Soulful MBA Podcast

“In 2018, there is no earthly reason, biological or otherwise, why men should have more power than women.” - Hanna Rosin In this episode, we explore our relationships to power. Are you comfortable with the concept of power? What about empowerment? What about laying claim to your own power (Can you get behind the idea of power for other women, but not for yourself)? This is a term that many of us wrestle with regularly in our work and lives. Perhaps we ought to take Mary Beard up on her suggestion to transform power from a noun into a verb. This way, it is less about power being a character trait and more about power being an intentional practice, comprised of multiple daily acts. Our takeaway? Collectively, we need to stop judging other women for exercising power, while constantly finding ways to effect our own. Joy: Cauldron Hustle: Powerful Women Talk About Power (And Powerlessness)

“The view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be and whether you accomplish the things you value.” — Carol Dweck In this episode, we discuss Carol Dweck’s work on the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. The bottom line? Your true potential is unknown and malleable. It is so often shaped by the internal language you use to define your experience. How can you overcome a fixed mindset? Identify it, recognize it, name it, and ask for help. Joy: Vijay Gupta Hustle: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success

Word-of-mouth is priceless. Every business that wants to grow (or grow fast) needs a solid online marketing strategy and a few well-timed ads, but organic promotion will always be king. When your customers spread the word about your business, they do so to people who already know and trust them. Personal referrals feel more genuine to the listener, which means they’re more likely to lead to action than sterile, geo-targeted Facebook ads. If your clients say glowing things about your services, they’re happily and naturally endorsing your wellness business. If actual, word-of-mouth is priceless, online reviews are platinum. Meaning online approval is slightly less valuable to your business, but not by much! Recent research shows that 97% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, and 85% trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. And we’re not talking testimonials on your own website, we’re talking about third-party platforms where reviewers can be candid and honest. We’re talking about Google Reviews! Listen in to learn some quick and simple tips for getting started with Google Reviews.

In this episode, we interview entrepreneur Rynda Laurel—who has an extensive background in the entertainment industry and with building brands in the online space. She is on a mission to help more people learn about the natural ways they can supplement their bodies and brains to truly become happy, joyous, and free. Rynda, who has a background in the music industry, is a highly sought-after consultant and currently works with a select number innovative, like-minded entrepreneurs, lifestyle brands, content creators, and experiential events. She has helped to grow multiple companies and ventures. Her network is vast and she has a knack for combining creative concepts with the right people to get achieve powerful results. Rynda has also just launched VRYeveryday, a supplement line supporting mental health and well-being. She has over 25 years of continuous sobriety and recovery from drug addiction and almost 3 years of full remission from clinical depression. It’s not everyday that you meet a woman who took it upon herself to launch a business of this nature—formulating and manufacturing her own supplements—and that’s the primary focus of this conversation. Rynda is brave and her story is vulnerable. Connect with Rynda: here / here / here Joy: messages of impact from VRYeveryday usersHustle: perseverance

“Your heart knows about your career the same way that it does about a relationship…the houses of success and failure sit right next to each other.” - Kayce Brown In this episode, we share our recent conversation with business strategist and innovator, Kayce Brown. Kayce predicts trends and seizes opportunity. She’s hard to put into a box. She is creative, impactful, and disruptive. Following over a decade in the film industry, her unique blend of talent and expertise sit at the cross-section of tech, pop culture, social good, and entertainment. Kayce’s deep knowledge and experience within these industries have allowed her to make connections and strategically partner with global brands, influencers, nonprofits, and media. (Kayce has worked with everyone from Uber to the NFL, from Bird scooters to GYFT, a recently launched digital pregnancy companion.) In this conversation, we get a peek into Kayce’s mindset, and she shares some invaluable advice for all of us in the process. Other Mentions: Mindset: The New Psychology of Success / Connect with Kayce: LinkedIn / Joy: movement + exercise Hustle: LinkedIn / AngelList

This podcast has become a diary of our business, our friendship, and a place to explore our evolving ideas about entrepreneurship. As we hit the 100th episode mark, listen in to learn about why we love recording this show, our plans for the podcast moving forward, and what we are working to improve upon. Joy: Sunrise Rock Everything OilHustle: How to Book and Prep Podcast Guests / Power Your Podcast with Storytelling

“American women are liberated, but they’re not empowered.” - Tara Sophia Mohr This episode features a raw conversation about our roles as mothers and feminists, our differing responsibilities, and the complex relationship we each have with financial security. Whenever we travel for our businesses, we encounter the double standards that have come to define our lives as modern women and mothers. It’s the truth. The truth is messy. Joy: Malibu Beach House Airbnb / diane krön chocolatier Hustle: The Wealthy Feminist / Many Women at Elite Colleges Set Career Path to Motherhood

Today’s episode features an interview with Jess Frank, who serves as the Program Director for Yoga Behind Bars (or YBB for short). YBB is a Washington State-based nonprofit that has been sharing trauma-informed yoga and meditation with thousands of incarcerated youth and adults since 2008. Starting this month, September 2018, the organization’s comprehensive trauma-informed training will be available online for the very first time. (Full Disclosure: YBB is working with us via Namastream to host this program and we’re so humbled that Jess and her team have chosen to use our platform). Jess’s passion for providing transformative opportunities to incarcerated people sparked at the start of her career and has only grown since she became a YBB instructor nearly 5 years ago. As a program coordinator for the Post Prison Education Program and University Beyond Bars, Jess became both intimately acquainted with the challenges facing people in the criminal justice system and deeply inspired by the dedication of the students. As YBB’s program director, Jess co-facilitates trauma-informed trainings, manages and mentors volunteers, oversees program creation and growth, and conducts site visits and evaluations. Jess shared with us that the highlight of her week is teaching yoga to 25 students at the men’s prison in Monroe, Washington. Connect with Yoga Behind Bars: YBB / YBB Online Joy: deflect judgement with self loveHustle: movement, being in the body

Every new business needs a sidekick–someone who understands how to set up shop, maneuver taxes and licensing issues, and build out some basic spreadsheets. In this episode we interview Jenny MacLeod (aka “Jenny Girl Friday”), who has been working one-on-one with self-employed women for over five years. She’s on a new mission to make those necessary business chores easier and even fun…for every single self-employed woman in Seattle. As a small business owner herself, Jenny offers Sidekick Services (tax reminders + how-to articles via email), one-time consults, workshops, and, coming SOON, an online business apothecary. She also released a book last year, How to Become Self-Employed in Seattle: A Guidebook, Companion, and Reference. Jenny lives in Seattle in a half-finished house, with her husband Alex and two teenagers. You might spot her driving around town in her VW bus on her way to yoga or happy hour. Amazing, Jenny has never owned a cell-phone and she built her business out of the belief that self-employed people are essential to the soul of Seattle. Connect with Jenny: jennygirlfriday.com / Business Apothecary Joy: Goddess Oracle Deck / Women Who Run with the Wolves / Scythe / Ladywell’s Hustle: Do the Work! / The Art of the Start / Jenny’s Weekly Flow: basic worksheet p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!

We’re giving you an insider peek into our biannual business planning process. Our second 2018 business retreat is happening next week in a Malibu beach house (we can’t wait). In this episode, we walk you though our metrics analysis and tracking process, how we set and evaluate goals, how we choose the next features for our software, and why we incorporate trend forecasting into our retreats. We also reveal some updates related to our our Soulful MBA course + community! Joy: State the LabelHustle: Take a business retreat of your own.

This episode touches on our use of the word “guys” (and why it is so problematic). Usage of this term has seen a massive rise since the advent of the Internet, but it creates a subtle, yet troubling speech pattern for the plight of women. There is no gender-neutral, plural pronoun in the English language (unlike Spanish or German or a host of other languages), but choosing to default to an informal masculine plural pronoun is not the answer. The language that we choose to use each and everyday matters; by opting to be lazy with our language, we add more fodder to an existing series of microaggressions against women. According to Sherryl Kleinman, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at UNC Chapel Hill, “...women want to be included in the term that refers to the higher-status group: men. But while being labeled one of the guys might make women feel included, it’s only a guise of inclusion, not the reality. If women were really included we wouldn’t have to disappear into the word guys.” Amen, sister. Other Mentions: Why Sexist Language Matters / The Problem With ‘Hey Guys’ / An unnecessarily long and surprisingly fascinating history of ‘guys’ Joy: Charlotte Walsh Likes to WinHustle: ZigZag Podcast

A cognition crisis is not defined by a lack of information, knowledge or skills. We have done a fine job in accumulating those and passing them along across millennia. Rather, this a crisis at the core of what makes us human: the dynamic interplay between our brain and our environment — the ever-present cycle between how we perceive our surroundings, integrate this information, and act upon it. - Adam Gazzaley We were profoundly rocked this summer by Jaron Lanier’s new book: Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now, and this podcast episode explores the reasons why this book has had such an immense impact on each of us. How does social media impact our access to economic dignity? What are the long-term implications of new technology? Why is the freemium model of social media so dangerous and why does the success of HBO and Netflix highlight what’s wrong with free software? What does social media and artificial intelligence have to do with religion and spirituality? Other Mentions: The Cognition Crisis Joy: Mary Robinson launches new feminist fight against climate changeHustle: Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now

This episode explores some recent news stories that have caught our attention, including articles that explore topics like facial recognition software, gender imbalance in journalism, and the ubiquity of product-placement ads in mainstream publications geared toward women. It’s all a bit heavy, isn’t it? Joy: make something by hand Hustle: NPR’s sexist blunder is proof that women’s work isn’t just overlooked—it’s erased / Women’s Media Is a Scam / How Facial Recognition Could Tear Us Apart / The Calmest iPhone Yet

We’ve been thinking a lot lately about the value of building a personal brand, even though this is a concept that makes the two of us a bit uncomfortable. We’ve both been known to “hide” behind our corporate brand because we’re part of a larger team, but are we doing this at the expense of our future success? There’s a feeling that many women share, that we need to have a doctorate (or more!) in a subject in order to speak publicly about it. But the truth we're realizing is, that in business, we each just need to show up fully as our imperfect selves. Some great examples of personal brands we follow: Patricia Russo, Danielle LaPorte, Carmenspagnola, Elena Brower, Lisa Lister, Brené Brown. Joy: How to Make Shrubs, Girl Meets Dirt Hustle: 2 Years From Now, If You Don’t Have A Personal Brand, Nobody Is Going To Work With You

Change is the only constant in life (and business). Here are a handful of interesting trends/shifts that we’ve been noticing over the past few months: Email Marketing: The traditional advice in the online business space has been to grow your list and email your subscribers A LOT. The new trend we’re noticing? Email only when you have something of value to share. As the Internet has become more noisy, we need to be mindful about adding to the cacophony… Live Video: Part of showing up and embodying your brand these days involves live video. We don’t see this trend going away anytime soon, so we suggest becoming comfortable with this medium if you’re looking to grow your business online. Long-Form Blogging: Put out LESS content, but make it BETTER. It should be in-depth, comprehensive, and useful for your quintessential clients. Audio + Digital: The sweet spot of business (and modern culture) is increasingly the intermixing of digital and analog. Human connection PLUS (or via) tech. Passive income is getting harder and harder to come by, but digital offerings PLUS physical products and/or real human connection is HOT. (Plus, you can charge more money for this type of offering.) Joy: The ShopkeepersHustle: Zoom

As a follow-up to Part 1 of our Online Coaching conversation, this episode reveals some specific tips for how to determine pricing for your live-streamed coaching sessions. Let’s start with a huge and incredibly important DON’T: Never sell your services by the hour (or even by the session). Going this route means giving your clients total control of your process and an escape hatch if the work gets too tough. (Of course, you’d never want to trick your clients into purchasing more services than they need, but most clients need far more support than they realize.) One big breakthrough is not enough; they may feel done long before they actually are done. What’s the alternative? Create packages of sessions. Doing this allows you to deliver real value to your clients, truly help them improve and develop, and embrace a business strategy that creates sustainable income for you as a coach. Here are some rules of thumb for pricing your online coaching packages: Keep it simple. Offer at least three options / levels. Know your audience. Set a revenue goal and work backwards. (Check out our full blog post on this topic here for examples of calculating your own pricing.)

We’re bringing back Office Hours this week to discuss the practical tactics of how to take your in-person coaching practice online. It’s a little known fact that online one-on-one coaching sessions are often more reliable money-makers than courses or memberships! Far too many entrepreneurs dive into launching an online course before they’re truly ready. And courses may seem like “passive” revenue streams, but they actually require some serious prep work and behind-the-scenes management. One-on-one online consults, on the other hand, are the perfect way to build both revenue and clout while offering valuable services to eager clients. You may want to eventually build a course, but starting with online coaching sessions can help you build the foundation you’ll need to make that future online course a massive success. Need more reasons to take the live-streaming route right now for your coaching business? Here you go: Private online coaching requires virtually no prep. Unlike pre-taped videos, classes, and courses, you can work with a client in any tidy, relatively well-lit room. And as soon as you hit the live-stream button, you’re ready to rock. Online client consults help you build your fan base while earning money. Cultivate meaningful relationships with your students, bring in revenue, and develop your impeccable reputation all at once! One-on-one live-streamed sessions allow you to hone your craft. Refine your content and coaching style by working one-on-one with clients. Spend a year or so learning about your clients’ common questions, problems, or issues through individual sessions. That way, when you’re ready to build a group program or course, you can tailor it to address their specific needs. Virtual coaching saves you time. Coaching in person is a great way to build rapport, but often means commuting to an office, a studio, or the client’s home. Online sessions allow you to save travel time and therefore book more sessions per day (or take some much-needed time off). Private online coaching creates instant boundaries. Many teachers have told us that they struggle to end their in-person sessions diplomatically. People love to stand around and chat once the work is done, even if the coach has a mountain of other work to tackle. Live-streamed sessions mean clicking off when you’re done without any drawn-out goodbyes. In Part 2 (which comes out next week), you’ll learn about how to price and package your online coaching sessions. Stay tuned!

We’ve been collecting some of our favorite resources to share with you this summer, including our newest Instagram favorites, some powerful, yet simple, tech tools to try out, our favorite new podcasts, and some bonus online shops that we recommend you check out. Favorite Instagram Accounts Sandy: @helloplantlady / @knitatude / @thehellyeslifeJeni: @accidentallywesanderson / @riseandwander / @ritual_botanicaBusiness + Tech Resources Sandy: CutStory for Instagram StoriesJeni: DuckDuckGo Chrome Extension Podcasts We’re Crushing On Sandy: Call Your Girlfriend / Ear HustleJeni: Werk It: The Podcast Online ShopsSandy: Piece on Peace / RMS BeautyJeni: Primary Children’s Clothing

“The fitness industry needs this invitation towards embodiment.” - Brooke Tyler In this episode of the podcast, we interview powerhouse Namastream client Brooke Tyler about her experience growing her Asheville, NC-based acupuncture and pilates studio online. After growing her local studio and clinical business to a 4,000+ ft location with twelve employees, you’ll learn why Brooke chose to pursue the online growth path (rather than opening up an additional studio location). Brooke discusses her decision to incorporate seasonality into her online program, how she balances single motherhood with her business, and the specific way that she schedules her time each week and month to fit everything in. Connect with Brooke: Clasique Acupuncture & Pilates Studio / Core Self Online / Instagram 1, 2, 3 Other Mentions: Dorothee VandeWalle Joy: You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life / You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth Hustle: blank journal + favorite pens

In this episode, we interview beloved Namastream client, Nikiki Estrada, about her transition to online business. Nikki, who lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters, has more than 20 years of teaching experience and has been leading 200- and 300-hour teaching trainings for more than a dozen years. She is YA500hr E-RYT and was Director of Trainer Development for YogaWorks for more than 7 years, where she supported and mentored teacher trainers. She leads intensives, immersions, and workshop series in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. In addition to offering her own yoga membership on Namastream, Nikki contributes to Yoga International, served as a 2016 Athleta Ambassador (for embodying the Power of She), was sponsored by Zobha, has presented at Yoga Journal conferences, and was voted best yoga teacher by Marin Magazine in 2016. In our conversation, Nikki shares her opinion on the relationship between yoga and tech and offers tactical insight for building a thriving virtual studio. Connect with Nikki: Nikki Estrada Yoga / Instagram / Nikki’s Membership on Namastream Joy: look into your Dosha / Ayurveda by Siva / Monica Yearwood / Mark HalpernHustle: How I Built This Podcast

In this episode, we dive into our “must read” books for the summer. Here they are, in no particular order… Sandy: Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. / Warlight: A novel / Walden / The Josephine B Trilogy / The Female Persuasion: A Novel Jeni: Tell the Machine Goodnight: A Novel / The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate―Discoveries from a Secret World / Make Trouble: Standing Up, Speaking Out, and Finding the Courage to Lead / Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World / The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More Joy: The Crafter’s BoxHustle: VSCO

At some point in our mainstream culture, brand authenticity started to equate to the physical reality of the space where we are completing our work—but that’s often the least interesting part of what we do. More interesting questions: What is your work making possible? How is it impacting our culture? Our guest today, Amy Walsh, reveals that deep expertise in Photoshop and an eye for a pretty flat lay is not a requirement for producing interesting and important imagery for your brand. Amy is an artist, visual storytelling specialist, sculptural worldmaker, and founder of the Bureau of Tactical Imagination. She helps people uncover the visual story of their work, and use it to communicate their most important ideas. As a visual artist she has exhibited in places as institutional as museums and as everyday as the streets. She has devoted her life to understanding and teaching about visual culture and creative process - a road that winds through her work as a university educator, a museum exhibit interactive designer, an activist and now digital culture maker. Amy helps her clients and communities build the creative and risk-taking skills to be true innovators in all areas of their work. Connect with Amy: The Bureau of Tactical ImaginationOther Mentions: Art Objects, Draw Your Weapons Joy: go outside and feel the earth under your feetHustle: mastermind, Co-Commercial

With summer upon us, we dive into the concept of vacation in this episode (and the cultural and legal differences between the United States and Canada). With Sandy about to take an extended trip to Europe, we discuss the importance of time off and reflect on some of our favorite trips. Joy: Daily HarvestHustle: Logitech Slim Folio

“Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen.” - Leonardo da Vinci In this episode, we interview Namastream client, Kate Case. At the intersection of Eastern wisdom and Western science, Kate's body of work combines twenty years of experience as a professional yoga therapist, yoga teacher, Thai massage therapist, Eastern medicine (Chinese medicine and Ayurveda) practitioner, women’s wellness leader, women’s moon circle facilitator, and eastern energy anatomy expert. Kate is a Nature-based Yogini, Moon Maven, Ritual Queen, Anatomy Geek, and Hormone Whisperer specializing in women's health, cycles, rhythms, body wisdom, and soulful integration. You can learn more about Kate’s company, SHE Collective (the “SHE” stands for soulful, holistic, and embodied) here and her Ritual Box subscription here. Connect with Kate: www.shecollective.ca / www.ritualbox.ca / Instagram Other Mentions: The Great Work of Your Life by Stephen Cope Joy: Red Hot and Holy: A Heretic's Love Story, NatureHustle: High Speed Internet, Journal

Inspired by a recent graduation speech by Abby Wambach and the classic book by Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run with the Wolves, this podcast episode dives into the importance of women supporting one another in business and life. In her 2018 commencement address to Barnard College, Abby Wambach delivers four pieces of advice to women embarking on their careers out of college. This is amazing advice for young women, but we believe that these themes are universal: Make failure your fuel. Lead from the bench. Champion each other. Demand the ball. We’re grateful to be part of this collective wolfpack with each of you… Joy: 2018 Barnard Commencement Address Remarks as Delivered, video versionHustle: 13 Reasons Why You Should Read “Women Who Run With the Wolves” Instead

This episode features an interview Mae Karwowski, the founder of Obviously—a tech startup that matches brands with social media influencers. After working in social media management after of college, Mae had a hunch that influencer marketing was coming and had an idea to build a different kind of business—pairing an agency with a tech platform. Mae has gathered a team of experts to help her turn her vision into a reality, and in the process, she’s built a client roster of some of the world’s most iconic brands. We loved interviewing Mae, a fellow bootstrapped female founder, because her story is incredibly inspiring and her experience is so similar, in many ways, to ours. Listen in to learn why innovation requires thinking outside of the box and why listening to your customers is such a powerful strategy for getting an edge on the competition. Other Mentions: obvious.ly, Mae on Instagram Joy: half-day FridaysHustle: Trello

In this episode, we dive into Jeni’s new side hustle, Woodland Alchemy. Listen in to learn about why she created a new business this year with her young daughter and how she fits it in while running our software company and co-hosting this podcast. Other Mentions: Stop Stealing Dreams: What is School For? Joy: Woodland AlchemyHustle: OnlineLabels.com

In this episode, we chat with Seattle-based communications expert Dr. Michelle Mazur. Michelle’s motto is “Incite Action Always” and she’s known as the Communication Rebel. Michelle has a PhD in Communication and was a university professor prior to starting her own online business. We chat with Michelle about her own entrepreneurial journey and then dive into her process for helping brands to craft their unique three-word “rebellion” (and why it matters to do so). Other Mentions: Michelle Mazur’s website (where you can download her “3 Word Rebellion” worksheets for free!) Joy: Game of ThronesHustle: The Four Tendencies

“Like workout culture, wellness is a form of conspicuous consumption. It is only the wealthy who have the resources to maintain the illusion of an integral and bounded self, capable of responsible self-care and thus worthy of social status. The same logic says that those who smoke (read: poor), or don’t eat right (poor again), or don’t exercise enough (also poor) have personally failed and somehow deserve their health problems and low life expectancy.” - Gabriel Winant We explore some controversial themes in this episode as we question the fundamental societal shifts that have caused “wellness” to explode as an industry in North America (and “medicine” to effectively function as big business). Although we’ve questioned some of our culture’s intense demands for “productivity” and “exercise culture” in the past, this is the first time that we’re questioning the concept of mindfulness. We’re not placing any stakes in ground on this issue quite yet, but the conversation is important. Joy: Joule Sous VideHustle: Natural Causes, Mind Control: Barbara Ehrenreich’s radical critique of wellness and self-improvement p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!

In this episode, we interview video marketing expert Dana Goldstein. Dana’s company, ChicFlicks, is Calgary’s leader in video production for small to medium sized businesses. She specializes in helping women business owners effectively share their stories with authenticity. In this interview, we dive into Dana’s entrepreneurial journey from journalist to mom to entrepreneur and author. She shares advice on how to best integrate live video into your social media presence and how to keep your social media schedule grounded and realistic. Other Mentions: Dana’s website Joy: Google HomeHustle: Dubsado

We were recently guests on the Mend podcast with Anne Fricke and Amy Day, and we’d like to share an excerpt of the conversation here with you. We discussed the relationship between women, technology, and power, the restrictions we put on our children with respect to screen time, and our perspectives on charging what you’re worth. You can listen to the full episode here. Thank you, Anne and Amy for inviting us onto your show! p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!

Joining us on the podcast is the legal powerhouse, Autumn Witt Boyd. Autumn is a lawyer who specializes in helping entrepreneurs protect their intellectual property. She provides legal guidance with copyright and trademark protection, contract negotiation, and problem solving. Along with her team at The Law Office of Autumn Witt Boyd PLLC, she loves helping entrepreneurs grow their dream business through smart collaborations and deals. Autumn is the mother of three small children, lives with her family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and hosts the Legal Road Map® podcast. Her law firm’s mission is to provide “innovative legal services with integrity and joy, so that ambitious entrepreneurs can grow profitable businesses and create the life of their dreams.” In this episode, Autumn shares her entrepreneurial journey, as well as some tactical insights into trademarks, privacy policies, contracts, and website terms and conditions. Other Mentions: Autumn’s Website, Autumn’s GDPR Checklist Joy: vacationHustle: Asana, Harvest

In this episode, we walk your through our “Before You Film Checklist,” which serves as a cheat sheet of sorts for new online teachers. Make sure you never film another video with your mic off or your iPhone oriented the wrong way! You can download a copy of the checklist here (scroll to the bottom of the post). p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!

We’re joined in this episode by Leah Neaderthal, a serial entrepreneur who specializes in teaching other women how to become comfortable (and successful) with sales. Leah teaches her clients how to think of selling in these terms: Build the house. Furnish it. Move in. THEN, invite people over… How is the your sales process organized? Do you have a sales pipeline? According to Leah, the health of your pipeline is a good indicator of the health of your business. Leah didn’t learn to sell by being a commissioned salesperson; she learned it experientially through entrepreneurship. She taught herself everything she could about selling by reading over 60 books, which helped her overcome the natural “selling shyness” most entrepreneurs have. Prior to starting Smart Gets Paid, Leah built, grew, and sold multiple businesses. She co-founded Lesbians Who Tech, a global organization to foster more LGBT women in technology. She also co-founded Lean Impact, where she helped nonprofits use Lean Startup principles to increase their impact and run their businesses more efficiently. Leah’s best advice? Focus on articulating YOUR VALUE. When you can step into your value and really own it, the sales process becomes about offering that value instead of asking to be hired. Other Mentions: Smart Gets Paid Joy: sweater shaverHustle: CRM tool (Leah uses Nimble)

We’re becoming big fans of producing fewer, but more thorough, blog posts and we think that you should consider this strategy too. Here are the reasons we’re in favor of more comprehensive content: The majority of blog posts are short (under 500 words), so you will stand out by producing longer content. You can establish yourself as an authority and expert by writing high-quality, comprehensive posts (3,000 words or more). Search engines (like Google) reward long-form content. The Internet doesn’t need more fluff. Epic blogs posts can be easily repurposed. Think Instagram captions, podcast episodes, YouTube videos, email-based free course, ebooks, etc.

“We want you to be in this for the long haul, but you can’t do that if you’re working yourself to death… Your business is only as healthy as you are.” Startup culture is defined by quick growth and fast exits, but we believe that true accomplishment and innovation results from longer-term thinking. Starting a business is really not that different than starting a garden. You plant the seeds, water them, show up day after day—trusting that you’ll eventually see the garden bloom. Somewhere along the way, our culture became convinced that flowers that don’t bloom overnight are unworthy of planting. This kind of thinking is not only absurd; it’s dangerous. We love the idea of building companies that will support our families and communities for years to come, but this means making choices sometimes that prioritize longer-term goals over short-term gains. This is actually not a novel concept—it’s roots run deep and sustainable growth was a common practice prior to the “expand or die” economic paradigm that evolved out of the Cold War. Economic history aside, sustainable growth just makes sense in a world of finite resources. Some questions we want to leave you with… What does success mean to you? What do you want your legacy to be with respect to your current business? Joy: High Vibrational BeautyHustle: Overcast

Videography is kind of our jam and we get asked about this autofocus issue all the time. If you’re struggling to get yourself into focus while filming your online classes or having trouble staying in focus for the duration of your session, you’ll want to listen to this episode. When should you use autofocus and when should you disable the feature in favor of manual settings? If you’re filming in low light, filming around a bunch of reflective surfaces, or filming a fast moving object, you’ll want to disable autofocus on your camera. (We break down how to do this on a few of our favorite devices like the Canon Vixia, the iPhone, and the Logitech C920.) p.s. If you’re using the Logitech C920 for live-streaming per our recommendation, Sandy suggests that you download Logitech’s free gaming software in order to have more control of your video settings. p.p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!

“Women often speak about their ambition in terms of altruism. This isn’t the full story.” - Laura Close This episode features a candid conversation with Laura Close. Laura is a Seattle-based executive leadership coach and career consultant who leads a select portfolio of clients through the transformative work of leadership development, helping them reach their next level of career and business achievement. In this episode, Laura explains why it’s problematic for women to lead with soft skills in business (and what they should do instead). She also shares her fascinating 4-part framework for identifying your own type of selfish drive: Money Fame Power Authority To summarize, Laura recommends two primary strategies for business success: (1) lead with your most technical value, and (2) identify (and come to terms with) your most selfish motivation. Other Mentions: Hero’s Journey Framework, LauraClose.com Joy: Brent MartinHustle: Herding Tigers: Be the Leader That Creative People Need

We’re sharing our favorite new-to-us technology on this week’s Office Hours episode — Voxer. It’s super efficient (and addictive) to communicate via walkie talkie and it’s now a core part of our team’s communication strategy. Listen in to learn why we love this technology, why we think it beats texting, and why we think you should consider incorporating it into your own business. p.s. This podcast is sponsored by Audible. Head over to audibletrial.com/soulfulmba to get a free audiobook and a 30-day free trial!

One of our favorite benefits of entrepreneurship is the flexibility we have in our days and weeks. In this episode, we share about the specific ways we’ve built our business around our lives. The standard 40-hour work week was a product of the late 19th century and early 20th century labor movement, and while it did its job to protect factory workers who were—quite literally—being worked to death, it’s quickly becoming obsolete. In our era, most professionals work far more than 40 hours per week. (We found a stat that Americans employed in full-time jobs work an average of 47 hours per week, which is almost 6 full days of work.) We’re also constantly tethered to our phones, even during our non-working hours. And with all of this added connectivity, many employers are not adding in additional flexibility benefits (the ability to work remotely, flexible hours, etc.). Because of the autonomy it affords, entrepreneurship can be fundamentally liberating for women. The ability to be with our children after school, to take care of them when they’re sick, and to work nights to make up for family time during the day is priceless for us. If you feel called to entrepreneurship, you know it. It’s not for everyone. If you’re called to build something for yourself, there’s a fire in your belly that you can’t ignore. The drive to create your own schedule and define your own success outweighs your need for security (or the illusion thereof). You can find fulfillment in a side hustle, but for some of you, that side hustle will turn into your full-time gig—in which case you’ve won the lottery. (Only you made your own luck.) Joy: Wild Wild CountryHustle: Moo

This quick episode shares our five rules for sending cold emails. By following these simple guidelines, you’re much more likely to receive a positive response (or any response at all). Introduce yourself. Dropping a note to a new person? Want to pitch yourself for a podcast guest spot or a guest blog post? Please share a bit about yourself and include a link for how to learn more about you. Be authentic. Personalize with context or, even better, a compliment. Don’t blast people a blanket request without any personalization. Let the person receiving the message know that you’ve actually engaged with her/his content. State the value proposition. What’s in it for the person receiving the message? Use complete sentences. Maybe even proofread? Enough said. Have a specific call-to-action. What do you want the person to do? What action would you like for her to take?

Good sound quality is EVERYTHING when you’re running an online business. In this quick episode, we share our top recommendations for high-quality microphones: Sandy’s Mic: Shure SM7B Vocal Dynamic Microphone Jeni’s Mic: Electro Voice RE-20 Cardioid Microphone Our favorite Wireless Option: Rode RodeLink FM Wireless Filmmaker System Inexpensive Webcam with Mic Option: Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920

In this episode, we explore the topic of expertise. Our new tagline, “leverage your expertise into a profitable online business,” has become a bit controversial in our community and we want to offer some thoughts as to why “expertise” might be a troublesome concept for some of you. Perhaps you identify with Sandy, who is fine with someone else calling her an expert, but not ok with calling herself an expert? Or maybe you’re generally uncomfortable with the word and don’t know why? Here’s a loose list of criteria we’ve come up with for evaluating your expert status: You have more knowledge that other people in a particular area of work You have credentials in a given area You have a demonstrated track record of excellence You’ve impacted people through your work You’re receiving referrals You’re confident in your expertise We’d like to encourage you to explore your own relationship to expert status, since it can be such a powerful driving force in the growth of your business. Joy: FREE Workshop: 7 Ways to Leverage Your Expertise into and Online BusinessHustle: If Only Quoting Women Were Enough

In a follow-up to last week’s Office Hours episode, we now dive into some specific pre-selling strategies, including how to offer a beta group and why we recommend using webinars to pre-sell your offering. A few general guidelines: Don’t promise specific results: Never pre-sell by guaranteeing measurable results. This is especially important if your offering is more informative than tactical. Don’t plow ahead if feedback is negative: If you go the Beta group route and the reviews are abysmal, consider trying a different topic or format. Even if you’ve already sunk some time and money into this offering, it may still fail to resonate. Honor the input you get. What happens if your pre-sale brings in your revenue goal? You’ve hit on a winner. Build it out, heed the feedback you get from your first customers, refine and hone, iterate, and celebrate.

“You have to hire for the talent and then train for the skillset.” - KayLee Hansen This episode features an interview with KayLee Hansen. We met KayLee through a mutual friend and quickly hired her to carry out a personality assessment test on the two of us, known as the Lumina Spark Portrait. KayLee is a certified Lumina practitioner, a facilitator, and a training and development coach for executive teams and individuals. She’s spent 13 years working in the luxury hospitality industry and has also independently consulted with the leaders of industries ranging from engineering to construction to higher education. Working with KayLee, as you’ll hear, has been incredibly eye-opening and also validating for both of us. We think you’ll enjoy the conversation (and you may just feel the urge to sign up for your own Lumina portrait assessment). Other Mentions: KayH Consulting Inc Joy: The Book of AwesomeHustle: The Lumina Spark

Pre-selling is the practice of creating a private launch before your product is completely built and perfected. Why do this? Because it validates your concept and means you get paid for conducting market research. Because it allows you to sell your pilot products instead of offering them for free. Because it WORKS. If you sink time, energy, and money into an endeavor, you want to be sure it will pay off. Unfortunately, simply asking your followers if they’d shell out for a program or class will not get you reliable feedback: Your fans are inclined to tell you what they think you want to hear, so polling yields dubious results. (What people say and what they do are often divergent.) So to determine if an idea really has income potential, you need proof that people will pay. You need to build something you know you can sell, and then push it into the market and see how much it can earn. If it does well, gather user feedback and iterate on it. Improve it, revise it, and resell it. And then you’ve got a business model that’s predictable, reliable, and consistently profitable. How should you decide what to build? Ask questions that gauge interest, and get people talking about their pain points. Don’t construct your offering around your own interests or expertise; Build it on what your people want and need. (Join us next week for Part 2, where we dive into some specific pre-selling strategies for launching your next online offering.)

In this episode, we talk with Cathryn Lavery. Cathryn is a serial entrepreneur and designer. As co-founder and CEO of BestSelf Co., she took the company from zero to 8-figures in less than two years. After launching the Self Journal on Kickstarter, she went on to win Shopify’s Build a Business Competition in 2016 and the Build a BIGGER Business competition in 2017 – making BestSelf Co. the only company to win both awards consecutively. Originally from Belfast, Ireland, Cathryn moved to New York City to work as an architect, but soon realized that she wanted something more. We met Cathryn back in 2014, when all three of us were learning how to build software products from scratch. Cathryn is a powerhouse and her work has been featured in Fast Company, Entrepreneur, MTV, Huffington Post, Forbes, and Inc. Other Mentions: Deep Work, Little Might Joy: Coffee MeetingsHustle: Self Journal, Win the Day

In this quick episode, we share some productivity and lifestyle tools that we each use to make our lives easier and have more time and mental space to grow our businesses. Head on over to the show notes to download the full list (including links) of the resources mentioned in this episode.

In this episode, we chat with Minneapolis-based writer, Sally McGraw. Sally is a freelance writer, ghostwriter, editor, and copywriter with more than 15 years of professional experience. She specializes in ghostwriting non-fiction books and book proposals, but has written everything from artist statements to self-help books for her clients. In the interview, Sally gives us some insight into her writing process and shares her inspiring journey from employee to fashion blogger to freelance writer. We are both impressed with Sally’s ability to shape her entrepreneurial work around her lifestyle—choosing to pursue her own brand of ambition and define her own terms of success along the way. Other Mentions: Sally McGraw, Already Pretty, The Power Joy: Katie KroeckHustle: CoSchedule Headline Tool

In Part 2 of our Instagram micro-blogging episode, we dive into several additional strategies you can implement to ensure your Instagram posts perform well: Use location tags: Whenever you can (and feel comfortable doing so) forego mentioning location in your caption and simply use Instagram’s geotagging feature instead. Users love to know both what they’re seeing, and where it is in the world. Plus, location tagging increases engagement by 79%. Lean on “link in bio”: Although Instagram makes you work for it, putting in the extra effort to direct people from your posts to your website pays off. At the end of each caption, include the words “link in bio” then create a trackable, unique URL with a tool like bit.ly so you can monitor traffic flow from your Insta posts to your site. (We use and recommend the paid linktree software.) Use hashtags: This is a great way to get your content in front of people who aren’t following you yet! Using hashtags allows your posts to appear in search results with other posts sporting the same hashtag, exposing your brand to a wider audience. Start typing related keywords and Instagram will show you the most popular related hashtags. (Check out our previous hashtag episode if you’d like a deeper dive on this topic!) Interested in checking out some active Instagram micro-bloggers? Here are some of our faves: @thehellyeslife @local_milk @foxmeetsbear