I was fresh out of college, felt “stuck” in a job I hated and had NO idea what I wanted to do with my life. Just a couple of years later, I stepped into my passion and am now a full-time entrepreneur! I scaled to the top 0.5% of my network marketing company, and most recently started a high-level coaching business for leaders who want to shatter self-doubt, stand out, and $ell out online. 

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A WOMAN OF INFLUENCE SNIPPET…

We live in a society where the term “influencer” gets thrown around pretty heavily, so I took the time to look up the definition of “influence” and it went something like this…

“The capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something… or the effect itself.”

I’ve always known I wanted to leave a lasting impact on the world, but I’ve never really been sure the exact steps to take in order to do it.

But for someone in my industry to point out that they considered me… ME 🤯 … a woman of influence feels like a dream come true.

And I realized something recently. It’s something I’ve known all along… but more recently, it has just clicked.

I battled a LOOOOONG time with the need to feel recognized for my successes… to feel wanted, needed, heard, seen… and ultimately loved.

I felt like I NEEDED others to see me as an influence. I was desperate for it. I wanted it more than anything.

So for me… a true Woman of Influence has learned how to shift her focus. And it’s simple.

She knows the value of selling less and serving more. 

We hear it all the time, but in the social selling industry (& entrepreneurship as a whole), it is SO EASY to get wrapped up in earning the next big promotion, big sale, finally reaching 10k followers on IG, or earning the free vacation. SO EASY, in fact, that we take our eyes off the mission all together.

I know this because I’m guilty of it.

But this one simple shift can transform EVERYTHING.

The influential women I look up to have all mastered this. Think about it — the women you follow all serve you in some fashion. They have made it less about them and more about you. The Women of Influence I follow have a mission and a vision waaaay bigger than themselves… And it shows.

I hope that I can inspire other women to do the same — to teach them the value of service over sales. And to show them that having a mission bigger than themselves is truly what is going to keep them going, and what is going to scale every area of their lives (including their business).

Because of this mission, I created my signature program, Claim Your Crown. It is a 12 week high-level coaching experience for female entrepreneurs who are ready to shatter self-doubt, stand out, and $ell out online. And we begin on April 6th! I am seriously SO EXCITED. This program is going to change so many lives. It has already provided some incredible shifts for some of my clients and we haven’t even officially started yet! Eeeeek!

I will also be launching my podcast in the next couple of months, and I couldn’t be more excited to engage and serve more female entrepreneurs on a larger scale! And I can’t believe I’m saying this but… I am actively looking to get on more stages and speak in 2020 (public speaking has always been a huge fear of mine) to serve more women… After experiencing it (even though I was scared to death), there is something about the energy in the room that is SO incredible. I just want to do more of it!

To be honest, I can’t believe this is my “job.” I’m truly so grateful.

QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS:

1. Hats you wear: I’m a Daughter of the King, a dog mom, a Door Holder (I serve at my church), a content creator, a Mindset + Sales Coach, a business owner, a pro makeup artist, a network marketing mentor, a big sister, and beauty “influencer”
2. First thing you do when you open your eyes in the morning: Drink 32 oz. of water! Yes, an entire liter first thing in the morning! This is one of the most important habits I’ve created for myself. My tiredness almost always disappears as soon as I do this (did you know most grogginess in the morning is from dehydration?!)
3. Last nice thing you did for yourself: Booked a massage! Massages are my fav thing in the whole world.
4. 3 words to describe your strengths you’re most proud of: Resilient. Passionate. Authentic.
5. 3 characteristics other people use to describe you: Authentic. Loyal. Ambitious.
6. Current book you’re reading: I’m re-reading (or re-listening thanks to Audible) The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
7. Current favorite physical activity: I’m OBSESSED with swing dancing right now! Any sort of dancing, really. 
8. Current color crush: Currently crushing hard on a teal + copper combo.
9. Current song on repeat: The Optimist by Evie Irie
10. Current thing that never fails to make you smile: Every time I get home, my Goldendoodles give me hugs. Literal hugs. I probably shouldn’t let them haha, but it makes my whole day! 
11. Next purchase or experience on the bucket list: I’m OBSESSED with leveling up, so my next big investment will definitely be for a one on one business coach.
12. Thing you’re most looking forward to right now? The transformations my clients will have in my signature program, Claim Your Crown! We start on April 6th, and the clients who have already enrolled have ALREADY experienced HUGE transformations in their life + business with just a couple of lessons. We have a full 3 months together! Oh, and the launch of my podcast! It’ll be launching in April or May, and I seriously cannot wait to get it out into the world!
13. 5 words to describe what love means to you: Unconditional. Powerful. Spiritual. Devotion. Commitment.
14. Morning bird or night owl? Can I be both? LOL. 
15. Coffee or Matcha? Matcha! I’m a tea girl, but I do love a good iced coffee every now and then. 
16. Sweet or savory? Definitely sweet
17. Favorite lazy girl weekday meal: Basically anything that includes an avocado with pink Himalyan sea salt + a dash of cayenne pepper.
18. 5 items always in your purse/bag: Hydrating lip gloss, Tide to go pen (I’m a mess), a notebook with a pen, my wallet (if I’m lucky), and my phone

GET SHIT DONE

1. What is your one signature shortcut or cheat that makes your life run a little smoother? Some girls on my team refer to me as the “Queen of Content Repurposing.” I looooove to stretch out ONE piece of content and make it work for an entire week. For example, one blog post will turn into a live video, which will turn into an IGTV, which will turn into 1-3 social media posts, which will then turn into 1-3 story sequences. This saves SO much time and energy, and shows your audience that what you’re sharing is important. 
2. Life doesn’t always go according to plan, so we choose our battles. What are your daily non-negotiables? I must must must spend time in the Word first thing in the morning and move my body. If I don’t, I am NOT the same person. As far as business, things like growing my audience, nurturing the relationships I’m building, and creating some form of content to serve my audience with are total non-negotiables for me.
   
3. What is the most important lesson you’ve taken away from a particularly big achievement or success? That our worth doesn’t come from our successes, or what we achieve. Our worth isn’t defined by our to-do list or how much we get done. This was HUGE for me to learn and understand, because I have always considered myself “recognition driven.” 
4. What’s a habit you’ve adopted in the past year that has had a significant positive change on your daily routine? Drinking water and moving my body first thing in the morning! Making this a non-negotiable was huge for me because I always wanted to get straight to work LOL.
5. Working from home or on the go has its own set of challenges— what are 1-2 key things you’ve found to help you be most efficient and productive? Setting time limits on my apps have been huge! It’s a setting I didn’t know existed until recently. I also like to put my phone on do not disturb and turn off notifications while I’m working. It’s also super beneficial to have certain times in the day to respond to messages and check notifications… literally just schedule it into your day! When I implement these things, I don’t get too caught up in the scroll hole.

 

MOUNTAINS TO CLIMB:

1. Your work is a lot closer to home than most. While most everyone brings home work these days, thanks to emails on phones, blogging actually entails documenting and sharing your everyday. How has that affected your relationships with friends and family? I’ve really had to learn how to set boundaries. When I’m with my friends and family, I will capture moments, but I don’t post them right away… even stories. But I’ve also had to have one on one conversations with my loved ones, so they know I’m not just caught up in social media – it really is work for me! I’ve also realized that unless my friends and family have an entrepreneurial spirit like myself, they won’t fully understand what I do. I’ve had to learn to accept that, and vice versa. I also enjoy keeping my network marketing company separate from my friends & fam. I never want to be the friend that people are afraid to hang out with because they’re afraid I’m going to try and get them to join me or sell them something. I made it my mission to build my business solely online… and that’s what I did.
2. Have you found that technology- especially with the real-time trend that social media is adopting (Snapchat, IG stories) that it takes away from the experience? Yes and no. I think it def can if you aren’t setting boundaries. BUT I believe if you capture the moment and then save the stories to post later, I don’t feel like it takes away from the experience much. In fact, I think it can help you appreciate the moments more because you learn to develop an eye for creativity and a beautiful aesthetic.
3. From time to time, we all get caught up lusting after others’ lives— whether it be their travel photos on Instagram, their beautiful home, their adorable husband + babies, their burgeoning career, etc. What do you do when you fall down the rabbit hole of comparison to others in your field? Oh, this is such a good question. And it’s something I battled with for a LONG time. I’ve had to completely change my perspective. One of my coaches always says that jealousy is like a compass and shows us what we really want. Whenever I start feeling that envious feeling, I have to immediately take note and ask myself, “WHAT am I actually feeling envious of?” Once I do that, I have to catch my thoughts and shift them into grateful ones. I must remind myself that what I see in them just shows me what is POSSIBLE in my own life!
4. Do you think you have your shit together? Do you think anyone else does? BAHAHAHA. Absolutely not. To both of those questions.
5. What’s a personal weakness you’ve overcome (or progressed on) that you’re most proud of? What was that process like? I have always been SUPER shy. Like so shy that I would stay home from school and not go to events with the other kids in my class, because I just never wanted to feel eyes on me. I never wanted anyone to think negatively of me, but I was always paranoid they were… and I felt helpless. This stuck with me for 20 something years. I still struggle with this sometimes, but I am so proud of how far I’ve come. I now regularly showcase my life, do live videos, and have even been asked to speak in front of 100+ people! I’ve always been mortified of public speaking, but I’m realizing now that I LOVE it. I truly believe if we follow our fear, it will lead us to our passion.
6. When you’re caught in a moment of overwhelm or chaos, what is the one thing you rely on to ground you? I always have to remind myself to take a step back to PRAY and BREATHE. And then I use EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) aka “tapping” to help relieve any immediate anxiety. It’s derived from acupuncture and usually helps me almost immediately every time.

PERSPECTIVES:

1. What do you think about the phrase “having it all” as a woman? Ooooh, I absolutely LOVE this phrase. I have a very strong belief that we CAN have it all. We shouldn’t have to choose between all we want to do and be in life.
   
2. Do you believe that you have to “have it all” to be happy? Absolutely not. I don’t believe we should have to choose between what we decide to do and be in life, but I also don’t believe we have to choose to do it all either. We are all different and want different things out of life, and that’s totally okay! We ALL have a purpose in this world, and while my purpose looks a lot different than my best friend’s, it doesn’t make mine (or hers) any less important. BUT if you are someone who DOES “want it all,” I do believe we need to be happy & grateful with where we are right now in order to bring in more opportunities to make “having it all” a reality.
   
3. What is an important thing in life that you feel like the world is lacking lately and could use more of? Forgiveness. A good friend of mine taught me that the key to freedom is forgiveness. Being human, we cannot escape the pain and the hurt other humans in this world can bring. That being said, learning how to forgive in spite of the pain is, in my opinion, one of the most important things we can learn how to do in life.
4. What is currently frustrating you the most about your industry? Instead of teaching people how to serve, we are focused on teaching people how to sell. Yes, we NEED to sell to make a living… but we are skipping over the entire foundation of how to build a strong & sustainable business (Psssst – we aren’t SERVING our audience). Why? Because it is superrrr easy to get caught up in a “self-serving” attitude. In social selling, we are typically recognized by the rank we hold… and in order to achieve a rank, we must recruit x number of people and sell x amount of product. Coming from someone who has been totallyyyy guilty of this (like MAJORLY guilty), it is EASY to come off as desperate and like all we care about is making a sale. It is SO EASY to get caught up in the desire to be recognized for earning a luxury vacation or earning a car or whatever it may be… and then lose sight of the big vision entirely. Instead of making posts and making new friends with the intention to sell, we should be focusing on making posts and making new friends with the intention to serve. I truly believe the more you serve, the more you will sell. But if we only focus on the sales, we’re going to come off as sleazy and salesy. Gross.
   
5. We all see it— society’s increasing pressure to be so “perfect” — our outfits have to be Instagrammable, our homes have to be Pinterest-worthy, we have to be eating all-organic and healthy, our engagement shoots have to be magazine-worthy, and even our dogs have to have their own following! What are the effects on your life that you’ve noticed because of this dynamic, both negative and positive? For a really long time, I felt like I had to look and be a certain way to do well and really make a difference in this industry. I felt like I had to be super high energy and outspoken like ________, I had to be super small & fit like __________, I had to be totally unafraid like ________, I had to have the cutest clothes and wear the cutest outfits like ________, and the list could go on and on and on. I was ALWAYS thinking that once I had these certain qualities, I would be a powerhouse and my business could take off. I was convinced that once I made this happen, my dreams would become a reality. This comparisinitis sent me into a snowball effect of self-sabotage… I had anxiety for months and months and months that kept me from working my business. I was always looking at others and felt like I had to be like someone else in order to be successful. That was a HARD mountain to climb. But to be honest, I am SO grateful I went through that. I realize now it’s the exact opposite. Being like someone else is the quickest way to ensure you will fall. The moment I embraced all of me, the mountain I previously had to climb began to move. It’s not about being high energy and outspoken like ________. It’s about being timid and soft-spoken like me. It became about OWNING who I already am. Not about desperately wanting to be someone I’m not.
   

OUR BODIES:

1. Define “being healthy” in your perspective. Being healthy to me is more than just the food we eat and the amount of exercise we do. While those things are extremelyyyy important (especially as a high-producing entrepreneur), I also believe we should be focusing on our mind & soul health as well. “Balance” is a difficult thing to learn, but when we integrate healthy habits & routines into our lives, we not only skyrocket in our health… we’ll see an increase in business as well.
2. What is the one thing you’re most thankful for about your body? I am naturally very strong! My legs are powerhouses and I’m convinced I could out-squat anyone.
3. How has your perspective on your body changed since 5 or 10 years ago? Oh man. 10 years ago, I was the most fit I have ever been yet I still convinced myself I was fat & ugly. I remember starving myself because I hated who I was, and wanted the attention of some boy at the time. I remember thinking, “If I could just lose 10 more pounds, _________ will love me.” I was always searching for someone or something to convince me I was beautiful and I was loved. Since then, I think I’ve put on somewhere between 60-80 pounds. And while my body isn’t ultimately what I desire it to be, I absolutely love myself more now than I ever did back then. I don’t feel like I “have to lose 10 for _______ to love me.” It took a long time for me to overcome what felt like a losing battle, but I’m grateful for it. Because now I know that I bring a whole lot more to the table than my physical appearance.

 

THE HUSTLE:

1. What do you think is unique that you offer to your audience that is lacking out there? There’s a whole lot of social media strategy out there. And while I do believe it’s important to an extent, I don’t believe it’s #1 thing to focus on. In addition to teaching social media strategy, I teach my clients + team how to overcome self-sabotaging behaviors (ya know — procrastination, imposter syndrome, perfectionism, anxiety, etc.) and how to truly show up and serve their audience as opposed to just trying to sell to them. My mission is to teach women how to truly build a strong and sustainable business… and not just quick sales strategies.
   
2. What inspires you most? Seeing other women follow their fears and step into their true purpose. Even though following their dreams can be super scary, they always experience deep gratitude and an overwhelming amount of joy whenever they begin seeing success! It’s so beautiful to watch.
   
3. Was there any personal or professional risk involved in your commitment to the business? Oh, absolutely. Putting yourself out there is always risky — especially if you’re a “people pleaser” like me. But at the end of the day, nothing worth having comes without a little risk. 😉
   
4. What is the key to maintaining your personal aesthetic + brand integrity while working with your brand? I think the key to this is only working with a brand is to make sure that they share a similar mission to you. It starts there, but I also believe it is EXTREMELY important to remind yourself of your mission every day. The free trips, the recognition, and the money are all fantastic… but if you only focus on achieving those things, you are setting yourself up to fall. I know because I’ve been there.
5. Do you ever feel like you see the advice out there to “just be yourself! Produce content that makes you happy and the rest will fall in place?”— but reality is, is that there are some parameters for succeeding in these kinds of creative fields. How do you maintain integrity while also still propelling your business forward? Yes! I see this all the time. While I DEFINITELYYY believe in being yourself and staying authentic, there is still a creative tactic when it comes to creating successful content and building a sustainable business. I believe being yourself and staying authentic should absolutely be part of the execution with content, but not necessarily for that to be the intention and the purpose behind every single piece of content you create. What I mean is that your personality should absolutely be coming through in every piece of content, but we also have to make sure we’re creating content that is going to propel our business forward at the same time. This IS a business after all. 😉
6. How do you see the social selling space evolving as social media continues to rapidly develop and change? I believe we are in the middle of a HUGEEE shift in what kind of content people are wanting to see on social media. And while social media is constantly changing, it’s going to be incredibly important that we nail down the kind of content people actually want to consume. Truth is, it’s not about the products or what we’re selling anymore. It’s just not. It’s about the kind of value we bring to the table and how we can genuinely help someone change their life. In a society full of bloggers, influencers, and thousands of other people selling the same thing you are… What makes YOU special? THAT is what I believe we should continue to focus on despite all the changes happening across the social media platforms. If that is our focus, we have nothing to worry about!
   
7. Content fatigue is real. IGers take in so much content through their social feeds, and sometimes it can feel like you’re seeing the same stuff over and over. How do you stay innovative with your content and what work you produce? Omg this struggle is SO real. Honestly, I think the key for me has been to create more than I consume. I’ve had to set A LOT of boundaries for this to work for myself. I hardly ever watch anyone’s stories anymore and I don’t let myself scroll. ESPECIALLY if I haven’t produced any sort of content that day myself. I only let myself “be social” and engage with others’ content on social media when I have it in my schedule (and I do every day). A daily non-negotiable of mine is to create SOMETHING before I consume. We have a whole lot more to say than we realize, and we just need to tap into it. Being still in the mornings —  literally totally still and totally quiet — has been crucial for me to tap into my creative flow.
   
8. What is the most rewarding part of what you do? Oh my gosh, any time I see a woman step into her true potential, I can’t help but be grateful for the work I get to do. When a client or a team member of mine faces a huge fear, I know mountains are about to move for her and it is honestly THE most incredible thing to witness. The reason why is because I know that when a woman finally steps into the power she had all along, she will rise. & When she rises, others rise with her.

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Wow. Hannah! Girl, you’ve left us all speechless! You’re truly an influencer and we cannot wait to continue to follow your journey.

If you want a little taste of what Claim Your Crown is, sign up for the FREE experience HERE. If you want to follow Hannah, head over to Hannah Brindley.