Totally Clutch - the Clutch Businesses podcast

Even though delegation is an important skill in business, many managers struggle with handing over tasks to others, and as a result, find themselves overloaded, stressed, and ultimately burnt out.  So how do you stop being a bottleneck, force responsibility down and out, and avoid the pressure? 

Today we are joined by Selina Johnson, AKA the chief of team simplicity!  She is a delegation expert, consultant, and speaker who loves helping CEOs around the world strengthen their leadership skills so they can confidently build and lead their teams to free up their time for greater joy, fulfillment, and freedom. 

As you tune in, be ready to walk away focused and fired up to amplify your team’s productivity, opening more time and space for greater joy and impact. 

In a nutshell, we speak about:

Her background and how she came to do the amazing career she is currently

What people get wrong with delegation

Her recommendations on how to create a team that aligns with the values and mission of your business

Why do you struggle with delegation

Some delegation horror stories

How to correctly onboard  VAs and empower them

How Selina's masterclasses and courses will help you stop being the bottleneck in your business and master delegation 

… and so much more! 

Check out Selina Johnson:

Website: www.selinajohnson.com 

Selina's great resource course: The Ultimate Delegate System 

Money conversations usually feel very heavy, unfun, overwhelming and so difficult. And while being good with money is not innate, it is a skill that can be developed by anyone.

In today's episode, we're joined by Giovana Bier, a money coach, and Profit First strategist. She is the founder of My Cats And Me Profit Alignment, where she helps entrepreneurs build profitable and sustainable businesses that support their lifestyles. Giovana is passionate about helping entrepreneurs drop money beliefs that hold them back from reaching the next level with their businesses. 

Tune in as she helps you develop an intimate relationship with money, run a lean business model, and set yourself up for success. 

In a nutshell, we speak about:

How to figure out what your numbers are

All that's impactful for the longevity of your business

Releasing yourself from focusing on maintaining the money you already have

Finding your tolerance level and pushing a little bit

The amazing Profit First Method

Making decisions from abundance rather than making decisions from fear and scarcity

The incredible 3M's [Mindset, Monetization & Money system] blueprint 

… and so much more! 

Check out Giovana Bier:

Gigi's Website:www.gigibier.com/

Company's Website:www.mycatsandme.com 

Company's Instagram: @mycatsandme

Gigi's Instagram: @gigibr

Why would a podcaster who’s looking to build an audience and earn sponsorship deals consider going private? Well, there are plenty of great reasons why private podcasting can be a beneficial choice for many business owners, and Nora Sudduth talks about them in this episode.

Nora Sudduth is the leading program design and marketing strategist, and co-founder of Hello Audio. Nora has helped businesses sell over $500M of products and services online. Hello Audio is an audio hosting platform that lets you take your digital content - your course, audiobook, masterclasses, summit recordings, and coaching calls - and turn it into a private podcast feed that your customers can listen to on the go. 

Tune in to learn how possible it is to provide next-level customer experience with exclusive, on-demand audio content. 

In a nutshell, we speak about:

Her career journey before founding Hello Audio

What is Hello Audio in the private podcasting space

How Hello Audio is opening a lot of possibilities in marketing, fulfillment, delivery, and onboarding 

Ways beyond the common in which you can utilize private podcasts

The beauty and value of audio

How you can access Hello Audio services

… and so much more!

Check out Nora Sudduth:

Company's Website: https://helloaudio.fm 

Nora's website: https://norasudduth.com

In a continuation of our new series where we're going behind the scenes in existing businesses as we pull back the curtain into their entrepreneurial struggles, find valuable opportunities for them and craft their ideal business.

In this episode, we're joined by Shawnna Journagan, an amazing artist with experience as a Designer, Copywriter, and co-founder of The Living Room Theatre. Shawnna has transitioned her art to an online store, however, she's struggling with marketing in terms of figuring out what exactly she should be spending her energy and time on and also knowing what is going to work and what's going to take her to the next level. 

Tune in as we unpack Shawnna's entrepreneurial challenges, help her connect with her business value, and craft her marketing vision. 

In a nutshell, we speak about:

… and so much more! 

Check out Shawnna Journagan:

Facebook: @SJournaganArt

Instagram: @shawnnalot

Pinterest:@sjournagan

Are you curious about what is possible through PR for you and your business? Or wondering how much faster you could attain your goals if you had a stellar communications strategy? Today's episode is definitely for you! 

In today's episode, we're joined by  Caitlin Copple Masingill, a PR expert who helps women leaders be seen and sought after through PR and digital marketing. She is a founding partner of Full Swing  PR, a public relations and digital marketing firm founded in 2019.  Full Swing  PR helps women leaders from underrepresented groups fulfill their potential as subject matter experts, bestselling authors, keynote speakers, and political leaders.

Tune in as Caitlin shares nuggets of wisdom that will help you amplify your story. 

In a nutshell, we speak about:

… and so much more!

Check out Full Swing PR:

LinkedIn: Full Swing Public Relations 

Website: www.fullswingpr.com 

Instagram: @fullswingpr

Download the Checklist HERE

Speaking is a paramount asset for growing your business. While anybody can speak, not everyone can transform and gravitate their audience toward themselves.

In today's episode, we're joined by Jasmin Haley, a nationally-awarded speaker, author, educator, thought leader, speaking consultant, and podcaster dedicated to helping her speaking clients confidently grow their businesses using the stage as a platform. Jasmin has spoken to and educated over 10,000 audience members since she began her career in speaking and has impacted countless others through her podcasts, educational programs, and consulting business. 

Tune in as Jasmin helps you work on your confidence, connect with the humanity of your audience and grow your legacy on the stage. 

In a nutshell, we speak about:

… and so much more! 

Check out Jasmin Haley:

Website: www.jasminhaley.com 

LinkedIn: Jasmin Haley Ms

Instagram: @itsjasminhaley

Today we'll be hearing from reformed unicorn marketer Kim David. She is a strategist and Chief Marketing Officer who has in the past decade helped both small businesses and mainstream brands use insights and data to create brand experiences and build better relationships with consumers. She hails from some pretty big names in the marketing world and was a Forbes 30 under 30 finalist in 2017. Kim owns a firm called Freebird society where she works specifically with BIPOC, small business owners, and their small-but-mighty teams to find creative solutions to grow their businesses ethically and sustainably. 

Tune in as we delve into what worked in marketing in 2022 and some of her predictions for 2023.

She’ll tell us about:

… and so much more!

Check out Freebirds Society:

Website: www.freebirdsociety.com 

Kim's LinkedIn: Kim David 

Kim's Podcast: Everything is Marketing 

Starting their business a year before the pandemic with just three in-person classes, Maestro Tales founders Emily Fellner Zeig and Jenny Sears couldn’t imagine how big their music exploration program would grow. Maestro Tales, designed for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers has since become the world's leading music exploration program, and its founders share great insights and valuable perspectives for you as an entrepreneur. 

We get to hear about:

…and so much more! 

Check out Maestro Tales's website: www.maestrotales.com 

Subscribe to Maestro Tales's YouTube Channel Here

Tea is the owner of The Branding Minimalist and she provides brand strategy, copywriting, and web design to small-business owners. She recently launched a new membership program called Launch It Simple: The club with unlimited questions, copywriting templates, content calendars, and group coaching calls and wants to make sure that she's keeping things simple on the business side as well.

We'll get to hear all about the new program and we'll talk through ways to automate and simplify the operations.

Using automation to perform repetitive tasks can be a huge timesaver. The ability to "set and forget" certain aspects of the business give us greater freedom to pursue those areas that need our attention. Think about working on the business rather than in the business.

By automating certain processes and tasks, businesses can cut down on their expenses. If you spend a lot of time at work doing everything but work – administrative tasks are one massive time-sink, and so are deliveries – then automating those processes makes the most sense for your business because you’ll be able to provide a faster and more efficient service to your clients, and free up your own time to pursue other business objectives. Tune in to today’s episode to learn more!

In a nutshell, I speak about:

… and so much more! 

It probably feels impossible to take a break from your business, or to not be working until the wee hours every night, or like you'll never be raking in the dough you know you could. Or maybe you've been played by delegating in the past and don't feel confident that anyone could ever do all the things you do to keep the business afloat. Have you tried documenting the things you and your team do everyday? I know it sounds crazy...and maybe like a lot of work but it could be the answer to any business woes you might have.

Let's talk about:

1. What documentation means

2. Why documentation matters

3. How documentation can simplify and strengthen your business

4. How documentation can create a team of rockstars

5. How to easily document your business and where to start

6. Documentation ensures you don't have to sacrifice perfection for your sanity

When your business starts to separate you from the product or service that you offer, from the super killer idea that you have built, how do you remain fulfilled in your business?

In today's episode, I share with you how you can get back from the world of struggle bus to that place of fulfillment in your business. Documenting and building your business library, automating and streamlining, and then implementing are the panaceas to finding fulfillment in your business in the long run.

Join us as we get a deeper understanding of what the three optimal solutions are.

In a nutshell, we speak about:

…and so much more!

Many of us started our businesses because we love to help and we love to solve problems for others...and that help seemed like it required a custom solution for each individual customer…and then you started getting tired. Very Tired. And things probably started to get real messy. And you're not quite sure how you can keep going. Maybe the money’s good but you haven’t looked up from your computer for months! Either way, something’s got to give!

That’s why we wanted to talk to Eleanor Mayrhofer. Eleanor is a super talented web designer that helps her clients launch their website in a day and she's going to share about her business transition from custom services to offering the same results as a product.

You can find out more at https://www.eleanormayrhofer.com

You might be asking, what the heck does finding a match have to do with business at all? Well, if your love life is a mess, your business is likely to suffer in some way. Distraction, self-doubt, and lack of support can all creep in if you're in a mismatched partnership. 

Today, we'll be hearing from modern matchmaker Abby Rosenblum. Abby helps busy professionals find real love. She has a background in journalism and has worked in television for 5 years. Abby was a serial dater until she met her husband , and now she helps people connect authentically and intentionally through The Social: Modern Matchmaking & Disrupticity. She is also the host of the podcast, Ghosted.

In a nutshell, we speak about

…and so much more!

Check out Abby's podcast: Ghosted

To get the latest course on launching an online boutique: The Complete online store

Stepping out of her 20-year career as an attorney general to build a direct-to-customer E-commerce business right in the thick of the Covid pandemic, Amy Parsons’ story is fascinating. And she shares all about it in today’s episode! 

Amy Parsons is the founder and CEO of Mozzafiato, a 100% Italian beauty and men's grooming store that imports products from Italy and sells them to customers in the US. Mozzafiato was started during the pandemic and has since provided an immersive, authentically Italian experience to the North American market. Amy has previously worked as an Attorney general at a large firm in Denver, was hired by Colorado State University (CSU) as a Chief Operating Officer, and later the Vice-Chancellor for the CSU system. 

In a nutshell, we speak about

… and so much more!

Check out Amy's brand: https://mozzafiato.com/

Over the last couple of years, it's hard to spend time online without seeing someone talking about their new online course. Have you ever thought about creating one? Destini Copp is going to share with us what a course could do for your business and what it would take to get there.

From college professor to entrepreneur, Dr. Destini Copp knows something about career transition and reinvention. Destini is a Marketing Consultant who is on a mission to help entrepreneurs scale their digital products with evergreen and automated sales funnels.  She strongly believes that one can still serve their clients by creating digital courses to add additional revenue to their business with the help of evergreen sales funnels. Tune in to learn about the opportunities associated with teaching what you know, deciding what you could teach, and the best way to get started. 

We talk about:

and so much more…!

Check out Destini's website: destini.cop.com 

Check out Destini's podcast Course Creator's MBA 

In this episode, I speak to the 3-time #1 best-selling author, Emee Vida Estacio. She is a Psychologist, Self Publishing launch strategist, and a leadership coach who has been a University Psychology Lecturer for about 10years. Dr.Emee educated herself into the self-publishing route as a health Psychologist writer and her first book 'Change Your Life for Good' was an instant bestseller. She outranked the amazing Tim Ferris despite being a newbie. Scooping a best seller on your first publication! Isn't that remarkably adorable?

Her incredible book series ‘Psychology in your Life' includes titles like ‘Fear is Not My Enemy' and ‘The Imposter Syndrome Remedy'.

In a nutshell, we speak about...

...and so much more!

Check out Emee's self-publishing community: http://thepamecode.com

Check her out on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/selfpubmadesimple/ and https://www.facebook.com/Dr.E.V.Estacio 

Melinda Colon is a brand and marketing strategist with a passion for systems and processes. She operates a brand and marketing consulting agency and coaching business, and using her gift as a connector, she is proactive about finding ways to build profitable solutions for online businesses that are effective and cost-efficient. 

Melinda is on a mission to help entrepreneurs regain control of their time and money in all things marketing, graphic design, and project management. Melinda is also the owner and operator of a full-service Virtual Assistant agency specializing in Administrative, Creative, and Technical Services.

In this episode we chat about:

.. and so much more!

Check out Melinda’s website: https://www.melindacolon.com/

You may have heard that customers are not loyal to you, your products, or your services but loyal to the experience that you give them. When it comes to running a successful online business, building a relationship with your customers is crucial, and emotions arising from their experiences play an important role.

In this episode, I speak with Rhianna Campbell, a real estate business coach. Rhianna is on a mission to help entrepreneurs increase their income and decrease their stress, and has been supporting the growth of small businesses for over twenty years. As a coach, investor, and entrepreneur, she draws from her years of extensive professional and real-life experience as well as her strong educational background. 

In a nutshell, we speak about:

… and so much more!

Check out Rhianna Campbell’s personal website: RhiannaCampbell.com

Check out Rhianna Campbell’s real company website: properplanning.realestate

Have you ever been told by somebody else that you are too aggressive, that you are too passive, that you're too direct, that you lack confidence, and that you need to speak up more? These are all of the things that women are told on a daily basis, and it feels like a freaking minefield! 

In this episode, I speak to Amelia Reigstad, an Effective Communication Consultant, and coach. Amelia has studied gender and communication in great depth, and she uses what she learned through those studies to encourage and inspire women to use their voices to initiate change and to communicate with everybody that they cross paths with. Tune in to learn how you can do that!

In a nutshell, we speak about:

… and so much more!

Check out Amelia’s website: https://www.ameliareigstad.com/

In today’s episode, I had the pleasure of interviewing Aleya Harris. Aleya is the founder and owner of Flourish Marketing, an agency dedicated to helping wedding, catering, and event professionals reach their full potential through fresh, cutting-edge marketing strategies that get and keep a consistent stream of clients. She is a firm believer that business owners should make good money doing what they love and she spreads this message through her role as a thought leader in the industry.

In a nutshell, we speak about:

…. and so much more!

Check out Aleya’s website: flourishmarketing.co

Email me: hello@clutchbusinesses.com

Check out my website: www.clutchbusinesses.com

The thought of adding a team member to manage aspects of your business — operations, projects, people and metrics can be really uncomfortable. As your business settles into six figures, you’re probably finding yourself overworked more often than not. Things start slipping through the cracks. And you might want more business, but you don't have the time to go out and get it. This is where an Online Business Manager comes in!

In this episode, I talk about what an OBM is, the benefits of hiring one, and how to find one! Tune in to also learn how OBMs can restore sanity to your business while you focus on what you love the most!

Email me: hello@clutchbusinesses.com

Check out my website: www.clutchbusinesses.com

I am a big believer of annual planning. It’s one of my absolute favorite things to do, especially for my business. The dramatic shift in my relationship with money is one of the things that has hugely contributed to the success of my business.

As the year comes to a close, I have decided to share with you one of the exercises that I do annually for my business. It is an exercise that I use to create the revenue goals for my business, and then to create the strategy for my business. So grab a pen and paper, and let’s get started!

Email me: hello@clutchbusinesses.com

Check out my website: www.clutchbusinesses.com

Sound is an important part of marketing, whether it is in the form of music, songs, the spoken word, or noises. Sound marketing has been proven to produce dramatic results in the way someone experiences your brand. So I invited someone who's been in the industry for years and years as a voiceover actor to tell us how we can use this little-known tool to enhance our marketing efforts.

In today’s episode, I speak with Jodi Krangle on how audio impacts people and clever ways to use it. Jodi also gives tips on how to incorporate sound in your marketing, its importance, and the power it holds. 

What we talk about:

.. and so much more!

Jodi’s Clubhouse room: The Power of Sound

Jodi’s website: audiobrandingpodcast.com

Your customer is your company’s most valuable asset. We all know this. But sometimes – especially when you’re not on the front lines of sales or customer support – it can be easy to lose sight of who you’re truly working for. Not everyone on your team can design a product, sell licenses or write code, but everyone can work in a way that positively impacts customers.

In today’s episode, I speak with Melinda Holmes, a seasoned Customer Experience Consultant.  Melinda has had a career in Customer Experience for +20 years, where she has learned to understand the foundations needed to effectively manage and build successful customer experiences. Her focus is on giving solutions to save money and earn more revenue by creating processes to increase customer retention rather than pricey ads and exhausting promotions.

In nutshell, we speak about:

… and so much more!

Connect with Melinda: 

 Website: https://www.abovethelead.com/

In this episode, you are going to meet your new Business Order of Operation...your new BOO! If you’ve been in the online space for a while you must have heard that one needs to create content daily in order for their business to succeed. That you must have something to tell your audience EVERY SINGLE DAY. I know how hard that can be, and so I invited a very special guest that’s convinced it doesn’t have to be that way. 

Luis Baez is a business strategist and sales coach serving entrepreneurs, service providers, and course creators. With a particular dedication to empowering underrepresented entrepreneurs through his training and coaching, Luis teaches online business owners how to scale their revenue and impact by creating and selling high-end offers - including coaching, masterminds, and memberships. Luis introduces us to our new BOO and gives us tips on how we can create content that helps us stay connected with our audience. Tune in to learn more!

In a nutshell, we talk about:

… and so much more!

Connect with Luis:

Website: www.luisbaez.com

50% of small businesses don’t make it past 5 years, yikes!

To succeed in business today, you need to be flexible and have good planning and organizational skills. Many people start a business thinking that they’ll turn on their computers or open their doors and start making money, only to find that it’s a little more nuanced than that.

Today’s episode flips the script on what we think will make our business successful versus what the numbers actually say. I share 4 reasons why most businesses don’t make it past five years, and how you can make sure that your amazing business is built to last and will stand the test of time. Tune in to learn more!

Feel a little stuck, defeated....like the last year has been one grind after another? Duquesa Dean and I chatted about how to reclaim our power. She's an expert at helping people identify and achieve "impossible" goals.

Being raised in a society that guides women to be people-pleasers definitely takes its toll on us. We are always taught to be polite, friendly, and kind, even when people are rude to us. It becomes harder to grow when you feel judged by others and the world around you.

I want every woman to have the opportunity to reclaim their power, so I invited Duquesa Dean, a public speaker, published author, and self-development mentor to talk about how. Duquesa had a troubled childhood and is not afraid to admit that growing up, she made a lot of mistakes. She takes us through her journey, and how she’s been able to take her power back - from finding herself sitting on her bathroom floor with a bottle of tablets and a gallon of juice 19 years ago, to now helping women evolve and live the lives of their dreams. Duquesa is on a mission to help women harness their power and become the highest and best version of themselves.

In a nutshell, we talk about:

Duquesa’s powerful, gut wrenching story and how she got into the work she is currently doing.

How Duquesa helps her clients define and achieve their goals.

The process involved in growth and reclaiming your power.

Duquesa’s free tool showcasing her unique process.

Why our past should not limit our future.

… and so much more!

Connect with Duquesa: Website: https://duquesadean.com/

I’m sneaking this in before everyone runs off to have the time of their lives with fully vaxxed bodies this glorious summer. I want to join you! So, Totally Clutch is going to be on hiatus until September 2021.

In the meantime, I’m working on some really exciting things and I’ll share everything with you when we come back together. But I don’t want to leave without saying a huge thank you. I started my business a little over a year ago and it has been such a wild ride. The first year didn’t look anything like I was convinced it would. I was convinced I would be different from every other business owner out there and make all the money I planned to the second I made the decision and my site went live….well I promise you that didn’t happen.

BUT something shifted massively a couple of months ago and this biz felt vibrant and full for the very first time. AND the vision...the very same vision I had in my head all along actually became a reality. I’m working with the most amazing collection of women. I look forward to every.single.meeting I have. I love the work I’m doing and more than that, I love that it's making the lives of these women more vibrant as well. So thank you, thank you for listening, thank you for making this such an incredible community of women and thank you for really hearing and seeing what’s possible for you and your business.

Go get that sun and I’ll see you back here in September!

Have you ever used a service or taken an online training thinking it would be the answer to all your prayers only to be massively disappointed? I sure have!

Angela Bryant started product review site, AngelRated and she's on a mission to help small businesses avoid spending thousands of dollars and tons of time finding the right products, designers, trainings, etc.

In our last episode, Brianna Sexton talked about the importance of email marketing and how to use it to grow your business. This week I wanted to show you how to set up those automations so they're working for you instead of against you.

Your email list is a captive audience of raving fans. Are you doing everything you can to nurture sales from the giant list you worked so hard to create? Or are you spinning your wheels in a bunch of directions with the occasional newsletter to your crew?

Brianna Sexton shares how to use email marketing to grow your business and totally capitalize on all your efforts.

Do you feel like your business is on the verge of greatness but something just isn't clicking? Mala Kennedy of Mala Loves shares how your mindset is impacting your business.

Get ready to feel worthy, confident, loved, and ready for success.

https://malaloves.co/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/womenrisingtogethernow

In honor of Women's History month, I'm sharing 3 simple strategies to save your business and your life.

For the month of March, I'm offering $500 business evaluations that give you specific ways your business can get back time, increase revenue and have happier customers.

Book a 30 min Free consultation with me to see if that's what your business needs: https://www.clutchbusinesses.com/letsmeet

Let's Make History!

Instead of of the usual podcast format, I'm switching it up today with a special free (and quick) workshop if our last episode spurred interest in what it takes to start an online store.

In it, I'll walk you through:

·What it takes to start an e-commerce business

·How to choose an e-commerce platform

·How to sell profitable items.

As an attendee, you'll be given a special offer to help launch your store in 5 hours.

I wanted to do a special episode on something I just haven’t been able to shake. The impact that the pandemic has had on women is astounding. In September of 2020 the numbers shook me. Women were leaving the workforce at rates 4x greater than men. Then in December women accounted for 100% of the 140,000 jobs lost while men gained (albeit small).

You'll find more stop-you-in-your-tracks facts and some things to do if you or someone you know left the workforce in 2020 in the latest episode.

If you think Corrie's program is the transformation you’ve been waiting for book a call with her here before Feb 10th, 2021: http://bit.ly/vybbpartner

I also have a program that walks you step-by-step through building an e-commerce store in less than a day. To find out more about the program, you can visit: https://www.thecompleteonlinestore.com/enroll

Women are so resilient. Let’s lift each other up out of this.

In the last episode, our marketing expert, Elizabeth Pampalone told us that podcasts are here to stay and a great way to network and market your business. But how do you even begin to find podcasts to be a guest on?

Happy New Year! In our first episode of 2021 we’re talking marketing! Marketing is such a hot topic for businesses. We spend so much time and money figuring out how to get into the hearts and minds of the people that will benefit most from our products or services.

With the new year upon us and plans already in the works to make it a great year we’re going to hear from Elizabeth Pampalone, Founder of Absolute Marketing about what our marketing needs to look like in 2021.

https://getabsolutemarketing.com/

Welcome to the last episode of Totally Clutch for 2020. Today’s topic will catapult you into the new year with big, achievable dreams and we’ll be back again the second week of January to talk about marketing trends for the coming year. Make sure to subscribe wherever you listen so you know when the latest episodes are released.

Before diving in, think about how much money you DREAM of your business making? Is it 5, 6, 7...8 figures? Because we’ve got the founder of The Growth Boss, Deirdre Tshien with us today to talk about how you can hit your dream numbers with a lot more ease than you probably think. And be sure to stick around until the end to hear about the bootcamp she has coming up.

In business, I love end of year planning. I love having a chance to look over what happened over the last twelve months, compare it to what I planned and then start a vision for what the next year should look like. I love doing it in my business and the companies I work with. 

Everyone listening deserves to make the money you dream of making. Having a clear idea of what’s working, what’s not and what you need in order to hit that number is the only way you’re going to get there. 

In the work I do, I rely on the numbers to tell a story. So let’s dig in and see what your numbers are telling you and how you can use that to make your business unstoppable in 2021.

Download a copy of our end of year planner at www.clutchbusinesses.com/plan and follow along.

Do you enjoy the holidays or does every moment you try to cherish seem fleeting or overshadowed by all the money and time you have to spend to get just a glimmer of joy?

Join our coffee talk with Bradley Joseph of Hawthorn Concierge based in Colorado. We’re talking strategies for thriving this holiday season.

Download the checklist at: www.clutchbusinesses.com/holidaythrive

Find out more at Hawthorn Concierge at:

www.hawthornconcierge.com

In this episode, we talk about how to be a strong leader with Francine Lasky. Francine is the Founder and CEO of Francine Lasky Enterprises and Chair of the Chicago chapter of Vistage Worldwide. She’s a motivator, leader, speaker and listener. I found a quote from her that said her superpower isn’t having the perfect answers but asking the important questions so we’re turning the tables today to hear how she elevates the companies, communities and families of the leaders she works with.

In this episode, we talk about how running a business will get easier with Sheila Hatfield and Lynne Ly. Sheila’s a consultant for PSI Metrix and Lynne works at the Credit Union of Colorado. They’ve been working together to update the Credit Union of Colorado’s digital technology and are total software experts.

Now, before you tune out, I promise that this conversation won’t jump above anyone’s head. We’ll explain all the buzzwords but really we’re going to focus on how life is going to get easier for you and your business in the near future. SaaS platforms, these are things like your website, Canva, Zapier….basically anything you pay a monthly fee to use that helps run your business, are getting smarter and doing more everyday.

I’m already a huge fan. They’re really cost effective, accessible (aka user friendly) and create awesome efficiencies, so they’re perfect for small businesses.

In the work I do, I tend to take the platforms as they are with a little tweaking and coding behind the scenes to tailor to the needs of my clients. Sheila Hatfield, on the other hand, works on complex customizations and integrations. The functionality that she builds eventually trickles down and becomes the new feature from your favorite platforms. And Lynne is figuring out new ways to integrate them into day-to-day life within her organization.

We've got a whiz kid in the house today! Laura Vogel just graduated from CU Boulder and already has a booming handbag business. She tells us all about her seemingly fairytale start in this week's episode. Check out her wears while you listen at www.vogelle.com.

Women are amazing at doing whatever it takes to get shit done. We throw ourselves in, make sure everyone is taken care of, don’t ask for a thing while we make magic happen. In our business, in our families, with our friends. 

But we can’t keep that up forever. It’s exhausting and we have the best intentions to keep everything out of the cracks but things inevitably fall through. A deadline gets missed, an invoice goes unpaid, a soccer snack gets forgotten, we cancel on our friends because we just can’t, maybe your health even starts to deteriorate. In your business, your customers and employees start to suffer right along with you.

I recently spoke with several women starting their companies. All of them believed that the most important thing for them to keep their eyes on were their clients and their finances. YET, all of them were spending hours and hours down some admin rabbit hole. What they were working on was really important but it was out of their wheelhouse so it was taking them more time and a lot more energy and was detracting from their clients and their finances. I can totally relate and even enjoy learning these kinds of things sometimes, that’s my cross to bear. I can also appreciate that it doesn’t feel like you have any other option if you don’t have an assistant. So, what do you do?

Online businesses are all the rage and for good reason. Have you ever wondered what it’s like behind the scenes to start an online business? Our guest, Nicole Colwell, is building a membership program and an online course and is here to fill us in on all the dirty details.

Nicole Colwell is a very special coach helping ambitious professionals and entrepreneurs to break through blocks, make their stress work for them and build profitable businesses and is currently developing La Societe, a membership program as well as an online course to support businesses with their strategic mission.

Curious if a membership business is right for you? You can take our online biz quiz at www.clutchbusinesses.com/onlinebizquiz

Thank you for joining us and please remember I believe in you and your business.

I’m flying solo again today to take a step back and talk about some business basics. 

So, we have a teenager in the house and have been having a lot of “check yourself before you wreck yourself” conversations as her wings are starting to spread. Her heart is giant and she’s so smart, creative and adventurous. And in the midst of fighting for independence things get WILD. It’s easy for her to lose sight of the basics (thank you’s, asking instead of taking, asking instead of DEMANDING) that will get her further along in life than the alternative. I trust that you’re good on your pleases and thank you’s but Clutch is all about finding those “check yourself before you wreck yourself” basics in women’s businesses, so let’s look at one.

Last week, I stumbled upon a coaching site that was offering free 30 minute consultations to anyone interested in learning more about her work. Super common and a great way to build relationships with potential clients. It’s the only call-to-action on her site so I imagine she’d like to see a lot of appointments scheduled. 

Out of curiosity, I clicked to book an appointment, found a date and time and was asked for my name and email address. All pretty standard. Except, this is where I see tons of businesses leave time and conversions on the table. 

If you offer these to clients, you can relate to this. The first 10-15 mins of every call is usually you asking the same questions you ask everyone you talk to. You get different answers, which is the juicy part of the conversation, but how you get those answers is generally the same. This particular coach pays for a great appointment booking system that allows for a lot of really nice customizations. Customizations that would allow her to ask those questions when they were booking and store their answers in their client profile. You can see a comparison below of “what is” versus “what could be”. She could look them over quickly before their call and would have a record of them forever that she could refer back to. That cuts the call time in half! 

If you want to learn more about the three areas we work with clients on to move from hustle to flow, you can download our free 3 Ways to Always Have Time, Energy and Business at:

www.clutchbusinesses.com/start-here

So, I have to give a WARNING. This episode might be a little controversial! My guest and I may end up convincing you that the assistant or 10 extra staff members you’ve been dreaming about may not answer your business woes.

Our guest found all the things we help our clients find; more time, more money and greater fulfillment. But she found it on her own and in an unconventional way.

Janis Isaman is the owner and founder of My Body Couture, a private one-on-one health studio. She helps humans move better, feel better and live better.

I want to draw special attention to the fact that she’s making more money, has less stress and is spending way more time with her son, her photography and writing. ALL the things.

Listen now to hear all the juicy details. You’ll be surprised.

If you’re interested in working with Janis, visit her at www.mybodycouture.com

This episode piggybacks off our last but breaks from our new norm of live interviews just for this week. Once you’ve got your business idea dialed in, looking for a platform is the next big step. We’ll talk through the key things to look for when choosing an online platform and will also provide a worksheet to help you work through the considerations for your specific business. This is a quick but important video.

Finding the right platform to support your online business is a make or break decision and it needs to happen really early in your planning. So you have little to go on to make this ginormous call. It can be the difference between growing a successful business and barely holding on.

I worked with a service organization a while back that was paying a lot of money every month for a membership platform. The information available to clients was so outdated and confusing that the front desk staff was on the phone constantly answering questions because no one knew how to make updates or set things up properly. They were paying a lot for the membership site, and were also paying desk staff to provide the same information instead of allowing them to truly host clients arriving for their service. And that’s not a situation you want to find yourself in down the road.

In this episode we talk with special guest, Sumayya Essack, about how to find the right online business for you. You’ll also get access to a fun, yet informative quiz to take on your own.

Things have shifted dramatically as a result of the pandemic. Businesses have closed, reopened and closed again forcing people to spend more of their time online. All of this change can make an online business really appealing. 

Online businesses can come in many different forms. You can sell services, physical or digital products online. You can be an affiliate or a blogger. With so many options, it can be hard to know which one is right for you. 

Sumayya Essack runs Curate the Future, where she helps overachieving, yet under fulfilled, professionals find their true path.

I’m looking forward to what Sumayya’s insights spark for you. If you want to find out more about her work, visit:

www.curatethefuture.com

And you can take her free training at:

www.curatethefuture.com/4steps

If you can’t wait and want to meet your online business soulmate today, take the quiz:

Please remember I believe in you and your business.

In today’s episode we talk about why you should start a business during a recession. We’ll be hearing from a special guest and will also share a couple of resources for you budding entrepreneurs.

It’s official. An economic recession started in February 2020. If I told you now could be a great time to start a business, would you think I was crazy? Well, the research agrees, so dust off the business plan you’ve been carefully crafting over the years and let’s see what you can do.

The last recession was Dec 2007-June 2009. Marie Forleo founded her business training small businesses and entrepreneurs in 2008. Her business is still rockin’ to this day. She’s received accolades from Oprah, Richard Branson, Tony Robbins and she’s trained over 55,000 people through B-School...quick math, that’s over $100M in revenue. Some other recognizable names founded in 2007-2008 are Airbnb, Crunchbase, Glassdoor, TaskRabbit, Groupon, Khan Academy, Spotify, Indiegogo, DL1961, Twilio, Roku, Drybar.

Tara Skredynski runs Careerfit Consulting, and coaches women through career transitions. Tara started her business earlier this year and shares her story.

They say that statistically, a small business has the same likelihood of success whether you start it in a boom or a bust. There are a lot of great advantages in a bust that can set you up for long-term success.

Still not convinced? Download this pdf to find out what you can leverage while starting a business now:

www.clutchbusinesses.com/recession

Starting a business is no joke. I’m going to guess that you’re not starting a business because you’re really pumped about doing payroll every two weeks. When I started my business, it took months and lots of staring at my computer to get everything set up and working right. That’s not thriving. We’ll be launching a course shortly that will help you get all of your backend business STUFF setup in a day. Save yourself joy and time. You can sign up for the waitlist at www.clutchbusinesses.com/onlinecourse.

Please remember I believe in you and your business.

Today’s episode is a follow up to our last episode on marketing content creation. We have Abbie back with us and today I’ll be sharing my results from taking her 5 day course.

Abbie Nwaocha runs For Her Empire, a support squad for female entrepreneurs.

I mentioned last week that every one of Clutch’s clients struggle with their social media presence. They find it hard to invest time into creating content with a strong, consistent strategy behind it. Heck, even I struggle with it.

We’re all about sustainable and efficient solutions so I’m happy to share my results this week and I know that it will give you some direction or clarity.

Let’s talk first about the outcomes people can expect to walk away with after completing the course. The course title is “5 days” but in actuality, it’s 10 days with only 5 days of work to create a sustainable demand. I took full advantage of that. At the end of the 10 days, people are set up to have 10 pieces of marketing content or what makes up a month worth of material.

The content is a combination of social media images, blog posts, lead magnets and then a repurposing of something you already created.

I got a little nervous after struggling through the first day but ended up with 22 pieces of content by the end of the course. Here’s how I did it along with some helpful things I found along the way.

The bulk of what I did was based around the blogs and interviews I’ve been doing. I think the information shared in them is so valuable and is so free that I want people to get everything they can out of them. And that makes for a lot of cohesive marketing content.

Social Images 

I started with social images and was able to create an event promotion, behind the scenes, share someone else’s content, question to followers and newsletter sign-up post all focused on the topic of the two vlogs that we’ve recorded.

I created all the posts in Canva Pro and overall it took about 1.5 hours to make all 5. That included brainstorming and creation. 

I know a lot of us are posting across multiple social sites. Canva Pro just released a feature that allows you to resize your designs for all the different social sites with a few clicks. I tried it and will say it definitely saved time but it left something to be desired. It didn’t fit the designs to the new size so I had to tweak things a little bit before they were ok to post.

Blog Posts

The Clutch Blog is made up of videos that are also turned into audio files and shared as podcasts. I used this interview and the last to fill this content category. Overall, the two interviews took about 4.5 hours to record, prep and edit. That sounds like a lot of time but we get a ton of other content out of it. All 5 of the social images above were related in some way to these blogs.

Lead Magnets

We’re starting to prepare for our next blog interview so I created a pdf checklist that listeners can download with more detailed information than we’ll cover in the interview. I’ll also use that to promote a course we’re launching on the topic in the future.

I used the free resource www.attract.io to create the checklist and a call to action.

I also created an audio training that provides broader information on the tools we use to help female entrepreneurs. I recorded it using a microphone and my iPhone.

I spent about 3.5 hours creating these two lead magnets. 

Repurposing

I think I enjoyed this most. It was fun to review all the content we already have in our library and use it in new and creative ways. It also created the most content.

I took the lead magnet checklist and turned each line into a social image to build my list even further, giving us 12 more social images to post.

I stumbled across Designrr a while back and thought I would use this as an opportunity to try it. It’s a service that takes all of your social media content and transforms it into an ebook that you can use as a lead magnet or product. The free version doesn’t offer anything Canva doesn’t. It just copies and pastes your blog copy into a pdf. The paid version is where the magic happens. It takes all your social media posts, transcribes any videos or audio files to create an ebook or flipbook. It takes seconds to pull everything into your template. If you focus on a specific topic for a period of time, once everything is out in the world, you can pull it altogether to create a full book. So cool.

I spent about 1.5 hours on these two pieces.

Overall

I spent WAY too much time making all of this. I’m a bit of a perfectionist and struggle with getting designs to look good.

In total, I spent a day and a half creating 22 pieces of content. With that said, most of what I created was new to me so I didn’t have templates in place, equipment set up and was familiarizing myself with new tools. Next month should take much less time and be much easier to delegate. I know what posts I want to create, I have the templates created and a rhythm I can follow.

Another thing that can be helpful now that I know what posts I’ll be creating is to hire a designer to tailor templates specific to my brand. Because I’m not a designer, I found myself spending a lot of time fussing around with layout and still wasn’t over the moon with the outcome. Had I done that to start, I wouldn’t have had such a strong sense of what I needed and probably would have paid a lot of money to end up in the same spot.

I’m really glad I did the course and it was very helpful in giving me a structure for our marketing.

If you want to see the posts in action, follow us on Instagram or Facebook.

And you can sign up to take Abbie’s course here:

www.ForHerEmpire.com/freebies

Please remember I believe in you and your business.

In today’s episode we talk about the HOT topic of marketing content creation. This is the first in a two part series so be sure to tune in again in 2 weeks.

Every one of our clients struggle with their social media presence. They don’t have one but know they should. Or, they create posts in fits and starts so they're not building strong trust and relationships with their customer base. Developing consistent content can take a lot of time and very different creative energy than running their business. And outsourcing it strips their authentic voice.

Admittedly, WE haven't even found an efficient way to do it. We usually end up developing and scheduling 6-12 months of content for everyone we work with. But when the content we create dries up, our clients end up back where they started, struggling to create or not creating it at all. We’re all about sustainable and efficient solutions so I hunted down an expert to help us try to solve this challenge.

Abbie Nwaocha runs For Her Empire, a support squad for female entrepreneurs. This is our first ever interview...and live at that.

Today we’ll hear about Abbie’s special formula for creating great content. In the second episode, I’ll share my experience and results from taking her 5 day course. You can sign up to do the course along with me at:

www.ForHerEmpire.com/freebies

It’s been a fascinating couple of months. If you’ve been able to sink into the wide range of emotions something like this can bring up, you may be starting to feel like we’ve been given the opportunity to reset like we’ve never been given before. Priorities are changing for everyone. I know for me and my friends, there’s a focus on slowing down. Connecting more. Connecting more deeply to ourselves, to our purpose, to our families, to our beloved friends. A focus on having enough, but not too much. A focus on creating and expressing. A focus on living deeply. I don’t know one person that wants to do post-quarantine life the same way they did life before the pandemic. I’m sure this looks different for all of us but I’m sure you feel it on some level.

In today’s episode I want to capitalize on that feeling of transformation but acknowledge that although you may want to show up to life differently, you may not know how. And there’s a danger that it might feel easier to push all that inspiration away and go back to the way things were.

A similar transformation occurred for me in my mid-late twenties. I landed a killer job working for a super cool company with fun, smart leaders. They were growing rapidly and needed someone young and willing to do anything to run point. I threw myself into it. I didn’t have kids or a serious relationship so it was easy for me to work around the clock and travel anywhere they needed me to be. It was exciting and our efforts were paying off in really big ways. Those results were my sole focus for 4 years. I was getting everything done and I was making life easier for the rest of the team but if you looked behind the curtain, I was a mess. I wasn’t focused on HOW I was getting things done so that meant I was literally working around the clock. 

We were making it up as we went so there was an unavoidable element of messiness that I could have expected but I was taking it to a whole new level. By the time I started to see ways to improve my efficiency, it was too late. I was totally burned out. I had a premature mid-life crisis, left my job and started teaching yoga and thai massage. You can imagine how transformative that was.

Although yoga is still a large part of my life, I eventually found my way back to a desk. In hindsight, the job that took me down is still one of the best jobs I’ve had. I loved the vision, the product, the people I got to work with and the relationships I built. I haven’t found anything like it since. 

While I don’t regret my choices, I did give a long, hard look at how to avoid walking away from something so good ever again. As a result, I’ve spent the last 8 years automating me and my teams out of jobs. I jump on anything I see that can be automated, any process that’s clunky, involves too many steps or leaves too much room for error or creates too many customer touch points. At the end of that tunnel usually sits a way to make more money with the same resources.

Once you decide to transform from the mindset of:

It’s supposed to be this hard.

Busy is my purpose

It’s not that bad, I can handle it.

You’re business and your life will flourish. You know your business better than anyone so if you give it a good look, you’ll see the same things. Or you might be on the burn out edge and don’t have the energy to see it. If that’s that case you may need help to find your way there but I guarantee you WILL flourish. 

One of my first consulting clients was an ER physician. She had been trained in so many ways to be precise and efficient. Lives were literally at stake if she wasn’t. She had a really profitable side hustle but even with her years of training, she had a hard time seeing where she was losing time in her other business. After working together, her revenue grew and she reclaimed 35% of her time.

You can absolutely have the life you want, that you’ve been dreaming of. 

Every two weeks, we share tools and suggestions for running a well-oiled machine. You can sign up to get those by visiting:

www.clutchbusinesses.com/start-here

and you’ll get a free audio training to get things started. 

If you need fast-acting relief, you can set up time to talk with us about the opportunities that exist in your business at:

www.clutchbusinesses.com/schedule-meeting

Our process involves less than 3 hours of your time. We gather data from you, find solutions and with your thumbs up, we fully implement everything so you can see results immediately.

Please remember I believe in you and your business.

In this episode, we talk about adding e-commerce to your business. Before you tune out, let me assure you that you don’t have to have a brick and mortar storefront or physical product to sell online.

If you own a small business, chances are business has been anything but usual over the last month. In this trying time, your business can still survive without you working around the clock. We’ll share five ways for you and your business to outlast COVID-19 in this episode.

Listen to the first episode of Totally Clutch, our bi-weekly podcast. We’ll tell you how incredible you are, share resources to reclaim your time and passion and give a preview of what’s to come on future episodes.