Business

Breakthrough Brand Podcast – Online Business Growth, Website Design Strategies, Grow a Podcast, Motherhood and Business, Passive Income, Christian Faith, Showit Templates

Welcome to The Breakthrough Brand Podcast — your go-to for relatable, raw, and tactical business training designed to help you hit those big goals! I’m Elizabeth McCravy, a website designer and business educator for female entrepreneurs. I’ve built a multiple six-figure web design business in my 20s, and I’m passionate about sharing what I’ve learned so you can do it too. No secrets, just real talk and proven strategies for building a thriving business.

I’m a Christian business owner, mama to two boys (with baby #3 on the way!), and married to my high school sweetheart. I sell Showit website templates at elizabethmccravy.com and teach fellow designers how to build booked-out businesses through my course, Booked Out Designer. I also teach business owners how to start and scale a podcast in my program, Podcast Success Blueprint.

On this podcast, you’ll find solo episodes packed with actionable, easy-to-follow advice and inspiring expert interviews. We’ll dive into everything from online marketing, branding, podcasting, and business strategy, to faith, motherhood, productivity, and scaling your business. Let’s create a business that not only looks amazing from the outside but feels amazing on the inside too. It’s time to build your breakthrough brand!

Latest Episodes:

044: What Went Well, What Went Wrong, and the Challenges in my Business This Year Dec 10, 2019

Show notes

Every year I like to go through the whole year month by month and look at what worked and what didn’t. I also spend some time reflecting on all that happened before I set goals for the new year. This time of reflection feels vital, both to celebrate wins well and also to solve problems and avoid mistakes in the future.

So, I’m taking some of my typical reflecting time and sharing it with you guys on this podcast episode! I get truly vulnerable about what worked and what didn’t in my business this year - the struggles I had, the goals I hit, the goals I didn’t, and what I want to improve on in 2020.

I hope that hearing a recap of my year gives insights into your own business. And, maybe you can learn from my mistakes! So, turn up the volume, this is a super fun episode!

In this episode you’ll hear:

- My biggest highlights from the year — both personal and business

- 2 BIG challenges I faced in my design business with client projects and my solution for 2020

- The breakdown of where all of my revenue came from this year and why you should know this for your business

- The wins from my month working remotely in Colorado

- Why I ended all recurring clients in 2019, and why it was really hard

- 3 big growing pains I experienced in 2019

- How more public speaking this year was both a win and a challenge

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

- QuickBooks Simple Start: http://elizabethmccravy.com/quickbooks

- PowerSheets Goal Setting Planner: http://elizabethmccravy.com/cultivate

- Sara Blakey’s Instagram Post: https://www.instagram.com/p/B5SkRYRAiFf/

- Showit website templates: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

- Connect with Elizabeth on Instagram: https://instagram.com/elizabethmccravy/

Have you left a review yet? Leave a rating and/or review here: https://elizabethmccravy.com/itunes Thank you for supporting the show!

If you're a new business owner who still doesn't have a website yet, I made something for you. It's a free 15-page guide that walks you through exactly what you need to launch your first website — what to skip, what actually matters, and the five steps to go from zero to live. No coding, no big budget, no perfection required. Plus you'll get 20% off my Showit templates inside! Get it FREE at https://elizabethmccravy.com/

Need some extra pages to improve or add onto your Showit website, BUT you’re not in the market for an entirely new template? You need my Add On Templates for Showit! You'll find add ons like speaker pages, podcast pages, quiz lead magnets, favorite things pages, Link in Bio pages, and more.

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

043: How to Get Your Audience to *Actually* Engage with You on Instagram Dec 03, 2019

Show notes

It’s certainly not a fun feeling to excitedly post some content on Instagram, and just hear crickets from your audience. If you’re asking “How can I get people to actually engage with me?!”, “How can I get them to comment, to write back to what I share?” then this episode is for YOU.

I’m sharing 5 simple ways to improve your engagement on Instagram and some of the mistakes you might be making that are actually hurting your engagement, not helping it. Let’s make Instagram fun for you and get your audience responding to what you have to say!

Episode Highlights:

- How to ask questions that people actually want to respond to

- 3 ways to engage people from the beginning of your post (so they actually expand to read it)

- What ice cream has to do with your Instagram account

- How to be polarizing to engage the RIGHT people

- What analytics to pay attention to in your Instagram account

- Why your excuses for not writing people back aren’t helping your business

Plus, listen to the end of the episode for a life update on the fun things going on in the past 2 weeks while I’ve been away at conferences and events!

Get the full show notes for this episode on the blog: http://elizabethmccravy.com/43

Engage with me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/elizabethmccravy

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

042: How to Bring Your Faith into Your Business with Jena Viviano Nov 19, 2019

Show notes

Today I have my dear friend Jena Viviano on the show to talk about our faith and our businesses.

We’re covering things like — How do we share our faith in our business? Should we at all? How do we truly invite God into our business as Christians? We talk through 5 rhythms you can adopt to help you incorporate your faith and your work beautifully.

Jena is a Wall Streeter turned tech start-up junkie. She’s a talented career coach and entrepreneur who helps mid-to-senior level ambitious professionals land their dream jobs. She’s also a dear friend and past website and branding client of mine! She loves to talk about the topic of Christianity in the workplace — which we are focusing on today.

This is such a beautiful conversation with a sweet friend, and I’m so pumped to have her as my first official guest on the show! (Besides my sweet husband who came on earlier this year!) Sit in on our conversation about faith and work — this is the real stuff that we talk about as friends and we want you to sit in on the conversation! This is an important conversation if you’re a person of faith, and I’m so excited to share it with you!

Links mentioned in this episode:

- Jena’s Word at Work Devotional

- The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson

- Fervent by Priscilla Schier

- How to Get a Date Worth Keeping by Dr. Henry Cloud

- The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss

Click here for the full show notes to get even more from this episode!

Visit Jena’s website here!

Visit Elizabeth's website here!

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

041: Ask Elizabeth Anything … About Starting a Business! Nov 12, 2019

Show notes

Today you are in for a treat and so am I because these are some fun questions! I’ve collected questions that you guys sent in on Instagram, in emails, and some from an audience survey early this year. So, questions from everywhere! I’ve selected my favorite questions specific to starting a business. I have the question list and very few notes here, and I’m just gonna teach ya in mini-episode style on these topics all around starting a business.

Tune in to hear Elizabeth answer these questions!

- How did you know how to price your services when you were first starting out? Did you ever have doubts in what you priced in the beginning?

- Do you feel like you learned a lot about what you do when obtaining your degree or since then?

- What are the top books you would recommend for new business owners?

- What are the first things you should do for your brand when you start a business?

- What is the thing that surprised you the most when you started your business?

- What is the ONE software you recommend a new business owner investing in if we are only doing one to start off?

- How do you get over fear, negative self-talk, and self-doubt?

- What one thing helped you most early on in your business?

- How do I know what to focus on if I have multiple business ideas?

- Favorite office tools? Favorite digital tools? What are you using on a daily basis to run your business?

- Do you prefer to work from home or from coffee shops/coworking spaces? It’s tough making the transition from an office job to so much flexibility!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

- Come hang out on Instagram: https://instagram.com/elizabethmccravy/

- Shop website templates: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

- Get 30% off Dubsado: http://elizabethmccravy.com/dubsado

- My favorite business books on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/shop/elizabethmccravy?listId=2J9WDJ18TQ1YM

- Home office favorites: https://www.amazon.com/shop/elizabethmccravy?listId=2J9WDJ18TQ1YM

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

040: How to Create Your Best Instagram Stories EVER (Plus, tips on being more confident in your stories.) Nov 05, 2019

Show notes

Instagram Stories can be intimidating — especially when it’s new to you. You might be worried about what people are thinking and wondering if you’re doing it “right”. Showing up well on Instagram Stories is incredibly important in your business. In fact, 80% of all daily active Instagram users are watching Stories just as often as they’re checking their feed. This is a great opportunity to connect with your audience.

Whether you use stories right now and want some tips or if you’re brand new to Instagram, this episode will help you get clarity on how to show up for your audience better on Instagram. Today we are talking about things like how many stories you should be posting at once, how to do face to camera stories well, how to keep people engaged and watching, a bunch of random tips, and so much more!

Ready to talk about all things Instagram stories?! Then turn up the volume and tune in now!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

- Instagram Story Statistics: https://adespresso.com/blog/instagram-statistics/

- Hang out with Elizabeth on Instagram: https://instagram.com/elizabethmccravy/

- Get the full blog post for this episode: http://elizabethmccravy.com/40

Did you know every episode of the podcast has a full blog post to go with it?! After you tune in, check out the blog post for a simplified version of what you listened to. It makes listening on the go so much easier when you have notes to reference after! Get the post here: http://elizabethmccravy.com/40

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

039: Why I Deleted 700 People from My Email List Oct 29, 2019

Show notes

A couple of months ago I deleted 700+ people from my email list. Just straight up a bye, bye, bye. Not because I didn't like them or didn't want them to get my emails — not at all! I deleted them because they were "cold subscribers". They weren't opening my emails or clicking on anything for months.

What kept me not deleting people for so long was the fact that I saw my subscriber number as a vanity metric I wanted to protect. I have a subscriber goal I'm trying to hit this year, and by deleting people, I obviously set the goal back.

But, enough was enough and who wants to send emails to people who don’t want them anyway?! In this episode, I’m sharing the process for removing subscribers from your email list, while making sure they actually want to go first. We also talk about how to re-engage a list you simply haven’t emailed in forever! Get ready to start having a cleaner and more engaged email audience.

- Full blog post and extended show notes: https://elizabethmccravy.com/39

- Visit the main website: https://elizabethmccravy.com/

- Overall Averages for Open and Click Rates: https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/email-marketing-benchmarks/

- Interesting Email Marketing Statistics: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/email-marketing-statistics

- Recommended Email Marketing Softwares:

- - ConvertKit: https://elizabethmccravy.com/convertkit

- - FloDesk: https://elizabethmccravy.com/flodesk

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

038: Turning 27 Years Old and Letters From My Future Self Oct 22, 2019

Show notes

My birthday is next week, and I’ll be turning 27. It’s my golden birthday actually. October 27th turning 27! Birthdays always put me into a super reflective mood. I love to think about the future and reminisce on the past. In this episode, I’ll be sharing a journaling practice I’ve done my past 2 birthdays and will be doing again this year. It’s not super “birthday focused” or anything like that! You really can do this at any time in your life. It’s all about connecting with the future version of yourself. Sound weird? That’s ok! Give it a listen and give me a shot to show you how this can transform the way you think and live!

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

- Episode #173 of The Life Coach School Podcast - Future Focused: https://thelifecoachschool.com/podcast/173/

- Shop PowerSheets: https://elizabethmccravy.com/cultivate

- Episode #23 about Journal Prompts: https://elizabethmccravy.com/23

Be sure to enter the 2020 PowerSheets giveaway over on my Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B36_d9Rlhwd/?igshid=q26kelib4fnj

One person will win 2020 PowerSheets and a goal setting sticker book! Giveaway ends on 10/27/19. It's easy to enter over on Instagram!

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

037: The Major Mindset Tips I’ve Learned from Launching Products and Services Oct 15, 2019

Show notes

In this episode, we are getting into some mindset MAGIC! We are talking all about launching and your mindset around the launch process. We are diving into my recent launch and some major takeaways I had that I think will help you in whatever it is you’re launching — whether it’s products, services, a new business, or anything! I’m recording this episode FRESH so all my big takeaways are still totally on my mind. The launch was a huge win! I hit my mid-level goal, which we will get to that goal-setting process in the episode. It was a multiple five-figure launch, and I even had a five-figure day on the first day everything went live.

It was fun, it was exciting, and I had been anticipating the launch week for MONTHS! If you have launched something in your business, you KNOW it can be exhausting, it can be extremely emotional, and there’s a lot more that goes into it than people think. Today I want to just dive into 6 things I learned about launching from either this launch or even my first template launch that all relate to your mindset! Enjoy!

Get the full blog post for this episode: https://elizabethmccravy.com/37

Shop the website template shop: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

Come hang out with me on Instagram!: https://instagram.com/elizabethmccravy

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

036: What I Learned from a Failed Launch, and How I Did It Right Next Time (My Thoughts on Turning Services to Products) Oct 08, 2019

Show notes

I just had a launch in my business! If you’re a frequent podcast listener and follower, then you know this. ;) It was a multiple five-figure launch with a five-figure day too. It was exciting, exhilarating and exhausting! This launch felt like a total win. But, I have a confession. The first time I launched a product, it was a total flop. I did a lot of things wrong, which led to me hardly selling anything. I think what I learned from this failed launch will help you avoid my mistakes.

And no, the failed launch was NOT my template shop! It was a digital product that you’ve probably never even heard me talk about because it was a super long time ago! I’m going to share what I learned from that failed launch and how I fixed it when I launched my template shop years later.

In this episode, you’ll hear me compare that early product launch with my recent launches to show you mistakes to avoid. I’ll also be sharing my thoughts on turning services into products and how often times people make this leap way too fast! I really hope this episode helps YOU as you prepare for launching a product or as you’re considering turning services to products!

Get the full blog post for this episode: https://elizabethmccravy.com/36

Shop the website template shop: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

Come hang out with me on Instagram!: https://instagram.com/elizabethmccravy

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

035: 3 Things I Learned From My Etsy Shop Side Hustle Oct 01, 2019

Show notes

Some of you may know that I have an Etsy shop. No, it’s not where I sell my website templates or anything related. It’s a totally separate thing from my business. It’s my side hustle! Today, I’m diving into 3 big lessons I’ve learned from running this Etsy shop. This is not an episode about running an Etsy shop business, it’s an episode about having a creative outlet in your life. I hope this episode will inspire you to get started creating something fun outside of your day to day work.

And, if you’ve been wondering “What is this Etsy shop Elizabeth talks about sometimes?!” — here’s your answer! I’m diving into what I sell, the story of how I started it, and what this shop has taught me about my main design business. It’s fun, and full of life lessons!

Want to shop my Etsy store? Visit https://elizabethmccravy.com/etsy to check it out!

For the full show notes, visit https://elizabethmccravy.com/35!

Use the code “BBPOD”to save 15% on your add on or full site template for a limited time: https://elizabethmccravy.com/shop

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