Is your business leaving you feeling overwhelmed and overloaded? Life as a solopreneur and working mom is hard and sometimes you just get tired of doing all the things. I know I’m not the only one that feels this way! That’s why one thing I decided to do was to scale back on social media to open up some time in my schedule. I talked about this in detail in this blog post.
Now this episode is actually a chat that I had with Emily Aborn on the She Built This Podcast. Emily was on the podcast earlier this year and she shared some tips to help us find the right online communities to help us build our business even if we’re short on time.
Emily’s theme in November is how to simplify and do less even though that’s not what we’re “Supposed to do.” During our chat I go into how I’ve reframed my year, what this means for my business going into the new year and I share tips to help you simplify as well. Enjoy the conversation!
Emily Aborn
I always love having guests that have been on my show come back on my show because it’s funny how fast things change for us in the entrepreneurial world. So if you haven’t heard Shannon’s first episode, I’m gonna have a link to that in the show notes. And you can listen to that all about systems and boundaries and productivity. But in case you haven’t heard that episode yet, Shannon, I would love for you to retell us in your own words, who you are and what you do.
Shannon Baker
Okay, so, I’m, Shannon Baker, obviously, Emily’s already said that, but anyhow, my business name is the same the Shannon Baker, which is part of the shift and rebrand that I did about two years ago, I live in Upper Marlboro, Maryland near DC. Most people when you say Maryland think Baltimore but I’m on the the other end, I’m about 20 minutes from DC and 20 minutes from Virginia. If you’re a football fan, I’m literally eight miles from FedexField, where the Washington football team plays. But I’m a podcaster as well. And I’m a business operation strategist. And I work with ambitious women and empower them to inspire, inform and educate others with their voice, which is the new shift that my business has taken, which Emily and I have kind of talked about offline. But basically, I help them get organized, get their systems set up. And I help them learn how to use the technology because I know tech tools and technology period is not everyone’s friend. So I shorten the learning curve for them, basically, so that they can run their business more efficiently. And that way they have the time that they need, so that they can focus on building their business to support the lifestyle that they desire.
Emily Aborn
Yeah, and that’s one thing I see that you’re really, really good at is technology. So I love that you added that you also help people know how to use the tools better, you know, because it’s one thing to help you get your systems in place, and then and then send you on your way. And it’s another thing entirely to help you really know how to use those systems effectively. So I really love that. Let’s talk a little bit if you don’t mind about some of this shift, like what kind of has happened for you this year in 2021. Good or bad that is caused you to say okay, I think I need to make a couple of changes here.
Shannon Baker
It’s been a crazy year. I mean, we’re going on year two of you know, this whole pandemic situation. And first, you know, this second year, going into this, for me has just been like, non stop. I work during the day, I’ve got a teenage daughter who, you know, at the time that this airs, she will be turning 18 You know, my husband works for DC Health. And he’s IT support, so his schedule has picked up. So really, a lot of responsibilities that we used to share have now kind of shifted my way to handle the keep things going. So just having, you know, more family responsibilities on my plate, including two retired parents who have, you know, some health issues.
So like all of those things I just found, I just had so much of my play, I felt overwhelmed. So I sat down and looked at my word of the year, which is simplify and realize, okay, you’ve got to simplify some things in your life because I was just not burnt out but just starting to feel very overwhelmed and unmotivated. So I knew something was going on and took the time, sat down kind of identified what it was. And came down to I was just…with marketing on social media and all the things it was just too much. So Emily knows I’ve been on kind of a social media break since September of this year and I am loving the space it’s given me in my schedule. which looking at that and my client work. My client is a singer/songwriter, you know, she has a big release coming up. So with my day job and all the family stuff, and then just working on her projects and her systems, I was like, Okay, I need to figure out a way for my business to keep moving forward but in a simpler fashion than the way that I was doing. Because I can get really deep into someone’s business when it comes to systems. So that’s where I identified that I needed to shift, not, so to speak my services, but kind of niche down some more as to who I was going to serve and work with.
Emily Aborn
And I love what you said about like, I mean, you saw the signs early and and sometimes we don’t see the signs early. And then I think we move to full on burnout, you know, but I love that you really kind of like, okay, I’m noticing that I’m not I’m not all in this or or I’m not motivated as I was before, or as passionate as I was before, maybe something needs to change, maybe I need to make a little tweak. And it wasn’t like this massive, like, Okay, I’m done, you know, I’m throwing in the towel, or I’m completely pivoting or quit quitting, it was just like a little tiny tweak that made all the difference. And I want to know, sometimes even those little tiny tweaks can be, like, really scary, you know, thinking about niching down can be really scary. So did you feel any of that, like fear about how it was going to impact your business or how it was going to impact like, prior to, I guess, your social media marketing break? What were those feelings leading up to, you know, like, around fear and worry about that, maybe?
Shannon Baker
Oh, it’s still the fear is still there. Which honestly, I don’t think for us as entrepreneurs that ever goes away. It’s just determining whether or not you’re gonna let the fear hold you back, or just embrace it and push through it. So for me, one of the thoughts was, okay, if you focus on, specifically like podcasters, or people who are into public speaking and things like that, like, what is this going to do to your business? Can you really, you know, the first question, can you really make money only serving a small group of people? So I sat with that question for a while, then I reached out to a few women in my community, you being one of them. And after speaking with everyone, it’s like, okay, you know, what, this is the the next best move strategically for my business, not only for my business to keep growing, but so that it won’t, my business won’t be so overwhelming, because family stuff is family stuff. And that’s the priority. So I knew I needed something that I could, you know, continue to grow my business, but that it not take so much of my time. And one of those things, and you know, in the space where and most people say, oh, we’ll just launch an online course, and, you know, put out evergreen content, and then you can put the course on autopilot. My people are not sit down and sit for hours looking at videos, filling out worksheets. That’s not who my audience is. So I knew that wasn’t going to work for me. So I needed space, which I’ve had to figure out, okay, well, how can I serve them, still share my expertise, not overwhelm myself, and then not do a brain dump of all the information that I know that they need as well. So that’s the space where I’m at now.
Emily Aborn
Yeah, and good for you. Because, I mean, I know that those tools work, obviously. But you know, they’re not for every member of our audience. And they’re, quite frankly, a lot of work putting into getting them prepared and launching them and getting people to purchase them. So, you know, it’s important to look at those things and whether or not they’re good solutions for us, but at the same time, those are a lot of work too. It’s not just sit back and like print cash. Yeah, um, and I think I think to be honest, like I think a lot of people are a little tired out from that stuff. You know, there’s something to be said about like working with people one on one, like, I’m having a blast working with my one on one clients on projects and like, really getting to know what one another and and getting to know their stuff like really deeply. So there’s something to be said about that, too. I think people really do like that high touch service offering. So you know, it’s funny when we were talking about the social media, you taking a break on social media this past week. For listeners, this is the week of October 8 that we’re recording this social media had like a shutdown Instagram and Facebook and Whatsapp I guess if you’re on that app had to shut down because they were having some issues on their back end. I thought it was glorious. I was like, This is amazing can this day and I think it’s important to realize that there are other ways to market ourselves like exactly what you’re doing getting on my podcast. I’m I’m curious to know what other avenues you’ve been using in the social media break that you’re taking, if any.
Shannon Baker
For me, I’m always in my DMs you know, interacting through stories of course when the shortage happens No one could do that. And it was like, Okay, well, that’s one less thing for me to have to do. But I still have an email list, I still have a podcast. So it’s like those avenues could help me to stay in touch with my audience. And as we all know, you don’t own social media anyhow. Right. So email lists, I can download all those subscribers and email them one on one, if I want to, even if ConvertKit goes down, it’s like, I still have access to all the people. And then you and I both have a Facebook group. So I’ve got contact information, you know, email addresses, as well, for the women in the Facebook group. So it’s like, we all have to shift our mind from thinking, well, social media is the only way that we can grow our community or grow our business, because it isn’t. And actually, I listened to the episode when you came on my podcast, and talked about building those connections and doing that through online communities. And the light bulb went off in my head, it’s like, you need to focus your attention on the women inside of your Facebook group. So I started doing that this week, as well. And it’s going great, and I don’t feel the anxiety I felt before.
Emily Aborn
Awesome. And I think that’s, you know, that’s when when you own a business, it’s all interconnected, right? Like, every single part of what we’re doing affects all these areas of our lives. And so you not feeling anxiety in that way, affects other aspects of your life as well, your relationship with your daughter, your relationship with your husband, your relationship with your, your parents, so I love that. Okay, so I’d love to talk more about like, have like specifics about what you kind of shifted into because you said you niched down or are in the process of niching down? Like, what? And then maybe like, what steps you really took, like, okay, these are the things that have to go, like, how did you decide what to what had to go and what could stay?
Shannon Baker
Honestly, um, after putting two years into my rebrand, I was like, I can’t just wipe the slate clean again, and start over from scratch. So I, I looked at what I already had in place, and just had to kind of step outside of the zone, so to speak, and identify where a gap was in the industry. And not in the industry of productivity and time management and things like that. But being a podcaster. The one thing I decided when I started my podcast was the podcast would publish every week with quality content, even if I had to ignore everything else in my business. So starting with, Okay, well, how can I help podcasters because, you know, having a podcast takes a lot of time investment if you want it to work. So with that, and going some kind of market research inside of a few podcast groups and looking at what the struggles were, that helped me identify how I could use the, the things I already have in place. But just add a few more pieces in there to specifically address the struggles and the issues that podcasters have. Because in the end, it all comes down to being organized, having systems in place, and having those things work for you so that you can focus on your podcasts and the other things in your business.
Emily Aborn
Yeah, and you are so right. If you decide that you want to be consistent with it. It’s no joke, you know, if people I think people think they just plug a mic in and go for it. But there’s all sorts of steps in the podcast planning process and just setting up a time that works for both of us. You know, there’s steps afterwards. There’s, there’s pulling things from your episode afterwards. It’s all steps in in a big, big process. So I think that’s a really valuable service. And I hope people listening that are podcasters are like, Ooh, I need help with that. Um, what would you say if somebody is looking at their own business right now and they’re feeling overwhelmed that what’s a step that they can take right now to kind of like, like, you know, going into the new year I’m, I’m really, I’m with you. I want to make things easier in my life. And so how what’s like the first step to doing that when you’re in a place of overwhelm, or maybe overly busy.
Shannon Baker
Pick one thing, that’s going to be the priority that you go all in on. For me, it’s, again, it’s my podcast, then the sub level of it being my podcast is my podcast community, which is where my Facebook group comes in. So those two things are getting 100% plus of my attention, because I know from there, I can build relationships, I can learn from them, while they’re learning from me. I can serve them better, which in turn is they might not necessarily need my services, but I know they know someone who does. So that’s the key is, what do you really want to go all in on, that’s going to benefit your business, but not leave you feeling overwhelmed by all the things because we’re always going to have a bunch of things that we can do, and a bunch of things that we have to do. But they’re all not necessarily priorities are things that we have to address right now. So that was the first thing that I did. And then from there, I could kind of identify, Okay, well, once I get this piece in place, where do I want to put my attention next, to add on kind of like Lego building? You know, yeah, build that foundation. Once you get that in place, and it looks good, then you can stack on top of it. But if the foundation is not good, you can’t build. So that will be the first place I will say you need to start?
Emily Aborn
And why don’t you tell us a little bit about your Facebook community and what you focus on in there.
Shannon Baker
So it’s kind of a question mark with the focus. But right now, I always tell people, you know, come into the it’s the same name as my podcast more than capable mompreneur. They’re not just moms in the group, there are women who are just like me are working a day job, building their business on the side, some of the members are just starting their business. And then there are some that work their business full time. But the underlying issue that all of them have is time management, and knowing what systems they need to get in place for their business, based on where they are in the entrepreneurial journey and where they want to go, which is key. When it comes to putting systems in place and picking your tools. It’s a full blown process that takes time, like the minimum time I work with a client is a year in they’re still systems that they don’t have in place in that year, just because you know, things come up, wow, things shift.
So as you start to get systems in place, we identify other areas that need attention that we didn’t recognize, when we first started working with each other. So I mean, it takes a lot to really get a fully operational business. So inside that group, it’s not just about systems, but it’s really about finding resources and getting support because this journey owning a business is hard. But I for me, I don’t have a support group, so to speak, in my home I my husband supports whatever I do. I can’t talk shop with him. He looks at me like a deer in headlights. That community for me is my sounding board of I’m thinking about doing this. Let me get some feedback. What do you all think about this? Have you tried this or I’m looking for this, anyone have a recommendation. So it’s that group of women that I can lean on. When I need help. We cheer each other on. Make sure we notice each other small wins and celebrate with each other. So it’s really I’ve created it to be a safe place off social media because it is a closed group. And I will remove people which I’ve had to do because you know you got some trolls which you know about the troll that I had earlier?
Emily Aborn
Yeah, yeah, the self promotion is just Yeah, it’s like not in my playground. You can go do that someplace else.
Shannon Baker
Create your own playground. Yeah, exactly.
Emily Aborn
Yeah, I’ll delete all that stuff from She Built This without even seeing a peep. You know, I just boop, it’s gone. Yes. I mean, unless it keeps happening then I’ll say a peep. And then people are like ooh, Emily’s scary. So, I’m alright. I would love to talk about the dreaded word New Years um, I’m having this feeling this year and I want to know how you’re feeling around it and how your hearing other people feel around it too. So you know, it’s it’s October right now as we’re recording this and I’m already seeing advertising around Planning for New Year’s planning your content for the new year planning your vision planning your goals, planning, planning, planning? Well, I tell you what’s happened the last two years I plan for my New Years, it hasn’t happened.
You know, it’s like everything that I had, like planned even even down to like the financial workshops and things like that, like things just went a totally different way. And part of that was my own evolution process, like I was, I was in the first two years of my business, this business. And so I was kind of like, you know, working into myself. And what I really wanted to be focusing on and niching down on. Part of that was because the entire world was in flux. So I want to hear like, what how are you approaching planning this time around? What kind of like things do you do in your own personal planning process to get yourself ready for the upcoming year?
Shannon Baker
Honestly, this year, I’m doing it a little different. September was my January.
Emily Aborn
Ooh.
Shannon Baker
So the rest of this year for me, I’m just really focused on with the new sort of new direction that I’m taking with the business, I’m looking at what pieces do I want to get in place by December 31 2021. So that come January 1, I can hit the ground running with the new direction. So mentally, for me, I like working on Q1 in my business, so to speak.
Emily Aborn
Oh, I really liked that my husband actually recently, it was like, New Year should be in September. And it’s kind of true, like the dead of winter. I mean, I don’t know if it gets as cold down there as it does up here. But the dead of winter is the last time on earth when I’m like, ooh, yay, rah, rah, rah. I just want to sit with my hot water bottle in front of my woodstove.
Shannon Baker
And then when you think about it, after September, you have holidays coming up for those who celebrate holidays, you get family, because worlds opened up. So family is going to start coming in your schedule just really flies off the hook. Come, you know, November and December. So why would you put heavy planning into your schedule? Because you’re not going to be able to stick to it not to mention, you’re not going to really want to focus on it, because your mind is going to be somewhere else.
Emily Aborn
Yeah, I agree. So okay, well, so I really like that. So New Year’s in September. Let’s say somebody hasn’t done New Year’s in September. But they’re they want to put in that same process that you did for January. So what kind of like, do you do any reflection questions or envisioning or anything like that for what you have, you know, coming up?
Shannon Baker
Actually, I kind of do that every month. So I don’t need a big, you know, let me look over the past year. I didn’t used to do that. What went well this year, and what didn’t? What do I want to try to improve on? And what do I just need to give up on because it just totally is not working? No matter how many different ways I’ve tried. I do that reflection every month, which has really helped me shift to September being my January, because I kept my planning very light this year. In that because everything that I did, I wanted it to support the podcast that really relieves a lot of pressure of you know, having to create a new freebie or do this huge email marketing campaign like things like that. Simplify it. Yeah, we’ve said just keep it very basic. So once you pick that one thing that you want to focus on, even for someone who was like, oh, yeah, like the September and January thing, but I’m in the middle of something like right now, like you said, Okay, well decide come January, pick one thing that you want to spend the entire year focusing all your effort on.
Emily Aborn
And think about if you did that, you know, like you would be we would make so much progress. Because I think half the time our time is just spent like juggling projects and juggling ideas and juggling tasks. So if you just focused on one thing, think about how much further faster you could go with that one thing.
Shannon Baker
It’s so much easier. I have a sign in my office that says focus on one task. So focus on one project. Yeah, make it a 12 month project.
Emily Aborn
Alright, so are you going to pick a word for 2022?
Shannon Baker
I’m debating. I really think I’m going to keep my word simplify as my main word. and maybe do a secondary, like minor word that goes with it.
Emily Aborn
Yep, I like that. I think I need to pick an overarching word because I think I forgot what mine was for 2021 All like pick one randomly and then just forget, so, but like you, I plan on a monthly basis, and I try to stick to like monthly themes in my life and my business. And I think that really helps me in the same way. You know, it’s like, every month is a new year. So yeah, I really like that. Okay, I know people are gonna want to get into that Facebook group. So I’d love for you to share just one more time, the information on how to get into there, and also how people can find and connect with you where you are hanging out and spending time online.
Shannon Baker
Okay, so on Instagram @the_shannonbaker. I stay in my stories, even though I’m not posting to my grid right now. Most of the time in my stories, if you see nothing else, you will see my daily coffee. And the Facebook group the name is The More Than Capable Mompreneur. If you type it in, it’ll either take you to the podcast page, which is also connected to the Facebook group.
Emily Aborn
And I don’t know how I wasn’t part of that group yet. I think it’s because I thought it was for moms. But I’m a dog mom and I officially earned my stripes. So I am gonna join. Because I need to be in there and Shannon’s podcast is that same name, The More Than Capable Mompreneur, which you can find on Stitcher and iTunes, as far as I know. And I’m sure you’re on everything because you’re so good like that.
Shannon Baker
Yes, I Heart Radio, Amazon music. It’s all the places all the things. I even have the feed connected on the Facebook page for the podcast.
Emily Aborn
Oh, okay. Okay, after this call, you need to teach me how to do that because I need to learn. So definitely, please, if you are interested in more tips and strategies and wanting help being more productive and less feelings of overwhelm and and busyness in general, join Shannon’s Facebook group, listen to her podcast, connect with her online, you are going to love her. I know every single person that we have in common, just like adores you, and sings your praises. So yeah, so I appreciate you joining me once again. And I guess cheers to your new year. And cheers to all of our New Years, which are around the corner.
Shannon Baker
They are but thank you for having me on. And we’ll continue to talk about how we can simplify so the one thing if no one remembers anything else that they take away from our conversation is pick one thing and focus on it.
Emily Aborn
Yeah, yeah. I love that. I’m like going to do that ASAP. Thank you, Shannon!
Shannon Baker
Thank you!
To hear my chat with Linda listen to episode 88 of the podcast. Click below and tune in on your favorite platform.
