Melissa Fougere - Business Growth Strategist

05/29/2023

Calling all female or identify as female entrepreneurs, if you are looking for help to grow your business or have a business idea and see how you might start this sponsored program is for you! See opportunity below 👇🏼

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Ready. Set. START NOW INCUBATOR! 🚀

If you are a woman that self-identifies as indigenous, diverse, underserved, or living in a rural area, Start Now Incubator is the program for you! Offering events and programming to help you grow your business, gain confidence in your technical abilities, learn from business experts, and connect with like-minded women! 🤩

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01/04/2023

Opportunity is everywhere….every chance we don’t take is an opportunity missed.

If you spend your time reading all the things, listening to all the podcasts, downloading the latest free strategy and take zero action, opportunity will pass you by.

In 2023 my challenge to you is accept the challenge, be bold, be brave and shine bright. You are only one opportunity away from creating the life you desire.

*****on

07/20/2022

Relaxing in my happy place. Vacation is a good thing
🇨🇦

06/27/2022

What are the 3 do’s or don’ts of your business? Here’s some of mine!

💥 Do focus on your audience experience. What is the journey you are taking them on? Find your unique position, share how you can help everyone without asking them to buy from you. Be specific about the transformation you can provide, teach and nurture everyone without hesitation… if you are giving away great value for free, they will be wondering what they would get working with you. You will have an audience of raving fans that will know, like, trust and love you. End result they will buy from you.

💥 Do focus on your message. Every time you post, comment, communicate. Ask yourself what value are you adding? What is the so what factor, don’t post for the sake of posting. Make sure you are thinking about them and the words they use to describe the problem that you can solve, not words that you might use, you may be thinking further ahead then them. You know you can solve more, but you have to meet them where they’re at. Message the results you can provide not the offer, make it so clear that they are asking to work with you before you even make the offer.

💥 Do focus on what your insights and metrics (data) are telling you. It’s the story of how you are doing, growing and what you should be focussed on in your business or what is not the best use of your time. Numbers may be boring at times but they paint the most beautiful picture of what your audience wants, how you should be delivering it, what your strategy should be and a clear path forward. They also will tell you what’s not working and what not to do next. Don’t ghost your numbers and hope something works. You have to study the picture and make informed decisions on what to tweak, change or keep doing. Give your changes time to circulate before you make any changes. Numbers allow us to see how we are progressing (or not) toward our goals in all areas of business not just monetary. Get cozy with them and listen to
what they are telling you.

🙉 Don’t get in your head. Mindset is everything. Change the negative dialogue into positive or active thinking. Identify where your barriers or blocks or work with a coach to identify them and figure out steps to overcome. If your mindset is not focussed on the right things all the other work you do in your business will be for nothing.

🙈 Don’t get shiny object syndrome. Focus on the ONE activity that will move your business ahead daily. The ONE strategy for atleast a month. The ONE platform that is moving you ahead until you reach the goal you set before adding another. Don’t try something for a week and say it’s not working or it’s the wrong direction or wrong strategy. A mentor of mine says, slow down to speed up. Ponder that for a moment.

🙊 Don’t listen to negativity. We are going to make mistakes, we are going to fail and we are going to say “I never want to do that again”. There will be nay sayers and hecklers and that’s okay. Look for the lesson, regroup and get back out there you have amazing things to share. If Colonel Sanders, Michael Jordan, Oprah and Jack Canfield gave up the first time they heard no, failed or were laughed at we wouldn’t have been able to learn from some of the worlds most successful people.

Bonus Don’t !
🙏 Don’t forget to give yourself grace. You are exactly where you are meant to be in this journey right now. You are amazing and you are meant for more. 💕

05/30/2022

Let's Plan! What went well last week? What needs some more focus? How can the community help?

04/19/2022

What is your definition of growth? Say what! Melissa, define that further that's so broad.....

Yes! Very broad, why because how you define growth is not necessarily how I would define it

Growth is not always about numbers, how much money is coming in, etc....it can be so much more.

Fact: Insights and analytics can demonstrate how well your post is doing, how many likes, how many followers, how far the post was shared by the algorithm, was it saved by someone, was it shared by someone....all great information.
Truth: Are the numbers like fake news? What is the purpose of your post? Are you getting a ton of followers but no one is engaging with you? Are they checking out your bio, website, engaging with you outside of social? What is the "thing" that you are measuring and what objective is it meeting? Is the outcome meaningful to you?

Above is just one example of how to measure growth.

Being very clear and specific on what area of growth you are focused on is key and will allow you to determine if you are growing or slowing.

What area of growth are you focused on right now and how are you measuring success. If you are focused on mindset, insights are not going to tell you if you are successful or not. If you are measuring audience growth, are you determining growth just on numbers or are you looking deeper into it, if so how?

I challenge you today to think differently about business growth, the areas you want to grow in and how will you measure success? Comment below


*****on

04/18/2022

"I have to do all the things, everyday or I won't reach my goal"

This is my inner voice, almost a month after an unexpected minor injury to my shoulder that is also effecting my hand.

The inner voice continues, why can't you even do just this one thing, it's not a big deal it won't hurt you, just do it.....

What I realized over these last 3 and a half weeks that we are all human and yes even the small things can set you back.

The business you are trying to build, the life you are trying to build, the relationships you are trying to build.....they don't have to happen over night and if they do they likely won't last.

In order to build the life you want you have to build a solid foundation, you have to know the direction you are heading in before you take the first steps. These things take time, and you know what, sometimes they take longer than we expected and that's okay.

Shut down that inside voice and remind it, you are exactly where you are meant to be right now. When it's time for a sprint, you got this, but remember overall it's a marathon and sometimes we just need to slow down and be okay with that!

04/09/2022

Some days you feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing is working so you just leave it up to luck.

Nope, that’s not going to work! Strategy does not need to be complicated either. Keep it simple for success!

Comment below👇🏻 what was the easiest strategy you have used in your business and shockingly had the most success!

*****on

03/28/2022

As we roll into Q2 remember to keep things simple

03/28/2022

Do you have a strategy for your business? Not a business plan, not a social media strategy but a high level all encompassing strategy (a roadmap, blueprint, a napkin sketch that will guide you on your journey) so you are not just doing things blindly, wasting time, hoping the “lucky” thing will make your business blow up and go to the next level.

Having a business strategy is a non-negotiable if you want to beat the odds and claim your space in the crowded world of business.

Warning: In this post I’m going to be super transparent and real about why any business MUST have a strategy. Regardless of what industry or niche you are in, you will not survive in business without one.👇🏻

Now if you want to get investors or a loan you need to have a business plan, and strategy needs to be a component. You can take that one to the bank 😉

*****on

03/27/2022

Can't get your head above water? No time for kids, partner, family or friends?

6 Steps Start Moving from Chaos to Clarity today!

1. Stop....No really, just stop, take a minute, an hour or a day. Just stop, and give yourself permission to breathe. Taking a moment will break the cycle of overwhelm before you start spinning, or worse....ugly cry.

2. Rally & Regroup - Don't go back to the way you were doing things before you paused. You will end up exactly where you were again, except you will get there quicker this time

3. Make a List - I know, never ending lists got you here, but trust me list everything you have going on in business, family, yourself and home. Things you have to do, things you want to do and things you dream of doing....never stop dreaming

4. Group "likes with likes" - you will see themes emerge. Place them in "buckets'. Ask yourself if any of the things can be done by someone else (delegate), are any of these duplicates, can you streamline any of them with a system or process?

5. Create a schedule & plan based on your priority "buckets", things to do now, things to do later & things to do when I have time. Do the "ONE" thing that will move your priorities ahead each day right away, even if it's the least amount of fun don't delay it, just getter done. Don't forget the non negotiables, you, family, eating & sleeping.....

6. Give yourself grace. Know that you are exactly where you are meant to be right now in your business and don't waste time or brain space worrying if you are keeping up with others, there is no time limit on success.

03/26/2022

Hey….yes you…I see you over there trying to take your idea and turn it into a business!

You’ve made some progress, but are not where you want to be. You are spinning your wheels doing all the things, every step everyone is telling you to do, yet feel the light at the end of the tunnel is the train heading toward you instead of the life you want to create for yourself.

Here’s what else I know about you…..

🧐 You’ve read everything and listened to all the podcasts, you’ve written down a million task lists and not crossed anything off
🧐 You’ve spent hours on Canva or similar programs making pretty things, but haven’t built your foundation yet to grow your business
🧐 You don’t have any systems or processes in place so when something works you can’t duplicate it…….
🧐 You waited too long and now there are too many people doing what you do

AND then there’s the ugly cry.

😫 You are so tired, frustrated, angry and fed up the passion you had for your business is starting to feel like just an idea again and not something you are actually excited to do

Don’t worry I get you….I may have been you once upon a time. 🤔

I had all the reasons and excuses for procrastination and not moving things ahead in my business. I had the perfect plan, but lacked the ex*****on. I wasn’t as lucky as other experts out there to jump in and find all the people

☄️You don’t really know where to start
☄️You don’t have enough time to do everything you want to
☄️You work more than full time, are parenting and adulting and running your business
☄️You have a never ending to do list but you just keep adding to it and are staying stuck in not moving even the smallest tasks ahead

Oh I feel you…..

What if I told you that all those things are bullsh*t and that if you are truly serious about growing your business and committed you could make changes today, in less time than it takes you to binge the newest Netflix series, and bring clarity to your chaos? Would you call bullsh*t on me or want to know more?

Hey I’m Melissa, I’m the creator and founder of the Chaos to Clarity Method. I’ve used my 20+ years in crisis, disaster and emergency management work to develop simple systems and processes that will not only allow you to have a 30,000 foot view of your business, but do something about it. I will actually help you take everything you are doing, identify the things to keep doing, stop doing and together we will make a plan on what to start doing so you can stop observing others success and write your own story.

How’s that sound? I can’t promise that you will see results overnight, I can’t make your posts go viral, and I don’t have a million dollars to make you a millionaire this month.

What I can promise is that if you do the hard work, and are consistent, and have trust in the process you WILL see results and I will be there to support you all the way!