Episode 99: Alexa Cawley
Alexa Cawley of Forever Friday on the Importance of Building Relationships as a Small Business
This week Samantha chats with Alexa Cawley, CEO of Forever Friday Consulting. Alexa is a health and wellness marketing expert, with a unique perspective on brand building that she learned from her career at the early days of Lululemon and SoulCycle, and has taken to her own marketing agency. She really focuses on those niche, smaller brands that are really looking to build community.
The two discuss her experience working for top wellness brands, how she organizes her day to day, building personal touch points with your clients and of course her top marketing tips for wellness brands and entrepreneurs.
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Podcast Script
Sam: [00:00:00] Monetize your passion for wellbeing like a job you love every single day. Find a happy life from a healthy lifestyle. What's up guys. This is Spin, Skin and Other Addictions, a podcast by me, Samantha E Cutler of The Fit Fatale. Each week I'm going to take you deeper into the world of wellness with entrepreneurs who are building brands designed to better your life.
[00:00:27] So you'll be hearing from fitness gurus, medical specialists, and influencers in the world of fitness, health, beauty, and nutrition. I hope you guys love it. Let's get down.
[00:00:40] Alexa: Something that I make sure every single person that I've worked with has first is their mission statement. And I think a lot, even if you're a creator, no matter what your company is or whatever brand you're trying to do, you need to figure out who you are, what you do and what somebody's life is going to look like once they're done working with.
[00:00:58] Sam: You're listening [00:01:00] to spin, skin and other addictions episode number 99. I cannot believe we almost have done a hundred episodes, which is crazy. And I have had the chance to talk with so many incredible entrepreneurs, founders, specialists, doctors, and I feel just so grateful and I can't wait for our hundredth episode.
[00:01:18] We're going to talk a little bit more about that. But today we have Alexa Cawley on the show who is the CEO and founder of Forever Friday. It is a marketing agency and consulting agency specializing in fitness and wellness brands. And she really helps those niche, smaller brands that are really looking to build community
[00:01:39] . Within this podcast she gives so many tips, by the way, if you're a creator, there's also tons of tips here because it's all targeted at small micro community focused brands. And as a micro creator, you are the same as that. You are a community focused brand who connects people in your community or your geographic [00:02:00] location with the brands, the places, the locations, and the experiences.
[00:02:04] And Alexa does this in the same way for the brands that she works for and works with. And she helps them really build community. We talk about that a lot in this conversation about building personal touch points with your clients and not just thinking of, okay. I put up something on social and that's it, but really responding to DMs, understanding what value you're adding to your clients.
[00:02:29] She gives tips. So if you need and are wondering how to get started, this is a must listen. Alexa is a girl after my own heart. I say this in the episode a few times, we just connect on so many different levels. And by the way her agency is called Forever Friday because her whole approach to running a business, being an entrepreneur after leaving corporate, going out on her own was to make every single day like Friday.
[00:02:54] Hi, is that not the dream for all of us? I just, I love that approach and to make it always feel [00:03:00] good, manage your own time. You know, you sort of have a little bit of a looser schedule that four o'clock Friday feeling, just feels so good. And Alexa is bringing that into everything she does every day for her business. She talks about how she organizes her day to day and you're going to be in awe. So I hope you love this episode.
[00:03:20] Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of spin, skin and other addictions. Today, I am joined by Alexa Cawley who is a health and wellness marketing expert, and she has experienced working with some of my favorite brands in the industry like Lululemon and Soul Cycle. And now she's created her own marketing agency Forever Friday consulting.
[00:03:41] She is the CEO, she's a girl boss and she has such crazy unique experience and perspective working with wellness brands. So usually you guys know I have wellness founders on here, and this is sort of a unique approach because Alexa is a wellness founder in her own right. But it's also helping those wellness founders that a lot of the time they're here telling those [00:04:00] stories.
[00:04:00] So Alexa, I'm really excited to have you on the show today. You're a girl after my own heart in New York, live' in the life. Tell us a little bit about your story right now.
[00:04:10] Alexa: Thank you. And, oh my gosh, what an amazing intro. Um, I, you know, like you said, I'm Alexa, I am living in New York. I founded Forever Friday consulting about two years ago.
[00:04:22] Um, but like you've said, I've been in health and wellness space for about a decade. So got hired for Lululemon as sales associates, straight out of college, like day after I graduated college. Just applied because I was like, you know, I need something to do while I'm searching for my big girl job, um, and fell in love with the company and the way that it functioned and stayed for five years, opening up community, opening up stores and, you know, fostering the communities around them.
[00:04:53] And then went into the marketing department of soul cycle where I over-thought 26 studios. [00:05:00] And after that decided it was time to do my own thing. So I started my own agency where I serve smaller health and wellness brands specifically. Um, cause I just, you know, there's a huge gap in the market for marketing and business expertise made available to small businesses with not huge budgets. So I definitely knew that was something that needed to be tackled. Um, and that's what I'm doing, but yeah, I'm a huge fan of spin obviously, and everything, health and wellness, so totally ready to geek out on all of it.
[00:05:31] Sam: Well, you're on the right podcast when we, a lot of people know us by The Fit Fatale podcast, but our real name is spin, skin and other another addictions. And I remember when I was thinking about like, well, what do I want to spend hours talking about like founders and people's stories. And I realized, you know, like the things that make you hooked so bad, so we can talk about this with spin, but it's the endorphins, it's the feel-good and like the same way skin does.
[00:05:55] And you're like, you know, that serum makes me glow [00:06:00] and I feel like I'm going from the inside because I'm going outside. And it's like these things that just fascinate us so much and make us feel so good. But also who are the people behind those brands telling that story? And what's really unique Alexa, is that you had so much experience in these huge brands. Like everyone listening knows Lou lemon and SoulCycle. There's not a person listening that doesn't, um, I would bet. And if you're listening and you don't know, hit me up girl or guy, because I'm going to help you out. I got some things to teach you.
[00:06:26] But in reality, everyone knows those brands and I'm sure a lot of the clients that you work with today are not known or just getting their footing and started to, um, you know, find their path and probably find their voice in the market as well. How do you use what you learned in, in huge brands, public brands, like, you know, Lululemon and bring that to the micro brand.
[00:06:51] That's just trying to get their, their start essentially.
[00:06:55] Alexa: Yeah, it's such a great question. And I think, the really amazing thing [00:07:00] about Lululemon was that each store operated as its own business. And granted, this was back in 2012, 2013, and things have obviously shifted over the last decade, but when I was there and what, especially when I first started the founder of Lululemon was very adamant about keeping stores operating a small businesses. So the store manager, for example, and the management team really functioned as store CEOs. It was very much, very, very different from other retail corporations where you would have, you know, your area manager and your now your regional manager sort of dictating to you sales goals and your PNL and what your marketing strategy was going to look like.
[00:07:42] Lululemon functioned very much as, the ownership was given to the store managers to create their own marketing strategy, figure out what studios they wanted to reach out to, if they wanted to run any events for the month, like the controls really put into their hands. [00:08:00] And I fell in love with that. I thought it was just the coolest thing in the world to have been given the reigns to sort of dictate the marketing and community of such a massive brand.
[00:08:11] Without, like with, you know, with approval of course, but it was never dictated to you. So I just thought that was just the most interesting thing. Um, and yeah, you know, it was just, I think it's something that I like to talk to my clients a lot about is like, You know, we need to start thinking out of the box, like who, what local brands can you approach?
[00:08:34] You know, because that was very much how we operated. There was, we were just figuring out like, yeah, partnerships are so important and you know, it would be like, great, okay. If Starbucks is down the corner, like we have some budget, why can't we just go and grab a few $5 gift cards and just hand them out for fun, you know, like courtesy of Lululemon, but like here, go grab a coffee, right?
[00:08:54] Like what, like, it's just such a fun, like these small, small little. That you can think of to sort of [00:09:00] infuse just some happiness and joy into your brand. Those are the things that I really like to zero in on, because it doesn't take, it's not a huge lift, right? It's not huge budget, but connecting with people one-on-one and saying like, Hey, I'm here.
[00:09:13] You know, this is like, let's have this conversation and just sort of get into it, is my favorite thing in the world to do. The local partnerships and really operating as a local business is something that I like to bring to every single client that I work with and really just instill in them that it is crucially important to have personal connections with people on a day-to-day basis.
[00:09:38] Sam: And what's so unique is from an influencer's perspective and a creator's perspective. It's the same with micro and macro creators who can speak to their community and what's going on and build unique connections and answer every single DM and build those partnerships with the store down the street.
[00:09:55] Maybe that's one of your clients, maybe that's the Lu lemon. And I connected. [00:10:00] Speak to Lou lemon does do a really good job of that because I've worked with them on multiple occasions. And it's always, you know, even if it comes from head office, they'll say, well, here's the store that's closest to you. And they sort of hand you off and let them build that partnership.
[00:10:13] Or what is that going to look like or they'll sponsor? Um, I used to be a fitness instructor as well. They'll sponsor the closest gym to them that they want to partner with. And all the instructors can come pull outfits or get a discount or whatever that is. So they're really rooted in community and. I spoke to, for me resonates really well because I, my past experiences was in corporate marketing, but we were at a major department store in the states, much like a Bloomingdale's.
[00:10:39] And so we approach things very similarly as well. Like how can we. Give, how can we do that partnership? What you said about like gift cards? Like how can you light up someone's day, they're stopping at Starbucks and like every 10th person gets a gift card here. And I feel like that's changed in the landscape significantly with COVID.
[00:10:55] And I'd love to get your perspective on this Alexa, because a lot of that in-person sort of [00:11:00] joy and these little moments of, oh my gosh. You know, I just, I didn't know I was at Starbucks and it's their 10th anniversary and like now they're giving away free coffees today. A lot of that left the landscape because of, you know, we need to be socially distance.
[00:11:16] We're still wearing masks were very intimidated. Stores were online for a long period of time and lost that and are trying to figure out how to bring that online. What, and how do you work with your clients or suggested. Now in the past, let's say, you know, year to year and a half, I feel like it's almost been like 10 years we've been in this pandemic, but, um, the past year and a half or so, how has that landscape change and how do you kind of navigate with your clients through that awkward period?
[00:11:46] Alexa: It's that's such a great question. And. You know, it's one of those things where I think I would really just think to yourself, is this a real limitation or is this a limitation that I'm thinking is there?
[00:11:59] Right. [00:12:00] Like I just had a conversation with a good friend of mine who is the head of education for Barry's. And he was saying that he is still, he's been there for seven years. He's been with the company before they even got outside investment, he's been there for a long time. His classes have gone from, you know, two people to being insanely wait-listed, he is still bringing out like the little comp class gift cards.
[00:12:24] He's still going to the local Lululemon, the local Athleta. He's still doing all of that stuff. So, yes, I think COVID. A really big damper on a lot of businesses and a lot of, you know, no, you couldn't have events, right? You couldn't have in-person events that I completely understand. And that was definitely a headache for a lot of companies, but a lot of what I would advise my clients on.
[00:12:48] You know, yeah. Maybe you, you, you went from hosting in-person classes and writing people really sweet notes and giving them a gift, right? Like I'm a big, big proponent of milestone gifts for people. [00:13:00] Um, whether it's, you know, in as a service or as a fitness class or whatever you are, you know, fifth class, 10th class, like you better have a handwritten note in there that says like, Hey, super excited to see you again. Here's a gift card, you know, crush it.
[00:13:13] Sam: It's also a great way that you feel like you've been riding for so long, and it's like your fifth class and you get this little sticker on your bike and they're celebrating and like, you know, the instructor calls you out. So I, I totally agree.
[00:13:25] Alexa: Yeah. A hundred percent. And so I would just say, you know, okay, those little milestone touch points that we used to have in class right now, we can't have that. And that's, that's one thing we still have a person's address. Don't we? Right. Like we still have it. And so a lot of my clients were less. You want us to write them a card?
[00:13:46] Like send them a card. And I was like, yeah, you bet I do. And they did. And guess what everyone's social blew up with? Oh my God. I just got a card from my local Pilates studio. I'm so happy. Like, it's just [00:14:00] it feels to me at this point in my career so simple because I like just want to scream it from the rooftops, like have a personal connection, like make the personal connection with someone, talk to a human being and do not talk to an entire room of people.
[00:14:15] Right? Like. But, you know, it's just one of those things where I was like, great, let's take those things that we used to do in person let's translate them into virtual or whatever. It looks like. Probably just mailing them something, mailing them, you know, bands like a client of mine has a virtual plotty studio and she got branded like those rubber bands that go around your thighs and just like send them to people and stuff like, Hey, thanks for being on this journey with me.
[00:14:40] This has been a really weird ride and like I'm super happy or letting me guide you, just little things like that. Change your business in ways that I think a lot of people think they're like silly little like gold star sort of things, and they're not like it goes incredibly far. So to answer your question in a very long way, I would [00:15:00] just, you know, take a look at what you were doing in person and figure out a way to not have the limitations on it, because there are ways to get around it.
[00:15:10] Sam: And I think fitness studios overall brands and companies and small business or large businesses actually did it really well in the pandemic. Um, I think some other areas of businesses had a harder time, but fitness studios, because everyone was turning to, okay I need to be working out. I need to be taking care of myself, in this very stressful time.
[00:15:32] Did get right on the, you know, bands or the giveaways or the live events and all that stuff. Whereas I think it took a lot of other brands, even stuff from the PR side, because we're still a little bit slower in Canada and some things are still limited and capacities and such. And so even from a PR side of like brands, doing stuff for like media or influencers or, you know, and they're the ones kind of distributing the message in their communities.
[00:15:59] Still [00:16:00] took them so long to be like, oh, maybe we should do an in-person event. Like now it's been a year. This is real. Like, let's do that in reality. They should have been doing this initially cause everyone was stuck at home. But I think people were just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting instead of being proactive and a lot of fitness brands and health brands in general were proactive because they saw people needed the physical and mental support.
[00:16:22] I still find it almost like. Better. I love in person stuff. I prefer in person stuff, but I can do way more virtual things. And so can clients, and I'm sure you speak to your, your clients about their clients, how they can attend. Like, I can go on my lunch break and watch a makeup tutorial because I'm a frequent shopper at NARS.
[00:16:41] Right. But like, I can't leave my office for 30 minutes to get there, go to the store. I watched the thing and come back. And then maybe they give me a discount and maybe I'll go to the store on my own time. Now that things are open. So there's just this sort of hybrid approach that brands can be taking.
[00:16:57] What would you suggest to [00:17:00] anyone listening who maybe owns a small business and is thinking like, what is a quick, easy way? I know you gave some, you know, just giving examples from your clients, like handwritten notes or a virtual van or whatever, but what would you say are like five things I don't want to steal your thunder.
[00:17:14] I know this is like what you do for a living. So don't give away any of the good stuff. I'm happy to call Alexa for her services, but maybe just like some little tidbits that people can say, okay, these are the three or five things that you said look into them.
[00:17:26] Alexa: Yeah. A hundred percent. I mean, oh my God, I'm so happy for this.
[00:17:29] Okay. So handwritten notes are absolutely number one, like most important thing you could do, whether you are in person or your digital handwritten note will go incredibly far. If you were in person, I would say, usually save it for like your second visit. And you know, this is definitely like launching into a bigger strategy conversation.
[00:17:51] Your first and second visit should always be priced together. Like you should always be making sure that you're getting somebody in for their second visit after they've [00:18:00] come to you one time. So the second touchpoint is going to be that little handwritten note to them, right. Or you can even say like, Hey, Samantha, like, you know, here's 20% off your next nerves.
[00:18:09] Like, we're so happy to see you again, or, you know, whatever it is just like a cute little thing. That's like, yes, you came in the second time. We're going to write you a handwritten note and like, acknowledge that you're there. We're also going to follow it up with a way that you're going to come in again for the third time.
[00:18:25] Right. And this all sort of ladders back to something that I learned at soul cycle, which was your sixth visit. Within 30 days. And this is obviously, you know, for a 45 minute spin class. So depending on length of service, this would change. But your sixth visit within 30 days means that you have a 90% chance of becoming a converted client.
[00:18:46] So it was those six visits, right? Like we were like.
[00:18:49] Sam: Figure out your threshold.
[00:18:50] Alexa: Exactly, exactly. But we were like, great. This is. This was the conversion number for us. So every single class for their first six classes, we needed to [00:19:00] make sure they felt acknowledged and happy and connected to. So, you know, handwritten notes, I think goes super far.
[00:19:06] I would also just take a look at your pricing strategy, figure out if you are in, you know, figure out if you have the puzzle pieces all together to lend itself well to your conversion. So, you know, whatever that looks like for your business, I would say that's definitely one that's super important. Um, while multi milestone programs are incredibly important.
[00:19:27] So whatever your service would be, let's say you are, let's say you're a health coach listening. Right. And you're like, okay, great. Yeah. You know, people usually stay with me for my six week program, but then they kind of fall off. I would be like, okay, great. Let's sort of figure out. All of your milestones.
[00:19:43] So for every visit, maybe their fifth visit, you're checking in with them on an off day and saying like, Hey, thinking about you thinking about your progress, right. Then maybe their 10th visit. You've got another little touch point where you send them like, you know, a gift card for Starbucks or whatever.
[00:19:57] You're like, Hey, you're crushing it. You know, it's just, [00:20:00] it all lends itself well to loyalty. Oh, my gosh. There's so many, I mean, you know, figuring out your newsletter, get your newsletters, like things that will support your clients, but also teach them a little bit about you. So your favorite resources, maybe let's say you are a makeup artist, right?
[00:20:18] And people always come to you to get their makeup done. Maybe you're sending out a newsletter. That's like, Hey, by the way, these are the products I've tried lately. I love them. Like the things that you would share on social, but people. You know, I can't really click through things. It's a little bit clunkier of a user journey.
[00:20:33] Like this would be something that I would say, do your newsletters and blogs, send it to people and form a connection through these things. Say like, you know, I was loving this new product. It's like, I can't wait to try it on you guys. If you want to try it out for yourself before I see you next, like, here you go. Here's how you can purchase it sort of thing. Um, I don't know. I mean, I feel like there's so many things people can do.
[00:20:56] Sam: I love the loyalty conversation because it just reminded me [00:21:00] yesterday. There's a new dog store that opened in my neighborhood and there's so many dog stores, right? Like there's one on every three blocks or whatever.
[00:21:07] Cause everyone has a dog and if they didn't, they got one during COVID and so I was like, oh, I'll go check out the new one. They had like balloons just open. I went inside and I, I bought a bag of my dogs food and they said, oh, well, do you want to join our loyalty program? And I was like, man, I'm not sure.
[00:21:22] And she was like, well, if you buy, you know, the 12th bag of this food it's free. And I was like, I'm for sure coming only here now. Like it was that easy for me. And now you've converted me from the four other places that I kind of go, like, which one has the best flavor for my dog this week, you know? And I'm like thinking now I'm going to get a bag her back, her physical.
[00:21:40] And then you get a free bag of food after it by 12. That's going to happen in a second. And it's, it's really interesting, just like how much a customer will be really loyal when they got a little something back, just a little.
[00:21:52] Alexa: A hundred percent. And I would even say in that scenario, you know, her leading with, Hey, will you do this thing for us?
[00:21:59] Is the [00:22:00] wrong way to go about it. And that's, that's a lot of work actually that I do with clients is they're like, you know, we're sending out all these emails and we're asking people for feedback and we're giving them these stuff, like these free classes and whatever, but no one's responding and I'm like, okay, great.
[00:22:15] Leading with, Hey, can you do this thing for my business? It's never going to get you anywhere. You have to lead with something that is value-based first. So exactly in that example, right? What would it have been like if she said to you, Hey, oh my God, your dog is so cute. Like we just opened, by the way, when you sign up for the loyalty program, you actually get your 12 bag of dog food for free.
[00:22:37] You wouldn't even have had an option to say like, oh no, thanks. And maybe you would have, but it wouldn't have felt. Hey you do this thing for us. And then you're like, no. And then she was like, but you know what I mean? Like that little tip for tat doesn't have to happen if she would've just led with value first.
[00:22:53] Sam: So smart. I think that's so important for any entrepreneur at any stage of their business and with [00:23:00] any type of product. I also, um, have a tech company and it's so important because we email people all the time about like what new feature is launching, but it's not about like sign up or do this.
[00:23:11] It's about how will that benefit them. And our platform is for creators. And a lot of our approach is also me telling like how it benefited me. And how it's going to benefit you in real time as the actual end user, you're going to get this out of it, right. Or if it's, like you said, the free bag of food lead with that and lead with something personal. It's just crazy how much all of these tips and tools that apply for small businesses are the exact same for creators. And I know a lot of creators listen to this podcast, mostly just to find out about new brands and cool things going on and aspiring creators. And so it's important to remember that these tips and tools apply to you as well.
[00:23:51] You're building a business and you have to look at it that way. That's just my little, um, founder of, uh, to have a greater tech company mindset that I just [00:24:00] have to dip in here.
[00:24:01] Alexa: But it's super important. And it's, you know something that I make sure every single person that I've worked with has first is their mission statement.
[00:24:10] And I think a lot, even if you're a creator, no matter what your company is or whatever brand you're trying to do, you need to figure out who you are, what you do and what somebody's life is going to look like once they're done working with. That's the most important question that I think everybody could answer.
[00:24:26] And even just that alone, like what is somebody's life going to be like after they've interacted with you? That answer will give you so much more confidence in your brand than you could ever imagine. Right because then, you know, the solution, you know what you're giving people, like you understand exactly what that value is.
[00:24:46] So to communicate that is so incredibly important. And it's just something that, you know, exactly like you're saying is you lead with, Hey, these apps are going to solve this problem for you. AKA like these [00:25:00] things will probably either give you back time or money. And those are the two most important things that we could be giving back to people.
[00:25:08] So I think that's just incredibly important.
[00:25:11] Sam: A hundred percent. I want to talk a little bit about authenticity when it comes to branding and brands, building an authentic voice, you know, connecting with their community. Everything is on online right now. Everything is digital and and, you know, have in-person, brick or mortar or who are back there figuring that out.
[00:25:32] They're still realizing that so much is coming from online and their voice online is so important. Because a lot of the times, I don't know about those listening or you Alexa, I use Instagram like Google now. I'm like, oh, there's the store. Okay. A Google maps, how far it is for me to get there, but I'm going to look at their Instagram to see if they have what I need.
[00:25:52] A hundred times over then I would go to their website and the website super important because you need to have information there and it needs to, it needs to really [00:26:00] encompass brand as well, but the Instagram and the social communication. How can listeners or your clients, how do you address authenticity and community building within that digital space?
[00:26:12] Alexa: Yeah, it's such an important question. And you know, I think first things first, and I feel like we shouldn't even have to say this one, but don't endorse products that you haven't tried or you don't love. Just don't do it. Like I understand, you know, everybody wants more money and maybe there's a deal coming in or whatever this brand approached you, but just don't, don't endorse a product because if you.
[00:26:36] If, you know, people will be able to tell if you're not actually being authentic about it, because then when there is a product that you actually love, you're going to share that in a very different way than you were the one that you just did for money. And that maybe you didn't give it enough time. You know?
[00:26:51] So I would say that is definitely just the first thing, but it's something that you said earlier too, if responding to DMs is a massively important [00:27:00] thing. That is the one-on-one connection. And when you think back to the example of, you know, when you're in a workout studio or where you're, when you're in a store, even like answering and DM is hanging out with your client for the 15 minutes after class, it's the exact same thing.
[00:27:15] It is like, that is your personal connection. So it's just really one of those things where you want to be thinking like, okay, on a day-to-day basis, when I create my brand. How many hours of that day, am I actually connecting with people? Because that is like, if the answer is zero hours, you need to change some things.
[00:27:31] Right. That's when I would open up your phone, open up your DMs, answer the ones that you haven't gotten to, and even send a voice note back, right? Like people like, right. Like the voice notes, people are really into that. And it's so much easier for you. Right. Like we all, I think have like really tired thumbs by this point.
[00:27:48] Just send a voice note, people understand your voice. They're getting the second layer of connection to you. So that already like, feeling. You're a real human being, right. Like that is just [00:28:00] so incredibly important. So I just think there's so many little touchpoints, like replying to your comments, but replying in a way that's real, you know, not just emoji use, like really saying things and fostering connection there.
[00:28:12] Um, but yeah, I would just say it's honestly, it's so built on the one-on-one connections.
[00:28:19] Sam: I love that voice notes is like so key guys for your brand or whatever it is. Alexa I'm with you girl on this. Like even my friends now, I don't have, like, if you're trying to coordinate calling and everyone's busy schedules, and then you're trying to text and write it out, like I'm either audio telling Siri what to write to my friends, and then it comes out all funky or I'm voice noting and voice noting just gets the point across. People hear your voice. They hear your tone, they understand what you're trying to say. And that's one thing that I hate about emails. Like we've got to figure out a way to have that cause we have it on social and we have it on text. But when you're talking with a potential client. Uh, current client, a [00:29:00] brand you want to work with an agency, whatever it's so hard sometimes.
[00:29:03] And with email, there are so many ways to make things more efficient. Um, like I just think we need to, that needs to be reinvented. It's coming. I know video is getting big in emails now, but like the audio things got to happen. Someone's going to figure that out.
[00:29:20] Alexa: There's so many things to Google that I'm like, if we can just change this little thing.
[00:29:24] Sam: Or even on your app, like there should be, if the client is someone that's in your, I dunno, like saved emails or contacts or whatever, you should be able to send them a voice note on google.
[00:29:36] Alexa: I actually, I only use slack now for clients. Yeah. So I have a slack channel for every single one of my clients. Even like people that I've worked with just for one-off sessions, I'll just invite them to slack and slack you can voice note. So I'm like pretty much at this point. My email is really only for new client outreach. But even that is so much from social and from even [00:30:00] just text messages, like a lot of clients that are referring me to other people, it'll be like in a group chat where you can just answer with a voice note.
[00:30:06] So it's so funny. I feel like, honestly, I probably use email like 10 minutes a day at this point.
[00:30:13] Sam: Jealous. That's the dream. That is the dream. Um, but yeah, slack is a big one and also we use loom a lot. Like, I just love being able to explain things and you have your little face, you show a video. If you guys don't know loom, like screen records, what you're working on and it shows your face also.
[00:30:32] So you can like explain it. It has your audio. You're showing people something on a screen. So even if you're demonstrating to a client, like that's a great way to kind of show like where they can find something on your website or in an email or whatever.
[00:30:44] Alexa,Let's shift gears a little bit. You are someone who loves health and wellness.
[00:30:49] You are passionate about your clients. You're helping them, but you yourself love it as well. Do you, what is a little bit of your routine? Um, as an [00:31:00] entrepreneur, as a founder, I know people love to hear at different routines, how you stay, feeling good, looking good, all that kind of stuff. Um, and how does that impact your day to day as an entrepreneur?
[00:31:09] Like where do your priorities fall and how does that unfold?
[00:31:13] Alexa: I love this question. Flexibility and time freedom is I think like my biggest core value. So I love to wake up around 6:30 or so play with my dog for a little while, drink coffee outside, if it's nice enough. Come inside, do work for a good like hour, you know, catch up on admin stuff.
[00:31:34] Figure out if there's any notes I need to send to anyone, catch up with my clients on slack. Like we're saying. And just check up on their social. Like, I love to just do that in the morning too. And then usually around 9:30 is when I like to do my workout. So like the 9:30 AM slot is just my favorite one.
[00:31:53] I am a huge fan of Barry's right now. That's been my biggest, I don't know, I missed it. I like took [00:32:00] a break from Barry's for a while and I am just obsessed with it. So that's definitely something that I have to fit into my routine at least four times a week. Um, but yeah, I mean, come home always make a protein smoothie and it's always the same, one of like spinach, banana, PB2 to chocolate protein.
[00:32:20] And then we usually play with my dog for a little while. Maybe like take him for a walk. Come back in and then I take client meetings from, you know, between 11 and 4 typically, and only on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. So that'll be, yeah, that's my day. And then I usually end around like 4:30 ish unless I have a west coast client.
[00:32:43] Sam: Oh, that is the dream. And I feel like it's very similar to my schedule before I was a tech founder. I'm missing it. You're giving me like the nostalgia,, but I completely agree like with the setting, your priorities, where they like for you, it's [00:33:00] your flexibility, it's your time. I'm also a big fan of the 9:30 workout.
[00:33:04] So I will wake up, that like 9, 9:30 to me is spot on. I will wake up whatever time I need to, to get my work done to a little bit of like, like you said, get that day started. And then a nine o'clock, 9:30 workout. So good. Come back. Like we have our team meeting at 10. I'm done.
[00:33:23] Alexa: You're not hungry yet. Perfect time. I love it.
[00:33:27] Sam: The worst is when you schedule like an 11 or 12 workout and you're like do I eat, do I not then you're like no, I'll be fine. And then by the time you get to like the 11 o'clock workout, you're miserable.
[00:33:39] Alexa: I know I have found that collagen in my coffee will help. It helps like the 10:30/ 11:00 workout if I ever need to do that.
[00:33:48] But yeah, it's, it's rough that one because then by the time you're done, you're like, if I don't eat something right now, I'm gonna like murder someone like that is a horrible feeling.
[00:33:56] Sam: Murder. I know Trev very scared of me when I do [00:34:00] that. I like mess up and I realized, and also the worst is if you're not sure which workout you're going to do, or when you're going to do it, when you're at home, maybe you're doing like a, an online workout.
[00:34:10] I'll do it at nine. So then you don't eat and then it gets too late. You get wrapped up in something, all of a sudden it's like 1130 and you're like, well, I gotta do it now because if I eat, then it's going to be one o'clock. The scheduling of workouts. Do you schedule your workouts beforehand? Um, like at the beginning of the week, Sunday kind of thing.
[00:34:28] Alexa: Yeah. I like to schedule my workouts. Usually like on Sunday, I always like Sunday night, I'm big at like, kind of just diving into my calendar and figuring out exactly what's going on. Then I schedule my workouts around that. I'm a big Google calendar nerd. So I'll like, you know, color code my travel time before and after just so that I know what's going on.
[00:34:49] Um, I really, I haven't been doing many in home workouts lately. I feel like COVID just made, like, I just don't, I don't want to get on my Peloton for a [00:35:00] very long time. I just miss the in-person studios so much. So I always schedule my travel time. Um, and then I'm like super granular. Like I will literally on Sunday nights and be like, all right, great.
[00:35:12] Like what times am I going to eat lunch? What time am I going to shower? What times? Like, you know, am I going to take my dog has more energy than. Any dog you've ever seen in your life? Like how many times am I going to be able to take him outside and throw the Frisbee? So definitely a big Google calendar person and really big into color coding all of your little tasks as well.
[00:35:34] Sam: And always like overestimate.
[00:35:36] Alexa: Yes. Big one. Yes. It's time.
[00:35:38] Sam: And you're like, I'm going to shower 15 minutes, like female ever took a shower. 15.
[00:35:44] Alexa: I know, I know. Even today I scheduled an hour and I was like yeah I will have time to get everything done. And then I was like, Nope, not going to do the hair today. That one's fine.
[00:35:55] Sam: Just to look at me, I'm in braids. You guys can't see me, but I've like, this is dirty hair [00:36:00] situation happening.
[00:36:04] So what's something that you can leave our listeners with one last sort of a little bit of nugget. If they are starting a business or looking to build a wellness or health lifestyle business. Um, or maybe they're just kind of getting it started figuring out where they fit. What's one little last piece you would say everyone needs to start today or do today to just get the ball rolling.
[00:36:29] Alexa: Yeah. Every single person listening needs to identify their mission statement. In the order of who you are, what you do and what people can expect when they're done working with you. That is just, again, you know, we said it earlier, but it will clear up, I think a lot of confusion that people have, or on their own brands, there's a lot.
[00:36:48] You're a tech founder. Like I'm sure you work with a lot of people where you're like, what do you do? And then comes the paragraph long of them being like, well, you know, I started out this way and then I'm [00:37:00] doing this. And now I'm doing this and it's kind of going okay, right? Like it's so much different when you can just say like, Hey, I'm Alexa I serve Health & Wellness clients and I do it so that people can get their time back and connect with their clients. Like it's so much different once you can finally identify those three sentences. So that would definitely be number one. And then number two would just be literally a purse dump of how you're spending your time.
[00:37:27] During the day, like all eight to, you know, whatever 12 hours a day that you're spending, put it on a list, figure out exactly what's going on and how much of that is connection time. And if the answer again is zero, like we need to change some things there. So prioritizing your mission statement and then following up with the personal connection time that you're having with your clients and potential clients is absolutely key.
[00:37:51] Sam: And I'm going to steal one more question from you. How would someone go about that? Because I know when you ask us a nutritionist, like tell us what you eat. And someone's like, this is [00:38:00] definitely what I eat, smoothie, salad and like, lettuce with chicken for dinner. Right. But then we have to make a food diary and you look at it over a week and you realize, oh, hang on.
[00:38:08] I'm actually eating. Not exactly that. Right. It's so different and berries and you have different components each day. Do you tell someone to make like a time diary to kind of get real with themselves or.
[00:38:19] Alexa: I mean, that's a great one. If you are, if you're somebody that you know is super intense with your Google calendar or with your to-do list, it should be pretty easy for you.
[00:38:27] But if you're not exactly like the food diary thing, like just spend a few days literally writing in your notes app, like, think about it like money, right? It's like time is money. So think about if you were going to be doing a budgeting exercise for the week. You would be writing down in your notes app every single time your card was swiped, every single time.
[00:38:46] So it's exactly the same, right? Like every single time there's an hour, that's gone by write down what you did in that hour. Even if it's like scrolling Tik Tok, or scrolling reels, that's still how you're spending your time. So I would just say, spend a few days and [00:39:00] really just zero in on exactly what you're spending your time on without judging.
[00:39:05] And then go back and sort of evaluate and figure out what you could be doing differently.
[00:39:09] Sam: And no, one's seeing this besides you like some people probably, I don't want to write down an hour on Tik TOK.
[00:39:14] Alexa: Right, right. Exactly. But you've got to write it down because yeah, exactly. Like if you're not being honest with yourself, you can't expect anything to change.
[00:39:23] Sam: Right. All right. Well, Alexa, this has been so amazing. I would love if you can kindly just share where everyone can find you. Maybe some people would like to book some consultings or have questions about everything you've brought so much value to this podcast. So go ahead and share all the good stuff socials website, et cetera.
[00:39:41] Alexa: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. This was so fun. Um, you can find me on Instagram at @foreverfriday.co, just that co. And then the website's the same. So if you're curious about my background or, you know, you want to book some time with me, there's a bunch of resources on the website too, to sort of like we were talking about with the [00:40:00] six, six classes, right?
[00:40:01] In six visits, we've got a workbook and a webinar on the website, you know, sort of outlining all of that stuff. So foreverfriday.co um, and that's it just.
[00:40:12] Sam: I love it. Thank you so much for being here with me today. And I can't wait to see everything that unfolds for you in the next few months. And to share this with our audience, they're gonna get lots of tips.
[00:40:23] Alexa: Thank you so much.