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Today’s talking point:

Let’s kick off 2022 with a bang with my five industry predictions for this year. These predictions are big and game-changing. From the big shift that’s happening in the online coaching space to the importance and rise of being original, this episode will keep things in gear for you so that you can hit the ground running in 2022.

I am such a believer in looking at where we have been and what has been going on in order to look ahead at what’s to come. And if you are not being innovative, if you are not paying attention, if you are not entering the conversation about where we as online business owners are going, you're missing a really big opportunity to not only lead.

So my intention today is to really bring to the conversation some things to keep in mind, both for you as a CEO and also as a content creator.

I really feel like this is a conversation we need to be having.

Here are some questions I want you to ponder on or even reflect on in your journal…

Where is our industry evolving? Where are we going?
What does it mean to be an innovator in the online business world moving into 2022?

Because things are changing rapidly. I think it’s fascinating to see how we’ve evolved in the online business space over the past few years. This industry largely is built on digital connections.

So how we are marketing to one another, how we are selling to one another, how we're building community, how we're growing our businesses… all of that is changing alongside a digital landscape.

With that in mind, let’s dive into my five predictions for the online business world in 2022 and some key shifts that you want to keep in mind and take into account as you get ready for this year.

1: the perception of value is shifting

When I went full time with my business in 2017, every single guru was teaching webinars: how to do webinars, how to talk about the 3 mistakes people struggle with and on and on.

This is still happening now, it’s definitely not going away. But we are on the precipice of such a big transformation in this industry. Whatever industry you are in, whether you’re product-based or service-based, whatever it is – what isn’t a trend anymore is the idea that we need to keep reiterating people’s pain points back to them.

That is not leadership. That is manipulation. It’s unhealthy. But we were taught that's what it meant to be a good marketer. We were taught that's what it meant to be a powerful leader. The perception of value is shifting and changing. We need to look at what this looks like both on the delivery and also on the receiving side.

We are moving from the idea of a five-step process, the secret blueprint, the magic pill, the golden key as our definition of value. And this goes not just from how we talk about things in our lives or on our podcast episodes, but also the kind of posts that we make, the kind of content that we create.

The good news is that people are waking up to the fact that this kind of marketing is not cool. And I can’t tell you how many conversations I’ve had with clients and students who joined one of my programmes and said ‘Holly I’m ready, I need something different because I've been in this kind of programme and I've been burnt before and I don’t want it to happen again’.

When we sell from and buy from a place of being a victim, feeling less than or having a lack of power, we strip everyone else of that power as well. That is the perception of value we are moving away from.

My mission with my clients and students is to remind them that they already have everything they need inside of them to get to where they want to be – I’m just there to help steer the boat along the way.

And business owners who are ready to get to that next level are going to stop seeking out the step by step formula or the magic code and start focusing on accessing what they already know. Ask: what and who is going to support me and empower me to do that? That is value.

The mentor that doesn’t make you feel incomplete without them, but rather reminds you that you already have everything you need – that is the person you wanna walk towards.

2: Reduce the ick around sales

One of the biggest launch mindset shifts I can share with you is to let go. Before Christmas, I put out that I had some availability in my 1:1 coaching programmes and then I took 2 weeks off.

I came back to so many messages and 2 new clients are starting to work with me 1:1 over the next month. That came from well a lot of things, one of those being really letting go of any sort of pushy urgency, hard sales tactics and being open and available for the relationship.

When you are more focused on the relationship that you are building with people in your community, the more you focus on being open and available to relate, to connect deeply with your people, the more effortless momentum you will feel with sales.

So when it comes to sales, try having neutrality. Try letting go of needing to sell, needing to convert. We don't need to be clingy. Just release. Trust. Receive. Be open. Focus on impact and the income will follow. Focus on connection and relationship over conversion and sale and you will make more sales I guarantee it.

Bring that awareness into your next launch because it matters and it's going to continue to matter more than ever, because people are not prepared to be pressured and pushed into a sale. They’re really noticing how it feels to be supported and empowered into making a decision.

This is all about behaviour as well. Treat people how you want to be treated – how you trust your people, how you treat them in the sales process is going to directly impact the kind of relationship that you have with them long term.

3: longevity and depth in mentoring

Longevity and depth in mentoring experiences and relationships are going to be way more popular than a quick hit experience. I want you to think about this in terms of what you’re offering and also what you’re investing into.

In terms of how you are structuring your offers: how you are thinking about what you are selling and the kinds of experiences you're putting out. I know it's become really popular to offer super-short programmes.

But what I am seeing and what I am noticing from working with clients for months and years is that people are not looking to just drop in with you for a brief moment. They don’t just want a brief programme, but be in a relationship over time.

This compounds to have a higher return on investment because of what that sustained relationship can do when you are that supported for so long. Your people are able to receive such a bigger transformation the longer that they are in the room with you, the deeper the proximity that they have to you.

And I'm not saying that courses are going to become irrelevant or short term group programmes are going to become irrelevant. What I am saying is that longevity, substance and depth matter now more than ever.

I know you don’t have the bandwidth or the time to be shopping around from coach to coach, hopping around from programme to programme. Do you know how energetically and financially inefficient it is to join a bunch of different programmes all the time?

If we let ourselves be supported by a coach or a mentor, you commit to a longer-term, bigger picture investment and that is when the results come. That is when the magic happens.

If you have not already invested in your personal and business development in 2022, who are you going to be guided by and be mentored by? I want you to ask yourself:

Who do I resonate with?
Who do I feel deeply connected to?
How can I get in the room with them for a longer period of time?
How can I be supported by them for a longer experience so that I can get the best results I’ve ever had?

In terms of the offers that you make for your people, how can you look at weaving in at least one, if not more experiences that you sell and that you offer that provide that kind of longevity?

We are no longer a shiny object industry saying, ‘Ooh, I’m gonna invest in that because it looks good or I want her vibe’. No. That is not the vibe. The vibe is being supported so that when you are celebrating an amazing month, week or day, you have somebody who knows you to cheer you on when you are going into a launch and you also have someone who knows your fear and how to work through that. And someone who knows when you are at your lowest, what message YOU need to hear.

4: more copycats

Now I am a very positive and optimistic person, I’m a very much glass half full kind of girl. But more people are creating online businesses now than ever before. And sometimes I think that scarcity causes us to do things that are out of integrity.

Lots of people, not everyone but a good chunk of people, coming into this space focus on what everyone else is doing.

That is why just like with my first precision about the shift in the meaning and perception of value, being original is so important. One of my previous 1:1 clients has got someone who copies nearly every product she creates. I’ve had people send me stories saying ‘Holly these templates look a lot like yours’. You do not want to go down that route. You are not empowering anybody that way.

Being original and innovative means you are going to have so much more impact and resonance. It’s not about ‘let me do what she did’. That is not how we lead in this industry.

So I do predict that we are going to see more of that. As leaders, I think that means bracing yourself, both energetically and also legally, so making sure you have all your ducks in a row.

Also be mindful of the ways you take inspiration. I know you would never directly copy, but even notice the ways in which you feel compelled to create content about X, Y, Z thing because someone else just talked about that.

Originality does not come from looking at what everyone else is doing. Originality only comes from being present in the work that you do in the day to day and the relationships that you have with your clients and customers. That is not something you are gonna get from scrolling on Instagram. That is something you are.

So be prepared for more copycatting, especially if you are leading the way. It happens a lot so don't get thrown by it, but also be mindful of the ways in which you can fall into this trap too. Your originality is where your magic is. That is where your money will be made. That is where your community will be built.

5: Forget the tactics

So what I mean by a tactic is advice like ‘make sure you post five times a day at 1:00 PM and engage for 20 minutes beforehand and 20 minutes afterwards’ or ‘make sure that you follow and unfollow’. We’re moving away from tactics and marketing methods like that. Relatability is going to win a hundred times.

It doesn’t matter how often you post, as long as it is thought out and intentional. It is a message. It is original. It is relatable. If you can get your audience to relate to you in your messaging, the impact in ROI, sales, followers, conversions, engagement, all of it is going to increase massively.

Now I’m not saying don’t be consistent. But it doesn’t have to be a post every day. If we can soften our focus on tactics and amplify our focus on relatability and consistency and intentionality that is a boss move.

Basically all of the work we do is about moving other people – moving someone to feel, moving someone to act, moving someone to do something. You need to be connected to your personal power in order to move somebody.

You can make someone feel nice or have them say ‘yeah that’s a good point’, but that’s not moving them. That’s not going to make them buy. What makes them buy is when they relate to you, when there is alignment, when they feel deep down that this is the right fit.

Everyone who joins the Busy to Boss Academy I usually have a conversation with them first – they always say they sign up because they feel a connection with me. They can relate to not just me but the Academy itself and the community and the connection it provides.

The not so secret secret is nothing really changes. When I was making very little in my business I had a podcast, I had a facebook group, I had Instagram, I had an email list. Now, 4 years later, I have a podcast, I have a facebook group, I have Instagram and I have an email list.

The method hasn’t changed. What changes is you. And relatability. My biggest shift in getting from where I was then to where I am now is how connected to myself I am and the work I do on myself and my goals. And my own results and my clients results grow because of that.

This is also exactly why I’ve designed the Academy in this way so that it supports this. It’s not an accident that Academy members are reaching their income goals, taking their businesses full-time, taking more time off than ever and not feeling guilty about it – it’s about the relationship we have and how supported they are.

If you are looking to scale up this year and go bigger, even if it’s just a little bit, I want you to actually stop chasing the tactics and instead look a sustainable blueprint for your business.

That is where your focus shouldn’t be what type of planning or email software to use. It’s not the most important thing that’s going to shift your business.

Focus on relatability both in terms of who you seek out as your mentor, and also in terms of how you are going about leading and marketing.