Mastering the Pivot: 5 Key Strategies for Business Success That Are Really Working Right Now

Molly Asplin [00:00:00]:
The rug was sort of pulled out from under me. Basically, 100% of my income went away. I said, you know what? I am focused on the future. And so I’m not going to look back with a bad attitude. I think it’s very healthy for anyone who’s going through a change or pivot to growth to focus on forward motion and not live in past tense. Hey. I’m Molly. I’m so glad you’re here.

Molly Asplin [00:00:31]:
Welcome to the Dream It Do It podcast. I’m a wife, mom of three, a certified high performance coach, and the founder of Dream It Do It wellness. After leaving my corporate finance job, I discovered the joy of building a life and business that truly light me up. And now I help others like you do the same. Together, Together, we’ll use intentional habits, smart time management and productivity, and meaningful work to help you excel at your career and experience the life you desire. Let’s dream big, take action, and create a life you love. Let’s dive into the show. Welcome back to the Dream It Do It podcast.

Molly Asplin [00:01:16]:
Today, I’m excited to dive into this episode. It’s been a minute since I’ve sort of shared a business update. If you’re a regular listener to the show, you know that about six months ago, a little more, my business went through a big pivot. I basically I don’t like to say I was starting over, but I definitely took an aligned pivot when my previous model with Beachbody was no longer existent. And so I wanna talk about really five things that have helped me that I think can help you too if maybe you are in a season of pivoting, or maybe you’ve always wanted to start your own business or, you know, get something going, and you’re like, where do I start? What do I focus on? There’s so much. I don’t even know where to start. I hear this from a lot of women, or maybe you’re like me and you went through a pivot and you’re like, what should I really be focusing on? I obviously don’t have all the answers, but I’m here to share five things that have really drove profit, revenue, and what I believe is will be scalability too. You know, I’ve been pretty thoughtful about this, and I have a pretty analytical brain and a simple brain.

Molly Asplin [00:02:27]:
So I think I can explain this in a way that is just very motivating and empowering for you to take something from this too. First of all, as a mindset tip, and this is kinda like a pre tip. It’s not one of the five. But when the rug was sort of pulled out from under me, so to speak, and, basically, 100% of my income went away, I said, you know what? I am focused on the future. And so I’m not going to look back with a bad attitude. I definitely took time to process and grieve, and I think I still have those waves of emotions sometimes. But I think it’s very healthy for anyone who’s going through a change or pivot to growth to focus on forward motion, right, and not live in past tense. So very rarely do I find myself going back to that or trying to recreate the past or dwell in the past.

Molly Asplin [00:03:25]:
I just don’t think it’s healthy. And so that’s just my mindset tip is if you are really trying to move forward and grow, then let yourself move forward and grow and don’t live in past stories. And maybe it’s not maybe it’s not a past business, but maybe it’s like a past money mindset that your parents had that you don’t wanna have. Like, you can decide to let go of past beliefs at any time and to adopt new beliefs. And so I have very much been forward motion oriented. And if anyone tries to take me back to the past, I’m just like, I’m go I’m moving forward. Right? And I can learn from that, and I can pull lessons from it, but I’m moving forward. And so that’s, like, my first just, like, pre mindset tip.

Molly Asplin [00:04:07]:
But the first the first thing I did is I focused on one main offer that I wanted to learn and master and get really good at. And for me, that has been one on one coaching. And I don’t know what it is for you, but I would say it’s probably that thing that you’re like, I would really like to try this. I would really like to try speaking. I would really like to try building a course. I you know? And just, like, just pick the one thing that’s top of mind and and go. Right? And get good at it and build the reps. And so for the last six, seven months, I have been one on one coaching.

Molly Asplin [00:04:49]:
I think I’ve had, like, 15 clients or something like that, and I have really doubled down on that to understand the process, to understand how to be a really great high performance coach. Why? Because and why did I pick that? Because I feel like that’s really where I shine. I feel like it’s where my best gifts come out, and that’s the it’s my strengths and my zone of genius, so to speak. And so that’s the part that I just really wanted to double down on so that I could serve others. Now I don’t know what your offer is, and I’m not here to tell you what that should be, but I think that you probably already know. What I will say is that simple is key. And so instead of me saying, I’m gonna have an offer of group coaching, and then I’m gonna launch a course, and then I’m going to, you know, have a an ebook. And then I’m I was like, no.

Molly Asplin [00:05:47]:
I’m going to focus on one on one coaching. Like, that is going to be my main thing. And when I was pivoting, and Steve and I talked through this a lot, I said that’s gonna be my main thing for the next six months to six to twelve months. I’m really going to figure that out and learn it and get good at it. Okay? And so I’m still very much in that. I love it. It’s my favorite part of the business. If you are runaway one on one clients, shout out.

Molly Asplin [00:06:12]:
I love you so much. And if you’re interested in that, go to MollyAspen.com/application. It is very selective, and I can only take so many at once. So, you know, put your name in. We can hop on a clarity call, and we could get you on the wait list for the future if it’s aligned. But I think simple is key so that you’re not overwhelming yourself with so many different offers. You know, people have said, are you gonna do a big event, or maybe you should turn that into a course? And it’s like, yeah. Yeah.

Molly Asplin [00:06:44]:
Interested in these things, but not all at once. Right? I like simple. I like to double down on something, build the reps, and get good at it, and I think I think that you should too. I think they’re like, our brains like that. It feels good to develop a skill in something. And, you know, mastery takes, like, so many hours. So I have I’m not even close to mastering it, but I will say I’ve built a very good skill at that I feel confident in, that I feel proud to offer people, that I know really transforms and I know is really working. And so I want you to have that level of confidence, and that only comes through doing it, through doing the thing.

Molly Asplin [00:07:24]:
Now okay, Molly. You only have, like, one offer? No. I do have a couple other offers, and I’ll explain them. And this is how I heard it explained in a way that I was just like, yeah. That makes a lot of sense. I’m gonna go with that. So someone recommended or I heard it on a podcast or maybe I was at a mastermind. I can’t remember, but they recommended having a low, mid, and high offer.

Molly Asplin [00:07:46]:
Like, a low ticket, you know, like, $20 where people can basically enter your business, maybe enter build build trust with you. And from there, they may move on to your higher offers. And then to have a mid level offer, and for me, that’s pretty much my retreats. Right? That’s like a $400 price point. It’s a great place for women to come and really have a transformative, immersive in person experience. I I love retreats. It’s another one of my my zone of genius places. And then the high offer, and for me, that’s one on one coaching.

Molly Asplin [00:08:20]:
You’ll hear this called a funnel or a value ladder. Right? And you may have clients come in at different offers, and they may kinda go back and forth in different areas of like, go in different directions on your value ladder, or they may come in at the low ticket price point. For me, that is my membership. Right? That’s where I can really serve, like, one to many. It’s it’s a low ticket. It’s a sub subscription offer. It’s my dream it, do it hub. And so that has really worked well for me because I feel like I can serve people in various capacities in a simple way.

Molly Asplin [00:08:57]:
Right? And how I think about it is all my clients are getting the same type of mission and messaging and high performance content. But, obviously, if you’re a one on one client, we’re working very individualized, very close close access to me a lot of time with me. We meet weekly for an hour. And so I’m I’m explaining this because you’ve gotta have a rhythm to your method. Right? And I think business owners can get caught up in bright shiny and just have all these different offers and all these different freebies, and then they’re like, what am I even focused on? Well, I’ve been very focused on one on one coaching. I also have these other lower ticket offers that I will continue to build out, but I really have a low, mid, high, and I can promote different things at different times, and it just it’s simple for me. It makes sense for me. And this is probably what I will rock for the rest of this year because I feel like I’m just really figuring out figuring it out.

Molly Asplin [00:10:05]:
Right? It takes a bit. So have a a hero offer to focus on and really master that. That’s my first big tip if you’re, you know, just starting off or if you’re making a pivot. Second thing that has really helped me is energy and well-being and time management. And I put these all in one category because I think they’re all really connected to one another. So it’s been very key for me to have inflow workdays. I’ve talked all about energy management on high performance energy episode, but, you know, my workdays really aren’t that long. It’s, like, eight to 03:30PM, eight to three PM, and I’m off on Fridays.

Molly Asplin [00:10:46]:
Sure. Sometimes I hop on at night, but I’m really trying not to do that because sleep is important so that I can get up and crush the next day. And I’ve got three kids, and I need energy for that. So really maximizing my workdays has been so important. What do I mean by that? Well, it’s important for me that I’m scheduling, like, recording this podcast episode. My episodes are so much better if I do them during the day. Right? If I’m not, like, recording at night or, you know, if I can do them from, like, the hours of 10AM to 3PM, I know my energy is gonna be so much better. Obviously, all my one on one clients are done during the day.

Molly Asplin [00:11:26]:
It’s like when I am in my zone of genius, my flow, like, we are rocking it out together. I have to be super dialed in on those calls, and so I had to really master my workday flow. What else? My morning planning is, like, so, so key. So me having my morning routine where I’m in solitude and I can journal for the day, I can get centered for the day, no distraction, no phone, no screens. I might read some of a personal development book. I’m reading The Mountain is You right now. Excellent read, by the way. I’ll get my workout in.

Molly Asplin [00:12:02]:
Like, I really improve my state in the mornings. It’s, like, key for me to be able to rock it out all day long, right, and to stay in that good workflow energy. You know, I think what business owners can really struggle with is, yeah, they they’re striving and they’re grinding, but their well-being is missing. And their habits are really not good. And I don’t want that to be me. That’s not what I teach. Right? And so I’m like, I need to keep myself in really good energy with really good sleep, and that means I had to let go of habits. I’ve been alcohol free now for a year.

Molly Asplin [00:12:38]:
I don’t consume a lot of social media. I create. Right? But I really had to, like, let go of doom scrolling or you know? Like, that kind of stuff is very depleting to me. And so I had to get really dialed in on energy focused days so that I could optimize my time, my well-being, and my energy. So that has been key. And I would say just pay attention to your energy depleters. For me, it was alcohol that never made me feel good. It was overconsumption of social.

Molly Asplin [00:13:10]:
It was people that might drain your energy. Right? And just I I let go of those things, and I replace them with energy builders and things that really build me up and make me feel good. So sleep, I mentioned that has been a focus area. I think business owners can really skimp on that just because of the nature of time. But if you if you learn how to optimize the time that you do have, it’s like you get more time. You know what I mean? Because you’re like, well, I just freaking crushed it in those six hours that I had, and that feels really good. Running, I’ve really gotten back into that. And listen, I’m not telling you to all of a sudden become a runner if that’s not your thing, but really paying attention to the workouts that do energize you, I sore like, running, I feel like it’s been part of who I am ever in since my adult life.

Molly Asplin [00:13:58]:
I started running at 18. And when I really reintroduced it this year and just, like, got it back in, I’ve you know, I’ve ran four marathons. And this year, I’m like, you know what? Running just feels good. It’s like my best way to empty my brain and to, like, give me that mental clarity. It sort of felt like I was rediscovering myself again. I’ve gone to some yoga classes. I wish I could figure out my schedule to go to more because that really refuels my energy. But think about those things that actually fuel you because it’s so easy to just get caught up in all the things in the mental load and the business owner load and then not have energy to do it well.

Molly Asplin [00:14:40]:
So that’s why I think this and and then I think it just spews into time management. Because if you don’t have energy, you sorta spin your wheels going, what am I even working on? What’s important today? But if you have energy and you’re pouring into yourself and you know who you are with your things like running or your workout or walks or yoga, whatever it is to, like, restore you, makes a really big difference. Okay. The third one, and this is definitely the one that has increased my revenue and my speed the most. It’s really important for me to lead a profitable business. Like, that’s I, you know, I have a finance background, and I’m like, I want to earn money. I want things to be profitable. And you’ll sort of hear how I reinvested as well.

Molly Asplin [00:15:25]:
I’m gonna go into that in number four. But this step number three is what has helped me go at a faster pace than I ever would have been able to otherwise. So you’re gonna wanna listen to this one. I have built my network probably a hundred times more this year in the last six months than I did in the last ten years. And I have an episode with Judy Molnar all about networking, and then there’s another one about intentional friendships, which also has a big networking component in it. I have been a connector for many other people. I just I connect and introduce a lot of people that I think should be connected. I’ve gotten into circles that really inspire me where I don’t feel like I’m the only one running or the only one building.

Molly Asplin [00:16:13]:
I feel like where p other people are pushing me as well. I just think this is so key, and I had to seek this stuff out. I had to get out of my world. I had to get out of my office. I had to get out of my house. Right? And so it’s been very good, and it’s been the fastest shift to growth for me to, like, faster growth for me. Because when you get yourself in new environments where people are really elevating you and challenging you and just putting different ideas and thoughts in your head, it’s just faster than you can ever go on your own. It is.

Molly Asplin [00:16:47]:
I attended two retreats so far this year. I mean, it’s April. So two retreats in the first quarter or conferences. I went to the nourish, move, love retreat, which was more of a wellness retreat. But while on that right retreat, I connected to some really awesome women. Who do I connect with? Stacy and Molly. Shout out to Molly. She’s a podcast listener.

Molly Asplin [00:17:08]:
She’s awesome. I connected to her, and she connected to me to her friend, Cheryl. And Cheryl is doing some work with my business right now. Like, just awesome connection that happen when you get yourself in the room with just good humans. Another place I went to was the podcasting for moms conference. Oh my gosh. That was amazing. The content of that conference was good, and what was great was the relationships.

Molly Asplin [00:17:35]:
Like, we went to happy hour. We went to dinner. I just connected with some really awesome women there who are there to help other women win. Right? I think when you get yourself around the right circles and, like, people who really want you to win and you want them to win, it’s sort of like walls come down and it’s like, what can I help you with? What can I help you with? Tell me about your business. Tell me about your business. And we just had so many great conversations at the podcasting for moms conference. You know, like, do you wanna be on my podcast? I need to get you on my podcast. In podcast swaps, that’s such a great thing to do as a podcaster.

Molly Asplin [00:18:14]:
I actually connected to a fractional CMO at that conference who I believe I will be working with. And you know what? I wanna say this. It’s not just about coming out of these places with, like, oh, she can help me with my business today, or she can hire me for her business. That’s not what it’s about. It’s also about the long term relationships that are formed. I also met some women there, Whitney and Stephanie, who have a great retreat in, event. It’s a I should say event in Ohio in the fall that I’m planning to go to, and I’m planning to bring my dream at Do It team with me. And I’m just like, this is what it’s all about.

Molly Asplin [00:18:52]:
Right? And if you don’t get yourself into those rooms, you just never even know that exists. You don’t. And you may see, like, some social media reels about it being like, that looks fun, but it’s like, get yourself in those rooms and those environments where it can really change the game. But that has just helped me so much. I can’t stress it enough as to get yourself in those environments, and it’ll feel weird. And you’ll have to put in the effort there, but I did. And I have been in the last six months, and it’s been the best outcomes that that I could have imagined. Number four is I have reinvested and hired help.

Molly Asplin [00:19:30]:
So there is this great book called buy back your time. I’ve alluded to it on the podcast before. It’s by Dan Martell, but he really teaches this kinda like this outsourcing philosophy around delegating and replacing. And it really helped me understand buyback rate, something that he teaches in the book, and to not just outsource and say, okay. You come in and, like, do my social media, but to actually replace what you’re doing and that you know works, but to have somebody else do it at the the proper buyback rate for you. And, again, he goes into how to calculate that. And that was such a good practical concept for me because I want to stay in my zone of genius with my highest revenue activities and my highest energy activities, which as I told you in number one, is my one on one coaching. And so for me to stay in that one on one coaching and to do more of it and to have time to do more of it, and, obviously, I have energy when I do that because I freaking love it.

Molly Asplin [00:20:39]:
That means I have to replace and delegate the other stuff because there’s just there’s no way that as my business grows, I can continue to do all that. So okay. What what have I done? I have a podcast editor. Shout out to Joelle who’s editing this podcast. That was a replace activity. Right? Like, if I were to do that, it would take me so many hours and so much time, and she does it way better than I could do it. I have somebody who helps me with scheduling of all the one on one clients and manages my calendar and resends reminders to my one on one clients. That, like, helps keep me organized.

Molly Asplin [00:21:16]:
That stuff is energy and time that then I don’t have to do. Right? And so it has delegated and replaced in a very what I think is a smart way. And so I want you to think about, can you reinvest in your business? And the we the reason I say reinvest is because that’s exactly what you’re doing. Right? If you core if you reinvest in a smart way right? And what I mean by that is, in this case, is hiring help or replacing the task to pay someone else to do it, well, then guess what? I can get more one on one clients. I can spend more time in my dream at Do It Wellness and make that even better. I can build out the next retreat and make that even better. And so it frees you up to go spend your time and energy on the things that actually light you up. And I think business owners get really scared to do this because they’re like, well, I don’t know if I have enough money for that.

Molly Asplin [00:22:14]:
And I just think of, yeah, but what’s the opportunity cost of you not? Like, it’s just if you don’t, it’s a really good way to chase your tail in a circle and not ever grow. And so reinvesting has been just, like, key for me. It’s been kinda my plan for this whole entire year is to generate revenue, be profitable, reinvest, and be more profitable. Does that make sense? So that has been great. And then number five is I have really thought about the bigger picture of Dream It Do It and the bigger vision. And I just know that it’s not going to be just me. I have plans to really build out a team with this, and I would love to have a b to b arm of Dream It Do It to really build out the retreats, to continue to build out the one on one coaching, to probably have more coaches, to probably have more facilitators, be it in the b to b space or at retreats. And so I know that this will not just be the Molly show.

Molly Asplin [00:23:20]:
And so I’m re what what I’m doing this year is I’m laying the foundation for a scalable business. And so and you don’t have all the answers when you do this. Right? And I have kept it very simple as I told you in number one, but I have collected data right through all these one on one clients and my membership and the retreats. I learn common themes. I learn what working women are dealing with. I learn the beliefs that are holding them back. I learn what’s making them ineffective. I learn what they want to do better performance wise.

Molly Asplin [00:23:56]:
I learn the habits that they struggle with. I learn what the modern day mom is facing. And that really helps me to then build out more for the future around those common themes. And listen, if you don’t double down on something to collect that data and bring in clients and understand their problems and listen, then you’re not you’re really not ever able to do this. And so I’ll get the question sometimes, like, Molly, do I build out everything I want and then try to sell it? Or do I, like, bring people in and and then kinda build it? You bring people in and you build it from there. I % believe that because you don’t know exactly what they want. And so start small and bring some people in and continue to tweak and build and refine. But if you just sit on your hands and try to, like, perfect some offer without ever putting it out into the world or without ever talking about it or selling it, I that think that’s the part that people are scared of, so they just try to, like, perfect something behind the scenes.

Molly Asplin [00:25:03]:
That does not work. And so you’ve gotta collect data in order to learn the themes and learn the struggles and learn the pain points and learn what to scale. And so this whole first year, I have been building that solid foundation and learning what am I going to scale for the future? What am I going to build out next year? Right? What are what are these, like, hot hitter items that is like, that’s it. That becomes the thing that, like, we really double down on and we put foot on the gas with and we go with. And I trust the process. I learned that in my last ten years of business that you can’t snap your fingers and get there overnight. Business is usually up, down, up, down, up, up, down, down, down, up, up. You know? That’s just how it is, and so I understand that.

Molly Asplin [00:25:51]:
If you struggle with that, you wanna read the book called The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster by Darren Hardy. You know, if you’ve never been in business before, it’s just it’s key. That’s just kinda how it is, and so I’ve been very comfortable with that this time. I’m like, yeah. Okay. That’s not working so well, or I I gotta do this different, or this didn’t go how I thought it was gonna go. But then you tweak and you adjust, and then you get some wins, and then you get some losses, and that’s just how it goes. So you’ve gotta trust the process.

Molly Asplin [00:26:21]:
The last thing I want from this episode is for you to go, okay. I pick an offer. I go try to sell it, and I double down on it, and everything is hunky dory. No. No. Right? It’s not gonna be perfect like that. You’re gonna ask some people about the offer if they’re interested. No.

Molly Asplin [00:26:38]:
They’re not. You might have to tweak it. You might have to tweak the language. You’re gonna have those first people who come. You’re gonna be like, okay. I need to do this a little bit differently next time. Like, it is constantly iterating. And when you can become comfortable with that, I think it’s when you get really good.

Molly Asplin [00:26:53]:
Right? Because then you’re just always improving and getting better for the people that you serve. The last thing I’ll say is I’m really excited to build out Dream It Do It with just other women who are aligned in this mission of wanting to help other women just do life and business better, to feel more fulfilled, to enjoy the ride, to find meaning in their work and find success achieve success in a meaningful way while also really cherishing moments with loved ones. Like, to me, that’s what it’s all about. I wanna really enjoy this ride. I wanna enjoy this rocket ship. Right? Like, I’m gonna be on the rocket ship, but I’m gonna enjoy it. And that doesn’t mean it’s always gonna be easy. And trust me, I’ve had tears.

Molly Asplin [00:27:46]:
I’ve had sadness right in the last six, eight months. It has not been perfect, but I will say I’ve really been enjoying it. And I’m really excited about the future. And when everything went down in October, I was like, okay. You know? This is this is gonna be something. This is gonna be different. I’m gonna pivot here. But there was this, like, wave of peace over me, and, I mean, you could go back and listen to those episodes.

Molly Asplin [00:28:14]:
There was this wave of peace over me where I just knew I’m gonna I’m gonna figure this out, and I’m ready for this. And I can’t wait to equip and empower other women with this too because I think that’s really part of my purpose is to help others shine and to offer opportunities to others and to give positions and income opportunities to others and to see them in the spotlight and to create opportunities for their zone of genius. I just I love that. It it I could actually cry about that because when I can put someone to speak at a retreat or when I can get someone on this podcast and just hear what they’re so passionate about, it gives me all the fulfillment in the world. And I I believe I’m meant to, like, really connect women in a powerful way, and and maybe men too. I don’t know. Right? I don’t know exactly how this looks, but I know that I’m I’m building a really solid foundation. And so I hope that whether you just like listening to the dream at Do It podcast or whether you’re going through a pivot or whether you’re creating your own business too, I hope that these five, what I think are simple tips, can just help you to make it profitable.

Molly Asplin [00:29:28]:
Right? Because if you’re a business owner, you want it to be profitable. You wanna drive revenue. Every business, the top line is revenue, so we gotta drive revenue. I also wanted to feel meaningful and and fun for you even through the rocky parts or the tear filled nights or the the moments that lead you to question. I think that’s all very normal. So, hey, if this episode helps you, will you please let me know? You can send me a DM on Instagram or you can reply to my emails that I send. That is me responding. I will respond to you.

Molly Asplin [00:30:02]:
I love love to hear your feedback and your takeaways, so that would just be so appreciated. And if you could rate and review the podcast, I would love it. The working mom retreat is coming up. We still have a couple spots, not many, so make sure you grab your ticket. You can use code podcast for $50 off. That is just for podcast listeners. So I would love to have you there. I think that can really help increase the pace and speed at which you go, whether you’re a business owner or a corporate corporate person maybe trying to make a pivot or just feel more fulfilled.

Molly Asplin [00:30:34]:
I would get yourself in that room for sure. Alright. Hope this was helpful for you. We’ll talk to you next week. Take care. Could I ask a quick favor? It would mean so much to me if you took two minutes, literally two minutes, to rate and review this podcast. Ratings and reviews are how the podcast grows, and it’s listeners like you who are here every week listening and benefiting who can really help me grow the show, it would mean a ton to me. And, as a token of my appreciation, for any written review that you share, I will send you a $5 Starbucks gift card.

Molly Asplin [00:31:15]:
Why? Because we all need more Starbucks in our life. A little coffee for you to enjoy on me. So all you have to do is review the podcast. So just go down and click review rate or review the podcast. Write a written review, screenshot it, and before you click submit, just screenshot it. Email it to me, mo***@********in.com. And from there, I will send over your $5 Starbucks gift card, and your next coffee or latte or mocha will be on me. Thank you so much.

Molly Asplin [00:31:47]:
I appreciate it more than you know. Talk soon.