Flat Out Marketing: A Small Biz Podcast

How many of you have sat down to finally get some social media content sorted and then just sat there, stared at the screen and gone: "The hell am I gonna say?" In this episode, I'm sharing my go-to formula for getting unstuck with social media content, as well as batching a month in advance. I'm also going to give you my top 10 talking points to get those creative juices flowing! For show notes, links and more, visit meredithpaige.me or follow me on Insta @meredithpaige.me.

In today's world, the internet has become the go-to platform for businesses to market their products and services. However, what if you had to promote your business without the help of the internet? In this podcast episode, I explore old-school marketing strategies that can still be effective in today's digital age. I'll discuss various marketing tactics such as print advertisements, billboards, direct mail, text messaging, local business chambers, and radio. If you're looking for alternative marketing strategies or are just curious about how businesses marketed themselves before the internet, this podcast episode is for you. Join me as I dive into the world of old-school marketing and uncover the secrets to success without the internet. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

In this episode of the podcast, we'll be discussing how to create a marketing plan while keeping work-life balance in mind. A good marketing plan should always 3 components in order to be successful and I'll share practical tips and insights on how to prioritize your time and energy so that you can effectively market your business without burning the candle at both ends. We'll cover topics such as: Setting clear and achievable marketing goals Identifying your target audience and their needs Creating a content calendar that aligns with your work-life balance Making the most of automation tools and technology to streamline your marketing efforts And much more! So, if you're ready to create a marketing plan that truly works for you, tune in to this episode of the podcast and learn how to balance your business and personal life with ease. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

There is nothing like life getting busy to throw all the best intentions to the wayside. We are almost at the time of year when the wheels come off the New Year Resolutions we set only weeks before. Why? Because although we might have all the best intentions and made some excellent plans, if we don't have the right tools to support us, it ain't gonna happen. To help you combat this when it comes to your goals, I'm going to share my top 7 investments that I've made to systemise my social media and marketing. And even better, a few of them are very helpful across the business board! Are you ready? Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

If you are new around here, you might not know that I'm passionate about marketing your business in a way that is sustainable. So, if one of your New Year's Resolutions is to get more consistent with your marketing, take a moment to tune into my latest podcast episode before you begin. I firmly believe that, with these tips, you'll be able to create a system that both works and will see you cranking it out all into 2024. In this episode, we'll cover: Establishing your numbers Be super clear on your target market Becoming the face of your business And how NOT to reinvent the wheel for every single piece of content - it's ok to slice and dice! I know these tips will work for you as they work for me month in, month out. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Thank you for lending me your ears for what has been my fourth podcast season! In this season recap, I'm going to chat about what my newest project is, what working with me in 2023 will look like and how it will be a very different backdrop from what you are all used to! I'm also diving into how I've been manifesting this particular season of my life since my early 20s - it's amazing how all the pieces have been forming all those years! Have I made you curious with my cryptic clues? Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Starting out in marketing can feel a little like hitting a brick wall when we are tasked with talking about our business. So rather than only focusing on the monetary benefits marketing brings, I want to highlight the hidden benefits of consistent marketing that you may not have considered. Consistent marketing isn't just about being consistent - it's also about becoming better at telling your story. As you become more practised at delivering your message, you become more aligned with your why and how you can best serve your customers and help them do business with you. For my super simple but oh-so-effective hack on how to get your marketing message to the next level, let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Are you ready to outsource within your business and wondering where to start? In this episode, I'm speaking with my very own virtual assistant, Meredith Nowlan and we cover everything you need to know before beginning your own search. Starting with where to look, what your expectations are (and if they're realistic), and how having systems and procedures can really set you up for success when adding to your team. We also dive into the pros and cons of experienced vs new VA's and how to avoid making costly mistakes. Are you ready? Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Often we only think about marketing our business when times are lean and the pipeline is dry. But what if I told you that consistent marketing of your business could ensure your sales pipeline is always at a simmer? That you could iron out the peaks and troughs of your sales and enjoy a constant flow of business? If you are sick of the boom-and-bust feeling within your business, consistent marketing can be step one in stabilizing it. If you're ready to find out how I do this in my business, let's jump right in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Most marketing advice comes with the instruction to be your most authentic self and to put yourself ‘out there'. And as with anything in life, once you put yourself out there, you open yourself (and your business) to the opinions of others. Sadly, with the rise of social media, more and more people are comfortable expressing themselves in a less-than-desirable fashion! As a business owner, it can place you in an uncomfortable position. Jill Noble of Hallston Valley Farm is no stranger to causing a buzz on social media and as today's podcast guest, Jill shares her experiences with keyboard warriors, how she maintains her mental health when dealing with the strong opinions of others, and finding the silver lining within the backlash of sharing what she does for a living. Are you ready? Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

If you're struggling to create content for your marketing channels because you feel like it's all already been said and done, then this episode is perfect for you. Here, we'll cover: How reviewing your own social media space can show you the difference between what YOU'RE seeing, as opposed to YOUR audience Why connecting back with your big why, as well as your ideal customer, are the critical first steps towards originality and Looking back over your own experience and the unique events that brought you here gives you an insight into your own originality. That, and so much more. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Have you ever been involved in your local area's business awards? It's an amazing opportunity to open your business to potential customers, collaborators and generally increase public awareness around your brand. And marketing benefits aside, there is the added benefit of the application process being a regular reflection on the day-to-day running and achievements of your business. In this podcast episode, I'm speaking to Catherine Calvin, a PR consultant who has guided many regional businesses to success in the awards process. If you've ever questioned why business awards exist or how it could benefit your regional small business, you better get your headphones ready - this one's for you! Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Getting a website organised for your small business can seem like a mammoth task! Choosing the right provider in a highly unregulated industry is challenging at the best of times - throw in considerations about how your website can best serve your business and how each designer has different zones of genius and platform preferences - it's never been more important that you have a basic understanding of your needs and options. There is nothing more disheartening than seeing my small business peep's come out the other side with a website that can't service their needs. In this episode, I'm going to cover the three ways you can ensure your first or next website build is a success. Are you ready? Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

In this episode, I'm chatting with Megan Lewis of the Resolution Network. She's a workplace mediator, training and coaching consultant who shares her story of powerful local connections. We cover how important these in-person relationships are in business, whether you've been at it for years or you're just starting out. We discuss how finding that peer support group in regional business can make a massive difference in the ease with which you work & grow. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

We're back for another season and the first thing I wanted to break down was how businesses seem to be everywhere at once on social platforms. How are they doing it? And where are they finding the time? Well, it's not (in most cases) because they're glued to their screens or have an army of assistants in the background. There are three key actions that cause this effect - batching content, scheduling that content and successfully repurposing it into a variety of forms. I want to break it down so you can see how achievable it really is and how to make it work inside your business. You might want a pen and paper handy, guys. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Well, guys - we've collectively made it through another season! In today's season recap, I'm going to share my biggest take-aways over the past 15 episodes. How my money mindset has been challenged, how once again my marketing systems have given me a soft place to land when things got tough and how staying the course during the uphill and hairy moments has made coming out the other side very worthwhile. To everyone who has listened in this season, given me feedback and asked questions - thank you! It's because of you that I show up with purpose and enthusiasm each day. I'm also going to give you a peek of what you can expect in Season 4 - so, let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

In this episode, we're taking it from the top and chatting about Lead Magnets. Now, you might have heard me talking about these in the context of turning your website into a marketing pipeline or automating large parts of your marketing so you can be hands off and it can still be working for you. Lead Magnets are a critical piece of that puzzle. They're little packets of information that create a value exchange between you and your ideal customer. You can be serving them on autopilot, they can be getting high quality value from you, and you can be building a really strong database full of potential clients. So allow me to give you some background, show you how they work and how you can implement them in your business. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Do you feel like you fumble your way through your marketing because you just don't know what to say? You can see that customer in front of you, you know what they're experiencing and you know how you can help. But how do you package all that up into words and messaging that will get their attention? I'm diving into three things that I want you to stop doing now (if you are doing them), because they're probably holding you back. And then I've got one tactic that I want you to start doing because I believe it's going to boost how your marketing lands with those you're best suited to serve. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Are you marketing your butt off right now and feel like no-one is paying attention? If it helps you feel any better, you're not alone. I'm hearing this from clients and business buddies alike; they feel like they're putting their marketing messaging out there and it's kinda falling on deaf ears. So what's going on? I have my own take on the inner workings of the marketplace and the minds of our ideal customers - so join me for a quick chat while I unpack the situation. I'll share my thoughts on what we can do to ensure our marketing messaging get's greater traction and best of all, be heard above all that advertising noise out there. Ready? Let's jump in For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Impostor Syndrome. Do you experience it? I discovered recently that a lot of people who are in businesses that are older, bigger and more established than mine - even Jordan Peterson! - all still experience Impostor Syndrome. Which made me think: what if we we've got Imposter Syndrome all wrong? What if this little pessimistic voice we all seem to carry around inside of our heads is actually the key to our success, rather than something we're succeeding in spite of? In this episode, I want to challenge YOU to think about Imposter Syndrome in a whole new way. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Do you have a website that's over twelve months old and you're starting to get the niggling feeling that you have outgrown it and it needs a bit of a refresh? Website refreshes are one of my most popular services and now I'm going through my own. I've got to tell you…I understand now how much it feels like it sucks. No sooner than you feel like you'd cleared the initial website hurdle, you find yourself jumping right back in (because as our business grows and changes, our website must as well to remain current!). I wanted to use this episode as an opportunity to share what I'm learning and what I've gained from the website refresh experience. I'm coming to you wearing both hats: the website designer and the business owner (who just needs a website to reflect what my business looks like now and how to optimise it for my customers and their experience). Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

When it comes to marketing our regional and rural small business, quite often we focus on the visual aspects of a website and as a result, we don't pay as much attention as we should to the language and wording. This aspect carries so much weight in what it is that we communicate and the success of how it lands with our clients. I love diving into the language of marketing and how we can use words to articulate what a business does, why they're important and why you should choose them. Another who shares my love of this is Martha of Word Candy Comms. Martha has a fantastic perspective on words and language so I had to talk to her about what she thinks about SEO, language, tone of voice and how we can bring all that together to write more successful website text and social media captions when marketing our regional and rural small businesses. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

In this episode, we're back with Tori Kopke, my very first business coach, to talk about the idea of reverse engineering goals. Now, that might sound super woo-woo and a bit far fetched for you if you haven't come across this term before. But, I can almost guarantee that once you realise how this works and how it can play-out in your business, you're going to be kicking yourself that you weren't implementing this sooner! This is a practical way of moving the needle in your business and engineering growth to get ahead. It's also a vehicle to make those big, bold dreams achievable when we categorise them down into yearly, monthly, weekly and daily goals. I'm so glad to be having this conversation with Tori because it was with her during my first one-on-one business coaching experience that I got to understand how this works and how it actually plays out in a growing business. This is a chat with Tori that I can't wait to share with you guys. She's fantastic. She's practical. She's down to earth, and she gets what it means to running a business in a small town, trying to make a big difference. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

I think we can all agree that things are more than a little bit different when it comes to small business in the regional and rural space versus the big smoke. This is true of a lot of facets of our business, but none more so than how we handle our marketing. A lot of the time we get stuck trying to apply a big city social media strategy to our regional or rural business, only to find it just does not fit. The people are different. The way we make decisions are different and motivating factors are different. Today, I wanted to set your mind at ease and give you my take on how we should look at social media for our small business in the context of a broader marketing strategy. How you can be consistent and measure results without getting hung up and feeling like you have to live and die over likes on a Facebook post. Ready? Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Does the idea of consistently marketing your small business seem like a a pipe dream? It's feels like there's twenty different platforms and you don't know which one to be on or what to say. Well, don't sweat it, you're not alone! I want to introduce my concept of layering in your marketing, where it's about going through, one step at a time, to establishing sustainable, consistent strategies that articulate to your potential customers what you're like to work with, why what you do is important and how they can do business with you. And as you develop these strategies and systems, layering in more platforms but in a way that you can maintain over time. This is my go-to way for ensuring we avoid the overwhelm and getting some traction that you can maintain. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

If you've ever thought advertising on local radio was way out of your budget for your small business, well then this episode is perfect for you. Today we're following up with part two of my chat with Fiona ludecke, my highly talented and very experienced local regional radio rep. So, if you haven't listened to Episode 34 yet, I recommend you put that on the list next. Here, we're diving into the ways you can maximise advertising on your local radio as part of a small business marketing strategy. Ready? Let's jump in For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me You can find Max 1073 by following this link: Max1073.com.au

When it comes to marketing you regional and rural small businesses, there's two big things we want to be looking out for: bang for your buck and opportunities to put things on autopilot. I'm really excited to bring you a radio rep from our regional radio station, Fiona Ludeke. Fiona talks about the benefits of radio when it comes to promoting your regional and rural small business. In today's chat, we're going to talk about what radio can actually bring to your marketing at a surprisingly affordable investment. Many believe radio is beyond their reach however after listening to Fiona, I think you'll see how achievable it is and how much of the heavy lifting your local radio station could be doing in terms of getting ears and then subsequently eyes on your business. Ready? Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

I think it goes without saying, that as we're going along this business journey, there's going to be inevitably these uncomfortable stages of growth. They keep coming up and can make us feel like we're bursting at the seams. But, that's when we know we're about ready to hit another growth spurt. It's similar to when our kids start showing a bit too much ankle or wrist in their clothes. It's when we know it's time to overhaul their wardrobe or in our case, adjust our business practises. But, one of the biggest periods of growth that happened for us in business, is when we shift from that early phase of the hustle where we're doing everything and wearing all the hats to becoming our own CEO. Actually moving away from that mindset where we have to do all the things and towards starting to think more operationally about our business. What is it going to look like long-term? How do we get it there? How do we assemble our Avengers? Who do you hire? What software do you invest in? What products and services do you niche down on? It can be a really hard stage to get to go through both on a practical and theoretical sense. Also, the headspace side of things, where you know we have a lot of limiting beliefs that show up at this stage that we really need to face head on if we're going to move forward. There's no one else that's probably best suited to guide us through this stage than my first ever business coach, Tori Kopke. In this episode, I'd love to share with you her insights about moving into that CEO position within your own business and how that's going to unlock all this potential for the growth right into the future. I can't wait to share this one with you guys. Let's get jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Do you feel like you're trying everything with your small business's marketing and it's just not working? You're trying to be on all the platforms sharing all types of content, sending emails and even putting things to print? And it still feels like there's no translation towards sales? It might be that you're throwing everything out there in a way that's not giving your potential audience somewhere to go. Perhaps you're not using your marketing to create a pipeline? So, that's what I want to cover in this episode; the idea that whenever we put marketing content out there, it's vital we're thinking about what we want our potential customer to do next. Where do we want them to go after this post or video or link? And how does that next step move them closer from just browsing to actually buying? When I figured all this out for my own business, it literally blew my mind and I've never looked back. I want you to understand the concept of marketing like a pipeline. So without further ado, let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Do you ever feel like you are putting in so much energy into marketing your business, trying to acquire new customers, or perhaps even converting those potential customers into paying, loyal customers? You feel like there's steps after step, you find yourself doing the same processes continuously, to the point where you think, 'Surely there's an app for that?' This is one of my favourite topics to cover! When we start bringing apps, software and systems into our business to do the manual handling for us, it opens up all these opportunities for growth. It helps us to bring people into the fold to help us grow our business in a more sustainable way. In addition, it gets us thinking with that CEO mindset. It allows us to market to potential customers on a 24/7 basis an helps us turn our website into an actual marketing machine that's contributing to the growth and success of our business. If you're looking for a way to get started with automations and discover some beneficial apps that can do some clever tricks and jobs within your business so you can focus on the specialised work, then this is the episode for you. Are you ready? Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

We have finally reached episode number 30, which means we're at the end of season two! I wanted to take this moment to share with you everything I've learned over the last 15-ish weeks, recapping my biggest take-away's from both Season 2 and my podcasting experience in general. I'll also let you all in on what I hope is coming up next. Let's jump right in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

If I were to mention the idea of taking some time off, there is a very good chance you would laugh, cry or both. Taking time off seems like worlds away from the daily doing that we undertake in small business however a recent camping experience where I was forced to cut everything off made me realise just how valuable these rest periods are. I got to disconnect from all the noise and reconnect and strengthen that connection with my immediate family and our friends. And not only that, because I had a break, I had time for the air to clear in my mind and all these new ideas and a fresh energy bubbled to the surface. When I got back, I was excited to jump back into work and put everything into action. This is why rest is important; and what made my time off so much more achievable is some of the actions I'm going to share with you today. Are you ready? Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Quite often when we're trying to run, grow and scale a small business, we tend to feel like we're caught in our own business bubble. It's almost like we can't see the forest through the trees and we've got no idea how to start, put one foot in front of the other and just get to where we need to go. In this episode, I'm chatting with my business coach, Luke Williams, who has been coaching me since October 2021. Before this, we've been working together on multiple websites, logos, branding and many more fun projects. Working with him in the capacity of a business coach was really the icing on the cake! Luke has a fantastic perspective on how everything connects together and what we can look to gain by getting the fundamentals right in our business and focus on the places where we can make a 1% improvement every day, rather than trying to go big and bold and overcomplicate things. I've found his insight into my business and the way I run it to be refreshing, enlightening and ultimately successful. I've been incredibly fortunate to steal a bit of Luke's time for you in this episode, so you too can hopefully benefit from his fantastic insights and his outlook on life. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

The whole COVID saga of 2020/2021 was, as I'm sure you can relate, was the craziest, weirdest, hardest time to have ever been in business in our living memories. I was one of the incredibly fortunate people to actually have a business grow during COVID - not only is what I do is digitally based (and there was a big need for that with shutdowns and restrictions and all of the uncertainty) but the nature of what I do is very compatible with the online way we had to do things for a while there. There were a few fundamental things that I did that I have been doing for over a decade that put me in the best position possible in order to tackle that challenge when it arose. It actually didn't really have anything to do with business specifically, but it was more about things I told and did in and of myself, that pay dividends, both professionally and personally. In this episode, I share with you the certain steps and strategies that have helped my brand navigate and survive the pandemic and how you can incorporate these into your business and everyday routine. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

In todays' episode, I have the pleasure of interviewing Ronald Mcdonald's house manager and community engagement coordinator, Rhiannon Curtis. We discuss the incredible success of the International Women's Day Lunch's annual event. Together, we dive into how certain struggles, efforts and strategies have worked towards making the yearly event what it is today. This episode is more than just beneficial for other Non-For-Profit organisation's and can be translated and incorporated into other small business ventures and events that you may have. We're going to start the conversation with discussing the importance of ensuring those involved in projects feel not only valued, but show reciprocated effort from other members, especially with events which are volunteer-based . We then move onto Rhiannon's success with increasing statistics surrounding 'The House of The Foster Retreat' and how she achieved such results. It's discussed how shifting perceptions and communicating to those involved were vital factors. Next, Rhiannon reveals how getting those who've used Ronald Mcdonald's resources to share their stories can be more impactful and important than just explaining the Non-For-Profit herself. We dive into the struggles and importance of separating your business from competitors and how that translates towards giving you that leading edge. Helping your current and potential consumers find relatability towards your business's purpose, can help build your relationship, giving you stronger potential for those purchases, or in Rhiannon's case, donations. Finally, we discuss the importance of using local talent and experts to specialise in certain departments, helping you work "smarter, not harder". With an incredibly interesting conversation, I can't wait for you to listen in. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Navigating the online world as a grownup is scary on a good day. So how do we teach our kids how to use platforms such as YouTube and Google with caution? Because, let's be real - we can't stop them from seeing, viewing and engaging with these platforms forever, as much as we might like to. A recent experience with my seven-year-old after his YouTube habits got a little out of hand saw me draw a line in the sand and have a serious chat with him. My purpose was to make him understand how algorithms work and how more often than not, these platforms aren't the product - we are! Afterwards, we established some new boundaries and ground rules (and his mood improved) and it got me thinking how this might benefit all my small business family peeps, because if this can help you better understand how algorithm-based platforms work, it can help you empower your kids with knowledge in a way that they can understand, as well as place ourselves in a better position of control when it comes to how we use and consume on these platforms. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Have you ever become disenchanted with where your industry is going or perhaps you've identified a gap that you feel you're ideally suited to better serve your clients and meet their needs? In this episode, we're jumping back in with Liz Jarvis from Better Business Decisions to talk about how we work together to capture what it is she's doing to revolutionise finance and our money mindset within our businesses, to put business owners back in control of the money conversation. Liz has identified that so many business owners out of their depth talking about money and how they've managed to convince themselves that they're terrible at numbers have no business being in charge of their own finances. This limiting belief that they've developed is holding them back from making much better business decisions based on their knowledge of their numbers. Liz is always looking for new ways to better serve business owners to put them back in control that isn't being done in the accounting or bookkeeping space. Not so you can do away with your account and bookkeeper, because these people are very valuable to have on your business team. But so you can be better educated and more confident to get the most out of your relationships with those service providers. I've worked with Liz myself, which made it even easier to help her market her business because I knew the value she brought to the table. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Do you have crappy sleeping habits? When you're running a small business, sometimes the small hours of the morning or late at night is the best time to tackle those administrative tasks. But when you really stop and think about it, when you pull an all-nighter, how effective are you the next day? Are you really winning anything back by staying up late at night? Or are you just taking energy off yourself for the next day; are you just trading hours, not gaining hours? I've had a really hard look at my sleeping habits and I've started developing and sticking to a bedtime routine, just as I've done so with my own children. I'm going to share this routine with you as it involves reading some fantastic books that have made a profound impact on me personally. So not only can you start sleeping better, which results in performing better in your business, but also gain some insights and lessons that just might help you as it's helped me. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Have you ever had an idea for promoting your business and realised that it's almost too late to start because the opportunity is a week away? Or on the flip side, do you want to start running promotions and campaigns in your business to engage more potential customers or draw some attention to a particular product/service yet you have no idea where to start? I want to share with you a framework that I've been using with tonnes of clients in the small business space for a long time. And as much as the moving parts might look different from one business to the next, the concept is the same. It's all about covering key areas, having a good timeline, utilising all of your platforms and having a clear set of goals so you can measure the success of your promotion. It's also about capitalising on the energy you're putting into this thing, so you can get as much bang for your buck as possible. If this sounds like the framework you need to get started running promotions in your business, I can't wait to share it with you. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Today's episode is not for the faint hearted. I might be calling you to do some really tricky things in your life when it comes to being mindful about what it is you consume while you're building a small business. Now, you might think this is just a food episode, and I'm sorry, my friend, you would be wrong. This is more about consumption in terms of what we allow into our space, into our bodies and our minds. We go into small business to create the lifestyle that we want and to operate from a place of passion every day. We want to create flexibility and freedom to do what we love outside the business. So to be in the right headspace and frame of mind to achieve that, we need to be careful about what we consume. I'm covering off the three key areas that I want you to have a really hard look at and make sure you're optimising to get you, your business and your lifestyle on rails. Are you ready? I know you can do it. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Today, let me introduce my guest, Liz Jarvis from Better Business Decisions. Liz is a business coach who specialises in helping small business owners really get to know their numbers. She tackles this from an amazing array of angles that most of us don't even think about our money. Over the previous year, I've come to really appreciate what Liz brings to the table for business owners in giving them clarity, confidence and financial Intelligence so they can use their finances to help make better decisions in their business. We're going to kick this conversation off by sharing my story about how the profound impact Liz's insight and guidance had on me. As well as dive deep into where a lot of business owners go wrong when it comes to handling their numbers and where they can start to take control and to be in charge of the conversation of their business numbers. You can be the master of your money, you can be your own financial guru. You just need to find the right person who can take the time to walk you through it and to give you the empowerment you need to really own that element of your business. I can't wait for you to share this conversation with you. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

We've all heard of the woo-woo sounding concepts of 'brand story' and 'storytelling' and if you are new to marketing, it can sound like really highbrow marketing stuff. It can even have you thinking, ‘Do I have a story?!'. I want to show you that by being articulate about your personal story, it can put you in a position where you are never scratching around for what to say on social media or in emails again. That by becoming a solid storyteller in your own business, it can also make you ‘platform independent', which means that it doesn't matter where you go, your story will resonate. So if a platform goes down tomorrow (as Facebook and Instagram have been known to do!), it doesn't matter because your core strategy is finding really inventive ways to share your story so you can connect with potential customers. So in this episode, I want to share with you three examples of clients who didn't necessarily think they had a story until we found a way to connect their past experiences, their values as a business, their target market and how all that can come together by placing you in a position of being a really ideal solution for those most likely to do business with you. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

In this episode we are going to chat with a former client, Jill Noble, to discuss her perspective on the massive difference a website made to both the accessibility for potential and existing members and customers, as well as some of the in-house administrative tasks that needed to be performed within her business. I'm looking forward to sharing with you her insights into the whole web design experience, why she needed a website in both the instance of her farm and the farming association she represents, and most importantly, how she actually prepared for the web design process because from the designer perspective. If you're considering getting a website for your business or organisation, Jill's got a lot of fabulous insights into how you can be prepared to get the most out of the experience. So, let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

If you've been following me recently, you'll have heard me be talking a lot about having non negotiables set in stone when you're planning stuff for your business. If you joined me for the last episode (016), I talked about how I planned out my next 12 months, the year 2022. But I started with my personal non negotiables and then structured everything around that. Because I believe that if we don't put them first, they will automatically slide straight to the back of the queue, they won't sit somewhere in the middle, it's either first or last, there's really no two ways about it. And I'm in a position right now, where I'm very, very fortunate to enjoy a work/life combination that feels like it fits really neatly around my values and my ethics and what I think is important. All the people that I work with, the kind of work that I do, the opportunities I'm exposed to, all fit in really snugly and really comfortably around my values and my beliefs - and my non negotiables. I would love for that combination for so many people I know who seem to be kind of running around like headless chooks with their businesses; they created a monster they now have to feed every day. So I was thinking, "where did it start for me? And how can I give some of that to other people so they can maybe start engineering stuff that way too?" So that's what we're doing in this episode. I'm going to take you back eight years now. And I'm going to walk you through how starting small and starting very simple with my non negotiables then grew and expanded and solidified to the level of fulfilment I have today. Even if you can implement some part of that in your life to make you feel as fulfilled and as 'balanced' (for lack of a better word), and lit up by what it is you do every day. If overarchingly you have this greater sense of purpose and everything you do is aligned more closely to your values and your beliefs and what you feel is a non negotiable, then that's what I want for you. So without further ado, let's jump on in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

In this episode, I wanted to kick things off with an amazing strategy that I've put together that's going to set my 2022 on rails. This is the combined effort of a whole bunch of things I've been doing, practicing, testing and tweaking over the last couple of years, that have allowed me to enjoy a fantastic growing business. On top of that, it's one that only requires me to work part time while still kicking that six figure mark through the goals, and also allowing me the space to spend time on things like personal projects, time with my kids and with my husband. I've created a system that - whilst not always perfect - gives me a really good sense of balance. It allows me to do the work that I need to do AND have the one on one time with those people that matter most. Because in this episode, the one thing I want you to walk away with is this: our businesses are there to facilitate our lives. Our lives are not there to facilitate the business. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

If you feel like 2021 has put both you and your small business through the ringer, you aren't on your lonesome. But it's times when the chips are down and it all feels a little hard - that is when we're actually going through accelerated learning and growth. It's our experiences in the midst of the chaos that will help shape where we steer our ourselves and our businesses. In this episode, I wanted to share with you what lead me to a complete social media hiatus and what the process taught me about what is most important with smart marketing systems. I'll share with you a snippet of my 2022 game plan that is all about helping you create some space and breathing room inside your small business. Let's jump in. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Have you ever stopped to count the many ways which potential and paying customers are getting in touch with you? If you've had that niggling suspicion that you have way too many tabs open (email, texts, DM's, comments...the list is endless), it could be because you have so many lines open with your clients that they're constantly being bombarded. This might inadvertently be creating problems when it comes to delivering smart and efficient services or products. Along the way, we've lost the ownership we have of our time, and I strongly believe it eats away at our mental health. So if this is you and you'd like to know how to start trimming back to make a more effective communication system - this one's for you. This is a process I went through and I haven't looked back. I can't wait to share it with you to clear some of that mental clutter and give you a bit more peace of mind. You're ready. Let's get started. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

I'm going to ask you to do something that might be a little bit out of your comfort zone in this episode - I'm going to ask you to get your face in your feed (or in any of your marketing content). If you are a small business where you and your business are pretty much one and the same thing, your business may feel like an extension of who you are. So it's super important to make sure that you are making a personal appearance in your marketing content, especially on social media where a lot of relationships kick off with our customers. To get you started, I'm going to give you my four top opportunities to get your face in your feed in a way that still provides value and has meaning rather than just posting-for-the-sake-of-posting selfies. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Are you the kind of small business owner who has zero idea what to say about yourself in your socials or your business or what it is that you do... this is the episode for you. We're taking a couple of steps back from the nuts and bolts practical side of things and we're actually going focus on some headspace stuff which I believe will help you get past these mental blocks about what to say, imposter syndrome and self doubt, and get you in the habit of believing that what you do is important, valuable and necessary. I'm going to walk you through how the concepts of marketing, manifesting and magnetism. How they're all connected, and how, by taking baby steps through your marketing (and being mindful of what you're doing on the mental side of the process) how you can start to develop a growing sense of confidence and belief in your products and services and the role your business plays in the wider world. Let's jump in! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Do you catastrophize your marketing to-do list? I see many small business owners get wrapped up in the 'I have to do it all and I have to do it right'. They get so bogged down into the nuts and bolts stuff of marketing that it stops them from actually getting started as they think it looks all too hard, too confusing or it's just too much. I wanted to tell you that there is an 80% of what you should be focusing on with your marketing - and it is not the likes/shares/comments you might think. I'm going to bust the biggest misconception I see small business owners having when it comes to small business marketing and give you the tools you focused and putting your energy where it's needed. And guess what - you already have everything you need to nail it! For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me

Have you reached a point in your business marketing where you feel like you've done all the things and you're not actually seeing the kinds of results you'd like? You feel like you've tipped all this energy in and you're hearing crickets? I want to walk you through a free audit you can do on your business to check for leaks in your marketing pipeline. And when I say marketing, this is an all-encompassing check from your logo up! This is about stepping outside the bubble and giving ourselves the space to interact with your business as if you were a new or potential customer. I'm going to ask you to look at your business with fresh eyes, to become a customer in your own business from start to finish, as a really good way to check for any leaks in your customer acquisition bucket. For show notes, links and more: W: meredithpaige.me // E: hello@meredithpaige.me // Insta: @meredithpaige.me // FB: @meredithpaige.me