We've all heard and seen those scammy marketing campaigns for the 5 tips and tricks that will double, triple and even quadruple your business in X amount of time if you only pay X amount of money to learn what those very special and ever elusive tips and tricks are... BLEH! This is not that. From one creative hustler to another, I'm only sharing the small habits what'v worked to help me grow my baby business when practiced daily... and yes they're all FREE.

STAY CONSISTENT

This one feels like a biggy. Whenever I've known friends who were just starting a new business, their first questions to me always pertain to how quickly they can get the most followers on Instagram. Now let me break this down - first of all your followers on Instagram is NOT your business. Yep, I said it. Instagram is simply a tool you can use to help cultivate a community around your business and if done successfully, yes may lead to sales. But if you're valuing the entire worth of your mission, product and values around how many followers you have on Instagram, you're doing it all wrong OR more likely for all the wrong reasons. And second of all - It's taken me almost 5 YEARS to day in and day out slowly and genuinely grow my following to the community of the nearly 10K women from all over the world that it's at today. 

So all that just to say STAY CONSISTENT Gwapa. KNOW WHO YOU ARE. I mean it. Take the time up front to sit down with yourself and know who and what you and your business stand for, and how you plan to deliver your position and messaging to your community. In short, what is your value and how will you share it? Stories? Posts? Snapchat? Newsletter? Podcast? Blog Posts? Not every platform is for every person. Find what feels good to you and go far and wide in that lane. You don't need to take on tik-tok just because "everyone else it doing it". Once you've established this foundation and you're confident in both your message and your medium - also consider who you're not - what places won't you post? what trends won't you jump in on? what topics, brands, or products won't you cover? I always think about this when a national day like "National Earth Day" pops up on my Planoly calendar and I get all anxious and stressed around creating content for Earth Day. Then I slow my thoughts down and ask myself "Does National (fill in the blank) Day align with my mission to connect, celebrate and support female creatives?" And most of the time it just doesn't... It's not that I'm against any holiday, it's just that if I don't stay in my lane and focus on creating content CONSISTENTLY around my mission then I would wind up following trends down rabbit holes forever. Know who you are and stay consistent. 

GET CONNECTED

This one is personal for me because I spend SO much time in my DM's reaching out and chatting with the members of my community, commenting on their posts and re-sharing their content. Every time you start to get frustrated with the algorithm, reach out to ten people who follow you and tell them how much you appreciate them and if you're delivering the kind of content they want to see or if there's something more they'd be interested in seeing from you. I promise, your business will grow. Not overnight, but it will grow. So get out of your comfort zone and GET CONNECTED with your community. Be the person and use the language you would wish to receive on a bad day or when you're feeling doubtful and inspired. True connections are hard to break and these are the bonds that you want to build your business on. 

DREAM BIGGER

I personally LOVE this tip. I know you might be wondering how such a silly exercise would truly affect your business but the truth is this is how I've discovered some of my best and biggest ideas. The trick is in liberating your mind by forcing yourself to produce a large quantity of ideas vs. forcing yourself to produce quality ideas. I know, it sounds backwards but it works like magic. When you're free to just write ideas for the sake of getting them out vs making sure their perfect somewhere around idea 15 you cross this threshold and start to jot down gems. Some may seem silly or even make you LOL but trust and believe there will eventually be one that feels sticky. Hold onto that one and continue to cultivate that funny sticky lump of coal in a gleaming glistening diamond. This tool is your ticket and FREE ride to DREAM BIGGER.

GRIND

This one needs no further explanation. Just GRIND. 

POST ABOUT IT, BE ABOUT IT.

This is a tip I've used since the very beginning of Hola Gwapa. It's super simple. When you establish some big goals, set deadlines around them, and then post about them. Send out a newsletter or share the news with friends and family. The more people you tell and the wider you spread your net of accountability the more driven you will feel to accomplish whatever it is you'v set out to do. PLUSSS by sharing whatever you've got up your sleeve you'l begin to generate major buzz within your community and you may even have some homies offer to help or share a nugget of feedback that could help to improve your work before you launch and share it with the world. POST ABOUT IT, BE ABOUT IT. 

Xx, 

Nisha