My Favorite Tools for a Successful Career Change - When I Grow Up

My Favorite Tools for a Successful Career Change - When I Grow Up In honor of the future career changers who are  killing it with Pivot Assembly right now (youre signed up, right? The free part ends tomorrow!), I thought Id give you even more of a leg up on your impending launch-your-biz career goals. I admit, the landscape has changed so much since I started working as The When I Grow Up Coach in 2008, and quit my job in 2010. Just think: there was no Instagram, no Pinterest, no Facebook groups or Facebook Live, blog comments actually led to friendships (!) and clients (!!),  Twitter could spark real conversations (!!!), and having a WordPress site meant you were  legit. Thanks to the work Ive done personally with hundreds of clients since then, I have some go-to tools, books and resources that I keep recommending over and over again. I realize that theyre the essentials to a successful, easy-as-possible career change, so I wanted to share em with you! #duh Heres my magic list: The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.  Probably my most-referred-to book. This needs to be your bible. Buy a copy, take the couple of hours to read it all the way through, then again with a highlighter, then keep it in your bag forever. Take it out when you need a kick in the tush, when the Vampire Voices in your head are screaming the loudest, when you need reassurance that the best/only thing to do is to just do your work (regardless of the outcome)this is the book that has stuck with me and Im guaranteed to talk about with each of my clients. Magic Lessons podcast.  I started with a client this week who wanted some recommended reading in the few weeks she had between signing up to work with me and having our first session. I pointed her to  The War of Art and also mentioned she should binge as much of this podcast as possible. Elizabeth Gilbert essentially coaches an (aspiring) artist on each episode, then brings in an expert so she can talk through the challenges that came up with someone who can add additional insight. By the time she follows up with the client a few weeks later, lives have been transformed! Steps have been taken! Dreams have come true!  And, somehow, its all universal. You dont need to be a storyteller to get massive take-aways from Episode 205, or a Mom to hear Brene Browns wisdom in Episode 102. My client told me this should be required listening for all my future clients. Indeed! SquareSpace.  You need a website. Ok, YES, you can successfully leave your job and launch your biz without one, but it makes things  so much easier when you do. Think of this as the ultimate marketing tool one that sells you and your offerings way better than you can (and can brag on you without you having to open your mouth). This is the only website-building platform I recommend in 2017 because it has the smallest learning curve, is insanely user-friendly, and can make your DIY site look  legit. My friendleague (and Pivot Assembly expert!) Laura Simms recommends the  Bedford, Native, Hayden, Pacific, Five, and Bryant themes, so I do, too. CapitalOne360.  Ive had an account here for at least 10 years, when it was ING Direct. With as many free savings accounts as you want, take the 5 minutes now to open up a Suck It Name-of-the-company-you-work-for Fund. This is where you deposit any money you make from your side hustle. This is where your birthday money, your work bonuses, and any found money should go (sudden inheritance? scratch-off lottery winner?). As it grows larger, your quitting date gets closer. Its good stuff. Canva.  This Photoshop alternative is for those of us (ahem) that dont know or have no desire to learn a complicated design program. Its well worth the low price for a pro account, too, cause saving your fonts, colors and templates makes life  so much easier. Thisll help immensely when its time to create a logo, resize your blog image for Pinterest, make a header for your Facebook group, etc. Mailchimp.  I learned from Tara Gentile (another one of our  Pivot Assembly experts!) recently that businesses that use email marketing make 400% more money than those that dont. 400%! I mean, I pretty much forced all my clients to have newsletters be the only non-negotiable part of their business plans  before, but now my clients sites are not launching without it (and a plan to use it). Mailchimp also gets an A+ when it comes to being user-friendly, and is totes free until you have 2,000 subscribers. No brainer. A Sacred Business Binder.  I dont care that youre still side hustling you need to treat your business like a business from the start. This system I created is a right-brain friendly way to put your business notes and plans all in one place. I usually have my clients work on their Handbooks with me, writing a letter from the CEO of their company (which is them!) to their first employee (also them!). By clarifying and articulating their backstory, culture, values, etc. things just seem to naturally shift from an Im-a-side-hustler to Im-a-boss. Couple that with goalsetting, monthly reflection notes and more and youve got the framework thatll evolve as your business does. Notice how I didnt list online schedulers, contract signers, file sharing platforms, CRM systems, etc. Thats because THEYRE NOT NEEDED TO LAUNCH YOUR BUSINESS. Can I get any louder about that? ?? I had a client lately who had a great consultation (because she has a killer site and isnt afraid to talk to people about what she does), and then emailed me in a panic because she hadnt followed up in 5 days  even though the consultation ended with a request to sign up. My client thought she needed all those systems up and running before reaching back out! I got on the horn STAT and told her to just send a PayPal invoice along with an It-was-so-nice-speaking-to-you-hope-you-had-a-great-Labor-Day-cant-wait-to-work-together email. The email also gave the prospective client her timeline and explained  that once the invoice gets reconciled shell be back with intake questions (that were to just be written out in the email) and her availability (also just written out in an email). Sure, online ca lendars and beautifully designed intake forms are great, but nothing turns you from a hobbyist to a business like a paying client. Stop it with the busy work, get out of your own way, and give yourself the shortest line between you and that paying client.   Ready for even more career change tools, advice, and action items? Then get over to Pivot Assembly before the free stuff ends tomorrow! Youll not only get 11 expert interviews to access for free before we wrap up, but youll have a chance to own all 16 career change conversations (audio  and video files) along with a resource from each of our expert for 96% off. That is  not a typo. Go save yourself $2,601 right freakin now.