Unfiltered Entrepreneur by Ashli Pollard - Business Tips for Digital Service Based Founders and Agencies

Alia O'Neal is the Founder and CEO of The Product Place. Alia began her career in pattern-making and apparel construction before working her way up to Director of Production and Sourcing. Having climbed to the top of a luxury product-based business, Alia founded The Product Place to help others build up their own businesses. After working with her to create Me Time and achieve my morning journal dreams, I wanted to bring her wealth of knowledge to all of you. I absolutely vouch for her, and she shares so much including how much you can expect to invest, how to avoid being a drop-ship copycat brand, the importance of building out an internal suite catalog, what makes a product-based business so unique, and more! Whether you've been considering creating your own products for a while or you've just started to think about it, this episode is for you. 00:58 — Alia's Background + How She Got Started 10:06 — Current Businesses Ali Sees with The Product Place 13:06 — Investment + Time Commitment 17:35 — Creating a Product (Me Time) + Launching For The First Time 26:34 — The First Step in Creating a Product-Based Business 30:22 — Pros and Cons of Launching with Size Runs vs. No Size Runs 34:46 — Common Mistakes Early Founders Make 41:48 — Manufacturing Overseas vs. Domestically 45:55 — Why Creating Products Is So Special 49:09 — When to Move to a Warehouse 51:07 — Product 24  Resources: The Product Place Website + Instagram Product 24  Alia's personal Instagram Brand New Team Toolkit (Follow us on IG for an exclusive discount code!) Team AP Consulting Resources Team AP Consulting Services _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

Bday Team toolkit is $450 for her team contracts + my team toolkitNina Marinaro, Esq. is known online as Nina The Lawyer. She spent over 10 years in NY as a lawyer before deciding she wanted to travel the world. As she started building her dream life, she realized that many online entrepreneurs had no idea how to ensure legal protections for themselves and their businesses. Now she provides business owners  with the contracts they need to protect their content. She has personally saved me tens of thousands of dollars with those contract templates, and I use them in ALL of my businesses. We talk about why you shouldn't be afraid to start implementing contracts and why they are actually a necessary investment in order to protect your intellectual property in an online space. Nina also shares a lot of personal stories to help us all learn from her mistakes. Bring a pen + paper — this episode is full of important info you'll wanna remember!  02:14 — All About Nina  04:57 — The Key to Building Trust in Your Online Brand + Maintaining Client Relationships  13:44 — The 3 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid to Use Contracts  23:12 — NDA's + Why You Need To Use Them To Protect Yourself  36:28 — Joint Venture Contracts  39:30 — Protecting Yourself with Contracts  48:04 — Fun questions for Nina, including: What She'd Title This Chapter of Her Life, A Mistake She Recently Made + Learned From, What She Wishes People Knew, What She Wishes She Knew, and What She Has in the Pipeline  The BIRTHDAY SALE: Use code bdaysale for the collab and client bundle! Bday Team toolkit is $450 for Nina's contracts + my team toolkit! Resources: Nina the Lawyer on IG Nina the Lawyer on TikTok Nina's Website Non-Negotiable Success Podcast Brand New Team Toolkit (Follow us on IG for an exclusive discount code!) Team AP Consulting Resources Team AP Consulting Services _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

Building your business is HARD work. We make mistakes, we encounter problems, and we have to innovate at every twist and turn. On this journey that you've started as an entrepreneur, you'll face up and downs. Maybe you'll feel on top of the world one day and unsure of what to do on the next. Maybe you'll encounter having a client base you don't know how to grow, an immense lack of confidence, or that you don't have time to meet the demands of your business. You may even feel like you do not have enough money coming in because you don't know how to drive sales. Whether you're facing all of these or one of these, I'm going to walk you through how to combat four of the most common problems that entrepreneurs face. — Common Problems Entrepreneurs Face — Dealing with a Lack of Clients — Lacking Confidence + How To Deal With It — Feeling Like You Lack the Time — Not Earning Enough Income From Your Business Resources: Brand New Team Toolkit (Follow us on IG for an exclusive discount code!) Team AP Consulting Resources Team AP Consulting Services Check out @thewomenarespeaking on Instagram + our new Podcast in a Day program! _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

Burnout is the boogeyman for entrepreneurs. We worry about it sneaking up on us — hiding behind every corner just waiting to put a huge wrench into whatever plans we have coming up. Luckily, after 10 years in corporate and a few years building my own business from the ground up, I've come up with a few tips that have helped me avoid burnout for my entire professional career. I'm sharing those exact tips in this episode to help any of you who are currently battling burnout or hoping to avoid it in the future as your business grows! — What Burnout is + Why There Is No Shame — Tip #1: Busy + Slow Periods — Tip #2: Time Off — Tip #3: Creating Balance — Tip #4: Listening to Your Body — Tip #5: Integrating Play in Your Day-to-Day Resources: Brand New Team Toolkit (Follow us on IG for an exclusive discount code!) Team AP Consulting Resources Team AP Consulting Services Check out @thewomenarespeaking on Instagram + our new Podcast in a Day program! _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

So you want to grow your team but you don't know where to start. Maybe you don't know where to look, or you aren't sure how to conduct an interview, or you don't even know how to budget for a new team member. Don't worry — the Unfiltered Entrepreneur is here for you. In this episode, I am going to guide you through the interview process, from finding talent, to creating an application, to having a successful interview. I tell you all about the questions that I ask people and the main things that I look for when I hire someone. (HINT: Finding the "perfect" fit shouldn't necessarily be your main focus!) 1:20 — Our New Team Toolkit to Help You Build the Team of Your Dreams 3:35 — Finding Talent to Interview 6:17 — The Pre-Interview Process + Which Questions You Should Consider Asking on Your Application 14:32 — What to Expect From an Interview + Avoiding Common Pitfalls 19:05 — The Big Three: Basics, Personality, and Values Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Brand New Team Toolkit (Follow us on IG for an exclusive discount code!) Team AP Consulting Resources Team AP Consulting Services Check out @thewomenarespeaking on Instagram + our new Podcast in a Day program! _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

Maintaining profits in our businesses can be overwhelming. There can be so much to sell, so many sales goals to meet, and burn out is waiting around the corner. Maybe you feel that if you don't meet/maintain that 10k a month, you'll enter into that beast or famine phase where we are working paycheck to paycheck. But what if I told you there was another way? In this episode, I am going to walk you through how to optimize your launches, how to do drops, and how to work with clients — both when you're just starting out and when you're already established. 1:05 — Dealing With Launches + Why You Should Start Planning Your Financial Goals Quarterly 3:05 — How to Plan a Drop + Why You Should Show People an Answer to a Specific Problem 7:35 — 2 Steps to Creating a Space for Everyone in Your Business 11:40 — Splitting Up Your Weeks Into Bread + Butter Services, Lower-Priced Services, Medium-Priced Services, and Hard Pushes 12:30 — How to Sell Something vs. A True Launch Strategy Resources Mentioned in This Episode: Brand New Team Toolkit Team AP Consulting Resources Team AP Consulting Services Check out @thewomenarespeaking on Instagram + our new Podcast in a Day program! _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

 What I want from my business and what you want from your business may be two completely different things, and that's okay! Whether you want a side hustle, a company that makes 100k a year, or a big business, each and every entrepreneurial venture is valid. Those business tips you hear on Instagram may not be wrong per say, but they may not be what you need to do for your particular business model. That's where I step in. In this episode, I'm taking you through what each type of business would require from you in order to be successful. You'll hear why the only thing that truly matters is matching the energy inside of you by creating something that fits within your needs and brings you joy. 1:02 — The Different Levels Of Business That You Could Create 5:29 — Side Hustles (30k-50k a year) + Why You Should Focus on Doing One Thing Super Well, Developing a Fully Automated System, and Nailing Your Pricing 9:17 — 100k With A Very Small Team + What The Ideal Client Base Is 11:22 — A Massive Business/Agency (500k-1 Million a Year) With a Full-Time Team + The Sacrifices, Milestones, and Skills Needed to Make it Work 15:57 — Motivational Message to All The Entrepreneurs Tuning In Resources Mentioned in This Episode: All Team AP Consulting Resources Get Started Toolkit All Things Web Toolkit C-Suite Toolkit Hit Record Podcast Course Dubsado Discount code for 20% off your first month: ASHLI The Agency Model PS: Last week to use code TeamAP for $100 off the Team Bundle! _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

The way that a business grows is basically what it was like for me to find my way in New York. I went from dancing with club promoters to get into clubs for free, to buying one crappy drink because that's what I could afford, to buying anything and everything I wanted once I could finally afford the city. It was a long process that took years, and our businesses also take years to level up to where we want them to be. We have to be patient, take what we can at the level we are at, invest in what we need, and eventually we are going to be where we always wanted to be. 0:19 — The Analogy to End All Analogies: How Our Businesses Are Just Like the NY Club Scene 4:25 — The Life Cycle of a Business 6:50 — Being in Free Central + How There is an Endless Source of Supplies There 8:51 — Investing in Someone to Audit What You Have, to Fill the Gaps You Encounter, and for the Next Level Up Before Getting to Your Own Internal Team 10:50 — Learning Not to Compare Your Business Journey to Someone Else's 13:15 — Hiring a Team You Can Afford (Listen to the end to get a special discount code!) Resources Mentioned in This Episode: All Team AP Consulting Resources The Agency Model Team Bundle - use code TeamAP for $100 off! Vanessa Lau's Youtube 6 Figure Influencer Podcast with Allie Reeves Non-Negotiable Success Podcast with Nina The Lawyer _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

One of the biggest decisions you will have to make for your business is whether you would like to be a solopreneur or have a team. Believe it or not, you may make more income as a one-person show. A big misconception is that hiring a team removes the work. In actuality, when you hire someone, you are simply changing the work. As the leader, you are still in charge of overseeing what each member of your team is doing, providing feedback, and managing the entire process. I've had the privilege of building up my own business and I've learned a few things along the way. Today, I'm going to share with you the things that I believe you should consider when you're hiring, how to grow a team with internal + external hires, how to find new talent, what my own personal interview process is, what skills you need to effectively work with a team, and the value of leadership. 1:31 — The Benefits of Having a Team + Common Misconceptions 6:44 — How to Decide Whether You Want an Internal Team or External Team 10:47 — Finding Talent, Writing an Effective Job Description, and How to Prepare For a Phone Interview 17:25 — How to Set Up Your Team for Success Through Setting Up Your Goals/Priorities, Having Backend Organization, and a Team Handbook That Lists Your Values + Boundaries 25:42 — What Being a Leader in Your Space and to Your Organization Really Means Resources Mentioned in This Episode: All Team AP Consulting Resources The Agency Model Team Bundle - use code Team AP $100 off expires 4/1 _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!

An essential part of every business in today's economy is a website that works. One that helps drive up sales and guide customers to the best products for them so they keep coming back. The tips in this episode are all about optimizing that very website to YOUR personal archetype (PS: Click the link to the archetype quiz down below if you're not sure which one you are). Whether you're a Go Getter, Enthusiast, Achiever, or a Powerhouse, you have to match your website to the level of business that you're at. But don't worry — I'm gonna give some quick tips for each level so there is something for all of us to learn! 1:03 — The Different Ways a Website Can Help Scale Your Business, Based on Archetypes 2:30 — Go Getter: Upping Your Branding, Using Pinterest, Finding Your Vibe/Aesthetic, and White Space 6:24 —  Enthusiast: Catering to the Customer's Journey, Optimizing Products by Guiding Clients to Freebies Before Pricier Options, and Writing Out Website Copy 9:38 — Achiever: Creating Downloads, Growing Your Email List, and Creating a Compelling Sales Page Copy Through Emotional Lists/Stories or Analytical Lists/Stories 14:43 — Powerhouse: Creating Private Pages for Site Visitors and Service-Based Clients As Well As Incorporating a UTM Resources Mentioned in This Episode: All Things Web Toolkit IG Content Builder  Emails that Sell _____ Into it? Subscribe/Follow/Rate the podcast wherever you are listening (from one entrepreneur to another, we know how important this is right?!) And make sure you take your Archetype quiz to unlock loads of free content tailored to you + your business. Follow us on IG here! And check out all the other bomb podcasts from Fast Forward Productions right here. Get more from Ashli over on this side and leave your listener voicemails at the link below!