what I want the topics and everything for her to be working on, and then my brain's already working of, oh, well, maybe let's do a new opt in. Maybe let's do this in the podcast, you know, kinda thing. Val Selby [00:26:23]: It really did help with the creativity to be working ahead, which- Kemya Scott [00:26:28]: I love that. Val Selby [00:26:29]: Some of us, that feels backwards. I understand that. Kemya Scott [00:26:32]: Yes. But you're right. When you work, particularly with a social media manager, it forces you to think strategically ahead, like you said, because that person has to reverse engineer what you're doing. But it also frees you up because now you don't have the burden of not only do I have to create everything, but now I have to do the social media. When you know you're handing that part off, that burden is now lifted, and you're free to create. You're free to improvise, you're free to think about the future because pieces of that are already handled. See, when you gotta do everything yourself, everything becomes a burden and you just wanna take a nap. Right? You wanna take a nap. Val Selby [00:27:16]: Yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Yes. Kemya Scott [00:27:19]: But when you got other eyeballs looking at your business and, you know, certain things are no longer that burden that they were, it really does help you plan and think and be more creative in your business. And it helps you to experiment because now, oh, I can experiment with this new thing. Let's see how this works. Your brain is freed up to play. Val Selby [00:27:42]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:27:42]: It really is. Planning gives you freedom. Val Selby [00:27:46]: Yeah. It does. I know. And it's backwards. Some of us fight it. We fight it hard, and and most of the time, we're fighting it because we do deep down know that it's gonna work. Kemya Scott [00:28:01]: Yes. Yes. Val Selby [00:28:04]: And then if we're actually doing this stuff, we could fail. Kemya Scott [00:28:10]: Yes. You are so right. But it's so much fun to have the support in your business. Whatever the thing is that you don't want to do or that you keep procrastinating on, that's what you hire out for, and you'd be amazed at how it just frees you. It just lifts the burden off of you, and you feel so much better about your business, and you can just think strategically and plan and run the business in a way that you know you should. But when you gotta do it all on your own, it's just - it is overwhelming. It can get very overwhelming and if you are creative who doesn't wanna stick to structures and doesn't wanna plan, or if you're a person who thinks, oh, I have to have all of this figured out before I do it. Kemya Scott [00:28:57]: I call it. You're a procrastinator. You just aren't calling yourself that. The more you have to research, the further in the procrastination and the whole you are. Because research can be a form of procrastination once you get past a certain point. So it's like, okay, if you have to have everything perfect, you're never gonna do it because it will never be perfect. So just throw that thing out there and let's keep it moving. Kemya Scott [00:29:21]: That's called Version 1. Val Selby [00:29:22]: Yep. Yep. And we were just talking about that a few episodes ago, we were talking about courses and that you should be going and reviewing your courses. And it's just like all of your marketing. All of your marketing needs to be reviewed because it's never going to be perfect- Kemya Scott [00:29:40]: Exactly. Val Selby [00:29:41]: At that moment since everything in the world changes as we go forward. Kemya Scott [00:29:48]: Exactly. I completely agree. But planning has so many benefits that once you start, it becomes addictive. Like, I love what my colored pens and paper. I'm like, oh, what are we doing this month? Like, that's fun. Might not get it all done, but just getting it out of your head- Val Selby [00:30:04]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:30:05]: And onto paper, oh, that is so freeing. It is so good. Val Selby [00:30:10]: Yeah. Oh, it is because we're not doing the midmorning wake up of going, oh my God, I need to do this. It's like, no. No. No. We already know. It's on here. It's comforting. Val Selby [00:30:24]: There's still room because you're not gonna overdo your list. So there's still room to get stuff done. But, yeah, I am pretty sure that's Exactly what my problem is right now. Kemya Scott [00:30:33]: Yes. Val Selby [00:30:35]: I am in it. I'm in it. Get my systems back out. Kemya Scott [00:30:40]: We all get in it. Yes. Get pulled pull your dust and papers off, get your systems back out, and that is amazing. Like I said, that burden gets lifted. See, that's the thing. You recognize that. A lot of people don't even recognize it. Kemya Scott [00:30:54]: That's why you're off kilter. I know for me, it's the same thing. When I'm off kilter and I start thinking, oh, so you're not doing the stuff that you're supposed to be doing that moves the needle. You are bogged down in being busy. Not productive, just busy. And there is a big difference. Val Selby [00:31:12]: Surviving instead of thriving. And I think it's super comforting to make sure that everybody else hears that you know what? I've been online for 23 years, and I still go through, like you said, a couple of times a year. It doesn't matter how great our plan is. There's still gonna be life, lifing. Kemya Scott [00:31:31]: Yes. Life. Life. Yep. Val Selby [00:31:34]: And we don't get that option, it's going to happen. Weird stuff's gonna happen, and that's gonna take us away and take us off plan, and we can come back. We can even change the damn plan. Kemya Scott [00:31:48]: Yes. Okay. But just come back to the thing. But just knowing that's gonna happen, nothing is gonna be perfect no matter what size your business, no matter how big your team is, there's always some new challenge happening. That's part of running a business. So just recognizing that you just know when you feel yourself start getting out of sorts, figure it out. Identify why I'm not out of sorts, and it's usually because you veer left on something that you really have to dust off your plan, figure out where you went wrong and course correct. Val Selby [00:32:24]: Mhmm. Yep. Take a look at it. And that's something that I had to teach myself was it's okay that was the incorrect thing to be doing. Kemya Scott [00:31:32]: Yes. It's okay. Val Selby [00:32:33]: You gotta try stuff. If you're not trying stuff, then you're not moving forward at all. Kemya Scott [00:32:37]: Yes. Absolutely. And you have to try things. You have to experiment. Either way, you'll either have fun. You'll get a lesson. You'll make a new connection. You have to try. Kemya Scott [00:32:50]: I mean, there's so many things you can do as a business owner. I say experiment with it all. Why not? Why not? Val Selby [00:32:59]: Yeah. And really go with it. Like, take it past a week. I know. Let's go there. Let's talk about how long. People will try something new. I've done it. Val Selby [00:33:14]: Okay. Well, I put I put my all in on Instagram for a week and then do a damn thing. Kemya Scott [00:33:19]: Yes. Yeah. That's so true. Yes. We do have to give it time, but that's where those plans come in because every quarter, you could even do something as I don't wanna try something new per one thing per quarter. But you have to go all in with the thing to see if it actually works. Val Selby [00:33:40]: Yes. Kemya Scott [00:33:41]: And you can't give up after a day, after a week because it's new to you, so realize that if it's new, then you don't know what you're doing anyway. It's a learning curve when you're doing something new, but just try it. Like you said, if you're not growing and evolving, you're staying stagnant, and that's no good for revenue. Val Selby [00:34:00]: Yeah. And tracking your stats on the new stuff. Kemya Scott [00:34:03]: Yes. Absolutely. Val Selby [00:34:05]: Track your stats immediately on the news stuff to see if it's working because you could find something totally different. Kemya Scott [00:34:12]: Yes. You certainly could. Val Selby [00:34:14]: And it's easy. Kemya Scott [00:34:16]: Exactly. And it's profitable. You just have to try it. So why not try it? Whatever the thing is, just experiment. It does not hurt. At the least, you learn a new lesson. Yeah. At the least, you make some new connections. Kemya Scott [00:34:31]: You learn a new lesson about what not to do, or it might not be the right time. We've all done things where we come back to them a couple years later like, oh, I need to try that again, and it works. But it didn't work the first two or three times. Val Selby [00:34:45]: Yep. Kemya Scott [00:34:45]: But as your business evolves, different things work at different phases of your business. So what you might have liked didn't work before, it might work a year later if you try it again because you now have a different base of knowledge to pull from. And so these things, it's just an ever evolving rotation of things and ideas, and I say, just throw them all at the wall to see what's fixed. Val Selby [00:35:10]: Yeah, yeah, and track, and track. Kemya Scott [00:35:15]: Track what's fixing, what fell off the wall. Right? Val Selby [00:35:18]: Yep. And ditched the stuff on the floor. Awesome. Miss Kemya, thank you so much for being here. So is there anything that you'd like to leave the listeners with? Anything popping in your brain? Kemya Scott [00:35:34]: You know, it is don't be afraid to try something new with your marketing. And one thing about marketing is that there's a difference from Googling and posting in random Facebook groups than paying somebody for expertise because that expertise that you pay for can save you a year and can save you 5 figures. Val Selby [00:35:54]: Yeah. Kemya Scott [00:35:55]: Depending on who you're talking to. And so a lot of times, we're stagnant because we don't wanna invest in certain things in our business. We think, oh, I can just ask this person or I can just. You can't just your way to success. So figure out what the thing is that you're missing in your business, what the expertise is that you're missing, and run toward that, invest in that, set a budget for that so that you can really stop winging it and stop carrying that burden. I do the same thing. I invest in marketing. I've been in marketing for almost 30 years. Val Selby [00:36:33]: Right? Kemya Scott [00:36:34]: I invest in marketing Val Selby [00:36:37]: Yep. Kemya Scott [00:36:37]: Expertise. You know, it's it's all things are always evolving, so it doesn't even matter what you think you got it, but googling everything is not really how you put together the right systems. So just figure out where your gaps are and fill those gaps. Invest in the right expertise. I'm not saying it has to be me. I'm not saying it has to be marketing, but you know what you're missing. You're good. Kemya Scott [00:37:04]: You know exactly what you're missing. Don't be afraid to invest in that because that could be the thing that changes the trajectory in your business. That's the one thing that I'd wanna leave. Val Selby [00:37:15]: Awesome. Love it. So you guys are going to go to the show notes and check out Marketing Sparkler so that you can connect with Miss Kemya, and any of her other links will be on there. So you can go and join her social media and follow her and have a conversation if you are ready to get your social media working for you instead of you working your social media. Kemya Scott [00:37:43]: Big difference there. Big difference. Val Selby [00:37:47]: Yes. Thank you so much. Kemya Scott [00:37:51]: Thank you. This was awesome. Thank you so much.