The Long Game Podcast with Sandra Scaiano

One huge category of online products today is online courses, and they vary in topics, industries, audiences, and even sizes. Some courses have hundreds to thousands of participants, and these are the ones with the goal of hitting the most numbers they possibly can.  “Courses get to be intimate spaces. They don’t have to be behemoths to become successful.” -Sandra Scaiano But maybe that’s not for you and your course offering. Maybe you want to develop an intimate environment and only have a few dozen students at a time. In this episode, I’m talking to you about the intimate strategy and how these smaller courses can drive success. Here are three benefits of smaller courses I discuss in this episode:  You really highlight quality.  It’s a more manageable workload.  There’s greater flexibility in delivery, teaching methods, and processes.   If you’re someone that’s better at catering to smaller groups and personal coaching, maybe developing intimate courses is for you. Or maybe you start out with the smaller setting and discover that having a large number of students is better for you and your business. That’s okay too.  “You can’t ‘think’ your business. It’s through doing that your path becomes clear.” -Sandra Scaiano By running your business, you get to know your business and can decide what works best for you. By doing that you can have a clearer vision and get to plan better for the long game.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As entrepreneurs, we need to plan and strategize in running our businesses, but we also need to be creative. Whether it’s figuring out ways to connect with your community, designing your next product launch, or curating your digital presence. We need to cultivate space where we can be creative so we can have the next great idea that will bring our business forward. Today we’re joined by a truly creative soul and we’ll talk about how she learned to be her true self, the importance of sharing your values, and of community. I’m joined today by Miriam Schulman. Miriam is an artist, the author of Artpreneur, and an art business coach. She also hosts The Inspiration Place Podcast and developed The Artist Incubator program, where she helps artists get past their fear and doubt and create thriving businesses from their passion, no matter what kind of art they create. “By being your authentic self, you’re giving your people permission to be their authentic self.” - Miriam Schulman  Miriam is brave in sharing who she really is; someone who is creative, artistic, bold, colorful, and loud. But in a society where artists, especially women, are told to be quiet and conscious of how much space they take up, she had to learn how to not water herself down and be at peace with who she really is.   Miriam shares so much more today, but here are the three main points you’ll gather so much value from:   The three ways to expand your audience and your network  Her experience in using snail mail vs. digital communication to connect with her community  The importance of sharing your values and how it helps build the right community around you   There are two circles we need to surround ourselves with. The first is a circle of people just like you: your peers and mentors who are in the same field as you, who you can learn something from, and who can encourage you and help you be better and grow. The second is your audience and your clients. These are the people you provide value for, the people who directly benefit from the value you bring to the world. Both circles are equally important and your relationships within them should be nurtured. And Miriam does exactly this. It’s apparent in the way she finds ways to connect with them and devotes time to build relationships, not for what they might offer her, but because she understands how important relationships are.  “It’s really important to become part of a group that encourages you to celebrate your wins because that is motivating, that is positive energy.” - Miriam Schulman  Connect with Miriam Schulman: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Twitter Podcast  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As entrepreneurs, we know that we’re supposed to have a unique value proposition, but knowing this isn’t enough. For a lot of us, we get stuck on how to implement and communicate what sets us apart. “There’s always something remarkable in your business, and it’s just up to you to identify it and name it.” -Rich Brooks To help us move beyond knowing what sets us apart and to actually implement and effectively communicate it, Rich Brooks is joining us today. Rich is the founder and president of flyte new media, a digital agency that’s been in business for 25 years. He’s a nationally recognized speaker on entrepreneurship, digital marketing, and social media. He founded The Agents of Change, an annual conference, and weekly podcast that focuses on search, social & mobile marketing. Rich is the author of The Lead Machine: The Small Business Guide to Digital Marketing, a popular and well-received book that helps entrepreneurs and marketers reach more of their ideal customers online. Today, Rich walks us through the Remarkability Formula, a four-part process designed to help you clarify what makes you remarkable to your ideal client. He talks about Find, Focus, Forge, and Frame, the four lenses of The Remarkability Formula, and dives deeper into each one, giving examples and ideas on how to apply them. When you’ve identified what it is about your business that makes you remarkable, everything you do then becomes easier. Digital marketing is easier because the target audience and message are clearer. You immediately identify who your ideal client is, saving yourself so much time and effort. And you create some high barriers to competition, making you even more of an authority in your field. “Even if you are like me and you have a million thoughts in your head, and so you are thinking about everything at once, you can’t implement everything at once. So that’s where the long game kind of comes in. How do I prioritize these things if I can’t tackle everything at once.” -Rich Brooks Rich also reminds us that this is a process. Your business changes and evolves. You refine and adjust systems. And this takes time. So, give yourself the necessary time to work on your business and implement the changes you want to make.  Connect with Rich Brooks: flyte new media Agents of Change Facebook Instagram LinkedIn Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I love and have embraced the term “intentionally selfish” since I first heard it. To be intentionally selfish is to be unapologetic for raising yourself up, to give yourself what you need to heal, and to let go of all the shame from the experiences you went through. This episode is all about being “intentionally selfish.” It’s a gift to yourself, an encouragement to move you further in your healing journey, and a discovery of your goals. My guest, Naketa Ren Thigpen, is breaking down the importance of being intentionally selfish. She’s a Balance and Relationship advisor, combining the tenants of licensed clinical social work, psychotherapy, trauma work, metaphysics, and coaching. She’s the CEO of personal development company, ThigPro Balance, a podcast host, and the author of Selfish: Permission to Pause, Live, Love and Laugh Your Way to Joy. “I’m rebellious by nature. It’s just in my core. You tell me ‘We have to go down this block,’ and I’ll follow you down the block the first time. But I’m literally doing it so I can see the shortcuts that I can do the second time.” - Naketa Ren Thigpen Topics discussed in this episode:  We need to make the decision for ourselves that we’ve had enough and need to change and heal.  We can either “stay in the box” or “break the box”. We need to choose what we would do.   Do not minimize the pain and experiences you went through just because it’s not worse than what other people have gone through.   “The long game is knowing how to play it, but also finding out your unique shortcuts and ways so you can actually win the game you’re trying to play.” - Naketa Ren Thigpen Naketa shares her story, how a childhood experience impacted her, needing to learn to let go of a burden that she wasn’t supposed to bear, and how to deal with the shame that went with the experience. She also breaks down G.I.F.T. which stands for gratitude, imagine, forgiveness, and take action. She describes this process of healing as a gift we give to ourselves and guides us through each letter and how we can apply them. If you want to work with Naketa, consider the Intentionally Selfish Suite, a Personal Development Incubator deliberately designed to equip and certify women entrepreneurs as they evolve, arrive, and expand the version of themselves that's unchained, free, unconquerable, and spacious enough to create work/life that serves their highest good. This episode is jam-packed with Naketa’s wealth of knowledge, words of wisdom, life lessons, and relatable experiences. Listen to the full episode to hear everything she shares. Connect with Naketa Ren Thigpen: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Twitter Book  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As entrepreneurs, we're like special unicorns that usually have a lot of experience and can do multiple things. But having a unicorn business can be exhausting for us and confusing for potential clients. Maybe you feel overwhelmed by the multiple offers and products or services that you offer. Or you might struggle to market all of them at the same time. You almost definitely could be facing challenges keeping track of the latest developments in your wide market. It may be time to narrow your specialization and niche down. I’m excited to dive deeper into this conversation with our guest Natalie Eckdahl. Natalie launched the Biz Chix podcast back in 2014, and she has been serving women entrepreneurs ever since. Her company, Biz Chix, Inc, helps service entrepreneurs build enduring, profitable, and sustainable businesses. She’s the creator of the $ix Figures Lab, a year long group coaching program for women service-based business owners. By providing strategy, coaching, accountability, and community, Natalie helps these women grow and scale a profitable business. But what exactly is specializing and having a niche? Well, in Natalie’s words, “We can specialize by the work we do, the type of work we do, we niche by who we do it for.” “But if you're trying to build a business that will scale, the first place you need to start is with positioning, and that involves some experimenting to figure out where you're going to put yourself in the marketplace.” - Natalie Eckdahl Why should we specialize and niche? What are the benefits? Here are three things Natalie talks about more in this episode:  It informs all your business decisions from investments, hiring, and goal setting  You become more of an expert and are immediately more referable  You get to have an “automatic yes business”   But what are the challenges of specializing and niching? There must be a mindset shift. It takes time (even up to a year) to have only your new niche or specialty clients. Letting go of former investments and sunk costs. Repelling potential clients and projects that are no longer your specialty. Natalie tells us how to deal with these challenges and make the best of this transition period. “I want to help people build a business that will be enduring. So it needs to be enjoyable, profitable, and sustainable. If it's not all three, they're not going to stick with it.” - Natalie Eckdahl This is an easier process when you’re being guided through it, and when you have a community of people around you who are also doing the exact same thing, which is exactly what her coaching program, $ix Figures Lab, offers. We learn what sets it apart from others in the market, from a solid community of entrepreneurs, business resources, and trainings you can access at any time, guided goal setting and check-ins, and easy access to Natalie herself. Listen in to hear all Natalie has to say about specializing and niching down and to learn how you can apply it to your own business. Connect with Natalie Eckdahl: Website BizChix Podcast $ix Figures Lab LinkedIn Facebook Instagram  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of The Long Game, I’m taking you on a creative journey, exploring the process of illumination, evaluation and verification of unique ideas and experiences to discover the universal concepts of creativity. We often think the creative process is individual and varies from person to person, but I’ve learned that there are some universal truths about the process of creativity.  This episode breaks down the five stages of the creative process, which include preparation, incubation, illumination, evaluation, and verification. I’ve found how all stages of the creative process are universal, but also unique to everyone.  We can’t discount the importance of the gut, the subconscious mind, and taking breaks. By understanding the creative process, we can better understand our own journey and find joy in being creative. "Each day is a small lifetime. Live a good life today." -James Clear In this episode, you’ll learn about:  The five-stage Creative Process that has been outlined since 1926  The secrets to unlocking your subconscious mind to find creative solutions  How you can use the Creative Process to develop your own business assets and ideas   I’ve always been a creative in one form or another. I’m familiar with the emotions in the creative process. I love that I've now landed in a place where my business feeds into my creativity. We know that we apply our creative process in lots of the things we’re doing every day. Being creative fills me with joy and hope that you get some insight about your own creative process.  That weird thing that you do, those emotions that you have, that is all part of your own visionary ecosystem, right? And it's totally unique to you and universal at the same time. I'd love to hear about your process. Let me know what works for you. You can DM me on social or respond to one of my weekly emails. Connect with Me: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As entrepreneurs, we sometimes get so involved inside our own products, systems, and workflows that we can’t see things from a client or user-experience perspective. This is why it’s so valuable to have someone else tell you about what works, what works well, and what has room for improvement. This is where feedback comes in. After all, who could be better to talk about your products and services than your clients? “Client feedback is a valuable tool that can inform what we do in our businesses. It can improve our offerings and strengthen our relationships with our customers.” -Sandra Scaiano All business owners know that it’s easier to retain an existing client than to bring in a new one. With an existing client, you’ve already figured out their business structure and process, their products, services, and brand. You’re already familiar with how their mind works and have an idea of how to best interact with them.  Feedback sessions help us retain these existing clients and further improve the existing relationship. That’s why in this episode, we’re talking about all things feedback.  So why should you get feedback? Here are some of the benefits I share in this episode:  To hear what’s working and what needs improving  To help inform your future products and services  Feedback sessions build stronger relationships with your clients   “Whether you know what’s next with your client, or you’re doing a feedback session to mark a definitive end, spending time talking paves the way for forward motion. And in many cases, it leads to increased customer retention.” -Sandra Scaiano Feedback is an important tool for business owners. So listen to this episode to learn more about Feedback vs Testimonials, how to get feedback, and who to get it from.You’ll be amazed by how much it will benefit your business. Connect with Me: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Twitter  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We all know how important communities are for our businesses. We build them. We are a part of them. They’re there for conversations, support, exploration of ideas, and even sales. Our community can help our business grow, and yes, sometimes even survive. So how exactly do we build and foster our communities? Is social media the only way? What can we build that allows for connection and conversation? I’ve been thinking about this for over a year now, and this episode is the kickoff to a series where we dive deep into different ideas about community. “I’ve now shifted my search to things that support how I’m already operating. Yes, I’ve started to listen to my own advice: ‘Build from what you have and what is unique to your business.’” -Sandra Scaiano These are the ideas about community building that we explore today:  What do you already have set up that you can use now?  Comparing Social Media Platforms as community builders  What other platforms and methods are available as community builders?   “The concept of community is really what you think of it and what you make of it for yourself. How you choose to go about building community and developing it has to feel right for you.” - Sandra Scaiano The basis of any community is a shared something. So find that something you have to share and offer it to the world. There is no wrong method for finding and attracting your people. The most important thing in building your community is to start, and soon you’ll find what works and your people will come to you. Connect with Me: Website Facebook Instagram LinkedIn YouTube Twitter Medium   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Let me ask you, what is that one thing that is holding you back? Is it a toxic characteristic? A limiting belief? Maybe it’s your fear of those voices in your head telling you that “You can’t do this.” Or maybe it’s an unhealthy relationship you need to move on from. Our guest, Erica Rooney, is a keynote speaker, coach, and host of the From Now to Next podcast. She’s on a mission to help women get seen, get heard, and get further. “Why do we care that if out of a thousand people, 2 people don’t like what you’re doing? Why do we focus on those two people, instead of focusing on the other 998? Like, let’s look at the math, people!” – Erica Rooney In this episode, Erica talks about what she calls “sticky floors.” These are, limiting beliefs, toxic habits and relationships, fears, and doubts that hold us back and keep us from “busting through the glass ceiling.” Here are some things she shares about sticky floors:  These sticky floors have been taught to us since we were children  The first step is to recognize and identify our sticky floors  We will always have sticky floors. What will make a difference is how fast we’ll be in recognizing and dealing with them  Have your own personal board of directors that will correct you, motivate you, and help you deal with your sticky floors   “It may not be great. It may not be perfect. But we can still do it, and that’s the biggest thing.” - Erica Rooney What’s your sticky floor? What’s holding you back from reaching that next milestone and achieving that next goal? How can you deal with them? All of these questions and more are discussed in this episode.  Connect with Erica Rooney Website: www.fromnowtonext.org/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/from_now_to_next/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/FromNowToNext LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ericarooney/ Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/eraadvisors/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The New Year is here and with it comes a wave of energy and universal momentum where everybody is gearing up for the year ahead. Now is the time that everyone is reflecting, planning, and making goals and visions. “It’s about vision. Having a vision for where you want to go and an idea of what you’re going to do this year to get there.” -Sandra Scaiano In preparing for 2023, I am sharing with you three things you can focus on to help you build out your goals for 2023:  Give yourself the time to make the changes you need  Have a framework for your process  Build relationships that support your vision   If you take these concepts and build them into your 2023 vision and goal setting, I know that things will be easier for you. There are also a few things happening in this podcast. We have guests lined up, conversations planned, and a few series in the works. I hope you’re as excited as I am and let’s take 2023 on together! “There are as many ways to be successful in business as there are entrepreneurs.” -Sandra Scaiano  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices