Writing Your Debut Book as a Busy Entrepreneur

In this solo episode of Better Your Business, Cher takes listeners behind the scenes of her journey to writing her first book. She shares the real-life challenges of balancing her career as a realtor, coach, and mom while pursuing a long-held dream of becoming an author. Cher dives into the fears, self-doubt, and procrastination that many entrepreneurs face and offers actionable advice on staying aligned with your goals, defining your version of success, and taking bold steps forward in business and life.

In this episode you will hear: 

• [00:41] Cher explains that this solo episode will focus on her journey writing her first book and the process of manifesting it while balancing life and business.
• [01:30] Cher reflects on her childhood dream of becoming a writer, inspired by Oprah Winfrey, and shares how she envisioned a life of writing and creating impactful books from a peaceful, intentional space.
• [04:15] She explains how working with realtors, workshops, and clients helped her identify the theme and structure for her book, emphasizing the importance of aligning the content with her own experiences and audience needs.
• [06:31] Cher shares the fears and self-doubt she experienced while starting the book, including procrastination and the anxiety of balancing multiple roles, which resonate with many entrepreneurs.
• [08:47] She discusses redefining success and learning to embrace simplicity, joy, and authenticity in business, encouraging listeners to focus on what truly matters instead of chasing constant growth.
• [11:16] Cher talks about her mission to create guidance she wished she had when starting her real estate career, providing actionable advice to help others avoid burnout and operate with ease and intention.
• [14:44] Cher outlines who the book is for, including female realtors, women in business, and corporate professionals, emphasizing the book’s value for anyone looking to simplify, grow, and enjoy their work.
• [16:06] She candidly discusses how procrastination and perfectionism create challenges when writing a permanent work like a book, and how she navigates these obstacles with intention and planning.
• [19:54] Cher shares her struggle with time management and blocking writing sessions in her calendar while balancing work, coaching, and family life, providing relatable insights for busy entrepreneurs.
• [22:52] She explains why she chose to document and share her book-writing journey, emphasizing that showing vulnerability can help others feel less alone and encourage them to start or finish their own projects.
• [23:41] Cher invites listeners to follow her Instagram series, Blank Page to Bestseller, and encourages engagement from anyone currently writing a book or considering starting one.

Connect with Cher: @chergoetz_

Cheryl Goetz has been a Realtor since 2016 and knows firsthand what it feels like to build a business filled with anxiety, confusion, and constant pressure. After raising two kids, navigating a transition from new construction to resale, and adapting through shifting markets, she transformed her career into one that now feels intentional, joyful, and ease-filled. Today, Cheryl helps women in real estate do the same — creating businesses that reflect their authentic selves, attract aligned clients, and grow sustainably. Her mission is simple: to help women drop the industry “shoulds” and build businesses that fuel their lives.

Instagram: @chergoetz_
Website: www.athomecompany.ca
Email Community: https://athomeco.myflodesk.com/bybpodcast
Contact: hello@athomecompany.ca

Thank you to our Sponsors:

Staci Millard @ Thrive Accounting  @thriveaccounting | https://thriveaccounting.co

EFV Legal @elenafavaroviana | efvlegal.ca

Amanda Walczyk | Saltbox Mortgages

@saltboxmortgage_agent

Tuesday Mortgage Tidbits Sign Up for Realtors:  https://saltboxmortgage.myflodesk.com/iksoczdm1f

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Welcome to the Better Your Business Podcast, the show for realtors who want to build a business that fuels their life, not takes from it. I'm your host, Cheryl Getz, and around here we mix humor, honesty, and real world strategy to help you create systems, work with clients you love, and achieve your definition of success. Together we will chat with inspiring fellow realtors and industry experts, sharing stories, insights, strategies, and mindset shifts so you can grow with confidence, clarity, and ease. Let's dive in. Hello, welcome to a solo episode of the Better Your Business Podcast. I'm your host, Cher Gutz. And today, maybe some of you already know, if you follow me on Instagram, today I'm talking about the fact that I am writing a book. I'm doing a series on Instagram. It's called Blank Page to Best Seller because I am manifesting this book to be a bestseller. And I'm literally, obviously, as all books do, starting with a blank page. Um I'm very excited. Um, I was more excited a couple, couple, you know, days, weeks ago, to be honest, but I am recording this when I am in the thick of writing, and it has been a bigger struggle than I anticipated. And I will share more about that um later on in this podcast episode. But I wanted to share first why I'm writing this book. So, first, writing a book has always been a dream of mine. I remember growing up, I'd come home from school and I would watch the Oprah Winfrey show at 4 p.m. I like thought I knew what channel it was on, and I can't remember, like maybe 12 or something like that. I just remember this so wholeheartedly. And I remember thinking, one day I'm gonna write a book and I'm gonna be on that couch. She's gonna interview me about my book. And I have no idea why I thought that. Like, it's not like I was an English star, if anything, the opposite. It's not like I went to, I didn't even like go to university then, you know, for literature or anything like that. I just thought that if I was gonna be like on that couch, it was gonna be for writing a book. Again, don't know why. And something else funny is anytime I've been asked, what would you be doing if you weren't like a real estate agent or now real estate coach? And I've always said I would be an author. Like I would be a full-time author, and I would have this cottage that I would go to, and my laptop, my desk would be like looking out a beautiful window at the scenery, and I'd put my fuzzy socks on and I would retreat there and I would just write and write and write. And you know, every year or so I would like pump out another bestseller, and it's the perfect way. I remember when I was like in my 20s, I was like, this is the perfect way to be like famous and rich, but anonymous, so that you can still go to the grocery store and you're not in tabloids, you know, because when we were in our 20s, us millennials, like you didn't want to be a celebrity because they were just like tearing them apart. Anyways, I digress. I've always had this dream of writing a book. I've had multiple ideas over the years. Um, I do remember even, I must have been mid-20s, like like low to mid-20s, starting my first draft of a book that idea that I had that was um a fiction loosely based on some experience that I've had in my life. And I had even like how to open the book with this cliffhanger and how the end of the book, like called back to the cliffhanger hook of the beginning of the book. I had this whole thing planned out, and um, I just never came to like the middle part, so I just let it kind of like die off as an idea. And it wasn't until recently that it's really clicked to me exactly what I would write this book about. And it doesn't hurt that I have been teaching workshops on certain topics for a long time and uh two fellow realtors talking to a lot of small business owners. And I have just developed these like opinions and these um just like ways of operating my business that have this commonality through the whole thing. I've also clocked like a couple things that people keep saying to me like over and over again. I hear the same thing from multiple people, and I'm like, this is what it is. And I knew it is what it was, what it, I knew I had it when I could literally just see the outline like in my brain. And it was so easy to be like, yeah, like this is the theme of the book, and this is the outline. So um I signed on with a publishing company where they give you a writing coach and they also give you someone who helps you with like accountability and support, keeping you on track, um, but also honestly just like encouragement, which is really helpful. And then they also help with the whole launch of it, including like the PR, the strategy, the um, the marketing behind it. And I really liked that because part of the onboarding on of the book was asking, like, what do you want out of this book? And what do you want people to get out of this book? And then what do you want people to do with you from this book? And that was really helpful to be like, okay, let's write from a lens of those goals so that your reader's walking away with something, you've achieved your goal, and the book is also achieving something for you after, like long after it's published. And one thing that they actually walked me through too is they asked me, what roadblocks do you see, what obstacles do you see coming up when it comes to writing a book? And I said to myself and to them, I'm really nervous I won't do it. And unfortunately, as you'll find out in a couple minutes in this episode, I'm like, I'm living that, you know, that fear. I was like, I'm just so worried that I'm not gonna do it. I start things and the second, and like when it starts to not feel right, like I stop them. So for example, like I've in my real estate business, I've tried Facebook ads, I didn't like it, so I stopped it. I started a YouTube channel, didn't feel great, so I stopped it. And I was like, I'm nervous that that's gonna happen here. Um, I don't think it's the same thing for sure, but I just want to keep the promise to myself. And those other things, like, I don't beat myself up about because I truly believe like if it's not an aligned way to grow your business, like you just don't do it. It's just wasted energy and and investment. This feels like different. So luckily, I don't think that's gonna be a problem. But one thing I did say is, you know, real estate is this reactionary, like feast or famine industry. It can feel that way at least. And so when the clients need you, like you gotta go. When you're in your busy season, like you gotta grab the bull by the horns and you gotta take every opportunity because you just never know when it's gonna stop. Um, and some people say that scarcity mindset, some people just say like that's the reality of real estate. And um, so I said, you know, I'm really I'm really scared that I'm just always gonna put like my clients first and that side of the business first, and not be able to get to this. And so we brainstormed different ways of how I can do that. You know, we talked about like, okay, what if we protect a time block always? Um I haven't done that. I've always just procrastinated it. Um, and again, let's get to that later in the book. So that's the little intro about the book. Let's talk about why I'm writing the book outside of my Oprah Winfrey couch goals, uh, dreams. Is you know, I I'm honestly just like really sick. I'm so sick of not enough voices that are my message. I don't know if that sounds so stinking weird, but I hear so many voices with the other message, with like this is how you do more, more, more, more, and nothing's ever enough. You just keep doing more and you kept bit you keep building and you need to also like add more things to your business. And I don't hear the message enough where it's like you don't always need more. There is an enough, you know, like you can have a goal of a certain amount of transactions a year that feels amazing to you, and then you can actually stop there. You don't need to add more if you don't want to. That's okay. And I also don't hear enough voices saying, like, you can show up exactly who you are, and you will still get clients. You don't need to like fit a certain mold that the industry puts out there. And I also don't hear the voice enough that you know, you can have a simple business, you can't have a business of ease, and you can have fun and also achieve your definition of success with that simplicity, that ease, and that fun. And I find when I go to conferences and I see people on stages, it's all the people that are in that category that's you know, this person's done a billion in sales and has a team of 20 and da-da-da-da-da. That is some people's goals. And I love that those people have mentors to look up to. So I hope my voice resonates with a group of real estate agents or entrepreneurs that don't align with what's out there, or if they do, they just need someone who's kind of the in-between. You know, maybe they're at five transactions a year and they want to be at 100 transactions a year, and they can learn from someone who's at the 15 transactions a year, for example. So that's the why. Just a quick break to thank the sponsors that make this podcast possible. Hey Realtors, I want to quickly chat about my experience with Thrive Accounting, who is a proud sponsor of this podcast and a supporter of honestly everything I have done to help realtors better their business. First thing I notice is how Stacy and her team are so patient and so generous with their time. They never make you feel bad about asking questions or when I needed a quick call. Second, I feel like I'm always ahead. I'm not surprised by a big tax bill because they have more than just one meeting a year kind of process. Lastly, and honestly, the biggest reason that sets them apart, they feel like a true partner. Almost like having a CFO I can chat out goals and projections with and get guidance on without any confusing jargon. Thrive is more than accounting and bookkeeping. They're a partner in your corner all year round. Make sure you check out the show notes to learn more. I want to take a moment to share about EFV Legal, another incredible sponsor of the podcast. What I love about EFV Legal is how their approach to legal services is strategic to real estate industry professionals and yet feels so grounded. They help you figure out if incorporating actually makes sense for your business, not just because everyone else is talking about PRECS like they are some trendy buzzword, but they work with you to make sure a PREC actually aligns with your goals. And just as importantly, they make sure you're staying on top of the annual legal duties required to keep your PREC in good standing with a concierge legal experience. Yes, there are annual legal duties on top of just paying taxes. EFB is a virtual boutique female-founded firm with a modern approach that supports growth on your terms. Clear, supportive, and empowering. So if that feels like something you need and you're ready to stop stumbling through the legal, check out the links in the show notes to learn more. Realtors meet Amanda Walchuk, also known as Softbox Mortgage Agent with DLC National Limited FISRA 12360. Amanda isn't just a mortgage agent, she's a partner who actually makes your job easier. From first-time buyers to tricky financing situations, she helps clients and realtors navigate challenges, save money, and stay sane. Calm, confident, solution focused, Amanda shows up so you don't have to worry about the mortgage side of things. If you want a mortgage expert who adds real value, check out Saltbox Mortgages. Seriously, she's the partner every realtor wishes they had. Who am I writing it for? The industry, everybody tells us, like niche down. And so, of course, I felt an immense amount of pressure to say, I am writing this for female realtors between the age of 25 and 55, Canadian that want to do, you know, 10 to 20 transactions a year. But the more I looked at who I spoke to, and the more that I looked at the people who resonated with what I've been talking about for the past few years, and the more that I honestly like spoke to people outside of real estate as well, they say what you're writing about is so important, not just for the you know female solo agent, but it's also important for other women in business. And a lot of the corporate girlies have actually told me they're really excited to read my book because they think so many of the principles in it can very much apply to their job and their industry as well. And there's lots to learn in there. So I'm really just excited to give something to women in business that I hope feels refreshing and I hope makes them feel seen. Okay, we'll go back to the biggest fears about writing a book. And that is that I'm not gonna do it. And it's feeling like a reality. It's not a reality, it's just the fear is the reality. I don't know if that made sense. The book is gonna get done, trust me. But the fear of it not getting done feels like more of a reality because of my actions. So, you know, I met with my um my writing coach. We did all of the chapters, then we did an outline for every chapter. Everything was going so good. I was so cocky. I was like, I'm gonna bang this book out. Like it's nothing. I emailed the publishers, like, we could probably move up the release date. Like, this is gonna be a piece of cake. And then I had to submit my intro and my chapter one to her. And when I say I procrastinated, like this is crazy. This is taking me back to my like university days when I would go to the library just for six hours straight and not leave until my assignment was done because it was due the next morning. I procrastinated so much. And I'm like, what is wrong with me? Why aren't I sitting down and writing this? I have been so excited to do this. Why aren't I doing it? It's all stuff that I've podcasted about, I've coached about, I've taught in workshops and webinars. Like, what is wrong with you? And I've been trying to just reflect on it a little bit. And I think what it is is it's the permanence of the book. So if I do a course, I can always re-record the course. When I do a workshop, it's live. I just do it and it's done. That's it, right? Slides can be altered, whatever. This is so permanent. Like, once I write this stuff in the book, like it's just there. And it's going out in the world, and I'm making this big hoopla about it with this series on Instagram, and I'm just like, oh my gosh. But like, what am I doing? Like, am I even good enough to write a book? Like, I'm not a writer, I'm not an author. Like, what am I doing? And the intro in chapter one, I did it and I submitted it. And I thought to myself, listen, I'm not gonna worry about perfection. I'm just gonna bang it out. I'm gonna submit it, and I'm gonna fall on the crutch of I know this isn't perfect, and that's okay, because I actually don't know what your feedback is gonna be for it. And I would rather just submit something, get the feedback, and then use that feedback to submit more like closer to perfect things in the future. And did that bite me in the butt? And we'll get to that in a minute. So I get it done, I submit it, we're going through, and she's giving feedback. Everything, of course, is like so kind. Um, everything makes sense. Nothing by any means was anyone like ripping anything apart. But as we were going through, I'm like, wow, it took me so much to write this in terms of procrastination. It was so easy once I sat down and wrote it. But I was like, it took me so much to get to writing this, and now I have to go back and I have to edit all of this. I'm so overwhelmed. How am I going to do this? Like, who do I think I am? And so I just took in the feedback and I was just like, it doesn't matter. This is Future Cheryl's problem. She has to edit it. I'm not gonna worry about it right now. I was even thinking, I was like, oh my God, I should just hire a ghostwriter. Like, why? Like, what am I doing? I'm, you know, I'm torn in all these different directions. I have all these responsibilities. I have to be a mom and a wife and a daughter and a sister and a friend, plus a realtor, plus a coach, all of these things. And now I have to be an author, and someone's holding me accountable to actually be a good one. And so to say I was overwhelmed is an understatement, but I was just like, just stay in the moment, Cheryl. It's fine. Get the feedback. Future Cheryl's problem is to review the feedback and just take it one piece at a time and edit it until you feel good about it. And then I have to write chapter two and three and submit that. Oh my gosh. Well, the days went by, the time ticked on, and I did the same dang thing. I procrastinated the editing, and I procrastinating the next chapters, and I'm getting more and more frustrated with myself, and I keep saying, like, I keep picking time blocks that I'm gonna write in, and I even put them in my calendar, and then I ignore them, and I'm not like you know, watching Real Housewives. I am working, but I'm not writing the dang book, and I'm probably doing things that you know I could push a couple hours in order to work, and so instead of having the next call with the edited things and the next chapters, I asked for an extension, and it crushes me, crushes me to say that, but I did it. And I did it because I felt like if I was gonna submit chapter two and three, it would have been like with the same energy as my intro in chapter one, which was just like, let's just submit something, you know, use the feedback. And I didn't want to do that. And maybe looking back, maybe I should have, because at least it would have gotten part way there, and I'd be sitting here with feedback right now. But instead, Instead, I'm sitting here with an intro and a chapter one that still needs to be fixed, and a chapter two and chapter three that still needs to be completely written. And now I'm also like a week behind on the timeline. So this is all to say, girl, this is hard. This is hard to do when I thought it was gonna be the easiest thing to do because it's all stuff I believe in and I speak, I talk the talk, I walk the walk on all of this stuff. I've taught all of this stuff, and yet for some reason, I can't get to the dang laptop and write it all out in paragraph form. So that's where we are with the book. I hope the next time I give you a book, it is a much happier update. But listen, I am someone who wants to take you along for the ride, good and bad. And if you're interested in writing a book, this stuff I think is important to hear, right? And I hope that I can also finish the book and look back and you know, listen to this and look at the videos and reflect and be like, wow, like that's where she was at, and she did it anyway, and just be really proud of myself. So um, if you're interested in the book, we're gonna put a link in the show notes to uh for you to support, for you to follow along on the journey. Uh definitely uh check out the Instagram series, bestseller nope, blank page for bestseller. And um maybe one of my next solo episodes, I will have actually written my chapters and I can reflect on how I pushed past what's going on in me right now, like what block I'm having, how I push back that. Because honestly, whatever block I'm having right now, I guarantee someone listening has the same block, maybe just for something else. Maybe it's the same, maybe you've always wanted to do a certain type of marketing in your real estate business and you just haven't been able to get it to the finish line. Um, maybe you've always wanted to do an event for your business and you haven't been able to like, you know, execute on it. It's so important to share these blocks, especially because yesterday I uh was doing one of my Better Your Business workshops and someone said, she said, it's so hard watching other people and thinking to yourself, how the heck are they doing all of this? And I think sharing this part of it is really important so that we feel less alone when, you know, and less shameful when we are trying to move past like a goal that we have, achieve a goal that we have, but for some reason something is is getting in the way. And uh it reminds me, I should really get someone on um, you know, maybe like mindset and you know, internal blocks and everything like that on the podcast because it's clear that we need help in that area. Okay, again, if you want to uh support the book, I'll make sure there's a link in the show notes. I would absolutely uh love to hear from you if you have ever written a book, if you're also writing a book, or maybe if writing a book is on your heart and you just want to ask me some questions about it, always here to have a good chitty chat. And uh until next time, have a great day. That's a wrap on today's episode of the Better Your Business Podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you haven't subscribed to the email list, make sure you do that right now. No spammy messages, just easy to implement goodies sent your way, along with new episode alerts. If you like today's episode, hit follow, leave a quick review, share it on social media, or just send it to a fellow realtor so we can continue to grow this amazing community. Until next time, keep working towards building that dream life. I know you can do it.