808: 5 Effective Ways to Stay Ahead in Your Industry

0:01This episode is supported by What Should I Do With My Money? From Morgan Stanley. Okay, can we just talk about how money is legitimately one of the hardest topics to bring up. Like even when you think you have your stuff together, there's always this really weird awkwardness around it. That's why I am obsessed with this podcast. It actually makes money conversations feel approachable. I recently listened to an episode about affording multiple big life things at once, like a wedding, a house, an IVF, if they were all happening at the same time. And honestly, it hit home. So many people are wondering, can we actually have it all without sacrificing our sanity or our savings?

0:42What I love is that they bring in real experts who help break down these massive costs into actual doable steps. It's like having a money mentor in your ear who gets it. Search for What Should I Do With My Money in your podcast player. We'll also include a link in the show notes. Many thanks to What Should I Do With My Money and Morgan Stanley for their support. And so I just think having a mentor, again, whether it's free, like the form of this podcast, or someone that you hire formally, showing up for them, staying accountable, taking action, man, that will absolutely keep you ahead of the curve.

1:19I'm Jenna Kutcher, your host of the Gold Digger podcast. I escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a$300 camera from Craigslist and a dream. Now I'm running a seven figure online business that feels even better than it looks all from my house in small town, Minnesota with my family. Here we value time as our currency. We mix the woo and the work, and we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom to live lives that we love. I've always loved turning big goals into reality, and I'm here to help you do the same. This isn't just a peek behind the curtain, come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down.

1:59Every week, we tackle practical, no-fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't. Join me and my expert guests for actionable insights to help you grow your dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired, and empowered. This is the Gold Digger Podcast. Have you ever felt like you're stuck in a rut wondering how to stay ahead of the curve while everyone around you seems to be making big moves. Whether you're feeling like you're just getting started or you're already established, one thing is for sure. To lead in your industry, you've got to be committed to continuous growth and evolution.

2:38And that means learning and growing and staying sharp. In today's episode, I'm breaking down five effective ways to stay ahead in your industry and how to feel like you're not constantly falling behind. Trust me, these strategies aren't about cramming more into your already busy schedule. Instead, they're about working smarter, not harder, and leveling up in ways that feel intentional and aligned with your goals. So whether you're driving to work, walking the dog, or grabbing your morning coffee, it is time to dive into these actionable strategies. By the end of this episode, you'll have a clear game plan for how to stay relevant, competitive, and always moving forward in your industry.

3:14Let's do this. Super quick question. How many tabs do you have open right now? Like actually go to your browser and check. If you have ADHD like me, it's a lot. And when you throw a business into the mix, it's even more. You might have a tab for your email marketing system, one for your payment software, one for your CRM content tools, email tools. And with all those tabs, you're spending more time searching through data and less time, you know, growing your business. But with HubSpot's customer platform, you can close all those tabs and access all your tools in one convenient place. With HubSpot, you'll get everyone's eyes on the same work, boost data analysis with AI, optimize workflows for marketing, improve pipeline management for sales, and keep track of every customer question, big or small.

3:59So close those tabs. It's business growing time. Visit HubSpot.com to get started today. That's HubSpot.com. First things first, I just kind of want to off the cuff address this idea of staying ahead. I think a lot of times we can trick ourselves into feeling behind because we are so busy watching everyone else. And one practice I've really gotten in the habit of over the years is really asking myself if I feel like I'm behind or if I notice that I'm jealous of somebody else is really asking myself, but is that successful for me? And here's a really quick story before we dive in. I will never forget when I was in the heyday of my wedding photographer days and I saw one of my friends post this beautiful wedding photo and it was of a bride and groom in front of the Eiffel Tower.

4:49And all of a sudden I kind of felt that jealousy rising and I was like, oh my gosh, what I would give to shoot a wedding in Paris. And I sat with that for a minute and then I asked myself, but would that be considered successful to me? And I reverse engineered all of the things that had to go in to that final shot that I was seeing on Instagram. She had to have a passport that was updated. She had to fly on an international flight. She had to be jet-legged. She had to carry all of her gear with her through a city that she might not be familiar with. She had to wake up at an ungodly hour to get it where there weren't tons of crowds.

5:25Then she had to fly back home and edit all these images. And when I reverse engineered it, the bingo hall wedding in Wisconsin suddenly looked a lot more exciting to me. And so when we start to notice that we are feeling behind, I really want to ask you to question yourself and say, in those things that I'm feeling jealous about or seeing other people and feeling like they're moving ahead for me, is that truly successful for me? Or is that maybe just something that I can clap for for them? And that has just helped me so much. And so I wanted to just kick off this episode and say, one, feeling jealous of other people is totally normal.

6:04And I think that a lot of times when we dig into those jealous feelings, we can either uncover unconscious goals of ours, like things that were like, dang, I wish I had the audacity to write a book or man, I really wish I could take a three month sabbatical. And so jealousy can guide us in the way of like really establishing, like maybe that is a hidden goal of mine that I'm afraid to confess, or it can align us again with what is our definition of success and what is considered successful for us. And how can I clap for and cheer on other people who might be pursuing different definitions of success?

6:38So I will step off my soapbox and dive into the content, but I just thought that was important. So one of the first things that I highly recommend if you want to stay ahead of the curve is having a mentor. I have had so many different mentors in so many different forms over the years. And mentorship is the number one way, in my opinion, to stay at the top of your industry, to stay at the top of your game, and to stay accountable to doing the things that you said you were going to do. If you have ever had a coach, whether you were an athlete or you have a business coach or a life coach or a therapist or anything of that sort, you know the power of having something on your calendar where you are going to have to be able to report to somebody, right?

7:22Like someone is going to be holding you accountable to doing the things you're saying you're going to do. And I think that mentorship is one of the best ways to hold yourself accountable and to move towards what you really want. Now, I will never forget years and years ago, almost a decade ago, when I was first entering the online course space, I knew that I didn't want to figure it all out by myself. I brought on my friend, Amy Porterfield. She had no idea who I was because I bought her online course at the time. But I also wanted a mentor to teach me exactly how to launch a course. I learned how to create the course.

8:02I wanted to know exactly how do I launch it. And I knew there was a lot of technical things and even team members that I didn't even have at the time. And so I emailed Amy Porterfield, who at the time so politely declined my request to mentor me, which is actually hilarious and something we laugh about to this day. And then she pointed me to someone that she had used as a coach. And then he pointed me to someone that was in his community. And as luck would have it, a few months later, I was flying to the state of Virginia to meet a total stranger to learn how to launch my course. And it was kind of wild.

8:36When I look back at it now, I stayed in a stranger's house. And for two days, she had those giant whiteboards. And we were mapping out my launch and the email funnel and the ad strategy and who I needed on my team and all of these different things. But when I look back at that, even though I don't necessarily subscribe to some of the things I learned while I was with that mentor, I saw how quickly I fast-tracked my success and how quickly I escaped some of the mistakes that a lot of people make when they're first starting out. Did you know that 70 % of people think mentors are important, but only 37 % have one?

9:16I think that a lot of us acknowledge that having a coach or a mentor would be incredible. And I also want to say a lot of us probably can't afford to have the mentor or coach that we desire. But if you are able to take on a mentor, whether free or paid, of someone who has gone before you, who has been where you want to go, and who can offer you a roadmap, you will get there faster. And I say free or paid because even listening to this very podcast, I am your mentor. Whether you acknowledge it or not, I get to speak into your life and your business in a way that is so valuable to me, but hopefully valuable to you.

9:52And so you are already taking on a mentor. And I want for you to take that seriously. The key is to invest in the right mentor. So here's what I'll say. Over the years, I've had so many different mentors. and one of the biggest things that I see, a mistake that I've made in the past, a mistake I don't want you to make, is you want to make sure that your mentor fully aligns with your values and your definition of success. And what I mean by that is I have learned from certain people amazing strategies, strategies that are really valuable, but at the end of the day, they don't match the lifestyle I want.

10:29They don't match the level of freedom that I desire. And so while all of that well-intentioned advice was great, it wasn't really put to use in the most valuable way because at the end of the day, it didn't necessarily align with me. And so you really want to look for the right mentor. You want to look for peer alignment and you want to look for values. And they don't have to all be perfect. In today's world, I think it'd be really hard to find anyone who agrees with you on absolutely everything. But you want to make sure that your core values are in alignment because at the end of the day, I think values are the lens that we put everything through.

11:05It's the filter that we make decisions through. It's a filter that we move through. It's a filter that we work through. And so hiring a mentor that is in alignment and finding someone who has gone before you is key. And I will say that having someone outside of your perspective helps you to see potential opportunities and challenges differently. And so that's why I love mentorship, especially with people who have gone before you, because they have made the mistakes. They can take what they've learned over years and condense it down into days and sometimes hours for you. And they can also provide key feedback tailored to your unique strengths and weaknesses.

11:41And so I just think having a mentor, again, whether it's free, like the form of this podcast or someone that you hire formally, showing up for them, staying accountable, taking action, man, that will absolutely keep you ahead of the curve. Okay, it is officially that time of year. And if you run a business, you know, the holiday rush is no joke. I've done more Black Fridays than I can count at this point. And let me tell you, orders at 2am, inventory updates, refreshing my site, hoping it can keep up. It never stops being intense. That is exactly why I use Shopify. It keeps everything running smoothly when things get their craziest.

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13:03That's shopify.com slash gold digger. Go to shopify.com slash gold digger and make this Black Friday one to remember. Let's be real. As business owners, we know a reliable connection isn't optional. I've had my fair share of slow and lagging internet and let me tell you, nothing kills your groove faster. It is the ultimate productivity killer. You can't process payments, you can't talk to clients, and your team feels stuck waiting on you. Back when I started my business, I learned pretty quickly that things only run as smoothly as your connection does. And that's why I love what Spectrum Business is doing.

13:39They get it. They know that reliable systems keep your business running, your clients happy, and your stress levels low. Spectrum Business offers internet, advanced Wi-Fi, phone, TV, and mobile services built for your budget. And here's the best part. You can get free business internet forever when you add four mobile lines. No contracts, no added fees, just dependable service that keeps your business moving forward. Visit spectrum.com forward slash free for life to learn how you can get business internet free forever. Restrictions apply. Services not available in all areas. Number two is taking an online course.

14:20And I get it. I teach online courses. So of course, I'm going to say this, but not only do I teach online courses, I am an avid student of the online course world. I have taken online courses for marketing. I've taken them for sourdough bread. I've taken them for sleep training my children. I have taken them for gardening. I have taken so many online courses over the years. And I think that the online course world is incredible because for so many of us, we need to find education that can fit into our busy lives. We often need to be able to watch and listen to something more than once. I'm speaking for myself here.

14:56And a lot of times we want to revisit the content, right? Have you ever read a book more than once? And the second time through you notice things that you didn't notice the first time, or you watch a movie for the third time and you're like, I never even saw that part. I feel like online courses give you such a beautiful way of seeing your growth and also learning new things through the same content because you have a different lens and a different perspective because you've likely grown. I'll never forget some of the first online courses that I took. Not only was I being a student, but as I was being a student, I was feeling called to think about like, how could I do this?

15:36What would this look like if I took what I know or what I've done and put it into an online course? And so I always take online courses in a twofold manner. One, to learn the content itself, but two, to see how other course creators are positioning their offer, are putting together their content, are guiding you through the process. I learn just as much through the content as I do through the frameworks and how people set things up. I am a nerd like that. The thing that I love though is, again, digital courses allow you to sharpen your skills on your own time. They are going to push you further while still offering flexibility.

16:10We don't all have time to fly across the country for a three-day workshop or things like that. Sometimes too, we just need a piece of the online course, like a piece of the missing puzzle. And what's amazing about the online course world is you could literally think of anything you want to learn. And I will bet you there is a course out there for that. You can learn how to better serve your clients. You can learn how to use a project management system. You can learn how to market on Pinterest. You can learn how to start a podcast. There are so many different ways that you can stretch what you know through online courses.

16:48And again, condense all these hours that you would spend wasting trying to gather this information and trying and failing. What I love about online courses so much, especially when it comes to just staying ahead of the curve is that you get to learn something once you get to apply that knowledge again and again and again. And if you think about it for online courses, a lot of times you pay a one-time fee, but what you do to get results, you get to keep those results and those results compound over time. There are things that I'm still doing in my business today that I learned through an online course and I get to reap the rewards because I've done the work.

17:25And so if you have any online courses sitting in your inbox with the login info and you haven't logged in in a while, go log in. Go sharpen up a skill. Go dig into a module. Go learn something. And if you've never bought an online course, seek out a course that answers your biggest question or really helps you through your biggest pain point right now. If you can learn something in a short amount of time, it is going to save you so many hours and dollars in the long run. I will be an online course girly until the day I die. The next thing you can do to stay ahead of the game is market research.

18:02Okay. Hear me out here. When is the last time you sat down and you spent time actually researching your peers in your industry or doing a deep dive on what is actually working out in the wild? Okay. Just the other day, I set a timer for 30 minutes and I went on to Instagram very strategically, looking at other people's content to see what was working for them. I spent time going to some of my favorite content creators and looking at which posts were popping off for them and what was the subject matter and how did they format it and did they use hashtags and what was the audio? And I did just a deep dive of like, okay, some of these people are posting like three times a day, which ones are actually working for them?

18:44And it was so awesome to lift my eyes up because here's what I say. I would say 90 to 95 % of the time, you want to be head down. You just want to be in your own little world. You want to be rocking it out, serving your audience, creating new things, all that. Great. But there's something to be said for lifting your eyes up, cheering for the people around you, but also investigating. What are they doing? What are they trying? The other day, one of my dear friends messaged me and we were talking a little bit about Instagram and she was like, Oh, I noticed that you did a carousel. Carousels are working really well for me.

19:20And we ended up having this like hour long discussion about what is currently working with Instagram strategy. And she's like, okay, watch what I do on Instagram stories today. And this is how I'm laying it out. This is how I'm thinking about it. And I was like, Oh my gosh, this is so helpful because I was feeling so stuck. I think this entire summer I went on Instagram stories like three times total. I had so much to share and I didn't know what to share at the same time. And so lifting your eyes up to see what other people are doing to kind of research what's happening, what is trending. A lot of times too, we get so reliant on these systems that we've created that are kind of arbitrary that we don't actually like ask ourselves, like, is this worth it?

20:01Is this actually working? I know we're doing this right now in one area of my business. And I'm like, we have been doing the same thing for years. Has anyone ever stopped to like, be like, does this actually work? Does it make sense? Or should we try something different? And so market research is an amazing, amazing way to just kind of reestablish what is making you different? What are other people out there doing? How can you take what's working for them and put your own spin on it? And are there some other things that you need to try? According to the Hanover Research Report, companies that frequently conduct market research are significantly more likely to report an increase in revenue over the last 12 months than those who infrequently conduct market research.

20:42So this is telling us if you want to grow your business or grow your platform or make more money, you need to lift your eyes up very specifically, very strategically and very thoughtfully. One of the best ways you can be proactive is again, knowing what is happening both in your industry and outside of your industry. It can help you identify trends. It can help you be aware of audience changes. It can help you be aware of behaviors or questions that you're getting. So here are a couple practical ways to start your market research. So first, set up Google alerts. You can set up Google alerts for different topics, different things.

21:19I was just watching something the other day. One of my friends was like, we set up Google alerts for anytime Instagram announced something new for creators so that we are at the very top of understanding what they're prioritizing so that we can test it out, try it out and get results with it. Another way that you can do awesome market research is to survey your audience on social media. Ask them specific questions. Ask them to dialogue. Put that little questions box and have them fill in responses. And if you have past clients or customers, send them a survey. Ask them, where are you at now? What are you working on now?

21:52What are you struggling with? What are you looking for? What was your last Google search? Whatever it is. However you can start to data mine and get some insight into what people actually want and need, the more that you can fill that gap and serve it. And so I am someone who I feel like most of my marketing is like tried and true marketing principles. I'm not a huge trend person, but I have noticed over the past years, if you want to stay relevant, especially on platforms like Instagram, you have to be aware of the trends and market research is the best way I can do that. Again, set a timer, spend a little bit of time thinking about your favorite creators or your favorite business owners or digging into some of the creator tools that Instagram gives you and just kind of lift your eyes up and look around.

22:39Number four is learning from others. So one of the first experiences that I had where I really put myself in to learn from other people was joining a mastermind. And I have talked about that so many times on this show, but joining a mastermind and having a community who was working towards similar goals and experiencing similar challenges and just committed to gathering together to elevate everyone in the room, that was such a life-changing experience for me. I am still close with a lot of people that were in that mastermind from many, many years ago. And I just think that masterminds are an amazing way to share what you know and share what's working for you, but also to ask questions.

23:24There was a mastermind that I attended last year. It was just like a little one-off thing. It was a free mastermind. Everyone came together. And out of that mastermind, we have this text thread with a group of women. And one of my friends, Patrice, sent out a question to the group. And there's like six of us in that text thread. And she was asking something about evergreening or automating a campaign. And the wealth of knowledge that came out from her question, where I didn't even have that question and I was giving her my advice, but then I was learning from other people in that text thread, like it is so valuable.

23:56It's like that hive mind mentality. And I just could not recommend it more. Yes, having a mentor is amazing. And if you can afford one, and if you can find one, awesome. But also do not discount the power of getting yourself around peers that you can learn from. And what's awesome is that when you are with people who are willing to share what is working for them, like even with my friend the other day with the Instagram stories, you can try things out and test them and adapt them to you and your offers in your business and see if it works. And I just absolutely love also hearing about what people are struggling with, because I think oftentimes entrepreneurship is so isolating and we're not really given a lot of opportunities to share with what is really hard right now, right?

24:45Sometimes it's not relatable. Sometimes people don't care. Sometimes we don't want to air out our dirty laundry. I get it. And so having a group of people where you can be vulnerable with, you can share what's working, but you can also share where you're struggling can help you feel way less isolated and way more a part of something bigger than yourself. The internet is an amazing place to connect. There are so many different ways that you could form a little cohort or a little informal mastermind or even a formal one. There's our free Facebook community, our gold digger podcast insiders group.

25:17That group is amazing. And so many friendships and even working relationships have been formed in there. There are real world connections. So you can obviously do workshops or events or join a formal mastermind or do some sort of collaboration. The one thing I will say is if you are able to somehow get in person with other people, I feel like it just makes the bond go deeper, quicker. And then the phone conversations or email conversations just feel way more authentic because you know that person and you've been with them in the flesh. And I know that's not always possible. It's time for Black Friday, Dell Technologies' biggest sale of the year.