The Soloist Life

It’s a conundrum: we know stories help make us better communicators, but we’ve also been told that too much personality “just isn’t appropriate” in a B2B context. Communication specialist Camille DePutter tells us exactly how to use storytelling to make an impact as a soloist.We talk about:Why storytelling is leaning into your thoughts, ideas, opinions, unique perspective and experiences.The questions that will help you uncover your best stories (and the role shame may have played in keeping a challenging story untold).Being both authentic and effective as a storyteller (hint: there is no one else exactly like you isn’t just a cheesy line).How to not only excavate your best stories, but refine and polish them.Why you might want to develop a story vault—and how to get started.LINKSCamille DePutter | Website | LinkedIn | Instagram Rochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramGUEST BIOCamille DePutter is a storytelling specialist who helps high-performing individuals communicate better. Through her work as a communications coach, consultant, and writer/editor, Camille helps her clients express themselves effectively and authentically, so they can level-up their leadership, build their reputation, and make the impact they were born to make. Her client portfolio includes internationally-recognized brands, Olympic Gold medalists, world champion athletes, and highly respected founders, industry disruptors, and thought leaders. Camille hosts the Storytelling with Heart podcast, is the author of two books, including Share Your Story: A Storytelling Workbook, and publishes regularly at camilledeputter.comBOOK A STRATEGY CALL WITH ROCHELLERESOURCES FOR SOLOISTS10 Ways To Grow Revenue As A Soloist (Without Working More Hours): most of us have been conditioned to work more when we want to grow revenue—but what if we just worked differently?The Soloist Women community: a place to connect with like-minded women (and join a channel dedicated to your revenue level).The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 - 00:31Camille DePutter: It can be very easy to feel like, oh well, no, I need to speak professionally, or I need to follow this template that other people are saying, or I need to say it this way...

Have you noticed how no one talks about what to do financially when your business hits certain milestones—and then you’re left wondering what financial moves make the most sense? CPA Erica Goode is out to change that.We discuss:Building a solid financial base for your brand-new expertise business (and why it’s OK to start with a spreadsheet).How shame around money can keep you from getting the help you need—and why you want to reach out anyway.The value of consistency—in paying yourself a salary, staying current with the IRS and starting to direct funds to the causes you care about.When to think about saving for short and long-term goals, including tax-advantaged retirement.Being aware of your money mindset and where you live on the SPEND to SAVE continuum.LINKSErica Goode | Guide For Coaches + Consultants | LinkedIn | InstagramRochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramGUEST BIOErica Goode, CPA is the host of the Coaches, Consultants, and Money podcast where she helps business owners get their money right. She also runs a virtual accounting firm supporting coaches and consultants with bookkeeping, tax planning, and CFO services. She’s a former Director of Finance at Walgreens and started her career as an auditor at KPMG. Erica also loves avocados and a heavy dose of sarcasm. She lives with her two kids and fellow-CPA husband in the mountains of Idaho.BOOK A STRATEGY CALL WITH ROCHELLERESOURCES FOR SOLOISTSJoin the Soloist email list: helping thousands of Soloist Consultants smash through their revenue plateau.Soloist Events: in-person events for Soloists to gather and learn.The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 - 00:28Erica Goode: There's a lot of professionals who will tell you how much you need to save, but nobody's holding your feet to the fire per se and nobody's keeping you accountable. So like, it sounds all well and good that, yeah, I should put away $20, 000 a year or whatever that may be. But having somebody come alongside you and say, okay, in July, we're doing 10 and in December, we're doing 10. It's in your cashflow forecast, I think makes the hugest difference in the world.00:32 - 00:57Rochelle Moulton: Hello, hello. Welcome to Soloist    Women, where we're all about turning your expertise into wealth and impact. I'm Rochelle Moulton, and today I'm here with my pal,...

If you’re like most of us in the soloist expertise space, you probably think of SEO—if you bother with it at all—as picking the right keywords so that maybe you’ll get discovered in a google search. But marketing consultant Sarah Moon has a different take.We explore:Why SEO is not the mysterious, robotic box we’ve heard about—and a new way we can think about it.How to discover—and capitalize on—the big questions your audience is asking when they search.When SEO can help you discover a new audience you didn’t even know existed.The three key elements of game-changing SEO for knowledge businesses.Aligning your authority not only with your vision and point of view, but with what your ideal clients and buyers are searching for.LINKSSarah Moon | Special Soloist Women Page | Newsletter | Website | LinkedIn | Instagram Rochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramGUEST BIOSarah Moon is a Portland, Oregon-based marketing and business strategist on a mission to rethink modern marketing so it works for us—instead of making us miserable. She's known for her unique knowledge of SEO and how solo consultants and "personal brands" can leverage this underutilized approach to get found and make an impact. She founded Sarah Moon & Co by mistake in 2008 after a layoff from a cushy public sector public relations job and never looked back.Outside of work, Sarah is a servant to two Australian Shepherds and is an avid cyclist, bread baker, standup paddleboarder, and local food nerd.BOOK A STRATEGY CALL WITH ROCHELLERESOURCES FOR SOLOISTSJoin the Soloist email list: helping thousands of Soloist Consultants smash through their revenue plateau.Soloist Events: in-person events for Soloists to gather and learn.The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 - 00:29Sarah Moon: Nothing makes me more excited when I see someone sort of take something that I have said like, hey, this we can do this better. And they play off of what I've said and kind of make it their own. It's like that. That's that impact that just, yes, obviously I want to make a good living. I want to have a life that's enjoyable and comfortable. I want to be able to buy my dogs a fancy dog food. And yet I want other people to...

Over nine years, Laurel Scherer built her digital marketing agency to a highly engaged and talented team of seven employees. In 2023, she decided to go solo—she shares her experiences with shedding employees for the freedom and flexibility of a solo business.We dive into:The day-to-day realities of running a firm with employees.How having employees impacted revenue and profit growth plus the owner’s personal bottom line.The emotional, cognitive and time commitment of being responsible for employees, their career growth and the underlying business.The pleasant surprises from shifting daily responsibilities for an agency of employees to a solo model.LINKSLaurel Scherer | Website | LinkedInRochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramGUEST BIOLaurel started her professional life as an Air Force public affairs officer, working in internal communications and media relations, then managing the consolidation of several hundred base websites into a single news and information site for the AF. Ultimately, she decided to depart from her original career path, and moved to the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she began a far less predictable endeavor, starting a web development business.Over the next several years, she grew her small operation into a 7-person digital marketing agency. Then, in 2022, she shifted gears again, and slowly scaled the agency back down. Now she's a soloist, focusing on why she started this journey in the first place.BOOK A STRATEGY CALL WITH ROCHELLERESOURCES FOR SOLOISTS10 Ways To Grow Revenue As A Soloist (Without Working More Hours): most of us have been conditioned to work more when we want to grow revenue—but what if we just worked differently?The Soloist Women community: a place to connect with like-minded women (and join a channel dedicated to your revenue level).The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 - 00:16Rochelle Moulton: My new definition of wealth is money, revenue, money, time, and flexibility. So what you just picked up is a form of wealth that you didn't have before, which is the flexibility to make decisions you might not have been able to make before.00:17 - 00:33Laurel Scherer: Right, and that's the irony is you go into business to have that flexibility, and then you grow an agency and realize that you really don't have nearly as much of it as you do if you're working more independently and collaboratively without the responsibility of the employees.00:38

How can you scale as a soloist in the expertise space? You turn your expertise into assets that will work for you. Erin Austin—strategic lawyer and consultant—explains how to increase your revenue and impact by moving from fully customized services to leveraged income streams.We talk about:The eight business problems we create for ourselves when we only provide custom services.The “buckets” of intellectual property and how to think about them in your expertise business.How to decide which of your ideas make sense to protect and nurture.Why you want to develop a signature service that only you can provide—and how to get there from where you are now.LINKSErin Austin | Website | LinkedIn | Hourly to Exit PodcastRochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramGUEST BIOA graduate of Harvard Law School, Erin Austin is a strategic lawyer and consultant who uses her 25+ years of practicing law to help female founders of expertise-based firms meet their growth goals through the creation of scalable IP-based revenue streams. Her experience as a lawyer and as an executive—at the intersection of business and the law (including roles as COO and general counsel at IP-driven companies such as Warner Brothers, Lionsgate (formerly known as Artisan), MGM, Teaching Strategies, and M3 USA Corp)—informs the elevated legal and strategic business advice she provides to her clients. Through her Hourly to Exit podcast and her legal practice, Think Beyond IP, Erin guides women on the journey of transforming their businesses from an unscalable income-generator into a saleable wealth building asset. In her spare time, Erin likes to clear brush on her farmette, search for the perfect gluten-free baguette (all leads are appreciated!) and work on her backhand.BOOK A STRATEGY CALL WITH ROCHELLERESOURCES FOR SOLOISTSJoin the Soloist email list: helping thousands of Soloist Consultants smash through their revenue plateau.Soloist Events: in-person events for Soloists to gather and learn.The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 - 00:34Erin Austin: If you are someone who's just kind of selling your time, like as an extra pair of hands, you're a very good marketer, you're a very good copywriter, you're saying, I can write whatever you need me to write for you, but you don't have, you're not developing your own signature solutions, your own...

Mindi Zissman started her specialized B2B content firm so she could work from home and replace her then $35K salary. Today, she’s gunning for the $1 million mark and no one in their right mind would bet against her.We talk about:What it takes to leave a comfortable job to start your first business.Revenue progression: hitting your first $100K and busting through your significant income plateaus.How to leverage through hiring/contracting “mini me’s” to do client work (and why systems will become your saving grace).The magic of committing to exactly the right niche (and why it might take a hot minute to get there).LINKSMindi Zissman | Website | LinkedIn Rochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramGUEST BIOMindi Zissman is the President of Zissman Media, a B2B content firm specializing in the risk, insurance and compliance industries. Mindi started Zissman Media in 2004 to be the voice of her clients, expressing their industry expertise through thought leadership. Mindi is passionate about doing project research and connecting one-on-one with her clients.BOOK A STRATEGY CALL WITH ROCHELLERESOURCES FOR SOLOISTSJoin the Soloist email list: helping thousands of Soloist Consultants smash through their revenue plateau.Soloist Events: in-person events for Soloists to gather and learn.The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 - 00:25Mindi Zissman: There was definitely a point in my business where I would freak out when new projects would have come in instead of being so happy because I just didn't have the capacity. I didn't know how I would do it. I didn't know who would do it. I didn't want it to not be perfect or great. I didn't want it to not be like my A work because I was charging people a lot of money and I did have a reputation to uphold. And so that's definitely a big piece that I now have kind of that frame of00:25 - 00:29Mindi Zissman: mind where I can say, okay, I can hand this off to somebody.00:34 - 00:55Rochelle Moulton: Hello, hello. Welcome to So Louis Women, where we're all about turning your expertise into wealth and impact. I'm Rochelle Moulton, and today I'm here with Mindy Zisman. She is president of Zisman Media, which is a B2B content firm specializing in the risk, insurance and compliance industries. Welcome Mindy.00:55 - 00:59Mindi Zissman: Hi, Rochelle. Thank you for having me. I'm so excited to be here.00:59 - 01:21Rochelle...

Geraldine Carter started her business because she didn’t want to be an employee again. EVER. But when she discovered how much she loved coaching CPAs, she set a clear and compelling mission: helping overworked CPAs create the accounting firm and the life they have always wanted.Geraldine joins me for a no-holds-barred conversation about business, money and impact: What to do when you have to make your business work because you never want to be an employee again.How to find your people and zero in on your mission to serve them.Why it’s easier to make your second $100,000 than your first.What happens when your revenue crosses over to your personal definition of “enough”.The costs and pleasures of committing to ruthlessly staying solo.LINKSGeraldine Carter | Website | Podcast | LinkedIn Rochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramGUEST BIOGeraldine Carter is a business coach for overworked solo CPAs and firm owners who want to go down to 40 hours without giving up revenue. Her clients routinely shave hundreds of hours off their to-do lists and get back above water, so they can reshape their practice into one in which they thrive. Her podcast, Business Strategy for CPAs has more than 100,000 downloads and is ranked in the top ten podcast for CPAs, by Apple Podcasts. Geraldine holds a BS in Engineering from Cornell University, is the co-founder and CFO of a company where her cashflow forecasting models resulted in millions of dollars for climate change efforts. In her free time, she can be found mountain biking forested trails or running after her two small children in her hometown of Ketchum, ID.BOOK A STRATEGY CALL WITH ROCHELLERESOURCES FOR SOLOISTSJoin the Soloist email list: helping thousands of Soloist Consultants smash through their revenue plateau.Soloist Events: in-person events for Soloists to gather and learn.The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 – 00:28Geraldine Carter: I’ve just stopped looking at the money, which is so not normal for me. Counterintuitive. At the risk of sounding however this sounds, I’ve almost lost track because it’s not the main thing that I think about in my business. The main thing that I think about is how do I delight clients? What is the delight that they want? And how do I delight them as fast as possible? Best possible results,...

Before I start introducing you to some amazing guests in the soloist space, it makes sense to start with an important question: what exactly is a soloist anyway? And why would you want to be one?I talk about:Finding delight the soloist way, despite having built—and sold to the big boys—a successful firm with employees.Why a soloist business allows you to earn more money, more reliably with none of the employee hassles that can eat up your energy and keep you awake at night.The importance of niching, discovering the revolution you were meant to lead and going deeper into your genius zone.The mindset of successful soloists (hint: think simplicity and ease) as we build an upward spiral of ideas, products and services.LINKSRochelle Moulton Email List | LinkedIn | Twitter | InstagramRESOURCES FOR SOLOISTSThe Soloist Women Mastermind (September 2023) A structured eight-month mastermind with a small group of no more than 12 hand-picked women soloists grappling with—and solving—the same challenges.10 Ways To Grow Revenue As A Soloist (Without Working More Hours): most of us have been conditioned to work more when we want to grow revenue—but what if we just worked differently?The Soloist Women community: a place to connect with like-minded women (and join a channel dedicated to your revenue level).The Authority Code: How to Position, Monetize and Sell Your Expertise: equal parts bible, blueprint and bushido. How to think like, become—and remain—an authority.TRANSCRIPT00:00 - 00:44Rochelle Moulton: Your mindset is a bit like a muscle. You need to regularly exercise its limits so you can keep building an upward spiral, an upward spiral of ideas of products and services of ways to create the impact you crave with your people. Hello, hello, and welcome to the Soloist Women podcast where we're all about turning your expertise into wealth and impact. I'm Rochelle Moulton. And since we're launching this brand spanking new podcast on soloist women today, I thought we should start with an important question. What exactly is a soloist and why would you want to be 1?00:45 - 01:24Rochelle Moulton: For those of you who don't know my story, I spent 10 years of my early career in a big global consulting firm, learning the craft of consulting, building practices and businesses. And I loved it until I didn't. And basically the partnership I worked so hard for and wanted a really young age just wasn't enough to compensate for how I felt about the work I was doing and the difference I was making. So I started my first expertise business And we built it around this idea of staffing it with MBA women, usually mothers, from the big firms01:24 - 01:59Rochelle Moulton: who'd had enough of working 60 plus hour weeks, living...

The Soloist Life podcast welcomes you into real, gutsy conversations with revolution leaders, authors, and Soloists who are kicking butt and taking names. We’re uncovering the very best ideas, strategies and mindset shifts to build your ideal life the soloist way. Hosted by Rochelle Moulton, author of The Authority Code and champion of the Soloist life.