What Works

The Nitty Gritty: * What Jennifer Louden has learned about hosting & selling retreats in the 20 years she’s been running them* How far in advance Jen starts planning for a retreat–and how far in advance she starts marketing a retreat* The core role retreats play in Jen’s business model* How Jen structures each retreat to create the best experience for herself and her guests Every time I go to Glacier National Park, I can feel myself expand. I take up more space, I dream bigger, I breathe more deeply. I’ve had breakthrough ideas about who I am, what I do, and how I want to run my business winding up and down the Going To The Sun Road. I’ve seen glimpses of my full potential hiking through the woods or above the tree line. So when I saw a new hotel go up in my favorite town outside the park, it was an easy decision to bring a group of small business owners there for a retreat. What wasn’t so easy… was figuring out exactly how to do that. Luckily, I had hired a fabulous event planner—Lauren Caselli—who you’ll hear an interview with soon. But I wish I had had today’s conversation first! Today, my guest is Jennifer Louden. She’s been running retreats for about 20 years now—so she’s figured out a thing or two about how they work both logistically and business-wise! Jen hosts multiple writing retreats every year, in addition to supporting writers through her community, The Writer’s Oasis. Plus, she’s the author of 6 books—with over 1 million copies in print. Jen and I chat about the role of retreats in her business, how far in advance she starts planning, what’s working for her right now to sell her retreats, and how she structures each event for both her participants and herself. Now, let’s find out what works for Jennifer Louden! 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. I pay the CoCommercial team—and myself—with Gusto. Now, you might be thinking… “I’m not ready for a payroll provider.” I was in the same boat when I started with Gusto. Gusto gave me the confidence to hire—both contractors and employees—and they’ve made it easy to stay compliant, offer great benefits, and keep me in control of our money. Gusto automatically files and pays your taxes, guides you and educates you along the way, and takes the guesswork out of taking care of your team. We love Gusto and we think you might too. Test it out—and get 3 months free–at gusto.com/whatworks. ★ Support this podcast ★

The Nitty-Gritty on Kyla’s Coaching Business Model: * How business strategist Kyla Roma created a new coaching business model that combines both her needs and her clients’ needs* Why Kyla decided to change things up and what constraints inspired her to innovate on what was working* The unique coaching program structure and technology Kyla uses to respect her clients’ lives as “rich tapestries”* How much time delivering personalized coaching services takes in her new model (it’s less than you’d think!)* Why Kyla decided to narrow the scope of her program to just a couple of key outcomes It’s easy to think that, as a life, business, or health coach, there’s a specific business model that you’re supposed to follow. In fact, I’ve been hearing exactly that from business owners for years. First, they work on getting 1:1 services dialed in, then they jump into group coaching, then they start building out their programs into online courses or workshops. Eventually, they plan to retire 1:1 coaching and group coaching… and enjoy their carefree new lives of selling online courses and snapping selfies from Cabo. Here’s the thing: there is no such thing as “the coaching business model.” Plenty of successful life, business, and health coaches—along with money, mindset, and productivity coaches—run their businesses in all sorts of creative ways. But, if you’re not paying attention, you could easily miss what they’re up to and how their businesses work. Today, I’m going to take you behind-the-scenes of one such creative coaching model.  My guest today is Kyla Roma. I’ve known Kyla for years and I’ve always respected the way she balances the creative and the analytical.  Kyla’s approach to business coaching and strategy is no exception. About a year ago, Kyla started pioneering a new model for the way she’d deliver business coaching. In our interview, we go behind-the-scenes of how that model evolved and how it works today. Kyla and I chat about what prompted the idea, how she structures the coaching program, the unique way she incorporates technology to make the program more human, and how she markets the offer. If you have an innovative coaching model—or your business defies the conventions of your industry—I’d love to hear from you, too! Hit me up on Instagram where I’m @tara_mcmullin. Shoot me a message and tell me what works for you! Plus, you can grab Kyla’s guide to 3 profit mistakes that service-based and teaching businesses make by clicking here. Now, let’s find out what works for Kyla Roma! 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 bus... ★ Support this podcast ★

Well, we’ve nearly made it to the end of another January. As of today, I’m 24 days into my first Whole30. I’m 4 weeks into a new training program. I’m 14 posts into committing to writing and sharing more often on Instagram and LinkedIn. I’m 4 weeks into bullet journaling. As you might guess, I love January. I love the potential, the possibility, and the opportunity of the new year. I love setting new intentions and goals. Of course, not everyone feels this way. “February is the new January” memes are popping up everywhere. There’s a January backlash that’s been gaining steam over the last few years. If you don’t mind, I’d like to share my take on why this is… but I need to do it, as per usual, with a fitness metaphor. When I was a young athlete, I loved the fast burn. I was always itching to steal second base, to sprint across the finish line, or to take a fast break for a lay-up. When I started training as an adult, I approached things the same way. Even if it hurt or ruined me for the rest of the day, I’d hit the high intensity intervals hard. Endurance was like a dirty word. I figured if I kept training at that high intensity, I would eventually be able to endure. But I was wrong. Luckily, I learned a lot more about pacing and the benefits of low-intensity exercise. Instead of asking myself how fast I could run for 15 seconds, I started asking myself if I could hold this pace for a mile, 3 miles, or even 10 miles. Instead of always working myself into a sweaty mess, I learned to take plenty of rest and enjoy a workout that was hard work–but felt easy. I started to embrace the slow burn. The results spoke for themselves. Yes, I could run for miles upon miles without stopping. I could move heavy weights. I could climb for hours. And the crazy thing is: when I did decide to up the intensity, I could go faster and harder. I toed the line at which working hard turned into overworking. I trained myself to stay on just this side of comfortable so that when I did really want to push myself, I was ready. The way we’ve been trained to approach January–whether in life, fitness, or business–is the fast burn. Set all the resolutions. Change all the things. It’s exhausting. And no wonder people are ready to move away from that all or nothing approach to the new year! But that’s not how I’ve approached the last few Januarys. January is, instead, an opportunity to set the pace that I can keep for the next 52 weeks. It’s a chance to ignite my slow burn and reclaim my routine. The way I do that is by identifying the habits I want to nurture throughout the month. My habits are the things that either stoke my fire or slow my flow. They’re either propelling me forward with grace or making a mess of my best intentions. Whether it’s in life or business, the health of my habits is the biggest contributing factor to the success of my goals. That’s why I choose to use January as a time to reexamine my habits, choose 1 or 2 things that I want to actively cultivate as habits, and eliminate something that’s not serving me. It’s not a frenetic race to some external goal. It’s a refinement of what’s working and an elimination of what’s not. I want to celebrate the most effective habits of small business owners in our network. So, we’ve asked 4 members to share what’s working for them as they reexamine and refine their own rou... ★ Support this podcast ★

Meagan Francis, founder of Life, Listened, discovered a whole new entrepreneurial mindset as she made the transition from the owner of a content marketing business to the employee of a marketing & communications firm to the head of her own podcasting business. ★ Support this podcast ★

The Nitty Gritty * Margy Thomas, Ph.D. and founder of ScholarShape, supports academics and researchers in telling their stories through what she calls the Story-Argument concept. This tool or strategy, applied to her clients’ work, turns their text into “both a functional machine and a pleasing work of art.”* Why Margy’s so passionate about academic writing, plus the reason Margy works with clients across different specialties instead of niching down* How Margy turned the “magic” of the way she works into a repeatable process — and how that changed the way she works with her 1:1 clients* Why she uses tarot cards to better understand what she already knows and look at things with a new perspective It’s tempting to think that to do your best work, you have to hunker down in your creative cave, scratch out your brilliant thoughts by the fire, and only emerge once you’ve had your eureka moment. In fact, I know plenty of thinkers and entrepreneurs who have tried to do exactly that.  Sometimes it’s a fear of criticism. Other times, it’s a fear of someone stealing the work when it’s not yet complete.  Often it’s a reaction to the Impostor Complex… feeling like your work isn’t enough—and might never be. Regardless of the reason why, retreating to the creative cave has killed at least as many good ideas as it has birthed. Today, we’re going to examine a different way of getting to your eureka moment and developing your body of work. Margy Thomas is the founder of ScholarShape and has worked with hundreds of scholars around the world in their journey of telling their stories as a developmental editor and writing consultant. Recently, Margy has been working to systematize her coaching and create a framework she can share with more academics crafting books and papers. I wanted to have Margy on the show to share what she calls the co-construction of knowledge and meaning. Margy has been sharing the bones of her coaching framework—the Story-Argument Model—with her audience little by little as she develops it. Together with her audience, she’s defining the work and improving on it. Instead of waiting for her eureka moment, she’s utilizing her creative process in dialogue with the people who need her work most. Margy and I chat about the personal growth process that comes along with sharing your work publicly, how her work is evolving because of the way people interact with it, and the way she came to terms with the idea of an MVP—or minimum viable product. And if you’re interested in the Story-Argument strategy and how you might be able to apply that to your writing, be sure to check out Margy’s free 7-day writing course for knowledge builders. We release new episodes of What Works every week. Subscribe on iTunes so you never miss an episode. From magic to process “When I’m working with scholars one-on-one, I’m not giving them information or ideas or advice. I’m holding space for them to help them to develop their ideas and their thoughts. I’m providing scaffolding and structure to that process.” — Margy Thomas Margy’s clients often told her that she was magic. After hearing this over and over again from her clients, ★ Support this podcast ★

The Nitty Gritty: * Why Facebook ad costs have risen so dramatically and what we’ve been doing that contributes to the problem* The metric that Amanda Bond encourages her clients and students to prioritize instead of Cost Per Lead* How skewed expectations for conversion rates have led to declining ad performance* The 3-part customer journey that Bond advises for excellent customer experience and profitability Have you heard? The sky is falling!  Okay, the sky isn’t actually falling. What is being talked about by every Chicken Little out there is how much Facebook ad costs are rising.  Recode, Business Insider, Adweek, Adespresso, and more have been talking about declining inventory and rising costs for the last year. Small business owners are catching on too. Inside our network, we’ve been watching as members scratch their heads about the cost of clicks and leads. We’ve been promised clicks and leads for less than a dollar by every Jeff, Ryan, and Frank out there with a Porsche and an online marketing course—but what we’re really seeing is lead costs balloon to $5, $10, or even $25 or more, with little to no profit on the backend. So what’s going on with Facebook ads today? That’s what this episode is all about.  In mid-December, Amanda Bond, founder of The Ad Strategist, pulled down her regular website and put up a sprawling multi-part article on everything that’s not working with Facebook ads today. She explained how many of us have been sold a bill of goods when it comes to how we market our products and services—and backed it up with case studies and data. She also presented a case for what is working—based on her extensive work running clients’ ad campaigns and teaching small business owners to do it themselves. I wanted to have her on the show to explain and dive deeper into some of the things she discussed on the site. This episode is part of a special series we’re doing talking to the people with a bird’s eye view on what’s really working. In November, we talked to Isa Adney from ConvertKit about what’s working in email marketing. And, in December, we talked to Sai Hossain, the founder of Crowdcast, to find out what’s working in live video broadcasting. This month, we’re looking at Facebook advertising to find out what’s working—and what’s not—with Amanda Bond. Bond and I chat about bro marketing, why ad costs have been rising, why she has people focus on earnings per lead instead of costs per lead, and how she thinks about planning an ad campaign to maximize both the customer experience and profit. To find out what’s working in Facebook ads today–and what’s not–listen to the interview here or wherever you listen to podcasts! ★ Support this podcast ★

After over 10 years in this business, I’ve seen a lot when it comes to social media. I’ve been around for Blogspotting and LiveJournaling. I’ve seen the rise and fall of the Twitter empire. I remember when organic reach on Facebook was a given and I watched as Instagram morphed from iPhone snaps to carefully posed and perfected images. Much has changed about the way small businesses approach social media, too. Some marketers are still trying to be everywhere at once while plenty of others are focused on one, favorite platform. Some are sharing highly curated content and others are sharing whatever floats their boats. Perhaps the answer to the question “What works in social media marketing?” has never been more ambiguous. This episode is the finale of our 5-part series on trends shaping small business in 2019. If you haven’t caught the first 4, check out our feed on your favorite podcast player or at whatworkspodcast.com. My prediction for 2019 is that this is the year when many small business owners find their strides with social media. Okay… 2019 newsflash—there is NO right way to do social media to support your business. The only way to do it is the way that works for you. That might mean giving it up entirely and focusing on coffee dates, networking events, and online communities—see our trend episode on “real relationships” with Jordan Harbinger for more on that. But it might also mean embracing a less tidy feed, a more consistent schedule, a more uniform aesthetic, long form captions, short form videos, being silly, being an activist, or just being yourself. The power of social media today is in how you make it your own—not in how you try to conform to the norms of your industry or digital space. I’ve talked to a number of small business owners over the years who have found their own unique ways of utilizing social media. I talked to Lauren & Jason Pak who built a huge global following for their Boston-based gym by sharing educational fitness content informed by their values for inclusivity and positivity. I talked to Elizabeth Dialto who has openly pursued authenticity and transparently shared when she’s making changes in the way she engages with the channels she uses. But the small business owner who’s approach to social media stood out to me the most over the last 3 years has been Patrice Perkins. Patrice is the founding partner of Creative Genius Law. Now, I’ve known Patrice for many years but her social media posts started to peak my interest when I noticed her sharing hyper-informative content based on legal news in pop culture. When a company was getting sued for ripping off a designer or when a video game got served because it might have stolen a performer’s signature move, Patrice would write about it—at length—on Facebook and Instagram. I personally loved learning from these posts… but I was curious about how this kind of sharing was delivering business results. So I asked her! But first, I’d also love to know: what’s working for you when it comes to social media. Are you swearing off of it in 2019? ★ Support this podcast ★

A few weeks ago, Derek Halpern—who has made millions of dollars selling online courses—announced that he was quitting information marketing. He said he was burnt out. He’d lost track of why he was in the business in the first place. His information marketing business didn’t light him up. He announced a sort of digital fire sale of all his courses, one final time, and then took them off the market. Over the last 3 episodes, I’ve been running down what I see as the top trends shaping small business in 2019 based on the interviews I’ve done over the last few years. Because of my behind-the-scenes view here at What Works (and yours, too!), I often get to see trends happening before they tip into the mainstream. Today’s trend is no exception. I can relate to Derek and the circumstances that prompted his decision. Two years ago, I was burnt out on advice culture and information marketing, too. I felt pressured to be constantly turning my personal experience into something useful for thousands of people. And? It just wasn’t. I didn’t have all the right answers for everyone who was following along. I didn’t have brilliant life lessons to share every day. I wasn’t an expert on all the things people wanted me to be. I believe that information marketing, advice culture, and the expert brand ecosystem is going through a reckoning. Not only are people like Derek and I burnt out on it. Consumers are overwhelmed by it. Consumers are becoming more interested in trusting themselves instead of some stranger they found on the internet. Now, maybe all this sounds like a pretty bleak prediction for the future of information marketing. After all, already two of the trends I’ve highlighted for 2019—focusing on real relationships and reapproaching high-touch services–are in direct opposition to the way information marketing has been executed for years. But I don’t think that’s the case. Information marketing is not dying. Instead, there is a growing list of options for business owners who want to run lean and mean, make a great profit, and prioritize flexibility. But they look a lot like how small business was done before information marketing! The option I took was to create value by making it easier for small business owners to talk with each other, by facilitating those conversations, and by creating tools for shared experiences. The option Derek took was to harness his marketing prowess into a wellness company with a mission that lights him up. But a big trend I have been seeing bubble up is creating physical products—tools—for self-exploration and learning. I believe 2019 is the year we’ll see this hit the big time. Now, those tools for learning and self-exploration aren’t always literal tools. Sometimes they’re the perfect pieces for a capsule wardrobe—like Jay Adams and Katie Doyle created with Brass Clothing. Other times they’re the perfect greeting card or gift when nothing conventional would fit—like Emily McDowell created with Emily McDowell Studio. Or, they could be sports bras designed specifically for women who enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle—like Bridget Kilgallon and her co-founders did with Aret Basewear. You can find all of those interviews in our archives—but my choice for today’s interview is a litt... ★ Support this podcast ★

Imagine making money in your sleep. When I first started selling ebooks and courses that’s all anyone could talk about, and I’ll admit that the first time I woke up to money having been deposited in my PayPal account over night, I was pretty damn excited. But what I realized soon after was that there was nothing passive about passive income. Whether you’re making money through ads, online courses, ebooks or apps, you had to work. Sure, the revenue might come in over night, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t spend the whole day before at your desk. Now while many still promise an infinitely scalable business built on online education, most people have wised up. It’s not that information marketing doesn’t work in terms of creating a scalable and profitable business, it’s just that there are other ways to make scalable and profitable work for you. Many of the most successful small business owners today run high-touch service-based businesses. Instead of scaling their businesses digitally, they’re building smart teams, honing their procedures, and filling out a niche. They find profit in optimization and being able to deliver impeccable outcomes. They’re signing big clients to long term deals and enjoying steady income. They’re minimizing the costs of software and marketing in favor of investing time in relationships. Now all of that might sound pretty good even if it’s a bit intimidating, but it gets better. All of the business owners that I’ve talked to who have decided to go all in on high-touch services and forgo the often empty promises of information marketing feel a huge sense of relief. Plus, they’re enjoying balancing running a smart business with honing their craft. For many, it’s a win-win. Now running a high-touch service-based business might not be what works for you, but I think this trend still has something to offer you. Use it to challenge your assumptions about what you should be doing to generate revenue, earn trust, and serve customers. Look for opportunities you might have quickly dismissed while being herded into an information marketing model and ask yourself whether they might still have legs. And, if you’re happily and profitably running an information marketing business, wonderful! I still think that there’s something to take away here. Successful high-touch service-based businesses are highly structured and organized. Consider how your information marketing business could optimize for experiences while continuing to systematize and automate. Or, consider where you might need to pull back on automation in favor of more human experiences. When I looked through our archives to share an example of this with you, I had plenty of options. I looked at Jennie Nash whose company Author Accelerator is paring book coaches with aspiring authors using a framework Jenny herself pioneered as a coach. I looked at Autumn Witt Boyd who has built a full service law firm by honing in on her strengths. I considered Arianne Foulks who has been raising the bar on ecommerce web design for years, and Jason Van Orden who exited one of the first online information marketing companies only to start delivering coaching and teaching experiences. Ultimately, I decided on Tara Melvin, the founder of Perfect Planning Events. ★ Support this podcast ★

It’s tempting to think that all the time you spend on social media, writing articles, creating podcast episodes, or recording videos is time spent building relationships. Heck, I’m doing it right now. Every podcast episode I create is an effort to create a genuine connection between you and me. But I know from experience that my efforts in broadcasting—whether on the podcast, with content marketing, through email, or on social media—pale in comparison to the time I spend interacting with people like you. The conventional wisdom in today’s media-rich world is that you start by creating content, then build your audience, and then market a product to them. Final step? Bathe yourself in dollar bills. However, this is a reductive take on what actually works. Businesses aren’t built on audiences. They’re built with people. And there is a very real difference when it comes to creating for audiences versus nurturing relationships with real people. We talk differently to groups of people. We share different ideas when we’re battling for the attention of others. We prioritize different outcomes when we’re shouting from our soapboxes. At the end of the day, all this social maneuvering isn’t nurturing real relationships and its rewards are short-lived. It might take a little more work but interacting with people one by one and cultivating true connection will serve you, your business, and your customers for the long haul. That’s why “focusing on real relationships” is the second trend I see shaping small business in 2019. Hopefully you’ve heard this before… but Paul Graham, a co-founder at the startup accelerator Y Combinator, says: “Do things that don’t scale.” Unfortunately, the vast amount of small business advice out there says to do exactly the opposite. Only do things that scale. Only produce things that can be used by thousands of people. Find the lowest common denominator and make it your lead magnet. Only spend time on platforms where you can reach huge groups of people all at once. Look, if doing things that don’t scale works for businesses that will eventually be valued in the ballpark of hundreds of millions of dollars or more, then it will work for you. And, it starts by focusing on real relationships—one person at a time. Now, the first relationship I would suggest you focus on is the one you have with yourself. Focus on understanding your strengths and your most productive ways of working. Focus on deepening your confidence and self-awareness. Focus on creating work that thrills you. During my interview with Srini Rao, he told me: “When you satisfy your own desires and you maintain your own values and standards — as opposed to letting it be driven by the desire to live up to the expectations of other people — you’re much more likely to create something with emotional resonance, something that’s going to have a lasting impact on people.” Once you’ve developed habits and practices that strengthen your relationship with yourself, you have a foundation for nurturing relationships with others. They might be potential customers or existing customers. They might also be colleagues or mentors. They could just be people you think are awesome who you want to get to know better! What’s working for me is using the platforms I love the most to connect with individuals instead of just broadcasting. That means that when I hop on Instagram, I’m not just double-tapping and posting. I’m commenting, I’m responding to others’ stories, and I’m letting people know when they post something that really resonates with me. It also means that I don’t just use our small business communit... ★ Support this podcast ★