97: Commit to the Journey, Not the Outcome

Crystal Vilkaitis: Hello, and welcome back to crystal uncorked. In this episode, I’m going to talk about a little hack that has made a big difference for me as it relates to results, business results and sales results. And I think it’s good timing to talk about this since we are coming to the end of 2023. If you’re listening to this in 2023.

Otherwise, this is also great for the beginning of 2024 and it’s a really great mindset to have as you are planning different promotions and launches for your business. Are you ready to open up and talk about all things business? I’m Crystal Vilkaitis, a curious entrepreneur who loves talking about business, especially over a glass of wine. I started Crystal Uncorked to share open and honest conversations about my journey and talk to other entrepreneurs about their experiences.

We pull back the curtain and talk about the highs and the lows. Wine isn’t required, but is recommended. This is Crystal Uncorked.

So over the years of having crystal media, which I’ve had for over 11 years, we have done a lot of launches and promotions and have sold workshops and we’re currently in the middle of selling a retreat and we have our conference evolve and there’s just so much that we are selling and doing and trying to launch to our list and it was about 2016, the year 2016. And I was listening to a podcast from Marie Forleo, and she was talking about not being attached to the results. And we were planning a bigger launch. I had invested some money in some, you know, education, and I really had high hopes for this launch. I was like, okay, we’re going to do our first six figure launch.

I was getting down on myself that we hadn’t done one yet. I was comparing myself to other people. And so I’m like, okay, we’re going to do it. We’re going to do it. We have all the right things in place, but I was putting so much pressure on it. And I was like, what if we don’t do it? And then I’m like, oh, I’m going to feel so defeated.

I’m going to feel like I failed again. How do you get back up and just keep launching, launching, launching? so, when I heard Marie say, don’t be attached to the results, I was like, and it’s funny, I’ll never forget where I was because I heard that the morning I was getting ready and then Dustin and I happened to be traveling and we were in Minnesota and we were walking in Mall of America and I told him this idea of not being attached to the results and it felt really freeing.

It felt like, Oh, I can go into this launch with a really good mindset. And we went into the launch. We did not do six figures. And honestly, I think that I still struggled. I don’t, it definitely like, I think that mindset helped in certain ways, but it was sort of like, I heard it and I almost used it.

As like, oh, that would be nice to do, I’m going to try to do that, but I didn’t really commit to doing it because the whole theory behind this is to be committed to the process, but not to the results. And I did feel like we were checking all the boxes and doing all the right things. However, one thing that I was doing is I was following somebody else’s system and really I was just like, we’re going to model everything that they do.

And in doing that, I lost some of my voice. I also asked for a lot of people’s feedback on things, which again, then that can make it kind of confusing and convoluted and then you lose your voice in that too. So, I don’t think that I was super committed to our process and the journey of this launch and really thinking about the outcome for the user of the training course.

And just really. Tapping into that, I will say, you know, I’ve had this business for 11 years and just this year in 2023, I feel like I’ve done the most tapping in and really finding the answers from myself than trying to find them from everybody else. Because I felt, I mean, I’m sure you felt this before as a business owner, you feel stuck.

I don’t know what’s the right path to take. I’ve got, I often say this, there’s a mountain of money in front of me, and there’s a million different ways that you can take it, which way, which path. And you’ll ask questions and you’ll see what other people are doing and you’ll research and you’ll watch it.

Okay, I’ll do that. They were really successful at that. I’ll do that. And then you, but you might not want to do it that way, or it doesn’t best connect with your customers that way, or it’s not most fun for you. So just this year, I’ve been doing a lot more of that tapping in, in the morning and asking those questions and asking questions before I go to bed and trying to sort out the answers and find the solutions and the ideas from within.

And I feel like we all have that. And that’s something that I’ll be doing at my opportunity of Oasis retreat, which is happening in February. So, you know, you have to be committed to the process. And I want to share a perfect example of how we did this at crystal media. So we had our first conference called evolve in April of 2023.

I had wanted to do a conference for many years. I spoke on many people’s stages. And finally I committed to doing my own show. And so as we were leading up to this, we had sales goals. I mean, this was the most money that I’ve ever invested into any kind of promotion or event that we’ve ever done at crystal media.

We were at over a hundred thousand dollars. I’m looking at this budget and I’m like, okay, you know, we’re getting down to the timeline of like. We can’t sell tickets anymore. This is what we’re at. We didn’t hit all of our room blocks, so we had to pay for those. And I picked a little bit more of an expensive, uh, venue, which is the gay Lord, and, you know, so I just.

I had bills, like there were, there were things to pay for it. I talk more about that in a previous episode of Crystal Uncorked and some of the, the roller coaster of emotions that that was and my breaking point with the budget, but like going into the show, I knew that I was spending over a hundred thousand dollars.

And so there is this like, this desire to obviously at least break even, right? But we’ve done a shit ton of work. I don’t want to just break even. I want to ideally make some money off of this. I mean, I have my entire team that I flew to Colorado. I, I spent, I don’t know how many hours developing the content and the agenda and getting sponsors and speakers.

And I mean, just the logistics, my team spent hours and hours on the backend and the logistics and working with the hotel and. You know, it’s just, there was so much time and one of my mentors said, if you just break even on your first event, that’s a huge win. I didn’t want to just break even because we put so much effort into it.

So you’re going into this event and you’re thinking about the sales goals. I’m thinking about the sales goals. I’m like, okay, I want to at least, I want to more than break even. I want to inject some cash into the business and, um, and set us up for a great 2023. Well, Pauline and I are talking about this and we just know like historically in the past, when we were way off on hitting our numbers and hitting our sales goals, I struggled and, and every time it just was harder and harder and harder because you feel a little bit of that insanity.

Like you keep trying and trying and trying and getting the same kind of result. And and falling short every single time. Like, I’m a really big thinker. I’ve mentioned that previously on this show and sometimes that could be challenging if I focus on the big and I am not committed to the results. I’m not.

You know, to the outcome that it really, I have to be committed to the process because I do think so big that sometimes I can set myself up for failure with my goals. So as we’re getting closer to this, you know, Pauline and I are talking and it’s like, how are we, what are we going to do here? What are we going to do to protect you as in me, Crystal, so you can really show up.

And Pauline had the best idea. And she’s like, I don’t know if this is crazy or not, but. What if I don’t tell you where we’re at with sales? What if I tell you after the event is done, that way you are fully present. You have no idea what’s going on because you need to be showing up. And, and that was what I was really worried about is I wanted to create this incredible experience for our attendees.

I wanted them to learn and laugh and break through and evolve. That’s the name of the conference, you know? So I have to be the facilitator of this evolution of my attendees. And so I was really worried about being. Like, fuck, we, we lost money. You know, that’s really hard to like be on a stage in front of people and not take it personal.

Cause you know, I’ve talked about this on the show. I took it personal where we didn’t sell more tickets. Like people don’t want to come to my party. And then not take it personal, like you don’t want to buy our amazing service. Well, what did I do wrong? Because obviously I sold it wrong from stage. If you don’t want to buy this, because I know how powerful this product is.

I know how powerful our results are for our scale clients. I was selling a product called scale. So if I don’t convert, I messed up on stage. I dropped the ball somewhere. We have the wrong offer. Did we mess up somehow in our offer? And now we have all these big bills to pay. And now what is the rest of 2023 look like?

Right? So I was really worried about being in that headspace while creating this experience for my attendees. So the fact that Pauline came up with this brilliant idea, I loved it. And it felt weird. I felt like suspended in outer space. Like, I have no idea what’s going on, but I am wildly present. Um, and I think that in today’s world with how fast we move and our schedules and technology, it’s really hard to be present.

And especially me, I’m like always looking ahead and the next thing, the next thing, the next place I’m going, the next thing we’re going to launch, like all the things I’m just looking ahead and to be present felt like this really weird, um, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was, it was just different. And I felt so grounded and so connected to the event and the people and, um, and really, you know, just played full out and it ended up being a really good event for us, thankfully.

So here, you know, we fast forward and we’re done and I’m dying to know, I’m like, okay. So then I’m at this point where like, if it’s good, I’m so happy. If it’s bad, you’re going to figure it out. Right? That, I mean, that was just the thing. I was completely attached and focused on the journey. And the process, which was the actual being in the event, then that outcome, and here’s the moment of truth.

We sat down and a couple of sales came in after the event. So it wasn’t the full amount yet. I really didn’t know the full amount until about two weeks after evolve on like ticket sales, sponsorship and selling from stage. And thankfully we did 250, 000 at that event. Covered the hundred K to put it on and we made money and we took on some of the best clients that we’ve had.

Like we were, we generated a 17 percent increase in sales for one of our new scale clients within a couple of weeks of them joining after evolve. So it’s like, I mean, it was just so. So exciting to see like that final number and then hear the results that we’re generating and then it’s like, boom, we’re on for next year.

Like, let’s start selling tickets for next year. A lot of the people in the room bought tickets for next year. So we had so much momentum from that. And I am wildly grateful because, because some of those sales came later, we weren’t looking at the full picture. If I knew where we were at the end of day one, after my pitch, I think we only had a couple of people sign up after day one.

I would be like, fuck, what are we going? What am I going to do? What am I going to say? And you know what? I might’ve pitched too much from stage. It might’ve been, I might not have been present. My energy would have just fell off. So I loved that. So as we’re looking at 2023, we’re closing out the year. Some of our listeners here at CU are retailers, and this is a big month for you, like closing out Q4.

I really want to encourage you to not be committed. To the outcome, like, don’t be super focused and only care about that outcome. Be wildly committed to the process, your day to day talking to your customers, getting back to them on social media, clientele, and DMing them on social media, being present with them in store upselling, hosting these incredible events and carry that through to 2024.

How are we going to be wildly obsessed? Like just so excited by the process. Of our marketing initiatives and our events and our promotions, our sales, everything we’re doing here in store and how we’re connecting with our customers. Not necessarily the outcome. This does not mean that you don’t care about the outcome.

This does not mean you’re not setting goals. You are absolutely. Setting goals. We need to be measuring. What do we need to do? Right? Like how to pay the bills. Where do we need to be? What did we do last year? Where do we want to be? We have to set those things in place. Absolutely. And try to base those things on data and information.

So you’re setting like smart goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed. But then you’ve set them, the team’s on board. You start putting things in place to achieve. And you become so focused on that process versus. The outcome is that, does that make you feel a little like, well, I don’t know if I could do that.

Um, or maybe you’re doing that already and that works really well for you, but if it feels uncomfortable, that’s a good indication you need to be thinking this way. 

So I want you to be attached to the process of trying to hit those goals.

Right? Attached to the process of trying, not attached to the outcome. And I think that that can set you free. I think that can actually help sell even more. I think that can help you have a lot of fun and be present in the moment, which is so key. And that’s a big thing that I personally would like to focus on in 2024 is to be more present.

And I know that that’s a way that I could do it, is just really be attached to trying, not the outcome. So I hope that you found this episode helpful. If you did, share it with a friend, share it on social media. Um, just share it. Tell, you know, even if you’re sharing it on social and you’re tagging me, I know you listened, I know you found it helpful.

That would mean the world to me. And if you are listening to this in 2023, we have a couple more days for super early bird pricing for evolve. So I would love to see you there. If you want to think bigger and connect and just get out of your business and into a new perspective and new environment, join us, go to crystalmediaco.com/evolve.

And I will see you on the next CU. Bye.