If you’re a freelance writer, copywriter, or running a business of any kind…
Or even just a human being who wants to understand their “superpowers” and how to manage their weaknesses…
This is absolutely for you.
Or maybe you’re a freelancer trying to figure out:
- How you fit into the gig economy
- What specific traits are hurting or helping your business
- Or what your bulging green Hulk business powers are
I feel for you.
For many, MANY years I’ve felt like a broken human.
A lot of us feel-like-we’re-caged-animals-in-our-9-to-5-jobs people feel a bit broken.
Y’know… square peg round hole kind of thing.
Maybe you’re trying to explain your ideas to others, or you’re a techy person and can’t relate to how creatives work.
Whatever your issues are. One thing is critical.
>>> Discovering what specific strengths to lean into and what you need to outsource early on.
This can make or break your business.
And I don’t mean just your income.
I mean your mental health. Your ability to enjoy family time. Having hobbies and not thinking about work while doing them.
I know you’ve been there.
Working evenings and feeling super annoyed (you’re trying to focus!) when your spouse or kids come in occasionally to chat.
They walk away and you realize you’re the ‘too busy for family’ business person in every movie about discovering the value of human connection.
Or sneaking into the bathroom at a family dinner just so you can respond to some emails without someone making you feel like a shitty person.
It’s easy to fall into these quicksand-like traps.
So when my fellow copywriter friend, Rebecca Vigelius, told me about the Kolbe A test, I was intrigued.
I reached out to her one night when I had a particularly ‘why is this so effin hard’ kind of day. She told me the Kolbe A really helped her, so I figured it couldn’t hurt.
Not only did it bring me out of my deep funk, but the Kolbe A test TOTALLY transformed the way I do business.
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*Disclosure: This post has affiliate links. I only promote products and/or courses that I strongly believe will have a real impact. I never endorse something I haven’t used or that I don’t trust the creator completely. If I wouldn’t spend my money on it, I won’t promote it. If you purchase through my link, I will earn a small commission. That is how I’m able to continue providing free content. This post is based on my experiences. Results will vary from person to person.
What IS the Kolbe Test?
The Kolbe A is a test that helps you determine where your brain likes to spend its energy.
Your ‘mode of operation.’
Your results will even show you how much time should be spent with certain types of work.
Find out more about what the Kolbe is – click here.
Here’s what you can discover about yourself AND how to apply what you learn from taking the Kolbe A.
1. Discover Your Superpowers
My Kolbe A profile results told me I am a 6-4-8-2. (Don’t worry if this number doesn’t make sense right now, more on this in a minute).
This means I spend a LOT of time in the idea generation phase and I’m a ‘quick start.’
So I generate a LOT of ideas, prioritize them, and get a lot done quickly.
So what’s the problem with that?
These numbers also tell me I struggle with follow through.
I have a hard time making progress in my own business because I don’t finish implementing the idea all the way to the end.
What does this mean?
My superpower is… bum bum bum buuuuuh: Generating ideas and strategy!
When I start a project, I LOVE the details.
The Kolbe A also told me I adore research.
So let’s dissect this.
I’m an idea generating MACHINE and I love doing research. This means I’m kickass at starting new projects. I thrive on new information.
I eat up new information like my fat pug dog eats up the carrots I give him (he’s on a diet!).
2. Uncover Your Business Blocks
After taking the Kolbe A, I now have a really clear idea of WHY I have those horrible days where I feel like I’m broken.
You know the ones. I’m sure you’ve had them.
The days where you feel like hunkering down on the couch with a salad bowl full of Lucky Charms (uh, yes I’ll be refilling that bowl when I’m done!).
Those days where I feel like a wet blanket no matter how much my husband or friends tell me to buck up.
When you forget why you even started this dream of a business.
The Kolbe A helped me understand why those days feel so heavy and what I can do about them.
The test helped me discover the weaknesses that stop my progress, hinder my income potential, and block my progress.
3. Improve Communication In Your Relationships
When you’re in business (especially when you’re new), your support system is vital.
We, as freelancers, work much differently than those who have the employee mindset.
We have complete creative control.
Figuring out how to ask for support is tough. And it’s also hard on our relationships because they want to understand our lifestyle, but they just can’t. It’s not their fault. It’s not your fault either.
Business ownership is intensely lonely, especially in the beginning. No one understands your business like you do.
The Kolbe A Index test actually helped me truly understand how to interact more successfully with those in my life.
It told me how my spouse and people I have close relationships with perceive my constant ideas.
Remember, I’m an idea generator.
I spend a LOT of energy naturally coming up with ideas.
To my husband, who has a literal brain, this meant I had a LOT of things I wanted to do.
Here’s a real-life example from when we bought our new house:
Me: “We can put some curtains up there, maybe add a patio, put in some plants, add a fence. Oh maybe we can refinish the floors, and paint all the rooms.”
In my mind, I was thinking these are all the possibilities that we can do EVENTUALLY.
To my husband, he thought I meant I needed to do all of these things RIGHT AWAY. His brain goes to $$$ and time commitment. He instantly feels overwhelmed.
In his mind, I just assigned him 10 new projects that need to be done ASAP!
After I took the Kolbe A, I had a good long conversation with my husband about my results. He now knows when I have ideas they are all maybes. And I know to say “these are just ideas” before I braindump.
My parents are a different story.
They’ve spent my entire life trying to understand my brain.
When I was a teen and in my early twenties, I tried a lot of things (remember… lots of ideas, quick start, below average follow-through score).
To everyone around me (parents, sister, aunts, uncles), I was perceived as a quitter.
You can imagine what that does to a person.
They were all trying to be helpful, but there were never-ending “maybe you should just stick to something” comments, and “what are you up to these days?” that sounded more to me like “what hair-brained scheme are you working on now?”
Why is this important?
The Kolbe A test helped me figure out one of my biggest limiting beliefs.
I’m a Quitter!
I can’t commit to anything.
I never finish anything I start.
This was a MAJOR breakthrough for me.
It was so transformative, I’m going to say it again.
The Kolbe A helped me discover and conquer the biggest limiting beliefs that were holding me back my entire life!!!!
So, what can I do with this information?
It’s helped me rid myself of the guilt of being curious about EVERYTHING.
I now understand what my brain is doing when I pivot to something new, burn my energy out researching and diving deep into a specific subject, AND what that looks like to everyone in my life.
4. Gives You Specific Direction
Discovering these major blocks and limiting beliefs gave me what I need to blast through my weaknesses like the Enterprise through a space anomaly!
The Kolbe A Index said I’m okay at follow-through, but I could definitely use some help.
Tasks that are repetitive and feel same-old-same-old become a huge drain on my energy.
For me, this translates into outsourcing follow-through and automating everything possible.
So my task became finding the RIGHT help.
Someone who specializes in things I’m not great at following through on.
AND someone who can set up automations for me.
If you want to discover your ‘super powers’ check out the Kolbe A by clicking the banner below.
5. The “I’m Not Broken” Factor
For YEARS I thought I was broken.
I thought my constant curiosity was a bad thing.
I would start hobbies, research, start implementing them, and get JUST enough information to be good enough at something before I’d get bored.
That’s when I would move onto the next thing.
I always thought this was a character flaw. I thought I was broken.
Why did everyone else seem to be able to stick to a job they hated for years, or a hobby they liked. Why can my husband spend every night and every weekend dreaming up new ways to paint miniatures for his hobby and I can’t seem to stick to one thing for more than a few months?
I had my answer. It’s just the way I’m wired. And it’s OKAY.
I’m. Not. Broken!
Critical Changes I Made (and You Can Make) to Transform My Business
By now you’re wondering what I actually did to change my business.
You’re probably also wondering how this applies to you.
Step 1: Take the Kolbe By Clicking Here
Go through your results. There’s even audio to help you understand better (I learn better with audio, too!)
Let the results noodle around in your head for a bit, before you go back and look at them again.
Step 2: Make an Action Plan
This will be different for everyone.
For me, this was my action plan:
- Hire a VA to help me execute my ideas
- Keep a notebook handy so I can braindump ideas
- Start leaning into my ideas by adding strategy to my business
- Give myself permission to embrace my quick start personality and figure out how to integrate that into my business
- Communicate my results to those close to me
- Time blocking and focusing 100% on the follow-through of specific tasks
Step 3: Thank Yourself
Thank yourself for spending the time and money on this little test that can change your entire perspective on life and business.
I thank myself almost daily. I talk about it everywhere. And every day there’s something that comes up that makes me think “that’s my idea generating brain” or “that’s my quick-start research brain kicking in.”
“But I Don’t Have the Money to Take the Test!”
I put it off for a long time for the same reason. The small fee felt like an unnecessary expense to me.
Looking back, this test was the turning point where I went from flailing a freelancer to ‘real’ business person.
Understanding my blocks and discovering my limiting beliefs was truly transformative for me.
Although I can’t promise it will have the same result for you (results vary and all that jazz), I can promise you will gain some really good insight into how your brain naturally spends its time.
If you truly don’t have the money, bookmark this page for when you do. You’ll thank yourself for it later.