Only someone from New Orleans will understand what the title means: Where Y'at?!?! = "What is your location?" and/or "how are you doing?"
I was reminded in our weekly Team Zoom for The Bizzarro Agency that July is the halfway point of the year. Now is the time to check in with our 2021 business goals to evaluate and adjust accordingly. In a nutshell, where y'at?
How's it going?
How can I improve / what isn't working?
What am I doing that is working well?
Good news! I'm about halfway to my 2021 goal. I can do better and I realize what wasn't working, but I can applaud myself for 6 months of hard work. As you all know, I'm still at the very beginning of building my business. The best way to summarize the last 6 -12 months is I've been on the great learning curve!
I've never worked on commission before which is super new territory for me. My paycheck depends on other people making a decision to spend money on a major life decision. Yikes, right?
I've heeded the advice of my Broker, Matt, who brought me onto his Team and who is one of my two mentors in this career. His mission (which is working well for him) is Service. He's encouraged me to set my focus on serving my clients FIRST and the contracts (and ultimately commissions) will follow.
Okay, so "others before myself".....seems like a mission statement for life not just business.
In the last 2 years I've taken on not one, but TWO jobs that beg for my focus to be on the needs of another. Being a parent is the biggest "putter of all things into a new perspective" that I could ever have imagined. It's a wonderfully gratifying and marvelous job, but it's also a job that has almost no breaks. Thank God my little pal is so stinking cute and I love her so darn much.....
I have been self employed and self motivated for almost my entire adult life. I wish someone would have encouraged me to re-evaluate my focus 10 years ago at the height of my singing career. I see now that where your focus lies can determine the success of your business.
For so many years I put myself first because my whole world revolved around me -- my focus was my voice. Everything in my world was dictated by MY schedule, MY voice, MY needs. One might say that any professional artist or athlete has to live with that kind of mindset, but I don't believe that it is a very satisfying way to live. The problem was that if one little piece of my puzzle wasn't in place I became frustrated, anxious and full of self doubt. My focus was on what I was struggling with, not what I should celebrate. I've learned from the past and I can assure you that "stress and all" I'm still grateful for my years in the opera business.
What's the point of all this? I guess I'm just putting it out there for my own growth and personal accountability and maybe to inspire someone who's burnt out and struggling. I think we can learn from each other by hearing each other's stories. It's only the beginning of this 5th decade of my life and I'm still breaking in my new roles -- Parenting and Real Estate -- and who knows what will come of my role as a Singer. I certainly hope to be singing more often in the future.
So......did you have a goal for 2021 and, if so.....
Where y'at?!?!
Where I'm at: on a rooftop of an apartment building in Hudson Heights. A typical day in the life...