Uncomplicate Your Business

In the first episode of this brand new series on Building a Life First Business!I wanted to kick things off with my own personal story that has deeply impacted the lens that I see the world through - and is a huge part of why I do the work I do.My mother was 31yo business owner when a car accident left her in a coma for 3 months and in the hospital for another 2 years before returning home to her family. She experienced a Traumatic Brain Injury that would leaver her permanently disabled for the rest of her life.She survived but lost her business... and even more, she missed the early days of my and my sisters childhoods.This episode is deeply personal but if you really want to know why I care so much about building businesses that actually allow you to enjoy your life - my story is a reminder that all we have is today.00:00 Introduction and Series Kickoff01:20 A Personal Story: The Accident That Changed Everything04:10 The Aftermath: Family and Business Struggles08:41 Building a Life-First Business13:33 Adapt

Want clients for life? Give your client an experience that goes beyond their expectations. Think about booking lodgings for a vacation. It’s one thing to book a room for your stay with all the expected accommodations. But you remember the place that goes beyond: the chocolate on the pillow to greet you as a new guest, warm and freshly laundered towels in the bathroom daily, a minifridge already full of goodies you didn’t even have to buy, etc. And the next time you’re ready for a vacation in the area, you want to stay there again. Now, it’s really easy to think that translating that type of experience into your service-based business is as simple as surprising and delighting with little gifts, like that chocolate on the pillow. But there’s so much more to it, and today I’m excited to have Amber Kinney back on the podcast to talk about it. In this final episode of our customer experience series on Promote Yourself to CEO, you’ll learn about how you can translate surprising and delighting clients into your busi

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 t

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.

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 y

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 You

Have things been slowing down in your business? What if you could start each year knowing that you have the majority of the revenue you need locked in?Many entrepreneurs have noticed a recent slowdown in their businesses due to consumer anxiety surrounding the economy. The natural reaction to that is to market to attract new people and bring them into your business to boost revenue. But are you neglecting an easier way?As a podcast producer for service-based businesses, Stacey Harris has noticed the downturn trend and gotten ahead of the curve. She and I have had a conversation about this recently during a retreat. But instead of putting all the attention on the front end, she’s helping others get set up for continued success (regardless of what happens with the economy), focusing on gaining clients for life.And now, we’re bringing our conversation to you. In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about how you can focus on bringing in more revenue by paying attention to the people

Imagine spending a half hour (or longer) on a sales call with someone. And as you wrap it up, you’re hoping they’ll say yes to your product, program, or service.But instead, they tell you they’re not ready. Or they can’t afford it. Or the timing is off, and can they get back to you?This is one of the most frustrating things about sales and the reason why so many entrepreneurs dread getting on a call with a new potential client. If this is something that you’re experiencing right now, then you need a strategy that allows you to turn more potential clients into actual clients.Creating a well-crafted pre-client education process will do the trick. Not only does it improve your overall conversion rate, but it also makes sales so much easier!In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn how to implement this pre-sale education process for potential clients in your business. I’ll talk about why old-school sales strategies don’t work anymore, what modern sales strategies do differently, and ta

We’ve just seen a golden age for people wanting to start their own small business. The 10 to 15 year period from the 2008 recession to COVID-19 was a bull market that saw improved and more affordable technology available for small business owners. As a result, small businesses exploded into existence, particularly for women entrepreneurs.But the economy is cyclical, and there comes a time when the bull market slows down. In the last few years, we’ve seen that lots of businesses had to adapt or get shut down during the pandemic lockdowns. We’re watching inflation cause expenses to skyrocket. And your customers and clients are feeling the impact.The economy is uncertain right now, and perhaps your sales are slowing down as a result. People might be telling you that they need a little more time to budget for your signature offer, or they’re less willing to commit to a long-term program and higher dollar amounts. So your sales process will have to change.Today kicks off a new series all about how the sales proces

Do you struggle internally with selling because you feel like you’re pushing people to buy things they don’t need? You want to improve your sales skills and feel like you’re advocating your offers out of service, not desperation.You need sales confidence. And my guest today, Leslie Lyons, is a sales and leadership coach with a no BS approach who’s all about helping women embrace sales confidence. She just has a way of talking about sales and encouraging people to make more sales that’s so refreshing to hear.In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about how to get more confident at selling. You’ll also discover how to re-examine your relationship with sales and money so that you can truly step into your purpose and be of service to people you’re here to help through your business.On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:8:22 - Leslie describes the kind of household she grew up in and reveals why having money is key for women in relationships.12:34 - How are women in the Western w

Can you afford to take 30 days away from your business? What would happen if you can’t but took the time anyway?Sometimes, things come up. Personal or family illness, the impending birth of a new baby, or just needing a break can spark the need for taking some extended time off.But for a lot of small business owners, taking that time would essentially shut the business down. You’d stop marketing, working with clients, and making sales... unless you have systems in place that keep your business running when you slow down.This past April, I had to step away from my business because of a flare-up of my chronic illness that caused me extreme pain and kept me up at night. But if you listened to the show in April, you’d never know that because I had systems in place that could help me weather that situation.So in this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn the systems I use to make sure that my business runs smoothly even if I have to step back for a bit. By growing through some of the systems

Just because it's a slow down season in your personal life doesn’t mean your sales have to follow suit.Summer especially is known (and sometimes feared) as a dead time for business revenue. Unless your product or service can specifically cater to what people purchase during the season, you’re probably expecting to see a dip in sales.But you can still keep the sales gravy train going... and not just during the summer but anytime you choose to slow down or take a step back from your business. All you need to do is incorporate a couple of high leverage tactics to keep up the momentum.These are simple strategies you can use right away. And the best thing about them is, once you have the pieces in place (assuming you don’t already), they run automatically and won’t take up more of your time.In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about three tactics to keep generating the sales and revenue you desire (and deserve) when you take time off from your business. I’ll also teach you ways

Summer is just around the corner! It’s the time of year to relax with a cold drink by the pool and just slow things down. Sounds great, but how do you make sure things don’t slow down too much in your business? In this episode, I talk about how you can avoid losing momentum during the slower summer months and ramp up your business for the fall. On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO: 3:21 - Summer is the perfect time to work on the bigger picture for your business. Here’s the first way to help you get the most out of this slower period. 6:45 - What’s the one thing that’ll help you grow your business sustainably? This allows you to leverage your time and energy by working smarter, not harder. 19:19 - Want to set yourself up for success for the rest of the year? Look at these three core parts of your marketing strategy and your overall marketing system. 28:33 - How your business shows up in the world matters. It’s the first impression people get, so consider upgrading this aspect over the summer. 32:36 - Th

People keep asking for your time, energy, and attention. Someone invites you to an impromptu coffee date in the middle of something important or wants to meet up with you about something after business hours. But when it comes to your business, you need to learn to say no when necessary.You want to turn these types of things down but fear it’ll have a detrimental affect on your life or business. Maybe you’ll miss out on an opportunity or offend a client or potential business partner or friend.But there’s always a trade-off and saying yes to everything is really the thing that can hurt your business. The key to not doing that is the CEO’s best friend: boundaries. You need to set strong boundaries for yourself and your business and not waver on them.That (especially the not-wavering thing) sounds easier said than done, right? Well, in this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about the three different types of boundaries you as a business owner need to think about setting for yourself. Y

What does it mean to be CEO of your business anyway? When you start your business, you’re the marketing team, the sales team, the customer service team, the tech support, all of it. But over time, as your business grows and gets more established, you want to take some of this workload off your plate. Traditional CEOs have the people and teams in place to help them so they can focus on higher-value tasks and take their business to the next level. But how do you, as the CEO of a smaller business, build an environment that’ll sustainably do the same for you? How do you transition from the role of entrepreneur to the role of CEO? It all starts with getting clear on five elements that’ll help you figure out your role as CEO. In this episode of the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn about those elements that make up the job description of a traditional CEO and how to translate that for your small business. I’ll teach you the process to help you define your specific CEO role and reveal questions to help y

Do you feel bogged down in your business? You might be in your email inbox more often than you want to be. Or chasing people who still need to pay that invoice or scheduling people on your calendar all the time. Or perhaps you’re stuck on the technical side of things every day, messing around with the code on your website or trying to figure out what happened to that client email that seemed to vanish. Instead of being the CEO of your business, you, my friend, are stuck in employee or manager mode. So how do you shake off those shackles and embody the role you’re meant to? In this new series on the Promote Yourself to CEO podcast, you’ll learn the difference between the employee, manager, and CEO roles. And I’ll teach you how to start firing yourself from those first two modes so you can step into your role as CEO. On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO: 2:13 - Why do women start their own business? Believe it or not, money isn’t at the top of the list of reasons. 9:30 - There’s so much glamorization arou

You’re doing all the right things in your business. You have a great offer and clients you adore. Yet, you’ve hit a ceiling in your business. You can’t figure out why or break through it no matter how hard you try. If this feels familiar, then in this episode you’ll learn the three big shifts you need to make to get you and your business unstuck and back into growth mode. On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO: 4:29 - Are you spending much of your time doing $10 p/h activities in your business? For big shift #1, I go over what $10, $100, $1,000, and $10,000 hourly tasks look like. 12:28 - Many clients hit another plateau when they refuse to make the second big mindset shift. Here’s how doing so can pay dividends. 15:05 - I reveal another challenge I often see among entrepreneurs (myself included), even when they’ve previously overcome the second mindset hurdle. 17:46 - Where was my focus when I hit this business plateau? It took me a long time to admit this to myself. 22:20 - I discuss the final shift nee

A lot of us entrepreneurs have seen (and heard) from our parents and others that success requires a lot of hard work and long hours. I used to be frustrated with the whole “work smarter, not harder” concept because I saw my entrepreneurial parents embrace the hustle. I thought to gain success, you had to do anything and everything and work 80-100 hour weeks.But you eventually reach a point where you just can’t work any harder! So how do you get to that next level of success? Working harder for it clearly isn’t the answer. You need to shift the way you think about your relationship with work. So in today’s episode, I talk about six lessons that will have you working smarter instead.On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO:3:48 - When you do this, you get an exponentially higher return on your time and energy. So what’s lesson #1 and how have I practiced it in my business?7:12 - What does the E in CEO not stand for? I learned this lesson the hard way!11:46 - You’ve probably heard this phrase before, and there

  You’ve seen the hype about small business and entrepreneurial success out there. It’s unreal! Not a day goes by when I don’t see photos of fancy cars, vacations, oodles of cash, and the typical success catch phrases that come with them on my social media. Here’s the conundrum, though: when your business crosses into the territory of making seven or eight figures, it can quickly become less about doing what you love and more about grinding things out as an entrepreneur to meet demand.  So does bigger actually mean better for you? Or is big enough... enough? In today’s episode, I talk about why I believe in creating a big enough business to create an actual business and life you love. On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO: 5:54 - I discuss what it was like growing up around entrepreneurs, and the surprising information I recently learned from my mother. 8:16 - Why should you beware of creating a business that grows too fast? I tell you what I’ve seen from businesses that experienced hyper growth. 10:02 -

Visibility is scary. It’s one of the reasons why so many female entrepreneurs don’t seek out more of it for their business. Yet, it’s also the thing that’ll grow your business. So how can you feel more confident and empowered in the spotlight? In this episode, I talk with my friend Erica Courdae, a CEO Collective mentor and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant, about what it’s been like to have more visibility than ever before and how you can more confidently embrace greater visibility for your business and message. On this episode of Promote Yourself to CEO: 5:54 - What kind of visibility journey has Erica gone on? She talks about her roller coaster ride since 2018 and the dilemma she faced in 2020. 11:51 - Erica used to say yes to every opportunity. Now a bit more discerning about what she takes on, she discusses the key pieces that helped her handle the demand for her time. 15:21 - What does it take to get your message out into the world? We reveal why consistency is key to gaining and handling grea