Full Transcript

Sari 0:00
Welcome to your Food Business Success. This podcast is for early stage entrepreneurs in the packaged food industry ready to finally turn that delicious idea into reality. I'm your host Sari Kimbell, I have guided hundreds of food brand founders to success as an industry expert and business coach, and it's gotta be fun. In this podcast, I share with you mindset tools to become a true entrepreneur and run your business like a boss, interviews with industry experts to help you understand the business you are actually in, and food founder journeys so you can learn what worked and didn't work, and not feel so alone in your own journey. Now, let's jump in! Welcome to the first podcast of 2023. So fun to be coming at you in a brand new year and this year, I'm just feeling excited about, feeling energized. And yeah, it's gonna have its ups and downs, right? Every year, we often start out fresh and excited and then every year we see the memes about tossing that current year into the dumpster and lighting it on fire. And you know what, we get to decide ahead of time how our year is going to go regardless of the circumstances because things are going to happen that are outside of our control but we are the ones in control of our results and how we're going to feel about it. I have to admit, I have put this podcast off a little bit. There's something about that first podcast of the year that I probably built up into my mind a little like, it's got to be amazing, it's got to be perfect. But also, I'm starting to trust myself that the right thing is going to come at the right time. And even though I would love it to be done by a certain day in the week and be ahead of schedule, sometimes it's good to just let things percolate and let topics come to me and get inspired. I have a whole list of podcast topics so there's no shortage. There's no running out of topics. But I do like to keep things sort of in the moment. I know some people love to record very far out but I think that there is something about like we're going through this together. And I'm on a journey and you're on a journey, and we're pretty much in sync. So when I think about looking ahead, and when I think about the end of 2023 and what I want that to look like. And I talk a lot about this in the Future Self Workshop that I did last month in December, and I'll put the show, the link in the show notes if you're curious, if you want to get that workshop replay, it was so good. But really, there's a couple of steps to creating the result that you want like where you want your business to go, how you want to show up in your life. Did you know you get to just decide that? That is up to you, my friend. And so many of us are just kind of living on just pre-programmed, automatic, routine and habit and we're not really taking the time to actually create and think about what it is we want. So this podcast is really a three parts. So the first thing is that I want you to allow yourself to dream, to let your mind wander, to like delight in it. And just maybe write for a little bit or spend a little time just opening yourself up. Like if I could create something and there were no limits, like I could do whatever I wanted without thinking about what other people are thinking about, with a, you know, wondering if I would succeed or fail. It's just like, if I knew that I couldn't fail, that I wouldn't fail. And if I knew that it would all work out amazing and I could do anything, what would I really want? And for this podcast, we'll talk about business but this could be for anything, right? Do you want a relationship? Do you want a certain level of health or to, you know, do a physical activity? Do you want to launch that business? Do you want to grow that business? Do you want to replace your salary? Do you want to, you know, make a certain number of sales this year? Do you want to make Oprah's Favorite Things list or to go to a trade show and have a booth there like you get to dream, you get to fantasize about this stuff. And it's never going to happen if you don't even allow the possibility of it, right? And what I love to do as a coach is these little possibility drops and just be like, yeah but what if, what if you could? What if you could win a big pitch competition? What if you could get funding? Or what if you could get into that big store that you've been dreaming about? So go into the future, and not necessarily just a year from now, I like to actually look out even like five years from now, like really dream about what's possible for you. And I think it's really important actually to make it bigger, 10 Exits as Ben Hardy and others would say, Grant Cardone, like a 10x goal is actually easier, and more fun to work on than something that's just like a slight improvement over what you currently have. So go to that future place and say, what would I really love to create? Now, when you go to that future place, what's going to happen is that your brain is going to get in the way, and you're going to start apologizing for it. Or you're going to start thinking, well, yeah, that would be nice but dot, dot, dot. And I learned this concept from my dear friend, Judith, who was on the podcast back in August. But when I went to her retreat this October, she brought up a concept that was just like, blew my mind, so good, called Justification Stacking. And I think it's especially true for women. So let's just say you have, you make something delicious, you make an amazing body care product and you're just like, ah, it would be so delicious to start that business, to launch that, to go to a farmers market, to get online, to go on Amazon, to get in stores, whatever it is, right? And then you feel yourself shrinking back, and you think about all the reasons why you shouldn't, and couldn't, and can't. And then oftentimes, the only way we can justify it to ourselves is if we can find enough reasons why this could work, right? Or why we should do it. So let's just say for example, you have, you make this amazing tea blend and you're like, I want to do this, I want to launch this. And then you're like, okay, but that's frivolous, or that's stupid. Let me come up with enough reasons why it justifies me actually doing this. So it could be like, well, as long as I make x amount of money, and then I could help support my family, and it shows my daughter, my kids that like, their mom can do other things. And I would feel this, this, and this and, right? And then you're like, okay, there's enough reasons, justifications that I can move forward. And what I want to offer you is in this first phase, I just want you to want what you want without needing to stack on any other excuses or reasons, no more justifications. You have permission to just want what you want without apology.

Sari 8:40
And let it just be there as a delicious thing, like something that you're like, I don't know how that's going to happen, kind of like in the dream jar episode about having a rich life. Like, I don't know how that's gonna happen but I can just want to want it. I can, I can just enjoy the fact that I want it and that's okay. I think again as women, we're often told that it's selfish of us to want things like this, to want big dreams, to want things, right? We get lots of messages from society and religion and lots of other sources about we shouldn't want for anything more. And we oftentimes frame that around gratitude. Like I should just be grateful for what I have. I shouldn't want anything more than this. And I just don't think that that's how we become our best selves. And that that's how we really make a contribution and create value in the world. And I think you're gonna start to feel if you sit in that for too long, you start to feel out of integrity with yourself and then you become a little disjointed and that's where we start to feel a little wobbly. We're like, I want it but I don't. I want it but I can't and I just want you to want it. All right, so that's phase one. Then you're going to without justification stacking. If you really want this, if you're like, yes, I want this, I'm going to allow myself to have it. You decide on purpose to want it. Like, yeah, I am going to actually decide that I want to do this. That there is like a movement from just like, that'd be nice, maybe I'm just dreaming, I'm just daydreaming, fantasizing, to like, no, I'm gonna decide that I actually want to do this. So let's start taking a little bit of action. Now, this is a fun place to be. I definitely have things that I have decided that I want, right? Maybe it's a vacation, maybe it's a certain kind of car. You know, I've decided that I want to eventually move and have a little bit larger place. And it's going to involve me getting a corgi, that's happening, right? For a long time, Ryan with Pup and the Pepper. He's got a corgi but I like love corgis so much. I squeal with delight. And I watch a lot of corgi videos for fun and those kinds of things.

Sari 11:25
But actually I do this retreat. I was like, I finally gave myself permission and I actually decided that I want to have a corgi eventually, someday. And for the longest time, it was like no, I really don't want one. I just want to like hold one. You just want to like have one for the weekend. And it was so interesting that I finally was like no, I actually I've decided that and it's in my dream jar that that is happening. Two bedroom condo with a corgi and access to help, to help me take care of the corgi on occasion. So that's in there. So I made the shift from just daydreaming to deciding, to want it. And that, while it's fun, that is the place where maybe on a day like today, you are making a New Year's resolution. That's where those resolutions come from. It's out of this deciding to want it. Like, it's more of like, I want to, it's going to happen. Wouldn't it be cool if, like I hope and when we make a resolution and we'd like okay, I want to create this business, I want to launch, I want to get into this store, then we kind of come out in a burst of glory, a lot of motivation and inspiration. You might be feeling that on January 3rd when this comes out, you're like, yes, I'm really committed, I'm fired up, this is happening. But the reality is, is that if we don't have a firmer decision behind that, that that's where resolutions die on the vine. And you can set your watch to January 26th when everybody's at the gym from January 1st and you can't find a parking spot and there's no machines open because everybody's like geared up and made a resolution to lose weight or get in shape. And then January 26th, you can finally find a parking spot because people are like, no, they've they've given up or they've, you know, missed a couple of days. And now they're not in the routine and they lost some of their inspiration and, right, the motivation wanes. And there's good reason for that. It's because you can't sustain that kind of burst of energy and resolution because you don't have the knowledge of what it actually takes to do this. You've never done it before. You don't have the skills. You don't have the discipline yet. You haven't built up the resilience and you're not rewarding yourself for progress along the way. And we get distracted by lesser goals. And we haven't really made a plan on how we're going to stick to it and overcome obstacles and what we're going to do when, not if but when we fail. So I want you to compare, this contrast in your body, from I want to, wouldn't it be cool if, I hope to, to I decide to. There's a big difference in my body at least and even in my voice when it's like I decide to create this result and I'm going to do it no matter what, there's a really big difference. It's like you're just stating a foregone conclusion. It's the difference between like, I want to go to Hawaii on vacation versus I've decided to go to Hawaii on vacation. And I've already made the, you know, put the date on my calendar and looked at the Airbnb's and I'm saving up the money. Like even if you haven't booked the trip yet, there's a big difference between I want to, hope to, wish to, versus I've decided to and it's happening. So for me, I'm just going to publicly declare that I have decided to create 200 new Food Business Success members in 2023. Like that is happening. And I'm gonna do everything in my power to create that, I can't force you to say yes or join. But I can take a lot of action and give a lot of value, and make a lot of offers. And I just, it's just a numbers game, right? I just have to make enough offers and find enough people, like 200 is actually not that many, there's a lot of you listening, there's a lot of people in my world. I have also decided that I am going to fill the Master Your Business Program that starts in just a few weeks, and you should be one of those people, you should definitely be joining me in this 10 week program where you're going to master the skills of being a CEO, being a CFO, and really setting your business up for success, and wearing that boss hat, as well as the maker. So I won't go into that right now. I'm going to actually share more about that at the end. But you hear it in my voice, right? I have decided it's happening. I just need to take enough action now. And you might be saying, or can you say, I have decided it is done. I am launching my salsa business. And I recognize that I do not know everything, and I need to go get help. And then you start making decisions on where to get that help from and maybe it's me, and maybe it's elsewhere. But if you just hope that you're gonna figure it out, that is just not like, you're just hoping you stumble on to a successful business, and you just hope that you're going to be the next big granola. It just doesn't work that way. And those few people that it does, we look to them like the unicorns, and then we beat ourselves up that it's not happening that way. And that's just not usually how it works. And even the people that we think are overnight successes, we have no idea how much work they have already put into it. So are you going to decide as a foregone conclusion this year that you are going to launch that soap business, the body care, the coffee, the chocolate, like, on and on and on, whatever your product is. Have you decided, really resolved not just in like, be nice, but like no, this is happening no matter what? Or are you deciding, going to declare it that you're going to create 20 new wholesale accounts, that you decide that you're going to create $10,000, a $100,000, or $1 million in sales this year? And I want to just put a note on here about the timing. I think it's great. You know, this year thing is kind of arbitrary. Like we don't exactly know how long it's going to take you to create 100k in sales, right? Or how long it's going to take you to launch. It's going to depend on a lot of factors, how much action, how much, you know, willingness, are you to risk failure, to risk rejection, like how fast are you going to make it happen? Like we don't really know, what we can say is that in a math equation, there is certain amount of action that needs to happen for that result to be created. And it can be really freeing to release the timeline a little bit. That's why I like you to look further out than a year because 12 months is pretty arbitrary. And yes, we all do it at the beginning of January are like yes, here's my resolution, you know, this year and it makes sense obviously, there's this number on it. But if you're in a rush, if you're like it's got to happen this year, I gotta launch in by March 1st. That rush, that energy is really, you have to question that. It's like, what do you think is going to happen when you get there? And we have to wonder like, why am I in such a rush? Question that a little bit. Because what we think is once we get there, once we achieve that goal, then we'll be happy, then everything will be daisies and rainbows, then we'll finally be enough, then other people will respect us and love us. And I can tell you after working with hundreds of entrepreneurs, as well as myself, my own experience, that there is no there. I'm working with a client who finally, you know, after a number of years of tinkering and, you know, experimenting and working on her product, she finally got it launched. And my sense is that it was a little bit rushed there at the end, like it's got to happen, I gotta get this out. And not surprising, now we have a whole new set of issues and circumstances and challenges to deal with now that the product is real and being sold, right? There is no there. There is no place where everything's just going to be peaceful and lovely, and you're just going to feel amazing all the time. So let's question that a little bit. What I would suggest is that, how can you feel more of that right now? How can you bring more of the happiness, right? I said, in the Future workshop, like you, you can't create a business out of self loathing, you know, you can't create a business that you love out of hating yourself, basically. It just is never going to work. You can't punish yourself enough. You can't hate yourself, you can't criticize yourself enough to have a positive emotion, to love yourself on the other side. And so I actually suggest releasing that year a little bit or being flexible with it. I mean, if it takes you 14 months to create 100k, who cares, right? Like, does it really matter in the big scheme of things. But really what the point is, that is like, it's not about a 12 month period because we always underestimate how much we can do in a longer period of time. But we always overestimate how much we could do in a shorter amount of time. And there's actually I can't remember now what the fallacy is, it's kind of like, the shortest amount of time fallacy or something like that. But imagine like, you're going to go to a destination, right? You are going to drive to a restaurant, we always factor in the shortest amount of time without having any obstacles like we were like, yep, it takes an IDS all the time, right? It takes me 15 minutes to get there. And it's always under the best case scenario. I'm never thinking about, well, maybe there's construction or traffic or there'll be an accident, or you know, weather, anything else, right? We just assume that like, if all things that or we assume that all things will go according perfectly to plan and there won't be any outside circumstances that could possibly affect that, right? And so, it can be good to just say like it's going to take the time it takes and I'm going to do the work necessary. And how will I know what work is necessary? When it's done, when I put in the work, like we don't know exactly how much effort you're going to have to put into. Now if you're launching a product, I definitely know the work that needs to happen. I know what you need to do. But each product is a little bit different. Your circumstance's different, how much bandwidth, how much time, how much investment you have to make this happen, but it is possible. And I just want you to decide to. To put those words in front of your resolution, your goal for the year. Want what you want with reckless abandon, have fun with it. Then decide to want to do something that you already want and then decide to do it. Make a decision, declare it, and get to work. And go get the help that you need. It will help you skip the line and go so much faster. And with that said, if you are someone in business, you have sales and you are starting to feel like this business is running you it's overtaking your life, you're feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, a little insane, and you just are wondering if this is ever going to make you money, please come join me inside the master your business program, we start January 18th. And if you're on my mailing list, then you know that there is a discount that expires on January 5th. So if you're not on the mailing list, go do that so you can get that discount code. But this program is 10 weeks. It's like it all clicked in my head this last weekend where I just saw, like all the pieces that need to come together, and you will be "forced" to finally do the scary work, to look at your numbers, to do the organizational chart, to really dig into that CEO level work that you know you should be doing. But you tell me, I'm just not good with numbers. I'm not good with technology, I just don't get it. I just want to make my product. Is that so wrong? Of course not, you do have to make your product and you also need a viable system lead business that works. Because if you aren't making money, and you are, you know, you don't have any time left to do the high level parts of your business, it will crumble, it will fail. That's why 50, no sorry, 500,000 businesses go out of business every single year, when they're not willing to do this high level work. So get the accountability, the support, the expertise. It's going to be an amazing group program. And you're going to get exactly what you need to run your business like a boss and set it up to actually make money, and make a profit, and give you back your time in 2023. Go to foodbizsuccess.com/profitin2023. Or just go to the homepage, you'll see the button there. There are limited spots available so don't put this off. Make this investment such an important investment in your business. And I will see you inside. Happy New Year. And until next time, have an amazing week! The smartest thing you can do as an entrepreneur is to invest in a who to help you with the how to speed up your journey and help you skip the line. When you are ready for more support and accountability to finally get this thing done, you can work with me in two ways. Get me all to yourself with one on one business coaching or join Food Business Success which includes membership inside Fuel, our community of food business founders that includes monthly live group coaching calls and so much more. It's one of my favorite places to hang out and I would love to see you there. Go to foodbizsuccess.com to start your journey towards your own Food Business Success.