"I can't stress enough how important this is. We have to step into the belief that you are a business owner, an entrepreneur, a successful entrepreneur; you are a badass boss. This is the fastest way to get to your goal is to grow your belief."

Full Transcript

Sari 0:04
I'm Sari Kimbell and I've done just about everything in the food industry. I have helped hundreds of packaged food business entrepreneurs. And now I want to help you make your delicious dream a reality. Whether you want to be successful at farmer's markets, online, or wholesale onto store shelves, Food Business Success is your secret ingredient. I will show you how to avoid an expensive hobby, and instead run a profitable food business. Now let's jump.

Sari 0:39
Hey, guys, welcome back to another week of the podcast. Before I get started, I have a request for you to please go to Apple iTunes and review. Give me a five star review with a little note. It really helps me to reach my audience, to reach more people just like you starting a packaged food business. I have a goal of getting five new five star reviews and that I would love to read on this podcast. And it's super simple. You just go to Apple iTunes, search for Food Business Success, like you are looking for our brand new podcast. And then you just click on the five stars and type in a little note to me that I would love to read on the podcast. Be sure you leave your business name so people can go and find you. This review is from Rachel of Life's A Buch. Love that gal. We just did a package refresh that's so fun. She says "I love this podcast. As a client of Siri for several years, I am so happy to see her releas this educational podcast on how to grow your business. Her knowledge and background in the industry really shines through with the passion that she has for helping other business owners thrive. 10 out of 10!" Thank you so much, Rachel, I really appreciate that review. And you guys should go check out her social media, Rachel is doing a fantastic job. It's Life's a Buch, and it's a kombucha company.

Sari 2:11
Alright, let's get into the episode. I am really excited to talk to you about this today. I know it's going to help so many of you. I was writing out the outline for this and I was really getting excited just thinking about some of you in my mind that I work with or know and just thinking like, what is it that you need to get past, you know, whatever is stopping you, whatever is holding you back, whatever is going to break the cycle of wherever you're at in your business where things are not working. And this has changed everything for me. And this is definitely a continuation of the impossible goal work. So it's highly, it's very related. This is just another layer of how we can make subtle shifts that really don't even take that much more resources or energy and change everything. So I hope you get so much out of this. I know you will. I've had a few people ask me about specifically like, what is it that I write in my journal. So I'm going to actually outline that for you in a few minutes. And I'm going to be kind of vulnerable and share exactly what I write in my journal because I think it'll really help you. And I'm going to give you some examples to how you could shift that for your particular business- starting a packaged food business. But I really believe that part of your journal exercise, part of your right daily writing exercise needs to consist of what I call a belief plan. So a lot of you have a to do list and a business plan. But have you really actually refocused and started working on your belief plan? Hopefully that doesn't sound too out there. And I'm going to explain more about what I mean. But let's actually start with the definition of what a belief is. Because I think a lot of us feel like they are just true, like they are the way the world is. And the reality is that a belief according to Merriam Webster, it is something that is accepted, considered to be true or held as an opinion. So I find that really interesting that it literally says like this is an opinion and in my mind, a belief is simply an idea, a thought that gets practiced over and over and over and over again. Like let's just take something really innocuous, something simple. I have a belief that I I'm not coordinated. That really may or may not be true.

Sari 5:05
But my belief backs it up to be true. And I feel like I have lots of evidence from being a kid and being uncoordinated, right? Like not being able to do gymnastics well, or to dribble a ball or, you know, especially around sports, right? So I solidified a belief in my youth, that I am not coordinated. And that would inform a lot of my decisions about things that I would do or participate in. Because I would say, well, I'm not coordinated. And now I really, as an you know, as an older adult, really work on challenging that belief. And I do these Pilates classes now that really helped me challenge my belief and say, Actually, I am coordinated. Look at all the things I can do now, after a year, two years of doing these these workouts like, heck, I'm actually pretty coordinated. But it's sneaky, it still sneaks up in there. So have you questioned your beliefs around your business? Around your success? Have you gone into your mind and like really question whether they're true, kind of shake out the cobwebs of your beliefs? Because there's so many of them that we just, they have been like, on the repeat button, like the CD player, from the old days of like, repeat, and we don't even notice that they're going on in the background. And ultimately, these are what are not producing the results that you want. This is where there is that conflict. So for example, you might have some beliefs that are just like, like really dull, like they're just always playing on the background kind of low vibe. And you don't even notice them. Things like, I never follow through. Nothing ever works out for me. I'm bad with money. I'm too busy. Other people are always doing it better. I'm not sure I can figure it out. We have these low grade hums that really end up sabotaging our results. Especially when we want to go do big things when we want to start or grow our packaged food business. This is where those thoughts start to flare up. And we have to grow our awareness around them first. So first, I want you to try and identify some of those beliefs. And even just question like, Is that true? Are there places that you could figure out where you actually have been good with money? Where you have followed through? Where you have done it better, and where things always work out? Or where you find time to do the things that you really want to do? First is just to identify, try to become aware of one or two thoughts that are maybe actually setting you up for failure, and sabotaging your results for what you say that you want in your life. But that is not happening. We actually have to purposefully set up a new set of beliefs. And the great news is that you get to make them up, you get to decide what beliefs will serve you best in your goal. And this is so crucial you guys. Anybody who has been a successful entrepreneur will tell you, to take Mark Cuban or any of the shark tank people or

Sari 8:46
any entrepreneur you find to be wildly successful, they will tell you, it has to start with a new set of beliefs. A set of beliefs that that set you up for success for the results that you want. They have to align with your vision. And that's the problem is we set these big goals, but we don't actually tend to our beliefs that are just hanging out in the background. And so we're always doomed to fail. There's actually an inherent conflict when you say I want to start this packaged food business and have $10,000 in sales. And then your beliefs tell you that you never follow through and you're bad with money and you always mess things up. And you're always going to be way too busy. We actually want to prove our beliefs true. It's called confirmation bias. And it is something that is set up in our brains where when we want to believe something, when we have a belief, we will go out and prove it true. So we have to create new set of beliefs to go out and prove those as true. And the other piece of it is we don't like holding two opposing ideas at the same time. We can't be good at money and also bad money at the same time. We don't like the word and. It's called cognitive dissonance. So those two things set us up that if we don't make conscious choices to redefine, re-ingrain, our beliefs, our new set of beliefs that we will be doomed to fail. So this is I can't stress enough how important this is, we have to step into the belief that you are a business owner, an entrepreneur, a successful entrepreneur; you are a badass boss. This is the fastest way to get to your goal is to grow your belief, I so often see in my clients, something I call success intolerance. Even if you have a goal, and you say, Yes, I can do this. Even if one thing goes, right, you guys tell me over and over again, how that's just a fluke. That's not really how it's gonna be. And so you keep trying to prove to yourself the negative beliefs. I know, this seems totally messed up, right? Like, why would our brains do this to us? We're trying to do amazing things, but it wants to keep you safe and out of harm's way.

Sari 11:10
So I want you to really think about what are the beliefs that we need to have that you need to have to produce the result that you want? Whatever that impossible goal is, for this year, what is it that you need to be thinking to get the action aligned with the result? Because we can take action all day. There are a ton of actions that you can take, like scrolling on social media, watching Netflix, getting on Amazon, listening to podcasts all day, every day. There are a ton of actions that you can take that will not produce results. Now, some of them do support those beliefs 100%. But it's so easy to just spin out an email and social media, which is ultimately procrastination. So when you're taking action from this place, whether it's passive or active, but you don't have the right belief, then you are not going to get the results you want to be a paid profitable business. So what if you stepped into the belief of what would it take to be a profitable, successful packaged food business owner? What do you need to believe, to make that happen to take action from that place? Okay, so I am literally going to read you parts, some pieces from my daily writing exercise. This takes me about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how awake I am. And I always try to do it first thing in the morning, because I find that it really sets me up for a better day, for a day of walking in belief of the Sari who is a successful business entrepreneur.

Sari 13:05
So the first thing I do is actually I write a statement that I got, I've expanded on it. It comes from Gay Hendricks from his book, The Big Leap. He has a mantra in there that he wants you to write down. have, you know, near your computer somewhere where you look every day. It's a mantra that you say frequently. So I always start with this. His is I expand in abundance, success and love every day, and I inspire those around me to do the same. He calls this resetting the thermostat and finding a new set point. That we will always go back to the same set point like, sorry, I know I'm getting a little off track here. But it's really fascinating that lottery winners will almost always go back over time to that set point of the amount of money that they had before they won the lottery. So this is a way of retraining your brain and kind of he calls it resetting the thermostat or resetting your setpoint where you are increasing your capacity to have more, to do more allow more abundance into your life. I started with that. But over the years I have added more nouns for things that I aspire to. So here's mine. I expand in abundance, success, joy, fun, curiosity, compassion, generosity, prosperity, courage, commitment, determination, belief, acceptance and love every day, and I inspire those around me to do the same. Hendricks calls this resetting the thermostat for success and abundance and love in our life. For me, this is about setting that intentional statement of who I want to be every day and how I want to show up. And it changes over time. I add words, sometimes they fall off. But you can make that your own. So then I start writing out my specific goals. So my impossible goals, and I have two of them. One is around my business, and one is a personal goal. So I write those goals out. And then I go into some statements around releasing the how. I don't need to know the how. I have no idea how I will show up in the arena today, open hearted, vulnerable, failing and succeeding, I take massive inspired action for my big goals. I never quit, I never give up. This journey is fun. Okay, so I've laid kind of laid the groundwork. And then on the next page, I write at the top of the page, my belief plan. So you write down your goal. And now we're going to get into what it is that you actually well, for this part, what I need to believe, to create my impossible goal. Where is the place of belief that I need to be taking action from? People are searching for me, they want my help. They're finding me and they want exactly what I have to offer. They cannot wait to get started on their dreams. I know exactly how to help. I am the expert and badass business coach who makes the journey fun, and it's successful for my clients. I create tremendous value in the world and I give it generously without expectations. I love serving my people and changing the way we eat and do business in this world. I love money, and money loves me. I am rich.

Sari 17:09
Now, I'm sure some of you guys, we can talk we can do another money episode about why it is so important to reframe your beliefs around money. And I certainly have a long list of money hindering beliefs. So this is one way that I set myself up to be on in a great relationship with money. I have huge capacity to have and to give money, love and time. I am 100% worthy. And then I end with a gratitude statement about how grateful I am to be in this world, to be on this journey, and to be living this life. And even now just to actually makes me a little emotional. Even now just talking about it, it fills me up with such positivity with such curiosity and joy for what the day will hold. And it really just aligns my beliefs with the results that I want my goal. So for you that might look like here's some ideas of, of maybe what that would look like you you're going to write your goal, whatever your impossible goal is for your business and your other goals as well. And then write your belief plan. It might be things like, people are looking for my product, and they want what I have to offer; they want this product; they can't wait to find this product; they're going to be delighted; they're going to love this. I can figure anything out. I am resourceful. People want to pay for this product. I am helping people live a better life, a more enjoyable life a more delicious life. I think that worthy piece is so important to work in there too. I know there's so many myself included that so many of you struggle with a worthiness. You are worthy, 100% worthy. Period. Exactly as you are. I am doing it exactly right. Everything is happening in the perfect time. I believe I will be successful. I am successful. Even before you start writing or you know, putting pen to paper is so good for letting just free flow. So don't feel like you have to have this dialed in from day one. Just free flow and write what comes to you but thinking about what are what is it that I need to believe as an entrepreneur about myself, about my customer, about my business? And if you get stuck, it really helps to think about somebody else. So what would? Come up with an example of an entrepreneur who you really admire, what would he or she think about herself or himself to be successful? What would they need to believe? I have a client who we've been doing a lot of wholesale, she's been doing really well. But she keeps lowering her price on a whim. They're not even asking her to lower her price, right? So she, she goes into a big store, and she already believes that the product is too expensive, that it's not worth the money. And I'm saying yes, it absolutely is worth it. And then she lowers the price. I actually see a lot of early stage entrepreneurs do this, because you're uncomfortable, you're scared, you're talking with the big buyer, and you just kind of make that gut, quick reaction decision. And then we have to go deal with the repercussions of that. And, you know, look at how that's going to affect her her business. And now we have to go back and actually do a price raising plan, because ultimately, this is not going to get her the results of having a thriving, sustainable, profitable business. But in any case, I would say that we need to work on the belief there about that your product is worth what it is priced at. That people want it at that price. Just think about how different that conversation would go with a buyer if you truly believed that your product was worth X amount to the customer. And you have all of these amazing reasons why it's such a great product. I heard a great analogy that might work here is that Ivy League colleges don't apologize for how much they charge. Either you want to pay it for all of the value that they offer, or you don't and there's nothing wrong either way.

Sari 22:00
Okay, sorry, I get a little passionate about this whole price thing. Back to the show. Just imagine how much things could shift for you if you did this every day for the next 30 days? How you would take different actions, or do the same actions with different energy around belief? And again, feel free to use my outline some intentional statements that raise your thermostat about who you want to be in the world. Write your goals, and then write your belief plan. Even if you can't do it 30 days, try it for a week. What if this made all the difference in your business and you started showing up with more energy, more excitement, not out of fear, but out of belief? And then we need to need to measure it, is it actually working? Are you truly in belief? It's easy to write words. And then words do really help. But we also need to be like taking action from that belief. So looking after a couple of weeks, a month, and notice is it working? Are things changing? Because I know that you are not in belief. When we are on a call and you tell me about all of your doubts, you have all of your questions, you list them off, and you have all of these issues. And I tell you the Food Business Success is exactly what you need. I guarantee we will get you there. 100%. I am in 100% belief, and you keep wanting to tell me all the problems and all the issues and all the questions. And ultimately I say Yes, let's do it! I can help you. I know exactly how to help. This is absolutely the program for you. And you are going to stop wasting time. You're going to stop spinning, spinning out in confusion. We're going to not waste any additional money, but you won't make the investment. You will not pull the trigger, you won't hit the button. And I know that you're not in belief because if you truly believed, it would be a done deal. You'd be like Yep, I'm in! Let's go. And I like to say there's three reasons why people don't commit and do this work with me. It's either me, where you don't believe that I have the expertise. It's your product and you don't believe that you have a product that will be viable on the market. Or it's you and you don't believe that you are capable of doing this, that you can make this a profitable business and you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur. But if you don't believe in yourself that you will actually follow through; that you will do what it takes; that you will make the time; that you are worthy; that you are capable of success. That's why you don't hit the button. If you did believe that, if you did believe all of those things, you wouldn't hesitate for one second, you would be like, oh my gosh, I can't believe you're only charging me this much money done. Sold. So if you find yourself spinning out in confusion, do I need an LLC? Do I need a trade name? What's a trademark? Do I need one? Is this the right price?

Sari 25:32
Should I raise it? Should I lower it? Which URL should I get? What social media should I focus on? What am I going to do when I get so big that I can't make it myself or I don't have time to ship it myself. You guys love to go to these like really big future problems. But I was like, but we don't even have a business yet. Believe me, I got you, we will deal with these together. But that is not what we need to worry about right now. That is your brain keeping you safe and proving your current beliefs about your business. That you are not capable, that you don't have the time. And so I want to really encourage you to spend this next week on creating a belief plan. So imagine if you stepped into the person that believed it 100%. You had, your belief was so strong that it was like Yep, this is happening. It is inevitable. Today. Tomorrow. This is happening. Imagine if you stepped into that kind of belief and the results that you would produce in your business. Amazing. I would love to help you in your journey. Until next time, have an amazing week.

Sari 26:43
I don't normally come back and record a follow up for a podcast, part of that b minus work, right? The 80% rule. But I had some time before I posted this episode and it's so interesting, because I actually ended up having a conversation with my best friend. And it she's a doctor. So totally different career. But as she was talking, I heard some of these same themes. As I thought about it more, I really wanted to come back and address a couple of points, that questions that you might have about the belief plan. So she used the term fraud complex, or imposter syndrome. And I've definitely used when I was starting my business, I really had to get over my own imposter syndrome as well. And then, so I want to address each of these but so imposter complex or imposter syndrome.

Sari 27:50
Is this just being delusional? Am I just, you know, being creating a belief plan, am I just living in a fantasy land and not based in reality? And then how is this different than faking it to make it? I guess first I'll take the, the fake it to make it. So how is a belief plan different? Well, I think they come from a different energy. Sure, I have definitely mustered up the courage to go to a networking event, to speak at a workshop or an event. Even go live. Remember those first Facebook Lives that I did, right? And so there's this like, energy of like, I'm gonna muster up this chutzpah, like, just do it. And it feels almost aggressive in a way? If I think back to my own times of faking it to make it. I feel like if I had gotten into a place of belief first, you can see how the energy changes. So let's just say let's use the example of, you're going to go speak to a buyer. You could muster up all this energy and power and like assertiveness, and I'm gonna put on this persona, and fake it till I make it. But if you could step back and actually work on the beliefs that you need to believe first; that my product is priced exactly right; my product is amazing; they are definitely going to want this; this product is going to fly off the shelves; that our customers are going to love it. I know people really need this. If you then have to muster up the courage that you need to get over your fears, but you're coming from a place of like aligned belief. You can see how it already feels a little softer, and you're releasing some of the attachment to it. And you maybe don't have to muster up as much much like grrr energy. Like We are the Champions, Rocky energy to go out there and it maybe feels a little bit more aligned and a little bit more authentic and maybe a little easier to go in once you've already had the preparation of doing the belief plan. So I do think that the fake it or make it is different. Are you just delusional? Are you creating a delusional life? Not phased in, not based in reality? I guess I would question what is reality? Right? The same circumstance can happen to two different people, and they respond really differently. So our brain loves to live in the negative if we don't babysit our mind, if we don't manage our mind, it will always skew to the negative. What if we entertained, at least gave the same amount of airtime to the positive beliefs? To the believing that our product is amazing? That people want our product? That our business is amazing? That I know exactly what I'm doing as a business owner? And I'm figuring it out? Why not? Right? What's the downside of quote unquote being delusional? Again, your your brain just will automatically skew to the negative and the pessimistic. So does that the life you want to live? Is that where you want to be spending the majority of your time? I would say no. I think that the energy that you create, out of disbelief versus belief, again, to go do a task, like go do an Instagram Live, is going to be very differen when you come from that different energy. I would say, what's the downside? And is that negative thought really serving you in any way? So if you want to call it being delusional, so be it. Go for it> I would rather create a life that is serving me and even if somebody else would say, well, you're delusional. Who do you think you are? Well, that's their opinion. I'm going to choose to believe something different about myself and my business and my product. And then lastly, the fraud complex, the imposter syndrome. Whoa. I have had to do a lot of work around this. And I noticed when my friend was talking, she used the word fight, I'm always going to have to fight against my imposter syndrome and whether I'm really serving my clients, and they're getting what they need, and am I showing up as the best doctor, on and on and on? And I said to her, like, what if you just knew that that would always be there? What if you, like, you just expected it, and you didn't resist it? We're not fighting it. We're just saying like, yeah, I'm doing something new. So of course, I'm going to feel a little like an imposter. Yep. There's my brain trying to keep me safe, telling me, I'm an imposter to not do this thing that is hard, to not do this challenge piece. And remember, we love my friend and I love to use the phrase, we can do hard things. And we say it a lot to each other. I can do hard things. You can do hard things. Keeping in mind that the imposter syndrome is a way to keep you safe out of harm's way because your brain thinks that really bad things could happen. And so I don't want you going into something crazy that he's like, wait, you know, somebody that could hurt somebody. But if we're just talking about doing something you've never done before? Anticipate, Yep, there's that imposter complex. And the way we actually move out of it and, and relax into it and stop resisting is by creating a belief plan. As I was creating my business, which is now six years in, that I really had to get over my imposter complex. And so by writing the words, "I am the expert. I know exactly how to help." Those who have helped to kind of again, give airtime to that, like, I do know what I'm doing. I do have a lot to offer. I do have experiences. And as I learn and take on new clients and new projects and grow my business, I keep adding to my expertise. So I think sometimes we are hesitant to look at all of the things that we do bring. So maybe you could even rephrase the question of when your brain starts to offer you you're a fraud. Who do you think you are? Create a better question and say, how is it that I actually do know what I'm doing? What experiences have I had that actually do make me an expert? How is it that I am actually knowledgeable or know something about this topic? And make your brain answer. Our brain actually loves to answer our questions. So let's give it better questions, not just how am I ever going to get over my complex? How is it that I never do anything right? I think those are terrible questions, your brains always going to give you a negative answer. So instead, look for questions that really open up possibility. And then you might see like, Oh, I do have experience where I have done this, this and this in my past, I can see how that's going to help me figure it out in this new thing. So I just feel like having a belief plan is one way that we can again, be a little softer, with ourselves, a little more compassionate, we're not fighting against it. We're saying Yep, it's always there. And always there in the back of my mind. And I am all of these things. So we're just we're giving more airtime to the positive. So that's those are the three things I just thought you know, you might have that pop into your mind, like what does she mean by this? Is this different than faking it to make it or being delusional or imposter syndrome? So I hope that helps give you a little bit more context and some ideas of really how powerful that belief plan really is, and how much it can serve you in your life, in your business. All right, that's what I got for you for real this time.

Sari 36:59
Are you ready to start that delicious idea that you make in your home kitchen, or grow your existing packaged food business and take it to the next level? The most successful food business entrepreneurs have support, guidance, focus and accountability to help them make it happen quickly without wasting time or money. Plus, I think starting your packaged food business should actually be fun. Food Business Success is your secret ingredient to creating your food business dream. Please don't go this alone. Check out the private free Food Business Success Facebook group to connect with other foodprenuers, get your questions answered quickly, share your wins and receive special training and tools I only share inside the private community. Just search for Food Business Success on Facebook, or get the link in the show notes. Curious about how Food Business Success can help you? Head over to FoodBizSuccess.com and fill out the application to see if you're a great fit for the program. Together let's make your food business dream a reality.