I’m a business growth strategist who’s revealing the truth about scaling your business, so this episode series may have surprised you. But I want your eyes wide open when you go into business growth mode. It’s not just about making more sales; you also need to scale your team, customer experience, and infrastructure behind the scenes so your business doesn’t implode. In this final installment, I break down some key things for you to start thinking about to be more strategic and sustainable when you’re ready to go into high growth business mode.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:57 - Which mode allows me to have the lifestyle I want? Being more strategic and intentional while looking towards business growth.
7:26 - Women entrepreneurs tend not to step into leadership in their finances. You can’t allocate resources or make smart decisions otherwise.
11:42 - Keep it simple, upgrade as you go, have perspective, and stop comparing yourself to others. Here’s a particularly helpful recommendation for both new and experienced entrepreneurs.
16:14 - Marketing is one area where I see people get overwhelmed. Some personal examples of how I use my own system to prevent this from happening to me.
20:07 - Slow down. Things take time. We tend to overestimate how much we can accomplish weekly or monthly, yet underestimate our amount of productivity in a year.
25:08 - The biggest disconnect I’ve noticed between entrepreneurs and other small business owners. What the former tend to do.
27:03 - Here’s something not talked about often enough behind the scenes, particularly for female business owners. Having a team of support, both professionally and personally.
30:54 - Growth isn’t linear, and that’s okay. Some pointers on handling plateaus and explosive periods of growth.
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You hear a lot of terrible advice online these days that causes people to focus on scaling at all costs. All of that effort only leads to your business blowing up. Things break and go awry, and you’re constantly putting out fires, feeling overwhelmed and stressed at the cash-eating monster you’ve created. So let’s forgo this unsustainable approach to growth and do something different. Avoid the three biggest things I see causing problems with business scaling.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:58 - The first mistake I see entrepreneurs make and how you can get yourself into this situation. No matter how much money you bring in, you feel like you can never get ahead.
6:33 - When do expensive, robust systems make sense to purchase and use in your business? Technology audits and figuring out where you’re unnecessarily spending money right now.
9:50 - Female entrepreneurs are especially susceptible to this mistake. Trying to do it all yourself vs. paying everyone but yourself.
12:12 - These specific incidences of comparison often lead to overspending. Here’s how you can spend in a way more cost-effective way.
18:04 - Mindset that contributes to the second key mistake (especially for a product that doesn’t fit your market). Test this first, instead.
26:00 - The third key mistake feeds into both of the previous ones. Dangers of having overly complicated systems in your business.
31:04 - Bringing more humanity back to business. I ditched my Frankenstein-looking system for an old program that wasn’t working and simplified it.
34:20 - Recapping all three key business mistakes.
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Is it really possible to double, triple, or 10x your business in just a year? Or to take your business from 100k to $1,000,000 in revenue within just 36 months? If you listen to all the noise online, scaling seems like the name of the game and what we all should be focused on. But the honest truth is scaling for the sake of it can be detrimental to your business. So in this series, we’re talking about the truth of scaling your business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
2:44 - The difference between growth and scale. While the terms are used interchangeably, they’re not the same thing at all.
6:25 - Entrepreneurs focusing just on scaling sales and not putting infrastructure in place create unstable and unsustainable businesses with irate customers and bad word-of-mouth.
9:25 - Emergency panic mode triggered by a large influx of customers creates chaos. Exhausting sales cycle leads to burnout with the type of massive, expensive launches you see online all the time.
15:15 - All the expenses going into massive launches in pursuit of scale focuses on top-line revenue, not profit. The entrepreneur gets paid last and doesn’t actually end up pocketing a lot of money at all.
18:00 - This year exposed how fragile so many businesses really are. One launch or bad month away from having to close up shop.
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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.
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Are you like a hamster on a wheel when it comes to content creation? Do you feel pressured to release a newsletter, blog post, or social media posts week after week? Unfortunately, you’ve become a couch potato content creator--creating content that gets seen once, then gets archived and never sees the light of day again.
Time in your business can be spent so much better than that! So in this episode, I’ve invited my friend and podcast producer Stacey Harris to discuss our anti-couch potato content creation approach and how to see your content as an asset to be used over and over in your business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:25 - Stacey talks about podcast production and what her agency Uncommonly More does differently for podcasters.
11:24 - Is doing an interview-only podcast a good approach to take? Here’s why you might not want to do it like Dax Shepard.
12:54 - Shifting your content approach for client acquisition purposes doesn’t just apply to podcasting. You can do it elsewhere too.
14:03 - How do Stacey and I plan out the content for my podcast together? We reveal how the sausage is made to help you see the shift in real action.
18:13 - We discuss why you needn’t worry about boring people with recycled content, as long as you’re not creating junk food content.
20:19 - Stacey and I divulge how this approach creates space to get away from the never-ending content creation hamster wheel.
27:12 - Stacey highlights how she re-purposes her sales page content and why it helps get clients on board more quickly.
31:10 - How did one service-based entrepreneur build a content marketing system that worked for her, right around the time automation became popular?
37:44 - I circle back to the three key questions that Stacey asks me every quarter. They can totally change the way you think about your content.
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Tiktok taking off. Influencer marketing making a huge splash. Gurus advocating automation everywhere. AI technology that practically reads the minds of potential clients and customers (or so it seems) being a thing that exists. All of these marketing trends took the world by storm in 2021.
But something about these kinds of marketing strategies doesn’t appeal or feel right to most entrepreneurs. So in this episode, I talk with marketing expert Beth Gebhard about why you need to be thinking more of the big picture when it comes to marketing and really bring the soul of your business forward in 2022.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:34 - If there’s one thing you should take away from my conversation with Beth, it’s this. I’ve seen people succumb to this A LOT this year.
8:13 - Beth summarizes the twisting, winding road of her marketing and PR background.
13:29 - Marketing gets treated too often as an afterthought. Try this if you’re new or hesitant to plan out your marketing.
18:52 - What are some major components you should keep in mind when creating a marketing plan for your business?
23:27 - Beth breaks down what a brand actually is. What you think it is doesn’t even scratch the surface.
25:37 - You need to get all the components of your brand in writing. Here’s how it’ll become a bottleneck in your business down the line if you do otherwise.
31:18 - Using text message marketing as an example, Beth reveals the three filters she uses to help clients decide on whether to engage with any marketing tactic.
33:30 - Ask yourself these questions after you’ve spent some time implementing any marketing technique.
38:29 - How can business growth be catastrophic? We reveal why marketing isn’t the solution to everything.
43:45 - To wrap up the episode, I circle back to point out some key takeaways from the interview.
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Inconsistent marketing... feast or famine cycle... shiny object syndrome... all work and no play... these are all signs of a lack of effective business planning to keep you focused and in implementation mode, without the hustle and burnout. In this episode, I guide you towards taking all the insights you’ve gained from the last few days and turning them into your 12-month profit plan for 2022. Welcome to the last day of the Plan Your Best Year Ever challenge!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:59 - Your 12-month profit plan today isn’t a day-to-day or week-to-week list of things to do.
5:29 - I reveal the 5-part marketing strategy this profit plan is built on and include some examples.
8:56 - How do you map out a big picture profit plan for your business in 2022? Here’s where I start.
9:41 - Do this first to make sure you burnout-proof your business. I offer some questions for you to consider.
11:24 - Start planning what you’re going to sell next year. I discuss how I figure out what my promotion calendar will look like.
14:24 - As you implement your promotion calendar, you’ll want to build up this vital asset as well.
16:19 - I mention one last thing you might want to include in your workbook.
17:12 - If you loved this challenge, what can you do next? I offer you an invitation.
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Does this sound familiar? You write down a business goal and put it some place to remind you of it constantly. Then a few weeks or months down the line, that goal has gone missing, gotten thrown away, or is gathering dust on your desk or fridge or wherever you’ve placed it. And your business is as aimless as it’s ever been.
With goal setting, too many people have a “set it and forget it” mindset. It’s time to try something new! In this episode, I dive into a different way of goal setting that’ll help you actually create the kind of milestones you’ll follow through on. Welcome to day four!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:20 - You’ve made New Year’s resolutions, only to realize you’ve fallen off the wagon before January’s over. Why does goal setting fail so often?
5:52 - Let’s begin a new approach for setting goals. I share a tip I’ve given a lot of my clients when it comes to brainstorming potential goals.
9:23 - You’re going to have a lot written down after your brainstorming session. I discuss how to narrow everything down to your top five goals.
11:08 - Think about how you’re setting yourself up for success.
13:39 - What’s a push goal? I define it and quickly give you a scenario to demonstrate.
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Too many women entrepreneurs work crazy long hours trying to do everything themselves. And just when they feel like they’ve finally put out one fire, another one flares up soon after. But panic isn’t a business strategy, and you didn’t become an entrepreneur to stress yourself out.
Imagine a 2022 that’s different, one without the hustle and burnout. Imagine running your business by design instead of default. When you do, things begin to run like clockwork. So in this episode, I dive into a strategic process for consciously designing a business that works for you instead of you for it. Welcome to day three!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:33 - Why are we doing business design today after lifestyle design yesterday? It reflects one of The CEO Collective values.
5:33 - I discuss the first part of today’s exercise: looking at your personal definition of success.
7:46 - What’s your professional definition of success?
8:42 - Without getting clear on part two and being more discerning, your business becomes really stressful.
9:43 - Part three shifts you into money mode, but you’re not just going to pull a revenue goal out of thin air. Here’s a helpful way to crunch the numbers.
12:11 - I talk about what to do after you’ve come up with your revenue goal and mention a caveat to keep in mind if you have multiple offers.
14:55 - Marketing that works best for others may not be right for you at all. So how do you figure out the best strategy for you?
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Do you spend every waking moment thinking and worrying about your business, especially with everything that’s gone on since last year? You can still build your dream business regardless of what’s happening in the world. Just take the time to get intentional about what you really want to experience. In today’s episode, I focus on a strategy to help you design your dream life in 2022. Welcome to day two!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:54 - Today is when things get fun and exciting. I reveal what inspired me to create this exercise.
5:25 - Where is the best place to start when you’re dreaming of what you want to see in your life in the future?
5:58 - I walk you through the process and give examples of upgrades you can attain a year from now.
7:58 - Keep these caveats in mind as you brainstorm your upgrades.
8:29 - I mention some upgrades you may want to consider making in your business.
9:51 - Putting some numbers on the upgrades you desire will give you a clearer picture of the income you need to make it happen.
12:30 - I briefly preview tomorrow’s episode. If your business hasn’t provided you with a steady paycheck, day 3 will make a huge difference!
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The holidays are almost here and many of us are already thinking about next year. But before you do that, it’s important to first take time to reflect on the progress you’ve made in your business this year. Too many entrepreneurs make the same mistakes and face the same obstacles again and again because they fail to do so, making the need to reach the next level of success that much harder.
So to help you avoid this, I’m kicking off my annual five-part series for planning your best year ever! I’ll walk you through the same strategy that I and thousands of other women business owners have followed for the last five years. Today, I start off with reviewing the year. By the end of this series, you’ll have a 12-month plan in hand to help you turn your profit dreams into reality.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
2:29 - Entrepreneurs who plan grow twice as fast as those who don’t plan. So here’s what I encourage you to do before even listening to the episode.
5:01 - Why is planning so important? I talk about what I’ve noticed in my 15+ years working behind the scenes with clients.
7:46 - I reveal why I like to review the year month-by-month and tools that can help refresh your memory of what happened.
9:21 - Ask yourself these key questions as you reflect back on each month. You’ll start to see patterns and get insights into what worked and didn’t work.
12:39 - I give examples of the type of clarity you can gain through this process to help your business.
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What does it mean to have success on your terms? For many, it looks like being your own boss, on your own schedule, and making as much money as you want. Then you see the success of entrepreneurial influencers online, start to feel like you’re doing things wrong, and try to change the way you operate, only to realize you’ve just created another 9-to-5 job for yourself.
To help you discover your own definition of success, I’ve created a workbook covering five areas of life. In this episode, I walk you through this workbook so you can transform life and business to align with your real desires in 2022.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:15 - I remember when I started realizing that our definition of success as women entrepreneurs had massively changed.
6:22 - Why can you still feel disappointed when you hit a revenue goal? Having clarity on your definition of success gives you a decision-making filter.
8:02 - What does your ideal regular day look like for you? I walk you through the first part of the workbook I’ve created.
13:19 - Keep these questions in mind as you think about your relationships with family and friends.
17:35 - This is an area where I often put myself last, especially when I’m feeling stressed. It goes back to when I was a teenager.
22:44 - Discover the biggest benefit of having creative outlets outside of your business and how I avoid the temptation to turn every hobby into a business.
26:16 - Fulfilling your definition of success in this area will have you feeling more empowered and grounded in your life and business.
29:23 - To wrap up the episode, I quickly recap the five areas you want to think about to define your success.
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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.
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I’ve said before that high touch is incredibly important for entrepreneurs with premium offers. Despite being told that you can make lots of money while you sleep or that you must have a complicated funnel to be successful, directly connecting with people interested in your products, programs, and services is the real key to making sales at a premium level. In this episode, I share seven high-touch sales boosters to help you increase your revenue.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
8:28 - I dive into the first high-touch sales booster. It’s one of my absolute favorite things to do and can make a huge impact on your launch.
10:25 - How can you personally follow up with your most active community members?
13:22 - Sales booster #3 is a little bit more techie but totally worth it because it produces incredibly high conversions. Here’s how I do it.
17:30 - I only recommend this sales booster if you have someone to help you manage it. It’s a great one for enrollment periods.
18:17 - How can you quickly and efficiently respond to all the emails and DMs you receive during your enrollment period?
20:48 - Using this method can help boost enrollments during the middle days of your launch when things slow down.
25:46 - I save the best high-touch sales booster for last.
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Remember the day you first heard you should be on Twitter? Or Facebook? Or Instagram? Last year, it was Tik Tok. Years prior, it was Periscope. And on and on it goes.
You hear the same about other marketing methods like building email lists, creating YouTube videos, starting a podcast, and blogging. And on and on it goes.
One of the challenges women entrepreneurs face is just understanding the right strategies to use to grow their unique businesses. Without that clarity, you can’t gain real momentum as it just dilutes your efforts.
So if all of this advice has your head spinning and confused about how to promote your business, then this episode’s for you. In it, I simplify how to think about your overall marketing strategy for better results.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:45 - What are your strengths? Answering this question isn’t as easy as it seems and I discuss why.
6:13 - I reveal a few ways for you to gain clarity on what you’re naturally good at.
11:05 - What are the four sweet spot themes for entrepreneurship? I briefly talk about each one.
13:25 - Focusing on strengthening weaknesses only incrementally improves results. How can you focus on your strengths instead?
21:15 - The final piece of the puzzle is the real secret to long-term success for entrepreneurs.
24:12 - I dive into all five components of my marketing strategy, using myself as an example.
32:23 - I give a quick recap of the episode and your next action steps.
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With the availability of many social media platforms today, you'd think it would be fast and easy to launch any type of business. Reaching and selling to a lot of people seems to be a task you can easily tick off your to-do list as an entrepreneur. This is a misconception which many CEO aspirants fail to realize at the beginning. To get business going, we need to address this issue.
To be able to start scaling your business, first, you must understand the basics of entrepreneurship. This is a crucial stage that no CEO aspirant should skip. What are the steps that you need to take in order to scale your business? In this episode, we identify the points which you need to tackle before you can even plan to make your business bigger. Join me as I dig deep into the foundations of a successful business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
1:44 - I talk about being approached by entrepreneurs who have tried several tactics but are still unable to scale their business.
2:36 - Is there really a specific tactic needed to scale your business?
3:00 - I share my thought process in deciding business scaling readiness.
4:30 - What are the different stages of business growth?
6:23 - Find out why you're not getting the sales you were hoping for.
11:40 - I emphasize the importance of being clear about what your business offers.
13:40 - Pay attention to the people who respond to what you offer. You'll be surprised about what it can actually do for your business.
15:24 - Do you have a marketing system in place? How do you capture and nurture potential clients?
20:52 - How much time are you able to spend in marketing your business?
21:47 - I explain how to get clients to commit to your business offer.
27:45 - Persistence is key!
29:50 - What goes into building your support team?
30:42 - Have you built your business in the right structure?
34:59 - Learn the ways to make sure that your business is fully protected.
37:00 - Are you paying yourself a solid salary?
39:01 - I wrap up with some final thoughts.
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If you’ve ever done a full-scale launch of a product, program, or service, then you know how overwhelming the process can be. You’ve got to ensure that everything’s working correctly and all the different pieces of software do what they need to do (and in the right order).
But is this the only way to get more sales and clients? If you’ve been burned by launches (or feel burned out at the very thought of them), then don’t fret. There’s a way to simplify launching, and I’ve brought on business strategist Kelly Roach to reveal how. During my conversation with her you’ll discover her live launch method to get clients and sales without the super complicated, super technical marketing approach.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
2:24 - I take you back to my earliest launching days and discuss why I absolutely had to have this conversation with Kelly.
7:16 - How did Kelly come up with the idea for creating a new approach to launches? Her own frustration and desperation drove her to it.
12:44 - Remember this every time you see a celebrity entrepreneur and feel the pressure to model yourself after them.
15:18 - Kelly describes what she means by a live launch and what it looks like in practicality.
18:59 - As someone watching from afar, there’s one thing I especially love about how Kelly does her live launches. Discover what it is and why it’s so important.
20:59 - What is social selling, and how does it fit into the live launch method?
22:53 - Kelly discusses how to run a live launch and sustain this way of marketing without burning yourself out. She reveals the 3 big elements of the live launch methodology.
27:39 - How does Kelly see the future of the online marketing industry? Those making their living from selling courses will especially want to pay attention to this!
30:50 - I wrap up the episode with some final thoughts.
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Raise your hand if you’ve never felt comfortable as a promoter of your business. Today’s episode is for you! I’m joined by speaker, Hay House author, marketing mentor, and dear friend Nikki Nash who’s written a new book called Market Your Genius. Nikki is here to share how she helps women entrepreneurs do business more confidently and package and leverage their expertise for real revenue growth. Her approach is one of the smartest ways of helping women I’ve heard yet, and I can’t wait for you to hear this conversation.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
5:39 - Nikki took a bit of a long, winding road to entrepreneurship. She gives a little background about herself.
10:33 - What makes Nikki’s approach to marketing your knowledge different from other mentors?
14:14 - Is Nikki’s approach the same as brand building? It’s similar, but she adds another layer to it that helps your business live beyond you.
17:31 - Nikki quickly describes the 3-step marketing genius process she walks people through.
19:52 - Here’s something people (many new entrepreneurs, especially) don’t realize about mindset, and business growth.
23:13 - How do trends and changes in marketing tactics fit into Nikki’s way of doing things? She discusses how solopreneurs need to approach social marketing differently.
31:13 - Nikki reveals another huge mistake so many entrepreneurs make that prevents them from gaining momentum. It’s tied to something that most marketers don’t talk about.
37:29 - Once, Nikki had a Facebook Live show she thought was a waste of time, so she quit. But, months later, it led to something... grand.
42:22 - I wrap up the episode with a few key takeaways Nikki and I discussed.
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Pricing is an uncomfortable subject for entrepreneurs that brings up all of our money mindset challenges. It often feels easier to just play safe when setting our price in order to not appear greedy to potential clients. So if pricing has ever been a sticking point for you, you’ll love today’s episode! I’ve invited my dear friend and financial behaviorist Jacquette Timmons to talk about the human side of money and how to determine the right price for us that honors what we do and helps us achieve our ultimate business and financial goals.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:59 - How did talking about the human side of pricing become such a huge part of Jacquette’s messaging?
9:33 - With money, Jacquette’s framework involves a few core areas to look at. Her process involves approaching them in a different, better way.
11:39 - Pricing has four jobs. What are we conditioned to do as entrepreneurs that needs reconsideration?
14:29 - Jacquette brings up another hard choice that women entrepreneurs can be confronted with.
16:49 - Jacquette reveals some common mistakes she’s seen people make when it comes to re-evaluating price points.
22:17 - Why has exclusivity and high-end service really stood the test of time, despite high prices?
27:50 - How does Jacquette help people approach the mindset block many have around raising prices? She provides two ways to shift your mindset, and one’s definitely easier than the other.
30:18 - We briefly discuss applying the “blue ocean strategy” to your business, as well as making another game changing move when the opportunity inevitably arises.
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When you need to grow your business, what do you do? Do you lock out the rest of the world and brainstorm new products, programs, or service ideas yourself, like so many entrepreneurs do? Big mistake!
When you try to expand your business this way, you’re cutting out 100% of one of your most crucial assets: your existing customers and clients. In this bonus episode, my guest and CEO Collective member Layne Lyons tells us about how she’s on track to double her business by getting actual input from those already familiar with her business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
5:17 - Layne describes her business before it underwent an amazing transformation and reveals her first business bottleneck.
9:39 - What did Layne do to resolve her first bottleneck? What was her experience like after she started putting some boundaries in place?
13:12 - Layne shares what it felt like to finally increase her price points and offers advice to those on the precipice of doing the same.
15:53 - A new offer has opened the door for Layne to double the revenue from her business. She reveals what it is and the journey she went on to get here.
21:31 - What happened when Layne launched her new offer? This demonstrates why asking your existing client base for new ideas is the easiest way to build your next offer.
25:21 - Layne describes how she and her business are different now thanks to the changes she’s implemented.
34:21 - How was Layne’s experience joining The CEO Collective? She offers an inside look.
37:09 - To wrap up, I highlight a few points Layne made about streamlining and simplifying her business to the point where she now works less and enjoys her life more.
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You have money buried in your business somewhere. It doesn’t require you to gain more followers, run more ads, or hustle further to get your hands on it, either. It just involves taking advantage of the lowest hanging fruit in your business.
In the last episode of this series on putting an end to hustle culture, burnout, and entrepreneurial poverty, I reveal the third and final strategy to sustainably grow your business. I can’t wait for you to unlock this one!
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
4:13 - I share a quick story and reveal the final secret to sustainable growth for your business.
7:50 - I expose the huge problem not being discussed in the business world right now. What could be the culprit?
9:35 - You need to nail these things to form the foundation for finding hidden money in your business. I see too many people ignore the last one.
14:24 - What simple offers can you provide your clients behind-the-scenes? I reveal one way to ensure your 1-on-1 clients fit perfectly for you.
18:47 - If you have past clients, what should you do next? Here are some other ways to discover hidden income opportunities.
22:52 - I sum up all of the main strategies I’ve highlighted in this episode series.
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You’re doing everything right. You’re offering a ton of content to get people in the door. But no matter what you do in your business, you only get a sale here or there. You’re just not seeing the results you want. So how can you make more sales?
My guest today, CEO Collective founding member Leesa Klich, is a health writer and blogging expert who helps health and wellness professionals use engaging research-based content to build their practices. In this bonus episode, she reveals the strategic tweaks she made in the foundation of her business that took her from struggling to sell a thing to selling out her offers and generating her best revenue month ever.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
9:01 - Leesa shares the vision she had for herself that prompted the restructuring of her business model.
12:26 - How did Leesa transition from serving one person at a time to multiple people simultaneously while also raising her prices?
20:11 - Leesa reveals what she has and hasn’t done to market herself and her business. Introverts especially will want to pay attention to this!
24:43 - You can get stuck in this quagmire as an entrepreneur. What does it take to be the most successful possible in your marketing efforts?
28:03 - Leesa created an even bigger offer to sell. She discusses the process of how she came up with and then refined her idea for a white label course.
30:24 - How did Leesa feel about increasing her price point again with the introduction of her course? I had to really work with her to get her pricing mindset right on this.
33:32 - Leesa discusses her audience’s response upon launching the course and what increased her confidence in raising her price.
38:15 - What’s next for Leesa? She tells us where she’s most excited to put her focus for now and advice for anyone considering joining The CEO Collective.
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What do you think you need to gain in order for your business to change and grow? Too often entrepreneurs get hyped up to chase vanity metrics like huge numbers of Instagram followers or email subscribers. Ultimately though, gaining five or 10 new clients is all you need to have a massive impact on your business.
The simplest, easiest way for getting those clients isn’t something sexy or glamorous. It involves using a real strategy to invite people in, actually connect with them, and let them know how you can help. Continuing on with this series to avoid hustle and burnout, today I talk about the second strategy you need to adopt to grow a truly sustainable business.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
3:27 - I rant (again) about an issue in the business world that sets so many people up for failure.
5:18 - What is a predictable profit plan? It’s key to how I help entrepreneurs break out of the feast or famine cycle, so I walk you through how to put one together.
10:00 - I reveal the most important but least discussed part of a profit plan. If you don’t have this, it’ll break your business.
10:45 - People get so focused on marketing and sales that they forget about this piece of the puzzle and end up with a lot of unhappy clients.
15:00 - What will be your strategies for marketing, sales, and delivery? I use The CEO Collective as an example.
17:13 - Consider this if you have no idea when you should promote your signature offer. I give more examples from my business.
20:14 - Full upfront payment is awesome! But you’ll love extending payment plans to clients for this incredibly powerful reason.
25:04 - How can you ensure that you don’t experience a revenue gap?
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Undercharging and over-delivering can be a challenging habit to break. You have to come to terms with the idea of increasing your prices and overhauling your packaging structure.
If you’re like my guest today and feel nervous about raising your prices, then listen up because I have a real-life case study for you! I interview CEO Collective member Sarah Young about her journey over the last 18 months where she increased her price points, decreased burnout, positioned herself differently than other bookkeepers and CPAs, and now enjoys her business more than ever.
On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:
6:15 - What did Sarah’s business look like before she joined The CEO Collective? She reveals what prompted her to get into business for herself.
10:11 - Sarah feels like her pricing story is a little embarrassing, but she tells it anyway. Everybody has the same struggles, especially women.
14:27 - After some research, Sarah started raising her prices but still found herself burning out. Then something happened in January 2021 that changed her business.
21:28 - What did existing clients think after Sarah raised her price points? She discusses repackaging herself for higher-paying clients and framing a response to those who could no longer afford her.
27:13 - Sarah reveals something she had to come to terms with as she rebuilt her business from the ground up.
28:48 - Where did Sarah find higher-level clients willing to invest at her prices? If you think it’s super complicated, think again.
32:08 - Sarah shares what she sees happening financially with fast-growing businesses when they underprice themselves.
36:09 - How do you build in profitability in your pricing, especially as you hire and grow a team? Sarah offers her insight.
42:47 - Sarah shares what’s been the best part of being a member of The CEO Collective.
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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.
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