29 things I’ve learned as an entrepreneur

Today is my birthday! It’s not just any birthday, it’s my GOLDEN birthday! If you don’t know this about me already, I LOVE birthdays! I love celebrating people and going ALL OUT for them because they deserve that at least one day out of a year, right? And birthdays are not a reason to be sad! We ALL age, but why not CELEBRATE the amazing lives we are LIVING no matter what the number is!?

I typically share my blogs on Thursdays, but I wanted to get this one out EARLY to celebrate my big day! This week, since I am turning 29 (on the 29th), I am sharing 29 things that I’ve learned since starting my entrepreneur journey a year and a half ago!

1. Just start. It doesn’t have to be perfect, in fact it will never be perfect, so just start somewhere and figure it out as you go.

2. Take inspired action! If you’re following your heart and taking action, you can’t go wrong.

3. Let go of other people’s opinions of you! Everyone has an opinion, some you’ll agree with and some you won’t. Stop letting THEIR opinions of you stop you from pursuing YOUR dream.

4. Love yourself most, and put yourself first! This is so important to not burnout and allow for creativity in your business. 

5. Surround yourself with positive, uplifting people! This will help you continue to THRIVE and GROW.

6. What you focus on you manifest - so put the good vibes out there.

7. Be a lifelong learner! Things are always changing and you can always learn from others.

8. Build relationships! Invest in people!!

9. Invest in your business! Hire the coach, take the course, purchase the new computer! Make smart investments but don’t be afraid to spend the money if it’s going to help you thrive.

10. Learn from those who are one to two (plus) steps ahead of you in business. Their mistakes can save you time and money! 

11. Take time off/vacations! It’s so easy to not do when you’re the only one working your business but DO IT, your clients will understand.

12. Following up with the vacays - remember why you started your own biz to begin with - likely for more freedom and flexibility. So don’t work yourself to death.

13. Lift up and support other women. Community over competition. 

14. Comparison will not only drain you, but your business REAL QUICK.

15. Sit down and eat lunch (or any meal). Don’t just eat in front of your computer screen. Enjoy your meals.

16. Work hard, be confident and believe in yourself and the clients will come.

17. Create GOOD, value added content.

18. Go the extra mile for your clients.

19. Create a consistent routine that works for you and do it every single day!

20. There will be GOOD days, GREAT days and BAD days, but it’s all a part of this journey and SO worth it.

21. Go back to your WHY on the hard days and remember that any other job has hard days too.

22. Find a support system (significant other, friends, family, etc) that will lift you up when you get into a rut, let you bounce ideas off of them,  or simply be your cheerleaders!

23. If you work at home, get a dog! ;) It gets lonely sometimes.

24. Learn to trust yourself and your own decisions - and ask God for help and direction when you need it.

25. Celebrate your WINS - yes even the seemingly small ones.

26. Use a project management tool so you can stay organized!

27. Be grateful and remind yourself of all that you have in your life, every single day.

28. Focus on ONE thing and doing it well first before you dive into something new.

29. Lastly, pour your heart and soul into your work and be freaking PROUD of yourself!!

What’s one lesson you’ve learned on your entrepreneur journey?

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

The importance of REST!

When’s the last time you actually took the time to rest? Rest is so important and I will be the FIRST to admit that I am not good at it. I think now more than ever our culture is so “go, go, go” that we forget to stop and breathe, and rest. We forget that rest is GOOD for us and needed. We forget that rest actually helps us be successful.

I think specifically entrepreneurs have a hard time with the concept of rest. I know from my own business that there is ALWAYS something to do, or that could be done and I feel behind 99% of the time. But that’s the thing. We will likely never feel AHEAD. And the more we stress ourselves out over trying to get all the things done all the time, the quicker we will burn out.

Personally, I’ve realized the need for rest after the last month of my life. It started off with a vacation in Aruba, which you think, yay, REST, but honestly that vacation led me to working crazy hours before and after the trip, stressing about work I was missing and even working 2-3 hours a day on vacation. It didn’t truly feel like a vacation. Then I played catch up for 2 weeks, and then the last Monday of the month my dog unexpectedly passed away from an unknown cancerous tumor that ruptured, in which I proceeded to take the week off because the grief was too much to handle, followed by a wedding I was in that next weekend out of town. I came back to an insane work-load from the unexpected days off and just finally said to myself I cannot keep doing this. The anxiety and stress is going to kill me. Then, ironically, our church started a series on REST and SABBATH and I know this is the message I needed to hear and I need to practice in my life.

Here are some ways I am incorporating rest into my life, why it’s helpful and how you can too.

Uninterrupted time alone

This is the hardest thing for me to do. I find that I ALWAYS have my phone on me, or my Apple watch and I’m constantly bombarded by technology. I rarely take time to sit alone in my own thoughts, journal or pray. When I do my morning PD time, it’s typically very short and oftentimes, if I’m being honest, I do it to check the box for the day. I want to give myself a couple hours once a week to remove all technology -- yes this means no phone, watch, computer, TV. Just sitting outside somewhere, or even in my bed with a notebook and a pen, and just my thoughts. I think sometimes sitting in “the uncomfortable” with our own thoughts can feel like the hardest thing to do, but can bring us SO much clarity when we do so.

Saying NO, or not taking on more than you can handle

Guilty again. I suffer from this condition called FOMO. Ever heard of it? ;) Seriously though I have a fear of missing out. I say YES to so many things I need to say no to because I don’t want to miss out on them, or I feel bad saying no to the person. When in reality, this is only causing me more stress. I’ve gotten better, but there’s still room for improvement here on only saying YES to the things that are a “HELL YES” and prioritizing those things.

Saying NO is hard for me in my personal life, but even harder in my business. I think for so long I was in growth mode and saying YES to everything and all work because I felt like I had to, or needed to for the experience and the money, but I’ve come to realize that I need to first ask myself if this work would be a good fit for me before simply saying yes. Now that I am fully-booked, I do have more control over my schedule and my client list, but I still feel bad telling people no. BUT WHY? I shouldn’t, and I HAVE to. Because taking on too much doesn’t allow me to service my clients in the best way I can. It also leads me to feeling overwhelmed and burnt out vs. truly being able to serve my clients well with the immediate tasks on hand and then strategizing other ideas to help them grow their businesses.

Doing one thing for ME each week

Rest doesn’t ALWAYS have to mean doing nothing. Rest can be something that helps you relax and brings you joy too. Each week, I plan to do something for me. It could be as simple as heading to the park with my pup and taking him on a walk just to get outside, or even relaxing at the pool for 60 minutes on day in the sun. Or, it could be something bigger like getting my nails done, or my hair done, or even taking the entire day off just to shop, go out to lunch and binge watch my Netflix obsession. But the key here is to release the GUILT for doing these things in knowing that it fills your cup up and allows you to be more energized for your work.

So while rest is HARD and it’s not always the easiest thing to prioritize, it HAS to be if we want to create sustainable, long-term, successful businesses. So tell me how you’re going to incorporate more rest into your life -- or maybe you do a great job of this already and have some tips to share with the rest of us?

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

How to Get Covered in Forbes

As a budding entrepreneur, or maybe even a well-established entrepreneur, you may be thinking, it’s time I try to get some publicity to grow my reach and my brand. I want to become more credible, I want to be in Forbes (if I had a dime for every time I heard that), I want to reach new audiences, etc. I’m here to help you out.

I come from six years in the corporate (agency) world working in PR and Marketing. For the first 3-4 years of my work life I was a straight up media relations boss. I learned from some of the most talented women in the industry and I respect them so much, shoutout to my Lovell Communications ladies. While working there, I really learned the art of pitching and these tips are ones I still use when pitching today, or share with my clients if they want to practice pitching themselves.

Here are 5 simple steps to perfecting the perfect pitch:

1. Make sure you have a great story to tell

   Before you even start writing a pitch, what makes YOU or your company great, amazing, different, and worthy of coverage? What’s the SO WHAT factor? What I mean by that is, if you simply pitch something like, “Hi I’m Katelyn Hamilton and I am an online business manager with a background in PR and Marketing and you should do a story about me.” They’re going to ask you, SO WHAT? And who is Katelyn Hamilton? And what’s so great about her?

   You have to give them a reason to want to cover you. Are you transforming the industry? Are you doing something NO ONE has done before? Have you scaled so quickly that it’s actually mind-blowingly impressive? What makes you different and notable? What’s the story?

2. Do your Research

   Before you just go pitching any and everyone, do your research on the publications you’re interested in, and probably more importantly, the reporters that you are pitching. What kind of readership does the publication cater to? What types of stories does that reporter write about? Do they do a weekly feature of some kind? If you’re pitching for an event, don't pitch to a local newspaper about an event on the other side of the state.

   When you’re writing your pitch, you can have a “standard” template to work off of, but cater the intro paragraph to that specific reporter. WHY are you pitching them? Did they write a story you love and relate to? What makes YOU a great fit for THEM and their publication? If you pitch a healthcare reporter about the latest restaurant in town I can guarantee your email will be in their trash folder faster than a cheetah chasing his lunch. And on that note, if you do find a reporter(s) you jive with, build that relationship. You’re more likely to get coverage in the future, or help on future projects if you’ve established a relationship with someone vs. just sending them generic pitches all the time.

3. Report the 5 Ws

   The who, what, when, where, why. The most critical piece of information is the why; all the other information is necessary as background info. Why is your event or client or business important enough to share with readers? What are the benefits to covering you and what are you doing differently that their readers will want to, or need to know about?

   While the background info shouldn’t be in your first paragraph, they still need to know who you, or your company, are and what you do. This gives context to your lead line in the pitch.

4. K.I.S.S

   Keep it simple stupid. The same thing applies when pitching your story. Keep it simple and emphasize what really matters in the story you're trying to tell. Your pitch shouldn’t be extremely long. Give them enough info to want more. Speak in layman's terms and don’t over complicate what you’re trying to say. If they’re interested they’ll ask more questions or get you on the phone.

5. How to Close

   When you close the email, ask them if it sounds like something they’d be interested in. Leave with a “let me know if you’d like to set up a time to discuss in more detail, or if you have any questions.” Tell them when you’ll follow up next and leave your contact information. Then if you don’t hear back, follow up a few days later. We all get busy, and they get hundreds of pitches a day, so it’s easy to forget to respond, or miss something.

There you have it, now you know how you can get covered in Forbes ;) Just kidding. I titled the blog this to get your attention, and honestly kind of as my own little joke. I seriously get asked all the time if I can help people get covered in XYZ big magazine or publication. When I worked at an agency it was all about “can you get me on GMA or The Today Show?” If it was that easy, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal or that special. The pitch is important, the relationships are more important and at the end of the day the story is the most important.

My advice, simply start by self-publishing on websites that offer community submissions such as Thrive Global, Gast Company, Entrepreneur and Inc. See my post in Thrive Global here. Also, if you want to read a great national media case study of mine from my time in the agency world, check out this one here. From there, you can use that coverage to gain credibility. Start drafting your own pitch based on the tips above. Research publications (small and large) and reporters and put together a media list. If this isn’t something you feel comfortable with, even after you try it, then outsource it and hire someone who specializes in this kind of thing.

Have you ever pitched yourself before? Was it successful?

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

Why you NEED to invest in Professional Photography

I’ve enjoyed photography my entire life. Being both in front of and behind a camera. I loved making memories and capturing them with my friends while I was younger, and the same rings true today. As we started wedding planning and looking at our budget, I knew photography was the one thing I really wanted to splurge on. It’s the only thing you have left after the wedding is over to remind you of your special day.

That being said, I truly have the same feelings about photography for my business, and businesses in general. I knew when I launched my OBM business I wanted to “do it right”. I wanted to start out with a brand that was professional (but not in a buttoned up, corporate way), but something that actually looked “legit”. I mean I took photos in a shirt that says “Brains, Beauty, Booty” - so I want to be clear that you are free to showcase your vibe however you please, but I had a professional photographer take my photos vs. my boyfriend.

Anyone can take a photo, but there’s a reason photography is a profession.

Professional photography is an art and well-practiced skill. I was chatting with my photographer, Logan of Kelly and Logan Photography about the importance of professional images. As a professional photographer, Logan has invested so much time and money into honing her craft. Like any “professional development” for business professionals/employees in all industries, professional photographers are constantly learning and growing and perfecting their craft. From the right lighting and editing (that goes far beyond applying presets), to changing and correcting camera settings seamlessly and comfortably, to knowing the small nuances that truly flatter whomever or whatever the subject may be, all the way to simply creating an environment in which the subject looks and feel his/her best—Logan is ALWAYS working to make sure her clients are receiving the best possible experience she can offer and walking away with images they are proud to showcase that truly reflect their brand.

In my last blog post I talked about building your personal brand and part of that was creating your visual identity. What do you want your images to say about your brand? Do they speak to the type of vibe that you want to put off? When someone comes to your website or social channels what are they going to see? How are you portraying yourself and your brand? Your images should represent YOU and your brand and how you want your ideal client to see you.

Logan and I put together a list of 5 reasons why you need to invest in professional photos:

1. A first impression can make or break you

   In today’s digital age, people’s attention spans are SHORT. There are SO many options out there too. You are unique YOU, but if you don’t catch your ideal clients attention quickly, they’ll move on to someone else. Even if your messaging is speaking to all of their problems, if your brand doesn’t look professional people won’t take you seriously. Having photos taken by a professional can elevate your brand to give off the right first impression - whether this be your website or social media channels.

2. Show the Investment in your own brand

   People will take you more seriously if they see that you’re investing in yourself and your business. Professional photos show that your brand is legitimate enough and WORTHY enough of quality photos to showcase you/your company. Elevated images keep things cohesive. Sure, you can use a preset, but the QUALITY of the images vastly differs from an iPhone photo and angle to a professional shot.

   This is super important as you look to grow your brand presence. Do you want to pitch yourself to local, or national media? I work with a local yoga studio and I mentioned the need for professional photos - in fact we were in the process of getting them scheduled when a local magazine reached out to feature them in an upcoming issue. They asked for 3-5 high res photos of the studio. We didn’t have any. I tried to take images on my iPhone and with a professional camera but I couldn’t figure out the lighting to not get a grainy shot. We missed the opportunity (to reach a HUGE market and potentially grow the business) because we didn’t have professional photos on hand.

3. Build Credibility

   As silly as it sounds, people are attracted to nice looking things. They stand out. You automatically become more credible. By having professional photos, you will attract people that are willing to pay you for your services, or buy your products. They won’t look at your business and wonder if you’re “legit”. You will be looked at as a business vs. a hobby. When you take yourself seriously, so do your (potential) clients.

4. Scroll Stopping Photos

   This is SO important, especially on social media - if people don't want to stop and look at your photo then they won't even see your content - doesn't matter how good it is. Professional photos ARE scroll stopping photos. Photos with  bad lighting (aka light is behind you, or you’re in a poorly lit room, or under fluorescents, etc), or photos that are grainy or just “not pretty” actually hurt you.

   Most of this is the photo quality - but also, this is just a subtle reminder that some of this is YOU too. If you’re in these photos (which if you’re a service provider, you probably should be), dress “on brand” - consider your brand colors and the vibe you want to give off. Do you want to share photos of you in sweats, or looking cute? Get your hair done, do you make up. Dress to impress! That’s all part of scroll stopping photos.

5. The RIGHT photographer matters

   You are more comfortable with a photographer you trust and have a good relationship with. As you’re looking for a photographer, interview them - talk with them on the phone, meet in person if you can. Study the type of photos they share from their portfolio. Make sure their photos match your vibe and make sure their personality makes you feel at ease.

   Your photographer has the ability to capture the TRUE, natural YOU. Once you find a photographer you like, stick with them! As you grow with this photographer over time, they know your brand well and know how to capture it. You both can collaborate together on what you think the vision of the shoot should be and ideas moving forward instead of you running the shoot. A good photographer will share ideas with you - they are the creative after all :)

At the end of the day, I’m not saying ALL of your photos HAVE to be professional, you can still have the occasional selfie or photo on the beach. The most important piece though is building a cohesive brand and a cohesive look and feel to your website and social feed. Having MOSTLY professional shots will elevate your brand, build credibility and hopefully help you gain new clients, or sell more product.

If you’re looking for an amazing photographer in the greater Nashville area, be sure to check out Kelly & Logan Photography here. They specialize in portrait and lifestyle photography focusing on providing a high-end experience and crisp, natural images. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram.

Also, if you haven’t checked out my latest FREE offer, the Get Your SH!T Together Strategy Workbook, you need to head here to get it NOW. It’s the exact process I walk my clients through, as well as the steps to figure out what automations they need in their business to achieve their short and long term goals, and ultimately grow their business.

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.

Why Building Your Personal Brand Matters

I have a challenge for you. Ask someone you don’t know, but you would consider in your target audience, on Instagram or Facebook to do an audit of your social media and ask them to tell you what they think about you as a person, what you do, who you help and if they’d want to work with you.

Why? Because I want you to understand that as you’re building a business, your personal brand matters. You are a brand. You are THE brand. How you show up in your business and how you differentiate yourself in your space is super important if you want to be successful.

The most common question I get from people is how do I show up online? And the thing is, it’s not just about putting out loads and loads of content if you’re not truly speaking to who you are and who you want to serve. I work with my clients to help them brand themselves to build that know like and trust (KLT) with their audiences.

Here are some of my tips to building your personal brand and why it matters:

1. Know who you’re trying to serve.

   You have to start by first determining who your target market is. Who is the end user that would REALLY benefit from your services? What does this person do? What problems do they have? How old are they? Where are they currently in their business? What types of personalities do you want to work with? Are there specific people you’re not willing to serve? Understanding WHO you are talking to is really important in the personal branding process. Are you’re creating your brand, you want to make sure that you are talking to your ideal client all the time, so having clarity on who that is has to happen first.

2. Decide HOW and WHERE you want to show up

   How do you want others to perceive you? I’m not telling you to be fake by any means. Actually, quite the opposite - I want you to show up authentic AF. But YOU and only YOU get to decide what that looks like. They want to get to know you and what you do, but if you’re one person online and another when you get on the phone with them, that will only come back to bite you in the you know what. Share your quirks with them, own who you are, and then stay committed to showing that side of you, whatever it is, online. Are you going to show up with purple hair? Do you have a slogan for your brand -- e.g. “Get Your SH!T Together Strategist”? Maybe you love unicorns or dogs or cats? Or maybe you are uber buttoned up and professional? Do what feels good to YOU and be consistent.

   Once you decide HOW you want to show up, next you have to decide WHERE you want to show up. Especially if you’re building an online business, an online presence is extremely important. I’d recommend a website. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but it’ll serve you well if it’s at least optimized. I highly recommend Squarespace as I’ve found it super user friendly for beginners. Then, what social platforms will you show up on? Please DO NOT show up EVERYWHERE at first (I talk about why here). Really hone in on WHERE your target audience is - this may take some market research, and what you can commit to doing consistently and well. Is it Instagram and Facebook? Or maybe YouTube? Or LinkedIn? Once you decide what platforms you want to commit to, set up your accounts.

3. Establish your key differentiators

   What makes you, YOU? How are YOU different from your competition? There are going to be hundreds of people out there doing what you do… who cares? You’re not working against these people, you’re simply trying to be more YOU and sharing YOUR uniqueness to attract the clients that are like you. That’s what a personal brand is - personal. Come from an abundance mindset. Think about the ways that you’re different from others who do the same thing as you. Do you have unique experiences? Are you combining your services in a way no one else is? Is your vibe EXTRA AF? For me, I am an OBM who yes, can set up systems and processes and manage your project timelines and backend of your biz, but I also have a robust background in PR and Marketing. My clients LOVE that and I help ALL of them with strategic marketing planning that goes along with their business ideas. What are YOU bringing to the table in your industry?

4. Create a visual identity

   A lot of people think this is the ONLY part of branding. If you haven’t figured that out yet, it’s not. Your logo and color scheme is only a small part of your brand. Who you are, what you say and how you show up is actually significantly more important than what your logo looks like or if they like the colors you picked for your website. Now that being said, it is important to have a consistent look and feel. I highly recommend working with a branding specialist because they will likely craft something a bit more beautiful than you can (no offense). They’ll also help you pick fonts that speak to you and flow together, as well as visual elements that represent your brand well. You want to look professional for people to take you seriously. I mean professional in a sense of “put together” - your logo and vibe can be super fun, but make sure it is cohesive, speaks to you and your target audience and wasn’t created in paint ;).

5. ENGAGE and build meaningful relationships

   Once you have your target market, messaging and visual identity figured out, start engaging with your target audience! Building meaningful relationships online is going to be huge for you in terms of growing your business. People want to feel like they KNOW you, LIKE you and can TRUST you before they buy from you. In order to do that, you have to start building relationships. This means liking and commenting on people's posts, being their biggest cheerleader on their social channels, or in groups that you’re in online. Find out where your target market hangs out and then hang out there too. Do virtual meetups, or networking events in your local city. Engagement is so key to building your brand and online business.

If you’re an established business owner, take a minute to really stop and think if your personal brand is a good representation of you and your business. If you’re struggling to gain clients and build a successful brand, maybe take some time to re-evaluate some of the things I mentioned here today to be better aligned with your potential clients. As always, I am happy to answer any questions to help you build your personal brand!

Also, if you haven’t checked out my latest FREE offer, the Get Your SH!T Together Strategy Workbook, you need to head here to get it NOW. It’s the exact process I walk my clients through and I ask some specific questions related to personal branding, as well as help them figure out what automations they need in their business to achieve their short and long term goals, and ultimately grow their business.

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Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.

After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.

Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.

Click here to book a free call to talk more about your business goals and to see if hiring an OBM is the right fit for you.