Make Marketing Suck Less

Reflecting On 2018 Before Creating What’s Next in 2019

Hey, rebel risers, welcome to the final episode of 2018!

Before we dive in, I wanted to let you know that we're taking a couple of weeks off here at rebel headquarters to celebrate the holidays with our friends and family. We will be back with a brand new episode of the Pod on January 8th, 2019.

I almost didn't record this episode. I always think, oh, why would anyone care about what's going on with me and my business?

But I realized something I realized I loved hearing behind the scenes stories of businesses. I love hearing people reflect. I love how Maggie Patterson does a monthly debrief on the Small Business Boss podcast or how Tara Newman did a CEO debrief on her Bold Leadership revolution podcast.

I learned so much from listening to these women reflect and it's so important for us to reflect on the year. That was before we start creating what's next.

Here are three questions that I asked myself when I start thinking about the past year and what's next for Communication Rebel in 2019.

The first question I asked myself is, what were my big successes? The second question, what were my big lessons and the third question, what do I want to create next year.

Since I'm a big fan of the number three, the 3 Word Rebellion, of course.

I'll share with you my top three answers for each of these questions and I know that there are some learnings in here for you as well.

Tune into the audio:

3 Big Successes of 2019

The three big successes that I had in 2019, number one by far and away what was a huge game-changing moment in my business was creating the 3 Word Rebellion messaging framework.

I have always wanted a message, a methodology that was my own that I could be the only person who does this specific thing.

The 3 Word Rebellion has really allowed me to pivot this year in my business to focus on messaging and helping other speakers, business owners, entrepreneurs rise up and claim their thought leadership role with a message that is uniquely theirs.

This is the best work I've ever done in my life. It is the most fun work that I have ever done.

Although I still love my speakers and I will work with speakers because the process works well for creating keynote speeches, I'm so glad that I get to reach other people who are making a difference in the world.

The second big success for me is, holy crap, I wrote a book.

It's my third book. It's about the 3 Word Rebellion, and it will be coming out next year. I'll tell you about that in a little bit.

What I realized from creating this book is that I love the other books that I wrote. Speak up for your business. Speak for impact, but this is the book that I see myself promoting for the long haul. I feel married to the 3 Word Rebellion message.

I am its steward in the one to guide it into the world and the book lets me do that.

The third part of this was that I was able to transition and create a successful service that is helping business owners and speakers with their message, communicating the value of what they do and what they create in the world.

So that framework was a huge success for me and also leads me to my second big success is the work that I'm doing now allows me to bring my whole self to my business.

So I was chatting with my client Rhea Mader who is a brilliant interior designer for healing spaces and we discussed how she wants to bring her whole self to her work and to her message. That's when I realized that the 3 Word Rebellion has allowed me to do that.

When I look at my Strengths Finder, my top five strengths, my number one strength isn't communication. That is number two. My number one is Input, which is gathering information, doing research. Three and four are Strategic and Analytical, and number five is Individuation, which means I'm a rockstar at figuring out what makes you unique and different.

The messaging framework I created allows me to bring my research skills into the equation because I get to do qualitative analysis of my client's playbooks and that's super exciting for me. I know it sounds super nerdy, but I love bringing my communication skills, my research skills and my what makes you unique skills all to gather into the mix of what I offer. It's how I show up as my best self.

The final big success was becoming an S-Corp. Communication Rebel became an S-Corp this year. The obvious thing this did for my business, is it saving me a butt load of money on taxes!

And honestly, if you are a business owner and you are making more than $50,000 a year in your business, look into becoming an S-Corp. Find a good accountant and talk to them and see if it's right for you because it saves you money.

The other thing that it did for me, it was something on a psychological level. It helped me divorce myself from my business and one of my clients, Stacy Fischer at The W Collective, she helps entrepreneurs create how they want to feel in their business so that they're not their business.

And I realized how much my identity was wrapped up in communication. Rebel in the business I created. Now I'm able to start getting some distance because I have that physical separation. I am not my business. The business asks for money, I do not. How well the business does or doesn't do isn't tied to my own self-worth.

So while Communication Rebel is a creature that I gave birth to and is living out in the world, it is not who I am. That legal tax distinction of being an S-Corp allowed me to separate myself from the business.

I would love to know from you, what are the three things that you are most proud of this year.

The Big Lessons of 2019.

This first big lesson just happened in the past two months. And this lesson is “pay attention to your health, Michelle.”

October was a really great month for Communication Rebel. We brought in a lot of new clients. It was super exciting. In November, I got sick and I didn't get sick just once. I got sick twice to the point where I completely lost my voice. I still haven't recovered my voice.

While this was all going on, my husband had minor surgery, so during “second cold,” I was getting ready for a Webinar for the 3 Word Rebellion, I was helping my husband recover from his surgery and I was sicker than a dog.

About nine days in my husband looks at me and he's like, “you need to go to the doctor!” I don't know how I didn't realize this. I was so blind to my own suffering and my own health that I just wasn't paying attention and I don't want to do that anymore.

My health needs to be a priority and your health should be a priority for you too,

The second big lesson of 2019, it was getting rid of what no longer serves me, which was an illuminating process, a difficult process and emotionally raked over the coals process. But so worth it in the end.

I spent 2018 working with Tanya Geisler and her Starring Role Academy. I realized during this work that one of my big issues is that I don't show reverence for our respect, for the work that I do in the world.

For instance, how this shows up: If you give me a compliment and you say something really nice to me, I say thank you, and I literally let it bounce off of me and I don't let it in. I don't take it in.

I'll take in all the bad stuff for sure, but I wasn't letting in the good and that was really disrespecting my work in the world.

Through the Academy, I was able to finally really show up for my business and for my life in a way I hadn't before I was able to show it reverence. I was able to take in the good and let it land.

The other big shift I've been having as far as getting rid of what no longer serves me is getting curious about my patterns around money and why the same pattern keeps coming up and again and again and again.

It's a little bit of a feast and famine pattern. I just recently realized that that comes up because that was the pattern with my mom. It was very feast and famine in my household. I've brought that into the business and I've been a re-creating it. I've never let it teach me. I've never said why, like let me get curious. Like why does this keep happening? What is it here to teach me and how can I create a new pattern that serves my business better?

2018 was about lots of big lessons about myself and how I show up in the world.

The final big lesson of 2019 and this one is about boundaries. I can't want success for my clients more than they want it.

I am one of those people who get so excited about your big idea and I can see its potential so clearly in my head and what it can do for people, for your industry, for the world. I can see it.

However, I can't make that vision happen for my clients if they don't want to put in the work.

I had a few experiences this year where people would show up to my business and they were more concerned about being famous for their idea than doing the work to get to have that fame.

The thing is I can't do the work for my clients. I can't like get the ideas out of their head and onto paper to help them come up with their message or their speech unless they give me the raw materials. It's a co-creation process.

No matter how much I see that big success, that big result for them, I can't do it for them. Big boundary lesson for me this year.

Now that we've looked at, I'm a big lesson of 2019, I just wanted to tell you what's next for me and Communication Rebel.

What’s Next in 2019?

What's next?

Number one, I'm focusing on my health and loving myself because that became apparent that I am not doing that.

For me, that looks like going inward more, spending more time in meditation, and journaling. I suck at journaling. I'm going to admit that, but I'm going to become the type of person who journals, even if it's a few sentences so that I can reflect on what's going on and this will allow me to see the thoughts that I'm thinking and then I have more control over the thoughts.

I'm also going to get my butt to Orange Theory more often because I want to be physically strong. I want to be the type of person who is physically strong.

The second big thing for 2019 is the 3 Word Rebellion book launch.

Yes. That is coming in late February. The first part of 2019 is going to be all about the book launch.

January is kind of the ramp-up period. February it will launch and then march is going to be the follow-up.

This book is something that I'm going to be talking about for years to come. My goal this year is to sell 5,000 books. It's huge. It's audacious. I'm no clue how I'm going to do it, but I know that it can have that kind of impact.

I am so excited to tell you how you can get involved with the book launch. It's going to be so much fun and I know that I need to ask for help. I need to ask for your help because we need help to get to our big goals.

The final thing of 2019 I'm going to tell you a little bit about or hint at. This one scares the crap out of me and it is something that I've thought for a very long time.

My coaches and mentors have told me that I need to be doing this and I agree.

I see some kind of live event in-person.

I don't know where it will be in late 2019 and all I really know it's going to be around the 3 Word Rebellion, stepping into your power, your leadership and being visible, and taking action to be visible during the event and that's all I know.

I don't know anything else about it. I don't know when. I don't know where. I don't know the format and it kind of all freaks me out, but I'm going to get the support to make it happen.

What about 2019 scares you. What's the big dream? The audacious goal?

I'd love to hear about your own reflections, your own goals so you can dm me on Instagram @DrMichelleMazur and tell me or join us in the Rebel Rising Facebook group and tell me there.

I wanted to end this year by saying thank you. Thank you for listening to the podcast, engaging in the Facebook group, DMing me on Instagram.

Thank you to my clients who I have so enjoyed learning from and getting my hands into their ideas and in their business. I'm so grateful they put their trust in me and allow me to be this Doula for their own message.

I can't wait to see what's next for you in 2019. Happy holidays everyone. I'll see you next year.