Seizing Opportunities Online: The Power of Showing Up

Have you ever wondered how a fourth-grade teacher morphed into an online powerhouse, touching lives and fueling her family's dreams? 
Join me, Lauren Denny, on a revealing voyage from classroom to cyberspace. I'm spilling the secrets on how a teacher's passion for creating educational materials blossomed into a thriving business, with a little help from Teachers Pay Teachers and the strategic embrace of social media. 

Discover the profound impact that tailoring content for platforms like Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram can have, not just on your business, but on creating a web of community support that holds strong even in the toughest of times. 

Transformations abound as I delve into the courage it takes to consistently put yourself out there and the surprising doors that open when you do. It's not just about the strategies; it's the stories, like my husband's inspiring career pivot, that show the true power of a dynamic online presence. 

Every click, post, and share is a beacon of possibility, guiding you to your next big break or the loyal audience waiting to cheer on your every move. Whether you're looking to revolutionize your personal brand, or simply find the confidence to hit 'publish' on your story, this conversation is a goldmine of encouragement and actionable advice to help you make waves in the digital ocean.

Today's talk dives into the transformative potential of online presence with host Lauren Denny, sharing her journey from teacher to global entrepreneur, highlighting the ripple effects of digital engagement through platforms like Teachers Pay Teachers and e-commerce business, @SimplyStainedShop, and emphasizing the limitless possibilities awaiting those brave enough to take the plunge into the digital world. 
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With insights on platform strategies, networking, and real-life success stories, this episode inspires listeners to embrace the power of showing up, online and in life, as they navigate their own paths to success and fulfillment.
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Learn with Lauren at www.laurendenny.com or connect with her @simplylaurendenny on IG, FB, TikTok, or Youtube

Transcript

Lauren Denny: 0:06

Hey there, welcome back to another episode of Denny Talks. I'm your host, lauren Denny, and today we're getting fired up as we dive into a topic that is not just transformative but game changing. Today we're talking about the incredible power of showing up online and how it can unlock the world of opportunities. So let's dive in today. Welcome to Denny Talks, a guiding conversation to living life to the fullest. Join us for inspiring discussions on entrepreneurship, small business tips and seizing the opportunities. Subscribe now for concise, motivating episodes that encourage you to chase your dreams, where we believe that life, dreams and opportunities collide. The internet is a vast digital playground, and it's not just for posting memes or promoting your business. It is truly a goldmine for those who are brave enough to seize the opportunity of taking it on. Today, we're going to be exploring the importance of showing up online and how it can open up the door for lots of different ways that you can transform your life. So picture this I was once a fourth grade teacher with a passion for creating educational materials.

Lauren Denny: 1:15

I was creating the content already in my classroom and I just needed to add a few couple of tweaks for somebody else to be able to use it in their classroom so that the teacher could print it off and go with it as they'd like to, and just by doing that little bit of tweak, I shared it online and guess what? It created a new platform for me to be able to supplement some of my income. I was already doing all the work in my classroom and then I was just being able to repurpose it and recreate it. So I was really excited to see that happen, and that was my first taste of using social media to market what I was already doing and sharing something, and that made me feel really good, because it was something that I knew was helpful for my classroom, and then to hear that it was also helpful for somebody else just filled my bucket. I was really excited to see all of that happening up for different people. So that's one way that you can show up online is using some digital resources. So taking my passion for education or creating things that I was already doing and then sharing that as a resource just was one way that was really helpful for me. I used a platform called teachers pay teachers, but there's lots of different digital platform resources that you can use, like Etsy, and you can have your own website as well. These online marketplaces for educators buy, sell their original resources, as well as other creators as well. So that was my first tipping toe point into the waters of digital marketing and media and I realized that the point of online world was truly limitless.

Lauren Denny: 2:50

So that's when a light bulb went off and I was like well, what if we just didn't stop right at the digital side of things and we started going into the physical world of things as well? So in teaching world, you start off the classroom with a really blank slate, and the teacher usually wants to make the classroom feel a lot like home. So then they bring in different things, maybe from their home. They create things the students create things to put up on the walls. Well, I wanted to use that same mentality and create something for the teachers to be able to use within their classroom and create physical products that I could sell and ship all over the world. And that's when Simply Stained Shop was founded. It's a small business that is specializing in handmade wooden signs that's made just for teachers. Now today, it's much, much more than that. It's actually a global sensation, if you will.

Lauren Denny: 3:43

You know we do really well with selling globally, and it didn't just change my life. It transformed the lives of my entire family and that's what started out as just a really modest thing that I wanted to just be as like a hobby to fill my own classroom transformed into something much bigger, into a thriving business. And the benefits of showing up online just didn't really stop there. It carried over into because I started off by taking on that opportunity of showing up and starting that first Instagram account of Simply Stained Shop. It allowed my mom, who was going to be laid off from her job during COVID because she was a nail technician and she couldn't work during the COVID era. And then it gave my job, my dad, a job during the pandemic. It supported our family and allowed my husband and I to actually quit our jobs and pursue a passion of moving to a brand new life in Oklahoma. And today, heather, she runs the business along with my parents on our ranch and they ship worldwide to businesses, to teachers, to homeowners who are just looking for a unique custom product. So you're welcome to check it out. It's at simplystainedshopcom.

Lauren Denny: 4:54

But anyways, this was the use of strategic social media planning and the use of online platforms. So this is now a much broader than just going to like craft shows or selling your products locally. Being able to use the world of online marketing allows you to be completely broad, and you never know who is going to be purchasing your products. You never know who is actually going to be seeing your post, and so that right there is just so exciting because the world is just open to so many different opportunities, and so I love that. I wanted to talk to you a little bit about how each platform when you're going online, is going to be performing differently based off of what you are wanting to accomplish. So each platform when you're deciding to have a place to set up or what platform that you actually want to go and start with, can be different based off of your needs. So we've got like Facebook, which is great for local. It's great because you can reshare something, you can make events, private groups. Tiktok is great because it's really broad and there's a way of having that just that virality to it. It's definitely turning into a lot more of like the long form storytelling content.

Lauren Denny: 6:07

Instagram is my favorite platform. It's very user friendly. Now it is definitely more broad too. I would say that they're getting more broad to have that virality effect like TikTok did at the very beginning of things, if you're utilizing things like reels, but anyways, it's TikTok is, I'm sorry. Instagram is also really great for shopping, because you can add links into your stories and swipe up or basically swipe features, so then that way, people can directly go into your storefront and purchase right in there. Youtube is great because it's searchable. It's that long form content, that is, if you're going to be creating something that you want to last, and being able to create something and then, years later, be able to go back and look at it oh my gosh, it has tons of views on it and it's really helping people. It's got lots of comments on it. That's going to be a great place for you as well. So, from Facebook to Instagram, tiktok YouTube for you as well. So, from Facebook to Instagram, tiktok YouTube.

Lauren Denny: 7:03

This is the art of online networking and connecting with fellow entrepreneurs and dreamers alike, and there's going to be tons of people on those platforms who are doing a lot of what you are doing or want to do, and so let me tell you that these are going to be a great way for you to have that opportunity. That can go bigger than you could ever imagine, but I don't want you to be a great way for you to have that opportunity that can go bigger than you could ever imagine. But I don't want you to be scared or intimidated to the fact that, oh, you've already seen these people who are doing what you're already doing, because I want you to hear me when I say that there is a place for you. There is enough space on the internet for you to share what you are doing as well. There is going to be a place for just your story and the way that you tell it is going to be so unique compared to somebody else, and you are going to make a huge difference in somebody else's life just by showing up and opening up the door for you and your opportunity. But you're also helping so many people by sharing what you know and what you're selling. So I want you to keep that in mind, keep that tucked down into your heart when you feel encouraged and trying out new things, so I want to share that.

Lauren Denny: 8:05

Going back to my story of using the online presence, we are now moving into the Oklahoma. We used to live in Idaho, we now live in Oklahoma and, using our online presence, it really grew and opened up different opportunities that emerged because of e-commerce. I was actually approached to host workshops and demonstrations at local events and it just really furthered my expanding reach to establish my brand as like a pillar within our community. And this is locally where I'm speaking about our ranch. I never dreamed of hosting in-person events, but at Simply Country Ranch there was a demand for that, based off of online. We heard people saying they want to come to the ranch, they want to experience the country.

Lauren Denny: 8:51

During this time period we were very much still within like the pandemic era of people couldn't really get out and about and experience things. Outside was the best place for them to be able to do that. So we just found this niche and was like let's roll with it. Think of like circus, you know, like coming out and experiencing something, with something that the community can come and be a part of and learn from. And this was a great powerful tool that we wanted to be able to utilize. And Facebook was the best place for us to use that. So normally I was using like Instagram and TikTok to be able to grow that virality and that's how I got all of these audience members to hear about our ranch and kind of what we were doing and took them along the ride about us sharing our story. But it was truly Facebook that I needed to utilize the locals to be able to come on and be a part of it. So that was what happened when we were in a new location.

Lauren Denny: 9:42

So, by harnessing the power of social media and online networking, my family was able to transform their dreams into realities and really just utilizing these platforms to promote events and connecting with like-minded individuals who wanted to collaborate and be working together, we started, you know, our podcast and that was able to share stories back and forth with each other and meeting people in person, and it just allowed lots of different doors to be able to open up that I just never had even put on my own radar, which was, you know, just really crazy. So here's the million dollar questions, folks. So are you ready to take the plunge? Are you ready to show up, not just online, but in your life in general? Because let me tell you that the world is truly just waiting for your brilliance, your passion, your unique voice, and it comes from you deciding to start, decide to start. So I always, you know there's that new trend that's going around, it's like my butterfly effect.

Lauren Denny: 10:37

Well, one of our family my husband and I were at a banquet where we were building up this ranch and we were being recognized for having best new business of the year within our community. And this is just so cool. You just never know who you meet or how everything unfolds. But Ben and I were at this awards banquet and we met the director of this local technology school called Kaimichi Tech, and the director was looking for an instructor who had stepped away midway through the year and Ben decided to apply. So Ben doesn't have a teaching background Remember, I was the fourth grade teacher, not him, and he was in construction. But upon receiving the news that there was this position opening, you know, he was like I could do that, I would love to maybe try that out and see what that would be like. And so he actually got the position and that totally changed the trajectory of his life.

Lauren Denny: 11:36

Now and now, because of that opportunity that was placed in front of him and he was being willing to take that opportunity, um, he is now on a whole new path and he really loves it. And so you just never really know who you're going to meet, just because we were at that right place at that right time, and these were many, many steps that had been taken before um that was able to have that opportunity played out in front of him. So I share that story because you just never know who you're going to meet and how it will impact you. So just always be willing to see the opportunities around you. Take the opportunities, but first you have to be able to make the opportunities. I'm using the the opportunities, but first you have to be able to make the opportunities.

Lauren Denny: 12:10

I'm using the word opportunities a lot because I just want to narrow it down into your head, but this is a big deal. My story is shared through a lot of simple acts of just showing up, but this is a motion that I think that can be applied in any different types of avenue in your business, in your life as well. So you have to be willing to be able to put yourself out there and live your life to the fullest, and I know that if I can do it, you can do it as well. So, whether it's building a business successfully, securing a new dream job or bringing your passion project to life, it is the gateway to a brighter future, and social media is one of the avenues that I think would be a great place for you to start.

Lauren Denny: 12:54

So, to all of our listeners out there, remember that the next time that you hesitate to post, to share or to engage online, think of the countless opportunities that await, whether it's going to be personal or professional.

Lauren Denny: 13:01

You never know where your next big break is going to come from. So trust me that there's someone out there who needs to hear it. We're rooting for you on every step of the way, and my challenge for you is to start sharing your daily life. You have people who are wanting to build connections with you and you're someone's favorite account. That's one of my favorite quotes is that I was hearing is that you're somebody's favorite account and they are so excited to see you show up and are rooting for you. So it may be intimidating to start um, to start posting, but you'll get more comfortable. As soon as you continue on with it and you stick with it, you're going to gain that confidence. So thanks so much for tuning in and remember to keep showing up in both your online life and your in-person life. Until next time, take care and keep chasing those opportunities. See you later.