Sustainably scaling your business isn’t a solo act. It takes a team to pull it off.
Now you’ve probably had some help in the marketing and sales aspect of your business. Or maybe you’ve hired help for the technological or administrative side of things. But are you still holding out on hiring a team to help you work directly with clients to deliver your offer? That’s the last place we as entrepreneurs tend to hire to help us, but it’s necessary if you want a sustainable business.
Building a team for a sustainable business ultimately boils down to one thing. And in today’s installment of our customer experience series, I’ve invited my Director of Operations (and right-hand woman) Amber Kinney onto the show to help me cover it.
Amber and I have worked together for over a decade. And she’s the owner and CEO of her own marketing agency where she works with lots of entrepreneurs behind the scenes. So she knows the dos and don’ts of working with (and within) a business team.
In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about all the layers that go into hiring people to join your business and how to do it in a way that works for you, your team members, and your clients. We’ll teach you about transfer of trust and why it works so well to set your business up for success.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:49 - Why can scaling your team be one of the biggest challenges you face? Here’s the most likely place where you might stumble when hiring help.
12:24 - There’s a necessary shift you need to make to get to the point where clients comfortably deal with your team members.
16:40 - How can you start transferring your clients’ trust from working with you exclusively to working with your team directly?
20:08 - Amber reveals how to approach bringing on someone new onto your team who you don’t have a previous track record with.
23:26 - What if you have no plans or desires to hire anyone (at least right now)? You’ll still want to do this to set yourself up for success.
28:14 - I reveal a red flag that’s a sign of more than just bad hiring practices to your clients.
Amber Kinney’s agency, The AK Collective
According to American Express, people will pay 86% more if you give them an impeccable customer experience. That’s why providing a great experience after the purchase is one of the best ways to differentiate yourself, your brand, and your business from your competitors.
So how can you improve the customer experience of your company? It’s all in the delivery of whatever you offer, whether you’re selling a product (physical or digital) or a service. Today on the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about seven ways to upgrade the delivery process of your offer that’ll have your clients or customers loving you and your business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:41 - Clear containers for your offers helps you as well as your clients or customers. How?
8:28 - With so much small business competition, how can you develop relationships with your clients so that they remain loyal to yours?
11:45 - Have a clear vision for your customer experience and create a success path to help buyers get there.
13:20 - Do you follow up after the purchase? I discuss how to create checkpoints and proactively reach out.
17:44 - You’ll need to proactively coach your clients or customers on this as well.
21:05 - What can you use to improve your customer experience on an ongoing basis?
24:57 - The last way to upgrade your customer experience is easier said than done, but it must be done for a sustainable business.
29:22 - To wrap the show, I quickly recap the seven ways to upgrade your customer or client experience.
Most people aren’t talking about customer experience when they think they are. They’re talking about putting out fires, troubleshooting things, solving problems as they arise--all customer service-oriented stuff.
While having good customer service is important, it’s not a thing that’s necessarily going to help your business grow or generate excitement about it from your clients. That’s where having an impeccable customer experience comes in!
But how do you design one for your business? There are three elements (or stages) to this: the first sets the tone for your relationship with each client, the next creates your path to success, and the last one wraps everything up and sets you (and your client) up for continued success.
In this next episode of Promote Yourself to CEO, you’ll learn all about those three elements. I take you through every stage one-by-one and include all of the systems, pieces, considerations, and questions you should implement or think about for each to create an excellent experience for your clients.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:11 - I talk about the five systems you need for the first element: client onboarding.
10:50 - How can your clients get the best results? This is all about setting expectations.
12:54 - What’s the third area to shore up in your client onboarding process? (And what is the key to making it work)?
16:32 - The final piece of onboarding is incredibly powerful to make sure that everything starts off on the right foot.
19:37 - Your path to success lies in this next element of your customer experience plan. Here are a couple of areas to think about as you map it out.
28:19 - Too often, entrepreneurs wait to do this. So you’ll need to be proactive in this next step on your success path.
30:39 - How can you keep your clients committed to the process of going through your entire program? I reveal the final piece to your success path.
33:56 - I discuss four steps to think about as you complete the implementation of your customer experience plan for each client.
The 3 Essential Systems to Sustainably Scale Your Business (LINK TBA)
The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier
Are you confusing customer service with customer experience?
Right now, you might be wondering, “Huh? What’s the difference?” Customer service is reactive; it’s all about handling problems as they arise. But an incredible customer experience is a thoughtfully designed journey through your business that can elevate it and gain you clients for life.
So how do you go about designing this experience so that your clients will not only want to stick around but recommend your business to others? Today kicks off a new series of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast where we discuss something that hasn’t really been delved into on the show before.
In this episode, you’ll learn about why creating an excellent customer experience helps you stand out from the crowd. You’ll hear about the coaching experience I heard about that triggered this topic, discover exactly how powerfully a great customer experience design can affect your business, and reveal what your revenue goals aren’t telling you.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:08 - Why am I digging into customer experience? I talk about the recent sales call that inspired this series.
8:03 - Customer experience matters and can be such a competitive advantage. Here’s why!
11:58 - Everybody loves coming up with revenue goals. But you’re missing out on a lot of important information in the process.
17:11 - How does plugging the holes in your customer experience affect your profit?
20:09 - What’s coming up next in this series? I give a short preview.
For the last 15 years, I’ve seen so many people come and go. I’ve seen so many people start out with dreams and ambitions, only to burn themselves out and take years to recover from the impact.
But you know in your heart and soul that you’re meant to be an entrepreneur. And I want you to have long-term success, instead of sacrificing it with a short-term view. It’s why I wanted to create this “Truth About Scaling” podcast series.
So now, that brings me to the final installment. In this episode, I break down some final key things to consider and implement when you’re ready to shift into high-growth business mode.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
5:58 - Are you ignoring or passing off parts of your business that you don’t understand? I discuss why that’s a mistake.
11:39 - You need to understand these indicators to know whether or not your marketing is working in your business.
14:05 - What’s another area where women entrepreneurs play small because they’re not considering it at all?
17:23 - Keep it simple, keep it sane, and keep it strategic. I reveal the trap entrepreneurs often fall into that only complicates their business.
24:01 - What common habit have I seen over the years from women entrepreneurs that holds them back? Inside The CEO Collective, we know this happens and are prepared for it.
28:25 - If you don’t allow your business to develop these two important pieces before attempting to scale, then you’ll end up in a cycle of catastrophic growth.
35:02 - I reveal one of the biggest disconnects I see between business owners and why you need your own CEO support team.
40:05 - Personal success teams are another crucially important aspect to being a CEO with sustainable business growth.
45:15 - It’s easy to look at marketing material out there and think that growth is linear. But is it really?
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
When you hear of businesses blowing up overnight, you get the glamorized version. You see the celebrity entrepreneurs online living the high life. They’re taking luxury vacations, driving fancy cars, and talking about how their business makes six, seven, eight (or more) figures.
But here’s what they’re not telling you. Their business isn’t sustainable because things are constantly breaking behind the scenes. They feel stressed out due to all the fires they have to constantly put out.
So how about we take a different approach? In this next segment of the “Truth About Scaling” series, I talk about the three mistakes I often see entrepreneurs make that cause problems when it comes to scaling your business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:29 - How do you know if you’re making this first mistake? Here are the warning signs.
11:52 - I reveal how I’ve fallen into the trap of mistake #1 myself and how you can avoid doing the same.
14:54 - Hiring is another area in your business where you may be making this same mistake.
21:28 - This third area where people make the first mistake is a big pet peeve of mine (and another one I’ve done myself).
25:10 - How did I reverse track on making this mistake when I shifted my approach to The CEO Collective?
32:25 - Too many startup entrepreneurs don’t realize this about cash flow in their business.
35:44 - I discuss mistake #2 and the problem that it won’t fix for you.
41:42 - Where do you really need to get honest about your business? Here are the three markets that you need to be testing.
45:58 - The third mistake and why doing the opposite will save your scaling business.
52:30 - Too much humanity has gone out of business, so I reveal what I’m doing to help bring it back.
58:26 - To end the show, I quickly recap the three mistakes.
Just because you know something isn’t the same as experiencing it. As a CEO, you undergo rites of passage as you progress through your business, especially if you want a successful and sustainable one. In this episode, I share some of the lessons I’ve learned the hard way so you can see a little further ahead on your path, mitigate some of these challenges early on, or just have a more realistic view of what you’re up against.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:46 - Lesson one: you cannot do this on your way to sustainable business success.
8:03 - I get angry when I see how too many others fail to implement this lesson. You won’t have a dream business team with this mindset.
16:03 - What will you struggle with when you attain success, and why? The third surprising lesson I learned.
23:16 - Lesson four: the more your business grows, the less and less you’ll find yourself seeking this.
30:55 - The biggest celebrity influencer entrepreneurs make it seem like marketing solves all business problems. Here’s why it isn’t the answer.
33:17 - Lesson six is the best lesson of all. So how do I apply it in my business?
38:33 - We’re idea machines as entrepreneurs. But we need to take more heed of this lesson and beware who we listen to. I explain why.
45:15 - Surprise! I reveal a bonus lesson to wrap the show.
Scaling is the name of the business game online, or so it would seem. So often we hear about people having seven-figure launches or seven-figure months (or even days).
But there’s something that really doesn’t get talked about regarding these eye-popping figures that you need to know. Beyond just making more money, what does it really mean to scale your business? Is it possible to double, triple (or more) your business in just a year or two?
Scaling just for the sake of it can be detrimental to your business. So I wanted to do a new series to talk about the truth behind scaling. In this first episode, I talk about everything you need to consider before you press the “scale” button on your business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:16 - What’s the difference between growth and scale? These words get used interchangeably a lot but aren’t exactly the same.
8:41 - Too many people go after scale at all costs and put their business into unstable territory. I reveal one of the biggest red flags that expose this.
14:26 - Beware of the well-known celebrity influencers you follow who teach you this. Here’s the real truth behind their success.
19:47 - What’s another potential “hidden” cash eater in your business? A lot of celebrity influencers like to use this one to bring in sales and clients.
22:48 - I discuss what I personally aim for when scaling my business that makes it easier for me to plan ahead.
26:37 - The last few years have seen the fragility of so many businesses. Some had to get really creative and have a solid but flexible infrastructure to survive.
29:18 - What should you focus on this month? Believe me, it’ll make it seven times easier to do business if you stick to this one thing.
As soon as you get up, the dog is already begging to be let outside. The kids don’t want to get ready for school, so you have to practically drag them out of bed. Your partner is wondering where the hell this or that is while you’re trying to get ready yourself for the day. And you’re still just barely awake in all this and haven’t had your coffee yet!
Are your mornings crazy like this? Let’s do something about that! High performance CEOs know how to manage their day and conserve their energy to get the results they want in life and business. So in this last installment of the “Run Your Business Like a CEO” series, I talk about three surprisingly key things to running your day like a CEO, based on my own experience.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
7:54 - A great day truly starts the night before. I used to never be a great sleeper (and even failed at it, according to my FitBit), so here’s how I fixed that.
15:48 - Morning routines can be so different from person to person. As an introvert who likes the quiet, here’s what I do and don’t do.
20:00 - What else can you consider to keep your days running smoothly? Pay attention to these things.
23:00 - I reveal what I do to simplify decision-making regarding my wardrobe, self-care, and home essentials.
26:45 - What’s sucking away your time? I discuss the happy accident that helped me truly relax.
28:27 - I used to feel resistant to morning and nighttime routines. Are you in the same boat?
As a CEO, you’ve got many potential distractions in your business. Answering emails or other ongoing administrative work can keep your attention off the tasks that’ll actually move your company forward. Then by the end of the week, you’ve made little (if any) progress on the tasks that do drive business growth and success. In this episode, I talk about how you can run your week as a CEO with five top strategies that help you skillfully manage your time and energy while prioritizing those higher-value tasks that move the needle.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
5:01 - What is a model calendar, and how do you use one? I talk about how I created my model calendar and really dig into the details of how I use it now.
21:57 - If you have other people on your team, here’s something else you should consider doing to protect your time and energy.
26:33 - What’s the second most important strategy to run your week like a CEO? I do this for my business every Monday morning.
39:46 - I’m pretty ruthless when I implement the third strategy. And it certainly helps with client appointments and business boundaries when I do this.
41:37 - I often get asked why I included these couple of questions in The CEO Planner. What are they, and why did I?
45:03 - The CEO Score comes in handy when it comes to sticking to the weekly plan you just mapped out. Here’s a breakdown of what it’s all about.
57:26 - The last strategy is built right into the planner as this series of questions so you can make better decisions and nip any recurring problems in the bud.
1:02:58 - To wrap up, I quickly recap all five top things to do to run your week like a CEO.
I go on CEO dates with myself. Once every month (as well as on a weekly basis), I take some time to check in on my business and ensure I’m continuing the progress toward the goals I’ve set. This is how I create business plans that I follow through on and adapt as circumstances arise. And in this episode, I discuss how you too can build in self-accountability so that your plan isn’t just another document you’ll never open again.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
2:59 - I talk about my monthly CEO date and dive into my check-in process.
7:48 - What kinds of questions can you ask yourself as you look back on the previous month?
11:28 - I reveal another reason why I absolutely love working with The CEO Planner.
14:15 - What are the consequences of not tracking and documenting things in your business on a consistent basis?
20:07 - Your business metrics and revenue help you predict your company’s future. I reveal how I check on mine every month without obsessing over them.
27:20 - What if you discover that you’ve fallen behind (even way behind) on your projected goals? Here’s how I handle it.
32:24 - One of the most crucial things you need to do with your team while setting your top business priorities for the next month.
34:10 - What’s the last thing I do at the end of my monthly CEO date?
Every new year feels like a new chance to go after the big, audacious goals of your dreams. But as recent years have shown, you need to have adaptable plans for your business so that it can have the flexibility it needs while still getting the results you want. That’s why I love running my quarter through 90-day plans. Today, I talk about how to actually dig in and start creating these plans for your own business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:34 - Why go for 90-day plans? Entrepreneurs love setting big, ambitious goals, but it can be overwhelming.
7:27 - How do you break down big goals into more manageable chunks to fit your time, energy, and resources? You can make your best guess, or do this instead.
11:24 - As an example, I quickly walk through how you can launch a new group program within a year (or sooner).
16:03 - How do you actually create your first 90-day plan? I dig into it and discuss the kind of goals you want to focus on during this process.
19:50 - Start the process by looking over your sales and marketing with this 5-part marketing strategy framework.
27:01 - Most people think of this part of the framework when they think of marketing and can get it confused with the first step. I reveal why it’s different and necessary.
34:08 - What’s next after you have your systems in place? I discuss the difference between process vs. project goals and breaking them down in your 90-day plan.
38:38 - Asking yourself these questions as you work through your plan can really help ensure you avoid major challenges.
Business franchises are everywhere! You see several in the form of fast food chains whenever and wherever you get off the interstate. And while I’ve talked about scaling your business on the show before, I haven’t gone deep into more traditional ways to do it like this.
Today, I’ve invited The Scout Guide co-founders Susie Matheson and Christy Ford onto the podcast. They’ve built an enterprise that showcases small businesses nationwide for people in their own cities, with the help of over 70 local entrepreneurs. In this episode, you’ll hear some incredible takeaways as they talk about their journey, which you can learn from even if you’re not interested in turning your business into a franchise.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
1:22 - I give a short introduction to The Scout Guide. It actually started near my town of Richmond, VA.
8:29 - How did Susie and Christy come up with the idea for The Scout Guide? Listen as they describe exactly what it is they do.
11:20 - A lot of people think of traditional print advertising as dead. Why has The Scout Guide turned that idea on its head, and how does it complement social media marketing?
20:18 - The Scout Guide is also a resource (and source of inspiration) for small business entrepreneurs across the country. Christy and Susie explain how.
23:43 - Why did the co-founders decide to pursue a franchise model instead of doing everything themselves?
28:22 - Susie and Christy discuss some considerations when making the jump from owning a single business to forming a franchise.
33:03 - The key to making a franchise work is what also makes it easier to sell your business down the line.
37:11 - What did the co-founders struggle with as they launched their franchise? They talk about getting clear on your long-term vision and setting yourself up for success.
43:21 - What’s next on the horizon for The Scout Guide? Christy and Susie reveal their ultimate goal.
Social media and online marketing and content creation strategies are wonderful and I use them. But... business grows at the speed of relationships. If you’ve heard it’s impossible to scale a referral-based business or that you shouldn’t rely on referrals for your business, then tune in as me and my Operations Director Amber Kinney expose these myths.
Amber can certainly vouch for this promotional strategy as she’s built her business entirely on referrals. So we have a conversation about how referrals are here to stay, can serve as one of the best things you do for your business, and cover five key strategies to think about so your business can become referrable.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:23 - Amber briefly discusses a little bit about her business.
9:29 - Is it sustainable to only have a referral-based business? Amber shares her thoughts on the matter.
12:21 - Growing too fast has its consequences. Amber reveals two must-have components for a referrable AND scalable business.
17:07 - How does Amber get referrals? It’s such a simple, casual process.
18:48 - With referrals, a lot of the heavy lifting in vetting both sides (the client and the CEO) is done for you. We discuss the reasons why.
22:46 - Why do some people really struggle with referrals? It’s tied to the transactional feeling of relationships that lack buildup.
27:04 - We talk about how we’ve networked, made connections, and built relationships as introverts to stay on top of our game.
32:28 - Amber offers some final advice to wrap up the interview.
34:23 - I end the episode with a quick summary of the five key things Amber and I talked about regarding building a more referral-based business.
Mentioned in Why Referrals Are STILL the Gold Standard
One of the biggest things you need to plan for your business in the coming new year is marketing; how are you going to get more visibility? I’m a bit biased because I love using podcast interviews as a marketing tool. But how do you get started with pitching yourself for podcast interviews, especially if you don’t have a team to help you?
Luckily, Danielle Weibe, the founder of the Business Babes Collective, knows how and is here to share it with us as my special guest today! She’s doing something that’s so accessible for many people.
In this episode, she talks about how she’s able to consistently land more interviews, opportunities, and visibility for her business by pitching really, really smartly.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
8:21 - What is the Business Babes Collective, and how did Danielle get started in business?
14:50 - Danielle and I talk about why it takes an abundance mentality and a strategic approach to make collaborations work effectively.
19:34 - How does Danielle define collaborations vs. partnerships, and how does she increase her chances of creating them for her business?
24:30 - I reveal the red flags I often see when others try to pitch themselves as a guest on my show. What did Danielle do differently to get my attention?
28:18 - Too many treat business relationship building like speed dating. Danielle discusses how being pleasantly persistent over quite some time secured a collaboration.
33:22 - Sometimes, you have to get creative to secure a collab. Also, be careful not to fall into this trap when on the receiving end of opportunities.
35:00 - What is Danielle’s process for finding the right people to work with? She goes through it, step-by-step.
39:05 - I add my own tip that works especially well if you’re a beginner or trying to collaborate with someone with a bigger audience.
We women entrepreneurs keep underpricing ourselves when offering the same service or product as our male counterparts. On average, we price up to 20% less. When I first heard that, I was blown away!
Pricing is one of the quickest and most powerful ways to adjust your business trajectory and make it more sustainable. I’ve seen it in my business and those of my clients. So in this episode, I discuss why properly pricing your offers is the first step to designing a successfully sustainable business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:36 - What is the feast or famine zone, and does your business fall into it? Discover the two biggest reasons why businesses in this zone struggle to compete.
8:40 - I demonstrate how underpricing can easily lead to overworking by using the example of a wedding photographer.
12:18 - Taking the wedding photographer example further, this simple step is an easy way to improve your profitability and ease burnout.
14:42 - What if you want to double your rates? You need to take a deeper look at these factors in your business.
17:42 - Pricing impacts other aspects of your business. Michalowicz’s Profit First percentages can help you figure out the math to meet your revenue goal.
20:43 - I push back against the hype of online gurus who have a certain mindset about pricing. There’s a reason why I primarily work with service providers.
23:50 - What if you’re not used to selling at a higher price or booking multiple sessions at a time per client?
26:55 - Here’s why you don’t need a large audience to get enough clients for your higher-priced programs and services. I give you a behind-the-scenes look.
28:52 - Keep these questions in mind as you crunch your numbers.
Mentioned in Why Underpricing (and Overdelivering) Is Creating Business Burnout
Celebrity entrepreneurs don’t do any favors with all their hustle talk, and despite everything you hear about escaping burnout and hustle culture, too many women entrepreneurs still can’t escape. They desperately need the cash flow in their business right now. So if you’re struggling to get your business working on all cylinders, keep listening. Today’s episode kicks off a new series to help you break free from entrepreneurial poverty of time, energy, and money so you can attain the sustainable success you desire.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:06 - People prescribe this antidote too often to the burnout problem. It’s creating a FOMO culture for an increasing number of women.
4:55 - I discuss the entrepreneurial poverty of time and what it looks like for women business owners.
9:42 - Energy poverty is HUGE right now. How does this impact you as a female entrepreneur?
13:07 - While lack of money is easy to point to, it doesn’t just have an effect on you financially.
14:16 - I see so many women in the middle stage of their business succumb to this cycle. Why do some stay stuck in it for years?
17:17 - I quickly overview what’s coming up next in this new podcast series of episodes.
As mentioned in How the Current Hustle Culture Creates Entrepreneurial Poverty for Women
A couple of years ago, I received an invitation to a thank you party via email. That incredibly heartfelt invitation gave me the best feeling and became the catalyst for a friendship and business contact. In this Thanksgiving Day episode, the woman behind that email, Shannon Siriano Greenwood, is back on the show. She and I talk about how gratitude can have a huge impact on and should be the driving force behind your business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:23 – I read the entire email from Shannon that caused me, a super introvert, to dress up and attend a restaurant downtown.
8:54 – Shannon discusses how she and I met. She calls it our own little love story.
14:53 – When did Shannon realize that bringing people together was her strength? She discusses why the realization didn’t come quickly.
20:25 – Shannon reveals a huge component of making connections and building relationships. It looks different from most people’s image of networking.
22:48 – What’s even better than a typical referral? All it takes is a simple mindset shift to see it, and it definitely has a huge effect on your business.
25:53 – We talk about how we remember to touch base and stay in contact with people.
31:04 – Why does Shannon get invited to a lot of things? She’s already done five podcast interviews this month without having to pitch herself.
34:32 – Shannon reveals the purpose behind her new program that brings women together.
Show Links
Angie Trueblood came to me years ago when she wanted to go all in on her idea. She’d learned how to pitch herself to podcasts as an interview guest and had the idea to do the same for other entrepreneurs. As someone in the podcast space who was in the target market for her services, she was the first person I saw talking about something like this in 2019. So, of course, I had to have her on the show (and immediately hire her after)!
Now, Angie’s back to give an update on what’s happening in her business now and how it’s changed since she’s become part of The CEO Collective. In this episode, she talks about the service side of her business and why she’s making the choice to do the opposite of what so many other service-based entrepreneurs are doing.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:20 - What was business like for Angie in the summer of 2019 (before life as we knew it shifted drastically)?
12:02 - Angie reveals how the rinse and repeat process of the 90-Day planner impacted her business that year.
14:49 - Angie talks about what it’s like for her to have both group programming and a service up for offer in her business.
19:48 - Resistant to growing an agency for so long, Angie is leaning towards the service side of her business more. Why?
25:54 - People worry that growing a service-based business means more time and energy spent in the business. How does Angie find balance?
28:51 - Here’s something you need to know as a service provider looking to create and launch a course or membership.
33:42 - What excites Angie the most in this next stage of her business?
Certain subjects are polarizing, and I’m not just talking about the usual topics like politics or religion. The last time I had MegAnne Ford on the show we discussed the dark side of visibility she experienced through her coaching business…her parenting coach business.
As you can imagine, parents have particular thoughts about raising their (and sometimes others’) kids. And someone took umbrage to what MegAnne had to say that they bullied and essentially stalked her! She’s come out on the other side of it, though, and years later she’s still here and visible as ever.
In this episode, she talks about how she’s developed a community around her coaching and continued to grow her business since then. If you’ve had to deal with a bully, suffered vulnerability hangovers, or fear putting yourself out there due to the potential backlash over a disagreement, then you’ll want to listen in!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
5:17 – I first met MegAnne a few months after she started her business. She talks about how she stumbled into it.
9:27 – What was MegAnne’s first year in business like? She realized she had to make this shift.
12:35 – MegAnne discusses how she developed her popular frameworks for parents.
15:14 – Building and nurturing a community has become a huge part of MegAnne’s business. She reveals how.
19:11 – How did MegAnne get into using Instagram stories and Tik Tok to gain visibility?
28:12 – MegAnne reveals what drew her to join The CEO Collective and talks about her prior “$18,000 learning experiment.”
33:37 – Before The CEO Collective, there was the Sweet Spot Strategy. Here’s why shutting it down benefited me and my clients tremendously!
38:16 – With her larger audience now, what does MegAnne have planned for her coaching business in 2023?
We all love hearing success stories. If you’ve listened to this podcast since August of 2021, you may remember Sarah Young and her accounting business. Back then, she was about a year into her experience with The CEO Collective. Now a year later, she’s back! And she’s here to let us know what happened after she shared her success story on the show.
Today kicks off a series I’m doing with clients who’ve taken part in my flagship program. In this episode, Sarah talks about what’s changed in the last year, the incredible wins she’s enjoyed in her business, and how she plans to move forward with even more success. As you listen, you’ll come away with some major takeaways and lessons to implement in your own business!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
5:24 - Sarah recaps how she started her business and changed it over a period of a couple of years.
11:53 - What’s happened in Sarah’s business since she last guested on the show? And how has it affected her husband?
16:54 - Sarah talks about the support she now has behind the scenes of her business and areas where she wants to improve.
19:24 - How has Sara’s business evolved to incorporate two different audiences? She discusses her trial and error process.
23:47 - Sarah reveals where she wants to go next in her business. It highlights the missing wealth piece for so many women entrepreneurs.
28:44 - As an entrepreneur, you may think you know what diversifying your income means. Here’s what it really means.
31:11 - What’s coming up for Sarah in 2023? She reveals what she plans to prioritize for the coming new year.
34:35 - Sarah made this mindset shift that can benefit you as an entrepreneur.
Forgetting to consistently market and prioritize making sales? What about letting your schedule get so out of control that you don’t give yourself any time off for months on end? Or chasing every next shiny object instead of focusing on what works in your business?
What you suffer from, dear entrepreneur, is a lack of plan implementation. In the final part of this year’s Best Year Ever challenge, you’ll discover how to take all the insight from the previous episodes and turn them into an actionable 12-month profit plan for 2023.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:32 - How does my 5-part framework (attract, engage, nurture, invite, and delight) form the foundation for your 12-month plan?
11:20 - Here’s where I start when I’m mapping out my 12-month big picture profit plan.
15:12 - Discover how to plan out what you’re going to sell and when you’re going to sell it.
20:31 - What’s one easily forgettable thing you need to keep in mind throughout this process? I reveal what it is.
24:49 - To wrap up, I give you this reminder as you go about planning things out for the first time.
You tell yourself, “This year, I’m gonna do it!” You write down your business goal. You put it where you can see it constantly. You’re determined to reach that pinnacle you’ve set for yourself this time! A few months later... you’ve forgotten about it or given up on it.
We tend to only set goals once a year, and that’s one of the reasons why goal setting often doesn’t work for most people. On day 4 of this series, I take a different approach to goal setting to help you establish business milestones you’ll actually follow through on in 2023.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:16 - Many of us have such a love/hate relationship with goal setting. Why does it fail so often?
5:18 - As you brainstorm all of your potential goals for the new year, refrain from doing this. I also offer a huge tip to ensure you don’t miss out on key things.
7:07 - I go through the process of making sure you have the business systems you need set up before taking on additional projects.
10:45 - I talk about how I apply my five-part systems process to my own business.
13:58 - Once you’ve brainstormed, how can you narrow your goals down to five for the year? What will it take to make each goal happen?
15:48 - One of the most important pieces of the puzzle involves thinking about how you’re setting yourself up for success. Think of it like a marathon.
17:55 - What if you have more than five goals you want to accomplish? Here’s what I do.
18:35 - Finally, I encourage you to do this as you complete the BYE workbook.
Are you constantly running your business in emergency mode? You might be running your company by default instead of by design, constantly putting out fires and working crazy long hours. But panic as a business strategy isn’t a wise recipe for success.
So in this episode, I talk about how to design a business that works for you and runs like clockwork in 2023.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:39 - I give a quick recap of the Best Year Ever series thus far.
5:45 - What does personal and professional success mean to you? Here are some things to keep in mind.
9:23 - Who are the dream clients you want to focus on attracting and attaining in 2023?
10:25 - Time to shift into money mode! But you don’t want to pull a revenue goal out of thin air here.
14:29 - The final thing you want to look at as you go through this process of (re)creating your business by design.
With our hustle and bustle culture, we’re always in danger of burning ourselves out. The last couple of years, however, have made it even worse. It always feels like there’s something going wrong in the world--pandemics, war breakouts, etc.--that can have an effect on our business, causing us to worry about its future.
No matter what’s happening in the world, though, you can still build your dream business. This Best Year Ever series can help you get clarity about what you want to experience right now. In this episode, I dive into the second challenge and it’s a powerful one!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:40 - Today’s the day you jump into your time machine! What do I mean?
5:25 - I reveal the best place to start as you go through today’s exercises. This is all about getting intentional.
6:59 - I give an example of how you can go through this exercise (with a little insight from my own life).
8:53 - Keep it simple. Sometimes you can dream so big that you overwhelm yourself and get frustrated.
10:36 - My company’s #1 value is putting life before business. How can your business support the life you want?
12:41 - This is when you bring some numbers into play. I talk about how doing so affects me and my family.