Katy Ripp 00:00:00  Hey there. Welcome back. You are listening to #ActuallyICan. My name is Katy Ripp and I am the host of this podcast. And this is where we female entrepreneurs ditch the hustle culture, build align businesses, and finally charge what we’re worth. Well, it’s April, which always feels like a little soft invitation to breathe new life into things, our routines or our homes or our calendars and yes, even our businesses. There’s something about this month that makes us crave clarity. I think we want to clean out the clutter, physical and mental. We have an April challenge going on inside of the actually we can collective. That’s refreshing. Renew. We really want to try to recenter our energy and reimagine what we really want moving forward, which is always the million dollar question. So this episode is going to fit perfectly into that energy, because whether you’re just starting your business or you’ve been running it for a really long time, years, decades, or it just feels like a long time, now is a beautiful time to pause and reassess and meet your business where she’s at.

Katy Ripp 00:01:01  You don’t have to hit the button. You don’t need to burn it all down. We just need to reconnect. We’ll find your strategy, your structure, and most importantly, your why. Why are we doing this? Hey there. Welcome to #ActuallyICan. This is the podcast where us female entrepreneurs are going to ditch the hustle culture, build value based aligned businesses, and finally charge what we’re worth. I’m Katy Ripp, a serial entrepreneur, business mentor, rule breaker, and your go to guide for building a profitable business on your own terms. Around here we do things differently. No hustle for hustle sake, no playing small and definitely no more. Following antiquated business rules that clearly were not made with midlife women in mind. Each week I’m here to ask the hard questions, share the advice that’s actually worked for me, and bring on a guest or two who decided to say, fuck it. Actually, I can do this my way. Expect bite size, high impact episodes ranging from about 25 to 45 minutes, packed with real strategies, mindset shifts and rule breaking business insights.

Katy Ripp 00:02:08  If you are tired of business feeling like an endless to do list and you’re ready to make more money without burning out and feeling guilty, you are absolutely in the right place. Let’s go. So here’s what sparked this episode. I had a client session earlier today with someone who’s thinking about starting a business. Some of my favorite clients, by the way. And we had this beautiful conversation about our childhoods and how we were raised by entrepreneurs, our dads specifically. And listen, our dads knew what they knew. They worked hard and they figured things out on their own. And they showed us that creating something from nothing was totally possible. But also the game has changed. It’s different for women and it’s different in this economy. It’s different when you’re trying to build a business that doesn’t just look successful on paper, but actually supports your life, supports your values and your energy. So today, whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for five years or more, I want to give you a fresh, practical and personal guide to building or rebuilding a business that actually fits the life you want.

Katy Ripp 00:03:11  So part one, we are going to focus on the external foundations that still do really matter. It’s not the fun stuff, it’s not the super glamorous stuff, but it is the stuff that really does matter. So whether you’re starting out or you have been in business, it’s never too late to revisit these basics and make sure your foundation is still solid. Okay, so number one, research your industry and competitors not to compare. Right. Because comparison is the thief of joy. But just to clarify, you know who else is out there, how they’re serving their ideal client and what makes your approach unique. Use this to differentiate, not duplicate or feel bad. So research is number one. Number two choose your business name. Now, obviously you have your business name. This doesn’t mean it can’t be changed. And don’t overthink this if you’re just starting out, pick something that feels really aligned, is easy to remember, and isn’t already trademarked or taken on Instagram. Please double check that last part.

Katy Ripp 00:04:11  That can be really tricky. So then go out and secure your domain name. This is really important too. Actually, I just had this conversation and we went out and looked for a domain name and her own name wasn’t even available. So it’s always a good idea to look at the domain names first. I always use Squarespace, so if you go to squarespace.com, there’s a tab that just says domains. You can just buy a domain through Squarespace, which I have, I don’t know, 50 domain names. It’s a scanner personality thing. I think about businesses and then I immediately secure a domain name. I have lots of them. I’ve let many expire, but I have a lot of them. But if you go into Squarespace, I have found even though I don’t use Squarespace for my coaching business, I do use Squarespace for my other businesses. It’s been a really great, easy place to start. As far as websites go and the way that their domain names are set up, you can buy it through Squarespace and leave it at Squarespace, and it’s easy to host it somewhere else.

Katy Ripp 00:05:16  If you have no idea what I’m talking about, reach out to me. I will help you, but secure your domain name and buy it as soon as you see it. I am a conspiracy theorist at heart, but I also feel like once you go out and search something, that somebody is out there like, oh, somebody wants this, I’m going to grab it, and then you can never find it again. And then they hold it for ransom. So if you have one there only like 14 or 16 or 18 bucks. Go out and get them. Get 2 or 3 of them. And then you can always decide. You can always cancel the other ones, but buy it like now. So even if you don’t build a website this month or next month, secure your space on the internet and bonus points for grabbing your name too. So my website is Katy Ripp. Com. Funny story and I have written this somewhere. I don’t exactly remember where, but I was struggling with domain names.

Katy Ripp 00:06:12  I didn’t want to pigeonhole myself, so I had really had a hard time trying to find a domain name for all the things that I do, which at one point was quite a few things. I was teaching fitness classes. I was also a flower farmer. I was also working at a health club. I owned a wine bar. I was in the process of purchasing a coffee shop, I taught yoga, I did a lot of things and I was getting sober at the time. So there were so many things. And I thought to myself, there’s just not one domain name out there that can encompass all of this except Katy Ripp. Com. I went to go search it and I was like, shit, somebody has Katy Ripp. Com which, by the way, my name sounds really simple, but it’s Katy with a Y, first of all, and rip is a common name around here, but not really everywhere. So I was like, come on, Katy with Y rip. Who the fuck has this name? Well I did, I had bought it years ago, very likely while I was drinking wine, so I forgot that I had bought it, but I went to go search it and that was me.

Katy Ripp 00:07:18  Also, I wasn’t paying attention to my finances, so I had no idea that I was actually paying for that over and over again every year. So lots of lessons in that story. But in any case, I got Katy Ripp please do that. So even if you decide to name your business something else that’s not your name, and I would suggest if you are doing a brick and mortar, if you are doing a common product or service that you may sell someday, I’m not saying you will sell it. I’m not saying anything about that. But if you tie your name to it or make it kitschy, something about your name, you’ll never be able to sell it because it won’t transfer the way it transfers for you. So, for instance, if we had Rips Coffee Shop and that’s what we were known for, it would be extremely difficult to sell that name. Somebody would have to redo it. So just a quick FYI about names. Otherwise the world is your oyster. Pick whatever name you want.

Katy Ripp 00:08:16  Register your business and licensing. So this is number four. It’s not glamorous. It’s not sexy, but it’s necessary. So look into your state’s requirement. If you’re in Wisconsin, you have to register with the Department of Revenue. There are a couple other places the Department of Financial Institutions you have to register with. Wisconsin Gov actually has an amazing start your business start up page for them. So go over to Wisconsin Gov. If you need that information. Again reach out to me if you need me to. Actually, I’ll just put it in the show notes. But a sole proprietorship might be enough to start for you, and you can always upgrade to an LLC later if you don’t know what I’m talking about. A sole proprietorship basically means that you’re just on your own, and you use your Social Security number instead of getting in a federal ID number. Again, if you don’t know what I’m talking about, it’s totally cool. This is all the like non glamorous, unsexy stuff. And there are checklists out there and I’m happy to point you in the right direction.

Katy Ripp 00:09:17  Number five open a business bank account again. Now if you are an LLC you will need an Ein number for this. That’s that federal ID number. If you’re a sole proprietor you can open this with Social Security number but open it as a business account. You need to keep your finances separate from the get go. This actually should be number one, not number five. If you are thinking about doing any kind of business and collecting money from any other person. You absolutely need your own bank account. Totally separate from your personal. Everything is separate. Please don’t make this mistake. Ask me how I know. This one small move is going to save you so many headaches. And your bookkeeper and your accountant. Headaches during tax time and really just help you feel more legit from day one. So number six is clarifying your offer. The word offer always throws me for a loop a little bit. Offer is very much an online business term. As most of you know, I own a coffee shop and an ice cream shop and they are both brick and mortars.

Katy Ripp 00:10:24  We serve in-person customers. Product. I had never heard the word offer before I started an online coaching business. So your offer basically is the thing that you are selling to the person you’re selling it to. So for instance, I have a package of three sessions over one month or three months. That’s my package. So if you were hearing offer all over the place, it’s basically just your product or your service. What are you selling somebody. So clarifying that is super important. Also, if you are a brick and mortar or you have a product that you are selling, you also want to clarify that. Like what is that? I’m going to use my friend Gina who has the most amazing Di free cookies, bakes and bites by gee, she’s got a very clear message. She makes custom cookies. That’s her offer. Now she’s got customizations inside of those, but her offer is cookies. She’s got some other things. She’s got these amazing little cake pops and a whole bunch of little treats too.

Katy Ripp 00:11:26  But the cookies are really her offer. And so an offer can sort of be talked about as a service, a product, as a product. So clarify your offer, clarify your product. You don’t need a perfect package yet, but you do need a clear idea of how you’re going to help people and what transformation you’re sort of delivering. If that’s organization or delicious cookies or something to celebrate an occasion, whatever that is, just really clarifying it. So for those of you that are established business owners, these are just a couple of other things to think about. If you’ve already done all this, this is amazing. But I would still go back and ask, does my domain name still reflect where I’m going? Things change all the time. What you think you’re going to do at the beginning of your business could morph into something totally different. And I know that’s hard to believe when you’re just starting out, but it could, and I’ve seen it happen a number of times. So does that domain name still reflect where you’re going or where you’re at? And if it doesn’t, look for a different domain name and you can just point, the one you have there is your offer or your product still lighting you up.

Katy Ripp 00:12:38  We’re going to get into more of this in a little bit, but is it still fun? Business has to be fun. There are so many things that we have to do in starting a business, running a business, operating a business. There are so many things we have to do that are really hard, and that can really test your patience and really test your ability to get through the day. Is this still lighting you up is a legitimate question to ask yourself. And are you running the business you want, or just the one you built? Just because you built it 5 or 7 years ago doesn’t mean that you have the same business that you built seven years ago. It might be different and it might need to pivot and grow. We’re meant to expand, but ask yourself, am I running the business I want or just the one you built? Refinement is a part of growth. Part two the internal foundation that no one likes to talk about. Here’s where I see the most magic happen. Not in the tech and not in the funnels, but in the clarity work.

Katy Ripp 00:13:40  I’m going to walk you through a few questions you can ask yourself whether you’re brand new or deep into the business and ready for a reset. So who is your ideal client, really? Who energizes you? Who gets the results from your work? Who do you look forward to talking to? And maybe even more importantly, who drains the fuck out of you? You’re allowed to build a business around the people you want to serve, not the people you have to serve. And the clearer you are here, the easier everything becomes. Your offers, your pricing, your marketing, your confidence, everything. If you just know that you don’t serve the cheapest people alive, it’s cool. Somebody else can serve those people. We want a different person. Number two, if your business were a person, who is she or he? This is one of my favorite exercises personifying your business. Is he or she bold? Are they nurturing a little funky? Is she the calm in the class or the hype woman with the glittery mic.

Katy Ripp 00:14:38  Give your business a personality. And that helps with branding too, because when you do that, you’ll know how she speaks, what she wears, who she hangs out with. It helps so much with branding and content creation, and it’s fun. Remember when business used to be fun? Let’s bring that back. Number three, what kind of job are you creating for yourself? This is a big one because you didn’t leave a 9 to 5 just to work 24 over seven for yourself for no money, right? Ask yourself these things. How many hours do you want to work? The 40 hour workweek is over. 40 hours means nothing anymore. 50 hours means nothing anymore. You are working as many hours as it takes you to get the job done. Because guess what? You’re not getting paid by the hour. You might be getting paid by the hour from a customer, but that’s not all the work there is. How do you want your days to feel? Do you want a slow morning? Do you want to work in the evenings? Do you never want to work on a weekend or a Saturday morning? Doesn’t bother you? Think about it.

Katy Ripp 00:15:37  Do you want to grow a team or keep it lean? Design your life first, then your business around it. This is very different than our dads. Number four. What’s your money goal and what’s the why behind it? We’re going to talk about this in a little bit. But it’s okay to want money and it’s okay to want a lot of money. What matters is knowing why. Is it for freedom, security, stability to send your kids to college without fear or debt, to leave a legacy to donate to charity? The amount is just a number. The why is what keeps you going when things get hard. And if they haven’t gotten hard yet, they will. I promise it’s okay though. We’re going to get through it. The day comes for all of us to come up against something and come out the other side. These are the days that we really need our why, and we’re going to go deeper into the money mindset in another episode, because this one deserves a spotlight of its own.

Katy Ripp 00:16:30  Number five, what are your business values? We talked about personifying your business, but also values are the difference between burnout and alignment. When you are clear on what you stand for. Things like creativity, service. Community. Simplicity, sustainability, impact, legacy, it becomes so much easier to say no to the stuff that doesn’t fit inside those boxes. And here’s the good news it’s never too late to revisit your values. Your business can evolve, and so can you. So here’s what I really want you to walk away with is you don’t have to start over. You don’t need to figure it out all overnight. You can pause, reassess and meet your business right where she is. She doesn’t need to be scrapped. She needs to be seen. And sometimes that’s all it really takes is stepping back, asking deeper questions and giving yourself the permission to rebuild from the inside out. Okay. Part three. This is where we go a little bit deeper. This is really anchoring it all together. And this is my jam.

Katy Ripp 00:17:30  I love this part because even with the strategy and the soul work, none of this really matters. If you don’t know why you’re doing this in the first place and your why isn’t a bio line. It’s not to empower women or to inspire others. Unless you’ve unpacked what those things actually mean to you, you’re real. Why is super personal? It is very likely emotional. It is rooted in something deeper than profit. I promise you that it is really the thread that keeps you going when things get really hard, and they’re going to get hard. Now, not all the time. And we’ve been trained and like it’s been burned into our brains that owning a business is hard and work is hard, and it has to be unenjoyable, and it has to be all of these things in order to make a profit. It’s not true. Like take all of those limiting beliefs and put them somewhere else in a jar and put the cap on. The real Y is what’s going to carry you through the pivot.

Katy Ripp 00:18:26  It’s what’s going to carry you through dips in the economy, Maybe a launch that flops, or a dry spell, or the 2 a.m. delt spiral that you’re likely going to go through. And you can call me because I’m probably there too. This is the stuff that is really deep and meaningful, and we just skip over it when we think about starting businesses. Your why is also not borrowed. You cannot copy someone else’s dream. You can admire someone’s strategy, but your why has got to be yours. So here’s some examples. Maybe you want time freedom so you can pick your kids up every day at 2:00. That is not too much to ask, by the way. You can do that. Or maybe you want to retire your partner. I have mixed emotions about this, but I get it. My partner, my husband works super hard. I would love for him to, like, be able to do what he wants to do. But that’s because I love my job. So I don’t really care because I want to keep working, I love it.

Katy Ripp 00:19:24  Maybe you want to create something that outlives you. Maybe you want to create a product or a place or a recipe or something that outlives you, and you can sell it and your kids can live off of whatever it is. You have to own it, even if it changes later. It’s so much easier to change later than to never start. Okay, here’s a hard one. Your Y is usually hiding in the mess. We talk about the messy middle a lot in my Female Founders collective, also in the community. With all my clients, we talk about the messy middle. But your why is in the story that you never tell. It’s in the pain you overcame. It’s in the thing you can’t stop doing. Even when no one’s watching and it evolves. It should evolve. As you grow, your why will grow. To my first why, I wanted to help people feel less alone and be able to look at my bank account without totally spiraling. Really, that was my why. I was thinking to myself like, hey, I can do something great for other business owners and also make a little money.

Katy Ripp 00:20:28  Yes, please. But now my why includes legacy. It includes empowerment and financial literacy and freedom for other people. And helping multi passionate women build aligned and profitable businesses without burning themselves to the ground. That’s my why. So if your why has shifted good that means you’re paying attention. It means you’re evolving. Here’s a few journal prompts to discover your why and try these out. There’s no filter needed, you just write. So why did I start this business in the first place? Remember back to when you were thinking about like, hey, I want to start a business of my own? Why? Why did you do that then? And what makes you come alive in the work you do? What impact do you make in someone else’s life? What kind of life do you want this business to support? And what would you keep doing even if you didn’t get paid yet? Okay. In closing, you do not need to start over. You just need to reconnect. So let April be your reset, not your resignation.

Katy Ripp 00:21:31  You don’t have to hit the button. You don’t have to burn it down. You just have to meet your business where she’s at. So revisit your systems, reconnect with your values, or find your values and personify your business for the first time. If you’ve never done it. Reimagine your energy. Realign with your why. And I bet your why has changed. And if your business needs a little love this month, give it. She’s worth it. You’re worth it. If this episode sparked something. Share it with a business bestie. Or better yet, journal through those prompts and tag me with your favorite takeaway. And if you want to go deeper, you can join us inside the actually We Can collective where we do this work together all the time, in real time. You do not have to build alone, you just have to build an alignment. You’ve got this, I promise. And yes, actually you can. Well, that is a wrap on today’s episode, but the conversation doesn’t have to end here.

Katy Ripp 00:22:23  If this episode resonated with you at all, come hang out with us inside. Actually we can. This is my private community for midlife women entrepreneurs who are just done with the hustle and ready to build businesses that actually work for them. Inside, you’ll find support and strategy and a whole lot of real talk from women who get it. You can join us at Katy Ripp. We can also stay connected on socials. You can follow me on Instagram at Katy Ripp for behind the scenes extra insights and plenty of business wisdom. But most importantly, make sure you follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you love today’s topic, please leave me a review and share it with another badass woman who needs to hear this. As always, thank you for being here. Now go do your thing and I’ll see you next time.