You don’t have to jump off the cliff… but you DO have to stand on the edge (insights to how you can achieve side hustle success)

Hello lovelies. How are you? Hey, hope you’re having a great day. I am really excited to talk to you about this topic, but before we get started on jumping off the cliff versus taking the stairs, and some more insights on that, I’m going to share this out with my community. As you may know, I’m Gina Fresquez, and I have a group called the Woman’s Side Hustle Society, and it’s where I share all my tips, and tricks, and all the stuff that has to do with building a side hustle or a business on the side of working a nine to five, specifically for coaches and different types of service based entrepreneurs, but I honestly have all different types of clients through all different walks of life. I’m going to share this video out really quickly before we dive in so that they know (in the group) I’m on as well.

If you are a woman growing your side hustle, or you want to start a side hustle, or you think you have an idea, or you need more help with it, please run it to over in the group because that’s where I like to hang out most of the time.

Hello, hello. Okay, so if you’ve been following me for a while, and you maybe know my story, maybe not, wherever you are in this journey with me, I’m Gina Fresquez. I started a community called The Women’s Side Hustle Society to support women as they build businesses on the side, and then to do it in a way that feels really good to them. So, doing it their way, maximizing their gifts, maximizing all of their zones of genius so that everything flows with more ease and grace as they do it. I’m not about the struggle. I’m not about sacrificing all of your loves and the things that you enjoy. You want to do it where you feel fulfilled and you manage your sanity and your lifestyle all at the same time.

So, I talk a lot about taking the stairs. This is a concept that I’ve developed over time because there is a quote out there that discusses the definition of an entrepreneur is somebody who jumps off the cliff and builds their wings on the way down. That quote has always rubbed me the wrong way because I have been an entrepreneur for over five years now, since I started my business. I loved my corporate job. I didn’t have any plans of leaving it at the time. I felt like that quote is talking about that’s the only way you’re an entrepreneur.

For me, I talk about taking the stairs. For me, I’m not a cliff jumper, I’m not about to just leave everything behind and jump off the cliff. I wanted to figure out a way to take the stairs myself. What that means is, carefully moving forward in a way that feels really good, deciding what your steps are, executing on them, and keep on moving forward in a way that feels really good. That’s taking the stairs. But I what I want to talk to you today, is something that is coming up a lot, and it’s something that we keep on challenging ourselves. It’s around the fact that you don’t have to jump off the cliff. It doesn’t have to feel like life-changing scary. When you are moving forward and making these decisions, you don’t have to feel like you’re throwing everything away.

But, that’s the big thing. You do need to walk to the edge. You do need to stand on the edge, whether it’s the cliff or the step, whichever direction you want to go, some people are cliff jumpers, some people are stair climbers. You do have to stand on the edge for that next level of evolution. This came to me today when I was thinking about changes, and making decisions to do things. It’s just so interesting … that every time you desire change, you desire something more, you desire that next level of evolution, whether that’s personally or professionally, you have to get uncomfortable a little bit.

I promise you, if you follow big time entrepreneurs out there, big name coaches, gurus, those types of people that have made big names for themselves, they will say that they’ve pushed themselves to the edge of their comfort zone. You’ve probably heard that before. Even though I’m one who loves safety and security, and taking the stairs, and really feeling into each step of the way, before you can enjoy that next step, before you can have that progress, before you can move on to that next thing, you have to get to the edge.

You have to get to the edge.

I want to give you a bunch of examples of how this is played out to not only my life, but in my client’s lives because like I said, I’m not about jumping off the cliff. I’m not about just throwing everything away, or jumping, or making these huge, huge big life changes. But to get movement, to get success, whatever you guys are thinking about doing in 2018, whatever that might be professionally or personally, you have to push yourself. You have to push the envelope a little bit. That’s how we change. That’s how we evolve. Staying in your comfort zone means that you’re staying in the exact same place. And that’s okay for some people, but I have to bet that if you’re a side hustler you want change. You desire something else.

If we desire something else that we don’t have currently, you do have to push yourself a little bit. You guys know, I’m a fan of feeling good in the process. I’m not talking about not being able to buy groceries, to not being able to afford your mortgage. We’re talking about just things that feel a little uncomfortable, that stretch you a little bit, but you’ll still survive. What that means is it’s something that’s exciting and scary at the same time. They’re equal. That what I want you to feel into it. You guys know I’m a big fan of discussing feelings, so when you’re trying to decide if something is totally life changing scary, or totally exciting and fun, and if it’s going to stretch you and push you and help you on the process of evolving and taking the stairs, getting to that next level, that edge of that cliff, and you don’t have to jump off the cliff you just have to get to the edge, is does it feel equally exciting and scary at the same time?

That’s a question that you can ask yourself if that is going to help you. If you keep on just playing it safe, if you keep on doing the things that you keep on doing, like you’re not trying anything new, then you’re going to get the same results. Definition of insanity is that. To get different results, which really when that comes to building our business, it is stretching for that next level of success, whatever that might be. That can be financial goals, that can be title goals, that can be client goals, that can be getting your clients bigger results on their end. Whatever it is, you’re desiring something more.

This is what people are doing. The difference between people who are advancing and people who are getting that level of success are the people who are pushing themselves to the edge. I’m going to give you some examples. It doesn’t have to be financial, it can be anything. It can be asking that really vulnerable or daring question to somebody. Maybe it’s a client, maybe it’s a prospect, and asking that one question that you might be kind of scared or nervous to ask, will provide that huge breakthrough for your client, or for your prospect or for a family member even., sometimes we’re scared to ask those questions because again, we’re scared.

But if you just take that to the edge and you ask that question, I promise you that that will evolve into something else. I’ve been there with my clients. I used to not ask really difficult questions. Now I’m at a place where I will ask you the difficult questions because I know that on the other side is the breakthrough. Those of you that are my clients, you know this. The other thing is maybe if investing in the first time. This will progress over time. The very first time I ever invested in a group program felt really big. The next time I invested in a one-on-one coach, which was even more money, felt really big.

You just keep on evolving. None of those investments felt like I wasn’t going to be able to pay my mortgage, but they were a stretch for me at the time. The funny thing is, is that the one that I originally first invested in would be a piece of cake now. As you get to the edge of your comfort zone, get to the edge of the cliff, it will be easier the next time. That next step will be bigger. That next cliff will be bigger. You just keep on moving up to that space. It feels different each time, and so that’s why we have to challenge ourselves to not stay in the same spot. You could say, “Well, I already made that decision. I already did that thing that pushed me.” Great. Now let’s do it again.

That is taking the stairs. You’re not just going to stay on one stair, you’re going to keep on going. I want you to keep on going to that edge. Again, it doesn’t mean you have to completely jump off, it just means you have to push it just a little bit, just enough to feel a twinge, just enough. I will tell you that if it feels too easy … For example, my clients, I want them to think about the investment that it takes to work me, whether that’s in a group, or work with me one-on-one, I want them to feel like, “Whew, okay. This is big.” Not that it’s out of the question, but that it’s like, “Okay, this is big.”

What happens is you show up for yourself totally differently. I’ve seen this in my clients. You show up for yourself differently than if it was like, “Oh, that’s a no-brainer. That’s easy.” Think about it for a moment. The stuff that you get for free, do you actually always implement? The stuff that you paid $10 for, I mean I’ve signed up for a million different courses and things and I’m always like, “Ooh, that one’s on sale. Ooh, that one’s great,” but I don’t actually do them. But when I’ve invested in one-on-one coaching, it has expanded me. I’ve put more of my weight into it, my energy into it, and it has made me do the work. You almost automatically guarantee that you’re going to get the results when you stretch yourself. Again, I’m not just talking financially.

It could also be saying yes to something that you never thought you would ever do. You’re stretching yourself to maybe do something, go somewhere, experience something that you never thought you would do, and it scares you a little bit, just a little bit. Yes, do it. Again, we’re not talking about jumping off the cliff, though that could be that thing for you. It’s the pushing yourself to the edge for that next level of evolution, and whatever that might be for you. I want to give you just three more actual examples. Those were kind of generic examples.

Actually, this past year … I’ve invested in one-on-one coaching over the years. I’m a coach, so I believe in the coaching model. For me, this last year I’ve invested a lot of money in coaching. Well, it’s all relative, right? For me, it was the first time I spent a significant amount on my own coach, and into a mastermind program. At the time I remember talking with my coach and being like, “Whew, this feels weird. Ooh, I don’t know if I can do it.” I was kind of breathing through it. She’s like, “Yes, you can. You can do it because once you say yes and you do it, you’re going to guarantee your results because it felt a little bit scary.”

It wasn’t like I wasn’t going to be able to buy myself groceries, or I wasn’t going to be able to pay for rent, it wasn’t that kind of scary. That’s probably one you might not want to do. But if it’s just a stretch, if it feels like maybe you’ve never done it before, and that’s where it was for me. I’d never invested on that level. It felt really scary. But I will tell you, this year I doubled my revenue in my business. When the first half of the year, I had no idea how I was going to do that. Things just started moving, and I said yes to things. That’s that financial way of stepping into it and making sure it feels just a stretch.

I will tell you that my clients, I want them to think about it. I want them to go, “Ooh, okay yes. This feels like a little bit of a stretch, but I really desire this. I really want what’s on the other side of this, so I’m going to move forward. I’m going to push myself a little bit to say yes.” I actually had a client recently who has been with me for a while. She’s actually been with me since Ezra was born. She’s been with me for three years. So, she has moved along with me, with all my pricing levels and things like that. Recently she came back to working with me, and she had gone through this thing and she really needed help getting through this problem. When we talked about pricing and that kind of stuff, she was freaking scared. She was also scared because she knew what she was going to have to do to get there (the deep inner work).

We talked about her mindset and issues that were bringing brought up. It felt really scary to her. I will tell you, maybe one day she can come on here and share her story, but it felt really scary because it was really addressing some things that she’s been hung up on for a while. And, the price point was also scary for her. But I will tell you that when we worked through it all, she’s been working with me now for just a couple months, and she has had the biggest breakthroughs and the biggest “aha’s” that I’ve ever seen from any of my clients. She showed up and she did the work because she committed. It was so amazing.

She’s also been working with me for three years on and off. This was the boldest move that she’s ever done, and she got the best results. That’s just an example of … For her it wasn’t even in her business, it was some personal stuff that was going on. It felt scary, and I had to help her with that. This is the thing, it should feel equally scary and exciting at the same time. That’s how we evolve. That’s how we progress, by pushing the limit, bringing yourself to the edge of the comfort zone, bringing yourself to the edge. You don’t have to jump, just bringing yourself to the edge.

Another thing could be saying yes to something. I’m going to share my experience. Recently, I’ve said yes to writing a chapter in a book, being an author in a book, a published author. I will tell you that that is pushing myself to the edge of my comfort zone. I did not ever think I would be an author. I say that, and I’ll share more of this on other posts, but as you guys know I like to talk. I’m not a writer. I’ve always said I’m not a writer. I never ever thought I would be an author, published author would ever be in my title. But, the way it came about is because I knew what I desired on the other side. For me, that is I want to speak more. I want to do more speaking engagements. I want to get on stage. I want to talk. I want to facilitate more. I love doing that.  That’s what I desire for 2018.

When this opportunity came my way, I could’ve just passed on it, but I really thought about what I needed to do. Getting my message out there, being able to speak on that is really important to me. I pushed myself, and it was scary. I will tell you writing that chapter was really hard for me. But, it’s helping me evolve. By leaps and bounds it’s helping me evolve. That’s the whole concept of you don’t have to jump off the cliff, but you do need to pull yourself, step up to the edge for you next level of evolution.

I hope those examples were helpful for you, and that you are able to see how to progress, and how to truly have side hustle success, which is what I’m here to support you with, is by keep on pushing the envelope. You can take the stairs, but just keep on going. Keep on pushing yourself. Don’t get stuck on one of these stairs, let’s keep on moving forward.

If you’re listening to this now, or tell me below, what is maybe one thing that feels both really exciting and scary at the same time? Tell me below what that is for you. Maybe it’s something that you’ve thought about, maybe something that’s come down your path, or maybe just something in the future that might come. What is equally exciting and scary? Let’s think about that because that is probably something we should work on you accomplishing because on the other side will be your next evolution as far as wherever you desire to be.

Then in 2018, what will bring you to the edge of your comfort zone? That is maybe something you should look into. Pushing ourselves a little bit, bringing yourself to the edge of the comfort zone, bringing yourself to the edge of the cliff, whether that is investing for the first time in yourself, you haven’t don’t that yet. Maybe it’s stepping up, maybe it’s working with that coach. Maybe it’s doing that program or that mastermind. Maybe it’s saying yes to that opportunity that you passed on last year. It’s totally, totally doable. Share that below, like what feels nerve-wracking, but equally exciting at the same time. I want to know what that is from you.

Michelle, thanks for joining me. You said, “I’m trying hard to increase and maintain high revenue with my jewellery sales. Do you feel coaching would be a benefit in what I do and how it can help be via Facebook and a website?” Without getting too specific into what you do, I would say yes. We only know what we know, and sometimes when we expand outside of our comfort zone, we expand and get other people’s eyes on us and what’s holding us back, a lot of times we can reach that next level of evolution. We can pull ourselves forward, to say.

If you’re looking for strategies on Facebook, it’s really about how you show up. I’m a big fan of doing you, like how you do you and do that best, not taking on everybody’s ideas and trying to learn from everybody. It’s really maximizing your gifts. For me, it’s being on Facebook, and being live, and talking to people. For you, we can maybe discover what that would be for you. Jewellery sales could be really fun. There’s so many different ways to do it, and so we’d really want to maximize what’s good for you. If you’re not familiar with coaching, coaching is … somebody’s not going to tell you what to do, they help you figure out how you can do it best. They shed light on maybe what you haven’t shed light on. They reflect back what you need. They also help you uncover anywhere that you’re stuck so you can keep on moving forward.

Michelle, you also said “spending big money on inventory, that you hope people will buy it.” Yeah, so I’m guessing, Michelle, that that is your answer to the what feels scary, or what is something that maybe you need to do to push the envelope. What is scary about that? The fear, I would guess Michelle, is the fear is that, “if I buy all this inventory and nobody buys it, then I’m out this amount of money.” We actually need to flip that and put the intention on that, “By purchasing this inventory, it’s already in motion and I’m going to sell it.” You’re actually becoming your own guarantee, and you’re going to do whatever it takes to sell it, in a way that feels really good to you.

That’s where I come in. We would then put together a strategy that feels really good to you, and how you can go about it, so that you are executing it in a way. It has to feel good for it to be in alignment for you to get the results that you want. When we try on systems that don’t feel good, the energy is going to feel off. It’s like when you’re trying to sell something that you don’t believe in. People know that. They can feel that. Even if you’re selling it with a smile on your face, if you don’t actually believe in it, and it feels really awkward, people can tell.  When we get fully behind everything that we do, and it’s totally in alignment, then it takes off from there.

Michelle says, “Yes, thanks for the explanation.” Yeah, and if you have any questions Michelle, just let me know. Message me, or post here. You keep on saying yes out loud. “Yes.” I’m so glad that that’s resonating with you. So yeah, pushing yourself, spending money on jewellery. Then I would curious to know what are your other options? How else can you achieve success? We would dive into that. Maybe you have A or B, or maybe there’s an option number C that you haven’t even thought about. There’s that brainstorming there, and really going into what’s going to be your best option for you specifically. Love it.

With that, if anybody’s out there, Michelle, or whatever, if you are desiring that next level of success, so if you are like, “Ugh, 2018, I really want to grow my side hustle. I’m sick of being in this space. I want to take that next step,” whatever that might be for you, expand, evolve, I challenge you to just reach out to me. We should chat. We can set up a phone call. I would love to help you in that process of trying to figure out what that might be. I love supporting women as they take off with their side hustle, and then doing it in a way that feels really good to them.

Whatever that might be, if you’re desiring coaching, or even just want some ideas, I’m also putting together the Side Hustle Sisterhood, that’s kicking off in February. That is a really small intimate group of women mastermind who are all on this path of that evolution and pushing themselves to achieve really great things in 2018, so really wanting to move mountains and do it with the support of some people that really love and support them. You get lots of coaching from me to really do what you desire, to really accomplish that success that you want in 2018. It’s going to be a really close intimate group. If you just have any questions about that, or are just curious to know more about that, just message me and we can set up a call.

It’s really about moving some massive mountains in 2018 with that support and that collective, and challenging you to do things differently, pushing the edge of your comfort zone, but doing it all in a way that maximizes your gifts, and doing it in a way that feels good. I’m interviewing currently right now for that. I have three women all ready, and looking for anywhere from three to five more women. It’s going to be really intimate and close. Let me know if that feels good to you too.

So, again, takeaways: push yourself to the edge of the cliff. You can take the stairs, but to keep on getting that success that you desire, again, I don’t want you to stay in the same place because if you stay in the same place you’re not going to grow. Whether that’s personally, financially, leadership skills, whatever it is you got to push. You got to change. You got to evolve. Bring yourself to the edge. Push the envelope. Let me know in the comments below what that is for you, and I will support you on that. Hope you guys have a wonderful rest of your day. See you later.