Ep 035: Pitch Influencers, Find Your Tribe, Surrender with Nitika Chopra, Wellness Entrepreneur

Dreamcatchers District Podcast - Mindset, Authentic Marketing, Coaching, Goals, Creative Entrepreneur, Online Business, Fear

Today on the Podcast, The Knocking on Your Heart.

You know when you're at one of those huge conferences and you're meeting all kinds of creative entrepreneurial folks from all kinds of places?

You're chatting quickly here and there between speakers. Passing by briefly between bathroom breaks.

Wishing you could chat with influencers but find yourself seated with the friends you came with cuz there's barely time to eat and pee — let alone introduce yourself in a non crazy-person way.

You feel a weird mix of excitement and dread.

There are specific names you want to "connect" with and certain folks you want to avoid. So you're racking and stacking who to prioritize. Maybe you practice your elevator speech on the plane, in the taxi, at your hotel. No doubt you dress to impress and ya come camera ready, costs be damned!

If this is you, know this is also about 99.9% of every conference goer on the planet. Even the ones you most look up to have that same twinge of "conference crazy" as I call it. One part nerves, one part thrill, one part pressure. You've put a lot of time, money, and energy into going. It makes sense why you might be thinking, "This HAS to WORK." But oye is that a slippery slope!

And then suddenly the weekend's over?! You're flying home, bombarded with a billion BIG ideas, already starting to feel the high coming down and thinking ...

"Wait, it's over? I met sooooo many people; why do I feel like I barely talked to anyone." You're looking through your phone and it's all detail shots and flatlays and boomerangs and photo booth groupies. You think, "It looks like I had a great time. Why did I feel so lonely? So spastic? So desperate?" And you're wondering, "How the heck do I make this count?"

So, you skim through your pages of notes ...

• Sift through your stack of acquired business cards, try to put conversations to faces and all those new instagram handles but, honestly, ya kinda got nothin. You're thinking, "Wait, which brand strategist was she?" or "Dannnng, how did they get to lunch with her!?!?" or "Gawwd, I look awful in that shot. Why did they have to tag me?"
• Before you know it — it's Tuesday morning and you're too tired to reach out like you said you would. But it's OK. You'll do it tomorrow. Gotta update the website first anyway.
• Then it's 3 weeks later. Website's still wonky. Haven't reached out. But it's OK. You'll sign up for that 8 week course and reconnect in the private FB group.
• Now you're in the FB group but there's thousands of members and it's a whole lot of white noise, TBH.
• So you bounce because, after all, it's a giant time suck (and, truthfully, it made you feel pretty anxious. Pretty behind. Pretty not good enough. Pretty exhausted).
• Ya think, "I gotta get offline. Go somewhere! No one even knows I exist online."
• Only, you just went somewhere offline. So you say, "No. You can't afford it. That was thousands of dollars. And you're still paying off your Nordstrom's card."
• So back to DIY marketing hacks you go. Thinking, "Well, if I could just beat the Instagram algorhythm. Maybe I should spend the money on Ads."
• You do. But still, nothin. Like hitting your head against a brick wall. The doubt seeps in. "Maybe I just need to go get a J-O-B." Then the shame seeps in.

Sound familiar? It's a vicious cycle. One every entrepreneur has been on at one time or another. Know you're not alone. You're in the exact right place.

Build your business "small but mighty; slow and steady."

Now more than ever, when so many women are launching offerings from their laptop (juxtaposed by registering for 1000+ person swaggy conferences with tracked themes or enrolling in monthly online memberships for hundreds of folks at all different stages of business and seasons of life), you need to remember that the BEST businesses — the ones that thrive creatively, spiritually, emotionally, mentally, physically AND financially — are the ones built on real life, genuine, intimate relationship circles. They are the brain trusts. The collectives. The masterminds. Not only sustainable in business but in life. Because ...

Quickie conference chit-chat like, "Oh, hey! So, what'd you think of the panel?" is great but not enough.

Loop giveaway partners are smart but not enough.

Instagram Lives are fun but not enough.

Private Facebook Groups are 24/7 but not enough.

What is? Truly investing in others (& they'll invest in you).

Giving more than taking. Sharing more than competing. Learning more than preaching. Not with hundreds. Not with thousands. But with a precious few, we hold on.

• When life hands you a storm you didn't see coming.
• When success doesn't look how you thought it would.
• When hustle no longer works and burnout hits ya hard.
• When pivoting feels essential but starting seems impossible.

It's the people you've supported, the ones you've truly gotten to know and serve, who will get you through. Not the room you tried to "work" nor the list you promo-blasted last week.

Better yet? They're the ones who'll remind you who you are, what you want, why you started.

They're the ones who'll look you, dead in the eyes, call the elephant out in the room, and say, "Sister-friend, what's up? I see you're struggling. What do you need?" They're the ones who roll up their sleeves, offer their resources, and introduce you to the right people, at the right time, in the right way.

And that, friends, is how authentic marketing and genuine sales funnels are made. One slow, sincere, surrendered conversation at a time. We draw the circle wide. So come sit by us.

Enter my conversation with Nitika Chopra ...

Nitika Chopra is a certified life coach, wellness entrepreneur, go-to resource for young women around the globe, and a motivational lifestyle guru.

On a mission to inspire radical self-love, she began her entrepreneurial journey as the founder of the popular online magazine Bella Life in 2010. The host of the talk show Naturally Beautiful on Z Living, which focuses on a holistic approach to beauty from the inside out, her passion for beauty and self-love recently landed her a job with a luxury skin care brand as their on-air beauty expert for QVC.

While she is a passionate, colorful, and inspirational voice supporting people in their journey to access more self-love by creating a lifestyle reflective of it — she's also as real as they come.

She's a woman I'm grateful to have deep-dived with and look forward to hosting again soon. Listen in, share this episode, and let's give Nitika a giant Dreamcatchers hug.

In this Episode We Talk About:

• Why self-love begins with rage
• The truth about what it takes to manage chronic illness
• What sitting on Gabrielle Bernstein's floor gave her
• How to find your tribe (and why you gotta treat it like a job)
• The right and wrong ways to pitch yourself to influencers
• How she approached her goals 10 years ago versus today
• Why you must "faith it til you make it" (and believe unapologetically)
• The surprising truth about introverts who look like extroverts
• How to keep asking questions about the knocking on your heart
• When it's smart to quit and why to take a step back (your adrenals will thank you!)
• How creating for creating's sake and "showing up" builds immense opportunity
• When Nitika finally made peace with deciding not to have children
• Plus: why we've both built our businesses on relationships

Get Ready to Hear All The Behind-The-Scenes Stories & Insights.

Mentioned in this Podcast:

• Follow Nitika: Instagram , Website
• People Mentioned: Sarah Jenks, The Resistance Revival Chorus, Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith and Agape International
• Past Episodes: Ep 033 "Why is Change so Hard? (4 Phases of Transformation)" , Ep 032 "Tips to Find Mentors, Market Authentically, Meditate Easier with Ben Decker"
• Look For Upcoming Episode Topics: How to Secure Brand Partners, My Biggest Mistakes in Business, Should You Join a Mastermind or Hire a Coach?
• The Dreamcatchers District: Creative Direction for Your Beliefs, Body, Biz & Brand GET INVITED TO SUMMER SOLSTICE SOIREE 2018 in LA

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