Nicole D’Alonzo, Creator of 19 Minute Yoga and Co-Founder of Social Fresh
Nicole D’Alonzo
To avoid feeling like a cobbler with no shoes, tech entrepreneur and business strategist Nicole D’Alonzo wants you to treat yourself like a client.
A couple of years ago, she hit a fork in the road with her startup, 19 Minute Yoga. A new list of required app updates were coming, and she had to decide either to take investment or generate more cash quickly—just to keep the app functional. She took the opportunity to combine her deep knowledge of online marketing with her experience as a founder. “After I panicked, I put a plan together. To pay for extra developer hours, I’d consult for other businesses. I whipped up a Google form, posted the link on social, shared it in my newsletter… I was so excited when the first five people signed up,” said the entrepreneur.
As co-founder of social media consultancy Social Fresh, D’Alonzo had been using her business strategy skills to double their revenue over recent years. Now, she’s helping other businesses do the same. A common problem she noticed was business owners producing great results for clients, but not using their expertise for themselves. “Working on your business, and not only in your business, is a key part of my method,” said D’Alonzo. “You’ll have an email marketing expert, bogged down with other stuff, who doesn’t email their own list. And by the way, they feel bad about it, which adds another layer of stress.”
Here are a few ways to start treating yourself like a client:
1. Turn Your Attention Inward
What do you want to be known for? Be the go-to person on your topic, so that you can raise your visibility. This is usually the cross-section of what you’re good at and what drives you.
If you’re already in alignment, skip this! If not, write your way to clarity. You can start by freewriting with these prompts:
- “I believe…”
- “I am…”
- “I reject… ”
- “I want…”
- “I am certain…”
Write 10 statements for each prompt to get the wheels turning. Write a first draft, step away (for a day or more), and then edit/review. Which words do you connect with most?
“When I did this exercise, I realized I’m driven by a passion for health and wellness, innovation, and representation. Just yesterday, I got another text—a friend shared 19 Minute Yoga with her daughter, and she was so excited to hear that the app was created by a woman. It feels important for girls to see women leading tech companies,” D’Alonzo shared.
2. Hire Niche Experts Early
When an internal project calls for a specific expertise, treat yourself like a client by hiring a niche expert from the start. You’re guaranteeing the project gets done and doesn’t rely on internal bandwidth. This also helps you avoid doing it twice.
“One of my clients was trying to save money and she was DIY-ing everything. She has an e-commerce business and I knew she would benefit from Pinterest. I looked at the numbers and it was clear outsourcing would save her money. But it’s not just about outsourcing—today, it’s about hiring niche experts who can be surgical. In this case, the solution was hiring a Pinterest manager. Now she wishes she had done it sooner. It’s saving her time and making her money,” D’Alonzo said.
3. Brand Your Catch Phrase
Your catch phrase already exists—you just need to look for patterns in the way you speak and write (or circle back to #1 and do some freewriting to generate ideas). Are there any phrases people repeat back to you? For example, Marie Forleo’s “everything is figureoutable” is a book title, but it’s also an approach that resonates across platforms (and podiums).
D’Alonzo said, “I was in back-to-back consulting calls with business owners, and on each call, they repeated my phrase back to me: ‘treat yourself like a client.’ I realized pairing a new strategy with this mindset shift was getting results. Several clients doubled their revenue within six months.”
What would it look like if you invested more time working on your business versus only working in your business? Would you have more income? More speaking invites? More free time? More inbound offers all around? There’s only one way to find out.
To help you start optimizing your work, Nicole’s sharing a special gift with Forbes readers: The Top 21 Tools for Saving Time & Growing Revenue
