I went from an exhausted, overweight, stressed executive struggling to climb the corporate ladder while missing my family, to a work from home mom designing my own life.
This blog is to share my story and tips so you can do the same.
I've been a Beachbody coach for almost 4 years. When I first started no one I knew of had even heard of Beachbody coaching. Most had heard of P90x or Insanity or the other great workout programs from Beachbody, but no one knew that it was a business that you could be a part of. Fast forward to last year, I was able to leave my full time 6-figure career to be a full time MOM and part time Beachbody coach. This is an amazing company and opportunity and I'm so glad that more people are learning about it.
A lot of you still may not know what coaching is or how it can possibly be a full time job. A local news station in Houston recently highlighted coaching, and I think it's a great overview of what we do.
To learn how to join my team and have access to our exclusive Fast Start training to get you on the road to earning an income with Beachbody, email me at heatherserrano@gmail.com or fill out this application here: http://tinyurl.com/jointeamheart
It's that time of year. One of the great benefits of having your own business (besides being your own boss, setting your own schedule, taking vacations whenever you want, and having more time with your family) is all of the tax benefits and write-offs of a small business. For me the biggest key has been getting organized. I personally chose to incorporate but that's something to talk to your accountant about. Whether you file as a sole proprietor or an LLC or corporation, here are some great tips:
Stay organized throughout the year. Enter expenses and income into a program like Quickbooks or I use mint.com - which links to your checking and savings account and you can set rules so all costs paid to X vendor are listed as Business Expenses for X purpose.
Scan receipts with an app like Shoeboxed or save emailed receipts into folder in your email system ie 2015 Business Expenses (or get more details and categorize)
Use a separate checking account and credit card specifically for business expenses.
If you use subvendors, send them a 1099 so they pay the taxes on what you paid them.
Talk to your accountant about what is and isn't allowed as a writeoff. Some good things to consider:
Do you have a home office? Part of your mortgage and utilities may be deductible.
Which restaurant meals are deductible?
Office & Business supplies including printing (flyers, brochures, business cards, applications)
Gifts for clients & employees
Mileage and/or car expenses including registration if you use your car for business
Trips to conferences, training event, corporate retreats (if you have your own corporation)
Online costs ie your monthly blog costs, advertising on Facebook or google, email systems like Aweber or mail chimp that you use to email customers
Do you give away samples or product?
Other costs specific to your field ie products purchased for research
**Talk to your tax professional about your specific situation.
Sorry it's been a while since I posted. With school, activities, running my own business, and focusing on more family time, life is busy. I'm sure it is for you too! Plus the holidays are here so there were will be more activities, more get-togethers with family, more cooking and more SHOPPING and that means SPENDING MONEY. Did you know the average household spends over $800 for the holidays and most put that on credit cards - so they do into debt to celebrate?? I do a holiday budget each year and we spend about $1,000 on gifts for all of our friends and family. That doesn't include, the tree, Thanksgiving dinner, holiday meals out, or host gifts if we attend parties.
But this isn't a post to tell you to spend less on presents. That's not up to me and honestly I like being able to buy presents for people who matter to me. But my challenge to you is, why not earn an extra $300-500 (or more) between now and Christmas to offset those costs? By starting your own business now, and not waiting until a more "convenient" time, you can make the holidays happier and less stressful for you and yours.
If you are interested in learning more about joining my team, and having me mentor you through the next two months to earn that holiday money, email me at heatherserrano@gmail.com. There is no obligation, this is just more information so you can decide if it's for you. Take a leap of faith and learn more - you may find that it's something that changes your life, like it did for me!
I had a chance this past weekend to attend the yearly Leadership Retreat for my network marketing company (Team Beachbody) - it was the first time we qualified and earned the trip and everything about it was just TOP NOTCH. 5 star hotel, great meals, great training, parties, workouts with celebrity trainers and being surrounded by amazing people.
The first day, I'm not going to lie, I felt out of place, wondering "do I belong here?" or comparing myself to the other leaders, many of whom I'd seen on stage at the larger events or heard their names announced as top earners, point getters etc. But as I got to know some of them better, and hear them speak about how they achieved the success they had, I had several key takeaways:
Anyone can be a leader. Everyone had a different story, but all of us were at this retreat because we earned it. Some did it faster, some make more money, some have larger teams & businesses, but we are all leaders.
Comparison truly is the thief of joy. As long as you are doing your best, it doesn't matter what anyone else is doing. On the flip side, if you see someone else is working harder than you and has what you want, then that's your lesson to work harder yourself.
The best leaders treat everyone else with respect and don't put themselves on the pedestal. I was so impressed with the humility of some of these top leaders and the messages they shared. It's not about YOU as a leader, it's about those you are helping and leading. Set a good example and treat everyone like you want to be treated.
I'm so blessed and happy that I was able to be a part of this event, and I know now I will never miss another one of these, no matter what it takes to qualify, because I deserve to be there!
More lessons for you especially if you are in network marketing:
Start to build your leadership skills no matter how many people you have working for you or on your team. Personal development is key for this.
Set the example of how you want your team to operate. Ask yourself "if my team did what I did today, would their businesses grow?"
Always push yourself to qualify for leadership events or recognition in your company. Even if you don't make it, you will have pushed your business forward
Most of the time when you make an appointment with someone really important - your boss, your best friend, an important client or customer, you don't cancel it. You don't just not show up right? If Matt Damon (or insert your favorite celebrity here) made an appointment with you, would you cancel on him? HECK NO! So why is it OK to cancel on yourself? You are a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON. If you have made an important appointment with yourself, whether it's for your workout, or to work on your business, you need to SHOW UP.
Telling yourself you are going to do something and not doing something is lying to yourself - you also wouldn't lie to those other VIPs in your life either right? Treat yourself as if you are important and worthy of the time you have set aside to get you to your goals. You deserve it.
So you want to start your own business, or have started your own business, but one problem - you haven't told anyone about it! This happens with people in my business all the time. They don't want to put themselves out there and "go public" until they have success either with the products or with the business, and then they feel like they can announce it. Some people are also nervous about what other people will think, or if they will be judged (I know I was!) The problem is, if people don't know you have a business and that you are a resource for a product or service, they don't know to come to you (and buy from you) or to recommend you to their friends. You are delaying your own success. Not to mention, having the extra accountability of people knowing what you are doing will push you to have more success. And people are going to judge you no matter what you do in life, what's important is that you learn to not to take it personally and realize that only you can determine what you want in life, and how you want to go about doing it. I've learned not to worry about other people. Most people who are judgmental or rude are unhappy in their own lives, and there's nothing you can do about that! As they say, haters gonna hate. :) So my most important advice is - don't wait until you feel like you are READY to talk to people about your business. Be honest and share your story - the easiest way to start is on social media - and include the following and be authentically YOU:
why did you decide to start a business?
why did you choose the business that you did?
what do you have to offer people? Products? Parties? Coaching? Support group while using the products?
how can they get in touch with you?
One exception: if you have a full time job now and you have to keep it under wraps so that your current employer doesn't think you are on your way out or are not serious about your current career, be very careful what you post and who can see it (you can restrict co-workers from seeing certain posts or block certain people).
The kids are back to school and I now have a window of about 3 hours to get the bulk of my work done (they are both in half days). Since people often ask me what I do and how I fit it all in, here's how I'm doing it: 7-8:30am - get the kids up and ready, and walk them both to school 8:30-9:30am - workout + Shakeology 9:30-11am - POWER HOUR (and a half) this is where I do all of my core activities which includes checking on my current challengers (those actively doing a fitness program in one of my groups), adding people to my network, emailing new customers, inviting people to my next fitness group or to join a business opportunity event, and scheduling social media posts for the day. 11-11:30am - Snack, quick shower and off to pick up the kids from school Our current plan is that 2 days a week my husband or a friend will watch them for 2 hours in the afternoon so I can work on bigger projects like training, recording videos for my team, working on my blog and other social media activities, research, creating graphics & visuals for use on my blog & social media, and whatever else pops up. The rest of the week, if I can, I will check in 1-2 times (early afternoon and early evening) to see if I have any urgent messages that can't wait. (often times during one of the kids activities when they are in a class) After the kids go to bed at 8pm, I will catch up on anything I didn't complete and respond to messages. I also do Personal Development for 20-30 minutes before bedtime.
