Marti Statler - Dream Bigger Than the Book

Welcome to the real people real business show where we are talking with business owners who are in the trenches everyday, people who are working hard and have relevant and inspiring stories that you can relate to. Everyone we speak to is actively building and growing their business and is here to share their experiences, lessons, wisdom, and guidance. So you can be inspired to take action towards your own goals. Our guests today is right in the midst of building her amazing new business and I can't wait to hear her stories cause I know you're gonna love them. So without further ado, I am so excited to welcome Marty Stotler . She is a book coach who is helping authors write, publish, and market their books and she's doing it in a really unique way. So welcome to the show, Marty, and thanks so much for taking the time to share your story today. Yay. I'm so excited. Hey me too. Okay. So I want to dive right in and I want you to give us your story. How did you get to this place that you're in right now? [inaudible]

so I don't know how far back. Okay, I'm just going to start from the beginning. Um, so I never wanted to publish books. Like it was never on my radar. I was an avid reader, so you can find like three to four books at my house at any given time with bookmarks with where I was at. Um, but it was just never on my radar. And at the time I was selling insurance door to door insurance sales. So I walked into this business one day because they needed my insurance, right? And it was a publishing company and I walked out with a job offer. So instead of me selling them, they sold me. And it was crazy because at the time I'm like, okay, this insurance thing isn't really working for me. And legitimately I'm like, okay , Jesus, I'm gonna need you to give me some Jesus work to do and pay me for it. So fun fact, this publishing company that I walked into was a faith based publishing company. That was 12 years ago. Uh, they fired me after 15 months. It was a year and a quarter because I'm , our book seasons were a three month seasons. So they fired me at the end of a quarter and I'm like, it totally came out of left field. And I'm like, okay, so why? I don't understand. And because they told me, they said, you know, the company's moving in a different direction and we just don't really feel that you're a good fit. And I laughed at them and I'm like, okay, what's the real reason? Um, so the real reason was, is because I'm not a very good time clock puncher. I don't punch a time clock. I met and exceeded all of the goals that I had because it was a commissioned based business. Um, but I do really terrible with making sure I'm there by 9:00 AM and making sure I'm gone by 4:30 PM or whatever the hours were. I don't know. So I left and I decided that I was going to start my own publishing company with some friends. I'm like, you know, between the three of us, like we know our stuff. Right? Um, Oh. And by the way, it was a really great experience because when I went in, I was hired in the acquisitions department and I was the only person in the history of the company who was hired in directly off the street into acquisitions. But what that did for me is I was involved in every piece of the authors project. I read unsolicited manuscripts, I offered contracts. Um, I determined royalties that we were paying out. I was involved in all the marketing meetings , um, book placement meetings, titling meetings. So I got this like really great overview of the entire process. So when I left there , um, you know, not too long after that, some friends and I started a publishing company that was doomed to fail from the beginning. Not that I realized that that was the case until I was in over my head in debt. Um, ended up dissolving that company. Uh, I assumed the majority of the debt , um, from the company because I was like the name and the face of the authors were talking with and you know, integrity is super important. Um, and then it landed me in working with my next publishing company for the next eight years. So I've worked with several different publishing companies. And , um, the interesting thing is that with each publishing company that I worked at, I felt like I realize what was not working with the publishing model. And with each step in each company we made it better. So , um, the company that I worked with for eight years was a pay for service company. It was great. Um, I had a lot of freedom in that company. I wasn't punching a time clock , um, you know, met and exceeded all of the goal set, you know, we had made while I was there. Um, and it was a fee for service. But the thing that we did that I didn't really wasn't really working was, you know, we had our own distribution platforms and we paid out royalties, which wasn't really working. So that has brought me to what I do now and that is, I'm still fee for service. I still take your raw manuscript and I make it really flipping fabulous. Um, but I set up, I set you up on all of your distribution platforms. So now you have control of your book. There's no middleman for your money. It's coming directly to your pocket and you have to market to sell your book because fun fact books don't sell themselves. So when you're implementing, you know, your marketing plans, now you have the opportunity to pivot because you see how said marketing plan is really affecting book sales. So that's my story, how I started publishing and where I'm at. So you kind of glossed over a really important piece. Okay. And that was getting from getting to your own business. Yes. And that happened in the last sort of 12 months. So I really want to hear a little bit more about, okay, that shift and that transition because I think a lot of people can either be inspired or relate to it. Okay. So, and I'm still writing this story so I'm super excited about it, but , um, it's crazy like divine intervention. So two years ago I was at a conference in Chicago when I was at this conference. And by the way, I didn't know anybody who was going to be at this conference other than Brit colo . I knew Brit colo from like a girlfriend group that we are a part of. And um, she had posted about it. I didn't know any of the speakers, had never heard of any of them, but I just felt like I needed to go there, but I didn't really want to spend the money to go there. So I have a friend of mine that I said, Hey, if you go with me, I'll go and if you don't, then I'm not going. And she never goes anywhere. So I don't know if I was trying to play it safe, but when I said to her, she's like, yeah, I'll go. And I'm like, you're Downing , you're going to go like you never go anywhere. But okay . We went and um, I was in this like space that I had just left the publishing company that I had worked at and I am now a co owner of for eight years. And I had just left and I did essential oils. So I'm like, okay , that's the quickest way I'm going to impact my income. I'm going to pedal oils. And that what really wasn't working either, it just, it just wasn't congruent to me. Um, but I knew that there were four words that just kept popping into me and those four words were content creation and product development. Like I had no idea what that meant, but I knew that I couldn't shake this forwards . And then this , um , conference came up and my friend said, gee , I'll go. So we went to this conference and it wasn't until the end of the conference that it all made sense. So there's four words finally made sense. What I do well is books. I can pull a book from anybody. I can make a fabulous book by the time I'm done with a book, this book does not look DIY. This book absolutely looks like a traditionally published book. So, and I know that if I can help women, business owners, women entrepreneurs, take this book out of them, get their business book out, because we all know that it looks like a really great business card. Right? And if done properly and done well, that book can be repurposed and be the foundation. And once you paid for so many things , um, online courses , um, email challenges, I mean multiple other books can come out of that. So it clicked for me and I came back and I connected with a gentleman that I had been working with for eight years and we kind of had this conversation where we work really well together and we do, why don't we start something together? So my niche is publishing. That's what I do best. That's what I in. Um, and I said yes, even though I feel like I probably should have said no from the get go. And then I started your class. You had this , um, the six month , um, coaching group coaching, I think it was the first one that you had done. So I started your class , um, because I had kinda been watching you from the sidelines. Um , and I was like, okay, I'm just going to go for it. And I did it and I started with one company, and in this, this coaching class with you in this group, I realized that I should have been doing this on my own the entire time. I should've listened to my gut. I should've trusted my gut. I didn't trust my gut and I should have . And now that I have, I just feel like things have so broken open for me. And it's kind of one of those things where I'm settling in to who I was always meant to be anyway. And now I'm doing it for myself. And that's super exciting.

What was it though ? Like I want to dig into that a little bit because if you can help other people identify those same, those same triggers, that could help, I mean your energy has changed so much since deciding to do this business on your own. So what was it that made you realize that you needed to actually do this on your own? What was that trigger?

Mmm , it was you, honestly, we had a conversation one day and I don't even remember the questions that you were asking me or the things that you were pointing out, but it was one on , it was on one of our coaching calls and you said Marty , like, and you just affirmed what I already knew, but I didn't trust within myself. So I felt like I felt like you gave me permission like someone, Oh yeah. Actually I remember one of the things that you said to me, and I don't believe that you give lip service. I've never felt that about you. Like you're genuine, you're transparent and you don't give lip service. So you said to me, you can do this. I will help you and I believed you. And I'm like, okay, yeah, I can totally do this. And then I spent a whole lot of time like flip flopping back and forth between, well, what do I call it? What do I call myself? Um, but that was the trigger. That was a thing you said you pointed out something that I already knew within myself but didn't trust myself. And then you said , um, I can help you. I believe in you. I can help you. You can do this. And I'm like, okay, okay. And that was all I needed. Just someone to say, Marty, I believe in you. I believe in what you're doing. I believe in what you're trying to build and I can help you. So that was it.

That's super sweet. And I, I, I'm flattered to hear that for sure. I don't think I told you that. Well, I love hearing it, but what I really want to get to though is like what, what did you know in yourself? I mean, I'm just a catalyst, right? Like I'm just here sort of pull out the things

that I see. But what did you know in yourself? What was that thing that, what was that, what was the difference between doing this on your own and doing this with someone else? Um, okay. So here's the difference. The difference is this. Um, I feel like I know what to do. I know what I should be doing, I know what to do. And I felt like it was really incongruent for me, whereas at this space that I felt like I no longer want to consult with somebody else before I make a decision.

[inaudible]

and it was really frustrating to know what I'm capable of and to not just run with it, to not just go do it.

[inaudible]

yeah . That's what it was. I think a lot of people in the same place. Yeah. And so there's this real element of trusting yourself. Yes. That that is gonna enable you to go and , and do the things that you really, I think a lot of people have to have all of the knowledge in their guts already. They all do . They already know the work that they do. Yeah. And making that transition to building a business around it, it's just a matter of trusting themselves. Oh listen, I this , this is such great information, not just for building a business, like we already know the decisions that we should be making. We just have to trust that we're making the right decision. I mean, and it might be the right decision for that like little piece of time that we're in at that moment. And it might not be the right decision a week from now even . But we have the opportunity to change it . Like we can change our minds. It's okay, we're allowed to change our minds. So I have three daughters and that's one of the things that when they come to me and asked me for advice, I mean sometimes you really just have to break it down and be like, this is what I think should happen in the systems. Cause you know, you have to pull them on them. Um, but a lot of times I ask them, where are you at first? W what's such decision? Don't think, I don't want you to think about it. I just want you to tell me what is your initial gut instinct, what is your gut telling you? And then sometimes it's difficult, you know, because our minds went to process everything and we went to overthink and we went , well this could happen. Like what's our pros and cons? But really like we already know our decision and we just got to trust our gut. And I tell my kids that and I'm like, yeah, that's exactly what I think you should do. So I think you guys for everything, not just business, you know? Yeah. I , I, I know that's a harder thing to do in practice than to say, but I find that once you really start to trust your gut, you start moving in the right direction. Right. I 100% agree. Okay. So tell me a little bit more about how you work with your clients and who do you work with? Okay, so I work with women. I just have, and here's my like little side note of why I like, I love women. I love, I have three daughters, I have three sisters. Um, I just think that we are in a season, we have had so many really strong women go before and start paving the way for our voices to be heard. And we have something to say and I think we need to trust that. I think that we have kind of, I mean, at least in the world that I have grown up in, we have been, gosh, I was told little girls should be seen and not heard. You know, like that's a crock. So I love working with women and I love working with business owners. Um, I've done several fiction books if they're not my favorite things to do. So what I'd much prefer to do is help women get their business books out of them. Um, I mean, just for so many reasons. So when I work with them, I help them break like that core book out your business book. What is it that you have to teach? Like how are we going to teach that? How are we going to communicate that , uh, get this really fabulous book done from the writing through the production. Um, and then, you know, like I said, books don't freaking sell themselves, so we need to have a plan on how we're going to sell that book. So I'm very much hands on so they can be hands off. Because, I mean all of the women that I knew that own businesses are busy, they've got tons of things going on. So I take what I do best so they can do what they do best. And then we get this book done and then we develop this marketing plan specifically for this book to help them sell sidewalk , which does a lot of things. It helps them with their return on investment increase like revenue streams. Um, you know, breaking it down into other products, like the sky is the limit. And that's what excites me about it. Just taking the book. And then what else can this book be like dreaming bigger than the book? Right. And I that one of the things I know about authors is that they also need a business underneath. Yes. Fuck right. And what is actually going to sell it? I'm talking , I just got off a call with a lady this morning who is an author and she, she needs now to build that business underneath her, her book. So what I think is unique about your work is that you're taking them all the way through that process, right? I know that there are people who work on this stage of the process and this stage of the process and this stage of the process, what you seem to be wrapping your arms around all of the different pieces and sort of owning that process all the way through. Is that correct? Yeah . So that's correct because, and even now what I have found, because I'm involved in a lot of business groups online, if you've never published a book, like if you don't understand the process and you don't understand how to work with all of these people who do really well at book covers, you do really well at pagination and all of the pieces that come together to make a book. It can be really confusing. Like there's so much information. I mean it's, it's the internet, so there's so much information out there and you can figure it out yourself. But I've already got that piece figured out. Like I know who it needs to go to first, second, third, fourth. And like some of those pieces overlap. And like I know I know the process, so I'm taking that learning curve off because I've already got it down. Um, it just saves so much time and so much energy in trying to figure out the publishing process. And here's the other thing, unless you already know someone who designs like really great covers or someone who does really well with writing content in your book or just, you know, copywriting or wine editing. So unless you know someone who does really well at all of these and specifically what your book needs , um, you know, I th I feel like you're just going to be doing a lot of fumbling around. Yeah . And piecemealing together all of the work to get to that sort of published. Yeah, right, exactly. What does that book mean to somebody, you know, what these days, because there are lots of different channels. What does having a book mean to a business owner? Okay, so a book establishes like instant credibility. Like I could be talking to three financial advisors and like the reality of it is if I'm talking to someone who has a book, I'm like, okay, they know their stuff and they know their stuff well enough to put it down into a book. So I personally am going to take more , um, stock is not the right word, but I take more stock in someone and I look at somewhat more seriously if they've taken what they know and they've done a book in it, you know? Um, I mean because that shows confidence. It shows that they're an expert in their field. You know, I think that's what it does for them. But here's the cool thing too. So what I love about working with books is while yes, someone had to decide one day that they're going to sit down and like put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and actually start writing the book, the reality of it is, is that book that's coming out of them is not just like that moment in time. Like it is their entire journey of where they have come, where they've come from. You know the hurdles that they've had to go through and especially if they're a business owner, like I know that wasn't easy, right? So it is taking in , this sounds really cliche, but blood, sweat and tears of your entire journey to come into this like book that you've now entrusted me with to make fabulous and it's not really something that I take lightly and I love working with new authors and I love that when they get that first shipment of books when their doorstep and they call me and they say, Oh my gosh, this is so surreal. Like that book may not have shown up at the exact moment, but I'm feeling that like, Oh my gosh, this is actually happening. Like this is so surreal. Like I'm feeling that with them. So doing their books is not something that I take like super lately because I know that it has been a combination of years and I think that there's something about process of writing

a book of getting all of that [inaudible] all of that sort of thought leadership out of someone's head is actually a bit of a, it's a bit of a psychological process too . Like I work with a lot of um , business owners who are actually at that stage where they are, they are emerging into their thought leadership and they have already built a practice or they have built this, this body of work and we are creating their kind of their machine around that body of work. But that the process of going to write the book is actually psychologically part of their, their journey where they're , they need to do that in order to , um , create this combination of their body, where to, to believe in themselves. And that helps me as a, as a business coach, help them go out and create the audience that they need because they now have this thing behind them that feels like they have put a rubber stamp on their body of work and that they've really synthesize it and they really know what it is that they need to do next. So I think, I think writing a book is becoming this, this part of a journey and it fits when you have reached a certain stage in your business and in , in your work, any and it kind of needs to happen. Yeah. So what's, what are you doing a little bit differently?

So there is actually , um, I don't remember what the statistic is. It was like 81 or 86% of people, like, of all people who feel like they have a book inside of them. And you know, your, I mean, your podcast is geared towards business owners, you know , um, and I feel like the process of writing a book is not much different than starting a business. You know? Um, I didn't trust myself. You know, I still question what I'm supposed to be putting on social media. Um , a fun fact. I just did my first social media posts today for , um, my rebel brand and, you know, I go through all of these things now that I'm doing this for myself and I'm finding that the same things that I'm having struggles with mentally with my mindset, the same things that authors have told me, you know, for the last 12 years that I've worked with them. So from the moment of signing a contract, I tell them like, Hey, congratulations, you're an author. And that is something that does not sit right with them because they don't feel like they're an author, you know? Well, I didn't, the book's not out yet, so I shouldn't call myself an author. Well, no, because you actually wrote it. So you're an author and we're working on that book being, you know, out publicly and , um, this doesn't really feel, I feel like on an impostor , like this book has already been written. There's 1700 other books on this subject. Yes, there's 1700 other books, but none from you. And, you know, we each bring our own unique piece to the table and how we do business. Um, so I'm finding that the same, you know, struggles and frustrations that my authors are dealing with is also the same thing that I'm dealing with. So it's just like a lot of personal shit that we need to get through, you know?

Yup . Okay. Um, so what are like, what are you doing to set yourself apart? What are you doing to be a little different? Like what, what is , how are you taking that differentiation and working that into the way you design your programs or the way you show up in your market?

Okay, so there's three very distinct pieces to publishing. You write the book, you publish the book, you sell the book. So , um, what I have taken is I have helped. I am helping authors. I have helped authors at each step of that process the last 12 years. So what I've done is I am working to build like a really close one-on-one business where I'm working with you. I can help you at any stage of the process. You already wrote your book. Great. I can help you set up your marketing plan. Not a big deal, but if you want to go with me through the entire process. Great. Let's start at the writing piece and let me help you get that book out of you. Um, one of the things that I love about what I'm doing is the fact that when I already said that, you know, authors, you know, in writing, their book has gone through years of where they have gotten to this space to now that they're putting it on paper. So, and I've worked in traditional based publishing companies where you know, we copyright the book in your name, but the problem is is that the, the verbiage is in the contract that while we're copyrighting in your name, we are holding the intellectual rights to your book. So you don't have, okay. If you look at your book and you're like, Hey, I really want to take chapter three and turn it into it's own standalone book. If you've signed a contract with another publishing company, the reality of it is you have to go back and ask permission to do that. So they're gonna look at your sales and they're going to say , um, wow, this book sold really good. Now we're going to do that. Or they're going to sell the materials back to you if they have no interest in doing that. So they're selling you back what you have already written, like this has already come out of you, but you've signed this contract that you know, like wraps up the intellectual rights. So I think it's really important and that's, I mean that's just one example. There's like several areas that I can give, but I think it's really important that, you know what, this is your book, this is your material. Let me help you get it out, get it set up and leave the controlling your hands. I mean, and honestly you're a business owner anyways , so you should have control because a traditional publishing company, while they might pay, you know in advance. And I'm not telling anyone that if someone is offering you figures for your book, like if that's important to you, go take it. Yes, by all means. But if it's more important for you to keep your materials to control how your book is being communicated and sold, the publishing companies only selling it to your audience anyway so you're going to sell it to them or they're going to sell it to them. And at the end of the day when it comes to a book sale, the differences , you know, a royalty check of 60 cents per book after your advance has been paid back. Or is it, you know, 12 1314 $15 per book, you know, just what's important to you. I think it's important to keep everything in your control.

Yeah, I agree. And I think it's getting easier and easier for that to happen. Right? Yeah, I agree. So what's the big hope for your clients? Like what do you work with them? You get them through this process then wide, what do you, what do you really want for them to be able to do?

So my real excitement level falls in is that after this book is done, it's so much more. So I am helping them build additional streams of income. You know, I'm helping them, you know, solidify their goals. I mean, that's one of the questions that I have with them. Hey, what are your goals for your business? I mean, because that's important to know. I need to know where you're going, where you want to go to make sure that the book that I'm helping you get done is in line with, you know , that vision. Um, and what's the goals for your book. So once we find that out, like I help them structure that in such a way that we're reaching their goals. Like I've always felt like I've been a support person. Like you need something done, great. I'll do it. Like I've always kind of been the GoTo person. Like Marty will take care of that. Marty will do that. And I can, like I , I feel like a Jack of all trades, a Jack of a lot of things that I am quite capable of doing. Um, and I can help my people, my authors do the same thing. Like, okay , so this is your goals , this is where you're going. Um, have you considered this? Like, we can take this book and here's the other things that we can do to help you reach those goals quicker and how can I help you do that? And like, that's what I think is super exciting to me.

Cool. And as a result of getting this book published and reaching these goals, what are they now able to do?

Gosh, build a bigger business. I mean, what is it that they want to do? What's success look like to you? Like what's your monetary goals look like to you? You know, dad, it's all of that.

And what, like what, what holds them back from getting these books done? If they don't have that kind of help, what's keeping them stalled?

Well, you know, sometimes it's not a real super priority to them because that's the reality where someone says, I want to write a book. Like, are you ready now? I mean, cause if you're not, that's okay, but if you're ready now, let's go. Um, the other piece of is, you know, just stumbling over themselves. Like, I know if I don't know how to do something, I procrastinate. I get overwhelmed. So like, I know how to do that. If you are ready, I know how to do that, so let's work together. Okay .

Okay. So they are kind of stumbled there. They're keeping them. Is it that they don't have direction there ? You know, they've got their stories, they're keeping themselves stuck because they don't know how to proceed. I think the synthesis of the story and the synthesis of the book is so important to getting people going. And that's something that you work with them on, right?

Yes. Yeah. I mean, I've had a lot of people, it's like, okay, I want to write a book, but I don't know how [inaudible] okay, no problem.

Uh huh . We got that. You got that right. You've been in this industry for so long, like what's changed? How has it changed?

Oh my gosh. Okay. So it has changed because of the internet. Actually Amazon, Amazon has changed the game. Um, you know, used to be when, you know, I started publishing like yes, we S we had Amazon 12 years ago, you could buy books on Amazon 12 years ago. Um, but there was still, and even today I think there's this whole perception of, you know, signing a publishing contract with someone who is going to give you an advance or they're going to handle some marketing or they're going to give you bookstore placement and like people, why would you even want bookstore placement? First of all, books are getting spoke . Stores are getting smaller and they're going away. They're shutting down. You know, when I buy books, the first place that I'm going, if I do not know that author directly, the first place I'm going is to Amazon. I can order it and it shipped and it's to my house in two days. I don't go to bookstores. I do love bookstores. So if I'm in a city where there is like a really fabulous bookstore, I'll go and smell the books , um, and touch them and feel them. But the reality of it is people buy off Amazon. Um, it's really interesting that also some people have this like preconceived notion that books are supposed to be a certain size. Again, Amazon has totally changed that game as well. The reality of it is, is that when you look at a bookstore, you've got prime real estate on a bookstore shelf. So there's over 600,000 books being published every single year. So not only are you competing with every other book that's being published this year, you're competing with every other book that has ever been published for that, like real estate property in a bookstore shelf . So if that book is not wildly flying off the shelves, maximum three months, that bookstore picks them all up, ships them back to their warehouse, ships them back to the publishing company, and you know, all those times that is being shipped, you know, all those overhead costs are being passed onto the author anyway. So now the publisher has like, you know, these books that have all been returned , what are they going to do with them? So if you've ever been to a grocery store or an all these or like some discount store and you see those big bins of books with like best seller, like written on the front, these are the books that didn't get sold. So they bought them for pennies on the dollars and now that's how they've ended up, you know , in these like bargain discount outlets.

So now we've got this, this much more virtual way of consuming literature. Yes. And so that has implications to the way that literature is marketed and how, and how it reaches the end audience.

Yes. So what are we doing differently now? Um , you are connecting with your audience. That's what we're doing. I mean, and that's what we do anyway, right? Just connecting with your audience, communicating that you have this book for sale. Um, and Amazon actually has done a really great job because Amazon is like its own search engine. So previously, you know, when we would upload books to Amazon, we would have so many keywords that we're able to use to help people find books. Like , um, I want to learn how to write a book. I don't know, whatever. So you type into Amazon and it'll give you some suggestions. Now we can use like whole , um , keyword phrases and Amazon. So when I'm setting up books on Amazon, like I have whole keyword phrases versus just one keyword that I'm using and you know, and when you do that, you think of it in terms as a Google search engine. Like, so if I wanted to find out how to publish a book on , um, Google, like I wouldn't just put publishing, you know, I would like how to publish a book. So Amazon's done a really good job of taking like single keywords and making them phrases much like that Google search engine and to help find your books.

And I know that all of the social media technology, everything that is giving us access to our audiences now, this enables us to move a lot more quickly. And when we were publishing Becks

physical books. Yeah. That, that's a whole lot. That's a whole different ball game, right? It is a whole different ball game. Yeah. So , um, when the first publishing company that I had worked at, so when we took [inaudible] we only published so many books in a year , um, which broke down two season, which broke down to a month . And I think we did 10 year releases every single month. Um, so when we would do that and we would find a manuscript that we thought was marketable to our audience and you know, we thought we could do well and Oh, by the way, one of the deciding factors in taking on a new author was, Hey, what have you done in the last three years? What does your audience look like? Where have you spoken? How many people showed up at that event? Um, the next three years, what do you have booked out? Um, historically, how many people show up at that event? Because like there's really an algorithm and trying to determine how many books you yourself is going to be able to like how many books are you going to be able to communicate to your audience. That's actually gonna equate to sales , um, to determine if we wanted to take a chance that, so after we figured out like, Hey, what is your platform? How busy are you? How committed are you to communicating about your book? Um, then we, you know, there's just so much that goes into it. Oh my gosh, I totally lost what you were saying. I totally got wrapped up in audience and I'm like, geesh , stuff, where am I at?

That's okay. There's a lot to talk about. And I think what, what, what's so interesting to me is that is how quickly you've moved on growing this little independent business that you have created. And, and I , I think , um, that changed when you decided to go out on your own because this was far more in alignment with who you are. So what has allowed you to get up and running so quickly? Because you've already got clients who are already working with them, you are doing work with them, they are, you know, you are building more programs. So tell me a little bit kind of what growth has meant to you and what's really helped you get out of the Gates. Okay .

Um, so it helps that I know people like it helps that I've been connected in , um, female driven entrepreneur communities on Facebook anyway. So what, I don't know, I can ask and I have enough trusted people that can tell me what they would do or guide me in the right direction. That's been super helpful. Um, I think the hardest part for me was putting myself out on Fred street. You know, I told you , um, just right before the call that I just had like my branding photo shoot for my website yesterday. So , um, my photographer and my design company that I'm working with has been doing like behind the scenes, like sneak peaks from my photo shoot yesterday. And that was really uncomfortable for me because I'm not used to being out on front street like that. Um, but I know that that's something that I need. I need to get over myself. So , um, it's just not comfortable. So I'm stretching outside of my comfort zone. But the reality of is, is that, you know, now I've started talking about what I'm doing. So if I'm seeing someone on Facebook asking questions, I am taking more of , um, a role in answering questions. How can I help you? I'm happy to hop on a call and just have a discussion. And when I have these ideas, I've also found that if I don't over think it, and if I just do it, just do it. Um, that wow , like results happen. And I think the very first week within the first week that I had this like, yeah, this is what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna do it. Someone posted something on Facebook, tagged me in it, and I hopped on a call with this lady who became my first client for my rebel brands. And I'm like, Oh my gosh. Like this is, this all happens within a week. So the fact that I had the, I didn't ever think it, I just did it. I'm starting to put myself out there, you know, I'm trying to be more comfortable with getting uncomfortable and then people are responding and I'm just like, it feels great. Like I'm settling in to what I'm supposed to be doing. It feels good. It's very affirming

and I think that changed when you got really clear on what you're doing. Right? Absolutely. Absolutely. So we're using your networks, taking action, being okay with being uncomfortable and just showing up as exactly who you are. Yes. Those are all the things that have led you to growth .

Yes. Okay. And I think this thing is really important too , and I'm throwing this out there, is knowing what I want ultimately who I am and not settling for things that probably aren't really a good fit for me because I need money.

Right? That it's that determination versus desperation, right? Yes. Yes. And it's something that I think shows up all over the place with all sorts of people when we come from that really desperate mindset or that scarcity mindset or that when our intentions are not aligned with what we actually want, we start to make the wrong choices when you go down the wrong path . Right?

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah. Okay . What's been the most pivotal moment for you in this business so far? I know it's new, but you've had some big aha has , what do you think has really been the most, the biggest, most pivotal contributing moment in this last year?

Um, other than just making decision that I should have trusted my gut to begin with. Um, I feel like if I had to define it in one, that would be it. I mean, but there were so many pieces along the way that it just fits. Um , the fact that I, the people that I have chosen to work with not only listened to what I'm saying and what I'm trying to build, they buy into what I'm building and they get excited with me and it's evident. It is evident in the people that I'm working with. And I'm like, I sit back and, you know, I'm not new to trying to build business. Um, this is the very first time that it feels real, that it feels legit, that it feels like I am legitimately surrounded by people who I would consider to be strong, independent people who I'm like totally. Like they're my team. Like they're legitimately a team. I have a team, I have a team that people were like, yes, let's do it. Yes, you can do that. Have you considered this? Like they bought into it and they're supportive. Awesome. Sorry that was really long, but I got excited.

That's all good. I mean, your , your excitement is, is right.

And it's, and it's such a difference from where you were before and that to me, that's a big indication that you're on the right track. Right . You fought, fallen into the place that you need to be. Yes, totally. So this is a question I ask everyone. Yes. Um, what is, what do you think the biggest gap is out there between what's real and kind of what we hear in the online business world? Okay. Listen, here's how I'm going to answer that because I just went to the Poconos this weekend, right? With my daughters and my grand babies and my mother and it was going to be this really fabulous weekend and knowing that I am ready to start communicating who I am and what my brand is on my social media outlets, I'm like, okay, this is going to be fabulous. We're going to go out there, we're going to get great pictures. This is what we're going to do. I'm like, I just had this expectation in my head of what this looks like. I mean, because we all see people in social media that they've got it together. Every single picture is fabulous mean they're saying the right things and gosh, they don't talk about the hard times. They don't talk about every time they've had to pivot and make a new decision or change their mind because something wasn't working. And I left this weekend and I didn't even take like five pictures and all five of them were in my Airbnb. It did not go the way I expected. And I'm like, I don't even know how these online people are taking all of these pictures and like documenting their life. I mean, because it's relationship. So you want to be real. And I'm just like, I just posted it online. I'm like, listen, this is what I wanted. This is what I expected was going to happen this weekend. And here's the reality of where I was. The kids cried almost the entire time. They had so much energy. We forgot breakfast food, like so all of these things that I had planned and all of these expectations didn't really happen. So when I'm dealing with stuff, when I'm frustrated, when I'm uncomfortable, technology can be really frustrating to me if I'm learning something new. It's like, I look at all of these people that are doing it and I'm like, well surely they don't have this problem. I'm the only one. I'm the only one who has these problems. The reality is only one. Yeah, I know. Right? So that's it. That's the gap. The gap is, is that we're all real people, right? We're all their stuff, right? Yes. We've all got our stuff. Yes. Comparison comparisons, bitch. Oh , and I have to be really cognizant that they've had their own struggles, their own obstacles. They've had to pivot, they've had to change their minds and they've had to figure it out just like I am. So you know, there's a really good chance that they prioritize things differently and that's completely okay. Yeah , absolutely. Totally. What do you wish you knew you before you got started? What would you love everybody listening to know that would help them build their businesses? Okay. Can I answer this? Can I answer this twice? I have two answers to this. You can totally answer this twice. Thank you. So the first one as I am attempting to build my own social media calendar because I can help anybody else build theirs. Why am I having such a hard time building mine? And then I'm like, okay, this is easy. Marty, I just need to think about the questions that I've heard for the last 12 years because there's a handful of questions that I get almost every single person that I talked to. And then what are all these other questions that I've heard? Because I should use those for like content. Like I should use this for blog posts. I should use those for my content calendar, for my social media. So I should be utilizing those. And of course I sit down and I try to think, and I can't think of a thing, and I'm like, I wish I'd have paid more attention in the fact that I should've written them down as I get these questions because I can repurpose them into content for like the online space. Right? So that's one. The other thing, listen, I know I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but this is so I wish I would've learned to trust myself sooner. Should have trusted myself sooner. Yeah. And that's a hard one, right? It's a hard one to just, just Fe , right. It doesn't, you don't just convince yourself , don't just one day wake up and say, okay, I'm going to trust myself today. Yeah. No. What has to happen before you do

[inaudible]

um, for me, I think for me, I was tired of being uncomfortable. I was tired of feeling like I'm building somebody else's stuff. I was tired of the hustle. I was tired. Oh gosh. I was just tired. I was tired. It's going in 50 directions all the time. And I'm like, no, I'm done. I'm done. Yeah. This way wasn't working. Let me try someplace . Let me try something different, you know? Yup . And I wish, I wish that we would all get there sooner, but sometimes it's just like we have to go through the uncomfortable, the , the crappy stuff before we're ready for like, we're just done with all of the other stuff. Right. Yeah. I mean you have to get to that point where you're done to make a change. Yeah. You know? Yeah . You don't make change cause you're comfortable. Yup . Okay. So what's next for you? Well, let me count all of the things. Okay. Super excited. Um, my website is set to be launched in December, so I'm super excited about that. That's the next like big goal that I have. Um, I have been working on, and listen , I had to have some grace for myself because I had this idea that I'm like, you know what, I'm gonna do a beta course. I'm gonna do a beta course, a three month beta course where I am teaching. People are like, let's write your book. Let's talk about publishing your book. Let's talk about marketing your ball . So working with people through that process. And my original goal was to launch that by the end of October and that didn't happen. And then I'm like, okay, I'm gonna do it November, mid to mid November. We're in mid November. That is not going to happen. So I am actively though working on building out my beta course that walks people through, pulling their book out, writing it down the publishing process, and then laying out the marketing plan for your book. So I am super excited about that. I am working on that. I'm super excited to launch when some of these other things really started slowing down. Uh , but where my heart really lies for this is I'm writing retreats. So I know without a shadow of a doubt, I work all the time, you know, work from home. So my phone and my computer is always attached to me. Um, when I go on vacation, it's really the only time that I'm not really working. So everybody is not expecting me cause I'm on vacation and I find that I get the most creative work done while I'm on vacation. Defragging for what I'm supposed to like answering emails, talking to clients, keeping things moving. Right. Um, so I want to create a space where women are coming together for this three day weekend where we're doing this writing retreat. So we're going to get together, we're going to talk , um , we're going to do some foundational stuff for writing because I don't care what you're writing. You can write your book , your social media calendar, your blog schedule. I don't care. You need to know these things to write . Um, and then we have space where you go off on your own and you do the thing and then we come back and connect again. So I'm building out these really fabulous writing retreats in like really fabulous places. So beach mountains, like I'm a beach girl , like put me on a beach and I'm fine. Leave me alone and I just want to create a space where everything is taken care of. You don't have to worry about anything, just come defrag be creative and let's get stuff done.

Awesome. I was just at one of those , um , a couple of weeks ago and I , I can tell you that it's, it's the space that you need in order to make progress on your writing and to keep that progress moving. Right? And sometimes it's just that, that initial start that triggers the whole rest of the process. Yeah, exactly. Super exciting. And what kind of support would you need from this community in order to get you there?

Well , um, listen, I love talking books. I love talking, publishing. So I am open to phone calls. Um , I am open to , um , Hey, you already have your book written or you want to write a book and you just want to feel me out and see how we're going. Um, we can do a discovery call if you really need some like , um , feet to the fire and you need a more of a plan. Let's have a conversation on that. Um, and that's clarity call actually. So, and super excited. So I just set up to do clarity calls for your people. Um , and our clarity call. We'll talk about whatever you want to talk about. Alison , I'll answer all your questions. I hope you get a plan together. Um, for $100 off and I've got the coupon code set up for your people, which is real people and you can, I can give you a length that you can post on your stuff. If anybody wants to do a clarity call and check it out or just a discovery call to see if they even like me enough to work with me, that's fine too.

That's amazing. Thank you so much. Cause I know that there are a lot of people in this community who are, who are thinking about myself included, that are thinking about writing a book and just having that clarity might help push them over the edge and really start recognizing that James . So that's awesome. We'll put all of the links in the show notes for sure. But um, I can't wait to see what you do in the next 12 months. Yeah , we're uh , we're getting at the end of our time here, but thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me today. I have loved your journey. I've loved watching you on your journey. Can you tell the listeners how they can find you?

Yes, actually. So the um , splash page actually should be up here within the next day or two and splash pages going to be at rebel queen. Dot C O which is going to be replaced by the full website when that is launched mid December, December 13. In the meantime, they can find me on social media. My handles are rebel queen books. I'm so excited.

Awesome. And I think this is a great example of how you don't have to have everything up and running in order to start your business, right? You can sell things before you ever before you had anything. That's right. Okay. Amazing. Marty , I am so excited to watch your progress go and take advantage of Marty's free discovery call. It's amazing offer and she knows her stuff and we're going to wrap up this episode, but I, I could talk to you forever but um , and I'm sure that we will, but let's continue the conversation in the group and um, yeah, make sure to go check out. marty@rebelqueen.co . we'll put all the links in the show notes and thank you so much for tuning in today to hear this story. The episodes you're listening to are all featuring members of my free private Facebook group called the real deal business coaching group where we have daily prompts to keep you focused on building your business and sharing your everyday challenges. Biweekly virtual coffee chats, open coaching and member support from this incredible and we are doing monthly pop up coaching calls where you can grab a hot seat and get some of your questions answered and if you'd like to join our community or you'd like to be featured on this show, I would love for you to come in and hang out with us in the group links in the show notes or search us up at real deal business coaching in Facebook to find us. And finally I would love for you to join us for our next episode where we're going to be speaking to Marissa Raymond , who's a mindfulness coach and yoga teacher for stressed out families and she's doing some really unique stuff with the kids. And with the parents that she's working with. So tune in next week and you can hear Marissa's episode as well. So thank you so much for being here, and if you've enjoyed today's content, I'd love for you to give us a review on whatever platform you're on. And that helps us share these stories with an even bigger audience. So until next time, keep building, keep dreaming, and keep being real.