Adrienne Sheares, MA’s Post

If it's not on my calendar, it doesn't exist. 🤷🏾♀️ Most recently, I've started scheduling breaks for rest and recharging. Because there's never a good time to step away from work, I schedule days of rest. One gift I give to myself is a three-day weekend each quarter so I can rest and recharge. It has worked wonders on my creativity and productivity. How do you prioritize recharging?

At the end of 2023, I reached seven years of business. But I neglected to celebrate that milesone. So I'm doing it now. To mark 7 years of being self-employed, here are 7 ideas I'm embracing this year and beyond! 🎉 1. Strive for excellence, not perfection. Perfectionism kills momentum. 2. Don’t wait for permission - step into the role you desire today. 3. Treat your business like a client. 4. Be a kind boss to yourself. 5. Red flags don't turn green. Trust your gut. 6. Celebrate the journey - not just the wins. 7. What helped you survive won’t be the same thing that helps you thrive. And that's okay. Give yourself permission to EVOLVE. Here's to year 8!

I had the pleasure of chatting with Emplifi about maintaining a personal brand while working. Here are the questions you need to ask yourself when building your personal brand. 1) What are your goals? If you want to create an additional revenue source, that's going to look different than just becoming known in your industry. Your goals are going to center you and dictate everything that you're going to do. 2) Who is your target audience? Learn where they show up and what’s important to them. Once you know who you’re targeting and what they care about, figure out where your values align. Finding that sweet spot is where the magic happens. 3) What do I want to be known for? A lot of people feel pressured to have a niche and be specific, which is very difficult to do. If you're good at a lot of things and you're known for a lot of things, just get started, and your niche will reveal itself to you. You’ll see how people are engaging with you and what stands out, and then drill down into that. Don't give yourself too much pressure. Just get started. 4) How do I want to show up? This also ties in with your goals. For me, I wanted to do more public speaking, so that meant being on video more to showcase those skills. How you show up is going to be very unique to your skill set. You know who you are as a person and what you have the bandwidth to do. What tips would you add to this list?

I'm a huge fan of Growclass so naturally I'm thrilled to be one of their newest mentors! One reason I'm so bullish on using social media for personal branding is because of experience. I owe my career to creating a personal brand. Many of the wonderful opportunities that have come my way are due to how I've branded myself. One lesson I learned the hard way is that no one will ever care about your career more than you. You're the CEO of your career. For those of you wanting to make a change professionally, here's my advice. “Don’t let people put you in a box. If you find yourself, or your boss or your job putting you in a box, you don’t have to stay in that box.” - Adrienne Sheares. You can read more about my journey and philosophy on the Growclass blog. https://buff.ly/3tUptTb

"Wow, you're really betting on yourself, huh?" When people find out I've been self-employed for seven years and am not looking to change that, they usually say some version of that. Their tone generally has a mix of awe and disbelief that I would dare to put my hopes, dreams, and financial well-being in my own hands rather than that of an employer. I know that's because they don't know my story. I lost my job right after I closed on my home—a home in one of the most expensive places on earth. I graduated college during the Great Recession without a job and was building a foundation for myself when I lost my job. Oh, the fear I felt. I went into find-a-job mode, but if you've been in the hiring market since 2008, you know it's soul-crushing. (And from what I've seen from my friends, it has worsened in the last few years). I watched my not-enough savings dwindle to uncomfortable numbers and decided I wasn't going to wait for anyone to give me permission to be a social media marketer. I was able to close clients faster than hiring managers could ghost me, so I started my company, ViviMae Labs. What was supposed to be a resume filler turned into seven years of business. Did I have any idea what I was doing? Nope. I just gave myself different benchmarks. The first one was to make enough to pay for a roof over my head. Breaking my goals into small increments kept me from having a panic attack, and I just kept building. And to the glory of God, I didn't miss one single mortgage payment. I didn't go into debt. I more than surpassed my 9-5 earnings. Entrepreneurship is not all puppies and rainbows. Sometimes, it's lonely and scary. But I like that my eyes are wide open to reality. I don't have a false sense of security—I know where my business is vulnerable and when I need to work to change my situation. This journey taught me something valuable about myself. I learned that I can create opportunities for myself that allow me to not only survive but thrive. So, yeah, I'm betting on myself. What about you? If you're reading this - let this be a nudge to bet on yourself. Go to that conference, take that course, try that business. Why not? You may be surprised in the best way about the outcome.

I'm breaking my social media hiatus to announce my latest consulting gig—as the Senior Campaign Integration Advisor at AARP! If you know me, you know I LOVE working with the AARP Campaigns team. They're an incredibly talented group of people who fight for seniors on a variety of policy issues, such as age discrimination, caregiving, and health. I'll be collaborating with AARP to infuse their digital campaigns with a powerful blend of thought leadership, volunteer mobilization, and multicultural marketing. Together, we'll elevate their incredible online presence and drive impactful change within the 50-plus community in an increasingly noisy landscape. Thanks to Jen Beam and Reshma Mehta for bringing me on to do this important work!

Have you gotten your tickets yet? It’s a great marketing event for an event for an even better cause.

You don’t want to miss this event! Great speakers and an even greater cause.

Tip: No matter your business, if your marketing or offering isn't aligned with your customer, you will have a problem. I'm always testing offers and conducting audience research. Although my background is in social media marketing and PR, I do a lot of my research offline. That's right, I talk to my target customer and get their feedback on everything from what's in the offer to the price. I know I hit gold when people try to hire me while I'm describing the offer. Taking the dive into coaching has been a fun ride, and doing research has allowed me to pivot and diversify my income. Learn more tips on attracting the right coaching clients (the info can be applied to other businesses) by checking out my Coach Factory episode. https://buff.ly/3Qn3Lin #Soloprenuer #Coaching #Marketing #Freelance