(Yes... there was social networking of a sort, back then!)

I would go to work all day, then get home and jump on my computer to chat to my friends.

I've always been very conscious that I have an autoimmune condition which means that the whole get up early, commute, work flat out all day, and commute home like a ' normal' person makes me VERY unwell – so in 2010 I opted out of that and now getting the rest I need to function at my best is my priority.

Now I wish I could tell you that the day after I set up my business, I had a a flood of online leads and sales, and a big team of people in place to run the business while I had a lay in and typed with people. 

I wish I could, but I can’t. 

In the early days I still tried to fit myself into ‘that mould’; the "results = doing things you don't enjoy" one.  

The one that declares that you can’t expect to get clients unless you get up in the middle of the night to attend networking events at the crack of dawn – which incidentally in my case, meant me getting up at 3.50am to get physically mobile enough to be at a breakfast meeting! 

And when it got to 11am I was knackered! Seriously. I had to go back to bed for most of the afternoon to recover from the lack of sleep and over-stimulation!

I did that for 11 months because I thought that was what I 'had' to do to grow my business! Now I look back and ask myself, what on earth was I thinking?!

And guess what? I didn’t get many clients out of all of that effort either!

And I’m not talking about spending big on ads either! 

Anyway, one day, about 3 weeks after I had started promoting the event, the organiser called me...

"I've sent a couple of emails, and posted a couple of times on Facebook", I told him.

"I have a Facebook ad running too."

"That'll be it" he said. He thinks I'm spending big on the ads.

After a brief pause, he asks the 'million-dollar' question:

"£1 per day!"

I so wish I had taken a picture of his face at this point!

    

When you apply Mile-Deep Marketing principles into how you use Facebook, three things happen:

When your posts or ads show up in their newsfeed, because you've already 'Mile-Deeped' with them, they care enough to stop scrolling and read or watch your content.

    

Because you've already 'Mile-Deeped' with them, your words carry weight. When you invite them to buy from you or someone else, they listen and act. 

    

Because you've already 'Mile-Deeped' with them, your authority in your topic is magnified, your teaching is their reference manual, and your name becomes synonymous with your area of expertise - bringing you regular recommendations, referrals and new paying clients.

    

When you are marketing on Facebook, the 'Mile-Deep' way, if you do want to take that long trip away, or the opportunity arises to move to the place that your heart longs to be, not only will your business be POSITIVELY impacted by you moving... you’ll likely already have built a great network in wherever it is you're heading, BEFORE you arrive there.

    

 Let Me Share the (Almost Award-Winning) Story About the House on the Isle of Wight.

My love affair with the Isle of Wight began in 1977.

My mum and dad took me on holiday to the island, staying in a hotel near the cliff walk in Shanklin.

As it turned out, that was our last ever family holiday. My dad died very suddenly, three months later. I was one month away from my 7th birthday. 

A few months later, I joined a "Friday Club" at a local church. It was 'the 'place to go on Friday evenings for kids my age. 

Each August, they'd take a group of 'Friday Clubbers' to the Isle of Wight for a week's adventure holiday. One year, I went with them. I was probably 9 or 10. 

By some 'happy accident' (!!), the hostel we stayed in was only a few metres along the cliff path from the hotel I stayed with my mum and dad. 

In-between the hotel and the hostel is a green area with benches. That area was where I most felt the spirit of my dad.  

In adulthood, I would holiday on the island each year, and top of my 'must do' list was to visit that green area to 'see' my dad.  

I'd spend half the year looking forward to being on the island for a week, and the other half of the year aching to be back there after our annual trip. 

I couldn't see how it would be possible though. It's not somewhere you move to if you rely on a good salary, and both me and my husband did.

    

Fast-forward to 2013.

I'd built my business to a point where we could afford for my husband to quit his full-time job and join the business.

We were location independent.

Now, there was NO reason why we could not move to the Isle of Wight.

    

The annual trip to the island was only a few weeks away. We decided that if we found the right house during that week, we'd move.

We found the right house. My 20+ year dream was looking like it might actually be happening! OMG!

Sitting at the desk of the rental agent, we explained that we still owned a place in Surrey, so for the short-term we'd be paying for both homes.

I could sense the agent didn't believe we could afford it. She didn't say anything, but written all over her face was "yeah, whatever?!"

It's 4pm on Friday.

She's smirking. She thinks she's called me out.

I return her smile.

"Sure. I'll get all that over to you first thing Monday", I replied confidently while mentally calculating the balance of my PayPal account.

I think there's enough in there but I'm not certain.

I'm also wracking my brain for who I can ask to write me a character reference at the weekend.