3 Mistakes Choosing An Exit Strategy

Does your current circumstances have you feeling caged in a life you didn’t choose?  Do you have an exit strategy?  Let me share what I believe are 3 mistakes choosing a working exit strategy.

A few reasons you might not even have an exit strategy.

  1. You love the life you created
  2. You don’t believe there is a choice
  3. You have a pattern of self-sabotage
  4. You are telling yourself stories about your abilities
  5. It’s not the right time to try something new
  6. There isn’t enough money to explore dreams
  7. I don’t have support from family or friends
  8. I’m too old
  9. I’m too young
  10. I need to be perfect

There are infinite reasons to excuse yourself from living the life you want to create.  I believe we all have limiting beliefs that keep us caged.  It is important to recognize the storyline you’ve created for the life you currently have.

A working exit strategy?

According to a recent Forbes article on retirement by Robert Laura,

increasing number of baby boomers are disenchanted with their current careers.  They’re worn-out from years of the corporate grind and don’t feel the connection between their job and the people it impacts outside their office walls or company grounds.  They’re shifting their focus from accumulating a giant nest egg to a desire to be part of something bigger and better… to have a positive effect on others… and working in retirement.

This concept can be applied to any segment of society.  You don’t have to be a baby boomer to wake up and realize you aren’t satisfied with your current trajectory.  An exist strategy is a shift in focus.

I don’t profess to have all the answers.  God blessed me with a tenacious spirit, bent on sharing my imperfect journey with the world.

I “woke up” a couple of years ago after a series of unfortunate health issues.  My journey is committed to promoting wellness and entrepreneurship.  In the process, I chose to leave a traditional business model (my store.)  I’m now apart of a “clean” movement in wine and wellness.  I’ve embraced social selling and enjoy developing leaders who want to have an impact on the world.

A business model for personal growth with a compensation plan.  ~Bob Heilig

I know you love lists!  Here are the top ten benefits of developing the social selling business model.

  1. Low investment
  2. No overhead
  3. Shipping, product development, customer service is handled
  4. Can be part-time
  5. Freedom to work from anywhere
  6. Contribute to a movement
  7. Personal development
  8. Passive income
  9. Impact helping change people’s stories
  10. Surrounding your life with enthusiastic people

3 mistakes in choosing a working exit strategy.

I’ve been teetering a learning curve for the past two years.  I’ve approached this new journey several different ways.  Here’s what I know to be important…

1. Product

You must have a product you believe in.  The product could be a life changing consumable, fun clothing, fitness related, wellness related, education, coaching or technology.  There are a gazillion options.

You don’t need to become an evangelist to be excited about a product.  I think endless product pushing has given the social selling business model a bad name.  Unfortunately, I’ve been guilty of being over zealous for the products I represent.  Rather, choose a lifestyle product and join a bigger movement.

2. Company

Is the company apart of the Direct Sales Association?  I would say that most companies are reputable.  It doesn’t hurt to check.

What is the company’s mission?  What is their outlook for future growth?  Does the company have a plan to help you succeed in the first ninety days?  Is there continual product education and personal development?

3. Leadership

Ideally you will be working closely with the people who invite you to join a company.  What investment will they make into your success?

The leader who invites you to join the company should be committed to growth.  Do they treat the opportunity like a business or a hobby?  Can they clearly articulate their exit strategy?

Are they interested in your goals and dreams?  Do they know the reason you want an exit strategy?  Leaders who are serious about your success will check in regularly to encourage you and offer experienced perspective.  Remember, the success of your leader depends on their investment of time and resources in developing you as a leader.

The beauty of social selling is community support.  Does the leader foster community space to share ideas, successes and failures?  Do they offer consistent opportunities to interact in Facebook groups, monthly meetings and special events?

Do you have an exit strategy?

Flown The Coop has always been dedicated to those who can’t be caged.  I am committed to helping entrepreneurs, makers and creatives.

Side note:  Please remember to support your friends who are blazing a trail.  These entrepreneurs are the new “Mom & Pops” fighting the Amazons of the world.  And they have more of an impact in their communities!

Have you considered your options, questioned your beliefs and/or contemplated your dreams for the future?  Does an exit strategy excited you?  Let’s chat!

~Tiffany

And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!

The Practice Life!

The practice life is rich in opportunity!

The Practice Life is taking action on an idea, and an exercise repeated regularly in order to improve or maintain one’s proficiency.

Tiffany Eckhardt, owner of Flown The Coop takes a look at life as a practice.

People practice patience, hospitality, yoga, wellness, gratitude and their business.  Here are a few practices I’m currently working on.

Patience

Let’s just say that I am cultivating patience in tandem with all the other fruits of the spirit (Galations 5:22-23). This is a necessary gift from God!  I don’t come by it naturally.  Our guest house project is testing my patience.  The struggle is real.  I’ve been dreaming of this project for three years.  I do not claim to be long suffering.  It takes practice to accept the things I can not control.

Hospitality

I love to practice hospitality.  I was fortunate to hear a speaker on hospitality as a young mother.  The speaker set me free from imperfect entertaining.  Entertaining is preforming to impress your guest.  Hospitality is welcoming friends in your home with the intention of blessing them.  The focus is on the guests, not on me.

One of my biggest joys is to have fun events and classes at Creative At The Coop.  It is a gift to be able to offer what I’ve learned from years of practice.  I enjoy learning new skills for my practice!  Recently I discovered the ease of creating a charcuterie board.  Charcuterie boards have been a fun creative outlet for my Scout & Cellar wine tastings.

Yoga

My wellness practice began over a year ago.  Jeff and I first embraced a paleo diet and Young Living essential oils!  My home and health became less toxic as I transferred my buying habits to plant based items.  Most importantly, I learned how to listen to my body for clues on what it needs.

I’ve noticed a need to be more active.  Jeff and I joined ​​gen·e·sis yog​a​​​ in Brenham.  Yoga is a patience patient practice, supporting mobility and mindfulness.  I discovered a love for restorative yoga!  It feels like a yoga massage!  I love the challenge of the strength building poses.  I need a lot of practice at this stage of the game!

Business

I am not a doctor or a lawyer.  I am a serial entrepreneur that has spent my life practicing business.  This is one area of my life that feels like an endless climb upward.  I had to learn to embrace the mystery and create a pro mindset.

Podcasts have become a staple in my development this past year.  Some of my favorite podcasters feel like friends.  Truly, at this point in my life I need mentors.  I long to surround myself with people who are in spaces I want to occupy.  Check out my latest blog to learn about 5 podcasts to finish 2018 strong!

Grace

Flown The Coop Guest HouseFinally, I’d like to offer a bit of grace by imagining all areas of life is a practice.  I am grateful to God for grace!  It is an open gate to excepting life in it’s fullest.  I will repeatedly, on a regular basis, move toward my goals allowing myself to makes mistakes along the way.  No one is perfect right out of the gate.  The important thing to remember is keep on practicing.  Right?

Are you giving yourself grace to view life as a practice?  Let’s encourage each other to finish 2018 strong!  Please feel free to share your stories in the comments below!

 

~Tiffany

And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!

Entrepreneurial Journey to the right side of wellness

Flown The Coop's Tiffany Eckhardt taking flight as an entrepreneur

My entrepreneurial journey has had many twists and turns.  The latest adjustment is a hard for me, but I am confident it will be WELL!  😉

The Story Of A Serial Entrepreneur

Tiffany Eckhardt with Flown The Coop is a self proclaimed serial entrepreneur

I am a self proclaimed Serial Entrepreneur, tenacious in attempting business ventures and gravitate towards the under dog.  I wholeheartedly believe in the American Dream.  I believe that a life worth living is not handed to you, but is earned by hard work and dedication to a dream.  I also believe everyone would own their own business if it were easy.  Despite the changes I’ve had to face, I prefer to create a life on my own terms.

As you can see from the above picture… I’ve attempted a lot of businesses over the years.  I am blessed by the experience each venture has added to my life.  The uncomfortable truth of creating a life on your terms is that you must remain flexible and learn to adapt to changes in the market place.

Flown The Coop

I have officially closed Flown The Coop.  I’ve known in my gut that it was time for a change, but my heart didn’t want to accept it.  For four years I invested my heart and soul into my dream shop.  I loved creating a destination in this sleepy little town that begs to be discovered and LOVE all my customers who are now friends.

I could list all the reasons that Flown The Coop didn’t flourish, but I prefer to face the future with a positive attitude.  I believe that a new exciting chapter awaits.  I hope you stick with me as I embark on a new journey.

Moving forward I plan on hosting classes and special events at Flown The Coop.  Keep an eye on the Creative At The Coop webpage.  I will also focus my attention on our Guest House project.  Stayed tuned for regular updates as I share the progress.

For now, let me explain how I got to this point….

An Entrepreneur on the Right Side of the Quadrant

I am a big fan of Robert Kiyosaki’s book CASHFLOW QUADRANT.  I read his first book, Rich Dad Poor Dad when it came out twenty years ago.  Has it really been that long????

His CASHFLOW Quadrant explains my entrepreneurial journey completely.  Most of us live in the E Quadrant.  We are taught in school to be a good employees.  Some of us set out to own our own businesses.  MY EPIPHANY: As I struggle to make Flown The Coop profitable.  As much as I enjoy owning a store, I had basically bought my own JOB (Just Over Broke).  A true entrepreneur eventually understands the importance of creating residual income (or passive income).  I am now focused on the right side of the quadrant.  I highly recommend reading CASHFLOW QUADRANT.  Robert explains the concept way better than I ever could!

An entrepreneur on the right side of the quadrant

SIDE NOTE:  Jeff and I have the CASHFLOW QUADRANT board game.  Anyone interested in a game night??????  Seriously, message me!  I won for the first time during a recent family vacation.  So, I’m feeling empowered!

Business Opportunity In Wellness

I have spent the last year focused on wellness.  Jeff and I have come to the realization that we are approaching the prime years and want to enjoy them.  We want our grandkids to have to keep up with us.  Honestly, we still have work to do… but it’s a journey worth taking.

Wellness is not just ONE thing.  It’s a lifestyle.  It is learning to listen to the body, mind and spirit.  Wellness is eating whole “real” foods, staying active and getting the toxins out of the home.  Wellness is focusing on what the body needs before there is crisis.  Wellness is taking charge and living the best life possible!

I want to spend the rest of my life promoting this lifestyle.  I hope you have enjoyed traveling the world of Young Living essential oils with me, and now Scout & Cellar clean crafted wine. These two businesses have been game changers for me!

I’ll never forget when Lynsey Kramer visited me after I ordered a Young Living premium starter kit.  She had shared her lifestyle so freely on her Facebook page.  I didn’t hesitate to jump in when she shared the opportunity to purchase a starter kit.  Lynsey came to my house to help me understand what the essential oils could do for me.  In passing she mentioned that she was growing a Young Living distributorship for retirement. As small business owners, they didn’t have a traditional retirement to fall back on.  IT WAS A LIGHT BULB MOMENT.  I remember immediately thinking about the book CASHFLOW and saw a real opportunity to make a difference.

Then another opportunity presented itself.  Bethany Dwyer reached out to me, offering a Scout & Cellar wine tasting at the Flown The Coop Backyard Karaoke Bash in the spring.  Bethany is a Young Living member as well.  She mentioned that this wine company shared a similar philosophy and paired well with essential oils.  First of all, who would turn down a wine tasting opportunity?  I liked Bethany right away.  I love her boldness in reaching out to me and her tireless pursuit of many business ventures.  I asked her why she worked so hard.  Her response was another LIGHT BULB MOMENT.  She replied, “The truly wealthy people have more than one income stream.”  In April I invited her and Lacey Harwood back to Flown The Coop for the Cotton Gin festival.  I got excited watching the people try and love this wine.  I had to get involved in this opportunity too.

I truly believe that these two movements (plant based products and clean crafted wine) are the future.  This generation will demand cleaner products and are taking charge of their wellness.  I also believe there are people like me, who want to enjoy their prime years and still have the spunk to grow a business that will give them financial freedom.  They call people like me encore entrepreneurs.

I urge you to invest twenty five minutes watching this video…. while a little goofy and long winded, he totally nails retirement.  Totally worth the time!  {Here are the docs he mentions: the income disclosure statement, the comp plan and the personality colors}

This is why I am focusing the next phase of my entrepreneurial journey on wellness and the right side of the CASHFLOW quadrant.

Dollars & Cents of a Young Living Business from stacie malkus on Vimeo.

Flown The Coop will become my creative outlet for prime lifestyle, wellness and wine.

SO…. stayed tuned.  I’m looking for people to join my team.  Reach out if you are a kindred spirit (a serial entrepreneur) who wants to build a thriving business in Young Living or Scout & Cellar.  I would also love to chat with anyone who simply wants to take charge of their wellness.  I’d love to help in anyway I can!

Life is a journey, come travel with me!

~Tiffany

And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!

Flown The Coop Liquidation Sale

Make plans to come out to our Liquidation Sale at Flown the Coop.  Shop our “junque” with garage sale prices {except consignment and choice pieces}.  To be honest, we won’t know exactly what we have until we pull it all out.  I know for sure we have doors, sleds, canoe, Coca Cola machine, barn beam, wood, car hoods, signs, furniture, and misc. smalls…. and we’re ready to liquidate!

Thursday, June 14th – Saturday, June 16th

11am – 5pm

But first let me share with you how we got here….

Flown The Coop’s humble beginnings

From humble beginnings to Liquidation Sale... Flown The Coop is a genuine free spirit

The storefront was a blank page three years ago.  The dream of a store in Burton, where Jeff and I could work and live, was sealed with the promise of a rainbow.

Flown The Coop sealed with the promise of a rainbow

It has been a wild ride!  I cherish the friends I’ve made,  both customers and/or vendors.  I have loads of memories from buying trips, and the cool “finds” I brought back to The Coop.  The numerous events, from White Linen Night to Backyard Karaoke Bashes, have filled my cup!  I even treasure the obstacles that have been thrown my way.  All in all, I am blessed with a wonderful creative outlet.  I have become a better version of myself because of this adventure.

So why a liquidation sale????

I am, and will always be a gen.u.ine FREE spirit.  I am keenly aware when I need to adjust my wings.

Flown The Coop's Tiffany loves her WINGS, and is excited about the future... especially the liquidation sale June 14-16

The recent changes that have been made to the storefront are well received.

The Coop feels bigger with an open floor plan.

The classes are well received!  It is pure joy building relationships with customers who attend the classes.  I am currently working with a variety of teachers to offer classes that will work for them and potential students.  Jeff and I have plans to double the classroom space.  Groups will be welcome to use this space as a collaborative work space, private wine tastings and for small events.  The Creative space is a genuine “parks & rec” at Flown The Coop.

After the Flown The Coop Liquidation Sale????

Expect exciting days ahead for Flown The Coop…. I say “exciting” because I have no clue what’s in store for us (no pun intended).

One thing is clear, I can’t go on as it is.  My resolve has tanked with sales.

Customers can visit the storefront on Saturdays through the summer, along with scheduled classes and events.

The Antique Show in the fall is still up for debate.  Although, I have booked a band September 28th.  I will have a BIG party that night. STAYED TUNED!  (follow the EVENTS page on this website)

The guest house will be underway shortly.  That is a done deal… FINALLY!  I am looking forward to sharing every step of the way with you.  I might even let you in on some of the design decisions.

My enthusiasm and energy is being poured into a few passion projects.
  • I love sharing my wellness journey and Young Living Essential Oils.  There has never been a more important time to focus on keeping the body well!
  • Join our Burton Oilers Facebook Page for the wellness community & conversation.
  • I love sharing Scout & Cellar, a clean crafted wine company that pairs well with wellness.  I’m having so much fun sharing what I learn about the wine industry, classifications of wines and offering wine tastings.  #friendsdontletfriendsdrinkdirtywine
  • Gadabout Gals is my latest collaboration with my best friends Michele and Kelly.  Our launch last week exceeded our expectations!  Read how all that came about HERE.  The three of us and our Gadabout Guys have BIG plans to cross the globe together.  Individually, we have interesting adventures you can follow as well.

With mixed emotions, I look forward to what lies ahead.

Your friend,

Tiffany
And the birds fluttered around her writing “YES” in the sky!