More than a Few Words

#758 Set Your Goals with Your Heart

If you're like most business owners you've set lots of goals and in your life and you've never fulfilled them. It not be the goal, but because your decision making process that is creating the failures. Debra Sunderland explains we have three decision centers the head, heart and gut.  To often we let the head make the plans.  The problem is our brain, in an attempt to protect us, anticipates risk and sets limits. She advocates for letting your heart and your passion drive your goals. About Debra Sunderland Debra Sunderland knows what it takes to move from defensive thinking to conscious leadership. She spent her whole life as an overachiever and thanks to a near-death cycling accident, she has made it her life’s mission (and her team’s) to coach CEOs, executives, and leaders to accept their Genuis-Ship (link to the definition of this) and become the conscious leader that they are called to be in order to be clear to do what they are here to do.    

#757 Build an Amazing Life

When you started your business you probably assumed that sooner or later you would get around to building a life to go with it.  According to guest Nicole Bandes, that is not necessarily the best way to approach things. She believes you can actually build a successful business around your amazing life. The trick is to stop defining success based on how others define it and focus on what is important to you. Then understand that you won't find balance, because life is not 50/50.  There are times your business will need more attention, and it is ok to do that, as long as you also make time for the other things in your life.    About Nicole After losing her 17 year old son, Nicole Bandes discovered her purpose: encourage others to make time for what matters most. In 2017, Nicole founded Virtual A Team, a virtual services agency helping overwhelmed coaches and consultants who want to define success by the wealth of their lives, not the size of their bank accounts. Nicole now walks the walk working less than 20 hours a week and also hosts the Coach’s Copilot: Your Online Business Manager podcast.

#756 Email - Your Little Black Marketing Dress

#755 Managing a Business and a Family

So you think you've got distractions and can't start a business. Well my guest, Renee Harris has nine children and still found a way to build a six-figure business.  How did she balance the demands of a family and the demands of running a business? Renee explains. " We didn't start with 9 kids when we started a business and just like when you have kids normally you don't get them all at once and normally a business doesn't just fall in your lap. "  She didn't try to do everything at once, focusing on a few things and let the business and the family grow.  She built strategies to engage her children in the process and keep them occupied, when she needed to work on the business.   About Renee She is the founder of MadeOn - a unique handcrafted skincare product  line specifically for dry, cracked skin. What started as a simple farmer's market booth has grown into 6-figure online business. She has also raised 9 children along the way, teaching them business skills and strategies to develop a marketable talent that earns them a sustainable income.      

#754 Make Your Content Fun

Social media and content marketing should be fun.  If you are not feeling the fun in the content you are creating then your audience is probably bored, and so are you.   But it doesn't have to be that way.  Guest Elizabeth Ruth suggests when you start with a clear brand voice it is easier to create content which entertains and is memorable enough to help you sell products.  About Elizabeth Ruth.    Elizabeth is the Owner and Chief Copy Writer for ER Marketing Services. The agency empowers business owners to attract incredible clients, connect with their audience, and establish their industry authority. Elizabeth and her team specialize in designing marketing strategies and writing content for websites, blog posts, social media, and emails or newsletters. 

#753 -No Social, Just Media

Facebook is on a mission to take the social out of social media.  They've announced changes to their algorithm that you're already seeing. They're prioritizing ads and video from complete strangers over the updates from friends and family members. Those updates are going to be buried somewhere and you're really going to have to look for them. As a user, this is incredibly frustrating. And as a business owner, it's confusing as I tried to figure out how to navigate this post algorithm change world where there's really no social and it's all just media.   Looking for help keeping up with changes in the digital marketing landscape?  Join the Digital Toolbox today.   

#752 People over Profits

These days business is built on relationships. So when you are in a networking situation, guest Patty Farmer suggests you remember to focus on the people and the profits will follow.  The relationships  we build are the currency in today's business environment. So think of your business like an ATM machine.  Are you making more deposits or more withdrawals? This is a return appearance for Patty.  If you enjoyed this episode, you are sure to find value in our earlier conversations.

#751 The International Team

These days, it seems everyone is talking about working remote. with advances in technology, you can work anywhere in the country or anywhere in the world. As a business owner, managing a remote, international team has some similarities to managing other teams and a few unique challenges. This week, Matt Levenhagen joins us for a conversation about running an international team.   About Matt For more than 20 years, Matt has on web design, affiliate marketing, niche marketing, PPC advertising and SEO.  Today his company, Unified Web Design, is comprised of a with a team of professionals from around the world. 

#750 Success in a Rocky Economy

I know the economy is rocky. Yes, things have been bumpy for the last three years. But the truth is, this isn't the first time it's happened, and it will be the last. If you want your business to still be around when things finally settle down, here are a few things you should do. Use this time to clean up your processes. Get efficient. With tight labor markets and rising salary, stop wasting time and money on anything that is not productive. Ruthlessly review your marketing. Just because you've always done something does not mean you need to keep doing it. Getting rid of things that aren't driving results makes room for new ideas. Fire unprofitable clients. I know this sounds crazy as the economy is cycling down. But hanging on to clients who aren't a good fit will ultimately drag you down.  They will prevent you from clarifying what it is you do and focusing on the kind of work you really want to do. Invest wisely. This is not a time to bury your head in the sand and stop spending money on marketing. You just need to spend well. If you're looking for resources that can help you review your marketing and start planning for the next quarter be sure to check out the DigitalToolbox.Club  

#749 Find Your One True Love

When it comes to finding your life's love or passion is there really only one? Maybe you think that's a strange introduction for a marketing conversation. But it's not.  Just as finding that one true love is important to your personally, it is also true for you as an entrepreneur.  There is happiness and profit when you commit to your one true passion.   Guest Jennifer Crawford  says there is lots of talk in the entrepreneurial space about finding your why.  It can be a complex journey to find your why or your zone of genius.  Getting to the point where you are willing to let go of things that aren't in your zone of genius actually takes a bit of self-reflection.  In a way, the pandemic helped because it gave us the time and space to put the brakes on some things as we figured out what really was meaningful for us.    About Jennifer Crawford Jennifer’s passion is helping people grow their businesses. In addition to business and conference consulting, she is also the co-founder of a recently launched company, Sparent–a virtual temp agency staffed by stay at home moms with skills to spare.