She Did It Her Way

Latest Episodes:

SDH 476: I'm Doing It My Way (Special Announcement) with Amanda Boleyn Dec 20, 2021

Hello my beautiful listeners! Welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast. This episode is going to be a little bit different in that I have some news to share and I am going to do it in a very full-circle way, joined by my very first podcast guest ever and dear friend, Shauna VanBogart.

This news has been some time in the making and while it certainly is bittersweet and definitely not the easiest to share it’s important to remember that sometimes the things that aren’t the easiest are actually the most necessary.

The purpose of having Shauna on the show is that she will actually be interviewing me and pulling some things out of me, as opposed to me being on the other side of the mic, so to speak.

I hope that this episode gives you permission to pivot, or potentially close a chapter that no longer feels aligned with you, no matter how challenging the transition may be. Especially when you know, in your gut, that it's time for a change.

As always, my beautiful friends, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“Oh, she’s gonna do this.”
“Go inward. Stay out of your head. Stay in your heart and your gut.”

Resources:

Check out how you can use Podia in your business
Get more info about working with Shauna VanBogart

SDH 475: Freelancer to Full-Time Entrepreneur with Emily Mills Dec 13, 2021

Hello everyone, welcome back to another podcast episode. This week I am joined by Emily Mills.Emily is an illustrator, designer, business owner and author. We're going to dive into how she started her business as a side hustle and decided to make her ultimate leap, leaving her corporate job in the rearview mirror and building out her business to what it is today.

Emily describes herself as an illustrator - a big umbrella term covering all of the amazing things she does. Alongside her husband in their business, Emily does animation, whiteboard explainer videos, live event illustration and is the founder of Sketchnote Academy. Inside Sketchnote Academy Emily is a coach and teacher, teaching others how to do something called ‘sketchnoting’.

Sketchnoting is basically writing and drawing at the same time. It helps with memory retention and it’s creative, fun, and overall really fun to look at.

“I never planned on niching down like that. But it turned out that it was a really good melding or marriage of all of my personal passions and skills.”

Her Story

Early on in her journey, Emily found herself working at a church as a graphic designer. It was her second job out of college and she was already feeling the internal struggle of changing jobs and relocating every few years because of the recession. At one point she joined a Facebook group with an author who wrote books about starting your own business and believing in yourself. At first, her goal was to pay off debt and she achieved this through freelancing her graphic design services, because working at a church doesn’t pay much. Through her freelance work she was able to pay off her car as well as her credit cards and realized that she could just keep going and see what happens.

Eventually Emily relocated again to Nashville for a different job, and again, was disillusioned with just how the corporate world is.

“I knew that it wasn't a great fit for me and my personality and my goals and my values.”

Emily found herself double-dipping, so to speak. Her day job offered flex time so she would work 7am-3pm (no lunch break) then head to a co-working space and work on her freelance business until roughly 9pm. In a new city this was a great opportunity to meet people and grow her side hustle at the same time.

She eventually got to the point where she was using her vacation time from her day job to go do freelance client work and when she was almost out of vacation days she decided it was time to make a big decision. After praying over it and fate stepping in, Emily was forced out of her day job and she took it as a sign to make her ultimate leap. As soon as she made that leap she landed her highest paying gig and it continued to snowball and grow from there.

Emily believes in rolling with what falls into your lap. While she loves planning, she has learned that if she simply follows the things that fall into her lap she will have a lot more success and be able to live in the moment.

“I'm just going to do it. It's going to be scary, but everything's going to be okay.”

Emily has achieved some incredible things but one of the things she is most proud of and excited about is Sketchnote Academy.

What does 2022 look like for Emily?

“My biggest goal [for 2022] is kind of shifting the balance needle on client work versus sketchnote Academy. I'm really excited about the things that are happening with sketchnote Academy, it grew a ton this year, more than any other year, and I'm just really excited about maintaining that growth and excitement and reaching more people. So I'm excited to do new courses, I'm excited to keep the community going and maybe even break into coaching and do more small groups or one on one teaching. There's just so much opportunity out in the world and when you start seeing those doors open, it's just really exciting.”

Emily’s Final Note

“I believe everybody has the potential to make the leap and create their own business and I'm excited for all the great things that the world is going to have because you're in it.”

You can connect with Emily on Instagram (@emily_a_mills) and find out more about Sketchnote Academy on her website.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“I never planned on niching down like that. But it turned out that it was a really good melding or marriage of all of my personal passions and skills.”
“She eventually got to the point where she was using her vacation time from her day job to go do freelance client work and when she was almost out of vacation days she decided it was time to make a big decision.”
“I believe everybody has the potential to make the leap and create their own business and I'm excited for all the great things that the world is going to have because you're in it.”

Resources:

Connect with Emily on Instagram
Learn how to Sketchnote with Emily
Grab your copy of The Art of Visual Notetaking by Emily Mills
Find out more about how you can use Podia in your business

SDH 474: How (and Why) to Tap Into Your Intuition Dec 06, 2021

Hello friends! Welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast! In this episode I’m diving into how, and why, you need to learn to start tapping into and trusting your intuition and how doing this can get you to become the best version of your future self, right now.

What is it?

Tapping into your intuition can also be known as listening to your inner voice. It is knowing. Rather than looking outside of ourselves for answers, we instead go inward. It isn’t necessarily what we hear, rather what we feel. It’s that gut feeling. Scientists have said that your intuition can make a decision so quickly that it doesn’t register at the conscious level. Sometimes it feels like knowing that logically, it may not make sense but intuitively it makes all the sense.

Learning to tap into and listen to your intuition is something that everyone is capable of. I believe it to be just like exercising a muscle. Over time, we can expand our capacity to trust our intuition by increasing the exercises and ability to listen and trust. Sometimes you may be nudged to do something and you don’t know why but rather than resisting the nudge because it doesn’t make logical sense, you follow it. You say yes to it.

Tapping into your intuition is something that most people struggle with at first because as humans we can be extremely logical in wanting to know everything and understand why. It requires us to let go of logic, going within ourselves, and trusting.

Why and Benefit?

Following those nudges can help us align ourselves with our passions, life goals, outcomes, the way we live our lives, and so much more. Imagine if you kept getting the feeling or nudge that something was off about your career. But you keep pushing because that’s what you think you should do, until one day you’re overworked, exhausted, burnt out, and finally have a breakdown. It is possible that your intuition nudged you but you didn’t hear it or didn’t want to hear it. Oftentimes we get these nudges but choose to ignore them because listening to them can be scary. It can be where we come face to face with our reality.

The benefit of listening to our intuition can help us align ourselves with the present in order to align us with our future self of tomorrow. Sometimes we don’t know exactly what our life may look like in 6 months or a year but if we can make decisions today that are intuitively led then we can trust that where we are right now is where we should be.

How to Start?

Create space. Part of the challenge of listening to our intuition is that there is so much noise that exists around us that it often makes it difficult to even hear. Sometimes it is about tuning out, to tune in. Limit input; whether that be a social media detox, news detox, reduce time on your cell phone, or creating constraints for less interruptions.
Listen. Listen and wait for those nudges. They can be as simple as deciding what to eat. If you’re not sure what to eat, ask yourself what feels right for you in that moment.
Feel, trust and follow your gut. When you listen, trust, and follow your gut you start to build up capacity and strengthen that muscle.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Scientists have said that your intuition can make a decision so quickly that it doesn’t register at the conscious level.“
“Tapping into your intuition is something that most people struggle with at first because as humans we can be extremely logical in wanting to know everything and understand why.”
“Following those nudges can help us align ourselves with our passions, life goals, outcomes, the way we live our lives, and so much more.”

SDH 473: How to Create Weekly Content Without the Overwhelm with Amanda Boleyn (Rebroadcast) Nov 29, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends!

In this podcast episode I’m sharing all things about why creating consistent content is important and I’m sharing my 5 step process on how to exactly do it without the overwhelm!

In this episode, you will...

Learn how to break down weekly content
Follow a process in producing content that will not overwhelm you
Know about my step by step process when creating content
Discover the importance of SEO
Be more efficient when delivering your content and more!

Insights:

"The sooner you get ready to be ready, the more you're going to get the process into your world, into your life, and into your business."
"Timer is your best friend."

Resources:

She Did It Her Way Training Vault

SDH 472: Find Your Quick Win with Amanda Boleyn Nov 15, 2021

Hello friends, I hope your week is off to a great start! This podcast episode is going to be short and sweet and was inspired by the conversion I shared with Jack Born from Deadline Funnel a few weeks ago on the show. Today, I’m diving into how you can find your ‘quick win’ - how you can get yourself into action, and continually take steps to move forward without getting caught in the cycle of overthinking or overwhelm.

Regardless of where you're at in your online business journey or in your life, the goal of this episode is to teach you how you can get out of your own way and really find that quick win in that moment to help move you forward to that long term goal.

I define a quick win as something that gets you closer to your final destination or your goal. And while it’s typically very simple, it's not necessarily the immediate default action step. Really what stops us from finding our quick win, or achieving our goals, is that our primitive brain loves to overcomplicate some of the things that are very simple. Also, we've been conditioned that success ‘should’ be difficult.

Our primitive brain is designed to protect us and to overthink. Stalling out is one of the things that it can do in the event that it wants to protect us and really what I know to be true is that our primitive brain really wants to know all of the steps in order for you to even get started.

This is something that I've had to personally work through and coach myself on, and took time for me to build, knowing that it's totally okay to not know every single step. Actually, not knowing every single step is an indication that I can take one step forward because I know that if I am taking one step forward, then steps two, three, four, and five will unveil themselves because I took that first step.

I want you to find one thing you can do to move that needle forward. Whether it’s something as simple as signing up for a free webinar and actually attending live or using your network to reach out to an ‘expert’ in the field you’re interested in. Then, let the next steps unveil themselves.

Taking these small steps allows you to feel light about your movement, rather than heavy and constricted.

“Think about your quick win and get into action. Release the ‘how’ by not trying to overthink your way through it.”

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“I define a quick win as something that gets you closer to your final destination or your goal.“
“Stalling out is one of the things that it can do in the event that it wants to protect us and really what I know to be true is that our primitive brain really wants to know all of the steps in order for you to even get started.”
“Think about your quick win and get into action. Release the ‘how’ by not trying to overthink your way through it.”

Resources:

Listen to Episode 470: How to Create Urgency with Your Offers with Jack from Deadline Funnel

SDH 471: How to Get Unstuck with Reese Evans, Founder of Yes Supply Nov 08, 2021

Hello everyone, welcome back to the podcast! This week I am sitting down with the lovely Reese Evans,Founder and CEO of Yes Supply. Reese is a master manifestation and abundance coach, creator of the Yes Supply Method, and is on a mission to teach the world the power of their subconscious mind and universal laws to create the life that they are meant to live.

After starting on her own path with her coaching business and working with dream clients, Reese knew there was something missing. It was getting difficult to maintain 10k and 20k months and she wanted to go so much deeper with her clients to make lasting and deeply impactful shifts on a spiritual, emotional and energetic level, and create more abundance. But she didn't know how. She discovered the power of the subconscious mind - our doorway to the infinite with coaching techniques like neuro-linguistic programming, hypnotherapy, emotional freedom techniques, tapping and energy work she found her answer. Reese now coaches her students in the Yes Supply Method to create six figures as a coach and broke through her income ceiling, now creating six figure months in her global coaching biz.

Reese is a mother, a wife, and a mindset and abundance coach. Growing up she always felt very different from everyone around her. She grew up and went to school in a town where there were very few people of color and was bullied for that. Her mother got into an abusive relationship when she was 10 years old and Reese recalls going to school and acting like everything was just fine, but going home to a home full of violence, verbal and emotional abuse - all because of a toxic person in their life. It severely impacted her self-esteem and how she saw herself, and her ability to love herself.

She finally broke through this, saying;

I remember just having a realization that what other people think of me or what other people say to me doesn't have to be my truth.

While climbing out of her hole of low self-confidence and feeling like she would not achieve anything, she worked at a string of restaurant and retail jobs. She found herself surrounded by people with dreams such as being an entrepreneur, or an artist, but she heard them say over and over, ‘but I could never do that’.

And then one day she found herself wondering…’but what if they could, and are just saying ‘no’ to themselves?’ This thought was quickly followed by the thought of…’what if I’m just saying ‘no’ to myself?’

At the time, Reese was not familiar with the world of online business and really didn’t see what was possible for her. Reese then created a platform with the kind of mentorship she wished she would have had. Beginning with a blog and interviewing people, she shared her own perspective on the world around her. Reese’s business has now grown into so much more as a thriving coaching business. Reese created something out of nothing and just kept saying; ‘I hope this works’, and kept moving forward, never relying on things being perfect.

Reese kept moving, getting out of her comfort zone and despite things not being perfect and the mistakes she made along the way - it has been a massive success.

Reese stands firm that if you are putting your energy into something it should always align with your purpose - because your customers will also feel it if it doesn’t.

“If it's not in the right energy, your ideal customer, your ideal client is going to say something's missing, I don't feel 100% confident, I feel like I should do more research, they feel like they should be more logical rather than having that instinctual trust.”

Something else Reese reminds herself (and her clients) is that money is simply an exchange of value. Before money existed there was bartering:

“I have five tomatoes and you have five potatoes. Let's switch because I don't know how to make potatoes, and you know how to grow tomatoes.
When we stop worrying about the external and we just say, ‘who am I’, ‘what is my body of work that I can put into the world’, and ‘how can I add value in my unique way’; that's how you actually become valuable in that sense. We tend to put so much focus on money, but at the core of it, it's really the exchange of value.”

Want to know more about Yes Supply and how saying ‘yes’ can empower and change you for the better? Visit the Yes Supplywebsite or connect with their team on Instagram.

Until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“I remember just having a realization that what other people think of me or what other people say to me doesn't have to be my truth.”
“And then one day she found herself wondering…’but what if they could, and are just saying ‘no’ to themselves?’ This thought was quickly followed by the thought of…’what if I’m just saying ‘no’ to myself?’”
“When we stop worrying about the external and we just say, ‘who am I’, ‘what is my body of work that I can put into the world’, and ‘how can I add value in my unique way’; that's how you actually become valuable in that sense.”

Resources:

Find Yes Supply on Instagram
Visit the Yes Supply Website
Subscribe to Reese’s YouTube Channel
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza
The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

SDH 470: How to Create Urgency with Your Offers with Jack from Deadline Funnel Nov 01, 2021

Hello, hello my beautiful She Did It Her Way listeners. Welcome back to another podcast episode. Today I have a treat for you; today I am welcoming the very first male voice to the podcast! Please help me welcome Jack Born, of Deadline Funnel. Deadline Funnel is a software tool we use at She Did It Her Way and has provided so much value to our business and can help you to automate certain aspects of your own business, generate more leads, increase your revenue, and ultimately grow and scale your business.

Like so many others, Jack got his start working in corporate America and after several years of working in a few different jobs and positions, he finally came to the conclusion that it just wasn’t for him. After quitting his job on a whim, he quickly realized he needed to figure out his next move, fast.

“It’s the entrepreneurial version of jumping out of the top of the penthouse window and trying to build a plane on the way down before you hit pavement.”

He had an idea for a platform that he wanted to build with something he had experience with which was helping to bring together travel nurses and healthcare workers. With his previous experience in recruiting health care workers this was a familiar space for him, and a need he knew existed. He created this virtual job board, while learning how to build his own website (this was circa 2002). He built what he now calls “the ugliest website you’ve ever seen” and it was off and running. When he was one year in, his wife came to him and told him it was time to decide whether it was worth continuously working various side jobs to keep the business going, or if it was time to go all-in on the business.

He decided it was time to go all-in and gave himself a deadline. He made an announcement, launching, without really fully knowing what his ‘plan’ was going to look like. After sending out email after email, he turned the volume all the way up on the final day, reminding people of the value and the deadline. It took off.

“People can be leaning into your message, they can love your product, or your service; and they're eventually going to buy or they're thinking about buying, but they're just procrastinating. They're on the fence, they're dragging their feet, and the power of a deadline gets people to take action.”

He did this for a while before deciding to learn from someone who he admired, author Perry Marshall, joining his team for nearly six years. But of course, he began to get that entrepreneurial itch again, so we started back in software on the side. Perry knew that he was hiring an entrepreneur and that Jack’s focus started to get pulled away as the software became more and more successful.

Jumping ahead, Jack developed and sold another business before he started building Deadline Funnel. He realized that he wanted to be able to use one of the most powerful and consistent triggers for helping someone make a decision, which is having a deadline using urgency to close a sale. But he wanted to do it in a way that did not sacrifice his own integrity. He started really digging into the specifics of what he was envisioning for this ‘tool’ and discovered that no one else had created anything like it. Enter: Deadline Funnel.

Deadline Funnel, at its core, helps creators (course creators, coaches, consultants, etc. - anyone who is selling something) to be able to maximize their sales by automating them. This traditionally is a very labor intensive process but Deadline Funnel takes out all of those ‘middle steps’ taking care of it for you. It helps creators to scale and grow their reach so they can focus on the end-product.

With a sales page, anyone can show up and make a purchase and it works. However, the typical conversion rate of even the most well written sales letter, depending on the origin of the traffic, is going to be on average around 1%. This typically is not enough for you to be able to buy advertising and to really scale your business. What Deadline Funnel offers is the mechanism to give people a timed deadline, and visually see when their specific offer is expiring.

“It gives you the ability to give someone a special offer with a deadline and keep it accurate across devices and make all of the tough technical stuff just happen automatically.”

When you do a launch, or holiday promotion, typically the biggest sales days are when you first open the cart, and the last day before the sale ends or closes. There's a whole bunch of people who have been paying attention to your Instagram or Facebook lives, your webinars, your emails, your replays, etc.; whatever messaging you're using, people are watching and leaning in, but they just haven't pulled the trigger yet. It's right at the deadline that it's either you're in or you're out and that's when people take action.

One thing Jack is passionate about in his own life is mindfulness. Being present and aware so that he can really focus with perspective on what’s most important. He also says that for his team, having integrity is non-negotiable.

“One thing I that communicate to my team is that no one woke up this morning saying ‘I hope someone has yet another software that I can sign up for monthly or annually’. But the reason why we have 1000s of really happy clients is because we understand that what we do is we help people reach a bigger audience and to automate their business so they can do the things they love with the people they love on a time schedule that works for them.”

Want to see how Deadline Funnel can help you with your next launch? Visit their website, or reach out to a member of Jack’s team for a free screen-share or onboarding call. Their customer service is unparalleled and I can honestly say this first hand that you will not be disappointed with their high-level of service.

To all of my listeners out there, until next week, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“He decided it was time to go all-in and gave himself a deadline. He made an announcement, launching, without really fully knowing what his ‘plan’ was going to look like.“
“He realized that he wanted to be able to use one of the most powerful and consistent triggers for helping someone make a decision, which is having a deadline using urgency to close a sale. But he wanted to do it in a way that did not sacrifice his own integrity.”
“With a sales page, anyone can show up and make a purchase and it works. However, the typical conversion rate of even the most well written sales letter, depending on the origin of the traffic, is going to be on average around 1%.”
“It's right at the deadline that it's either you're in or you're out and that's when people take action.”

Resources:

Check out Deadline Funnel
80/20 Sales and Marketing: The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More by Perry Marshall
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth About Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

SDH 469: How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing with Amanda Boleyn Oct 25, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends, welcome back to another episode of the podcast. This week I’m going to be talking about how to make money with affiliate marketing. We will be diving into how affiliate marketing works, the benefits of affiliate marketing, how to decide which programs to be an affiliate for, how to organize your affiliate links, and finally sharing some final notes on best practices when it comes to affiliate marketing.

This episode will only scratch the surface of everything you can possibly do with affiliate marketing, but I want this to serve as a starting point for anyone who wants to start using affiliate marketing in their business or wants to better utilize it. For the purpose of this episode, we’re discussing how affiliate marketing works when you are an affiliate of someone else's product, course, or software tool.

Webster’s online dictionary defines ‘Affiliate Marketing’ as:

“A marketing arrangement by which an online retailer pays a commission to an external website for traffic or sales generated from its referrals.”

So rather than a company paying for ads to market their product or service, you, as an individual become the marketing ‘arm’ and because you market their product, you are compensated.

When I first started using affiliate marketing it felt ‘icky’. But once I realized that the company may not have made that sale without my recommendation, it became a lot more natural for me to utilize affiliate marketing for my benefit and as long as it is a tool, program, software, etc., that I use and personally believe in. I eventually realized it doesn’t need to feel ‘icky’ at all.

Something thing to keep in mind about affiliate marketing is that it can really be a passive form of income. You don’t need to create the product, you just need to believe in it and recommend it to those you feel would benefit from it, especially when it can fill a gap for your audience. Products or services that you know, like and trust, and you feel aligns with your audience; these are the ones you want to market.

One of the biggest recommendations I have when it comes to affiliate marketing is that you always want to make sure you are aligned with the offer or product and that you’re excited about sharing it and authentic when doing so. Another recommendation I have is to always disclose that you are using affiliate links. It is a good thing to be upfront about them, and in some cases/ locations you’re legally required to do so.

Tips for Getting Organized

Create a Google Sheet (easy!) for all of the affiliate programs you are already signed up for or a part of
Make columns for the name of the company, product/ service name, your login information, the unique URL that you’re given that is specific to you, and any redirect you’ve created for this URL for your own website. (For example, I am an affiliate of Podia. My affiliate URL for Podia includes a long line of numbers and letters that is impossible to remember. So I created a redirect on my Squarespace website to make it easier for my audience to find what they are looking for, and easier for me to remember. So if you go to www.shediditherway.com/podia it will redirect you to my affiliate link.)

There are so many ways to keep your affiliate links and information organized and this is just the tip of the iceberg. I also recommend creating a resource page on your website, keeping all of your recommended resources, with affiliate links, in one place on your website making it easy to find. Additionally you can create individual blog posts, highlighting each of them, digging deeper into why you recommend them. If you really want to exercise affiliate marketing and get into it, you need to make sure you're driving leads or eyeballs to those pages so that people are clicking on those links and purchasing as well.

Another thing to consider is not to piggyback too many affiliate offers (unless that is your sole business) one after another. If you tend to recommend products or services back to back too frequently it becomes too much for your audience. I would rather recommend my top three programs that are really strategic and intentional, that I can focus my time and energy on when it comes to launching and marketing those programs rather than trying to do a bunch of different ones.

I don't think there's a right or wrong way to go about this. This is just more of my personal experience with affiliate marketing. When it comes to affiliate programs that I've been part of it takes work. It's more than just throwing up a landing page and telling people about it once. You have to market the program or product.

Until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“So rather than a company paying for ads to market their product or service, you, as an individual become the marketing ‘arm’ and because you market their product, you are compensated.”
“Something thing to keep in mind about affiliate marketing is that it can really be a passive form of income.”
“I would rather recommend my top three programs that are really strategic and intentional, that I can focus my time and energy on when it comes to launching and marketing those programs rather than trying to do a bunch of different ones.”

Resources:

Visit Pat Flynn’s Website
Check out one of Pat Flynn’s Podcasts

SDH 468: How to Overcome Objections with Amanda Boleyn Oct 18, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends, welcome back to another episode! This week I’m diving into a topic that I absolutely love and feel will be extremely helpful to so many listeners: how to handle objections.

Sales is something that I think can be scary at times, but is absolutely necessary especially if you're a business owner. Learning how to sell with confidence is highly important, whether it’s through customer conversations, sales calls, or learning how to sell in an online digital space using sales pages, landing pages, and through copy and content. But for the purposes of this episode, I want to focus on the piece of a sales conversation specifically if you are a coach, or if you have an offer that has some sort of sales call component to your sales process.

When you get to the end of the sales call, or invite someone to sign up and actually pay you, this is the point when you typically meet resistance. Sometimes the objection is price. It could also be a timing issue, or that they simply don’t have the bandwidth. There are a lot of objections and sometimes the default thinking is to think that each objection is different.

One of the things that I have learned by leading training and experienced myself through sales conversations is that objections tend to be pretty universal. It's how we move through that objection and handle that objection in the moment, that will dictate the outcome of that sales call.

What I have found most commonly happens with the sales conversation when an objection comes up is that we freeze up, get nervous or we start to ‘feature-dump’, listing all of the features, bells, and whistles to our buyer.

One of the top reasons that I have found is that they don't fully understand the value of the offer that you're presenting. They don't quite understand what your program or service does for them. Always make sure you touch on these:

What is the benefit of your coaching program?
Whether it's in a group, or whether it's one on one?
What is the transformation that it will provide?
What is the value that it offers?

The second objection type is really a smokescreen over the actual objection/ problem and it is up to us to uncover and understand the true objection. For one reason or another, they aren’t comfortable being fully honest with you about what is holding them back.

The first thing I want you to learn to do instead is to take a moment and acknowledge. Empathize how they might feel and why they might feel the way that they feel. I recommend acknowledging how they feel, not by saying ‘I can understand’, because that phrase can be very off putting in some situations.

Instead try: “I see how you feel that way”. You’ll experience a very different reaction because you are validating their feelings and letting them know that you’re listening, rather than trying to sell them something. When we try to sell to them when they're not in a position of actually listening, we create more resistance.

The second thing I want you to try when an objection comes up is to get curious. Get into discovery mode and start asking questions.

Tell me a little bit more of what is the most important thing to you right now?
What do you want to achieve in the next six to 12 months?
Since timing is a problem now, what would make it the best time for you?
What would need to be true in order for you to make it the best time, just so I understand?

We want to clarify what is going on and when we can summarize back. This allows us to check our understanding of what they said to make sure that we are on the same page. When their resistance is lower and they aren’t objecting, they're more likely to be open to listening. When their resistance is high, we don’t want to keep pushing because our words will fall on deaf ears.

As we empathize and get curious, we understand, restate, and summarize back to them what we heard. That lets us know that we're on the same page. Then we can proceed forward in how we want to respond. Maybe we bring up a few different points that we haven't discussed, or maybe we reiterate some of the benefits of the program and how it's going to help them overcome some of their objections.

The last piece I want to offer you are the things that we can do to reduce the number of objections that we get.

Think about your sales intake form. When someone signs up for a discovery or sales call with you, what are the questions that you are asking on that form? Do they provide you with significant information that will put you in a stronger position when you go into the sales meeting? Or are they vague questions such as ‘tell me about yourself’? Or , can you qualify people before hopping on a sales call? When we can qualify sooner at the top of the funnel, it makes it more efficient overall saving you time and energy.

If you find that you are hearing the same objecting over and over - identify that and bring it up sooner during the call, rather than waiting until the end to address it.

You can also optimize your FAQ’s on your website. Put those objections in there along with your response.

Lastly, figure out your mindset going into sales calls. Are you nervous, excited, steady/ grounded/ confident in your offer? Do you believe in your offer? If not, let's go back and look at your mindset.

Remember, friends:

Repetition builds confidence.

We're not going to win them all, but if we can win one more out of 10, we can increase our conversion rate, thus increasing our revenue. Learning how to effectively sell with confidence takes time. It’s not something we are born doing and we have to learn each step to get better and to keep moving that needle forward.

Until next week, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“One of the things that I have learned by leading training and experienced myself through sales conversations is that objections tend to be pretty universal.“
“As we empathize and get curious, we understand, restate, and summarize back to them what we heard. That lets us know that we're on the same page.”
“Instead try: “I see how you feel that way”. You’ll experience a very different reaction because you are validating their feelings and letting them know that you’re listening, rather than trying to sell them something.”
“Repetition builds confidence.”

SDH 467: How to Create Self-Discipline and Drive Within Yourself with Amanda Boleyn (Rebroadcast) Oct 11, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends!

This podcast episode is all about how to create self-discipline and drive within yourself. Self-discipline is a byproduct of knowing your why and knowing what needs to happen in order to accomplish your goals whether they are business or personal.

Know your three:

What does your compelling future look like? What are your goals (This is your WHAT)
Know your WHY. (This is where your drive and inspiration come from)
Reinforce with self-discipline (This is your HOW)

In this episode you will:

Learn why you must have a compelling future that relates to your goals
Know your WHY behind your compelling future and goals
How to reinforce your goals with self-discipline
Learn how and why your thoughts create the reality you are living today
Understand the importance of not setting goals because you believe they will make you happy
Learn what a growth mindset vs fixed mindset is

And more!

Insights:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” - Wayne Dyer
“If you leave your growth to randomness you’ll always live in the land of mediocrity.” - Brendon Burchard

Resources:

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Brooke Castillo - The Life Coach School

SDH 466: 5 Phases of Launching a Group Coaching Program with Amanda Boleyn Oct 04, 2021

Hello friends! Welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast! I’m so excited to be here with you today because today I’m going to cover the 5 phases of launching your group coaching program , without the overwhelm. This episode is for anyone who wants to:

Launch a group coaching program
Ultimately launch a course and is going to use group coaching to understand what their audience wants and needs so they can package it as a standalone course

The Quick List:

Understand what people want
Create your opt-in
Define your offer
Prepare for lift-off
Launch, serve & scale

I'm so excited for you to dig into each of these phases so you can tackle launching that group coaching program of your own. I hope you have an amazing week and until next time, keep doing it your way, my friends!

Resources:

Check out Convertkit
Listen to Megan Harrison’s Guest Interview
SDH 426: Email List Building with Amanda Boleyn
SDH 427: Create Your 1st Freebie in 5 Steps with Amanda Boleyn
SDH 428: Create Your Opt-in Page & Email Sequence + 10 Places to Share Your Freebie with Amanda Boleyn

SDH 465: Mapping Out Your Podcast for Success with Amanda Boleyn Sep 27, 2021

Hello friends, welcome back! This week we’re shaking things up and I want to give you a behind-the-scenes look at one of our recent coaching calls from Podcast Your Way.

During this call we dive into how to map out and successfully launch your podcast. Here’s a glimpse of what Lacrecia and I discuss during this coaching call:

How to choose a podcast name/ best naming practices for naming your podcast
Choosing the theme of your podcast
Defining content buckets
Mapping out your content and future offers

I hope this helps you take a look at some of the pieces of your own podcast puzzle to keep moving that needle forward!

Until next time friends, keep doing it your way.

SDH 464: Learning to Stop Managing Other People's Insecurities & Expectations with Tiffany Largie Sep 20, 2021

Hello friends! Welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast! This week I’m sitting down withTiffany Largie and I cannot wait to share all of the amazing details about Tiffany’s story and her business. Tiffany Largie is a powerhouse female entrepreneur who went from being a single mom to building not one, not two, but three six-figure businesses and a seven figure business, all by the age of 30 (incredible!)!

Tiffany began with no capital but sheer hard work and determination. Today, she helps people create the income, influence, and impact they dream of. She's the CEO of Do The Damn Thing Nation; a group which offers business training and support to idea driven entrepreneurs. She speaks around the world on sales strategies, entrepreneurship and profit building and she has dedicated her life to end small-thinking, worldwide.

A Backwards Glance

Looking back at where she once stood, Tiffany remembers being stuck in a negative space, mentally and physically. Despite being told by her friends and family all of the things she ‘should’ do, and where she would be ‘enough’. Where they felt she would be valuable. But for Tiffany, that just wasn’t working. She needed to do her own thing; her own way. Knowing full well she did not need a college degree, certificate, or even a husband, Tiffany decided to make a decision to live by her own value, and not the value anyone else placed on her.

“I wasn't able to own my value, because I was placing my value and the value that they saw. A lot of times women specifically [look] in the mirror and the value that we see for ourselves is not actually us.”

Tiffany owned her story and decided to live by her own truth and live only for herself (and of course, her babies).

“Forget being truthful, other people, you just have to be true to prove truthful to yourself.”

Working through the shame and embarrassment of her past Tiffany cut out all of the pieces (and people) out of her life, for good, and has never looked back..

Owning It

Tiffany lives her life owning her value and has built a massive worldwide following and grown her team tremendously. She has created some incredible things, all despite not having a college degree and without a fancy certification. People engage with Tiffany because of her heart, and what she puts out into the universe.

“It's because my human card, my heart is connected to their heart. My human journey is a human journey.”

At a point in her journey, Tiffany decided it was time to go back to the basics and began generating leads the old fashioned way - simply going door to door and introducing herself to her new community. Her sales were cycling upwards of $1 million dollars and when she found herself expecting her next little bundle she once again started over and began doing things like adding team members to her growing company. She saw it as a great opportunity to open the door and bring someone in to do the things she didn’t enjoy or excel at.

If there is one thing Tiffany’s journey tells us, is that there really will never be a ‘right’ time and that her best option was to always just do what she needed to do and felt right.

“I just made a decision to do everything my own way.”

I also highly recommend checking outCrushing It With Your Story, which details the nine must-haves inside of your story.

Tiffany’s signature course,Night School, is a highly unique opportunity (only opens quarterly so check the website for the next time it will be opening!) for those who cannot attend Tiffany’s incredible live events to get their hands on what Tiffany offers. It is a virtual room where Tiffany teaches her content live over the course of a week.

You can also connect with Tiffany personally on Instagram (@tiffanylargie).

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Knowing full well she did not need a college degree, certificate, or even a husband, Tiffany decided to make a decision to live by her own value, and not the value anyone else placed on her.”
“People engage with Tiffany because of her heart, and what she puts out into the universe.“
“I just made a decision to do everything my own way.”

Resources:

Visit Tiffany’s website
Connect with Tiffany on Instagram
Get the Deets on Night School (use CODE for a special offer)
Follow Do The Damn Thing Nation on Instagram
Find out more about how to Crush It With Your Story
Listen to the Do The Damn Thing podcast
Who Not How: The Formula to Achieve Bigger Goals Through Accelerating Teamwork by Dan Sullivan

SDH 463: Turning Your Zone of Genius Into A Highly Profitable Online Course with Megan Harrison Sep 13, 2021

Hello friends! Welcome back to another podcast episode. This week I’m excited to welcome Megan Harrison to the podcast. Megan is the founder of a digital online agency that offers training courses and online workshops. She helps digital entrepreneurs scale their businesses by turning their zone of genius into highly profitable online courses. Megan has worked with some of the world's top leaders such as Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi. In the past year, her client’s programs have impacted 10’s of 1000’s of lives and generated over $65 million in revenue.

When Megan first started her journey roughly eight years ago she specialized in marketing, automation, and a little bit of website design. It continued to morph over the next few years and eventually made the switch to online courses, membership sites, and digital products.

Megan lives by the ‘riches were in the niches’ and believes it reigns true for her and her business. She became a specialist and expert in her niche and is continuously striving to dig deeper into that.

Looking Back

Megan’s first job was actually in hospital administration where she worked after college. She loved it and having studied pre-med in college, it was a great fit for her business minded-self. After about 5 years it had started to become more monotonous than what she really wanted with her life and decided it was time to start something on her own. After attending a Tony Robbins event (her story really does come full circle) she gave herself six months to start a business.

Megan actually found one of her old journals and reflected on those early ‘plans’ and also her backup plans. Things like babysitting, dog sitting, resume writing, and other odd jobs. Almost exactly six months later she put in her resignation.

“I think when you declare something and you make a decision early, like on a deep level, it goes into your subconscious. The universe starts to align to help you get there and to reach whatever that decision was that you made.”

Her original business was much more social media-focused than it is now, running contests, etc. But it wasn’t what she was passionate about. When she signed up for a $2,000 Marie Forleo course she realized that not only had she just paid Marie Forleo $2,000 for a course but 1000’s of others did as well. It signaled in her that it could be a very lucrative business and saw a huge opportunity for growth.

Creating the Black Card Experience

It wasn’t until a few years later that Megan got ‘the call’ from Tony Robbins' team to work with them on creating a course (she still has those Zoom calls saved!). They had seen the work Megan had done with others, such as Ryan Levesque with The Ask Method Masterclassand they explained that they wanted to be able to provide their clients with a ‘black card experience’. This included aesthetics and an overall WOW factor to each piece. With so many people in the online course space, very few offer what Megan does, which is taking courses off of traditional platforms like Thinkific and building premium-level course design development. These individuals usually have already had several successful courses across traditional platforms (think Thinkific, Teachable, or Kajabi) and are now ready to take it to the next level, building it on WordPress with a high focus on user experience.

What does the Black Card Experience look like? Think of even the smallest details. The user experience, not just navigating through content but engaging with each piece of the course experience. Megan teaches course creators how to integrate different systems and platforms into the membership site and brings everything together, without using a cookie-cutter course template.

“The world is your oyster, when you're creating it [on] WordPress, with the design system.”

Another thing Megan’s company does differently, and extremely well, is they continuously overdeliver, reserving the most bespoke experiences and websites for her highest level clients.

Megan is extremely passionate about her business and her clients. She loves coaching, teaching, and having courses, but she also loves public speaking. On the agency side, she is passionate about actually working hands-on with clients. This also makes Megan highly unique and much more valuable since she is excellent at getting her hands dirty, working in the trenches with her clients.

Something else that keeps Megan motivated is to always have multiple things in motion. She is very multifaceted in that it really helps her stay motivated.

“It can be really easy to be told that you should do only the one thing that's the scalable thing, because you're going to make more money. Whereas sometimes it's not about some of those factors. It's more about, what do I want holistically for what I do on a daily basis.”

Two of the most common pitfalls Megan sees when building their course are:

People wanting to know exactly what each piece of the puzzle looks like before they even start
Creating the course content before the outline (pro-tip: create your outline first, content second)

Megan’s Results Centered Training Formula:

Where are your customers right now
What are you promising to deliver/solve for them
What do your customers need to do to get to that end result
What do your customers need to know to get to that end result
Use action igniters (worksheets/ templates/ swipe files/ etc.), engagement amplifiers (social learning, building communities)

Want to connect with Megan and learn more about what her business offers? Check out her website, subscribe to her YouTube channel, or connect with her on Facebook or Instagram (@megankharrison).

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Megan lives by the ‘riches were in the niches’ and believes it reigns true for her and her business.”
“With so many people in the online course space, very few offer what Megan does, which is taking courses off of traditional platforms like Thinkific and building premium-level course design development.”
“Another thing Megan’s company does differently, and extremely well, is they continuously overdeliver, reserving the most bespoke experiences and websites for her highest level clients.”

Resources:

Visit Megan’s Website
Subscribe to Megan’s YouTube Channel
Follow Megan on Facebook
Connect with Megan on Instagram
The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield

SDH 462: Her First 100K with Tori Dunlap Sep 06, 2021

Hello, She Did It Her Way listeners. Please give a huge welcome to the lovely Tori Dunlap! Tori is an internationally recognized money and career expert, and founder of Her First $100K. She got her start when she saved $100,000 by the age of 25 (incredible, right?), quit her job in marketing, and launched her company to fight financial inequality by giving women actual resources to better their financial situation. Tori has helped over 1 million women negotiate salaries, pay off debt, build savings and invest. She has been featured on Good Morning America, New York Times, BBC, Time, People, CNN, New York Magazine, Forbes, CNN, NBC, BuzzFeed, and more.

Tori got her first taste of being an entrepreneur when she was only 9 and had her own candy vending machine company. By the time she graduated high school she owned 15 of these machines and eventually sold her company to another young (10 years old) entrepreneur, ironically also named Tori.

Growing up, Tori knew owning a business at such a young age was rare but from a young age, her parents financially educated her telling her to never rely on credit cards and instilled lessons in her on learning how to budget, invest, and negotiate.

By the time Tori graduated college in May of 2016, all of her female friends were coming to her for financial advice and guidance. As she moved into adulthood she realized she was entering into a very different environment than expected and knew that having a financial foundation was imperative for every woman in America and truly the best form of protest against inequitable unjust systems and companies. She wanted to teach other women to be able to use money as a tool to make choices about their life.

Tori launched Her First $100K as a blog in December 2016, while working her 9-5 job in social media marketing. After building up momentum launching her business Tori was featured on Good Morning America and soon after quit her job to work her own business full-time.

In her first full year in business as an entrepreneur (2020) she had roughly 30,000 followers, and has now grown her audience to over 2 million followers. She also is the founder and host of the number one business podcast called Financial Feminist with over 1.4 million downloads in only 3 months.

Tori‘s goal (one of many) is to help women achieve financial equality and to make change through a larger lens.

If you would have told her five years ago, a college graduate who went to school for organizations, communication, and theater, that she would be a financial educator full-time, she would have laughed in your face. Her plan was to take the corporate world by storm reaching the position of VP of Marketing by 30. But you know what they say about the best-laid plans…

Two weeks in, Tori found herself working for someone she just couldn’t respect and had already determined that the corporate world was just not for her. She had no desire to help make someone else rich while being told that she could only take a certain number of days off per year. It was time to look outside the corporate box. She set her sights on being able to leave behind the corporate world by the time she turned 30. To do this she needed her side-hustle to make as much, or more than, her corporate salary brought in. At the age of 25, it had already happened, and after months of talking herself out of it, it was time to make her leap.

Despite growing up with financially minded parents, they were resistant to her quitting her job because it was the ‘stable’ choice. Leaving behind her corporate salary and benefits meant she was taking a risk and they weren’t fully on board with that yet. Despite it all, she took the risk.

Tori is a huge fan of not only taking risks but also setting and going for BIG goals. She also likes to remind people, notably women, that the subject of money is NOT taboo and that the narrative society has placed around talking about money is simply not accurate.

“The patriarchy tells us don't talk about money. Talking about money is bad. Talking about money is impolite. [It] keeps them in power, they profit off of our silence, right? If they tell us don't talk about money, they're talking about money, they get to maintain social order, they get to maintain their power.”

Wanting money and wanting power is not bad and these beliefs should not be perpetuated.

“I want the ability to donate to causes I believe in, or take my best friend out for dinner, or have kids, or not have kids, or get married out of love, and not out of financial dependency.”

Tori also reminds women that just because they are female, does not automatically make them ‘bad at math’. If she, as a theater major, can do it you can rock your finances, too.

Tori’s Top Personal Financial Tips:

Automate your savings

Make (and keep!) a monthly money-date with yourself

Get clear on what you want to spend discretionary income on

Tori’s Top Business Financial Tips:

Know and track every number you have (the BS big spreadsheet)

Figure out your ‘ramen noodle’ number

Set aside money for taxes before spending

Want to hang out with Tori and see what Her First $100K is all about? Reach out to her on Instagram (@herfirst100k), check her out on Tiktok, or visit the website.

Until next time, friends, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“As she moved into adulthood she realized she was entering into a very different environment than expected and knew that having a financial foundation was imperative for every woman in America and truly the best form of protest against inequitable unjust systems and companies.“
“Tori‘s goal is to help women achieve financial equality and to make change through a larger lens.
“She also likes to remind people, notably women, that the subject of money is NOT taboo and that the narrative society has placed around talking about money is simply not accurate.”

Resources:

Visit Her First $100K
Grab a copy of Tori’s book
Connect with Tori on Instagram
Find Tori on TikTok
Listen to the Financial Feminist podcast
Ways to work with Tori
Create on Canva
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Get the deets on Get Your Sheet Together by Mallory Rowan

SDH 461: BTS of Going From $0 to $1,000,000 (and Giving Yourself Permission to Step Into Bigger Dreams) with The Product Boss Aug 30, 2021

Hello friends! Welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast! I am so excited to be back with biz besties, Jacqueline and Minna from The Product Boss. This fabulous duo first appeared on the podcast in episode 332 on May 13, 2019. We’re going to dive into some of the changes they have gone through personally as well as how their business has evolved.

A Recap

The Product Boss helps physical product based business owners level up their businesses via marketing and sales strategies and they truly believe and understand that there's a different path to profit for every business owner. The Product Boss allows that space for their business owners to decide what works for them and helps them lift the glass ceiling they’ve set for themselves and to realize they can make any amount of money that they want to get the lifestyle they hope for.

They remind business owners that their business is simply the vehicle to their dream life. Whatever they're building, how they're living, what they're working so hard for, etc., is in an effort towards their dream life.

Being moms themselves, they know that dreams come in all shapes and sizes, each one being unique and different from the other. They help these business owners by bringing them into their community, showcasing to each that you can make as much money as you want, and live your dream life. Whatever that looks like to you.

They also often emphasize the importance of remembering that you should never rely on anyone who is an ‘overnight success’. Things happen, growing pains are inevitable and it is important to be able and willing to pivot as needed along the way. Just make it work for you.

Shop 1 In 5 + 2020

At the end of last year, The Product Boss launched the Small Business Shopping Directory and the Shop 1 in 5pledge. The intention was to commit to making 1 out of every 5 purchases during the holiday season from a small business, even providing a directory to help shoppers find exactly what they were looking for. It was only intended to be a 3-month project, but here we are nearly a year later and with such an amazing response from it, they’ve nurtured it and allowed it to grow.

They have now hired a whole team dedicated to this project as well as building the platform from scratch. They have also spent around $100,000 relaunching the Small Business Shopping Directory. When they first came up with the idea, they weren’t entirely sure it would take off, but their passion was so great that they were willing to take the risk and to say that it has paid off would be a massive understatement.

The Product Boss has also grown from the inside, leaning into one another, relying on their team and building this incredible community of business owners and teaching them to lean into their community and tribe as well.

The tipping point for their business would certainly be when the pandemic hit. They saw so many people who were stuck and knew that was their time, more than ever before, to show up for their clients, community, students and audience, and that’s exactly what they did. They showed their own struggles, opening the doors to their own homes and lives, more so than ever before, and reminded them they were in it together, bonding with their community.

In the beginning of 2020 (pre-pandemic), they set a goal to reach $1,000,000 for the year and when they reached their goal in October of 2020, they celebrated in Minna’s Iowa garage (thank you social distancing) with a bottle of bubbly. When the pandemic happened, they weren’t sure they would reach their goal. But they kept showing up, and not just for the numbers, but for their community.

One of the biggest things they have learned is they are capable of things bigger than they have ever imagined.

Big Things To Close Out 2021

The Product Boss has a few exciting things happening to close out 2021. First, they will be speaking at the annual She Did It Her Way Summit (yay!) in October and second, they are hosting a holiday promotional challenge called Rock Your Holiday Promotions.

As we know, the most profitable time of the year for product based businesses is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The Rock Your Holiday Promotions challenge is designed to help product based business owners kickstart the holiday season by helping them figure out what their promotions are, what they’re going to sell, what their discounts are going to be and actually help them build those promotions so that they're ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Having all of this worked out ahead of time will allow business owners to go into the holiday season fully prepared and confident in their promotions, and will also allow them to enjoy the holidays with loved ones. This free 5-day challenge is happening in September and you can get all of the details and register right here.

Lastly, if you follow The Product Boss or listened to episode 332, you’ll know all about The Product Boss’s signature course, Multi-Stream Machine. This game-changing course will be opening its doors one more time in 2021 so make sure you get your name on the list to be the first to know when registration opens.

Until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“Things happen, growing pains are inevitable and it is important to be able and willing to pivot as needed along the way.“
“Just make it work for you.”
“The Product Boss has also grown from the inside, leaning into one another, relying on their team and building this incredible community of business owners and teaching them to lean into their community and tribe as well.”
“One of the biggest things they have learned is they are capable of things bigger than they have ever imagined.”

Resources:

Check out The Product Boss website
Connect with The Product Boss on Instagram
Listen to the Podcast
Get the scoop on the Rock Your Holiday Challenge
Take the pledge to Shop 1 in 5
Enroll in Multi-Stream Machine
Hear episode 332
Be the first to know when registration opens for the She Did It Her Way Summit

SDH 460: Going All In With No Safety Net with Steph Gorton Aug 23, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends! This week I’m so excited to sit down with the lovely and talented Steph Gorton! Steph is a business coach out of Perth, Australia who left behind her corporate 9-5 and built an incredible online business where she coaches women who are in the startup phase of their business how to follow in her footsteps and scale their business from zero to six figures. While she is a business coach, what Steph truly does is empower women to simply dream bigger and believe in themselves enough to go after those dreams.

When Steph first started on her entrepreneurial journey she was riddled with self-doubt. She was terrified to fail and scared of being judged, especially by those closest to her. She just needed someone to believe in her, more than she believed in herself and she came close to giving up many times. So when she began coaching, she wanted to be able to give others that amazing gift of believing in them, the way she needed someone to do for her.

With so many online resources, what stands in the way of most people taking action on their dreams is their own mindset and the fear of whether or not what they want to actually do will work. This is what Steph helps her clients achieve.

Steph’s Corporate Journey

It didn’t start out that way however. Like the majority of us, Steph started out in a corporate job and spent six months studying journalism in college before deciding that it was just not the best fit for her and that college wasn’t the right path for her. After some traveling and soul searching Steph found herself working for Aldi’s and helping them bring their stores to Perth. Then, after working for them for five years and helping them build their way across Perth she found herself enjoying her job and making six-figures, and figured she had really ‘made it’.

But at only 25, how could she be at the pinnacle of her entire career? Is this as good as it would get or is there more? She began to grow bored at the thought of doing the same thing forever and wanted to start ‘moving’. Without a degree she found it difficult to find something that would allow her to continuously grow her salary and her experience because a degree seemed to be at the top of every list of job requirements. With this realization, Steph knew she needed to start something of her own and launched her first small business. Once she had that taste of being an entrepreneur, nothing was going to hold her back.

Being in this transitional state and also experiencing a traumatic breakup Steph found herself looking forward, not back.

“I think that a lot of good things come out of the depths of the dark.”

Making Her Leap

Her first startup was focused on helping women find connections through new hobbies and interests. It was a workshopping business created around hobbies such as pottery painting, macrame, resin work, etc. and all of the workshops were hosted in a fun and unique environment where they could help women cultivate the confidence in spending time alone. What made this even more pivotal was the fact that there was nothing like this in her area. Steph saw a need and fulfilled it. It was a massive success and took off very quickly allowing her to quit her job after only nine months.

While it was a massive success, it wasn’t an overnight success. No one bought tickets to her first workshop, but she picked herself up and just kept going. Empowering herself to keep moving the needle forward is what drives her in her current business, helping to teach women how to believe in themselves.

Steph also eventually came into the realization that she should create something to bring in continuous revenue, so she launched a mini course. When COVID hit, Steph took another massive step forward and decided to start showing up even more for her fellow business owners. She wanted to show them she was there for them and support them. To do this she ran a low-cost 4-week challenge for female business owners and at the end of the challenge offered a program they could join in one of the biggest times of need. Again, it was a huge success.

She taught them how to pivot and transition. How to get past the mindset blocks, how to overcome, become more confident, and show up for your audience in their times of need. Once she began coaching, she could see movement.

“Once I was put into a business coaching role, I could see that it had legs. I then started to resent my other business.”

Evolution Into Coaching

She eventually made the heartbreaking decision to sell her business and keep moving forward. She still loves watching the business thrive and is amazed with what the new owners have done. It was very satisfying to hand over the reins to someone and watch it keep growing; it gives her a sense of bittersweet relief.

After selling her business she had some time where self-doubt crept in and feared that without that business she would become nothing and it took a lot of self reflection to overcome those fears.

Steph has now built her coaching business from the ground up, evolving it into a full team. She has learned that having a great team around her can allow her to do even more than when she tried to go it alone and knows that the investment of a good team in her business is a wise one. Her biggest piece of advice to new business owners is this:

“It really comes down to [the fact that] you have to be able to get people results. You've got to create systems to help people elicit their areas of genius, help [them] to find what they're really good at and what they do really well, and stop forcing them to do all the stuff they hate. Because it just takes us away from wanting to grow the businesses.”

She also firmly believes that most business owners choose to stop because they just feel like there's too much to do and to figure out. If they’re not even enjoying it anymore, because they’re not even doing the thing that they love to do.

You can connect with Steph via Instagram (@stephgorton__) and also check out her website.

Until next time friends, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“She was terrified to fail and scared of being judged, especially by those closest to her.”
“I think that a lot of good things come out of the depths of the dark.”
“After selling her business she had some time where self-doubt crept in and feared that without that business she would become nothing and it took a lot of self reflection to overcome those fears.”

Resources:

Visit Steph’s website
Connect with Steph on Instagram
Winging It: Stop Thinking, Start Doing: Why Action Beats Planning Every Time by Emma Isaacs

SDH 459: Unapologetically Getting To Exactly Where She Wants To Be with LaToya Shambo Aug 16, 2021

Hello friends, welcome back to another episode of the podcast! This week I’m so excited to sit down with the lovely LaToya Shambo, founder ofBlack Girl Digital. Black Girl Digitalis a premier influencer-marketing agency geared towards a black female audience that has worked with VH1, MTV and a whole host of other brands. In their five years in business, Black Girl Digital has earned more than 100 million impressions and during COVID-19 launched a digital platform where they can carefully vet all influencers and manage the campaign relationship between brands and black female influencers.

Born in Brooklyn and raised in Houston, LaToya originally intended to go into the music business and while that may not have worked out as planned, what did happen was even better. She went into marketing and advertising and from there planned to move into radio sales. While in school, LaToya heard the director speak and was excited to make her move. She reached out to him and asked about applying for a position – the stop was that she was still a few months out from graduation and the position required the candidate be a graduate. Transitioning again, she began working as an intern and when graduation finally rolled around and it came time to start finding a job she landed at an agency doing media buying for McDonalds. This was new for LaToya. She didn’t know anything about the world of advertising from that perspective. Her experience began on the agency side of the marketing world and from there skyrocketed.

LaToya now knew she didn’t want to follow the traditional path of TV or radio advertising. She knew she wanted to be in the digital space. She shifted gears to pharmaceuticals and learned about being meticulous in media planning, especially in the realm of product launches.

Eventually, LaToya received a call to work at Spike Lee’s agency, DBB, and after dabbling there she decided it still was not far enough into the digital space for her. Once again, it was time for a pivot. She then landed at Complex and after 7 years and working in 3 departments she had helped to build a lot of the processes and protocols across the functional departments. She knew she was working in the direction of her goals and was finally seeing what the digital world looked like, just didn’t know yet the full scope.

As an entrepreneur at heart, LaToya had dabbled in starting businesses here and there but still didn’t really understand or realize her full purpose yet. She knew she wanted to be in the business of advertising, but she also knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. But what did that actually look like? Complex was an eye opener and she decided that this was what she wanted it to look like. But does she just stop there, or should she keep going?

After a series of unexpected events, LaToya realized she was still standing for a reason and it was time for her to start operating within that reason and discover her true purpose.

“I know what my purpose is; I'm going to create an agency just like this.”

One thing I absolutely love about LaToya’s journey is that she is so unapologetic when she realizes its just time to move on. She doesn’t let her thoughts keep her from moving closer to her dreams. She also doesn’t allow herself to get mentally stuck and does allow herself to explore different roles and avenues. The vulnerability and transparency LaToya shared about her journey, and all of the obstacles she pushed through, is absolutely inspiring and beautiful. She learned how to navigate through problems and not let them stop her from achieving her goals. Her journey is such a beautiful reminder that we can't change our circumstances, but we can change how we react to what life gives us.

To learn how you can work with Black Girl Digital, find them on Instagram (@BlackGirlDigital) or connect with LaToya personally (@LaToyaShambo).

Until next time friends, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“She knew she was working in the direction of her goals and was finally seeing what the digital world looked like, just didn’t know yet the full scope.“
“She knew she wanted to be in the business of advertising, but she also knew she wanted to be an entrepreneur. But what did that actually look like?“
“I know what my purpose is; I'm going to create an agency just like this.”

Resources:

Get the deets on Black Girl Digital on Instagram
Connect with LaToya on Instagram
Visit the Black Girl Digital website
Google Workspace
Milanote
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

SDH 458: Mindset Reset with Natalie Bacon Aug 09, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends! This week I’m so excited to welcome back the lovely and incredible Natalie Bacon. Natalie and I came into each other’s world between three and four years ago and our friendship has evolved into something I am truly grateful and appreciative for. Natalie is a previous guest of the podcast (find her first episode here) and today we’re going to dive into what she has been doing since she was on the podcast in 2018, how she has personally changed since, and how her business has evolved.

Natalie is a law school graduate, a CFP, and a graduate of The Life Coach School. She started her journey as a blogger, selling her online courses, and eventually pivoted her business into a life coaching program called Grow You. As a member of Grow You I can tell you first hand, her program is truly transformational.

The pivot for Natalie to start offering a membership program versus individual courses was a natural one. She had already grown her business to six-figures and from the beginning knew she was interested in personal development. She pivoted from offering six individual courses to a membership program where she could host all of the courses in one place. This also made it a super easy decision because the price point is so accessible because as long as you’re a member of Grow You, you’ll receive access to all of the courses Natalie offers.

Now, we’re into summer of 2021 and Natalie’s life has changed immeasurably. She recently got married, moved to Charleston (another commonality in our friendship), and is expecting a baby boy this winter. Her income has also grown from the 100K she made in 2018 to now 625K for the past 12 months.

Natalie has also taken a more holistic approach in her business where she is working under 40-hours per week (from home!), and is still able to grow her business and continually help women with mindset. She also is living in a space that she calls,

Living in the end.

In this space she has learned how to produce twice as much, but in half the time. After spending years living in ‘production mode’ this is a beautiful internal balancing act that allows her to really feel relaxed in the present moment. This has been the greatest measure of her growth, even though less quantifiable than say, revenue.

This month, Natalie is hosting a 5-dayMindset Reset. From August 23-27, this one-time workshop is something that she has never before offered and I’m so excited to share all of the details with you!

Natalie has created this incredible 5-day workshop, where women (men are welcome too, but the content is geared towards women) can get access to coaching tools that they have never experienced before. She teaches how to uncover your thought errors, which is another incredible tool to reconnect the mind with the body. You’ll learn how to choose new thoughts and live from those, creating for yourself a new future, rather than creating your future from your past.

This 5-day course is packed with so much value and you will not want to miss it. This is an amazing investment of your time and energy and bonus, it is only $19 for full access!

If you’ve ever wanted a peek into what working with a life coach is all about, you will not want to miss this one-time workshop, so make sure you register now to save your seat.

Until next week, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“As a member of Grow You I can tell you first hand, her program is truly transformational.”
“After spending years living in ‘production mode’ this is a beautiful internal balancing act that allows her to really feel relaxed in the present moment.”
“If you’ve ever wanted a peek into what working with a life coach is all about, you will not want to miss this one-time workshop, so make sure you register now to save your seat.”

Resources:

Join Natalie’s 5-Day Mindset Reset
Listen to Natalie’s first SDIHW Episode
Find out more about Grow You
Connect with Natalie on Instagram
The Power of Bad by John Tierney

SDH 457: Making the Leap From Subcontracting To Playing A Game of Her Own with Jahaan Blake Aug 02, 2021

Hello friends! This week I’m sitting down with the amazing Jahaan Blake. Jahaan is a sports expert turned career coach who helps high-achieving women in the sports and entertainment industries lose the feeling of being stuck, frustrated and defeated and finally find their voice so they can tackle whatever is keeping them from getting exactly what they want in their career.

During Jahaan’s 18-year career working in sports, including working with 3 major league teams (Red Sox, Dodgers, & Cubs), her favorite part of her job was always helping others see their full potential. She loved it so much that she finally made the leap and made a business out of it. Whether her clients want to break into the sports industry, take their performance to the next level, or own a place at the executive table, Jahaan provides incredible coaching programs to help them accelerate their career.

Jahaan also is the host of her own podcast, but this time she is sitting on the other side of the mic getting to answer the questions herself, which is always so fun to do!

Throughout her years in the industry Jahaan has learned that when working within your industry you can actually gain a very unique perspective, knowledge and experience - much different than what you would learn in a college classroom setting. She learned valuable life skills and lessons that she still uses to this day like how to navigate the internal politics of an organization, how to advocate for yourself, and how to lead a meeting. These are the things that no one likes to talk about, but things you need to know.

“You can either learn just by trial by fire, and some people just want to accelerate their career and get support on those core things and help them to have that dream career and get exactly what they want.”

When Jahaan started down her career path working for the Boston Red Sox, she was making $6 an hour (what?!) as an ambassador at Fenway Park. At that time she was also working on getting her masters degree so she was focused on working part time, getting her feet wet in the industry. She quickly decided that she wanted to transition into a full-time role with the organization and advocated for herself to do exactly that. She took her part-time position and created a new role for the organization as a coordinator, a much needed position that they were lacking. She learned how to manage a team of her peers, where she led them to consistently deliver positive fan experiences at the park.

Eventually, it was time for her to move on, and Jahaan’s boss moved to LA to work for the Dodgers. After convincing him it was a good move for him, she decided it could also be an excellent move for her. She took her own advice, moved to LA and began working for the Dodgers as well. She also made her biggest salary jump and took a huge promotion in her new role.

When a divorce struck the owners of the team, things quickly turned ugly. This allowed Jahaan to pivot once again, setting her sights on Chicago to work for the Cubs. This position didn’t come quite as easily as the others, but she was so passionate about what she had to offer that she reached out directly to the new team owners to apply for their open position as a Chief Hospitality Officer. This was her job, and she was doing what it took to get it. In fact, she was so passionate about it that she not only emailed the Cubs to get it, but she also FedEX’ed them a letter. This struck a chord and a week later she had an interview scheduled and two weeks later an official job offer was made.

In the back of her mind, Jahaan had always thought about starting her own business. After all, it ran in her blood with her father also being an entrepreneur, but she was always just afraid to make that big leap. Every time she had thoughts about it she talked herself out of it saying ‘I need more experience’. After someone reminded her how great she was at consulting, and she saw all of the invoices teams were paying people for services like what she could offer, she decided it was time to start working on her own, gaining experience by building her business while still working her full-time job.

Unfortunately, the company she was working with on the side just wasn’t a good fit and when she jokingly asked a friend/ colleague if they wanted to hire someone as a consultant she received a shocking response - YES. Her friend talked her up to her boss about the position and within hours Jahaan had only 30 seconds to accept an offer that could change the trajectory of her entire future. She said yes.

With no safety net, LLC, or real plan formulated, Jahaan had made her leap. After spending so many years in corporate, feeling like something was missing, she decided that she was just going to figure things out, do what makes her happy and feel fulfilled, while putting money into her pocket.

Jahaan began to pivot into coaching because so many friends and colleagues came to her for advice (they still do!). She realized how much she enjoyed helping women deal with things she too had gone through, and teaching them how to advocate for themselves. She started by interviewing a handful of women, and the trade off was her giving them the opportunity to ask her any questions they had and offer up advice.

Friends, the very first person she talked to asked about her coaching packages.

She quickly put together a proposal and consulting contract, offering three levels of services. Now Jahaan offers paid services, alongside her podcast, a tremendous value (for free!). Jahaan is super passionate about her clients and the services she offers and while she doesn’t love the feeling of selling herself, she has adopted the mindset of:

“I’m helping you. If you need help, I’m here”.

This helps to keep her mindset balanced when selling her services.

When organizations approach her, she reminds herself (and them) how she can help their staff perform better and gain better results for the company by consistently offering up value.

You can connect with Jahaan on Instagram and LinkedIn, get more information on her services on her website, and gain tremendous value through her podcast.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“You can either learn just by trial by fire, and some people just want to accelerate their career and get support on those core things and help them to have that dream career and get exactly what they want.”
“This was her job, and she was doing what it took to get it.“
“Every time she had thoughts about it she talked herself out of it saying ‘I need more experience’.”
“After spending so many years in corporate, feeling like something was missing, she decided that she was just going to figure things out, do what makes her happy and feel fulfilled, while putting money into her pocket.”

Resources:

Find Jahaan on LinkedIn
Connect with Jahaan on Instagram
Check out Jahaan’s website
Listen to A Game of Her Own with Jahaan Blake
Get more information on Jahaan’s Group Coaching program
Work 1:1 with Jahaan in her Private Coaching program
Trello
Dave to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown

Summer Break Jun 29, 2021

Hey friends! If you listened to yesterday’s episode then you heard the news! We are going on summer break for the month of July and will resume regular episodes starting in August.

While the podcast may be on summer break, my team and I will still be working behind the scenes, serving our clients and planning for the second half of 2021. That being said, we have and will continue to add new trainings and downloads to our website to support you on your journey of building your online business while working a full-time job.

You can head to www.shediditherway.com and click “Free Trainings.” I hope you have an amazing July and will talk to you in August!

SDH 456: Mid-Year Goal Reset Jun 28, 2021

Hey friends! Today on the podcast I want to talk to you about a fun topic that I absolutely love: goal setting. As we are coming up on the half-way mark for 2021 it’s the perfect time to dive into this topic. In this episode, I’m going to talk about the exact process of setting goals and using results planning to guarantee you get those results.

When it comes to goal setting, there is the process (tactical) side and then the emotional side. The tactical side is reviewing results, planning your goals, creating massive action lists, putting your activities on your calendar and executing. The emotional side of goal setting is...our thoughts, the feelings that drive our actions in how we set goals, and how we think about our goals and the results we create.

Tactical (Actionable) Steps

Reflect on the results you have created thus far in 2021. These results will be facts. For example, the amount of money you made, the size of your email list, the number of clients you have or have worked with.
Decide the one main goal you want to achieve by the end of 2021. If you’re already in business, I recommend making it a financial goal.
Then break your one main goal into 6 mini goals, one for each month that will help you achieve your main goal.
Create a massive action list.
Schedule and plan your results on your calendar.
Execute.

Emotional Steps

When you reflect on your goals, do it from a clean and neutral place. Maybe you hit the goals you set out for yourself at the beginning of 2021 - amazing. Maybe you didn’t - that’s okay. You want to avoid judgment, shame, frustration on the results you achieved or didn’t achieve. For example, let’s say you set a financial goal that you didn’t hit, rather than shaming or judging yourself for not hitting your goal (which will cause you to think negative, non-supportive thoughts), we want to remain as neutral as possible during this step. It is important to set your future goals from a clean place and not carry emotions that don’t benefit you.
Decide the one main goal you want to achieve by the end of 2021. If you’ve already launched your business, I recommend making it a financial goal. I recommend setting one that inspires you and stretches you. One that gets you excited about the next 6 months but doesn’t overwhelm you at the same time.
Then break your one main goal into 6 mini goals, one for each month that will help you achieve your main goal. Here you might use a tool that I call “timeline tool.” When you’re starting out building your business, you don’t have as much evidence or track record to plan the future with. When this happens, attempting to plan in detail the next 6 months or 12 months can be overwhelming and leave you feeling uncertain. Anytime you experience that, I recommend bringing the timeline in closer to you. Here, you know what your goal is at the end of 2021 but rather than trying to plan a mini goal for each month, start with the next 30 days and trust that at the end of the 30 days, you’ll know how to plan the next 30 days. For some of you, you’ll know the focus for the next 6 months and some of you won’t. That is okay, nothing has gone wrong. Meet yourself where you are.
Create a massive action list. Let’s say you’ve decided on your mini-goal for the month ahead. Create a massive action list of everything you need to do in order to achieve the goal you set out for yourself.
Schedule and plan your results on your calendar. When you do this, focus on what you’re going to produce, not just do.
Execute. You can do all the other steps in the planning process but if you don’t take action, you will not produce the results you desire nor achieve your goals. If you have activities scheduled on your calendar but not taking action there could be a few different things at play:

Is what is on your calendar specific enough for your brain to easily take action?
Time of day
Need to create a track record of success
Identify supporting thoughts which I’m going to dive into in just a moment

Now that you know the results you’ve created thus far, let’s shift and focus on who you want to be, who is your future self? Take space and time to vision who your future self is (what does her life look like, how does she feel, what is she thinking?). If you’re not used to doing this exercise it may feel a little uncomfortable at first and your brain may resist the idea of you creating any life that you want but I promise you that the more you practice invision and getting to know your future self the more it will come naturally. For this step you want to really tap into the emotions of what she feels on a regular basis. If at any point you do feel heavy resistance, zoom out, get less specific.

The last step is to create a list of thoughts to think on purpose. Decide your top 3 feelings you want to feel on purpose that allows you to take action so that you produce your results. Next, create a list of thoughts to think that generate that feeling.

If you want to feel confident, you could think:

“I know what I’m doing.” “I can handle anything.” “I can do hard things.”

The more supportive thoughts you have listed out the more you can pull from when you need them.

For example, going back to the execution step, maybe you’re not taking action because you’re thinking about how tired you are after working a full day at your corporate job. How can you replace that thought with a supporting thought that inspires you to get motivated? What thoughts do you want to think on purpose when you run into a roadblock as you build your business (whether it be tech not working, no one signing up for your offers)?

A Final Note

Anticipate and expect challenges and problems along the way. Plan ahead of time how you want to think about the problems and challenges. Will you make them mean that you’re not cut out to do what you’re doing OR will you accept them as part of the process and press on? Remember that problems are forever and you’ll learn how to navigate them.

The future only exists in your mind and you can either create your future from your future or from your past. Your brain loves to create from your past because of what it already knows.

Finally, Have fun. If you wait to have fun until you reach a certain milestone you will always be waiting. Don’t wait for a condition to be fulfilled in order to be a certain way. Behave a certain way regardless of the external circumstance and that is how you become your future self.

Until next time, friends, keep doing it your way!

SDH 455: 20 Minute Rule with Amanda Boleyn Jun 21, 2021

Hello, hello friends! Today I’m excited to share with you my 20 minute rule. The 20 minute rule is very simple and it goes like this, “20 minutes is better than zero minutes”.

This is a rule that I’ve used for years in my own life and I coach my students to use this rule.

Here’s why this works…because when it comes to doing something (let’s say ‘work on your business’) and you find that you only have 20 minutes, your brain defaults to simply thinking, “that’s not enough time to make a difference.” It automatically discounts the impact it could make in just 20 minutes.

But the truth is, absolutely, yes it is. 20 minutes is more than enough to make headway.

We tend to discount the time it takes to do something because we think inherently it may take longer to complete than it actually does. Partly the reason why we think it takes longer to complete something than it actually does is because it is too vague and not specific enough.

Take for example, tax season. For years I would think that if I didn’t have a 4-hour chunk of time there is no way I could get anything worthwhile done as it related to taxes and that was simply not the case. The goal is to break down your overall intention into bite-sized, action steps with a very clear result at the end of the 20 minutes.

Rather than “working on your business,” how can you get more specific?

For example, instead of saying work on…

Business website, you’d say….write first draft for “about me page”

Email sequence for X product, you’d say….write outline for the email sequence or write the drafts of the first 2 emails

Launch sequence, you’d say...write outline for launch sequence or decide dates for launch sequence

Podcast episode, you’d say...write first draft of next week’s episode

Opt-in, you’d say...write outline, or pick Creative Template.

We focus on this inside Her Way to $75K because the majority of the members are building their online business while working their full-time job, so it is even more important to take advantage of those 20 minute opportunities than to dismiss them as simply not useful.

I also recommend that if you are building your online business while working full-time and find it challenging to get into a routine when it comes to working on your business, start with 20 or 25 minutes a day for just 2 days a week.

It is kind of like working out. If you haven’t worked out in months and try to go from zero days or minutes of working out to working out 60 minutes a day 5 days a week, it is going to be hard to maintain that routine for long and you may find yourself giving up and not sticking with it. If you’re not used to working your business in addition to your full-time job, I would not recommend setting a goal to work on your business for 2 hours a day, 4 days a week. That is a lot for your brain to take on.

Instead, start small and build the routine and track record of success for your brain.

Start with 20 minutes a day for 2 days.

Be very clear and specific what you want the outcome to be at the end of those 20 minutes.

By doing this you are building your capacity which will then allow you to increase it in a more sustainable way because you’ll be able to stay consistent and follow through.

If you’re not sure what to work on, where, or how to get started, join us inside Her Way to $75K where I coach you on all things online business.

You could also apply the 20 minute rule to your personal life...whether that is cleaning, taking the garbage out, you name it. Think about all the things you may potentially be procrastinating on because your brain thinks it needs more time than it actually does to make an impact.

Consistent action overtime is what makes the biggest difference.

So next time your brain thinks, “Ahhh that isn’t enough time to get X done…” challenge yourself to see what you CAN get done in that time you have...even if it is 20 minutes, 15, 10, 5 minutes.

The action you take today, even if it is only for 20 minutes, will put you further ahead tomorrow.

I hope you enjoyed today’s episode, until next week, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“We tend to discount the time it takes to do something because we think inherently it may take longer to complete than it actually does.”
“Consistent action overtime is what makes the biggest difference.”
“Instead, start small and build the routine and track record of success for your brain.”
“The action you take today, even if it is only for 20 minutes, will put you further ahead tomorrow.”

Resources:

Join me inside Her Way to $75K

SDH 454: Getting Real and Raw About Building A Business with Creative Label Jun 14, 2021

Welcome back to another episode! This week I’m so excited to be hanging out with Destinee and Aisha from Creative Label. This powerhouse duo started Creative Label when Aisha was getting ready to graduate from law school and Destinee was working in production for Dr. Phil, with HGTV, YouTube, and more. But it just wasn’t filling their cup. They were both also dating professional athletes at the time which caused them to relocate frequently.

They began doing small projects on the side like logo and website design. They decided to pitch their business to a few people who had approached them to do marketing work for them in-house. Despite not having officially launched their business, they decided to take the chance. They pitched them both, and both gave them a resounding ‘YES’.

They hadn’t officially even put together a scope of work, rates, etc., and made decisions as they went along, but the companies both recognized them as people they wanted on their team.

Aisha and Destinee have learned many lessons along the way in their business journey, including difficult lessons (like needing to open a business banking account before depositing a business check), but that is what I love about their journey, that they didn’t let these small things set them back from taking huge steps forward. Building a business is anything but perfect and their story demonstrates exactly how much we can do without having all of the logistical administrative tasks finished before we take that first step.

After almost 5 years in business, their team has grown to include several key team members including assistants, accountants, attorneys, and more. They have learned as they went along and are still learning and pivoting as needed every single day. Their business continues to thrive and are consistently being referred to new potential clients.

Looking back, they remember times in the first few years where they were resistant to hop on calls with new potential clients. While those uncomfortable conversations are so much easier via email, they have learned that they are essential. Sales calls aren’t comfortable to most people - how do you just ‘ask’ people for money? This was something Destinee and Aisha navigated through, along with so many other high-level elements of building a business.

During their second and third years in business, they navigated through things like boundaries. Setting, maintaining, and respecting them. In years three and four they learned how to manage their team in a more effective and efficient way (including firing employees) and also learned the legal ropes of owning a business.

When they first launched their business they recognized that they were very much ‘green’. They went in with no business plan, no financial goals, etc. They just started doing it because it was something they genuinely loved (and bonus, were amazing at!). They were willing to figure it out as they went along in the process. That made it really easy to just continuously go with the flow each step of the way, propelling their business forward.

In hindsight, they realized they needed a business plan but at the same time it gave them the freedom of owning their mindset. They went full force from their passion and just enjoyed the process.

“We had no expectations, so we weren't being let down.”

Since then, Creative Label has grown from a small scale Etsy shop selling Snapchat Geofilters to a full service agency, specializing in branding, marketing, and public relations, helping their clients to execute their vision in the digital space.

They have also learned how to divide and conquer - trusting each other fully along the way. Additionally, they allow one another the autonomy to make executive decisions for the good of the company to ensure their boundaries are maintained while still providing a high-level service. They step away when needed and respect one another by keeping their friend time and business time separate and always maintain a united front for the team.

Want to hear more from Destinee & Aisha? Check out The Label Podcast. You can also connect with them individually (Aisha + Destinee). You can also text POD to 310-982-2662 to get high-level tips right from these incredible ladies! Lastly, you can head over to their website to learn how you can work with them.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Despite not having officially launched their business, they decided to take the chance.”
“We had no expectations, so we weren't being let down.”
“They just started doing it because it was something they genuinely loved (and bonus, were amazing at!).”
“They have also learned how to divide and conquer - trusting each other fully along the way.”

Resources:

Find Creative Label on Instagram
Visit their website
Reach out to Aisha
Connect with Des
Listen to The Label Podcast
To get free high-value tips and more (no spam here!), text POD to 310-982-2662
Traction by Gino Wickman
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks
Slack
ClickUp

SDH 453: Millionaire Within Her with Kristi Frank Jun 07, 2021

Hello friends! I’m so excited to share this week’s podcast guest with you, Kristi Frank. After graduating college with an engineering degree, Kristi did what all good engineers do and went straight to LA to become an actress. Along the way she began to really crave money and in true entrepreneurial spirit she opened what has become a very famous restaurant. At the same time she also had her hands on a few real estate properties and around that time a show you might remember called The Apprentice made its TV debut which Kristi pioneered as a season one contestant.

This led her down the path of eventually appearing on Oprah, and ultimately leading her to her dream life working with fellow female entrepreneurs. Long story short, Kristi was asked to participate in what has become her dream project hosting a docu series, Millionaire Within Her,about women and money.

Kristi’s journey is very colorful in that it is anything but linear and she truly followed what felt good to her and what she truly enjoyed doing, rather than following what was expected of her. She wants to teach her son that whatever he puts his energy and time into should also be something fun, that he is passionate about and an adventure.

Another thing Kristi leans into is knowing that our feelings are there for a reason. They are always trying to tell us something and in Kristi’s journey those two things are fear and fun. If it is something that makes her ‘spidey-senses’ tingle, it's something she should definitely be diving into. She has realized over the years that you should be waking up every day with passion and excitement doing something you absolutely love.

‘That is where your gifts truly shine. That's where you can really explore yourself, because you're just in your bliss.’

One gift Kristi’s acting journey has given her is learning that rejection is the norm. She was turned down many times and this essentially gave her a thicker skin to keep pushing forward, gently reminding herself, ‘you will be fine’.

Kristi knows exactly what it means to fill her own cup and demonstrate that making a commitment to yourself can bring so much self-awareness.

Kristi has also found herself dealing with imposter syndrome (sound familiar?) on occasion. She has learned that there are so many incredible people out there but to stop comparing herself and continue connecting with our own valuable gifts.

She often finds herself reminding herself;

‘It's not going to be perfect. It's going to be messy, but it’s me. It's going to be who I am.’

But over everything, Kristi prioritizes her authenticity and is simply focused on just showing up.

Through her entrepreneurial circle, Kristi met a man who asked if she would host a series about women and money. The catch was that he was having trouble finding the women. Kristi knew exactly where to start.

I said, ‘Jeff, it's not about women and money. It's it's whole conversation about women stepping into who they are, and their worth, and their passion and their purpose.’

Kristi is the host of an incredible docu series, the Millionaire Within Her. In this series you will meet 45 incredible women who teach and inspire you through their unique stories and journeys. They range from best selling authors to high-powered business women. You’ll meet relationship experts, health experts, and more. But it doesn’t matter who it was - simply listening to each of these powerful stories truly changed Kristi, for the better.

It was truly humbling and an honor to be able to participate in this series with Kristi, alongside so many inspiring women. I’m so excited to binge watch every single episode myself and ‘meet’ these other incredible women.

The Millionaire Within Her docu series is totally free to watch but it’s only available to watch for a short time and I highly recommend taking the time to check out each unique story.

One final thought from Kristi...

‘We are all on a journey. Nobody starts at the top, we all started somewhere.’

Until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“Another thing Kristi leans into is knowing that our feelings are there for a reason.”
“You will be fine.”
“She has learned that there are so many incredible people out there but to stop comparing herself and continue connecting with our own valuable gifts.”
“[It's] not about women and money. It's it's whole conversation about women stepping into who they are, and their worth, and their passion and their purpose.”

Resources:

Check out Millionaire Within Her
Connect with Kristi Frank on Instagram

SDH 452: How to Get the Most Out of Your Coaching and Courses You Invest In with Amanda Boleyn May 31, 2021

Hello friends, welcome back! This week I’m so excited to talk to you about how to get the most out of the coaching programs and courses that you invest in. For this episode, I’m not referring to those which you host, but rather those that you have decided to invest in for yourself. The programs that you raised your hands and turned over your money to invest in order to grow your business and your life.

Over the past six years I have invested thousands of dollars to grow my business and myself. I have learned so much about myself and why I made certain investment decisions along the way and I hope this podcast episode will serve as a bit of a roadmap to help you assess which program or course is a good fit for you. I also want this to serve as a tool for a healthy mindset to approach that program, course, or investment that you have made and help you discover how to set up a routine and structure for the programs and courses you enroll in so that it doesn’t become a product that collects digital dust.

If you have listened to (any) previous episodes you already know how much I love my routines. Laying the foundation and having the proper systems in place is what allows us to be successful.

In this episode I’m diving into how to get the most out of your coaching programs and courses that you have or are considering investing in and for the sake of this episode, I’d like to call them ‘investments’.

Over the past six years I have enrolled in over $60,000 worth of coaching and trainings and when I began to write the outline for this episode I really considered my approach, my mindset, the results, why I did or did not achieve results, and the answers all fell into three specific buckets.

The 3 Buckets

How to cultivate a healthy and inspiring mindset towards courses and programs
How to decide which program or course is actually the best fit at that time
How to get the most out of any coaching program

Additionally, I want to acknowledge that you may be listening to this podcast and have yet to make a financial investment in yourself and in your future and that alone can be scary, exciting, and overwhelming, all at the same time and I hope that this podcast episode can serve as inspiration and guidance for you in that capacity.

You could be listening to this podcast and have enrolled in a previous course or program, gotten mediocre results or results that you didn’t expect or hope for. Maybe that was in part because you had the best of intentions but life got busy and so you never fully followed through. I have certainly been there. Maybe the next time you considered making a similar investment you questioned yourself because the voice in the back of your head reminded you that last time you paid money for a program you didn’t actually finish it. So why would this time be different? The self-doubt sets in and you’re already failing to take action because you've created that negative thought loop. Or maybe you decided to enroll in a course or program, and you look for evidence of what happened in the past, finding holes are gaps, and then you create the same mediocre results versus the results that you want to achieve.

What I have learned is that if we can create a routine and structure around these programs and courses we are more likely to keep ourselves accountable to it.

Mindset:

Own your results

Pay attention to the thoughts that you have when considering the course or program you want to enroll in and make sure you are approaching it thinking that this is going to be THE ONE.

Avoid assuming that the course or coaching program is going to fix your problems or challenges. For example, it can be easy to enroll in an email marketing course and think that you’ll soon wake up with an email list of 1,000 subscribers. The course and coach provides the vehicle and assistance towards achieving your goals but they can’t create the result for you.

Expect challenges along with highs and lows; not to attract them but to not be thrown off when they happen, because they will. Stay committed to the result and your why for signing up for the course or program in the first place.

Learn one, implement one.

I highly recommend sticking to one course or coaching program at a time unless they are complimentary of one another. If you enroll in an email marketing course, I would make email marketing your focus for the next 30-60-90 days, depending upon your schedule.

Avoid enrolling in a new course every single month without fully implementing the course work from the previous investment you made. It can get overwhelming and this can leave you with opening a loop but never actually finishing or closing that loop leaving you feeling depleted and overwhelmed. I think this is what happens a lot when you’re starting out trying to do all the things and start so many things that actually leads to burnout because you’re starting something but not finishing it.

Where this may be different is if you’re in two programs that are not competing with each other. Example: Grow You vs a Facebook Ads program. Sometimes we think we’re producing a lot or being productive because we’re in a lot of programs but what matters is not just the consumption of content but the implementation of it.

In Her Way to $75K members use the membership to the fullest extent taking advantage of the courses, coaching and community. For some, they’re enrolled in Her Way to $75K to help keep them accountable with what they’re working on and to get access to coaching and community, but they’re not actively going through all the content. Think of it like someone with a gym membership but also works with a nutritional coach in conjunction on their fitness journey.

Don’t just show up to show up. Show up to learn. Lean into group coaching calls, listen to the replay if you couldn’t make it live, if you can make it live, think of a question you want to have, avoid being passive if possible, submit questions.

How to decide which course or program is the best fit:

First, I think this varies based on which stage of business you’re in.

When you’re first starting out, if you’re overwhelmed and not sure which direction you want to go, the key is to just start and create SOME sort of track record. For example, even if you don't know exactly who you want to help or how, creating content is a great way to produce work and practice being consistent and diligent and in turn build up an audience. If you commit to creating content for 6 months consistently and showing up, you’ll be further along in building an audience than if you never started. So while it might not be the exact place (or maybe it is) that you want to end up, the whole point is to get started.

What do you need to do in this moment to take you to the next level? Always be asking yourself this as you continue on your growth plan. In some seasons it may be to simply learn to be consistent and just start. For others, it may be focusing on your email marketing for a quarter, and others may decide you want to start a podcast and so you focus on that for 3 months, or maybe it is Facebook ads.

A few quick notes on getting the most out of a program or course:

Decide how long you want to make that course or program a focus. Some coaching programs might be a predetermined length of time; 6, 8, 9 weeks, etc. If that is the case, make that your sole focus for that period of time.
Always have a goal or an outcome that you’re working towards in mind. What would success look like at the end of the program? Always own your results.
If you’ve enrolled in a course that is one where you can go at your own pace…give yourself a 30/60/90 day window to focus only on that one thing. In Her Way to $75K we help our members create focus and accountability on their one monthly thing and area of focus.

Laying Your Foundation For Success:

Put any coaching calls with Zoom links on your calendar right away
Carve out specific time blocks on your calendar for when you’re going to focus on that program's content. Maybe it is every Monday from 6-8 PM or every Tuesday from 5-7 AM, whenever it is put it on your calendar. As you start the program you’ll begin to figure out exactly what you’re going to do and what you can produce during those time blocks.
Create a folder inside your email inbox. In our onboarding emails anytime a student signs up or enrolls in Podcast Your Way or Her Way to $75K we make this part of their onboarding checklist. This way any emails that come through from the program can be neatly organized and easy to be found from weekly recaps, username/password, you name it.
Create a bookmark on your browser making it easy to locate course/program content.
Don’t rely on the program to motivate, inspire or produce your results - those are all up to YOU!

A Final Note:

Make sure you create constraints to not get distracted by other offers that are out there. Trust me, it can be really easy to think you NEED something that someone is marketing to you because they’re marketing is just that GOOD and while it may be beneficial and THAT good. The question is,

“Does this aid in my focus or create split focus?”

I think sometimes we think we need something because we are subconsciously thinking “What if I don’t get it now? What will happen” and there becomes this scarcity thinking that surrounds our decision. There will always be offers, there will always be opportunities, you just need to decide which one you are going to focus on in this moment.

Lastly, be careful of what you make the investment mean. If you expect it to solve everything for you, you could find yourself disappointed. Instead, focus on finding ONE thing. Sometimes it was the smallest shifts that actually made the biggest change later on that I didn't see right away.

Recap:

Own your results from the beginning, no matter what program you decide to invest in.
Make sure that you decide which program is the best fit for you based on where you're at in your journey and asking ‘what do I need in this moment in order to get to that next stage?’.
Ensure that you set up systems and structures in place so that you can set yourself up for success when it comes to that coaching course or program.

As always, if you enjoyed this episode, I'd love for you to tag us on Instagram(@shediditherway)and share what you loved most or what you’re implementing into your own life!

If you are someone who is starting early stages of building your business while working full time and you need help (maybe it's getting clear, maybe you need structure or even accountability) I invite you to check out Her Way to $75k. Her Way to $75k is our monthly membership program with over 50 trainings already inside, includes weekly coaching calls and a private Facebook Community, and every quarter you’ll get new templates for Instagram and Pinterest. I would love to work with you! To learn more just head to our website to learn more!

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“If we can create a routine and structure around these programs and courses we are more likely to keep ourselves accountable to it.”
“Don’t just show up to show up. Show up to learn. Lean into group coaching calls, listen to the replay if you couldn’t make it live, if you can make it live, think of a question you want to have, avoid being passive if possible, submit questions.”
“It can be really easy to think you NEED something that someone is marketing to you because they’re marketing is just that GOOD and while it may be beneficial and THAT good.”
“Sometimes it was the smallest shifts that actually made the biggest change later on that I didn't see right away.”

Resources:

Join Her Way to $75K
Find out about Podcast Your Way
Connect with me on Instagram

SDH 451: Leaving a $300,000 Corporate Salary to Pursue Her Own Business with Ashley Kirkwood May 24, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends! This week I’m so excited to welcome Ashley Kirkwood to the show. Ashley is a successful attorney who owns an innovative subscription based law firm, Mobile General Counsel, and her firm has negotiated and landed several multi six-figure licensing deals and corporate contracts.

After being consistently asked how her company landed such deals, she launched the Speak Your Way To Cash brand, with the book launching at the end of this year! Speak Your Way To Cash is one of the most unique and successful speaker training programs on the planet. Inside, Ashley teaches speakers how to start at the top of their speaking market with a five or six-figure corporate speaking offer.

Ashley is extremely passionate about her business and truly loves her life’s work and what it has afforded her. She loves impacting listeners both internally with her employees and team members as well as externally.

The Short Story…

Ashley has always thrived on certainty. She liked knowing that if she did A, B, and C, she would get D. She likes progression and felt that corporate was the way to go. However, she wanted to figure out how to make more money in the corporate world. Once she learned the art of salary negotiation it became easy for her to make more money as a corporate professional.

Around the age of 25-26, Ashley’s salary was already at $200K and with her savvy skills she negotiated a $100K raise, bringing her salary to $300K per year. She began working for someone who had been recruiting her for years, but after starting to work together, it just didn’t align; ‘It was like straight out of Horrible Bosses’. It was just not the best dynamic.

Knowing that it wasn’t a good fit, Ashley began to hype herself up, knowing what her worth was and trying to get her brain to realize that no matter what they were already paying her, she was worth more. They were just paying her to keep her there.

While working in the corporate world Ashley began putting herself up for awards and national publications and also had her own YouTube show. On her production level quality YouTube show, Passion, Purpose & Paychecks, she interviewed entrepreneurs who had left their jobs to do something they were passionate about - but they also dove into their financial journey and how much they were making.

Ashley put a lot into her YouTube channel working with producers from the Steve Harvey Show and NBC Universal as well as having a professional videographer, cue cards, call times, and a full hair and makeup team.

“One of my goals was to be Oprah. I want to have my own talk show.”

Despite already working in corporate, Ashley knew there was something else she wanted to do, but just couldn’t determine how to monetize it or what it actually looked like. Realizing that she was becoming stagnant, she decided to make a change, put her money where her mouth is and go all in.

However, people still saw her as a lawyer and didn’t know they could actually do business with her because she wasn’t selling anything, just connecting to and meeting people.

The Tipping Point

Feeling tired of being unheard and disrespected at work Ashley began to really look outside her corporate bubble to see where she could go, how she could build and grow a business, and do what she was passionate about. She had seen so many of her mentors, peers and people whom she admired take the disrespect because they were trapped by the money. When she had become consistently unheard and brushed off when bringing up concerns Ashley decided she did not want that life, or the life of those at the top either.

Ashley had written a book in college called The Law School Hustle, all about her journey becoming an attorney. At some point in her time in college she nearly gave up but pushed her way through and wound up graduating at the top of her class from Northwestern Law School. She took her speaking experience as a trial lawyer, her experience from writing her book, and started speaking while building her own law firm.

It took roughly six months for her law firm to start generating any revenue, but in the last six months of her first year in business her gamble had paid off and she had generated over $100,000 in revenue. The following year her business grew 400%, and again the year after that. She continued on with her momentum building her law firm and landing speaking contracts. Ashley took what she knew she was good at and her transferable skills to create something she truly was passionate about.

Ashley and her team are hosting their 6th Speak Your Way To Cash (virtual) event this year and offers a high-level six-month coaching program called The Academy, where she builds out five and six figure offers with her clients. They continue to evolve the business by listening to exactly what their clients want and need and never resting on their laurels.

One thing Ashley does admit to wishing she would have done sooner was offer people a way to work with her after speaking engagements. At the time she would offer paid speaking engagements where she would give people the tools they needed but in many cases they still felt stuck on where to start after that. Looking back, Ashley wishes she would have offered some kind of coaching to those people because they were walking away with all of this high-level information and super excited about their journey, but felt stuck and needed that push and validation to get started.

The PAID Method (Ashley’s Proprietary Coaching Method)

P = Press
It's great to have a brand, all corporate clients will Google you and they're not going to just look at what you send them. They're going to go to Google and Google something. So it's great if you have a press strategy and a way to showcase what other people are saying about how great you are.

A = Assemble
Then you want to assemble your offer. It should be a package - the ultimate package. Don't just sell someone on one speech. They may need two or three speeches to get their end result, or they may need a couple of consulting sessions to get their end result. Assemble that offer together and have it ready to go for your clients. They know that you can't just do one thing, you can do a lot of different things and continue to serve them for a long time.

I = Invite
Have a strategy for inviting people to work with you. Know your sales plan, how you plan to sell your service, and what you want to make money on.

D = Deliver
Deliver amazing service and a really good product that is memorable and impactful. Have a way to deliver that information that you've thought out and formulate in a way you’re confident in.

Ashley now lives a modest lifestyle, but the one thing she and her family love to splurge on is travel (especially to Thailand!). Having a business that has afforded her the ability to mold her lifestyle so it fits how she and her family want to live has been something that makes her never look back. It motivates her to keep moving forward and helps her business continue to thrive.

Want to hear more about Ashley’s upcoming book launch or connect with her one-on-one? Check out her website or email her directly (she still loves to handle her own emails!).

Until next time, friends, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“She began working for someone who had been recruiting her for years, but after starting to work together, it just didn’t align; ‘It was like straight out of Horrible Bosses’.”
“Cultivate that confidence.”
“One thing Ashley does admit to wishing she would have done sooner was offer people a way to work with her after speaking engagements.”
“Your price is always talking. I didn't like what my prices were saying to my clients, when my prices were lower. I wanted them to know they're getting the best of the best. We are world class. We have trained all over the world. I have spoken in other countries, like they needed to know that and not from just what I said, but from the price they were paying me to do business with them.”

Resources:

Check out Speak Your Way To Cash
Join the Speak Your Way To Cash Facebook group
Grab Your Copy of The Law School Hustle by Ashley Nicole Kirkwood
Contact Ashley via Email

SDH 450: By Doing This ONE Thing, It Changed Everything in My Business with Amanda Boleyn May 17, 2021

Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way Podcast. It has been so long since I have done a solocast and I’m excited for it to be just me and my mic today sharing the ONE thing I did in my business (and personal life) that changed everything and I cannot wait to dive into it with you!

For years I have spent time always being in a rushed state. Being in this rushed state controlled how I ran my business and my life. It wasn’t until I shifted who I was being and how I showed up that ultimately shifted the results I could create in my business. That is, I went from being this person who was always in a state of rushing, to slowing down. Now, just because I started to slow down and I stopped rushing, it didn't mean that my results and outcomes started to slow down as well. Actually, it did the opposite; because when we take massive action, we get massive results.

However, if the place in which we are taking action from, is rushing, then it's going to change the type of results we get. I know that when starting a business, there can be the sense of ‘I need to hurry up, I need to get over there’, and it creates a rushing energy because we so badly want to quit our job.

In the beginning stage of building your business there are a lot of emotions, the feeling of imposter syndrome, fear, self-doubt, highs, and lows. You question whether or not you have what it takes and want to rush to get somewhere different. Whereas consistent, steady, massive, and intentional action can actually allow us to get to a good place and do it in a way that feels good.

In today's episode, I want to talk about why we rush into action, what happens when we rush into action, and also some of our fears around slowing down. What happens when you shift from taking action from a place of being rushed to a place of confidence and steadiness is that it will positively impact your results. It allows you to show up differently and be more constructive and intentional with how you are spending your time.

Why Do We Rush Into Action?

Typically, I have found that when I think about why I was rushing is because I thought I would get somewhere faster. Maybe if I rushed, I would achieve something faster. It could be from a sense of time scarcity, or feeling like I don’t have enough time, so I have to hurry up and produce and take action. If we don't think that we have enough time, we're rushing around the desire to be anywhere other than where we are right now. This is really common in the beginning stages of building your business we think that if we take action faster and we hurry up and rush, that we are going to be able to leave our corporate job sooner. So it's this desire to be anywhere except where we are at that point. Alternatively, sometimes we want to avoid being uncomfortable and we think that ‘over there’ is better, so we try to action our way ‘over there’.
You might also find that you have a belief that rushing equals hustle, which equals the result you want, and that slowing down is equated to believing that you will not achieve the outcome you want in a timely manner.

These are all different reasons why we rush into action and all of them stemming from the thoughts we think.

What Actually Happens When We Rush Into Action?

When we operate from a place of rushing, we can potentially go down a path that we don't actually even want to be on, not realizing that it is not the right path until we get to the end. At that point, we’ve invested so much time and energy into rushing down path A that you don’t even realize you should have taken path B.

This ultimately puts us into a state of overwhelm and puts us into self-sabotaging thought loops (‘I did this wrong’, ‘I should have known better’, etc.).

We also need to learn to evaluate what is working and what isn’t working along the way and if you are rushing through, you won’t give yourself space to stop and do this because we think that we just need to keep taking action. Mistakes are often made when we go down a path of rushing and what happens is that we’re moving down the path so quickly that we don’t stop to acknowledge those mistakes and learn from them, or worse yet, correct them before moving on.

Food For Thought

Here are some thoughts you can borrow to get your brain out of the habit of rushing and retrain it to start slowing down:

I have plenty of time. I am not in a rush.
Everything is happening at the exact time it is supposed to happen.
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.
I am making progress. I am trusting the process.
I learn so much more when I slow down.
It's okay to grow slow.

These are thoughts that I personally use and want to share with you to help teach you to slow down and operate from a place of taking consistent and steady action. I encourage you to see where those areas are in your business and in your life that can benefit from slowing down and just take inventory of them. Take note of what your beliefs are around slowing down as well.

I have two quotes I want to leave you with this week (both came up as author unknown or anonymous) but I really like them and want to share them with you:

“I've learned to stop rushing things that need time to grow.”

Remember, your business needs time and space to grow.

The second one is:

“Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for.”

Yes, it can be a really crazy period in your life of building your business, but it's also such an amazing and fun time of building your business. Approach it from a place of curiosity and what am I going to learn? How much impact can I serve? What transformation can I offer to my clients? This will really allow us to operate from a place of consistent, steady action.

I’d love for you to come hang out with me on Instagram and I hope you have an amazing rest of your week.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“When we operate from a place of rushing, we can potentially go down a path that we don't actually even want to be on, not realizing that it is not the right path until we get to the end.“
“Typically, I have found that when I think about why I was rushing is because I thought I would get somewhere faster. Maybe if I rushed, I would achieve something faster. It could be from a sense of time scarcity, or feeling like I don’t have enough time, so I have to hurry up and produce and take action.“
“I've learned to stop rushing things that need time to grow.“
“Once she stopped rushing through life, she was amazed how much more life she had time for.”

SDH 449: Making Your Money Work For You Using Facebook Ads with Jenny Singh May 10, 2021

Hello my beautiful listeners! Today I’m sitting down with Jenny Singh, someone who I have ‘known’ in passing for several years and am so inspired by and pumped to introduce you to! Jenny is a Facebook and Instagram Ads genius and helps entrepreneurs create the right ads to get their target audience buying from them instead of anyone else.

Jenny’s business is multi-pronged and offers her clients a ‘done for you services’ side of the business as well as running full funnel, Facebook and Instagram ads, and in addition, offering courses and other digital products. Over the past 18 months, Jenny and her team have spent time launching courses, masterminds and new digital products to really have something for everyone. They identified gaps and knew their services could fill them and really became hyper focused on serving entrepreneurs helping them get started using ads.

Starting her journey by going to college for advertising, Jenny literally saw herself making Gatorade commercials one day, eventually making her way into a big agency. That was her plan. She graduated college on a Friday and started working at her first agency job that following Monday. From the time she graduated college through the first few years in corporate, she continued to shift or pivot to something a bit different. After a few years she began to wonder why she felt this pull to transition every 18 months she needed to change up her path. She started to reflect on how she could really do things her own way and what route she should take.

Jenny is the type of person who responds well to what she refers to as the ‘parachute’ method (which she doesn’t necessarily to everyone). As stressful as it sounds, she literally shows up and takes action with no afterthought to the possibility of failure, thriving under pressure. She woke up one day and told her fiance that it was finally her time, put in her two-weeks notice and made her leap. She knew that to make massive change she needed to simply rip off the bandaid and go all in.

For 3-6 months prior to making her leap, however, Jenny had started working with her own clients (smart, right?). This helped her brain to know that she could do this and felt safer when making this transition. Her side hustling helped her to grow as a person and she was able to learn to serve her own clients even better. During this time, Jenny also learned that she enjoyed working on making sales, while doing it in her own way, and still learning how to grow.

The day after Jenny made her leap, she wrote herself a letter. She dated it and has kept it with her ever since as a reminder of why she started. She still takes it out maybe once a year and lets it fuel her to keep moving forward on her dreams while keeping her grounded as well.

“As an entrepreneur I feel like the farther you get away from day one, you kind of have days that are just not like you're in your zone. And in alignment, you can kind of get away from like, here's why we're doing the thing. Keep coming back to it.”

This year, Jenny has been in business for right around 5 years. But right around year 3 she experienced a phase where you’ve been in it for long enough that you’re learning what is working and what isn’t and could pivot her business accordingly.

Now, Jenny works with a team of amazing people who are all very process oriented (a weaker spot for Jenny). She knows she is not going to go all-in on the processes so she has brought in team members who can fill that void. She also learned who her niche was, who she enjoyed working with the most and “wading through buckets of humans within a larger realm”.

“The closer you get to yourself and getting really good at your craft, typically, the smaller your niche gets in general.”

Jenny is now in the mindspace where she (and her team) are hyper-focused on traction, or in her words, they’re “locked and loaded”. They know who they can help and they know they’re good at it. They believe so deeply that the transformations they can provide are immeasurable. She has learned how to reset people's mindsets so they aren’t intimidated by running Facebook or Instagram ads but has taught them how to approach them confidently and successfully and looks at every opportunity as an opportunity to help someone.

“There's a high that comes with seeing someone get results.”

Jenny attributes much of her success to slow growth. Her business evolved over time to really grow into the six-figure business it is today.

Jenny also thrives on and highly values her freedom, from so many viewpoints. Freedom of time, freedom of money, freedom of location, etc. The way Jenny has built her business has afforded her to live all of these freedoms, maintaining her passion for what she does.

Three actionable things Jenny recommends to new entrepreneurs are:

Get to know yourself and be okay with that person

Pay attention to how you perform at your best

Crack open a business book or a book from an ‘expert’ and start reading!

If you want to learn more about Jenny and her amazing business check out her website, visit her at Have Them At Hello, or hang out with her on Instagram!

Until next time friends, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

After a few years she began to wonder why she felt this pull to transition every 18 months she needed to change up her path.“
“As stressful as it sounds, she literally shows up and takes action with no afterthought to the possibility of failure, thriving under pressure.”
“There's a high that comes with seeing someone get results.”

Resources:

Visit Jenny’s Website
Have Them At Hello
Connect with Jenny on Instagram @jennysingh
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Psycho-Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss & Tahl Raz

SDH 448: How to Get Started on YouTube with Trena Little May 03, 2021

Hello my beautiful friends! I am so excited because today I am sitting down with Trina Little, a YouTube Strategist with a master's degree in business who helps online owners business owners develop a YouTube strategy that allows them to scale their business by driving more leads using the right videos. Being a busy business owner herself, she understands the importance of making videos simply and effortlessly, but effective and lasting at the same time. Her YouTube videos are her sales team and they do the heavy lifting for free working 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Trena has a background in business and she began to see exactly how powerful the YouTube platform was while watching videos. She also saw all of the limiting beliefs a lot of people had surrounding YouTube and decided to make her mark by helping business owners learn to use the platform in a very simple way, by making it easy to understand and helping them to create the right videos to get their content to show up in Google searches and last longer.

One thing Trena also recognizes is the rat race that is social media and while on other platforms content has a shorter shelf-life YouTube videos can last much, much longer. Being able to help business owners realize that if they put the time into creating a quality video it will absolutely live a much longer life than other social media platform content. While an Instagram caption takes only seconds or minutes to write, YouTube media takes significantly longer. The difference is that the YouTube video’s shelf-life is significantly longer. Here is what Trena found:

Shelf-Life of Social Media Posts:

Instagram grid post: 48-hours
Facebook post: 6-hours
YouTube video: 20+ DAYS

In fact, Trena has a video on YouTube that she posted in 2018 and still drives traffic to her email list now, 3 years later.

Before Trena took the YouTube world by storm, she worked for the federal government (one of the largest employers in her town). While she did that she was still on the ‘hunt’ to find a way to create her own future the way she wanted it. The problem was that the path she was on was the ‘safe’ route. It came with a 401k, a retirement plan, and medical benefits. It was what she should be doing, according to everyone around her. Except it wasn’t what she wanted to do. Eventually her job began sucking her soul and she became more and more detached from her day-to-day role.

After her daughter was born she decided to teach her daughter how to forge her own path and live life doing something she loved. She no longer wanted her job to affect her mental health and using her daughter as one point of inspiration, she decided it was time to create something of her own.

Trena had watched webinars about creating courses and convinced her husband that she could do it too. She was determined to replace her income and two weeks before Christmas, Trena gave her two-weeks notice and left her job on New Year’s Eve.

While being a stay at home mom is an amazing responsibility Trena knew it wasn’t her calling. She needed something else to call her own and it to be something she actually enjoyed doing. Trena had dabbled in some client work and taken a few courses but wasn’t ready to put all of her eggs in one basket. She launched a course and had only 3 sales, one of which was a friend who wanted to support her.

Backing up to when Trena was still pregnant, she had spent a lot of time watching YouTube videos researching items and other products she would need for her newborn. In 2016, not many businesses used YouTube yet and Trena realized she was really investing her time into what these people on the platform had to say and really bought into it. There was something here and saw how YouTube could be used as a marketing tool.

With Trena’s first launch not doing as well as she had hoped, she feared she had made the wrong choice in leaving her 9-5. Her saving grace was that one of the clients she had been working with remembered her and she became known as the ‘YouTube video girl’. People began to reach out to her to help them with their own videos and through several of life's twists and turns here we are. No matter what, Trena just kept going. She eliminated what didn’t work and tweaked what did. She put on her blinders to keep herself from focusing on those around her and what they were doing so she could focus on what she needed to do.

During that time the hustle mentality was in full swing. Trena’s challenge was that she was competing with those around her who didn’t have to balance launching an empire and raising two kids. She knew the hustle mentality wasn’t going to work for her so she needed to find something that did. Finally in 2019 she felt like things just started to click and she became even more pumped for 2020 (we all know how that turned out).

2020 totally changed how Trena operated as a business owner and she learned how to transform her business to operate in the way she needed it to so she could balance her passion for what she did with her family’s needs. She learned what she needed to focus on each day to accomplish tasks and reach goals and how to really dedicate her time in a new and efficient way. Thus, 2020 was a banner year for Trena and her team and she was able to hire her first full-time employee.

One of the biggest lessons Trena has learned along the way is that mistakes are inevitable. She says:

“I think one of the biggest lessons is [that] you're going to make mistakes all the time. But you have to be able to recover from them. If I would have let myself sulk over hundreds of mistakes that I've made, or hundreds of failed pages that went up or didn't redirect, I literally would have been out of business years ago. So I think the biggest lesson is mistakes are always going to happen. Just learn from it and figure out how you can correct it moving forward.“

Trena is also highly focused on showing up in the most authentic way possible, even ditching the use of Instagram filters (big props here!). She wants others to see her show up as herself so that her clients (and everyone else) learns they too can show up as themselves, whether it’s on YouTube or otherwise.

Another message Trena shares is that whether we like it or not, video is here to stay so start showing up there.

“The only way people are going to buy from you or work with you is if they like you. And the only way they can figure out is if they like you is if they see you on video.”

Trena also wants to share a few key steps someone can take to get started using YouTube:

Use ‘greenlight’ videos
Prepare a video game-plan
Create a video thumbnail and title

Unsurprisingly, Trena draws her inspiration from YouTube. She enjoys seeing what others are doing, seeing their successes and journeys and gaining inspiration from their stories and seeing where they started and where they are now.

Finally, Trena also dished with us her YouTube vs her Instagram strategy when it comes to posting content:

“One thing that I have been doing on Instagram is taking our YouTube video on the day it goes live. We have a carousel post and then the next day we do a reel from that video. We just chop it up and use the reel then the next day we do an IGTV. Then the following day we do a quote. We have about five pieces or five posts on Instagram and every Tuesday I've been trying to post like a selfie photo or taking a more personal picture and sharing more of a story. So it's not all informative but it's a way for people to connect with me. That's the only way I've really been using Instagram right now because I'd rather put the time that I have, again, like onions, add the layers that you can right now we just have the time to repurpose the YouTube video and create one special Instagram post a week.”

To connect with or learn more about Trena check out her YouTube channel or reach out to her on Instagram.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Trena’s YouTube videos are her sales team and they do the heavy lifting for free working 24 hours a day and seven days a week.”
“One thing Trena also recognizes is the rat race that is social media and while on other platforms content has a shorter shelf-life YouTube videos can last much, much longer.“
“Trena knew the hustle mentality wasn’t going to work for her so she needed to find something that did.”
“Trena wants others to see her show up as herself so that her clients (and everyone else) learns they too can show up as themselves, whether it’s on YouTube or otherwise.”

Resources:

Check Out Trena’s YouTube Channel
Visit Trena’s Website
Connect with Trena on Instagram @trena_little
Built To Sell by John Warrillow

SDH 447: She Quit Corporate (Twice!) Before Making Her Leap for Good with Nikki Nash Apr 26, 2021

Welcome back, my beautiful She Did It Her Way listeners. Today I have the pleasure of being joined by Nikki Nash, a marketing expert, author, and creator of Market Your Genius. After a decade-long career in marketing fortune 100 brands and tech startups, Nikki set out to help women build profitable online businesses.

Nikki considers herself a content creator and marketing mentor. She knows what it feels like to be in an unfulfilling job and wants to help others make a huge impact in the world. If you find yourself asking: “How the heck do I get my name out there?”, “How do I reach more people?”, or “How do I sign more clients and customers”, Nikki is your girl. Many people feel like they have already tried ev)erything and feel like they have exhausted all of their options and aren’t sure where (or how to best spend their time and they come to her asking for help.

Nikki found that she could do what she loves and make money doing it and started her membership community called the Genius Profit Society (GPS). Inside, Nikki helps her members navigate their journey from where they are now to where they want to go, whether it’s writing books, speaking, coaching, consulting, freelancing - whatever that looks like for them, she helps them grow their ideal business.

In 2014, after many years of working in corporate, Nikki decided it was time to branch out and start her own business. She knew that she was helping someone else build their dream and while she loved what she did, she wanted to build something of her own. She began to put away money and that fall she left behind her 6-figure career.

Nikki quit her job and headed on her annual family vacation to Mexico where she spent the first week enjoying fun in the sun with her loved ones, until her brain intercepted her fun in week two and got in her way. She began ‘thinking’ of all of the ‘what if’s’ that could possibly happen, started to panic and began to look for other jobs. Despite not wanting to go back to corporate, that is what her brain was telling her to do from its rational perspective.

She decided to look for a job at a tech startup because she could learn how to build a business from the early stages. She had already worked for the big brands and this would give her an opportunity to learn how to market something smaller. She found a job as head of marketing, took a few months off, and started her new job that summer.

After about a year and a half Nikki realized her job had once again consumed her life and she had become a walking zombie, simply going through the motions of life. It was time to start feeling fulfilled and just go for it. Nikki made her final leap, finally leaving behind her corporate career and launching her own business and heading right back to Mexico for their annual family vacation, but this time she enjoyed every moment of the trip celebrating her mom’s birthday.

Nikki was living in downtown Boston at the time and while she had some savings she also knew she was living in one of the most expensive places in the city. She got herself into a positive mindset reminding herself,

“I’ve got this.”

Nikki’s passion and strength for networking pushed her to meet some of her biggest advocates and new clients. In her first year of business, she admittedly made some mistakes, but she didn’t let them hold her back from moving forward. She reminded herself,

“You're gonna continue making mistakes. It's okay, just learn and be kind to yourself through.”

Her business continued to evolve and she learned so many lessons along the way, many of which revolved around ensuring that her finances and income remained steady. She also continued to make sure that the clients she was working with were people she not only enjoyed working with, but were her target audience. Working with mostly startup companies in the beginning, Nikki has since made the pivot to working solely with female entrepreneurs who are looking to monetize their message.

The biggest difference that she sees between her business now and when she first started out is how she has accomplished things to afford the opportunities, flexible schedule, and life that she always dreamed of.

Nikki’s business has grown immeasurably, and her team has expanded as well, allowing her to make decisions that puts her priorities first.

While Nike has coined the phrase ‘Just Do It, Nikki lives her life through that mantra saying,

“Embrace failure. It's going to happen so you might as well. If you embrace it, it's going to hurt less than if you resist it.”

To learn more about Nikki, check out her podcast or connect with her on Instagram.

Insights:

“You're gonna continue making mistakes. It's okay, just learn and be kind to yourself through.”
“She knew that she was helping someone else build their dream and while she loved what she did, she wanted to build something of her own.”
“Embrace failure. It's going to happen so you might as well. If you embrace it, it's going to hurt less than if you resist it.”

Resources:

Listen to The Market Your Genius Podcast
Connect with Nikki on Instagram @marketyourgenius
Visit Nikki’s Website
Join the Genius Profit Society
The Game of Life And How To Play It by Florence Scovel Shinn

SDH 446: How She Created Her Dream Business By Changing Her Thoughts with Stephanie Booth Apr 19, 2021

Hello friends! Welcome back to another episode of the podcast! Today I am sitting down with Stephanie Booth, success coach for entrepreneurs who helps her clients get the results they want by rewiring their unconscious minds. Her signature program that teaches them everything they need to know about using their unconscious mind to create success is called Magnetic Minds. The ripple effect is all about how to harness your energy to magnetize your results.

I wanted to bring Stephanie onto the podcast because I think there are so many things that we can unpack about the power of our mindset. Being an entrepreneur is 80% mindset and if you’re in the right mindset we can be in the right state to get into action and create the results we want. So much of being an entrepreneur is 80% mindset; if we're in the right mindset, we can be in the right state, we take the right action, and we get into action to create the results.

Stephanie’s Process

Most of Stephanie’s clients first come to her with the thought that they want to increase their monthly revenue in their businesses. However, what comes along with that is all about mindset. The reason they aren’t bringing in the revenue they want is because they are usually caught up in self-sabotage, comparison, and even self-doubt. They must first create their feelings, which will trigger their actions and eventually gets them the results they want. She starts at the beginning and helps them to rewire their brains for success. They then move into ‘modeling’ where they follow successful people and model what they do to help them achieve results they personally value.

How It All Started

Going back about ten years, Stephanie was teaching 5th grade making roughly $20,000 a year. She ‘thought’ that is what she was supposed to be doing and her whole life was really based around following the rules. She was barely making ends meat and just thought that was they way it was ‘supposed’ to be because someone else was giving her a paycheck and paying for her benefits package. What more could she want?

Looking back, however, Stephanie can see how genuinely unhappy she was. She was struggling with stress dreams and while she was only contracted to work 30-35 hours per week she generally found herself working closer to 50 or even 60 hours per week.

Around the same time Stephanie married her husband, whom was in the process of starting his own photography business. During the wedding planning process he would occasionally slip in a logo he wanted her opinion on and because she was deep in ‘decision-making-mode’ she would quickly answer, not thinking much about it. It hasn’t occurred to her that he was hoping she would join his business. Eventually she realized she could provide some value in this business and began assisting in the process.

In 2015, Stephanie lost her teaching job and financially they were stable and she had replaced her income, had landed them amazing opportunities to photograph all over the world, and secured them space in top publications and magazines. But at the same time something was holding her back. She suddenly couldn’t seem to secure new bookings and didn’t know why. The reality was, she was only doing things that she knew she could do. Anything that could result in a possible rejection, she wouldn’t follow through with.

This was what self-sabotage looked like through her lens. It looks different for each of us but for Stephanie, she believed that if she overfilled her schedule and then started with the easy stuff she would eventually build up momentum to tackle reach the hard stuff. It wasn’t working and she never actually followed through. Those tasks just got moved to the next day. So every day there would be 4-5 things that never got done and would again be moved to the following day. All of these tasks revolved around sales and marketing activities. She had become so focused on what her peers might think of her that she forgot about the bigger picture, realizing they weren’t her ideal clients in the first place. The good thing is Stephanie learned how to turn that around in the future.

Stephanie’s mental health began to struggle during this time more as well and she began having daily panic attacks, until finally it all came to a head. One day she was so anxious about a conversation with her husband that she passed out on the stairs. At that point, she realized she had a problem.

Now, Stephanie uses her personal experience to help others achieve their breakthroughs. She firmly believes that breakthroughs are a foundational element in each of our personal growth and that sometimes part of breaking through is breaking down. What she learned was if you're going to have a breakdown, you might as well make it into a breakthrough.

Stephanie has also become a firm believer in the power of journaling. She started by simply pouring her heart out and getting all of her emotions onto the page. She eventually started having ‘ideas’. She could see hope, began setting goals, and began writing about what she wanted in her future, rather than about the pain in her past. She began creating results for herself relatively quickly and rebuilt their business to over six figures in only four months.

It wasn’t until someone reached out to her asking if they could pick her brain over coffee did she really begin to see her future coming together. It was her dream job, and despite not knowing what she was doing or where it would take her, she was all in. Stephanie truly loves working with clients and cares about the art form of coaching.

From here, she began to build her business, and began getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. Stephanie learned that changing her thoughts and changing her feelings it would change everything. She has built a life they absolutely love, and don’t need a vacation from.

Stephanie leaves us with this thought:

“Know that you can have the results. You don't have to follow conventional wisdom necessarily to get the life or the results you want in your business. You can get it the way that you show up best that is possible for you. You can have whatever income level you desire, and have a lifestyle that you personally thoroughly love and value.”

Thank you for joining me again this week beautiful friends! Until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“Being an entrepreneur is 80% mindset and if you’re in the right mindset we can be in the right state to get into action and create the results we want.“
“She firmly believes that breakthroughs are a foundational element in each of our personal growth and that sometimes part of breaking through is breaking down.“
“If you're going to have a breakdown, you might as well make it into a breakthrough.”
“Know that you can have the results. You don't have to follow conventional wisdom necessarily to get the life or the results you want in your business. You can get it the way that you show up best that is possible for you. You can have whatever income level you desire, and have a lifestyle that you personally thoroughly love and value.”

Resources:

Connect with Stephanie on Instagram @thestephaniebooth
Visit Stephanie’s Website
Canva Pro
Mindset by Carol Dweck
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

SDH 445: How to Quit Your Job and Move Past Corporate Perfectionism with Kelly Butler Apr 12, 2021

Welcome back for another episode of the podcast. This week, I am sitting down with our amazing guest, Kelly Butler and I'm so excited for you to hear how we met, her story and journey of making her ultimate leap.

Kelly is an interior stylist, coach, and the passionate founder of Gratify Home where she teaches women to sustainably style homes they love while leaving a positive impact in this world. She does this through virtual one-on-one interior style coaching, designing directly with her clients, and virtual room design that is designed and done for you.

Kelly helps women overcome their sense of overwhelm in their own homes. They are generally curious about how they can also leave a positive legacy, about the food they eat, and where things are sourced from. They want to translate those values into their homes but feel stuck in knowing how to do this.

That’s where Kelly comes in. She teaches them how to invest in themselves to be their own sustainable interior stylist and create a space they can be proud of.

It all started when Kelly was still working in her corporate 9-5. Walking through her office one day she heard a voice call out to her in a loud whisper saying:

“You're not supposed to be here.”

She realized that her heart was not in her job and she was meant to do something completely different. She had a lot of pent up creativity that wanted nothing more than to be fulfilled. She began journaling to see where her journey would take her. She knew change could be scary, but she made her decision and was ready to face it.

The year prior, Kelly had applied to participate in a program sponsored by her company. She hadn’t heard anything about it and had almost forgotten about the opportunity when one phone call changed the direction of her life. She was offered the opportunity to travel to India for 30 days doing pro bono work for her company. She accepted and traveled to Mumbai where she worked in what would be considered the poorest slums and worked with an education nonprofit and local mothers learning to be advocates for their children's education.

The entire experience was incredibly transformational, very uncomfortable, and very emotional. She became obsessed with sustainable business models, how to use commerce and business as a way to alleviate poverty in a way that went beyond giving or volunteering, but rather in a way that is sustainable for artisans that preserves cultural craft.

The Creation of Gratify Home

She allowed her intuition to take over and filled her journal with things on her mind - ultimately questioning how she could funnel her passion and discomfort into something productive.

She decided that the first step was to open an online boutique, selling goods for women and home. The items were fair trade and artisan made and really uplifted the makers from across the world. She wanted to introduce these beautiful goods to women and into their homes. She began hosting parties with her products in friend's homes all while still working her corporate 9-5.

Kelly was admittedly a ‘corporate perfectionist’ and was trained to believe that the final product should always be perfect. That meant pushing back deadlines if need be. She knew this was something that she would need to retrain her brain to no longer believe. She needed to get comfortable with imperfection.

Kelly finally realized that she was filling a much-needed industry void and decided it was her turn to really take that and run with it. She combined her industry experience and her passion to develop her own business model. She had also learned the part of business she didn’t like and how she could pivot her business from that.

In early 2020, Kelly decided she no longer wanted to ship physical inventory and had planned to host a closing sale to clean out her inventory. She was going to cut the cord and transition into a fully virtual and digital business model. However, in March of 2020, Kelly’s health threw her a curveball. She initially assumed it was probably COVID and would be sick for a few weeks. A few weeks turned into much longer and she noticed that while she was recovering in some aspects, she was actually getting worse in others. It got to the point where one day she could no longer stand on her own, chew her meals, and even had trouble speaking. Kelly was diagnosed with a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome.

Because of COVID, Kelly was completely alone in the hospital. During her time in the hospital and during her months of recovery Kelly decided that this disorder would not define or defeat her. She decided that it was ultimately up to her to choose how to see what was happening to her and how she would deal with it. Leaning into losing her freedom during this time really set her on fire to move herself forward, even with baby steps. She began working even for just 15 minutes at a time.

During our interview, Kelly said:

“It's not always easy. It's different for every person. But I just hope that sharing all that I've been through to make that leap reinforces the commitment, the drive, the fire, the choice that I felt. And I just hope that it will inspire you listening to know that you can also do it no matter what comes your way if it's in your heart, if it's the burning desire that you feel it as possible.“

Kelly’s Leap

Earlier this year (now into 2021), Kelly finally made the decision to not return to corporate America and to make it work, no matter what that looked like. It was a sense of relief mixed with fear, but Kelly has learned that fear is not necessarily a bad thing if you work through it.

Kelly began pitching herself and despite her fear has made some incredible connections along her journey. She collaborates with other business owners doing Facebook or Instagram Lives and through collaborative blog posts, like this one with Elizabeth Joy (whom she met at a SDIHW Summit!). She takes every opportunity to expand the scope, scale and exposure of her own audience. She has learned to focus on the ‘no’s’ and use them as learning experiences.

Something Kelly and I have in common is that we both firmly believe in the Wayne Dyer quote,

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

Kelly says,

“I always have a choice. And I am not the victim of life circumstances.”

Kelly looks at the world around her and is filled with gratitude by this world of possibilities she has opened herself up to. She has finally learned to overcome her fear and found her drive and determination.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“You're not supposed to be here.”
“She needed to get comfortable with imperfection.“
“Kelly finally realized that she was filling a much-needed industry void and decided it was her turn to really take that and run with it.”
“It was a sense of relief mixed with fear, but Kelly has learned that fear is not necessarily a bad thing if you work through it.”

Resources:

Connect with Kelly on Instagram @gratify_home
Shop Kelly’s Website
Profit First by Mike Michalowicz
Google Drive

SDH 444: How She Created a 7-Figure Business with One Tiny Offer with Allie Bjerk Apr 05, 2021

Hello my fabulous She Did It Her Way listeners! In this week’s podcast episde I have the absolute pleasure of interviewing online mogul, Allie Bjerk.

When Allie first launched her business there were definitely a lot of ups and downs, getting to where she is today. As of right now, her business is generating about $3 million a year in digital products and coaching programs.

Allie’s Journey:

Allie went to school for graphic design and marketing and while she initially started as a service provider, it took seven years to hit six figures. But when she was not in school, she was out socializing. She was studying people and would be the one like having conversations just to see what people would say and feeding off of that energy.

After graduation, the recession hit. She took a job selling cell phones in northern Minnesota and eventually married her husband whom she had dated through college. She finally landed her (then) dream job working at an agency doing SEO, which she discovered to be not a very fun topic. After suffering through nearly 3 years of corporate drama she had her first child and realized that the agency was charging the clients $95 an hour and only paying her $17 per hour. She knew there was something to be done on her own.

A few months later her strong-willed son was kicked out of daycare and she was expecting baby #2. She knew this was the time to leap and make it work. For Allie, having her back against the wall propels her into action. Within two months she had more than replaced her corporate income. She spent time getting her feet wet and networking and she finally found her community.
Allie worked with clients offering various online business services, mostly social media and helping online business owners with their launches. At one point, one of Allie’s clients made a charge-back to her credit card (yikes!). After receiving a notification that $6,000 was going to be debited from her account Allie had to make a massive pivot, quickly. Through quick thinking, Allie realized that she needed to convert her cold traffic into buyers, with a low price point. She knew how to run ads and build funnels and combined those to create her original Tiny Offer - a live stream calendar. It was 365 ideas of live streams people could offer their audience. She made her money back quickly and kept reinvesting what she was making into more and more ads.

Along the way Allie dealt with imposter syndrome feeling that she was not worthy of making this passive income, or growing and scaling her business. It became a very emotional and mental journey, as well as a professional one. She realized she was going to screw up. It was part of the process. Ad’s would be rejected, she would get nervous, not everyone would love the program...all things that were just part of the process.

Allie has taken her natural talent of learning and really listening to what people want and giving them exactly what they are asking for. She has learned what gets their brains ticking, all about the dopamine rush and why buying products creates serotonin in our brains.

Allie’s Relationship With Money

Allie decided she needed to give her money a job. She created a spreadsheet and spent time being intentional and deciding what she wanted to use the money for. She broke it down into sections:

how long until she wanted to achieve this/ make this purchase
how many people did she need to join her 6k program
how many people need to purchase her Tiny Offer

Allie has now turned her relationship with money into a positive one where she finds fulfillment and gratitude with each purchase someone makes. It helps her to stay focused and realize that it is more about the overall picture, not just about the money she is bringing in.

If you want to learn more about Allie, head on over to her website or connect with her on Instagram (@alliebjerk).

As always, until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“She was studying people and would be the one like having conversations just to see what people would say and feeding off of that energy.”
“She knew this was the time to leap and make it work.”
“She realized she was going to screw up. It was part of the process. Ad’s would be rejected, she would get nervous, not everyone would love the program...all things that were just part of the process.”
“Allie decided she needed to give her money a job.”

Resources:

Find Allie on Instagram @alliebjerk
Check Out Allie’s Tiny Offers
Tiny Offer Lab
Zapier
Peak by Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool
Millionaires Fastlane by MJ DeMarco
Books by Denise Duffield Thomas

SDH 443: Book 100 Podcast Guest Interviews in 90 Days with Christine McAlister Mar 29, 2021

Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast. This week I am joined once again by the lovely Christine McAllister. Christine joined us originally in 2020 for episode 372.

I wanted to have Christine on the podcast again because I have spent a few episodes talking about how to start a podcast to leverage and grow your business, inviting guests on, solocasts, etc. Christine teaches people the strategies and tactics behind being an exceptional podcast guest and does podcast guesting so incredibly well. Christine is going to walk through some of the things that she teaches her students about how to get on podcast shows to grow your business and why it is important to create a game plan to get on other podcast episodes.

Christine is a business coach and her company is called Life With Passion. She helps impact driven entrepreneurs to go from best kept secret to making six figures and beyond doing what they love. She leveraged doing all of this in just 10 hours a week. She works with service providers like coaches, consultants, VA’s, and OBM’s. They know that they're good at what they do, but they don't have all the clients that they want. She comes alongside them and helps them have more impact and income and it is truly her life's work.

Christine’s Podcasting Journey

Christine first considered going on podcasts back in 2015 as a way of growing her reach. After a friend sent her a pitch as an example she realized she was super intimidated and quickly put it on the back burner. It was new. It was scary. About a year later someone reached out to her again while she was guest posting on other blogs (Today Show, Huffington Post, etc.) inviting her to come onto their podcast.

At the time she was eight months pregnant with her rainbow baby and she had been sent to labor and delivery triage for additional monitoring since everyone was a bit anxious. They sent her to the hospital and she realized that she was going to miss the podcast interview she was scheduled to be a guest on before she would be discharged. While laying in her hospital bed she realized that she was fine, and convinced the nurses to turn down the noise from the monitors so she could honor the commitment for her interview. And that’s exactly what she did. She had the conversation with the host from her hospital bed and loved it. She realized that if she could have a super fun conversation in that environment from her hospital bed, while dealing with anxiety, PTSD, and all these things, then after her baby was born this could be a whole lot more fun. She decided to start proactively pitching, because now she knew what was on the other side.

She started to pitch the people who were in her world that she was connected to, maybe someone whose podcast she enjoyed or maybe one her friends loved. To her, it became a really fun game. Along the way she developed her own method of pitching, making the host her friend, and what she found was that this came naturally to her.

What she learned was that she was not the norm. Podcast hosts loved how she approached them and handled herself and all she could think was “Really? It’s really easy to be a good human!” She first realized this could be something when podcaster Jeff Brown had her on his show when her book launched in 2018. While visiting her parents in Nashville, she asked if she could take him out to lunch. Reluctantly he agreed and while chatting over sushi he said: “I was just at one of the big podcast conferences and I was asked to give a presentation on what it is to be a great guest. I basically just took your process and I shared it from the stage.” He continued saying, “I have done hundreds of interviews and I can count on one hand, the number of times that people have done what you've done.” At this point Christine really began to lean in to this process. She knew it was something good.

Christine has made over $100,000 directly from being on podcasts from clients coming to her. But moreover, she has made amazing friends and met people all over the world because of this incredible medium.

How To Take Meaningful Action

In her experience, podcast guesting is the fastest strategy to go from cold to sold faster than any other strategy. The reason is, think about what you're doing when you're listening to podcasts. She asked me what I do when I listen to podcasts, myself. I replied:

Going for a walk
Cleaning up my space
Working out

When you consider that you are listening while taking a 30-minute walk, you are using your brain to hear or learn something new. You are in it listening only to that one (maybe two) people. You aren’t consuming information from anywhere else. There are no competing ads like when you are scrolling through Facebook. There are no popup messages. No content to create. No money to spend. No new tech to learn. No DM’s. You just enjoy the conversation. Christine realized how this is actually such a strategic way to build her business, build her network, connect with influencers, etc. You'll never run out of places to pitch.

5 Best Tips

Do your research; tap into who your audience is listening to
Craft your pitch and make it genuine; tailor it to the host
Promote the hosts products/ services/ events and tie it into what you have to offer
Connect with smaller and newer podcasts who don’t get as many pitches
Show up and be as you as you can be. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.

A few things that make a great guest before the interview:

Have a prep-chat with the host to find out what they are promoting right now. Do they have a launch coming up? Do they have a membership you can promote?
Confirm who their exact audience is. Ask about the pain points, the problems, the objections that their audience has, so you can determine how you can best help solve their problem.
Even if you don’t have an opt-in, website, etc., don’t let that stop you. Let the audience engage with you on Instagram or via email.

How to be a great guest after the interview:

Leave a review on iTunes
Send the host/ hostess a gift (NOT swag from your own company!)

Thank you again for your time and energy my friends. Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Christine teaches people the strategies and tactics behind being an exceptional podcast guest and does podcast guesting so incredibly well.“
“When you consider that you are listening while taking a 30-minute walk, you are using your brain to hear or learn something new.“
“You'll never run out of places to pitch.”

Resources:

90 Minutes to Book 100 Interviews in 90 Days Masterclass
Organic Online Growth + Sales Secrets For Entrepreneurs: Leverage Up! Private Facebook Community
Life With Passion
@lifewithpassion
The Body: A Guide For Occupants by Bill Bryson
Elevate University
Google Sheets

SDH 442: The #1 Thing Keeping You From Starting Your Business and How to Move Through It Mar 22, 2021

Hello friends, welcome back to another episode!

Today's episode is going to be short, sweet, strong, and impactful. I think it's a message that a lot of you may need to hear and a message in order to feel like you have that permission to not have it all figured out.

When you make your first step towards building your business, what I see often is this ‘undercurrent of control’. When we do something that is completely outside of the norm our brain wants to jump in and protect us. What it does when it senses fear, is it will try to control everything, it will try to predict everything, it will want to know steps one through ten. Even though in the beginning you realistically can only see steps one and two. When you can't see steps one through ten or two through ten your brain freaks out. What typically happens is that it then causes a problem at step eleven when you haven't even taken that first step. Now because you've created a problem in your brain you don't even take that first step.

This is one of the common themes and things that I see happen most often, with new business owners trying to get started. They are trying to get their business off the ground and it begins with this sense of this undercurrent of control, then wanting to know what their business will look like in a year, wanting to know all the problems so that they can control it, wanting to have something be so perfect and a certain way and the thought that it's if it's not going to be exactly the way that they want it, then what's the point of even getting started in the first place.

It's the fear of not getting it right, the fear of getting it wrong, the fear of what if it doesn't succeed, the fear of this problem is going to arrive at step X, Y and Z. The feel of ‘It's overwhelming and I don't know how to solve it. So why even start in the first place?’. That fear keeps a lot of people stuck.

Your brain doesn't have that past experience to know what unfolds. Instead, it freaks out. It's just like learning to ride a bike or learning to drive a stick shift. Any said ‘failure’ you experience is magnified in the beginning because it is so new. But it's learning to fail, learning to put yourself out there, learning to push past and move through the fear is exactly the same thing as riding a bicycle or learning to drive a stick shift. When you start building your own business, thinking that there is a right way and a wrong way to do something can also keep you stuck. Because what happens is if you put yourself out there and it ends in a ‘failure’ our brain thinks, ‘Well, that was wrong, there must be a right way to do it’. The challenge with the right way and the wrong way of thinking is that it can oftentimes paralyze you from taking any action in the beginning.

If you're a high performer, you don't want to be wrong. You're not used to being wrong. You are used to doing your due diligence, you are used to doing your research. So for you being wrong or getting it wrong is not something that probably happens often. But in this world of building your business, I want you to practice and try on the thought of ‘what if there is no right or wrong?’. What if there is only experience, learnings, and outcomes? The thought of thinking that there's a right or wrong way is going to keep you stuck, and is going to keep you from taking action.

I can tell you after being in the online business space for years, there are so many different ways that you can get to your first 100k. You will find coaches that will teach you so many different strategies in so many different ways on how to get to 100k, that there is no right or wrong way to get to 100k. There is just a way. The one thing that is common between all of these multiple ways, is that they just started and they figured it out along the way. It was a messy, massive action.

If you're focused on doing it right you're going to overanalyze in your head thinking there's a right way, when there are so many ways to do one thing. Just pick one way of doing it, do it that way, and execute. Remember there's a difference between asking questions because you're curious and because you want to understand, but there's also asking questions from a place of trying to control because you don't want to get it wrong.

If you are coming from this place of wanting to control things because you don't want to be wrong, I want to offer you a few different thoughts. One is thinking that there is no right or wrong way of doing something. The thought of failure simply just means data. That's it. The sooner that I get started, the sooner I take action, the sooner I can understand what works and what doesn’t. Sometimes we get so laser focused on how something needs to be, we create that narrowness and if you focus on something so intensely you ignore everything else that's happening around you. Sometimes that can be the magic piece.
The second is to trust that what unfolds is meant to be. So it's really practicing this letting go of control, and letting go of this need for it to be right or wrong.

I hope you enjoyed this week's episode. Come hang out with me on Instagram and until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“The thought of thinking that there's a right or wrong way is going to keep you stuck, and is going to keep you from taking action.“
“The one thing that is common between all of these multiple ways, is that they just started and they figured it out along the way. It was a messy, massive action.”
“If you're focused on doing it right you're going to overanalyze in your head thinking there's a right way, when there are so many ways to do one thing.”
“The thought of failure simply just means data."

SDH 441: How to Shift Out of Scarcity and Into Abundance When Starting Your Online Business with Amanda Boleyn Mar 15, 2021

Welcome back to another episode of the podcast. There may never be a perfect time to take action to start your business or to grow your business. The only thing that we know for sure is that by taking massive action today, you're going to be further along tomorrow than you would be if you didn't do it.

Today's topic is all about scarcity versus abundance. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart because I have worked with so many women and I have experienced the shift from scarcity to abundance myself, whether that be in money or time and relationships and love. Today I want to dive into this topic from the lens of being a new entrepreneur. As you embark on building your business and putting yourself out there and doing things that you've never done before your brain can have a little bit of a freakout, and that's okay because it's there to protect us.

We want to be equipped with tools that can help us navigate the freakout so that we don't make it mean that we should quit or that we should pack up and go home. Scarcity is living and operating out of this mindset that there's not enough whereas abundance is operating from a place of more than enough. You can tell you're in scarcity mode by just how you feel if you're tense if you're in a fight or flight. If your focus narrows, if you might find yourself on edge, that can easily be an indication that you're in a scarcity mindset. An abundant mindset can feel light; it's joyful, you're inspired, you're at ease, you're open, you are looking forward to all of these opportunities.

Being in a scarcity versus abundance state is really determined by our level of awareness when it comes to our thinking. As it relates to money specifically, this is something that is really key.

The biggest pitfall that I see in the beginning stages of building a business is getting into a state of scarcity and not being able to get out because it's a closed loop of scarcity. As a new business owner, putting yourself out there, doing your first launch thinking you're going to enroll 10 people into your program, and instead you get maybe one, or even zero...so your brain freaks out. It thinks, ‘Oh my gosh, like, Are you kidding me? I spent all this time energy I put myself out there. No one wants my offer. No one wants to work with me.’

We end up attaching a meaning to that result, which doesn't serve us and we start to close up, tense up, freak out, and get emotional. We make it mean that maybe we're not cut out to do this, maybe I need to make a different offer. Maybe someone else should be doing this not me. It puts us in this state of scarcity so that every time we go to take action beyond that launch we take action from a place of doubt and a place from uncertainty and trepidation. We spiral out in a closed thought loop of scarcity as to why things are not working. What's dangerous about this is that if we do this enough, over time we start to really create this habit within ourselves of operating from scarcity.

What I want to offer up today is 1) how we change our thoughts so that we don’t go into that scarcity closed loop, and 2) if you do find yourself in this scarcity closed loop, a way to think about it so that you can start to shift out of scarcity and into abundance.

I can speak to this because I spent the first two years of my online business in a state of trying everything in anything. Every time something didn't work I would make it mean that I wasn't supposed to be doing it. So I wasted so much time and energy, thinking about how I wasn't supposed to be doing that, that nobody wanted my offers, where if I just changed the way that I looked at it. If I would have changed the way I thought about it, I would have been able to be in a position today, potentially further along, because I would have taken massive action from a place of being inspired, rather than defeated or frustrated.

First let’s talk a little bit about Brooke Castillo's the model, so she's the founder of The Life Coach School. It's very similar to Think & Grow Rich, the book by Napoleon Hill, where our thoughts create our feelings that produce an action and or that create an action that produces a result. What Brooke Brooke has done with her model is that she's actually added on top of the circumstance. We all have circumstances in our life, whether it’s how much we make, our family, where we live, circumstances are facts.

It's one thing to say, ‘I'm unhealthy’. You think that thought to yourself, making it subjective, because healthy to you has a different definition than healthy to another person. But if you say ‘I weigh XYZ’, what you weigh is a circumstance. It is a fact. So now I want to bring this into a real life example of being a new business owner. Take for example going into a launch and having these expectations that you are going to do your launch, and you're going to enroll 10 students and you're going to make $10,000. When you go through your launch and you end up enrolling one student.

The fact is that you set a goal for 10 and you enrolled 1. You can choose to think an abundant thought, or a scarcity thought. If you choose to think a scarcity thought, it might sound something like this, ‘why isn't this working? Only one person enrolled, I spent so much time and now only one person liked this is not worth my time’. That's the scarcity thought.

The abundant thought might think, ‘Oh, my gosh, I got one student enrolled. This is amazing. I'm going to deliver so much value and help them achieve the results they're looking for’. Now because you’re thinking that abundant thought, you feel excited and motivated, versus if you are thinking in lag, you feel frustrated and annoyed. If you're frustrated and annoyed, you're probably going to take action from a place of lack and frustration, which again feels heavy. You're going to question everything, you're not going to show up for your one student who did enroll. The result is that you may have asked to deliver the content and now your student doesn't get the results that they had expected. You don't get a great testimonial, again, putting you in this loop. With abundance thinking, you feel excited, motivated and you cannot wait to deliver this. You cannot wait to help them get the results that they're looking for. The action you take is light, it's massive, you show up, you move faster, and your student has massive success in your program, that then he/ she provides you a testimonial, which then goes on your sales page, which then is used in your next launch. It becomes this snowball effect.

Another book I recommend is by Dr. Joe Dispenza, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself. He talks about how we get into this closed loop state of mind breaking that habit of being ourselves. It takes conscientious work and deliberate practice. It takes showing up every single day even though we don't think that things are happening or changing in which they really, truly are. I resonate with that so much because there was a period of time where I was in the scarcity mindset, where I look at my bank account, and I thought, ‘why isn't there more money in it? Oh, my gosh, how am I still here? Oh my gosh, I should be further along’. If you're thinking the ‘shoulds’, or you're looking at your bank account thinking ‘why is there not more money?’ Another tool to shift out of scarcity and lack and into abundance is being grateful for what is. What really changed for me was not looking at my bank account and looking at the debt and freaking out and saying, ‘Why isn't there more money’ or ‘I shouldn't be in debt’. It was deciding ahead of time, who I want it to be in the future and the person who I was in the future wasn't focused on debt, she was focused on growth. She was also very grateful for what she had in the present moment. That changed everything.

Simply just being grateful is one of the things my coach talks about. If you aren’t happy with where you're at, rather than trying to go from a thought of, ‘I don't like my body’ to ‘I love my body’, you go from the thought of ‘I don't like my body’ to ‘I have a body’. If you can't find yourself going from ‘oh my gosh, I'm so frustrated by the amount of money in my account, there should be more’ to the ‘oh my gosh, I love my money’. It's simply finding that intermediate transition thought that allows you to get to that abundant place.

If you take only one or two things away from today's episode, how can I practice more gratitude and be thankful for what I have, and what is, in order to attract more abundance into my world. That's one. The second piece is there is a difference between human value and economic value. As you're starting your business and you're shifting out of being an employee for a corporate company and becoming your own boss, things can get crossed. Human value is that you are already worthy and valuable, because you're a human being you don't need to make more money, you don't need to look a certain way, you don't need to weigh a certain amount, you don't need to do anything, you're already worthy, that's your human value.

The economic value is ‘I'm going to go out and produce something and be of service to the world and in return, I'm going to make money’. The danger is that it can be so easy to wrap the human and the economic value into one so that when we have a failed launch, or when no one signs up for our services, we attach the lack to our value as human beings. If you are out there and you're hustling and you are focused on creating in your business, you're putting yourself out there to be really keenly aware, to not confuse your value as a human, and the economic value of your business and what it is that you offer.

The third thing that I'm going to leave you with is that when we put our first offer out there (I'm certainly guilty of this), go through a launch, have that one person sign up when we expected 10, the habit and the default is ‘oh my gosh, I need to fix this, I need to relaunch the program, I need to change the offer, I need to change the product. Instead, I encourage you to realize that it's probably not the product that needs to be changed. It's probably the marketing that needs to be changed. So before you spend time, energy and thinking that your product is terrible, or that no one wants it, I encourage you to stick with that product. Just change the marketing.

That’s all for this week my friends!

Until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“Being in a scarcity versus abundance state is really determined by our level of awareness when it comes to our thinking.”
“The biggest pitfall that I see in the beginning stages of building a business is getting into a state of scarcity and not being able to get out because it's a closed loop of scarcity.”
“If I would have changed the way I thought about it, I would have been able to be in a position today, potentially further along, because I would have taken massive action from a place of being inspired, rather than defeated or frustrated.“
“It's simply finding that intermediate transition thought that allows you to get to that abundant place.”

Resources:

Brooke Castillo’s The Life Coach School
Think & Grow Rich, by Napoleon Hill
Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself,by Dr. Joe Dispenza

SDH 440: 3 Ways to Make Money with Podcasting with Amanda Boleyn Mar 08, 2021

One of the most common questions I get asked when it comes to podcasting is ‘how do I work with sponsors?’ and on today's podcast episode, I'm going to walk you through the three ways on how to make money with your podcast. I’ll also be diving into why sponsorship should be the last way in which you approach making money with your podcast.

A few of the questions I hear most often are:

How do I make money?

How do I work with sponsors?

How many downloads do I need?

What I'm going to share with you today is my personal opinion after running and producing a podcast since 2015. There are three key ways (buckets) to make money from your podcast. They are:

Marketing Your Own Products & Services

Affiliate Marketing

Sponsorships

Marketing Your Own Products & Services

Do you sell courses or digital services such as group coaching or copywriting? Market these. Promote them to your listeners and allow them to gain traction with your audience. Spend time building out your own offerings rather than spending hours looking for sponsors.

If you don't have a business yet, no worries. If you simply have an idea of the type of business you want to start it doesn't necessarily commit you to figuring out the product right away. If you're clear on the direction you want to go with your business you could set up the content of your podcast to provide value and solutions for the pain points of your audience. What you would do is invite your audience to engage with you beyond the podcast. This could be in the form of a free guide/ download, an offer for a free training, the offer to join a free Facebook group, etc., so that you can really begin to nurture and build that stronger relationship with them before you even try to sell them anything. When you are ready to start selling to them, you’ve already built that ‘Know, Like & Trust’ factor with them.

Affiliate Marketing

Maybe you don’t have a product or service yet, but you know about a software that would benefit your audience. By sharing a software/ product/ service of someone else's using a unique URL code, you get a piece of that revenue by sharing. This is affiliate marketing.

When I first got into online business, I remember learning about affiliate marketing and I thought, ‘oh my god, this is so gross’; and the truth is, you're going to find whatever you look for in life and I think I was looking for that.

Now, I look at affiliate marketing and think, ‘okay, this totally makes sense’. The thing I love about affiliate marketing is when you share a product or service with your audience, it's simply the business's way of compensating you. So rather than the company paying for their own marketing, by you sharing their product or service with your audience, they're essentially redirecting that money to you.

A great example of this is a few years ago my friend Natalie Bacon had a blogging course. She started her online business blogging about finance and she created a course. I had people in my audience asking me if I could talk about blogging and essentially, I was like, ‘No, I actually can't because I can talk about podcasting’, just not about blogging. So Natalie and I partnered together to do a webinar training for anyone who wanted to learn how to blog. For me it was truly an aligned fit because she taught people how to start a blog, and she was successful at it, and with the podcast I was able to then share with my audience about the free training. Once the training was over Natalie then promoted her (paid) course to all of the attendees and anyone who enrolled in her course using my link, I then received an affiliate commission.

An example of a software service that I'm an affiliate of is Podia. If you go to the She Did It Her Way website and look under ‘Start A Business’ you'll see Podia listed. If you click that link, it is an affiliate link. There are two reasons why I promote Podia:

I use it personally

I love it

These are excellent examples of aligned affiliate marketing and having integrity behind who you partner up with. Affiliate marketing, when you do it right and you do it intentionally, can be lucrative. Lastly, you can certainly be able to create revenue in your business from using affiliate marketing.

Sponsorships

Sponsorships are a wonderful way to generate revenue and we have generated 1,000s of dollars in sponsorship revenue with the podcast. I am so grateful to be able to have so many of you to tune in and listen to the show, which then allows for brands to reach out to us to say, ‘hey, your audience and what we offer is in line, can we do a partnership?’.

There are highs and lows with sponsorships. 95% of the time sponsors and brands have reached out to us, so I wasn't investing my time or energy trying to seek out sponsorships. I think that's something that's really key is that in the beginning, your time is so limited. You should always be assessing our time in terms of ‘if I say yes to one thing, then what am I indirectly saying no to?’.

I recommend that the time that you're going to spend reaching out to sponsorships and cultivating that relationship and finding those that are going to sponsor your podcast and instead use those hours and really invest in marketing your own products or services. So the way that I like to look at sponsorship is it's great when it's there and it comes in a supplemental, but it's not the backbone of how I make money.

Do we still work with sponsors when it's a good fit and it's aligned? Yes, absolutely. I always want to make sure 1) I am protecting your ears. I'm not just going to serve up a ton of ads on my show. 2) It has to make sense and feel really good. Sponsorship is a great supplement, but I would not consider it the end-all-be-all.

Upcoming Training

Inside my upcoming training, How to Launch Your Podcast In 5 Easy Steps, I'm covering my exact plug-and-play content planning framework. I'm going through the specific tech setup that you need and also some of the specifics I teach to my students inside Podcast Your Way. This way you can actually start recording the day after you leave the training, and have specific tangible next steps laid out for you. Grab your seat here.

I am so grateful that you tuned into it another podcast episode and until next time, keep doing it your way,

Insights:

“Spend time building out your own offerings rather than spending hours looking for sponsors.”
“The thing I love about affiliate marketing is when you share a product or service with your audience, it's simply the business's way of compensating you.”
“Affiliate marketing, when you do it right and you do it intentionally, can be lucrative.”
“So the way that I like to look at sponsorship is it's great when it's there and it comes in a supplemental, but it's not the backbone of how I make money.”

Resources:

SDH 439: 4 Lies Holding You Back From Launching Your Podcast with Amanda Boleyn Mar 01, 2021

Hey friend, how are you doing? Welcome to another episode. It is a new month, how exciting. Lots of exciting things happening behind the scenes for She Did it her Way, we’re gearing up for our free training at the end of the month about how to launch your podcast in 5 easy steps, so if you’re thinking about starting a podcast, then you definitely need to be there. I’m hosting two webinars the 3rd week of March. You can head to www.shediditherway.com to register and learn more about what I’m covering.

Today I'm sharing the 4 lies you may be telling yourself that are holding you back from launching your podcast!

Tune in to hear them!

SDH 438: 6 Steps to Launching Your Online Business in 2021 with Amanda Boleyn Feb 22, 2021

Welcome back my friends! In this podcast episode I’m going to walk you through the 6 steps that I believe will help you *finally* launch your online business in 2021. These steps are the ones that will help move you from your corporate 9-5 to becoming your own boss. They are not one-and-done. These steps require daily commitment to show up, regardless of your current circumstances and results, because part of being a successful business owner is embodying who she is before it physically manifests.

After interviewing hundreds of women, and along with my own personal journey to building an online business, there are 6 core steps and success principles that I have identified. Time and time again, guests have brought up these themes throughout their interview and have stated that these themes have played a role in their success so make sure you are paying attention and be ready to take notes!

1.Master Your Mindset

This is key. We talk a lot about mastering your mindset on She Did It Her Way podcast because it is crucial in getting the results you want in your life and business. A common hurdle I see with new business owners is getting themselves comfortable with taking massive action. Maybe you’re tuning in today and you have an idea of the business you want to launch or you’ve taken some action but have found yourself more in the space of dabbling. Meaning, when you take action, it isn’t an “all in” mentality...it is taken from a place of hesitation and trepidation.

Here’s the thing, if you’ve found that maybe you’ve stalled out in the past, dabbled, or haven’t created the results you’ve wanted, that is okay. The default is to shame yourself, get frustrated and upset and think “I’m not cut out for this”. You haven’t taken action yet, what makes you think this is going to be different this time around? You’ve wasted so much time.” and so on. Those thoughts that lead to frustration, shaming, irritation do not serve you. You want to create your present and future reality from your future, not your past. What you did or didn’t do in your past doesn’t matter and it does not serve you to hold on to it.

You have permission to let it go.

You may find yourself holding onto the shame and frustration because it’s what is comfortable. Instead, practice having your own back. Mastering your mindset isn’t something where you sign up for a 6 week course and then you’re done. It is constant work. The more you increase your mental capacity and use tools to sharpen it, the greater capacity you have for things to flow into your work.

Your results are in a direct relationship with your thoughts. The thoughts you think today create your future for tomorrow. If you’re not taking action and can’t motivate yourself, then I invite you to join Elevate University. It is an accountability membership that helps you get out of your own way and into action. We unpack these mental constructs so you can start taking massive action and achieve the results you want. Maybe you’ve signed up for courses and programs in the past and had the best of intentions of going through them but they’re collecting virtual dust...then my friend...head to shediditherway.com/elevate and sign up for Elevate University it will change your life. Promise.

Takeaway: If you have a goal or a result that you want to achieve not achieving, unpack that thought that is driving the feeling you feel that causes you to take action or not.

2. Invest In Yourself

The quickest path to success is finding someone who is already doing what you want to do and going directly to the source. For example, if you want to learn how to build a virtual assistant business, then find someone who has a successful VA business and enroll in their program and course. If you want to launch a profitable podcast from the start enroll in my podcast course, Podcast Your Way where I walk you through step-by-step how to launch your podcast in 30 days.

The time and energy you save by having someone tell you exactly how to do something you want to do is worth the investment. Investing in yourself doesn’t have to mean spending thousands of dollars either. There are low-cost, high value programs. Elevate University at the time of this recording is $67/month but the value there is 10X from the live coaching, monthly trainings and core content.

3. Validate Your Business Before You Leap

Once you know the business you want to create, always validate before you leap. The tendency might be to think, “I’ll figure it out once I quit and have more time.” The pitfall that people make is thinking that time is their problem. Time is not the problem, it is how you think about the time you have and what you do with the time you have. If you don’t have strong time management tools now, then when you do get more time, you’ll still run into the challenge of not having enough time. You also may find yourself in a bit of shock because you have so much time that you don’t know what to do with it.

Getting yourself to validate your business prior to leap does a couple of things;

It helps build your confidence in your ability to get clients because once you get one, there is always more where that came from
It helps you understand HOW to get more clients and
It feeds into getting more clarity on your pricing.

I’ve shared in previous podcast episodes the importance of understanding your leap number - how much do you need to make in your business that signals it is time to leap. You want to make sure you are doing math on how much money you need to make in order to make that leap and validating your business will help keep you accountable in doing so. I have seen many entrepreneurs make their leap and the most successful ‘leapers’ (if you will) are the ones that built their business on the side of their full-time job; with kids, 60-hour week jobs, you name it. Their ability to build their business alongside their full-time job set them up for success when they finally made their leap.

Takeaway: Find your leap number and make the goal to validate your business before leaping.

4. Get Your Money and Legal House in Order

***DISCLAIMER I AM NOT AN ACCOUNTANT, NOR AM I A LAWYER. WHAT I SHARE IS FROM MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.***

Keep your business and personal money separate. Whether that is through completely separate banking accounts or different checking accounts within your personal banking. Incorporate your business to protect your personal assets.

Create a Google spreadsheet and keep track of what you spend on business expenses and money that comes in. This is the quickest and easiest way to get started without overcomplicating it.

Part of your Elevate University membership gives you access to last year’s She Did It Her Way Summit content, which includes a Google sheet template from one of the speakers, Tess Wicks and a course regarding all things legal.

5. Play the Long Game

Building a business takes time. We recommend mentally committing to your business for 5 years. Any time frame shorter than that can create frustration when your business isn’t where you believe it should be. Playing the long-game also allows you to make long-term decisions vs decisions based on outcomes when things don’t go the way you planned. Another reason to build and validate your business while you’re working full-time.

6.Detach From the Outcome

When you’re starting out as a business owner, everything matters so much and everything is magnified. When you have a discovery call with a potential client that doesn’t result in a paid client, you’re crushed. When you do your first “failed” launch and no one signs up, it is heartbreaking. But over time you learn that those “failed” launches are a) not truly failures, they are learning experiences and b) part of the process, everyone goes through them. The sooner you detach from the outcome, the sooner you stop making decisions based on the outcomes and start making decisions based on your vision and your future self.

Takeaway: When you make decisions from your future self, you begin to act as if you already are where you want to be and you accelerate the process of bringing what you want into your life.

Thank you so much for joining me again this week.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“The quickest path to success is finding someone who is already doing what you want to do and going directly to the source.“
“The time and energy you save by having someone tell you exactly how to do something you want to do is worth the investment.”
“Your results are in a direct relationship with your thoughts.”
“You want to make sure you are doing math on how much money you need to make in order to make that leap and validating your business will help keep you accountable in doing so.”

Resources:

SDH 437: From Corporate to Virtual Assistant and Finding Freedom with Meridith McCarty Feb 15, 2021

Welcome back to another episode of the podcast. This week I am joined by the lovely Meridith McCarty. Meridith is the owner of McCarty Virtual Services, a full service virtual assistant agency and outsourcing expert. She has been working one-on-one with business owners for the past two years on how to most efficiently outsource work to a virtual assistant to maximize revenue and minimize costs and time consuming tasks.

Meridith was born and raised in Des Moines, Iowa (yes, another Iowan!) and after many moves for her husband Alex's career, she currently is residing outside of Baltimore, Maryland. After their third move in four years, she decided to create the lifestyle she desired and used all of her experience that she had gained in the corporate world to begin her own virtual assistant company, thus McCarty Virtual Services was born.

I originally met Meridith at the She Did It Her Way Summit a few years back. She reached out to me, connecting as fellow Iowans and over our mutual work we do with coaches.

Her husband's career had them moving every 1.5-2 years. This meant figuring out a new 9-5 with every move, which was less than ideal for growing her career because every time she got started, she had to stop again. She realized that she couldn’t keep doing what she was doing and knowing she was never meant to be in a 9-5, Meridith began looking into remote jobs she could do from home when they landed in Newport, RI in 2018. She discovered the world of virtual assistance and she dove all-in deciding that is what she was going to do. She committed to it and never looked back.

What makes Meridith’s journey so amazing is that she never gave herself a ‘plan B’, she was simply determined to make this work. She put all her eggs and this one basket and decided she was going to whatever it took. With this mindset, Meridith set herself up for massive success, though she didn’t know it quite yet.

One of the first things Meridith did was take Abbey Ashley’s (a past She Did It Her Way Summit speaker!) course, and with this course along with her own experience and knowledge she was able to dive right in, get uncomfortable, and start her business.

She assumed her business would slowly, but steadily grow, but what happened was the exact opposite. She experienced growth almost immediately and had to quickly hire a VA to help her out on the back end of her own business. She was not prepared at all for this, despite being a VA herself and knowing what should be done.

As a result, Meridith decided to pivot her business, consulting business owners on how to outsource work to VA’s. She shows them how to determine what to outsource, how to set themselves and their VA’s up for success, and grow their business with a VA in a positive way.

Here are few of Meridith’s key recommendations for before you start looking to outsource:

Download Loom

Record yourself doing routine tasks, step by step

Create a place (whether in Drive or a project management tool) as a training library to store these instructional videos

In this space, also put all of the information a VA would need to be successful (your headshot, bio, SOP’s, your working schedule, etc.)

Her business continued to grow, much quicker than she had anticipated thanks to a referral program she had put into place, and she decided it was time to continue to grow her team.

Her big initiative in 2021 is to get out of actually doing any client fulfillment herself. She has set herself up to be so close to achieving this and now they just need to make that final pivot, as a team.

Meridith lives by the saying,

“Do what you love, and the money will follow.”

Are you a VA looking to go the extra mile on your applications?

Meridith likes to use video submissions in her job opp’s. It shows that the applicant is willing to go the extra mile. This also raises your chances of you being remembered because it dramatically cuts down on the number of applicants for a position, in her experience.

There are definitely moments where as business owners we think that the virtual assistants and people that work for us can read our mind. Obviously, this is just not the case and it really trains you to be super explicit, crystal clear, and over communicate what it is that you want done.

“It also really requires you to recognize that hiring someone is like it is an investment, you spend more time and energy upfront.”

We all have those times that we have failed, we have all been there and hired wrong. You learn by your failures and how you are going to ‘do it next time’. Massive action produces massive results. That's how the business grows and that's how we grow.

As she has grown, so has her family. Meridith now has a beautiful baby who she loves to spend time engaging with. This makes it especially important for her to be able to focus her time when her baby is awake on her baby and when the baby is asleep, on her business. Learning to balance and keep doing the things she loves in her business is what keeps her fueled and fully present for both her family and her business.

Want to connect with Meridith? You can connect with her on Instagram and also find her hanging out on Clubhouse (McCartyVA). You can find out more about her agency via her website as well.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“It's important to recognize and understand that your leap journey and transition is going to be different from one person to the next.”
“If you can learn from someone and go straight to the source, it's going to save you so much time and energy, and it's going to allow you to accelerate your growth.”
“The key is to take care of the people who are already there because by doing so that will attract and bring more people in.”
“The better that you lay the expectation, the more stringent you are about the qualifying and hiring process, like the less work you're going to do on the back end, and they're going to make your life easier when it comes to that.”

Resources:

Meredith McCarty
Private VA Outsourcing Facebook Community
Follow Meridith on Instagram
On Clubhouse as ‘McCartyVA’
Girl Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis
SDH 240: How To Determine Which Social Media Outlet That’s Right For Your Business with Rachel Hollis
You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero
SDH 188: Following Your Fears and Feeling All The Feels with Jen Sincero
Abbey Ashley
Asana
Teamwork
Google Drive
Dubsado
Loom

SDH 436: Overcoming Fear and Making The Ultimate Leap From Corporate to Entrepreneur with Rose Mills Feb 08, 2021

Hello, She Did It Her Way listeners! Welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast. Today we are joined by guest, Rose Mills. Rose is just a gem and I'm excited to share how we met and how our paths crossed. Rose is a corporate executive turned entrepreneur, now a social media strategist helping female solo-entrepreneurs and small business owners get clear on their social media strategy, a strategic roadmap that helps to elevate brands from ordinary to extraordinary.

I met Rose two years ago at the 2019 She Did It Her Way Summit and it's just been such a joy and an honor to be able to see her journey unfold. She is a true social media strategy ‘Queen’, and I thought, let's bring her on and talk about social media planning and all that good stuff. But before we do that, Rose shares her journey of going from corporate to going out on her own.

Rose remembers the day that she made the decision to really start investigating how she could go from corporate career to entrepreneur, it was something that she had been wanting to do, but just wasn't really at that point ready to make the leap quite yet. On an early morning flight to San Francisco she found herself in a window seat in the clouds, looking out and realizing that it was her wedding anniversary that day! She realized she was actually missing her wedding anniversary since she was traveling again for work. She sat there recounting how she had sacrificed so much time with her family for her corporate travels and finally thought to herself:

“I don't want to do this anymore.”

She wanted to be home celebrating family events with her loved ones and not feel like she needed to sacrifice her family time for her career. With that, she began to pray. She prayed to be shown the path of what she could possibly do. She was looking for guidance and began to see signs that all pointed in the direction of ‘strategy’ - one of my strengths and something she was already successfully doing with corporate clients. She helped very large brands create strong and strategic brand partnerships, along with digital strategies and social media.

It clicked. If she could do that for a very large client, why couldn’t she do it out on her own?

She determined that small, female business owners likely felt these same struggles that she was experiencing, and her niche was born. Rose decided to leverage her strategy with her love of social media, and turn that into a business in helping female entrepreneurs, leverage the organic nature of social media to grow their businesses to elevate their brands and and support their businesses.

In April 2019 Rose attended the She Did It Her Way Summit and she considers this one of her big ‘A-Ha’ moments. She could do this. Make the leap. Do it on her own. Successfully.

With so many people claiming to be social media experts, Rose took a different approach. She took her experience, love and personal success on social media and leveraged that to build her business and set herself apart.

That feeling of ‘not feeling worthy’, Rose had those exact feelings. She had to really step back and think about what it was that she is good at, and what other people were saying that she was good at as well. To do this, Rose had a lot of discussions with her current clients and accountant, asking them what they thought her strengths were.

Their response was overwhelming and always this;

“Rose, you have helped us so much with our corporate strategy. Why would you not think this isn't something that you could do on your own?”

Her first client was one of those classic ‘right place, right time’ coincidences… She and her husband are members of the Chicago Yacht Club and they were looking for engagement strategies. She gave a short presentation on social media and someone at that meeting approached her after the meeting. They had a sit down and talked about his goals for social media, thus he became her first client.

Despite social media being a crowded space Rose has truly left her mark on the industry while allowing it to bring her so much fulfillment and joy personally and professionally.

While Rose was rocking at social media, she decided to make another major pivot to continue doing something that brought her a lot of joy: coaching. After helping dozens of women gain their own clarity on their social media strategy and brand presence, she realized that is what made her truly happy.

To honor her late father, Rose lives by the rule, ‘Always do the right thing’.

You can connect with Rose (personally) on Instagram. There she shares all of her best tips, tools, and strategies on social media. You'll always walk away with a good strategy for social media that you can implement for your business, but you'll also walk away knowing her personally.

Until next week, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Always have your 15-second pitch ready.”
“People can open doors, but it's always up to the individual to walk through that door.”
“There's no cheating involved, there's no tricks, no hacks; it's always about doing the right thing, never taking the easy way out no matter what.”
“If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room.”

Resources:

Connect with Rose on Instagram
Rose Mills Website
Coaching & Workshops
Girl Wash Your Face, by Rachel Hollis
SDH 240: How To Determine Which Social Media Outlet That’s Right For Your Business with Rachel Hollis

SDH 435: How I Organize My Life and Business (Including Finances) Feb 01, 2021

Hello, hello! Today I’m sharing how I organize my life and business, including finances. I heard someone else do this on a podcast and thought it was a great way to share a ‘behind-the-scenes’ look and give you some ideas on how you could implement some of these strategies in your own life.

My love language is organization; I’m very much a Capricorn in that sense. I’ve been known to help friends clean out and organize their closets. In fact, when I was in junior high, I had a friend who was pretty messy and every time I’d go over to her place, I’d want to clean and organize her bedroom and closet...because I get that much enjoyment out of it.

My husband and I will find ourselves on a weekend cleaning out our place and organizing our personal life including making sure all our accounts are up to date and going through our insurances to make sure they’re on autodraft. My physical space is extremely important to me. If it is a mess, it is harder for me to focus. So it is really important for me to make sure that it is easy to keep a clean space. I very much live by the rule, everything has its place. Whether it is a set of car keys, digital photos, important documents, you name it. Because when everything has its place, it becomes easier to find. Inside the membership program, Elevate University we’re focusing on how to be scalable from the start, including organizing our digital life, from email, Google drive, Asana, and more.

Insights:

“My physical space is extremely important to me. If it is a mess, it is harder for me to focus.”
“I very much live by the rule, everything has its place.”
“We both needed a little bit more accountability, and visibility, into our own spending.”
“To establish our monthly allowance amount we first needed to build a budget that would allow us to exactly see what was coming in, what was going out, as well as seeing our savings goals and previous spending habits.”

Resources:

Google Drive/ Sheets/ Calendar
Asana
Less Is Now
Splitwise
Monarch
Stressed Out to Streamlined Training

SDH 434: Questions to Ask Yourself with Amanda Boleyn Jan 25, 2021

Today’s podcast episode is all about the questions to ask yourself. This was something that I coached on recently inside Elevate University. The questions we ask ourselves and others can influence not only the answer we receive but based on that answer, influence the quality of our life.

We’re going to dive into...

The power of questions.
How to ask high-quality questions.
Answers to avoid with almost any and every question.
Be a good listener.
How to use questions as a tool in your life and business use the Socratic Method.

Head to www.shediditherway.com to find other podcast episodes, access free trainings and learn more about Elevate University.

SDH 433: Building Effective Habits Jan 18, 2021

Hey, friend welcome back to another episode of the podcast. If you’re new around here or if this is the first time you’re tuning in, welcome! I’m so grateful you found this podcast and are deciding to hang out with me, my guests, and the other listeners in spirit. If you’re a long-time listener then you know we like to get down to business and focus on the personal development side of building a business and layering in the tactical side as well. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today.

This month on the podcast and inside of Elevate University we’re focusing on unstoppable goals. Part of creating and achieving any goal that you desire is heavily influenced by not only the activities you do on a daily basis to achieve those goals but it is about the systems and habits you have in place so that it makes it easier and more automatic for you to achieve them.

In today’s episode, I want to talk to you about:

Habit Stacking
Forgetting About Motivation and Instead Focus on Your Environment
Eliminating Bad Habits

Many people think they lack motivation when it comes to taking action because they don’t feel motivated but what they really lack is clarity. Because when you think to yourself “I want to be more productive today,” your brain can’t actually understand or see what “being productive actually means,” and because it can see it, it is hard to feel motivated.

Rather than making a cue obvious, make it invisible. Spend less time in tempting situations. Reduce exposure to a bad habit.

You can also use what is called temptation bundling to incorporate things that you may not want to do. For example, while your coffee is brewing you can unload the dishwasher...so you associate something that you gain benefit from with something that you don’t entirely desire to do.

Create systems and structures that reduce the number of options and distractions so that you can focus on the habits that help you achieve your goals.

As we wrap up today’s episode, I encourage you to grab a piece of paper and write down, cue, routine, reward. Start to identify your own habits and routines so that you can consciously decide which ones to keep, which ones to eliminate, and which ones to stack. I’d love to hear about your habits on Instagram. Tag us (@SheDidItHerWay) and share your habits and routines with us.

Next week we’re talking all things elimination to create physical and mental space in your world to make way for your high-yield habits, who you’re becoming and more so stay tuned.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Many people think they lack motivation when it comes to taking action because they don’t feel motivated but what they really lack is clarity.”
“The human body has about 11 million sensory receptors. About ten million of those are dedicated to sight.”
“If you find yourself wanting to reduce the amount of reality tv you watch, make it so that every time you go to watch it, you have to reinstall the app on the phone, making it laborious and annoying so you can create a different emotional meaning to it.”
“Create systems and structures that reduce the number of options and distractions so that you can focus on the habits that help you achieve your goals.”

Resources:

Atomic Habits by James Clear
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

SDH 432: Being List with Amanda Boleyn Jan 11, 2021

Hi friends, welcome back to the podcast and happy new year! This month we are diving into all things goals, not only on the podcast but also inside Elevate University, our coaching membership for new entrepreneurs where you can achieve breakthrough results in your business by cultivating the right mindset and creating the right systems in your business.

Today, I want to talk about your being list. Rather than looking at your goals and first deciding what you must do, instead first decide who are you being? Who do you need to be?

Identify Who Your Goals Need You to Be…

Example:

Let’s say one of your goals this year is to become a full-time business owner. Rather than writing down all the things you’re going to do (which is important and we’ll get there), I want you to first ask yourself, “Who am I being as a full-time business owner?” An option is to take yourself out of the experience and become the observer at this point. Let’s imagine that you’re watching someone else write down the goal of “becoming a full-time business owner.” Tell yourself about that person, who is she or he being? How are they behaving?

Who are they being?

Present
Disciplined
Centered
Focused
Diligent

You can do this with any goal.

Think about the different areas of your life in which you can set goals for; family, career, social, financial, intellectual, health.

Let’s say that you want to be more financially savvy so you decide to save 6 months of expenses and pay off credit card debt. The question I would ask you is for you to “tell me about this person? Who is she being, how does she operate as someone who saves 6 months of expenses and pays off credit card debt?” Maybe it is that she is being abundant, disciplined, more than enough, intentional.

Let’s say that you decided on a specific health goal. Take a moment and become the observer and ask, “Tell me about this person who has this specific health goal, who is she being?” Maybe you come up with the following list; she is being active, she is being intentional, she is being mindful, she is being energetic.

The purpose of your being list is to identify who you need to BE in order to operate and make decisions from that place. The business owner who is a 7 figure earner operates from a different place than that of a 6 figure earner.

Close the gap…

When you identify who you need to be, your goal is to make decisions, to operate, and to show up as that person. This is key because even though the decisions you may make today may not show a direct physical result tomorrow as reinforcement of who you are becoming, it is important to a) trust the process, and b) be patient because overtime you’ll notice, see, and feel the change.

You are collapsing timelines where you are bringing the future into the present and that in itself is what catapults you to become the person you desire to be.

I’ve shared on the podcast before that most people operate from a have-do-be mindset, meaning that in order to BE someone or something, you must first do that activity and have something to initiate it.

For example, I’m reading a book called, “Psychology of Money” and in it the author points out that he experienced people who would purchase luxury cars from a place of needing to be someone different than they were. In this example, the individual thought that by having the luxury car, they could then drive it (do) and become this rich, satisfied person. However, actually operating from that place creates this “never enough” mentality because you’ll constantly be on a search for the next thing to enable you to BE someone. The car does not make the person, the person makes the car. The Chanel handbag does not make the person, the person makes the Chanel handbag.

Another example is one that I am closely familiar with because it was part of my story. I used to tell myself that “when I hit six-figures, I’ll have made it.” I had put a condition on myself that I could not have “made it” until I hit six-figures.

What this does is it creates a closed loop that never puts us in a position of winning or succeeding.

If you need something in order to BE happy or BE grateful or BE successful, then you will be stuck in that closed loop.

Instead the key is to BE that person before ever doing anything or having anything because when you can be happy and grateful in the midst of chaos, in the midst of looking at your bank account and it isn’t where you want it to be, and in the midst of your life right now when it isn’t how you expected it to be, THAT unlocks you limitless potential.

Someone who I have always admired that does this really well is my husband. Regardless of what is happening around him he always finds a way to BE happy, joyful, and grateful.

I on the other hand struggled with this skill. Notice how I said SKILL. And because learning to be unconditionally happy, joyful, grateful, disciplined, you name it, is a skill; you can too cultivate it.

Yes, it takes practice. Yes, there may be times where you find yourself getting frustrated because it may “not be working.” Yes, there will be times when your body will want to revert back to its old ways of being because that is how it has been physically trained over many years. Your body may be trained to love the pain so much that it feels so good. If you haven’t read Dr. Joe Dispenza’s book, Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, you must.

Here’s the thing, I know you can do hard things. In Elevate University, my annual coaching program where every month we dive into a new topic and I coach students on it, this is what we get into because this inside work is what transforms the outside.

If you find yourself struggling with knowing how to BE, a tool you can use is trying on someone else’s brain. I remember as a kid seeing the WWJD bracelets in gift stores and never quite understood the power of them.

Today, I can fully understand and appreciate the question. Now, I’m not saying to ask WWJD (that is of course unless it aligned with you) but in this case you can always find someone that you look up to you don’t have to know them personally but think from their brain.

For example, you could ask yourself:

“What would Brooke Castillo of the Life Coach School do?”
“What would Tony Robbins do?”

Ultimately start with you though. I ask myself:

“What would 7-figure Amanda do?”

This is also a great tool not only for understanding how to BE but making decisions. If you’re troubled by a decision to make, ask your future self how she’d make that decision.

The only thing you need in order to initiate anything is from within you, not outside you.

Thoughts

Who you are being is driven by the thoughts you think.

In order for you to be disciplined, what are thoughts you need to think on purpose?

Maybe in the midst of trial and error, tough times, it’d normally be easy for you to “give up” but instead you think thoughts, “I can do hard things. People need my work.”

Deciding ahead of time of the thoughts you need to think also helps to direct your focus.

When you have a vision and when you know where you’re heading, it creates focus, which in turn creates results.

Quick Recap…

Identify who you need to be for your goals

What does that person think in order to become that person

This is the stuff I coach my students on in Elevate University and if you are on the path to building your business and want help getting out of your own way, building a business you love, then come hang out with us. Head to www.shedidithrway.com/elevate.

Until next week, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“The purpose of your being list is to identify who you need to BE in order to operate and make decisions from that place.”
“The business owner who is a 7 figure earner operates from a different place than that of a 6 figure earner.”
“If you need something in order to BE happy or BE grateful or BE successful, then you will be stuck in that closed loop.”
“Because learning to be unconditionally happy, joyful, grateful, disciplined, you name it, is a skill; you can too cultivate it.”
“Who you are being is driven by the thoughts you think.”
“When you have a vision and when you know where you’re heading, it creates focus, which in turn creates results.”

Resources:

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself by Dr. Joe Dispenza

Stressed Out To Streamlined Training Day 3: Throw Away Your To-Do List with Amanda Boleyn Jan 06, 2021

Welcome back to day 3 of my free training, “Stressed Out to Streamlined.”

This third, and final, training is learning to throw your to-do list away. Yes, you heard me right. Get rid of that to-do list. It is only dragging you down my friend. In the third training, I’m going to teach you my calendering method that will change your life and well being forever. I promise. This method will help you increase your productivity by 10 fold. So get ready!

You can access the tutorials and download the workbook by heading to www.shediditherway.com/SOS.

Stressed Out To Streamlined Training Day 2: Declutter Your Calendar with Amanda Boleyn Jan 05, 2021

Welcome back to day 2 of my free training, “Stressed Out to Streamlined.”

This second training is about how to declutter your calendar. Chances are your calendar is full but full of things that don’t really matter when it comes to the growth of your business. It is filled with activities that actually drain you but ones that you feel like you should say yes to. In the next training, I’m going to teach you how to set up separate calendars to help organize your days and batch your work for optimal efficiency and output.

See you tomorrow for Stressed Out To Streamlined Training Day 3, where we’re wrapping up by learning how to throw away the to-do list!

You can access the tutorials and download the workbook by heading to www.shediditherway.com/SOS.

Stressed Out To Streamlined Training Day 1: Time Management Mistakes Most People Make and How to Avoid Them + Streamline with Asana with Amanda Boleyn Jan 04, 2021

Well hey there! I’m Amanda Boleyn founder of She Did It Her Way and I’m so excited you signed up for my free training, “Stressed Out to Streamlined.” I have witnessed so many entrepreneurs, especially in the beginning stages of their journey, being stressed out, overwhelmed, and frazzled for reasons that can be easily avoided and fixed simply by having a few simple systems in their business from the start.

My goal with this training is to provide you with the top 3-systems and tools I use in my business that allows it to run like clockwork. These systems are simple and easy to use and can drastically change your business and the way you operate in little to no time. I’ve shared these systems with clients who then told me they don’t know how they operated as they did before without these systems.

This first training is about time management mistakes most people make and how to avoid them. Plus, I’m going to teach you how to set up Asana and make that your centralized place for all things in your business. This will be a game-changer. If you’re currently feeling like your stuff (as in content, graphics, launch notes, you name it) is all over the place, this will give you immediate relief.

See you tomorrow for Stressed Out To Streamlined Training Day 2, all about decluttering your calendar!

You can access the tutorials and download the workbook by heading to www.shediditherway.com/SOS.

SDH 431: How To Set One Yearly Goal As A New Entrepreneur with Amanda Boleyn Dec 31, 2020

Hi friend! I can’t believe this is the final episode of 2020. We did it!

Next month on the podcast I’m going to be talking about goals from my 5 step process, your goal support system, and more, but today I want to unpack how to set goals as a new entrepreneur.

Let’s say you’re someone who is planning on starting your business in the next year, or maybe you’re embarking on your second year in business, setting a goal that feels good and inspires you can be tricky because you don’t have as much data to work off of. It is much easier to work off of experience and results than setting a goal for the first time in business.

The further along you are in business, the easier it becomes to set goals and have more clarity because you have more years of results under your belt to assess and therefore more clarity on setting goals for yourself and your business in the next year.

First, decide what you want the outcome, or result, to be at the end of next year. Do you want to go full-time in your business, do you want to fully replace your income, do you want to start your business and make 50% of your income? If you want to go full-time then you’ll have to answer the question of, “How much do I need to make in order to go full-time?”.

This will help you be purposeful in setting your revenue goal rather than being tempted to pick something, simply to pick it. If we pick an arbitrary goal, our brain won’t be able to connect with it.

Start with understanding your personal finances. How much do you need to make every month in order to support yourself and continue living the way you want to live? Maybe you decide you’re willing to cut some things out of your budget in order to live more simply so that you can quit your job or go full-time sooner.

Achieving your revenue goal is all about doing the math, and numbers supporting the systems that allow you to take action to produce the results you want.

I’m so excited for what is ahead in 2021. I can’t wait to talk to you in the new year.

Insights:

“If your goal in the new year is to quit your Corporate job, then your goal must allow you to do that.”

“If your goal is to start your business and generate 50% of your Corporate income, then your goal must reflect that.“

“If we pick an arbitrary goal, our brain won’t be able to connect with it.”

“Achieving your revenue goal is all about doing the math, and numbers supporting the systems that allow you to take action to produce the results you want."

SDH 430: The 5 Most Important Things I Learned This Year with Amanda Boleyn Dec 21, 2020

Hey there, welcome back to the podcast. I don’t know about you but I am loving this month so far. Mike and I got back from Charleston the Saturday after Thanksgiving and have been soaking up the holiday vibes in Chicago, including the chilly weather ever since. It has been such a treat to wake up in the morning when it is dark out and sit by the Christmas tree to read and journal. And because it is December that means January is right around the corner. I love January, not because it is my birthday month (shout out to all the Capricorns) but because it symbolizes the start of something new. It can be so fun to set new goals and start fresh, which I’ll be diving into on the podcast next month, it is equally important to reflect as well as set new goals.

Part of my ritual every year is to reflect on the 5 most important things I have learned from the previous year. They are typically themes or lessons that have been inspired by specific experiences.

I know it can be tempting to want to rush into setting new goals, trust me I’ve been there. But it is important to take in the lessons learned in order to become aware of them so that you don’t repeat them.

Lesson #1: Letting Go of Needing to Plan so Far in Advance

When I first started She Did It Her Way, and in the first two years of it being a business, I was so focused on planning everything for the entire year. At the beginning of this year I realized I was doing it from a place of wanting control. As I’ve grown as a business owner what I’ve found, especially this year, is that it is extremely helpful is to set goals and vision for the year but really focus from a detail standpoint on the quarter that is ahead, rather than trying to get into the details for the entire year.

Know your metrics for the year and then focus on how you can achieve those for the quarter. I’m going to be diving into this next month on the podcast.

The downside of trying to plan everything in detail from the start of the year is…

Things shift and change. If you spend so much time planning the whole year right at the start of it, things will most likely shift and change, and all that time you spent planning, has now become and inefficient use of your time.

No room for magic. If we decide that “This is how it must be,” there may be no room for magic to come through.

When planning for the next year it is important to know the following:

Your ONE goal for the year broken down into quarter (typically financial)

The person who you need to be and operate from in order to achieve that one goal

The daily habits and behaviors that will impact that goal

By knowing your quarterly goal, you then can plan accordingly. Often times what happens when trying to plan the entire year is overwhelm sets in. Bringing the timeline closer makes it easier for you to know what you need to do and what goals to achieve.

Lesson #2: Saying “No” is a Good Thing

This year I really exercised my right to use the word, “No,” or “No thank you,” rather. And if you’re new to the podcast for so much of my life I was a “Yes” person because I never wanted to miss out, let people down, I wanted to be all the things to all people and everywhere.

Learning to practice saying the word, “No,” is a skill. At the end of 2019 and beginning of 2020 I found myself over leveraged and trying to balance all the commitments that I had said ‘yes’ to.

I realized that it was difficult for me to focus on the things that matter because I was saying YES to everything.

Every time we say YES to one thing, we’re indirectly saying NO to another thing.

It is important to know ahead of time what we want to say YES to so we’re prepared to say NO to the other thing. There will always be opportunities to say YES to something but it is important to say YES to the things that matter to you. Not just in business but also in personal life.

I honored my desire to not overcommit or fill my schedule with all the things. I turned down 90% of invites to participate in a digital online summits. I turned down podcast interviews. I turned down affiliate opportunities. I turned down sponsorship opportunities. This year it became more clear the difference between what is stuff and noise vs what has a direct impact on the business and moving the needle forward.

Saying “No” is also about protecting your time and energy. Keep the main thing, the main thing.

Lesson #3: Tune Out to Tune In

Continuing with saying, “No” it also allows you space to tune out so you can tune in. There is so much noise from podcasts, content, videos, social media, courses that we can consume. When we over consume we run the risk of being overwhelmed and that is when our brain spins our because it isn’t sure what to think and then we start operating form a place of reaction rather than an intentional action. You no longer think for yourself because all the inputs are from other people.

Finding time this year to disconnect and create a quieter space was super helpful to get clear on what mattered most to me in my business and personal life, rather than thinking I needed to be doing something because someone else was doing said thing. I put limits on how much screen time I was allotting for myself (including Instagram). I condensed work days from 8 hours to 6 hours on average. This constraint helped me stay focused and made it so that I didn’t have time to consume other content.

I encourage to take time off of social media and consuming because it gives you space to pause and think rather than rushing from one thing to the next. It is a great exercise to gain perspective and helps keep the main thing the main thing.

Lesson #4: Do It Your Way

Continuing from saying, “No” and “tuning out to tune in,” stay focused on what feels good and right for you rather than thinking you need to do something because someone else is doing it and you think you should be doing it. Doing it your way requires you to go inward and listen to your intuition and practice that muscle.

What does doing it your way mean? It means that regardless of how you’re supposed to do something you tune into yourself, you stay in your lane because by doing what feels good and inspiring to you will lead to greater abundance than trying to follow a templated approach from someone else. And sometimes you need to follow someone else’s approach to learn what does doing it your way look like? But when you get swopped up in it all.

It is hard to see the forrest from the trees because you’re in it.

It is like trying to reach the label of a bottle when you’re inside of it. You can’t. This year I learned that I can, will and have acquired more abundance not just financially but health, relationships and more by doing it my way than someone else’s way. Always check in with yourself every step of the way and listen. If something feels off, it is probably off. Go with what lights you up. Follow that.

Lesson #5: My Business Will Only Grow to the Extent I Grow

There is something called the “law of the lid” and that is that as a leader in an organization, your team can only rise up to the level in which you are at. So if on a scale of 1-10 you are operating at a 7, your team will not rise above the lid. This goes for personal growth. Deeply, truly recognizing that my business will only grow to the extent I grow.

The way to achieve a half a million dollar business, or 7 figures, is to continue growing who I am. This year I learned what happens when you truly invest in yourself so that you can expand and operate from the place you need to in order to become the person you need to be to achieve your goals. I used to think that meant doing all the things and it was actually the opposite. It meant become an even better keeper of my time, focus, yes’s and continuing to take massive action.

I’m excited over the next handful of podcast episodes to take you through my planning process from reflecting on the past year, identifying goals and who you need to be in order to achieve those goals.

I’m so excited for you and the next year ahead.

I’ll talk to you next week. Until then, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“Know your metrics for the year and then focus on how you can achieve those for the quarter.“
“It is important to know ahead of time what we want to say YES to so we’re prepared to say NO to the other thing.”
Saying “No” is also about protecting your time and energy. Keep the main thing, the main thing.”
“Finding time this year to disconnect and create a quieter space was super helpful to get clear on what mattered most to me in my business and personal life rather than thinking I needed to be doing something because someone else was doing said thing.”
“Stay in your lane because by doing what feels good and inspiring to you will lead to greater abundance than trying to follow a templated approach from someone else.”
“invest in yourself so that you can expand and operate from the place you need to in order to become the person you need to be to achieve your goals.”

SDH 429: Run Your Dream Business While Working Your 9-5 with Lindsay Maloney Dec 14, 2020

Hello, She Did It Her Way listeners, welcome back to another episode of the podcast. Today I am welcoming Lindsay Maloney as my podcast guest.

Lindsay is a self made business and success coach who specializes in teaching women how to start and scale their dream coaching business with simplicity and confidence. She believes that you should always choose to use your intuition to guide you as you grow your business with step-by-step teachings and creative guidance. You'll feel inspired to take her tips into action to push your business forward and work with your dream clients. Lindsay works with women who want to get unstuck and structure their brilliance into a coaching business that's sustainable and financially exhilarating. She is also the creator of Standout Coaching Academy and the host of Book Your Dream Clients Podcast.

Lindsay started her business 10 years ago and currently coaches women all over the world. Whether it's just a dream in their head, or they have a specific goal in mind, because they have been doing this for a while, she helps them start to scale, specializing in the coaching business.

Additionally, she works a regular 9 to 5, not because she has to but because she genuinely enjoys it. She has worked from home for about 14 years, since she was around 21 years old. With three kids at home with me too she homeschools so her plate is quite full. Lindsay is the kind of person that likes to be busy, constantly doing something.

Lindsay also shares the importance of her rituals involving prayer and her daily devotional. It is so important to have a tool you can utilize when challenges happen. One big recommendation Lindsay shares for new business owners is to cut the clutter and stop listening to everything. Decide what you want to focus on and stop allowing yourself to be sidetracked. Trust yourself to do what is best for you and for your business, but at the same time look back and help those who are still on their journey as well.

In 2021, in addition to her next launch, Lindsay is excited to change up her podcast a bit, featuring more solocasts, and also dabbling with a new webinar style.

Lindsay still works her beloved 9-5 because it is so satisfying for her. She truly enjoys it and it meets her emotional needs allowing her to use her talents differently. She also has her coaching business where teaches women how to start and scale their coaching businesses with one-on-one coaching packages. Id addition to the academy, she also runs the Confident Coach Club.

In this episode, you will…

Learn to clear away the clutter and decide what to focus your time on
Discover new ways to deal with life when things get tough
Figure out what the best planning method for you is
Hear Lindsay’s story about how she juggles her 9-5 and still finds time to fuel her passion for coaching

Insights:

“We don't need to just be sponges. You need to move. You need to do something.”
“Your path needs to be really clear in order for people to be able to trust you to ask you to bring them where you are now.”
“Stop being a control freak over your business and just let it grow and blossom the way it's supposed to.”
“Meditation or prayer is so important to keep in perspective what's most important.”
“I got a roof over my head. I have water. There's a toilet. I got a bed. It's all good.”

Resources:

SDH 428: Create Your Opt-in Page & Email Sequence + 10 Places to Share Your Freebie with Amanda Boleyn Dec 08, 2020

Know you need to build an email list but overwhelmed by how to get started and all of the tech? ConvertKit is your go-to email platform that helps entrepreneurs like you turn your passions into a full-time career by growing your audience, promoting your business, and building a meaningful relationship with your fans. You can do all of this on their free plan.

You can showcase your product and upcoming projects by building a custom landing page in minutes, saving time to help you focus on your business. ConvertKit’s email designer helps you create beautiful, simple emails that help turn your casual audience into true fans. Writing professional and personalized emails about your business and products helps connect you with your audience. ConvertKit helps entrepreneurs earn a living by evolving their side hustle, with tools to help sell products and grow their business.
Go to convertkit.com/shedidit to sign up for a free account and find your audience faster.

After you create your freebie and it is ready to be shared with the world there are few things you’ll need to do. In this episode I’m going to dive in to what needs to be done before you share it with the world and 10 places you can share your freebie.

At this point, you’ve decided which software program you’re going to use. Many of the software solutions have what is called an opt-in page option or a way to embed a signup box on your website.

You can also decide to create a separate opt-in page on your website whether you Squarespace or Wordpress. When you create an opt-in page on your website you’ll most likely need to embed the signup box on your website.

Based on my experience, I recommend the easiest way is to create a landing page with whatever email marketing software tool you decide to use and create a redirect for your opt-in.

For example let’s say you create a checklist. Your Squarespace website URL redirect may be “www.thenameofyourwebsite.com/checklist”. When someone goes to your website URL they are then redirected to the opt-in page you created through your email marketing software.

Now, within your email marketing software, you’ll want to create what is called an “automation”, meaning that when someone goes to the opt-in page you created and enters in their name and email address, they’ll automatically (hence the word automation) receive your download via email.

To create the automation, you’ll first need to write the email that then sends your opt-in to them.

Let’s recap:

You have your website

Your email marketing software

Your freebie

Still to create:

Your opt-in page via your email marketing software

Your automated email that delivers your opt-in + a nurture sequence

Still to do:

Create your URL redirect

Create your automation

When you create your opt-in page make sure it is short, simple, and straight to the point as to what it is someone can expect to receive when they sign up. What is the benefit to them? Why should they subscribe? Keep the ability to opt-in and subscribe above the fold and don’t clutter your opt-in page. Be sure to include a photo of you at the bottom along with a blurb about your journey. This can also be referred to as a “credibility statement.”

When you write your email sequence, there are many ways to go about this. The purpose of a “nurture email sequence” is to nurture those that download or opt-in. The guide that someone just downloaded may be their first real interaction with you. Your nurture sequence consists of a series of emails to build the relationship with your subscriber and take them from a cold, to warm, to hot lead for the purpose that they convert to a client.

An example might look like a series of 4 emails over the span of 7 days.

Email 1 - Day 0: The first email is sent immediately once someone signs up for your opt-in. This email is short and simple. “Here’s your download! I’m so excited for you to dive in. I’ll be in touch tomorrow to share a little bit about myself and my relationship with BLANK. Sign off.”

Email 2 - Day 1: Share your story and ask them a question. Ask them to reply. Create that engagement from the start.

Email 3 - Day 3: Check-in about the guide, share a pain point and solution.

Email 4 - Day 5: Invite them to a discovery call

Again, every sequence will look different depending upon your goal but in the beginning keep it super simple and don’t overwhelm yourself with trying to do all the things.

10 Places to Share Your Opt-in Page:

Website homepage via a banner

Website pop-up feature

Instagram bio CTA

Email signature

Your Facebook group

Facebook business page

Blog posts

Youtube channel

Podcast episodes

IG stories (drive traffic to the opt-in page)

Remember: Your first freebie will not be your last. The sooner you get started, the sooner you start. It isn’t about getting it perfect, it is about getting started and taking action. Be kind to yourself as your navigating the learning process. Take advantage of tutorials that email marketing software companies offer. Lastly, sign up for an email marketing course. I love Amy Porterfield’s List Builders Society.

This concludes our 3-part training series about list building. I would love for you to connect with us on Instagram. Take a screenshot of you listening to the episode and tag us!

Until next time, keep doing it your way.

Insights:

“Based on my experience, I recommend the easiest way is to create a landing page with whatever email marketing software tool you decide to use and create a redirect for your opt-in. “

“To create the automation, you’ll first need to write the email that then sends your opt-in to them.”

“Your first freebie will not be your last.”

“The sooner you get started, the sooner you start.”

Resources:

Convertkit

Squarespace

Amy Porterfield’s List Builders Society

SDH 427: Create Your 1st Freebie in 5 Steps Dec 03, 2020

Today's episode is part two of a three-part series. In the first episode, I dive into high-level strategy on the importance of list building. I also share with you my journey of list building and what it's been like. Because when you start to build your email list and you start working with the tech, it can be overwhelming. Part of list building is making sure that you are creating something of value in exchange for an email and that's what we're going to get into today's episode.

I have seen time and time again that so many people stall out from building their email list because they can't get past the actual building of the opt-in. Not knowing what type of opt-in to create, not knowing what the content part of the opt-in is, let alone even just physically, or digitally, in this case, building the opt-in.

So in today's episode, I'm going to walk through brainstorming how to decide what type of freebie you should create and how to outline the content for your freebie. We will also go over how to build your freebie in Canva, or if you should consider buying a template.

In the next episode, I'm going to share with you some things that you'll want to make sure you do after you have your freebie when it comes to your email automation along with places where you can share your opt-in to drive what is called traffic so that you can nurture them through email and grow your list.

Insights:

“We want to make sure that we create something that is of value, that isn't overwhelming, and that isn't going to take too long for them to complete.”

“I always think that it's important that as you're growing your business and building it, to identify the areas and things that are not in your zone of genius or is not something that you don't particularly love doing or aren’t necessarily great at.”

“The most important thing is to take messy and perfect action that is aligned with the results that you want to create.”

“Think about how you can help your audience what are some of the questions that you receive currently, from your current clients and from your past clients, and really brainstorm and outline how can I put this into a downloadable guide that allows people to take quick action and get good not just results, but value from your opt-in as well.”

Resources:

Canva

Creative Template Shop by Abagail and Emylee of Boss Project

Evernote

Convertkit

Creative Market

SDH 426: Email List Building with Amanda Boleyn Nov 30, 2020

Welcome, welcome friend. Today I want to talk to you about email list building; specifically the importance of it and how it impacts your business growth. Now, if you’re anything like I was in the beginning stages of when the She Did It Her Way podcast first launched in 2015, I heard of list building but didn’t quite fully buy into it. I actually thought, “I can build a business without an email list” and honestly, that was me trying to opt-out of trying to figure out “how do I even get started?”

So if you don’t have an email list yet or you’re just starting out, this episode (and the next two episodes to come) will be super helpful on your journey of list building.
First, let’s talk about what is an email list and why is it important to your business…

Your email list is your direct contact with your audience. It is how you can interact, engage, serve up value to them. This is how you intentionally nurture them. You nurture your email list the exact way you may nurture a child, you take care of them and continue to provide them with resources and value.

Building an email list is crucial because it is the best way to build a relationship with your audience so you can build the ‘know, like and trust’ factor, which is important when you go to offer them something, whether it is your offer or an affiliate partnership.

The more subscribers, the more people on your list, specifically the right people on your list, the more your business can grow. The reason why I say “the right people” is because you can have a list of 300 subscribers that are your ideal client and those that you can help, it could essentially perform better than someone who has a list of 1,000 subscribers but aren’t your ideal customer or someone that you want to work with. This is key because it can be easy to assume that just because you have a larger list, it is better but what matters most is having the right people on your list.

Email List Building Strategy

There are many ways to build your email list. Ultimately the purpose of building your email list is that you can offer something. For example, if you have a paid blogging course you’ll want to create an opt-in that is related to your paid blogging course. So maybe your opt-in is a free downloadable guide, a webinar, a cheat sheet, a checklist, or a course. Something that correlates with your paid offer.

If you don’t have an offer yet, don’t let that stop you from creating opt-ins and building your email list. You can use that time to nurture them, to serve value, and educate them.

Expect to create multiple opt-ins to see which one your audience resonates with the most. We’ll talk about the process of creating your freebie in the next episode.

How to Get Started

I recommend building your freebie first, before signing up for your email provider.

Why? Because building your first freebie doesn’t cost you anything except your time and energy. You can use a free Canva account to create it.

Decide an email provider to house your subscribers and communicate with them. There are many service providers out there like Mailchimp, ConvertKit, and Podia. Spend time researching each one before making the decision.

When it comes to the tech side of things, carve out 30 minutes every day to spend learning about the platform and using it. This was a major shift for me when I started to build my email list. For so long I procrastinated building my list because in my mind I thought it was this massive undertaking. However, once I started to get familiar with the tech and began spending 30 minutes a day or even a few times a week working inside the platform, I focused more on the time I was spending just being in the tech rather than specific about what I wanted to get out of my time. That to say, once I started to get the hang of it, I was able to be more specific on how I wanted to spend my time.

A Final Note!

Next week I’m going to walk you through my process of creating a freebie and after that, I’m going to share where and how to share your freebie so that you can start to build your email list.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

Insights:

If you don’t have an email list yet or you’re just starting out, this episode (and the next two episodes to come) will be super helpful on your journey of list building.”

“What matters most is having the right people on your list.”

“If you don’t have an offer yet, don’t let that stop you from creating opt-ins and building your email list.”

“Ultimately the purpose of building your email list is that you can offer something.”

Resources:

Convertkit

Canva

MailChimp

Podia

Happy Thanksgiving! Nov 23, 2020

Hey friend! If you live in the states then this week you’re most likely celebrating Thanksgiving and this week the She Did It Her Way Team is taking off to be present with friends and family.

I want to tell you a little story...5 years ago I battled with myself to be grateful. My brain was focused on lack, what wasn’t in my life, and also focused on what was wrong.

What I want to offer up to you, not just this week, but as a tool for life is…

The practice of gratitude.

Abundance and scarcity are two completely different energetic vibrations. You cannot criticize your current life and business all while expecting something greater to manifest. It doesn’t work like that. It took me years to understand this. I used to look at my bank account and get mad and frustrated that there wasn’t more in the account. For years it was stagnant. It wasn’t until I decided to look at the number in my account and express gratitude for what was there that it then started to grow.

The quickest way to shift from scarcity thinking to abundant thinking is to bring into awareness what you are grateful for. It changes your energetic vibration. Whenever you’re overwhelmed by life and business, take a pause and acknowledge three things that you’re grateful for. This creates awareness and perspective.

With that, I’m so grateful for each and every single of one of you who are showing up and tuning into this podcast every single week. It is because of you that I get to do something that I love and I don’t take that for granted. I’m so grateful for you as my listeners, my clients, my family, spouse and home, and what is yet to come.

I hope you have an amazing week and holiday. I’ll talk to you next week. Keep doing it your way!

Insights:

“You cannot criticize your current life and business all while expecting something greater to manifest.”

“The quickest way to shift from scarcity thinking to abundant thinking is to bring into awareness what you are grateful for.”

“Whenever you’re overwhelmed by life and business, take a pause and acknowledge three things you’re grateful for.”

SDH 425: If You've Been Holding Yourself Back, Listen to This with Amanda Boleyn Nov 19, 2020

In today’s episode, I’m going to unpack how your brain may be holding you back from taking action and achieving your goals and dreams.

Maybe you want to start a business but can’t seem to get yourself to take that first step.

Maybe you’ve started your business but working on going full-time.

Maybe you’ve made your ultimate leap and you’re full-time.

No matter where you’re at in building your business there will be times when there’s something you want to achieve but can't quite get yourself into action and you’re holding yourself back. This isn’t a YOU thing, this is a mindset shift thing.

First, you have a primitive brain and it likes to keep you safe. Because it likes to keep you safe, it likes to repeat the past because that is what it knows best. If you’ve ever tried to change a habit, good or bad, you probably find it challenging. The reason is that your brain loves safety and comfort. That’s why it is important to create a culture in your life and business that is centered around getting comfortable with discomfort. Once you know this, it will be easier to navigate your thoughts and actions to move through the discomfort because you will realize that it is your brain and not you. The brain is wired for survival so anything that your brain senses as ‘danger’, or in this case ‘new’, it freaks out.

The reason why we hold ourselves back is usually stemmed from fear and that fear could be driven by multiple things such as fear of what others will think of us, fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of the unknown, fear of making a mistake, etc.

Here I want you to name what you’re afraid of. Resist the urge to say “I don’t know why I’m holding myself back.” I’ve shared in previous episodes that when your brain hears “I don’t know why…” it won’t come up with an answer. So instead, ask yourself, “But if I did know, why am I holding myself back?” Next is to unpack your fear and get as specific as possible about what is causing your fear. Naming, whether it is your fear or emotions, is extremely important in bringing the awareness you need in order to unpack what is happening in your brain so you can think different thoughts and take intentional action to produce the result you want.

Insights:

“If you’ve ever tried to change a habit, good or bad, you probably find it challenging. The reason is that your brain loves safety and comfort.”

“So many dreams and goals are not realized because we hold ourselves back.“

“Naming, whether it is your fear or emotions is extremely important in bringing the awareness you need in order to unpack what is happening in your brain so you can think different thoughts so that you take intentional action to produce the result you want.”

“Our thoughts create an emotion, that leads to an action (or inaction) and produces a result.”

“I can do hard things.”

Resources:

The Life Coach School podcast by Brooke Castillo

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

SDH 424: How to Practice Saying No and Defend Your Calendar with Amanda Boleyn Nov 16, 2020

This podcast episode is about how to practice saying “No” and defending your calendar. Sometimes that “No” is to someone outside of you and sometimes that “No” is to you, yourself as the business owner. As you're building your business there are so many things that are vying for your attention, from what is happening in your personal life, to all of the things that you need to get done in your business. The most important thing for you in the beginning stages is to keep the main thing, the main thing and you do that by saying, “no.” Because when you say “YES” to one thing you’re indirectly saying “NO” to another.
If you say YES to a night out with girlfriends, what is the trade-off, what are you indirectly saying NO to? Where your focus goes, energy flows, and results will show. It is easy to say you’re going to work on your business every Monday and Tuesday night from 6-8 PM, but when the invite to do a girls’ dinner comes across via text, then what?

The goal isn’t to say your decision is right or wrong, the goal is to bring awareness to the decision so that you can make an intentional decision knowing what the trade-offs are.

In this episode, you'll hear...

Reasons why we don't say no
What happens when we don't say no
Where to start and what to expect
Final notes

Insights:

“The most important thing for you in the beginning stages is to keep the main thing, the main thing and you do that by saying, “no.” Because when you say “YES” to one thing you’re indirectly saying “NO” to another.”
“The goal isn’t to say your decision is right or wrong, the goal is to bring awareness to the decision so that you can make an intentional decision knowing what the trade-offs are.“
“No one else will protect or defend our calendars or goals for us, we must do that.”
“Do your best to make decisions ahead of time and not in the moment.”
“Make decisions based on what you truly want and your goals.”

SDH 423: How to Clean Up Your Systems in Your Business with Amanda Boleyn Nov 12, 2020

Today’s podcast episode, I’m walking you through my entire systems streamlining and overhauling process along with how you can organize yours from the start. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for several months and am so excited the time has come for me to dig in! There were so many times earlier this year that I wanted to streamline my systems, clean up redirects, and opt-ins but it wasn’t a priority because of other stuff that was taking place in the business.

In this episode I’m going to share:

What all my software and system clean up entails
Why I’m doing a systems and software clean up now
My overall approach to the cleanup
The dashboard I built
What’s still left to do
Best practices on how to stay organized from the start

My software and systems clean up consists of the following:

Site mapping and url redirects within my Squarespace site
Clean up of all opt-ins from the opt-in page, email sequences, and actual opt-in
Move any Leadpages to Podia to help consolidate software systems
Clean up and delete any unused or outdated ConvertKit opt-in forms
Clean up and delete any used Podia forms, courses, or downloads
Clean up our show notes and podcast episodes

Why a systems and software clean up now?

I know a lot more about websites and SEO now than I did when I first built our website. I knew I had left too many “dead bodies” lying around. Meaning, I knew that there were pages that either went to a 404, ones that were live and you could find but weren’t relevant anymore, call-to-actions for trainings that are no longer offered...it just was a bit of a hot mess.
We also went through a rebrand on our site and moved from www.shediditherwaypodcast.com to www.shediditherway.com so what a perfect time to make some intentional updates!

My approach to the clean up:

First, I recommend making a plan for how and when you’re going to do this clean up. Be as detailed as possible when planning. Also, ignore everything else in your life and business during that time. My inbox has been on ‘pause’ and all my notifications have been turned off.
I took an inventory of all my current systems. In Leadpages I think I had over 50 different Leadpages created; I put them all into a Google Doc on their own respective tabs. In Squarespace, I took note of both the URL mappings and all pages that have been created. Finally, Convertkit and Podia opt-ins, podcast episodes, and show notes.
Next, I created a “desired” url mapping list. For example, there were lots of pages around trainings/ challenges that we’ve done and work with me pages. Instead of having 10 random pages that have traffic going to them, I created one “work with me” page and went into my Squarespace account, and redirected all the random pages to that one “work with me” page. The main pages starting out that you’ll most likely have are your homepage, work with me page (offer/sales), and any CTA’s that you’ve created.
I went through the “Current URL Redirects” and made sure that all traffic was going where I wanted it to go and if not, noted where I wanted to point it instead. Once I finished that, I actually made the changes in Squarespace.
Once I identified the live call-to-actions that were out there, I then created a separate tab to track them. I was able to go into Canva and update the downloads.
Then I migrated everything from Leadpages to Podia. Instead of creating individual landing pages and call-to-actions, I put all my freebies and trainings into a vault and made one opt-in page on Podia with one email onboarding sequence. Because I did this, I went back to my URL redirects and made sure that all traffic was pointing to www.shediditherway.com/thevault. If you previously downloaded our Ultimate Leap Checklist and Starter Kit you would have gone to www.shediditherway.com/leap and you still can but now it forwards to www.shediditherway.com/thevault so I’m able to strategically capture that traffic, plus when you create an account on Podia you get access to ALL of the freebies, instead of just one.
At this point, I didn’t need any of my Leadpage anymore so I was able to deactivate my account - yah! One less software system - woot woot! Leadpages is great if you want to get fancy with your marketing automations, but based on where we’re heading with She Did It Her Way, my goal is to keep things as simple as possible.

I also made a copy of my dashboard that you can access by heading to www.shediditherway.com/thevault.
What’s still left at the time of this recording?

I still need to go back and clean up ConvertKit. Some of the landing pages and sequences I made are no longer relevant. I’m still keeping ConvertKit for now because migrating email marketing to Podia a) will take significant time and b) I want to properly assess if we’re ready. I love Podia but ConvertKit is a little more robust with email marketing. To be continued…
We’re doing a complete overhaul with our podcast episodes. We have over 400 of them and we’ll be going through each of them one by one; listening for time-sensitive information that is no longer relevant, updating call-to-actions, intros, and outros. I will be leaning on my team to help with this process because it would take a long time for me to do solo. Not only will we be updating the audio, but we’ll also be going into Simplecast and make sure we’re optimized from a searchability standpoint.
With that, we’ll also be combing through all our shownotes to make sure they are optimized and have the right call-to-action insert in the show notes as well. My goal is to complete all of this by the end of the year.

Best Practices:

Make an effort to track as much as you can from the beginning of your business journey. Download my dashboard and start tracking today. It will save you a ton of time along the way. Plus you’ll also know where traffic is being directed to and what people are clicking on.
If you’re starting out and want to keep things simple, I recommend using Podia. If you want to layer in email marketing tactics, sign up for ConvertKit as well, as their ystems can talk to one another.
While you’re doing the “clean up”, focus only on one part of it at a time. Don’t try to do two different types of tasks at the same time. For example, start with the download; take inventory of everything and get it in your dashboard before you start to make changes or clean up.
Make the clean up a part of your routine whether it is once a year, twice a year, or quarterly.

Again, if you want to snag my dashboard, you can sign up for our entire vault of resources by heading to www.shediditherway.com/thevault.

Insights:

“There were so many times earlier this year that I wanted to streamline my systems, clean up redirects, and opt-ins but it wasn’t a priority because of other stuff that was taking place in the business.”
“I know a lot more about websites and SEO now than I did when I first built our website.“
“Keep things as simple as possible.”
“Make an effort to track as much as you can from the beginning of your business journey.”
“Make the clean up a part of your routine whether it is once a year, twice a year, or quarterly.”

Resources:

Podia
Leadpages
ConvertKit

SDH 422: My #1 Time Management Tool: Calendar Your Life with Amanda Boleyn Nov 09, 2020

In this episode, I'm sharing a tool that I’ve been practicing diligently for the past 9 months. It is what has attributed to me accomplishing my goals, not giving in to overwhelm, and knowing when my workday is done.

Time management. What does it actually mean to manage your time? Managing your time is you decide ahead of time how you’re going to spend your time and exactly what you’re going to do with it.

The problem with time management for most people is that they’re reactive to their schedule and work from a never-ending to-do list.

When you work off a never-ending to-do list, it is, therefore, never-ending. Right from the start, you set yourself up for failure in the sense that you’ll always be “behind”.

And when you feel behind, you put yourself in a closed loop of being behind.

Napoleon Hill, the author of “Think and Grow Rich” shares that our thoughts create our feelings, which creates an emotion, inspires an action, which produces a result. If your thought is “I’ve got so much to do” (because it is triggered by your never-ending to-do list), you’re going to feel overwhelmed. Most often this results in either not taking or initiating action but also not following through. Ultimately, this becomes your story and what you identify with.

Today, I want to offer you a tool I use that actually allows me to throw my to-do list away and feels so freeing. It is a tool called “Calendering,” meaning everything that needs to get done, goes on the calendar. No longer are you trying to track down your multiple sticky notes, rather you have ONE central location that you work from. This method definitely works better with a digital calendar rather than a traditional paper calendar because you may find yourself needing to switch things around, and doing this digitally is much easier than on a paper calendar.

The idea is that anything and everything that needs to get done has a place on your calendar. The benefit of this is that you no longer have a to-do list and you become more proactive with your time; you know exactly how you’re spending your time and what you’re producing during that time, plus, you save energy by having a system in place.

In this episode, you will:

Learn how to effectively block time on your calendar for business and personal use

Find out how I break down tasks to maximize my working hours

Hear how to make the switch from using a paper calendar to a digital one

Discover the importance of planning out the usage of your time

Insights:

“The idea is that anything and everything that needs to get done, has a place on your calendar.”

“Our thoughts create our feelings, which creates an emotion, inspires an action, which produces a result.“ - Napoleon Hill

“The Six-P Formula states that ‘Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.’”

“You want to make sure that you pick a time every week where you sit down and plan your schedule.”

“One of the worst uses of time is to use it to do something very well, that need not to be done at all.”

Resources:

Google Cal

Six-P Formula

SDH 421: How to Use Your Best Assets to Give Your Clients Exactly What They Need with Tasha Booth Nov 05, 2020

Tasha built The Launch Guild to be a course-launch support and digital marketing implementation agency, supporting established coaches and course creators with course and podcast launches, operations and systems management, and content management and repurposing. Her team is over 20 members strong and works together to support their clients and being able to put their focus back into their zone of genius.

Additionally, she mentors virtual support pros, VA’s, and OBM’s who are passionate and ready to grow their business, while living life on their terms. Tasha also is the host of the How She Did That podcast, a podcast where virtual assistants, online business managers, and project managers learn business and tech tips.

Tasha is an Air Force wife to her husband Scott and step-mom to Grace and Meredith, and a work from home dog mom to Stanley and Boomer. In her spare time, Tasha watches true crime tv, sings karaoke, and tends to her organic vegetable garden.

Tasha considers her businesses to have two sides. The agency side does full-service launch support for established coaches and course creators. It includes podcast launches, course launches, membership launches, and more. On the other side, there are three different programs where they support VA’s, OBM’s, and project managers on starting, growing, and scaling their businesses.

In this episode, you will…

Learn why you must decide on your ‘why’, right away
Feel inspired to get through hard times
Hear the importance of creating great systems right from the beginning
Find out how to not feel so isolated and grow your tribe, when working alone, from home
Discover the importance of setting goals, as a family, for your business

Insights:

“I was making more in my side hustle than I was in my full-time job.”

“You can have a vision for the future. But you also just need to be grateful for where you are right now and be okay with the fact that like, maybe right now, it means you take on two clients, at max, so that you can still live life and like, enjoy time with your family and enjoy downtime and everything so that you don't burn out.”

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” Marianne Williamson

“Who are you behind? Who are you not ahead of? We're the only ones that put self-imposed deadlines and certain restrictions on where we believe and think that we should be.”

“We live in a hustle culture in the online space and that can work for some people, but it's not usually sustainable long term.“

Resources:

The Launch Guild

The Launch Guild (Instagram)

Tasha’s Website

Tasha’s Instagram

To learn more and access free trainings, head to www.shediditherway.com.

SDH 420: Morning and Evening Rituals with Amanda Boleyn Nov 02, 2020

Ready to build your online presence? If the answer is YES! Then you first need a domain. Your domain acts like your telephone number but for the web, it is how people find and contact you. Step number 1 is securing your domain. We recommend Hover. Hover makes finding a domain simple and easy to do. They provide a clean user interface so that you can drop the tech and overwhelm and get up and running in no time. Not to mention their customer service is best in class. Thank you to Hover for supporting the She Did It Her Way podcast. To check out Hover and secure your business website domain, head to hover.com/SheDidIt to receive 10% off your first domain. Again that is hover.com/SheDidIt to receive 10% off your first domain.

In today's episode I'm sharing some of my most important morning and evening rituals to help me stay focused and energized throughout the entire day.

We will dive into:

Why it is important to really set yourself up for success with an evening ritual so that your mornings go well
Why you should make as many decisions ahead of time in the evening to help avoid decision fatigue in the morning
How to avoid the heaviness in the mornings and always feeling like you're "behind"
Practical steps to get started with your new morning and evening rituals.

To learn more and access free trainings, head to www.shediditherway.com.

SDH 419: How to Build Your Personal Brand with Rachael Bozsik Oct 29, 2020

Rachael Bozsik is an international keynote speaker and thought leadership coach for female entrepreneurs. It's her mission to empower entrepreneurial women to position themselves as World Class thought leaders and public figures in their niche via press, paid speaking and partnerships. Rachael has been applauded for her work in numerous international publications as a top tier expert in elite branding positioning including Forbes, Glamour, Business Insider, and more.

Through her work as a professional speaker, she has empowered 60,000 plus women on stages including Harvard Business School, Spanx Headquarters, Wharton Business School, Cornell, Brown, NYU Stern School of Business, Professional Business Women of California National Conference, American Society of interior designers, Nylon Magazines, Influencer Conference, just to name a few. She has also had the opportunity to partner with incredible brands, including Oprah's Leadership Academy, L'Oreal, Sephora, and others.

She's sitting with us today to share her story, what she's doing now, and how she started her journey. At an early age, Rachael was exposed to professional development. Her first female mentor was a luxury real estate agent. She asked Rachael to come with her on weekends to open houses and taught her early on this idea of personal branding networking, and mentorship.

In this episode, you will…

Hear about Rachael's interesting start
Discover your "aha" moment
Figure out and focus on your niche
Understand the importance of personal branding
Get the value of reviews and stamp approval
Learn about stamp approval and association with press and brands
Why you need a coach especially in the early stage
Learn how to take it light and if it doesn't work, move on

Insights:

"I think that it's kind of almost a rite of passage to be in hustle mode."

"I wish I became more an expert of one thing, rather than a master or not even a master right. Like a jack of all trades, like a master of one rather than a jack of all trades. And like that's what I do now.”

"Personal branding, it's everything to your business."

Resources:

Rachael’s Website

Favorite Books: What Remains: A Memoir of Fate, Friendship, and Love, When Breath Becomes Air, The Light Between Us: Stories from Heaven. Lessons for the Living

SDH 418: How to Build Your Online Presence with Amanda Boleyn Oct 26, 2020

Preparation:

If you’re in the beginning stages of building your online presence here are a few things you can do to in the prep phase:

Secure your domain - Even though you won’t be building out your website right away, we still recommend securing your domain, that way when you’re ready to build your website, you’ve already got your domain. You can search and secure your domain online using Hover.com. You can head to hover.com/SheDidIt for 10% off your first domain.
Secure your social media handles:

Twitter
Facebook Business Page
Instagram
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Try to make it so that all of your handles are as consistent with one another as possible, including your website domain. Again, not the worst thing in the world if you can’t but bonus if you can. Also, even though you might not be producing re

Building your online presence requires you to get visible. Here are a few ways to gain visibility.

Consistency. Be consistent as you can with your marketing and pace in which you produce content. If you host a podcast, whether you publish an episode once a week or bi-weekly, make it as consistent as possible on the same days. If your audience is on Instagram, how often do you want to consistently publish content on Instagram. The reason why you want to be consistent is because of a couple of things:

You train your audience to show up on certain days and they see your content more consistently which helps build that know like and trust factor.
The more your audience sees you, the more you position yourself as an authority or a thought leader on that topic.
Depending on the platform that you’re producing content on, typically the more content you produce, the better. Social media platforms love when you post content regularly and consistently because it keeps people coming back for more. They also like it when you use new features they come out with. Instagram came out with a “Reels” and those who use Reels are being served up as “suggested content” in your feed, thus exposing them even more. Don’t let that stress you out when you’re just starting!

Partnerships. Partnerships are a great way to gain visibility with other audiences. These are great at any stage of building your business. Partnerships allow you to get in front of other audiences and exposure yourself to them. Plus they’re fun!

Partnerships could be in the form of…
Guest blogging
Guest podcasting

Swapping interviews inside your Facebook group

Bonus! It gives you more practice at speaking and/or writing. With partnerships, you want to make sure you’re strategic with which ones you do because ultimately it is about you generating more leads for your business.

Action Steps:

Secure your domain
Secure your social media handles
Build out your social media handles (Even if you’re not going to focus a ton of energy or time on them. At least set up the profile).
Pick the platform where your target audience shows up the most; LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook.
Build out a content calendar. Decide how often you want to post each week, brainstorm a list of content ideas, start writing or recording.
Schedule your content. You can use software tools like Meet Edgar for general social media, Planoly for Instagram, and Tailwind for Pinterest. Some of the platforms like Facebook allows you to schedule content directly inside your Facebook group.
Remember to engage; comment back, like, follow them, ask your audience questions. Build the relationship!

SDH 417: Simplify Your Online Business to Scale with Sabrina Philipp Oct 22, 2020

Meet Sabrina Philipp, an online business coach who helps women how to launch their online business. She helps entrepreneurs build intentional, manageable, and profitable online businesses.

When she was a little girl, freedom was what she always saw when she pictured her future. Freedom to be able to work while traveling the world and not tied-up to 9-5 jobs.

With her laptop and $800 savings, she hopped on the plane and flew with a one-way ticket to Bali. That's when her journey began and where she started her online business!

In this episode, you will…

Hear about Sabrina's interesting journey to entrepreneurship
Learn about online business coaching
Realize that you can start your business whenever and wherever
Discover the benefit of using social media
The importance of having a website or a brand

Insights:

"The trick is that when you empower a woman through entrepreneurship and really help her find her footing financially, oftentimes every other area of her life opens up and transforms in a really beautiful way."

"Your life isn't necessarily built around for business, but your business is built around your life, and it supports you and getting more of what you want. It is something that is fulfilling and empowering, and it's a part of your soul's mission on this planet."

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I'll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass the world is too full to talk about.” Rumi.

Resources:

The Intentional Entrepreneur with Sabrina Philipp

Sabrina | Business Coach

SDH 416: Where to Put Your Focus the 1st Year in Business with Amanda Boleyn Oct 19, 2020

The first year in business can be some of the most challenging and very rewarding times. Your business is something new that you now need to take care of.

What is it like during your first year and what to expect?

What to avoid doing during the first year (especially)

What to actually focus on during the first year in business.

Letting go of comparing yourself by how many years you’ve been in business and how “far along” you think you should be.

I remember years ago when I first started out someone said to me, “Amanda, building a business is the long game. If you’re not going to commit to the next 5 years building your business, you may want to do something different now.” I remember being so naive about this statement thinking that, “Yeah. There’s no way it will take me that long. I’m going to easily knock this out in a year and it is going to be exactly the way I want it to be.”

Today’s episode is all about where to put your focus in the 1st year of business because if your attitude and mindset about what it takes to build a sustainable and successful business aren’t on the right track from the start, it could potentially derail you and lead you down a very hard and difficult path. And potentially land you back in Corporate America...and friend, no one wants that.

Two things I really want you to take away from today’s episode are:

1. Where your focus goes, energy flows, results will show.

2. What you persist, resists. What you resist, persists.

We’re diving into where to put your energy the first year in business and what to focus on.

Every day we get to decide where we put our focus and energy. The first year of business is a roller coaster of emotions, outcomes, expectations, and more. Because the first year is such a rollercoaster, I recommend focusing on the journey along the way and what you learn, rather than putting so much energy towards the outcomes.

You might be thinking or asking yourself, “Okay Amanda but aren’t I supposed to focus on making money, that’s an outcome right?” And to that, I say, “Yes! And…”

Based on many conversations with entrepreneurs, clients, and personal experience, I always recommend building and validating your business as much as you can while working a full-time job. Because I’ve seen many many times before where you may be in a job you don’t love, you’re emotionally drained and so overwhelmed.

You might be thinking, “If I just had more time. That would fix my problem and I’d be able to build my business.” And while you’re not wrong that yes, in order to build a business you do need time but time alone isn’t going to build your business. It is the constant persistence of not giving up, not pivoting, not retreating that builds a business.

When you quit your job without validating your business and making zero income, your focus then becomes about making money to support yourself, to contribute to your family and when you’re not doing that, your thoughts can spiral.

If you do quit your job but aren’t making money in your business, I highly recommend finding contract work to bring in some sort of income even if it has nothing to do with the business you are building.

For example, let’s say you went through a life coach certification program and you’re ready to enter the world of life coaching. You open up doors and invite people in to work with you and then there are crickets. Clients aren’t knocking down your door but you’re thinking, wait a second, “I’ve got this certification why isn’t anyone signing up?”

Because you’re not making money in your coaching business (just yet because you still need to create content, build an audience, sales funnel, opt-in...all that stuff), your focus starts to look for the lack...lack of clients, lack of money...so your energy starts to feel needy and desperate because you find yourself thinking, “Oh my gosh. I haven’t made any money yet, no one is signing up for a consultation call, how am I going to pay rent, this is terrible….” and you kind of spiral out. Because you’re constantly persisting on getting new clients, you’re also repelling them because they can sense your desperation. But because of this, you’re resisting feeling lack but that also keeps persisting. What you persist resists and what you resist persists.

When you have money come in whether that is contract work that has nothing to do with the business you’re building, your brain no longer needs to focus on the lack of money or pressure on where you’re going to get your next client. Your energy completely shifts towards abundance because you’re no longer focusing on the lack.

In the first year of business, it is important to focus on the journey, not the outcomes. The first year of business is full of a lot of firsts and it can be a rollercoaster. You may have all these goals starting out but you’ll quickly realize that business while it may be simple, isn’t always easy. Achieving your goals isn’t always easy because when something goes wrong it is easier to want to pivot rather than staying the course. That’s why it is extremely important to approach the first year of business with the lens of experiment and release expectations regarding the outcomes.

Put your focus and energy into the present moment and take your time, avoid this energy and emotion of “rushing.” And let me say, I did this for so long in the beginning and once I realized that I don’t need to be in a hurry, everything changed. You know you’re rushing because you can feel it. The place in which you take action is from this place of “I got to hurry up and get this done.” Your brain will start to rattle off a list of 10 things you need to get done and you start to feel like you don’t have enough time. At that moment, I want you to catch yourself, breathe, and take action from a place of having enough time, you’re not in a rush, there is no reason to rush. Building a business is a long-term play.

Be aware of where your focus is right now because where your focus goes, energy flows, results will show.

For your first year in business, focus on the journey and what you’re learning along the way. And focus on being present rather than feeling like you’re rushing.

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

SDH 415: From Teaching Students to Teaching Entrepreneurs How to Build Their Own 6 Figure Online Business with Jess Glazer Oct 15, 2020

Since leaving her teaching job in 2017, Jess has hired a team of incredible heart-centered leaders, served hundreds of clients, helped create over 3 million dollars in revenue for those clients (in under 2 years), and as a result of donation and awareness she, and her husband are building a school in Ghana with Pencils of Promise.

Her mission is to cause a ripple effect and inspire change for generations to come; making a massive impact and leaving a lasting legacy beyond her singular actions.

In this episode, you will…

Find out why Jess left teaching

Hear how she turned her side hustle into a million-dollar business

Learn that quitting also means you are figuring things out

Discover how to incorporate your passion into your business

Why it's okay being not okay

Be brave enough to quit if what you do no longer makes you happy

Get an insight about bridge job

Uncover the importance of having a coach

Insights:

"You cannot put a price tag on having someone on your team on your side to brainstorm with and bounce ideas off of who is a couple of steps ahead of you. Because what I see my clients do now in six months or a year took me three years."

"First of all in order to succeed you must start. Just start. There is no such thing as perfect, you’re always going to want to make it better, change it, or do it again. If you wait for it to be perfect, you’re going to miss your chance."

"Just do something like 80% done is better than 100% you waiting around for it to be perfect. Just take messy action, just do it."

Resources:

Jess Glazer Instagram

The Reading Vault

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

SDH 414: Your Very Next Best Step to Start Your Business with Julie Ciardi Oct 12, 2020

Hey friends! Today's podcast episode was previously recorded for my dear friend, Julie Ciardi's Facebook group, and her podcast. It was such an amazing conversation that I wanted to bring it to all of my She Did It Her Way podcast listeners. We're diving into all things mindset, personal development, being able to get out of your own way, and taking your very next best step when starting your business.

I hope you enjoy the interview and conversation as much as I did with my dear friend, Julie Ciardi.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Amanda's entrepreneurial journey
Learn how She Did It Her Way came about
Find your internal motivation
Discover how to know when you are in alignment
Get insights on what to do when you are starting up
Hear about Amanda's Upcoming Summit

Insights:

"In a world, especially in online space where there are templated approaches on how to do everything you have to first and foremost, make sure that you are doing what it is that is in alignment with you and lights you up."

"You have to get light to take flight."

"There's never a perfect time. The stars will never align to fit perfectly like life. The world is not waiting for you to be perfect. Like you have to show up, make that decision and course-correct along the way."

Resources:

She Did It Her Way Summit 2020

SDH 413: Leaving Law School to Building a 7-Figure Online Empire with Jasmine Star Oct 08, 2020

Harnessing her chutzpah and hustle, Jasmine empowers entrepreneurs to build a brand, market it on social media, and create a life they love. Some days you'll find her featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, and INC magazine, other days you'll find her going Live on Instagram, hosting Ask Me Anything sessions on Facebook, and empowering business owners to build a life they love on her podcast, The Jasmine Star Show.

She's sitting with us today to unpack about her story, when she graduated from college, why she quit law-school, and how she started her own business! Many of you are in this space of either thinking you want to start a business or knowing what business you want to start but doesn't dare to take that leap yet, then Jasmine is here to share how her leap journey was and where she's at today in her business.

In this episode, you will…

Be confident and chase your passion

Do what you love and not what you are forced to do

Realize that in business not being where you want to be, is the norm

Discover the importance of social conversation

Find out how to use online media to your business advantage

Learn that there's no perfect business

Don't be afraid to put up your content even if it's not that perfect

Find out how to get your audience tell you what they want

Insights:

"And so until you can actually understand that not being where you want to be, is the norm. And not being where you want to be is like a boom, this is forever as long as you have a business. Until you accept that, you're always going to feel down. When you say, Oh, just another day of not being where I want to be. Let me go out and hustle again, totally has a transformative effect."

"'Im just gonna give it to you straight. Because we've empowered with 21,000 entrepreneurs. And this is what I see again and again, is the reason they're not talking back to you is because you haven't put enough content out to contextualize what they want from you."

"Jump and the ney will appear."

Resources:

www.jasminestar.com

SDH 412: How to Take Action on Your Business Idea When You Feel Stuck and Don't Know Where to Start with Amanda Boleyn Oct 05, 2020

Maybe you have the dream that you want to work for yourself and be your own boss but you don’t know what you want to do.

Maybe you know what you want to do, what you’re passionate about but for some reason, you can’t seem to get yourself into action. You can’t seem to get motivated.

Maybe you’re already running your business full-time and you still find yourself getting stuck, focusing on all the things that don’t really matter.

In today’s episode, I’m going to unpack all three of those scenarios with you and provide some actionable things you can do to get unstuck and take that very next best step.

Maybe you’re in the first camp where you know you want to work for yourself but not exactly sure what type of business you want to start or how to channel your creative energy productively. If you’re in this camp it is most likely you have so many creative ideas, passions and you may spend a lot of time during the day scheming of what your business could look like and all the different options yet, when you get home from working or you turn off your work laptop, you’re depleted and have very little to no energy left to do anything. Don’t worry, I’ve been there too.

Maybe you think you want to create graphics, build a website, write copy,

The challenge when you’re in this camp is that you have so many ideas, you’re just not sure which one to focus on and invest your time and energy into.

If you’re in this stage I recommend listing out all things you could do or ideas that you have. Go through each idea and identify and rate them on the following:

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how excited do I feel about this idea?

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how economical is this idea? Can I make money from this? Are other people making money teaching/doing/coaching this? (you can do a quick internet search or visit a site call Upwork to browse and see what and if people are getting paid to do what you want to do)

On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how competent am I in this skill? The majority of people want to make money fast to replace their income and in this case, you want to stick with something that you already have developed a skillset in, vs, having to go out and get extensive training.

After you’ve gone through all your ideas and tested them against these three questions, rate them and add up the numbers to see which idea is the most viable in terms of your zone of genius and sweet spot. Start at the top of the list and work your way down. Now that you’ve gotten clarity on which idea to start taking action on, let’s move to the next stage in this journey...

When you know WHAT you want to do but don’t know HOW to get started, I recommend the following…

Step 1:

Find someone who is doing what you already want to be doing. Want to start a VA business, find someone who is doing what you want to be doing and learn from them. If you want to start a VA business, I recommend you check out my friend Abbey Ashley’s course, Savvy System. Abbey spent years being a VA, built a successful business and now she teaches women all across the world how to do the same. We’ve included her free training “Become a Booked out VA” in our training library on Shediditherway.com. (for show notes - LINK directly to the training library).

This is the quickest path to success.

Step 2:

Be willing to invest in yourself. I spent years trying to piece together what I thought would work when I could have invested my dollars (not time) in learning from someone who has already done what I want to do.

If you want to start a blog, learn from someone who has launched a successful blog. If you’re in Corporate America and you find that you don’t have a ton of time outside of your job, then you don’t have the time to NOT invest in yourself and pay for a course or coaching. It is worth it and will help accelerate the process of you being where you and where you want to go.

Not only does investing in a coach or a course demonstrate your willingness to take the next step, but it also more importantly gives you a plan for what to do with your time that you DO have.

The reason why it is so easy to come home from work and procrastinate is that you don’t have a clear plan with how you’re going to spend your time. If you know how you’re going to spend every minute when you get home from work, and you know exactly what you’re going to do in every 30-minute time block, you’re more likely to get work done and not just any work, important work. Work that will help you accelerate the process of getting out of Corporate America and making your ultimate leap.

Step 3 (and the most important step):

Is to commit. Commitment looks like not questioning what you’re doing when things don’t go the way you planned because they won’t go the way you planned, that I promised. Keep your goals the same but be flexible with the way you reach your goal and destination. Commit more than 3 months or 6 months. Commit for the next 12 months. Let’s say you enroll in a course that is standalone and you take on your time, make a plan for that course, and commit to the plan. What I mean by creating a plan is to decide what time and date you’re going to go through the lessons and what you’re going to do and by when. Start with what you’re going to accomplish and commit to doing in the next two weeks. Maybe that looks like in the next two weeks I want to have watched all of Module 1 training lessons and have done the homework. Great, schedule this on your calendar in 30-minute increments so you know exactly what you’re going to do with the time that you have.

Now, if you’re a full-time business owner and you’ve recently made your leap, it can be easy to get distracted by ALL the things that you’re being told you need to do to have a successful business, you can easily get overwhelmed. When you’re constantly consuming content it can be easy to lose your way and get overwhelmed.

I recommend limiting social media intake, unsubscribing from any emails that distract you, find a coach or a program and focus on only the things you’re enrolled in at that time. Focus on one strategy at a time. First, make sure you’re taking care of your existing clients. How can you offer up an even better experience for them? Referral marketing is one of the best, fastest and cheapest ways to grow your business. When you do great work, people talk. Then look at your business and identify where does your audience hangs out most of the time, where do you love to show up, where are you generating the most leads and revenue and focus on what is already working.

One reason why you might feel like you’re all over the place and can’t see what next step to take is because you’re overloaded with being told so many things you must do right now. The key is to remember that everyone is sharing what worked for them. Which means it could work for you as well. The success is picking the method that most aligns with you, your personality, business and then sticking with that one thing for a period of time.

So if you’re in the stage where you have so many ideas and not sure what to do or where to start, list them out and rank them.

Then move to the next stage. If you’re already there and you know what you want to do but not sure how to get started, find someone who is doing what you want to do and is successful and learn from them.

Lastly, the early stages of building your business can be some of the noisiest and overwhelming. Continue to serve your current clients, learn from a limited number of people and commit.

Don’t forget early bird tickets are on sale for this year’s She Did It Her Way Summit until Friday, October 16th. Head on over to www.shediditherwaysummit.com to get yours today to this epic event!

SDH 411: The Time to Start Your Business is Now with Kelly Roach Oct 01, 2020

"The biggest thing is to start from where you are with what you've got. Do it in perfectly and have fun along the way."

Meet the undisputed authority in mentoring entrepreneurs and business strategist, Kelly Roach! She transforms overworked entrepreneurs into seven-figure CEOs by teaching them how to leverage timeless business principles, employed by billion-dollar corporations, with the most powerful online marketing speed and agility strategies of today.

Kelly is also the creator of the Live Launch Method; a simplicity meets strategy approach to making millions online through launches that consistently generate six-figure results.

Kelly spent years in corporate America before she started her own business. During her time in corporate, Kelly led a team of over 100 to record-breaking sales, rising through the ranks of a Fortune 500 to become the youngest VP in the company.

In this episode, you will…

Learn why you should take action, and get started now!

Get insights on things to consider before taking the ultimate leap

Have a mindset shift that you don't need to leave your job to make your business successful

Be ready to grow first before you can grow your business

Discover the importance of being consistent

Build a brand reputation and stick to your offer and become known for what you do

Find out about Kelly's Live Launch™

Insights:

"I built my business to where I was making more in the business than I was in my corporate job. And so again, mindset shift for everyone that thinks that they have to, like walk away from their job, and then go build the business or that the business won't be successful unless you quit the job. That's completely a mindset."

"I think that's a huge mistake that entrepreneurs make is that they're like stretching and reaching."

"Who were you before you know what you know, now, find those people go teach them what you now know, go help them get the results that you're getting now"

Resources:

kellyroachcoaching.com

SDH 410: Do You Need to Change Your Circumstances, Your Thoughts, or Both? Sep 28, 2020

Today I want to dive into whether you need to change your circumstances, your thoughts or both? We’ll be talking about how to determine when to own your reality as truth instead of trying to change it with your thoughts, when to coach yourself to change the way you think to influence your circumstances and when you might need to do both.

What is a circumstance? A circumstance is a fact or condition connected with or relevant to an event or action.

An example of a circumstance maybe that...it is a fact that you have a full-time Corporate job. You having a corporate job is a fact, it is a circumstance in your life.

If you make $60,000 a year, that is a fact. What isn’t a fact is “I only make $60,000 and it isn’t a lot of money.”

The “It isn’t a lot of money” is a thought you have about the circumstance, the fact itself.

Another example of a circumstance is that you have 24 hours in a day. Another one is that you may have five hours a week dedicated to working on your business - that is a fact. Your brain may want to have a thought and say, “I don’t have that much time, I only have 5 hours a week to work on my business.”

Another example is you may have a to-do list with 15 things-to-do on it. The 15 things become your circumstance in this example. Your thought maybe, “I’m so stressed out right now, I have no time, I have so many things to do.” Your to-do list doesn’t stress you out, it is the thoughts you have around your to-do list.

You don’t want to confuse a circumstance for a thought and vice versa.

You might also think that your job stresses you out and assume that if you change your job, you’ll no longer be stressed. That by changing your circumstance, you’ll all of a sudden get rid of the stress. But here’s the thing, if you don’t work on your thoughts, you may always be stressed regardless of which job you take.

Be careful of assuming that by quitting your Corporate job and having your own business your challenges and stress will go away. Is it possible though that a job change could reduce the stress that maybe isn’t caused by thoughts? Yes.

For example, I worked at Target in stores right out of college. It was a super stressful job. Part of it being stressful was the job itself and part was caused by the thoughts I had during that time. After 13 months of working at Target, I found my bridge job. I started working at Wells Fargo through a third-party agency as a recruiter. My circumstance changed and yes, the majority of stress did go away, but I still had to work on my thoughts.

An example of where when you change the circumstance but realize it is actually about the thoughts you think can be from having a to-do list that never ends. You cross the last thing off but then one more thing gets put on there so you’re in a constant stress loop. Completing the list, oh my gosh another thing I need to do, crossing it off, then one more thing. Let me say, I actually don’t keep a to-do list anymore, I calendar. Meaning I put everything I need to do on the calendar vs a “never-ending to-do list,” more on that in another episode.

When you start and run your business there will be multiple priorities vying for your attention at once and it can get extremely overwhelming if you let it. You may find yourself rushing to get past the stage of business you’re in because you may think that once I get to X in my business, I can relax and think that “over there” is better. But once you get over there, you start thinking that another over there is better so you’re in a constant state of rushing and avoiding where you’re at. This would be an opportunity to change your thoughts vs thinking you need to change your circumstance.

The danger of ignoring the circumstance for truth and only focusing on changing your thoughts could cause you to find yourself out of alignment and flow. There is a difference between grinding and feeling hard vs being in flow and experiencing challenging work that supports your path.

This is why there isn’t a one size fits all strategy for every situation, kind of like financial planning. Meaning, it isn’t always about changing your circumstances or changing your thoughts...it could be both. Everyone has a different situation and requires a different strategy. But regardless of the strategy though, there usually is an underlying approach or process to it.

Separate the circumstance (the fact) from the thought.
Assess and be honest with yourself on what you can own from a thinking standpoint.
Own what feels good and what your intuition is telling you.

SDH 409: The Importance of Identifying and Validating Your Niche Sep 24, 2020

Tess Wicks is a business coach and mentor for new and aspiring money coaches. Her mission is to bring more financial literacy and confidence to the world, by bringing more money coaches to the world. Through Tess’s signature program, The Wealthy Coach Blueprint, Tess helps her clients create life-changing coaching packages, attract their ideal clients, and make a great income while making a bigger impact. Tess is also the host of The Wander Wealthy Podcast, a show that has evolved along with Tess’s own career, going from financial educator to money coach, to business mentor for money coaches.

Tess share's about our friendship, how she started her business, and how she's now in Switzerland with her husband. It's an incredible story that demonstrates what's possible when you have a location independent business!

Tess left her job without a real plan, which she doesn't recommend to anyone, but she needed to leave. With her savings and money from renting her spare bedroom, she was able to buy some time since it helped cut down her cost of living. Tess was a part of the early stage of She Did It Her Way which she considered to have helped her with her content creation and copywriting skills.

In this episode, you will…

Learn how Tess started her own business

How she decided which niche to focus and prioritize

Take time to validate your niche

Discover the benefits of doing market research

Find out how you can transition within your business

Utilize opportunities to help others and grow your business

Get to know your purpose-driven revenue goals

Tess now runs her business from Switzerland, where she spends her free time learning Italian, searching for the best margarita in Europe, and face-timing with her nieces and nephews back in Iowa.

Insights:

"I like to follow profit first. There is a way that you can actually reverse engineer profit first, to create some amazing goals for yourself when it comes to your revenue."

"I number one is absolutely taking the time to validate your niche market, I would say, you know, try to sit down and get on 10 interviews with people who you want to you think are potentially your ideal clients and the people, you want to be working with our ideal customers, and identifying what's getting in their way, what their goals are, what their biggest frustration points are, and then seeing if you know, they'd be willing to pay for something to solve that and what they'd be willing to pay and all of that good stuff."

"Every failure has taught me one of two things:

1. What doesn't work, so I can remove that from the equation.

2. What I need to work on within myself."

Resources:

wanderwealthy.com

wanderwealthy.com/roadmap

wanderwealthy.com/workbook

Related Episodes:

SDH 408: 7 Things You Don’t Need When Starting Your Business Sep 21, 2020

After interviewing hundreds of women on this podcast and witnessing my clients and colleagues build incredible businesses, these are 7 things that you may think you need to get started but don’t.

Thinking you need these things is what is keeping you stuck and in procrastination mode…

An expensive logo.
A flashy website.
Complicated contracts.
Years of experience doing said thing.
Thousands of followers.
Overwhelming tech.
An email list with thousands of subscribers.

An expensive logo.

When you’re first getting started and offering services and still figuring out what you want to do, your logo (I believe matters but not as much as you think). Logos can sometimes cost you anywhere from $250-$300, plus the time it takes you to find a designer, get your logo produced is time you could be spending marketing your business and landing clients. Potential clients are more focused on your ability to deliver results. Now, if you are a graphic designer, then yes, your logo needs to represent your skill level. If you’re starting a VA business, copywriting editing business, coaching business your logo may not matter as much as you think it does. I’ve hired contractors who did not have a logo because their actions and how they communicated in an email were more important. Here’s what to do instead. Spend 30 minutes researching logos by visiting websites and identify what it is that you like about them. Then create a free Canva account and click “create a design,” select “Instagram post,” and start putting some things together. Don’t spend too much time trying to make it perfect. In this case, done, is better than perfect. Click here to sign up for a free Canva account.

A flashy website.

You do not need a flashy website to start taking action on your business (that is of course unless you are a website designer, then you’ll want a website). But the truth is, there are lots of things you can do to get your business started and landing clients without having a website. I’ve seen time and time again so many women delay taking action because they think in order to get started they need a website. That thinking causes overwhelm and procrastination. Here are a few other things you can do instead: 1) Create a Facebook business page. This can serve as your storefront. It is much easier and quicker to get up and running. 2) Start an Instagram account and begin to share meaningful content that attracts your ideal customer. 3) In addition to doing one of the previous two mentioned and depending upon your business, launch a free Facebook group that helps nurture your ideal clients. Bonus! You can set up 3 different questions to ask them as they request to join your group and one of them can be their email address so you can nurture them when you get your email list set up. The whole point is not having to delay taking action.

Complicated contracts.

Let me first start by saying, I am not a lawyer and any information regarding legal that I’m about to share is based on my own experience. First, to incorporate your business, there are plenty of websites that will do this entire process for you in any state. Second, when it comes to contracts in your business there are plenty of affordable resources out there to help get you started to like The Contract Vault. You can find all of these resources on the She Did It Her Way website by clicking “Resources” and selecting “Start a Business.”

Years of experience.

Depending upon what it is that you want to do, it most likely doesn’t require you to have done years of experience doing it. If you’re great at designing websites and you’ve been doing it for 3 months, there is no said amount of time or years of experience you need in order to teach others how to do it or offer that as a service. The other day I was playing tennis and next to the court I was playing on were very experienced tennis players. In my mind I thought, I wonder if I asked one of them if I could pay them to give me lessons what would his response be? Then I thought about how he might say “Oh I’m not a coach” and think to himself, “I’m not experienced enough to be a coach.” When in reality it wouldn’t have mattered to me because he is one step ahead of where I am. If you’re ahead or more advanced, either by one step or multiple steps, then you can help someone.

Thousands of followers.

You don’t need thousands of followers in order to have a financially stable business that replaces your corporate income and then some. If you have 500 people in your Facebook group or followers on Instagram and they’re the right people and they’re engaged, that is all you need. Sometimes we focus on getting ALL the followers and folks on your email list and into our Facebook group that we lose sight of them as individuals, and that is what matters.

Overwhelming tech.

K.I.S.S. It. Keep it super simple. When you’re just starting out, keep it as simple as humanly possible as you can. If you want to coach people on a certain topic, I recommend starting with a Facebook group and expanding to Instagram. If you want to offer services, I recommend starting with Instagram.

An email list with thousands of subscribers

While having a massive email list does help the growth of your business long-term, when you’re first getting started and finding clients, again, you don’t need a massive list, you need to get in front of the right people. Once you make contact, you can nurture those relationships.

A few things you do need:

An idea of who you want to work with
The services you want to offer
The result your clients receive by working with you
A place where you’re going to create content. Depending upon your business this may vary but I’ve found Instagram to be a great place to get started when creating content and your brand.

The key takeaway from today’s episode is to always find the path of least resistance when starting a business. If building a website creates roadblocks, slows you down, and gets in the way of you taking the next step you need to in order start your business, ask yourself, “How can I find an easier way to take the place of my website? Do I need a website in order to land clients?”

To learn more and get a full list of resources, head to www.shediditherway.com, and click the “tools to start a business” or “free training” to learn more.

SDH 407: The Journey of Building A Community of 50k+ Members With Natalie Franke, Founder of Rising Tide Society Sep 17, 2020

Welcome back to another episode of the She Did It Her Way podcast! And today is no exception of someone who has gone out and done it their way. I'm so excited to bring to you Natalie Franke, who is the Head of Community at HoneyBook and co-founder of the Rising Tide. Born out of her 7-year journey as a freelance photographer, Natalie built the Rising Tide to give solopreneurs the resources and support they need to be successful in their business. Natalie and the Rising Tide joined forces with HoneyBook in 2015 and today she leads a community of 75K+ creative entrepreneurs and freelancers. Natalie has been featured in the New York Times, Forbes, NPR, Bustle, and others. She studied neuroscience and the psychology of seeing at the University of Pennsylvania.

Her journey as a freelancer started when her mom gave her a camera, prior to that point in her life, she envisioned her career taking place likely in corporate America, moving to New York and working in the big city of Philadelphia. When her mom gave her first camera, everything that she thought she knew about what she wanted to do with her life came and just unraveled in front of her. She fell in love with the ability to capture images, emotion and being creative. So from senior year of high school all through the senior year of college, she started photographing portraits and when she graduated she was photographing almost 30 weddings per year.

In 2014 about two years out of college, Natalie had hit a lot of the goals that she had set for herself and her business. She was financially stable as a business owner, bringing in well over six figures, and she had a really loyal clientele but found herself incredibly isolated and incredibly lonely. And so right around 2015 she started to think about how to build communities for the very first time. It was just a thought of, "Hey, can I start, you know, cultivating a community in my hometown of Annapolis, Maryland?, Can I start getting these small business owners together? Can we sit down around a table side by side?"

Natalie, her husband, and their friends, Davey and Krista co-founded, at the time, a small coffee meet-up in their hometown. So that's where it started it rapidly expanded and grew because the pain was not just experienced by her and not just experienced by business owners in Annapolis, but the community members all across the world. And so Rising Tide went from one meetup to 12, to a hundred to now over 400 meetups that happen around the world, both in-person and online. And they have grown this community alongside HoneyBook for the past four years.

In this episode you will...

Learn about stepping outside the box
Discover that being successful is not about following a linear path
Find your passion and the things that you really want to do
Forget about the pressure from other people
Focus on the things that you love to do
Hear about the benefit of being in the right community
Learn that the online community is powerful, it's one of the most accessible formats for community

Insights:

"It's been a dream to just be a part of a brand that understands the impact of the community over the last four years. So it's been a journey. It has been a real journey."

"I alluded this process of breaking the rules and stepping outside of the box, but I think the world tries to tell us that our paths must be linear, that we must, you know, go to high school, go to college, get a safe job, climb that corporate ladder. When I really, really kind of in those college years, especially as my business started to grow, realize that I didn't want to climb a corporate ladder so much as I wanted to build my own."

"Even your heroes feel like imposters too, you know, no one feels like they have made it. No one. Nope. Not even her. Like no one has no one ever feels like they have made it. We all think of that one person. She thinks she's made it. She knows every day is just roses and daisies. Yeah. No, it's not. I think, you know, everyone feels like an imposter and you have to tackle that head-on and stop entertaining the lies that you will never measure up."

SDH 406: Managing Your Energy with a 9-5 and Building Your Business on the Side Sep 14, 2020

Hello hello my She Did It Her Way listeners! I hope you’re having an amazing day. I think if 2020 has taught us anything it is that literally ANYTHING is possible and that means you are making your ultimate leap.

If you’ve been listening to the podcast for some time then you know I’m all about building your business and validating it while working full-time. I strongly advise against quitting, and then figuring it out. While it does prove to be successful in some cases, majority of the time it doesn’t always go well. When you go from having 1-2 hours a day to work on your business a few days a week to a new found schedule of having all the time in the world your brain may freak out and wonder, “What do I do with all my time?”

Well today on the podcast I’m going to dive into how to manage your energy (and time) while working a full-time job and building your business on the side. If you can learn these time and energy management principles while working your full-time job then it is going to help set you up for even greater success with managing your calendar when you go full-time.

In today’s podcast episode I’m diving into...

How time and energy are different
Why energy can be more important than time
What is energy fuel?
What zaps your energy and how to protect yourself
Change your thoughts to change your energy

Time and energy are two very different things.

You can spend an hour doing something you love and feel energized afterwards and you can spend 30 minutes doing something that doesn’t feel expansive and drains your energy. This is why people choose to outsource things in their life and business. For example, if you don’t like to cook you may decide to sign up for a meal delivery service. If you don’t like to clean and cause arguments between you and your spouse...you may opt to invest in a cleaning service. That is what happened between my husband and I. I enjoy organizing not necessarily cleaning and when it started to zap my energy, let alone become a topic that we often go into disagreements about we decided to invest in a cleaning company and split the bill because it was worth it to not expend time and energy on disagreements and my time and energy on actual cleaning. In business it may look like outsourcing podcast production to someone to free up your time and energy. People and friends you hang out with can either give you energy or zap your energy. If you don’t have the energy to do what you want and what needs to get done, then you’re left depleted. It is very important to become aware of what zaps your energy and what gives you energy so you can protect yourself.

Why energy can be more important than time.

If you have the energy but no time, you’ll find the time because you’re inspired to do so. But if you have the time but no energy, you’ll be stuck and sluggish.

What is energy fuel?

Energy fuel is the type of energy that fuels your actions.

I believe that we have an infinite reservoir of energy and that we have to cultivate it.

Energy fuel is part how we physically feel and part influenced by the thoughts that we think.

Energy can be caused by the thoughts that we think. Energy fuel can be heavy, light, inspiring, excited, determined, resistant.

If you assume something is going to be long, hard and strenuous, that will affect the energy that will fuel you into action (or potentially no action at all).

If you think that starting your email list is going to be overwhelming and complicated, then when it comes time to sit down to start building your email list you will resist it because in your mind you’ve already made it out to be overwhelming. So there for, the energy you’re using as fuel is heavy, resistant and draining.

However though, if you change the way you approach the situation and view starting your email list as something exciting and experimental, you’re going to channel fuel that is more inspiring, more light, vs heavy.

If you find yourself in your full-time job thinking, “Ahhh I have to pump out a month’s worth of Instagram’s post tonight and I’m not sure how I’m going to get it done and I need to get 50 more people in my Facebook group and ahhh….” You can imagine the type of energy fuel that is being used caused by the thoughts you’re thinking and the energy you’re fueling your actions with. It is very rushing and overwhelming.

Versus if you think “Okay, tonight I need to create 12 captions for Instagram and I can’t wait to share my knowledge and test it out! I also want to connect with 50 people who I know I can help and serve,” you’ll feel light and inspired to take action.

You need to find the reason and inspiration to give yourself to either get out of bed in the morning before your full-time job or to be disciplined to put in the hours after work. You need to fuel your actions with energy that is going to inspire you.

What zaps your energy:

There are many things that can zap your energy. Here is the short list:

Your thoughts, specifically ones that don’t serve you, like ones that tell you that question your ability to have anything you want, that make you second guess your worth, ones that cause you to spin out in overwhelm.
Thoughts that reinforce the story that you never have enough time.
Keeping a mental to-do list.
Resisting unwanted emotions and not actually surrendering to feel them
Eating processed foods, sugar, alcohol.
Negative people
Speaking and thinking negatively of others
Being angry
Content switching (moving in and out of tasks)

Change your thoughts to change your energy:

Next time you’re getting ready to do something and find yourself feeling resistant and heavy, I want you to bring into awareness the thought you are thinking and the energy associated with it.

Example: Let’s say you want to start getting up 90 minutes earlier in the morning to work on your business. You set the alarm for 5AM (instead of 6:30 AM)...I want you to be aware of your thoughts and energy when you set the alarm. Are you dreading getting up in the morning or excited? If dreading, why? If excited, why are you excited? Unpack it right there.

Another example: Let’s say you’ve got 4 pieces of content to create and you’re kind of feeling like you’re pressed for time and thinking, “I have no idea how I’m going to get this all done with work.” You’ve got your full-time job that is quite demanding right now. You want to catch yourself as soon as you can when you start to have a thought that causes you to feel heavy, or in this can possible rushed. And ask yourself how you can change your thoughts. You can shift that thought to, “I’m so excited to create these 4 pieces of content and because I’m so excited to create them it won’t take a ton of time at all.”

I often find that when I’m dreading something, one of the reasons is because I think it is going to take much longer than it actually will.

Imagine you have 100 units of energy everyday and if you can eliminate the things that zap your energy and don’t need to do and change the way you think so that that thoughts you think change, you can tap into infinite energy and as much energy as you want.

This is why it is so important to do work and build a business you love and believe in. One that has a strong why because you will lean on that during your journey as a business owner to cultivate inspiration and energy you need to continue moving forward.

I hope you enjoyed today’s podcast episode and until next time, keep doing it your way!

SDH 405: Grow Your Business to Six Figures While Working Full-time with Kyshira S. Moffett Sep 10, 2020

Today's guest is Kyshira S. Moffett, MBA, she's an award-winning serial entrepreneur, brand strategist, and author who specializes in helping ambitious women entrepreneurs package their expertise, brand their influence, and monetize their online presence.

Kyshira is joining us today to share how she launched The Power Collective, with the mission to accelerate the growth of small and mid-sized woman-owned businesses to create more economic equality within the US. The Power Collective is a management consulting firm with specialties in business development, marketing and branding. Kyshira's entrepreneurial story is really interesting because she started her business unintentionally! She started as just helping out friends with simple tasks like creating resumes, career assistance and helping them with their personal branding. She started charging her services and through the word of mouth about her services she landed with some clients!

In this episode you will...

Discover more about the lead-up phase
Learn about charging properly for your services
Be ready to focus on revenue and not the noise
Hear about what it means to have a 6-figures income
Learn about the different ways you can market your services
Find out about setting up frameworks for your business

Insights:

"I feel like one of the biggest mistakes is like trying to jump straight into passive income. It's really hard to have a passive income if you don't have an active income. "

"Most people don't spend enough time betting and adjusting their frameworks in the beginning through one on one work to even get to the place of actually packaging it up. So like my first recommendation is one, create the framework to vet the framework, get some consistent results, get some consistent case studies and reviews. And number three, you need to build a brand around the framework. So what that means is one get your intellectual property game up, get your trademarks, okay, that's important."

"You're gonna have moments where you're being emotional, but recognizing that, hey, I'm being emotional. I'm freaking out right now this is but this is not the time for me to make a decision, right? I am not gonna be a risky decision about my business and just know that it never really goes away."

SDH 404: How to Land Podcast Interviews (and Grow Your Business) Sep 07, 2020

In today’s episode, I’m going to share…

The benefits of being a guest on podcast shows
How to Go about Landing More Podcast Interviews
How to Be a Standout Guest

First, let’s talk about some of the benefits of being a guest on other podcasts:

Exposure - It is an opportunity for you to get in front of someone else’s audience to deliver value and for them to get to know you.
Influence/Authority - The more you become known for a certain topic, the more you become viewed as an “expert” or the “go-to” person which allows people to begin the journey of know, like, and trust factor.
Leadgen - When you are a guest on a show it allows you to invite those listeners to engage with you that may ultimately become a customer.

How to Land more Podcast Interviews:

If you want to land more podcast interviews or start going on shows, I want to share a couple of things I’ve found helpful from my experience of being a guest and a host…

1. Make sure that the show aligns with the value you can offer. You want to be strategic and intentional with your efforts as much as the host wants to make sure he/she is bringing on the right guests for their audience. You want to do your research and make sure that the podcast shows you want to go on, you’ll be able to provide value to the listeners.

2. Create a list of 10-20 shows that you feel align with what you have to offer/teach and the listeners:

Start with iTunes and search based on the category to make your list. Typically newer podcasts are looking for guests where more established podcasts may have a strong process and a pipeline of guests already lined up. These may be harder to get on and you want to make the most of your time.

3. Look for a submission process on their site.

I always recommend starting out looking for a submission form to submit information to be a guest before emailing the host outright.

4. Pitch

Template but tailored. To save time and energy you want to gather your thoughts ahead of time about the benefit of having you as a guest on the show. Have your bio, possibly a one-pager ready to go.

The final thing I’ll say about landing more guest interviews is that a lot of it can come down to building relationships with people. For example, if I had an amazing interview with a guest on She Did It Her Way, I may ask that guest if she recommends anyone else to be a guest.

How to Be a Standout Guest and prepare:

Potentially ask questions ahead of time to best understand how you can provide value for their specific audience
Know your call-to-action. Where are you inviting the listeners to take the next step?
Share the interview on social and email.

If you have more questions about how to start a podcast and want to learn more, you can head to www.shediditherway.com and click on free training to access the free podcasting course.

Until next time, keep doing it your way.

SDH 403: Turning Problems in to Opportunities with Amanda Jane Clarkson Sep 03, 2020

Amanda has been in the entrepreneurship and building businesses for more than 30 years, she grew up in Tasmania, Australia. As a kid she was taught that money doesn't grow on trees and to have anything you have is to work hard, the idea of getting a job, get a good career, get married and settle down frightened her. She left her home when she was just 16 she'd have 33 different jobs, sometimes up to three different jobs at any one time.

Amanda got into business in her 20's but it was in her30's when she discovered the power of mentorship and personal empowerment. That's when her life changed for the better, in her 30's which she felt like she had wasted a good 15 years trying to figure things out. She started 14 businesses but only 7 of them are what she considered successful. However, for her, success is an inside job and not based on the opinion of others, especially those who haven't been in your situation because they are not qualified to give an opinion on what you are doing.

In this episode, you will...

Realize that your happiness is not dependent on other people

Learn the importance of letting go of the things that weigh you down

Identify your highest priorities that will take you closer to your dreams

Be inspired and motivated to pursue your dreams

Find out the importance of delegating in your business

Learn that who you surround yourself with, matters

Get to know that it is important to share your dreams to the right community

Discover the importance of joining in the right community

Insights:

"Life doesn't get better by chance it gets better by change."

"And that for things to change, first I must change and I and the penny kind of dropped I realized that instead of blaming other people, looking on the outside of myself for the answers, it was time to work on me and change my philosophy."

"To get what you want, and if you create a business around what you want your life to look like, how you can help it solve problems for other people answer questions, you take the focus off yourself, and you put it onto other people so fully serving, that's when you can go from level four to level eight in financially, spiritually, emotionally, in all areas of life."

Resources:

Millionairess Magazine

Twitter

Facebook

SDH 402: 6 Steps to Create More Space and Achieve Your Goals Aug 31, 2020

Part of it might be that we’re setting the wrong goal and so maybe we’re not entirely motivated by it. Part of it might be we need to practice the skill of following through and part of it might be how our environment is set up which is what I’m going to dive into today.

In this episode, I want to share with you 6 things you can do right now that will drastically change your ability to achieve your goals.

When I started implementing these 6 things, achieving my goals became easy, became a habit and became the norm. There was zero question about whether or not I was going to achieve the goals I set for myself because I knew that I had set myself up for success.

1. Limit your input - Part of what distracts us is the amount of input we’re taking in.

2. Create constraints - Once you’ve identified what you want to limit, next is to create the constraints that help you limit that input. It is time to put the blinders on. Here are a few things you can do right now to put your blinkers on:

Set up “Do Not Disturb” time constraints on your phone.

3. Practice saying “No” more often - Part of putting limitations on ourselves and what we allow in will require us to practice saying “No” more often.

4. Declutter your physical space - When you have more stuff in your space, it is hard to keep it organized and create a place for everything that you have.

Here are a few tips to get started on decluttering your space:

5. Declutter your digital space

6. Track how you currently spend your time. This is huge. Most of us don’t know where the days go….sooo if you don’t know where they go, that means it is time to track them.

Resources:

Facebook News Feed Eradicator

Toggl

SDH 401: Start, Build, and Scale Your Online Business to 6 Figures and Beyond Aug 27, 2020

Melissa was previously a successful Chemical Engineer before running her own multiple 6 figure business. When she was a kid it was instilled in her mind that to be successful, it is either to become a doctor or be married and have a husband. That is because her parents when they moved to the US from Hong Kong, they know just very little English, just "Hi" and "Thank you" and other than that, the words "Doctor" and "Husband." Growing up she's always way ahead in school, attended community college for her math classes. She's that high school girl that instead of partying and doing other cool stuff, went to engineering camp. She's great with Science and Math and that's what her parents push her to go and had her degree in Chemical Engineering.

When she landed her first job in the real world. She made good money but only had one week’s vacation for the whole year. She was working so hard and she thought that since everyone around her is saying this is how it's supposed to be, you're supposed to hustle your first few years, once you're in your 30s, it's going to get easier. You move into management; you'll be making more money. But then ding, ding, ding nothing happened she is still working hard and in odd hours. And it kind of a realization that it's not going to change any time soon.

Her dreams of traveling around the world, live abroad for months at a time, go and give back to the world, get back to the community, fun charities, start her own charity at some point, is starting to just become a big bubble of dreams. She knew she had to do something for her to achieve those dreams.

In 2014 she started using Instagram to post her bodybuilding and bikini competitions, she had people reach out to her regarding fitness advice and how she can help them. From there she was able to help many people and had her Instagram verified. She started her first online business as an online coach. She was running this on the side with her full-time job. It came to a point that she can no longer handle her 1:1 clients while doing a full-time job, it's her 9-5 that is holding her back to create a bigger impact. It was a scary decision but she then quit her job on a two-week noticed and had been thriving since then.

In this episode, you will...

Learn to take small steps to change your current situation
Discover your passion and pursue it
Get to know the importance of having a coach
Identify your niche when pursuing your business
Focus on the right thing that will drive your business
Be ready to feel uncomfortable to be able to reach your goal

Insights:

"It was a scary decision and knew I needed to take that risk, get uncomfortable if I ever wanted to live the life I had been dreaming about."

"If you are sitting through or going through some type of comparison, instead of comparing yourself to others, use them as inspiration and evidence."

"So one of the biggest things that really helped with that was time blocking and just creating a schedule and creating a routine in my life. So even though I wasn't in a nine to five, I needed some type of routine because if not, I would sit there and binge-watches The Bachelor or binge-watch whatever was there, because, oh, I work for myself. I can do this. It's not me being effective and growing the business. "

Resources:

Melissa Lin

Facebook

SDH 400: What to Do When Nothing Is Working Aug 24, 2020

I know one thing that is for sure is that building a business can be down right hard, not just from the tactical strategy side of it but also the emotional side of it. Working with my clients and having gone through the beginning stages of the entrepreneurial journey myself, let me tell you. It is messy. Things feel broken all the time, constantly watching “how-to” tutorials and you feel like you’re hanging on by a thread. If anyone tells you that their entrepreneurial journey to their multi-six, multi-seven figure business was peachy, they are lying.

Building a business can be some of the most intense personal development training you will ever experience, if you let it.

You learn to..

detach yourself from the outcomes and to take care of the daily small things. Because taking care of the small things, takes care of the big things.
you learn (although it can take some time) that comparing your journey and thinking you should be somewhere else or further along than you are, only stunts you from actually moving forward. You can’t live in the present when you’re focus on somewhere else you should be.
Unlearn being conditional. For example, instead of saying “I’ll only be happy when I get X amount of students to enroll in my program or make X amount money, then I’ll be happy” and instead learn that it is actually the way around. That by being happy in the here and now, you attract your desires.

Learning online business, building an engaged community filled with folks who want to buy from you, not being afraid of what people say about you, all takes time. It takes patience.

So when you’re building your business, you’re in the thick of it, clients aren’t signing up, you feel like no one is engaging or showing up, and you’re brain is freaking the F out, here is a list of things you can in that moment to put yourself back in the driver seat.

Stop resisting. Resistance can be physical and energical. Suffering is caused by resisting. Thinking that an experience in our life shouldn’t be happening. That creates resistance and resistance is heavy. Imagine if life’s experiences was a river and all of sudden you thought that the river should flow the way it is, you build a dam and put up resistance. You stop the flow. It doesn’t mean what you’re experience is going to be easy but by resistencing it, you’re causing more suffering.
Stop trying to control. Depending on you personality type, when things go sideways, some of us like to try and control everything around us and I can speak from experience. The growth opportunity in that moment is actually learning that you can’t control everything and the only thing you can control is yourself and how you respond.
Obstacles as opportunities. This is about changing your perspective. Sometimes when we view things as “No working,” it leaves us feeling defeated, where as when we look at every challenge, problem, obstacle as opportunities we’re able to shift the way we look at it. As the late Wayne Dyer said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
Where your focus goes, energy flows results will show. Chances are that what you’re focused on isn’t making you feel to good. When you’re focused on what’s not working, you can only think about what isn’t working. Redirect your focus on to what IS working.
You can do this by creating a “gratitude list.” Make a list of what IS working. We often think about what we’re doing in our business and what “isn’t working” even though we’ve recently just proved that it is by getting a sale. We dismiss that sale because it isn’t what we wanted. We expected 5 sales and only got one. You have to practice being grateful for the 78 Instagram followers before you’ll ever get thousands. You can’t desire from a place of abundance while at the same time criticizing the present moment.
Change your state. Your state determines your story that creates a story. If you’re feeling insecure, frustrated or upset and try to solve a problem from that state, you’re in trouble. When you’re feeling low, frustrated, overwhelmed, change your physical state. Go for a walk, run, workout, sweat, dance it out. Know your go to. I know that Mondays after amazing weekends I can feel a little bluesy...the best way to overcome that feeling is putting in my airpods, putting on my tennis shoes and turning on my music and going for a 2 miles run.
Understand what your primary question may be. For example, if you find yourself to be a “fixer” and want to fix everything, which I’ve certainly have been there. I dated guys who I wanted to fix, I created caohs in my personal live so I could have something to fix and this manifested in my business. I realized that my primary question was always asking “What’s wrong and how do I fix this?” Always. I always assumed something was wrong in my business. And if I always assume that something is wrong, then I’m going to want to fix it.
Practice patience. In a world where everything is focused on immediate gratification, it is quite the opposite when it comes to building a business. You can’t make future decisions based on current circumstances. Because if you do something in your business that you label “didn’t work” just from one experience, you’re going to want to change the direction of where you’re going. Thus never gaining traction.

Stop resisting, release control, turn obstacles into opportunities, shift your focus, create a gratitude list and change your physical state.

Because truly, when it feels like nothing is working, everything is working...just not the way we want it to.

SDH 399: How She Built Career Contessa and Her Career on Her Own Terms with Founder Lauren McGoodwin Aug 20, 2020

It's time to make a power move with our guest Lauren McGoodwin! Career Contessa’s CEO, #1 power move advocate, and has a life mission to help women build successful and fulfilling careers on their terms. Lauren launched Career Contessa in 2013 out of her master's thesis project to close the gap in career development resources for women. Career Contessa now helps over 2 million women each year with their careers through content, online learning courses, and job listings.

Lauren graduated in 2009 and went to University in Oregon. After moving to LA she landed a job as an admin assistant, it was not her dream job and she didn't feel excited with it at all. And it wasn't until she got a random assignment at work to do some recruiting for the University which introduced her to recruiting. Those informational interviews were pivotal in the sense that it taught her a lot. She was able to use the information got from the questions and the answers people give her to learn what type of recruiter she wanted to be and what type of company she wanted to work for.

When it comes to Job Search at the time, Lauren was just applying anything. But after those informational interviews, she became more specific, which she credited to the success of that job search which eventually leverage those into becoming a recruiter at Hulu, without any prior recruiting experience and she considered Hulu, one of those forks in the road kind of moment where everything changed because she started working for a company that she really enjoyed.

Simultaneously she was finishing up her master's program and she is about to write a thesis. She thought about the fact that she had just gone through very tumultuous, job search and soul search and thought that a lot of women may feel this way too. And so she wrote her thesis on Millennial Women and Career Resources and Career Contessa was the prototype from that thesis project.

She finished her Master's in June of 2013, she had Career Contessa in June of 2013, and again using it a school project, while still working in Hulu as a recruiter. She hasn’t thought of what to do next and decided to maybe become a product manager after recruiting job. A colleague had advised her to just keep her website around. In 2014 she kept working on Career Contessa because she wasn't sure what she was going to do with it. Taking the advice, she kept it around, and maybe she can leverage it into a new job opportunity. In late 2014 she left Hulu to work on it full time. So it's interesting how that advice stuck with her and, and made her to eventually pull the trigger to leave Hulu, even though she loved that job.

While working as a recruiter for Hulu, she saw a consistent theme that women everywhere seemed to have reached the goals they’d set, even exceeded them, only to find themselves exceedingly unhappy. Across the board, the same questions came up. So Lauren decided to answer these questions with Career Contessa. From this journey of helping women in their careers, she decided to compile all of her lessons learned into her new book, Power Moves. In Power Moves, Lauren answers those career sabotaging questions and shares her insights and the secret to building a purposeful career.

In this episode you will...

Learn that it's not always a clear start
Be able to use your job experience to start your own
Find out the reality of starting a business that success is not overnight
Discover the importance of long term consistency and patience
Start taking that power move

Insights:

"You can't compare your apples to someone else's oranges."

"And I got this advice when I was first starting out, if you're not going to spend five years on it, don't spend five minutes on it. And at the time, I was like, are you crazy if I'm doing this for five years, and this hasn't you know, done this and this and this, I had this whole laundry list like I'm out. And, but you learn so much as you go and you realize that like, if you were to speed it up, it would take, you know, some other resource or it's not real, you know, real growth like, can you run a gazillion Facebook ads and do something of course but you know, the question would be, is that real growth?"

"The difference between now and when I first started is I sort of... I feel like I suffered from like, I would just chase the shiny object like I would see something, I would have this idea and then I would just run with it. And now I'm way more thoughtful I pause before I do stuff, I kind of run everything through the like, well, this is who we are at Career Contessa, this is what we do. And if it fits into that, maybe explore it more."

Resources:

Career Contessa

Facebook

SDH 398: The Cost of Perfection as an Online Business Owner and Coach with Amanda Boleyn Aug 17, 2020

Today’s episode is about the cost of perfection as an online business owner and coach. This topic is one that is dear to my heart and the more and more I work with my clients, I see so many dreams never realized because of the fear of not being “perfect,” or fear of making the wrong decision or choice. So much of what we do, we don’t do, and how we behave is rooted in the thoughts that we think. Our thoughts create an emotion that causes an action that produces a result.

Here’s how to tell when perfection is rearing its head and getting in the way of you taking action:

Not taking action. - One way this looks is when you’re just starting, you think to yourself, “I want to get started but I don’t know if where I start is what I want it to look like long-term so why even start?” You’re afraid that it won’t be perfect and that you’ll make the wrong decision but the truth is...there is no right or wrong decision.
Constantly re-doing things without them playing out. - This looks like launching a freebie and then spending time updating it, tweaking it rather than promoting it.
Comparing your work to others to see if it is “good enough” and looking outside of yourself for validation and ideas on your business

How to move away from perfection and get yourself comfortable with imperfect action.

Remake your decision on what being perfect and imperfect means. - Bring into awareness what the meaning of being perfect is in your life. Take inventory of experiences growing up, pressures you’ve put on yourself about being perfect, and potentially any fear you have around not being perfect.
Redirect your focus. - Instead of focusing on the actual outcome itself. Let’s say you’re putting together a group coaching program. Instead of focusing on whether or not it is perfect, focus on the program you’ve made and who you’ve become along the way. Focus on the journey, not the outcome.
Rewire your thoughts. - This requires you to become very aware of what you’re thinking (and not thinking). If you want the results of someone who you aspire to, you have to understand what they’re thinking that drives their choices, actions, and way of being.
Lastly, detach your worth to your need to be perfect and what you make it mean. - he truth is, is that you are worthy regardless of age, income, actions, conditions. We are all worthy as humans. Unfortunately, we’ve been raised to believe that our worthiness is only conditional. I remember that the only way I’d reward myself or feel good about myself was if I had a successful launch, if I made a certain amount of money. The moment I decided to let go of that condition and step into my power and abundance because I am human, I was able to release all low vibrating energy.

Friend, it is time for you to bust loose from perfection. If you enjoyed today’s podcast episode I’d love for you to leave us an iTunes review and join us inside our free private Facebook group by heading to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/hwc.

SDH 397: How to Keep it Simple When You Make the Leap with Natalie Ellis (Rebroadcast) Aug 10, 2020

Today’s lady boss is the CEO of Boss Babe. Boss Babe is a lifestyle brand that brings together a community of ambitious millennial business-minded women and teaches them how to take responsibility for their lives by putting their happiness first. Even before Boss Babe, Natalie's entrepreneurial journey already began. She founded her first company, Oh My Glow, at age 21 knowing that she would not find fulfillment in a corporation.

In this episode you will:

Know the importance of keeping it simple during your first leap
See why listening to your community’s feedback is important
Uncover the importance of consistency and transparency online for your brand or business
Find out what’s a huge converter for Boss Babe
Hear how content converts differently on different social platforms
Acquire advice for managing books

INSIGHTS:

“I quickly realized being a female entrepreneur, just being an entrepreneur in generally can be the most lonely journey. It’s so terrifying you’re responsible for so much.” Natalie Ellis

“I would first make sure that your income stream is solid before you take any kind of leap because the worst mindset you can be in is panic mode and that is not going to grow your business.” Natalie Ellis

“If you can cut down your hours of working elsewhere do it. Don’t be chasing the money here, chase the main goal.” Natalie Ellis

“Even if you want to offer a ton of products or a ton of services, start with one and do that one thing really well and start to grow it from there.” Natalie Ellis

“When you let yourself burn out because you’re trying so hard often you get to a point where you feel like there’s no return and I feel like that’s such a huge issue in those first 18 months.” Natalie Ellis

“I made sure I never compromised our long-term success for those short-term games and that was really hard in the beginning. Because taking on a new project, you’re always super excited to dive in head first.” Natalie Ellis

“We combine Pinterest and Instagram to drive leads to our email list and we do most things via email. I find that to be a huge converter.” Natalie Ellis

“Our content has the ability to go viral if it’s in the right hands.” Natalie Ellis

“Don’t use the same content on each platform, maybe pick two or three platforms and drive them to one key place.” Natalie Ellis

“You need to know your money. You need to know what you can and can’t claim for because this is more money for you and your business. So I would get super clear on that and if you aren’t sure have a meeting with an accountant.” Natalie Ellis

“If you don’t live intentionally, how can you get so much done? How can you achieve your goals? How can you know what you’re working towards? Natalie Ellis

Resources:

Natalie@bossbabe.me

“The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries

“Tribe of Mentors” by Tim Ferris

“High Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard

“Now is Your Chance” by Niyc Pidgeon

SDH 396: Learn How to Run a Full-time Business in Part-time Hours by Working Smarter, Not Harder with Ashley Gartland (Rebroadcast) Aug 03, 2020

Our guest, Ashley Gartland works with women entrepreneurs whose business is doing well but who feel like a hot mess behind the scenes - and they know it's holding them back from reaching the next level. She helps them simplify their business and build a stronger foundation so they can experience more growth and fulfillment in their work and more freedom in their life. Ashley has been an entrepreneur since the age of 22 when she got her start as a freelance food writer. After working in editing, event planning, public relations, and digital publishing, Ashley launched her coaching practice to help overwhelmed entrepreneurs grow their business by doing less better.

Ashley's work has been featured in O, The Oprah Magazine, The Huffington Post and Being Boss and she's appeared on The Startup Sessions, Courage & Clarity, and the Creative Empire podcasts. She lives for rainy days, is an avid runner (and wannabe yogi) and prefers kombucha over coffee to fuel her day.

In this episode, you will...

Hear Ashley's journey as an entrepreneur
Learn how she found mentorship and coaching
Find out how life circumstances helped her discover her passion
Discover how you can work 25 hours or less a week and still accomplish more
Hear about the "Power of the Pause"
Realize the importance of delegation

Insights:

"Really have firm boundaries and learn when to say no."

"When you only have 25 hours a week or 10 hours a week to work on your business, you have to be very clear on what things you're spending your time on and what request of your time to say no."

"Figure out to delegate in a way that doesn't require a huge commitment but still will pull a lot of results."

Resources:

Ashley Garland | Simplify

SDH 395: How to Create Self-Discipline and Drive Within Yourself with Amanda Boleyn (Rebroadcast) Jul 27, 2020

Hello my beautiful friends!

Today’s episode is all about how to create self-discipline and drive within yourself. Self-discipline is a byproduct of knowing your why and knowing what needs to happen in order to accomplish your goals whether they are business or personal.

Know your three:

What does your compelling future look like? What are your goals (This is your WHAT)
Know your WHY. (This is where your drive and inspiration come from)
Reinforce with self-discipline (This is your HOW)

In this episode you will:

Learn why you must have a compelling future that relates to your goals
Know your WHY behind your compelling future and goals
How to reinforce your goals with self-discipline
Learn how and why your thoughts create the reality you are living today
Understand the importance of not setting goals because you believe they will make you happy
Learn what a growth mindset vs fixed mindset is
And more!

Insights:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” - Wayne Dyer

“If you leave your growth to randomness you’ll always live in the land of mediocrity.” - Brendon Burchard

Resources:

“Think and Grow Rich” - Napoleon Hill

Brooke Castillo - The Life Coach School

SDH 394: Quitting Your Job & Moving Beyond Your Corporate Identity with Amanda Boleyn (Rebroadcast) Jul 20, 2020

I want to dive into the emotional and mental transition from working corporate to becoming your own boss entails. Last month in an episode, "How a Bridge Job can Help You Make Your Ultimate Leap" I shared how you can make tiny transitions to help move you towards becoming your own boss. I spent the majority of the solocast discussing the mechanics and today I want to talk about the things unseen, what happens to us mentally and emotionally during that time of transition and sometimes, even after we've made our leap.

In this episode, you will,

Learn about the emotional and mental transition from corporate
Discover about Identity shift
Found out what happens before, during and after the identity shift takes place
Ways you can practice reinforcing your 'new' identity
What it's like to be your own boss
Hear about what happens after the leap

Insights:

"If your ego didn't creep in when you're about to do something scary, you would be an anomaly."
"Where you have to be careful is believing what people are saying to you. Everything is relative. So first, to them, you might be "crazy" because they would NEVER consider doing what you're about to do. So to them. You're crazy. That's okay. Because on the flip side, them staying in a job that they don't love, doing the grind every single day because they don't want to get uncomfortable and put themselves out there to build a better life, makes them CRAZY."

Resources:

SDH 335: How A Bridge Job Can Help You Take Your Ultimate Leap with Amanda Boleyn

SDH 393: 4 Strategies on How to Price Your Services and Offers for Profit (Rebroadcast) Jul 13, 2020

A few weeks ago I shared three ways to replace your income and leave your 9 to 5. If you haven't already tuned into that episode be sure to do so either before or after listening to this one.

In today's episode, I want to cover the four strategies on how to price your services and offers for profit. I'll be sharing some of the basic principles to consider when starting out depending upon whether you're selling a product or a service, may determine how you price your offer. For today's podcast, I'm going to dive deeper into the service-based businesses such as a VA or a contractor, but still sharing some things to consider.

In this episode, you will...

How to price yourself if you're a service-based business owner
Learn about the four ways to price your service
Discover the owner's pay
Get tips and strategies that you can use with your own business

Insights:

"Be conscious of overpromising and under-delivering."

Resources:

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Her Way Community

@shediditherway

SDH 392: Do these 3 Things Before You Quit Your Job with Amanda Boleyn (Rebroadcast) Jul 06, 2020

In today's solocast we'll talk about the things you can do to help prepare you before you make the ultimate leap. We will dive into each of the three things I will be discussing in this podcast so make sure to tune in until the end!

In this episode, you will...

Learn the importance of setting financial goals
Discover efficient ways to manage your schedule
Find out how to make your money move
How to operate from high vibrations
How to focus on the what and the why
and more!

Insights:

"Decide for yourself when you will take the leap and then work backward."

"There's never a perfect timing to do certain things."

"Quit breaking commitment to yourself."

Resources:

SDH Instagram

SDH 391: How A Bridge Job Can Help You Take Your Ultimate Leap with Amanda Boleyn (Rebroadcast) Jun 29, 2020

What it might include is a bridge job. What is a bridge job and do you need one in order to ultimately quit your job? Having a bridge job was extremely instrumental in my journey and it could be in your's too.

A bridge job is a job that gets you from point A to point C. If point A is your current job and point C is the point in which you become your own boss than point B is your bridge job. It is the transitional point in your journey that helps you get closer to reaching your goal of becoming your own boss.

Not everyone has a bridge job before they make their ultimate leap and that is okay too.

In this episode, you will...

Learn what is a bridge job and why you might need one
Hear my detailed lead-up story before I took my ultimate leap
Learn the benefits of a bridge job and how it helps you gain perspective
and so so much more!

Insights:

"It is in the moments of our decision that our destiny is shaped.” - Tony Robbins

"Risky is all in the eyes of the beholder.”

"You have to want your DREAMS more than your drama"

Resources:

7 Habits that Are Draining Your Energy

SDH 390: How to Create Weekly Content without The Overwhelm with Amanda Boleyn (Rebroadcast) Jun 22, 2020

Hello my beautiful friends!

In today’s podcast episode I’m sharing all things about why creating consistent content is important and I’m sharing my 5 step process on how to exactly do it without the overwhelm!

In this episode, you will...

Learn how to break down weekly content
Follow a process in producing content that will not overwhelm you
Know about my step by step process when creating content
Discover the importance of SEO
Be more efficient when delivering your content and more!

Insights:

"The sooner you get ready to be ready, the more you're going to get the process into your world, into your life, and into your business."
"Timer is your best friend"

Resources:

She Did It Her Way Content Creation

SDH 389: Candid Conversations About Race & Business with Amber Williams + Amanda Boleyn Jun 15, 2020

Today's episode is a little bit different than our usual episodes because today I am sitting down with Amber Williams, not really an interview type but a candid conversation about race and business which is so relevant to the recent events that are currently taking place. We wanted to have this candid conversation with a sole intention to hopefully inspire and educate, to take action and make a change in your circle of influence.

We are taking this initiative, though we both have been friends for a while now we still feel a bit uncomfortable to discuss these topics. So today we will talk about race and business and so much more!

This is going out to both our podcasts and so make sure to tune in!

In this episode you will...

Learn about discussing topics that are uncomfortable but is necessary
How can women business leaders use our platform to take a stand against social injustice
Why it's necessary to stand up especially as a business leader
What is the best way to talk about anti-racism without sounding racist or ignorant
What does doing the work really looks like

Insights:

"Silence is not an option, silence is betrayal."
"It takes a lot more than words to make a difference it takes action."
"There's a difference between hearing and listening, listening and knowing, knowing, and understanding."

Resources:

SDH 388: How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Business with Kate Ahl (Rebroadcast) Jun 08, 2020

Kate Ahl is the founder of Simple Pin Media. A company that helps clients and businesses grow their online presence using Pinterest. She teaches Pinterest marketing, for it to be actionable, simple steps that will help business owners move forward successfully instead of feeling overwhelmed.

In this episode, you will...

How Kate started her company and the idea behind it
Learn how her first year was when starting her business
Find out about her mindset-switch
Discover how hiring a business coach is important to a business
Realize the best mindset especially when starting your own business
Hear about tips and insights from Kate when managing your own business
Why the testing phase is necessary
The benefit of streamlining
Why you should start an email list from the start
Tips on how to use Pinterest
and so much more!

Insights:

"Success is a mountain of failure."
"Fail forward into success."

Resources:

Simple Pin Media

@simplepinmedia

Kate Morton Books

SDH 387: 3 Ways to Replace Your Income and Leave Your 9-5 (Rebroadcast) Jun 01, 2020

Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the podcast!

A lot of questions and feedback that I get from the She Did It Her Way listeners is, the question around creating sustainable income within their business, or side hustle when they're just starting their own business. This is a common question that often times triggers fear and concern for most when they want to launch a business and leave their 9 to 5.

So in today's solocast, I want to offer up three different ways that you can replace your income.

In this episode, you will...

Learn more about the goal of Her Way Society
The importance of savings and product validation
Discover what you need to have before making the leap
Importance of eliminating the non-essentials in your schedule
Be more disciplined with your time
Find out the three ways you can replace your income
and more!

Insights:

"Determine the number that you're after, you know what the goal is, you will make other decisions based off of that number."

"The most common ways I've seen women replace their income and start their business is, they become a VA, they start an online business, they leverage themselves to become a contractor."

"Start today, start now!"

Resources:

SDH 259: Learn How to Quit Your Job and Double Your Corporate Income in 30 Days with Abbey Ashley

SDH 268: Corporate America to Six-Figure Entrepreneur in Less than 4 Months with Julie Ciardi

SDH 301: From Freelancing to Owning a Multi-Million Business with Linda Solley Hurd

SDH 386: 4 Steps to Getting Unstuck and Taking Action with Amanda Boleyn May 25, 2020

I am super excited to talk about today's topic as this is something that I am passionate about, let's get into the steps that can help you get unstuck and start taking action.

In this episode you will...

Find out why tracking your time is important
How to effectively track your time
Learn to avoid noise and focus on your goal
Regain your freedom by putting constraints
Be specific with what you wanted to accomplish
Discover the 4 steps you can use to get unstuck and take action

Insights:

"Even if you have an hour to work on your business or 30 minutes, I want you to be as detailed as possible as to what you're going to accomplish and what you're going to do during that timeframe."

"The more specific you can be with your to-do list or your list of things and outcomes that you want to get done, the more likely you are to take action."

"It's so important that when you do the things in your business in life and not judge results today, or based on today's results. Because what you need to stay focused on is knowing that you're creating an engine, knowing that the vision you're holding in the life that you desire with your business and your life is is possible and it's out there, and we just have to stay committed to that vision."

Resources:

Her Way Community

Book Your FREE 20-Minute Clarity Call

Coach Her Way Academy

SDH 385: 5 Ways to Uplevel Your Mindset Right Now with Amanda Boleyn May 18, 2020

Hello, beautiful She Did It Her Way listeners, welcome back to another podcast episode! I'm so excited to dive into today's podcast with you as we will be talking about five ways to uplevel your mindset right now!

In this episode you willl...

Learn about the things you can do to up-level your business
Distinguish the difference between doing vs producing
Get insight on how I use the 25-minute increment on my tasks
Maximize your time efficiently
Learn to change how you think and behave according to your business
Implement the "Be, Do, Have" principle
Discover that failure is just data

Insights:

"There is no failure there's the only outcome."

"Remember that your world is made up of your experiences and the meaning that you give those experiences."

"Gratitude breeds abundance."

Resources:

Her Way Community

SDH 384: Showing Up and Staying Authentic in Your Business with Michelle Bishop May 11, 2020

Michelle spent four years in the bodybuilding industry that was fueled by a prior eating disorder known as Nighttime Eating Syndrome (NES). Michelle went on to compete as a national NPC women’s physique competitor and dominated the stage for 4 years until she realized she was tired of being tied down to rigid training routines and strict meal plans. After a couple of years of studying herself and breaking the chains that diet culture once had on her, Michelle then went on to coach and mentor thousands of women to food freedom, self-love, and maximizing their time in a physical training aspect. Michelle is now the founder of The Ladies Edge which was established on December 17th, 2017 has touched over 20,000 women through her program helping women love themselves where they are right now while on the journey to find their undeniable confidence. Her mission is to help women break free from the lies and limitations that have been placed on them both mentally and physically.

In this episode you will...

Learn about Michelle's entrepreneurial story
Hear how she used social media to reach a huge audience
Discover about finding your identity
Hear how to package your offering or services in your business
Be clear and stick to your mission
Find out why having a lot of social media followers doesn't always mean success
Hear about the three actionable things you can do with your business today
Get insights on how to avoid distractions especially from your competition

Insights:

"The truth is nothing happens overnight, the transformation is a journey."

"And I will tell you this, even though my "following" dropped, our business is the most successful by a longshot than I was with any other business prior even though "Instagram" doesn't reflect it."

"But at the end of the day, just be authentically yourself. differentiate yourself, make sure your message is your message. And that's one thing that I've had to do really, you know, work on is removing a lot of the girls that are in my line of work, not seeing their social feeds because it's so funny how, you know, you'll see them and you're inspired by them. But all sudden, like their message, like you start speaking it and you think it's yours and you're like, wait, wait, wait, wait. And it's just natural because you read it all the time. So make sure that your voice isn't so and so's voice."

Resources:

The Ladies Edge

Don't forget to REGISTER for the FREE 5 Day Challenge! May 08, 2020

Hey there friend!

Next Monday, May 11th, we're kicking off our FREE 5 day challenge all about helping you build your booked out coaching business.

This challenge is for YOU if you're wanting to start your coaching business but now sure WHERE or HOW to get started OR you've already launched your coaching business but want more of the RIGHT clients.

Head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/challenge to register for FREE.

Every day during the challenge I'll be going live inside Her Way Community Facebook group teaching you the 5 steps to building your booked out coaching business - you do NOT want to miss this!

Registration closes Monday morning!

See you there!

Amanda

SDH 383: 5 Steps to Starting Your Coaching Business with Amanda Boleyn May 04, 2020

Hey lovely friend. How are you doing? What interesting times we’re living right now.

Today, I’m diving into the 5 specific steps you can take right now to start your coaching business and do it the right way from the beginning.

In this episode you will...

Learn about the steps you can use to start your coaching business
Discover the most important step to follow
Find out how to be visible to your audience
Know how to take actions
Get the proper mindset in starting your coaching business

If you want to build a booked out coaching business, I want you to head to shediditherwaypodcast.com/challenge and sign up for my week-long free challenge happening next week, starting on Monday, May 11th. I’m breakdown down in more detail each of these steps during live training happening every evening.

Insights:

"It's all about having your ideal customers take the next step of where you are leading them to."

Resources:

She Did It Her Way Challenge

SDH 382: Overcoming Distractions and Focusing on Your Ultimate Leap with Sarah Wallace Apr 27, 2020

After spending 5-years selling advertising and marketing campaigns, Sarah believes the importance of getting visible and showing up consistently. If you want to be seen as the go-to in your market, people have to know you exist! And then they have to like and trust you. Sarah helps business owners to be seen, trusted, and become a valuable resource for their customers.

In this episode you will...

Learn about the things that can delay your ultimate leap

Find out why you don't need to be the best in your job before you take the leap

Discover the queues that it's time to push the things that you are passionate about

Get to know the benefit of having a business coach

Hear how to find ways to figure out what you really love to do despite the distractions

Why having a process is important

Know that change is part of developing your business process

Change your mindset and see yourself as an employer and not an employee

Learn to wear the business owner hat

Discover the importance of having a community

Insights:

And that's definitely a part of it. But at the end of the day, social media, whether it's Instagram, LinkedIn, or Tiktok, whatever it is, is just a tool to help you amplify your message, what's most important is how you want to help your people."

"I knew that wasn't it, but I didn't know what else I wanted to do."

"I think there is a beautiful place that you can absolutely be so grateful for what you have and still desire for more."

Resources:

Sarah Lynn Co

@sarahlynn.co

SDH 381: How to Grow Your Business with a Free Facebook Group with Amanda Boleyn Apr 20, 2020

What if I tell you that it's possible to grow your business through a Facebook group? Yes my dear friends, that free social media tool that everyone can use! You may have had a Facebook group in the past and decided to shut it down by archiving or maybe your Facebook group is stale and you lack motivation on wanting to engage with it? You come to the right place my friend because today, let's talk about the benefits of having a Facebook group for your business!

In this episode you will...

Discover the benefits of having a free Facebook group for your business
Why a past Facebook Group that you had, “didn’t work.
How to make your Facebook profitable
How to consistently add value
How to grow your Facebook Group
6 Steps on how to set up your Facebook Group right now
Learn how She Did It Her Way heavily uses Facebook group

If you’d like to join our private Facebook group and get connected with other like-minded women who are building their online business, head to shediditherwaypodcast.com/hwc.

Insights:

"Typically when you lack motivation for anything it is because you lack a strong why. If you don’t know why you’re doing something it is challenging to get yourself to commit to it."

"Facebook groups are a wonderful way to cultivate community."

Resources:

Her Way Community

SDH 380: Achievement Addiction With Shauna VanBogart Apr 13, 2020

Today's guest is Shauna VanBogart. Shauna helps small business owners build, run, and scale sustainable service-based businesses that feel as good as they look. After completing a graduate degree in Communications and Leadership Studies, building four businesses from 0 to over six and multiple six-figures in annual revenue, and 10+ years mentoring business owners running everything from start-ups to multi-million dollar brands, Shauna knows precisely what it takes to evolve a business and elevate its income.

Shauna utilizes her graduate degree, a decade of business experience, and her certification in Hypnosis to work one-on-one with clients to refine their business model, scale their expertise, and develop an online presence to increase revenue and create sustainable, soulful success.

In this episode, you will...

Get tips in transitioning from your job to your own business
Hear about the high-level version of how Shauna started her journey
Learn how you can evolve together with your business
Listen to Shauna's experience in image consulting and how she uses that experience to help small business owners
Hear about why she let go of her online magazine which was already successful and had massive potential to turn into an excellent publication
Identify the sabotaging roadblocks from your subconscious place
Discover about the "achievement addiction" piece
Hear about her challenges on sponsorship which doesn't align with her brand
Define what is your achievement
How to find that spark of inspiration from within you
and so much more!

Insights:

"I'm feeling like I'm missing something that's mine, exclusively mine, and what feels, you know, so good to me. So I keep coming back to self-development."

"I kept hitting these bigger and bigger milestones in my career, yet I felt less and less fulfilled. It was like the law of diminishing returns."

"The only way that you can get those beautiful answers and sparks of inspiration from inside of you is to filter out that noise. Stop being externally referenced. Stop comparing yourself go inward, do that deep self-reflective work to see where do you really like strive and thrive? Where is your zone of genius, and to step into it, versus constantly looking outward and go, Okay, I need to strive for that."

Resources:

SHAUNA VAN BOGART

Just Being Podcast

Busting Loose From the Money Game: Mind-Blowing Strategies for Changing the Rules of a Game You Can't Win

SDH 379: 6 Software Systems You Need to Set Up in Your Online Business Today With Amanda Boleyn Apr 06, 2020

When I started in the online space it was like a web that was hard to untangle. I didn't know where to get started, how to get started? What is email marketing? Why do I need a website? What is an opt-in, and all of that stuff, and this might be the same for most of you, so in this episode, I will walk you through the 6-Score Software Systems that I believe you need to set up in your online business today and start making money!

In this episode, you will...

Get insights on how to get started using systems for your business
Learn about the software systems that will help you with your business
Hear about the benefits of automation
Insights on how to organize your processes
Get tips on getting leads for your business
Decide on what's suitable and best for your online business

Insights:

"One of the things that I do recommend is that If you're just starting from scratch or let's say you're overhauling your current website, is really think about what you want your website to feel like, and how do you want it to be navigated. And so you can start looking at other people's websites and start paying attention to how theirs is laid out and what you like about it and what you don't."

"Now is better than ever a great time to start building your email list."

"I kind of like to keep systems clean in the sense that email and ConvertKit serve email purpose, and Squarespace serves my website person purpose. But, if you find something that works for you, you have to do that."

Resources:

SDH 378: Planning, Deciding and Executing Your Ultimate Leap with Victoria Marcouillier Mar 30, 2020

Victoria is a wife, mamma-to-be, and the CEO of BrandWell Marketing. BrandWell is a website and branding studio for the female entrepreneur who wants to level up her business with stylish and professional branding. Victoria recently launched her template shop with everything a girl needs to streamline her business's branding, including website templates, customizable welcome packets, Instagram graphics, and more. Victoria is expecting her first baby girl, Maia, in June and lives in Lynchburg, VA with her husband James.

In this episode you,

Hear about Victoria's own journey
Realize that each entrepreneurial journey is different
Find your calling when starting your journey
Learn that the start is never perfect!
Get tips about the leap-transition
Be able to identify the hints before leaving your job
Get insights on hiring your first assistant

Insights:

"Do you want to be a millionaire? I'll tell you how... Find a need. Meet it."

"Don't quit too soon."

'Treat your business like it's bigger than it really is. In other words, take it seriously. If you have 20 followers, show up for them with high-quality content like you have 2,000 followers."

Resources:

Brand Well Marketing

@brandwellwebsites

SDH 377: Do This 1 Thing to Quit Your Day Job Sooner with Amanda Boleyn Mar 23, 2020

You wanted to quit your job and start your business but maybe you haven't set up a leap date yet? If you have found yourself without a leap date and know you want to quit your job, there are a few different reasons as to why you may not be doing so.

Let's talk about the one thing that you can do when you are making the leap, or setting up your goal.

In this episode, you will...

Find the reason why you are not setting a leap date
Be aware of the things that hindering you to get started
Discover the benefits of having an actual leap date
How to go through mental chatter
Be able to face your fear and doubts that are keeping you stuck
Understand the emotional impact when making decisions ahead of time
Become more serious in making the leap
and more!

Insights:

"A goal without a plan is just a dream."

"For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time."

"Define what success looks like and your good, better, best revenue goals."

Resources:

CHALLENGE

Her Way Community

SDH 376: Scarcity vs Abundance In Your Business with Amanda Boleyn Mar 16, 2020

Welcome back my beautiful and go-getter She Did It Her Way listener! So excited to have you here today for another solocast. Today, I’ve got a real treat for you, especially for those of you who haven’t started building your business but want to or have just gotten started with your business and working on getting it to a place where you can make your ultimate leap!

In this episode, you will...

Bring awareness to your thoughts
Provide tactical ways to your focus
Learn about scarcity and abundance and how they relate to your business
Take charge with your thoughts
Find out how to get into the state of abundance

Insights:

"Scarcity vs abundance in your business and life for that matter is a real thing."

"Your state of mind can be completely separate from your current circumstances."

"If we know that our thoughts create your emotions, that inspires an action that produces a result then we can simply re-engineer our brain to focus on the abundance out there."

SDH 375: Success in Content Marketing with Lacy Boggs Mar 09, 2020

Her team creates content, copy, and content strategy for personality-driven small businesses, offers support for businesses at every level including courses, a group program, and done-for-you copywriting and strategy services.

Today she’s here to share with us her journey to entrepreneurship, tips on content creation and some of her strategies in running her content marketing business!

In this episode you will...

Hear about Lacy's story before making the leap
Find out what made her decide to quit her job
Learn about finding what makes you unique
Get insights on how you can navigate when starting out
Know that we learn by doing, no one got it right the first time
Discover the importance of doing what you love
Gather some pointers when you are starting out with content creation
Get tips on how to hire subcontractors
Get insights in making sure you are legally covered
and more!

Insights:

"Your journey, it will never be a straight line."

"Failing" at a typical blueprint-style launch taught me that it's more important to find your own leadership marketing formula than to follow the crowd."

"Essentialism is the disciplined pursuit of less" (but better)."

SDH 374: Streamline Your Income with Jessica Stansberry Mar 02, 2020

Today's guest helps passionate women create content that sells for them so they can grow their business, increase their streams of passive income, and live a life on purpose by selling online courses to teach all the skills needed to do just that.

Our guest for this episode is Jessica Stansberry. She's an online course creator and business coach. She throws down booty-kicking advice on her weekly podcast, Grit, on her YouTube channel, and blog and shows up every day on Instagram to make sure these women feel like they're not alone and they have every tool they need.

In this episode you will...

Get a background story on how she started her business
Learn the reason why she decided to take the leap
Discover how she overcomes the challenges at the beginning of her business
Get tips on how to properly price your services
Get insights on how she built her audience
Find out the importance of listening to your audience
How to focus on your target audience and getting rid of the noise
Learn how to filter out your social media to remove negative contents
Get tips on scheduling your calendar

Insights:

"I started doing freelance design work and some photography and then morphed into blog design, web design and kept morphing from there."

"Every "bad' thing or "failure" that has happened has been a blessing in disguise, either as a way for me to make changes that needed to happen or as a way for me to learn something I wouldn't have otherwise seen."

"If you're not in the arena, also getting your ass kicked, I'm not interested in your feedback."

SDH 373: Declutter Your Life and Take Back Your Time with Amanda Boleyn Feb 24, 2020

Just like doing a closet clean up, we will declutter the clothes that you no longer need. It may be out of style, clothes that you grew out of or clothes that you no longer need. Let's declutter your schedule, your time and mind using five simple steps.

In this episode you will...

Learn about the importance of decluttering
How changing your language affects your actions
Take control of your time
Discover how to be productive with your time
Learn the effective way to keep track of your time in a day
Know the great value of planning
Find out the simple steps I follow to be organized with my time

Insights:

"Focus on shifting your language."

"So much of what our lives are created by are the words that we speak into existence. Your word is your wand."

"Being busy doesn't mean being productive."

SDH 372: Replace Your Income and Quit Your 9-5 with Christine McAlister Feb 17, 2020

She's been featured in Inc., Business Insider, The Huffington Post, and the Entrepreneurs On Fire podcast. Christine helps high-achievers all over the world to replace their incomes (and then some!) and to quit and stay out of their 9-5s, by building businesses out of their passions.

In this episode you will...

Get tips on starting your own business
Hear about Christine's journey to entrepreneurship
Learn about the emotional challenges she faced during her journey
Discover how to get over a difficult situation
Hear why you should pursue what you want
Understand the importance of having a coach
Find the proper approach when tailoring your business

SDH 371: Hosting Your First In Person Event - All Your Questions Answered Feb 10, 2020

I receive so many great questions from you all on how to host an in-person event from how do I create the budget, what do I need for logistics, how to find the right partners and sponsors for my event, how do I price my tickets, to how do I make sure the event runs smoothly and so on... So today let's talk about all that!

There are many reasons and benefits to host in-person events or workshops:

● It creates a connection that you cannot get online.

● You can go deeper with your content.

● It is immersive. There is no substitute for experience.

● Strengthen community.

In this episode you willl...

Learn the benefits of holding an in-person event

Get to know the things you need before creating an event

Discover how to plan your first event

Find out some of my personal tips when creating an in-person event

Know how to properly price your event

and so much more!

We will have She Did It Her Way summit this year! If you want to get on the list to be notified when tickets go live, head to shediditherwaysummit.com

Insights:

"There is no substitute for an experience."

"Knowing who you want there, will help you decide your content or vice-versa."

Resources:

She Did It Her Way Summit

5 Steps to Hosting a Wildly Successful (and Profitable) Live Event or Workshop

SDH 370: Being Okay Adapting with Your Ever-Evolving Business Feb 03, 2020

Creative self-starter and a driven team player, our guest experience is focused on business development for small to medium businesses. Our guest today is Tasha Liberman, founder of Gittel Solution which she launched last September 2019!

In this episode you will...

Hear about Tasha's journey before the leap
Learn how she came up with the name of her business
Get to terms with the "ever-evolving-ness" of your business
Learn some techniques in reaching out to potential clients
Know how to add value to your service
Find out about adding an event to your business
Learn about a bridge-job

Insights:

"Keep doing what you're doing, and keep exploring."

“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."

SDH 369: It Isn't About Getting It Perfect, It is About Getting Started with Amanda Boleyn Jan 27, 2020

My dear friends welcome to another solocast! Today we’ll talk about the fear that causes us not to take action. For so many of us, there are times where we delay action for fear of the outcome not being perfect or right. And that fear is so prevalent in the beginning stages of building a business.

In this episode, you will...

Identifying the fear that causes you to not take action
Realize that you are the only person who gets in your own way
Learn how to control what to think
There's no such thing as the right business idea
Learn to focus on the process, not the outcome
Discover the importance of clarity when taking actions
Be comfortable being uncomfortable

Insights:

"Do not let anyone else stop you from achieving your dreams, going after them. You are the only one stopping you.

"Clarity comes through taking action. Not thinking your way through it."

"Where your focus goes, energy flows, results will show. "

SDH 368: From Big Law to Legalpreneur With Andrea Sager Jan 20, 2020

Our guest for today is Andrea Sager, the go-to attorney for small businesses. She provides affordable flat rates and payment plans and her Legalpreneur plan is allowing her to serve even more small businesses.

In this episode, you will...

Learn about legalpreneur
Hear about Angela’s transition
Discover how she started her own firm
Get to know the importance of legal services
When is the time to get legal protection
Get insights on the behind-the-scene when starting your business
How it's like running an online virtual firm
Know about the common legal service
How to continue and retain membership
and much more!

Insights:

"Work when you want as long work's getting done."

"Protect your brand and your services."

SDH 367: Behind the Scenes of Building A Business While Working Full-time with Kristi Jacobsen Jan 14, 2020

Our guest today is Kristi Jacobsen, founder of Broken Glass Media. The company intends to create a safe space for women in music, entrepreneurs, future female music industry leaders, to connect, discuss, and dream.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know Kristi Jacobsen
Hear about how she started her own blog
Learn to pursue your passion
Realize why it's important not to rush
Why you should not allow yourself to burnout
How calendar blocking and productivity tools can help you
Know that everyone's journey is different
Learn how you can start your business while still working full-time and more!

Insights:

"I really want to make sure that I get it done right and I don't want to burn myself out."

"Going forward, you need to make time for yourself."

SDH 366: How Jeni Landed 4 Coaching Clients in 4 Weeks with Dr. Jeni Waeltz Jan 13, 2020

Today Jeni is sharing how she got started, the emotional journey of reaching out to potential clients and more.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know about Dr. Jeni Waeltz
Learn how she got started
Discover the importance of having a coach
How to make use of your network
Understand why it's important to just get started
How to start a coaching program
Get insights on how to reach out to your network

Insights:

"It isn't about getting it perfect the first time around. It's about just getting started."

"Oftentimes we assume that what we know, everyone knows and therefore, it's not valuable."

To learn more about The Ultimate Leap Accelerator, head to SheDidItHerWayPodcast.com/accelerator!

Start From Scratch Challenge - Day 5 [Pricing + Next Steps] Jan 10, 2020

Welcome back for the 5th and final day of the Start From Scratch Challenge, you have made it! Now, if you’ve listened to all the trainings and done your homework, you should be feeling pretty excited right about now!

Today we’re going to cover some final things so you can start marketing your services:

We’re going to talk about pricing - how much to charge and how to plan for the number of hours you can work each week.
Content Creation - specifically your Instagram grid.
We’re going to cover your email strategy and how to reach out to people in your immediate network.
Lastly, I’ll be sharing a way for you to take this content even deeper and apply to get massive results.

Don't forget to download the workbook for this challenge by heading to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/challenge.

We'd love to connect with you on Instagram! Head to https://www.instagram.com/shediditherway

For shownotes, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com.

Remember to keep doing it your way!

Start From Scratch Challenge [Day 4 - Your Proven Process] Jan 09, 2020

Today is day 4 of the Start From Scratch Challenge and it is ALL about creating your proven process. Today I'm going to share with you the process you can use in place of your website so that you can start marketing your services and landing clients.

The 4 software tools that I share with you can be set up in less than 25 minutes and are all free. This is a game changer, so be sure to tune in!

Also, if you'd like a visual demonstration of the tools and how they work together, you can watch the training on our Youtube channel by heading to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/youtube.

Don't forget to download the workbook for this challenge by heading to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/challenge.

We'd love to connect with you on Instagram! Head to https://www.instagram.com/shediditherway

For shownotes, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com.

Remember to keep doing it your way!

Start From Scratch Challenge [Day 3 - How to Land Clients] Jan 08, 2020

Today is day 3 of the Start From Challenge! During this challenge, you will learn how to start your business from scratch, easily land clients, all without having a website. In today's lesson, I'm teaching you how to land clients leveraging the power of a discovery call.

What we discuss:

The importance of a discovery and how they fit into your overall marketing.
The difference between inbound and outbound marketing.
3 ways to create a buying environment.

Tune in to learn more about the 3 beliefs that may be keeping you stuck, how to shift your focus and get into action.

To download the workbook for this challenge, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/challenge.

To watch the trainings head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/youtube

We'd love to connect with you on Instagram! Head to https://www.instagram.com/shediditherway

For shownotes, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com.

Remember to keep doing it your way!

Start From Scratch Challenge [Day 2 - Create Your Roadmap] Jan 07, 2020

Day 2 - Create Your Roadmap

Today’s training we’re going to get clear on these 4 main ingredients:

WHAT services you want to offer/help people with (plus the importance of packaging them in a way that makes it easy for your potential client to say YES)
HOW do you want to help people? Go through the different ways you can offer services one-on-one or group.
WHO specifically do you want to help?
Brainstorm WHERE they might be.

Tune in to learn more about creating your roadmap.

To download the workbook for this challenge, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/challenge.

To watch the trainings head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/youtube

We'd love to connect with you on Instagram! Head to https://www.instagram.com/shediditherway

For shownotes, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com.

Remember to keep doing it your way!

Start From Scratch Challenge [Day 1 - Mindset] Jan 06, 2020

Welcome to the Start From Scratch Challenge where I'm teaching you exactly how to get started, build your business and land clients, all without having a website!

Today, day 1, is all about knowing anything is possible for YOU and sharing ways to overcome mindset challenges that may be keeping you from taking action on your business idea.

Tune in to learn more about the 3 beliefs that may be keeping you stuck, how to shift your focus and get into action.

To download the workbook for this challenge, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/challenge.

To watch the trainings head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/youtube

We'd love to connect with you on Instagram! Head to https://www.instagram.com/shediditherway

For shownotes, head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com.

Remember to keep doing it your way!

SDH 365: A Year in Review with Amanda Boleyn Dec 30, 2019

I love doing a year-end reflection and while setting new goals is super fun, it is super important to also reflect on the previous year. Because to figure out where you want to go and HOW you’re going to get there, you first need to figure out where you’re at and where you’ve come from.

In this episode, you will...

Learn about properly setting goals

Why it's important to reflect when setting goals

Hear about The Wheel of Life tool

Insights on how to excitingly plan your goal

Discover the different categories when planning and more!

I have been using this tool and based on the results in each of the areas I can now confidently and strategically decide the direction of my life for 2020 and where I want to focus my time and energy to produce the results I want, the emotions I want to feel and I want you guys to do the same! :)

Insights:

"Without taking time to reflect on the past year, you could find yourself thinking you’re in Austin Texas, planning on getting to LA but never actually getting there because you don’t accurately know where you’re at."

"There will be seasons in your life when your wheel is somewhat unbalanced, and that is okay."

"You get to decide what are the emotions you want to feel in 2020."

SDH 364: 10 Things to Declutter Before the New Year Dec 23, 2019

What is up my friends! Are you guys ready? I mean are you ready for the next decade and for 2020? The past few weeks I’ve been doing one of my favorite things ever and that is to declutter and streamline. From software systems, we use daily to canceling programs that we don’t use or have too many users accounts for, deleting emails that have been sitting in my inbox and have gone stale to deleting and reorganizing files in my GoogleDrive to Asana dashboard and our products and services that are offered. Today on the podcast I want to share with you a number of things that I’ve decluttered and you can too to get ready for 2020.

In this episode, you will...

Learn why it's imported to declutter
Simple steps to declutter
How to organize the systems that you use
Why you should delete irrelevant emails
Insights on monthly investments
Tips to help your personal stuff organize

This checklist will also be uploaded to Her Way to $75K Club as well. It is going to be epic and lifechanging. So definitely make sure you get on the waitlist - head to HER WAY to $75K Club Waitlist.

SDH 363: Your Primary Question with Amanda Boleyn Dec 16, 2019

Ahhhh you guys! Last week I got home from Date with Destiny with Tony Robbins. It was the most incredible experience ever. I'm so grateful and appreciative that I had the opportunity to attend. This has been my third TR's event and by far my favorite. The first one I went to was Unleash the Power with In, also known as UPW, summer of 2018 in Chicago. He's coming back this summer to Chicago and I'll be there! The second one was Business mastery back in January. Date with Destiny was by far the most intense and life-changing. Normally I do one solocast recap but there was so much that came out of this event that I'm breaking up my takeaways.

In this episode, you will...

Get my takeaways from Date with Destiny

Identify your primary question

Learn how to ask solution-based questions

Understand that the question you ask may harm you more

Know how to ask great questions

Over the next few months, I'll be sharing more takeaways from my experience at Date with Destiny so be sure to tune in! There are still two weeks left in the year to end the year strong. I can't wait to share my recap with you too!

Until next time, keep doing it your way!

SDH 362: From Accounting to 7-figure Online Business Dec 09, 2019

Lauren has been a professional blogger since 2016 and with a degree in accounting, she has taken her life experience and business knowledge and used it to grow two blogs, Avocadu and Create and Go, to 6 and 7 figures. She is a traveling digital nomad who loves sharing her blogging knowledge with the world.

In this episode you will...

Hear about Lauren's corporate job before taking the leap
Why she decided to leave her 9-5
Learn about her business with her co-founder Alex
Get insights on how she used her failure to refine her business
Find out the biggest gut-decision she made on their business
Discover the reason behind their success
Understand the importance of being focused

Insights:

"It feels better to constantly stay moving."

"What's the #1 most important thing you can do to grow your business right now." Great -- stop everything else and focus on that until it's done. "

"Whether it's a blog or a different kind of business, you have to invest time and money if you want to see results from it. There is a lot of free information on the internet, but it's generally fragmented and the good stuff is hard to find. I firmly believe that investing in great courses will take you a lot farther a lot faster. If you invest pennies, you will make pennies."

SDH 361: Not Feeling the Whole Planning for 2020 Thing? You’re Not Alone with Amanda Boleyn Dec 02, 2019

Before we start this solocast, I wanted to share that today I actually did something that I haven't done in a really really long time, which I called an "audible." This means, at the final minute, I made a decision that was different than the plan. Today, there was actually supposed to be a different podcast episode for you to tune into, but over the weekend I had felt on my heart and my intuition that what I am sharing today is what needed to be shared, not what was originally scheduled. I've been going through a transformation of really trying to listen to my intuition and follow those hits of inspiration when I get them. And so today, you're getting this podcast episode instead of the one that was scheduled,

Let's talk about planning and not planing, especially for the coming year when there are so many people talking about 2020 and your goals and what's your vision and what do you want. And

to be honest, sometimes we don't all feel that.

In this episode you will...

Get tips on how to properly plan your year
Find out the sizable time to plan
Learn why forcing your plan isn't always the best
Hear about the questions to ask to help you when planning your next goal
Discover some steps to help you plan accordingly
Know the importance of finding what excites you
Understand that challenges are there to sharpen you

Insights:

"If we're trying to constantly force things and fill our calendars with specific things that we've already planned out and there's no space for magic. That's going to be challenging."

"It's not a problem with finding information. It's more of having discipline to cert to discern the information to turn off social media to not listen to a podcast episode this week, or multiple podcast episodes this week, and to filter out the information that's coming in because if we are not taking time to filter that we could then be finding ourselves in a position of doing things, simply because other people are doing that."

SDH 360: How to Turn Your Passion into an Online Business Using Instagram with Dr. Rachel Paul, Ph.D., RD Nov 25, 2019

Our guest today, Dr. Rachel Paul, Ph.D., RD is known for her practical advice and easy-to-follow guidance, particularly on Instagram with over 300 thousand followers. She has been featured in Business Insider, Buzzfeed, The Daily Mail, Cosmopolitan, Martha Stewart, and many more.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know about Rachel Paul and her business
Hear about the back story on how she started
Why it's important to invest in courses or a coach
How courses had helped Rachel when she was starting
Get the behind the scene on creating
Find out how to start a membership course
Hear about her strategy to get new members and retain them
Get tips on how to set your price point
and more!

Insights:

"No matter what you want to do in online business, do not start from scratch, learn from other people's mistakes. Take a course, or courses, just don't do it on your own."

"One of my affirmations is: "I can trust myself" which has been really helpful."

"I do think it's very important to LEARN from anything that didn't work. Don't just move onto the next - why didn't that work? How can you do better next time?"

SDH 359: The Importance of Detaching From the Outcome (+ Recap on my launch) with Amanda Boleyn Nov 18, 2019

On November 1st I officially opened the doors to my signature program, The Ultimate Leap Suite Academy with a pre-launch to register for the program at a discount two weeks prior. The Ultimate Leap Suite Academy is course + community that helps aspiring entrepreneurs and coaches launch their online business and get clients so that they can replace their Corporate income, quit their job and live the life they've always dreamed about.

This was the first time I launched this entire course. There are over 75 different lessons teaching students how to set up their business from email marketing, website, client on-boarding, accounting, legal, you name it. Every month I host mini-training and coaching sessions in our private Facebook Group.

In this episode you will...

Learn more about The Ultimate Leap Suite Academy course
How to launch a program or course
Get to know the essentials before launching
Hear about my biggest valuable lesson during my own launch
Find out how to turn your bad experience around to a priceless learning experience

Insights:

"During the week of the launch when sales were stagnant, I found my brain wanting to fill the void, wanting to FIX any problem it could find. My brain wanted to start working on the next launch vs being present in the moment of the current launch. Why? I think it was because it was so uncomfortable to come face to face with something not meeting your expectations."

"You can understand how to do something but you don't KNOW how to it until you do go through it. I now have THIS experience so that next time one of my clients goes through this on their launch, I KNOW what they're going through and how to overcome and work through it. "

"Where can I detach from the outcome, the result and how can I continue to remind myself that my enoughness isn't conditional, I am already human and therefore enough."

SDH 358: Crucial Mistakes to Avoid When Starting Your Online Business in the Beginning with Amanda Boleyn Nov 11, 2019

Today I want to dive into the biggest mistakes I see online business owners make when starting out and let me be the first to say that I made just about all of these. I am definitely not here to say that I am perfect or did everything right but if I can share with you my struggles and lessons so you don't have to, that is worth it for me. Today, I have ten of them for you and in no particular order either.

In this episode, you will...

Learn the importance of having a plan and how to create one
Know how to focus
Discover ways to avoid procrastination
Get to identify which is your business and which is your medium
Hear about the mistakes I made and learn from them

Insights:

"Oftentimes, plans will change but it is always better to have a plan in place that you then can adjust later than to have no plan at all. Failing to plan, is planning to fail."

"The only way you're going to get clarity on your business is by taking massive action."

The quickest way to get a result is to find someone that has already done it and pay them to teach you how to do it.

SDH 357: How to Overcome Imposter Syndrome When You Become a Business Owner with Amanda Boleyn Nov 04, 2019

Imposter syndrome brings up so many emotions, feeling like a fraud and thinking what you're doing is wrong, are two of the most common ones I see when I work with students. Feeling like a fake when you start something new, is normal.

A few months ago I released a solocast about how you must first BE the type of person you want to BE in order to have and do the things you want to do. Anytime you're being someone new, let's call her the 2.0 version of yourself, you're no longer the 1.0 version of yourself, the person you used to be. And in the beginning when something is so new and you're being someone different than who you use to be, what you use to do and what you consider as your "normal" it can be uncomfortable and cause your brain to freak out and tell you that it is scary, to retreat. But again, that is normal and part of the process.

Insights:

Learn about Imposter Syndrome
Discover that change is normal
Acknowledge that you will transform into another version of yourself
Remind yourself that you "belong here"
Reframe your failure as a learning opportunity and part of the process

The question I want to leave for you today is, where are you experiencing major discomfort in your life right now that is attributed to you becoming the next-level version of yourself and how can coach yourself through that experience?

SDH 356: Beliefs You Must Own In Order to Find Success Oct 29, 2019

Welcome to another solocast and today we will sit down and talk about the journey, my own evolution, with She Did It Her Way and beliefs you must own to find success in your own business.

In this episode, you will…

Find out about the purpose of She Did It Her Way

Learn about the importance of beliefs when it comes to business

How beliefs create a guiding road map

Discover the power of beliefs

Overcome your fear, doubts and negative emotions

Understand that failure is part of the process

Insights:

"Our beliefs are often shaped by our experiences, by the people we surround ourselves with and by all the things that we encounter in our lives."

"Success is not a destination, it's the journey."

"Failure is part of the process. Failure is data."

SDH 355: How to Find Your Ideal Customer on Instagram Oct 21, 2019

First some ground rules and ways to get in the right headspace with Instagram. Instagram is a social media app. By simply opening it up you are then able to see behind the scenes and get transported into so many other worlds.

In this episode you will...

Learn about the steps to level up your Instagram game
How to avoid being sidetracked when using social media
Know when and how long you should spend in Instagram
Find out the importance of CTA (Call-to-Action)
Discover the benefits of engagement and how to do it
and more!

Bonus:

Insights:

"When you see others experience success or success that you wish you had in your business, instead of getting jealous or upset, remind yourself that it is a demonstration of what is possible and if it is possible for HER, then it is possible for you."
"Focus on showing up, focus on the engagement and letting the rest take care of itself. You will attract the right people you will lose the people that are not aligned with your business."
"You will attract what you put out. The content you create will attract whoever aligns with the content."

SDH 354: When (and How) to Hire Your 1st Virtual Assistant Oct 14, 2019

Hiring your first virtual assistant (or known as VA) can be scary and a little nerve-wracking so I always recommend my students start small. There is also this limiting belief that you must be a full-time business owner to justify outsourcing to a VA vs doing it when you're in your full-time job and outsource.

In this episode you will...

Learn when and how to get started with VA
Discover the benefit of hiring a VA
Realize the time you can save if you have an assistant
Find out when to start outsourcing your business
Decide which part of the task you want to outsource
Get your time back and move your business forward!

If you're interested in learning more about how to outsource and scale your growing business, you can get on the waitlist for my signature course, Scale Your Way. Head to www.shediditherwaypodcast.com/scaleyourway

Insights:

"When you can free up your time to work ON the business instead of always IN it, it means your business can grow. "
"It is NEVER too early to start outsourcing parts of your business."
"It used to take me on average 4.5 hours per podcast episode to produce from start to finish, now it is only about 60-90 minutes.”

SDH 353: How to Manage Your Finances When Starting a Business Oct 07, 2019

Erin’s been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and on CBS Sunday Morning, CNBC and Cheddar. She has written for Fast Company, Cosmopolitan Magazine, and Refinery29 and regularly speaks at universities and conferences around the country. Erin spent most of her childhood living in Asia but now settled in New York City with her husband and their puppy.

In this episode you will

Learn about her amazing journey and how she started
Find out about managing your money
Discover the importance of saving and investing
Start thinking rationally for long term goal
Get insights on preparing for that ultimate leap
Hear about personal and finance in general
Learn about the options to seek when making that leap

Insights:

"If I a journalism and theatre double major, who really hated math growing up can feel confident handling my money, I can make other people feel this way too."

"Personal finance and finance, in general, can take a while to wrap your brain around... so just keep seeking out different ways to learn about this stuff until you find that person, podcast, blog or that tv show or that book or magazine, or whatever that resonates with you, because it's out there."

SDH 352: Is There Ever A "Right Time" To Quit Your 9-5 (And How To Do It With Grace) With Amanda Boleyn Sep 30, 2019

The question you might still be asking yourself, "When is the right time to quit?" So in this solocast let's dive into finally taking the leap and leaving your 9-5!

In this episode, you will...

Learn that timing is important but it's not everything
How to move forward from your current situation
Discover the emotions and mindset when taking the leap
Learn about taking calculative risk
Know that it's okay to feel uncomfortable
Find out if there's a right time to quit your 9-5

Insights:
"Something to keep in mind is showing up the way you'd want someone who would be leaving your business (and it will happen someday in the future) would show up."

"Unpack your current circumstances and understand the best-case scenario for you to be as confident as possible to make your leap. "

SDH 351: Becoming Your Own Super Woman with Nicole Lapin Sep 23, 2019

Nicole started the national conversation about women taking control of their money with the launch of instant New York Times bestseller Rich Bitch in 2015. Two years later she followed with Boss Bitch, a sassy and actionable guide empowering women to be the boss of their own lives and careers. Today, she is here to talk to us about her journey, her struggles before launching her first book and so much more!

In this episode you will...

Get to know more about Nicole Lapin
Hear how she moved from being an anchor to a businesswoman
Find out why she wrote a finance book
Discover why it is important to learn financial freedom
Learn why balance is important
Get tips to avoid burnouts
Get insights on how to be more focused
Learn about digital-detox
Find out what having it all should mean

Insights:
Work smarter, not harder!

I was super laser-focused on exactly who my audience is and exactly who she is, I know who she is, she's you, she's me! And the way I spoke to her is not for everybody.

The idea of this, we're constantly told that we can't have all the things. No, you can't have all the things if you are comparing yourself to everybody else. But again, if you decide what "having it all" means and you hold yourself to that, you absolutely going to have it all. But the problem is we don't define what "having it all means" to us and we're constantly changing the bar ourselves.

SDH 350: How to Get Yourself Into Action (Even When You Don't Feel Like It) with Amanda Boleyn Sep 16, 2019

Hello friends! Welcome another solocast episode with me. I am so excited to do today's episode because we will talk about how to get yourself into action! And yes even if you don't feel like doing it!

In this episode you will

Get to identify the questions you need to ask when doing something
Learn to identify your resistance
Find out how to avoid procrastination
Understand how your emotions lead to your actions
Learn about ways to avoid stalling

Insights:
"For all of the most important things, the timing always sucks. Waiting for a good time to quit your job? The stars will never align and the traffic lights of life will never all be green at the same time."

“Do not wait to strike till the iron is hot; but make it hot by striking.” ~William B. Sprague

SDH 349: Find Your Female Energy with Debra Silverman Sep 09, 2019

Our guest Debra Silvermann is part astrologer, part psychotherapist, part comedian, and ALL REAL. In practice for over 40 years, Debra has helped people turn on their inner observer to see themselves objectively. She uses astrology and her own system; The 4 Elements, as tools to empower people.

Debra’s mothering approach to understanding people has earned her international fame and admiration. She has written a book, magazine columns, hosted a radio show & has a YouTube channel with over 7 million views. Debra is an expert in embracing the feminine. Her dream is to revolutionize therapy by teaching therapists how to provide custom treatment to their clients.

In this episode you will...

Learn about astrology
How feminine energy can help in business
Discover how Debra combined clinical psychology and astrology on her practice
How does spirituality relate to business
What is the basis of astrology
Find out why millennials are into astrology

Insights:

"Astrology - some people think it's insane. And I think that is insane."

"I love doing podcasts because it's engaged in the reality that you as the producer or the person speaking goes "wooh", it explains everything and it's so liberating."

"If you wanna manifest, do your prayers. There are invisible factors. If you want to make success occur, do your prayers."

SDH 348: 5 Reasons to Not Quit Your 9-5 with Amanda Boleyn Sep 02, 2019

Today's podcast is to help you do a quick check before you do something that you can't go back from, which I'll share why. It may also lend some insight as to why you may want to stay longer. So hear me out...

In this episode you will...

Understand why you should not leave your job yet when making the leap
Learn about the reasons why you should have a bridge job
Become more disciplined with your time
Find out how to be more focused
Be more efficient with your time and ENERGY

Insights:
"The flip side is, if you quit your job, with no income coming and haven't validated your business is that you'll find yourself in a space of split energy, other distractions will creep in and you could potentially find yourself in a vulnerable state, mentally."

"Use your full-time job as a tool, use the constraint to make you more focused, productive. Use it to help fund your business as you grow it. Use it as a way to simulate what it will be like when you're on your own. "

"Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change."

SDH 347: How to Make Income and Impact Teaching What You Love Using Online Courses with Mariah Coz Aug 26, 2019

She is known for her no-BS style and creating insanely highly converting webinars, funnels, and launches for herself and clients using cutting edge, innovative strategies that no one else is teaching.

Forget everything you think you know about selling courses online. You’re about to learn fresh-squeezed strategies for making more money teaching what you love in today's episode with Mariah Coz!

In this episode you will...

Learn how Mariah started her online courses
Discover the idea behind the Mariah Coz brand
Hear about the behind-the-scene in launching an online course
Find out how progressive education influenced her to pursue what she does today
Hear about her interest and passion in sustainability
Find out how she infused her passion and incorporate it to her business
Get to know the importance of creating an evergreen funnel
Why is it important to have due dates on your courses

Insights:

"It's fun to get advice but make sure you figure out your own path."

"Do the best for the most with the least" - Eames.

"Launching is a dialouge."

SDH 346: How to Gain Organic + Free Visibility with Amanda Boleyn Aug 19, 2019

Organic and free visibility rely on the relevancy of the content that you offer, to achieve wider and organic visibility you need to ask the right questions. Are you intentional and smart? Why do you want visibility? What do you want to gain from the visibility? These are just a few questions you can ask before starting your efforts to increase your visibility. If you are guided by the right answers to these questions and not just doing for the sake of doing, you will be able to deliver great content and results that your audience can relate to.

In this episode you will

Learn how to gain organic and free visibility
Why is it important to be visible
Decide the best way to gain visibility
Find out the benefits of being strategic
Know your audience and competitors
Learn about the different ways to be visible
How to get in front of your audience or followers
Know about the ways to get your followers to get engaged

SDH 345: Overcoming Growth Challenges While Building a Multi-Six Figure Business and More with Boss Project Co-Founders Aug 12, 2019

Today, they are here to share where they are in their business and why they changed their business name from Think Creative Collective to Boss Project and so much more!

In this episode, you will...

Hear how Abagail & Emylee met
Discover the idea behind creating their business
Learn why they change their business name
What inspired the Boss Project
Hear about the challenges they encountered
How to figure out the right people to bring into your business
Decide if you need to separate personal to your business identity
Make social media work for your business

SDH 344: How to Create the Right Habits for Success with Amanda Boleyn Aug 05, 2019

In today's solocast, I am excited to share the right habits for success. Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement that's why overnight successes are the exception and not the rule. Success takes time and you need to be patient.

In this episode, you will...

Learn how your habits can shape your success

Why success is not an overnight process

How to build better habits

The impact of habits in our daily lives

How to identify which habits you need to stick to

Learn why you need to trust the process and the system that you put in place

How to get into the habit of the two-minute rule

Insights:
"Your outcomes and where you're at in life, are a lagging measure of your habits."

"We often expect progress to be linear."

"If you find yourself getting distracted by reality TV, cut the cord, cancel your subscription. Make it impossible or difficult for you to watch it."

SDH 343: Behind the Scenes of a Product Based Business with Angela Allison Jul 29, 2019

Wine in a can. Why not? Delivered to your doorstep. Even better! Our guest created her business to bring wine-lovers together, making drinking wine simple and to focus towards the experience, the connections and memories that are made when sharing a glass (or in this case, a can) of wine.

Our guest today is the CEO and co-founder of WineSociety, a Napa made premium canned wine company that launched in 2018, Angela Allison. Angela’s mission through WineSociety is to share a taste of Napa Valley with wine lovers (both new and experienced) across the country! With a key prominently displayed on all its packaging, this welcoming society gives you the key to enjoying great wine anytime, anywhere. WineSociety’s signature "Instagram-worthy" 500ml cans of premium red (TEMPT), white (FATE) and rosé (CHANCE) can be found in National retailers including Kroger, BevMo, and Albertsons as well as on winesociety.com.

WineSociety is a premium canned wine company that is on a mission to change the way Americans purchase and consume wine. WineSociety is simplifying the process of making wine accessible, convenient and affordable to everyone.

In this episode you will...

How WineSociety came about
How Angela transitioned to entrepreneurship
Find out the reason behind wine-in-a-can
Discover how she brought her idea to the world
Get to know the timeline from "idea" to "actual business"
Learn about the work that goes in a product-based business
Hear about "Angel investor"

Insights:

"The other thing that sets us apart from a lot of the other wine brands is that we focus mainly more on the lifestyle aspect."
"We believe that wine is meant for you plus your lifestyle. There's no wrong way to enjoy your wine."
"It's better to be the one that smiled than the one who didn't smile back."

SDH 342: Quitting Your Job & Moving Beyond Your Corporate Identity with Amanda Boleyn Jul 22, 2019

In this episode you will,

Learn about the emotional and mental transition from corporate
Discover about Identity shift
Found out what happens before, during and after the identity shift takes place
Ways you can practice reinforcing your 'new' identity
What it's like to be your own boss
Hear about what happens after the leap

Insights:
"If your ego didn't creep in when you're about to do something scary, you would be an anomaly."

"Where you have to be careful is believing what people are saying to you. Everything is relative. So first, to them, you might be "crazy" because they would NEVER consider doing what you're about to do. So to them. You're crazy. That's okay. Because on the flip side, them staying in a job that they don't love, doing the grind every single day because they don't want to get uncomfortable and put themselves out there to build a better life, makes them CRAZY."

Resources:
SDH 335: How A Bridge Job Can Help You Take Your Ultimate Leap with Amanda Boleyn

SDH 341: Earning from $442 to 7-Figures in 18 Months with Emily Williams Jul 15, 2019

Today's guest, Emily Williams is a success coach, entrepreneur, and author with a seven-figure business who, at one point, couldn’t get a job at Starbucks.

After experiencing a quarter-life crisis, she moved from Ohio to London (where she knew no one!) and in 2014 launched her business, I Heart My Life. She made $442 in her first month—and then went on to hit six figures in six months, before her 30th birthday. She grew it to seven figures in under 18 months.

Today, she works with female entrepreneurs all over the world, helping them bust through the obstacles that hold their dreams and goals hostage so they can free themselves to live the lives they want, build their own online business and hit their money goals. She’s been featured in Money, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Forbes and Success Magazine.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about her incredible story
How she moved to the UK with her suitcases and a dream
Hear about trusting your guts
Discover about those "little-whispers"
How she discovered coaching as her passion
Find out how she made up to 7 figures in 18 months
Get insights on how to take that first step
and more!

Insights:

"I'm not saying it's always easy, but our heart really does have the answers and provides so much guidance if we're willing to listen."
"Sometimes people think that clarity is just gonna hit them like a ton of bricks but it doesn't happen like that."
"Everything you want wants you back."

SDH 340: Behind the Scenes: How to Prepare for a Vacation + First half of 2019 Review + New Routine Jul 08, 2019

Hello beautiful listeners and welcome to another episode! Today’s topic is sort of a hodge-podge because I’m taking three key topics and putting them all into one episode! Nonetheless, I am very excited because the key things that we are talking about, I feel that, they are going to hit home with majority of you, if not, all of you.

We will talk about taking vacation while being a business owner and what does it mean and what’s that relationship looks like?... To sharing with you some key things that I learned about business and myself in the first half of 2019. I will also share with you how I took myself from a routine rut through this one tool that had helped me increase my productivity like no one’s business.

In this episode you will…

Find out about taking vacation as a business owner
Learn how to get away from routine rut
Hear about the key things I learned about business
Get to know about the one-tool that has accelerated and increased my productivity
Effectively manage your calendar schedule
How to prepare for a vacation being a business owner
Why it’s important to have an email list
Discover the importance of slowing down
Effective way to use social media
Learn about the Pomodoro technique

Insights:

“The times when I felt the most uncomfortable and the most discomfort is when I have grown the most.”
“Take a step back and don’t ever feel like you have to always be on social media.”

Resources:

SDH 321: How to Find the Silver Lining During a Perceived Setback with Amanda Boleyn
Scale Your Way
Five Minute Journal

SDH 339: How to Market (with Ease) Based on Your Personality Type with Amanda Boleyn Jul 01, 2019

Today's episode is my recent interview as a guest on the Marketing Personalities Podcast with Brit Kolo. In this discussion, Brit and I discuss what it’s like to be an ESTJ personality type and how I use it in my business and marketing strategy.

In this episode, you will...

Get to hear about my background, great info especially for our new listeners!

Learn how I transition from corporate to entrepreneurship

Hear some great advice before taking the leap

How it's important to be a part of a community

Discover how to tap on the abundance of information about entrepreneurship

Insights:

"Instead of attaching the meaning of failure to, "Oh you shouldn't do this anymore and you shouldn't try," instead you should attach failure as "Oh failing I should attach it as A.) It's good news and it's giving me data and information that I'm experimenting and B.) Attaching that meaning that it's part of the process."

"One of the things I do every day, even if it's just 5 minutes, is meditation."

Resources:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

SDH 338: How to Increase Your Productivity in Your Business Using Flow and Intuition Jun 24, 2019

Megan Minns, a Productivity and Business Coach for entrepreneurs, helps new business owners develop productive systems to keep them organized and efficient. She does things a little bit differently, which starts with personal life before talking about business stuff. Megan and I had a dialogue about sharing our conversation from Voxer and Instagram and to bring them to life as we both have learned a lot. We have had a lot of "aha" moments which will be insightful and helpful to you if in case any of you is going through these similar situations.

In this episode you will...

Get a glimpse of Megan's background
Where she is at now in her business (she's a returning guest)
Learn the importance of being systematic
How to maintain productivity while staying in a state of flow
Discover what might cause you to burn out
How to open up and incorporate flow and intuition in your life
Learn why trying to achieve perfection is not always a good thing
How to be comfortable for just being yourself
Being strategic and systematic is not always what's best
How to find your inspiration

Insights:

"As an entrepreneur, shouldn't I be enjoying life more?"
"I'm a systematic person now but I think it comes from a fear of letting go, and like trying to control things."
"It's been incredible to incorporate flow. I used to always come at things from, everything has to make logical, strategic sense."

Resources:

SDH 192: Putting in the Work to Make Your Dreams a Reality with Megan Minn
Megan Minns
The Productive Life with Megan Minns

SDH 337: Do these 3 Things Before You Quit Your Job Jun 17, 2019

Today's solocast we'll talk about the things you can do to help prepare you before you make the ultimate leap. We will dive into each of the three things I will be discussing in this podcast so make sure to tune in until the end!

In this episode, you will...

Learn the importance of setting financial goals
Discover efficient ways to manage your schedule
Find out how to make your money move
How to operate from high vibrations
How to focus on the what and the why
and more!

Insights:

"Decide for yourself when you will take the leap and then work backward."
"There's never a perfect timing to do certain things."
"Quit breaking commitment to yourself."

Resources:

SDH Instagram

SDH 336: Making Multi-Million Dollar Launches Stress-Free with Emily Hirsh Jun 10, 2019

Our guest for today take the fear and overwhelm out of marketing and make even the most complicated, multi-million dollar launches 100% stress-free! Meet Emily Hirsh, she's an industry-leading Facebook Ad Manager and Sales Funnel Strategist who works with high-profile entrepreneurs to grow their business and generate revenue using proven Facebook and sales funnel strategies.

With her team of over 20 top-level strategists, copywriters, graphic designers, and marketers she can maximize marketing potential and provide creativity that converts. Today, Emily works with some of the biggest names in the life-coaching, personal development, health + fitness, and network marketing industries.

In this episode you will...

Get to know Emily Hirsh
How she started her journey
Hear how she was able to create her team
Learn how she started from 0 to 24 employees
Get her tips on how to hire and manage her team
Discover the importance of having a vision
Learn how she manages her business
Get some insights on how to create processes for your business
Find out what's the hardest thing she had to say no

Insights:

"I never see things, and my team as well, like a huge failure or a mistake. If something happens we break it apart and there are chunks that we can learn from it."

"Ask yourself, if I put more on my effort into my marketing, my delivery or my sales would I grow my business with how it is right now?"

"Every yes is a no to something else."

Resources:

Hirsh Marketing

Hirsh Marketing Underground

SDH 335: How a Bridge Job Can Help You Take Your Ultimate Leap Jun 03, 2019

In today's podcast episode I want to dive in specifically about making your ultimate leap and share what a potential lead up may include.

A bridge job is a job that gets you from point A to point C. If point A is your current job and point C is the point in which you become your own boss, than point B is your bridge job. It is the transitional point in your journey that helps you get closer to reaching your goal of becoming your own boss.

Not everyone has a bridge job before they make their ultimate leap and that is okay too.

In this episode, you will...

Learn what is a bridge job and why you might need one
Hear my detailed lead up story before I took my ultimate leap
Learn the benefits of a bridge job and how it helps you gain perspective
and so so much more!

Insights:

"it is in the moments of our decision that our destiny is shaped.” - Tony Robbins

"Risky is all in the eyes of the beholder.”

"You have to want your DREAMS more than your drama"

SDH 334: Why It Pays To Be Brave with Angie Lee May 27, 2019

Be ready to be blown away by our guest today, Miss Angie Lee! She hosts The Angie Lee Show and her event Pays to be Brave. She began her "ideas" in her dorm room 9 years ago which turned into a wellness brand that helped thousands of women today.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know Angie's background before entrepreneurship
What was her vision before everything else
How she overcomes people saying she can't do it
Her tips and advice for starting entrepreneurship
The challenges she faced and how she overcame them
and so so much more!

Insights:

"Just because it's uncomfortable it doesn't mean stop."
"Once you have trust with your audience you can sell them whatever because you had built the trust."
"When you allow yourself to have that luxury you're actually more motivated to make money and more motivated to help people because you filled your own cup. You can't deprive yourself and expect to get to where you want to be, I'm not into that."

Resources:

Angie Lee
Pays To Be Brave
My Soul CBD
@angieleeshow

SDH 333: What to Know When Launching a Membership Site and Why I Shut Mine Down May 20, 2019

Have you thought about starting a membership for your business? Why do you need a membership site? Should you have a monthly or yearly paid membership for your business? We'll answer these and more as we talk about the different types of membership that you can use for your business!

For this episode, we'll focus more on the paid membership because that's where I have more experience with.

In this episode, you will...

Learn about the different types of memberships
The benefits of having a paid membership
The difference between having a course vs membership
The different types of membership
Things to know when running a membership

Insights:

"I am someone who is a catalyst for taking action. I'm all about taking action before you think yourself out of it."

"When it comes to membership and the membership model, one of the biggest pieces is marketing."

"Remember that you are the business owner and you will not make everyone happy, but you have to do what is in the best interest of your business and that is most likely the majority of the paying customers."

SDH 332: Fake It, Till You Make It with Jacqueline and Minna from The Product Boss May 13, 2019

Today's guests.... yes guests! Because we don't just have one but two guests for today! One with a fashion design background and the other with graphic design! Be ready to fall in love with these ladies' energy, their amazing journey on entrepreneurship, their incredible story and how they launched The Product Boss.

Jacqueline Snyder and Minna Khounlo-Sithep are the combined force behind The Product Boss podcast. They teach business owners how to grow their product-based businesses with smart strategy and a community around them.

In addition to The Product Boss, they each own their own businesses. Jacqueline is the owner of Designer Consulting Co-Op and has over 12 years of coaching fashion apparel brands and is a start-up expert. She formerly owned her own product business, Cuffs Couture, and grew that to international sales. Minna has over 15 years of entrepreneurial experience, is the owner of Lil’ Labels and an Amazon expert!

In this episode, you will...

-Hear how Jacqueline and Minna started The Product Boss

-How Amanda met these astounding ladies

-Get a glimpse of their lives before The Product Boss

-How "figure-it-out-as-you-go" works

-Learn how to get your way to agencies for freelancers

-Discover how they manage their tasks

-And don't miss the rapid fire round!

SDH 331: How to Operate From Your Vision, Instead of To It with Amanda Boleyn May 06, 2019

If you are someone who finds yourself struggling in achieving your goals even though you've set them, you feel like it's not working, and why you just can't do it, then this episode is for you! Today we will be covering how taking massive action can be detrimental to your success, how not having enough time or money really isn't a problem although you may think it is, why you must operate from your vision and not to it and more!

In this episode, you will...

Learn how to operate from your vision

Why taking massive action can be detrimental to achieving your goals

Find out about inverting the have, do, be model

Discover the questions to ask when achieving your goals

Learn how to make decisions from a place of confidence

How to go out and do it your way!

Insights:

"Taking action for the sake of taking action does not promise that you'll get exactly where you want to go or achieve the goal and vision that you want."

"Who do you need to BE in order to DO and therefore HAVE so you can achieve?"

"If you take massive action from a place of scarcity, a lack of confidence and uncertainty you'll never be able to sustain it. But if you take massive action from a place... and identity of someone who is self-integral, responsible, driven, focus and committed you can keep going because that is who you are."

SDH 330: How to Use Challenges to Grow Your Business with Jen Hansard, CEO of Simple Green Smoothies Apr 29, 2019

Today's guest is on a fresh path to health and happiness- deprivation not included. Her "healthy obsession" with green smoothies has taken her into classrooms to do green smoothie demos, lead entrepreneur workshops, speak on stage, and has been featured on The Doctors to spread the green smoothie love far and wide.

Jen Hansard is a best-selling author, speaker, art director, nature lover and the CEO of Simple Green Smoothies. Her wildly popular website has changed the lives of over 1 million people and made them the #1 green smoothie online resource.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about how the Simple Green Smoothies came about
Discover what the business was called before
Learn how Jen created their massive community
Find out the importance of creating the best website
Hear about the challenges and how she overcomes them
Hear about how they managed to have 30k sign up through a challenge
Get insights on how she markets her products and programs

Insights:

"Everything is figureoutable."

"If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough."

“If something matters to you. figure out to make it true.”

How to Avoid Overthinking and Take Action with Christy Wright Apr 23, 2019

Our guest for today is all about championing women! Christy Wright is the #1 National Best-Selling author of Business Boutique, host of the Business Boutique Podcast, a Certified Business Coach and a Ramsey Personality with a passion for equipping women with the knowledge and steps they need to successfully run and grow a business!

Since joining Ramsey Solutions in 2009, she has spoken to thousands across the country at women’s conferences, national business conferences, Fortune 500 companies, and her own sold-out live events.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know Christy Wright
Hear about Business Boutique
How she started to do business coaching
Get a glimpse on how she grows her niche under the Ramsey Solution
Learn how she creates events based on her research
How to avoid overthinking and just taking action
Learn about Impostor syndrome
Hear about the setbacks she experienced which lead to a silver lining
and more!

SDH 329: 5 Simple Steps to Building Your Website Apr 22, 2019

Hey guys!!! Welcome to another solocast and today let's talk about building your website, especially if you are just starting out and getting your business going. Building a website can be overwhelming, everything can be overwhelming if you don't have a clear road map. So today we will try to make it easier by following these five simple things.

In this episode, you will,

Learn about the importance of having your own website
How to select your domain
Find out how to plan before you start creating your website
Understand what it is that you like and you don't like
Why is the "About Me" important on your website
Follow my five simple steps to start building your website
and more!

SDH 327: My Email List Building Journey + Opt-ins Apr 08, 2019

Over the past few months, we've been diving into content around building an online business, from content creation to the strategy of having an online business, and today we'll dive into the ins and outs of creating an opt-in that will ultimately grow your email list!

In this episode you will...

Learn about opt-ins

Why you need an opt-in on your website

Learn some simple steps to create an opt-in

How to know which opt-in is the right one

Hear about my detailed journey in creating an email list

Learn about the exact process I use when creating an opt-in

Different ways to drive traffic to your opt-in

Insights:
"If you don't know how to do something, go directly to the source, it's worth investing and figuring out exactly how to do it."

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

Resources:
SDH 324: The Strategy Behind Building an Online Business from Opt-in to Product Sales

SDH Opt-In Guide

SDH 326: What is SEO and How it Works with Melissa McGraw Apr 01, 2019

Our guest for today had helped brands grow their organic audience by millions. Nope, that’s not a typo, millions! Melissa McGraw, founder of The Creative Potential had worked with brands and have multiplied their organic search by triple digits in a matter of months.

She fell into the world of SEO when she started writing copy for Amazon over 9 years ago. Her fascination with the psychology of why people search for certain phrases or keywords led her to create over 100,000 SEO friendly product listings that are bringing in the dollars on Amazon today.

In this episode, you will...

-Hear about Melissa's background

-Discover why she transitioned from corporate

-Find out how she took the leap

-Learn about her business and how she grew it

-Get tips and advice when starting out your own business

-Gain insights on how SEO works

-and more!

Insights:

"Remember that your space is sacred and who you allow into your space is crucial to your happiness and success."

"No matter what you do, your job is to tell your story.” – Gary Vaynerchuk

Resources:

The Creative Potential

4 Simple Steps to Get Your Site on Page 1 of Google

Download the SEO Cheatsheet from today's episode!

SDH 325: Choosing Faith over Fear When Starting Your Own Business with Almost30 Podcast Mar 25, 2019

The Almost 30 Podcast is a top-rated lifestyle podcast, brand, and community brought to life by LA-based best friends Krista Williams and Lindsey Simcik. Hailed as "The Best Wellness Podcast to Listen to Right Now" by Coveteur, Krista and Lindsey have created an online and offline space where listeners can gather, relate and join them in navigating any transition as their best selves. Think of them as your virtual best friends, who are there to listen, share, and learn right along with you.

In this episode, you will...

Learn what Almost 30 Podcast is about

Discover how Krista and Lindsey created their business

Find out how they transitioned out of Corporate America and into entrepreneurship

How it's like to have a co-founder

Get a glimpse of what they're currently working on

and more!

Insights:

"Faith over fear."

"Do more of what lights you up"

Resources:

Almost 30 Podcast

Your Podcast Pro

SDH 324: The Strategy Behind Building an Online Business from Opt-in to Product Sales Mar 18, 2019

Hello friends!

In today’s podcast, I’m covering at a high level the strategy behind building an online business from opt-in to product sales.

It was inspired by emails and questions that I receive often regarding creating an online product; do I need an email list before I create the product, how many people do I need on my list, where do I even start and more. During this episode my goal is to provide you with a better understanding of the overall strategy and different stages along the way. To be honest, when I started, I had zero clue as to how this whole online business works and wish that I understood the strategy to help save me so much time and energy.

In this episode, you will…

Understand the strategy of an online business
Key ingredients you need to be successful
How to leverage weekly content to help build your email list
How to begin with the end in mind and know how it all flows through to one another
What an opt-in is
How to easily map out your strategy
And more...

SDH 323: How to Create Weekly Content Without the Overwhelm with Amanda Boleyn Mar 11, 2019

Creating consistent content is important and in this episode, we'll dive in on how to exactly do it without the overwhelm!

In this episode, you will...

Learn how to break down weekly content

Follow a process in producing content that will not overwhelm you

Know about my step by step process when creating content

Discover the importance of SEO

Be more efficient when delivering your content and more!

Insights:

"The sooner you get ready to be ready, the more you're going to get the process into your world, into your life, and into your business."

"Timer is your best friend"

Resources:

She Did It Her Way Content Creation

SDH 322: Top 10 Takeaways from Tony Robbins Business Mastery with Amanda Boleyn Mar 04, 2019

Hello, my beautiful go-getter friends! I have been a massive fan of Tony's work for over a decade now and just last July in 2018, I attended his Unleash The Power Within four-day seminar, I knew that I wanted to continue my journey of education with Tony Robbins, and so today I want to take you on a journey of my time at Tony Robbins business Mastery Program that I attended at the end of January.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Tony Robbins' seminar

Find out how it can help your business

Learn my top takeaways from Tony Robbin's Mastery Program

Learn a little bit of psychology

Discover how your business is tied to your current psychology

Find out how your mindset affects your business growth

and more!

Insights:

"Marketing always works."

"Whatever you want to work, will work."

Resources:

SDH 290: 3 Life-Changing Lessons From Tony Robbins with Amanda Boleyn

Produce Your Podcast Without The Overwhelm

SDH 321: How to Find the Silver Lining During a Perceived Setback with Amanda Boleyn Feb 25, 2019

Hi friends! Today's episode is more of an impromptu solocast. As most of you know the She Did It Her Way podcast was removed from iTunes early this February. I decided to create a full episode about the whole experience because I wanted to share with you that this thing can happen to any business, it is part of the process to experience a setback.

I want to share this experience with you in hopes that when that time comes, or even if they are already happening in your business, you will have the insights on how to handle it.

This podcast will walk you through the entire timeline during my entire experience and I am sharing raw audio recordings of how all of this issue transpired.

Insights:

"She Did It Her Way, it's a lifestyle, it's a method, it's a mindset. It's about doing your way!"

"Remember that setbacks are part of the process, don't take it personal."

"Do it your way, it's never right or wrong, it's your way!"

Resources:

Produce Your Podcast Without The Overwhelm

She Did It Her Way Summit use PODCAST20 at checkout

SDH 320: Grow Your Side Hustle with a 1:1 Service Based Business and Replace Your Corporate Income with Jacq Fisch Feb 18, 2019

Sometimes the things that are said in fewer words are the better. Today we have the lovely Jacq Fisch who is a self-proclaimed unfussy writer strategist and writing coach!

Before launching her writing and coaching business, Jacqueline spent 13 years working in corporate communications and management consulting. She's collaborated with 200+ clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies, the US government, tech startups, life and business coaches, medical professionals, therapists, sports coaches, and creative solopreneurs.

Jacqueline is passionate about helping entrepreneurs drop the fussy writing and jargon and instead communicate authentically, letting their personality shine through, and always in the simplest way possible.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know Jacq Fish

-Hear about her business and how she started

-Hear how she managed to start a side hustle while working full-time

-Discover why she moved away from corporate and took the leap

-Find out Jacq's strategy in keeping in touch with people

-How referral network helps her business

-Get insights on how she manages her financials

-Learn why simplicity is always a good idea

Insights:

"Don't be afraid to do something for free just to get the ball rolling and test the ground and also build your network."

"You CAN grow a business on the side while at a corporate job AND do it without hating your life (or your family, or yourself)."

“When I started to be useful instead of brilliant, my career took off.” - Julia Cameron

Resources:

Jacq Fisch

SDH 319: 10 Ways on How to Streamline Your Business and Life Using Asana Feb 11, 2019

Hello friends! It's a great Monday and time for another solocast!

You've heard me talk about Asana and how it helped streamline my business and so I couldn't be more delighted to dedicate this whole episode to talk about Asana! Let’s talk about the ways that you can use Asana for your business and personal life. I also created a free guide that you can download and implement.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know about Asana

How to use Asana

Tips and tricks using Asana as your HQ

How you can use Asana for business and personal life

Insights:

"Give your self permission to play around with it, to know that you will delete teams or delete projects over time, and you'll start to refine it. But if you don't start, you can't refine it."

Resources:

Asana

Asana Guide

This is a TEST. No Seriously. It is. Make sure you listen :) Feb 10, 2019

Last Thursday we got kicked off iTunes for not being compliant with their terms. Nothing major and will share more details once everything is resolved. In the meantime, we're testing something out and wanted to share some helpful information with you!

SDH 318: How One Woman Created a Thriving Business by Solving Her Own Problem with Poorvi Patodia Feb 04, 2019

Our guest today had turned her childhood snack into her own business, providing healthy alternatives to eating snacks!

Poorvi Patodia, CEO & Founder of Biena Snacks, launched Biena Snacks in 2012. Inspired by a favorite childhood snack, she started experimenting with roasted chickpeas in her own kitchen and ultimately came up with a unique roasting process that resulted in a light and crispy texture, that maintained the protein, fiber, and nutrients of a whole chickpea.

Today, Biena Snacks has reached national distribution with availability in over 15,000 retail locations, secured dozens of "best snack" awards and recently introduced a first-of-its-kind line of chocolate-covered roasted chickpeas, which includes a Girl Scout Cookie™-Inspired Thin Mints™ flavor that launched in June 2018. Biena Snacks has been named to Inc. 5000's Fastest Growing Companies for two consecutive years, and as the fifth fastest growing company in Boston..

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Poorvi's background

Poorvi's "aha" moment

The inspiration behind creating her business

How she took the leaped from corporate to pursuing her own business

How her first year was after taking the leap

Discover her mindset from starting out

The challenges she encountered and how she faced them

Find out when she started hiring her employees

How she grew her business to what it is today

and more!

Insights:

"Be so good they can't ignore you."

"When partnering with a manufacturer or vendor you need someone at your pace."

Resources:

Biena Snacks

@poorvi211

SDH 317: 4 Strategies on How to Price Your Services and Offers for Profit Jan 28, 2019

A few weeks ago I shared three ways to replace your income and leave your 9 to 5. If you haven't already tuned into that episode be sure to do so either before or after listening to this one.

In this episode, you will...

How to price yourself if you're a service-based business owner

Learn about the four ways to price your service

Discover the owner's pay

Get tips and strategies that you can use with your own business

Insights:

"Be conscious of overpromising and under delivering."

Resources:

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

Her Way Community

@shediditherway

SDH 316: How this Company is Helping Women to Create Flexible Income and Become Their Own Boss with Blythe Harris Jan 21, 2019

Today's guest is the creative force behind Stella & Dot. Recipient of FGI’s Rising Star Award for Accessories, the ACE (Accessories Council) Award for Retail Innovation, and the Drapers Accessories Designer of the Year Award in the UK. , Blythe Harris has built a world-class team of designers and merchants in both New York and Sausalito based design studios!

Originally inspired by her grandmother Dot’s vintage jewelry box, Blythe’s creative vision mixes the beauty of vintage design and craftsmanship with the modern aesthetic and versatility of today’s stylish woman. Blythe’s leadership has helped grow Stella & Dot into a global brand.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Blythes background

Discover the inspiration behind her company

Find out about her first business

Hear about her experience overseas working with a non-profit

Learn about working with a business partner

Find out how they named their brand

Get to know her mindset and process when she was starting out

and more!

Insights:

"Our mission is to create as many independent business owners and entrepreneurs as possible."

"The key to creativity is putting unexpected things in front of your eyes because of that's when you make those interesting connections."

Resources:

Stella & Dot

Keep Collective

Ever Skin Care

SDH 315: 3 Ways to Replace Your Income and Leave Your 9-5 in 2019 Jan 14, 2019

Hello friends and welcome back to another episode of the podcast!

A lot of questions and feedback that I get from the listeners is the question around creating sustainable income within their business or side hustle when they're starting their business in the beginning. This is a common question that often times triggers fear and concern for most when they want to launch a business and leave their 9 to 5.

So in today's solocast, I want to offer up three different ways that you can replace your income in 2019!

In this episode, you will...

Learn more about the goal of Her Way Society

The importance of savings and product validation

Discover what you need to have before making the leap

Importance of eliminating the non-essentials in your schedule

Be more disciplined with your time

Find out the three ways you can replace your income

and more!

Insights:

"Determine the number that you're after, you know what the goal is, you will make other decisions based off of that number."

"The most common ways I've seen women replace their income and start their business is, they become a VA, they start an online business, they leverage themselves to become a contractor."

"Start today, start now!"

Resources:

SDH 259: Learn How to Quit Your Job and Double Your Corporate Income in 30 Days with Abbey Ashley

SDH 268: Corporate America to Six-Figure Entrepreneur in Less than 4 Months with Julie Ciardi

SDH 301: From Freelancing to Owning a Multi-Million Business with Linda Solley Hurd

SDH 314: How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Business with Kate Ahl Jan 07, 2019

Our guest today works from home at her garden shed office which she calls "She-Shed" while managing her company, Simple Pin Media!

In this episode, you will...

How Kate started her company and the idea behind it

Learn how her first year was when starting her business

Find out about her mindset-switch

Discover how hiring a business coach is important to a business

Realize the best mindset especially when starting your own business

Hear about tips and insights from Kate when managing your own business

Why the testing phase is necessary

The benefit of streamlining

Why you should start an email list from the start

Tips on how to use Pinterest

and so much more!

Insights:

"Success is a mountain of failure."

"Fail forward into success."

Resources:

Simple Pin Media

@simplepinmedia

SDH 313: 2018 A Year in Review: 5 Lessons + 5 Things I'm Afraid to Tell You Dec 31, 2018

Woah!

I can’t believe this is the last and final episode of 2018. What an amazing year it has been. Today’s on the podcast I’m peeling back the curtain and diving into what this past year has looked like, what’ve I’ve learned and some things I’m afraid to tell you.

But before diving into the role that 2018 played in my life and She Did It Her Way, I’m backing up to the years leading up to 2018. Sharing how I was absolutely lost in my career, second guessed my every move, didn’t set goals because I was too afraid of setting the wrong one.

Grab a notebook, your beverage of choice and press play!

Some key points in today’s episode:

Your business will only grow as much as you grow as a person.

The sooner you put yourself in the mindset as a business owner and own the fact that your business is your business, you’ll become that person.

Explore your money mindset blocks and any other blocks that may be limiting you from moving to that next step in your business and in life.

Don’t be afraid to be messy and make mistakes. Practice being messy and practice mistakes.

Running a business is like being in a committed relationship. Your business isn’t there to make you whole, only you, yourself can make you whole, and sometimes it disappoints you, frustrates you and makes you cry but other times, it makes you feel like you are flying and are on top of the world. Your business is a reflection of you. You’re strengths, weakness, limitations and expansions. Most importantly is that regardless of what happens you still stay committed to your business.

Quotes:

Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. - Einstein

SDH 312: From World Class Wine-Making to Producing Quality Skin Care with April Gargiulo Dec 24, 2018

Today's guest is the Founder and CEO of Vintner’s Daughter, April Gargiulo, a luxury skincare company committed to performance-driven quality-focused, non-toxic skincare.

She launched her first product, Active Botanical Serum in 2012 bucking industry standards by using whole organic plants and methodical formulation methods versus low-quality fillers and formulation shortcuts. Vintner’s Daughter quickly became a benchmark for quality and performance in the beauty world and is coveted by top beauty connoisseurs and industry professionals around the world. Through Vintner’s Daughter April commits 2% of every bottle sold to charities benefiting women and children worldwide.

In this episode you will...

Hear about April's background in fine winemaking

Discover how she went from winery to skin care

Learn about her passion for creating quality skin care

Hear about her launch-story

Get insights on the process of creating her skin care product

Hear about what it takes to create, produce and grow an amazing product or service

Insights:

"You never take shortcuts, you never cut corners."

"Our entire world, to be honest, is driven by what's new."

Resources:

Vintner’s Daughter

SDH 311: 4 Mindsets to Cultivate in the New Year to Help you Ditch Your 9-5 Dec 17, 2018

Today we're diving into the 4 mindsets to cultivate in the new year to help you ditch your 9-5. At first when you begin to think about launching a business and leaving your job, it can be extremely noisy and overwhelming. some of you may have external pressure to keep a certain lifestyle or job based on how you grew up, some of you may live in a town where it takes a little more work to surround yourself with entrepreneurs, you may have a spouse that doesn’t support your journey, you may be the breadwinner in your household. If you’ve been a long-time listener you know what of my favorite quotes is by Wayne Dyer and that is, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

The 4 mindsets to cultivate are:

The Model (Brook Castillo)
Resilience
Abundance
Commitment

Be sure to tune in to learn more about each mindset and the exact steps you can take to help you cultivate them.

SDH 310: How to Easily Hire a Virtual Assistant to Help Scale Your Business (and Life!) with Bonnie Fahy Dec 10, 2018

Ever wonder how other businesses are able to be an expert at almost anything? How they manage to produce results even not possessing all of the skills? These business people just know how to use available resources.

Our guest, Bonnie Fahy, started as a balloon artist. Today she shares her journey on how she inflates her business (no pun intended), transitioned to entrepreneurship and now helping other business owners scale their business through coaching and online course.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Bonnie's humble beginnings

How she got into online marketing

Find out when was her "aha moment"

Discover how hiring her first VA helped her with her business

Learn about the benefits of outsourcing

Get to know the idea behind creating her first online course

Learn about the Growth Mindset

Insights:

"Anything is possible if you start with the idea that you are always growing, you are always building and you are always getting better."

"As my action change, my story changes."

"If you want to have the things you never had before, you have to do the things you have never done before."

Resources:

Bonnie Fahy

1-Hour Master Class

SDH 309: How to Pursue Less and Be Essential When You're Overwhelmed with Amanda Boleyn Dec 03, 2018

Welcome to another episode! It's the final month of 2018 and I am so excited to revisit the goals we had accomplished for this year and to set new goals for 2019!

In today's episode, we'll talk about Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. If you haven't already read this book, I highly recommend doing so!

In this episode, you will...

Learn about what it means to be an essentialist

The mindset of being an essentialist

Dive into how can we get there (essentialism)

The importance of being an essentialist

The difference between essentialist and non-essentialist

Discover tips on how to become an essentialist

Insights:

“Remember that if you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.”

"If it's not a clear yes, it's a clear no."

"What will I say no to? This is the question that will uncover your true priorities."

Resources:

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

SDH 308: Learn How to Run a Full-time Business in Part-time Hours by Working Smarter, Not Harder with Ashley Gartland Nov 26, 2018

Do you feel like your business is a hot mess behind the scene? Do you want to streamline your business so you can grow more and have more focus? How about working less and enjoying your life more while enjoying great results at the same time? Tune in as our guest for today share's how her business came about and how she managed to accomplish a lot by just working 25 hours or less a week.

In this episode, you will...

Hear Ashley's journey as an entrepreneur

Learn how she found mentorship and coaching

Find out how life circumstances helped her discover her passion

Discover how you can work 25 hours or less a week and still accomplish more

Hear about the "Power of the Pause"

Realize the importance of delegation

Insights:

"Really have firm boundaries and learn when to say no."

"When you only have 25 hours a week or 10 hours a week to work on your business, you have to be very clear on what things you're spending your time on and what request of your time to say no."

"Figure out to delegate in a way that doesn't require a huge commitment but still will pull a lot of results."

Resources:

Ashley Garland | Simplify

SDH 307: Behind the Scenes of Course Launch Pt 2: The Ins and Outs of Running a Course with Amanda Boleyn Nov 19, 2018

Hello friends!

I am back with part 2 this week and I’m sharing the ins and outs of running an online course.

In today’s episode I am sharing:

Content Creation - Software tools I used, the exact process when it came to creating the lessons and workbooks, how I used schedule blocking.

The experience of conducting weekly coaching calls

What I’d do differently next time and specific steps for you to take when you launch your course

Next steps for BYOB Accelerator

Be sure to tune in!

SDH 306: Behind the Scenes of Course Launch Pt 1: Ideation to Week 1 with Amanda Boleyn Nov 12, 2018

Hey guys! Welcome to another episode with me!

Today’s solocast is Part I of a two-part podcast series where I’m going to share with you everything I learned from launching my online course, the BYOB Accelerator!

BYOB (Become Your Own Boss) Accelerator launched as a five-week program with the goal to help women identify their skill set and leverage it to create their own service-based business and help them find their freedom.

Key Take-Aways:

Timeline

Ideation Process

Marketing and Promotion

Biggest Takeaway

Plus, emotional journey and challenges along the way

In this episode, you will…

Find out the idea behind BYOB and its goal

Learn about the steps to take when launching an online course

Get to know how to get the best idea and turn it into your business

Find out the importance of having a method when ideating

Discover the advantage of creating a webinar

Hear about the major challenges Amanda faced when launching the course

Stay tuned for Part II!

Insights:

“The important thing is, I did it because I did not procrastinate.”

Resources:

The Post-It Content Creation Mini Training

@SheDidItHerWay

SDH 305: Behind the Scenes on How to Lead an International Business with Maddie Readts Nov 05, 2018

Ever wonder how an influencer works and how they can affect purchase decisions? How about where to find these influencers, or to even become one? Today's guest has been at the forefront of harnessing the power of the international bloggers and digital influencers since 2010 and she's here to talk about influencer marketing!

Maddie Raedts, Founder & Chief Creative Officer at IMA, is responsible for advising clients on strategy when working with influencers & talent, while always keeping the match of influencers and aesthetic quality of creative in mind. Throughout her career, she has secured many partnerships and developed concepts for leading brands including Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Samsung, TomTom, and Farfetch. Maddie was featured on Forbes’ 2017 30under30 Europe: Media list, alongside fellow IMA co-founder Emilie Tabor!

Today, she leads a young, international team of 85+ people who are responsible for the way brands work with influencers across the globe.

In this episode, you will...

-Hear about Maddie's background before entrepreneurship

-Discover how the first 12 months were for her business

-How the business scaled to 200+ employees

-Find out where she had grown the most on her entrepreneurship experience

-Learn what's the toughest decisions she had made on her business

-Get to know her strategy on how to stay focused and more!

Insights:

"The whole entrepreneurship experience in itself has so much to learn. I am still learning today and as we go forward because I think that's something we can't learn from school."

"Running the business and managing people, that is most of the learning I went through.... and I'm still going through. It's not something you can do right at once."

"Just do it, trial and error, learning by doing."

SDH 304: How to Create Self-Discipline and Drive Within Yourself with Amanda Boleyn Oct 29, 2018

Hello my beautiful friends!

Know your three:

What does your compelling future look like? What are your goals (This is your WHAT)
Know your WHY. (This is where your drive and inspiration come from)
Reinforce with self-discipline (This is your HOW)

In this episode you will:

Learn why you must have a compelling future that relates to your
goals

-Know your WHY behind your compelling future and goals

-How to reinforce your goals with self-discipline

-Learn how and why your thoughts create the reality you are living
today

-Understand the importance of not setting goals because you believe
they will make you happy

-Learn what a growth mindset vs fixed mindset is

And more!

Insights:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” - Wayne Dyer

“If you leave your growth to randomness you’ll always live in the land of mediocrity.” - Brendon Burchard

Resources:

“Think and Grow Rich” - Napoleon Hill

Brooke Castillo - The Life Coach School

SDH 303: How to Start a Virtual Assistant Agency with Maria Carras Oct 22, 2018

Our guest today is coming to us all the way from London! She is here to share her story about life as an entrepreneur, how did she transition, how she grew her business and more!

Maria Carras is the CEO & Founder of Maria Carras Creative - a content creation & virtual assistance agency working with coaches, creatives and online educators. Alongside running her agency, Maria coaches & mentors aspiring Virtual Assistants through her coaching programmes, courses and free Facebook community of over 1000+ passion-driven women.

In this episode, you will...

Get to know about Maria Carras and her interesting background

Learn how she moved from the US to Greece then to London

Hear about her background in films

Find out how she started working virtually

Understand the importance to create deep connections with people you had worked with

Hear about how she started her Virtual Assistance agency

Discover what she had grown the most on her business

... and learn how she on-boarded her sister to work with her!

Insights:

"Five people who are your targets and actually have real conversations with them. Ask them about their hopes, ask them about their dreams, their struggles and what they look for in relation to what you do. These conversations are gold. You will get so much useful information in terms of how to position your business."

"One day or day one. You decide"

Resources:

Maria Carras Creative

Launch Your VA Biz

SDH 302: Being Okay with Being Wrong and Letting Go of Perfection with Amanda Boleyn Oct 15, 2018

Being wrong is a massive part of being an entrepreneur and being okay with being wrong is being comfortable with the unknown. You may ask what does being okay with being wrong has something to do with building a business or becoming an entrepreneur? Today, I'm here to tell you that it has everything to do with building a business.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about the common fears when starting a business

Find out the factors that stop you from starting

Overcome the fears by knowing it's okay to be wrong

Learn how to overcome procrastination

Discover that trying to be perfect only delays your progress

Be more comfortable and show up as the real you

Insights:

"Our love of being right is best understood as our fear of being wrong.”

Resources:

Being Wrong by Kathryn Schulz

SDH 301: From Freelancing to Owning a Multi-Million Business with Linda Solley Hurd Oct 08, 2018

Are you working on something for someone, where all the while you think you can do it for your own business instead? Our guest had this thought and she definitely made a decision to take the leap from starting out as a freelancer to now owning a multi-million dollar company!

Linda is the founder and owner of Adeline Clothing, an online women's retailer. She comes from a freelance social media background. Combining her experience in social media and her lifelong dream to work in the fashion industry, she started an online boutique from her spare bedroom that has now grown into a multi-million dollar business!

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Linda transitioned out of Corporate America and into entrepreneurship

Discover how your passion can become your business

Find out how social media contributed to her creating an e-commerce business

Get inspired by Linda's story when she sold her first clothing online

Learn about the mistakes she learned when she was starting out

Find out where she has grown the most in her business

Hear about the challenges she encountered and how she overcame them

Insights:

"Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now."

"I don't want to say it was "easy" but when you know you can sell out of something your heart was in, easy is the only way to put it. "

Resources:

Adeline Clothing | Use HERWAY20 coupon code upon check out to get 20% off for She Did It Her Way listeners!

SDH 300: Why Less is More and A Big Announcement with Amanda Boleyn Oct 01, 2018

I'm super excited to publish this episode today! Most of you who have been tuning in since the beginning and a warm welcome to our new listener, you are all in the right place!

Today we'll talk about the changes that are coming to She Did It Her Way and the things to consider when expanding your business. We look back at She Did It Her Way and how things had grown from the past few years with all of your help and we'll have a peek on the messy pieces in creating She Did It Her Way's podcast, events, webinars and more!

In this episode, you will...

Hear how She Did It Her Way started

Changes that's coming to the show

Find out about the summit

Discover the strategies behind She Did It Her Way

Hear why we're tweaking the show

and more!

Tune in to get answers as to why less is more and watch out for the big announcement!

SDH 299: From Side Hustle to Full Time Entrepreneur with Dana Dowdell Sep 27, 2018

Are you planning to start a side hustle? How about running your side hustle into full-time? You may be considering moving out of corporate America and starting your own business or probably you are at the beginning of your transition, regardless of where you are in your journey, our guest's entrepreneurial story will give you the inspiration to take the leap and turn your side hustle into full time.

Dana Dowdell is owner and HR fanatic of Boss Consulting, a boutique consulting firm that offers human resource services to small businesses. Her business was started with an obsession for everything HR and a crazy desire to help others.

Dana holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Labor Relations both from the University of Rhode Island. In addition, she has obtained an SHRM-CP designation and brings over seven years of HR experience in the hospitality and non-profit sectors to her work.

In this episode, you will...

Hear how Dana transition out of corporate America

Discover the challenges she encountered when she was starting out

Learn more about HR and consulting for small business

Get tips on hiring your first employee

Things to be aware of when hiring contractors

Insights:

"The recruiting and the hiring process speaks volumes to how you run your business. When you take the time to find the right people for your business, that sends a message that the whole process is important to the candidate."

"Be kind because everyone is fighting a battle that you may know nothing about."

"How you talk about your business really makes a difference."

Resources:

Boss Consulting

@adashofboss

SDH 298: Discover How to Maximize Your Schedule with a Side-Hustle with Amanda Boleyn Sep 24, 2018

Welcome to another episode of the podcast! Today I'll share with you the three step-exercise that I follow when I begin to feel like my days are getting away from me, if I feel like I don't have enough time in the day, or the most important one is, if I start realizing I'm not accomplishing my goal because I'm not taking action on them.

In this episode, you will...

Learn how to asses your time

Find out how to properly plan your schedule

Realize the importance of tracking your time and how you're using it

Know how to properly track your time

Discover the benefit of tracking where you spend your time on

Learn how to audit your time

Insights
"Don't open your computer up until you know what you would like to do with that time."

SDH 297: Learn How to Value The Service That You Offer with Lauren Golden Sep 20, 2018

Hundreds of families today are happier and more fulfilled thanks to our guest and her online programs. Whether you’re a single mom, a military mom, or a mom in a two-parent family who doesn’t want to sacrifice your time with your babies in order to provide for them, she wants you to know that you don’t have to.

Our guest in this episode is the fearless leader of The Free Mama Movement and a thriving community of over 5,500 women who don’t want to choose between family and financial stability, Lauren Golden. Her mission is simple: Lauren wants to ensure that no mother ever has to sacrifice time with her babies in order to provide for them.

In this episode, you will...

Lauren's journey to entrepreneurship

Hear an interesting story when she sold beer at a young age

Find out the mistakes she encountered when she was starting out

Learn how to value the service that you offer

Discover how a business coach helped her with her business

Insights"I learned enough the hard way."

"Nothing lights a fire like getting outside of your comfort zone."

"You only fail when you stop doing it."

ResourcesThe Free MamaThe Free Mama Movement

SDH 296: 7 Habits that Are Draining Your Energy with Amanda Boleyn Sep 17, 2018

I am super excited about this episode today, as I am always! I am very excited to record and publish these solocasts, if I haven't already expressed it, because I get to hang out with just you guys! Let's dive in!

Whether you are a seasoned business owner, maybe you are still in Corporate America or wherever you're at in your journey, this episode will help you avoid the seven habits that drain your energy. Protect your energy, protect your time!

In this episode, you will...

Discover the habits that drain your energy

Become aware of what replenishes and drains your energy

Learn how to show up as the best version of your self

Find the best way to organize your work

Be more mindful where to use your energy

Insights

"Trying to please other people wasn't worth my time if I knew that I was showing up in an authentic way, and I knew it, and I think that when we go out to please other people or earn their validation and approval, we are living life for them and not truly bringing it back to us and we have spent energy in doing that."

"Put yourself first, you have permission to put yourself first."

SDH 295: Discover How to Create a Business From Something You Love with Ashley Drummonds Sep 13, 2018

Our guest in this episode created the ABS Protein Pancakes and Waffle Mix and have turned it into a Shark Tank product that has been featured in multiple national media outlets, owner of multiple health and fitness websites, Ashley Drummonds.

Ashley’s focus is to empower women to create a life, body, and business they absolutely love through various coaching methods that involve inner and outer strength training. Using her own personal experience and education, she has helped hundreds of individuals not just regain control of their health and fitness, but also empowering individuals to create a life, business, and body of their dreams!

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Ashley's journey before entrepreneurship

Find out how Ashley came about her product ABS Protein Pancakes and Waffle Mix

Discover the challenges she faced when she started

Recognize that "light bulb" moment in your life

Understand how you can create a business from something you love

Learn how to stay fit and get abs while eating pancakes

Understand the goal of your business and where you want it to be

Insights
"I got my abs while eating pancakes."

"I like to think of endings more as a road that has come to a dead-end and you just have to turn around and get back to the previous road and make a different turn."

"Trust yourself, be yourself and be fearless."

Resources
Ashley Drummonds

SDH 294: How to Decide which Business to Choose and which Actions to Take Sep 10, 2018

How many business ideas do you come up with? Which ideas would you like to do first? What stopping you from initiating these ideas?

Today we'll talk about how to decide which business ideas to choose and which actions to take! We know that getting started is the difficult part, but we should take that micro step to move forward. So, this solocast episode is broken down into two parts. Part one we'll cover which ideas to take action on and part two is about how to take action on that idea... exciting right? Let's dive in!

In this episode, you will...

Find out which ideas to consider when starting a business or hobbies
Know where to focus your time and energy on
Filter the clutter to get into the major things when making a decision
Be encouraged to just do it and get started!
Learn about SBS (Shiny Ball Syndrome)

Insights:
"The hardest part of getting started is getting started. It's taking that initial micro step."

"Only by taking action will you start to be able to see what you need to do and what you don't need to do in your business."

"If there's fear of what's on the other side of taking action, remind yourself that there's nothing to be afraid of. And that taking action in going down whatever path you are about to go down, is the path that you are meant to go down."

Resources:
SDH 268: Corporate America to Six-Figure Entrepreneur in Less than 4 Months with Julie Ciardi

SDH 293: Love Yourself and Learn When to Say No with Melissa Ambrosini Sep 06, 2018

If you think that you're stuck and burning yourself out, making you unhappy and unwell, then you should make a move to change all of that! That's what our guest, Melissa Ambrosini, did when she felt her life is no longer heading to where she wanted it to be. It's taking her to a direction far from a happy place and when she encountered a situation that landed her in the hospital, she immediately made the decision to sort her health and her life out.

Melissa Ambrosini is the bestselling author of Mastering Your Mean Girl, host of 'The Melissa Ambrosini Show' podcast, a motivational speaker, an entrepreneur and self-love teacher. Named a 'self-help guru' by Elle Magazine, her message — that love is sexy, healthy is liberating, and wealthy isn’t a dirty word — has inspired women across the globe to activate their dreams and live life on their own terms.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Melissa's journey to entrepreneurship
Hear about her life-changing experience
Find out how a book help her change her life
How Melissa built her business and it's purpose
Discover her first book that created a movement
Talk about self-care and self-love

Insights:
"I think that's the most important thing... I never gave up."

"When we ignore our truth, our intuition, there's always a price to pay."

Resources:
You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay
Mastering Your Mean Girl
Melissa Ambrosini

SDH 292: 3 Easy Steps to Help You Outsource Your First Task with Amanda Boleyn Sep 03, 2018

Hi guys! In this episode, I'm so excited to talk all things about outsourcing. Let's talk about the things to do when it comes to outsourcing your first task! The idea of having someone to do something for you can be a little bit overwhelming. The questions you may I ask are, "Where do you find them? How much will it cost you? What if it won't work and all other questions you may have." But I'm telling you it's all worth it!

You may think that some tasks only require a few hours of your time and you don't need to outsource them, but if you think about it, a few hours a day adds up and those hours you spent could better be used on other important parts of your business.

In this episode, you will...

Learn about outsourcing your business
Hear the advantages of outsourcing some parts of your business
Find tasks that you can outsource first
Know how to create steps to accomplish a task

Insights:
"There's no wrong system, the wrong system is choosing something that you don't use."

Resources:
Fiverr
Upwork

SDH 291: How to Set Goals that Motivate You to Take Action with Lara Casey Aug 30, 2018

How do you work on your goals? What motivates you to keep going? How about helping others set a goal and become motivated to reach them?

Today's guest, Lara Casey, just did that. Lara is the creator of the PowerSheets grace-filled goal planner, founder of Southern Weddings magazine, and author of Make It Happen and Cultivate. She helps women uncover their goals, make an action plan, and live it out.

In this episode, you will...

Discover Lara's background and how she started entrepreneurship
Find out how PowerSheets grace-filled goal planner started
Hear how traditional business helped Lara in her business
Learn about the importance of being focused
Get to know Lara's mental process to trust her faith

INSIGHTS:
"The most important thing is just surrounded yourself with people who are wise and doing good business that you can learn from them and also give back to."

"It's okay to grow slow."

RESOURCES:
Lara Casey
Cultivate What Matters

SDH 290: 3 Life Changing Lessons From Tony Robbins with Amanda Boleyn Aug 27, 2018

Hey guys! I am so excited to share my experience with you from Tony Robbins' Unleash the Power Within! I attended it a little over a month ago and I wanted to share some key takeaways. Some of you might know that I am a long time fan of Tony Robbins. I consumed his content from books, videos, podcasts and TED talks over the past decade and I can't believe it took me this long to attend his event!

The event is four days long and covers different topics with different teachers! Let's dive into my experience from attending this amazing event! This is just an icing on the cake of what you will truly experience when attending Unleash the Power from Within, so if you're planning to attending one of Tony's event , I would say you better go!

In this episode, you will...

Learn about Tony Robbins' Unleash the Power Within
Hear about overcoming your fear
Discover the key things I learned from this event
Find the different ways to handle your emotion and how to react
Learn how to master anything!

INSIGHTS
"If you don't consciously choose what you focused on, your environment will trigger you."

"Our language and the word we use has a massive impact on how we live our life."

RESOURCES
Her Way Society
jaime.jarvis@tonyrobbins.com

SDH 289: How to Maintain Your Brand's Voice and Personality with Alex Williamson, Chief Brand Officer at Bumble Aug 23, 2018

Today's guest, Alexandra Williamson is Bumble’s Chief Brand Officer. She majored in Cinema-Television at SMU, where she discovered her love of content creation. Having a variety of experience with film and production, Alex began managing social media for Bumble in October 2014 and worked her way into her current position with an unwavering passion for the company’s mission and a strong belief in the brand.

Alex helps empower Bumble users and brings Bumble CEO’s innovative ideas to life. Alex communicates this vision with the Bumble community through voice, content, social media, and customer service. She makes sure that the brand's voice and personality are maintained all throughout.

In this episode, you will...

Learn how Alex started with Bumble
Discover how she shifted her role from when Bumble started
Find out the different roles Alex's have had with Bumble
Be inspired in doing what you're passionate to do
Hear how your previous experience can help with your current role
Discover how to get out of your comfort zone

INSIGHTS:
"The most valuable lessons that I learned over time is that no one really knows what they're doing... everybody is just trying to figure it out."

"If you are afraid to fail, you are never gonna get anywhere."

"Get out there and try things and fail, and fail with grace and move fast."

RESOURCES:
Bumble

SDH 288: 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Launching a Podcast & Ways to Overcome Them with Amanda Boleyn Aug 20, 2018

If you are planning to start your own podcast, then this solocast is for you!

Let's dive into the process, steps and things to avoid when launching your own podcast. You could easily build a business just off the basis of starting a podcast. A podcast is essentially a medium which allows your business to share your message and to be an extension of your brand.

In this episode, you will...
Hear about She Did It Her Ways humble beginnings
Learn about the things to consider before starting a podcast
Get answers to the why and who
Tips and tricks when doing your podcast
Avoid the mistakes when launching your podcast

INSIGHTS:
"Starting a podcast is not an easy undertaking, to do it right it takes a lot of time and energy... to plan, to launch and to sustain the podcast."

"Make sure to bring in the right guests for your audience."

RESOURCES:
Her Way Society
SDH 222: Finding your Definition of Success with Jenna Kutcher

SDH 287: Discover How to Get on the Otherside of Busy with Shunta Grant Aug 16, 2018

Shunta Grant is the creator of Because of Zoe Designs, host of the Business, Life & Joy podcast, and business educator specializing in teaching women how to get on the other side of busy. Shunta teaches how to focus on less to accomplish more and how to take your grand ideas and break them down into quarterly, monthly and weekly goals through her Spring Forward workshop and signature training program, Peace, Pace, Progress.

Having left the practice of law for full-time entrepreneurship, Shunta is an ardent advocate for enterprising women who want to take control of their lives by turning their talents and abilities into satisfying and profitable businesses.

In this episode, you will...

Discover Shunta's background before starting her own business
Find out how Because of Zoe Designs came about
Hear Shunta's recommendation to get on the other side of busy
Discover the importance of prioritizing
Learn how to decide where to focus
Understand the benefit of consistency
Turn your passion into a profitable business

INSIGHTS:
"The best piece of advice I've given myself is to exercise my power to change. You don't like something about yourself, your circumstance, your life--CHANGE IT. Don't whine, figure out what you can do to change it because that is our greatest natural superpower-- the power to change."

"What should scare us more than anything is not failure but being good at things that simply do not matter. "

"Never underestimate your power to change."

RESOURCES:
Shunta Grant
Because Of Zoe
Spring Forward Workshop Code: HERWAY

SDH 286: My All-Time Favorite 15 Time Saving Hacks with Amanda Boleyn Aug 13, 2018

How about getting more productive, more organized and getting things done smoothly? In today's solocast I'll be sharing, not just one... or five, but 15 time-saving hacks that will not only make you become productive but will also help you save more time and will help you finish your tasks in no time!

In this episode, you will...

Discover the things that slow you down
Find better ways to finish a task without distractions
Be more organized
Feel more relax while being productive
Avoid being overwhelmed and take charge with your time

INSIGHTS:
"Don't reinvent the will, always go straight to the source."

RESOURCES:
Her Way Community

SDH 285: How to Leave a Job You Love for Entrepreneurship with Kate Boyd Aug 09, 2018

After raising seven figures in revenue for a non-profit organization through powerful messaging, copywriting and marketing, Kate Boyd started her own business Cobblestone Creative Co. to focus on bringing more creativity and genuine connection to the digital marketing space. In the three years since, she has built three profitable online businesses and created live and automated marketing and sales experiences that convert up to five times the normal rates.

Kate developed her signature system, Conversion with Compassion, to help solopreneurs use human-driven communication and behavior-based targeting to get the right message to the right people at the right time in order to create conversion opportunities. This method focuses on high conversion rates that can effectively leverage audiences large or small.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Kate's background before entrepreneurship
Find out Kate's transition from Corporate America to entrepreneurship
Discover how she created and managed three businesses in three years
Learn about human-driven, behavior-based marketing content
Discover the importance of doing what you love

INSIGHTS:
"Success isn't usually as complicated as we make it and the simpler we make our businesses, the faster we can refine and scale those things up for success."

"I loved my job, but I knew my impact was now elsewhere, so I left. It was rough at first, and I missed my people. But things happened, the business grew, I transitioned, and it's all happened from there!"

RESOURCES:
Cobblestone Creative Co.

SDH 284: 6 Ways to Get Yourself Out of a Rut with Amanda Boleyn Aug 06, 2018

I'm really excited for today's solocast! Today, we will go through the process of recognizing what a rut is like, the things that may trigger a rut and the ways to get out of a rut! A rut can be an emotion or a state of mind wherein you feel stuck, overwhelmed, defeated or lost, anything that doesn't make us feel good. It's usually because we are transferring our power and placing it into the hands of something that is external and outside of ourselves.

In this episode, you will:

Recognize what rut is like
Learn to avoid that triggers rut
Avoid repeating past negative behaviors
Understand the thoughts you need to avoid
Discover the ways to get yourself out if you're stuck in a rut

INSIGHTS:
"We need to remind ourselves that we do hold the power and the decisions and the choices... so no one thing or no one can make us feel a certain way unless we give it permission to do so."

"Remember your brain will follow the path of less resistance and will look for patterns."

RESOURCES:
Her Way Community

SDH 283: Grow Your Entrepreneurial Spirit with Ariane Goldman Aug 02, 2018

Frustrated by the lack of stylish clothing options in the maternity market and following the birth of her daughter, our guest launched a business to serve as a trusted resource for women who want to feel beauty, confidence, and style during one of life’s most rewarding (yet also most challenging) periods.

Today's guest, Ariane Goldman, is the founder and CEO of HATCH. HATCH is a collection of chic, timeless and comfortable wardrobe essentials to wear before, during and after pregnancy. A mother of two, Ariane formerly worked on Wall Street and is also the founder of a bridal clothing company. She believes in the power of clothing for before, during and after and that getting dressed should be simple and fun.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Ariane's background
Find out the idea behind creating HATCH
Learn about the challenges that come with doing business on your own
Discover some tips before starting your own business
Find out how Ariane transitioned from her first business to the next
INSIGHTS:
"People are the hardest part of the puzzle, and it's true."

"Just do it, don't get daunted."

RESOURCES:
HATCH Collection

SDH 282: The #1 Philosophy for Ultimate Personal Growth with Amanda Boleyn Jul 30, 2018

Hey guys! Welcome to another solocast episode! Today we'll be changing things up a bit. Don't worry we are not making a big change, nothing is going away. I'm talking about reserving Monday episodes for what I like to call Results Coaching. Monday shows will be reserved for Results Coaching, where I review relevant strategies around productivity, personal development, and business that are proven practical and tactical. Showing you how tiny shifts can create massive positive change in your life.

Discover how making one small tweak in just under 5 minutes each day can help you create massive positive change in your life. The challenge begins on Monday, August 20th - Friday, August 25th

In this episode, you will...

Learn about the ultimate philosophy to live by
Find out what's stopping you from taking actions
Be inspired to step out of your comfort zone
Discover the importance of the way you look at things

INSIGHTS;
"Our internal default is to protect ourselves from what we view as dangerous."

"It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped."

RESOURCES:
5 Minute Mindset Reset Challenge
Her Way Community

SDH 281: Don't Look Back, Just Take the Leap with Ashley Freeborn Jul 26, 2018

Ashley is a loving wife and a new mama to her baby girl Francesca aka “Frankie.” Born and raised in Vancouver, she was an educator for the better part of a decade and made the leap to corporate training and culture when she was offered a dream job in sunny Los Angeles. Ashley graduated from Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, BC with two Bachelor Degrees in English and Education, along with an M.Ed in Education.

Although she loved her corporate training career dearly, she still felt the need for a fun and fresh creative outlet – enter Smash + Tess. After finding a void in the loungewear market, she attended the summer fashion program at Conde Nast in London, UK, and the rest is history!

In this episode, you will...

Discover the concept behind Ashley's business
Hear about the brainstorming behind Smash + Tess
Get a preview on the process behind Smash + Tess
Learn about Ashley's inventory and sales in the early stages of her business
Hear about Ashley's business model
Find out Ashley's recommendation for new business owners on starting out
Discover Ashley's mentor and role model
INSIGHTS:
"Don't look back, just take the leap."

RESOURCES:
Smash + Tess
Instagram: @smashtess
Twitter: @smashtess

SDH 280: Avoid these Legal Potholes when Starting Your Business with Rachel Brenke Jul 23, 2018

Are you ready to fully commit to your business? Have you thought about the legal stuff that comes with it? Is your business legally-protected? Do you want to grow your business and make sure it'll be here to last?

Today's guest, Rachel Brenke, is a lawyer, a blogger, and business consultant. When she was diagnosed with cancer at a very young age, she made it a goal to grab life and do it in her own terms, and so she decided to become an entrepreneur to help others.

Starting out as an entrepreneur herself, Rachel has been through hoops like most of us! Now, Rachel is a licensed attorney in Virginia, Texas and the Supreme Court of the United States. Her focus is on small business law including contracts, business formation and intellectual property such as copyright and trademarks. With her MBA, she has invested over a decade of experience helping entrepreneurs succeed.

As a lawyer, MBA and entrepreneur herself – Rachel has the know-how to get you on the right track with your business!

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Rachel's entrepreneurial background
Find out how Rachel recognized her niches
Discover the importance of protecting your assets
Prevent legal issues with your business
Learn about liability insurance
INSIGHTS:
"There's a whole big checklist that an entrepreneur can go through when starting a business."

"If you aren't vigilant of getting these three things to protect your business; you can lose that and it can impact your personal life."

"You have to sacrifice a little in order to be able to do more later on."

"Get the legal foundation in order so that you can keep growing and be successful!"

RESOURCES:
Rachel Brenke

SDH 279: How to Engineer Your Brand with Ainsley Moir Jul 19, 2018

Today we'll spend some time talking about how to engineer your brand, lead up and transition with the Owner and Chief Brand Engineer of Engineer Your Brand, Ainsley Moir.

Our guest, Ainsley Moir is a global branding and marketing expert with more than 10+ years of experience working with both big companies and small to mid-size businesses. When she was studying, Coca-Cola for her was a dream brand because of its strong brand-love. It gave her a great framework to build something that lasts and connects with people. Today she talks about her passion for building brands, from taking something from scratch and being able to build something up or taking something that's there and being able to improve it!

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Ainsley's background
Discover how Engineer Your Brand was born
Learn how to bring your vision to life
Realize the importance of building your brand
Learn more about how to improve your brand
INSIGHTS:
"I don't believe that any great companies out there don't just happen, they are engineered."

"When you love what you're doing it never seems like work and it's so fun to help people to really bring their dreams to life."

"Progress is better than perfection."

RESOURCES:
Engineer Your Brand
Twitter: @AinsleyMoir
Twitter: @EngineerUrBrand

SDH 278: From $40,000 in Student Loan Debt to Earning $100,000 a Month with Michelle Schroeder-Gardner Jul 16, 2018

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a personal finance website that helps readers learn how to save more, earn money, and live more. She currently earns over $100,000 a month from her blogging business and shows no signs of slowing down. She currently travels full-time with her husband and two dogs in a sailboat. She used to have $40,000 in student loan debt and was struggling, living paycheck to paycheck. She paid off her student loan debt by the age of 24.

Michelle runs a personal finance website as well as an affiliate marketing course for bloggers. On her blog Making Sense of Cents, she talks about different ways to make extra money, the best ways to save money, achieving your dream life, travel, and more.

In this episode, you will...
Find out what made Michelle take the leap
Learn more about blogging
Hear about Michelle's strategy over the years
Find how to dedicate time to something you really love to do
Discover how her blogging and business evolved

INSIGHTS:
"In the beginning it was more about making more income, increasing my subscribers and stuffs like that, but today it's more about trying to find ways to make the business more passive and just having a better work-life balance in general."

RESOURCES
Making Sense of Scents - https://www.makingsenseofcents.com/
Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing - https://makingsenseofaffiliatemarketing.com/
@michelleschro https://www.instagram.com/michelleschro/

SDH 277: How to Take Action When Starting Out with Jennie Baik Jul 12, 2018

Today's guest is an avid consumer technology and next-generation retail strategist, Jennie Baik! Jennie currently serves as the CEO and Co-founder of Orchard Mile, a newly launched digital shopping experience that is the first and only fashion platform that allows women to shop the full assortment of their favorite contemporary and luxury brands' sites, updated daily, in one place, with the ease of one checkout.

Jennie received her Master's degree from Harvard Business School in 2008 and also holds a BBA/BA in Business Honors and Plan II from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a frequent notable speaker at the annual Harvard Business School's annual Dynamic Women in Business and the Retail and Luxury Goods conference, as well as the Luxury Marketing Council's events in the New York area.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Jennie's background before Orchard Mile
Discover how she came up with the name for her business
Hear about how the idea of creating Orchard Mile came about
Learn about the actionable things she took to get started
Find out the importance of having a co-founder
Be inspired by her decisions in pursuing her ideas to build her own business
INSIGHTS
"Once you make the decision to go, you're just ready to go."

"The number reason I wanted to start a company is that I just thought it'd be fun to create a culture that focused on values that I value."

"For me, success personally just looks like... Is my team happy? Do they like working here? Are we helping them grow their career? It's about people and not about the dollar."

"Optionality is sexy."

RESOURCES
Jennie Baik
Orchard Mille

SDH 276: Overcoming Fear and Making the Big Leap with Natanya Bravo Jul 09, 2018

In this episode, our guest, Natanya Bravo, is here to tell us what her journey was like when she finally decided to take the leap. Born in London and having lived in three countries by the age of six, Natanya Bravo’s love affair with travel was instilled from birth. Natanya spent the first part of her career living bi-coastal between New York and Los Angeles while leading international brand marketing and event campaigns in the entertainment industry. No stranger to being on a plane weekly for work and personal trips around the world, of the over 100 cities Natanya has visited to date, Paris captured her heart!

In February 2018, Natanya listened to that internal voice and leaped into the unknown, leaving behind her successful career, she booked a one -way ticket to Paris to live her best life. Crafted through the lens of travel, her own journey of personal development, and real-life experiences, she created The Bravo Life to inspire women around the world to realize and actualize their full potential, while living their best lives as their best selves.

She is currently six months in her entrepreneurial journey, let's hear more about her experience and how she decided to leave all behind and start new!

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Natanya's interesting background story
Understand why she left her corporate job to start her own
Know when you think you should take the shift in your current situation
Discover more about The Bravo Life
Learn about the importance of taking a break

INSIGHTS:
"I really value experience over money."
"Live your best as life as your best self."
"Just go, you can always come back, you can’t always go."

RESOURCES:
@TheBravoLife
The Bravo Life

SDH 275: Why Sometimes You Need to Reinvent Your Business with Marie Wiese Jul 05, 2018

Today's guest is a senior marketing executive and founder of Marketing CoPilot, an award-winning digital marketing agency that has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs turn their websites into lead generation and sales machines, Marie Wiese.

Marie is an advisor with start-ups at innovation centers in Canada, a Canadian Executive Council Member of CompTIA, a global technology association and the author of the award-winning business book, You Can’t Be Everywhere: A Common Sense Approach to Digital Marketing for Any Business. Marie has worked in the B2B marketing sector for over 20 years and has been a driving voice for advancing women in the technology industry. On the topic of digital transformation of the marketing function, Marie has written and presented workbooks and workshops that help audience members create better results for their companies.

In this episode, you will...

Hear how Marie started her own business
Learn about Marketing Copilot
Hear about Marie's 12-year entrepreneurial journey
Discover the importance of digital marketing
Learn about the benefit of reinventing
Learn the importance of online presence for your business

INSIGHTS
"I have to become a leader, I can't just be good at something anymore. I have to lead others to help me build it!"

"Aim high, fall short."

RESOURCES
Marketing Copilot
You Can’t Be Everywhere: A Common Sense Approach to Digital Marketing
GlamperGrls

SDH 274: How to Attract the Right Customers with Brand Storytelling with Amber Williams Jul 02, 2018

Today's guest, Amber Williams is a writer, master brand storyteller, and creator of Punkyflair, a brand story shop based in Washington, DC. She helps startups and CEOs understand their audience, communicate their vision, and sell with story. She's helped global brands like Camille Rose Heat Free Hair, and Shea Radiance create new messages that grab their customers' attention.

Using her Storycraft™ method, she's rebranded million-dollar businesses, named global beauty collections, and molded magnetic brand personalities for some of the leading beauty and technology companies in business today. She has the audacity to do it all alongside her three-year-old son Carter and her very opinionated one-year-old baby girl, Cayden

In this episode, you will...

Hear about how Amber's Punky Flair started
Learn the importance of market research
Learn about Story Brand
Discover Amber's Storycraft™ framework

Insights
"Get right upfront with what you have to offer and who it's for."

"You can't be all things to all people."

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one. "

SDH 273: From Teacher to Top Etsy Seller and Educator with Jess Van Den Jun 28, 2018

Today's guest, Jess Van Den, followed her dream and stepped out of her corporate job to pursue what she's passionate about, crafting jewelry and DIY accessories. Jess is the founder of Create & Thrive, a website that helps turn your handmade hobby into a thriving business, and Epheriell which specializes in crafting sterling silver wedding rings for couples all over the world.

In this episode, you will...

Hear about Jess's background on starting her own business
Discover what inspired her to pursue her passion
Find out how Jess overcome the challenges when she was just starting
Learn about how Jess manage both her business
Tune in and find out more about Jess and why she calls herself an accidental entrepreneur!

Insights

"I think you make life what you believe it is. I don't believe it's the purpose you discover but you decide what your purpose is and you work towards it."

"One thing that is so important is to have a website of your own."

Resources

http://www.createandthrive.com/

@createandthrive (IG)

https://epheriell.com/

SDH 272: How to Turn Your Passion into A Business with KT Speetzen Jun 25, 2018

Today's guest, KT Speetzen is the CEO of Mother Cluckers Comedy. She brings comedy storytelling into business training. She began her comedy career when she was 16 at a stand up in Los Angeles. KT also earned her Masters in Education from DePaul University and has taught at both the middle school and university level. Her love of comedy plays an essential role in connecting with her students.

In this episode, you will...

Hear KT's background on how she started comedy
Hear how KT navigated at the beginning of her own business
Learn about KT's framework for her clients
Discover how comedy and storytelling can be used in your business
Hear tips from KT on how to create your own business storytelling
Hear about the software tools that KT uses
Insights:

"Put up the good vibes, the universe will provide."

"I am a glass-half-full person."

"For those moments where you feel like this didn't work, just try to think of it as, this just didn't work today."

Resources:

http://ktspeetzen.com

https://mothercluckerscomedy.com

SDH 271: Taking the Leap from Finance to Photography with Elle Drouin Jun 21, 2018

Are you tired of working for other people? Stressed-out and exhausted from the day to day grind? Have you thought of just moving away from the corporate stretch and do something you love and do something fun?

Our guest for today did just that! Meet today's guest, Elle Drouin, an NYC-based product stylist + photographer, marketing strategist, crazy dog mom, lover of all things pink and founder of Wonderfelle Media. Her business helps female entrepreneurs build hugely successful brands through drop-dead gorgeous photographs, marketing, and business strategy.

In this episode, you will...

Learn how to find the right target audience
Hear about Elle’s background in finance and how she transitioned
Hear about Elle's pet Instagram account that has thousands of followers!
Discover how she started and grow her Styled Stock Society membership
Learn about Elle's planning and how she keeps all her projects organized
Get inspired by Elle's entrepreneurial story and find out more about how she changed her life from corporate to owning her own successful business that she loves!

Insights
"Having a flexible schedule is non-negotiable."
"Wearing lipstick even for an audio-only interview makes me feel polished."
"Do more of what works and less of what doesn't."

Resources
Elle Drouin
@elledrouin
Style Stock Society

SDH 270: Corporate America to Multi-Million Dollar Revenue Business with Shannon Miles, BELAY Jun 18, 2018

Have you made a decision that you put a lot on the line? Have you reached a point where you think there's no next right step for you? You might take a path but that doesn't lead you in the right direction and you know you need to make a big change.

Today's guest, Shannon Miles, founder of BELAY, a company that provides highly trained U.S. based remote bookkeepers, administrative assistants, webmasters, and content writers, together with her husband, Bryan had to deal with those challenges in transitioning from corporate America to entrepreneurship. They took the leap to transition from their own corporate jobs to fully managing their own company.

For some of their family and friends, the idea of them leaving both their jobs at the same time is a crazy and risky idea! But for Shannon and Bryan that place which felt stable and safe was no longer secure, fast forward to 18 months from them leaving, Shannon's company had laid off some of their employees and same goes with her husband. If they did not take the decision to leave and start on their own, they could have been one of them.

In this episode, you will...

How to transition from corporate America to entrepreneurship
Learn about the next steps after transitioning
Realize that some risks are not that risky at all
How to step out of your comfort zone
Learn how it's like for the first 6-12 months after taking the leap
Hear how trying out the service and product that truly sells help
Learn the benefit of outsourcing
Insights
"It doesn't matter what part of the journey you're on, any part of life you've always taken a calculated risk and get better along the way."

"When somebody experiences the benefits of getting help, they want to share it with other people, it's natural and kind of life transformational."

"If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough."

Resources:
@shannonkmiles
The Third Option
BELAY

SDH 269: How to Cut Through the Noise & Drive Revenue in Your Business with Ashlyn Carter, Jocelyn Pearson and Shauna VanBogart Jun 14, 2018

Key takeaways:

Learn 3 to 5 Steps from each of the guest's fields
Discover how to plan and strategies for the future of your business
Hear from our guests on how to cut through the noise and drive revenue to your business
Discover the importance of opt-ins, emails list and sending newsletters
Hear the answers from not just one but all speakers from the summit.

Insights
"Invest before you need, otherwise you will be scrambling."
"If you wait until you need, you're too late."
"Don't let not having everything ready hold you back."

Resources
http://jocelynpearson.com/#
http://ashlynwrites.com/
https://www.shaunavanbogart.com/

SDH 268: Corporate America to Six-Figure Entrepreneur in Less than 4 Months with Julie Ciardi Jun 11, 2018

Did you take the traditional path in life you’ve been told is the right one? This path probably includes some version of a 9-5 corporate job, a stable salary, a family; and everything that seems right on the outside, but feels wrong on the inside.

You aren't passionate about your work. You know there’s something else out there for you to create, a new role for you to fill; but you’re scared-- scared of changing your lifestyle, following a path that is different from what you’ve been taught is right.

You’re not alone.

These feelings are the start of your entrepreneurial journey and tend to sit along for the ride.

But it gets better.

And today’s guest, Julie Ciardi, started where you’re at; listening to the podcast, hearing stories and surrounding herself with a community of women who took the leap and landed. Today, she joins us to share her first 3 months after taking the leap with her boutique that offers women clothes to hustle in style, while also raising her three kids.

Listen in and let her story help inspire yours.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL:

See what a pivotal moment looked like for Julie

Understand how other people’s stories can help you to take action

Value the power of shifting your mindset

Know the key components to making financial projections for your business

Learn how to counter limiting beliefs

Uncover how she hit six figures in sales within four months of opening her business!

INSIGHTS:

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Wayne Dyer

“Sometimes you need to make these really bold moves in pursuit of your dreams.” Julie Ciardi

“Everything is figureoutable.” Marie Forleo

RESOURCES:

Haven The Boutique Website

“Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance” by Louis. V. Gerstner

“Find Your Extraordinary” by Jessica DiLullo Herrin

“You are a Bad Ass” by Jen Sincero

CODE: She20 @checkout to get 20% off purchase

RELATED EPISODES:

SDH 031

SDH 091

SDH 208

SDH 267: How to Become 10X More Productive with Schedule Blocking with Amanda Boleyn Jun 07, 2018

Today I’m taking you behind the scenes of what my day to day looks like, how I structure on a daily and weekly basis, how schedule blocked has made me 10X more productive and rules I put in place to help myself stay on task.

What is schedule blocking? It is blocking out certain parts of your day/week to accomplish a certain task. Schedule blocking incorporates something called “Batching” where you do similar tasks in one sitting versus multiple sittings. An example of batching might be “outlining email copy for different campaigns in one sitting” “recording all audios for one month’s podcast in a 2 hour period” “responding to any and all emails in a designated time period”

Why is schedule blocking helpful? A couple of reasons...because it incorporates batching you save on mental energy and time from having to switch in between tasks and it lets you plan ahead.

In this episode you will...

Learn about schedule blocking
Discover the importance of schedule blocking
How to implement schedule blocking
Plan your time efficiently
How to focus more on being productive
Get tips on how to maximize your daily schedule
Productive action helps you create clarity and alignment towards your goals. It helps you drive that direction.

INSIGHTS

"Busy work is noise, it is an energetic weight that holds us back from accelerating."

"Reading can be a form of procrastination. It may feel productive at the moment but it is passive action because we’re not truly taking action."

RESOURCES

She Did It Her Way Facebook

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Instagram

SDH 266: How to Build a Multiple 7-Figure Online Business with Amy Porterfield Jun 04, 2018

Do you feel like your small wins in entrepreneurship are sometimes hit with self-doubt? Maybe you feel like you’re putting in 100% and gaining traction but you’re still not getting rewarded, something isn’t aligning with your online business and you don’t know why?

Today’s guest, Amy Porterfield, felt these similar pain points on her entrepreneurial journey; but, she finally figured it out and even teaches others her secrets to building a time-leveraged, multiple 7-figure online business that doesn’t rely on 80 hour work weeks or a team of 40 to function.

In this episode you will…

Understand all of the unique stages of Amy’s lead up, leap and land

See why staying in an uncomfortable feeling is sometimes necessary to get to the next stage of your journey

Learn the importance of email list building versus social media list building

Uncover how doing what feels right helps you niche down

Discover methods for choosing a mentor

Know why you can and should experiment when building an online business

INSIGHTS:

“The way your business looks today is likely going to look very different years from now. So, allow yourself to experiment and pivot and that’s the beauty of building an online business, you can change things as long as you stay the course and not jump from shiny thing to shiny thing.” Amy Porterfield

“The energy of your business is directly tied to the strength of your business list.” Amy Porterfield

“80% of being an entrepreneur is what you're thinking and only 20% has to do with the mechanics and strategy of such.” Tony Robins

RESOURCES:

Online Marketing Made Easy Podcast

Amy’s Website

“Year of Yes” by Shonda Rhimes

RELATED EPISODES:

SDH 068

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SDH 265: Go From Part-time Blogger to Full-time Business Owner with Natalie Bacon May 31, 2018

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL…

Learn the mechanics of making a blog a full-time gig

Understand why cutting out noise is necessary for the first phases of starting a business

Discover the difference between passive and active actions

Know the two problems holding you back from having a six-figure online business

Hear how to work through fear and doubt

See why shifting from a “time economy” to a “value and results economy” is beneficial

INSIGHTS:

“I believe that value creates money, not time.” Natalie Bacon

“I’m a big fan of measuring based on results and what you’re producing and not based on time spent.” Natalie Bacon

“I think it’s really easy to cut out distractions that you view as distractions; I think it’s much harder to cut out things you view as important to you and recognize them as distractions.” Natalie Bacon

RESOURCES:

Natalie Bacon’s Website

Natalie Bacon’s Instagram

The Life Coach School Podcast

Six Figure Blogger

Convert Kit

Teachable

Lead Pages

Opt-in Monster

Canva

School of Greatness

Lively Show

I Love Marketing

Russel Brunson Podcast

Knowledge for Men

SDH 264: Transitioning out of Corporate America Into Yogi and Meditation Leader with Alma Omeralovic May 28, 2018

At some point in our life, we realize that we need to pause, pay attention to our mind, body, and soul. The constant things that we encounter every day might take away our focus in taking care of ourselves. It is then we realize we need to take a shift from our current life's situation.

Today's guest, Alma Omeralovic, whose passion is connecting with people, worked in corporate for 50+ hours a week and believe she had her life under control, shares her experience how she transitioned out of corporate America into being a Yogi and meditation leader.

Alma was having a number of panic attacks per day that led her to the hospital. Even the little things she experiences daily was causing too much stress and anxiety. It was until she got a package for one month of yoga and went to try it out. After her session, she felt amazing and thought she needed to learn more about the practice. Discovering the great things that this practice have brought to her, she decided to be more involved and went to a yoga retreat and became certified as a yoga teacher herself!

Changing her focus and listening more to healing her body, Alma wanted to share her experience and journey on how she overcome these obstacles, especially suffering from panic attacks and anxiety.

In this episode you will,
Discover the benefits of surrounding your self with positive people
Realize the importance of listening to your intuition
Be more focus on taking care of your body
Learn about the benefit of yoga

Insights
"Self-care should feel good if it feels like an obligation then it's something else.

"Don't let something that you love to do become just another check mark on the list."

"I love to write things down, especially writing my planner for the week!"

APPOINTED
ChillBabeAlma
Alma's Instagram

SDH 263: 5 Ways to Battle Overwhelm When Starting a Business with Amanda Boleyn May 24, 2018

In this solocast, we will talk about the 5 ways to battle overwhelm. Regardless if you are just starting out, or at any stage of entrepreneurship, we can all relate that overwhelm is present at any stage of our journey.

In this episode you will...

Learn what causes overwhelm
Recognize the state that you are in
Discover how to avoid stress
Learn where to focus your energy
Watch out for the launch of Her Way Society at the end of June, it's an exclusive monthly membership for women who are looking to finally launch their own business! Make sure to sign up from June 27th to July 3rd, it's just open for a 7-day window and get exclusive benefits for being the one of the firsts to sign up. Don't miss it!

Learn more at http://shediditherwaypodcast.com/herwaysociety

SDH 262: The Importance of the Journey on the Way to Achievement with Lori Harder May 21, 2018

Have you felt like throwing in the towel lately? Well, entrepreneurship is a journey and most journeys have roadblocks, bumps, stops and gos. But what do you tap into when you face these challenges on the way to what you know you're able to achieve?

Today’s guest, Lori Harder, has faced challenges in her career as a leading expert in fitness, transformational work, mindfulness and self-love—but that didn’t stop her from growing two multi-million dollar businesses as an entrepreneur and networking marketing professional.

So what’s stopping you?

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL:

Identify where to tap into when you feel like throwing in the towel

Why we need to demystify what the journey appears to be

Understand why entrepreneurs, especially, need a tribe

Discover where energy comes from and how to uplift it as an entrepreneur

Recognize why you should be grateful for your rock bottom

Hear examples of abundance mindset moments can change your life

INSIGHTS:

“What we see now on social media and what we think the journey is supposed to look and feel like, completely different than what the journey actually is.” Lori Harder

“If we’re not actually trying to make the connections and relationships while making sure we are doing the things that are fulfilling to us; you exhaust yourself, because we’re not meant to do it on our own.” Lori Harder

“Instead of saying ‘that’s too expensive’ I’d say, ‘how can I get bigger than this problem.” Lori Harder

“For real, we can do anything that we want and the only limit is us.” Lori Harder

RESOURCES:

Zoom

“A Tribe Called Bliss” by Lori Harder

Lori’s Website

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SDH 221: Secrets Behind Running Million Dollar Businesses with Amanda Goolsby

SDH 247: How to Unleash Your Unstoppable Success Money Mindset with Mandy Gibbons

SDH 260: How to Overcome Your Inner Critic with Amber Rae

SDH 261: 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Making The Leap from Full-time Corporate to Entrepreneurship with Amanda Boleyn May 17, 2018

Today's solocast is something near and dear to me, and I guess the same goes for you too! In this episode, we'll talk about the 6 Mistakes to avoid when making the leap from full-time Corporate to full-time Entrepreneurship. I want to shed some light on the experience before taking the leap and making the land.

In this episode you will...

Here about my entrepreneurship story
Learn about my corporate job before making the leap
Discover the importance of making connections
The importance of making a timeline
Learn the importance of identifying your target audience
Discover the benefits of market research
Tune in to learn more! Make sure to follow me on Instagram, which I'm super active or join the Her Way Community on Facebook. Watch out for the launch of Her Way Society at the end of June, it's an exclusive monthly membership for women who are looking to finally launch their own business! Make sure to sign up from June 27th to July 3rd, it's just open for a 7-day window and get exclusive benefits for being the one of the first to sign up. Don't miss it!

Learn more at http://shediditherwaypodcast.com/herwaysociety

RESOURCES:

SDH Instagram
Her Way Community
Her Way Society

SDH 260: How to Overcome Your Inner Critic with Amber Rae May 14, 2018

Have you noticed this inner nagging critic that just won’t shut up? Do you wonder where it comes from and why it won’t leave you alone? Maybe on the outside, your life and business seem to spell out success, but on the inside, you’re truly unhappy and your inner critic has control of the wheel?

Today’s guest, Amber Rae, noticed her nagging inner critic and one day realized she was done listening to her for good. Amber is an author, artist, and speaker whose work encourages you to live your truth, befriend your emotions and express your gifts. Hear how she stopped her inner critic, as well as share practices to take down emotional blocks holding you back.

In this episode you will...

Hear how she ended up as one of seven of Seth Godin’s team for his first publishing company
Realize the beauty of not having a plan sometimes
Understand why the emotional block is the biggest thing holding you back
Discover the difference between “toxic” and “useful” worry
Learn a practice on how to address worry
Know why we all have this fear of scarcity and not-enoughness and how to combat it

INSIGHTS:

“The traditional path of success that I thought I was supposed to follow, that I thought everyone else wanted me to follow, wasn’t true for me.” -Amber Rae

“When we’ve landed on that right choice, there's still a little bit of fear of course, but there’s this opening, this expansiveness, this sense of life.” -Amber Rae

“Fear is actually love in disguise.” - Amber Rae

RESOURCES:

Choose Wander Over Worry Website

Amber Rae Twitter

Amber Rae Instagram

Ikigai

Upper Limit

The Desire Map

SDH 259: Learn How to Quit Your Job and Double Your Corporate Income in 30 Days with Abbey Ashley May 10, 2018

Do you have a service-based business and wonder the best ways to market? Where do you even start? Have you ever thought about creating an online course? Would you think about creating one if you could make 8k in one week?

Today’s Lady Boss, Abbey Ashley, took the leap and started her VA business in 2012 while on maternity leave. After feeling the fabulous freedom of entrepreneurship, she used her passion and skills as a VA to create the Virtual Savvy and help other VAs start their own business. Tune in as she answers some of these questions and provides even more savvy solutions.

In this episode you will...

Learn how to market your services

Discover how to use Pinterest in your marketing funnel

Understand why building an email list at the beginning is crucial

Know how to make a course

Hear what’s on her routine checklist

Value “niching down” and asking what your audience wants

INSIGHTS:

“I wouldn’t wait until everything is perfect until you have a perfect idea, the perfect product to start building an audience, because believe it or not people will just want to learn from you.”

“It’s amazing what will happen when you just start talking to the people you already know.”

“If you can get really specific and move them significantly from one point to another, then your course is a success.”

RESOURCES:

Meetup Website

Trello

Boss Mom Podcast

Systems Saved Me Podcast

The Femtrepreneur Podcast

“Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz

The Virtual Savvy Website

SDH 258: How to Own Your Mindset and Create Abundance with Molly Sapp May 07, 2018

Today’s guest Molly Sapp, is a mindset strategist who offers mindset advice and strategies to high-performance women—so they can break through blocks, ranging anywhere from health, and romance to client interactions. Listen in on her journey, while you gain the tools and tips to strengthen your mindset and business.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL:

Discover how to become laser focused on a manifestation mindset

Hear 5 money blocks that stop you from going to the next level

Know the importance of creating space for receiving

Understand how to recognize triggers

Learn what a mindset coach does and the value from working with one

Uncover how to move past the fear of what others think

INSIGHTS:

“You have to believe what you want and it’s all in your mind.” Molly Sapp

“Receiving is the finish line. It’s the state of going from broke to wealthy.” Molly Sapp

“It’s a hell of a lot easier for you to just give, it takes way more strength standing in the power of love to receive.” Molly Sapp

RESOURCES:

Molly Sapp’s Website

Molly Sapp’s Facebook Group

“You Can Heal Your Life” by Louise Hay

“Chakras and Their Archetypes Uniting Energy, Awareness, and Spiritual Growth” by Ambika Wauters

Grant Cardone

SDH 257: 5 Money Blocks Keeping You From Reaching Your Financial Goals with Amanda Boleyn May 03, 2018

Today we are talking about my experience in going through a money mindset boot camp with Molly Sapp, which she's also coming to the show next Monday! This solocast is one that is very personal and could be the most vulnerable one to date since I will be talking about money.

In this solocast I want to be completely honest and frank. When I first heard of the money mindset bootcamp through a friend, I was a little turned off, which in the later part of the bootcamp turned out to be a belief that stemmed from the early days of my childhood. Since this friend, whom someone I respect and value her opinion, shared some of the great things about the bootcamp, I knew it was worth keeping an open mind. I am hoping that my experience can also create an environment that you can relate and shed a light on some money issues.

In this episode you will...

Hear about my early childhood
Learn what causes money-block 
Discover the factors that block abundance from coming in
Learn that your emotion and energy can affect your money flow

To some of us, discussing the topic about money might be a taboo thing. which in this episode I wanted to bring some things to light and share experiences in hopes that if it resonates with you that it can be helpful, even if this just piques your interest about wanting to learn more about your own money stories. I want to share this in a way that is encouraging for wherever you may be when it comes to your relationship with money. Make sure you tune in for more!

SDH 256: Build Something You Believe In with Ariel Kaye Apr 30, 2018

Are you ready to build something you believe in? Was there a point in your corporate career when you knew you had to take the leap? Are you at that point now? You know it’s going to be an emotional journey, a tough transition, but you also know it’s what you need to make a bigger impact and fulfill your purpose.

You’re not alone, lady boss.

Today’s guest— Ariel Kaye—is the Founder and CEO of Parachute, a home essential brand based in Venice beach. Tune in to hear how she went from brand development and advertising in New York to fulfill consumers’ needs for high-quality bedding and a good night’s sleep with Parachute.

In this episode you will...

Discover the qualities of a successful brand

Know why understanding and growing with your consumer is key

Hear about the first three months after the leap

Understand the benefits of investing in a publicist

Learn about raising capital

Dive into three actionable items for new business owners

INSIGHTS:

“You gotta put it all on the table because no one else is.” Ariel Kaye

“It’s important to follow your gut because the business is coming from you; so there’s going to be things that you know best.” Ariel Kaye

“Being positive, solution-minded and focusing on the big picture, is going to be helpful in order to move forward.” Ariel Kaye

RESOURCES:

Ariel’s Instagram

Parachute Website

Parachute Instagram

Parachute Facebook

Parachute Pinterest

SDH 255: How to Effectively Implement Profit First When Starting Out with Amanda Boleyn Apr 26, 2018

Hi guys!

Today I am going to be diving into how to effectively implement Profit First when starting out.

Let's talk about the Profit First Method, Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, a book written by Mike Michalowicz, this book completely changed the way that I manage cash flow in my business. I wish I had this at the beginning of my business even as a freelancer. When your income fluctuates so much from month to month, it's difficult to be able to manage that cash flow to create consistency within the business so there are no surprises. The premise of it is to help you build profits in your business.

Key things:

Setting up different bank accounts for your business
Using percentage to determine cash flow in your account
Determine your monthly expenses
Separate business from personal expenses
Bookkeeping
Tune in to hear more about how this book can help you with your cash flow, even if you are just starting your business, you are a freelancer or if you are in the middle of your business and need help with managing your cash flow!

RESOURCES

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

SDH 254: How to Keep Your Business Simple with Summer Felix Apr 23, 2018

What should you do in the early stages of your business to have successful growth? How much should you be launching? When should you outsource?

Today’s guest, Summer Felix, is the Founder of Draw Shop and shares her experience answering these questions as she built her business nine years ago. Draw Shop offers full-service animation videos ranging from motion stop to VR, and are known for their stellar whiteboard animation videos.

In this episode you will...

Dive into the early days of building a business

Understand the positives of launching often during the start of your business

See why keeping it simple works for your audience

Discover why scheduling and sticking to it helps you stay accountable to important tasks

Learn why trusting people to outsource is beneficial

Hear about segmenting and connecting with an audience

INSIGHTS:

“You never stop learning and you never stop improving your processes.” Summer Felix

“I’ve never had something really good come from judging somebody else, but I’ve always had something good when I seek to understand.” Summer Felix

“We have expectations of something but it doesn’t always add up to exactly what you think it’s going to be, it might be something different and that’s OK.” Summer Felix

RESOURCES

The Draw Shop Website

Summer's Website

Summer’s Facebook

Summer’s LinkedIn

Summer’s Twitter

Get Leverage

The Strategic Coach

“High Performance Habits”by Brendon Burchard

“Ask” by Ryan Levesque

“The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” by Deepak Chopra

“Four Agreements” by Don Miguel

SDH 253: 6 Ways to Enhance Your Morning Routine with Amanda Boleyn Apr 19, 2018

Hi guys!

In this episode, I am sharing the 6 Ways to Enhance Your Morning Routine.

Having a morning routine, which doesn't have to be an hour long or 30 minutes long, it can even be just 5 minutes, is extremely important in priming for peak performance throughout your day!

Find out the best morning routine that works for you and take these 6 simple steps to enhance your routine, tune in!

SDH 252: Overcoming Resistance When It's Time to Leap with Danielle Robay Apr 16, 2018

How far would you go to follow your dreams? Would you live in your grandparents’ friend’s garage for a bit? How do you put yourself out there and overcome fear to get what you want?

Today’s guest, Danielle Robay, has used her tenacity to not only follow her dreams but make them happen. She is a journalist, TV host—the youngest in Chicago—and has even worked the red carpet in Los Angeles.

In today’s episode you will:

Identify moments of fear and how to overcome them

Hear the benefits of meeting people in person versus email

Understand the resistance met when it’s your decision to make the leap

Learn about nervous energy and ways to combat it

Know the importance of enjoying the day-to-day

Discover how to feel comfortable putting yourself out there

INSIGHTS:

“You don’t lose by going for it… You either learn in the process or meet cool people that circle back at another time. You always win by just going for it.” Danielle Robay

“I’ve never let fear stop me from making a fool out of myself.” Danielle Robay

“I think reading is the key to life.” Danielle Robay

“It never ceases to amaze me we all love ourselves more than other people but care more about their opinion than our own” -Marcus Aurelius

RESOURCES:

-Danielle's Facebook

-Danielle's Website

-Danielle's Instagram

-Abraham Hicks

-Laura Sage Co-founder of Chill

“Beauty Sick” Dr Renee Engeln
“The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships” by Neil Strauss

SDH 251: 3 Foundational Things to Do When Starting Your Business with Lori and Elise Lefcourt Apr 12, 2018

What stage are you on your entrepreneurial journey? Have you taken the leap or are you still in corporate America? Do you have a business partner on a different stage of the journey as you? What are some important practices you can follow to ensure you’re heading your business in the right direction?

Today’s guests' combination is a first for the show-- two sisters and business partners on different stages of their entrepreneurial journey. Elise and Lori Lefcourt created Unicreamer, a protein creamer to help busy women control hunger throughout the day as well as serve as an alternative to animal protein. Turn up the volume and listen to how their two unique stories merge into one natural, vegan business.

In this episode you will:

Hear sacrifices needed for entrepreneurship

Uncover three foundational things to do when starting your business

Know why you need to network

See what they learned about trust during the beginning of their business

Understand why working with family can be tricky and the best thing

Learn what they wish they could outsource

INSIGHTS:

“I am one of those people that I was born to be an entrepreneur. I’ve had all these crazy ideas, I think have 50 ideas that go through my brain a day.” Lori

“I think one of the hardest things that people go through when starting a business is where do you even start?” Lori

“If you feel like you don’t know anything about how to run a business, obviously research is huge and possibly finding a free internship of a company that you can actually work for so you can see the inner workings of how a startup works...if you don’t have the time to go all day and sit behind somebody and watch, I’d say sacrifice that night time instead of watching movies and TV shows do some research and listen to podcast of people who already did it.” Lori

“It’s crazy how many people will actually help you when they see that you’re executing and actually doing something.” Lori

“When I jumped into this, I jumped in with not a whole lot of savings but with all the knowledge and connections I had with networking to make this a successful business and actually start.” Lori

“I think we believe in the product so much that we won’t let ourselves fail at this.” Elise

“When we first started it was kind of a mess, you just have to kind of fail forward and be all over the place-- it’s like a beautiful mess I guess and then it kind of all comes together” Lori

“Something I think has really worked for us is being authentic and putting out stuff that we actually like and love, especially on social media and Instagram there are so many people these days that are all kind of doing the same exact thing to get these followers, for us it was really about staying true to ourselves and our brand.” Elise

“Our original target market was millennials, and it still us, but we’re also learning there is an older crowd of women that are also very interested in our product; that we hadn’t considered before. We will definitely look into tailoring our business to them as well.” Elise

“I always practice gratitude, almost every single day whether it’s in my mind or before I go to bed.” Lori

“I make sure to make time also for the people that are important in my life, my friends, my family, make sure I give enough time for my dog.” Elise

RESOURCES:

Unicreamer Website

Unicreamer Instagram

Unicreamer Facebook

“You are a bad ass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero

SDH 250: 5 Ways I Work Through the Social Media Overwhelm with Amanda Boleyn Apr 09, 2018

Hi guys!

In today's episode, I'm sharing the 5 ways I work through social media overwhelm.

We’ve all been there. We open up any one of our social media apps, let’s take Instagram for example. We only plan to be on there for a few minutes but even within the few minutes we find ourselves consumed with other people’s content - content that makes us laugh inspires and truthfully sometimes can make us anxious.

Or maybe I’m the only one?

While social media is an amazing tool to help grow, connect and inspire others whether we’re a business brand or personal brand, it can get a little overwhelming at times. We tend to create these stories in our minds about how great and amazing someone else’s life/business is. “Look at her, she has it all together, everything is perfect.” “What is she doing that I’m not?” “Why isn’t my business “working?” “I should be further along.” “Oh shoot. Maybe I should be doing that technique on my platform as well.”

Tune into to hear 5 ways I work through social media overwhelm.

SDH 249: How to Generate Sales Through Authenticity with Amy Zitelman Apr 05, 2018

What's your biggest struggle with your business? Is it managing cash flow? Is it customer related? How do you educate customers about your product or service and what's the best way to communicate with them and get feedback to foster authentic relationships? Maybe it's a combination of these questions, and you want to make yourself known in the market.

Today's guest and Tahini queen Amy Zitelman is the VP of Business Development and Co-Founder of the certified women-owned brand Soom Foods. Soom Foods speaks to the versatility of tahini by offering unique products and recipes to make tahini a staple food product in America. Tune in to hear how three sisters and one boyfriend developed a brand of love for food, family, and community.

In this episode you will…

Hear how her understanding of market and customer changed over five years

Learn ways to educate customers when your product isn’t well-known

Know about metrics of returning customers

Uncover the benefits of working with resellers on Amazon

Discover different ways to manage cash flow

Find out ways to stay focused during the day

INSIGHTS:

“I would say the lack of strategy created our strategy. Because once you go out there and realize what’s working and what’s not, it really helps define the strategy better than making these assumptions; because you have the product and it’s a real-life experience.” Amy Zitelman

“The challenge with selling to restaurants is you need several restaurants to want to buy your product or already be buying your product before a distributor will pick it up. That involves not only selling to the restaurant but delivering to it.” Amy Zitelman

“I’d say that was one of the biggest challenges at first, the operations and the supply chain, just doing it easier. It was not easy at first.” Amy Zitelman

“What we’ve been trying to prove for the past five years is that tahini is good for more than just hummus.” Amy Zitelman

“Restaurants influence retail these days.” Amy Zitelman

“What's amazing about the restaurant industry, and especially chefs these days, is that they’re celebrities and that kind of was brought into a wider scope of just finding the influencer for your product.” Amy Zitelman

“At the end of the day the best thing that’s ever influenced our online sales has been traditional press.” Amy Zitelman

“Our main goal is to create sincere relationships with people...Our press has been organic and it really led to our success. It’s the only thing we have been able to see a significant return on investment from.” Amy Zitelman

“The best ways we’ve been able to generate sales is through authentic relationships.” Amy Zitelman

“What's really great about these resellers are these are people that really understand the algorithms and ways to make Amazon more successful for a company, much more than we could’ve by just having the product up and hoping people would search for it.” Amy Zitelman

“After the first three years we went back and we looked at where we were spending our money and we projected out our budget based on experience.” Amy Zitelman

“Take a deep look at what is the most important thing for you to do to get more business and invest in that heavily.” Amy Zitelman

RESOURCES:

Soom Foods Website

Soom Foods Facebook

Soom Foods Instagram

Soom Foods Twitter

Soom Foods Pinterest

“Presence” by Amy Cuddy

248: Listen, Learn and Leap with Eileen Gittins Apr 02, 2018

Is there a pain point or question that you’ve been meaning to solve with your business? What if there is competition around your idea? How do you succeed at marketing when your beginning budget isn’t big enough?

Today’s guest Eileen Gittins, Co-Founder, and CEO of BossyGrl learned the answer to these questions and more on her multilayered entrepreneurial journey. BossyGrl is a new groundbreaking platform enabling female entrepreneurs to create and grow real e-commerce businesses. Her team and she are on a mission to change the current state of gender inequality in the workplace by helping Gen Z girls develop real-world business skills, confidence, and experience. Did I mention that she’s founded multiple tech companies including the well-known self-publishing company Blurb?!

In today’s episode you will…

See why girls should participate on sports teams to learn about entrepreneurship

Discover why competition around your good idea isn’t a bad thing

Know when, to be honest with yourself and move on in your journey

Understand the difference between being competent at a job versus being the right person

Find out what to do when your starting marketing budget is low

Learn the value of communicating directly with customers

INSIGHTS:

“There’s something in those life lessons learned early, not in an academic context, in a team and sports context.” Eileen Gittins

“I was in e-commerce at the very beginning and built tools that enabled marketers to understand who were coming to their websites and how they were behaving; it was sort of behavioral segmentation so they could do a better job of designing the web experience.” Eileen Gittins

“The whole idea behind Blurb started with personal pain.” Eileen Gittins

“When you have a good idea, an idea whose time has come, where it’s sort of the confluence of a lot of different things coming together to create a business or market opportunity, you’re probably not the only one who sees it...that’s not a reason to stop, in fact you can actually leverage that.” Eileen Gittins

“Honestly, I am an entrepreneur. I love creating things from nothing. I love seeing an opportunity that I am passionate about. I’m very mission-driven in that way and if it’s something that really captures my imagination, I am just itching to go and do another one.” Eileen Gittins

“I was itching to do something new, itching for another problem to solve. I got honest with myself and that’s very hard to do, especially having a long career and being CEO many times, was I actually the best person to be running Blurb at that time? Were my skill sets the best attuned to really scale the company operationally and make it more efficient?” Eileen Gittins

“When you’re decent at things you can do—a lot of things—it doesn’t mean you love them, it doesn’t mean you’re the best at it and it doesn’t mean it’s the best thing for your business.” Eileen Gittins

“In a world where you are starting a business and have no money for marketing, you have to become a chief storyteller, get your butt out there and figure out how you are going to drive media coverage. Your job is to get the word out leveraging all the channels you have.” Eileen Gittins

“Even though our place of business was digital people want to know who is behind the screen; the more you can humanize your business in that way, the more people become attached to your brand and they tell their friends about you.” Eileen Gittins

“Find ways to engage your customers and get them to share your story for you.” Eileen Gittins

“93% of all early-stage funding dollars in 2015 went to 100% male teams.” Eileen Gittins

“If we could get young girls and women to actually learn how to be an entrepreneur by being one, then by the time they enter the workforce they would be entering the workforce with a skillset, confidence and the language of business and that would make it harder for people to dismiss them.” Eileen Gittins

RESOURCES:

BossyGrl Website

Eileen’s Twitter

Eileen LinkedIn

“Made to Stick” by Chip Heath

Blurb

SDH 247: How to Unleash Your Unstoppable Success Mindset with Mandy Gibbons Mar 29, 2018

Do you ever feel like something is holding you back from getting what you want? Do you struggle to find alignment in your personal and professional life? Are you afraid of digging deep and transforming?

Today’s guest, Mandy Gibbons, is a mind and transformation coach for soul driven 6 and 7 figure influencers, visionary leaders, and changemakers ready for liberation. Not only does she help her clients solve some of these questions, but she has also overcome them on her own inspiring journey.

In this episode you will…

Uncover why Mandy is a Hell Yes Liberator

Know the power of manifestation

Hear why you should set an alarm to check your energy

Understand why alignment is important for yourself and business

See new ways to implement learning

Discover how to deal with what’s holding you back

INSIGHTS:

“Any area where you find you’re having any struggles, to be able to have abundance and to feel incredible in all those areas means you're going to be a lot more successful, feel incredible and have a lot more holistic approach to business.” Mandy Gibbons

“The really solo lines seven figure and seven figure plus earners just know themselves. They’re not afraid to transform internally in a really massive way.” Mandy Gibbons

“When you don’t feel right with what you’re doing, when you don’t feel alignment with what you’re doing, it causes havoc.” Mandy Gibbons

“If you’re telling yourself you don’t have anything holding you back, you’re in denial.” Mandy Gibbons

“Whatever it is that you want, you need to step into it right freaking now. Get very clear on where you want to be how you want to be feeling right now, think about you already being in that place and live it, breathe it every single day.” Mandy Gibbons

“We can convince ourselves of whatever we want to. If we choose to.” Mandy Gibbons

“I tap into people’s energy who are operating at a higher level frequency than I am, whether it’s their videos or their training, I sit there and download so much awesomeness from them. Whatever they’ve learned I just take it all in and absorb it.” Mandy Gibbons

“Anything new that I learn...I’ll usually implement it for a good month and then I’ll go ‘OK then, how do I times this by 100 and accelerate the process for myself and for my clients?” Mandy Gibbons

“When you are very much in alignment with your soul, what you want, and the direction you want to go in, everything falls into place when you’re operating at a frequency that you feel incredible about...if you tap into that then you know that you’re making the right decisions because you know what’s in alignment with you and you know what’s not. It’s as simple as that. If it doesn’t feel good, if it doesn't feel like it’s in alignment then you just don’t do it. On to the next thing.” Mandy Gibbons

RESOURCES:

Mandy's Website

Mandy's Facebook

Mandy’s Instagram

Marci Lock

Marisa Peer

SDH 246: Understand the Entrepreneurial Roller Coaster with Ali Boone Mar 26, 2018

Are you riding the exciting and terrifying roller coaster of entrepreneurship? Do you have end goals you want to achieve? Maybe you wonder what cash flow mindset is right for you?

Today’s guest, Ali Boone, is the founder of Hipster Investments where she buffers real estate investments and matches buyers and sellers. She also writes for a real estate investment website. Did I mention she started off as an aerospace engineer with a master's degree in spiritual psychology?

In this episode you will:

Value time and figure out when to give work to someone else

Discover Ali’s Cash flow mindset

Know the dangers of an end goal mentality

Discover how experiments with your mind take away stress

Understand the importance of the entrepreneur roller coaster

Hear the value of having a mentor

INSIGHTS:

“I kind of consider myself a mix of a glorified matchmaker and an emotional support animal.” Ali Boone

“At some point, something would become clear to me, that I was spending too much time on something I could get someone else to do.” Ali Boone

“Marketing kind of makes me want to run full speed into a wall...”Ali Boone

“From the cash flow perspective, I kind of still have that same mentality of I only look at the day to day, like what can I be doing today to help me tomorrow. If I look anywhere past today, I’ll end up stressed out to a point where I become dysfunctional.” Ali Boone

“I’ve had 173 business ideas and only one of them worked. And with this one, the difference between that one and every other one that I said, is with those I already started with the end goals.” Ali Boone

“I don’t know how much money I am making this month or next month but all I can do is the absolute best I can do now and then evaluate later.” Ali Boone

“If you’re going to go the entrepreneur route, you will be tested.” Ali Boone

“We can observe our minds, we can watch ourselves, we can see what’s happening but there's also the times when our human psyche kicks in and it’s full blown panic. Even if I know what’s happening I can’t stop this, in those moments I think it’s so important to have somebody to bring you off a cliff.” Ali Boone

“I hear so many people who have a trade or a technical skill, or something and they want to make a business out of it and they don’t realize that being a business owner is a completely different skill set and task set than the technical thing they are providing.” Ali Boone

Resources:

Hipster Investments

Ali Boone Linkedin

“Crushing it” by Gary Vaynerchuk

“The E-myth Revisited” by Michael E. Gerber

SDH 245: What to do in the Pre-Launch Phase Lindsey Andrews & Lara Crystal Mar 22, 2018

Are you constantly thinking of new ideas with your entrepreneurial spirit? Did you finally find the one special idea that you knew you had to create? Maybe you’re ready to raise funds, build your foundation and get ready for a launch?

Today’s guests—yes we have double the lady boss power—are the founders of Minibar Delivery, Lindsey Andrews and Lara Crystal. They offer a better way to shop for wine, beer and liquor, connecting consumers to local liquor stores and vineyards with delivery of alcohol straight to their doorstep.

In this episode you will…

Understand why respect and trust is needed with a work partner

Gain important components when launching business at early stages

Hear about the process of raising funds

Learn the difference between ‘up’ and ‘down’ round

Know what to keep in mind during pre-launch phase

Discover the importance of a strong foundation

INSIGHTS:

“Most of the new features we’ve launched, even since starting minibar delivery , have come from customer requests or customer research so that’s a super important component to launching a business at the early stages.”

“I think when we started we thought success in fundraising was getting the most money at the highest valuation and I think we know learned that’s not the best way to do it, instead you want to have a reasonable valuation to make sure you have a good exit for your investors as well as in subsequent rounds you can have up rounds and you’re not at risk for having a down round.”

“We really tried to be conservative at how much we’re raising at what valuations, and we’ve really tried to run a lean ship that could be a great long-term company that we’re not growing for growth sake, but growing smartly and rising.”

“You really have to understand your business and your vision and the right investors will follow.”

“What you think is what consumers want, isn't necessarily what consumer want and you really have to put it in their hands to learn where the issues are or what parts of it they absolutely love.”

“We had to get comfortable putting stuff out there that wasn’t perfect and learning, testing, breaking and fixing it and building it better.”

“We’re always learning on our feet, and that still happens today even four plus years in.”

“Do what you love because as fun as it is to create a startup, especially with your best friend, you’re in it for a long time.”

RESOURCES:

Minibar Delivery Website

Minibar Delivery Facebook

Minibar Delivery Twitter

Minibar Delivery Instagram

“The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni

“The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry” by Gabrielle Zevin

“The Hard Things About Hard Things” by Ben Horowitz

“Civilization: The West and the Rest” by Niall Ferguson

SDH 244: Don't Make this Social Media Mistake with Stacey Harris Mar 19, 2018

Did you turn your ‘hobby’ into a business? Have you battled with staying true to who you are, while trying to make your brand successful? Are you overwhelmed with the white noise on social and want to break through it to reach your customers?

Today’s guest, Stacey Harris, is a social media strategist, teacher, podcast host and speaker who has faced these same challenges. Stacey focuses on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of social media, cutting through the noise and producing results. Tune in to hear how her ‘hobby’ turned into her social media brand and learn how to incorporate some of her savvy, social expertise into your business.

In this episode you will…

Know when to have a self-heart-to-heart if your business isn’t aligned with you
Discover the three questions to ask during any point of your social media journey
Hear the biggest social media mistake you don’t want to make
Uncover the answer to ‘when is the best time to post?’
Learn about trends in paid advertising
Understand the importance of a segmented audience
QUOTES:

“It just kept growing, because I didn’t really put any sort of limits on it. I just kept getting new clients or expanding my clients’ packages or engagements with me.” Stacey Harris

“I had really come to embrace the freedom that having an actual structured business allowed me to have.” Stacey Harris

“I had built this really fantastic brand, that was doing quite well. I had a full client load. I was working a crazy amount. It was in every way successful on paper and I hated it...I decided to do something crazy, really shift my brand and be myself.” Stacey Harris

“I think where we see social going, I think this is evident even in content and the rise of podcast and video popularity, is acting like a human. Even if your brand is a company brand, and you’re not a personal brand, it has a personality. And I think showing up in a way that’s real to that and having actual conversations, not just one-way sales pitches, will differentiate you very quickly.” Stacey Harris

“It’s got to be key that you’re not just broadcasting to people anymore, you’re leading conversations, community growth, and engagement.” Stacey Harris

“When you’re trying to talk to everyone, everywhere and be everything for them, you tend to just contribute to the white noise of the news feed...whereas when you show up with a clear picture of who you’re talking to, what you’re saying and how you deliver content, you’re going to break through and connect with the right person.” Stacey Harris

“We all have the same job, to get our clients from problem to solution.” Stacey Harris

“The best way to figure out what’s going to work for you is to look at the data you already have. You know those Facebook insights and Google analytics, and all that stuff that’s available to you? Start reading those, because that will tell you the answer.” Stacey Harris

“For me, the big thing right now with paid advertising is it is really no longer optional. Especially with the Facebook algorithm change that just happened, some kind of budget has to be involved in your Facebook time. But also remember that Facebook isn’t always the best option.” Stacey Harris

“Figuring out what makes sense to you and then figuring out your budget is going to be really key. The really good news is it’s literally never been cheaper to run paid marketing.” Stacey Harris

“I think it’s going to be more important than ever in the next couple of years that we not just target the right audience, but also we pay attention to what we put in front of them.” Stacey Harris

RESOURCES:

Stacey Harris Website

Stacey Harris Twitter

Hit the Mic Backstage website

Tru Conversion

Lucky Orange

eClincher

The Great Gatsby by Scott Fitzgerald

Gary Vaynerchuk

SDH243: How to Bounce Back with Only $400 in Your Business Account with Christina Stembel Mar 15, 2018

Does growth sound like an exciting business goal? How about a little scary and overwhelming too? Do you need to raise capital to achieve this level of exponential growth? When do you reach that step and what are the hurdles you’re going to have to leap over?

Today’s guest, Christina Stembel, founder and CEO of Farmgirl Flowers is all about that 100% growth. Farmgirl Flowers is direct to consumer e-commerce flower company, offering designer quality arrangements at the same generic e-commerce prices. It achieves this price by providing a few curated flower options that reduce the choice for consumers and the amount of waste.

In this episode, you will…

Gain the tactical tools to reach the same level of exponential growth
Understand the benefits of focus groups
Hear how Christina bounced back from $411 in her business account
Develop ways to remain authentic, while scaling your company
Know why having culture is crucial for success
Learn why it’s hard for women to raise capital

INSIGHTS:

“I was that person who drove everyone nuts with a different business idea every week, sometimes every day. I had an idea notebook with me at all times and I would really annoy all my friends and family. Every girls’ night would turn into a beta testing night.” Christina Stembel

“Look at what the market size is and see what your potential is within that market, how much share you can take from other people or grow a new category in something.” Christina Stembel

“Amazon, with their prime, is really changing the way consumers purchase online a lot, where they just assume shipping should be free...”Christina Stembel

“I’m very big into getting your minimum viable product out there. I knew I needed to stop talking about shipping and just do it.” Christina Stembel

“I think the worry of money, not having money and constantly the struggle of not running out of money actually made us healthier. Because I know every dime that we spend at the company; I still do. This is going to be the hardest point for me, to give up some control of, as we continue to grow.” Christina Stembel

“Financial knowledge, being really aware of what you’re spending money on, and your responsibility to your team is really big.” Christina Stembel

“Less than 2% of all capital goes to women-owned businesses. I love stats. I love numbers. I don’t think you can argue with numbers. People try and say ‘oh, it’s just because women aren’t starting businesses as often' that’s not true; over 50% of all new business are started by women.” Christina Stembel

“I pitched over 30 companies back then and all of my male counterpoints were able to get funding, pre revenue or with far less revenue numbers than us. And the only difference is that they had a pedigree and that they’re male.” Christina Stembel

“I was fighting hard to help save an industry that didn’t necessarily want to be saved by me.” Christina Stembel

“I’m getting beat up a lot in the flower industry right now for just stating what’s going on, but as a person I believe if you sweep things under the carpet, nothing is going to change. So I just want to be real about it, because I want to see change.”Christina Stembel

“I put a lot of thought into the company as far as what benefits are we providing, what’s our pay, how can we make sure we’re providing good jobs and I thought that was enough. But it wasn’t enough, because I didn’t put any energy into our culture and it hit a breaking point.” Christina Stembel

RESOURCES

Farmgirl Flowers Pinterest

Farmgirl Flowers Facebook

Farmgirl Flowers Instagram

Farmgirl Flowers Website

Farmgirl Flowers Twitter

Netflix Culture Deck

Lean Startup by Eric Ries

Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

Brené Brown

Braving the Wilderness Brené Brown

SDH 242: How to Keep it Simple When You Make the Leap with Natalie Ellis Mar 12, 2018

Are you looking to build a community around your brand or product? Are you curious about creating a marketing strategy that you can monetize? Where do you even look to gain conversions online and what are the important factors to remember for its success?

Today’s lady boss is the CEO of Boss Babe. Boss Babe is a lifestyle brand that brings together a community of ambitious millennial business-minded women and teaches them how to take responsibility for their lives by putting their happiness first. Even before Boss Babe, Natalie's entrepreneurial journey already began. She founded her first company, Oh My Glow at age 21, knowing that she would not find fulfillment in a corporation.

In this episode you will:

Know the importance of keeping it simple during your first leap

See why listening to your community’s feedback is important

Uncover the importance of consistency and transparency online for your brand or business

Find out what’s a huge converter for Boss Babe

Hear how content converts differently on different social platforms

Acquire advice for managing books

INSIGHTS:

“I quickly realized being a female entrepreneur, just being an entrepreneur in generally can be the most lonely journey. It’s so terrifying you’re responsible for so much.” Natalie Ellis

“If you can cut down your hours of working elsewhere do it. Don’t be chasing the money here, chase the main goal.” Natalie Ellis

“Even if you want to offer a ton of products or a ton of services, start with one and do that one thing really well and start to grow it from there.” Natalie Ellis

“We combine Pinterest and Instagram to drive leads to our email list and we do most things via email. I find that to be a huge converter.” Natalie Ellis

“Our content has the ability to go viral if it’s in the right hands.” Natalie Ellis

“Don’t use the same content on each platform, maybe pick two or three platforms and drive them to one key place.” Natalie Ellis

“If you don’t live intentionally, how can you get so much done? How can you achieve your goals? How can you know what you’re working towards? Natalie Ellis

Resources:

Boss Babe Twitter

Boss Babe Instagram

Natalie’s Instagram

Natalie’s email: Natalie@bossbabe.me

Oh My Glow website

Brendon Burchard

“The Lean Startup” by Eric Ries

“Tribe of Mentors” by Tim Ferris

“High Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard

“Now is Your Chance” by Niyc Pidgeon

MailChimp

InfusionSoft

ConvertKit

Active Campaign

QuickBooks

Zero Financial

SDH 241: Don't Let Fear Get in the Way of Living Big Dreams with Amanda Franz Mar 08, 2018

You have a passion. Maybe it started as a side hustle and leaped into a full-time gig. You may have had fears taking the leap and you probably have just as many fears continuing your journey, staying true to your passion. How do I stay organized? What do I need to know about digital and how people find my business online? Where do I look to stay inspired? How can my business and I be 'big'?

Today’s guest, Amanda Franz, addresses these fears. Amanda is the founder, creative director and owner of Wide Eyes Paper Co. Boutique, a stationery, brand, and design studio that she started in 2012. It specializes in custom wedding stationery, offering a variety of printing methods and innovation that separates Wide Eyes Paper Co in a saturated market.

In this episode you will…

Learn how to stand out in the digital world
Acquire systems that keep the creative brain focused
Understand why passion and success coexist
See the importance of community
Know what managing inventory and cash flow with a product-based business looks like
Hear milestone moments in business
QUOTES:

“I really believe in sticking with what you’re good at, hiring people and outsourcing to do the rest. I strongly believe in collaboration and that’s how I run my business, especially when working with clients. I can’t stress it enough to them that I really want it to be a collaborative experience so we’re creating something together.” Amanda Franz

“I love being creative, but I also learned that I love being a businesswoman. I love numbers. I have a CPA, that’s one of the biggest things I’d recommend. It’s not a waste of money. It’s such a great investment.” Amanda Franz

“I feel like I have more control over my business when I understand money in and money out and that concept.” Amanda Franz

“I strategically think through ‘what’s going to be most important today?’ and lately, I’ve just not over-extended myself. Sometimes I try to do too much in one day and then I end up feeling drained and not as productive. I’m trying to tell myself, ‘hey, it’s OK that you only did these things today; that’s enough. And you also want to have space for the other amazing things in your life.” Amanda Franz

“Being an entrepreneur is one of the most lonely and isolating places to be. You’re not plugged into any community right away when you own a business. You have to put yourself out there constantly and find the people that you connect with.” Amanda Franz

“Passion and success coexist. If you have passion the success will eventually come. I am an example of it.” Amanda Franz

“You just start with what you know and what you love doing and don’t worry about what everyone else thinks...I think fear holds people back.” Amanda Franz

“My new mantra is, be courageous, try something new, what’s the worst that can happen?” Amanda Franz

“My biggest lesson is to keep going, find new ways to be inspired; it doesn’t need to be directly in your field. Go outside. Do something different.” Amanda Franz

“I’m sick of letting fear get in the way because I don’t want to live small. I want to show up in, whatever that looks like, and that means fighting for yourself everyday. DO the things that scare you.” Amanda Franz

RESOURCES:

-Second Street Creative

-Style Me Pretty

-Asana

-Quick Books

-Etsy

“Braving the Wilderness”

“High Performance Habits”

“How to Fight” by Thich Nhat Hanh

Wide Eyes Paper Co Instagram

Wide Eyes Paper Co Website

SDH240: How To Determine Which Social Media Outlet That's Right For Your Business with Rachel Hollis Mar 05, 2018

Do you ever feel like you can’t and don’t know what to do next? Maybe you’re unsure of how to shift your business in a saturated market? Or you’ve listened to experts on how to solve problems but your gut is telling you otherwise?

Today’s guest—Founder and CEO of Chic Media and The Chic Site, mother and author— Rachel Hollis faced similar questions while transitioning from a high-end event planner to a profit-making blogger. Rachel creates content for the affordable yet chic shopper, the cool but not fancy creator, the delicious but achievable chef.

In this episode you will…

Gain traction in terms of profit, not just notice
Understand why having a clear brand voice is crucial
Manage the challenges of content creation
Know which media to choose from your target audience’s message
Discover the importance of using search-friendly copy when posting on Youtube or Pinterest
Find out how to shift your business to a saturated market
QUOTES:

“I always like to remind women especially that nobody, not even an expert in their field, gets to tell you how big your dreams can be.” Rachel Hollis

“If I had listened to every single person, who were the experts, that first book would still be sitting on my computer and I don’t know if I’d be an author today.” Rachel Hollis

“The resources that we have available on the internet for free are unparalleled when it comes to building a company, producing creative...” Rachel Hollis

“You can control what happens next. You can arm yourself with the resources and the knowledge, and you can make smart choices to get you to the next step.” Rachel Hollis

“Anytime your market gets saturated like that, the price for you goes down.” Rachel Hollis

“The goal is not how many jobs you can do, the goal is how much you can make on individual jobs.” Rachel Hollis

“One of the best lessons I have learned in the history of my career, I think this applies to everybody listening no matter what it is you’re doing or what stage you are in on your process, is having a really clear brand voice.” Rachel Hollis

“If you know your niche and you can speak to a very specific market, well there are brands and products that want access to that specific person.” Rachel Hollis

“Instagram is the new blog. I would say that social media in a lot of ways is way more relevant because we as a society don’t tend to go to websites. We consume our media inside of a news feed that we watch on social media.” Rachel Hollis

“At the end of the day, no matter what business you’re in, your goal should be to offer more value than anyone else.” Rachel Hollis

“Every single thing I know about business, writing, life, I learned in books, on podcasts and a Google search bar. So I’m super passionate about reading as an entrepreneur; because anytime I am unsure of something I find a book or ten books until I can arm myself with that knowledge…” Rachel Hollis

“I feel like knowledge is courage for me, so whenever I am feeling unsure I read a book.” Rachel Hollis

RESOURCES:

The Chic Site

The Chic Site Facebook

Rachel Hollis Instagram

Rachel Hollis Twitter

Rachel Hollis Pinterest

“80/20 Principle” by Richard Koch

“High Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard

“The One Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan

“The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth: Live Them and Reach Your Potential” by John C. Maxwell

SDH 239: What You Can Expect At This Year’s Summit with the Summit Speakers Mar 01, 2018

Hey guys! Today’s episode I’m sitting down with the speakers to hear more about exactly what they’re covering at the summit and how it will provide value and be beneficial to you and your business.

Also, early bird tickets end on March 15th so don’t wait to snag your ticket!

www.shediditherwaysummit.com

SDH 238: High Performance Habits Part II with Amanda Boleyn Feb 26, 2018

Hey there!

Thanks for joining me again for another book review series of “High Performing Habits” by Brendon Burchard, a book on my 2018 reading list. Are you ready to discover the remaining three habits?

If you haven’t already unlocked the first three habits, or if you want a refresher, catch up on the first episode.

I’m SO pumped to continue this candid conversation on this important book. Plus, I have thrown in a little something extra towards the end of the show, the three biggest traps that prohibit you from being a high performer and how to NOT FALL INTO THEM.

Let’s embrace the struggle together.

In this episode you will:

Understand the #1 thing according to Brendon Burchard, that’s true for elevating your business and life

Know the importance of taking inventory of what you’re doing daily

Discover the definition of PQO and why it’s one of the greatest breakthroughs you can have in your life and business

Learn why we fail to ask for what we want and what could happen if we actually did

Understand why you should find comfort in uncomfortable moments

See how embracing the struggle is essential to growth

INSIGHTS:

“It’s not about the hours you spend. It’s about the harmony you feel while you are using those hours and the output you’re creating.” Amanda Boleyn

“Nothing is less productive than to make more efficient what should not be done at all.” Amanda Boleyn

“No matter your personality, you can develop more influence in the world than you probably imagine. And one reason people struggle to gain influence in their personal and professional lives is that they simply don’t ask for what they want.” Amanda Boleyn

“High performers don’t shy away from asking because they assume the best case scenario, and they assume that other people want to help them.” Amanda Boleyn

“It’s universally agreed that leaders who ask questions and get those around them to brainstorm the path ahead are more effective than dictator leaders who just push their demands and requests on others.” Amanda Boleyn

“Part of developing influence is challenging others around you to grow.” Amanda Boleyn

“Influencers challenge others in three realms: character, connection, and contribution.” Amanda Boleyn

“There’s something magical that happens in life when we let all the drama go and ask how we can be role models again for other people.” Amanda Boleyn

“Part of demonstrating courage is honoring our struggle, sharing our truth and ambitions and finding someone to fight for other than yourself.” Amanda Boleyn

“When we’re in those moments of struggle, really honoring and acknowledging that the struggle is our contrast for showing us what we want and what we don’t want in our lives and in our business.” Amanda Boleyn

“You need no permission to be on that tingling of hope that is in your soul. So don’t let criticisms sway you from your convictions and what you’re after in your life and in your business.” Amanda Boleyn

“When we create superiority and think we’re better than people we lose leadership, clarity, that connectedness. We lose everything that we just talked about in the 6 high-performance habits.” Amanda Boleyn

“If we can’t send satisfaction at the moment than it is difficult to feel connected or grateful for the moment. Being satisfied does not mean settling. It simply means accepting and taking pleasure in what is.” Amanda Boleyn

Resource:

Zig Ziglar Quote
High Performance Habits
Brendon's Website

SDH237: How Shifting Your Mindset Can 14X Your Business with Jenn Scalia Feb 22, 2018

Has there been a point in your business journey where you needed to shift your mindset? Maybe it hasn’t happened yet, but you’re ready to scale, make a bigger profit, launch something new? Do you have a savvy enough strategy for these changes?

Today’s guest, Jenn Scalia, is a visibility strategist and online business coach. She helps new and emerging entrepreneurs with the mindset and marketing to be authentically visible in business. Find out her smart strategies in our talk today.

In this episode you will…

Discover the difference between social media and marketing for a personal brand versus a business

Hear Jenn’s ‘Coming to Jesus Moment’ that led to her mindset shift

Gain tools to help grow your business and go all in

Understand how to find the right business coach

Learn how to scale

Find out new ways to prepare for a launch

INSIGHTS:

“The very first thing that needed to happen was this huge mindset shift that it wasn’t about me, it was about the people I needed to serve, about this bigger vision that I had for myself, my family and what I wanted to do in the world.” Jenn Scalia

“I let go of this ego I had, that it was all about me, what would people think about me...that’s the shift I had to make and once I started shifting into these people need me and my help, I started to get inspired.” Jenn Scalia

“I really had to reflect on what’s going on here and ‘are you really committed to this?’ I decided to actually go all in, even though I had previously thought I was going all in, but I really had to evaluate what I was actually doing on a daily basis to really make this work.” Jenn Scalia

“I think the mindset is kind of a big word and a buzz word, especially now in an entrepreneur space, but it’s so important. What it meant for me was a belief, it was a total belief in myself, that I could do it that I was worthy charging higher prices, making more money and also that I would know what to do with the money when I got it.” Jenn Scalia

“The experience of a group coaching, a lot of times is more impactful than one-on-one.” Jenn Scalia

“Finding the right team is crucial to be able to pick up those pieces as far as the back end stuff, the logistics, payments, failed payments, customer service, all that stuff you can’t do it by yourself.” Jenn Scalia

“Everything I do has to be complete, 100% inspired, the offers I come out with, when I launch them how I launch them, it has to feel good for me.” Jenn Scalia

“At the beginning of the year I kind of know what I want to launch, approximate dates I want to launch but I’m always open to things shifting and changing, and doing things a different way.” Jenn Scalia

“When I trust myself and when I just do things that feel really inspired, that’s when I get the best results, that’s when I get the most people signing up for my stuff.” Jenn Scalia

“Get the right mindset and the right mentor and you can accomplish anything.” Jenn Scalia

“I get really good response rates emails when I’m in the moment, and when I’m energetically aligned with the message that’s being sent.” Jenn Scalia

RESOURCES:

Jenn Scalia Website

Jenn Scalia Facebook

Jenn Scalia Twitter

Jenn Scalia Instagram

“Profit First”by Mike Michalowicz

“The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield

SDH236: Create Profits by Speaking to a Niche Audience with Maggie Lord Feb 19, 2018

Have you struggled to find the confidence to take the leap? Or maybe you’ve stretched your legs out and finally jumped into the next stage of entrepreneurship? Either way fears and questions race through your mind.

How big should my audience be? Will I be able to keep up with all of the cultural and technological changes? How do I stay true to myself and audience? How do I monetize my brand as efficiently as possible?

Today’s guest, Maggie Lord, has answers to these questions based on her experience as founder and editor of Rustic Wedding Chic and Rustic Wedding Guide. Maggie created a website and tools for brides ten years ago, before Pinterest and Instagram inspiration was even a concept, to provide a space for ideas, inspiration, and resources for brides looking for similar things she needed when planning her own wedding. She has published five books and soon to be six.

In this episode you will…

Understand the importance of speaking to a niche audience
See how working with advertisers and brands has changed
Discover the different ways of monetizing your brand
Master consistent methods for dealing with change
Hear about the power of flexibility within entrepreneurship
Acquire tips for yielding your biggest ROI

QUOTES:

“We didn’t really have a formal business plan but I knew what we needed to do to make X, Y, and Z to replace my salary.” Maggie Lord

“It was only me. We didn’t have a team of people. I didn’t have tech specialists. I didn’t have anyone helping me with social media. I wore every single hat in the company and I was very glad that I did; because now that we are a little bigger, I know how to do everything. I understand each part of the company, why it’s important and why it needs to be done a certain way.” Maggie Lord

“Focus on your niche and focus on how to really connect the most amount of people within that niche who really cares about it. Because you want strong consumers. You want strong readers. You want strong investors.” Maggie Lord

“We work really hard with our advertising team to make sure we are bringing content we feel our reader should know about, is going to care about, is going to add something to their wedding planning process.” Maggie Lord

“Things change. Your Google ranking is going to change. Your social media following is going to change and you can’t rely on one source. You need to be diversifying how you bring in your money to your company, and you need to be able to always know where you are going to go next so that when there’s a shift in the industry you can still monetize your brand.” Maggie Lord

“No matter what stage your business is in you need to be able to treat it with this sort of feeling of it’s already a business, whether it’s bringing in money or not. And if you treat it like a business, it’s going to be a successful business.” Maggie Lord

RESOURCES:

Coastal Living Magazine

Country Living Magazine

Maggie Lord’s Website

Rustic Wedding Chic Website

Rustic Wedding Chic Instagram

Rustic Wedding Chic Twitter

Rustic Wedding Chic Pinterest

Rustic Wedding Guide

Rustic Baby Chic

Style Me Pretty Website

SDH235: Learn to Follow Your Intuition as a Business Owner with Karen Behnke Feb 15, 2018

Where do you begin to create an industry? How do you convince mainstream retailers to take a chance on you? How do convince manufacturers to take a chance on you? Where does your uniqueness lye?

Hey, She Did it Her Way Listeners! Today we get to meet Karen Behnke, the founder of Juice Beauty, an organic beauty product line! She started her first company in the fitness industry right out of college and has since become a serial wellness entrepreneur, with her business ventures spanning 20 years. But she said despite her submersion in the corporate health and wellness industry, like so many other women, she never paid attention to the ingredients that went into her beauty products. Her curiosity about her beauty product’s ingredients was peaked when she became pregnant for the first time in her 40’s. She said she was completely devastated by what was in the average beauty product. She saw ingredients like formaldehyde, and petroleum, and was shocked that she never noticed them before because she had worked with so many experts on quality ingredients in health and wellness products for so many years. Seven or eight years later, she bought the name Juice Beauty and took it upon herself to radically transform the chemistry of beauty. Since her collection has expanded to skin care and makeup, gained Gwyneth Paltrow as a creative director, has been picked up by retailers like Ulta Beauty, Neiman Marcus, and Bloomingdales; and has been up and running for over 12 years!

To begin to surpass the conventional chemical standards of beauty products, she had to learn about its current state, so she brought in an in-house group of chemists and product development experts. She said they found that a lot of them start out with glycols, which are petroleum waste products that act as a hydrating ingredient as dense as Vaseline. They also found that natural products start out with water, meaning consumers are paying the top-notch price for a diluted product. Her concept was to start out with organic botanical juices, aloes, shea’s, grapeseed, and guavas; and pack all the products with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals. As of a couple years ago, they also released a photo pigments makeup collection, which is plant derived with plant pigments, and no artificial colors or fragrances.

Though she was a seasoned entrepreneur when she launched Juice Beauty, she had never dived into the world of cosmetics, so she wasn’t exempt from the turbulence that is early entrepreneurship. She said she had forgotten how hard running a start-up was, and how much she’d have to be involved in every aspect of her business. She said she spent 75% of her time leading product development in the beginning, along with one chemist and analyzed every single ingredient to make sure it was clean and healthful for consumers and the planet. When it was time to bring in more people, she said she also struggled with attracting professionals in the organic beauty industry, because she was so new, and didn’t have the allure of big name brands. Once she became a household name and attracted teams of in-house experts and executives, she said had to learn to transition into a leader and teach her new staff how to convey her message and vision on a daily basis.

One of her goals from day one was to make it hard for consumers to tell the difference between Juice Beauty and another big name commercial brand. She said she wanted her stem cellular CC cream that was made zinc (for SPF coverage), and coconut alkenes, and grapeseed (for beautiful slip and feel), from chemical sunscreen made with oxybenzone, or silicones, and dimethicones. It was very difficult in the beginning, and she said they had problems with their zinc being too heavy, and things turning blue. But through trial and error, trusting her women’s intuition, she navigated the choppy waters of early entrepreneurship, and was able to add Juice Beauty to her repertoire of successful businesses!

Get comfortable and enjoy today’s episode as you learn more about Karen and Juicy Beauty’s story!

In this episode you will…

Know how to change and upgrade the standards of an industry
Be able to go after big commercial brands
See what it’s like to start over as the founder of a start-up if you already have an established business
Be able to define your company’s goal
Start to follow your instincts as a business owner
Learn the best way to land investors for your company, and invest in yourself

INSIGHTS

“It’s kind of a win-win-win. You win with high [ethics] skin care, and vibrant plant makeup. You win with what you’re putting on your skin is healthful, and for the people that care, you win with supporting a company that is really supporting organic farming, supporting the planet, and building a sustainable company from top to bottom.” -Karen Benkhe

“If you have a wrong hire in a very small business, that can set you back a couple of years. Every single hire has to be right…and then sometimes you may have amazing people in the beginning, but they might not make it through with all the change. When it’s a great transition, it that’s wonderful. But when it’s a bad transition, that can really be hard.” -Karen Behnke

“I was the lead investor in Juice Beauty…but I’m still surprised when young entrepreneurs come in to talk to me, and they don’t want to put any of their money at risk, [but they] want everybody else to invest. I always say you’ve got to put your own money up…f you’re not going to risk it, nobody else is going to.” -Karen Behnke

“Passion has fueled me. I love business, and I love mission-driven businesses, that’s what I’ve always done. I’ve never been not motivated to get up and go at it every day.” -Karen Behnke

RESOURCES

Juice Beauty Website
Juice Beauty Facebook
Juice Beauty Instagram
Juice Beauty Twitter

SDH234: Reach Success by Breaking Old Rules with Eleanor Beaton Feb 12, 2018

Does the fear of replacing a corporate income hinder you on your journey to solopreneurship? Are limiting beliefs and imposter syndrome holding you back? Would you like to know how some of the continent’s most successful women in business think?

Today’s fierce guest, Eleanor Beaton, is here to address these valid concerns, along with many more relevant topics. Eleanor is an award-winning journalist, speaker, and executive coach to powerful women varying from elected officials to leaders of major corporations. She even has her own podcast that aims to help women in leadership positions achieve unprecedented results with clarity, confidence, focus, and grace. Tune in as she shares a wealth of information from growing up in a household of strong women to the secrets behind power and influence.

In this episode you will…

Discover why women struggle to replace a corporate income after the leap

Understand limiting beliefs, imposter syndrome and how to erase them

Know the benefits of predictable revenue and how to generate it

Find out the truth about confidence and how to get it

Learn why women get into the trap of undercharging and how to break free from it

Uncover how eight, nine and ten figure business women really think

INSIGHTS:

“...We can create success and we can do it by breaking old rules, inventing new ones and ultimately doing it our way.” Eleanor Beaton

“That’s really what my mission and my team’s mission is to do—to really empower the world by bringing fierce, feminine wisdom to business and boardrooms all over the place.” Eleanor Beaton

“When you go out on your own, you have to eat what you kill.” Eleanor Beaton

“When I think about what it takes to build a successful business; I think about the triangle. One side is knowledge, the other point is effectively managing relationships and the third part is GSD.” Eleanor Beaton

“You really got to bring a sense of urgency to your business development and a real sense of focus, being able to focus on the money without letting yourself be overly controlled by money. I think that’s a dance. It can be a challenging balance.” Eleanor Beaton

“Find people who already model the kind of behavior you know is important to you and spend time with them.” Eleanor Beaton

“One of the number one challenges of very highly successful women is there are so few of them.” Eleanor Beaton

“So much of this is really practical and tactical..Influence and power love small rooms.” Eleanor Beaton

“There is a definite choice and intentional bending of the rules in order to achieve the greater good or greater outcome in an effort to do what’s right.” Eleanor Beaton

“As women, often, we have a lot of social pressure to be perfect. We don’t want to 'go to school in public.' We want to be perfect before we make the offer, but we’ve got to get over that if we want to roll in the dough.” Eleanor Beaton

RESOURCES

Eleanor Beaton Website

Eleanor Beaton Facebook

Eleanor Beaton Twitter

Eleanor Beaton Instagram

Eleanor Beaton Linkedin

“Mindset” by Carol S. Dweck

“Personal History” by Katharine Graham

“Predictable Revenue” by Aaron Ross

“High-Performance Habits” by Brendon Burchard

Ellen Pompeo Article

SDH233: Recognize When Your Life is Realigning, Not Falling Apart with Bri Seeley Feb 08, 2018

Have you ever had moments where it seems like everything is crumbling? Does it seem like everything you’ve built is being washed away? What if life is just closing a chapter, and starting a grander one?

What’s up listeners! On today’s episode, we speak to returning guest, Bri Seeley, an author, coach, and speaker, about that, and then some! Last time we spoke to Bri, she was the co-host of a podcast with her business partner, Thais, and was a life coach. However, since last January, a lot has shaken up in her career and life. After a trip to Bali, everything in her life seemed to be breaking apart at the seams. Her business partnership no longer felt right and their podcast ended, a 10-week training program she had been working on fell apart, and her closest friendships dissolved. She said everything in 2016 that felt right and was working for her, had thrown itself in the garbage in 2017. While her storm seemed never-ending at the time, she said she realized that her life was doing nothing but realigning itself and making way for newer and bigger opportunities!

But this realization didn’t come easy. She said she felt betrayed by the universe, abandoned, and went into victim mode. After months of intense wallowing, she had enough of herself. By April, she had to just throw up her hands, and admit to herself that she’s human, and that life wasn’t going to cater to her every wish. She said she also realized that her business ventures didn’t align with her core truth of freedom. She had always dreamed of living a bicoastal life, and traveling the world, while still working for herself. But the careers she had already started chained her to LA and committed her to 5 events a month there. Once she saw the disconnect between her desires and lifestyle, she began to see how much the failure of her businesses was a blessing in disguise, and a release from a confinement she hadn’t realized she was in.

So she made the decision to change her mindset, and accept her path for what it was, get back on her feet, and go after success once more. She started asking herself how she wanted her life to look, what experiences she wanted to be having and actively began moving towards achieving them. She also began focusing on improving her health and her heart, and the friends in her life that were supporting her, and the loyal clients that never left her even when her businesses went under. She also adopted a Sunday ritual of walking around her local farmer’s market, and stopping by a café to journal all the things that excited her that week, and the things she was thankful for.

This weekly practice ended up being the premise of her first book, Permission to Leap. She said the book came to her in January and asked her to write it. She never aspired to be an author, but as she went through her depression, writing became her release. When she finally sat down to write the outline in June, the content flowed out of her, and she finished it in an hour. She then flew to Seattle to hand write her book, and under three weeks, she had written 55,000 words, and returned to L.A with a manuscript. In the next four months, not only had she completed the editing, she completed marketing process, too! By the time she hit Amazon, she already had 100 reviews on her book, and within hours of its launch, she was #1, and is still a Best Seller nine weeks later!

Stay tuned and hear more of Bri’s wisdom on making it through dark times, all the details that go into publishing your own book, and what all of Bri’s new businesses look like!

In this episode you will…

Know how to rebuild yourself after your business ventures fail
Be able to recognize when your life is realigning, not falling apart
Find your truth, and rearrange your life according
Figure out how to dissolve a business partnership
Learn to follow your intuition
Not allow yourself to stay in the victim mindset

INSIGHTS

“The biggest thing is being present with whatever is coming up in the moment, and not rationalizing…how I’m feeling. If my intuition is telling me something doesn’t feel right, I have to trust that...I think that’s really been my process across the board.” -Bri Seeley

“What the book writing process has given me is more clarity. I kind of knew before what my zone of genius was, and what I really, really did for women. And now I really know…Now I can say with complete confidence that I help women bring their vision to life.” -Bri Seeley

“I think the election kind of kicked a lot of women into high gear. I was unwilling to be victimized by the election, and it really lit a fire under me. I can’t pretend that I’m not here for something big anymore. I have to every single day go out of my way to make an impact, and create something in the world.” -Bri Seeley

RESOURCES

Bri Seeley Website

Bri Seeley LinkedIn

Bri Seeley Facebook

Bri Seeley Instagram

Bri Seeley Twitter

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Alexi Panos Website

Tim Ferriss Podcast

SDH232: Not Waiting for Permission and Going for It with Alex Moresco Feb 05, 2018

How did you decide to start your own business? Did you ease into entrepreneurship, or was it a freeform leap off a cliff? Where did you allow that journey to take you? How have you and your business evolved since then?

Hey guys! Today we meet Alex Moresco, the founder of A Moresco PR + Content Creation, and star of season one of PR Girl, a reality web series about the fabulous (but mostly nitty gritty) world of entertainment PR! She refers to herself as an odd duck, and does everything from traditional PR, to press outreach, social media management and strategy, event planning, and non-profit work. While her broad range of services is different than most PR firms, she said she loves having her hand in everything; and experiencing all these different fields only gives her an edge on the competition and an individuality that helps her stand out among the rest!

She said A Moresco’s creation started when she was a junior in college, but began as a fashion blog, that she created out of boredom, during her freshman year at DePaul. Once her blog gained traction, she started learning the basics of PR, like how to attract target audiences, build a media kit, and work with brands like Nike. After working with them for some time, she became part of launching their store, The Nike Training Club, and helped them research how to attract 18-25 year-olds, and planned events for the store as well. Unfortunately, the concept store closed when she was almost out of college, and she was faced with the decision of joining the corporate world or take a risk and do her own thing. After some contemplation, she knew she would get comfortable in the corporate world and would lose her drive to go for it on her own, so she took the jump!

What sealed the deal was when she was contacted be Hillary Sawchuk, from the podcast, A Drink With. Alex had interviewed Hillary a couple years before, and she had caught wind of Alex’s PR work with Nike, and invited her to help her with her PR during the Sundance Film Festival for a couple of weeks. After her work with Hillary, Alex knew PR was the profession for her and fell in love. When she returned to Chicago, she saw an opening to bring her passion and skillsets to the entertainment business, and A Moresco PR + Content Creation was born!

With her role in the new series PR Girl, she invites the world to see the reality of the different facets of entertainment PR and centers the show around women empowerment, unity, and positivity, rather than drama. She said she wants people to know that PR isn’t always glamorous and it can be a beast, but every once in a while you get to do something cool, and the wins you get along the way make it worthwhile!

Stay tuned and hear how Alex continued to expand her business and media reach!

In this episode you will…

Hear how Alex handled starting a business and learning she had Lyme disease
Start looking at every step of your career as a learning tool
Know how to set yourself up for success and organize your business and life
See how to create honest and authentic relationships with clients
Figure out how to expand your media reach and platforms
Know how to personalize your pitch when getting your business out there

INSIGHTS

“I think when you own your own PR firm, everything falls back on you. There’s nobody else to point the finger at, and ultimately, if something goes really well, it’s because you’ve done a great job. But if something didn’t go well, it falls back on you, and you have to be a self-starter, and very self-motivated.” -Alex Moresco

“People do think PR is so glamorous, and you’re running around in Christian Louboutin heels, and meeting celebrities, and going to parties. But in reality, when you own your own firm, there are no boundaries. So it’s you getting up at like 6 o’clock because you’re stressed out...to then [working] all day until 11 or 10 o’clock at night, to look up and realize you haven’t eaten today…5% of the time you get to do something really cool…you have to make those wins you get along the way worth it.” -Alex Moresco

“I love that the whole premise of [PR Girl] is positivity, and women building up other women, and more focused on the career aspect, than the drama that you see in typical reality shows. And I thought it was smart from a PR standpoint. Everything is moving over to web…when you go to sell a TV show from a production standpoint, from an advertising standpoint, you’re hoping for YouTube Red, Facebook, or an online platform because it’s just digitally native, and it’s that much easier to go viral, and produce more views.” -Alex Moresco

RESOURCES

A Moresco PR + Content Creation Website
A Moresco PR + Content Creation Instagram
A Moresco PR + Content Creation Twitter

SDH231: Learn to Let Go Parts of Your Business and Outsource with Katie Doherty Feb 01, 2018

What do you do when the career you always thought you wanted, doesn’t work out? How do you begin to piece your new career path together? How do you know if you’re better off going off on your own?

Hey listeners! Today we chat about that with Katie Doherty, who is the founder of La Rousse Shoppe, a resource for photographers to purchase decorative packaging and boxing materials, like La Rousse’s original product the Glass Photo Box! La Rousse originally started out as a platform for Katie to promote her wedding photography, but after not being able to find products to suit her brand’s style and aesthetic, she decided to make products of her own. Since La Rousse has continued to grow as an outlet for her creativity, and now features a blog that showcases customer’s use of their products, and a podcast that shines a light on other entrepreneurs across various industries!

Before Katie started La Rousse, was a third-grade elementary school teacher, and had grown up thinking that education and teaching was her calling. Unfortunately, once she started teaching, she became bogged down by the workload and frustrated with its lack of pay. She said she knew that those aspects were just part of what being a teacher meant, but she was surprised at how much it took over her life, and felt it had taken away her freedom and creativity.

She wanted to feel like she was in control of her own life, and have an outlet for her artistic expression, so she decided to explore her side passion for photography. To dip her toes into professional photography, she started to teach herself how to use her DSLR camera through research and YouTube videos, began taking evening classes at a community college, and started being mentored by a friend in wedding photography. Once she felt comfortable enough in her skills, she launched her online portfolio and took the final leap of quitting her job, and moving in with her parents so she could save money, and focus on getting her business off the ground by booking wedding, travel, and child photography gigs.

As her portfolio started to grow, and she began taking her presentation more seriously, she started looking for little print boxes to give to couples after their wedding, and have for herself to present her work. As she scoured the internet for something modern, cute, and unique, she could only find clunky wooden, or linen boxes that just didn’t match her brand’s aesthetic.

She then became inspired by entrepreneurs on the podcast, Money Pillow, who had come up with amazing ideas for products, and made their visions a reality by manufacturing and selling them. That’s when she came up with the idea for a glass photo box, and after searching high and low for a similar product, she decided to be the first one to create one!

To get started, she first had to find a supplier and searched Alibaba, which is an e-commerce site that connects buyers to sellers from India and China. After sifting through the site for hours, she finally found a supplier that made a terrarium, which is a glass usually made for vases. He didn’t make the type of product that she needed, but he had the supplies, so she reached out to him with the dimensions of her box, and a sketch. A month later, she got a sample from him, and it was perfect! She proceeded to buy 50 more, and launched La Rousse using Shopify!

After a decent start with a few sales, her business began to sink, because she wasn’t sure how to market or reach her target audiences. So she decided to share her business and product with her friend, Phil, who was a fellow wedding photographer and he loved it. He eagerly wanted to hop on as a business partner, which Katie said helped take a lot of the pressure off of her and provided her with a confidant and mentor as she navigated through the rough waters of entrepreneurship.

As orders start to increase, she had to move her inventory and work space to her parent’s garage, and hand packaged and detailed each order, and drove it to the post office. As business increased, even more, she had to hire some girls in her neighborhood to take over that aspect, despite her desire to oversee every little detail of the order. She had to relinquish even more control, as business continued to boom, and they had to hand their inventory over to a fulfillment center in Texas, which cut her out as a manufacturer and sent products straight to customers.

Since her brand and products have continued to skyrocket and have been featured in Allure Magazine, Lauren Conrad’s Holiday Gift Guide, as well as MSN’s 25 Holiday Gifts under $100!

Hear more of how La Rousse grew, and Katie’s story on this week’s episode!

In this episode you will…

Know how to create the solution to your problem
Be able to find suppliers for your product
Learn to let go aspects of your business and outsource
Know what to consider when picking a new space for your business
Be able to choose the right overseas shipping company for your product
Figure out if you want to be a hands-off or hands-on CEO

INSIGHTS

“I think my dad was taken aback by the fact that I had spent all this money on student loans, to become a teacher, and two years later, I had completely changed my mind…[but] everyone I came across was really supportive, they never had any doubts.” -Katie Doherty

“I was talking with a friend…and I very casually brought up this product I was working on, and he thought it was amazing. He was like, ‘Katie, you need to sign me on as your business partner, I can take this to new heights!’ I [thought] a business partner would be a great idea. All of the weight wouldn’t be on my shoulders, I could always go to someone for a second opinion, our just anything really. We have a great open relationship. Ever since Phil started on with me, I’ve seen the business grow times 10, it’s been amazing.”- Katie Doherty

“I’m like kind of a crazy perfectionist. I want everything down to the sticker being straight on the packaging, I want it all to be as perfect as it can be. And I was kind of convinced that unless I did it myself, that it would never be perfect, because no one else would care as much as I did. And I really had to let go of that because I bet there are people who pay great attention to detail, so that was one important thing for us as we were looking for fulfillment centers. Who was going to be willing to do a bit of boutique packaging to fit our brand.” -Katie Doherty

RESOURCES

Katie Doherty Website
La Rousse Shoppe Instagram
La Rousse Shoppe Facebook
Money Pillow by Sean Malarkey
Artifact Uprising
Alibaba Website

SDH230: How to be Confident with Your Decisions with Perrin Kaplan Jan 29, 2018

How do you define power? What equates to success? Is it by others standards or your own?

No fears SDIHW listeners, our guest gives us the scoop on that! Today we meet Perrin Kaplan, who is the co-founder of Zebra Partners; a female-run global marketing and PR firm! Due to their background at Nintendo, they specialize in helping companies in fields of emerging technology, entertainment, gaming, and virtual reality, connect with their customers, and create loyal and active communities! They work with clients from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, and their diversity reminded them of the stripes on a zebra, because their clients and their needs are never the same. With their broad range of clientele and services, Perrin and her two co-founders are up always up for the challenge, and are ready to share their expertise with companies so they can grow their businesses and become powerhouses!

The three co-founders started Zebra Partners 10 years ago after they launched the Wii console with Nintendo. Though Perrin was the head of communications and corporate affairs for 16 years, she felt that it was time to use her talents and skills to go into business for herself, and took her trusted colleagues with her. As a team, she said they always worked beautifully together, with each of their personalities balancing one another, and due to their deep respect and confidence in each other, they haven’t argued once since Zebra Partner’s launch.

She said one obstacle she struggled with in the beginning was redefining what success and power meant to her. She lived the visibly powerful life at Nintendo as the head of a major global company and enjoyed all the luxuries that came with it like authority, constant offers from other companies, and all the splurges that her salary could buy. But when her and her partners ventured out on their own, she had to become accustomed to doing business from her laptop at her dining room table, while in sweats munching on a Trader Joe’s salad.

All the superficial frills were gone, but she learned to see power and success in a different way. With her own business, she got to construct her own life, choose who she worked with, what projects she took on, built her own rules, and teach her clients and her coworkers something new every day. And even though she said she’s not making the big decisions anymore, her happiness and joy come from the multitude of small successes and the relationships she gets to nourish and build!

Get settled in and hear more of Perrin’s story on today’s episode!

In this episode you will…

Know how to build a good team dynamic
Figure out what success and power means to you
Be confident in your own decisions and not look to others to feed your ego
Know how to train and develop your staff
Create an email schedule
Learn how to turn away clients

INSIGHTS

“In corporate, I had many successes, but my ego was being fed often. When you run your own business, you need to feed your own ego, but you have so much more control. They’re both fantastic journeys…but it’s all about being confident in yourself and loving yourself, and not defining your own success by other things and people around you.” -Perrin Kaplan

“If you’re having a blue moment, move your moment…That’s the beauty of being an entrepreneur, you can make things be whatever you want...you can run things how you want to get to the successful feeling that you need.” -Perrin Kaplan

“Nobody wants to turn away business, but I think if you’re going to always be at your best, and produce the best for companies, it has to be a two-way street where your chemistry is very good…it has to be a relationship, or we have to pass…You have to love yourself enough to know that if you say no to this something better is going to be coming next, even if you have to dig hard to find it.” -Perrin Kaplan

RESOURCES

Zebra Partners Website
Zebra Partners Facebook
Zebra Partners Twitter
Entrepreneur Website

SDH229: How to Find Your Flow That Produces Results with Helen Ficalora Jan 25, 2018

Today we meet Helen Ficalora, the founder of Helen Ficalora Jewelry. Helen specializes in high quality, customizable, heirloom pieces that are made out of precious metals. She said her jewelry designs are meant to inspire beauty, love, and peace, and wanted to create something that was beautiful and meaningful for people to wear.

She started jewelry making as a kid, but officially released her own designs in a boutique at her family’s beach resort in Olympia, Washington. She needed something to do other than run the hotel, and her jewelry line acted as a happy escape from her 9 to 5. She also wanted to be a part of a business that was booming all year, and when traffic at the hotel died down outside of summer, her jewelry business provided another revenue stream.

To get her line off the ground, she began working on her brand’s PR, and met with magazines, and worked her connections in the fashion industry. What really gave her business wings, though, was the monogram trend. Completely unaware of the demand for monogram jewelry, she had created an alphabet charm collection and got featured as the must-have monogram piece in multiple fashion and lifestyle publications. She became flooded with orders, and was soon was able to open up her own store in New York, with its grand opening featured on the Martha Stewart show!

She said her business blew up overnight, and has since become a national brand with brick and mortar stores in Chicago, Beverly Hills, Palm Beach, and Dallas!

Hear more about how she decided to open a brick and mortar, how she manages them, and Helen Ficalora Jewelry’s story!

In this episode you will…

Learn how to start a product line
Know the best time to open a brick and mortar store
Figure out the best place to open a brick and mortar store to be closer to your audience
Be able to choose the perfect managers for your stores
Find the perfect person to strategize with
Discover your flow

INSIGHTS

“There’s a lot of intuition being used in people who are successful entrepreneurs, and I feel [that’s] definitely part of my ability; to be able to trust my intuition. I’ve been called the trendsetter, and a lot of that comes from just knowing something’s coming…to be able to create things in front of them.” – Helen Ficalora

“I’m the ultimate multitasker. I plow through a million things, and prioritize as I’m moving through it…[I] pretty much just [put] my head down and I just go.” -Helen Ficalora

“You can choose how you react to things in life, and how you react…affects how you do in business.” -Helen Ficalora

“I don’t think things have to be that complicated. I guess that’s maybe my motto. My jewelry is beautiful. The complicated part of it is some of the designs…but it’s all flowing from a place of simplicity.” -Helen Ficalora

“If you love what you’re doing, it’s very easy to do it…it’s not a burden to you…it’s your pleasure.” -Helen Ficalora

RESOURCES

Helen Ficalora Website
Helen Ficalora Facebook
Helen Ficalora Instagram
Helen Ficalora Twitter
The Prospering Power of Love by Catherine Ponder
Happiness is a Choice by Barry Kaufman
Son Rise: The Miracle Continues by Barry Kaufman
Gary Vaynerchuk Website

SDH 228: High Performance Habits Pt 1 with Amanda Boleyn Jan 22, 2018

Today I'm sharing the first 3 out of the 6 high-performance habits Brendan Burchard walks through in his book. It may sound familiar to you because I shared this book in a recent blog post, here.

I’ve always been someone who has been obsessed with personal development, wanting to know how I could always get better, improve myself. This book is gold for anyone who wants to be a performer.

I’m excited to do a 2 part solocast episode with you guys about the 6 high performing habits. I started reading this book mid-December and dove in head first. I promise you that I wouldn’t give something two episode spots if I didn’t think it warranted value for you all.

In this episode I’m going to do a deep dive into the first 3 high-performance habits but first a quote:

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted right. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” - Aristotle
Brendon’s team has done hours and hours of research as to what makes a high performer a high performer.

“To succeed, always remember that the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing”

Click here to take Brandon's High-Performance Indicator quiz.

The first 3 habits I'm diving into in depth are:

Seek Clarity
Generate Energy
Raise Necessity

I've already started implementing these habits and it has drastically changed my business and life for the better! (GAWD that sounded like a cheesy self-help comment....but that's okay because it was ttttrrruuueee! ;)

SDH226: Tapping Into Your Gifts and Living According to Your Purpose with Mary Shores Jan 14, 2018

How did you figure out strengths in your personality? What were they? Did you begin to embrace them, and build them even more? Where did that take you in life? How did you grow?

Our guest today, Mary Shores, gets into that as we learn about her mission as a motivational speaker and a writer. Her first book, Conscious Communications, was born from her love of personal development, and she helps teach it from a place where science and spirituality meet. She believes that once you tap into your subconscious and harness your words, you have the ability to change your choices, behaviors and mind. From there, you will be able to bring areas of your life into alignment, begin to find yourself, and grow as an entrepreneur and a person. Her take on personal development really struck a chord with readers, and within six weeks of her book’s release, it became the number one Best Seller for Self Esteem, Communications, and Happiness on Amazon!

Before she wrote her book, at 24 she became the youngest person to become a CEO in communication strategy in 1999. She also created her own strategy that’s been used in business, and the health care industry for over 10 years! She said ever since she was a little girl, she always had that entrepreneur bug. Instead of playing house, she played bank, and arranged tables in her garage, drew up her own money, and set up accounts for the neighborhood kids. She even had a drive thru so they could pull up in their tricycles to make deposits and withdrawals. In middle school she also set up a beauty supply store in her Lutheran school’s bathroom, so she could buy a $55 swimsuit, but she was kicked out once school officials found out.

Once her parents took note of her entrepreneurial drive, they allowed her to work at their collection agency when she was 13, and she got paid a dollar an hour to lick stamps, and envelopes. She eventually went on to work at a real bank, but was devastated when she was fired after her 90-day evaluation. She said it was the worst thing to happen to her in her young life, and it created a scar of unworthiness in her. She felt like she wasn’t good enough to get a job with anyone, so she thought the only way for her to make a living was if she started her own company.

With a few clients from her mom, and her naivety and youthful confidence in tow, she opened the doors of her collection agency! She said she was willing to handle anything that came across her desk, and was determined to build a great reputation and prove to herself and others her potential. Once she accomplished becoming a successful entrepreneur, she became focused on spiritual growth and personal development.

She went through an existential crisis because she wanted to reach concepts of enlightenment, and self actualization, but didn’t feel it fit into her career in debt collections. She said her profession wasn’t typically looked at as a positive thing, but she wanted people to look at paying off their debt as a release of a psychological burden. To her, it could become a foundation of shame and unworthiness, and keep people from starting their own businesses, applying for homes, or pursuing relationships. She wanted people to break down those barriers to live the life of their dreams, and have the freedom to tap into their authentic gifts to begin living according to their purposes.

She said to find those gifts, people can do simple things like taking the Myer Briggs personality test, or a Disc profile, so they can know their strongest traits and what their challenges may be. She suggests highlighting the positive traits, and begin actively applying them to your life. For her it was speaker and leader, and she started stepping heavily into those roles in her business and industry, and her mission of changing people’s viewpoint on debt expanded into changing the entire collections industry!

See how she did just that by listening to today’s episode!

In this episode you will…

Be able to find your authentic gifts
Know what your strongest personality traits are, and start applying them to your life
See how to inspire people within your industry to change their methods
Be able to change the public’s idea about your industry
Know how to create new neuropathways and understand your subconscious mind
Figure out the best mindset to approach self help events with

INSIGHTS

"Our mind is built up of all these neuro networks that drive our behaviors, choices, habits, fears. Everything is coming out of this subconscious, but the magic is it can be changed…the way you get from here to there, is you gotta get all these areas of your life in alignment, and moving in the direction that you want. If we can accept that infinite possibilities are available to us…[we begin to do] things we that will connect us more to the things that we want, and stop us from flowing in all the uncertainty, and negative circumstances that swallow us whole.” – Mary Shores

“I think we’re in this place where we love to get quick fixes. We love to go away to that weekend workshop that’s going to give us a transformation…What I’ve learned is that true transformation happens in small pivots over time…if I were to come to [an] event, I would pick out the things that I knew…and I would think, how can I apply these things to my life…At an event, you’re going to learn many concepts, and my goal is to come away with one…I don’t have this expectation hang-over anymore…[and] I’ve built myself into a lot of resiliency and strength, and the ability to even see how those concepts apply to my life.” -Mary Shores

“My mantra was, ‘I want to write a book, but I’m not a writer’. And the thing is words are like a mirror to your subconscious programming, and when I [said] the words, ‘I want to write a book’ it [was] like you were looking in and seeing it written on my soul like a purpose. But the problem is the words, ‘I’m not a writer’ are also a mirror to my subconscious and it’s revealing to me one of those blocks…and so what I needed to do to eliminate that was to invest in myself.” -Mary Shores

RESOURCES

Mary Shores Website
Mary Shores Guide Book
Mary Shores Facebook
Mary Shores Instagram
Mary Shores Twitter
Conscious Communications by Mary Shores
Start with Why by Simon Sinek Website

SDH225: Creating Your Own Path and Pursuing Your Passion with Maureen Fan Jan 11, 2018

We hear Maureen Fan’s answers to those pressing questions on today’s episode! Maureen Fan is the COO and co-founder of Baobab Studios, a virtual reality animation company that makes animated shorts and films! She founded the company with Eric Darnell, the writer, and director of all four Madagascar films, and the movie Antz. Baobab’s third co-founder is Larry Cutler, who was the technical director for Toy Story 2 and Monster’s Inc. and was also the global head of character technologies for DreamWorks Studios. They all handle differently, but equal, parts of the company with Maureen managing the business aspect, Eric steering Baobab’s creative direction, and Larry representing technical. Together they have turned Baobab into the top VR animation studio, and won the 2017 Daytime Emmy for “Outstanding Interactive” for their first animation, INVASION; which will soon become a feature film!

For Maureen, animation has been a love of hers for as long as she can remember. She even designed her own undergrad major for animation studies at Stanford called Art, Computer Science, and Psychology. Despite her passion for animation, she said her immigrant parents didn’t see it as a practical career path. So after college, she became a UI designer for eBay, and while she said she loved it, she still couldn’t shake her desire to become an animator.
To continue to pursue her dream career, she began taking classes on nights and weekends at De Anza College, where a lot of George Lucas’ animators taught. She also started to save money so she could eventually apply for a masters program at a fine arts school. After five years, she was ready to finally apply but found that all the deadlines for the programs she wanted had passed. However, round three of business school was available at Harvard, and due to the pressures from her mother, she applied and got in. Before she completely gave up on animation, though, her boss at eBay told her to try out Hollywood and see what it would be like to work as an animator. So she quit her job and took on as many internships and jobs as she could out in L.A.

She ended up landing positions as Zach Braff’s assistant and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s talent manager. From those positions, and during her time in Hollywood, she learned that everything is a business no matter what you do, and decided to start at Harvard. In between her time at school, she took an internship at Pixar and ended up working on Toy Story 3. She said she learned that animation was a mature industry full of mature businesses, so a lot of emphasis was on decreasing costs in order to increase margins. But Maureen wanted to create something new because she knew it would be hard to compete against Pixar or Disney without a lot of money or unfair distribution advantages.

That’s when she decided to join forces with Zenga, because it was still entertainment, but it was also a pioneer in an entirely new industry focused on connecting the world through games. After six years with Zenga, she became VP of Games, and overlooked the Farmville franchise. Not able to keep her hands away from animation, though, she worked with art directors from Pixar on an a film called the Dam Keepers; which was nominated for an Oscar. She continued to find new ways to innovate the industry, which eventually led to her venture into virtual reality.

She said the first time she put on a VR headset she hated it because of it’s low resolution and bad pixilation. It was when Zenga hacked into the headset with their games, that she was convinced that VR was the future of animation, because it allowed her to be transported into a fantasy world. She said it also made sense business-wise because it was a new industry, and no one had an advantage. Naturally an introvert, she didn’t want to be a COO, but there weren’t any companies in VR to join. But she knew she had to be a part of the VR industry, and began to pave her own way through it!

Hear more of Baobab’s story, how she found the courage to pursue her dreams, and created her own system!

In this episode you will…

Know how to have confidence in pursuing your dream career
Learn how to find the perfect co-founders
Be able to work your network to help you start your business
See how to educate men on the female experience in the work place
Get over what society deems as attractive in women at work
Figure out a way to come up with the perfect name for your company

INSIGHTS

“[Virtual reality] spoke to me creatively because the reason I love animation is it takes you to completely different worlds, and world’s that are only limited by the directors' imagination…and it makes you believe that the world is so real, you can reach out and touch it. And that’s also the definition of virtual reality.” – Maureen Fan

“Animation makes me feel like I’m 5 years old again when I believed I could do anything. And for VR, if it takes you totally to that world, it brings out that 5 year-old in me even more, and makes me feel like I’m invincible. Creatively it was like magic, and I knew I needed to do it.” -Maureen Fan

“It’s so great having co-founders, because starting a company is incredibly emotional and stressful. You have these moments [of] intense happiness, and incredible misery, and having the co-founders there, not only to share the load of work with you, but also there for you emotionally.” -Maureen Fan

RESOURCES

Baobab Studios Website
Baobab Studios Facebook
Baobab Studios Instagram
Baobab Studios Twitter
Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity by Kim Scott

SDH224: Following Your Gut and Taking a Chance with Vivian Kaye Jan 08, 2018

Where do you find support for your business? How do you speak to the customer with your personal brand and not your product? What was the response? How did it affect customer engagement?

In today’s episode Vivian Kaye shares her insights on those matters and more as she tells us about KinkyCurlyYaki, a textured hair extension company for women of color! In her previous business as a wedding decorator, she said she needed something easier to do with her hair, but she wanted it to look authentic, and protect her hair at the same time. She began wearing wigs and other extensions, and tailoring them to look like her natural hair, and would be stopped by strangers who were in love with her hairstyles. Once they found out she was wearing a protective style, they were eager to buy it. She said that’s when her light bulb went off, and she decided to take on the hair industry herself, and launched in KinkyCurlyYaki in 2012!

She was hesitant to launch a second business at first though because she was so content with her wedding decorating career. But because she was initially trying to solve her own problem, her passion for the hair industry had already been planted. She said she was heavily engaged in forums and Facebook groups and was gaining feedback and knowledge on hair textures, and other aspects of the industry. So when wedding season wound down, she decided to go for it and gave her little side hustle a shot.

Loaded up with five rubbermaid drawers of inventory in her apartment, and a website, she launched and notified her networks in forums and Facebook. Everyone was quick to support her because she had built such a following and personality through her chat rooms, and she was also one of the first businesses to tap into influencers on Instagram. She said she would ask some of her followers to test her products, and in turn, they would make reaction videos or a post, and she said her customer base grew from digital word-of-mouth. To her surprise, business began to flood in, and in 2016 she made her first million dollars and is now operating out of a 1,500 sq. foot warehouse with a shipment team!

Stay tuned and hear more about how she learned how to market her business, hire her first staff member, and more about the elevation of Vivian Kaye!

In this episode you will…

Know how to market through chat rooms and social media
Be able to add a personal touch to your brand to edge out the competition
Learn how to figure out your price point and inventory according to a finicky market
See how to trust someone else with your business, and hire your first staff member
Know where to look for reassurance and guidance
Begin to trust your gut more
INSIGHTS

“What a lot of people fail to realize is that [customers] buy you, they’re not necessarily buying your product. When people ask me for advice now, I just say be yourself because people…want that personal touch, they want that human that had that same problem.” -Vivian Kaye

“At a certain point you just have to trust people, it took a while for me to hire my first person because I had to learn to let it go. I couldn’t grow my business, I couldn’t scale my business if I couldn’t trust anyone.” -Vivian Kaye

“You always think that you’re alone in this journey, and being an entrepreneur is one of the loneliest things you can do…so I would seek out [entrepreneurs] online and meet up groups…it’s really reassured me that it’s not just me.” -Vivian Kaye

“A lot of people think they don’t know, but you do, but for some reason, you don’t trust yourself…I’m a big follower of listening to your gut…and we as women, we need to hone into to that, because that’s what it’s here for. It’s here to help us through all these decisions, and help us through the self-doubt, because we’re a pretty strong gender…and we need to rely on ourselves to bring ourselves together.” -Vivian Kaye

RESOURCES

Vivian Kaye Instagram

KinkyCurlyYaki Instagram

KinkyCurlyYaki Facebook

KinkyCurlyYaki Twitter

Myleik Teele’s Podcast

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*** by Mark Manson

SDH223: How to Be Patient While Building Your Business with Jill Minton Jan 04, 2018

Does it seem like you’d have to give up everything to build your business? Are you scared people will look at you like your crazy if you uprooted your life for your dream? Despite the sacrifices, is your drive still there?

Today’s guest Jill Minton was that woman a few years ago as she and her husband built t. Loft, a gluten-free café, and she know those fears and questions all too well. She and her husband really had to grind it out to get t.Loft off the ground, but they believed in their dream, and stopped at nothing to make it a reality!

Her story begins in 2010, when she worked for KPMG as an IT consultant. She loved her job, but when she had kids it became hard to dedicate her life to such a constant work schedule. Her heath started to degrade, and she said she felt so depleted that during a family zoo trip, she had to keep putting her head on her child’s shoulder just to snatch a few seconds of rest. As her health continued to deteriorate, so did her sister’s, her daughter’s, and her dad’s. Her 5-year old daughter began waking up in the middle of the night because of headaches and stomach aches, and her sister began getting mouth sores and stomach cramps, and her dad had struggled with health problems his whole life. She said they all started to realize that something may be seriously wrong, and her sister’s doctor suggested that they get tested for Celiac disease, which is an immune reaction to eating gluten. They all tested positive, and they learned that it could’ve been triggered by trauma to the immune system, or stressful situations.

Now that they finally had answers, they started to change the way they were eating, and juicing became a huge part of their lives. They were so inflamed before, and juicing was the only way their bodies could get nutrients, and digest them easily. She said she became very passionate about eating right, healing, and wanted to make juicing and clean eating a part of her career. She decided to create a place that offered truly healthy food, but was fast and convenient, and wanted to create an environment that people wanted to hang out in, like a friend’s house.

Before she completely jumped the corporate America ship, she tested out her concept at a farmer’s market on the weekends. She said she refers to that summer of 2012 as the summer from hell, because she would fly in on Friday, stay up all night prepping, and get to the market at 5am, and be there for 12 hours Saturday and Sunday. On the bright side, her and her husband were able to talk to interested people, get some feedback, and develop a following.

By the end of the summer, they had enough of a clientele to start looking at physical spaces, but faced some push back from developers. A lot of development companies didn’t look at her concept as a serious business, and didn’t want to take the risk of her idea failing, and her not being able to pay the rent. They finally found a space in a half empty strip center, with a rickety building next door, and were determined to make it work. Everything needed to be gutted and renovated, so to expand their budget, they sold their big house in the suburbs and moved to a tiny house in the city, and sold both of their cars to get a cheaper one to share. Jill had to leave her job as an IT consultant to run the store, but her husband kept his job; and after traveling 45 minutes to work and back, he would come to the shop to help with renovations until 2 or 3am. After 60 days of construction, the store was complete, and they were able to do it 50% under budget!

They opened their first location April of 2013, and just opened their 5th store last week! Since their official opening she said it’s been a rough and crazy ride, but the community has been amazingly supportive, and they’ve been fortunate to feed the Kansas City Royals during home games!

Listen in and learn more about their grind to bring t.Loft to life!

In this episode you will…

See what to sacrifice to make your business a reality
Gain the courage to build your business
Know how to deal with a perishable product if you’re in the food business
Figure out your inventory flow
Decide whether to keep your business private or turn it into a franchise
Start to pay attention to the things that inspire you
Learn to be patient with your process
INSIGHTS

“I can’t tell you how many times I called my sister crying [asking] if I’m doing the right thing… [But] I had gotten to the point where I told [my husband] I would rather live in a box than to not try…You’re never going to get another chance here on earth, why not try?” -Jill Minton

“If you want to do what most people don’t do, your life is going to different. You’re going to look weird. You are. You aren’t doing what society is doing, most people don’t get this opportunity, or they don’t take it…As crazy as it is, and as hard as it is, at least you tried!” -Jill Minton

“Pay attention to those things that inspire you. I get inspired when I go to another city, and go through other concepts, I get inspired by looking at beautiful designs online…all of those things inspire me. I think when I go back to that place I get re-inspired and reinvigorated, and just remembering that I got to take time to refuel, because if you’re always giving…you do just end up depleted…and you can’t be creative if you’re completely spent.” -Jill Minton

RESOURCES

t. Loft Website
Jill Minton LinkedIn
t. Loft Facebook
t. Loft Instagram
t. Loft Twitter
Strategies for Living with Stephen Covey
Gary Vaynerchuk Website
How I Built This with Guy Raz
The 5 Second Rule with Mel Robbins

SDH222: Finding your Definition of Success with Jenna Kutcher Jan 01, 2018

Do you know what your superpower is? Do you know how to channel your gifts into a business? How about making money from that business? Can you do that in yoga pants?

Look no further than Jenna Kutcher! Jenna has a podcast, is an educator, and a photographer. With her many platforms, she aims to inspire women to start profitable and sustainable businesses that they love, start living on their own terms, and capture their business freedom!

Originally, Jenna thought she wanted to be a surgeon, and studied pre-med in college. She decided to reroute her career path when she saw how long she’d have to be in medical school, and decided to go the traditional corporate business route. As she sat down in her cubicle in her pencil skirt, though, she said she realized she hated every second of that world. She said when she sat down with her boss and discussed her future in business, she yearned for a life in yoga pants and a life full of success on her own terms.

Her exit ticket came in the form of a blog and a $300 camera from Craigslist, and she became a wedding photographer. Despite never taking a photography class, she booked 25 wedding gigs right out the gate, and after six successful years has shot 125 weddings. Even though she was happier as a photographer, she said the constant workload began to give her anxiety, and couldn’t seem to find time to disconnect from work. Her entire world revolved around her laptop, and her camera, and she had to make another change before she burnt out from exhaustion.

After talking with her husband, she decided to cut her wedding workload and income in half to reclaim her life and peace of mind. With her new free time, she began exploring other passions, like painting, and calligraphy. As her mind welcomed clarity and balance, she said she realized her superpower was being able to start a profitable business in the arts and wanted to help starving artists do the same. So she started the Goal Digger podcast to help entrepreneurs find their definition of success, and start their careers!

Get cozy, and hear more about how Jenna got her start and created her resource hubs for aspiring entrepreneurs!

In this episode you will…

Know when to start to explore other passions
Learn to balance your peace of mind, creativity, and career
Learn how to ask for help and pass off duties to other people
Know what KPI’s to look at to keep track of your productivity and growth
Look at your price point as an equation, and separate it from your emotions
Find the best way to start your day so you will have a positive mindset and productive day

INSIGHTS

“We are just working on building and automation, and so looking at how can we serve people in the best way, while preserving my energy, my creativity, and letting me work on the pieces of my business where only I can serve. So that’s looked like building an actual team…and how I prioritize my time so I can make the most of it. So truly seeking balance is something that we are working towards, while we continue to grow and expand the empire that we’ve built.” – Jenna Kutcher

“We protect the word ‘yes’ for the best ‘yes’s…I have learned over the last six years that it is best to bet on myself and to invest in myself. A lot of those ‘opportunities’ are truly to further other people’s brands and endeavors, and so you have to learn to put your head down just a little bit more. It’s been really awesome having almost a gatekeeper of my time, my calendar, and kind of seeing that overall picture of what are my biggest goals, and if this is in alignment, then say yes, and if it’s not…then it’s a very easy no.” -Jenna Kutcher

“Pricing is an equation it’s not an emotion. So often when we’re passionate about what we’re doing we get emotional about, it’s only natural. But that doesn’t come into play…when it comes to what you charge for your products or services…How much do you want or need to make for the year? How many hours are you committed to working towards that goal?...You have to run the numbers.” -Jenna Kutcher

“I think that our inner dialogues can say so much about us…if my inner dialogue was shared with the world, I’d be embarrassed about the things I say to myself everyday…I think that we all are struggling, [and] I think that there’s beauty in acknowledging that as human beings that we never figure it out…I don’t think we’re meant to feel complete on this earth, but what I think is so incredible about it is that we have the ability to shine light into those dark areas…and say I see you…but I’m not gonna give you power anymore.” -Jenna Kutcher

RESOURCES

Jenna Kutcher Website
Goal Digger Podcast
Jenna Kutcher Facebook
Jenna Kutcher Instagram
Jenna Kutcher Twitter

SDH221: Secrets Behind Running Million Dollar Businesses with Amanda Googsly Dec 28, 2017

How did you get serious about changing destructive behaviors? Who believed in you first? When did your intention match your actions and mindset?

Hey there guys! Amanda Googsly is our go-to girl today! Amanda is the owner of a coaching practice, Aligned Success, and just launched her own podcast 5 weeks ago. Amanda focuses on helping driven, and high achieving leaders create success in their health, career, and life. She started her practice only 5 months ago, after resigning from running the Portland region of Orange Theory Fitness. When she left her position, her franchises were pulling 20 million dollars in revenue a year! But her calling to help people was greater, and she knew her story would inspire others to push through their storms and believe there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

Her journey began back in 2010. She was submerged in the world of fitness, studying exercise science at Washington State University, running her own fitness studio, and competing in bodybuilding competitions. Unfortunately, that summer she got her knee caught on a wave runner, and tore a ligament in her knee, and a main artery in her leg. She had to have an emergency vascular surgery to save her leg and spent two months in the hospital. During those two months, she dealt with complete muscle atrophy, causing her leg to turn into mush. The following 6 months, she was confined to a wheelchair and walker and gained 30 pounds in those months alone.

She said she felt like her life and identity had been taken away from her, and started making poor life decisions in the coming 18 months. She found herself in an abusive relationship and began using and selling ecstasy in the Portland nightlife scene. She said she no longer could recognize the person she had become, and knew if she didn’t change she would end up dead or in prison. So she piled everything she could in her car and took off to Phoenix. She didn’t have a job, place to live or a plan. She just knew she had to create a different environment than the one she was in.

When she got to Phoenix, she said it was easier for her to make a living selling drugs, and it took her about four months to actually change her habits. She said the gumption to make a change came to her as she was doing a video blog. She said the day of the accident, was the day she stopped loving herself, and that is why she dove so deeply into sex, drugs, and destructive behaviors. She had to find her passion again, and knew helping people change their lives through fitness was where she found the most purpose and joy.
She applied for a job at Orange Theory Fitness, and through that got a mentor who gave her a book on leadership. He taught her to recognize the resilience and grit that it took for her to overcome her obstacles, and see the potential she would have as a leader if she worked on her confidence. His belief in her gave her the final nudge she needed to transform herself mentally, and she started excelling at work, and getting raises!

She said once she got her personal development into alignment, everything from her finances to her lifestyle was improving, and was addicted to succeeding. By 2014, she was traveling the country trying to open more franchises as a consultant for Orange Theory Fitness. In 2015, she became VP of two new franchises in Utah, and oversaw over 2 million dollars in revenue each year. By that fall, she was ready for something with more opportunity and responsibility, and decided to move back to Portland to open a franchise, and help other franchisees open their own studios, too.

Before she tackled that development process, she took a month leave to travel to Bali. She said she got a different level of clarity about where she wanted to go, and remembered her desire to coach people full time. She wanted to coach in 2014, but felt she wasn’t ready, even though she knew that was where her heart was. She said she was passionate about fitness, but realized that it was not her entire purpose in this world, and wanted to help people work through their pain in other aspects of their life.

Through her business she has helped clients like burnt out executives and entrepreneurs create more efficient systems in their lives and careers so they have a moment to breath. Not only that, she helps them figure out whether the success they’ve been chasing is their true purpose, and how to begin to reroute their path, and achieve their career and personal dream!

Listen in and hear how she got the courage to leave Orange Theory Fitness, created her coaching practice, and grew as a leader and a person!

In this episode you will…

Find the motivation to change destructive habits
Get your personal development in alignment
Use your pain to help others through theirs
Learn how to run million dollar businesses
Figure out your best method of learning
Learn to invest in yourself

INSIGHTS

“I kind of became addicted to seeing myself perform at a higher level, and seeing the rewards that came from it. I was just improving in so many facets. My lifestyle was improving, my finances were improving. It was what I call the domino affect of I got my personal development into alignment. That was the thing I needed most in my life.” -Amanda Goolsby

“I really got a different level clarity about what I wanted…I thought, I did not go through all of that that I went through to then not give back and help humanity through that…I did not go through that [in] vain.” -Amanda Goolsby

“If you’re going to invest in something, you should invest in yourself because it multiplies…invest 10% of everything you make into yourself…I’ve seen the payoff already, if I stay the process, and keep going, this will pay off in the end.” -Amanda Goolsby

“What aligned success is all about is you can achieve success…but does it feel good in your life, or are you putting your ladder up the wrong building, climbing all the way to the top, and then realizing it’s not really where they want to be.” -Amanda Goolsby

“I believe energy is more important than intelligence, and if you don’t have a full, vibrant energy everyday, how are you going to accomplish any of your dreams at the level that is possible for you.” -Amanda Goolsby

RESOURCES

Amanda Googsly Website
Aligned Success Podcast
Amanda Googsly Facebook
Amanda Googsly Instagram
Amanda Googsly LinkedIn
Team Lift Inc.
The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy
Bali Retreat
Free NYD Training

SDH220: Develop a Strategy that Profits with Julie Solomon Dec 25, 2017

Well, look no further than influencer marketing strategist, Julie Solomon! Julie shares her tips and tricks with bloggers and other influencers on her blog, website, online courses, and new podcast, The Influencer! Through these multiple outlets, her audience is able to network, and load up on valuable resources that they’ll need to turn their online platforms into profitable businesses and grow their brands.

Julie originally got her start in PR and worked at the publishing house, Thomas Nelson, now owned by Harper Collins. Though she progressed rapidly and loved working with people like Mike Hyatt and Dave Ramsey, she could not shake her need to innovate. So she left Harper Collins, and co-founded a PR-firm with her business partner, but was ready to move on after a couple of years. She began noticing a career pattern within herself, and said she was always ready for the next big step after doing something for around two years. She needed to find a profession that could keep up with her and became interested in the constantly evolving online influencer space.

To get acclimated to the influencer world, she wanted to understand what it meant to be one and began lifestyle blogging for a couple of years. By experiencing their highs and lows, she figured out where the industry needed help the most, and began building a service list for her marketing business.

One of her courses, Pitch it Perfect, was created from discussions with bloggers who couldn’t get their foot in the marketing door or had plateaued once they did. Since Julie had eight years of PR experience under her belt, she was able to come up with unique opportunities for others to offer brand collaborations with media outlets and established brands beyond the typical Instagram post. So she developed a strategy course that lets bloggers know what to say to brands, and how to negotiate rates and deals. She said one of the biggest mistakes she sees bloggers make is giving their rates before they even have a deal, which causes them to lose all their negotiation power. By learning to finesse a negotiation, she helped bloggers make 2-3 times more than what they were initially offered!

Tune in to hear more tips on how to grow as an influencer, how she grew her own brand, and so much more!

In this episode you will…

Create more "evergreen" or timeless content so you can repurpose it
Develop your services based on your clienteles need
Understand how to pitch to brands
Learn how to give genuine complimentary feedback to brands
Be able to build relationships with people through an email
See how to build an engaged audience

INSIGHTS

“When it comes to pitching or emailing anyone…you always want to come from a place that’s complimentary…really coming from a genuine place of saying look I’ve tried your product, I’ve tried your services, and I really love them, and this why… really give them a lot of genuine feedback…as to how their products or services are really benefitting you and the audience that you have.” -Julie Solomon

“A lot of bloggers or influencers will come across saying, ‘Hey this is who I am, this is how many followers I have, this what I want to do, and this is how much it’s going to cost.’…And that’s such a cold way to come across…so really you have to come at it as like how can I build a relationship with this person. There is an actual human being on the other end of that email…how can I serve them in a way that’s going to be impactful, and really in a way that’s help their bottom line.” -Julie Solomon

“To me, it’s about the quality over the quantity…A falling number doesn’t really matter, because it’s really about how engaged is that community…I’d rather have 10 people who are super engaged in everything that I say, who are loyal members of my community, who are going to be there to offer constructive criticism, or whatever it may be, than to have 500 people who don’t give a crap, because that’s what’s really going to help me build long-term.” -Julie Solomon

"I really feel like passion, or your lack of passion is really like a spiritual condition...what joy are you not able to find because of this lack of? So for me when I go through these periods, I really try to get back to the basics of...what's my purpose?...I just try as much as I can to just stop...when I start to lose my passion, is when I try to do too much at once...I have to connect with nature...and where I can really be still...but if I can find those moments in that, that's where I can kind of seek out what the truer issue may be, and then try to figure out if I need to maybe be more flexible with my passions." -Julie Solomon

"I always knew I wanted to help people [and] I wanted to connect at the end of the day...how I do that now is through podcasts, and course creations, and Instagram stories, and all these other things! And it's really about being flexible, you can still get to that passion at the end of the day, as long as you're flexible with the journey of getting there." -Julie Solomon

RESOURCES

How to Attract Your Ideal Audience (Juliesolomon.net/newsletter)
Julie Solomon Website
Julie Solomon Instagram
Julie Solomon Facebook
Julie Solomon Twitter
Julie Solomon Pinterest
Pursuit with Purpose Podcast with Melyssa Griffin

A Course in Miracles by Helen Schucman

The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron

SDH219: Learn How to Run a Business and Travel the World with The Bucketlist Bombshells Dec 21, 2017

Don’t fret because, in today’s episode, Cassie Torrecillas and Shay Brown have the answers! Cassie and Shay are the co-founders of The Bucketlist Bombshells; an online educational community that teaches Millennial women how to build online service-based businesses while traveling the world. The Bucketlist Bombshells consists of two skills courses that are open year-round, and their original business course, Work Online and Travel the World; which is available once a year in the spring. The year-round courses arm students with tech and design skills, while the spring course helps them find clients, build a website, manage their finances while traveling. Users must start with the two skills courses to become acclimated to the Bombshell community and gain the courage and support they may need to tackle their entrepreneurial dream. From the introductory courses, students have the confidence to withstand the lifestyle shakeup of Work Online and Travel the World and have the skills to start their online businesses.

The two came up with the idea after a chance encounter at a coffee shop in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Though complete strangers, they had both bought one-way tickets to Mexico after graduating college for the same reason: to escape the fast-approaching corporate rut. They wanted to see the world, but also maintain a steady income, and came up with the idea to become “digital nomads”.

They started by each building their own service-based businesses; with Cassie’s focusing on graphic design and social media management, and Shay’s on website design and social media management, too. To incorporate their passion for travel, they decided to simultaneously fulfill their travel bucket list. By tackling both passion projects at the same time, they gained experience in managing the business on the go and in different time zones, landing clients, and online marketing all while globetrotting.

Whenever they came back home, they were bombarded with questions about how they could possibly travel full time and run their businesses. So at their kitchen table in Italy, they decided to create a resource hub for women to become educated on how to start online businesses, but maintain their freedom and live creatively.

They began by pulling their skill sets together to build an online course from scratch. They went with Course Cats, a WordPress theme, and MemberPress, a membership plugin. They went on these platforms because they wanted to maintain control over customization, and student/visitor interaction with the course. They also used Whistea to host the videos on their website. Around three to four months later, they had launched their first online course on Bucketlist Bombshells!

Stay tuned and hear more about how they managed a staff around the world, co-ran the company, and Bucketlist Bombshell’s evolution!

In this episode you will…

Learn how to run a business and travel around the world
Be able to bring your dream job to others
Know how to build an online teaching course
Figure out how to flow your courses
See how to manage a remote team
Know how to build a strong online community and inspire confidence

INSIGHTS

“There are not that many females in this space. We would love to bring more females into this area [and] have some more friends on the road…we ended up stopping to think, what if we created this amazing roadmap for others to do the same thing.” -Shay Brown

“It’s so crazy how you really tackle your dreams, and you sit down, and you start thinking what is that actually going to look like. We thought about meet-ups around the world, and different courses, and just so many different things, that we’ve now made a reality, and it’s really just like the best job in the world.”-Cassie Torrecillas

“Just because something doesn’t work out for your first launch does not mean you’re all of a sudden not cut out to be an entrepreneur. I think what really makes people successful entrepreneurs is they sit down, and take those things that didn’t feel right…they go back and re-talk with their audience, and that’s when you really make something amazing.” -Cassie Torrecillas

“We love the stuff that we work on. Everything we do throughout the day can get [us] in such a zone and where we’re so into what we’re doing that we need to really come with this mindset [of] we’re coming with our best foot forward with our community.” -Shay Brown

RESOURCES

The Bucketlist Bombshells Website
The Bucketlist Bombshell Tribe
The Bucketlist Bombshell Instagram
Course Cats
MemberPress
Slack
Asana
Dropbox
Dojo Bali

SDH218: Getting Comfortable with Being Loud and Putting Yourself Out There with Heather Havenwood Dec 18, 2017

Today Heather Havenwood tells you how in this episode! Helen wrote the book, Sexy Boss, which is about the emotional rollercoaster she faced while working in the information marketing business, between 1999 and 2001; a then male-dominated industry. She hadn’t written Sexy Boss with the intention of it becoming a New York Times Best Seller but just wanted one person to benefit from reading about her experiences. She hadn’t gone on a huge marketing and press junket for the book’s launch, but three years after it’s publication, it became number one on Amazon! To have that happen organically meant the world to her, and she’s glad her book empowered women to take control of their success, money, and sex lives!

Once her book took off in 2015, and the spotlight was on her, she was forced to learn how to get comfortable with self-promotion. She said that in general it’s easier for men to be self-promoting, and for women, it’s counterintuitive to talk about how great they are free. She also found it hard to ask media outlets to come on their platforms to speak about her and her book. She said that mindset stemmed from her mother’s Southern, Baptist philosophy of not inviting yourself to the “party”, but wait to be invited. But Helen realized that as an entrepreneur, you cannot wait for opportunities to present themselves, and she had to go after them herself. She got over her fear of telling people how great she was by starting out on podcasts. After writing her book Power Guesting, she has been on over 300 podcasts, TV, and radio interviews in the last two years!

She had also started her own podcast in 2013, titled after her book, but it never really took off. She assumed that podcasting wasn’t the great promotional platform that everyone made it out to be. However, after appearing on her friend’s podcast in 2015, she gained a client that paid her $5,000 to coach him on starting a business. That was the ‘aha’ moment that told her that while hosting her own podcast may not be in the cards, appearing on them could become a lucrative practice for her personal brand, and business ventures. She then made speaking platforms her go-to marketing tool!

Learn more about how Helen built her brand, and got comfortable just showing up to the party!

In this episode you will…

Get comfortable with self-promotion
Take note of what media platforms are lucrative for you and your business
Learn to constantly stay on the media radar
Know how to sell hope and confidence
Find what you’re good at and build a business from it
Be able to sell your business

INSIGHTS

“I drive therefore I am… I’m a promoter… When I work with clients, the one thing I’m teaching them is how to drive their business…how to push it out there… And it’s uncomfortable for entrepreneurs…Entrepreneurs are usually selling themselves..their art…[I help] them un-collapse their baby…and then sell it.” -Helen Havenwood

“How do you expose your visibility and profitability with your baby…the feedback is usually [are people] buying or not…that’s pretty much what my elixir is: how do I help the entrepreneur sell their product and services, and not get all weird about it. And it’s definitely harder for women than it is for men.” -Helen Havenwood

“What actually are you selling? Are you selling hope? Are you selling strategy?...At the end of the day, that’s what most products are selling…What had you buy [something] was confidence. That product will give you the confidence to do x, y, and z. You have to remember why people buy…Hope and confidence are the number one and number two that people buy.” -Helen Havenwood

RESOURCES

3 FREE CHAPTERS OF SEXY BOSS LINK! (askheatherann.com)
Sexy Boss Inc. Website
Heather Havenwood LinkedIn
Sexy Boss Inc. Facebook
Sexy Boss Twitter

SDH 217: 5 Things I'm Doing in My Business Before 2018 Solocast with Amanda Boleyn Dec 14, 2017

As 2017 winds down, 2018 is just around the corner and here are 5 things I am doing before 2018 arrives to help kick off the new year and grow my business.

Forgive Myself
Get CLEAR on Who My Business Serves

3. Listen to Amy Porterfield’s episode 183 “How to Create Your Promotional Calendar”

Identify What I'm Going to START doing and STOP Doing
Research Where I Want to Invest and How in My Business

In today's solocast I dive into each area and how it will set up 2018 for success.

What are things you are doing to set yourself up for success for 2018?

SDH216: Choosing your Reality and Moving towards Abundance With Amanda Boleyn Dec 11, 2017

How do you allow success to flow to you? Do you start the day claiming positivity? Are you in control of your happiness?

We get to hear Amanda's take on these questions today as the roles are flipped and she becomes the interviewee! On this episode, Amanda is interviewed by Catherine Grace O’Connell and Kathy Kaehler of LA Talk Radio’s, Cat & Kaehler. During their talk, she shares with listeners her entrepreneurial story, and the mental journey she went on along the way!

As SDIHW listeners know, Amanda left corporate America around 2012, and began working as an independent contractor in large corporations. Her role focused on sales training and development, as well as teaching sales marketing. It wasn’t until 2015 that she started SDIHW, because she saw a lack of the female perspective in the entrepreneurial world, and decided to start a podcast to share her experiences.

Originally starting as a hobby, SDIHW has since evolved into on offline support system of women in charge of their dreams; all eager to offer their help and advice to others trying to navigate the rough waters of entrepreneurship. This network was strengthened with the first in-person She Did it Her Way Summit this past October. At the Summit, SDIHW listeners were able to meet with female entrepreneurs across the country and learn from them, network, and build a community that will support them along their new career paths.

This passion to bring people together has been a dream of Amanda’s since she was a little kid. She remembers wanting to be an actress or a singer, playing store with the neighbor kids using monopoly money, and running a lemonade stand when she was younger. She said she always imagined a career where she worked with people, and felt a need to service them through resource and community building. She felt a strong desire to be her own boss and understood from an early age what entrepreneurship meant, and was eager to jump on the bandwagon.

But first, she had some mental reconfiguration to do. After she graduated college, like every graduate, she was bombarded with student loans. She said for five years, she used that as the reason she couldn’t save money to start her business and become financially stable. Her debt became a cloud over her energy; and with her frequency lowered, repressed childhood emotions, and other mental roadblocks regarding money and self-worth began to arise.

After being in a stuck and negative place for a while, she decided to stop being a victim, and take control of her life. She looked at the philosophy of Tony Robbins and Wayne Dyer and reframed how she looked at stressors. She took them as a learning experience so she could allow infinite abundance and positivity to enter her reality, and unload years of emotional baggage. She said she began to look at the negatives in her life in a more empowering light, like being thankful that she was able to go to graduate from college and have the money to pay off student loans herself. By changing her mindset, and allowing herself to be vulnerable through emotional coaching, she was able to vibrate at a higher energy frequency, and let success and fulfillment come to her!

Hear how she figured out where she wanted to channel her motivation and determination, released herself from a negative mindset, and began to actively pursue her passions!

In this episode you will…

Learn to remove the roadblocks in your mind to achieve success
Get rid of a victim mentality
Change how you look at the stressors in your life
Start your day with affirmations
Avoid getting caught up in social media comparisons
Take control of your happiness and success
INSIGHTS

“We choose our reality, and we can`t be a victim of our circumstances, and that wherever we are is because we choose it…once we can recognize that we are actually subconsciously choosing to be where we are, that’s when we can start to move forward…and get to that abundance.” -Amanda Boleyn

“Everything that we do, and the energy that we put behind our actions will dramatically dictate the outcome of what we get…that shift of going from a victim to realizing we’re still in control of our circumstances, that takes work…it’s a constant choice in every situation to choose to be empowered.” -Amanda Boleyn

“When I find myself in this stuck mindset, I ask myself how can I change the perspective or way I’m looking at? Or what can I ask myself to shift this paradigm in my mind, because if we are all truly of our own reality, we can create whatever we want.” -Amanda Boleyn

RESOURCES

Cat & Kaehler Website
Cat& Kaehler Facebook
Cat & Kaehler Instagram
Cat & Kaehler Twitter
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

SDH215: The Higher the Risk, the Greater the Reward with Nicole Vasquez Dec 07, 2017

In a need for a cloud accounting software that isn't overwhelming, simple and easy to use? have you tried Freshbooks? Because if not, you're missing out. Freshbooks is an accounting software with the freelance and service-based business in mind. Because of its friendly user design, you're able to customize invoices, draft, send, follow up, accept payment, track express, and work contracts all right in the portal.

Try Freshbooks today by visiting www.Freshbooks.com/She and enter She Did It Her Way in the "How did you hear about us?" box.

Happy tracking!

SDH214: How to Break Societal Norms and Do It Your Way with Lizzi Cutler Dec 04, 2017

When was the last time that you did something for yourself? Where you went against what society told you was right, and did what you knew in your heart was best for you?

Today’s guest Lizzi Cutler, has made a business of helping people sort through those questions, and live the best life they can! Lizzi does so with various yoga, meditation, retreats, and an Energy Editing system that teaches clients to find themselves mentally, spiritually, and physically. She helps clients release old and negative mindsets, and shift their belief systems and thoughts into a powerful space so they can become more productive, and strong individuals and leaders!

Lizzi’s path to her business was a little scattered, however. After she graduated college with a theater degree, she realized she didn’t want to stay in LA to pursue acting. So she moved to Chicago, and became a mortgage loan officer, even though she knew nothing about the field. However the market was booming, and she was very successful and bought a condo at the age of 23, but she was miserable. She was so miserable at her job that her boss pulled her aside, and told her she was too young to hate her job this much, and that she needed to quit. She then went on to work as a project manager for a custom home builder, and then as an executive assistant for a hedge fund. Through that position, she fell in love and followed him to Tokyo when his job relocated him.

It was in Tokyo, that her love for meditation and yoga was formed. She began understanding the energy surrounding us, as it flows and decided she wanted to be a part of the field. When she returned back to Chicago, she started to notice the strengthening of her intuition but didn’t know what to do with her new gifts. After talking with a friend, she was referred to a psychic for an intuitive training session where she found out she was a healer. Since the psychic was retiring, she sent her to someone else who acted as her mentor as she followed her intuitive path.

After 2-3 months, she began working with another channel and healer named Steph. For their first session, Lizzi found out she had clairvoyant audient gifts, as well, meaning she could obtain random drops of knowledge in another voice. So she began giving in to her clairvoyance and started having visions and listening to the voices that came to her when performing reiki on people. She started repeating what she was hearing and seeing them during these sessions, and found that a lot her intuitions were accurate!

As she further developed her brand, services, and gifts, she came up with her program Turn Left. The program targets people at huge crossroads in their lives, that know what their heart wants to do but are conflicted by what their mind, community, and teachings tell them to do; which is to play it safe. One way she helps people fight their fears and societal norms is by having them write on the back of a postcard when they “turned left” in the past, or where they see it happening in the future. She then encourages them to post it on social media, as a form of declaration of their strength and courage!

Tune in to hear more about Turn Left and its origin, and Lizzi’s path to understanding her talents!

In this episode you will…

Not let your fears over take your life
Have the courage to step away from situations that you’re heart is not invested in
Follow your intuitive instincts
Discover what your money blocks are
Be able to decide what type of woman and entrepreneur you want to be
Shift your mindset to bring in positive energy
INSIGHTS

“We all have these fears and these doubts that we face, and those fears are very real and very tangible…And they live in us [and] until you’re ready to face those fears, you’re just stuck…and it’s when we choose to face those fears that a) our life opens up and b) you realize those fears are total bullshit.” -Lizzi Cutler

“Vulnerability is the source of connection…it really varies for each person. And I think for me, a lot of it was stemming from my power center…and it was a lot about feeling not enoughness…feeling like someone always knew more…all this bullshit that was keeping me really small [and preventing me from] presenting what I do. [But] I get such a charge and so much love back from watching my clients shift...it’s one of those beyond ‘aha’ moments.” -Lizzi Cutler

“It’s never about the actual dollar. It’s about whatever you want to be feeling that you’re afraid to feel, and how do we get you more comfortable with feeling that? By shifting the thing that’s keeping you stuck, and you do the work. I’m providing the space and showing you how, so you become your own healer. And that to me is more empowering than anything else.” -Lizzi Cutler

RESOURCES

Lizzi’s Website
Lizzi’s Facebook
Lizzi’s Instagram
Lizzi’s LinkedIn
Energy Editing with Michelle Lowbridge

SDH213: Finding Your Tribe - A collection of mini Interviews with Female Entrepreneurs Nov 30, 2017

How can you create a market catered to a niche audience? How do you begin to trust your choices and judgment as an entrepreneur? In what ways can you empower others with your brand?

We cover all those topics and more, as we get to listen to Jessica Zweig of SimplyBe Agency’s “tribal gathering” in today’s episode. Female entrepreneurs across the Chicago-area gathered at the event to support each other, as well as establish and strengthen their networks. We got to chat with four incredible women about their businesses, and got a snapshot of their journeys, and how their businesses came to be!

We'll start with Sarah Russo, who is a holistically trained chef. She works with clients in their homes and businesses to create healthier eating habits and also sets up meal plans for people with food allergies and restrictions. Recently, she has also created an organic popsicle called Yum Pops. They are dairy, gluten, and sugar-free cream-sickles that are coconut milk based, with their fruit pops made from local fruit vendors. Yum Pops currently are sold from a cart that is wheeled around Chicago during the summer, but by next year it will have its own store-front! Her goal is to be able to provide those who want to eat clean with food that fulfills their needs, follows their dietary restrictions, but is delicious, too.

Next, we get to know Cat Aldana, who is the creator of Eat, Stretch, Nap. Her brand offers yoga retreats across the country to teach people how to relax and enjoy life outside of the workplace. Before she started Eat, Stretch, Nap, she was teaching yoga full time and was the Operations Director at Air Aerial Fitness. What made her take the leap to entrepreneurship was an opportunity that made her reflect on what she wanted next out of her career. She was offered the chance to open up her own aerial studio, which is what she thought was her dream. But she realized she didn’t want to solidify her future with her own studio, even though she loved everything about her job. She just knew that the best decision was to leave the company, or at least take a break until she figured out her next step.

So she started Eat, Stretch, Nap as a blog to help give people perspective and awareness on tough choices since she was at the same crossroads with her career and life. One thing she’s still struggling with is trusting her choice, but she reminds herself to listen to her gut, and be okay with whatever experience it’ll bring. More importantly, she remembers that she can bounce back from that experience, and learn from it. After talking with students from her classes about Eat, Pray, Stretch’s philosophy, she was able to book teaching events across Chicago, which eventually turned her blog into a profitable brand capable of booking retreats.

Our next lady boss is Silviana Faveretto who is the founder of the Tulle Project. The Tulle Project is an e-commerce business that sells tulle skirts, with the personal mission of empowering women to stand out and be bold. She also has a YouTube channel where she interviews women about their challenges in life and aims to portray women in a realistic and relatable light to see the riches of womanhood. Originally a graphic designer, she created the Tulle Project as a side hustle a couple of years ago. She started out with an Instagram campaign, and made 100 skirts in 100 days, and styled different outfits with each skirt. She loved the attention she got on social media and on the streets with her fun and exciting outfits, but she also loved the smile her skirts brought to people’s faces. She wanted to continue the cycle of joy, and that’s when she turned the Tulle Project into a store and a movement.

Our last interviewee is Rev. Lola Wright, an author at the Bodhi Spiritual Center, which is a center for transformation and liberation. They are a nonreligious center that provides people with Sunday services, classes, workshops and special events. Their mission is to be a place that gives people a sense of community, without traditional religious teachings. Due to a rocky religious upbringing, and her parent’s divorce, she began to question the history of Christianity. She said that she felt like following a religion wasn’t right for her, but she still felt a connection to her spiritual nature. She felt as if there was a creative power in the universe for good that lives and moves in everyone. She knew that if she could align herself with it consciously her life would become easier, and she would stop living a life that society told her equated to success. As she officially began the search for a home for her spirit and career, she found Bodhi and has been with the church for over 12 years.

Stay tuned and hear more of each of their beautiful stories and inspirational wisdom!

In this episode you will…

Know how to walk away from a job that you love to venture out on your own
Figure out how to make hard life choices
Learn to inspire confidence and spread joy to others with your brand
Be okay with venturing into the unknown, and take everything as a learning experience
Start to live the life you want to live and not the one you’re told to live
Stop trying to meet the expectations of others, and live according to you

INSIGHTS

“I have to remember, in part of making choices, it’s actually just leading me to something that will help me get to know myself better…if I’m not making choices I’m not learning about myself.”-Cat Aldana

“[Trust] that there is something in you to be listened to. For a lot of people that is a revolutionary concept to trust that you do have an intuitive knowing…and the more you listen to it, the easier it is for you to hear.” -Lola Wright

“People can be so conditioned to have a derogatory self-image…if you think about traditional religious paradigms; if you think about the notion that you’re an original sinner, that is so problematic. It affirms that you have something inherently wrong with you, and I have the unwillingness to subscribe to that. It’s just not the truth…you’re whole, you’re perfect, you’re complete.” -Lola Wright

RESOURCES

This Thing Called You by Ernest Holmes
The Art of Life by Ernest Holmes
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

SDH212: Creating a Business From Solving Your Own Problems with Marisa Arredondo Nov 27, 2017

What is your edge on the competition as a new brand? Is it your story? Your passion?

For Marisa Arredondo, the founder of Phace Bioactive, it’s both! Phace Bioactive is the first pH-optimized skin care line with mildly acidic products, designed to match the natural pH of the outer layer of our skin, which has an acidic protective barrier. This barrier seals in moisture, protects the elasticity of our skin, and also protects from bacteria that can cause pimples.

Marisa always knew she would start a skin care line geared towards helping people of all ages with their acne struggles because she grew up with heavy cystic acne herself. She battled inflammation, redness, and premature wrinkling in her teens, and tried everything from sulfur to benzoyl peroxide. She was eventually prescribed antibiotics and began having corticoid steroids injected into her cysts, but nothing seemed to be working. Her only success came from using Accutane, but her severe acne returned in her 20s.

Fed up with her skin problems, she began working as a research analyst on Wall Street that invested in cosmetic and dermatology companies. Through that experience, she had access to the nation’s leading scientists, dermatologists, and product developers. From those relationships, she was taught the importance of pH balanced products to prevent aging, and treat and nourish skin in a healthy and long-lasting way.

She then attended Harvard Business School where she came up with the idea for Phace Bioactive. In 2011, she had enough money and contacts to pursue her product line full time and quit her corporate job. For four years, she built a team of passionate chemists with product and ingredient development experience; and together they traveled across the country conducting market research. It wasn’t until 2015 that Phace Bioactive launched on Marisa’s website, and by that fall they were being featured in Harper’s Bazaar, W Magazine, and Vogue!

They eventually caught the attention of Saks Fifth Avenue, who carried their line in their Apothecary initiative; and are also carried by QVC! Marisa attributes their takeoff to her timing, their unique pH-focused angle, and her authentic story. Marisa said that due to women being more educated on ingredients in their beauty products, with the advent of the internet, Marisa’s target audience appreciates Phace Bioactive’s scientific and transparent approach. Mixed with her passion and personal connection to the product and her consumers, since she has been through the same skin trials, it’s no wonder she was able to defeat the competition and make her dream product a reality!

Hear more about how she gained the confidence to launch her product and work through her insecurities to put her story at the forefront of her brand!

In this episode you will….

Learn how to build a product based off of your struggles
See how to conduct proper research and development
Figure out how to build the perfect research and product development team
See the value of business relationships
Know where to invest your money first in a new business
Be able to make your product accessible to customers
INSIGHTS

“I always knew I wanted to do this. When you’ve suffered from really bad skin issues…the emotional scars are still very much there…So I always knew I wanted to solve my skin issues, and I always knew I would start a skincare line. The question was: How would I solve my issues? How could I create the best products for myself and for women everywhere? And how would I accumulate this capital? And when would I have the guts?” -Marisa Arredondo

“In building this business, what I decided at the outset was that I would do everything on my own because what it would do was it would educate me on every little facet of the business so that when I hire, and there’s a problem, I could help resolve that problem very quickly...it’s given me a level of control early on.” -Marisa Arredondo

“The beauty of chaos is that’s where real opportunity presents itself” -Marisa Arredondo

“Your business will run your life…if you don’t love what you do and you’re not totally passionate about what you’re selling and creating… don’t do it, because if you’re in it for the money, forget it. You’re not going to be a success. You’ve got to be really passionate about what you’re doing to be able to handle this.” -Marisa Arredondo

RESOURCES

Marisa Arredondo LinkedIn

Phace Bioactive Website (Marisa@phacebioactive.com)

Phace Bioactive Facebook

Phace Bioactive Instagram (The Phace Life)

Phace Bioactive Twitter

Uncommon Service by Anne Morriss and Frances Frei

SDH211: 5 Key Takeaways From "You Are A Badass at Making Money" with Amanda Boleyn Nov 23, 2017

Hi friends! Today's solocast I'm sharing my 5 key takeaways from "You Are a Badass at Making Money," with Jen Sincero.

I've recently started to seek out content and information about the money mindset topic which leads me to pick up Jen Sincero’s "You Are A Badass at Making Money," book. If you haven’t read Jen’s other book, "You Are a Badass," or have listened to her interview on the podcast, you must do so asap. Click here to see the full episode.

One thing that kept popping up for me throughout reading the book is realizing the absolute importance of having a mindset coach in some capacity. We get life coaches, fitness coaches, development coaches but what about a mindset coach? Our mind impacts everything we do because our mind is what creates the thought that triggers an emotional reaction, that leads to a physical action producing a result.

Our subconscious has a lot of power and influence over our physical world and more often than not it is actually creating our reality without us knowing it. We could be subconsciously repelling abundance in our life, we could be repelling the business that we’ve always wanted to create because of what lives in our subconscious mind and it is important to identify and release those thoughts and memories.

Here are my 5 key takeaways:

Our words create our reality

This I’ve known to be true but after seeking out more information and getting deeper into energy exchange, universal law and closely watching my own words, this is a game changer. Once I started reading this book I started paying more attention to how I spoke about money. And ooh it was a bit uncomfortable recognizing how I was speaking about it. Imagine if money was a person because it is energy but just imagine if it was a person. Do you speak of that “person” highly or poorly? In the book, Jen points out phrases that we use every day that are lacking and how we can replace them.

“You have to want your dreams more than you want your drama.”

It is okay if what you do comes easy to you, it doesn't have to be hard.

On the podcast, I pull a page straight out of her book and read it to you because to try and recap it would be a disservice to the entire message...

Know WHY you want the money (or abundance) you want to manifest

I’ve done this before and I’ve heard other people say it to…." I want to make six figures next year!" but that’s where we usually stop. Instead, ask yourself "WHY do I want to make six figures next year?" or "WHY do I want to make 10,000 a month?" then go into "What am I going to use the money for?"

One thing I’ve learned is that it is harder to manifest money or energy to attract something when you don’t know why or how you’re going to apply. You have to be clear on what you’re going to do with the money. The next step after writing out exactly what you’re going to use it for writing down activities that you can do to help generate that amount. Don’t fixate yourself on the dollar amount. The universe already knows your goal, just focus on making more money.

The last part is trying to plan and map out exactly which way you’re going to make the money may set you up for failure because the universe may deliver in ways you’ve never imagined and you may be blocking yourself. Instead, when you do write ways that you could make the money you want, note that you realize that the universe could deliver in other ways and you’re open to it.

Focus

A lot of entrepreneurs I’ve spoken to (myself included) is that there is no lacking ideas or business that we can create. And if we’re not careful it could fragment our focus on what we’re actually trying to build. We have to make decisions and decide how we want to spend our time. The Latin roots of the word “decide” literally mean “to cut off.”

Something I’ve struggled with is meeting resistance around making decisions because I panic in fear that by deciding one thing I’m going to miss out on other cool things but in reality, I can’t do anything if I try to do everything.

“A firm decision (even to focus) sets everything in motion.”

Hurrying vs. Urgency

Hurrying is like running around with your hands waving in the air, shouting “I’ve to get this done! I’ve got to get this done!” without ever making massive headway. You’re gripping onto your to-do list so tight that the energy is stuck and it's more work and agony to get things done. Versus urgency. When things are urgent you vibrate at a higher energy frequency, it raises you up gives you focus and drive.

Again, if you haven’t read any of Jen’s books I highly recommend it.

Also, in the podcast, I talk about the Money Mindset Bootcamp that I'm in run by Molly Sapp. I'm halfway through the six-week course and have learned more in the past 3 weeks about money, mindset, and energy than I have the past 11 months combined. I recommend joining Molly’s Facebook Group for High Performing Females.

Now for some goodies and exciting announcements:

I’ve thought about the next phase of She Did It Her Way and how it can continue to serve you all and grow. I’m looking for 15-17 people who want to and can contribute at least 1 article a month on various topics for She Did It Her Way. The commitment is for 6 months and to be considered all you have to do is apply online. Submissions are open from now until December 15th.

SDH 210: Making your Hobby a Business with Abby Walker Nov 20, 2017

Is your hobby the only thing that makes you feel like you? How do you transform that hobby into a successful business?

We hear all about that with Abby Walker who is the CEO and worldwide distributor of Vivian Lou! Vivian Lou sells insoles for heels that help women wear them longer without the pain that we all know too well. Always loving heels herself, she immediately latched on to the product when she came across the company in early 2014. Vivian Lou offers two versions of the insoles, classic or couture, and they slightly rotate the heel bone up and back. This shifts your weight off the front of your feet to your heel and stops your foot from slipping which reduces the pain and pressure usually put on women’s forefoot. Abby said that in a standard three-inch heel, 75% of the body’s weight is put on the forefoot, and by using Vivian Lou’s insoles, that weight is equally distributed across the foot and makes it feel as if you’re walking in a flat rather than a heel. Another plus is that they are invisible and can be put in anything from a strappy sandal to open-toed shoes! They also come in four different sizes that range from US size 4-12, so any woman can wear them.

Before Abby began working for Vivian Lou, she worked in corporate marketing and communications for 15 years. After having her second child, she felt like she had lost herself in her career, and decided to start a blog as a side hobby because it helped her feel like herself again. Her blog was called Mama’s Shoes and was her place to gush about how much she loved high heels to her whopping 36 followers. As she was gearing up to write a blog post about foot sprays that helped with pain and inflammation, she found out they contained lidocaine, which is a numbing agent that dentists used. She said she felt that she could come up with a less drastic solution to help with foot pain, and decided to create her own foot spray with all organic and natural ingredients. She hired a chemical herbalist and naturopathic doctor, and together they made a fantastic product that worked better than their competitors. The only problem was since it was natural ingredients, they could only produce it in small batches. Since it couldn’t be mass-produced, the product line fell apart, and her ticket out of the corporate world vanished.

As luck would have it, she soon ran across an online forum with two women discussing a great product called Insolia. Surprised she had never heard of it before due to her in-depth knowledge of the shoe industry, she called the chairman of the company to see where they may have gone wrong with their marketing and promotion. The chairman admitted that the company was run by a bunch of male MIT engineers who were struggling to understand and attract the attention of female audiences, and didn’t know how to get it off the ground. Seeing the potential in the product and company, Abby offered to handle their marketing in exchange for an increment of their sales, but the chairman came back with a different offer. He and his team were no longer interested in manufacturing the product and asked Abby if she wanted to become their exclusive distributor. Since she has gotten the brand to appear on platforms such as HSN, Amazon, and O, The Oprah Magazine!

It was slow takeoff for Vivian Lou, though, and Abby said she blames it on her mindset. When she started working for Insolia and launched Vivian Lou in late 2014, she was still working a full-time corporate job, and referred to Vivian Lou as her “hobby business”. After doing some self-discovery, she said she realized she didn’t feel like she was worthy of running a successful company. She knew immediately after launching that something internally was holding her back, and after speaking with an old coworker, she referred her to an emotional freedom practitioner. Her life has since been changed, and her practice has helped her uncover self-doubts stemming from her childhood and her uneasiness with money. She then hired a sales coach who enrolled her in a sales camp that made her more comfortable looking at her numbers and helped her fill out projection worksheets. She began projecting out $100,000 and $500,000, and it motivated her to drive her business, and grow it into the success that it is today!

Hear more of Abby’s story in today’s episode!

In this episode you will…

See how to grow your hobby into a business
Adjust your mindset to that of a serious entrepreneur
Be able to eliminate internal obstacles to become a better business owner
Learn to clear negative memories to create positive energies
Know how to bounce back after your business hits a rough patch
Find the best platforms to sell and market your product and business
She Did It Her Way listeners will get a 20% off by using HERWAY code at check out for Abby's Strap on a Pair: A Middle-Aged, Middle-Management, Middle-Class Moms Quest for Something More

INSIGHTS

“Picking up the phone and talking to people was not something that I liked to do…but I was like…I’m just going to…ask the question. And that was part one of me stepping outside of my comfort zone…[and] that just led to a series of other events…that landed me on HSN, that got me into Oprah magazine [and] opened several opportunities for the brand which has been phenomenal.” -Abby Walker

“When you call your side hustles, or your dreams, or what you want to do-if you keep calling them a hobby, the universe will treat them as a hobby.” -Abby Walker

“Once you clear your stagnant memories that are holding you back, it allows the universe to provide so much more for you. You’re creating a bigger cup for yourself when you clear out these blocked energies, and silly memories.” -Abby Walker

“My main mission as a business owner is I never want my business to run me, I want to run my business.” -Abby Walker

“You live and learn, you make mistakes, you’ll fail. I feel as a business owner, the more you welcome failure as a learning versus fearing failure, the quicker you’ll grow.” -Abby Walker

RESOURCES

Abigail Walker LinkedIn
Vivian Lou Website
Vivian Lou Insolia Shimmer
Vivian Lou Facebook
Vivian Lou Instagram
Vivian Lou Twitter
Strap on a Pair by Abby Walker
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

SDH209: Making Yourself the Center of Your Universe with Pandora Paloma Nov 16, 2017

Is there an aspect of your life that you’re not satisfied with? Is it nutritional? Is it with your career? Is it an aspect within yourself?

We introduce Pandora Paloma, creator of Rooted London, which helps with all of those questions! Pandora is a holistic nutritionist and a life coach, who specializes in self-love empowerment, and intuitive living and eating. Struggling with body image issues growing up, she dealt with eating disorders and rollercoaster diets that negatively affected her health and confidence. At 27 she was ready for a life change and began training as a nutritionist and a yoga teacher. She wanted to become more in-tune with her body so it could guide her in life, and teach people to be able to do the same.

Before she entered into the world of health and wellness, she was a director at a high-level PR firm. Though she worked hard to earn that title, she realized she had lost the love she once had for PR. She took a look at her life and felt like she wasn’t living her truth. She wanted to have a career doing something that brought her joy again and began looking closely at her other interests to see what she could build a career from. Already working in the beauty and wellness sector of PR, she decided to expand on that field and become a player in the industry herself.

She saw that the industry was very trend led, and no one was talking about what was going on in the body. So she entered into health and wellness with supper clubs because she loved food, and wanted to introduce people to plant-based meals and diets. She also did catering, too. Once she entered the market, she found her niche in women who needed help with weight loss and gain and treating diseases. In her consultations with them, she also began asking how they were doing emotionally. A lot of her clients would burst into tears, or uncover emotional wounds. She knew that she had to do more with her practice and help her clients become healthy nutritionally and mentally.

SDH208: How to Develop Your Mindset & Determine Your Path with Candy Nelson Nov 13, 2017

How do you develop a dream if no one ever told you to have one? Where did your drive originate? When did your calling come to you?

We dive into Candy Nelson’s answers to those questions in today's episode! Candy is the founder of Volunteer CEO, a life coaching business, and a nonprofit organization, Animal Friends Sanctuary, along with several other businesses. Her non-profit rescues abandoned animals and give them a home, it also provides a safe place for kids who have been sexually and physically abused, and kids in the foster care system. At Animal Friends Sanctuary, at-risk youth get to hear the stories of the animals in their shelter and play with them. Through that connection Candy wants to give the kids hope and a sense of relief from their own hardships in life.

Candy came from humble beginnings herself and grew up in a trailer home with two teen parents. With her father working as a mechanic, and her mother as a maid, they grinded to give Candy a better life than they had, and eventually was able to send her to private school. But at private school, Candy felt that her creativity, aspirations, and education on the world was being stifled. There were no counselors in the school, and she felt like she had no one to talk to. She knew in her gut that the environment was wrong for her, but she wasn’t sure in what way and how to even remedy her internal conflict.

It wasn’t until she was 15 years old that she began to dream bigger, and began to aspire to goals outside of what her environment presented her with. The big motivator behind her epiphany was a none other than Tony Robbins. While watching T.V at 3 am on her couch, she came across his Personal Power infomercial. She said because she never had any structured beliefs, she was more receptive to his messages about empowering people to change their lives, and not allowing themselves to be products of their surroundings. She was determined to soak up as much of his guidance as she could. After failing to get her dad to pay for his cassette tapes, she managed to get a credit card, and got the entire set.

While listening to the tapes, she started to brainstorm and write down her personal goals that she wanted to complete by 30, which she ended up accomplishing by 23. A couple of her goals were to graduate high school and go to college. She got a scholarship to Ohio State University and studied Criminology because she thought she could make a difference in the world. However, being trapped in a classroom all day made her feel like she was wasting her potential.
She had gumption and drive, but no idea where to channel it. After talking with her dad about her crossroads, he suggested she start a business and took out a second mortgage on their house. In 1999, when she was only 19, she built her Platinum Salon & Spa and was determined to make her business a success since so much was at stake. Thanks to the love and support from her community, her first business was a hit!

Since her spa and salon was such a success, she didn’t want to lose her momentum. So at 23, she decided to get into real-estate. She began buying some commercial and residential buildings around her shop to flip and hold in order to gain some extra income and expertise. One building she bought sat around for a year because she didn’t know what to do with it. As she drove past it one night, she heard a strong inner voice tell her to put her animal shelter there. She had no experience with non-profits or a clue about the legal hoops she’d need to jump through. What she did know was that she had a deep love and passion for helping animals. After reaching out to her network, help began flooding in, and they were able to take an abandoned building into a facility that has saved the lives of over 3,000 animals!

Get comfy and listen to more about Candy’s businesses, life story, and how she continues to expand her business ventures!
In this episode you will…

Learn to find the motivation to aspire to bigger goals and take action
Find ways to channel your drive
Be able to utilize leverage in your life and turn it into motivation
Turn negative criticism into determination
See how to venture into other industries after you successfully start your first business
Become more attentive to the guiding voice in your head
INSIGHTS

“We have all of the answers inside of us. Everything that you want to accomplish, your purpose, your mission, your passion in life is inside of us. But we are so bombarded with the noise of…who we are supposed to be…that sometimes, just in those moments when it’s just you and those thoughts, and your soul, that you’re actually able to hear exactly what it is you’re supposed to do.”-Candy Nelson

“When you have enough leverage in life to do something spectacular, no matter what it is, you will perform…failure'snot an option.” -Candy Nelson

“The mindset to me is so immensely important. If you rip away every other talent or skill that somebody has, and you give them the right mindset…to me that will accomplish more in your lifetime than any other degree, talent or skill you can possibly develop because you will always find a way, and you will always make a way.” -Candy Nelson

“When someone says you can’t, that becomes fuel to say I will.” -Candy Nelson

“Always have a set of something that you’re working on. It doesn’t have to be financial, it could be contribution, generosity, becoming the best mom or daughter…[have] something you’re always working for, because what I have found is that when you’re foot is on the gas, and when you finally get there…you start to coast." -Candy Nelson

“When you are so decisive and clear on what you want to accomplish, the universe conspires to make it happen. And I know that’s a corny quote but my life is literally a proof of that.” -Candy Nelson
RESOURCES
Candy Nelson LinkedIn

Animal Friends Sanctuary

Volunteer CEO

Platinum Salon & Spa

Candy Nelson Instagram

Brendon Burchard

High Performance Habit by Brendon Burchard

SDH207: How to Transition from Entrepreneur to CEO with Farissa Knox Nov 09, 2017

How do you come up with new content for your business? What steps will you have to take to get it off the ground?

She Did it Her Way listeners, let’s welcome back Farissa Knox, the second guest on SDIHW two years ago! She is the founder of two businesses, RLM Media and WhatRUWearing. RLM Media is an advertising agency that does media planning and buying for clients across the country, while WhatRUWearing exemplifies her love for all things fashion and style. WRUW is a digital publishing house that features daily editorials, videos, and their podcast, Fast Fashion. Recently WRUW has also launched a new reality web series, PR Girl, which follows the life of Chicago entertainment publicist, Alexandra Moresco.

The idea for PR Girl came to her after studying the habits of her audience to find a new way for WRUW to further capture their interest. She knew whatever she did would have to be video-based, since she said that 18-34 year-old women that love fashion, beauty, and style primarily gravitated towards that medium. She then thought about what professions or industries that demographic aspired to the most, and which of those could be documented in a stimulating video. She felt that the PR industry fit the bill, and wanted the web series to center on a 20-something female, that lived a similar dream life as the girls of the pop culture influences Sex and the City and The Hills. She wanted that life to be tangible for her audience, and show them the reality of what that life can bring; good or bad. She wanted the show to be about female empowerment, and less about the negative drama that typical reality shows promoted. The goal was to highlight positive, young, talent and show women that a fabulous career is possible and educate them on the field of PR.

She started by reaching out to the producer behind RLM’s home page video, Joe Knee, to see if there were any holes in her idea, and if it was even a good idea because he had experience pitching reality shows in LA. He loved the idea immediately and wanted to be a part of the production process.

After that, it was all about finding the girl. She knew she wanted the girl to be Chicago-based, in order to make the filming and connecting process easier, and dived into her network. Out of the handful of girls she contacted, her communication and connection with Alexandra were the most genuine and never-ending. Alexandra jumped at the opportunity to work with Farissa, and once Farissa got production and the star in place, PR Girl was almost ready for takeoff.

The last step was promotion and marketing. She wanted to partner with another organization to help with the press outreach and expand their platform. Already a fan and follower of PR Couture, started by Crosby Noricks, she reached out to them first via email. Later that day Crosby responded, and after learning about each other as women and brands through a week-long email thread, Farissa hopped on a plane to San Diego to meet Crosby to talk about their partnership. Over lunch, they discussed their roles in the show, with Farissa being the creator, and Crosby being the marketing and brand developing partner.

From there PR Girl was a go and launched in the early part of October! Listen in for more of the story, how Farissa started RLM nine years ago, and her growth as an entrepreneur and CEO!

In this episode you will...

See how to conduct market research and brainstorm on new content for your business
Learn how you may grow throughout the years as an entrepreneur
Know what it takes to transform from an entrepreneur to a CEO
Figure out a possible end goal or retirement plan for your business and yourself
Find different ways to measure the success of your business
See how to balance your personal and work life

INSIGHTS

“In the first three years, you’re making decisions on things that will be the foundation of your company… And you don’t know that yet...you just think I’m trying to make it towards tomorrow or next week…and get clients…but it’s more than just getting clients and getting money. You’re laying the foundation of your future success and reputation.” –Farissa Knox

“We’ve been doing this long enough where no one questions whether we’re good at it anymore. When you say nine years…the reputation is there, the value is there, the length of time is there…now I’m getting clients and partners sent my way…I’m really proud of that” –Farissa Knox

“Now approaching year nine, my fears and my concerns have completely shifted. I’m no longer concerned about how are we going to make payroll because the money is coming, the clients are there. It’s more about managing the money and growing the company. And now I can start thinking like the owner of a company.” –Farissa Knox

RESOURCES

PR Girl Series

WhatRUWearing

RLM Media

PR Couture

Farissa Knox LinkedIn

Farissa Knox Facebook

Farissa Knox Instagram

Farissa Knox Twitter

A Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

SDH206: Being Patient, but Persistent with Your Dream Nov 06, 2017

If you’re starting podcast what equipment do you need? How do you set up your systems? How soon will you have to monetize it and how? Where and how do you start to build your audience?

Today’s episode is set up a little different, and we get to listen in on Brandon T. Adams’ podcast with Amanda Boleyn as the guest! On Brandon’s podcast, Amanda shares her entrepreneurial story with four aspiring entrepreneurs: Christina, Rob, Mandy, and Nicole. For the most part, they have all recently quit their jobs and have begun pursuing various projects. Mandy has begun the process of launching her own podcast in about four weeks, and Nicole and Rob are working on filming a documentary and turning it into a podcast as well. Mandy plans to interview young thought leaders and non-profits on how they incorporate generosity into their businesses and lives, and Nicole and Rob want to interview people in foster care across America. Christina aims to help entrepreneurs build physical products, and sell them through brick and mortar stores, as well as Amazon and other direct consumer services. She’s also working on launching a book, and two product courses. Through their conversation, Amanda arms them with all the tips and tricks they need, plus advice on saving money, keeping themselves organized, and staying strong while pushing through the rough patches as they embark on their transitional period.

Amanda’s story began once she left her comfy job at Target and started working for Wells Fargo through a third party agency. Wells Fargo offered very little stability, PTO, benefits, or retirement plan at the time, so the jump was a huge risk for her. She was ready to shake things up, though, and branch out on her own. It was at the company that she met a guy named Chad, who owned a business centered on sales training, leadership development, and employee engagement within other companies. He soon offered her a job doing sales training at AT&T, and from there she started working on behavior change projects with independent contractors like JP Morgan, and Weight Watchers. From there she began working for a staffing company that does high-level technical staffing for large tech companies, such as Intel. It was here that she began doing tech shows about marketing, branding, and messaging technologies.

She and another employee started out staging highly interactive 3-day training seminars that got people reflecting on their attitudes and thoughts at work and got them connecting with each other in order to break down the barriers of miscommunication. She would also help them work on methods of self-improvement. Now she works with Intel to learn their technologies, shares that message at tradeshows, like the Consumer Electronics Show and GSMA Mobile World Congress, where she spoke about Intel’s autonomous driving. Through this job, she has been able to travel across America, and other countries like Asia, and Spain.

The opportunity to travel and network with people like Paul Allen, the co-founder of Microsoft, is Amanda’s career dream, but she felt needed to share her wisdom and experience with others so she could help them avoid the obstacles that she did. Always loving podcasts, she set out on the mission to create one herself but found that there wasn’t any that explained a female’s perspective down the bumpy entrepreneurial road. Deciding that would be her niche, she turned to her friend who had a successful podcast of his own, and he helped her get She Did it Her Way (SDIHW) off the ground. The podcast started with two other girls, but after nine months Amanda was the last one standing.

Now that SDIHW has been up and running for a while, she has been able to hire on two other contractors to outsource certain aspects of the company. This is an important step for entrepreneurs because it allows them to clear their mind and save them time on processes that may be repetitive, time-consuming, and take away from aspects of the company that needs their personalized attention.

Once an entrepreneur has gotten to the point of having a small team, or even if it’s just them, Amanda recommends developing a highly organized system and schedule, and shares how using Asana has revolutionized her project management. It has saved hours of her time, as well as her virtual assistant and producer’s time, and has helped increase their productivity through reminders, and letting everyone know where they are at with the tasks and episodes assigned to them.

For recording episodes, she suggests batch recording, especially for entrepreneurs starting out. She told Mandy that recording 6-8 episodes before she launches will help her work out any technical or interview-style kinks, and also let her know if her target interviewees will be responsive and reliable.

When reaching out to interviewees, she tells all of them to be persistence and to not be intimidated by potential interviewees. Sometimes all they will have to do is ask, and find that people are more than willing to help them and their podcast. She also tells them to set up a strong referral system via networking, and how that can be stronger than the status of their business and themselves. The biggest tip is not to get discouraged. People are busy, and sometimes following-up is a good reminder for them. If that doesn’t work, it’s okay to move on.

For Amanda, the connections and the networks she’s built through SDIHW has been the most rewarding and meaningful outcome for her. The women that she’s inspired keeps her striving for more and expanding SDIHW’s brand. Her end goal is to have SDIHW be a seven-figure business that offers monthly content like webinars and podcasts.

Hear more of Amanda’s advice and story in today’s episode!
In this episode, you will…

Learn the financial and personal investments needed to start and grow a successful podcast
Know what programs to invest in to record your podcast
Hear different ways to set up your interview schedule
See how to obtain guests on your podcast
Figure out ways to monetize your podcast
Find ways to streamline your system

INSIGHTS

“In order for us to move and to get to where we want to go, we have to break down the behaviors, and [see] what is the behavior that I’m doing that’s going to lead me to where I want to go.”-Amanda Boleyn

“It’s the whole outsourcing process of entrepreneurship. Figuring out what are the things that you’re doing on a daily basis that is repetitive, and can, therefore, be outsourced to other people, and what are the things that you need to be doing that you can’t necessarily outsource, and then also generating revenue at the same time so that you can outsource by moving it forward.” –Amanda Boleyn

“Whatever you do, things take time to really hit that point where they start building. It’s [about] being patient and persistent at the same time because it’s so easy to jump ship on whatever we want to do [when] we’re not seeing results…the waves when you look at an ocean may not be doing a whole lot, but the underlying current [is] what most people don’t see…there’s a current moving in the direction of what you wanted to do because you’re doing the activities to get you somewhere.” –Amanda Boleyn

“If you’re disengaged and you want to be engaged, how do you become inspired, and how do you change the story to get it to a place where you can start taking action to get it done.” –Amanda Boleyn

“As an entrepreneur…if you want to excel, you cannot excel having the mindset of a victim. I played the victim a fair amount…[and then] you start uncovering and unpacking and realizing that whatever thing you feel bad for doesn’t matter if you want to grow and you want to kick ass in life…You need to let go of that and work through it.” –Amanda Boleyn

RESOURCES

Brandon T. Adams Website

Brandon T. Adams Facebook

Brandon T. Adams Instagram

Brandon T. Adams Twitter

Asana

Slack

Acuity Scheduling

SELF Journal

SDH205: How to Grow Your Dream Business with Cordova Pleasants Nov 02, 2017

How are you expanding your brand’s experience? How are you introducing your followers to exciting new worlds and adventures?

Well, Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle gives you all of that along with unique, stylish, and cozy clothing! If you’ve been a She Did It Her Way listener for a while, that name may ring a bell. That’s because Resolute was the passion project of Cordova Pleasants, the star of our six-episode series earlier this year! The series gave us a behind-the-scenes look at her road to opening her first e-commerce boutique, which features apparel and jewelry from tradeshows and vendors across the country. However, the grand goal for Resolute is to able to send loyal customers, aka Resolute Babes, on group trips around her home-state of Alaska. During these girl’s trips, she wants her customers to be able to be pampered while being engulfed in the beauty that Alaska has to offer and give back to communities and the environment as well.

So far, Cordova has taken her Resolute Babes out only for a one-week long trip, which was to Cape Decision Lighthouse; the last lighthouse built in Alaska since the 1920s. Their goal was to restore the lighthouse, which was beaten up by the harsh weather of Alaska. There are no lighthouse keepers so most of the lighthouses in Alaska are adopted by nonprofit organizations, like the United States Lighthouse Society. So she and five other travelers from across America boarded a beaver float plane to a cabin in Port Alexander, where they cooked dinner and got to know each other better. From there they chartered a boat to the lighthouse where they spent the next four days painting the inside of the hallways, tearing down old lumber from the 90’s, and building platforms within the lighthouse.

On the last day, they had a full-on glamour photoshoot, with pieces from a vendor in Florida, and were dolled up head-to-toe. She was also able to get sponsored by Amalga Distillery, and they were able to enjoy free gin and tonics the entire trip. In Cordova’s words, the trip was magical and set the bar high for Resolute trips in the future. For the next one, she is planning on renting a house in Palm Springs between late February and early March. Currently, she’s deciding between working with an animal shelter there, the Joshua Tree National Park, or working to improve the Salton Sea’s air pollution and biodiversity.

She has also been exploring new marketing and advertising techniques with Resolute via social media. She took an online course called Instagram Intention through Dean Street Society, which was about doubling your followers. Following the course, she was able to do just that and brought her 500 followers for Resolute to close to 1,000! For Facebook, she follows an 80/20 Rule where 80% of her posts are about travel, style, and food. The remaining 20% is about Resolute product. This tactic yields her highest conversion, and even though she only has 600 followers, she is able to turn the most profit by nurturing that platform.

One channel she’s seen the most progress in is Pinterest, where she has grown Resolute’s page to over 100,000 impressions a month! In addition, she has landed in the top 12% of the most visited stores on Shopify, out of the stores that launched the same week she did in December of 2016.

Another way she has continued to promote Resolute is with pop-up shops and trunk shows in her hometown of Juneau, Alaska. Her last one proved to be the biggest success because it took place during tourist season, and she held it in a location where it would attract the attention of close to a million cruise ship passengers. With this prime location and timing, she beat her previous trunk show’s sales by 30%! But what made it the most memorable was her interaction with a tourist from Florida. When the customer entered, she recognized Cordova and said she had shopped on Resolute before. To Cordova, this showed the power of having an e-commerce site, and the reach of social media marketing. This encounter also pushed her to want to put Resolute out there more, and continue to build the brand’s future. Resolute’s customer base also spans seven other states in the US, and a few in Canada, with her furthest Resolute Babe in Bangkok, Thailand.

In Resolute’s future, she sees herself possibly opening a seasonal shop, after seeing how well her pop-ups went during the summer. While the financial burden would be around $50,000 due to a full year’s lease, not to mention the cost of staff, she said the payoff would be worth it. She could continue to get invaluable face-to-face time with clientele, and she said with her pop-up she made $3,000 in one day so the monetary gain could be significant.

Hear more about Cordova’s progress in the last nine months since we spoke, and how she continues to build her brand and the adventures she hopes to offer her Resolute Babes!

In this episode you will…

Learn how to benefit from different social media platforms
Figure out how to grow your brand and expand the customer experience
Be able to improve and create new avenues for business
Find out the best schedule for your social media postings
See how to create quality content for blogs and social media
Learn how to push and tailor your product online

INSIGHTS

“My goal is the bigger picture…find people [who] you want to be in your tribe that you don’t know, because that’s the most exciting part for me, and that’s why I also love travel because…you get to build these relationships across the globe.”- Cordova Pleasants

“Spend the time to research the hell out of whatever you are going to do… I took almost a full year to research social media marketing and I really spent the time creating a business plan…create a solid plan of what you really want to be doing in 10 years, 5 years… then set goals to accomplish what is on that timeline.” –Cordova Pleasants

“If you’re going to enter the online world, just dive in head first and see who is out there, who the players are, and see what kind of audience they’re attracting, and how you can get in on it…”-Cordova Pleasants

“If you love what you do just do it, and like at this point…you will have to fight me to the death before I give up the Resolute. I am so deep into it and so in love with it, and all these different challenges and the freedom that it brings. I don’t mind hard work, and I love it, and it’s no way you cannot make me do [this] anymore.” –Cordova Pleasants

“For me, my sights are so much on the long-term, [and] I’ve finally found my groove, and I’m gonna stick with it. To give it up after a full year, I feel like you’re shooting yourself in the foot and you’re giving up too early…you have to be patient, and that’s the hard part. You have to find a way to stick it out.” –Cordova Pleasants
RESOURCES

Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle Website

Resolute Boutique She Did it Her Way Landing Page

Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle Facebook

Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle Instagram

Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle Pinterest

Cordova Pleasants Linked In

SDH204: 5 Reasons Why I Believe Burn Out Can Be a Good Thing Oct 30, 2017

Hello friends! Happy Monday! Here we are again :)

In today's solocast I want to share the 5 reasons why I believe burn out can be a good thing. Now at first glance, you may be thinking, "How could burn out EVER be a good thing?!" Don't worry, I'm definitely not suggesting that you should strive for being burned out or stay being burned out for forever. I'm sharing how you can harness the experience of being burned out to make changes in your business long-term.

Being burned out....

Helps you to identify what you value the most
Help you identify the pain of being burned out that you can then leverage in the future to avoid it.
Helps you to identify where you need to cut back
Helps you to identify what systems to implement
Helps you plan for the future and better to be able to identify when your next burn out might be and how to avoid it.

Tune in to hear more of a deep dive!

xo,

Amanda

SDH:203 She Did It Her Way Summit Recap - Lessons, Reflection, and Next Steps Oct 26, 2017

Hi beauties! On today's solocast I'm recapping She Did It Her Way Summit - What I learned, what it means for She Did It Her Way and next steps.

I'm talking about what my original intention was for the event and WHY, what next steps are for She Did It Her Way and what I'll be doing differently for the next one.

Enjoy!

xo,

SDH202: Making a Change and Becoming an Innovator with Laura Roeder Oct 23, 2017

Are you tired of being the face of your business? Do you want a little less of the pressure off of you? Do you want to remain CEO of your company, maintain freedom and flexibility of your time?

In today’s episode, we get to see how this can be done with Laura Roader, founder of Meet Edgar, an online program that shares and re-shares social media postings for online businesses. With only 10% of social media advertisements reaching followers on Facebook lately, Meet Edgar allows businesses to get the most bang for their buck, by continuing to repost those ads and alerting followers on updates to create continued engagement, and acquisition of new traffic as well.

Meet Edgar was hatched from Laura’s first business, LKR Social Media, which was a social media training business. Edgar was essentially an automation of what she was teaching entrepreneurs; which was how to effectively market on social media. She also taught entrepreneurs how to categorize their marketing by promotions, blog posts, personal content, and so on. She found it weird and frustrating that she had to keep her social media content in a separate place or spreadsheet, and somehow copy and paste what she could onto a social media platform. She wanted to streamline the process, and modernize it to make it easier on herself, and everyone else. Luckily, her husband was a software developer, and he was able to build her the first version of Meet Edgar.

Initially, she planned on running LKR and Edgar simultaneously, and have Edgar be an optional software package of LKR. But when Edgar launched in July of 2014, it was a hit immediately with 17 customers in its first month, 50 the next, and eventually 100 within its first few months! Less than a year after its launch, Edgar became a million dollar company, and matched LKR as a seven-figure business!

She then decided that she wanted to stick to software, and shut down LKR. She was ready to move on from the training business and no longer liked running a company that was dependent on her constantly creating a product, and promoting. With the software business, she had no choice but to outsource a lot of the work, because software developing was not her area of expertise, and she preferred heading a team instead of everything falling on her shoulders.

So she went into Edgar with the intention of building a scalable business and began delegating certain departments and aspects of the company to strong members of her team. It was especially important for Edgar to grow without her in the beginning because she needed to go on maternity leave, and being able to hand off her company to capable leaders gave her peace of mind, and allowed for distribution of ownership within her staff, and help grow them as leaders

Hear more as Laura shares some of her tips and tricks for online marketing talks more about becoming a more passive CEO, and building a business that she truly enjoys that doesn’t compromise her freedom!

In this episode, you will…

Learn how to evolve and modernize your product and services
Figure out how to transition your business and your team
See how to balance being a new mom and an entrepreneur
Know how to distribute ownership to strong leaders within your team
Be able to run a remote business
Learn how to market your business and make connections via email

INSIGHTS

“Right from launch, this business needs to not only function without me, but be able to grow without me, and really thrive without me. So I think I made very different decisions right from the beginning with giving people ownership over other areas of the business…it didn’t become a bottleneck of, ‘What would Christina do?’”- Laura Roeder

“There’s this idea that whenever you’re upset about something, you have another imagined reality in your head, and you’re upset that whatever you’re experiencing does not match that idea…when I think of it that way I think that’s absurd…I just find that helpful to remember [when] we’re not growing fast enough [or] we’re not making enough money…It’s so easy to benchmark yourself against these crazy standards…I think you just have to stay grounded, and really remind yourself why you are doing this, and what you’re really after.” –Laura Roeder

“It’s fun to strive for bigger goals in the business, but as soon as it becomes not fun, I think you really need to step back and be like, ‘Why am I creating something for myself that I don’t enjoy?’” –Laura Roeder

RESOURCES

Meet Edgar Website

Laura Roeder Website

Meet Edgar LinkedIn

Meet Edgar Facebook

Meet Edgar Instagram

Meet Edgar Twitter

Scaling Up by Verne Harnish

SDH201: Creating a Business Doing What You Love with Kendra Peterson Oct 19, 2017

Where does the love for your business stem from? How has it brought joy to the lives of others? How can your services heal people and bring them together?

For Kendra Peterson, food has always been an element of comfort and love in her life, and with her company Drizzle Kitchen, she aims to provide the same for everyone else. Drizzle Kitchen is a boutique, private chef business that provides healthy and clean, customized meals for families who have food allergies, or special dietary needs. Her clients range from busy families, patients out of surgery, or people with life-threatening allergies. Regardless of the need, she brings to the table yummy, nutritious meals that everyone can enjoy together and make memories from!

The inspiration for her business spans all the way to her childhood when she would watch and help her mom cook Julia Child-inspired recipes, and set up full tablescapes for the holidays. When her mom passed away when she was eight years old, she took the reins in the kitchen, and began reviving her mom’s old recipes and drumming up fun recipes of her own for her and her dad. She got more creative with her cooking when she became a vegetarian in her teens. Her dad wanted to make sure she would continue to get all the nutrients she needed with her dietary change, so he took her to the doctor to discuss healthy and fulfilling eating habits, and bought her some vegetarian cookbooks. It was then that her love for cooking became an obsession, and she started making things like tofu cheese and strawberry soup. She also began cooking healthy meals like hand-rolled pasta in fresh Pomodoro sauce for her friends in high school.

She took her excitement for cooking into college and majored in food science and nutrition. When she graduated she began working for Williams-Sonoma, and opened some stores and hosted cooking classes for them. From the cooking classes, she started getting offers to be a private chef, but that wasn’t a road she wanted to go down initially. However, that didn’t stop the requests from coming in. It took a plea from a family friend who was the mother of seven, with a husband who traveled for work constantly, for Kendra to finally explore the profession. The friend needed help with maintaining well-rounded, nutritious meals for her kids, and Kendra found that she really enjoyed acting as a private chef and building her own meals for families.

She started putting the word out about her services and switched to part-time at Williams-Sonoma to attend the Chopping Block, a cooking school in Chicago. She soaked up all the information from Alinea and Charlie Trotter alums, and with her knowledge, she became even more confident and vocal about her new business.

A pivotal moment in her business was when she catered a birthday party for a board member from the Step Up Women’s Organization. She was so impressed with Kendra’s food that she sent her contact information to everyone in her network. Her recommendation skyrocketed her business and her status and helped her obtain a high-level clientele that really put her on the map. Some of that clientele included Cubs players, and their wives and trainers, as well as Jim Karas Personal Training Studio.

A few years later, she started working with a family who had a son with behavioral issues. The parents had tried therapy and dietary changes but did not have any luck themselves. When Kendra arrived she saw there was a deeper problem amongst them, and knew she needed to help the dynamic of the whole family. She started doing cooking classes with the dad to get him more involved with his wife and kid, and she began making meals that the whole family could enjoy. Through her work with them, she saw how she was able to strengthen and ease their family turmoil, and how food could bring people together. From there she knew she wanted to continue to work with families, and how her work could change lives, not just eating habits.

Tune in and learn more about how Kendra started Drizzle Kitchen, and how she continues to improve people’s lives with some good cooking!

In this episode, you will…

See the multiple ways your services can help your clientele
Learn to recognize signs leading you down a career path
Know how to build an educated and passionate team for your business
Be able to figure out rates for your service and time
See how to separate your work and personal time
Figure out how to deal with the taxes and bills that come along with starting a business

INSIGHTS

“In high school…my friends would come over after school and I’d make hand-rolled pasta in fresh Pomodoro sauce, and it just became this thing that I loved. And it was fun because my friends were happy and fun, and excited about the food, and I was having fun…and it seemed like a very fun way to enjoy meals and enjoy time with your friends.” –Kendra Peterson

“I was connected with a family whose son had behavioral issues…they wanted me to focus on the boy and what his food needs were…after a few months of myself, and plenty of other therapists, I started doing cooking classes with the dad…I started making meals that the whole family could eat together, and very slowly…the parent’s relationship started getting back together. That was really the first client where [I saw] food can literally change your life…food was literally why they weren’t a family anymore and so being able to bring that back in and see how happy and grateful they were…that will never leave me.” –Kendra Peterson

“I didn’t think that anyone knew how to relate to my business…I didn’t understand how different businesses could overlap, and how really, I needed financial advice…getting advice from people outside of my industry has been very beneficial” – Kendra Peterson

RESOURCES

Drizzle Kitchen Website

Drizzle Kitchen Instagram

Drizzle Kitchen Facebook

Drizzle Kitchen Twitter

Kendra Peterson LinkedIn

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Life on the Line by Grant Achatz

Ottolenghi Website

SDH200: Gaining Success by Following Your Passion with Crosby Noricks Oct 16, 2017

How do you break into a career field that barely exists? What resources do you search for? Do you know where to search? Who to contact for guidance?

Crosby Noricks has access to those answers! Crosby is the founder of PR Couture, which is the PR sourcebook for fashion and lifestyle communicators. With her business, she aims to support individuals, brands, and agencies with strategy building, job leads and finding business partners and collaborators. They also created the Bespoke Communications Awards, which focuses on recognizing overlooked, high performing players in the PR industry, such as the 2017 winners Rue La La and J Public Relations.

Always having a passion and love for the fashion industry, she couldn’t have been more excited to find that she could mix her two loves of PR and fashion into a profitable career. Though when she began networking in the PR fashion industry, she found it hard to connect with the right people and find sources to learn from. So she took to the fashion blogging world with PR Couture and used her platform to shed light on the decisions being made, and the communication strategies being developed by the behind-the-scenes PR reps.

Launching in 2006, she saw that most PR agencies only had an online Splash page with their phone numbers on them, and relied heavily on selling themselves through a cold call. Feeling like she was too introverted and nervous to let a phone call seal the deal, she networked and built her audience by hunting through LinkedIn and Google for PR reps in fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle. Via email she introduced her blog and asked them for some tips and tricks about navigating the industry, and what their work looked like in the day-to-day. She then used that material and advice for PR Couture’s posts.

While running her blog, she still held a full-time position at a digital marketing agency, where she managed the social media department. She used that role to further promote PR Couture by using conferences for the agency as a networking opportunity to gain knowledge on different social and digital marketing techniques; as well as community building centering through branding.

With all the opportunities and intel she accumulated through building these relationships, she was able to self-publish a book in 2012 and began to career coach young entry-level talent on how to break into fashion PR. With these other platforms, she continues to help them set career goals, and connects them with PR professionals that she feels they’d clique with, and provide the best assistance to.

Since she has added a job board and an agency directory, that has provided several strong internships and full-time positions at companies across the industry such as Greenlee Swim and Zoi Agency. This has kept them at the top of the search engine results for PR jobs in fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle; which has led to increased traffic and trust from visitors. Crosby has also launched an affordable entry-level course, called Prism, a 3-month online program that teaches personal branding, PR skills, and offers more guidance in career planning.

Hear more about how Crosby continues to expand PR Couture brand, like with their new reality PR web series and helps young PR reps find their place in fashion!!

In this episode, you will…

Learn how to support newcomers in your field with your brand and company
Find ways to build a network in your field
See if your business’s brand will flourish with or without you as the face of it
Understand the power of email acquisition, segmentation, and personal and professional support
Know if your brand has one or multiple target audiences
Figure out how to positively dismantle stigmas about your career with business and brand
INSIGHTS

“I had a lot of questions because when you learn about public relations in college it’s [a] very academic perspective…if you’re a girl sitting there with these big, big dreams of fashion, lifestyle, entertainment, you’re not getting a lot of useful information. I was just so curious. I wanted to know what the work actually looked like in the day-to-day, and so that’s really where the blog started.” -Crosby Noricks

“There was no clear-cut path…the success that had happened was very masculine in approach…I started [PR Couture] because I wanted to share information, and I figured if there were people out there seeking this information like I was, I would take the lead…I will be the person to try to provide these answers.” -Crosby Noricks

“There’s still this lingering perception that because fashion is considered to be a little bit superficial, that those who work in the industry are also superficial…[and] without depth, and that’s been something that I’ve really tried to challenge by featuring the stories, and insights, and boosting the credibility of many of the women that I know who work in the field…and giving them space in the site to showcase their thought leadership.” -Crosby Noricks

RESOURCES

PR Couture Website

Crosby Noricks Profile

PR Couture Facebook

PR Couture Instagram

PR Couture Twitter

PR Couture LinkedIn

The Living Room Strategy by Tara Gentile

SDH199: Creating Your Business. Taking Risks. Living your Passion with Jen Spencer Oct 12, 2017

How do you plan to take control of an industry with your business? What would building a foundation for that scale of a business look like?

We get into all of that with today’s guest, Jen Spencer, founder of Authority-Life! Authority-Life is an omni-present brand building company with public relations experts in social media, content building, and video editing. Their goal is to help entrepreneurs share their messages across various channels, and find their target audience.

Authority-Life started when she was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, while working for a tech start-up in San Francisco. She was comfortable at her job, but felt like she was capable of doing more. So she began quietly building her own PR practice, and within a year she had built her side business into a company that supplied her with a six-figure salary!

It was then she said she knew she had to make a decision between her full time job and Authority-Life. She loved working with the team, but knew it was time to pave her own path, and with the support of her own network of entrepreneurs, she took the leap.

When she started her business, she knew she had to make a name for herself. San Francisco had an ample amount of start-ups, and entrepreneurs who needed help so she offered her expertise to them free of charge. Her services included ghost-writing, copy-writing, social media content building, and network and brand building. The work was long and time-consuming, but she loved the connections that she was making and the brainstorming process that the projects required. Being a writer as well, her creative home was in the art of story-telling, and she enjoyed coming up with different angles to convey that message.

One story that stuck with her was of a client who operated a marketing business in college. Over the course of his life, he had seven life-threatening heart conditions, and had to have open-heart surgery. To tell that story, and speak on his case studies within marketing, they went on numerous podcasts which they turned into blog posts, and an article in Forbes magazine.

Some advice she offers to entrepreneurs building their brands is to experiment with platforms outside of Facebook, Instagram, and so forth. The best engagement comes from unique modes of sharing, and if done successfully, you can become a huge asset to that unrecognized platform. If you do share on the traditional social media platforms, make sure your content is varied. One of her favorite platforms is Instagram, and she said she makes sure to mix videos and clips with quotes and photos to sustain audience excitement.

Hear more on how Jen continues to grow Authority-Life’s services and expands her team, learn where your audience lives, and what new platforms you can share your brand and story on!

In this episode you will…

Know how to combine services of an industry into your business so you can have a competitive edge
Learn how to make a name for yourself and your company in order to build your reputation and network
Know how to build a team that expands the services of your business and progresses it’s success
Find where your target audience lives
Hear about different ways you can mix up your content on sharing platforms to keep up audience engagement
See how to find events that will help educate you as an entrepreneur

INSIGHTS

“In the beginning I was trying to do a lot of it on my own…but as the team grew…it’s been getting people with various skills, whether it’s video, social media, PR, [and people] that can really work well together as a team. That’s kind of how we build that omni-present authority, is really working together and not just working on one aspect.” –Jen Spencer

“In terms of video and podcasting, there’s all these different ways of sharing your story. Don’t be afraid to experiment…a lot of great engagement comes from thinking outside of the box and not just sharing…on those standard platforms.” –Jen Spencer

“I’m big on events… [I focus] on value, and not necessarily looking for big names, but more so [on] is there going to be actual strategies and takeaways that I can get a lot out of, and network with people that can really help grow my personal brand and business, and I can help them and add value to them.” –Jen Spencer

“I told myself I’m gonna actively reach out to as many people as possible, and learn from as many people as possible…it’s a really good strategy to ask people how you can connect with them, help them, and to really get to know people and have other people you can support and support you on your journey. I found that with entrepreneurship, it can get pretty lonely…so that’s been a big thing for me, is taking that initiative.” –Jen Spencer

RESOURCES

Authority-Life Website

Jen Spencer Instagram

Jen Spencer LinkedIn

School of Greatness by Lewis Howes

All Things Social Media Facebook Group

SDH198: Side Hustle to Full-Time with Lauren Benbassat Oct 09, 2017

How has your business bettered your lifestyle? Improved your mental and physical health? Or motivated you to put yourself, and your well-being first?

For Lauren Benbassat a health scare prompted her and her husband to create Mele, which offers all-natural meal replacement smoothies loaded with ingredients like real fruits, nuts, vegetables, and whey protein. These ingredients are freeze-dried and crushed into a powder, and when you add water, you have a filling smoothie with all the benefits of a perfectly balanced nutritional meal.

Her inspiration for Mele came about when she moved to New York from Florida to pursue a career in marketing. With nothing but her bags and determination, she grinded her way up the corporate ladder, and while success became the pay off, her health declined. After her early morning workouts, she would run head first into work, with only a coffee and office snacks to nourish her for the day. She said she became constantly exhausted because she never stopped to properly refuel her body with the nutrients she needed to sustain her active lifestyle. She noticed her husband, who was a corporate attorney, experiencing the same fatigue as he tried to cram a “healthy” lifestyle into his long and unpredictable work schedule, too.

She started to feel her body changing and began gaining weight in her stomach and hips. She knew it was probably due to her poor diet and went to the doctor to get some blood work done. When she was told her cholesterol and triglyceride levels were through the roof, it gave her the jolt she needed to finally take action in correcting her diet. She started researching the ingredients inside her food, and found that a lot of products and ingredients were synthetic, didn’t meet any of the macro and micro nutrients that our bodies needed, and the foods that did weren’t flavorful. Committed to the goal of improving her health, she and her husband decided to take it upon themselves to create healthy meals that fit into their hectic world, and started to build Mele.

Initially building their company for themselves, they were extremely dedicated on making a transparent brand with high quality ingredients. This mindfulness can be seen in the smallest of ingredients like their decision to include the powerful and natural brain food, sunflower lecithin. Most food products contain soy lecithin because it's cheaper. However, Lauren didn’t want to spend a dime on it because it is bad for our thyroids, which was a health issue for her mother. Another careful measure they took was making sure the protein used was grass-fed, hormone-free, and an isolate protein. The benefits of using isolate protein is that it's casein-free, so it doesn’t cause indigestion and irritate people who are lactose intolerance.

They were also particular about sourcing, and created all of their recipes from scratch because they wanted their meals to have their personal touch. They contacted different produce manufacturers, and played with fresh ingredients to create balanced macro-nutritional meals that had the perfect carb-fat-protein ratio. This was a process that her husband took the reins of, while she focused on correcting the taste like suggesting peanut butter to add smoothness, or pineapple to cover up earthy flavors created by wheat and barley grass.

Lauren also used her expertise in marketing and design to create the logo, website, and packaging, while also handling the company’s social media presence. As Lauren took charge of the creative, her husband handled Mele’s finances, inventory, as well as the liability and insurance aspects of the company due to his job as a corporate lawyer and his CPA in accounting.

To see if their side passion had legs, they sent out anonymous samples and surveys to their family and friends as a form a market research. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and they gained the confidence to release their product on the mass market. After taking some of their savings and investing in a small product run, they found that they public loved their brand, too, and they quickly sold out. Since then, they have continued to grow as a business, and expanded into a company whose wholesome brand and packaging have attracted the likes of Anthropologie and Amazon!

Though Mele has turned into a success and Lauren’s new full time job, it was painful for her to transition from corporate employee to entrepreneur because she truly loved her job. Mele wasn’t intended to become anything more than a hobby or side hustle, so the level of responsibility it began to demand was unexpected. Even though she was honest with her job about Mele’s conception from the beginning, she saw that they were sadden by her departure. Her coworkers became her family, so to say goodbye to them was emotional.

What got her through that tough transition was remembering the chance her father took when he started his own business, too. Their family had to make several sacrifices when he left his corporate job, but as an adult she became inspired by his passion and belief in his dreams. With him and her husband as her support system, she knew she had to take that leap, and see what road her brand would lead her down.

Her first day as an entrepreneur was overwhelming and daunting as the reality of her decision kicked in, but she picked up the phone, started asking questions, and figuring it all out one project at a time.

Learn more about how Mele changed Lauren’s health and gave her confidence in her abilities to do something scary and succeed!

In this episode you will…

Learn how to break up the steps involved in starting a business

Know how to leave a corporate job that you love to grow your company

Learn how to launch and run a business with your significant other

See how to add your own personal touch to your product

Learn how to sell your brand to big companies and manufacturers with your story

Find a way to produce a professional looking brand and product with a small budget

INSIGHTS

“You can’t compare yourself to brands that are already there, and you can’t look at this huge, massive picture of where you want to be. It’s good to have goals, but you still have to take one step at a time…” – Lauren Benbassat

“Through the process my passions were pivoting…of course I can…keep this job that I know is there and I enjoy parts of it…but I think in the back of my mind, I would of always wondered what if my company could of gone somewhere…I’ll never know if I don’t try.” –Lauren Benbassat

“I’m so much more capable than I realized. I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome where I think I don’t make qualifications, and I’m not good enough…but in launching a business it was just such a confidence boost that I think I really needed to prove to myself that I was able and I could figure anything out.” –Lauren Benbassat

“Tell your story. I think a lot of our initial partners have just been really drawn to the story of the brand, and the concept, and it being something a little bit more innovative and new.” -Lauren Benbassat

RESOURCES

Mele Shake Website

Mele Shake Facebook

Mele Shakes Instagram

Lauren Benbassat LinkedIn

Lauren Benbassat Instagram

The Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

Staying Healthy with the Seasons by Elson Haas

Women Code by Alisa Vitti

A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

How I Built This Podcast with Guy Raz

FounderMade

Shopify

OKReal

SDH197: The Benefits of Having a Co-Founder with Jenni Brown Oct 05, 2017

We get to hear all about this with Jenni Brown, who is the co-founder of Prim’d Marketing, along with Sophie Davis. Originally, Jenni did marketing for mid-size businesses in her early 20's, and ended up working for brands such as Samsung, Nabisco, and Pepsi. She was in love with the field of marketing and loved that she got to tap into her creative of side of writing, designing, and working on a team. However, she wasn’t in love with the practice of working so hard to make these huge brands money, and she said her work didn’t feel meaningful. She eventually left her job and decided to get her MFA in writing in order to transfer her creative skills to an artistic forum. She also got a side job handling the marketing sector at a boutique PR firm, which is where she met Sophie, who was in charge of cross promotion and strategy.

The two found their groove with Jenni’s ability to come up with a brilliant marketing plan, and Sophie’s skill in taking that plan and finding the perfect collaborators, like bloggers and brands, to grow that strategy into a profitable opportunity. Unfortunately, the ladies found themselves without a job just before Christmas in 2013 due to the firm losing some important clients. During the following months, the duo ended up unintentionally freelancing together by recommending each other when hired onto projects. Soon they finally ended up deciding to go into business with each other, and Prim’d Marketing was born.

They began by offering every service under the sun, with Sophie doing jobs like writing newsletters to managing social media accounts, and Jenni designing logos and making websites. Their first year allowed them to see what they did and didn’t like, and to build a monetary foundation. They soon whittled their services down to a Brand Plan, which was a plan that helped clients figure out what was unique about their brand and services, who their target audience was, and how to appeal to them in an authentic way. Initially the plan was free since their client’s needs tended to change quickly, and to charge for the plan proved to be wasteful for the client and frustrating for Prim’d. Now the Brand Plan has become the keystone to their business and forces clients to think through their ideas thoroughly, stay committed to them, and increase productivity by showing them that their time is valuable.

As they built their business, they also had trouble with role overlap which led to a lot of frustration, and inefficiency. They had to learn how to distinguish their roles in order to effectively hone in on each other’s purposes and strengths to lead Prim’d in the right direction. Sophie began to take the lead as the business developer and tended to be the one who handled potential clients. Jenni stepped in as the CFO, and handled the systems of the company because she’s more left brained.

Jenni found that her pitfall was that she threw to much of herself into Prim’d because she was so determined to get Prim’d off the ground. Her mind became so consumed with her business that she would be listening to her partner speak, but thinking about her clients. By the end of 2015, she felt fatigued by constantly having her brain occupied by Prim’d, and she saw how it was negatively affecting her business and relationships. They both had to learn how make time for the things that gave their life and brain rest and enjoyment outside of work, like shutting down for a month and traveling to Mexico and Africa!

Here more about how Prim’d Marketing came to be in today’s episode!

In this episode you will…

Learn how to distinguish your role in your business when you have a co-founder

Find out how to work with your co-founder by picking up on their habits and behaviors

Figure out the best way to tweak your services to fit your client’s behavior and needs

Begin to find the courage to charge for your time and services to show that your effort is valuable

Start to balance your hustle flow with play time

Know how to stay organized as a business in order to stay productive

INSIGHTS

“We started freelancing…and we found that we kept offering our skillsets together…[Sophie]’s sort of the other half of what I do…we decided to umbrella our skillsets to offer our clients the best of that creative, strategic, whimsical, fun so they could have the whole breadth of what they’re looking for.” –Jenni Brown

“I think for people that are really just getting out there, there’s nothing wrong with putting as many irons in the fire as you can. And particularly if you’re just trying to get paid, there’s nothing wrong with doing all the things that are within your capacity to do, just to try it on and see what fits and what feels good.” –Jenni Brown

“If you’re a driven ambitious person, when you have goals that you haven’t met yet it can be hard to say ‘That’s enough.’ Even though I may not be making the amount of money I want to be making…I don’t have the audience I wish that I had…I’m not putting out the offerings I had imagined…being able say that enough and I’m just going to shut it down for today…[for] whatever your alternative life is outside of your business…learn how to figure out balance in your life.” –Jenni Brown

RESOURCES

Prim'd Marketing Website

Prim'd Marketing Facebook

Prim'd Marketing Instagram

Prim'd Marketing Twitter

Jenni Brown LinkedIn

Basecamp

Contactually

Quickbooks

You Need a Budget

The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu

SDH196: How to Shift Your Energy to Change Your Reality with Arielle Loren Oct 02, 2017

Are you feeling overwhelmed by work or personal life? Do you look at your life and wish that it consisted of more? Do you know where to begin to find out what that could be?

If so look no further than Arielle Loren, who owns a marketing agency that focuses on advancing female entrepreneurs in their careers and in their life, as well as growing their businesses through online campaigns and product launches. Right out of NYU she began working for marketing agencies and start-ups, but felt really uncomfortable being boxed into a space, and operating by a locked in schedule. She felt like there had to be more to this adult thing, and wanted to find something engaging and meaningful in her personal and work life.

Upon hearing that her role and duties at her job would change, she decided to cut the ties with her agency, and shake up her life. To her anything would be better than continuing down the path her life was headed and she needed to take a risk. Having always felt a spiritual calling to Brazil, she started prepping her life to actually move there. However, she forgot a few necessities: a plane ticket and the funds. But headstrong in her gut feeling, and armed with her security deposit and final paycheck, she made the move.

While living in Bahia, located in the central region of Brazil, she was able to separate her energy from the anxiety of time, and learned a lesson in humility due to drastic changes in her lifestyle. She began to reexamine what truly made her happy in life, how she could obtain them, and implement them into her daily functions. One way she did so was by expanding her hobbies into possible careers, and because she moonlighted as an online sex writer, she began an erotic magazine called Corset.

Running the magazine caused her to feel in tune with her sensuality, and basking in the sunshine of Bahia improved her mental and physical health. More importantly, she had a very high degree of self-awareness and was firmly in control and confident in where she wanted to be in life to thrive.

By the time she left Brazil and returned to New York City, she had a newfound appreciation and respect for marketing, but wanted to return to the field in her own way. After a brief move to the Dominican Republic a few months, she took her marketing skills to Miami. It was there where she finally found the perfect mix of the hustle and bustle of metropolitan life, and the calm and Zen of beach and sunshine, with a prevalent Latin culture. There her energy was balanced and she was able to live the life that she had been searching for and build her own unique marketing business.

One thing she said she coaches her clients on is finding what their energy consists of and locating where it is they are the happiest, because the energy they approach their business with is the key to fulfillment in their career. Once her clients are in a career that their energy can flourish in, she gets them to start considering long term businesses goals through her Driven Workshop. The workshop is for female executives and CEOs who are looking to develop business strategies through self-discovery.

She said that there are three parts to women that need to be examined: ourselves, our sex lives, and our spirit. In order to master ourselves, we have to master our thoughts. This is achieved through observing our thoughts to know if we are positive or negative thinkers, and how they make us feel. By becoming aware of how our thoughts influence our feelings, she said we can then see how they affect our behaviors.

To tap into their sex lives, she creates a safe space for women to talk about their experiences with pleasure and energies like orgasms. She said she aims to help women discover their sensuality and heighten their senses in general, and their relationships with their bodies. She feels that the strengthening of that relationship is essential in the release and flow of creative energy, and if it that connection isn’t achieved for women through sex, it could be by simply doing and finding more things that bring us pleasure. She then asks when to observe how that practice influences their performance at work. She said when she does small things like taking the time massage lotion on her skin or take baths instead of showers, she arrives to work more alert, intuitive, and with a relaxed energy.

When it comes to approaching the spirit, she wants her clients to find a connection with something greater than themselves; whether that be people, the universe, or another energy. She used kundalini yoga, which is a positive and spiritual form of yoga, for 90 days and did asana early in the morning. From 4 a.m. to 6:30 a.m., she chants, meditates, and does kriya poses that involves breathing exercises and posture poses. She doesn’t do it every day anymore, but the practice connects her to higher energy, and saw how it changed her life and attitude for the better. She is able to let a lot of negative energy go because of the balance and peace that kundalini helped her obtain, and because of that she has gained clarity, and positivity in her thoughts and perspective, and wants the same for others.

Come and hear more about the other ways Arielle helps her clients work on their energies in order to better their outlook on their lives!

In this episode you will…

Be able to find the perfect place for your energy
Learn how to reinvent an industry to fit you
Know how to channel positive energy into your business development
Begin to observe your thoughts in order to master to yourself
See how experiencing high amounts of pleasure can improve your performance in business
Find ways to connect to something greater than themselves

INSIGHTS

“My job balances between being this hard core business strategist whose very numbers oriented, and really helps a lot of women entrepreneurs grow financially in their businesses, but at the same time I also become like the therapist because these women, these CEOs, they are also human and so human things come up in the process of business development. And so for me, just the intimate role that I take for my clients, I feel like it is part of my role and part of my calling to really be able to show up for women in an authentic, powerful, and beautiful way.” –Arielle Loren

“I look at Driven very much so as an experiment, because I never wanted to position myself as this guru or coach that has all these answers. I think for everyone it’s going to look different…what’s it going to look like to observe your thoughts? What happens when you actually make the intention to speak positively or to surround yourself in an environment that feeds that self, so that you feel that a better vibration day to day?” –Arielle Loren

“There are so many women who are unfortunately walking around with these clogged up portals of energy that are waiting to be released…and sexual energy at its core is creative energy. And so what I like to do is to encourage the women that I’m working with to observe how you function in your business when your experiencing more pleasure, whether that’s through sex…or just see what happens when [you] pay more attention to [your] body, or infuse more pleasurable things into [your] body.” –Arielle Loren

“I think it’s important to realize that it’s not just you in this business, and this energy of producing things, and creating things to serve the world. There’s definitely something much greater than all of us that influences how all of this plays out…and comes together. And so for me, when I talk about connecting to spirit, I like to give women different tools to be able to do that.” –Arielle Loren

RESOURCES

Arielle Loren Website

Arielle Loren LinkedIn

Arielle Loren Facebook

Arielle Loren Instagram

Arielle Loren Twitter

Paulo Coelho Books

SDH 195: 10 Ways To Scale Your Business Faster in the Land Phase Sep 28, 2017

Hi Friends! This is the last episode in the 6 part series. The 10 things I’m about to share have really helped me in my business from a growth perspective whether it was my mindset, revenue and adding team members.

Track Your Time
Create a Resource Library
State Your Revenue Sources
Ask These 3 Questions in Your Business
Set Goals
Set Up An Ideal Week for Yourself
Protect Your Calendar and Goals
Take Advantage of Free Content
Seek Mentorship
Level Up

Tune into the podcast to hear exactly how I did each one of these so you can too! :) Happy Thursday!

SDH194: What to Expect When You Quit Your Job and take The Leap with Amanda Boleyn Sep 25, 2017

The biggest thing here is to remember that everyone’s journey is different. For some of you when you walk in and take THE leap you could have a sense of calm come over you, excitement and for others it may be something like “Oh my gawd. What did I just do?” and that is okay. Those feels are totally normal.

One thing I have noticed is that the journey of an entrepreneur the first year in business is different from that of second year, third year and so on.

If you can get through the first couple of years, have a strategic plan and surround yourself with the right people you can continue growing your business long-term.

For the sake of this podcast I’m going to walk through some of the first year woes ;)

Also, stay tuned at the end of the show to hear from Tess Wicks who will be presenting on how to price for profits.

SDH 193: What to do When You Want to Start a Company But Don’t Know Where or What to Start Sep 21, 2017

In this podcast episode I’m going to cover what to do when you want to start a company and know exactly what you want to start and what to do when you want to start a company but have no clue or too many ideas that it becomes overwhelming and you shut down.

Write down the list of ideas you have:

Keep in mind what you're good at. If you're in a full-time job, what is it that you do well at and what do you enjoy doing
This is a judgement FREE zone. Let your mind and creative process flow.
Be patient.
Ask yourself what are some daily frustrations you have? What are problems that you want solved in your own life?
Focus:

Circle the top 5 ideas that you have that you're excited about
Number them 1-5, 1 being the first thing you're going to explore and 5 being the last thing you're going to explore
Iterate:

Remember that iterating is a process. In the beginning you may feel overwhelmed because you're doing so many things, that is okay. That is part of the process. Each time you do whatever it is that you do, you get to iterate it, make it better.
Be patient. Entrepreneurship and creating a business requires a ton of patience and persistence.

Once you're in the the thick of it....

If you're struggling because you can't figure out the name of what you want the business to be, use what I like to call a place holder. Create the content and the meat of your biz and then go back. Don't get hung up on trying to create the best name for your business.

Chose the correct business entity

Apply for an EIN in order to obtain a business checking account to help keep personal and business expenses separate
Create a one-pager business plan. Be sure to include a marketing plan, path to revenue and service/product that you're offering and what need are you solving. Check out this interview for a full rundown of what goes into your one-pager.
Hope you guys enjoy! And for today's mini episode I'm sitting down with Katie Lord who will be covering all aspects of marketing at the She Did It Her Way Summit.

SDH192: Putting in the Work to Make Your Dreams a Reality with Megan Minns Sep 18, 2017

Is your passion in life really what you should be building into a business? How would you go about figuring that out?

Megan Minns, went all through that painful epiphany, and her business today offers project management services to higher level business owners. However, she spends most of her time helping new business owners develop productive systems to keep them organized and efficient. Her underlying passion and fulfillment in her work comes from helping people make their dreams into reality by encouraging them to see their potential and start building their brighter future. One area she flourishes in, and offers the most guidance in with her services, is the technology realm. As a kid, she was able to master new technology with ease, and with her programs and tutorials she offers simplified methods to navigate scheduling and organizing software and apps; such as Asana.

Originally, she almost went into the medical field with a concentration in psychiatrics due to outside pressure. While she loved science and the medical field, she found herself spending a lot of her free time sketching because half of her heart belonged to the arts. She eventually gave into practicality and stability, and with her degree in psychology, she got a full time job in human resources and recruiting. In this role she felt that it was a nice blend between the creative and science thought process.

She also found a way to mix her two loves with a blog she started in college called, Organized Meg. Admitting that her blog wasn’t that good, she said it introduced her to the blogging world, as well as website building and design through blogging platforms like Zanga. She said she also learned that there was a way to build a business without a college degree, and following a structured corporate ladder. About a year later she began to actively seek a creative outlet, and in May of 2013, she officially launched MeganMinns.com in which she offered creative services. Through MeganMinns, she offered branding, web design, and custom handwriting for projects like logos and wedding invitations.

As her business began to take off, she started to live an unhealthy lifestyle due to balancing a full time job, gaining a masters in organizational and human resource development, and MeganMinns. She started working during the nights and weekends and isolating herself socially, butby January she had relaunched her MeganMinns as an LLC. While she was proud of her of her growth, running her business became a chore and the creative workload was no longer something she loved.

She said being in the art industry left her in a bad mindset where she was comparing herself to other artists, and felt less than when she didn’t meet their skill. Art and creativity was something she loved expressing for herself, not for other people, and she didn’t like having her creativity up for debate. And so, she took a break in 2014, and began re-evaluating her business direction. With the help of a mentor she curated her strengths and found what passions she could express in a business.

She asked her what are some things that she was good at, what comes to her with ease, and what projects are people thrilled with of hers in the corporate world. Through those questions, she found that she was good at identifying areas of improvement within companies, creating a plan for improvement, as well as managing and executing that plan. She also remembered her savvy-ness for software and tech, and concentrated that skill into the world of corporate HR.

From there, she relaunched MeganMinns with virtual assistant services focusing on implementing new tech systems, establishing new work flow and processes, and organizing digital files. In an instant, she was booked out via Facebook groups she had been blogging through. By summer 2015, she successfully launched her first online course, and the positive reaction from clients showed her that she can launch a profitable product, and it validated that she could develop her business so it would provide a steady income. By that November she finally quit her full time job.

Hear more about what it was like for Megan making that transition, uplifted her clients, grew her passive income with downloadable products, and learned how to be a CEO!

In this episode you will…

Learn how to balance and blend your opposing passions
Figure out if your passion is better expressed for yourself or for clients
Find what strengths and passions are applicable in a business
Be able to evolve your business as well as your personal brand
Learn how to remain the CEO of your business while keeping the personal touch with your clients
Find a place for yourself within your business once you have a team

INSIGHTS

“My deeper purpose in business and in life is kind of helping people realize that they…can accomplish their dreams, and just encouraging them to take the action, make the commitments, and start actually doing the work to make it a reality.” –Megan Minns

“I can do web design…I can do handwritten logos, but it really boils down to this realization that even though I can do those things, that’s really not what I should be doing. And it was this painful, but really good ‘Aha’ moment…this has all been a path of self-discovery for me, and that was a harder one for me to learn.” –Megan Minns

“I was amazed at the reaction, and I was amazed at how happy my clients were, and I loved doing the work because it was finally back in my zone of genius, things I felt good about doing, things that felt easy…it was this awesome validation and it totally made the pain of pivoting and the fear totally worth it.” –Megan Minns

“I’m a huge fan of change and pivoting and evolving, and I think as a business owner you have to evolve, and be open to that, and even though it’s hard and scary you’re supposed to evolve. All businesses are supposed to evolve.” –Megan Minns

RESOURCES

Megan Minns Website

Megan Minns LinkedIn

Megan Minns Facebook

Megan Minns Instagram

Megan Minns Twitter

Megan Minns YouTube Channel

Asana

Brain FM

Slack

The Pomodoro Technique

Productivity Planner

She Means Business by Carrie Green

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

SDH191: How to Create Flow and Focus in Your Business, Solocast with Amanda Boleyn Sep 14, 2017

Today's solocast is part 3 of a six part series in honor of She did It Her Way Summit and I'm sharing how to create flow and focus in your business.

What is flow and how do you create focus?

Finding flow is about managing your time, energy and attention which results in creating focus. If we can understand how to manage our time, energy and attention better we can produce better results in our business.

Identify your big 3 for the day.

What will move my business forward?
Will this help me achieve my goals?
Will I feel good after I accomplish this?
2. Eat clean.

Remove as much processed food from your diet
Limit the amount of sugars as possible, especially added sugar. Sugar causes you to have increased energy but quickly followed by a crash

Manage caffeine intake. Note effects on adrenal glands.

Adrenal fatigue is when you put your body under emotional, mental and physical stress.
You could have trouble getting out of bed, tend to be tired or in a state of fog, struggle to think clearly.
I am not a doctor only someone who has gone through adrenal fatigue
Find ways to destress (meditate, yoga), eat a clean diet, regular sleeping habits.

Create buffers to avoid stressful situation.

I wrote about this in last week’s blog post. Create buffers, not the bowling ones but time buffers. If you think it will only take you 10 minutes to travel from one meeting to the next, double it.

Avoid checking email right away when you wake up.

Create space in your day to get the important things done. Spend time doing those activities that require your full attention and energy.
Tim Ferris Energy ZAP theory
Create space to accomplish your big 3.

Attention and focus are muscles. The more you practice using them in the right way the better they will serve you.

Being able to maintain focus is like exercising a muscle.
If every 5-10 minutes we’re being distracted by our cell phone we’re actually conditioning our muscle to only hold attention space for that short 5-10 minutes. Similar to practicing meditation. In the beginning we may only start out at 5 minutes but over time we grow to 10 to 15 minutes because we’ve built up that practice.

Limit distractions

Airplane mode
Clean desk
Shutdown email
Close all tabs

Become aware of time leaks.

Start to purge the items on your to-do list that don’t produce results
Start to outsource tasks that don’t need to be done by you
If you’re having trouble outsourcing, don’t think about “Who am I going to outsource to?” think about the tasks and then record yourself on your computer (screen flow) doing them and start collecting a database of tasks so that when that moment comes you’ve already created a library.

Take advantage of your time gaps.

These are the 30-45 minute time gaps in between appointments or while we’re waiting somewhere. Take advantage of them, do tasks that don’t require a ton of energy to get done, quick email, make phone calls.

Get outside. Fresh air.

When working from home it is soooo easy to roll out of bed and go straight for the office or wherever you chose to work and start diving in. First, take a moment and step outside, do a quick 15 minute walk around the block.
I don’t do this every day but on the days I do do it I feel much better and more awake.

Schedule time with friends who feed your soul.
Give yourself grace.

No one is perfect
This has been something that I’ve been working on and I was talking to a close girlfriend of mine. All of us listening to this podcast I bet are go-getters and as go-getters we tend to take a ton of responsibility for our actions and we’re always striving to grow and move everything in life forward. So that when that moment comes and we feel like we’re stuck or we made a mistake we can be hard on ourselves. Which friend, serves no one, not us, not the people we surround ourselves with, not the people we do business with. Because if we can’t give ourselves grace first, we can’t give others grace. Remember that no one is perfect, perfect doesn’t exist. We are all right where we need to be in our journey and living life with grace is way more enjoyable than if we don’t.

SDH190: 5 Things You Must Do Before You Quit Your Job, Solocast with Amanda Boleyn Sep 11, 2017

On today's solocast, Part 2 of a 6 part series I am sharing the 5 things you must do before quitting your job. These 5 things I'm sharing is a compilation of my own experience along with many other women whom I've interviewed, coached and worked with.

Do Your Research and Maximize Your Time

Start attending events that are entrepreneurial focused to start surrounding yourself with like minded people and also to better understand what entrepreneurial life is like. Start asking questions to get you in the mindset of what to expect when you’re fully out on your own.

For example:

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced as an entrepreneur?
What is something you’ve experience that could have been avoided?
What is something you wish you would have done prior to quitting your job that you didn’t do?
This is a time for you to get really focused and maximize your time. Create an ideal schedule from when you wake up to when you go to bed. When are you scheduling these events, when are you sending emails, when are you meeting people for coffee? What are you saying yes to and what are you saying no to?

Make a List of What Needs to Happen Before You Quit Your Job

First, the biggest thing to remember is that everyone's risk tolerance is different. This is only for YOU to determine what are YOUR goals and what is on YOUR list. Write out what sort of savings goal you need to hit in order to feel comfortable, how many clients you want to have before taking the leap, write out your fears, what's holding you back, what are you afraid of?

Use these as talking points during our conversations with other entrepreneurs...chances are they went through the same thing you're going through and can help navigate the waters with you.

Know What You're Good At

Not everyone who wants to be an entrepreneur knows what they want to do. You might know exactly what you want to do while others have no clue and some of you don’t know which idea to chose to grow. Knowing what you’re good at can help you figure out what you want to do.

Email 10 people in your network (or call them) and ask them what is it about you that believe you’re really good at

Take the fascinate me quiz HERE. Use Lewis Howes code "schoolofgreatness"

Identify the activities that give you energy and makes the time pass quickly

Set Goals

Now that you've identified and collected information you are now ready to put it all together. Assuming you want to start a business and leave your job, take a look at your calendar and selected the date one year out from when you are reading this post. I recommend at some point getting a paper calendar that you can write on that shows all 12 months. There's something about being able to see the entire year in front of you that makes you thing BIGGER.

Okay, now break that year into 2 parts - first 6 months and the second 6 months. Let's say that right smack dab in the middle is when you're going to launch your business. That means the first six months are focused on researching, collecting, prepping for your big launch. Then after your big launch your focus is around the new set of mini goals you've established in the second half of the six months.

For Examples:

Goal: 1 year I am leaving my full-time job and taking the leap

First 6 month goal - Prepare for the launch of my business
Second 6 month goal - Grow my business to replace 75% of my monthly income
Then, within each of those 6 month buckets break it down into quarters, months, weeks and put goals to each of them. Here are some questions to get you started for the first six months:

What business do I want to launch?
What am I good at?
Who are the people I need to surround myself with?
How much money do I want saved before taking the leap? How do I get there?
What does my ideal schedule look like?
When am I going to make time for my business?
What entity will I be?
How will I manage cashflow?
What does my marketing plan look like?
5. Take Action

Planning is always fun but then it is time to take action my friend. Find an accountability partner, someone who is either going through the same thing you are or someone who is one step ahead in the journey. Stay connected to stay inspired.

Today's mini interview She Did It Her Way Summit series is with Helena Swyter. All about accounting - you know, the fun stuff ;) Be sure to tune in and listen all the way until the end.

SDH189: The Journey of Quitting Your Job and Landing On Your Own Two Feet Sep 07, 2017

Ahhh friends! Today's episode is part ONE of a SIX part series leading up to the She Did It Her Way Summit. Over the six part series I'm going to take you through the following:

The Journey to Quitting Your Job and Landing on Your Own Two Feet
How to Create Flow and Focus in Your Business
5 Things You Must Do Before Quitting Your Job
10 Ways to Scale Your Business Faster in the Land Phase
What to Expect When You Quit Your Job and Take the Leap
What to Do When You Want to Start a Company But Don't Know What or Where to Start
ALSO, at the end of every solocast there is a mini interview with some of the speakers at the event. I cannot wait for ya'll to tune in and hear from these incredible folks.

Ekk! So be sure to tune in!

SDH188: Following Your Fears and Feeling all the Feels with Jen Sincero Sep 04, 2017

How many times have you heard us and other entrepreneurs on this podcast rave about Jen Sincero'sbook, You Are a Badass? Isn't it about time you guys heard from her yourselves?

Well today's the day She Did it Her Way listeners! We've gotten Jen, author of You Are a Badass and You Are a Badass at Making Money, on the podcast today! We are so jazzed, to quote Amanda, to share with you her journey towards becoming a successful author and a life coach!

Jen's entrepreneurial story started when she was in her 40s, and after living a good life for a while as a writer and a musician, she was still broke and living in a garage. She knew she had ample amount of talent, but could not understand why money just seemed to evade her. She didn't really have a wake-up call or epiphany moment, she just got really tired of living below her potential. She knew that she was capable of more, and couldn't watch herself waste her gifts anymore.

She decided to swallow her pride and look for some financial guidance. She started reading self-help books, going to coaching seminars, started her online coaching business, and writing books. However, it was a life coach that she met at a coaching seminar that had the greatest impact. With her fee being a quarter of Jen's annual income at the time, she took a huge risk by hiring her. But Jen connected with her story, because she too had lived the life of an experienced broke person, and was now making six figures by just helping people. Terrified, she took out another credit card, despite her debt, and was all in. She did everything she told her to do and soaked up as much guidance as she could as she helped her with coaching business for writers.

Through the process, she learned to get over the negative stigma involved with focusing on monetary gain. One exercise she repeats in both of her books is writing a letter to money as if it were a person. This helps people get over their fears of being judged for focusing on money, and bring money into a relatable mental space which makes it easier to obtain. For her, the letters revealed that she felt like money wasn't available to her, and was the root of a lifestyle she could never see herself being a part of.

As she grew her business and projects, she also found that her fears around making money stemmed from losing a source of affection from her father. One way her dad would show his support and love for her was throwing her $20 or $100 dollars every now and then. If she made a lot of money, she felt that they would no longer have that connection, and outshine her father.

What led her to this notion was when she wanted to work with a life coach she really respected, and that cost $85,000. To even be in the head space to consider spending that much money made her think about her father, who was an Italian immigrant. She pictured him in his yellow vee neck sweater, with his hands in his pockets, staring sadly at his feet because he felt he couldn't take care of her anymore. But she had to move past that thought, allow herself to prosper, and realize that her dad would always see her as his little girl who needs $100 bucks once and a while.

Through it all, she has learned to disprove her excuses and learn to love the thrill of living outside of her comfort zone. She has also learned to love herself and help others learn to love themselves as well, by reminding readers at the end of every chapter of her book. She knows how easy it is to be hard on yourself and feel as though success is equated to perfection. So she reminds readers, and herself, that there is beauty in our flaws and we have to be okay with things not being perfect; whatever the hell that means, as Jen would say.

Hear more from Jen in this week's inspiring episode!

In this episode you will...

Learn to become savvy about making money and live up to your potential
Get over negative connotations revolving around money
Find out where your fear of money lies and stems from
Remember to love yourself
Live outside of your comfort zone, and do things that scare you
Begin to realize your excuses aren't true
INSIGHTS

"I just got so freakin' sick of hearing myself talk about being broke...and not just sick of struggling, and scraping by...but more importantly...I knew in my soul that I could do better. And the fact that I wasn't...it just got too excruciating... And that's when I made the decision to get some freakin' help. To do whatever it took to learn about money...and really go for it in a way I had never gone for it before." -Jen Sincero

"We're all struggling, we're all doing our best, and the most important thing is to just get in the game and go, and not wait until everything's perfect [and] you're 100% ready...just do it who cares." -Jen Sincero

"Do something that scares the living crap out of you every day, and that moves you in the direction of where you want to be...if you really want to change your life, you had better be scared. If you're not scared you're doing something wrong." -Jen Sincero
"That commitment to our excuses as opposed to that commitment to miracles...you really gotta be open if you want to grow. You gotta be available to be wrong, which is what we hate...but to be right about our excuses is very important to us. And when we'd rather be happy than right, then we open up a whole new world of possibility." -Jen Sincero

RESOURCES

Jen Sincero LinkedIn
Jen Sincero Website
Jen Sincero Facebook
Jen Sincero Instagram
Jen Sincero Twitter

SDH187: Why You Should Focus on What Excites You with Steph Crowder Aug 31, 2017

What is your driving force? The ultimate thing in your life that gives you direction and purpose?

For Steph Crowder, Head of Member Success at Fizzle.Co., her motivators are her 14-month-old daughter and Fizzle. Fizzle is a company that helps creative entrepreneurs build their businesses via online courses, and weekly articles, podcasts, and small business guides. Their ultimate goal is to set up individual business owners with every resource, and tool they need to feel supported by an understanding community of like minded individuals. It is because of their mission and morals that Fizzle has become Steph's north star and passion. She refers to herself as the 'Den Mama' of Fizzle because she is so invested in the company, and takes care of everything and everyone, from clients to coworkers.

Starting as a customer of theirs, she joined the company as a part-time customer service rep two years ago, and took a 60% pay cut from her previous job as head of a department at Groupon. Since she has become part of the leadership team, hosts Fizzle's podcast, as well as her own, Courage and Clarity.

When her daughter came into the world, her heart and dedication became split between being a devoted mom and an ambitious leader. She wanted her career and role at Fizzle to continue to grow and move at the upward pace it was, previously. But she needed to do so in less time, because she didn't want her daughter's life to be consumed by day care, and wanted to be an involved parent. She wanted to do it all, and compromise nothing, and felt she could do so with rigid scheduling and time management. She quickly realized that that was a no-go.

She began to see that this way of thinking and living was being reactive to her conundrum, but not actually proactive in changing anything. So she started delegating her work load, and saying no to things that were miniscual, and weren't what she wanted or needed to be doing; such as getting trapped in email jail, and handling Fizzle's social media prescence. By eliminating unneccesary tasks and distractions in her life and at work, she was able to be the mother that she wanted to be and spend quality time with her baby.

Stay tuned and hear more about how Steph worked her way up at Fizzle, how motherhood made her a better leader, and how her and her partners are evolving Fizzle with a fresh identity and purpose!

Also, check out Steph's original appearance on She Did it Her Way two years ago!

In this episode you will...

Be okay with not getting constant feedback on your performance as an entrepreneur
Learn how to merge skills as a mother into being a leader in your professional life
Know how to delegate certain tasks at your job, and projects so you can focus on your personal or family life
Learning other behaviors to increase productivity, as opposed to working harder and longer, and burning yourself out
Discover what your business or start up wants to evolve to once it's hit the 5 year mark
Not make your happiness conditional, and be happy with where and who you are at the moment

INSIGHTS

"There are a lot of lessons, and definitely a border between start ups and pregnancy, and also motherhood. You learn so much about business. I think business and entrepreneurship can teach us a lot about how to be the CEOs of our families. It's really cool to see how these two different systems can play together when you're doing both in your life." -Steph Crowder

"If I have an activity...or a project that I want to take on, now I just stop and I say, 'What would be the result of that? Is it going to reach my number one objective, which is growing Fizzle?' That is my north star...I really tried to put myself in the driver's seat.... I'm just trying to support myself and show my daughter an example of what meaningful work can be." -Steph Crowder

"Working harder, longer is not a strategy...if that's your sole strategy...you're going to hit a wall. I have not seen someone not burn out on that model, and I am an example of that. You will reach a point in your life where thatno longer becomes a viable strategy. It might work in the short term, but [when] you get to a point where your priorities change, it doesn't feel good to live from that place." -Steph Crowder

"It's challenging, as well as incredibly invigorating, to be in part of a company that's doesn't know what the answer is...everything in your business is a hypothesis...even when you're as far along as a business like this...we have to test and tweak and iterate, and it's really exciting to be on the precipice of, where are we going to go from here?" -Steph Crowder

"Get yourself in a place where...no matter what happens today I genuinely feel good...because inspired action is so much better and more effective...I feel like I'm doing more meaningful work...and that's a really new mindset for me to explore." -Steph Crowder

RESOURCES

Special Fizzle 5-Week Free Offer! (fizzle.co/courage)

Steph Crowder LinkedIn

Courage and Clarity

Steph Crowder Instagram

Fizzle Website

Fizzle Facebook

Fizzle Instagram

Fizzle Twitter

The Start Up Pregnant Podcast

Mimi Ikonn YouTube Interview with London Real Academy Part 1 of 2

Priming with Tony Robinson

Jess Lively Website

SDH186: How to Turn Obstacles Into Motivation When Quitting Your Job with Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams Aug 28, 2017

As you're tumbling along your road as a creative entrepreneur, don't you wish you had someone to look to that's tumbled down that road, too? And because of those ups and downs, and twists and turns, can offer you honest wisdom, clarity, and reassurance as you figure out what passion of yours can become a profitable and sustainable business?

Look no further than Abagail Pumphrey and Emylee Williams, the cofounders of Think Creative Collective! Referring to themselves as biz fairy godmothers, TCC offers a multitude of business courses and acts as a resource hub for creative entrepreneurs. The two met through a Facebook group centered around encouraging other creative entrepreneurs and supporting their businesses. They connected on helping entrepreneurs find the confidence to charge what they were worth, and begin building businesses around what they were passionate about. The two ended up hosting a webinar and co-selling a course together, and within two weeks of knowing each other, they decided to start TCC while brainstorming on the floor of Abagail's office.

The company started as a marketing and branding boutique in September of 2015. They offered photography, design, and marketing for creative small business owners. As of January 2016, it evolved into online course selling, and now features a blog, and a podcast called the Strategy Hour.

Another new addition to TCC's website is the course, 4 Days to a Sexy System. This system challenges clients to stay organized to increase productivity in their daily lives in order to drive their businesses and accomplish personal goals. By following this structure, Abagail and Emylee feel that it will create a productive system that will hold up throughout the year, and increase the sustainability of their business.

The challenge begins by asking clients where they keep their information and can they stream line it to one place. Day two consists of planning out their goals for the year, finding out what they have to do to reach them, and figuring out how those goals will lead to profit inside their business. On Day three, they break down those goals and set up achievable tasks, with day four pushing you into action.

The two are extremely dedicated to giving creatives an epicenter for advice and guidance by creating a community for new and tenured entrepreneurs. They want to be the mentors that they wished they had when they were building their business. They also know what it feels like to be a hot mess in an intimidating and scary time in your career, because they had a rocky take off themselves.

Originally, Abagail had a dream of living the corporate life and working for big national brands, with her degree in design and fine arts. After college she began working for a small agency and knew right away that she did not belong in that world. Like so many people with the heart of an entrepreneur, she simply couldn't work for another person or company any longer. She also had a lot of moral conflicts with the company because she felt that a lot of their practices were illegal. Her conscience was relieved when she was laid off, and with her husband's trust, she started her own company.

When she felt her layoff coming, she started a blog and a website within a weekend. She began blogging five days a week, and gained clients through networking and reaching out to people she saw needed her help. She dabbled in a little of everything and helped non-profits, start-ups, and worked on in-house design projects to build 8 foot banners, brochures, and full websites. You name it, she was your girl. She was also able to start with zero debt, and continue with no in-house expenses. Within 30 days she had replaced her income and was making more than he was!

Emylee, on the other hand, wanted to go into social work and eventually wanted to become a college professor. Two weeks before grad school started, she unenrolled and walked away from school. When she returned home she had a crisis moment in her nana's guest room, unsure about where she wanted to go in life. With a degree in fine arts and photography, coupled with graduating in a recession, there was absolutely no job to be had. However, she knew she wanted to be in control of something, and wanted it to be a passion. So she started her own photography business in Oklahoma and eventually grew it to obtain a five figure salary. She loved working with other creatives and collaborating on projects, but she also loved that she got to lead and give others constructive criticism on their businesses and inspiring entrepreneurial confidence.

Learn more about TCC's origin and how the two met and have grown their business in today's episode!

In this episode you will...

Find the support to take a risky career change
Learn how to not make excuses for yourself and drive your business
Figure out how to micro-tweak your business to where it fits what you want to be doing
Know how to solidify the sustainability of your business
Learn to get your ideas out of your head in order to create content for your business
Decide on how much of your income goes towards your business, staff, and yourself
INSIGHTS

"I didn't make any excuses for myself and I was willing to do anything to make it work, mostly because I felt like I had this timeline of [how] I have to prove it to other people...but I work well under pressure, especially when the pressure is outside of myself." -Abagail Pumphrey

"You have to see where these small opportunities are for you to maybe shift your business a little bit, just to try it, and see if that's even what you like doing...and seeing what that opportunity then opens up for you in the future." -Emylee Williams

"We truly believe that there's a formula, and there's a structure, and a system and a work flow for every single piece of your business...As long as they have a process and a system they're going to be able to actually get done...so you can really see the results of those things and know what to pivot and tweak in your business when you're faced with opportunities in your business." -Emylee Williams

RESOURCES

Think Creative Collective Website
Think Creative Collective.com/Community
The Strategy Hour
Think Creative Collective Facebook
Think Creative Collective Instagram
Think Creative Collective Twitter
Present over Perfect by Shauna Niequist
Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
Trello

SDH185: Why the She Did It Her Way Summit & What to Expect, solocast with Amanda Boleyn Aug 24, 2017

Who is the summit for:

If you’ve ever wanted to start your own business but not sure where to start or let alone afraid and overwhelmed

Maybe you recently launched your business (and could be a side hustle) but uncertain if you’re doing all the right things to make it sustainable

What you’ll get out of it:

Confidence. And I don’t just say that to say that. If you think about fear and what inspires fear it is usually the unknown. So if we can get familiar and educate ourselves on steps and processes to go about launching a business, I promise you it will be less scary and you’ll have the confidence to take action.

Curated coaching circles. When you purchase your ticket you’ll receive a survey that will take roughly 20 minutes to fill out but what it’ll help us do on the back end is make sure we select coaches that will add value to you and your questions.

Speaking of coaches and speakers, all coaches and speakers have been hand picked for the summit. The reason why I did this instead of a call for speakers is because I’ve seen these women speak before and I know the value of content they deliver. I had specific requirements for them to fulfill. I wanted them to be able to deliver a workshop styled engagement, where it would be interactive and you as an attendee would actually put pen to paper vs. listening to someone speak for 45 minutes. I’m a firm believer in the doing in order to build confidence. I also know that these women have built their own sustainable business practice as well.

Topics include:

Finding your sweet spot - uncovering what truly lights you up and to let that guide you in your business that produces profits

Understanding the basics of marketing - who are you going after, who’s your ideal client, getting niched

Sales - understanding how to position your offering in a way that gets potential customers to convert

Power of Connecting - how to strategically and intentionally connect with others during events that will influence revenue

Accounting - what can be deducted, how to organize and what systems to use

Pricing - how to price your product or service to ensure there’s built in profit

Operations - maybe what some might consider the non sexy stuff - types of insurance you should have as a business owner (health and disability) and retirement options

Systems - all about hacking and organizing yourself to be productive and get stuff done

Goal setting - putting a nice bow on it at the end

Curated coaching circles - interacting in small groups with women who have launched their own business

Actual concrete steps and learnings. I’ve been to many events (including ones I was a part of) where the event itself didn’t have a strong purpose, we filled speaker slots for the sake of filling speaker slots. This summit is specifically designed with you as the attendee in mind.

Goal setting. Before we even get started and our first speaker, we’re going to take some time to reflect on why you’re at the summit, what brought you here and what you’re looking to get out of the day. Then before we wrap up we’re going to take time to map out immediate goals, 90 day goals and we’re going to dream about what life will look like in the next 1-3 years.

And I mean, how can you have an event without a sweet swag bag? It will be loaded with products made by female founders.

Why:

When I first stepped out, took the leap, quit my job I was 24 years old. Even though at the time I thought I had it “figured out” it hindsight I had no clue what I was doing. Haha I suppose that must have been my ego talking ;) When I was still working in corporate America I only knew a few people who worked for themselves and while I am so grateful for their inspiration and guidance that I had, it didn’t provide structure or a game plan when I did take the leap. I had no goals, no understanding of business banking, how to track expenses, no one asking tough questions to help me flesh through what I wanted. I built the plane as I flew it. And while that is part of entrepreneurship, the other part is seeking out mentorship, guidance and a plan.

What took me years to figure out, I want to serve that up to you in one day. So you can build and create faster and more sustainably.

I also know that launching a business can be scary and even scarier if you’re leaving a job that provides you a steady income. My desire is to have you know that you’re not alone and provide confidence in yourself to continue doing great things.

When I first shared with some folks the idea of an in person summit, they asked why not an online course or a virtual summit? And I got to say that in the world of technology and ability to be “online” so easily, actually meeting someone in person is a loss artform and I want to bring that back. Plus, I enjoy meeting people in real life :)

Recap:

Saturday, October 21st - one-day

Friday, October 20th - Welcome kick-off, early check-in

8 speakers

Curated coaching circles

Action plan

Confidence

A supportive community of women

Space is limited to help ensure that attendees get the most out of their time, energy and resources :)

SDH184: Turning Your Passion into A Paycheck with Ashlyn Carter Aug 21, 2017

The adrenaline rush of hustling can be insatiable. The payoff even more satisfying. But how much longer can you go? Do you know when to take a step back?

Ashlyn Carter, founder of Ashlyn Writes, became very familiar with the adrenaline rush of hustle. Her previous career in corporate PR, and her type A personality, had always pushed her towards perfection. But when the stress from her job as a publicist, coupled with planning a wedding, led to her developing an eating disorder, she knew she had to make a career change.

She became inspired by Lara Casey's book, Make it Happen, during her recovery time, and was introduced to the online world of creative female entrepreneurs. Already in love with working in female dominated work environments, due to her time as a traveling leadership consultant for her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi, she knew she wanted to be surrounded by that positivity again. She also had a immense desire to help the careers of female entrepreneurs and get their feet off the ground, and the specialization of creative entrepreneurs online added an exciting twist to the mix.

However, when she returned to the work force after her leave of abscene, she went right back to her demanding job as a publicist. With her stress, anxiety, and depression on the rise just two months after coming back, her fiance gave her the extra push that she needed to leave her corporate job once and for all.

With a journalism degree under her belt and a talent for calligraphy, Ashyln Writes was born in February of 2016. In her role at Ashlyn Writes, she acts as a copywriter and calligraphist, and specializes in helping creative female entrepreneurs with launch pages, sequence mapping, and sales page copy; with her primary customer base being small wedding businesses.

When Ashlyn Writes first started, though, it did not have a specific direction. She was taking any work that she could get. From doing marketing work for corporations, ghost writing for people in Atlanta, writing editorial pieces, and calligraphy work, Ashlyn did it all. She loved the work that she was doing, but she soon got overwhelmed and her business struggled to find its identity.

What made her business into the polished organization that it is today was the Illume Retreat in Austin, Texas. The retreat was geared towards creative female entrepreneurs, and acted as a networking event, and helped them relax all while connecting, and learning from professionals in a variety of fields on how to grow their business with intention. They also learned to infuse their story and heart into their business's message and brand. It was here where she gained a lot constructive criticism from these seasoned professionals, and made the ultimate connection with Jenna Kutcher; a wedding photographer and blogger, artist, and educator.

Jenna became a significant impact on Ashlyn's business by asking her to design her launch copy and email sequence for her online course, and because of the great job she did, Jenna recommended Ashlyn Writes to almost everyone in her network. From there, Ashlyn became the go-to-girl for launch copy and all that her company specializes in today, and gained her niche audience which allowed her company to grow and mature.

One of the greatest lessons she's learned along her journey, though, is knowing when to step away from the hustle, and work from a place of rest. Since she naturally is a high strung person, who truely loves to work, she has to remember take that time away to regroup mentally so she doesn't run herself into the ground. Not only that, but making time for the priceless moments and people in her life fuels her genuine happiness, too.

Check out today's episode and listen to the tips and tricks Ashlyn gives on how you can polish up your launch copy, and more about her personal growth and road to finding joy in her workplace!

In this episode you will...

Find the value in whittling down your target audience
Know when to take a break from hustling so you can rest
Figure out a way to get face-to-face with experienced entrepreneurs in your market who can help you launch your business
Learn how to transition your customer service skills and attitude according to your market and clientele
Understand figuring out a price point for your services
Make sure your copy is eye-catching, but retains clarity and doesn't become overwhelming
Be able to find what differentiates your business from others in your market
INSIGHTS

"There's just so much value in going for one thing...and trying to find something in a space that's not being served...the more I wised up about being a business owner...stepping into that fully and calling myself that and rebranding...that's been the biggest change." -Ashlyn Carter

"If you let me, I would work 24/7 because it is so fun to me, especially being a business owner. You get to be the one who toggles the dials and switches things up, and tries things and I'm just kind of an addict to it at times." -Ashlyn Carter

"No matter what the service is that you offer giving that really elevated, high level experience with touch points, client magazines, gifts, [and] making sure that it feels just as luxurious as booking something else...[I saw] how that really gave a lot of value. It helps me command the prices that I knew were worth it." -Ashlyn Carter

RESOURCES

Ashlyn Carter LinkedIn
Ashlyn Writes Website
Ashlyn Writes Facebook
Ashlyn Writes Instagram
Ashlyn Writes Twitter
Illume Retreat
Paul Jarvis
Jenna Kutcher's Website
Make it Happen by Lara Casey
Design your Day by Claire Diaz-Ortiz
90 Day Year by Todd Herman

SDH183: Why You Should Keep Your Job While Building Your Business with Nagina Abdullah Aug 17, 2017

What was the weirdest diet you've ever tried? What work out infomercial have you bought into recently? If not a super pumped infomercial, what workout trend have you gotten swept up into? How long did you stick to these? Did they even work?

Well today's guest, Nagina Abdullah, has been on the weight loss rollercoaster herself. Always athletic, and trying every diet from Weight Watchers to South Beach, she was never able to achieve the body that she wanted, or keep off any weight she did loose. More importantly, nothing she ever tried got her excited. And so, like every other method, her health and fitness motivation faded. However, her determination returned after she had two kids, and she found that adding certain spices to her healthy meals helped her loose weight without exercise! This eventually led to the creation of her weight loss program and blog, Masala Body.

Masala Body is all about helping women on the go find easy and healthy ways to loose weight, by using spices like cinnamon, tumeric, and cayenne in their meals. Growing up in an Indian household, Nagina was always exposed to meals loaded with a multitude of spices and flavors. She said the joy of life was in her childhood dishes, and by learning their health benefits and strategically adding them to her snacks and meals, she was able to loose 40 pounds in nine months!

After struggling with her weight for 35 years, she ended up being 20 pounds under her pre-baby weight, and had finally reached her dream body. Not only that, but she had gained an excitement in her new diet that she hadn't had before, which made her stick to her regiment and keep the weight off. She had to share her progress and her method with others, so she started her blog that has now evolved into a coaching business. Since its creation in 2013, Masala Body has helped over 500 women loose up to 40 pounds.

When Masala Body first started, she had no intention of monetizing it or really expanding it. The blog simply acted as an escape from her demanding job as a management consultant in New York City. It was when she hit an audience of 500 people that she got her first paying client, gained two more, that she knew she had a profitable business on her hands. She kept her full time job, though, for the income and stability. So she switched to a less demanding role at her company so she could invest time into her business and grow her blog.

Before she switches to her blog full time, she wants to increase its profitability, and match what she has to invest in Masala Body for its success. These expenses have included classes in becoming a perfect copywriter, learning different softwares, tips in increasing her blog's publicity, and hiring business coaches. But she has faith in her business and the power of her guidance, and with stats like hers and her own experiences with her diet, Masala Body's effectiveness goes without saying!

Hear more about the benefits of adding spices in your diet, how she juggles two jobs, and how Nagina makes loosing weight fun!

In this episode you will...

Learn to obtain profitability in your business so you can have the confidence to take the leap from a stable job to become a full time entrepreneur
Make a business out of a personal struggle in order to help others
Know what your key metrics are that signify growth in your business
Get comfortable with investing a large amount of money into expanding your business and becoming a CEO and founder
Figure out what elements in your life can be eliminated or cut down so you can focus on growing your business
Find the health benefits of adding certain spices in your diet
INSIGHTS

"I was just amazed and thoroughly thrilled that people were paying me to help them for something I did...I had always had a full time salary and that's just how I thought you made money. And so for me to actually pitch my services and coach women to loose weight, something that was so personal to me and help other women do the same thing, and see them go through that; it was completely fulfilling." -Nagina Abdullah

"There's multiple health benefits of adding spices to your diet, like high inflammation, less water rentention, increased fat burning, and decreased appetite...I lost 10 pounds in my first month without any exercise by changing what I was eating and adding these fat buring spices...and over the course of nine months, I lost 40 pounds." -Nagina Abdullah

"After a lifetime of struggle, to have my dream body after two kids...I couldn't believe it. I would look at myself in the mirror everyday and say, 'How could this have happened so easily when I struggled for the last 35 years,' and that's when I started my business." -Nagina Abdullah

RESOURCES

Nagina Abdullah LinkedIn
Masala Body Website
Masala Body Facebook
Masala Body Instagram
Nagina Abdullah Twitter
Sweet Spice Cheat Sheet (MasalaBody.com/Shediditherway)
The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks

SDH182: How to Successfully Transition to Entrepreneurship with Britney Kolodziej Aug 14, 2017

How much longer are you going to represent a brand that doesn't fulfill you? When will you take the leap and showcase yourself as your own boss, with a business that encompasses your passions?

For Britney Kolodziej, founder of JAM Marketing Group, that moment came when she received the message that she was going to be a speaker at a blogging convention in 2016. As head of the marketing department at a fitness corporation, she had been dabbling in the blogging world personally, but primarily professionally as a marketing tool for the company. On a whim she decided to apply to be a speaker for the convention, but when she unexpectedly landed the gig, she began questioning if she wanted to use that platform to represent the company or herself. The opportunity had showed her what she was capable of achieving, and ignited her drive to start her own business.

She knew that her business would be marketing based, because she was in love with the concept of intentionally growing a business and building a business's worth; which she had done with her department at her previous job within two years. She decided her business would specialize in online marketing, and her clientele would be small businesses. However, she had a few more ends to tie up before the convention.

She began working on her business's minimum viable products (MVPs) , which are basic features that any start-up should have in order to adopt early consumers. Her MVPs were a company name, website, a few blog posts, at least one client, and an enticing factor in exchange for emails.

To focus on this, she realized she had to leave her corporate job once and for all, and gave them a four-week notice. After her last day, she shared her business with her peers on social media, and accomplished the goals she had set for her herself by the convention!

In order to effectively grow her business, while navigating life without a steady income, she had to set up a minimum viable income. By giving herself a budget that she could operate by comfortably, she was able to gain confidence in how she managed her business. This empowered her to make smart business decisions when entering into new contracts, pitches, and gaining new clientele.

Even though she was making great strides in her budding business, she was met with the loneliness involved in the early stages of entrepreneurship. One piece of advice she offers to new business owners is to never do it alone. She stresses the importance of finding a community of people like you to talk to or offer guidance. If you can't find your tribe, you could end up feeling isolated talking to people who don't understand the stage you're at in your life, or work yourself into a depression. So, she created her podcast, Marketing in Yoga Pants, to offer support for women like her who were just getting their foot in the entrepreneurial door, and needed to know what to do, and have a network of women to talk to.

Tune in and learn more about how Britney started her business and got it off the ground within 90 days!

In this episode you will...

Know how to represent yourself as the owner of your own company for the first time
When to let go of an old job to focus on growing your business
Be able to pull together your Minimum Viable Product when your building and presenting your business.
Determine and operate off of your Minimum Viable Income
Learn the importance of having a confidant in the early stages of being an entrepreneur
Make every move and decision intentionally
INSIGHTS

"This whole building a business world is much more of my thing...[it is] where my heart is...I got bit by the bug...I think I've always been destined to be my own boss...and it's...the best thing I ever could've done for myself." -Britney Kolodziej

"I took a hard look at my living expenses...and it was smaller than what I had even though it was, and that allowed me to kind of operate not out of a place of fear, but out of a place of empowerment, and I think that is what allowed me to succeed...I wasn't fearful that I wasn't going to make that money." -Britney Kolodziej

"Those...girls on our couch in our yoga pants, top knot tight, hunched over a MacBook, alone, trying to figure this business thing out...I am working to bring us together so we don't feel that isolation. So we can support each other while we're supporting ourselves, and maybe find a little place online...and in real-life to connect to each other, because I don't think you can do this alone." -Britney Kolodziej

"You don't have to have every single thing planned out...but [also] every single decision you haveto make, try to make it intentionally. Try to think it about what you're grounded in, and where this decision may take you, and that's where it becomes fulfilling. That's when you start making meaningful changes." -Britney Kolodziej

RESOURCES

Britney Kolodziej LinkedIn
Britney Kolodziej Twitter
JAM Marketing Group Website
JAM Marketing Group Facebook
JAM Marketing Group Instagram
Marketing in Yoga Pants Website
Marketing in Yoga Pants Instagram
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The Search for Significance by Robert McGee
Man Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Asana
Acuity Scheduling

SDH181: Following your Heart when the Pressure is On with Alisha Byrd Aug 10, 2017

What is causing you to not believe in your creative dreams? Is it practicality? Is it the fear of taking an entrepreneurial leap?

Alisha Byrd specializes in helping the creative woman dissect these questions and come up with a sound business plan to make their hobby or idea into a profitable business.
To her, there is nothing that a savvy person can't make money from, and works with clients from authors to dog lovers in monetizing their loves. With her website and blog The Alisha Nicole, she guides clients thoughts so they can gain clarity on their business venture, and acts as a support system so they can overcome their fears as new business owners.

She knows the hectic road all too well, through her experience with her first business five years ago. Coming from a job that pushed her to the point of an anxiety attack, she needed to express herself in a way that brought her joy. At the time it was creating jewelry, and it was a relaxing hobby that she knew she was good at.

Unfortunatley, she was soon confronted with the reality that she didn't know how to run a business. With no one to look to on how to save her struggling line, her business failed because she didn't know how to effectively market and brand her product.

She found herself on the floor of her living room overwhelmed by the lack of traffic of her business, and accumulating bills. Determined to see her business through, she went on intense Google searches, read as many business books as she could, and tried to learn from trial and error. She also began a blog as a place to vent about her life as a clueless business owner.

To her surprise, her blog began to attract a substantial following. She started receiving emails on how to turn an abstract idea into a business, and her blog content began to switch into a guidance platform. Feeling a shift in her priorities, she said she could no longer sit on the floor and create jewelry anymore. She knew she had to follow this path that was being laid before her, and do what her heart loved which was being mentor to other struggling entrepreneurs like herself.

Her first step was finding an appointment model for her coaching sessions and a price point. Initially charging $35 for hour long sessions, she realized she wasn't making enough money to reinvest in her business. She slowly started raising her prices and figuring out how to match the quality of her service to those price points.

As she raised her price points, she was also able to access a market that was serious and dedicated to working with her and starting their business. To manage her clientele she played with a few models, but has recently begun open enrollment time frames for block sessions, like her popular e-course 90-Day Blue Print. By allotting sessions in this manner, she is able to focus on herself, evolve the business further, and be more accessible and useful to clients.

Hear more about Alisha's story of letting go and starting new!

In this episode you will...

Find out how to take your idea or hobby as a creative person and turn it into a profitable business
Know how to match the quality of your services to a price point
Learn how to find a dedicated and enthusiastic clientele
Figure out how to manage your clientele volume
Identify the best ways to connect with you clients
Know when to let a failing business venture go and transition to your new calling
INSIGHTS

"I really love helping creative women ditch that fear around starting a business, and then helping them also to gain clarity to what they really want to do. And once they have that clarity, I help them to monetize that...but doing that from something that they truly love, and are truly passionate about." -Alisha Byrd

"I really think it'simportant to have someone...that just provides you with that guidance of figuring out the people you want to target, and the purpose behind why you want to target them." -Alisha Byrd

"I knew when I needed to transition into focusing on the blog and in coaching when honestly I wasn't as thrilled to sit down and make jewelry anymore...and I kinda walked towards what my heart was pulling me towards. And that was really just creating incredible content and working with people who started out just like me." -Alisha Byrd

RESOURCES

The Alisha Nicole Website
The Alisha Nicole Facebook
The Alisha Nicole Instagram
The Alisha Nicole Twitter
The Alisha Nicole Youtube
The Alisha Nicole Pinterest
Acuity
Asana
You Are a Badass at Making Money by Jen Sincero
Battlefield of the Mind by Joyce Meyer

SDH180: When You're at the Top of Your Game, Go Higher with Michelle Dempsey Aug 07, 2017

Was your entrepreneurial dream completely different than the careers you had two masters degrees in? When you decided to go for it, did your family hold an intervention to tell you that you were nuts?

Well when Michelle Dempsey quit her job as a teacher to become a blogger, this was exactly what she faced. Though instead of letting them act as deterrents, she used them as fuel to her fire and was determined to prove her family wrong, and her gut right. Now a successful and published writer, with a content marketing and brand consulting business (to name a few hats of hers); she provides lifestyle and career advice to readers with her blog, and helps clients rebrand or build their business.

Through her website, Michelle Dempsey Very Well Written, visitors can learn about some of the services she provides such as: brand storytelling, digital strategy, website design, as well as copywriting and content writing. Her blog and radio show also provide free tips on marketing and rebranding with posts like, '3 Things You Can do to Boost your Brand Before Summer (And Make More Money)', and 'The 5 Ways You're Screwing Up Your Marketing Plan'.

Initially, her blog and writing acted as outlet for her frustrations as a new mommy with a baby who was constantly sick, and trying to balance a career along with it. To her surprise, her blog gathered steam, and she was contacted by someone from high school who worked for Creative Child; a parenting magazine. They wanted to publish her work, and it showed her that she could make a career out of writing which had always been dear to her.

Due to a rough upbringing, writing had always acted as a way to express herself. She was fascinated by the art of using words to convey emotions, and her journal was attached to her hip. So after she saw that she could write professionally and get published, she went for it and took it up full time.

She set three publication goals for herself: be published by Elite Daily, Huffington Post, and Scary Mommy. Elite Daily was her first conquest, but Huffington Post and Scary Mommy proved to be a harder task. Nonetheless, she achieved all three goals within three months!

From her blog, her content and marketing business organically grew. People were impressed with how she used the media to market her blog and her personal brand, and started looking to her for her expertise. A year and a half later, she is considered the marketing guru of south Florida! She also uses her personal brand to empower women, work on personal development, productivity, and tackle the world of entrepreneurship.

Come join us for another episode and hear how Michelle owned her identity as a writer, and continues to expand her career!

In this episode you will...

Learn how to find your new identity as an entrepreneur
Know how to grow your personal and business brand
Figure out how to float financially in the early stages of entrepreneurship
Find ways to increase your website's SEO
Understand why you should invest in quality services that grow your business
Know when to dial up and down your drive in order to give yourself some rest
INSIGHTS

"Pride can be your worst enemy, but at a certain point it can really drive you...there was no way I was going to let myself be wrong. I had to prove everybody wrong...and I'm finding, as I connect with entrepreneurs, that's the attitude. You have to have this insatiable drive to prove everybody wrong, to make yourself successful, and if you really believe it, it's going to happen." -Michelle Dempsey

"I want to grow. I don't like being complacent...I like to think that if I made it this far, I can make it that much further...I had to make a name for myself and I think that comes from the lack of confidence and some of the things I dealt with growing up that now that the tables have turned, I want to go as hard and as far as I can." -Michelle Dempsey

"The second you get comfortable, I feel like the rug is going to be pulled from up under you. You have to just believe in your craft enough to know that you're good and you're desirable and you are offering something that people should have. But at the same time, know that there's 3,000 people at your heels trying to run you down. Nobody's ever at the top, everybody wants more." -Michelle Dempsey

RESOURCES

Michelle Dempsey Very Well Written
Michelle Dempsey LinkedIn
Michelle Dempsey Facebook
Michelle Dempsey Instagram
Michelle Dempsey Twitter
ProFemmes
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
The Secret by Rhonda Byrne
Trello

SDH179: Establishing Connections and Creating Careers with Sarah Boyd Aug 03, 2017

Have you always been someone who promoted unity? Has being able to help others grow by sharing your wisdom and resources something that brings you joy?

During her years in fashion PR, Sarah Boyd's real passion was empowering other women, and helping connect newcomers with mentors or professionals who can help them maneuver through the industry. So she launched her brand Simply Stylist that features conferences and workshops that provide a platform, and space for women interested in the fashion and beauty field to come together. Through her brand, they are able to learn the nuts and bolts of the industry, and create and strengthen their networks. Simply Stylist also features Simply Digital Network, that acts as a management agency for celebrity bloggers.

The first leg of her brand began with the Simply Stylist conference in LA five years ago, when she quit her job at her sister's company. All she had was a concept, and absolutely no idea if it would actually work. However, she knew she that her time in PR had come to an end, and wanted to tackle her dream conference head on to see where it would take her.

She gave herself three months to get it off the ground, and worked her PR connections to get speakers and sponsors to participate and promote it. With panels full of established fashion editors, stylists, and up and coming bloggers, the conference was a hit with 750 attendees. The conference also showcased under-represented jobs in the fashion industry, in order to show newcomers that there were multiple opportunities and areas to explore.

After it's success, Sarah expanded the conference to Chicago, New York City, and Dubai; but attendees were still hungry for more of the valuable information and tools the conference provided. To meet this demand, she began launching monthly workshops in LA. The 3-hour sessions feature experts in the beauty and fashion world educating entrepreneurs on topics like utilizing social media for branding and advertising purposes, Photoshop skills, and monetizing their blogs.

Simply Digital Network takes monetization of blogs a step further by diving deeper into the concept with bloggers. The management agency provides one-on-one assistance in helping celebrity and new bloggers create a web team, digital strategy, content, and provides consulting tips to get them up and running.

Take a minute to learn more about the various ways Sarah helps build careers and give newcomers the savviness they need to become successful!

In this episode you will...

Know how to remain productive and on task with growing your business
Be able to locate your state's Small Business Association so you have guidance in beginning your start-up
Learn how to build a business worthy of acquisition in the long-run
Begin to develop a tangible takeaway and ROI from your business to promise to sponsors
Understand the benefits of having a business card when you're first starting out
Know how to effectively brand and market your business with an event
INSIGHTS

"I'm naturally that PR girl that's always trying to help other people and empower other women...I wanted to create a platform where I could do that on a larger scale. And also have all these amazing women I was connecting teach everyone their path to success and all of these different tactics that they've learned along the way...and I think it's helpful for them to use their voice and share with the influencers of tomorrow." -Sarah Boyd

"It's pretty surreal to see the growth and the support I've gotten in this industry, it's very humbling. One thing is that I've always been [is] kind and that's what we really pride ourselves in at our conferences...you can sit with us and let's empower each other...that's why I think I've found success." -Sarah Boyd

"...we've just got acquired two months ago by Nylon. The beautiful thing is I run it as I ran it before and I just have their support. They love my vision, my ideas, they're fully supportive of everything that I'm doing. I just have a 65 person team behind me now that's selling us and helping us with creative....and it' amazing, I'm so happy I did it." -Sarah Boyd

RESOURCES

Simply Stylist Website

Simply Digital Network

Sarah Boyd LinkedIn

Simply Stylist Facebook

Simply Stylist Instagram

Simply Stylist Twitter

Simply Stylist Pinterest

Simply Stylist YouTube

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F**** by Mark Manson

SDH178: Stepping into your Power and Living your Truth with Jessica Zweig Jul 31, 2017

How does your business evolve with you? Have you outgrown it? Is it time to start another one with a different direction, so it aligns with who you are today?

These were the tough questions Jessica Zweig, founder of the SimplyBe Agency, was faced with when she decided to end her first business, Cheeky Chicago, that had been running for 7 years. Launching in 2008, Cheeky Chicago was an online lifestyle magazine for women, and was of Chicago's first online destinations for the hottest socialite venues. It soon evolved to include content about dating, fashion, restaurants, buying your first home, and more.
At Cheeky's peak, they had 100,000 readers, and had sponsorships and partnerships with brands like Nike, BMW, and Bloomingdale's to name a few. Jessica gained a lot of these high-profile brand connections through Cheeky events, which she used to promote other female entrepreneurs and create strong networks among them. Cheeky events became the most buzzed about events in town and were a lucrative revenue for her brand.

With this soar in popularity, Jessica also became one of Chicago's first social media socialites. This was due to Cheeky's loud prescence online, and her extensive use of social media advertising and marketing in the early social media era.

She fully basked in the limelight of being Chicago's 'It' Girl, and loved the accolades that Cheeky was racking up. But her fast lifestyle and constant work schedule began to catch up with her, and she became physically and mentally exhausted.

In 2013, she began to get chronic sinus infections, and had nine of them within the span of six months. After visiting multiple allergists, acupuncturists, and EMTs, it was determined that she needed to have surgery. She was immobilized during the month of her recovery, and with her seperation from work, she entered into a deep emotional breakdown.

When she had enough of her dormant life, she went to a park by her house to meditate. However, she was overtaken by emotion and found herself crying because she had lost herself in her business and couldn't find her purpose without it. It was then when she glanced down at her wrist and saw the tattoo she had gotten years before. It read: 'Simply Be, Girls Can See it'. At that moment, the meaning struck her in a whole new light, and she whispered, 'I don't want to do this anymore.'

Cheeky Girl was no longer her source of happpines, and as she had gotten older, it was no longer who she was. On that grassy knoll, she knew she needed to walk away, and start fresh. She didn't know what her next venture would be, but she knew it was going to be titled: Simply Be.

It took Jessica a year and a half, and increased visits to her therapist, to shut down Cheeky Chicago for good; and in October 2014, the SimplyBe Agency was launched. SimplyBe Agency helps clients establish a powerful prescence online by defining their personal brand, and setting them up on multiple and effecive platforms to get their message out to the world.

Jessica firmly believesthat in order to build a successful business and empire, you first have to build your personal brand. As she said, "People fall in love with people," and SimplyBe aims to tell their client's story in a way that touches audiences on an emotional and moral level. This creates valuable equity behind their client's name that will have a lasting effect on their audiences and business partners, and will guarantee the growth and profitability of any business venture they have down the line.

Listen in to hear more about Jessica's career evolution!

In this episode you will...

Find out how to use innovative resources to promote your business
Learn how to cultivate audiences with a 360 branding approach
Prioritize your mental and physical health over your job
Figure out how to develop a strong personal brand along with your product
Begin to follow your own agenda
Put a price point to your value and worth

INSIGHTS

"I'm going to move on eventually...I don't know what it's going to be...but it will be called Simply Be, because it is a metaphor for being authentic and for being in alignment with who you really are today, and what you really want, and what makes you feel like yourself." -Jessica Zweig

"My biggest accomplishment was following my heart, and reinventing myself, and starting from scratch...my intuitution was screaming at me...I heard a voice say...'You need to be still and stop, and listen to what makes you happy." -Jessica Zweig

"I just love the hustle. I love being my own boss and running my own business. When you put [everything into it], you get it out. You see your own results, and there's no better feeling than that." -Jessica Zweig

"The world needs more humanity and more people stepping into their power, and telling their stories, and being thought leaders on what they know to better service the world." -Jessica Zweig

"I strive to be vulnerable in my content...in life...The world will be set free by people who are free...When you get honest and open, you give other people the permission to do the same for themselves...If we talk about it, that to me is the secret sauce." -Jessica Zweig

RESOURCES

Jessica Zweig LinkedIn
The SimplyBe Agency Website
The SimplyBe Agency Blog
The SimplyBe Agency Facebook
The SimplyBe Agency Instagram
The SimplyBe Agency Twitter
RoadJess Traveled Blog
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

SDH177: How to Build a Supportive Tribe and Why It is Important to Have One With Stacie Brown, Kim Bosse, Debra Guinta, Liz Traines, and Jessica Zweig Jul 27, 2017

What does success truly look like in your eyes without comparing it to others? In what ways does your business enrich the lives of your clientele? Can you allow your business to act as an extension of yourself and the entiriety of your being?

Amongst the flow of wine, She Did it Her Way dives into these questions at the Boss Dinner with a variety of successful female entrepreneurs. The event is a celebration of powerful women with a goal of creating strong networks aimed at promoting and uplifting one another.

Today, we meet Debra Giunta, Kim Bosse, Stacie Brown, Jessica Zweig, and Liz Traines. Debra is the founder and director of Design Dance, a community-based educational dance organization. Design Dance's classes are taught by well trained dancers who teach routines that have an elevated performance aspect to them. However, Debra wanted her classes to be available to students of all income levels, in order to provide easy access to a high quality dance education. Today they serve 1,500 students annually with over 120 classes a week.

Along her entrepreneurial road, her greatest epiphany and daily practice is learning to find and be happy with her own version of success. An exercise that keeps her in this mindset is 90-Day projects and goals geared towards growing her business and herself. By having these short term goals, she increases her productivity and it allows her feel accomplished on her own terms.

Another boss lady learning to thrive on her own terms is Jessica Zweig, founder of Cheeky Chicago and The SimplyBe Agency. Jessica began her self discovery after she started her first business, Cheeky Chicago; an online lifestyle magazine for women. After having to take a month off of work to recover from a sinus surgery, she entered into a deep depression. She had invested so much of herself into her business that when she had to stop, she felt as though she had lost herself and her purpose. It was after an emotional breakdown on a park bench that she bounced back and regained clarity.

She had looked down at a tattoo on her wrist from years ago that said, 'Simply Be, Girls can See it'. It reminded her to be okay with wherever and whoever she was in her life, and to live authentically. From there she was able to rebuild herself seperately from her business, so it wouldn't define her. It also led to the creation of her second business, The SimplyBe Agency, which helps turn budding entrepreneurs into creative leaders by helping them create digital content to cultivate audiences and make an impact.

Stacie Brown, Managing Director of Carver Peterson Consulting, helps new entrepreneurs as well by giving new entrepreneurs direction, how to drive revenue, building a staff, along with other business counseling.

One thing she prides herself on with her business is creating a healthy work environment built off of trust and transparency. By building a business culture with these pillars at its core, it creates a working environment where everyone feels comfortable engaging and communicating with one another in a professional and constructive way; whether it be about the good, the bad, or the ugly. With this open communication, she is also able to make better decisions as a leader, and effectively solve problems to benenfit the company and associates.

Kim Bosse, owner and co-founder of Birch Road Cellar, is learning the same thing and in different capacities. Birch Road Cellar is an event space for members of their club to throw gatherings. The intimate space is homey enough to host small get-togethers between friends or larger events such as the Boss Dinner.

For Kim, one of her best business decisions, but also achallenge, is delegating and tailoring areas of her business to fit her strengths and weaknesses. While as an owner this tactic is best for certain tasks, it can keep her complacent and too comfortable. She keeps herself evolving by taking control of sales or pitching to potential members. Admitting that sales isn't her strong suit, at some point there has to be growth, and she likes interacting with potential members, and evaluating if they are a right fit herself.

By getting comfortable with the uncomfortable in her business, Kim has taken this approach with her personal life, too. She actively tries to say 'yes' to things that may not make sense or is responsible, but wants to take that chance in order to learn and have that experience.

Liz Traines, founder of Liz Traines Coaching, went on a similar journey as she transitioned from the monotony of the corporate world to the freedom of entrepreneurship. Now a career and lifestyle coach, she focuses on helping other women find a career that they love.

A veteran to the She Did it Her Way Podcast, we previously heard how Liz spent years living the life she was told, growing in the finance world, and becoming what other people deemed 'successful'. But that path was not her truth, and when a stranger at a New Year's Eve party pointed it out, she was shaken from her trance.

She then spent a year living outside her comfort zone, traveling, and practicing self care. It still took her a while to finally leave her corporate job, but when she did became confident, and felt in control of her life.

Soak up this jam-packed episode as you hear more about these amazing women!

In this episode you will...

Learn how to create a platform and business that motivates others towards success
Find joy in achieving short term goals and how to rebuild your life and career around that
Start to be your own problem-solver in your business
Know how to build a productive, trusting, and open work culture
Begin to find fulfillment in your own version of success
Figure out how to establish yourself as a boss while keeping a positive relationship with her team
INSIGHTS

"If you want to be profitable, you really need to talk to your client...Take the leap, go meet with a client...go work with someone so you can have an experience that teaches you what people actually need and want and what they'll actually pay for..." -Debra Giunta

"When you don't have a boss, you're constantly defining your own success. And I think we are bombarded with versions of success that look like something we might want. And sometimes even when I think I have reached a point of success that I have defined for myself, I see someone else's point of success and I'll compare myself to them. So I think it's really about taking those moments throughout the day to re-center yourself and refocus on where you're at." - Debra Giunta

"When you set short term goals, what you force yourself to do is to really focus...and you're like, this is where I'm at...and I'm on this ride, and it's a sprint, and in 90 days I'm going to make a new goal." -Debra Giunta

"There's something to be said about having corporate structure that provides you with resources but it's pretty fun when you think through the problem, solve [it], and execute on the problem yourself." -Stacie Brown

"There's skillsets as an owner that are different than an employee; [you can't be] afraid to be humble, to ask for help, and seek out the support system that can really make you better. And frankly, that's just letting your guard down and being vulnerable with the things you don't know." -Stacie Brown

"I'm [my staff's] boss first, and their friend second, and that's been a shift in mindset...and I think I'm finding the balance between really loving my team and knowing that they love me too, but at the end of the day they respect me. It is an intentional practice everyday, and that was a very, very hard lesson for me to learn." -Jessica Zweig

RESOURCES

Design Dance Instagram

Design Dance Facebook

The SimplyBe Agency Instagram

The SimplyBe Agency Facebook

Carver Peter Consulting Instagram

Carver Peterson Consulting Twitter

Liz Traines Coaching Instagram

Liz Traines Coaching Facebook

Birch Road Cellar Twitter

Birch Road Cellar Facebook

The Man in the Arena by John Bogle

The Vanishing Neighbor by Marc J. Dunkelman

Start with Why Simon Sinek

Calendley

HootSuite

SDH176: Become Relentless and Trust Your Dream with Rachel Drori Jul 24, 2017

As you go through the work day do you find yourself falling victim to those cupcakes in the break room? The lure of the overpriced vending machine? And the ease and quickness of popping a few power bars in your bag in the morning as nourishment for the rest of the day?

Rachel Drori is here to change that with her deliverable and organic soups and smoothies from Daily Harvest. Made for people who want to eat healthy but live a busy life on the go, her products come frozen and pre-packaged in single serve cups and bowls with whole ingredients like avocados, dates, and kale, among others. All consumers have to do is add a liquid or broth of their choice and get to cooking or blending! With recipes cooked up by herself, a nutritionist, and a Michellin star chef, she aims to build a transparent brand that consumers know they can trust, and deliver products that truly provide them with the nutrients that they need to perform their best.

The concept for Daily Harvest started when she worked at Guilt Group, and juggled multiple roles between customer acquistion, loyalty, and branding. With hardley anytime for herself, she fell into the trap of grabbing junk food for a quick energy source. Starting to feel fatigued and constantly undernourished, she started pre-packing her own smoothies. She began seeing how having nutritionally-rounded and filling smoothies helped her function better throughout her day, and how preparing her smoothie packs cost her very little time in the morning. Then once her husband started stealing her packs, she saw they were not only convienient and helping her, but others as well.

So she started to test the market with her smoothie packs and set a consumer metric for herself. Once she was able to get 5x more customers outside of the people she knew, she would seriously invest in her business idea and quit her job.

After she hit that mark, she gained faith and confidence that her business had legs and she launched Daily Harvest's beta website, and got a commercial kitchen in NYC's Long Island City. For eight months, she funded herself and was the company's only employee. She hatched the recipes herself, bought them, packaged them, and drove around NYC delivering orders to consumers. Not to mention she was pregnant at the time!

On her delivery runs, she used that one-on-one time with customers to conduct more market and product research. She gained valuable information and feedback, and was able to solve a merchandising issue with one of her smoothies, Carrot Chia. Originally called, Wake-n-Cake, the smoothie wasn't selling despite it's great flavor and health benefits. Puzzled as to why, she talked to customers and conducted a blind taste test, and found that customers loved it. Taking what she learned, she was able to know that it was simply the name and how the smoothie was portrayed.

As her business continued to grow and her money started dwindling, she started looking towards external funding. She was met with a lot of no's because venture capitalists couldn't grasp the weight of the smoothie market, and the benefits of organic smoothies. But, as luck would have it, she was able to land one institutional investor, as well as some angel investors from her target audience, and Daily Harvest was able to enter into a new chapter.

Take a breather, and have a listen to how she developed a tough skin and fought for her dream in today's episode!

In this episode you will...

Gain confidence in your business idea to withstand the critics
Learn to take the negative feedback you get from venture capitalists in a constructive manner
Understand the best way to alter or preserve your products to match the likes and dislikes of your market
Find out how to develop a core mission and concept for your business
Distinguish between methods of developing customer acquisition and loyalty
Become relentless in starting and managing your business
INSIGHTS

"It's hard to have people poking holes in what your passion is...when you believe in it...So you've gotta have some mental fortitude, but also really believe in what you're trying to build." -Rachel Drori

"The way that I built Daily Harvest and my true belief is that ...I would like to be this hugely customer centric business with its roots in hospitality...if I keep that at the core of what we're trying to build, it allows me to keep the customer first." -Rachel Drori

"As a start-up, things happen and you don't have the resources to be able to flex your guns...and make this right. Sometimes the customer suffers and I believe it's all about transparency and having a relationship with the customer where they know that you're being genuine." -Rachel Drori

"Where I've grown the most is being relentless. It's not my natural personality, but when you have something that you're trying to build...there's no....hierarchy holding you back from it, you really do have to be relentless in everything, and knowing that what you're creating is worthwhile and being able to motivate and entire team behind what that is." -Rachel Drori

RESOURCES

Daily Harvest Website
Rachel Drori LinkedIn
Daily Harvest Facebook
Daily Harvest Instagram
Daily Harvest Twitter
Getting to Yes by Bruce Patton, Roger Fisher, William Ury

SDH175: Redesigning Your Life and Finding What You're Meant to Do with Liz Traines Jul 20, 2017

Is your career one that you were told would pay the bills? Was it the career path that you were told you should want? Are you living a life that you were told was a 'successful' one? Does it make you truly happy?

Currently a career and lifestyle coach, Liz Traines, founder of Liz Traines Coaching, helps women get out of this rut and create careers that they love. Her target audience are women in the corporate field who have given all they can to their jobs, and are left drained. She wants to help them build a career that fulfills them at the end of the day, and doesn't cause them to neglect themselves and their mental health in the process.

Liz's drive to be a support system for these women came fromher experience in their shoes. For six years, Liz worked in the corporate finance world because it was a stable career that would make her money; but something about that field never sat well with her.

She ignored this feeling and continued to grow at her company, and live a life full of traveling and became a well-respected leader amongst her peers. Yet she was miserable, and it took a stranger at a New Year's Eve party to call her on the bluff that she was living. To him, it was evident that she wasn't happy or fulfilled with where she was in her life, and his observation was the jolt that she needed to make a change.

Now that she had broken free from the mindset of what she should do, she had to go on a journey to find out what she actually wanted to do. She began to take time off of work to travel for herself, practice self care, and spent about a year doing things that scared her and were outside of her comfort zone.

However, she still hadn't gathered the courage to quit her finance job, but it did help her figure out where she wanted to go in the new chapter of her career. Her job had sent her to India to teach and train new hires about their corporation. The connections she made with them made her realize that she loved teaching, getting to know people on a deeper level, and helping them flourish. But, after giving a presentation to get them excited about their company, she felt like an imposter because her passion for the company was no longer there.

Her decision to leave was soldified when she returned home, and after two days, she had to fly out to New York City during the holidays. As she was surrounded by the smiles and electricity of Times Square, she knew she could no longer lie to herself and the company, and finally talked to her boss.

After taking some time to re-energize, and watch some Netflix, she continued to learn how to really pamper herself without guilt. Coming from years of putting the needs of her job and others before herself, the concept and practice of self care without feeling selfish took some time for her to grasp. But through the process, she was able to empower herself, become more confident, and gain clarity about her next step.

Settle in and listen to how Liz teaches her clients to talk through their fears in order to progress, and more about how she found herself and rebuildt her life on her own terms!

In this episode you will...

Begin to prioritize your mental health over your career
Learn to do some things that scare you in your personal and professional life
Know how to emotionally unblock yourself
Figure out ways to re-center yourself or leave the corporate world
Become acclimated to pampering yourself and practicing self care
Discover the fears that you may have that are holding you back
INSIGHTS

"We get so buried in the day-to-day of the thingsthat we have to do, that we don't think that much about the things that we want to do." -Liz Traines

"I felt I had built up this persona of who I wanted to be, but it wasn't truly me. It's like I had this shaky foundation of...what feels authentic to me. It was like there was this disconnect with the person I was externally...and there was this internal part that was just like, 'who am I?'" -Liz Traines

"If I don't put myself first, I don't operate at my best level...I have to shift my mindset and focus more on me...that kind of empowered me to [practice] self care; some people are built with it...but it wasn't modeled for me and there was so much guilt with that. So I think one of the big things from day one until now is I see the benefits...of doing things for myself." -Liz Traines

"I've completely created my schedule around how I want it to be, not what I think an entrepreneur should have as a schedule or what I think society...designates as a schedule...You really get to do it your way if you're willing to dig deeper and unlearn what may not be working for you...and build a vision about what it could be and make it happen." -Liz Traines

"What are those stories in your head that's telling you that you're not good enough...the moment we connect with why that story is there and that it is just a fear...and we have the control to make the future different than our past, it's liberating." -Liz Traines

RESOURCES

Liz Traines Website
Liz Traines LinkedIn
Liz Traines Facebook
Liz Traines Instagram
Liz Traines Twitter
Liz Traines Pinterest
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
Self Compassion by Kristin Neff, PH.D.

SDH174: Being Real. Living Honestly. Finding Your Power with Catherine Grace O'Connell Jul 17, 2017

How many times have you felt as if the weight of the world was on your shoulders, and when asked what's wrong you said, 'I'm fine!'? How did that affect you emotionally? Why couldn't you say what was wrong?

Catherine Grace O'Connell said that this is due to the societal pressures that people, more specifically women, face to keep up a perfect facade. Most women are taught not to acknowledge or express the exhaustion from the stressors in our lives, which could be motherhood or possibly marriage. By conforming to these pressures, we can end up loosing ourselves in the waves that society and life has laid before us. Catherine said the key to finding yourself again is by becoming honest and aware of our emotions and speaking on them so we can begin to effectively heal and gain clarity, as well as empowerment.

This is why as a fashion lifestyle blogger, radio host, and journalist she aims to use her platforms to promote open, and real communication, as a stepping stone for women to find their strength and empowerment. This was done for her by Jen Sincero, with her book , You are a Badass, and brand after Catherine almost lost her life due to lyme disease in 2014. Along with a blog Catherine had started, her connection with Jen helped unlock the fierce strength she had inside of herself and made her want to help open that for other women as well.

Catherine said through real communication, we can begin to live honestly and mentally heal ourselves of our insecurities, internal sufferings, and negative baggage. That is why she is so willing to share her story with others and wants to create a supportive community with her brand.

Come with us as we delve into how her near death experience helped to reinvent and empower herself, and how she empowers other women like with her new podcast Cat & Kaehler with cohost Kathy Kaehler, and her Fierce 50 Campaign!

In this episode you will...

Figure out how to shed light on an invisible demographic with your brand
Learn how to know yourself at your deepest level and empower yourself
Become comfortable with expressing your true emotions and taking steps to heal and be real with others and yourself
Know how to promote authenticity and promote positivity with your platform and brand
Find your method of emotional expression
Realize that a lot of situations in life have nothing to do with you but are a reaction to something larger
INSIGHTS

"Fashion is my medium, it is not my message. I find fashion to be a very powerful medium and platform, yet my message is really all about empowering women." -Catherine Grace O'Connell

"This Fierce 50, it's really a part of my brand now and we're all about shifting the perception of women over 50, because the truth is...Advertising and marketing really hasn't opened up to our demographic...My message is not 'us vs. the younger demographic'. What about all of us? It's really a reflection of society now and [how] we've really come together." -Catherine Grace O'Connell

"Personal empowerment really was my way out. I stopped all the crazy stuff people do to heal and I empowered myself, very much like [Jen Sincero] did in the [You are a Badass] book, and it was incredible what that change has brought in my life...not allowing people to define us; really staying true to who we are authentically...we can really stand up inside of ourselves [and] have very firm energetic boundaries." -Catherine Grace O'Connell

"I tend to wear my heart on my sleeve and I share it all, because the truth is if we're not open and honest we can't give others the permission to be open and honest as well, and we're all suffering in some way...but the key to healing ourselves and healing others is to really let those walls come down." -Catherine Grace O'Connell

"This platform that I have now...is really all about being as real as I possibly can. Not negative, but real." -Catherine Grace O'Connell

"We do others a disservice when we always put that happy face on and we constantly deny that there's something off in our lives, and things aren't perfect...you have to be real with this." -Catherine O'Connell

RESOURCES

Catherine Grace O Website

Catherine Grace O LinkedIn

Catherine Grace O Facebook

Catherine Grace O Instagram

Catherine Grace O Twitter

You are a Badass by Jen Sincero

Cat & Kaehler Podcast

Fierce 50 Campaign

A Spiritual Solution to Every Problem by Wayne Dyer

Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins

Letting Go by David R. Hawkins

The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

SDH173: Learn How to Protect Your Energy with Isabel Hundt Jul 13, 2017

Do you feel as though you can't help but contract the energies of your environment? Have you met someone, and with no explanation feel that something is off?

Isabel Hundt, a transformation coach, public speaker, author, and Empath Warrior, says these sensations are caused by mirror neurons in our brains. Mirror neurons cause people to feel the same emotions as their peers and can be affected by environmental stressors and energies. Everyone feels some form of this, but someone who is an Empath experiences these sensations to such an extreme that they obtain certain gifts due to highly developed mirror neurons.

These gifts range from having prophetic visions or dreams, and the ability to communicate with nature, animals, and spirits. Isabel, who identifies as an Empath, has had variances of these gifts as well astelepathic abilities, and the ability to see auras and energies in the form of colors. However, the most common thread amongst empaths is their sensitivity to the energies of others and the environment where they can completely absorb that baggage and be negatively affected mentally and physically.

Due to this danger, she stresses that Empaths protect their energy, and learn to separate their emotions from others in order to take control of their health and well-being.

To protect her energy, she meditates outside every morning to connect to nature and become emotionally and mentally centered. Or she uses the power of her visions to picture an orb of white light, which has the highest positive vibrations, and purple light, which represents spiritual enlightenment. She accompanies this vision with a prayer, asking to be covered in their holy energy and put forth positivity into the world, while deflecting the negative.

With her transformative coaching, she hopes to be an aid for other Empaths trying to understand their gifts and help instill confidence in themselves so they can find their voices, and support the energetic shift she said is happening in this Millennial dominated world.

Take second and learn more about how Isabel obtained her gifts, and became the ultimate Empath Warrior!

In this episode you will...

Find out if you are an empath and tips on how to navigate life as one
Become more aware of the energy signals that people send out
Learn how to protect your energy and separate your emotions from others as an empath
Connect with people who are on your same page and can help you grow your business
Be able to know to act off of your intuition, rather than the logical approach
Know how to avoid energy vampires and keep yourself operating at a high vibration
INSIGHTS

"If you talk to empaths...they tell you it's really hard to really stay in connection with friends and to have a deep relationship with people because they get scared at some point...Most of them feel really overwhelmed and frustrated and a lot of them have depressive faces and panic attacks and anxiety. They'd rather just hide... [but] their heart speaks so much louder and they can see." -Isabel Hundt

"An empath warrior! They are warriors at heart! They know they have something to give to the world and they need to get out there too! It doesn't have to be speaking, but they know they have to get out there in a bigger way, but they don't know how to bring both together; the introvert and the extrovert." -Isabel Hundt

"Everyone has the mirror neurons and we can actually train that to become more aware of what is going on around us, to really look at people. But nowadays, I think we're so fast paced, that we don't take time to really look at the person and really take in what they send out. Because everything has energy." -Isabel Hundt

"I meditate every morining...and I often sit outside...It just helps me to really feel grounded to nature and to connect. I'm at this point now where I don't feel my body anymore, just feels like you become one with everything around you. And that helps me to really feel centered." -Isabel Hundt

"Everything around me is protected. My electromagnetic field is closed, and I can send out the positive energy and I can receive the positive, but the negative won't stick on me. I think most of the time, that' s the problem with people. We know now that energy can get trapped in your physical body and it can create illness." -Isabel Hundt

"As a spiritual person, there is no logic. There's intuition...there's guidance...Empath's have a very distinct purpose in this world and right now we see an increase in people who consider themselves empaths...and it's time for them to wake up and really use that gift because it shifts the whole energy of the world." -Isabel Hundt

RESOURCES
Isabel Hundt Website
Isabel Hundt LinkedIn
Isabel Hundt Facebook
Isabel Hundt Instagram
Isabel Hundt Twitter
The Power of Faith-Driven Success by Isabel Hundt

SDH172: Learn How to Get More of What You Want with Stephanie Dalfonzo Jul 10, 2017

In what ways can you take back your joy? How can you take hold of your own destiny and bring positivity into your world?

In this episode, Stephanie Dalfonzo shares a multitude of ways for people to harness their energy as well as managing and relieving their stress and anxiety through various self help methods. With her expertise ranging from hypnotist, essential oil educator, intuitive women's coach, among other things, she helps her clients put the power of their happiness into their own hands, and transform their mindsets with techniques such as EFT tapping and her form of affirmations.

Her formal education as a coach started when her husband was diagnosed with a life-threatening disease that caused him to need a liver transplant. With the odds of him matching a donor very slim, and her being a stay-at-home mom, she was faced with the possible reality that she would have to raise her children on her own with no career to fall back on.

And so, she decided to go to coaching school on the internet and reinvented herself as a therapeutic hypnotist and a intuitive coach, using methods like EFT tapping. EFT tapping is a transformative energy technique that puts the power of healing and controlling your emotions at your fingertips. Acting with a similar method as acupuncture, faster EFT tapping pin points pressure points in your face and body, and is a simple procedure that can be done at any time to minimize the stressors in life.

Another way Stephanie helps her clients think positively and eliminate negative thoughts and actions is to become aware of the negative thoughts that they think about themselves. Stephanie said that most of the time, we are the ones to say the nastiest things about ourselves, and soon we become our biggest critics.

But awareness of these thoughts is not the cure to eliminating negativity in your life. The next step is practicing a form of affirmations where she asks her clients to pose them as questions, based off of the book Afformations by Noah St. John. Traditional affirmations typically act as meaningless statements that don't incite action and tackle underlying emotional issues. By changing the affirmation into a question, you begin to encourage yourself and recognize the progress that you are making towards your goals. Stephanie adds her spin to the technique by adding 'thank you' three times at the end of the affirmation, which causes you to express gratitude towards yourself and your efforts.

This acts as a powerful step in changing the way you view yourself and creates positive motivation that causes you to act and builds your self confidence.

Get cozy and listen in to hear more about how Stephanie can help you gain empowerment in your daily life through simple shifts and shares more about the benefits of therapeutic hypnosis!

In this episode you will...

Find simple ways you can control the stressors in your life
Learn to recognize your negative thoughts and take steps to change your mindset
Start to pose your affirmations into questions in order to make positive mindset changes
Be reminded to manage you stress and anxiety levels on a daily basis
Know how to tailor stress relieving techniques to fit you and the root causes of it
Figure out the difference between therapeutic hypnosis and stage hypnosis
INSIGHTS

"The tagline of my business is: Simple Shifts, Lasting Changes. Because...I have the wisdom now of understanding [that] we want to make things so complicated, and when we break it down into simple shifts...woah! That puts the control of your emotions back in your hands. And that's so empowering, isn't it?" -Stephanie Dalfonzo

"The first step is to start turning up the volume on the awareness of what we're saying to ourselves...raise your hand if you talk nasty to yourself like you wouldn't talk to someone else...We all do this, it's just to what extent. And as we start turning up the awareness on it, then it gives us the opportunity to change it." - Stephanie Dalfonzo

"...we make these affirmations, we make these statements that we don't believe to be true...Instead write it out as a question...and I take it a step farther and I add...'thank you' because expressing that gratitude...we're putting those great energetic vibrations out into the universe. And now, we're harnessing the power of our subconcious mind to be like our Google search." -Stephanie Dalfonzo

"I have really taken control as the CEO of my business instead of handing it over to someone else and trusting them, because if you have your own business, no one is going to be more concerned about your business as you are...I'm not saying don't trust people, but don't blindly trust them." -Stephanie Dalfonzo

RESOURCES
Affirmations by Noah St. John
Medical Medium by Anthony William
White Hot Truth by Danielle Laporte
The Empath Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive People by Judith Orloff
The Book of Joy by the Dali Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Carlton Abrams

SDH171: Create a Career Doing What You Believe In with Amanda Berlin Jul 06, 2017

Do you feel as though your current job is conflicting with your conscious? Are scared that if you leave, you will have no idea how to put your skills to use in another field?

After working for a PR firm as a publicity strategist for six years and wrestling with these questions, today's guest, Amanda Berlin, was laid off. After promoting and representing companies that made her question her morals, she wanted to use her powers for good. So she became a communication strategist and business consultant for businesses and people who help others work on self improvement and promote healthy lifestyles.

As she became more unhappy with her PR job, she became determined to reach personal and professional fulfillment. She began working with personal development coaches, such as Gabrielle Bernstein, and her love for helping others and promoting harmonious living was born.

But first, she had to work towards gaining her life coach certification, which took a couple of years. After soon finding she had a baby on the way, she was caught in a moment of panic. She was able to shake off this fear off by reminding herself of her strength and ability to maneuver through tough life obstacles with ease.

After holding some odds and ends jobs, she reached out to the executive director of the organization she was getting her certification through, to see if they needed any help based off of her skills. When she found herself writing a proposal for a big consulting job, she felt like she was doing work that didn't make her happy again. Once she dived into the proposal, she really took to the form of startegic thinking. She was also able to hone her skills to begin her new career path in PR, which entails helping her clients with web content, telling their story, and promoting their message through different media channels.

The first thing Amanda suggests to entrepreneurs looking to spread the word about their business is to reach out to their local media, like a tv station, newspaper, podcast, blog, magazine, etc. Then find the decision maker and pitch directly to them. However, to establish a genuine connection, start by showing apprectiation for their craft , work, and process. To get a foot in their door, offer to help promote them within their audience and yours in a unique way first.

Once a relationship has been established and you've proven to be a worthwhile engagement, your pitch should consist of an idea, not yourself. You should act as a perfect spokesperson for that idea.

Come join us and learn more ways to promote your business and how Amanda has streamlined her coaching process with her new program, Empowered Publicity!

In this episode you will...

See how to find your passion in a project that may not be ideal
Find the best channels of publication for your business and yourself
Know how to pitch an idea and not yourself
Learn how to make initial contact with a media platform
Start to tackle your tasks instead of procrastinating to increase your productivity
Figure out how to create an honest circle of support
INSIGHTS

"If I could help people who are doing this amazing work of helping others improve their lives...then maybe I can feel like I have a conscious in this PR work. That's where my philosophy was born in terms of my own professional experience and...using my powers for good." -Amanda Berlin

"That's really like the beauty of PR and publicity. You're offering something valuable to another audience in exchange for the opportunity to be in front of that audience. So you have to show up with something valuable in order to capitalize on that." -Amanda Berlin

"I love the idea of creating a relationship and offering to help someone that maybe is a couple steps ahead of you on the entrepreneurial road...I think that's really the key...to differentiate yourself by offering them something valuable" -Amanda Berlin

"Make sure you have support...you're getting perspective with an outside set of eyes. You're inviting someone in who isn't as close to it as you are and can offer you some...advice that...you cannot see from the inside." -Amanda Berlin

RESOURCES
Amanda Berlin Website
Amanda Berlin LinkedIn
Amanda Berlin Facebook
Amanda Berlin Twitter
Email: Amanda@amandaberlin.com
Empowered Publicity
Acuity Scheduling
Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach

SDH170: Escaping the Cubicle and Gaining Your Freedom with Molly Rose Daly Jul 03, 2017

Would you refer to your current job as soul sucking? Are you plotting your escape everyday but have yet to take action?

After giving the corporate the shot after shot, and never finding fulfillment or excitement in her job, today's guest Molly Rose Daly had finally had enough. She had dreams of traveling and living life at her own pace, with work being able to follow her. She found this fit as a virtual assistant for clients ranging from high-end speakers, authors, course creators, and everything in between.

Being in the profession for the past few years now, she has mastered the various tasks, mind, and skillsets needed as a VA and has created the Academy for Virtual Assistants to teach others who are looking for an escape from the monontony of the corporate world, or just want a side job that makes decent pay, and is flexible with their schedule.

A tip she suggests when brainstorming your role as a VA is only providing services that you want to do. The beauty of being a VA is being able to tailor your work, and if you find yourself stuck doing a task or project you hate, you've lost an aspect that makes being your own boss great. She also recommends protecting yourself with contracts, and being transparent when communicating with clients to create a clear understanding of what you expect from the business relationship, and establishing honesty for a productive work environment.

Listen in for more tips on how to become a VA and more on how Molly stumbled into the profession and grew her business!

In this episode you will...

Learn what you want to bring to the table as a virtual assistant
Find ways to get paid by learning an online program and offering your knowledge and skills in that program to other budding entrepreneurs
Start to invest in yourself so you can be more knowledgeable and better your business
Figure out how to split your energy between clients so you don't become drained
Know how to be effective and productive in managing the day-to-day tasks
Begin to work in your business as opposed to on your business

INSIGHTS

"When you're working on the business, you're not necessarily bringing in income yet. So it's happeningbut the start up for launching a business is expensive, so you're not really reaping the financial benefits. But what is exciting there is the community you're building and the people and all the change and service that you're providing." -Molly Rose Daly

"Providing value everyday...giving away free tutorials...helping without the expectation of people buying. Just providing service and helping others...I want people to be able to escape the way I did..." -Molly Rose Daly

"Mentally I've grown the most because I've focused so much on making my shell and my mind as strong as it can be. At the end of life...You're the only asset that you have. So you should be enjoying what you want to do...learning as much as you can if...traveling as much as you want...[and] taking care of yourself. I got out of the hamster wheel of going to work everyday...and now I'm in this completely different mindset of just enjoying my days." -Molly Rose Daly

RESOURCES

Molly Rose Daly LinkedIn
Academy for Virtual Assistants
Academy for Virtual Assistants Facebook
Academy for Virtual Assistants Instagram
Academy for Virtual Assistants Twitter
Mailchimp
Toggl
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Infinite Self by Stuart Wilde

SDH 169: How to Stay Focused and Protect What Serves You with Host, Amanda Boleyn Jun 29, 2017

What is an anchor? An anchor is something that when you do that ONE THING (or maybe 2 or 3 things) it will impact everything else in your day for good. That might be eating healthy, getting enough sleep, limiting your alcohol intake, hanging out with the RIGHT people. What are your anchors?

After you understand your anchors it is good to know how to keep them in place. Humans motivation in life is because we either want to gain pleasure or avoid pain. Everything we do, decisions we make it either because we want to gain pleasure or avoid pain. Think about procrastination. In the moment we get more pleasure by pushing off the things we need to do than the pain we get from not doing them. Until it gets closer to our deadline and the pain of not doing what we need to do is greater than the pleasure of pushing it off.

Figure out what is stuff + noise vs. energy in your life. What gives you energy and what is just STUFF? Stuff could be daily tasks, people, environment, thoughts. Audit your daily life. Toggl is a great tool to track time and everything you do to provide a snap shot to help you become aware of those activities.

SDH168: How to Gain Clarity & Take Action with Kerry Petsinger Jun 26, 2017

Have you sat back and thought about what truly matters to you in life? How much time do you spend nurturing that? In what ways can you focus on it to reach fulfillment?

This was the predicament of Kerry Petsinger, a mindset and performance coach, a few years ago when she was a physical therapist. As she looked at the four walls of her office, she felt that she could be doing more with her life but she wasn't sure what it was. So she began a weekly newsletter, Your Streamlined Life, that chronicled her journey of finding what mattered most in her life, and how she could streamline those things so she could have more time for her priorities and passions.

To her surprise, her newsletter had picked up an audience from 167 countries! To develop her platform further, she reached out to some of her readers to figure out what resonated with them about her newsletter, what they struggled with, and what they hoped to gain from her posts.

What she found was that a lot of her readers weren't fulfilled by their jobs. They were successful according to societal standards, but they felt stuck, and as though they didn't have enough time to spend with their family, friends, and on their health. This was a result of their failure to balance their lives by having one area prosper, while another suffered.

From there, she developed online courses and programs that helped them find and align their purposes, priorities , and passions. In addition, she coached her clients in learning to think in a larger sense and become high performers in what mattered most to them.

She starts her clients off with reading Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath and has them take the Fascination Advantage Assessment by Sally Hogshead. With this test, her clients are able to discover what about them shines the most and draws people to them. Once her clients are able to find their strengths and their 'wow' factor, they are able to begin to rebuild their lives based off of these discoveries, and eventually live more fruitfully.

Come and learn more about how Kerry says we can eliminate empty activities through delegation, how to organize you day, and other tips to reaching clarity through action!

In this episode you will...

Know how to start to align your life with passions and values
Learn what characteristics you have that fascinate others
Figure out what are the empty distractions in your life and how to get rid of them
Learn how to design a tentative schedule for your day and wake up with intention
Realize what can be delegated in your personal and professional life
Be able to find people who are pioneers in your field and know what to take away from their journey
INSIGHTS

"Clarity comes from taking action. So if you're at a point in your life or your business...where you're not quite sure where to go...or where to focus all your efforts...the more that you get out there, get those ideas out of your head and into the world the more you learn about yourself...who you can help...what your strengths are...[and] what you're really passionate about." -Kerry Petsinger

"When you can do those things where you bring out the way that you fascinate, I feel you can make a bigger impact and just shine brighter because you're doing those things that really resonate with people" -Kerry Petsinger

"No matter where a person is at in their life with whatever your priorities...goals...[and] big dreams are, it's about being intentional. So where do you want to spend your time, where do you want to put your effort, where do you want to spend your money...so you can truly make the difference that you want to make and be a high performer in what matters to you." -Kerry Petsinger

"A lot of times when you're in your business, or in your personal life, anytime you're working on reaching a big goal...and working on leaping towards something, you're going to have...self doubt. And if your thoughts are clouded by all of these people's...advice and they haven't even done it, it's very easy for you to let the mindset stuff overtake you. So to really say I'm going to be super intentional about who I'm learning from...that can help you so much." -Kerry Petsinger

RESOURCES

Your Streamlined Life Website

Your Streamlined Life Facebook

Kerry Petsinger Facebook

Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath

HowToFascinate.com (Fascination Advantage Test by Sally Hogshead)

The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz

SDH167: Trusting Your Intuition & Going for It with Sarah Ashley Schiear, Founder of Salt House Mkt Jun 22, 2017

How do you plan on submersing your audience with your brand? Is that even on the agenda?

When today's guest, Sarah Schiear, first started the e-commerce site Salt House Market in 2014, all she knew was that she loved throwing dinner parties and wanted to sell custom designed aprons. Now, Salt House Market includes kitchen and home products like fondue sets, cookware, coffee tables, stools, chandeliers, and so much more! Plus it acts as a lifestyle guide featuring cooking recipes like Coconut Eggnog Brulee French Toast and Sarah's morning coffee. Also, she has tips on entertaining with how-to's on throwing, 'The Ultimate Rose Dinner Party' and a 'DIY Soba Noodle Bar' party.

Her newest business venture includes translating her website into a brick-and-mortar store, but she desires to still include the site's interactive and lifestyle elements. Her plan is for her store to be a hybrid of a retail store, concept studio, and event space so it can connect consumers to influencers and brands. She plans to do so with in-house cooking classes, multiple demo sites, events centered around influencers in the home and food realm, and anything else that gives consumers a richer shopping experience and tells the stories behind brands and products.

Sarah's love for the food and entertainment industry began when she graduated college and started cooking for her then boyfriend and hosting dinner parties. Ignited by her innovative recipes, her friends and peers wanted to know how she put them to together and managed these large home events. She soon started a food blog that showcased these recipes and featured how-to videos on YouTube.

What took her to the next level in her food career was when she decided to apply for the ABC show, the Taste. The show was a cooking competition that had cooks across various experience levels proving who could cook the best tasting food. Sarah made it to third place in the finale, and from that experience, she learned how to work in a professional kitchen and where the food industry could take her.

From there, she opened a pop-up restaurant in New York with a fellow contestant that combined fine dining with a relaxed dinner party atmosphere. The restaurant was a success and through a contact of her partner's, she landed a job as a caterer for the Olson twins for various events, amongst other A-list clients.

Relax, and let Sarah tell you all about where she sees Salt House Market going in the future and how it all came to be!

In this episode you will...

Learn how to grow an e-commerce business
Know which area of your market fits you the most and how you could combine some fields with your brand
Figure out how to transition your brand from an e-commerce site to a brick and mortar
Learn to trust your gut and not be influenced by others
Understand how to balance and prioritize your ideas if you are a creative person
Find out how to allocate your energy so you don't wear yourself down

INSIGHTS

"Everybody's got opinions..[but] nobody actually knows anything. This is mostly true if you're doing something that is obviously new and never existed...Yes, these people can give you great advice. Yes, there's many things to learn from their breadth of experience...[but] the fake it 'til you make it is very much a thing." -Sarah Schiear

"If you're a creative or someone who's an idea person...you kind of have to say, these ideas are great and just because I'm not doing this one right now doesn't mean it's never going to happen...stick it in your idea parking lot for another time and just [be] really diligent about that." -Sarah Schiear

"If you happen to be an over achiever...which is great because you love what you do and you're passionate about it so it doesn't feel like work...then it's really easy to try and do too many things at once....you don't realize how much energy goes into all that stuff." -Sarah Schiear

RESOURCES

Sarah Ashley Schiear LinkedIn

Salt House Market Website

Salt House Market Facebook

Salt House Market Instagram

Salt House Market Twitter

The Alchemist by Paul Coalhoe

A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

SDH166: How to Find Your Brand's Voice and Aesthetic with Tracy Nour, Founder of She Just Knows Jun 19, 2017

How do you cultivate a significant following for your social media? Are you spreading yourself too thin across platforms? Is the quality in your posts showing so? Is the message and aesthetic across your account consistent?

Tracy Nour, founder of She Just Knows, takes all of this off of fashion brands and budding entrepreneurs hands with her social media managing business. Her services range across all social media platforms, but her specialty is posting and engaging audiences on Instagram.

She said a common mistake that a lot of brands make is having multiple social media platforms, because a lot of brand's are taught that they need to be accessible at every point of contact. By doing so, Tracy said she sees the content depreciating, and useless platforms that don't match a brand's objective and are empty. She said a brand should find a social media platform that reaches their audience quickly, effectively, and in the most visually stimulating way. Right now, she said Instagram is the best way for brand's to share their products and for entrepreneurs to showcase themselves.

Once a brand has landed on their key social media accounts, she said they should do their research on the voice of their target follower and consumer, and replicate that with their posts, aesthetics, and images. After that's been determined, they should choose one person to be in charge of a social media account. This allows a brand to create a consistent voice, because followers can tell differences in writing styles.

Next is developing a cohesive photo style, especially if a brand has chosen Instagram as a platform. She first asks her clients to send her the links to five other brand's social media accounts that they like and carry similar products. She then tries to replicate their photos using a combination of their aesthetics to see what fits her client's brand and if it makes their products look appealing.

When using filters for your photos, she said to avoid using Instagram's filters, andto use an outside program, like VSCO instead. Instagram filters lower the resolution on what could have been a clear photo, and makes photos look cheesy.

Tracy also said to only choose one filter and use it for all of your photos with minor adjustments to brightness and contrast. This allows a brand's photo to not look so edited and create a cohesive account. By practicing this, she said that it creates a signature look and feel as well, and allows followers to know an image belongs to a specific brand without them even seeing the name.

After all these steps have been taken, the most important thing for a brand to do is to keep up with their posting. Tracy said this is key to stimulating engagement and should ideally be done once a day. Brand's should also open their posts up for comments to create interaction amongst followers.

Along with handling other brand's social media accounts, she has developed herself into a fashion influencer with her own social media. Once a month, she posts a trend forecaster featuring her knowledge on the retail fields of home, beauty, and fashion.

Get cozy and listen to more about how Tracy ended up as social media manager, and other tips to cultivating a significant social media following!

In this episode you will...

Learn how to tailor you business venture based off of of the needs of your market
Find out how to stimulate engagement with you social media account
Know how to choose and use filters for your Instagram pictures
Figure out what social media accounts work best for your business and only nourish a few of them
Understand how to create a consistant voice and cohesive aethetic with your social media platforms
Know what organization methods and work tactics suit your business the best
INSIGHTS

"You could have a really good idea but if nobody is doing it or wants it, it doesn't really matter. You have to listen to the feedback that you're getting." - Tracy Nour

"I think that it's important to treat people with respect and to not forget that everybody is still figuring stuff out...most people want to help and I want to help others also." -Tracy Nour

"[Keep] doors open...and be confident in what you do...The more confident you are in talking about what you do, people aren't going to question you." -Tracy Nour

"I think you have to be really postive in your own head and not let yourself get down about mishaps and setbacks that happen in your business." -Tracy Nour

RESOURCES

She Just Knows Website

Tracy Nour LinkedIn

She Just Knows Instagram

She Just Knows Facebook

She Just Knows Pinterest

VSCO

The Universe has your Back by Gabrielle Bernstein

The Game of Life and How to Play it by Florence Scovel Shin

SDH165: How to Stop Getting Ready to Get Ready and Just Start with Shayna Rattler Jun 15, 2017

As a growing business, it goes without saying that need funds to do so. But how do you gain sponsors? Better yet, how do gain corporate sponsors? Is your business even attractive to corporate sponsors? What does that entail?

Well Shayna Rattler has the answers to all of those questions with her business, Corporate Attraction, where she coaches businesses on how to land corporate sponsors and teaches business owners how to be productive, effective, and efficient.

When Corporate Attraction started in 2009, her clientele consisted of individual buyers and small businesses. Unfortunately, she found that her services and products weren't in their price range. This caused her business to start sinking and she found herself on the verge of foreclosure on her home and almost having to file bankruptcy.

However, Shayna didn't consider quitting her business as an option and instead shifted her customer base. She decided to market towards management and corporations because they had the money to pay her. The only problem was that there was no one to tell her how to take on such a task; but Shayna figured it out on her own through trial and error.

She developed a three step system to attracting corporate sponsors: Position, Package and Pitch.

The first step has to do with determining your company and brand's position in the marketplace. If your presence isn't known, a corporation won't care about your proposal or sales script.

She evaluates your position and determines your company's package through a 360 Degree Activation assessment. This consists of finding all the ways online and offline you're engaging your target market throughout the year, and how you are able to package these platforms for a corporation's access and profitability. If you are able to show corporations how many ways you are able to market their business, and your status in those platforms, you are seen as a more attractive candidate.

If you want to reach out to a corporation, she suggests you find the person in charge of the department that correlates to the direction of your business and reach out to them. In that initial contact, you should let them know you have noticed the audience they've been trying to reach, you have access to that audience and their trust, and you connect with them in unique and successful ways. Then simply suggest that you should "support one another" and leave discussion of a partnership for when it's been decided that this is a fruitful collaboration.

This aspect is extremely powerful because Influencer Marketing has become the best way to advertise and reach consumers in this new generation. If you show that you have access to their target audience and that the audience trusts what you tell them it let's corporations know that consumer is more likely to buy from them based on your recommendation. Also, you can give them direct access and engagement to this audience.

Get comfortable and soak up as much as Shayna Rattler has to say about obtaining corporate dollars in today's episode!

In this episode you will...

Know if changing your target customer will change the success of your business
Learn how to establish yourself in a marketplace to create a notable presence
Figure out how to increase the visibility of your brand in order to appear more attractive to corporate sponsors
Find a price point that reflects your quality of service and demands that your business be taken seriously
Understand how to build a personal relationship with someone in a corporation you'd like to sponsor your business
Know how to make your clients feel special and set your business to a higher standard
INSIGHTS

"I really just became committed to how [I would] teach other small business owners, especially women, [on] how to change the trajectory of their businesses in their lives by going after those big boys who have those big checks." -Shayna Rattler

"You can actually reach out to people that are in your backyard tomorrow...that's still going to be a revenue stream that you didn't have access to and give you the confidence and the past performance to go after the Coca-Colas in six to nine months" -Shayna Rattler

"Don't worry about your proposal and your deck until you know that this is a sound business case to be made...stop proposing products and services and solutions until people tell you what they want and need" -Shayna Rattler

"As women we need to stop telling ourselves that we're too small...that we haven't been in business long enough, we don't have it all figured out. So what, just start. Stop getting ready to get ready and just start." -Shayna Rattler

"The biggest thing I have learned in my eight years is that I have to keep going even when I don't feel like it and even though what I know I've been promised and what I know is possible is not actually evidence that I see right now." -Shayna Rattler

RESOURCES

Corporate Attraction's Website

Corporate Attraction Facebook

SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham

SDH164: Launching a Successful Business on $400 with Victoria Fantauzzi Co-Founder of La Bella Figura Jun 12, 2017

When you decided to become an entrepreneur, was your market nonexistent? Did you have to educate consumers on your market, then pitch your product? Did it ever occur to you to help other small businesses in your market flourish as well, and grow together?

As the co-founders of La Bella Figura, Victoria Fantauzzi and Karen King, began their natural and organic skin care line, they found that their consumers didn't know that they needed simple and green ingredients in their cosmetics products. In fact, Victoria and Karen didn't know they needed these qualities in their cosmetics either, until Victoria took a trip to Spain.

While there, she was exposed to an enormous amount of organic and handmade cosmetics that reminded her of the products her grandmother's and great-aunt's swore by.

Upon returning home, she asked Karen, her fellow coworker as a teacher, if she wanted to start a skin care line. With Karen settling on the fact that Victoria was crazy because they knew nothing about the cosmetics industry, Victoria took the opportunity to educate herself on the market.

After doing her research, she was shocked by the long list of horrible ingredients that brands were using in their cosmetics. After sharing her findings with Karen, the two decided to launch their first product with $400 and a single ingredient.

However, they faced a couple of challenges. One being that a lot of women and men didn't see the need for their product at the time so they had to educate consumers about what was in other cosmetic brand's products, and how it affected their skin. Only then could they introduce their product , and explain how they were different, and their product's health benefits. With this process in line, they then needed to figure out how to present this information to their customer clearly and succinctly without overwhelming them.

Their second problem was that their singular ingredient was extremely rare and expensive. With a limited budget, they decided to produce a small amount, and look for an effective platform to get the word about their new product to get their business rolling.

By connecting with a writer for Refinery29 and landing a review in the online women's lifestyle publication , they were able to turn a profit so they could reinvest in their business and expand their product.

As their La Bella Figura took off slowly but surely, Victoria had the idea of collaborating with other green cosmetic brands, so they could help one another promote their market. A lot of brands and retailers were hesitant about promoting their competitors, but Victoria convinced them that it was an opportunity to grow, and help their niche and other consumers live a healthier lives, and strengthen their market and get their foot in the mainstream cosmetic door.

So they organized they started A Night for Green Beauty in New York in August of 2012. With the promotion efforts of their friends, they invited editors from green beauty magazines, like EcoSalon, beauty bloggers, and the public to highlight and showcase brands in the organic beauty industry. The event was a hit and the following year, it was held in LA and was even more successful. The event ran annually for three years and during that time raised over $75,000 in donations for charities and nonprofits.

Tune in to learn more about this wonderful company and their desire to educate!

In this episode you will...

Know how to create an edge for your brand by educating your audience about your market and explaining the benefits and difference of your product
Figure out what business ventures are worth your company time and energy
Find ways to grow your business based off of customer feedback
Learn how to grow with your competitors that have the same values and cross promote each other
Know how to create brand and market awareness for your business and other similar brands
Discover whether connecting with your customer through a PR team or a directly to you is the most effective
INSIGHTS

"There's nothing more powerful than being in the process of knowledge. Just soaking it in and wanting more." - Victoria Fantauzzi

"It's okay that you juggle so many things because you're the mom to your business...you're juggling a whole bunch of things... just breath and figure out today." -Victoria Fantauzzi

"Sometimes I think I can do anything...it's a crazy thought, but the fun part about having that thought is actually trying to do these crazy things." -Victoria Fantauzzi

RESOURCES

La Bella Figura Website

La Bella Figura Facebook

La Bella Figura Instagram

La Bella Figura Twitter

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

SDH163: How to Leave Your Job and Chase Entrepreneurship with Joanna Alberti Jun 08, 2017

How do you reflect yourself and your life through a product? Have you thought of doing so through a character? If so, how do you keep it relevant?

Joanna Alberti, founder of philoSophie's Stationary, uses the character Sophie in stationary and gift sets along with positive quotes and sassy sayings based off of the events of her and her friend's lives. With her business being 10 years old and Sophie being a few years older than that, she keeps her character relevant by branding her as an "everyday girl", making her relatable and timeless to all women.

Sophie was hatched when Joanna worked at an advertising agency in the mid 2000's. Wanting to get more into the creative side of the media department, she began making greeting cards for her company's arts and crafts fair, and Sophie was born. People loved the simplistic and cute character, and she decided to make greeting cards as a hobby.

She soon got two other jobs as a birthday party planner and a spa receptionist to nurture her budding business. As a birthday party planner, she was able create a clientele for customizable greeting cards. Working as a receptionist, she distributed her greeting cards at the front desk to get her product out to the public.

Joanna finally left her advertising job in 2005, and started taking her newfound hobby seriously in 2007. After creating a business plan, doing her market research, and seeing how much it would cost to print her designs, she moved to Rochester, NY to open up a small store front.

With her new space and growing business, she began licensing her artwork onto gift products, and to other greeting card companies like Recycled Paper Greetings, and Pavillion Gift. Those companies put her designs onto 3D ornaments, little trinket boxes, statues, and mugs among knick knacks

Listen in as we learn more about how Joanna has carried Sopjie through the years and has developed a company with a loyal following and at her own pace!

In this episode you will...

Find out how to leave the corporate world and chase your entrepreneurial dreams while still keeping that door open as a back-up plan
Appreciate how far you've come with your business and not get stressed by the day-to-day
Learn how to build your business off of what you have and can produce at the time
Figure out what your strengths are and how to delegate different aspects of your business to others
Know how to stop and analyze opportunities when they are presented to you, instead of jumping at every proposal
Learn how to customize a consumer's experience with your product and brand
INSIGHTS

"I have a core group of women and familiesthat I've worked with over the years that have allowed me to really do what I love and it's growing and it's crazy to say that it's been 10 years in the making. I don't think I'd still be in business if I didn't grow the way that I did." -Joanna Alberti

"I think people see me first as an artist, I think I see myself that way too, but I am a business owner. So I have to be mindful [of] my spending, my growth, and how am I going to evolve." -Joanna Alberti

"If you stay true to what you're set out to do there will always be a core audience of people who will support you because they see the love you've put behind something." -Joanna Alberti

RESOURCES

Essentialism: the Discipline Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

SDH162: Finding What Lights You Up with Arabelle Yee Jun 05, 2017

What ignites you? Is it helping others? Is it your kids? Career? Giving guidance? Wine?

Arabelle Yee, a Life Strategist and High Performance Coach, thought her passions lay in the corporate world. However, as she looked around at the excitement and joy of her coworkers at a celebration for their company's newest business venture, she found it hard to match their happiness. After spending 10 years with them, she knew nothing was wrong with the company. It was just the fact that her values were no longer in alignment with them, and she had to find something that "lit her up".

She knew that whatever she decided to do, she had to work with a lot of people and provide support for them. Two years later she opened her practice as a clinical psychotherapist, and helped people with anxiety, depression, and confidence. But she quickly realized that she was taking on their problems as she worked with them, and became drained.

After reevaluating her clientele she wished to have, and the type of life she wanted to live, she decided that she wanted to help people, but not at the expense of her own mental health. She also wanted freedom and flexibility in the work place.

She then moved her business entirely online and wanted to help people change their mindsets. She began coaching people on improving themselves, how to live their life to the fullest, and developing confidence, among other things. With the success of her business change, people also started coming to her for entrepreneurial advice as well.

Through her new clientele, she found that a lot of them shared common problems: they hadn't found their passion, didn't know their true values, and were being controlled by their fears.

First she helped them become aware of a disconnect between their values and their actions and habits by asking three questions: where do you spend your money most? Time? And energy?

Arabelle feels values consist of the things that are the most important in a person's life and change as they get older. She also feels that a lot of people carry "borrowed values" that they adopt from influential people in their lives and society. Her goal with her clients is to demolish the idea that values are stagnant, and find what values are true to them, and are reflected in their actions. Once she's gotten her clients to this space, she begins to help them find their purpose

Come and learn more about how Arabelle helps people be the best versions of themselves and reap the benefits of a positive mindset and life!

In this episode you will...

Find a career path that you truly love
Know how to find your own values and not adopt someone else's
Understand how to go about changing the course of your life once you find your values
Be aware of your thought process and how it is affecting your mood and mindset
Figure out what your mindset is in accordance to money and where it came from, and if they are aligned with your values
Learn how to speak and think things into existence
INSIGHTS

"Become aware of your money stories. What thoughts are you thinking about money and what energetic instructions are you giving out to the world. How are you blocking money? Just become aware of the things you are receiving already." - Arabelle Yee

"We can sit down and complain about our situation. Or we can look at our situation and really understand where we are, because that situation is really inviting us to shift our thoughts and change our behaviors if we want different results in our lives." -Arabelle Yee

"You have to meet life halfway...the other half where life comes in...we don't have control over it, but it will respond to where we are. We still need to set goals. If you don't set goals you're just going to go with the winds...so set budgets...it's about being smart...and knowing my numbers...knowing exactly what I'm doing with my money...but at the same time feel like a millionaire." -Arabelle Yee

RESOURCES

Arabelle Yee's Website

Arabelle Yee LinkedIn

Arabelle Yee Facebook

Arabelle Yee Instagram

Arabelle Yee Twitter

Dr. John Martini's Website

Millionaire Messenger by Brendon Burchard

SDH161: Is the Universe Testing You + Rewire Your Thoughts to Achieve What You Want with Host, Amanda Boleyn Jun 01, 2017

The universe will test you anytime you're attempting to ascend to a high level of consciousness. Experiences I'm sharing how the universe has tested me over the years:

May 2011 - tempting me with a $1,000 gift card if I would had stayed with Target for another month vs leaving when I did
March 2012 - injured my knee in indoor soccer and need to replace a $1,000 shifter in my Jeep Liberty all within a week and 3 weeks before leaving for Europe for the first time ever
April 2012 - Being offered a full-time position with Wells Fargo as a recruiter and passing on the opportunity without knowing what was going to pan out with my relationship with Chad Carden at the time
May 2017 (heyyyy that's like now!) - Opting out of a consulting project that would have been a solid, steady gig for the next 6-8 months, lucrative income but would have pulled me away from She Did It Her Way and not aligned with what lights me up along with my true purpose.

Faith is believing in the unseen and willing to act upon the unseen.

The second part is talking about having the right attitude, understanding your thoughts and how to rewire them to serve you.

With the right attitude we can accomplish anything we want in life. ANYTHING.

Possessing the right attitude requires 4 phases.

#1 - We have to see the NEED for ourselves. After every need, ask yourself, "Why?"
*Knowing our WHY behind what we do will drive us to succeed and give purpose to what we do.

For example:
"I need to sleep more." Why? Because it will lower my stress, make me more alert, give me energy.

#2 - We have to WANT to do something.
"I WANT to sleep more."

#3 - We CAN do something.
*We thoroughly believe we can accomplish whatever it is that we want.
"I CAN sleep more."

#4 - I WILL do something.
*The will is our commitment to ourself.
"I WILL sleep more."

If we can confidently say to ourselves, "I NEED to, I WANT to, I CAN and I WILL," we will have successfully created the right attitude to move forward and turn our goals into reality.

Think of 1 thing that you've been wanting to accomplish yet can't figure out why you haven't been able to do so.

Walk yourself through the 4 Phases of Attitude, identify where the breakdown is happening.

Remember, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude." - Zig Ziglar

SDH160: Building a Business That Fulfills You with Tonya Dalton, founder of inkWELL Press May 29, 2017

What are the things in life that give you fulfillment? Passion? Could you meld this in to a business or a product? Where do you begin to connect these dots?

For Tonya Dalton, she found that her passions in life were teaching, organizing, and empowering business owners and other women. And so, she created inkWELL Press, a company centered around productivity, and designed to help and educate women prioritize, and set up an organizational flow and system that works the best for their lives. inkWELL Press does so with products such as weekly planners, meal planners, organizational notepads, and other items. They even have videos on how to streamline customer's organizational process on their website.

Tonya found that the majority of the time, the most organized people aren't actually productive, and use organization as a procrastination technique. With inkWELL Press, she hoped women and female business owners could reach productivity first, and have organization follow naturally.

However, finding her passions didn't come easily. It took hours of Brain Dump and Mind Mapping exercises to narrow down the things that fulfilled her. She found that her greatest fulfillments came from her time as a former teacher and investment banker, and through her organizational exercises, she figured out how to link them to create a business and product, and create a mission statement for her brand.

Once she was able to develop an overall message and direction for her brand, she created an entire roadmap of how she was going to get her business off the ground. She set up her business development plan in mini milestones, with each end goal representing hurdles that she would have to overcome, and detailed how she would solve them, with a timeline for when they needed to be accomplished.

One of her biggest milestones was how to budget her family's finances, and survive six months without an income as her and her husband shut down their jewelry business, and developed inkWELL Press. But because they knew that they were chasing her big dream and ultimate purpose, they found saying no to the little splurges in life were challenging, but easy when they took in the big picture.

After whittling down her milestones, they developed a marketing and advertising strategy on Facebook and with lead magnets to find their target consumer and generate excitement around their brand. By giving out free downloads of the it productivity and organizational videos and programs in exchange for emails, as well as teasers on the product, they launched with 500 orders!

Pop a squat and learn more about what made Tonya want to be an entrepreneur and her and her husband's journey in going into business for themselves!

In this episode you will...

Know how starting a business can help you gain control of your life and priorities
Find out when and how to walk away from a business endeavor that you are no longer passionate about
Figure out your action plan in getting your business off the ground
Learn how to find your business's mission statement
Understand how to budget your income while starting your business
Begin to prioritize your hurdles and solve them one at a time
INSIGHTS

"When you're figuring out your end, that's where you start...because when I decided what my personal mission statement was, I built on that to create the mission behind Inkwell Press...I already knew it needed to be tied to something that made me feel fulfilled and that I would be passionate about" -Tonya Dalton

"Every time you say 'yes' you're saying 'no' to something else...My 'yes' was starting this business, so my no's were so much were so much easier." -Tonya Dalton

"It's not about being organized, it's about having a productive life. Productivity, to me, is not about doing more things faster, it's about having a life that you love and really focusing in on your priorities and getting those things done." -Tonya Dalton

"Failing is the best way to learn...When everything is sunshine and lollipops you're not really growing... It's those things that were really kind of painful...but looking back at have made the biggest difference." -Tonya Dalton

SDH159: How to Disrupt a Market with a Clear Purpose with Katerina Schneider, Founder of Ritual May 25, 2017

How do you spice up a monotonous market with your product? How do you gain the resources for these innovations?

Today's guest, Katerina Schneider, wanted to bring a new spin to the vitamin industry by providing transparency about ingredients in her women's vitamin line, Ritual. When she was pregnant with her daughter, Katerina's conscious about what she put in and on her body was even more heightened. Already health-conscious, she began to take a deeper look into the ingredients in her family's foods , body products, and cleaning supplies. She found they were filled with poor quality ingredients, and a lot of those ingredients were in her prenatal vitamins, such as: blue coloring, titanium dioxide, carrageenan and other questionable products tested on rodents and humans.

She started to ask her friends and peers about the vitamins they took and if they knew better quality brands. She discovered most people did not pay attention to the ingredients and never really saw a difference in brands. She even noticed how hard it was to find all the ingredients in vitamins and where they came from.
She decided should start her own vitamin line. And she wanted her product to be based an evidence based company that was rooted in science. She hired Dr. Luke Bucci, head of research for the Airborne vitamin, to be a part of her team.

They spent a year looking at studies on vitamins on the market and narrowed their nutrients to nine ingredients.

Some of those ingredients include: a fourth generation folate from Italy that women can process and utilize, vitamin D3 from lichen instead of sheep's wool or Omega 3 from algae instead of fish oil. Ritual's vitamins also have a vegan capsule that is made of non-GMO corn protein instead of TALE shellac protein and PDP!

All of Ritual's ingredients and nutrients are listed on their website and informs consumer's of their origins and features interviews with the company's suppliers. What sets Ritual apart even more is their in-house team of scientists that are available to answer questions from consumers about their vitamins, and nutrition in general through their social media platforms.

Join us with a healthy boost of entrepreneurship and learn more about Ritual!

In this episode you will...

Know how to set your product or business apart from others in your market
Figure out how to find quality ingredients for your product
Learn how to set a price point and a selling strategy
Discover how to create a customer service and marketing strategy that appeals to your target audience
Understand how to develop a strong pitch for investors
Learn to create innovation from the "noes"
INSIGHTS

"Going through childbirth makes you a stronger founder [and] leader; you feel like you can take on anything and there's more purpose behind what you do." -Katerina Schneider

"As a founder you have to be a really good storyteller. It's what inspires investors..hiring a team, and gets you through the hard times. Having a story that tells your vision really well is really important." - Katerina Schneider

"We're not just a vitamin company. We're really going to transform women's lives and make them feel their best every single day." -Katerina Schneider

"All the 'noes' that we got forced us to create something radically different. One of our values at the company is 'we like noes.' It means it's never been done before." -Katerina Schneider

"You have to start a company when you think you'll be excited about your idea 10-20 years from now. You start a company for the long haul.There's a lot of highs [and] lows, but unless you're so passionate about what you're constructing, it's not worth it. It's that passion that drives you every single day.If you don't have that long term conviction and interest, I don't think it's worth starting a company." -Katerina Schneider

RESOURCES

Ritual Website

Ritual Facebook

Ritual Instagram

Ritual Twitter

Katerina Schneider LinkedIn

Katerina Schneider Twitter

The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

SDH158: Risking It All & Going For It with Co-founders Claudia Wagner & Diana Gaertner of UBooker May 22, 2017

What is stopping you from going after your business idea? Is it the people around you? Lack of knowledge? Or your own fear?

The co-founders of UBooker, Claudia Wagner and Diana Gaertner, mulled over the idea of streamlining the model booking process for 7-8 years. Being models themselves, they had even been conducting unofficial market research over the span of their careers, which was about 20 years. They found that a lot of models were frustrated with the tedious process of booking jobs, as well as clients with finding models for their project.

After seeing that the modeling industry wasn't going to adapt the process to the fast-paced, technological times, Diana and Claudia made the decision to finally go for it. With the help of their two other co-founders, Andrea Losso and Nicola Scagnolari, they took their idea and translated it to a well-thought out business plan, and created a website.

With UBooker launching Februrary of 2017, Claudia and Diana were able to take a process that typically lasted a couple days and shorten it to around 10 minutes.

Check out how UBooker achieved this great task, and how they maneuver the hectic, but exciting life as lady bosses!

In this episode you will...

Know how to streamline a tedious process with your business
Learn to create a well-balanced leadership team with contrasting personalities
Understand how to work with a team that is located around the world
Gain the courage to go after your business idea
Figure out how to attract audiences across different demographics
Begin to encourage others who want to start their own business and not put them down

INSIGHTS

"To think about all the possibilities that could come up for the booking process...what could the client want, what could the model want, and how can we make things even better and more comfortable...more efficient...it was very complex, but also very exciting. It's a great thing for me to learn, it's wonderful." -Diana Gaertner

"The first hurdle a lot of people have when [you] start a business is to gather the courage to do it; because we had this idea to do something for seven-eight years [and] we started to say there's something to be done here." -Claudia Wagner

"There is a fear there. There is a fear of change...I believed so strongly that this [could] be done successfully...every time I hear this can't be done it [gives] me the motivation to work even harder." -Claudia Wagner

"I still can't always see the dimension of our project, it's growing literally every day. It's getting more an more complex...but deep inside I knew this was going to be a project that was going to work and I believed in it 100% and it is working...no one needs to tell us anymore that it's not going to work because it actually is." -Diana Gaertner

RESOURCES

Toolsberry

You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche

SDH157: Learn How to Be Comfortable with the Discomfort of Being an Entrepreneur with Erin Bagwell, Founder of Dream Girl May 18, 2017

What has brought you courage and strength? Have you ever thought of blending it with your personal brand? What would that manifest into? A product, a business, a space?

After dealing with sexual harassment in her workplace, feminism erased Erin Bagwell’s insecurities and feelings of invisibility. She started reading feminist journals and blogs and decided to create her own, Feminist Wednesday, that provides women like her a forum to share their stories; as well as a platform for women who have overcome those situations and regained their confidence and found success. She became so obsessed and empowered by these women, that she quit her job at the ad agency, and started a kick starter to produce the documentary, Dream Girl, that tackled gender issues in the corporate world and acted as a visual medium for some of the women of Feminist Wednesday.

It took her 6 months to get her kick starter off the ground, but within 30 days she had reached her goal of $100,000.

Originally, she thought that it would resonate with strong females in Fortune 500 companies, but found that her documentary scared them. She said they weren’t ready to discuss gender issues in the workplace and thought it would turn off incoming and existing Millennial employees. However, she took pride in the fact that her film was so powerful, that it created discomfort in that very ecosystem.

Her documentary was embraced by Influencers, people who were active in their community, such as mentors, and women in charge of uplifting women organizations.

Dream Girl premiered at the White House in May of 2016, and since its release to the public that following June, it has been seen in 81 different countries.

Stick around and hear more about how Erin turned a soul-sucking situation into motivation to challenge societal norms with art!

In this episode you will…

Know what avenues of fundraising and investing to take when building a business, product, or kick starter
Understand how to stretch and work within your budget
Figure out how to disassociate yourself with your product enough so you can monetize it
Learn to be comfortable with the discomfort of being an entrepreneur
Find the best way of distributing your product
Know how to shift your product and business model in accordance to a target audience change
INSIGHTS

“Sometimes the cards are stacked against you, when you have all old white male, suit wearing superiors. Feminism kind of gave me the tools to dissect that and understand that just because I’m a young woman, doesn’t mean I’m not of value or worth to a company.” –Erin Bagwell

“I became so obsessed with the women I was meeting on Feminist Wednesday. The entrepreneur’s journeys about quitting their jobs and running a company and being successful seemed so romantic to me…I was at such a cross road in my life where I was really open and ready to receive a big idea...I had been so creatively stifled at work, so I was ready to dive all in, and do a kick starter.” –Erin Bagwell

“As artists, we feel this shame and this guilt around selling something we’ve poured our heart and souls into. And in the beginning I felt a lot of discomfort around money and charging for it, because it felt so close to me…it took a couple of months for me to get over and for me to view the film as a product, and as something we need to monetize.” –Erin Bagwell.

“I have no idea what I’m walking into day-to-day, or what’s going to happen, who’s going to need me…actually letting go has been something I continue to work on and think about and try to get better at.” –Erin Bagwell

RESOURCES

Erin Bagwell LinkedIn

Erin Bagwell Facebook

Erin Bagwell Twitter

Dream Girl Film Website

Dream Girl Facebook

Dream Girl Instagram

Dream Girl Twitter

Feminist Wednesday

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

A Gal’s Guide to Making a Movie by Erin Bagwell

The Brooklyn Mermaid by Amy Shearn

SDH156: How to be Strategic When Scaling Your Business with Rosalyn Arntzen May 15, 2017

Did you start your own business and realize you never wanted to be an entrepreneur again? However, did you find yourself in those same shoes?

Rosalyn Arntzen, founder and CEO of Amaxra, Inc., a computer support and services company, originally founded a training business in the 90's; but the stress and pressure of being her own boss was overwhelming at the time. So she went to the corporate world, and started working for Unisys UK, a global technology company. She was then transferred to Microsoft, and was apart of the Windows XP launch in the US in 2001.

By the mid-2000's, she had become the Executive Speech Writer for the VP. The role itself was intense and she found herself burnt out and decided to take a break.

She went back to Microsoft as a vendor, but found herself as the head of her own business, once more in 2007. Amaxra focuses on helping other companies decide what technologies to invest in, and make sure that their staff is fully utilizing them. Another aspect of the company is business management, and provide other companies with staffing solutions.

As Amaxra has grown, Rosalyn has had to resolve her own staffing solutions, as well. Like all entrepreneurs, when Amaxra first started, she fulfilled all the roles and handled all the tasks associated with running a business. Within a year, she realized that it was too much to handle, but instead of backing out of the business, she passed the duties to people she felt could handle them better.

But this proved easier said than done, and still wanted to have control of a lot of the projects, and departments. She soon realized that she had to let some of it go, because she wasn't taking care of herself and was surviving off of 4-5 hours of sleep (which she notes is better than 2-3).
In order to be the most effective leader, she had to improve her health, relinquish some of her control, and allow her leaders to be just that.

She soon learned she had to be strategic with who she hired. Not only did she want someone who could do their job effectively and productively, she wanted them to be align with the morals and values of the company, and be respectful to employees. An employees personal attribution and attitude proved to be the key to a successful and growing company, and she began to choose quality over quantity in order to steer Amaxra in the right direction.

Tune in as we hear more about how Rosalyn developed her team!

In this episode you will...

Know what leadership style works best for you and your team based off of previous experiences
Understand when to pass a portion of your company to someone else because they have better knowledge of it
Knowhow to take care of yourself so you can be a productive and effective boss/leader, as well as a healthy human being
Figure out how to deal with people and employees who aren't aligned with your business objectives and asses what your ideal employee is
Not be in a rush to hire a staff and choose employees who will be productive and healthy fits for your business
Find out how to take your business to market and develop the services your business will provide
INSIGHTS

"When you don't know what to do, go start a company in the middle of a recession." -Rosalyn Arntzen

"Running a business [is] exhausting...when it's a small business...it's really nice to know that I've hired a couple of really great people who can do this better than I can." -Rosalyn Arntzen

"I can survive quite nicely off of 4-5 hours of sleep a night...but surviving is not going to lead to health and all the other things that are important as a leader." -Rosalyn Arntzen

"I want to be the manager I would have wanted...I want to be approachable...I want to make sure they're empowered to deal with their teams"- Rosalyn Arntzen

"When we hire there is[a] double test: Can they do the job we want them to do, but more importantly, are they a fit for the company. Will they follow our values...making sure there is that respect at a minimum level." - Rosalyn Arntzen

"Sometimes you get the right people on the team and they will think of things you would of never thought of...the entrepreneur doesn't have to be thinking of everything...I can contribute my perspective to it." -Rosalyn Artzen

RESOUCRES

Amaxra Website

Amaxra Facebook

Amaxra Twitter

Rosalyn Arntzen LinkedIn

Rosalyn Arntzen Twitter

Good to Great by Jim Collins

SDH155: The Power of Your Intuition + Cycle Syncing + Past 10 Months with Amanda Boleyn May 11, 2017

Hi guys! Happy Thursday! I’m so excited to dive into today’s solocast with you. I’m sharing how incredibly powerful the female intuition is, cycle syncing and diving deeper into the past 10 months of life.

As I’ve shared in previous solocasts, the past year has been one for growth, pivoting and not feeling like myself. Up until a month and a half ago I found myself in this fog like state, I was emotionally all over, felt lost, found it a struggle to chose happiness (because it truly is a choice), found myself being envious of others, lack of motivation or desire to do anything. I stopped reading, I barely listened to podcasts and didn’t have a strong appetite for personal development. THIS was when I knew something was extremely off. I’ve always been hungry for growth and at that point I didn’t care. Some periods of time were better (and easier) than others but still I knew I wasn’t myself.

With the help of WomanCode (thanks to @leeFromamerica), it was the first book I read and it made me realize just HOW powerful our bodies are as women from leveraging the power of our intuition, cycle syncing (coordinating activities and workouts with the phases of our cycle for maximum performance) and just how important it is to stabilize our blood sugar for consistent energy.

Also, every time I record a solocast I always get a little self conscious that I’m all over the place with my thoughts so A) I’m working on getting better B) Thanks for still tuning in :)

Lastly, I’m working on a project and need your help! If you have taken the LEAP, left your corporate job to pursue entrepreneurship or if the podcast has inspired you in some way, I want to hear from you! Click below.

SDH154: How to Turn an Idea into a Product with Brooke Saxon-Spencer, Founder of Belong Magazine May 08, 2017

When was the last time you were moved by a magazine? The images bringing a smile to your face. The content inspiring yo to keep going. The pages themselves creating an experience.

Brooke Saxon-Spencer, founder of Belong Magazine, hopes that she can be the answer to that question. Belong Magazine is a digital and print publication that is geared towards female entrepreneurs, primarily in the arts, blogging and social media fields. However, it speaks to female entrepreneurs at all levels of growth; whether you're established or still in the idea phase.

It tis meant to provide tools, resources, and a community for women business owners alike to connect and support each other.

The concept for the Belong was hatched from previous blogging attempts by Brooke.

As she was figuring out the best plan of action for her blogs, and in need of support when they failed, she wished there was an easy to find, and established community of women like her to talk with.

And so, she decided to be the one to make one. She launched Belong in September of 2015, and by it's third issue, it was already picked up by Barnes & Noble.

Even though the publication has a digital medium, she prides herself on the print form of the magazine, with vivid images, unique finishes, page weight, and as she put it, life-giving content.

Her magazines are so visually stimulating, that they have even been the subject of Instagram hashtags, Pinterest tags, and used as decorative home pieces.

Learn more about how Brooke doesn't balance her life, tends to her family, and invigorates her readers by encouraging them to power through the turbulent road of entrepreneurship!

In this episode you will...

See the growth and accomplishments in the slow rise of your business
Know how to create a business out of the curation of a broader field
Understand how to effectively and strategically defy modern advancements with your product or business
Figure out how to create a supportive and nourishing community with you business or brand
Know your limits as an entrepreneur financially, mentally, and personally
Find out ways to turn your idea into a tangible product or business
INSIGHTS

"You have to put yourself out there. Just by existing you're not going to just grow relationships. You actually have to do the work." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer

"As a business owner...there's always something about getting your finished product...and being like 'oh my gosh I did that'." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer

"Not only did I do it...something that was this loose concept and idea, but I had no background and knowledge on how to accomplish this, but I did it on my own. That'd really rewarding on it's own" -Brooke Saxon-Spencer

"My life is more than just about the magazine...yes there is work to be done, but am I making a good choice right now?" -Brooke Saxon-Spencer

"I don't balance it all there's no possible way...when you do choose one thing over another, that other thing is getting let go and sometimes that's okay." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer

"Knowing that [the magazine] is going to be in the hands of other women and encourage them is so live giving, and rewarding, and just keeps me going." -Brooke Saxon-Spencer

SDH153: How to Make Money From a Craft You Love with Victoria Vix Reitano May 04, 2017

Are you in an industry where you see areas for improvement? Do you think you can be the one to reinvent the wheel, and branch out on your own?

Without a doubt, Victoria Reitano, founder of CreatiVix Media, knew she could. After being recruited for an agency and working with them for 9 months, she saw how their service could grow and expand. She took on her first freelance project while working for them. Within five weeks she got all the accounts she needed to break off on he own, and CreatiVix Media was up and running. Not only that, she matched her six figure salary in that time as well!

CreatiVix is a digital agency that manages the digital content of brands, entrepreneurs and influencers. Depending on who you are, the services vary. For brands, Victoria provides full management, which can consist of writing posts, creating social media strategies, determining and creating image aspects, as well as creating a video strategy. When dealing with entrepreneurs, she can provide the same services, but she also offers training sessions to help them understand how to take the reins themselves. For influencers, Victoria mostly trains them so they can make smart business decisions and understand the true value of their worth and influence.

Now let us dabble a little into the awesome career that she had before she started CreatiVix. Gaining a degree in journalism, she started out as a local reporter for a trade publication and other odds and ends writing jobs. By studying journalism, she learned how to effectively communicate with audiences based off of their psychographics and sharpen her interviewing skills. From there she became the Managing Editor for a blog in 2011, and started a Twitter Chat so successful that a producer at the Today Show got a hold of her, and she appeared on the show.

With her love for TV ignited, she was hired to be the Digital Producer of LIVE with Kelly & Michael at the age of 24. She managed their Facebook and Google + accounts, and brought them from 200 to 600,000 in nine months! (Needless to say, the girl was good.) From there, she went to Telepictures and worked on the web content for the Bethenny Frankel show and developed a digital brand for the Meredith Vieira show for NBC.

Listen in as you get to learn more about Victoria and her Sparta self!

In this episode you will...

Learn how to start a business out of another industry by seeing how you could optimize certain aspects of it
Building strong enough relationships with clients so that they will follow you
How to balance your life and responsibilities when you're building your business
How to be the positive influences to others that you have experienced
How to have your own back but ask for help when you need it
How to negotiate a salary or a deal
Learning to actually do things your way
INSIGHTS

"Content always has to come first before you create a community...it's about what you're going to give your community, not necessarily what they're going to give you." - Victoria Reitano

"I'm creative with a business mind...how are you going to make money from your craft."- Victoria Reitano

"Success is getting to do what you want with the people...or pet...you want to be with" - Victoria Reitano

"I love this company and this work that I do more than anything...I'm here to go big...I'm not going anywhere else." - Victoria Reitano

"They used to call me the Olivia Pope of social media...there is nothing that I can't handle." - Victoria Reitano

"Who has your back except you...I think it makes you stronger...and having that fierce fire in you is something you need to really succeed." - Victoria Reitano

"Get on the white horse and save yourself, because it's always much better when you do!" - Victoria Reitano

"I think there's a lot of talk about you need someone to tell you what to do, as opposed to you need someone to work through this with you." - Victoria Reitano

"Your best is what you say, not what anyone else says." - Victoria Reitano

RESOURCES

CreatiVix Media

Vix Reitano Website

Victoria Reitano LinkedIn

Victoria Reitano Facebook

Victoria Reitano Instagram

Victoria Reitano Twitter

CreatiVix Facebook

CreatiVix Media Instagram

CreatiVix Twitter
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz
All In by Stephanie Breedlove
Harvest
Schedugram
Ontraport

SDH152: How to Build a Business Based on Relationships with Becky Galvez May 01, 2017

Does entrepreneurship run in your family? Has your entrepreneurial journey been more challenging than you anticipated?

For Becky Galvez, CEO of Shop4Ties, her gift for gab, and love for connecting and helping others was in her DNA. Becky inherited Shop4Ties from her father, and what they both loved about their business was getting to know their customers to the point that they became family.

Shop4Ties is a custom neckwear company that specializes in ties, bowties, scarves, and as of a few years ago, Hawaiian shirts. The company was founded by Becky's father, Arnie Kapp, in their family's basement in 1982. Becky's earliest memory of the family business was the sounds of her dad plugging away on the phone and their fax machine going off. Working with the entrepreneurial landscape of the early 1980's, he advertised everywhere he could to get the name out there. He also negotiated manufacturing deals with factories in Korea, which was not the easiest task, due to the use and price of calling cards and level of communication needed for smooth operation. With the invention of Internet, Shop4Ties became more accessible anywhere.

Becky didn't join the company until January of 2011, when she returned to America after working as a Spanish teacher in Chile for seven years at an international school. Before joining the company, she dabbled in the tie industry with her e-commerce site Silk Sensation, which sold fashionable silk ties. However, she based it out of South America, and didn't analyze the market. She assumed that since her dad's business flourished, so would hers. Unfortunately, that was not the case and she was left with 10,000 silk ties in her apartment.

She decided to learn from the best, and worked at her dad's company stuffing envelopes at a desk and watching him perform the day-to-day tasks of running an established business. When he was diagnosed with cancer she had to take more of the reins.

Since then, she continues to successfully grow the business and uphold her father's rapport with his loyal customer base and partners.

Get comfy and listen to the endearing story of how Shop4Ties came to be and learn more about Becky's genuine love for people and connecting.

In this episode you will...

Learn to be OK with not knowing everything
Know how to grow your business in innovative ways
Discover how to turn your customers and business partners into family and friends
Understand the basics of international manufacturing
Know how to be transparent with your business
Find what aspect of your business you're best at
INSIGHTS

"We don't meet most of our clients; we talk on the phone with them. And we can talk with someone for 10 years and know their whole life story but have never met them." -Becky Galvez

"I'm not just going to be your Al Bundy of the tie world. I want to know about you and I want to help you with things. It's about these deep rooted relationships." -Becky Galvez

"One of the biggest things companies need to invest in is showing appreciation for your staff. People just want to be appreciated for what they do." -Becky Galvez

"Anyway I can connect with someone and find a way to help them, that's really what drives me." -Becky Galvez

RESOURCES

Shop4Ties Website

Shop4Ties Facebook

Shop4Ties Instagram

Shop4Ties Twitter

Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferriss

InstaCart

Amazon Fresh

Peak by Chip Conley

Tools of Titans by Tim Ferriss

Delivering Happiness by Tony Hsieh

SDH151: Discovering Your Story and Building Your Highest Being with Sarah Anne Stewart Apr 27, 2017

Have you been back and forth with dieting your whole life? Has body confidence been an issue that you've dealt with, but never felt comfortable discussing? What factors led you to feel as though you needed to change your image to be happy?

Well Sarah Anne Stewart, a Holistic Health coach, wants to get to the bottom of it. But she doesn't want to just tell you to eat your greens and exercise. She wants to get to the source.

Sarah became a model at the young age of 14, and was so for about 10 years. While a model, she developed an eating disorder that nearly killed her and left her hospitalized for some time. All she could think about was how this could happen to her and where did it stem from.

Growing up her father was heavily into meditation, holistic health, reprogramming subconscious beliefs, and even cured himself of terminal cancer through proper nutrition.

First she realized that she needed to truly change her diet and stick with it. While her health improved, her anxiety and depression remained. She soon figured out that she needed to change her thought process as well, and improve her mental health.

She discovered that a lot of her confidence and body issues stemmed from her modeling career, and how from the get-go something didn't feel right. The constant bombardment of body image awareness and pressure to be "perfect" according to societal standards had left her drained mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

But, by finding the root of her problems, she was able to work through them and forgive them. This enabled her to shed some heavy internal baggage, and genuinely begin to change her thought process, which allowed her to reach her highest being.

She wanted to help other women on their journey, and find their story as well, so they can obtain overall health and mental clarity, too.

Relax and enjoy as we hear more about Sarah's touching and inspiring story to finding who she is and loving her soul.

In this episode you will...

Understand how to become physically and mentally healthy
Discover the story behind your body issues and/or weight gain
Know how to find happiness in the body that you have
Feel comfortable having an open discussion about your insecurities
Figure out how to achieve alignment mentally, emotionally, and spiritually
Learn to have patience when building your business
INSIGHTS

"I need to talk about it. It needs to be an open discussion...30 million people in this country do have eating disorders and every 62 minutes someone dies from one." - Sarah Anne Stewart

"We really need to look within and take that responsibility. And when that piece is taken, I see change literally over night it's incredible." - Sarah Anne Stewart

"We can go from diet to diet... or we can intuitively look within and say what is going on with me. What is the place in my childhood that I need to forgive?" - Sarah Anne Stewart

"Your weight is speaking to you and you're holding onto it for a reason, and we have to feel grateful for that reason. It's telling me something....what is the story of your weight." - Sarah Anne Stewart

"When you want to be fully alive and you want to be completely content and happy with where you are in your life, you're going to do everything you can to be healthy. If you're not there's a reason...and we accept the reason and we move through it, work on it, we forgive it." - Sarah Anne Stewart

"I need my own help. I need to get my own coaches. I need to figure this out and I'm gonna do everything I can to really heal this disconnect in my mind." - Sarah Anne Stewart

"My truth, my highest being, my source, my power, who I am as a human and a soul isn't connected to this physical body. I had to learn that to really create myself." - Sarah Anne Stewart

"Now I'm so in alignment with my truth and what I want to teach and my story and I have the confidence to speak about it. I feel so proud and honored to have these conversations now." - Sarah Anne Stewart

"That's what the world really needs right now. It needs people to step up and say 'This is what I'm going through. It sucks. It's hard.' Even as a entrepreneur...it's tough having this social pressure and these conditioned norms...but I'm going to help change them." - Sarah Anne Stewart

RESOURCES

Sarah Anne Stewart Website

Sarah Anne Stewart Facebook

Sarah Anne Stewart Instagram

Sarah Anne Stewart Twitter

Sarah Anne Stewart LinkedIn

Break the Norms by Chandresh Bhardwaj

Living Well on the Road by Linden Schaffer

Emotional GRIT by Dr. Neeta Bhushan

Also, for today's episode I partnered with Hello Fresh! You guys have heard me talk about Hello Fresh before and how much I love them! Earlier this week I made one of the veggie options, so quick, easy and flavorful.

They now offer family size boxes, lighter menu and breakfast options! They make cooking fun, easy and convenient.

For first time users of Hello Fresh, use promo code

HERWAY30
to receive $30 off your first order!

SDH150: How to Create Your Dream Product with the Co-Founders of Birdies Apr 24, 2017

Have you noticed a need for the product in your daily life for decades? Are you tired of waiting for someone else to create it? Do you want to be that person?

The Co-founders of Birdies, Marisa Sharkey and Bianca Gates, took action against this constant void that they faced. For them it was a fashionable pair of slippers that they could wear around the house, entertain in, or wear in other people's houses. They were tired of having to go barefoot, having to wear their socks, or slippers more designed for their pj's. They wanted something that wouldn't compromise their stylish outfits, but also compliment their lives as working mothers on the go.

Upon finding that other women felt the same, and seeing that no one had really addressed this problem, they gave their idea a go. The two began to think about what they wanted in a slipper, and wanted more than just a cute slipper. They wanted to create a slipper with arch support to create a smooth transition from heel or hard flat to home, and slippers that conformed to their body temperatures. To adhere to the latter, most of their styles come with the option of being quilted or faux shearling lined.

Neither Marisa or Bianca came from a entrepreneurial or manufacturing background. But by working their networks, and watching YouTube videos on how to make shoes, they were able to make their dream shoe into a reality.

Almost every woman introduced to the shoe love it, and through word of mouth, their business sky rocketed and they realized they had a sustainable and successful business on their hands.

Sit and relax as you hear more about their Bianca and Marisa's story!

In this episode you will...

Know how to explicitly tailor your product to match what you want and what your customers need
Learn how to grow your business organically
Understand when to jump on business opportunities
Figure out how to ask for help when you really need it
Know how to be specific with your 'asks'
Find out how to evolve your revenue model with your growing business
INSIGHTS

"The idea was never to make this into the company that it is today at the trajectory that we see this on. It was mainly, 'Can we solve the problem that we have experienced'...and what would that look like." - Bianca Gates

"We are the target customer; so why don't we develop this for ourselves " -Bianca Gates

"We've recognized pretty quickly that there is a huge void in the market place....Now that there is a solution, women realize...that there is a problem...and thank you for solving this." - Bianca Gates

"It was real authentic people liking the brand... [and] product, and feeling like it helped them in their day-to-day moments at home...it's the story that people are really putting out there... [and] it's a story that we love." -Marisa Sharkey

"When you get specific with your 'asks', people really do want to help; but you have to help them help you." -Marisa Sharkey

RESOURCES

Birdies Slippers Website

Birdies Slippers Facebook

Birdies Slippers Instagram

Birdies Slippers Twitter

Birdies Slippers Pinterest

SDH149: How to Show Up, Get the Work Done and Get Yourself from Point A to Point B with Co-founders of Oars + Alps Apr 20, 2017

Are you seeing a void in the market place that is opposite of yours? Do you feel you have the knowledge, passion, and drive to fix it yourself?

Mia Saini-Duchnowski, and Laura Cox, Co-founders of Oars + Alps, did extensive market research, and based off what they found, most women are the gatekeepers to men's skin care products. According to the data Mia and Laura collected, this can start as early as puberty for most men, when their mother's buy them their first skin products; and follows them to adulthood with their spouses or significant others.

Mia and Laura can personally attest to this latter notion, because the urge to start Oars + Alps began when their husbands would use their skin care products. (Yup! We've been in the same boat ;) They then found themselves replenishing their own products faster, and women's skin care products can cost around 5x more than men's, said Mia. But also because men's and women's skin are different and their products serve different purposes.

So the two created a product for the active man that craves simplicity, authenticity, quality, and ease in their products. Named after their husband's love for rowing and snowboarding, they wanted their brand to represent that ath-leisure lifestyle, that allows their product and message to travel with their target consumer. The brand includes three products that all have natural ingredients, are TSA friendly, and are available for subscription service. This allows customers to choose the frequency of their deliveries, and not have to think about re-ordering.

Come join us as we hear Mia tell us more about the extensive branding and story behind Oars + Alps!

In this episode you will...

Know how to make your product follow your customer's lifestyle
Learn to gain the courage to jump into a career path that you feel you can enhance
Understand how to create an e-commerce brand that appeals to consumer senses
Figure out how to develop focus groups for your product
Understand your consumer's psychographics
Know how to do your research and understand your place in your market as a entrepreneur
INSIGHTS

"These guys are going places and their doing amazing things...take us with you on your journey. We'll focus on the skin part of it but we're coming with you." -Mia Saini-Duchnowski

"We didn't just want to create a skin care line. We...[wanted] to create a community, a sense of feeling and being...that it was a movement." -Mia Saini-Duchnowski

"The guy that wants to use Oars + Alps is doing it because he craves that authenticity from a brand...the brand is bigger than that person." -Mia Saini-Duchnowski

"You're convincing a lot of big people...to take a bet on you. You're going to be their smallest and lowest priority. And you need to convince them that you're their number one priority...on the same minute of the same day for things to go right." -Mia Saini-Duchnowskia

"No one is going to help you get from point A to point B; you gotta do it yourself." -Mia Saini-Duchnowski

RESOURCES

Oars + Alps Website

Oars + Alps Facebook

Oars + Alps Instagram

Oars + Alps Twitter

Mia Saini Twitter

Mia Saini LinkedIn

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Winter Stroll by Elin Hilderbrand

Getting Unstuck by Dr. Joy Browne

SDH148: How to Develop a Passion That Aligns with You with Dr. Gabby Pelicci Apr 17, 2017

Are you able to see potential in others to be entrepreneurs? Do you want to help them grow into the leaders you know they can be?

The ability to see potential and desire to help is what sparked one of the businesses of today's guest, Dr. Gabrielle Pelicci, who is a Wellness Business Coach for Women in Wellness Career Training, and a leading expert as a Holistic Health Professor. Growing up with her father, who was a physician and constantly treated with antibiotics and other Western medicines, she realized she simply didn't feel good as a whole in her college years. Her diet was poor, as well as her physical health and her mindset as she coped with stress and anxiety.

So she began delving deeply into the holistic health scene and fell in love. She even wanted to create a career out of it and help others discover the wonders of the field; gained a Ph.D. in holistic health practices. She then began teaching Mind-Body Medicine and Holistic Health at universities across the country for about 10 years.

As a professor, she noticed a lot of her graduating students, who showed immense drive and leadership potential, were having trouble becoming entrepreneurs. She decided she wanted to help them too. She also wanted to help the students who may not exactly know what business they wanted to start in holistic health, but had an immense passion for the craft. She created a coaching business, Women in Wellness Club, for these budding healers and allowed them to have a community of likeminded individuals and resources to start their careers, but also continued to help people who wanted a healthier lifestyle change.

Join us as we hear Dr. Gabby share her tips and her journey in healing at the source!

In this episode you will...

Know how to create a business based off of need
Learn how to inspire lifestyle change with your business
Discover how to develop your craft
Understand whether you like your business idea or LOVE IT and want to build a long-term career out of it
Know how to not follow a trend with your business idea and create it because you see a need for it
Find out how to engage your customer base and create relationships
INSIGHTS

"I wanted to create a place, and a conversation, and a community where they could easily find what they need and connect with likeminded people who can help them accomplish their goals." - Gabrielle Pelicci

"Even as an entrepreneur, you're going to face a lot of overwhelm, isolation, different types of lifestyle challenges as you're building.So if you're grounded in these holistic modalities, those things are going to help you be more successful in your business and you're career." - Gabrielle Pelicci

"If you're going to make a living doing this you have to develop some kind of strength in your craft if you really want to do this long-term as a business" - Gabrielle Pelicci

"I'm very driven by serving others. That's really what excites me and makes me want to create things that makes life a little bit easier for other people." -Gabrielle Pelicci

RESOURCES

Women in Wellness Club

Dr. Gabby LinkedIn

Dr. Gabby's Facebook

Dr. Gabby's Instagram

Dr. Gabby's Twitter

Blissful Business by Dr. Gabby

Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

Body and Soul by Anita Roddick

Shark Tales by Barbara Corcoran

Dr. Gabby's 5 Must Read Books by Female Entrepreneurs

SDH147: How to Create a Lifestyle Change with Your Product with LOLA Founders Apr 13, 2017

What if you had to create your market? If your product would only sell if you spread awareness to a neglected topic?

For Jordana Kier and Alexandra Friedman, founders of LOLA, the hardest part was making their product a segway to a lifestyle change. LOLA is a 100% organic cotton feminine product brand, and started when Jordana and Alex were struck with the question, 'What's in our tampon?'. Upon further research, they found that big tampon brands didn't have to answer that question because the FDA didn't require it. This notion angered them, because they felt women had the right to know the contents of what they were putting into a fundamental part of their anatomy on frequent basis. Upon intense market research, they found that other women felt the same.

They also found that, like them, the question never crossed their mind about what their tampons and most feminine products were made of. Alex and Jordana then knew that by raising the question, they had sparked concern about a broader topic, and wanted to be the ones to fulfill that void. So they started with selling organic cotton tampons and have since spread to panty liners, pads, and non-applicator tampons. Also, LOLA has customizable packaging that allows you to choose how many of each tampon you need (11 regulars, 9 supers, etc.) and they have a subscription service that has them delivered to you!

Speaking of which, She Did It Her Way listeners receive

60% OFF their 1st order by using HERWAY at checkout!

I've already claimed mine and I am obsessed with their product! Head on over to LOLA!

Tune into hear more about how Jordana and Alex revolutionize the feminine health industry!

In this episode you will...

Know how to build a business out of your curiosity
Learn to create a product and market based off of a neglected topic
Figure out how to turn a product into a lifestyle
Understand how to represent your brand as an individual
Know how to grow your business by using an efficient business strategy
Learn how to find people who will give you honest feedback and how to grow off of it
INSIGHTS

"We don't want pink boxes with flowers on them, and ads with women dressed in all white during their period. We want a modern sophisticated brand that speak to us...and a box that looks beautiful in our bathroom." -Alex Friedman

"Not only were women validating the idea it was clear that this was an emotional topic...both humor and feeling appalled that you had no idea what was in this product before...we realized that is what we wanted to build this business on." - Jordana Kier

"Really getting out there and speaking on behalf of the brand and articulating our vision, and what we're building is really important both internally for team building, [and] also to make sure that we attract the partners and the opportunities that we need to be successful." - Alex Friedman

"A problem is never really solved...there's always an opportunity to dig deeper...you're never really done solving for something." -Jordana Kier

RESOURCES

LOLA Website

LOLA Facebook

LOLA Instagram

LOLA Twitter

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

The Hard Thing about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

SDH146: Learn to Trust Your Gut with Rebecca Sholiton Apr 10, 2017

How well do you know your clientele? Do you know their needs or wants? How can your product or service improve their lives?

Rebecca Sholiton, founder of Eat Pakd in Chicago, found out from one of her friends that her business idea could help their kids not have M&Ms for breakfast. Eat Pakd operates with the goal of helping the modern family provide healthy meals for their kids. The lunches are completely prepped, and are either customizable or customers can chose from an assortment of packages. Through meticulous and extensive market research, Eat Pakd has taken off tremendously since it's opening in August of 2016 and has continued to grow by the week and has already expanded to most neighboring states.

Take a minute to listen to how Rebecca continues to sustain that growth through trial and error in this week's episode!

In this episode you will...

Know when to take the path less traveled to become the professional that you want to be
Understand the importance of market research before you launch your business in order to hit the ground running and continuing that research in order to continue to grow
Find what products and technology work best for your business and what you should try to produce yourself in order to achieve maximum functionality
Learn the best way to gain investors and funding
Figure out how to develop your product-market fit and what is the most marketable channel
Know how to continually progress your according to a schedule
INSIGHTS
"There was normal self doubt...but I learned at a really young age to follow my gut....I looked at my friends going to business school and it looked like a lot of fun, but I didn't see the purpose of why I was going...who's the person on the other side that I want to be." -Rebecca Sholiton

"We really need to prove we have product market fit. This entire round is dedicated to improving our product; what is the product we want to scale. And figuring out from a customer acquisition stand point, what are the scalable channels" -Rebecca Sholiton

"You have to have good people around so you that you trust them, so that everyone is empowered and everyone is creating their own future with your company, which I think is something super special to watch happen." -Rebecca Sholiton

"Things are going to go wrong...all you can do in those moments is own up to it, accept the responsibility... [and] try to have some personality while you're doing it." -Rebecca Sholiton

"It takes one person to give you your first 'yes'. And it can feel like a beating to get there, but once you get your first 'yes' the other no's don't even feel that bad because you know you have somebody behind you." -Rebecca Sholiton

RESOURCES

Rebecca Sholiton LinkedIn

Rebecca Sholiton Twitter

Eat Pakd Facebook

Eat Pakd Instagram

Eat Pakd Twitter

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Program
Techstars
The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon
Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

SDH145: March Goals Recap + My Biggest Takeaway + More Apr 06, 2017

Hi beautiful people!

Today solocast I'm sharing:

What I learned from my 7 days of no complaining challenge - how easy it can be to complain and how it zaps your energy. Also, what happens when you don't give yourself an option to complain.
Recap of March and what's on the docket for April. Exciting news! She Did It Her Way will have a new website launching in June! In the meantime if anyone has suggestions or has every transferred loads of content from one website to another in the past, please share your experience! I'll be doing that the next two months.
Her Way Community. Absolutely LOVE what it has come to be. I love seeing members engage with one another, connect with others from all around the world and share resources. Click here to join!
#MyWayChallenge. - Next week we're doing another Instagram #MyWayChallenge. The last one was so successful and got lots of great feedback that I wanted to do another one. Here are the topics for each day:
Monday - Favorite Book
Tuesday - #1 Productivity Hack
Wednesday - Favorite Resource
Thursday - Mantra that you live by
Friday - Favorite Fail that resulted in a life lesson
Biggest Takeaway - an excerpt from "The Seat of the Soul".....
"The five sensory human is not alone either, but the five-sensory human is not aware of the assistance that is continually being given to him or her, and therefore, cannot draw upon that assistance consciously. The five-sensory human must learn primarily through his or her physical experiences, and this learning takes longer because lessons that are learned in this way must come through the density of physical matter. A person that needs to learn the lesson of trust, for example. Will experience a distrust of others. This distrust will create misunderstandings, and these will lead to tensions and unpleasant experiences. A five-sensor human will continue to experience the unpleasantness that result from his or her distrust of others until, in this lifetime or another, he or she realizes through interactions with others the source of these unpleasantnesses and take steps to change it."

Learn to listen to our intuition more and lean on trusting the gut. If something feels off, it is probably off.

What are lessons and experiences that keep popping up for you that maybe a lesson to learn?

SDH144: When Your Crazy Idea Isn't so Crazy with Jen Glantz Apr 03, 2017

What have you always been told you're good at? If it hasn't been told to you, what do people always rely on you for? Have you thought of honing those skills and creating a business from it?
For Jen Glantz, founder of Bridesmaid for Hire, the answer was a solid no. When she posted her services as a professional bridesmaid on Craigslist, she just wanted to be there for brides in need of emotional support and advice leading up to their wedding day.

However, in a few hours, her post had gone viral and she was contacted by hundreds of brides across the country. After a brief panic over what she had just started, and a call to her brother, she realized that she had accidentally started a business. Not only that, but she had tapped into a gold mine of a niche, and within week one of her business, she had already appeared on a TV show in Australia promoting it.

Her duties as a professional bridesmaid are endless and include being a wedding coach, assistant, an accountant of sorts, and being in the wedding as a bridesmaid. But more importantly, she just wants to be there for the bride and help her gain mental clarity as she progresses toward her big day by listening to her, and giving her logical and informed advice.

Listen and enjoy as we here about Jen's quirky road to accidental entrepreneurship!

In this episode you will...

Learn how to recognize your strengths
Know how to organizing a business that fell into your lap
Understand how to tailor your services based off the needs of your customer base
Figure out how to calculate the worth of your services and business, and build a price point that reflects that
Learn to take the knowledge you've gained as an entrepreneur, and spread it to others so they can start businesses of their own, too
Know how to choose the right clientele that is in line with the purpose of your business
Find out how to managing different streams of income while you're building your business
INSIGHTS
"It was such an accident, I had no idea that it would blow up like it did, but sometimes we have to really give faith into our weird crazy ideas and see what's going to happen." -Jen Glantz

"I really did start this business because I wanted it to be a relationship business. ...I'd never started a business before, and I wasn't even sure if this was a business. It started as a service I wanted to provide to strangers who needed girl support, so that was when I learned it had to be a little bit more than free, and a little bit less than a million dollars." -Jen Glantz

"I really do want to empower people to start something for themselves that makes them happy, and that is a little out of the box and different, because why not?" -Jen Glantz

"I didn't want to be the kind of person that was left with nothing while building my business...I still wanted to...have my freedom of doing my own work, but still making money...through that exploration...I've really started to do things that I never would have done, that I really enjoy. And that's been really fun; having a dynamic career." -Jen Glantz

RESOURCES

Jen Glantz LinkedIn

Jen Glantz Facebook

Jen Glantz Instagram

Jen Glantz Twitter

Always a Bridesmaid for Hire by Jen Glantz
Jen Glantz.com

SDH143: How to Find Joy in the Hectic Lifestyle of Startup with Katya Siddall Mar 30, 2017

As you begin to start your business, you may have all the groundwork done and your business plan in motion, but not sure where to start?

Katya Siddall, Co-founder and SVP of Sales and Marketing at Syndio, started out as an investor turned entrepreneur.

Join us as we also delve into her decision to not start her own company, but to acquire one and build it from the ground up to make an impact!

In this episode you will…

Know if you really want to be an entrepreneur or be in a small startup
Find the joy in the hectic lifestyle of being the boss
Learn how to transition from being an employee to the boss
Understand how to effectively communicate with your employees as a boss
Know how to choose like-minded individuals with the same drive to start a business with
Figure out how to form a well-oiled machine with your co-founders or business partners
INSIGHTS

“I thought before I had a strong sense of ownership. I thought that I was driven. I thought I cared a lot about the business... but holy cow, the burden that true ownership brings is absolutely insane.” –Katya Siddall

“Once you own a business there’s no turning back; it’s a commitment of I have to see this through until the last possible minute, whatever this becomes.” –Katya Siddall

“I have to do some mellowing and revising of my tone and that is the biggest management challenge for me right now. And remembering that not everyone is the same as I am; remembering to carefully temper my expectations so I can get the most out of all the people that I work with, even if they are different than I.” –Katya Siddall

“I care about building trust with people I work with. I’m trying to listen to them, empathize with them...and make an effort to understand their problem and solve it effectively.It’s all about them, it has nothing to do with me. So I have to give them what they need. How do they need to hear the information in order for them to feel comfortable making a decision?”-Katya Siddall

RESOURCES

Katya Siddall LinkedIn

Katya Siddall Twitter

Katya Siddall Instagram

Trello

Give and Take by Adam Grant

The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz

SDH142: 7 Day No Complaining Challenge + What I'm Outsourcing + My 1st Blog Post + Her Way Community Mar 27, 2017

Hi She Did It Her Way listeners!

I'm super excited about today's solocast - lots of different things I'm covering so stick with me!

7 DAY NO COMPLAINING CHALLENGE

7 days of no complaining
Join me by using #mywaychallenge on Instagram
Why? Because sometimes we need a reset

Okay, onto the next...

3 THINGS I'VE OUTSOURCED & LOVE

Quip - Quip designs & delivers refreshing tips and tools that simplify and protect oral health. That simple and easy.

Hello Fresh - You guys have heard me talk about Hello Fresh before and how much I love them! They were a life saver when I got back from Europe a week ago. I was able to order a shipment to arrive when I got back so I didn't have to worry about going to the store.

Also, for today's episode I partnered with Hello Fresh! They make cooking fun, easy and convenient.
For first time users of Hello Fresh, use promo code
HERWAY

to receive $35 off your first order!

LOLA - They are a 100% organic cotton tampons delivered straight to your door. Toxin FREE! Only 1 ingredient - cotton! The founders came on the podcast and their interview will be airing in a few weeks and I absolutely LOVE what they're doing.
Why I'm digging LOLA? Hmmm.....lots of reasons...
All organic tampons, no toxins
I get to chose how I want to build my box of tampons I receive (super cool and easy to use interface)
AND girlfriend, I get to put that stuff on auto shipment, meaning I don't have to think about ordering tampons let alone every being caught not having any in a time of crisis ;)
**LOLA is giving She Did It Her Way listeners

65% OFF

their first order by using promo code

HERWAY

at checkout. 65% OFF...say what?! They're practically giving them away...why would you not try 'em out. (And this is NOT sponsored either - I just LVOE what they're doing!)

MY 1ST BLOG POST THIS WEEK

3 Easy Ways to Maintain Your Health as an Entrepreneur - stay tuned! My goal for March was to write two blog posts but I'm so happy to still get at least one out! :)

HER WAY COMMUNITY (formerly Her Way Challenge)

If you've been following along for some of my solocasts then you know one of my goals has been to streamline things when it comes to She Did It Her Way from email, to podcasting and really focusing on what is going to produce the most value for my listeners.

Tune in to hear more about WHY I made the switch. And join us in the Facebook Group if you're someone who is looking to launch a business, or has already! It is focused to support, connect and engage women doing go-getter things.

Facebook Group

That is it friends!

Thanks for following along and don't forget to join me in the 7 day NO complaining challenge! I'm excited to see what I learn from it.

XO,

Amanda

SDH141: How to Differentiate Employee Vs Entrepreneur Mindset with Bridgette Mayer Johnson Mar 23, 2017

What was your dream job when you were younger? As you got older did you realistically see yourself doing it anymore? Was your predicament one that nurtured your dream, or was it a far fetched goal?

As today's guest, Bridgette Mayer Johnson, dealt with a unsteady and rough childhood, coupled with a lack of financial backing, having a career in the arts didn't seem like a career path that would lead to a fruitful future. But she believed in her love for beautiful paintings and environments, and in 2001 she started Bridgette Mayer Galleries; which is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In addition to that, she has recently opened up an art consulting firm outside of Los Angeles, California. In her 16 year entrepreneurial career, she has been able to expand her expertise in numerous art related fields, that allow her to express passion in whatever form she chooses.

Listen in as we hear Bridgette Mayer's path to success!

In this episode you will...

Know how to see the potential in yourself to be an entrepreneur
Differentiate between an employee and entrepreneur mindset
Know your business's place in your market
Figure out how to tailor your business to fit what you want to do in your industry
Understand the challenges your business will face as you enter into your market
Learn the benefits of creating strong relationships with your network and community
Find out when and how to create multiple facets to your business
Learn how to grow from your struggle
INSIGHTS

"I had been operating as an owner/entrepreneur in every single job experience that I've had...it was just a defining moment that I realized that I knew a lot about the gallery industry. I knew a lot about the operations of running a business and it was my time to start stepping in that direction." -Bridgette Mayer

"So many exciting things have happened for me professionally; things I could never predict. Part of it was stepping on the path to doing what I was truly being called to do." -Bridgette Mayer

"No, I don't want to be an employee; I'm operating as an owner. And if I am an owner, essentially I can try anything within marketing and promoting artists, and I can really take on operating a top notch gallery business" -Bridgette Mayer

"To go through college and succeed in that, and then to jump into the art world with zero money, and build a multi million dollar business is not a typical story in my industry. So I wanted to put it out there to share with entrepreneurs, and women; with artists, with creative people, to inspire them and give them an example that you can have a challenging life, and you can have a dream to do something and turn it into something and be very successful at it.

RESOURCES

Bridgette Mayer Gallery Website

Bridgette Mayer Website

Bridgette Mayer Facebook

Bridgette Mayer Instagram

Bridgette Mayer Twitter

Bridgette Mayer Pinterest

Bridgette Mayer Linked In

The Purple Cow by Seth Godin

SDH140: Be Your Own Hero with Donna Mondi Mar 20, 2017

Imagine if you quit your job to start a luxury business based on want and confidence, the day of 9-11?

That was the predicament of today's guest, Donna Mondi, owner of Donna Mondi Interior Design. The odds were stacked against her and the growth of her business was slow and steady, but her immense drive and passion to be the best interior designer kept her going.

Now her company has been awarded one of Chicago's Top 15 Best Designers by BuildDirect Blog and is a Silver Key Winner of the Home Builders Association. Despite the credibility of her business, she is still learning tricks of the trade, especially how to celebrate her company's current successes. Because as a business owner it is hard to not look what's next on the horizon.

Stay tuned as she adds She Did it Her Way to her list of accomplishments!

In this episode you will…

Know how to stand out amongst amateurs in your field
Find out how to choose a quality staff
Utilize your platforms and toy with your marketing strategy to see what works best for your business
Figure out how to be your own hero in times of crisis
Learn to celebrate and appreciate your successes
Realize the best way for you to track your businesses progress
INSIGHTS
“If I knew then what I know now, I don’t think I ever would have made that leap because I would have been too aware of what I was missing. So it’s probably a good thing that ignorance saved me from myself.” –Donna Mondi

"I just kept working; I kept going at it. I didn't really have a great plan B. I don't believe in plan B, because you won't make plan A work. So you just have to be patient and make it work." -Donna Mondi

"Show up for work and work will be there." -Donna Mondi

"I'm so determined; I can't fail. That's not an option. And I think that fear of failure keeps me driving forward...I just want to be the best...I'm just super driven and it probably came from a deep dark place of thinking I couldn't do something [and]being determined to prove that I could. And not only could I, but I could do it really well." -Donna Mondi

RESOURCES
Donna Mondi Linked In

Donna Mondi Facebook

Donna Mondi Instagram

Donna Mondi Twitter

Donna Mondi Pinterest

#AskGaryVee
DailyVee
"Traction" by Gino Wickman
Planoly
Dropbox
Slack
Basecamp

SDH139: How to Gain Confidence to Reach Ultimate Fulfillment with Stephanie Grutz Mar 16, 2017

Have you ever been scorned by a business and felt that you could do it better? Are you scared that your business isn’t mainstream enough to thrive?

That never crossed Stephanie Grutz’s mind because she knew that what she was doing was necessary in order to better educate and treat people about their health. Stephanie is an integrative nurse practitioner who was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease when she was 21, after she traveled across the country training other practitioners in her role as a senior nurse practitioner. The stress of her job sent her into the hospital for seven days. After her ordeal, she felt as of Western medicine had failed her and wanted to help herself and others find ways to truly cure themselves and not temporarily mask their symptoms.

She eventually left her corporate job and opened her own clinic that was dedicated to holistic health. Not only that, she started her own vitamin line!

What’s even better is she brings awareness about what entrepreneurs high functioning individuals need to do to take care of themselves, so they can continue on their path to success.

Find out about more about the healthy practitioner’s story and her campaign to help people listen to their bodies and nourish themselves physically and mentally.

In this episode you will…

Understand how to take financial responsibility early
How to find a business opportunity in a failed system or market
Where to find a network and a market for your business before you start
Gain the confidence to walk away from what makes you happy to follow your passion and reach fulfillment
Know how to get your business as close to vertical integration as you can
How to take care of your health as you start your business and on a day-to-day basis

INSIGHTS

“I believe in getting the root cause of people’s symptoms. I don’t believe in throwing drugs at a symptom as a way to approach health…it’s our job to listen to our body, and it’s my job to be the detective for my patient.” -Stephanie Grutz

“Western medicine has failed me. There’s so much more out there, I need to figure out what it is…that’s what took me into the integrative, holistic approach to health…I knew I could help heal myself doing this and I could help heal other people.” -Stephanie Grutz

“I was at the point in my career where my corporate job wasn’t fulfilling my needs…I loved the company, I loved the people I worked with…I had this passion in my heart [that said] I need to help these people that are on the similar journey as me. And that’s what gave me the push…it just kind of fell into place with where I needed to be.” -Stephanie Grutz

“The invisible ceiling keeps me going. I know that my purpose in life is much larger than myself. Everyday I wake up, I’m excited, and energized, and motivated. I just love doing what I am doing.” -Stephanie Grutz

“Now I’m not just a nurse practitioner, I’m an accountant, a marketing director, a CEO, nutritionist, counselor, and everything else that falls under the entrepreneurial umbrella. There’s no time to give the task to someone else because it’s me; I’m it.” -Stephanie Grutz

“You will never get everything done because if you’re a true entrepreneur there’s always going to be something else that needs to be done; because that’s how you grow.” -Stephanie Grutz

RESOURCES

Her Way Challenge

Less Doing More Living by Ari Meisel

A Mind of your Own by Dr. Kelly Brogan

Stephanie Grutz Facebook

Stephanie Grutz Instagram: The Healthy Practitioner

Balancehealth.me

Select-balance.com (Supplement Line)

ViveIVtherapy.com

SDH138: Know When to Take the Leap for Your Business with Allyson Case Mar 13, 2017

Do you remember when you were asked what you wanted to do when you grew up? The passionate way you answered? How you could envision yourself doing that profession so vividly?

For Allyson Case, Founder and CEO of Integro Rehab, that was flipping houses. She didn’t quite know how she was going to get there but she knew she wanted to be part of the process. However, she got caught up in a corporate job that she liked and was comfortable in; but she had an urge for more. She remembered her old passion for creating and building, and decided to go for it. With her background in real estate appraisal, she worked her way up the developer ladder. She soon started her renovation company and was contacted by HGTV, and got a write-up in the Chicago Tribune. Through reliability and trustworthiness, her business has soared and she is building up the Chicago area.

Take a minute to hear Allyson’s push for economic freedom!

In this episode you will…

Find out how to pick up an old passion that never died
Know when to know to take the leap for your business
Figure out how to develop your niche
Learn how to create the right team or collaborators
Understand how to gain a competitive edge
Realize how to grow your company but still stay true to your brand and aesthetic
See how to create a solid and trustworthy reputation
Find out how to create and sustain relationships with your clientele
Know when to drop the professionalism and be upfront

INSIGHTS

“I knew that if I wanted any kind of flexibility in my life…the corporate life was not going to work out for me…and so I made the conscious decision [where] I’m going to have to jump and I’m going to have to do something.” –Allyson Case

“Everyone wants to be rich, but I wanted the freedom. I wanted the freedom to do what I wanted to do, when I wanted to do it.” –Allyson Case

“Sometimes professionalism is overrated. I’ve rediscovered my humanity at work and that’s the best way to relate to people; that’s the best way to get things done. Sometimes you just have to be real.” -Allyson Case

“Be consistent. Whatever you are, whatever it is …people will respond to that; people will adapt.” –Allyson Case

“It’s the tangibility of the work that keeps me in the game. There are days where I feel my head is going to pop off and I feel isolated and I have all these questions and only a mirror. But everyday that we’re working, something is happening on the project sites; something that wasn’t, is. Something that was ugly is more beautiful than it was yesterday. And the tangibility of the work is an addiction.” -Allyson Case

RESOURCES

Integro Rehab Facebook

Integro Rehab Instagram

Integro Rehab Pinterest

Abel’s Island by William Steig

SDH137: Creating Community and Overcoming Fear with Cordova Pleasants Mar 09, 2017

Here we are! Can't believe we are on the 6th and final episode with Cordova!

Are you wondering if you should start a business? Curious as to what the first 3 months in of launching a business looks like?

As we head into another check in with Cordova Pleasants, owner of Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle, she shares with us her experience attending MAGIC and how she selects the styles for her online boutique, how having proven track record of her business helps open doors to other vendors, and what the future holds for her company.

In this episode you will...

Hear Cordova overcoming her fear
Process she goes through when selecting styles for her business
Steps she's taking to build a community with her brand and how you can too
Why it is important to give back
INSIGHTS

"You know what we're going to do today? We're going to try and take over the world. I feel like Pinky and Brain is so the goal. We're going to try and take over the world."

RESOURCES

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Pinterest

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Youtube

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Instagram

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Facebook

SDH136: February Goals Accomplished (and NOT) + March's Focuses Mar 06, 2017

Let's dive in. I'll be honest, February I didn't reach majority of the goals I set but that is okay. I always say that whether we're moving an inch or a mile the goal is to be moving forward. And that happened.

I blocked out 9 areas for February (similar to last month - see HERE): Income, Email List, Instagram, PR, Facebook Live, Her Way Challenge Email, Listenership, Operations, Marketing/Content.

The ones highlighted in BOLD are the ones that were accomplished.

Below I'm going to highlight some areas based on what I learned:

Facebook Live: These give me a ton of energy because I am able to meet the people I interview in person and I LOVE that. It also allows me to repurpose content for later use, like a podcast episode!
Growing the email list: Almost finished with my first true lead gen: 5 Things You Must Know Before Launching a Business. I'm super excited for ya'll to see it! Will be sending it out no later than Thursday so sign up for the email list HERE! :D
What I realized after reflecting was that instead of look at each area as MUST to focus on, instead focus on the 2-3 areas that produce results for the rest of the areas. Similar to the pareto effect: focus efforts on the 20% that will produce 80% of the results.

Alright, now for part deux of today's solocast:

How to look at your to-do list and get more of the right stuff done to move your business forward.

Last fall I saw Steve McClatchy, author of Decide speak at event I was at. I just started reading his book (which I wish I would have started sooner!) and oh. my. gawd. #gamechanger

I hope to share more bits and pieces that I'm learning from the book as I move through it. Okay, I'm going to dive right in... (and everything I'm sharing I took from Steve's book FYI!)...

When it comes to anything that we do in life it is either a Gain Task (GT) or a Prevent Pain Task (PPT)...anything and everything!

Characteristics of each:

Gain Task
produce more positive results than PPT
typically never urgent
you could technically never complete the task
the result of a GT is achieving some form of leadership
you can't delegate a GT
Prevent Pain Task
something that never goes away, you check it off your list and it shows back up!
paying bills, laundry, cooking, grocery shopping
Look at your to-do list and see which ones are PPT vs GT. If we only cross of PPT's, then we never move forward in business and/or life....it is called maintenance.

You want to have a balanced to-do list...doing only PPT's lead to burnout. Our default is to do the PPT's because they are 1) easier to do and 2) they give us a jolt of satisfaction of accomplishment but they don't sustain us.

Okay, so for this week.....be mindful of your to-do list: which tasks are GAIN TASK and which ones are Prevent Pain Tasks.

I hope you all have a wonderful week! Keep rocking and moving towards your goals!

xo,

Amanda

SDH135: How I handle my inner critic + 5 Actionable steps to start a podcast + Reflection on my first 6 week online course, Solocast with Amanda Boleyn Mar 02, 2017

Hi friends! Today is another solocast and I can't wait to share it! I'm currently writing this from Barcelona with a glass of red wine in hand right before heading to bed for another rewarding, intense day tomorrow. More about that later!

In today's solocast I hit on a various set of topics including:

How I handle my inner critic
Learn the meaning of DGAF (don't give a F**k!)
Initial steps to start a podcast (I promise you, it is easier than you think!)
How I noticed I used eating as a way of procrastination
Why not having buffers in your schedule can make you feel overwhelmed
Recap of my very first online course
What went well
What didn't go well or better yet, what I learned from launching it
What I might change for next time
Be sure to stay tuned for next Monday's solocast....I'll be recapping my monthly goals I set for February, going over the ones I made, changes I plan on making for March and how my mindset has shifted even more so than last month.

Thank you guys for tuning in each week! I am so grateful for each and everyone you for tuning in and follow along.

XO,

Amanda

SDH134: Q&A - The Ups and Downs of Building a Business Pt5 with Cordova Pleasants Feb 27, 2017

Do the haters got you down? Are you doubting whether you should have invested your time and energy into building your business? How do you keep a level head? Are you becoming your worst enemy?

As we head into another check in with Cordova Pleasants, owner of Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle, she encourages listeners to follow their passions and take note of what has always been a source of joy in their life. Once you've started down your path of entrepreneurship, she stresses that you need to look past your haters, which can even be yourself, and know that you are in a state of development. Everything you do will not be perfect, and there may be times when you fail, but that's part of the game. Just keep your head up and know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Join us for the latest update with Cordova!

In this episode you will...

Know how to spot signs you're on the right career path
Find out what you need to do to stay focused and be the best boss you can be
Learn how integrateyour work with your personal life
Generate the confidenceto say ’No’ sooner, rather than later, in your career
Figure out tactics and platforms that drive the most sales
Know how to focus on the positive individuals in your life, and silence the haters and your inner critic
INSIGHTS

"Look at what keeps coming back, no matter how many different angles you come back to it. Also listen to what other people are saying that you're good at; [things] you don't even think about...keep your ear to the ground." -Cordova Pleasants

"You can say 'yes' to be polite, but you're not doing anyone any favors; especially not yourself. Just be honest." -Cordova Pleasants

"I am on a personal level to my subscribers. I am very open and honest with them about what's going on in the business and I think they really appreciate that; and therefore they become really great customers because we have such a good rapport." -Cordova Pleasants

"Even if your sales are down, you haven't made any new clients, or you're just having a bum week; hold your head up high and do something for yourself...it's going to get better." -Cordova Pleasants

"You keep building off of what you already have and keep it going...anything that you do is basically a rough draft, but the point is you have to do it; and then you can improve on it." -Cordova Pleasants

"Giving yourself peace and just knowing that it's okay if it didn't work because you can improve on it and it's going to get better." -Cordova Pleasants

Resources

Facebook Live

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Pinterest

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Youtube

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Instagram

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Facebook

World of Wearable Art

SDH133: How to Write a Marketing Plan that Works, Pt4 with Cordova Pleasants Feb 23, 2017

Do you know how to generate clientele in an e-commerce business? Who is your clientele? Where are they located? How do you reach them? How do you know how to develop an invested and loyal customer base? Did you ever think of mentioning chocolate?

Well Cordova Pleasants did, and found chocolate is a successful trigger tactic for most female audiences, because who doesn't love chocolate?! Besides the chocolate, Cordova has incorporated other elements into developing her marketing strategy for her online store, Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle, such as fashion, adventure, and family. This is an important step for entrepreneurs and allows you to speak directly to your target customer, generate excitement around your brand, and establish what your brand is about.

Join us as we continue to follow Cordova on her journey as a new entrepreneur with a focus this week on the best way to spread the word about her business!

In this episode you will...

Learn how she developed a marketing plan for her online store
Get your target audience interested in your core offer
Discover what advertising avenues work best for your business
Figure out what marketing elements trigger your target audience
Drive traffic by engaging your target audience
Establish standard operating procedures when handling business collaborations
INSIGHTS:
"Having a higher frequency is important. If someone sees your ad once [they'll] keep scrolling by but if they see it three or four times, they might remember the logo, or the image." -Cordova Pleasants

"When you spend the time to create your custom audiences, you're serving your ad up to people who actually care about it and want to see it." -Cordova Pleasants

"I like the details because they point me in the direction of what I see is working, but I also find I can take a step back and look at it objectively and keep focusing on my big picture goal." -Cordova Pleasants

"I will have a heavy use of social media and I'm going to be using the 80/20 rule, 80% is useful information and 20% is sales pitch. Relevant information includes: fashion, food, travel, adventure, pets, family and chocolate." -Cordova Pleasants

"Chocolate is one of those topics that women just love so when you combine chocolate with one of your other topics, you're hitting two points and people gravitate toward that." -Cordova Pleasants

Resources
Co-Schedule
Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle PinterestYoutube, Instagram, Facebook, Blog XtraTuf Boots
Shopify
Online Marketing for Small Businesses by Julia Doherty
Woo Box, and Pagemodo
Alaska Dispatch
Travel Juneau
Travel Alaska
ResoluteBoutique.com/she
Screw the Nine to Five

SDH132: 30 Day Business Report Card, Pt3 with Cordova Pleasants Feb 20, 2017

So now that your business is up and running, how do you know how well you're doing?

Do you have immediate access to your analytics? And once you get those numbers, what and how do you adapt?

Have you figured out what works best for your business operationally?

You've finally become the boss, but maybe you're facing unanticipated challenges?

Well, you're not alone, and Cordova Pleasants, owner of Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle, understands as she progresses with her new business as well.

In her first 30 days of business, she's discovering how to brand her boutique and blog simultaneously, what practices and customer service tactics respond well with customers/clientele, and much more.

Listen in as we help you fine tune your business once the doors are open!

In this episode you will...
Find avenues to gain business analytics and adjust operations accordingly
Know what platforms work for your business and you
Learn to not let your mood and personal life be influenced by the day-to-day numbers
Become adept to spotting areas of opportunity
Balance your business with your personal life
Incorporate elements of what you love into your business

Quotes
"I was letting my mood be influenced by everyday numbers...there was nothing for like a week and I was all low...I really had to tell myself it's okay and you do not need to get all worked up or let your mood be influenced by the day-to-day. You're in it for the long haul. You're in it for the big picture and you need to expect that."-Cordova Pleasants

"Listen to what other people tell you you're good at. Go with it , investigate and see if you could make a business out of it."-Cordova Pleasants

"I am no longer the ambassador I am the owner."-Cordova Pleasants

Resources

Shopify

Mendenhall Glacier Ice Caves in Winter

Resolute Boutique

Resolute Blog

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Facebook

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Pinterest

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle YouTube Channel

SDH131: Transforming your Passion into a Business with Corielle Laaspere Feb 16, 2017

What do you do when you have a huge idea, but are clueless on the execution? How do you figure out how to segment your target market? Is there even a place for your dream in the marketplace?

Our guest today, Corielle Laaspere, had the same questions when starting her own marketplace, Lift Uplift. Corielle always had a fire inside of her fueled toward uplifting women. She never knew what to do with her fire, until she heard a story of a 19 year old computer science entrepreneur, Afreen Rahman, and a reflective walk with her dog. She decided to create an online network for women to come together and help each other prosper.

Stay tuned as we find out how Corielle became the head of her very own alliance of powerful women!

In this episode you will...

Find a way to hone your big ideas without giving up a fundamental service
Learn how to recognize and act on your ambition to lead
See how to spot a need for a business in an industry
Know when to take the leap into entrepreneurship
Be aware of what to consider when starting an ecommerce business
Understand what technologies work best for your new business
INSIGHTS:

"If there were more female perspectives in consumer culture growing up, I would have had a much more empowered view on myself as a woman and a girl."-Corielle Laaspere

"The time was right. I hadn't really been financially preparing to become an entrepreneur. I was sort of overwhelmed by passion. I was really so enthusiastic about this and felt like I was doing what I was meant to do with my life and I haven't regretted it."-Corielle Laaspere

"It's an alliance of powerful women, it's not just women entrepreneurs. We've created something that is bigger than the marketplace...so it's this very complex global and local system of women combining their power in a way that uplifts them and their communities."-Corielle Laaspere

Resources
LiftUPlift Website

LiftUPlift Worldwide

LiftUPlift Facebook

LiftUPlift Twitter

LiftUPlift Instagram

Ms. Tech

SDH130: Learn to Love Your Problems with Cordova Pleasants Feb 13, 2017

Did you take the first steps in starting your business only to have them fall through? Or were you able to make some headway only to be confronted with the overwhelming reality of what it means to be your own boss? Regardless, did that fire in your soul and the determination in your heart ever die?

We didn't think so!

And even if your confidence was shaken, we've got just the cure you need. We check back in with Cordova Pleasant, owner of Resolute Boutique and Lifestyle, and she chronicles the major problems she's faced as her online store takes flight. She reminds aspiring entrepreneurs to find joy in their discouraging and stressful times when starting out, because those problems are born out of being the boss and dictator of your own business.

Join us as we give you tips on how to enjoy your lemonade when life hands you lemons!

Takeaways: In this episode you will...

Learn to develop the mindset of an effective problem solver as an entrepreneur
Take rejection as a learning experience and grow from it
Know how to conduct business relationships and partnerships and become business savvy
Be encouraged to stand your ground when dealing with business negotiations
Make sure you know the ins and outs of your business
Find the courage to start your business by yourself
How to generate content for your business yourself and on a budget
Remember to do your research when coming up with a trademark
Insights:

"When you're working for other companies...you don't really care about it...but when it's your own business...you can do a happy dance because your problems are exactly what you want to be dealing with"

"I had received such support from female entrepreneurs and people wanting to collaborate...it's been such a great experience so far. Everyone wants to help each other out"

"Content generates itself as long as you put in the work"

"If you're somebody who's listening right now and you're on the fence...if you do one thing a day...you will be so much further ahead."

"I love my business problems! Take a step back and look at your problems and analyze them. Are they the kind of problems that you're okay dealing with or are they not? If they're not, maybe you need to readjust and move and find problems that you like to solve."

SDH129: 10 Things No One Tells You About Entrepreneurship Solocast with host, Amanda Boleyn Feb 09, 2017

Hi friends!

Another solocast today and I'm so excited to share these 10 things. I've rounded up some of the things I believe no one tells you about entrepreneurship plus I reached out to other female entrepreneurs in my network as well.

I hope you're finding these solocasts helpful! Thank you to everyone for the positive feedback as well. You have no idea how much I appreciate y'all for tuning in each week too. :)

Real quick, real talk. Went to Hamilton the musical Tuesday night this week. Absolutely amazing. Officially on the Hamilton train - woot woot!

Okay, now back to regular programming ;)

Here are the 10 things no one tells you about entrepreneurship:

You eat what you kill. You've heard me say this before but a friend of mine took it a step further.
You only get what you ask for.
It can be insanely lonely.
You're constantly in experimenting.
You watch your bank account like a hawk
You must get out of your own way.
Be patient.
Make money is a good thing.
You get really good at solving problems.
You will be emotionally tested.

Don't forget to tune in Monday for Cordova's journey, part 2. Also, we are having a LIVE Q&A at 7pmCST with Cordova on Monday, February 13th on the She Did It Her Way Facebook page. If you can't make it, don't worry, we're going to make an episode out of it!

As always, thank you guys for tuning in!

With gratitude,

Amanda
Text

SDH128: Cordova's Journey: How to Write a Business Plan Feb 06, 2017

Are you ready to take the leap but don’t really know where to start? Maybe you’ve heard parts of entrepreneurs stories that inspired you and pushed you in the right direction, but what comes next? Most of the time, you aren’t able to follow someone’s journey from day one to the successful spot they end up in.

We’ve changed all of that.

Now, you are able to follow a lady boss on her journey as a owner of a lifestyle boutique in Alaska!

Starting this week, we will have a series of episodes with Cordova Pleasants, owner and creator of Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle . Day one we talk about how she started her journey and get into the nitty gritty details of her business plan outline.

Listen in so you can get organized and use Cordova’s journey as tool to embark on your own entrepreneurial voyage. Also, Cordova has created a special place for She Did It Her Way listeners can take advantage of on her site. Click HERE.

Some topics we explore in this episode…

Customer pains
Marketing
Product sourcing
Avatars
Financial Projection
Budgeting
RESOURCES:

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Facebook

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Instagram

Resolute Boutique & Lifestyle Pinterest

Cordova's LinkedIn

INSIGHTS:

"If you love it that much, and you’ve got that passion behind it, I don’t think it’s going to be difficult.”- Cordova Pleasants

"You have to outline exactly what you’re going to do and make it happen.”-Cordova Pleasants

“Create the plan. Make it happen. Before you know it, you did it.”-Cordova Pleasants

SDH127: Goals Accomplished (and not) in January + February Focuses + Tools for Productivity Feb 02, 2017

Hi friends! Amanda here with another solocast.

In today's episode I walk you through the goals we set for January and share with you ones that we made, didn't make and some reasons why, along with internal reflection of being a business owner and tools for productivity.

Here is a list of categories for goals I set:

Income

Her Way Challenge Email List
She Did It Her Way Email List
Listenership
Instagram
Operations
Marketing
I use Megan Minns Goal Planning worksheets - I had to tweak them a bit to fit my needs but super easy to use and extremely helpful. Plus, they're only $9!

Tune in to hear more of the breakdown and actual goals set!

February focuses:

Conducting a marketing audit from email list to our brand
Onboard interns
Increase listenership by 50%
How I get into alignment in the morning:

Use a self made tracker with a short list of things that give me energy like meditate, water, journaling (5 Minute Journal), limited to no eating of carbs or any alcohol consumption.
Every time I complete a task I get to cross it off as accomplished. Then at the end of the month I can use that information and compare it to my productivity and patterns.
Tim Ferriss - Tools of Titans - perfect bite sized information to prime my mind for the day
Tools for Productivity:

Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator for Google Chrome

Turn phone onto airplane mode for more concentrated time

Listen to a song on repeat

Inbox Pause for Gmail
Schedule out my days using time blocks
Headspace for meditation
That is it my friends!

Be sure to stay tuned for next Monday's 6-part episode launch of Behind the Scenes of Business with Cordova, founder of Resolute Boutique! And mark your calendars for our Facebook Live Q&A with Cordova on Monday, February 13th.

Join Her Way Challenge, private Facebook Group: Her Way Challenge and follow along on Instagram by using hashtag #HerWayChallengeFeb

Let me know if this solocast was helpful or not! That way I can either continue doing more or get back to interviews :)

With gratitude,

Amanda

SDH126: Stay Hungry, Stay Humble and Always Hustle with Julie Harris Jan 30, 2017

Have you had a moment of passion when you decided you can't just talk anymore, you need to take action? Maybe you're scared to take the next step because of the doubts that fill your head and may even come from the people around you?

You can take action and once you do, it's important to stay hungry, stay humble and always hustle.

Today's guest, Julie Harris, is the Founder and CEO of the Exceptional Women's Network (EWN). Julie shares her moment of passion that set the EWN in motion to help women fulfill their ultimate potential.

In this episode you will...

Discover her moment that created the driving force behind EWN
Learn why she chose a nonprofit instead of a for profit
See what it's like to start something without having a background in it
Uncover Jill's experience with building brand partnerships
Recognize why there should be more education on salary negotiations for women
Realize how Jill balances two jobs
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Exceptional Women's Network

Exceptional Women's Network Twitter

Exceptional Women's Network Instagram

Exceptional Women's Network Facebook

Exceptional Women's Network Pinterest

"Half the Sky" by Nicholas Kristof & Sheryl WuDunn

"Knowing Your Value" by Mika Brezezinski

INSIGHTS:

“We really want to see women fulfill their ultimate potential.”-Julie Harris

“You have to not be afraid to just go with your instincts and what you feel most passionate with in your career and then test drive that to the max in the beginning, because that’s when you have the most time to really make all of those juicy mistake you need to find your purpose.”- Julie Harris

“Not everyone finds their career or passion right away, but it’s really important to be proactive about it and find out what you need in order to be confident about your skill sets and go in that direction as quickly as you possibly can.”-Julie Harris

“Milton Berle said, if opportunity doesn’t knock, you build a door.”-Julie Harris

“It’s really critical to be proactive and hungry, to stay as hungry as possible in your hustle.”-Julie Harris

“Stay hungry, stay humble and always hustle.”-Julie Harris

“You have one life, you can definitely play it safe but there’s always another option. I say be a risk taker and be bold.”-Julie Harris

“In today’s world, it’ so important to funnel all the resources you can back into the nonprofit to support advocacy.”-Julie Harris

“You really can do whatever you set your mind to do, if you put in the time and hours.”-Julie Harris

“I needed to have that mindset of closing my ears to that criticism and saying you know what I can.”-Julie Harris

“If you have a really intimate relationship with fear, then you are able to go that much further in your potential.”-Julie Harris

“Listen to yourself more than others and your gut will tell you what is right."-Julie Harris

SDH125: 10 Things I Wish I Would Have Done Sooner in My Business Jan 26, 2017

Hi She Did It Her Way listeners! Amanda here. Thank you as always for tuning in - I am so grateful you are here! Typically I bring on a guest to share the behind the scenes of her business but this week I wanted to record a solocast on the "10 Things I wish I would Have Done Sooner in My Business."

If you're thinking of starting a business or recently did, this one is for you! Tune in to hear about some of my mistakes and how to avoid them, how to save time by implementing processes and why I wish I would have started sooner. #justdoit

SDH 124: Building Your Story with Abby Finkenauer, 3rd Youngest Woman in State Legislature Jan 23, 2017

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be involved in politics? Have you wanted to get a behind the scenes look into the life of a female politician? How hard is her job, how does she find peace in the fast paced environment and how has her values shifted from when she started to now? And maybe you are even wondering how you can become involved in some way too?

Today’s guest and fellow Iowan, Abby Finkenauer, is the youngest woman in the House of Representatives for Democrats.

In this episode you will…

Hear about Abby's life as a State Representative
Uncover how to get involved in policy
Know the benefits of interest groups
Discover the hardest part of her job
Identify how her values have shifted
Learn what it's like being a young woman in a fast-paced political environment
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Abby Finkenauer government website

Abby's Twitter

Abby 4 Iowa House Facebook

“The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz

INSIGHTS:

“At first, a lot of candidates would not want to have really great primary opponents because that’s scary but I really look back on it and I’m thankful for that.”-Abby Finkenauer

“There’s really no typical day which I actually really appreciate.”-Abby Finkenauer

“Not just fighting against things, but being able to tell the story of what we want to fight for as well.”-Abby Finkenauer

“I genuinely really like people.I have a real curiosity about why someone feels the way they feel and if they’re struggling why are they struggling.”

“I’m all about reading stats and research and all of that, but I think there’s something to be said about actually living it and talking to people going through it.”-Abby Finkenauer

“The hardest part is when you can’t do something that you really feel in your heart that needs to be done to help people and you see the effects of what it has when you can’t get it done.”-Abby Finkenauer

“I still have all the core beliefs that I came in with, there’s just other things I care about now that I didn’t know I was going to care about before.”-Abby Finkenauer

“When you’re running for the first time you have your story...then you hear other people’s stories and that becomes part of your narrative. There’s just certain things you can’t unhear and certain things then become a part of who you are and what you’re fighting for.”-Abby Finkenauer

“It’s really important to step back.”- Abby Finkenauer

“You have to be able to remove yourself and step back; my peace comes from being able to do that.” Abby Finkenauer

“Figure out what it is you care about and then go be around it.”-Abby Finkenauer

“Sometimes your best is not always 100% and always the same every single day. You do your best at where you’re at.”- Abby Finkenauer

“I did do this basically single and I didn’t wait to have it all together to do it... I didn’t wait until I was married and had the picket fence and had it all together.”- Abby Finkenauer

“If you know it and you’re smart and you care about something, it’s important to just go do it.” -Abby Finkenauer

SDH 123: How to Find the Right Fit for Your Business with Alex Batdorf Jan 19, 2017

Are you curious about how to run an e-commerce business? Do you ever wonder what is the best way to acquire consumers? Maybe you’re ready to find a business that’s your perfect fit?

Today’s guest and Co-founder, Alex Batdorf, helps people find their perfect brand fit with Zipfit Denim.

In this episode you will

Identify how Zipfit Denim has changed in 5 years

Establish why Alex gets good response from mailers

Analyze the trends of repeat customers

See the benefits of ordering in real time rather than stocking up on retail

Realize the cheapest way to acquire ecommerce consumers

Learn Zipfit Denim’s revenue model
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

ZipFit Denim

ZipFit Denim Twitter

ZipFit Denim Facebook

ZipFit Denim Pinterest

Alex Batdorf LinkedIn

Alex Batdorf Twitter

"Leadership Dojo" by Richard Strozzi-Heckler

"Assholes" by Aaron James

INSIGHT:

“When you lose your lead, that signals to other investors that something’s wrong here.”-Alex Batdorf

“We always look at channels that are producing a good chunk of revenue for the lowest cost.”-Alex Batdorf

“It is so expensive, when you’re a startup, being pure e-commerce.”- Alex Batdorf

“Before I buy a product I have to look at reviews, because if I don’t I have no feedback.”-Alex Batdorf

“Less than 10% of apparel purchases happen online so that in person component is still so important.”-Alex Batdorf

“If you’re an entrepreneur, you are always having to explain CAP to your investors and you’re investors are always going to push you on making that as cheap as possible, so your customer acquisition cost, the lower you can get it the better it is.”-Alex Batdorf

“Our whole goal for our customer, in general, is that we are going to make sure you understand what brands fit you and across their different fits.”-Alex Batdorf

“Men typically love to buy in bulk the same exact color.”-Alex Batdorf

“Instead of stocking on inventory, we stock samples.”-Alex Batdorf

“When you’re an entrepreneur, I feel like five years feels like 50.”-Alex Batdorf

“Sometimes I think we get so used to feeling busy when we don’t feel that, we’re like ‘i’m not doing enough.”-Alex Batdorf

“There are so many people who are assholes along the way, especially to female entrepreneurs.”-Alex Batdorf

SDH 122: Raising the Bar with The Founders of The Barre Code Jillian Lorenz and Ariana Chernin Jan 16, 2017

Are you ready to take your entrepreneurship to the next level? Maybe you've met someone along the way whose passions and business ideas align with yours?

It's possible to turn your passionate ideas into a clear vision and maintain a happy business partnership.

Today's guests, double the lady boss insight, are Jillian Lorenz & Ariana Chernin. They are the fierce fitness Co-Ceos and founders behind The Barre Code.

In this episode you will...

Discover how their business plan started at a NYE party
Understand the transition from leaving their jobs to starting their company
Learn the strategy behind their growth
Hear how they maintain a happy business partnership
Compare the difference between a roadmap plan versus a 3-5 year business plan
Uncover two things that give them a clear vision
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

The Barre Code

The Barre Code Twitter

The Barre Code Instagram

The Barre Code Facebook

Forbes article about Ariana and Jill

"A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle

"Kushiel's Dart" by Jacqueline Carey

INSIGHT:

“Our vision ultimately is to have a positive impact on women everywhere.” Jill Lorenz

“It’s really about making that leap of faith and being confident in what you have in reserve.” Jill Lorenz

“It definitely was fearful. It’s a hard transition and you have to be prepared for it and you have to think of the worst case scenario.” Jill Lorenz

"When you are an entrepreneur, you have to look at all aspects of your life." Ariana Chernin

"There's never a 'right time' but you have to also just know what's going on in your life to make sure that it makes sense and what your fall back is." Ariana Chernin

“If you understand your purpose, passion’s gonna kind of ebb and flow with tough days, if you can kind of know this is the purpose, it’s ok to loose some passion here and there, especially in the beginning that’s going to drive you to stay positive and motivated- Ariana Chernin

“Now that we are a much larger company and a much more crowded industry, for us it’s about understanding our landscape.” Jill Lorenz

“It’s really about us understanding what our road map looks like and being able to anticipate any roadblocks that come up, and putting in an infrastructure that enables us to pivot and change as needed to stay market leaders in the industry.” Jill Lorenz

“There is no failure. A failure is really a win, so we call them fins.” Jill Lorenz

"We can’t be stuck in a way to get from A to Z, it’s about being able to pivot and finding the best, fastest, most quality way to get there."Jill Lorenz

“It’s always different and that’s what really keeps us excited, motivated and growing. So that is one of the pros of being an entrepreneur.. But sometimes it can be frustrating as well.”-Ariana Chernin

“Stay hungry, especially in our industry and as entrepreneurs it’s about evolving.” -Jill Lorenz

SDH121: How to Reinvent Your Business A Candid Conversation with Beth Peterson Jan 12, 2017

Did you begin a business venture and something didn’t work out along the way? Maybe you haven’t started yet, but you have an entrepreneurial plan. You may be scared to take action because of fears like unexpected changes to your plan and ultimately failure?

You cannot escape these fears and changes, because they come along with entrepreneurship.

But what also comes with it, and has double the strength as your fears, is

R-E-S-I-L-I-E-N-C-E.

Today’s guest, Beth Peterson, is the brains behind Yummie Network. She had to reinvent her brand after an unexpected change behind scenes in her original company. Beth did not give up and shows off her resilience like boss.

In this very candid episode you will…

Understand the process of getting funded

Hear some traits all entrepreneurs must have

Value the extreme importance of evaluating a partner

Learn about the process of reinventing a brand

Advance your skills going into a funding meeting

Acknowledge the importance of building revenue and not just funding

RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Beth's Twitter

Beth's Instagram

Beth Peterson Personal Website

Yummie Network

Yummie Network Twitter

Yummie Network Facebook

Yummie Network Instagram

Beth Peterson LinkedIn

Foodieblogroll

Worldfoodchampionships

Tim Ferriss Twitter

"Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod

INSIGHTS:

“This all sort of evolved through my love and passion for food and creating content for food.”-Beth Peterson

“You have to be ready to see things through and know when it’s time to make another move.”-Beth Peterson

“There’s a lot of risk taking and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes, the not working part is OK because you’re supposed to reinvent and come up with something at better.”-Beth Peterson

“You gotta be ready to sort of accept when things aren’t going the direction you think they’re going to go and pivot and take what you have and make something new.”-Beth Peterson

"You have to have that resiliency and perseverance as an entrepreneur"-Beth Peterson

“I tend to dive into things whole heartedly without really evaluating everything.”-Beth Peterson

“Sometimes you have to make errors so the next thing that you do is going to be even stronger.”-Beth Peterson

“That’s not how life works. It doesn’t always go your way.”-Beth Peterson

“There was a moment where I was like 'I can’t keep dragging myself through this. I need to make a move right now.”-Beth Peterson

“Even though I am in love with this project and I want to keep moving on it, I can’t because I know it's going to be difficult for me to make money on this so i've gotta move on.”-Beth Peterson

“I’ve learned some serious lessons and I won’t be doing that again.”-Beth Peterson

“You need to focus on improving your model and you need to make sure you focus on revenue..”-Beth Peterson

“Focus is a huge thing for entrepreneurs.”-Beth Peterson

SDH120: From Blogger Mindset to Business Mindset with Janelle Brown Jan 09, 2017

Is the 9-5 path society created for you not working out? Maybe it feels like everything in life is falling through and flashing lights point you in the direction to leave the corporate lifestyle but you stay because you want stability?

Today’s guest, Janelle Brown, is the founder of Fearfully Fashioned and she gives us a behind the scenes look into a full month of taking the leap full-time.

In this episode you will…

· Understand the transition from working at a company to working on your own

· Compare a blogger mindset versus a business mindset

· Hear how Janelle obtained her first client

· Listen to the story of how Janelle learned coaching skills

· Learn Janelle’s version of a business plan

· Uncover Janelle’s business fears

RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Beautiful U Coaching academy

Megan's Revenue Planning Sheet

"Profit First" Mike Michalowicz

INSIGHTS:

“So many different parts of our lives contribute to our purpose and what we’re called to do.” –Janelle Brown

“It was my fault for not feeling how I wanted to feel and not being where I wanted to be and from there I was like ‘these self-sabotaging behaviors have to go.”- Janelle Brown

“It was a lot of me having faith that these things were going to work out but at the same time scrambling in my mind like how am I going to make this happen?”- Janelle Brown

“Everything was pointing to me leaving that traditional 9-5 lifestyle, but I was fighting it because I wanted stability and everything.”- Janelle Brown

“I decided that I need to shift my blogger mindset to a business mindset and less focusing on it as a hobby but as an actual stable career.” –Janelle Brown

“Coaching isn’t something that can happen in one session. It’s a process.”-Janelle Brown

“My goal is tailored to revenue generated activity versus just blog building.” –Janelle Brown

“Getting validation from others is something that I struggle with.” –Janelle Brown

‘Every time that I did a clarity session I saw me in that person how I was a year or two ago.”- Janelle Brown

“A lot of entrepreneurship is having the faith that your idea is going to be well-received and that there’s going to be people there who take part in that vision as well.”-Janelle Brown

“It’s all about having that faith to be diligent and to keep on putting in the work trusting that it will work out.”-Janelle Brown

“When you serve people and you give value to them, there is no other way for it not to work out.”-Janelle Brown

“Regardless of the numbers and where I am now, everyday is a day I’m closer to where I I’m trying to be and every ‘no’ is one ‘no’ closer to a yes.”- Janelle Brown

“We think that we need to have this amazing business and blog but what I’ve realized is it’s all about budgeting and making room for those things as you grow.”-Janelle Brown

SDH119: How to Hustle & Keep Flow with Sarena Bahad Jan 05, 2017

Are you good at your job but want to do something more? Maybe you feel as if your skills should be used to inspire people and do something that matters? You probably have a lot of hustle in you, but maybe it’s being used for something that’s not that important to you?

Today’s guest, Sarena Bahad, took her skills from advertising and other tech jobs such as being a part of AngelHack and Dev Booth Camp, and used them to create the Women In Tech Snapchat (which gets deeper than the top three shades to wear this season).

In this episode you will…

· Realize how Snapchat can be used as a positive narrative & business tool

· Uncover the authenticity behind live social media

· Learn the learning curve of Snapchat versus Instagram

· Understand the importance of being surrounded by a boss squad

· See how Sarena becomes centered

· Know the importance of consistent self-care

RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Sarena's Twitter

Sarena's Instagram

WomenInTech Snapchat

AngelHack

Dreamers and Doers

Justin Kan

"Good to Great" by James Collins

"The Sleep Revolution" by Ariannna Huffington

INSIGHT:
“Being successful in your career path and entrepreneurship doesn’t mean you need to work yourself to the bone, you should be working smarter, not necessarily driving yourself to unhealthy habits.” Sarena Bahad

“I love the tech space because it’s such a space of abundance. Technology enables all industries now.” Sarena Bahad

“If you use the digital landscape to help grow your career path you’re a woman in tech.” Sarena Bahad

“I’ve always been business minded, but I’ve always been attracted to creative industries.” Sarena Bahad

“I wanted to use this skill set to help inspire more people to do things that matter.” Sarena Bahad

“There’s always been that burning desire, ‘ I really want to work on a projectthat’s important to me.” Sarena Bahad

“Social media, especially with Snapchat, it’s a live component. There’s no really room for approvals. You just have to trust the creative and that’s part of the human story telling style of that platform.” Sarena Bahad

“A lot of people still think of Snapchat as a silly selfie app but if you really use it to weave together a narrative it can be really powerful.” Sarena Bahad

“ I think it’s important to be vulnerable and let people in on what you’re working on so there’s more collaboration.” Sarena Bahad

“I’ve been very strategic about keeping a squad of women around me that are also working very hard and I’m a part of different entrepreneurial groups.” Sarena Bahad

“Whenever you are having those days where there is that self doubt I’m so thankful that I have a community of strong women that I can reach out to and just reset.” Sarena Bahad

“Sometimes what happens in the women in tech conversation is that we’re not sharing because there’s a fear of so much…” Sarena Bahad

SDH118: From Side Hustle to Full-Time with Lorena & Sakura from Bloguettes Jan 02, 2017

Do you have all of these great business ideas but lack the tools to execute them? Maybe you’ve even tried one of your ideas, out as a side hustle, and want to make it your main gig?

Your head may be filled with questions like “How do I stand out from the competition if I’m not already well-known in this field” or “How strict should I be on sticking to my brand when I want to attract as many customers as possible?” These questions pile up on top of your constant over thinking and maybe even lack of trust in yourself.

Today’s guests, Sakura and Lorena, are the brains behind Bloguettes where they provide the tools entrepreneurs like you need. Listen in as they provide answers to some of these questions along with some other boss insight about starting a business.

In this episode you will..

Hear the story of how Sakura & Lorena met
Discover how S & L stand out against competitors
Understand the differences between conferences & workshops
Learn when & how Bloguettes started to take off
Explore the benefits of being strict on your brand
Know when S & L thought it was the right time to take the leap

RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Bloguettes

Bloguettes' Instagram

Bloguettes' Facebook

Bloguettes' Pinterest

Bloguettes' Youtube Channel

Bloguettes' Twitter

"The 4-Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferriss

"The Miracle Morning" by Hal Elrod

"#GIRLBOSS" by Sophia Amoruso

"Rich Bitch" by Nicole Lapin

INSIGHT:

“Our whole mission is to empower what we call ‘the entrepreneurial age.”-Lorena

“We both kind of saw it as a side thing when we started Bloguettes.”-Sakura

“Our success is our attendees success.”-Sakura

“You need to do something to make your business not just depend on you.”-Lorena

“I think we’ve been successful because we love what we do.”-Lorena

“The growth point started coming as we started noticing we had something good and that we wanted to grow it.”-Lorena

“We know that there’s a market and there’s a place that we need to be to reach these people so that’s when we started webinars.”-Sakura

“We’re very strict with our brand. It sometimes limits us but at the same time we don’t care because people recognize us for that.”-Sakura

“We really try to focus on women and that’s one of the restrictions that our brand has had is our ability to work with men or a more masculine company.”-Lorena

“Going to work is fun for me. Everyday in a startup is a new challenge.”-Lorena

“I wouldn’t recommend anyone that’s thinking of quitting their job to pursue their passion to do it when there is no financial planning or where they at least don’t know if they can survive a year or a year and a half because things take time.”-Lorena

“We’ve learned how to become bosses.” -Sakura

“The decisions that I make do not need to please everyone because it’s our vision for the company.”-Lorena

“We put so much emphasis on our team being happy and to provide the best work environment but also sometimes decisions need to be made and it’s impossible to please every single person.” -Lorena

“Being a leader is not just pleasing everyone. Being a leader is making the best decision for everyone.” -Lorena

“There’s so much anxiety that comes from taking the big jump into being an entrepreneur…really give yourself a chance.”-Lorena

“Trusting yourself and trusting yourself that you can do it and you will do it. I think that’s where a lot of entrepreneurs get stuck.”-Lorena

“Don’t wait for that dream life to come to you. Build that dream life for you. You can have the job of your dreams and you can create it for yourself to be the job of your dreams. You just have to trust yourself.”-Lorena

“Knowledge is power. I’ve seen so many businesses fail because they didn’t really understand their industry..”-Sakura

“Even if it’s not your expertise try to learn because that is going to save you so much time, so much money and so many different ways.”-Sakura

“One of my big problems is that I will start a million things and finish half of those million things instead of actually finishing all of them, and I always have this feeling of ‘I didn’t do enough.” -Sakura

SDH117: The Hustle of Starting a Company with Elise Runde Voss Dec 29, 2016

Did you think you had it all figured out when you graduated from college? Maybe you even had your dream internship that had the perfect job lined up for you after graduation day?

However, you didn't think that the stock market would plummet, along with the company that gave you the perfect job. Maybe you were able to find a new job, your new team was great, but you were drawn to a different story the company told, a story behind the scenes that you felt you were meant to be a part of?

Today's guest, Elise Runde Voss, has shared this story, of wanting to be a part of a bigger idea, that many entrepreneurs have experienced in their own way. She is now the CEO and Co-Founder of UpScored, where she is changing the way people find new careers and interact with employers.

In this episode you will..

Learn how Elise thought of the idea for UpScored
Hear how Elise cut costs and saved for UpScored
Understand how the UpScored team determined their business plan
Discover Elise’s rock bottom and how she dealt with it
Know how Elise met her Co-Founders
Uncover how Elise felt leaving corporate America
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Elise's Twitter

Elise's Instagram

Elise's LinkedIn

UpScored website

UpScored Twitter

"The Hard Thing About Hard Things" by Ben Horowitz

Tech Crunch Disrupt

INSIGHT:

“I loved my team but didn’t love exactly what I was doing. I was more interested in the story behind the companies and doing fundamental analysis.”- Elise Runde Voss

“Both of my parents are small business owners, so I kind of grew up with this kind of entrepreneurial spirit in my DNA.”-Elise Runde Voss

“We really had to have an honest conversation with each other about how much we all had in savings, how comfortable we were with our timeline and really mapping that out together.”- Elise Runde Voss

“As an entrepreneur I’ve never felt like I’ve hit rock bottom, but I have hit rock bottom in my career.”- Elise Runde Voss

“I took a step back and it was total rock bottom where I was like ‘what am I doing with my life? I don’t love this job.I’m working terrible hours..’ It really made me step back and reassess my long-term goals.”- Elise Runde Voss

“As an entrepreneur you hit highs and lows all the time.”-Elise Runde Voss

“Intuitively it felt so right.”-Elise Runde Voss

“I’d be lying if I said I was comfortable leaving a steady paycheck…”-Elise Runde Voss

“At the end of the day I think being uncomfortable is OK and that’s when we learn the most when we are out of our comfort zone.”-Elise Runde Voss

“It’s such an important thing if you can be intellectually curious and let that drive you forward.”-Elise Runde Voss

SDH116: Shape Your Resilience with Neeta Bhushan Dec 26, 2016

Do you feel as if you are living a lie of perfection? Maybe you're constantly putting your emotions aside to maintain this perfect image of a job or relationship but deep down you are unhappy? Are you bottling up those feelings because you are trying to be a "strong" woman?

Bottling up emotions doesn't mean strong. Sometimes you have experience your feelings and shape your resilience.

Today's guest, Neeta Bhushan, is an author, strategist, and educator on emotional intelligence and confidence. Neeta has overcome many pain points in order to be the, emotionally intelligent, resilient woman she is today.

In this episode you will...

Understand the importance of self-love
Learn why Neeta has chosen the more resilient path in life
Know what emotional intelligence means
See why it takes certain pain points to shape resilience
Compare the two types of emotional growth you can experience
Embrace how gratitude builds your resilience
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Neeta's website

Neeta's Twitter

Neeta's Facebook

Neeta's Instagram

IA(Independent Awakening) Foundation Youtube

"Emotional Grit" by Neeta Bhushan

Tony Robbins

INSIGHT:

“Our biggest pain points in our life are our largest blessings.”- Neeta Bhushan

“On the inside I was just sick of living this lie of perfection on the outside.”-Neeta Bhushan

“We attract what we are.”-Neeta Bhushan

“You need to know how to take care and create your own boundaries, stand for your boundries, stand for yourself and also know when to say no.”-Neeta Bhushan

“For so many female entrepreneurs, we’re constantly critiquing ourselves and trying to make things better.”-Neeta Bhushan

“Society kind of tells you, ‘oh brush it off. You gotta be strong.’ but there’s definitely something to that if we keep suppressing a lot of those feelings and keep distracting a lot of those feelings and we don’t let it experience and flow and release those feelings, then that’s just going to get bottled up.”-Neeta Bhushan

“Emotion is in energy in motion.”-Neeta Bhushan

“When you’re driving a business, or when you’re creating a startup a lot of times you might have to sacrifice things temporarily.”-Neeta Bhushan

SDH115: Overcoming Growing Pains with Claire Lew Dec 22, 2016

You are the type of person who never wanted to just say "work is fine." You wanted to be passionate about your work and solve problems that interest you. When someone asks you how work is you want to say "AMAZING" and go off on a tangent about your latest project or entrepreneurial feat. You aren't a typical 9-5 corporate culprit. You are a boss entrepreneur who overcomes a lot of different pains but doubles that pain with growth.

Todays guest, Claire Lew, is the CEO of Know Your Company. She has overcome her own growing pains as an entrepreneur and helped create the tools for companies to overcome their unique pains as well.

In this episode you will...

Know how a bootstrap company works & its benefits
Hear how Claire's dad's work influenced her
Value why you can't let your "inspiration expire"
Strengthen your ability to trust yourself
Uncover how Claire has grown as a leader & CEO
Learn about Claire's relationship with Basecamp

RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Claire's Twitter

Know Your Company Twitter

Claire's Website

Know Your Company Website

Claire's Instagram

"What Should I Do with My Life" by Po Bronson

"Rework" by Jason Fried, David Heinemeier Hansson

Starter League Software

The Lively Show Podcast

Ben Horowitz article

Basecamp

1 Password

Draft

INSIGHT:

“Being a bootstrap company, the fact that you are deliberately choosing not to take on outside funding, what that means is that cash flow is everything.”- Claire Lew

“I just don’t want to say that work is ‘fine’ because clearly it’s not when you’re saying something is fine.”- Claire Lew

“We’ve grown up in a society that gives us a lot of signals,clues, paths, and symbols for what success is and it’s very easy to listen to those things.”-Claire Lew

“The greatest source of motivation, the greatest source of you being able to accomplish what you want to do, has to come from within yourself."-Claire Lew

“My greatest source of happiness comes from helping other people and I think the best way that I could possibly do that was to start a company.”-Claire Lew

“How you feel about your work affects how well you actually do your work.”-Claire Lew

“If there’s something that really pisses you off ride that momentum and just take advantage of that feeling in the moment and ride it out.”-Claire Lew

“Well, this inspiration has an expiration date. It’s fleeting and if you don’t just kind of jump on it right then in the moment it will really pass.”-Claire Lew

“In terms of thinking ‘how did I know that this was the right thing to do or go after’ or ‘how did I know this was the right problem to solve,’ I didn’t. I just decided and took advantage of the inspiration when I felt it.” -Claire Lew

“I am my own worst critic and I know that I can be very hard on myself, so being able to brush things off, being able to tell myself that it’s ok and everything is not in my control because that is impossible, learning to be patient with myself, learning to take vacations, learning to take more reasonable hours, that is a learning process.”-Claire Lew

SDH114: Scrappy to Savvy & Everything In Between, Live Episode With Michael Donnelly Dec 19, 2016

You are an entrepreneur, or either want to be one, need to be one. Maybe you have or someday will experience the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, because face it behind the glamorous Instagram pictures and bad ass client that you've acquired and shared about on Facebook, entrepreneurship is not easy.

There are going to be times when the simplest achievement, like making your first profit off of your product or services, feels like you've won the lotto. Because entrepreneurship isn't always about obtaining that awesome client or getting featured on Forbe's 30 under 30. Sometimes you have to get a little scrappy before you reach savvy.

Today's guest, Michael Donnelly, lives by her scrappy to savvy mantra. She is the CEO of Brandless and shares some boss insight in front of She Did It Her Way's first ever live audience!

In this episode you will..

Establish the benefits of collaborating
Identify the hardships of being part of a startup with multiple partners
Understand the difficulties of prioritizing work over relationships
Hear Michael's process of what to say "yes" to & what to say "no" to
Listen to Michael's toughest conversation she's had as CEO
Discover where Michael's experienced the most growth as an entrepreneur
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Michael's LinkedIn

Michael's Twitter

Brandless

Brandless Snapchat

Tech Week

Marketing Madness

Venture Forward Conference

"Everyone Poops" by Taro Gomi

"Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki & Sharon Lechter

"Girl Boss" by Sophia Amoruso

INSIGHTS:

“At Brandless, it’s not about our brand it’s about the brands we represent. We are your brand’s blank canvas.”- Michael Donnelly

“A lot of people want to do events, and don’t know how to, and shouldn’t. It’s one of those weird marketplaces where everybody can but it’s complicated.”- Michael Donnelley

“The highs are so high and the lows are so low, and everything that a normal person understands as reality is completely different than what an entrepreneur’s reality is.” -Michael Donnelley

“When you make $1,000 it’s like you made $100,000 some days because that little win can change your entire life.”-Michael Donnelley

“Other people’s livelihoods are in your hands and you’re trying to keep in mind your own professional goals but then understand that their professional goals are tied to your vision and there’s a level of responsibility.”-Michael Donnelley

“The tricky part for early stage entrepreneurship for startups is having the guts to say 'no' to certain clients and certain dollars when you know that you need them and then really putting your head down and striving to partner and engage with the clients that make you feel good, the clients that take you to the next level as an individual, as a company, as a group.”- Michael Donnelley

“You really have to feel it, because if you don’t the client can tell, you can tell, you do mediocre work and that doesn’t turn into the referral and client partnerships that you want long term.”-Michael Donnelley

“Anytime there’s a hard conversation talk about the facts, talk about the logical pieces of it and then see how we could connect it.”-Michael Donnelley

“As an entrepreneur there’s not a lot of checks and balances. It’s kind of the wild, wild West. You’re trying to grow something, you’re trying to build something and it’s a matter of he said she said.”-Michael Donnelley

“The main point is remembering to be true to your values, remembering to do the work that you promised to do, under-promise and over-deliver because at the end of the day you’ll win, you’ll get there, you’ll make it.”-Michael Donnelley

“I used to be very reactive and very defensive.. But I’ve learned to take a few steps back when people say things to me, especially in the position that I’m in because I need to understand where they’re coming from with those questions.”-Michael Donnelley

“During the hard times, there has to be that force that’s driving you.”-Michael Donnelley

“Save money. Save as much as you can before you make the jump, because it goes very quickly and is something that makes it all a lot harder, when you don’t have it available and you don’t have it readily working.”-Michael Donnelley

“Be scrappy until you can be savvy and figure out how to connect all the dots in between and make that a picture that everybody is excited about.”-Michael Donnelley

SDH113: The On & Offline Entreprenuer With Jill Salzman Dec 15, 2016

Does it feel like you've tried every job out there, yet you're not satisfied? Maybe you spent four years of school studying law only to figure out that you hate working in a law office and want to work for the music industry? Maybe, you even make the switch and you realize again that it's still not for you. But what if the problem is something bigger than boredom and having multiple interests?

What if you are meant to be your own boss and build your own business?

Today's guest, Jill Salzman, has went from studying biology to working for a record label, to studying law, to music management, until finally she decided it was time to run her own business The Founding Moms.

In this episode you will..

Hear Jill's "light bulb moment"
Uncover the behind scene look of managing & having tens of thousands of people in membership
Know when Jill felt it was time to start charging for the value she was providing
Understand the challenges of running an online business
Identify the complexities of working with different tech platforms
Visualize the structure of Jill's week
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

The Founding Moms

Jill's Twitter

Jill's LinkedIn

Founding Moms Facebook

Meetup.com

Kiva

INSIGHTS:

“What’s really amazing is this clearly universal desire for these women, who have children, to connect with other women who have children and understand the craziness of raising kids and trying this entrepreneurship thing.”-Jill Salzman

“We now have women that are much more serious about building a business and no longer attract all the dabblers who are really just there to have something to do.”-Jill Salzman

“You need to constantly be asking people what they’re looking for, what they like, what they love.”-Jill Salzman

“We keep thinking we figure out what everybody wants and then they go ‘no, no, no this is not it. We need this.’ So it’s a constant inflow of market needs versus what we build.”- Jill Salzman

“I’m constantly walking a fine line of wanting the budget to do a million things but knowing that it needs to grow slowly, and I need to be really patient.”-Jill Salzman

“My schedule, generally, is sort of set in my head, but what happens in each day is wildly different every week.”-Jill Salzman

SDH112: Do More of What You Love with Carly Ferguson Dec 12, 2016

Are you still in the stages of building your business, but you have direction, clarity, and know where you are going? Did you leave Corporate America to pursue your passion and start the entrepreneurial journey? Are you ready to build a healthy business and do more of what you love?

Today's guest, Carly Ferguson, is the founder and food journalist of Fit Living Eats. She helps people find greater confidence and energy through healthy habits, in order to do more of what they love. Carly is still in the beginning stages of her business, but she has a clear goal and envisions her business as healthy as her lifestyle.

In this episode you will...

Hear Carly's leap story
Value the importance of saying 'yes' in the beginning stages of your business
Understand why time is your 'best friend' at the start of your business
Discover the most rewarding things in Carly's business, so far
Listen to her most challenging part when taking the leap
Identify how to stay on the up side of the emotional entrepreneurship roller coaster
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Fitlivingeats

Fitlivingeats Twitter

Fitlivingeats Facebook

Fitlivingeats Instagram

Fitlivingeats Pinterest

"Daring Greatly" by Brene Brown

Insights:

“I came at a cross road at my corporate job where I was either going to move onto something else, or take the leap and kind of pursue this life long passion that I had been chasing after.”-Carly Ferguson

“I knew that ultimately pursuing my passion would lead to the entrepreneur's space and i’ve always been someone who’s been behind the scene and orchestrating all of the details. I’ve never one to really be the center of attention, so kind of taking ownership of something like that was scary to me.”- Carly Ferguson

“As a health coach, I really encourage people to lean into the power of ‘no’..but for me in my journey with building my business, I had really learned the importance of saying ‘yes’ because you never know where those opportunities lead you.”- Carly Ferguson

“There’s been a lot of things that I’ve done that I completely surprise myself with, and a year ago I would’ve told you ‘absolutely not; I am not doing that. I will look like a complete dork. You don’t want me doing that.’ But now it’s been fun."-Carly Ferguson

“Giving yourself the freedom and the space to be able to take advantage of the opportunities that are right in front of you, even if 1) you don’t know what they may lead to and 2) they don’t fit into your perfect plan.”-Carly Ferguson

“Sometimes what things turn into in the future is not like you planned, but it’s beyond your wildest dreams. So just having the freedom and confidence to take advantage of a variety of opportunities.”- Carly Ferguson

“Finding the energy and the continuous drive to kind of be all those different aspects of your business can be challenging at times.”-Carly Ferguson

“There are days when I feel unstoppable and there are days when I am seriously questioning what did I get myself into?”- Carly Ferguson

“Everything that I am creating is an extension of me and I’m selling my services with my name on it."-Carly Ferguson

“What helps keep me on track is taking movement breaks throughout the day.”-Carly Ferguson

“One of the things I didn’t like about my corporate job was being behind a computer 9-5, in an office with no windows, and just feeling so sluggish and not energized.”- Carly Ferguson

“When things are getting really tough, or mentally I am just feeling a road block somewhere, I really try to visualize myself as having a reached a certain level of success.”- Carly Ferguson

“Something that I’m working on, and something I want to get a lot better about, is building boundaries around my work hours and my business.”- Carly Ferguson

SDH111: Finding Solutions With Shanna Tellerman Dec 08, 2016

Have you woken up in the middle of the night thinking about a solution to a problem that you need to solve? Maybe your degree has nothing to do with the problem, but you are determined to be the one to fix it? However, there may have and may still be some hurdles in the way. Perhaps you have a minimal support system, didn't anticipate how hard the hiring process would be and don't know what to do when you have been pushed to the max?

Today's guest, Shanna Tellerman, is not new to these problems faced in the startup world. She is the founder of her second startup Modsy and shares some valuable insight for all entrepreneurs.

In this episode you will...

Gather some lessons Shanna learned from her job at Google Ventures
Identify 3 things Shanna looks for in a company and entrepreneur
Learn what to do when you have a minimal support system
Know about hiring during first stages of startup
Manage your life and business with Shanna's fav apps
Resources:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Shanna's LinkedIn

Shanna's Twitter

Modsy

Gusto

Zenefits

Slack

INSIGHTS:

“There was just this point where I woke up one morning, I had been thinking about it all night and I was still thinking about it in the morning, and I was like ‘ I need to go do this. The time is now.”-Shanna Tellerman

“An investor and venture capitalist, they also have a goal. They also have a way that they are being evaluated, which is primarily return on their investment.”-Shanna Tellerman

“You are going to do this for many years; you’re going to put your heart and soul into it and many, many hours. The problem has to matter and you have to be excited for that problem everyday. That passion has to be obvious.”-Shanna Tellerman

“You are pushed to the max all the time, but when you really care, and it’s your company and you care about the thing that you’re building and you really want to see it happen in the world, there is kind of no end.”-Shanna Tellerman

“The idea of ‘quit’ is just not in my vocabulary and hasn’t been for either of my companies.”-Shanna Tellerman

“I try to just take care of myself physically, which I think means that my energy levels don’t fluctuate too hugely. It tends to only fluctuate when I overwhelm myself with too much going on and I can easily correct that in like a week.”-Shanna Tellerman

“There’s a confidence level around knowing that even when things don’t work out, you’re going to figure something out, that only gets gained after seeing how many things go wrong and how often you are wrong, then correcting it and everything being maybe different than you had planned, but still fine.”-Shanna Tellerman

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, at any given point don’t take it too, too seriously.”-Shanna Tellerman

“Overthinking it, being too worried, being too stressed out, is going to have impacts both on your own health, on your potential to take the leap and on the people that you work with.”-Shanna Tellerman

SDH110: Forget The Haters a candid conversation with Ariel Hyatt Dec 05, 2016

Do you ever feel like you spend so much time and energy focusing on the negative things people have to say about your work online? There may be a thousand positive comments about your entrepreneurial service or product, but the few negative ones are the ones you think about at night. At the same time, you are also faced with trying to be nice and liked by people.

But there is a time when you don't have to be nice.

There is a time when you have to forget the haters and be the lady boss you are meant to be.

Today's guest, Ariel Hyatt, has faced the haters and forgotten them. Ariel is the CEO and founder of cyberprmusic, author of 4 books, crowd funding coach, and a teacher and speaker. In today's episode she shares what she has learned on her boss entrepreneurial journey.

In this episode you will...

Identify the changes in PR
Listen to Ariel's lessons she learned about growth & reaching maximum capacity
Realize the importance of consistent content
Develop how to stay organized with shifting technologies
Enrich your relationship with 'nice' and understand why you don't always have to be nice
Hear Ariel's bad decisions and how she overcame them
Resources:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Ariel Hyatt Twitter

Ariel Hyatt Facebook

Ariel Hyatt Instagram

Ariel Hyatt linkedIn

Cyberprmusic

The Brave Summit Conference

"So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport

"Creating a Charmed Life" by Victoria Moran

"Crowd Start" by Ariel Hyatt

INSIGHTS:

“Most entrepreneurs have a role model in their families, mostly their fathers but in my case my mother, of people that have done it before them so there’s less fear.”-Ariel Hyatt

“It’s very important to understand contacts, relationships and building them, so if you have a job that you leave, you get to take those relationships with you, whether or not you’re fired or you choose to move on.”-Ariel Hyatt

“For many of us, good is good enough and medium is a good size for a company.”-Ariel Hyatt

“I was not happy when I was at maximum capacity, grossing over a million dollars a year, because I was exhausted all of the time.”- Ariel Hyatt

“I cut out all the things that give me joy, because I was so busy building the company. In the end, I realized that it was not making me happy and I purposely scaled back.”- Ariel Hyatt

“You have to change what your vision and your purpose is as your company ages.”-Ariel Hyatt

“It’s all about processes and being organized, because if your team doesn’t know how to approach the things that you do in a systematic effective way you’re not going to go very far.”-Ariel Hyatt

“I think women especially, have a different relationship with ‘nice’ than men have… it was a lesson to learn that I can say ‘no’ I don’t have to be nice all the time.”- Ariel Hyatt

“Women succeed more than men in crowd funding. The reason why, is women are not afraid to ask as much as men are.”- Ariel Hyatt

“We might be really good at asking, however there is a science to having a successful crowd funding campaign.”-Ariel Hyatt

“Don’t waste your energy, don’t waste your time, focusing on the one person that doesn’t like it because you can find , twenty, thirty, a hundred, in my case thousands of people that like it.”-Ariel Hyatt

SDH109: Creating Something from Nothing with Terri Brax Dec 01, 2016

Are you an entrepreneur because you want to make the world a better place with your passion? Maybe you're in a specific field of entrepreneurship that makes you lack confidence in yourself?You may feel like you don't fit the stereotype of others working in that field, which means you may not succeed?

It's time to gain that confidence back and let go of those fears. If you want to do something with your passion you can do it.

You can create something out of nothing.

Today's guest, Terri Brax, has created two companies TeacherCare & Women Tech Founders, because she wanted to fulfill a need in two areas that interested her. She has first hand dealt with women who have experienced similar doubts in the tech industry and is here to offer some boss insight on how to deal with hurdles for all women on the entrepreneurial journey.

In this episode you will...

Hear the exact moment of inspiration for WTF (Women Tech Founders)
Realize the hurdles women in tech face, both controllable and uncontrollable
Learn the importance of building ecosystems to move forward
Understand the value of revenue models
Get a behind the scenes look on how the people at the top don't have it all figured out
Discover what keeps Terri in the game of entrepreneurship
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Women Tech Founders Facebook

Women Tech Founders Twitter

Women Tech Founders Instagram

Teacher Care website

Teacher Care Twitter

Terri Brax Twitter

Terri Brax LinkedIn

Midwest Women in Tech Conference

"Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor E. Frankl

Insights

“We brought women together to become role models for other women and to break the stereotypes about what it looks like to be a woman in tech because we found that was also some of the things that were holding people back.”-Terri Brax

“Over the course of the year between 2015 and 2016 we saw Chicago become the global leader of women in tech with now 30% of all tech startups led by women.”-Terri Brax

“We need role models for women in leadership in tech and in leadership overall.”-Terri Brax

“We want to make sure that every young woman sees someone that looks like them and every career changer can look at somebody and think ‘hmm maybe I can try something that reflects me and I can do this to.”-Terri Brax

“They came to the tech industry not because they wanted to play with programming but they wanted to achieve this goal that’s driving their soul and they were going to knock down walls in order to make that happen.” -Terri Brax

“How important it is to build that whole ecosystem, instead of just alone focusing on that one small piece. We need that support.”- Terri Brax

“Women tend to start with this passion and often times you’re so dedicated to the goal that your revenue miles need to be built up in order to reach the broader goals.”- Terri Brax

“Think of your revenue model as strongly as you’re thinking about the passion and how to get to it.” -Terri Brax

“When I started this I would look and see this woman who in my head knew absolutely everything and never fact checked herself. She was so confident. But what i’ve really seen all of us have insecurities coming from different places and we’re all trying to work through them, but I see the value of having that confident front in order to be able to move other people forward.”-Terri Brax

“Once you’ve been in it, it’s almost like a bug that bites you. It’s really hard to not think in the terms that an entrepreneur starts thinking. All the crazy things that go along with it is hard.. but the rewards for it are so high.”-Terri Brax

“Seeing that you can create something from nothing is an amazing fill you up kind of feeling and knowing that you can make the world a better place, that is just so rewarding.”-Terri Brax

“Timing in the tech startup world is incredibly important. They say the number one way to succeed is to have some sort of a platform at the time when there is a lot of things happening around it.”- Terri Brax

“If you want to be in this industry you should be in this industry.” -Terri Brax

“Women, I don’t think give themselves enough credit for what they do know and how strong and impactful that can be and how we can all work together to fill each other's voids and to learn from each other to move each other forward.”-Terri Brax

“No matter what I do, I am going to be OK. There’s people to support you. There’s so much here that we have in this country.”-Terri Brax

SDH108: How to Build Your Community with Sian Simpson Nov 28, 2016

Do you ever yearn to travel around the globe but are trapped in one location by your job? Maybe you crave more flexibility that your current work conditions just don't have? Having flexibility and being location independent is possible, but it takes more than one person to achieve this. It takes a community.

Today's guest, Sian Simpson, built her community both in the US and New Zealand with Kiwi Landing Pad.

In this episode you will...

Build community value by becoming a "community mentor"
Uncover how to set a schedule when working in different geographic areas
Acquire methods to say NO
Understand the benefits of asking the community what they want to know
Discover the best part of awards
Learn the difference between "intellectualizing feeling" and "actually feeling"
RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook
Kiwi Landing Pad

Kiwi Landing Pad Twitter

Sian Simpson Instagram

Sian Simpson Twitter

Sian Simpson LinkedIn

500 Startups

Mobilize (grouping tool)

"Designing Your Life" by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

"The Millionaire Next Door" by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko

Insights

“You have to do the unscaleable to scale.”-Sian Simpson

“As people starting out in your career, or as people mid level, you’re always like ‘I have no right speaking to people,’ when really you do. You just have to be very specific in what your ask is and make sure that the person at the end of you ask can actually fulfill what you’re asking them to do.”-Sian Simpson

“You don’t have to spend money on stuff to add value. You actually just figure out what your customers need and want and start pulling levers to actually give them added value.”-Sian Simpson

“If you are going to do your job in 20 hours you need to measure that effectively.”-Sian Simpson

“The point at which you start dropping the ball is the point at which you should start paying attention to some of the stuff you should let go of.”-Sian Simpson

“The people who are millionaires tend to not look like millionaires.”-Sian Simpson

“Community is the best thing you can do in life because at the end of the day everything comes down to people.”-Sian Simpson

“I really like day dreaming. I think it’s really powerful to be able to stretch the mind.”-Sian Simpson

“If you are going to learn about community, the best way to do that is looking at tribal culture and social hierarchies we just don’t have in the Western World.”-Sian Simpson

“I would really encourage you to find one really exceptional mentor. It makes all the difference to anything you are doing in life.”-Sian Simpson

SDH107: Giving Thanks + Struggles + 2017 a Solocast with Amanda Boleyn, Host Nov 21, 2016

Hi She Did It Her Way Family! It is your host here, Amanda Boleyn, taking over the show notes this episode. I am going to do best to live up to the greatness of Christian's show notes because let's be real...my strength is in the "hosting" not so much the writing ;)

Christian, I appreciate you so much, you have no idea girlfriend!

Okay, back to this week's show notes. It is a quick episode, all of 16 minutes. I share what I'm thankful for this year and that includes YOU, yes YOU. The human being that is reading this post. I am utterly grateful for you. It is because of you, the listeners that the show exists. So thank you.

I am also equally grateful for the guests who have bared all...who came on the show and laid it all out for thousands of listeners who tune in and were not afraid to do so, those who lead with bravery. Thank you.

In this episode I share the STRUGGLES of being self-employed while trying to grow She Did It Her Way even more and turn it into something even bigger but not know what that bigger is or means. The frustrations, self-doubt and questions I found myself asking (and sometimes still do...Come on...I'm only human ;)

Chat with me, please :D

ALSO, I would LOVE to chat with you guys. Here is the link to my calendar. Times are for 25 minute blocks. I want to get to know you better, learn how She Did It Her Way can add more value, what do you like about it? If there are no times that work with your schedule...shoot me an email ---> amanda dot boleyn at gmail dot com.

If She Did It Her Way has inspired you in any way shape or form, I would be so grateful if you would share it with others...it may inspire them and you wouldn't even think it! :) Also, if you wouldn't mind taking 5 minutes and leaving us an iTunes review. The more reviews we have, the easier it is for others to find us, thus inspiring more people by the stories we share! If you're not sure how to leave a review, click here for a full step-by-step.

Her Way Challenge

Last thing, we are restructuring Her Way Challenge so starting in January we will be hosting partnering with other She Did It Her Way community members to bring you curated monthly challenges...sign up HERE (<--- NOTE the new URL)

Eat With Intention

Okay, last, last thing....make sure you order my friend, Cassandra Bodzak's new book, Eat With Intention. Meditations to coincide with recipes...um yes, please! Get it before the price goes up...you will NOT be disappointed. I promise! Click HERE.

SDH 106: How to Create Solutions with Kristi Zuhlke Nov 17, 2016

Have you noticed a problem that needs to be solved? Are you the one that needs to solve this problem? Maybe you discovered this need at your corporate job, and realized that your journey is elsewhere and your purpose is greater?

Today's guest, Kristi Zuhlke, was working at Procter and Gamble when she realized that market research data should be easier to find and navigate. She took the leap to create the technology, KnowledgeHound, that would fix this problem in corporate America.

In this episode you will...

Hear about the transition of finding a problem to going out on your own and solving it
Identify fear in the beginning stages versus fear in later stages
Understand why drawing your vision on paper is helpful
Acquire tips to prepare you before meeting with investors
Make sense of all the hats you have to wear in a startup
Obtain how to find your own leadership management style
RESOURCES:

She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

KnowledgeHound

Kristi Zuhlke Linkedin

Kristi Zuhlke Twitter

INSIGHTS:

“We are on a mission to cure corporate amnesia for the market research world.” -Kristi Zuhlke

“It was kind of crazy to leave your corporate job and be so passionate about something, to leave that stable world and go try to solve it.” -Kristi Zuhlke

“I never want to look back on life and think what if I would’ve done this or what if I would’ve tried this.” -Kristi Zuhlke

“There’s always fear of running out of money that never goes away. It’s just at different levels throughout the journey.“ -Kristi Zuhlke

“In a startup you have to wear every hat.” -Kristi Zuhlke

“Now I’ve shifted to much more of a leader that can get everyone’s opinion, but at the same time be more decisive and come with an opinion and a direction, and not feel like I am being bossy. I think a lot of females struggle with this.” -Kristi Zuhlke

“I learn by doing, so it’s all about self reflection.” -Kristi Zuhlke

“I’m proud of my grit that I’ve been able to not go back to corporate America, for about 5 years now that I’ve been out, and I don’t have any plans to go back soon.” -Kristi Zuhlke

SDH105: Find Your Value a Candid Conversation With Giovanna Silvestre Nov 14, 2016

Are you confused with life? Sometimes your world gets flipped upside down, a job gone wrong, an end to a relationship, and you feel as if you've hit rock bottom. Maybe you feel like you're not good enough and have nothing of value to offer? You may even feel like this confusion is a bad thing.

But it's the opposite.

Your confusion means that you are on the path to self discovery.

You are on the path to find your value.

Today's guest, Giovanna Silvestre, has used her confusion at a low point to create a blog Confused Girl in The City which grew into an empowering fashion line for women inspired by images of healing crystals.

In this episode you will...

Learn how Giovanna created a fashion line without a fashion degree
Discover the importance of gratitude
Embrace your "warrior princess"
Enable your creative side that may be repressed
Hear about the process behind starting a clothing line
Identify the journey of self discovery through a blog
RESOURCES:

She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

Confused Girl LA Twitter

Confused Girl LA Pinterest

Confused Girl LA Instagram

Confused Girl Facebook

Confused Girl website

Confused Girl Ambassador Program

"Seat of the Soul" by Gary Zukav

"A New Earth" by Eckhart Tolle

INSIGHTS:

“I started to realize that there was so much more to who I am and my purpose in life, than what I had been living.” -Giovanna Silvestre

“I had no idea what I was going to do. I was going to give back to the world and I was here to do something great, I felt that.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“The way in which I was doing life didn’t work anymore and I felt completely lost”-Giovanna Silvestre

“After I was at my version of rock bottom, I was able to really build my life from that point because I no longer cared what other people thought of me. I felt like I didn’t have anything so why do I care what everyone thinks? Now I can do what I want.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“We all have a little warrior princess inside us.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“I meditated so I had more mind control, because before my mind controlled me.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“One day I woke up and nothing had changed in my life but I had this joy energy running through my body, and I felt what it was like to feel gratitude for the first time in my life.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“Joy really doesn’t come from the outside. It’s an inside job.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“I had this quote on my wall and it said ‘It’s not about seeking new landscape but it’s about having new eyes.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“We have two choices in life: I could be a coward or I can be brave. So let’s choose bravery, even though I don’t feel brave I’m going to choose that.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“When your whole world shatters choosing to be courageous, choosing you and what’s good for you, that’s really where your character is tested and where you build.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“I really believe in living an intention based life.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“ I knew how bad it feels to feel like you’re not worth anything and have no value, so I was like whatever I create I wanted it to give value to other women.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“I felt like this was my intention in life, to help people see their own value.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“It’s almost like when a seed is in the ground and it’s about to start growing... It has to push up through the ground.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“Just because you start something and it’s a great idea, don’t think that you’re not going to get resistance because the resistance is the whole part of the process.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“Social media is not an overnight thing. It’s something that takes a lot of time and effort.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“When you think nothing is happening, sometimes everything is happening.”-Giovanna Silvestre

“Why is being confused looked upon as negative?”-Giovanna Silvestre

SDH104: Be A Part of Something Bigger Than Yourself with Heather Hartnett Nov 10, 2016

Are you ready to take the leap and startup a company? You may not have an idea yet, but you want to be in an ecosystem that is full of ideas. Maybe when you surround yourself with people creating ideas, it may just spark an idea of your own? Perhaps, you have two passions you want to contribute to the ecosystem but you don’t know which one to follow?

You don’t have to choose just one.

You can combine your passions and be involved in one, or maybe all stages of starting up a company.

Today’s guest, Heather Hartnett, married her passions of startup and technology, to philanthropy. Heather is the CEO and founding member of venture studio,Human Ventures,where she combines her passions by investing in people who, she is confident, will bring a sustainable method to positive change.

Let’s talk tech. Tune in!

In this episode you will...

Discover what a venture studio is
Learn what the “future founder pipeline” is
Explore the importance of informal networks for company growth
Realize it’s possible to “marry” two career paths into one
Understand the “myth of the big idea”
Recognize why you need to know your own “personal risk tolerance"
RESOURCES:

She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

Heather Hartnett Twitter

Heather Hartnett Linkedin

Human Ventures

David Lynch Foundation

INSIGHTS:

“Part of what really makes or breaks a company in the early days, is a strong network.”-Heather Hartnett

“If I don’t have an idea yet, that I know I want to start myself, how can I surround myself with people who are starting ideas and maybe it will start something? I kind of fell into the venture world at that point.”-Heather Hartnett

“Whatever stage you are in the company, then determines what leverage you have to bring on talent.”-Heather Hartnett

“In New York there is this whole opportunity for new growth. Because people have been in the fashion industry for twenty years and they don’t know how to approach tech.”-Heather Hartnett

“Everyday you have to be a little out of your comfort zone or you’re not growing.”-Heather Hartnett

“You have to be learning as you’re convincing other people to come along for the ride with you.”-Heather Hartnett

SDH103: Selling Authenticity with Lauren Kelp Nov 07, 2016

Are you over constantly feeling the pressure of perfection? As women we sometimes feel the need to live up to this picture perfect image of a family, a relationship, a business. However, that image isn't real. You are real and life is messy.

Today's guest Lauren Kelp, founder of Lauren Kelp and tablemakers, helps women with thoughtful living minus the pressure of being perfect. As a digital diva, she helps bring back the authenticity online with not only topics of thoughtful living, but also cocktails, entertainment and food. She brings this atmosphere to life in the community with her tablemaker dinners.

Tune in!

In this episode, you will..

Hear how her brand has evolved & changed
Understand what an online "troll" is, including Lauren's own personal experience with one
Look at thoughtful living holistically
Discover the importance of setting boundaries
Identify the transition from a "about me" blog to a website with contributors
Uncover how to match your brand with partnering brands & when it doesn't work
RESOURCES:

She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

Lauren Kelp Twitter

Lauren Kelp Instagram

Lauren Kelp.com

Tablemakers

Kendall-Jackson

Crate and Barrel

Michters

10% Happier Podcast

"To Kill a Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee

"Franny and Zooey" by J.D. Salinger

"Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert

Magic Lessons Podcast

INSIGHTS:

“The brand has evolved because I have evolved, and I think what I am interested in and care about has also evolved.”- Lauren Kelp

“When you’re talking about thoughtful living, for me it’s an attitude. If I really break down what does that attitude encompass, it’s not just food and it’s not just entertaining it’s so much more. It’s a perspective on life.”-Lauren Kelp

“Especially for women, there’s so much freaking pressure, pressure to be perfect have that great job with the great relationship with that well-trained job, with the family plan. It gets a little ridiculous after a while because it’s not sustainable.”-Lauren Kelp

“I think there is power in community and power in talking about things.”-Lauren Kelp

“I like to look at a brand as a personality, so if it doesn't jive with the personality then it’s not going to make sense.”-Lauren Kelp

“Life is messy and things get out of whack, so I think if you hold onto one healthy habit, mine is meditating, the others seem to fall in line easier.”-Lauren Kelp

SDH102: Venture Into Your Passion, A Candid Conversation with Jessica Peltz Nov 03, 2016

Do you have a lack of passion and energy that is barely getting you through your 9-5 job? Maybe you're tired and ready to venture into a new field, but you fear not having the familiar office you've known for years and the idea of an unstable paycheck sits you right back down in your corporate seat?

There's a way to find that missing passion and energy.

There's a way to be the boss of your own life, your own professional career.

And it starts with the L-E-A-P!

Today's guest, Jessica Peltz, worked a full-time corporate job and followed her passion of start ups on the side. Impressive right? She took the leap and eventually found her niche in the startup field as a partner to KBS Ventures, where she follows her passion of helping startups secure their first customers.

Get technical and tune in!

In this episode, you will…

Learn about the "sink" or "swim" mentality with Venture capital (VC) and startup

Improve "future proofing" your career

Identify the importance of "unconditional love" and "like" with investor, founder and CEO in the early startup stage

Uncover nuances and corrections in the market

Obtain the basics of VC

Know what kind of startups Jessica invests in

RESOURCES:

She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

Jessica Peltz Twitter

Jessica Peltz Linkedin

Jessica Peltz KBS website

Novalia

"Zero to One: Notes on Startups or How to Build The Future" by Peter Thiel

INSIGHTS:

“I really saw this vision of connecting brands and startups, and the need to really bridge that gap.”-Jessica Peltz

“I was feeling really uninspired, but at the same time I was in this nice cushy job that was “stable” and paid the bills; I just wasn’t excited about things as much as I was with the energy and passion I saw working with entrepreneurs.”-Jessica Peltz

“Working with founders, they just see the world differently. They’re wearing a pair of goggles that sees things as inefficient, broken and obsessively wants to fix it.”-Jessica Peltz

“Every day is a work day and no day is a work day.”-Jessica Peltz

“I believe the future of media, marketing and advertising, is through technology partnerships.”-Jessica Peltz

“The power of relationships is almost the number one thing I learned throughout my entire business career.”-Jessica Peltz

“The CMO of tomorrow is the data nerd of today.” -Jessica Peltz

“Not every business should raise venture capital. In fact, most businesses shouldn’t raise venture capital.”-Jessica Peltz

“Run lean, don’t raise more cash than you need to, focus on the real unit economics of your business. Focus on getting to profitability, don’t worry about “growth at all costs” really worry about building the business metrics.”-Jessica Peltz

“Part of being a good leader is being able to recognize your deficiencies and build a really strong team around you.”-Jessica Peltz

“If you’re taking money from an investor, it’s like a marriage. You can’t fire an investor. You’re stuck with them.”-Jessica Peltz

“As an investor, you have to genuinely enjoy helping other people succeed and helping other people build their business. And that’s not something you can learn.”-Jessica Peltz

“Thinking about things that are creating entirely new markets, that have the power to change behavior, is wild.”-Jessica Peltz

SDH101: Energize Your Life with Judith Wright Oct 31, 2016

Do you still feel empty, despite the personal and professional achievements in your life? You thought you had it all, but something deep down isn’t fulfilled.

You’re hungry, very hungry.

But what for?

Maybe you’re trying to numb that hunger by keeping busy, or having more fun, but when you’ve completed your goal list and the party’s over you’re still hungry and very much empty.

It’s time to fulfill the hunger with today’s guest, Dr. Judith Wright, speaker, educator, author, lifestyle consultant and so much more, who has the journey and tools that helped her feed her hunger and can help you too!

Get hungry and tune in!

In this episode, you will…

Identify how to become more of a seeker within

Discover how to find your inner womanhood

Enrich relationships with Wright’s Rules of Engagement

Value your inner self rather than societal formulas

Shift your leadership by leading your life

Awaken the parts of you that aren’t valued

SDH100: Optimize Your Business With Holly Cardew Oct 27, 2016

Is the entrepreneur, that has lived inside of you since you were young, calling out to you? Maybe you are taking those first baby steps towards the leap, or maybe you have even taken the leap and are having a shaky land. Sometimes the land isn't quite what we expect and we have to face the word we fear so much that we stay in the comfort of our unsatisfying corporate job,

Failure.

It's time to take the lead up, leap and land, no matter if you face some minor bumps that some may call failure.

Because you can reach success

and you will reach success.

Today's guests, the CEO & Founder of pixc, Holly Cardew hit some bumps in the road with prior business ventures, but she finally found her own way to optimize her business and reach success. Did I mention she did this all without a business degree?

Tune in to follow her entrepreneurial journey and find ways to optimize your own journey.

In this episode, you will…

Understand the importance of surrounding yourself with good people
Discover the business strategies behind Holly's e-commerce site
Value breaking up projects into smaller components
Enhance your business with Holly's efficiency tricks & aha moments
Identify the hardships of working in business without a business degree
Tune in and get ready to talk tech!

RESOURCES:

She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did it Her Way Twitter
She Did it Her Way Facebook
pixc
Holly's Twitter
pixc Twitter
pixc Facebook
upwork
sites.google.com
launchrock
buffer
asana
Trello
"Extreme Revenue Growth" by Victor Cheng
INSIGHTS:

“I've always been an entrepreneur. I opened my Ebay account when I was fourteen years old and I was selling online.”-Holly Cardew

"I've always wanted to be able to provide something to people that's of value, without ripping people off."-Holly Cardew

"What freaks me out is having to go to a job."-Holly Cardew

"I genuinely enjoy building technology, figuring things out and working in ecommerece."-Holly Cardew

"I'm such a curious person. Even though it didn't really work, I'm like 'why didn't it work? How can I make this work?."-Holly Cardew

"Curiosity really keeps me going."-Holly Cardew

"It's a bit like an Uber model where we have designers on demand."-Holly Cardew

"I haven't had corporate experience. I've had advisors around me and I've had to learn along the way."-Holly Cardew

"Everyone puts culture at the end of their to-do list. I instill culture since day 1."-Holly Cardew

"Building a company is like snakes and ladders. Sometimes you get to go on the ladder and go straight to the top, sometimes you land on the snake and slide all the way back to the beginning."-Holly Cardew

SDH099: From Lost to Found a Candid Conversation with Rachel Adams Oct 24, 2016

Are you successful in your business, but want so much more? You may not be able name what exactly you want, but you know that something is missing. Perhaps you project this image of career and life perfection on social media, but behind the Instagram post of your job's perks and the fairytale Facebook album of your partner and you, you aren't really happy.

It's time to stop projecting a false image and lead a life and business with authenticity and intention.

Tune in to today’s episode to hear how Rachel Adams, Co-Founder of the self-transformation program Lost to Found, used her personal growth to grow her business and help other women on their journey to self discovery and ultimate happiness.

In this episode, you will…

Value setting boundaries with "tech time outs"
Understand the benefits of adopting an "abundant mentality"
Reevaluate your peer group to maximize self growth
Obtain a sneak peek into the program with some health tips and tricks
Learn about the trickle effect of good decisions

BONUS: Click here to receive some FREEBIES! Get the first 3 chapters of Rachel's book along with a free Inspirational Guidance Video!

RESOURCES:

She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

Lost 2 Found in 90 Days

Rachel's Twitter

"Gifts of Imperfection" by Brene Brown

INSIGHTS:

“Your video isn't matching your audio.” -Nina Rowan Heller

“It's one thing to be honest with other people, but it's something entirely different to be honest with yourself.” -Rachel Adams

"My business would only grow to the extent that I do." -Rachel Adams

“Once you're really making one good decision another good decision follows and it becomes this trickle effect.” -Rachel Adams

“The right people come into your life and the right people leave your life.” -Rachel Adams

"Balance does not exist. Counter balance does exist.” -Rachel Adams

"When you are leading your life with authenticity and intention, and you are actually being who you should be, the right person comes to you." -Rachel Adams

Want more?

Rachel is giving SDH lady bosses the first free chapters for free to download, as well as one inspirational guidance video. If you want even more, don't forget the program launches the first Monday of every month.

SDH098: Invest In Your Mission | A Conversation with Renee DiResta Oct 20, 2016

Maybe you’re ready to start your own startup, but are unsure how the funding process works, or even where to start?

Today’s guest Renee DiResta, shares her journey from programmer at JP Morgan, to quantitative trader on Wall Street, when there were only 3 women on the trading desk, and eventually as a part of the founding team for a startup called Haven.

In this episode, you will…

Learn how to network effectively and find partners with similar visions
Realize the importance of founders that inspire confidence
Understand how the funding process works in the beginning stages of a startup
Uncover the power of storytelling
Identify the two sides of marketing

SDH097: Branding Your Purpose A Conversation with Maya Elious Oct 17, 2016

Are you finally ready to get paid for following your passion? Are you sick and tired of the looming anxiety and stress from trying to find a balance between your side hustle and "real" corporate job? Maybe you second guess taking the leap because your parents or friends have taken the traditional corporate path and you fear

creating your own path,

being your own boss,

branding your own purpose.

Tune in to today’s episode to hear how boss branding coach Maya Elious , went from dropping out of college in pursuit of her passion for design to coaching women with finding clarity on their purpose, aligning them with their brand and helping them create a strategy to share their story. It's time to find your own clarity within your business purpose, so listen in!

In this episode, you will…

Learn why the key to get better is research-podcasts, webinars etc.
Understand the importance of a target audience
Acquire steps & questions you can ask to find your purpose
Discover the benefits of an online business
Value your life experiences and how they play a role in your story

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

Maya Elious Twitter

Maya Elious Facebook

The Finance Bar

Fix My Life

Google Drive

"Emotional Intelligence 2.0:" by Travis Bradberry

Asana

INSIGHTS:

“We are always evolving and we never really know what direction we’re supposed to go in until we start taking those initial steps.”- Maya Elious

“My ‘what’ or product or service that I offer might change, but I’m always going to have the same why.”- Maya Elious

"The way that I like to break down branding is into: messaging, strategy, and presentation.”- Maya Elious

“People are going to try to devalue you, and if you don’t stick to your standards and stick to your values, you’re going to get played.” -Maya Elious

“In order to really have a successful business you really have to invest in your personal development.”- Maya Elious

“You really have to understand yourself before you can make genuine connections with the people you are meant to serve.”- Maya Elious

“No matter how many times I fall i’m not going to ultimately fail because I am going to get back up and keep going.”- Maya Elious

SDH096: Filling in the Gap With Something You Love with Megan O'Connor Oct 13, 2016

Have you identified a gap in a market that aligns with your passion? Are you ready to fill that gap, take the leap, and land? Are you a Type A person, unsure how to deal with the transition from having a predictable work schedule to an anything can happen at any moment schedule? Do you wonder how to get venture capitalist as interested in your product or service as much as you are? How do you even start up a start up?!

Tune in to today’s episode to hear how Megan O’Connor, CEO & Co-Founder of Clark Virtual Tutors, identified a need in the market and helped create a solution for other educating entrepreneurs. Find out how Megan went from sales at The Economist, to selling her own service with passion.

In this episode, you will…

Discover how to identify your purpose in the market
Value the importance of extensive research to assist with the leap process
Obtain a trick for being fearless in a meeting where stakes are high
Reform your time management schedule from terms of months and years, to days in the startup world
Feel empowered to dress like yourself, and in turn gain killer confidence

SDH095: Stay True to Your Story | A conversation with Kelly and Andra from With Grace and Gold Oct 10, 2016

Do you work full-time and are unsatisfied with what you do? Are you struggling to find your place in the work place? Maybe you started your side gig as a creative outlet and realized it's really your passion.

Are you gravitating toward it?

Ready to take the leap, and share your story?

Today's guests, the daring designers and best friends, Kelly Zugay and Andra Barkey share their story of the leap and how they go beyond branding to help other female entrepreneurs tell their stories with their branding business With Grace and Gold.

Tune in to hear the story behind a business rooted in faith, friendship, and a shared passion for serving women in business.

In this episode, you will…

Strengthen partnerships with project management systems
Uncover conversations you may have to have with your family or self to take the leap
Identify how to set goals for a buffer budget once taking the leap
Acquire the confidence to strengthen your business
Value your businesses unique story
Tune in and get ready to share your story!

SHD094: Do What You Love. Love What You Do. | A Conversation with Kristi Ross Oct 06, 2016

Are you constantly questioning the opportunities circling around you? Do you ask yourself: which one should I go after? How do I even go after it? What if I fail?

Kristi Ross, fierce, financial boss, joins us today to share her journey. The journey begins with her lead up, to her leap that she took only 3 years out of college as a CFO, and ends with her land as Co-CEO and President, of tastytrade and the online financial network, dough. Prepare to be in the best financial fitness shape of your life, with Ms. Ross' finance resources and killer confidence advice.

Ms. Ross did not start out by doing what she loved, and loving what she did. She worked in accounting because it was the easiest path to something she was good at.

Sound familiar?

However, Ms. Ross used her skill as an opportunity to gain exposure to other companies in the financial market. In a short amount of time, the exposure awakened her to where she truly wanted to be.

Tune in to learn the process behind Ms. Ross' feared leap into a male dominated industry to follow her passion.

In this episode, you will…

Learn how to combine content and technology to make your product, service, or message more powerful
Build a female voice in male dominated industries (so, most industries included here Lady Bosses)
Know how to determine what opportunity to go after and Ms. Ross' opportunity process
Acquire the tools & knowledge to invest yourself in a smart way on an online platform
Identify your method that helps you get through the day

Ready to gain a confidence boost needed to take the opportunities waiting for you, and DO WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVE WHAT YOU DO? Tune in!

SDH 093: Amplify Your Abundance | A candid conversation with Bri & Thais Oct 03, 2016

Have you been taught the logical, practical ways of "life" from your parents, especially regarding money, that just doesn't work for you? Do you find yourself trying to ignore the voice that never fails to appear in the back of your mind, when making a financial decision? The voice that you feel is so powerful, that whispers 'you can't afford it,' leading you to an automated process of self-doubt?

You may feel like all you have ever known about the "right" path to money, isn't the right path for you. It just doesn't seem like your version of what is true, yet you suffer because it's supposed to get better, right?

It's time to do what you need. In the words of one of this episode's lady bosses, (YES, DOUBLE the boss wisdom) "It's not selfish. It's a requirement for you to be the late worker and the ambitious bad ass woman that you were born to be." -Thais

Today’s guests, and networking goddesses Bri and Thais, of The Amplify Collective, share their rich insight on a new perspective of viewing money, collaboration and the abundance growth that comes with.

Be a part of the candid conversation where we look beyond just the perks of entrepreneurship and dig deep.

Tune in and become your own boss!

In this episode, you will..

Uncover how "competitors" turned into collaborators
Transform your money story
Realize the power of reaffirmation
Learn how to give the voice in the back of your head space to exist
Master miracle moments

“Miracles can occur. Possibilities are possible. You can make quantum leaps. Money doesn't have to limit us; we limit ourselves. ” -Thais

SDH092: Bringing Your Vision to Life | A conversation with Julie Hightower Sep 26, 2016

Are you waiting for the “perfect” time to go off on your own? Maybe you make up stories and get caught up with the self?

You may lack confidence because you don’t have a degree to backup your passion, but girl are you passionate about it and good at it. You have a vision.

You must fulfill your vision’s purpose..

Your purpose.

You must bring yourself to life..

By bringing your vision to life.

Today’s guest, and host of A Better Day with Julie, Julie Hightower created and fulfilled her vision by never giving up. She had a goal, didn’t take her mind off of it and told the obstacles to move out of her way.

Be a part of the lady boss conversation where we get real and talk about making sacrifices, manifesting visions, and the power of a woman’s intuition.

Tune in and become your own boss!

In this episode, you will..

Realize the benefits of using research outlets that are similar to your passion
Strengthen your entrepreneurial goal with a written vision plan
Improve getting your business off of the ground by being consistent
Understand the importance of following your female intuition
Acquire tips for making your own show

TALK LIKE A LADY BOSS:

“I honestly did not have the perfect palette or perfect scenario to get started, but I said ‘you know what, why not?’ There is never going to be a perfect time to start it, so why not?” -Julie Hightower

“I studied what I wanted to really be. I looked at the successful people that were doing thing that I wanted to do.” -Julie Hightower

“You can’t be selected without rejection..I got “nos” but the “yeses” out weighed the nos.” -Julie Hightower

“I was making an investment with time, money sacrifices, resources, so I wanted to capitalize as best as I could.. I put myself on a budget.” -Julie Hightower

“Whatever you believe in, it manifests.” -Julie Hightower

“You can’t get ready when you get there. You gotta be preparing right now.” -Julie Hightower

“I don’t have time to have a bad day.” -Julie Hightower

“When you put the faith with the action and the action matches the faith, there is nothing that can stop you.” -Julie Hightower

SDH091: Following Your Heart Centered Business | A conversation with Reina Pomeroy Sep 19, 2016

Are you burnt out from your job? Maybe you think you love what you do, but the crazy commute, mixed with other life obligations leave you exhausted by the end of the day? You may feel as if you aren't doing life properly, if that's even possible. You can throw a side hustle into the mix to try and spice things up, but it may not overlap with your main gig, leaving you unfilled.

Sometimes you need a coach to bring the heart back into a business that you're passionate about, where you are your own boss and can live a life that's tailored to your personal needs and desires.

Today's guest, Reina Pomeroy, brings her coaching skills to the podcast, for creative entrepreneurs like yourself. Reina refused to be burnt out with her social work job and took the leap to create her coaching business Reina & Co. as well as co-host The Creative Empire Podcast. Join us today, as she shares stories of her clients' entrepreneurial fears as well as her own, and how YOU can overcome them.

Tune in!

In this episode, you will...

Uncover the benefits of having test clients at the beginning stages of your company
Discover the biggest transition from full-time mom to being an entrepreneur
Identify how to overcome obstacles like technology and overworking
Empower your mind with Reina's tactic of CEO afternoons
Improve calendar organization by using weeks of month

EPISODE SPONSOR:

DesignCrowd: DesignCrowd is a marketplace that can help you outsource or 'crowdsource' logo, graphic and web design from designers around the world. She Did It Her Way listeners can save up to $100 on custom design project. Head on over to DesignCrowd.com/HERWAY or enter HERWAY into promo code at checkout to receive $100 off your first custom design project.

RESOURCES:

She Did It Her Way Podcast

She Did It Her Way Twitter

She Did It Her Way Facebook

Reina Pomeroy LinkedIn

Reina and Co.

Creative Empire Podcast

Reina's Twitter

Reina's Facebook

Reina and Company Instagram

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

The Conquer Kit by Natalie MacNeil

The Promise of a Pencil by Adam Braun

Community Schedule

SDH 090: Profit Off of Your Passion | A conversation with Erica Gellerman Sep 12, 2016

Are you looking to be more creative, but feel like you’ re climbing the wrong ladder? Maybe, that ladder starts a capital C, dare I say it..Corporate? You may have had a taste of entrepreneurship at this job, but crave more.It’ s time to refocus what you want to do and live life with a passion and a profit.It’ s easier said than done. You may not even know, what you want to do, how you can add value and take the leap into your entrepreneurial endeavour.

All you know is you will or may havehad your breaking point and you’ re done taking jobs because you’ re desperate for a stable income. Today’ s guest, Erica Gellerman, coaches female small business owners to scale their business, ultimately making more $$ and having more time to create, and innovate. Every coach was a player at some point, and that was Erica. Her game started when she graduated from undergrad and took the first job that she could find as a bank auditor, and eventually ended up in London meeting with a lovely Ladies of London celeb, as her first client. Follow journey of how she is able to passion off of her profit, as well as coach others into doing the same. It’ s your turn now, so tune in!In this episode, you will...

●Re-evaluate your breaking point to acquire insight and use it as a positive
●Gain confidence against the corporate culprits who may not get what you do
●Hear the exact moment Erica found how she could add value with entrepreneurship
●Discover what exactly collaborative coaching is
●Understand the benefits of time tracking
●Reform your corporate skills into entrepreneurship skills

EPISODE SPONSOR:
DesignCrowd: DesignCrowd is a marketplace that can help you outsource or 'crowdsource' logo, graphic and web design from designers around the world. She Did It Her Way listeners can save up to $100 on custom design project. Use DesignCrowd.com/HerWay.

SDH089: Accounting for Today's Solopreneur, with Erin Armstrong Sep 05, 2016

Do you want a healthier relationship with your business, an understanding of money, and bigger growth potential?

Yep, I think we all do.

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of starting a new business, or bogged down in the day-to-day operations of an existing business, but too often, attention to finances is one of the first areas we end up neglecting.

Even the brightest bulbs in the box need financial help from a professional (unless you ARE already an accounting pro!), and on today’s episode, Erin Armstrong, CEO of Enlightened Accounting joins us to share some awesome tips for building a strong financial foundation.

Tune in!

In this episode, you will…

Learn how to share abundance
Understand how important it is to be open about money
Hear why conversations about money between men are different than women’s
Discover which business legal structure is right for you
Get a breakdown of net and gross income, and deductions/expenses

Resources:

She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

Your Podcast Guru

Erin Armstrong LinkedIn

Enlightened Accounting

A Course About Money for Bloggers and Stylists

The Accounting Sage Website

@TheAccountingSage Facebook

@Armstrong_ErinD Twitter

Insights:

“…Choose to invest in you…” – Erin Armstrong

SDH088: The Joys and Struggles of Entrepreneurship | A Panel Discussion with Amanda Boleyn and Friends Aug 29, 2016

Are you a talker or a doer? Do you say yes to everything, or only to the things that will drive your success forward?

Today’s episode is special because instead of a one-on-one interview, we are hosting a panel discussion with three lovely lady entrepreneurs who have succeeded as entrepreneurs through all kinds of obstacles.

Tune in to hear about their unique entrepreneurial struggles, learn their tips for developing plans for action, and get tips on starting to say yes to more of the right opportunities!

In this episode, you will…

Discover what it takes to become a solopreneur
Get shortcuts for, misconceptions about, and insights on becoming an entrepreneur
Learn some simple steps for success when going out on your own
Realize how much work goes into becoming an entrepreneur
Hear the habits and rituals of female entrepreneurs who have made it

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast

She Did it Her Way Twitter

She Did it Her Way Facebook

Chelsey Lambert LinkedIn

Beth Bond LinkedIn

Stephanie Robuck LinkedIn

The Chicago Leadership Alliance

Boat Social App

For Goods Website

INSIGHTS:
“I don’t say no. I look for somebody who can say yes.” – Beth Bond

SDH087: It's Not That Lonely at the Top | A Conversation on Collaboration with Shelley Davidescu Aug 22, 2016

Do you find yourself trying to do it all alone? We’ve all heard the phrase, “It’s lonely at the top,” but it doesn’t have to be. Collaborating with other professionals in your industry might feel counter-intuitive, but making connections is key to your success.

We’re taught to keep ideas to ourselves and steer clear of the competition unless it’s to suss them out, but inviting each other in, making recommendations, giving advice, and sharing stories is a huge part of building a professional community.

If you’re thinking about quitting your day job and building a business, or just creating something small on the side, you’ll want to listen in for today’s episode with Shelley Davidescu of Clean Forks.

Tune in!

In this episode, you will…

Learn to make a plan for success when going out on your own for the first time
Hear Shelley’s experience of leaving day job security for entrepreneurship!
Discover that building a professional network is important for success
Realize that collaboration trumps competition
Uncover how to use passion and personal experience to build your business

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did it Her Way Twitter
She Did it Her Way Facebook
Your Podcast Guru
Design Crowd VIP SDH Offer (Promo Code: Her Way)
Clean Forks Website
Shelley’s Facebook
Shelley’s LinkedIn
Asana (Team & Time Management)
The 10X Rule by Grant Cardone

INSIGHTS:
“You can’t live up to the expectations of somebody else’s dreams.” – Shelley Davidescu

SDH086: Overpowering Naysayers and Giving Back | Solo-traveling for Good with Tracy Stayton Aug 15, 2016

Have you been wishing for a way to give back but fear you don’t have enough time/money/good ideas to spare? Anne Frank herself said, “No one has ever become poor by giving,” and Tracy Stayton mirrors that sentiment.

Tracy of the 4Tunate movement joins us today to share her journey, and to provide us simple ways to give back as well – no travel required!

And if you already find yourself willing, able, and ready to give back in a big way but aren’t getting the feedback and support you need in order to take the leap, remember, Tracy had to fight through tons of naysaying herself, and she was able to make her big adventure happen.

Tune in to learn why and how Tracy decided to leave her career for the wild unknown – an adventure across the world to make it a better place!

In this episode, you will…

-Listen to an exciting adventure of world travel inspired by doing good and giving back
-Realize there are cost-free ways to give back and make the world a better place
-Hear what it takes to leave your job and plan a grand, humanitarian adventure
-Discover how to push through all the naysaying to reach your goals, no matter what!
-Learn how to focus on what you can instead of what you can’t
-Ready to give back? How about just doing something good four times a year? Tune in!

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did it Her Way Twitter
She Did it Her Way Facebook
Your Podcast Guru
Design Crowd VIP SDH Offer (Promo Code: Her Way)
Tracy Stayton Website
4Tunate.org
34Tunate Website
Be4tunate Facebook
4tunate Twitter
be4tunate Instagram
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

INSIGHTS:
“Focus on what you can…instead of what you can’t.” – Tracy Stanton

SDH085: Conquering Challenges with Humility | A Solocast with Amanda Boleyn Aug 08, 2016

Have you ever taken for granted how easily you would be able to meet a new challenge, only to find that your expectations were way off? Maybe your ego’s gotten in the way of truly embracing and mastering the challenge because you’re used to things coming easily. Maybe it’s commonplace for you to master seemingly difficult tasks without much effort.

I recently had an experience where my assumptions did not match up with reality. I was whitewater rafting for the first time, and I’m here to say, I was sure wrong about the last rapids being as easy as the first! As soon as I let my guard down and started getting complacent, I found myself falling out of my boat and into the water, and I wouldn’t have made it back to safety without a little help.

Sound like an experience you’ve had? Tune in for the whole story! I learned a lot, and I hope you will too!

In this episode, you will…

Get three tips on surviving intimidating challenges
Discover how dangerous ego can be, especially on whitewater rapids!
Understand why staying humble is important when trying new things
Realize that disappointments provide important course-correcting opportunities!
Learn how to never give up on life, even when it’s tough
I hope you enjoy the adventure!

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did it Her Way Twitter
She Did it Her Way Facebook
Your Podcast Guru
INSIGHTS:
“Do life even louder and bigger than before.” – Amanda Boleyn

SDH084: Sticking to Your Guns | How to be a solo-preneur, with Kirsten Miccoli Aug 01, 2016

What does it take to be an artist and an entrepreneur? If you have a vision, define your path, and stick to your guns—even during the business lulls – you have three of the most important elements of being an artist entrepreneur.

During those lulls, it’s really enticing to take on side projects and money-making ventures. But anything you do that veers you away from your core vision usually ends up being a distraction that makes it very hard to get back on track, especially when it provides short-term security.

So where can you get that stick-to-it-ness? Well, you can start by networking, collaborating, and being willing to do anything in your power to bring to fruition the projects that people aren’t yet paying you for.

Because there’s nothing like an amazing photo shoot of body-painted models bathing in tubs of milk to help you book your next gig!

In this episode, you will…

Understand that inconsistency is to be expected when you’re an entrepreneur!
Hear Kirsten’s strategy to define yourself as the authority in your niche
Learn how to pick and choose the jobs you take, based on your long-term goals
Realize how important it is to allow things to happen organically
Discover how to brand yourself to get the work you want
Tune in for all of Kirsten’s tips and insights!

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did it Her Way Twitter
She Did it Her Way Facebook
Kirsten Miccoli’s Website
Kirsten Miccoli’s Facebook
Kirsten Miccoli’s Instagram
Kirsten Miccoli’s Twitter

INSIGHTS:
“Create the work you eventually want to get paid to do.” – Kirsten Miccoli

SDH083: Leadership: It's about more than just success | A conversation with Ashley Beaudin Jul 25, 2016

How many of you out there have been struck with the next big idea first thing in the morning, and by the afternoon have completely talked yourself out of taking the leap? Imagine what would happen if you eliminated the fear of failure and just…tried?

That’s what entrepreneur and motivator Ashley Beaudin did and, although this business venture turned out not to be the best way to utilize her skills and talents to serve her audience, she had an amazing adventure along the way.

Tune in to find out what Ashley’s exciting venture was, why she decided to walk away, and what she’s doing now!

In this episode, you will…

Hear how one entrepreneur transformed failure into inspiration and opportunity
Realize that being a great leader means knowing when to dig in, and when to move on
Get insights on the struggles and joys of a subscription-based business
Understand the importance of consistent branding and visually exciting aesthetics
Discover how to find joy in trying out an idea, even if you’re not sure it will work
Resources:

She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did It Her Way Twitter
She Did It Her Way Facebook
She Did It Her Way Website
Fire + Wind Company
Savvy Business Owners Facebook Group
The Rising Tide Society Facebook Group
Being Boss
Subscription School
Brittney Brown
#TheImperfectBoss
Insights:

“What’s the thing I cannot do?” – Ashley Beaudin

SDH082: How to Add Value Like a Boss | An Interview with Jenna Atkinson Jul 18, 2016

Do you think big? Well, it’s time to start thinking 10x bigger, because that’s what it takes to reach and surpass your goals and really make yourself an authority in your market.

Jenna Atkinson has founded her own consulting firm, writes regularly for business magazines, speaks, created the Growth Bomb podcast, and finds time to be involved in her community. Oh yeah, and she completes at least 15 revenue-generating activities every day.

How does she do it? Tune in to hear about all her techniques, tools, and tips for reaching goals and building an audience more efficiently than ever.

In this episode, you will…

Learn how to think bigger than you ever imagined
Hear why learning sales skills will ensure your success – even if you’re not in ‘sales’
Understand why networking is such an important part of building a business
Discover what RGAs are, and why they’re key to surviving and growing in business
Get incredible tips on pitching yourself to publications in your industry
It’s time to really start thinking big!

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did It Her Way Twitter
She Did It Her Way Facebook
Jenna Atkinson Consulting
Young Entrepreneur Convention
In Business Madison Magazine
Connect Madison
Email Hunter
Growth Bomb Podcast
Growth Bomb Elite
Insightly
Boomerang
ConvertKit
Headspace Meditation App
Calendly
The Freedom Journal by John Lee Duman
Never Eat Alone by Keith Ferrazzi
INSIGHTS:
“Know what you want and go after it.” – Jenna Atkinson

SDH081: 3 Amazing Productivity Hacks To Put Time Back On Your Side... | An Interview with Amanda Boleyn Jul 11, 2016

Have you been looking for ways to fit more in a day and get more done than the 24 hours seem to allow? Tune in for some amazing time hacks that will totally change the way you approach your business and your life.

We all get bogged down in tasks like checking email, and while it seems like we’re getting things done, those kinds of tasks really don’t move the needle on our business. In this episode, you’ll learn how to escape the inbox trap, allow time management software to start working for you, and learn how to batch tasks and activities to free up your time!

In this episode, you will…

Understand how time hacks will give you more time and energy to accomplish your goals!
Get three amazing time hacks that will increase your productivity and your success!
Learn what batching is and how it will change the way you see tasks and errands forever
Get tons of resources that will help on your journey to getting more done in less time
Discover incredible hacks to help you stop getting trapped in your inbox

RESOURCES:
She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did It Her Way Twitter
She Did It Her Way Facebook
Asana
Calendly
Facebook Newsfeed Eradicator
Pomodoro Technique
focus@will App
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller
Procrastinate on Purpose: 5 Permissions to Multiply Your Time by Rory Vaden

Connect with Amanda:
Twitter
Facebook
Website

INSIGHTS:
“Batching helps us eliminate tasks that zap our energy.” – Amanda Boleyn

SDH080: Discover. Act. Engage. | An Interview with Megan Watt Jul 04, 2016

Have you been waiting for the right moment to make a shift into entrepreneurship? Do you have an idea for a business but struggle to determine when the right time is to fully pursue it?

Megan Watt – public speaker, author, career coach, mentor, entrepreneur – joins us today to talk about her new book, Discover. Act. Engage., and her inspirational journey from professional career to solopreneurship. Megan and I discuss the importance of professional, personal, and mentoring relationships, and how they can make all the difference on your way to success, because…

…it really does take a village.

Tune in to hear tons of incredible insights on how to overcome your inner critic, why setting business boundaries builds trust, and how to discover your unique path to success!

In this episode, you will…

Get two important tools for overcoming your inner critic. Hint: Step 1 - Build a dream team
Discover that 80% of what you need to succeed exists within your reach
Understand how to leverage your professional network to accomplish your ‘someday goals’
Learn journaling reflection tools to overcome self-doubt and continue moving forward
Hear why it’s important to surround yourself with people who build you up and mentor you

RESOURCES:
Discover. Act. Engage. by Megan Watt
Megan Watt
Dream Catalyst Labs
Adam Carroll
Succeed Faster
Profit First: A Simple System to Transform Any Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine by Mike Michalowicz
Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown
The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Jim Rohn
Brené Brown
The Dream Bank
The E-myth Revisited by Michael Gerber
Rising Strong by Brené Brown

INSIGHTS:
“When things are meant to be, they just happen for you.” – Megan Watt

SDH079: Go from Dreaming to Doing | An interview with Ashley La Fleur Jun 27, 2016

Have you ever felt like finding the perfect job was impossible? Do you find yourself feeling dissatisfied at jobs that don’t challenge, encourage, or inspire you? Do you have a passion you’d like to pursue? Ashley La Fleur of La Belle Fleur Events found herself asking the same questions after graduating college in the middle of the recession and being unable to find inspiring work.

In today’s episode, Ashley talks to us about how she went from dreaming to doing, gives tips for going out on your own with little business experience, and lays out the steps she took to build a team—both within her organization and outside of it.

In this episode, you will…

Discover how to create the job of your dreams
Get Ashley’s 3 tips for success as an entrepreneur
Understand how a scarcity mindset can hold you back, and learn how to overcome it!
Hear how hiring an employee, even just for a few hours a week, will grow your business
Learn why it’s important to choose five core people to create a support network with

Resources:

She Did it Her Way Podcast
She Did it Her Way Twitter
She Did it Her Way Facebook
La Belle Fleur Events
Melissa Jones
The Creative Chics
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Million Dollar Habits: 10 Simple Steps to Getting Everything You Want in Life by Robert Ringer
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh
So Money Podcast
The Skinny Confidential Podcast
The Thin Green Line: The Money Secrets of the Super Wealthy by Paul Sullivan
Asana for Task Management
Quickbooks
Erika Sheffer Branding & Success Strategist

Insights:

“I wanted my business to encompass lots of people.” – Ashley La Fleur

SDH078: Entrepreneurship for Every Girl | An Interview with Alaina Kaczmarski Jun 20, 2016

Are you ready to start your own business? Maybe even partner up with a fellow creative? You could be ready, but have endless questions: How do I combine all of my goals into the business? How do I stay organized? Will I make enough money to expand and hire staff?

Today’s guest, Alaina Kaczmarski, shares her story of how she and partner Danielle Moss, combined goals to create The Everygirl—an online media company aimed at inspiring creative, career-driven women with its daily content.

In this episode, you will learn…

The process of developing a partnership & business
How to stay true to your brand
Tools to keep organized in the digital realm
The not-so-glamorous side of being a business owner
RESOURCES:
Adult Coloring Books
Asana
Glitter Guide
[Connect with Alaina: Twitter (@TheEverygirl_), Facebook (TheEverygirl), Instagram (@theeverygirl_), Pinterest (theeverygirl), Website: TheEverygirl]

INSIGHTS:
“Instead of looking at someone competitively, look at them as motivation or inspiration.” @TheEverygirl_

SDH077: Lead-up, Leap, Land | An Interview with Amanda Boleyn Jun 13, 2016

Are you dissatisfied with your job? Do you feel there is something bigger out there, where you can make a stronger impact? Are you thinking about taking the leap and striking out on your own as an entrepreneur? Maybe you’re just starting to think about this or maybe it’s been on your mind for a while now. Or perhaps you’re already discovering what entrepreneurship means to you.

Today, our host, Amanda Boleyn, shares her entrepreneurial journey with She Did It Her Way, which she characterizes with her three phases: Lead-up, Leap, and Land.

In this episode, you will learn…

More about the leap and taking the road less traveled
How taking the leap opens up opportunities
Why it’s important to have faith in the leap and block out the haters
The emotional battle with the leap
RESOURCES:

Succeed Faster

[Connect with Amanda: Twitter (@AmandaBoleyn,) Facebook (Amanda Boleyn), Instagram (@amandaboleyn,) Website: amandaboleyn]

Insights:

“Once I made the leap, opportunities began to make themselves known.” @amandaboleyn

SDH076: Lead Life Uncaged | An Interview with Rebecca Tracey Jun 06, 2016

Are you struggling to find the balance between your work life and personal life? Do you long to travel, but also have a burning desire to get your business booming? It’s time to get focused and have the best of your work world and personal world, living a life uncaged.

Today’s guest, Rebecca Tracey, started her online business, The Uncaged Life, on an 8-month road trip while she was living in a van and rock climbing. She found a way to balance her personal world and work world, and now, she’s helping others who want run an online business do the same!

In this episode, you will learn…

How to leave shiny objects & stay focused
How to stop comparing your business & yourself to others on social media
The importance of marketing
How to deal with failure in a positive way

[Connect with Rebecca: Twitter (@rebecca_tracey,) Facebook (theUncagedLife,) Instagram (@rebeccatracey,) Website: theuncagedlife.com]

Insights:
Tweet: “Taking breaks is important.” @rebecca_tracey

SDH075: Fall Back on Success | An Interview with Alli Elmunzer May 30, 2016

You’ve taken the leap. No more lack of inspiration and boredom. Your weekend gig has turned into your full-time show. What you didn’t fully anticipate were the challenges presented by factors like starting a family, competition in the market with your product or service, and something that seems so easy, but is so hard to do in the digital age: staying focused.

Today’s guest, Alli Elmunzer, gives us an inside look into the first 6 months after taking the leap and how to deal with some of the daily struggles and juggles of starting your own business. Alli leaped from the world of law into the realm of photography, helping businesses style and shoot their products in a way that truly represents those products’ value. She also provides a gallery of stock photos through her website, Turquoise & Palm, for businesses to use in creating their own branded online content.

In this episode, you will learn…

About the experience of building a membership site
How to manage an online platform
What the first 6 months “after the leap” are like
How to style a photo & why doing so makes all the difference

RESOURCES:
Canva
The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran & Michael Lennington
[Connect with Alli: Twitter (@Turquoise_Palm,) Facebook (turquoiseandpalm,) Instagram (@colorstockphoto,) Pinterest (turquoiseandpalm,) Website: turquoiseandpalm]

INSIGHTS:
Tweet: "We’re emotional buyers. We buy what we want." @Turquoise_Palm

SDH074: Staying Social | An Interview with Lauren Felix May 23, 2016

There may come a time in your life when your side hustle becomes more important to you than your corporate job. You know that your heart isn’t fully in your day-to-day job, but you feel guilty. Maybe you have invested more time and money than you can count into your job, and you are scared to start over. Now is the time to overcome the fears, doubts, guilt, and start doing what you love by controlling your destiny.

Today’s guest, Lauren Felix, combined the skills she used in her corporate job in retail merchandising and her side hustle of blogging to become a social media consultant. As a social media consultant, Lauren helps lifestyle businesses find, engage, and convert their audiences into future customers using social media. Learn more at Lauren’s website socialmediawithstyle.

In this episode, you will learn…

Social media tips
How to find out what to price your service at
Steps, tricks, and tips on ways to define your target market
The difference between content and copy

RESOURCES:
Do The Work by Steven Pressfield
Unroll.me email app
Vision Board (thought we would throw this Huffington Post article in on the importance of & how-to-make a vision board)
[Connect with Lauren: Twitter (@lpfashionista,) Facebook (lapetitefashionista,) Instagram (@lapetitefashionista,) Pinterest (lpfashionista,) Website:lapetitefashionista,socialmediawithstyle.com]

Insights:
Tweet: “Give yourself some grace when things don’t go as planned.” @lpfashionista

SDH073: Startup to Success | An interview with Megan Grassell May 16, 2016

Are you frustrated with a need in a particular market? If only there existed a product or app like the one you have created in your mind—life would be so much less complicated, and more commonsensical. You tell your family members and friends about it and they agree that it’s something that would make life better. You have two options: continue to be frustrated or be the one to change the market and create that product that would improve your life, and the lives of many others.

Today’s guest, Megan Grassell, was one of these frustrated people when she took her 13-year-old sister shopping for her first bra, and the few options available were overly sexualized. On the car ride home, she decided that, if no one else were going to make an alternative bra option for girls, then she would be the one to do it. At just 17 years old, she founded yellowberry to boost girls’ confidence in finding their first bra, encourage them to dream big, and support them in whatever they choose to do in the world.

In this episode, you will…
• Learn why you should have a strong mindset and stick with your idea
• Hear all about Megan’s marketing strategy
• Discover how it’s possible to learn entrepreneurial skills without a college degree in business
• Get a behind-the-scenes look into starting a startup

RESOURCES:
KickStarter
Zero to One by Peter Thiel

[Connect with Megan: Twitter (@Yellowberryco,) Facebook (Yellowberry,) Instagram (@yellowberry,) Pinterest (yellowberryco,) Website:Yellowberrycompany]

Insights:

“If the worst answer you can get by asking your question is a ‘no,’ then you have to ask your question.” – Megan Grassell

SDH072: Create & Collaborate | An Interview with Megan Lusher & Samantha Johnson May 09, 2016

It’s time to stop feeling guilty and shameful for wanting to leave the job or industry you’ve poured so much time and so many resources into. You CAN take the leap and you may not be the only one considering that particular leap! There are many other entrepreneur lady bosses who have similar leap ideas and are ready to collaborate and create!

Today’s guests (yes—double the lady boss insights!), Megan Lusher and Samantha Johnson, decided to overcome the fear and shame of leaving their familiar industries, and open up their minds—and inboxes—to new opportunities. Together, they created Flock & Gabble, a platform that powers creative connections, collaborations, and conversations among female entrepreneurs.

In this episode, you will learn…
• The Dos & Don’ts of reaching out
• Why you should say YES to emails
• How an idea can turn into a business
• Potential partnership advice (major key = coffee & wine)

RESOURCES:

Being Boss (Podcast)
Collaboration Guide (Flock & Gabble)
Creative Chics (Networking)
Fizzle (Podcast)
SDIHW EP 13-Creative Chics (Networking)
Six Degrees Society (Networking)
Streak (Organization)
Trello (Organization)

[Connect with Megan & Samantha: Twitter (@flockandgabble,) Facebook (Flock & Gabble), Instagram (@flockandgabble), Website: flockandgabble]

Insights: “Collaboration opens you up to new opportunities…and elevates everyone involved.” – Megan Lusher

SDH071: Planning Massive Events | An Interview with Amanda Boleyn May 02, 2016

Have you ever talked about creating an event with a friend or colleague and, a little while later, found yourself putting that very event on for a crowd of more than 500 people? Thinking and talking about it, you feel comfortable, confident, and capable. But when it comes time to walk the walk, fear of failure – or of success – starts to sneak in and threatens to hold you back. Don’t give it the satisfaction. You were made to do great things; learn to embrace, rather than fear, your potential success.

Today, Amanda shares her experience with creating and running the Young Entrepreneur Convention, which brought together like-minded individuals who have a passion around entrepreneurship.

In this episode, you will learn…

The process of putting on a massive event
Things Amanda learned along the way that pushed her in unimaginable ways
How to not be afraid of potential success
Why you need to stop thinking small and start embracing success

RESOURCES:

Bonus Episode: Living With Routine

Young Entrepreneur Convention

Kickstarter

Kevin Harrington

John Lee Dumas

Megan Watt’s Discover Act Engage

Indiegogo

[Connect with Amanda: Twitter (@AmandaBoleyn,) Instagram (@amandaboleyn)]

Insights: “I was surrounded with individuals who could think bigger than I could and weren’t afraid of failing.” – Amanda Boleyn

SDH070: Set Your Own Trends & Do What You LOVE | An Interview with Lindzi Shanks Apr 25, 2016

Some days you may feel like you are stuck in limbo, on a path that you are supposed to follow, not one you want to follow. Maybe you are leaving the office another hour later than you said you would last week, or working on a paper that you feel no inspiration towards, going through the motions of your daily work grind. And then – it hits you: You would rather be working on a website about fashion—your real passion, or blogging about real estate, than trudging on one more day in the accounting position you chose because it felt safe and seemed like the right move to make.

Today’s guest, Lindzi Shanks, decided to pursue a career in psychology, something that she felt she was supposed to do—until she realized that doing so was making her unhappy. She took the fearful leap from the familiar to the unfamiliar world of fashion and ecommerce, and spent her graduation working on developing her website. She is now the successful creator of thetrendysparrow.com, and she did it all without a business degree.

In this episode, you will learn…

• How to give yourself permission to pursue a passion
• The truth behind running a business full-time
• Ways to stay on brand
• The importance of understanding the concept of intellectual property

RESOURCES:

Block 37 Story

Windy City Bloggers

Boss Babe Book Club

Girl Code by Cara Alwill Leyba

[Connect with Lindzi: Twitter (@trendysparrow), Facebook (thetrendysparrow), Instagram (@thetrendysparrow), Website: thetrendysparrow, TheTrendySparrow on Etsy]

Insights: “Ask yourself, are you doing what you love, or are you doing what you think you’re supposed to do?” – Lindzi Shanks

SDH069: Leveling Up With Writing | An Interview with Rosie Morley Apr 18, 2016

Do you have days (probably at the start of the work week) when it feels like you forgot all of the rules about commas, and the differences between words like 'effect' and 'affect' that you learned in elementary school? Are you responding to fifty different emails, on the go, maybe on your phone as you drop the kids off, or take the train, and don’t feel like you need to re-read your written responses before you send them off, because you simply don’t have time? Writing is a skill that is essential to every entrepreneur—whether it be something as simple as an email reply, or something bigger like a proposal for a partnership with another company. It’s time to stop the excuses, cut the slack, and level up your business with writing.

Today’s guest, Rosie Morley, is a grammar goddess and co-founder of Hedera House, a company that provides editing expertise to help small-business owners, bloggers, and writers create high-quality content that stands out.
Listen in and start making your words sing!

In this episode, you will learn…
• Some quick tips and tricks of punctuation and grammar
• The top three mistakes writers make online & how to fix them
• Why proofreading is absolutely necessary
• The six writing rules that are myths

RESOURCES:

Young Entrepreneur Convention

[Connect with Rosie: Twitter (@hedera_house), Facebook (hederaep), Instagram (@hedera_house), Website: hederahouse]

Insights: “Everyone wants to change the world in their own way, and that is my inspiration.” – Rosie Morley

SDH068: Don't Sell Yourself Short | An Interview with Maria Bayer Apr 11, 2016

Have you had moments in your entrepreneurial life when you’ve felt worn down and listless? Like you were in it for the wrong reasons… Are you ignoring a passion that you have longed to explore? It’s time to stop feeling burnt out, start taking control, and find the meaning you’ve always wanted out of life. Sales Coach for Creative Entrepreneurs, Maria Bayer, finally took control of her life and found her purpose by running a successful online business about sales. Listen to Maria’s story and savvy tips and get closer to finding your purpose and gaining control of your life!

In this episode, you will learn…

How to embrace your breaking point and take control of your life
The value of having a mentor
Three key steps for owning your value as a business owner
How to understand and acknowledge your money mindset

RESOURCES:
Blinkist
Acuity

[Connect with Maria: Twitter (@MariaBayer1), Facebook (MariaBayerFan) Instagram (@mariabayer1), Website: mariabayer]

INSIGHTS:
Tweet: “I needed to change my beliefs so that my actions matched my beliefs.” @MariaBayer1

SDH067: Finding The Wellness Within | An Interview with Erin Bahadur Apr 04, 2016

Do you find yourself stalking your own social media pictures, dreaming (or obsessing) about the next move you will make to create the ideal public image of yourself, and forgetting to live in the moment? Does it sometimes feel as if you’ve lost all control? As if your craving for perfection in your personal or business life threatens to consume you entirely? There is a time when you reach an emotional breaking point and enough is enough! Today’s guest, Erin Bahadur (personal trainer, fitness instructor, blogger and social media director), embraces her vulnerability and shares her story of progress ultimately trumping perfection.

In this episode, you will learn…

How to use your emotional breaking point as a catalyst for change
Ways to deal with obsessive thoughts and behaviors
The importance of keeping yourself aware
How to not get discouraged by delayed gratification

RESOURCES:

Theodore Roosevelt quote
Lean In by Sheryl Sandburg
Rising Strong by Berné Brown

[Connect with Erin: Twitter (@asweatlife, @erinsinsidejob), Facebook (Asweatlife, erinsinsidejob) Instagram (@asweatlife, @erinsinsidejob), Website: erinsinsidejob, asweatlife]

Insights: “What’s really important is that wellness comes from within.” - Erin Bahadur

SDH066: Design Your Desired Career | An Interview with Jenna Stratman Mar 28, 2016

To all my corporate sisters out there daydreaming about starting your own blog, creating that online product business, or following through on that idea you’ve filed away until you find more time: The time is now ladies. This week’s guest, Jenna Stratman, said farewell to Corporate America and designed her way to a career that finally gave her a sense of purpose.

In this episode, you will …

Be inspired to take the leap out of Corporate America & pursue your own passions
Learn what it’s like to launch your first product and sell out of it!
Find out how to dig deeper into the emotional aspect of business
Discover the benefits of joining a community of like-minded lady entrepreneurs
RESOURCES:

Start With Why | Simon Sinek TED Talk
JLynn Designery | Planners
[Connect with Jenna: Twitter (@JLynnDesignery), Facebook (@jlynndesignery), Instagram (@jlynndesignery), Website: jlynndesignery]

Insights:

“No matter the size, industry, or resources, business should be beautiful.” -Jenna Stratman

SDH065: CEO With A Side of Chic | An Interview with Stephanie Burns Mar 21, 2016

Calling all stylish Lady Bosses: this week’s episode is for you entrepreneurs who are looking to gather more tools, how-to information, and a community of like-minded fab female entrepreneurs, for free. Our guest is Stephanie Burns, founder and CEO of the website Chic CEO.

In this episode, you will learn…

How to jumpstart your business
Ways to ask for what you desire
That there is more than one way to achieve your goals
To take action with a technique called leveling up

RESOURCES:

The Top 3 for Entrepreneurs
James Altucher
Sally Hogshead’s “How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination”
Pat Flynn

[Connect with Stephanie: Twitter (@ChicCEO), Facebook (@ChicCeo), Website:Chic CEO]

Insights:

“It’s amazing how close things are to you when you ask.”

“Ask yourself if you can level up at that moment and take action on it.”

“80% of the time you are going to get a yes.”

SDH064: One Click to Success | Lindsey Anderson Mar 14, 2016

Ever had a moment at work where you discover a need in the industry that has been neglected and feel like you have the solution? Do you sometimes feel like you are called to something greater than your current job? Do you want to branch out and follow your true purpose? Then you'll want to listen in to this week's episode. This week’s guest, Lindsey Anderson, discovered a need in the world of web development: traffic and leads. She followed her greater purpose and helps fulfill those needs with Just One Click.

Follow Lindsey’s lead! In this episode, you will learn...

Tools & tips for email marketing
How to implement social media channels to drive traffic to your
website
Why landing pages can help you get leads
The best way to increase open rates in emails

RESOURCES:

Infusionsoft
Mailchimp
Contentmarketer.io
Lindsey’s Traffic and Leads Podcast
Product Launch Formula
Neil Patel Blog
[Connect with Lindsey: Twitter (@oneclicklindsey), Facebook (@moretrafficandleads), Website:oneclicklindsey]

Insights:

“Number one piece of advice is you have to be consistent, and it’s not going to be an overnight thing.”

“You are going to have those days when nobody responds and you think no one is listening, but they are; they just may not be commenting.”

“The inbox is a very, very, sacred space; maybe one of the only online spaces that we actually feel like we have control over…”

SDH063: Blended Business Boss Lady | Julie Bombacino Mar 07, 2016

Have you ever had a problem or need, and an idea for how to resolve it, yet not acted upon your idea? Maybe your job is not related to that need, so you keep pushing your idea further and further into the back of your mind, while you focus on your day-to-day duties. Julie Bombacino decided to stop neglecting her idea and solved a problem for the many others who shared her struggle! Julie’s idea was to make a more practical and healthy formula to feed her son, who has been under a feeding tube since he was six months old. She went from “determined mom” to “Blended Business Boss Lady,” becoming the founder and CEO of Real Foods Blends, which provides 100% blended food for people on feeding tubes, including her son.

If you’re sitting on a great idea, listen in to hear how to make it a reality. You may have the solution that many others are waiting for!

Get Julie’s recipe for success! In this episode, you will...

Discover how to turn a need in your life into a business endeavor
Learn how to assess the market for your product
Find out how to fund getting your product into the market
Hear about hurdles you may encounter as you build your business, and how to overcome them
Find out what books Julie recommends for other boss ladies
RESOURCES:

● Sheryl Sanberg - Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

● Adriana Trigiani - All the Stars in Heavens: A Novel

[Connect with Julie: Twitter (@RealFoodBlends & @jbombacino), Instagram (@realfoodblends) Facebook (realfoodblends), Website:realfoodblends]

The Perfect Blend Quotes:

“I put my MBA hat back on, that I had retired for a few years to be a mom, and started digging into this.”

“ I don’t sit around thinking 'I'm a woman entrepreneur.' I don’t identify like that, but it’s sometimes nice to lean back and think about it.”

“We get a ton of feedback from our customers, which is fantastic. Having that direct relationship with them is just absolutely invaluable.”

SDH 062: Simplify Your Way to Success with Megan Jedlinski Feb 29, 2016

Megan Jedlinski is a fashion blogger turned wardrobe editor and style strategist. She discovered, through her fashion blogging, that she was sending the wrong message to other women, as well as herself. You can find out more about Megan’s styling services and how to uncover your unique style with a healthy and happy mindset at MeganJedlinski.com.

Stylish Topics
-Her old ways:the typical day of a fashion blogger
-What exactly made her want to stop fashion blogging
-Why simplifying your closet is life changing
-What you can do to simplify your closet
-The magic of Vision Boards
-Why she unsubscribed from many blogs and retailers

Simply Put:
“I knew that I wanted to do personal styling, fashion was always a passion of mine, and helping women feel good about themselves is something I also was really passionate about, so I felt like the two really meshed together.”

“Through fashion blogging I realized that not only did we have this body image issue to address, but also the overconsumption and constant need to keep up with the trends.It was just never enough..”

“The first step is getting really clear on what I really wanted out of life and the goals that I had for the next year or five years. For me, that included doing a vision board, which I know it seems like a lot of work, but understand you are going to need to put in the work to make this last and make this worth your while.”

“I think I had just gotten to the point where I was just so sick of where these clothes had gotten me to, so I didn’t really have a positive association with the clothing anymore.”

“It’s okay to wear something more than once. I think that, especially here in the states, it’s such a like ‘oh my gosh, she wore that to another party.’ I think that’s totally fine and I am not ashamed to be a repeat offender when it comes to my wardrobe.”

“I try to base my shopping more based on ‘is it consciously made, is it socially responsible?’ and I think that might be something , you know if you are having a hard time not shopping, looking into that might help you look at it in a different way.”

“The goal is to leave them with a strategic wardrobe, more confidence, and so that they are really clear on their style too.”

[Connect with Megan: Twitter (@MeganJedlinski), Instagram (@meganjedlinski) Facebook (MeganJedlinski), Website: meganjedlinski.com &meganjedlinski ]

RESOURCES:
Marie Kondo- The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

SDH 061: Let's Talk Change with Whitney Reynolds Feb 22, 2016

As a young girl growing up in a small town in Oklahoma, Whitney Reynolds envisioned making a difference through her voice. Her journey to become a talk show host picked up in NY with a homemade talk show sign and an elevator rendezvous with a Good Morning America cameraman. She interned for Good Morning America after graduating from Baylor University and moved to Texas to work as a morning anchor for a local news station. On weekends she hosted her own online “Weekends With Whitney” talk show to stay relevant, and decided to skip the corporate news route and go her own way. Now, Whitney is the host of The Whitney Reynolds Show on PBS, as well as owns her own jewelry line called Accessory Mercado.

Topics To Talk About
-Why she decided to not go the corporate TV route
-How the name of the show was picked
-The most challenging part of her journey
-How she keeps clarity
-The story behind the affordable jewelry business she owns
-Who helps her say “yes” and “no”
-Who she watches for news and why

Impactful Quotes
“Sometimes when we hear inspiration we go right to thinking ‘oh religious’ or something like that. It really is tough topics that all of us face every day, or sometime around the year we will face some of these topics, but we always, even though we are doing tough interviews, and sometimes it’s really messy interviews we always deliver the light at the end of the tunnel, at the end of the show.”

“In the process we always have to adapt our plans..you have to always keep your eye on the prize and know where you are going towards.”

“It was always about just getting to the next spot, but being happy and that’s one thing that I really preach, because there are a lot of times in my life I wish I could go back to those moments.”

“I wish I could go back and tell young Whitney ‘settle down, it’s all going to work out’ You have this fire in you and you got to trust that fire will take you to where you are young and enjoy the ride along the way.”

“I got to a point, I don’t know when this happened and it could just be called growing up, where for a long time I felt like I had to be known, and I had to be out, and I had to be going, going, going, and now I am really at peace and comfortable with where I am at.”

“I am in a really happy spot in life, where I can walk into a room a not demand attention because I am comfortable with who I am as a person and a host. I feel like that could just be the recipe of getting older, or getting to a place where your career takes off and there is no need to announce where you are, because you know where you are at personally”

“I am my own worst enemy, because there is a constant want to be more and bigger. I think half of that is level setting of where you have been and where you are going, and understanding the stops along the way.”

“People that you align with, be very careful. It’s part of your brand and you have to trust that gut instinct.”

“What I would really encourage people to do, is to find what makes their soul sing...Level set what makes you happy. Sometimes we see what’s on social media or what’s in the news as what the world said is a ‘beautiful life’ I would challenge that.”

[Connect with Whitney: Twitter (@whitneyreynolds), Instagram (@whitney_reynolds), Website:whitneyreynolds]

RESOURCES:
Instagram Quotes
Nightly News-Lester Holt

SDH 060: Talking Business & Podcasts with Jessica Rhodes Feb 15, 2016

Jessica Rhodes started her career going door to door, fundraising for a non-profit. However, she knew that it was time to leave because of her decision to have children and stay at home. She may have given up on that job, but she couldn’t give up on work. Her dad and fellow entrepreneur introduced her to the world of virtual assisting and from there, she created her own business Interview Connections, a guest booking service for podcast and internet radio shows. After delving into the up and coming world of podcast, she decided to make her own show Rhodes To Success, as well as host Interview Connections TV and co-host the Podcast Producers.

Hot Topics
-Which family member is her business coach
-Fears she had going into podcasting
-How she knew when to scale on the podcast
-What it was like raising her prices
-Why she has her clients apply to be clients
-When she had her “light bulb moment”
-The struggle working while pregnant & how she did it

Podcast Worthy Quotes:
“Knowing what to price your service is so,so hard, because you get into this trap of ‘how much time is this going to take me, and how much am I going to get paid an hour?’ That’s really how you start in a service based business. The thing that I had to learn, in time, is that it’s about the value you are going to provide, not the time it takes you.”

“The more niched you are and more focused you are on one specific service, or product, it can be a lot more profitable.”

“My Dad, has this great saying..gross is for vanity and net is for sanity.”

“Being a solo entrepreneur, there is a lot of fear in every part of the journey.”

“As the business owner, you are not only doing a lot of the tasks that you offer your clients, but you are also trying to market and grow it..In order to launch and grow this other service, I needed more brains in the business. I needed more minds that weren't focused on marketing, but just focused on serving the clients.”

“I really think that every smart entrepreneur should have their own podcast.”

“What I believe has made me successful is the ability to focus, stay committed and follow through. I think the biggest pitfall entrepreneurs experience is shiny object syndrome.”

[Connect with Jessica: Facebook (@Jessica Rhodes Biz), Website:Interview Connections TV, Rhodes To Success Podcast]

RESOURCES:
Podcasting Good To Great by Jared Easley
Mike Michalowicz
Podcast Movement

SDH 059: Dream It, Believe It, Achieve It! with Forbes Riley Feb 08, 2016

Forbes Riley grew up in Long Island as an awkward child, overweight, with braces and one goal: to be anyone else but herself. That goal changed after she dreamed of being on the movie and TV screen, believed she could do it and achieved it. Today, Forbes is a $2 billion dollar spokeswoman, entrepreneur, creator of the SpinGym and National Fitness Hall of Fame Inductee. Forbes is the host and Executive Producer at “Forbes Living”, a show that is determined to find the next great idea.

Forbes’ Story
-How she went to NY after college & landed a broadway show
-Her feelings after being sent to overeaters anonymous
-The first movie she starred in 1980
-How she overcame obstacles in her life
-Why having kids is so important for her
-How she got picked to host the X Games
-Her own definitions of words like: all, success and diet

Achieving Quotes:
“I grew up with strong women in my life: Katherine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwick, Betty Davis and that’s what I wanted to be a part of.”

“I have this motto about dream it, believe it, achieve it, and because I spent so much time dreaming, wishing that things actually manifested and I learned a lot of lessons.”

“I am pretty much this former fat kid who said ‘enough is enough, I am going to figure it out and I am going to share it with other people.”

“My next motto is ‘leap and the net will appear… I don’t think the universe respects someone who has a plan b.”
“Everybody needs a coach. Serena Williams has five coaches. One of them is a tennis coach…You need somebody outside, watching your game, who can push and probe you to be the very best you can be.”

“You can pretty much achieve anything you want if you are silly enough to dream, which I am. Then you have to believe it, especially when people tell you no; they love to tell you no. Then you have to take the steps to achieve it.”

“I love the title of [shediditherway] that is certainly my definition. I had no road map; I wish that I did.”

[Connect with Forbes: Twitter (@forbesriley), Instagram (@forbes_riley) Pinterest (forbesriley), Website: Forbes Living TV, forbesriley]
RESOURCES:
Tonny Robbison "Unleash The Power Within” seminar
Forbes Riley’s E.a.t. food journal

SDH 058: Vote Vegan...From Political Strategist to Eco & Vegan Lifestyle Personality with Ashlee Piper Feb 01, 2016

For 11 years Ashlee Piper worked as a political strategist for high level politicians and government consulting firms in Chicago. She enjoyed creating strategies for campaigns, but wanted to contribute to a broader purpose, than simply consulting politicians. After carefully creating a game plan to leave her job, she decided to go off on her own and take her interest in animal rights, environmental stewardship, and vegans to try and fulfill that broader purpose she had been dreaming of. She created The Little Foxes, where she writes about vegan food,fashion, beauty and other lifestyle topics. Ashlee has also worked as a creative director for Real Home Chef, as a brand strategist, and a badass eco & vegan lifestyle personality on TV and magazines.

Not Your Stereotypical Crazy Hair, Punk Rock Vegan Topics
-Her seven month game plan for leaving her career
-How it felt, for the first time in her life, not being “traditionally employed”
-What made freelancing feel more legitimate to her
-The schedule she keeps that works
-Goals she wants to accomplish from writing a book, to cleaning her basement
-The companies she likes to work with and how she chooses
-What it is like to actually be an ethical vegan
Vegan Quotes For The Soul:
“It was a little bit more premeditated. I had definitely been thinking about it for months. I had planned, saved money and I knew that I was going to potentially be looking for a job or doing my own thing for a little while. So, I had made all of the proper arrangements for that before I ended up leaving my traditional career.”

“The biggest hurdle to getting out of a traditional career, and embracing this wild unknown, all of those hurdles are emotional. Like ‘who am I if I don’t have that really distinct elevator pitch when people ask me what I do for a living?’.”

“I was financially prepared, and logistically prepared, but I wasn’t emotionally prepared for the feelings and fears of leaving a traditional job and doing your own thing.”

“I also recognize that just because you work for yourself, you do have to have a decent amount of down time, or self care, in order to keep going.”

“Women are tough on ourselves for variety of things, but it’s about developing strategies to shut that little voice off and to make the voice that says ‘I really appreciate myself, I am working damn hard, I look great,I am a good friend, I am smart’ making that voice louder.”

“There is this stigma of Vegans. You think of us as having crazily dyed hair, we are all punk rock, and maybe we are wearing fanny packs, we are all hippies, and super crunchy.. I wasn’t any of that and I have never really been any of that.”

“Showing people that you can still very much have a lifestyle that is aligned with your values, and you can still be a professional, trendy, stylish, fun person, that was really of interest of me. I wanted to debunk that stereotype that was out there in the mainstream.”

[Connect with Ashlee: Twitter (@TheLilFoxes), Instagram (@ashleepiper) Pinterest (thelilfoxes), Website:thelilfoxes.com]
RESOURCES:
Vegan friendly products: Pacifica Beauty, Whole Foods Cosmetics, Mrs. Meyers household cleaners,
Awaken The Giant Within by Tony Robbins

SDH 057: Surviving Entrepreneurship with Sonia Thompson Jan 25, 2016

Sonia Thompson is a successful business coach that helps entrepreneurs build their business, step by step. Ever since her teens, she had always wanted to have her own business. After graduating business school, she worked at Johnsons & Johnsons for 9 years. During this time, she became frustrated with small businesses and realized the need for a business coach. This led to her departure from corporate America to help fill the much needed position as a business coach for entrepreneurs to build their dream business, with her own company TRY Business School.

Survival Topics
-Leaving Corporate America
-Hardest part about being an entrepreneur
-Building business from abroad

Entrepreneurial Success Quotes:
“A lot of people know what they want to do, but they are not really sure on how to get from point A to Point Z, so I give them B, C, D, E, F all between.”

“The skills, and things you learn in corporate America are great, fabulous, and I use them today, but there are skills that you need to be an entrepreneur that you cannot learn, until you become an entrepreneur and start doing it.”

“As I work with my clients, and different people helping them figure out how to problem solve in their business, because I am in these uncomfortable situations outside of my comfort zone, in a different country learning another language, it helps me to expand the way I think, which in turn helps me help my clients expand the way they think and problem solve as well.”

“The hardest part about being an entrepreneur is dealing with your mind. It’s a daily battle.”
“Whether it’s overcoming imposter syndrome, or getting over your own self doubt or confidence issues, or being a perfectionist, or maybe it’s even organizing your day to establish good habits and being good time management…all these things start with a conversation you have in your head.”

“Be persistent, consistent, and relentless in your learning,; you can figure anything out, you just have to be determined enough to do it. Make sure you do it your way.”

[Connect with Sonia: Twitter (@TRYbizschool), Facebook (TRY Business School) Youtube (MYTRYBusiness), Website:trybizschool]

RESOURCES:
Delight Inside Workbook:Build Your Dream Business That Keeps Customers Coming Back For More(Delight Inside) by Sonia Thompson
airbnb
Entrepreneur Survival Summit Virtual Conference
Mini Habits by Stephen Guise
The One Thing by Gary Keller & Jay Papasan

SDH 056: Design Your Day with Whitney English, Founder of Day Designer Jan 18, 2016

Whitney English is business’s best combination: inventor, investor & entrepreneur. At age 22, she used her earnings from babysitting to start a wholesale stationery company for ten years. Unfortunately, the business failed and she was back to living at home in her parents’ house. Instead of using her time to grieve the death of her business, she used her ingenious skills to come up with the solution to every working woman’s chaotic day, The Day Designer.

Topics to Help Manage Life
-How she got the idea for the planner
-The Biz Designer course
-What helps her keep focus
-Why she believes napping is key
-Her love for organization
-The process behind making the planner
-Lovely book recommendations

Neat Quotes:
“When you are building a company you have to tell the truth. Anything that is not the truth is not sustainable.”

“There is a fine line between logic and fear… There are other things that fear steps in and says we can’t do, that we really could do if we put our minds to it. I think that holds some people back and it’s a mindset of ‘she can do it and I can’t. That’s fear talking.”

“I need to be so focused on surrounding myself with mentally healthy people: who are humble, smart, making a difference in this world, because those are things I want to do.”

“I love organization, that’s a natural love, but naturally being organized is really hard for me.”

“It’s a process that became very personal to me. It wasn’t like we picked up a similar planner on the market and said ‘okay we are just going to put a day designer planner brand on top of this and re-do it. It was from the ground up, something that came from my heart.”

“We all have different strengths as entrepreneurs, but when you are in that start up mode, you have to prepare for obstacles.”

“The best way to get an energy boost is drink a cup of coffee, nap, before the coffee kicks in, 20 minutes, and then wake up and keep going.”

[Connect with Whitney: Twitter (@WhitneyEnglish), Instagram (@whitneyenglish) Pinterest (daydesigner), Website: daydesigner.com, whitneyenglish.com]

RESOURCES:
InDesign
Mindset by Carol Dweck
Rising Strong by Brené Brown
A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller
Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne

SDH 055- Extraordinary eCommerce with Courtney Price Jan 11, 2016

Courtney price left her $25 an hour job to help build a startup on Amazon. She had a different idea of how the business from her prior job should be run, so her boss let her go. She lost her passion, income, and had to move back in with her mom. She felt she had reached her all-time low, until her boyfriend gave her the idea and loan to start her own Amazon business. She did not know that by leaving the security of that job, she would find her passion: ecommerce. Today, Courtney owns and runs an ecommerce jewelry business Kinzie Fashion and children’s jewelry line Penny & Piper.

The Price is Right
-How she left her $25 an hour job to help build a startup company
-Behind the scenes look into selling on Amazon
-Three most rewarding things she got out of her business
-The transparency in the company with employees
-How increased revenue is projected onto employees
-Her philosophy of harnessing weaknesses into strengths
-What you should know before selling on Amazon

Dazzling Quotes:
“I was so excited because I wasn’t doing anything traditional and I just fell in love with ecommerce. It became my passion.”

“I felt like I had hit my ultimate low. I left a job where I was making $25 an hour, and had lost my job at the startup, which I was super passionate about. I was totally broke and moved back in with my mom. It was just this really hard time in my life.”

“Those first six months were probably the hardest thing I ever did in the business… I was doing it by myself, I was super lonely, and every day there was this new challenge that was coming up. There was no road map, or mentor.”

“Building and running my business has taught me so much about myself. It has taught me strengths I didn’t know I had, my weaknesses I need to get better, for me to be the best leader I can be for the company and my employees.”

“Money is really just a tool. It’s a benchmark that represents to us the collective energy and efforts of everyone involved.”

“The goal comes before the path. The path isn’t there when you start. It reveals itself as you keep going. The challenges can’t exist without their solutions.”

“If you want to be successful you have to let that energy go. When you talk about haters, what you are saying to the world is ‘this person has more control within my vision, excitement, and goals, and that’s not true. It’s disempowering to talk about stuff like that. So, stop talking about haters.”

RESOURCES:
5 tips before you sell on Amazon SDIHW Handout
Sourcing resources- thomasnet, wholesalecentral, HKTDC

SDH 054 - The Original Savvy Business Owner with Heather Crabtree Jan 04, 2016

Heather Crabtree believes that you should run your business and it should not run you, and that is why she is a business strategist for creative entrepreneurs. However, she did not begin her career journey as a business strategist, instead she started as a lawyer, what she had always thought she was meant to be. After her father passed away, her life turned upside down and she was unhappy working at a law firm. With the support of her partner, she stopped practicing and went into the wedding planning business. In 2014, she sold her business to a team member and decided she would create a community of like-minded women and business owners with the Savvy Business Circle.

Heather’s Strategies

-How she created a community of women and business owners

-Why her journey began as an attorney and then a wedding planner

-How free webinars helped her business grow

-The good and bad of managing a large group

-Relatable habits she is working on

-Which past podcast interviewee is her sister

-Her upcoming conference in September 2016

Sharp Quotes:

“My title being this business strategist, you would think that I had this game plan behind it, but I didn’t.”

“I am a continual learner, so I would just watch people, and pick apart what they were doing, and was like ‘okay how can I use this for my business?’ I was continually doing that and that’s how I built the community.”

“I wanted there to be a place where it wasn’t catty, and saying, ‘look at her success’ and bringing her down. I really wanted it to be a positive uplifting place.”

“You don’t want it to be all about money, but at the end of the day,you are a business owner, and you are here to make a profit too.”

“The challenge over the past few months has been: how does this fit within the bigger vision, and how do I still make it work for me and also the community..”

“I am a big dreamer, and I am also a big action taker. So, if I say I am going to do something, I am going to do it, and I am going to do it really well.”

“My whole thing is sharing your smarts and your heart because I think your heart has to be put in place in your business.”

[Connect with Heather: Twitter (@HeatherCrabtree), Instagram (@heather_crabtree) Pinterest (Heather Crabtree), Website:Heather Crabtree]

RESOURCES:

2016 Savvy Business Owners’ Conference

Savvy Business Owners on Facebook

Heidi Bartlett - SDIHW020

SDIHW 053: Catching up with Anese Cavanaugh Jan 03, 2016

SDH 052: Catching Up with Samantha Thomas Dec 28, 2015

She Did It Her Way is checking in with Samantha Thomas, creator, and host of the lifestyle blog/web-series, Small TALK.

You may remember Samantha as the TV news producer turned food producer to eventually hosting her own series, Small TALK, from episode 012. Stay tuned to hear the original episode after the check-in.

Samantha tells us a little bit more about how she married her careers in news and food to help create Small TALK.

She even shares a city outing and exciting new partnership with Toyota USA, #GoPlacesWithSmallTALK, and how her consistency helped her obtain it.

“I am a thinker. I am a constant thinker; sometimes an over-thinker. Some of my biggest successes have come when I didn't think about it too much and just jumped out there.”
[Connect with Samantha Twitter,(@Talk2Samantha_),Instagram,(@talk2samantha), Youtube (Small Talk Web Show), smalltalk4u.com]

SDH 051: Catching Up with Shauna Mackenzie Dec 21, 2015

She Did It Her Way checks in with Shauna Mackenzie, creator of 30 Days of No and Best Kept Self.

Yes, you may remember Shauna as the stress relieving guru for businesses from episode 001. Stay tuned for the original episode after the check in.

Yes, Shauna's site has had over 30 writers contributing to help business owners and entrepreneurs manage stress in 2015 and you can submit as well!

No, many business bosses do not make themselves their number one priority, and Shauna shares how you can change with her latest project, The Yes Diet.

“Burnout: When you do that to yourself, you can't think creatively, and you can't make the decisions you need to make. You essentially just push off success that is waiting for you.”|TWITTER:TWEET|
[Connect with Shauna Twitter,(@MsShaunaMack),Instagram,(@shaunamackenzie),bestkeptself, 30daysofno]

Don't miss an interview - Subscribe on iTunes.
Share with your awesome friends using the buttons below. Then tag us at @SheDidItHerWay so we can tell you how much we adore you for spreading the love!

SDH 050: Catching Up with Heidi Bartlett Dec 17, 2015

Today we're checking in with Heidi Bartlett, designing diva of idieh design. Heidi's graphic design skills help give events a brand from start to finish and encourage people to own their story and embrace their own journey.

You may remember Heidi from Episode 020. If you want to hear the original episode for the first (or second) time, stay tuned after the check-in.

Heidi opens up about some major changes she has been facing in her business, from stepping back from branding and websites, to focusing her time on new creative pursuits in home decor and fashion accessories.

We also hear exciting news about her upcoming marriage in the new year and a new accessory she is designing and producing!

SDH 049: Catching Up with Sidonia Swarm Dec 14, 2015

Catching up with tech savvy maven, Sidonia Swarm. Hear how she was bought out from one company and started another.

SDH 048: Catching Up with Kit Graham, Founder of The Kittchen Dec 10, 2015

This week: December 10th we'rechecking in with Kit Graham

You may remember Kit from Episode 024, and we’re excited to do a check in with her and see what's cooking with her.

Kit is a blogging boss and runs a food blog The Kittchen, as well as a professional organization for Chicago Based Bloggers called The Windy City Blogger Collective.

[Connect with Kit: Instagram, Twitter (@thekittchen), thekittchen,windycitybloggers]

SDH 047: Catching Up with Melissa Jones Dec 07, 2015

This week Melissa shares some creative insight with She Did It Her Way and gives us a sneak peak of what is to come in 2016: Little Black Desk Academy and upcoming conferences. If you would like to become a hostess and bring Creative Chics, Coffee and Collaboration to your community, follow this link.

Melissa is all over that Social media – Hit her up: @TheCEOffice on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and ChiefEncouragementOffice.com

SDH 046: Catching Up with Kat Pummill Dec 03, 2015

Connect with Kat: Twitter (@fitgirlskitchen), Instagram (@fitgirlskitchen), Her blog: Fit Girl’s Kitchen and website: Fit Girl Wellness, email: Kat@fitgirlwellness.com

SDH 045: Catching Up with Farissa Knox, Founder of WhatRUWearing Nov 30, 2015

She Did It Her Way is catching up with Farissa Knox, Owner of WhatRUWearing and RLM Media. We learn about the release of Farissa's new book, Love, Sex and Friendship in No Particular Order and how she plans on wrapping up 2016.

Connect with Farissa on Instagram, Facebook and on her Website.

SDH 044: Catching Up with Kat Snellen Nov 23, 2015

A follow up with Kat Snellen, owner of Kathryn Elise Studio's, a Kansas City Creative Consulting Studio. Kat catches us up on the year she has had after going out full time on her own. Check out Kat's original episode, SDIHW 006. and connect Kat on Instagram (@KathrynEliseStudio) and Twitter (@KathrynElise).

SDH 043: WOMEN'S ENTREPRENEURSHIP DAY, WENDY'S WAY with Wendy Diamond Nov 17, 2015

Wendy has always loved giving to and helping others. In 1999, when she saw a shocking statistic about animal euthanization, she decided she wanted to lower this statistic by bringing celebrities and pop culture into the animal rescue world. She founded Animal Fair Media to promote animal welfare and rescue. Her passion to give back to the world did not only kept growing from there.

When Wendy Diamond booked a trip to Honduras two years ago, she did not know that it was on the “No Fly” list, and that it would be the most enlightening trip of her life, inspiring her to create Women’s Entrepreneurship Day. There seemed to be a day about everything, from donuts to bubble baths, but what about women? Since her trip, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day has been launched at the UN, represented by 144 countries, and 81 universities and colleges.

The Wave of Wendy
-How she brought her knowledge from the animal rescue world to the world of Women
-The three Guinness Book of World Records titles she earned
-How she got Women’s entrepreneurship day recognized by 144 countries
-The different ways women all over the world celebrate
-What her typical day looks like
-Women you may not have known created well-known products
-How she unplugs her mind

Wendy’s Words of Wisdom
“You’ve heard of Steve Jobs. You’ve heard of Bill Gates. Well, let’s start hearing about women.”

“As an entrepreneur, it’s not about the money, or fame. It’s really about being so passionate about what you are doing, that you are not going to let anything get in your way. You are just going to keep going in the toughest moment.”

“We have been dealing with people trying to appropriate our day, trying to kill us..”

“Everybody is a small business. You don’t just start as a big business. That’s why you need to support people who are taking that risk. ”

“I am a giver. I want to help everyone in the world and I am not a taker. I would never want anything without giving anything. I am really a good egg. I am from Ohio.”

“Women entrepreneurship day is everyday. Celebrate, empower, and support women in business.”

“I have no fear. I have nothing to gain, nothing to lose from this project. But the world has a lot to gain.”

“Don’t spend time on people who are not supported, or people who don’t get back to you. This world is a big place. You are going to find people who are going to want to support you, who are going to want to be helpful, and those are the people you need to spend your time working with and supporting.”

“Time is all we have in life. You just have to realize this life is to be celebrated and enjoyed. Find something you are passionate about because in the hardest times you are going to still keep going.”

“What I am going through creating this day, is what women go through starting businesses.”

[Connect with Wendy Twitter (@wendydiamond), Instagram (@ilovedogs_wendydiamond), Facebook, www.animalfair.com, www.womensday.org]
RESOURCES:
Tamara Mellon
Lynn Tilton
Virunga
New York Post

SDH 042: Ignite Your Inner Voice to Reach Sweet Success with Katrina Markoff Nov 09, 2015

Katrina Markoff attended Vanderbilt and got her degree, but she didn’t love it enough to pursue that path. What she loved was cooking. So, Katrina moved to Paris to attend culinary school. From Paris, she went to Spain and was inspired to travel the world for nine months to study street food and work in restaurants. Katrina returned home, still unsure of what she wanted to do with her life. All of her friends had used their degrees to start their careers, and she felt behind, still figuring it all out. It was not until a necklace she had acquired from her travels, with a story behind it, made her realize her inner voice was telling her to use chocolate as a medium for storytelling. Katrina now is the creator and founder of two chocolate brands Vosges Haut-Chocolat and Wild Ophelia, where she makes a living and impacts lives by using chocolate to deliver a narrative.

The Sweet Stories Shared
-Her mom’s reaction to her decision to travel after receiving her degree
-Why she’s tired of what she calls the “French Provincialism”
-How working for her Uncle helped her learn how to bring a product into the market
-The moment that everything made sense to her and she knew what she needed to do
-How her mom’s work ethic and support aided her in creating her own business
-The moment she fell in love with chocolate
-How her chocolate brands support and empower American women and entrepreneurs
Katrina’s Inner Voice Says...
“I am Macedonian and just felt like food was so much connected to love. It was just a thing that I felt I wanted to do more of.”

“My second semester of my senior year I went to all of these career fairs and job interviews. I was like ‘oh my God, I cannot do this. I cannot apply for a job to be a consultant or in finance.’ I didn’t want to be a doctor.”

“It was disheartening to think after all of [culinary school and traveling the world to learn about food] I didn’t want to be a chef. I didn’t want to do anything with my degrees at Vanderbilt and then I am thinking to myself ‘what am I doing?’ There was something still in me driving towards something, and I don’t know exactly where it was going, but I knew it was going somewhere. I just trusted the signs.”

“I believe in signs and I believe in that very strong inner voice that I have, and I just kept listening to it. ”

“I was very driven. My mom worked really hard,and we didn’t have a lot of money growing up. We really appreciated that about my Mom, and our family wanted to work hard to prove ourselves. It was in my blood to start my own business.”

“I always say to people, when they want to have [business] partners, really be cautious about it, to be sure that truly you are both bringing something very different and complementary to the table; you are both really aligned in the risk that comes with being an entrepreneur.”

“I think things have meaning. Things don’t happen by coincidence; there is a meaning to things and it’s your job to figure out how to translate that for yourself. Only your inner voice can help decipher what it means. ”

“I think that it makes my life really rich to share [my] story and get people inspired to start their own companies.”

“I think women make great entrepreneurs because they are naturally very good at multitasking and really good at solving problems.”

“Food is quite male-dominated. Most chefs are men. It’s an ironic thing because you think about most women cooking in their kitchens for their children, and what not, but it doesn't manifest so much in the actual restaurants.”

[Connect with Katrina Twitter (@Vosge), Instagram (@vosgeshautchocolat), Facebook, Pinterest, www.wildophelia.com, www.vosgeschocolate.com]
RESOURCES:
Le Cordon Bleu
1871
Instacart
YeahDave Meditation
Hoffman Meditation
Pinterest

SDH 041: Feeling Your Way To A Fabulous Career with Sunny Lenarduzzi Nov 02, 2015

Sunny Lenarduzzi dreamt of becoming a news anchor. She went to college to study broadcasting and even made it to what she felt was the pinnacle of her career, as a reporter at the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Despite being at what she felt was a high point in her career, something did not feel right. She realized that her creativity did not function between the hours of nine to five and the only person who could be her boss was her. Sunny has combined her hard work and passion for technology to become a consultant for social media, the first social media host of a morning show in Canada and running a Youtube Channel for topics such as social media tips and tricks and technology app reviews.

Sunny Topics

-How she fell in love with the digital space after starting an online magazine

-How becoming a consultant started organically for her

-Her teenage acting days and how they helped handle rejection

-How she started her youtube channel and reached almost 10,000 subscribers

-What she presented to NATO in Brussels

-Long term v.s. short term strategies with personal branding

-Why you have to be an expert in your field, and not just passionate

-Her recommendation to not stick to a strict schedule

Sunny’s Feels

“I thought that [reporting at the Olympics] was the pinnacle of my career [...] but it still felt kind of empty. It didn’t feel like what I was truly meant to be doing.”

“I always have been very fascinated with technology. I do some tech reporting and I have always been one of those girls who is obsessed with gadgets and social media.”

“Rejection doesn’t really scare me. It just means I have to choose a different path.”

“For me the key to success in any business or brand is figuring out what your target audience wants to know, and creating your content around that. ”

“I have mad respect for people who work in corporate environments. I think you can be entrepreneurial within a company, as well. But for me, it was more of a lifestyle thing than anything else. I truly don’t think that everybody in the world is their most productive between the hours of nine to five.”

“I have always been a bit of a hustler, and I have always worked really freakishly hard, to the point where people think I am a little bit crazy, but when it didn’t feel right anymore, and it wasn’t fun anymore for me, I really truly did not see the point in me sticking with it.”

“If it feels like you are forcing a situation, whether it is work or personal, it is probably not meant to be. It’s probably not meant for you, and that is a hard lesson to accept sometimes.”

“The whole plan of my day revolves around feelings. I get shit done, but I just do it in my own timeline.”

“I don't think it’s luck. I think there is a certain level of serendipity that comes into play, but at the end of the day it’s mostly that you work really, really, really hard, and the right opportunities will come your way.”

“For me, working in an office environment, and being tied to specific hours and tasks, and being told what to do when to do and how to do it, just didn’t sit well with me.”

[Connect with Sunny Facebook, Sunnylenarduzzi.com,

Instagram, Twitter, (@SunnyLenarduzzi), Youtube]

RESOURCES:

Gary Vaynerchuk

IFTTT

Google Drive

Canva

The Firestarter Sessions by Danielle La Porte

The Desire Map by Danielle La Porte

Sunny’s Favorite Productivity Tips and Apps

SDH 040: Savvy Solutions to Leaving Your Job with Jocelyn Paonita Pearson Oct 26, 2015

Jocelyn Pearson graduated from college and started working a corporate job full time. She began her mornings working on her book The Scholarship System and then headed off to her nine to five job. After planning in advance, crunching numbers, and receiving a little help from her passive income streams, Jocelyn was able to leave the corporate world and enter her own world. Now, Jocelyn is focusing on helping people face the financial burdens of school with her book and enjoying the newly found freedom of working on her own time.

Jocelyn’s Fresh Financing Topics

-Jocelyn’s experience with a full-ride in college and how she began saving her money

-Advice on how to schedule a routine

-The passive income streams that helped her leave her corporate job

-Tips on how to save money on your wedding

-Why having an “accountability partner” is important to save money

-Strategies on how to be your own boss

-Resources she uses to spend less

Securing Success Jocelyn’s Way

“If someone told me my junior year of college that I would be leaving my job in a few years to do my own thing, I would’ve thought they were crazy.”

“If the job is a bridge job, and it’s actually connecting you from A to B, and it’s helping get you to where you want to go, then there is nothing wrong in staying with it.”

“I sat down and crunched numbers. You know me, I’m all about the numbers. I tried to figure out if I really had a year to 18 months of [a] nest where I could survive if I didn’t have any income.”

“Between my rental income and my book, I am pretty much covering my own rent, my car expenses and groceries. So, my main living expenses have officially been covered and I have only been three months out of a job. ”

“Sure, I am making a lot less money than when I was in a corporate job, but I am making enough. It’s that ‘new rich’ mentality where I don’t want to be a mega millionaire, but I do want time freedom, and ability to travel. That is the financial goal I am trying to get to, and these things help me get there.”

“I would allow myself one or two major shopping sprees a year, where I had a set dollar amount. So I did treat myself, and I did get a new wardrobe, but because I did it in one big day, and I had this set amount. I think in the end I saved way more.”

“Do a quick budget. All you have to do is write down rent or mortgage, the major expenses, and keep it to ten. That first step of looking at what you think you are spending, can be a great first step.”

“You should be saving a good 10-20 percent of your income. I know that’s a lot, but if you can set that at the top [of your budget plan] as one of your categories, and put savings. Count that as one of your expenses because that is going to help you quit your job, if you are in a job you don’t want to stay in, or do the traveling you want to do.”

“It’s hard when you are not bringing in income to sit down and spend a whole day planning because you want to just focus on items that are bringing in revenue all the time, but having that overall picture is so important.”

“You don’t have to cut back on living.”

[Connect with Jocelyn Facebook, www.thescholarshipsystem.com Email:thescholarshipsystem@gmail.com]

RESOURCES:

AirBnB

Dave Ramsey

Every Dollar app

Mint.com (money manager)

The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss

Launch by Jeff Walker

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

SDH 039: Shape Your Strategy with Ashley Logan Oct 19, 2015

Ashley Logan is the Ceo and editor-in-chief of the Chicago based content marketing firm Yakkety Yak. Ever since she was a little girl, and won the young author's award in her kindergarten class, Ashley knew she wanted to be a writer. However, the path she took to reach her passion began not by a pen, but by selling candy. She even worked in commercial real estate, as a tenant rep office broker, where she practiced her love for solving business problems. She realized what she needed was a way to combine her creative and strategic side into one career, and formed Yakkety Yak.

Getting Creative with Ashley
-Ashley’s journey from selling candy right out of college to being CEO of Yakkety Yak
-Being a woman in the competitive field of commercial real estate
-Why she needs “serious me time” and how she spends it
-How to dress true to yourself, as well as your career
-Advice for bloggers and businesses with a blog
-Her best tips and tricks for killer content marketing
-How she is getting better at managing a team
-Books that have influenced her business and life
Ashley’s Strategies:

“What I knew for sure was if there was a way to combine what I had learned in commercial real estate, which was solving problems for businesses, with something more creative, like the writing side of things, that was going to be a homerun for me.”

“Working in a field where you are not satisfied is hard for someone like me. It’s soul sucking. I was tired of looking over my shoulder in a super cut throat environment, and I was just unhappy.”

“I decided to take some serious me time and I only allowed myself three times a week to leave my house. Which sounds a little bit weird, but I had to be that regimented. ”

“Aside from laying on my kitchen floor, with a glass of red wine, listening to Pearl Jam.. I journaled, painted, and I really explored what I wanted to do. ”

“I realized that it was time to be really straightforward and honest with myself. I had accomplished a lot with sales in a short period of time. So, I wanted the next step to be truly meaningful, and not be my last step. But, be the step where I really took control of everything that I learned.”

“I had this point system, I walked into a room knowing negative three. Where a man walks into a room and knows three, so I had to work doubly to demonstrate I was informed, and more so than anyone else who was in the same room as me. Appearance was part of that in a big way.”

“I find when you really hunker down and be positive with things, the universe has a way of repaying you.”

“For anyone who is interested in making a total career change, don’t feel like you are above taking those really low level positions. I was a content writer making fifteen bucks an hour.”

“If I am burned out, I’m useless. So I figured out that I need to have some time to let all of the day's activities sink in, to give my brain some room to breath and be creative. Without that space I am not going to be as effective for my business, the people who work with me, and my clients.”

“Don’t settle, you will always land on your feet if you believe in yourself. Any fear that you are feeling is just holding you back. So, diving in head first is the most rewarding thing that you can do.”

[Connect with Ashley: Twitter (@YakketyYak312), Instagram (@YakketyYak312) Facebook (Yakketyyakllc) Website: yakketyyakllc.com]

RESOURCES:
A Silver Lining Foundation
Northwestern Medill School of Journalism
Anthropologie
Splash - Sun Times
Google Drive
Asana
Hootsuite
Melissa Jones - theCEOffice
SDIHW013: Melissa Jones
The Artist Way by Julia Cameron
Yes Please by Amy Poehler

SDH 038: Customizing Your Career with Lisa Rissetto Oct 12, 2015

In college, Lisa Rissetto dreamed of being the next big movie star. When she realized those dreams would not come true, she studied her other passion: fashion and merchandising. Lisa has worked her way up the ladder in the fashion industry, starting in a buying office fresh out of college, to becoming president, CEO, and owner of G. Hensler & Company. On top of that, she brought life to her own vision and created a luxury leather accessory brand, Rissetto.

Tailored Topics With Lisa

-How working in different areas of the industry helped her figure out where she wanted to be

-Her life altering decision to leave New York and work in San Francisco

-The story of how George Hensler and her started G. Hensler and brought accessories to GAP, American Eagle, Express & Nordstrom

How Hensler not believing she could afford to buy the company pushed her to make a plan and buy him out completely
Why she wanted to develop her own brand

-How she is able to run two companies

-The hard decisions she had to make and the lessons she has learned from running two companies

Custom-made Quotes:

“One of the things about making products for other people is that I always had this feeling that I wanted to make something that had my own stamp on it.”

“I have a tremendous team. I have learned to delegate over the years, just because you have to.”

“We have success just by knowing the category. We look for what each customer’s DNA is going to translate into, in terms of accessories, and then we execute on that.”

“It’s a very collaborative effort. Everything that we do is customized.”

“Just when I think I have got it all dialed in, something comes up. You either have to adapt or retreat. I am a fighter. I never give up. ”

“Don’t be afraid to change course and sometimes you have to make very difficult decisions. If you don’t make these difficult decisions, or wait too long to make them, you risk the entire organization. ”

“In 2008, when the whole economy fell apart, I had to let a lot of people go, scale back the organization and figure out a way to dig out of [the recession]. I had 31 employees and had to drop to 15. It was brutal and the hardest thing I had ever been through as an executive.”

“I learned that you can never assume the orders are going to come. You just have to track things closely and make your best case decisions along the way; course correct as necessary.”

“I am very old school, don’t buy what you can’t pay for, buy the best you can. I believe in getting the best quality of any purchase that you can, but don’t do it if you can’t afford it. At some point someone is going to say ‘you know what, you need to pay me back now.’ That’s the type of stuff that keeps me up at night.”

“I believe in getting some experience. Whether you work for a small company or big company, just to truly understand every aspect that goes into it. A lot of people go into this industry because they have a product idea. That is great, but that’s only 10% of it.”

[Connect with Lisa: Twitter (@49squaremiles), Facebook (Rissetto), www.rissetto.com www.ghensler.com]

RESOURCES:

Paul Kantner Quote

Edward Fields

SDH 037: Anything But Average with Yvonne Lyngaas Oct 05, 2015

In 2009, Yvonne Lyngaas started her own creative merchandising firm, Monarch & Company, in Chicago. Monarch & Company gives companies the opportunity to express who they are, and develop emotional connections with their audience through personalized products and apparel. With only 18 months of experience in her field, and no business plan, Yvonne’s determination guided her to make her vision come true and the path she followed was anything but average...

Extraordinary Topics With Yvonne
-Recognizing that your mind is a powerful tool
-How her vision has changed from when she was 24, to now at 31
-Realizing the job she wanted because of the adrenaline rush behind it

Leaving a job that made her unhappy & starting her own company in her parents’ basement
-The value of having the support of family & friends
-Why she thinks being average is “gross”
-How to not think of your employees as tools, but as people
Rare Reactions Quoted:
“I don’t think I have a great story... I did not have this huge plan of what I wanted to do. There are a couple of things I did have and I carry them with me... I had a vision and determination.”

“Growing up it was engraved in me that you can be anything you want as long as you set your mind to it. Your mind is a very powerful tool and you are a very important person, and you are different than everybody else.”

“The word comfortable makes me uncomfortable.”

“If you are not always looking for change, embracing change, challenging things, and asking questions, you are doing yourself a disservice in life.”

“Own the fact that you are unhappy. Identify the things that are making you unhappy, and write down things that will make you happier. Put those in front of your face everyday, whether it is when you are brushing your teeth, or after you get home, to remember what you are working towards. ”

“If you could surround yourself with a network of people that genuinely care about you, and you care about them, I think you can find the answers to some of the things you are looking for.”

“I didn’t have a plan. I have written so many business plans,70+ pages long,and when I started this, it all went out the window. Because to me, it was more about how ‘I will figure it out’ and I have.”

“It is really easy to just look at your employees as tools, and the second you start to think that, you have to take a step back and bring everyone in as people again.”

“I always used to worry about what other people were thinking. But, I pushed that aside and focused on growing and what was good for Monarch. The other people that think like that will gravitate towards me, and that is what happened.”

“You probably will fail, but you look back to those situations and say ‘I am doing more than everybody else.’ For me, it goes back to being average. There is something that grosses me out about that.”

[Connect with Yvonne: Twitter (@monarchandco), Instagram (@monarchandco) Website(Monarch & Company) Monarch & Company Blog]
RESOURCES:
Google Drive
La Colombe Coffee Roasters
iCal
Simon Sinek
The Everygirl
Day Designer

SDH 036: Filling in the Blanks with Liz Lidgett Sep 28, 2015

Liz Lidgett has had a passion for art ever since she received her first art lessons for Christmas around age 5. Although her love for art was incorporated in her corporate job for the Department of Cultural Affairs for the state of Iowa, her entrepreneurial tendencies - passed down from her parents - left her craving more. She started her own business called Liz Lidgett Fine Art, which expanded to an even larger audience online as Adore Your Walls. Today, Liz is able to help a variety of people, with varying budgets, finally fill that blank wall that has been bothering them forever with a piece that is uniquely molded to fit their personalities.
Liz’s Pallet
-Transforming her passion for art into a career
-How she expanded her first business in order to reach a broader community online
-The advantage of using technology, like Kickstarter, that helped build Adore Your Walls
-Building relationships with other businesses, like ugallery, to develop mutual benefits
-Staying on task in your corporate job, while also planning your own business
-Knowing the risks, but taking a leap into your business anyway
-Strategies to pursue your ideas, while still working in a corporate job
-Tools like day designer, and goal setting post-its that keep Liz on track
Colorful Quotes:
“You are using art as a way to see the world in a different way, [...] It’s a really interesting way to problem solve.”

“After a year in the corporate space, I decided that being in a desk job really wasn’t the path that I wanted to take.”

“A lot of people would probably put a lot more time in between the initial idea and the launch than I do. When I started Liz Lidgett Fine Art it was like 2 months later that I knew I was doing Adore Your Walls and quit my job.”

“I thought ‘I am not crazy wealthy; how am I going to build this website?’ I started to launch a kickstarter and use that to test if there was a need for it, and if people were excited about it, and then it would just help me create the site.”

“I really think that if you have enough people talking to you about your ideas, their unique perspective and vantage point will lead you to that next thing.”

“Be okay with failure.. I fail at least 3 times on a daily basis, but it just doesn’t get me sidetracked, and I keep going.”

“You are going to be told no so many times, but after 72 no’s you will be told yes. And, that will be the most incredible moment, because it will make your idea viable.”

[Connect with Liz: Twitter (@LizLidgett), Instagram (@lizlidgett & @adoreyourwalls) Website: Adore Your Walls, & Liz Lidgett]
RESOURCES:
South By SouthWest
Kickstarter
ugallery
The Hard Thing About Hard Things - Ben Horowitz
The Everygirl
Day Designer

SDH 035: Bold is the New Black with Lauren McKeague Sep 20, 2015

It is hard to find a job right out of college, let alone start a business, yet Lauren McKeague defied the odds. Immediately after she graduated Columbia College of Chicago in 2007, she took a leap of faith and created her own clothing company, Pink Slip Boutique. Pink Slip Boutique began as a special occasion dress boutique and blossomed into Ready To Wear, and even accessories, with a goal of dressing women for life’s most special moments. Not only is Lauren the owner, but also the buyer, and helps with the operational work. Lauren has utilized technology to expand her company online as well as use her creative ingenuity at local universities through the Pink Slip University Rep program.

TRENDSETTING TOPICS
How Lauren left the corporate world to start her own fashion boutique
The transition from a brick and mortar business to online
The technological tools that help her manage her store
Managing her business without a business degree/background
Strategies for keeping her creative ideas in check
The most amazing part of being a business owner, as well as the hardest part
What she reads to inspire creativity
BOLD QUOTES:
“I knew that corporate America was not going to be my thing and just knew what I really wanted to do.”

“I had this idea [of owning my own business], I wanted to do it; I just didn’t really think much about it. In my head there wasn’t ‘this isn’t going to work.’ I just started [my business plan] and went with it.”

“I had no idea what I was doing when I started, I was only 24 and failure really wasn’t an option. I don’t know if I was naïve; I wish I could say why I was so disconnected from the enormity of what I was doing at the time.”

“For me this is never about the money, it’s about how good I feel after I accomplish something.”

“I like to take direction from people who may not be in the field, because it brings in a new aspect.”

“I put my energy looking into [inspirational materials] that are a little more timeless, or beautiful to look at. Those are the things that inspire me more than hearing how someone else did something; I like to make my own path.”

[Connect with Lauren: Twitter (@pinkslipdresses & @LaurenMichelleM), Instagram (@pinkslipboutique), Website:Pink Slip Boutique,]
RESOURCES:
Shopify
Big Cartel
Light Speed
The Pink Slip Rep Program
The Art and Flair of Mary Blair - Mary Blair
Girl Boss - Sophia Amoruso

SDH 034: DO WHAT YOU LOVE, FULL-TIME with Kat Pummill Sep 11, 2015

Kat is a full-time yoga instructor in Chicago and writes a health and wellness blog called the Fit Girl’s Kitchen. She is a certified holistic nutritional health coach through The Institute for Integrative Nutrition and runs the wellness website, Fit Girl Wellness, offering retreats, nutritional coaching, and yoga to the world.

We Talk About:
· Kat’s transition from running global marketing for a hedge fund software company in Chicago to where she is now.
· Her experience with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and yoga teacher training
· Her “I can always go back” trick
· Changes she has noticed after making her transition
· Working in a male-driven industry
· Kat’s advice to those who don’t feel aligned with their career
· The making of Fit Girl Wellness, yoga retreats and traveling for work
· Introduction to meditation through yoga and how to develop mindfulness

Notable Quotes:

“I liked my job, I liked what I did, but I wasn’t really fulfilled.”

“It was more natural for me to write about something that I loved, that I was passionate about, and that I enjoyed.”

“I noticed that’s where my energy went, naturally, and that’s what I wanted to spend my time doing. […] How could I weave in what I love into what I’m doing full time?”

“I can’t half-ass my job and half-ass this yoga thing. That’s never going to make me successful. I need to fully commit to one or the other.”

“You can’t listen to other people’s opinions of what you’re doing, and you can’t think about how people are going to perceive you or judge you. You just have to know within yourself that this is the choice.”

“I was using things like alcohol and shopping to counterbalance the stress I was putting into my career, and now that I am more internally satisfied with what I’m doing, I don’t feel the need to do those things anymore.”

“Be comfortable with your silence and start listening to yourself.”

“Mindfully act instead of react to situations.”

“Have a positive mindset and approach things from a standpoint of ‘I have enough’, and anything beyond this is just icing on the cake.”

[Connect with Kat: Twitter (@fitgirlskitchen), Instagram (@fitgirlskitchen), Her blog: Fit Girl’s Kitchen and website: Fit Girl Wellness, email: Kat@fitgirlwellness.com]

Resources:
Fit Girl’s Kitchen
Fit Girl Wellness
Eat Real Food NYC
Deepak Chopra Podcasts
Headspace – online guided meditations
Living with Intent – Mallika Chopra
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success – Deepak Chopra

SDH 033: Thinking One Step Ahead with Katy Lynch Aug 31, 2015

Katy Lynch is the CEO of Techweek and founder of SocialKaty (now ManifestDigital) a social media marketing firm.

Techweek is a weeklong technology conference and festival that currently happens in 7 cities around the U.S. and one international city. Everything from a conference, expo, hackathon, grand tour, hiring fair – a weeklong celebration for entrepreneurs and people within the community like startup founders, VCs, press, aspiring CTOs and everything more.

We Talk About:
· Her beginning in startups – first community manager
· Starting her own company that helped other entrepreneurs get their footing with social media marketing – SocialKaty (sold to ManifestDigital)
· Building her business, adding team members, and how it was so successful
· Starting another company and the introduction of Techweek
· Growing with her business, knowing when to grow the team and put processes in place
· Favorite thing about running the company and biggest challenge
· Setting expectations with clients when writing proposals
· Transitioning from SocialKaty to Techweek
· Katy’s typical day at Techweek

Notable Quotes:
“It was really just me being incredibly scrappy and banging on the doors of entrepreneurs.”

“One of the reasons why we were so successful was because we specialized in just that one thing. – We really just did one thing and did it well.”

“As all entrepreneurs do, once you’ve started a business, and you’ve raised money for a business, and you’ve sold the business, you want to do it all over again.”

“One of my strengths was always thinking one step ahead.”

“Hiring the right people creates happy clients, but it also creates an awesome culture.”

“You have to just be really diligent about your day.”

“Trust your gut.”

“99% of the time your intuition is right. If your intuition is telling you to do something and you feel really good about that thing, do it.”

“Take more risks.”

[Connect with Katy & Techweek: Twitter (@thekatylynch, @TechweekCHI), Instagram (@techweekinc), e-mail: Katy@techweek.com]

Resources:
Google Calendar
Wunderlist.com
LinkedIn Influencers

SDH 032: Do Things That Terrify You – From Fighter Pilot to News Correspondent with Lea Gabrielle Aug 24, 2015

Lea is a correspondent at the Fox News Channel, fills in as an anchor and comes on as a national security and aviation expert on the Business Channel and Fox News Channel. Her background is in the military starting out at the Naval Academy and on active duty for 12 years, leaving as an Officer, Lieutenant Commander. After the Naval Academy she was selected to attend Navy Flight School and flew F/A-18s for the Navy.

We Talk About:
· Lea’s background in the Navy
· Her transition from a female fighter pilot into becoming a news reporter
· What it’s like flying a F/A-18 “Hornet” aircraft
· Her scariest experience and proudest moment in flying
· Training to become an aircraft carrier pilot
· Lea’s self-talk to get through every experience
· Being a woman in such a male-dominated arena, and how to be herself
· Lea’s advice to our listeners based on her life experience so far
· How she tests herself every day and our rapid fire questions.

Notable Quotes:

“It occurred to me that journalists are essentially the ones writing tomorrow’s history, today.”

“Flying an F/A-18, there’s just really no limits. To have that much power, right there at your fingertips is just incredible.”

“If I did it, anyone can. It’s just a mindset.”

“It’s almost a matter of forgetting what to look like, forgetting who you are, and just deciding you’re going to thrust yourself into that environment.”

“It’s being able to compartmentalize – take things moment-by-moment.”

“You do a lot of things that are going to scare you, and you just have to learn to push through your fear.”

“It taught me what it’s like to be a minority – it really helped me appreciate some of the challenges that other people face as they’re going through life.”

“Eventually you figure out that life is not going to be fun unless you can be who you are.”

“Don’t be afraid of failure, in fact, if you’re not failing in life, it means you’re probably leading a mediocre life.”

You should always reach for things that are out of your reach. You should go for things that you probably can’t quite do and go for it anyway. Sometimes you’re going to fall flat on your face, but those failures teach you.

“Trust yourself. Be bold.”

“You really need to do things in life that terrify you.”

“The most fulfilling life is one where you can both trust and love.”

“Know who you are, be your best, be a good person, and don’t waste time on the haters.”

My best advice when it comes to accomplishing goals is to figure out the way other people are doing it and find a different way. Because if you’re waiting in line behind everyone else, you’re going to get there about as fast as they do.

[Connect with Lea: Twitter (@LeaFOXNews)]

Resources:
Lea’s featured articles: Marie Claire | Allure | Northern Virginia Magazine

SDH 031: Embrace the Chaos – Motherhood and Startups with Monica Royer Aug 17, 2015

Monica is the founder of Monica + Andy, a clothing brand for children that is majorly organic. The clothing is designed in-house and they source fabrics free of lead, phthalates, and flame retardants. The company also supports other moms in business through their marketplace. They provide an in-store experience but are also heavily an e-commerce site.

We Talk About:

· The Monica + Andy brand and what it’s all about
· The new modern mom
· How Monica got inspired to create a children’s clothing brand
· Taking the leap and getting started with Monica + Andy
· Building her “mom board of advisors”
· Difficulties of starting a business and the things she loves
· Monica’s daily routine
· Our rapid fire questions!

Notable Quotes:

“If I don’t take this leap now, I’m not going to do it.”

“If I don’t love it, I don’t want to bring it to market.”

“It was really inspiration that I brought from the time with my daughter that made the brand what it was.”

“I knew that a brand was so much more than the product that you sold.”

“It’s that team that you build around you that really becomes the essence of the brand.”

“What you start off doing is not what you end up spending most of your time working on.”

“Carve out some time, somewhere, somehow, to do something for yourself.”

“There’s a lot that I don’t know, but I can find great people that do know it and just let them run with it.”

“I’ve just learned to embrace the chaos because there’s a lot of it.”

[Connect with Monica + Andy: www.monicaandandy.com, Twitter (@MonicaAndyKids), Instagram (@MonicaAndAndy)]

Resources:
Bonobo – Her Brother Andy Dunn
Azeeza Khan – Her Designer Friend

SDH 030: HOW TO NAVIGATE LIFE BY ACCEPTING MISTAKES & FAILURES with Heather Hutson Aug 10, 2015

Heather is an executive producer at BlackSheep Productions, a company that does production management for corporate meetings, special events, trade shows and other marketing communications initiatives. Heather has seen a great amount of ups and downs throughout her career to find the dream work she is now involved in, and she has accomplished such a task by trusting in another source to lead the way. With a background in theater, Heather offers a vibrant and exciting interview full of personality to boot!

Tune in more to hear Heather's story and how she did it her way!

SDH 029: Create & Cultivate (a behind the scenes look) with Jaclyn Johnson Aug 03, 2015

Jaclyn is a master in the digital marketing space, as well as a marketing, branding, design, fashion, and lifestyle extraordinaire. Within the past 6 years she founded and established her company (NO SUBJECT) as one of the go-to marketing and events agencies in Los Angeles and works with some very powerful brands. She was recently named 30 under 30 in Forbes Magazine for marketing and advertising and has been featured in a multitude of popular publications.

(NO SUBJECT) – The “mother brand” started almost 6 years ago – is a creatively driven marketing, events, and influencer agency working primarily with fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands to do fun events, marketing campaigns, marketing brands and brokering deals.

Create & Cultivate – started 4 years ago – began as a conference partnership and has grown into a conference for female entrepreneurs in the digital space. (we dive in on this in the #pod)

On Holiday – an experiential pop-up space to work with different brands. Will be changing out the pop-up every month and launching a magazine.

Tune in more to hear Jaclyn's story and how she did it her way!

SDH 028: Setting Intentions and Making Sacrifices with Lyn Filbey Jul 27, 2015

Lyn is a Broker Associate at Baird & Warner selling luxury real estate in Chicago. She has a fascinating story on the journey she took and the hustle she maintained to get to a place she wanted to be in her life with positive self-talk, ambitions intention setting, and a lot of hard work. In this episode we dive deep with Lyn’s story on how she eased her way out of a lifestyle she knew, wasn’t what she wanted, how she made sacrifices to achieve her goals, and continues to set intentions and make it known to herself and others every single day.

We talk about:
· Her time in grad school and second thoughts on becoming a physical therapist
· Building a business then letting it go
· Writing intentions, goal setting, and visualization boards
· Her introduction into real estate, investing, and getting her license
· Going out on her own – burning the candle at both ends
· Downsizing and listening to her gut instincts
· Updating and making affirmations more objective
· How she budgeted and thought about what expenses to cut out of her lifestyle and what she needed to be successful
· Her fears around making the decision to take control of her life
· Easy steps to setting intentions

Notable Quotables:

“When I was in grad school I just knew I wasn’t where I needed to be. I could see myself being somewhere else.”

“We wrote our affirmations and very quickly saw changes happening in our lives just from writing out these goals.”

“I just knew that I was going to have my own business and I was going to be an entrepreneur, by hook or by crook.”

“All the hours I was working at the clinic was just to maintain this lifestyle. What was the point?”

“As much as those little things make you feel good, it doesn’t make you feel as good as having a good night’s rest.”

“I realized, looking back, that everything that I had done [through setting intentions] had led up to this point.”

“Taking a risk and being reckless are two very different things.”

“Every little thing that was not a necessity had to go.”

“I just knew that I had to hustle.”

“I knew that if every day I put in 100%, even if I had to walk away in 6 months and go back to doing physical therapy, at least I knew I’d given it a shot, and at least I knew I had tried. Because I did not want to live my life regretting it.”

“When you do the hard work and you’re productive every single day, it’s hard to get impatient.”

“Self-talk, positive affirmations, and putting in the work”

Intention Setting Lesson:

What is it that you want for your life? If you could have everything that you wanted to have, what would it look like? Write those goals down.

As things start to materialize you can be more specific.

Tell yourself, and tell others your intentions every day.

[Contact Lyn: LinkedIn, Facebook (Lyn Filbey Realty), Twitter (@FilbeyRealty), www.lynfilbey.bairdwarner.com]

Resources:
The Secret - Rhonda Byrne
The Power - Rhonda Byrne

SDH 027: Master Public Speaking Unapologetically with Anne Ricketts Jul 20, 2015

Lighthouse Communications is a company dedicated to helping their clients achieve a higher level of communication. They do communication training for the ever-growing global workforce and coach one on one or in group settings. The company also focuses on presentation skills and workshops for women. Anne's company has some impressive clients as well! Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Netflix, to name a few.

In this interview, you'll get great tips on public speaking from Anne. So, we've crafted a free printable for you to use when preparing for your next speaking gig.

Tune in more to hear Anne's story and how she did it her way!

SDH 026: Exiting the 9-to-5 and Living the Life She Desires with Steph Crowder Jul 13, 2015

Steph is a go-getter lady boss who has found some serious success, first within the corporate world, and even more-so outside of it. She knew there was something more after attaining the impressive position of Head of Sales Training and Development at Groupon, at the age of 26. While in that position, Steph created her own coaching business, Miss Corner Office, and has most recently found herself in the position of FizzleCo’s Director of Member Success.

FizzleCo is an online business training community for entrepreneurs.

Here’s what we talk about:
Steph starts by sharing her story after college and how she knew there had to be more out there

We talk about how she started her career coaching business Miss Corner Office

Steph’s introduction to Fizzle.co and how she created the life that she has always wanted

Exiting Corporate America and the 6th month window to leaving

Letting go of the money and ego and challenging your identity

Excuses we make to protect ourselves and limiting beliefs

“Deep down, I think I just knew that corporate was not going to work for me”

“I could not get past the idea that I would never be in control of my schedule 5 out of 7 days of the week.”

“I felt like I was on this desperate hunt for an alternative lifestyle”

“I just sat in my car and I was like ‘I can do this! If they can do that, why can’t I do it?’”

Once you start challenging your career you start challenging everything else in your life

“If you really do want something […] Once you decide and really believe that you can do that and focus on it, I think your mind opens up to different possibilities.”

“I’m going to find the right thing for me that allows me to live the kind of life that I want.”

“I was still feeling like I was showing up some place, not necessarily doing my life’s work, and trying to live my ‘best’ life in the margins.”

From an ego perspective, the tank was definitely full, but from an intuitive perspective, my heart, and passion – that part just didn’t necessarily feel right.

“I wanted to find the type of work that made me feel like I wanted to be in it for the long haul.”

“I couldn’t have known if it was going to turn out the way that it did, but it was worth taking the risk.”

“If you really want to design your life, you can find a way to make those tradeoffs and make it happen.”

Book Recommendation: Daring Greatly – Brene Brown
[Connect with Steph: at Fizzle.co, Twitter, Instagram (stephcrowder_)]
Resources from This Episode:
Thefoxandshe.com
The Lively Show (Jess Lively)
Smart Passive Income (Pat Flynn)
JessLively.com/feelinglost

Tune in more to hear Steph's story and how she did it her way!

SDH 025: Career and Life Changes (a deep-dive on franchising) with Hoddy Potter Jul 06, 2015

Owner of two Bar Method studios in Kansas City, 35-year old mother of three, and a stage-four cancer survivor.
Bar Method is a low-weigh, high-intensity exercise classes creating hot bodies and supporting women.
Strong women, strong bodies, strong minds.

“I hated my job as a lawyer, and I had fallen in love with this bar method thing”

We talk about:

Her move from San Francisco to the Midwest (Kansas)
Franchising – The what, where, who, and how
How Hoddy made the decision to open up a Bar Method
From client, to desk clerk, to teacher, to “micro-investor”, to franchiser

“You might love the sandwich that you just ate for lunch, but you should probably buy 100 sandwiches before you go open a Subway franchise.”

Tune in more to hear Hoddy's story and how she did it her way!

SDH 024: Self Publishing and Establishing an Engaging Community with Kit Graham Jun 29, 2015

Blogger at The Kittchen:: Where she shares recipes, restaurant reviews, and travel stories.

“I’m always 2 weeks ahead of the game so I can drop everything to do a project if I need to”

Self-Published Author of The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Cookbook:: Self-explanatory… YUM!

Founder of the Windy City Blogger Collective:: Professional organization and community for Chicago-area bloggers. They host events, workshops, and pair bloggers with opportunities.

Freelance work:: Photography, social media, etc. etc. etc. (!!)

“I’m not one of those people that just does one thing, and I think that’s where a lot of careers are going these days”

Tune in to hear more about Kit's journey and how she did it her way!

SDH 023: Meaningful Marketing with Kate O'Neill Jun 22, 2015

Kate is the founder and CEO of KOInsights a company that provides research, tools, models, and insights that foster more meaningful relationships between customers and brand, between tech and humanity. Kate is a Speaker, Writer, and Consultant working around the idea of “meaning”.

“My career has shifted over discovering things and focusing on the people who are using the systems”

Kate focuses on the people and meaningfulness as it relates to data, analytics, and marketing, as well as business strategy.

“Any day you’re not doing plumbing is a good day.”

We talk about Kate’s story and what Kate does. Her old company, [meta]marketer (recently closed), and how it strengthened the intelligence of marketing organizations through data and customer centricity.

Tune in to hear more of Kate's story and how she did it her way!

SDH 022: Fulfillment and Challenges: A Non Profit's Story with Kathleen Casey Jun 15, 2015

Kathleen Casey is the Founder of Bear Necessities

Pediatric cancer effects over 15,500 children each year!

Such a will and desire to live life and live it to its fullest even though they are dealt with something that is so serious and so uncommon.

It doesn’t take a lot to bring joy and happiness to these kid’s lives!

Started at the onset to support the hospitals in the Chicago area with things that could bring hope and joy to children’s lives while going through the battle. 23 years later, Bear Necessities is funding research across the United States to find a cure for cancer.

“Help kids rediscover their childhood while we’re discovering a cure to pediatric cancer at the same time.”

Partner up with another foundation and collaborate efforts to make a big difference

“When you have something that you really believe in, and you believe in yourself, follow those dreams and follow your heart.”

Tune in to hear more of Kathleen's journey and how she did it her way!

SDH 021: Get Massive Impact With Energy with Anese Cavanaugh Jun 08, 2015

Anese Cavanaugh is the creator of the IEP Method (Intentional Energetic Presence) as well as a leadership and collaboration advisor, strategist, and thinking partner for business leaders in the design, service and innovation spaces. Through her speaking, writing and creative leadership programs, people learn how to optimize their leadership and presence, bringing their best selves to the table for greater collaboration, impact, and cultural success.

Intentional Energetic Presence: Before I walk into a room I’m setting an intention of how I want to show up, how I want to feel and how I want the people’s experience of me to be from being in that room. Being really conscious of how I show up.

Intentions: What do you want to create?

Energy: How do you take care of yourself so you feel really good?

Presence: How do I show up?

Learn more about Anese's journey and how to use your energy to create an impact and hear how she did it her way!

SDH 020: Design Your Future with Heidi Bartlett Jun 01, 2015

Heidi is a graphic designer a.k.a. “Graphic Gangsta, brand stylist and shop owner” at IdiehDesign.com. In the episode, Heidi chats about shifting from working full-time to part-time to becoming her own business owner and entrepreneur. She shares details on creating products for her shop and some of her wins and losses through entrepreneurship with a fascinating life story that carved the path from the beginning.

Heidi shares an incredible story of twists and turns in her life leading to her impending career as an entrepreneur in the graphic design space. From losing her father at a very young age to a divorce after a very short marriage right out of college, Heidi displays strength and grit while taking the reins of her life and paving a path for herself.

Heidi worked on Idieh Design while working full-timer as a graphic designer in the corporate world so she is surely familiar with the side-hustle.

Tune in to hear more about Heidi's journey and how she did it her way!

SDH 019: Building a Mountain to Climb with Sarah Kunst May 18, 2015

Sarah is a venture partner at Future Perfect Ventures and Fortis, an investor, a contributing editor for Marie Claire Magazine, and a startup, incubator, and accelerator advisor. Sarah is also involved in philanthropic efforts where she serves on the board of Venture for America and is very active in Help Us Adopt.

“From a really early age I realized that making money was fun because then I could buy whatever I wanted.”

Tell us about one of your mistakes in investing: Finding companies that I love that just need a few of tweaks and not recognizing that the founders of those companies are not interested in change.

“With the right people, if somebody really values your insight, you generally are going to get paid back for giving of yourself, giving of your time, and helping people.”

Tune in to hear more about Sarah's journey and how she did it her way!

SDH 018: Embracing Vulnerability with Sara Davidson May 11, 2015

Sara Davidson is the founder and CEO of Hello Fearless, The School for Female Entrepreneurs created to help women start, grow and scale companies, while unleashing their full potential as women. Hello Fearless offers Boss School, a 90-day online course and exclusive society of badass women getting equipped with the tools and skills to whip their dream businesses into shape and finally make the money they deserve.

“When your entire identity is surrounded by the same goals as a company, your career, or a job and you lose it all at once […] It was a big wake-up call”

Alignment :: Living your true purpose

Worked with the Global Foundation of Entrepreneurship to launch an online curriculum available to women regardless of where they are located in the world – Enter:: Boss School

Boss School offers a community of support and learning preferences accessible any time for every learner.

Building an Online Course:

Ask yourself: What is your desired result that your target customer will have at the end of the course?

Put up a sales page and pre-sell to see if people bite!

Think of the flow and how each module builds upon one another

Bake in accountability by partnership

Using the right platform for website/course functionality

Working with subcontract developers

Developer and designers come through references

“Don’t ever make decisions out of a scarcity mindset”

Tune in to hear more about Sara's journey and how she did it her way!

SDH 017: Creating a Consumer Product Like a Boss with Leap Caplanis May 04, 2015

Leah Caplanis is the founder of SOCIAL Enjoyments, an alcoholic beverage company with the mission to create the most health-conscious alcohol available today; to empower people to live vibrant, connected lives.

Leah shares her incredible story defeating thyroid cancer with a natural diet. She found herself no longer wanting to live a restrictive life and desired the enjoyment she received from alcohol without the regretful feelings later.

Getting Started:

Reached out to a partner

Entered a business competition

Joined an accelerator program

“It all starts with a commitment”

You start taking actions that start to set you up to take bigger actions.

Tune in to hear more about Leah's journey and how she did it her way!

SDH 016: Steps to Building a Mobile App with Kim Harrod Apr 27, 2015

Kim Harrod is the CEO and Founder of Keepsayk – The Instant Scrapbook of Your Life

An iPhone app that allows you to create beautiful, sharable scrapbooks right from your phone using photos, videos, text captions and sharing via text, email, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. For all of those who are “time starved but experience rich!” ← [we love this!]

Launching Keepsayk 2.0 July in NYC at Blogher, a conference focused on social publishing for women.

“It can be really challenging, especially when you’re juggling real-life with your career-life”

Kim shares her background story and professional experience. With a finance background she started in investment banking and corporate development then jumped into middle-market buyouts. – She knows what it takes to be a professional women in a male-dominated industry.

“It’s sort of funny when you hear about ‘lean in’, I think of it more as just ‘hang on!’”

Having had 4 kids while working in private equity, she struggled to find the time. With her first two she had baby books and calendars, her third child did not have a baby book and maybe had a calendar, but her youngest daughter … forget it.

“Why can’t I be using this phone to capture these great moments?”

SDH 015: Create a Life that Lights You Up with Cassandra Bodzak Apr 20, 2015

Cassandra Bodzak is a #lightmaker! As a health and meditation expert, her main gig involves coaching women, one-on-one, to help guide them to creating a life that lights them up through CassandraBodzak.com. She also does speaking and conducts guided meditations for businesses of all sorts. Check out her guided meditations on her YouTube channel!

Currently, Cassandra is producing and launching a cooking series: “Eat with Intention” and finishing up her first memoir to be released in Fall 2015!

“If you’re not obsessed with your life, then change it” – Anonymous

Divine Guidance to Cassandra’s Life That Lights Her Up

“When I was in college, I didn’t even know that the kind of career I have was an option.”

Tune in to hear more about Cassandra's journey and how she did it her way!

SDH 014: Launching an Online Store with Katelyn Kosinski Apr 13, 2015

Katelyn started her blog the summer before she graduated from college. Not too long after, she developed the idea to open an online store. Katelyn challenged the status quo and chased after her dream right out of college. Now, the founder of the online store, Woodbury Lane and blogger at KatelynNow.com, she’s killin it! And we’re so excited to have her on the #podcast!

“If I’m going to be running a business, it should be my own business, something that I’m passionate about where there is more personal growth.”

Katelyn started her own business fresh out of college after realizing her passion for clothes and retail.

“I could not stop thinking about it. I needed to act on it.”

Woodbury Lane – The Well-Dressed Girl Next Door

Preparation for an online store launch:

Website (Shopify, Squarespace, Weebly)

Set up LLC

Build up Social Media

Photoshoot (with a model)

Promoting the launch

Bloggers in her network

Building excitement over the website for months

Social Media accounts set up 6-8 months before

Built email list far in advance to send launch news straight to subscribers’ inboxes

Managing Inventory: Attends a buyers’ wholesale market every 3 months. Usually your buying months before you put them up.

“I get to curate what my store is going to look like and hand-pick every item, which I love”

Most things come pre-packed (2 smalls, 2 mediums, 2 larges). Start off by playing it safe and buying one pack to see how it will sell on the website.

Reorders are generally easy and can gauge the popularity of an item via social media.

Not to mention her personalized packaging!

Most Surprising Aspect after Launch: The number of people that were sharing the website without even being asked and getting contacted by a local news station to come on the morning show the day of the launch.

She shipped to 5 different states on launch day!

Favorite Part: Meeting new people

“You wouldn’t think that opening an online shop would make you meet new people, but I have met so many people through this!”

3 Things for a Successful Online Store:

Have a clean website that is easy to navigate

Reaching out to people to promote your site before you launch

Make sure you have enough inventory.

Tune in to hear more about her journey!

SDH 013: Stop, Collaborate & Listen with Melissa Jones Apr 07, 2015

Melissa Jones is the Chief Encouragement Officer at theCEOffice, a management consulting boutique with a goal to create opportunities for creative entrepreneurs and small business owners to flourish and be successful. Along with running her consulting business, Melissa runs the very popular Creative Chic Coffee and Collaborations events, a unique and intimate networking event for creative female entrepreneurs.

“Seeing women support each other. That’s where my excitement comes from.”

Melissa started in corporate America when she was 19 and moved to management upon turning 21. She has 13 years of experience in Fortune 500 companies leading teams and honing business and management skills.

She attended 2 creative conferences that were catalysts in her decision to move forward with starting her own business. She spotted a need within the small business industry for assistance with building strong teams and took her skills from CA and applies them to small businesses.

Creative Chics: A monthly networking event (4th Saturday of every month) that allows creative entrepreneurs and small business owners to come together and collaborate.

SDH 012: Just Do You with Samantha Thomas Mar 30, 2015

Samantha Thomas, founder and host of SmallTALK Web Series, an online series focusing on the best People and Plates that Chicago has to offer

SDH 011: The Power of Partnership with Sam Saifer & Carolyn Pelissero, founders of BoldFace Communications Mar 23, 2015

Boldface Co. is a boutique marketing firm, creating memorable marketing campaigns and events for clients in the fashion, start up, hospitality, retail and real estate industries. They deliver personal attention to every client and project. Carolyn and Sam become an extension of their client’s brands fulfilling all of their marketing, public relations, event management, social media and strategic partnership needs.

2 years ago Carolyn and Sam joined forces to combine PR, media relations, and events for Boldface.

Carolyn started the company after being approached several times for her help in PR and marketing for new businesses. Sam came into the mix and added a social and events element to the company.

“I always knew I wanted to work for myself”

Partnership: They balance out each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They learn a lot from each other without having to learn every aspect of the business right away.

Carolyn: “When it was just me it was hard to not have anyone to ask for insight. Not only is it nice to share the work and ideas, but to have that support system built in – It makes things a lot easier to have a partner.”

On their work: “It’s a fun way to incorporate the people that we love into work.”

Evolution of PR: “Social media is going to be a huge player in the PR world, more so then your typical print media”

“If you’re not incorporating that strategic partnership and trying to get ambassadors on board by tapping into people with a large following, you’re really missing out on a huge part of what PR has become – You just have to evolve with it.”

PR is public relations. It is how you are communicating your brand and what you have to offer to the public. It is also a very gray area. It’s going to continue to get blurred as long as social media allows people to become important in their own way.

“People are very self-important now more than ever”

Advice to become an influencer: Put yourself out there and go to as many events and network as possible. You need to look credible too. Look professional and spell check! The little things will set you apart.

“Finding the unique spin on things - The unique ones that have their own twist really stand out - That’s really important. Be true to yourself, and be unique, and don’t try to mimic what other people are doing.”

Overcoming Challenges: It’s hard not to be accessible when now you can be (accessed) at all times

Creating Boundaries: Sometimes you’re at your home office and you want to get some work done at 10 PM, but sometimes it’s a good idea to leave it in the draft folder and send it the next day if you don’t want to open up the flood gates to encourage others to do it to you.

Moment of Growth:

“You don’t need a class in anything. You take what you’re good at, your strengths, and what you like to do and turn it into your own business. You’re good as gold.”

Book Recommendations:

Carolyn: Freakonomics – Steven Levitt & Stephen Dubner & The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss (a repeat that we love)

Sam: Grace: A Memoir - Grace Coddington & Lean In – Sheryl Sandberg

Other misc. mentions: Jenna Lyons Article

“I’m very much inspired by other inspiring women.”

Inspirations:

Carolyn: “Working for yourself, you have to stay motivated and be a little bit of a hustler and a go-getter” | Like the news flash in college, when no one is making sure you do your homework, you have to be self-sufficient – it’s the same way when you have your own business. | “I’m way more productive now than I ever was at a desk job.” | You’re not going to get paid if you’re not doing anything or doing a good job.

Sam: “Success is a feeling that keeps you motivated.”

A Day In The Life:

Carpool + Dress the same ;) + Early morning client meeting + Meet with Intern at Soho House + Accountant calls and emails + Keep each other up to speed working together

“Every day is truly chaos – Every day is so different, and fun, and unique, and spontaneous!”

Advice:

“The way you get ahead is by doing something that you love and committing to yourself to do that, because then you’ll be happy, and you’ll work hard, and you’ll get noticed for that.” – Jenna Lyons

Sam: Ask yourself - Why do I deserve this and why do I want this? | Love what you do so much that you don’t even really know that’s how hard you’re working. | The motivated and hard working person is hard to come by.

“Work hard and love what you do.”

Carolyn: Hand written thank you notes go a long way! | Know that business is cyclical, there are ups and downs, and you might lose a client, but be patient, and know that someone else will come about. | “Enjoy the risk because it does all work out.”

“As long as we can continue to work where we are happy and confident about what we’re doing then that’s all we care about.”

::Find Carolyn, Sam and BoldFace: Instagram ( @BoldFaceChicago), Twitter ( @BoldFaceCo), BoldFaceChicago.com::

EP. 10 Nicole Regan Mar 16, 2015

Nicole Regan is the Editor and Creative Director behind Cedar & Rush – a girl’s handbook and guide to Chicago. In addition to blogging, Nicole is a Social Media & PR Consultant; Founder of the women’s network, Garnish & Glam; and Contributor to the popular online magazine, CheekyChicago.

Following Nicole’s college degree in business finance, she began her 7-year career in Corporate America. She did well, climbed the ladder, expanded her network, but she was unhappy…

“I think my soul hurt”

She began her blog as a passion project, on the side, as a creative outlet – something she undoubtedly kept suppressed during the workday.

“There are different compartments of your life and I was very depressed in my career department”

Enter: Cedar and Rush (formerly known as “Great Dates in The City”)

Through her blog, networking, meeting people in PR, within companies and business owners, Nicole became exposed to the need for a Social Media consultant. She started getting experience with collaborating with other companies and getting her name out there. She leveraged her job to pay the bills while she became social media and networking savvy.

“I was going to take any opportunity I could get to get out of there”

Started getting great recognition through larger brands – companies reached out asking for help on social media. Gained experience setting up social media awareness and discovering which social media outlets work best for different companies.

Social Media Strategy: Set the expectation up front, understand the brand and the direction the business is looking to go, then execute.

“Having a definitive goal and making sure everyone is on the same page, up front.”

Nicole’s Biggest Challenge: Sales! – It’s all part of falling on your face first, but getting back in the hopper. Eventually you feel good about yourself and you have your pitch down.

Insider’s Tip: Utilize your network to expand your client base.

“By letting people know that you’re looking for business, you immediately come to mind when something does come up for them.”

SDH 009: Building Businesses, Changing Lives with Michelle Blue Mar 09, 2015

Bené is an online collection of scarves, inspired by the culture where it all began and committed to providing an education to girls in Ghana by sponsoring tuition, books, supplies, and the uniforms for the girls to continue their education and fulfill their dreams. Michelle and her cofounder, Sasha, began building the business while in college and have moved ahead, full-force, after graduating to make their dream a reality. Bené partners with Sista Works to provide and support 5 girls through secondary school.

“We believe we are our sister’s keeper. We believe in empowering women by making investments into their lives, natural abilities and gifts to enable them to be self-sufficient. Our pieces are inspired by the cultures we build into.” – benescarves.com

Most excited about: Bené just launched their Spring/Summer collection of scarves. It’s a brand new collection that is beautiful as a beach cover-up or just everyday life. New prints + New Styles + Learning about the girls Bené helps support.

“How can I make a sustainable difference in these girls’ lives?”

In the interview Michelle shares her story of how she was inspired to create a business that would help support and empower girls in Ghana. We dive deep into the actual back-end of the business and what it took for her and her partner to get started.

“In the beginning we were so caught up in all of the ideas and trying to plan for the unexpected”

Immediate Implementation: It’s not necessarily a bad thing to flesh out ideas, but there is a time where you have to focus and just start executing. Sitting down and focusing.

Everything is not going to be perfect. You’re not going to have the resources to do everything that you want to in the beginning. But start small if you have to and then you can build upon that and continue to grow your business. Start with what you have and use the resources around you.

SDH 008: Creating Opportunities with Hillary Sawchuk Mar 02, 2015

Hillary is the founder of A Drink With, a publication of weekly feature interviews with top celebrities, actors, artists, and other influencers. Hillary created A Drink With as a ‘side hustle’ to her full-time job after moving to Chicago and knowing she needed to figure out how to stay while doing something that she loved.

“Put yourself where you want to be. Maybe you’re not there in the capacity you want to be at yet, but just get there somehow.”

In our interview we dig into the evolution of A Drink With, current partnerships with exciting big names and Hillary’s vision for the company looking forward. We learn how the company came to fruition, how they get the big names to say yes to an interview, and Hillary’s most star struck moments. Hillary shares her interview prep routine, a day in her life, and quality advice for ladies, like us, looking to leave their mark on the world. “I do love talking to those big celebrities, musicians, and actors, but I never want to lose getting to know the local influencers and people in your town.”

Find Hillary @: Instagram and Twitter (@HillarySawchuk) Find A Drink With @: Instagram, and Twitter (@ADrinkWith) and ADrinkWith.Com subscribe to get emails when pieces are posted!

SDH 007: Finding Your Own Strength with Susanna Kalnes Feb 23, 2015

oday we're interviewing Susanna Kalnes, a PR business owner, fitness trainer, TV host, life coach, and motivational speaker. Susanna is the creator of Chisel fo' Shizzel, a choreographed strength workout which she describes as "karaoke meets weightlifting".

"Muscle is the foundation of youth"

In the interview, Susanna walks us through her incredible story of her journey to health, fitness, and the foundation of her future fitness empire with Chisel fo' Shizzel.

“When you’re in the emergency room with your entire family thinking you’re having a heart attack and you’re only 24…”

As an experienced entrepreneur in both public relations and the fitness industry, Susanna brings a unique mix of business and fitness to the show.

“A lot of what prompted me was actual fear.”

Hear how Susanna balances work and life, prioritizes her busy schedule, and pinpoints her easiest and hardest parts of her day. She shares what she has learned over the last year,

“In order to succeed in life, it’s important to put the emphasis on others.”

[Find Susanna on SusannaKalnes.com, Instagram, Twitter (@SusannaKalnes)]

Susanna’s Book Rec: “Thoughts Make You Wealthy” – Richard Levy

SDH 006: Build A Business Without Even Knowing It with Kathryn Snellen Feb 16, 2015

Today on the podcast we had the opportunity to interview the lovely Kathryn Snellen, owner of Kathryn Elise Studio, a boutique agency and blog offering creative perspective for brands. Kathryn is also the co-founder of Go Blog Social, a Midwest blogger conference designed to educate, inform, and inspire.

In the interview, Kathryn talks about her start-up experience, the road to self-employment, and her amazing experience and struggle of inevitably building her own business without even knowing it. She discusses her timeline of going out on her own and the little details we all tend to forget on setting up the back-end logistics of the business.

"People will believe in you, if you believe in yourself"

Kathryn's book recommendation (which we absolutely LOVE!) :: #GIRLBOSS - Sophia Amoruso

But wait! If you're feeling spontaneous, feel free to check out this fabulous Go Blog Social Workshop event in Kansas City, MO. It's happening THIS weekend, February 22, 2015. Click Here for tickets!

Catch up with Kathryn on Instagram (@KathrynEliseStudio) and Twitter (@KathrynElise).

Check out Go Blog Social on Instagram (@GoBlogSocial_) and Twitter (@GoBlogSocial)

BONUS EPISODE: Living with Routine Feb 09, 2015

Living with Routine

SDH 005: Drive Your Own Ship with Corri McFadden Feb 02, 2015

Corri McFadden is the founder and owner of the premiere luxury consignment service, eDrop-Off. Celebrating its 10th year in business this past October, eDrop-Off is one of the largest luxury consignors in the country and a Titanium seller on eBay!

Corri has also evolved herself as a Style Expert with her widely popular site, CorriMcFadden.com. She hosts a weekly fashion segment on WCIU’s “You and Me This Morning” and is a regular contributor on FOX News and online at Elizabeth Street and MSN. Corri also starred in her own reality series on VH1 “House of Consignment” and has appeared on the Today Show, The Steve Harvey Show and Entertainment Tonight, among others.

SDH 004: Delayed Gratification with Sidonia Swarm Jan 26, 2015

Sidonia Swarm is the founder and CEO of REAL Dietitian, a #healthtech startup focused on empowering better health through better nutrition. REAL Dietitian is an online platform, accessible through your computer, tablet or smartphone, which provides simplified access to a dietitian via phone or video appointments.

Just 6 months out of college, Sidonia has become passionate about solving a critical problem in the healthcare industry and has put to use her education in nutrition, business management, and entrepreneurship to help tackle that problem, despite the doubts and criticism from others. Sidonia is passionate to teach others how food effects health and rightfully preaches “plants before pills” so that individuals may find different alternatives to medicine.

SDH 003: Listen More, Talk Less with Natalie Alexia Jan 18, 2015

Natalie is an author, speaker, blogger and life coach. She has been coaching on the side while working in her and her husband’s landscaping business for the past 9 years. She has lived in 6 different countries throughout her life and has recently sold the landscaping business and relocated with her family to sunny California. Their newest business endeavor is full-time business and life coaching via the website and future blog, LifeLetLoose.com. Natalie's coaching info is at NatalieAlexia.com and hop on over to Love's The New Black to learn about her newest photographic project!

Connect:: Twitter @LifeLetLoose || Facebook || Insta: @Natalie_LifeLetLoose

“My dad is an entrepreneur so it just kind of always seemed like a really logical choice.”

Breakthrough Goal: Selling their business in 2013 and moving to the states. :: More on why this is important, below

Insight into Coaching and Consulting: “some of us are just innately coaches, in life, in general. I’ve always been that go-to person within my circle of friends and family where if someone had an issue or something had come up in their business, I’ve always been the person that they called. I’m very level-headed, I’m very direct but without being very brutal. That was very much a part of my personality, always has been.”

Getting Started: Started as a passion project – Sending out emails to her network and do a certain amount of hours to fulfill her certification. Used referral strategies to build client base. “I maintained as many clients as I wanted because I didn’t want a full practice throughout those 6 years.”

“For me, I wanted it to be more than coaching. I love the one-to-one coaching, but I was looking around and seeing so many people in my life who were not really fully living or enjoying”

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Boss with Farissa Knox Jan 12, 2015

Farissa started her first company, RLM Media, 6 years ago. RLM is an advertising agency that does media planning and buying. One of the agencies that is resourceful in putting ads on TV, radio, or on billboards.

What R U Wearing came to Farissa when she thought, “wow, I really will be trying my best to work for myself for the rest of my life.” She decided that if she can fit more on her plate, why not make any really great idea a reality? [Touché!] The interactive source of fashion feedback and daily inspiration – the forum invites you to upload images of your personal style and ask for advice from fellow followers. // Currently working on a rebrand, keep up with the forum via Instagram (@whatruwearing), Facebook, and Twitter(@whatruwearing_).

Farissa’s Passion: fashion, style, and putting together looks for others

“Why isn’t there a place where we can go see women around the world what we’re wearing every day? […] It’s cool to see what Beyonce is wearing, but I can’t necessarily go buy and afford what celebrities wear every day.”

Entrepreneurship, When did she know?: The realization that there was damn near no way that she could go back and work for someone else again and have to tell her boss why she was 5 minutes late or just not be as fully in love and engaged with what she was doing everyday besides getting her paycheck.

“As an entrepreneur … You’re excited about the opportunity to really prove to yourself that you’re as amazing as you think you are.”

How do you determine what you give your time to?: Never let go of what you want your results to be.

Motivation: “When I walk into my office every morning, and I see what I’ve been able to accomplish so far with the help of my team, and being around them every day is really what keeps me motivated – I don’t want to fail for me and I don’t want to fail for them”

Have to have a little bit of (inspiration and motivation) on your own. You can’t be looking for it in other places. Most days you’re hit with “no’s” and walls and obstacles.

Obstacle: WhatRUWearing website getting hacked -- $15,000-20,000 down the drain in a minute because of a lesson that I had to learn. To get back up – Start from square one all over again and justify re-investing all of those dollars was a very difficult decision that a lot of people would look at as a wall that’s just not climbable.

“Just keep going because it’s the people who stop who never achieve anything”

Entrepreneurs are the people who work really hard and come up with the strategy to maneuver the obstacles and to keep the rest of their team motivated. I’ve learned to learn from other business people and their decision making and how they operate.

Farissa’s Biggest Fear: Admitting to her team that she tried but she failed and now they are out of work

Handling Conflict: the feminine emotions of a woman – when inside the workplace, deal with outside-work conflict like a man would. Let go of those emotional things. HOWEVER, if someone is rude to you and you need to put them in their place, handle it the way a woman would. Especially in a leadership position, in front of a team, because you don’t want your team to think it is not okay for their leader to be spoken to like that.

Transition from an entrepreneur to a leader:: Real leaders have to be able to put up with difficult situations and not have it ruin anything beyond that minute that it happened in.

SDH 001: Executing Entrepreneurship with Shauna Mackenzie Jan 05, 2015

She Did It Her Way Podcast interviews Shauna Mackenzie, the owner of Best Kept Self, an online platform for self-starting women. The company publishes content, daily, and offers online and one-on-one consulting programs. A lifestyle brand for women full of quality information on beauty, style, health; oh, and our favorite, the #bestkeptselfie campaign promoting positive self-talk <- we’ve signed the petition to stop the madness, have you?!

The company began (when Shauna was 22 – get it girl!) as an image consulting agency, and it has since evolved into an all-inclusive resource for entrepreneurial women and their self-started businesses. Shauna and her collective of experts are total rockstars!

Shauna also founded and co-owns The Studio for Image Professionals, a training and certificate program to educate other individuals on becoming image consultants.

Not to mention – her and her hubs owns a vacation rental company… umm what?! An airbnb houseboat(!!!) – This girl knows the business! [And we may be vacationing on a houseboat soon…]

“Once you discover what you really want to be doing, it makes your day job absolutely miserable.”

Tune in to learn more!

SDIHW 053: Catching up with Anese Cavanaugh Jan 02, 2015

Today we are checking in with Anese Cavanaugh, master of managing energy to be more effective in life.

You may remember Anese's energy from episode 021. If you want to hear the original episode for the first (or second) time, stay tuned after the check in.

Anese shares the importance of your intentional energetic presence in how you show up in the world to lead others and yourself.

She talks about how her business has gone global and was even translated into other languages! We also get a glimpse into her new book Contagious Culture.

“The thing that I care about, at the end of the day, is that we are showing up for ourselves and we are feeling really good.”

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Her Story

What does 2022 look like for Emily?

Emily’s Final Note

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What is it?

Why and Benefit?

How to Start?

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Know your three:

In this episode you will:

The Quick List:

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A Backwards Glance

Owning It

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Looking Back

Creating the Black Card Experience

Two of the most common pitfalls Megan sees when building their course are:

Megan’s Results Centered Training Formula:

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Tori’s Top Personal Financial Tips:

Tori’s Top Business Financial Tips:

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A Recap

Shop 1 In 5 + 2020

Big Things To Close Out 2021

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Steph’s Corporate Journey

Making Her Leap

Evolution Into Coaching

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Tactical (Actionable) Steps

Emotional Steps

A Final Note

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The 3 Buckets

Mindset:

Laying Your Foundation For Success:

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The Short Story…

The Tipping Point

The PAID Method (Ashley’s Proprietary Coaching Method)

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