Content Profitability Test, Christian Money Mindset & Confidence!

Friends,

“Can we talk about Christian Money Mindset?” “How can I grow my confidence muscle?” “Is my content viable, and can it make me money?”

In this JUICY #StumpStef episode, I dig into these three awesome questions from y’all. From my personal beliefs on money as a Christian…to figuring out if your content is worthy of making you money and flexing your confidence muscle! This one has got it all.

If we are not friends on IG, stahhhp what you’re doing and head over to @stefaniegass right now. Your question could be featured on the next #StumpStef!

I pray this blesses you!

FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION:

(00:00)
Hey girl, welcome back to the show today. We are doing a super fun stump Stef episode, and these questions are brought by you. I can’t wait to dig into these. I think you’re going to love them and hopefully they will give you a ton of clarity in the areas of money, mindset, confidence. And if your content is viable to make you money.

(01:15)
A testimony was leftover on my Facebook page from Katie Allen. I am so grateful for Stef for showing up sharing her passions with the world. If it wasn’t for Podcast Pro University and how much heart and soul she poured into that, I would have never had the confidence to launch my own show. She’s amazing to work with. Thank you. Thank you, Katie. And I’m so excited for your podcast and she says, if you’ve ever considered podcasting as a way to grow your business and your brand, I am telling you it’s the way of the future.

(01:43)
It’s the way that people want to consume now with multitasking and running kids around and being able to listen to free content through Spotify or iTunes while you’re in the car, it’s everything. And if you’re not positioning yourself now in the audio space, I think you’re going to regret it. So if you’re like, Oh, but should I, could I would I, should I, what, like all the questions you’ve got to check out my completely free training and it answers questions. It talks about how you could start a show, what it could be about and everything in between, and literally it’s completely free. Okay.

(02:18)
So do yourself a favor and check that out. It’s 10 steps to podcasting. All right, let’s go girl. The first stump Stef question was, can you give us some tips on Christian money mindset? I’m not gonna spend a ton of time here and I don’t even have any verses for you because this is an on the fly recording, but here’s what I know for sure. I know that God created all things. Okay. He created everything, the earth and the sun and the universe and all of us and all the things we use on this, right?

(03:00)
And He also created energy and different means of exchanges for us. And money is just one of those. It’s just a means of exchange. Back in the day, they used to swap cows and sheep and livestock for what they needed, right? People have always been swapping things they need in exchange for something that someone else has that they want. It’s just life. Okay. And I believe that money is simply that as well. It’s just a means of exchange to swap for things that we need and want to create a better life, to sustain what we need to have a home and food, et cetera.

(03:37)
And I believe it’s so easy to get lost in glorifying money because we’ve kind of been taught to do that our whole lives, whatever you choose in life, make sure that it makes you a ton of money. Oh, I don’t think I would be that honey, because those people don’t make very much money. I think we are taught from a young age that money equals happiness. We are taught that lack of money equals pain, hardship, et cetera. And our subconscious, especially when we’re young, it’s like a sponge. And it takes all of that knowledge in and kind of shapes this reality for us in a way.

(04:23)
So we go into the world and we notice that when people have money, they have more than us or they get that new cool thing that we wish we had. And all of a sudden, we start on this cycle of want. And I believe as we continue down the road of want, no matter what we receive in exchange for money, we still want more because it’s not fulfillment in Christ. It’s fulfillment in want in self. Yeah. And it’s easy to get lost in that. And I’ve totally been there. You guys have heard me talk about it. Idolizing money, idolizing success. There’s no pot of gold at the end of that rainbow. Okay. So here’s the situation for me.

(05:05)
I believe if you are looking at money through a Christian money mindset lens, money is great when you are using it for good and I mean good for yourself. Good for what brings you in your family? Happiness. Good to get you out of debt. Good to go and do kingdom work to tithe, to give, to gift, to inspire, to create, to motivate, to lift up others, to pour into a business that you know, can help people. I mean, all of those causes are great. And if God has given you all of these things to be inspired and passionate about, then the provision to do all those things is already there for you. As long as you’re getting it through Christ. Okay.

(05:53)
And keeping that lens on of Lord, God, give me what I need to do this work that I feel called to do. Right. And just not to worry, not to worry. I used to say, Oh, I need to make X amount of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. Because what I wanted to keep up with Susie Lou over there doing her social media thing, like that was not wanting through Christ that was wanting through self and glorifying money because I was comparing. Now, I’m like, God give me whatever you want to give to me to do the work I need to do. Just help me, help us to be worry and stress free, help us to be able to tithe with an open heart, help us to be able to gift and give without blinking.

(06:40)
And I prayed for God to help us get out of debt. I pray for God to help us get through whatever larger bill may flow in that was unexpected. And guess what? He always does it. So now I look at money through a God lens and I just make sure why do I actually need that? What do I need that money for? And that helps me to just breathe and rest easy. And you can dig into scripture on this topic and you’ll find a lot of the same thing. It’s an essence.

(07:06)
You know, as long as you don’t idolize anything over God or create an idol out of something, and that can be anything, anything ladies that can be idolizing social media, it can be glorifying your body and getting obsessive about looking a certain way for the wrong reasons. It can be about money.

(07:21)
It can be about success. It can be about how many followers and likes you have on Instagram. There are so many ways that we get lost in today’s society, but we have to always self-inventory and bring it back to scripture and bring it back to, is, is this an idol for me? Have I gotten lost in what I want? What I need, what someone else has and jealousy and comparison and all of that, or am I doing this because God am I doing this because of Him? I think it’s great to go and work out and be healthy because God needs you here on earth to be at your highest capacity, but don’t be obsessive about it. Money’s the same. That’s all I’m going to say on this topic. I hope that was helpful to you, Maria.

(08:06)
Second stump Stef question. How do I work my confidence muscle. I talked about this one about a month ago over on my IG stories. If you guys are not yet friends with me on Instagram, we have got to fix that sister friend ASAP as in right now, pause this episode, go to IG, look up at Stefanie Gass, please connect with me over there. I want you to be laughing at my stories. They’re a mess. I want you to DM me with all of your life drama because I love you. And you’re my Lola. And I need to know you way more than I know you today, especially if we’re not connected over there. So go head over to Instagram.

(08:46)
Let’s talk about how do you flex your confidence muscle. There’s a couple steps here, the first step. So let’s just talk about, you’re fearful, nervous about something. You’re feeling self conscious, all of those things lead to low self confidence. Yeah. So the first thing is you need to prepare if you want to be super confident when you do that thing that live, that webinar, that podcast episode, that interview, that sales pitch, you’ve got to feel confident. And that starts with being prepared. I recently did a sales webinar and I was like, not really prepared. I mean, I wasn’t prepared to do the webinar when I said yes, which gave me high anxiety, I was fearful of it. I’m like, Oh my gosh, we’re on the hook. So what did I do?

(09:31)
I prepared because in order to feel confident and be able to execute the sales webinar, I needed to get my life together. Right. So what did I do? I prepared, and I went through my slides. I made sure they were very digestible.

(09:42)
I made sure that I knew my content inside and out. And that preparation took my confidence from a zero to let’s say a three. So that’s step one is prepare. The second step in boosting your confidence muscle is to rehearse/practice. So I actually closed my office door, put the webinar slides up on my computer and I ran through it. Once that preparation was enough for me to catch some typos, catch some stuff, it was too long. So I was able to do some rework. And if I hadn’t done that practice round, I feel like I would have been stumbling in the live sales webinar.

(10:18)
So I practiced, I rehearsed and was able to also put in some more funny jokes, like roll with the pause, like, Oh, that was good. And I type it in real quick. So that took my confidence from, let’s say a three to a five. So rehearse, even if it’s one time. When I answered this in IG, I’m like, you can rehearse in front of your spouse. And I was like, you know, don’t rehearse in front of your spouse, rehearsing in front of your mom or like your best friend, somebody that’s super supportive. And even if you suck, they’re like, Oh little Nancy. That’s so good. Like good job that helps boost your confidence muscle.

(10:54)
I dunno if you’re hubby is anything like mine, but mine is just probably like staring at me. Like, what are you even talking about? And can you get out of here? Cause I’m trying to watch the football game. Love him, but you know, he’s a total dude. So that’s the next step is to practice and rehearse. The third step, you gotta prepare the mindset, prepare the mindset. And this may be like, Oh, that’s so woo, but it’s really not. Okay. So what do I mean by this? I could be prepared, I could have the plan. I could have the PowerPoint slides, but if I don’t have the mindset, right, it’s not going to flow.

(11:31)
So for me, this means I’m praying right before, whatever I need to be confident about is about to go down. Even if it’s a video on your Instagram stories, guys, it’s okay. You can prep. You can rehearse and then you can pray over it. I’m about to go live. Give me the words, give me the confidence Lord. Be with me. It works for me every single time and also prepare your mindset to find the good, find the good, I didn’t know what to expect out of this sales webinar. And one of the biggest mistakes I made early in my entrepreneurship journey was setting really big audacious goals when I couldn’t control the outcome.

(12:09)
For example, I’m going to go on the sales webinar and I’m going to sell 50 things. That’s a totally unrealistic goal because I have no idea how it’s going to go. Who’s going to be on the reach of the webinar. If her audience was going to resonate with me or not. Cause I’m not everybody’s cup of tea. I know I’m your cup of tea, but some people I’m not their cup of tea. Okay. So I just didn’t know. And the point is, my mindset had to go to, I am so grateful for this practice right now. I’m pumped to be able to run through this webinar, get better at my craft. I redid my sales webinar, which is now so much better than it was. And the whole thing is a great experience.

(12:49)
I also learned how to pitch someone a lot bigger than me and learn how to do a sales webinar with somebody. Right? So get your mindset right on what you can control and all of the benefits that are going to come out of something so that you’re not disappointed. Now the final tip for boosting your confidence muscle is to get ready. Get your pen out. This is gold. Prepare to fail. Yep. Prepare to fail. And you’re like, what do you mean Stef? There’s no, I don’t want to fail. Look, if you are here, I mean, you’re really here for this. You know, you’re going to do the thing. Okay.

(13:27)
Get prepared to fail and get prepared to just have fun doing it. There are so many times I messed up miserably. I went live, not one person watched. That’s why I used to put a sticky note over the number of viewers on my lives because I went live to no one very often I had a group coaching course, total flop. One time. There was like four people that signed up and I had to email them and say, we can’t do it. Not enough people signed up. Like that sucks. Right. But because I had the right expectation of look, whatever happens, happens here. And God’s got this because I failed at something a couple of times doesn’t mean I’m going to stop trying. It means I’m going to refine it.

(14:07)
I’m going to fix my messaging and practice. I’m going to get up, dust off and try again and title it differently. Like there’s so many pieces of the puzzle of what makes something successful. It’s not that you’re a failure. It’s that there’s one piece of your process that’s probably broken and it just needs a little tweak. That’s it? And you just got to try again. So prepare to fail and have fun doing it. I love when I fail now because I get to show up and tell you guys about it. And you’re like, Oh my gosh, she’s a real human. And this is great because now I’m not the only failure, no way I feel all the time.

(14:42)
And I love it because I can take those tests, turn them into testimonies, relate with you and help you navigate that as well. And there are so many people looking up to you, steps behind you that need your stories and your “failures,”, to grow through their own process. Those are some steps that you can use to flex that confidence muscle. Ooh girl. You’re going to look so good on that next live. Yeah. Ok last one. Wow. That’s the one, is my content viable, i.e. can this content make me money? Oh, so good. Here are six questions you can ask yourself to find out if your content is worthy I guess of your energy, your heart, your soul, and your avatar’s hard earned money.

(15:37)
Question one. Does it light you up? Does this content this thing that you want to create this framework, this workbook, this online course. Okay. The podcast, does it light you up? That’s the first question. If it doesn’t light you up, then stop focusing so much on it. Try something new, pivot, add something to the mix. I think the biggest trigger for me was trying to do something everyone else was doing because I thought that’s where the money was false. The money was where I was most passionate and aligned and where God was pushing me to go. But I was being stubborn and fighting him. But the entire time it was right there in front of me. And it’s probably right there in front of you.

(16:24)
So make sure does it light you up, like, would you do it if you weren’t getting paid for it, would you talk about this thing all day, every day? And you know, is it yours? Is it yours? And if it’s not yours, then you first have to back up about 10 steps and figure out what’s your brand, your umbrella brand. And how can you create something that’s yours? Because if you’re going to do a passive product of some kind and your content is going to make you money, make sure it’s yours. Number two, who does this content serve and why? The biggest problem that I see in this online sphere is that people are talking to everyone. You know, Oh, how to lose weight or how to create a blog or what else? I help people grow their network marketing business.

(17:24)
Like guys, that’s so vague. That’s never gonna make you money. It’s not going to stick with anyone. And hello. We have Google now. Like things are saturated with free information. So you have to be so clear on who you’re talking to that when you speak. It’s as if she’s sitting down, she or he is sitting down with you and you are like sisters or brothers or best friends or coworkers or whatever, like whoever that person is, they’re so close to you because you understand them, you speak their language, you resonate with them. Like I was just on a sales call before this podcast recording. And she was like, Oh, Hey girl, I just want you to know, like, I’m such a Lola, you have no idea.

(18:10)
Every single time I listened to your show. I’m laughing because you’re talking about the things I am literally doing at that moment. And I can’t get enough. And that’s what I hear you guys over and over and over you listening right now, Sis, your Lola, right? Like you totally resonate with my jokes, with my crazy mom hair, with not getting ready, trying to be braless and flawless every day. Cause that’s goals. I mean, you get me, you know what I’m saying? So you need to understand who your Lola is. You need to do that exercise. You have to do it. And then you have to start making sure that your content is pointed right at your human.

(18:49)
Number three. Are there tangible trainings and solutions to get your avatar results? So you can have a bunch of fluffy content, but you have to dig deeper and say, what is the tangible solution I can give her? And the easiest, I guess the first question that I ask myself is what is the number one problem that you all are facing right now, today in your business? And what do I hear most often, I can’t grow a following or I’m not making money in my online business. Right?

(19:24)
And so when I heard that a bajillion catrillion times, I knew I had cracked that puzzle by creating a podcast that pours free content into the world, utilizing SEO and launch strategy, to grow the show organically to a top 100 podcast in the entrepreneurship category and monetizing it, using something that’s mine, where I make 85 plus percent profit margin, which is an online course, which is now exactly why I teach all of you how to do that and why I created courses to do that for you and why I offer coaching in those areas.

(19:56)
So you have to do that same thing for you and say, who is my avatar? How do I get to know her at the deepest possible level? And then what is her number one and two problem. How can I solve it with a tangible specific, solution? And of course I say, package that up in an online product and hint, hint, you better be on my insider list because I got something coming for you, sister. Huge hint. I hope you’re paying attention. Number four is your content easy to understand and follow along. So to make money from something you’ve got to stop over complicating it. This is hard for new entrepreneurs.

(20:36)
Believe me, I did this. I am so guilty. Like raise your hand. If you’re like, maybe the more I put into this thing, the more she’ll be sure to buy it. Maybe if I throw in the kitchen sink, she’ll for sure opt into this freebie, wrong, false, opposite. It’s the complete opposite, which blew my mind. But I’ve proven this time and time again, the more simple that I made something, the more she wanted it, the more she had success going through it from landing pages to freebies, to courses, to coaching, people want one simple thing. One result, make it clear, clean it up.

(21:19)
Number five, are you having fun? If you’re not having fun, you’re not going to make money from your thing. Stop freaking out. Stop stressing out. Just start to have fun with it be you don’t try to be like overly businessy. If that’s not your personality, don’t try to be like anyone else just be you talk like you live your life, live your life. Woah. Your people are there for you. I promise. Number six, last one. Can you get social proof that your content/tangible result works? So let’s use my example because I’m super visual. As you guys know, and I’m thinking you are too. I scaled an online business, the hard way for six years and then, or five years. And then I’m like, this is so crazy. Like I cannot keep up like this and I wasn’t really having fun with it.

(22:08)
I just wasn’t digging video. It’s just not, I’m fine on video, but it just wasn’t my jam. And I did podcasting. As you guys know, it exploded my own community within six months. And I’m like, Holy smokes. I think I’m onto something here. I think that other women can use this method of audio consumption to blow up their online business and brand. Let me test my theory. So had some clients come to me. I think I helped about seven different private clients that all wanted to launch podcasts, help them have success. Then I’m like, boom proof. It works.

(22:39)
Now I’m going to create the online course created the online course. And now I have helped over 50 women launch successful, most of them, top 30 ranked shows on iTunes and it blows my brain. So you’ve got to start with you. Do you have a proof of concept that something works and then you have had, you need to have done it yourself. Don’t just pick something out of the air. Like I’m gonna do Instagram training and you’ve got like 20 followers. Okay. What have you done? And I don’t care how far you are along in your journey. There’s something you’ve done that someone else has not done yet. For example, how to get your first 20 Instagram followers that would be for you.

(23:17)
Don’t look at stuff and go it’s not big enough. Yes it is. It’s just easy for you, but it’s not easy for everyone else. So start with you. So, the second tier is to say, can I get some other people to have the same result? If you have to do pro bono for free, do it, do three people for free in exchange for videos and testimonies to test your theory. The next step is to work with some people on a paid basis and get them the result. Make sure that your course your product or coaching is clear, concise, cohesive. They can get through it, and they can get a result from it. So, if you need to do this at half price, do this at half price.

(23:53)
Then the final tier is that you’ve got social proof. You have testimonies, and you have results. It’s time to package it up in an online product and get it into the world. Start to create that passive income and on your way you go. So the answer, if you can answer all of those six questions is heck yes, your content is capable of making money, honey. I hope you love this episode. This a stump Stef episode, if you want your question to be featured next time, you’ve got to be hanging out with me on IG and my stories I ask once a week for new stump Stef questions, and I want to answer yours live.

(24:33)
Also be sure you’re on my insider list. I have lots of things coming down the pipeline for you, some bonuses, some gifts and a super huge launch that I haven’t told anyone about, but I’m going to tell my insiders first. So you can get on that list by going to my website and opt in. I will meet you on the list, and I hope you have a beautiful rest of your day. I just want to pray over you that you are fueled with excitement today.

(25:11)
And, as you go out into the world to conquer that you take the rest of this year to just reflect and feel great about all of the accomplishments and goals you’ve already achieved, that we stop and we just breathe and we reflect and be grateful and live in a moment of gratitude for all the incredible miracles. God has already gifted us.

(25:33)
For just a short time, we let go of want and need and comparing and social media validation and all the worries of the world. And you let it melt off your shoulders and you just breathe in God’s glorious plan for your life and trust that everything you need is already here when you walk with him and if you’re not in step and you’re not in stride that you do some self-inventory and you’re able to work through that, that you’re able to journal. That God comes to you with answers and clarity that you seek. And He holds your hand through the process because I promise you, there is an answer there for you sister. I’ll see you soon, as always, love and light, Stef.