Uncomplicate Your Business

If this is the first episode you've ever listened to of the Uncomplicate Your Business Podcast, one, I hope you absolutely love it, and two, I hope you listen in to the previous three episodes because I have been talking with some incredible women entrepreneurs about their entrepreneurial journey. What makes this summer series different is we are not talking about the highlight reel. We're not talking about how they went from being bankrupt to being a millionaire seemingly overnight. We are talking the real journey, the hard decisions, the sleepless nights, the frustrations when you want to just throw your laptop out the window, because this is the reality of being an entrepreneur. I feel like so many entrepreneurs in those first few years would just hang in there and really figure it out for themselves if they knew that the hype that you hear, the highlight reel stories that are out there, those are the exception, not the rule. For every 100 entrepreneurs, there might be one you have that zero to s

In the last episode of this series, episode 54, with Worthy and Well founder Casey Berglund, we walked through her journey of fusing all of these interests, yoga, mindfulness, nutrition, health coaching, into one brand Worthy and Well and where that has led her today on a cross-country trip across Canada. Now, we're going to have a conversation with Casey's business BFF, Veronica Grant. This is one of my favorite things, seeing my students find each other and really cheer each other on. What I love about Veronica, without giving it away, is how she really learned to listen to the people that she's serving, to figure out the right next step for her and her business. You ready? Let's dive in.

Today, I am so excited to kick off this very special summer series of interviews to inspire you as you go through the entrepreneurial journey. Especially if you're maybe still in those early stages you're still in year one or two or three. Not too long ago, I was having a little Skype date with my dear friend and client Casey Berglund who is just incredible as you're going to hear in our conversation. We were catching up and we were saying, "I can't believe it's been a couple of years now that we've known each other," and that I've seen these incredible changes in her business and these tweaks and pivots she's taken along the way that now she is so incredibly happy and fulfilled and excited about her business. But it didn't happen overnight, it took some work. It took really rolling up her sleeves, and it took making some hard decisions doing hard things is a big part of this journey. What she said to me after we had this little catch up date, I was so

Understanding these natural seasons of your business can really set you up for success and help you to take off running in the fall. For many entrepreneurs, especially us mamapreneurs, us working moms who are juggling kids who are off on their spring break or summer break, summer can bring a dip in new clients and revenue. Whether we're just juggling our own family during that time, or it's a time of year where our own students and clients are off on vacation and they're not thinking about coming in to see us or to work with us, it can feel really easy to slip into those lazy days of summer. I want you to know that the summer slowdown is a perfect time to build your business.

About six months ago, in December of 2016, I had an episode that was all about how to do a year in review and set yourself up for success in the new year. The truth is, it feels like New Year’s gets all the glory, that’s when everybody is dreaming big and they’re setting smart goals, but by June chances are your goals, your priorities, things going on in your business, might have changed. I want you to know that this is totally normal. When you are a solopreneur or you’re running a small business where you are the one in charge of pretty much everything going on, things can shift pretty quickly. A goal that you might have set in January might not be a priority anymore. There might be a new opportunity you decided to go for, there might be a new product or program or service you decided to create. Things can change very quickly when we’re running these small businesses. Today I wanted to take time today to walk you through a process that I do around this time of year - a mid-year review.

Is your business sustainable? This is such an important piece of the entrepreneurship puzzle and I don’t think it’s talked about enough. We are in a current entrepreneurial culture right now that seems to worship the hustle, the badge of honor that comes with saying, “I work 12 hours a day,” or 16 hours a day. “I’m putting in 80-100 hour weeks.” But, I shared some statistics recently in a new master class called Break Free from the Feast or Famine Cycle. One of the things that really shakes me is that despite the rate of people starting new small businesses, 80% of those small businesses will close their doors within the first 18 months. The survival rate beyond that is abysmal. It’s terrible. Most people simply are not making sustainability a part of the conversation when they are starting their business and running their business. After being at this for nearly a decade on my own, I’m here to tell you that if you’re in your business for the long haul: Sustainability is just as important as profitability.

Are you still struggling with a dramatic ebb and flow of clients and cashflow? A business trapped in the feast or famine zone is not designed for growth!

I wanted to share with you today a little bit about how we manage to plan the business around our family, because this is our focus.  It hasn’t been an accident. But I have to say that looking back over it, I could give you a lot more perspective now on what worked, what didn’t work, and how I continue to move forward as the mom of three little people. My little people now, the twins, Julie and Alex, are seven. They’re going into second grade this year. It’s really exciting. My littlest guy, Mitchell, is four. He’ll be going into preschool next year. It’s been quite an adventure having these little people. I hope this will help anybody, not just mom entrepreneurs, but dad entrepreneurs, too.

Want more balance in your life & biz? Make space for what matters! Thankfully, you don’t have to sacrifice your health, family, happiness, or spirit to have a successful thriving business and happy family. And it all starts by understanding the true meaning of BALANCE. Too often, we find ourselves scrolling through the insta-perfect photos of other mamapreneurs who seem to have it all together. Their homes are Pinterest perfect. Surely their gluten-free vegan dinners are delish. And their fitspo photos? Really – who looks that perfect when you’re supposed to be sweaty? It’s so easy to forget these photos are just a snapshot, a one-second peek into their lives. And that one-second peek? It’s an illusion of balance. Balance is a VERB. Too often we believe that if we just find that one time management trick, we’ll finally break the code to achieving balance. We’ll have the right ratio of work to family to health. And life will magically be happily ever after.  Balance is challenging!  Just the physical act o

After working with hundreds of heart-centered entrepreneurs… I’ve seen a pattern that many of us buy into {that’s actually setting us up for insane amounts of stress and anxiety in our businesses}. While we all want to create a business and life we love, I see many of us DELAYING the life we love because we believe that FIRST we’ve gotta work our fingers to the bone to create a successful business. Turns out – you can live a life you love. RIGHT NOW. And the best part? When you start living a life that you LOVE – your business will instantly up-level to support it!

Today I’m walking you through the essentials of a free coaching call that converts into paying clients. So many people hesitate to get on the phone with potential clients because they are afraid of being seen as ‘pushy’ or ‘salesy’ when in reality for anyone offering higher-end services, a real conversation is essential to booking new clients. Ready? Let's get started!

Now onto the third installment of the Get More Clients series! In this post, I’m getting into the simplest, easiest way you can start filling your client docket. In fact – this is EXACTLY the process I used to book $10K within my first 2 weeks back after a year long maternity leave.

Solopreneurs often themselves in this position where we’re doing everything we can think of to grow our business - we’re checking all of the marketing items off the list - but it’s just not delivering enough paying clients. I know that 99% of the time, there is likely a missing piece of the profit-generating puzzle. There’s a disconnect between you and your potential clients that’s preventing them from taking that next step towards working with you. Listen in today and we'll cover the top three reasons you're not getting clients in your business.

I hear from people every week who are dreaming about their dream business but struggling with the reality of starting from scratch, with no website, no email list, and nothing to offer but their time. What do you do when you're building your dream business but need revenue, stat? And while I’m uber-committed to sharing a more organic, mindful, and sustainable approach to business – one that steers clear from the sleazy Build a Six-Figure Biz in 30 Days noise – sometimes you need cash flow. NOW. The fastest path to cash is working 1×1 with clients.

Selena Soo discusses using publicity principles to land your next podcast so you can reach bigger audiences {and the steps to get you there!} Get the transcript and show notes at: rachealcook.com/episode39

We often think that online businesses are all about high tech... but for those who are the most successful, high touch is their secret to success.

If you're the CEO of your business... it's time to step into your role as the Boss Lady. Unapologetically. Cause Boss Ladies get it done.