Free Time with Jenny Blake

If there’s one software question that invokes a near-universal groan among small business owners, it’s “What do you use for a CRM?” Much of the existing software is clunky, expensive, or at worst—both. Today I’m chatting with Notion pro Alex Sherwood, a former Salesforce CRM manager, on how he built his own Customer Relationship Manager tool in Notion, and inspired me to do the same. Because even the acronym CRM gives me shudders, I renamed mine “K.I.T.”, Keep In Touch, in a nod to high school yearbook sign-offs.More About Alex: Alex Sherwood, also known as A Notioneer, is a full-time Notion Certified Consultant, ambassador, and creator, who helps Notion users structure their system with his 50+ templates, guides, and consulting. Previously, he managed a Salesforce CRM for more than 3 years that started with 9 users and scaled to more than 75. He is the resident expert for our Free Time Operations Dashboard, a done-for-you guide to your entire business, helping all of our new Dashboarders get up-to-speed. You can use the code PODCAST for a special deal on the Free Time Operations Dashboard (which includes two 1:1 sessions with Alex!)🌟3 Key Takeaways: Ideally, you have one central, searchable storage spot to keep tabs on people you connect with regularly, whether for clients or your broader professional community.  When building your CRM, focus on the outputs you want it to provide: Help tracking your sales pipeline? Keeping up with friends? Networking with colleagues? Additional questions to consider: What processes do you need to manage? What information do you need to record about those processes to make them as simple as possible? What reports would be most helpful for your business? 📝Permission: Set up a simple CRM that works for you. Start with keeping light notes and reminders for the people you care most about! Then allow it to organically grow in scope and complexity over time.✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Create a “referred by” or “how we met” note or relation (Notion-speak) in your CRM to remember how you first connected with someone. 📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One🔗Resources Mentioned:  Alex on the web, IG: @aNotioneer, Twitter: @anotioneer Notion Resources: Free Time Operations Dashboard (promo code PODCAST), Marie Poulin’s Notion Mastery course, Alex’s Advanced CRM Template, How to build a CRM in Notion (video), meme: “Just taking notes” Tools Mentioned: Make, Zapier, Stripe, Stripe Sigma, Glide 🎧Related Podcast Episodes:  108: How to Run a Scaled Coaching Team with Notion 088: Why I Moved from Asana to Notion for Task and Project Management 034: Organizing Research and Ideas - Notion Walkthrough #1 036: Shaping Big Ideas - Notion Walkthrough #2 038: Tracking Progress Toward Finishing a Book (or Big Idea) with an Essay Tracker - Notion Walkthrough #3 083: Breaking through Buyer’s Remorse—Never Lose a Customer Again with Joey Coleman 111: Building a Second Brain with Tiago Forte Pivot 287: Solving Pivot Puzzles with A.J. Jacobs   💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe »🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners.💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/125 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How often do you feel blocked when it comes to creating new content? If you want to be more consistent and confident, today I’m sharing the 5 C’s System that I use to create 12 podcast episodes a month, two newsletters, and bonus content for my private BFF community. Ongoing Public Original Thinking is a central part of my business, and this is my ever-evolving system that facilitates it. 🌟 JB’s 5 C’s System for Content Production: Carve out time for consuming content that energizes you each day - it doesn’t have to be directly related to your business. Follow your curiosity and set things aside in an “inspiration box” for physical items, or a folder or board for digital.  Add snippets to a collection bucket, and tag them with topics and categories so you can find things easily later. Tag content in your collection bucket specifically for your content calendar so you know what you’ll be sharing when. See yourself as a qualified curator and share regularly!  📝Permission: Not to be a genius in the moment you’re trying to create content. You also have permission not to be an End-All-Be-All Expert. Lean on the identity of Qualified Curator instead.✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Create a collection bucket if you don’t already have one!  📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business  Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One  The 1-Page Marketing Plan: Get New Customers, Make More Money, And Stand Out From The Crowd 🎧Related Podcast Episodes:  111: Building a Second Brain with Tiago Forte 034: Organizing Research and Ideas — Notion Walkthrough #1 069: XYZ with Allan Dib  The Tim Ferriss Show Transcripts: Tim Urban (#283) Pivot 146: How to Rapid-Prototype a Course Pivot 281: Feeling Impostery? Become a Qualified Curator Instead of an End-All-Be-All Expert (5/29) Pivot 196: Agile Public Original Thinking 💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe » 🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners. 💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/124 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Time collapses when something you think takes 100 steps takes only one.” That’s just one of many gems from this week’s guest, Richie Norton. Richie is teaching us how to optimize for time flow and cash flow; to act from our future, not toward it. As he says, “It’s time to rescue your meta-goal from the ledge of your long-distance timeline and bring it home by placing it directly at the center of your life.”More About Richie: Richie Norton is an award-winning author and serial entrepreneur. An executive coach (one of the Top 100 as honored by MG100) to CEOs, and one of the world’s leading thinkers, Pacific Business News recognized Richie as one of the Top Forty Under 40 “best and brightest young businessmen” in Hawaii. He is the CEO and Cofounder of PROUDUCT—an INC. 5000 company—a global entrepreneurship solution helping businesses go from idea to market with full-service sourcing, product strategy, and end-to-end supply chain. He is the author of several books including Anti-Time Management, The Power of Starting Something Stupid and Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It. He and his wife Natalie have four boys (one son already made his way to Heaven) and they have cared for three beloved foster children. They live on the North Shore of Oahu, Hawaii, with their little dog, Velzy.🌟3 Key Takeaways: Work from your goals, not toward them. Anti-Time Management is about autonomy, availability, and ability. Bthinking about the goal first, you can often eliminate a lot of time and work in getting there. “Experts do not require training.” If you charge higher prices and hire experts as you need them to help you fulfill that demand, you can deliver more value while working less.  Time collapses when something you think takes 100 steps takes only one. 📝Permission: Rethink projects with too many steps or obstacles toward creating the lifestyle you want. How can you bake your dream into the process from day one?✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Reflect: Are you paying as much attention to your time flow as your cash flow? On what area of your business do you spend the most time? Does it make sense for you to be doing that work, or can you delegate or outsource it to someone who could do it better? 📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One The Power of Starting Something Stupid: How to Crush Fear, Make Dreams Happen, and Live without Regret  Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It Anti-Time Management: Reclaim Your Time and Revolutionize Your Results with the Power of Time Tipping 🔗Resources Mentioned:  Richie on the web, Twitter, Instagram: @ritchie_norton, LinkedIn Ritchie’s Podcast: The Richie Norton Show Tedx Talk: Richie Norton TEDx Talk (ft SIRAH + Moldova) Part 2 of 3 SIRAH: A Light in the Dark on The Richie Norton Show JLD’s Freedom Journal 🎧Related Podcast Episodes: 100: Top Ten Lessons from 💯 Episodes, 006: Going Pro on Podcasting with Jordan Harbinger💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe »🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners.💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/123 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As I ask in the introduction to Free Time: What revenue streams are in that oh-so-sweet-spot of profit, ease, and joy in your business? Recurring revenue is one of the holy grails within a sustainable, scalable business. It’s an area that I have focused intently on since 2015, so in a follow-up episode 112: My 3 Biggest Business Regrets, today I’m sharing more about the recurring income streams in my business.The primary recurring streams of income in my business are (in order of size):  Corporate licensing, primarily of the Pivot IP  Coaching powered a network of subcontractors My private BFF community Royalties from my three books (not much, but they still count!) and LinkedIn Learning video courses Podcast ad revenue, and  Affiliate sales (okay, so I snuck in a sixth! These aren’t quite recurring on a monthly basis, but a small-yet-active ongoing activity)  Some of these are more passive than others, but together they combine to create a diversified business model that supports both Fortune 5 clients and “Fortune Five Million” as the basecamp founders would say :)🌟3 Key Takeaways: You can batch service delivery like you batch other tasks. Consider putting all of your coaching (or equivalent!) calls on certain days of the week or weeks of the month to maximize your free space. Sometimes “passive” income is really just asymmetric income, where you front-load the effort, and see the results later on. Ideally, a business will have a small mix of recurring opportunities so you’re never completely dependent on a single stream or client. I aim for three primary focus areas when it comes to recurring revenue: licensing, coaching, and community.  📝Permission: To renegotiate how you invoice clients, shifting from one-off project-based billing to recurring retainer-based billing. You might be surprised at how much easier this makes things for your clients too, by reducing decision-fatigue and scheduling complications! ✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Reevaluate one of the revenue streams in your business: How could you “productize” a service, making a one-off or ad-hoc stream more predictable by shiting it toward a subscription model? 📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business  Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Subscribed: Why the Subscription Model Will Be Your Company's Future-and What to Do About It Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You 🔗Resources Mentioned:  Jordan Gill’s Systems Saved Me Free Time Programs: BFF Community, Free Time Operations Dashboard, Voxer Coaching Waitlist Turning the Flywheel (Monograph) 🎧Related Podcast Episodes:  112: My 3 Biggest Business Regrets  Pivot 066: Create Multiple Streams of Income with Dorie Clark 016: IP Licensing with Lee LeFever 111: Building a Second Brain with Tiago Forte Pivot 283: What Are You Here to Do? How to Find a Path That Fits with Adrian Klaphaak Pivot 288: Embracing Uncertainty — Mic Flip with Adrian Klaphaak 💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe » 🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners. 💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/122 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Take it from a self-described “recovering micromanager,” Annie Hyman Pratt: people are the most underleveraged, underutilized asset you have in your business. And once you see it, she says, you won’t be able to unsee it. Today we’re talking about the people side of your business—how to get out of the weeds as a leader to prevent burnout and build a high-performing, trust-based team, even while steering through shaky economic conditions.More About Annie: Annie Hyman Pratt specializes in developing leaders, teams, and infrastructure to drive business growth through her company Leading Edge Teams. Her career started with her family’s business, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and sky-rocketed from there. After decades of success and experience as a C-level executive and business adviser, she recently launched her new book, The People Part: Seven Agreements Entrepreneurs and Leaders Make to Build Teams, Accelerate Growth, and Banish Burnout for Good.🌟3 Key Takeaways: Micromanagement often comes from a leader trying to dial down their own discomfort, judgments, and assumptions. “What we need from people now is thinking—hands are not enough.” Delegation starts on the premise that it’s a two-way street: the other person needs to take on discernment, responsibility, and results, not just say “yes” automatically. The thing about downturns: as long as you survive with any kind of decent health at the end, you will automatically be there to grab the new opportunities — which you can’t see yet! A stormy season isn’t the time to try and reach your destination, but just to keep the ship upright and your team reasonably okay. Have faith that the skies are going to clear. 📝Permission: Drop the self-blame and self-disappointment. If you are a business owner, your self-compassion must exceed your ambition. ✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: For the next big project you want to delegate, consider (and capture!) the outcomes you are looking to achieve as a result (not just tasks). 📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One The People Part: Seven Agreements Entrepreneurs and Leaders Make to Build Teams, Accelerate Growth, and Banish Burnout for Good Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You 🔗Resources Mentioned: Annie on the web, Instagram: @anniehymanpratt, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter Leadership Assessment Quiz Leading Edge Teams 🎧Related Podcast Episodes: 007: Million-Dollar One-Person Business with Elaine Pofeldt 093: How to Sell Your Online Business with Alexis Grant Pivot: 096: The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business with Elaine Pofeldt 086: The Cyrano Strategy for Delegating Important Comms 054: Ten T's of Successful Delegating 067: Tiny Business, Big Money with Elaine Pofeldt   💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe »🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners.💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/121 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is your to-do list piled to the sky with uninspiring tasks? Wait until you hear this listener submission from Leanne, sharing one of many favorite gems from participating in mastermind groups and 1:1 coaching with the legendary “Million Dollar Consultant” Alan Weiss.More About Leanne: Leanne Hughes is an international facilitator, trusted advisor, and speaker who loves creating unpredictable workshop experiences that predictably work. She combines her experience in marketing and her passion for group dynamics, with her education in psychology to help leaders dramatically improve their teams' performance. Based in Brisbane, Australia, Leanne has partnered with organizations all around the world (in-person and virtual) and believes in a strengths-centered approach to learning and development. Check out her two podcasts: First-Time Facilitator and Work and Live Large.What’s your favorite time-saving system? Share with fellow Free Timers by leaving us a voice note at http://itsfreetime.com/ask or recording a brief voice memo on your phone and emailing it to hi [at] itsfreetime.com. We can’t wait to hear from you!🌟 Key Takeaway: If your to-do list isn’t sparking joy, eliminate the items you can first. For ones that remain: visualize the benefits of accomplishing the items—the ideal end state—and write down your vision for how you will feel after completing them. Be vivid and irresistible in your description!📝Permission: Drop annoying tasks and to-dos. Focus on what’s most compelling instead.✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Look at your current to-do list: For the five most critical items, reframe them into results you are going to enjoy once the logistical steps are complete.📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business  Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Alan Weiss’ Million-Dollar Consulting, Million-Dollar Speaker  🔗Resources Mentioned:  Leanne on the web, Instagram: @leannehughes, LinkedIn: Leanne Hughes Leanne’s Podcasts: First Time Facilitator, Leanne Hughes’ Work and Live Large Jenny’s private BFF Community for Heart-Based Business owners 🎧Related Podcast Episodes: 017: Serendipity as Business Strategy with Leanne Hughes💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe » 🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners. 💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/120 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Why would someone fly you across the world to do business with them?” That powerful question from a mentor in March 2020 gave today’s guest, Marquis Murray, the courage to go all-in on his passion of helping business owners create order from chaos through greater operational efficiency. More About Marquis: Marquis Murray is the CEO and Founder of Ditto, a systems and processes consultancy for organizations who need help creating clarity around the work inside their companies. His goal is eliminating team burnout, so people can focus more on the work they do without the stress of not knowing where or how the work is happening. He is also the host of the In Systems We Trust podcast where owners and leaders of businesses talk about the systems, processes, and operational efficiency practices they use every day.🌟3 Key Takeaways: If you’re not updating your systems and processes as your business grows, then you might be en route to burnout. Make sure your foundation can support your growth.  Just because you can do something better or faster yourself, doesn’t mean you should.  What happens immediately after a client signs on the dotted line? That is the very last place you want something to fall through the cracks. 📝Permission: Stop apologizing for wanting perfection, or wanting to improve. Don’t be afraid to say no in order to protect your time and spend more energy working in your zone of genius.✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Ask, “How can I make this easier?” This is often the best starting place when you want to improve your systems and automated processes. 📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One  The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It  The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level  Alignment: Overcoming Internal Sabotage and Digital Product Failure  Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity  Vivid Vision: A Remarkable Tool for Aligning Your Business Around a Shared Vision of the Future 🔗Resources Mentioned:  Marquis on the web, Twitter, LinkedIn Marquis’ Podcast: In Systems We Trust  Think Ditto’s Vivid Vision for 2022  Personality Test: 16 Personalities, Enneagram Tools: Loom, Asana, Zapier, IFTTT, Integromat, Burb, HubSpot, PandaDoc, DocuSign, HelloSign, Lucid.app Podcast: The Talking to Tech People Podcast with Jason Frazell: Marquis Murray-CEO and Founder of Ditto 💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe »🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners.💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/119 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Living in New York City for over a decade, I’ve woken up to many a strange sight over the years: sirens, helicopters overhead, a pre-dawn police chase through the backyard, and a drone buzzing where the birds should be. But never have I woken up to someone doing their job with such delight (who also happened to be smokin’ hot and shirtless) that he drew out fellow neighbors to stand at attention in their windowsills, with coffee mugs in hand, also chatting him up and taking in the view.Today’s episode takes a page out of this memorable man’s customer delight handbook. Daymaker: wherever you are, thank you. 📝Permission: Be over the top. Let your inner child out and loosen up. Be giddy with delight that you get to do what you do for the people you do it for (and lucky passersby).  ✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Who is the last person who made your day? Who made you smile and memorably shifted your mood? Reach out and thank them for spreading their abundant joy in the world :)📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business, Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One 🔗Resources Mentioned: Architect Breaks Down 5 of the Most Common New York Apartments (Video), Chris Jenner’s Masterclass on Personal Branding🎧Related Podcast Episodes: For the flip-side, listen to 068: Are You Running a Grumpy Business?💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe » 🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners. 💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/118 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you shy away from marketing and metrics, or have trouble figuring out more of your ideal clients? If so, this conversation will give you just the boost you need!Join me and longtime friendtor Pamela Slim (the one who gave me the courage and encouragement to leave my comfy corporate life back in 2011) as we discuss shifting out of empire culture toward ecosystem culture, identifying watering holes for your ideal community members, working with “PB&J partners,” being the weirdo in the room, and prioritizing outreach even if you’re introverted.More About Pam: Pamela Slim is an award-winning author, speaker and business coach who works with small business owners ready to scale their businesses and IP. She is the author of Escape from Cubicle Nation, Body of Work, and The Widest Net: Unlock Untapped Markets and Discover New Customers Right in Front of You, and TEDx speaker on Finding Purpose in the New World of Work. She also hosts The Widest Net podcast where she shares the many ways entrepreneurs and small business owners can build a thriving business.🌟3 Key Takeaways: Empire culture vs. ecosystem culture: Focus on creating an environment of amazing, related services to help your ideal client solve their problem/s. Brainstorm a list of Tiny Marketing Actions: “Small daily marketing actions, delivered consistently over a long period of time, to build your brand, your business, and your bank account.” Don’t be afraid to be the weirdo in the room: “Instead of clustering with the same group of friends who all promote each other's stuff for years on end in a tightly controlled environment with rigid rules for participation...look for places where [you] can learn as much as [you] can from customers who have problems that interest [you].” 📝Permission: Drop the socialization that tells you that you should be in a different place than you are, doing more, feeling guilty for what you haven’t done; the shame that builds up around making a plan and falling off course. Release and drop anything you didn’t do and look forward.✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Make a list of three possible PB&J partners—ones that offer highly complementary services to your ideal customers. Bonus: Send a love note to someone whose work you admire! 📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One Escape From Cubicle Nation: From Corporate Prisoner to Thriving Entrepreneur Body of Work: Finding the Thread That Ties Your Story Together The Widest Net: Unlock Untapped Markets and Discover New Customers Right in Front of You 🔗Resources Mentioned:  Pam on the web, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Pam’s Podcast: The Widest Net Ted Talk: Finding Purpose in the New World of Work Article: Are You Squeezing Through the Eye of a Needle? 🎧Related Podcast Episodes:  101: Run Your Business with Exquisite Greatness and Tiny Art Projects with Alexandra Franzen 111: Building a Second Brain with Tiago Forte 108: How to Run a Scaled Coaching Team with Notion  💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe »🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners.💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit 💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/117 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room.” That’s a gem I found in MBS’s book, How to Begin, from Body Shop founder Anita Roddick.It came to mind last night while I was being plagued by a particularly elusive mosquito my husband dubbed “Maverick.” (Yes, after the Tom Cruise movie.) In my sleep-deprived state I searched for the meaning—and the business metaphor—behind this pesky, pernicious little beast.Thus, after a midnight brainstorm, I bring you this solo episode on finding (and eradicating!) the mosquitoes* in your business. *Don’t get them confused with the Butterfly Effect—tiny moments (supposedly) sparking massive change, or Splatology—low-stakes time clutter accumulating until you can’t see through the windshield any longer.🌟3 Key Takeaways—Business Mosquitoes are: Persistent interruptions that interfere with much more important goals (i.e. sleep, peace). Often hard to see, and harder to catch (until they’re perched on the headboard resting fat and happy after feasting on you) Relentless in waking you up to deal with the problem (unless you resort to bury every inch of your body under the covers, the proverbial head in the sand) 📝Permission: Put boundaries in place that prevents others from interrupting your peace!✅Do (or Delegate) This Next: Identify your biggest business mosquito: What’s keeping you up at night? How can you put a solution in place that doesn’t just squash one, but prevents many more “bites” in the future? 📘Books Mentioned: Free Time: Lose The Busywork, Love Your Business  Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One How to Begin: Start Doing Something That Matters The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator Radical Candor: Fully Revised & Updated Edition: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less 🔗Resources Mentioned:  Article: The Mosquitoes Are Coming for Us Indoor Mosquito Trap (scroll down to the hilarious reviews): Katchy Sleep and Fitness Tracker: Whoop Jenny’s private BFF Community Gotham Production Studios 🎧Related Podcast Episodes:  057: You+ vs. You 2.0 with MBS 106: Splatology—On Clearing Time Clutter 062: Made by Monday On Content "Frog" Batching 💻 Access Free Time episode transcripts on Podscribe » 🌟Enjoying the show? The best way to thank us is by leaving a rating or review.❤️Consider joining Jenny’s private BFF community, where you’ll get access to a monthly Q&A call, a private podcast feed with bonus content, and a community forum to exchange ideas and feedback with fellow Heart-Based Business owners. 💌 Subscribe to the Time Well Spent newsletter: http://itsfreetime.com/join🛠 Get instant access to the Free Time Toolkit: http://itsfreetime.com/toolkit💬 I’d love to hear what’s on your mind! Take the Free Time listener survey☎️ Submit a voice question or comment for future episodes: http://itsfreetime.com/ask🎧 Make sure you’re subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts📝 Check out full show notes and links from this episode and share it with a friend! https://itsfreetime.com/episodes/116 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices