98. Why I Wasn’t Getting Clients (& What Changed Everything)
Do you ever feel like you’re doing everything “right” in your business… but you’re still not getting clients? I remember being in that exact place, putting in so much time and energy, checking all the boxes, and wondering why nothing was actually working. If you’re feeling stuck, discouraged, or questioning whether you’re missing something, I want you to know you’re not alone. This is such a normal part of the process, especially in the early stages.
In this episode, I’m sharing a mistake that I made at the start of my journey and one I see so many moms making when they’re trying to get their first clients. I talk about how easy it is to spend your time on things that feel productive, like working on your website, without realizing those things aren’t actually bringing in clients right now. I walk you through what revenue-generating activities really are, why we tend to avoid them, and how to start shifting your focus in a way that feels doable and aligned.
You’ll hear real examples of what it looks like to put yourself out there before you feel ready, how clients can come from simple conversations and connections, and why messy action is often what creates the biggest momentum. This episode will help you refocus your time, build confidence in your next steps, and start creating real opportunities for clients in your business.
Ready for clarity and a simple action plan to get your business started? Schedule a free 1-hour consultation with me here!
What You’ll Learn from this Episode:
The difference between busy work and true revenue-generating activities.
Why you feel productive but aren’t getting clients.
The common mistake that keeps new business owners stuck.
Why putting yourself out there matters more than perfecting behind the scenes.
How to start focusing on actions that create real momentum.
What to consider if you feel like you’re doing everything but nothing is working.
Why early business growth depends on prioritizing connection over perfection.
Listen to the Full Episode:
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Full Episode Transcript:
This is Episode 98 of the How to Quit Your Job podcast. And last week inside the Mom Entrepreneur Circle, a mom shared what she's been working on in her business. And it immediately took me back to the beginning of my own business when I was putting so much time and energy into things that felt productive, but they were things that weren't actually bringing in clients or revenue. And it highlighted one of the biggest mistakes I see so many of us making when we're desperately trying to create our first clients. It's a mistake that you're probably unknowingly making every day when you sit down to work on your business. But that ends today.
Welcome to How to Quit Your Job, the podcast for moms ready to ditch the nine-to-five and build a life and business they love. I’m your host, Jenna Rykiel. Let’s go.
Hi, mom friends. This podcast is all about helping moms to see that they are capable of creating change in their lives, especially if something isn't working right now. If you're feeling stuck or miserable or unhappy, I want to give you tools to make small shifts that will make a huge difference. It's called How to Quit Your Job because a lot of times the villain in our story can be our nine-to-five and we want to build something of our own where we'll have more flexibility and autonomy and purpose. And I support all of those things.
And what I want more than anything is for you to feel lit up by life right now without major changes having to happen. Because sometimes major changes feel so out of reach. It feels like it'll take forever. And I want you to know that you can feel differently, you can feel better, you can feel more like yourself with small shifts. And those small shifts end up becoming big shifts. There's a snowball effect at work.
So be sure to click follow wherever you're listening to this because the weekly reminders and small shifts and actions that I offer on each podcast episode can absolutely fuel that snowball effect. I've had a number of moms reach out to me and say they've binged the podcast, started implementing the shifts, started to feel more confident in themselves, started to take action before they felt ready, and have paying clients in a new business just from listening to the podcast. This podcast can be that encouragement for you. So be sure to follow it and stay committed to this as a resource for creating change.
But that's not entirely what I'm talking about or what I want to focus on today's episode. I just felt the need to highlight that piece for anyone who is new to the podcast or even those moms who've been with me from the beginning. Because if you're listening to this podcast, you need something to change. And this podcast is all about those small shifts that can create the change that will add up to big shifts over time. That's the goal.
You don't have to quit your job to get there, but of course you can. I'm helping a client with all the things involved in leaving her job on good terms this week and it's so energizing. We're having so much fun talking about everything that comes with leaving and I love that, but you don't have to quit your job to get there. You can get there with a few tweaks in how you're trusting yourself and where you're focusing your time and energy.
So without further ado, what I want to talk about today is exactly that, where you're focusing your time and energy in your business and the big mistake you might be making. I met with a bunch of moms last week in my free Mom Entrepreneur Circle. And if you're new to my work, that's a completely free community for moms who are building businesses or even just thinking about building a business. We meet every other week as a group and it's a chance to get to know other moms in entrepreneurship from all walks of life and all over the world. So we network, we support each other, and we talk about real obstacles and struggles in life and business and, of course, how to overcome them.
And this last session, we talked about a lot of amazing things, but there was one topic in particular that felt especially big and important. And I think it felt important to me because as I was listening to this mom who is early on in her business, no clients yet, it was like I was seeing myself when I first started my business. So she's a stay-at-home mom of two, struggling with time, trying to figure out when she would even work on the business. And when I asked her what kinds of things she's doing or not doing in her business, she shared that she was working on what sounded like a lead magnet type project or a freebie. She talked about freshening up her website. She does website designs, so she felt really strongly about, I need to spruce up my website. And there were a few other things.
And it took me back to the start of my business when I really felt I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall and literally nothing was sticking. At that time, I actually had a lot of time. It was before having kids. So that piece wasn't the same. But there was still this confusion on what I needed to be doing in order to make my business successful or honestly, just to sign a client. And when we're starting out, it's so hard to know the best use of our time and what it even means to work on our business.
This was before I hired my first true business coach and I really felt most days I was just floating, untethered, pretending that I knew what I was doing but actually feeling so clueless. The only thing at that time that I could work off of was what I saw other coaches and business owners doing. They had lead magnets, they had nice websites, they had evergreen funnels. So that seemed like the answer. So I spent a lot of time and energy in those places. I even remember hiring a copywriter at one point to write a blog post for me or a few blog posts because SEO optimization was the thing and it was all anyone was talking about in their business.
And I also remember the first freebie I created. It was a self-care calendar. It was so basic, and it took me forever, and I was so proud of it. Working on those things made me feel productive and that I was building something early on in my business. It made me feel I was doing things that would move my business forward. It made me feel I was on the right track because that's what I saw other business owners and coaches doing. But, and here's the big but, these actions were not generating revenue. They were not what I call revenue-generating activities.
And when I talk about this concept, I'm going to be talking about it for the newer entrepreneur, but I want you to know that hiding behind actions that don't actually drive revenue is something that happens at every level of business. This exact concept just came up in a business podcast I was listening to. It was multimillion-dollar entrepreneurs talking about hiding behind business operations instead of putting themselves out there in ways that they knew would drive new or more revenue in the business. We easily hide behind our computer working on things that we tell ourselves are necessary and productive, but this is such a big mistake early on in our business.
I remember when my coach first talked to me about revenue-generating activities and a massive light bulb went off. Because I realized how much of my time and energy I had been spending on things that were not actually creating clients for me directly. I realized how much time and energy I had spent developing things that might lead to a client in a few months or years, but that weren't going to move my business forward right now. Revenue-generating activities are the things that can immediately sign you clients or create revenue in your business. It doesn't mean that these actions always sign you clients or that you're entitled to get results when you do these types of activities, but it's the actions that give you a chance of signing a client or producing revenue.
And I know that if you're operating from a place where you've never had a client, it might feel there are no such activities that lead to clients. But I want you to think about how clients do or could happen in your business. One of the most common answers early on is referrals. You have a friend or someone you know that knows someone who needs your services or needs your product and they refer someone to you.
I remember there being a time in my business when I actually felt embarrassed to say that most of my clients came from referrals. I felt that if people are only coming from referrals, that means my business isn't real or mature yet. It means I don't have marketing systems. It's not mature. But what I see now is when you're early on in your business, referrals are gold and they are absolutely a marketing strategy. You can build complex marketing systems like funnels and invest time and money on building an email list, or you can just be really good at what you do and get referrals. But referrals can't happen if we aren't putting ourselves out there and talking about our business and our services and our products with people in our network or just real people out there in the world.
So getting out there and talking to people about your business is a great example of a revenue-generating activity. It's even better if you go out there and you talk to someone who needs your services and you make an offer to them. How many times do we get out there and we talk to somebody and we're like, "Oh my gosh, I could absolutely help them." But we don't want to be pushy or we don't want to make an offer or be salesy.
I just did an episode on this, actually, after our last Mom Entrepreneur Circle, Episode 93, the two things keeping you from creating clients. So definitely check out that episode too if you are early on in your business and are feeling you're hitting a wall and not sure what you're doing wrong because clients aren't magically appearing. But we go out, we meet people sometimes, and sometimes we don't even make an offer to them that we can help them because we are too afraid to be salesy.
So these revenue-generating activities, these things that could lead to clients, it's about getting out there, talking to people about your business, making offers to help people. Even if also it's just connecting with your friends or people you already know, because there might be a referral waiting on the other side of that conversation, or might even be a client waiting on the other side of that conversation. You just never know. I just had this happen with one of the moms from that Mom Entrepreneurs Circle meeting, which I'll talk about in a second that was so fun and exciting.
But another big revenue-generating activity is going to places, getting out of your house and going to places where potential clients might exist and talking to them. Networking events, conferences, meetups, getting out there and meeting people. There's always a chance when you meet new people and talk about what you do that somebody will say, "Wow, I need that. Can I get your card?" Or, "My friend was just talking about this. I'm going to send her your information." Again, not every time, but the probability is higher to meet a client or get a referral when you're out with real humans talking about your business than when you're behind your computer working on a website.
Another really powerful revenue-generating activity is sending emails and connecting with people or following up with people who you already connected with. I was just talking to a client today. I had connected her with a past client of mine who has a sleep consulting business. And I connected them a few months ago and then my client said to me today, "Oh, I've just, we tried to connect and I've been so busy that it just fell by the wayside." And my first thought was, oh no, my past client who was reached out to, like a warm lead, I connected them. All she had to do was follow up and say, "Hey, it's been a while. Are you still interested in connecting?" And she would have had a client.
So sometimes it's even reaching back out and following up with people who once told us they were interested. Again, sometimes we don't because we don't want to be pushy, we don't want to be salesy, we don't want to bother people, which I talk about in Episode 93, so definitely check it out if this is all resonating. But we hide behind projects and freshening up our website and creating that lead magnet because we are uncomfortable in many cases doing the things that will actually generate revenue.
So let's go into that a little bit here. I want to talk about why we avoid some of these revenue-generating activities because it's really important for us to have this awareness. We naturally want to work on things that feel good and energizing and safe. So when we're working on something like a lead magnet, take for example the self-care calendar that I had created many years ago, it feels productive, it feels creative, it feels like I'm a real business owner. I remember even after I was done that calendar, I showed it to my husband and I was just so proud of it. I was like, "Look how cool this is. This is my lead magnet." So we feel really good when we're working on things like that.
But going to a networking event, that feels uncomfortable. There's talk tracks, like what if I don't know what to say? What if people judge me? What if nothing comes from it? There's no guaranteed outcome. What if this is a waste of time? We go to these things, but there's no deliverable. There's nothing to show for our time. Yeah, we could go out there and try and meet a certain number of people or get a certain number of cards or follow-up calls, but there's nothing really tangible that comes from them. And the worry about how other people will perceive us is there too, right? We're meeting new people. We are worried about their judgments. We want to be polished, not look silly in front of other people. And so there's this pull to also have everything figured out before we start showing up.
This exact discomfort is something I hear about all the time and it actually came up in last week's conversation in The Circle. When we talked about revenue-generating activities and I talked to this mom about putting herself out there and making offers, her first thought was that she didn't feel ready to introduce herself and her business. When I suggested going to more spaces where she could actually meet people, her brain immediately went to, I need to go back and work on my introduction. I need to get clearer first.
And I want to offer that clarity comes from doing, not by figuring it all out first. We figure it out while we're in motion, while we're out there talking to people. It's scary to show up messy and imperfect. We feel we might drive potential clients away, but that's the only way to learn what people respond to and how to talk about what we do in a cleaner, clearer way. It's to practice and it has to be messy first.
I've heard this plenty of times. With one of my clients though, I recommended that she start having conversations, like I do with most of the people at the stage that they're in with their business, to start meeting with people. She was going to start a marketing consulting business. And I wanted her to start meeting with people without knowing even exactly what type of marketing she was going to be doing, what the business would look like. I didn't care. I just wanted her to get out there and talk about it.
And she went out there and she did something really brave that I probably wouldn't have even done at that stage of my business. She posted in a mom's Facebook group that she was thinking about starting a marketing consulting business. She did this before she felt ready or knew what she was talking about. She didn't have a polished offer. She didn't have really anything figured out. This was one of our first sessions together. And she just said she was thinking about starting a marketing consulting business. She just put herself out there.
And someone in that group raised their hand and commented back and said they had been looking for someone to help with their marketing that they had felt completely lost. And it was probably like a dog chasing a car, right? You think you want the opportunity and then it shows up and you're like, "Wait, now what do I do?" But what I offered her was this, and this is on par with what I've been saying in this episode, is you don't have to be perfect. You can go into that conversation messy, be honest, be human, focus on the person in front of you and their problem.
And when she was able to do that, a completely different side of her came out. She didn't need to be a polished business owner. She just needed to talk about something she knew really well, which was marketing. She didn't make it about her and what she knew or didn't know. She made it about the woman on the other side who had been banging her head against the wall looking for answers on marketing. And she was able to show up powerfully because of that, even before she officially had a business or even had an offer. And we can do this. We can get out there and be honest and messy and introduce ourselves as such. And I promise it will attract more people than it repels. You will not lose clients because you showed up messy at the beginning. The only way for you to give yourself a chance of signing clients is if you put yourself out there before you feel ready.
You have permission to show up messy and human, especially in the beginning. You will learn more from taking those bold actions with real people than you will from building things behind a screen. So think about the things that put you in a position to sign clients right now. Not a few months from now, not a few weeks from now, but what are the things you need to be doing right now? Who are the people you can be connecting with right now? What are the emails that you can be sending right now that will get you closer to your first or next client?
And what's really cool is that same mom who I've sort of been referencing, the one who came to The Circle meeting and talked about all the things that she was focused on and really the one that inspired my conversation about revenue-generating activities and this episode, her being in that room was a revenue-generating activity. Later that week, I had a client bring up the exact problem that mom solves. I had a client who's revamping her website. She's further along in her business. She has a pretty full client load and she's looking to freshen up her website. And I was able to send an email connecting them. That mom who showed up in The Circle talked about her business and put herself out there. She now had a warm lead for a client because she decided to put herself out there that day. That doesn't happen if she doesn't show up to that meeting. That doesn't happen if she prioritizes working on her website or a lead magnet instead of showing up to a networking event.
And unfortunately, we do this all the time. We choose to spend time on things that feel productive instead of spending time interacting with people who either are or know our ideal client. I always say, someone is either your client or knows someone who could be your client. So it's never a waste of time to meet people and talk about what you're working on, even if you fumble, even if you feel awkward, the more you practice, the better you get.
Even if you have no idea what business you want to build, if you go out there and just say you want to start a business, but have no idea what type of business you want to do, I promise you will get fun and interesting ideas. People who want to connect you with people in their life who have businesses, right? You'll get encouragement, you'll get all the things, I promise. But you have to be thinking about the actions that put you in front of potential clients, the actions that put you out in the arena. You have to ask yourself what revenue-generating activities can I do today?
And it's different for everyone. It's different for every business, but I really want you to be honest with yourself and think about how much time you're spending on revenue-generating activities versus building the future of your business, let's say. Because I'm not here to say that lead magnets or email lists or anything like that is a complete waste of time. I think those are important. I've done those in my business. I've appreciated those. They've led to clients. And that's the long game. And sometimes we need wins right now in order to feel energized in our business. So we need to be balancing or not even balancing, maybe an 80-20, 80% of our time to revenue-generating activities, 20% to long-term client acquisition.
And for those who have signed clients before in your business, I don't want you to forget to ask yourself, what worked for the clients I've signed? This is a question I always come back to, especially when I'm feeling in a rut in my business if I've gone some time without signing a new client. I always like to ask myself and remind myself, what worked before? It's so interesting because often times we stop doing the thing that worked in our business because we're chasing other methods of client acquisition or business development. And don't get me wrong, we can do those things. But we always need to balance it with what's working.
What are the revenue-generating activities? What has generated revenue in my business in the past? We need to keep creating revenue while we build other marketing channels and other mature systems in our business. But building those mature systems is not where we start. You start by focusing on what will create clients right now, what will create revenue right now. You spend the majority of your time there and as you get better in those spaces, as your client load fills up, as your revenue increases and you have more cash flow, that's when you spend more of your time and energy creating the more complex marketing systems. And then you can build those systems with confidence because you already have revenue coming in.
So, get out there. Talk about your business. Meet people. Talk to them about what you do and who you help. If you're struggling to find a space to do that in that feels safe or at least less scary, join the Mom Entrepreneur Circle. This is exactly why I created The Circle. So moms can have a place to show up messy and human and so you don't have to do this alone. You are definitely meant to be in rooms where people know you, hear you, and can support you, where these opportunities happen naturally, like the one that just came out of our last gathering where I was able to send a mom in the room a referral.
And if you're showing up to spaces and, you know, if you're listening and you're like, well, Jenna, I'm going to things, I'm introducing myself, I'm doing everything that you're saying and I'm still not signing clients, I want you to go back and I want you to think about levers that you can pull, things that you can do differently. Ways that you can present yourself that really entice people and get them to thinking about hiring you.
Okay, this is a quick digression but so important because in not only that Mom Entrepreneur Circle that I keep mentioning, but also in my group coaching just this week earlier an hour before recording this, I had everybody go around and introduce themselves. And the first go-round, everybody introduced themselves in a way that was sort of bland and where it was almost like no one's listening, right? And then later on in both of these group settings, I sort of challenged people to talk a little bit more about what they do and who they help. And it was amazing that after they really went into detail about who they were, what they do, the results they create for people, so many light bulbs went off in the room. There were people that were like, "Oh, that's what you do. Okay, I might have somebody for you. I'm going to connect you with this person or this person."
And that sometimes happens. So if you're going to all these spaces, if you feel like you're putting yourself out there and you're still not getting results or you're still not signing clients or generating revenue, I want you to go back and really think about how you can do things a little differently, how you can reach out to people, how you can start the conversation, how you can meet more people, how you can introduce yourself differently, how you can talk about your services differently or your product differently. I want you to go back and still be putting yourself out there, but find different ways to put yourself out there, more interesting ways. I know that it can feel sticky when we feel like we're doing all the things and not getting the results. I absolutely have a podcast episode on that as well. Episode 19, how to stay motivated when you aren't seeing results. So absolutely check that episode out too if you're in that bucket.
And of course, if you've been feeling stuck or like you're doing all the things and nothing's working, maybe if you listen to this podcast episode, you soaked it in and you're still like, you're struggling to know what revenue-generating activities are for you and your business, come join the Mom Entrepreneur Circle. Put yourself out there. Ask questions. Take advantage of the opportunity to get supported. I'll be there. It's super casual. You can ask questions about your business, things you're struggling with, and we will absolutely move you forward.
You can join the circle by going to the show notes, Jenna.Coach/98. And you can also go directly to the sign-up page, which is Mom.Jenna.Coach/circle. So we're all here to support you. You never know where the first or next client is going to come from, but it's spaces like that are going to lead to momentum. I can't wait to see you in the circle. If you're not ready for live interaction yet, I get it. Keep listening to this podcast for weekly support. Click the follow button so you have weekly reminders and encouragement to act before you feel ready. Okay, moms, I'm here to support you. I'll see you next week.
Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. If you want to learn more about how I can help you stop making excuses and start making moves, head on over to www.jenna.coach. I’ll see you next week.
Welcome to How to Quit Your Job, the podcast for moms ready to ditch the nine-to-five and build a life and business they love. I’m your host, Jenna Rykiel. Let’s go.
Hi, mom friends. This podcast is all about helping moms to see that they are capable of creating change in their lives, especially if something isn't working right now. If you're feeling stuck or miserable or unhappy, I want to give you tools to make small shifts that will make a huge difference. It's called How to Quit Your Job because a lot of times the villain in our story can be our nine-to-five and we want to build something of our own where we'll have more flexibility and autonomy and purpose. And I support all of those things.
And what I want more than anything is for you to feel lit up by life right now without major changes having to happen. Because sometimes major changes feel so out of reach. It feels like it'll take forever. And I want you to know that you can feel differently, you can feel better, you can feel more like yourself with small shifts. And those small shifts end up becoming big shifts. There's a snowball effect at work.
So be sure to click follow wherever you're listening to this because the weekly reminders and small shifts and actions that I offer on each podcast episode can absolutely fuel that snowball effect. I've had a number of moms reach out to me and say they've binged the podcast, started implementing the shifts, started to feel more confident in themselves, started to take action before they felt ready, and have paying clients in a new business just from listening to the podcast. This podcast can be that encouragement for you. So be sure to follow it and stay committed to this as a resource for creating change.
But that's not entirely what I'm talking about or what I want to focus on today's episode. I just felt the need to highlight that piece for anyone who is new to the podcast or even those moms who've been with me from the beginning. Because if you're listening to this podcast, you need something to change. And this podcast is all about those small shifts that can create the change that will add up to big shifts over time. That's the goal.
You don't have to quit your job to get there, but of course you can. I'm helping a client with all the things involved in leaving her job on good terms this week and it's so energizing. We're having so much fun talking about everything that comes with leaving and I love that, but you don't have to quit your job to get there. You can get there with a few tweaks in how you're trusting yourself and where you're focusing your time and energy.
So without further ado, what I want to talk about today is exactly that, where you're focusing your time and energy in your business and the big mistake you might be making. I met with a bunch of moms last week in my free Mom Entrepreneur Circle. And if you're new to my work, that's a completely free community for moms who are building businesses or even just thinking about building a business. We meet every other week as a group and it's a chance to get to know other moms in entrepreneurship from all walks of life and all over the world. So we network, we support each other, and we talk about real obstacles and struggles in life and business and, of course, how to overcome them.
And this last session, we talked about a lot of amazing things, but there was one topic in particular that felt especially big and important. And I think it felt important to me because as I was listening to this mom who is early on in her business, no clients yet, it was like I was seeing myself when I first started my business. So she's a stay-at-home mom of two, struggling with time, trying to figure out when she would even work on the business. And when I asked her what kinds of things she's doing or not doing in her business, she shared that she was working on what sounded like a lead magnet type project or a freebie. She talked about freshening up her website. She does website designs, so she felt really strongly about, I need to spruce up my website. And there were a few other things.
And it took me back to the start of my business when I really felt I was just throwing spaghetti at the wall and literally nothing was sticking. At that time, I actually had a lot of time. It was before having kids. So that piece wasn't the same. But there was still this confusion on what I needed to be doing in order to make my business successful or honestly, just to sign a client. And when we're starting out, it's so hard to know the best use of our time and what it even means to work on our business.
This was before I hired my first true business coach and I really felt most days I was just floating, untethered, pretending that I knew what I was doing but actually feeling so clueless. The only thing at that time that I could work off of was what I saw other coaches and business owners doing. They had lead magnets, they had nice websites, they had evergreen funnels. So that seemed like the answer. So I spent a lot of time and energy in those places. I even remember hiring a copywriter at one point to write a blog post for me or a few blog posts because SEO optimization was the thing and it was all anyone was talking about in their business.
And I also remember the first freebie I created. It was a self-care calendar. It was so basic, and it took me forever, and I was so proud of it. Working on those things made me feel productive and that I was building something early on in my business. It made me feel I was doing things that would move my business forward. It made me feel I was on the right track because that's what I saw other business owners and coaches doing. But, and here's the big but, these actions were not generating revenue. They were not what I call revenue-generating activities.
And when I talk about this concept, I'm going to be talking about it for the newer entrepreneur, but I want you to know that hiding behind actions that don't actually drive revenue is something that happens at every level of business. This exact concept just came up in a business podcast I was listening to. It was multimillion-dollar entrepreneurs talking about hiding behind business operations instead of putting themselves out there in ways that they knew would drive new or more revenue in the business. We easily hide behind our computer working on things that we tell ourselves are necessary and productive, but this is such a big mistake early on in our business.
I remember when my coach first talked to me about revenue-generating activities and a massive light bulb went off. Because I realized how much of my time and energy I had been spending on things that were not actually creating clients for me directly. I realized how much time and energy I had spent developing things that might lead to a client in a few months or years, but that weren't going to move my business forward right now. Revenue-generating activities are the things that can immediately sign you clients or create revenue in your business. It doesn't mean that these actions always sign you clients or that you're entitled to get results when you do these types of activities, but it's the actions that give you a chance of signing a client or producing revenue.
And I know that if you're operating from a place where you've never had a client, it might feel there are no such activities that lead to clients. But I want you to think about how clients do or could happen in your business. One of the most common answers early on is referrals. You have a friend or someone you know that knows someone who needs your services or needs your product and they refer someone to you.
I remember there being a time in my business when I actually felt embarrassed to say that most of my clients came from referrals. I felt that if people are only coming from referrals, that means my business isn't real or mature yet. It means I don't have marketing systems. It's not mature. But what I see now is when you're early on in your business, referrals are gold and they are absolutely a marketing strategy. You can build complex marketing systems like funnels and invest time and money on building an email list, or you can just be really good at what you do and get referrals. But referrals can't happen if we aren't putting ourselves out there and talking about our business and our services and our products with people in our network or just real people out there in the world.
So getting out there and talking to people about your business is a great example of a revenue-generating activity. It's even better if you go out there and you talk to someone who needs your services and you make an offer to them. How many times do we get out there and we talk to somebody and we're like, "Oh my gosh, I could absolutely help them." But we don't want to be pushy or we don't want to make an offer or be salesy.
I just did an episode on this, actually, after our last Mom Entrepreneur Circle, Episode 93, the two things keeping you from creating clients. So definitely check out that episode too if you are early on in your business and are feeling you're hitting a wall and not sure what you're doing wrong because clients aren't magically appearing. But we go out, we meet people sometimes, and sometimes we don't even make an offer to them that we can help them because we are too afraid to be salesy.
So these revenue-generating activities, these things that could lead to clients, it's about getting out there, talking to people about your business, making offers to help people. Even if also it's just connecting with your friends or people you already know, because there might be a referral waiting on the other side of that conversation, or might even be a client waiting on the other side of that conversation. You just never know. I just had this happen with one of the moms from that Mom Entrepreneurs Circle meeting, which I'll talk about in a second that was so fun and exciting.
But another big revenue-generating activity is going to places, getting out of your house and going to places where potential clients might exist and talking to them. Networking events, conferences, meetups, getting out there and meeting people. There's always a chance when you meet new people and talk about what you do that somebody will say, "Wow, I need that. Can I get your card?" Or, "My friend was just talking about this. I'm going to send her your information." Again, not every time, but the probability is higher to meet a client or get a referral when you're out with real humans talking about your business than when you're behind your computer working on a website.
Another really powerful revenue-generating activity is sending emails and connecting with people or following up with people who you already connected with. I was just talking to a client today. I had connected her with a past client of mine who has a sleep consulting business. And I connected them a few months ago and then my client said to me today, "Oh, I've just, we tried to connect and I've been so busy that it just fell by the wayside." And my first thought was, oh no, my past client who was reached out to, like a warm lead, I connected them. All she had to do was follow up and say, "Hey, it's been a while. Are you still interested in connecting?" And she would have had a client.
So sometimes it's even reaching back out and following up with people who once told us they were interested. Again, sometimes we don't because we don't want to be pushy, we don't want to be salesy, we don't want to bother people, which I talk about in Episode 93, so definitely check it out if this is all resonating. But we hide behind projects and freshening up our website and creating that lead magnet because we are uncomfortable in many cases doing the things that will actually generate revenue.
So let's go into that a little bit here. I want to talk about why we avoid some of these revenue-generating activities because it's really important for us to have this awareness. We naturally want to work on things that feel good and energizing and safe. So when we're working on something like a lead magnet, take for example the self-care calendar that I had created many years ago, it feels productive, it feels creative, it feels like I'm a real business owner. I remember even after I was done that calendar, I showed it to my husband and I was just so proud of it. I was like, "Look how cool this is. This is my lead magnet." So we feel really good when we're working on things like that.
But going to a networking event, that feels uncomfortable. There's talk tracks, like what if I don't know what to say? What if people judge me? What if nothing comes from it? There's no guaranteed outcome. What if this is a waste of time? We go to these things, but there's no deliverable. There's nothing to show for our time. Yeah, we could go out there and try and meet a certain number of people or get a certain number of cards or follow-up calls, but there's nothing really tangible that comes from them. And the worry about how other people will perceive us is there too, right? We're meeting new people. We are worried about their judgments. We want to be polished, not look silly in front of other people. And so there's this pull to also have everything figured out before we start showing up.
This exact discomfort is something I hear about all the time and it actually came up in last week's conversation in The Circle. When we talked about revenue-generating activities and I talked to this mom about putting herself out there and making offers, her first thought was that she didn't feel ready to introduce herself and her business. When I suggested going to more spaces where she could actually meet people, her brain immediately went to, I need to go back and work on my introduction. I need to get clearer first.
And I want to offer that clarity comes from doing, not by figuring it all out first. We figure it out while we're in motion, while we're out there talking to people. It's scary to show up messy and imperfect. We feel we might drive potential clients away, but that's the only way to learn what people respond to and how to talk about what we do in a cleaner, clearer way. It's to practice and it has to be messy first.
I've heard this plenty of times. With one of my clients though, I recommended that she start having conversations, like I do with most of the people at the stage that they're in with their business, to start meeting with people. She was going to start a marketing consulting business. And I wanted her to start meeting with people without knowing even exactly what type of marketing she was going to be doing, what the business would look like. I didn't care. I just wanted her to get out there and talk about it.
And she went out there and she did something really brave that I probably wouldn't have even done at that stage of my business. She posted in a mom's Facebook group that she was thinking about starting a marketing consulting business. She did this before she felt ready or knew what she was talking about. She didn't have a polished offer. She didn't have really anything figured out. This was one of our first sessions together. And she just said she was thinking about starting a marketing consulting business. She just put herself out there.
And someone in that group raised their hand and commented back and said they had been looking for someone to help with their marketing that they had felt completely lost. And it was probably like a dog chasing a car, right? You think you want the opportunity and then it shows up and you're like, "Wait, now what do I do?" But what I offered her was this, and this is on par with what I've been saying in this episode, is you don't have to be perfect. You can go into that conversation messy, be honest, be human, focus on the person in front of you and their problem.
And when she was able to do that, a completely different side of her came out. She didn't need to be a polished business owner. She just needed to talk about something she knew really well, which was marketing. She didn't make it about her and what she knew or didn't know. She made it about the woman on the other side who had been banging her head against the wall looking for answers on marketing. And she was able to show up powerfully because of that, even before she officially had a business or even had an offer. And we can do this. We can get out there and be honest and messy and introduce ourselves as such. And I promise it will attract more people than it repels. You will not lose clients because you showed up messy at the beginning. The only way for you to give yourself a chance of signing clients is if you put yourself out there before you feel ready.
You have permission to show up messy and human, especially in the beginning. You will learn more from taking those bold actions with real people than you will from building things behind a screen. So think about the things that put you in a position to sign clients right now. Not a few months from now, not a few weeks from now, but what are the things you need to be doing right now? Who are the people you can be connecting with right now? What are the emails that you can be sending right now that will get you closer to your first or next client?
And what's really cool is that same mom who I've sort of been referencing, the one who came to The Circle meeting and talked about all the things that she was focused on and really the one that inspired my conversation about revenue-generating activities and this episode, her being in that room was a revenue-generating activity. Later that week, I had a client bring up the exact problem that mom solves. I had a client who's revamping her website. She's further along in her business. She has a pretty full client load and she's looking to freshen up her website. And I was able to send an email connecting them. That mom who showed up in The Circle talked about her business and put herself out there. She now had a warm lead for a client because she decided to put herself out there that day. That doesn't happen if she doesn't show up to that meeting. That doesn't happen if she prioritizes working on her website or a lead magnet instead of showing up to a networking event.
And unfortunately, we do this all the time. We choose to spend time on things that feel productive instead of spending time interacting with people who either are or know our ideal client. I always say, someone is either your client or knows someone who could be your client. So it's never a waste of time to meet people and talk about what you're working on, even if you fumble, even if you feel awkward, the more you practice, the better you get.
Even if you have no idea what business you want to build, if you go out there and just say you want to start a business, but have no idea what type of business you want to do, I promise you will get fun and interesting ideas. People who want to connect you with people in their life who have businesses, right? You'll get encouragement, you'll get all the things, I promise. But you have to be thinking about the actions that put you in front of potential clients, the actions that put you out in the arena. You have to ask yourself what revenue-generating activities can I do today?
And it's different for everyone. It's different for every business, but I really want you to be honest with yourself and think about how much time you're spending on revenue-generating activities versus building the future of your business, let's say. Because I'm not here to say that lead magnets or email lists or anything like that is a complete waste of time. I think those are important. I've done those in my business. I've appreciated those. They've led to clients. And that's the long game. And sometimes we need wins right now in order to feel energized in our business. So we need to be balancing or not even balancing, maybe an 80-20, 80% of our time to revenue-generating activities, 20% to long-term client acquisition.
And for those who have signed clients before in your business, I don't want you to forget to ask yourself, what worked for the clients I've signed? This is a question I always come back to, especially when I'm feeling in a rut in my business if I've gone some time without signing a new client. I always like to ask myself and remind myself, what worked before? It's so interesting because often times we stop doing the thing that worked in our business because we're chasing other methods of client acquisition or business development. And don't get me wrong, we can do those things. But we always need to balance it with what's working.
What are the revenue-generating activities? What has generated revenue in my business in the past? We need to keep creating revenue while we build other marketing channels and other mature systems in our business. But building those mature systems is not where we start. You start by focusing on what will create clients right now, what will create revenue right now. You spend the majority of your time there and as you get better in those spaces, as your client load fills up, as your revenue increases and you have more cash flow, that's when you spend more of your time and energy creating the more complex marketing systems. And then you can build those systems with confidence because you already have revenue coming in.
So, get out there. Talk about your business. Meet people. Talk to them about what you do and who you help. If you're struggling to find a space to do that in that feels safe or at least less scary, join the Mom Entrepreneur Circle. This is exactly why I created The Circle. So moms can have a place to show up messy and human and so you don't have to do this alone. You are definitely meant to be in rooms where people know you, hear you, and can support you, where these opportunities happen naturally, like the one that just came out of our last gathering where I was able to send a mom in the room a referral.
And if you're showing up to spaces and, you know, if you're listening and you're like, well, Jenna, I'm going to things, I'm introducing myself, I'm doing everything that you're saying and I'm still not signing clients, I want you to go back and I want you to think about levers that you can pull, things that you can do differently. Ways that you can present yourself that really entice people and get them to thinking about hiring you.
Okay, this is a quick digression but so important because in not only that Mom Entrepreneur Circle that I keep mentioning, but also in my group coaching just this week earlier an hour before recording this, I had everybody go around and introduce themselves. And the first go-round, everybody introduced themselves in a way that was sort of bland and where it was almost like no one's listening, right? And then later on in both of these group settings, I sort of challenged people to talk a little bit more about what they do and who they help. And it was amazing that after they really went into detail about who they were, what they do, the results they create for people, so many light bulbs went off in the room. There were people that were like, "Oh, that's what you do. Okay, I might have somebody for you. I'm going to connect you with this person or this person."
And that sometimes happens. So if you're going to all these spaces, if you feel like you're putting yourself out there and you're still not getting results or you're still not signing clients or generating revenue, I want you to go back and really think about how you can do things a little differently, how you can reach out to people, how you can start the conversation, how you can meet more people, how you can introduce yourself differently, how you can talk about your services differently or your product differently. I want you to go back and still be putting yourself out there, but find different ways to put yourself out there, more interesting ways. I know that it can feel sticky when we feel like we're doing all the things and not getting the results. I absolutely have a podcast episode on that as well. Episode 19, how to stay motivated when you aren't seeing results. So absolutely check that episode out too if you're in that bucket.
And of course, if you've been feeling stuck or like you're doing all the things and nothing's working, maybe if you listen to this podcast episode, you soaked it in and you're still like, you're struggling to know what revenue-generating activities are for you and your business, come join the Mom Entrepreneur Circle. Put yourself out there. Ask questions. Take advantage of the opportunity to get supported. I'll be there. It's super casual. You can ask questions about your business, things you're struggling with, and we will absolutely move you forward.
You can join the circle by going to the show notes, Jenna.Coach/98. And you can also go directly to the sign-up page, which is Mom.Jenna.Coach/circle. So we're all here to support you. You never know where the first or next client is going to come from, but it's spaces like that are going to lead to momentum. I can't wait to see you in the circle. If you're not ready for live interaction yet, I get it. Keep listening to this podcast for weekly support. Click the follow button so you have weekly reminders and encouragement to act before you feel ready. Okay, moms, I'm here to support you. I'll see you next week.
Thanks for listening to this week’s episode of How to Quit Your Job: A Mom’s Guide to Creating a Life and Business You Love. If you want to learn more about how I can help you stop making excuses and start making moves, head on over to www.jenna.coach. I’ll see you next week.
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