What Works

It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in business… Any entrepreneur can suffer a crisis of confidence. Late last year, I felt woefully unprepared and underskilled for the task I had in front of me. I felt like I had been faced with setback after setback, with defeat after defeat. I’d spent 2 years trying to build what I saw as the answer to a huge, painful problem for small business owners. And I just couldn’t seem to get traction. I believed in the idea, the people, the systems, and the plan more than ever but I lost confidence in my ability to execute it. I was able to keep up a brave face for a long time… …but in early November, I collapsed in tears. My faith was gone and, without it, I didn’t know how to solve the problems in front of me. It was finally at that point that I reached out to my crew. I came clean. I got really honest. And I laid it all out for them. For me, getting honest was the path forward. Yes, my supporters comforted me, gave me new ideas, and asked tough questions. But I had to get really, really honest first. Without getting honest about how low I was, I couldn’t have accepted their support. I couldn’t have taken different actions. I couldn’t have made the big decisions I needed to make. As you know, honesty, transparency, and candor are very important to me. It’s our goal here at What Works to create a safe space to get real about the ups and downs, ins and outs of small business ownership. Honesty creates a space for us to examine what’s really going on and what we can do about. Honesty helps us identify the real challenges beneath the logistical obstacles we wrestle with on a daily basis. Honesty levels the playing field. Honesty helps you see that your challenges and my challenges aren’t so different after all—even if they present in different ways. It’s time for us all to get open and honest about confidence. We decided that this August, we want to tackle a candid conversation about confidence in a big way. And so, we created The Candid Confidence Project. We know you have big goals for the rest of this year. There are numbers you want to hit, things you want to create, and relationships you want to nurture. And, we know those goals can often make you question your ability and readiness. The Candid Confidence Project is designed to guide you through examining your own stories about confidence, how you handle insecurity, and how you find the drive to level up. Here’s what’s coming: * Here on the podcast, we’ll be sharing a new candid conversation about confidence every Tuesday and Thursday in August, kicking off on August 1st with my own reflections on confusing status with confidence.* We’ll also be sharing written stories from successful small business owners every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.* Plus, we’ll be hosting a public conversation about confidence each weekday in August on our Instagram account, @explorewhatworks. The Candid Confidence Project is not about the leap to get started… …it’s about finding the confidence to continue, to change your plan, and to do hard things. ★ Support this podcast ★

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Brazenist founder Brooke Roberts left rural Kansas for a life and business in global travel* What Brooke learned about planning and hosting events from her career and businesses* The exact process she uses to plan events for her business—whether they’re simple meet-ups or retreats in exotic locations* What mistakes she’s learned along the way and how they’ve changed her planning process The What Works team has a standing item on our weekly meeting agenda to discuss… events. Events have been part of my business road map for years but they never quite seem to take priority. We do run one annual event—our retreat to Whitefish, Montana with ambitious small business owners—but we’d love to run more regional meet-ups, live podcast recordings, and even a conference some day. I find the logistics of planning these events quite overwhelming. And, at the same time, I look at the brilliant people planning great events for their businesses—people like previous guests Lauren Caselli, Nailah Blades, Racheal Cook, and Shannon Siriano Greenwood—and I can’t help but feel like I’m missing out on something! (And, no, it’s not just FOMO, it’s very real.) So this week, as we wrap up “On The Road” month, I wanted to look at what it takes to take your customers on the road with you. This week, my guest is Brooke Roberts, the founder & host of Brazenist, an online education and offline experience company helping goal-getters to future-proof, redefine success, and live a brazen life. Brazenist is Brooke’s latest venture in a line of successful businesses and a traditional career in taking people to faraway places. You’ll hear how a high school trip to Europe helped her embrace the wide world beyond her rural Kansas hometown. You’ll also hear how an accidental career in the study abroad space helped her launch not just 1 business but 2! Brooke and I talk about her process for planning events—whether their simple meet-ups or retreats in foreign countries. Plus, we talk about her non-negotiables and past mistakes. Now, let’s find out what works for Brooke Roberts! 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 ★

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Amy Scott, founder of Nomad Editorial and Nomadtopia, quit her office job and started traveling full-time back in 2004* How she ramped up from freelancing to running her own businesses* How the technology she uses has changed over the years—and made her location independent businesses easier to run* What an average week looks like for Amy (hint: there’s really no such thing as average…) This week, we’re indulging a personal fantasy of mine. Maybe it’s one of yours, too. We’re talking about packing up and leaving town—for good. We’re talking about hitting the road and never looking back. This week, it’s all about becoming a digital nomad. If you’re like me, every shiny Airstream trailer you pass feels like it’s taunting you. Every Ford Transit van that whizzes by brings about fantasies of custom build outs and months spent in remote campgrounds. Every adorable AirBnb listing that pops up on social media or in a magazine brings on thoughts of “Yeah, I could live there for a month.” Maybe it’s my mercurial nature… Maybe it’s a deep desire to “quit” suburban culture and blaze my own trail… Maybe it’s a pull start over, start fresh… The life of a full-time digital nomad isn’t in the cards for me right now. That’s okay. Instead, I’m trying to bring as much of it into the life I have now as possible. Whether you too want a little more digital nomadism in your life, you’re ready to sell all your earthly possessions and hit the road, or you’re simply curious, this conversation is for you. Today, I’m joined by Amy Scott. Amy is the founder of both Nomad Editorial and Nomadtopia, a hub for inspiration and resources for location independence. Amy opted out of her office job and traditional lifestyle back in 2004 and never looked back. She now keeps a home base in Buenos Aires while she travels the world with her Argentine husband. Her podcast, Nomadtopia Radio, features interviews with people living their version of Nomadtopia. Amy and I talk about the steps she took to create a location independent lifestyle, the initial challenges she overcame, and how her life has evolved since becoming a digital nomad. We also talk about the nitty-gritty of tech, tools, and techniques it takes to live life on the road and run a business at the same time. Now, let’s find out what works for Amy Scott! 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 ★

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Kate Leese and her husband decided to travel full-time in an Airstream while building Kinetics Consulting* How the logistics of running a business from the road have impacted their approach and operations* The tools and method she uses for managing their team—all full-time travelers themselves!* How Kate’s leadership style has evolved since starting the business and adapting to a new way of working A few months ago, I got a little idea. It seemed a bit absurd at first. But finally, I was able to give it a voice. I said to Sean, “What if we spent a month in Montana this summer?” I think his response was something like, “Wouldn’t that be nice?” A response like that is all I need to start the actual process of scheming something into reality. “Yes, it would be nice, and here is my 9-part plan for making it happen!” In order to spend a month on the road, I knew we’d need to keep working. I’d have some masterminds to facilitate, emails to write, and podcast episodes to share. Once I determined the things I’d have to keep doing throughout the summer, I could look at what I could get done well in advance. Little by little, I worked my way through the check list so that I could work a maximum of 3-4 hours, 4 days per week and stay on track while we were gone. We leave July 18. It’ll take 6 days to drive out so that we can stop at a bunch of National Parks and get Junior Ranger badges with my daughter. We’ll be in the Flathead Valley for just over 2 weeks. And then we’ll take our time coming home. It’s not exactly a month in Montana—but it is a month outside the comfort of my home office. My guest today hasn’t just figured out how to run her company from the road for a week or a month at a time. She and her husband travel permanently. But here’s the kicker—they only work with people who do the same. Kate Leese is the co-founder of Kinetics Consulting, which helps electric and gas utilities create a culture of safety and preparedness. Kate and I talk about how she made the move to full-time travel and how it impacted the way she approaches her life and work. We also discuss the logistics of working from the road, how she finds team members, the systems they use to manage projects, and how the way their team is built helps them stand out. Now, let’s find out what works for Kate Leese! 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 ★

The Nitty-Gritty: * The day Kelly Higdon realized she couldn’t keep working at the pace she was working at* How she plans her year to prioritize her life—and then fits her business in the space left over* What she’s changed to allow for taking 3 months off from her business per year* How her business is different today thanks to her new working style We recently asked What Works Network members how many vacations they take per year. One vacation was a pretty common answer—always quickly followed up by the fact that work travel is often fun, too. Some said 2 was their minimum—plus plenty of long weekends. A few people admitted that they don’t regularly take vacations—and I’m sure plenty of other folks were silently nodding along with that side of the conversation. And a few others totaled up their vacations as accounting for at least 4-8 weeks out of the year! Sean and I normally take one vacation, one trip with light work—like the trip we’re leaving for in a couple of weeks—and plenty of weekend outings. I’ve cut back on the work travel in recent years but it looks like that’s gearing up more this fall and in 2020. Today on the show, we’re not measuring time off from work in terms of long weekends or weeks. No, today, we’re talking months. Kelly Higdon is a business and lifestyle coach who prioritizes her time off so much… …that’s she’s worked up to taking a full 3 months off from her business every year. Unfortunately, Kelly’s inspiration wasn’t a well-timed shower idea or download from the universe—it was a trip to the hospital. You see, Kelly wasn’t always so good about making space in her business for her life. At one point, she was working full-time as private practice therapist, growing a business on the side, and growing a baby. She was working all the time—and it caught up with her. Kelly shares that story and her process for planning that much time off. She walks me through how she plans for life first and then makes her business fit in the space that’s left, as opposed to the other way around. She also shares how her business is different—and how it’s growing differently—than when she was working all hours of the day & night. Now, let’s find out what works for Kelly Higdon! 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 ★

As you’re listening to this, I’m somewhere between the White Mountains of New Hampshire and Acadia National Park in Maine. Sean and I are celebrating our 1st wedding anniversary in the only way we how: in a National Park! That’s right, I’m on vacation—but that doesn’t mean the business comes to a standstill. We’ve worked hard to improve the operational efficiency and predictability of our business over the last few years and that means that I get to enjoy both my time off and the flexibility of my schedule on a daily basis. Plus, it means that my team gets to do the same. You’re listening to What Works, the show that gets candid about what’s really working to run and grow a small business today as told by small business owners themselves. I’m your host, Tara McMullin. We’re spending the month of July exploring the theme “On The Road.” Our goal is to look at how small business owners plan for time off, work from anywhere, and manage teams that are remote, too. I’ll tell you more about what you’ll hear this month soon. But first, I wanted to share what’s worked for me as I’ve endeavored to build a more flexible business that allows me and my team the time off we need, as well as the ability to work on our own terms. First, I’ll mention that most of the team works a pretty typical schedule. I start work by 9am most days and wind it down by 4:30pm. That gives me time for my workout in the morning and my interests in the evening. I work in my home office Monday through Thursday. On Friday, we have a team meeting with our local employee, Shannon. You can find us at a picnic table inside Whole Foods in Lancaster most Friday mornings! The rest of that day is a buffer. If I don’t need the work time or I’m craving some “me time,” I’ll be done for the week. If I’m inspired to start something new or I’m on a deadline, I’ll do that. Regardless, I’m done by about 3pm so that I can either pick up my daughter or head to the climbing gym. What I’ve found is that consistency, routine, and structure actually allow me the flexibility I crave from my business. I don’t just do what I feel like when I feel like it. That’s not real flexibility because it means something is always getting left behind and I’m not mastering my own workload. And that really is the string that ties the 4 ways I’ve built flexibility into my business together. First up… Embracing predictable cycles Within the first few years I was designing websites and consulting on business strategy, I started to notice that clients would disappear during the summers. Their projects would stall out. Deadlines would come and go. I can remember thinking that there was just no point in working during the summer. And then it hit me: I didn’t have to. Summer often feels like a time when we’re just punching the clock. Sure, we’ve got some passion project underway or maybe we’ve got a client or two who really wants to get moving during the summer. But lots of people want to travel, take it easy, and enjoy the weather. So that’s what I did. I decided I would wrap up any projects I could, put my calendar on hold, and just enjoy the flexibility of summer. ★ Support this podcast ★

The Nitty-Gritty: * What inspired Thien-Kim Lam to develop a subscription box and virtual book club for a niche audience* How she channeled her love of romance books and her experience selling adult toys into the subscription she would have loved to buy herself* How she’s connecting with the right people using a Facebook group, author partnerships, and savvy content marketing* Where she’s run into trouble with her niche The first business idea I ran with was a blog for makers and artists in Pennsylvania. I was smitten with the new maker movement and I figured that highlighting “made in PA” goods would be an easy way to engage with the community. I was right. “Made in PA” wasn’t just the perfect constraint on who to feature. It also served as a constraint for who the audience for the site was too. I was writing about Pennsylvanians for Pennsylvanians. I had no idea at the time just how savvy this business decision was. I immediately connected with incredible people. And they were immediately into what I was doing because they loved that it was just for them. Soon, the site caught the eye of people from the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, one of the largest non-profit craft associations in the country. Within a few months of launching my site, I was teaching social media workshops with the Guild’s artisans. I was invited to attend one of the largest tradeshows for handmade goods in the United States on a media pass. I spoke at Etsy headquarters. I hosted meet-ups. The site never got huge, of course. But that didn’t matter because people were connecting with it and with me because they knew I made it for them. Today, we’re talking about building a niche audience—just like I did with my very first website. There has never been a better time to have a niche business. In fact, I would list not specializing in a niche as one of the top 3 business mistakes I’ve personally made over the last 8 or so years. Thien-Kim Lam knows the power of an engaged niche audience. But her niche is a little different than mine was. In fact, consider this your parental advisory warning. Thien-Kim Lam is the founder of Bawdy Bookworms, a subscription box company and virtual book club for women who prioritize pleasure. She took her love for romance books and experience selling adult toys and turned it into the subscription service she would love to buy, knowing there was a niche audience out there who would think the same thing. Thien-Kim and I talk about her initial challenges bringing the subscription box to market and what’s working now to connect with her niche audience. We talk optin incentives, author partnerships, content marketing, and Facebook groups. Now, let’s find out what works for Thien-Kim Lam! 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 ... ★ Support this podcast ★

All this month, we’ve been talking about building an audience here on the podcast—and we’ve been asking members of The What Works Network, well, what’s working for them when it comes to audience-building and marketing their businesses. Some people have told us that keeping it simple and focusing on just one technique has paid a lot more dividends than trying to be everywhere and do everything. Others have told us that video, like showing up on Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, or YouTube, has helped them reach new people. Plenty of folks told us that the most important thing they do to build their audiences is reaching out to new contacts one at a time. Still others told us Facebook groups, guest teaching, virtual coffee dates, in-person events, or asking for referrals and recommendations are their sweet spot. Clearly, there is no right way to build an audience today. That can be comforting for sure. Those of us who are naturally questioners, rebels, and skeptics don’t have to mold ourselves into something we’re not or fit our businesses into someone else’s formula to get ahead. And… at the same time, all of that open-ended possibility can be daunting. As much as we want to do things our own way, it would be nice if there was a clear, well-maintained trail for our hike to the top of the audience-building mountain. Make no mistake: I’m not suggesting that we all need to blaze our own trails when it comes to marketing our businesses. Far from it. But we do need to decide on a plan and stick to it. “How?” you ask. Earlier this month, friend of the pod Bonnie Gillespie shared 5 things that have worked for her over the last 20 years of building her Self-Management For Actors audience with What Works Network members. I want to focus on the first three for the sake of brevity: Time. Trust in the long-haul. Consistency. Never stop showing up. Treating everything I do as if it’s the only thing they’ll ever see. And being sure my links roll deep for those who’d like to follow ’em to other things I’ve created from there. I can’t agree more with these points. Plus, I think they’re useful constraints for finding the audience-building plan that’s going to work for you. Consider each of these points as questions: * What can you stick with for the long haul? What could you do week in and week out for the next 10, 15, or 20 years?* What can you deliver on consistently so that your traction grows and grows?* What can you work towards mastery of? What are you willing to get better at every single day? The answers to these questions might not be as sexy as a technique promising to be the secret to finding 10,000 true fans in 10 days. But, in my experience, these answers will serve you much better. Like the small business owners you’ll hear from today, my own audience-building strategy has evolved over time. And like Bonnie, it’s required trust in the long haul, leaning towards mastery, and—as Dr. Michelle Mazur calls it—radical consistency. ★ Support this podcast ★

The Nitty-Gritty: * Why Eli Trier embarked on her first community project—and the results she experienced from that first project* How facilitating community projects help her reach important business goals and build her audience* The exact process Eli uses to put together each project* How community projects differ from less effective marketing tactics like telesummits When I first heard about this idea of a “community project,” I was dubious. It sounded an awful lot like an telesummit—which I’m on the record for calling bad marketing. My beef with the vast majority of telesummits or online summits is that they’ve evolved to serve the needs of the organizer—and nearly no one else. If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, it’s when someone organizes an online event, solicits a bunch of speakers with good-sized email lists, and then has those speakers promote the event so that the organizer’s list grows by leaps and bounds. The pitch emails I still receive for telesummits—even after writing a 3000 word screed against these marketing events—are egregious. Full of jargon, double-speak, and quid pro quo. So you can imagine that when I heard about someone organizing a bunch of people creating content around a theme and using it to grow an audience, I wasn’t impressed. And then, I talked to Eli Trier. Eli Trier organizes community projects for introverts and quiet revolutionaries. Her goal is to raise the level of discourse around a topic, bringing people together and growing audiences in the process. I was so impressed with Eli’s approach and how it tied into our values and philosophy at What Works… that I hired her to help us with our first community project—coming out in August. Eli and I talk about why it’s important to her to deep-dive on important questions and involve a diverse set of voices in the discussion. We also get into the nitty-gritty of how Eli’s community projects work, how she plans for them, and how they help her reach both her audience-building and sales goals. Now, let’s find out what works for Eli Trier! 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 ★

The Nitty-Gritty: * How Rachael Kay Albers got the idea to create a “business comedy show“* Why Awkward Marketing really stands out—even when plenty of other marketers are using video to promote their businesses* How the show supports her web design & digital marketing studio, RKA ink* The start-to-finish process she uses to produce each season of the show* How she finds new videos and measure the success of the show Lots of people want to know how to stand out online. Few people put in the time and effort to actually stand out. What I’ve discovered over the years is that standing out is never the product of following whatever trend is lighting up social media or taking the blogosphere by storm. Standing out is incredibly personal. Anytime I’ve tried to play the game, I lose. Anytime I make up my own rules, I win. This podcast is no exception. I could have chosen to play the game of getting the online business world’s biggest stars to talk about their own pet projects and programs. I could have crossed my fingers and hoped they’d promote the show to their massive audiences. But I didn’t. Instead, I looked around the podcast marketplace and found a hole to fill—the very show that I wanted to listen to: small business owners talking about what they were really doing. I wanted it to feel more like a mastermind than a masterclass. I wanted it to challenge assumptions and debunk myths about “the right way” to do things. And I really wanted to highlight the small business owners who so often don’t get much press but are making things work every single day, without buying into the hype or gurus. This show is different and that’s a big reason why it stands out. The other reason it stands out is because we put a lot of time and intention into those very aspects of this show. We work hard to get better out our craft. I work hard at becoming a better interviewer, Sean works hard at becoming a better producer, Marty works hard at becoming a better editor. We want to be different and excellent. And it results in stand out content. My guest today also has a knack for creating stand out content. Rachael Kay Albers is a marketer who hates marketing. As the founder and creative director of RKA ink, a branding, web design, and digital marketing studio, Rachael has helped hundreds of small business owners all over the world stand out online without selling their soul or playing the manipulation game. When not crafting epic, unforgettable brands for her clients, Rachael hosts Awkward Marketing, a business comedy show blending fun-size small business advice with storytelling and sketch comedy, for entrepreneurs who want to create epic, unforgettable brands online. Now, if you did a double take when I said “business comedy show,” I get it. But that’s a prime reason why Rachael’s content stands out. It’s unexpected and far from ordinary. The other reason it stands out is the painstaking effort that Rachael puts into each episode. She’s working to become masterful at making you laugh while learning the ins & o... ★ Support this podcast ★