In this episode, Michelle Warner, a business strategist and designer, shares her transition from building venture-backed startups to creating a smaller, more sustainable business. After ıexperiencing intense burnout, she stepped away from the traditional growth-at-all-costs model and began designing a business that aligned with her life. She reflects on how working with single mothers in a social impact startup revealed a growing wave of online entrepreneurship and inspired her consulting work.
Michelle also breaks down her core philosophy of relationship marketing vs traffic marketing, explaining why most service-based businesses struggle when they rely on audience growth alone. She shares how building intentional relationships, instead of chasing scale, leads to better clients, more aligned growth, and a more sustainable business model.
(00:00) Intro
(00:39) Leaving startups after burnout
(02:46) Shift to a smaller business
(02:56) Discovering online entrepreneurs
(06:59) Offers evolve over time
(12:32) Relationship vs traffic marketing
(28:00) Real vs transactional networking
(29:37) Connection avatars strategy
(32:59) Using a podcast to network
(35:23) Small, specific asks
(46:12) Defining what’s enough
Follow Michelle on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/warnermichelle/ Check out Networking that Pays: https://www.themichellewarner.com/
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Build a repeatable inbound motion and stabilize your revenue: https://duoconsulting.co/
Each week, we share a new framework, concept, or example of how solopreneurs are scaling from $25,000 to $60,000+ per month: https://www.howsolosscale.com/
