Business Badassery Podcast

This week's listener has a very excellent question today. And it is this. "I'm working on list building at the moment and have lost God knows how many hours to research on what kind of download slash lead magnet to create. While the advice and sounds the thing I'm missing is real life examples. So I was wondering, would you to be comfortable running through the lead magnets you've had over the years and talking about which ones worked? Which ones didn't? And why."

This week's listener has a question that reads like this. "It feels like everyone who's anyone has a sub stack at the moment. I love caps writing. And I'm a content writer by trade and wondering what strategic or business value there would be in starting one up, I'm torn between reviving my blog or starting a substack." We figure out what might make sense here!

This week's listener wants to know how many offers to have available for clients. We talk about offer ecosystems, how to decide what number makes sense, whether you should put the offers on your site, or keep them private and internal. There are a few things to keep in mind regarding your pricing and your potential clients and we discuss them all. 

Some online courses and programs requirean application. Is it a good idea to use one? We discuss why to use one and when and how Kirsty has used them in her programs as well as what you should be aware of, and why, if you decide to add an application to one of your offers. 

List building is critically important. What to do when the bots show up on your list in force? Where do they come from? Whatcan you do to get rid of them? We discussthese Qs, plus list health and strategy a bit too in this very short episode.

Scope creep. Mispriced projects. Unexpected challenges during a project. What's your responsibility and what falls to your client? This week we tackle a curly question for someone in the middle of a sticky project.

This week we talk about creating content to keep yourself in front of your audience.  What do you create, how do you stay motivated, what's it all in service of anyway?  We address what to do when you're in a slump, where to find inspiration and why  it's such an important part of your business growth. 

This week we go behind the scenes in Kirsty's business to talk about her email membership, how she's thought about and structured offers in her business,  and how she responds to market inquiries and demands. She's a super sharpmarketer who has a unique way of thinking about possibilities. She's also aboutto take her second maternity leave and we talk about what's different this time, how she prepared knowing now what she didn't before, and what she expects of her business while she takes time off. 

  We have a rather gut wrenching question today, that I'm sure many listeners can relate to. The question is: "I was asked to speak at a big in-person conference and I wanted to say yes so much. But it requires international travel and I just can't manage that at the moment with kids and family commitments. I'm feeling a little deflated. Any advice on how to navigate this feeling of feeling pulled between what's best for my kids and me as a mother, versus what's best for my business?"   Connect:  hello@businessbadassery.com Amy on Linked In Amy on Instagram Kirsty on Instagram

In this episode, Amy brings listeners up to date with what she's been up to in her business. A detour from Magnetic North Mastermind, her core offer over the last 2 - 3 years, Amy has spent most of 2023 building a new course that encompasses all of the skills and techniques she's honed over her 30+ years of experience building six successful businesses. As a business-development specialist and coach for more than 1,000 creative freelancers, Amy's learned that there is one fundamental difference between freelancers who are good, (even great) at their craft and make a ‘just meh' living and those who crush it.  The difference? Business skills. Understanding what clients really want. Understanding what you really want. And then, knowing how to get it.    Connect:  hello@businessbadassery.com Amy on Linked In Amy on Instagram Kirsty on Instagram  

On this week's episode of Business Badassery we have a question from a desiger who specializes in creating PDF's as interactive tools. The product helps break down complicated processes into manageable steps and includes features like self-check quizzes and tool tips. It's a very useful product that makes people's "brains expolode" once they understand the value, but our listener doesn't have a large enough audience to sell the service.  So - the question is "My business overall runs on referrals, but I feel like I need I need to be more proactive in finding the audience for my interactive PDF's. I'm unsure of how to get in front of people who will need these and are willing to invest in a product like this. Where do I start?" Connect:  hello@businessbadassery.com Amy on Linked In Amy on Instagram Kirsty on Instagram      

Great question about how to define success in your business. This week's listener has a personal definition of success, which is  freedom and flexibility. This person doesn't want to work 40 hours a week but is curious to hear BB's thoughts about how that definition of success may or may not appear to current and potential clients. How transparent do we need to be?

Evergreen funnels are a great way to secure passive income in your business. If it's a new term to you, 'Evergreen Sales Funnel' is a fancy way of saying an automated system that sells your product year-round, to your audience, in a strategic way. Our listener this week is launching a digital product, a downloadable eBook resource for around the $50. She's  wondering the best way to go about setting up an evergreen funnel for her new product. 

Great question from a listener this week: "I'm launching a joint offer with another fellow business owner who is not a copywriter. She's a designer, and we'd love to know how to go about this. How do we combine our processes, invoicing, workflow, etc, in order to ensure we're delivering the best to our clients while having fun ourselves?" 

We have a very special guest with us this week. Emma McMillan is someone we know quite well and truly admire and respect. Emma believes everyone can write better. As a copy coach, she guides small business owners and others to connect authentically – and consistently – with their audience. A former teacher of 12 years, Emma has run a successful copywriting business since 2016. Her unique skill set gives her a deep understanding of both how people learn and the realities of small biz life. As host of the podcast Not Just About Copy, Emma shares inspiring conversations along with practical coaching episodes on how to write better - with more ease, purpose, joy and flow.  To learn more about Emma, see links below: https://www.emmamcmillancopy.com/ https://www.emmamcmillancopy.com/the-not-just-about-copy-podcast/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-mcmillan-copywriter/  https://www.instagram.com/emmamcmillancopy/

This week's question is hugely relevant to both Amy and Kirsty: "How do you take a good chunk of time off your business without disappearing from your clients radar?" It can be an agonizing decision to walk away for a period of time, but is all that anxiety really worth it? Take a listen as we describe our experiences with taking blocks of time off and how it affected our businesses.  

There's so much packed into this week's question "What are the elements of a successful partnership like yours? And when I say successful, I also mean still having a blast together." We get very transparent about how we came to our business partnership and the secret sauce that makes our particular joint venture not only successful, but fun. 

This week's question comes from a listener who has been in business for two years, and still isn't hitting their financial goals. They're struggling with overwhelm, inconsistency and hiding behind the 'next new course' instead of trusting in their business. Is it time to quit? 

Beta testing is a popular way to discover how people relate to your product or offer before its final release. Join Amy and Kirsty as they answer this week's question about how they go about beta testing, how many people they include and the benefits it can provide prior to a proper launch. 

This one's all about Lead Magnets. Do you need a download? Are there other strategies that provide value and interest people in joining you list? Take a listen as Kirsty and Amy chat lead magnet success...and some flops. 

We've got a juicy question this week and it's about money.  Do you have an emergency fund, and if so what does that look like? How many months of expenses should it cover? Tune in as we chat 'life boats' - aka, emergency funds to protect your business.

We are so excited to welcome our special guest, Tanya Geisler today. If Tanya is new to you, she's a certified Leadership Coach, an international TEDx women's speaker, and a writer who teaches leaders how to combat their imposter complex and lead with iconic impact so they can achieve their ultimate goals. You can learn more about her at tanyageisler.com and we definitely recommend taking her quiz to discover your OWN Iconic Identity.

In this episode we bat around ideas for the future of the Business Badassery podcast as well as how we plan to move forward as a duo.

Hello! For those of you awesome, regular listeners you likely noticed we took a bit of time off. But we are back and can't wait for you to hear what we've been up to. Check out this episode all about our Business Badassery retreat in Mexico!

Today we have a very special guest, Kaity Griffin! Kaity comes to us from Melbourne where she is a mum and Google Ads whiz. Kaity teaches businesses and marketers how to profitably use Google Ads and has a knack of breaking down totally confusing concepts (hello, Google Ads!) and letting you in on the trade secrets she uses with her 7 figure clients. 

Something a little different for you this week! This eposode is likely landing in your ears towards the end of 2022, so we thought we'd share some behind the scenes intel and information about what's happened in both of our businesses this year. Grab a cup o 'cheer and cozy up as we chat about the leaps and hurdles, highs and lows of 2022.     

Today we have our first ever special guest on Business Badassery and it is the WONDERFUL Anna Rogan. If you have not heard of her she is a self confessed copywriting Jill of All Trades. Brand voice and messaging strategy, sales pages and launch copy, emails, websites and UX - she does it all. Anna helps business sound just like themselves (only better) in their copy so they can get out into the world and create a ruckus.

This week on Business Badassery we have a question around positioning and managing multiple offers to different audiences. Our listener wants to know "How do you keep your content and messaging on point when you have many strings to your bow? How can I still do all the things without confusing people?" If you are an entrepreneuer wondering how to tailor your content in a way that connets with different audiences, this pod's for you.   

We've got a meaty question this week on Business Badassery. Our listener asks "I'm at a point in my business where I'm booking out months in advance. Yay! But also, what now? I have quickly created a waitlist to deal with inquiries but am a bit lost as to where to go from here. Ideally, I'd love to open my books once a quarter and fill my schedule with great clients. But I'm not sure how to get to that point. How do I stay top of mind with people? Do I open it to everyone on my list or prioritize who gets first dibs? Would love to hear your ideas and experience with waitlists." 

It's no secret that visibility is a big piece of growing a business, and this week's question is all about that. This listener wants to know more about how to land speaking gigs and be interviewed on podcasts. They have been looking for a podcast to pitch but most of the ones their audience listens to will only interview in-house marketers and have a no freelance / consultant policy. Take a listen as Amy and Kirsty give their advice on how to up visibility and land more gigs. 

Welcome to this week's short and pithy episode of Business Badassery! Today our listener wants to know 'How do you decide that raising your rates might NOT be the answer?' 

This week's questions in Business Badassery: 'Are there more creative ways to scale than just bringing someone on? I hate the idea of managing someone and feel like the amount I'd need to pay someone decent might put me out of business. But I would like to grow my business, earn more dollars and keep growing. How do you scale witgout hiring or subcontracting? Raising your rates is one, but are there others?'  

Having a great mentor in the business world can sometimes make all the difference when it comes to resolving issues, developing strategies and streamlining the ol' learning curve. But if the role of mentor or mentee is new to you, how do you navigate creating a trusting relationship with appropriate boundaries?     

We've got a juicy Q & A this week on Business Badassery! This listener wants to know how to approach freelancing during an economic downturn. Is it best to expand offerings, adjust pricing or try a new niche? What are the most productive prospecting routes to explore within a limited amount of time? Tune in as Amy and Kirsty chat about how to handle a downturn without getting scattered and overwhelmed.     

This week's episode of Business Badassery peeks into Kirsty and Amy's different approaches to launching an offer. They chat audience building, nurturing, the mechanics behind a lauch and how they get it in front of the right people. 

You might remember a few episodes ago when Kirsty shared about her first ever Instagram reel experience. Well, our listeners noticed that she hasn't posted a reel since and want to know "Kirsty! Why no more reels!?" Check out this episode of Business Badassery for her answer. 

Ever set a financial goal you wanted to make in say a month or maybe a year and then you look at that big number and say 'great, that's what I want to make now how the hell do I make a roadmap to get there?' That's what we address in this week's episode. 

This week we have a listener who is about to launch their own podcast. They have some tactical questions about their online presence and current social accounts. We share some thoughts along with certain decisions we've made about this pod.

Today's episode is all about Instagram reels. An eagle-eyed listener noticed Kirsty is creating reels after talking recently about the fact that she doesn't need to do that for Instagram to support her business goals. What changed? Kirsty shares why she's made that decision, what's driving it and whether it might be a relevant move for you to make too.

Getting into a funk happens to all of us from time to time. Problem is when you don't know how to crawl out of it. Clearly these past couple years have served up a lot of funk. Here's a few thoughts about what you can do when you find yourself in that space.  .  

Today we share some thoughts about the future of this podcast. We were chatting after a recording and it occurred to us it might actually be of interest to you, our listeners. If not, hang tight -- we will get back to your questions next week!              

Are you at a point in your business where you're feeling a little bit overwhelmed with how much is on your plate? Or at capacity with the amount of work and projects you can take on? If so, you might want to think about outsourcing some bits and pieces or partnering with someone on your core skills so you can serve more people at any one time. If this sounds relevant for you, Amy and I share some tips for making this possible.

Unless you've been hiding under a very large rock for the last few months you know that most global economies are in pretty dire straights at the moment. Inflation is on the rise, recessions are official in some places around the world and predicted in others. The question Amy and I tackle on this episode of Business Badassery is about whether you can use relationships with your clients to recession-proof your business. 

Is there such a thing as too many offers? Should you have tons, or do you need to cull down? What's the best way to know - and be strategic? 

Retainer clients, a good idea, a bad plan, a fit sometimes, but not others. How to evaluate if retainers are good for you is what we tackle in this week's episode.

If you've ever wondered whether Instagram is still a good place to get leads in 2022, this episode is for you. We talk about strategy. We talk about the dreaded algorithm and we talk about how to actually pinpoint whether that's where your ideal prospects are hanging out.

Do you have a morning routine, or do you wonder about the morning routine of other people, particularly people you perceive as successful? This week someone wanted to know about our morning routines. So here you go…

Do you ever have a slow period in your business and you think to yourself, oh, I really should be working on my business, but you're kind of anxious cuz you also feel like you should have clients. So how do you stay motivated and stick to your plan? That's what we address in today's episode.

This episode is all about the downside of increased visibility. We talk about the pressure, the constant expectations and the increasing requests and favors being asked of you.  We dive into boundaries, self-care, and we also talk about what we see as the curve of visibility.

Ever thought about bringing on a subcontractor? Then wonder: "Uh, how do I do it? Is it worth it? What do you pay them? What else do I need to know?" We tackle these questions in this episode.