The Boss Mom Podcast

Marketing is an important part of building a successful brand, but many business owners ignore word-of-mouth advertising strategies. Why is word-of-mouth so crucial, and how can we use storytelling to boost our success? How do we become relevant in the eyes of our target customers? On this episode, New York Times bestselling author and Convince & Convert founder, Jay Baer explains the importance of storytelling for branding a business. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Get your fans to do the advertising for you (17:34- 18:14) The best brands often have the least advertisements. The reason for this is, they're being talked about by their customers. The power of word-of-mouth is immeasurable, so we need to make sure we're giving our customers something to talk about. Use storytelling to generate word-of-mouth (19:11- 21:17) Simply being competent and running a good business isn't enough to generate excitement about our brands. We need to create talking points and put word-of-mouth strategies in place. We can't assume people will talk about our businesses. We need to give them something to talk about. Keep your audience small (28:50- 30:14) To create successful content, your podcast, books, or videos need to be someone's favorite version of that content. For that to be possible, you need to be targeting a small enough audience so you're not competing with every other version of your product. Stop trying to generate a huge following - focus on being great at being small. Advertising is crucial, but relying solely on marketing campaigns is not enough to turn our brands into household names. We need to be focusing on creating stories - whether through unique experiences or inside jokes - that make us relevant in a public space. We can stay small and create awareness and excitement to the point where our need for traditional advertising is reduced. Guest Bio- Jay is a Hall of Fame speaker, emcee, New York Times best-selling author of six books, and an internet pioneer. The 7th-generation entrepreneur is the founder of five, multi-million dollar companies, including Convince & Convert, a boutique consultancy that works with the world's most interesting brands. For more information on Jay and his work, see Convinceandconvert.com And Jaybaer.com To follow Jay on social media, visit these links:http://www.twitter.com/jaybaer http://www.instagram.com/jaybaer http://www.linkedin.com/jaybaer http://www.youtube.com/jaybaer00 http://www.facebook.com/therealjaybaer To find out about Jay's Talk Triggers book, head to talktriggers.com To follow the Talk Triggers show, visit https://talktriggersshow.com/

If we want to take our businesses to the next level and create sustainable success, selling online courses is vital. What content should we be offering? How can we get our mailing lists interested in the courses, and how could we use the courses themselves to sell our other products? On this episode, I'm sharing how to create a small course that sells big. Leverage your knowledge and particular way of doing things into something you can sell: an online course. -Dana Malstaff 3 Takeaways Courses need to be a part of your business plan. The course can be on anything, from business processes to how to make a candy apple. The important thing is, you're teaching your audience something. Small courses are a great way to make money while promoting your products. In 30 minutes or less, you're adding value to the client while making money on the course itself and potentially making more sales of congruent products. To get a small course to sell, offer your mailing list small tidbits of content congruent with the course content. We should never depend solely on our websites to make sales. We need to be sharing our products as much as we can, through as many platforms as possible. Building a small course is an effective platform to promote our businesses, all while making money in the process. Give your clients something of value at every turn, and you'll sell big.

Owning a product-based online business can be intimidating and overwhelming. Where should we get started in our ecommerce journey? How can we ensure we don't end up losing a whole lot of money? On this episode, co-owners of The Product Boss, Jacqueline Snyder and Minna Khounlo-Sithep share how aspiring online store owners can get started and avoid the pitfalls many people fall into. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Surround yourself with support (16:04- 16:56) A lot of moms are hesitant to share the fact that they have families with colleagues and business partners. However, there is a growing online community of working mothers. Join one of these communities for emotional support- there's no need to feel guilty for being a businesswoman with a family. Test your market (20:55- 21:50) Before launching a full line of products, it's important to test market. We can do this by giving out samples, posting pictures of the product online and gauging whether people are interested in what we're doing. We can also offer downloadables like graphic prints, for example- and see if the market is printing them up for personal use. Make sure people are willing to pay (22:27- 23:00) While it's great to know people are interested in what we're doing, remember the core aim of owning a business: making a profit. We have to ensure that what we're doing has the potential to make money. We need to get to a point where we know people are willing to take out their credit cards and purchase our products. Business ownership is an exciting journey, but it certainly comes with challenges. To make it easier, we have to make sure we're surrounded by a supportive community. And remember, the aim is to make money. It's important to have enough of it to get started, and test our products on the market. It's always fun to have ideas, but at the end of the day, we need to be sure our market is willing to pay for what we're offering. Guest Bio- Jacqueline Snyder has been an entrepreneur at heart since the tender age of 10. A fashion designer by trade, she holds a BFA in Fashion Design, and is the co-owner of The Product Boss, and the owner of Designer Consulting Co-Op. Jacqueline first took her business online after moving across the country, and today she runs both her businesses from her basement in New Jersey. Minna Khounlo-Sithep is an Amazon expert, with a Bachelor's Degree in Advertising and Psychology, and a Master's in Business Administration. She is the co-owner of The Product Boss, as well as the owner of Lil' Labels. Minna has made it to the second round of Shark Tank, and currently has a revenue of multiple-6-figures. To follow Minna and Jacqueline, check out @theproductboss on all social media platforms To download The Product Boss's hacks for new business owners, visit: theproductboss.com/bossmom

Most people spend more time creating content than marketing it, but we can't build awareness or sell anything through content that's not reaching our audience. How much time should we spend on creating new content? What percentage of our time should be focused on marketing on that content? How can we market our content effectively? In this episode, we discuss content management and marketing to build brand awareness and authority for business success. 80% percent of your results come from 20% of your efforts, and good, smart entrepreneurs see that 20% and leverage it. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode We should be spending 20% of our time creating content that truly drives loyalty, excitement, clout, engagement to us and our brand. The other 80% of the time should be spent marketing that content. Most people spend 80% creating new content and only 20% marketing that content. If we spend most of our time creating content rather than marketing it, we won't have enough time to make sure people see, engage and opt in to that content. In order to market our content effectively, we need to have a good content strategy. When we build our content strategy around the core pieces of content we create, we can better leverage the marketing for that content. We tend to feel like we're doing things the wrong way when we're having difficulty nurturing people to buy from us, but most of the time it's because people don't know we exist. We need to spend the majority of our time marketing our core pieces of content rather than creating tons of new content that is not marketed enough. When we spend more time marketing our best content, we can build brand awareness and authority through consistent and clear messages that are engaging and that lead to conversions.

As working mothers, we often hold ourselves to an impossibly high standard. How can we break the limits imposed on us by ourselves and an overly critical society? When should we allow ourselves to let go of having full control in every area of life? On this episode, speaker and bestselling author of Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life, Laura Gassner Otting shares how we can smash our limits. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Stop wasting money being cheap (05:52- 07:16) We tend to think that doing it alone is saving us money, but we could really be doing the opposite if the task at hand is something we're not good at. If we're doing activities that could be leveraged to someone else, outsource. We shouldn't waste our time or money trying to be completely in control. Forget about balance (13:15- 14:01) Being a working mom should be celebrated. Rather than trying to separate certain aspects of our lives from each other in the hopes of creating 'balance', we need to acknowledge every part of ourselves and find ways for each of these parts to align. Create a 'framily' (26:25- 28:21) Having a support system is vital to success. We should be surrounding ourselves with a combination of friends and family who support our dreams and can offer valuable insights on our ideas. Sometimes we get caught up in our blood relative's hesitations, but they shouldn't be controlling our decisions. We have the power to achieve anything we set our minds to, but sometimes our mindsets are shaped by other people's opinions. Learn to identify the people who should have a say in your journey to success. As Boss Moms, our possibilities for success are limitless— but that doesn't mean we have to do it all on our own. Guest Bio- Laura Gassner Otting is a keynote speaker, author and entrepreneur. She speaks with change agents, entrepreneurs, investors, leaders, and donors to get them past the doubt and indecision that consign their great ideas to limbo. Laura also delivers strategic thinking, well-honed wisdom, and catalytic perspective informed by decades of navigating change across the start-up, nonprofit, political, and philanthropic landscapes. To find out more about Laura, head to: http://lauragassnerotting.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/heylgo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heylgo LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauragassnerotting/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heylgo You can also complete a 15 minute quiz set by Laura at Limitlessassessment.com To purchase a copy of Limitless: How to Ignore Everybody, Carve Your Own Path, and Live Your Best Life, head to: https://www.amazon.com/Limitless-Ignore-Everybody-Carve-your/dp/1940858763/ref=pd_ybh_a_10?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=9B5KQ4NAAV8NKR19M7PW

So many of the issues business owners run into are common problems. What are the mistakes we're making, and how can we stop making them? Where should we be looking for help? On this episode, I'm sharing the mistakes most online entrepreneurs are making, and how to fix them. You can have a ton of passions, but you can't do them all at once. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Stop focusing on everything. If you pay attention to too many components at once, you'll be more likely to burn out. Before we think about marketing, we need to have a business strategy. Too many entrepreneurs go wrong by having a social media strategy before they develop their business systems. Leverage a community. Don't try to do everything alone- there is so much to be gained from sharing your ideas with others. The world we live in is saturated with information and ideas. While this is exciting, it also has a downside: there's too much noise. Focus your attention on a few ideas, and cut down on the number of people you look to for guidance. Leverage your community, but make sure you're maintaining a focus on one idea and set a strategy for yourself and your business. Too many cooks in the kitchen is never a good idea.

A lot of people want to be entrepreneurs, but aren't sure what their product is. How can you decide what to center your business around? Once you've made the decision, where do you begin the process? On this episode the CEO of Sweet Smell Company, Rachel Ricker shares how she started her own business and what she learned along the way. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Find the problems you want to solve (12:05- 13:26) If you know you want to own a business but aren't sure what your product is, think about the things that interest you. If there's a problem you wish someone would solve, seize the opportunity! Work on finding solutions you would want. There are bound to be other consumers out there who would love to try your alternative. Take advantage of the internet (19:01- 20:44) Research is crucial for any business endeavor, but it doesn't need to be a difficult process. Information is constantly at our fingertips, thanks to the internet. Research the product you want, who can manufacture it, and anything else related to it you can think of. Secure a manufacturer (21:21- 22:57) Once you've decided what you want to produce and have researched it extensively, it's time to choose a manufacturer. Find a company that fulfils all the requirements for your product, and if possible, find one that can go above and beyond the basic manufacturing process. Starting a business is a deeply personal experience, so it's important to make sure your product is close to your heart. Aim to create the item you would love to buy. Research extensively, and be sure to take advantage of the endless information available online. Creating a business is a long process, but it doesn't need to be a tedious one. Guest Bio- Rachel Ricker is the CEO of Smell Sweet Company, committed to providing truly trustworthy organic body products and helping women on their toxin-free journey. She is passionate about helping others make informed decisions on personal care products and raising awareness of the importance of safe ingredients. Rachel is also the Director of Global Transformation for a fortune 50 company and manages her busy household with her husband and two children. To find out more about Sweet Smell Company, head to: smellsweetcompany.com You can also find Sweet Smell Company on social media at: https://instagram.com/smellsweetcompany And: https://www.facebook.com//Smell-Sweet-Company-1080155948832915/ To find out about the Pay it Forward deodorant bundle, visit: https://smellsweetcompany.com/products/pay-it-forward-deodorant-bundle

By nature, entrepreneurs go against the grain of the status quo. How does the public schooling system impact entrepreneurship? What are the benefits of homeschooling to combat this? On this episode, bestselling author and entrepreneur Jadah Sellner shares her experience as a homeschooling mom and a business owner. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode How to start homeschooling (07:12- 10:07) There are a lot of reasons why parents are choosing to homeschool. If you're considering taking this route, make sure you're having serious conversations about it with your children and your spouse. Research and preparation are vital. How the education system is failing future entrepreneurs (14:12- 15:06) In school, kids are taught to focus on the things they're not good at, to excel in all areas. This is incredibly frustrating, as no industry expects people to do well at every job within the business. For entrepreneurs in particular, focusing attention on every area of the job is detrimental to success. Knowing when to step away from your business (27:47- 29:26) Pay attention to your needs and wants. If you're not happy in your business, or don't want to grow it any further, it might be time to step out. You have to be mindful of what you want to do and act intentionally. Entrepreneurship offers freedom. Exercise your ability to step away. As a parent, you want to do what's best for your child. However, when you're a business owner as well, sometimes the thought of homeschooling can be overwhelming. It's a decision that requires research and planning, but the benefits of homeschooling are amazing. Guest Bio- Jadah Sellner is the host of the Lead with Love™ podcast, a TEDx speaker, creator of Love Over Metrics™, Business Growth Incubator and the bestselling author and co-founder of Simple Green Smoothies. As a serial entrepreneur, online community growth strategist and business mentor, Jadah consults companies and personal brands to build communities with love, service, and impact. To connect with Jadah via social media, head to:https://www.instagram.com/jadahsellner/ https://www.facebook.com/jadahsellner To find out about Jadah's products, head to: 5 Step Challenge Roadmap: https://jadahsellner.com/byc-roadmap Love Over Metrics™ waitlist: loveovermetrics.com Jadah's work with me page: https://jadahsellner.com/work/ You can also hear her podcast on: leadwithlovepodcast.com And visit Jadahsellner.com for more information.

As Boss Moms, guilt is a feeling we're all used to. How can you stop guilt from holding you back? What should motivate you to keep going? On this episode, in honor of Independence Day, I'm reminding you to shed your guilt and feel proud of what you've achieved as a Boss Mom. Independence is about standing up and doing it anyway. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Guilt is normal and bound to happen. While you'll never get rid of it completely, you need to put it aside and not let it control your choices. You are capable and brilliant: the world needs your brain and your ideas. Believe in yourself and allow yourself to do great things. Independence is about action and doing, even when it feels scary. Celebrate yourself for being a Boss Mom, despite it being a scary process. Being a Boss Mom is an exciting journey but it's normal to have moments where you question yourself. Guilt seeps into everyone's lives at some point. The trick is to not let it control your decisions. Be proud of what you've done just by deciding to be a Boss Mom in the first place. Don't forget to help others along the way. Success is about the ripple effect of our actions because we just keep going.

The newsletter is no longer effective, and business owners should start exploring different options. What could you do in place of sending a newsletter? What do you need to keep in mind as you move forward with new types of communication? On this episode, I share why you need to focus on the human aspect of your approach. You need to understand the human beings in your audience. What do they want? -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode If you send your audience the same thing at the same time every week, people will switch off. Be careful not to be too consistent. Stop targeting demographics. Think about who your audience is and how your content can exist in their lives. Rationality is unrealistic. As much as we'd like to think business is business, as long as people are involved, it can never be completely rational. No matter how foolproof regular communication might seem, there are significant drawbacks. While algorithms reward consistency, if you're sending out the same communication at the same time each week, you're not going to convert an audience into loyal customers. You'll be at risk of becoming background noise detached from your fanbase. The newsletter is dead: it's time to start looking at real people.

Social media and online platforms have brought a lot of changes to the business world, but many brands are slow in adjusting. How can we build an online persona that connects with our customers? How has the role of the customer shifted? On this episode, author, blogger, and podcaster Mark Schaefer explains why human connection is so important, even with the increasing popularity of virtual spaces. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Respect your customer (07:16- 08:08) Customers are aware that they have more power now than ever before. The problem is, many businesses don't act accordingly. To get ahead with the new consumers, it's vital that businesses respect their customers' time, resources, and spending habits. Build a brand personality and forge real connections (10:19- 11:27) No matter how advanced technology becomes, people trust people. It's important to give your customers a human face they can get to know, like, and trust. Foster loyalty by sharing stories about what you're going through and by being open. Your customer is your marketer (20:37- 21:56) Marketing isn't about the advertisements anymore— it's about the customer. Businesses are no longer able to buy their way in. We all need to start finding ways to assist our client in their daily lives and build real relationships with them. While the customer has always been important to businesses, their influence on the sales process has changed significantly. Build relationships with your customers that ensure that they know you value them. Guest Bio- Michael Schaeffer is a keynote speaker, educator, podcaster and business consultant. Known globally for his work, Michael is celebrated for his approach to marketing and is the bestselling author of six marketing books. Michael is adamant that personal touches are vital for effective marketing in the age of social media. To get in contact with Micahel, head to https://twitter.com/markwschaefer https://www.facebook.com/mark.schaefer3 https://www.linkedin.com/in/markwschaefer https://www.youtube.com/user/MWSchaefer You can also email him on [email protected] Or call him on (865) 456-1939 Head to his website, https://businessesgrow.com for more information on his business, and look at https://businessesgrow.com/mark-schaefer/ to see information about his books and career.

Creating a community can be extremely overwhelming, but there are very specific and strategic ways of thinking and planning that can help us break it down into manageable chunks. What can we do to help people feel like they belong? How can we be more inclusive? How do roles and rules help people feel more comfortable? In this episode, Marie Morris explains how she developed a community in her classroom, and how social media can be a web of support for educators. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Communities of support on social media (07:40-08:46) We can use social media to situate ourselves in a space that is collaborative and non-threatening, whether it's in the business world or in the education world. Instagram and YouTube are spaces where teachers can share and support each other and they can help build our confidence as educators. What we need to put in place to create a community (26:09-28:41) We can begin to create a community when we think about how our physical space functions and what interactions can happen within it. We also need to go beyond the layout by putting clear expectations in place of what is required of every person in every role in the community. How rules help people feel comfortable (28:40-28:53) We need to make ground rules when bringing big groups of people together because when there is uncertainty, people get anxious and afraid of doing the wrong thing. Rules help a community of people know what's expected, which makes them feel more comfortable. As teachers, we can facilitate a holistic shared experience for our students by creating a community. When we create communities for our students, we foster better learning, excitement and retention. Having rules helps them feel comfortable and aware of boundaries. When we build a community, we must think about the physical space as well as the interactions between people. We just need to break it down into specific and manageable steps that work for our context. Guest Bio- Marie Morris is a teacher in the Poway Unified School District, in San Diego, CA, and has been teaching for 12 years. She has taught all four grades of English (9-12), as well as both the performance and technical side of theatre. Marie has a blog, YouTube channel, and Instagram profile focused on classroom teaching. Being part of an online community has changed her perspective on how she runs her classroom as well as her confidence as a professional educator. Her teaching style is energetic and fast-paced, but she constantly checks for student understanding. She likes to engage students with references they can connect with and give students a sense of belonging to her classroom community. Marie earned her BA in French, a Single Subject English teaching credential, and an MA in Theatre Arts all from San Diego State University. Teaching is in Marie's blood. She has been unsure of many things over the course of her life, but of two things she has always been certain - she wanted to be a mom and she wanted to be a teacher. [email protected] https://www.thecaffeinatedclassroom.com/ https://www.instagram.com/thecaffeinatedclass/ https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCaffeinatedClassroom?sub_confirmation=1

Never underestimate the importance of being in touch with yourself and valuing who you are right now. How can you become more in tune with yourself? Should you be working on yourself constantly- or giving yourself some space? On this episode, holistic life coach Shannon Kinney-Düh shares the importance of being at peace with yourself. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Stop listening to the negative voice in your head (06:00- 08:07) Saying that you're not good at something has a huge effect on your ability to get it done. You hear what you're saying, and start believing that negative voice. Become an observer of your mind and be conscious of what you're saying to yourself. Don't just 'do': you need to 'be' (10:53- 12:27) Ours is a culture of constant 'doing'. We fill up our time trying to do everything and fail to just be in the moment. The problem with this constant doing is that you ultimately risk depleting yourself. Build a healthy foundation (14.47-15.47) For a garden to grow, you have to provide a healthy foundation. Once you've done that, you also need to give it some space to grow on it's own. Treat yourself in the same way: create a good foundation but allow yourself the space to see results. Allow yourself space to breathe and to consider who you really are. Often, we find distractions to avoid feeling certain emotions. The reality is, sometimes we're scared to be truly alone with ourselves. Start accepting the person you are. Awaken to your greatness. Guest Bio- Shannon Kinney-Düh is an holistic life and spiritual coach. She's also a yoga instructor and artist who believes that women need to become more in tune with themselves. Shannon is passionate about teaching women how to unleash their greatness, and to stop shying away from the different seasons of life. To find out more about Shannon, head to: www.afreespiritlife.com. Find her eye pillows on the website here: https://www.afreespiritlife.com/eye-pillows/. Use the coupon code Boss Mom for a 15% discount when you buy 3 or more eye pillows. You can also find Shannon on Instagram at @afreespiritlife And on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AFreeSpiritLife/ To listen to the song Dana references in this episode, head to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53GIADHxVzM

Business owners often bash Facebook for having bad intentions, but if you look at it carefully, Facebook actually wants everyone to succeed. How does Facebook's transparency work in our favor? What targeting tools does Facebook have that makes marketing easier for us? How do Facebook groups help us with engagement? In this episode, I explain why I love Facebook and how authenticity and community are key to building success on Facebook. Facebook has been so exponentially important and instrumental not just in my business, but in my life. -Dana Malstaff 3 Takeaways We may think that the transparency of Facebook works against us as businesses. However, if we run good, authentic, caring businesses, our audience sees it. Facebook rewards this, and it works in our favor. When family and friends engage with our Facebook posts, it limits our ability to be visible to our target audience as similar profiles are targeted for further engagement. We need to engage with the right people in the right way. Facebook groups work better as platforms for engagement. Group members can post and start conversations which also relieves the responsibility of the business as the only contributor. Facebook has changed the way we communicate with each other by allowing us to identify who we are and what we care about, as well as by finding other people who love and care about those same things. By running an authentic and caring business, and targeting and engaging with the right people, we can create a community on Facebook that helps our business be visible and successful.

So many entrepreneurs are overwhelmed by the number of things they want to achieve, and often their health is affected because of it. How can you stop feeling that overwhelm? Why is it so important to know how you're wired? On this episode, Dr. Shannon Irvine shares her experience with changing her approach to something that suited her better. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Learn how you're wired (03:22- 05:17) Too many business-owning moms are spoken about as superheroes. This is a very intimidating belief, and also inaccurate. You don't need to be a superhero to get your business to work. All you need is to know how you're wired and how to work in a way that is effective for you. Get your kids involved (09:34- 11:54) A great way to make sure your kids understand what you're doing is by letting them see you do business. They'll start seeing how it works, and they might even get excited about entrepreneurship. You're not necessarily bringing them into your dealings to create mini entrepreneurs— you're just exposing them to the possibilities out there. Fail in front of your kids (13:00- 15:02) No one wants to fail, but it's almost always inevitable. Allow yourself to fail, and see every failure as a learning experience. Treat it as a lesson for your kids, too. Encourage them to try everything they're interested in, and to keep persevering even when they fail. The way we do things is linked to the way our brains function. A lot of the time, that means we're on autopilot. Start being more aware of how you think. You may not be able to stop having certain thoughts, but that doesn't mean you're powerless. Learn how your brain is wired and allow yourself to fail. Then, teach your children that they can do the same. Guest Bio- Dr. Shannon Irvine has been a serial entrepreneur all her life. After realizing she was overworking herself, she thought she would have to give up something in her life. However, then she realized that so many people before her had been able to balance all the things that were important to her. Since that moment of clarity, she dove into learning the science of success. Today, she's a strategist, mentor and neuropsychology PhD. She's passionate about rewiring entrepreneur's brains to be the best they can be. To find out more about Shannon, go to: https://drshannonirvine.com/ You can also find her on Instagram: @drshannonirvine And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/drshannonirvine/

Something that holds a lot of moms back from starting businesses is a fear of not being able to deliver what everyone needs from you. How can you stop yourself from being overwhelmed? When will you know if it's time to take a break? On this episode, founder of Mompire, Ashley Meyer, is here to share how you can protect your mental health and deliver a great product. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Follow your intuition (11:50- 13:41) Your intuition is a powerful tool, and you should pay attention to any negative feelings you may have. When you ignore your gut feeling, bad things tend to happen. Listen to yourself, and don't be afraid to let your intuition guide you. You don't have to do everything (17:39- 18:43) When you live out of alignment with your goals, dreams and ambitions, you are going to crash. Understand that you don't have to give everyone what they need, all the time. Give what you can, but don't allow it to cause you fatigue. Allow yourself to step back if it's the best decision (19:22- 21:28) It can be hard to step back from your business- especially if you've invested a lot into it. Allow yourself to overcome your guilt at not using a degree, a business or anything else you've spent a long time to attain. If you know you want to step back, give yourself that opportunity. A lot of moms feel guilty about starting businesses. However, many also agonize over the decision to step back, when necessary. Remember that despite all the demands you may feel at work and at home, you do need to prioritize your intuition and mental health. Whichever route you decide to take, make sure you're choosing the path you want to. Guest Bio- Ashley Meyer is the founder of MOMpire. After training and practising as a lawyer alongside her husband, Ashley made the decision to step back from their practice to create a business for other moms. Ashley is passionate about empowering moms, and believes it's important for those using her platform to speak directly to their family lives. To find out more about MOMpire, head to: https://the-mompire.com You can also reach out to Ashley on Instagram: @themompire and Facebook: MOMpire

There are so many career options available to us, that sometimes choosing what's best for us can be overwhelming. How can you choose a line of work that will keep you fulfilled and take advantage of your talents? Should you check in with yourself to make sure you continue to feel fulfilled by those choices? On this episode, Career Clarity Catalyst Tracy Timm shares her advice for choosing what's right for you, specifically. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode You don't have to go all-in immediately (11.12- 11:52) Don't feel like you have to invest everything in the beginning. Take small steps that allow you to build the company without going broke in the process. It doesn't all need to be completely black-and-white at the start of the venture. Know your core values (15:48- 18:40) Before you can be sure of what you want to do with your business, or in your career, decide what your core values are and commit to honoring them. Think about how you'll prioritize each of these. Do the work to make sure you're able to take the opportunities that present themselves to you. Check in on yourself (20:00- 21:40) Once a year, schedule time to check in with your core values. Make sure they're still working for you and adapt where necessary. Your values will change depending on what's happening in your life, so it's important to have a list that stays relevant to you. From the time we enter the education system, we're taught to base our decisions on impersonal factors. This stops us from doing what's best for us, as individuals. Wouldn't it be great to make the right career choices earlier on, with fewer bruises along the way? Set up your core values and work towards fulfilling them one step at a time. Guest Bio- Tracy Timm is the founder of Nth Degree Academy and Tracy Tim, LLC. After graduating from Yale unsure of what she wanted to do, Tracy found herself in a Wall Street job, miserable. She then quit to study on-board a cruise ship, with the intention of discovering her passion. After one more unhappy position, Tracy decided to start her own business, helping others find career clarity. Tracy is passionate about helping women find their paths earlier in life, so they don't need to prolong their fulfillment. To find out more about Tracy, head to: www.tracytimm.com/clarity And to hear more about what we discussed on this episode, visit: www.tracytimm.com/bossmom You can also find out more about Tracy's academy at: https://nthdegree.tracytimm.com/

When you're an entrepreneur, it can be overwhelming to think about all the things you must do to take your business to the next level. Do you have the right systems in place yet? How do you know where to start? On this episode, Brittany Dixon is sharing her advice for scaling your business. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Pay attention to processes (09:49- 11:14) Every single thing we do has a process— from running a business to making a sandwich. Go into as much detail as you can when considering your processes. Even the most basic step is important. Get everything in one place (14:46- 15:27) When you're just getting started in your business, try to have everything in one place. Use systems like Trello to put all your work, clients, and progress in one spot. This creates much-needed structure. Hire a business consultant when you're ready to scale (18:53- 19:24) If you're at the point in your business where you're able to scale, it's time to hire a consultant. This will allow you to step away while your business is taken care of. There are so many moving pieces involved in building a business that it's bound to get confusing at some point. As you grow, make sure you're taking stock of everything you do. To take your business to new heights, you have to pay attention to what got you off the ground in the first place. Guest Bio- Brittany Dixon is a business consultant. After finding out she was pregnant with twins soon after starting a new job, Brittany decided to start her own company. Today, she is the owner of Brittany and Co. Consulting. Brittany strongly believes that building a great business requires great documenting of processes. She's also adamant that the reason she has more time with her kids today is because of the consistent processes when she started her business. You can find Brittany on Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/pages/category/Consulting-Agency/brittanyandco.consulting/about/ And Instagram: @brittanyandco.consulting To find out more about Brittany, head to: https://brittanyandco-consulting.com You can also try out her free content planner at: bit.ly/bco-contentplanner

We've all heard that scaling is important for businesses to grow, but it's also beneficial to your family's wellbeing. How can scaling impact your children? What can you do to make the process easier? On this episode, CEO of Virtual Hub, Barbara Turley, is here to discuss why you need to build a company you can step away from. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Build a saleable asset (07:00- 07:49) Scaling your business turns it into a saleable asset. That doesn't mean you have to sell it—just that you have the ability to. Creating a saleable asset can also be especially helpful to moms, as you're creating opportunities for you to step away if and when you need to. Embrace your inner "control freak" (21:40- 22:35) While we might not like to admit it, most entrepreneurs are control freaks. That's okay—this is the baby you've built! Being a control freak doesn't mean you have to look over your employee's shoulders, though. All you have to do is build systems and make sure they're being followed. Start with your personal vision, then look at the business (27:32- 29:02) We spend so much time concentrating on our business visions, but we still have lives outside of work. Instead of building your life around your business, start by thinking about what you want personally. By paying attention to the lifestyle you want, you'll build a business that can fit the vision. Most entrepreneurs want to scale their businesses, and with good reason. But it's important to check in with your 'why'. Why do you want to scale your business? You may think building a saleable asset requires a certain degree of objectivity, but saleable or not, your business is your baby. Think about how your business will fit into your life— not the other way around. Guest Bio- Barbara Turley is the CEO of Virtual Hub, aimed at helping entrepreneurs scale their businesses as easily as possible. Barbara is also a mom to a daughter, and attributes a lot of her success with scaling her own business to her decision to be a hands-on parent. Barbara is passionate about helping entrepreneurs have an easier journey to success. To find out more about Barbara, head to: www.thevirtualhub.com

Many women business owners feel uncomfortable charging their clients for their services. This is particularly true for entrepreneurs whose businesses aspire to empower the client. How can you stop feeling that way and start making more money? How have other empowerment-based businesses generated profits? On this episode, I explain how Boss Mom makes money, and how your business can, too! Build your brand. Being known for something helps you make money. -Dana Malstaff 3 Takeaways It's perfectly normal to charge people to access your services. You're not doing anything wrong by wanting to make a profit. By pursuing your gifts and talents, you'll get through your work more efficiently and be able to free up time to focus on your passions in your spare time. It's easier to charge people for your services when they know who you are. Having an established brand and being known for something helps you make money. Creating online courses is a great way to make money. However, while you're aiming to offer a service to a wide range of people, never question your right to make money in the process. You can try being more accommodating by offering two products: one higher-priced and the other lower, but don't overextend yourself by doing this. Keep your number of products streamlined. You own a business, and you should get to see the benefits.

A lot of us listen to podcasts and attend talks with entrepreneurs, but it can be difficult to picture the daily running of the speaker's business as they give examples or describe systems. What's actually happening behind the scenes? How do finished products come to life? What does the process look like? On this episode, I talk with my director of operations, Amy Lockrin, to give you an inside look into one of our meetings. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Hire an operations manager (05:08- 06:47) An operations manager is an important part of your business. They'll help you maintain your focus to ensure you're looking at every venture as logically as possible. They're also the ones who will be able to step in, in the event you leave your business for a month. As the CEO, you have to be able to step away for periods of time. The operations manager allows you to do that and should be able to improve your business in your absence. Not all your ideas will come to life, and that's okay! (29:31- 30:20) If you're a creative person, you probably have a million ideas everyday. Obviously, not all of those can become a reality. That's why you need an operations manager. They're the ones who will help you execute certain ideas and determine which ones to skip. Get comfortable with hearing 'no' (30:54- 32:00) Your business needs to be run by a team of brainstormers. That means having discussions and allowing for constructive criticism. If you're hearing 'no' from an operations manager, never take it personally. This is about making the best business decision, not personally attacking you. There's a lot of work that goes into running a business that, unless you're part of the operations, you might not know about. There are a lot of conversations that take place before anything happens, and the more skilled voices we have to share in those conversations, the better. Running a business is like raising a child: it takes a village. Don't shy away from having a team to help you. You have the building blocks, so get someone to help you set them up. Guest Bio- Amy Lockrin is an Operations Integrator for female entrepreneurs that are ready to thrive in their business and leave behind the overwhelm of "to-do's." She is the founder and CEO of Lockrin Services, an integration and implementation agency that strategically partners with visionaries while propelling their businesses forward through action. She loves to make things happen in your business so you can go back to being creative through project management, business management, and strategic business planning sessions. She is also the mother of two of the chattiest children that ever existed, Wyatt and McKinley and wife to her beer-making husband, Jimmy. When she isn't elbows deep in business owners strategic plans she loves to go to the beach, read, and spend as much time outside as possible. Links: website: www.amylockrin.com contact: [email protected] fb.com/amylockrinva instagram: @amylockrin

There's a lot of information available on finding clients. However, not as much exists about keeping those clients after their first experience with you. How can you retain people's business and keep them in your database? What would you need to invest in order to maintain a relationship with them? On this episode, founder of With Love Studio, Marilyn DeLaHoz shares how she got involved in customer experience, and why it's important for your business. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Create loyalty by making your clients feel loved (15:50- 17:25) Once you've done business with someone, it's time to re-invest in them. By sending a gift- or even a small, handwritten note- you're making past clients feel special. This goes a long way in building your relationship with them- and in the way they represent your brand to their own sphere of influence. Keep it personal (18:51- 20:40) We've heard so much about automated systems and how they can help in a business. However, when something goes wrong with your operations, try reach out personally. This shows you care enough to be the one to tell them there's a problem, and does wonders for your client relations. When sending gifts, make sure they're useful (21:06- 22:36) If you're going to give your clients a gift, make sure it's something that enhances the service you're providing. For example, if it's a course, send a notebook or a pen. In doing so, you're demonstrating that you want to ensure they have the best possible experience with their business. Often, the smallest detail is what sets successful businesses apart from the less successful ones. That's exactly what your gestures need to be, to ensure great client relations: small. Thoughtful gestures don't need to be expensive and certainly shouldn't put any strain on your business. On the contrary, to keep good customer service, you just have to show that you genuinely care. Guest Bio- Marilyn DeLaHoz is a mom to two daughters, a wife, and the founder of WIth Love Studio. After deciding to leave her corporate job when she became a mom, Marilyn started tapping into her creative side. Initially starting with creating invitations for clients, MArilyn later bought her friend's t-shirt company. Today, she's passionate about giving her clients the best possible experience, and prides herself on always putting herself in the customer's position. To find out more about Marilyn, you can follow her on her Instagram accounts: @marilyndelahoz and @withlovestudio

Pregnancy and becoming a mom is a beautiful time—but it's not always easy when it comes to clothing and fashion. Many expectant mothers find themselves alienated to a sad rack at the back of stores, with no good options to express their style. How is Storq providing a solution here, and what trends in the market inspired it? How do the founders of Storq make sure they stay true to their core values and make a difference for women? On this episode, I'm joined by the co-founders of Storq, Courtney Klein and Grace Kapin who share the story of their brand. 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Changing trends and shifts in motherhood (02:44 - 03:13) The age of first time moms is increasing year after year, and there are more kids being born to mothers over 30. This is a market of women that are in the workplace and have more disposable income, but don't always get the service and attention they deserve from the fashion world. How the identity aspect plays into motherhood (09:19 - 10:02) A lot of women experience a loss of identity when they get pregnant and have children. The world expects them to be fulfilled by motherhood alone, and they can be made to feel like something's wrong with them if they aren't. The Storq values and how they serve women (18:20 - 21:47) Pregnancy fashion isn't always portrayed in a way that caters to comfort for women. This is what drove Courtney and Grace to build a brand that would become a solution-oriented resource for real women and mothers to get through their day without having to struggle with what to wear or feel invisible because of their clothing. It's so important for us to build a world that is conducive to mothers so that they can feel celebrated, understood, and valued. The result is a world of moms who can find fulfillment in different places, and happier moms mean happier children, which is great for all of us. Guest Bio- After hearing countless complaints from friends and family about the lack of chic, simple maternity options on the market, Courtney Klein set out to create a one-stop online resource for chic and practical maternity essentials. As a former partner at design agency Hard Candy Shell, Courtney worked to build digital products for companies like Disney and eBay prior to launching Storq in January of 2014. Shortly after the launch, her pal Grace Kapin came on board as Creative Director. Having worked in fashion for nearly a decade, Grace immediately understood that pregnant women were overlooked by the fashion industry at large. A few months after diving into this project, Courtney learned she was pregnant with her first child. Four years in, the Storq team now includes three semi-productive, unpaid baby interns ranging in age from 8 months to nearly 4 years old and the company-wide napping policy is correspondingly permissive. Go to https://storq.com/ for more information.

It's difficult to maintain a work-family balance when we are trying to get a new business off the ground. How can professional support help us? How does entering business awards help structure our business? How can we inspire our children to be entrepreneurs? In this episode, Stacey Morgan shares how she maintains her home life alongside her professional life, and explains how entering awards changed her perspective on her business. Some days I'm a really good business owner, some days I'm a really good mom, and some days I'm a mix of both—and that's ok. -Stacey Morgan 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Don't rely on support from your family only (04:57- 07:15) We often feel the need to put on the façade of 'everything's going great' when speaking about our business to our family because we don't want them to lose confidence in us. We need to have a community of professionals in the same position as us with whom we can speak openly and honestly about the challenges we face. It's not natural to be a 24-hour mom (7:17-9:30) We are inclined to think that if we don't want to spend 24 hours a day with our children we are bad parents. This is not true to even previous eras of parenting. We need to balance the time we spend parenting and working to avoid feeling exhausted and resentful, and so that we can make the most of the time we have with our children. Applying for awards helps you structure your business (13:41-15:35) As business owners we keep a lot of information in our heads and hardly ever communicate it to others. Entering business awards puts us on the spot in terms of all aspects of our business and it forces us to answer questions we have never considered. We stand to gain a well-rounded perspective of our business, see where we're doing well and what we need to work on. As mothers and business owners, we need to distinguish between our two roles whilst also recognizing where the positive overlaps are. Our family should not be our only source of support for our business, and we shouldn't feel like we are neglecting them by not being there 24/7. We need a professional team and support structure so that we can take the time for our families. We must also make time for opportunities that can help our businesses grow, even when their value is not immediately evident. Entering awards is an extremely useful exercise as it makes us take a closer look at how our business is performing. Guest Bio- Stacey Morgan, Founder and Principal of Port Macquarie Performing Arts (PMPA) and Podcast Host, is a passionate dance educator from Wauchope, NSW. She has received numerous awards at the Greater Port Macquarie Business Awards, namely, Excellence in Technology 2012, Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2014, 2015 and 2016, and Excellence in Innovation 2015. Stacey grew up dancing under the expert instruction of Francessca O'Donnell and gained her Associate Teaching Diploma from the British Ballet Association. She went on to dance professionally overseas and in Australian productions of musicals like Grease, Gypsy and 42nd Street. Stacey has a Bachelor of Creative Industries in Dance and a Bachelor of Education in Drama from the Queensland University of Technology, and she also has her Masters in Arts Education - majoring in Dance Teaching - from Deakin University. Prior to opening PMPA, she was Education Manager for the Royal New Zealand Ballet where she facilitated a nation-wide education program for dance. Stacey is the co-host of Miss Bossy Boots, a podcast inspiring leadership for Women in Business. http://pmperformingarts.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/staceymorganpmpa/

Moms have a lot on their plates, and it's easy to feel overwhelmed. We all know that juggling children with a career can be tiring, but could there be another reason we're feeling overwhelmed? What can we do to work around it all? Join me on this episode as I talk with the star of reality show Hannah, Help Me! and founder of Mom Mastery University, Hannah Keeley. Hannah shares how she has made a career of teaching moms and tells us how to excel in all areas. When moms learn to work with the way that their brain is wired, amazing things happen. -Hannah Keeley 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Stay present and be strategic (08:55- 10:51) Zone in on one thing at a time. When you're with your kids, stay completely in-tune with them. The same goes for business: in the time you allocate to work, focus fully on the tasks at hand. You need to adhere to separate business and family time parameters to make the most of both. Moms work differently (13:50- 16:45) Mom's brains are wired differently from everyone else. The gift of multitasking sounds great- until your inability to focus on singular tasks starts to affect your work results. You're not alone in this: it's something most, if not all, moms experience. The first step you need to take is acknowledging that motherhood changes the way you approach everything- then you can start finding ways to work with it, not against it. Work like a woman (17:32- 19:48) Women have been conditioned to believe they need to put their womanhood aside to do well in business. That kind of thinking is not only inaccurate, but can even lead to lower levels of productivity. Work with your womanhood in mind, and leverage it. When you become a mom, a lot of things change. Business is no exception. However, being a mom doesn't mean you have to stop doing business: it just means you need to adapt. Stop pressuring yourself to work less like a mom- or even less like a woman in general. You're wired differently and there's nothing wrong with that. Guest Bio- Hannah Keeley is the founder of Mom Mastery University. With a background in behavioral therapy- and the experience of being a mom to seven kids- Hannah is passionate about teaching mothers how to excel in business and at home. She believes the key to unlocking amazing potential comes from moms realizing that they're wired differently, and need to work accordingly. You can hear more from Hannah on her podcast: https://player.fm/series/crazy-blessed-with-hannah-keeley You can also find out more about Hannah on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hannahkeeleyfriends/

A lot of new entrepreneurs suffer with imposter syndrome- the thought that they don't 'deserve' to be business owners. How can we stop thinking that way? What can we do to push those thoughts aside and start doing the work? On this episode, I discuss how you can change the way you think about you and your business. Stop thinking you have to be 'worthy'- just come up with good ideas. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Imposter syndrome is a trap. Stop thinking you're unworthy of having a seat at the table and just start doing the work. Don't be discouraged if you're not an immediate success story- all successful businesses have their fair share of problems. To operate your business, you need to have plans and strategies. Stop telling yourself you're not meant to be an entrepreneur. As long as you have a plan in place and great ideas, you're on the right track. Start doing the work and stop caring what other people think. And remember, immediate success isn't the only mark of a successful business. Don't worry if you feel like you're experiencing problems- if anything, it means you're joining the club.

Social media is the most powerful way for us to get in front of more people and reach more people who might want our services or products. How do we create content that actually moves the needle for our businesses in a meaningful way? How much of ourselves and our lives should we be putting out there? How can we leverage social media so that it actually helps grow our business? On this episode, I'm joined by real estate broker and trainer, social media expert and entrepreneur, Marki Lemons-Ryhal, who shares on the social media trends we should be paying attention to right now. When it comes to social media and technology, there's something new everyday. Instead of having a degree, we have to become lifelong learners. -Marki Lemons-Ryhal 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Verticalization of Content (14:18 - 16:27) We want to get into the habit of creating vertical content for Facebook and Instagram Stories. Because the videos or photos disappear so quickly, in order to get any organic traffic, we have to create and post content consistently. The goal should be to create 2 one minute videos a day: one vertical and one horizontal. How to turn social media views into leads (21:28 - 22:52) If you want to grow a following, generate leads, and add people to your list or sell a product, have a call to action in your videos and then have landing pages and lead capture forms. Why you need to keep your content within the Facebook ecosystem (24:38 - 25:05) Push people to the Facebook messenger bot so that they stay in the Facebook ecosystem. If you're doing Facebook posts or ads and Facebook sees a link to an outside opt-in page or video, your ads cost more or they are going to go to less people. When it comes to content that will actually get a response from people, it's all about being the authority that solves problems for our audience. Through social media, we have the best listening tool to learn about the pain points and challenges people are having. With that information, you can now come up with solutions to these problems that are cost effective and don't take up too much time. By solving a problem that makes people engage with us, we can grow a following and ultimately our businesses. Guest Bio- Marki is a Licensed Managing Broker, REALTOR®, avid volunteer, and Major Donor. She is dedicated to all things real estate. With over 25 years of marketing experience, Marki has taught over 250,000 REALTORS® how to earn up to a 2682% return on their marketing dollars. You can find Marki on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. To join her Facebook group go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/realestatelive/ and check out her podcast here.

Whether it's friends, family or partners; when someone we love and trust betrays us, we go through a difficult cycle of emotions. It can feel like our whole life has come apart. What is the cycle of emotions and symptoms of this betrayal? How do we avoid getting stuck in that betrayal for the rest of our lives, and how do we find healing? On this episode, I'm joined by transformational psychologist, health and personal development expert and author, Dr. Debi Silber to discuss overcoming betrayal and how to come out of it stronger and happier. If betrayal is not unearthed, felt and dealt with, it will follow you everywhere you go. - Dr. Debi Silber 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why betrayal needs to be dealt with (13:09 - 13:46) There are so many things that betrayal leaves in its wake, and it affects every area of our lives until it's healed. It can affect your confidence and ability to try for new opportunities. It may be felt in every relationship in your life, and even affect your health. Contrary to popular belief, it won't just get healed by time. It actually needs to be dealt with if you want to get past it. The spectrum of betrayal (18:36 - 20:34) There are different ways to feel wronged or betrayed, and they can vary in the pain felt. Whether it's someone not keeping their word to us, breaking trust, or even us breaking a promise we made to ourselves. Ultimately, the more we trusted and depended on that person, the bigger the betrayal. How betrayal manifests physically (21:00 - 22:47) Our bodies tend to tell us a lot about how we're feeling emotionally and spiritually. Women who experience betrayal for the first time often deal with extreme exhaustion. It's also common to experience gut issues. The gut is the "second brain" and is so intricately connected to your mind that it gives a lot of information about feelings. Gut health issues are often caused by holding onto something and not letting your feelings out. The truth about betrayal is that there's always meaning behind it and a way to grow from it. In order to get to that point, we have to do the work first. If we don't, we can stay stuck for months, decades or a lifetime. People tend to stay stuck because they are unwilling to give up their story and accept what happened. They numb themselves, or they don't establish any consequences for the betrayal. The truth is, when you feel it deeply and do the work to find meaning behind it, you will be transformed. You will experience rebirth and discover a new world view. You just have to be willing to go through the challenges to come out on the other side. Guest Bio- Dr. Debi Silber is a holistic psychologist, a health, mindset and personal development expert and the author of the #1 bestselling book: The Unshakable Woman: 4 Steps to Rebuilding Your Body, Mind and Life After a Life Crisis. Through a recent PhD study on how women experience betrayal-what holds them back and what helps them heal, Debi has discovered the 5 stages from betrayal to breakthrough as well as what it takes (physically, mentally and emotionally) to move from one stage to the next. In addition to being on FOX, CBS, The Dr. Oz Show, TEDx and more, she's an award winning speaker, coach and author dedicated to helping women move past their betrayals and heal…once and for all. Go to https://pbtinstitute.com/ for more information. To find out if you're Struggling with Post Betrayal Syndrome™ take Debi's quiz here https://pbtinstitute.com/quiz/.

Our modern, busy and connected world can be a very lonely place if we don't have a support group that understands what we deal with as moms, entrepreneurs and women. Why is this such a huge opportunity for social networks of today? Why is it so powerful for women to have a voice and a space to express themselves? How does this help the modern woman navigate the modern workforce with greater ease? On this episode, I'm joined by Michelle Kennedy, founder of Peanut, an app that connects mamas. She talks about her boss mom journey and how being a mom and an entrepreneur birthed her business. For the longest time, social has been broad. Now there's an opportunity for social to become much more specific to the threads that connect us. -Michelle Kennedy 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why we can't share everything with everyone (13:05 - 16:04) We all need support, advice, and help from other people and very often it's for talking about things we can't easily share with people at work or even our partners because they won't relate. Connecting with and talking to other women who are in that same space gives us the confidence to open up and have a voice. Why friendship groups have become more specific to different needs (16:08 - 16:54) The way we use our friendship groups or support networks nowadays can be thought about in the context of verticals. The people we hang out with don't have to fulfill every single need we have. We can have friends and relationships for different things, and this actually benefits all the relationships we have. This has created an opportunity for social networks to be more niched down or specific to different things instead of being broad. Why women need online support groups now more than ever (20:24 - 21:00) Women are being factored into the workforce and the economy of the workforce in such a different way than before. While we're being counted, what still hasn't matured are the support networks around that. We've become more dispersed from where our families are, and we move around a lot and we need support groups that take that into account. Whether we want to admit it or not, we all need support, advice and help and this is where our friendship groups come in. We're at this amazing beautiful moment in time in society where we can say with more honesty and confidence what's happening with women. We can the share experiences we're going through and meet and connect with people who can make us feel less alone. It's so powerful for us to feel like we have a voice, and that there are other people supporting us. It makes the journey of being mother and women even more fulfilling. Guest Bio- Michelle Kennedy is the CEO and co-founder of Peanut. She started Peanut after struggling to meet other mamas she could relate to while also working. After finding herself trawling outdated blogs for baby advice at 2am while her friends were still hanging out in clubs, she decided to create a product that would empower other modern mamas to support each other. Michelle started her career as an M&A lawyer at leading international law firm Mishcon de Reya. She later joined dating app, Badoo, where she transformed the internal legal offering within Badoo, and eventually rose to the role of Deputy CEO at the $100m+ revenue generative market leader. She was also integral to the launch of dating app, Bumble. Having worked in the dating apps industry for five years, Michelle has unprecedented experience and understanding of the safety and growth elements of building a social product. To download the app or connect on social media, go to https://www.peanut-app.io/.

When starting your journey as an entrepreneur, the thought of hiring a team can be daunting. How can you accommodate staff salaries into your budget? How do you know who to hire? Is there a strategic way to build a team? On this episode, I discuss how you can put together a team in the most effective way. Just freeing up your time won't make you successful. Using that time wisely will. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode If you're going to hire someone and pay to free up time for yourself, make sure you use that saved time wisely. Pay attention to the things you do every day that can be repeated easily. Then, hire people who can do that for you. Record the tasks you complete. You can use this as training when you hire a team. If you've just started your own business, it's normal to want to manage every detail. However, once you establish your routines, you no longer need to be involved in all aspects of your company. You should be a beacon, rather than a worker for your business. Hire strategically, and you'll soon find yourself working much more effectively.

Copy and content are a huge part of connecting with and selling to our target market. What are the foundational pieces of content we have to develop before we do anything else? What are some of the key steps often missed in writing content and copy? How do we address these gaps by understanding our audiences, both mentally and emotionally? On this episode, Tara Bosler shares on how we can write content that relates, helps, and converts. I'm a huge proponent of clarity over cleverness. -Tara Bosler 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Stay tapped into the pains your audience has (15:12 - 16:00) It's important to stay plugged into the issues your target market is facing. Even if you started off as your target market, becoming successful takes us further away from that emotional base. This can make it hard for us to write in a way someone facing that problem can relate to. You have to constantly go back to that emotional base to know where they are and what are they experiencing right now. The closer your language is to the language they're using in their head, the more successful your copywriting will be. How to create authenticity in our copy (17:21 - 21:07) Authenticity is about consistency and relatability. It's all about being clear with yourself, first and foremost. We have to know who we are and show up unapologetically. You can't tap into what the audience is thinking and feeling if you're not tapped into what you're thinking and feeling. If you don't tap in, you'll always comes off as surface level, and you won't have a brand that people will fall in love with. Why our content won't succeed if it doesn't address limiting beliefs (26:46 - 28:17) Some of the key steps between someone becoming interested in what we're talking about, and actually investing in what we sell are the limiting beliefs that stop them from taking further action. We have to understand not only what they want at the end result phase, but also what they believe is possible. If they don't think something is possible, they won't invest in it. When it comes to writing copy for our businesses, we tend to get excited about the flashier pieces of content like sales pages and social media copy. However, the very first thing we need to do is be clear about who we are, our message, mission, vision and manifesto. That foundational copy allows us to drill down to the things our target audience thinks and feels, and how we can answer those questions. It all starts with us being authentic. It's not about creating a brand and trying to become that brand. It's about being "you", and then building your brand around that. Guest Bio- Tara is a copywriter and content creator for creative women entrepreneurs. She is in love with her extroverted daughter, her nervous dog, writing engaging sales copy, and hot, hot coffee. To get Tara's Complete Copywriting Playbook go to http://www.tboslerwriting.com/

Getting brands to pay us for the things we're already creating is an entrepreneurs dream, but it can seem difficult to make this happen. Why is sponsored content something any creator can find success with, even without a massive following,? Do you have to be on certain platforms to get sponsor dollars? On this episode, Monica Pruett shares on strategies for getting sponsorship, how she's helped entrepreneurs of different sizes, and why sponsorships give us freedom. If you have goals for your income and you know that sponsored work can help you monetize your influence, now is a really good time to reach out to brands. -Monica Pruett 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why sponsorships don't require hundreds of thousands of followers (12:32 - 13:01) It doesn't matter what size you are— it's really about the fit and your audience. Your audience has pain points, and you won't necessarily create everything that will solve every single pain point. Brands and companies who create products that can fill the gaps are great potential partners you can reach out to. Which platform is best for sponsorships (22:42 - 24:58 ) You don't have to be a blogger to be successful with sponsored content. Whether you have a following on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, or YouTube, having some kind of following is all that matters. The main challenge with some of the platforms is lacking the same level of metrics and data, so you'll have to learn where to pull the info to use for your pitches. Why sponsored content is so effective (25:21 - 25:48) We've been conditioned to shut off advertising, but sponsored content is still effective because people will listen to people they already follow and like. Having an audience's attention is what brands are looking for. Whether you're a blogger, Instagrammer, or a YouTuber, you can actually grow your business and your income through sponsored content and brand sponsorships. It doesn't necessarily matter what platform you're on. Being an influencer is the important part. As brands are planning their strategy for this year, this is the perfect time to reach out to brands. You could be their next influencer and meet your income goals. Guest Bio- Monica Pruett is a former advertising account executive turned full-time influencer, instructor, and strategist. She teaches other entrepreneurs who dream of working from home how to create a consistent income from their influence through public speaking, online programs and a range of other agency services. She specializes in helping her clients and students MONETIZE THEIR INFLUENCE through social media, networking, contract collaboration, and sponsored content creation. Go to http://monicapruett.com/ for more information.

When you're running an online business and you don't address legal matters, it can come back to bite you. Why should we get the legality components straightened out right at the beginning when the business is small? How do contracts protect us from scope creep, disputes, and different expectations with the people we're working with? What are the documents, agreements, and contracts we need to have? On this episode, I'm joined by my lawyer and intellectual property attorney to many online entrepreneurs, Autumn Boyd, to talk about the due diligence we must have to protect our businesses. An ounce of prevention by taking a little time on the front end will save you so much in time, trouble, headaches, and money. -Autumn Boyd 3 Things We Learned From This Episode The very first thing you do when you start your business (05:19 - 07:03) The first step you should take as you're getting your business started is a search to make sure no one else is already using the name you've decided on. You can do a basic search on Google and through the patent and trademark office— which is free. In the US, we have trademark rights based on first use. If you're the first, you get all the rights, and if someone else tries to use the same name, you have a right to ask them to stop. Why you're never too small to take care of your legal matters (16:45 - 18:48) People on the internet will have a wide range of emotions toward you. Many people will like you, but there are others who might look for the opportunity to report you if you break any rules or regulations. Even if you're a small business, this can happen to you. This is why it's so important to have things like your privacy policy and terms & conditions done far in advance. How contracts protect us and our businesses (20:30 - 23:01) Contracts are important. You've got to be clear on responsibilities of each party and how to terminate a relationship if the needs arises. The contract protects you and the person signing it. Even though it isn't a fun conversation to have, it is a necessary one. Legal documents, contracts, and agreements in our businesses are not the most exciting thing to think about, but they are VERY important. The bigger we grow and the more people we work with, the more at risk we are if we don't protect ourselves legally. By taking care of this stuff we'll look more professional, and people will take us more seriously. We can take a lot of the emotion out of the formal stuff so it doesn't come back to bite us. This is not a place to take a shortcut in our business, so we have to just get it done. If you're running a business and you really want it go the distance, this is a step you can't skip. Guest Bio- Autumn Witt Boyd is an experienced lawyer who helps innovative business owners reach their big goals. Together with her team at The Law Office of Autumn Witt Boyd PLLC, Autumn guides online and e-commerce businesses as they grow. She has special expertise in copyright and trademark issues, and her firm offers full-service legal support to creative businesses. Go to https://awbfirm.com/ for more information. To grab Autumn's 10 Step Legal Road Map® Checklist, go to https://awbfirm.com/checklist/. Check out Autumn's podcast here https://awbfirm.com/podcast/.

The start of the new year gives boss moms the opportunity to refocus their business models— but what exactly does that mean? How can we begin to focus on our businesses in a world saturated with courses and advice coming from everyone with a social media following? In the first podcast of 2019, I narrow down three key areas that will help us hone in on the things that make our businesses great. I want 2019 to be a great year for us, so let's figure out what you're going to focus on. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Look at what has worked for you thus far, and identify your gifts. Your gifts don't need to be your passions, but the abilities that have helped you achieve success in the past. Find your set processes. The repetitive systems you use will ultimately allow you to scale your business and sell more without sacrificing your time. Acknowledge the work you do— and do not— enjoy. This, in turn, will help you identify the areas you should delegate to others and help you work smarter. As online entrepreneurs, our goal is to create scalable businesses and courses that allow us to achieve sustained success without sacrificing more time. The only way to do this is to hone in on our gifts, establish systems, and delegate where necessary. 2019 is a new year with new opportunities. This doesn't mean we need to look for entirely new solutions. Instead, we should focus on what's been effective for us and refine the work we've already started.

As human beings, we all want validation. For entrepreneurs, no validation is as great as knowing there's a demand for the problem we solve. Why is it so important to be clear on what we want to be known for? How can we drill down to that problem and turn it into something we can sell or share with clients? On this episode, I talk about some strategies you can implement to define your service and package. You have to fall in love with the problem you solve, not the thing you sell. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Rushing makes you slower. You'll spend more time putting out fires from mistakes, you won't give strategies enough time to grow legs, and you might end up relaunching. If your name isn't associated with what you should be known for, you're facing an uphill battle. Think about what you want people to know from you and how you can bottle it into an educational package you can sell. Businesses and brands that stand the test of time and make money in the long run are built on solving one key problem and really honing in on it. It's important for us to work towards what we want people to know us for. We must also know the key intellectual property we have that solves a problem for our clients. You don't have to know what it is right this second, but you can start getting clarity by thinking of what you're constantly teaching, doing, or creating that could be packaged into a course. That will improve your messaging because you can start talking about the problem so you're not just creating content without a purpose.

If the goal of an online business is to make money while we sleep, online courses are one of the most powerful ways to do this. What are the clues that tell us we have something we can build a profitable course on? How do courses help us free up more time to be more creative, systematize our expertise, and give value en masse? Why is it so key for us to nurture an audience while we work on the course? On this episode, Amy Porterfield is back to talk about how to create an online course that can become a stream of income and boost our business. What will genuinely make you money in a course is taking the results that you have created for yourself or other people and put it together in a system, a roadmap, or a process. That's what sells. -Amy Porterfield 3 Things We Learned From This Episode How to know we're ready to create a course (01:52 - 02:34 ) You know you're ready to make a course when you keep repeating yourself to different people over and over again. You also know you're ready when you create results for yourself and other people. Can we create a course if our clients have unique problems? (VIDEO 2 - 01:32 - 04:19) Even when people have unique problems, they they are still in need of our system or roadmap we create to solving a problem. Many of the people enrolled in our courses will hit the finish line, but even those who don't will still be completely satisfied because of the community around the course. The community is where you get to add that one-on-one advice that's more personalized and unique. How to market our courses and get people to want them (VIDEO 2 - 10:28 - 16:00) The best way to market our online course is to use a vehicle that allows us to give value and earn our right to sell the course. Our course needs to be stellar and our marketing must be good and true. Marketing our course start with social media content that leads into our email list because that's the audience that will buy from us. We do this by posting content consistently, and pointing people to our really cool freebies while we're creating our courses at the same time. After running a service business or doing one-on-one coaching, courses are a really cool way for us to transition into another method of making money and growing our business. Success leaves clues. If we've been able to get results for ourselves or somebody else, that is the area we should make the course about. What people pay for is the road map, system, or process we offer, and our unique way of solving a problem. To make sure this course can actually succeed, we have to nurture our audience through social media and build the list of people who will want to buy it as soon as we launch. We nurture that community by posting content that lends itself to our core message. If we have one course that creates consistent revenue, we'll be able to say "no" to the things that drag us down, and "yes" to more of the things that light us up. Guest Bio- Amy is an entrepreneur, coach, speaker, author and podcaster. She runs a top-ranked business podcast and runs best-selling online courses.She teaches business owners, educators and entrepreneurs the profitable action steps for building a highly engaged email list, creating online training courses, and using online marketing strategies to sell with ease. For more information and to check out Amy's podcast go to https://www.amyporterfield.com/. Watch Amy's first Boss Mom Podcast Interview here https://boss-mom.com/episode-320-tweaking-vs-pivoting-overcoming-camera-shyness-being-consistent-w-amy-porterfield/.

Many of us spend a lot of time in social media, but we don't actually know what we're getting from it. As a result, the content we put out ends up achieving very little or nothing. What are two of the biggest mistakes people make with their content calendars? How can our content calendars actually lose us business and money? On this episode, I talk about how to actually make our content calendars help our marketing efforts— not hinder them. It's better to post less, guide people the right way, and position yourself the right way than to just put out a lot of stuff for the sake of consistency of content. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Just putting a lot of content out there can confuse the market. They end up not knowing what to come to us for. Our content has to position us to show our expertise and point of view. If you're sending your audience to other people's blog posts and that person has a great opt-in, you're only helping them make money (unless you're part of their affiliate program). If parts of our sales pages became part of our content calendars, we would be sharing what we do and how we solve problems. Our content calendars must not be taken lightly. It's not just about putting out as much content as possible. It's about having a structure and a strategy to reveal our point of view and establish ourselves as a worthy solution to the problems we're trying to solve. A content calendar that's too general won't get you half as far as a content calendar that is really specific and strategic about where we want to drive people.

Sometimes life forces us to make scary choices and bold moves to get what we want. Going through this can be challenging and emotional. How does entrepreneurship make us more equipped to deal with challenges and differences with other people? What are some of the lessons that have come from going through a divorce, co-parenting, and remaining a family even after a split? On this episode, founder of the Divorced Mommy Podcast, Julie Ciardi, shares her story and how she got through the rough times. You have to be strong and focused on the kids without sacrificing who you are or your happiness. -Julie Ciardi 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why it's so hard to walk away from something that isn't bad (07:13 - 08:01) Sometimes something is too comfortable for us to get out of. Whether it's a job, a relationship, or a business, it's harder to walk away from something that isn't terrible than to get out of something that's really bad. Sometimes we have to be forced into an uncomfortable place so we can make a decision. The power of still wanting the best for our exes (24:22 - 25:52) Many people are concerned about what happens when our former spouses inevitably move on with other people. When we care about our former spouse and trust that they will make good decisions, this isn't something that should worry us. Through splitting up, we both get to learn what we really want. Our exes will find people that will make them happy, and that's what we want for them. How to be more compassionate (34:43 - 36:10) There's never perfect in anything— whether it's relationships, motherhood or business. In any relationship, you will bump heads. The big thing is, we have to want to fix it and care about the happiness of the other person in the outcome as much as ours. We bump heads in relationships because we see the world differently, and we just have to be compassionate. Whether we're walking away from a job we've known for years, a relationship, or a business that isn't making us happy, we're sometimes going to be forced to make a scary change in our our lives. We have to know that it takes work to overcome that, but things can be so amazing on the other side. As entrepreneurs, we already have a leg up. There's so much mindset work and personal development that comes with the entrepreneurial journey that we're more equipped to handle these moments. The more we do work on ourselves, the more compassion and responsibility we have in talking to other people. What we learn as entrepreneurs can be applied everywhere else in our lives and enrich all our relationships. Guest Bio- Julie is the founder of the Divorced Mommy podcast and blog. She is a mom of 3, divorced & remarried. She has a very modern blended family that she has worked very hard for. She took the leap from corporate, leaving a high paying multi-six figure executive salary to be an entrepreneur with 2 businesses. She launched a brick & mortar women's boutique styling moms for their daily hustle called Haven Boutique She launched her podcast to help divorced moms with their mindset & long term vision to create the life they want & their children need. Find the podcast on iTunes and Stitcher. Go to https://divorcedmommy.blog/, and follow her on Instagram @divorcedmommy. To read a blog post by Julie's daughter about what parents should know about co-parenting, sign up for Julie's mailing list.

When dealing with prospects, it can be tough to figure out when our advice should be paid for, and how much we should give away so people fall in love with us and want more from us. How we find the right balance between coaching and selling so we're giving value but not giving away what we should be paid for? When is coaching the best way to sell or when should you just plain sell our program? On this episode, I talk about how to coach someone when they are still a prospect. When you're with a prospect, you have to be a walking sales letter. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode 6 elements of sales pages: frustration, transformation, will they gain the most from what you have to offer, how do you fit into solving their frustration, what are the benefits and features of what they are getting and what is your social proof. If someone says, "I have a lot to think about, this has been a great call," you have given too much away. A coach guides people to come to their own conclusions. A consultant tells you what to do and gives you a recommended course of action. In everything we do, we are the sales rep of our businesses. This is especially true when we're talking to prospects, how we interact with them depends on our goals, the problems we're solving and frustrations and challenges our prospect is facing. What we need to learn to balance is giving value to bring people into our world and giving just enough of that away that people still want to buy from us. We have to fill in their gaps to show our value and then when they see our value, we can ask them to invest in us.

Communicating with animals is something we think only very few people can do, but we all have the ability. How do we tap into that gift and come into collaboration and partnership with our pets? How do we create a better family communication structure with our animals and help our children communicate with them? What are the techniques we can use to communicate better with animals and people? On this episode, I talk to The Real Dr. Doolittle, Val Heart about better communication and solving behavior problems collaboratively. Animals are really like our angels, teachers, guides and healers. -Val Heart 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why animals are so important in our lives (03:24 - 03:55) Animals serve a very important purpose in our lives. They are our angels, teachers, guides and healers. When we learn to recognize, respect and revere them for who they truly are, they help us become the best versions of ourselves. Why we shouldn't treat animals like they need to be fixed (15:38 - 15:48) When we come at something with the idea of trying to fix someone it sets us as an authority when we're actually supposed to be in partnership and on one even playing field. How not to treat our animals like property we own (16:26 - 18:04) It's easy to treat our animals like something we just own, but this is the wrong way to go about it. When we treat animals, or even other people like we own them or like they are a problem to be fixed, it immediately creates resistance and pushback. We're not owners, we're caretakers and guardians. We all have the ability to talk with animals, and if we know how to tap into it, it would help even how we communicate with other people. When we communicate with animals, we have to approach animals from a neutral, witness, observer space. How we do this is to start by hearing the animal without judgement, evaluating the issue, taking action to change what's not working, relief and clearing resistance and teamwork and trust. If we want to communicate with our animals we have to see it, feel it and say it. This is a gift we've all been given and can start using now. Guest Bio- Val Heart, aka The Real Dr. Doolittle is the world's leading animal whisperer. She is the CEO of Heart Communication Enterprises Inc, Founder of The HEART System™ for solving problems with pets. She is the bestselling author and a featured expert on ABC, NBC and Fox News, as well as in People Magazine, My S.A., and Great Day S.A. She solves problem with pets & teaches cat, dog, horse & animal communication. Val fell in love with horses when she was five years old and began her long term relationship getting to know and understand horses. Her work with horses led to intensive study in developing her gifts with animal communication and other supporting healing techniques. Go to https://www.valheart.com for more information.

When we're trying to grow our businesses, it can feel like we need to invest in and buy #allthethings to get to that next level. Whether it's coaching or a course, it can be hard to commit to just one thing. How can we make sure we're investing only in what we need? What steps can we take to create decision confidence? On this episode, I talk about the 5 questions we need to ask ourselves in order to get clarity on what we should be investing money, time and effort in. If you ask these 5 questions, you're going to have a more confident and easy time knowing what to invest in for your business so that you are investing in the right things. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Sometimes it's the discomfort of putting money down on something that gets you to commit to the success of an investment. Invest in something only when it makes sense for your business. Think about your current resources and whether you are utilizing them to their fullest. That last thing you want to do is resource hop. Ask yourself: What emotional, financial and environmental factors would ensure the success of the commitment? On the other hand, what emotional, financial and environmental factors would stop it from succeeding? In order to invest in something that will actually help our business, we have to have a clear goal of what we want that thing to achieve. We need to know where we're most challenged in reaching that goal, and whether we're really maximizing on current resources. We also need to know the things that will fuel the success of this investment and the potential roadblocks we can plan to overcome. Remember, we also have to ask ourselves if we're willing to get uncomfortable in the commitment so that it actually works.

As moms and entrepreneurs, one thing we're often guilty of is putting ourselves at the bottom of our long to-do lists. How does this negatively impact our kids and businesses? Why should we treat self-care as an urgent essential in our lives? Why are systems the only way we can grow a business that won't burn us out? On this episode, business growth coach and author, Kelly Roach, shares the mindset shifts that changed her life and how to add systems and leverage into our businesses to give ourselves more freedom. . Our kids don't listen to us—they model after us. And the best way to be a great mom is by being a happy person. -Kelly Roach 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Life isn't perfect, but we can find beauty in it (04:23 - 04:53) The human experience is filled with crisis, turmoil, and juggling acts all mixed with the good stuff. You can find reason to be sad or wish your life was perfect, but you also have the opportunity to find the beauty in life and dig deep to make the best of it. Put self-care in the "essential" category, not a luxury we can do without (08:28 - 09:15) Most of us categorize working out as a luxury, but we have to make the mindset shift that it is an essential. Kelly works out during the business day, and she considers training a business priority. Exercise is essential to our happiness, our health, and how we show up as parents and business owners. Take care of the most precious asset in your business (12:27 - 13:14) It's no coincidence that the most successful online entrepreneurs are very healthy people. Because we are our personal brands, we are our most expensive assets. Anytime you're too tired or stressed to be productive, you are losing money in your business. One of the biggest mistakes we make in life and business is not prioritizing our own self-care or having so much work on our plates that it leads to misery. There is nothing wrong with us asking for and getting help, and setting boundaries so we're healthier and happier. The best thing our kids can see is us at our very best. If we're miserable and frustrated, they will model themselves after that. If we want to instill the right habits into our kids, we have to prioritize our own self-care and build businesses that don't burn us out. Guest Bio Kelly Roach is a highly sought after business growth strategist on a mission to help 1,000,000 entrepreneurs launch and scale their dream business… without compromising their quality of life or going broke in the process. From NFL Cheerleader to Fortune 500 exec and now million dollar mogul, Kelly is the author of the #1 international bestselling book and the new book, Bigger Than You. Kelly has been featured in Inc, Forbes, Bloomberg Businessweek, and ABC Good Day. Go to https://kellyroachcoaching.com/ to get a copy of the book or for more information and check out her podcast, Unstoppable Success Radio here https://kellyroachcoaching.com/podcasts/.

Staying focused is hard, especially when we start a business and have kids running around. Is focus something that can be maintained consistently? Why are we more focused on certain parts of the day or certain days of the week, and how can we leverage this? What actions can we take in our business to generate more income using the power of focus? In this episode, I talk about how to stop getting pulled in so many directions and focus on what's important for you and your business! There is a cycle to our ability to stay focused. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Focus is cyclical. As a consequence, we shouldn't blame ourselves for not being able to work at 100% all the time, because nobody can give their best nonstop. After a while, our focus and attention wear off. Because focus comes and goes, we should find out the pattern. What parts of the day are we more likely to stay focused? What days of the week are we more productive? Once we find out the answers to these questions, we can reschedule the work that needs the most focus on the days we do tend to be more focused. This tactic not only helps us get better at what we already do, but it also forces us to push unimportant tasks to the side. Our business requires focus, but we can't stay focused if we're trying to do too many things at once. There are many things that could help our business grow, but we have to limit our options if we want to perfect what we're currently doing. When we're laser-focused on one thing, that endpoint can generate more income than spreading our focus out across several areas.

As entrepreneurs, we often feel like something is holding us back from getting to the next level. In a lot of the cases, it's our own minds and negative stories we tell ourselves about taking a certain action. How does the way we mentally and emotionally process a challenge or opportunity impact whether we execute on it or not? What can we do to start telling and believing a story that's more beneficial to us? On this episode, I talk to mindset mastery coach and consultant, Tracy Bech about how we create reality with our thoughts, and how to overcome the mental stumbling blocks in our businesses. At some point you have to engage a certain mindset in order to deal with and process the opportunities and challenges you're presented with. -Tracy Bech 3 Things We Learned From This Episode The real reason we struggle to take action (17:16 - 19:01) When we find ourselves not taking action on something, it's the thoughts we've attached to the task that prohibit us from doing it. There's something underneath we haven't voiced outwardly, our your subconscious is protecting us from whatever it is we don't want to experience. When we attach a negative story to taking that action, that's going to hold us back. Why we shouldn't leave a decision open-ended (22:39 - 23:15) We need to put a finite amount of time on how much we're going to research and figure out before we make a decision. The more unmade decisions we have, the more stressed out and indecisive we're going to feel. Indecision stacks up which makes it chaotic and makes us feel like we have no control. The science behind how our subconscious tells us things that aren't true (25:40 - 28:04) Human beings can only process so much data and information, and on a daily basis, we're inundated with so much of it. Our brains will start to generalize, distort and delete as much data as possible, and the stories we tell ourselves are a huge part of that. Once we believe the world is an overwhelming place, our minds will generalize and distort everything that happens to get to that conclusion, and they will delete anything that doesn't support that. The challenges we face as business owners are often unique to entrepreneurship, we have to push through a lot of obstacles, and we have to do it with a brave face. When doing a certain task feels unbearable it tells us that there's something we're not expressing that's keeping us from doing it. In our subconscious we've planted a story about the task causing us to self-sabotage. In order to overcome, we have to remove the blinders we move through life with, and opt for a lens that's more optimistic and supporting of the goal we have for our businesses and lives. If we clean that up subconsciously, nothing will stop us. Guest Bio- Tracy is a mindset mastery coach, consultant and the founder of Good Path Consulting. For more information, go to goodpathconsulting.com and follow @goodpathconsulting on Instagram.

Appearing on podcasts is a great way to establish ourselves as experts and land more clients by reaching people who are in need of our help. But what kind of podcasts should we pitch? How can we find our niche? What should a pitch look like? And should we spend time sending pitches ourselves? In this episode, Matt Johnson talks about how to find the right podcasts and write a pitch that gets noticed. Everyone is pitchable for the right show. -Matt Johnson 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Sometimes, being invited as a guest on a big podcast isn't as beneficial to our business as we would like. Because the audience is so wide, they all have different problems to solve. When we focus on podcasts that are very niche, and everyone in the audience has a problem that we can solve, that's where we get the traction we need. The best way make sure we actually get featured on a podcast is to find the right show. Finding the right niche makes it easier for us to come up with a story and have useful experiences to share on the podcast. The process of discovering new podcasts and pitching takes quite a bit of time. This is why it's so important for us to have someone do the pitching for us so we can spend our time on higher value activities. Another shortcut to successful pitching is using pitching templates that are proven to work. Guest Bio Matt Johnson is a marketer, entrepreneur, musician, and podcast host/expert. As founder of Pursuing Results, a podcast PR & production agency based in San Diego, Matt runs a worldwide virtual team helping business coaches and agencies break in and dominate new markets through podcasting. Matt currently hosts and co-hosts niche business shows such as The YouX Podcast and Real Estate Uncensored. He also speaks to experts and entrepreneurs on how to turn a rockstar business into a YouX Machine. As a featured podcast guest he speaks to audiences around the US, Canada, and Australia.

Scaling our business doesn't mean we have to work more or try harder. Why do only certain types of businesses fit the scalable model? How we can take our current business and make it scalable? Why do the owners of bigger businesses step out of production, and what's their new role? In this episode, business owner, and Self-Made Magazine Top Entrepreneur, Allison Maslan talks about how to get to the next level. Business owners are change makers. -Allison Maslan 3 Things We Learned From This Episode We can't scale unless we put together a team (12:00-13:10) Once we reach a higher level and we want to scale, we can't do everything by ourselves. If we do, we'll only end up burned out. We have to replicate what we do with a team. To do so, we need the right systems and processes, as well as competent people who are able to implement them. Why people leave our team (16:00- 18:00) The best way to keep turnover rates low and get the best from our team is to share our vision with them. If we can get our team excited about the work they're doing, they'll tell others about us and become more loyal and willing to walk the extra mile for us. We need to say no to projects that aren't aligned with our vision (20:00-23:20) Learn to say no to clients or activities that aren't priorities. It doesn't mean that we have to sacrifice things we want to do for our business, but it does mean we can't do it all right now. Adopting this attitude not only frees up our plate but it also helps us gain the respect of our clients. We can't scale a business if our income is based solely on how much we get paid per hour for our services. We can transform our business from the 1 to 1 model to 1 to many. Instead of us serving one client at a time, we can hire other people who offer the same services and duplicate our efforts. With this model, we can step out of production and shift our focus to managing our team and working on our business instead of serving the client directly. Guest Bio- Allison Maslan is the CEO of Allison Maslan International and was recently named "One of the Top Women Entrepreneurs Who Inspire" by Self Made Magazine. Alisson built 10 successful businesses from scratch on her own and now makes it her mission to help others build their way to the top as well. Her experience and mentorship often put her in the spotlight, as she was featured on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox. You can find out more about Allison here.

During the holidays, it's very easy for us to fall behind or work too much, but all of this can be prevented with a bit of planning. How do your industry and offerings determine how much time you should put into holiday promotions? What is the holiday revenue that you want? Why is it important to find out what our ideal clients do during this time of the year? In this episode, I talk about how to make the best out of the holidays by planning in advance. In business owning, not all months and days are alike and not all industries are alike. -Dana Malstaff 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Before we start planning for the holidays, we have to ask ourselves how important this time of the year is for us and our family. The more time we plan to spend with our family, the quicker we need to plan everything ahead. Many of our buying decisions are cyclical, so we have to make sure we prepare our strategy before the holidays kick in. For example, if you have a fitness business, it's wise to launch a program that focuses on preventing weight gain before the holidays kick into gear. The holidays don't always have to be about promotions. If our focus is consulting, for example, then list building and prospecting on social media might work best for our business model. We have to think about our ideal client and ask ourselves what sort of buyer behaviors they have during the holidays. Are they more likely to buy our products during this time of the year? The answers to these questions will determine how much time we need to invest in our holiday promotions ahead of time.

For many women, it feels like there are obstacles that stop them from getting to that next level and they desperately need someone to help them shed light on the path. Why isn't it the best strategy to make friends and family the people to hold us accountable? How can we start spending time in the activities that get us closer to our goals? On this episode, Optio founder, Charlena Smith shares overcoming her biggest challenge, and how that helped her find her passion and legacy. If you put your mind to it and you create the right goals, have the right partner and the right attitude, you can break through a lot of glass ceilings. -Charlena Smith 3 Things We Learned From This Episode One factor that leads to burnout (07:19 - 09:09 ) Charlena went through two difficult pregnancies, one of which turned into an illness that completely derailed her life. Even when she was going through it, she still struggled to tell her loved ones she needed help, and overwhelmed herself with tasks. This is something many moms struggle with, because we feel like we should be good at multitasking and working well under pressure but this can easily burn us out. The nurturing mistake we make (09:18 - 10:06) As women, we are naturally nurturers and we're wired to feel valued when we're nurturing, whether it's necessary or not. We always seek out ways to try and nurture, and very often we forget that it's about the end result. So if our children need to be fed, we don't necessarily have to do the cooking, we just have to make the food available. How to find the right accountability partner (21:31 - 22:57) One huge thing that holds us back from achieving our goals is having the wrong priorities. An accountability partner isn't just about reminding us what we need to get done, it's keeping us responsible to spending time in the right places. For this to be truly effective we need an outsider who can help us see those things and call us out on it when we're not. Guest Bio- Charlena is the founder of Optio an organization that empowers women to live their best, most inspired lives through Matched and Guided Accountability. Go to https://www.myoptio.org/ for more information. Get $50 off your first month of Optio with the promo code BOSS MOM.

Opt-ins have become very popular because they are a way for entrepreneurs to grow their email list and for consumers to get access to bits of free content. What are the two key things we should know before we do an opt-in? Where should our opt-in journey start? On this episode, I share a step-by-step roadmap for developing really good opt-ins, and outline some ideas to get you started. When it's in writing, people don't read it in your tone. They read it in their tone, and their tone has baggage. -Dana Malstaff Things We Learned From This Episode Opt-ins aren't just random pieces of content— they represent relationships and opportunities. Start with the thing you're actually selling. What is the final commit? Ask yourself what people need to believe in order to make a decision and buy your product. The best opt-in is something people can infuse into their daily habits and carry with them everyday. Getting someone's email is like a first date: we have to make a great impression and present ourselves well. Our opt-ins are something we should be taking seriously. At the same time, we shouldn't take too long to put them out. You'd rather see the response and make changes, or leverage what's working, than to wait to make the right opt-in. We have to put the opt-in within a bigger context, which is the product we want them to buy from us. It's also critical that we're clear on what they need to believe, and find a way for our opt-in to become infused in their daily lives and give them a quick win.

For many moms who are frustrated with 9-5 jobs, freelancing is a great way to make money and make time for their families. What's driving this demand for freelance workers? How can we find the right jobs in freelancing? How can we leverage what we're good at? On this episode, Micala Quinn shares how she turned her freelancing experience into a successful coaching business, and how moms can get into freelancing. A lot of smart people will outsource some of the tasks they either don't know how to do or want to do to a team of freelancers. -Micala Quinn 3 Things We Learned From This Episode Why freelancing has exploded (16:11 - 16:41) A lot of people who run businesses don't want or need full-time employees and they have a demand for part-time workers who can work on a specific project. This is what has led to rise of freelance and project-based consulting. How to find the right freelance opportunity for you (16:46 - 18:55) Freelance work presents so many different opportunities that suit different skill sets and people. Working as a virtual assistant is a good start and so is social media management. Recently Pinterest strategy and management have really exploded and presented opportunities for freelancers. Where to start when you don't know the right freelance job for you (20:11 - 20:36) When we're not clear on what we're good at and what kind of freelancing work we can do, just start as a VA. There are no set skills or requirements and we get to learn more about what we're good at through that work. Not every business owner wants an expert, they might only have a budget for a beginner, so that can work perfectly. Guest Bio- Micala Quinn is a wife, mom, teacher, and founder of Live Free, Mama where she helps working moms leverage their current skills and talents into a profitable freelance career. When she's not working she can be found going on a walk to the park with her daughter, making a home cooked meal, or watching Friends for the millionth time. If you're thinking of starting your own freelance business, be sure to take Micala's course. Go to https://micalaquinn.com/ for more information.