What Works

In This Episode: * Bestselling author & business consultant Chris Brogan shares how depression and anxiety impact his experience as an entrepreneur* Why he always knows what he can “drop” when things get rough and what he isn’t willing to let slide* Why he has been transparent about his mental health challenges on social media and how he’s helping to reduce the stigma for others* How he approaches his conversations with others to be as supportive as he can, while also creating his own support network I have received an outpouring of gratitude in the last 6 weeks. Telling you that makes me quite uncomfortable and feels self-serving, but I promise there’s a point. The messages I’ve received have thanked me for being a leader and for sharing how I’m personally processing both our public health crisis and our economic pause. Many of these messages have also ended with something along the lines of: I hope there’s someone supporting you right now. And that’s why I’m sharing this with you. Because, sure, I know that sharing how I feel, what I’m doing to navigate planning or marketing, and how I’m coping is helpful. But what I think is really helpful about what I’ve been sharing? It’s showing people that they’re not alone. I think that’s what they’re really saying to me when they say “I hope there’s something supporting you right now.” They’re saying “you’ve made me feel like I’m not alone and I hope you don’t feel alone either.” Because the truth is… Leaders get lonely. When everyone is looking to you for answers, for support, for guidance, you can feel like there’s no one to go to for your own support. And since all small business owners are leaders in one way or another, we all feel that loneliness sometimes—or maybe, we feel it quite often. This month, we’re tackling that feeling of loneliness and the different kinds of support we can lean on to feel grounded and whole. We’re going to tackle 2 sides of this conversation—mental health and business owner support—and we’ll acknowledge that this conversation really has many more sides than that. I’ll share what works for me and we’ll be asking our community members to share what works for them, too. You’ll hear from Nancy Jane Smith about living with and finding support for high-functioning anxiety which is something I certainly deal with, along with many other business owners I know. You’ll also hear a conversation between me and Startup Pregnant founder Sarah Peck about using & facilitating masterminds for support. And you’ll hear from Shirin Eskandani about finding support through coaching. Today, we’re kicking things off with Chris Brogan, an author, speaker, and consultant who has been incredibly forthcoming about his own experience with depression and anxiety. Chris helps business owners feel less lonely by vulnerably sharing what he’s going through on a regular basis and by regularly offering his support to those who are in the throws of mental health challenges. Post by post, conversation by conversation, Chris is doing his part of reduce the stigma of depression, anxiety, and even failure. ★ Support this podcast ★

The tools I use to run my business have come a long way in the last decade. Back then, I had to do most things manually. Now, integrations and automations are a given. Back then, I had to learn code and poke through dense documentation to get what I wanted. Now, everything is drag & drop. Back then, digital small business owners were repurposing tools meant for other tasks to put our businesses together. Now, we use tools that are made just for us. But it’s not just the tools that have changed. It’s also how I use them. When I started my business, I was always just trying to get one step ahead and the tools I used were solving problems as they came up–no real rhyme or reason. I didn’t stop to think about what my technology or system needs might be even a few months in the future. Today, I look at my tools in terms of how they’ll help me grow. I ask myself how I can use them to build a foundation that makes my business easier to run months or years in the future. I don’t just solve problems with my tools–I create systems. We’ve covered a lot of territory with the tools we use to run our businesses over the last month. And we’re going to cover a little more today. But I think this mindset shift around how we use technology and develop systems has been a thread that has tied all of our episodes together. Whether it was my conversation with Sean, or Jessica, or Prerna, or Holly & Arryn, I hope you picked up on the strategy that these business owners use when it comes to picking and working with tools. That strategy isn’t just about what tools or systems they use. It’s really a bigger mindset around how they run their businesses. They expect to be running, building, and growing these businesses for years to come and so they choose tools, systems, and workflows that make that easier. Today, I want to share 3 more business owners and their favorite tools with you. You’ll hear from designer & illustrator Cynthia Oswald, operations manager Heidi Johnson, and software engineer Rachel Ober. Each one is sharing a tool that’s dramatically changed the way they do business–each in completely different ways. What Works Is Brought To You By Mighty Networks powers brands and businesses – like yours! – that bring people together.With a Mighty Network, online business owners just like you can bring together in one place: * Your website* Your content* Your courses* Your community* Your events online and in real life* And charge for them…all while building YOUR brand. Visit mightynetworks.com to see more examples of brands bringing people together and taking their businesses to the next level. ★ Support this podcast ★

In This Episode: * How personal trainers Holly Myers and Arryn Grogan use systems and software to run a thriving online coaching business* Why they invest in new training and certifications as tools to use in their business* What coaching online has allowed them to accomplish* What tools they use to communicate with clients, produce a library worth of content, and build programs for people to purchase My routine has been disrupted. It’s been six weeks since I’ve been to the gym and I’m quite certain my neighbors are very confused about what I’m doing with the kettlebells in the backyard. Like most gym-goers, I’ve been experimenting with working out from home and hoping that my gym family is well. Luckily, I also have an Instagram gym family—and they’ve been motivating, educating, and challenging me since long before this all started. It’s been so fun watch them re-learn how to do business overnight while, at the same time, providing an immense amount of leadership for the people they care about. Now, all that said, this episode sounds like a no-brainer—but I assure you, it was recorded weeks before every gym in America shut down. This week, we’re taking a look at the tools that personal trainers use to run their businesses online. And since I realize that you’re most likely not a personal trainer, I want assure you that this episode is still full of interesting ways to think about your business and the tools you use to run it. My guests today are Holly Myers and Arryn Grogan from Lift With Holly And Arryn. They were running an online personal training business before taking your personal training business online was corona-cool! I found Holly and Arryn through my Instagram gym family and fell in love with their joy, strength, and precision. Their content is incredibly useful and very fun and real at the same time. Because Holly and Arryn specialize in training other coaches on the techniques they’ve mastered, they realized that online coaching was a great fit for them early on. Instead of constraining their client base to their hometown, they’re able to coach people from all over—and coach while they’re on the road, as well. In this episode, we talk about the tools and systems they’ve used to build their online training business—including the equipment they prefer, the software they use for coaching, the system they use for putting together programs, and how they build content for Instagram. We also talk about some of their favorite tools for working on the road. Now, let’s find out What Works for Holly Myers and Arryn Grogan! What Works Is Brought To You By Mighty Networks powers brands and businesses – like yours! – that bring people together.With a Mighty Network, online business owners just like you can bring together in one place: * Your website* Your content* Your courses* Your community* Your events online and in real life* And charge for them…all while building YOUR brand. Visit mightynetworks.com to see more examples of brands bringing people together and taking their businesses to the next level. ★ Support this podcast ★

In This Episode: * The process Prerna Malik, founder of Content Bistro, uses to create effective copy for her clients* Why she keeps her tools simple and isn’t quick to change them just because there are new options out there* How Prerna uses experience, testing, and research to push the edge and try new things with the copy she writes* What she did to translate her service processes into a program for other agency owners and service-based businesses Your process is your most valuable tool. By that, I mean that the way you do what you do, the system you use to create results, the pattern you follow time and time again is what all the value-generating activities of your business are based on. Now, when you’re just getting started with your business, your process probably feels pretty loose and undefinable. You might even call it magic. And so then it’s no wonder that you have trouble explaining it or documenting it—let alone putting a dollar value on it. But as your business matures, your process (should) become clearer and clearer. You can explain it. You can document it. You can see the financial value in it. Everything else in your business layers on top of your process to create clarity and efficiency. Your process provides the foundation for every other tool you introduce into the way you run your business. This month, we’re examining the tools we use to run our businesses. So far, we’ve talked through some of the tools that Sean and I use to work with clients in our podcast production agency. I talked with Jessica Stansberry about the tools she uses to run her content-driven digital products business. And this week, I’m talking with Prerna Malik about the tools she uses to run her copywriting agency, Content Bistro. Yes, Prerna and I get into the specific tools she uses—things like Google Drive, Notion, and CrazyEgg. But we also talk a lot about her process—how she does what she does. Like I said, process is the most valuable tool in your business and your process should determine the tools that you use. Prerna’s approach certainly demonstrates this. Her tools help her make her process work. They help her make her process more efficient. And ultimately, it’s her process that’s helped her build an incredible business. Now, let’s find out what works for Prerna Malik. Tools In This Episode: * Google Drive – document collaboration and file storage* Notion – project & process management* CrazyEgg – heat maps, user recordings, and A/B testing* Book Like A Boss – scheduling system What Works Is Brought To You By Mighty Networks powers brands and businesses – like yours! – that bring people together.With a Mighty Network, online business owners just like you can bring together in one place: * Your website* Your content* Your courses* Your community* Y... ★ Support this podcast ★

In This Episode: * What tools Jessica Stansberry uses to run her content-driven business* How she knows when it’s time to switch tools and what criteria she uses to pick a new one* What project management tool she’d make out with if she could* How her systems and workflows help her get the most out the software she uses to run her business Most small businesses today create some form of content. Some are sporadically posting updates & photos on social media. Others take the time to create helpful articles, entertaining videos, or valuable podcast episodes. But there’s a whole category of small business that I would consider content-driven. In other words, these businesses rely on the steady production of content that keeps the existing audience happy while it also helps attract new audience members. These businesses might make money by selling advertising, leveraging affiliate marketing partnerships, or selling their own digital products. And often, it’s a combination of all three. These businesses—and the creators behind them—have a lot to teach us about the tools and workflows that can make the content we create easier to manage, more effective, and more profitable. We’re continuing our series on the tools we use to run our small businesses… …by taking a look at the tools a content-driven business uses to create, manage, and publish all that content—as well as how it actually drives revenue, too. I could think of no one better than my friend Jessica Stansberry to talk content & tools with. Jessica is a YouTuber, podcaster, and fellow lover of tools. She’s the host of Grit, a podcast about business and lifestyle design. She’s also produces videos on planning, productivity, business, and marketing for over 66,000 subscribers on YouTube. Jessica and I chat about the hardware, software, and systems she uses to manage it all—plus her criteria for selecting or switching tools! I also asked her about the tools she uses to manage her life outside of business. Now, let’s find out what works for Jessica Stansberry! Tools In This Episode: * Clickup – project management software* Canon D70 – camera for video* Ring light – lighting for video* ATR2100 – microphone* Zoom H1n – portable audio recorder* Premiere Pro – video editing* MemberVault – learning management system for online courses* GoodNotes – iPad app for notetaking* Keywords Everywhere – SEO research Chrome extension What Works Is Brought To You By Mighty Networks powers brands and businesses – like yours! – that bring people together.With a Mighty Network, online business owners just like you can bring together in one place: ★ Support this podcast ★

Sean and Tara McMullin, co-founders of YellowHouse.Media, share the tools they use to run their podcast production agency. They discuss the value of templates, "magic" tools for creating standout podcasts, and tools for managing stress and anxiety. They also mention upcoming episodes focusing on tools for different businesses and the importance of efficiency during these times.

My brand is more “me” than ever. Which is funny because, up until 2017, my brand was my name. That year, I made a conscious effort to move away from my personal brand and build out a company brand, something that could represent an idea that was much bigger than me. At that same time, I started to do some significant personal work. I drank less. I ate better. I started moving my body. Later, I did a heap ton of mindset work. I discovered the great outdoors. I started to feel like a new person… and at the same time, I started to feel more myself. More comfortable with myself. More confident, more whole. Along the way, the brand I was building evolved. It created a space where I could fully belong—as a leader, a businesswoman, and as a human. I wasn’t playing at who Tara Gentile was anymore. I wasn’t hoping to become something that I really wasn’t. I wasn’t putting on a nice dress and fancy makeup and hoping people would trust me. I could just be me. We’re closing out this month on branding by getting personal. We’re looking at how who we are informs what we create and how those brands evolve over time. Like I mentioned, my business brand is more “me” than it’s ever been. Just because my brand represents a company and a community doesn’t mean that it’s not extremely personal. So whether your business is represented by your name and your face or whether you’re building something separate from you, there’s a lot to dig into in this episode. Today, I’m joined by Stasia Savasuk, the creator of Stasia’s Style School. Stasia helps people find the courage, clarity, and congruency to rock their personal style. I wanted to showcase her story during this month as a way of helping you reexamine the stories and patterns that we inadvertently fall into because of what we believe it takes to fit in, to be professional enough, or to earn credibility. Stasia’s personal story—and how she’s turned her passion into a thriving business—will shed light on all the hangups you might have about your personal style and the way your personality plays into the brand you’re building. We chat about how Stasia realized she was fitting herself into imaginary boxes, how the birth of her first child changed how she approaches her own body & style, how she finds the guts to dress the way she wants, and how her personal style informs her personal brand. Now, let’s find out what works for Stasia Savasuk! ★ Support this podcast ★

People are still spending money. It’s a message I’ve shared over and over again over the last 2 weeks. Not everyone is spending money… and not everyone has the money to spend. But plenty of people are still investing in goods and services that will make their lives and businesses better. And along those lines, my friend Mark Butler shared some great insight with his audience last week after investing in a program–even in the midst of our current economic situation. He said that, even when times are tough, when we need help, we’ll invest with the people & businesses that we trust. Who do we trust? Well, they’re the people–the brands–that have made a lasting impact on us over the years. They’re the people and companies that have made an effort to connect with us, that share our values, that represent what we want to see more of in the world. I’m Tara McMullin and you’re listening to What Works–the show that transcends the hype to bring you stories of what’s really working for small business owners today. Yes, people are still spending money and they’re spending it with brands they like and trust. This weekend, I spent money at my local brewery because I want to support them as they try to keep their workers employed. I spent money at a local cafe. And I spent money at Whole Foods, which might be a big corporation but one that does a helluva lot of good for its workers and our local economy. These brands are really important to me. They represent my home, my friends, and the world that I want to live in. I value their presence and I want to see them thrive. They’ve worked hard to build brands that truly connect with people. The small business owners we support at The What Works Network are doing the same. We asked 4 of them to share how they approach brand-building and what they’ve done to create a genuine connection between how they show up and the people they care about. Now, I want to let you know that each of these contributions was recorded before the outbreak had fully hit North America. But I think sharing them with you and inviting you to think about how you want to approach your own brand-building is more important than ever. You’ll hear from Layla Pomper from Process-Driven, Lou Blaser from Second Breaks, Julie O’Hara from Hearts & Brains Consulting, and Margy Thomas from ScholarShape. Let’s get into it! What Works Is Brought To You By Mighty Networks powers brands and businesses – like yours! – that bring people together.With a Mighty Network, online business owners just like you can bring together in one place: * Your website* Your content* Your courses* Your community* Your events online and in real life* And charge for them…all while building YOUR brand. Visit mightynetworks.com to see more examples of brands bringing people together and taking their businesses to the next level. ★ Support this podcast ★

In This Episode: * Why Martinus Evans started running in the first place* How his idea of a runner changed at the starting line of his first race* Why Toastmasters played a bit part in his decision to play bigger* How he’s defining his brand on his own terms My now-husband and I agreed on our second date: we are not people who run for fun. Run to escape zombies, sure. Run as a necessary part of a pickup game of basketball, okay. But run for miles on end chasing some feeling of inner contentment? Hell no. It was much to his dismay, then, when I started running 3 years ago. I started running because I wanted to move my body more and practice personal accountability. Running seemed the easiest way to do it—no gym membership, no expensive equipment. Just sneakers and pavement. But still, I was not running for fun. I was not one of those people. Now, let’s pause for a second and imagine what those people look like and sound like. Maybe you picture Rob Lowe’s character from Parks & Rec—high energy, frenetic, obsessive, and very trim. Maybe you picture marathon runner Des Linden who became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years back in 2018. She’s petite, wiry, and has that stare of someone completely focused on her goals. Maybe you picture a friend of yours, a coworker, or a family member who has been running their whole life. That’s how I pictured those people—the people who run for fun—a few years ago too. When I started running races, however, I realized that the picture of a runner that I had in my mind couldn’t be further from the truth. I mean, sure—there are plenty of wiry, high-energy, trim people who toe the starting line. But there are also people of all different shapes, personalities, and backgrounds who race, too. We’re all runners—no matter how “off brand” any of us might seem. Now, I know I use running & fitness metaphors quite a bit on this show. But today, there’s a very good reason why I’m talking about running. Back on that second date with my husband, I had a certain idea of who a runner was and how someone got to enjoy running. Think of that as the brand of “running.” When I started running, I didn’t feel very on-brand. Now, my guest is Martinus Evans, the host of the 300lbs And Running podcast and the founder of the Slow AF Run Club. Martinus isn’t very “on brand” either if you consider a runner someone wears short shorts and only eats salads. But Martinus is very much a runner. And Martinus has built a brand around rebranding who you think of when you think of a runner. Today, we’re talking about building a brand that defies convention and stereotypes. Martinus and I chat about how he got started sharing his journey to become a runner, how his first race changed his own idea of who a runner is, and why Toastmasters played a big part in him finding the confidence to go big. We also talk about dealing with negativity online and why he chose to create the Slow AF Run Club as a standalone community instead of a Facebook group. Now, let’s find out what works for Martinus Evans! ★ Support this podcast ★

In This Episode: * Shameless Mom Academy founder & host Sara Dean shares how her brand developed over time and in partnership with her community* Why she started the podcast in the first place, as well as why it was key she didn’t have a business in mind at first* How she came to understand the rewards of imperfect action* Why she took some big risks to bring her community together in person and how it paid off It’s tempting to think that you control your own brand. After all, you’re the one paying for the logo art, the web design, the copywriting, the photo shoots… Your money, your decisions. Your story, your brand. Except… A brand is really only as strong as the idea of it in your customer’s mind. Let me say that a different way: you can put loads of thought and money into carefully crafting a brand for yourself or your business but, at the end of the day, if the customer thinks of you or your company as something else entirely, none of that thought or money matters. Your brand is what your customer thinks it is. Your brand is what your customer thinks it is. It’s the impression they have about who you are, what you do, and how you help them. So in essence, all brands are co-created with their customers. We saw this in my conversation with Gina Bianchini from Mighty Networks in Episode 267. Gina and her team is in constant contact with their user base to understand how people want to use their product and what that means for leveling up the brand. We saw it again in Episode 268 with Alyssa Catalano from Studebaker Metals. Alyssa shared that their unique approach to genderless accessories was always sparking conversations with new customers. Those 2-way conversations go a long way to create a stronger brand identity for Studebaker. And I’ve experienced this first hand. The hardest part of my business transitions and pivots over the years hasn’t been the process of changing a name or redoing a website. That’s the easy part. The hardest part of rebranding has been rebuilding the idea our customers and community have about who we are and what we do for them. That process is never a one-way conversation. It’s collaborative and co-creative, especially in a community-based business like ours. My guest today also runs a community-based business and she’s intimately familiar with the role that her community members play in the brand she’s building. Sara Dean is the founder and host of Shameless Mom Academy. As the Shameless Mom Academy podcast started to take off, Sara realized that what she was creating wasn’t just hers. It wasn’t just her sharing her thoughts and stories behind a mic and her audience listening, all from their respective houses, in their separate communities. No, Shameless Mom Academy was a connection between women wrestling with their identities as mothers and ambitious women. This connection was the real story, the real brand powering an emerging business. Today, Sara leads the Momentum Mamas membership community, ★ Support this podcast ★