 Today, I'm happy to be here with Danielle Gardner and some of you may recognize her from you know various her Facebook page Or the videos you may have seen of her online her website her Facebook page is called quiet marketing with Danielle Gardner Well, Danielle first. I just want to say hi to you. Thanks for being here. Thanks for doing this Hi George. Thank you. It's always really fun to catch up and and have a chat about things So thanks for inviting me into this. Yeah, so we're gonna talk about How do we? Respond to you know the the overwhelming times that we're in but just over overall the kinds of Entrepreneurs the kinds of business owners you work with Really are looking for a an alternative to the hustle and the grind of the mainstream business teachings I want to actually up before we get going I want to just share with people your your bio and then we'll kind of get it So Danielle Gardner specializes in helping sensitive women to clarify their message To market with quiet confidence and to grow their audience without having to spend so much time online Danny started her self-employment journey as an energy worker using the modalities of kinesiology Reconnective healing and Akashic records readings The evolution from energy work to business mentoring came about organically as clients started asking her for help With starting their own online holistic business and at this point she has helped many people to do that To you know get her get their business online to clarify their message to do their business to plan their business with a more what like you said she said quiet confidence and Connection to a more organic rhythm that is sustainable for them. So So Danny, I guess maybe the the first mess of the question I want to ask you is You pioneered or maybe you know kind of popularized among at least among our circles the idea of quiet marketing or Taking business in a more slower way and still be successful as you know, you show yourself and your clients show So what so what does that mean slower? Yeah, we'll start there. Yeah. Well, yeah, I'll start by sharing a little story It was about 2017 I always remember it was 2017 because it was our first The first place we rented in Spain and I was at a point where my business hadn't really taken off Yet, you know, I was I had clients, but it was sort of still really kind of early stages But I'd spent the last three or four years trying to make it work, you know trying to get lift off and Really hustling and being ever present everywhere on all different platforms all of the time And what happened this one day is I had started asking myself in the morning as part of my morning practice How can I bring more ease and joy into my day? And I was kind of getting stuck on that question and then I kind of became aware like yeah This is a few days in a row now, and I'm really this question's starting to irritate me actually so I went inside of my bed crossed my legs and You know close my eyes and With the intention of that tuning in okay soon as my eyes went down. I heard I'm lower and I was like What what they are like, I'm always been you know this high achiever reaching for the stars I mean lower is just not something I would ever ever ever think of doing No, and yet it was like in my own voice and so I was just like what happened there and After a few minutes, I just started to think okay. Well, what would it look like to aim lower and As I started to consider that So interesting these it was like a pool of joy a joyful feeling just started to rise up from my base and Like flood into my stomach basically and I was like oh My goodness like what is going on here? But it was like a very visceral experience and enough to really get my attention and I thought okay For those kind of two things to happen to hear that those two words and to have this feeling visually There must be something, you know, I need to pay attention to so I I Started to experiment with aiming lower and I think really the first thing I did is I let go of income goals I was you know, I kept having this like income goal and at the end of the month didn't get it Didn't get it didn't get it. I decided to let that go and that was pure joy and just focus on Building community and So what happened is over time like this is where my business actually took off by slowing down And what I realized is all kind of aiming lower But I it was like there was an evolution to those two words I realized that it was not it was not absolutely aiming lower I mean it was for someone like me because I was always aiming for the stars expecting things to happen quickly But it was the pace at which I expected things to happen That was the issue and so and then when I started to look around I thought that's most people's issue Right, it's the pace. It's not that we can't have big goals or whatever. It's the pace So then this whole idea of aiming slower arose, you know And I really believe that by slowing down by being very mindful by doing things properly We actually make more progress. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great story. Thank you for sharing the Origin story of that Yeah, and if I could just add my own kind of example of this Ironically, it was about my joyful productivity course When I was the last time I launched it I Was in the beginning the first couple days of sales I was discouraged because they weren't keeping pace with what I had set as a goal and I was you know, I guess I was in discourage and then I I also it's funny and I Also kind of had this thought and like well, you know Why don't we just let that go and then go for a really minimal number, you know Just really really super doable that and then I'm like, okay Yeah, go for that super then it's so easy then I'm pretty much already there, you know And and then I got happier about it and then I just continued you know, I continued my my launch process maybe from a better energy or whatever and What was funny was that it surpassed even the original goal now I'm not saying that that's what it should happen, but it was just such a funny example Maybe in your universe showing me that you know what it's okay. There's this dynamic that You know, like you're saying if we if we if we bring more joy into what we're doing Whatever the results are We have joy, you know, it's like great, but also we tend to be there tends to be a genius there You know within the joy and within the working at our pace so I want to I want you to talk about this a bit more to work at our pace and For the people who are saying well Could I you know working in my pace? I might be not doing as much as other people It's a possible to be doing things slower doing things less and still accomplish You know, well, I think a good business Yes, I think absolutely and I think the Biggest part of the problem is that we're seeing what other people are doing. That's the biggest problem left to our own devices You know our type of audiences. We're doing our soul work We we want to have this great experience while we're helping people and so left to our own devices If probably we're not for the internet and social media, although of course, there's absolute my my business wouldn't exist if they if they didn't exist so, you know, but We're influenced by that so We start to think that we should be going faster and we should be we should be we should be you know, so Like one of the things I love to do Or mention if I notice people they're looking at all this stuff. I might have tunnel vision has tunnel vision I don't know if we spoke about this last time George, but it's one of my favorite strategies You know because I know myself even when I see what other coaches are doing I can still keep treating it like Absolutely, yeah, maybe I should do that. Oh, you know, and it's well, I mean because we're we're tribal creatures I mean, it's natural for us to want to well stay in the tribe and When we see our peers or people we think are our peers doing things We're like, well, maybe then I should do that to keep pace with the tribe I guess but but yeah, so keep going like Tunnel vision how well how do you how do you do that? How do you? Yeah, because it's there's one thing to say it right but in a practical sense How do you actually have tunnel vision? So one of the very practical things that I did? Starting a few years ago is I actually I I Notice the posts that were coming up on Facebook that were triggering me, right and I was just made sure I am Unlike those pages even if I liked those people personally I am I did whatever I could to close myself off So then it was like hold on I'm a friend of it You know, I could see that there were these connections that there was still That's why things are still showing up So I did a lot to curate my news feed to really trim it down, you know so and honestly, I've got to say apart from yourself George and Sometimes tad I don't even see a lot of his stuff. I don't see what anyone else is doing and I love that You know, yeah, yeah, well yours is definitely a page people ought to follow if they want to continue Immersing themselves in this in these kinds of values and this kind of message that we can work at a sustainable joyful pace and accomplish a successful business have a successful business. So one of the things that You know You have done is to scale back on a lot of what you were doing and then work differently So tell us a bit about that what what do you advise so so, you know, like the typical advice for social media out there Like join lots of Facebook groups You know respond to as many people as you possibly can and the most Thoughtful way possible, which like how do how do I have so many hours in the day? But anyway, tell us I mean because you you had done some of that, but then you had Absolutely. Yeah, I mean and I guess Facebook groups were they really were very helpful for me They they really got me going. I actually don't quite know how I was getting clients before that I know I was but this is the thing when you you get the wrong type of tunnel vision from being in Facebook groups, right? Because what happens is you start to believe that if I'm not in this my business is going to shrivel up and die and That's what was happening to me. So yeah, I had been advised. Yeah, you know join these groups And I was like I when I got introduced to that world. I thought how interesting and you know I did the thing I joined the groups and I had a little spreadsheet and you know I worked out all the stuff and it probably was enjoyable for a time But then I really I guess, you know, just getting more and more in tune with my body and my Sensitivities and what it was telling me like I I knew those moments when I was like, gosh, I've got to go into the Facebook group And I've got to find something to comment on and it felt terrible, you know, and I like Danny What are you doing? Yeah, but then the you know, my belief was but if I don't stay here I'm going to drop through the internet. Um, you know, I'm not going to exist Yeah, and just be clear the these are the strategies about going into free Facebook groups Other people are facilitating and just trying to be helpful so that people might see you and then hire you all that stuff So so so yeah, so now you're you're really Tunnel vision with with your strategies and one of your strategies is So interesting, which is to kind of plan your business Three months at a time, right? Like that's one of the things that you're you know, you're actually putting a A course together on this and because you've been doing this and it's effective and helping your clients do this So tell us about that because usually we're you know, we thought we'll talk hot this annual plan and you know It's it's overwhelming and but yeah, tell us about this three-month idea Yeah, so it's something that I've been working with in various forms probably for the last two years or so and I've just refined it and refined it and Really it keeps me so grounded so It's a very simple process. Okay, it begins with this idea of Looking back right and I got that idea from Todd Herman. I should have never did his 90-day year Program or whatever but I had some I was in his launch sequence once and I got a few resources of him and this is when I was introduced to the owl and the whale brain and so it was Mind-blowing for me this idea that what most of us are doing. We're like with our perspective That's from where we are to where we're going and that's the our brain and it's kind of like I'm not there yet I need to do more You know, so it's all that not enough mess and the whale brain is from where you are to wait Look back to where you've been either in the past week or the past month or the past year And that was invaluable to me So that's how I start this process by looking back on the last three months looking at what came to fruition What did I learn? What do I feel good about what do I feel? Well, you know, I'm not sure about that I think want to change that and through that little reflection What emerges is naturally is like what's important moving forward and Then I have a simple thing where I go I've choose three projects to focus on for that quarter. So this is outside normal client work, right? So for example, you know An ongoing project I have is run a run a workshop, you know in like April May, June, okay So there's one project another one, you know, like from last month was to re redo my course That would that top probably took, you know, the most part, but it's just three projects and then Yeah, so three three projects for each month or for the three months. Well for the quarter. Yeah for the three months Yeah, you know, so so one project may take the duration In fact, they could all some of them could take the duration where some like overlapping. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah so And then what happens is if some opportunity comes in or some idea and This happens all the time to us, right instead of going, oh, yeah I'm gonna do this and I'm gonna do that. It's like, oh, hold on. Let's let's check in with the plan So I've got a weekly review process that keeps anchoring me back to the plan Like what is where where is it? Where am I at? And so this actually happened the other just last week George in your course. I Do your course about courses. I'm like, I know what I'm gonna do I'm gonna do a course for human design projectors, you know, because I've been asked about that blah blah blah I thought that's a fantastic idea. And then a few days later I checked in with my plan and I'm like, Danny, where on earth does it say that? Nowhere But what it did say is What I meant to be working on is a quiet marketing course and I and the other Components are actually feeding into that anyway. So that's that's actually gonna happen So I'm like, no, don't put something else on your plate here. All right. You've got these things and maybe Yeah, keep that in mind for the next three months. Maybe. Yeah, I like that a lot that it kind of is this middle ground between All right, stay focused, you know, three months is not too long and it's enough time also to get something done Of course. And so it's nice that you're like, okay. Yes, of course, there are good ideas We can always there's always the next three months after that and the next three months after that so it's a very nice pace to kind of plan and and get things done and one of the things that You know, you are part of this part of what you're teaching is kind of giving people Or giving our creations the the time and space to mature. So What does that mean? Yeah, oh my god So this started off as just like a really nice philosophical idea Like give give things space to breathe and now it's like a really legit business strategy for me So if I think back to the Facebook marketing days It was like get an idea put it out Put it out because in these groups that groups there was always an offer day, right? So you could promote something, right? So it was always like it was just like flick flick flick flick and okay You know, there can be some value in that and just experimenting and things like that but what I found is as I Kind of held on to things a little bit more and not have this energy of It's basically that fear of missing out energy like well if I don't post it today It's off the day and it's gonna be a whole week before anyone, you know, see something from me that kind of thing But I found that as I held on to the idea a bit more It just developed into a such a better idea So if I I started tonight, I was like, man, if I had have put it out already I hadn't even considered all these other things that maybe I don't really want to happen and this version is way better so yeah, now I I really enjoy allowing things to percolate and Even with you know, I had a I had a little mentorship start Recently and I remember there were just aspects of that that hadn't seemed to kind of land and I just take it with curiosity now. I'm like, yeah, I wonder about that bit. I wonder, you know like and I just trust that the That piece will land soon sometimes soon, you know, instead of rushing it through and One of the other things that I want to talk about touch on is this idea of organizing our time. Yeah, planning our time How do you look at? How do you how have you found it successful to plan your time? Now we talked about this three months, right? Yeah, this three month and for those who are curious how this three month planning will work You know, Danny's gonna have a course on that. So be sure to check out the you know Go to her website join your newsletter. I promise you you're gonna enjoy how she writes her newsletters If you like this kind of energy and this kind of about these kinds of values I think you'll enjoy it. So you can hear more about the three months planning course coming up But but and then you have this weekly review. So tell us more about Anything else about how we organize? Yeah. Yeah. So I think how I scheduled my week is Still a work in progress in many ways, but it's I'm so happy with where I've got it now. So What I do is well, first of all, I kind of theme my week. So Monday and now Tuesday are quiet desk dates So these are just like the days where I don't have any certainly don't have any clients Sometimes I might have a personal appointment or something like my own business development or whatever but no clients so then There's no where I need to be I can just focus on my projects and then Wednesday and Thursday are my client days and then Friday is Danny day And various things can happen on that day. I Generally not work, but sometimes if things of like not quite happened to plan I might do a few things like I do my weekly review on a Friday that come And then so what I'm doing at the moment is I I have a minimum of three co-working sessions That line up with the three projects. So it's like this co-working sessions for that that for that So I know what's going on in that regard and what's interesting. I was showing I was showing my own group this layout last week and one of the one of the members said But Danny, what if someone like what if what if a client wants to book in and you've already got these pre You know, she didn't know that I had defined client days yet, you know, and so, you know, what do you do then? So she felt anxious about Making like recurring appointments because whatever client wants to book in there and I'm like, look, um, I have predetermined session times for clients and that's it, you know So if if they can't fit into that They're they're not my ideal client really and if they need to reschedule then chances are there'll be an opening in one Of those predetermined times, you know, and she was like Like that was Wow Now I've got to say in the beginning and maybe you're a bit the same judge. I don't know But I was making myself very available, you know, I was Available, you know, probably six days a week and early in the morning and you know, so I was a bit all over the place But I just you know, I think it's really important to To start the way we mean to carry on You know, so if it doesn't give me joy to Be seeing a client at seven o'clock in the morning, which means I've probably got to get up at five then Yes, I'm not gonna I trust that the right people will come Yes Well, you know, that's the thing about having our own business You know, I was like We get to set the kind of schedule and way of working that Is sort of our ideal life and yes Um, we need to be reasonable about it But there is a lot of space there to be reasonable about it and be sustainable and so I like that you say, you know what? Wednesday, thursday, hey, there's two days as people can usually schedule something then if they really can't Hey, there's plenty of other providers that get you introduced them to it's like, you don't have to take everybody and Be accommodate everyone, right? So thank you for that. Um, so as we close off this conversation anything else any other words of encouragement Um, you know for us those especially those who you know, since you work with sensitive women and You know, especially now as we're recording this during, you know, the coronavirus times Um, we're just going to go on for another Months, you know, a few months at least. What's your any other, you know words of encouragement? Well, probably what comes to mind is just I was reflecting on something a client had said the other day and Yeah, like she's she's finding her groove with things because she's not Looking at how it should be done This seems obvious in a way, but it's not I think most people have difficulty with marketing because They're looking at what should be done, you know, they're looking at the rules and they're not really Connecting with what feels true and right and what would be A genuine expression of them You know, they're someone's told them you need to do that and they're like and I did this too Okay, I've got to do that then, you know to be successful, but I don't know. I think that's probably my parting word. It's like How you can you really be like what if you could just be really you in the way you present your business and What would that look like? You know, I love that and yeah for most people it brings a smile to their face, you know, totally totally. Yeah, like you said like If we aren't giving ourselves that kind of pressure to follow other people's strategies If it doesn't feel true to us If we allow ourselves to to do like you said, what is most of you then that's where the genius Like each person's genius comes in. It's like, yes Thank you so much for the work that you do and the kinds of energy that you bring to your community and the world. So I hope um, you know those Watching have found this valuable and please do and connect with dany and the links Below the video or above where we are wherever it is Facebook page you're active there your website. Obviously you have a newsletter So and I think you're on instagram too And so anyway, we'll we'll put the links that you Choose to be active in and people can follow you there Great. Thank you so much George. It's been great having a chat. Thank you. Thanks