Out Of Office: Stop Playing Small

I always try to think of a theme from the month when I’m writing these Out of Office posts, and this month’s theme took a minute for me to come to terms with. The theme of this month was a lesson for me, and that is to stop playing small.

I almost didn’t realize that I was doing this, but it’s really dawned on me this month that I often focus too much on where I’m at instead of where I’m going. That’s a great way to stay where I’m at, right?

I noticed this when I sent out my very first email newsletter last week. I had been holding off for SO long to send a newsletter because I only had like 25 subscribers and had not put much effort into growing a list or preparing a strategy. I had been focused on other areas of my business and knew that I’d get to this part, but it had taken a back seat. On a whim, I decided to create a newsletter and just send it. I figured, I have to start somewhere and what’s the worst that will happen…

Imagine my shock and happy surprise when I saw that I had actually made an affiliate sale from that newsletter that was sent to about 25 people! It was a great lesson that you can’t discount your audience, no matter the size.

It was also a great lesson that I need to stop playing small. I need to focus on where I want my business to go and put myself out there a bit more. So, here’s what I’m manifesting right now:

Growing a strong and engaged community – I would love to reach 10K on Instagram this year so that I can more easily share links to cool products and resources with you guys!
Send e-newsletters on a consistent schedule and grow my list. Sign up here if you like exclusive content, sale round-ups and curated shopping lists!
Earn 60% of my income from affiliate marketing and collaborations each month, increasing to 90% by Blob’s due date in August!
Create solid relationships with current brand partners and sign 4-5 new, long-term partnerships with brands I love.

some wins from this month

Launched my e-newsletter and made an affiliate sale from the first send!
Landed a paid collaboration and made twice what I normally charge.
Landed a paid, long-term collaboration with an awesome local business.
Published 14 blog posts in March. These were my top three blog posts of the month: