I Am So Glad I Met This Guy

Hello!

Well, I kicked off 2016 with a pretty killer cold/flu! It wasn’t at all how I planned to sail into the New Year, but I have finally started to feel a little better. And while I am still resting up, I had to pop in today to share something really eye-opening.

Despite being knocked on my bum with this cold, it hasn’t taken away my excitement about all the wonderful things we will be creating for you this year at the Erin Stutland/Shrink Session Headquarters.

I have a great feeling about what will be unfolding in the next few months for you and I!

Which leads me to sharing a little bit of a personal story about my business and how I got started.

If you run your own business, whether you are just getting started or you have been at it for a while, I think you will relate!

As you may or may not know, I started my business by teaching live classes in New York City. In 2012, I launched my very first online program.

At the time, I had a small community of people who were excited about what I was offering.

While I was so proud of getting myself up and going, I will be the first to admit that I didn’t really know how to run the kind of successful business I dreamed of.

I knew I was going to have to push myself out of my comfort zone if I wanted to transform this little baby business into one that attracted thousands of people with great products and a collaborative team.

But most important, I envisioned a business that could really touch and transform people’s lives.

Plus, I struggled with not really knowing how to talk about Shrink Session. Was it straight-up fitness? Was it life-coaching? Was it spirituality?

Sometimes when we have a unique idea, it’s hard to know what to do with it!

It was around that time that I met a super smart, ivy-league educated guy named Ramit Sethi, who had been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine and many others. Forbes Magazine even featured him next to Warren Buffet, calling him one of the “20 Wealth Wizards.”

From the outside, Ramit seemed like a tough guy, who is ‘serious’ only about success. Ok, so I was a little intimidated by him.

But when his team reached out to me about taking part in a beta program they were running, I couldn’t turn down the chance to work with him.

What I quickly learned is that while Ramit is serious about success, what he cares most about is the success of his students. He’s almost like a little kid who gets excited when he sees someone succeed.

Working with him, I learned some VITAL strategies and skills I needed in order to grow this community and reach more people.

And while I pushed back on some of his coaching at first, in the end, Ramit was right about every piece of advice and direction he gave me.

As of today, we have had over 80,000 people participate in a Say it, Sweat it, Get it Challenge, join our newsletter, work out with Shrink Session or Soul Stroll, and be inspired by the message I am most passionate about: that movement in your body creates movement in your life.

Furthermore, growing a successful business has taught me more about myself–my strengths and my weaknesses–than any other experience I’ve had.

One of the most important lessons I have learned is that you must always have a MODEL for success. You really don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

You have to watch and learn from the best. Then learn to model yourself after that, while making it your own.

And you just need to understand what people want.  

Getting started with your business and 2016 is your year to really DO IT? If you’d like help with finding a great business idea, Ramit has put together a list of 30 successful online business ideas, some of which just may surprise you.

Go get a copy of it here:

There are some pretty wacky ideas on this list–like potty training cats or teaching people how to play music by ear.

But what these businesses do just scratches the surface.

I encourage you to study what’s really going on deep down, beneath these ideas. As you’re looking through the list, click through to the websites, and ask yourself:

-What problem is this business solving?
-What’s making the marketing work?
-Who is their target audience?
-How are they reaching those people?

And most important, think about if you could start a business in the same space and be wildly successful too.

Knowing and working with Ramit has been a game changer for me. If growing your business in 2016 is a high priority, I encourage you to grab your copy here!

Here’s to a wonderfully successful, happy and healthy 2016!

Love,
Erin